Recently, Dubai announced a minister of Artificial Intelligence. The 27-year-old Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama is the UAE's first State Minister of AI. A remarkable move by UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who said: "we want the UAE to become the world's most prepared country for artificial intelligence". The role focuses on future skills, future sciences and future technology and offers Dubai a chance to be ready for an AI-driven future. The move by Dubai is a great showcase of vision and dare to take risk, since artificial intelligence will increasingly define our future.

In fact, I would recommend any country that takes digitalisation serious to follow Dubai's example and appoint a minister of Artificial Intelligence. Even more, I believe that every organisation should employ a Chief AI within their organisation to understand how AI will impact the business and how it will affect organisations and societies. Why? Simply because Artificial Intelligence will be fundamentally different from human intelligence and understanding this can bring you a competitive advantage and can help us mitigate risks.

Why AI Will Be Different

Intelligence is "the complex expression of a complex set of principles", consisting of various interdependent subsystems all linked together. Intelligence exists because of evolution and it enables humans to model, predict and manipulate reality. This unique ability allows us to reason backwards and forwards from a mental image and reason on possible (un)desired future outcomes. Evolution created our intelligence, but evolution is an inherently dumb process. It achieves its goal by trial and error and does not possess the foresight capabilities that we humans have.

In fact, the unintelligent process of evolution has resulted in flaws in human intelligence. Due to various constraints such as food availability, trade-offs with other organs, biological materials it is possible that our brains have not evolved in the most optimised way. Artificial Intelligence, on the other hand, will be developed by (artificial) intelligent beings/things who do possess the foresight capabilities that evolution misses. As such, it is better capable to understand which materials and what processes work best for intelligence. In addition, it can apply the knowledge of others to improve (initial) designs and as such improve artificial intelligence. Consequently, artificial intelligence will look and act in ways unfamiliar to mankind today and, hence, requires a different approach.

Examples of Unexpected Actions by AI 

The best example to show how this works is AlphaGo Zero, the new and improved version of the AlphaGo algorithm developed by Google's Deepmind. While previous versions of AlphaGo had been trained using human data, this version of the algorithm is completely self-trained, without human intervention or historical data. A mind-blowing feature, especially because within three days of teaching itself how to play the game, it beat the version that beat Lee Sedol in 2016. It did so using a new form of reinforcement learning where the algorithm became its own teacher. It played against itself, hence it always had a component of equal strength, and learned from every move it made. While the previous version that beat Lee Sedol already surprised the world champion with moves he had never seen or thought about, the new version applies completely unknown strategies that it had taught itself. As a result, after 40 days it surpassed all previous versions of AlphaGo and, arguably, became the past Go player in the world.

Unexpected moves and strategies as developed by AlphaGo Zero increasingly start to appear in AI development. For example, AI developers from Google recently build algorithms that had to compete for scarce resources, resulting in increasingly advanced strategies to beat the component. Another project from Google Brain developed algorithms that created new encryption methods, unlike any seen before developed by humans, to protect information from other neural networks. Finally, Facebook recently developed two algorithms that created its own secret language, unsolicited and used advanced strategies to get what it wanted. Consequently, Facebook had to shut down its algorithms.

AI Policies to Understand Advanced Artificial Intelligence

These four examples clearly show that Artificial Intelligence is increasingly becoming more advanced, especially when not limited by human knowledge. In this process, it is adopting new tactics or strategies that humans have not seen before or could not imagine. In addition, as AlphaGo Zero shows, removing the need for human intervention and/or historical data makes algorithms much more powerful and efficient, so it is likely to see more of such developments. Bringing us ever closer to the holy grail of Artificial Intelligence; Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). These AI systems have autonomous self-control and self-understanding and the ability to learn new things to solve a wide variety of problems in different contexts using unknown tactics and strategies.

Although AGI is still years, if not decades, away, the more advanced AI will become, the bigger the impact on organisations and societies. The examples of Google and Facebook show that when that happens, humans might not always understand what happens or how an AI arrives at a certain strategy or outcome. Therefore, if we wish to remain in control, and not be surprised by increasingly advanced AI, organisations and countries should follow Dubai's example of appointing a senior leader responsible for Artificial Intelligence. Those leaders can then form overarching committees, similar to the Eurogroup that holds informal meetings of the finance ministers of the Eurozone to exercise political control over the Euro, to establish guidelines and policies in terms of AI development. Although such AI regulation should not hinder technical developments, it should also advocate measures to ensure safe AI and to help organisations and societies understand the impact of a fundamentally different form of intelligence.

Have you heard of Blockchain? That's already an obsolete question for many of us who closely followed the way data-centric security measures have evolved in the past few years. Yes, you have guessed it right. The blockchain is about data and is also about security. The blockchain is also about collaboration and transaction.

But Blockchain is never a server full of data locked to prevent any unwanted access. With Blockchain the opposite is the case. An open for all database that cannot be rewritten or tampered while remaining open for any subsequent addition, that's Blockchain for you.

