According to deputy central bank director Kasidit Tansanguan, the pilot project was originally planned for Q2 of 2022 and seeks to test the use of the CBDC in cash-like activities, albeit within a limited scale. 

Said ‘cash-like’ activities include transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, and fund transfers by around 10,000 customers as well as financial institutions. 

According to Kasidit, Thailand will “proceed slowly” after discussions with relevant parties and “careful consideration”.

“Thailand can still take a gradual step in the retail CBDC to ensure efficiency and prudence as it does have a problem with fund transfers or payments as some other countries,” added Kasidit, in a Reuters report.

Thailand began work on a CBDC from as early as 2018, starting with Project Inthanon.

From 2018 to 2020, BoT had been in collaboration with leading financial institutions, to create a proof-of-concept wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) prototype using distributed ledger technology in different use cases. It ranges from enabling automated regulatory compliance processes to tackling high fees in cross-border payments.

Not a CBDC vs crypto thing

Earlier this month, the country’s central bank said it does not want commercial banks to be directly involved in trading digital assets, citing the risks stemming from high price volatility, reported Reuters.

This came on the back of recent movements by commercial banks in the country that has invested in local digital asset exchanges. First was the US$537 million acquisition of Bitkub by Siam Commercial Bank Pcl (SCB), and then a US$41 million investment into Zipmex by Bank of Ayudhya Pcl .

“We don’t want banks to be directly involved in digital asset trading because banks are (responsible) for customer deposits and the public and there is a risk,” said Bank of Thailand (BOT) senior director Chayawadee Chai-Anant.

“The priority should be on technology that promotes financial innovation, enhances the efficiency and security of the payments system, and safeguards the economic and financial systems,” he added.

WHY IS ASIA SO OBSESSED WITH CRYPTOCURRENCIES?

Jamilah Lim | 10 December, 2021

Prior to that, the central bank also warned companies about accepting crypto payments. 

“If other currencies are widely used, it will impact the central bank’s ability to oversee the economy,” said BOT senior director Sakkapop Panyanukul.

He added that the bank is not exactly entirely afraid of all cryptocurrencies — just the ones that aren’t backed by assets, such as bitcoin.

Cryptocurrencies that are backed by assets are known as stablecoins. 

The central bank also added that it was working with other agencies on ways to regulate digital assets.

Early last month too, the Tourism Authority of Thailand was reportedly working on its own digital token, the TAT Coin, which will be accepted for travel.

A new unit will also be set up by next year to handle the issuance of Thailand’s own CBDC, produce a wallet, and build a new tourism ecosystem. The Tourism Authority’s governor believes that Thailand must be promoted as a crypto-positive society to welcome crypto millionaire tourists.

Trading and use of cryptocurrencies have gained momentum in Thailand in the last year with retailers and real estate developers accepting digital assets as payments.

Thailand, which has eight licensed cryptocurrency exchanges, saw about 205 billion baht ($6.09 billion) in digital asset transactions in November, data from the Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

The post Thailand pushes against crypto, postpones CBDC pilot appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Kicked in on 1 January this year for 10 countries in the Asia Pacific, it was initiated in 2012 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to strengthen ties with China and other APAC nations.

Asia and cross-border trade

The Asia Pacific, especially ASEAN, has long had a history of close and successful cross-border trading, primarily due to proximity and similarity of cultures, which facilitates logistics and market demand for goods. 

However, unlike the European Union (EU), the APAC region had been a little on the slower side to rectify existing bottlenecks in processes, laws, regulations, tariffs, and access to financing, especially in relation to global value chains. 

Furthermore, most trade agreements tend to be within these countries’ sub-regional parameters, i.e. Greater Asia, or Southeast Asia. 

Leading tech nations in Greater Asia — namely, Japan, South Korea, and China — have been embroiled in political tensions for decades, slowing inter-regional trade there.

This RCEP, interestingly, will mark the first time that China, Japan, and South Korea would be in a free trade agreement — certainly a movement that has gotten the world on the edges of their seats to see how it plays out.

Who are in the RCEP?

Ushered in four days ago, the RCEP agreement kicked into action for Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

South Korea would join the bloc on 1 February 2022, 60 days after its ratification. Other signatory nations including Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines are expected to ratify it soon. 

Their agreements will enter into force 60 days post ratification instrument deposit, acceptance, or approval to the Secretary-General of ASEAN. 

What will the RCEP bring for signatories?

The RCEP comprises a mix of low, medium, and high-income countries. Its key selling point is the elimination of tariffs for cross-border trade in goods. 

It is a big deal, as inter-Asia trade already is bigger than trade between Asia, North America and Europe put together. 

Once the RCEP came into effect, 65% of tariffs have gone down to zero — and this number is expected to rise to as much as 90% within 20 years. 

For RCEP exporters to enjoy these tariffs, they would need to abide by its common “rules of origin” framework, shared Ajay Sharma, HSBC’s regional head of global trade and receivables finance for the Asia Pacific, in a report by SCMP. 

This means sourcing at least 40% of inputs from within the RCEP bloc, in order for their end-products to enjoy the tariffs when they’re exported to other member nations. 

Sharma further opined that diversification of supply chains and FDI (foreign direct investment) will be accelerated as companies will find it easier to use ASEAN as a base of production, given lower associated business costs. 

He also added that it would “streamline existing FTAs in APAC and strengthen intra-regional trade linkages.”

Digitalization and cross-border trade in ASEAN

As previously mentioned, cross-border trade in ASEAN has been strong and will keep growing as regional cooperation between private and government players further harness the power of technology, given the pandemic’s movement restrictions.

According to Google, Temasek, and Bain, Southeast Asia is predicted to reach a US$1 trillion digital economy by 2030. 

Whilst trade was admittedly negatively impacted by the pandemic in the past two years, heavy damage was largely averted through several approaches. 

Digitalization in the form of enhanced digital connectivity, automation of operational services, and strong governmental policies prioritizing digitalization in cross-border trade played a huge role in dampening the effects of the pandemic in ASEAN.

Furthermore, the region is one that’s quick to recognize and take advantage of fintech. This is largely applied to foster better financial inclusion, in the region home to the world’s largest population of unbanked and underbanked consumers. 

The Asia Pacific has a huge appetite for fintech — reflecting the changing finance and banking landscape, as well as consumer demand, in these regions.

According to Findexable, five ASEAN nations — namely Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, are also in the top 20 Asian fintech nations. Findexable publishes the annual Global Fintech Rankings.

For example, the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand launched a cross-border QR payment system in June last year. The retail payment linkage enables consumers and merchants in both countries to make and receive instant cross-border QR code payments.

Both countries had recently undergone pivotal shifts in digitalizing payments. Malaysia promoted its real-time retail payment system and DuitNow, whereas Thailand charted an e-payment roadmap to bolster intra and inter-country retail e-payments.

Multiple countries in Asia have or are in the process of embarking on their own sovereign digital currencies, or, CBDCs (central bank digital currency). 

Singapore has taken the lead to develop retail CBDC through the Global CBDC Challenge, whereas Malaysia is still experimenting. 

In September last year, it was reported by Tech Wire Asia that central banks of Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and South Africa will develop prototypes and test shared platforms to process cross-border digital currency transactions. 

China has successfully carried out multiple iterations of its digital yuan trials, and Japan is reportedly looking at starting its own too.

The RCEP and ASEAN’s digital economy dominance

Aside from fostering smoother payments, digitalization brings with it a host of other benefits for businesses and consumers alike, especially in the digital payments powerhouse that is Southeast Asia. 

E-Commerce has been identified as a key driving force of strong intra-regional trade between countries, and its potential is immense in developing nations such as the Philippines.

The role that technologies such as AI and analytics play, especially in e-Commerce, cannot be underestimated too. 

E-Commerce players are not just concerned with swimming with small fish — they have far bigger fish (markets) to fry.

Last year, China-based fashion mogul Shein overtook Amazon as the biggest fashion mobile e-Commerce platform in the US. Shein has quietly racked up a valuation that exceeds US$15 billion, too.

In Thailand, fashion e-commerce players such as Pomelo have developed their own machine learning system to boost their platform presence. 

Furthermore, emerging fintech such as BNPL also play a part in growing financial inclusion for not just consumers, but MSMEs (micro and SMEs) as well. 

A report by Deloitte predicts that digital trade will further accelerate, and leapfrog the region into the golden age of digital trade within the next three years.

The report also suggests that this pivotal shift will be largely facilitated by increased dynamic cross-border e-Commerce activities, which are further strengthened by regional cooperation through the RCEP, increased digitalized lifestyles, and the ongoing development of digital infrastructures.

It’s just a matter of when — not if.

The post APAC will dominate the digital economy with RCEP appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

1. Prioritize cybersecurity 

A TrendMicro survey found that 90% of IT decision-makers claim their business would be willing to compromise on cybersecurity in favor of digital transformation, productivity, or other goals. 82% also felt that they have been pressured to downplay the severity of cyber risks to their board. 

Whilst a data breach might make organizations prioritize cybersecurity, the costs of handling one would be immense — we’re talking US$5 million per breach immense. 

Why would you buy umbrellas after the rain?

2. Don’t neglect data protection and privacy 

Customers say that safety and security are most important to them online. KPMG suggests that businesses adopt a transparent approach to how data is used, stored, and shared. This will not only assuage the worries of users but also help to build consumer trust in a brand.

Don’t betray their trust, ensure you have the right data protection and data privacy policies in place within your digital ecosystem.

3. Institute and maintain IT and cybersecurity hygiene policies

Ransomware will be the largest threat to businesses this year. Sophos recommends having proper IT hygiene policies across the company.

Ensure proactive countermeasures such as monitoring features, backups, and training in security skills to enable early detection. Ensure all staff has the latest security updates and patches installed on their devices.

4. Passwords are not enough

Eighty percent of hacking-related breaches can be attributed to weak or compromised passwords, according to Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report. 

So, passwords aren’t enough. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be the new norm.

5. Zero-trust is your friend 

Yes, we’ve said this ad nauseam. We’re saying it again. And again.

6. Beware tech support scams 

Over 60% of consumers around the globe have fallen prey to tech support scams. Victims tend to be younger men, and also very overconfident of their IT literacy skills.

So what should businesses do? Consider AI chatbots instead for tech support.

7. Prioritize 5G security 

5G technology is gaining increased uptake in the Asia Pacific and will see more use in 2022. However, it does come with security concerns, especially as it may enable a wider threat surface area for attackers.

