If you have been living anywhere but in Antartica or under the rock for the past year (and surprisingly surviving,) then you most definitely have heard of blockchain technology at least once in your life. An innovation so great and bizarre, sometimes described as the next greatest invention after the internet, blockchain technology broke the web when it surfaced at the beginning of the year.
What is blockchain?
There are several definitions one can give to blockchain as a term. The most popular ones being the following:
a) Don and Alex Tapscott, authors of Blockchain Revolution, describe blockchain as, “an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions, but virtually everything else.”
b) Steve Wilson of ZD Net described it as, “an algorithm and distributed data structure for managing electronic cash without a central administrator among people who know nothing about one another. Originally designed for the crypto-currency Bitcoin, the blockchain architecture was driven by a radical rejection of at (government-guaranteed) money and bank controlled payments.”
Complex to the very core, the only thing that comes out clearly from these definitions is that blockchain basically consists of digital ledger technology, which lets transactions be broken into individual ones. In simple words, blockchain is like your very own personal ledger which cannot be broken or looked into! You know like when you have a diary that keeps being read by other people? The creators of blockchain made this technology what it is today because it is protected by a unique distributed network.
What is the unique distributed network?
The creators of blockchain realised very early on that only having a strong sense of control was not enough to protect this new creation. They had to have backups (with backups for the backups) for when things go wrong, so that anonymity and information is not only protected, but secured as well.
Simply put, if you have digital money, you need a wallet. Unlike specific wallets like Paytm, blockchain technology is the publicly accessible digital wallet with unique individual identifiers. People who want to make transactions via blockchain need to send messages and in order to send these messages, the users need keys. To make sure no one else has access to these keys, the technology needs security, which comes in the form of cryptographic keys. These cryptographic keys are made by keygens, which use complex mathematical equations to ensure complete security. Thereby, through this process, blockchain is made extremely secure.
When I first heard the word blockchain, I did not really understand what it meant. There was so much ambiguity in the term for me that I had to do a lot of digging up and understanding! Hope this helped clear the air for you as well!
Meta is developing its first true AR glasses, set to launch in 2027. Before the public release, employees will test the device starting in 2024. The company is also releasing new generations of Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023 and 2025 with enhanced features like a “viewfinder” display.
Specifications and Features
The AR glasses are expected to feature OLED displays and Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, offering sophisticated AR and AI capabilities. They will enable users to interact with virtual objects and project high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world.
Design and Competition
Meta aims for a sleek design, potentially building on its Ray-Ban partnerships. The AR glasses market is competitive, with Apple and Google also investing heavily. Meta seeks to make its AR glasses a game-changer by offering a unique user experience.
Future Plans
In addition to AR glasses, Meta is expanding its VR offerings with new headsets like the Quest 3 and exploring other wearable technologies. The company is focused on reducing costs to make the AR glasses more consumer-friendly by launch.
OneStack, a Gurugram-based fintech startup, has raised $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by GrowX, Stride Ventures, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalyst. The funding aims to accelerate the digitization of cooperative banks and credit societies across India, with the company setting an ambitious target of modernizing over 1,000 institutions by the end of 2025.
Driving Digital Transformation
Founded in 2019 by Amit Kapoor and Vishal Gupta, OneStack offers innovative solutions such as OneCBS (Core Banking Solution), a cloud-based platform designed to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and enable data-driven decision-making for cooperative banks. Additionally, it is introducing SoundBox, a merchant ecosystem solution that facilitates seamless digital payment services.
Currently serving over 200 cooperative banks, OneStack plans to expand its reach into South and East India while establishing nationwide offices and growing its team. This funding will also support the deployment of advanced technologies like UPI Switch and Bharat BillPay systems to empower banks with branded digital payment services.
Impact on Financial Inclusion
OneStack’s efforts align with India’s Digital Bharat initiative, aiming to bridge the technology gap for underserved financial institutions. By digitizing cooperative banks, which serve nearly 50% of India’s bankable population, the startup is driving financial inclusion for millions. “This funding propels our growth journey at an accelerated pace,” said Amit Kapoor, Founder and CEO. “We are empowering cooperative banks to compete in this digital epoch.”
With this milestone funding, OneStack is poised to transform India’s cooperative banking landscape while fostering innovation and financial accessibility nationwide.
Social media platforms are intensifying efforts to combat the misuse of deepfake technology by advocating for mandatory AI labeling and clearer definitions of synthetic content. Deepfakes, created using advanced artificial intelligence, pose significant threats by enabling the spread of misinformation, particularly in areas like elections, politics, and personal privacy.
Meta’s New Approach
Meta has announced expanded policies to label AI-generated content across Facebook and Instagram. Starting May 2025, “Made with AI” labels will be applied to synthetic media, with additional warnings for high-risk content that could deceive the public. Meta also requires political advertisers to disclose the use of AI in ads related to elections or social issues, aiming to address concerns ahead of key elections in India, the U.S., and Europe.
Industry-Wide Efforts
Other platforms like TikTok and Google have introduced similar rules, requiring deepfake content to be labeled clearly. TikTok has banned deepfakes involving private figures and minors, while the EU has urged platforms to label AI-generated media under its Digital Services Act guidelines.
Challenges Ahead
Despite these measures, detecting all AI-generated content remains difficult due to technological limitations. Experts warn that labeling alone may not fully prevent misinformation campaigns, especially as generative AI tools become more accessible.
Election Implications
With major elections scheduled in 2025, experts fear deepfakes could exacerbate misinformation campaigns, influencing voter perceptions. Social media platforms are under pressure to refine their policies and technologies to ensure transparency while safeguarding free speech.