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In an astonishing breakthrough, scientists in India have <keyword id="23249685" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="genetically-engineered-bacteria" source="keywords">genetically engineered bacteria</keyword> capable of performing <keyword id="23249686" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mathematical-operations" source="keywords">mathematical operations</keyword>. Researchers from the <keyword id="23249687" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saha-Institute-of-Nuclear-Physics" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics">Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics</keyword> (SINP) in Kolkata have demonstrated that clusters of bacterial cells can add, subtract, and even identify prime numbers between 0 and 9. This accomplishment marks a crucial step toward the development of biocomputers—computational devices made from <keyword id="23206086" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="living-cells" source="keywords">living cells</keyword> that could revolutionise how we think about computing in the future. <h2>A history of <keyword id="23249688" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="biological-computing" source="keywords">biological computing</keyword> </h2>The concept of using living cells for computation is not entirely new. Over the past two decades, researchers worldwide have explored the potential of biological systems to perform computational tasks. The first major breakthroughs came in the early 2000s when scientists developed synthetic biology techniques to engineer cells with logic gates—the fundamental components of digital computers. These biological logic gates allowed simple operations such as "AND," "OR," and "NOT," mimicking the operations seen in silicon-based processors. Following this, scientists advanced by using various microbes, such as <keyword id="22608696" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="E-coli" source="keywords">E. coli</keyword> and yeast, to perform basic mathematical operations like addition and subtraction. Researchers were able to construct networks of genes and proteins within the cells, programming them to respond to specific chemical inputs. While these early studies were promising, the computational tasks performed by cells were relatively simple and far from rivalling the capabilities of modern microprocessors. However, SINP's latest research takes a significant step forward by using a more sophisticated approach. The integration of artificial neural network concepts with genetic engineering enabled these bacterial cells to solve more complex and abstract problems, such as identifying prime numbers — tasks traditionally considered the domain of human brains or advanced computers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="103532224" title="Scientist engineered bacteria to generate electricity from wastewater" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Turning <keyword id="6376020" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bacteria" source="Orion">bacteria</keyword> into living machines </h2>The research team modified the E. coli genomes, incorporating 14 distinct genetic circuits, to create different bacterial types. These bacteria can be combined and arranged in liquid environments to execute various computational functions. In one set of experiments, the scientists were able to get them to add, subtract, and solve ten different computational problems, including determining prime numbers between 0 and 9. The bacteria's ability to answer yes-or-no questions, like "Is 4 a prime number?" or "Is 7 a prime number?" was particularly astonishing. When the bacteria were questioned chemically, they responded by secreting proteins that indicated their answers — green for "yes" and red for "no." This development underscores their capacity to function as living computers. The implications of this research are immense, not only for computational science but also for fundamental biology. “Mammalian cells make decisions all the time, and we currently have very little understanding of this decision-making process,” said Mohit Kumar Jolly, assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. This study offers fresh insights into biological decision-making and could open new avenues for understanding how living organisms process information. As scientists continue to explore the computational power of living cells, the possibilities are endless. Bacteria, once considered simple organisms, may well hold the key to the future of computing. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="110909568" title="A living computer? This AI made from interconnected &amp;quot;mini-brains&amp;quot; requires a million times less power than ChatGPT!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Did you know that genetically engineered bacteria can do math?

<ul><li><keyword id="1736811" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajiv-Gandhi-National-Aviation-University">Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University</keyword> (<keyword id="3922345" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="RGNAU">RGNAU</keyword>) begins admission process for the next session, courses start in September</li><li>RGNAU courses include- Bachelor of Management Studies (<keyword id="6368120" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="bms">BMS</keyword>) in <keyword id="9648274" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aviation-Services-Air-Cargo">Aviation Services &amp; Air Cargo</keyword> and Postgraduate <keyword id="9648276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="diploma-in-Airport-Operations">diploma in Airport Operations</keyword>.</li><li>For both the courses, applications are to be filled online on the <a href="http://www.rgpgdao.org/pgdao.aspx">RGNAU website</a>. </li><li>The selection of the candidates for both the courses will be based on an OMR based entrance examination conducted on all India basis on August 16</li><li>Here’s all you need to know before applying for these courses. </li></ul>India’s sole Aviation University, Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU) is now accepting applications for admission in the new session of 2020. RGNAU courses include- Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) in Aviation Services &amp; Air Cargo and Postgraduate diploma in Airport Operations. The last date for submission of online applications for the courses is July 29. Here’s all you need to know before applying for <keyword id="9648275" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="BMS-in-Aviation-and-Air-Cargo">BMS in Aviation and Air Cargo</keyword>: BMS in Aviation and Air Cargo is a three years’ apprenticeship embedded degree program. The entire third year of the course comprises on-the-job apprenticeship with airlines, airports, cargo, MRO, ATC and ground services companies. Eligibility <ul><li>The candidates with a minimum 50% aggregate marks in 10 + 2, with mathematics or business statistics or business mathematics as one of the subjects.</li><li>Relaxation of 5% marks is allowed for candidates belonging to SC / ST category.</li><li>Aspiring candidates should be below 21 years of age as of August 31.</li><li>Candidates should be able to produce the final mark sheet by October 31.</li><li>Here’s a detailed <a href="http://www.rgpgdao.org/BMS_Brochure_2020-2021.pdf">brochure</a>.</li></ul>Process: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Particulars </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Date </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last date of submission of applications </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">29-Jul </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uploading of admit cards </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3-Aug </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Date of Entrance Examination </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">16-Aug </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Declaration of Result </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21-Aug </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Document verification </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 Sep to 4 Sep </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Commencement of Classes </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14-Sep </td></tr></tbody></table> Here’s all you need to know before applying for Postgraduate Diploma in Airport Operations (<keyword id="7513198" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PGDAO">PGDAO</keyword>): PGDAO is an 18-month course being run in collaboration with GMR Aviation Academy. The course includes 12 months of classroom training at the University campus and 06 months internship program at GMR Airports. Eligibility <ul><li>The candidates with a minimum of 55% aggregate marks in graduation from a recognised university.</li><li>Relaxation of 5% marks is allowed for candidates belonging to SC / ST category.</li><li>Aspiring candidates should be below 25 years of age as of August 31.</li><li>Candidates should be able to produce the final mark sheet by October 31.</li><li>Here’s a detailed <a href="http://www.rgpgdao.org/PGDAO_Brochure_2020-2021.pdf">brochure</a>.</li></ul>Process: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Particulars </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Date </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last date of submission of applications </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">29-Jul </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uploading of admit cards </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3-Aug </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Date of Entrance Examination </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">16-Aug </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Declaration of Result </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21-Aug </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Document verification </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 Sep to 4 Sep </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Commencement of Classes </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14-Sep </td></tr></tbody></table> Here’s how to apply: For both the courses, applications are to be filled online on the <a href="http://www.rgpgdao.org/pgdao.aspx">RGNAU website</a>. The application fee for General and OBC candidates is ₹950, whereas for SC/ST/PwD categories it is ₹475. The selection of the candidates for both the courses will be based on an OMR based entrance examination conducted on all India basis on August 16. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/air-india-regional-office-forms-panel-to-identify-employees-who-would-go-on-leave-without-pay-for-upto-five-years/articleshow/77178915.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"> Air India regional office forms panel to identify employees who would go on leave without pay for upto five years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/air-india-pilots-are-up-in-arms-after-the-national-airline-unilaterally-declared-leave-without-pay/articleshow/77063958.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Air India pilots are up in arms after the national airline ‘unilaterally’ declared ‘leave without pay’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/aside-from-air-india-spicejet-is-the-only-other-carrier-allowed-to-operate-flights-to-and-from-us/articleshow/77123998.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Aside from Air India, SpiceJet is the only other carrier allowed to operate flights to and from US</a>

RGNAU, India’s only Aviation University opens admissions - Here’s a checklist on application deadline and courses

