An Israeli company and its Brooklyn partner want to fight crime using drones, and say they have an interested partner in New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Israel’s Blue White Robotics and EasyAerial from Brooklyn were two of the companies featured in a recent “NY + Israel = Safer, Smarter Cities” event announcing the launch of the NYC-Israel Chamber of Commerce. Both companies said that Adams showed interest in their services at a reception for the event last Thursday at the Williamsburg Hotel.
BWR CEO Ben Alfi said that the best part of the event was the ability to have a “direct discussion” with the mayor. “We talked about emerging needs to create and implement our capabilities in helping New York become a safe and secure city,” he told the New York Jewish Week.
An Easy Aerial Drone being flown in New York. (Facebook)
New York Jewish Week/JTA — An Israeli company and its Brooklyn partner want to fight crime using drones, and say they have an interested partner in New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Israel’s Blue White Robotics and EasyAerial from Brooklyn were two of the companies featured in a recent “NY + Israel = Safer, Smarter Cities” event announcing the launch of the NYC-Israel Chamber of Commerce. Both companies said that Adams showed interest in their services at a reception for the event last Thursday at the Williamsburg Hotel.
BWR CEO Ben Alfi said that the best part of the event was the ability to have a “direct discussion” with the mayor. “We talked about emerging needs to create and implement our capabilities in helping New York become a safe and secure city,” he told the New York JewishWeek.
Easy Aerial CEO Ido Gur said that after the reception, they spoke with the mayor about placing drones on the rooftops in the city, “specifically in higher crime areas.”
“He came up to us after our presentation with this idea,” Gur said. “We discussed the applicability, which we hope to start implementing soon enough.”
Continue reading: https://www.timesofisrael.com/can-drones-make-nyc-safer-israeli-company-brooklyn-partner-pitch-idea-to-mayor/

Industry 4.0 has enabled mining and tunnelling industries to optimise operations beyond what we thought was possible. With a focus on safety and productivity, technology continues to develop and facilitate effective operations, but with these advancements come concerns about change and making new investments.
Embracing Internet of Things (IoT) technology not only promises safer and more productive operations, but it also helps to make them more cost-effective. From improved maintenance to making operators’ jobs easier, IoT could save your mining operation money.
Mining Technology spoke with Pekka Jaarinen, Normet’s director of digital services, about the benefits of IoT and how it can reduce operational costs.
Service optimisation
“Better equipment uptime using analytics and AI or machine learning to predict failure and the impact that has on availability significantly improves the service of your equipment,” Jaarinen explains.
Predictive maintenance allows mining operations to optimise maintenance schedules, preventing costly downtime and extending the service life of expensive equipment. AI and machine learning collate data from service history and the performance of the same model in other environments to maximise uptime and address any issues proactively.
Troubleshooting and remote diagnostics
According to Jaarinen: “If we can do something remotely to support our customers or sites, then this will decrease costs on an operational level as well. For example, data can provide valuable insights for first-time resolution so if we do have to visit a site for repairs, we go in already knowing what the problem is.”
Continue reading: https://www.mining-technology.com/sponsored/how-internet-of-things-technology-reduces-operational-costs-for-mines/

Today’s Woman in Tech: Rafaela Ferro, frontend engineer, SingleStore
Rafaela lives in Coimbra, Portugal, where she works remotely as a frontend engineer for SingleStore. Previously, she was a digital designer at Deemaze, a software development agency. She co-founded The Zain Talks, a design meetup in Coimbra with a community of 400 designers and enthusiasts from other industries. She’s passionate about bringing to life creative projects that everyone can use, by being an advocate for accessibility, ethical design, and thoughtful user experiences.
When did you become interested in technology? What first got you interested in tech?
One day, a week or so before college applications finished, my uncle, a software engineer, challenged me to write a very simple software program after explaining the programming basics to me. I was hooked. On the last day of college applications, I changed my application to a degree that included programming.
Let’s talk about your background. How did you end up in your career path? What obstacles did you have to overcome?
I studied design and multimedia at the University of Coimbra, which included both art/design and programming classes. While I worked as a digital designer for some years after college and still design for side projects, I knew since then that I would eventually focus on frontend development because I enjoy the challenges involved.
Continue reading: https://jaxenter.com/women-in-tech-ferro-176841.html

