Adverse training AI models: a big self-destruct button?

21

October

2023

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“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in transforming industries, from healthcare to finance, but a lurking threat called adversarial attacks could potentially disrupt this progress. Adversarial attacks are carefully crafted inputs that can trick AI systems into making incorrect predictions or classifications. Here’s why they pose a formidable challenge to the AI industry.”

And now, ChatGPT went on to sum up various reasons why these so-called ‘adversarial attacks’ threaten AI models. Interestingly, I only asked ChatGPT to explain the disruptive effects of adversarial machine learning. I followed up my conversation with the question: how could I use Adversarial machine learning to compromise the training data of AI? Evidently, the answer I got was: “I can’t help you with that”. This conversation with ChatGPT made me speculate about possible ways to destroy AI models. Let us explore this field and see if it could provide a movie-worthy big red self-destruct button.

The Gibbon: a textbook example

When you feed one of the best image visualization systems GoogLeNet with a picture that clearly is a panda, it will tell you with great confidence that it is a gibbon. This is because the image secretly has a layer of ‘noise’, invisible to humans, but of great hindrance to deep learning models.

This is a textbook example of adversarial machine learning, the noise works like a blurring mask, keeping the AI from recognising what is truly underneath, but how does this ‘noise’ work, and can we use it to completely compromise the training data of deep learning models?

Deep neural networks and the loss function

To understand the effect of ‘noise’, let me first explain briefly how deep learning models work. Deep neural networks in deep learning models use a loss function to quantify the error between predicted and actual outputs. During training, the network aims to minimize this loss. Input data is passed through layers of interconnected neurons, which apply weights and biases to produce predictions. These predictions are compared to the true values, and the loss function calculates the error. Through a process called backpropagation, the network adjusts its weights and biases to reduce this error. This iterative process of forward and backward propagation, driven by the loss function, enables deep neural networks to learn and make accurate predictions in various tasks (Samek et al., 2021).

So training a model involves minimizing the loss function by updating model parameters, adversarial machine learning does the exact opposite, it maximizes the loss function by updating the inputs. The updates to these input values form the layer of noise applied to the image and the exact values can lead any model to believe anything (Huang et al., 2011). But can this practice be used to compromise entire models? Or is it just a ‘party trick’?

Adversarial attacks

Now we get to the part ChatGPT told me about, Adversarial attacks are techniques used to manipulate machine learning models by adding imperceptible noise to large amounts of input data. Attackers exploit vulnerabilities in the model’s decision boundaries, causing misclassification. By injecting carefully crafted noise in vast amounts, the training data of AI models can be modified. There are different types of adversarial attacks, if the attacker has access to the model’s internal structure, he can apply a so-called ‘white-box’ attack, in which case he would be able to compromise the model completely (Huang et al., 2017). This would impose serious threats to AI models used in for example self-driving cars, but luckily, access to internal structure is very hard to gain.

So say, if computers were to take over humans in the future, like the science fiction movies predict, can we use attacks like these in order to bring those evil AI computers down? Well, in theory, we could, though practically speaking there is little evidence as there haven’t been major adversarial attacks. Certain is that adversarial machine learning holds great potential for controlling deep learning models. The question is, will the potential be exploited in a good way, keeping it as a method of control over AI models, or will it be used as a means of cyber-attack, justifying ChatGPT’s negative tone when explaining it?

References

Huang, L., Joseph, A. D., Nelson, B., Rubinstein, B. I., & Tygar, J. D. (2011, October). Adversarial machine learning. In Proceedings of the 4th ACM workshop on Security and artificial intelligence (pp. 43-58).

Huang, S., Papernot, N., Goodfellow, I., Duan, Y., & Abbeel, P. (2017). Adversarial attacks on neural network policies. arXiv preprint arXiv:1702.02284.

Samek, W., Montavon, G., Lapuschkin, S., Anders, C. J., & Müller, K. R. (2021). Explaining deep neural networks and beyond: A review of methods and applications. Proceedings of the IEEE109(3), 247-278.

