Category Archives: Technology

LONDON, April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EY today announces an alliance between Aera Technology (Aera) and Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) to help organizations leverage decision intelligence to accelerate their supply chain transformation.

Today's supply chains are facing growing pressures from demanding consumers while trying to mitigate the impact of increased disruption. To address the increased volume, velocity and complexity of decisions, organizations are turning to decision intelligence the digitization, augmentation and automation of decision-making to dramatically increase the agility and reaction times to those almost daily changes.

The EYAera Alliance combines the supply chain transformation knowledge of the EY organization with Aera's innovative cognitive technology. Aera's Decision Cloud is a cloud-based, always-on digital platform. It applies data crawling, artificial intelligence and industry-specific models to make recommendations, predict outcomes and act autonomously to execute complex strategic and operational decisions.

The EYAera Alliance helps deliver broad digital transformation and leading-edge technology tailored to customers' business needs, providing clients a road map to reimagine processes and derive value.Through the EYAera Alliance, organizations can recognize the value of decision intelligence in their supply chains within just a few weeks of implementation.

Michael Dobslaw, EY US Aera Alliance Leader,says:

"The need for visibility and faster informed decision-making has elevated the supply chain discipline to a C-suite conversation. Today's supply chain practitioners are mired down in sifting through old data and manual systems. Aera's Decision Cloud helps clients' planners to move from reactive to proactive with the support of decision intelligence. This will not only lead to better business results, but more fulfilling careers for supply chain professionals."

Fred Laluyaux, CEO, Aera Technology, says:

"EY teams share our vision of helping organizations reimagine how decisions are made. Together we will allow business leaders to elevate decision intelligence and accelerate supply chain transformation."

For more information, visit ey.com/alliances.

About EYEY exists to build a better working world, helping to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.

About Aera TechnologyAera Technology is the cognitive automation company that makes business agility happen. We deliver the first scalable digital platform that integrates with existing systems to make and execute business decisions in real time. In the era of digital acceleration, Aera helps enterprises around the world transform how they respond to the ever-changing environment. For more information, visitaeratechnology.com.

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EY announces alliance with Aera Technology to unlock the power of decision intelligence in supply chain transformation - PR Newswire

DELAWARE CITY, Del., April 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SourceLess is a revolutionary technology that uses Distributed Ledger, Peer-to-Peer connections and Str.domain as the account identifier to connect every human and every existing Blockchain, in a Web3 platform, creating the first World Wide Blockchain under SourceLess Platform.

The World Wide Blockchain (WWB) is an information system where documents and other web resources are incorruptible through end-to-end encryption, identified by a SourceLess Domain (domain, such as STR.example) and are accessible on the internet using the SourceLess platform. Web3 resources are transferred via Distributed Ledger and Peer-to-Peer technology and can be accessed by users through a software application, called the SourceLess Platform. The World Wide Blockchain is not equivalent to the Internet, which preceded the Web in one form or another more than two decades ago and is based on associated technologies.

SourceLess team of experts will help anyone select the perfect blockchain domain name, register it and make sure it is protected by SourceLess Blockchain.

Blockchain allows a secure and effective way to place the blockchain domain's ownership for life on the public register and free it from the control of any human being or central authority.

Blockchain software together with Distributed Ledger Technology, and Web 3.0 ecosystem usingSTR.domains, are creating a new web platform with protocols different from the www, encrypted and decentralised.

The ecosystem on which SourceLess is based will not allow the execution of any malware or computer virus; based on the blockchain features, the blockchain identity will not allow any malicious attempts on the Internet, and the digital identity will be a White Label product using KYC and AML protection and will not allow identity theft, so the information will be protected by Blockchain, DLT, and Peer-2-Peer network with 256-bit encryption, from Web2 to Web3.

The SourceLess Platform can store all types of data and provide addresses for a wide variety of use cases, from identity registration to starting a decentralized business. The system is designed to make it easy for anyone to access the blockchain without having to understand all the details of how it works.

The founders of SourceLess Blockchain are a trio of experts in three different areas, bringing full benefit to the project.

Alexandru Stratulat, founder of Sourceless, is a Blockchain Architect & DLT Software Engineer.

Iulian Bondari, co-founder of SourceLess, is an expert in advertising production, web and graphic design.

