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The Hidden Peril of Over-Reliance on Artificial Intelligence – yTech

Summary: As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more ingrained in everyday life, its important to consider the ramifications of allowing AI to make decisions on our behalf. While the technology promises numerous advantages, especially in data-intensive fields, the potential for AI to erode our decision-making abilities shouldnt be overlooked.

The steady infiltration of artificial intelligence into various aspects of our lives has raised a multitude of concerns, from privacy violations to biased algorithms. However, one significant danger that might be overshadowed is that AI could weaken our capabilities in making thoughtful and disciplined decisions.

Thoughtful decision-making traditionally comprises a few vital steps that promote understanding and exploring multiple options while considering their trade-offs. This process usually culminates with a well-informed choice, resisting the urge to swiftly conclude without adequate reflection. Regrettably, the convenience of AI shortcuts this regimen, providing solutions devoid of transparent reasoning and stifling our crucial cognitive exercises.

Harnessing the potential of AI without becoming subservient to it involves recognizing the technologys limitations. AI-generated advice, while helpful in certain contexts, does not substitute the need for personal scrutiny and critical thinking. Societal over-reliance on AI threatens to entrench the existing biases and group conformity, neglecting the individuals analytical growth.

Going forward, a balanced approach is essential. While AI can revolutionize sectors such as healthcare and cybersecurity, its vital to retain the human element in everyday decision-making. Embracing AIs benefits while ensuring that society does not forfeit the fundamental human capacity for thoughtful choice may help prevent an over-dependence that could ultimately render humans less autonomous and wise. Maintaining this delicate balance honors the intrinsic human privilege and duty of discernment and choice, fostering personal and societal advancement.

Artificial Intelligence: The Implications of Outsourcing Decisions

As the prominence of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern life continues to escalate, we are beginning to face the complex consequences of integrating this advanced technology into our daily routines. The AI industrys spread reaches far and wide, touching upon areas like healthcare, where it assists in diagnosing diseases; finance, where it aids in fraud detection; and transportation, through the advent of self-driving vehicles. These applications are just the tip of the iceberg, revealing the immense potential that AI possesses to transform our world.

However, as we marvel at AIs capabilities, we must also ponder the market forecasts that predict its growth. Experts anticipate that the AI sector will witness exponential growth in the coming years. Industries worldwide are slated to spend billions on AI technologies, with healthcare, automotive, and finance sectors leading the charge. The global AI market size is expected to reach new heights, suggesting a future where AI applications become even more omnipresent.

But this anticipated boon comes with a caveat the issues related to the AI industry and product. As AIs decision-making capabilities surpass human speed and accuracy, we must confront the ethical and practical challenges it creates. These range from job displacement in the workforce to significant privacy and security concerns. Furthermore, the potential for ingrained biases within AI algorithms poses a severe risk, potentially amplifying existing societal inequalities.

Ethically, there is a burgeoning debate on how much control should be relinquished to AI. Reliance on machine-generated choices could lead to atrophy in human cognitive abilities, specifically in critical thinking and problem-solving skills. As humans become mere supervisors of AI-driven processes, the fear of eroding our decision-making faculties looms large.

To approach these challenges effectively, broad discussions across various sectors are essential. Stakeholdersincluding technologists, ethicists, policymakers, and the publicmust work together to establish guidelines that balance AI advancements with human oversight. Creating transparent AI systems that can explain their reasoning is crucial for fostering trust and understanding.

In fostering this balance, we are reminded of the importance of nurturing human competencies that AI cannot replicateempathy, moral reasoning, and deep contextual understanding. It is in these uniquely human traits that our dominion over artificial intelligence must be maintained.

To explore the latest AI news and insights, you can visit IBM Watson and DeepMind, leaders in the AI space.

Maintaining a measured perspective is key to leveraging AI effectively while safeguarding our inherent ability to make thoughtful decisions. The challenge lies in embracing the convenience of AI without becoming dependent on it, thereby preserving the crucial human element in an increasingly automated world.

Leokadia Gogulska is an emerging figure in the field of environmental technology, known for her groundbreaking work in developing sustainable urban infrastructure solutions. Her research focuses on integrating green technologies in urban planning, aiming to reduce environmental impact while enhancing livability in cities. Gogulskas innovative approaches to renewable energy usage, waste management, and eco-friendly transportation systems have garnered attention for their practicality and effectiveness. Her contributions are increasingly influential in shaping policies and practices towards more sustainable and resilient urban environments.

