AI isn’t evil. It’s just a tool.

Search for ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘automation’ and it seems like many see them as harbingers of the next apocalypse.

That’s plain foolish.

The truth is that artificial intelligence and humankind are good bedfellows. Those who say otherwise are just peddling fear.

Let’s bust some myths with facts.

Fact 1: It’s not AI, it’s us

As a species, we are obsessed about the end of days. This preoccupation with apocalyptic scenarios is deep-rooted in our psyche. After all, fear is natural and from an evolutionary psychology perspective, fear of potential threats is precisely what has protected mankind.

It’s little wonder that apocalyptic literature can be found across various cultures and religions, from the Bible, to Nostradamus’s predictions, right down to modern pop culture. ‘The Walking Dead’ is an archetype of zombie apocalypse, movies from ‘Independence Day’ to ‘A Quiet Place’ deal with alien invasion, and Doomsday Preppers isn’t just a reality TV show, they’re an actual movement.

Also Read: Forget founders, here are 12 tips to being a successful startup employee

Naturally, artificial intelligence (AI) fits into the stereotype of an apocalyptic villain – it is new territory, seemingly unfamiliar, and potentially limitless.

That’s probably why even the technology community and its leaders can’t come to an agreement on what AI means for humanity. The late Stephen Hawking said that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Elon Musk is a prominent doomsayer. On the flip side, Mark Zuckerberg called Musk’s apocalyptic warnings “hysterical”.

As someone who works in the field, here’s the truth. AI isn’t the villain, in fact, AI and people are good bedfellows. Ultimately, what will doom humanity is not the machines, but humans ourselves.

Fact 2: We’ve made progress, but not as much as you think

When Mark Zuckerberg built Jarvis (an AI butler that helps with chores like making toast and turning off lights), Musk said: “It’s really not AI to turn the lights on, set the temperature.”

While this does sound like an argument best left to tech titans, it’s not, because to understand what AI is capable of doing, we need to understand what exactly AI is.

Just like how there are different types of intelligence – IQ, EQ – for human beings, there are different categories of AI.

The first category of AI is Narrow AI when machines or bots can complete narrowly or well-defined tasks. Things like turning lights on and off require following a prescribed set of steps. The machine still needs human beings to ‘feed’ possible scenarios and “what-ifs” to them, in order to function.

The next category is Strong AI, the one that our apocalyptic nightmares are about; when machines and bots become self-aware and self-directing (like human beings but faster).

“Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 AM, Eastern time, August 29th (1997)…”

That’s how the story goes in Terminator, but in reality, it’s 2019 and Skynet is not here yet nor is it coming any time soon.

Most of the AI progress we’ve made strides in is in the first category – using machines or bots to complete tasks.

That’s what Osome’s bot does. Rather than having highly experienced human specialists endure mundane tasks like checking whether all required documents for registering a company has been submitted and is all filled up correctly, the Osome bot does it. Because it’s a bot, it does it faster, more consistently, and more accurately than a human specialist can (because of human error).

It’ll do it any time – weekends, public holidays, even at three am in the morning. It can also get better at doing it because it can use past cases and experiences to influence its future decision-making. Thanks to progress in natural language processing (NLP), bots today can also better understand and interact with the humans it serves.

But as anyone who has used Siri, Alexa or Google Home can attest to, we’re still not quite there yet. Especially if you have an accent.

Needless to say, when it comes to the kind of self-aware, self-directing, AI that our nightmares are made of, we’re nowhere near that.

Fact 3: AI is just a tool and can be used for good

Like fire, knives, and guns, AI is a tool and it can be used for good, or for evil.

Osome use AI in professional services to free employees from mundane, routine tasks that are not just bad for productivity but also their own wellbeing. The results are happier and more engaged employees and a more consistent, convenient and affordable service for our customers.

In one year, we’ve saved our employees and over 1,000 clients from tens of thousands of hours of dull paperwork.

Healthcare is also ripe for improvement through AI. A study by Accenture estimated that AI can help the U.S. healthcare industry alone save up to $105 billion in the near-term.

The study estimates that US$40 billion worth of value and savings can come from the use of AI in robot-assisted surgery. A study of 379 orthopaedic patients has already found that robot-assisted surgery resulted in five times fewer complications than surgery helmed solely by human surgeons.

