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Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX. Elon Musk, its founder, aims at deploying a total of 42,000 satellites. The technology works by connecting thousands of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LOE), orbiting at around 550km from the Earth, compared to classic geostationary satellites, orbiting the planet at 35,786km (Starlink, n.d.). The low latency of the connection (20ms vs 600+ms) makes it possible for people to use video calls, streaming or online gaming (Starlink, n.d.). The company has launched close to 3,400 satellites so far (Wall, 2022), and launches new satellites regularly (satellites launch can be seen in the sky like in the picture above). Starlink satellites are constantly moving and interconnected via laser beam, they already serve 32 countries as of August 2022 (Crist, 2022).

Starlink offers numerous advantages. It allows both individuals and businesses to use its services and benefit from a world, of high-speed internet coverage.  Easy to use, it only requires buying a Starlink Kit, which provides an antenna that will automatically orient itself towards the nearest Starlink satellite to connect within minutes, providing a clear view of the sky (Starlink, n.d.). The satellite network has proven itself very useful in recent events, helping restore the internet in Florida, where hurricane Ian destroyed many infrastructures, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity (Biron, 2022). Another example of its application is in Ukraine. SpaceX spent around $80 million dollars so far, sending thousands of Starlink satellite kits to Ukraine, helping Ukrainian soldiers communicate on the battlefield (Pandurangi, 2022).

However, the service proposed by SpaceX also poses some problems. There is a first concern regarding the light pollution of the sky by Starlink satellites constellation. They are more visible right before sunrise and right after sunset and interfere with astronomers’ observation of the sky (McDowell, 2020). The more satellites will be active in the sky, the more they will interfere with the astronomers’ work, who will less be able to observe asteroids (which can be potential threats), black holes, or new planets. A second concern is satellite debris. More satellites in orbit could potentially increase the number of crashes, creating more satellite debris, creating more crashes etc., known as the Kessler syndrome (Kessler et al., 2010). Finally, SpaceX is likely to face more regulations from American institutions, as well as competition with similar projects (Amazon and China are developing similar projects).

References

Biron, B. (2022, October 2). Elon Musk will deliver 120 Starlink satellites to southwest Florida to help residents get back online after Hurricane Ian. Business Insider. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-delivers-starlink-internet-florida-hurricane-ian-2022-10?international=true&r=US&IR=T

Crist, R. (2022, August 11). Starlink Explained: Everything to Know About Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Venture. CNET. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/starlink-satellite-internet-explained/

Glen, S. (n.d.). Fixed Effects / Random Effects / Mixed Models and Omitted Variable Bias. Statistics How To. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.statisticshowto.com/experimental-design/fixed-effects-random-mixed-omitted-variable-bias/#omitted

Kessler, Johnson, Liou, & Matney. (2010, February). The Kessler Syndrome: Implications to Future Space operations (AAS 10-016). American Astronautical Society. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://threecountrytrustedbroker.com/media/kesseler_syndrome.pdf

McDowell, J. C. (2020, April 6). The Low Earth Orbit Satellite Population and Impacts of the SpaceX Starlink Constellation. The Astrophysical Journal, 892(2), L36. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab8016

Pandurangi, N. (2022, October 4). Hours after being blasted for parroting Putin’s propaganda, Elon Musk says he is “obviously” pro-Ukraine and says SpaceX has spent $80 million on Starlink in the country. Business Insider. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/musk-says-spacex-spent-80-million-starlink-ukraine-2022-10?international=true&r=US&IR=T

Riegg, S. K. (2008). Causal Inference and Omitted Variable Bias in Financial Aid Research: Assessing Solutions. The Review of Higher Education, 31(3), 329–354. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2008.0010

Starlink. (n.d.). WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED BROADBAND SATELLITE INTERNET. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.starlink.com/technology

Wall, M. (2022, September 25). SpaceX launches another 52 Starlink satellites, lands rocket at sea. Space.com. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-launch-group-4-35

Williams, R. (2018). Panel Data 4: Fixed Effects vs Random Effects Models. nd.edu. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www3.nd.edu/~rwilliam/stats3/Panel04-FixedVsRandom.pdf

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AI is disrupting many industries, from healthcare to banking and financial services. This technology
can be categorized as either strong AI or weak AI (also called narrow AI). It can be defined as a part of computer sciences creating algorithms which try to simulate intelligent human behavior (Caron, 2019).

Ant Group, an affiliate company of Alibaba (the Chinese e-commerce giant), heavily exploits this technology and the opportunities that it brings. The Chinese company serves more than one billion people and more than 80 million businesses. Ant Group offers services such as consumer lending, wealth management, money market funds, health insurance, and credit rating. It relies on Alipay to feed its huge customer database. Alipay is the most widely used online/mobile payment service
provider in China (Ayden, n.d.). Ant Group provides services to many people who did not have previously access to financial services because of insufficient funds or geographic isolation. AI allows the firm to ease and automate financial processes.

One example of the application of AI is for credit rating and giving loans to people or businesses. The algorithms developed by the Chinese company analyse millions of data about its users collected via Alipay or shared by the users themselves. The algorithm then uses the data to adapt the interest rate and the amount of the loan based on the user profile. Thanks to the accuracy of the analysis, Ant Group
enjoys a loan delinquency rate of roughly 1% to 2% (Nikkei Asia, 2020).

The second example of AI application in the Chinese company is for their insurance services. Thanks to an AI-driven algorithm, the insurance claims can be proceeded much faster, in a system the company calls Intelligent Insurance Claims (Alibaba Cloud, 2019). The system improves service efficiency and reduces costs. It consists of three steps. First, one files the complaint in 2 minutes. Second, it takes one second for the claim to be processed. Finally, the individual receives the payment in two hours (Alibaba Cloud, 2019).

 

References:

Adyen. (n.d.). Alipay payment method. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.adyen.com/payment-methods/alipay

Caron, M. S. (2019). The transformative effect of AI on the banking industry. Banking & Finance Law Review, 34(2), 169-214. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/transformative-effect-ai-on-banking-industry/docview/2207836906/se-2

Cho, Y. (2020, November 2). How AI and vast data support Ant Group’s financial empire. Nikkei Asia. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/How-AI-and-vast-data-support-Ant-Group-s-financial-empire 

Competing in the Age of AI. (2021, January 21). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2020/01/competing-in-the-age-of-ai 

Qi, A. (2019, December 26). Ant Financial Applies AI in Financial Sector. Alibaba Cloud. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.alibabacloud.com/blog/ant-financial-applies-ai-in-financial-sector_595687