There is a whole lot of talk nowadays about power, who has it, who wants it, who should have it. What you do not hear a lot about is what exactly power is and where it really comes from. We believe that everybody in a free and capitalistic democracy should have it -- and we believe that one of the surest sources of it is knowledge. Those who possess crucial information and the knowhow to put that information to use effectively will be heads and shoulders above those who do not -- and not because they are better or more deserving but simply because they have that knowledge. The fact is that knowledge is and always has been the ultimate equalizer or advantage if you had it and others did not, and the ultimate granter of access to all that you could be. It's why monks slaved by candlelight to find and preserve the words of wisdom from the Greek and Roman empires almost lost forever during the Dark Ages by rewriting every word by hand. It's why the invention of the printing press, radio and TV and, ultimately, the internet on which you are reading this article changed the world. Conversely, it's the reason why for centuries those who wanted to keep people down and out of power have tried to keep knowledge out of the hands of those they wanted to oppress. In the United States, for instance, during the era of slavery, slave codes actually made it illegal to teach slaves to read or write. And in current day Afghanistan, women are not even allowed to go to school.

In God’s Ponzi, Robert Buschel builds on his storytelling skills and knowledge of law and technology to provide readers with an engaging legal drama. Buschel tells the story through the protagonist, Greg Portnoy. Driven by loyalty and revenge, Greg spins a complex web of criminal activity. He believes he is “committing these crimes for the right reasons,” and “the world will be in a better place” when he is done. From the start, Buschel sets the stage for increasingly far-fetched plots and schemes. Greg begins his story with his lifelong friend, Joseph Lars Legee. While in high school, they hacked into the bank’s computer to recover the money his father lost through a Ponzi scheme. Greg assumes the role of protector and avenger, a role he continues to play throughout the story and that drives him to lead a group of friends into a dangerous and global Ponzi scheme. Greg recognizes his need to feel important, beat others, protect people

At Fortune 500 real estate giant JLL headquarters, there's a two-story gathering place that looks like a night club. It includes a barista bar and is called "The Point." Even though JLL employees are spread out over six or seven floors in that building, they gravitate to The Point because they are more likely to just bump into coworkers they wouldn't ordinarily see. That's led to more collaboration, according to JLL Digital CIO Eddy Wagoner. Indeed, some of the company's clients prefer to meet at this JLL building rather than go out to, say, a dinner meeting, he said.

Commercial property firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. announced Wednesday its intent to acquire artificial intelligence startup Skyline AI Inc., in the latest example of how the technology is increasingly being used to gain a competitive advantage in the real-estate industry. The real-estate and investment management services firm known as JLL said it plans to use New York-based Skyline AI's technology to help clients predict future property values, identify new investment opportunities and decide when to raise rent, renovate or sell, among other business decisions. "It'll give our real estate clients deeper and faster insights," related to buying, developing, operating, selling and financing properties, said Yishai Lerner, co-chief executive of JLL Technologies, a division that focuses on enhancing technology capabilities for JLL. JLL manages more than 5.4 billion square feet of real-estate property around the world and its clients include owners of so-called multifamily or residential buildings, as well as institutional pension funds, insurance companies and real-estate property companies, among others. The deal for Skyline AI will close within days, Mr. Lerner said.

The company uses unique data sets, AI and machine learning algorithms to process data from more than 300 sources quickly and drive real estate decision making. Skyline AI tracks 10,000 attributes like owner information, property characteristics, demographics, historical transactions and debt for 400,000 multifamily properties across the US. The acquisition will allow JLL to incorporate that technology into client-facing platforms so clients can "better predict future property values, improve cost savings, identify promising investment opportunities and make critical business decisions, such as when to raise rent, renovate or sell," JLL said in a statement.

As the saying goes, it's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. But through a new acquisition, commercial brokerage JLL thinks it's found a way for clients to see where property values are headed -- and what tenants will be willing to pay down the road. JLL is set to close on the purchase of artificial intelligence startup Skyline AI, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm aims to use Skyline's technology to help clients estimate future property values and pick new investment opportunities. Other purported benefits include data that can inform when to adjust rents or opportune times to renovate or sell.

IBM's Watson supercomputer has beat Jeopardy champions, reconstituted recipes, and even helped create highlight reels for the World Cup. Now it's taking on a new tech challenge; changing how the construction industry operates. A new partnership between IBM and Fluor, a global engineering and construction company, will put the supercomputer's computational skills to work on making building more efficient. The new Watson-based system, in development since 2015 and now in use on select projects, will be able to analyze a job site "like a doctor diagnoses a patient," according to Leslie Lindgren, Fluor's vice president of Information Management. That degree of risk analysis, predictive logistics, and comprehension is no small challenge given the complexity of today's construction megaprojects.

Her name is JiLL and she is here to assist you as the new receptionist and concierge at the company's facilities management division in Sydney. Chris Hunt, Australasian Head, Integrated Facilities Management at JLL shows JiLL a 57cm tall NAO robot. JiLL joins the team as the firm's corporate front of house admin team for it's new offices at 50 Carrington Street She is 57cm tall humanoid NAO robot and part of the agent's next step in what it calls its workplace strategy. Having robots in warehouses is not a new idea, but creating one to be the front of house administrator shows where automation could lead in the white collar office sector. The idea is that some tasks can now be done by robots, leaving employees to focus on more in-depth "tactical activities".

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is about the convergence of automation, artificial intelligence and rising connectivity. In the next five to 10 years, the adoption of these emerging technologies has the potential to raise efficiency, productivity and income levels to improve quality of life in Southeast Asia. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterised by the fusion and amplification of emerging technology breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. This will be multiplied by the extreme connectivity between billions of people with mobile devices with unprecedented access to data and knowledge. Southeast Asian countries have the potential to leapfrog ahead of other developing nations by embracing new technologies to transform how people work, live and play, according to a new report by real estate consultancy JLL.