Voltec Tech Talk
by John Hughson, Sherbaz Hashmi
A podcast wherein upcoming and interesting technology trends and developments are discussed.
Visit our website at https://www.voltec.io/ to check out our other content.
Podcast episodes
Season 1
Crypto Craze
This episode is regarding the recent news and developments surrounding various cryptocurrencies, as well as crypto features which should be of interest to those engaged in De-Fi (decentralized finance)We also discuss recent news regarding the social media platform Parler.https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/xrp-finds-strong-support-in-japan-amid-cryptocurrency-delisting/Forbes: As Bitcoin Surges 15%, Here's What Wall Street's Saying About The Cryptocurrency's Meteoric Resurgencehttps://cointelegraph.com/news/why-institutions-suddenly-give-a-damn-about-bitcoinhttps://www.9news.com.au/technology/us-man-has-just-2-password-attempts-left-or-will-lose-300-million-bitcoin-fortune/fa9c5c1b-23bc-4107-a6f1-a3e288747027https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2021/12/29/the-chinese-mining-centralization-of-bitcoin-and-ethereum/?sh=548d913c2f66
Location Tracking: Is privacy a thing of the past?
This episode is about some of the ways in which big Tech are overreaching and inviting themselves into your mobile devices, learning about who you are, (as a potential consumer) knowing what you are doing, or perhaps scariest, where you are.Referenced information is as follows:https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/11/22169905/google-apple-removing-location-tracking-data-sale-government-advertisershttps://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/13/mobile-location-data-and-covid-19-qahttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/nov/26/microsoft-productivity-score-feature-criticised-workplace-surveillancehttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/dec/02/microsoft-apologises-productivity-score-critics-derided-workplace-surveillancehttps://www.wired.com/story/google-fitbit-project-nightingale-antitrust/https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/3/21312383/google-fibit-acquisition-antitrust-data-regulatory-eu-scrutinyhttps://www.wired.com/story/the-best-privacy-app-alternatives/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2020/10/27/heres-how-2020-created-a-tipping-point-in-trust-and-digital-privacy/?sh=5a7fd9ff4fc5https://cointelegraph.com/news/ciphertrace-develops-monero-tracing-tool-to-aid-us-dhs-investigations
Commercial Misdirection in Tech: When are we being lied to?
This episode pertains to various instances of misdirection on the behalf of companies such as Apple and Samsung over the years, the ramifications for such behaviors, and whether this may be a changing phenomenon.Referenced items include:-https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/30/italy-fines-apple-12m-iphone-water-resistance/?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4&fbclid=IwAR0vwu6yF9VHG9VWMzcUoLkvLMmO-F9jnuEyjqCMA3hPx3ep6MTrmC7cuC4-https://www.channelnews.com.au/apple-sued-for-misleading-notch-advertising/?fbclid=IwAR1vmPuiju1RFMlOlFhPlgro_iCsCPcHK7bzw3HsPajg3x-bQPt1zYsZIIs-https://www.businessinsider.com/false-advertising-scandals-2016-3?r=AU&IR=T&fbclid=IwAR2LoHet7AOrLWTE9pHl66mmXobon1vWB-6MdnxItCWTh3wW6S1YENjcunA-https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/07/12/samsung-australia-sued-consumer-watchdog-misleading-advertising-https://www.smh.com.au/technology/accc-takes-google-to-court-for-misleading-consumers-on-targeted-ads-20200727-p55fra.html-https://theconversation.com/the-accc-is-suing-google-for-misleading-millions-but-calling-it-out-is-easier-than-fixing-it-143447
The Present State of AI
A broad discussion with no lack of segues, surrounding the state of AI technology in our time as well as how we see it continue to unfold.Resources discussed in the video:Multimodal Sarcasm Detection: (https://venturebeat.com/2020/11/18/ai-researchers-made-a-sarcasm-detection-model-and-itse-soo-impressive/?fbclid=IwAR0itpBdF3f-EWNfU__8zRdYYewXwidWBmpyEcJkPqEmvd4daHMb0KJqxes)The 2020s will be about major advances in language-based AI tasks: (https://hbr.org/2020/09/the-next-big-breakthrough-in-ai-will-be-around-language)GPT-3 BBC article: (https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53530454)GPT-3 Patient Chatbot tests: (https://artificialintelligence-news.com/2020/10/28/medical-chatbot-openai-gpt3-patient-kill-themselves/)IBM's AI Alzheimer's tests: (https://artificialintelligence-news.com/2020/10/23/ibm-ai-predicts-alzheimers-better-standard-tests/)New light-powered AI chip: (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201118080758.htm)Intuitive AI design TED talk: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR5N2Jl8k14&ab_channel=TED)SCI-FI (but not really) Dron TED talk: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughterbotshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM&ab_channel=CSConsulting)OpenAI Projects (Check these out for an awesome understanding of how AI is being used in wide ranging activities, particularly Multi-Agent Interaction): (https://openai.com/projects/)Chaser the genius Border-Collie: (https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/remembering-chaser-the-smartest-dog-in-the-world/)
Censorship: Now, and Throughout the Ages
CensorshipThis week we take a historical tour of past empires' censorship of discussion, and consider the learnings we can take away from them, whilst contemplating the best way forward in terms of censoring internet-based discussion.Resources referenced:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/instagram-negative-comments-hidden/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBDFowUx668&ab_channel=BigThinkhttps://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/empire-of-illusions-film-censorship-eugenics-and-aboriginal-specthttp://forgetoday.com/2020/03/24/social-media-censorship-a-safety-measure-or-a-threat-to-free-speech/https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/15/21518097/fcc-social-media-censorship-moderation-ajit-pai-section-230-nypost-biden