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Benchmarking Robots with Dog-Inspired Barkour – IEEE Spectrum

June 11, 2023 | Author: admin

Inspired by dog-agility courses, a team of scientists from Google DeepMind has developed a robot-agility course called Barkour to test the abilities of four-legged robots.

Since the 1970s, dogs have been trained to nimbly jump through hoops, scale inclines, and weave between poles in order to demonstrate agility. To take home ribbons at these competitions, dogs must have not only speed but keen reflexes and attention to detail. These courses also set a benchmark for how agility should be measured across breeds, which is something that Atil Iscena Google DeepMind scientist in Denversays is lacking in the world of four-legged robots.

Despite great developments in the past decade, including robots like MITs Mini Cheetah and Boston Dynamics Spot which have shown how animal-like robots movement can be, a lack of standardized tasks for these types of robots has made it difficult to compare their progress, Iscen says.

Quadruped Obstacle Course Provides New Robot Benchmarkyoutube

Unlike previous benchmarks developed for legged robots, Barkour contains a diverse set of obstacles that requires a combination of different types of behaviors such as precise walking, climbing, and jumping, Iscen says. Moreover, our timing-based metric to reward faster behavior encourages researchers to push the boundaries of speed while maintaining requirements for precision and diversity of motion.

For their reduced-size agility coursethe Barkour course was 25 meters squared instead of up to 743 square meters used for traditional coursesIscen and colleagues chose four obstacles from traditional dog-agility courses: a pause table, weave poles, climbing an A-frame, and a jump.

We picked these obstacles to put multiple axes of agility, including speed, acceleration, and balance, he said. It is also possible to customize the course further by extending it to contain other types of obstacles within a larger area.

As in dog-agility competitions, robots that enter this course are deducted points for failing or missing an obstacle, as well as for exceeding the courses time limit of roughly 11 seconds. To see how difficult their course was, the DeepMind team developed two different learning approaches to the course: a specialist approach that trained on each type of skill needed for the coursefor example, jumping or slope climbingand a generalist approach that trained by studying simulations run using the specialist approach.

After training four-legged robots in both of these different styles, the team released them onto the course and found that robots trained with the specialist approach slightly edged out those trained with the generalized approach. The specialists completed the course in about 25 seconds, while the generalists took closer to 27 seconds. However, robots trained with both approaches not only exceeded the course time limit but were also surpassed by two small dogsa Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix and a Dachshundthat completed the course in less than 10 seconds.

There is still a big gap in agility between robots and their animal counterparts, as demonstrated in this benchmark, the team wrote in their conclusion.

While the robots performance may have fallen short of expectations, the team writes that this is actually a positive because it means theres still room for growth and improvement. In the future, Iscen hopes that the easy reproducibility of the Barkour course will make it an attractive benchmark to be employed across the field.

We proactively considered reproducibility of the benchmark and kept the cost of materials and footprint to be low. We would love to see Barkour setups pop up in other labs.Atil Iscen, Google DeepMind

We proactively considered reproducibility of the benchmark and kept the cost of materials and footprint to be low, Iscen says. We would love to see Barkour setups pop up in other labs and we would be happy to share our lessons learned about building it, if other research teams interested in the work can reach out to us. We would like to see other labs adopting this benchmark so that the entire community can tackle this challenging problem together.

As for the DeepMind team, Iscen says theyre also interested in exploring another aspect of dog-agility courses in their future work: the role of human partners.

At the surface, (real) dog-agility competitions appear to be only about the dogs performance. However, a lot comes to the fleeting moments of communication between the dog and its handler, he explains. In this context, we are eager to explore human-robot interactions, such as how can a handler work with a legged robot to guide it swiftly through a new obstacle course.

A paper describing DeepMinds Barkour course was published on the arXiv preprint server in May.

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Moose breaks into Bradley International Airport property, euthanized by environment officials – FOX61 Hartford

June 11, 2023 | Author: admin

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. A moose was euthanized by environment officials after it broke through the property of Bradley International Airporton Friday.

DEEP officials said that they received a report of a moose spotted near the airport. DEEP Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police and Wildlife Division staff then went to the scene.

The moose was on the property in the vicinity of the airport and had breached an outer perimeter fence. Out of an abundance of caution, to protect the airport environment as well as vehicles on Route 20, EnCon Police and Wildlife Division made the decision to euthanize the moose.

DEEP officials said that when moose are roaming in high-traffic areas such as airports and public roadways it can be a public safety concern and both DEEP and airport staff are authorized to euthanize a moose if deemed necessary.