As such, it’s time to prioritize 5G security both MNO-side and business side.

8. Increase remote working security 

We thought remote working would be decreasing. Boy, were we wrong, especially given the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

Companies should continuously implement and reinforce user-friendly cybersecurity tools and policies, and users should improve on their security standards at home.

9. Break IT team silos down 

Only a third of developers truly understand the security policies they work with. This disconnect between security teams and software developers hinders initiatives like Zero Trust implementation and securing the cloud. 

Companies should foster closer relationships between developers and the security team so all ICT members are on board and fully understand how policies and processes will be like.

10. … or outsource IT security 

Well, if your company is smaller and you can’t afford a security team, then cybersecurity MSPs (managed service providers) are a solution.

But make sure you get the advice of a skilled and experienced cybersecurity member to ensure you’re not overpaying for services you don’t need.

The Tech Wire Asia team wishes you and yours a Happy and Cyber-secure New Year!!

The post Ten cybersecurity resolutions for a safer 2022 appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Typhoon Odette in the Philippines had caused so much destruction and displacement that cities are still trying to clear the debris and cope with the hundreds of lives lost.

The 2021 flash floods of Malaysia have also displaced over 60,000 people and homes and disrupted supply chains and trade routes.

As I reflect on these events at the end of 2021, it pains me to know that life and financial losses could have been mitigated, or perhaps, even avoided, in these two natural disasters.

Climate change, COVID-19, and suffering

Rapid urbanization in a post-industrial world has accelerated demand for a litany of products, services, and amenities. All of which, over the decades, has increased in scope, depth, and resource use.

The buzzword half a decade ago was “smart cities”, and a couple of decades prior, “globalization”. 

Globalization was touted to be the bearer of prosperity for Asia, and it was, and still is. Almost two decades later, greater Asia has significantly caught up to the West — particularly North America and Europe.

Tech superpowers in Asia are locking heads with the US on future technologies such as quantum computing and 6G, even.

Worryingly, this is amid a backdrop of a pandemic-ravaged, economically wrecked world that’s still struggling to recover from the devastation of COVID-19 lockdowns that have affected trade and supply chains globally, on top of the mental stresses of attempting to protect ourselves from being infected.

As if that’s not enough, the entire globe has been grappling with the increasingly vicious effects of climate change such as flash floods, droughts, typhoons, tsunamis, and the like. 

Over in the developed, metropolitan capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Hybrid’s relatively privileged office contends with fear and concern over dark clouds and heavy rain that loom on the other side of our windowpanes, never knowing if we’d have to leave immediately or face the prospect of being stuck with flooding.

We are at the mercy of the whims of mercurial weathers that require care to navigate and understand — not unlike the kind you’d need being around emotionally fickle persons who make you feel like you’re treading on eggshells.

Smart, but also sustainable cities are key

These are dire times we live in. 

We may not be having many physical wars amongst nations, but the trickle-down effects of foreign policies, quests for world domination, and digital espionage, coupled with climate change and COVID-19 will and do severely affect the lives of the people down the chain. 

People such as you and I, and businesses, and economies.

Climate change is the most pressing issue that the world needs to contend with, because not only is it affecting us now, but it will affect us 10, 20, 30 years down the road. 

Lives will be lost, children will be growing up in a fractured globe with limited natural resources — survivability will be in hard mode for the future generation. 

Again, the buzzword then was ‘smart cities’. But it is not enough that cities chase ‘smartness’. 

For cities of the future to be liveable, they should also be designed according to principles of sustainability. 

This is especially true for regions or areas that are particularly susceptible to natural disasters and where there are marginalized or at-risk communities such as those with limited access to basic needs such as water, sanitation, or food. 

Their displacement will have a far greater negative impact on their lives, as opposed to those with access to better facilities.

For example, the December 2021 flash floods in Malaysia weren’t unavoidable. There were clear recommendations made to authorities in terms of city and infrastructure amendments and designs that would facilitate drainage. 

Members of Parliament for certain constituencies had brought up critical infrastructural faults that required immediate rectification in anticipation of increased rainfall at the end of the year.

Unfortunately,  these were not addressed in a thorough, timely, and effective manner. As a result, over 60,000 people were displaced, lives were lost, and properties and possessions were ruined beyond repair.

It is a week after the devastating floods and victims are literally still slowly picking up bits and pieces of their lives. In other states, the flooding has continued, and the prognosis is similarly not great for them either.

It is showing that it is exceedingly important that if cities want to be “smart”, sustainability should be embedded in the core of their design.

Defining “smart sustainable cities”

The UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) defines a smart sustainable city as “an innovative city that uses ICTs and other means to improve quality of life, the efficiency of urban operation and services, and competitiveness while ensuring that it meets the needs of present and future generations with respect to economic, social, environmental as well as cultural aspects.” 

Whilst that was not exactly the epitome of clarity nor accuracy, it does give us some insight into the philosophy behind what smart, sustainable cities ought to be like. 

To that effect, the UNECE (and the UN) do have a set of standards and key performance indicators (KPIs) for smart sustainable cities, which were developed by both UNECE and ITU.

Briefly, the KPIs gauging standards of smart sustainable cities are grouped across three dimensions: Economy; Environment, and Society, and Culture. 

Smart cities ultimately aim to improve the lives of their inhabitants and push the nation’s economy to greater heights of development and liveability. 

