Diario geostrategico, 19 ottobre 2021
Buona lettura !
The Science of Where Magazine’s interviews:
– L’intelligenza artificiale contro le discriminazioni sul lavoro. The Science of Where Magazine incontra Keith Sonderling, Commissioner del U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
– Per Italia e Germania, il futuro è nelle nuove tecnologie. Intervista esclusiva con l’Ambasciatore d’Italia a Berlino, Armando Varricchio
– Gathering strenght, gathering storms. Visions on artificial intelligence. The Science of Where Magazine meets Michael Littman and Peter Stone
Today’s Top:
– Winston Ma writes for ORF: In July 2021, the food delivery company Zomato went ahead with its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the Bombay Stock Exchange, becoming India’s seventh largest IPO of all time. The company raised US $564 million, and its anchor investors included sovereign investment funds like ADIA (UAE), CPP (Canada), OMERS (Canada), and GIC (Singapore). Prior to the IPO, the company had raised US $2.1 billion through private financing rounds, where the Singaporean government fund Temasek was estimated to have invested US $100 million – The hunt for tech unicorns: How sovereign funds accelerate the digital economy
Counterrorism-Cyber-Defense-Intelligence-Military-Security:
– Arrizal Jaknanihan writes for East Asia Forum: The announcement of AUKUS — a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States — sparked concern over escalating rivalry across the Indo-Pacific. Canberra is now attempting to allay suspicion in Indonesia, a key strategic partner, over its commitment to regional peace. But Indonesia should view AUKUS in an introspective manner and realise the opportunity it provides – Why Indonesia should embrace AUKUS
– Richard Brabin-Smith writes for East Asia Forum: On 15 September 2021, the Australian government formally announced that it was abandoning French Attack-class conventional submarines in favour of nuclear propulsion through AUKUS. There were two principal causes for the decision – Australia’s submarine U-turn
– Naureen Chowdhury Fink writes for Defense One: In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United Nations Security Council moved swiftly and laid the keystone of an international framework of counterterrorism efforts. Twenty years later, it’s past time to rethink all of them. Back then, the Security Council obliged states to deny terrorists safe haven and material support through Resolution 1373. The resolution is still unique in its scope, with no limits on its application in terms of groups, geography, or time. To help advance it, Security Council members established the Counter-Terrorism Directorate, or CTED. They have visited over 100 countries to assess compliance and needs, and identified gaps and challenges in their counterterrorism frameworks – What Can the United Nations Do About Counterterrorism?
– Burak Ege Bekdil writes for Defense News: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Oct. 17 the United States has proposed the sale of a batch of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey to compensate Turkey’s $1.4 billion investment in the U.S.-led multinational F-35 program – Turkey: US proposed to sell it F-16 fighters
– Jule Pattison-Gordon writes for Government Technology: Something must change with federal information sharing and state and federal roles if states are to be most effective at responding to cyber criminals, according to expert commentary during the second week of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Annual National Cybersecurity Summit – How Can States, Feds Collaborate Better on Cybersecurity?
Digital Transformation-Emerging and Disruptive Technology:
– James Der Derian writes for ORF: Would an over-reliance on like-minded partnerships result in the splintering of technology norms, standards and rules? This remains a key question as we delve into one of the key themes of CyFy 2021, ‘The Big Pause: Reclaiming our Tech Futures’ – Back to the tech future: Do emerging critical technologies provide an ‘edge’ against new global uncertainties and threats?
– James Brusseau writes for ORF: The idea behind decentralised Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethics is simple: Instead of a single regulating authority, masses of individuals actively direct technologies through their own informed decisions and uses. Countries can build robust frameworks to shape the trajectory of new AI technologies by empowering all users to participate. Decentralised finance provides an analogy: For cryptocurrency exchanges and smart-contract enforcement, it is users themselves who verify the transactions and legitimise or ostracise the practices and participants. The difference is that where decentralised finance promotes economic growth, decentralised technological ethics facilitates human-centered AI innovation – Building a case for decentralised AI ethics
– Uday Nagaraju writes for ORF: As the world continues to reel from the ongoing pandemic, digital platforms have been agents of hope. However, while several technological advancements have proven that technology can seamlessly fit into our lives, meaningful and inclusive access to all has lagged behind. On 11 June 2020, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres presented a set of recommended actions for the international community, which sought to achieve universal digital inclusion for all by strengthening digital capacity and ensuring human rights in the online world. The timeframe etched out was up to 2030, giving stakeholders nine years to ensure a healthy digital space that is inclusive regardless of ethnicity, nationality, gender, and disability – Towards Digital Inclusion 2.0
– Moliehi Makumane writes for ORF: The norms, rules, and principles of responsible state behaviour are not unlike firewalls and firebreaks. Firewalls and firebreaks are the first line of defence if a fire breaks out; to prevent the spread of the fire, an actual wall is erected to separate buildings or subdivide them to protect the structure of a building even if the structures on either side of the firewall collapse. It buys time, till eventually the fire is put out. Similarly, a firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a wildfire. In cyberspace, both firewalls and firebreaks are important; however, a Silicon Review article argued that prevention offered by a firewall sometimes fails so a firebreak is also required: Detection and response – Firebreaks, firewalls, and ‘windows of opportunity’ in cyber norms
– Anna Maria Osula writes for ORF: Our societies’ digital transformation is coupled with an ever-expanding attack surface, increasing number of malicious cyber activities, and continuously advancing capabilities of threat actors. Sadly, recent incidents such as SolarWinds and the Colonial Pipeline hacks have proven right the grim predictions that the cybersecurity community has been cautioning us against for years (or decades, to be exact). Indeed, sophisticated cyber attacks which target, for example, the supply chain and/or critical infrastructure, may have very serious consequences in terms of physical, economic, and reputational damage, possibly even endangering national security. Despite these warnings and many unfortunate incidents, both governmental and private systems continue to be vulnerable – In search of a coherent international approach to governing technologies
– Andreas Kuehn writes for ORF: The digital transformation has been touted as a game changer for sustainable development, a panacea for improving living standards in low- and middle-income economies and lifting up struggling governments. The rising inequalities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the world’s uneven recovery only underscore the importance and urgency of this matter. Digital technologies have allowed developing countries to implement communications and banking solutions, in some instances, leapfrogging technology generations that would otherwise have required significant traditional infrastructure investments. Mobile phones and biometric IDs have delivered government and banking services to hundreds of millions of India’s citizens and mobile broadband has become the sole access to internet for many African users. A 10 percent increase in mobile internet penetration in Africa is expected to result in a 2.5 percent higher gross domestic product (GDP) per capita – The road to ad to an evenly distributed TechFuture should put the needs of the Global South front and centre
– Neil Watson writes for ORF: Over a century ago, GK Chesterton observed that the greatest mistake of civilisation is that we try to adapt human beings to suit the needs of systems, instead of vice versa. Our world today is becoming massively systematised through a series of more sophisticated algorithmic systems. Machine learning has given us a world where anything can be discerned and anything can be counterfeited. Tiny crumbs of information can embed a signature that no amount of effort may remove. Simply put, there is nowhere to hide anything, nothing can be believed, and no one can be trusted. Due to their complexity and opacity, such systems are often emancipated from proper human agency and oversight. A civilisation built upon such systems will recreate the mistakes of the past at greater speed and scale, unless we take careful, deliberate action to prevent individuals and societies from becoming systematised in unhealthy ways. Will our future civilisation improve the human condition, or increase human suffering for the betterment of a plutocratic elite? Whether these technologies are applied by coercion or by consent will decide our future: Tyrannical injustice for the human spirit, or its liberation – Magnanimous machines: Why AI work should work for people and not the other way around
