Month: September 2019

Technology can facilitate life for the disabled, but it has to be accessible, well-designed and available, with a clear focus on removing barriers in daily life, stated moderator Jose Maria Diaz Batanero, Strategy and Policy Coordinator, ITU – and we should bear in mind the adage that there is no such thing as disability, just a combination of individual circumstances and poor design.

Many technological solutions to dismantling barriers are already widely available – including captioning services such as Caption First, explained Roy Graves, Vice-President, Technology and Finance. The service provides real time captioning for the deaf, displayed word for word from an often remote audio feed, and is used in business meetings, conferences and schools. Interestingly, a solution originally developed to improve accessibility for the deaf has found many other uses beyond its target market, proving useful for all in interpreting different accents and providing electronic transcripts of conferences and treaty-making meetings.

Many such accessible services or solutions prove useful in the community as a whole, such as ramps designed for wheelchair access used also by mothers with strollers or anyone with a suitcase. The same is true of audio description providing access to media for the blind, communicating action, background and setting in the pause between dialogue. “The visual made verbal,” explained Joel Snyder, Director of the American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project, and President, Audio Description Associates, LLC, describes the service, enables the blind or partially sighted to be closer to culture, to take part in society, film and arts. Being more engaged with society often means more engaged individuals – and even more employment.

Turkcell’s range of apps, services and solution for accessibility start from the principle that disabled people are also customers, with a right to equal services.  Services include an app providing the blind with access to thousands of daily news, books and columns through audio description, which is also available in cinemas throughout Turkey. Indoor navigation technology offers users step by step navigation cues for indoor areas such as shopping malls and universities, enabling a more independent and active life. Other solutions include translation tech putting the written or spoken word into sign language, and educational games for games for autistic children to improve cognitive emotional and behavioural abilities and prepare for ordinary school.

 “The main outcome is improving the social environment in inaccessible conditions,” said Gamze Sofuoglu, Product Manager, Turkcell. If we remove some of the barriers, disability does not have to be disadvantageous. One of the challenges is lack of awareness on these services and benefits: educating decision makers on what is available, and encouraging innovation in the space, are key. The ancillary benefits and additional uses of many such services amongst the wider community are often not recognized. But if accessibility was built into technology by design from the very beginning, it would be embraced at scale – and new use cases would doubtless arise.

The big myth in assistive tech is that if you build it, they will come, said David Banes, David Banes Access and Inclusion Service. We need to think beyond technical solutions, and focus also on how users can be reached, how the solutions can be used and the users supported. It is a question of developing an ecosystem, linking research and development, distribution models, awareness programmes, training and support initiatives, he explained. Increasing accessible content, and taking solutions to scale must be driven by end user need and mapped in policies. Interestingly, many countries in emerging markets with no legacy issues use mobile devices as the basis of assistive products – lessons to be learnt, then, in developed countries where handsets and tablets are seen as consumer items rather than essential requirements for inclusion of the disabled.

Dilli ram Adhikari, Managing Director, Nepal Telecom underscored a critical point: none of these services or assistive technologies are available without broadband connectivity, the backbone infrastructure. Beyond this, there are challenges in affordability, local language content, digital literacy and awareness programmes. Only through collaboration between civil societies, government and industry will those challenges be met.

Capacity development is the key to getting people engaged, said Bernard Kirk, CEO, Camden Education Trust. This might start with digital skills and coding for children and young people, but the real legacy arises from training the teachers, who can then demand from the grassroots up that policy makers include digital skills as an integral part of school curriculum. Engaging with trainers on the ground can lead to solutions that really meet local needs and open up the conversation to government and education to implement. Proof of practice from one country often makes it easier to expand into other nations.

For Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe, ITU, connecting the stakeholders at regional and international level is the way to spread awareness and avoid reinventing the assistive technology wheel. Similarly, research programmes can create solutions with the power to really change lives, but cannot bring them to market if they are not affordable; or entrepreneurs cannot match the right challenge to the right customers. We need an ICT-centric ecosystem to bring together large tech companies and innovation in the field, to meet the difficulties of multilingualism and to join up the initiatives already taking place. Available research funds, policy advocacy and the engagement of countries in debates on accessibility are essential. The number of disabilities are increasing as the population ages in Europe, so the challenge is urgent – but is currently unrecognized and unaddressed.

