ITU Newsletter

Hello, ITU News Weekly readers!

This week we dive into the latest ICT news from around the globe, including new laws for driverless cars in Germany, AI-powered drones equipped with a shark detection system in Australia, the future of Aadhaar in India and Uganda's missing SIM cards. It's ITU News Weekly!

Spotlight

ITU Newsletter
Security of Connected Cars: The growing number of software-related recalls reflects an emerging battleground in the auto industry. Is software taking over the auto industry? Meanwhile, Germany draws up pioneering new rules of the road for driverless cars. [ITU held a workshop on connected car security Monday.]

ICT Trends

Future of Aadhaar: India's Supreme Court ruled last week that citizens have a fundamental right to privacy. But what does that mean for Aadhaar and the country’s plan to connect 1 billion people to digital financial services? Prospects for Aadhaar still look good, says Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India.

WATCH: Aadhaar, India’s route to financial inclusion

Drones that deliver: First piloted in Rwanda, delivery drones debut in Tanzania and they are bringing blood and other needed medical supplies to remote areas. Meanwhile, commercial and consumer drone sales topped $1 billion for first time in the US. And drones equipped with a shark-detection system powered by Artificial Intelligence will start patrolling Australian beaches to improve safety.

Uber CEO & food delivery: Dara Khosrowshahi has been announced as the new CEO of Uber. Meanwhile, Walmart and Uber expand grocery delivery services in the US. And in China, Baidu sold its food-delivery business to an Alibaba-backed startup.

Robots: Popular robots have been hacked to potentially cause physical harm, raising safety and security concerns in the field of robotics. Meanwhile, China sets a Guinness World Record with dancing robots with 1,069 Dobi robots strutting their stuff in sync. And in Japan new uses for robots, including ones that can perform funerary rights, are being tested.

Digital Health: New app uses Smartphone selfies to screen for pancreatic cancer. And ITU and the World Health Organization have released this year's report on the Be he@lthy, be mobile initiative,


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

  • Digital currency: China's regulators are preparing new rules for digital coin offerings.
  • Internet expansion: China Life and Baidu plan to launch $1 billion internet fund. And Facebook unveils center to teach Brazilian coders and entrepreneurs.
  • Google: The company made a tiny error and reportedly broke 'half' the internet in Japan. And should Google own the verb “google”?
  • 5G: Nokia partners with 14 tech giants including Huawei, Telecom Italia and Samsung Electronics on a new €8M 5G project.
  • SIM registration: Uncovering Uganda’s 4.2 million mystery SIM cards. SIM registration efforts have become more of a priority in many countries. Last year, ITU News looked as how Thailand's SIM registration efforts could act as a model for other countries.
  • Startups: SparkLabs launches $50M fund for promising early-stage startups in Korea.

Insights

How can companies prepare for a cyberattack? ITU News talked to IBM’s X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services Wendi Whitmore to explain .

Artificial sensationalism? We need to shift the conversation around Artificial Intelligence so it is not overly dominated by tech titans with strong points of view and vested interests, says Chad Steelberg. 

Keep up to date with ITU

UPCOMING EVENTS  

- ITU Telecom World; Busan, Republic of Korea, 25-28 September.

- World Telecommunication Development Conference; Buenos Aires, Argentina, 9-20 October.

MORE FROM ITU

-New ITU Journal extends submission deadline to 16 October with a Call for Papers on the impact of AI on communication networks and services.

- Nominate projects helping close the gender digital divide for the ITU and UN Women EQUALS in Tech Awards until 15 September. 

- ITU News recently launched a new beta site. Have a look and let us know what you think!

- New videos! On ITU’s YouTube channel

- Read the latest ITU News Magazine here



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