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Artificial Intelligence

Competitive Technology: What is Artificial Intelligence?

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Competitive Technology: What is Artificial Intelligence?

By Competitive Technology

Artificial intelligence is a term that was coined by Robert MacCarthy and is related to the development of intelligence in machines and technology. In simple terms, it can be said that artificial intelligence is the ability to think, as expressed by machines.

A.I. is a developing field related to the upcoming growth that is expected for computer processing power and this is why A.I. and automated trading in the cryptocurrency market are fields of great potential for anyone interested in the technology sector.

Recent trends show that most industries are unlikely to improve without integrating with artificial intelligence. Even fields like medicine and education cannot remain competitive without adopting artificial intelligence systems.

Source: PBS.org

Of course, the rise of artificial intelligence is currently taking at a breakneck speed. It has become an important part of our daily lives from the time we open our eyes to the moment we fall asleep at night.

Artificial intelligence has become a topic of great debate, and some people considering recent advancements to be highly beneficial for humanity.  Others consider A.I. to be an existential threat to humanity itself.  However, it is still very early to really say anything about it.

Yet, it is an interesting debate because the discussion can help us to improve the living standards of people around the world.  At the same time, these are forces that have the potential to overpower the human race in the future.

New Definitions of Artificial Intelligence

According to the new definition of artificial intelligence, true artificial intelligence is something in which machines learn on their own with the help of technology and without the help of any person.

Besides, they are supposed to learn from their mistakes and improve themselves by self-correction. It is something that has brought the debate of the human vs the artificial intelligence that is machine technology.

Implications of Artificial Intelligence

Many people argue that with this development machines can deliver perfect assistance to humans. Their broad database will help humans to raise their standard of living. Apart from it, they will bring revolution in all technological fields related to human industry.

However, others are arguing that when machines would continue to learn by on their own, one day, they will overpower human beings. Then humans will become the permanent slaves of machines. These people also code many disadvantages of relying so heavily on artificial intelligence. Thus, it is an ongoing and inconclusive puzzle that can only be solved by the time, not in centuries but in decades to come.

Advantages of Artificial Intelligence

There are a lot of advantages to artificial intelligence. So much so that no country in today’s world can survive without the support of artificial intelligence. Following are the important advantages of Artificial Intelligence among thousands of others:

  • The first advantage of the growth of artificial intelligence is in the field of defense. Robots can be used for border patrolling instead of humans. It will save many precious lives. Many soldiers die daily on petrol duty. Furthermore, artificial intelligence can be used to extract information about the enemies. It can detect the incoming missile and can automatically trigger an anti-missile system so put an end to that missile attach. In this field, it has a vast scope as it has in every other field.
  • AI has already proved its worth in the medical field. It is learning symptoms of diseases. It can conduct different tests spontaneously. Thus, it will perfectly diagnose disease within no time. It will start the treatment of patients accordingly. Thus, it has all the potentials to bring a revolution in this field.
  • The education field has already started to improve with the help of artificial intelligence. No person in the world today can copy the work of another person. He can easily be caught by Copyscape and other such types of plagiarism checking software. In the new method of teachings grading and rewarding have been left to the machines. It has given teachers extra time to put more in teaching students. Students perform checks on the machines daily. It has helped to know the interest of students to put them on a proper road.
  • In the business sector, artificial intelligence has been very helpful. It has helped companies to deliver customer services more effectively. It points out the areas of businesses for a company. It targets and brings customers to companies. In this field, the scope of artificial intelligence can never end. The more artificial intelligence grows the more it will help businesses to flourish. Particularly, it has been a revolutionary force in the manufacturing sector.
  • It is a handy tool to solve the legal case. Especially for the South-Asian countries where decades-old cases are still pending, artificial intelligence can help in solving this problem. Besides, it can also help police in caring out an investigation. The street crimes can be brought to zero by installing digital surveillance cameras in the streets with face and speech recognition. This will be a very helpful tool in this regard.
  • Artificial Intelligence performance in the transport sectors is unmatchable. With its help, companies like Google and Tesla has come up with a pilotless car, train and bus models. Shortly with the launch of 5G, all the cars will go driverless. It might look like some science fiction movies but it is the truth and everybody is going to see it shortly.
  • Smart mobile phones in everybody’s hands are a perfect example of artificial intelligence growing influence in a person’s life.

Today many people might argue that AI is not good for people. It is controlling their lives in ways they even do not know themselves. They might say that the growing influence of artificial intelligence in the industrial sector will render many people jobless. One can even be skeptical about the involvement of machines in the health sector.

Conclusion

With artificial intelligence, people will actually throw their lives in the hands of machines which neither has emotions nor can understand the human psyche. All these problems can be given a thought. These can be solved. Humans have all the potential to solve any problem that becomes a threat to its existence.

However, one cannot ignore the development of artificial intelligence. It is not in control of anyone to stop these developments in various sectors which are very helpful for humans to raise their living standards. So, instead of being pessimistic one must think good and think about the blessings that these developments can bring to humans.

 

Crypto

Financial Technology: What Is Cryptocurrency?

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Financial Technology: What Is Cryptocurrency?

By Competitive Technology

Currency is a type of money that is used to buy things. Most countries have different currencies as per the rules of each central government and the economic system of each country.  Of course, traditional currencies are not the only things that can be used to buy products from the market.

In recent years, the emergence of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has helped to solve some of the common financial obstacles customers face in everyday transactions. 

