Month: February 2023

<strong>Let’s get to know our KUOSC Community Coordinators</strong>

Let’s get to know our KUOSC Community Coordinators

KUCC Journal

This article is an interview-based article. For this article, Mr Bisheshwor Neupane, the ML Community Coordinator, has been interviewed with a series of questions by the Documentation team.

Machine learning is a topic that has come into the hype and grabbed the interest of many IT and non-IT background enthusiasts. However, many people don’t take up the subject due to its complexities. To help students of Kathmandu University understand the subject of Machine Learning and help them excel in it, we have a Machine Learning Community under the KUOSC Community. Through this article, you shall get to know the coordinator of ML Community and get to know his point of view on the subject of Machine Learning.

Bisheshwor Neupane

Mr Bisheshwor Neupane

ML Community Coordinator

Tell us something about yourself

I am a resident of a small yet beautiful town in the Kavre district — Banepa and currently a pre-final student of Computer Engineering and ML Community Coordinator for the year 2021–22. Machine Learning Community falls under the roof of KUOSC. Talking about my interests, I am interested in multiple fields but have been sharpening my skills in Python and Django for a few years now. I am also taking steps to be good in Machine Learning and Deep Learning. These two subjects are the ones I am most inclined to. Also with these, I keep a keen interest in web development and game development. And not to miss out, recently I have come to know that I can sing very well. So, when assignments and projects build up pressure, I write lyrics and rap. You will also find me making art and doing paintings in my free time.

Share your ups and downs as a student of Computer Engineering

Life is full of ups and downs. To be honest, there have been more downs than ups. The main reason for the downs is that I try to put my hands on multiple areas and come up with terrible failures. The thing that I at times don’t like about myself is, that I easily get diverted from what I am doing, and this nature of mine doesn’t allow me to get the result as per my effort, which is actually a sad thing.

When I think about the best part of my life, I would say the times that I spent with my mates at classes and after the classes hanging around the gym, pool house and the all-time favourite, Sitoshna. Moreover, thinking about something great and best that I would like to take as ups on my personal side, I would like to thank the lockdown. Lockdown actually helped me explore myself and to my surprise, I came to know that I can sing well enough. I can write good lyrics and rap and I even started a YouTube channel with my name to let my passion take a good platform and for this, I am really proud of myself.

Define ML by adding your perception.

In my opinion, Machine Learning is a prediction. There are certain data and with a good depth of knowledge of those data, we can predict something new. I personally believe that ML has a very bright future since it can be useful in different fields, especially in the health sector. We can use ML to predict the possibilities of changes that might arise in the next generation. There are other areas too where we can use the expertise of ML. Robotic arms, vehicles, flying cars and automatic pilots are some areas that I would like to note. Every day it’s so great to get lost in imagining all the possibilities of what can come next. Especially while watching sci-fi movies. They really give chills running down my spine while getting lost in the new world of ML imagination. It won’t be wrong if I say, the future is Machine Learning.

What motivated you to start this ML community?

One day while I was scrolling through YouTube, and suddenly a video popped up as a recommendation. At first, I thought it would be a great source for killing time. But, who knew that video would be the source of adding fuel to my motivation for starting the journey in an ML? I actually don’t remember who was actually talking in the video, but all those words are totally carved inside of my brain like a beautiful art piece that acts as a source of motivation whenever I think of giving up sometimes to what I have already started.

What, I, actually have experienced and come to know is, very few people are involved in the ML field. One of the main reasons that I have come to know behind the low ratio in the ML field is the complexity to learn the subject and the huge time commitment to be practically proficient in the subject. Google Keynote Speech has been my main motivation. I would say that I am still in the beginning phase and have a lot to walk until I am proficient in ML. I have started this community to help people like me who have an interest in ML, and the best way would be to show a roadmap to ML. This community will be a group where we will be sharing theory and practical knowledge, about deployments and also books and courses that would be helpful while learning ML.