The study also estimates another US$20 billion of savings can be made through the use of virtual nursing assistants. The nursing profession is famously short-staffed and overburdened by administrative paperwork that leaves nurses distracted from their core care duties. AI nursing assistants can help cut time spent on paperwork, and help nurses monitor patients, at all hours and even remotely.

Woebot and Replika are both AI-powered chatbots developed to help people with their mental wellness. Woebot is built by clinical psychologists from Stanford and delivers bite-sized, on-demand cognitive behavioral therapy to anyone with a smartphone. It’s affordable and an initial trial has shown encouraging results; a study showed that Woebot users reported a reduction in depression symptoms over a two week period, compared to a control group.

Both Woebot and Replika work precisely because they’re not human; with no fear of judgment from another human being, users can be completely honest, and the bots can gather numerous cues from text and emojis at super speed to figure out appropriate responses and follow-up questions.

The University of Southern California has also launched the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society, which is dedicated to using AI for social good, solving problems like climate change, homelessness, and more.

Fact 4: We already know how the story goes

Part of why people are so terrified of AI is because they think it’s an unprecedented event.

That’s not true, AI is the fourth industrial revolution. The first industrial revolution was powered by steam, then science made mass production possible through engineering and machinery, and next came a digital revolution through the creation of semiconductors, computing, and the Internet.

All three revolutions triggered a similar sequence of events – a shift in the industry driving the economy, job creation in some sectors, job loss in others, and a change in living and working conditions for people.

In earlier industrial revolutions, our economy shifted from a largely agricultural one to a capitalist one.

Now, mass production has long been possible, powered by machinery and factories. Transportation has improved. New jobs were created in engineering, factories, and urban areas. The standard of living has improved for some. But, poor policies and a lack of protections for the poor and working class caused many to suffer from awful work conditions, low pay, and child labour.

In the digital revolution, the economy shifted again. Manufacturing was no longer the star. New jobs were created in computing, programming, and more. Job loss in manufacturing occurred, going to automated machinery or less developed economies. Standards of living improved for some. Poor policies and protection for the poor and working class caused many to suffer from unemployment, poor working and living conditions, and low pay.

In the AI revolution, the economy will shift again. A new industry or segment will be the star. Job loss in manufacturing and services will occur, going to AI bots, who will assist human specialists in their work. Product and service standards will improve as a result. Cost of products and services come down and become more affordable. Standards of living rise, and work-life quality will improve for human specialists.

But what about those who lose their jobs? If we go by history, society fails to protect them and they will likely fall through the cracks. But the story for that can still be re-written if the government and individuals take critical steps in the next 2-3 years to make the distribution of benefits more equitable.

We need better policies to address income inequality, distribution

Global income inequality is staggering — the richest one per cent own 45 per cent of the world’s wealth.
It is clear that we need better policies, social protection systems, education systems to address this.

Also Read: Why remote working is the future for startups

Failing to do so means that the AI revolution will only add on to the injustices of previous industrial revolutions; benefits will go to the rich and educated, the poor and working class will continue to reap little.

Education systems need to be improved, not just for the young, but for those whose jobs are most susceptible to automation. Retraining programmes are not enough, since jobs may be displaced before human beings have the time to complete retraining and find new employment. Safety nets for workers need to be put in place to support them through the whole process.

AI isn’t as advanced as you think it is. AI is not evil. We know what’s going to happen. Yet the true horror comes from our inaction — only 25 out of 100 countries assessed by the World Economic Forum are well-positioned to benefit from the AI revolution.

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Victor most recently founded Osome in Singapore in May 2017. Osome has helped over 800 clients in Singapore, Malaysia, and India save over 3,000 hours on paperwork, and they have recently closed a US$2M seed round led by Berlin-based VC firm Target Global. Target Global has also invested in food delivery unicorn Delivery Hero (they had acquired foodpanda in 2016).

Victor has a background in physics and technology – he has taught at his alma mater Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology as an assistant professor, where he had also earned a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics and Physics.

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The Singapore-based startup is on a mission to bring nutritious snacks and cold press juices to more offices and homes

Boxgreen, a Singapore food startup aiming for supply-chain sustainability, has secured an undisclosed round of funding from Octava Impact Investment, Angel Central Syndicate, and existing investors Expara Ventures.