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10606215" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jason-a-donenfeld">Jason A. Donenfeld</keyword> is the 32-year-old creator of <keyword id="10606216" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wireguard">WireGuard</keyword>, an open-source <keyword id="201519" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="60" keywordseo="VPN">VPN</keyword> protocol widely seen as one of the most secure in the world.</li><li>In 2020, it found mainstream success and was adopted into the popular <keyword id="112218" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Linux">Linux</keyword> kernel, as well as on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems.</li><li>Donenfeld started the project in 2015, and spent years building an open-source community to support WireGuard.</li><li>He spoke with Business Insider about his path to creating WireGuard, how he sees VPN security, and the overwhelming response the project, which is funded entirely by donations, has gotten from developers. </li></ul>Jason A. Donenfeld is relentlessly curious about everything, from ancient cities to cutting edge cryptography. When he's not developing WireGuard, known as the most secure VPN protocol in the world, the security researcher enjoys exploring the vast network of centuries-old limestone tunnels beneath Paris.Donenfeld, who is 32, originally came to Paris in 2010, after landing a summer gig writing shape packing algorithms, and then moved to the city fully in 2012, working as a vulnerability researcher.His work finding vulnerabilities for companies led him to doubt the security of popular VPN protocols. He thought the dizzying complexity, bloated implementations, and often outdated cryptography made for a worrisome attack surface. In 2015, he started developing <a href="https://www.wireguard.com/">WireGuard</a>.WireGuard is an open-source VPN protocol that's been lauded for its high-level security. In the few short years that <a href="https://www.wireguard.com/donations/">Donenfeld has developed it</a>, WireGuard has been adopted by the major operating system Linux, and integrated into Mac and Windows, as well as iOS, Android, and others.Virtual private networks, or VPNs, extend private networks across public ones, allowing data centers across continents to connect directly to one another. They also let users send and receive data as if their computers or phones are directly connected to private networks.This can sometimes be misleading. Even though companies and individuals alike may believe they're connecting securely over a VPN, this isn't always the case, in part due to the difficulty of implementing outdated, complex, or insecure protocols like IPSec and OpenVPN."When I say I don't feel comfortable with OpenVPN or IPSec implementations, it's speaking from experience, because I've found a lot of bugs in that kind of software," he said.He said that his time spent breaking into systems left him with the knowledge on how to defend them, too."How you evade detection on a network can be a very similar problem as how you keep attackers from knowing about your box," he said.Part of WireGuard's appeal is in how it maintains security through a few distinct ways, eliminating entire classes of vulnerabilities. It's high-speed. It utilizes defense-in-depth techniques, a series of layered mechanisms to protect data and information. And it's stealthy, only transmitting data when necessary and staying invisible when people scan for its servers.Plus, it's easier to audit. Unlike other VPN protocols, WireGuard has less than 4,000 lines of code, which means that security researchers could review the entire codebase for vulnerabilities in a single afternoon. And they often do.<h3>'It's a community project'</h3>This past year, WireGuard was merged into the influential Linux kernel, which led to widespread adoption on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and OpenBSD, in addition to Linux distributions such as Canonical's Ubuntu, Debian, Oracle Linux, Red Hat's CentOS and Fedora, and SUSE Linux.Getting there wasn't easy. Donenfeld wanted to have a single, coherent design where he could make every decision carefully, scrutinizing every piece. So he spent time developing WireGuard himself before it was released, he said, only sharing code with a couple of friends and cryptographers."He first contacted me out of the blue when he was developing WireGuard and he had crafted some cryptographic protocol and he wanted my review of it. I proposed little changes, but what he did initially was already very good," said Jean-Philippe Aumasson, a cryptographer, author, and co-founder of the security company Taurus Group SA.<div type="image" title="jason a donenfeld wireguard kernel recipes mozilla 2017" height="2499" width="3333" msid="80304010" hostid="261"></div>But Donenfeld wanted to completely change something as fundamental as Linux's cryptography architecture, and he was met with some resistance. Linux is tremendously popular, so sweeping changes could be disruptive. In order to get where he wanted, he had to start small, with incremental changes, and engage with other people's ideas and get them on board."This is how kernel development is done in general - it's a community project; you have to reach consensus," he said. "There's a big difference between releasing open source code and saying, 'here you go,' and disappearing back to a cave, and actually interacting with that world. I've chosen to interact really intimately with it, and that's meant lots of interaction and figuring out how each facet works."The process involved working with other developers and researchers, and giving talks at conferences, including Kernel Recipes at Mozilla's headquarters in Paris to connect with the developer community while building WireGuard."I didn't want to compromise on the security of the intermediate parts. I didn't want to make WireGuard depend on something with subpar security while I promised to fix it up 'later.' That's never acceptable to me. So finding something that was both evolutionary so that it would be merged but also still lived up to the security ideals was a very difficult process," he said.Donenfeld also wrote a compatibility layer for WireGuard, so people could load the code into their own kernels - the lowest depths of an operating system - before it was sent upstream. This involved the formidable task of writing kernel code that was compatible with variants and versions of Linux going back to 2013. But it meant that by the time Donenfeld was ready to upstream WireGuard, people were already using it.<h3>The Exchange of Ideas</h3>Donenfeld's background is not the norm in the industry, but his intense curiosity and his drive may have worked in his favor."There's a really well-defined pipeline that gets people to professional cryptography jobs and to status in the cryptography community," Thomas Ptacek, a security researcher and principal at Fly.io, said. "It typically involves getting a degree, followed by a graduate degree from a program run by an extremely well-known cryptographer, and then working in a research lab for a long time right out of university."In contrast, Donenfeld graduated with a degree in mathematics and philosophy from Columbia University in New York after growing up in Cincinnati. While his background is atypical, Donenfeld has still managed to produce the first formally verified VPN protocol, which means that it's been mathematically proven to be secure.Donenfeld works on WireGuard mostly from his home, the top floor of an apartment building that appears to have been converted from several chambres de bonne - single rooms once intended for maids - thrown together. Before the pandemic, he used to work from different rooftops and cafes all over Paris, bringing his Linux laptop with him as he explored the city.When he's not coding, Donenfeld is part of the Paris jazz scene. He rocks a D'Angelico NYSS-3 guitar and has played around town at clubs like Le Caveau des Oubliettes. Lately, he says, he's been listening to a lot of John Coltrane and Bill Frisell.WireGuard is also financed <a href="https://www.wireguard.com/donations/">entirely by donations</a>, atypical in the software industry. In appreciation to donors, Donenfeld said he has mailed out thousands of stickers with WireGuard's logo, which was inspired by a stone engraving of the mythological ancient Greek python that he saw while visiting a museum in Delphi.It's only been a few years, but Donenfeld said he had received enough in donations to work on WireGuard full-time and to fund other developers working on specific aspects of it, but he said the project is always trying to make it for another year."I've received job offers from Silicon Valley companies that would definitely result in a more financially rewarding life than being an open source author," he said.If he ever finds that he doesn't have the funding to work on improving WireGuard, he can always fall back to freelance jobs in the security industry instead.Donenfeld's goal is to continue developing high-quality, professional, free, open source software from which the entire community can benefit."Open sourcing something and interacting with that community is really just a great way to improve software, and it makes for a great exchange of ideas," he said.

