Extracting Water from Air : Now Electricity from Air ?

Almost a year ago , I sent following email to our Cabinet Ministers :

Water above our heads                                       [ 29 Mar 2019 ]

Extract :

Considering that most metro cities of India are likely to run out of water in next 2 / 3 years and rural women all over India have to walk 10 Km, in 40*C temperature under blazing sun for a bucket of brackish water , I urge PM – STIAC to add

     “  WATER  HARVESTING from AIR  “ -  as a mission , with highest priority

Ref : Super Moisture‐Absorbent Gels for All‐Weather Atmospheric Water Harvesting 

Inventor : Guihua Yu  of the University of Texas

Now , a year later , Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a device that uses a natural protein to create electricity from moisture in the air, a new technology they say could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change and in the future of medicine.

Read :   New Technology Generates Electricity ‘Out Of Thin Air’

Extract :

Ø  “We are literally making electricity out of thin air,” says Yao.

“The Air-gen generates clean energy 24/7.”

Ø  The new technology developed in Yao’s lab is non-polluting, renewable and low-cost.

Ø  It can generate power even in areas with extremely low humidity such as the Sahara Desert.

Ø  It has significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy including solar and wind, Lovley says, because unlike these other renewable energy sources, the Air-gen does not require sunlight or wind and “it even works indoors.”

Ø   For example, the technology might be incorporated into wall paint that could help power your home. Or, we may develop stand-alone air-powered generators that supply electricity off the grid. Once we get to an industrial scale for wire production, I fully expect that we can make large systems that will make a major contribution to sustainable energy production.”

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Dear Dr Jaishankarji, [ eam@mea.gov.in ]

Recently, you set up : New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies [ NEST ] division

I urge you to ask NEST to consider “ acquiring “ the technologies mentioned above

CC :

Ø  Dr HarshVardhan  ( Minister for Science and Technology )

     drhrshvardhan@gmail.com   /   dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in 

Ø    Professor K VijayRaghavan ( Principal Scientific Advisor )

       office-psa@nic.in   /  sti-india@psa.gov.in

       Chairman,  PM – STIAC  

        [  Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council  ]

Ref : Thank You , Dr S Jaishankarji,

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19 Feb 2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Law : Nothing Artificial in Arbitration

Especially if arbitration leans heavily on AI ( Artificial Intelligence )

Chief Justice S A Bobde seems to think so , as per following report :

Artificial Intelligence could help in arbitration in globalized era, says CJI 

Extract :

“Artificial Intelligence could provide immense benefits for the arbitration process and its users

By augmenting human cognitive abilities, AI powered services could assist lawyers in,

Ø  Drafting

Ø  Identification of better authorities

Ø  Reviewing documents … etc

It is well placed to assist arbitral tribunals in,

Ø  Preparation of awards

Ø  Simultaneous judicial review

Ø  Streamlining case management.

AI based analytics system could be used ,

Ø  To predict costs , duration and possible resolution

Ø  Proposing a range of settlement based on analysis of previous arbitrations of similar size and complexity

AI assisted arbitration holds immense promise for arbitration community “

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Earlier ( on 24 Jan ), Hon Bobde had said :

“The AI systems we are currently looking to employ in courts, possesses reading speed of one million characters per second. I can imagine a system similar to this can be used to rea and extract all relevant facts, compute tax effect and assist in a myriads of new ways to propel the pace of decision making “

Dear CJI,

What you imagined is about to happen !

Here it is :  IBM’s New AI System Can Compose Logical Arguments 

Highlights :

IBM recently unveiled a new artificial intelligence system that can craft lengthy, persuasive arguments during a debate.

At the show  [  CES  ], it presented arguments both for and against making gambling illegal. It later did the same for the idea of developing autonomous cars.

Project Debater does little writing of its own — the AI system’s core strength comes from categorizing and analyzing the arguments fed into it by humans.

The algorithm scans short human-written arguments on a potential debate topic for specific keywords and language

Then it groups those arguments by topic, determines whether they’re for or against the proposal, and organizes a speech based on the arguments it analyzed.

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With more than 3.5 crore cases pending in Indian Courts, many for 10-20 years, there is no doubt that common citizen would rather suffer injustice than spend a fortune in hiring a lawyer !

Dear Shri RaviShankar Prasaji,

As per a report of the China AI Development 2018, somewhere between 2013 and 2018, the investment and financing in the AI innovation area of China represent 60% on the planet. This was valued at $27 billion in 2017.

In recently announced budget, the Government has allocated Rs. 8,000 crore ( approx. $ 1.2 billion ) for the National Mission on Quantum Computing and Technology.

No doubt, there are many projects competing for this fund. I urge you to allot 10 % of this budget to the Supreme Court

Related Reading :

Congratulations, Hon CJI , Shri S A Bobdeji             [ 07 Dec 2019 ]

AI come to judgement ? Not for a while !                 [ 17 De 2019 ]

Project Debater

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17 Feb 2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Password Paralysis ?

All of us have created dozens of passwords – to log into Search Engines / E Com web sites / Mobile Apps / Fintech Apps / Govt web sites / Banks / News web sites / Travel sites / Service Providers web sites ( mobile – internet – electricity – gas etc )

And keep clicking “ Forgot Password ? “ link , every now and then

Some of us store these passwords on a piece of paper

Others store in a Excel sheet or in some “ Password Storage Software “

But all of us hate to remember these umpteen passwords

So, this news brings a lot of relief :

Apple joins Fido Alliance, commits to eliminate passwords  

Extract :

Besides Apple, most technology giants including Amazon, Facebook, Google are board members of the alliance which wants password-only logins to be replaced with secure and fast login experiences across websites and apps using the emerging standard WebAuthn

WebAuthn stands for Web Authentication – and briefly described as follows :

This specification defines an API enabling the creation and use of strong, attested, scoped, public key-based credentials by web applications, for the purpose of strongly authenticating users.

