Daily Archives: July 27, 2022

Back in May, the FBI took EminiFX founder Eddy Alexandre into custody after accusing him of fraud.

In June, the Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused his cryptocurrency company EminiFX of being a Ponzi scheme,arguing that it had cheated $59 million out of thousands of investors.

And now, according to a preliminary report, it sounds like the company made out with far more money than initially thought, collecting a staggering $250 million from around 62,000 user accounts between September 2021 and May 2022, The Washington Post reports.

It's a high-profile example of a crypto venture seemingly being exposed for what it truly is: a scam. It certainly wouldn't be the first.Still, if the allegations are true, it does stand out for its mendacity.

"This is like no other case I've followed," wrote WaPo columnist Michelle Singletary.

EminiFX promised investors returns of at least five percent a week, which should already raise innumerable red flags, using what it claimed to be a proprietary trading system that it claimed invested money on foreign exchange markets.

But investigators soon caught on to the ruse, discovering that it was most likely using funds from investors to pay other investors, a hallmark sign of a Ponzi scheme.

There was even a "multilevel marketing aspect" to EminiFX's operations, according to Singletary, rewarding those who recruit others with bonuses.

While returns remained positive every week, "I havent found any investing activity to support those returns," David Castleman, a lawyer from Raines Feldman LLP, who filed the preliminary report, told WaPo.

This is where the story gets even wilder. Many of the investors or victims are from Haiti, and are standing behind Alexandre, who was born there. A petition on Change.org has already been signed by almost 14,000 EminiFX investors.

The users saw the returns, but never opted to cash out so they could reinvest the amount for future returns, which is exactly what allows a Ponzi scheme to operate.

"Many users appear to never have withdrawn or redeemed funds," Castleman noted in a report, as quoted by WaPo.

Worse yet, Castleman found that there was no evidence that the propriety investment system even existed.

It's a devastating story that appears toillustrate an age-old lesson: if it sounds too good to be true especiallyin the chaotic world of crypto it's probably a scam.

The fact that Alexandre still has substantial support from his victims only adds to the heartbreak.

READ MORE: The FBI says it busted a big crypto Ponzi scam. It just got bigger.

More:
Shockingly, Crypto Project That Promised 5% Returns Per Week Turned Out to Be a Ponzi Scheme - Futurism

Is this a good idea?Good Yarn

It's hard to imagine a single author churning out a full-length novel every nine weeks, but that's exactly what writer Jennifer Lepp told the Verge she does constantly. To keep up with demand and make a decent living, indie novelists are cranking out books more quickly than ever before.

Lepp, whose pen name is Leanne Leeds, told the pub that she's even started using an artificial intelligence program to assist with her writing, and that it's made her faster. Now, she can fine tune sections of copy or find inspiration for a passage instead of relying on a precise spreadsheet with daily word counts goals in order to meet her impossible deadlines.

"Its just words," Lepp told the Verge. "Its my story, my characters, my world. I came up with it. So what if a computer wrote them?"

The program Lepp uses is called Sudowrite, which is built on OpenAI's GPT-3 machine learning model and which writers can try before purchasing. Like many AIs designed to create artwork in various mediums based on prompts, it takes practice and skill to get usable chunks of text users have to learn to communicate ideas with the AI, making the process something akin to a machine-human collaboration.

AI writing is controversial. One professor and writer the Verge interviewed even left social media for periods of time because of pushback against her acceptance of AI writing.

How many writers will take up AI and how it could affect book sales in the future is an unanswered question, but one thing's for sure AI storytelling is here, regardless of how we feel about it.

More on missed opportunities to adapt: NFT Guy Accidentally Spent $150K On Stupid Joke He Tried To Make

See the article here:
Authors Are Starting to Use AI to Quickly Churn Out Novels - Futurism

Image by Getty Images/Futurism

Colorado's Jason Crow, US House Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, really wants you to steer clear of DNA testing platforms.

Axios reports that the lawmaker made his feelings clear during an appearance at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday, where he urgently warned that DNA-based bioweapons, created to "target specific people" on a battlefield, are on the horizon and that private DNA-testing companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe may make them possible by selling genetic data about users.