Dili reminded the panel that there is a need to create demand – and awareness of the solutions that are already around. This includes transferring what is already available into other languages and cultures, drawing on best practices and innovative thinking around the world.

Most importantly, concluded the panel, involve the disabled themselves in the search for assistive solutions, enabling them to communicate their real needs and be part of the search for answers.

The Farewell Ceremony brought four busy days of showcasing, debates, networking and Awards at ITU Telecom World 2019 to a close, with speeches from Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary and ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao. Music and entertainment, including a drone show, accompanied this formal goodbye to all delegates and guests.

Introducing a fascinating exploration of ethics and inclusivity in AI, and how to deal with the ever-accelerating pace of technological change, Chaesub Lee, Director, ITU’s TSB, outlined how the AI for Good Global Summit is bringing together sister UN organizations and AI experts in international dialogue to address the concerns and complexities of AI and develop sustainable, positive use cases for good.

“Our world is now highly interconnected, and working together is the only way to reach a meaningful and sustainable quality of life,” he said.

Due to its ageing population, Japan has unique experience in the practical application of AI, according to Toshiya Jitsuzumi, Research Professor, Chuo University. In order to “respect dignity, diversity and sustainability,” it is important to develop guidelines and common understanding among all stakeholders – but with the proviso that principles of transparency and fairness may vary between nations and cultures.

As the speed of technological development is much faster than that of policy makers or regulators, it is essential to involve private stakeholders as far as possible in this collaborative approach. Implementing existing rules and regulations in a market economy is challenging in the coming age, but there is a real danger of current data giants controlling the entire ecosystem with damaging effects on competition, innovation and transparency.

It is important to establish trust, to educate people on what AI can and cannot do, understand how to interact with AI decisions and behaviour, and explore how AIs will interact with other AIs in a future that is not so far away.

For IBM’s Liam Benham, VP of Government and Regulatory Relations, elements of AI apps are already pervasive today, from chatbots to home assistants or search engines in everyday life to specialized applications in areas such as insurance, natural disaster mitigation or healthcare services. “Technology must go hand in hand with trustworthy AI,” he said, based on the clear principle that “AI is here to augment, not replace, human intelligence.” Humans will remain in control, as for all their mind-bending mathematical powers, machines cannot replicate our judgement, intuition, imagination or morality.

Establishing that trust may not be easy. There are issues of data ownership and privacy, and “AI systems must be transparent, explainable and address bias upfront. We must see inside the black box to demystify” and build trust.  Ethical guidelines developed by the EU focus on respect for human autonomy, prevention of harm, fairness and explicability, he stated, with seven principles applicable to new products and applications: technology must be human centric, robust and safe, ensure privacy and data protection, be transparent, ensure fairness and diversity, address environmental and social well-being, and be accountable and open to audit.  Piloting these ambitious principles at IBM will allow for any adaptions or tweaks to close the gap between theory and practice.

Business and government work together to ensure that AI is genuinely for all. And the usual regulatory balancing act between protecting the end user and stifling innovation also applies here.

AI-powered innovation is changing the way we live and the way SMEs work, according to Jeannice Fairrer Samani, Managing Director, Fairrer Samani Group, LLC. By 2020 more than 60& of organizations will be using AI in some form, driven by mega data, and boosting dexterity and digital frameworks in use cases as diverse as agriculture, manufacturing, transport and education. Educating families and young people on AI is important to ensure that the technology is both good and really for all.

Echoing Benham, Fruzsina Tari, Innovation Manager, AImotive, underlined that “AI is a cross-sectoral tool for developing applications and services, not the goal itself”, so a cross-sectoral approach to regulation and ethics is essential. “We have to keep up with industrial sector standards and meet these standards using AI, but we also need to have new standards and approaches to interpret in this traditional system.” The huge complexity of AI-driven tech based on the perception and interpretation of the environment used in autonomous vehicles calls for caution, collaboration and regulation to ensure both safety and trust.

