Monday Moves v0.1
*Jan 13, 2020*
Welcome to the first edition of Monday Moves! It is a thrill to unveil this new project and we are grateful to have you join us as the very first subscribers.
You are receiving this exclusive first edition of Monday Moves before the release of the second edition to the harsh and unforgiving eyes of the public. This is our first time devising a project such as this one, so we want to receive your feedback on what works, what doesn’t work, and what could work. What trends should we dig into? What details did we miss? Help us streamline our content to make this newsletter the best it can be!
The last decade started off with a bang, as 2010 saw the launch of Instagram, IBM Watson, Microsoft Azure, and the iPad. What decade-defining moves will we witness at the onset of the 2020s? You can be sure to read about them here.
Moves
Sam: Bluetooth speakers have replaced many home audio systems, and airpods have become a status symbol. The commonplace wireless technology is getting an update in 2020.
In the last 10 years Bluetooth has become a large part of our daily lives. We use Bluetooth technology to integrate our phones with cars, listen to music wirelessly, and control smart home devices. Last week at CES 2020 Bluetooth SIG made an important announcement and unveiled their latest generation of Bluetooth audio protocol. Bluetooth LE Audio has three major components which will make it far superior to the current technology. The new LC3 codec is able to compress and decompress audio more efficiently, which results in higher audio quality and longer battery life. Another new feature of Bluetooth LE Audio is the ability for broadcast audio, with a single audio source connecting to multiple devices simultaneously. Get ready for gyms, museums, entertainment venues, and educational facilities to utilize this technology in the coming years.
Raj: Deepfakes don’t pose the threats to our political system that have been forecasted. Instead, deepfakes could have more privacy-oriented applications than you might think.
Deepfakes garnered widespread attention in the past couple years due to public outrage over targeted misinformation campaigns on Facebook and the unique challenge that “trolls” pose to traditional media. However, the outbreak of malicious deepfakes predicted by politicians hasn’t materialized in any impactful manner, casting doubt on whether deepfakes will become the method-of-choice for spreading misinformation. In fact, Israeli startup D-ID is an example of deepfake technology being used to further individual privacy. D-ID claims that its image processing technology produces photos that look similar to the human eye but bypass the noise reduction filters of facial recognition software, allowing the user to upload personal photos while retaining anonymity.
Raj: While the frenzy over deepfakes might be misplaced, facial recognition software does have serious implications. Our ability to anticipate these implications is outpaced by the insanely viral nature of apps like TikTok.
TikTok may be exploring deepfakes in a controlled environment by allowing users to implant their face into a limited set of pre-selected videos. This may trigger memories of hours wasted on Snapchat perfecting the ultimate faceswap, but the new (and still unconfirmed) feature from TikTok is rumored to be considerably more lifelike. If the feature is as good as reports make it out to be, it would further accelerate TikTok’s breakneck ascent up the social media ladder. It’s already perched atop Apple’s App Store, but lawmakers have sensibly grown wise to the gross security concerns the seemingly harmless app poses. In a letter written last October, US Senators voiced concerns that the massive amounts of biometric and facial data collected by TikTok could be used for unethical purposes by the Chinese government. With 1.5 billion downloads all over the world, the geopolitical ramifications of TikTok could be game-changing.
Sam: RFID was invented in 1948, and is now a household name with its use in mobile devices for banking. The technology has far reaching implications in a variety of fields, and companies are taking note.
I have always been impressed with how efficient the RFID passes were at ski resorts. Not only can the lift operators ensure everyone has paid, but the resort can track each guest’s movements on the mountain as they scan into different lifts. This allows accurate and live data which can help streamline resort operations in the future. ARK Business systems recently announced a new RFID system which helps small businesses leverage the technology to help with tracking assets, product, and materials. The cloud-based storage, simple mobile app, and affordable price point make the service easily accessible. RFID is sure to play a larger role in the coming decade, and as the barrier to entry lowers in price and complexity, led my companies such as ARK Systems, we are sure to see new creative applications of RFID moving forward.
Rearview Mirror
Amazon versus The World. In the 2010s, Amazon went to war with EVERYONE.
Larry Kim points out that Amazon is a global competitor in almost every field from movie reviews to payment systems. No longer just an e-commerce giant, Amazon has worked over the last decade to diversify into a variety of products and services. In 2016, the world could only stand and stare as Amazon jumped into the brick and mortar world with the $13.4 Billion acquisition of Whole Foods. In 2014, the world saw Amazon push smart-home technology into the mainstream with the introduction of Alexa, which is gaining as much ubiquity among voice assistants as Google has among search engines (sorry Google Home, but Google can’t win everything). Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing arm of the giant, was a 25 Billion Dollar division in 2018, and has rapidly grown since then with a 35% jump in Q3 of 2019. Amazon has also dominated the e-commerce world and recently announced that the 2019 holiday season broke records despite the shorter time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The company was proud of their expedited shipping options, announcing that Prime Free One-Day and Prime Free Same-Day Delivery nearly quadrupled in usage this holiday season compared to last year. In the last 10 years, Amazon has not only become an e-commerce powerhouse, but has proved that they are entering 2020 as a leading multifaceted tech leader on the global level. And with over 43 Billion in cash, they are well positioned to move on investments and innovation in the 2020s.
Eyes on the Road
Amazon’s next power play could be its foray into healthcare.
Keep your ears peeled for Jeff Bezos’ newest venture: healthcare. Late 2019 saw the launch of Amazon Care, a service Amazon wants to be the one stop shop for all your healthcare needs. This is part of a healthcare industry-wide push into telehealth, which Amazon does not want to miss out on. The service is being piloted to Amazon employees in Seattle, but make no mistake: the third most influential man in healthcare surely has his sights set further.
That’s all for this week. Keep on moving.