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Artificial intelligence in NY’s courts? Panel will study benefits and potential risks. – Gothamist

The New York state court system has established an advisory panel to study the potential benefits and risks of how artificial intelligence is utilized in court.

The Advisory Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Courts will be made up of judges, court administrators, attorneys, academics and other experts from around New York. They will examine the use of AI tools in the courts by judges, court staff, attorneys and litigants, and identify how it could be used to improve the administration of justice while minimizing risks. The group will also be charged with developing appropriate guardrails to ensure AI is used safely.

Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas, who is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day operation of the statewide court system, announced the formation of the committee in a press release on Thursday.

While these are incredibly exciting times, with AI showing tremendous promise for transforming court operations, improving court experiences for all users, and greatly expanding access to justice, we have to move cautiously in considering the adoption of the use of AI tools, Zayas said in a statement. The New York State Courts must aspire to the effective, responsible, and impartial use of AI, taking every step possible to guard against bias and the lack of human input, and to ensure that all security and privacy concerns are protected.

Initially, the 39-member panel will focus on studying and then recommending AI training, determining how to ensure AI use is equitable and assessing the ethical implications of using AI tools, according to the press release.

Among those appointed to the panel are NYU Law School Director and professor Jason Schultz, who will serve as one of three co-chairs, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The creation of the committee comes as elected officials in the state and across the country grapple with how to handle the growing use of AI. Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her commitment to putting New York State at the cutting-edge of AI research, which included a proposal to create a consortium to create an AI computing center in Upstate New York.

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1 Stealthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock That Could Be Huge – sharewise

There is something special about seeing events live, whether you like sports, concerts, or shows. I recently visited T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to watch the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Detroit Red Wings, and there was something different about getting into the arena. I'll explain below.

A large part of any event is security. Sadly, mass shootings have skyrocketed over the past 20 years. New York City has also seen a surge in violence on the subways, so it is turning to this company to help keep people safe.

Whatever our personal experience, we are all at least indirectly affected by unfortunate incidents when we go through tight security and long lines. However, traditional metal detector security has problems -- problems that Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ: EVLV) is trying to solve using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

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Source Fool.com

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AI makes retinal imaging 100 times faster, compared to manual method – National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

News Release

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

NIH scientists use artificial intelligence called P-GAN to improve next-generation imaging of cells in the back of the eye.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health applied artificial intelligence (AI) to a technique that produces high-resolution images of cells in the eye. They report that with AI, imaging is 100 times faster and improves image contrast 3.5-fold. The advance, they say, will provide researchers with a better tool to evaluate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other retinal diseases.

Artificial intelligence helps overcome a key limitation of imaging cells in the retina, which is time, said Johnny Tam, Ph.D., who leads the Clinical and Translational Imaging Section at NIH's National Eye Institute.

Tam is developing a technology called adaptive optics (AO) to improve imaging devices based on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Like ultrasound, OCT is noninvasive, quick, painless, and standard equipment in most eye clinics.

Adaptive optics takes OCT-based imaging to the next level, said Tam. Its like moving from a balcony seat to a front row seat to image the retina. With AO, we can reveal 3D retinal structures at cellular-scale resolution, enabling us to zoom in on very early signs of

While adding AO to OCT provides a much better view of cells, processing AO-OCT images after theyve been captured takes much longer than OCT without AO.

Tams latest work targets the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a layer of tissue behind the light-sensing retina that supports the metabolically active retinal neurons, including the photoreceptors. The retina lines the back of the eye and captures, processes, and converts the light that enters the front of the eye into signals that it then transmits through the optic nerve to the brain. Scientists are interested in the RPE because many diseases of the retina occur when the RPE breaks down.

Imaging RPE cells with AO-OCT comes with new challenges, including a phenomenon called speckle. Speckle interferes with AO-OCT the way clouds interfere with aerial photography. At any given moment, parts of the image may be obscured. Managing speckle is somewhat similar to managing cloud cover. Researchers repeatedly image cells over a long period of time. As time passes, the speckle shifts, which allows different parts of the cells to become visible. The scientists then undertake the laborious and time-consuming task of piecing together many images to create an image of the RPE cells that's speckle-free.

