Blockchain and the Sharing Economy – from C2C to B2C (to B2B)?

18

October

2019

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What is the sharing economy?

In the sharing economy owners rent out something via peer-to-peer services. Essentially, a triangular relationship exists: the owner provides his or her underutilized asset to a person seeking these assets through an intermediary platform. Moreover, the intermediary typically normal a rating system so individuals on both sides of the transaction can trust each other.

Success players and Creative Destruction

Success players of the sharing economy impact traditional businesses: Airbnb effects the hotel industry and Uber the taxi and limousine industry, for example. Here we can see a process of creative destruction, where innovation defies the ‘old rules’ of the industry (Menne, 2019). Alibaba, the world’s biggest retailer does not own any goods, Uber the world’s largest taxi firm does not own a single vehicleand Airbnb, the world’s largest provider of accommodation does not own any real estate (Huck, 2016).

 Blockchain technology in the sharing economy

Blockchain distributed ledger systems may allow for even more transparency, security and traceability in the sharing economy. The digital ledgerenables multiple parties to reach an agreement on the authenticity of a transaction in a decentralized manner.Itbasically proves that something actually happened. Chelsea Rustrum (2019) gives a good example of the potential use of blockchain technology in the sharing economy: “If I have a car in Miami and I want to go to Bangkok, and I need an apartment. Well, with traditional sharing economy platforms, perhaps I put my car on a car sharing platform and I look for a place on Airbnb. Through a blockchain system, I could do a value exchange. I could lend my car to person A, meanwhile staying in person B’s apartment in Bangkok, and in a perfect world no money would actually have to be transferred because equivalents in value can be facilitated”. Blockchain technology further develops, and aids in the formation of value-distributed networks. With the advancement of blockchain the question rises whether business to business sharing through B2B platforms would be possible (e.g. sharing licenses or patents). Businesses often don’t trust a central platform provider. Here Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology could function as an anchor of trust and act as a neutral platform for potential B2B interactions.

Expanding the definition of the sharing economy

According to PWC the sharing economy is projected to increase to 50% of industries revenues by 2025 (Menne, 2019).Many commercial devices are not highly or readily available on the peer to peer market. For exmplae, not everyone owns a scooter, which creates higher demand for the Felyx. scooters. With new technological advancements, one could expand the definition of sharing economy, as it constitutes of both peer to peer (e.g. Airbnb flat sharing) and business to consumer sharing models (e.g. car sharing services such as ShareNow). In the future, through the prospective developments in Blockchain technology in the sharing economy, B2B transactions could be enabled, such as the sharing of patents and licenses (Rustrum, 2019).

Huckle, S. (2016). Internet of things, blockchain and shared economy applications. Procedia computer science, 98, pp.461-466.

Menne, A. (2019). Blockchain in the Sharing Economy. [online] UTwente. Available at: https://essay.utwente.nl/76517/1/Menne_BA_EEMCS.pdf [Accessed 18 Oct. 2019].

Rustrum, C. (2019). The Future of Blockchain — Bridging the Sharing Economy — a TEDx Talk. [online] Available at: https://hackernoon.com/the-future-of-blockchain-bridging-the-sharing-economy-a-tedx-talk-b46b897d27f8 [Accessed 18 Oct. 2019].

 

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Vegan Food Alternatives – A Rising Trend in the Tech Industry

17

October

2019

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Vegan Food Alternatives – A Rising Trend in the Tech Industry

In recent years more and more companies have invested into the development and production of vegan food alternatives, as the consciousness of consumers (especially in the Western world) in this area has grown and the consumption of non-dairy and meatless products has spiked. According to Oberst (2018), there has been an increase of 600% for people identifying as vegan in the United States from 2014 – 2017. This dynamic can be felt in other countries, with an increase in the number of vegetarians, as well as flexitarians, which comprise those people that only consume meat during specific time periods (Oberst, 2018).

Have you already tried the Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods burger? I personally have and they taste frighteningly like the real thing. Developments in plant-based alternatives, as well as cruelty-free meat substitutes have increased in recent years. Beyond Meat is one of many companies that is already in the midst of developing these alternatives. For example, the company managed to produce a meat-alternative from a mixture of “pea protein isolates, rice protein, mung bean protein, canola oil and coconut oil” that can even ‘blead’ like real meat does (Lettinger, 2019).The firm is currently making an effort to get costs down so that is plant-based products can be priced similar to animal products, in order to gain a higher market share (Daniel, 2019). The company is backed by tech giant Bill Gates, which has attracted further media attention and given it a greater credibility. The change in meat consumption to plant-based alternatives could furthermore have a great impact on the environment, as the emission of greenhouse gases could significantly be reduced.

So, what is the role of technology? As many firms being to, or continue to focus on the development of plant-based alternatives, this could significantly reduce the associated production costs in developing countries. There is a rising interest in the tech start up scene in this field and increasing investments, as well as more friendly regulatory environments will continue to drive innovation.

What is your opinion? Could you imagine eating only plant-based alternatives in the future? Do you see any potential downsides?

