Over the last decade, blockchain has become integrated into the daily vernacular. For a good reason — thanks to Bitcoin, blockchain technology has been implemented across numerous industries.
Having proven itself with Bitcoin, blockchain is likely to become the key technology behind many central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The question then is, what is so innovative about blockchain technology?
What Problems Does Blockchain Solve?
At a basic level, blockchain is nothing more than a type of database. Every time one accesses an online account, such as Twitter, Google, or Facebook, one links up to a database. As the word implies, every database is a set of information, which is organized in a logical order.
Databases make it easier to manage and update sets of information. What sets blockchain apart as a database technology?

1. Blockchain is a distributed database. Computers in a network — nodes — run identical copies. Therefore, if one copy on a node is compromised in any way, the blockchain network’s redundancy ensures it will continue to run. 
2. Nodes sync to update the database. If some nodes give an erroneous record that doesn’t match up with the rest of the nodes (51%), the record is dismissed. 
3. Blockchain forms the database in a chronological order. Because each data block is time-stamped, it creates a chain. This has the effect of creating immutability. If a particular data block were tampered with, a new chain would branch out, effectively creating a false database that is dismissed by the network. 
4. Added data blocks are individually encrypted through the hashing method. Simply put, hashing transforms one value into a string of characters of fixed length. Using the same formula that produces the hash, any data of arbitrary size is then transformed into a fixed-size data set. Therefore, hashing is not only useful to validate data, but to store it in such a way that doesn’t reveal the original input. 
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   Continue reading: https://thedefiant.io/what-is-blockchain-tutorial/

The recent meltdown at Terra, subsequent questioning and doubting of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space in general, and the dramatic drop-off in cryptoasset prices has led some to dub this era the next “crypto winter.” On the surface such a description is correct, with hundreds of billions in value having been wiped off the cryptoasset market in the recent sell-off. That said, and despite the surface level similarities to the crypto winter that existed during 2018-2019, there are several traits that differentiate current market volatility from an existential crisis of confidence.
From a higher level perspective the recent price declines and volatility that the cryptoasset sector is experiencing should not strike market participants as a dramatic surprise. Rising alongside higher risk assets such a tech stocks and emerging market debt instruments, cryptoassets have experienced a dramatic increase in value since mid-2020. Even as global uncertainty and geo-political conflict continued to rise across the board, cryptoassets of all stripes thrived. Entirely new applications – including decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens – burst into mainstream conversation and attracted billions in investments.
Countries adopted bitcoin as legal tender, and over 100 nations have researched, developed, or launched a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Every trend and market commentator seemed to indicate that crypto was destined to dominate and supersede fiat currencies in virtually every marketplace. As has been proven time and again, however, there is no such thing as a sure thing; the current price volatility and declines have reinforced this reality. With uncertainty, however, there is also room for improvement.
Let’s take a look at a few of the reasons while price declines cause short term pain, they also can pave the way future improvements.
Crypto declines lead to operational improvement. Following previous declines (and the predicted end of crypto), there have consistently been marked improvements to how the cryptoasset ecosystem operates. Several examples come to mind, including the improvements made to centralized exchanges after the failure of Mt. Gox (among others), and the increased rules around reporting after the 2018-2019 declines in bitcoin and other crypto prices. In addition the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which themselves were reputationally damaged following the 2016 DAO hack, have also led to better regulatory frameworks around how blockchain based organizations can become integrated within the wider business landscape.
Following the collapse of the Terra stablecoin there are increased conversations around the need for improved reporting, transparency, and reporting requirements; these are issues that need to be raised for stablecoins to continue developing. As painful as the findings may be, and the damage that certain specific projects will suffer as a result, greater transparency and standardization will be a positive development for stablecoins.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/seansteinsmith/2022/05/22/crypto-price-pain-will-lead-to-better-projects-going-forward/?sh=2f5de52a7b43

So far, 2022 has been as unkind to digital coins as it has been to stocks. Bitcoin is down more than 37% on the year. Ethereum is down more than 41% and crypto, in general, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately.
A scary first-quarter earnings report from Coinbase, America's largest crypto exchange, has the industry and its investors in a state of panic, according to Fortune and Forbes. For many crypto naysayers, the events confirm their long-held suspicions.
In a new GOBankingRates study, a combined 40% of respondents said that they avoid crypto because they don't feel that it's regulated enough or because they don't trust the security that protects it. Another 60% don't trade crypto simply because they don't understand it.
That widespread lack of knowledge and trust is a perfect breeding ground for misinformation -- and there's no shortage of that where crypto is concerned, especially now that things are so bad.
If you're even considering jumping into the market, make sure you don't fall for the following stubborn crypto myths.
Myth: Your Investments Are Safe With Coinbase
Coinbase validated the industry and brought cryptocurrency into the mainstream when it went public and began trading on the Nasdaq. Publicly traded companies, after all, are regulated by the SEC, which is exactly the kind of federal oversight that leery mainstream investors had been holding out for all along. 
On May 11, however, Coinbase's first-quarter earnings report revealed stunning losses approaching a half-billion dollars and a 19% drop in monthly users. A selloff ensued, battering Coinbase even further.
The report was followed by an announcement that stunned the industry.
Continue reading: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/6-crypto-myths-debunked

