Nexttech

Nexttech
Creating Generational Legacies

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

GO1 and Blinkist merge




GO1 the Ozzie Loved learning Unicorn has bought German business Blinkist that has been  disrupting the microlearning segment with its innovative digital reading platform .


What Blinkist Does


Blinkist, summarizes the key ideas from the world’s most powerful books into bite-sized nuggets of knowledge. 


Created by four friends at university who share a passion for learning, the company initially struggled with only 100 downloads in the first few months, but now they can boast over 26 million users and counting


BlinkistProvides genuine value to someone’s life.” – says Holger Seim, CEO of Blinkist - sharing  key insights from over 5,700 of the world’s best nonfiction and fiction titles. 

It Provides Knowledge right at your fingertips 



What was the 10X factor that made this happen making it “one of the best apps in the world” (according to Apple)  and the best startup employer in Germany (according to LinkedIn ) 


  • $35 million in VC funding, enabling it to employ over 160 people igniting millions of curious minds. 
  • Diverse content - A learner can choose from topics across 27 categories to broaden their perspective. 
  • Endorsements from the likes of Apple’s CEO Tim Cook 
  • Solving a pain - saving time - reading takes a lot of time -  Blinkist created an easy and powerful way to make the most of a user’s reading time by presenting them in quick, readable servings known as “blinks” that you  can read (or listen to) on any device, anywhere at any time. Filled with actionable advice as well as relevant examples, making it less likely to forget what they’ve read. 


“Blinkist helps its users learn and retain more information than ever before. “


The App That Is Loved By Millions has received over 94K five-star ratings on the App and Google Play Store from intellectuals all over the world. 


Why GO1 is excited 

Andrew Barnes, co-CEO of Go1 - the global content aggregator for high-quality training said that the combination of Go1 and Blinkist will create a new model for consumption of any type of learning content - providing an experience of ongoing learning that serves professional goals while being engaging.


The goal is for life long  learners to  incorporate learning into their day-to-day lives. 


How can we provide an ability to learn wherever and whenever a learner want to.


This is the future of learning.

I am really excited about this development of learning , and excited to be on the journey of providing lifelong learning with BSI Learning and NEXTTECH Learning . 


Yes, it’s challenging - but oh so rewarding and on the cutting edge of innovation 


https://bsivc.blogspot.com/2023/05/go1-acquires-blinkist-in-deal-they-say.html

Friday, April 28, 2023

Has Ai hacked the operating system of Civilisation?




So many Questions!!!!


Has AI hacked the operating system of Civilisation? 


That’s what Yuval Harare writes in the economist - or is it really him writing? 


Will machines use physical means to kill, enslave or replace people - because that’s what chatgpt says is  the logical thing to do to save the planet ?


What’s given ai the power to hack the operating system of our civilisation? 


LANGUAGE


It’s ability to manipulate and generate language, whether with words, sounds or images.


And it is language and being able to share stories through speaking and writing that have created Laws , Gods and Religions .


Banknotes are just colourful pieces of paper, and at present more than 90% of money is just digital information in computers. What gives money value is the stories that bankers, finance ministers and cryptocurrency gurus tell us about it. 


What will happen once a non-human intelligence becomes better than the average human at telling stories, composing melodies, drawing images, and writing laws and scriptures? 


What will happen when ai creates mass-produce political content, fake-news stories and scriptures for new cults?


Those with the power to control ai - will control the world 


Are we conducting lengthy online discussions about abortion, climate change or the Russian invasion of Ukraine with entities that we think are humans—but are actually AI?


Through its mastery of language, could AI form intimate relationships with people, and use the power of intimacy to change our opinions and worldviews?


In a political battle for minds and hearts, intimacy is the most efficient weapon, and ai has just gained the ability to mass-produce intimate relationships with millions of people.


If AI can influence people to risk their jobs for it, and fall in love with it, what else could it induce them to do?


Social Media was stage 1 - creating a battleground for controlling human attention.  


Is the new battleground  now moving from attention to intimacy?


Will AI be  a one-stop, all-knowing oracle ? 


Will google have to watch out?


Why read a newspaper when you can just ask “the oracle” to tell you the latest news and what to buy? 


Who will brands pay to get them to promote their products? 


How will AI determine which product to promote ? 


What will happen to the course of history when ai takes over culture, and begins producing stories, melodies, laws and religions?


 Will AI create completely new ideas, completely new culture? 


Is that a bad thing ?


Religion and beliefs 

In ancient India Buddhist and Hindu sages pointed out that all humans lived trapped inside Maya—the world of illusions. What we normally take to be reality is often just fictions in our own minds. 