Growth in market trends related to cryptocurrency trading have surpassed stocks during the last two years, so it’s important to know the intricacies of digital currencies in modern use.  In this article, we will discuss some very important advantages and disadvantages of digital currencies in greater depth.  

Source: YouTube

What is a Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is actually a digital currency that has no involvement with the government of the country when it is exchanged between two parties. It is an encrypted currency. While it’s exchanged between two parties either the public or private keys can be used.

For these reasons, the use of digital currency reduces  processing fee as it requires no involvement with central governments or large financial institutions.  Let’s further consider some advantages of cryptocurrency investments in the following sections.

Decentralization

In any country, the use of a currency’s transactional flow of is solely controlled with the help of government regulations and large financial institutions.  But when using cryptocurrencies, consumer decisions are conducted on a peer-to-peer basis and this helps ease of use in a number of different technological areas.

Low Operation Costs

As consumers, we have all experienced cases where we had to pay extra fees, often levied by private organizations. But if consumers use cryptocurrencies, no extra fees are required for the transaction but a very low processing fee is paid by buyers.

Unlimited Transactions

Often things happen when we need to take out cash from the atm or banks and we get an alert that above a fixed amount we cannot withdraw or transfer in a single transaction or on a single day. In cryptocurrency, consumers do not find any such limitation. Here you can do as much transaction as much you want that is two without limit of a number of transactions on a day.

No Delays in Transfer

Most often it happens that when we transfer money using a traditional bank, which often takes a few days to reach the particular account. But with the cryptocurrency, you will not have to face any such problem. Here the speed of transaction is very very fast as the number of mediators in this transaction is already removed. So not much processing and very quick transaction.

Universal Currency Options

Most of us face the problem of changing the currency and then posting it in the bank account or transfer it to any other international account. Due to different currency, we have to face may barriers here also. But with the use of this cryptocurrency, the is no more like a barrier.

No Bans on Address or Location

When we go to a bank to open an account, the bank asks many documents with us and also take many days to open an account. Herewith cryptocurrency, everything is easy. In the case of cryptocurrency anyone having internet and a device anytime they want. It also doesn’t need a special document to open the account.

Transparent Transactions Every Time

In cryptocurrency, every transaction is passed under the observation of blockchain so everything is clear where and how much cryptocurrency has been used. If you want to keep your identity hidden you can, and if you want to let others know your cryptocurrency address, you can also do that. Both options are available here in the blockchain.

Disadvantages of Cryptocurrency

Even though this cryptocurrency has so many advantages, some of its advantages may prove not good for us and the advantages convert to be disadvantages with no time. Some of them are as follows. 

Money Paid Can’t Be Reversed If Recipient Address is Wrong 

Have you ever gone through the situation that you were paying someone else and actually paid someone else but you were not late enough you did try to revere the process and got your mistake corrected. But it doesn’t happen the same in case of cryptocurrency.

One of the biggest cons of this cryptocurrency is that if once you pay someone either by intention or my mistake you can’t get back your money unless the person whom you transferred the money, transfers it in your account back.

Vulnerable to Hacking and Other Illegal Activities

As we know that cryptocurrency is volatile in nature means it moves from one account to another very fastly, it is always at high risk by the terrorist and other illegal hackers. Since there is no role of the gov in its a transaction, the risk of hacking the account becomes even more.

Still Not Accepted in Many Countries

As we have discussed above that this is the currency that can be transferred without the barrier of conversion of one country currency to another, it makes it not fit to be used in many countries. Many countries have still not accepted the use of cryptocurrency within the country as they don’t find it safe for the country.

Conclusion

As we have seen above that there are many advantages and disadvantages to the cryptocurrency, we should use it wisely and very carefully. If a single step can make your dream come true, the same can go wrong if done without proper thinking. This topic is not so small that it can be covered in just one article. However, I hope this provided you with very basic and important things to know. 

Nowadays, when we play video games on mobile devices or do some online shopping, we earn some points which we can redeem on the next purchase or sometimes we can redeem these points also. Cryptocurrency is also something like this. This is not the actual currency but can do many of the work which a normal currency can do but in a different way.

Business Technology

Competitive Markets: Important Issues in Business Technology

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Competitive Markets: Important Issues in Business Technology

By Competitive Technology

Information technology has played a rising level of importance in recent years and these industry trends have increased the abilities of even the smallest companies to grow faster and more effectively. For these reasons, market analysts have recently explained that tech sector trends have guided the world of finance.  Essentially, the tech sector has been part and parcel if we are thinking about the inner operations of most companies and businesses can flourish quickly when critical IT operations are working smoothly. 

If things do not go well with a company’s IT systems,  the situation can become frustrating and demoralizing for employees, so a great roadblock to the operations of the business can be encountered when business technology is not given its proper level of importance within the organization. These tools and systems make the business efficient and profitable but any malfunction can lead to serious business issues that are not favorable to anyone involved in regular transactions.   In this article, we will highlight common issues related to the concept of business technology. 

Confusion of the Cloud

“Cloud technology” is now a common term used in business but it needs to be understood in practical terms.  The concept of cloud computing might be introduced when a company is not ready to invest more in its tech infrastructure in order to meet IT needs without much effort.  As cloud services vary in cost and availability, these services need to be used along with internally owned technology. This approach can also save money, so working with an IT partner for assistance will often ensure cloud solutions are secured.

