In Spike Jonze's 2013 film "Her", the main character Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with a Siri-like virtual assistant. It is an intelligent computer operating system, a variance of AI envisioned by the high technology developers of today. We are still far away from creating AI capable of thinking and learning for themselves, not to mention living in symbiosis with them. However, Intelligent Virtual Assistants can be perceived as a step towards the fulfillment of the idea. more
U.S. Subcommittee on Communications & Technology and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade have announced a joint hearing to examine recent cyberattacks. more
Connected devices need a free-to-use infrastructure that allows for innovation beyond the needs of a provider or other intermediary. An interface is best when it disappears and the user can focus the problem at hand. In the same way infrastructure, is best when it can simply be assumed and becomes invisible. With an invisible infrastructure as with an invisible interface a user can concentrate on their tasks and not think about the computer. Dan Bricklin and I chose to implement VisiCalc on personal computers that people could just purchase. more
Within this supercycle of digital innovation, we are experiencing globally; AI is revolutionizing business both in predictable and unpredictable ways. With an expectation of more than $20 trillion added to the global economy by 2030, the impact of AI on business is real. While most of the patents and citations are still coming from the US, China is rapidly gaining citations. more
For a few years now, we have been promised a bright future where connected devices all communicate with each other on the Internet of Things. If this year's CES was any indication, the consumer technology industry is just about ready to deliver on that promise with a flood of new devices and products that will transform the way we interact with technology on a fundamental level. more
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, has released a letter asking three federal agencies for information on the tools available that prevent cyber criminals from compromising consumer products, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. more
A newly released Internet of Things ecosystem forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) attempts to clarify the hardware, software, services, connectivity, and security that make up the evolving Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. The worldwide IoT market is forecast to grow from $1.3 trillion in 2013 to $3.04 trillion in 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%. more
When valuing a stock, analysts and shareholders evaluate always revenue and profit. Big tech COFs are sitting on assets worth tens of millions of dollars of annual profit (not just revenue, but true profit) in the form of unallocated IPv4 addresses. By not selling or leasing these out, they are incurring expenses to hold them and missing out on tremendous profits. At a 20X multiple (for context, Cisco is trading at nearly 18X earnings, Google at just over 33X earnings, Shopify at well over 700X earnings), big tech CFOs are actively preventing over $250 billion in market capitalization for their shareholders. more
Nokia has developed a framework that will enable governments to implement smart cities. The framework is designed to aid regions to design and obtain services for smart city concepts. However, Nokia states that more emphasis needs to be put on developing an overarching strategy rather than small projects. The Australian government announced that they are interested in building smart cities, but there are still major gaps in figuring out how to do so. more
I recently attended a Forum on Internet of Things in Smart Sustainable Cities: A New Age of Smarter Living staged in Singapore on 18 January 2016. The public forum provided a contextual overview to the second meeting of the ITU Study Group 20: IoT and its applications including Smart Cities and Communities which took place back-to-back with the Forum. more
Back in 1980 when I still lived in the Netherlands I worked with the Dutch futurist Griet Titulaer (an astronomer by trade) in building 'The Home of the Future'. I would say that at that stage it was more built around innovative interior design with automation features. Home entertainment also played a key role in it. At that stage these concepts had nowhere near the amount of technology that we are seeing in the homes of the future that we envisage today, but in essence lots of the elements we are still talking about were present then as well. more
AFRINIC is the regional Internet registry for Africa, and our core activity is to manage and distribute Internet numbers resources (IPv4, IPv6 and ASN's) to the 57 economies in Africa. IPv4 address scarcity is a very real issue worldwide, the internet keeps growing and the demand for Internet addresses will continue to grow. Africa has the lowest number of Internet users in the world. Internet's penetration in Africa jumped from very low level in 2009, to around 16% of individuals in 2013 and over 20% in 2015. more
In the winter of 2014 I wrote a blogpost under the title 'Luddites of the 21st century unite?' (read here). In the post I wondered where the 21st century Luddites were. ICT, automation, artificial intelligence all threatened jobs, yet all those affected embraced smartphones and the Internet in droves. It seems I found them, but what to do? Brexit and Luddites Fast forward to early summer 2016. more
The Internet Society today announced funding for 11 community-based Internet projects that will enhance the Internet ecosystem in underserved communities around the world. The Community Grants are awarded twice each year to Internet Society Chapters and Members. Recipients receive up to US$10,000 to implement their projects. more
Reading up on COVID-19 and Zoom/Boris Johnson outcry yesterday, an analogy struck me between the two: the lack of testing. In both cases, to truly know how safe and secure we are, testing needs to be stepped up considerably. This post focuses on cybersecurity. Over the past days and weeks, more and more organisations have switched to digital products and services to sustain working from home, to keep productivity up and to be connected. more
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