Connect with us

Tech

Cornell Tech – Ari Juels publishes new thriller novel about cryptocurrencies

BlockChainGuardian Staff

Published

on

Cornell Tech - Ari Juels publishes new thriller novel about cryptocurrencies

By Tom Fleischman

A confluence of events, combined with a healthy obsession with detail and a love of writing, gave birth to the computer scientist Ari Juels just what he needed to produce his second thriller.

Juels, the Weill Family Foundation, and the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and the Technion, spent much of the pandemic-forced lockdown and a coinciding sabbatical writing “The oracle,” his new novel about a software developer who, along with his FBI partner, races against time to dismantle a murderous blockchain program launched by the Delphians, worshipers of the ancient Greek god Apollo.

Juels, also a member of the computer science faculty at the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, tells the story from an expert’s point of view: The technology described (often in great detail but for a general audience) is based heavily on research he and his research group are doing at Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus.

“Much of my research for the book did not involve what many novelists do – that is, reading academic publications – but I was instead writing those publications,” Juels said. “Part of the fun of ‘The Oracle’ is that I was and am living the quest in the novel.”

This is Juels’ second foray into the literary world. His first was the 2010 cybersecurity thriller “Tetraktys,” which, like “The Oracle,” combines Greek history and modern technology in a story of mysterious computer break-ins, international intrigue and corruption.

Juels spoke to the Chronicle about his new novel:

Question: Is this a warning? The author’s note at the beginning of the book reads like a warning of sorts.

Answer: More likely. Fundamentally, the story is a cautionary tale about the haphazard fusion of technologies, in this case blockchain with artificial intelligence, especially large language models like ChatGPT. The scenario in the book involves a blockchain technology called smart contracts that automatically pays rewards for killings. Artificial intelligence plays a role here by interpreting news articles to judge the payment. The novel is near-future science fiction, but the technologies it describes are here now and its premise is technologically plausible. Fortunately, smart contracts like The Oracle’s are not possible with today’s infrastructure, and I think colleagues in the community are taking the future risks seriously.

Q: This book is based on a 2015 research paper you co-wrote; How much other research did you do while writing the book?

A: The technology portion of the book relies heavily on our research, including a 2015 paper and a number of others, some of which have seen the light of day as blockchain technologies in use today. I had to do a fair amount of research the old fashioned way – reading books and articles – for the other aspects of the book, particularly the story of the Oracle of Delphi.

Q: What are the biggest dangers related to blockchain/cryptocurrency/smart contracts and the like?

A: There are two dangers: the rock and the hard place, if you will. On the one hand, blockchain technologies, like all technologies, are dual-use and can be abused in all sorts of ways. This includes scams, such as FTX – the exchange run by the now infamous Sam Bankman-Fried – and criminal uses, both of the kind common today and those that may occur in the future, such as the one in my novel. This is a clear, present and evolving danger.

On the other hand, however, there is also the danger of overreactions or misconceptions about the disadvantages of the technology. For example, I worry that people, especially politicians, confuse the frothy and sometimes silly side of cryptocurrencies – think dog-themed coins and other meme coins – with the deep and powerful blockchain technology that cryptocurrencies gave rise to. The result could be that a promising, rapidly evolving technology is quashed in its infancy. So, in short, the dangers I worry about are abuse and neglect.

Q: History and its links to the present are evident in both of your novels; What is your fascination with the ancients?

A: Overall, I find the ancient world point of view to be an extremely intuitive way to understand the modern one. When it comes to ancient Greece in particular, however, I am fascinated by a kind of miracle: this small community, in a short space of time, was responsible for the birth of theatre, philosophy, the accurate representation of the human body and democracy. – just to name a few of the outcomes of the creative explosion there. For me, this is a recurring source of wonder.

Q: How has writing fiction influenced or changed your academic writing, if at all?

A: Not so much. Academic writing is so bound by the standards and conventions of the academic community that there aren’t many opportunities for true stylistic experimentation. An example: a colleague of mine and I published an article a long time ago in which we cited the popular cookbook “The Joy of Cooking”. We were reprimanded by reviewers for what they felt was an insufficiently academic citation. This is how limited some parts of the community are.