Daniel, E. (2019). World Vegan Day: five ways tech is benefiting vegans. [online] Verdict. Available at: https://www.verdict.co.uk/world-vegan-day-technology/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Lettinger, J. (2019). Vegan Meat is Now the Biggest Trend in the Tech Industry. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@jillettinger/vegan-meat-is-now-the-biggest-trend-in-the-tech-industry-d6b604f88b5c [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Oberst, L. (2019). Why the Global Rise in Vegan and Plant-Based Eating Isn’t A Fad (600% Increase in U.S. Vegans + Other Astounding Stats). [online] Food Revolution Network. Available at: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/vegan-statistics-global/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

 

 

 

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Tel Aviv – Silicon Wadi

16

October

2019

5/5 (1)

Many countries have established tech hubs and are trying to foster both investments and growth of the tech startup scene. Tech hubs around the world include Silicon Valley in the United States, London in Europe and Shenzhen in China (Ismail, 2019). According to Ismail (2019), tech hubs can be defined as places that inhabit both emerging and established technology firms in an innovation-first ecosystem. Israel, and in particular Tel Aviv, have experienced a high growth in the number of tech-related startups in the last years. In 2019, Israel became the country with the largest number of startups per capita in the world, with one startup per 1,400 inhabitants (Yerman, 2019). The country has termed the area populated by high technology startups and firms as Silicon Wadi, which can be translated as Silicon Valley from Hebrew.

There were several factors that contributed to the rise of Israel’s tech start up scene. For one the Israeli government made a big impact through vigorous tax cuts, the establishment of the Yozma program (an investment company that gave rise to the domestic venture capital sector) and high-tech incubator programs (Sheppard, 2019). Another important driver of innovation was the expansion of entrepreneurial education. Various Israeli universities created degrees tailored to the country’s fresh entrepreneurial spirit, thereby teaching students the foundational skills and capabilities needed for crafting successful businesses. Moreover, both Israeli Women and Men need to serve in the Israel Defense Force (32 months for men and 24 months for women). Israel has made large investments in the advancement of its military technology and equips young people with valuable tech-related skills, even training programmers and data scientists during their service (Sheppard, 2019).

As the reputation of Israel’s tech startup scene grew, many large venture capital investors were attracted, thereby increasing growth potentials for the startup ecosystem. Simultaneously tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon began setting up research and development centers in the area, thereby further fostering advances in innovation.

What do you think about the tech start up scene in Tel Aviv? What differences do you see to other established tech hubs?

Ismail, N. (2019). Israel’s tech start-up scene: the heartbeat of the economy. [online] Information Age. Available at: https://www.information-age.com/israels-tech-start-up-scene-123479255/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].

Sheppard, E. (2019). Sun, sand, sea and … unicorns? Why Tel Aviv is the world’s new startup capital. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business-to-business/2018/aug/02/sun-sand-sea-and-unicorns-why-tel-aviv-is-the-worlds-new-startup-capital [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].

Yerman, J. (2019). A Startup Nation: Why Israel Has Become The New Silicon Valley. [online] APEX | Airline Passenger Experience. Available at: https://apex.aero/2019/05/22/startup-nation-israel-become-silicon-valley [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].

 

 

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What if RSM could monitor your emotions during lectures?

16

October

2019

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Have you ever rolled your eyes or maybe even fallen asleep during a lecture? Imagine the lecture hall would have cameras installed that track your every move – a phenomenon that has become reality in Chinese classrooms. Several Chinese schools have installed facial recognition technology in order to track the attentiveness of students. The computers track students’ emotions such as “neutral, happy, sad, disappointed, angry, scary and surprised” (Connor, 2019). If the system finds a student is distracted or seems to be feeling unwell, a notification will be sent to the teacher, in order for him or her to act accordingly.

Emotion tracking is however not only used in classrooms, but also in employment. Many workers in China are equipped with wireless sensors installed in helmets or caps that feed information about their brainwaves to their employers (Thomas, 2019). Employers claim to use these reading to increase efficiency by changing shift schedules, break times and allocating tasks according to their staff’s livelihood and mood. However, this practice raises severe privacy concerns, as it is highly intrusive and can induce high stress levels for employees.

Use of emotion monitoring is expanding rapidly through China. Recruiters for example use emotional data to analyze the expressions of potential job candidates. Algorithms can measure whether you are telling the truth and whether your level of self-confidence is evident for the skills you claim to have (Mozur, 2019). Here problems of discrimination and potential biases that the software may induce arise.

Other advances in emotion tracking can for example be seen in the automotive industry, the banking industry or in marketing practices. As various other industries are beginning to use emotion monitoring, this continues to increase the conception of China as a surveillance state.

What are your thoughts on this phenomenon? Do you think similar practices could spread to the Western world?

Connor, N. (2019). Chinese school uses facial recognition to monitor student attention in class. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/17/chinese-school-uses-facial-recognition-monitor-student-attention/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].

Thomas, D. (2019). The cameras that know if you’re happy – or a threat. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44799239 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].

Mozur, P. (2019). One Month, 500,000 Face Scans: How China Is Using A.I. to Profile a Minority. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/technology/china-surveillance-artificial-intelligence-racial-profiling.html [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019]

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Can coding bootcamps replace higher education?

