There was a time when the ability to use a computer was limited to a select few, and when most organizations had just a handful of computers in each office. Fast forward a couple of decades, and digital literacy is now a prerequisite for just about every job.
As we move slowly but inexorably towards a future where data literacy is required know-how, how can organizations build a strong data culture that will stand the test of time? Here are three keys to a successful data culture.
If the data seems wrong, it might just be
 
Data-driven decision-making is a laudable goal that can give organizations the insights and clarity they need to innovate faster than their competitors. But should all decisions be based on data? What if the data isn’t good, and overenthusiastic employees attempt to extricate insights from data when there is none to be found?
A speaker at a recent event organized by CDOTrends spoke about this recently by cautioning against “forcing” data to fit a given narrative. After all, the data can hardly speak out to defend itself against an erroneous interpretation. But how can an organization tell when this happens?
According to this speaker, data analysts and CDOs should go with their “gut instinct” for the times when the data appears to be wrong. In his view, if it sounds wrong to employees with ample experience and deep expertise in the business, then it is probably time to exercise additional caution.
The computer engineering concept of “garbage in, garbage out” or GIGO is probably an apt parallel here. GIGO is the idea that the quality of output is determined by the quality of its inputs, and that feeding erroneous data to a software program will simply give you incorrect outputs. In a nutshell, give yourself the flexibility to disregard the data.
Ditch the top-down or bottom-up approach
Should culture change be top-down or driven from the grassroots? According to Keith Ferrazzi, the founder of a global consulting firm, successful culture change requires both pushing and pulling.
After all, a centralized, top-down model typically results in business units that are slow to take up new data initiatives, with executive sponsorship that might wane before things take off. On the other hand, a bottom-up or decentralized model might result in success stories that are dismissed as insignificant – or irrelevant – to other parts of the business.
Continue reading: https://www.cdotrends.com/story/17356/three-keys-successful-data-culture

We live in a world where connectivity is an absolute necessity. With more than 275 million smartphone users in the US, and with up to 25 internet-connected devices in the average American home, it’s safe to say that reliable internet is no longer a luxury, but indispensable. Society’s expectations for our wireless devices goes beyond texting, calling, and surfing. Smartphone and mobile devices are used for everything from securing a safe ride home, to socializing with friends, to using touchless payments, to working from home, and more – and we expect it all to work in an instant.
Even the best smart devices are only as good as their network. Livestreaming events we don’t want to miss, navigating directions using GPS, and checking in with loved ones from anywhere all require a network of communications infrastructure. After all, according to an Ericsson Mobility Report, smartphones generate about 97 percent of mobile data traffic, with video accounting for nearly 70 percent of that traffic.
The movement from 3G to 4G meant an explosion of mobile internet use, as users created more and more data with every swipe of their finger. Now, we need to upgrade from 4G to 5G to meet the ever-growing data demand created by modern American life. To achieve this level of connectivity anywhere, anytime, 5G communications infrastructure must be built in every community. Not only will the buildout of next-gen wireless networks create more jobs in metro Denver, but 5G will unlock innovations in nearly every industry, in ways we can’t even understand right now.
Continue reading: https://www.cobizmag.com/connectivity/

The total amount of money invested in Web3, which is widely regarded as the next generation of the internet, reached more than $23 billion in 2022, according to Crunchbase data. Though venture capital seems to be slowing down their Web3 funding rush, Web3 is still among the most interesting areas for VCs.
Three guests from Web3 and investment companies spoke with moderator ShinWei Teh, an Investment Banker at Credit Suisse, about whether Web3 investment is all hype or based on science, as well as how to evaluate the performance of Web3 companies and other Web3-relate questions at the BEYOND Expo 2022 tech conference, held online in BEYOND Metaverse.
The text below has been condensed and edited for clarity.
 
Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner, Dragonfly
One word to describe my latest thoughts on the recent development in the Web3 space is macro.
We’ve seen this entirely different macro environment coming and beating down on all risk assets since last November. Crypto, of course, is the quintessential risk asset, so it’s been at the center of the macro fire stream that’s been hitting almost every asset class. At this point, we obviously just saw the Fed raise rates, markets once again are trying to digest what exactly is going on and crypto is no different. What Nasdaq did, you probably know what crypto did that day.
I think there’s going to be some time until we get out of this macro environment and there’s some return to normalcy, and I think crypto can get some room to breathe again, but I think until we get past this macro instability, this is going to be what crypto looks like for the probably the next six to twelve months.
In my opinion, there hasn’t been too much money invested in Web3 if you look into the return for folks investing in January. Anybody who invested money in January has lost money because the entire industry has gone down as with almost every asset class. 
If you are investing in tech generally in January, the money is also down quite a lot. Now, you could argue that’s a sign people were putting too much money into these assets,  but the right way to think about it is there’s an adjustment of the price of risk because of interest rates and the macro environment.
The reality about what makes crypto and Web3 so powerful is that Web3 is pure software innovation, which means that your cost structure is extremely slim. It doesn’t require a lot of capital, you don’t need to build plants, manufacture anything, and invest a ton into hardware for the most part, so that makes the space very capital efficient. 
Continue reading: https://technode.com/2022/10/08/beyond-expo-is-investment-in-web3-a-hype-or-science/