I see fiction as a way to ask important “what-ifs” for which there is little space in academic circles. It’s also a way, I hope, to popularize tech ideas for non-technologists and, in this case, to draw attention to all the wild and visionary things happening in the blockchain world that are so rarely written about.

Fuente

We are the editorial team of BlockChainGuardian, where seriousness meets clarity in cryptocurrency analysis. With a robust team of finance and blockchain technology experts, we are dedicated to meticulously exploring complex crypto markets with detailed assessments and an unbiased approach. Our mission is to democratize access to knowledge of emerging financial technologies, ensuring they are understandable and accessible to all. In every article on BlockChainGuardian, we strive to provide content that not only educates, but also empowers our readers, facilitating their integration into the financial digital age.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Información básica sobre protección de datos Ver más

  • Responsable: Miguel Mamador.
  • Finalidad:  Moderar los comentarios.
  • Legitimación:  Por consentimiento del interesado.
  • Destinatarios y encargados de tratamiento:  No se ceden o comunican datos a terceros para prestar este servicio. El Titular ha contratado los servicios de alojamiento web a Banahosting que actúa como encargado de tratamiento.
  • Derechos: Acceder, rectificar y suprimir los datos.
  • Información Adicional: Puede consultar la información detallada en la Política de Privacidad.

Tech

Hollywood.ai by FAME King Sheeraz Hasan Promulgates a Complete Ecosystem that Unites Web3, Cryptography, AI and Entertainment for Spectacular Global Tech Innovation

BlockChainGuardian Staff

Published

on

Hollywood.ai by FAME King Sheeraz Hasan Promulgates a Complete Ecosystem that Unites Web3, Cryptography, AI and Entertainment for Spectacular Global Tech Innovation

The one and only FAME King Sheeraz Hasan is launching Hollywood.ai, a revolutionary platform designed to integrate the cutting-edge realms of Web3, cryptocurrency, AI, finance and entertainment. This revolutionary initiative is set to create a seamless, interactive and intuitive ecosystem where the world’s leading technology luminaries can collaborate on innovations, ultimately redefining the future of digital interaction.

Hollywood.ai represents the convergence of the most complex technologies of all time. Fusing Web3 principles, cryptocurrency utilities, AI advances, and financial machinery, Sheeraz’s platform aims to become the nucleus for innovation and modernization. It provides a high-tech environment where technology and creativity collide harmoniously, paving the way for new paths in the digital economy.

A defining feature of Hollywood.ai is the integration of cryptocurrency into the AI ​​ecosystem, transforming AI into a tokenized asset with full cryptographic utility. Sheeraz’s novel approach presents new avenues to leverage the myriad capabilities of AI in the financial realm, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for developers and users alike. Through the amalgamation of AI and cryptocurrency, Hollywood.ai is paving the way for an incredibly interconnected digital space unlike anything seen before.

The platform’s design emphasizes the undeniable symbiosis between various technology sectors. Under Sheeraz’s careful orchestration, Web3 technologies facilitate decentralized collaboration, while AI tools offer enhanced potential for data analytics, content creation, and audience engagement. Additionally, the inclusion of financial innovations ensures rapid mobility of both monetization and investments, providing a holistic environment that meets the ever-evolving demands of the technology and entertainment segments.

Sheeraz’s Hollywood.ai is poised to become the premier hub for industry leaders, developers, and creators to support and empower the next generation of digital experiences. This initiative aspires to drive the emergence of new tools, applications, and services that set new standards for advanced engagement and interaction.

Known for making the impossible possible, Sheeraz envisions a future where global audiences actively participate in designing the next A-list stars from scratch. Hollywood.ai will allow users to watch their creations evolve from simple concepts to 3D talents that can act, sing and perform just like human actors.

The Hollywood.ai platform leverages AI technology to deliver personalized fan engagement, real-time sentiment analysis, and informed content creation. By combining cutting-edge AI capabilities with Sheeraz’s deep understanding of celebrity branding, Hollywood.ai gains immense control over public figures.

Undeniably, FAME’s number one strategist Sheeraz Hasan continues to cement his reputation as a pioneer in the fields of FAME and technology. The power and influence of this latest development brings him closer to total world domination.

