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HR Tech Digi Tech

The technological and digital evolution of a remote business 

Written by Kiran Bhatia Tandon on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

As the world becomes more connected and technology continues to advance, remote work has become increasingly popular among businesses. 

The demand for digital and technological tools has increased more than ever as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many businesses to move to remote work. 

A remote company’s digital and technological journey can be both exciting and difficult. Companies have had to modify their strategies and tools to meet the demands of a distributed workforce as a result of technological advancements and the rise of remote work. 

The need for constant adaptation to new technologies and tools was one of the biggest obstacles the company faced on its digital and tech journey. They recognized that technology is constantly evolving, and they needed to be agile and adaptable in order to stay ahead of the curve. 

This meant investing in ongoing training and development for their employees to ensure that they had the skills and knowledge needed to work with the latest tools and technologies.

Here are some common strategies adopted by companies to manage a distributed workforce:

1. Use of collaboration tools

One of the most difficult aspects of managing a distributed workforce is ensuring effective communication and collaboration among team members who may work in different locations and time zones. 

To get around this problem, companies used a variety of strategies and tools to improve communication and collaboration, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack for video conferencing, instant messaging, and project management. 

2. Regular check-ins

Regular check-ins with remote employees can help to ensure that they are on track and that any issues are addressed in a timely manner. These can be done with the use of collaboration tools

3. Clearly defined goals and expectations

Clear goals and expectations can help remote employees stay focused and productive. These goals should be measurable and communicated effectively.  These can be defined using technology in a variety of ways. Here are a few examples: 

  • Project management software: Project management software, such as Asana or Trello, clickup can be used to create tasks and assign them to team members. This allows for clear expectations and deadlines to be set, and progress to be tracked in real-time.

  • Performance tracking tools: Performance tracking tools, such as OKRs or KPIs, can be used to set measurable goals and track progress towards achieving them. This provides a clear framework for employees to work toward specific outcomes.

  • Communication tools: As stated above, tools, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, can be used to facilitate regular check-ins and goal-setting conversations between managers and team members. This helps to ensure that goals and expectations are clearly understood and can be adjusted as needed.

  • Learning management systems: Learning management systems, such as Udemy or Coursera for Business, can be used to provide employees with training and development opportunities that align with organizational goals and expectations.

4. Flexible work schedules

Companies can offer flexible work schedules to their remote employees to help them balance their work and personal lives.

5. Performance-based assessments

Performance-based assessments can help managers evaluate the productivity of remote employees and provide feedback to help them improve.

6. Regular team meetings

Regular team meetings can help remote employees feel connected to their team and can improve communication and collaboration.

7. Virtual team-building activities:

Virtual team-building activities such as online games and virtual happy hours using collaboration tools can help build a sense of camaraderie and boost morale among remote employees.

8. Training and development

Companies can provide training and development opportunities to help remote employees improve their skills and stay up-to-date with industry trends.

In addition to the above, companies had created well-defined policies and guidelines for remote work and provided employees with the necessary support and resources to ensure that they remained productive and engaged while working remotely.

Cybersecurity has become a top concern for remote companies, as remote workers often use their personal devices to access company data. To address this challenge, remote companies have had to implement robust cybersecurity measures, such as two-factor authentication, encryption, and virtual private networks (VPNs).

Companies need to be flexible and adaptable in their approach to managing a distributed workforce, and they should be willing to experiment with different strategies and tools to find what works best for their organization.

Overall, the company’s digital and tech journey is a critical part of their success as a remote company. By embracing technology and using it to their advantage, they will be able to overcome the challenges of remote work and build a thriving remote workplace that could compete with traditional brick-and-mortar companies. Their journey is a testament to the power of technology to transform businesses and create new opportunities for growth and success.

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Categories
Food Tech

Customizable Fat” – The missing ingredient in accelerating the shift to plant protein”

Written by : Satnam Singh and Rishika Batra on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

The introduction of meat analogues in diet has been well prevalent since the 1960s mainly in the form of soy being the main substitute. However, since the past decade meat analogues have started to gain popularity and have become more mainstream. Past couple of years there has been a substantial increase in research and development in the alternative protein space. Taking into consideration climate change and decrease in lifespan of human beings, there has been an increase in awareness with respect to adopting diets which are healthier and more sustainable.

However, despite the potential benefits, consumer acceptance of these diets remains low, primarily due to the low sensory properties of meat analogues. Nevertheless, the development of meat analogue involves heavy reliance on artificial flavors to get a similar taste as that of traditional meat. Hence, making it difficult to get a clean label.

Using the right fat can improve the sensory properties of meat alternatives. The existing fats such as sunflower oil, canola oil and coconut oil have certain drawbacks. Sunflower oil and canola oil fail completely to provide animal fat like properties. Coconut oil remains one of the most commonly used fats. However, it has several setbacks such as low melting point, aftertaste, high saturated fat content and over-reliance on one type of plant oil with projections suggesting that 16% of the global supply chain may depend on it by 2030 (Good Food Institute).

Addressing these issues necessitates the development of innovative and eco-friendly alternatives for use in alternative meat products and beyond. It is also important to improve sensory characteristics like taste, texture, mouthfeel and appearance of plant based meat as compared to that of existing traditional meat.

To tackle this concern some of the recent developments in this sector include precision fermented fat and cultivated fat. Even though these approaches remain promising and have great potential with respect to producing fat with the composition similar to animal fat but there remain certain challenges such as high cost, scale up  and product recovery in today’s date.

Hence, there remains a gap in the market with respect to providing affordable, nutritious, tasty and sustainable alternative fat.

Fattastic Technologies, a Singapore-based company has developed an Oil Structuring Technology which has the potential to provide a better, healthier, and quality fat alternative. Their technology can turn any plant-based oil into a solid with animal-fat-like characteristics, without hydrogenation. The technology is not only cost effective but also scalable in the long run.

Fig 1: Fattastic Technology: Ability to convert plant based liquid oil to solid fat with animal fat like characteristics.

In addition, Fattastic Technologies can produce fat with customisable melting temperature and texture and can encapsulate both hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive molecules, hence enhancing the flavor, aroma, and nutritional properties of the product. As a result, Fattastic Fat’s technology can enrich the flavor of alternative protein products, increasing their appeal to consumers and accelerating their adoption in the market.

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AI Tech

AI, Bias and Society

Written by Aman Bandvi on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the way we live, work, and interact with each other. As AI becomes more pervasive, it has the potential to influence collective thoughts and actions, shaping the future of our society. However, as with any technology, AI is not immune to bias. Biases in AI systems can skew insights and form a base for ill-conceived actions, ultimately impacting our society in negative ways.

According to Cathy O’Neil, mathematician and author of “Weapons of Math Destruction,” “Algorithms are opinions embedded in code.” This means that the way AI systems are developed and the data they are trained on can reflect the biases and assumptions of their creators. As a result, AI systems can perpetuate biases and discrimination, often unintentionally.

As AI systems become more pervasive, they can reinforce existing biases and stereotypes, leading to a self-perpetuating cycle. Joy Buolamwini, computer scientist and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, notes that “We are coding the future and we have the opportunity to create a world that is fair, equitable, and just. But, if we don’t take proactive steps, AI has the potential to exacerbate and perpetuate inequalities.”

In society, biases in AI systems can result in discriminatory practices in areas such as employment, criminal justice, and healthcare. For example, AI algorithms used in hiring processes have been shown to discriminate against certain groups, such as women and people of color. Similarly, AI algorithms used in the criminal justice system have been shown to be biased against people of color, resulting in harsher sentences and wrongful convictions.

The concerns of biased AI systems are not just theoretical but are already impacting our society in real ways.

The increasing use of AI in decision-making processes, from hiring to loan approvals, means that biases in AI systems can have real-world consequences for individuals and communities.

AI bias can have a significant impact on sensitive societies in developing nations. In many cases, these societies may be vulnerable to discrimination and marginalization due to factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, or caste. If AI systems are not developed with sensitivity to these factors, they may perpetuate biases and reinforce existing inequalities. For example, in healthcare, biased AI systems may result in certain communities receiving inadequate or inferior care, leading to negative health outcomes. Similarly, in employment and education, biased AI systems may limit opportunities for certain groups, perpetuating cycles of poverty and marginalization. It’s important that AI developers and policymakers in developing nations prioritize ethical AI development and work to ensure that AI systems do not perpetuate discrimination or exacerbate existing inequalities.

It’s crucial that we take proactive steps to address AI bias. This includes auditing AI systems for potential biases, increasing diversity and representation in AI development teams, and creating transparency in AI systems. As Timnit Gebru, computer scientist and AI ethics researcher, notes, “If we want AI to be ethical, it has to be transparent, and it has to be accountable.”

As individuals, we can also play a role in promoting ethical AI development. By being discerning and alert, we can identify potential biases in AI systems and hold developers accountable. As Buolamwini notes, “We need to ask questions about the data and the algorithms that underpin AI systems, and we need to hold those who create these systems accountable for their impact.”

AI has the potential to be a transformative force for good in our society, but only if we take proactive steps to ensure that it is developed and used ethically. By removing biases, auditing AI systems, and being discerning and alert as individuals, we can help create a more equitable and just future. As Gebru notes, “AI is not neutral, it’s not unbiased. It’s the responsibility of those who create these systems to ensure that they are developed and used ethically.”

There are several steps that citizens can take to address AI bias during their online interactions. One of the most important steps is to be aware of the potential for bias in AI systems and to question the information presented to them. Citizens can also actively seek out diverse sources of information and engage with a variety of perspectives to avoid the echo chamber effect. Additionally, citizens can report instances of biased AI to relevant authorities or advocacy groups to raise awareness and promote change. Finally, citizens can advocate for greater transparency and accountability in AI development and use, pushing for ethical standards to be enforced to prevent biases and discrimination. By taking these steps, citizens can play an important role in promoting fairness and equity in AI systems and helping to build a more just and equitable society.

AI bias poses a significant challenge for societies worldwide, particularly in the developing world. Addressing these biases is a complex task that requires the involvement of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including policymakers, developers, and citizens. Only through collaborative efforts can we build AI systems that are ethical, unbiased, and truly serve the needs of all members of society.

Aman Bandvi

Co-founder Ais Possible

India Blockchain Alliance

Emerging Technology Council

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Categories
Web 3.0 Tech AI Tech

Collaboration and Web3

 

Written by Aman Bandvi on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

Helen Keller emphasizes the importance of collaboration in achieving great things. Collaboration has been an integral part of human society since the beginning of time. We collaborate to achieve a common goal, to learn from each other, and to make progress. In the digital age, collaboration has taken on a new meaning with the advent of Web3.

Web3 is the next evolution of the internet, where decentralization, transparency, and community-driven efforts are the norm. Web3 technologies, such as blockchain and smart contracts, have the potential to reshape how we collaborate and create value. In this article, we’ll explore how collaboration and Web3 are interconnected and how this synergy is shaping the future.

Decentralized Collaboration

One of the most significant benefits of Web3 is its decentralized nature. Traditional collaboration relies on centralized entities to facilitate communication, project management, and decision-making. However, Web3 offers a new paradigm where collaboration can happen in a decentralized manner, without the need for intermediaries.

For example, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are emerging as a new form of collaboration. DAOs are decentralized entities that operate on the blockchain, where members can propose, vote, and execute decisions. DAOs are self-governed, transparent, and open to anyone who wants to join. This new form of collaboration enables community driven efforts that are not possible in traditional organizations.

Trust and Transparency

Another benefit of Web3 is trust and  transparency. Collaboration often requires trust among members, which can be challenging to establish in traditional settings. However, Web3 technologies enable trust through cryptography, consensus mechanisms, and smart contracts.

For example, smart contracts are self-executing contracts that are programmed to execute automatically when specific conditions are met. Smart contracts eliminate the need for intermediaries and provide transparency and trust between parties. This level of trust and transparency can enable more efficient and effective collaboration.

Value Creation

Collaboration and Web3 can create new forms of value. In Web3, value can be created through decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. dApps enable collaboration between developers, users, and other stakeholders to create new services and products. DeFi protocols enable collaboration between different financial services and create new financial products that are accessible to anyone.

Web3 also enables new forms of incentivization through tokens and cryptocurrencies. These tokens can be used to incentivize collaboration and reward contributors for their efforts. This Aman Bandvi, v1 March 2023 new form of value creation can create more inclusive and equitable collaboration where everyone can participate and benefit.

Case: Collaboration, Web3 and impact on the last-mile

Collaboration and Web3 have the potential to create a significant impact on the last mile and offer value to government stakeholders. Web3’s decentralized nature, transparency, and community-driven efforts can provide an efficient and effective way to collaborate and create value for the last mile.

The last mile is the final leg of the supply chain that delivers goods and services to consumers in remote or underdeveloped areas. Collaborative efforts can help bridge the gap and provide essential services to these areas. For example, DAOs can enable community-driven efforts that address local needs, such as water supply, healthcare, or education. These efforts can create new value for the last mile and improve the quality of life for people in these areas.

Government stakeholders can also benefit from Web3’s collaborative efforts. Web3 technologies can provide transparency, accountability, and trust in government operations. For example, smart contracts can automate government processes, eliminate corruption, and provide transparency in government procurement. Additionally, DeFi protocols can provide a more inclusive and accessible financial system that enables government stakeholders to access financial services and create new financial products that serve their constituents better.

Case: Web3, collaboration and education sector

“Collaboration allows teachers to capture each other’s fund of collective intelligence.” – Mike Schmoker

One example of how Web3 and collaboration have impacted education is the Open Learning Initiative (OLI) at Carnegie Mellon University. OLI is a Web3-based learning platform that leverages blockchain technology and smart contracts to create a more decentralized and community-driven approach to education. The platform enables students to learn at their own pace, with personalized learning paths that are tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

OLI uses Web3’s token economy to incentivize collaboration and participation. Students are rewarded with tokens for their contributions to the platform, such as completing exercises or providing feedback on course content. These tokens can be exchanged for rewards such as access to premium content or discounts on future courses.

OLI also leverages Web3’s decentralized governance model to give students a say in the direction of the platform. The platform is governed by a DAO that is owned and controlled by its members, giving students a voice in decision-making and ensuring that the platform is always evolving to meet their needs.

The impact of OLI has been significant, with students reporting higher levels of engagement and satisfaction with the platform compared to traditional learning methods. By leveraging Web3’s collaboration and decentralized governance models, OLI has created a more personalized and engaging learning experience that is tailored to the needs of individual learners. This has the potential to revolutionize the education sector by providing a more equitable, inclusive, and effective approach to learning that is accessible to all

Summary

Collaboration and Web3 are transforming how we work and create value. Web3’s decentralized nature, trust and transparency, and value creation potential enable new forms of collaboration that were not possible before. This new paradigm offers exciting opportunities for innovation and progress. As we continue to explore the potential of Web3, it’s clear that collaboration will be at the heart of its success.