How one hacker's push to secure the internet became a crucial part of Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Charles Schwab's proposed TD Ameritrade <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charles-schwab-buys-td-ameritrade-in-brokerage-blockbuster-2019-11">acquisition</a>, announced just before Thanksgiving but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-26-billion-charles-schwab-td-ameritrade-deal-2019-11">set in motion</a> months ago, is the largest US securities brokerage deal ever. </li><li>Joe Martinetto, Charles Schwab's chief operating officer, will be key in leading the firms' integration.</li><li>Former colleagues describe Martinetto, who was chief financial officer for a decade of his 22-year run at Schwab, as a fair, methodical person who "protected" the firm's balance sheet during the financial crisis.</li><li>The merger is expected to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/charles-schwab-td-ameritrade-say-mega-deal-will-bring-synergies-2019-11-1028714911">eliminate jobs</a>, shutter branches, and take up to three years to complete.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime">Visit BI Prime for more wealth management stories</a>.</li></ul>A $26 billion mega-deal for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/charles-schwab">Charles Schwab</a> to buy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/td-ameritrade">TD Ameritrade</a> has already rocked the discount brokerage industry.Now that the firms have agreed on the transaction, the hard part will be turning the vision of a combined firm into reality. Schwab's chief operating officer, Joe Martinetto, will play a critical role meshing the two firms' sprawling information technology systems, teams, brands, and offices.In buying TD Ameritrade, Schwab is making a bid for gaining sheer size after the biggest online brokerages raced to cut commissions to zero this fall. Execs have already called out cutting overlapping <a href="https://pressroom.aboutschwab.com/press-release/corporate-and-financial-news/charles-schwab-corporation-acquire-td-ameritrade">jobs and real estate</a> as a way to save costs in the proposed deal. Deemed a "well-traveled Schwabbie" on a business update call in 2007 by investor relations head Richard Fowler and often called "Professor Martinetto" on calls with analysts, he'll be assisted by a team of people from Schwab and TD Ameritrade for an integration projected to take up to three years.The deal, expected to close during the second half of 2020, was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-26-billion-charles-schwab-td-ameritrade-deal-2019-11">set in motion</a> before the brokerages and their competitors axed online trading commissions in early October.Analysts have already peppered execs with questions including how much "re-papering" RIAs will have to go through with their own clients, and what customer attrition is to be expected.Some 15,500 registered investment advisers combined park client assets with the firms.To learn more about what Martinetto is taking on and how he might approach it, Business Insider spoke with past colleagues as well as post-merger integration experts.<h1>The gameplan</h1>Schwab's projected timeline is short compared with its typical pace of meshing new acquisitions, noted Jennifer Butler, the director of asset management and brokerage research at Corporate Insight."Schwab is going to have to be extremely transparent in how they're handling these accounts and relationships," which could include constantly communicating with clients about their accounts' transitions, she said in an interview. Schwab integrated optionsXpress, a derivatives trading firm Schwab bought in 2011, in six years; it integrated Cybercorp, an online trading company Schwab announced it would buy weeks before stocks peaked in early 2000, in seven years.Butler noted that this time around, Schwab is also going to contend with the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/td-ameritrade-to-acquire-scottrade-2016-10">Scottrade</a> and thinkorswim technologies and systems that come along with combining its firm with TD Ameritrade. Schwab has now begun assembling its integration team with at least one other exec. In early December it <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191206005065/en/Schwab-Adds-Industry-Veteran-Tom-Bradley-Advisor">said</a> Tom Bradley, a former TD Ameritrade executive who left that firm in 2017 after three decades, would join Schwab in January as a senior vice president in adviser services. Bradley will report to the head of Schwab Advisor Services, Bernie Clark, and play a "leadership role" in helping integrate the firms' adviser services businesses after the transaction closes, the firm said. <h1>'He's seen a lot'</h1>Martinetto is the third-highest earner at the company based on 2018 total compensation, after chief executive Walt Bettinger and chairman Charles Schwab. He earned $5,314,210 last year, according to a March proxy filing, between his salary of $687,500, plus $3 million in stock and option awards, and other compensation.Some former colleagues we spoke with describe Martinetto, who was Schwab's CFO for a decade of his 22-year tenure at the firm, as a methodical, reasonable person who shielded the firm's balance sheet during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Schwab declined to make Martinetto available for an interview for this article. "It wasn't always 'the Joe way,'" said Elena Gomez, the chief financial officer of software company Zendesk and a former vice president at Schwab who worked with Martinetto during his time as finance chief."He was unafraid to make the unpopular opinion in the room," she told Business Insider in an interview. "He led through collaboration, not intimidation. That's a really important aspect of his leadership style." Gomez, who worked at Schwab for 11 years in several finance roles, described him as "pragmatic."Years before the firm in 2014 began expanding its Denver-area presence, talks were underway about the process, and Gomez said Martinetto was thoughtful in approaching some migration out of San Francisco. He's also been at the firm as it moved into providing more financial advice in addition to just discount brokerage services. "From transforming back in the day when we were focused on trade volume, to advice, to where they are today, he's seen a lot," Gomez said. "So bringing TD into the fold is another thing on his list. He's so well-positioned."Schwab and TD Ameritrade have said their new corporate headquarters will over time relocate to Schwab's newly built campus in Westlake, Texas, around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where both firms have a presence; TD Ameritrade is headquartered in Omaha. Schwab expects to continue hiring in San Francisco.Schwab meanwhile is also <a href="https://pressroom.aboutschwab.com/press-release/corporate-and-financial-news/charles-schwab-corporation-acquire-assets-usaas-investmen">set</a> to close on its $1.8 billion acquisition of USAA's investment management assets next year, giving it another way to bulk up its wealth management business. Fred Duden, the global head of product development at Broadridge Financial, told Business Insider that he counted Martinetto as a mentor when they were colleagues at Schwab, and that they worked alongside each other on several transactions. "We worked on some difficult things together," said Duden, who left Schwab in 2015 after 11 years there. At Schwab, he and Martinetto worked together in selling off US Trust to Bank of America in 2007 for $3.3 billion. "He would be direct and kind and supportive," Duden said. "He could get results from a team."<h1>A conservative approach</h1>Around the time Martinetto was named Schwab's chief financial officer in 2007, he was seen internally as an early staunch supporter of Bettinger before he rose to chief executive, according to a former Schwab employee who worked closely with Martinetto's organization during that time. "The story on Joe in those days was, Walt kind of came out of nowhere to be the heir apparent to Chuck [Schwab]. Martinetto was always a big supporter of Walt, in getting Chuck's confidence," said the former employee, who requested anonymity to speak freely.Martinetto was seen as someone who bet on Bettinger's abilities early on, the former employee said, and often supported his views. "Thirty-six months sounds conservative, and that plays into who he is, and who the firm is, taking a methodical approach," the former employee said of the expected integration timeline, adding that Martinetto had "protected" his balance sheet from risky securities in which other firms were investing, like collateralized debt obligations.The role of the integration team is critical in mergers, particularly of this scale, said Emilie Feldman, an associate professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. A breakdown in the process of meshing back-end technology could have "catastrophic consequences," Feldman said in an interview."Even if it's seamless, if customers are not happy about the brand, then that's a huge risk," said Feldman, who studies the role that divestitures, spinoffs, and mergers and acquisitions play in corporate reconfiguration.The risk is particularly acute for a space that's become "very commoditized," like online stock-trading and wealth management services.Three years ago, Martinetto addressed a group of students who attended his Southern California alma mater, Claremont McKenna College.Martinetto, a native of nearby Alhambra, told the students in front of him that he went back to school to get his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley, taking "pretty much every finance and accounting class I could take in two years.""Accounting so that nobody could ever pull the wool over my eyes in terms of how something was recorded, or booked or described in an accounting statement; finance because it was a really interesting meshing of the things that I enjoyed of economics and mathematics," Martinetto said at the time.He described cutting his teeth early on at First Interstate Bancorp, a struggling regional bank that Wells Fargo bought in early 1996, the year before Martinetto left for Schwab.The $11.6 billion deal was a "bitter four-month hostile takeover battle," the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/25/business/wells-fargo-wins-battle-for-first-interstate.html">reported</a>, and was then the most ever paid for a US bank."Acquisitions are messy enough, hostile acquisitions are even messier," he told the Claremont McKenna group, detailing how lucky he was, in hindsight, to have been given so much responsibility so early in his career at a firm in the throes of change.

Charles Schwab's operating chief will have a star role in merging two once-rivals. Former colleagues detailed his style and what to expect from the TD Ameritrade integration.

When Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in 2010, airline flights across the Atlantic <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2479">were disrupted for days</a>, and global supply chains for products like fruits and fresh flowers were severely interrupted. When a <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2743">tsunami and nuclear meltdown</a> hit northern Japan in 2011, automakers and electronics manufacturers in Asia and North America lamented that some key suppliers could not comply with their delivery dates, forcing slowdowns in their production scales and frustrating buyers. In these cases and others, many companies have been stymied by the fact that there was no way to forecast where and when the next natural disaster would occur.
What kind of analysis -- and proactive strategic initiatives -- should companies be enacting in order to mitigate their short- and long-term <keyword id="118965" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Supply-chain">supply chain</keyword> risks? What lessons have been learned from the turmoil of the past few years? Spurred by a sharp increase in concern about extreme weather events, leading discussion groups such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Council for Supply Chain Professionals (CSCMP) have been intensifying their efforts to create comprehensive frameworks and common standards for evaluating and enacting risk-mitigation initiatives that are pro-active and strategic, rather than reactive or tactical.
The World Economic Forum's Supply Chain Risk Initiative in 2011 began ongoing initiatives to explore the systemic risks and vulnerabilities of global supply chains and transportation networks. Its initial report on that initiative, launched at the 2012 annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, examined the possibility of these risks causing serious disruptions to global supply chains, while highlighting the need for companies to shift their focus from a reactive to a proactive stance.
In January, the WEF published <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_RRN_MO_BuildingResilienceSupplyChains_ExecutiveSummary_2013.pdf">an overall blueprint for resilient supply chains</a> based on four core components: partnerships, policy, strategy and information technology. The report outlines a series of recommendations aimed at guiding multi-stakeholder engagement. Noting that systemic risks are characterized by "global geographic scope, cross-industry relevance, uncertainty as to how and when they will occur, and high levels of economic and social impact requiring a multi-stakeholder response," the report added that such risks are also "magnified by the way supply chain systems are configured; and cannot be mitigated by individual actors. Risk management must be an explicit but integral part of supply chain governance."
Noting that various institutions have widely different perspectives about supply chain risk assessment, the report made these key recommendations: institutionalize "a multi-stakeholder supply chain risk assessment process rooted in a broad-based and neutral international body"; mobilize international standards bodies to "further develop, harmonize and encourage the adoption of resilience standards"; incentivize organizations "to follow agile, adaptable strategies to improve common resilience" and "expand the use of data sharing platforms for risk identification and responses." The report also outlined three "must-have" requirements that have emerged from WEF-sponsored workshops and dialogues held in recent months: First, the need for a "common vocabulary" when talking about risk; second, the need for improved data and information among those involved with supply chains, and third, "the need to build greater agility and flexibility into resilience strategies."
Meanwhile, the Council of Supply Chain Professionals (CSCMP), the Chicago-based international organization for the industry, has also <a href="http://cscmp.org/member-benefits/hot-topics/supply-chain-risk-identification-structure">presented its members with a formal structure</a> for identifying -- and mitigating -- the root causes and impacts of various kinds of risks commonly facing supply chains.Known as the Supply Chain Risk Identification Structure (SCRIS), it is designed to create a common language for supply chain professionals to address the challenges faced by companies of all sizes and in all sectors.
Why is there an urgent need for such a formal structure? "Ask 100 different people the same question -- 'What does supply chain risk mean to you?' -- and you will get lots of different answers," according to Richard Sharpe, chief executive officer of Competitive Insights, an Atlanta-based provider of supply chain software. "For some people, risk means terrorist attacks. For others, it means port closures, IT infrastructure vulnerability or the financial collapse of their suppliers. Since supply chain risk means so many different things to so many different people, it is hard to communicate with people without having a common language and structure to think about supply chain operating risks."
'What If?' Instead of 'Why?'
Richard Sherman, president of Austin, Tex.-based consulting firm Gold &amp; Domas, notes that another issue facing many firms regarding risk management is that they focus on the cause of a particular threat, rather than its results. For example, when companies hear about a devastating weather event, leadership will often try to figure out the best way to protect the firm from the same type of disaster occurring in the future. "It doesn't matter what happened to cause a company to lose a key supplier" or to suffer a different sort of disruption to its supply chain, Sherman adds. "What matters is finding answers for such questions as: 'What do we do if we lose any key supplier?' or 'What do we do if any one of our key plants goes down?' Risk management is all about 'What if I lose something?' It is not about 'Why did I lose it?'"
The CSCMP's SCRIS framework is designed to make it easier for supply chain specialists -- and senior executives at firms that have complex, often globalized supply chains -- to identify and address the 'what-if' scenarios most relevant to their own specific <keyword id="6363823" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Operations">operations</keyword>. It makes no sense for companies to prepare a contingency plan for a specific disaster like a tornado, Sherman points out. "The odds of winning such a bet are so small, so it is not worth the planning."
Long before the SCRIS was unveiled last November, this sort of pro-active approach had become standard operating procedure at leading global corporations like Coca-Cola, GE, Ford and GM, note analysts. Many of those firms have already developed a "risk management culture," says Walter Kemmsies, chief economist at Moffatt &amp; Nichol, a global infrastructure and transportation advisory firm. "It is already in those companies' blood to go after supply chain risks." But many smaller companies have yet to do so, he adds, either because they don't understand the increasing vulnerability of their global supply chains, or they lack the resources to tackle its increased complexity.
Wharton operations and information management professor <a href="https://opimweb.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/29/">Marshall Fisher</a> notes that it could be tempting for companies to try to predict the likelihood of the various kinds of risks facing their supply chains and prepare for those specific contingencies. For example, a company might avoid building a plant on an earthquake fault line, or build a second plant in a region safe from earthquakes. However, he adds, "so many things could go wrong that it is hopeless to predict what could happen." He suggests that firms should instead design their supply chains to be resilient, even if that means spending significant resources in the form of constructing additional plants or contracting with extra suppliers.
The SCRIS model makes sense, according to Tom Linton, chief procurement and supply chain officer at Flextronics International, a $30 billion electronics manufacturing services firm with more than 200,000 employees and operations in 30 countries, but he notes that for a company like his, there is no such thing as a "simple" way to map risk due to all the different variables that come into play, such as sites, vendors, ownership, locations, materials, ability to effect, strategy and internal politics. "The model probably works well for a supply chain that isn't too complex."
Another hurdle is that many firms are "just starting to prioritize creating transparency throughout the supply chain and might not have a full picture of all of the entire supply chain," says Wharton MBA student Dana Martin, who has worked in supply chain resilience and security consulting with numerous Fortune 500 companies. Martin points out that even Wal-Mart, despite all its sophisticated supply chain capabilities, was caught off guard when an unauthorized supplier in Bangladesh suffered a factory fire that killed 112 people. "One of the major challenges is a lack of commercial software and tools to analyze and quantify the risks associated with a company's supply chain," he notes. "Additionally, company executives need to transition their view of supply chain risks from a back-office cost center to a 'bet-the-company' issue that requires investment and executive attention."
Developing a Road Map
Wharton operations and information management professor <a href="https://opimweb.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/27/">Morris Cohen</a> says SCRIS and other initiatives help by giving people a framework to think about the process. He adds that even companies with a modest technology budget can develop a broad road map for thinking through their major risks. Cohen's overall "thought framework" for risk management and mitigation involves analyzing the probabilities of various risks, including low-probability but high-impact events such as disastrous weather events. Having completed such an analysis, companies can then "make investments in capacity, flexibility and technology in advance of the event," Cohen notes. "Ninety percent of the quality of the results will be determined by the decisions made in advance [of a risky event.] You can't afford to put all your resources at all the places where something could go wrong."
Cohen cautions that companies need sophisticated models of their supply chains that accurately reflect the challenges specific to their particular operations. These representations, whether simulations or mathematical models, must take into account all the important factors and the likelihoods that "low probability, high-cost events that have very expensive outcomes" will take place. "If you ignore the complexity, you can miss the whole point," he adds.
According to Cohen, many firms that do not enact advanced risk management strategies probably have an intuitive understanding of the basic issues involved. "Many people have good intuition, but they may not have the tools and analytical data" needed to alleviate their supply chain risks. Cohen points out that nowadays, there exist "powerful tools, such as data mining and sophisticated logarithms.... But if you don't invest in advanced thinking, it is a prescription for disaster. You can't just think about the process, but must put in place prescriptions."
Adding Redundancy, Increasing Resilience
Broadly speaking, three sorts of mitigation strategies emerge from the approach outlined in the SCRIS, says Sharpe, its co-author. The first category involves redundancy. In a very simple example, if a company has only one distribution center for its products, it risks a major failure in its supply chain if that distribution center cannot operate for a significant period of time. An appropriate redundancy strategy might involve building a second distribution center. Or leadership may decide that the firm needs to use at least two transportation carriers each month in order to service its best customers because high-quality customer service is absolutely vital to its business model.
Second, some strategies involve contingency planning, notes Sharpe. In such a case, company leadership identifies their top-priority risks, and then develops an action plan contingent on certain negative events taking place. Employees must be trained in that plan, and it must be communicated to all relevant stakeholders in and outside the organization. "A lot of people set up a war room and an action plan after the event, but by that time, you are racing against time," Sharpe says. If, for example, a firm waits until after a key supplier goes bankrupt, it may find that it can't satisfy customers' orders. "You then have to deal with the reality of significant profit losses, lost market share and diminished shareholder confidence. That's why you focus on mitigation activities in advance of the event," he adds.
A third kind of mitigation strategy involves changing corporate policies, says Sharpe. In such a case, companies "change their operating policies to be less vulnerable to an identifiable, prioritized risk." In one notable example, Toyota decided not to rely on single suppliers for any of its vehicle components following the Sendai tsunami and nuclear disaster of 2011. The earlier approach left Toyota vulnerable when single-source suppliers were forced to shut down.
Fisher, Martin and Wharton MBA student Hirotaka Ellis are currently involved in an independent study project focused on simulating supply chains in an effort to quantify one company's supply chain resilience and recommend appropriate investments to diminish that firm's supply chain risks -- and consequently increase its resilience.
Ironically, writes Martin in his description of the research project, over the past decade global enterprises have focused on making their supply chains leaner by eliminating redundancy and cutting inventories in order to reduce costs. Such an approach "has significantly increased the importance of each node in the supply chain to the success of the entire system," he notes. "Because nearly every node is critical, the relative risk of interference with a single node causing a disruption to the entire supply chain has grown significantly. These risks, previously not considered worthy of 'C-suite' consideration, have ... changed the competitive landscape in numerous industries."

