Digital Economy

Wang Xinhui, General Manager of Wireless Standardization, and Industrial Relations, ZTE Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at an increasingly rapid pace. New technological applications and systems are currently being used to simulate, extend, and expand human intelligence. With the continued development...
  • 25 February 2022
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By Sheri Hinish, IBM Sustainability Services Global Lead Businesses cannot succeed in societies that are failing. The urgency of fulfilling the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is a global rally for climate action underpinned by systemic reform, social justice,...
  • 14 February 2022
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As India’s cities keep expanding, so does the waste they generate. The more than 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste produced across the country each year could reach 165 million tonnes in 2030, according to government estimates. Most of the waste...
  • 30 July 2021
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Internet use is skyrocketing in rural India, thanks to more affordable smartphones, some of the cheapest mobile data rates in the world, and a steady supply of online videos to consume. Nine of every ten new Internet users are expected to be speakers of...
  • 10 March 2021
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24 August 2020 / Digital Economy, Smart Cities
The dream of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop smart cities stemmed from the government’s Vision 2021, an ambitious plan to make the UAE amongst the best countries in the world. By building smart cities, the UAE would clear...
  • 24 August 2020
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23 June 2020 / Digital Economy
Africa is on the rise. Mobile and Internet penetration continue to rise, according to the latest ITU data. The continent’s entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this growth in connectivity, leading to a rapid growth of tech hubs across the continent in recent years,...
  • 23 June 2020
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We have never before modified our Tech, Media and Telecom (TMT) Predictions in the middle of the year: that would have felt like changing a wrong answer on an exam. There’s a first time for everything, and the combination of...
  • 4 May 2020
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16 August 2019 / Digital Economy
After a decade of flat productivity, the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is expected to create up to $3.7 trillion in value to global manufacturing. A few years back, experts noted that the changes associated with the 4IR would...
  • 16 August 2019
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1 August 2019 / Digital Economy, Inclusivity
Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest tickets in the ICT space right now – and the rapid proliferation of machine-learning platforms is bringing with it a raft of new types of jobs aimed at feeding data-devouring AI systems. One...
  • 1 August 2019
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21 July 2019 / Culture, Digital Economy
Gone are the days of writer’s block. Today’s would-be songwriters now have a game-changing tool at their disposal — Artificial Intelligence (AI). Many now view AI as a partner in music making, enhancing music, and leveling the playing field —...
  • 21 July 2019
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7 June 2019 / Digital Economy
*The following is adapted from remarks given at today’s ITU workshop on the future of television in Europe. Television is deeply woven into the fabric of our lives. Last year, almost 80 percent of households around the world had television. ITU’s...
  • 7 June 2019
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21 May 2019 / Digital Economy
The world of work is riding a business transformation wave that is continuously buffeted by the latest technology developments, most recently in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite this relentless change, it is never just about the power of...
  • 21 May 2019
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12 October 2018 / Digital Economy
In 2015, world leaders at the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the ambition by 2030 to end poverty, promote prosperity and well-being for all, and protect the planet. Technologies have long been seen as effective vehicles of growth,...
  • 12 October 2018
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The following was adapted from ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao’s opening remarks at the Global Symposium for Regulators 2018 in Geneva on 10 July 2018. The first “Global ICT Regulatory Outlook” released last year by ITU showed that expectations of regulation in the field of...
  • 7 October 2018
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ITU Telecom World 2018, taking place this week in Durban, South Africa, brings together government officials, regulators, private company representatives and experts to discuss ways forward for smart digital development. “Smart digital development means a better life for all of...
  • 14 September 2018
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6 September 2018 / Digital Economy
The following was adapted from a speech delivered by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-General, at the 26th Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Economic and Environmental Forum, “Leveraging the opportunities of the digital economy,” in Prague, 6 September 2018....
  • 6 September 2018
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10 August 2018 / Digital Economy
Flattening smartphone growth and the promise of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance user services are increasingly spurring smartphone companies to focus more on producing AI-powered applications on people’s mobile devices. ‘With the advantages machine learning brings to mobile devices, it’s hard...