Gábor Varga, National Technology Office, Microsoft, reminded the audience that technology can be used for good or evil, “it is not a question of what computers can do, but what they should do,” he explained, and we have the power to harness AI to tackle and solve some of the biggest problems of humankind in a sustainable manner. Rationalizing all the ethical guidelines and principles which have been produced by business, government, academia and international organizations is a challenge, but there is a need to put practices in place to prevent unethical use of AI. He also cautioned against heavy-handed regulation, whilst raising the point that certain hotspots within the broad spectrum of AI, such as facial recognition, may need more control. “The ethical principles of what can and can’t be used is just the beginning: we have to move on to think about how to implement all these principles,” he urged.

But who should be responsible? Government, according to IBM’s Benham “With something as powerful as AI with unintended consequences, government is the final arbiter of what is right. But government needs to be cautious and not rush to overregulate.” Business then needs to demonstrate that it can “walk the talk” in terms of ethical guidelines.  

For Fairrer Samani “innovation is in the wild, so AI policies should be public policies to maximise benefits and minimize risk,” with SMEs, academia and corporations engaged in policy creation, in a transparent and inclusive process.

Transparency is also key to convince the public that this technology is being developed responsibly, said Tari, providing information, for example, on how an autonomous car has learnt and been tested, and how it works. If we try to build a reliable and trustworthy ecosystem, it will be more attractive to the public – and public trust translates into commercial benefits.

Inclusiveness means focusing also on multiple languages or translations, so that AI is not limited to certain groups or nations as it developed – an important step in avoiding a deeper AI digital divide opening up.

Looking to an ever-nearer future, Benham warned that “The real game changer will be quantum computing and high performance, very powerful systems. We need to make sure that the foundations of ethics and fairness are deeply embedded.”

New technologies and applications will bring very new situations – so we must expect challenges and failures, and “learn from bad practices as well as good practices” in cooperation with other stakeholders and countries, recommended Jitsuzimi.

Collaboration, integrating processes throughout the chain of developers, designers and consumers will accelerate the pace of innovation in general – but for AI to be good for all, it must be inclusive, trusted, affordable and transparent.

Are you listening Alexa? Yes! And so are Siri, Google Home, and all our other smart home and smartphone devices. What’s more, they are listening consistently and cleverly, gathering vast amounts of data, too. Properly used, according to keynote speaker Kemal Huseinovic, Chief of the Digital Networks & Society Department, ITU, this data could enhance quality of life, but it could be misused too. Is data collected used to improve services, or for other purposes? he asked. It is also a question of how the data is collected and whether its usage is in line with the key principles of privacy. Countries are equipping themselves with laws on privacy, he noted, but awareness needs to be increased on a global level, an approach ITU is advocating in its daily work.

Key concerns

The panel gave insights into the challenges around security and privacy, awareness, impact of new technologies on data generation and the idea of data as an asset.

People love connected devices, said Serge Abiteboul, Executive Board Member, ARCEP, and are happy to use them freely, with or without awareness of what’s actually being done with their data. The first issue should be protecting private data. Market forces also come into play here, as manufacturers are under so much pressure to get devices to market that their focus may be on the functionality of the device rather than its security.

 For Grenoble École de Management’s Nathalie Devillier, it is also about awareness; users may not be aware of just how much data is collected on them. Alluding back to smart speakers, such as Alexa, she noted that we may be so eager to get started that we neglect to wade through 10 pages of privacy information. Security is a major concern for her, and corporations should be addressing it “Data is a corporate asset,” she explained, “so why shouldn’t data security be considered as a competitive advantage?”

For Brett Jordan, Director Cyber Security, Office of the CTO, Symantec Corporation, we should be more concerned with the tremendous amount of data that can be collected now, and that will be generated in the future as IoT is becoming more widespread. Privacy terms of use, he explained, are seldom updated, however, to reflect increases in data.

ErnieApp CEO, CSO and Founder Isabella De Michelis, finds data an asset, and as such it is government who has a responsibility to say how it will manage the asset of its nation.

For Lina María Duque, Legal Counsel and Dispute Resolution Coordinator, CTC, the industry needs to “self-regulate” more. It should be more aware of only gathering the data it really needs to gather in order to improve devices.

