Category Archives: Data Mining
Treasury expert: AI could help the IRS recover $600B in taxes that should have been paid | Opinion – NJ.com
By Thomas J. Healey
Conservatives determined to defund the IRS should reexamine their stand on the basis of one inescapable fact: every dollar of unchecked tax fraud is a dollar more on the shoulders of taxpayers who dont try to cheat the government. In 2021, the U.S. Treasury estimated that the tax gap the difference between taxes owed and those collected was almost $600 billion.
The good news is that artificial intelligence (AI) now holds the promise of transformative change for this countrys sprawling and antiquated tax system. A portion of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden in August 2022 plows some $80 billion in funding over the next 10 years into the IRS for upgrading computer systems, strengthening enforcement, and bolstering its staff, which dwindled from nearly 95,000 in 2010 to around 79,000.
Even with the lower IRS funding in the debt limit package passed by the Senate Thursday night, there is still more than adequate money to take full advantage of the power of AI.
The potential benefits to the nations tax agency have never been more apparent. Consider the fact that each filing error by taxpayers creates an extra step for IRS personnel, resulting in enormous backlogs when compounded millions of times over. As of 2020, there were 20 million unexamined tax returns.
An AI algorithm, however, could be trained on the agencys massive data sets to pick up on the most commonly made mistakes, then proactively reach out to taxpayers with information and instructions on how to correctly fill out the most error-prone IRS forms.
Thats just the tip of the AI iceberg. By automating routine tasks, identifying patterns of non-compliance and fraud, and providing better customer service, the IRS might finally be able to propel itself into the 21st century.
Many European governments have already, adopted sophisticated fraud-detection technologies with impressive results. In Denmark, for example, tax officials now identify an estimated 60% of fraud cases through machine learning applications.
In the critical field of predictive modeling, automation could allow the IRS to forecast the likelihood of non-compliance or nonpayment by individual taxpayers by analyzing tax returns, financial statements, and other historical data. Problematic taxpayers could then be assigned risk scores, allowing tax authorities to take steps to encourage compliance, rather than react after a problem has occurred.
Through continuous data mining, AI tools could also help to identify broad patterns of behavior that indicate the potential for non-compliance or other irregularities and prioritize individuals who fit these templates for audits or other enforcement action. Likewise, being able to predict which taxpayers are likely to be delinquent in their tax payments could help the IRS allocate resources needed for collection and improve the overall collection rate.
IRS special agents in particular could benefit from these automated capabilities. Currently, they must look for hidden assets, money laundering, identity theft and much more with the naked eye. As experience has shown, this can be extremely time-consuming and vulnerable to errors. The audit rate of individual income tax refunds fell from 0.90% in 2010 to 0.25% in 2019.
In a webcast hosted by the American Bar Association, IRS officials revealed that research and investigative techniques that used to take weeks or months could be done in minutes with new technology the agency said it plans to roll out to detect taxpayer noncompliance.
In terms of customer service, automation could also portend desperately needed change. An AI-powered phone response system built on natural language processing could allow the IRS to respond to the most common taxpayer inquiries, freeing agents to resolve more complex issues and, in the process, address the fact that only 11% of the 282 million phone calls from taxpayers seeking help or guidance during the 2022 filing season actually reached an agent.
Taxpayers seeking to reach customer service agents on the telephone are waiting on hold for an average of 29 minutes. Through predictive dialing, AI could also analyze past interactions with taxpayers in order to determine the best times and methods to reach them, increasing the chance of a successful contact and thus improving collections.
Everyone, even Republicans, should be loudly applauding this landmark $80 billion commitment to strengthen, over the long run, the IRS, knowing that enhanced enforcement alone would pay for the investment many times over.
Thomas Healey is a senior fellow at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government. He was an assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury under President Ronald Reagan.
Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion.
Go here to see the original:
This Week on Crypto Twitter: White House Mining Tax Scrapped, Bukele Hires Bitcoin Expert – Decrypt
Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt
Markets finally began to grow a little this week after four weeks of stagnation. There wasnt a whole lot of news to drive prices either way. In the U.S., regulators continued to hold the line on their assertion that existing rules are sufficient for the industry. Meanwhile, another domestic crypto exchangeGeminicontinued expanding offshore.
The most politically important tweet from Crypto Twitter this week came from Congressman Warren Davidson, who confirmed on Monday that the new U.S. debt ceiling agreement blocked an unpopular White House proposal for a 30% excise tax to be applied to crypto mining firms based on how much electricity they consume.
Also that day, Bitcoin NFT project Ordinals hit a new milestone.
On Tuesday, El Salvadors National Bitcoin Officean official institution set up to promulgate Bitcoin as legal tender in the countryannounced that the countrys authoritarian president Nayib Bukele had hired a new Bitcoin consultant.
