Menu

Blog

Archive for the ‘economics’ category: Page 193

Jun 2, 2016

Universal Basic Income Hits the U.S—Citizens Will Get Paid Just For Being Born

Posted by in categories: economics, finance

Y Combinator, a seed accelerator and startup incubator, plans to inaugurate a short-term “universal basic income” experiment in Oakland, California; it’s a first step toward a larger, projected five-year study of the guaranteed cost-of-living salary.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “basic income”—the notion of a guaranteed financial disbursement to every human being simply for being alive.

It’s an idea that has garnered a great deal of support in certain circles, for obvious reasons (free money); however, many see it as the natural progression of society…as the only viable way of dealing with issues like increased automation, poverty, etc. Indeed, many see in a universal basic income (UBI) an instrument of liberty, and an effective tool for combating the threats of social unrest, economic dislocation, and various other forms of civil strife that are often the corollaries of unemployment.

Continue reading “Universal Basic Income Hits the U.S—Citizens Will Get Paid Just For Being Born” »

Jun 1, 2016

Here’s why the inventor of the Internet supports basic income

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, internet, robotics/AI

With the robot economy looming large in the coming decades, one solution to vanishing jobs may simply be to give people money regardless of whether or not they work.

That idea is called “basic income,” and it just gained the support of one of the tech world’s founding fathers, Internet inventor Tim Berners-Lee.

“I think a basic income is one of the ways of addressing massive global inequality,” Berners-Lee, who founded the Web in 1989, explained on a recent episode of The Economist podcast.

Continue reading “Here’s why the inventor of the Internet supports basic income” »

May 31, 2016

Can Tracking Our Hormones Make Us Smarter With Money?

Posted by in category: economics

Bad with money? Blame it on your hormones according to Richard Thaler.


Let’s face it: most of us suck at managing money.

According to a National Bureau of Economics working paper published this March, roughly three quarters of all American households carry some form of debt. 40% haven’t paid off their credit cards. Nearly half have no savings at all. And the US isn’t alone: Canada, the UK and Australia are in roughly the same debt-ridden neighborhood.

Continue reading “Can Tracking Our Hormones Make Us Smarter With Money?” »

May 30, 2016

The Queen of the Social Sciences is Dying — By Graeme Maxton | The Club of Rome

Posted by in category: economics

The-queen-of-the-social-sciences-is-dying-360x270

“The era of modern economics is thankfully waning and it is time for us all to look ahead, to discover something better.”

Read more

May 29, 2016

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Posted by in categories: economics, energy, genetics, robotics/AI, supercomputing, transportation

Ubiquitous, mobile supercomputing. Artificially-intelligent robots. Self-driving cars. Neuro-technological brain enhancements. Genetic editing. The evidence of dramatic change is all around us and it’s happening at exponential speed.

Previous industrial revolutions liberated humankind from animal power, made mass production possible and brought digital capabilities to billions of people. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is, however, fundamentally different. It is characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human.

Continue reading “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” »

May 27, 2016

The BIG Library: Books About Basic Income

Posted by in category: economics

Somewhere along the way people started considering me somewhat of an expert on the topic of basic income and so I’m frequently asked for book recommendations. Because of that, I put together a Listmania list, but Listmania no longer exists so I’ve decided to put together a new more comprehensive list here on Medium which I will make a point of updating as new books are released. If you don’t see a book here and think it should be listed, please let me know so I can add it.

Optionally, if you wish to purchase one of these books, please consider using Amazon Smile which you can do by changing www.amazon.com in the url to smile.amazon.com. This will give a portion of the purchase to charity, and the charity I recommend is GiveDirectly because that will help support their historic 10–15 year long universal basic income experiment in West Africa.

Also, due to popular request, books of fiction that include basic income can be found at the end of this list. And if you’re looking for academic papers to read instead, here’s a great list on basicincome.org.

Continue reading “The BIG Library: Books About Basic Income” »

May 22, 2016

Ransomware: the digital plague infecting the world

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cybercrime/malcode, economics, encryption

“The individuals who do these types of attacks are well aware of the pressure points and pain points, economic-wise,” says Dr. John Hale, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Tulsa. “They know what they can extract, how much they can extract.

“They prey upon two things: an organization’s reliance on information systems and two, the common situation, where an organization is a little bit behind on backup procedures and policies to prevent these types of things. It really is easy pickings for the bad guys.”

Crypto ransomware is designed to encrypt data stored on the computer, making the data useless unless the user obtains the key to decrypt it. A message details the ransom, which is typically paid in digital currencies such as bitcoin. Locker ransomware locks the computer or device’s interface — save for the ability to interact with the hacker — and demands money to restore it.

Continue reading “Ransomware: the digital plague infecting the world” »

May 22, 2016

Urban Produce: The Future of Farming is Growing UP!

Posted by in categories: economics, food, sustainability

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8QMOYnWBq0

Urban Produce High Density Vertical Growing System is a patented technology that was developed taking advanced hydroponic technology and automating it. Urban Produce has the capacity to grow 16 acres of produce on 1/8 of an acre with just one of it’s High Density Vertical Growing Systems. Our mission is to build our patented systems across the U.S. to provide both locally grown sustainable produce to Urban Cities while also stimulating the local economies. We are 21st century growing! www.urbanproduce.com

Read more

May 18, 2016

How Blockchain Will End World Poverty

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, encryption, geopolitics, law, transparency

Steve Forbes sits across Brian Singer, a partner at William Blair, as Blair explains the potential of blockhain encryption to empower individuals. He also explains why credit card companies are beginning to embrace a technology that undermines their high fees.

https://youtu.be/CecpCepnkAU

Singer-Forbes

May 18, 2016

QC will change many industries and even some fortunes as well

Posted by in categories: computing, economics, employment, quantum physics

QC will change many industries and even some fortunes as well. So, no wonders Canada & Australia both deem it as a priority.


Mike Lazaridis, founder of Blackberry Limited and the visionary who led the establishment of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI), the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo and Quantum Valley Investments, delivered a keynote address highlighting the Quantum Valley model in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada and the emphasis both federal and provincial governments have placed on the development of quantum technologies.

The Quantum Europe conference comes at a time when large scale investments from tech companies and governments around the world, including in Canada, are being made as part of the “Second Quantum Revolution” – a new global industry fueled by the commercialization of new transformative quantum technologies.

Continue reading “QC will change many industries and even some fortunes as well” »