Awareness and education

As consumers it is hard to appreciate just how much of our data is collected and used and what we should do about it. And because consumers don’t understand the problem, said Jordan, the industry doesn’t want to talk about it – they may want to just “keep the consumer space unaware” Or maybe users understand the risk, added moderator, Miklós Danka, Product Manager and Developer, Palantir Technologies, but are in such haste to get started with an app that they just wade through the privacy information without paying sufficient attention to it.

Incentivising users and companies to confront and address privacy issues is one way to deal with the issue, according to Danka. The industry is making products that are more secure. But governments need to make more regulations to protect the user. And the users themselves must also play their part. Greater education for users is needed, explaining what they are doing and why, and users need time to think. Essential privacy and transparency information needs to be simplified, said De Michelis, possibly including a gamification element to encourage users to engage with processes. Companies need to be mindful of the differences between their users; there is a big difference between IoT for enterprise and IoT for consumers.

Companies may bombard users with information and interfaces which are difficult to navigate, explained De Michelis. Government and regulation is needed to make sure companies provide users with accessible, easy to use interfaces, providing users with clear opt in/opt out options. We buy products globally, added Duque, so privacy regulation, too, needs to be global to match.

Inferred data

Inferred data is data that can be inferred from, for example your shopping habits, music taste or even online searches. This kind of data could be used to predict behaviour and outcome – and if needed, tailor advertisements to match. On the upside, it could, for example, help a health tracker app predict heart attack; but on the downside, it might tell Facebook your relationship is going to breakdown. Can this help us or not? asked Danka

For De Michelis, it’s a simple question of rights. At present, although laws may say you can choose the purpose for which your data is collected, this may not work in practice where the end purpose is not always clear, particularly when a company such as Google owns so many overlapping products. Users may not realise all are ultimately owned by Google and that data given to one product, such as Waze, also connects with Google maps and more. Harmonizing interfaces on how consent is given, and for what purpose, would clarify this for users, she explained. Users need to be clear that their data is being collected for transparent purposes, said Devillier, which is not the case now.

Decisions, decisions

The proliferation of online advertisements thrust in front of consumers based on their geographic location, music, food or any other preferences they exhibit could mean decisions are effectively removed from user’s hands. No need to choose a restaurant or music for example, when it can be done for you. Is this positive, does it help us make better decisions, asked Danka? Panelists felt that it depended on the context; in the home for example, freedom of choice is important; users need to be in control of the decisions they make. Elsewhere however, input into the decision may be helpful – in selecting medicine for example – although good AI is needed so users can make good quality, beneficial decisions.

ITU, national delegations, industry leaders and SMEs came together for a high-profile ceremony honouring ITU Telecom’s long-term supporters, major partners, National and Thematic Pavilions. ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao issued Certificates of Appreciation in recognition of this invaluable support from countries, companies and individuals from around the world, as well as Recognition of Excellence awards to the best innovative exhibitors within each National Pavilion at ITU Telecom World 2019.

E-agriculture solutions are always an interesting element of the showfloor at ITU Telecom World – and this year is no exception.

 Delegates explored innovative products such as Kepya’s marketplace platform for smallholder farmers in Angola. Market access is one of the biggest issues in the African farming sector, and one of the best ways to increase yield is through confirmation of market at the end of the crop season.

Keypa – which means “tillage” in Umbundu, one of Angola’s local languages – provides farmers with information on the availability of, and need for, agricultural products to promote quick transactions. This form of logistical support creates an agribusiness ecosystem, enabling producers and buyers to trade farming products and services, connecting farmers, suppliers and buyers through reliable carriers. Being available via app, web portal, telephone or text messaging, the app is easy to use and inclusive – and the ultimate aim is to create jobs, fight poverty and inspire a whole new generation of young farmers.

Limitless AI from Ghana is a startup company leveraging the power of machine learning algorithms and large data sets to aid farmers in achieving higher harvest yields. It aims to increase efficiency in farming in a sustainable manner in the face of climate change, and to secure the future of food in the world by merging agriculture with the emerging power of AI, turning data into actionable information for farmers. “Farmer’s Friend” is an agritech AI solution, a mobile hardware device to aid famers with an expert extension office and dynamic farming encyclopedia.

China’s TIAA (Telematics Industry Application Alliance) highlighted smart farm technology in Xinghua and Tongnan, as well as the process for autonomous agriculture and unmanned agricultural machineries and research groups.

