Thursday, March 28

ANALYSIS

Machine Learning Will Not Replace People In All Jobs: Study
ANALYSIS

Machine Learning Will Not Replace People In All Jobs: Study

Machine learning computer systems, which get better with experience, can outperform people in a number of tasks, though they are unlikely to replace people in all jobs, a study has found. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US found 21 criteria to evaluate whether a task or a job is amenable to machine learning (ML). "Although the economic effects of ML are relatively limited today, and we are not facing the imminent end of work as is sometimes proclaimed, the implications for the economy and the workforce going forward are profound," researchers said. The skills people choose to develop and the investments businesses make will determine who thrives and who falters once ML is ingrained in everyday life, they argue. ...
Indian Apps Asking For Permissions That Are “Too Private” To Share : Report
ANALYSIS

Indian Apps Asking For Permissions That Are “Too Private” To Share : Report

Indian apps may be a lot kinkier when it comes to seeking permissions from a user to allow him to use its services. A report released by a survey agency reveals the ugly truth of the smartphone app developers. We have already witnessed too many cases of apps stealing user's private data or remember the time when even Google was caught saving Android user's locations, even when turned-off manually. As per the report, on an average, Indian apps seek 7.9 dangerous permissions from its users. Android classifies some permissions as 'dangerous' when the data it permits access to is very sensitive or private. Data collected after granting such permissions can be used to track user's location, to build your profile and know minute details about your life. Out of the 100 apps that Arrka...
Facebook Reveals Data On Copyright And Trademark Complaints
ANALYSIS

Facebook Reveals Data On Copyright And Trademark Complaints

Facebook Inc announced Monday that it removed nearly 3 million posts, including videos, ads and other forms of content, from its services during the first half of 2017 following complaints of counterfeiting and copyright and trademark infringement. The worldwide data on intellectual property-related takedowns is a new disclosure for Facebook as part of its biannual “Transparency Report,” Chris Sonderby, a deputy general counsel at the firm, said in a blog post.  “We believe that sharing information about (intellectual property) reports we receive from rights holders is an important step toward being more open and clear about how we protect the people and businesses that use our services,” Sonderby wrote. The ninth Facebook transparency report also showed that government requests for i...
These 5 Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin Are Attracting Investors
ANALYSIS

These 5 Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin Are Attracting Investors

Starting from $1000 this year, Bitcoin has ramped up to around $20,000. With the launch of Bitcoin futures this week by Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe Global Markets, the prices are still expected to shoot up. The Bitcoin "bubble" has ignited a series of discussions on the Wall Street, questioning whether the Bitcoin is the new way of doing business. Many financial markets are now treating Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legitimate financial assets. While on the other hand, firms like JP Morgan call it a "fraud" and claim that those who traded in digital currency are just being "stupid". The debate can go long whether to or not to invest in cyptocurrencies. Nonetheless, the boom in Bitcoin value has also helped its rivals surge. In some parts of the world, people are e...
Do You Google Everything? That May Be Risky For Your Health
ANALYSIS, Tech

Do You Google Everything? That May Be Risky For Your Health

Using Google frequently to search for information, rather than using our brains, may increase the risk of dementia, a UK researcher has warned. The researcher has described the practice as an "experiment" we are conducting on ourselves. "It's important to promote good brain health and to do that is to use it, but these days we seem to outsource our brain to the internet," said Frank Gunn-Moore, from the University of St Andrews in the UK. "If we want to know something, we look it up online rather than trying to recall the information from our memory," Gunn-Moore was quoted as saying to The Sunday Post. "It's an experiment the human race is running and we will have to wait and see if this outsourcing affects dementia prevalence," he said. Gun-Moore will be speaking at the annual ...
Economic Growth Likely To Pick Up In Q2, Say Experts
ANALYSIS

Economic Growth Likely To Pick Up In Q2, Say Experts

Indias economic growth is likely to show a significant improvement for the September quarter of the current fiscal over the previous three months, when the GDP slipped to a 3-year low of 5.7 per cent, say experts. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is scheduled to come out on Thursday with the estimates of the second quarter gross domestic product (GDP). The data will also capture the impact of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), which was implemented from July 1. Based on a survey of economists, industry body Ficci expects that the economic growth would rebound to 6.2 per cent in the second quarter, a significant improvement over the April-June numbers. "The slowdown in the economy due to demonetisation and the adjustment impact of GST implementation seems to be bottoming out and ...
This Is How Indian Merchants Can Make More Money On Amazon!
ANALYSIS

This Is How Indian Merchants Can Make More Money On Amazon!