Alex Svanevik, the CEO of blockchain data and research company Nansen, announced that the company was letting go of 30% of its staff in order to streamline the company. He also mentioned the bear market as a factor.
Blockchain gumshoe ZachXBT exposed a particularly callous scam on Thursday.
Imagine earning a million in twenty-four hours for doing nothing except opening your wallet. Well, it has already happened. Welcome to the blockchain.
Its easy to get worried about AI these days with so many tech industry leaders labeling it a potential extinction threat. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered a more mundane prediction about the advent of artificial general intelligence: maybe things will keep on keeping on.
NFT theft is declining but the Blur marketplace is becoming popular for stolen digital goods, according to PeckShieldAlert.
Messari analyst Ally Zach on Thursday did a deep dive on Solanas newest users and how the blockchain caters to consumer applications.
Finally, crypto wallet provider Atomic on Saturday warned that several wallets have been compromised. Crypto sleuth ZachXBT revealed the eye-watering amounts of crypto at stake.
More:
This Week on Crypto Twitter: White House Mining Tax Scrapped, Bukele Hires Bitcoin Expert - Decrypt
Why Bitcoin miners gloomy season is over – AMBCrypto News
Bitcoin [BTC] miners might have faced a challenging period, as several factors, including regulatory crackdowns and concerns over environmental impact, have created a long season of distress for the industry.
However, there are indications that this murky period may be near its end, with some mining stocks showing signs of strength and resilience.
According to IntoTheBlock, stock prices of the Mathent Patent Group and Riot Blockchain have outperformed BTC on a Year-To-Date (YTD) basis.
As of 1 June, Bitcoins performance rose 64.57%. Riot recorded a 253.98% increase while Mathents stock value increased by 186.26%. Consequently, this has pegged BTC back as the best-performing digital asset of the year a title it once held.
One reason for this turnaround is the increased revenue and fees that miners have recorded recently. This could be connected to the adoption of Bitcoin Ordinals.
Surely, the rise of BRC-20 tokens also had its impact since the number of transactions and minting on the Bitcoin blockchain also increased. It is noteworthy to mention that the factors highlighted above were not the only ones that have boosted the mining sector.
Rather, some of the mining firms have also taken steps to address the environmental concerns associated with the activity. This has resulted in the adoption of greener and more sustainable practices.
Not only does this help mitigate the negative environmental impact, but it also improves the public perception of the industry.
Interestingly, Glassnode data showed that the Fee Ratio Multiple (FRM) had decreased to 19.38. The FRM, calculated as the ratio of the total revenue and transaction fees, serves as a measure of the blockchains security when blocks disappear.
Since Bitcoins FRM was low, it means that the asset could maintain its security budget via miners revenue without depending on inflationary subsidy. Conversely, if the FRM was high, then miners would require block rewards subsidies to maintain revenue.
However, indications from the hash ribbon revealed that the worst was not yet over for miners. The metric uses the 30-day Moving Average (MA) to measure miners capitulation and identity buying opportunities.
When the hash ribbon switched from light red to dark red, then capitation could be considered over. But as of this writing, it was not yet there.
Meanwhile, the same metric indicated that Bitcoin may have offered a good buying opportunity. This was because the hash ribbon had entered the white-colored zone, indicating a price momentum switch from positive to negative.
Is your portfolio green? Check the Bitcoin Profit Calculator
Additionally, short-term holders still yearned for a BTC uptick despite its recent decline from its Q1 performance. According to Crazzyblockks CryptoQuant publication, the equilibrium level of the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) suggested the conclusion mentioned above.
Used as an indicator of macro market sentiment, the SOPR reflects the degree of realized profit and losses moved on-chain. The analyst noted,
These holders have shown a desire to be profitable and remain in the market, and the equilibrium level of SOPR data has recovered and improved every time it approaches and moves below the number 1 level, and we can say that these players still have interest and hope for price growth.
See the rest here:
Yukon government takes assessment board to court after it recommends against mining project in Peel watershed – CBC.ca
North
Posted: June 01, 2023
The Yukon government is taking the territory's environmental and socio-economic assessment board to court after it recommended against a proposed mining exploration project in the Peel watershed.
In a petition filed to the Yukon Supreme Court Monday, the government alleges the Dawson City-area office of the board, commonly referred to as YESAB, didn't have enough information fora fair, thorough assessment of the Michelle Creek project.
The project is spearheaded by the Vancouver-based Silver47 Exploration Corp., which is proposing to do five years of exploration work on its Michelle property. The property is located about 120 km northeast of Dawson City near the northern tip of Tombstone Territorial Park and on the traditional territories of the Tr'ondk Hwch'in and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyk Dun.