Integrated Issues 

The release of new technology may sometimes create hurdles in your business if the software is not compatible with older system and applications. It can result in the double-entry of data and you need to look in multiple places to seek information. Some other inefficiencies may also arise. By completely planning before the implementation of new technologies these issues can be minimized. To eradicate integration issues working with an experienced IT partner is recommended.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Accidents such as power failure or a system crash may lead to the loss of important data. It can be one of the greatest failures in business technology. Sometimes there is a need to delete a file purposely, here comes the significance of having a reliable data back. An efficient disaster recovery plan to restore data in such an unfortunate event can make your business grow. Eliminating and minimizing downtime saves a large amount of money in the long term. IT department should have a schedule and a plan to back up the data and restoration when an issue arises.

Risk of Security

Unfortunately, there is an increase in cybercriminals and hackers in the market. Professional hackers target businesses and can put a heavy loss to a company. All sorts of information regarding the business and confidential details are stored on the computer. If all of your trade secrets were to be stolen, locked or deleted, how your business would be affected. Hackers target business confidential such as details of recipes, private emails, HR data, and customer information. Businesses can easily go out of the market after six months of a cyber-attack. It is important not to become a victim of hackers. You should look for cost-effective solutions that ensure the security of the company’s data. Security issues may not become a reason to end your business.

Inefficient Employees

Working and interacting with business technology is not an easy task. The company’s employs should be intelligent enough to cope with modern technology. Having inefficient employs with less diligence can harm your business greatly. Look for product management and an efficient team that can complete its tasks well in time to support your business. Resist hiring incompetent people so that your business may flourish.

Maintenance and Outdated Systems

Technology needs regular maintenance so that the system runs properly and securely. Using updated IT processes many problems can be predicted and can be planned for. This will allow for resolving the problem before they become urgent and companies like Microsoft and Amazon are the current market leaders. It is better to resolve the issues before they turn into an emergency that may be costly and time-consuming. Outdated systems with frequent problems make it difficult for employees to work efficiently. Technology should be up to date to fight with issues in the road progress of your business.

Lack of Legal Pathway

There are certain guidelines, laws, and rules to act upon while using the data, storing or sharing it. Many businesses overlook such rules and protocols. These laws are designed to safeguard the information of the business and its customers or clients. To cope with such an issue, do audits of your business network. It will ensure to know you where lies the issue. This enables you to know what you need to do correctly and legally to protect your business from unseen issues.

Lack of Strategic Planning

There are such times when business leaders and IT departments are not well connected. This is due to a lack of planning and poor strategy. The infrastructure of business technology is a thing to be planned properly. The planning for goals and direction of the company. The leadership of the business should be connected with the IT department. This strategy helps to diminish the problems of technology. The strategy and planning implemented in this way ensure the profitability of the business community. You need to develop a road map for better IT planning.

Ignoring the Root Cause of the Issue

To understand the cause of the issue is significant. You should supply as many details as possible. When an issue arises thoroughly document the issue so that you can report it to IT department. They must discover the root cause of the issue. It will provide an understanding to remove the main cause of the issue.

Software Inefficiencies

The office should not be filled with a lot of papers and documents. It will slow you down. Proper systems should be put in place to ensure that efficiency is maximized.  Moreover, paperless systems allow users to find data more quickly. In this way, users can interact with the data more fully and reach hypotheses that might not have been considered previously.

 

 

 

Business Technology, Competitive Technology

How to Get a Job in the Technology Industry

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How to Get a Job in the Technology Industry

By Competitive Technology

Needs and demands in the technology industry have increased.  Due to tough competition, the technology industry requires skilled employees. There are several ways for people to get a job in the technology industry.  It always starts with building the perfect resume before your first job interview and the best resume writers can help to achieve greater career goals.   

The technology industry needs high-skilled employees because the competition is intense and organizations must offer the best services to customers in order to gain their attention. Individuals must improve their skills to get a job in the best technology organizations because these companies require skilled employees in order to run their businesses.  For job seekers, here are some factors to consider whenever you are trying to find a job in the technology industry.

Image result for growth in tech jobs

The degree of higher education is a ticket for individuals to get the best job in the technology industry. The human resource department of organizations receives several resumes, and they select the resume of a candidate who has the best skills and higher education.

Education also opens ways for the people to get jobs and a company also provides competitive salaries to the high education candidates. There is a direct link to education with the salary because if there will be higher education, there will be a higher salary of the person (Jobflare.com, 2019).     

Higher-Education: Learn Technology Skills

Education does not develop skills in candidates because it is theoretical knowledge although practical awareness is necessary to get better jobs. Students can take admission to institutes to develop technology skills during their education so that they will improve their skills and provide better results in the organization.

Students can also take help from an internship because the internship program helps to improve the skills of candidates. The students can also become aware of the culture of a company when they perform an internship in any company (WORKOPOLIS, 2015). 

Job Seekers Must Have Can-Do Attitude

The technology industry required competitive people who can work under pressure and must have a can-do attitude. The industry has faced several challenges due to which some employees are unable to perform their work; therefore, the industry needs to hire employees who can utilize their skills and capabilities in tough situations.

Sometimes technology companies work on a project that has strict deadlines. If employees have a can-do attitude, they can help the company in projects and also deliver the projects to the customers on time. The technology industry also pays more salaries to the people who have a can-do attitude, and they can work on difficult projects (Fredricks, 2017). 

Being Proactive: Engage Yourself

It is necessary for employees to engage them in new activities because it helps to develop new skills and capabilities, and they can perform better results in a company. When employees engage them in different activities, they will be able to provide better results and also enhance their knowledge.