Businesses Need To Completely Rethink How They Deal With Disasters

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Russian court issued Google a gargantuan fine — $20.6 decillion — for banning accounts on YouTube.</li><li>Nobody expects Google to pay the sum, which exceeds the world's GDP.</li></ul>Do you have $20 decillion to spare? Google doesn't — nor does any individual or entity in human history.All the same, that is what <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-hit-russia-fine-bigger-world-gdp-youtube-decillion-media-2024-10">a Russian court maintains the company owes</a>, as punishment for suspending accounts from YouTube.That punishment attracted an initially modest fine, which doubled after non-payment, then doubled again, then again, and on into absurdity.As of last week, it was $20.6 decillion. Written in full, it's $20,604,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.It outstrips by many orders of magnitude the US federal budget ($6.75 trillion) and the world's estimated GDP of about $105 trillion.So — what gives?There isn't much left of Google in Russia that the authorities could extract a fine from, and the prospect of other courts enforcing the ruling is essentially nil.But it does send a message: Russia isn't happy.<h2 id="b8a8c391-1333-4de8-a0e2-3b5b46652a25">An angry signal</h2>The Kremlin saw it as such last week, when its spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, said he struggled with the magnitude of the number but saw it as "filled with symbolism."Legal experts told Business Insider what it symbolizes is a Russian legal and economic system estranged from much of the world.While Russia can rail at Western companies, and make extraordinary financial demands, it has little ability to influence their behavior.Russia is "pretty impotent" to truly punish Google, according to Tyler Kustra, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at the UK's University of Nottingham.The mega-fine is "more designed to send a message than do anything in particular," he said.<h2 id="32b5c291-3611-40d4-971c-845d587ee791">Judges gone wild</h2>Kustra said the figure exposed a lack of checks and balances within Russia's legal system, which is content to let the mathematical power of compounding take the fine into surreal territory."If a British court or an American court issued such a fine, an appellate court would immediately strike it down as an obvious example of abuse by the judge," he said.Yet, while the scale of the fine puts it in a league of its own, it is in keeping with other punitive legal measures taken against Western companies since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Russia has effectively <a target="_blank" href="https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/03/how-russia-is-using-intellectual-property-as-a-war-tactic">annulled intellectual property rights,</a> enabling its companies to freely use patents and designs from Western companies.It has also imposed penalties on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-raising-exit-tax-companies-ukraine-war-2024-10">firms trying to exit their Russian operations</a>, demanding that assets be sold at a steep discount while levying a hefty "exit tax."The Dutch beermaker Heineken was among those to pull out of Russia at a major cost, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theheinekencompany.com/newsroom/heineken-completes-exit-from-russia/">selling its operations for one euro</a> and swallowing a loss of around $325 million.During the war, Russian courts have also ordered the seizure of assets of Western companies, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/18/russia-seizes-european-banksassets-as-a-part-of-a-lawsuit">such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.</a><h2 id="ada2ccb3-1739-45ae-9e29-1c16dec864cb">'Economic warfare'</h2>The Google fine "makes a symbolic statement about the degree to which Russia and the US are engaged in economic warfare," said Christine Abely, an assistant professor at New England Law, who wrote a book on Russian sanctions.In an email to BI, Abely said: "This is consistent with Russia's use of other economic weapons against the US."Russia and its judges, though, may consider themselves to be giving only as good as they get.Western countries heaped sanctions upon Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sowing chaos in its economy, especially for Russian companies that operate abroad.And US dominance of the global financial system gives its sanctions and restrictions a heft that Russia can't match.Trying to assert yourself without that strength could be what births a fine bigger than money itself.Nathanael Tilahun, a senior lecturer in international law at the University of Essex, told BI that Russia's moves can be seen as a "mirror-image" response to the West.The scholars BI spoke to did not expect any other nation's court to try to enforce the Google fine.Google's parent company, Alphabet, also seems untroubled.Though it hasn't commented on the $20 decillion figure, it has repeatedly downplayed the risk of the case, saying in its latest earning statement that it foresaw no "material adverse effect."<h2 id="0a9e8899-8bce-44fd-80d4-c47ac5f03489">A spreading dispute</h2>The Google fine may stand alone in terms of its massive scale, but a series of smaller battles are straining court systems around the world.A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-30/youtube-forced-to-play-a-game-of-legal-whack-a-mole-with-russia">recent Bloomberg report</a> surveyed the legal landscape — many Russia-linked disputes fought through the English courts, with some spilling over into jurisdictions like Hong Kong, South Africa, and the Netherlands.Once-rare decisions where one judge cancels the decision of another were becoming commonplace, the report said, making international business disputes scarier territory than ever.Oleksandra Iordanova, a lawyer at the Swedish firm Snellman, described the situation to Bloomberg as "a fundamental fracture in the international legal order at a time when global trade and investment are more intertwined than ever."

Russia hit Google with a fine so big it defies comprehension, exposing a legal system adrift

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Baiju Bhatt, the cofounder of trading app Robinhood, has a new space startup.</li><li>Aetherflux aims to launch a constellation of satellites to transmit solar power to Earth using infrared lasers.</li></ul>When Baiju Bhatt co-founded the stock trading app <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robinhood-collapse-what-happened-retail-investing-meme-stocks-future-finance-2022-2">Robinhood</a> in 2013 with his college best friend, Vlad Tenev, the aim was to "democratize finance for all."Robinhood's no-fee, gamified approach to investing made capital markets more accessible than ever before, leading to an IPO in 2021.After over a decade at the company, Bhatt stood down as Robinhood's chief creative officer in March to pursue what was described at the time as "other entrepreneurial interests."In October, Bhatt announced he was launching Aetherflux, a Silicon Valley-based space startup.Aetherflux aims to create a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) that will collect solar power and beam it down to receptors on Earth using infrared lasers.Just as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-starlink-spacex-satellite-internet-business-constellation-fleet-elon-musk-mars">Elon Musk's Starlink</a> constellation has transformed communications, Bhatt hopes Aetherflux will revolutionize energy, he told Business Insider in an interview.The receptors will be just 10 meters in diameter, Bhatt said, meaning they can be placed virtually anywhere and theoretically provide power to remote locations that would otherwise be too expensive or dangerous to reach."If we succeed, we unlock a renewable energy source for humanity that can be delivered virtually anywhere," he wrote in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/allow-me-re-introduce-myself-baiju-bhatt-nu1ic/?trackingId=xecx1MNjQxGa6fapJvT2fA%3D%3D">LinkedIn post</a> announcing Aetherflux.If it works, far more solar power can be captured in orbit than through the atmosphere at ground level, and there would be no nighttime or weather disruptions to the power source. It would also free up land used for solar farms on Earth.Aetherflux plans to start by powering military operations in remote locations or remote mining operations, Bhatt said.<div type="image" title="A profile of Baiju Bhatt smiling in a black t-shirt in front of a beige background." height="3553" width="5324" msid="114432481" hostid="261" sizebytes="611312"></div>Bhatt hopes that a single receptor will one day be able to capture enough power for a small neighborhood of homes. He added that they'd need around 100 satellites to provide continuous power to one location.The idea of space-based solar power has existed for decades, but theories have generally rested on large constructions being sent into orbit and using microwaves to transmit energy.In January 2023, the California Institute of Technology launched a solar space-power demonstrator satellite into orbit for a yearlong mission to test out a range of potential approaches.Caltech's president, Thomas F. Rosenbaum, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/space-solar-power-project-ends-first-in-space-mission-with-successes-and-lessons">said the project</a> had shown them that solar power beamed from space "is still a future prospect" but that it "should be an achievable future."Aetherflux wants to do things differently by using infrared lasers and a modular approach.The science has already been demonstrated; it's just going to be an engineering and economic feat to prove it can be done from space, Bhatt said.To begin with, Aetherflux plans to send a single satellite into orbit by the first quarter of 2026 to demonstrate that solar energy transmission is possible.<h2 id="f76e6857-d783-49d8-94bf-ab950b9759df">The right time to be in space</h2>Though the career jump from finance to the space industry may seem unusual, Bhatt said space has been his "lifelong calling."NASA was a part of Bhatt's childhood. His father moved to the US from India to pursue physics and got a job at NASA's Langley Research Center in the 1990s studying atmospheric sciences.With a bachelor's in physics and a master's in mathematics, both from Stanford, Bhatt thought he'd be a physicist too. So, Robinhood was a "bit of a detour," he told BI.He is still a board member but has stepped back from day-to-day operations.One lesson Bhatt said he learned from running the trading app was how powerful capitalism could be in accelerating innovation."If you can take a problem that's been stagnating and you can create a capitalist system around it where people can make money doing something, you'll see the rate of progress really speed up," he said.<div type="image" title="Baiju Bhatt (right) and Vlad Tenev, founders of the online brokerage Robinhood." height="4160" width="6240" msid="114432476" hostid="261" sizebytes="601100"></div>After meeting with people working on power for DARPA at the beginning of this year and seeing the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-spacex-starship-launch-five-huge-deal-space-travel-2024-10">timeline Starship is on</a>, Bhatt decided that the best opportunities were now in space.Since 2009, the sum of private investments in space startups has soared from essentially nothing to $327.3 billion, according to the latest "<a target="_blank" href="https://spacecapital.docsend.com/view/9d69zpfz4ddms3ry">Space Investment Quarterly</a>" report published by venture capital and angel-investment firm Space Angels.The industry's value is expected to continue booming. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/space-the-1-point-8-trillion-dollar-opportunity-for-global-economic-growth">McKinsey</a> estimates that the global space economy will be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035, accounting for inflation, up from $630 billion in 2023."It's hard to find something more exciting and impactful than space," said Matthew Weinzierl, a professor of the economics of space at Harvard Business School and coauthor of the upcoming book "Space to Grow.""This really is a new frontier, one where technological innovation can create new markets and solve real problems, often in ways we haven't thought of before," he said.Weinzierl said that in the past two decades, the US government has created pathways for commercial players, enabling market forces to take hold."Prices to orbit have dropped, launch availability has soared, and a wave of entrepreneurs are finding new ways to create value," he said.<div type="image" title="SpaceX's Super Heavy booster as it returned to its launch site, with the sun rising in the background." height="1031" width="1920" msid="114432482" hostid="261" sizebytes="52022"></div>With so many more commercially available products, space has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starship-launch-success-elon-musk-vision-cheap-space-travel-closer-2024-3#:~:text=%22With%20Starship%2C%20SpaceX%20is%20poised,in%20an%20email%20on%20Thursday.">never been cheaper</a>.Aetherflux is an example of how companies are using off-the-shelf solutions to speed up development. Its satellites are purchased readymade from satellite bus provider <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/palmer-luckey-anduril-apex-defense-tech-space-satellite-surveillance-2024-10">Apex</a>, the high-powered lasers it plans to use are commercially available, and it'll be using <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launch">SpaceX</a> as a launch partner for its 2026 mission."The part that we're building is the actual optical design, the control systems, and the power transmission link, as well as the ground station," said Bhatt.<h2 id="5dda5318-030a-431a-91ff-f205b537a068">The future of Aetherflux</h2>When he spoke with BI, Bhatt had just moved into a lab facility in the Bay Area. With a team of 10 employees, he will begin iterating ground tests, developing the system design, and working with regulators.He's self-funding the project "completely," he told BI. As one of Robinhood's cofounders, Bhatt's net worth spiked after its IPO in 2021. He is worth around $1.7 billion, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/baiju-bhatt/">Forbes reports.</a>Although access to space has become more routine and affordable, Weinzierl said there is still a lot of uncertainty around the industry. Some of the ideas and businesses being developed today won't survive, but they'll be "the foundation that tomorrow's entrepreneurs will learn from and build on," he said.A self-proclaimed science nerd, Bhatt named his startup after a 19th-century theory about a pervasive medium called the aether, which physicists believed light traveled through."Einstein came along in 1905 and was basically like, nah, that stuff's all wrong. Light is the same in every reference frame," said Bhatt.So Aetherflux is named after a disproven scientific theory? Yes, Bhatt agreed with amusement. But he's "laser-focused" on the first mission and adamant that Aetherflux won't fall into the same bracket as its namesake."Space is hard," he admitted, "but we're committed to demonstrating this and making it happen."

