Battling bias. If I’ve been a little MIA this week, it was because I spent Monday and Tuesday in Boston for Fortune’s inaugural Brainstorm A.I. gathering. It was a fun and wonky couple of days diving into artificial intelligence and machine learning, technologies that—for good or ill—seem increasingly likely to shape not just the future of business, but the world at large.
There are a lot of good and hopeful things to be said about A.I. and M.L., but there’s also a very real risk that the technologies will perpetuate biases that already exist, and even introduce new ones. That was the subject of one of the most engrossing discussions of the event by a panel that was—as pointed out by moderator, guest co-chair, and deputy CEO of Smart Eye Rana el Kaliouby—comprised entirely of women.
One of the scariest parts of bias in A.I. is how wide and varied the potential effects can be. Sony Group’s head of A.I. ethics office Alice Xiang gave the example of a self-driving car that's been trained too narrowly in what it recognizes as a human reason to jam on the breaks. "You need to think about being able to detect pedestrians—and ensure that you can detect all sorts of pedestrians and not just people that are represented dominantly in your training or test set," said Xiang.
And though not so obviously life-or-death, Dr. Margaret Mitchell, chief ethics scientist of Hugging Face, pointed to the problems with bias in A.I. language processing:
"We find that when we have these large language models training on tons and tons of data ... most of it is sourced from the web, where we see a lot of racism and sexism and ableism and ageism,” she said. “[It’s] largely sourced from Wikipedia, which is primarily written by men, white men, between something like 20 to 30 or so, and single and PhD, higher-level education, which means that the kind of topics that are covered, that are then scraped in training the language models, reflect those knowledge bases, reflect those backgrounds.”
Continue reading: https://fortune.com/2021/11/10/ai-bias-research-women-tech-men/

When you are looking for a job, especially within the IT sector, it is so important to make sure that you are up-to-date with all the latest trends and technologies as things are constantly evolving and falling behind. What was at its peak a months ago might be lost to history tomorrow, that is the nature of technology.
One trend that has risen significantly in popularity and is used by businesses across the world is the Internet of Things, which refers to the ways that physical objects are connected to the internet, allowing for seamless interactions with devices and the smooth transference of data. With so many use cases across the world of technology, it is so important that you make sure that you learn as much about the Internet of Things as possible.
Thankfully, if you are looking to learn more, then you have definitely found yourself in the right place, as this guide has been created to help you. There are two distinct parts to this article: the first part will explain why the Internet of Things is such a useful tool to becoming more employable, while the second part is more focused on the ways that you can acquaint yourself with such technologies. So, if you are interested in learning all about it, please feel free to read the guide that has been created for your reading pleasure below.
Continue reading: https://iotbusinessnews.com/2021/11/09/49800-how-learning-about-the-internet-of-things-can-make-you-more-employable/

Given the numerous industries impacted by COVID-19 it may come as a surprise that global IoT adoption has grown. In fact, according to the 2021 IoT Signals report, 44 percent of organizations have increased IoT funding—especially here in the United States, where GDP growth took a smaller hit than other markets.   
Now in its third year, the Microsoft IoT Signals report investigates the global state of IoT in industries like manufacturing, smart places, energy, and mobility (automotive, transportation, and logistics). The report surfaces valuable insights around IoT adoption rates, benefits, challenges, and emerging technologies that are helping businesses in the United States and abroad compete at a higher level. Below, I’ve highlighted six IoT adoption trends impacting the competitive landscape—and how the United States measures up.  
When It Comes to Global IoT Adoption, the United States Ranks #3 
IoT is the rule, not the exception, with global adoption rates averaging 90 percent. This is up from 85 percent when the first edition of this report came out in 2019. But three countries stand out when you look at the IoT adoption scoreboard: Australia (96%), Italy (95%), and the United States (94%).  
Continue reading: https://www.iotforall.com/6-things-to-know-about-global-iot-adoption

