ISSG - International Studies of Strategic and Geopolitics

Data governance, AI among the past year’s analytics trends

27Dec

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Data Governance, Cybersecurity & Technology

Data governance, AI among the past year’s analytics trends

Organizations recognized data governance as an enabler of self-service BI and a way to keep data safe as well as that AI is best used to augment humans rather than replace them. Data governance was one of the major trends that shaped analytics in 2022. Data governance isn't glamorous like augmented intelligence, machine learning or natural language processing. It's the grunt work of analytics. But after many organizations suddenly realized the importance of data-informed decision-making at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic -- and have continued to recognize its value as world events like the war in Ukraine and repeated supply chain disruptions have resulted in ongoing economic uncertainty -- data governance is starting to be a critical need. Some organizations hastily deployed...

Germany planning new strategy in Africa to compete with China

26Dec

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Africa, Europe

Germany planning new strategy in Africa to compete with China

Germany intends to replace 'Marshall Plan with Africa' with new strategy to keep Germany in race for Africa against China. BERLIN With a new strategy for the African continent, Germany is preparing to compete against China in search of energy, raw materials, and new markets. In the "Dark Continent," which is remembered for its poverty, the capital problem, drought, and never-ending domestic turmoil make Africa's struggle for industrialization difficult, but the rich mineral deposits and young population continue to attract the attention of developed countries. This increased interest in the continent also leads to an increase in competition between countries. It is noteworthy that Chinese, Turkish, Italian and Indian investments in African countries have increased in recent years, on...

Can geoengineering fix the climate? Hundreds of scientists say not so fast

26Dec

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Climatic Change

Can geoengineering fix the climate? Hundreds of scientists say not so fast

The Biden administration is developing a controversial solar geoengineering research plan to the dismay of many experts. s global heating escalates, the US government has set out a plan to further study the controversial and seemingly sci-fi notion of deflecting the sun’s rays before they hit Earth. But a growing group of scientists denounces any steps towards what is known as solar geoengineering. The White House has set into motion a five-year outline for research into “climate interventions”. Those include methods such as sending a phalanx of planes to spray reflective particles into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, in order to block incoming sunlight from adding to rising temperatures. The work is required by Congress. It is “not new research, but a report that highlights some...

The PLA’s Strategic Support Force and AI Innovation

26Dec

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Technology and Innovation

The PLA’s Strategic Support Force and AI Innovation

In recent years, as progress in artificial intelligence (AI) has accelerated, nearly every major power has pledged to develop advanced AI capabilities and effectively integrate AI into their armed forces. Yet none have pursued those efforts as purposefully as China. Not only has Beijing issued an ambitious plan to make China the world’s leading AI power by 2030, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has unveiled an aggressive innovation-driven strategy for the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Likewise, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the CCP, has consistently emphasized China’s commitment to AI development and “intelligent warfare”– most recently in his landmark report this fall to the 20th Party Congress. If China’s strategic ambitions for AI are clear...

NATO approves 2023 strategic direction for new innovation accelerator

26Dec

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Military Technology

NATO approves 2023 strategic direction for new innovation accelerator

On 12 December 2022, the Board of Directors of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) agreed that energy resilience, secure information sharing and sensing and surveillance will be the priority areas of focus for DIANA’s work on Emerging and Disrupting Technologies (EDTs) in 2023. The three areas make up the backbone of DIANA’s Strategic Direction for 2023. The Strategic Direction will drive the identification of DIANA’s first defence and security challenges, for which dual-use technological solutions must be found. “This strategic direction gives the DIANA Executive clear guidance on the development of pilot programmes that we will launch in Spring 2023. These programmes will benefit both civilian and military communities” commented David Van Weel, DIANA’s...