Conceptually, one or more public key credentials, each scoped to a given WebAuthn Relying Party, are created by and bound to authenticators as requested by the web application.

The user agent mediates access to authenticators and their public key credentials in order to preserve user privacy. 

Authenticators are responsible for ensuring that no operation is performed without user consent. 

Authenticators provide cryptographic proof of their properties to Relying Parties via attestation.

This specification also describes the functional model for WebAuthn conformant authenticators, including their signature and attestation functionality. 

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Hey , I don’t understand a word of this !

But that did not deter me from suggesting following methods, whereby Indians can login to any web site , by just one click !

Without waiting for FIDO Alliance to convince all the web sites of the world (1,295,973,827 according to Netcraft's January 2020 Web Server Survey ) to adopt WebAuthn , Shri RaviShankar Prasadji could deploy one of the following methods :

[ A ]

With appropriate law, mandate all web sites to display the following message for user login :

 “ Log me in with  www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in “

To know how we can do this, without waiting for acceptance of WebAuthn , read :

Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]

Related Readings :

SARAL  (  Single Authentic  Registration Anywhere Login  )

Only Answer ; a Statutory Warning 

   A  Matter  of  Motive  ?  

  

     Privacy  for  Sale   

Right to Sell My Soul ? 

 

Wealth of Nations   

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[ B ]

Launch a portal “www.SUIIC.gov.in  “

[  SUIIC =  Single Unified Identity for Indian Citizen )

as described at :

I am One , I will become Many

-          Where I suggested the following process :

Ø  Any citizen can download the mobile app , YUP = Your Unique Profile ( absolutely VOLUNTARY ) , open it on his smart phone , enter his mobile number / E Mail ID and take a SELFIE of his own FACE

Ø  The Mobile App will automatically and instantly, upload the FACE IMAGE onto SUIIC database and the matching YUP of that person

Ø  SUIIC will embed into the FACE PHOTO , all data of all the CARDS ever issued to that person ( using STEGANOGRAPHY ), and send it back to the owner’s mobile phone

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Is this feasible ?

Seems so ! Here is evidence :

“ Today, Intuit’s users sign into its portfolio of mobile apps seamlessly with unique biometric identifiers like their fingerprint or facial recognition patterns, or even your phone’s passcode.

And Intuit’s login process isn’t just more convenient. It offers another level of security – thanks to FIDO Authentication. “

[ source : https://fidoalliance.org/the-right-mix-intuits-journey-with-fido-authentication/  ]

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Any Beneficial Bye-Products of this suggestion ?

Following the “ Law of Unintended Consequences “, at least two , viz :

Ø  Each Indian can earn up to Rs 30,000 per month, simply from logging in on web sites !

          [ read : https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2019/02/saral.html  ]

Ø  With aggregation / compilation / standardization / normalization, of PERSONAL DATA of our entire population, government can do away with CENSUS – CAA – NPR – NRC etc .

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Dear Shri RaviShankar Prasadji,

I urge you to seize this opportunity of making all opposition to CAA – NPR – NRC etc., irrelevant , by holding a COUNTRY-WIDE REFERENDUM as follows :

“ Should the Government launch a Digital Initiative to enable you to earn Rs 30.000 pm ? “

 [  YES  /  NO  ]

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

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16 Feb 2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

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Added on 30 April 2023 :

Passkeys Unlock a New Era for Authentication

Passkeys

Voting on your Phone ?

Of course, there will be initial “ teething troubles “ , as reported in :

Voting on Your Phone: New Elections App Ignites Security Debate 

Extract :

A start-up called Voatz says it has developed an app that would allow users to vote securely from anywhere in the world — the electoral version of a moonshot.

Thousands are set to use the app in this year’s elections, a small but growing experiment that could pave the way for a wider acceptance of mobile voting

At the far edge of that debate are systems that let users cast their ballots over the internet, including the platform built by Voatz, the only voting app on the market.

Voatz says its technology has overcome the security problems through biometrics and other measures built into newer smartphones, as well as a back-end system that records and stores votes on a blockchain, the technology underpinning Bitcoin.

It also says its platform creates a paper trail for election officials and the voters using the app

Now, it is poised to expand its reach in the presidential election as a number of additional states consider whether to use it for some categories of absentee voters.

The app “is not perfect — nothing is — and security is always a concern for us,” said Donald Kersey, a senior election official in West Virginia.

“ But this is about using new technologies that give us a way to make sure  people who maybe can’t always vote have that opportunity.”

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In Aug 2018 , I wrote :

Americans call it “ Voatz “

Chief Election Commissioner , Shri Sunil Aroraji is not perturbed with the reported security issues in the  use of Voatz

He knows too well that even 20 years after the launch of various Operating Systems by software giants like Google and Apple , software bugs keep turning up ! And promptly get corrected !

And not a day passes without some clever hacker breaking into the mobile apps of Amazon – Facebook – Twitter etc., and stealing personal data of millions of users !

Yet, not one user has filed a court case so far against these Social Media giants ( may be because, he has no way to know that his personal data has been stolen . And even if he knew, he just does not have $ 10 million to spend on a court case ! )

But that has not stopped 2 billion people from using WhatsApp , despite its vulnerability !

That is why , Shri Aroraji is collaborating with IIT – Chennai to launch a mobile app ( - superior to Voatz ? ) , to ensure that all 950 million Indian Voters can cast their votes in 2024 general elections , from anywhere in the world

For details of Shri Aroraji’s plan , read :

From “ Lost Votes “ to “ Remote Votes “ ?            [ 12 Feb 2020 ]

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15  Feb  2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com