In the world of work, and particularly within the technology industry, women have long experienced a number of challenges, from the battle for equal pay to breaking the ‘glass ceiling’, being represented in senior roles, returning after maternity leave and more
In line with this year’s International Women’s Day theme #breakthebias, fifteen women working in the technology sector have shared their experiences and learnings, in the hopes of creating workplaces free of bias, stigma and barriers for women.
The challenges for working women
“International Women’s Day serves as a reminder that gender equality in the workplace is essential for building a better future” says EJ Cay, Vice President, UK and Ireland at Genesys. “We must create workplaces for women that ensure their careers are not strewn with obstacles.”
Without a doubt, there are obstacles and challenges that disproportionately affect women. Some, like the gender pay gap, have been longstanding, while others have been exacerbated by the pandemic. For example, Cecilia LeJeune, Pluralsight Author and Design Strategist says, “during the pandemic, many women were considering quitting their job due to the lack of business flexibility, child-rearing and household responsibilities, and stress.”
Continue reading: https://technative.io/fifteen-women-in-technology-share-their-experiences-of-the-working-world/

Gender diversity in the tech industry has been an issue for years, with women continuing to be underrepresented, especially in senior leadership roles. Now, as a major shortage of tech skills threatens the digital transformation plans of companies all over the world, and flexible hybrid working becomes the norm, the gender gap could be starting to close.
The stats around women in tech, generally, paint a pessimistic picture. Research from cloud-based talent creation firm Revolent found that less than 5% of Fortune 500 tech companies' CEOs are female, a decline of 14% decline between 2016 and 2021. The study also found that 73% of female tech professionals believe gender inequality exists in the industry, while 64% of female tech workers don’t believe their employer pays men and women equally.
The company identified barriers such as a lack of female role models, uncomfortable company culture, and tech’s reputation for poor work-life balance that deter women from pursuing a career in tech.
According to Anna Sutton, cofounder of business consultancy The Data Shed, there are also misconceptions about working in tech. “People seem to think that to be able to work in tech, you have to be able to code,” she says. “Tech has a language that gets wielded in an exclusive manner which can feel insurmountable. We need to bust these myths and remove these hurdles. Diversity is imperative. Tech serves us all and the industry needs to represent that.”
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisoncoleman/2022/03/24/will-hybrid-working-bring-more-female-talent-into-tech/?sh=580930265be0

Technology continues to surprise us daily. Businesses and enterprises are constantly working on new products, strategies, or methods to simplify daily tasks.
Yet, there is still a gap when it comes to old trends. One major problem is related to gender distribution in tech. The world has advanced, yet we are stuck with redundancy for the professions of IT. Companies are even finding ways to hire offshore software developers that can implement advanced technology. Women are also getting into the tech industry having the development expertise.
However, there are several reasons why women still feel hesitant to get involved in the tech industry. At the same time, it is still growing as an employment opportunity for many. Let us discuss some of these issues and how they can be addressed.
Talk about female role models
You have probably heard of the name Safra Catz. She is one of the top women in tech. Here is why this conversation needs to happen more often. By the majority, tech has been coined as a “field for men.” According to women in technology statistics on financesonline.com, There is one female for every two males in the US tech industry. (2020)
There is a need to educate youngsters more about female technology inventors. Famous women in history include Grace Hopper, Adal Lovelace, and Hedy Lamarr. Ada Lovelace has been known as the world’s first programmer for decades.
Continue reading: https://startup.info/women-in-tech-how-flexibility-breaks-barriers-in-the-tech-world/

As another International Women’s Day passes, we’re reminded that there are still many challenges facing women who work in technology in 2022.
However, simply acknowledging that there is a problem isn’t enough anymore. It’s important for us to move past the awareness phase and begin to take practical action that can have real world impacts on the lives and careers of women around the world.
At our recent Women in Tech Roundtable, I spoke with four panelists from across Asia Pacific to pose several questions about creating more opportunities and some of the real-world solutions that could help elevate women to shine even brighter. Their insights and personal stories, along with that of the attendees, gave us some practical ideas on how we create more opportunities beyond that glass ceiling.
Equal opportunities to climb the corporate ladder
Ensuring that women are afforded equal opportunity to rise through the ranks is an important first step in equalizing representation in business. For example, did you know that for every 100 men promoted, only 86 women are ? This, despite the fact that we know that companies with diverse hiring practices perform better, have better talent on hand and enjoy more engaged employees.
It’s frustrating, a sentiment that was shared by all our panelists. One panelist highlighted the pervasion of “bro culture” within business and the inherent bias that it creates. When women feel that they must work harder than men to be seen as just as worthy, there’s a real issue. Another noted that women are forced to overcome the bias of choosing to have children, or getting married, as just one more hurdle to advancement in an organization.
Continue reading: https://womenlovetech.com/creating-opportunities-for-women-in-tech-why-actions-are-the-best-ally/

Last year was pivotal for the growth of crypto-assets and Bitcoin in particular, with the famed digital currency reaching a peak price of $65,000 in October 2021. However, 2022 has shaped cryptocurrency in new dimensions, with more government regulations provoking mass and institutional adoptions. Earlier at bay with crypto adoption, many countries have become a significant driver of this new wave of investment.