Bogdan Voinea, co-founder of SourceLess, is a businessman with a unique vision, having great experience in business development.

More details about SourceLess and the team behind it:https://sourceless.io/team

Stay close to the biggest technology event in 2022, Dubai SourceLess Week.The power to shape the world!

Iulian Bondarimarketing@sourceless.io

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SourceLess Blockchain, a New Technology With Real Potential - Creating the First World Wide Blockchain - GlobeNewswire

ASHBURN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), a leading Fortune 500 global technology services provider, has been named a Leader by research firm Everest Group in its PEAK Matrix for Life and Pensions Insurance Business Process Services/Third Party Administrators Service Provider 2022 report.

DXC provides a range of solutions to the insurance industry including business process services (BPS) and insurance software. It also serves as a licensed third-party administrator (TPA) in the U.S. and licensed broker-dealer in Canada, using its deep expertise in compliance and regulation.

The report acknowledged DXCs position in the life insurance and pensions market with its highest designated category, noting the following:

Recognizing DXC as a Leader and giving us high marks for our vision and strategy reinforces the strength of our insurance services and platform-led approach, said Ray August, president, Insurance Software and Business Process Solutions. We will continue to invest in our life and wealth solutions, helping our customers bridge from the old to the new to better serve their customers and grow market share.

DXC has continued to maintain a strong position in the L&P insurance BPS/third-party administrator (TPA) market, with its large and expanding clientele, commitment to developing IT/BPS synergies through its proprietary BPaaS capabilities, and end-to-end scope of services, said Somya Bhadola, Practice Director, Everest Group. A balanced and customized strategic approach across new, active and closed blocks demonstrates DXCs commitment to this market and positions it as a Leader.

This Everest Group report assessed 20 providers based on their vision, capabilities and market impact across North America, and categorized them as Leaders, Major Contenders or Aspirants. DXC was one of only five Leaders, a position the company has held for the past 7 years when the report launched.

A custom version of the Everest Group PEAK Matrix for Life and Pensions (L&P) Insurance BPS/TPA Service Provider 2022 is available here. DXC was also recently recognized by Everest as a Leader in its Cloud Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2022.

About DXC Technology

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) helps global companies run their mission critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. The worlds largest companies and public sector organizations trust DXC to deploy services across the Enterprise Technology Stack to drive new levels of performance, competitiveness, and customer experience. Learn more about how we deliver excellence for our customers and colleagues at DXC.com.

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DXC Technology Named a Leader in Everest Group's Life Insurance and Pensions Report - Business Wire

College of the Canyons has received a $4,750 donation from The Rotary Club of Santa Clarita Valley in support of the colleges automotive technology program.

The donation will fund four scholarships for COC auto technology students during the fall 2022 semester.

We are very grateful to The Rotary Club of Santa Clarita Valley for this donation and their continued support of our students and program, said Nadia Cotti, dean of applied technologies at the college. These scholarships will help ease the financial challenges faced by many students by covering the cost of textbooks, equipment and other materials required to complete the auto technology program.

The colleges automotive technology program is designed to prepare students with the entry-level skills needed for an automotive technician position in a variety of settings including dealerships, independent automotive repair facilities, as well as with county or federal agencies.

The program offers certificate and degree pathways that range from one semester to two years in length allowing students to get into the workforce quickly by providing in-depth training with extensive hands-on experiences in all nine Automotive Service Excellence certification programs and State of California Smog Tech Training.

The donation was presented to the college on March 23 by SCV Rotary Vocational Chair Linda Pedersen.

Founded more than 50 years, The Rotary Club of Santa Clarita Valley aims to complete projects that have a lasting impact in the community and beyond.

The College of the Canyons Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) auxiliary organization supporting the college district by generating funds to support programs for student success and innovation. The foundation provides financial resources for scholarship endowment, educational programs, and capital improvements, which can mean the difference between ordinary and extraordinary programs and services.

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COC Automotive Technology Program Receives Donation from The Rotary Club - SCVNEWS.com

Auto Finance Excellence - April 5 2022

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued two bulletins highlighting its concerns with business practices in the auto finance and servicing industries as a result of inflation and the potential for increased vehicle prices to exacerbate risky repossession practices. In these bulletins, the CFPB indicated that it will be closely monitoring unfair and deceptive acts or practices (UDAAP) in the auto finance industry that automobile finance and servicing companies should be aware of, particularly regarding the use of technology and in the repossession context.

