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The technological singularity, that "hypothetical future point in time when artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence and beable to self-replicate and improve itself autonomously" is no longer hypothetical. In any case, they'rebecoming more and more numerous,this "nerd nation," as their prince Marc Andreessen likes to call them, considering them eminent, and even preparing for their reign.
Like the police and the thieves who pursue eachother, humans and robots challenge each other, but no longer only at chess, like Kasparovand Deep Blue. Tomorrow, we will no longer differentiate between a powerful machine (who will, of course, borrow Scarlett Johansson'svoice in Her) and Turing and his test. This is a prominent trend in our crowdfunding trendwatch this trimester.
But just like in Terminator, resistance is activating, and in Hot Off the Crowd, one can see the growth of the sensitive human being, like forexample, since the advent of the Internet, the increase of hand-written letters. We return to the operator of the speaking clock that wakesus up in the morning (Remember Aurore, in one of my favorite films, well before Her). Also at work here: if Uber uberizes us and one dayreplaces drivers with robots, and if tomorrow, as LinkedIn predicts, we are all self-employed, then new services should accompany thisrevolution of the workplace.
This edition of HOTC newly reinforces one of FABERNOVEL's most tenacious convictions, and serves our mission of "distributing the futurein the most equitable way." The human beings who constitute our teams remain better than robots and their algorithms, and we hope–because we are optimists – that they become our best friends.
And while someone may still ask if androids dream of electric sheep, there's no doubt about human "startupers": they dream aboutGoliath's fall.
It's this very human side that characterizes our latest trend: one always finds gentle entrepreneurs to create the next social network.
INTRO
Stéphane DistinguinCEO FABERNOVEL Group
INTR
O
Ex Machina_Human After All_Remote Work_Rise of the Contractor Ecosystem_Better Call My Startup_Reality Live Stream_The Return of the Facebook Killers
SUMMARY
Ex Machina
The Turing Test is obsolete. Algorithms are the newbiggest manufacturing secret of the connected era.The tasks algorithms now manage were until recentlyconsidered as chiefly human due to their dependenceon communication skills or deep knowledge offinancial institutions or creativity - all skills that wouldseem difficult to replicate. Yet algorithmicscience keeps expanding artificial intelligence bycopying the human brain mechanism. And somecompanies aim at going further.
Why should you pay attention to it?
The advent of algorithms is repositioning humanthinking. Can there be a limit to algorithmic expansionexpansion? The science fiction vision of a worlddominated by machines seems to be fast becomingreality. Algorithmic reseacrh is not limited to GAFA:many startups break into this lucrative market ofpredictive algorithms, as we can see on CrunchBase,AngelList, etc.
CAN YOU PREDICT THISIS AN ALGORITHM?
EX M
ACH
INA
Three projects stood out on our favorite crowdfundingand crowdsourcing platforms. These projects seem tochallenge human skills with predictive analytics.
Kensho is a cloud-based AI system. Backed by GoldmanSachs and Google Ventures, Kensho is capable ofanswering complex financial questions asked in naturallanguage in real-time, such as "which Apple supplier'sshare price goes up the most when the companyreleases a new iPad?"
Blab is a predictive social intelligence platform thatenables brands to know what customers of a specificbrand will talk about on what platforms in the next fewdays.
Crystal is a new email advice service which claims toknow how you like to be spoken to. It offers guidance onhow to speak, write, and sell something to the targetedperson.
HELLO, IT'S NOT ME
EX M
ACHI
NA
HumanAfter All
Robots and algorithms may be taking over the worldbut some new services underline their technical andemotional shortcomings. Despite the astronomic riseof algorithms, there remain tasks for whichcomputers offer at best a mediocre alternative tohuman labor. In these areas, human touch is stillconsidered important - but not too important, sincewe are ready to delegate it to outside services.
For instance, Fountain Greetings turns your typedtext into handwritten letters, like a computer-simulated scriveners. The value of the human touchis shifting from "usefulness" to "nostalgia". As thedivide between our expectation of "human touch"and machines' capacity to provide this emotionalelement narrows, the necessity for human labor inthese areas will wane.
Why should you pay attention?
The projects we have found do not prove thathuman is better, in the Promethean sense - it couldeven be the contrary. Instead, what they do isre-create interpersonal relationships, mutual helpbetween strangers. Their assumption: the servicecould be used if it is human - all too human.
