From Our Weekly Note and More
Tribalism on the Net
Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the Web), Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and the report “The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism" present views on the current state of the Internet.
Going Digital in Sweden and Beyond
As the use of cash in Sweden declines (replaced by digital payment alternatives) other countries are considering their digital options.
Bill Gates and Others on Climate Change
Bill Gates, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Kristalina Georgieva, CEO, World Bank launched the Global Commission on Adaptation "to bring scale and speed to climate adaptation solutions”.
On "Exploring the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Ecosystem"
Comments at “Exploring the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Ecosystem” a hearing by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee
Views on U.S. vs. China
Comments from Alibaba Founder Jack Ma, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Trade Wars and more
On the Rise of AI Machines
Comments for the report “Rise of the Machines: Artificial Intelligence and its Growing Impact on U.S. Policy” by the U.S. Congress.
Cyber-Crime: Strategies and Risks
Comments from J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle and White House national security adviser John Bolton.
On AI, Legal Services and Ethics
Comments for the Brookings Institute report, “The role of corporations in addressing AI’s ethical dilemmas” and Justin Kan, CEO of the legal services firm Atrium.
Big Tech and the U.S. Government
Comments Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey at a U.S. Senate Intelligence committee hearing.
AI, Art and an Auction
Last week, Christie’s announced it would be the first auction house to sell art made by artificial intelligence. The work, developed by French art collective Obvious, uses a technique called Generative Adversarial Networks. The art will be on sale October 23-25.
Books for "End-of-Summer" Reading
Books by Nike founder Phil Knight, former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss, New Yorker staff writer William Finnegan and theoretical physicist Geoffrey West. Enjoy!
On Summer Heat, Too Much Meat and more
As July delivered changing weather patterns around the world (including 29 all-time highs in regions of the US), global meat demand contributed to agricultural emissions that increase the planet’s temperature. The future will require the development of various mitigation and adaption strategies.
On Self-Driving Vehicles in the U.S.
Survey results from the Brookings Institute and others cite a low acceptance for self-driving vehicles. While improved reliability should reverse the trend, issues related to privacy, liability and road etiquette need to be addressed as well.
On "The Future of Money: Digital Currency"
Comments from “The Future of Money: Digital Currency”, a hearing by a U.S. House of Representatives finance committee included: Rodney J. Garratt, Chair of Economics - University of California (Santa Barbara). Norbert J. Michel, Director, Center for Data Analysis - The Heritage Foundation, Eswar S. Prasad - Professor of Trade Policy & Economics, Cornell University and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution.. Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior- Fellow, R Street Institute