The CFPB highlighted several areas of concern in automobile lending in its recent blog post titled Rising car prices means more auto loan debt. Technology and its impact on consumers, particularly when it comes to how the use of technology may disproportionally impact certain communities, was a primary focus of this bulletin.

Specifically, the CFPB referenced concerns about lenders requiring access to GPS locators so that they always know where a car is physically located, technology that blocks a borrower who has missed even one payment from starting the car, or license plate recognition (LPR) technology.

So what steps might the CFPB take to further investigate the impact technology has on consumers? Automobile finance and servicing companies can expect the CFPB to utilize its supervisory and examination authority over larger participants in the automobile financing market and conduct an examination of businesses practices and procedures with respect to the use of technology. An automobile finance company subject to such an examination can expect the CFPB to utilize its UDAAP standards to identify conduct that misleads or is likely to mislead a consumer, causes a substantial injury to a consumer and is difficult for a consumer to understand, among other factors.

Ensuring that your company has a compliance management system in place that is tailored to the companys size and business model will help ensure that any such examination goes as smoothly as possible. After all, the CFPB is not only looking for some violation of the law when it conducts such an examination but also is looking to ensure that the business has the necessary tools in place to self-identify and remedy any violations.

On Feb. 28, the CFPB also issued Bulletin 2022-04, Mitigating Harm from Repossession of Automobiles, which highlights a number of acts and practices in the context of repossessing consumer vehicles that it considers a UDAAP violation.

The Bulletin highlighted the Bureaus concern with auto service providers offering loss mitigation options to consumers to avoid repossession but then failing to stop a repossession when a consumer elects such an option. As an example, the Bureau highlighted a recent enforcement action where an automobile finance company allegedly repossessed hundreds of consumers vehicles after the consumers complied with the loss mitigation options offered to them. That enforcement action resulted in $1 million in damages and a civil monetary penalty of $4 million, along with certain equitable relief.

The CFPB also noted that recent supervisory examinations had uncovered systemic issues in this area, where repossessions that should have been canceled or stopped due to loss mitigation were not.

Auto finance and servicing companies should work to ensure that their business practices, policies, and procedures avoid such actions, especially on a systemic basis. The Bureaus release of this bulletin highlights the Bureaus concern in this area and signals its intent to more closely monitor potential UDAAP violations in connection with motor vehicle repossessions.

The Bankruptcy Code imposes an automatic stay that bars collection activity, like repossessing a vehicle, the instant a consumer files a bankruptcy petition. The CFPB indicated that it found numerous servicers violated the automatic stay by failing to halt repossessions, an act it considers unfair and deceptive. Such activity could give rise to an enforcement action by the CFPB; it could also result in an order from the bankruptcy court seeking to hold the auto finance or servicing company in contempt for violating the stay order.

The CFPB also highlighted its concern with auto servicing companies providing incorrect information to a consumer, which ultimately led to repossession of a vehicle. For instance, the CFPB noted that through its supervisory authority, it found that auto loan servicers sometimes conveyed the incorrect amount needed to avoid repossession to a consumer, leading to repossession when the consumer paid the incorrect amount.

The Bureau also expressed concern with misapplied payments leading to repossession. As the CFPB noted, payment application is usually governed by the retail installment contract between the parties. However, the CFPB found through supervision that some companies were not applying payments in the order specified by the contract. Rather, they were applying payments in a different order (e.g., to late fees first), which led to some consumers being deemed more delinquent and, ultimately, to repossession of the vehicle.

Similarly, the CFPB identified issues with unlawful fees being charged to consumers, which ultimately led to default and repossession of a vehicle. As an example, the CFPB highlighted a recent enforcement action for UDAAP violations where the business obtained lender-placed insurance policies when they were unnecessary and, in some cases, continued to maintain the lender-placed policy even when the consumer provided proof of coverage. These unnecessary fees sometimes led to a default and repossession of a vehicle.

Finally, the CFPB expressed concern with post-repossession fees that could constitute a UDAAP violation. Specifically, the CFPB found that some companies charge a fee for storing personal property found in a repossessed vehicle. The CFPB has brought at least one enforcement action targeting this behavior. Its most recent Bulletin goes a step further, indicating that a storage fee charged by a repossession company that must be paid prior to return of personal property could be considered a UDAAP violation by the auto finance or servicing company.

