It might seem strange that the most recent Samsung flagship phablet you could actually buy is the Galaxy Note 5, which debuted way back in August 2015. But the Note 6 never existed (Samsung skipped that number when jumping to the Note 7), and despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to fix its exploding batteries, the Note 7 was killed and pulled from stores last year, which left a gaping 15cm hole atop Samsung's phone lineup. If I were a Note fanboy, I'd be pissed about the sad series of events that has resulted in a year wasted.
So now, Samsung is looking to make up for past mistakes with the new Galaxy Note 8, which borrows much of its styling and design cues from Galaxy S8, enhances the traditional productivity features found on Note phones, and follows other great phones by finally introducing Samsung's first ever dual-camera module. And yes, the Note 8's rear fingerprint sensor is located to the right of the camera, and no, it's not actually that big of a deal.
At 15cm across, the Note 8's 18.5:9 display is now bigger than ever. In fact, it's got more screen real estate than pretty much anything else on the market, while retaining the almost non-existent bezels we got on the S8's Infinity display.
But around back is where Samsung is pulling out the big guns, and this time, they are double barreled. While the dual-camera module looks a little clunky thanks to the black shroud covering the whole affair, the specs can't be denied. The Note 8 comes with a standard 12-megapixel f/1.7 camera and a secondary 12-MP f/2.4 camera with a longer focal length, which is a 2x zoom of the main camera. This puts the Note 8 on the same playing field zoom-wise as the iPhone 7 Plus and Huawei P10, but it's the presence of optical image stabilisation (OIS) on both standard and zoom lenses that could give Samsung the edge. OIS on the rear camera means you don't have to worry as much about camera shake, which is something that becomes more pronounced the more you zoom, and frankly, it's an innovation I'm surprised other companies hadn't implemented already.
The other potential big camera improvement comes in the form of Samsung's new Live Focus mode, which uses a bit of camera trickery to capture images using both lenses at the same time. This should allow you to tweak how much blur or sharpness shows up in your photos, and it can be adjusted both in real-time or way later in post-production. Samsung says Live Focus mode will even let you combine both the standard field of view and zoom lens perspective into a single shot. This opens up the possibility to create a photo that has the great breadth of scenery from a wide angle lens and the good looks on a single subject you'd get with a portrait lens. The only real cost is slightly larger file sizes, which generally weigh in between 15MB and 20MB.
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Inside, the Note 8's Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is already as fast as it gets this side of the Android/iOS divide, so Samsung dropped in an extra 2GB of memory, which brings the total to a whopping 6GB. And to take advantage of all that RAM, Samsung has added a new App Pair feature. This lets users pick and choose two apps and assign them to a single icon, so that a single tap will automatically open both apps simultaneously in dual-window mode. Imagine all the beet-faced CEOs rushing from meeting to meeting lighten up just a bit when they realise they can dig out addresses from a calendar while looking for directions in Google Maps without switching back and forth between apps.
My one big concern is that the Note 8's battery stands at just 3,300 mAh, which is smaller than the power pack in the Galaxy S8+. And while Samsung might try to spin some nonsense about the Note 8 still having all day battery life (we'll know for sure when we review it), if Samsung is truly looking to cater to bleeding edge enthusiasts, it should have have found a way to at least keep battery capacities the same. In fairness, following last year's battery fire crisis, Samsung might be playing it safe with a smaller battery.
The Note 8 will be available initially in two colours (black and orchid grey), with pre-orders live now and shipments going out on September 22. Pricing starts at a whopping $1499 unlocked (carrier pricing may vary).
