Archive for the ‘economics’ category: Page 168
Mar 9, 2017
Data61 CEO Adrian Turner has a plan for the next jobs
Posted by Alireza Mokri in categories: business, economics, employment, finance, government
Forty per cent of Australia’s jobs will disappear in 10 years but the head of CSIRO’s data research unit has delivered an action plan for how they can be replaced.
“The fourth industrial revolution is under way and the winners will be so far ahead of the losers, Australia has no choice but to pivot to the new industries that will emerge,” Data61 chief executive Adrian Turner told The Australian Financial Review Business Summit on Wednesday.
Australia was already feeling the consequences of an economy whose greatest disruptors, such as Uber and Amazon, were mostly coming from elsewhere, Mr Turner said. He noted that GDP growth rates were below historic averages, government debt to GDP ratios were rising, wage growth was slowing and productivity plateauing.
Continue reading “Data61 CEO Adrian Turner has a plan for the next jobs” »
Mar 9, 2017
Massive commercial space push and a variety of new robotic capabilities could self supporting and rapidly growing space economy
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: economics, robotics/AI, satellites
Several companies will collectively be launching about 20,000 satellites over the next few years. SpaceX, OneWeb, Telesat, O3b Networks and Theia Holdings — all told the FCC they have plans to field constellations of V-band satellites in non-geosynchronous orbits to provide communications services in the United States and elsewhere. So far the V-band spectrum of interest, which sits directly above Ka-band from about 37 GHz to the low 50 GHz range, has not been heavily employed for commercial communications services.
* SpaceX, for example, proposes a “VLEO,” or V-band low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of 7,518 satellites to follow the operator’s initially proposed 4,425 satellites that would function in Ka- and Ku-band.
Mar 7, 2017
Zoltan Istvan Wants to Create Superpeople —Oh, and Also Be California’s Governor
Posted by Zoltan Istvan in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, economics, governance
I did a long-form interview on Medium’s Defiant of my run for California Governor. It covers many subjects (Trump, gene editing, basic income), as well as why I think technology is ready to change politics and governance forever:
By AJAI RAJ
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. It’s 2015, and the ever-humming machinery of American presidential politics is picking up steam. The American political machine runs on steam, okay? It’s very old.
Mar 5, 2017
Bitcoin ETF Buzz Offers Short Term Opportunity
Posted by Philip Raymond in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, finance, Mark Zuckerberg, policy
If you follow Bitcoin at all, then you know that its value is spiking. It has already surpassed a massive spike on Thanksgiving night 2013, and it has just surpassed the cost of an ounce of gold. [continue below image]
Like any commodity, the exchange value of Bitcoin is driven by supply and demand. But, unlike most commodities, including the US Dollar, the Euro or even gold, the eventual supply is capped. It is a mathematical certainty. Yet, demand is affected by many factors: Adoption as a payment instrument, early signs that it is being considered as a reserve currency, fascination by Geeks and early adopters and its use as a preferred tool by some criminals.
But chief among reasons for acquiring Bitcoin is speculation. Whether it is buy-and-hold or day trading, speculators still outnumber those who use Bitcoin to settle debts or to buy and sell other products and services. (Earlier this week, I argued that speculation is responsible for 85% of demand and of transactions—but that’s another story).
Continue reading “Bitcoin ETF Buzz Offers Short Term Opportunity” »
Mar 5, 2017
Earth’s Orbiting Junkyard Threatens the Space Economy
Posted by Brett Gallie II in categories: economics, satellites
Rocket and satellite litter is endangering private space commerce. Enter the cosmic debris tracking industry.
Mar 5, 2017
Video of Jeff Bezos describes his space plans
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: economics, space travel
Blue Origin’s New Shepard Team is the winner of Aviation Week’s 60th Annual Space Laureate. New Shepard is only the first step in fulfilling Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos’ vision of using ever larger reusable rockets to send an entire economy into Earth orbit and beyond. Following the Laureate Award presentations held at Washington’s National Building Museum on March 2, Bezos talked to Aviation Week and Space Technology Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo and the audience at the awards dinner about the importance of expanding into the solar system.
* we need to expand into the solar system. The choice is between stasis on earth or expansion and dynamism in space.
Continue reading “Video of Jeff Bezos describes his space plans” »
Mar 4, 2017
Antonopolous Clarifies Blockchain’s Profound Leap
Posted by Philip Raymond in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, disruptive technology, economics, education, geopolitics
I use to hate it when my dad insisted that I read something longer than 2 paragraphs. (Something related to his interests, but not to my school work, his career or our family). That’s because it shouldn’t require a 30 minute read to determine if it piques my interest, as it does his.
But I am asking Lifeboat readers to invest 37 minutes in the video linked below. Even if you give it just 5 minutes, it will provide sufficient motive for you to stick around until the end. [continue below video]
I want you view it because we are on the threshold of something bigger than many people realize. Bitcoin and the blockchain is not just a new currency or a way of distributing books among network users. We are becoming involved with a radical experiment in applied game theory that is shockingly simple, but nascent. Opportunities abound, and the individuals who recognize those opportunities or learn to exploit them will benefit themselves as they benefit the global community. Because it is so radical (and because it clashes with deeply ingrained beliefs about authority, control mechanisms, democracy and money), it seems complex and risky—but it’s really not.
Continue reading “Antonopolous Clarifies Blockchain’s Profound Leap” »
Mar 4, 2017
Transhumanist Wants to Run for California Governor Under Libertarian Banner
Posted by Zoltan Istvan in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, economics, genetics, geopolitics, transhumanism
The Libertarian Republic covering my libertarian run for California Governor:
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Mar 4, 2017
A Universal Basic Income? Slow Your Roll, Silicon Valley
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: economics, employment
While there are different flavors of the UBI, the basic concept is that everyone just gets money for existing—this, in theory, would help keep the economy running smoothly even as people are working less.
“Sounds like a communist scheme” jokes Pethokoukis. But he explains how this is actually a very old idea that has its roots on the political right as a way to simplify the welfare state. It’s an idea that’s really taken off among the libertarian-leaning luminaries of the tech world in recent years.
“Silicon Valley has sort of latched on to this idea. They have the most aggressive timetable as far as when we will actually see all these jobs hemorrhage,” explains Pethokoukis.
Continue reading “A Universal Basic Income? Slow Your Roll, Silicon Valley” »