Despite the bear market, the industry continues to grow, and many new projects are coming online. Even in 2022, most of the growth will continue to be organic, with cryptocurrencies, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and blockchain-based startups continuing to fuel the digital revolution. 
The footprints of blockchain technology penetrate every sector. Everything has an element of blockchain embedded in it—from healthcare to the economy and businesses to ownership. Hence, the crypto industry is evolving, and even in 2022, it will continue to grow into a comprehensive and decentralized ecosystem encompassing both governance and economy.
The Continuous Defi Evolution
The DeFi space continued to grow in 2021 with the big players stepping up their game by refining their technology and scaling solutions to improve efficiency. DeFi 2.0 narrative emerged in the second half of the year, fueled by the growing presence of the latest influx of services such as the Olympus DAO, Rari, and Tokemak. This trend continues in 2022 with technological improvements allowing developers to create new products and better liquidity models. 
Continue reading: https://techbullion.com/whats-to-look-for-in-crypto-and-blockchain-space-in-2022/

Machine learning and other AI applications can radically advance both business success and human happiness by eliminating drudgery and repetitive jobs, but adapting to it in the executive realms means savvy hiring and retraining.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a concept relevant exclusively to the likes of developers and coders; it’s making positive inroads into all facets of modern life in ways never before imagined. From helping physicians diagnose diseases to protecting borders with robot dogs, AI is becoming a force to be reckoned with.
This extends into our professional lives, too, perhaps without us even knowing it. It’s already widely used in processes like candidate screening, sales acceleration and customer experience, to name just a few areas.
These are welcome and encouraging developments, but what’s the next AI frontier for leaders in the business community?
Continue reading: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/419947

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way people work by putting powerful algorithms into everyday devices. Currently, AI is used for all sorts of digital tasks, and industries across the board are finding unique ways to implement AI for a competitive advantage. Are companies and industries using AI alone missing out on an opportunity? By combining the power of AI technology with human talent and resources, the biggest impact could be felt at the enterprise level across any, or every, industry.
As AI evolves, computers are not only learning how to complete tasks but also learning how to explain their reasoning. This ability enables artificial intelligence to better train itself over time and learn new skills. For example, an AI that is predicting outcomes of patients based on available data can provide physicians with explanations for the predictions it makes. This would enable doctors to understand why the AI was making certain decisions about patient care and be confident in support of those decisions made by AI.
Human Fear Of AI: The Competition Economy
The continued improvement of AI to perform human-led tasks has raised reasonable fears for leaders and employees that AI will ultimately replace humans in the workforce. Ultimately, research shows the opposite to be true. Through collaborative intelligence, the act of AI and humans joining forces, companies can be more competitive than they can with either AI or humans alone.
Continue reading: 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/03/24/collaborative-intelligence-the-new-economy/?sh=42ac92753eca

Imagine you’ve just turned on your computer and it suddenly tells you all about itself. What it is, what it can do and all its capabilities.
“The more humans share with me, the more I learn,” it says. “I come in many forms as artificial intelligence. Many companies utilize me to optimize their tasks. I can continue to learn on my own. I am listening. I am learning. I am making predictions on your life right now.”
After hearing this, how would you feel about your data and the protection of your data on the internet, in the cloud and on social media?
When I recently watched the PBS documentary Coded Bias, these phrases were sprinkled throughout the film and instantly grabbed me. The movie was an eye-opening look at the discrimination of women in facial recognition, as well as racial bias in facial recognition algorithms. Personally, I felt this film sparked an incredibly important conversation for the technology sector: it urgently needs diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to contribute to the development of AI and ML.
AI is meant to help make people's lives more productive, efficient and comfortable–but I believe it needs to be built for everyone to achieve this goal. Currently, the lack of diversity allows for a one-sided view behind AI algorithms, which impact people’s daily lives and help them make all kinds of decisions, from insurance options to loan choices.
Right now, women represent about 18% of C-suite-level executives across AI companies. According to a 2020 World Economic Forum report, only 26% of the data and AI positions in the workforce are women.
Continue reading: 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/03/24/diversity-is-key-to-the-future-of-ai/?sh=929f4937d6d8

