emerging technologies

Facial recognition smart glasses could make public surveillance discreet and ubiquitous — from theverge.com by James Vincent; with thanks to Mr. Paul Czarapata, Ed.D. out on Twitter for this resource
A new product from UAE firm NNTC shows where this tech is headed next. <– From DSC: though hopefully not!!!

Excerpt:

From train stations and concert halls to sport stadiums and airports, facial recognition is slowly becoming the norm in public spaces. But new hardware formats like these facial recognition-enabled smart glasses could make the technology truly ubiquitous, able to be deployed by law enforcement and private security any time and any place.

The glasses themselves are made by American company Vuzix, while Dubai-based firm NNTC is providing the facial recognition algorithms and packaging the final product.

From DSC…I commented out on Twitter:

Thanks Paul for this posting – though I find it very troubling. Emerging technologies race out ahead of society. It would be interested in knowing the age of the people developing these technologies and if they care about asking the tough questions…like “Just because we can, should we be doing this?”

Addendum on 6/12/19:

Vuzix smart glasses get automatic facial recognition designed for law enforcement — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington

8 industrial IoT trends of 2019 that cannot be ignored — from datafloq.com

Excerpt:

From manufacturing to the retail sector, the infinite applications of the industrial internet of things are disrupting business processes, thereby improving operational efficiency and business competitiveness. The trend of employing IoT-powered systems for supply chain management, smart monitoring, remote diagnosis, production integration, inventory management, and predictive maintenance is catching up as companies take bold steps to address a myriad of business problems.

No wonder, the global technology spend on IoT is expected to reach USD 1.2 trillion by 2022. The growth of this segment will be driven by firms deploying IIoT solutions and giant tech organizations who are developing these innovative solutions.

To help you stay ahead of the curve, we have enlisted a few trends that will dominate the industrial IoT sphere.

5. 5G Will Drive Real-Time IIoT Applications
5G deployments are digitizing the industrial domain and changing the way enterprises manage their business operations. Industries, namely transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, energy and utilities, agriculture, retail, media, and financial services will benefit from the low latency and high data transfer speed of 5G mobile networks.

Going Beyond the Digital Diploma — from campustechnology.com by Sara Friedman

Excerpts:

“We see great opportunities with this platform to create a more streamlined approach to help with students transferring, receiving degrees, honoring requests to verify degrees and to admit new students and evaluate their transcripts,” said ECPI University CIO Jeff Arthur. “The ability to let someone hold all of their accomplishments on their phone and have them to share with anybody in a way that is secure and reliable — without having to chase down entities to verify — is attractive to us.”
…
College and university CIOs also hope that blockchain technology can help to streamline other administrative functions. For instance, the ability to transfer credits between institutions could be simplified, according to Arthur.

The next big leap for blockchain in the higher education space is likely to be the ability to put badges and certificates for technical skills on the chain.

“We want to create a lifelong learning approach where people who want to represent their skills and experience can do so through a blockchain-based app,” said Callahan.

‘Robots’ Are Not ‘Coming for Your Job’—Management Is — from gizmodo.com by Brian Merchant; with a special thanks going out to Keesa Johnson for her posting this out on LinkedIn

A robot is not ‘coming for’, or ‘stealing’ or ‘killing’ or ‘threatening’ to take away your job. Management is.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

At first glance, this might like a nitpicky semantic complaint, but I assure you it’s not—this phrasing helps, and has historically helped, mask the agency behind the *decision* to automate jobs. And this decision is not made by ‘robots,’ but management. It is a decision most often made with the intention of saving a company or institution money by reducing human labor costs (though it is also made in the interests of bolstering efficiency and improving operations and safety). It is a human decision that ultimately eliminates the job.

From DSC:
I’ve often said that if all the C-Suite cares about is maximizing profits — instead of thinking about their fellow humankind and society as a whole — we’re in big trouble.

If the thinking goes, “Heh — it’s just business!” <– Again, then we’re in big trouble here.