It is clear that global policymakers understand and acknowledge the complex intertwining of People and the Environment.

We cannot expect that electric vehicles, renewable energy, smart streetlights, drones, or IoT toilets will alone solve the complexities of climate change and improve the liveability of cities. 

Sure, they have their uses, but their roles are arguably smaller in the grander scheme of things.

Sustainable cities, therefore, are now a crucial component of developing better cities.

And more importantly, the presence of capitalization in these sectors has to be tempered with education, policy reforms, and control of corporations.

Electric vehicles, for starters, still have negative environmental impacts on the production line. Blockchain requires high amounts of electricity to function. 

The time has come to do away with self-aggrandizing, ego-stroking “technological achievements” in smart city development when these do not have sustainability embedded in their design.

We need effective, progressive, and decisive policies and policy changes. We need better implementation, monitoring, and enforcement from the authorities.

We need city planners, architects and engineers of the future to design and build with sustainability in mind.

We need to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors to ensure that cities abide by sustainability standards and that the interests of the people and environment trump the greed of corporations. 

We need governments across the world to ratify and work on their pledges in the Paris Agreement to bring global temperatures back down to pre-industrial levels.

We need to stop thinking that it will be business as usual today, tomorrow and later.

We can no longer work in silos — this affects us all. 

Will you be part of a force of change?

Or will business go on as usual?

The post Stop killing people: Smart cities must be sustainable cities appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Ransomware, everywhere

Tech trends in cybersecurity have generally edged towards targeting remote working victims.

The spike toward record ransomware attacks and data leaks in 2021 looks likely to spill over into the coming year.

Cyber-extortion heists break into a victim’s network to encrypt data, then demand a ransom, typically paid via cryptocurrency in exchange to unlock it.

A swathe of factors has fueled the trend, including the booming value of cryptocurrencies, victims’ willingness to pay and the difficulty authorities have in catching attackers.

Businesses and the most-at-risk retail sector should start now, rather than later, to prepare for the incoming onslaught.

James Forbes May, vice president for the Asia Pacific at Barracuda believes that there will be a renewed focus on governments prioritizing cybersecurity initiatives, building alliances with vendors, and sharing data with other countries.

More electric vehicles

We’ve seen how the devastating impacts of climate change exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on lives in the Asia Pacific. 

One way nations here are looking to ameliorate climate change is to promote the replacement or at least, increase of zero-emissions vehicles on the roads. 

This picture taken on September 9, 2021 shows a Nissan Motor autonomous vehicle during a press preview for a field operation test of Easy Ride, a driverless mobility service, at the Minato Mirai business district in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Tech trends in the Asian automotive industry are definitely moving towards increased EV design, manufacture, but uptake may be fragmented, depending on the country.

Some nations with growing EV markets include India and Japan.

But the spotlight will be on China, a huge player in the Asian EV industry, whose government has pushed for more EVs to curb carbon emissions.

More Chinese automakers and players are collaborating, whereas home-grown Chinese stalwarts like Nio are targeting richer overseas markets.

As of now, a plethora of companies, even those traditionally in consumer tech, have put one leg into the proverbial electric boat to start production and sales of EVs. They include Huawei and  Xiaomi. Smaller countries such as Malaysia have made some semblance of headway into promoting EVs too, with taxation policies.

However, the biggest issue impeding its adoption in Asia is simply, the cost required to acquire EVs, which is especially true for the economically developing SEA.

Global leading automakers have, however, expressed interest in smaller markets such as Malaysia, though.

The semiconductor complexity will go on

Experts say the global chip shortage is like to continue until 2023 at least. 

Key chip supply chain player Malaysia may see increased competition from manufacturing leaders such as Vietnam, although more investments are coming in, such as from Bosch and Intel. 

Malaysia’s semiconductor industry may need time to recover, though, given the impact of not just COVID-19 lockdowns, but the recent flash flooding which has displaced tens of thousands of people and wrecked chip plants there.

China is trying to reduce its reliance on Taiwan’s TSMC to grow its home-grown SMIC. China is the largest buyer of 5G smartphones and also supplies a majority of consumer tech to the world.

Chinese big tech brands are moving to in-house design and manufacture of their own chips, one of the tech trends seen in the West too. They include Oppo and Alibaba.

More Big Tech regulation in China

In China, the big tech crackdown has been going full steam, as regulators have slapped fines and withheld licenses for a litany of charges that Chinese big tech have flouted.

At the same time, the state authorities have come up with draft after draft of legislation to govern the movements and operations of big tech in the country.

Even foreign firms aren’t spared, prompting some to even leave China. Some of these laws include anti-monopoly, data privacy, foreign IPOs, and more. 

Trade sanctions on China-sourced goods to the US have resulted in a trade war that has affected Chinese and global supply chains. This dynamic arguably underlies these recent actions by Beijing, particularly where it concerns the movement of citizen information or data across borders.

As a result, China has been expanding its influence into SEA, where some nations have a more favorable disposition towards Chinese tech.

Part of China’s strategy to avoid the US and move to trade in other markets has resulted in their interest in being a part of regional trade agreements. China is now part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which starts January 1.

They also aim to rejoin the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in a post-Trump administration.