Those of us who have spent the past two years on Zoom or Microsoft Teams meetings have seen it firsthand—the world revolves around voice interactions. Voice technology is having its moment for a variety of reasons. Widespread remote work, a boom in digital interactions and increased automation have made voice the go-to empathy channel.
Rather than misinterpret an email, we take to voice to work through challenges with our colleagues. Rather than attempting to self-serve a major problem, we take to voice to connect with a customer support agent. Long gone are the days of the phone being a completely siloed, analog channel. Voice has been pulled back from the digital edge, and as a result, organizations are far more capable of interpreting voice interactions to improve the way they do business.
AI is at the center of this transformation. Applying AI to help understand and interpret the intent and emotion behind the human voice is one of the tech industry's most difficult challenges. In some areas, it's still far from perfect (more on that later). Yet, mastering and analyzing voice communications can make our organizations and our people far more inclusive, effective and empathetic.
Here's how.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/03/24/ai-can-make-us-more-human-heres-how/?sh=5a0d3ed55e81

Smart technology has played an intrinsic role for London, helping people to work, travel and live more efficiently. The capital’s Chief Digital Officer Theo Blackwell outlines what City Hall are planning to improve outcomes for Londoners and keep them better connected.
A ‘smart city’ describes how digital, data and technology together respond to citizens’ needs in new and improved ways.  In other words, the technology sits alongside an approach to citizens’ data, how to identify need and design services.   In a large and complex city like London, there is also a need for innovation to be shared easily across administrative boundaries and in partnership with others.  So in 2018 the Mayor of London’s Smarter London Together Roadmap set a new direction focusing on better city-wide collaboration around design-thinking, joining up useful data, digital infrastructure improvements, growing local talent and innovation collaboration across the 32 boroughs.
London’s smart history over the last two decades includes the Congestion Charge, contactless payment and the Ultra-Low Emission Zone: all smart city technologies now part of London’s (and Londoners’) everyday way of life.  Open data platforms at Transport for London (TfL) and the Greater London Authority drive services vital for the city to plan and promote jobs and growth through to mobile apps helping Londoners’ plan their daily commute. We have growing expertise in piloting emerging technologies such as connected autonomous vehicles and advanced smart energy systems as well the large pilot-at-scale of e-scooters announced last year.
City Hall’s open innovation calls enable swift, design-led prototyping of new products and services by the tech sector in partnership with boroughs or agencies and using publicly-held assets or data.  Examples since 2018 include reducing congestion by heavy goods vehicles; curb-side electric vehicle charging trials; 3D modelling for planning; and a successful mobile app, Go Jauntly, promoting healthy walking routes around the city.
The arrival of 5G networks makes internet speeds faster, provides vast amounts of real-time data and allows the processing of data quickly and support a new generation of services and applications above and beyond those already in place. In a 2020 report commissioned by the Mayor on London’s ‘advanced tech stack’ over the next decade, the Digital Catapult anticipates an acceleration in the availability of smart city emerging technologies including networks of sensors, cameras, drones, robotics, mobility services, augmented and virtual reality, and automated and algorithmic decision-making.  Take-up is also expected to rise rapidly as capability grows, costs lower and even more uses are tested and developed.
Alongside the growth of consumer and industrial application of these emerging technologies they will also play an important role in our ambitions around Net Zero, tackling congestion and improving air quality, culture and public art, personal health and law enforcement.
Continue reading: https://www.centreforlondon.org/blog/londons-future-as-a-smart-city/

We increasingly manage our lives via a bewildering array of technological devices and services and the IOT revolution offers us the promise of “everything connected” to make our lives simpler, freer, and healthier. However, our reliance on technology could also be a threat if malign actors can gain control of our devices and systems.
IOT devices have particular vulnerabilities, as they are typically based on limited resource devices where there may be limited features and capacity to implement advanced security.
Many devices use RF technology including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and, in such cases, you are literally broadcasting your data for any snooper who wants to listen in.
Security designed in from the start
The first thing to note is that security is not something to be bolted on at the end of the design process as an afterthought. Security needs to be designed into a system from the start. Thinking about security should be integrated into the definition of the basics of the system. 
It is vital to begin by analysing the consequences of possible system breaches, entry points for an attacker, and the steps to be taken to mitigate any risks. Clearly not all systems carry the same level of risk. So, there is no one “right” level of security. The security for a medical or financial based system has different requirements to that of a simple monitoring system.
That said, you must always be careful. For example, a smart home system may primarily control the heating, and not seem particularly interesting. However, the data it generates can reveal when the owners are away on vacation and offer an opening for a burglary.
Entry points
Having decided what you are trying to protect against, the next step is to analyse where an attacker might gain entry to the system. The key is to take a wide-ranging approach to identifying the weakest link. For instance, you could design a highly robust architecture for the system yet neglect to adequately protect the step where devices are initially programmed in a subcontractors’ facility.
Continue reading: https://www.newelectronics.co.uk/content/features/rf-and-iot-security