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GA Drilling tests technology for cost-efficient deep geothermal drilling – Inceptive Mind

June 11, 2023 | Author: admin

Geothermal energy is widely recognized as a clean, renewable, and dependable source of energy. However, its full potential is limited by the geographic distribution of high-temperature rocks near the surface.

GA Drilling, a Houston-based geothermal technology company, made a significant advance in deep geothermal drilling with the successful public demonstration of its innovative drilling tool, the ANCHORBIT.

The test, conducted in collaboration with Nabors Industries Ltd. at their technology center in Houston, displayed the tools ability to double drilling speed and extend the drillbit lifetime in hard and abrasive formations. These advances have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of deep geothermal drilling, remove financial barriers, and expand global access to geothermal energy.

The success of GA drilling in geothermal technology contributes to meeting decarbonization goals and offers a viable solution to retrofitting carbon-intensive coal power plants, reducing emissions, and strengthening energy independence from fossil fuels worldwide. GA Drilling is a pioneer in advanced drilling techniques using plasma and thermomechanical technologies.

ANCHORBIT is designed to enable deep drilling in high-temperature hard formations compared to drilling in shallow wells. The technology aims to penetrate crystalline rock at a depth of more than 5 km (3 miles) at high rates, harness hot water from the Earths crust to generate clean energy, and convert it into power.

ANCHORBIT is a specialized downhole walking system designed to improve stability and prevent vibrations during drilling operations in high-temperature, hard rock typically found in deep geothermal projects. By stabilizing the drillbit in the wellbore and allowing weight to be added to the bit, the ANCHORBIT can double the rate of penetration and extend the life of the drillbit. This is a significant improvement over current drilling methods that suffer from vibration, low penetration rates, and frequent bit changes in such challenging conditions.

ANCHORBITs cost-effectiveness integrates seamlessly with conventional rotary drilling techniques to make geothermal projects economically viable. The tool is also designed for use in conjunction with GA Drillings PLASMABIT technology, which further increases drilling capabilities in the geothermal industry. With ANCHORBIT, GA Drilling aims to improve drilling economics, accelerate commercialization, and enable large-scale deployment of geothermal projects.

Tomas Kristofic, Founder and CTO of GA Drilling, said, ANCHORBIT is an excellent mixture of existing technologies, spiced by unique innovations. As a result, it brings unparalleled enhancement in drilling performance and consistency to existing drilling technologies. It is a long-awaited leap on the path to the breakthrough technology enabler of a geothermal revolution.

By developing breakthrough technologies, the company is paving the way for accessing deep geothermal energy sources globally, providing terawatts of clean energy from unprecedented depths, and revolutionizing the geothermal industry.

Privacy class actions: claimant groups yet to find the right formula – Lexology

June 11, 2023 | Author: admin

If Lloyd v. Google closed one door for data protection class actions, Prismall v. Google and DeepMind has left another faintly ajar. Whether a suitable claim exists that could fit the narrow gap is another matter.

The decision follows another recent case in which the court gave a wider interpretation to the test for a representative claim. The case law in this area will be closely watched as part of a wider trend in group actions, ranging from environmental mass tort claims to consumer claims and ClientEarth's climate change-related derivative action against Shell's directors, alongside a variety of data privacy claims.

Doctor-patient confidentiality

The dispute in this case related to a collaboration between DeepMind, the artificial intelligence laboratory owned by Google, and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation. The NHS Trust gave DeepMind access to a substantial amount of patient records, for the purpose of developing a clinical system to help the Trust's doctors identify and treat patients with acute kidney injuries.

Mr Prismall brought proceedings as a representative claimant on behalf of approximately 1.6 million people, under the tort of misuse of private information. The essence of that tort is that the defendant has wrongfully interfered with information to which the claimant had a reasonable expectation of privacy. In the present case, Mr Prismall alleged that Google and DeepMind had done so by obtaining and using their patient records for purposes other than their direct treatment.

Representative actions

To bring a claim under the representative action mechanism (CPR 19.6), a claimant needs to show that the proposed class of claimants has the '"same interest'". In the recent case of Commission Recovery v. Marks & Clerk, the court confirmed that this test could be satisfied even if there were some differences between the claimants' positions, so long as their interests were not in conflict.

In that case, there existed a common set of facts on which breach could be judged, and a ready method for quantifying damages without the need to assess individual circumstances. In other cases, the nature of the alleged breach and damages available will differ depending on the specific facts for each claimant. For a large class of relatively low- value claims, the need to consider each claimant separately can render the litigation uneconomic.