But what relation does it have with mobility and app market? As envisaged from the core competence of Blockchain, it can safeguard data from any misuse or tampering while making it always accessible for all.

It all started with the cryptocurrency called Bitcoin followed by its popularity in the financial sector as a high-tech measure to protect transaction and finally, it is knocking the door of mobile apps. Yes, with such promising features for data protection Blockchain can well revolutionize the mobile app security.

Distributed database powers blockchain

The concept of a distributed open source database was coined long ago, but it was shaped by a relevant technology for real-world uses only by Blockchain when it was introduced as the backbone protocol for cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The entire transactional database remains open to all, and any new layer of information can be added to it without restriction. But this distributed and open source database just does not allow any change of the registered data. That makes this database full proofed from tampering and misuse while making it accessible and open to use for all.

Technically speaking, the architecture of Blockchain is characteristically peering to peering instead of client/server. This gives Blockchain the lead as a distributed data system with uninhibited access for everyone. This architecture is ideal for carrying out transactions without requiring any help from third parties. But beyond the transaction, for any exchange of information Blockchain can be contextualized to deliver an open to all database independent of third party roles.

The properties mentioned above are quintessential to the Blockchain when used as the background technology for Bitcoin. But whether the technology can be well suited for your app depends on several factors. How far can you make your app database behave as a distributed one? Yes, if you do not require opening up your database for wider access, your app may not require Blockchain at all. Considering outwardly, if your app boasts of a transactional database similar to Bitcoin the technology can prove essential for your purpose.

Do you have a multifaceted peer-to-peer transaction system in place? In such case, Blockchain can be an ideal security solution for your app. But in any case, don't have an impression that your app needs to have similar requirements as Bitcoin. The design elements and implementation of the technology will entirely be specific to your app's core purpose.

Using blockchain for mobile security 

So far, we have understood that blockchain can be a big value addition to the security strategy concerning your mobile apps. But how really it can be incorporated into the app security strategy? Precisely, when the activities around an app require stricter authentication to safeguard data, you need Blockchain. You have to designate certain transactions that will be safeguarded by Blockchain.

Remember, Blockchain either will mediate among several parties on the ownership value of a shared resource as in the case of Bitcoin or will record data of transaction carried out among several parties as happens in the event of bill payment or bidding in an auction.

IoT Security and Blockchain

For some time the connected devices sharing the networked IoT platform gave rise to a whole range of concerns concerning device-level security. The absence of a common protocol for all these devices and low-security arrangements for most devices make IoT vulnerable to a lot of security threats. Fortunately, Blockchain can also play a great role in battling the security concerns of IoT devices.

While we were thinking how Blockchain can be implemented to enhance the device-level security of connected gadgets we have ADEPT (Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry) which refers to the latest initiative by Samsung and IBM that can ensure easy, secure and low-cost interaction among devices. Blockchain will power the framework which is still in its nascent conceptual state. ADEPT will create highly distributed device networks to help secure transaction and communication among devices.

Digital agreements and contracts

Every multi-party legal agreement and contract risks face the risk of data tampering and information loss. Moreover, several printed documents with notarisation and other layers of authenticated signatories offers a big challenge concerning preservation and safekeeping. Blockchain can deliver a multi-party database with easy to access and impossible to tamper features to safeguard safe keep such data in digital formats.

By digitising such valuable data like agreements and contracts Blockchain will also enhance the usability of information with ease of access. In addition to the digitisation with Blockchain database each document can further be encrypted and authentication protocol added to it for allowing access to only designated people.

Finally, Blockchain as an innovative database technology can add value to business process with more efficiency, ease of access and security features. As business is extremely becoming mobile-centric, the implementation of Blockchain cannot be indifferent to the mobile strategy. The distributed database of blockchain will give more power to businesses in initiating multi-party transactions and collaborations without any security threat to their database.

As of now, we have mainly seen financial companies and banks to express their interest in implementing Blockchain, though several of global companies across the niches already expressed their delight about the security arrangements that Blockchain can provide to make their enterprise IT more powerful than ever before. While businesses will continue to grapple with the idea of Blockchain and how it can be successfully implemented, we can see several global corporations to set the standard with their innovative Blockchain mobile integration.

Blockchain technology is gaining traction and changing the finance industry as we know it. Banks have long held on to traditional banking methods, but to survive in a digital future, they need to implement new banking technology. This is the only way to give a better banking experience to their customers while staying afloat in this new technological era. 

What is Blockchain?

Created in 2008, Blockchain is an encrypted digital ledger that stores linked 'blocks' of data. Blockchain's open ledger framework can store a variety of information in these blocks such as account data, transaction processing, contracts, and more. Since the blocks cannot be altered once they have been stored, blockchain offers a very secure and incorruptible system.