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As e-commerce systems and technology become increasingly sophisticated, private equity firms are looking to invest in the cashless future of retail. LONDON, United Kingdom– Private equity firms, sitting on record piles of cash, are targeting a geeky corner of the online shopping industry as the next frontier in the hunt for returns. Payment-processing companies, which make the technology that enables web and mobile purchases, are getting a flurry of investments this year as buyers look for ways to profit from the shift to online spending. Buyout firms see the market as fragmented and ripe for consolidation. It’s also a key part of online retail, an industry that’s growing rapidly. Retail e-commerce sales rose 23 percent in the past year through June to $2.29 trillion, according to researcher EMarketer Inc. The firm predicts online shopping will account for more than 16 percent of total retail sales globally by 2021, hitting $4.48 trillion. “Our view is that status-quo is not an option in payments today,” said Jeff Paduch, managing director at Advent International. “Regulation and technology are driving marketplace change and lowering barriers to entry and creating more competition. It has never been easier to enter and build scale in payments.” Spending on deals for internet financial services firms have surged more than seven fold in the last 12 months through Tuesday and 2017 is already the busiest year for deals in the industry in more than a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“We are only halfway through a consolidation in the industry that will take years to play out,” Paduch said. It isn’t only private equity firms seeking deals. US payment processing firm Vantiv Inc. agreed to acquire Worldpay Group Plc, an e-commerce payments company, for about £8 billion ($10.4 billion), the companies said in a statement Wednesday. Ingenico Group SA reached a deal for Bambora AB for €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) last month, and Global Payments Inc. agreed on Thursday to buy units of Active Network from Vista Equity Partners for $1.2 billion in cash and stock. Private equity’s interest in the burgeoning industry marks a shift for many buyout shops more accustomed to making money revamping staid consumer brands than investing in innovation. These firms are sitting on record amounts of so-called dry powder, money they’ve raised from investors and haven’t deployed, thanks to high levels of liquidity and relatively few attractive takeover targets. That’s pushed more of these companies to look for new places to earn their returns. “Growth and change in the industry is being driven by evolving technology and customer requirements,” said Luca Bassi, managing director at Bain Capital. The sector has low barriers to entry which allows new “challengers” to enter the market. Private equity firms can provide strategic assistance and investment, he said. Dry powder reached $1.4 trillion at the end of last year, the highest level since at least 2007, according to data from Preqin. That number rose to $1.6 trillion in August, the alternative asset data firm said. Consumers are using cash less and less, relying instead on debit and credit cards and payment details stored online, according to the 2017 World Payments Report from Capgemini SE and BNP Paribas SA. Non-cash transactions grew 11 percent globally from 2014 to 2015, the highest growth in a decade. “Mobile proximity” payments from mobile wallets, which store card and payment details for customers on smartphones, are expected to grow to $53 billion in 2019 from $3 billion in 2013, according to the report. The trend will be helped along by changes to regulations that encourage different payment systems to work together as well as improving security that gives customers confidence that their financial details will be kept safe, the report said. “Electronic payments sits on the right side of history,” Advent’s Paduch said. “Nonetheless, there are plenty of issues facing the market including increasing competition, regulation, disruption and the need for constant investment in technology to drive innovation.” Source: BOF
But, would you believe that other disruptors are already gearing up, too? Say hello to Instacart, Uber EATS and Google Shopping Express.
This summer, a group of Democrats in Congress urged the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a review of Amazon's plan to buy Whole Foods. The lawmakers asked that the review include consideration of what effect the $13.7 billion deal might have on our access to healthy foods.
This may seem like an overreaction to a deal that Wall Street analysts say will have no significant immediate impact on Amazon's overall valuation. However, an examination of the deal within the context of Amazon's strategy starts to paint a picture of an industry on the brink of a massive disruption.
The nature of that disruption? It's clear Amazon is not merely expanding into the grocery business, but is seeking to fundamentally change the way we buy and receive our food. Amazon's pursuit of value vacancies If you define Amazon's market as the home delivery of products, goods and services, how does this acquisition fit the company's strategy? Simply put, by purchasing Whole Foods, Amazon is pursuing a value vacancy, or market opportunity that can be exploited through a digitally enabled business model. Value vacancies, as defined in "Digital Vortex: How Today's Market Leaders Can Beat Disruptive Competitors at Their Own Game," are those categories in which the competition hasn't caught up to opportunity. Amazon has exploited these opportunities time and time again in publishing, apparel and sporting goods -- with well-documented success. Now, the groceries segment, too, has fallen squarely into Amazon's crosshairs.
In the grocery industry, competition is lagging while the size of the opportunity is immense -- potentially $668 billion, according to some estimates. Consumers are able to go online and click once or twice to order everything from clothes to cars, but a vast majority still drive to stores, navigate crowded aisles to find items and then stand in line to pay for their food.