Meatless meat

Meat alternatives have become common in an increasing number of western households, thanks in part to Beyond Meat and Impossible Food plant-based products. They have improved taste-wise, and are cheaper now, partly because of increased awareness of the impact of meat production on the environment. 

In Southeast Asia, however, real meat still trumps plant-based or lab-grown meats — simply because it’s too expensive. 

Ironically, plant-based mock meat has been very popular in the region for decades, owing to a large number of vegetarians. Asia, is, after all, a region home to two of the world’s largest religions that eschew meat, namely, Buddhism, and Hinduism. 

However, most mock meat products suffer from sub-par texture, flavor, and closeness to real meat, which makes them unattractive to the mass market of meat-eaters. 

However, the demand is there — just not enough for manufacturers and developers to reach a critical mass production point where the prices match or even go lower than real meat products.

Producers are, however, taking stock of this trend as some Asian nations are already working on commercializing or at least, exploring these efforts, including Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Singapore-based Growthwell is one, and they aim to produce completely plant-based, nutritionally complete meat alternatives. 

With additional reporting by Joshua Melvin with Julie Jammot for Agence France-Presse

The post 2022: Five tech trends in the Asia Pacific appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

AI is so pervasive in China, that it’s used in everything from online shopping to… let’s just call it Big Brother activities.

Now, Chinese scientists have developed an AI “prosecutor” that can charge people with crimes. It was developed by a team led by Professor Shi Yong, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ big data and knowledge management laboratory. 

Professor Shi claims the machine is able to file a charge with a whopping 97% accuracy based on a verbal description of the case.

Theoretically, the machine would be able to reduce the workloads of prosecutors, so they can focus their time and efforts on more difficult tasks. 

“The system can replace prosecutors in the decision-making process to a certain extent,” said Shi and his colleagues in a paper published this December in the domestic peer-reviewed journal Management Review.

We know it sounds like an android judge fitted with a wig and robes will be banging a gavel, calling silence in the courtroom, but that’s not really how it works — it’s really just an AI machine on a desktop computer, processing cases.

Not the first time China has used AI in the judiciary

Despite the aplomb with which the news broke, this isn’t actually China’s first foray into using AI in legislation. AI was introduced into the court process as early as 2016, through a tool known as System 206, according to SCMP.

System 206 can evaluate the strength of evidence, conditions for arrests, and the level of a suspect’s danger to society.

Nevertheless, the limitations of existing AI tools such as System 206 were that they were not designed to be a part of the decision-making process of filing charges and suggesting sentences, according to Shi.

Such higher-level decision-making requires the AI machine to identify and sort details of a case file and remove data that are extraneous or irrelevant to the crime whilst still keeping pertinent information. 

Furthermore, it would need to ‘convert complex, ever-changing human language into a standard mathematical or geometric format that a computer could understand.”

According to SCMP, charges can be meted out to suspects based on 1,000 traits (or variables) pulled from the human-generated case description text. The evidence would then be left to System 206 for assessment.

The machine was fed with over 17,000 cases from between 2015 and 2020 in order for it to learn how to recognize, sort, and include or exclude pertinent information.

It is so far able to prosecute eight of the most common crimes with a 97% accuracy. They include credit card fraud, illegal gambling operations, reckless driving, intentional injury, obstruction of official duties, theft, and fraud.

In typical China fashion, “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” are also criminal offenses — which the AI is able to recognize too… obviously. 

Shi and colleagues expect the AI prosecutor to, over time and with improvements, increase in accuracy and scope of function. Examples include recognizing uncommon crimes and filing multiple charges against a single suspect.

China not the first to use AI in sentencing

This is not the first instance of the use of AI in the judiciary system. 

In February 2020, Malaysia made history as its judiciary was the first to use AI in sentencing. 

Local reports said the AI would analyze a database of cases between 2014 and 2019 in the Eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak prior to recommending actions to the court.

Currently, the AI system the in East Malaysian judiciary is used for crimes such as drug possession and rape. 

The danger of AI biases

Importantly, when it comes to machine learning, AI bias plays a massive role in determining the outcome of things. Feed the machine with the wrong kind of information, and you’d get screwed-up results that can maim, kill or put the wrong people behind bars for life. 

AI bias can be so pervasive, silent, and invisible — many do not even notice that it exists in not just the information fed to the machine, but also how the entire machine is designed, and who designs it. 

Human beings by default, are already biased to begin with — especially when bias is deeply entrenched systemically in societies.

This makes engineering a bias-free machine learning system that doesn’t cause destruction to lives rather difficult.

Tech companies are quickly realizing this, and some have even embarked on programs to weed out AI biases, such as Twitter.

We’ve already seen how AI bias has caused deaths from autonomous cars, affected healthcare provision on the basis of race, and also discriminated against female job applicants, among a litany of other problematic issues. 

In Wisconsin, an AI risk assessment software called COMPAS was used in sentencing. The AI in COMPAS estimates the likelihood of criminals re-offending based on their responses to 137 survey questions. 

DONE RIGHT, HUMAN ETHICS CAN ENSURE AI BIAS IS CURBED

Aaron Raj | 28 October, 2021

However, a study found discrimination in how it assessed criminals based on their ethnicity. 

Black criminals were often labeled as higher-risk re-offenders even when they do not re-offend. 

Conversely, it produced the opposite results for white criminals by labeling them as lower-risk re-offenders even when they re-offend. 