Startups promising to usher in the age of air taxis and cargo drones started popping up at the end of the 2000s. For most of their existence, they were underfunded and relegated to niche applications like delivering blood in rural Rwanda or publicity stunts like the Taco Bell-backed “tacocopter.” The pandemic changed all that overnight.
This year, startups building autonomous drones to carry passengers and packages have raised at least $3.8 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2020. That compares to just $438 million in venture capital funding for the entire decade between 2009 and 2019, according to data from the investment tracking firm Pitchbook. Most of the recent wave of funding has gone to a few startup winners, including Joby Aviation ($1.6 billion raised), Lilium ($842 million), and Archer Aviation ($656 million).
Continue reading: https://qz.com/2085078/covid-helped-kickstart-the-age-of-cargo-drones-and-air-taxis/

The New York City Fire Department is currently investigating the use of drones to deliver blood transfusions to scenes where traditional delivery methods might be slow or unavailable.
Officials in the city’s NYCx innovation program told StateScoop that they recently helped the fire department develop software to enable what they called “GrubHub for emergency supplies,” a comparison to the popular food-delivery app. Though FDNY likely still needs to navigate a multiyear approval process before it can fly blood-delivery drones in New York, developers said the proof of concept is a promising way to replace slower, phone-based processes of requesting blood transfusions or specialized gear to the site of an emergency.
Justin Isaf Man, the associate chief technology officer of digital services for the Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, told StateScoop that drone delivery could be a useful tool in the event of a downed bridge, for example.
“A first responder or dispatcher can ask for blood through the app, it pings on the blood center for an order, they pack it, it generates a bar code for end-to-end tracking of the blood,” he said. “The person preparing the package scans a bar code, it registers in the system, a drone pilot from FDNY comes and picks it up at the blood center, takes it to the requested location.”
Locations can either be pre-vetted sites where FDNY knows it can safely land, like an open area in a park or a pier, or the app allows the user to run through a checklist to ensure the location meets various regulations, like that it’s free of power lines.
“It gets dropped off,” Man said. “The requester scans the barcode to continue tracking the life cycle, the drone pilot returns to base to wait for the next request and hopefully someone’s life gets saved along the way.”
Currently, this process is conducted through phone calls. Katherine Benjamin, the deputy CTO for digital services, said using an app is not only faster, but — thanks to the bar codes — it allows everyone involved to know at all times where the drone is located, which is particularly important if it’s carrying blood.
The project was developed during NYCx’s third cohort, a 10-week program that ended last month.
“I think part of what we tried to do with these projects, what we’re trying demonstrate is just how much value can be produced in 10 weeks using modern digital teams,” Benjamin said. “[There were] teams led by product managers with user researchers working in a user-centered agile way alongside a development team. We’re demonstrating that this is the caliber of service that residents can expect from government projects, this one of course being a particularly interesting one.”
Man said FDNY’s technology team has picked up the project since the NYCx cohort closed and that early testing will be done at a testing field upstate. New York State operates a 50-mile drone-testing corridor that runs between Syracuse and Rome, about a four-hour drive from Manhattan. FDNY, which already has exemptions to use drones for situational awareness applications in the city, was not available in time for publication to comment on the project.
Man said that although the department wanted to start with blood, the software was tweaked early on to accommodate all types of deliveries, a change he attributed to his team’s agile development methodology. That change to the project took 30 minutes, but could have taken weeks or months in a traditional “waterfall” development process, he said. 
Continue reading: https://statescoop.com/fdny-drones-blood/

