This Is The Most Valuable Commodity of the 21st Century

By Tom Koulopoulos, the founder of the Delphi Group, a 25-year-old Boston-based think tank.

PUBLISHED ON: APR 23, 2018 at https://www.inc.com

The refrain of, "if it's free then you are the product," has become part of our common vernacular.

Clearly, nothing is free, it's only the currency in which we pay that differs.

While the price paid for the use of social media may not be coming out of your bank account, it is most certainly coming out of something that is quickly turning into the single most valuable long-term commodity of the 21st century--your digital self.

Your Digital Self

Your digital self is the collection of data that intimately describes you in a way that makes it possible to model your current behaviors and to predict your future behaviors. You build it every time you browse, communicate, or transact with hundreds of online interactions, from your Gmail, to your Facebook posts, to the what you buy on Amazon.

I'm fascinated by how the notion of a digital self is evolving. So much so that in an upcoming book, Revealing The Invisible: How Out Digital Behaviors Became the Most Valuable Commodity of the 21st Century, I look at how they aren't limited to just people. In fact, any object, machine, or even ecosystem that exhibits complex behavior that can be captured through sensors, algorithms, and computers can have a digital self.

The good news is that, as it stands now, your digital self is still horribly disconnected with no single owner to make sense of it all. Even the insights garnered by a Cambridge Analytica to target and manipulate individual sentiment, use an incredibly slim slice of your digital self. I'd estimate that even for the most diehard Facebook users less than 5 percent of online interactions are captured by Facebook. Still, that's enough to provide some telling insights into who you are.

For example, the initial Cambridge University research that was the basis for the devious app Cambridge Analytica used to manipulate political tendencies, could predict intelligence, sexual orientation, and political leaning with 85-95% accuracy from something as simple as the foods or products you liked. (i.e. if you like curly fries you're likely very intelligent.)

Perhaps what's most surprising is that none of this should surprise us. We've been giving up our identity, habits, and behaviors with utter abandon for some time. Nobody would walk up to a stranger and offer up the contents of their email correspondence, few would even do so with their closest friends, relatives, or even a spouse. Yet 60 percent of us have Gmail accounts which are scoured relentlessly for hints about who, where, and how we are. Although Google anonymizes you in the process, the thread that ties my digital self to my identity is never lost.

(TIP: If you want to get a sense for just how much Google already knows about you just go to https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity. You can do the same with Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences. The app Deseat.me also provides a glimpse into how many third parties you are sharing information with. In all three cases the results are just the tip of a vast collection of data about your digital self.)

Targeting markets based on behaviors is nothing new. Monetizing access to buyers has been the foundation of every media outlet. In fact, I'd go so far as to claim that what's today called surveillance capitalism has been with us in one form or another for the last 200 years and is the funding mechanism for a free press in a free society.

What is new is the ability to target based on each individual, not by guessing their motives and drivers, but rather by observing and revealing every previously invisible behavior of their digital self.

It turns out that while we may not mind giving away our digital selves, as evidenced by how willing we are to use social media to post some of the most intimate moments of our lives, we have yet to define exactly where to draw the line between what constitutes value versus violation.

However, our behaviors have become increasingly transparent throughout history. Not because some dark entity was profiting from them, but because greater transparency was something that had far-reaching benefits for society and individuals.

The Fine Line Between Value and Violation

A good example is one of the first and still most widely used publicly available methods for tracking behavior, GPS. The global positioning system that today uses a series of twenty-four satellites to precisely pinpoint the location of GPS-equipped objects had been used since 1978 by the U.S. Military.

However, it wasn't until 1983, in the aftermath of the Soviet downing of Korean Air flight 007, which had accidentally wandered into Soviet airspace, that U.S. president Ronald Reagan ordered GPS be opened to use by private industry. Although the military had restricted private access to certain GPS data, in 2000 President Bill Clinton made all GPS data accessible to private industry.

So, does GPS value or violate your privacy? Clearly, some privacy has been lost through its use, but few of us would disagree that its value to us as individually and its overall value to society, in creating a safer world, more than makes up for the privacy lost.

I'm not discounting privacy as an inconsequential issue. It will require new levels of diligence and new means of protection--yes, undoubtedly even legislation, but progress is always about the net positive that comes out of any new technology.

The fact is that our digital selves will create both value and risk. We can use technology and legal approaches to protect ourselves and safeguard them, but there's simply no way to eliminate all of the risk. In fact, it's a safe bet that the risk of having a digital self that makes us vulnerable to manipulation and exposes us to malicious actors will increase substantially.

