Mediaboss Marketing

Georges Aoude and Karl Jeanbart are co-founders of Derq, a software development company that provides cities and fleets with an AI-powered infrastructure platform for road safety and traffic management that supports the deployment of autonomous vehicles at scale.

While in-vehicle technology for autonomous vehicles gets substantial attention, service providers and municipalities are just starting to discuss the road infrastructure technology that supports AVs and provides other traffic management benefits.

With advancements in artificial intelligence and 5G network connectivity, smart-road infrastructure technologies offer the promise of improving real-time traffic analytics and tackling the most challenging road safety and traffic management problems when theyre added to roads, bridges and other transit systems across the U.S.

Two technologies at the center of this discussion are AI-enhanced cameras and lidar: light detection and ranging devices.

The U.S. has hundreds of thousands of traffic cameras millions when you also count closed-circuit TV cameras used mainly for road monitoring and basic traffic management applications, such as loop emulation. Bringing the latest AI advancements to both cameras and data management systems, these assets can immediately improve basic application performance and unlock more advanced software applications and use cases.

AI and machine learning deliver superior sensing performance over legacy cameras computer vision techniques. By using algorithms that can automatically adapt to various lighting and weather conditions, they enable more robust, flexible and accurate detection, tracking and classification of all road users distinguishing between a driver, pedestrian, and cyclist on or surrounding the road. In addition, their predictive capabilities can better model road-user movements and behaviors and improve road safety. Transportation agencies can immediately benefit from AI-enhanced cameras with applications such as road conflict detection and analysis, pedestrian crossing prediction and infrastructure sensing for AV deployments.

Lidar can provide complementary and sometimes overlapping value with cameras, but in several safety-critical edge cases, such as in heavy rain and snow or when providing more granular classification, our experience has been that cameras still provide superior results. Lidar works better in challenging light conditions and for providing localization data, but todays lidar technology remains expensive to deploy at scale due to its high unit price and limited field of view. For example, it would take multiple lidar sensors deployed in a single intersection, at a hefty investment, to provide the equivalent information of just one 360-degree AI-enhanced camera, which is a more cost-effective solution.

For many budget-focused communities, AI-enhanced cameras remain the technology of choice. Over time, as the cost of lidar technology moderates, communities should consider whether to augment their infrastructure with lidar sensors.

As the cost of lidar technology comes down, it will become a strong and viable addition to todays AI-enhanced cameras. Ultimately, the go-to approach for smart infrastructure solutions will be sensor fusion the ability to combine data from both cameras and lidar in one data management system, as is happening now in autonomous vehicles to maximize the benefits of both to improve overall traffic flow and eliminate road crashes and fatalities.

SOURCE: Derq*Assumes presence of IR or good low-light sensor**Expected to improve with time

Contributed pieces do not reflect an editorial position by Smart Cities Dive.

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AI-enabled cameras and lidar can improve traffic today and support the AVs of tomorrow - Smart Cities Dive

The newMeta Immersive Learning Academy (MILA) will enable beginner and professional AR and VR creators to build their skills and capabilities. Singapore will be the first country to launch MILA in the region.

Meta has introduced two new programmes and two curriculum updates under the 2022 edition of its Upskill initiative, the company'slargest training initiative in Singapore.

Announced at a launch event attended byHuman Resources Onlineon Tuesday (14 June 2022), the programmes are namely:

Upskill is an initiative targeted at students, job seekers, working professionals, academics, and businesses, run by Meta and supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Enterprise Singapore (ESG), and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG). As part of this, the four above-mentioned programmes will run in phases from June 2022.

Commenting on the initiative, Damian Kim, Singapore Managing Director, Meta, said on Tuesday: "We are extremely encouraged by the reception we've seen for Upskill since its 2021 launch, and in just over a year, our initiatives have benefited more than 3,600 individuals and 300 SMEs.

"This is why we are proud to announce the four new upskilling initiatives today, as we continue to play an active role in supporting Singapores talent. To unlock the potential for our communities to use emerging technology to live, work and play, we need to invest in skills development and training. These new initiatives will further provide the Singapore community and local businesses not only with invaluable skills, but also enable them to find and create jobs and industries of the future."

"With the metaverse expected to add S$1tn to the APAC economy by 2031 and the need to increase Singapores digital workers to 1.2mn up 55% from current levels by 2025, Metas investment in these new initiatives is the companys contribution to ensure Singapores workforce has the necessary skills to participate in the next evolution of the internet," it was noted in a press release.

"Singapores burgeoning creators ecosystem will also receive a boost from MILA, which will help spearhead the next generation of creators to earn the necessary certifications to build a career in AR and VR."

In the same vein, Minister of Communications and Information Josephine Teo, who was present at the event, affirmed: "A future-ready workforce helps a nation seize growth opportunities, benefitting individuals and society. One area of growth is digital. In Southeast Asia, the digital economy is expected to more than double in size between end-2021 and 2025, according to a report by Google, Bain, and Temasek.