On the other end of the value chain, grocers -- the middle men between food producers and consumers -- must establish and service chains of stores nationwide. This system is hardly the most convenient or economical, and that makes it ripe for digital disruption. While groceries are not new to Amazon, this particular acquisition is the company's first significant investment in the industry. In spite of Amazon Fresh, groceries is one of the last large retail sectors where Amazon does not have a significant share. At the same time, the food-delivery market represents a significant revenue opportunity. According to a recent research by Morgan Stanley, the delivery market could reach a value of $210 billion annually in the long term, rising dramatically from around $11 billion today. A report by Whole Foods itself shows that online ordering represents less than 1 percent of the company's current revenue. This is probably true for the retail grocery sector overall, meaning that the market is still nascent and fragmented, with no established business value model. Why Whole Foods? The most limiting challenge to date for home delivery of groceries has been the ability to deliver perishable foods quickly. However, the short shelf life of fresh food is a competitive advantage for a leader in fast delivery. Amazon, through its logistical expertise, has been able to dramatically reduce delivery time over its competitors'. However, quicker delivery is still needed to make online food shopping a reality and one-day delivery remains an exception. To achieve this, Amazon needs a presence closer to its customers. And Whole Foods fills that vacuum. Its hundreds of stores offer a hyper-local presence in areas with the highest density of high net worth individuals. This high-end positioning is the best fit in the industry for Amazon's pursuit of consumers with discretionary income.
What can Amazon bring to the industry?
Amazon has made its fortune by selling products at prices most competitors can't match while driving revenue through membership programs and other services. In essence, Amazon doesn't have to operate at a profit as others in the industry do. If Amazon operates the fresh groceries business at a very low margin, while driving profitability through its Prime membership and cash from other areas, many grocery chains won't be able to compete. This model has been proven elsewhere in the grocery industry through membership-only warehouse clubs. Costco, the largest of such retailers, extends deep savings on bulk items to its members, deriving most of its revenue from annual membership fees. In fact, in 2017, membership fees accounted for 73 percent of the company's operating income. In addition to this advantage in cost savings, Amazon can also provide customers with an unparalleled shopping experience. Those who have been to a grocery store the day before a holiday have likely felt the pain of a business competing primarily on cost rather than experience. Stores offer promotional prices to lure as many customers into the building as possible, but pay little mind to how the customer feels when inside. Amazon will not only save the post-deal customer time; it will be able to apply its established services of automated checkout and "intelligent shopping." Further, Amazon will maximize the spend of customers in a way brick and mortar retailers are simply unable to do. This will be possible through use of its analytics capabilities, to predict just what customers will need plus its one-click replenishment through its Dash Buttons, and its ability to suggest additional, complementary products. Time is of the essence. Amazon's unique model and position in the marketplace afford it many advantages in entering the grocery industry. However, the behemoth must act quickly to maximize the value it gets from the acquisition. Value vacancies like this one are notoriously fleeting. Disruptors will soon attack any profitable new market, so companies must win them and maximize revenue and profit margin while they can. Competitive players are already experimenting and growing their revenue in this area: Instacart, Uber EATS and Google Shopping Express are all disruptive players in the market that could pose a competitive threat if they establish leadership in this segment before Amazon does. Amazon appears to be taking this threat seriously, though, with rumblings of more acquisitions planned in the grocery industry. Supermarkets with membership business models similar to that of Prime will be able to help an Amazon-fueled Whole foods expand on a private label brand. They'll provide more brick and mortar bases from which to improve delivery times. Although all this is just speculation right now, one thing is certain: Amazon is not nearly done with its plans to reshape how we buy food.
Netflix doesn’t need Millarworld’s superheroes to save it, but it can’t hurt.
When it comes to innovation, Netflix doesn't need saving. But it did just recruit some superheroes to help boost its business. Earlier this week, the video-on-demand and streaming service announced that it was purchasing comic-book publisher Millarworld. That's Netflix's first acquisition in its 20-year history. The deal allows Netflix, which is still operated by co-founder Reed Hastings, to continue expanding its portfolio of original content.
