Welcome to the second edition of The Nexus Now!

We are a free, specialized, business newsletter focussing on three verticals - Technology, Financial Economics, and Sustainable Energy.

Consider this your free guide to unparalleled research, trivia, and analysis.

In This Edition:

• Open AI fires back at Elon Musk

• Bitcoin halving - a monumentary periodic event will likely occur in April

• US success in clean energy installations

• and more…

TECHNOLOGY

Musk vs. Altman: A Rift in the Quest for Safe AI

In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk, a long-time advocate for careful development of AI, is locked in a legal battle with OpenAI, a research company he co-founded in 2015.

The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI, under CEO Sam Altman, has strayed from its original mission of prioritizing public good and safety in AI research, in favor of financial gain.

Musk believes Microsoft’s funding of Open AI prioritizes short-term profits over the long-term goal of ensuring AI development remains beneficial to humanity.

OpenAI maintains that funding allows them to accelerate R&D, leading to safer AI in the long run. They even showed emails from Elon citing how they’d need billions to compete against giants like Google.

Email Published by OpenAI in Response to Musk's Lawsuit

This highlights the inherent challenge for smaller AI companies: balancing the need for resources with the potential compromises of partnering with powerful corporations.

The outcome of this legal battle has far-reaching consequences. If OpenAI prioritizes profit over safety while working with a major corporation like Microsoft, it may set a worrying precedent for the future of AI.

Tumblr and Wordpress sell their data

404 Media has reported that Automattic, the parent company for Tumblr and WordPress, is preparing to announce deals selling user data to OpenAI and Midjourney.

As if that weren't bad enough, preparations for the sale went poorly, Cyle Gage, a product manager at Tumblr, revealed a data query mishap in preparation for sharing of the data.

Gage explained that the data query inadvertently collected a vast array of Tumblr posts spanning from 2014 to 2023, which also included private posts from public blogs, deleted content, and NSFW content among others.

Tumblr Content Statistics

This oversight not only poses a threat to user privacy but also raises concerns about the transparency and accountability of platform operations.

Automattic promises that it's blocked AI crawlers from scraping its sites and they are working directly with AI companies as long as there’s alignment with what the community cares about: attribution, opt-outs, and control.

It’s evident the intersection of tech, finance, and data ethics requires careful oversight to safeguard user privacy and autonomy.

Lenovo Goes Transparent

Remember those sci-fi movies where characters interacted with holographic information? Lenovo is making those dreams a reality, at least in concept form, with their new ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop.

This innovative device boasts a 17.3-inch Micro-LED display that's partially transparent, offering a glimpse into the future of technology where the physical and digital seamlessly blend.

This isn't the first time transparency has taken center stage in consumer electronics. Samsung unveiled a transparent TV at CES 2020, showcasing how screens can disappear into backgrounds when not in use.

Imagine sketching on a transparent screen while referencing physical documents underneath, or collaborating on projects with colleagues by overlaying digital content onto real-world objects.

Lenovo's innovative concept is a reminder that the future of technology is constantly evolving, and the lines between the physical and digital worlds could potentially blur further.

 FINANCE

Bitcoin’s 2024 Halving

Bitcoin Halving is widely considered to be one of the most important periodic events in the Bitcoin Blockchain technology.

What is halving? It’s an event that occurs every 4 years, where the rewards for mining Bitcoin are cut by 50%. The upcoming April 2024 halving will see the block reward decrease to 3.125 BTC. The halving plays a significant role in restricting the BTC supply and theoretically providing support for its price.

Bitcoin Halving: History of BTC Prices

Clearly, Bitcoin prices tend to go up over time and ‘halvings’ seem to boost prices. However, JP Morgan analysts predict prices will fall approximately 33% after the April halving. Their reason primarily being an assertion that BTC is already priced in, and that a decline in Bitcoin’s hashrate is possible.

A hashrate is the combined computational power used to mine and program cryptocurrency transactions.

