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Technology As A Force For Good In People’s Lives — Dr. Emre Ozcan, PhD, VP, Global Head of Digital Health & Walid Mehanna, Group Data Officer And Senior Vice President, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.


EPISODE DISCLAIMER — At any time during this episode when anyone says Merck, in any context, it shall always be referring to Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Dr. Emre Ozcan, Ph.D. is VP, Global Head of Digital Health, at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (https://www.emdgroup.com/en), where he brings 15+ years experience in biopharma, med-tech and healthcare consulting with experience across strategy, research, marketing, and operations in several therapeutic areas. In his current role, he holds the accountability for the design and end-to-end delivery of digital health solutions to support Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany franchise strategies and shape the architecture of the offering “around the drug” including devices and diagnostics.

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Ever since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI has grabbed the attention of people and businesses around the world. This technology was previously understood as highly promising but a topic for the future. Today, it has loudly announced itself, catching businesses off-guard as they mobilize to make sense of its exciting potential to automate processes and supercharge efficiencies.

One important aspect to examine is where investors are currently focusing their attention. This latest wave of AI has focused early attention on those startups and businesses already using AI in their products and services (loosely termed AI adopters). Other factors to consider are whether investors are pausing their investments and causing illiquidity in the market. In this, investors consider likely consequences and disruptions across industries and update their commercial and technical due diligence approaches as they look to side-step hazards and seize opportunities.

Unlike other businesses pushing clean nuclear energy, Helion is working on a “pulsed non-ignition fusion system.”

Microsoft Corporation has placed a big bet on Helion by agreeing to purchase power generated by its nuclear fusion process. Helion is also backed by Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO with whom Microsoft is spearheading the artificial intelligence (AI) race.

Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of clean energy as it promises the generation of power without the emission of carbon or hassles of radioactive nuclear waste.


Peter Hansen/iStock.

Helion Energy has announced that Microsoft will become its first customer, in a deal that aims to supply 50 MW of fusion power by 2028.

Assembled electromagnetic coils that will be used in Helion’s 7th fusion prototype, Polaris. (Photo: Business Wire)

Helion Energy is a privately held fusion energy company founded in 2013 by Dr. David Kirtley and Dr. John Slough, both of whom are experts in plasma physics. The company is headquartered in Washington, USA, and is focused on developing a practical, clean, and abundant source of fusion energy.

Canada’s largest oilsands companies under the umbrella of the Pathways Alliance are accused of greenwashing and making false environmental claims. via @torontostar


Greenpeace Canada alleges the consortium’s ad campaign, “Let’s clear the air,” is greenwashing — when a company makes false or misleading claims about the environmental attributes of their business.

“Our request to the Competition Bureau regarding the Pathways Alliance’s misleading ad campaign was accepted and has set off an official inquiry into the dubious advertising practices of the Pathways Alliance,” Greenpeace Canada’s senior researcher and writer, Nola Poirier, said in a statement. “We think the public deserves to be told the truth about the environmental harm caused by fossil fuel production, not fed misleading sound bites by industry.”

Mark Cameron, vice-president external relations at Pathways Alliance, said the campaign acknowledges the oilsands represents a significant share of Canada’s emissions and collaborative efforts must be made across the industry and with government to deliver “responsibly produced oil.”

AIOps platform Avantra has launched a new cloud edition for RISE with SAP. A SAP product, RISE with SAP helps companies to get started with cloud SAP solutions. Avantra’s new offering with help RISE customers to automate cloud, on-premise, and third-party operation activities for migrating their business operations to the cloud.

The Avantra cloud edition for RISE with SAP will offer a single point of access to services like configuration management for regulated industries, one-off services, and cloud application services, along with offering operating data. In addition, the new edition will support over 100 services for customers to manage data files, determine security requirements, and perform end-to-end application monitoring.

“At a time when more and more companies are looking at enterprise-wide digital transformation and wanting to connect rather than isolate operations, impeding the ability to optimise hybrid operations presents a significant barrier to business advancement. We developed a Cloud edition designed to work with RISE with SAP to remove this barrier, recognising that this need is not likely to go away any time soon,” said John Appleby, chief executive officer, Avantra.

Marketing and business. In marketing, businesses can use art and science to create compelling, memorable and emotionally resonant campaigns. By leveraging scientific knowledge of consumer behavior and psychology and using art to create visually striking and emotionally engaging advertisements, businesses can create marketing campaigns that are both effective and memorable.

Artificial intelligence (AI). AI design involves scientific research to develop algorithms and models that simulate human intelligence and decision-making. However, AI design requires artistic input to create user interfaces, visualizations and other interactive features that engage users and make AI more accessible. For example, an AI-powered virtual assistant may require an appealing visual interface to help users interact with the system more efficiently, such as graphic design, animation and other visual arts, to create a user-friendly pleasing interface. Moreover, AI-powered applications and systems can incorporate creative design and artistry elements to enhance functionality and appeal (generative AI algorithms can generate music or art or analyze and interpret cultural trends and patterns.)

The intersection of scientific research and art is exciting for generating novel business ideas. By bringing together different perspectives and skill sets, it is possible to create a more comprehensive and innovative approach to problem-solving. Whether through interdisciplinary research or using art as a tool for communication, the possibilities for collaboration are endless. The art of innovation is not about creating something out of nothing but finding new and unexpected ways to combine existing elements. By embracing the intersection of science and art, we can unlock a wealth of possibilities for the future of business by leading in new business ideas leveraging on new technologies, materials and creative solutions to problems. The integration of these domains enables the formation of groundbreaking and lucrative business concepts that can revolutionize industries and enhance individuals’ well-being.

Tanzania has a lot of mineral respources I have all geological maps of Tanzania to prove it. Tanzania also found huge lithium deposits and many are scrambling for them. One thing Musk can do is buy companies to gain competitive advantage.

Dar es Salaam. Tesla, the American multinational automotive, artificial intelligence and clean energy company, has signed an agreement under which it will purchase Anode Active Material (AAM) from Tanzania.


By Alex Nelson Malanga

Business journalist.

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen. He shares the opportunities he sees for students and educators to collaborate with AI tools — including the potential of a personal AI tutor for every student and an AI teaching assistant for every teacher — and demos some exciting new features for their educational chatbot, Khanmigo.

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