A new strategy that's paying off
The acquisition could be a smart move for Netflix and Hastings. The company once relied purely on licensing TV shows and movies from studios. Now, it has shifted to original content, a strategy that decreases its dependency on outside sources. Shows like Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, and House of Cards have spurred cult-like followings (5.2 million users were added in the last quarter), controversies, and parodies of American politics. But more importantly, it gives Netflix more opportunities to hold intellectual property rights. It's not just the fans who enjoy the original shows; Netflix scooped 91 Emmy nominations this year, and with praise like that, its unlikely the company will slow down efforts to create more content.
The drawbacks of Netflix's innovations
Netflix, which was co-founded by Hastings and Marc Randolph, has transformed from an online movie rental business into a giant content generator since it was launched in 1997. Just two years after its inception, Netflix began offering unlimited streaming. It went public in 2002 and continued to reinvent itself while other video rental services like Blockbuster got crushed by the cord-cutting phenomenon. But Netflix's massive growth has come with consequences. The company recently reported updated long-term debt of about $4.8 billion, most of which has been generated from the its burgeoning portfolio of original content, according to the most recent quarterly earnings call in July. Hastings tried to ease investor concerns by explaining that the high spending is result of its success. "The irony is the faster that we grow--and the faster we grow the [Netflix-]owned originals--the more drawn on free cash flow that will be," Hastings said during the call. "So, in some senses, that negative free cash flow will be an indicator of enormous success." Get ready for more original content, and no Disney In the last several years, Netflix has followed the blockbuster trend of making comic book superheroes the subject of its original programming. The company is gearing up for its August 18 premiere The Defenders, a series that brings together TV characters like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. While its gaining superheroes, its also losing Mickey Mouse. Disney announced on Tuesday that it will end its partnership with Netflix in 2019. Disney plans to launch its own ESPN-branded streaming service next year, and a separate Disney-branded platform in 2019. The new service will be the only source where viewers can watch Disney programing, which was once a popular option on Netflix. [BEIJING] Shares in Wanda Hotel, a Hong Kong-listed arm of troubled Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, soared Thursday after it announced plans to buy more than US$1 billion in assets from firms controlled by group chairman Wang Jianlin. The major restructuring plan will see Wanda Hotel Development acquire Wanda Travel - which is focused on theme parks - for 6.3 billion yuan (S$1.29 billion), and Wanda Hotel Management for 750 million yuan (S$153 million). The group has diversified rapidly in recent years from commercial property into entertainment, theme parks, sports and other sectors, and is now reportedly facing difficulty paying off debts run up in the wake of the series of massive, high-profile foreign acquisitions. Wanda Hotel stock was up more than 20 per cent Thursday morning at HKD 1.41 following the restructuring announcement. The moves are the latest in a wider shake-up of Wang's Dalian Wanda Group now under scrutiny by Chinese authorities. Last month, Dalian Wanda announced it was selling off 76 hotels and nearly of all its holdings in 13 other tourism-related projects to developer Sunac China Holdings for US$9.3 billion in what Bloomberg News said was China's largest-ever property deal. It was reported in July authorities plan to squeeze the conglomerate by cutting off new loans and regulatory approvals for deals, in a punishment for breaching restrictions on overseas investments. The regulatory retaliation marks a major setback for the company that was among the most aggressive players in a flood of acquisitions around the world by Chinese companies.
A spokesperson for Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group said Thursday as part of the restructuring, Wanda Hotel would also dispose of its interests in four overseas property projects to Dalian Wanda Commercial. "Wanda Hotel Development will become a strategic platform as Wanda Group's Hong Kong-listed company focusing on theme park and hotel operation and management," the group said in a statement. The Floating Seahorse Signature Edition Designed especially for you, The Signature Edition of The Floating Seahorse is fully customised and personalised to suit your individual style and taste. Inspired by the true meaning of a signature, each Floating Seahorse will be bespoke and distinctive. You can select from a variety of different premium quality finishes ranging from flooring to kitchens and bathrooms. What’s more, the interiors can also be tailored to meet your individual requirements Larger than its predecessors, The Signature Edition of The Floating Seahorse is designed especially for families with children and groups. Spanning just over 4,000 square feet across three levels, each Floating Seahorse will be home to unique special features, state-of-the-art technology and outdoor climate controlled areas. With four flexi living / sleeping areas, The Signature Edition offers excellent versatility whereby each level can be adapted to suit individual needs. The Floating Seahorse can also be customised to ensure the ultimate in privacy by fully enclosing the outdoor areas at sea level and on the upper deck.