It was the first project in the Peel watershed to go through a YESAB assessment since the Yukon and First Nation governments finalized the regional land use plan in 2019.
The YESAB Dawson City Designated Office recommended against the project last year, saying in an evaluation report that it was "likely to have significant adverse effects in or outside Yukon that cannot be mitigated," particularly on wildlife and First Nation wellness.
The government is asking for a judicial review of the assessment and for the court to quash the recommendation on the grounds that it's "unreasonable." It also wants the case remitted to the Dawson office for reconsideration and a declaration the office "failed to observe a principle of natural justice or procedural fairness."
It's the first time the government has sought a judicial review of a YESAB assessment.
Under the YESAB process, designated offices assess projects and offer recommendations on whether they should proceed. Decision bodies, typically federal and territorial government representatives, may choose to accept, reject or vary those recommendations. The Yukon government doesn't have an option outside of court to get an office to re-do an assessment.
YESAB has not yet filed a reply to the petition and the matter has yet to go before a judge.
The Yukon government declined to provide anyone for an interview, citing the ongoing court case.
YESAB's Dawson regional operations manager, Don McPhee, also declined to speak to CBC News for the same reason.
Representatives for Silver47, Tr'ondk Hwch'in and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyk Dun, which are not directly involved in the legal matter, were not immediately available for comment.
In an email, Yukon Department of Energy, Mines and Resources spokesperson John Thompson wrote that the government didn't have any discussions with Silver47 before launching the legal action, and also doesn't "have a view on what the recommendation from the designated office on this project should be."
"Our concern is ensuring that the project is properly assessed before a decision document is issued," Thompson wrote.
"As a decision body, the Yukon government depends on assessors providing a complete picture of a proposed project's potential impacts and presenting this information in a clearly reasoned way," he also wrote.
"From our perspective, the concerns we've identified impede our ability to make an informed decision on the project."
The petition specifically points to a lack of baseline data provided by Silver47 during the assessment.
In its evaluation report, the Dawson office wrote that the company, despite requests from YESAB, didn't provide adequate information on existing sheep and caribou populations nor First Nations heritage resources.
Baseline data is meant to help evaluate a project's impacts on the environment. The Peel plan also contains a policy recommendation to "ensure adequate wildlife and habitat baseline data collection is completed prior to any development activities occurring" in the Peel.
The Dawson office concluded that the lack of baseline data meant Silver47's proposal did not comply with the Peel plan, and also that adequate mitigation measures to protect sheep and caribou couldn't be put in place.
The Yukon government petition claims that's unreasonable.
"Despite identifying that adequate baseline data was required to evaluate the Project and it had not been provided, the Designated Office completed the evaluation without it," the document says, arguing the Dawson office had the authority to require Silver47 to provide the data and to suspend the assessment until it was provided.
The government also claims the office didn't give the company notice that a higher standard of baseline data was required to comply with the Peel plan and due to the project's location within the Peel the projectcovers two "wilderness areas," which have interim protection from development, and one integrated management area, which allows for moderate development.
(Documents available on the YESAB registry show the Dawson office mentioned the Peel plan in several communications with Silver47, including a July 18, 2022 information request stating the Yukon and First Nations governments had provided comments indicating the company's previous responses were "insufficient in aligning with the goals and general management directions of the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan.")
The petition also alleges the Dawson office "conflated" Sliver47's failure to provide adequate baseline data and therefore non-conformity with the Peel plan "with adverse project effects on First Nation wellness."
Representatives of two Yukon conservation groups who heavily advocated for the Peel plan said they would be following the case closely.
"My initial reaction was, I was startled, and then I scratched my head," Sebastian Jones, the Yukon Conservation Society's fish, wildlife and habitat analyst, said in an interview.
"And tell you the truth, I am still scratching my head."
Jones said he thought that it was a "fairly extreme measure" for the government to go to court on the matter, especially given that the YESAB Dawson office had given a recommendation the government has the power to reject or modify.
"Obviously, the Yukon government's very uncomfortable with the recommendation that YESAB made, presumably because it wants to send more positive signals to the mining community that, you know, despite regional land use plans, there's still business as usual for mining," he said.
Maegan Elliott, the conservation coordinator for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's Yukon chapter, told CBC News she was "disappointed" the government chose to go to court and that she believed the onus for providing adequate data should fall on project proponents.
"I don't think it's really YESAB's job to be helping proponents along with this If the proponent had been prepared from the start that wouldn't have been an issue," she said.
"I'm hopeful that this isn't a pattern that starts developing for projects going through in the Peel," she added.