The Bureaus actions evidence a clear intent to prioritize investigating and prosecuting auto finance and servicing companies for UDAAP violations in the age of inflation. To avoid finding yourself the subject of an enforcement action (or to ensure a smooth supervision/examination process), lenders can work to ensure they are UDAAP compliant by closely reviewing policies, procedures, and contractual documentation and consulting with experienced counsel.

This article is the second in a two-part series. Read the first part here.

This article was first published in Auto Finance Excellence, a sister service of Auto Finance News. McGlinchey is pleased to serve as the official Compliance partner of Auto Finance Excellence, providing insights and thought leadership through webinars, podcasts, and monthly columns.

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CFPB eyes unfair, deceptive acts: Technology and repossessions - JD Supra

MESA, AZ On a plot of land in Mesa, rows of hydro panels whir as they work to convert sunlight and air into drinking water.

The hydro panels belong to SOURCE Global, an Arizona-based company founded by Arizona State University professor Cody Friesen in 2015.

Basically, we created a special material that goes in our panels in a lab at ASU and spun that into a solution to try and solve the world's drinking water crisis, said Tom Borns with SOURCE Global.

A traditional solar panel powers the entire hydro panel, which measures four feet by eight feet. Two thermal panels flank either side of the machine, creating a warm environment inside the hydro panel.

They're taking in as much thermal energy as possible. And essentially what we're trying to do is make the environment inside the panel as hot as we can, Borns said.

A fan on the backside of the panel draws in ambient air laden with moisture, according to Borns. The cool, moisture-laden air enters the hot machine, where it becomes liquid H20. The technology inside the panel mineralizes the water with calcium and magnesium and adjusts the pH level.

From there, the water is ready to go from a 31-liter reservoir inside the hydro panel and into someones tap or water bottle.

Our goal is to make drinking water an unlimited resource and make it so that people here in the United States and everywhere around the world don't have to worry about what they're going to do for the most important resource that they possibly can have, Borns said.

Currently, SOURCE Global operates in 52 countries, providing water to communities in Dubai, South Africa, the Philippines, and even the Navajo Nation.

Borns said the water yield of a single panel is dependent on the weather, but they can typically create between seven to 11 gallons of water a week. The hydro panels last up to 15 years and can create water in areas where the ambient humidity is as low as 7%, according to Borns.

This was a technology that was born out of the desert and designed to work in dry, dry climates and harsh climates, Borns said. This is definitely a step in solving the world's water crisis. And the reality of it is because this is something that's so easily deployable, we can put this anywhere that the sun comes up and we're able to make water.

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Valley company uses technology to create water using sunlight and air - ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix

The aviation industry, including the private jet sector, have been dealing with the issue of empty legs and repositioning flights. Private jet hailing app TailHail aims to utilise technology to provide passengers with access to empty legs, limiting resource wastage.

Regulations requiring UK airlines to use their airport slots for a minimum of 80% of the time were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic to preserve some competition amidst restrictions. However, TailHail suggests that data has shown nearly 14,500 empty/near empty flights went ahead between 2020 and 2021.

James Moon, founder and CEO of TailHail, says: With all the technology we have been creating, it has been addressing the pain points that currently exist in the sector from an operators point of view and user point of view.

It is clear that there are a lot of inefficiencies that exist, such as aircraft flying empty, which is not ideal given the current climate, and that is what we have been focusing on.

TailHails new website will launch this month and the app will follow in early May, with the aim of overcoming issues associated with booking flights within the private aviation sector.

At the moment the industry is narrow in terms of what is available. What we are trying to bring to market is a variety of options. Choice is a core principle that we are working on, says Moon.

TailHail aims to have bookings of private jets completed quickly, within seconds or minutes, to make the process less time consuming. The platform would handle the bookings digitally. The current process is a manual one which entails submitting a flight request and waiting for someone to respond. It also involves scrolling through PDFs to find a flight.

With TailHail, once a flight request is submitted the user will be matched to an approved aircraft. The platform offers users the opportunity to view more aircraft than they would if they were using a broker.

TailHail also expects that by filling seats on empty leg flights rather than by a direct charter, the carbon footprint of each flight will be minimised.

What we are doing is putting it in the digital world, making it easier to understand and making it transparent, says Moon.

With a geolocating feature, in future TailHail expects to provide users with private flight sharing opportunities near their location. The app will help operators push surplus capacity while dealing with on demand charter flight requests.

Moon says: Our sector has been left behind and we are bringing new technology to market which will be a constantly evolving process. There are a lot of companies who claim to be the Uber of aviation but they do not have the technology to back it up.

Due to concerns surrounding hygiene, raised during the pandemic, there has been in an increase in first time private aviation users. This includes families, individuals and businesses who have realised the benefits of flying privately.

The private aviation sector can benefit from the fact that while confidence in travel is growing, people remain cautious and prefer to avoid crowds.

Moon says: Through our platform and unique algorithm users will be able to see a wide range of aircraft that match their profile. One of our key findings is that users think they have to fly from one of the big airports that are nearby, but private aviation offers the chance to fly from a different airport which may be closer to their departure point.

In the US, commercial airlines serve 500 airports but private aviation can reach 5,000. In the UK, private aviation is seen as luxury but elsewhere it is seen as a necessity.

TailHail expects to release a flight sharing functionality soon, this could lower prices of flying privately and also has the benefit of building a community within the sector.

With regards to the private aviation sector, in the US there were around 300,000 flights just in the last month compared to 8,000 in the UK.

Moon says: Flight sharing is prevalent in the US but not here in the UK, it has not been explored properly. We feel we can capitalise on a market that is there to be taken. There is a lack of understanding here.

A number of people we have spoken to are sometimes surprised that they can afford to fly private.

First class flyers and business class flyers would be interested, but the current processes are off-putting. Its not like booking an airline ticket and we want to make it that simple through our platform.

Mobile Passenger Services and Operational Software and Hardware

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Empty leg flights and the role played by technology in reducing them - Airport Technology

Education is the pioneer of success. Education has changed the lives of many people in India whether it be any class. And, thats how Education should be bestowed upon every child. In the world of mobile phones where everything happens on a click, now getting education in just one click is something which has benefitted a lot of bussing students. The exposure of edtech is booming hence, India is also inclining towards education technology. Many of the organizations have taken the challenge of democratizing education of India under the aegis of Edtech.

In India more than providing education, consumption is difficult and vital. The education gap of India between tier 1, tier 2 & tier 3 cities is amplifying, which needs to be altered. Tier1 & 2 cities have easy access to education, teachers, and lecturers whereas, in the tier 3 cities, villages or remote areas are still dont have the set quality education, well-qualified teachers, and the tools. In India, the Education system has grappled with several issues in the past few decades; therefore the need to bring about a reformation in the education system has been a crucial point of deliberation over the past few years. With a vision of social enterprising approach, the leaders in the industry are bringing socio-economic change to the Education system. Edtech applications in the current time are widening over the last decade, and digital learning has started spreading across schools and classrooms. But, it took covid to truly understand the importance of digital learning where the industry saw a major hike in edtech, as schools were shut and they also went for online studies. The importance of educating students online, anywhere-anytime got the spotlight and is booming since then. In the digital world, where students are thrust to the screen for education, providing each family with adequate internet and smart phones are some necessary measures that need to be fulfilled to create equity and ensure that all Indian children may learn.

According to a Praxis-IVCA report, the Indian edtech market was pegged at $117 billion in 2020, expected to grow over two-fold to touch $225 billion by FY25. The industry is bombarding as the magnitude of inequality in Education has been revealed. Startups are striving for the welfare of the mass public since education unites us all together. The better educated you are, the better future you can pave for yourself. Theres one old saying, one educated person in the family, transforms the lives of the family. The simple statement weighs so much, making us realize the importance of education. When your childrens education is at stake you can afford to buy a smart phone and provide the bundle of knowledge to children, the first step towards your childs success.