SINGAPORE (Aug 7): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has much to crow about as it marks its 50th anniversary: economic and social progress, a manufacturing powerhouse and relative political stability.
The 10 Asean members boast of some of the world’s fastest expanding economies like the Philippines and Vietnam, with growth rates of more than 6%. With a combined population of over 620 million and an economy of US$2.6 trillion, the investment potential is huge and by 2020, the region will have the world’s fifth largest economy, the World Economic Forum predicts.
Yet the goal of integrated economies remains a long way off. Businesses still face restrictions despite a 2015 blueprint mapping steps to eliminate trade barriers and create a single market to allow the free flow of goods, services and labor.
Diverse political regimes from a democracy in Indonesia to a military junta in Thailand to communist governments in Laos and Vietnam present barriers to closer ties. Issues such as competing claims over parts of the South China Sea have also fueled discord. “It’s always individual first and Asean next,” said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB Private Banking in Singapore, who has covered the region for more than two decades. Established in 1967 in Bangkok, the five founding members — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — set up Asean to boost economic growth and promote peace. Since then, they’ve transformed from largely poor and agricultural nations into production hubs of products from cars to mobile phones.
The following charts outline the Asean economy five decades on:
Economic Outlook Gross domestic product in Asean has surged to US$2.6 trillion in 2016, about the size of UK’s economy, from a mere US$37.6 billion in 1970. Growth in Asean is seen at 4.9% next year, with Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines posting the fastest expansion in the region, according to BMI Research. Trade Many of the bigger Asean members like Singapore are heavily export-reliant, making them dependent on the global growth cycle. Southeast Asia has emerged as a strong manufacturing alternative to neighboring China, helped by lower labor costs, growing domestic demand and improvements in infrastructure.
Trade among Asean members remains low compared to regional groupings like the EU, according to Capital Economics Ltd. Intra-regional trade makes up about a fifth of total trade, compared with more than 60% in the EU. Non-tariff barriers are still high among members, especially in Indonesia, Gareth Leather, a senior Asia economist in London, said in a note.
Investment Many countries in the region are enjoying the benefits of a demographic dividend. While the likes of China, Japan and Hong Kong have all seen a contraction in their workforces since 2015, Southeast Asia will see its working-age population expand through 2020, Nomura Holdings Inc estimates show. The region’s strong growth outlook is luring more investment. Coca-Cola Co is expanding in Vietnam and in Myanmar while Apple Inc is building research centers in Indonesia. What is hot in China's venture capital land nowadays besides artificial intelligence? The answer: autonomous driving. Back in 2015, when the Chinese government issued its China 2025 blueprint, it named autonomous driving as a key sector for the nation's technological and economic future. VCs have responded by crowding into the sector. Over the past ten months, Chinese investors have made eight major deals worth over US$280 million, according to data from China Money Network. VCs are backing an industry that will see significant growth over the next few years. The Chinese intelligent driving industry is estimated to reach RMB121 billion (US$17 billion) by 2020, according to Chinese research firm Analysys. Besides venture capitalists, the biggest investors in the sector are the so-called BATs: Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. In fact, the biggest deal on the list was when Baidu Inc. teamed up with Ford Motor Co. in August 2016 to invest a combined US$150 million in Velodyne LiDAR, Inc., a supplier of technology that lets self-driving cars see and avoid what’s around them. The BATs are also investing hundreds of millions of RMB into their own autonomous driving business units, which they see as an important data platform and distribution channel in the future. Baidu, the most active of the three, established its autonomous driving business in 2013. Alibaba established a US$161 million Internet of Cars Fund with SAIC Motor Co Ltd. two years later, and also set up its own autonomous driving unit that same year. Tencent, always the follower in its pursuit of emerging technologies, established its automobile business department last year, and acquired a 5% stake in U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla, from which it hopes to gain insights into the future of transportation. Here are the eight major deals done by Chinese investors in the autonomous driving space during the past 10 months. June 2017: Shunwei Capital joined a RMB100 million (US$14 million) series A round in AI-Drive, a Chinese autonomous driving solutions provider focused on unmanned logistics and unmanned aerial lift vehicles. May 2017: GSR Ventures joined a US$25 million series A round in DeepMap Inc, a U.S.