There still remain important questions when it comes to its use in cases impacting actual human lives — AI bias is one, but ultimately, there is the question of who eventually takes responsibility.

In the case of China, will it be the prosecutors, AI machine, or the algorithm designer(s)?

The post China has developed an… AI prosecutor? appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

To understand more, let’s talk a little bit about wireless communication technology.  

There are four categories of wireless communication technology: RF (radio frequency) transmission, IR (infrared frequency) transmission; microwave transmission, and lightwave transmission. 

All of them are based on something called electromagnetic (EM) waves, which can carry information between receiving and transmitting devices (and no, they won’t give you Covid-19). 

5th generation mobile network (5G) is a type of RF, and so are its predecessors, as well as WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. RF signals range from 3 kHz to 300 GHz, and the higher the frequency, the more efficient it is in transmitting data. 

High-frequency RF signals are ideal for wireless communication networks because of their ability to penetrate through objects (think buildings, doors, windows, etc) as opposed to other types of EM waves.

The 5G advantage

The key performance indicator for mobile networking communications evolution lies in how fast data can be transferred over the network. 

For 5G and above, this is manifested in what the industry terms ‘ultra-high’ data speeds, low-latency (the time it takes to transmit signals between transmitters and receivers — e.g. cell tower and mobile phone), and increased bandwidth availability. 

So 5G networking technology offers wider bandwidths, and it can also operate in lower frequency bands (6 GHz) that 4G typically uses. 5G can use the mmWave frequency — i.e. 24 GHz and up. 

RF frequency transmitters, especially for mobile network technologies such as 5G and 6G, rely on a device called a power amplifier. 

They essentially convert low-frequency bandwidths into higher bandwidths and are a critical component in cell towers. 

But the frequency alone doesn’t determine its speed. 5G has bigger channels, which speeds data transfers up. 

Furthermore, installing 5G is far less of a hassle because their transmitters are so small. As such, they can be easily fitted onto existing 4G base stations, on top of their own 5G base stations. 

But wait, that’s not all! 

The small form factor of 5G tech means they can be fitted onto any structure, such as bus stops or benches — making it nearer and far more available to users. 

This also means it is excellent for IIOT, which will drive the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0). The massive 5G speed bump can mean a world of difference for mission-critical applications requiring sensitivity and speed for faster response times. 

So what makes 6G special?

As mentioned above, the KPI for mobile networking communications is its speed. 6G will far surpass 5G because it can operate at terahertz frequency bands (THz). 

To recall, current RF bands operate from 3 kHz to 300 GHz. 6G will operate at 1,000 GHz, or, 1 THz. 

Furthermore, it is supposed to have a latency below 100 microseconds. To put it into perspective, 6G will be 100 times faster than 5G, have enhanced reliability, and far wider networking coverage.

According to de Alwis et. al (2021), emerging applications such as the Internet of Everything, Holographic Telepresence, collaborative robots, and space and deep-sea tourism are showing the limitations of 5G.

Said limitations include data rate, latency, reliability, availability, processing, connection density, and global coverage, spanning over ground, underwater, and space.

As such, 6G tech promises capabilities to overcome these limits of 5G, many leading tech nations such as Korea, Japan, China, and the US have already embarked on research into 6G technology. 

Actually, scratch that — they’re now locking heads with each other to see who can be the first to achieve mass-market implementation.

6G from LG 

Together with the Fraunhofer Research Institute in Germany, LG showcased its 6G power amplifier for the first time at the 2021 Korea Science and Technology Exhibition. 

Using a 6G power amplifier, LG demonstrated the success of data transfer using the 1 THz (1 terahertz) frequency band.

However, this is not the first time the power amplifier was demonstrated. LG had already tested its 6G in Berlin back in August this year. It achieved successful transmission of data on the 1 THz frequency band over a 100-meter distance outdoors.

One downside of 6G, is, as you have read, the distance it can cover is really short, at 100 meters. Furthermore, it experiences power loss during transmission and reception. 

These two issues mean that 6G requires higher power amplification in order to generate a stable signal across ultra-wideband frequencies (i.e. above 1 THz). LG admits that these are some of the biggest challenges in the evolution of 6G.

What’s the future of 6G technology like?

While LG’s reveal in Berlin was a milestone in the field of wireless 6G evolution, their progress is still… miles away (sorry) from commercial viability. 

The current state of 6G technology is not feasible for mobile networking connectivity, because it would mean you’d need 6G stations every 100 meters. Just imagine how troublesome that would be to implement.

Additionally, a key factor for the success of previous xG networking communications was global standardization. For 6G, this is expected to happen in 2025, with commercialization to happen within four years thereafter.

According to LG, 6G will be a key component of Ambient Internet of Everything (AIoE). AIoE is an emerging technology with IoT at its core — it aims to make environments more sensitive, adaptive, autonomous, and personalized for consumers by recognizing human presence and preferences.

As such, research is still ongoing in the field of 6G development.

Transmission range extension will translate into real-world, commercial application and viability to reduce costs of manufacturing and installing base stations and transmitters.

So, don’t get too excited yet.

Yes, this achievement is quite groundbreaking, but we are barely making headway into 5G implementation across the world, and we’re still dealing with a global semiconductor shortage. 

There’s still a lot of time for the experts to do their magical science stuff to bring us the next evolution of wireless communications technology for the masses. 