"People will very rapidly spit into a cup and send it to 23andMe and get really interesting data about their background and guess what? Their DNA is now owned by a private company," the lawmaker reportedly claimed. "It can be sold off... with very little intellectual property protection or privacy protection, and we don't have legal and regulatory regimes that deal with that."

The ethics of genetic data have had a long and muddy past, and as the lawmaker hints, the modern legal system has struggled to keep up with rapidly evolving biotech.

And while Crow didn't appear offer much in the way of evidence for his statements, genetic profilers like the ones he called out have made headlines for alleged data abuses in the past. Like Facebook's many data controversies, several of these organizations exploded in popularity before any legal precedent or even social norm for the use of such data were established, and some extremely questionable behavior followed suit.

It's also worth noting that given the popularity of these platforms, it's quite difficult to opt out even if you don't choose to partake, your relatives might, which can have some pretty revealing consequences for just about anyone in the family tree.

Still, whether these terrifying weapons are genuinely in development, the lawmaker's claims are cause to more deeply examine our relationship to our most personal data which, as Crow additionally warned, are already perhaps too lax.

"You can't have a discussion about this without talking about privacy and the protection of commercial data because expectations of privacy have degraded over the last 20 years," said the rep, according to Fox News. "Young folks actually have very little expectation of privacy, that's what the polling and the data show."

Crow's comments are certainly unsettling. In truth, there's only so much we can do, but it's true that data protection especially when it comes to information so incredibly personal is always something that deserves our attention. It's easy to get jaded, but we implore you: read the fine print.

READ MORE: Biological weapons could target DNA, food supply, two U.S. lawmakers say [Axios]

Originally posted here:
House Rep Worried 23andMe Will Lead to Bioweapons That Kill Specific People Based on DNA - Futurism

Russian space corporation Roscosmos has finally formally announced that it's abandoning the International Space Station but it's keeping details extraordinarily vague, simply saying it'll leave at some point "after 2024."

That's at least in part because Russia is planning to build its own space station. The country's invasion of Ukraine has also only served to accelerate the severing of its ties with the international space community.

The news also comes just two weeks after former deputy prime minister Yuri Borisov took over as the head of Roscosmos, replacing embattled and outspoken warmonger Dmitri Rogozin.

"Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision about withdrawing from the station after 2024 has been made," Borisov said during a meeting with president Vladimir Putin, as quoted by Reuters. "I think that by that time we will start forming a Russian orbiting station."

Putin reportedly responded with "good."

"Asked for clarification on Russia's space station plans," Reuters space reporter Joey Roulette tweeted, "a Roscosmos spokeswoman referred Reuters to Borisov's remarks without saying whether it represented the agency's official position."

One valid reading is that Russia's latest edict is intentionally vague.In many ways, we still have no idea when the country will leave the station as "after 2024" leaves open plenty of other interpretations.

Meanwhile, NASA is still planning on keeping ISS operations running with its international partners until at least 2030.

"The withdrawal will take some time," Russian military and space analyst Pavel Luzin told The New York Times. "Most likely, we need to interpret this as Russias refusal to extend the stations operation up until 2030."

What makes matters even more awkward is that NASA director for the ISS Robyn Gates confirmed to Reuters that she had yet to hear from her Russian counterparts.

"Nothing official yet," Gatens told Reuters. "We literally just saw that as well. We haven't gotten anything official."

In fact, Borisov's comments come at the same time that NASA's space partners are convening at this week's International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC).

It's not the first time Roscosmos has threatened the future of the ISS. Last year, Roscosmos sources confirmed that it had started the long process of disengaging from the orbital outpost.

But this time the tone is at least somewhat different, according to experts.

"This is more official than previous statements," Ars Technica senior space editor Eric Berger tweeted. "It also provides time to NASA and its international and commercial partners to prepare the US side to fly on its own."

Right now, Russia "provides all of the propulsion for International Space Station used for station reboost, attitude control, debris avoidance maneuvers and eventual de-orbit operations," according to a March FAQ on NASA's website.

