Crypto climate challenges, the surge of one-way interviews, and Amazon One’s palm and pay technology is expanding.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Wednesday, March 10, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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Although Bitcoin has been making waves, concerns over its carbon footprint remain. The New York Times recently quoted Bill Gates saying “Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind, and so it’s not a great climate thing.” Its transactions equate to the amount of electricity emitted by all of New Zealand or Argentina, or watching over 55,280 hours of YouTube. And as Bitcoin’s demand increases so does the competition to mine new tokens. Now the question is are companies like Paypal and Tesla who are advocating for environmental initiatives and yet investing into Bitcoin contradicting themselves? It will be interesting to see if and how companies address the crypto climate challenge. Despite its carbon footprint, the price of Bitcoin is still thriving at around $50,000 USD.
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How does a job interview without the employer sound? Companies and recruiters are increasingly using asynchronous video interview (AVI) platforms where candidates record answers to their questions. In Canada, Toronto’s Knockri and Moncton-based VidCruiter have dabbled with AVI techniques and their use has increased during the pandemic. These one-way interviews can make scheduling easier and cut travel costs. However, job seekers are concerned about bias and privacy concerns. AI advocates claim AVI can reduce unconscious bias if trained to ignore race and gender but this isn’t really trusted. Platform experts say AVIs works best in front of a neutral background. Using hand gestures and looking straight into the camera lens when speaking doesn’t hurt. [LinkedIn]
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Amazon is expanding its palm recognition tech to more of its stores in Seattle. Amazon One was announced last year and works by scanning your hand to identify details like vein patterns. It’s convenience is unmatched, but there are concerns on how the data could be used if more third-party businesses start using the service. The Amazon One website allows other companies to contact its sales team. How would you feel about palm and pay? Let us know in the show comments.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your mailbox every day. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening!