The post AiThority Interview with Dr. Alan Baratz, President and CEO of D-Wave appeared first on AiThority.

Digital governance is a trend, not a choice, in solving common problems of urban development such as aging populations, and of improving efficiency to benefit people in these changing times, experts said at a recent forum.

Many countries have introduced digital tools like big data and artificial intelligence in the creation of smart cities, and significant achievements have been made in fields such as agriculture, education and industry.

At a smart farm in Palmerston North, New Zealand, AI is used to monitor cows and enables them to roam freely with little human interference.

“There will also be an area with digital monitoring to allow the cow to get its back scratched when it needs, and the milking process has been automated so that cows can be milked when they feel the need to be milked. Minimum human labor is needed,” Gabrielle Loga, international relations manager for Palmerston North, told China Daily at the Smart City Forum for International Friendship Cities in Guiyang, Guizhou province, on Friday.

“The application of AI is not only great for production itself but also has boosted tourism, and is particularly popular with children for educational purposes,” she said, adding that the city will hopefully collaborate with Guiyang on smart farming soon.

Palmerston North consults residents on public issues, which Loga says generates “thick documents or submissions with lots of words” that traditionally are quite labor-intensive and time-consuming to read through.

Latest Insights: Why Only AI and Data Analytics Can Stop Financial Criminals

“However, since we have been experimenting with large language models, AI has been able to help us go through submissions much faster, so we will be able to encourage more submissions in the future and better understand what our residents want,” she said.

The city council has also adopted intelligent environmental monitoring and intelligent monitoring for endangered species, and places importance on green buildings and sustainable construction. As a sister city of Guiyang for the last 31 years, Palmerston North hopes to continue cooperation on agricultural technology, smart learning and digitalization, but is also looking to expand cooperation in other areas such as commerce and ecotourism, according to Loga.

Busan in South Korea, the first smart city approved by the country in 2018, has introduced innovative services like real-time water quality management, smart parking, intelligent medicine and carbon-free applications in its 28,000-square-kilometer Eco City area.

In January last year, 65 families moved into the Eco City to test out the services, and local authorities are smoothing out the problems before the system is expanded to other areas, according to Kim Myogeum, chief representative of the Shanghai office of Busan.

“Busan became a super-aging society in 2022, and there are many old residents who live by themselves. We observe their behavior and condition so help and care can be offered in time,” she said, adding that technology is being used to create a healthier and cleaner environment so that residents can live better lives.

Busan ranks first in terms of smart city construction in South Korea, according to Kim.

AiThority: The 3 Building Blocks to Make AI Accessible

In Tripolis, Greece, devices have been installed in all public areas to monitor the use of energy.

Through intelligent calculation, resources needed to grow a crop can be determined precisely to avoid excessive use, and with flooding a frequent hazard, the city has developed an alert system to warn inhabitants of danger, Konstantinos Tzoumis, mayor of Tripolis, told the forum at the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2023, which concluded on Sunday.

This year is the first time the expo has resumed in-person events since COVID-19. It’s also the first time a special booth has been set up to showcase the achievements of 13 cities in eight countries — Greece, Italy, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, secretary-general of United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific Section, said that sharing the experiences of digital governance is important because cities and local governments have a wealth of information on improving productivity and helping people live more comfortably.

“From this forum, we’ll learn how cities have been using smart city technology in fields like agriculture, health and education. This inspires other local governments to do better as well,” she said.

The organization, which connects 140,000 cities in 140 countries and regions, plans to create a committee for digital governance to help more governments and cities embrace digitalization and sustainable development, she added.

Read More: How ChatGPT Will Transform Customer Service

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post Smart Cities Share Stories of Digital Governance appeared first on AiThority.

The world’s largest business organization has unveiled a state-centric roadmap to fuel AI development and regulate AI laws in 2023. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Artificial Intelligence Commission on Competitiveness, Inclusion, and Innovation has highlighted the need to fulfill AI-driven growth with stringent technology-neutral laws that support national and global objectives, particularly of like-minded allies. It called for regulation of AI technology using ethical guidelines.

AI has become the cornerstone of every business organization. By 2030, it will generate $13 trillion in revenue, pushing boundaries of machine learning capabilities in different technologies. From smart city infrastructure to global disaster monitoring and mapping, AI’s role is ubiquitous in every way possible.

Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said – “AI is a transformational technology that we are just starting to realize its potential. While there are some risks that need to be managed, AI promises to boost economic opportunity and incomes, accelerate advancement in health outcomes and quality of life, and usher in yet another era of technology innovation that will spawn companies, industries, and jobs not yet imagined. For over a year, the Chamber’s Commission has been working on developing policy recommendations and industry best practices that provide policymakers and business leaders a roadmap to optimize its many benefits and protect against harms.”

In an email statement shared with our news desk, Brad Fisher, CEO, of Lumenova AI highlighted the urgency with which the US Chamber of Commerce came out with the report on AI. Brad said, “The risks of AI are clear to those in-the-know and growing exponentially as new investment pours into the area. Despite the widespread gnashing of teeth over the risks of AI, most of the regulatory guidance so far is of a voluntary nature and many organizations are taking a wait-and-see approach. The main challenge with waiting is that much of the AI that is now being deployed will need to be reworked to comply with regulations – so it’s not just a matter of providing guidance for the future, but rather fixing a big costly problem that already exists. Put another way, we are digging ourselves into a big hole and the longer we wait the harder it will be to climb out.

“The EU is already out in front with its pending AI risk management legislation, which can be beneficial for all. The challenge for those in the US, including governments and companies, is that this EU guidance may become the de facto standard. The challenge is that the US risk tolerance differs from the EU and we may end up over-regulating and squelching innovation or missing out on the most pervasive risks. The US wants to step to the forefront and be a leader in the development and use of AI – we should also step to the forefront in terms of a common-sense approach to manage the risks of AI.”

In another comment, Jeff Hudson, CEO, Venafi said, “It is important and profound that the US Chamber of Commerce is calling for regulation around the responsible use of AI because it introduces high levels of risk into organizations. There are many implications, and one that has not been widely discussed but is perhaps the most impactful is the ability of artificial intelligence to write software (code). Through generative large language models AI, like ChatGPT, almost anyone can easily generate code that is almost good enough to run. It is not perfect or complete, but it is 80% of the way there.

This democratizes coding to a whole new level, allowing everyone to be a pretty good developer now. However, very few people understand if that code is malicious or not – if it is safe or if it will harm you. Since software (code) is eating the world, the unleashing of democratized coding fundamentally alters how we protect the privacy and ensure that the systems our lives depend on are secure. The attack surface is growing very fast, and we are not adapting as quickly.

Securing an organization’s network just got much harder. We are moving to a world where everyone is creating without knowing if it is malicious or not and then letting it loose on customers and in the business.

It is time to admit that organizations cannot let unauthorized code run on their networks if they want to stop the vast majority of attacks. Just as we do not give access to our data to any person who lacks an ID and the authorization to access it, we should not allow machines access to data if they do not have an ID with the correct authorization. Ensuring that AI-written code can be trusted through authentication will be vital if humans and machines are to coexist for the betterment of the human condition.”

The report would provide a doctrine of guidelines for US-based technology companies working with AI and related capabilities. It would open new avenues for collaboration with government and international allies, specifically focusing on enhancing knowledge base in the private and public domains. By 2030, we could see a global platform for collaboration among all AI development organizations and regulators that pitch for upskilling future workforce with ethical AI initiatives.

The post U.S. Chamber Takes Strong Stance for Technology-neutral AI Laws and Alliances appeared first on AiThority.

Verge Technologies, Inc. and QuantaHub Squared have joined forces to bring innovative technology to the government sector. With this partnership, QuantaHub Squared’s digital experts will have access to Verge’s SentientDB, a ground-breaking AI-driven product that provides database management, mobility, and accessibility for both government agencies and commercial businesses across all environments and enables true cloud convergence management. The product will now be available through QuantaHub Squared’s GSA schedule, which includes various contract vehicles for government agencies’ digital transformation needs, such as NITAAC, GSA, NOAA NMITS, DoT SWES, and FAA.

“This partnership is a major milestone for both companies,” said Jimmy Jobe, CEO of Verge Technologies. “The challenges of managing databases in real-time across multiple cloud environments is not unique to government agencies; commercial businesses face the same challenges. SentientDB, with its AI technology, offers a solution that optimizes database performance and mobility across an enterprise’s entire IT landscape to ensure zero downtime for users, processes, and applications.”

Recommended AI: AI Smart Chain Ecosystem Launches, Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Crypto Space

SentientDB is the first of its kind to tackle these challenges and has the potential to revolutionize the way the government and commercial sectors manage their databases. The platform will help government agencies make critical business decisions by ensuring that databases are where they need to be, when they need to be.

“At QuantaHub Squared, we’re committed to bringing the latest innovations in machine learning, data science, and analytics to the government sector,” said Will Rohde, CEO of QuantaHub Squared. “With this partnership and SentientDB, we can now offer government agencies a comprehensive solution that extends machine learning into the IT environment and provides automation in ways never before possible.”

This partnership represents a major step forward in the government tech modernization efforts, and the combination of Quanta Hub Squared’s expertise in digital innovation and Verge’s cutting-edge technology will no doubt bring about significant benefits for government agencies.

Recommended AI: Cognni Launches AI-Powered Automated Infosec Risk Assessment Product

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post Verge Technologies and QuantaHub Squared Partner for Government Tech Modernization Efforts appeared first on AiThority.

Cardinality.ai, a leading data technology company, announced being selected as a GovTech 100 company for 2023. More than 5,000 caseworkers across five states, 10+ nonprofits and healthcare providers are utilizing Cardinality’s ready-built AI solutions to modernize their digital engagement with citizens.

“We’re honored by this recognition, and will continue to serve Government agencies and deliver impactful solutions in the GovTech market” said Thiag Loganathan, Cardinality’s Co-founder and CEO.

The GovTech100 list is an editorial-driven list that is shaped by a variety of key market experts, government employees, investors, and Government Technologies editorial team.

Recommended AI: Tacans Partners With Provenance Tags, Concordium Blockchain Based Anti-Counterfeiting Solution

Dustin Haisler, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer for Government Technology, said, “This year we have seen an exponential increase in gov tech market activity – from new companies starting up to help government tackle complex challenges, to existing companies joining forces for scale through consolidations, gov tech as an industry is clearly showing its recession-proof charac

Cardinality.ai is a data technology company delivering solutions that equip government agencies to achieve better citizen outcomes by eliminating friction and improving the experience of citizens and government workers using Artificial Intelligence (AI) SaaS Solutions. More than 5000 caseworkers across 8 government agencies in 5 states and 10+ nonprofits and healthcare providers are already utilizing Cardinality.ai ready-built AI solutions to modernize their digital engagement with citizens.

Recommended AI: ITA Group Launches AI-Powered Channel Sales Claims Management Solution

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post Cardinality.ai Selected as a GovTech 100 Company for 2023! appeared first on AiThority.

Unanet, the leading provider of project-based ERP and CRM solutions for government contractors (GovCons) and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms, announced it has closed a new round of strategic financing from Onex Corporation. The investment will help Unanet accelerate its product innovation, go-to-market strategies, and plans for continued growth. Onex becomes the second major investor in Unanet, which is primarily funded by Baltimore and San Diego-based JMI Equity.

The addition of Onex, as well as three new board members who will collaborate with the Unanet executive team on growth strategies, will help to position Unanet for continued long-term success. It also reaffirms Unanet’s commitment to investing in technology to better serve its customers.

Recommended AI: “Bitcoin Has No Intrinsic Value”. Then What Gives Bitcoin Value?

Joining the Unanet Board of Directors are:

• Jim Reagan – Former Executive Vice President and CFO of Leidos, Mr. Reagan has held leadership roles at a number of GovCon firms.
• Tony Catalfano – Former CEO of Worldpay U.S. and Division President at Fiserv, Mr. Catalfano bring expertise as a strategic board advisor to a variety of middle market and expansion-oriented software and financial technology companies.
• Zach Levitt – Senior Principal of Onex Partners, in the firm’s Software and Business Services vertical.

“Investments by Onex and JMI, coupled with our outstanding leadership team, should leave no doubt about Unanet’s commitment to its customers, innovation, and our people,” said Craig Halliday, CEO of Unanet. “We look forward to accelerating our market leadership and continuing to offer customers a modern, user-friendly alternative to status quo software.”

“Unanet is disrupting the entrenched ERP and CRM markets and winning market share with a customer-first culture and modern, purpose-built solutions which provide demonstrable value to customers,” said David Greenberg, General Partner, JMI Equity. “We are excited to partner with Onex in continuing to execute on the significant organic and inorganic growth opportunities for Unanet in the GovCon and AEC markets.”

Recommended AI: Top 10 Countries and Cities by Number of CCTV Cameras

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post Unanet to Accelerate Growth With Strategic Investment from Onex and Addition of Three New Board Members appeared first on AiThority.

GovCIO has been awarded a new Mail Management Services (MMS) $478 Million Task Order on the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Veterans Intake, Conversion, and Communications Services (VICCS) IDIQ Contract. This five-year contract is a follow-on contract to GovCIO’s T4NG Paper Mail Conversion Management Services program won in 2020. Through MMS, GovCIO will continue to provide the VBA with innovative manual and automated centralized mail management services and solutions that help streamline VBA’s benefits claims process.

For both paper and electronic modalities, GovCIO will handle source material intake, handling, and preparation; data extraction; document indexing, conversion, and imaging. Upon completion of mail processing, images, with associated data, will be integrated and uploaded to VA systems.

Recommended AI: Eric Tippetts Announces Version 3.0 of Innovative Network Marketing App

“Our Paper Mail Management team has provided delivery excellence and innovation for VBA throughout all periods of contract performance. Our exceptional delivery made it possible for us to earn this follow-on contract,” said Megha Chokshi, GovCIO Veteran and Enterprise Technology Sector Senior Vice President.

In addition to maximizing innovation and automation, GovCIO will incorporate quality assurance activities and validation into multiple steps of the mail management process to ensure VA receives images and data of sufficient quality to support its business processes while maintaining complete traceability to validate information integrity.

“We are honored to support the VBA for the next five years helping to ensure Veterans and their families receive the compensation and pension benefits they’ve earned in an expedient fashion,” said Jim Brabston, GovCIO CEO.

Recommended AI: Top 10 Countries and Cities by Number of CCTV Cameras

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post GovCIO Wins $478 Million Contract for Veterans Benefits Administration Claims Management and Processing appeared first on AiThority.

Unanet, the leading provider of project-based ERP and CRM for government contractors (GovCon), announced that Radiance Technologies, a Huntsville, Ala.-based firm that develops solutions for defense, intelligence and civilian clients like the US Army and US Airforce, is replacing its legacy ERP system with Unanet GovCon ERP and CRM to provide a robust end-to-end solution that will help streamline processes and reduce manual errors in their business. Radiance has already started an implementation plan that Unanet tailored to fit their needs.

After an annual review of all its business and technology tools, Radiance, an employee-owned company with approximately 1,000 employees, determined that its legacy ERP provider was actually making their business processes more cumbersome and less efficient for their team.

Recommended AI News: MobileFuse Achieves Carbon Negative Status, Commits to Ongoing Reductions

“Our previous system included multiple software tools, but none of them were fully integrated and automated. As a result, we were spending a lot of time taking data out of one system through downloads, and entering or importing it into another system,” said Paige Nix, chief financial officer at Radiance. Radiance’s teams also experienced difficulties with functionality and technical issues such as upgrades that were hastily rolled out with errors in them.

After a search and review process for an enterprise-wide system, Radiance chose Unanet GovCon ERP and CRM for its ability to fully integrate and automate multiple tools with low implementation and maintenance time. In addition, Radiance received multiple referrals about Unanet from companies who shared how Unanet’s customer service team listened and turned feedback into actionable results.

Recommended AI News: Calumino Announces Series A Funding Round to Scale First-of-its-Kind Intelligent Thermal Sensing Platform

“We fully expect Unanet to make our processes more efficient through integration and automation, reduce the amount of time required to enter and review data and create smoother internal processes and workflows,” said Nix. “For example, getting consultants and subcontractors to input their purchase order/invoice data into an efficient system will ensure all costs incurred each month are captured in our invoices. This will enhance our speed and visibility to project actuals — creating one efficient solution for our subcontractors/consultants and our accounting team.”

According to a recent annual survey of more than 1,100 GovCon customers, Unanet users are seeing a significant decrease in day sales outstanding (DSO) simply because of the reduction in errors that Unanet’s ERP solution provides. More than 14% of users reported a DSO of 15 days or less.

Recommended AI News: CloudFabrix Announces the Availability of Composable Analytics, Dashboards and Pipelines to Accelerate AIOps and Observability Adoption

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post Radiance Technologies Switches to Unanet for GovCon ERP and CRM appeared first on AiThority.

Boardspan, the leader in board governance software and services, announced the successful completion of its second round of institutional investment along with a strategic investment and new business partnership.

The financing was led by Aligned Partners. Other major investors include Teneo, the global CEO advisory firm, and Blake Grossman, a highly regarded executive and former CEO of Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

Recommended AI News: CCsmart.org Helps Americans Understand the Value of a Community College Education

In connection with this investment, Teneo and Boardspan have entered into a go-to-market partnership for both companies to deliver their complementary expertise to each other’s client base in a highly strategic manner.

“Board effectiveness is crucial to the strategic direction and success of our clients,” said Diane McIntyre, CEO of Teneo People Advisory. “In partnership with Boardspan, Teneo is able to expand our current Board Advisory offering to include assessments, gap analyses and benchmarking solutions, offering a truly end-to-end, cloud-based advisory experience.”

Recommended AI News: HTC Partners with pixiv to Integrate VRoid’s Japanese Anime-Style Avatars into VIVERSE

Jodi Jahic, Managing Partner at Aligned Partners, said: “Aligned Partners is excited about the impact Boardspan is having in this large, underserved market as it modernizes governance best practices for boards of all types. We are impressed by Boardspan’s growth and client list and very pleased to continue to support the company as it continues to scale. The recognition by other investors who joined in this round is a reflection of Boardspan’s momentum.”

Boardspan CEO Abby Adlerman said, “We appreciate the continued support from Aligned Partners. Working with Jodi, Blake and other leaders of this caliber has made Boardspan even stronger as we bring new solutions to boardroom challenges. We’re excited to count Teneo as a Boardspan advocate and to help support their clients. As a mission-driven business we take to heart our role in elevating board performance. The bar keeps going up and we’re delighted to work with so many experienced, dedicated board members who undertake to thoughtfully govern and guide the entities they serve in this dynamic environment.”

Recommended AI News: Resecurity(R) Expands VAPT Capabilities with Acquisition of Cybit Sec in UAE

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post Board Governance Leader Boardspan Closes New Funding Round and Strategic Partnership with Teneo appeared first on AiThority.

GovOS, a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for local governments, announced a new partnership with the Utah Association of Counties (UAC). The UAC is a statewide nonprofit membership organization comprised of all 29 counties in Utah. The organization provides a range of services to help its members improve government operations and enrich the quality of services that Utah counties provide to citizens.

“The Utah Association of Counties is dedicated to providing its members with answers to the most challenging questions being asked of local governments today,” said Bryan Rodgers, Corporate Relations Program Director, Utah Association of Counties. “Short-term rentals sit at the confluence of affordable housing, taxation, and community preservation, and therefore require nuanced solutions that can adapt and accommodate this emerging market. GovOS is at the forefront of STR thought leadership and brings a valuable point-of-view on best practices moving forward.”

Recommended AI News: KPMG and Microsoft Collaborate to Help C-Suites Predict Tax Outcomes and Set Business Strategy With New Cloud Technologies

Through this partnership, UAC members have access to exclusive pricing for the GovOS Short-Term Rental (STR) solution which includes identification, registration, lodging tax collection and a 24/7 dedicated STR hotline for residents. In partnering with GovOS, the UAC is adding new services to its growing list of member programs that encourage engagement between citizens and their local government. The UAC has been providing Utah counties with access to resources since 1924.

GovOS has extensive experience working with jurisdictions, providing a comprehensive solution that increases engagement between STR owners and their local government agencies. The GovOS STR solution has been implemented in communities across the United States and throughout the state of Utah. These jurisdictions use the GovOS STR solution to support the long-term goal of identifying and monitoring short-term rental operators to ensure they remain in compliance with local regulations.

Recommended AI News: Digital Workforce Unlocks Business Opportunities Worth Six Figures for Planet Mark

“Through this partnership, we can support the UAC’s longtime mission of improving the effectiveness of government agencies in Utah,” said Anna Vaughn, Senior Vice President of Partnerships for GovOS. “At the same time, we can continue providing local governments with the most effective and innovative software solutions available. By empowering local Utah governments with dynamic technology for STR identification, compliance, business registration and lodging tax collection, we can work together with the UAC to educate, serve and have a positive impact in Utah communities.”

GovOS is actively engaged in strategic partnerships that benefit government agencies and their citizens. By building relationships with industry leaders in the STR ecosystem, the company can offer access to additional resources that work in tandem with its STR solution, and are designed exclusively to support city and county efforts to promote healthy communities.

Recommended AI News: Rising Network Automation Unlocks Massive Growth Opportunities Across 5G

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

The post GovOS Announces New Partnership with Utah Association of Counties appeared first on AiThority.