Mance Harmon graduated from college in 1993 when the World Wide Web was just getting ripples, so he remembers the frustrations of trying to explain it to his parents. It didn’t make sense to them until they got an email account, but now, everyone intuitively understands the Internet, he said.
“Crypto is in the same space,” said Harmon, now the co-founder of Dallas-Fort Worth’s largest blockchain company, Hedera. “As the number of applications grows and people start taking control of their identity and privacy, they’ll begin to appreciate it in a different light.”
D-FW has made its name as a business-friendly area with a large talent pool. But is the traditional environment enough to draw in the younger crypto companies that favor a more casual work environment, open minds and creative solutions?
“Crypto culture is one of the weirdest cultures I’ve ever been a part of,” said Rasikh Morani, CEO of The Arcadia Group, a Dallas-based blockchain software development company.
“It’s awesome. But it’s also very weird,” he said. “There’s no other industry where I’d be sending anime pictures to my clients or my clients’ investors.”
Crypto’s complexity means some tune it out, not wanting to get involved in something they don’t understand. That has allowed some of D-FW’s biggest crypto-related claims to fame to go largely unnoticed:

• Hudson Jameson, one of the best-known faces of Ethereum, hails from Dallas. For five years until 2021, he worked at the Ethereum Foundation.
• Coinsource, the world’s largest Bitcoin ATM operator, operates out of Fort Worth.
• In 2021, Dallas crypto startup Zabo secured a deal to be bought by leading U.S. mainstream cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

If you ask industry experts whether Dallas-Fort Worth is becoming the “it” place for crypto, you rarely get a simple yes or no answer. But you hear the same themes.
How Dallas stacks up
The first point everyone agrees on is that there is no one “it” place for crypto because it was specifically designed to be done from anywhere.
“The unfortunate reality is that many, if not most, crypto companies are based offshore and maybe have an office in the States, due to the regulatory uncertainty,” said Mark Cuban.
In 2021, the entrepreneur’s Dallas Mavericks team started accepting Dogecoin cryptocurrency as payment for tickets and merchandise and signed a five-year partnership with publicly traded cryptocurrency platform Voyager.
Second, they agree that Texas is definitely the it place if you just focus on crypto mining, because the state is willing to negotiate “fantastic” rates for the power-heavy activity.
Continue reading: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/banking/2022/05/20/texas-quietly-tries-to-steal-silicon-valleys-thunder-as-the-go-to-state-for-crypto/

We were days away from IPO. We had raised $100 million in funding and exploded from a team of 50 in a garage to 600 in 18 months. One million technologists joined our platform. We were the next big deal.
It was the turn of a new millennium. And anything was possible. We were betting on a big deal called the internet. Fast-forward to today. AI is the new internet. Cloud is currency. And “data is the new dollar.”
By the end of this decade, economic output from AI is poised to eclipse the entire economies of China and India combined — nearly $16 trillion.
And yet, to CEOs and technology leaders, the promise of AI can feel at times both overwhelming and underwhelming. Underwhelming given the track record of many AI projects. Overwhelming because leaders are drowning in a sea of data. The sea is deep. And it’s roaring with noise.
A massive paradigm shift is accelerating among artificial intelligence gurus: to solve precision problems, a tiny, precise dataset (as small as 50 images) beats millions of images of noisy data.
All AI is custom. The challenge is, how do you make it systematic and scalable? The answer: good data, not big data.
Andrew Ng, co-founder of Google Brain and named to the Time 100 most influential people, really nailed it at the ScaleUp:AI conference. At its most basic level, AI is simply data + code. The problem is, nearly every company out there is scrambling to fix the code. Engineers are working furiously to write better algorithms. Better algorithms can bring incremental improvement. And yet if you want exponential, scalable gains, you need to focus on the data.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/05/20/best-kept-secret-in-ai-think-huge-act-tiny/?sh=6bafec3c59fb

Robotics is a diverse industry with many variables. Its future is filled with uncertainty: nobody can predict which way it will develop and what directions will be leading a few years from now. Robotics is also a growing sector of more than 500 companies working on products that can be divided into four categories:

• Conventional industrial robots,
• Stationary professional services (such as medical and agricultural applications),
• Mobile professional services (construction and underwater activities),
• Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for carrying small and large loads in logistics or assembly lines.