Robinhood's cofounder has joined the rapidly growing commercial space race, and wants to beam solar power from satellites to earth

In an era where customer experience is a primary business differentiator, the role of service hubs has evolved from merely answering calls to becoming innovation centers. With the infusion of advanced technologies like <keyword id="107950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence" source="Orion">Artificial Intelligence</keyword> (<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI" source="Orion">AI</keyword>) and Generative AI (Gen-AI), the service hub industry is now undergoing a transformation that promises to redefine customer interactions, according to experts. “The nature of the industry will change. I think even calling it <keyword id="19945906" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="customer-service" source="keywords">customer service</keyword> or service industry may be a very different outlook 5 years from now,” said Sameer Bapat, SVP and COO of Cognizant IOA, during a panel discussion on “Revolutionsing Customer Experience Innovating Service Hubs Through Technology,” hosted by Business Insider India. Leaders in the industry believe that India is entering the golden age of customer service, one powered by data-driven insights, AI-driven empathy, and evolving human-machine collaboration. “The net amount of venture capital and private equity capital that you’re going to see in the customer service industry going forward is going to 5-10x of what it has been in the last 5 years,” predicted panelist Vijay Narsapur, SVP and Business Head of Infosys BPM. <div type="Youtube" id="E23CeECUh9A" title="Revolutionizing Customer Experience: Innovating Service Hubs Through Technology" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E23CeECUh9A/mqdefault.jpg"><url><![CDATA[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E23CeECUh9A]]></url></div> <h2>The evolution of service hubs: More than customer service</h2>No longer just centers for addressing customer complaints or technical issues, today’s service hubs are integrating innovative technologies to become the nerve center of business operations. According to Sanjay Kukreja, Global Technology Head at Eclerx, tools like data engineering and cloud computing have shifted customer service into real-time interactions, allowing businesses to assist customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. For Narsapur, service hubs are now the lifeblood of the business process management (BPM) industry. End customers have become increasingly comfortable interacting with AI and automated systems. However, they still crave human connection, especially when complex or emotionally charged issues arise. Narsapur points out that this blending of technology and human touch is crucial for refining the customer journey. As businesses scale, service hubs are expected to balance these elements more tightly to deliver both efficiency and empathy. <h2>AI and Gen-AI: Disruptors or Enhancers?</h2>Arguably, the most significant driver of change in the service hub industry has been the integration of AI and Gen-AI. Bapat explains that these technologies have transformed how service hubs operate. Automation tools have led to productivity gains ranging between 20% to 60%, primarily by streamlining mundane tasks, improving scalability, and delivering more personalized customer interactions. This isn’t just an incremental improvement—it’s a deep, domain-led transformation of how companies interact with their customers. But, as Abhinandan Jain, Chief Growth Officer at Startek, notes, AI doesn’t just enhance efficiency—it also amplifies empathy. Service hubs are learning how to use AI as an "empathy amplifier," where AI-driven systems handle routine queries, and human agents step in for more complex, emotionally charged interactions. This helps agents focus on delivering the high-touch experiences customers expect when they escalate an issue to a real person. While there has been some anxiety surrounding AI replacing jobs, the experts argue that this technology will instead create more high-value roles. ““There is going to be an increase of anywhere between 2x to 5x in the number of jobs that are going to be created in this particular industry,” said Narsapur. For example, there will be an increasing demand for professionals skilled in data science, machine learning, and algorithm management to maintain and improve AI systems. According to a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/generative-ai-and-the-future-of-work-in-america">McKinsey</a> report, AI will automate 25-30% of jobs in customer service, but the technology will also create new roles in AI supervision, data analysis, and customer experience management. <h2>Data-driven insights and the role of <keyword id="23232621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CRM-tools" source="keywords">CRM tools</keyword></h2>One of the most promising developments in the service hub sector is the increasing reliance on data to drive customer interactions. Jain explains that service hubs are now equipped with sophisticated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools that can mine both structured and unstructured data, enabling companies to gain a holistic view of customer behavior. This level of insight allows businesses to not only address customer queries more efficiently but also predict future needs, making the customer journey more proactive than reactive. These CRM platforms are evolving, too. Narsapur notes that many service hubs, particularly in industries like banking and telecom, now use platforms that integrate various aspects of customer interaction, from onboarding to relationship management. These platforms provide a unified view of customer interactions, allowing agents to access the information they need quickly, which ultimately drives faster resolution times and higher customer satisfaction. A <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-01-12-gartner-predicts-80--of-customer-service-organization">Gartner</a> study revealed that by 2025, 80% of customer service interactions will be handled by AI and CRM systems, up from 52% in 2020. <h2>The economic impact of AI on service hubs</h2>The rise of AI and Gen-AI is also fueling an economic boom in the service hub sector. Jain predicts that the influx of venture capital and private equity in AI research for customer service hubs will increase five- to ten-fold in the coming years. This investment is primarily driven by the need for businesses to remain competitive in an increasingly tech-driven market. The economic growth potential is massive, especially in regions like India, where the talent pool for AI and data science is unmatched. Kukreja echoes this sentiment, noting that India’s service hubs are well-positioned to lead this transformation due to their depth of talent in areas such as data engineering, mathematics, and AI development. This gives Indian service hubs a competitive edge as companies look to scale their customer service operations with tech-driven solutions. Global spending on Gen-AI is expected to reach $26 billion by 2027, with Japan and India set to become the most rapidly expanding markets in the forthcoming years, according to <a href="https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prAP52048824">IDC</a>. <h2>What lies ahead for service hubs?</h2>As we look to the future, the role of service hubs will likely expand even further. Narsapur warns that while platforms and AI will drive efficiency, businesses should not rely solely on technology. Competitive advantage will come from the integration of human expertise, technology, and industry-specific solutions. Different sectors, such as banking, telecom, and retail, each have unique needs that service hubs must adapt to in order to provide effective, personalized customer experiences. AI will play a central role in this transformation. But as Jain points out, it won’t replace human agents entirely. Instead, it will coexist with them, moving people up the value chain to focus on higher-value tasks. AI will handle the routine, while humans will step in where emotional intelligence and complex problem-solving are required. In the end, the future of service hubs is not just about technology; it’s about blending tech and humanity in a way that elevates customer experiences to new heights. We are at the dawn of a new era for customer service hubs. The infusion of AI and Gen-AI, along with data-driven insights and sophisticated CRM tools, is transforming the industry from the ground up. Far from being a threat to jobs, AI will create new opportunities, leading to a more dynamic, efficient, and empathetic customer experience. With significant economic growth on the horizon, particularly in regions like India, the service hub industry is set to play a pivotal role in the future of business. The golden age of customer service is here, and the best is yet to come. This article is part of a four-part webinar series in partnership with nasscom. These monthly webinars aim to delve deep and offer insights into the evolving BPM landscape. You can watch the full video of the second session <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E23CeECUh9A">here</a>. Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in

Customer service hubs: Entering the golden age with Gen-AI and tech-driven solutions