Aman Bandvi

Co-founder Ais Possible

India Blockchain Alliance

Emerging Technology Council

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Categories
AI Tech Climate Tech

From Dirt to Dish: Rethinking Food Production and Consumption 🍽🔥

From Dirt to Dish: Rethinking Food Production and Consumption

Written by Marcus Parade on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞 have over 8 billion gorilla’s 🦍🦍 living on our planet – would you say we have an overpopulation of gorillas?

As I find overpopulation very visible on our planet, the question arises, how can we feed all our people more sustainable, if our population worldwide is estimated by the UNO to be around 10 billion by the year 2050?

𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝:

𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 dear 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 strolling through endless acres of golden cornfields stretching as far as the eye can see 🌽🌽

He said: “Oh Marcus, it feels so nice to be outside here in lovely nature?!”

I also love walking along golden cornfields and yet the fields feel to me only partly being in nature. Putting it baldly, we were also walking in simple production fields for farming products. We didn’t see animals nor insects.

🌲🌴 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 going on steadily since the last 10.000 years and an end is not in sight. The crazy race for more farmland, driven by climate change and an ever-growing population, is a ticking time bomb that is likely to trigger ecological collapse on a global scale.

1st. circle is from 10.000 years ago. 2nd. circle from 300 years ago. 3rd. circle from 5 years ago.

The question is, how do we feed all people, as further deforestation for more farmlands can in my opinion not be the solution.

In turn, around 1/3 of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted every year. Where does it all go?

It is lost during production or wasted at the consumer level. At the same time around 10 % of our world population are starving.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?

We can change our consumer behaviour, as the production such as for meat needs 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒 amounts of more energy, water, space as well as emissions into our atmosphere. AND, less than only 20% of our worldwide farmlands are used for the direct consumption by us humans.

A staggering 80% of our planet’s farmland is devoted to livestock feed, biofuels, and other non-food crops, leaving precious little for direct human consumption.

𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬.

New agricultural technologies can be game changers such as:

1.💦💧 More precise watering solutions directly reaching the roots

2. 🚜🛰 Better efficient machines with more precision farming

3. 🌱☣ Biotechnology with genetic modification of plants to protect them better and produce more. 𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 bacteria can be created producing nutrients like proteins.

4. 💡🎲 Use of AI (artificial intelligence):

AI-powered 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐬 🤖 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 your farm’s new best friends – they collect real-time data on crop yields, plant health, and soil moisture levels. It’s like having a personal assistant who knows everything about your plants.

Self-driving tractors 🚜 and drones can be equipped with 𝐀𝐈-𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 optimize crop planting, fertilizing, and harvesting. With their precision and efficiency, they can help reduce labour costs and increase productivity.

AI can be like the ultimate 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 🕵. It can analyse all data from the very beginning up to table to help optimize logistics and reduce waste. It’s like having a personal assistant who knows everything about your plants and how they travel to us.

When it comes to crop monitoring, AI has a 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞 👁👁 that even most farmers can’t beat.. AI peering deep into the heart 💚 of crops to detect even the slightest signs of disease or pests, empowering farmers to take proactive measures and safeguard their precious yields.

Around 70% of our freshwater is frozen, around 29% is groundwater and the rest is surface water. Source of chart: Netafim

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?

Improving the production of food on our planet Earth 🌏 is a complex issue that involves various stakeholders including farmers, governments, researchers, and consumers.

While overpopulation remains one of our main challenges is the production of our food a central challenges for our common future of our climate and us humans.

Let’s embrace our future and change for better sustainability and life. 💛🌹🌞

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Web 3.0 Tech

The evolution of NFT and Blockchain Use Cases

The evolution of NFT and Blockchain Use Cases

Written by Sallyann Della Casa on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

Nfts have advanced significantly since 2021, when we first learned about them. Most people now consider the functionality of NFTs in addition to the artwork when thinking about them.  

The following utility benefits provided by the still widely used Bored Apes to their customers are what has maintained their price so high:

    1. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) membership: Each Bored Ape NFT acts as a membership card for the BAYC, a group of NFT collectors who are all enthusiastic about the project. Members of the BAYC get special access to events, products, and other benefits.

    1. Commercial licensing: The Bored Ape NFT owners have the right to monetize their digital assets, which includes using the characters’ visuals to make and sell items and to provide licenses for their use in other projects.

    1. Members of the BAYC are eligible to vote on matters of governance that will have an impact on the project’s future. This implies that Bored Ape NFT owners can influence how the neighborhood develops and expands.

    1. Royalties: The owner of a Bored Ape NFT gets paid a portion of the sale price when the NFT is sold or exchanged on a secondary market. For the owners, this offers a steady stream of income.

    1. Social standing: Among NFT collectors, Bored Ape NFTs have come to represent rank and distinction. Each NFT’s rarity and distinctiveness can raise its value and desirability among collectors, elevating its social standing in the community.

How you describe NFTs matters greatly for those of you who are still unfamiliar with the NFT notion. An NFT is just code that connects anything to blockchain, such as Javascript or C++. You could conceivably save your documents to the blockchain with a “dot NFT” just like you would when saving them in Word or Excel. 

With that reasoning, the logical question is: Why use blockchain, and what money do you hope to save? 

Definition is crucial here once more. Blockchain is the ideal notebook. Once something is printed on a page, it cannot be changed or removed. 

Blockchain is now incredibly safe, unchangeable, and verifiable thanks to this. 

Now combine the two, and let’s talk about a few recent, highly intriguing use cases of Blockchain and NFT technology: 

Transforming the legal patent filing system

 In the field of protecting intellectual property (IP), IBM has explicitly filed patents relevant to patent filing on blockchain. These patents seek to improve the speed, security, and transparency of the patent application process using blockchain technology. Details are as follows:

    1. Streamlining the application process for patents: Inventors might submit their patent applications directly to the blockchain using IBM’s blockchain-based patent filing system, without the need for the usual intermediaries like patent attorneys and patent offices. This might speed up and reduce the cost of the application procedure.

    1. Increasing transparency: When a patent application is added to the blockchain, it becomes an unalterable record that is available to the public. Due to the complete transparency and ease of verification of the application’s history and its prosecution, this could assist in preventing conflicts and issues over the validity of patents.

    1. Increasing security: IBM’s blockchain-based patent filing system may offer more defense against the infringement and theft of intellectual property. In order to avoid illegal revisions and tampering, the system would be made to ensure that only authorized parties could access and amend the records of patent applications.

    1. Automating the administrative processes involved in managing patents, such as keeping track of licenses, renewals, and ownership, could likewise be done using IBM’s technology. For patent owners and inventors, this might save time and money.

The overall goal of IBM’s blockchain-based patent filing system is to improve the efficiency, security, and transparency of the patent application and administration process. It may lessen conflicts over patent ownership, safeguard intellectual property rights, and streamline the administrative tasks involved in administering patents.

Helping us reach net zero 

Imagine your refrigerator and washing machine conversing with one another about which one is turning on and off to ensure controlled energy use. How NFTs and blockchain can assist us in reaching net zero is as follows:

    • NFTs can be utilized to create distinctive digital assets that serve as verifiable carbon offsets. These offsets can be purchased and traded on marketplaces built on the blockchain, enabling businesses and people to offset their carbon emissions and support green initiatives. Utilizing NFTs can improve the market for carbon offsets’ transparency and traceability, ensuring that offset projects are authentic and that emissions reductions are properly recorded.

    • Financial sustainability: Blockchain-based systems can be used to establish digital tokens that reflect sustainable assets, such as green bonds, sustainable agriculture, or renewable energy projects. Investors can promote and fund sustainable projects by trading these tokens on exchanges built on the blockchain. This might quicken the shift to a low-carbon economy.

