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In 1900 you ask someone:

Is it possible for a machine to fly in the sky?

Is it possible for a machine to fly up to the moon?

Is it possible for a machine to bring a man up to the moon, let him walk around, and safely come back?

If you had asked any individual in 1900 these questions, you would most likely get a strange look, followed by a no to all three questions. Some may have heard about plans to fly a plane, which they could somehow imagine, but flying up to the moon? That’s just out of the question.

In 1903, The Wright brothers defied the odds and successfully flew and landed the first airplane. Just 55 years later, the USSR sent the first satellite into orbit. Just 13 years later the USA sent the first man up to the moon. This just goes to show how technology is changing, and how we cannot fathom the changes that are coming within our own lifetime, because they seem too far out of reach.

One interesting development, which I think will shape our future way of life is the AI driven companion. Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri are to artificial companions, as the Wright Brother’s flight were to flight. Consider the possibilities that open up when we combine virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI companions.

One group that will significantly benefit from these advancements is elderly individuals. By 2060, 1 in 5 individuals will be over 60 years old. The loss of social ties and social roles in the elderly means that this population group is prone to depression and associated health problems. Tech start-ups such as Intuition Robotics are looking to combat loneliness by providing AI companions for elderly. Although the products are still in their infancy, I would like to imagine that by the time we are 65+ years old, we will be able to actually see holograms of the companion through augmented reality, or that we will be able to put on virtual reality goggles and actually see and communicate with our AI companion through the various programs that will be available for VR by that time.

What technology do you think will be developed for the aging demographics to combat loneliness? Do you think AI companions will play a role in everyday life?

References:

Michaels, V. (2017, March 07). Public Access – Artificial Intelligence Robot Companion for the Elderly. Retrieved October 03, 2017, from https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/17/artificial-intelligence-robot-companion-for-the-elderly/

Dunbar, B. (2015, April 16). NASA Glenn’s Historical Timeline. Retrieved October 03, 2017, from https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/history/timeline.html

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You have all experienced the following situation in one way or another: You’re at a social gathering chatting and one friend brings up Bitcoin or another obscure cryptocoin and explains how it’s the future. Although there are a lot of arguments for and against digital currencies, I would like to dive into one use case, which I find the most interesting: international transactions. Without going into technical details regarding blockchain protocols, digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin allow digital funds to be safely transferred from account to account, without needing to pass through a central institution (bank), which significantly reduces transaction costs.

Developing countries are negatively affected by high international transaction fees

According to the World Bank, last year, international migrants sent USD 441 billion home to their native (developing) countries. Sending money to your native country is called a remittance payment. To show how much developing countries receive from individuals we can compare it to what developing countries receive from the west as aid. Western countries send about USD 150 billion to developing countries, or 1/3 of the amount that individuals send. The problem is that sending money as an individual is expensive due to the numerous intermediary institutions that international transactions need to pass through, which each drive up the price per transaction. According to the World Bank, the global average transaction fee for transferring money across borders is 7.45% of the total amount, which means that last year about USD 33 billion didn’t reach developing countries due to intermediary institutions such as Western Union and Moneygram. Developing countries are thus at a disadvantage, as intermediary institutions charge significant fees to transfer money internationally. Below is an overview of what it costs to send USD 50 to a developing country. The figures are from the World Bank.

 

What will happen to Western Union and Moneygram?

The market leaders facilitating remittance payments are Western Union and Moneygram. Due to the large sums of money that developing countries aren’t receiving due to intermediary payment-institutions, developing countries have a greater incentive to start regulating the use of popular digital currencies for remittance payments. For this reason, the Philippines recently legalized Bitcoin for the benefit of remittance payments. It’s likely that governments of countries that receive significant remittance payments will continue to make strides easing regulation of digital currencies for remittance use, reducing barriers to entry. Numerous remittance start-ups have popped up, making use of cryptocoins with low transaction costs. Individuals transferring money are unlikely to stay loyal to Western Union, opting to make use of a cheaper service. With numerous countries taking up different positions on Bitcoin and digital currencies, the question remains whether

Concluding 

With numerous countries taking up different positions on Bitcoin and digital currencies, the question remains whether digital currency will ever be mainstream accepted by governments. Whether mainstream acceptance comes or not, international payment inefficiency is one of the strongest reasons for why digital currency should be implemented by start-ups and large organizations if they want to decrease transaction costs.

Do you know any other interesting actual use cases for digital currency?

Could there ever be an E-Euro if we continue making strides towards a cashless society?

 

References: 

Remittance Prices Worldwide . (2017). World Bank, (21). Retrieved September 22, 2017, from https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/rpw_report_march_2017.pdf.