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gwynne Shotwell seems to run the show at Elon Musk's SpaceX.</li><li>She oversees most of the rocket company's central business, per an org chart from The Information.</li></ul>SpaceX president and chief operating officer <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-female-employees-tesla-shareholder-vote-2024-6">Gwynne Shotwell</a> appears to be calling the shots at <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>'s company.While Musk is the CEO and public face of the aerospace company, Shotwell <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=7510990f8f29dad8fb762451575268fa7713d5c038dbde81d76e47c19c0cebb8&amp;postID=665ef4d4074e87bb00ea1232&amp;postSlug=gwynne-shotwell-runs-spacex-elon-musk-life-career-2024-6&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fspacex-is-mostly-gwynne-shotwells-empire-org-chart-shows%3Frc%3Dnytiul">handles nearly every team internally</a>, according to an org chart reviewed by The Information.Shotwell has 21 direct reports to Musk's four and oversees most of <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk">SpaceX's</a> central business, including the teams working on Starlink, Falcon, and Starship.One former SpaceX employee, <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-work-at-spacex-elon-musk-2024-4">Vincent Peters,</a> told Business Insider that Shotwell "is the singular most important person within SpaceX outside of Elon.""She moves the needle for employee morale and customer confidence in SpaceX and serves as an azimuth within the company as priorities evolve," he added.Shotwell was one of <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-intern-woman-sex-wsj-2024-6?mrfhud=true">SpaceX's</a> earliest employees. Here's everything we know about the powerful SpaceX president.<h2 id="25d6cc7f-f50d-4ffc-8abb-aed4e188bb86">Early life</h2>Shotwell was born in 1963 and raised in Illinois. She is the <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2013-jun-07-la-fi-himi-spacex-20130609-story.html">daughter of a brain surgeon and an artist</a> and has two sisters, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times.An A-student in high school, she later gained an MSc in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics from Northwestern University. She told the LA Times she developed an early interest in machines. This evolved into a career in the automotive field before moving into the aerospace industry.<h2 id="17590251-d1b1-40fd-8b7a-2321149b2a29">One of the first SpaceX employees</h2>Shotwell was the 11th person hired by SpaceX.She joined the company in 2002 as vice president of business development following a stint at spacecraft developer Microcosm.Shotwell told the LA Times in 2013: "I knew early on if these guys [at SpaceX] couldn't make it in the space industry, nobody will. If we hadn't achieved success, I was willing to leave the aerospace industry altogether and go sell real estate or something. Fortunately, that didn't happen."Over her 22 years at SpaceX, Shotwell has risen through the ranks to become COO and president, making her one of the most important figures.<div type="image" title="SpaceX building in Florida" height="3588" width="5380" msid="110970666" hostid="261" sizebytes="661470"></div><h2 id="e8db8db9-cd7c-408d-a401-1d6ade1b386f">Secret to SpaceX's success</h2>Shotwell has long been rumored to pull the strings at SpaceX.For much of her time at the company, she has overseen its operations and sales while Musk has focused on developing the technology. Investors have praised the pair's partnership and credit it with much of SpaceX's success.Peters, founder of Inheritance AI, told BI that Shotwell was the "cornerstone of consistency and continuity at SpaceX" amid "Elon's involvement in his entities outside of SpaceX."He said Shotwell's leadership style was "between transformational leadership and democratic leadership," adding she was extremely approachable to all employees.SpaceX has about 13,000 employees in California, Texas, and Florida.The COO has 21 direct reports, while Musk has only four. Shotwell also oversees most of SpaceX's central business, including the teams working on Starlink, Falcon, and Starship.According to Forbes, Shotwell has an <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/gwynne-shotwell/">estimated stake in SpaceX</a> of less than 1%.It seems she enjoys getting hands-on at times: <h2 id="2a589cb7-fd72-47cf-b78f-070be8df41ed">Relationship with Elon Musk</h2>Shotwell has said she enjoys working for Musk and previously praised the billionaire's management style."I love working for Elon," she said in a 2018 <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.ted.com/talks/gwynne_shotwell_spacex_s_plan_to_fly_you_across_the_globe_in_30_minutes/transcript">TED Talk</a>."He's funny, and fundamentally, without him saying anything, he drives you to do your best work. He doesn't have to say a word. You just want to do great work," she told the audience.<div type="image" title="Elon Musk SpaceX" height="2333" width="3500" msid="110970673" hostid="261" sizebytes="941360"></div>Shotwell has come to Musk's defense on numerous occasions, most recently over claims about his conduct with <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-female-employees-tesla-shareholder-vote-2024-6">female SpaceX workers.</a>In response to some of the claims in a Wall Street Journal report, she said: "I continue to be amazed by what this extraordinary group of people are achieving every day, even amidst all the forces acting against us. And Elon is one of the best humans I know."Shotwell was also mentioned in the Journal report after one employee claimed the COO had accused her of <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-gwynne-shotwell-accused-employee-affair-husband-wsj-2024-6">having an affair with her husband</a>.Representatives for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Meet Gwynne Shotwell, the woman who really runs SpaceX for Elon Musk

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A teacher's students ChatGPT for a simple introductory assignment in an ethics and technology class.</li><li>Professor Megan Fritts shared her concerns on X, sparking debate on AI's role in education.</li></ul>Professor Megan Fritts' first assignment to her students was what she considered an easy A: "Briefly introduce yourself and say what you're hoping to get out of this class."Yet many of the students enrolled in her Ethics and Technology course decided to introduce themselves with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-4o-real-time-feedback-coding-math-demo-2024-5">ChatGPT</a>."They all owned up to it, to their credit," Fritts told Business Insider. "But it was just really surprising to me that — what was supposed to be a kind of freebie in terms of assignments — even that they felt compelled to generate with an LLM."When Fritts, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, took her concern to X, formerly Twitter, in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/freganmitts/status/1828796730634330593">a tweet</a> that has now garnered 3.5 million views, some replies argued that students would obviously combat "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/BonaventureTurd/status/1828810310532415626">busywork</a>" assignments with similarly low-effort AI-generated answers.However, Fritts said that the assignment was not only to help students get acquainted with using the online <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/what-is-blackboard">Blackboard</a> discussion board feature, but she was also "genuinely curious" about the introductory question."A lot of students who take philosophy classes, especially if they're not majors, don't really know what philosophy is," she said. "So I like to get an idea of what their expectations are so I can know how to respond to them."The AI-written responses, however, did not reflect what the students, as individuals, were expecting from the course but rather a regurgitated description of what a technology ethics class is, which clued Fritts in that they were generated by ChatGPT or a similar chatbot."When you're a professor, and you've read dozens and dozens of AI essays, you can just tell," she said.<h2 id="e0b552b0-5f55-4bcf-938f-9995306aaa90">The calculator argument — why ChatGPT is not just another problem-solving tool</h2>While a common defense permeating Fritts' replies likened ChatGPT for writing to a calculator for math problems, she said that viewing LLMs as just another problem-solving tool is a "mistaken" comparison, especially in the context of humanities.Calculators reduce the time needed to solve mechanical operations that students are already taught to produce a singular correct solution. But Fritts said that the aim of humanities education is not to create a product but to "shape people" by "giving them the ability to think about things that they wouldn't naturally be prompted to think about.""The goal is to create liberated minds — liberated people — and offloading the thinking onto a machine, by definition, doesn't achieve that," she said.<h2 id="81ba0d50-1afb-4f61-914a-96c48c6a1f92">Lasting impacts on students</h2>Beyond cheating on papers, Fritts said that students have, in general, become compromised in their thinking ability — and they've noticed."They're like, 'When I was young, I used to love to read, and now I can't. I can't even get through the chapter of a book,'" she said. "'My attention span is so bad, and I know it's from looking at my phone, always having YouTube or TikTok on.' And they're sad about it."Fritts said that technology addiction has affected students' general agency when interacting with information. She <a target="_blank" href="https://philpapers.org/rec/HARSRA-6">cited a 2015 paper</a> by Professor Charles Harvey, chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Central Arkansas, which examines the effects that interactions with technology could have had on human agency and concentration.Harvey wrote that two different eye-tracking experiments indicated that the vast majority of people skim online text quickly, "skipping down the page" rather than reading line by line. Deep reading of paper texts is being snipped into "even smaller, disconnected" thoughts."The new generations will not be experiencing this technology for the first time. They'll have grown up with it," Fritts said. "I think we can expect a lot of changes in the really foundational aspects of human agency, and I'm not convinced those changes are going to be good."<h2 id="c9c300f0-9a0d-4624-aae9-3d4683ca6207">Teachers are getting tired</h2>Fritts acknowledges that educators have some obligation to teach students how to use AI in a productive and edifying way. However, she said that placing the burden of fixing the cheating trend on scholars <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-literacy-ethics-teaching-students-educators-scholars-2024-2">teaching AI literacy</a> to students is "naive to the point of unbelievability.""Let's not deceive ourselves that students are using AI because they're just so siked about the new tech, and they're not sure of what the right way to use it in the classroom," Fritts said."And I'm not trying to slam them," she added. "All of us are inclined to take measures to make things easier for us."But Fritts also feels just as "pessimistic" about the alternative solution — educators and institutions forming a "united front" in keeping AI out of the classroom."Which isn't going to happen because so many educators are now fueled by sentiments from university administration," Fritts said. "They're being encouraged to incorporate this into the curriculum."At least 22 state departments of education have released official guidelines for AI use in schools, The Information recently <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=c5be491442deb8bcd739db23b2e02cdf04b270189b6428bb36c0062f6aa348b6&amp;postID=66db018d92d5b68ffc4b2212&amp;postSlug=students-caught-using-chatgpt-ai-assignment-teachers-debate-2024-9&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fai-isnt-the-enemy-for-some-schools-anymore-flaky-startups-are">reported</a>. A 2024 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/will-ai-use-in-schools-increase-next-year-56-percent-of-educators-say-yes/2024/02">survey</a> by EdWeek Research Center found that 56% of over 900 educators anticipated AI use to rise. And some are excited for it.Curby Alexander, an associate education professor at Texas Christian University, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-in-the-classroom-has-some-people-worried-teachers-arent-2024-6">previously told</a> BI that he uses AI to help brainstorm ideas and develop case studies "without taking up a lot of class time."ASU's Anna Cunningham, a Dean's Fellow, and Joel Nishimura, an associate professor in the Mathematical and Natural Sciences department, wrote <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/teaching/2024/05/03/teaching-ai-how-learn-students-learn-more-themselves">an op-ed</a> encouraging having students teach ChatGPT agents with programmed misunderstandings."With this, we are on the cusp of being able to give all students as many opportunities as they want to learn by teaching," they wrote.OpenAI even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-state-students-ai-tutors-openai-partnership-2024-1">partnered with Arizona State University</a> to offer students and faculty full access to ChatGPT Enterprise for tutoring, coursework, research, and more.However, many educators remain skeptical. Some professors have even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-driving-return-to-paper-exams-written-essays-at-universities-2023-8">reverted back to pen and paper</a> to combat ChatGPT usage, but Fritts said many are tired of trying to fight the seemingly inevitable. And students are left in the middle of education and AI's love-hate relationship."I think it, understandably, creates a lot of confusion and makes them feel like the professors who are saying 'Absolutely not' are maybe philistines or behind the times or unnecessarily strict," Fritts said.Fritts is not the only professor voicing concerns about AI use among students. In a Reddit thread titled "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/17v6478/chatgpt_its_getting_worse/?rdt=63742">ChatGPT: It's getting worse</a>," several users who identified as professors lamented increased AI usage in classrooms, especially in online courses. One commented, "This is one reason I'm genuinely considering leaving academia."A professor <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/1cunlg1/chat_gpt_is_ruining_my_love_of_teaching/">in another post</a> that received over 600 upvotes said that ChatGPT was "ruining" their love of teaching. "The students are no longer interpreting a text, they're just giving me this automated verbiage," they wrote. "Grading it as if they wrote it makes me feel complicit. I'm honestly despairing."