From drones to smartphones, 2G handsets, IoT and AI – technology is turning the fields of the world into an easier, more profitable, more efficient, and sustainable place of work.

From pet health monitoring and a smart treasure hunt to drone-based street mapping and an indoor screen sports system, visitors to the Korea Startup Pavilion were able to discover a host of trailblazing innovations from the country’s rich tech startup ecosystem.

Visitors were able to sharpen their target practice skills by hitting colourful balloons with balls as they scrolled up a screen, using Image Mining’s Playcon screens, which provide indoor screen sport activity for children not able to go outside.

Ttem is a new social networking appcurrently being developed, where users can tag and link images directly into external sources, such as Google search or YouTube. Fitpet offers a new approach to keeping pets healthy, with an app that uses urinalysis to measure a number of pet health parameters, such as glucose, protein or pH, to diagnose a host of different illnesses.

Livebook is a live studio app and kiosk system, enabling users to order photo-related products via an app. Visitors were able to obtain wallet photos and badges onsite.

4S Mapper provides aerial, water surface & ground surveying, using a drone with Artificial Intelligence (AI) brain and eyes, enabling immediate viewing, measurement and collaboration via a URL. AI marketing startup Luken provides services matching customer to advertisers using image machine learning. Also on show was Mobilio, a vibration monitoring system for machine defects,  enabling users to detect problems early and avoid costly unplanned downtime, global drone lighting supplier Systec and more cutting edge products and services from tech innovation leader, Republic of Korea.

In 2016, 300 million people around the world were affected by natural disasters.  Sharing technology and resources between countries helps improve the effectiveness of any response.  As Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, said, “in disaster and emergency situations technology saves lives.”

Today, at an event hosted by EMEA Satellite Operators Association (ESOA), ​representatives from governments and industry gathered to sign the world’s first life-saving global treaty, The Crisis Connectivity Charter.  As an active member of the Emergency Telecom Cluster, the ITU has helped support collaboration during emergency situations and is a principal signatory in the Charter which will see the satellite industry working alongside the wider community to make satellites more readily available at times of disaster.  This charter aims to improve coordination of responses as well as effective planning and prediction of disasters.    

5G was high on the agenda at ITU Telecom World 2019, both in the discussions and across the showfloor, with a host of different 5G powered applications on show. Delegates were invited to drive 5G cars with AR headsets, explore how 5G can administer ultrasounds, play multiplayer 5G tennis and discover some of the products and services 5G technology can enable

Helping networks be fit for today and being 5G-ready is critical, and Ericsson outlined how it is helping customers “break the energy curve,” developing cost-efficient upgrades from 2G up to 5G. Visitors to their stand were also able to explore real time 5G interaction, through an example of a remote ultrasound scan administered with a haptic glove over 5G between an ‘ambulance’ and a ‘hospital’.

Visitors were able to experience a tennis game in real-time at Vodafone’s 5G truck, with a multiplayer 5G VR game of tennis. Thanks to 5G’s dramatically increased bandwidth and reduced latency, the tennis ball can be served, and volleyed up and down the court between players, experiencing the game unroll as if they were on court.

China Mobile also showcased different areas of the 5G ecosystem, including 5G Smart City, 5G converged ecosystem, 5G Smart network, as well as outlining their 5G+ strategy, showing 5G+4G synergistic development.

Huawei also showcased its 5G is ON truck, provided a glimpse into applications of 5G in areas such media, entertainment or smart transport.

Discussions on 5G today included a look at 5G: The state of play and will continue throughout the week in the Forum too. Look out for sessions such as 5G and Future Networks: creating an enabling regulatory environment through public-private collaboration, Regulatory Dialogue: spectrum challenges ahead of WRC-19 or the ripple effect of spectrum pricing on economies

In a special Huawei media roundtable to discuss 5G and cybersecurity, Yang Chaobin, President of Huawei’s 5G Product Line, released the company’s 5G Applications Position Paper which predicted future applications of 5G in areas like broadband, media and entertainment, industrial manufacturing and smart transport. A trip to the Huawei’s ‘5G is ON’ truck provided an opportunity to see 5G applications first hand, followed by a discussion with  Huawei’s CMO Ritchie Peng around the social and economic value of wireless network.​