Meanwhile, the US provides power via the station's solar arrays and some of the life support systems.

That means that if Russia goes through with the pullout, NASA will have the daunting task of devising ways of keeping the aging station in orbit on its own without Russian boosters.

At least the space agency has a way to shuttle astronauts to and from the station without relying on Russian spacecraft, thanks to SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.

Industry players are certainly paying attention. During a panel at the ISSRDC, Mike Gold, executive vice president of US aerospace corporation Redwire, argued this morning that NASA should use the opportunity to increase commercial activities on board the aging outpost.

All told, the future of the ISS is as uncertain as ever. While NASA has pledged to keep operations going for the next eight years, its biggest partner is ready to call it quits much sooner than that.

READ MORE: Russia has not signaled space station withdrawal to NASA, U.S. official says [Reuters]

More on the ISS: NASA Seeks Funding to Send Scientists to Space Station

Continue reading here:
Russia Says It's Definitely Quitting the ISS But Doesn't Say When Exactly - Futurism

The black-hulled XV Patrick Blackett sailed into the citys harbour this afternoon, ahead of a formal naming ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base on Friday.

The vessel will join the Senior Services NavyX team, which aims fast-track the development of cutting-edge tech from the laboratory and into the hands of sailors.

Not much is known about exactly how the vessel will be used. However, she has been designated as a dedicated experimentation ship and is expected to make her seafaring debut in autumn.

The ship is named after a renowned British experimental physicist known for his work on cloud chambers and cosmic rays, winning the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1948.

Patrick Blackett was also a veteran of the Royal Navy, serving in the First World War. During the Second World War he a scientific adviser to Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Pile, commander in chief of anti-aircraft command.

He then became the director of operation research with the admiralty, from 1942 to 1945, with his research helping to directly improve the survival odds of convoys and bombers.

Taking to Twitter, Rear Admiral James Parkin said: Having fought in World War 1 as a naval officer, in World War 2 he was critical to the UKs war efforts as an eminent scientific advisor, developing ideas on subjects as diverse as convoy protection, anti-aircraft defences, and the futility of strategic bombing.

Although not a household name today, Patrick Blackett has a crater on the moon named after him, as well as a lecture theatre and hall at @ManchesterUniv and a laboratory at @imperialcollege, and a Blue Plaque was unveiled at his house in 2016.

However, the @RoyalNavy has not, until now, found an appropriate way to honour a man who did so much for his nation, and the world. Which is why Im thrilled the Experimental Vessel (XV) Patrick Blackett will arrive into @HMNBPortsmouth.

XV Patrick Blackett will be formally named on Friday, after which a process will take place to train her new crew, transfer her on to the Defence Shipping Register, etc. Then, in the autumn, the ship will go to sea as the @RNNavyX dedicated experimentation ship.

Go here to see the original:
The Royal Navy's new dedicated experimentation ship has arrived in Portsmouth for the first time - Portsmouth News

For over a decade, Shavone Charles has always put her people first as a Black woman and Black leader in tech. After penetrating some of the worlds most influential spaces, Charles is now the Head of D&I Communications, the first role of its kind, at the wildly popular video-based social media app, TikTok. But no matter which space she occupies, her success has been the direct result of her curiosity and commitment to her community.

Charles resume is a vision board of Silicon Valleys biggest companies. In 2014, she was named Head of Global Music and Culture Communications at Twitter, where she also helped found the Black employee resource group, Blackbird. The following year, she became Instagrams first music and youth culture hire, creating the companys first Black History Month program and launching major initiatives including #CelebrateBlackCreatives and the #BlackGirlMagic partnership with Spotify. During her two-year stint at VSCO, she spearheaded the #BlackJoyMatters campaign as the director of communications before taking her talents to TikTok. She also formed her own creative collective and in-house agency, Future of Creatives and Magic in Her Melanin, to continue opening doors for creatives of color.

During her formative years, the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree says there was no blueprint for a career in tech she could follow or any kind of foreshadowing for her successful future. She remembers that social media was limited to smartphones (remember Sidekicks?), America Online, AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace. Facebook was also fairly new by the time she left college. When I was in high school, the jobs that Ive held now didnt even exist, she says. The platforms werent even around.