Your struggle while starting the journey in ML

Yes, ML is a tough domain and I am still in the struggling phase. I started my ML journey in the 3rd semester of Computer Engineering, which is about a year or 2 ago. I have done a few small projects for my college semester project. I am reading books related to ML and surfing the internet to get better knowledge and understanding of the subject that I love. When I look at the projects done by others from around the world, I feel like I still have a long way to go.

What can a person or an ML enthusiast expect from this year’s community?

I would like everyone to know that whatever problems related to ML arise, this community is always there for you. We have an outstanding ML team sharing knowledge of ML with each other. I have drafted certain plans to keep all the enthusiasts motivated and excel in the fields of ML. This community will be a support to all (novice to expert) while paving the way to ML. We will definitely have workshops, conferences and talk shows which will be beneficial to know how and where to start.

What are your goals and plans as a coordinator of ML?

I have come up with this community to show the right track to beginners and all ML learners so that they continue in this field and leap up to further areas of ML.

Yes, I definitely have plans and I have been planning basically for the novice. As ML is such a vast topic and experts are needed to explore its depth. It is a bit challenging for me to provide in-depth knowledge due to a lack of resources. Apart from these, I have planned to conduct an AI conference wherein I will try my best to incorporate industry and research knowledge. I have also been planning to hold an ML workshop that would cover the basic concept of ML. Along with these, I would also like to conduct an ML competition if possible.

How are you planning to change the perception of ML via this community?

The first message that I would like to convey is, ML is not complex if guided properly and I along with my team are there for you to guide. I would say keep yourself updated about the ongoing events in the fields of ML and AI. A proper roadmap would definitely lead you to the most beautiful destination- Machine Learning. A common suggestion to all, focus on the basics. Keep exploring because there is a lot of stuff on the internet that would be beneficial for fast learning.

Roadmap to ML

There are many beneficial courses on Coursera for faster learning. There are plenty of books online. GitHub’s repositories have always been our best friends to learn and explore. You can also surf through deeplearning.ai, where you can find some amazing courses on AI. Before hopping straight away into your own new projects, work on projects available on Google. If your interest is in research, then paperswithcode.com would be the place you might be missing out. ML is more of research than implementation. If you want to play with datasets, Kaggle.com would be really a great source for you all, too.

Some words of motivation to those who are scared to start the journey in ML.

There’s a lot of new room for opening up great ideas and projects. Every day, it makes me gasp in awe to see the new rising possibilities. While starting this journey, if you are a crazy person, trust me, when you are somewhere in the middle of the journey, you will end up being crazier. Let me add the main motivation to you, “ If you keep on continuing working on the journey of reading and involving in ML, there’s a lot of money kept in store for you!”

Interviewed by: Ms Melina Shakya

<strong>Web 3</strong>

Web 3

KUCC Journal

A topic of conversation!

“Web 3”, “Web3” or “Web 3.0”, whatever you want to call it, is a topic of conversation today! It won’t be shocking if, you haven’t heard about Web 3, because it’s recently launched in September 2021.

Let me guide you on Web 3 via this article!

Don’t be confused with Semantic, i.e. Web. Web 3.0, is an extension of the World Wide Web through standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It is the third generation of online services where AI-based semantics, AR/VR-based immersive-ness, and blockchain-based decentralization come together to create transparent, ubiquitous, open, and socially responsible internet experiences. In simple words, it is an identity layer for the internet. “Web 3 represents the next generation of the internet, one that focuses on shifting power from big tech companies to individual users,” says Robert Stevens.

It was elaborated by Berners-Lee along with AI researcher James Alexander Hendler and computer scientist Ora Lassila in a 2001 Scientific American article. The goal of Web 3 is to make Internet data machine-readable. The emergence of Web 3 is the result of the sequence of improvements done in the concept according to the need of time.