ERSATZ HUMAN HU
MAN
AFT
ER A
LL
eAngel offers a Gmail pluginthat provides proofreadingand grammatical correctionfor email. Their conviction:nothing can replace a humanbrain.
Wakie is a social alarm clockthat provides a humanwake-up call from a memberof the community — a totalstranger.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM STRANGERS
Spare5 gives small paid tasksto the users of its app whohave spare time, such astagging pictures - a chore stilltoo complex for a machine tocarry out, but for how long?
HUM
AN A
FTER
ALL
Remote Work
Work conditions are going through an important period ofchanges because nowadays, an increasing number ofpeople want to work remotely. The number of jobs whichare unattached to a specific physical space is growing,and these jobs benefit from an expanding range ofdedicated services. Consequently, plenty of new projectshave emerged. Classically, there are some job boardsspecializing in remote work opportunities. But we alsoobserve that dedicated newsletters, productivity tools, andeven a kind of community spirit have developped.Apparently, jobs and place of work are not the sameanymore.
Why should you pay attention to it?
At the start, only the tech-heavy professional circle wasaffected but the trend has spread thanks to the highcorrelation in location and cost of living. This phenomenon shows a paradox of modern living:physical proximity has become more valuable whereastechnology and transportation have made connectionsacross long distances cheaper. And it creates a brand newecosystem with its own actors and services.
HOME NOT ALONE
REM
OTE
WOR
K
Remote work is booming, and job boards are the first resource for workers lookingto find a gig that will give them this crucial flexibility. We Work Remotely is a catchallof remote jobs from customer service to web design to programming. It hostsremote opportunities at some of the hottest tech companies. WorkingNomads delivers a curated list of remote jobs right to your inbox.
Remote work also appeals to venture capital firms. Andreessen Horowitz hasinvested in Teleport, which compares startup cities. It aims at helping a communityof mobile workers to find the jobs and places that maximize their quality of life,based on their pay and interests. It introduces itself as a « life search engine ».
Remote Year allows participants to travel to12 different locations in a year to givethem the opportunity to connect with business ecosystems. They offer workspace,activites, and events in each city.
There are more and more tools for remote workers, like Remotive, a specializednewsletter, Airety, an online hiring tool for tech companies and Deekit, an onlinewhiteboard for remote teams. All these services point to the emergence of a uniqueremote work ecosystem.
OFFICE NOT REQUIRED
REM
OTE
WO
RK
Rise of theContractorEcosystem
As we can see above, work is currently changing: by 2020,independent workers will make up 40% of the workforce in theUnited States. People will have more and more control overwhen, where and how they work. More freedom means moreresponsibilities, but also more precariousness: what about jobsecurity or working tools? More and more services rely on anarmy of contractors on the field, such as Uber, Instacart(delivery of groceries) or even TaskRabbit (marketplace forsmall tasks).
Why should you pay attention to it?
An ecosystem of complementary services rises to servecontractors, who are free but lacking any kind of safety net.These services help them to find gigs and rent out theirworking tools. There are also some services supportingstartups in their hiring processes.
YOUR JOB, YOUR RIGHTS
THE
RISE
OF
CON
TRAC
TOR
ECOS
YSTE
M
Checkr runs backgroundchecks automatically andmakes pre-employmentbackground screeningfast, legal and ethical:they are compliant withstate and federalemployment laws.
Zen99 provides supportservices for independentcontractors, starting withtaxes management andinsurance.
Burst finds on-demand jobsand gigs in a users' area.
LEGALIZE IT
RISE
OF
CON
TRAC
TOR
ECOS
YSTE
M
BETTER CALL MYSTARTUP
Thanks to crowdsourcing, automation and smart data, asignificant number of startups have started to offer legalsupport to individuals and companies, making reliablelegal resources a commodity.Individuals and companies are increasingly able toaccess simplified, fast, and cheap legal resources withcontract templates, lawyers on demand, etc. Forinstance, in case of flight cancellation, denied boarding,or long flight delay, FlightRight renders enforcement ofcustomers' compensation claim for a share of theamount collected from the airline.
Why should you pay attention to it?
Many companies are fighting - consciously or not - forthe democratization of legal services, prompting us tobecome increasingly litigious. Meanwhile, white-shoelaw firms will move up the value chain by offeringpremium advice. What could be the next step? We mayimagine crowdsourced advice, a robot lawyer or evendata law firms.