    • Transparency in the supply chain: Blockchain technology can offer traceability and transparency in supply chains, allowing businesses to monitor and confirm the sustainability of their goods and raw materials. This can verify that items fulfill sustainability requirements and help reduce their carbon footprint.

    • Energy management: Blockchain technology can be used to establish decentralized energy markets, enabling people and companies to conduct direct exchanges of renewable energy. This can hasten the transition to a low-carbon energy system and improve the efficiency and dependability of renewable energy systems.

The application of NFTs with blockchain technology can open up new possibilities for carbon accounting, offsetting, and trading, as well as boost supply chain transparency and traceability and support sustainable finance. 

The objective of producing net zero emissions and reducing the effects of climate change may be achieved with the help of these developments.

Preserving Human Identity 

Life before and after ChatGPT vividly defines the era in which we currently live. 

If you haven’t been paying attention, new artificial intelligence capabilities are being produced every day at breakneck speeds. And if you aren’t already, you need to start questioning human identity and the purpose of humanity right away. 

In a time of automation, how do we capture and maintain human individuality and ingenuity? 

Your degree or birth certificate do not define your human identity or cleverness. We’re referring to the distinctive ways you reason and behave, frequently utilizing human abilities like imagination, discretion, and initiative. 

A psychometric, static profile or resume cannot adequately capture this dynamic reality. NFTs can capture all of this in a very simple way, allowing us to control our information and also use it to signal, like SEO, those we want to pay attention to. 

It is shaped by the interactions we have with others, the way we handle situations, the people we surround ourselves with, and the projects and ideas we take on.

This is part of the NFT technology-related work I’ve been looking forward to at my startup, Gleac with our tokenization of time on blockchain of the world’s leading experts in a project we call Lovely Humans. 

Tokenizing human time and wisdom is the process of developing one-of-a-kind digital assets that represent the labor and knowledge of certain people, such as consultants, coaches, or mentors. 

On the blockchain-based market place powered by our lovely humans, these assets can be traded, enabling people to monetise their knowledge and talents in the following ways: 

    1. Making original digital assets NFTs can be used to produce one-of-a-kind digital assets that symbolize people’s labor and knowledge. These assets can be sold in markets built on the blockchain, enabling people to monetize their knowledge and talents.

    1. Increasing transparency and trust: Blockchain technology can give transparency and traceability in the exchange of knowledge, ensuring that the knowledge being offered is reliable and authentic.

    1. Cutting out intermediaries People may be able to directly trade their expertise with others via blockchain-based markets, eliminating the need for middlemen and improving the efficiency of the transaction.

    1. presenting fresh possibilities In an era of AI and automation where traditional jobs are being disrupted, tokenizing human time and insight can offer people new chances to monetize their skills and expertise. 

By giving access to knowledge that would not have been previously available, it can also generate new chances for learning and personal development.

Tokenizing human time and wisdom is essential in an era of AI and automation because it can allow individuals to not only profit from their unique skills and knowledge but also time capsule it, which AI cannot easily replicate. 

Additionally, it can easily track the source of new inventions and intellectual property (IP) from experts, particularly as we move toward a blockchain-based patent filing system which is one of the core utilities of the lovely human NFT collections. 

Additionally, it can offer up new avenues for learning and personal growth, particularly in disciplines where knowledge availability may be limited. 

With the aid of blockchain technology and NFTs, human labor and knowledge can be tokenized efficiently and openly, assuring the validity and legality of knowledge transfer.

In conclusion, NFT and blockchain technology have the potential to transform the way we interact with digital assets and create a more transparent and decentralized world. Ultimately, these technologies have the potential to create a more equitable and inclusive world, where individuals have greater control over their digital assets and access to new forms of value creation.

I released the world’s first NFT collection tokenizing time and wisdom.

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HR Tech

How the “DIGITAL AND TECH JOURNEY” has enabled you to work better in the last 5 years or brought about challenges.

How the “DIGITAL AND TECH JOURNEY” has enabled you to work better in the last 5 years or brought about challenges.

Written by : Ritesh Mathur on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

In a world where we are connected not just via tools and platforms but by data sets that overlap and interlock within systems, the HR technology space saw a renewed focus in the last 5 years. 

The pandemic drew leadership attention towards investing and upgrading their tech stack within HR and made HR leaders more aware and sensitive to using technology to manage remote teams. 

In the midst of all this, we still maintained the human connection backed by technology. Economic conditions took hiring from an all-time high to stagnant growth but the need for disrupting technology used by HR teams globally has never been more prominent. 

From hiring to talent management, layoffs to upskilling the needs of the business in this modern era are putting more pressure on HR leadership to solution and scale in tandem with the fast paced ever changing business landscape. 

While building Skanjo.com we too realized how our tech stack has to be in line with the current times to enable companies and candidates to hire in a seamless, efficient and cost effective manner. 

We introduced “Audio Job Descriptions” as a feature because we realized that millennials are more adept to consuming short format content. This helped us build a more intimate humane connection between companies and candidates even before they apply, thus a better candidate experience.

The challenge before the HR community is to think out of the box. Our need to solve problems quickly cannot compromise on creativity and make us integrate existing platforms without thinking through the experience users get. 

With technology now no longer a catch phrase, how are HR leaders going to help develop tools and processes for the next decade? 

Leaders within HR, more than ever, need to question every aspect of tools, systems, processes at their disposal and become change makers that turned the tide in making HR technology for the future.

With companies innovating to make business solutions better, HR will also need to make the overall people experience better.

Most searched question 

What are the 4 main areas of digital transformation?

What are the 3 R’s of digital transformation?

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Web 3.0 Tech Art Tech

NFTs: The Future of Art?

NFTs: The Future of Art?

Written by Science Centre Singapore on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

Illustrations by Sung Jernin

At this point, everybody has heard of an NFT. Some have commended them to be the future of art, while others have been more conservative with their praise, believing NFTs to be a gimmick. 

Let’s take a look under the hood at how NFTs work and decide how viable they are as the artwork of the future or as digital assets.

NFT, meaning “non-fungible token”, refers to an online asset that is not interchangeable; like trading cards or precious artefacts in how they are individually irreplaceable.

NFTs seek to create the same kind of value in the digital space – digital items with their own unique identities. 

They have become a household term after exploding in popularity in 2017, with the craze being started by groups like CryptoPunks, a brand specialising in pixelated avatars. Their work has been traded for astonishing amounts – with Alien CryptoPunk #7523 infamously sold for 11.7 million USD. 

First, let’s try to understand how NFTs work and what makes them unique. NFTs utilise ‘blockchain’ – the same technology as cryptocurrencies. Think of blockchain as a digital ledger that records transactions. The term ‘block’ refers to individual stores of data, and the term ‘chain’ describes the way these different blocks are linked to form one cohesive network. 

When each data block in the network reaches its predefined storage limit, it is rendered totally immutable, and data begins to flow into the next block instead. 

This technology guarantees lasting security, because once a block is set, its contents are forever unchanged. In the case of NFTs, this technology is used to store an address on the web or another method of access. 

The blockchain itself does not store the image or video. A key that enables access to the site on the blockchain where the NFT address is stored is kept in the buyer’s digital wallet.

The appeal of NFTs is difficult to rationalise. It might be their novelty, the futuristic appeal of the blockchain itself, or their hype and celebrity. Their guarantee of uniqueness contributes to an image of absolute exclusivity. 

In addition, the security afforded by blockchain increases buyers’ impression that they have just acquired something irreplaceable, and they take pride in ownership of these digital artefacts. 

Like trading cards, some characteristics in NFTs are more sought after than others. In the CryptoPunks collection, there are some common characteristics and some which are much rarer, like alien skin; those with that characteristic are likely to go for hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. 