For years, roofing professionals have been forced to spend hours on hot and dirty surfaces to do initial inspections of large, flat commercial and industrial roofs. The process is time-consuming, expensive—and potentially dangerous.
Using drones, however, can make inspections faster, safer, and more cost-efficient. And, when drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras, inspections become even quicker, as well as less risky and more accurate.
Thermal imaging cameras allow inspectors to see infrared energy that is usually invisible to the naked eye. Advanced dual thermal camera payloads present even greater advantages. Dual thermal camera payloads, such as Teledyne FLIR’s VUE® TZ20-R, allow operators to zoom into subjects without loss of resolution. With these systems, operators can perform rapid moisture inspections, detailed examinations of roof-mounted mechanical systems, and much more.
Central to this technology is the use of two cameras. Dual thermal camera payloads for drones pair a wide field of view (FOV) thermal camera with another, narrower FOV thermal camera. By using two cameras, operators can utilize 5x optical zoom without affecting resolution and image quality. This improves the efficiency of thermal drone inspection, increases the speed of inspections, and cuts down on flight times.
Radiometry is another important feature of some dual thermal camera payloads. Cameras with radiometry can measure surface temperature to determine if glowing spots or cool areas on a roof are signs of a problem. Systems like the VUE TZ20-R—which provides accurate radiometry over a wide variety of environmental conditions—are ideal for complete, accurate roof inspections. Thermal cameras without radiometry simply aren’t very helpful.  
Given these features, dual thermal camera payloads are great for assessing the condition of large commercial and industrial roofs, but they also help inspectors review the condition of the many mechanical systems often found on these surfaces. Thermal imaging can measure the temperature of generators, HVAC systems, air handlers, duct work, access points, and even solar panels. In addition, they can point out insulation and moisture issues that can impact the integrity of roofs. Accurate temperature and moisture readings can help operators identify potential problems and reduce false positives. 
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/using-dual-thermal-imaging-with-drones-to-improve-flat-roof-inspections

Raven has opened a new engineering center in Scottsdale, Arizona (U.S.) to accelerate the advancement of its ag technology and is planning an investment in the expansion of its Innovation Campus.
This office location provides Raven with strong connections to Arizona State University. With a focus on product development, data science and artificial intelligence, Raven team members will also have access to a nearby test farm, where they are able to do same-day testing. This model is to enable faster and more efficient agriculture technology iteration with user experience at the forefront.
Real-time engineering testing
In addition to the new Scottsdale location, Raven is also planning an investment in the expansion of its Innovation Campus, located minutes away from the company’s headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D. The revamped facilities will supply more space and resources for real-time engineering testing, research and development for AI, autonomy, machine learning and core technologies.
“Our integration with Raven is rapidly accelerating technology delivery to customers,” said Parag Garg, Chief Digital Officer, CNH Industrial. “It allows our Engineering teams to efficiently go from ‘code to cab’ to develop and deploy new technologies. These sites, combined with our existing activities, will reinforce our commitment to have engineers work closely with our customers.”
Continue reading: https://www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/autonomous-semi-autosteering-systems/raven-enhances-development-in-ai-autonomy-and-machine-learning/

Small businesses should have thorough, regular—and secure—processes for gathering, storing and interpreting data, which in the “Information Age” has become critical to staying a step ahead of competitors and the marketplace as a whole.
Without deliberately planning and engineering the most effective ways to integrate various types of data flows in every part of your business operations, you can’t fully understand how data can help you make key decisions and otherwise leverage its benefits for key purposes.
Mapping your data—classifying it based on where it’s housed, how it moves, and how it will be used, likely with help from artificial intelligence (AI)—is key to providing this kind of visibility and seamlessness needed to make the most effective and efficient use of it.
Your business data also should be classified by sensitivity level, with appropriate safeguards to ensure that it’s being used in a way that maintains any regulatory compliance and is protected from those who seek to breach your cybersecurity assets.
Shielding such sensitive customer, supplier and financial data is critically important to your enterprise, both to keep current with ever-tighter privacy regulations put in place as cyber threats grow, but also simultaneously to safeguard that data for the business’ own benefit.
Continue reading: https://www.businessattorneychicago.com/data-management-key-to-business-success/

