Techonomics — IBM’s Weekly Newsletter
March 23rd, 2018
Market Activity and Trends
American Citizen Sues for Access to Personal Digital Data|BBC|March 22, 2018|
American Professor David Carroll filed a lawsuit against the data science political consulting firm Cambdridge Analytica (CA). He is trying to receive the data points and profile the company stole from Facebook. He had requested access earlier but was given what he believes to be an incomplete dataset as CA stated they had 4 to 5 thousand data points for each user.
CA took advantage of Facebook’s data breach exposing over 50 million users. It accessed the data through a quiz it had built but took advantage of a mistake in the code to access additional data illegally. Facebook has since banned the company but is struggling to recover its public perception. Facebook stock is only down 1.14%.
Instagram Responds to Public Opinion|Tech Crunch|March 22, 2018|
Yesterday, Instagram announced they will alter the algorithm that dictates the user picture feed. In the future, the popular social media platform will have a more chronological feed. This is different than in the past 18 months where the algorithm heavily prioritized posts from friends — meaning an Instagram feed might have a week old picture when opened. This upset users who were used to a purely chronological feed.
The response to public opinion is pivotal in the current climate for social media companies. Rival Snapchat faced a similar problem where users were dissatisfied with a change. Snapchat, however, has not changed and is losing users everyday. It is to be seen if they will follow Instagram’s example.
Amazon Delivery Drones Might Be Cognitive|Tech Radar|March 22, 2018|
Amazon filed a patent today for drone technology that recognizes human gestures, faces, and emotions. It is speculated this could be implemented with their drone delivery service, allowing drones to recognize the person they’re delivering to.
There are endless, exciting possibilities to what this patent could create. Drones can recognize motions instructing it where to go. The drone could recognize when a small child is scared of it and back away from the child. This technology would also ensure through facial recognition that the delivery goes to the right person.
Yahoo Japan To Build Cryptocurrency Exchange Platform|Coin desk|March 23, 2018|
Yahoo Japan announced it is purchasing a 40% stake in BitARG Exchange Tokyo, a government endorsed crypto currency platform. The 40% stake will cost Yahoo Japan around 19 million dollars. Yahoo Japan is using a subsidiary to purchase the shares and then use the technology to create a new platform.
In a time when financial watchdogs are monitoring the crypto market closely and certain governments are condemning it, this purchase is critical. It’s an example of an established company branching out to create a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
Over $1 Billion invested in Startups Outside of California by Revolution Fund|Tech Crunch|March 22, 2018|
A new robot might disrupt the construction industry. The Spatial Timber Assemblies DFAB House Project, a multi-institutional collaboration, announced the successful creation of a robot that can partially automate the process of housing design and framing. The robot creates a frame for a new house can be created without human intervention, reinforcement plates, or scaffolding.
The robot is run by a software that, with a human, creates the blueprint. Any changes to the blueprint are automatically known by the robot, creating clear directions and decreasing the chance of mistakes.