According to the International Federation of Robotics data, 3 million industrial robots are operating worldwide – the number has increased by 10% over 2021. The global robotics market is estimated at $55.8 billion and is expected to grow to $91.8 billion by 2026 with a 10.5% annual growth rate.
Biggest industry challenges
The field of robotics is facing numerous issues based on its hardware and software capabilities. The majority of challenges surround facilitating technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), perception, power sources, etc. From manufacturing procedures to human-robot collaboration, several factors are slowing down the development pace of the robotics industry.
Let’s look at the significant problems facing robotics:
Intelligence
Different real-world environments may become challenging for robots to comprehend and take suitable action. There is no match for human thinking; thus, robotic solutions are not entirely dependable.
Continue reading: https://venturebeat.com/2022/05/21/ai-in-robotics-problems-and-solutions/

Artificial Intelligence has improved the technology tools in all verticals. Software development, too, can be improved using AI.
Artificial intelligence has revolutionized the world in ways we could not have even imagined a few years ago. These days businesses aim for higher productivity while keeping costs to a minimum. AI can help accomplish this by automating dangerous and repetitive tasks while leaving us with the creative tasks and those that require a human touch. Like every sector, Artificial Intelligence has also entered the software industry.
Why is AI important for software development? How does Artificial Intelligence improve Software Development? We know you want to know more. This blog will shed light on the role of Artificial Intelligence in Software Development. Let’s get straight into it.
7 Ways in Which Artificial Intelligence Improves Software Development
The process of software development has been complex, and engineers are in constant effort to make it simpler and flawless. With the advent of the latest tools and technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, it has become easier for software developers to swiftly build the products par excellence.
1) Quicker and extensive development
Software development involves two main aspects, time and the number of features. The more the number of features in the software, the more time it will take to build.
Having said that, you also need to adhere to deadlines. What are the time-sensitive aspects of developing software? They are as follows –

• Deployment frequency
• Lead time for changes
• Time to restore service

AI used along with machine learning/deep learning can speed up software testing and automate testing, which allows software testers to devote time to other activities. There are other benefits too. Along with saving time and resources, AI also enables testing in a multitude of scenarios.
As opposed to manual testing, AI-powered testing eliminates the possibility of errors and speeds up the software development process, thereby ensuring impressive results. Additionally, AI seamlessly verifies deployments while assisting with coding.
Continue reading: https://www.rtinsights.com/how-artificial-intelligence-improves-software-development/

HR leaders are facing a radically different landscape, not just as a result of now entering the third collective year of managing a global pandemic but because an unprecedented number of workers are taking their fortunes into their own hands and opting to leave the workforce en masse in a phenomenon known as the “Great Resignation.” In fact, the most recent numbers released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics prove that the movement is showing no signs of slowing, with an estimated 4.5 million people quitting their jobs in November 2021 alone.
With decisions to make on how to build a hybrid workforce and improve the virtual recruitment experience for global candidates while focusing on diversity and inclusion, as well, HR leaders have to explore newer avenues and technologies to get ahead — and artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront. AI technology is helping enhance the employee experience, as many low-value and repetitive tasks can be automated with the help of conversational virtual assistants, thus freeing up time for workers to focus on more strategic tasks for HR teams.
Here are four ways HR departments can utilize AI to make their lives easier.
1. AI provides privacy and security.
HR has a vital role to play in ensuring that employees feel safe and are empowered to excel at work while promoting creativity and showing empathy when the employee seeks it. The results of a 2019 study from Oracle found that 64% of employees would trust a robot over their manager when asking for advice. Building an environment for employees to feel safe asking HR-related questions is key to building a successful company culture.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/05/23/ai-in-hr-better-privacy-less-friction-and-improved-employee-experience/?sh=564a35c81ec5

Artificial intelligence (AI) is having its moment these days. No wonder it starts being used for business purposes. The companies like Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce are integrating Artificial Intelligence solutions as intelligence layers across their technical operations.
The mission of AI is to make the existing technologies smarter and unlock the power of all the collected data. With machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, it has become incredibly easy to add an AI algorithm to your software or cloud resource.
How can you use AI to boost your business processes? Let’s be more specific!
The Benefits And Dangers Of Using AI In Recruitment
When it comes to recruitment, Artificial Intelligence solutions may cause an image problem. You might feel uncomfortable about the idea of putting serious decisions in the hands of machines. You simply want to know how and why a particular decision has been made.
What if machines are actually capable of making accurate decisions? What if they can be less prone to prejudice than humans? AI is there to overcome the challenges of the fast-changing hiring environment. With the AI-driven recruitment platforms, a company can learn whether a candidate firs a particular. It can fill in the gaps created by traditional recruitment instruments like resumes and interviews.
Continue reading: https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2022/05/22/5-successful-ways-to-use-artificial-intelligence-to-improve-your-business-processes/