In the edtech apps, content is crucial and important part, interestingly its the most fun part. The visuals, 3D animations, videos by well-educated teachers, mcqs, chapter wise questions, books, and many more are compiled in just one app, thats the privilege of technology. The edtech apps are not limited to academics, the knowledge is abundant. It includes art, dance, music, music instruments, creative science assignments, coding, computer languages, and much more to explore to give your kids the platform to scout the option according to their respective interests. Customization of learning is being popular in the digital space. The edtech app made it possible for students to personalize their education by using AI and technology. Personalized education gets student more intrigued in learning, making it easier for the student to learn according their pace, up to their potential. AI helps the students to schedule, plan their work for the day. Now the challenge is to reach the rural areas or the children belonging to BPL families and to provide them with education they can sustain. So, the industry is more focused on rural areas of India, to reach the remote areas and educate the mass students to build a better future of India. This can be achieved with affordable education without compromising in the quality front. Edtech industry will bring about the change that India has been longing for.

According to Indias National Education Policy, the countrys children have poor foundational learning levels with half the students who have spent five years in schools barely possessing basic numeric and literacy skills. There are only 1.5 million schools with about 250 million students enrolled in our country. According to a survey, 37% of students in rural and 17% in urban areas doesnt study at all. As education should reach remote areas, villages, and areas of the low network. In many cases children study till high school and then drop education to join hands with their parents or find a job for money. Even girls are not sent outside many times for education. Edtech has become one solution for all. The child can educate online with the liberty to do any job, study from anywhere, and still be able to get all the knowledge. Its time saving as well as leverage of study anywhere and anytime you want. With the dream of democratizing education in India, it should be made affordable. For all classes of people, education should be one. In India, 20.8% percent of people are below the poverty line, which makes it difficult for the family to provide quality education. Hence, affordable education should be the first priority of the startups coming forward. And it is necessary to make education democratize and in order to fulfill the vision of educated India. The edtech is slowly penetrating in remote areas as well.

To make use of technology in education stick, it cant be companies alone that forge a thorns pathit requires corporates, governments, NGOs and educational institutes to work together to deliver better learning outcomes. The solution should focus on a one-off use, we need to leverage technology to instill a mentality of lifelong learning within our citizens to ensure they arent rendered irrelevant despite being educated. The industry is striving to mark its way in digital learning. The better India, educated India.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Bridging Indias education gap with the adoption of technology - Times of India

Rapid technological advances are bringing major changes to workplaces around the world. In the U.S., this has been a source of both joyfor those able to work from home thanks to advanced video technology and the internet of things (IoT)and sorrow for those who lost their job due to advanced robotics. Predicting the impact of new, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology on employment opportunities around the world is now a growth industry. But how relevant is the technology, and to a large extent the experience of rich countries, to Africas current problems and choices?

In our recent report, we take a hard look at this question. Focusing on Africas current economic development challengehow to speed up the process of economic transformationwe examine the potential of 4IR technology to support and accelerate this process. A reasonable expectation might be that 4IR technology has a lot to contribute since technological innovation has been one of the main drivers of economic growth and development since the invention of the steam engine and electricity. However, our report argues that for Africa, the key policy question is not What can 4IR technology do for Africa, but rather What are Africas productivity bottlenecks, and could 4IR technology help relieve them? In other words, for the owner/operator of a business or farm, the question is not What about robots? It is What is my current productivity problem, and if I used this technology would it produce a quick and specific response to this problem?

From this perspective, we do share the excitement for some of the potential of 4IR technology to help farms and also formal and informal firms in Africa to reduce production costs, grow their markets through productivity improvements, and increase employment and earnings. We are most optimistic about:

Although we find ourselves much less worried about robots and job losses than some other analysts, our analysis does leave us concerned with the long-standing obstacles to technology adoption that already exist in Africa. Without innovation, producers will lose market share to the rest of the world. But new technology is an investment and will be adopted only if a producer has access to markets to sell their products and services and can get the needed complementary inputs (including services such as electricity and transportation of goods to market) at a price that results in a competitive product. This makes issues such as building; operating; and maintaining infrastructure, including information and communications technology infrastructure; deepening the financial sector to reduce the cost of financing new investment; and reducing barriers to regional trade all the more urgent. To ensure success, the public and private sectors will have to work together on strategy and implementation.

Conscientiously shaping public policy that guides technological growth to maximize benefits for all and minimize costs will be crucial for success.

