No ratings yet.

As the world becomes increasingly digital, there is a rise in electronic consumption and electronic waste (e-waste). Only 17.4% of all e-waste is properly recycled and documented, meaning over 80% goes unaccounted for, causing significant environmental harm (Liu et al, 2023). Existing recycling processes have inefficiencies such as operational bottlenecks, poor coordination, and a lack of transparency. Businesses and consumers find it difficult to track where their e-waste ends up, which reduces trust in the recycling process. New recyclers also face challenges entering the market due to strict regulations and compliance requirements.

How ReCycleXchange Works

Recognizing the need for a more efficient solution, we propose ReCycleXchange. ReCycleXchange uses GenAI’s predictive analytics to match businesses with appropriate e-waste recyclers based on factors such as capacity, material type, and location. This optimizes the recycling process and minimizes the costs associated with it. By automating the manual work, the platform motivates businesses to recycle e-waste more effectively and sustainably.

Through real-time tracking, businesses can monitor the progress of their e-waste recycling efforts, allowing them to ensure compliance and improve their environmental practices. GenAI chatbots will provide users with on-demand customer service, further enhancing the user experience and creating lasting relationships with our customers.

To power this platform, we rely on several critical resources, with GenAI at the core. This technology drives predictive analytics and process automation, allowing us to optimize recycling operations efficiently. Real-time data collection is critical for making informed decisions and continuously updating our AI model.

Partnerships are crucial to the platform’s success. Collaborating with companies producing large amounts of e-waste, certified recycling organizations, and regulatory bodies will ensure compliance with industry standards. 

By integrating GenAI, ReCycleXchange allows businesses to track their e-waste throughout the recycling process with live updates and reports. This increased visibility helps businesses improve their recycling practices and make data-driven decisions. Customer service will be handled by GenAI-powered chatbots, providing instant support.

The platform will be available through a website and a mobile app, making it accessible to businesses and recyclers. Our marketing strategy will focus on online campaigns targeting large companies, as well as partnerships with sustainability organizations to increase credibility.

ReCycleXchange will generate revenue through several streams:

1. Subscription Fees: Businesses can choose from different plans, with basic options offering material matching and analytics, and premium plans providing real-time dashboards, predictive analytics, and benchmarking tools.
2. Transaction Fees: A fixed fee will be charged for transactions between businesses and recyclers, with variable rates based on the volume and type of e-waste.
3. Advertising: AI-driven ads will offer targeted promotions for recyclers and sustainability services.
4. Data Monetization: The platform will collect valuable data on recycling behaviors, helping us continuously improve the process and offer tailored solutions to users.

Additionally, training and consulting services will provide additional opportunities for businesses to optimize their recycling practices.

We believe that ReCycleXchange can encourage companies to recycle their e-waste in a sustainable way. This is important as we continue to become increasingly digital, producing more e-waste than ever.

References:

Götz, G., Mayer, J., & Fuchs, C. (2019). E-Waste recycling and sustainability in a digital society. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23(6), 1460-1473.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12928

Liu, J., Chen, Y., & Zhang, W. (2023). Informal e-waste recycling: A global review of environmental impact and health risks. Waste Management, 143, 123-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2022.12.004

Owusu-Sekyere, K., & Aladago, D. A. (2023). Material flow analysis and risk evaluation of informal E-waste recycling processes in Ghana: Towards sustainable management strategies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 430, 139706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139706

No ratings yet.

I completed my bachelor’s degree in 2021 before the widespread adoption of GenAI. After a couple years of working, I’m now back as a master’s student—and the difference in my academic experience is remarkable, largely thanks to GenAI.

When I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree, I had a very traditional approach to studying. I found myself going through hours of textbook and article readings in preparation for lectures, creating the most detailed notes, in the hopes that I did not miss anything essential. Before exams I found myself spending hours organizing these notes manually in a way that I could easily understand and study them. I found myself constantly stressing about missing something essential due to the human error I possess. I not only spent a lot of time creating and organizing notes for exam study, but I also found myself spending countless hours revising and restructuring multiple essay and project drafts before finally handing it in.

Now, as a master’s student, my study process has transformed with the help of GenAI tools such as Google’s NotebookLM and StudyFetch. These tools have helped me save a substantial amount of time, that I can now spend understanding and applying class material. Instead of reading and manually going through sources, I can ask these GenAI tools to summarize key points. This way I know I am not missing out on information. If I find something unclear, I can ask the tool to rephrase the information in a way that makes more sense to me. GenAI even assists with tasks like creating summaries from educational videos or generating flashcards to test my knowledge.