Just because we can, should we? Many people should be reflecting upon this question…and not just members of the C-Suite.

State Attempts to Nix Public School’s Facial Recognition Plans [Houser]

On 06/01/2019, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, emerging technologies, ethics, face-to-face, K-12 related, law schools, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, society, sociology, the downsides of how people use tech, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

State Attempts to Nix Public School’s Facial Recognition Plans — from futurism.com by Kristin Houser
But it might not have the authority to actually stop an upcoming trial.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Chaos Reigns
New York’s Lockport City School District (CSD) was all set to become the first public school district in the U.S. to test facial recognition on its students and staff. But just two days after the school district’s superintendent announced the project’s June 3 start date, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) attempted to put a stop to the trial, citing concerns for students’ privacy. Still, it’s not clear whether the department has the authority to actually put the project on hold — *****the latest sign that the U.S. is in desperate need of clear-cut facial recognition legislation.*****

Salesforce launches blockchain channel [Spadafora] + The D/SRUPTION Blockchain 50

On 06/01/2019, in Blockchain, change, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, credentialing, data related items, disruption, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, tools, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Salesforce launches blockchain channel — from techradar.com Anthony Spadafora
Salesforce brings low-code blockchain to CRM

Excerpt:

At its fourth annual TrailheaDX developer conference, Salesforce announced its new low-code platform called Salesforce Blockchain that enables organizations to share verified, distributed data sets across a trusted network of partners and third parties.

By bringing blockchain to its CRM platform, the company is enabling organizations to create blockchain networks, workflows and apps that have the potential to deliver entirely new customer experiences.

Also see:

The D/SRUPTION Blockchain 50 — from disruptionhub.com

Excerpt:

What are the most impactful applications of blockchain in business?

Blockchain is changing how we keep records, manage relationships, and do business. Decentralised, automated systems powered by the blockchain increase the security of operations, as well as breaking down barriers to business by creating trust between diverse parties.

As the concept of blockchain becomes ever more familiar to business leaders, its real world applications are growing in number and impact.

In this exclusive report, D/SRUPTION analyses 50 game changing uses of blockchain technology in business. The range of industries featured include:

Shipping
Charity
Ecommerce
Real Estate
Finance
Government
Energy
Healthcare

10 things we should all demand from Big Tech right now — from vox.com by Sigal Samuel
We need an algorithmic bill of rights. AI experts helped us write one.

Excerpts:

Transparency: We have the right to know when an algorithm is making a decision about us, which factors are being considered by the algorithm, and how those factors are being weighted.
Explanation: We have the right to be given explanations about how algorithms affect us in a specific situation, and these explanations should be clear enough that the average person will be able to understand them.
Consent: We have the right to give or refuse consent for any AI application that has a material impact on our lives or uses sensitive data, such as biometric data.
Freedom from bias: We have the right to evidence showing that algorithms have been tested for bias related to race, gender, and other protected characteristics — before they’re rolled out. The algorithms must meet standards of fairness and nondiscrimination and ensure just outcomes. (Inserted comment from DSC: Is this even possible? I hope so, but I have my doubts especially given the enormous lack of diversity within the large tech companies.)
Feedback mechanism: We have the right to exert some degree of control over the way algorithms work.
Portability: We have the right to easily transfer all our data from one provider to another.
Redress: We have the right to seek redress if we believe an algorithmic system has unfairly penalized or harmed us.
Algorithmic literacy: We have the right to free educational resources about algorithmic systems.
Independent oversight: We have the right to expect that an independent oversight body will be appointed to conduct retrospective reviews of algorithmic systems gone wrong. The results of these investigations should be made public.
Federal and global governance: We have the right to robust federal and global governance structures with human rights at their center. Algorithmic systems don’t stop at national borders, and they are increasingly used to decide who gets to cross borders, making international governance crucial.

This raises the question: Who should be tasked with enforcing these norms? Government regulators? The tech companies themselves?