 
McKinsey’s 2022 Technology Trends Outlook report has now been published, and it cites some exciting areas of opportunity for the media industry. It found that the media and entertainment sectors at large display a high association with 7 out of 14 key technology trends, across what it defines as both the ‘Silicon Age’ and ‘Engineering Tomorrow’. 
These include: 

• Advanced connectivity
• Applied AI
• Cloud and edge computing 
• Immersive-reality technologies
• Industrialising machine learning
• Trust architectures and digital identity
• Web3

The areas of next generation software development, future of mobility, and future of sustainable development, were also cited by the report as displaying a strong association with the media of today – and tomorrow. 

Leading the charge into the metaverse…
Immersive-reality technologies and the emergence of Web3 are two key trends that we’ve looked at a lot on the FIPP.com over the past few months.
Earlier this week, Hearst took over the OMNI Gallery in Soho, to launch its new experiential division HearstX. The department will oversee platforms and campaigns across the physical, VR, AR, and mixed experience spaces, with initiatives such as virtual influencers, VirtuELLE Reality fashion shoots, and a fully playable Cosmopolitan world already in place. 
The McKinsey report states: ‘The ability to cater to increased data creation and the growth in the number of connected devices for consumers allow for better entertainment experiences as new devices (for example, AR and VR devices) enter the market.’
… and the practical application of NFTs
One emerging technology that has undoubtedly been hotly debated in the media industry to date, is NFTs. While some have dismissed the phenomenon as nothing more than a passing fad, we’ve seen countless examples of mainstream publishers moving into this area with seemingly high levels of success.
Continue reading: https://www.fipp.com/news/new-mckinsey-technology-report-outlines-key-areas-of-opportunity-for-media/#

Voyager Internet is nearing completion on its 100 Gigabit national network upgrade, which will ensure that the New Zealand-owned ISP meets growing capacity requirements and continues providing premium level broadband. It will also enable Voyager to launch new services to enterprise and wholesale customers, including Layer-2 ethernet, national backhaul, wide area networks, and datacentre-to-datacentre connectivity at speeds from 1 to 100 Gigabits, in addition to supplying regular broadband and wholesale Internet. 
In 2019, Voyager upgraded its Auckland core network to 100G from 10G, followed by an upgrade of its international network between Auckland and Sydney to 100G in 2021. Since those upgrades, and partly due to the massive increase in remote working, data usage has exponentially increased. As a result, Voyager has seen bandwidth demands higher than ever before, leading to the decision to transition its entire network to 100 Gigabit core speeds. 
With a capex spend in the hundreds of thousands, Voyager has installed more than five hundred 100 Gigabit network ports nationwide to complete the upgrade, ensuring that spare 100G ports are available to customers in any datacentre or telephone exchange in which Voyager has equipment. Smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 telcos and ISPs in New Zealand can now leverage Voyager’s network to build their own networks at vastly reduced cost. 
The new Layer 2 services provided by Voyager’s upgraded network means Voyager customers can enjoy their own dedicated, high-performance, secure network through point-to-point ethernet connections. Point-to-point networks share data through direct connections between computers, rather than going through separate IP routers over the internet. Customers’ networks will be built on their own private paths within Voyager’s network, meaning they are more protected, and highly secure.  
“The 100G upgrade gives us a significant increase in protected bandwidth to key centres and locations across NZ,” explains Deidre Steyn, Voyager’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“This means that we will have more high capacity ethernet ports available to connect customers within datacentres where we have a point of presence. We will also be able to leverage our extra capacity to deliver high-capacity point-to-point ethernet connections between locations.”  
Voyager’s network has high speed 100 Gigabit points of presence (POPs) in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. There is also a Voyager POP in Sydney. 
Continue reading: https://itbrief.co.nz/story/voyager-internet-s-100-gigabit-network-upgrade-to-provide-advanced-services-nationwide