Call centers can use artificial intelligence (AI) to help customers in many ways, reducing resolution times for users and the amount of work required of agents.
Brands commonly use conversational AI to scale conversations with customers. Unlike one-to-one phone calls or static websites, conversational AI delivers personalized experiences for thousands — even millions — of people where and when they want.
This ability to scale has become more valuable as people continue to hold most of their communications via messaging conversations.
By combining conversational AI for messaging, speech recognition and analytics for voice and integrations for a holistic view of all conversations, brands get a more comprehensive, unified system to connect across channels and reduce consumer frustrations.
“Messaging and conversational AI leverage channels that consumers use every day to communicate with friends and family, be it Apple Messages, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger,” Joe Bradley, chief scientist at LivePerson, told CMSWire.
Bradley explained that with conversational AI tools, contact centers can measure how they perform against resolving customer intents, or the reasons why they reach out.
For example, LivePerson’s Meaningful Automated Conversation Score can provide information on where bots perform well (or not) at each turn of the conversation, allowing organizations to drill down and discover how to optimize customer conversations continually.
AI Can Augment the Human Touch
Poorvi Shrivastav, GM and vice president of products at HubSpot, pointed out that AI is used throughout the entire lifecycle of a call to reduce operational overhead and provide a personalized customer experience.
“Call center leaders can leverage AI to analyze customer sentiments, agent performance and key problem areas in order to create a stronger support experience,” she said.
Continue reading: https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/3-key-benefits-of-ai-in-the-call-center/

To commemorate the International Day of Girls in ICT, industry experts have called for gender equality in the sector.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, on the average, in Nigeria, women make up merely about 22 percent of the total number of engineering and technology university graduates on a yearly basis.
While the Information Technology (IT) industry often talks about inclusion and diversity, much more work needs to be done.
There is undeniably a gender divide in all businesses, and one of these historically male-dominated industries is technology.
For Global Head of Zoho for Start-ups, Kuppulakshmi Krishnamoorthy, knowing the importance of equal gender representation in tech is one thing, and doing what it takes to support to become an ally, is an entirely different thing.
She said “To support gender equality in tech, the key players who have the power to propel this movement and those that can translate mere words into actions, need to have infinite compassion, and courage born out of empathy and kindness to constantly work on changing the stereotypes.”
While making recommendations to amplify support, Krishnamoorthy said there should be support for equality from early education on diversity and inclusion.
Continue reading: https://www.tekedia.com/as-experts-advocate-gender-equality-in-tech-industry/

When Nava Swersky established the world’s first women-led VC funds, Columbine Ventures in 2000 in partnership with Shamrock—the Roy Disney family investment arm—a tech writer from a leading daily in Israel approached her for an interview.
“I wanted to be taken seriously as a business person and not as a curiosity. And that’s what happened. In 2003, we did a very good deal for one of our companies; it was the deal of the year as well as the exit of the year,” she tells HerStory.
The reporter did end up writing a piece on Columbine that year, including the “all-women” titbit. “But it wasn’t the hook,” emphasizes Nava. “It was important to me to be taken seriously and not at face value for what we were doing.”
Recently, the entrepreneur-turned-VC was in India to mentor 26 women entrepreneurs as part of the Advanced Entrepreneurship Program organized by the Israel Embassy of India in collaboration with IIT Delhi and the WEE Foundation.
India and Israel are celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations.
Donning different hats Nava’s family has its roots in South Africa, and she’s a first-generation Israeli. She began her career as a lawyer and was a litigator for several years in the Israeli military before pursuing an MBA at IMD, one of Europe’s top schools. Continue reading: https://yourstory.com/herstory/2022/05/israel-vc-fund-tech-entrepreneur-iit-delhi