There were two different versions before Web 3. The first version of the Internet — known as Web 1 — arrived in the late 1990s and comprised a collection of links and homepages. The websites weren’t particularly interactive. You couldn’t do much apart from reading things and publishing basic content for others to read. Then was the era of Web 2. Some people call this the “read/write” version of the internet. This version of the Internet allowed people to not only consume content, but create their own content and publish it on blogs like Tumblr, Internet forums, and marketplaces like Craigslist. Later, the emergence of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram took content sharing to new heights. And enters Web 3, which can be understood as the “read/write/own” phase of the Internet. Rather than just using free tech platforms in exchange for our data, users can participate in the governance and operation of the protocols themselves. This means people can become participants and shareholders, not just customers or products. In rather simpler words, you have the freedom to manipulate your data on your terms.

Web 2 has major drawbacks because of this Web 3 was brought into existence to overcome this backwardness of Web 2. Web 2 is based on a centralized client-server structure. However, Web 3 was developed to break this centralized system into distributed ledgers. It is built using artificial intelligence, machine learning and the semantic web, and uses the blockchain security system to keep your information safe and secure. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will help in decoding and filtering online data and offering the most relevant choices to users. The Internet of Things (IoT) will help the interoperability layer of Web 3 to connect the internet to smart devices. Blockchain will help in achieving decentralized data storage and foster faith in the virtual world. It is the foundation for web 3.0.

Walking you through Web3, here is the list of advantages and disadvantages that gives more of a basic idea related to Web3.

The advantages of Web 3 are:

  1. Encrypted data
  2. Accessible data and multiple backups
  3. Transparency
  4. Enhanced data processing
  5. Single profile creation
  6. Restrictionless platform

The disadvantages of Web 3 are:

  1. Very advanced to use
  2. Complicated functionality
  3. Difficult to adopt

Now, as you have all already come across the idea of what actually Web 3 is, and now you all might have started to think about and notice the devices and technologies present in your surroundings. Take a look around you, and think about the applications of Web 3.

I am sure, you all might have guessed at least a few. Let me take you through some basics as well as some of the unknown words to your ears.

Some applications of Web 3 are:

  1. Apple’s Siri
  2. Wolfram Alpha
  3. Sola
  4. Steemit
  5. IDEX
  6. e-Chat
  7. Everledger

Web 3 is the idea of the next generation of the Web, where most people will be connected on a decentralized network and people will also have control of their own data. It will take a little time to understand the complexities of Web 3, as it is a very new topic. However, the development of this new version will make the vision clear and the world will probably be covered with Web 3, a vague topic now.

Writing credit

Melina Shakya

<strong>Blockchain Technology</strong>

Blockchain Technology

KUCC Journal

A new entry for a new era!

Introduction

Blockchain was first introduced in the 1990s, but it became very popular after 2009 when an anonymous person named “Satoshi Nakamoto” introduced Bitcoin.

Blockchain is the list of records called blocks that are linked together via cryptography. It can simply be understood as a ledger, where each block contains relevant data like financial transactions, medical records, etc. A block contains a unique hash, which is the digital signature of the data in the block and which helps to uniquely identify a block from other blocks. The initial/first block is known as the genesis block. Each block is linked with other blocks and the other block contains the hash of the previous block.

Why does Blockchain matter?

As mentioned earlier, a block contains a unique hash and also a hash of the previous block. So, if anyone tries to tamper with the data or information stored in the block, the hash of the block gets changed. Since, the next block is storing the hash of the previous block and since the previous block’s hash gets changed, the next block becomes invalid as it no longer stores the previous block’s hash.

Also, the blockchain is a distributed database, i.e., there is no central system or server and the data is available to computers all around the world. Users from all over the network can get a full copy of the blockchain i.e. all the data like transactional data, records, etc., and they can verify and keep track of the data, which helps maintain transparency.

Some Applications of Blockchain:

Blockchain technology has become a very major factor in the development of whole new technology and ideas like Cryptocurrency, Web3, NFT, and Decentralized Voting applications (DApps).

Here in this article, we will be discussing two of the trending applications of Blockchain i.e. Cryptocurrency and NFT.