Jackie Hong is a reporter for CBC North in Whitehorse. She was previously the courts and crime reporter at the Yukon News and, before moving North in 2017, was a reporter at the Toronto Star where she covered everything from murder trials to escaped capybaras. You can reach her at jackie.hong@cbc.ca
Read the original post:
Stephen McHale Recognized as Smart Business Dealmakers … – PR Newswire
CLEVELAND, June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart Business Network proudly announces Stephen McHale, CEO of UnifyWork, as one of the distinguished recipients of the 2023 Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards.
This prestigious accolade celebrates exceptional business leaders who have demonstrated extraordinary expertise in dealmaking, mergers and acquisitions, and capital sourcing over the past 24 months. The selection for this honor recognizes the remarkable achievements and outstanding business acumen of the recipients.
"Stephen's visionary leadership and dedication to developing an equitable hiring technology platform is set to transform the employment experience for both employers and job seekers," says Dustin Klein, Chief Content Officer of Smart Business Network. "His ability to raise $7.5 million in preferred equity is a testament to his innovative approach to talent attraction."
"I am humbled to be recognized as a Smart Business Dealmaker, and to be selected among such an outstanding group of executives," adds McHale. "While we're focused at disrupting the hiring process at UnifyWork, we're also really focused on empowering people with knowledge it's critical to building a good society. And if I can play a small part in helping our society thrive and be recognized by industry leaders for that effort I am truly grateful."
Stephen McHale serves as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at UnifyWork, and he also acts as a Fund Advisor at Nirvana Healthcare Ventures. His extensive background includes notable roles such as Managing Director at 23 Bell, Chairman at Arrive Health, and Board Member at Axuall. With a focus on data mining and business intelligence-related ventures, Mr. McHale has left an indelible mark on the industry.
About UnifyWork:UnifyWork is the first workforce intelligence platform powering regional talent networks through its patented skills-based technology. The platform enables equitable hiring practices, and provides real-time data on job market supply and demand to help regions unleash their full economic potential. Headquartered inCleveland, OH, UnifyWork is a spin-out of UnifyLabs, a 509(a)3 non-profit founded in 2017, with the mission of powering inclusive prosperity. Learn more atunifywork.com.
About Smart Business:With over 30 years of experience, Smart Business Magazines, Events, and Books is dedicated to producing high-quality content, events, and marketing materials for a diverse audience of entrepreneurs and senior executives. The company focuses on showcasing successful CEOs and senior executives who exemplify innovative leadership, offering valuable insights and strategies for business growth and success. Through networking events and expertly managed programs, Smart Business facilitates meaningful face-to-face interactions and fosters valuable relationships among business leaders.
SOURCE UnifyWork
Continue reading here:
Stephen McHale Recognized as Smart Business Dealmakers ... - PR Newswire
Using ChatGPT and Bard in your company – MoreThanDigital English
Industrialization 5.0 does not only mean pattern recognition and automated knowledge generation, it also means that new tasks fall to humans when ChatBot technology is used. New roles arise for human employees when you consistently question everything, construct special cases, and make use of contextual knowledge logic and emotionality.
Humans will still be in demand, even if Sascha Lobo thinks: But we can already see the outlines of a change that is likely to be as large and intense as industrialization. Bots like ChatGPT are enabling AI in vest pockets. But just as with algorithms, its a matter of tracking down whats beyond the patterns and contextualizing that with humans when using the bot with AI.
For leaders, that means:
Getting to the bottom of such issues to strengthen the companys raison dtre and ensure market success means cultivating new forms of collaboration. Once problems and solutions to an (assumed) customer need are identified in a data-driven manner we soon need employee talent. But in their different roles they can offer as talents, not as a person with a task in a fixed organizational chart.
Data mining is no different than what bots like ChatGPT and Bard do. With two differences: its generic data from all the knowledge available online, this currently ends in 2021, and the bot crawls for probabilities and speaks and understands natural language.
So what a chatbot like ChatGPT gives us are statements based on the probability of which terms are empirically associated with which others. The low-threshold operation and multidimensionality of the possible solutions and answers enables a high degree of self-control of a company.
If it was previously necessary going beyond the use of Google to have ones own data programmed into an application with a specific purpose; here everything can now be designed oneself. In particular, if ones own data is also read in. This is still a bit complicated at the moment, but will be possible via API interfaces. ChatGPT can show much more than anecdotal knowledge, such as how a poem would sound in the style of Heinrich Heine. Such a bot can specifically do complex tasks. For example, a challenging learning unit can be created for a self-learning program in the company. True/false answers can be created; knowledge units created can be used as a basis for discussion for deeper understanding and reflection.