And by that, we mean probably in ten years.

So just sit back, relax, and continue scrolling TikTok with your 5G smartphone.

The post 6G technology, 5G and LG – what’s it really all about? appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sectors are critical to the growth and prosperity of cities and even nations. Unfortunately, digitalization efforts remain largely fragmented and sluggish.

However, it is a sector with huge potential for growth and profitability — and is projected to be valued at US$12.9 trillion in 2022.

The various systems, processes, and tools in AEC can greatly benefit from new and emerging technologies such as AI, digital twins, IIOT, and 5G.

Whilst there exists building design software on the market, one may be hard-pressed to find a sophisticated building design SaaS that is web-based.

Enter Singapore-based, global SaaS building design platform, Digital Blue Foam (DBF), which launched last week after two years of development.

Technical specificities of DBF

Digital Blue Foam is a web-based, interactive generative building design platform that incorporates AI and data features into the software. This includes web-based APIs from maps, environmental services, 3D data sets of the context, and more. 

The data is then carefully scrutinized, selected, and presented in an easy-to-use environment. According to the software developers of the same name, DBF can improve efficiencies, and reduce project timelines. 

The building design SaaS integrates the core elements of the design process — data collection, 3D modeling, sustainability validation, city score, project comparison, and drawing production all on a single online tool.

It can also sync to various Building Information Modelling (BIM) software such as Archicad, Revit, Rhino3D, SketchUp.

The DBF AI includes real-time Daylight Autonomy Score, Solar Radiation Simulation, Instant Shadow Study, Wind Score, and Sun Path Animation. 

These are inputs that can allow designers to validate designs in real-time without the use of expensive and complex software while designing a net-zero CO2 building.

Supports “15-minute” planning strategy

DBF also created a proprietary neighborhood scoring system to automate descriptive spatial metrics of neighborhood quality based on geo-location. 

The technology supports the “15-minute city” planning strategy, which requires amenities such as offices, healthcare facilities, markets, and transportation to be within a 15-minute walk from residents.

According to DBF, early adopter Takenaka Corporation has sped up project design delivery by 750% using the DBF SaaS. Traditionally, a large project would take four years to complete, but they managed to complete it in one year. 

Takenaka Corporation is one of Japan’s five largest and oldest construction companies. 

The importance of digitalizing building design processes

Software such as the DBF can essentially replace legacy technologies, enabling higher-quality design, and creating better, greener buildings and cities.

This is especially important in a world where sustainably-designed, green buildings are crucial in the quest to ameliorate climate change.

(L-R) Sayjel Vijay Patel (CTO & Co-Founder) and Camiel Weijenberg (CEO & Co-Founder), Digital Blue Foam

DBF Co-founder Camiel Weijenberg is passionate about climate change and digitally transforming the AEC sector with DBF. 

“Buildings are the fabric of cities, and sustainably designed buildings are a necessity today.

“The built environment is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions, and climate change is the existential challenge of this generation.

“Cities cannot continue to be designed as they still are”, quips Weijenberg, in a statement.

Digital Blue Foam is currently in discussions on raising another funding round. The company plans to use new funds to support expansion, recruitment, and platform enhancements. 

They are also setting their sights to expand across Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

The post Here’s how this building design SaaS can transform cities appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

This potential is so great, Bain, Google, and Temasek predicted the GMV of ASEAN’s digital economy would hit US$1 trillion by 2030 — a mere eight years away. 

A new report by Mambu’s Findexable called the Asia Pacific Fintech Rankings: Bridging Divides has moved its two more ASEAN nations — Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and Indonesia (Jakarta) — into the list of top 20 fintech hubs. 

Top 20 Fintech Hubs in Asia (IMG/Findexable)

This is quite a feat, given how both countries jumped double digits to join their existing ASEAN peers Singapore and Manila, in the top 20. 

Findexable also published the annual Global Fintech Rankings for the past two years, analyzing and comparing 264 cities in over 80 countries, with a total of 11,000+ fintechs. 

For its first regional fintech hub report, the company tracked fintech startups in 16 countries across the Asia Pacific, (except India and China) in order to establish the world’s leading, scaling, and emerging fintech cities and countries. 

Asia Pacific Fintech Nation rankings (IMG/Findexable)

Findexable also sought to understand how fintechs in their respective regions are solving local problems and responding to specific market structures. 

Southeast Asia’s impressive fintech market growth

ASEAN is now a digital powerhouse; a behemoth that won’t stop growing. Underlying a large part of that growth is the presence of fintech in the region. 

Last year alone, foreign investors invested US$1.6 billion in ASEAN fintech startups — an eightfold increase from US$0.2 billion in 2015. Fintech is also the largest venture capital investment category for startups in the region.

With strong market demand for fintech services, the fintech boom is clearly not showing any signs of slowing down — in fact, it’s only going to keep growing. 

And with this growth, we’re seeing surprising results emerge, despite the exceedingly tough times the region has had to deal with. 

Think the pandemic, natural disasters, and tourism-dependent economies crippled by global lockdowns.

Yet, the region has not just survived but thrived. 

Further supporting this growth is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); a proposed agreement between ASEAN nations and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners. 