These art pieces also act as status symbols. There are events and exclusive clubs/communities that only permit those who have ownership over specific NFTs. 

This desire for celebrity status is a central driving force behind the NFT rage – people seek to take part in a lifestyle they have not yet gotten to experience. 

The example of basketballer Stephen Curry, who spent 180,000 USD on Bored Ape #7990 and made a tweet showing off his new purchase and his acceptance into an exclusive discord server, highlighting the usage of NFTs as a status symbol. 

When high-profile people make these purchases, it beckons more people to enter the market and try their luck.

It seems clear to at least some degree that the explosive growth of cryptocurrency over the past few years, with Bitcoin and Ethereum becoming household names, has had a major effect on propelling NFTs to the global stage. 

The NFT market has also been boosted considerably by an irrational fear of missing out on “the next big thing”. Nowadays we all hear about prophets who made bulk purchases of Bitcoin around a decade ago when it was cheap and are now multi-millionaires; people feel they would be missing out on a trend of a similar calibre if they were to ignore the NFT market.  

Therefore, people are anxious to jump in as fast as possible, leading to questionable financial decisions. To some extent, the hype around NFTs is a self-propelling cycle, attracting more and more prospective buyers as it grows larger and more tempting.

There is also something to be said about NFTs being an inevitable offshoot of the transition from the physical to the digital that has taken place over the past two decades.

Think of the migration of the cinema experience to online streaming services, or the migration of media from discs to files on the cloud. It seems like a natural progression from tangible art to NFT.

The idea of keeping things physically and valuing the ability to touch and to feel seems antiquated.Of course, despite their inevitability with increasing focus on the digital space, NFTs have not been universally accepted.

For instance, game developers are against NFTs specifically because the focus of NFTs has become their selling price rather than the quality of the digital content. Some view NFTs as a platform ripe for illegal acts like money laundering. 

The Ethereum transactions powering most NFT markets are environmentally detrimental – with the amount of computing power necessary to make transactions being a limitation on how time-efficient and energy-efficient these transactions can be. 

According to an article linked on Ethereum.org, Ethereum’s total annual energy consumption was around 112 tera-watthours per year, and their carbon emissions totalled 53 megatons per year. As pointed out in the article, this is equal to the total annual carbon emissions of Singapore! 

NFTs are marketed as being secure due to their decentralisation in the blockchain, but this decentralisation leads to its own complications. 

There is no real central authority or government agency in any country overlooking NFTs. The regulatory guidance on the subject is in a fledgling state and proof of ownership is not as secure as it could be. 

It has even been expressed that there is a risk of hackers making purchases or transferring assets using others’ accounts. This is because, as mentioned before, the code/key to access the NFT in the blockchain is stored on a digital wallet and not on the blockchain itself. 

Therefore, while the web address of the NFT is secure, the code to access the NFT is theoretically vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The decentralisation of cryptocurrency, and NFTs by extension, is a factor contributing to their massive monetary value: the supply is tightly restricted by the costs and high barriers to entry of mining operations, and the demand continues to rise, with neither supply nor demand subject to intervention from authorities. 

This leads to great price volatility (fluctuations in prices) creating a speculative market. It is reliant upon ‘greater fool’ theory; people only fork out their money hoping that a bigger risk-taker will be willing to pay an even larger sum. 

As opposed to other options like the stock market, NFTs come with far greater risks and are subject to greater price volatility, reflecting the cryptocurrency they parallel.

Payment can theoretically also be made in fiat currency, as was the case in the 11.7-million-dollar purchase of CryptoPunk #7523.  However, the issue of unregulated markets and price volatility is not addressed, because while the buyer may be protected from the risk of cryptocurrency investment, any investment into an NFT comes with the same risks arising from the tight supply and growing demand.

Overall, I think that in their current iteration, NFTs cannot fully replace traditional art. However, each has its advantages and disadvantages; and NFTs bring very new and innovative ideas to the table; shaking up the scene significantly. 

And, of course, we must address that while art pieces like physical paintings can technically only be expressed along two dimensions, NFTs can dip into four, as they can be 3 dimensional objects which change over time. 

For example, the supposed ‘first-ever’ NFT, Quantum, which sold at the same auction as CryptoPunk #7523, is a geometric shape that morphs and bends with time. However, their environmental effects and the security concerns limit their sustainability for now.

At the moment, it seems unlikely that NFTs are going to be phased out anytime soon; but outliers with ludicrously high valuations will become increasingly scarce; these are just symptoms of the excitement of the market and are not reflective of the way NFTs should progress. 

NFTs are fundamentally different from traditional art in many positive ways; for one, NFT trading is much more accessible in the modern day given that all one really needs is a computer and internet connection. 

NFT markets and creators should move forward with an intent to promote openness and continue to innovate.

Glossary:

Greater fool theory: It is when people disregard the actual valuation of an asset and make a purchase with the intent of selling it off to a higher bidder.

This relies on a speculative market. When the so-called “speculative bubble” dies down, the asset is left in the hands of the unfortunate highest bidder with nobody to sell it to. 

For further reading: https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/greater-fool-theory/

Fiat Currency: Acts legal tender by the decree of a government or authority without any kind of intrinsic value on its own. As such, it is backed by authorities and is subject to regulation.

Most searched question

Will NFTs change the art world?

How do NFTs affect the art world?

Most searched queries

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Categories
HR Tech

Lead the Leaders – Digitizing the 4Cs approach 

Lead the Leaders – Digitizing the 4Cs approach

Written by : Sriparna Sen on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

In today’s world, start-ups have become as common as daily bread. And I firmly believe this is the beauty of our times. Every start-up comes with new dreams, goals and journeys that are waiting to be charted out. The founders start with a vision and then slowly and steadily people join hands and the voyage goes on. 

For each of these voyages, several storms are encountered and surpassed. It takes the whole crew along with their varied areas of expertise and varied personalities to help the ship sail through troubled waters. And every single member of the organization learns through the journey. This is the best example of “on-the-job” learning that can be provided in today’s times. 

Just like a human pyramid, the organization keeps building up through the years. If the foundation is robust and the channels of communication are strong, then every layer in the pyramid is cohesively aligned towards the goal. 

Some start-ups achieve this by maintaining a flat hierarchy so that it’s easier to communicate and some start-ups achieve this by maintaining a strict growth path for their leaders. 

But, the underlying principles are the same to achieve organizational success for these growth-phase start-ups. 

They need to focus on an emerging set of middle managers. It is immensely critical. I call this the “Lead the Leaders” approach.

Like everything in our world today, technology can play an important role in implementing this approach efficiently in your organization during the fast-paced growth phases. If we can digitize the onboarding and learning of early stage managers, it’ll help in minimising losses and maximising productivity. 

In my experience, the 4Cs of Manager Development need to be incorporated into the culture of growth-phase start-ups.

  1. Co-create the learning vision and strategy – Senior leaders, along with HR (and Learning experts), need to stitch a learning strategy for all managers in the organization. The learning strategy has to be customized for the industry and the company. Tools like Appreciative Inquiry can be useful. 

  1. Coaching programs – Ownership and empowerment comes with self-confidence. Every manager needs to act as a coach. For that they need to learn what are good coaching skills. Companies need to create in-house coaches and sponsorship programs for future leaders. There is a quote in the book – A Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt – “Coaching is no longer a speciality; you cannot be a good manager without being a good coach.”

  1. Competency driven career paths – Several start-ups see team and organizational efficiencies in their early days which “seem” to diminish as the company grows. Most of this is due to the lack of capturing the competencies which created the original winning streak. Creating the right competency matrix and then implementing it for every job role is a key factor in developing future leaders. 