– Ameen Jauhar writes for ORF: In 2019, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) issued a public Request for Proposal (RFP) to establish a nationwide Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS). A legal notice issued to the NCRB, seeking recall and cancellation of this RFP, was responded to in some sense. The RFP was recalled, but not cancelled; it was simply replaced in June last year with a revised RFP. One of the most disconcerting aspects of both RFPs has been the arbitrariness with which this action is being pursued. As of date, Indian law is devoid of any comprehensive legislation that authorises, regulates, and determines the evidentiary value of automated facial recognition technologies (AFRTs) within our domestic law enforcement processes and the larger criminal justice system. Add to this the fact that in terms of evidence-based decision-making, the espousal of AFRT is arguably driven by a technocratic belief in better, more efficient systems. However, there are no objective measures as to how such efficiency is evaluated, nor what the tradeoff is in terms of rights and liberties, and due process norms. It is also pertinent to mention that AFRTs are not only being pursued at the national level but are, in fact, already deployed by several state police forces in some form or are in the process of acquiring it – Facial recognition in law enforcement is the litmus test for India’s commitment to “Responsible AI for All”
– Abhishek Gupta writes for ORF: Marc Andreessen famously said that software is ‘eating’ the world, and now we have AI eating up software. However, in this original formulation, the ‘world’ represented the economic slice of the world: How businesses operated and the profits they made were the core concern. With the push towards the triple bottom line, where all three Ps—profit, people and the planet—are taken into consideration, we must re-examine how AI is eating our planet! – The machine’s rage against the planet
– Noelle Knell writes for Government Technology: When keeping the lights on became physically impossible as the pandemic swept the country, technology leaders in government turned to keeping the services available. Not surprisingly, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’s (NASCIO) annual survey of state CIO priorities in both 2020 and 2021 saw digital services climb to the No. 2 spot, second only to cybersecurity. And the importance of effective digital services hasn’t waned even though many government buildings are once again offering face-to-face options – Digital Service Delivery Spikes, Holds Steady in States
Ecological Transition-Climate Change:
– Vinod Thomas writes for Project-Syndicate: While the evidence linking greenhouse-gas emissions to climate change has been clear for some time, public engagement with the issue remains low. But showing the link between emissions and extreme weather could motivate more people to demand that governments and companies reduce the use of fossil fuels – Accountability for Climate Catastrophes
– Connie Hedegaard writes for Project-Syndicate: As world leaders prepare to gather for COP26 next month, expectations for progress are low, even as the need to address climate change becomes more urgent. The European Union was critical in building the coalition needed to conclude the Paris climate agreement in 2015, and success in Glasgow may again depend on EU leadership – The EU Must Step Up in Glasgow
Future of Cities:
– Zack Quaintance writes for Government Technology: New York City has released a 116-page strategic vision for how it plans to benefit from artificial intelligence as a community, with an emphasis on doing so in ethical and responsible ways.
The plan, dubbed The New York City Artificial Intelligence Strategy, was released yesterday by the NYC Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer. This plan is perhaps unprecedented in many ways, marking the most extensive and proactive action taken toward one of the world’s fast-evolving technologies by a U.S. city government – Can NYC Build an Ethical Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem?
Iran-Saudi Arabia:
– Michael Segall writes for JCPA: In recent weeks, there have been several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to temper tense relations. While Saudi Arabia is cautious about the chances of successful negotiations, Iran is showing a more optimistic approach and a willingness to echo talks taking place mainly in Iraq, for the first time since Iranian President Raisi took office – Iran-Saudi Talks: No Easing of Tense Relations Expected
Iraq:
– Alex MacDonald writes for Middle East Eye: One of the most commonly quoted Kurdish phrases is the saying: “Kurds have no friends but the mountains.” But for the inhabitants of the village of Liheban in northern Iraq, just a 68km drive south of the Kurdish capital Erbil, the nearby Makhmour mountains are anything but friendly, having become a base of operations for the remnants of the Islamic State (IS) group – Iraq: Villagers suffer as Arab-Kurdish tensions lead to Islamic State resurgence
Jordan-Israel:
– Oded Eran writes for INSS: Recent developments in Jordan and its immediate neighborhood have raised questions about the stability of the regime in the kingdom, and with that, have aroused concern in Israel. The questions stem from the possible ramifications of the economic crisis in Jordan, especially among the tribal Bedouin population, which is the traditional support base of the monarchy, and from the response to the reforms that the king intends to implement in the parliamentary electoral system; from the direct challenges by various Jordanians toward the monarchy; and from the changes in Jordan’s regional policy, especially regarding Syria. The stability of the Hashemite regime was and still is an important cornerstone of Israel’s security. Any significant change in Jordan’s political-military orientation or undermining of the regime could have implications for Israel’s strategic balance – Jordan 2021: Cause for Concern in Israel, but No Need to Panic
Myanmar-China-India:
– Bruce Jones writes for Brookings: Thant Myint-U, the noted historian of modern Burma and grandson of former United Nations Secretary General U Thant, has documented the myriad ways in which China and India compete for resources and influence in what he’s termed “the new crossroads of Asia.” The features that make Myanmar attractive to both these two Asian giants are two: large estimated reserves of energy, both onshore and off; and the country’s long Andaman Sea peninsula. From China’s position, access overland to Myanmar’s coast would give them a new opening to the Indian Ocean, one that bypasses the Near Seas and the Malacca Strait — and the U.S. fleet. But should China secure such a route, it would put India’s navy on the front line of dealing with the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The Nicobar Islands are India’s farthest outpost and the place that the Indian navy first encounters their Chinese counterparts as they sail out through the Malacca Straits. But both nations face a challenge in developing Myanmar’s geography for strategic purposes — because both Myanmar and the Nicobar Islands face potential devastation from the changing climate. Of all the places in the world most likely to be profoundly harmed from rising sea levels and increased frequency of storms, the Bay of Bengal and the Nicobar Islands are the most likely to face sustained, wrenching change – Competing over climate: Myanmar’s valuable and climate-vulnerable geography
Saudi Arabia:
– Dore Gold writes for JCPA: In September we commemorated 20 years since the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Those of us who have been professionally involved in the study of the Middle East were shocked to learn that the vast majority of the terrorists who flew hijacked aircraft into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon did not come from Lebanon, Libya, or Syria, but rather from Saudi Arabia, which was never associated with international terrorism. The same was true of their commander, the architect of the attacks – Saudi Arabia is No Longer a Kingdom of Hate
Space:
– Darrell M. West writes for Brookings: The future of space is here. NASA is preparing to return to the Moon and is planning to have missions to Mars. Private space companies are sending ordinary people into Earth’s orbit. Meanwhile, space telescopes are generating new insights about the universe. All these developments raise interesting questions about the future of space exploration and how to use the knowledge we are gaining to improve life on Earth – What life in space teaches astronauts about solving challenges on planet Earth
– Jeff Foust writes for Space News: Engineers are investigating why one of the two solar arrays on NASA’s Lucy spacecraft may have failed to lock into place when deployed after launch Oct. 16. In an Oct. 17 statement, NASA said that while the spacecraft is healthy, one of the two circular solar panels “may not be fully latched” after its deployment. The solar arrays deployed in the first half-hour after separation from the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas 5 rocket that launched it early Oct. 16 – NASA investigating issue with Lucy solar array
– Debra Werner writes for Space News: PlanetIQ executives are delighted with weather data being acquired by the Golden, Colorado, firm’s first operational satellite launched in June. So delighted, in fact, that the company is raising money to accelerate its campaign to establish a 20-satellite Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation constellation by 2024. “Based upon the demonstrated metrics of our initial spacecraft, we are raising more capital to expedite deployment of our constellation,” PlanetIQ CEO Steve Joanis told SpaceNews – PlanetIQ announces highest-performance radio occultation satellite
– Debra Werner writes for Space News: TrustPoint Inc., a startup developing a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), has raised $2 million in seed funding from venture capital firm DCVC. With the funding announced Oct. 18, TrustPoint plans to expand its engineering team, continue developing core technologies, including satellite payload testing, and extend key partnerships – TrustPoint raises $2 million for GPS alternative
– Jeff Foust writes for Space News: As NASA prepares to install the Orion spacecraft on the first Space Launch System rocket, agency officials played down any effect coronavirus vaccine mandates will have on final preparations for the launch. In sessions of the American Astronautical Society’s Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium last week, Artemis program leaders said the next major milestone in preparations for the Artemis 1 launch is the installation of the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS that has otherwise been fully assembled in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center – NASA expects vaccination mandates to have little impact on Artemis 1 preparations
– Beyza Unal writes for ORF: Mega-constellations are composed of several hundreds of highly networked satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), and they are fundamental in providing uninterrupted communication through networks across the globe, enabling internet access even in remote areas. The space industry has shown great interest in mega-constellations due to their expected high return on capital invested. SpaceX, via its Starlink satellite internet constellations, has already launched 60 satellites into low earth orbit in May 2021. It plans to launch thousands more in the coming years as part of its mega-constellation project. OneWeb, Amazon, and several other private space companies have similar ambitions – Collision risks in outer space due to mega-constellations