Small farms are plentiful in Hà Giang, a province in the forested hills of northern Vietnam where Luu Thi Hoa started Po My, an agricultural cooperative that sells peas, leafy greens and honey from local farms.
Hoa’s business not only supports her family — it also provides sustainable livelihoods for her community. But like many local business owners, Hoa took a major hit when the COVID-19 pandemic brought tourism in Vietnam to a standstill.
Hoa considered herself fortunate. She had access to programming through CARE, a global humanitarian organization that created the Ignite program to help build entrepreneurship among underserved micro- and small-business owners. She credited the program, supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, for boosting her financial management skills, which helped her refine her business operations and achieve a better-work life balance. But not all women entrepreneurs can get this kind of help.
All across the globe, women seeking to achieve economic empowerment often face three major obstacles: income inequality, digital inequality and information inequality.
Income inequality is an ongoing problem that was only exacerbated by the pandemic: 90% of women who lost their jobs became economically inactive, pushing men and women further apart on the already inequitable economic spectrum.
In today’s world, digital inequality makes it even harder for women who remain in the workforce to obtain income parity. More than 50% of women are offline, and women are 20% less likely than men to own smartphones. Without access to the full power of the digital economy, female entrepreneurs cannot integrate digital technologies into their businesses to reach new customers or reap the efficiencies that technology affords.
Continue reading: https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2022/women-economic-empowerment-and-gender-equity/

Since bitcoin’s inception in 2008, many who’ve invested in the cryptocurrency have done so in the view that the decentralized, blockchain-based asset – today worth some $31,000 – could be the future of finance and the web.
And while Amy-Rose Goodey started out down the bitcoin “rabbit hole”, today the head of operations at industry body Blockchain Australia believes it would be naïve to believe the current iteration of blockchains could form the future of the internet.
Goodey has her money on other distributed ledger technology which she believes could prove more useful for the enormous number of new businesses and industries hoping to get involved with the emerging space.
The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to Goodey for our weekly series You, Me and Web3, which aims to examine, challenge and demystify the ideas behind the emerging industry by speaking to the people who live and breathe it.
How did you first get involved with Web3?
It was 2016, and I had built up a nice amount of savings, and my partner at the time told me I should invest it in something, which I was a bit hesitant about because I’d never done that before. My father-in-law was a traditional investor, so I asked him if he could assist me, and he just made it sound so complicated.
But I come from a tech background, and for a while, people had told me I should buy some bitcoin. And I did a bit of research, figured out it was way easier than buying equities, and I just went to Coinbase and bought some with my credit card. And then once you do that, you just end up down this rabbit hole.
So, I became very passionate about it and I started a podcast and an online course in crypto and blockchain. Then I decided to go for a job at Blockchain Australia, and the rest is really history – I’ve been embedded ever since.
Continue reading: https://www.smh.com.au/business/entrepreneurship/why-the-future-of-web3-will-be-more-than-crypto-and-blockchain-20221006-p5bnp5.html

By 2030, Web3 is expected to reach a market size of $81.5 billion, according to Emergen Research, but the industry still has challenges to overcome, including security and interoperability, said players interviewed by Cointelegraph.
Interoperability, in short, provides communication between blockchains, aiming to offer a similar experience to users as Web2, hiding infrastructure complexity away and ensuring they don't have to know what solution is powering the mobile app they use, explained Derek Yoo, CEO of PureStake, a development team for the layer-1 blockchain Moonbeam.
However, interoperability also brings more moving parts to any system, and security is one of the greatest challenges. Justin Hulog, chief studio officer at Immutable, explained:

"Basically, the more links there are in a chain, the higher chances are that one of them will break. One of such links when it comes to interoperability is the need for “bridges” that facilitate transfers of assets between blockchains — and often get attacked by hackers."

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In fact, across 13 cross-chain bridge hacks, Chainalysis estimated that $2 billion in cryptocurrency has been stolen until August 2022. Bridge attacks account for 69% of total funds stolen this year. In one of the biggest recent cases, hackers drained $612 million from the Ronin bridge and Katana Dex by faking private keys to forge withdrawals.
Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/security-and-interoperability-the-challenges-ahead-of-web3-mass-adoption