In light of the rising cost of living – which will affect women more than men—new research has found that a third of women (31%) working in the fast-growing tech industry feel uncomfortable asking for a pay rise.
In addition to juggling the demands of work, more than 75% of all caregivers are female. With 90% of all of UK’s single parents being women, that means they could be hit the hardest by the cost of living crisis, as according to a recent study by New Economics Foundation single parents will see bills rise 56% faster than the average UK household.
As the UK’s gender pay gap currently sits at 7.9%, and as high as 28% for roles in the tech sector, this also suggests that the cost of living crisis could be affecting women more than men, as the vast majority of women already spend a third or more of their disposable income on rent, as the rates reach a 13-year high.
Tech has long been known as a lucrative sector with high salaries, and it has seen rapid growth following the outbreak of the pandemic. However, new research* has found that only a quarter of women working in tech say they’d feel comfortable asking their employer for a pay rise. This falls in line with a recent study by Glassdoor, which found that 67% of women did not ask for a pay rise in 2020, compared to just 37% of men.
Amongst the main reasons cited as to why they would feel uncomfortable negotiating for a rise, were a lack of knowledge on how to do it and not feeling at ease asking for a rise in their workplace. Employers could be doing more to tackle this inequality, and research in the field indicates a number of crucial steps that employers could take to help women negotiate a fairer salary for their work, including:
Continue reading: https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/employment/pay-parity-women-tech-priority/

The amount of black women entering the tech industry is growing rapidly every year. From detail-oriented data analytics to fast paced customer-facing technical roles, we’re doing the work to not only find, but create spaces for ourselves within a male-dominated industry. 
And with all of these brilliant, creative minds still looking for a career home, can you believe that they’re overlooking a pathway in tech for one reason and one reason only: they have no desire to learn any coding skills. 
But the truth is, you don’t need to cultivate coding skills or even basic knowledge of coding to have a thriving career in the tech industry. In fact, there are actually quite a few jobs that are both high-paying and don’t require coding. 
UX Design 
Average Salary: $93,196 (2022) Requirements: Varies; Bachelor’s Degree, UX Certification.  Growth Rate: 18%
Behind every positive, helpful, and fulfilling experience with a product or service (digital or otherwise), there is a team of people who helped make it happen. One of the core members of said team is called a User Experience, or UX, Designer. 
The job of the UX Designer is to create meaningful, relevant experiences for users of apps, websites, and other products by utilizing research, visual design, usability, and function. The catch of UX Design is that it doesn’t actually require any design skills. 
Of course, if you plan on being on the User Interface (UI) side of things, you’ll need to know how to work various design programs to create a visually pleasing graphic layout of a product or service. However, UX is all about what comes before that. 
You’ll be doing things like research, identifying and defining problems, empathizing with users to help them create solutions, and creating a fulfilling service experience. 
All you need is a solid portfolio. No experience? No problem. You can go back to school and get a bachelor’s degree; or go the easier route and take a bootcamp or course that helps you exercise your skills and abilities by helping you build a portfolio of concept projects. 
Continue reading: https://emilycottontop.com/3-non-coding-tech-jobs/

Blockchain is more than just about Bitcoin-it heralds a new era in organizational operations – The digital age has seen a confluence of various technological processes transform businesses across sectors. From CRM to ERP, automation and cloud computing have opened new possibilities for operations managers to enhance output and employee experience. Those technologies are essential to managing Big Data as well, which continues to grow exponentially. The other recent entry into the mix is Blockchain, which is already giving plenty of benefits despite being a newcomer.   
With blockchain development, businesses can build trust in their systems for their users and customers. There are multiple use cases for the technology in every business domain, with cryptocurrency management being its most visible and widespread one. It is, therefore, unsurprising that investment into this technology is increasing each year-the 2021 total was US$6.6 Billion, and that is pegged to grow to US$39.7 Billion by 2025.  The enhancement of data security and reliability, the cornerstones of any business, in a manner that’s unparalleled by any other technology is the driving force behind the technology’s adoption. It also solves many other challenges that companies face on a daily basis, making it a versatile process solution option. Not to forget, one of its biggest USPs-decentralization.   
So, are you on the path to adopting blockchain development for your business? Or are you testing the waters to figure out if it would fit your business objectives? If it’s the latter, then you can learn more about how you can use it to drive your business’ growth and security at present and future as read on. What Is Blockchain Technology Exactly? Ever since the enigmatic name of Satoshi Nakamoto took the world by storm in 2009 with the introduction of Bitcoin, blockchain has become a part of everyone’s lexicon. The 2017 Bitcoin boom also played a major role in bringing to light the potential of the new currency format and the underlying technology. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have become pertinent because blockchain development at its core is about digital ledger maintenance.  Continue reading: https://www.cxotoday.com/corner-office/blockchain-development-linking-your-business-to-its-future-growth/