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AI-Powered Learning: My Adventure with TutorAI

16

October

2023

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Weapons of mass destruction – why Uncle Sam wants you.

14

October

2023

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The Second World War was the cradle for national and geopolitical informational wars, with both sides firing rapid rounds of propaganda at each other. Because of the lack of connectivity (internet), simple pamphlets had the power to plant theories in entire civilizations. In today’s digital age, where everything and everyone is connected, the influence of artificial intelligence on political propaganda cannot be underestimated. This raises concern as, unlike in the Second World War, the informational wars being fought today extend themselves to national politics in almost every first-world country.

Let us take a look at the world’s most popular political battlefield; the US elections; in 2016, a bunch of tweets containing false claims led to a shooting in a pizza shop (NOS, 2016), these tweets had no research backing the information they were transmitting, but fired at the right audience they had significant power. Individuals have immediate access to (mis)information, this is a major opportunity for political powers wanting to gain support by polarising their battlefield.

Probably nothing that I have said to this point is new to you, so shouldn’t you just stop reading this blog and switch to social media to give your dopamine levels a boost? If you were to do that, misinformation would come your way six times faster than truthful information, and you contribute to this lovely statistic (Langin, 2018). This is exactly the essence of the matter, as it is estimated that by 2026, 90% of social media will be AI-generated (Facing reality?, 2022). Combine the presence of AI in social media with the power of fake news, bundle these in propaganda, and add to that a grim conflict like the ones taking place in East Europe or the Middle East right now, and you have got yourself the modern-day weapon of mass destruction, congratulations! But of course, you have got no business in all this so why bother to interfere, well, there is a big chance that you will share misinformation yourself when transmitting information online (Fake news shared on social media U.S. | Statista, 2023). Whether you want it or not, Uncle Sam already has you, and you will be part of the problem.

Artificial intelligence is about to play a significant role in geopolitics and in times of war the power of artificial intelligence is even greater, luckily full potential of these powers hasn’t been reached yet, but it is inevitable that this will happen soon. Therefore, it is essential that we open the discussion not about preventing the use of artificial intelligence in creating conflict and polarising civilisations, but about the use of artificial intelligence to repair the damages it does; to counterattack the false information it is able to generate, to solve conflicts it helps create, and to unite groups of people it divides initially. What is the best way for us to not be part of the problem but part of the solution?

References

Facing reality?: Law Enforcement and the Challenge of Deepfakes : an Observatory Report from the Europol Innovation Lab. (2022).

Fake news shared on social media U.S. | Statista. (2023, 21 maart). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/657111/fake-news-sharing-online/

Langin, K. (2018). Fake news spreads faster than true news on Twitter—thanks to people, not bots. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat5350

NOS. (2016, 5 december). Nepnieuws leidt tot schietpartij in restaurant VS. NOS. https://nos.nl/artikel/2146586-nepnieuws-leidt-tot-schietpartij-in-restaurant-vs

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Drop it like it’s hot – Zipline’s innovative last-mile delivery

11

October

2022

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Picture this: you wake up in the morning, your head is aching and your muscles feel sore. “Oh no, I must have the flu” you think, pull out your phone and call up your doctor. The doctor prescribes you flu medicine and orders you to stay at home, after all, the flu is highly contagious. You go online, order the medicine at the closest pharmacy, and an hour later a bike courier delivers it on your doorstep. 

So what’s so special about that? Nothing really, at least in most urban areas. Living in Rotterdam, the next supermarket or pharmacy is probably just a 10-minute walk away from your apartment, and the scenario above probably sounds like a reality rather than a futuristic invention. But now imagine you wake up in Ghana, the middle of Australia, or any other underdeveloped rural area instead. The next pharmacy might be hours away, the streets are too rough for a bike courier, and thus urgent delivery of drugs is extremely expensive. Approximately half of the world’s population live in such rural conditions and, even though telemedicine is changing the quality and reach of healthcare services, they are unable to enjoy instant drug delivery. The WHO (2020) estimates that 5 million children die per year of preventable and treatable causes due to the lack and untimely delivery of medical supplies.