-based start-up co-founded by a Chinese engineer, developing high-definition maps for autonomous cars to navigate in complex and unpredictable conditions. May 2017: Pagoda Investment led a RMB110 million (US$16 million) series A round in Hesai, a Shanghai-based company developing smart sensing solutions for autonomous cars and natural gas leak detection systems. May 2017: Hangzhou-based chip maker Canaan raised RMB300 million (US$43 million) in a series A round from a number of investors including Chinese hotel operator Jin Jiang International Group Co., Ltd., Chinese investment firms Baopu Asset Management Co. Ltd. and Tunlan Investment. April 2017: Baidu acquired xPerception, a U.S. technology company, providing visual perception software and hardware solutions for a range of applications, including robotics, virtual reality (VR), and devices for people who are visually impaired, in order to push the development of augmented reality (AR), autonomous driving, and artificial intelligence-based products. March 2017: Alibaba invested US$18 million in WayRay, a Swiss holographic augmented reality company developing AR-enabled car navigation systems for Internet-connected vehicles. February 2017: Legend Capital led a RMB100 million (US$14 million) series B round in Chinese self-driving tech firm Zongmu Technology, which develops advanced driver assistance systems, including 2D and 3D panoramic vision system, self-parking solutions, and driving recording systems. August 2016: Baidu Inc. and Ford Motor Company invested a combined US$150 million in Velodyne LiDAR, Inc., a supplier of technology that lets self-driving cars see and avoid what’s around them. There were also some early-stage deals worth noting: December 2016: An incubator under JD Finance backed Hangzhou-based bike and self-driving car start-up Notebike to jointly develop an autonomous vehicle specifically designed for goods delivery. June 2017: Northern Light Venture Capital and Legend Star entered the industry by participating in an angel round worth tens of million of RMB in advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving technology developer Qingzhi Technology. Facebook has been working on artificial intelligence that claims to be great at negotiating, makes up its own language and learns to lie. OMG! Facebook must be building an AI Trump! “Art of the deal. Biggest crowd ever. Cofveve. Beep-beep!” This AI experiment comes out of a lab called Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research. It recently announced breakthrough chatbot software that can ruthlessly negotiate with other software or directly with humans. Research like that usually gets about as much media attention as a high school math bee, but the FAIR project points toward a bunch of intriguing near-term possibilities for AI while raising some creepy concerns—like whether it will be kosher for a bot to pretend it is human once bots get so good you can’t tell whether they’re code or carbon. Tech & Science Emails and Alerts - Get the best of Newsweek Tech & Science delivered to your inbox AI researchers around the world have been working on many of the complex aspects of negotiation because it is so important to technology’s future. One of the long-held dreams for AI, for example, is that we’ll all have personal bot-agents we can send out into the internet to do stuff for us, like make travel reservations or find a good plumber. Nobody wants a passive agent that pays retail. You want a deal. Which means you want a badass bot. There are so many people working on negotiating AI bots that they even have their own Olympics—the Eighth International Automated Negotiating Agents Competition gets underway in mid-August in Melbourne, Australia. One of the goals is “to encourage design of practical negotiation agents that can proficiently negotiate against unknown opponents in a variety of circumstances.” One of the “leagues” in the competition is a Diplomacy Strategy Game. AI programmers are anticipating the day when our bot wrangles with Kim Jong Un’s bot over the fate of the planet while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is out cruising D.C. on his Harley. As the Facebook researchers point out, today’s bots can manage short exchanges with humans and simple tasks like booking a restaurant, but they aren’t able to have a nuanced give-and-take that arrives at an agreed-upon outcome. To do that, AI bots have to do what we do: make a mental model of the opponent, anticipate reactions, read between the lines, communicate in fluent human language and even throw in a few bluffs. Facebook’s AI had to figure out how to do those things on its own: The researchers wrote machine-learning software, then let it practice on both humans and other bots, constantly improving its methods. This is where things got a little weird. First of all, most of the humans in the practice sessions didn’t know they were chatting with bots. So the day of identity confusion between bots and people is already here. And then the bots started getting better deals as often as the human negotiators. To do that, the bots learned