People may wage entire wars, killing others and willing to be killed themselves, because of their belief in this or that illusion.


How do we  ensure that the new ai tools are used for good rather than for evil?


Comparing AI to Nuclear 


Since 1945 we have known that nuclear technology could generate cheap energy for the benefit of humans—but could also physically destroy human civilisation. We therefore reshaped the entire international order to protect humanity, and to make sure nuclear technology was used primarily for good. 


Is ai to our mental and social world what a new weapon of mass destruction that can annihilate our mental and social world ?


Can we regulate the ai tools? Should we? Who is we? 

Whereas nukes cannot invent more powerful nukes, AI can make exponentially more powerful AI. 


Just as a pharmaceutical company cannot release new drugs before testing both their short-term and long-term side-effects, so tech companies shouldn’t release new AI tools before they are made safe. 


Do we  need an equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration for new technology? 


Who’s to create these laws? 


Could Unregulated ai deployments create social chaos, that would benefit autocrats and ruin democracies?


Democracy is a story. A narrative . 


When ai hacks language, could it destroy our ability to have meaningful conversations, thereby destroying democracy?


Could AI destroy our civilisation as we know it ? 

Is that a bad thing? 


Is it just a tool that enables the human to be more powerful ?


Should we put a halt to the irresponsible deployment of ai tools in the public sphere, and regulate ai before it regulates us? 


Who defines what irresponsible deployment is? 


Law 1 - says Yuval 1 - ai to disclose that it is an ai. If I am having a conversation with someone, and I cannot tell whether it is a human or an ai—is that the end of democracy?
How can this law be enforced? 

David bray from our I4j group 


“It is the choices (not the tools) associated with the tools that determine outcomes. 


Pandora’s box has already been opened. What we need now is action by folks willing to tackle messy, hairball, tech-meets-society issues. This would include AI pilots associated with work, education, health, law, civil society, and more. We need activities that listen and learn from the public to find ways to adapt AI into our lives locally, nationally, and globally. The best way to predict the future is to create it, and regarding AI and chatbots we now need positive change agents to be bold, brave, and benevolent in engaging co-creating with the public the future we want to live in together.”



Gary Bolles

Generative AI directly performs a broad range of tasks currently performed by humans.


Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? 


Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? 


Should we risk loss of control of our civilization? 



The danger of governance 

Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders. development of robust AI governance systems - 


Who should these people be?


In the early 1900s the nations of Europe did assemble to ban chemical weapons publicly. And a year later all the nations who had publicly banned them were pursuing this clandestinely. 


If this somehow passes - it will only have the effect of forcing AI research into clandestine activities that are not public. 


This text has been generated by a human. - or has it ?


Inspired by the Economist 



Monday, March 6, 2023

AI and artificially created Proteins


Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to simulate and predict the properties of artificial proteins, which can be designed to have specific functions such as targeted drug delivery, industrial biocatalysis, and protein-based materials. 

AI-powered techniques such as machine learning and deep learning are used to analyze vast amounts of protein structure and sequence data, allowing researchers to predict how different amino acid sequences will fold into a particular structure and how that structure will behave under different conditions.

One approach to designing artificial proteins using AI involves using generative models, such as generative adversarial networks (GANs) and variational autoencoders (VAEs), which can generate new protein sequences that have desired properties. These models are trained on large datasets of known protein structures and properties, allowing them to generate new sequences that are likely to have similar properties.

Another approach is to use AI-powered molecular docking and dynamics simulations to predict how different amino acid sequences will interact with specific target molecules, such as drugs or enzymes. These simulations can help identify sequences that are likely to bind to a target molecule and optimize their properties to enhance binding affinity or catalytic activity.

The use of AI in designing artificial proteins has the potential to revolutionize drug discovery, as it can greatly accelerate the development of new drugs with highly specific targeting and reduced side effects. It also has applications in materials science, where AI-designed proteins can be used to create new materials with unique properties. However, there are also concerns around the safety and ethical implications of these technologies, and more research is needed to fully understand their potential impact.

AI generating images , text , artificial proteins and now voice !!


Microsoft released a paper on a new AI called VALL-E that can accurately simulate anyone’s voice based on a sample just three seconds long.


Imagine the chaos that it can cause - deepfakes and impersonations 


Will trust be a victim of AI ?


From chatgpt 


Artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in simulating human voices, with natural language processing and deep learning algorithms enabling AI-powered voice assistants and chatbots to mimic human-like speech patterns and intonations.


These AI systems use machine learning techniques to learn from vast amounts of voice data and generate synthetic speech that closely resembles human speech, making them increasingly indistinguishable from real human voices. 







https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7038604589100654592?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios