Hi there,

New Zealand Police found out to their detriment the dangers of facial recognition systems last month when their (unauthorised) trial of controversial Clearview AI software derailed rather publicly. The fact it came in the midst of the Covid lockdowns may well have saved police from a much greater backlash.

George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the civil unrest which has followed has again put the focus on facial recognition and its potential for racial bias. Big tech has listened, with IBM, Amazon and Microsoft all moving to distance themselves, to varying degrees, from the technology, particularly its use by police departments.

However, as minor players in the arena, their virtuous signals won’t be the death knell for the technology. Indeed, facial recognition has reportedly been actively deployed by police to track down lawbreakers among BLM protesters (Covid facemasks notwithstanding).

Nonetheless, with tensions over inequality running high globally, now might be a good time for tech companies, tech users and the wider public to pause and consider how such technology can be used for the good of all.

In other news:

Why the remote worker, the water cooler and the Kool Aid won't mix
ERP implementations go better with testing
Google, Facebook gear up for NZ elections (and why you should be worried)
NZ spend bounces back – and we’ve got the data to show it

We also take a look at how you can lockdown the benefits of accounts payable automation, to help ensure invoices are processed swiftly and payments are made without delays to help get our economy back on track.

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.co.nz

FACIAL RECOGNITION

Tech giants say no to facial recognition

IBM, Amazon and Microsoft won’t supply FR technology to US authorities. What gives?…

Law enforcement Facial recognition technology

Against a backdrop of police violence and civil unrest in the US, the big tech cos have announced they will be stepping back – to varying degrees – from police facial recognition deals.

Perhaps now is the time to make sure that the technology is adopted in a way that serves the people.

[Read more]

REMOTE WORK

Does remote work really work?

2020 may be the year the workforce came untethered, but is it all too good to be true?…

If you believe the remote-work enthusiasts, it’s a bold new decade of business, spurred on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the countless employees around the globe it has forced home.

“The pain points of remote work are multi-faceted.”

[Read more]

ERP TESTING

Testing, testing: Helping eliminate ERP failure

When failure to launch isn’t an option…

When it comes to ERP implementations there are lots of ways to fail.

“An out of the box solution does nothing out of the box.”

[Read more]

POLITICAL ADVERTISING

Google, Facebook make push for political transparency

Now about that targeting…

Online political ads will get a little more transparency for the NZ elections later this year with Google and Facebook both upping their attempts at transparency for political content.

“In the absence of regulation, Facebook and other companies are left to design their own policies.”

[Read more]

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Covid in numbers

Tracking the trackers…

A week is a long time in politics – and in economics – but while New Zealand is rolling in an abundance of data about its Covid response, Australia appears to be in something of a vacuum.

“The health response required a more frequent read of the economy.”

[Read more]

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Lockdown highlights automated Accounts Payable advantage

Making sure those payments get through…

While the lockdown hasn’t been pleasant, it has shown how the wonders of modern technology equip many to maintain productivity even when far from the office.

You don’t want unmanaged risk in the payments department.

[Read more]

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