A spectacular new mission plan has emerged to send a fleet of mini-drones to explore the liquid lakes of one of the most exciting places in the Solar System—Saturn’s largest moon Titan.
In details published on the pre-print science paper hub arXix, POSEIDON (Titan POlar Scout/orbitEr and In situ lake lander DrONe explorer) would involve two spacecrafts—an orbiter and a lander—with the latter taking to the giant moon’s surface either a “lake lander,” a possibly amphibious large drone and/or a fleet of mini-drones.
Any lander would explore the moon’s polar regions where most of its lakes and seas reside. The authors say any mission would have an “outstanding scientific impact.”
The only known moon with an atmosphere, Saturn’s largest moon has rain, lakes, oceans and ice comprised not of water, but of liquid ethane and methane. It’s considered to be comparable in complexity to the Earth. It’s also one of the few places in the Solar System with the potential for life to exist.
However, its thick atmosphere obscures it from Earth or space-based telescopes. So the only way planetary scientists can examine its geology is with an in-situ orbiter and lander.
POSEIDON’s orbiter spacecraft would orbit Titan preferably in a low-eccentricity polar orbit, write the authors, so that it can make repeat observations of atmospheric and surface changes. It would host a large set of instruments to study Titan’s atmosphere, geology and possible habitability.
The lander could be a “lake lander” or a more risky drone with the capability to land and float on liquids—an amphibious “hydrodrone”—or an air fleet of mini-drones to take atmospheric measurements and image the surface during the descent phase. Titan’s low gravity and dense atmosphere make it an ideal candidate for drone-based missions, say the authors.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/11/09/meet-poseidon-the-jaw-dropping-mission-to-send-an-army-of-drones-to-titans-liquid-lakes/?sh=40b54bf82783

Tune in below on November 10 at 11:00 am EST for the Dawn of Drones Podcast with Dawn Zoldi!
We continue Innovation Month, graciously sponsored by Iris Automation, with Elsight leaders Scott Jonasz and Beni Farkas. This Israel-based company is providing BVLOS (Beyond the Visual Line of Sight) drone connectivity powered by AI. Learn how they are helping the global drone industry achieve absolute connection confidence to operate BVLOS at scale  – with 10K+ drone deliveries in Israel alone!
Learn more: https://dronelife.com/2021/11/09/drone-connectivity-for-bvlos-flight-elsight-on-dawn-of-drones-this-week/

The future of drone technology for state and local governments could be discovered somewhere near the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. That’s the hope, at least.
Earlier this fall, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to launch what the state billed as the nation’s first unmanned aircraft systems testing range using fifth-generation wireless networks, in a 50-mile corridor between the upstate cities of Rome and Syracuse, which was first created in 2019.
The governor named public safety, agriculture and forest management, transportation and logistics, media and film development, and utilities and infrastructure as industries that could benefit from the development of 5G-enabled drone technology. The work will be led by the Open Generation Consortium, a group led by the MITRE Engenuity foundation that includes government agencies, academics and private firms. The group includes Verizon and wireless network infrastructure companies Ericsson and Nokia.
“There are a multitude of potential uses, so this 5G corridor will become an important training area to move from a test environment to an everyday use in commercial airspace,” Rome Mayor Jacqueline Izzo tells the Observer-Dispatch newspaper.
New York Corridor Will Test Drones That Go Beyond Line of Sight
The corridor is managed by the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance. New York has been laying the foundation for experimentation. As GCN reports:

Over the past five years, the state has put in nearly $70 million to advance the UAS industry in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, which are now well positioned to conduct advanced 5G testing.

Click to expand...

According to the governor’s statement, the corridor will “include an experimentation hub with more than 100 square miles dedicated to 5G beyond-visual-line-of-sight testing and long-range flight paths — a capability critical to the commercialization of safe and secure unmanned aircraft systems.”
Current Federal Aviation Administration regulations require drones to fly 400 feet above the ground and remain in the sight of the operator. The ability to go beyond the line of sight of an operator is crucial to expanding the capabilities of drones, especially in areas such as public safety and agriculture.
Continue reading: https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2021/11/new-york-state-research-5g-enabled-drones

