MdelCastillo's Profile

ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ Samar,

I have two things to say:

1. Great Job with the title

2. It seems like Clarifai is the typical case of a startup that seems to be biting off more than they can chew. I am all for aggressive goals, but it seems they need to look for a partner that has the financial power to give them a boost. Not only that, it would be wise for them to look for a partner with proven AI capabilities. AI is about managing absurd amounts of data. This means that it would probably wise for them to partner up with IBM or other companies with similar experience and data analysis. Clarifai is too good a concept for it to be lost just because they are not finding the right partners.

Gracias Todd. Bitcoin and blockchain are one of those things I have been hearing people talk about all the time, while I just nodded and pretended to understand what they were saying. I appreciate how your blog made it simple to grasp. I can see many positive externalizations for the use of bitcoin. Just think of all the people who send money from the US back to their home countries. Now they depend on expensive services from western union since the majority of people don´t have banks in their home countries, and are locked out of the financial system. With bitcoin, they will have a low barrier to entry way of getting into a digital financial system that is safe. this could change conditions for many families, and facilitate the lives of thousands of people.

Phew!!! the title scared me. Hopefully my HBS degree will be worth something 20 years from now since I will probably still be paying for it at the rate this semester is going.
More seriously, I do believe that online education is a powerful tool. However, I believe it is an ideal complement to traditional classroom education, and not a substitute. Just think about what is the greatest value that HBS creates for us as students. Even though we learn heaps from professors and classes, the most valuable lessons come from sharing experiences with fellow HBSers during social contexts. Class discussions are great, but nothing beats a heated debate over a couple of beers on a subject we would never discuss in class. Whether it is the validity of the title “World Series” for the North American baseball championship, or the presidential election. I don´t think we as humans are able to connect that way with other people through the internet yet. Maybe that will change, but hopefully it does after I pay off my student debt.

Very interesting! I was surprised to see how far along the Internet of Things actually is, and how strongly Skyworks Solutions is positioned to take advantage of it. This company will definitely become a household name in the years to come. However, it seems odd that a semi conductor manufacturer would have the capabilities required to become the leader in the IoT market. Even though they have experience in technology and also have an existing relationship with powerful companies, it seems they might be getting into something out of their reach. I know it is supposed to be a diversification strategy, but there must still be some kind of synergy between the efforts for it to be a positive for the company. Is semiconductor manufacturing the right place to start? Hopefully it is.

Great initiative! It truly shows how centennial institutions such as museums can embrace digital technology, and not feel threatened by it. A key point in your blog is how you stressed how this is complementary with museums, and not a substitution. However, I am left with some questions as I thought about this from an artist´s perspective. How could artists benefit directly from this? It would be great if this were spplie not only to centuries old collections, but as a way to “discover” new up and coming artists. For this to be successful, hopefully Google can find a way not only to enhance the viewing experience, but also to connect young artists with people who otherwise could never see their work. Maybe this would mean a move to a “for profit” business model which would nee more work done, but would definitely mean a lot of opportunities to new artists.

I wasn´t aware Coke was facing these type of issues in India. If I were management at Coke, I would try to forge an alliance with the public sector to better promote water usage responsibility. It can´t be expected for the private sector to provide this types of services, even if it results in positive bottom line results for the company. When the private sector steps in to fill the shoes of the public sector many reputational risks arise. What would happen if Coke suddenly had to stop assisting farmers due to a negative cash flow situation? What would be the backlash?

Very interesting! I believe that the world desperately needs another strong competitor in the aircraft manufacturing industry. Airbus and Boeing have been living in a comfortable duopoly since consolidating in the 1990´s. We know as a fact that disruption rarely comes from incumbents, so I highly doubt that airbus will have the necessary incentives to pursue more aggressive plans. Hopefully Bombardier´s initiatives to create medium sized commercial aircraft that solely use Bio-fuels is successful. Or even better, let´s hope Tesla gets in to the business for real.

Not only am I surprised that this is a semi-official stance taken by the GOP, I am also disturbed by it. The overwhelming data supporting the facts behind man made climate change are apparently not enough. I can´t help but feel that something has gone wrong with how environmentalists and other spokespeople have made the case for climate change. Al Gore and DiCaprio documentaries are not going to be enough. At this point I don´t believe that climate change non believers can be convinced if the strategy does not shift from data to emotions, as well as a focus on how combating climate change will not change their status quo.

Nice Samar. If you are interested in this you should check out the “Cowspiracy” documentary on Netflix. The only thing that makes me skeptical of this, is the target audience this would have to reach. The reality is that major cattle owners only account for a small percentage of total cattle. There are many small and medium sized producers who would definitely be hard to reach and persuade. Hopefully the diffusion of a possible vaccine becomes feasible.

Interesting read. Like you mentioned, poor water usage is only part of the problem that is rising from climate change and the increase in oceanic trade. There is also severe biological risk that can arise from the transportation of invasive species in ballast water from ships. Hopefully the government is also keeping its eyes open to that possible threat.