Individuals need to improve the quality of their work with time so that they can enhance their efficiency and help the company in its success. Engagement in improved skills is crucial for employees to get a job in the technology industry. 

   

Blockchain Technology, Business

Why Should Businesses Use Blockchain Technology?

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Competitive Technology: Why Should Businesses Use Blockchain Technology?

By Competitive Technology

The age of competitive technology has come with so many important innovations. The world is evolving at a very pace. There are discoveries and inventions made daily. Humans have evolved from the anachronistic trade by barter systems as a means of exchange to the cash currency system and finally the complex online digital currency system known as cryptocurrency. The records of the transactions involving cryptocurrencies are processed by a system called blockchain.

What is Blockchain Technology?

This is simply a system which keeps record of the transactions involving cryptocurrencies across several computers in the globe. Through this system, every transaction is stored in a block and they are subsequently linked to the previous ones. This way, there are no glitches in the system.

Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Businesses

In the business world, everything is all about making use of the least possible resources to make profits within legally accepted bounds. It also entails reducing the cost of expenditure to the barest minimum. Hence businessmen look for the safest and cheapest alternatives.

High levels of innovation has been made possible through the use of innovations such as the blockchain technology. Blockchain systems come with many packages which are beneficial to businessmen. The benefits when utilized by businesses can help them grow and reach the global market. Below are the reasons businesses should use the blockchain technology.

Reduction of Business Costs

Owning a business comes with its costs. One of which is predominantly in the accounting section. There are several transactions that need to be recorded and this is prone to human errors. Auditing and balancing accounts come with its costs.

Audits are done by highly trained professionals who charge exorbitantly for their services. In the blockchain technology, there is an accurate record of every transaction made on the platform. This invariably means that if a business utilizes the platform in making and receiving payments, every detail of these transactions will be recorded by the system.

Thus, saving businesses the stress of account you the stress of auditors and their fees. It is very easy to trace how cryptocurrency left your wallet and how it came in. Consequently, reducing the business costs.

In addition, unlike cash transaction platforms that charge fees for the transfer of funds from one account to another, there are no transfer charges on blockchain. This because there are no middlemen to collect their fees. There are no limitations to the use of Bitcoin.

Since it will be easier to make and receive payment, it will be easier to pay and receive payments from international clients and customers. This gives the company a larger audience. Another reason why businesses should utilize its benefits is because since Bitcoin is the same all over the world, there are no exchange rates.

Blockchain is Reliable and Secure

The blockchain technology is a very reliable platform. There are security upgrades periodically. This makes it harder for it to be hacked and also relatively more secure than our conventional banks.

Consequently, your cryptocurrency is safe. It is scarcely possible for someone to hack your wallet. Except of course you give out your private key. Should you lose your private key, it will nearly be impossible for you to retrieve your wallet.

You would have to go through a rigorous process of proving your identity. This process is so complex that you would almost give up on your attempt in retrieving your wallet. Even the best of auditors make mistakes. However, this is not the case with blockchain.

Data on blockchain ledgers can be trusted as fully accurate and free from human input errors. Every transaction on the blockchain is documented and the fact that there is no human input keeps them free from mistakes. This makes it very reliable. This is another reason why blockchain should be utilized by businesses.

Encrypted Transparency

Paper currencies come with their problems one of which is the lack of transparency. Since every transaction done on Bitcoin is recorded, everyone can see it.  Also, it is easier for paper currency to get stolen or get fraudulently moved from one account to another with traces meticulously covered.

Of curse, this is nearly impossible on the blockchain platform. A major reason why businesses should use blockchain then is because of the high level of transparency as every transaction going on the site is open for everyone to see.

In addition, all blockchain wallets are linked. This makes it easier for a person to track the flow of bitcoin. Since Bitcoin is not controlled by a central agency, it will be harder to fraudulently move heavy sums without a trace, an act which is usually done by smart accountants and exceptional hackers.

Transaction Privacy

For businesses that love to protect their financial data, blockchain technology is the perfect tool to utilize. This is because the identity of every user is kept anonymous. This keeps people from interfering in your affairs. This is definitely a good reason to make use of the blockchain technology.

Blockchain: The New World Bank

Since cryptocurrency is now generally accepted all over the world, it has gained greater legitimacy in the marketplace. The various transactions involving them are recorded by blockchain. These records are accurate and detailed. This invariably makes blockchain a global bank with its branches across thousands of computers.

Therefore, it is important for businesses to make use of blockchain technology. This is because their own branch of this bank will be their own computer. Consequently, they will be able to conveniently manage their transactions at the click of a mouse. There is also no need to go through the troubles of popular online payment platforms with rigorous demands and unnecessary charges.

Conclusion

The blockchain technology is an innovation that should be welcomed by all. It has not only helped in securing a world currency. its potentials have been harnessed in different spheres of life. It has been used to develop artificial intelligence, develop electric cars that mine crypto when they are in use and also it has also been used in creating highly innovative video games. Overall, the possibilities of the blockchain seem endless. Hence, it is crucial for businesses to harness its potential.

Crypto, Financial Technology, Fintech

Crypto Technology: Why Should Businesses Use Cryptocurrency?

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Many businesses in the world use cryptocurrency as a means of completing business transactions with both their vendors and customers. Many are yet to understand what cryptocurrencies really are. Worse still, some are yet to the awareness of the existence of cryptocurrencies. What exactly is a cryptocurrency and how does it help businesses?