  • 10 August 2018
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The autonomous shipping industry is making waves, as established companies and tech start-ups apply emerging technologies to one of the oldest industries in the world, maritime transport. Despite concerns similar to those facing autonomous vehicles on land, including questions about...
  • 9 August 2018
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“Whenever we view video, take photographs, see digital displays in places like the Great Wall, Buckingham Palace, Shibuya or Times Square, we are benefiting from technologies based on the results of ITU-T Study Group 16’s work,” says Huawei’s Noah Luo,...
  • 24 July 2018
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The days when Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a niche technological possibility are long behind us. AI is one of the most powerful technologies on this planet, and it has incredible potential to disrupt and define our businesses, societies and lives,...
  • 20 July 2018
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Jack Aldane spoke with Mark Paris, Managing Partner, Urban Us and Managing Director of URBAN-X, which is providing investment to support urban tech start-ups. Below is an excerpted version of the exchange. Urban Us funds urban tech companies and creates investment vehicles for such projects. How...
  • 12 July 2018
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4 July 2018 / Digital Economy
Leveraging fast-emerging technologies like self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and data-intensive precision medicine to address social challenges is a goal that many countries share. The most successful will have at least two things in common: a strong sense of mission across...
  • 4 July 2018
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11 June 2018 / Digital Economy
International trade has dominated the global headlines recently. Much of the discussions have been focused on the threat of a trade war, the tit-for-tat tariffs, and the health of the global trade order. While extremely important, these conversations are missing...
  • 11 June 2018
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Cities worldwide are considering ways to better leverage information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enhance, or even rebuild, economic growth. The United States’ city of Pittsburgh can offer some interesting lessons in that regard, suggests Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who...
  • 4 June 2018
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4 June 2018 / Digital Economy
Humanity has always endeavoured to speed up manual tasks. From the first use of animal bones as tools to the creation of the factory production line by Ransom E Olds in the early 1900s and beyond, we have always wanted...
  • 4 June 2018
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22 May 2018 / Digital Economy, Ethics, Health
“Health and [artificial intelligence] are natural companions, a very exciting convergence. The health sector is in many countries the largest economic sector or the fastest growing,” says Marcel Salathé of the Swiss technological institute, EPFL, and co-lead of the ‘Breakthrough team’...
  • 22 May 2018
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15 May 2018 / Digital Economy, Ethics
“AI [Artificial Intelligence] is likely to be either the best or worst thing to happen to humanity.” This is a statement made by a hero of mine – the late, great Stephen Hawking a couple of years ago at the opening...
  • 15 May 2018
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We are extremely subjective in defining “intelligence,” let alone “artificial intelligence” (AI). However, there’s a general consensus around the definition of “intelligence.” According to Alex Wissner, intelligence is a force, F, that acts so as to maximize future freedom of action. To...
  • 25 April 2018
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10 April 2018 / Digital Economy
News items about advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are coming thick and fast these days. As AI systems become better at sorting data, finding patterns, and making predictions, these algorithms are undertaking an ever-increasing range of tasks, from filtering email...
  • 10 April 2018
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19 January 2018 / Data, Digital Economy, Smart Cities
The story of Singapore’s birth in 1965 is ingrained in the population to this day. The single-layer government knew at the time that it had to be creative to build Singapore’s economy. Since then, the city-state with few natural resources...
  • 19 January 2018
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18 December 2017 / Digital Economy
Europe, it seems, is set for an innovation comeback. The continent has sometimes  lagged behind the United States and China, held back in the past by a fragmented marketplace comprised of 28 individual markets. But thanks to shifts in education, finance and...
  • 18 December 2017
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Technology is developing at an exponential pace that can be difficult to follow. But one conference tries to stay ahead of the curve: TechCrunch’s regional European conference, Disrupt Berlin, showcases the latest in game-changing technology, and thought-leadership from key innovators...
  • 8 December 2017
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8 December 2017 / Digital Economy
Driverless cars are already driving demand for new digital skills as auto and tech companies scramble to prepare their workforces for the jobs of the future. Indeed, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have encouraged companies like Amazon, Apple, Audi, Daimler,...
  • 8 December 2017
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