  1. Communication and creating a culture of trust – Finally, the one ring to rule them all! The leaders, HR and the systems in the organization – all need to come together to communicate regularly and consistently the learning vision and the competency based approach to the managers. 

The great thing about the market today is that there are several Learning Management Systems (LMS) built and sold which cater to all categories of companies. But this is also the bane of it – how do you choose the right one? 

The simple answer is – always keep your end objective very clearly written when you research the market for the right technology for your setup. And trust me when I say, most of these tools are built for being customized for your company as long as your requirements are crisp and clear.

Any LMS that you deploy for your employees should be able to implement the 4Cs that you stitched for your unique environment. You need to ensure that the system is built with and drives your approach if you hope to see any success in developing your talent.

Here are some of the tips that work well, in my experience: 

  • Define the objectives 

  • Check and review the learning strategy 

  • List your expectations from the system 

  • State all the people and culture constraints 

  • Ensure ability to easily evaluate learning outcomes and generate reports 

  • Do a thorough market research 

  • Compare and get product demos for all your stakeholders 

  • Review and confirm the post launch support 

Companies will thrive only when digitisation and humanisation are used in a collaborative way to understand human behaviour. If you can support your new and emerging people managers to lead their teams well, then your business will not just survive, but thrive in this VUCA world.

Sriparna Sen is General manager HR | People and Culture @ Great Learning

Most searched question

What are the 4 C’s of effective leadership?

What is digitalization leadership?

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Food Tech

Food Security in Singapore Through Innovation with Innovate 360

ISTS Ask: Food Security in Singapore Through Innovation with Innovate 360

Written by Science Centre Singapore on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)
Illustrated by Eric Lua

Founder John Cheng gives us a peek at Innovate 360’s development

90% of the food we eat in Singapore is imported. In order to have better food security, the Singapore Food Agency aims to achieve their “30 by 30” goal which is to produce 30% of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030. 

Currently, many start-ups in the food tech industry, such as the ones under Innovate 360, are using new and innovative ideas to achieve this goal. 

Food tech is an emerging industry that uses technology to find innovative solutions for food related needs. Through their inventive spirit, consumers can enjoy products that are not only healthier but are also good for the environment. 

In Singapore, food tech start-ups are one of the ways we can enjoy locally produced food!

Innovative 360 is a food accelerator that helps food tech start-ups to successfully grow by providing them with necessary skills, facilities, and fund-raising to help scale their business. 

Additionally, these start-ups are exposed to Innovate 360’s vast network and experience. 

ISawTheScience was privileged to have a peek at the development of Innovate 360 and its start-ups from its founder, John Cheng. He is also the director of Cheng Yew Heng, a sugar manufacturing company in Singapore, and a key driver in Singapore’s food innovation ecosystem. 

What was it like for you as a kid growing up exploring the sugar factory?

When I was growing up, trying to explore the sugar factory was like a wonderland. Basically, it was fascinating visiting different processes and understanding how we manufacture (sugar).

I never really knew much of the processes until I got into the business when I was much older. Before that, it was really just very interesting to see and smell. When you come to our factory, you can actually smell the sugar.

Did your experience growing up in the factory influence how you see the food tech industry?

When I was growing up, I kind of watched how a lot of our processes were done very manually. Some of the things that I wanted to do when I went into the business was to try to modernise this business and that was through automation. 

While automating, I met a lot of people in the industry who knew more than me. So, I tested with them and that kind of influenced how I went into the tech side, which, really, is all about collaborating with people. 

You know, business is about people at the end of the day, but it’s also tapping on the scientific knowledge of the experts in the industry to be able to help my business.

With that knowledge at our accelerator, Innovate 360, we have all the expertise to collaborate and help start-ups. 

What sparked your interest to start Innovate 360?

So, I started Innovate 360 in 2018 for the company to pay it forward, but also to find new products that we could sell through our distribution. So initially, it was really to find ways to help ourselves. At the same time, we wanted to look at innovation and create an impact through start-ups and that was one of the ways we see fit. That is how innovate 360 started.

Why do you think food tech start-ups are important to Singapore’s future development?

Food tech start-ups are important to Singapore’s food system and to Singapore’s future. They not only bring a very disruptive kind of business model, but also help to create new businesses or create some sort of new and bigger impact to what we are trying to achieve, which is a higher opportunity for more people in Singapore trying to create 30% of the nutritional needs by 2030.

In the future, do you see these new food products being used in local hawker centres?

For a lot of start-ups, when they create a new product, it tends to be limited in quantity. Because of that, they normally only focus on the premium market and because of that, people always have the conception that it’s expensive, but sustainability doesn’t need to be just for the rich. 

Sustainability should be for everybody. I hope that our start-up products will be for the mass market eventually. Once the scale is reached, then we are able to lower costs as well. 

I hope the start-ups quickly find themselves in the market. It takes a lot of consumer awareness, knowledge and demand that will help them to drive future demands and then production and that will lower their cost. 

To answer your question, I guess it will eventually be at hawker centres. So maybe, the next time you have char kway teow, then it will be char kway teow with plant-based egg or even cell-based cockles.

With your experience in both business and innovation, what is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs in Singapore who are eager to start their own food-tech start-up? 

My advice to aspiring start-ups is — always try it, go for it but know your consumers, know who you are selling to, know what you are trying to do at the end of the day and with that, improve Singapore’s food system and you would be able to be successful start-ups.

I really hope that aspiring start-ups think about getting into food entrepreneurship. They would think about their customer, what problems they can actually solve, and then, from there, they will have a very supportive ecosystem here. Chances are that they will be very successful as well. 

And I think it is about today’s goal — it is really about collaborating with others. If you don’t have some knowledge on how, it’s always good to work with someone who has.

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Science Centre Singapore

Categories
Climate Tech Wellness/Beauty Tech

The Green Age of cosmetics

The Green Age of cosmetics

Written by Science Centre Singapore on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)
Illustrations by Lim Daphne

As consumers we have a responsibility to the climate while shopping for personal care items.

The infographic below can be used as a guide to look for what ingredient is climate friendly as we buy our cosmetics.

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Categories
Ad Tech

Recycled advertising impressions and eco-friendly campaigns

Recycled advertising impressions and eco-friendly campaigns
Recycled advertising impressions and eco-friendly campaigns

Written by : Anas Ech-chaoui on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)
Illustrations by Lim Daphne

The idea was born from an inventory recycling idea by Thomas OBJOIS and Julien GALIM.

The two co-founders and entrepreneurs used their previous experience, and they have established this unique technology for digital marketers..

During the rise of programmatic in digital, they realised the downside of the complexity of this technology and established a company for recovering lost ad calls and turn them into valuable/monetizable impressions.

The extent of this phenomenon is still little known, as are the various causes of this consequent advertising mess.

This 100% French-origin company has been combating advertising waste and reducing the carbon footprint of digital campaigns through its pipes.
Ampoule et engrenage contour

Sustainable and profitable solution for publishers

Based on our team’s experience at Lagardère Group, we have seen that more than forty technical problems were preventing the distribution of millions of advertising impressions.

We call them “ghost impressions”.

How this works in a nutshell:

After our script is integrated into the publisher’s code base and we start to analyse the site’s inventory pages and advertising placements, we are able to map the loss and suggest the worth of the “ghost impressions”. After the full launch of the solution, we can identify and recycle the lost impressions in real time. It is important to mention that we respect all Core Web Vitals without impacting the quality of the user experience or the page behaviours such as loading time.

Being in the market for years, we see that the recyclable impressions represent on average 20% of a website’s total display inventory.

