I avoid discussing politics on johnpatrick.com. Voting is a different story. Edison Research estimated turnout at 115,000 on Monday night in Iowa, down from 186,657 in 2016. Those 72,000 voters were disenfranchised because of the weather. Their voice was not heard. The weather is one of a long list of reasons why millions of registered voters are disenfranchised. To learn about some of the other reasons, read Election Attitude – How Internet Voting Leads to a Stronger Democracy.

• 2.3 million voters served
• 125 successful elections
• Company’s pipeline encompasses five of the six populated continents, spanning 30+ countries
• ZERO successful attacks or breaches

As always, remember most startups fail. Never invest in a startup unless you are prepared to lose every penny you invest.

As of this writing Bitcoin was trading at $42,061. The gain for 2023 was about 160%. The approval of ETFs by the SEC yesterday is a game changer, in my opinion. It hasn’t been so far, but I believe it will. Institutional and large investors will now find it easy to add a stake of 5% or so in their funds. Blackrock’s Larry Fink says bitcoin ETFs are the first step in the technological revolution of finance. Smart man. We learned on Tuesday, Blackrock has already purchased 11,000 BTC. That is almost a half-billion dollars of BTC which likely won’t get traded. It is mostly going into big investor accounts who believe BTC is a good store of value and they will hang on to it. As more of this happens, BTC price will rise. Crypto bulls see BTC trading at $100K to $500K this year and up to $1,500,000 over the next five years. My view is nobody knows, but I am bullish.  My opinion, but not my recommendation to buy.

About 100 lawmakers and congressional staffers got a first hand look at the security of generative AI chatbots. This private event took place on Capitol Hill last week. The event, hosted by Hackers on the Hill and a few partner organizations, allowed participants to explore what a few popular large language models, including Meta’s Llama 2, are able to do, organizers told Axios. Hackers on the Hill is a semi-regular event which brings together cybersecurity experts (the hackers) with Congressional staffers to discuss important cybersecurity issues and policies.

This is a really good thing. Lawmakers are currently drafting bills that would regulate everything from how government offices can use AI to the security standards that AI models must meet. But, few lawmakers and staffers have had the chance to talk directly with hackers about how these models can actually be manipulated. 

The S&P 500 rallied 1% to an all-time high (4,800+), surpassing previous record set in 2022. Some analysts say it will go to 5,500 this year. All GAMMNAT stocks were up. Techs are gobbling up the world. GAMMNAT was at $32.5 trillion. Tech stocks, with exceptions are red hot. Some say time to sell. I am mostly hanging on although I did take some gains at yearend.

I don’t think I add much with my Wall Street comments. I suggest a click on MarketWatch will do a much better job.

I have appeared in two new articles this month:

Sun and Surf Magazine of Palm Coast, FL published, “AI: Should We Fear it or Embrace it?”

A new magazine in Ridgefield, CT called Ridgefield City Lifestyle has published, “AI and Healthcare: A conversation with Dr. John patrick about how AI is transforming the healthcare space“

Following are videos of talks I gave this year. I have been fortunate to be able to share my thoughts on technology with a number of groups. 

On September 14, I gave a talk on AI at the Ridgefield Library in Ridgefield, CT.

On July 21, I gave a lecture on AI @FoundersHallCT. I wan’t sure how many would turn out. It was a lot. Great interest in the topic. In addition to current events and outlooks, I told the audience about Robot Attitude: How Robots and Artificial Intelligence Will Make Our Lives Better. 

On March 8th I was the guest speaker at the first meeting of Probus in Palm Coast, Florida on March 8. Probus is a worldwide organization of retired and semi-retired men and women who come together to make new friends, learn new things, and have fun. There are over 4,000 Probus clubs in more than 100 countries, with over 400,000 members. Probus clubs are non-political, non-sectarian, and non-profit. They are self-governing and autonomous, and each club sets its own policies and activities.

On March 30, I gave my 12th annual lecture called Tech Talk at Hammock Dunes Club in Palm Coast, Florida where I live in the winter.

On March 23, gave a town hall-like speech and Q&A with the IT special interest group (SIG) of the New York Executive Forum. The event was via Zoom.

On April 19, I gave a talk and Q&A with a group of Union Carbide retirees. Some years ago, Union Carbide had its headquarters about a mile from where I live in Connecticut. The event was via Zoom.

There are many more videos of my lectures, interviews, etc. on my YouTube channel which you can find here.