Fuente

Continue Reading

Tech

Online Broker Futu Offers Cryptocurrency Trading in Hong Kong, With Nvidia and Alibaba Stock as Rewards

BlockChainGuardian Staff

Published

on

Online Broker Futu Offers Cryptocurrency Trading in Hong Kong, With Nvidia and Alibaba Stock as Rewards

Futu Securities International, Hong Kong’s largest online broker, has launched retail cryptocurrency trading in the city, offering shares of Alibaba Holding Group AND Nvidia as a reward in an attempt to attract investors. Futu has begun allowing Hong Kong residents to trade Bitcoin and ether, the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies, directly on the brokerage platform using Hong Kong or U.S. dollars, the company announced Thursday.

The online retail broker said last month that it had received an upgrade to its securities license from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), allowing Futu to offer virtual asset trading services to both professional and retail clients in the city.

Futu’s move comes as Hong Kong seeks to boost its attractiveness as a business hub for virtual assets, with the city government launching a series of new cryptocurrency policy initiatives over the past two years, including a mandatory licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges.

In addition to offering cryptocurrency trading on its flagship brokerage app, Futu is also seeking a cryptocurrency trading license for its new PantherTrade platform. That platform is among 11 in Hong Kong that are currently “deemed licensed” for cryptocurrency trading, an arrangement that allows them to operate in the city while they await full approval from the SFC.

Hong Kong’s progress in becoming a crypto hub has encountered various challenges, including exit of the major global platforms and relatively low trading activity for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds offered on local stock exchanges.

Futu is now offering a series of incentives to potential investors, amid a cryptocurrency bull market that has seen the price of bitcoin rise 45 percent this year.

Hong Kong investors who open accounts in August and deposit HK$10,000 (US$1,280) over the next 60 days can receive HK$600 worth of bitcoin, a HK$400 supermarket voucher or a single Chinese stock. e-commerce giant Alibaba. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

By holding 80,000 U.S. dollars for the same period, users can get 1,000 Hong Kong dollars in bitcoin or a share of U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chip maker Nvidia, whose shares have risen more than 140 percent this year.

A Futu representative said the brokerage firm will also waive cryptocurrency trading fees starting Thursday until further notice.

Futu is the first online brokerage in Hong Kong to allow retail investors to buy cryptocurrency directly on its platform. SFC rules require it to offer this service through a tie-up with a licensed cryptocurrency exchange. Futu is partnering with HashKey Exchange, one of only two licensed exchanges in Hong Kong, according to the representative.

Futu’s local rival Tiger Brokers also said in May that it had begun offering cryptocurrency trading services to professional investors on its platform following a license update. The SFC defines professional investors as those with more than HK$8 million in their investment portfolios or corporate entities with assets exceeding HK$40 million.

Fuente

Continue Reading

Tech

Tech Crash: $2.6 Trillion Market Cap Vanishes as ‘Magnificent 7’ Prices Stumble

BlockChainGuardian Staff

Published

on

Tech Crash: $2.6 Trillion Market Cap Vanishes as ‘Magnificent 7’ Prices Stumble

A group of seven megacap tech stocks, often called the Magnificent 7, have lost more than $2.6 trillion in value over the past 20 days, or an average of $125 billion per day over the period. In total, these stocks have lost “three times the value of the entire Brazilian stock market.”

This according to the economic news agency Letter from Kobeissiwho noted on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that the Magnificent 7 batch “is worth as much as Nvidia’s entire current market cap in 20 days,” with Nvidia itself having lost $1 trillion from its high.

Source:Letter from Kobeissi on the X

The group, which includes Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla, has undergone a significant correction: in the last 20 days Nvidia has lost 23% of its value, or about $800 billion, while Tesla has fallen 19%, losing $164 billion.

Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta all posted losses of between 9% and 15%, losing between $257 billion and $554 billion in market capitalization, wiping out a total of $200 billion more “than every single German stock market tock combined.”

Tech titans, which have outperformed the broader S&P 500 index since the market bottom of 2022, are now facing a reckoning as investors grow increasingly wary about the sustainability of their meteoric rise, with Nvidia taking the lead soaring 110% since the beginning of the year and over 2,300% in the last five years.

Earnings reports from these companies, starting with Microsoft and culminating with Nvidia in late August, will be closely watched for signs of weakness. Their performance could set the tone for broader market sentiment, with implications for everything from cryptocurrency to other high-risk assets.

Their poor performance comes after a leading macroeconomist, Henrik Zeberg, reiterated his forecast of an impending recession that will be preceded by a final wave in key sectors of the market, but which can potentially be the worst the market has seen since 1929the worst bear market in Wall Street history.

In particular, the Hindenburg Omen, a technical indicator designed to identify potential stock market crashes, began flashing just a month after its previous signal, raising concerns about a possible impending stock market downturn.

The indicator compares the percentage of stocks hitting new 52-week highs and lows to a specific threshold. When the number of stocks hitting both extremes exceeds a certain level, the indicator is said to be triggered, suggesting a greater risk of a crash.

Featured Image via Disinfect.

Fuente

Continue Reading

Tech

Trump Fights for Cryptocurrency Vote at Bitcoin Conference

BlockChainGuardian Staff

Published

on

A large conference hall filled with enthusiastic attendees, Bitcoin logos prominently displayed, and a podium with an American flag

To the Bitcoin Conference 2024 In Nashville, Tennessee, former President Donald Trump delivered a keynote speech.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, used the platform to appeal to the tech community and solicit donations for the campaign. During the conference, He said:

I promise the Bitcoin community that the day I take the oath of office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ anti-crypto crusade will be over… If we don’t embrace cryptocurrency and Bitcoin technology, China will, other countries will. They will dominate, and we can’t let China dominate. They are making too much progress as it is.

Trump’s speech focused heavily on cryptocurrency policy, positioning it as a partisan issue. He said that if reelected, he would fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office, a statement that drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. This statement marked a stark contrast to Gensler’s tenure, which has been characterized by rigorous oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.

The former president outlined several pro-crypto initiatives he would undertake if elected. These include transforming the United States into a global cryptocurrency hub, keeping all government-held Bitcoin as a “national Bitcoin reserve,” establishing a presidential advisory council on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and developing power plants to support cryptocurrency mining, emphasizing the use of fossil fuels.

Trump’s current embrace of cryptocurrencies represents a reversal from his stance in 2021, when described Bitcoin as a “scam against the dollar.” He also noted that his campaign has received $25 million in donations since accepting cryptocurrency payments two months ago.

The event featured other political figures, including Republican Senators Tim Scott and Tommy Tuberville, as well as Democratic Representatives Wiley Nickel and Ro Khanna. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also spoke at the conference.

Trump’s appearance at Bitcoin 2024 reflects growing support for his campaign from some tech leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

While Trump has described the current administration as “anti-crypto,” Democratic Congressman Wiley Nickel said Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a “forward-thinking approach to digital assets and blockchain technology.”

This event underscores the growing political importance of cryptocurrency policy in the upcoming presidential election.

Kamala Harris and Democrats Respond on Cryptocurrencies

In a strategic move to repair strained relations, Vice President Kamala Harris’ team has initiated a dialogue with major cryptocurrency industry players. This outreach aims to restore the Democratic Party’s stance on digital assets and promote a more collaborative approach.

THE Financial Times reports that Harris’s advisors have reached out to representatives from industry leaders like Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple Labs. This move comes as the cryptocurrency community increasingly supports Republican candidate Donald Trump, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with the current administration’s cryptocurrency policies.

THE disclosure follows a letter from Democratic lawmakers and 2024 candidates urging the party to reevaluate its approach to digital assets. Harris’s team stresses that this effort is less about securing campaign contributions and more about engaging in constructive dialogue to develop sensible regulations.

The move is part of a broader strategy to reshape the Democratic Party’s image among business leaders, countering perceptions of an anti-business stance. Harris’ campaign aims to project a “pro-business, responsible business” message.

Fuente

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 BLOCKCHAINGUARDIAN.NET. All rights reserved. This website provides educational content and highlights that investing involves risks. It is essential to conduct thorough research before investing and to be prepared to assume potential losses. Be sure to fully understand the risks involved before making investment decisions. Important: We do not provide financial or investment advice. All content is presented for educational purposes only.