According to Census.gov, there are 3,510 Veteran-owned businesses in Connecticut.  Aquiline Drones (AD), an American drone manufacturer and technology company in downtown Hartford, is increasing that number for Commander Lee Wilson of VFW Post 1926 in Simsbury, CT. The decorated Army Sergeant who served in the first Gulf War during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, recently won a $1,299 scholarship to AD’sFlight to the Future (F2F) online drone pilot training program after his name was selected from the raffle box at the recent Simsbury Fly-In event hosted by the Simsbury Airport.  Commander Wilson, a resident of Avon, CT is a computer technician and is employed by the Department of Connecticut for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Rocky Hill, CT.  After completing the online course, he will earn an FAA Drone Pilot Certification, industry-specific drone instruction and support in becoming an independent drone business. 
“Winning a scholarship to Aquiline Drones’ prestigious drone pilot program truly blends my professional technology background and personal passion of the UAV industry,” said Commander Wilson.  “I couldn’t stop admiring the company’s Spartacus Max drone on display at the Simsbury Fly-In, and will put this generous training to good use.”   
Grand View Research, a U.S.-based market research and consulting firm, projects that the commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market will grow at a compounded annual rate of 57.5% through 2028 to over half a trillion dollars as drone use cases are realized across countless industries.  Activities easily performed by drones include inspections of construction sites, tunnels, bridges, power lines, energy plants, railroad tracks, coastline erosion, real estate, agriculture, livestock monitoring and wildlife management.  They are also unrivaled in assessing and mitigating potential natural disasters and other forms of mayhem that could ultimately lead to loss of livelihood, property or even life.  Further, drones are crucial to local, statewide, national and international border security. 
“AD has an ambitious goal to help the over 9,000 unemployed military veterans in Connecticut be trained and employed in a high-paying career that enhances their unique set of skills and dedication to public safety,” said Barry Alexander, founder and CEO of Aquiline Drones.  “As the demand for commercial drone operations continues to increase, Commander Wilson will be armed with the proper knowledge, mastery, certification and specialization to successfully fulfill the needs of others with jobs and opportunities.” 
Continue reading: https://uasweekly.com/2021/11/10/aquiline-drones-arms-military-heroes-for-a-high-tech-future/

Until now, the drones were controlled through hand-held devices, our next report tells you how the prototype of a mind-controlled drone is taking shape. #Drone #HumanMind WION About Channel: WION -The World is One News, examines global issues with in-depth analysis. We provide much more than the news of the day. Our aim to empower people to explore their world. With our Global headquarters in New Delhi, we bring you news on the hour, by the hour. We deliver information that is not biased. We are journalists who are neutral to the core and non-partisan when it comes to the politics of the world. People are tired of biased reportage and we stand for a globalised united world.

Today’s Woman in Tech: Lauren Woodman, CEO of DataKind
Lauren Woodman is the new CEO of DataKind, a global nonprofit which sits at the intersection of data science and the non-profit world to help mission-based organizations with data science expertise and talent in service of humanity. She has spent 25 years working at the intersection of technology, development, and policy. Previously, she was the CEO of NetHope, a consortium of 60 of the largest global nonprofits and tech companies from 2014-2020. Before that, she held a variety of positions in the private sector, government, and the UN, including managing Microsoft’s global education and government programs for more than a decade and serving as an executive at the Software and Information Industry Association. Currently, she is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Board of Stewards for its Initiative on Digital Economy and its Trustworthy Data Collaboration. Lauren holds degrees from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Smith College. She lives in Seattle with her partner and two daughters.
When did you become interested in technology? What first got you interested in tech?
Oddly, I wasn’t particularly interested in technology at a young age. I got interested in tech when I was in college. Working in the computer center paid more than washing dishes during my freshman year – and I could work late night hours, rather than early morning hours – so I took a job there. It was so interesting to learn new systems and imagine new processes and ways of doing things. I was hooked.
When I started my professional career, my real interest was international development policy. I could find a job in science policy, though, so I took it. That ultimately turned into tech policy just as the Internet was beginning, back in the mid-1990s. Tech and economic development policy, especially at the international level, are inherently intertwined, and I’ve never looked back.
Continue reading: https://jaxenter.com/women-in-tech-woodman-175877.html