Blockchain technology could be an environmental game-changer. In 2021, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) co-authored a report on how the technology could expand and accelerate renewable energy deployment and other climate change mitigation efforts. 
It explained that blockchain – which allows people to conduct transactions without a central certifying authority, and creates digital, decentralized, immutable ledgers of the transactions – can support peer-to-peer energy trading, marketplaces for renewable energy certificates (RECs), micro-leasing platforms to fund climate change mitigation efforts, and more.
Firms in Australia, Thailand, Turkey and other nations have developed such blockchain-based solutions. In Singapore, Reneum established a new blockchain-based platform that mints and trades digital tokens representing generated clean energy, helping to finance more of it.
Eco-Business has partnered with Reneum to purchase tokens to offset its fossil fuel footprint. Reneum’s co-founder and chief executive Brianna Welsh shares how the firm enables people to contribute to the green energy transition.
Reneum aims to improve on existing REC trading platforms. What are these platforms’ limitations?
Many of them are built on anachronistic models. They are analogue, centralized, siloed and not fit-for-purpose in a digital economy. On the supply side, the certification and transaction process is arduous, opaque and cost-prohibitive, shutting out those with limited resources. Many markets do not have certification standards, excluding more stakeholders.
On the demand side, many of the transactions are handled through intermediate brokers with opaque pricing practices, eroding buyers’ trust. There are geographic restrictions on sales too. These are meant to match local supply and demand, but lead to bottlenecks. There’s only one planet, and polluted air from fossil fuels does not stop at national borders.
Continue reading: https://www.eco-business.com/news/how-blockchain-can-transform-the-renewables-market/

Alexa and Suri notwithstanding, the concept of artificial intelligence can creep anyone out. It might not be a surprise that some city governments are not only unnerved by it, they’re regulating it.
Some government officials are understandably worried about artificial intelligence programs taking away jobs — but lately, some municipalities appear to be concerned that AI is being used to help people get jobs.
For instance, New York City and the District of Columbia are among locales that are enacting or considering laws to restrict how employers utilize artificial intelligence programs in hiring and promoting decisions.
If you’re unaware of what is transpiring in the world of human resources, AI and city governments, here’s what is at stake.
How AI can help with hiring
Increasingly, recruiters and human resources departments have been using AI tools to help find job candidates by performing repetitive and time-consuming tasks like analyzing resumes, arranging interviews with job candidates, and scheduling job assessments.
While important, these responsibilities amount to little more than busy work. Employers can use software programs to complete these tasks, freeing up staff to do work that takes deep thinking.
What city governments fear
It’s simplistic and a little unfair to just say that some government officials are concerned that AI is being used to help people get jobs. The worry that city officials have is that AI programs might be used, intentionally or not, to discriminate against some job candidates.
Continue reading: https://nrf.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-hiring-and-law

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of any business structure regardless of which level of business it has been implemented. The reason for AI's success is that it’s both scalable and practical, offering business owners and marketers a better opportunity to leverage digital technologies that will help catapult them into the next generation of the business ecosystem.
Throughout much of the value chain, we see how AI, with the use of other software capabilities, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), have now surpassed traditional application in recent years.
AI Infused Into Customer Interactions
Blake Morgan, the renowned published author and customer experience futurist, has weighed in on the possibilities of AI, stating that she estimates that by 2025, around 95% of customer interactions will be supported and controlled by artificial intelligence. The versatility of AI has equipped many people with the tools they require to help understand their business needs and those of their customers or target audience.
For marketers, AI has opened a whole new world of possibilities, and while AI is already present throughout much of the contemporary digital marketing ecosystem, the years to come will only help businesses further increase their brand influence and marketplace dominance.
Continue reading: https://www.cmswire.com/digital-marketing/how-ai-can-impact-your-marketing-customer-experience/

Warwick Business School experts are working on developing new systems that could mitigate the risks of AI—a powerful technology that impacts our everyday life
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we live. Along with the growing influence of algorithms in how business is organized, these new technologies are impacting our personal decisions regarding where we travel, what we buy, read, or which music we listen to. 
Given AI’s prevalence as an increasingly powerful technology, it is important that we trust it to be a source of good for our society. Yet, the issue of inherent bias and discrimination present in the data built into AI has been widely documented. 
Experts from Warwick Business School (WBS) have been working on finding the source of such bias and how to minimize it. The aim is to build AI technology that can be trusted to be ethical and fair, and that may benefit society at large. That is Responsible AI.
But what exactly is responsible artificial intelligence? 
BusinessBecause spoke with two experts from WBS in the field of AI: Ram Gopal, professor of information systems and management, and Shweta Singh, assistant professor of information systems and management.
How do you define AI?
Artificial intelligence is the development of computer systems that perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as speech, facial recognition, or decision-making. 
“AI is essentially about systems being able to recreate human intelligence,” says Ram. 
Artificial Intelligence has greatly evolved since its term was coined in 1956. It is shaping the future of work in many ways, from the creation of brand-new jobs to introducing robot colleagues into the workplace. 
Continue reading: https://www.businessbecause.com/news/insights/8369/responsible-artificial-intelligence?sponsored