Actively using a chatbot is also becoming mandatory because, like Bard, they will increasingly specify their sources, should soon function in real time, will be integrated with clouds and Google Sheets and Adobe and so on. Still, bots provide statistical sense-making, but dont cover the exceptional cases and cant illuminate complex relationships. As the founder of the Swiss bot Open Assistent (which, by the way, also draws on data from the big guys, in addition to data created in-house), Jannic Kilcher says of this kind of support:
[It] lacks many things: a long-term memory. Or the ability to make logical inferences. It might be able to learn those from more data. However, theres not that much high-quality data on the web anymore. Whats still missing is direct interaction with the Internet and with the real world . ... He notes, on the other hand, that he still sees a role for humans: Even if they were given and machines thus became human-like intelligent, I would not expect mass unemployment, an Armageddon. Rather, I would expect a change in society similar to that brought about by the smartphone. We will become more productive, do things differently, some jobs will certainly become superfluous . . . (NZZ, 5/3/2023 translated from German).
Humans will form the machine-human interface, in that they will be able to ask the right questions and consider special cases in context, and they will be able to reflect on the environment. This means that additional reflection and consulting skills are needed to make the best use of AI. In particular, it will also be a matter of translating and compiling what is collected and done with the bots.
Although bots are already running and new applications are emerging by leaps and bounds, accompanying circumstances need to be considered and ultimately brought to consensus social regulation or at least social agreement. This concerns, for example
The range of applications for chatbots is growing with the inherent machine learning, but also with data uploaded by the user. Their added value is therefore constantly increasing.
Forget that you are entering new organizational territory with the use of ChatGPT as well as with the possible editing of your own data sets in the app, which must be complemented by an appropriate culture of appreciation, shared learning, and a thinking in terms of roles instead of tasks and functions. Old-style ways of working will stifle creativity rather than help it flourish.
For the application areas outlined, explore what the bot can deliver to you. Also be aware that what it says will differ each time. So its not about absolute truth, but approximations as probabilities that can help them in their business. Carefully distinguish what the bot can do for you and where custom implemented AI applications can serve you.
Ich helfe Firmen, die Risiken der Digitalisierung zu erkennen und zu meistern. Lsungen mit Ihnen zu finden, um ein attraktiver Arbeitgeber zu bleiben, sind meine Leidenschaft. Personal erwartet heute attraktive Arbeitsbedingungen, sei es Flexibiltt oder sei es Verantwortung tragen. Sei es, seine Vielfalt zeigen zu drfen. Transfer von Wissen ist die Herausforderung, beim Halten und Gewinnen. Schauen Sie sich meine verschiedenen Beitrge und Plattformen an, um sich ein Bild zu machen von mir. Ich freue mich ein persnliches Kennenlernen!
Go here to see the original:
Using ChatGPT and Bard in your company - MoreThanDigital English
Automation in Australia: how the future of mining could change – Mining Technology
Lockdowns and social distancing measures induced by the Covid-19 pandemic saw global acceleration towards automated processes across almost all industries. In particular, automation in the mining and metals sector has been hailed by companies as central to safety and productivity improvements, as well as profit increases.
As one of the biggest mineral producers in the world, Australias mines are automating fast to keep up with internal and external competition. The country already boasts the largest population of autonomous mining trucks by some way; in 2022, it had a fleet of 706, up from 561 in 2021. This is four times more than Canada, who holds second spot with 177 trucks in 2022, with China sitting in third with 69.
Physical, or operational (OT), automation, such as driverless trucks and equipment, comes hand-in-hand with IT automation, which involves automated software processes and AI programming. Recent developments in both OT and IT automation have driven advances in mining production and efficiency, but questions remain as to how this will affect the mining workforce in the long-term.
A mixed fleet united
In January, Epiroc and ASI Mining announced the completion of a new autonomous haul truck solution for iron miner Roy Hills mixed fleet of 96 haul trucks. The new technology, now ready to commercialise after a two-year testing phase, is significant because it is interoperable and scalable regardless, leaving the technologyequipment manufacturer agnostic.
In theory, any company will be able to use it, removing the need for mining companies to commit to a single truck manufacturer for years, or even decades.
Eventually, the technology will be used to convert Roy Hills fleet of 96 trucks to driverless operation. Ten haul trucks have already been converted using on-board automation systems to navigate the mines virtual map and communicate with other vehicles and with a remote operations centre over 2,000km away in Perth.
According to Epiroc, the test fleet is meeting desired safety metrics. It is also hitting higher productivity targets than conventional manned trucks. The fleet works tirelessly, making them more efficient than vehicles operated by human workers, who need to take breaks. Autonomy replaces, as Rio Tinto put it in an explanation of its autonomous Gudai-Darri mine, the weary driver.