"Without the right skill sets, some workers will lose their relevance and find themselves in a very difficult position. With the right skill sets, those very same workers could thrive and bring a whole new lease of life to their careers, and invigorate their family circumstances and uplift the community that they are a part of."

Meta Immersive Learning Academy

Meta Career Programs: Software Engineering Professional Certificates

Meta Career Programs Job Board

Meta Boost

About the programme

The Meta Immersive learning Academy (MILA) offers a complete journey for anyone keen to explore the rapidly growing field of extended reality (XR) technologies. It is designed to deploy educational programmes such as the Spark AR Curriculum, which teaches creators how to build AR experiences using Spark AR.

Today, this ranges from AR effects that are applied to people and objects, and are increasingly applied to places and spaces in the world around us. The ILA also features a creators ecosystem that allows the next generation of creators to earn the necessary certifications to build a career in augmented reality, have a chance to be mentored by industry experts, participate in real life briefs, and monetise and market their Spark AR creations.

Meta provides 200 scholarships for Singaporean learners targeting entry-level software engineering learners regardless of education, background no degree or experience necessary. Our current career credentialing programmes are for anyone who wants to launch their career as a front-end developer, back-end developer, ios developer, android developer, and database engineer.

In these learning programmes, learners will be guided through each step to ensure they master the core skills at their own pace. They will also build on-the-job experience through hands-on projects that will help them land their next job.

The Meta Career Programs Job Board is an exclusive job search platform that connects Meta certified professionals with 200+ top employers who have committed to sourcing talent through Meta Career Programs.

Meta Career Programs offers free online courses where learners can gain in-demand digital skills in high-growth fields and earn an industry-recognized credential. 87% of certified learners experienced improved knowledge.

By sourcing talent through this Job Board, employers can also tap into a pool of highly-qualified candidates from diverse and inclusive backgrounds. 79% of employers say certified employees produce higher quality work.

The Meta Boost programme aims to provide free educational workshops and is designed to empower local businesses and communities with digital skills that can help them engage successfully.

The programme includes a range of digital formats that can be used to help deliver education and diverse perspectives from partners and businesses.

This years programme includes a range of webinars and a mentoring programme for local SMEs. The mentorship will cover social and digital marketing capabilities as well as crucial growth areas such as product development, HR, and finance.

Students and entry-level working professionals and career-switchers seeking to develop software engineering skills Scholarship eligibility requirements:

An initial 200 slots will be open.

Meta certified professionals who are looking to launch their career in the tech industry in Singapore.

Companies looking to hire Meta-certified tech talent in Singapore.

ALSO READ:Facebook's Singapore MD emphasises on work ethic and drive every single day of the week

Lead image / Journalist's own, taken at the Upskill 2022 launch event on 14 June 2022

[Pictured fromL-R Clara Koh, Head of Public Policy, Singapore and ASEAN, Meta; Damian Kim, Singapore Managing Director, Meta; Josephine Teo,Minister of Communications and Information; Aisyah Aman Aljunied, Upskill 2021 Graduate, and Rajeshpal Singh, Director of Government Affairs& Strategic Partnerships, SGTECH.

Human Resources Online is on Telegram! Follow us@humanresourcesonlineorclick herefor all the latest weekly HR and manpower news from around the region.

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An immersive learning academy, new certification programme for software engineers, and more: Meta's Upskill 2022 initiative - Human Resources Online

[co-author: Wolfram Ott]*

On May 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance addressing the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employers utilizing software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence in hiring and employment decisions. Produced in connection with the EEOCs launch of its Initiative on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness in October 2021, the EEOCs latest guidance reflects its goal of ensuring that employers utilizing technology in hiring and employment decisions are complying with federal civil rights laws. Notably, the guidance was issued a few days after the EEOC filed a complaint against a software company alleging age discrimination, potentially signaling similar actions related to the use of artificial intelligence in the employment context. Below are some key takeaways on the new guidance.

Scope and Definitions

The guidance implicates a broad range of technologies commonly utilized by employers including software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence:

Employers may use tools that include a combination of these terms. For example, an employer may utilize resume screening software that incorporates an algorithm created by human design or an algorithm that is supplemented by AI analysis of data.

Ways in Which Algorithmic Decision-Making Tools may Violate the ADA

The guidance discusses the three most common ways that an employers use of algorithmic decision-making tools could violate the ADA. This includes the following:

Employer Responsibility for Vendor Technology

Importantly, the EEOC guidance states that employers are generally responsible for the discriminatory effects of software utilized in the hiring process even when the software is utilized by third-party on behalf of the employer.

Best Practices for Employers

The EEOC offered so-called Promising Practices for employers seeking to ensure compliance with the ADA. These recommendations provide helpful suggestions about ways in which employers may protect themselves against claims of disability discrimination. Those recommendations include to:

Key Takeaways

May marked the first new developments out of the EEOC relating to AI since the launch of the Initiative on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness. This new guidance provides much needed insight on how the EEOC will enforce the ADA with respect to AI going forward. Employers should utilize the provided Promising Practices to ensure compliance, and avoid possible liability.