10 Billion Digital Citizens

We clearly have much to do in protecting our digital selves. Ultimately, there's little doubt in my mind that we will view our ownership over our digital behaviors just as seriously as we do the immutable right to the ownership of property. But we need to be just as vigilant in exploiting the value that our digital selves can create, for us individually and for society, as we are of their potential for abuse.

Consider, for example, that of the seven billion people who inhabit our planet at least half do not have the right to an irrefutable identity, without which they cannot participate in the benefits, rights, and protection of a free society. If you don't think that's a problem please think again. An immutable digital persona could have the single greatest impact on society since the advent of property rights.

The opportunity to use our digital selves for interaction, collaboration, innovation, personal safety, community building, giving a voice to those otherwise disenfranchised humans who live in isolation and whose plight has been easily ignored or silenced, and the creation of global economic value for all, are incredibly positive advances in the human condition as well as the evolution of a just and prosperous society.

While this is the direction that we are taking, we are still far from it.

Will that come with risk? Of course. But we need to accelerate our ability to build these digital selves in order to not only understand the nuanced and invisible behaviors of, and among, people, machines, and ecosystems, but also to create a world in which there is opportunity for ten billion people to participate as digital citizens of a global society in which identity becomes an immutable right that crosses national and geographic boundaries. 

I'm convinced, that our digital selves, and those of the machines and ecosystems with which we share our planet, hold the answers to some of the toughest challenges we will face, from economic inequality, to pandemics, to climate change. In many ways, harvesting, understanding, and protecting them may be a survival mechanism for the immense complexity of the problems we need to solve in the 21st Century. 

Our digital selves are anything but free. Revealing and finding the patterns in the otherwise invisible behaviors they form may ultimately be one of the most valuable things we ever do.

Why the Earth’s magnetic poles could be about to swap places – and how it would affect us

The Earth’s magnetic field surrounds our planet like an invisible force field – protecting life from harmful solar radiation by deflecting charged particles away. Far from being constant, this field is continuously changing. Indeed, our planet’s history includes at least several hundred global magnetic reversals, where north and south magnetic poles swap places. So when’s the next one happening and how will it affect life on Earth?

During a reversal the magnetic field won’t be zero, but will assume a weaker and more complex form. It may fall to 10% of the present-day strength and have magnetic poles at the equator or even the simultaneous existence of multiple “north” and “south” magnetic poles.

Geomagnetic reversals occur a few times every million years on average. However, the interval between reversals is very irregular and can range up to tens of millions of years.

There can also be temporary and incomplete reversals, known as events and excursions, in which the magnetic poles move away from the geographic poles – perhaps even crossing the equator – before returning back to their original locations. The last full reversal, the Brunhes-Matuyama, occurred around 780,000 years ago. A temporary reversal, the Laschamp event, occurred around 41,000 years ago. It lasted less than 1,000 years with the actual change of polarity lasting around 250 years.

Power cut or mass extinction?

The alteration in the magnetic field during a reversal will weaken its shielding effect, allowing heightened levels of radiation on and above the Earth’s surface. Were this to happen today, the increase in charged particles reaching the Earth would result in increased risks for satellites, aviation, and ground-based electrical infrastructure. Geomagnetic storms, driven by the interaction of anomalously large eruptions of solar energy with our magnetic field, give us a foretaste of what we can expect with a weakened magnetic shield.

In 2003, the so-called Halloween storm caused local electricity-grid blackouts in Sweden, required the rerouting of flights to avoid communication blackout and radiation risk, and disrupted satellites and communication systems. But this storm was minor in comparison with other storms of the recent past, such as the 1859 Carrington event, which caused aurorae as far south as the Caribbean.

Aurora borealis. Soerfm/wikipedia, CC BY-SA

The impact of a major storm on today’s electronic infrastructure is not fully known. Of course any time spent without electricity, heating, air conditioning, GPS or internet would have a major impact; widespread blackouts could result in economic disruption measuring in tens of billions of dollars a day.

In terms of life on Earth and the direct impact of a reversal on our species we cannot definitively predict what will happen as modern humans did not exist at the time of the last full reversal. Several studies have tried to link past reversals with mass extinctions – suggesting some reversals and episodes of extended volcanism could be driven by a common cause. However, there is no evidence of any impending cataclysmic volcanism and so we would only likely have to contend with the electromagnetic impact if the field does reverse relatively soon.

We do know that many animal species have some form of magnetoreception that enables them to sense the Earth’s magnetic field. They may use this to assist in long-distance navigation during migration. But it is unclear what impact a reversal might have on such species. What is clear is that early humans did manage to live through the Laschamp event and life itself has survived the hundreds of full reversals evidenced in the geologic record.