Tam and his team developed a novel AI-based method called parallel discriminator generative adversarialnetwork (P-GAN)a deep learning algorithm. By feeding the P-GAN network nearly 6,000 manually analyzed AO-OCT-acquired images of human RPE, each paired with its corresponding speckled original, the team trained the network to identify and recover speckle-obscured cellular features.

When tested on new images, P-GAN successfully de-speckled the RPE images, recovering cellular details. With one image capture, it generated results comparable to the manual method, which required the acquisition and averaging of 120 images. With a variety of objective performance metrics that assess things like cell shape and structure, P-GAN outperformed other AI techniques. Vineeta Das, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Clinical and Translational Imaging Section at NEI, estimates that P-GAN reduced imaging acquisition and processing time by about 100-fold. P-GAN also yielded greater contrast, about 3.5 greater than before.

By integrating AI with AO-OCT, Tam believes that a major obstacle for routine clinical imaging using AO-OCT has been overcome, especially for diseases that affect the RPE, which has traditionally been difficult to image.

Our results suggest that AI can fundamentally change how images are captured, said Tam. Our P-GAN artificial intelligence will make AO imaging more accessible for routine clinical applications and for studies aimed at understanding the structure, function, and pathophysiology of blinding retinal diseases. Thinking about AI as a part of the overall imaging system, as opposed to a tool that is only applied after images have been captured, is a paradigm shift for the field of AI.

More news from the NEI Clinical and Translational Imaging Section.

This press release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research. To learn more about basic research, visit https://www.nih.gov/news-events/basic-research-digital-media-kit.

NEIleads the federal governments effortsto eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision researchdriving innovation, fostering collaboration, expanding the vision workforce, and educating the public and key stakeholders.NEI supports basic and clinical science programs to develop sight-saving treatments and to broaden opportunities for people with vision impairment.For more information, visithttps://www.nei.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

Vineeta Das, Furu Zhang, Andrew Bower, et al. Revealing speckle obscured living human retinal cells with artificial intelligence assisted adaptive optics optical coherence tomography.Communications Medicine. April 10, 2024,https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00483-1.

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Halving 2024: The Legend of Satoshi Nakamoto – Crypto Times

April 11, 2024: Back on January 9, 2009, an unknown person, or persons or an entity named Satoshi Nakamoto released 0.1 version of Bitcoin software on SourceForge and launched the genesis block of Blockchain.

Nakamoto embedded a headline from UK-based The Times newspaper dated January 3, 2009 as a timestamp in the coin base transaction of the genesis block.

The headline read, The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks. The headline was not just a timestamp but a sly attack on the existing banking structure and its instabilities.

Since then, its been over 15 years, and the finance world is now taken over by a new terminology- cryptocurrency market- a $2.81 trillion valued ecosystem, which is touted to be the future of money.

Bitcoin, which was originally valued as next to nothing, is currently priced at US $70,000 and trade analysts predict that it might cross the threshold of US $150,000 post the halving event of 2024.

It was Nakamotos idea to introduce an algorithm in the blockchain software which resulted in halving of bitcoin rewards for miners after completion of every 2,10,000 blocks.

However, what has been kept secret for the past 15 years is the identity of this person Satoshi Nakamoto.

If you search on the internet, the name throws up wild speculations about the identity of Nakamoto.

Some claim the person to be of Japanese origin, some contend it was a CIAs black op or work of the illuminati group while there are also some who believe it was the bigfoot!!

Contenders for the pseudonym are many; some self-claimed and some claimed to be by conspiracy theorists and investigative journalists, but no one has been able to provide satisfactory evidence to trace Nakamoto.

The name Satoshi Nakamoto is Japanese, and it literally translates to wisdom (Satoshi) and the one who lives (Nakamoto). While there are other interpretations of this name, bitcoin enthusiasts take this definition as the most widely accepted one.

There have been several attempts to link the identity of Nakamoto with various people across the globe, but none have been able to successfully decipher the mystery.

The three most famous personalities to have been linked with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto are Dorian Nakamoto, a Japanese American engineer, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright and Nick Szabo, the inventor of Bitgold.