Because this issue is still developing, we will continue monitoring developments in this area and provide updates as new information becomes available.

*Wolfram Ott is a summer associate in the Labor and Employment group and assisted with the drafting of this article.

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EEOC Issues Guidance Regarding How Employer Software and Artificial Intelligence May Discriminate Against Individuals With Disabilities - JD Supra

Japan has updated its penal code to make insulting people online a crime punishable by a year of incarceration.

An amendment [PDF] that passed the House of Councillors (Japan's upper legislative chamber) on Monday spells out that insults designed to hurt the reader can now attract increased punishments.

Supporters of the amended law cite the death of 22-year-old wrestler and reality TV personality Hana Kimura as a reason it was needed. On the day she passed away, Kimura shared images of self-harm and hateful comments she'd received on social media. Her death was later ruled a suicide.

Three men were investigated for their role in Kimura's death. One was fined a small sum, and another paid around $12,000 of damages after a civil suit brought by Kimura's family.

Before the amendment, Japanese law allowed for 30 days inside for insults, or fines up to 10,000 ($75). The law now permits up to a year inside and imposes a ceiling of 300,000 ($2,200) on fines.

The law has been given a three-year sunset clause a reflection of debate about its possible chilling effect on free speech.

After the amendment was passed, Japan's Justice Ministry was asked if the change was appropriate given international efforts to exclude defamation from criminal law and ensure it cannot result in incarceration, and if Japan's efforts to protect online rights might therefore harm its reputation for human rights. A Ministry spokesperson rejected the possibility of that outcome.

Other nations have taken a different approach to curbing insulting online speech, with measures that compel platforms to take down posts that draw complaints, or that require the unmasking of anonymous trolls.

Australia recently floated a bill that would allow those defamed online to compel material to be taken down an extension of a court ruling that found the comments section on articles could make publishers liable for commenters' remarks. That bill was not passed before an election at which Australia's government changed, leaving its future in doubt.

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Japan makes online insults a crime that can earn a year in jail - The Register

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A service that helps open source developers write and test software is leaking thousands of authentication tokens and other security-sensitive secrets. Many of these leaks allow hackers to access the private accounts of developers on Github, Docker, AWS, and other code repositories, security experts said in a new report.

The tokens give anyone with access to them the ability to read or modify the code stored in repositories that distribute an untold number of ongoing software applications and code libraries. The ability to gain unauthorized access to such projects opens the possibility of supply chain attacks, in which threat actors tamper with malware before it's distributed to users. The attackers can leverage their ability to tamper with the app to target huge numbers of projects that rely on the app in production servers.

Despite this being a known security concern, the leaks have continued, researchers in the Nautilus team at the Aqua Security firm are reporting. A series of two batches of data the researchers accessed using the Travis CI programming interface yielded 4.28 million and 770 million logs from 2013 through May 2022. After sampling a small percentage of the data, the researchers found what they believe are 73,000 tokens, secrets, and various credentials.

"These access keys and credentials are linked to popular cloud service providers, including GitHub, AWS, and Docker Hub," Aqua Security said. "Attackers can use this sensitive data to initiate massive cyberattacks and to move laterally in the cloud. Anyone who has ever used Travis CI is potentially exposed, so we recommend rotating your keys immediately."

Travis CI is a provider of an increasingly common practice known as continuous integration. Often abbreviated as CI, it automates the process of building and testing each code change that has been committed. For every change, the code is regularly built, tested, and merged into a shared repository. Given the level of access CI needs to work properly, the environments usually store access tokens and other secrets that provide privileged access to sensitive parts inside the cloud account.

The access tokens found by Aqua Security involved private accounts of a wide range of repositories, including Github, AWS, and Docker.

Aqua Security

Examples of access tokens that were exposed include:

The following graph shows the breakdown:

Aqua Security

Aqua Security researchers added:

We found thousands of GitHub OAuth tokens. Its safe to assume that at least 10-20% of them are live. Especially those that were found in recent logs. We simulated in our cloud lab a lateral movement scenario, which is based on this initial access scenario:

1. Extraction of a GitHub OAuth token via exposed Travis CI logs.

2. Discovery of sensitive data (i.e., AWS access keys) in private code repositories using the exposed token.

3. Lateral movement attempts with the AWS access keys in AWS S3 bucket service.

4. Cloud storage object discovery via bucket enumeration.

5. Data exfiltration from the targets S3 to attackers S3.

Aqua Security

Travis CI representatives didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment for this post. Given the recurring nature of this exposure, developers should proactively rotate access tokens and other credentials periodically. They should also regularly scan their code artifacts to ensure they don't contain credentials. Aqua Security has additional advice in its post.

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Credentials for thousands of open source projects free for the takingagain! - Ars Technica