A teacher caught students using ChatGPT on their first assignment to introduce themselves. Her post about it started a debate.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The supercomputer, named DeepSouth, is being developed by Western Sydney University in Australia.</li><li>When it goes online next year, it will be capable of 228 trillion synaptic operations per second.</li></ul>Our brains are remarkably energy efficient.Using just 20 watts of power, the human brain is capable of processing the equivalent of an exaflop — or a billion-billion mathematical operations per second.Now, researchers in Australia are building what will be the world's first supercomputer that can simulate networks at this scale.The supercomputer, known as DeepSouth, is being developed by Western Sydney University.When it goes online next year, it will be capable of 228 trillion synaptic operations per second, which rivals the estimated rate of operations in the human brain.The hope is to better understand how brains can use such little power to process huge amounts of information.If researchers can work this out, they could someday create a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-cyborgs-machines-ai-technology-2023-6">cyborg</a> brain vastly more powerful than our own. The work could also revolutionize our understanding of how our brains work."Progress in our understanding of how brains compute using neurons is hampered by our inability to simulate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-generated-images-persons-thoughts-brain-scan-study-2023-3">brain-like networks</a> at scale," said André van Schaik, a director at Western Sydney University's International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems."Simulating spiking neural networks on standard computers using Graphics Processing Units and multicore Central Processing Units is just too slow and power intensive," he added. "Our system will change that."Ralph Etienne-Cummings at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, who is not involved in the work, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2408015-supercomputer-that-simulates-entire-human-brain-will-switch-on-in-2024/">New Scientist</a> that DeepSouth will be a game changer for the study of neuroscience."If you are trying to understand the brain this will be the hardware to do it on," he said.Etienne-Cummings said that there will be two main types of researchers who will be interested in the technology — those studying neuroscience, and those who want to prototype new engineering solutions in the AI space.DeepSouth is just one of many research projects aiming to create a machine that will rival the human brain.Other researchers are trying to tackle the same problem by creating <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.ft.com/content/9f51a30d-eedc-446a-8a5c-d2997c670c65">"biological computers"</a> powered by actual brain cells.

The world's first human brain-scale supercomputer will go live next year

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mass protests are taking place in Israel, and even its closest global allies are turning critical.</li><li>But these events aren't necessarily the most likely to prompt a change in Israel's invasion of Gaza.</li></ul>In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, thousands flooded the streets in the past week in Israel's largest protests since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war six months ago.While the demonstrations have been rife with calls for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-calls-israel-prime-minister-netanyahu-an-asshole-report-2024-2">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a> to resign and for a new election, it's not these protests that should concern him most.Instead, it's demonstrations by Israel's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/julia-haart-myunorthodoxlife-netflix-end-gett-crisis-chained-women-jewish-2023-12">ultra-Orthodox Jews</a>, fearful of mandatory conscription that they have long avoided, who may pose the biggest risk to Netanyahu's already fragile grip on power.Netanyahu is not a popular figure in Israel.Critics fault him for failing to secure <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-criticizes-protests-gaza-hostages-families-2024-1">the release of all hostages</a> taken captive on October 7 and allege he's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netanyahu-cares-about-his-survival-more-than-gaza-idf-general-2023-11">prolonging the war to keep himself in power</a>.In a recent poll of Israelis by the <a target="_blank" href="https://en.idi.org.il/articles/53456">Israel Democracy Institute</a>, most respondents (57%) said they thought Netanyahu had performed poorly since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.He's also facing sharp criticism from international allies, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-threatens-us-support-for-israel-in-netanyahu-call-2024-4#:~:text=Biden%20called%20for%20an%20immediate,Central%20Kitchen%20workers%20in%20Gaza.">President Joe Biden calling the Israel Defense Forces' recent killing of aid workers in Gaza "unacceptable"</a> and Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggesting that the US's support of Israel may reach its limit. On Friday, the IDF <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-admits-mistakes-killingfshouldn-world-central-kitchen-workers-2024-4t">fired two officers involved</a>.Despite internal discord and international condemnation, Netanyahu has a history of enduring. He survived <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-israelis-are-protesting-netanyahus-judicial-overhaul-plan-2023-3">mass protests last year against his judicial-overhaul plan</a> that seemed to herald his political end.To prevent his downfall, and continue Israel's course in Gaza, Netanyahu has only one job: keeping his far-right coalition government intact.Made up of hard-line, religiously conservative, nationalist lawmakers staunchly opposed to a two-state solution, this coalition is unlikely to be swayed by global outrage over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israelis-military-idf-civilian-casualties-ratio-hamas-972-report-2024-4">Israel's actions in Gaza</a>.But protests by ultra-Orthodox Jews could spell disaster for him by exposing fractures in the far-right coalition government he has so far been able to maintain.The protests stem from an upcoming move to conscript Haredi yeshiva students into the Israeli military.Yeshiva students, pupils of Jewish religious institutions, have historically been exempt from Israel's otherwise widespread draft. Plus, they've been allowed to live on government stipends.The rationale — now under intense scrutiny — is that their religious studies constitute a form of national service that protects the state from foreign enemies.With the majority of Jewish Israeli men and many Jewish women required to serve, secular Israelis have long been rankled by the exemption.The sentiment has intensified since October 7 and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza, which saw a massive mobilization of reservists and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newarab.com/news/gaza-war-israel-army-death-toll-7-october-over-500">hundreds of IDF casualties</a>. In <a target="_blank" href="https://en.idi.org.il/articles/53305">a recent poll</a> by the Israel Democracy Institute, 64% of the population wants the exemptions to end.Late last month, Israel's High Court of Justice forced the issue, handing down an interim order, which went into effect on Monday, banning the government from providing funds to yeshivas unless their students served.It has proved a formidable challenge to Netanyahu's coalition, which contains elements that either strongly support or strongly oppose the exemptions.Within Netanyahu's Likud party, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wants to end them.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallant-on-ultra-orthodox-draft-we-need-manpower-now-its-maths-not-politics/">He said</a> last month: "The army is in need of manpower now. It's not a matter of politics; it's a matter of mathematics."The country's war minister, Benny Gantz, seen as a prospective successor to Netanyahu, agreed and threatened to quit over the issue.Gantz exiting would not bring down the government — but if enough elements of the coalition followed suit, it would cause a collapse.On the other side, coalition members like the United Torah Judaism and Shas parties have threatened to bring down the government unless the funding is protected.A Netanyahu ouster would undoubtedly have huge consequences for Israel's operations in Gaza and could prove more decisive than any outside intervention.Netanyahu's challenge is either to negotiate a compromise or call one side's bluff and hope that it doesn't follow through on its threats.

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