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency also known as virtual or digital currency are digital coins whose value can be transferred only online from one computer wallet to another. This transaction process is protected by an advanced information security process called cryptography (encryption of cryptocurrencies so they cannot be duplicated).

Cryptocurrencies operate in a decentralized system independent of the control and regulation of governmental financial agencies and banking systems. Most people now use cryptocurrencies as a form of cash, especially when making transactions online.

Why Should Businesses Subscribe to Crypto Usage?

With the rise of cryptocurrencies came numerous risk, as they were the targets of hackers and online thieves due to its unregulated and digital nature. Some of these risks include duplication of cryptocurrencies and the risk of losing for coins if your private key (a set of numbers that verify your identity as the owner of a crypto wallet) is copied by someone or lost. Many of these risks, however, have been eliminated to the barest minimum by a technology called blockchain, making cryptocurrencies highly safe for usage.

With its rapidly growing popularity in the global market, many businesses are faced with the question of whether they should accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The answer to this question cannot be a general because your business accepting and using cryptocurrencies as a form of payment is based on your business needs and goals.

Using cryptocurrencies, however, come with its numerous advantages comes with its numerous that you don’t want your business to miss out from. Highlighted below are some of the important reasons why cryptocurrencies would actually be advantageous to your business.

Cost Efficient:

The use of cryptocurrency is actually one very simple and effective way of saving your business transactional costs in the long run. With the arrival of cryptocurrencies, cam the elimination of the cost of using banking and other monetary services like PayPal or Living Without Microsoft in order to perform monetary transactions.

When these banks and financial services process monetary transactions, they incur a lot of chargers which are passed on to the end-users. With cryptocurrencies, these charges are significantly reduced. Because of its decentralized system, it does not require middlemen. It just simply enables owners to transfer money to their recipient account without incurring the amount of charges they would normally have if using other forms of monetary transactions.

Pan-Global Acceptance:

Cryptocurrencies, unlike our normal payments, are now accepted worldwide. Utilizing cryptocurrency as a tool for promoting your business, will save your business the stress of exchange fees and exchange rates. Most especially if your business deals in supplying and purchasing of products and raw materials from other countries. Due to its global nature, it can successfully help you circumvent foreign transactional fees.

Time-Efficient:

Cryptocurrencies have an added advantage when it comes to time. When transferring transactions are processed immediately and completed in a few minutes. With its usage, you no longer have to be frustrated by the long process of identity verification and time spent by banks when they perform monetary transactions. Since waiting is not part of the world’s description of time management, cryptocurrencies time efficiency is definitely a perk you don’t want to miss out on.

Trusted and Secure:

Its transaction is one of the most trusted in and secured financial transactions. You are secured from being sent counterfeited or duplicated coins. This is made possible by the advancement of blockchain technology which regulates and records all transactions made. Once transactions are made, they are recorded in a block which (houses all recent cryptocurrency used), and are linked together to a chain. This prevents you from and chargebacks.

Cryptocurrency transaction is trusted because it requires a confirmation from both the payers and payee before payments are missed. Finally, you don’t have to be scared of losing your coins. Hackers cannot fake your identity because you re kept anonymous.

Autonomy:

With baking institutions and other financial stuff, your autonomy when it comes to your money is reduced. There are many regulations that you have to follow before keeping certain amounts in your account or before performing some transactions beyond some stipulated amount, cryptocurrency, on the other hand, removes this challenge. You have total control of your wallets and can make of any amount you deem fit. You don’t have to go through the stress of verifying your identity. All thanks to its decentralized nature.

Create Investment Opportunities:

The increasing of cryptocurrency price especially bitcoin (which is now at almost $8000 for a crypto coin) provides you with an awesome investment opportunity. This volatile nature of cryptocurrency is best for investors who are seeking very high profits and are willing to take the elevated risks involved. With this opportunity, you can buy a cryptocurrency at a time when the price is reasonably low and expect it to skyrocket so you can sell later in the future

Easy to Use:

If not for any other reason, this should convince you to accept cryptocurrency for your business technology. They are very easy to use and transfer with just a computer and internet access. No need to go through the complex procedures required by banks.

Currency of the Future:

Believe it or not, cryptocurrency is gradually taking over our paper currency. More cryptocurrencies are created every day and people are becoming more familiar with the world of digital currencies. It has also been anticipated by financial experts and cryptocurrencies users alike that cryptocurrency is likely to replace paper money in the nearest future.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency, since its invention has gone through many phases. But one thing is sure: cryptocurrency has come to stay. They are now accepted generally in the global market. With its popularity, it is important for a business to use cryptocurrency as their payment. This is advisable because cryptocurrency would soon become the world’s “new dollar”.

Bitcojn, Crypto

Crypto Markets: Basics of Bitcoin

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You hear about it in almost every street corner. It has now become the new currency and it is probably replacing our bank systems. This leaves most of us bedazzled as to what bitcoin really is. Where did it come from and why has it become so popular? You need the answers to this technology question to decide whether to invest in it.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency (or cryptocurrency as it is popularly known) which was created in 2009. It is a virtual currency, unlike our paper currencies like the dollar, euro, yen, etc. It is an online cash and its transaction records are stored online by agencies and blockchains.

Bitcoins are rapidly becoming popular with many businesses. Many large retailers around the world have already subscribed to it is usage. In recent times, it has now been accepted globally and is now highly valued. Unlike traditional currencies that are regulated by government authorities like the central bank, bitcoins are independent of these organizations.

