Lifeboat Foundation

(Originally posted March 7, 2019, on the Crowdfunding Professional Association’s website.)

The purpose of this memo is two-fold:

• To highlight the possibility of risks to banking and finance sectors arising from new financial instruments based on blockchain technology; primarily from novel financial accounting methods and products called “stablecoins,” digital tokens, and cryptocurrencies.
• To encourage regulators and policymakers to engage blockchain thought leaders, product developers and the community in general to better understand the economic and policy implications of public, private and permissioned blockchains; their application to banking and finance regulations; and how innovation may be encouraged in a safe, sound and responsible manner.

Like any technology, blockchain can and may be used to improve a variety of operational, identity, security and technology challenges that the future of digital banking, business and society face. Blockchain technology is also poised to create new and increasingly clever methods and economies for value, commodities, assets, securities and a slew of yet-to-be discovered financial instruments and products. However, no leap in technology and finance is ever made without risk. As policymakers and stewards of the current and future digital economy and ecosystem, we have an obligation to our constituents and the global banking and finance community to guide the growth and adoption of emerging fintech technology in a safe and sound manner.

To that end, three areas that have the potential for regulatory and compliance issues as companies such as JP Morgan Chase, embrace and develop blockchain technologies to leverage digital tokens, cryptocurrencies and novel accounting systems such as the so called “JPMCoin,” are highlighted:

Continue reading “Acknowledging Risks in Institutional ‘Stablecoin’ Cryptocurrencies and Fractional Reserve Banking” »

We’ve always wanted to live forever. But in 2019, the pursuit of immortality is big business, and Silicon Valley is at its epicenter. While the new, high-tech war on death is being led by the elite, it could wind up having big consequences for everyone else.

Inside Silicon Valley’s war on death.

NUI Galway will lead a new €13 million SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science. The new Centre will train a generation of 100 highly skilled PhD graduates to harness the collective potential of genomics and data science to have transformative scientific, economic and societal impacts.

Announced recently by Minister Heather Humphreys TD Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, and Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD and Science Foundation Ireland, the Centre will be led by NUI Galway and will involve partners from UCD, TCD, RCSI and UCC.

A genome is an organisms complete set of DNA or genetic material and it contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism. Genomics is the branch of science that studies genomes to see how they direct the growth and function of cells and organisms and it is a key area of fundamental science with real-world impacts in areas from human health to agriculture and food production. In recent years the field of genomics has undergone a revolution, driven by new technologies that generate data on an enormous scale. In order to make sense of the large and complex datasets arising from analysis of genomes, we require highly trained data scientists, who can turn this data into useful information that can increase scientific understanding and enable us to harness the power of genomics to drive innovation and create real-world solutions.

Continue reading “NUI Galway to Lead €13 Million SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science” »

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be hosting the Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in the heart of Southern California’s Commercial Space hub. Startups are invited to apply now!

Berlin is becoming a “Sponge City” designed to tackle two issues — heat and flooding — by imitating nature.

Video by Gloria Kurnik

Continue reading “Berlin is Becoming a Sponge City” »

The Urban Farmer is a comprehensive, hands-on, practical manual to help you learn the techniques and business strategies you need to make a good living growing high-yield, high-value crops right in your own backyard (or someone else’s).

Software engineer Zhang Yiming started out producing apps for sharing jokes before focusing on news aggregation. That pivot proved lucrative.

The 35-year-old founder of Bytedance Ltd. is worth about $13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him China’s 9th-richest person and one of the fastest in modern times to amass a mega-fortune. The business, founded in 2012, has more than 1 billion active monthly users across eight mobile apps, including a news aggregator powered by artificial intelligence and a video-sharing platform.

In this week’s Mr Futurist Podcast, I will discuss, Is a Universal Basic Income (UBI) a good idea for the US?

Why the Southern United States is headed for a deep economic crash? What US industries will be the most impacted by business automation? Why will automation affect white collar jobs first? Is the US Becoming a Third World Country? How would a Universal Basic Income (UBI) impact large US companies? Illiteracy in the US. Could we have a Great Technological World-Wide Depression? All this and more in this podcast!

Mr Futurist Podcast – Should We Have a Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the US? Get my weekly podcast/article on business automation, AI and advancing technology and how it can and will affect your company, your job and career. The Right Knowledge is a Powerful thing! This weeks podcast transcript: This week’s article will be on the dark side. I promise by the end, I will flip this around and offer solutions, and make what appears to be something gloom and doom, have a possible happy ending. Having studied artificial intelligence and business automation for the last couple of years. I believe the unemployment numbersRead More →

Continue reading “Should We Have a Universal Basic Income UBI in the US?” »