Higher Education and the Blockchain Ecosystem: An Overview [Layne]

On 05/28/2019, in 21st century, Blockchain, business side of he, colleges, community colleges, credentialing, emerging technologies, higher education, ideas, innovation, universities, by Daniel Christian

Higher Education and the Blockchain Ecosystem: An Overview — from evolllution.com by Melissa Layne

Excerpt:

Each department within the institution, directly or indirectly, interacts with the learner and with each other. Most departments work with external entities and must exchange information, documents, money, contracts, media, certification and accreditation documents. Most, if not all, departments work with accrediting bodies. Most, if not all, work with professional organizations. Many work with vendors and consultants. All of these transactions are fair game for blockchain.

Once you get a firm grasp on Blockchain, you will be able to explore more potential applications for it in your department. This article is the first in a series on blockchain in higher education, so I will start with a general overview, with examples of how Blockchain can be implemented at an institution. In later articles, I will go into more depth and provide you with context, more examples, cost analyses, and direction.

Also see:

The first generation of students with blockchain degrees graduates in Mexico — from observatory.tec.mx by Observatory of Educational Innovation

Excerpt:

For the first time in Mexico, Tecnológico de Monterrey will issue professional blockchain college diplomas for an entire generation of more than 4000 students who graduate from 24 campuses throughout the country. Last April, 350 professional degrees were delivered with this technology in a pilot test with graduates of this institution.

This cutting-edge technological initiative empowers students as owners of their information, which is unalterable since it is hosted securely and encrypted in blockchain, a decentralized and public database that safely allows digital transactions, creating relationships of trust between users.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality | The Future of Healthcare [creativitism.blog]

On 05/24/2019, in Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), emerging technologies, future, health, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality | The Future of Healthcare — from creativitism.blog by with thanks to Woontack Woo for this resource

Excerpt:

When we talk about virtual reality, most people think about its advancement in the gaming industry. But now Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is being introduced in other sectors as well. A great example is the use of VR in the medical sector: the application of this latest technology has entered the field of healthcare and can bring great difference and be of great help both in training and in the practice of medical activities.

In fact, the medical sector is one of the main fields of action of Virtual Reality. There are so many applications to help both doctors and patients. The advantages of Virtual Reality are now applied in surgeries, in patients with disorders and phobias, in the treatment of diseases and especially in medical training.Frequently, people have such disorders as: tachycardia, panic attacks, antisocial behavior, anxiety, as well as psychological trauma after violence, traffic accidents, etc. Using VR / AR applications, patients receive a course of rehabilitation therapy.

Also see:

Top 10 Android and iOS health apps — from creativitism.blog

San Francisco becomes first city to bar police from using facial recognition [Hautala]

On 05/16/2019, in 21st century, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, emerging technologies, ethics, future, hearts -- matters of the heart, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, morals/values, platforms, society, the downsides of how people use tech, United States, by Daniel Christian

San Francisco becomes first city to bar police from using facial recognition— from cnet.com by Laura Hautala
It won’t be the last city to consider a similar law.

Excerpt:

The city of San Francisco approved an ordinance on Tuesday [5/14/19] barring the police department and other city agencies from using facial recognition technology on residents. It’s the first such ban of the technology in the country.

The ordinance, which passed by a vote of 8 to 1, also creates a process for the police department to disclose what surveillance technology they use, such as license plate readers and cell-site simulators that can track residents’ movements over time. But it singles out facial recognition as too harmful to residents’ civil liberties to even consider using.

“Facial surveillance technology is a huge legal and civil liberties risk now due to its significant error rate, and it will be worse when it becomes perfectly accurate mass surveillance tracking us as we move about our daily lives,” said Brian Hofer, the executive director of privacy advocacy group Secure Justice.