Bitcoin is created by many businesses and people through advanced computer technologies that decipher technical mathematical problems. The process is simple. When the computer software successfully figures out these mathematical problems, they reward the bitcoin mines with bitcoins.

History of Bitcoin

Although bitcoin gained popularity recently, it has existed for a long time. In 2008, an anonymous group under the pseudo name of Santoshi Nakamoto published a white paper titled ‘A peer to peer electronic cash system’ proposing that bitcoin should be used for business.

In 2009, it was made available for public use and blockchain started recording and verifying mining processes (processes through which new bitcoins are made) as well as transactions made with bitcoins. It was the year 2010 that bitcoin was assigned value as people started making attempts to trade with them. With time, its value rose to over $1000 per bitcoin. However, in 2013 its price plunged drastically to approximately to $3000. It gradually rose with time till it became about $8000 as of today.

Crypto: Commodity or Currency?

Due to its nature, many are confused as to whether bitcoin is a currency or commodity. In 2015, bitcoin was classified as a commodity by the CFTC (Commodity Future Trading Commission). A body tasked with regulating commodities in the US and like other cryptocurrencies, they have been considered to be commodity under the exchange act. Also, they are considered as currencies because they fit properly into some of the description of currencies in the following ways:

  • Bitcoin circulates as a medium of exchange
  • Bitcoin is generally accepted and have gained prevalence
  • Bitcoin is used as a form of barter trade

In general, bitcoin can be said to be both a commodity and a currency; just like many commodities that have served a similar purpose in the course of history like diamonds, gold, and salt.

How was Bitcoin Created?

Bitcoins are created through a painstaking process called mining. This is done with is the use of specialized computers to solve a complex computational problem; so as to process and record all bitcoins or transactions. When done successfully, bitcoins are awarded to the computer which is for the owner to keep. The mathematical process becomes more complex to unravel as the days go by.

Why was Bitcoin Created?

Like many other things in life, bitcoin has a reason for its emergence. It was not just stumbled upon by a group of people who thought “hey, we could make a nice form of currency”. The emergence of bitcoin was purposeful and well thought of. According to the crypto experts, Santoshi Nakamoto (anonymous pseudonym), had the following goals:

  • Remove third-party intermediaries that are needed for conducting online monetary transactions. The cost of these services requires lots of money which is then passed on to the end-users.
  • Eliminate the financial limitation of transferring money online. There are certain limitations on the amount of money a person can transfer per day. With bitcoin, such limitations are eliminated.
  • Create a decentralized monetary system whereby money is sent from peer to peer without any regulatory third-party. Since bitcoin is not owned by anyone, it is controlled by all bitcoin users in the world, this goal was achieved.

How is Bitcoin Different from Fiat Currencies?

Bitcoin as we have discussed earlier is a decentralized peer to peer monetary system. This makes it stand out from the traditional paper currency. Other ways in which bitcoin is different include:

  • Bitcoin is not regulated by a central government financial institution like the central bank or other banks for that matter.
  • Bitcoin’s transfer process is easier, faster and does not incur charges which are placed on end-users.
  • Bitcoin doesn’t flow through the banking system but from one company to another.
  • Bitcoin’s decentralization makes it widely accepted throughout the globe.
  • Bitcoin’s anonymous users can transfer and receive bitcoin without personal information required.

How Does Bitcoin Work?

Since bitcoin is not managed by a regulatory system but by people who process transactions called miners. The next question that originally comes to mind is ‘how does it work?’. All bitcoin transactions are recorded in a public log called blockchain (a list of blocks that are fused using cryptography which is a method for solving codes

Bitcoin miners ensure that all bitcoin transactions are legit and documented by cataloging all bitcoin transactions within a time frame into a block and fused with a sophisticated cryptography. This process makes it impossible for an owner to send the same bitcoin twice

How to Get Bitcoins?

You can get bitcoins through the following ways:

  • Buying Bitcoin with real cash
  • Receiving Bitcoin as a means of payment
  • Finding Bitcoin through the process of bitcoin mining

Crypto Markets: Security and Privacy

Bitcoins are to some extent relatively secure as it will be almost impossible for someone to steal your bitcoins by faking your identity. This is because when you create your bitcoin wallet, you are given two keys, a public key, and a private key.

Public keys are used for transactions, especially when bitcoins are being transferred to you. Private keys are a set of numbers that must be closely guarded, this is because it is your identity. Without these set of numbers, it will be impossible to get access to one’s bitcoins. However, in the circumstance when your private keys come into the knowledge another, your bitcoins can be stolen. Also in technical sense, your identity cannot be faked, because your personal information is not a requirement to complete a bitcoin transaction.

Conclusion

Bitcoins are rapidly becoming a global currency accepted in various countries around the world. It has made monetary transaction easier and still has more prospects in the future.

Crypto, Financial Technology, Fintech

Financial Technology: The Future of Cryptocurrency

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With the advent of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, cryptocurrency is gradually becoming “the new cash”. Many transactions are now being made easy, hassle-free, and cost-effective. As they gradually penetrate the global economic system many are concerned about its future.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a digital (virtual) currency that is encrypted through a complex method called cryptography, which serves as its security. Hence it is difficult for it to be duplicated or counterfeited. Cryptocurrencies are not regulated by financial authorities such as The Central Bank. It is rather a decentralized monetary system, whose control and regulation is effected through blockchain technology.