In 2022, our technology recovered and monetised more than 19 billion ad impressions.

Where do ghost impressions come from ?

ADVERTISING RELATED ISSUES

    • Connection problems during API calls of solutions (SSPs/Ad Servers/bidswitch…). 

    • Glitches in cross-origin requests to REST APIs or calls to solution servers. No ad response.

SITE RELATED ISSUES

    • Failed or misconfigured lazyload ad logic that does not allow the execution of the slot 

    • Issues in the ad slot CSS that prevent the ad from being displayed

VISITOR RELATED ISSUES

    • Loss of connection to the user’s device caused by micro-cuts 

    • Website or web tools are not adapted to certain browsers

How does our solution work for a publisher?

BCOVERY is a comprehensive technology and it operates by inspecting/scanning the content and HTML structure of the publisher sites.

When a ghost impression occurs due to any technical reasons, our proprietary algorithm analyses the ad call  and makes the impression available to the publisher/advertisers for monetisation.

We are is present in 5 countries and continuously growing.

It supports more than 400 publishers worldwide (France, Germany, Japan, UK, USA)

Milestone 2022 : 

We as a company decided to do more for our environment and help digital marketers in maximising their potentials, therefore and to create the first eco-responsible French Marketplace.

This Marketplace brings together all the publishers’ recycled inventories allowing us to provide incremental, trusted and high-performing impressions to the demand side.

Advertisers – How do we reduce the carbon impact of media campaigns?

Agencies and advertisers are increasingly aware of the carbon impact of their campaigns and realise that not all of the supplies emit the same amount of carbon.

We also see that agencies and advertisers are increasingly favouring low-carbon impact inventories, and we want to help them achieve this…

Echoing the above, BCOVERY convinced and determined about the need to measure and reduce the carbon emissions of advertising impressions and keep a more sustainable overall nature of digital campaigns.

As a matter of fact, using our network, an advertiser considerably reduces the carbon footprint of its media activity. Here are the three drivers:

    1.  Recycled and low-carbon impressions

    1.  Reduced creative weight while ensuring effective communication

    1.  A direct and secure delivery channel (vs. a complex programmatic chain)

Une image contenant texte Description générée automatiquement

What is next?

Our next mission is to create similar marketplaces in other countries and help the digital industry to be more sustainable than before.

The three pillars of our ambition: 

SENSITIZE 

on the importance of the delivery channel in its CSR advertising strategy.

POSITIONING 

advertising recycling as a solution to buyers’ need for great performance and energy savings.

REPLACE 

energy-consuming advertising strategies with investing in recycled, responsible and qualitative inventories.

Finally, one of our achievements:

Our recycled campaigns

ALDI Digital Campaign

    • 80M recycled impressions

    • 60% carbon saving

    • High performance clicks and viewability

In line with its anti-waste strategy and its desire to reduce the carbon footprint of its advertising campaigns, ALDI has partnered with BCOVERY in 2022 and because of our success we renewed our partnership –  as one of the major partners of ALDI for 2023.

If your answer is YES to the following:

You are a publisher and want to know the amount of your recyclable inventory?

You are an advertiser and want to reduce your carbon emissions?

Contact us directly by mail at hello@bcovery.com

Most searched question 

Are recycled products eco-friendly?

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Most searched queries

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Best green marketing campaigns

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Art Tech AI Tech

Computers can now create art! But is it the same as human creations? 

Computers can now create art! But is it the same as human creations

Written by Science Centre Singapore on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

For those of us mere mortals, aka not art inclined, we may think of art as the sole bastion of talented creative masters. These individuals epitomise the very best of human creativity. 

On the fundamental level, art is really not just limited to the masters, everyone of us can indulge in a spot of artistic creativity.

We’ve been using art as an intrinsic way of expressing ourselves; our emotions, and our knowledge to other people.

If we think of art in this way, it can be seen as a form of communication that is unique to us humans. However, recent events have shown that Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has begun to intrude into the art scene. 

An example would be the painting, Edmond de Belamy that was sold for $432,500 – nearly 45 times its highest estimate. This begs us to question if A.I. has begun to eat into this realm that once belonged only to humans.

The present

Currently, A.I. hasn’t had too much influence over the art industry. With people still producing paintings and music albums, we can still believe that art is something that’s made by humans.

However, like the example above, we’re already starting to see signs of A.I. creating paintings. ‘Edmond de Belamy’ is an A.I.-generated painting by a Paris-based collective called Obvious.

Hugo Caselles-Dupré, a member of Obvious, said that “We found that portraits provided the best way to illustrate our point, which is that algorithms are able to emulate creativity”.

Just like Edmond de Belamy, A.I. is also taking its baby steps into the music industry. One example of this is a program called ‘OpenAI’. 

As Jon Porter from TheVerge says, “OpenAI’s MuseNet is a new online tool that uses A.I. to generate songs with as many as 10 different instruments”. 

Not only that, but it can create music in as many as 15 different styles, imitating classical composers like Mozart, contemporary artists like Lady Gaga, or genres like bluegrass or even video game music”. Soon enough, there’s likely to be A.I.-generated songs and art forms.

Now, the question here is – 

If artificial intelligence were to be able to emulate creativity, would that be beneficial or disadvantageous to us? 

Would artists still be able to create inspiring artworks? Would musicians still be able to create soothing pieces? 

Or would all these be taken away from us, and be dominated by A.I.?

We’re already over-reliant on technology in many parts of our lives, and that reliance on technology might rub off with the art scene, and lead us into losing the ability to differentiate human-created art and A.I.-created art.

We might also be wholly dependent on technology in the future to be creative. This might sound a bit far stretched, but it is definitely something that could happen.

AI and Machine Learning

With these questions in mind, we have to plan out the risks that we might take by letting A.I. into the art and music industries.

It might be like letting babies into a playground, or it might be like letting a pack of wolves into a herd of sheep. 

As of right now, A.I. definitely isn’t able to create art with the same quality as humans. 

They’re only able to create art from taking the data provided to them and piecing them together, making them seem unique, but in fact they are still replicated from human creativity.

This is because “art” is a complex thing. It’s not simple for A.I to just learn how to make art out of nowhere. Ken Weiner, a blogger on Scientific American, says that

“Even though the Cloudpainter machine (an artificially intelligent painting robot) has evolved over time to become a highly intelligent system capable of making creative decisions of its own accord, the final piece of work could only be described as a collaboration between human and machine”.

What this means is that with our current set of technologies, the artwork of any A.I still involves a human touch. But what about the future?

There is something called ‘machine learning’, and it is an application of artificial intelligence that provides the system with an ability to take in data and learn and improve from its past experiences and uses.

This is extremely important since machine learning could allow A.I. to create distinctive forms of art and music that may not even closely resemble the input data, opening the concepts of originality and creativity to A.I.-generated art and music.

The future

In the future, with the development of machine learning and A.I., the question is: Is this handmade, or is this made by A.I.?

A.I.-generated images already lurk around in our daily lives, and we might not even notice it until we look more closely. 

A.I.-generated faces, where they take 2 different photos and merge them together; or Snapchat filters, where they locate different spots on your face, such as your nose or your eyes, and put a mask on it, are both examples of A.I.-generated images and videos that have become part of our daily lives.

Sooner or later, A.I., along with the help of machine learning, will be able to adapt to our current world and will eventually create everything for us.

Art would be made by taking previous paintings in order to make a new one, while music would be made by taking previous songs of a specific genre and re-produce beats, patterns, and rhythms all on its own.

A.I. might even emulate human creativity and produce never-before-seen pieces of art.