Can we predict geomagnetic reversals?

The simple fact that we are “overdue” for a full reversal and the fact that the Earth’s field is currently decreasing at a rate of 5% per century, has led to suggestions that the field may reverse within the next 2,000 years. But pinning down an exact date – at least for now – will be difficult.

Magnetic reversal. NASA.

The Earth’s magnetic field is generated within the liquid core of our planet, by the slow churning of molten iron. Like the atmosphere and oceans, the way in which it moves is governed by the laws of physics. We should therefore be able to predict the “weather of the core” by tracking this movement, just like we can predict real weather by looking at the atmosphere and ocean. A reversal can then be likened to a particular type of storm in the core, where the dynamics – and magnetic field – go haywire (at least for a short while), before settling down again.

The difficulties of predicting the weather beyond a few days are widely known, despite us living within and directly observing the atmosphere. Yet predicting the Earth’s core is a far more difficult prospect, principally because it is buried beneath 3,000km of rock such that our observations are scant and indirect. However, we are not completely blind: we know the major composition of the material inside the core and that it is liquid. A global network of ground-based observatories and orbiting satellites also measure how the magnetic field is changing, which gives us insight into how the liquid core is moving.

The recent discovery of a jet-stream within the core highlights our evolving ingenuity and increasing ability to measure and infer the dynamics of the core. Coupled with numerical simulations and laboratory experiments to study the fluid dynamics of the planet’s interior, our understanding is developing at a rapid rate. The prospect of being able to forecast the Earth’s core is perhaps not too far out of reach.

Blockchain

Bitcoin is the "breakthrough" digital currency that allows for instant global unrestricted transfer of value… WITHOUT a bank or any other middleman.

But this story is NOT about Bitcoin. Whether it will go up… down… or sideways…it doesn't matter.

Because it’s the technology behind Bitcoin – called the Blockchain – that’s the true breakthrough…

As Fortune magazine says, “Even if the craze for Bitcoin abates, the power of the ‘Blockchain’ technology behind those currencies is very real.”

Bob Greifeld, the CEO of Nasdaq says Blockchain, “is the biggest opportunity set we can think of over the next decade.”

Billionaire computer programmer Marc Andreessen says, “the consequences of this breakthrough are hard to overstate.”

Bill Gates even calls it a “technological tour de force.”

First, the Blockchain is the underlying technology that makes digital currencies like Bitcoin work…

And second – and this is the most important part – it has many uses that extend far beyond digital currencies.

Bitcoin is just the first “killer” blockchain technology app, just like email was the first “killer” Internet app.

In other words, the world hasn't even begun to scratch the surface of what this technology is capable of doing.

The Blockchain is a new type of network that's faster, more secure, private and hackproof than anything  ever seen before…

In fact, it’s proven to be so spectacularly transformative that just about EVERYONE is racing to adopt the technology for their needs.

For example, in the United States:

the $3.1 BILLION Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is testing Blockchain to create a battlefield-ready messaging platform that is secure and impenetrable to foreign attacks;

the U.S. Navy wants to apply Blockchain technology to its processes for 3-D printing to create “on-demand” parts and equipment for soldiers in the field;

the $545 BILLION Department of Defense is incorporating Blockchain to improve online security across the armed forces to prevent megahacks, tampering and cyber-hijackings of aircraft, nuclear weapons, computer systems, vehicles and satellites.

And this is just the very tip of the iceberg.

The Department of Energy is experimenting with Blockchain to help bring power to citizens when the grid goes down for extended periods, such as in a natural disaster.

The Food & Drug administration wants to use blockchain to “hack-proof” the health records of millions of Americans.

The Center for Disease Control is trialing a proof-of-concept platform that could help stop the spread of disease in outbreak situations, such as Ebola or Bird Flu.

In fact, almost every U.S. agency across the board—from the Internal Revenue Service… Homeland Security… to Customs and Border Patrol… FBI… U.S. Health Department… Treasury Department…  and the Department of Veterans Affairs is in the process of implementing this technology.

Several of the biggest financial institutions have joined forces with central banks to have world currencies up and running on the Blockchain.

Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds will all soon be trading on the Blockchain too… The NASDAQ already has a test program in place.

Parts of the world’s largest financial market – the $5 TRILLION per day Forex market – are making the switch to Blockchain too.

And multibillion-dollar corporations, from Amazon to Visa to Wal-Mart to Google to Bank of America – and just about everyone in between – are desperate to use the technology.

But what does all this mean, exactly?

What will the world look like when entire cities and countries – our lives – are on the Blockchain?