For example, Microsoft asked the federal government in July to regulate facial recognition technology before it gets more widespread, and said it declined to sell the technology to law enforcement. As it is, the technology is on track to become pervasive in airports and shopping centers and other tech companies like Amazon are selling the technology to police departments.

Also see:

San Francisco is first US city to ban facial recognition— from bbc.com by Dave Lee
Saving face: San Francisco’s ban on recognition technology — from economist.com

Wouldn’t this be cool if we could do this? Perhaps this is a piece of our future learning ecosystems. [Christian]

On 05/13/2019, in assessment, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, law schools, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, marketplaces, memory, Michigan, Natural Language Processing (NLP), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, society, streams of content, student-related, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, United States, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Re: the Learning from the Living [Class] Room vision of a next gen learning platform…

…wouldn’t it be cool if you could use your voice to ask your smart/connected “TV” type of device:

“Show me the test questions for Torts I from WMU-Cooley Law School. Cooley could then charge $0.99 for these questions.”

Then, the system knows how you did on answering those questions. The ones you got right, you don’t get asked to review as often as the ones you got wrong. As you get a question right more often, the less you are asked to answer it.

You sign up for such streams of content — and the system assesses you periodically. This helps a person keep certain topics/information fresh in their memory. This type of learning method would be incredibly helpful for students trying to pass the Bar or other types of large/summative tests — especially when a student has to be able to recall information that they learned over the last 3-5 years.

Come to think of it…this method could help all of us in learning new disciplines/topics throughout our lifetimes. Sign up for the streams of content that you want to learn more about…and drop the (no-longer relevant) subscriptions as needed..

We need to tap into streams of content in our next gen learning platform

Ori Inbar unpacks the past, present, & future of augmented reality [Strange]

On 05/11/2019, in A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Asia, Augmented Reality (AR), education technology, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), platforms, society, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

After nearly a decade of Augmented World Expo (AWE), founder Ori Inbar unpacks the past, present, & future of augmented reality — from next.reality.news by Adario Strange

Excerpts:

I think right now it’s almost a waste of time to talk about a hybrid device because it’s not relevant. It’s two different devices and two different use cases. But like you said, sometime in the future, 15, 20, 50 years, I imagine a point where you could open your eyes to do AR, and close your eyes to do VR.
…
I think there’s always room for innovation, especially with spatial computing where we’re in the very early stages. We have to develop a new visual approach that I don’t think we have yet. What does it mean to interact in a world where everything is visual and around you, and not on a two-dimensional screen? So there’s a lot to do there.

A big part of mainstream adoption is education. Until you get into AR and VR, you don’t really know what you’re missing. You can’t really learn about it from videos. And that education takes time. So the education, plus the understanding of the need, will create a demand.

— Ori Inbar

How the internet of things will change your life — from uk.rs-online.com

‘Internet of Things’ is transforming health care, Geneia president says — from unionleader.com by Kim Haas

What are the issues with Fog Computing? — from yourtechdiet.com by Brian Curtis

Advantages:

• It reduces the amount of data transferred to the cloud by having an edge location.
• Supports mobility and improves system response time.
• It minimizes network latency and conserves network bandwidth.
• Data can be processed with no bandwidth availability.
• Acts like an intermediate b/w IOT devices and Cloud computing infrastructure.

Disadvantages:

• It has some wireless security issues and privacy concerns.
• Authentication issues and trusted certificates concern

Fog computing helps in building some of the Smart Hi-Tech Cities, Buildings, Vehicle networks and Software Defined Networks (SDN).

Smart building complexity is creating dangerous new hacking opportunities — from techradar.com by Ian Heritage
Complex IoT environments can spell bad news for IT professionals

How 5G will fast track the internet of things — from .inkstonenews.com by Zheping Huang

Excerpt:

In Hangzhou, police officers are notified of major car accidents soon after they happen, traffic lights automatically adjust to changes in the volume of vehicles on the road and, in emergencies, fire trucks and ambulances are not stopped by a single red light until they arrive at the scene.