The company said that the funding will be used to accelerate revenue growth and strengthen its sustainable and social effort in the supply and distribution chain. Part of it will also be used for the setting up of a new manufacturing facility in Changi Prison to expand its current operations whilst providing training and employment opportunities to ex-offenders.

Prior to the funding, Boxgreen also acquired Squeezed! Juice, a cold press juice manufacturing brand, in a bid to provide new, healthy, and different offerings to its consumers.

A ​2018 Cone/Porter Novelli study found that 78% of consumers expect companies to do more than just make money; they must positively impact society as well. Boxgreen caught the attention of the investors with the right timing when more consumers in the region are getting conscious about the products that they put into their body, how a product is made, and if the products they consume benefit the community or the planet.

“We continue to see a rising growth year on year of consumers who are looking for healthier and more sustainable ways to consume,” says Walter Oh, Co-founder, and CEO of Boxgreen.

Boxgreen has been around for four years  and it has seen how consumers are increasingly looking for greater transparency in their supply chain for more sustainable options in their everyday lives.

Also Read: Austrade names latest cohort of Landing Pad startups in Singapore

“There is a clear trend towards sustainability and a shift for companies to look beyond the bottom line, to the impact they make on people and planet,” says Tan Ting Yong, Director at Octava Impact Investment.

Boxgreen said that it manages its manufacturing and operations in-house and makes a conscious effort to create positive social value across its entire supply chain, from a fair and inclusive hiring process to employing people of diverse backgrounds, from vulnerable groups to elderly persons.

Currently, Boxgreen is expecting to complete the building of a facility by the end of the month, with the support of The Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE) to scale up the place.
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Blockchain replaces the need for third-party money transferring systems like banks

Blockchain is a new technology which is impacting so many other markets. These days, the effects of blockchain on the banking sector is one of the hot topics. To know the details first we have to understand what is the blockchain and what is the main objective of blockchain.

What is the blockchain?

Blockchain is something which we can relate to the chain of blocks existed digitally. It is a decentralised system which keeps records of all types of transactions made between two or more parties in scripted language with the help of cryptography.

The process behind this is the combination of people’s or distributors databases and some technology known as cryptography. Every transaction made in the blockchain is recorded with the combination of both of them.

The data is stored in the forms of records usually called as recorded with the identical information of the distributor and the cryptography. And when a decentralised ledger is readily filled with transactions done between two parties is named as their blockchain.

Also Read: Sustainable and healthy food startup Boxgreen raises funding

Two parties can have one blockchain and one party can have more than one blockchains. It is a type of digital ledger made with the cryptography to keep the transactions secure.

How are blockchain and banking linked with each other?

To describe the link of the blockchain and banking I would like to give the example of the internet and media. The technology is impacting banking so much in the case of data processing systems and payment functions. It is also proved effective in fraud detection and reduction.

These days, if we talk about money transfer, which is very essentially used by people, it is a sort of time-consuming processes. And if you are transferring money with the help of the third party then you have to pay some fee to them as well.

But, blockchain works to reduce the number of these third-party platforms to save time and money of the users. In so many cases transferring money also became a medium of fraud for thefts and hackers but with the increased security provided by the blockchain, this risk is also reduced by a huge percentage. This also helps to reduce the processing cost and e-commerce transactions.

However, if we talk about the back office of banks, it eliminated the traditional roles of the banking officials. (Read: Blockchain and Storage bridging the Gap)

Blockchain also won the trust of businessmen and e-commerce parties in terms of money transfer because of its security and shared records between two parties. Also, it increases the swiftness of money and keeps the real-time transactions for the flow of cash and capital.

According to some experts with the introduction of blockchain, the existence of physical money and cash will come to an end. It is also challenging the banks in terms of controlling the monetary policies, and maybe it is the star of the end of traditional banking.

Obviously, if people and business proprietors get a better system which is even more secure then why would they rely on the third party money transferring systems like banks.

The rise of blockchain is considered as the rise of non-banking as well as untraditional financial organizations with the ability to decrease the additional costs of the customer.

What are the major features that make blockchain better for banking?

So many banking organisations are adopting blockchain to provide their customers with better services with the factors of money transfer, transaction security and digital recorded keeping feature. Its high time to know why banks need to adopt this technology and how this is different from traditional banking.