Fortunately, thanks to one forward-thinking country, there is a glimpse into the future…

Welcome to Tomorrowland

27 years ago, Estonia was a tiny castoff from Soviet Russia that barely mattered.

Today, according to Wired magazine, it’s “the most advanced digital society in the world.”

The reason is simple.

Estonia is the first nation in the world to adopt the Blockchain on a mass scale…

And the result is like something out of a futuristic utopia.

For example, Estonians vote safely and securely from their laptops at home, without the worry of cyberhackers tampering with elections.

Parking tickets are challenged online, from smartphones…

They pay their taxes online too, in mere minutes (seriously, it takes the average Estonian just 3 minutes to do their taxes).

There are no forms to fill out in doctor’s waiting rooms—patients’ medical histories are all safely and securely stored on the Blockchain.

Prescription drugs are filled instantly and promptly available for pickup at any pharmacy.

Buying and selling property, signing contracts, even starting a business are all near instant transactions in Estonia.

No bureaucracy… no paperwork… no red tape!

That’s why Fortune magazine has dubbed Estonia simply, “Tomorrowland.”

But perhaps one of the biggest benefits of the Blockchain is simply how much time it frees up…

Individually, Estonians get an extra 800 years of free time EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

Collectively, that’s 7 MILLION hours of extra time each year for citizens to pursue new ideas, hobbies, and passions.

The result is one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial societies in the world today…

Internet access is considered a basic human right, like shelter or food.

In fact, it provides one of the fastest and most secure free WiFi networks on the planet…

… virtually the whole country is covered, even beaches and remote forests!

It was the first country to set up a nationwide network of charging stations for electric cars.

Robots are everywhere…delivering groceries, mowing lawns, even delivering drinks on the beach.

Officials are even working on developing a nationwide “precision medicine”-program that would tap into the genome of residents to better diagnose illnesses and create personalized drugs.

Through its innovative e-residency program, anyone in the world can become a virtual citizen and access many of Estonia’s programs – like e-banking, remote money transfers, starting a business, digitally signing and verifying contracts and documents, and much more – all without packing your bags!

Keep in mind: 27 years ago, less than half the population of Estonia had access to a telephone…..

Today, it’s one of the most advanced countries the world has ever seen.

It’s GDP is growing nearly 3-TIMES faster than America’s, its stock market is soaring, and the average resident’s income has more than QUADRUPLED since going digital.

And Blockchain will help continue those trends, and why just about every industry on the planet is about to go through a transformation of mammoth proportions.

Within the banking industry, for example,

100 of the biggest financial institutions in the world have all signed on to make the switch to Blockchain:

Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citi, Capital One, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, U.S. Bancorp, Credit Suisse, TD Bank etc. are all developing Blockchain platforms to improve the speed, efficiency, and security of consumer financial transactions.

In fact, using this technology is projected to save these companies $20 billion per year in operational costs, according to a recent industry report.

Royal Bank of Canada, the largest bank in the country, is trialing blockchain technology for faster and more secure fund transfers to and from the U.S.

Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are all testing a blockchain platforms aimed at cutting out the middlemen the credit card industry currently relies on and speeding up settlement times from days to mere seconds.

IBM is launching a blockchain-based payment platform that allows merchants and consumers to send money to another country in near real-time, accelerating a payments process that typically takes days.

It’s going to radically disrupt the global utility giants. One Blockchain project currently in development will let people pick their power sources directly – cutting out energy distributors and other middlemen – making bills dramatically cheaper.

A Seattle based start-up already has a pilot program in place in New York City!

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is backing a revolutionary Blockchain project to help the more than 2 billion people worldwide who don’t have bank accounts, as no physical bank location is needed to send, receive, or even save money.

In the healthcare industry, companies will use blockchain to manage supply chains and thwart the trade of counterfeit drugs, which tragically kill over 1 million people each year, including tens of thousands of innocent children.

Wal-Mart is running blockchain experiments to improve food safety and supply chain logistics…

By using blockchain, Wal-Mart can trace the origin of any food on its shelves in just 2.2 seconds.

Before Blockchain… it took 6 days, which, during an outbreak or a food-related health scare, is a lifetime.

With Blockchain, Wal-Mart can save lives by acting quickly, as 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases each year in America alone.

That’s why food giants Unilever, Nestlé, Dole, Kroger, Tyson Foods, and McCormick are following Wal-Mart’s lead.

It is easy to see why many insiders are calling the Blockchain “the fourth industrial revolution” and “the greatest paradigm shift of our generation.”

Blockchain is going to change EVERYTHING.