Blog
Intellectual Property and the Metaverse
Amidst all the excitement about the metaverse, it's always interesting to think about what else needs to evolve; what are the second-order effects that we need to consider. There are, broadly, an interesting set of legal issues and questions that arise from the metaverse. I have written, for example, about
A “Turing Test” for Virtual Worlds
I recently read Reality+:Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy by New York University's Professor David Chalmers. It's one of the more interesting and intellectually challenging books written on what is today being characterised broadly as the "metaverse": with Chalmers using the emergence of virtual worlds as a mechanism
Interview with MEA Finance on applications of AI in financial advisory services
Originally published at https://issuu.com/meafinance/docs/september-2022/22 At the beginning of 2022, several new Robo Advisory platforms were launched in GCC, can we expect to see many more coming online in the near future? The first robo-advisors appeared in 2010 and the market has grown rapidly in
Emerging metaverse security and privacy threats
The metaverse has captured everyone's imagination – including mine – particularly as we start think through the economic and social possibilities that it can unlock. As with most things though, there are also risks and threats; and, as companies and governments think through the great potential, they should also consider potential risks.
Accellerating decentralized innovation in biotech
Most people will have heard of Moore's Law as it relates to the computer industry but there's a similar – though diametrically opposed -- law that governs the pharmacutical indusry known as Eroom's Law. Eroom's Law states that the speed of drug development declines and costs double every nine years. This
Power laws, population, and prosperity
This week, I was discussing the plans announced by the Saudi government last year to double the population of Riyadh by 2030. I mentioned, much to the apparent surprise of some of the audience, that doubling the population of the city could help make the city a much greener and
On identifying talent
There are few decisions that can have as great a positive – or negative – impact on a company or a team than hiring decisions: talent allocation is, after all, the fuel behind economic growth. As such, being able to interview well is a super-power; part art, part science but a fundamentally
Enabling uncollateralised finance in the metaverse
In finance today, there are essentially two types of lending: secured and unsecured. Secured lending is where, in return for lending you some amount, I take as collateral something that is worth the same or more as what I lent. If someone doesn't pay, then I can sell the asset
The pseudonymous economy and the metaverse
If more work and life moves into so-called metaverse, there is an opportunity reimagine notions of identity in a way that could address a number of systemic challenges we face today, particularly with respect to privacy and reputation. Today, much of our internet activity is carried out under our real
Saudi skills development as a source of economic growth
One of the topics that I have been discussing extensively with both the public and private sector since I decided to move to Saudi Arabia is the topic of building skills for the future and the how we can create "new knowledge" here; particularly around emerging technologies such as quantum,