Cryptocurrency

In the present time, where every little object, whether it be a certain tool or it is an asset, everything has taken its grand entry on the digital platform, and this has made everything happen with a click. It was more than obvious that the centralized currency system was heading towards its extinction. . If we just pause and think about it, it’s something extraordinary, it’s like magic!

Let’s understand what exactly is cryptocurrency.

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency, where the blockchain is used to record and secure every transaction. Since it works on blockchain technology, it does not have central issuing or regulating authorities and is decentralized, i.e. the payment is sent directly from one party to another party without going through financial institutions. If in case, we make payments or transactions with cash or digital payment service provided by banks or e-wallets the transactions go from sender to receiver through the middleman like banks and other financial institutions. The services provided by financial institutions no doubt are very useful and convenient, but there are some ways where things could get wrong and cause inconvenience.

Some of the few scenarios would be:

  1. Technical issues like the system being down
  2. Bank account being hacked
  3. The transfer limit being exceeded
  4. The capital loss due to the middleman(transaction cost)

These all situations can be prevented by the use of cryptocurrency. Since the cryptocurrency contains no middleman, the transactions are simply from sender to receiver where the system checks the necessary criteria like required balance, user authentication, etc. and the transaction takes place in a matter of minutes.

The top 10 Cryptocurrencies in March 2022 as listed by Forbes are:

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Tether
  • Binance Coin
  • US Dollar Coin
  • XRP
  • Terra
  • Cardano
  • Solana
  • Avalanche

NFT

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. They are digital representations of assets on blockchain with unique identification codes. Since the identification codes are unique i.e. the token is unique, the asset becomes non-replaceable. The assets may be anything like music, digital painting, video game skins, tweets, etc. 

Let us understand the term ‘non-Fungible’ with a simple example. Suppose, you and your friend have a bitcoin, so you can digitally exchange your bitcoin with your friend’s bitcoin, and both have the same value, suppose you have a painting, and if you exchange your painting with the painting possessed by your friend you will get a whole new thing as the previous painting was unique in itself i.e. it does not have the same value. NFT allows the buyer to own the original item, and it contains built-in authentication, which serves as proof of ownership. The unique identity and ownership are stored in a blockchain, typically on the Ethereum blockchain.

Nowadays, selling digital artwork using this technology is a great hype. Popular Bollywood actor ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ made 7 crores selling his NFT collection. Not only popular artists but, also has made ordinary people millionaires. A very great incident took place where Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali, an Indonesian student, took a photo of himself every day for five years and sold his selfies as NFTs and his collection reached a trading volume of more than $1 million. Buying selfies for this huge money may seem very absurd but many people have the habit of collecting this kind of thing which opens the door to new opportunities for many creative people.

Not only digital arts but tweets as well by famous personalities have been sold as NFT which was bought at a very high price. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet as an NFT for the price of $2,915,835.47. NFTs are typically sold and bought with cryptocurrency. NFT now has become a great medium to sell your creations online in the digital world.

Potential & feasibility of Blockchain Technology in Developing Countries like Nepal

Blockchain technology has great potential in developing countries like Nepal. Yet there still exist some challenges on the way forward. The transaction records and other important data when kept by a single organization, it is very easy to manipulate, and high possibility of getting tampered with data by authority figures or other important people for their benefit. Now, if Blockchain technology is used to store such data, it cannot be modified and tampered with easily for some personal benefit. So, this, in a way, helps to solve the huge problem of corruption. The Nepal Government also can use it to keep and manage records of its citizens. Blockchain technology can also be implemented for fair and transparent elections to ensure that the votes have gone to the person whom we have voted for as the records will be stored in the blockchain and no one can modify the votes for their personal or political benefits. Financial transaction which requires middlemen like banks and other financial institutions can eliminate the middlemen using blockchain technology as people now no longer require the help of these institutions to send or receive money. Blockchain technology can also be very helpful in tracing the origin of the product. For example, if you buy a vegetable from a store; how do you know where the vegetable has come from to ensure its quality? So, the use of blockchain technology will be of great help in such cases as the origin of the product can easily be traced, and the citizens can buy quality goods and food items for a better lifestyle.

