Technology

Facebook has recently come underintense scrutinyfor sharing the data of millions of users without their knowledge. We&ve also learned that Facebook is usingAIto predict users&futurebehavior and selling that data to advertisers. Not surprisingly, Facebookbusiness model and how it handles its users& data has sparked a long-awaited conversation — and controversy — about data privacy. These revelations will undoubtedly force the company to evolve their data sharing and protection strategy and policy.

More importantly, ita call to action: We need acodeofethics.

As theAIrevolution continues to accelerate, new technology is being developed to solve key problems faced by consumers, businesses and the world at large. It is the next stage of evolution for countless industries, from security and enterprise to retail and healthcare. I believe that in the nearfuture, almost all new technology will incorporate some form ofAIor machine learning, enabling humans to interact with data and devices in ways we can&t yet imagine.

Moving forward, our reliance onAIwill deepen, inevitably causing many ethical issues to arise as humans turn over to algorithms their cars, homes and businesses. These issues and their consequences will not discriminate, and the impact will be far-reaching — affecting everyone, including public citizens, small businesses utilizingAIor entrepreneurs developing the latest tech. No one will be left untouched.I am aware of a few existing initiatives focused on more research, best practices and collaboration; however, itclear that theremuch more work to be done.

Researchers, entrepreneurs and global organizations must lay the groundwork for acodeofAIethicsto guide us through these upcoming breakthroughs and inevitable dilemmas. I should clarify that this won&t be a singlecodeofethics— each company and industry will have to come up with their own unique guidelines.

For thefutureofAIto become as responsible as possible, we&ll need to answer some tough ethical questions. I do not have the answers to these questions right now, but my goal is to bring more awareness to this topic, along with simple common sense, and work toward a solution. Here are some of the issues related toAIand automation that keep me up at night.

The ethicsof driverless cars

With the invention of the car came the invention of the car accident. Similarly, anAI-augmented car will bring with it ethical and business implications that we must be prepared to face. Researchers and programmers will have to ask themselves what safety and mobility trade-offs are inherent in autonomous vehicles.

Ethical challenges will unfold as algorithms are developed that impact how humans and autonomous vehicles interact. Should these algorithms be transparent For example, will a car rear-end an abruptly stopped car or swerve and hit a dog on the side of the street Key decisions will be made by a fusion processor in split seconds, runningAI, connecting a carvast array of sensors. Will entrepreneurs and small businesses be kept in the dark while these algorithms dominate the market

Driverless cars will also transform the way consumers behave. Companies will need to anticipate this behavior and offer solutions to fill those gaps. Now is the time to start predicting how this technology will change consumer needs and what products and services can be created to meet them.

The battle against fake news

As our news media and social platforms become increasinglyAI-driven, businesses from startups to global powerhouses must be aware of their ethical implications and choose wisely when working this technology into their products.

We&re already seeingAIbeing used to create and defend against political propaganda and fake news. Meanwhile, dark money has been used for social media ads that can target incredibly specific populations in an attempt to influence public opinion or even political elections. What happens when we can no longer trust our news sources and social media feeds

AIwill continue to give algorithms significant influence over what we see and read in our daily lives. We have to ask ourselves how much trust we can put in the systems that we&re creating and how much power we can give them. I think itup to companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter — andfutureplatforms — to put safeguards in place to prevent them from being misused. We need the equivalent of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for news!

The futureof the automated workplace

Companies large and small must begin preparing for thefutureof work in the age of automation. Automation will replace some labor and enhance other jobs. Many workers will be empowered with these new tools, enabling them to work more quickly and efficiently. However, many companies will have to account for the jobs lost to automation.

Businesses should begin thinking about what labor may soon be automated and how their workforce can be utilized in other areas. A large portion of the workforce will have to be trained for new jobs created by automation in what is becoming commonly referred to as collaborative automation. The challenge will come when deciding on how to retrain and redistribute employees whose jobs have been automated or augmented. Will it be the government, employers or automation companies In the end, these sectors will need to work together as automation changes the landscape of work.

Ittrue thatAIis the next stage of tech evolution, and that iteverywhere. It has become portable, accessible and economical. We have now, finally, reached theAItipping point. But that point is on a precarious edge, see-sawing somewhere between anAIdreamland and anAInightmare.

In order to surpass theAIhype and take advantage of its transformative powers, itessential that we getAIright, starting with theethics. As entrepreneurs rush to develop the latestAItech or use it to solve key business problems, each has a responsibility to consider theethicsof this technology. Researchers, governments and businesses must cooperatively develop ethical guidelines that help to ensure a responsible use ofAIto the benefit of all.

