Posts by: Joel Blom

Artificial Intelligence: Dialect-Bot
13. April 2018
AI (artificial intelligence) backstory February 1997. Newsweek publishes, Steven Levy’s “The Brain’s Last Stand,” about Kasparov-Deep Blue match—the historic contest where IBM’s computer beat the world champion Grandmaster. 20 years later, Levy writes in WIRED magazine, “No matter what human-like feat computers perform in the future, the Deep Blue match demands an indelible dot on […]

Challenge Race Results are final –will the Bets pay off?
The winner’s circle of the first challenge race saw a crush of contestants and winning bet teams savouring this long-awaited moment. While not quite prancing for joy, Riva Digital and C-Shares bet teams deserved taking a victory lap after they were crowned winner and runner-up, respectively, of the first challenge race among a field of […]

Fintech C-Shares – New Gold For An Old Story
27. March 2018
Gold. The symbol AU. From Latin, Aurum, or shining dawn. Gold fever. Contagious excitement of a gold rush. Gold rush. Surge in activity by individuals seeking to capitalize on newly discovered gold. Daura. Rhaeto-Romanisch word meaning, “made of gold.” DAURA. A new infrastructure to print C-Shares using blockchain technology. Will gold fever cause a gold […]

Artificial Intelligence: Dialect-Bot
19. March 2018
AI (artificial intelligence) backstory February 1997. Newsweek publishes, Steven Levy’s “The Brain’s Last Stand,” about Kasparov-Deep Blue match—the historic contest where IBM’s computer beat the world champion Grandmaster. 20 years later, Levy writes in WIRED magazine, “No matter what human-like feat computers perform in the future, the Deep Blue match demands an indelible dot on […]

E-Health: Riva Digital’s Grand Experiment
28. February 2018
Author’s note: The anecdote which begins Riva’s story is true. Names were omitted to protect privacy. BTW, if you want to catch my 1st Riva bet insights, follow this link to read Riva Digital Part 1 What would you pack in your suitcase? His awakening to the dangers of HBP (high blood pressure) came too […]

E-Health: Riva Digital bets your life on winning its challenge
12. February 2018
Editor’s update: As you read this, E-Health’s bet, “Riva Digital,” is exhibiting in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress; where it will unveil its new life-changing app – and very likely disrupt the global medical device industry. Check back soon for Part 2 of this challenge story and the bet’s impact for Switzerland’s health and future […]

Blockchain Seeks a White Knight
31. January 2018
Author’s Note: The following challenge post was filed in December 2017, but due to a management change with one of the bet’s partners, could not be posted until now. New insights to follow soon. Despite the likelihood (official announcement expected in Q1 2018) that Blockchain has found their white knight, the difficulties this roundtable faces provide […]

The Genie’s Out of the Bottle
8. January 2018
With the start of the new year, all but a handful of challenge contenders are racing down the home stretch with hopes to be crowned winners by crossing the April 2018 finish line. Bets I’ve covered recently like E-Democracy’s Crowdsourced Think Tank and Education Digital’s ICT-Workshops in Schools – are running neck and neck after […]

e-democracy “Crowdsourced Think Tank” Bet at Even Money
15. December 2017
On a rare sunny day in early November, I paid a visit to the stables of e-democracy roundtable’s bet: “Crowdsourced Think Tank.” One of the youngest entries in digitalswitzerland’s challenge race, its collaborators and its bet are emblematic of how the present generation interprets and is preparing to solve the needs of democratic societies they […]

Long Shot or Upset in the Making – Place Your Bets
4. December 2017
Disclaimer: The bet “ICT-Workshop in Schools” has launched its own webpage! Go check it out and share it! This is an origin story. A story about where the next generation of digital innovators in Switzerland might come from. It’s also a story for people who like to bet on long shots, e.g. a horse with 10/1 […]

Cultivating Innovation in a Land of Abundance
9. November 2017
In my last post, I asked which of the 17 digitalswitzerland challenge bets currently running would you put your money on to win? At this stage of the race there’s no odds-on favorite to win. But as the field rounds the half-way post and begins sprinting to the April 2018 finish line, some bets are […]

Who will finish in the money?
2. November 2017
Insider bet news for digitalswitzerland challenge Without fanfare or public attention of its massive potential, digitalswitzerland’s challenge has reached a critical tipping point. Designed as an opportunity to jointly develop innovative concepts and crazy ideas and put them into action, challenge bets are entering the 2nd half of their race to the finish line to […]