Blockchain technology was developed alongside one of the first and most popular crypto-currencies, Bitcoin. Bitcoin is like digital cash, with each Bitcoin's data stored on the blockchain. Since it's decentralised, Bitcoin has solved the double spending issue without involving a third party or central server.

While Bitcoin is the most popular crypto-currency running on the blockchain, there are other crypto-currencies in use. Etherium is another well-known alt-currency that runs on blockchain technology and offers additional features like smart contracts.

Why is blockchain one of the most important new technologies today?

1. Offers fast and efficient banking processes

While traditional, legacy-based banking systems can be tedious and lengthy, blockchain offers fast and efficient banking processes. There are fewer participants required for each transaction making it very cost effective.

2. Blockchain technology is decentralised

This means that there is no middleman or third party involved, which makes blockchain a very secure banking option since it's impossible for computer systems to be hacked leaving sensitive data vulnerable.

3. Impossible to duplicate sensitive data

The blockchain 'ledger' offers transparent banking while keeping the data incorruptible. Since it's impossible to duplicate sensitive data on the blockchain, it's become one of the most important innovations in the banking sector.

4. The benefit of optimising regulations

Banks are obligated to comply with Know your Customer (KYC) regulations to prevent money laundering and fraudulent activity. Compliance with KYC can be very costly for banks and blockchain can reduce fees and administration time significantly. Since the verification of a client can be processed by a single organisation and then stored on the blockchain, this verification can be accessed by any other organisation without having to complete the KYC procedure again.

Are banks using blocking blockchain technology yet?

Yes. Some of the world's biggest banking institutions such as JP Morgan Chase have recently announced the launch of blockchain-based technology into their systems. Blockchain's ability to provide transparent, speedy, and secure cheap transfer has made it one of the hottest banking trends in 2017.

Additionally, many banks have begun to invest in Fintech companies to help assist in the creation and implementation of blockchain based systems. Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are just two of the major banks to partner with tech companies to develop blockchain-based systems. As an efficient alternative to traditional banking methods, blockchain can play a critical role in the future of banking technology.

In this blog I will tell you that how to save image in Sql Server using c#. Here I will give you necessary steps to store image in sql server.

1)      Before we are starting to make application in C# firstly we need to create a table in sql server where we store out image. Here I will create a table named ImageTable in which I will store image. ImageTable contains two column one is imageID which will store id of image in image table. And other column which have name imageData is stored image in format of binary.

Here I will provide a sample sql code snippet to create ImageTable

create table ImageTable

(

     imageID int,

     imageData image

)

2)      Now import System.Data.SqlClient namespace in your project. This namespace provide you all necessary classes and interfaces which is necessary to establish connection to SqlServer.

3)      Create following methods and call it according to your requiremnt.

/// <summary>

        /// On click event of browse button write down following code. This

        /// Will display a open file dialog box which will ask to choose you

        /// image and will store path of image in textbox.

        /// </summary>

        /// <param name="sender"></param>

        /// <param name="e"></param>

        private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {

            OpenFileDialog ofd = new OpenFileDialog();

            if (DialogResult.OK == ofd.ShowDialog())

            {

                textBox1.Text = ofd.FileName;   //storing path of image in textbox.

            }

        }

        /// <summary>

        /// On the click of SaveButton call saveImageInDataBase(int imgId) method

        /// which will save image in database.

        /// </summary>

        /// <param name="sender"></param>

        /// <param name="e"></param>

        private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {

            saveImageInDataBase(1);

        }

        /// <summary>

        /// This is a required method which will save image in database.

        /// </summary>

        /// <param name="imageID"></param>

        public void saveImageInDataBase(int imageID)

        {

            byte[] imageData = ReadImageFile(textBox1.Text);    //This nethod returns image in byte array format.

            SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection();

            con.ConnectionString = "Data Source=aaaa;User ID=sa;Password=abcd;Initial Catalog=Workbook";  //provide connection string of your server.

            con.Open();   //open connection to server.

            string query = "insert into ImageTable values(@imageId,@imageData)";     //create a query variable.

            SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(query, con);          //create a sqlcommand object.

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@imageId", imageID));    //add first parameters.

            cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@imageData", imageData));    //add second parameters.

            int rows = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();         //execute query.

            if (rows > 0)

                MessageBox.Show("Image saved.");

            else

                MessageBox.Show("Unable to save image.");

            con.Close();

        }

        /// <summary>

        /// This method will converts image in byte array format and returns to its caller.

        /// use System.IO namespace regarding streaming concept.

        /// </summary>

        /// <param name="imageLocation"></param>

        /// <returns></returns>

        public byte[] ReadImageFile(string imageLocation)

        {

            byte[] imageData = null;

            FileInfo fileInfo = new FileInfo(imageLocation);

            long imageFileLength = fileInfo.Length;

            FileStream fs = new FileStream(imageLocation, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);

            BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(fs);

            imageData = br.ReadBytes((int)imageFileLength);

            return imageData;

        }

    }