6

October

2019

5/5 (1)

In recent years there has been a sharp rise in the number of so-called ‘coding bootcamps’. A coding bootcamp is a technical training program in which students are taught programming and web development skills in a few weeks or months. Currently, graduating with a computer science degree takes about four years on average (Stanier, 2019). Coding bootcamps teach you a compact number of technological skills based on current industry dynamics in a much shorter time. The focus is on practical skills and application.

The digital era forces organizations to optimize their software capabilities in order to achieve operational efficiency, as well as to remain competitive (Kamen, 2019). Thus, the boom in coding bootcamps can greatly be attributed to the current talent shortage of software developers that exists across industries

There are several advantages of coding bootcamps. In relation to US college degrees, coding bootcamps cost a lot less, being priced at around 10,000-20,000 Euro. Nonetheless, in relation to many European universities coding bootcamps are a lot more expensive. Another advantage is that several coding bootcamps are online and thus can be performed remotely from anywhere in the world and in a flexible manner. Furthermore, the short duration of coding bootcamp enables them to respond to potential technological changes and to correspondingly alter their curriculum. According to a study performed by the job portal Indeed (2017), 72% of employers said bootcamp graduates are just as prepared to be high performers as degree holders.

On the other hand, most employees still require college degrees and view coding bootcamps as more of a form of continued education. College degrees are not only concerned with the material you study, but also foster personal growth and development of soft skills such as social competency, which online coding bootcamps in specific will be unable to provide (Kamen, 2019). Furthermore, the fast-paced nature of coding bootcamps may lead to people not fully understanding the material. Additionally, it is unrealistic to expect to be proficient in several programming languages in the course of just a few months.

While I do not believe coding bootcamps are a viable alternative to a college degree at this point, they pose a great opportunity for people that want to further develop their skills and improve their relative competitive positioning in the job market. Furthermore, I think it is not realistic to gain the full compass of coding skills that you would learn in a 4-year degree in such a short period of time. At this time coding bootcamps are more a place to get started in the web development field.

Have you ever thought about joining or already completed a coding bootcamp? Do you think a move from coding bootcamps to coding academies would threaten conventional higher education?

Sources:

Indeed. (2019). What Do Employers Really Think About Coding Bootcamps?. [online] Available at: http://indeed.com/2017/05/02/what-employers-think-about-coding-bootcamp/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Kamen, M. (2019). How Do Coding Bootcamps Compare To Traditional College?. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/07/29/how-do-coding-bootcamps-compare-to-traditional-college/#7ac05a04b824 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Stanier, J. (2019). Coding Bootcamps: a Glimpse at the Future of Education?. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@jstanier/coding-bootcamps-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-education-9592f2335758 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

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When will we be able to fly to university?

17

September

2019

5/5 (6)

Yesterday, the German startup Volocopter, which is backed by Daimler, made the debut of the first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flight above a European city. eVTOL aircrafts are currently being developed for the purpose of creating air taxi services in urban areas. Companies are using traditional drone technology to create vehicles that are safe enough for passenger transportation above ground. In China, advances in the eVTOL market are already substantial. The Chinese start up EHang, which develops and deploys autonomous air vehicles, will soon begin to pilot the transportation of residents in the Chinese metropole Guangzhou. The launch is made possible through a central traffic management hub, which is developed by EHang and the local Guangzhou government and which will control and monitor the eVTOL network.

Although substantial advancements in eVTOL technology have been made, there are several barriers that still need to be overcome. The four top concerns in urban mobility are:

1. Noise: rotor tip speeds need to be reduced to decrease noise levels comparative to helicopters
2. Energy management: concerns about pollution should be addressed through the application of electric powering
3. Cost: costs need to be reduced to foster widespread consumer acceptance and ability of use
4. Safety: advanced detection and collision systems are needed, as well as general air traffic management systems

Firms need to capitalize on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and high-performance computing, as well as leverage developments in autonomy, to begin to surmount some of the barriers named above. Furthermore, partnerships and collaboration between industry players, as well as with local governments are needed to exploit substantial opportunities.

While it may still take substantial time for us to be able to fly to university here in the Netherlands, this may soon become reality for students in China.

References:

Etherington, D. (2019). Autonomous air mobility company EHang to deploy air shuttle service in Guangzhou – TechCrunch. [online] TechCrunch. Available at: https://techc
runch.com/2019/08/09/autonomous-air-mobility-company-ehang-to-deploy-air-shuttle-service-in-guangzhou/ [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].

Figure Source: Lineberger, . (2019). Technological barriers to the elevated future of mobility. [online] Deloitte Insights. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/future-of-mobility/future-transportation-with-vtol.html [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].

McKinsey & Company. (2019). Air-mobility solutions: What they’ll need to take off. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/air-mobility-solutions-what-theyll-need-to-take-off [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].

Poulton, G. and Walker-Jones, O. (2019). Looking at the future of urban air mobility. [online] Roland Berger. Available at: https://www.rolandberger.com/de/Point-of-View/Looking-at-the-future-of-urban-air-mobility.html [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].

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