- Battling bias. If I’ve been a little MIA this week, it was because I spent Monday and Tuesday in Boston for Fortune’s inaugural Brainstorm A.I. gathering. It was a fun and wonky couple of days diving into artificial intelligence and machine learning, technologies that—for good or ill—seem increasingly likely to shape not just the future of business, but the world at large.
There are a lot of good and hopeful things to be said about A.I. and M.L., but there’s also a very real risk that the technologies will perpetuate biases that already exist, and even introduce new ones. That was the subject of one of the most engrossing discussions of the event by a panel that was—as pointed out by moderator, guest co-chair, and deputy CEO of Smart Eye Rana el Kaliouby—comprised entirely of women.
One of the scariest parts of bias in A.I. is how wide and varied the potential effects can be. Sony Group’s head of A.I. ethics office Alice Xiang gave the example of a self-driving car that's been trained too narrowly in what it recognizes as a human reason to jam on the breaks. "You need to think about being able to detect pedestrians—and ensure that you can detect all sorts of pedestrians and not just people that are represented dominantly in your training or test set," said Xiang.
Continue reading: https://fortune.com/2021/11/10/ai-bias-research-women-tech-men/

Tech has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors, especially as demand for digital initiatives have heightened due to the pandemic. But it was always on the fast track towards growth as businesses began hunting for more cyber security experts to protect them from cyber attacks and more web developers to improve online presence.
In the past year, there has been a 61% increase in jobs in the IT sector alone, outlining the demand in the sector, as well as a need for candidates. However, the technology industry is notoriously known for being male-dominated. In fact, only 19% of the tech workforce are women, with 77% of tech director roles being filled by men. And this trend is across the board – even in big tech; only 25% of employees are female at FAAMG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google), with women making up fewer than one in four technical roles. Women also hold 26.5% of executive, senior-level and management positions in S&P 500 companies – a percentage many tech companies match or exceed, but one that is still far from parity.
Continue reading: https://www.information-age.com/supporting-women-tech-is-as-prevalent-as-ever-123497606/

As an artist and women's rights activist, Maliha Abidi is adept at using digital technologies, so when she came across non-fungible tokens she quickly figured they could be a way to reach more people, and for women artists to gain a bigger following.
Abidi, 25, who was born in Pakistan and migrated to the United States as a teenager, created her first NFT a few months ago - a type of asset which uses blockchain to record ownership of digital items such as images, videos and collectibles.
The U.K.-based activist is about to launch Women Rise, a campaign to bring 100,000 girls and women into cryptocurrency by the end of 2022.
She is one of a growing number of women artists, coders, entrepreneurs and investors embracing cryptocurrency and NFTs, and advocating for other women to join the blockchain movement and bridge the gender gap in this quickly expanding space.
Continue reading: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/crypto-queens-its-time-to-get-past-the-male-gatekeepers-blockchain-world-waiting-for-women-with-open-arms/articleshow/87625094.cms

I first met Camila Russo during New York City’s three-day Mainnet conference in September, tickets for which cost nearly $1,500. Rumors that the SEC had served subpoenas earlier that day swirled around the Times Square Marriott where the conference was held (those rumors have since been confirmed) as some of the spaces’s biggest investors hopped in black cars to escape the chaos, seeking refuge at an after-party for The Graph.   
Despite an air of residual panic, party guests seemed relieved to be able to tow their backpacks to the long VIP line, slink into a crowd of costumed crypto unicorns and throw back tequila sodas under a blue haze of nightclub fog. As I stood with a group of friends, a young woman quickly said hello, shook hands with each of us and then disappeared into the night to mingle with the rest of the distinguished guests in attendance. As soon as she was out of earshot, a friend whispered, “That’s Camila Russo. She essentially wrote the bible on Ethereum. She’s a celebrity in the crypto world.” 
But Russo didn’t act like a “celebrity.” She was more of a tide that swelled around the room, quietly drawing eyes and whispers as partygoers gravitated closer. She was nothing like the unsavory Bored Ape fanatics swinging their metaversal dicks all over the room depicted in this postmortem from New York Magazine. The crowd, while eccentric, was much more than the “blockchain bros” and “crypto socialite” caricatures they’re often reduced to. Not everyone was just here to party — least of all Russo.
Continue reading: https://www.insidehook.com/article/tech/camila-russo-refuses-cryptos-diversity-checkbox