– Saadia Pekkanen writes for ORF: There is a central governance challenge in the space domain, marked today by a new generation of players and technologies: How do we build safe, secure, and reliable practices in and through space for all public and private stakeholders around the world? In a world that has returned to great power competition, there are three principal challenges to this endeavour—incentives, rivalry, and alliances – Challenges to building responsible behaviour in space
– Ashok G. V. writes for ORF: The last few days have been quite momentous in the history of the Indian space policy landscape. The appointment of Pawan Kumar Goenka, the former Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra as the Chairperson of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) indicates that the announcement of the new space-related policies favouring space entrepreneurship aren’t just promises on paper but represent a tangible shift in the vision of the government for the space programme. The further announcements to de-regulate the telecommunication sector has reinvigorated the identity of India as a market for satellite and telecommunication applications. However, these developments notwithstanding, a few concerns remain viz., the lack of single window clearances due to the overlapping/concurrent jurisdiction of the Department of Telecommunication and Department of Space for satellite communication applications; the conspicuous failure of the government’s new policy outlook being translated into a legislation; the draft spacecom policies and remote sensing policies stopping short of providing the clarity and predictability that is considered conducive for investments; and the precise functions, responsibilities, and powers of IN-SPACe, the new industry regulator, not being defined within the framework of a law – Changing Indian space policy landscape
– Moriba Kemessia Jah writes for ORF: Near-Earth orbital space is a complex system and a finite resource that is geopolitically and commercially contested, and is in dire need of environmental protection. As a complex system, the elements that comprise it are not completely known and are intrinsically difficult to model due to, inter alia, unknown interdependencies, competitions amongst participants, and non-linear relationships between individual participants and the environment itself – Crowded outer space: Can a global Space Traffic Management (STM) be a reality?
Taiwan-USA-China:
– Richard Haass writes for Project-Syndicate: The goal of US policy toward the island should be to reduce uncertainty about America’s intentions and its ability to make good on them, while underscoring to Chinese leaders the economic and military costs of aggression. As much as China’s leaders want Taiwan, they also want to maintain power and the Communist Party’s political monopoly – The Taiwan Triangle
Turkey-USA:
– Hasat Murat Merkan writes for Defense One: Recent developments unfolding in the Middle East, North Africa, Black Sea Basin, and Asia have rippling effects that are testing the robustness of the transatlantic alliance. Political, social, and security fractures are triggering mass refugee flows and increased asymmetrical threats that require us once again to revisit our partnership. But transitioning transatlantic security priorities to an era of great power competition inevitably will necessitate exploring venues of gradual rapprochement between Turkey and the United States – It’s Time for Rapprochement Between Turkey and the United States
USA:
– Donald Kohn writes for Brookings: Implementing robust macroprudential policy—addressing threats to financial stability beyond those that were the focus of safety and soundness on an institution-by-institution basis or of investor protection market-by-market—was a constructive outcome of the legislative and policy response to the global financial crisis of 2008-09 – The US needs urgently to raise its macropru game
– Bruce Riedel writes for Brookings: Colin Powell shaped American history as the first African American secretary of state and as a role model for the American success story, going from growing up in the South Bronx to serving as national security advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the country’s top diplomat. I worked with Colin for over a decade, but my favorite memory is of a meeting of the National Security Council principals chaired by President George H.W. Bush on August 5, 1990 – Remembering Colin Powell and a pivotal moment before the Gulf War
– Walter G. Ecton and Shaun M. Dougherty write for Brookings: Increasing the diversity of students in Ph.D. programs is crucial to creating a pipeline of future researchers and educators in the nation’s system of higher education. College faculty remain far less racially and ethnically diverse than both college students and the national population as a whole. As of 2017, only 24% of the nation’s postsecondary faculty were nonwhite, compared to 45% of students – Focus on finances to promote doctoral student diversity
– Ted Piccone writes for Brookings: The global pandemic has dramatically impaired the lives of millions of people around the world. It has also dealt a body blow to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, at a time when these values were already in decline – Rule of law takes a big hit during COVID-19