Once in college, the self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate creative, had a vague idea of her career path. She was an English literature major at the University of California, Merced and pursued many passions including writing, music, arts and media. As a child, Charles loved learning and recalls locking herself in a bathroom to read books from literary icons like Langston Hughes, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson.

Im always a student and Ive always been a sponge for knowledge. Ive found my voice in leaders, women, writers and authors, whove helped shape the way I think about the world, the way I talk, everything that I am, she says. We are all a byproduct of what we consume.

With a deep love for hip-hop, Charles is also a classically-trained flutist and a respected MC herself. In 2021, Charles, whose artist name is SHAVONE., racked up 178,000-plus streams on Spotify with her lyrical offerings Sheryl Swoopes and 4C, per her Spotify Wrapped. She cites Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Tupac Shakur and JAY-Z among her sources of inspiration. Im a huge fan of multi-hyphenate creatives, she says. People who just refuse to be caged into whatever you expect them to be doing.

It wasnt until an internship for Google in 2011 that tech became a part of her brand. Charles secured communications-based internships at various places like BET Networks and Capitol Hill before working at Googles campus (also known as the Googleplex) in Mountain View, California, as part of the BOLD (Build Opportunities for Leadership & Development) program for undergraduates. She contributed to a variety of projects including Google Plus and other products, giving her a birds eye view of the industry. I saw early on that tech would be the nucleus and it is of all these industries politics, government entertainment, music, fashion. What motivated me to go into tech was just the expansiveness of it, the speed at which it moves, and the flexibility in being able to work on different topics and work across all verticals that I really care a lot about.

For Charles, working hard is hereditary. Her parents were self-made entrepreneurs. Her mother owned a hair salon for 30 years, while her father ran his own Chicken Shack food truck and restaurant in San Diego. The latter also did community work, including gang prevention. Offering a deeper dive into the family history, Charles also acknowledges her grandmother, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and her grandfather, who escaped poverty from Trinidad and Tobago to arrive in the US and join the Navy, an example of just defying odds and not being a victim of circumstance.

Her familys values were instilled in her at an early age. While in high school, Charles spent her free time, helping out with the family businesses and immersing herself in the San Diego community, a goal that remains constant to this day. By nature, youre already thinking community-first in everything that you do, she says thoughtfully. [My familys] influence has definitely shaped my approach in trying to lift those around me, even as Im rising, and [has shown me] the importance of taking care of your people and making sure that access and equity exists for us in whatever space were in, whether it be a rec center, an office, the runway or media. Its important to have that accountability every step of the way.

That mentality could also be applied to the tech sector. While companies have been ramping up diversity and inclusion efforts, the number of Black tech employees has been slow to grow. Despite making up 13% of the workforce, Black professionals represent 4.4% of board roles, 3.7% of those in technical roles, and just 4.0% of those in executive leadership, according to a 2022 report from The Kapor Center and the NAACP.

As for people of color currently employed at tech companies, coming as you are can be a major struggle. Theres always the push and pull of bringing your whole self to work and feeling like you have to choose or compromise yourself to thrive in a certain area, a certain lane or a certain industry, Charles says. Its not easy and its a constant tug of war. Her north star: Fearlessly fighting for her purpose and community.

She also asserts that creating change isnt just her job, but a shared responsibility. I think its collective accountability. Yes, Im the head of Diversity and Inclusion Communications at TikTok, but Ive been doing this work in this space since the very early days [of tech]. When I went to Twitter, it was a small startup company. Whether its in my job title or not, Ive been doing it for a long time. It starts with the space that you take up, holding yourself and people around you accountable. The second part is collectively looking around and making sure your room is diverse. I think the closer we can get to having our boardrooms, offices, work spaces, communities and the decision makers around us be representative of the users were serving, that is how you bridge the gaps.

This November, Charles will spread her message even further when she releases her debut book, The Black Internet Effect, via Penguin Random House Books and the Pocket Change Collective. A strong advocate of knowledge-sharing, Charles gets candid about her experiences rising through the ranks in tech. She describes the book as a manifesto to help underrepresented creatives and creators consider the possibility of a career in the tech industry.