The city in eastern China’s Zhejiang province is one of the country’s major tech hubs. Its smart infrastructure powers the City Brain project, a cloud computing and AI-driven urban traffic-management system. It covers a total area of 162 square miles – that’s seven times the size of Manhattan.

When 5G mobile services start to roll out worldwide next year, smart cities such as Hangzhou will get even smarter as next-generation wireless technology helps industries realize the full potential of the internet of things (IoT).

“5G, from the beginning of its infrastructure design, has the internet of things in mind,” said Cui Kai, a Beijing-based IoT analyst with research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

The stakes are high for industries around the world, as global spending on IoT is forecast to exceed $1 trillion in 2022, up from an estimated $745 billion this year, according to IDC.

With peak data rates up to 20 times faster than 4G, 5G will serve as “the connective tissue” for IoT, autonomous cars, smart cities and new mobile applications – providing the backbone for the industrial internet, according to a Deloitte report.

How the Internet of Things (IoT) can change the face of your business — from yourtechdiet.com by Brian Curtis

What is an IoT platform?
IOT platform is the support software which connects hardware, data networks and access points to other parts, i.e. to end-user application. Moreover, the IOT platform helps to automate their environment. So you can consider it as a middleware solution between data and the user.
…
Here are the five reasons why your business needs IoT.

Helps to know your customer better
Strengthen business operations
IoT can help to automate the jobs so your resource can work on what’s more required for your business.
Supply-chain analytics- IOT can manage your inventory so that you can save tons of time.

Blockchain stats, facts, & trends in 2019 and beyond [Curtis]

On 05/03/2019, in 21st century, Asia, Blockchain, business, business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, credentialing, education, emerging technologies, future, higher education, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, trends, United States, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Blockchain stats, facts, & trends in 2019 and beyond — from yourtechdiet.com by Brian Curtis

Blockchain Predictions for 2019 & Beyond

Market value projection of the blockchain industry will be $60 billion by 2020.
By the end of 2019, global spending on blockchain solutions is projected to reach about 2.9 billion U.S. dollars and also projected to reach 11.7 billion by 2022.
In 2022, the U.S’ expenditures on blockchain solutions is projected to reach 4.2 billion U.S. dollars, thus making it the largest spender.
Finance is the biggest Blockchain value sector with a market share of 60.5 percent.
The market value of blockchain in the food and agriculture market, globally, is projected to climb 1.4 billion U.S. dollars by 2028.
In a research, 30 percent of respondents considered China to be the territory leader in blockchain technology development from 2021-2023.
The blockchain spending of China is forecasted to grow to 1.42 billion U.S. dollars by 2022.
The blockchain market value in South Korea is forecasted to reach 356.2 billion by 2022.
It is projected that, by 2025, 55 percent of healthcare applications will adopt blockchain for commercial deployment.

Also see:

Is Blockchain Technology a Blessing in Disguise for Education? — from yourtechdiet.com by Brian Curtis
AWS Blockchain-as-a-Service: Blockchain-without-the-Overhead — from futurumresearch.com by Fred McClimans
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Smart contracts for financial, real estate or insurance, where digital contracts can evolve and change according to actions written to the blockchain (such as the transfer of an asset from one entity to another, which triggers an updated contract with new ownership and new follow-on actions, e.g. auto leaves the showroom floor triggering a financial transaction, an ownership change, and a new insurance contract).
9 Universities to Collaborate on Digital Credentials Initiative — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Learning Ecosystems

8 industrial IoT trends of 2019 that cannot be ignored [datafloq.com]

Higher Education and the Blockchain Ecosystem: An Overview [Layne]

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality | The Future of Healthcare [creativitism.blog]

Ori Inbar unpacks the past, present, & future of augmented reality [Strange]

“How the Internet of Things (IoT) will change your life” + several other items re: 5G, fog computing, and the IoT

Blockchain stats, facts, & trends in 2019 and beyond [Curtis]

Categories

Tags