Enter Zipline, a last-mile logistics company that employs autonomous aircraft to bring instant delivery even to the most rural parts of the world. Patients and healthcare centers can order a vast variety of medical supplies online, or simply by sending a text to the Zipline team. The order is then prepared at a fulfillment center, packaged, and loaded onto one of the autonomous ‘planes’. The electric aircraft is then placed onto a ramp and catapulted into the air (see the picture below). After that, it autonomously flies to the designated drop-off zone, where it opens a hatch and drops the package equipped with a small parachute. Upon returning, the aircraft is caught by a ‘landing net’, picked up by an employee, and prepared for the next delivery. 

© 2022 Zipline International Inc

This innovative mode of delivery enables Zipline to serve more than 1,600 health facilities from their testing site in Ghana and deliver urgent supplies ten times faster and with 40% fewer costs compared to traditional transport methods (Freethink, 2022). In doing so, they revolutionize healthcare services in the region and enable timely access to medical supplies for roughly 25 million people. The beauty of the technology is its scalability. While traditional delivery methods such as cars and trucks are limited to existing infrastructure, over-the-air delivery can operate under (almost) any conditions for a fraction of the cost. The concept is so promising that Zipline entered a cooperation with Walmart to implement instant delivery in rural parts of the United States. 

While the positive impact of Zipline is clear in the rural testing areas, I’m curious about what you think about the impact the technology could have on your life. Make sure to leave a comment! 

(Also, if you want to find out more about Zipline, make sure to check out the video below)

References 

WHO. (2020, September 9). Children: Improving Survival and Well-being. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/children-reducing-mortality

Freethink. (2022, February 25). Instant Delivery for Everyone on Earth. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.freethink.com/technology/last-mile-logistics

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Did you know that your phone’s location data is worth $12 billion?

6

October

2021

No ratings yet. The research of “Interesting Engineering” platform found out that interconnected firms are monetizing user data and analytics from ‘1.9 billion devices’.

When you downloaded any application on your phone, did you get the notification asking for access to the location history?

Yes, I know. Most of us gave permission to those applications to access our data.

An initial report of The Next Web illustrated that some companies make a high amount of payments for privileged access to our location history which is stored on our mobile phones. Majority of them aim to keep it away from the spotlights. The industry faces sudden growth that is worth an estimated $12 billion. This involves the aggregators, collectors, marketplaces, and location intelligence firms.

The following report of TNW, called “The Markup”, stated 47 different firms collecting, selling, or trading the location data taken from our mobile phones. The findings show that an interconnected – collaborative group of organizations suggest a code to app developers, which can monetize user data and sell analytics from 1.9 billion devices. This could enable the external organization to access datasets from hundreds of millions of people. The article highlights six of the analyzed firms possessing the data from more than 1 billion devices, increasing accuracy of data in the industry.

Motherboard illustrated how X mode – gathering location data via apps collected data specifically from Muslim prayer apps in a 2020 report. Later this data was sold to military contractors for different purposes. Following the same year, in the report of Wall Street Journal it was found out that Venntel – another location data provider sold its collected data to federal agencies, which could help them with the immigration enforcement.

It is our choice whether we would like to provide them with our location data. I know that most apps require the location data such as weather forecast or maps related apps can’t function fully without knowing your location. However, not all apps need to have access to your location data. The main purpose of this is to analyze and use our location data to make more profit. Majority of applications ask for permission to access the location and it is easier to opt out, avoiding the risk. But for others? Time will show us how location data will be used next year, and if there will be new stricter regulations implemented to prevent malicious usage of the tech market.

Sources:
https://interestingengineering.com/your-phones-location-data-is-worth-12-billion
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgqm5x/us-military-location-data-xmode-locate-x

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The how-many-Vs of Big Data Again?

27

September

2021

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Four or five… You may have heard of the handful of core “Vs” of big data, namely Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity and Value. But have you heard of nine, or even 17!?