Lowest common denominator

This was at the heart of Lloyd v. Google, which was framed as a breach of data protection legislation rather than in the tort of misuse of private information but faced similar hurdles. In that case, the claimants attempted to pursue a claim based on the minimum harm that would have been done to a person who fell within the prospective class of claimants. The Supreme Court was prepared in principle to proceed on this '"lowest common denominator'" method, but found that on the facts, the minimum harm caused would fall below the threshold needed to establish an entitlement to damages.

The claimant also attempted to pursue the lowest common denominator method in Prismall, but although the facts and basis of claim were different, the claim failed for similar reasons. The judge found that a reasonable expectation of privacy did not arise in every instance involving patient records. There was a spectrum, with '"minor or anodyne'" material, particularly that already in the public domain (for example because the patient has tweeted about the injury sustained) falling below a required threshold of seriousness. Wrongful interference also depended on factors such as whether the records were being used for the treatment of the relevant patient.

Since the claim was advanced on a '"global irreducible basis'", the court had to consider each element of the tort at the lowest end of the spectrum: a patient who had only visited the hospital once, in relation to a condition that was not sensitive, with only limited information collected, which was in the public domain and was used to treat the patient. The judge found that this hypothetical patient would not have a reasonable expectation of privacy and their information would not have been wrongfully interfered with.

Dentons comment

In Lloyd v. Google and the cases that have followed, the courts have expressly allowed for the possibility of representative actions in claims such as this, including potentially on an opt-out basis. The claimant's dilemma is that the only way to avoid having to assess the facts for each individual is to proceed on a lowest common denominator basis. But as this case illustrates, this can leave a weak claim that is not enough to satisfy the requirements for a claim either for misuse of private information or for breach of data protection legislation. One solution could be to define the class of claimants more restrictively, but this would reduce the size of the potential claim (and payout for funders and claimant lawyers).

It remains to be seen whether and when a claim will be brought that can tread this tightrope and set a precedent for opt-out privacy or data breach claims. What is clear is that the case law and the industry for group claims are developing rapidly across a range of fields, representing a significant risk for corporates.

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Privacy class actions: claimant groups yet to find the right formula - Lexology

To the deepest hidden depths of the subconscious and beyond the … – 2000 AD

June 11, 2023 | Author: admin

Void Runners is the new psychedelic sci-fi series from David Hine & Boo Cook that burst into the pages of 2000 AD Prog 2334. Its all about surreal space adventures, psychedelic cosmic fever dreams, spectacular alien worlds and even more bizarre alien beings.

In Void Runners, the hunt is on for the mythical Kalis Dust that allows the tyrannical Ankorites to rule over the network of planets and systems known as The Federation. Faced with supplies running low, the Ankorites and their ruthless foot soldiers, The Subjugators, call on notorious Void Runner Captain Alice Shikari to track down the pleroma the deep-space creatures that are the source of Kalis Dust.

But Shikaris no slave to the Federation and has visionary ideas of her own about spreading joy and enlightenment to the masses!

David Hines already described this one as a sci-fi version of Ken Keseys Magic Bus trip across the USA in the 1960s on the launch of the series, where the bus is a spaceship, crewed by Captain Shikari andherpiratical crew of Void Runners. And he went on to describe what to expect See fascistic cops who share one mind between three bodies, gigantic jellysquids who are also the oldest, wisest creatures in the cosmos, a battle with kamikaze space sharks and an actual vision of the ultimate meaning of the Universe. WARNING: Do not lick the pages!

And if that doesnt make you want to read the series, I dont know what will!

So, with something very special happening, time to chat to David about the world of Void Runners. Before we begin though, Boo sends his apologies right now hes knee deep in paint and pain with the looming deadlines for the final two Void Runners episodes. And Tharg well, Thargs hinted that it would be a very bad idea for the Cook droid to be leaving the drawing board to do an interview until those pages are done. Well, I say hinted, it was more an instruction and mutterings about no more rations until its all done!

But dont worry, if/when Tharg allows, well try to pin Boo down for a chat as well. But here, flying solo, is David Hine

David, we have a brand-new series from the pair of you that started in 2000 AD Prog 2334 Void Runners. Ive seen the first couple of issues and its looking rather fabulous.

So, first things first, whats Void Runners all about? Feel free to give us the elevator pitch version or the long version!

DAVID HINE: My elevator pitch is Moby Dick in space on acid. We didnt actually go with that one because, although it sounds cool, it wasnt really accurate. Its actually more like Dune meets Star Wars on shrooms. I hate elevator pitches.

Yep, but I do like Dune meets Star Wars on shrooms and after seeing the first couple of episodes I think that one works a treat!

How long is this first series going to be?

DH: Eight episodes of six pages in real-world terms, though time and space are relative and if you stare at some of Boos pages in the right state of mind they could be perceived as infinite.