Among the three, Dorian Nakamoto is a physics graduate from California Polytechnic State University who was wrongly attributed as the inventor of Bitcoin owing to a news report in 2014. He had then released a statement denying categorically any involvement with Bitcoin or blockchain technology.

Similarly, computer scientist and cryptographer Nicholas Szabo has been attributed as the real Satoshi Nakamoto owing to his invention of Bitgold back in 1998, which is a precursor to Bitcoin. Szabo is also credited with developing smart contracts, a digital agreement stored in blockchain networks. He has also denied being the real Nakamoto back in 2014.

The third case of Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, is unique among the three, as he is the only well-known person to have publicly claimed to be Nakamoto. However, in March 2024, a UK court had given a ruling that Wright was not Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin.

While the identity of Nakamoto remains elusive till date, perhaps the creator/creators of this pseudonym wanted the world to focus on the message and not the messenger.

This takes us to Satoshis whitepaper which was released on October 31 in 2008 on a newly registered domain named bitcoin.org where the creator titled the digital cryptocurrency as Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash.

Considered as the Bible of the crypto world, the white paper released by Satoshi on bitcoin.org in 2008 mentions in detail the idea behind BTC and how blockchain technology can eliminate the need of a trusted third-party facilitator in digital transactions. Satoshis white paper was an antithesis to the existing banking structure, where two persons required a third person to validate their transaction of money for a fee.

New crypto enthusiasts still depend upon Satoshis whitepaper to get their basics about blockchain technology right.

What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party, read an excerpt from Satoshis white paper.

The document also prepares the blueprint of bitcoin software by using a peer-to-peer distributed timestamp server to generate computational proof of the chronological order of transactions.

After the release of the genesis blockchain, Satoshi remained active for the next two years after which the person disappeared into oblivion. It is believed that Satoshi holds BTC between 7,50,000 to 11,00,000 since 2010 and that puts their net worth roughly over $72 billion, making them one of the richest persons in the world.

Speculations are rife on the internet regarding the future of Satoshi and whether this person would be identified one day. Crypto enthusiasts also wonder whether Satoshi would be honoured by governments or chased by enforcement agencies over possibilities of tax evasion, if at all his identity is revealed.

However, one inference is certain that the legacy of Nakamoto will live forever, and it will continue to inspire future computer scientists, programmers and crypto enthusiasts.

Borrowing a quote from the extremely popular movie V for Vendetta, the story of Nakamoto could be summarized as we are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught. He can be killed and forgotten. But four hundred years later, the idea can still change the world.

Graphics and Illustrations by Kartik Shah

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Unseen Emails From Satoshi Nakamoto 5 Revelations About The Creator Of Bitcoin (BTC) – The Signal

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The enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto, the name behind the creation of Bitcoin (BTC), has always been a subject of immense speculation and mystery. Recently, a treasure trove of communication has surfaced, shedding light on the thoughts and intentions of the digital currencys creator. Spanning 120 pages, these emails between Nakamoto and developer Martti Malmi (known as Sirius) offer fascinating insights into the mind of one of the cryptocurrency worlds most influential figures.

From the very beginning, Satoshi Nakamoto was pondering the scalability of Bitcoin. In 2009, he speculated that the network could potentially accommodate up to 100,000 nodes, a figure that hovers around 50,000 today. Nakamoto believed in the networks adaptability, bolstered by the advancements in technology that would support its growth. His optimism about Bitcoins adoption, despite skepticism from some quarters, reflects his conviction in the projects potential. Nakamotos responses to early criticisms highlighted his belief in Bitcoin as a transformative financial instrument, despite what he considered Neanderthal reactions from some forum commentators.

Amidst debates on forums about the utility and energy consumption of Bitcoin, Nakamoto defended the necessity of his creation. He argued that even if Bitcoin grew to consume a significant amount of electricity, it would still be less wasteful than the conventional banking sector, with its physical infrastructure and associated costs. Nakamoto viewed the choice between economic freedom and conservation as an existential one for humanity, emphasizing the importance of a digital payment network over the traditional, resource-intensive banking system.