With artificial intelligence (AI) surrounding and affecting most of us in many aspects of our daily lives, it raises a question: How will it change leadership for businesses around the world?
Gartner, Inc. forecasts that the worldwide AI software market will reach $62 billion this year and that "the top five use case categories for AI software spending in 2022 will be knowledge management, virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles, digital workplace and crowdsourced data." PwC reports that by 2030, AI will potentially contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy. The colossal potential for AI technology will sweep across the world and change the needs and requirements of businesses and employees.
CEO
The CEO is the captain of the metaphorical ship and is responsible for managing a company's overall operations. For the last five to 10 years, CEOs have been (or should have been) thinking about becoming data-driven, lowering costs while boosting profit, driving innovation and efficiencies and promoting the overall health of their company. AI may have been woven into some of these aspects, but were they top of mind? Will a complete overhaul of people, processes and strategy need to change? The answer is yes.
Today, CEOs who are on the "pulse" must now make decisions that drive digital strategy, including AI, and seriously consider emerging roles like a chief AI officer (CAIO) or chief data officer (CDO). The existing organizational structure will need to change (very significantly, as far as I am concerned) to accommodate the needs and realize the immense opportunities of a digital-first organization. AI and automation technologies need to become an available competency across all departments. Analysts and engineers need to work closely with business roles to get AI to work for the organization.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/06/how-will-ai-technology-change-leadership-in-the-future/?sh=59e8683d5d4f

In my last article, I explained how businesses need to differentiate between digital strategy, digitization and digitalization. The piece focused on how everyone uses the terms differently and, ultimately, how digitalization was really about thinking through how companies can best automate processes and practices in their organization.
Case in point: Digitalization is converting an entirely or partially manual process to be entirely digital. This could involve automating workflows or processes. Digitization, on the other hand, is converting analog content to digital format. Simply put, the goal of digitalization is to create efficiency and capture value.
A big part of digitalization is figuring out how to improve processes, not only to cut costs and save time, but also to improve an organization's productivity and the overall customer experience. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) become an important part of the formula, since both help companies scale.
ML tools can help automate the process of extracting insights from large amounts of data, then classifying and indexing them to create value for the customer. For example, at a consumer packaged goods company, they can analyze their point-of-sale data to create a better product—and more compelling marketing—for their customers. Let’s assume a product like toothpaste and then expand that SKU into different attributes that are associated with toothpaste: contains fluoride, its color, whether it's whitening, flavor, if it’s a combo pack or just a single, etc. When you take a look at the volume of sales of those products over time and analyze the data, helpful insights can be pulled. Perhaps a customer is willing to pay 5 cents more for whitening, or the combo pack always performs better at a specific store.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/06/why-companies-need-to-apply-machine-learning-to-overall-digitalization-efforts/?sh=40483f167171

Digitization is Driving the Drone Market in Enterprise: The Evolution of 3D Models and Digital Twins
“Scale” is a word of the month in the drone industry.  While large industry and Fortune 500 companies have been using drones to gather data for years now, a combination of regulatory gray areas, complex workflows, and the lack of a clear and easily realized ROI has held many industries back from integrating drones into their operations at scale.
That seems to be changing.  Greater clarity on regulations, more automation in drone platforms, easier workflows and better analytics are delivering on something critically important to enterprise businesses: digitization.  Digital Transformation and the efficiencies realized are so important to the post-COVID enterprise that there is a 2-letter abbreviation for it: DX.  Digitization is the process of converting data into a computer-readable, or digital, format – and according to PTC, more than 70% of enterprise companies are actively engaged in DX projects.
Drones and Digital Twins
Drones are instrumental in the process.  Previous efforts at digitization for industries whose business is based on a portfolio of field assets – like telecom towers, transportation infrastructure, or energy – involved moving to large ERP systems and uploading documents or images to them.  While better than a paper-based system, this stops short of true digitization.  Drones, with their unique ability to carry a camera and fly intricate patterns entirely around a field asset with enough precision to generate a true, accurate digital twin of an asset, are a game changer.  With digital twins, companies can apply AI-based analytics and reporting against immersive 3D models of field assets, enabling completely new value propositions and efficiencies.
Continue reading: https://dronelife.com/2022/10/05/drones-and-digital-twins-is-digitization-driving-drone-industry-scale/

Since we at SkyOp provide drone training curricula to many high schools and colleges, we are frequently asked what it takes to be a good drone instructor.
Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) cross over many disciplines because of their high level of embedded technology. Frequently, my answer is that it would be helpful if the instructor had one or some of the following.
• A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) part 107 remote pilot certification.
• Private or commercial pilot credentials.
• Amateur radio-controlled aircraft pilot credentials.
• Many hours logged as a drone pilot.
• Mechanical engineer experience.
• A software background.
• A photography and video background.
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) experience.
However, I’ve never met anyone who has all the previously mentioned skills. With that said, let’s review some of the requirements that are generally required to be a drone instructor.
Necessary Requirements For Drone Instruction
All educators and trainers should have an FAA part 107 remote pilot certification to effectively teach drone classes. They need to learn how to register a drone with the FAA, which is required for all drones flying weighing .55 lbs in the National Airspace System. This includes not only commercial drones but also recreational, education and government drones. (See the FAADroneZone for all drone registrations, waivers and airspace authorizations.)
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/03/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-suas-drone-instructor/?sh=3473ed6b77c2

Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator program (SC-WIT) Cohort 2 has awarded GHC 90,500 each in seed funding to five women-owned businesses to scale up their business operations.
The program is a business incubator specifically designed to provide business support for women-owned businesses that leverage technology as part of the bank’s commitment to creating opportunities for female entrepreneurs whilst contributing to bridging the gender gap.
The entrepreneurs have been through a nine-month-long incubation program that comprised business advisory and financial interventions, including a highly acclaimed high-value Mini MBA program managed by Ashesi University’s Ghana Climate Innovation Centre.
The entrepreneurs also had the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel. Five of the most outstanding businesses received a financial grant of the cedi equivalent of $10,000, to scale up their business.
The five winners are:
Continue reading: https://www.myjoyonline.com/5-female-owned-startups-awarded-in-the-standard-chartered-women-in-technology-programme/

You don’t have to look far to find inspirational women at Lenovo.
In every corner of the business there are female trailblazers, demonstrating first hand that a career in technology is challenging, exciting and rewarding.
Ola Eldib, Country Manager for Lenovo Egypt and Levant, exemplifies this, leading and developing the Lenovo brand across the region, working across all business segments to ensure customers, and partners, are happy.
She has risen through the ranks to lead a thriving, diverse office, as well as participating in the Lenovo Mentoring Program. She’s even helped develop the Promoters Internship, ushering more women into the tech industry.
Roberta Marchini, meanwhile, has an equally illuminating story. Having studied engineering in Milan, she progressed quickly in the technology sector, eventually bringing her engineering expertise to a role heading up European Technical Solutions Support for the Infrastructure Solutions Group.
Why are there fewer women in STEM?
From a young age, both Ola and Roberta realized that they were in the minority, and a combination of societal bias, self-limitation and a lack of strong role models was holding young girls back from pursuing careers within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Continue reading: https://news.lenovo.com/bridging-the-gap-the-future-of-women-in-stem/

With a background in engineering and computer science, Sibiu-born Monica Obogeanu’s journey into the tech startup ecosystem began by attending How to Web in 2011, which she describes as “eye-opening”. Fast forward +10 years, she is the Startups Programs Manager at Orange Fab, the first corporate accelerator in the country.
“Orange Fab was an interesting challenge for me as I understood what startups are going through while bringing me closer to my background and learning more about the technical side,” Monica Obogeanu tells us.
Help yourself so you can support others next
Monica’s professional journey was accelerated when she applied for a job at How to Web, the first Romanian tech startup conference, launched in 2010. They were looking for a blog editor, she wasn’t into software testing, the job keeping her busy at the time, so she booked a one-way ticket to Romania’s capital.
As a Millennial, she sometimes felt the job-hopping itch, but different management responsibilities kept her evolving as a jack of all trades. That is until she became a mother. After her maternity leave ended, she wanted the safety and liberty of the corporate world, as you will discover in the interview below.
This is a story about the importance of seizing opportunities and having the possibility of attending conferences with international speakers. With what goal? Personal evolution, so you can then support the development of communities all around the country.
“Sibiu is focused on automotive when it comes to the people who are graduating from the computer science faculty. So, it’s difficult for a student to get a glimpse of other domains and opportunities,” she shares.
Continue reading: https://therecursive.com/corporate-independence-after-10-years-in-tech-monica-obogeanu-orange-fab/

Steve Aoki knows revolutions. As a teenager, before he was old enough to drive a car, he belonged to a community of “punk and hardcore kids” who played loud music in their basements. “We’re like, this music’s not meant for everyone,” he says now. “But it’s meant for people who care.”
The kids kept playing their music. “We’re [bloody] serious, we’re dedicated,” Aoki says. “And every single person in that room is a contributor.” They were building something. And each of the kids, metaphorically speaking, “had to pick up the bricks, had to pick up the axes, had to pick up and contribute.”
So they built. They contributed. They ignored the doubters and they created. Now, decades later, Steve Aoki is at the forefront of the EDM revolution, easily one of the most recognizable and prolific DJs on the planet. And once again he’s feeling that revolutionary spirit. “Now I’m 44 and I’m like, holy [crap], I feel like I’m 14 again,” says the DJ.
His latest revolution is crypto. “I’m a crypto guy,” says Aoki. “I love crypto. I believe in it. It’s the future.” This is why you constantly see Aoki involved with Web3 projects, such as minting non-fungible tokens (NFT) or creating his own “A0K1VERSE” in the metaverse (including the just-launched “Steve Aoki’s Playhouse” in The Sandbox), and launching new leagues in Draft King’s Reignmaker crypto fantasy football. The man seems to be half music, half crypto.
In a wide-ranging interview, Aoki opens up about why Web3 will become “an inevitable way of communicating,” how he can collaborate on music with just about anyone (including maybe Elon Musk?), why he thinks the price of ether (ETH) could reach $15,000(!), and why the doubters of Web3 should “never underestimate a group of people that’s yelling for change.”
Continue reading: https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/10/04/im-a-crypto-guy-why-steve-aoki-believes-in-web3/