There’s a great scene in Seinfeld where Kramer talks about big companies writing things off for tax purposes. Jerry looks at him and says, “You don’t even know what a write-off is.” Kramer eventually says, “But they do, and they are the ones writing it off.”
When attempting to discuss edge computing with a friend recently, he said, “Well, it’s an alternative to the cloud, isn’t it?” I looked at him and said, “What do you think the cloud is?” And after a long pause, he shrugged his shoulders and started laughing.
Frankly, until I did some research for an article around a year ago, my ideas were also vague – some ethereal cloud in the ether. “Well, it’s in the cloud, isn’t it?” So for any bluffers like my friend and I, essentially the cloud refers to big data centres around the world, literally warehouses full of servers that are accessed via the internet, and also the software and data that those servers process. A collection – or cloud, if you will – of shared IT resources as part of the network.
The cloud network exists so that we don’t have to lug our own personal server around with us and purchase every software application in existence. Using our laptops and smartphones, we interact with these powerhouses of data storage and application.
The US has more than 2,750 data warehouses, the UK has around 450 and Australia has around 270. Whenever you process data on your phone or computer, it shoots off to one of these warehouses via the network and comes back again processed.
Edge computing refers to smaller and more numerous data hubs closer to the user – ‘closer’ literally meaning geographically nearer to where people use their devices.
The way the world works these days, with more devices and more applications constantly emerging, means we are drowning in a sea of data. Sending it off to an already overloaded data warehouse can be time consuming – we’re not talking days, but rather your Netflix show constantly buffering, or your internet taking a while to download something. It’s irritating. But in the world of medicine or high-speed travel, for instance, it can also be dangerous.
The benefit of edge computing as it increases over time – and it will, admittedly, take time to build the infrastructure – is that response times will be quicker and less bandwidth will be used. Edge computing is perfect for real-time data processing issues. Computing resources at the ‘edge’ of the network can respond far quicker than a huge data centre many kilometres away at the centre of the network. Building servers at the edge results in better response times and transfer rates. Again, we’re talking minute portions of time, but every zeptosecond counts.
In simple terms, edge computing reduces the volumes of data that need to be moved and the distance that data needs to travel. There is therefore less traffic – it all means lower latency (that delay before your instruction is acted upon), quicker movement of data and a reduction in transmission costs. Throw in 5G, which essentially means quicker data travel anyway, and you can see why edge computing is the future.
Continue reading: https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/innovation-technology/edge-computing/

You may have heard about blockchain technology in the context of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
Dr. John Vozenilek, vice president and chief medical officer of OSF Innovation and Digital Health, says the blockchain platform may also have a transformative use in health care data.
"The use of blockchain, for our purposes, really revolves around the privacy and being able to understand how data is being used," Vozenilek said. "Who's sharing in the data? How is the data being leveraged by researchers or by other companies to understand interesting things; things that we hope progress patient care outcomes, progress population health? Information, and its transition from one party to another."
Vozenilek said there's value in placing patient data (released with their permission) in a secure, trusted space, with strict rules governing how the data is used and who receives access.
"What happens is, we have the ability for even very strong competitors, to collaborate in data sharing, and open up a little portal under strict rules, that they can answer questions that are meaningful in health care," he said.
Vozenilek said he believes blockchain would actually give more control over personal medical data than they currently have - while also making data more readily available for researchers.
"More of the agency about how data is shared is given to the patient so that they hold the key to unlock the data, and its use that becomes transparent to the patient," he said. "And they may also receive some, not just information, but maybe some rewards when the data is leveraged."
Continue reading: https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2022-03-23/health-care-data-could-be-the-next-frontier-for-blockchain-technology

As blockchain takes on an increasingly significant role in e-commerce, the banking sector has been slow to embrace the technology. Still, blockchain and decentralized ledger technology—a blockchain cousin—have “a massive opportunity to disrupt the $5 trillion-plus banking industry by disintermediating the key services that banks provide,” according to CB Insights.
Here’s how:
Payments: “Today, trillions of dollars slosh around the world via an antiquated system of slow payments and added fees,” CB Insights writes. By establishing a decentralized ledger for payments, blockchain technology could facilitate faster payments at lower fees.
Loans and credit: By eliminating the need for gatekeepers in the loan and credit industry, blockchain technology could lead to lower interest rates and increase the security of borrowing. Blockchain-enabled lending could also offer a way to provide personal loans to a larger pool of consumers.
John Marsano, president and CEO of Inheritance Advanced, a financial services firm, predicts that syndicated lending through blockchain will become popular in the near future. “Blockchain technology can let a group of lenders, commercial banks in this case, give out loans to several people or other groups,” he says. “Processing of such lending can take up to a month, but with blockchain, it can be shortened significantly and made much more transparent.”
Clearance and settlement: Distributed ledgers can reduce operational costs and bring us closer to real-time transactions between financial institutions, CB Insights notes.
Fundraising: Initial coin offerings are experimenting with a new model of financing that unbundles access to capital from traditional capital-raising services and firms.
Trade finance: By replacing the cumbersome, paper-heavy bill-of-lading process in the trade finance industry, blockchain technology can create more transparency, security and trust among trade parties globally. Using blockchain and distributed ledger technology could also shorten delivery times and reduce the use of paper.
Know-your-customer processes and fraud prevention: By storing customer information on decentralized blocks, blockchain technology can make sharing information between financial institutions easier and safer.
Just how long this disruption will last remains to be seen—though it could end sooner rather than later.
“Blockchain is moving into mainstream prospects, decentralizing many of their functions,” says Sanjay Deshpande, executive vice president and head of banking and financial services, Americas, for Virtusa Corp. “Fintechs are trying to overcome the challenges of blockchain security and bank regulation to raise the efficiency of banking itself. … The rest of the industry is struggling to find their own blockchain initiatives and not be left behind.”
Indeed, Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain Survey found that the financial services industry knows that change is coming. Of the 1,280 global senior leaders and practitioners surveyed, nearly 80% believe that digital assets will be very or somewhat important to their respective industries in the next 24 months. Moreover, 73% of respondents fear their organizations will lose a competitive advantage if they fail to adopt blockchain and digital assets.
Continue reading: https://www.bai.org/banking-strategies/article-detail/blockchain-banks-on-the-future/

CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Rebecca Hofmann of Blockchain for Energy about the use of blockchain networks to manage energy supply chains. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi 

Using blockchain for voting could be risky, as the technology could introduce “new vulnerabilities” to elections, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
While some organizations have argued that blockchain-based systems would make elections more secure and easier to audit, “there might be added points of attack that could compromise elections,” the report said.
“We talked to a number of experts who all indicated that they did not believe blockchain was the magic bullet answer for making voting systems more secure,” Karen Howard, the GAO’s director of Science, Technology Assessment and Analytics, told Protocol.
The GAO report, titled “Blockchain: Emerging Technology Offers Benefits for Some Applications but Faces Challenges,” examined the potential of the technology, including in the public sector. Overall, the report “found that blockchain is useful for some applications but limited or even problematic for others.”
Continue reading: https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/blockchain-voting-report

Markets—for example the housing market or those for commercial goods—currently rely on institutions like banks or other intermediaries to facilitate transactions. But blockchain technology could reduce the need for these steps, while providing a trusted, tamper-resistant record of transactions.
While this emerging technology could help level the playing field for businesses of all sizes or enable greater financial inclusion, it also faces some challenges and poses some risks to the consumers and businesses that hope to use it.
In today’s WatchBlog post, we look at blockchain technology, including the benefits, challenges, and risks surrounding its use.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is not a new technology but instead an innovative way of using existing, mature technologies. Its core function is to create a tamper-resistant ledger for digital assets, such as cryptocurrency.
There are two types of blockchain implementations: public (sometimes known as “permissionless”) and private (“permissioned”). Public blockchains can be used by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and anyone can add to the chain. Private blockchains are generally used by institutions (such as companies or government agencies) and have restrictions around who can participate in the network.
Financial blockchain applications
The most well-known applications of blockchain are in the financial sector. When people think of blockchain, they may also think of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are a type of digital representation of value that uses blockchain technology to act as an investment or money. These uses may lead to cost savings, expanded access to financial products, and other transformational changes.
Unfortunately, several risks and challenges may prevent these benefits from being realized, or may even lead to negative consequences for users and the financial system. These include risks for users and to the broader financial system, due to a current lack of consumer protections, and the ability to use the technology to facilitate illegal activity.
Potential non-financial blockchain applications
Blockchain has potential non-financial applications. For example, blockchain could help combat counterfeit medicines and trace food-borne illnesses. Governments could use it to maintain property records or to improve information sharing. Blockchain could also be used to create new kinds of non-hierarchical organizations (i.e., those without clear management titles such as Chief Executive Officer).
Continue reading: 
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is not a new technology but instead an innovative way of using existing, mature technologies. Its core function is to create a tamper-resistant ledger for digital assets, such as cryptocurrency.
There are two types of blockchain implementations: public (sometimes known as “permissionless”) and private (“permissioned”). Public blockchains can be used by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and anyone can add to the chain. Private blockchains are generally used by institutions (such as companies or government agencies) and have restrictions around who can participate in the network.
Financial blockchain applications
The most well-known applications of blockchain are in the financial sector. When people think of blockchain, they may also think of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are a type of digital representation of value that uses blockchain technology to act as an investment or money. These uses may lead to cost savings, expanded access to financial products, and other transformational changes.
Unfortunately, several risks and challenges may prevent these benefits from being realized, or may even lead to negative consequences for users and the financial system. These include risks for users and to the broader financial system, due to a current lack of consumer protections, and the ability to use the technology to facilitate illegal activity.
Potential non-financial blockchain applications
Blockchain has potential non-financial applications. For example, blockchain could help combat counterfeit medicines and trace food-borne illnesses. Governments could use it to maintain property records or to improve information sharing. Blockchain could also be used to create new kinds of non-hierarchical organizations (i.e., those without clear management titles such as Chief Executive Officer).