So many banking organisations are equipped with blockchain development to provide their customers with better services with the factors of money transfer, transaction security and digital recorded keeping feature. Its high time to know why banks need to adopt this technology and how this is different from traditional banking.

1. Fraud Reduction
Blockchain is considered as the safest technology for money transferring and according to some facts with the boom of this technology fraud in the world’s transaction system reduces up to 40 per cent. With the help of blockchain hacking attacks on the banking system reduces a lot. This happens because blockchain cryptography is used to keep a record of the transactions made between two parties.

2. KYC
KYC is the abbreviated name of Know Your Customer. According to a survey financial institutions spend so much money in KYC to get the details of their customers. KYC is basically helpful to reduce the cases of money laundering and terrorist activities. Now in so many countries in the world, it is very important to approve KYC to buy even a SIM card. Blockchain is responsible for providing an organisation full access to verify the details of the customers through other organizations, which can also be described as repetitive KYC.

3. Smart Agreements
Blockchain is committed to recording all types of transactions digitally, even the IP of the computer system used to make a transaction. According to criteria, a transaction is only taking place when the system detects the IP address of the computer which is actually a smart move.

4. Payments
Blockchain is highly used in the cases of money transfer or we can say payments. It allows the banks and customers higher quality with reduced cost to process transactions between two parties which can be the bank and the customers as well. Blockchain says goodbye to all other payment processing systems.

Also Read: EV Growth raises US$200M first fund, exceeding initial target

5. Trade finance
This is known as the most helpful application of technology. You can make complex transactions through these features between one or more parties. Whenever specified conditions are met then this feature is all ready to show the details of transactions made between the parties automatically. This is a type of onboard network to share information between all the concerned people.

Conclusion

I guess this article has enough information to do justice to the topic and provide you with the right information.

As we can see, blockchain can make banking much better but there are so many other financial institutions which don’t want to adopt blockchain yet.

But, with the introduction of technology, we can expect many changes in the case of money transfer, investment and other mediums of banking. The above benefits of blockchain are not to push traditional banks down but to facilitate the transition of digital banks.

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Muthamilselvan is a passionate Content Marketer and SEO Analyst. He has 4 years of hands on experience in Digital Marketing with IT and Service sectors.

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Optimising the customer’s journey is the key to extracting the maximum value out of them

Startups often make the mistake of achieving revenue as the main target. It’s not, actually! Rather, you should aim to attract new clients and continuously work to make them come back to you because this is what leads to revenue and eventually growth.

It is also a fact that the basic rules of customer journey and experience remain unchanged, however, there are certain things startups need to be extra careful if they want to build their platform for optimised customer experience.

If you look back historically, the business has been successful only on three major aspects: Price, Quality and Customer Intimacy.

Hence it’s not a new thing to say that customer success is key. However, technology has played a major role in changing how we interact with our customers, and that’s simply because the amount of time any user spends over any digital touchpoint such as smartphone, tablet, laptop and even your smart TV is massive; this brings a huge potential for technology vendors like Liferay to invest in cutting edge web content management system, personalization and content analytics that revolve around various omnichannel touchpoints.

Let’s spend some time to understand the fundamentals around a consumer buying cycle and what and where technology is important.

Customer journey cycle

Before we understand what enhances a customer journey, let’s brush up our knowledge about it. Typically, customer journey starts when he or she first interacts with your company and brand. It’s a wholesome picture that documents every bit and piece of a transaction or experience as well as the full experience of being a customer. And the most common customer journey cycle in any industry would involve these three steps:

Research

When a customer does not know what and where he wants to buy/transact, usually a vendor will try to attract customers via various ways and means such as:

1. 1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) using hyper-personalised content auto-tagging (making sure every image and document which is available in the system gets auto-tagged with most relevant keyword) so that it appears in the search results of the right user at the right time.
   2. Once a customer comes to the site, the same personalization feature can start serving them most relevant content at the home screen as well as any personalized offers and plans. Personalization once a customer lands on your site can be achieved via web campaigning tools like audience targeting, etcetera.
   3. To ensure the customer does the right thing on the site and to provide a more engaging experience to the customer companies, implement a chatbot that is well integrated with a knowledge management system and multiple other subsystems.