Richard Walker, a new partner at Bain & Co. and co-lead of digital strategies for financial services has plenty of advice for his clients on how to take advantage of the blockchain-powered concepts of Web3 and the metaverse. But a lack of regulation, he says, is slowing adoption from the industry’s biggest players.
“Our clients are largely standing by waiting for clarity,” he says.
Web3, which Walker defines as “a decentralized, democratized environment with a native currency and native digital-rights ownership,” has garnered increasing interest from investors since the peak of the crypto bull run in November 2021. A research report by Bain found that private investments into Web3 technology have surpassed $80 billion, with $48 billion going directly into financial-markets infrastructure.
From wallets to payments, brokers and exchanges, the financial-services industry, Walker says, is perfectly poised for the introduction of blockchain technology. The industry “is really building the foundational rails and assets,” he adds.
Prior to his appointment in July to Bain, Walker spent 12 years at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu working in the digital-assets division (though the Bain press release that announced his new role referred to his former employer as “another global business consulting firm”). At Deloitte, he worked on different uses of cryptocurrencies. At Bain, Walker says he’s focusing on “building optionality intro strategies” for financial services to implement Web3 technology.
Walker’s work at Bain largely concerns implementation of metaverse practices and Web3 applications, like nonfungible tokens (NFTs), for banks’ clients and employees.
Big names in the financial sector have already, albeit cautiously, started to adopt so-called Web3 applications beyond cryptocurrencies. J.P. Morgan, a Bain client, has been leading the way, issuing NFTs to attendees of its first crypto economy forum in December.
 
Continue reading: 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariagraciasantillanalinares/2022/10/03/banks-drawn-to-web3-technology-but-restrained-by-lack-of-rules/?sh=7d4b6faf571d

We have all dealt with government red tape and bureaucracy. We create new accounts for every department, validate our identity multiple times, and question why government services do not securely share our data.
Liz Tanner has served as the Director of the Department of Business Regulation for Rhode Island since 2017. Earlier this year, Governor McKee named her the Secretary of Commerce for Rhode Island. When Liz joined state government, she set out to change the red tape and bureaucracy and elevate the rank of Rhode Island in business climate statistics. Scouring the country, Liz found no inspiration from larger states with more resources. In fact, with a few exceptions, states conducted business in the same way. Looking internationally, she was intrigued with Estonia as one of the first nations in the world to embrace and deploy blockchain technology in production systems.
Introducing Blockchain technology to government with Estonian model
The Estonia model made conducting business with the government easy and frictionless. Using blockchain technology, citizens enter their information only once and the same information would be available when interacting with many agencies and departments of government, such as applying to college or obtaining a license or permit. Liz was keen to take the Estonia blockchain experience to Rhode Island.
In 2017, the state floated an RFP to explore the concept of introducing Blockchain technology to the government. The response was unprecedented, with over sixty ideas from over thirty vendors covering various businesses, from marijuana to permitting and licensing to health care.
Rhode Island chose Infosys Public Services to help streamline the process of opening a new business. However, a deep dive determined that five independent state agencies were involved in this process. Recognizing that long term adoption is dependent on the success of the pilot, the project scope was narrowed to the Department of Business Regulation.
The initial proof of concept work centered on credentialing Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) as a low-risk project that could prove the technology.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2022/10/05/rhode-island-wants-to-make-it-easier-to-do-business-using-blockchain-technology/?sh=573c99cf7a25