Satoshi Nakamotos decision to step away from Bitcoin and return to anonymity is well-documented. These emails further reveal his discomfort with promoting Bitcoin as an investment. He preferred to see BTC as a means of exchange and an alternative to fiat currencies, rather than an asset to be hoarded. This stance is especially poignant considering the current trend of treating Bitcoin primarily as an investment vehicle. The emails also touch on Nakamotos fatigue with his Bitcoin project and his desire to take a break as early as July 2009.

Nakamoto was cautious about Bitcoin being perceived as shadowy or anonymous. He requested the removal of any mention of anonymity from the bitcoin.org website, stressing that Bitcoin offered pseudonymity, not anonymity. This distinction was important to him, as he believed that overstating Bitcoins anonymity could lead to negative repercussions if transaction histories were scrutinized. Nakamoto thought those seeking to use Bitcoin anonymously would find ways to do so, but it was not a feature he wanted to highlight.

To Satoshi Nakamoto, the allure of Bitcoin was its initial accessibility. At the outset, individuals could mine Bitcoin on their computers at a negligible cost, making it available to anyone with the necessary hardware. This potential for free money, as Nakamoto saw it, was expected to draw the first wave of users. Over time, the increasing difficulty of mining would ensure Bitcoins scarcity and value, a prediction that has held true as mining has become more challenging and resource-intensive.

These emails not only reaffirm Satoshi Nakamotos vision and values but also highlight how deeply he had considered the challenges and debates that continue to shape the cryptocurrency ecosystem today. If Nakamoto is still observing the network he created, he might be marveling at just how much Bitcoin has evolved, for better or worse.

Peter, a distinguished alumnus of a prominent journalism school in New Jersey, brings a rich tapestry of insights to The Signal. With a fervent passion for news, society, art, and television, Peter exemplifies the essence of a modern journalist. His keen eye for societal trends and a deep appreciation for the arts infuse his writing with a unique perspective. Peters journalistic prowess is evident in his ability to weave complex narratives into engaging stories. His work is not just informative but a journey through the multifaceted world of finance and societal dynamics, reflecting his commitment to excellence in journalism.

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Craig Wright Drops Norwegian Defamation Appeal Over Satoshi Nakamoto Claims – Cryptonews

Last updated: April 12, 2024 16:15 EDT | 2 min read

Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist claiming to be Bitcoins creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has dropped his appeal in a Norwegian defamation case against the well-known Bitcoiner Hodlonaut (a.k.a. Marcus Granath), according to a statement released on X Thursday.

Granath first found himself in legal hot water with Wright when he took issue with a series of now-deleted March 2019 X posts referring to the so-called Bitcoin inventor as a fraud, mentally ill, and a pathetic scammer.

By that summer, the London-based Wright had filed a defamation lawsuit against Granath in the U.K.Around the same time, Granath filed a lawsuit in his native Norway alleging that his judgements against Wright were fully compatible with the law.

In October 2022, a Norwegian court ruled in Granaths favor, in part claiming that Wright had insufficient evidence to verifiably prove he was Satoshi Nakamoto.

Just got off the phone with my Norwegian lawyer, Granath posted to his X account. CRAIG WRIGHT DROPPED THE APPEAL IN NORWAY! My win from 2022 is now final and enforceable. This case started May 19th, 2019 and lasted until today. Im very happy!

News of Wrights failed Norwegian appeal comes just two months after Londons High Court found the alleged Australian fraudster to have lied about being the inventor of Bitcoin in a case filed by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) challenging his claims.

For over eight years, Dr. Wright and his financial backers have lied about his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto and used that lie to bully and intimidate developers in the bitcoin community, COPA posted to their X account shortly after the ruling. That ends today with the courts ruling that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

In fact, a recent linguistic analysis of Satoshi Nakamotos writing shows that the enigmatic founding father of crypto may be a collective group, not just one individual.

Shortly after the ruling, UK Judge James Mellor froze the entirety of Wrights assets after he attempted to transfer several of his London firms shares to a Singapore-based entity, potentially in a bid to evade financial penalties related to the case.

Despite Granaths latest victory, Wrights original libel lawsuit against him remains open in the UK. Its unclear when or if they will return to court for this case.