On the other hand, BTC demand is far from abating. With the onset of large ETF’s and increased awareness, there is a strong argument to be made that the BTC price will continue soaring, even after hitting its record high of $69,000 a couple days ago. Only time will tell. 

Economy in a Goldilocks Scenario

When it comes to financial markets, very few things are more ideal than a ‘Goldilocks Scenario.’

A Goldilocks scenario is one in which inflation cools to a healthy amount, and economic growth remains robust. This is great news for investors.

According to Yardeni, akin to Goldilocks' favored porridge, the current conditions are deemed optimal—neither excessively hot nor too chilly—thus, fostering a bullish sentiment towards stocks.

There are 3 primary reasons, why we find ourselves in a Goldilocks scenario today: Businesses are witnessing a sharp rebound in positive sentiment, inflation is cooling with 1 year inflation expectations having fallen to 2%, and the unemployment rate remains at a record low.

The Goldilocks Scenario

While the above graph is not a representation of today’s economic market, it’s a great visualization for understanding what the ‘just right’ balance between strong employment, stable prices, and sustainable growth is.

WeBull’s Ambitious SPAC Merger

Webull, the popular digital investment platform, is poised to enter the public market through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) SK Growth Opportunities, valuing the merged entity at $7.3 billion.

SPAC’s, also known as blank check companies, serve as companies that are strictly formed to raise capital through initial public offerings.

SPAC Trends

SPAC’s are decreasing in popularity, having peaked between 2020 and 2021. However, the high profile WeBull deal, which is expected to close during the second half of 2024, can reignite the SPAC frenzy.

SPAC’s have the benefit of higher valuations greater speed to capital, and fewer regulatory demands as compared to traditional IPO’s. It would be interesting to see if SPAC’s make a comeback in 2024.

 SUSTAINABILITY

World’s First Winter Proof Lithium-Ion Battery?

Scientists have developed a revolutionary lithium battery which can operate in temperatures as low as -80 degrees Celsius.

Lithium batteries are some of the most important components of electric vehicles, and energy storage systems, driving the clean energy transition.

Their faster charge time, longer duration, and higher energy density make them extremely useful in these applications. However, their energy capacity reduces in cold environments, driving people away from adopting EV’s in places such as Norway.

Traditional Storage Requirements

The new discovery would allow batteries to function outside the traditional operating temperatures depicted above. Chinese scientists claim ‘the new electrolyte made with small sized solvents’ can combat this problem.

The tech is still a long way from mass production, but it holds potential to revolutionize the transport industry and accelerate the energy transition.

Toyota & Hyundai get Hydrogen cars in China

This week's announcement from Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. regarding their plans to introduce hydrogen fuel-cell passenger cars in China marks a groundbreaking moment in the automotive sector.

The move marks a shift from focusing on commercial vehicles to including passenger cars in China's market. Hydrogen cars unlike, conventional gasoline or EV’s, utilize hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity.

Hydrogen-Fueled Cars Vs Battery Electric Cars

Despite the promise of hydrogen fuel-cell cars, they face significant hurdles hindering widespread adoption. Challenges include limited infrastructure for refueling and it's lower energy density

While electric vehicles have gained traction, hydrogen fuel-cell cars are yet to overcome these barriers for widespread implementation. Only time will reveal whether these challenges can be overcome.

Clean Energy Installations

Clean energy installations in the United States hit a new high in 2023. The addition of 33.8 GW of new utility-scale clean energy projects exceeded the previous record set in 2021 by 12.5%.

Solar and storage projects led this growth, contributing 16% of the nation's electricity. The U.S. now has 262 GW of clean energy powering its grid, equivalent to powering 69 million American homes.

Solar, wind, and storage accounted for 77% of new power capacity, while utility-scale solar installations soared to 19.6 GW. Investment in domestic clean energy manufacturing has also grown significantly

Annual Clean Power Capacity Trend

Corporate buyers are playing a significant role in driving clean energy demand, with tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Google leading the way.

While the clean energy industry celebrates its progress, achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 requires accelerated efforts. Sustained momentum and policy support will be crucial to meet goals.

STAT OF THE WEEK