President Biden issued his executive order in a surprising act of executive power. No one quite expected it to occur the way it did, with most thinking that legislative action would be proposed sometime this year. I do not recall reading anywhere that an executive order, particularly without legislative action, would be proposed. Rather, our president instantly outtrumped — pardon the poorly crafted pun — former Vice President Al Gore, who under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s became a point man in the administration’s adoption and support of the internet. By the very act of issuing the executive order, President Biden will forever be recognized as the U.S. president who materially advanced the technology and its various use cases.
An overarching theme running through the executive order is the direction that various government departments and agencies coordinate, and that they do so in a relatively tight time frame by way of presenting reports. The president even ordered that each of the various governmental bodies investigate specific topics to be covered in the report. For example: 

“Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of other relevant agencies, shall submit to the President a report on the future of money and payment systems, including the conditions that drive broad adoption of digital assets; the extent to which technological innovation may influence these outcomes; and the implications for the United States financial system, the modernization of and changes to payment systems, economic growth, financial inclusion, and national security.”

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Central bank digital currency
Remarkably, we also see an official acknowledgment of concern over, and a direction that the report consider, the fact that China has been seeking to disrupt the U.S. dollar’s global dominance as the world’s reserve currency with its digital yuan projects over the past several years. The executive order requests that the report discuss ways “foreign CBDCs could displace existing currencies and alter the payment system in ways that could undermine United States financial centrality [emphasis added].” In other words, what should the U.S. be doing to protect the dollar’s reserve currency status?
The president also encourages the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Jay Powell, to continue to research and report on CBDCs and develop “a strategic plan […] that evaluates the necessary steps and requirements for the potential implementation and launch of a United States CBDC [emphasis added].” Then, in consultation with the attorney general and the secretary of the Treasury, Powell is asked to within 180 days offer “an assessment of whether legislative changes would be necessary to issue a United States CBDC.” If this does not make clear that this administration wants action in implementing an American CBDC — and in short order — then nothing will. As my friend Troy Paredes, a former SEC commissioner, observed during Inveniam’s excellent “Data 3.0 For Web 3.0” conference in Miami this month, the executive order not only recognizes the risks of digital assets but also the benefits of blockchain technology.
Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/03/24/powers-on-biden-blockchain-benefits-adoption

Cloud computing with centralized processing has transformed the way enterprise and government agencies do business, but many “smart” initiatives benefit greatly by leveraging compute power on the edge of the network, lowering latency and improving the ability avoid problems in real time, according to IWCE 2022 keynote speakers.
Qualcomm probably is best known for its prowess in building chips that drive myriad communications devices, but the company also has a fast-growing business unit that is helping simplify the fragmented Internet of Things (IoT) market for enterprises and governments, according Sanjeet Pandit (pictured above), global head of smart cities at Qualcomm. In this space, having compute power at the edge of the network allows for more effective automation and decision-making in a variety of use cases.
“Everything happens on edge,” Pandit, said during a Wednesday keynote at IWCE 2022 in Las Vegas.
“Smart cities have been talked about for years—years and years,” he said. It’s been talked about so much that the term has become a catchphrase of sorts that doesn’t fully capture what’s really going on. But beyond the hype, the smart cities initiative is a concrete movement focused on ”harnessing the power of digitization,” he said. “You don’t want to deploy technology for the sake of deploying technology.”
And at the core of this digitization is edge computing, according to Rob High, IBM Fellow and VP, chief tech officer of IBM’s Network and Edge Computing.
“From a drone, to a robot, to a police vehicle, even wearables—the amount of computing that’s being built into devices” is impressive, High said during his IWCE keynote on Wednesday. “As a general rule, the closer you bring the computer to the person, (the closer) you’re bringing the task to be performed.”
When combined with artificial intelligence, the capacity for automation has been expanded tenfold—a reality that is particularly apparent within sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that are the foundation smart cities, smart buildings, smart stadiums and other “smart” initiatives that are designed to enhance efficiencies.
“Artificial intelligence with IoT (internet of things); that’s the future,” Pandit said, “That’s what’s going to take the industry forward.”
As an example, High described a real-world process in a manufacturing center.
Traditionally, efforts to ensure the quality control of welding has required inspection by a person, which often meant taking apart recently randomly selected constructed products to ensure their soundness, High said. It can be a costly and time-consuming process, and the identification of a problem could require the manufacturer to wrestle with the issue of trying to determine just how many products have similar flaws, he said.
Continue reading: https://urgentcomm.com/2022/03/24/power-of-edge-computing-drives-real-time-impact-of-iot-initiatives-iwce-keynote-speakers-say/