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Influential People in BTC and What They Think About Its Future – Eye On Annapolis

Bitcoin (BTC) has revolutionized the financial landscape, with influential figures shaping its future. From the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto to visionary Elon Musk, their perspectives drive BTCs trajectory. Understanding these key figures is crucial to grasp BTCs evolution and potential. In addition, if you are looking for a free and easy-to-use website that helps people find an education company to start learning about investments, you may visithttps://immediate-enigma.nl/.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous person or group behind the creation of Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Despite the significant impact of Bitcoin on the financial world, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown. Satoshis white paper, published in 2008, outlined the key concepts of Bitcoin and its underlying technology, blockchain. The vision presented in the white paper laid the foundation for the development of Bitcoin and inspired the creation of numerous other cryptocurrencies.

Satoshi Nakamotos decision to remain anonymous has led to various theories about their identity. Some believe Satoshi is a single individual, while others speculate that it could be a group of people. Regardless of their identity, Satoshis influence on the cryptocurrency space is undeniable. The decision to create a decentralized digital currency has challenged the traditional financial system and sparked a global discussion about the future of money.

Vitalik Buterin is a Russian-Canadian programmer and writer primarily known as the co-founder of Ethereum, a decentralized cryptocurrency platform. Buterin first proposed Ethereum in late 2013 and development began in early 2014, with the network going live on July 30, 2015. Ethereums blockchain is designed to host smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code.

Buterins vision for Ethereum extends beyond just a cryptocurrency. He envisions a platform that enables developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) on top of its blockchain. This flexibility has led to Ethereum becoming the foundation for a wide range of projects, including decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and more.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is known for his influential presence on social media and his impact on the cryptocurrency market. Musks tweets have been known to cause significant fluctuations in the prices of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin. His tweets often express support or criticism for various cryptocurrencies, leading to a phenomenon known as the Musk Effect.

Despite his influence, Musks relationship with the cryptocurrency community has been turbulent. He has been criticized for his flip-flopping stance on Bitcoin, initially embracing it as a payment method for Tesla, then later suspending Teslas acceptance of Bitcoin due to environmental concerns. Despite this, Musk remains a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space, with his actions and statements continuing to shape public opinion and influence the direction of the market.

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, is a vocal advocate for Bitcoin and sees it as a tool for financial empowerment and freedom. Dorseys interest in Bitcoin stems from his belief in its potential to disrupt traditional financial systems and empower individuals. He has been a strong proponent of Bitcoin, stating that he believes it will eventually become the worlds single currency.

Through his company Square, Dorsey has taken steps to integrate Bitcoin into everyday financial transactions. Square allows users to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin through its Cash App, making it easier for people to access the cryptocurrency. Dorsey has also supported Bitcoin development through Square Crypto, a team dedicated to improving the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Dorseys vision for Bitcoin goes beyond just financial transactions. He sees Bitcoin as a means of promoting financial inclusivity and giving people more control over their money. Dorseys advocacy for Bitcoin as a tool for financial freedom has helped raise awareness about the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies and has contributed to the growing acceptance of Bitcoin in mainstream finance.

The insights of Satoshi Nakamoto, Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, and Jack Dorsey illuminate BTCs future as a transformative force in finance. Their contributions have propelled Bitcoin into the mainstream, highlighting its potential to redefine financial freedom and inclusivity globally.

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If you still think bitcoin is scarce, you’re suffering from fiat brain – Blockworks

Bitcoin is not scarce and its not going to become so after the halving next week.

Dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

Yes, Satoshi Nakamoto coded Bitcoin with a supply limit of 21 million BTC. Bitcoin supply is finite. But that doesnt make BTC, the currency, at all rare.

Were largely accustomed to this by now, but one of bitcoins most appealing features is that each coin is extremely divisible, up to eight decimal places, making 100 million satoshis (sats) per bitcoin.

Dollars meanwhile only divide out to 100 physical cents, two decimal places, or at most, 1,000 mills to three decimal places.

Read more: Why is 2140 the end of bitcoin inflation?

Now extrapolate all those sats to the current circulating supply of bitcoin. 100 million sats in 19.68 million bitcoin makes 1.968 quadrillion sats. And sometime in 2140, when you and everyone you know will be floating about the great Bitcoin citadel in the sky, there will be 2.1 quadrillion sats.

The base money supply of the US dollar is currently less than $5.9 trillion and the much broader M3 is under $20.8 trillion. A quadrillion has 15 zeros, a trillion has 12.