Connectivity underground
Elsewhere, Newcrest announced in February that it will begin trialling advanced 4G long-term evolution and 5G mobile technology underground at its Cadia Valley Operations in New South Wales, in an ongoing quest for productivity, efficiency, and safety. The trial network will be deployed in the next few months in partnership with Ericsson and Telstra Purple, utilising Ericssons private 5G solutions to assess cellular approaches to coverage and capacity needs.
It will also include the use of various 4G and 5G radio types, massive- and multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output antenna systems for advanced connectivity requirements, and signal booster technology, also from Ericsson.
The development reflects a growing focus within the mining industry on wireless connectivity as an extension of IT automation. Companies are continuing to embrace advancements in 4G and 5G to advance connections to robotic OT autonomy within mine operations. Autonomous trucks, for example, are dependent on wireless communications to function effectively because their software relies on sent and received data as well as GPS to navigate surface and underground tunnels.
A recent report has predicted that 5G in the mining industry will grow exponentially in the next six years, with strongest demand for the technology coming from the surface mining sector.
Drone operation and AI
Drone autonomy also relies on 4G and 5G connectivity to operate successfully. With the help of rapid advancements in AI, the application of autonomous drones in mining are aiding improvements to mining efficiency, accuracy and safety. Drones can provide visual and physical access to difficult-to-reach or unsafe parts of mines, as well as ariel views of mine sites, which are critical to mapping quickly and accurately. They can also monitor mining equipment and infrastructure for wear and tear, enabling timely maintenance and prolong equipment lifetimes, ultimately reducing costs for mining companies.
At a webinar session in March, CEO of Australian drone service Delta Drone International Christopher Clark explained how recent advancements in AI are impacting drone autonomy in the mining sector.
By combining drone autonomy and AI, a unique recipe begins to take shape, said Clark. We can detect people and vehicles by applying AI models tothermal imagery captured by drones. When combined with autonomousdrone-in-a-box solutionsin dangerous areas, it enables frequent drone flights that only activate when a vehicle or person is detected, presenting an exciting opportunity for drone autonomy and AI to collaborate.
Autonomous AI software also allows companies to integrate alarm monitoring systems into drones. This enables drones to autonomously take off from docking stations when an alarm is triggered, fly to precise, programmed locations, capture videos of a potential emergency, relay them back to the relevant command centre and return to the dock, all without the need for human interference.
Miner safety or worker shortage?
The mining sector has already suffered several environmental and human rights crises so far this year. Protests and strikes by workers, environmentalists, and indigenous communities over damage to local livelihoods, environmental harm, and poor working conditions continue to plague various mines globally. Recently in Australia, two miners at Dugald River mine in Queensland died while operating a utility vehicle that fell into a 25m-deep excavation hole.
Automation in mining is cited as a necessary step in reducing incidents such as this, principally by removing the need for humans to be present in dangerous situations. Certainly, the tragedy at Dugald River could have been prevented had the miners been absent from the vehicle in the first place. But beyond the potential safety benefits automation brings exists an entirely separate problem: now, there isnt enough work, and there arent enough workers.
A depletion in demand for machinery operators and labour workers brought on by automated equipment has led to a shift in the mining workforce. As the industry moves further towards automation, algorithms, and software development, a need for technically trained, or skilled, workers to use and improve new technology has emerged. According to McKinsey, the growing requirement for miners to be tech-savvy will result in an estimated 1 in 16, or around 100 million, workers globally needing to change jobs by 2030.
Simultaneously, mining companies are experiencing a growing shortage of skilled employees in the industrys expanding specialised departments, such as mine planning, process engineering and data science and automation. This trend is expected to continue, principally because mining is not currently an aspirational industry for young technical talent due to the sectors relatively poor ESG reputation. In Australia specifically, there has been an approximate drop of 63% in mining engineering enrolment since 2014.
So as automation improves production rates inside mines, it also hinders mining companies expansion capabilities as the skills required to use and maintain the technology become increasingly scarce. However, some districts are already planning ahead; the Queensland government announced in December a $3m workforce development plan to upskill the existing labour force in its mining sector in an attempt to combat the expanding skills shortage, and it remains to be seen how human and autonomous workers will be balanced in the future.
Link:
Automation in Australia: how the future of mining could change - Mining Technology
TikTok’s threat to American data must be a top national security … – Washington Examiner
TikTok recently admitted in a letter to me that the apps source code can originate in China. This means there could be backdoors in the code that gives the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans private information. This is a major threat to our national security and to the data privacy of users.
Over the last several years, TikTok has taken young Americans, and the world, by storm. Yet what started as a platform for users to share short, light-hearted videos has rapidly transformed into a surveillance and data-stealing app manipulated by the CCP. Let me be clear: Americans using TikTok are putting themselves in harm's way. And allowing the CCP to continue having access to a data-mining app on our shores is a clear and present danger to our homeland security.