to lie. “This behavior was not programmed by the researchers,” Facebook wrote in a blog post, “but was discovered by the bot as a method for trying to achieve its goals.” Such a trait could get ugly, unless future bots are programmed with a moral compass. The bots ran afoul of their Facebook overlords when they started to make up their own language to do things faster, not unlike the way football players have shorthand names for certain plays instead of taking the time in the huddle to describe where everyone should run. It’s not unusual for bots to make up a lingo that humans can’t comprehend, though it does stir worries that these things might gossip about us behind our back. Facebook altered the code to make the bots stick to plain English. “Our interest was having bots who could talk to people,” one of the researchers explained. Outside of Facebook, other researchers have been working to help bots comprehend human emotions, another important factor in negotiations. If you’re trying to sell a house, you want to model whether the prospective buyer has become emotionally attached to the place so you can crank up the price. Rosalind Picard of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been one of the leaders in this kind of research, which she calls affective computing. She even started a company, Affectiva, that’s training AI software in emotions by tracking people’s facial expressions and physiological responses. It has been used to help advertisers know how people are reacting to their commercials. One Russian company, Tselina Data Lab, has been working on emotion-reading software that can detect when humans are lying, potentially giving bot negotiators an even bigger advantage. Imagine a bot that knows when you’re lying, but you’ll never know when it is lying. While many applications of negotiating bots—like those personal-assistant AI agents—sound helpful, some seem like nightmares. For instance, a handful of companies are working on debt-collection bots. Describing his company’s product, Ohad Samet, CEO of debt-collection AI maker TrueAccord, told American Banker , “People in debt are scared, they’re angry, but sometimes they need to be told, ‘Look, this is the debt and this is the situation, we need to solve this.’ Sometimes being too empathetic is not in the consumer’s best interest.” It sounds like his bots are going to “negotiate” by saying, “Pay up, plus 25 percent compounded daily, or we make you part of a concrete bridge strut.”
Put all of these negotiation-bot attributes together and you get a potential monster: a bot that can cut deals with no empathy for people, says whatever it takes to get what it wants, hacks language so no one is sure what it’s communicating and can’t be distinguished from a human being. If we’re not careful, a bot like that could rule the world. Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of Alibaba group, has announced a partnership with Fave, Groupon’s successor in Southeast Asia, to provide cross-border payment. The tie-up will first bring this service to Singapore. Through this deal, Alipay users will be able to make payments via the Alipay app at restaurants and offline retailers that are part of the Fave ecosystem and gain special access to offers and rewards, much similar to its partnership with local O2O service providers in Chinese market. Unsurprisingly, the service will first target Chinese outbound tourists to SEA, which is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Chinese travelers. “Restaurants and offline retailers are the backbone of the economy in Singapore. . . While more than 90% of retail spend is done offline, retailers are always looking for ways to reach out to mobile-savvy customers,” said Joel Neoh, former Groupon executive and founder of Fave. “Currently, millions of users across Southeast Asia use Fave to discover and transact at restaurants and lifestyle retailers. This win-win partnership with Alipay will give our retail partners in Singapore more revenue and more customers.” Evolved out of Malaysian fitness subscription service KFit, Fave has been expanding rapidly over the past few years as O2O is becoming more mainstream. As Groupon fades, Fave is gradually claiming territories once owned by the group-buying giant. Fave has acquired the Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean arms of Groupon over the past one-year period. Regionally, the startup has more than 10,000 restaurants and offline retailers and has over 1 million active users. In the wake of China’s O2O boom, the SEA market, which shares a lot of similarities with China’s tech landscape five to ten years ago, is quickly coming closer to parity, according to Neoh in a previous interview with TechNode. Mobile payment is no doubt an important part to complete the closed O2O service loop.
Although the companies did not mention partnership beyond Singapore market for the time being, we can take a guess that the link-up might quickly expand to other SEA countries given Fave’s presence across the area and Alipay’s ambitions in the region. Amid an escalating overseas expansion initiative, Alipay is now available in 27 counties worldwide. |
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