Seasteading Part 2: Examining the Potential Applications of Seasteading

By Chase Baker & Carter Bermingham

As with any new technology, it’s important to examine potential applications and uses in order to determine just how viable this new addition might be. Unfortunately, since the concept of seasteading is still in its infancy, there are currently no practical uses cases that can be examined to provide a better understanding. So, for all intents and purposes, we shall explore the potential uses cases for seasteading and how this vision might come to life.

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Seasteading Part 1: A Vision of a New Society

By Chase Baker & Carter Bermingham

Exploring a New Frontier

For centuries, one of the great questions that has captured the human curiosity is what’s next? This question has been at the root of some of the most monumental moments of our recorded history. Whether it was American and Soviet astronauts pushing each other to explore further into the depths of space, or Lewis and Clark heading west along the Missouri River to find a passage for ships to the Pacific Ocean, our human desire to dive into the unknown is something that has allowed for continuous exploration, even in the face of tremendous risk.

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Using Machine Learning to Automate Digital Marketing Efforts and Website Content Changes: Part 2

By Ryan J Barr, Andrew Williamson, Emily Finnegan, and Carter Andrues

Three Ways in which Machine Learning is a Competitive Advantage.

Machine learning can be used in myriad ways to power the future of digital marketing. In the prior blog post, we introduced you to machine learning. In this entry, we share three powerful examples of how machine learning may be used to power marketing campaigns.

Continue reading Using Machine Learning to Automate Digital Marketing Efforts and Website Content Changes: Part 2

Using Machine Learning to Automate Digital Marketing Efforts and Website Content Changes: Part 1

By Ryan J Barr, Andrew Williamson, Emily Finnegan, and Carter Andrues

Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics for Digital Marketers and Business Owners

There’s a lot of talk these days in marketing about “machine learning”, “data science”, “artificial intelligence”, and “predictive (marketing) analytics”, but what do they all mean? Are they just buzzwords? No, not at all. They’re incredibly important concepts that you must be aware of and prepare for to stay on top of digital marketing.

Machine Learning is part of the field of artificial intelligence which builds algorithms that help computers learn. Yup, people can teach a system to learn and perform tasks.[1] To clarify a common misconception, machine learning is not artificial intelligence; rather, it is only a type of artificial intelligence.

Continue reading Using Machine Learning to Automate Digital Marketing Efforts and Website Content Changes: Part 1

Self-Service Check-Out Technologies: Comparison of Amazon Go and Alibaba Tao Café

By Jifeng Li, Jinghong Liu, and Xueyang Zhong

The Alibaba Tao Cafe:

In July 7th, 2017, Alibaba’s first self-service market, the “Tao Café,” opened in Hangzhou, China. The 200-square-meter store offering beverages, fast food and snacks can accommodate 50 customers at a time. The whole shopping process is very simple and convenient: before customers enter the market, they should use the Alipay app on their phones to scan the QR code to access their Alipay accounts. They scan another QR code to pass the gate machine (see the photos below). Continue reading Self-Service Check-Out Technologies: Comparison of Amazon Go and Alibaba Tao Café

What Will Virtual Reality’s Future Hold?

Written by Kyle Harrington, Taesan Josephson, and Jackson Ottman

Virtual 1

Imagine waking up for a morning hike up Granite Peak. You then have an executive meeting on the beaches of Hawaii. Later, you play ping pong with your friend who lives in New York and near the end of the day, you sit courtside for the NBA finals and watch Kyrie Irving make one of the most clutch 3-pointers in history. You’ve had all these amazing experiences within a day, and you never had to leave the comfort of your own home. Virtual reality (VR) allows users to experience events and see places that would normally be out of the realm of possibility. This ability to transcend normal imagery and take users to a unique environment has the potential to disrupt industries such as gaming, engineering, retail and training, to name a few.

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Diving Deep into Deep Learning

 Written by Michelle Dufflocq Williams and Jordyn Kronenberg

In the world of technology, concepts seemingly overlap and it’s easy for them to become jumbled. For example, the terms “deep learning,” “machine learning,” “artificial intelligence” and “cognitive computing” seem to be used interchangeably at times, making grasping these concepts confusing and overwhelming.

The purpose of this blog is to communicate simply and clearly: what exactly is the difference between deep learning, artificial intelligence (“AI”), machine learning, and cognitive computing?

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Creating a Two-Sided Platform

By: Matt Young, Ryley Campbell, Jeana Kerr

The growth of the digital economy has put it on course to account for 25 percent of the entire world economy by 2020, up from 15 percent in 2005, according to recent findings from Accenture’s Digital Economic Value Index. As a result, more companies are turning to platform-based business models to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities today’s digital economy offers [1]. In fact, the growing influence of the digital economy is largely related to the growth of two-sided market platforms.

In this blog post we will provide a broad overview of two-sided market platforms and provide a guide to successfully creating your own two-sided market platform.

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Seasteading Part 3: Barriers to Success

By: Shafer Higgins, Cheyenne Keeler, and Alexia Coston

sea10

Our prior two blog posts introduced the concept of seasteading as well as its potential market applications. This final entry will discuss the “barriers” that make success for seasteading difficult. Seasteading offers the tantalizing potential to be the next vast frontier for homesteading. But as amazing as it sounds, various barriers have so far stalled development, leaving it a mere dream.  The barriers explored below include the high costs of building a seastead, the technology involved in the development of a seastead, and the market uncertainty associated with a new, disruptive technology.

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Seasteading Part 2: Market Applications

By: Shafer Higgins, Cheyenne Keeler, and Alexia Coston

sea8

The prior blog post explained the overall concept and goal of seasteading. This blog post examines several specific potential applications. Market applications for seasteading are practically unexplored, but several initial models for the benefits of sea-based living are quietly taking shape. We highlight two use cases, a floating special economic zone and mobile floating infrastructure. They involve taking advantage of the freedom, flexibility, and mobility afforded by seasteading.

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