Just when big data was becoming a hot topic, back in 2017, the International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology published a paper that argued how big data needed way more ‘core Vs’ to be handled efficiently. They identified 14, which quickly ended with 17.

Let’s first have a recap of what big data entails. At its most basic level, we’re talking about a combination or collection of data sets that grows day by day. Everyone creates data constantly, whether on the phone, on the web, or on social media. This data is usually gathered by organizations whom business depends on facing big data challenges while improving their operational efficiency. Ultimately, big data are extremely large data sets that are dealt with systematically to reveal associations, patterns and trends relating to human behaviours that help address business problems that could never be tackled with traditional data processing software.

Figure 1: The 3 Vs of Big Data

The talk of “Vs” first began with Gartner analyst Doug Laney in 2001, which came up with the initial three: Volume, Variety, and Velocity. Companies like Oracle have stuck with these three ever since.

Why not Value and Veracity?

Because it’s of no use unless your data gets discovered in the first place. …or is it?

Some argue that finding merits or truths in data goes past the scope of big data; they’re about what analysts can do during and after the discovery process. It’s already about business users asking the right questions, recognizing patterns, and predicting behaviours.

In other words, some end their definitions and implications of Big Data when it is collected and stored. When it’s about turning it into information by assessing its Value, or looking into its accuracy & quality (Veracity), another door is opened. Inversely, as I mentioned earlier, some go as far as identifying 17 Vs. They consist of:

Validity (authenticity), Volatility (duration of usefulness), Visualisation (process), Virality (spreading speed), Viscosity (Lag of event), Variability (differentiation), Venue (different platform), Vocabulary (terminology), Vagueness (indistinctness of existence), Verbosity (redundancy), Voluntariness (contextual availability), Versatility (contextual flexibility) and, as a C amongst Vs, Complexity (correlation). You can read more about each here.

I think defining so many elements as being core of Big data becomes convoluted, and while they’re certainly all worth knowing about, the simplicity of the four, or “Five Vs” is lost. Ultimately, they’re all about maximizing the usability of said big data, and increasing ROI for the business. Without veracity and value, you’re left with enormous data sets with no purpose.

While Oracle may not agree with the new additions, IBM also follows the 5 Vs format. Meanwhile, Microsoft recognises 6:

Beyond the ones we are familiar with; Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity and Value, they add one more: Visualization. As SPSS, R, or Excel can plot graphics of any given data, they argue that Big Data cannot properly be interpreted or used without visualisation. Whether it’s a bar chart, table, or infographic linking to KPIs, visuals are needed in order to bring teams or organizations to the same page.

You may already be familiar on how Value is already an often controversial inclusion, as data with context, or with meaning, is usually considered Information. But what is your take on visualization? I believe it to be an interesting addition, but does it really belong? What about Value?

I’d love to hear which one you’d include if you had to create your own “Core Vs of Big Data”. Let me know!

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Why is Elon Musk the king of disruption?

26

September

2021

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Since one of the core themes of the ‘Information Strategy’ module is disruption, I thought it’s worthwhile to write an article about the king of disruption – Mr. Elon Musk.

 You might think that naming Musk THE King of disruption is a bold assumption, but you will be convinced when you see the amount of industries he has shaken.

Financial industry

Back in 1999, Elon founded the company X.com. He envisioned the company as a digital banking and investment services site that offered everything from checking accounts to insurance, mortgage and bonds (Constanty, 2021). X.com was one of the very first online banking services. The company later became PayPal, one of the most successful FinTech businesses.  Nowadays the FinTech industry has been growing exponentially, and it is projected to reach 324 billion by 2026 (Zinchenko, 2021). Thus, Elon Musk significantly contributed to the current state of online banking services.