Ever since the word “bitcoin” wormed its way into the mainstream, people have been obsessed with putting things “on the blockchain.” There’s an army of crypto influencers and snake oil peddlers out there dedicated to promoting this stuff: real estate on the blockchain, social media on the blockchain, Soundcloud rap on the blockchain.
It makes sense, in a way – smart contracts let you put any sort of computer program on the blockchain, and shiny new tech can be an attractive angle for investors. But how much of the tech we already use today really needs a crypto component?
This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here.
Continue reading: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/not-everything-needs-to-be-on-the-blockchain

• In recent years, many of the world’s biggest enterprises in the finance sector and beyond have adopted blockchain technology.
• Companies that are not integrating blockchains into their processes are at risk of being left behind.
• “Middleware”, such as oracle networks, can help enterprises to interact with blockchains and engage with the world of decentralized finance.

Blockchains, once considered a nascent, frontier technology, have become increasingly critical infrastructure for enterprises that want to keep pace with the future of information and value transfer. A blockchain is a shared digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across a network of computer systems. The ledger is nearly impossible to cheat or hack, because it is verified by multiple participants across the globe and underpinned by cutting-edge cryptography. A blockchain network can be used to execute smart contracts, transfer value, track orders, settle payments, verify accounts and more.
To facilitate transactions, a set of rules — called a smart contract — is stored on the blockchain and executed automatically when a certain condition has been met. For example, a smart contract could include a business payment between enterprises that automatically executes when certain conditions of a deal are achieved.
Continue reading: https://europeansting.com/2021/11/09/heres-how-companies-can-make-sure-they-are-blockchain-ready/

Algorand (CRYPTO:ALGO) was created in 2019 by mathematician and MIT professor Silvio Micali, who was looking for a way to improve blockchain technology by making it decentralized, secure, and scalable. Algorand is a permissionless blockchain network that utilizes a form of proof of stake validation known as pure proof of stake. Permissionless means that anybody who possesses ALGO tokens (the native cryptocurrency of the Algorand blockchain) and is online can participate in the network by serving as a validator for transactions without using a large amount of computational
A proof of stake leader
Micali wanted an alternative to the proof of work method utilized by Bitcoin, which is energy-intensive as blocks become more difficult to solve over time. He felt it was prohibitively expensive for individuals to participate in the network as it requires a large number of dedicated computers to solve each block. Proof of stake means that validators for transactions are selected in proportion to their holdings of the given cryptocurrency. Major digital assets using proof of stake include Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA) and Ethereum (ETH), which just moved from proof of work to proof of stake. Algorand differs from other proof of stake assets as a 'pure proof of stake' token. Micali views pure proof of stake as an improvement upon proof of stake in that proof of stake protocols can be "monopolized" by large users with large amounts of the given currency, creating a "rich get richer" cycle which takes away from true decentralization. In contrast, validators in a pure proof of stake protocol are selected randomly, regardless of how much of the ALGO cryptocurrency they hold.
Continue reading: https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/11/09/3-things-i-like-about-the-algorand-blockchain/

The demand for artificial intelligence that can help solve real-world problems is only continuing to grow, and consequently, investors are receiving more pitches from startups claiming to be the next big thing.
Global revenue for A.I. is expected to grow 16.5% this year and by 2024, will break the $500 billion mark, according to IDC.
At Fortune Brainstorm A.I. in Boston on Tuesday, Sunil Dhaliwal, founder and general partner of Amplify and Reed Sturtevant, general partner on the investment team at The Engine, shared what they look for when deciding whether to back an A.I. startup. 
For Dhaliwal, the “best companies” have founders who have the technical, academic background and also a deep curiosity about the world and the problem they’re trying to solve.
Continue reading: https://fortune.com/2021/11/09/ai-investing-in-artificial-intelligence/