ALL EYES ON SWING VOTE MASSIE AS HOUSE PANEL TAKES UP DEBT CEILING BALL
TikToks parent company, ByteDance, a Beijing-based company, has well-known ties to the CCP. This is a problem because there is no separation between the regime and corporations in communist China. This relationship is even worse for tech companies in the regime. According to Chinas so-called national security laws, companies based in China are expected to turn their data over to the CCP when asked for it.
If that isnt alarming enough, the red flags keep coming. Recently, the tech giants former head of engineering for U.S. operations claimed in a lawsuit that ByteDance has a culture of lawlessness and operates as a propaganda tool for the CCP. He also alleged that a committee of CCP officials oversees the companys apps to track how core communist values are being advanced. According to this former executive, this committee has access to all of the company's data even the data stored in the United States.
These concerns arent new. In a recent House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing, my colleagues pointed out there are no legitimate safeguards to ensure the Peoples Republic of China isnt using TikTok to spread CCP propaganda, spy on U.S. citizens, or collect our childrens data.
ByteDance is working overtime to convince lawmakers that it doesnt work side by side with the CCP, but in reality, the two work hand in hand. ByteDance even tried changing the name of its subsidiaries to hide the CCPs involvement in TikTok but we arent falling for it.
This is a topic Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Neither side of the aisle wants to see the CCP manipulate our young people or put their privacy and data at risk. And we are all concerned about the risk TikTok presents to our national security.
Both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines have expressed grave concern over the CCPs ability to target American audiences, especially younger ones, with communist information campaigns. TikTok has millions of users all over America, and over 70% are under the age of 35. Part of TikToks user agreement allows access to users phone contacts. How many of your children is the CCP monitoring?
As the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, it is my job to ensure Americas cyber border is protected. Thats why I sent a letter to Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, demanding to know more about where TikToks source code is developed, who in China has access to that code, and if there are any back doors to this code that would enable CCP officials to access the servers that house the data of Americans.
TikToks response to my letter confirmed my concerns. It stated that TikTok has software engineers throughout the world, including the United States and China. The letter went on to say that using a global engineering workforce to write software code is not unusual. While this might be the case, it isnt good enough for me. We need assurances that engineers affiliated with the CCP will have no role in writing TikToks source code. Anything less than this is unacceptable.
Thats why I introduced my China Technology Transfer Control Act. This legislation addresses the CCPs growing technological threat against our national security by limiting what technology we export to China. We need more legislation like this that takes the threat of the CCP seriously.
If the CCP has access to Americans private data through TikTok, Congress must know about it. My advice is to delete TikTok from your devices, and your childrens devices, as soon as possible. If stealing your familys data isnt enough of a threat, the data of service members, government workers, and first responders in your contacts should be.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA
Mark Green is a U.S. representative for Tennessee and serves as the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.
See original here:
TikTok's threat to American data must be a top national security ... - Washington Examiner
PE backs off real estate; single deal powers metals and mining … – S&P Global
S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.
Private equity appears to be steering clear of the troubled commercial real estate sector.
Investments backed by private equity (PE) and venture capital in the sector totaled $3.51 billion in 39 deals globally between Jan. 1 and May 22, nearly a full five months. By comparison, in the first three months of 2022, investments totaled $6.30 billion across 79 deals.
What is holding private equity back? Questions about the future of the US office market are a large part of the answer. Blackstone Inc. CEO Stephen Schwartzman said during the company's first-quarter earnings call in April that US office vacancies were at all-time highs, causing investor sentiment toward the sector to turn "quite negative."
Ares Management Corp. CEO Michael Arougheti offered a similar assessment, describing the US office market as "severely challenged," not just by vacancy rates but also the higher interest rates that are adding stress on property owners. And the fallout is just starting.
"That market is going to have to go through a pretty significant period of repricing and deleveraging," Arougheti said.
Read more about recent private equity investment trends in the commercial real estate sector.
CHART OF THE WEEK: Apollo's Arconic deal powers surging metals and mining investments
One mega-deal is boosting private equity- and venture capital-backed investments in global metals and mining businesses to their highest quarterly total since at least 2020, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
Alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management Inc. partnered with Irenic Capital Management LP, a hedge fund sponsor, on a $4.57 billion proposed buyout for Arconic Corp., a provider of aluminum products to the aerospace, transportation and construction industries.
On the strength of that single deal, private equity and venture capital investments in the metals and mining sector in the first five months of 2023 have already surpassed full-year total transaction values from four of the previous five years in the analysis.
TOP DEALS AND FUNDRAISING
Blackstone Inc. completed the acquisition of a majority interest in Copeland LP, formerly Emerson Climate Technologies, from Emerson Electric Co. for an upfront payment of about $9.7 billion. The deal values the refrigeration and heating, ventilation and air conditioning business at $14 billion.