Drones pose challenging risk management and insurance questions. Clyde & Co says one major reason is because they are an aviation product that crosses over into other industries. According to the global law firm, Australian and international regulatory bodies and insurers are still struggling to address the implications.
“Something that is consuming a lot of time and attention at the moment is privacy,” said Dr Tony Tarr (pictured above), a Brisbane based senior consultant at Clyde & Co with extensive insurance law experience dealing with the development, regulation and insurance of drones.
In February, Clyde & Co announced the publication of Drone Law and Policy. The firm’s media release described the book as the “first of its kind” for outlining drone risks and the evolving regulatory frameworks in Australia, the US, UK and Europe. Tarr was a contributor and editor.
Privacy and data protection are key concerns, said Dr Tarr, because few countries have data protection regulations that are sophisticated enough to deal with the implications of drones.
“The exception is Europe that’s got quite general data protection regulations that drill down into privacy and data protection issues,” he said.
Read more: Drones: first ever book lifts lid on insurance implications
The surveillance abilities of drones are the crux of the issue.
“There’s increasing sophistication in their surveillance equipment and their capacity to invade spaces and areas that would otherwise be impossible for non-invited individuals to attend. This is causing major concerns,” said Dr Tarr.
The case of the Chinese global drone company, DJI, provides an example, he said. The company is still a major supplier of drones to US law enforcement agencies despite the fact the Pentagon has referred to Chinese drones as a security threat. Dr Tarr said the concerns focused around the Shenzhen headquartered company’s use of data.
“Those were concerns associated with the extent to which data collected by drones and utilizing artificial intelligence was distilling from millions of bytes of material those crystal pieces that are of utility, such as power station connectivities and other information around, for example, mining assets,” said Dr Tarr.
According to a Washington Post report in February, DJI is currently facing the prospect of further action by US regulators over its ties to Beijing’s security apparatus that could ‘‘severely limit” its access to US markets.
Continue reading: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/technology/the-evolving-challenge-drones-and-data-protection-406530.aspx

Drones are becoming increasingly useful tools in public safety. They’re used by firefighters to coordinate missions and put out hotspots, they help with search and rescue after floods and earthquakes, and they track animal migration.
Sounds great, right? But there’s a problem. Millions of these drones are made in China, and the U.S. government sees them as national security risks. And that’s pitting the alleged threat of snooping drones against very real public safety risks.
Using drones to fight wildfires
Early on a Monday morning at a Los Angeles City Fire Department training center, fire department employees examined a collection of drones.
“Every drone is like a different tool, and there’s not one tool for every given operation,” said Stephen Hamilton, an inspector with the fire department. He pointed to the Mavic 2, made by the Chinese company DJI. “These are kind of the workhorse of the department.”
The trainees have jobs ranging from search and rescue to emergency response. Los Angeles was an early adopter of drones. Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Fields started working with DJI in 2015 on a pilot project to custom-build drones for urban public safety. He says there was some skepticism at first about the use of drones. But that changed in 2017 after a brush fire in the affluent neighborhood of Bel Air. Firefighters used drones to detect hotspots.
“It reduced the number of firefighters you had to work, or to what we call ‘grid,’ an area. It sped up the time that we were able to get all the hotspots and make sure that the fire was completely out. The benefit to the public is that we were now able to lift evacuation orders much quicker,” Fields says.
Continue reading: https://wdet.org/2022/05/18/tracked-and-traced-how-a-ban-on-chinese-drones-could-set-back-wildfire-fighting-in-the-u-s/

Unmanned aircraft could be set to become a more common sight in the skies above the United Kingdom if the Royal Mail gets its way.
Britain’s postal service has laid out plans to run a fleet of 500 autonomous drones to make mail delivery easier to some of the country’s most remote areas.
As a first step, the Royal Mail hopes to launch more than 50 drone routes supported by up to 200 UAVs (uncrewed aerial vehicles) over the next three years. In the longer term, the ambition is to deploy more than 500 drones servicing all parts of the U.K. And as part of the significant expansion plan, it has confirmed a partnership with Cornwall-based drone maker Windracers.
However, there are some hurdles to negotiate before the proposal becomes a reality. First, approval will need to be granted from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority. 
And the costs also have to make sense – as the Royal Mail stressed in a statement, an “improvement in UAV economics” is required.
To date, the Royal Mail’s use of drones has been restricted to trial flights in some of the U.K.’s hardest to reach points, including the Isle of Mull in Scotland, the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast and between Kirkwall and North Ronaldsay, on the Orkney Islands.
The most recent test was held on the Shetland Islands in April, in partnership with Windracers, which saw mail delivered between Tingwall Airport in Lerwick to Unst – a 50-mile flight each way. Unst is Britain’s most northerly inhabited island, with a population of only 630.
The twin-engine UAV used in the trial can fly in difficult weather – a key factor when operating in the windy, rainswept islands off Britain’s coast – and has a wingspan of 32 feet, plus a high-reliability autopilot system. It can carry up to 220 pounds of mail of all shapes and sizes.
Continue reading: https://www.iotworldtoday.com/2022/05/19/drones-to-be-used-for-rural-postal-deliveries/

