Understanding the Economic Implications of Artificial Intelligence

 The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasing in the modern economy, and it is having a huge impact on our daily lives. While AI offers many benefits, it also has some economic implications that the average middle income person should understand. 

First, AI has the potential to automate many jobs. This means that some people may find themselves out of work as their jobs are replaced by machines. This could have a detrimental effect on the economy as a whole, as fewer people are employed and more money is taken out of circulation. Additionally, AI could also lead to greater inequality in our society, as those with higher levels of education and skill may benefit more from automation than those with lower levels of education and skill.

Second, AI can also create new markets and opportunities for businesses. Companies are using AI to develop new products and services, and this can lead to increased profits and growth. AI can also be used to increase efficiency in production processes, leading to lower costs and higher quality products.

Finally, AI can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior. By using AI to analyze data from customers, businesses can better understand their needs and develop products that better serve them. This can lead to greater customer satisfaction, which in turn can lead to increased sales and profits for businesses.

Overall, AI has many economic implications that the average middle income person should be aware of. While AI offers many benefits, it also has the potential to lead to job displacement and increased inequality. Additionally, AI can create new markets and opportunities for businesses. Finally, AI can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior and increase customer satisfaction.

PHP Error: Unable to load dynamic library 'gd'

Currently installing Laravel on my Arch Linux.

I got PHP, MySQL, Apache and Composer installed and trying to install Laravel with this:

$ composer global require laravel/installer

 But got this instead:

PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'gd' (tried: /usr/lib/php/modules/gd (/usr/lib/php/modules/gd: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory), /usr/lib/php/modules/gd.so (/usr/lib/php/modules/gd.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)) in Unknown on line 0 PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'openssl.so' (tried: /usr/lib/php/modules/openssl.so (/usr/lib/php/modules/openssl.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory), /usr/lib/php/modules/openssl.so.so (/usr/lib/php/modules/openssl.so.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)) in Unknown on line 0 PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'phar.so' (tried: /usr/lib/php/modules/phar.so (/usr/lib/php/modules/phar.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory), /usr/lib/php/modules/phar.so.so (/usr/lib/php/modules/phar.so.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)) in Unknown on line 0 PHP Warning:  Phar::mapPhar(): open_basedir restriction in effect. File(/usr/bin/composer) is not within the allowed path(s): (/srv/http/:/home/:/tmp/:/usr/share/pear/:/usr/share/webapps/:/etc/webapps/) in /usr/bin/composer on line 28 PHP Warning:  require(phar://composer.phar/bin/composer): Failed to open stream: phar error: invalid url or non-existent phar "phar://composer.phar/bin/composer" in /usr/bin/composer on line 29 PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught Error: Failed opening required 'phar://composer.phar/bin/composer' (include_path='.:') in /usr/bin/composer:29 Stack trace: #0 {main}   thrown in /usr/bin/composer on line 29

And so I have six errors and I'll be going through all of them one by one. I decided to document it here as a journal which can serve as a note for the future.

First up is the "Unable to load dynamic library 'gd'". 

This means "there's something wrong with gd.

What can we do?

1. Back up libgd.so first.
2. Restart server and install again

What is libgd.so? It's a GD Graphics library in a shared object file

• lib is for library
• gd is for GD Graphics or GIF Draw graphics
• .so is an extension name for shared objects file

So the error message is saying that it's unable to load the shared object. I checked the folder and it's not there. Next is to download and install: 

$ sudo pacman -S php-gd

Then restart httpd.service.

Installed Laravel again and the error message is gone, but not all. 

So on to the next one.

Why have a Website in 2015?

Why have a website when there’s Facebook? Isn’t that enough?

I've been getting this objection every time I offer my web services. I found that funny ten years ago. But hearing the same excuse to not create a website for their business is disheartening.

Here in Cavite Philippines, most of SMEs(small/medium enterprise) does not have websites. And, I think they have the same reason like what the rest of the world has. And that might be because:

1. websites are expensive to make, or
2. you don't have the time to do it, or
3. you'd rather use facebook, or
4. all of the above

I don't blame them if these are the case. However, the way they see website doesn't change the fact that having a website is valuable. It is so needed that asking why get a website feels like living in the cretaceous era. We can scour the net and get several reasons why your business or even just you need a website. But I'm not here to do your homework. You can leave this page now and go to google and search "why have a website". I even got the link for you. Or, you can stay and scroll down to what I've got to say.