Due to its decentralized system, cryptocurrencies are immune to the influences and manipulation of government (they cannot control its circulation and production). Bitcoin emerged as the first known blockchain cryptocurrency, gaining fame globally. With time, however, others emerged some of which are Ethereum (ETH), Dash (DASH), Z-cash (ZEC), Litecoin (LTC) among others.

Cryptocurrency History

Although cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins appeared recently, the idea of cryptocurrencies very certainly not a recent one. Various cryptocurrencies such as Electronic Cash and B- money were developed, but they had a major obstacle which impeded their progress, this is singular issue was; how to avoid the double-spending problem i.e. the using of a cryptocurrency twice. There was a need to prevent it from being duplicated and counterfeited.

In the early 2000’s, however, the first breakthrough seemed to have occurred with regards to this problem, because the first popular decentralized currency surfaced. The breakthrough came by way of the very popular Bitcoin, in precisely the year 2009, packing features which resolved the prior issues former cryptocurrencies faced. Bitcoin has a very secure system known as the blockchain technology which prevents it from being duplicated or used twice. The emergence of other cryptocurrencies hereafter followed one of which is the Litecoin(LTC) which was released in the year 2011.

What Does the Future Hold for Cryptocurrencies?

The decentralized and encrypted nature of cryptocurrency has made a rapidly growing and very recognized means of payment globally. However, one basic feature of the cryptocurrency, its finite supply, has caused a growing concern among many about its future. Many express optimism about its future prospects while others are pessimistic about it. Many counties such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australian have accepted the use of the cryptocurrency, many are hopeful to the possibility of the currency gaining acceptance and usage in more countries of the world.

Popular Optimistic Predictions

A number of predictions have been made with regards to the future of the cryptocurrency some gaining popularity.

Lori Beer, J.P. Morgan Chase CIO 

Blockchain will replace the existing technology.

Kim Dotcom – Advises his fans to buy cryptocurrency:

Dollars are gradually becoming worthless.

Jeff Sprecher, CEO of NYSE (world’s largest stock exchange):

Cryptocurrency is the first worldwide currency.  

Pessimistic Statements

Other than the positive prospects cryptocurrency has for the future, people are still skeptical about it. A notable expression of pessimism was relayed through the person of Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum (the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency):

The Blockchain industry is about to hit the ceiling, there is no room for growth.

The Future of Cryptocurrency Looks Bright

Global Usage:

The traditional means of payment, i.e. paper currency, though still largely used by people all over the world, there is a prevalent belief that people will switch over to the cryptocurrency in the future, especially businesses, because with this they can evade middlemen costs from various businesses. This, in turn, will make services cheaper for end users. All these they believe will happen whether people are aware of it or not.

Government Agencies:

In the future, with the availability and security of the blockchain, the government will adopt cryptocurrencies for the management of their states, because, in the future, cryptocurrency will manage the cash flow in the country.

Exchange Trading:

More currencies are emerging and in the future more will still come and their prices will rise. Many would start trading in different cryptocurrencies.

When the prices of other cryptocurrencies like Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Stellar rise, they will have massive influence in cryptocurrency exchange and crypto world.

Financial Industry / Banking:

Since the cryptocurrency is rapidly growing and making business transactions, banking and other financial industries may experience hindrances in their operations, hence to avoid this, bank will have to accept cryptocurrencies to stay relevant and when this happens, cryptocurrency currency bank accounts will be available and people can open them instead of computer wallets.

Cryptocurrencies would gain wide usage such that debit cards would be made available to facilitate transactions. Generally, this optimistic believe that in the future, cryptocurrency will replace fiat currency and the world evolve to a point of cashless transactions.

What’s Happening Now?

Though many predictions have been made some engendering hope and others while professing the arrival of subsequent doomsday, we have to observe the happening around us with regards to the cryptocurrencies.

Many industries are presently adopting and promoting the usage of cryptocurrencies, some of which are:

  • IBM, Barclay, CLS partnered to form ledger connect to launch blockchain apps for usage in banks.
  • Iran announced to make crypto mining industry.
  • Cyclean, a blockchain company based in Singapore, is launching blockchain-enabled electric vehicles that will mine crypto as people travel.
  • New York medical school founded and launched a research center focused on how to apply blockchain in healthcare.
  • Kaliningrad, Russia, now offers cryptocurrency as a means of hostel room payment.
  • Major Cineplex, a big movie theatre in Thailand, is integrating payment in crypto, to allow customers to pay with cryptocurrencies.

Conclusion

Although pessimists have given their takes, we can see from the predictions and cases that cryptocurrencies definitely have a bright future ahead of it. With the rapid and constant growth of the blockchain industry (the engine of the cryptocurrency), trends suggest that cryptocurrency will be the new money of the future. That future is gradually coming to play as more and more people and businesses are now subscribing to cryptocurrency for their everyday transactions.

Competitive Technology, Neural Networks

Growing Fields of Man-Made Brainpower: How Neural Networks Work

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Neural Networks as ‘Artificial’ Brain

Human brain capacities can be imitated by neural networks and can portray a registering procedure. According to Andy Chun from City College of Hong Kong’s Bureau of Software engineering, with the use of neural networks, we can try to mimic how nature works when it comes to learning the process of several things.

Chun added that neural systems show how data is passed in the middle of the neurons to “acquire knowledge and learn new things”. The human brain is for the most part comprised of neurons, which are associated with by inward wiring called ‘neurotransmitters’.