Just from the first couple of episodes that Ive seen, were already in the realms of huge space operas here a Federation of planetary systems that have been discovered by humanity, now controlled by the evil Ankorites and their foot soldiers, the Subjugators.

DH: Yeah, the Ankorites are a corrupt form of the Christian anchorites, who retreated from the world, often walled up in a cell attached to a church, where they spent their lives contemplating the nature of God. Julian of Norwich was one of these. She wrote the oldest surviving works in the English language that are known to be written by a woman. Her Revelations of Divine Love are wonderful.

Our Ankorites are an example of how religious (and political) dogmas can create monstrous institutions. Their intentions may be pure but the conclusions they come to are flawed and have led them to rule the Federation with an iron fist.

Lovely bit of work on that first page by you both by the way, thats a great line from you David about inhabited by the many life forms that humans have encountered and, on occasion, interbred with. That coupled with Boos great little illo of the lined up races really does give us an immediate sense of both the scale of the thing, the fact that were a long, long way from Earth here, and the fact that humanity has done its usual thing.

DH: The Federation could be seen as a metaphor for Western Empire and colonization but its a bit more complex than that. This is so far in the future that humanity has interbred with many thousands of alien species, so what we think of as humanity barely exists in a pure form.

The conflict here is between those who want to impose order and maintain absolute control, and those who are endlessly curious and who want to pursue every possible life choice, no matter what the risk. Its stagnation against diversity. Order against chaos.

And then comes the introduction of the story driver here, the search for the Pleroma and their Kalis Dust, the thing giving the Ankorites their powers and control, and their use of the wonderful Captain Shikari, the heroine of the piece.

DH: Kalis Dust is a psychedelic substance that gives the user visions and allows a degree of telepathy, a union of minds. The Ankorites are like the priests of most religions in that they believe that they are the only ones capable of handling this kind of power. The Subjugators are warrior priests, who have access to a limited amount of the dust and form triumvirates, groups of three who share a single mind. Use of Kalis Dust by anyone else is punishable by death.

Thats where Captain Alice Shikari enters the picture. Shes a total DustHead who uses the drug for recreational purposes sensual delights, enhanced music appreciation, all the usual stuff. But the Dust has also enhanced her ability to track Pleroma, the magnificent beasts who roam the farthest reaches of the universe and are the only source for Kalis Dust. The Ankorites would love to execute Shikari but they are running out of supplies of the Dust and Shikari is their best bet to find more.

Obviously, Void Runners is a quest with Shikari playing the lead and venturing forth for the Ankorites to sniff out the dust for them, but Id imagine theres going to be a lot more to it than just a simple quest here?

DH: Shikaris own agenda is basically to party but it turns out that she has a greater destiny. That will be revealed as the story progresses. No more spoilers for now.

Hey, always better to have it unfold and enjoy it without spoilers!

Shikari adds that element of bumbling comedy and chaos to all this serious Federation-dominating stuff from the Ankorites.

DH: This is a cosmic version of Ken Keseys Merry Pranksters and their Magic Bus trip across the USA in the early sixties. I guess Shikari has elements of Neal Cassady (the driver of the original Magic Bus,) Alice in Wonderland, Lucille Ball, and definitely Captain Jack Sparrow. But there was no specific model for the character.

I had a very clear image of her in my mind as a smart, funny, charismatic, completely insane and unpredictable character and once I described her to Boo, he took her to the next level. Im overjoyed with the result.

With Void Runners, how did it all come about? Was it an idea from you or from Boo or more of a collaboration?

DH: Boo is the instigator. He literally came to me and asked me to come up with something mad and trippy for him to draw. I knew his work well. He painted the cover to the issue of Richard Starkings Elephantmen that I had written and drawn, and we had been following each other on Instagram so we were kind of peeking into one another minds and seeing some common ground.

I had the germ of an idea for an updated version of the Magic Bus Trip. I had developed some of those ideas for another publisher who had the weird idea that psychedelics were Too Sixties and gave my pitch the boot. Quite emphatically. Lucky for us Matt Smith is a much more broad-minded individual.

Yep, Thargs always been a happy home to a bit of psychedelic storytelling!

Im always fascinated by the beginnings of any strip, particularly the amount of worldbuilding and background that both writer and artist have to put into the idea before we even come to the first episode hitting the shelves.Presumably both you and Boo had many conversations and meetings to create the expansive worlds and the beings inhabiting them here?

DH: I made the trip to Bristol for the Lawless convention in 2022 specifically to meet up with Boo and talk over ideas. Since then its been emails, messenger and the occasional telepathic communication.