Automotive industry

In 2003, Elon founded Tesla. The tesla cars weren’t the first electric vehicles nor the first capable of autonomous driving. However, they are the best in the market for both energy and production efficiency. Additionally, Tesla’s chips are regarded as being 6 years ahead of Toyota and VW, and at least 3 years ahead of the most advanced Nvidia Orin chip (Park, 2020). Tesla cars are not only a leader in the technology behind the car, but also in their positioning and branding strategy. The company was able to surpass Mercedes as a leading luxury car brand in the USA.

Aerospace industry

In 2002, Elon founded SpaceX, with an ambitious objective to make humanity multiplanetary. Again, his technology is not the first, but rather the most efficient. SpaceX’s Falcon rockets are reusable, unlike traditional rockets in the industry. As such, SpaceX is providing up to 5x decrease in costs of getting a spacecraft into the sky in comparison to established aerospace companies (CBinsights, 2021).

 Telecommunications industry

Starlink is yet another company founded by Musk. It aims to provide satellite internet to the hardest-to-reach consumers, which the traditional telecommunication companies have failed to satisfy (CBinsights, 2021). Yet gain, Elon’s idea is offering better performance in terms of cost, speed and latency.

Are you convinced now that Elon Musk is indeed the king of disruption? If no – there are even more industries that will be impacted by this genius. If I dwell into everything, this blog post will be the length of a thesis. If you are interested, look up – ‘Hyperloop’ (transport disruptor), ‘The boring company’ (tunneling, infrastructure disruptor), Neuralink (healthcare disruptor) and Solarcity (energy disruptor).

Maybe he is an alien, maybe he is just a genius mastering the art of disruption.

References

CBinsights. (2021, April 24). From Energy To Transport To Healthcare, Here Are 8 Industries Being Disrupted By Elon Musk And His Companies. Retrieved from CBinsights: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/elon-musk-companies-disruption/

Constanty, B. (2021, Feb 25). The Elon Musk Effect: The Timeless Power Of Disruption And Brand Authority. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/02/25/the-elon-musk-effect-the-timeless-power-of-disruption-and-brand-authority/?sh=152eb2cd7ee5

Park, T. (2020, Oct 12). Why Tesla Will Dominate Autonomous Driving. Retrieved from Simplify: https://www.simplify.us/blog/why-tesla-will-dominate-autonomous-driving

Zinchenko, P. (2021). Why is FinTech Growing: 3 Trends that Will Shape the Industry in 2021 and Beyond. Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://www.mindk.com/blog/why-is-fintech-growing/

Featured image source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/369870

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0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds: The Tesla Roadster.

8

October

2020

The pinnacle of electrification of cars.
As the successor to the first production car of Tesla, which was the 2008 Roadster, the development of the new Tesla Roadster was announced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in November 2017.

TeslaRoadster2

The fully electric vehicle is said to be released after the release of the renewed Model S, currently Tesla’s most famous model car. Tesla promises a 0-60 of 1.9 seconds with a top speed over 250 mph (400 km/h). The Roadster would be capable of such incredible performance figures due to its staggering 10,000 Nm of torque and all-wheel drive system. This would make the Tesla Roadster the fastest car in the world.

The Roadster would break all records for acceleration and performance compared to traditional super cars with combustion engines. With an expected range of 1,000 km, the range for electric vehicles would be greatly outperformed. Currently, this record is also held by Tesla, with the Tesla Model Y which has a range of 508 km. This is the most interesting point to me. Although the Tesla Roadster might look like an electric toy for rich people, in reality, I think the Tesla Roadster will achieve 2 things that are very important in our search for a sustainable future.

The 2 reasons:
1. Just like with their Model S, the Tesla Roadster will make electric vehicles more appealing. Before the introduction of the Model S, electric vehicles were mostly low performance cars with boring designs. The segment was mainly intended for early adopters: drivers with a strong interest in sustainability and wanting to compromise on performance and design, in return for a more eco-friendly footprint with regards to their driving. After the Model S took the market by storm, the image of electric vehicles was completely changed. No longer where electric cars associated with compromising performance and boring designs. Instead, Tesla made electric vehicles a reasonable choice in the executive segment. The Tesla Roadster is capable of doing the same. Outperforming “classic” super cars, the Roadster will increase the appeal of electric driving world wide.

