Count me in for getting projects started. We need a server to run websites off of. If we can get one ‘minimum viable product’ or prototype running, we can attract some venture capital investment.
At this time I am learning Googles’ TensorFlow AI software. I have an idea and business model. Essentially it is the same as http://clarifai.com/ . This is what I had in mind before I learned about Clarifai. Many of the TensorFlow tutorials are ready to be implemented as ‘AI as a service’. I was making some good progress until I moved behind a firewall. If I had access to a VPN or a server that would redirect my web traffic, I could work on it again.
I am not an expert in AI or programming, but I am learning as I go. I need to find out how to implement a scalable website with user accounts and billing.
If I had someone knowledgeable to work with, this could be up and running with customers in a month or two - investors or not.
From there I would use the money to build more businesses.
Clarifai looks Interesting. They seem to have specialized in image recognition. So, we should not do exactly the same. We might want to do some brainstorming about what AI and TensorFlow in particular could be used for.
Interesting. What’s your targeted customer base? Clarifai seems to have some pretty big customers. Could we profit by targeting small companies instead?
I could set up a simple virtual private server from Digital Ocean for you, if you don’t need something really fancy or powerful. Perhaps also talk with @Macius_Szczur about what you need exactly.
If you have enough money, you might want to hire a full stack web developer who uses React. Alternatively, you could try to build something on your own, which will probably take ages. Or I’ll try to do it for you as programming exercise, but I’m not sure how that will work out, either. There are probably some easy CMS solutions for what you want, but I’m not sure how much they would scale.
Now that we are talking about AI: I wonder how my reputation system Quantified Prestige could profit from AI assistance. What might work is using AI to create simulations of an economy running on QP.
I want to compete with them directly on image recognition. Tensorflow does it well and will get better over time. I think Clarifai might use in-house AI software, that means that as the juggernaut of Google and the AI community that has sprouted up around Tenorflow advances, my little endeavor will benefit from the updates.
We can compete for the same customers and add new sectors as our capabilities expand.
This would be great! I just need something to redirect the browsing I do for Google searches. Also, Apache to host a little site until I can afford a dedicated server.
Some of the AI training can take time, but I was doing it on an old laptop. The seq2seq example I was working on takes 20 GB of disk space. If I am using the VPN, I can use free Google Cloud trials again while I get everything going.
So let’s pool our resources and make use of all the free goodness the web has to offer to bootstrap this. Once we have something to show we can pass it around the VC funding circuit and see if there is anyone interested in investing. I think the company could be solvent, pay its own hosting and employees without investment simply by customer sales.
There has to be a ‘ready to go’ free user accounts solution. I will look today.
Why do you think that it would be a good idea to go into direct competition with an established company, rather than trying to do something else? Do you think the proof of an existing market outweighs the problems you have from fighting against dominant competition?
Also, if Tensorflow was really suited for image recognition, why hasn’t Google already provided some kind of image recognition service using their own full fledged version of Tensorflow? Once Google starts provided that kind of service, what chances do you expect any competitor to have in this area?
Does that mean you want to have a competitive edge by being cheaper than the competition?
Ok, there are two options. Either you set up your own VPS on Digital Ocean – preferable using that previous link, since it contains my referral code, because that will give you $10 worth of hosting for free! Or you tell me exactly what you need, preferably via mail or PM and I set up a droplet for you. For the latter case, I would like to be compensated in Bitcoin for my expenses.
What’s your VPN? Digital Ocean supports a VPN for droplets in the same location. Not sure whether that would help you in any way, but it’s an interesting option in general. Also, what about using personal cloud software like ownCloud?
I think you should rather focus on first convincing potential collaborators that your ideas are viable. How much experience do you have with entrepreneurship and start-ups?
Hosting, sure. Apache server I can provide. Not sure about redirection, but you can always use one of the free VPN services, there are quite a few out there, supposed to be good enough.
I’m happy to have found that there are others who are actively exploring this concept. This is my first encounter with people who seek to utilize the principles of fractals in this way. I have a 4 yr old non profit that is based upon these principles. I built my organization as the umbrella for raising funds and sharing resources with the organizations connected to the project. We’re working in that capacity, with other organizations, at this time. I’m looking for others who really understand the vision and are ready to move on it. I’ve had problems finding Board Members who truly support the vision and those with expertise in technology, law and finance for supporting this kind of network and it’s common vision. I’m driven to continue moving forward with this vision because it makes so much sense as a way to accomplish charitable/philanthropic goals, together. Is there anyone in this forum who is knowledgable in the fields of technology, law and finance as they apply to this innovative effort?
Fascinating! How would you define the principles of fractals? And how do they define your non profit?
That’s great! Could you please elaborate on the vision and mission of your non profit?
Getting people that fit a large number of very specific criteria is of course a huge challenge. May I ask you to specify whether Board Members would require to be knowledgeable in all of the mentioned fields, or would you be glad about people who are experts in at least one of those areas?
We are a network of non-profits, businesses, ministries and individuals.
This is the mission of my non profit:
Providing non-profit, businesses, ministries and individuals a common link to one another and to the resources needed to carry out their mission; To link human services, The Arts, media, music other cultural groups and organizations, including advocacy, education, etc for the purpose of empowerment and sustainability of individuals and families. Members of this network receive benefits in the form of; funds to support their contribution of service as part of the collective program(s) provided by the network
We utilize The Arts to spark the desire to learn and explore, not just the performance aspect, but the business and technical side of the Entertainment Industry as well. We invite professionals in different areas of the entertainment industry (writing, technical, business, music, theater, film…) and colleges to teach and motivate youth and others, giving them the opportunity to explore these fields of study.
I would like each board member to be proficient in at least one of the areas I mentioned in my original post.
That sounds quite interesting. Where can interested people find out more about your network? Do you have a central online presence, or is it currently a network of sites of the constituent non-profits, businesses, ministries and individuals?
I have become skeptical towards the dichotomy of talking and doing. You absolutely need to talk with people to get serious things done. Working on ideas, and communicating them. Building connections, and networks. All of that is pretty much necessary to make stuff real in the end. If I had to make a distinction, it’s between talk that probably leads to nowhere, and talk what makes us smarter, more resourceful, and more able to achieve our goals.
Plans for Fractal Future have changed over time. At the moment, the best immediate way it could help people, is by bringing the right smart people together, in order to collaborate on some seriously future changing stuff, and to educate everyone about important futurist issues.
Mostly in the global noosphere. Once we have the knowledge how to solve our problems, implementing those solutions will be a minor exercise left to the reader.
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