Today was our last day of the trip. We started the day at the University of Nicosia with two lectures from esteemed faculty, including Dr. Demetris Trihinas, professor of data science, and UNIC CEO, Dr. Polemitis. Dr. Trihinas delivered a presentation about data science and machine learning. While computers were once limited to transactional services and data registries, Dr. Trihinas stated that the world is now essentially a data source because of machine learning as well as the internet. He even claimed that data is now just as valuable as oil. Coined in 2010, data science is the transformation of data into structured information in order to extract knowledge. Such knowledge is both fast and efficient, according to Dr. Trihinas. AI has data mining algorithms. Data mining involves the efficient extraction of patterns, trends, and relationships. Immediate and concrete answers are not considered data mining. Dr. Trihinas also discussed algorithmic modeling, which he described as an abstraction of real-world processing, where we attempt to represent reality. When looking at a data chart, Dr. Trihinas advised that we always start with crafting a visual representation of the data. Other data mining techniques include clustering and classification. We circled back to the topic of AI and learned that computers are taught to accomplish a task without explicit instruction. While training is helpful, Dr. Trihinas warned us that too much training can cause overfitting, which means that generators memorize information instead of actually learning it. I was appreciative of the opportunity to hear about the rise of machine learning from Dr. Trihinas because I am confident that machine learning will be very relevant in my career. Even in my first-year business classes, we learned about the uses of AI and how vital they will be in future business practices. It is necessary to understand the foundations of machine learning and AI because our generation will be tasked with understanding it and incorporating it into business operations. 

Next, we heard from the CEO of UNIC, Dr. Polemitis. His lecture on blockchain and cryptocurrency was incredibly fascinating. I can certainly say I now have a strong interest in Dr. Polemitis’ line of work. He started his lecture with a transparent statement that blockchain and cryptocurrency are really only in the first ten years of a likely forty-year cycle. Dr. Polemitis explained that these topics, like the invention of the internet, take years to be fully implemented. UNIC is in a promising position to be a leading research institution for blockchain and cryptocurrency and has fifty faculty members working in crypto assets. Dr. Polemitis’ actual discussion of blockchain began with a lesson about databases, where he explained that everything today is essentially a database. These databases have been centralized, with fewer companies and fewer databases but larger differences between them. This model concentrates power in the hands of major companies (Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter (X), for example). Everyone’s information is stored on these databases as well as most of the government’s data. Dr. Polemitis turned to an example. People living in or visiting New York City could hail a taxi at any time without being rejected by a driver or company. Now, apps like Uber or Lyft control the market. If someone is banned from these apps, they cannot find a taxi. These companies set effective bans without any law. Currently, almost everything on the internet is privatized. Crypto assets, however, are public spaces. Dr. Polemitis posed a question to the group: are there benefits to having a group database that cannot be controlled by one executive? With crypto assets, people can store valuable information online that no one can ever change. At the conclusion of his presentation, I asked Dr. Polemitis a question regarding his discussion of physical public spaces (he used the example of roads and parks) versus digitized public spaces. Considering that physical public spaces are overseen by the government and maintained through taxpayer money, should the government have similar jurisdiction over digitized public spaces like crypto? Dr. Polemitis said that he has been to numerous conferences with lawmakers and businesspeople who have said that the government should take a laissez-faire approach to dealing with crypto assets. Yet, he believes that the government must be involved, considering that crypto supports public data. He claimed that governments are being too conservative and that they should discourage large companies from having massive databases. He transitioned to talking about the influence of databases in American politics. Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk only have two votes as U.S. citizens, yet they control databases with billions of users. There is an imbalance in what governments want and what they have in practice when it comes to crypto. 

After leaving UNIC, we drove back to our hotel. There, we were given free time to grab lunch and explore the city. Some friends and I walked around and did some souvenir shopping. Afterwards, I had lunch at an Italian restaurant and ordered pasta, which was delicious. I walked around some more after eating lunch and arrived back at the hotel several hours later. My roommate and I still need to pack for our departure from the hotel later this evening. Before we leave, the group will be having a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. All of our guides will be attending. It is hard to believe our two weeks are almost over, but I have had an amazing and enriching experience in Cyprus. I am looking forward to seeing everyone we have met at the dinner tonight before we depart!