LEGAL ON DEMAND
BETT
ER C
ALL
MY
STAR
TUP
More and more legal startups place themselves at the service of individuals andother startups.
A company needs a legal aid, but a lawyer may cost too much. Captain Contrat is astartup that offers several categories of legal documents and also the help of a reallawyer.
Combining the convenience of a handshake and the protection of a legal agreement,Shake is a technology platform making the law accessible, understandable andaffordable for consumers and small businesses.
Specifically intended for startups, Clerky provides a form library designed forventure-backed technology companies.
Founded by Daniel van Binsberger, Lexoo is a digital market for legal services. Itbrings lawyers with big-firm experience and expertise to the service of midsizecompanies speedily and at a significant discount.
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
BETT
ER C
ALL
MY
STAR
TUP
RealityLive Stream
Meerkat, the livestream application, and Periscope, itsTwitter-owned competitor, were the talk of SxSW 2015. Farfrom only fulfilling information or even social networkingpurposes, livestreaming is deeply intertwined with boredom,as a form of real-time entertainment. It replaces fake"Reality" TV personalities with "real" people, who are thenovelty promised by livestreaming. For instance,Watchme24, introduced as an "uncut reality live",livestreams private lives of families in Israel. They live theirroutine lives and anyone can watch.
Why should you pay attention?
Livestreaming represents a breakthrough in the field ofonline content sharing. We all remember the fund raising ofTwitch, the video live stream platform for gamers. Butwhy? First of all, its growth is due to convenience: the abilityto watch on the device of your choice, wherever you are inthe world, particularly since the uptake of smartphones.Leave nothing to chance: startups profit from this increaseof livestreamed content with a collaborative approach. Anddon't underestimate them. Streaming viewers become morethan spectators, they become learners and are free toswitch places and become livestreamers themselves.
CAM INTO MY LIFE
REAL
ITY
LIVE
STR
EAM
More than just entertainment, livestreaming can also be a medium for collaborativelearning, as it enables viewers to watch and interact with people doing things in realtime.
Watch People Code provides livestreams of people who are coding from the channel/r/WatchPeopleCode on reddit. In the same way, Live Coding, known as Twitch forCoders, is a livestreaming platform where people code products. It aims at connectingprofessional engineers, students and hobby coders around programming languages.
Livestreaming could be extended to any field. In the arts, Watch Me Work streamspeople's processes, creating an online creative coworking space that supports learningvia a collaboration environment. Chew allows users to watch the best DJs perform live sothat they can "learn from the best".
In the financial sphere, Ticker, launched in December 2014,has produced over 25,000hours of viewed content for an investors-only community.
I WILL SHOW YOU
BETT
ER C
ALL
MY
STAR
TUP
The Return of theFacebook Killers
Many challengers have emerged since Facebook roseto power in the social networking world. Thesechallengers have a shared focus on reclaimingownership from advertisers and giving it back tousers. They claim themselves as Facebook Killers,like Ello: this social network signed a legally-bindingcharter never to sell ads or data. Based on love andrespect between communities, its founders believethat a social network should not be "a tool to deceive,coerce, and manipulate". Ello is basically a fail.
Why should you pay attention?
For these "Facebook killers", a balance of powerseems to appear. We seek a new era of userempowerment against big business but none of thesealternative social networks has ever succeeded. Wemay wonder why there are still new challengersthrowing down the gauntlet every month. Whatadditional value do they create? A technical, a social,or an economic one?
SWEET DREAMAND RUNNING GAG
THE
RETU
RN O
F TH
E FA
CEBO
OK K
ILLE
RS
Launched in 2014 at Inside Bitcoins Tel Aviv, Gems is acryptocurrency-based project. Its founders aim atdisrupting social networking business through the powerof crypto 2.0 technology and the decentralization of thenetwork.
Tsu shares 90% of its advertising revenues with all of itsusers in royalties, enabling its users to maintainownership of the content they post. The more thecontent is shared, the more money a user earns. At themoment, the invite-only platform has garnered 3.5million users who are musicians, artists and everydaysocial media users.
Minds is an open source social network supported bythe hacker collective Anonymous. This social networkvows more transparency, security and privacy than othersocial media giants by encrypting all messages, so thatthey can not be read by advertisers or governments.
NOT THE SAMEPLAYERS
THE
RETU
RN O
F TH
E FA
CEBO
OK K
ILLE
RS
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