The Carlyle Group Inc. will buy Meopta-optika, a Czech company specializing in industrial and handheld optical, optomechanical and optoelectronic solutions. Carlyle expects to close the deal later in 2023, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Funds managed by Apollo affiliates agreed to acquire United Living Group Ltd. in a deal expected to close over the summer. The target company provides essential infrastructure, social housing maintenance and construction services in the UK.
Adams Street Partners LLC secured capital commitments of more than $3.2 billion for its secondaries investment program, including the close of its Global Secondary Fund 7.
MIDDLE-MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Gyrus Capital SA will buy German healthcare equipment company LRE Medical GmbH from AIS Global, a KPS Capital Partners LP portfolio company. The deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter.
Vector Capital signed a deal to acquire IT solutions provider Riverbed Technology Inc., whose lenders will provide it with a new credit facility at deal closing.
IK Partners is providing capital to the Linxea-Irbis Group, pending regulatory approval. Linxea is an online platform for savings product distribution in France, and Irbis develops structured products distributed through a network of financial advisers, private banks and institutions.
SGT Capital LLC agreed to buy Elatec GmbH, a German developer of secure physical and digital access solutions, from Summit Partners LP.
FOCUS ON: HEALTHCARE
Trinity Hunt Partners LP bought a majority stake in Centricity Research, which provides clinical research services across more than 40 therapeutic areas.
Ardian invested in Mon Veto, a French independent network of veterinary clinics, to help the group's development in France and Europe.
Aurelius Growth Investments SARL bought a stake in Physiotherapy Christian Frei GmbH, a provider of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and logotherapy services. The German company operates eight locations in the greater Nuremberg region.
For further private equity deals, read our latest In Play report, which looks at potential private equity-backed M&A, including rumored transactions, each week.
Continued here:
PE backs off real estate; single deal powers metals and mining ... - S&P Global
The ‘Bitcoin President’ Advocates BTC as the Perfect Global Base … – Crypto News Flash
Source: Graeme Dawes - Shutterstock
The United States 2024 presidential race has been gaining more momentum as popular political figures enter the primaries for the Democrats and Republicans. Already, former United States President Donald Trump, current President Joe Biden, and environmental lawyer Robert F Kennedy Jr are all eyeing the countrys top position.
Arguably, the high adoption of the cryptocurrency market in the United States is expected to have a significant impact on the presidential winner next year. Moreover, more investors are worried about the increasing crypto regulations by enforcement in the United States that have chased several firms to overseas markets.
With crypto investors in the United States totaling more than 16 percent of the entire population, presidential candidates are more likely to lean on their side to win their votes as a block.
According to Robert F Kennedy Jr in a recent interview with TheStreet Cryptos Rob Nelson, Bitcoin is a way out of the ballooning inflation and can be trusted. The anti-CBDC presidential candidate noted that he may consider pardoning Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who has been serving a lifetime imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential aspirant highlighted that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission requires commissioners who are neutral on crypto as he added that Bitcoin holds intrinsic value.
One of the fundamentals of Bitcoin is that you can trust it,
Kennedy noted adding:
Follow us for the latest crypto news!
nobody can manipulate it. Theres no human being that can manipulate it. What happens with Bitcoin is very, very democratic. Its all decided by all the miners in a democratic way and by algorithms that cant be manipulated.
Notably, Kennedy criticized the Federal Reserve for the rampant high inflation that has been feeding governments corruption and unwarranted spending. This comes as the Federal Reserve is preparing to launch a digital dollar through the FedNow platform.
The anti-CBDC presidential candidate noted that the government should not follow the path of China in controlling the lives of its people. In any case, Kennedy thinks the CBDC will significantly reduce the democracy and freedom that people have long enjoyed with paper money.
No spam, no lies, only insights. You can unsubscribe at any time.
They had people going out looking at the license plates, facial recognition, and doing data mining on these people to find out who they were, and then shutting down their bank accounts, so they couldnt pay their mortgages, they couldnt pay their alimonies, they couldnt pay for food for their families and children, he said. If a government has that power, it can turn us all into slaves overnight.
The adoption of cryptocurrency as a form of payment or investment assets seems imminent in global countries despite resistance from some regulators. Already, Hong Kong has enacted favorable crypto policies that favor the adoption of digital assets in the Eastern Asian markets. Additionally, the European market recently passed the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA) legislative standards that favor digital assets adoption.
Crypto News Flash does not endorse and is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products, or other materials on this page. Readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to cryptocurrencies. Crypto News Flash is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services mentioned.
Continued here:
The 'Bitcoin President' Advocates BTC as the Perfect Global Base ... - Crypto News Flash