In year’s past, every day has centered around a different theme, like STEM education or careers in drones. This year combines all aspect of drone safety into one acronym “Fly RIGHT.” The day aims to touch on all aspects of the acronym, which are:

• Register your drone
• Interact with others
• Gain knowledge
• Have a safety plan
• TRUST and Train

The inaugural FAA Drone Safety Awareness Week was held in 2019. With it, the FAA hosted some components itself, including hosting webinars, providing social media support, and offering up downloadable marketing materials. But it also heavily relied on the private side of the industry, including local flying clubs, racing teams, big companies, small startups, and more, to host their own events. Many private organizations participated, hosting meetups, fly days, demonstrations and more.
The 2020 and 2021 editions of the safety awareness week struggled in some capacities because — while there were certainly virtual events — the pandemic made it difficult for many to host drone events in real life.
Continue reading: https://www.thedronegirl.com/2022/05/20/faa-scales-back-annual-safety-campaign-to-one-day-event/

International leaders in drones will fly into Rome at the beginning of June to collaborate and develop uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) standards. 
NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance Inc.) will host the ASTM International unmanned aircraft committee at the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport on Wednesday, June 1, through Friday, June 3. 
The meeting is expected to bring together up to 100 international industry leaders in the UAS industry, focused on developing industry standards to advance the integration of UAS into the national airspace, according to NUAIR officials. 
Drone users have been working on ways to fly drones outside a user’s line of sight. This could potentially make it possible to use drones to drop off packages for commercial purposes, among other possibilities.  
“NUAIR has had an active voice in ASTM International and many other UAS standards organizations for years, helping to develop the standards needed for safe, commercial drone operations,” said NUAIR CEO Ken Stewart, in a statement. “We are looking forward to hosting and taking part in the next ASTM International meeting at the New York UAS Test Site.” 
ASTM’s F38 committee addresses issues related to design, performance, quality acceptance tests, and safety monitoring for unmanned air vehicle systems, officials said. 
Stakeholders include manufacturers of unmanned aircraft systems and their components, federal agencies, design professionals, professional societies, maintenance professionals, trade associations, financial organizations and academia.  
Continue reading: https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2022/05/20/rome-griffiss-host-international-drone-conference-june/9836454002/

Youth Can Do I.T. (YCDI) Foundation Limited continues to target young people in an effort to effectively equip them to become competitive individuals in an ever-evolving world employment since the introduction of the Internet and its wide and diverse use in today’s society.
With a special focus on young girls, the YCDI has dedicated itself to increasing the number of women in the information and communications technology (ICT) professional field in Jamaica.
In a recent Gleaner interview, Cherika Wilson, head of People Operations at YCDI, expressed the organization's vision to empower a generation of creators to be change agents in their lives, communities and the world at large.
But it was imperative to get girls on board, especially due to the disproportion in the number of female students as opposed to male ones who pursue a study in technology in Jamaican schools.
“If we are going to be competitive as a country, a region, then we also need to increase the capacity of our workforce [and] to be able to enter into a lot of these [areas] and to be leaders ... creators ... [and] to tek up space,” she said.
In doing so, women need to be a part of the wider discussions being had. “And wherever you have more people represented, more perspectives represented, we have more innovation. So, if we leave girls out of the conversation, we’re gonna hinder our own growth,” she added.
Continue reading: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20220520/youth-can-do-it-aims-increase-number-women-ict

With the introduction and massive adoption of smartphones at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, social media was catapulted from a fringe business to one that completely dominated the internet in just a few years. A new form of entertainment was born, and a new wave of individuals who could identify an audience and discover a need adopted new ways of introducing concepts and products to a young audience that had turned sour on established media such as radio and TV.
These individuals are called “influencers.” Not surprisingly, many of these individuals have found their way into unmanned aviation.
Recently, a powerful group of influencers have emerged in our industry as forces to contend with. They analyze new products and have a huge impact in the sales and general acceptance of new technology.
We reached out to one of these influencers in our industry, Rafa Ocón, also known as DroneGuru. Rafa has over 100K followers in every continent where Spanish is spoken.
“There’s an immense need for information regarding what can be done and what’s prohibited in the world of drones,” Rafa said with enthusiasm. “There’s also an appetite for training and formal instructions, so we do both. I see my role as an educator, and nothing gives me more satisfaction than to read that my followers are getting certified and are flying safely.”
Originally, Rafa was a filmmaker, a profession that he enhanced and upgraded when he added drones to his portfolio, creating unique and visually stunning videos that catapulted his company to huge success. His original struggles to find appropriate and accurate information about drones and how to pilot them gave him the idea to add a training school for pilots as part of the services of his company.
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/international/the-role-of-social-media-influencers-in-our-industry