Christmas and New Year are just around the corner and America's e-commerce giant is looking for ways to lower its prices and beat its competitors like Walmart. To achieve that, Amazon is actively recruiting Indian sellers for popular gift choices like leather products, luxury bedding and many more. This season at least 27,000 Indian sellers have signed up on Amazon.com, to sell their products in America and across the continent. The simple hack here for Indian merchants is to sell their product on Amazon.com as well instead of just selling them on Amazon.in Giants like Tata Group, a conglomerate that sells its Titan watch line on the site, to smaller firms like The Boho Street, a peddler of vegan tapestries, incense and handcrafted copper mugs has already enrolled for the season. ...
Tencent Beats Alibaba To $500B Valuation, Overtakes Facebook
ANALYSIS

Tencent Beats Alibaba To $500B Valuation, Overtakes Facebook

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hina’s biggest social network and gaming firm Tencent Holdings, which last week reported forecast-beating quarterly results, is close to making Malaysia the first foreign country to roll out its WeChat ecosystem, an executive told Reuters. Tencent has made a “breakthrough” in gaining an e-payment license in Malaysia for local transactions, and plans a launch early next year, senior vice president S.Y. Lau said in an interview. The move pits Shenzhen-based Tencent against rival Alibaba Group as they scramble for new growth opportunities outside China. Tencent on Tuesday became the first Asian firm to enter the club of companies with a market value of more than $500 billion, surpassing that of Facebook. “Malaysia is actually quite large in the sense that we have ...
Tesla’s Unfettered Ambition Will Drain Finances: Analysts
ANALYSIS

Tesla’s Unfettered Ambition Will Drain Finances: Analysts

Tesla Inc may have to ask creditors and shareholders for more capital to fund development of an electric semi truck, a new roadster and accelerated production of a high-volume electric sedan, analysts said on Friday. Musk unveiled one flashy strategy for generating cash during the launch event Thursday for the Semi truck, surprising the audience with a prototype of a new generation of the Tesla Roadster. Musk promised the Roadster will be the fastest production car available. The first 1,000 cars will cost $250,000 each, paid in full upfront, with later models starting at $200,000. Those deposits would put $250 million into Tesla’s cash drawer today for a car that is likely to go into production in 2020. Musk did not offer details about how Tesla would generate additional funds to...
India’s Messenger App Hike Has Revenue Issues
ANALYSIS

India’s Messenger App Hike Has Revenue Issues

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter Flipkart, Ola and Paytm, another potential Indian Unicorn Hike, the Indian chat messenger is seeing some hard days! It is not generating any revenue! Its latest filings with RoC shows that the five year old company is right back where it started; as per its March 2017 reports. Once valued at $1.4 billion, the company fails to come up with a significant revenue stream in financial year 2016-coupons that users bought to play in-app games accounted for almost all the operating revenue. In the filings, the company showed a total income of Rs 11.4 crore in comparison to the 34,9 crore in FY2016, which had come on the back of profit from sale of investments. The total expenditure in FY17 was Rs 227.3 crore in comparison to last year's Rs 252.2 crore. The net los...
Increased Smartphone Use May Up Suicide Risk In Teens: Study
ANALYSIS

Increased Smartphone Use May Up Suicide Risk In Teens: Study

Prolonged use of smartphones and computers may increase the risk of depression and suicide- related behaviours in teenagers, especially girls, a major study warns. "These increases in mental health issues among teens are very alarming," said Jean Twenge, from the San Diego State University in the US. "Teens are telling us they are struggling, and we need to take that very seriously," Twenge said. Researchers studied questionnaire data from more than 500,000 teens. The study published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science looked at data suicide statistics kept by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They found that the suicide rate for girls aged between 13 and 18 years increased by 65 per cent between 2010 and 2015. The number of girls experiencing s...
Economic Reforms To Help Support Long-Term Growth: BMI Research
ANALYSIS

Economic Reforms To Help Support Long-Term Growth: BMI Research

India is expected to remain one of the fastest growing emerging markets with real GDP growth averaging 6.5 per cent over the next five fiscals, though bureaucratic inefficiencies will continue to cap the countrys growth potential, says a report. According to a report by BMI Research, a Fitch Group company, while India's ease of doing business ranking has improved, significant bureaucratic inefficiencies are likely to cap the country's growth potential further. "We believe that the ongoing economic reforms and improvements to the business environment will continue to support India's economic growth over the coming years, and we expect the country to be one of the best performing emerging market economies, with real GDP growth set to average 6.5 per cent over the next five fiscal years,"...