Boo did lots of sketches of the characters, the spaceships and various non-human creatures and those visuals influenced the way I wrote the characters. Moondog was always going to look like the real-world musician Moondog but the ships cook, Bartleby is straight out of Boos imagination and his personality developed from his deceptively brutal appearance. Same with the Subjugators their look is all Boo.

I gave Boo some guidelines on visual style but only in general terms. We talked about the way cephalopods create a chameleon camouflage effect through chromatophores, which are the cells in their skin that contain pigment, which changes colours rapidly and almost magically. Boo suggested giving Shikari a similar ability, though in her case the skin patterns reflect mood rather than provide camouflage. That ties in really well with the psychedelic scenes.

Hows the collaboration working between you?

DH: Its brilliant from my perspective. Boo gets what Im talking about and always ramps up the visuals by a couple of levels beyond what I imagined. Most importantly he gets my sense of humour and actually makes the visual gags very funny.

One of my favourite scenes involves Shikari and Moondog stripping down to their undies and wriggling through a Pleromas internal organs. Seeing those finished panels made me laugh out loud.

Alas, no image of that yet that particular bit of comedy is still to come in a future episode!

DH: The peak experience is when we see the visions triggered by Kalis Dust. They are really beautifully rendered and probably the most far-out art 2000 AD has published since Brendan McCarthys classic work on Judge Dredd.

Yes, theres definitely a lot of McCarthy influence in Boos work, although hes taken it to some wonderfully different places.

Apart from that Elephantman cover, is this the first time youve worked together?

DH: Yeah, that was only one image but I loved it and Boo very generously gave me the original art, so it made a lasting impact.

So far, in just the first 10 pages Ive seen I think youve done a perfect job of establishing it all. That first episode could easily have come off as exposition overload to get over all the information you needed to establish the series background. David, Im sure youll agree that what made that first episode flow so beautifully came from the way that Boo filled the pages of background and intro with incredible designs and artwork.

DH: There was a lot of information to get into the first few pages. The setting doesnt relate to anything else in 2000 AD, so we had to establish the nature of the Federation, its hierarchy, the concept of the psychedelic drug and the main characters.

It could have been confusing or overly detailed but it works because Boo constructs each page as a holistic design rather than just a series of panels. The art really is outstanding.

Oh, it really is a career-high from Boo here I reckon, and I know Im not the only one thinking that.

So, moving onto the artistic side of things David, youve already told us of how Boo came on board but what has he brought to the world of Void Runners that you initially saw in your head?

DH: Boo always goes the extra mile. He knows what Im after but he delivers a lot more. Going back to that first page of Part 1 [pictured above] I asked for a diverse bunch of alien creatures but I wasnt expecting such unique individuals. Each of the aliens is only a few centimetres high but they are all good enough to become developed characters. They each come with a ready-made backstory in their visual appearance.

Then there are little extra touches like the Furby-type character that is strategically placed on Page 5 to spare out blushes

There are loads of little touches like that, which are pleasant surprises and prove that Boo is totally invested in his work. Hes a visionary artist. Looking at these pages is the closest you can get to a psychedelic experience, without psychedelics.

What can we expect for the future of Void Runners? Where will you be taking us in this first series?

DH: To the deepest hidden depths of the subconscious and beyond the outer limits of space, where no sentient life-form has been before.

So, nothing too big then!

And have you already mapped out plans for future series? Should The Mighty One give you his blessing of course!

DH: I know where Shikari and her crew are going but I havent figured out all the stops along the way in any detail yet. I like to leave myself some surprises. This series is definitely a jumping-off point and I hope it will be just the first stage in an epic odyssey.

Now, to end with, as usual, what sort of things can we look forward to from you both after Void Runners? Obviously David you have more Dark Judges with Nick Percival to come. But what else can we expect, either from Tharg or elsewhere?

DH: I have several long-term projects at various stages and one massive project that is now completed but, frustratingly, wont be announced until July. The next big creator-owned one will be Beastly with Mark Stafford. Our fourth, our biggest and our best graphic novel collaboration.

And of course, Dave was too modest to tell you what the others were, so I shall he and Mark Stafford have made The Man Who Laughs (adapting Victor Hugos classic, SelfMadeHero, 2013), Lip Hook (SelfMadeHero, 2018), and The Bad, Bad Place (Soaring Penguin, 2019). All three are excellent and come highly recommended.

Thank you so much to David for sharing his time with us to talk Void Runners. It was every bit as enjoyable, informative, and out there as I was expecting after reading the first two episodes of the series. If youve already had the pleasure of getting your mind stretched out by the first episode, youll already know this ones a sure-fire hit!

