Tag: accessibility

Helium's HNT Token Lists on SwissBorg

The Helium Foundation, a trade association under the 501(c)(6) designation focused on promoting decentralized wireless access, announced the listing of its HNT token on SwissBorg, a notable cryptocurrency platform in Europe. The announcement, dated November 2, 2023, signifies a crucial step towards increasing the accessibility and expansion of the Helium Network.

SwissBorg, established in 2017, has grown to become a trusted platform for over 700,000 verified users to trade digital assets, access yield products, and early investment deals. On the other hand, The Helium Foundation, as a not-for-profit organization, dedicates itself to enhancing secure and cost-effective wireless coverage globally, acting as the steward of the Helium Network, the world’s largest decentralized wireless network.

Established in 2019, the Helium Network has been on a mission to provide a decentralized, secure, and open-source wireless network. With hundreds of thousands of hotspots, the network has found utilization globally across various sectors including businesses, governments, and municipalities. The integration into SwissBorg presents a significant milestone as it stands to extend the network’s reach to SwissBorg’s user base of over 700,000, beyond its current community, thereby augmenting its global footprint.

The synergy between SwissBorg and Helium emanates from a shared vision of decentralization and accessibility. Anthony Lesoismier, the Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder of SwissBorg, highlighted this alignment in values as a key factor for the listing. He also mentioned the recent integration of Orca and Phoenix DEXs into the SwissBorg Smart Engine, which marked a significant milestone for SwissBorg, allowing its community to seamlessly transition from off to on-chain operations. The listing of HNT token is seen as a further testament to this integration, facilitating real-world connections by merging off and on-chain activities.

SwissBorg’s mission aligns with that of Helium, aiming to democratize wealth management while making crypto asset management accessible to all. The listing of the HNT token on SwissBorg’s platform, as noted by Abhay Kumar, the CEO of the Helium Foundation, not only opens up the Helium Network to a larger user base but also adds to its growing global presence. The network’s recent collaborations include partnerships with Helotics, creating bear-proof waste containers in Hrebienok National Park, and Seeed Studios, which designed a compact LoRaWAN SenseCAP T1000 Tracker equipped with GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi to help secure important assets.

Bridging the Accessibility Divide in AI: New Study Insights

In the rapidly evolving landscape of information retrieval and artificial intelligence, a study from Triangle Lab in Canada and Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca in Italy has cast a spotlight on a critical issue: the accessibility of generative information systems for users with literacy challenges. The study, presented at the 2024 ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval, underscores the urgency of developing inclusive AI technologies that cater to the entire spectrum of literacy levels among users.

The study’s findings point to a pressing concern within the industry; generative models such as ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and others, predominantly generate content at a collegiate level. This, inadvertently, excludes a significant demographic that struggles with reading and comprehension. The paper, authored by Adam Roegiest and Zuzana Pinkosova, meticulously analyzes responses from popular Large Language Models (LLMs) and exposes potential biases in their training methodologies that may favor users with higher literacy skills.

The research methodology involved evaluating the readability of generative systems by using popular instruction fine-tuning datasets. The datasets revealed a tendency for systems to produce sophisticated prose that aligns with college-educated users, potentially sidelining those who grapple with cognitive and literacy challenges. The study’s pivotal message is the call for inclusivity in systems that incorporate generative models, making them accessible to individuals with diverse cognitive needs.

The implications of this study are profound for the AI, blockchain, and crypto industries, given their increasing reliance on AI-powered interfaces for user interaction. As these technologies continue to permeate our daily lives, enhancing their accessibility becomes not just an ethical imperative but a business necessity. The potential of AI to revolutionize sectors is boundless, yet without addressing the literacy divide, a substantial portion of the population risks being marginalized.

In response to the study, industry experts are now advocating for a holistic approach to AI development. This includes designing systems with multiple “ideal” responses that vary in complexity while retaining accuracy. Companies behind leading LLMs, like OpenAI and Google, are being called upon to consider the findings of the study in their future model training and to implement strategies that account for the full spectrum of user abilities and needs.

The challenge extends beyond English, encompassing various linguistic forms such as pidgins, creoles, and dialects, which are integral to cultural identities worldwide. These linguistic variants represent more than mere communication tools; they are a fundamental aspect of people’s heritage and daily life. The study’s findings emphasize the necessity for generative models to accommodate these diverse linguistic expressions, ensuring that users are not only understood but also respected in their communication preferences.

In conclusion, while AI and information systems have made significant strides in improving our ability to access and process information, this study serves as a critical reminder of the work that remains to be done. Building fair, accountable, transparent, safe, and accessible systems is imperative if we aim to build a digital environment that benefits all users equitably.

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