Why have a website?

I'll narrow down my article to one reason why a websites' significance for your business should be considered a top priority.

Short answer: Credibility

Let me get to details.

I took the liberty of researching the same question "why have a website?". I got several results listing down all possible reasons. Below is the top answers I found. There are so many of them that I will only list the top five reasons aside from credibility.

1. Marketing (affordable, wider target, accessibility)
2. Time saver (presentation, faq, education)
3. Customer (service, relationship, communication)
4. Online presence

All of those listed above are already covered by social media.

Affordable Marketing - social media is free. A domain name and hosting would cost you. Not to mention the webdesign cost.

Wider Target - Everyone and anyone has a social media account.

Presentation - You can upload photos, videos and any kind of material in social media.

Customer Service - customer can chat with the company representative.

Online Presence - Social media is online presence.

There is one thing that social media cannot do that websites has been doing for years. That's boosting credibility.

So, why have a website?

Because social media is free, anyone can make an dummy account and pretend that it's the company it's pretending to be. On the other hand, you have to purchase domain name and/or hosting which makes pretending a hassle.

Another way that it gives credibility is the full control of the design of your website. From the user interface to the brand color to file organization, you're in complete control. With social media, there's only so much that you can do. Probably a profile pic or background color would be it.

To top it of, having your brand as your domain name is credible enough that it shouts your company means business. Your company is not just another profile on a social media site. And you can definitely say your company has an online presence.

So, why have a website?

It's about credibility. And that's here to stay.

What I learned from The Art of War: Winning Battles

 Every battle was won before it was fought

- Sun Tzu on The Art of War

People use this quote on different aspects. Some use it on business, some with their work, most of the time it is use in war. But this has more than what it means. This applies to all that you do: even walking.

Let's digest it:

Doing something has basic parts

1. Goal (Ends, Want, Effect)
2. Work(Means, Task, Cause)

When you do something, you have a goal in mind: a reason why you are doing it. If you don't have a reason then you are stupid. Even just wasting your time is a reason for doing something. Let's take your reading this article as an example. Why are you reading this? It could be that you are interested with Sun Tzu and his book. Perhaps, you got interested with the article itself. Maybe you are looking for knowledge or wisdom and you ended up here by chance. Every reason is valid. Some or most may or may not like it. But, it is valid and you have a reason: which means you are not stupid.

Before you can get to the goal, you do the work first. There is no sense in having a goal without working for it. It's like wanting to win the lottery without buying a ticket. Or, wanting to be in shape without working out. I think you get what I mean.

Now, what am I implying?

I define battle as the small or big things that we do in life. From taking an bath to leading a nation. We do battle everyday. And, when Sun Tzu say "Every battle was won before it was fought" I understood it as having accomplished things right after you have decided to do them. So, if you are fickle minded in doing something or has doubts about yourself on doing it, think about this article. There's always an answer, because every battle was won before it was fought.

Two Questions to Simplify Your Life

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. 

The Art Of War - Sun Tzu

Chapter 1: Number 3

In making decisions, one has to consider a lot of factors. In short everything needs to be considered. In the book The Art of War, there are five constant factors:

1. The Moral Law
2. Heaven
3. Earth
4. The Commander
5. Method and discipline

Which means a lot of thinking and doing is involve.

I'm lazy and I hate big tasks. I don't want to make long decision making. I want them done immediately, accurately and fast. And so, I have to just simplify the problem.

Once the problem is identified, ask these questions:

1. Is it Urgent?
2. Is it Important?

Sample: You were given 10 things to deal with and they want you to make a decision in 2 minutes. Go through each of them and ask "Is this urgent?". In the end you have divided them in two - urgent and non urgent. Next, concentrate on the urgent things and go through each of them, again and ask, this time, "Is this Important?". So, you have divided the urgent things to important and not important. Now everything is simple. Start deciding on this hierarchy

1. Urgent and important
2. Urgent but not important
3. Not Urgent but important
4. Not urgent and not important

Know this by heart and you'll be able to decide faster than ever.