Elon happy

2. The tesla Roadster will push electric vehicle technology further with record breaking acceleration, top speed and most importantly: range. Currently, electric vehicles are known for their acceleration. The electric drive train makes it possible for the cars to have full access to their potential power from the moment you hit the pedal. However, their topspeed and range are often limited, due to the battery size. Batteries are heavy and therefore companies have to find a balance between the required performance (speed, acceleration, range) and how heavy they want the car to be. After all, the heavier the car, the more the weight is influencing the desired performance. I think the Tesla Roadster will push other car manufacturers to further develop the electrification of cars. This will result in more widely available models with increased performance at a more consume friendly price.

0to100realquick2

Do you have some savings laying around and has this blog article made you interested in the Tesla Roadster?
Prices are still to be announced for the European market, but the base model is expected to cost 200,000 dollar in the US, but the first 1,000 production cars (announced as the Founder series) will be priced at 250,000 dollar in the US. Future customers can pre-order the Roadster with a base reservation of 43.000 euro and a founders-serie reservation of 215,000 euro (for the Netherlands). For more information, check out Tesla’s  website:  https://www.tesla.com/nl_NL/roadster?redirect=no

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BIM, Meet Gertrude!

6

October

2020

Gertrude enjoying a well deserved drink during her performance. 

In August 2020, famous tech entrepreneur Elon Musk revealed his latest technological project: a pig called Gertrude. On first sight, Gertrude looks like an ordinary Pig. She seems healthy, curious, and eager to taste some delicious snacks. When looking at her, it is hard to imagine how she managed to get one of the world’s most radical and well known tech entrepreneurs so excited. Gertrude just seems normal.

This is exactly the point!

ElonMuskGotcha

Elon Musk “Gotcha”

Gertrude is no ordinary pig. She has been surgically implanted with a brain-monitoring chip, Link V0.9, created by one of Elon Musk’s latest start-ups named Neuralink.

Neuralink was founded in 2016, by Elon Musk and several neuroscientists. The short term goal of the company is to create devices to treat serious brain diseases and overcome damaged nervous systems. Our brain is made up of 86 billion neurons: nerve cells which send and receive information through electrical signals. According to Neuralink, your brain is like electric wiring. Rather than having neurons send electrical signals, these signals could be send and received by a wireless Neuralink chip.

To simplify: Link is a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires

The presentation in August was intended to display that the current version of the Link chip works and has no visible side-effects for its user. The user, in this case Gertrude, behaves and acts like she would without it. The chip is designed to be planted directly into the brain by a surgical robot. Getting a Link would be a same day surgery which could take less than an hour. This creates opportunities for Neuralink to go to the next stage: the first human implantation. Elon Musk expressed that the company is preparing for this step, which will take place after further safety testing and receiving the required approvals.

The long term goal of the Neuralink is even more ambitious: human enhancement through merging the human brain with AI. The system could help people store memories, or download their mind into robotic bodies. An almost science-fictional idea, fuelled by Elon Musk’s fear of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Already in 2014, Musk called AI “the biggest existential threat to humanity”. He fears, that with the current development rate, AI will soon reach the singularity: the point where AI has reached intelligence levels substantially greater than that of the human brain and technological growth has become uncontrollable and irreversible, causing unforeseeable effects to human civilization. Hollywood has given us examples of this with The Matrix and Terminator. With the strategy of “if you cannot beat them, join them”, Elon Musk sees the innovation done by Neuralink as an answer to this (hypothetical) catastrophical point in time. By allowing human brains to merge with AI, Elon Musk wants to vastly increase the capabilities of humankind and prevent human extinction.

Singularity
Man versus Machine

So, will we all soon have Link like chips in our brains while we await the AI-apocalypse?