When it comes to earnings reports, Apple and Amazon usually beat the Wall Street estimates. But this was not the case during the latest quarter.  One of the main reasons: the escalating costs of the global supply chain.   
In the case of Apple, the company reported a $6 billion revenue shortfall because of the delays with its iPhone and other products. And for Amazon, it spent an additional $2 billion to handle the challenges. Unfortunately, both companies indicated that the supply chain issues will continue into the all-important holiday quarter. And, of course, there are many other companies facing a similar predicament. In fact, companies like Hershey and Kimberly-Clark have slowed their advertising expenditures because they cannot adequately fulfill orders.  
How did the global economy get to this point? What can be done? Perhaps technologies like artificial intelligence can help?
How the Economy has Impacted the Supply Chain 
The Commerce Department’s latest report of the U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was a major disappointment. The annual growth rate came to 2%, while the consensus estimate was 2.8%. By comparison, in the prior quarter the GDP came in at 6.7%. According to the report, the deceleration in the growth was due primarily to disruptions and lower supply. 
Continue reading: https://www.itbusinessedge.com/business-intelligence/putting-the-ai-in-inflation/

Insurance company Lemonade requires customers making claims to upload a video explaining their loss. But when the upstart insurer earlier this year said on Twitter that artificial intelligence analyzes these videos for “non-verbal cues” that may suggest fraud, the company received a barrage of angry messages on social media.
“There’s a wide range of possible uses of digital technologies in the space,” says Luke Stark, who studies the ethical and social impacts of artificial intelligence and machine learning as an assistant professor at Western University in London, Ontario. “They range from the plausibly occasionally useful-but-problematic to the doesn’t-work-at-all and problematic.”
The Lemonade episode highlights both corporate America’s growing investment in detecting lying and deception and the potential backlash when details of such technology become public.
“They struggle with talking about fraud for a variety of reasons. It’s almost like there is no winning there,” says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, co-founder and CEO of Pindrop, who claims his company’s product is 99.5 percent effective in correctly identifying who is calling and 80 percent in detecting fraudsters. Pindrop says its clients include five of the top seven insurers and eight of the top 10 banks.
Continue reading: https://www.consumerreports.org/artificial-intelligence/how-companies-use-artificial-intelligence-to-detect-lying-a4041224738/

The transportation sector is ripe for the benefits that the Internet of Things (IoT) can bring. 
“Beyond what IoT is inside of vehicles, transportation is deploying the IoT, particularly in ground-based applications, spanning the tracking, positioning, and telemetric measurement to gain awareness into traffic management,” said Greg Schulz, an analyst at StorageIO Group.
“Surveillance and monitoring channels include traffic cameras, ground pavement sensors, traffic control lights and signals, warning indicators for on the road. IoT also is used for tracking vehicles and shipments for status and deviation notification, as well as for tracking what is being loaded into cars, trucks, ships, trains ,and planes.” 
IoT In Transportation Today
The spread of IoT enabled systems in transportation, however, is hampered by the age spread among vehicle fleets. Airplane ages vary from brand new to 30 years old. Similarly, trucks and cars from 20 years ago are still seen regularly on the streets. And trains on some lines can be quite old. Thus, there is a need to add technology and connectivity to aging transportation fleets or a rapid change out of old units for the latest IoT-enabled models. 
But the transition to IoT based systems is now going ahead full speed. 
Continue reading: https://www.datamation.com/networks/internet-of-things-iot-in-transportation/