Void Runners began in 2000 AD Prog 2334 and runs for eight episodes until Prog 2342, with a break for Regened Prog 2336. Its a psychedelic thrill ride that only the Galaxys Greatest can give you dont miss out on another great trip!

Before you leave though, be sure to check out Boo Cooks excellent Covers Uncovered for the first Void Runners cover to Prog 2334 its every bit as psychedelically great as youd expect! And remember Davids words Do not lick the pages! after all.

And finally, if youre loving Void Runners, dont delay, head out and buy those great Hine/Stafford books today!

See the article here:
To the deepest hidden depths of the subconscious and beyond the ... - 2000 AD

Falling funds and the rise of AI are top of the menu at London tech talks – The Guardian

June 11, 2023 | Author: admin

Technology

Artificial intelligence will be the main talking point at the coming London Tech Week but investment and skills problems remain

Sat 10 Jun 2023 19.05 EDT

For some companies attending London Tech Week this Monday, just being there is an achievement. The sudden failure in March of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a financial cornerstone for the UK and US tech industries, had left many British companies wondering how they were going to see out that month.

Ashley Ramrachia, chief executive of Academy, a tech company with headquarters in Manchester, said the first he knew of SVBs troubles was on Wednesday 8 March. By Thursday, Ramrachia and others were trying, unsuccessfully, to withdraw funds. By Friday, the Bank of England said it planned to put SVBs UK operation into insolvency and Ramrachia was one of 3,500 customers in Britain scrambling to deal with the consequences.

He says that overnight, from a previously comfortable funding position, he was forced to consider how to keep the company above water. We can just about make March payroll, he remembers thinking. How are we going to make April?

However, by the following Monday, the British government had helped broker a takeover of SVB UK by HSBC and a crisis was averted. Ramrachia, whose business helps companies train up workers from underrepresented groups (by gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic background) for technology roles, will now be attending tech week without worrying about paying wages.

Antony Walker, deputy chief executive of the trade association techUK, says Ramrachias predicament was not unique. If that rescue deal had failed, there would have been huge problems for quite a significant number of companies. There were companies that were looking at being unable to pay their bills on a Monday morning, Walker says.

So the UK tech sector goes into London Tech Week relatively unscathed, although the central issue for the event also raises existential problems for some: artificial intelligence (AI). Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will give their views on AI this week, amid a shift in government stance to a more cautious footing on the technology.

Breakthroughs in generative AI technology that produces convincing text, images and voice from a human prompt have wowed the public, particularly with the ChatGPT chatbot, but they have also raised concerns that the field is simply developing too quickly.

Sunak announced last week that the UK would hold a global summit on AI safety in the autumn, signalling that he has heard those concerns.

I think AI will be the big one, says Walker, in terms of the hot topics at tech week, which runs until Friday. He says the regulatory framework will be discussed by attendees but also the impact on jobs in the sector, which he thinks will be positive.

We see AI in the short term very much as a productivity driver, he says. A lot of companies that invest in AI make good use of it. Itll help them grow, which could actually be positive from an employment perspective.

According to techUK, the sector adds 150bn to the British economy every year and employs 1.7 million people, including employees of US tech companies that have significant presences in the UK, such as Google and the Facebook owner Meta. There are also big UK players such as the chip designer Arm and Google-owned DeepMind, a world-leading AI company.

Even before the existential crisis that swamped SVB and the UK tech sector, there have been concerns about the long-term funding setup for the industry. Those frustrations have been summed up by Arm, which is owned by Japanese investment company SoftBank and has opted for a stock market listing in the US, reflecting the deeper and more tech-savvy pool of capital across the Atlantic.

The UK government has been urged to tweakregulations around pension and investment funds to help boost tech investment, but there is also what techUK calls a cultural issue in the British investment world, where institutional investors are not skilled up enough or willing enough to invest in high-growth sectors such as tech. As a consequence, companies could seek funding from the US and even move there.

Building skills, diversifying workforces as Ramcharias company tries to do and getting talent from abroad in a post-Brexit UK will also be discussed by attendees. If AI offers the ever-changing British tech sector a new direction, some of its fundamental problems remain the same.

Original post:
Falling funds and the rise of AI are top of the menu at London tech talks - The Guardian

TMS Network (TMSN) Shines as Investors Shun Binance Coin (BNB) and Cardano (ADA) | Bitcoinist.com – Bitcoinist

June 8, 2023 | Author: admin

The TMS Network (TMSN) narrative has continued to gain traction among DeFi investors. This new market entry has seen a massive influx of investors rush to its ongoing presale. On the other hand, mainstream cryptocurrencies Binance coin (BNB) and Cardano (ADA) have been declining. This article aims to connect the volume influx in TMS Network to the outflow in Binance Coin (BNB) and Cardano (ADA).