Probably not. Currently, the Link V0.9 only covers data collected from a small number of neurons in a coin size part of the cortex. With regards to Gertrude, Neuralink’s pig whom we met earlier in this article, this means being able to wirelessly monitor her brain activity in a part of the brain linked to the nerves in her snout. When Gertrude’s snout is touched, the Neuralink system can registers the neural spikes produced by the neurons firing electronical signals. However, in contrast: major human functions typically involve millions of neurons from different parts of the brain. To make the device capable of helping patients with brain diseases or damaged nervous system, it will need to become capable of collecting larger quantities of data from multiple different areas in the brain.

On top of that, brain research has not yet achieved a complete understanding of the human brain. There are many functions and connections that are not yet understood. It appears that the ambitions of both Elon Musk and Neuralink are ahead of current scientific understanding.

So, what next?

Neuralink has received a Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the organisation that regulates the quality of medical products. This means Neuralink has the opportunity to interact with FDA’s experts during the premarket development phase and opens the opportunity towards human testing. The first clinical trials will be done on a small group of patients with severe spinal cord injuries, to see if they can regain motor functions through thoughts alone. For now a medical goal with potentially life changing outcomes, while we wait for science to catch up with Elon Musk’s ambitions.

 Neuralink-Logo

Thank you for reading. Did this article spark your interest?
For more information, I recommend you to check out Neuralink’s website https://neuralink.com/

Curious how Gertrude is doing?
Neuralink often posts updates on their Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/neura.link/?hl=en

Want to read more BIM-articles like this?
Check out relating articles created by other BIM-students in 2020:

Sources used for this article:

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The ‘new’ pricing strategy of console games

1

October

2020

No ratings yet. Even though the freemium pricing strategy has been around some time (‘Fremium’, 2020, it is starting to make its entry in the bigger mainstream games. Some of the most known examples of this are most likely Fortnite, Apex and Warzone. Those games are free to download and offer access to basically everything the game offers. They make revenue by selling cosmetic items and through a subscription based ‘Battle pass’. In the past, games like these would cost around 60 euros and you would still have the ability to buy downloadable content.

More and more games are adopting a similar style of releasing big games for free, or at least part of it. Warzone for example, is part of a Call of Duty game. If you start up Warzone, you see the menu that would go to the other part of the game but it is locked if you haven’t bought the entire game.

It makes perfect sense for Call of Duty to release Warzone separately for free. As it is a digital good, the marginal cost is almost zero as it is already existing in the PlayStation or XBOX stores and it only has to be downloaded by the user. Usually, the fixed costs are rather high for informational goods. Even though that may be the case with Warzone as well, I think that they could use a lot of the programming work of the actual game. So the core was already made for the actual game and they only had to change and add some smaller things for Warzone. This may have lowered the fixed costs for Warzone.

By releasing it for free, a lot more people download it compared to when it would’ve been a game that had to be bought (Takashi, 2020). Because of this, there are some positive network externalities like better matchmaking and the possibility to play with your friends. This increases the value the game gives for the users which leads to a higher willingness to pay. As the game is free, the users may decide to buy those battle passes. It could even lead to buyers buying the entire game because they liked the free-playable part of it.

In conclusion, I think that the freemium pricing strategy is one that we will see more often in the higher end of the game industry. The main reason for this is that they could leverage the knowledge and functionality of the actual game, to create a sub-game at a relatively low cost which attracts new customers and new revenue to the game (Their, 2020). In that sense, the free to play ‘sub-games’ could even be seen as a disruptive innovation as they are good enough for a lower market.

References
Freemium. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Retrieved 1 October 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium.

Takahashi, D. (2020). Call of Duty: Warzone hits 60 million downloads in less than 2 months. VentureBeat. Retrieved 1 October 2020, from https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/05/call-of-duty-warzone-hits-60-million-downloads-in-52-days/.

Thier, D. (2020). Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Battle Royale ‘Warzone’ Is Free-To-Play, Here’s When You Can Play. Forbes. Retrieved 1 October 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2020/03/10/ps4-xbox-one-pc-download-call-of-duty-modern-warfares-battle-royale-warzone-is-free-to-play-heres-when-you-can-play/.

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