Transact

Most of the marketing experts only worry about bringing the leads to the system, but a large portion of lead conversion also depends upon providing a seamless experience to the customers during the transaction and post-transaction. Some of the important aspects which help to make this possible are as follows:

Also Read: Here are Singapore’s top e-commerce apps for mobile shopping

1. A detailed comparison of products and services along with user feedback and instant answers to the queries. Most companies have attempted this for tangible products like (electronics, clothes, etcetera), but very few have attempted this in service and intangible products like (for example, insurance policy, loan, legal, accounting consulting, travel packages, and more).
2. A huge amount of content analytics is required to enhance the buying experience of a customer during the transaction phase such as, ensuring the ‘order form’ is asking just the right amount of information needed. Also, if the flow of that information is correct or not.

One thing to keep in mind is that businesses should avoid asking details which they think they would not be using in the immediate transaction process.

Service and re-engaging

Most analysts believe that it takes seven times more money to acquire a new customer compared to retaining and upselling an existing customer.

Therefore technology vendors have a huge responsibility to provide the right set of tools which can help businesses achieve customer retention. Some of the classic use cases include

1. Self-service and engaging customer portals: these allow customers to search and buy products, book service appointments, request refunds, exchange items, as well as view their purchase history.
2. A better customer experience always results in recurring customers and growing revenue. Businesses can also run loyalty programmes via the customer self-service portal and offer various personalised services, They can also have full control over the unified view of the customer’s journey and optimise the experience for them.

What do customers want?

A crucial factor in deciding a customer journey for any organization is ‘value’.

This single element plays a key role in deciding whether a customer will take up your product/service and come back for the second time.

Successful startups should know exactly what is the value proposition of their products and services that would attract target customers and should not keep changing that for short terms benefits.

Also Read: Honest e-commerce mistakes that piss customers off

For example, imagine what would happen if a low-cost airline suddenly attempts to be a full-service airline under the same brand name. Do you think the same customers will accept it and will be willing to pay premium against better services? Likewise, if a luxury hotel chain suddenly jumps into budget hotel segment under the same brand name, it will either not meet the customer’s expectations or the hotel management might end up providing the same set of services at both hotel segments in order to maintain the brand name — in either case its a bad business decision.

Hence, it’s very important to identify the key offerings and its target buyer and should stick to the plan for a good amount of time to make it work.

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Entrepreneurs have forced companies to do away with their authoritarian, sclerotic way

Approximately 27 million entrepreneurs start or run businesses in the United States each year, according to the latest available data from Inc., which represents about 14 per cent of the population.

Entrepreneurs have various reasons for starting businesses such as dissatisfaction with their jobs, wanted to create something from scratch, or the opportunity to make important decisions.

But, whatever their reasons for doing it alone, entrepreneurs have dramatically changed the complexion of the workforce.

Here’s how.

More outsourcing

Because of the increase in service entrepreneurs or freelancers, more companies are outsourcing these professionals to design their websites, write content, manage their books, execute their social marketing and to provide valuable consulting services.

One reason for this dynamic is that entrepreneurs enable businesses to contract with highly qualified people and still save on costs, according to Hera Herald.

Greater flexibility

The influx of small business owners is forcing companies to be less rigid in their organizational structures, decision-making processes and how they conduct business. Many are allowing their employees to telecommute because they’ve seen how this flexibility can foment new ideas and improve morale with entrepreneurs.

Some companies are also doing away with cubicles to force people to work together and enjoy the synergism of their efforts. As thought patterns, economic times and technology changes, the traditional workforce is growing, evolving and changing with it, according to Entrepreneur’s Handbook.

Companies focusing more on creativity

For the most part, entrepreneurs have forced companies to do away with their authoritarian ways. Instead of all the red tape, employees are encouraged to exercise their creativity and voice their opinions in meetings.

Also Read: Blockchain and banking: is there a co-existential crisis?

Corporations are also using matrix structures more, where employees have multiple responsibilities and report to more than one supervisor. Some executives have even been forced to create separate organizations to promote entrepreneurship in their corporations, according to Hera Herald.

Exit strategy for employees

Because of all the incubator programs, support organisations and investors that help entrepreneurs succeed, employees who work for companies realize they have more options than just getting another job.

Once they get some experience or better familiarize themselves with their industries, they’re more apt to start their businesses. One reason for this is that aspiring entrepreneurs often study others who start businesses, so they already know some of the procedures involved.

Workers may also start their ventures part-time until they have enough money to quit their jobs.

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