An online resume-validating network has garnered support from than a dozen board members from companies whose ranks include Aon, Oracle, SAP, UKG, and ZipRecruiter with the aim of reducing the time and cost of vetting job candidates.
The network is part of a trend by governments, schools, and businesses to create verifiable digital IDs — self-sovereign digital identities — that can be used to verify everything from credit worthiness and college diplomas to licenses and business-to-business credentials.
The Velocity Network mainnet, now being piloted internally by corporate members, would enable employers to verify a job candidate’s diplomas, certifications, and work experience almost instantaneously. Employers using HR software can also issue verified credentials to employees, who can then access and share that information through a blockchain-based, online ledger.
A job candidate using the network would essentially be given a digital wallet secured through cryptography via the ledger. They could then choose to offer prospective employers whatever verified information they choose via a public key.
The network was created and is run by the Velocity Network Foundation, a Delaware-based nonprofit whose mission is to allow workers to store and share verifiable educational, licensing, and experience credentials online with job prospects.
“Verifying applicant career records can take days, weeks, if not months, to complete," said Dror Gurevich, founder and CEO of the Velocity Network Foundation. "Hiring methods are severely outdated to the point that one in three Americans have admitted to lying on their resumes, which slows the hiring process immensely.
“There’s literally no easy way of verifying records today other than making phone calls and procuring information from various sources," he said. "And that drives a $17 billion screening services market made up by professional third-party providers. Organizations spend millions of dollars on this. But it’s not the cost that’s the issue. It’s the time it takes; it’s a ball of friction that is the blocker for most of the innovation we need in the job market.”
Continue reading: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3675547/coming-soon-a-resume-validating-blockchain-network-for-job-seekers.html

Blockchain and digital assets represent a trillion-dollar opportunity, as PwC economists expect blockchain to boost global GDP by $1.76 trillion by 2030. Central banks have embarked on a number of retail and wholesale CBDC projects. And USD stablecoins are already ~6% of USD Currency in circulation (143 billion out of 2.3 trillion).
As CEO of a software consulting, design and engineering firm that has implemented stablecoins and CBDCs for financial institutions in the U.S., Ukraine, Indonesia and Brazil, I’ve seen innovative use cases for digital assets and tokenization. In this article, we’ll cover the key benefits of digital assets and what it means for fintech.
What Is A Token, And What Can Be Tokenized?
A token is a digital asset that resides on an existing blockchain and is used to represent an asset or utility but does not have its own unique blockchain. For example, ERC-20 tokens live on the Ethereum blockchain, deployed by a smart contract, but do not have their own blockchain.
Asset tokenization is the process by which digital tokens are created on a blockchain, representing either digital or physical assets. The real-world assets backed by digital tokens continue to exist “off-chain,” while digital tokens exist on the chain, acting as a store of value and carrying the rights of the assets they represent.
Tokenization can turn almost any asset, either real or virtual, into a digital token as it allows both fractional ownership and proof-of-ownership. Here are some examples.
Continue reading: 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/05/blockchain-powered-digital-assets-and-what-it-means-for-fintech/?sh=2fa94896312e

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, as of July 2022, nine climate disaster events exceeded $1 billion in losses. Hurricane Ian, which has a reported death of more than 100 people and caused as much as $47 billion in insured losses, could make it the most expensive storm in Florida's history.
Since June 2022, floods in Pakistan have killed 1678 people and washed away villages and infrastructure leaving behind 3.4 million children at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition. Hurricane Fiona left 900,00 people without power in Puerto Rico.
With natural disasters globally becoming more and more prevalent and dangerous, the application of technology like artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to prevent or mitigate the destruction.
According to Neil Sahota, IBM Master Inventor, lead artificial intelligence advisor at the United Nations, and co-founder of the AI for Good Global Summit, people see natural disasters as extreme, sudden events. But in reality, Sahota says that thousands of subtle, slow-moving clues indicate the likelihood and severity of a natural disaster.
"As humans, we're wired for those fast-moving, immediate threats [..]; unfortunately, we're not good with the slow-moving, long-term threats," said Sahota. "Thankfully, AI is, and that's why it has become a powerful tool in predicting natural disasters and enabling us to take steps to mitigate and even prevent it."
Sahota uses wildfires as an example of how AI is good at processing vast amounts of data in real time and finding those subtle connections among the variables. "We tend to look at climate conditions, amount of brush and other potential fuels, and the area's topography to assess the fire risk," said Sahota. "But as more AI wildfires tools have been developed, we have learned about many other factors involved, including ignition."
Sahota says data from research with mining companies shows that lightning strikes can be a major source of wildfires, but how can we assess something so random?
"People may struggle with this, but AI has had a much easier time predicting where lightning storms may occur, the likelihood of where it will hit the ground, and what are the "hotspots" that would catch on fire," said Sahota. "As a result, we now examine far more ignition sources like static electricity, hot surfaces and even friction to assess the threat of a wildfire."
Sahota maintains that AI can prevent the next natural disaster by determining the ripple effect or the indirect impacts of a potential natural disaster.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2022/10/05/a-look-at-how-artificial-intelligence-could-prevent-natural-disaster/?sh=29475e0758da