Six ASEAN nations have ratified the agreement to better integrate the Asia Pacific through the RCEP, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Non-ASEAN signatory countries include Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

But most interestingly, all the three ASEAN countries in the top 20 except for Singapore, namely Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, have not ratified the RCEP, 

The RCEP, which will come into force on January 1, 2022, should serve as a key engine of trade and economic recovery for the entire region, opines Dr. Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy, a researcher with the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, in The Diplomat.

The dance of the fintech ecosystem in ASEAN 

The Findexable report shared some pertinent observations viz how seven countries in the Asia Pacific would interact. There is a dynamic in place that appears promising — could it encourage further investment and growth in the regional fintech ecosystem? 

Or could it develop into something strong and unique, such as a cross-border fintech ecosystem? 

Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand present challenges viz a lack of a universal banking infrastructure — and as such, fostering financial inclusion is an opportunity for fintechs to resolve.

Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) — rich, well-developed, and with strong banking sectors come with fintechs that are capable of taking on markets in the US and Europe. 

And the bridge between these two distant worlds? It’s Singapore, according to Findexable — rich and well developed, but also patently aware and capable of helping solve issues its neighbors face.

Emerging business opportunities for fintechs

Fintechs and their solutions differ from country to country. Fintechs in developed countries tends to impact users incrementally. Conversely, in developing countries, fintech can “transform lives and unlock the economic growth potential of a nation”. 

This is true in countries with massive amounts of the underbanked and unbanked, such as the Philippines and Indonesia — fintech solutions such as digital payments, buy now pay later (BNPL), and microloans, among others, unlock opportunities for financial inclusion.

And payments — it is the core driver of the fintech ecosystem at large. In advanced nations, BNPL can serve as mere “consumer financing play”, whereas, in developing countries, it offers underbanked individuals and mSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) access to the working capital they would traditionally not be able to access. 

Digital payments are another area that may seem humdrum to the average Australian, but which are transforming the lives of the average citizen in a developing economy. E-Wallets allow users to transfer money via a smartphone without the need for a bank account — ultimately improving financial inclusion for the great unbanked.

Another observation is that cross-border barriers are increasingly being taken down, and this will especially be a highly watched space once the RCEP takes flight next month. 

Southeast Asia is heavily involved in cross-border trade due to the proximity of countries to each other. Similar cultures, environments, cuisines, and complementary resources also make cross-border trade all the more lucrative.

Lastly, localization is key. BNPL, for example, is much easier to implement for consumers in the west who need a little extra cash for that sweet new iPhone. 

But in Indonesia, where mSME merchants are increasing, it’s going to be a unique challenge to cover up-front food purchases for, say, a door-to-door fruit seller. 

This would be something that would-be fintechs need to pay attention to when it comes to scaling up because different ASEAN economies would differ greatly when it comes to achieving economies of scale.  

The post Fintech business opportunities in ASEAN appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

US chipmaker Intel told AFP that after consulting with health officials, it “will move to a digital-first, live experience, with minimal on-site staff” to reduce risk.

Omicron is now the dominant variant of Covid-19 cases in the US, making up 73% of all cases in the US, a 479% increase (12.6%) from the previous week, reported NPR.

As of yesterday, it accounts for 90% of cases in certain states in the US, reported CNBC.

———-

As the world prepared to return to normal, so did major in-person tech conferences — until the new Covid-19 Omicron variant started upending plans.

As nations increasingly report higher numbers of Omicron-infected persons daily, some governments are starting to suspend quarantine-free travel and push for higher vaccination rates.

In the US, Omicron cases have been rapidly rising, prompting several major tech companies to cancel or limit their attendance at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — the tech industry’s annual mass-gathering in Las Vegas. 

The popular four-day conference, which had planned for a grand return next month, is still scheduled to start January 5, with the press getting an early peek two days before.

But on Tuesday, a number of major tech firms such as Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, T-Mobile, and Twitter canceled their appearances. Google told AFP that it is  “closely monitoring the situation” and would announce any update regarding its CES plans.

Electric vehicle automaker General Motors, however, has opted to remain at the tech conference, with plans to reveal its new EV model, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.

The company had, in January, pledged to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035 and end production of combustion-engine ones. 

Tech publications including CNET, The Verge, and TechCrunch also confirmed that reporters would not be sent to cover the event, adding to suspicions that CES might have to be delayed or canceled.

Asian tech conferences disrupted too

Over in Asia, the annual RISE Conference scheduled to take place in Hong Kong in March 2022 has been canceled, with organizers planning for a 2023 return. 

In a fresh blow to an international business hub that has embraced China’s “zero-Covid” strategy, organizers of the tech conference chose to postpone because “uncertainties brought about by the pandemic have continued”.

According to AFP, the move came after organizers flip-flopped on their choice of venue, announcing last December that it would ditch Hong Kong for Malaysia before reversing that decision nine months later.

RISE initially said moving to Kuala Lumpur would expand the organizer’s presence into Southeast Asia.

But as Malaysia faced a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases in the middle of this year, the company behind the event said it was “no longer feasible” to run it in the country.

RISE’s evolving relationship with Hong Kong has drawn attention at a time when major tech firms fret over Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in the financial hub.

Hong Kong has long enjoyed greater online freedoms than mainland China, which deploys the world’s most sophisticated internet censorship network. 

But a national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing last year has given authorities new controls including internet takedown powers.

RISE has previously stated that its choice of venues had nothing to do with Hong Kong politics.

With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

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