Binance coin (BNB) is the native currency of the Binance exchange, the worlds largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange. Binance coin (BNB) is used to settle transactions on the Binance Smart Chain network, vote on network proposals, and stake to earn rewards.

One of the major limitations of Binance Coin (BNB) is centralization and government regulation. Binance is a centralized exchange, meaning it is subject to government regulation. This might put Binance Coin (BNB) holders at risk if Binance is ever shut down. Binance Coin (BNB) is also competing with other cryptocurrencies that provide similar benefits, such as Ethereum, which can be used to settle transactions on a decentralized blockchain network.

Cardano (ADA) is a decentralized Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain platform that was launched in 2017. Cardano (ADA) is designed to be a more scalable alternative to Ethereum (ETH). It is based on the Haskell programming language and employs a layered architecture.

Cardano (ADA) ascended to become one of the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, ranking seventh. However, Cardano (ADA) has its fair share of issues discouraging investors and developers.

Cardano (ADA) is based on a scientific research approach that has significantly slowed network development. For instance, Cardano (ADA) did not implement smart contract capability on its mainnet until September 2021, much after competitor blockchains such as Solana and Ethereum. Cardanos adoption is also limited by slow transaction processing, with a block time of only 20 seconds. This makes Cardano unfavorable for use cases that require high transaction speeds, such as decentralized finance (DeFi).

TMS Network (TMSN) is a decentralized, all-in-one trading platform that aims to revolutionize the traditional trading industry. The Ethereum-based platform offers traders a wide range of features and tools to assist them in effectively managing their portfolios and making informed trading decisions.

TMS Network (TMSN) is designed as a highly scalable, secure, and communitydriven project on the Ethereum network. The platform takes advantage of Ethereums many advantages while improving on its shortcomings, making it superior to most other platforms, including Cardano (ADA) and Binance Coin (BNB).

For instance, unlike Binance Coin which is controlled by a centralized entity, TMS Network (TMSN) is fully decentralized, making it suitable for decentralized finance activities. TMS Network (TMSN) also has more security measures than Binance Coin (BNB). The TMS platform employs non-custodial portfolio management technology as well as multi-factor authentication, making it more secure than Binance Coin (BNB), which is custodial and has been hacked in the past.

TMS Network (TMSN) allows instant transaction processing at very low transaction fees, unlike Cardano (ADA) which charges higher fees. Cardano (ADA) has also faced criticism for scalability in the past. TMS Network (TMSN) on the other hand can handle a large number of transactions without experiencing performance issues.

TMS Network (TMSN) is a relatively new cryptocurrency with a low market cap, giving it a significant advantage over Binance Coin (BNB) and Cardano (ADA) in growth. The $TMSN token is currently trading at $0.104 in its fourth and final round of presale. Market analysts are bullish on $TMSN, forecasting up to 100x profits for early investors.

Join the TMS Network (TMSN) presale today for a share in what could be the next big thing in crypto. For more information on TMSN Network (TMSN):

Presale: https://presale.tmsnetwork.io/

Website: https://tmsnetwork.io/

Telegram: https://t.me/tmsnetworkio

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmsnetwork_io

Disclaimer:This is a paid release. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily represent those of Bitcoinist. Bitcoinist does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of information available in such content. Do your research and invest at your own risk.

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TMS Network (TMSN) Shines as Investors Shun Binance Coin (BNB) and Cardano (ADA) | Bitcoinist.com - Bitcoinist

MIM Integrates LayerZero’s OFT Standard to Become the First … – BSC NEWS

June 8, 2023 | Author: admin

By utilizing the OFT Standard, the integration transforms MIM into an omnichain fungible token, enabling an array of cross-chain capabilities.

Abracadabra Money has made a significant announcement regarding the upgrade of MIM, their stablecoin, in collaboration with LayerZero. This upgrade marks a major milestone since the inception of Abracadabra. MIM has become the first omnistable to adopt LayerZero's Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard.

With the integration of LayerZero, MIM users can now enjoy a whole new level of interoperability and freedom. Notably, the migration to LayerZero will not require any changes to MIM addresses on all chains.

Leveraging LayerZero's OFT standard, MIM holders can seamlessly transfer their tokens across multiple networks without experiencing slippage, lengthy wait times, or transaction fees. This advancement represents a significant leap into the future of decentralized finance, eliminating the limitations of the past.

LayerZero, a decentralized cross-chain messaging solution, facilitates seamless interoperability between various blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and others currently supported by Abracadabra Money.