The Internet of Things (IoT) is being promoted in the energy sector as though it is something new. In tandem with digital transformation, the utility industry, power producers, and oil & gas players are being inundated with messaging that they need to digitally transform now. 
But the reality is that these trends have been going in the energy sector for decades. A move from analog to digital controls began back in the nineties, for example. Similarly, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is a well-established technology that is used in equipment such as wind turbines and other industrial equipment to obtain real-time data, make decisions, and command and control energy generation, transmission and distribution. SCADA may not be as trendy a term as IoT, but they are at least cousins, if not brothers. 
IoT Drives Better Energy Outcomes 
Rick Veague, chief technology officer for North America at IFS, believes there are three key areas where IoT drives business value energy companies through better outcomes: 

• Operational awareness
• Predictive maintenance 
• Digital twins of physical assets 

“IoT sensors give businesses immediate visibility into how an asset is performing and delivering on its intended outcome by continuous, real-time updates on the operating state of an asset,” Veague said.
“This operational awareness can then be compared to expected outcomes, to predict when the asset should be serviced to maintain its intended outcome. This allows businesses to proactively reduce unplanned downtime, reduce cost, and improve the overall performance of the asset, and ultimately the customer.
Continue reading: https://www.datamation.com/networks/internet-of-things-iot-in-energy/

Every day, we see more women taking a seat at the table in the positions and sectors that have previously been dominated by men.
This progress is welcome, but there’s still a long way to go. This is particularly the case in technology and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) industries, with studies showing that only 35% of STEM students in higher education globally were women before the pandemic hit.
While this is concerning for the overarching picture of bringing greater inclusivity to the tech sector, arguably the most alarming repercussion is that women, who make up 50% of the workforce, are missing out on high-growth, high paid careers in the growing digital economy. As hiring in the computer and information technology fields has faster projected growth between 2020 and 2030 than all other fields, the implication is that people who would make a valuable contribution to the industry are not joining the sector.
So, why are we seeing fewer women move into, and stay, in the tech sector, and what solutions are available?
Continue reading: https://www.information-age.com/how-to-get-more-women-in-tech-and-retain-them-123497596/

The disruptions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have touched every aspect of businesses, from massive remote-work shifts to ongoing breakdowns in the global supply chain.
But one particular form of disruption required an especially visionary form of innovation, because it required being in many places at the same time, even in the face of travel lockdowns. That was the act of due diligence before a deal, when teams of decision-makers would visit facilities for on-site inspections.
"If you want to buy an asset, you have to go and see that asset," said Agnieszka Gajewska, a partner at PwC Poland who leads the firm's Drone Powered Solutions Global Center of Excellence.
"That's why due diligence lies at the heart of every single business transaction," she continued. "To do this, you need to physically travel and see the asset. But when you can't travel, you need to come up with an innovative solution — that's where you can involve drones and on-site cameras to do the job for you."
Gajewska sees the new solution as an expression of PwC's commitment to delivering bold ideas and solutions that are human-led and tech-powered.
Drone technology goes above and beyond for site inspections
When the pandemic began to limit in-person travel and interactions, Gajewska and her team of engineers and data scientists moved quickly to design an aerial data-capture program that could be the eyes and ears of inspectors while they waited out the lockdown. This team developed the solution that would become known as Remote Asset Insights.
The goal was to navigate drones, satellites, and video cameras above and through a space with the same type of intuition and intent a human would bring. Gajewska said the tool allows viewers to see inside and outside a facility, for example, including difficult-to-reach areas and places where special safety precautions limit human presence. Other benefits of remote viewings include overhead views inaccessible to in-person visitors and 3D modeling to represent topological changes over time.
Remote Asset Insights keeps site inspections focused on smaller teams and greater gains, said Will Jackson-Moore, a partner at PwC UK and its leader of global private equity, real estate, and sovereign funds.
"Buyers will likely want to visit at least one site to say they have 'kicked their tires,'" he said. "But now their visits can be much more concentrated on time with the seller's management team. The drone solution will be the key tool of the site visit, as it reduces cost and increases the quality of the assessment."
Continue reading: https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-drone-technology-is-transforming-business-deals-2021-11