From driverless cars to media platforms to the workplace,AIis going to have a significant impact on how we live our lives. But asAIthought leaders and experts, we shouldn&t just deliver the technology — we need to closely monitor it and ask the right questions as the industry evolves.

It has never been a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur in the rise ofAI,but therea lot of work to be done now and in thefutureto ensure we&re using the technology responsibly.

Payment provider PayPal continues apace with its acquisitions streak to bring more modern tools into its platform to serve its 237 million customers. Today the company announced that it is buying Simility, a fraud prevention specialist, for $120 million in cash.

PayPal had been an investor in Simility (it owns three percent of the company, it says), along with Accel, Trinity Ventures and others. The startup had raised just under $25 million and was last valued at $52.75 million, according to figures from PitchBook, making this a decent return for its backers. The deal is expected to close in Q3.

Online fraud involving either buyers or sellers — and sometimes people within organizations themselves — has been one of the biggest limiting factors to the growth of e-commerce, and that has only become more of an issue as digital transactions have become more mature and spread to more platforms.

Similityapproach is to use a set of APIs and beacons that essentially monitor digital transactions and buying activity wherever they happen to take place: on mobile, web or in physical environments. Augmenting these with machine learning and feeds from other data sources, it creates something it calls &adaptive& risk management: a changing approach and protection strategy based on what the threat of the moment might be.

Acquiring a company like this makes sense on two levels for PayPal: not just for its own systems, but for that of its customers, who make PayPal-powered transactions on the web, on mobile and at physical points of sales.

&Digital commerce has exploded, and fraudsters have taken note, adapting and developing new methods to carry out their crimes,& said Bill Ready, chief operating officer, PayPal, in a statement. &PayPal has been at the forefront of developing innovative fraud prevention and risk management solutions for nearly 20 years, but until now, merchants haven&t been able to configure those solutions to manage the unique complexities of their businesses. Together with Simility, we will be able to put more control in the hands of our merchants to fight fraud while helping make commerce experiences faster and more secure.&

Ready in a separate blog described the companystrategy currently as an effort to create a one-stop shop for all things commerce, and simplification is also an aspect of this deal:Simility already has a number of customers that also work with PayPal, such as PayPalformer owner eBay/StubHub, OfferUp, DickSporting Goods and Rebtel. The acquisition will mean a more integrated approach for them where their PayPal services have a stronger layer of fraud protection on them, and they also get used to help form a bigger picture about the overall state of fraud that the companies.

PayPal said that after the deal closes, it will also extend Similitytools to the rest of the merchants on its platform.

&Our vision for Simility was to create an adaptive risk management platform that empowers organizations operating in a digital world to manage an evolving fraud and risk landscape where data breaches are the new normal,& said Rahul Pangam, co-founder and CEO, Simility, in a statement. &We are excited to enter the next phase of our growth with PayPal and are thrilled to join them to help drive the next generation of payment and commerce solutions while scaling our business together.&

PayPal has made a number of acquisitions over the last few weeks, all pointing to adding new technologies and tools to reflect our changing times and how that is playing out in the world of payments. They have included European mobile payments and financial services business iZettle, payments aggregator Hyperwallet and AI-based CRM specialist Jetlore.

Starting in July, you might have to pay a little extra to see the newest blockbusters when using MoviePass . The movie subscription service has plans to instate surge pricing for non-annual subscribers starting at $2 for movies and times the app deems &very popular,&Business Insider reports.

This comes one day after AMC announced its plan for a competing movie subscription service called AMC Stubs A-List, coming in June. In MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowestatement to Business Insider, he seemed unfazed by AMCentrance into the subscription game, saying instead it &validates that subscription is really here to stay.&

But for MoviePass to stay, it might have to start changing it business plan. The subscription serviceparent companyHelios and Matheson Analytics announced today that MoviePass& monthly losses soared to $40 million in May. The company also expects its cash deficit to reach $45 million by June. These numbers are in part a reflection of the545,000 new users who joined the service between May 1st and June 15th.

In addition to a few additional dollars to see the next dinosaur movie or superhero film this summer, MoviePass said itplans to roll out two new programs come August that will bring in a little extra money as well. Starting at the end of August, users will be able to use the app to watch IMAX or Real 3D movies for an additional $2 to $6 and have the option to bring a friend (though, they&ll have to pay almost full price for the additional ticket) through the app. To start, these features will have to be applied to separate films, but MoviePass has plans to combine them.