GenAI has also changed the way I approach group projects. By using tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm, my group and I can generate a wide range of ideas that we can develop further with our own creativity. Overall, GenAI has made studying far more efficient, and I’m far less stressed about managing my time.

I know there is a debate about whether using GenAI in our studies makes us lazier and less likely to learn and engage with course content at a deeper level. However, I have not found this to be true in my experience. I believe that when used correctly and ethically, GenAI can help save time by reducing repetitive and mundane tasks in studying, which in turn gives us more time to learn, understand and apply new course material. I find it to be a great study companion!

References:

Google. (n.d.). NotebookLM. Google Research. https://blog.google/technology/ai/notebooklm-ai-powered-notetaking/

StudyFetch. (n.d.). AI-powered study tools. https://www.studyfetch.com/

No ratings yet.

Today’s fast-changing digital landscape has made envelopment a popular business strategy, especially among tech companies. Envelopment is a strategy where a company uses its existing assets (such as their customer base, technology, or brand image) to offer new products or services and expand into different markets. Companies often bundle these new products or services with their existing products to provide additional value to consumers. When envelopment is executed well, it can result in the company capturing a significant share of the market. This is because network effects and economies of scale come into play, increasing the value of the product or service offered and simultaneously decreasing its costs. However, this may cause companies to become too powerful and engage in monopolistic behavior, leading to fewer choices for the consumer.

An example of how envelopment can lead to monopolistic practices is Apple. Apple has created an interconnected ecosystem of products and services. Owning more Apple devices adds more value to the user experience, while also making it difficult for the user to switch to one of Apple’s competitors. Some examples of services Apple offer across its devices are:

• iMessage and Facetime- these services are available exclusively on Apple devices and create a unique communication experience for users.
• iCloud- the cloud allows users to save and sync data across their Apple devices. This makes it difficult for Apple users to switch to non-Apple products.
• Apple pay- this digital wallet is exclusive to Apple products and is synced across Apple devices.
• Apple music- your entire music library is synced across your different Apple products.

As users buy more Apple products and become more integrated in its ecosystem, the switching costs of moving to a competitor become extremely high. The exclusivity of Apple’s services (ex. AirDrop) locks consumers in and limits their choices in the long run, as they are stuck within the Apple ecosystem. As Apple got more popular, it has been able to lock-in a larger consumer base through this strategy, giving the company close to monopoly power.

While Apple’s envelopment strategy has bee successful, it has increased consumer dependence on the Apple ecosystem and limited competition in the industry. These practices have attracted regulatory issues for the company. The European Commission [1] investigated Apple’s App Store policies and found that the company was evading competition by limiting app choices for consumers and placing restrictions on developers. One example is the banning of music streaming app developers from informing iOS users about alternative, cheaper music subscription services available outside of Apple Music. The EU Commission found that such unfair practices present in the Apple environment created unfair trading conditions where the interest of iOS users were negatively affected. Such policies by Apple led iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for Apple subscription services (such as Apple Music).

Apple’s example highlights how envelopment strategies when used to expand the consumer base of platform or digital firms can lead to monopoly-like power. This power often comes at the cost of consumers, who may be given fewer choices at higher prices, and third-party vendors, who may be charged extra. Apple’s case study has highlighted the need for tighter regulatory restriction on digital companies with this kind of power in the market. This would allow consumers to have more choice and marketplaces to have more competition.

References:

[1] European Commission – European Commission. (2024). Press corner. [online] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en [Accessed 18 Sep. 2024].

[2] Renascence.io. (2024). How Apple Elevates Customer Experience (CX) Through Ecosystem Integration. [online] Available at: https://www.renascence.io/journal/how-apple-elevates-customer-experience-cx-through-ecosystem-integration#:~:text=Apple.

‌[3] The (2024). Looking at the Apple monopoly – Technique. [online] Technique. Available at: https://nique.net/opinions/2024/03/29/looking-at-the-apple-monopoly/ [Accessed 18 Sep. 2024].

‌[4] Reddy, R. (2021). The Apple Ecosystem explained. [online] Mac O’Clock. Available at: https://medium.com/macoclock/the-apple-ecosystem-explained-c9dd6d00ec95.

‌

‌