It feels like we are on the verge of an A.I. revolution in the art and music scene. Just like how jobs were changed, for better or worse during the industrial revolution, A.I. may change the way we view and appreciate music. 

New, different art and music styles could be produced, styles of the past like Mozart’s music could be recreated, resurrected, revamped.

The question here is, in what way will A.I. change the art and music world, and how would we, being creatures able to emulate creativity and the people who gave life to these machines in the first place, deal with it?

Illustrations by Toh Bee Suan

Sources cited:

“Why Is Art so Important to Mankind?” Artist, artist-strange-work.com/why-is-art-so-important-to-mankind/.

“Is Artificial Intelligence Set to Become Art’s Next Medium?: Christie’s.” The First Piece of AI-Generated Art to Come to Auction | Christie’s, Christies, 12 Dec. 2018, www.christies.com/features/A-collaboration-between-two-artists-one-human-one-a-machine-9332-1.aspx.

Porter, Jon. “OpenAI’s MuseNet Generates AI Music at the Push of a Button.” The Verge, The Verge, 26 Apr. 2019, www.theverge.com/2019/4/26/18517803/openai-musenet-artificial-intelligence-ai-music-generation-lady-gaga-harry-potter-mozart.

Weiner, Ken. “Can AI Create True Art?” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 12 Nov. 2018, blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/can-ai-create-true-art/.

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AI Tech

ChatGPT and Generative AI’s – A Digilah view

ChatGPT and Generative AI’s
ChatGPT and Generative AI’s

Written by Vidya Dhareshwar on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

Chatgpt, Bard AI and all the generative AI seems to be the current flavour. There is an insurmountable buzz around and about it . 

Everyone has an opinion on its impact and the ways that it can change, how we and our future generations engage with and use tech in our daily lives.

Whilst there have been many concerns on its impact on search engines, students, jobs and livelihoods, the fact remains that this evolution has happened and is here to stay.

ChatGPT alone has been the fastest growing consumer internet app ever with over 100 million users two months after launch. This itself shows the vast potential of generative AI.

 Just as life evolves, so does technology and yet this revolutionary technology doesn’t take away from human intelligence instead it is trained to learn what humans mean when they ask a question. 

Many users are awed at its ability to provide human-quality responses, inspiring the feeling that it may eventually have the power to disrupt how humans interact with computers and change how information is retrieved.

In the context of Digilah, where we like to provide a digital platform for every tech enthusiast to learn and contribute their tech journey and thought leadership, we view chatGPT, Bard AI and all other generative AI’s as an enabler and an opportunity for many of our start up and tech founders to share their learnings.

Let’s talk about the tech startup market in South East Asia alone. As per a Forbes article, The digital and tech industries of this region have enjoyed an enormous boom over the last few years. 

According to Jungle Ventures, Southeast Asia’s technology startups had a combined valuation of $340 billion in 2020, and they anticipate this will triple by 2025.

This is a diverse but very strong prospective market with a focus in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

This market is quite complicated. Many entrepreneurs are hindered by concerns over a difference in mentality and a lack of understanding of how to do business there. We @ Digilah look at this as a huge opportunity.

There is a need to get all of the learnings and journeys of these startups and founders so that this rich knowledge repertoire is available to all. 

Many of them would like to share their journeys and provide their insights but sometimes are busy learning and navigating the markets and business challenges and for some it might also mean a constraint in terms of resources and skills to share their journeys be it content creation or communication skills or just time.

We present the combined power of Human Experience with the generative AI’s in the form of articles published by us at Digilah. Our submission is to use the vast reach of the generative AI tools to start the journey.

What this tech will do is provide for a framework, a skeleton, a structure of an article , a startup founders journey as a start point. This can then be brought to life by adding the content  and context of experience, leadership, success, failures and insights by the tech founders.

These articles are extremely valuable and become a  rich database of insight and knowledge for all knowledge seekers today and for the future.

In short, in our view, ChatGPT, Bard AI AND Human Experience is the opportunity to build the knowledge here at Digilah, all at the click of a key.

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Climate Tech

Eye on Science: Tech-ing Solar Power Generation To The Next Level

Tech-ing Solar Power Generation To The Next Level

Written by Science Centre Singapore on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

Reference image of Singapore’s largest solar farm

With the effects of climate change worsening by the day, scientists around the world are venturing into the world of renewables in search of a better alternative for producing clean energy.

Many countries are turning toward the use of solar energy as it is one of the cleanest and most sustainable forms of alternative energy.

For instance, Singapore has built one of the largest floating solar farms in the world to reduce its reliance on natural gas for the production of electricity. 

That being so, researchers have now extended their study of generating solar power not only from the Earth but also in space!

Reference image of a Solar Power Station in Space

The concept of capturing solar power from space and then transferring it to Earth was first introduced in the 1920s by a scientist named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

 Now, scientists are bringing this concept to reality by developing a new form of cutting-edge technology known as the space-based solar power station (SSP). An SSP works the same way as it does on Earth, except that it floats in space. 

The solar power station collects energy from the sun using large sheets of metal known as solar panels. Each solar panel is made up of combining multiple photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells.

Solar cells are the key component in a solar panel that helps to create an electric current when it comes into contact with sunlight. For energy to be utilised on Earth in the form of electricity, solar panels in space have to transmit the collected solar energy back to earth through radio waves.

Why Build A Solar Power Station in Space?

Today, solar power plants can be found in many countries like India, China and the US. Each solar plant consists of millions of solar panels which can help generate electricity for as many as 200,000 homes.

 However, solar plants on Earth can only function during the day to produce energy, when there is sunlight. Their ability to effectively capture sunlight also depends on environmental factors like weather, cloud cover, air pollutants and dust. 

Unlike on Earth, solar panels in space can be directly exposed to more powerful sunlight at all times of the day. It is estimated that solar panels in space can generate up to 2,000 gigawatts of power constantly. 

This is nearly 40 times more energy than a solar panel would generate on Earth. With such potential, space-based solar stations can undoubtedly help offset the rate of carbon emissions produced through the burning of non-renewables like fossil fuels. 

Challenges to Building A Solar Power Station in Space

Although deemed more functional and effective, there are some challenges to successfully build and maintain a space-based solar power station.

Currently, one of the most significant issues is about finding a safe and suitable way to send the energy generated in space back to Earth for consumption. 

The main concern is that some of the energy will be lost during the travel, leaving only a small amount of solar energy that may reach Earth in the end.

Reference image of a football stadium

There are other challenges to building a solar power station in space, given that a single solar plant may be as huge as 1,400 football stadiums. 

To build something of this size, a large number of heavy solar panels will need to be taken into space using rockets. 

This will require countless rocket launches from Earth, which is expensive and harmful to the environment. On top of this, solar panels in space can be damaged by space debris or any floating objects. 

They may also degrade faster from being continuously exposed to extremely powerful radiation from the sun. 

Future of Solar Power Stations in Space

Despite the challenges, countries like China, the UK, the US, and Japan are already making huge strides in improving current technology and experimenting with building small solar power stations in space. 

For instance, the UK is planning to undertake a huge project to build a solar power station in space as part of the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, to achieve net zero energy consumption by 2050.

 Similarly, researchers from Japan and the US are working on developing high-efficiency solar cells that can help with the safe conversion and transmission of solar energy from space to Earth. 

With more developments, this groundbreaking invention of building solar power stations in space can revolutionise the future of renewables while helping to curb the effects of climate change on our planet. 

Reference Links Used: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-now-home-to-one-of-the-worlds-largest-floating-solar-farms

https://singularityhub.com/2022/03/18/a-solar-power-station-in-space-heres-how-it-would-work-and-its-potential-benefits/

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