Blockchain startups are trying to break big tech’s hold on AI

Blockchain startups are trying to break big tech’s hold on AI

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Companies with better brand recognition, and deeper pockets, are cornering the market for AI talent, but now companies want break that hold, and they have a way to do it.   Despite how easy the combination is to mock, the idea of applying the Blockchain...

Read more
Ownerless companies on the rise as startups experiment with new business models

Ownerless companies on the rise as startups experiment with new business models

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Blockchain will let us build new types of companies in new ways, including ownerless companies where funds and profits are divided automatically between individuals.   Slowly, very slowly, we’re seeing the emergence of the world’s first fully autonomous companies, from small hedge funds in Hong...

Read more
Dutch firm unveils the world’s first autonomous self-balancing energy grid for EV’s

Dutch firm unveils the world’s first autonomous self-balancing energy grid for EV’s

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF New powerful technologies are letting us revolutionise how we generate and deliver electricity, and autonomous, self-balancing energy grids are now a thing.   A little while ago I wrote about the US Department of Energy’s plans to create the world’s first autonomous energy grid, but...

Read more
JP Morgan becomes the first major US bank to roll its own crypto coins

JP Morgan becomes the first major US bank to roll its own crypto coins

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bitcoin may have its critics, but noone can argue the impact that cryptocurrencies have had on the world, and now one of the US’ biggest banks is jumping on the bandwagon.   With talks of China creating the first blockchain based national cryptocurrency and Ohio...

Read more
US military identifies virtual nations as a potential security threat to US sovereignty

US military identifies virtual nations as a potential security threat to US sovereignty

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The internet means citizens can now become part of large, virtual collectives, or nations, and there are fears these nations, with their own rules, welfare and support systems, could threaten the power and influence of sovereign nations.   When is a nation not a nation?...

Read more
Futurist Keynote, Germany: Life in 2030, RWE

Futurist Keynote, Germany: Life in 2030, RWE

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A lot has changed in the last ten years, and even more will change in the next ten. Are you ready?   Firstly, a big thank you to Kathrin and the team for inviting me to be the keynote at this years RWE Leadership meeting...

Read more
Ohio becomes first US state to let people pay business taxes in Bitcoin

Ohio becomes first US state to let people pay business taxes in Bitcoin

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many investors have said Bitcoin will take off when you can pay your taxes with it, well that time might be getting closer.   There’s a lot of legal uncertainty in the US surrounding cryptocurrencies, and many other investors, like Kevin O’Leary ABC show Shark Tank fame,...

Read more
Decentralised hedge funds take aim at Wall Street elite

Decentralised hedge funds take aim at Wall Street elite

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Services and industries are increasingly becoming decentralised, and the financial services industry is no exception.   A little while ago I discussed how one hedge fund, Aidyia, is now fully autonomous, a decentralised autonomous organisation run by an AI without humans, and how another, Numerai,...

Read more
Bangkok residents cut out the energy companies and trade energy over the blockchain

Bangkok residents cut out the energy companies and trade energy over the blockchain

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the number of small renewable energy installations around the world grow individual communities are increasingly cutting out the energy companies and trading energy directly with one another.   Residents in a Bangkok neighbourhood in Thailand are trying out a new blockchain based peer to...

Read more
DeepFake busting app spots even a single pixel out of place

DeepFake busting app spots even a single pixel out of place

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Increasingly most people don’t believe the news they’re seeing is real, this new technology helps news organisations and outlets regain that trust.   Falsifying photos and videos used to take a lot of work – either you used CGI to generate photorealistic images from scratch,...

Read more
The web is broken so it’s founder is re-inventing it

The web is broken so it’s founder is re-inventing it

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The internet was supposed to empower people, but so far most of that power is being concentrated in big centralised platform companies instead.   The founder of the World Wide Web thinks it’s broken and has a plan to fix it. Tim Berners-Lee, the British...

Read more
IBM breakthrough uses AI to make blockchain more energy efficient

IBM breakthrough uses AI to make blockchain more energy efficient

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining blockchain uses up an extraordinary amount of electricity, equivalent to an entire country, so companies are trying to fix the issue.   Proof of Work (PoW), the common consensus mechanism that secures Bitcoin and numerous other cryptocurrency blockchains, has given the technology a reputation for...

Read more
Estonia becomes the world’s first virtual nation capable of rebooting itself

Estonia becomes the world’s first virtual nation capable of rebooting itself

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Technology is showing us how ancient the concept of the traditional nation state is, and as virtual nations take shape being able to reboot them in times of war is crucial.   How do you reboot an entire country? It’s an odd question, but in...

Read more
Blockchain startups are lining up to decentralise and revolutionise the internet

Blockchain startups are lining up to decentralise and revolutionise the internet

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We think the internet is already decentralised, but the internet as we know it is evolving, and tomorrow’s internet will be truly decentralised.   An increasing number of people want to fix the flaws of the internet by decentralizing it, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the father...

Read more
Microsoft gets rid of blockchain miners with new Ethereum blockchain service

Microsoft gets rid of blockchain miners with new Ethereum blockchain service

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining blockchain has become a contentious issue because of the amount of energy it uses and its speed, Microsoft are trying to solve both problems.   Hot on the heels of its interest in Iota, a blockchain-like peer to peer cryptocurrency that does away with...

Read more
After the goldrush comes the crash, over 800 cryptocurrencies are now dead

After the goldrush comes the crash, over 800 cryptocurrencies are now dead

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Every market has its successes and failures and just like any investment ICO’s can gain and loose value too, making due diligence as important as ever.   Anyone who reads any sort of business newspaper will know that cryptocurrency projects have been popping up left,...

Read more
IBM joins Sovrin Foundation to give individuals back control of their data

IBM joins Sovrin Foundation to give individuals back control of their data

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today there is no way you can control who uses or shares your information, despite regulations like GDPR, but Self-Soverign ID systems like this one gives users the power to control their own online information.   It looks almost inevitable that Facebook will be punished,...

Read more
Hackers use 51 percent attack to commandeer three cryptocurrencies, steal millions

Hackers use 51 percent attack to commandeer three cryptocurrencies, steal millions

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 51 percent attacks are rare, but as criminals continue to gain access to more computing power smaller cryptocurrency networks are in increasing danger of being comandeered.   This week not one but three cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Gold, Verge Coin, and Monacoin, were hit with a rarely seen cyber...

Read more
Air France KLM and Microsoft use blockchain to improve MRO

Air France KLM and Microsoft use blockchain to improve MRO

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Blockchain has enormous potential to improve the efficiency of supply chains and especially MRO, and this is one of the world’s first proof of concepts.   Air France KLM’s engineering and maintenance division is evaluating the potential for Blockchain to become its new digital ledger...

Read more
Futurist keynote, Reading: Adapt or Die, Cherwell European Conference

Futurist keynote, Reading: Adapt or Die, Cherwell European Conference

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The pace of change, and disruption, is accelerating. In this presentation I show just how fast, and how crazy, the world’s business environment is getting, it’s impact on every sector, and what you can do to future proof yourself.   Firstly, I’d like to thank...

Read more