A healthy company requires three key ingredients: a deep understanding of its customers and their needs, a versatile team and strong leadership to guide the way.
As our society continues to reflect and shed the biases that have kept certain groups of people in the margins, our definition of strong leadership is evolving. The ethos of doing business is shifting, as many consumers and leaders are investing in a more diverse and equitable society.
Traditionally, masculine qualities like stoicism were once considered the pinnacle of business prowess. However, soft skills like communication, empathy and emotional intelligence—those that women have a natural inclination toward, yet have historically been written off—are being recognized for their value in business.
As a woman who has navigated a male-dominated field for over 20 years, there's a clear need for more meaningful inclusion and representation.
A growing number of women are choosing entrepreneurship—but it’s not an easy road. For those working in fields that have historically been (and still are) male-dominated, the typical challenges of entrepreneurship are complicated by obstacles: the conscious and unconscious biases of men who are established in these industries, and lack of access to female mentorship.
Though daunting, it hasn’t stopped women from persevering. Women-owned businesses, and, more specifically, businesses owned by women of color, are growing, but still face the most difficulties when it comes to accessing capital and peer support. In 2020, women received just 2.3% of venture capital funding.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/05/19/all-hands-needed-creating-opportunities-for-women-in-male-dominated-fields/?sh=2ed8c07c2389

AUSTIN—Verizon Response teams will continue to provide drone services while supporting public safety, despite the fact that Verizon recently shut down Skyward—the drone company that Verizon purchased in 2017—an official for the carrier said this week at the Big 5G Event.
Sankaran “Ram” Ramanathan, Verizon’s executive director of network field operations and assurance, said public-safety agencies seeking communications support from Verizon Response during emergencies or large planned events can still have drone support, even though the Skyward business unit was shuttered less than a month ago.
“They [first-responder agencies getting support from Verizon Response] should still see what they see today,” Ramanathan said during a session at the Big 5G Event conducted this week in Austin. “I’m sure we will have some clarifications—if there are things changing in the process, contacts or that kind of stuff—but otherwise, from an emergency-response perspective, we’re always there, and we constantly have discussions with them to provide them with more than what they ask for.
“Drones will be play a role in our portfolio. How we operate and how we partner might slightly change, based on the partnership and everything.”
Ramanathan did not name any potential partners in the emergency-response space but said Verizon is interested in ”partnering with any company and every company that provides us with an edge over everyone else,” as well as entities that can enhance the company’s reach to public safety.
Drones can provide a variety of beneficial capabilities during a response, from delivering broadband connectivity via tethered drones to providing situational awareness via video or thermal imaging captured by drones—a capability leveraged in wildfire response efforts last year—Ramanathan said.

Today’s Woman in Tech: Lucy Nemes, Manager, Data & CX Strategy, Publicis Sapient
As a Data Strategist at Publicis Sapient, a leader in digital business transformation, Lucy Nemes works at the intersection of Customer Data & Experience.
Together with her team, she drives the quantification of customer experience quality, the translation of data into insights, and the derivation of actions for the consultancy’s clients. A native of Slovenia, she has lived and worked in Ljubljana, Berlin, Kuala Lumpur and Miami during her career.
When did you become interested in technology? What first got you interested in tech?
I had quite some contact with technology as a child through games and different activities. But it wasn’t love at first sight. It never occurred to me to pursue a career in tech. My passion wasn’t awakened until I entered the workforce. I had the opportunity to attend some innovation conferences like CES in Las Vegas. There I was able to experience firsthand what technology is capable of and how it affects our lives. The innovation and dynamism of the industry excited me. This experience has had a significant impact on my professional career.
Let’s talk about your background. How did you end up in your career path?
As I said, I had not planned to pursue a career in the technology industry. During my studies in international business and economics, I was looking for a global company that I could write my master’s thesis with. I was given the opportunity to do so in the innovation department of Deutsche Telekom, where I also completed an internship and gained my first practical experience in the tech world.
After finishing my data & innovation-focused thesis, many doors opened, but the decision was not easy for me. While most of my fellow students went to management consultancies, I took my first professional steps at digital companies like trivago and Google. Initially, I worked as an analyst with a focus on product performance analytics, where I learned how to build and optimize digital products and use available data for innovation. I was excited by the diversity of topics, the learning opportunities, and the high-paced working environment.
Continue reading: https://jaxenter.com/women-in-tech-nemes-177392.html