The title is also a raised fist to the influence and power of Black people on the internet and culture. Everything you love about the internet, your social apps, culture and online is the Black internet effect, she explains. Charles says she has also seen the data to prove it. I realized the power of Black Twitter in my early days at Twitter. Before the world acknowledged it, it was evident. I looked at the data, worked alongside engineers to look at source trends and looked at the way trends took off all around the world on the platform and looked at the offline effects of the online things that have happened and continue to transcend culture. Black internet effect is just self-explanatory in thinking about Black culture and Black people, and the profound impact that we have on the internet, but also the effect of that in everyday life and everyday culture.

Beyond publishing the book she had written over the pandemic, Charles is also growing her creative collectives, Future of Creatives and Magic in Her Melanin. As platforms for underrepresented creatives and women to tell their stories and build community, she describes the organizations as an evolution of so many of my passions, interests and network.

With the goal of creating more resources and access for people of color across disciplines, Charles looks to grow FoC into a membership-focused organization with a newsletter, community programming and events for creative minds to connect and share opportunities. While the collective is still in its building phase, Charles will continue to scale it virtually and connect the dots in real life.

As for her role at TikTok, Charles keeps a tight lip on specific projects but is generous with her gems. She champions authenticity for people to find their tribe online and stresses the importance of making sure the internet is an inclusive and safe space for all.

Her two biggest pieces of advice to creators: Lean into what youre passionate about and define your own criteria for what success looks like for you. Being in a very social media, internet-first age, people can get lost in the idea of perception, she says. People wanna see everyday content. People wanna see the blurry video of you and your nephew singing Mariah Carey in the back seat. People wanna see real things in real life. Right now, authenticity is resonating more than any other kind of vertical or aspect of content.

As someone who is always on and online, Charles also believes in the power of self-care and mental health. I feel like Im a better teammate, a better collaborator at work, if Im serving my creative needs and doing my community work, says Charles, who admits finding balance requires constant juggling. Im a better musician and artist if Im in tune with my family, locked into the culture, on TikTok, working, understanding new things and new ideas You dont have to make time because your time is being spent serving your passions and what you care about.

But even Charles knows that you cant be what you cant see. She hopes her story and mission will empower people of color and equip them with the tools they need to succeed. Its important for us to be seen and for young people to know that you can chart your own path. You dont have to confine yourself to what people expect you to do or want you to be, Charles says. You can show up as yourself and win.

Credits:

Photography: Dante Marshall

Styling: Ayanna James

Make Up: Nimai Marsden

Hair: Fesa Nu

See the rest here:
TikTok Executive, Shavone Charles, Merges The Creative Worlds Of Music, Style And Tech With A Futuristic Flair - Vibe

Photo : IANS

The trailer is strung together with a lyrical motif of Bob Marley's ageless 'No woman, no cry', moving between riveting images of Wakanda's aquatic environments, futuristic technology and what appears to be a funeral with crowds of Wakandans dressed in white.

"I am Queen of the most powerful nation in the world, and my entire family is gone," Angela Bassett's Ramonda declares, according to 'Variety'.

A question lingers over the trailer: who will take on the mantle of the Black Panther? A figure is seen in the hero's suit at the end of the trailer, though it isn't clarified who is in the costume.

This trailer included a nod to Boseman. His image, as 'The Direct' notes, came on a piece of art in the streets of Wakanda, helping the people remember their fallen king:

Coogler also introduced 'Black Panther' stars Lupita Nyong'o, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba and Winston Duke on the Comic-Con stage, and then declared: "It's a labor of love, and I have so much gratitude to be a part of it and be able to share it with you."

The trailer is strung together with a lyrical motif of Bob Marley's ageless 'No woman, no cry', moving between riveting images of Wakanda's aquatic environments, futuristic technology and what appears to be a funeral with crowds of Wakandans dressed in white.

See original here:
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer OUT! A whirlwind of futuristic technology and emotions - Zoom TV