Tech Friday with Dave Hatter - July 3rd 2020 - SPONSORED BY INTRUST IT
July 3, 2020
- Will COVID-19 contact tracing data be used for other purposes?
- Many questions have been raised about the announcement that Apple and Google would work together to create a contact tracing API for their device
- Some have been concerned that they now have a contact tracing app installed without their permission
- In actuality, neither Apple nor Google have downloaded an app to your smartphone
- Yes, if you have recently updated your device, you will see a feature related to contact tracing
- But that does not mean an app has been installed, it merely means that the contact tracing API is now available for use
- In order to use it, you need to enable it and install a participating app to be tracked
- Again, it's just the framework that will allow such an app to function once it becomes available AND if you choose to install it.
- In a joint statement from Apple and Google published back on May 20th, they said "What we’ve built is not an app - rather public health agencies will incorporate the API into their own apps that people install. Our technology is designed to make these apps work better."
- For now, nobody can or will install a COVID-19 tracking app on your phone
- If you do install one when available, you still must have to agree to the various permissions the application requires to work effectively
- And for now, you can opt-out even if you install one at some point and change your mind
- Despite this, a 84% of consumers polled are worried that COVID-19 contact tracing data could be used by organizations for purposes unrelated to the pandemic
- The Okta "The Cost of Privacy: Reporting on the State of Digital Identity in 2020" report surveyed 12,000 online consumers from the US, UK, Australia, France, Netherlands and Germany, to determine individuals comfort level with their data being tracked for contact tracing
- Only 18% of consumers were not aware of contact tracing using smartphone data
- Over three-quarters (79%) were concerned their data would be used by organizations to serve personalized ads.
- Over two-thirds of consumers (69%) were worried that the data collected could have a financial impact such as insurance premium increases
- About the same percentage said they were worried that law enforcement would have access to this data
- 61% of consumers were uncomfortable with their personally identifiable information (PII) being used
- There was an even split of consumers comfortable and uncomfortable with Bluetooth data, medical data and location data being used
- Jesper Frederiksen, VP & GM at Okta, said the feedback was generally consistent across all five countries with regards to data being used for purposes unrelated to COVID-19
- Frederiksen says that the responsibility to store the data securely falls on those it and the government must to define guidelines to determine its use
- Read the Apple and Google joint statement here:https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/apple-google-exposure-notification-api-launches/Read statement on privacy and contact tracing here: https://www.apple.com/covid19/contacttracing/
- New LinkedIn feature designed to help job seekers:
- LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft) recently launched a new feature that helps job seekers identify in demand skills and apply for jobs
- The goal is to get more people back to work faster
- LinkedI said:"[We're] excited to launch a global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of this year. Our goal is to help those who have become unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis get the skills they need to land their next job. By giving free access to the skills and training that job seekers need to get jobs, we hope to do our part and help connect job seekers around the globe to new opportunities."
- To facilitate this, LinkedIn has launched a new mini-site to help guide people through the 3 step process
- The first step takes you to a listing of the most in-demand skills, based on insights from LinkedIn's 690 million members, 50 million companies and 11 million job listings
- Select one and you can access free LinkedIn learning courses
- LinkedIn said "We’re making the 10 LinkedIn Learning Paths aligned with these jobs available for everyone for free. Each learning path includes a sequence of video content aimed at helping individuals broadly develop the core skills needed for a given role."
- Step 2 is to search and & apply for jobs
- Step 3 is to prepare for interviews. LinkedIn provides information and best practices to help you crush an interview
- Additionally, there is additional labor market insights available via the Linkedin Economic Graph:https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/
- Access it the new feature here:https://opportunity.linkedin.com
- Robot lands lead role in $70M science fiction film:
- The movie industry continues to deal with how to reopen movie production safely
- One forthcoming movie, "b", will star a robot named Erica in the lead role
- It appears to be the first move to rely on an artificially intelligent actor
- Bondit Capital Media, the backers of "To the Bone" and the Oscar nominated "Loving Vincent" and others have committed to back the $70 million science fiction film
- "b" is based on a story by visual effects supervisor Eric Pham, Tarek Zohdy, and Sam Khoze
- It follows a scientist who discovers danger in a program he wrote to perfect human DNA
- The scientist eventually helps the AI woman he designed (Erica) escape
- Khoze said that Japanese scientists Hiroshi Ishiguro and Kohei Ogawa created Erica and also taught her to act
- “In other methods of acting, actors involve their own life experiences in the role,” Khoze says. “But Erica has no life experiences. She was created from scratch to play the role. We had to simulate her motions and emotions through one-on-one sessions, such as controlling the speed of her movements, talking through her feelings and coaching character development and body language.”
- The director of "b" and the human co-star for Erica are not yet confirmed
- Some or Erica's scenes were filmed in Japan in 2019 and the rest of the film should be filmed in Europe next year
Chat About Tech Friday with Dave Hatter - July 3rd 2020 - SPONSORED BY INTRUST IT