Conclusion:

So, Blockchain technology is considered to be a technology that is growing from good to great, as it has successfully been implemented in developing whole new technology like Cryptocurrency, NFT, and concepts like Web3. Blockchain has led the foundation for building a decentralized and transparent system for the people, industries, various institutions, and the country as a whole for economic and financial development. Information and data now with the help of Blockchain can easily be traced and cannot be tampered which proves that Blockchain in the future is not only going to be limited to the present application of the technology, technologies, and services in the future for sure will use Blockchain Technology and this technology experience immense growth in coming days.

Writing Credit

Sushankhya Chapagain

Engineering: The Fairy Tale

Engineering: The Fairy Tale

KUCC Journal

Need a wand or want just a lifetime memory?

For someone like me, especially, a guy who believed he will never ever be having a special day that will be worth remembering. But, who knew, the same guy will be marking a special day and be able to share it as well.

For me, that special day was 28th February 2021.

The day where I started my journey to be an Engineer, not just an Engineer, a Cool Computer one! Little did I know, back then, that this would be a quest for eternity.

Among the thousands who couldn’t join their dream Ivy League undergraduate school, I am also one.

I never thought for a second that, writing this one year later, I will be this happy as a year-old member of The Family of Kathmandu University.

As we enter the world of the kitchen, we find out there are several ingredients, some of which we are already aware of and some of which we are introduced to. As a normal being, I thought, entering engineering would be similar to entering a restaurant with different names yet, serving the same dishes. But, who knew, here, that same dishes would be named in the most fascinating way according to the people and places. For me, it felt like, calling a normal glass of water, Mineral water! Sounds fancier, but it is still water. The first flavour of engineering that I came across was probably the most believed, ‘The Cinematic Engineering’. The second and cool one that we get introduced to from the engineering seniors & chit-chat circles, is ‘The Chill Engineering’. Some other incarnations of Engineering we get introduced to are ‘You will be sitting on a pile of cash Engineering’,’ The Party-Party Engineering’, and’ The Soulmate Engineering’.

I can now tell you, after a year, that this is not what Engineering is.

Anyone, I repeat anyone, who is a true Engineer will laugh out of their lungs every time s/he hears of these variants.

Starting from the most beautiful aspect of Engineering, Friends. The most common aspect among all the variants of Engineering is the circle we make throughout this period. Generally, the friends we make during the starting weeks are the ones who stay together throughout the duration and might even be throughout life. From tea gathering to pee gathering, from birthday cakes to beautiful treks, from sports to projects, festivals and roadside dance, the most unpleasant jamming sessions they are the ones who support. To enjoy your Engineering life to the fullest, remember to make some quality circles.

This is only one side of the story, no matter what you will find some people who you just can’t resonate with, and it’s totally up to you whether you choose to enjoy the cherishable or just keep lamenting.

But in Engineering all about this only? No, the serious stuff is yet to come. Loads of assignments, tons of quizzes, midterms, end sem, internal-external viva, projects, and God knows what else. It will be very untrue to say that these are impossible to go through, as you will often feel to be the only person who has to go through this. It’s never about the load, but how well you can handle your time and grow under pressure. This is the life-changing skill you will have developed, once you are into this.

Distractions, peer pressure, over-excitement, and under-excitement are integral parts of this journey. You can never have them completely out of this journey, which will result as disturb in the equilibrium, rather you have to make sure to embrace all of these and still remain intact to what you desire to become, an Engineer.

All these things about Engineering, but the unbeaten truth is once you are into Engineering, it never leaves you till the end, it will always be an integral part of you. The part that shines out over all others.

Writing Credit
Sangam Ghimire

The underrated love

The underrated love

KUCC Journal

A love so underrated yet beautiful

Love, a beautiful feeling. Some spill words into paper and call it poetry and some manage to express the unsaid. LOVE is said to be selfless! Keeping someone else above you, forgiving things that you don’t usually approve of, expecting nothing in return, and doing anything and everything from the inner core of the heart. This reminds me of the only love in this world that we don’t have to earn, that we have the privilege to get right from birth. The only selfless love; is by our parents. It takes a lot to be selfless, To be able to give that kind of love.