Africa urgently needs employment transformationgrowth in the employment share of wage jobs. This will take time given the current rate of labor force growth. Africa cannot afford to let the bright, shiny object of new technology divert its attention from needed measures to support earnings growth in the agricultural and nonfarm informal sectorshousehold farms and firms. Conscientiously shaping public policy that guides technological growth to maximize benefits for all and minimize costs will be crucial for success. Countries need comprehensive, effective, and implementable strategies that will address the various challenges in their country context, while ensuring inclusion. A policy focus predominately on supporting and catering to the high-tech sectors will exacerbate inequality, an undesirable result.

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Technology and the future of jobs in Africa - Brookings Institution

To celebrate April Fools Day Ive tried to have some fun in this newsletter, including in the choice of reader mail and the quote of the day. Everythings true, though no fooling.

Im fascinated by what the evolution of language tells us about economic development over the years. In focusing on language Im paying homage to my incisive Opinion colleague John McWhorter as well as the great William Safire, who for years wrote the On Language column in The New York Times Magazine. The difference is Ill try to stay connected to my main topic, economics.

Consider this coinage: meatspace. It refers simply to the physical world, where we have tangible bodies made of meat. Meatspace is a word that didnt need to exist until the invention of cyberspace. Technological progress gives us a new perspective on things we once took for granted, in this case reality itself.

I.C.E. vehicle (pronounced ice) is similar. I.C.E. is short for internal combustion engine, a modifier that was superfluous until electric cars came on the scene. Like meatspace, its what the journalist Frank Mankiewicz called a retronym a new term thats invented for something old because the original term has become ambiguous, usually because of some development such as a technological advance.

There are lots of lists of retronyms on the internet. Among my favorites, each revealing societys progress in some way or another: incandescent light bulb (necessitated by fluorescent, LED, etc.); landline phone; analog watch; Euclidean geometry; hard copy; vacuum tube radio (as opposed to transistor radio although who bothers specifying transistor radio anymore?).

Unlike retronyms, infrastructure is an old word that keeps getting asked to do more work. It began as a term from French railroad engineering referring to the layers of material that go beneath (infra) the tracks. Its meaning expanded to include roads, bridges, sewers and power lines, and very recently expanded again to include people, specifically caregivers, as in this fact sheet from the Biden White House last year, which said, The presidents plan makes substantial investments in the infrastructure of our care economy, starting by creating new and better jobs for caregiving workers.

Our language preserves old ways of living as surely as amber preserves long-dead insects or volcanic ash preserved ancient Pompeii. We still cc: people on emails even though increasingly few of us have ever made carbon copies on a typewriter (I have). We copy and paste text, scarcely aware that actual fragrant paste used to be involved. I recently learned that uppercase and lowercase letters got their names from actual wooden cases of lead that were used by compositors for printing. People still talk about dialing phone numbers even though phones dont have dials, and rolling up car windows even though hand cranks are long gone.

Along those lines, its amazing that well into the 21st century were still describing the strength of our cars and trucks in comparison to the power of horses. That usage traces back to James Watt, the Scottish inventor who developed a better steam engine in the late 18th century and compared it to a horse, since in those days horses and pulleys were used to lift buckets of water out of flooded coal mines.

Technology has leapt ahead since the 18th century but the English language hasnt, at least when it comes to describing the power of engines. One horsepower, by the way, equals 746 watts and yes, watt is named after James Watt.

Not all technical terminology has horsepowers staying power. In economics, for example, priming the pump used to be a well-understood phrase for what today we call stimulus. A conventional pump wont work if there is air in the pump or the line to it. You have to pour water into it to prime it before you can get water out. In an era when people were more familiar with pumps, it made sense to them that the government would occasionally need to pour some money into the economy to get it working and pump much more money out. That metaphor is less intuitively persuasive these days.

Flat-screen, high-definition color TVs are just TVs today. Ballpoint pens are just pens. And before long, self-driving electric cars will be just cars. Time and technology march on.

In reading your March 25 newsletter on the economist Clifford Winston, a believer in free markets, I thought of this old joke: An engineer and an economist are stuck in a deep hole in the ground. After several hours the engineer says, I just cant figure out a way to get us out of here. The economist turns to him and says, Its easy! First, assume a ladder.

Allan Kemp

Littleton, Colo.

Asking me now to write on how I feel about economics journals is like asking a lamppost to write a memoir on dogs.

Philip Mirowski, The Effortless Economy of Science? (2004)

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Opinion | 'Meatspace'? Technology Does Funny Things to Language - The New York Times