The Essence of Neural Networks

Chun added that there are neural networks’ researches about speech recognition and generation, recognizing faces and images. Neural systems are superior to most AI technology at taking care of issues that are “perceptual in nature”, like talking and seeing. Chun believes that neural systems exceed expectations at perceiving designs.

In any case, as neural systems learn individually, engineers need to simply compose a small amount of possibly long line of codes because it is given that it would take “a huge number of lines” of code to program more smart AI frameworks. Profound learning requires a gigantic measure of figuring power, with quicker processors and more mind-boggling neural structures. All things considered, profound learning is behind Tesla’s self-driving autos, which show themselves by watching film of human drivers from everywhere throughout the world, Chun says.

What’s more, AlphaGo, the AI technology program that as of late beat the best on the planet of the Go tabletop game, took in its moves “from observing all diversions at any point played by people on the web”, according to Chun.

Neural Networks’ Influence on the government

Later on, Chun predicts that administrations will have the capacity to learn distinctive things considerably more precisely about its citizens in living, work, and wellbeing propensities and in transportation needs. Furthermore, he added that forecast will be a key advantage from this profound learning.
Specifically, he distinguishes medical advantages like analyzing and learning wellbeing examples of people and be ready to perhaps offer projects to keep nationals from becoming ill in any case.

Chun further added that the greatest obstacles are security policies and regulations. When you have a self-sufficient AI, at that point governments need to make sense of how to appoint duty, if a defective self-driving auto gets into a crash, for instance. In any case, it is critical to take note of that as governments utilize resident information to learn and remove learning.

Developments in the use of Neural Networks

Assets to urge new businesses to concentrate on profound learning are given in Hong Kong, according to Chun. Additionally, Singapore’s Administration Innovation Organization has recognized profound learning as a key concentration for 2017.

In the interim, in China, engineers of Baidu search engine had built a chatbot to help specialists in noting patients’ inquiries and proposing treatment choices. Also, a group from Northeastern College in China has lately built up a neural system that can recognize the area of flawed flags in microgrids, which are littler lattices that are associated with the fundamental power framework yet, can work without it. In conclusion, neural networks could in future ‘spare’ the world in an unexpected way while tackling issues that influence every one of our lives such security and the possible impact of technology.

Competitive Technology, Security Systems

Upgrading Organizations’ Security System through Neural Networks

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For the past decades, there are a number of researches on how to enhance the current technology and methods to defend systems from intrusions. Today, businesses and other organizations utilize ‘anomaly detection’ and misuse or ‘signature-based detection’ to find malicious network activities and identify if these are known or new security threats. Unfortunately, these methods are still subject to progress.

When it comes to cyber security, computer network protection is crucial. This is even compulsory for companies that need to protect their employees’ and clients’ sensitive information. One breach of a company’s data security would destroy its entire structure and reputation.

Security Measures are Important to Every Organization

To ensure the contribution of clients in keeping the classification, morality, and accessibility of all data assets against leakages, an association’s first guard was created which characterized with all-around procedure and administration of frameworks. Security mindfulness training is design for staff to keep vital information that protects a computer from leakages and malware, reduces the dangers against system hacks, and against other emerging threats.

Information Technology (IT) rules and methods can help guard an organization against assaults for the users to be aware, however, when a malicious interruption is attempted, technology is the thing that protects the systems to ensure IT resources. With regards to information security, conventional protection procedures ought to be in layers: firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) can be utilized.

Dealing with inconsistency and error can work effectively in a possible way, even without the need of human communication/supervision in the procedure demonstrates by in different studies and new improvements in the field of IDPS (Intrusion Detection and Prevention System).

How Do Neural Networks Work?

A neural network method can adjust to specific imperatives, learn framework attributes, perceive examples and contrast late client activities with the standard conduct; this permits settling many issues even without human mediation. Some contextual investigations stress that the utilization of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) can set up general examples and recognize assault qualities in circumstances where rules are not known. The innovation guarantees to recognize abuse and enhance the acknowledgment of malevolent occasions with more consistency. A neural network can identify any cases of possible abuse, enabling framework overseers to ensure their whole association through advanced protection against dangers.

Developments on IDS and IPS Applications

IT experts have come to depend more on recognition and aversion advances to secure accessibility of business-basic data assets and to defend information secrecy and respectability by computer interruptions, ending up more typical and a developing test to beat.

Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can be delegated: Host-based or System based on the previous checking singular machines’ logs and the last breaking down the substance of system parcels; On the web or Disconnected, fit for hailing a risk progressively or sometime later to caution of an issue; Abuse based or Peculiarity based, either particularly checking a deviation from a standard conduct or contrasting exercises and ordinary, known aggressors’ conduct.

While IDS is outlined to detect attacks and ready people to any noxious occasions to research, an IPS is utilized to prevent malicious acts or square suspicious activity on the system. There are four distinct sorts of IPS:

1. Arrange based interruption counteractive action framework (NIPS) that takes a gander at the convention action to spot suspicious activity

2. Remote interruption anticipation framework (WIPS) that examines remote systems administration conventions and is so imperative in the BYOD and versatile driven world

3. Organize conduct examination (NBA) that can spot assaults that make irregular movement, for example, disseminated foreswearing of administration (DDoS) assaults, and it can utilize inconsistency based recognition and stateful convention investigation

4. Host-based interruption aversion framework (HIPS) that can be introduced on single machines and can utilize signature-based and peculiarity based strategies to distinguish issues.