But, it is a human trait to undervalue the things that we get for free.

Funny, isn’t it? How we used to be loveable without having to put any extra effort to be beautiful and better than someone. We don’t have to fit into the societal beauty standards or the choosing game to be loved by our parents.

Parents are our personal diaries. We write in them every single day, never failing to explain how it felt; how exciting or how sad the day was. But slowly growing up, we forget to write as fluently as we used to. We even forget what we wrote there after years. They know our first friend that we met in primary school. The blurred image that comes to our mind when we hear of them; our parents remember every little detail of them though they are slowly forgetting where they kept their glasses minutes ago. They know the bunch of friends we made in our extra-friendly era and the only friend that exists now. They know which one might probably betray us when things go upside down. And when we keep defending them against our parents, they prove us so wrong that there will be nothing left to say.

They know more than us. They always manage to know what’s better for us with the slightest information available. And we always regret doing things that they didn’t approve of. They just care too much. And there lies the problem. If only they didn’t care much, maybe they could get the attention and the appreciation they truly deserve. But how could a parent not care enough?

Your parents tell you about your privilege of a roof over your head, the good food you get, the A-class education, and the comfy clothes you wear every now and then. Do you feel “ But that’s not something one must mention as it is their duty!” It was them who decided to give birth, and they should have known this follows. But this is a very wrong perception, I say. That’s not ranting as we feel like it is. It is because they put extra effort into giving you a better life than what they got from their parents. It is their way of saying that they tried their best, giving you a life you wouldn’t question. They haven’t mentioned all the love they give to you, the career they declined for your sake, the trip they didn’t go for you and all the countless sleepless nights they spent for you ever. Here lies the real struggle, but you have hardly listened to parents throwing this to your face. They have always done things for you. And maybe they just want to be acknowledged. They just want to feel like all they did will be worth it, someday.

For you to be a better person. For people to know that you were raised right.

On a random day, as you sit in your room with your favourite playlist playing in the background and your procrastinated to-do list, your mother enters your room and starts arranging your stuff that isn’t even necessary. She has no intention of invading your personal space. She’s only trying to get away from her own frantic thoughts, which pop up once in a while, and the best thing that makes her forget the world and even herself is you.

When your father tells you to post something on Facebook on his behalf, it is not because he doesn’t even know proper English structures to do so. It is because he knows you will represent him in the best ways that exist.

Your parents post pictures where you don’t even look that good, it’s because they never even cared about it in the first place. When you fall sick, the light in the other room does not switch out once; this is because they stay awake all night to provide you any help you may require in the middle of the night.

Your mother didn’t buy that jewellery she always wanted to wear, just so that you wouldn’t have to think twice before buying something you like. Your father always brings the packed food home because he doesn’t like to eat something delicious without including you.Your parents used to come sit with you at the end of the day no matter how busy or hectic their working day would be. People that have always been there.

I feel like we constantly misunderstand our parents, despite our greatest efforts to comprehend others, yet there are no complaints for not bothering to understand.

Why do we have the impression that they consistently follow irrational notions when making something for us that is supposed to shield us from harm? It’s the same as buying ourselves evil eye jewellery to keep us protected. Growing up, we know some people love to ruin things, so it’s no longer a joke; it’s a necessity.

The form might have changed, but the purpose remains safe.

Do parents love us, or are they obligated to do so?

I read somewhere that “It is not the absence of love but the clash of love languages.” and I have never felt something so strong. Making sure we eat every day, keeping track of our locations, even calling friends you are hanging out with, and buying you the mentioned needs, is the way they convey their love to you as a sign of their love language, which maybe isn’t your way of feeling loved. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love you.

There is love; so much love, just not I love you.

By:
Dilasha Upadhyay