If bitcoin is scarce, then so is the US dollar.

For what its worth, Gizmodo tried to grasp just how large a quadrillion really is with a Sour Patch Kids thought experiment in 2013. It scaled 100 candies laid out in real life to a quadrillion virtual ones across New York City, and found a jelly cube of that size covered most of Downtown Manhattan.

Its true that only 21 million people can ever own one bitcoin each. Around 1 million addresses have at least 1 BTC right now, and that number is slowly growing, although its not knowable how many of those are owned by the same person, nor how many exchange accounts have million-dollar bitcoin balances.

Read more: Heres what the current state of Bitcoin development looks like ahead of the halving

There are also 53 million Bitcoin addresses that have one satoshi or more. If the current supply were suddenly sent to those addresses, each would net more than 37 million sats ($25,500).

With this in mind, bitcoin is not scarce. Thats the fiat brain talking it automatically goes to the largest unit when considering bitcoin as a currency. Your fiat brain does the same with dollars, euros, leprechaun gold and tacos.

The reality is that sats are just incredibly cheap right now, $0.00069 each, so few consider them.

If every sat were worth the current price of a whole BTC, then an even distribution would give every human alive $16.7 billion BTC. Do the same with all addresses containing at least one sat and each would net $2.5 trillion.

A few years back, there was a push to find a symbol to represent the satoshi but nobody could really agree.

With scarcity on the fiat brains of everyone watching the Bitcoin halving next week cryptos own solar eclipse what better time to revisit the idea of pricing BTC in sats, rather than whole coins. Plenty of those go around.

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Here’s how iCloud’s free storage and upgrades compare to the competition – 9to5Mac

Apple first introduced iCloud at WWDC 2011, with Steve Jobs touting it as the best way to store documents, mail, backups, and more in the cloud. One thing that has infamously stayed the same since that 2011 launch: Apple gives you just 5GB of iCloud storage for free.

Nearly 13 years later, how does iClouds free storage offer and paid upgrade plans compare to the competition?

My research was inspired by John Gruber at Daring Fireball, who published his call for Apple to offer more with iCloud, cost-to-Apple be damned last week.

There are other companies beyond these four that offer cloud storage. pCloud, for instance, is an increasingly popular choice that offers both subscription and lifetime storage options. For instance, you can get 2TB of storage from pCloud for $99/year or $399 lifetime. Im not sure how sustainable that business model is, but its an interesting proposition.

But while its easy to do a comparison based purely on storage amounts, there are other factors to consider especially for Microsoft and Apple.

Microsofts 100GB plan also includes access to other features and services, including mobile and web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. The 1TB plan includes access to those services on the desktop, web, and mobile.

Microsoft doesnt offer a way to subscribe to just OneDrive storage. They used to, but they removed that option in 2023. You can, however, add up to 1TB of additional storage to a Microsoft 365 plan at $0.01 per GB.

Another thing in Microsofts favor: its free tier includes 5GB of cloud storage and 15GB of mailbox storage. In Apples case, you get 5GB for free, and everything (including iCloud Mail) counts toward that limit.

Apples iCloud+ storage plans, meanwhile, include various other premium features:

Dropbox and Googles plans also include some benefits beyond just storage, but does anyone really care?

I generally found myself in agreement with Grubers conclusion. Sure, Apples pricing and plans are competitive with its competitors. Even the free tier at 5GB isnt significantly out of line compared to the broader market. Still, after 13 years, something needs to change:

So on the one hand, its not like Apples iCloud storage pricing is out of line with its competitors. But on the other hand, the free tier of iCloud has been stuck at 5 GB since the day iCloud was announced, which was so long ago that Steve Jobs announced it at his final WWDC keynote in 2011. iClouds $1/month 50 GB and $3/month 200 GB tiers have been unchanged since 2015. Like the stingy U.S. minimum wagewhich was last increased, to $7.25/hour, in 2009these tiers ought to be adjusted for inflation periodically, but arent.

Another takeaway I had: all of this is confusing. Chances are, if youre an iPhone user looking for more cloud storage, your best bet is iCloud+.

Check out Grubers full write-up for more.

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Here's how iCloud's free storage and upgrades compare to the competition - 9to5Mac

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