As an omnistable, MIM now possesses advanced beaming capabilities, allowing for cross-chain borrowing, repayment, and liquidation. This means users can deposit collateral on one chain and receive MIM directly on another chain.

By being a part of the LayerZero ecosystem, users become early adopters of the DeFi revolution. The LayerZero technology is the foundation for various upcoming platforms, offering users the opportunity to explore novel technologies centered around omnistables.

MIM is fully compliant with the OFT standard, making it seamless to integrate with the numerous projects being built on top of LayerZero. Abracadabra Money is thrilled to be at the forefront of innovation, propelling DeFi into a new realm of possibilities in the omnichain world.

LayerZero is a protocol that allows blockchain networks to conduct direct cross-chain transactions. It enables new ways of interacting across chains without the need for a third party to act as an intermediary.

LayerZero includes a lightweight on-chain client called the LayerZero Endpoint, which is supported by all chains.

Learn more about LayerZero:

Website | Twitter | Discord

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MIM Integrates LayerZero's OFT Standard to Become the First ... - BSC NEWS

Top Crypto Presale To Invest in 2023 – Analytics Insight

June 8, 2023 | Author: admin

Cryptocurrencies continue to captivate investors and enthusiasts worldwide, offering opportunities for financial innovation, decentralized applications, and transformative possibilities across various industries.

While Shiba Inu (SHIB) struggles due to a liquidity crisis and low total value locked (TVL), hindering upward momentum, Binance Coin (BNB) shows promise with the expansion of Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Excitement builds for Caged Beasts (BEASTS) presale, featuring new beasts and a referral program for additional BEASTS tokens.

Despite the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market, Shiba Inu (SHIB), a well-known meme coin, is struggling to gain consistent upward momentum. This is primarily due to a liquidity crisis, TVL, and unappealing annual percentage yield (APY) offered by liquidity pools, all of which indicate a lack of demand for SHIB as a liquidity provider (LP).

The liquidity crisis of SHIB is evident in the limited volume of tradable tokens, compromising the assets stability and discouraging potential investors while causing existing holders to reconsider their stakes. This stagnant state presents a significant obstacle to SHIBs price growth.

Additionally, the low TVL of SHIB raises concerns. TVL represents the total assets staked in a cryptocurrencys network or DeFi protocol. A low TVL signifies reduced activity on the network, which is often interpreted as a lack of investor trust in the assets potential for generating yield.

This lack of activity deters new investors and suppresses SHIBs price growth. Furthermore, the unimpressive APYs offered by various liquidity pools compound the problem. With below-average returns, liquidity providers lack the incentive to stake SHIB in DeFi pools.

The performance of BSC has always correlated directly with the price trend of Binance. As more projects choose BSC for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, the demand for BNB naturally increases, providing a solid foundation for its price. This effect is particularly notable in the DeFi sector, where BSC projects like PancakeSwap dominate the market and drive BNB to new heights. The rapid expansion of BSC showcases the adaptability and versatility of the Binance ecosystem.

As the network continues to grow, it creates a thriving environment that may result in a significant price increase for BNB. Given the current market conditions, an 11% price surge could be on the horizon. Despite trading at a 75-day low, the strengthening Binance ecosystem has the potential to fuel a bullish comeback. Traders and investors should closely monitor the movement of BNB in the upcoming days, as a sudden trend reversal could spark a new rally.

Caged Beasts (BEASTS), an upcoming meme coin project, is generating immense excitement within the cryptocurrency community as it prepares for its highly anticipated presale. This presale has the potential to become one of the standout events of the year, expected to unfold rapidly. The project aims to prioritise both community involvement and utility, offering users the thrilling elements typically associated with meme coins.

Caged Beasts presale stands out with its distinct offering of unveiling a new beast at each stage. This pioneering feature is expected to have a profound impact by increasing the value, capturing attention, and igniting excitement for the coin, thereby creating a vibrant community buzz throughout the process. In addition to this enticing aspect, Caged Beasts presents investors with an opportunity to earn free cryptocurrency and passive income through its referral program during the presale.

The referral program enables users to create their own referral codes, which they can distribute to anyone they choose. When a referred user makes a deposit in ETH, BNB, or USDT, utilising the referral code, both the referrer and the referred investor will receive a bonus of 20% extra BEASTS tokens.

This innovative program fosters an interactive and mutually beneficial environment for all participants involved. Register yourself on the website to avail all the presale benefits and updates.

Website: https://cagedbeasts.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CAGED_BEASTS

Telegram: https://t.me/CAGEDBEASTS

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Top Crypto Presale To Invest in 2023 - Analytics Insight