KNOWLEDGE CENTER
Arbiters of Truth in the Digital Age
By: Creating Future Us June 23, 2020 There has been much ado recently about whether social media platforms are, or should be gatekeepers of information, thereby acting as arbiters of truth. Currently, platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, WeChat, Weibo and Tiktok perform several functions that arguably do install them squarely in the gatekeeper seat: Content …
Covid-19 & Black Lives Matter show why companies have to dynamically govern from the front
By: Di Rifai – Published by Reuters Ethical Corp June 10, 2020 To survive the pandemic and other tectonic shifts of the 2020s, there needs to be a radical rethink in governance practices, including the current structure of four to six board meetings a year, argues Di Rifai of Creating Future Us. The digital age …
Technology Shards – Can Digital Age Governance Deliver Innovative Solutions?
By: Creating Future Us July 28, 2020 To a greater degree than any other sector, technology companies are facing rising forces propelling them towards a more fragmented future – a trend we highlighted in our New Year’s letter. Can Digital Age governance deliver innovative solutions to address these forces, with positive cost-benefit outcomes? The days …
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Is China’s Effort to Mass Collect DNA the Future of Policing?
By: New York Times July 24, 2020 For several years now, the police and other authorities in China have been collecting across the country DNA samples from millions of men and boys who aren’t suspected of having committed any crime. In a report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute last month, we exposed the extent of …
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A Crispr Calf Is Born. It’s Definitely a Boy
By: Wired July 24, 2020 HE CALF WAS late. His due date, March 30, had come and gone. At first, Alison Van Eenennaam chalked it up to male calves tending to arrive a day or two on the tardy side. As the week wore on, the animal geneticist reminded herself that gene-edited embryos—like the one that had been …
Morgan Stanley blocks remote network access for China interns
By: Financial Times July 23, 2020 Morgan Stanley is taking an extra security step that singled it out from other global financial companies. While a large number of workers around the globe have had to work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, interns in China haven’t had the same access. The company is blocking its interns in China from accessing …
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US investors try to buy TikTok from Chinese owner
By: Financial Times July 23, 2020 A group of US tech investors has launched an ambitious plan to buy TikTok from its Chinese owner, as the popular short video app tries to escape being banned by the White House. The investors, led by the venture capital firms General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, are in discussions …
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Facebook to investigate claims its algorithms are discriminatory
By: The Gurdian July 22, 2020 Facebook is launching an investigation into whether its algorithms discriminate against minority ethnic groups, after internal protests forced the company to reassess the possibility that its machine learning systems could have picked up on real-world bias. The company’s new “equity and inclusion” teams will be tasked with assessing the algorithms …
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Virtualisation Kills Industrial Age 9-5, 5-Day Workweek
By: Creating Future Us July 21, 2020 It’s increasingly clear that Working From Home is going to become A – if not – the norm, post-Covid 19. Not only will it be a valuable boon for businesses in terms of avoided medium term costs, but it’s equally popular with a large swath of workers. This …
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TikTok’s UK headquarters in doubt amid US pressure
By: BBC July 19, 2020 TikTok’s plan to base its international HQ in the UK has been thrown into doubt following pressure by Washington over the Chinese firm’s future in the US. ByteDance, owner of the video sharing app, has had talks with the government about basing its HQ in London. But the US is …
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World faces staggering jobs challenge, says Microsoft president
By: BBC July 18, 2020 The world is facing a staggering jobs challenge with a quarter of a billion people set to lose their job this year, the president of Microsoft has said. Brad Smith says millions will need to learn new skills to get jobs, or even to hang on to their old one, …
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Palantir Technologies – An ESG-worthy IPO?
By: Creating Future Us July 14, 2020 As Palantir confidentially files to go public, responsible investors might viably ask: Is this a company that has credible ESG credentials inviting participation, if it proceeds with its IPO? Considering that Palantir Technologies has been highly secretive about its activities to date, it’s challenging to determine all of …
US asset managers set to fight proposals on ESG investments
By: Financial Times July 10, 2020 Asset managers are gearing up for a battle with the Trump administration over a new proposal that threatens investors’ ability to incorporate environmental, social and governance principles into pension portfolios. Late last month, the Department of Labor proposed a new rule that would require private pension administrators to prove …
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Virus projects renew questions about UAE’s mass surveillance
By: AP News July 09, 2020 Efforts by the United Arab Emirates to fight the coronavirus have renewed questions about mass surveillance in this U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms. Experts believe the UAE has one of the highest per capita concentrations of surveillance cameras in the world. From the streets of the capital of Abu …
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Axa IM to implement tough gender diversity targets
By: Financial Times July 09,2020 AXA Investment Managers SA said it will implement a 33% diversity target in a bid to address gender diversity issues in its companies globally. The target is meant for listed companies in developed market economies, starting in 2021. At least one-third of boards in developed market economies like North America, …
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Virtual Salon from Singularity – Want Not: The Great Global Food Waste Disruption
By: Singularity University July 09, 2020 Surplus and waste are among the most pressing problems facing (and opportunities for disruptive thinking around) the global food supply. Environmentally, economically, municipally, and ethically, it grows consistently as one of the great challenges of our time. In this Next:Food virtual salon, we’ll explain how this problem is created, …
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Facebook decisions led to serious setbacks for civil rights – report
By: The Guardian July 08, 2020 Facebook’s decisions over the last nine months have resulted in “serious setbacks for civil rights,” according to the damning conclusion of a two-year-long audit commissioned by the social network to review its impact on the world. The final report, which focuses primarily on decisions made since June 2019, praises …
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E-Commerce – An ESG Winner or Loser?
By: Creating Future Us July 7, 2020 The growth in e-commerce over the past four months of Covid-19 has been meteoric. Online retail sales, in March alone, saw 74% growth in average transaction volumes year-on-year. In the US and Canada, the year-on-year growth in retail e-commerce as of mid-April was 146%. Conversion rates have skyrocketed to levels …
Microtargetting by all and sundry – Cambridge Analytica style
By: AP News July 06, 2020 The Spanish-language ads for Joe Biden used the same slogan to contrast him with President Donald Trump — “los cuentos no pagan las cuentas,” a play on words that roughly means “telling stories won’t pay the bills.” But the narrator for the version that aired in Miami had a …
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Palantir IPO
By: Financial Times July 06, 2020 Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley data start-up, said on Monday that it had filed to go public, setting up one of the largest public listings of a technology start-up since Uber made its debut last year. Palantir is one of the tech industry’s most valuable private companies, with a valuation of $20 …
Big Tech’s Washington hearing will be a spectacle for the ages
By: Financial Times July 03, 2020 Strength in numbers — or guilt by association? When Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg appear together to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers in the coming weeks, it could be a watershed moment for Big Tech. Their appearance before a House committee looking into whether Amazon.com …
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Zoom investment shines light on woman behind Li Ka-shing’s tech bets
By: Financial Times July 02, 2020 Li ka-shing, hong kongs undisputed dealmaking master, made about 30bn in assets over the past ten years, spanning retail, energy and infrastructure. their sons victor and richard have carved on their reputations for sealing billion-dollar buyouts world wide. Nevertheless elder mr lis financial investment in videoconferencing team zoom, whoever …
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Facebook Upended by Digital-Age Social Governance
By: Creating Future Us June 30, 2020 Last week we wrote about Mark Zuckerberg’s intransigence with respect to arbitration (i.e. policing ads and content) on Facebook and the lack of proper governance at Facebook. We hope we contributed to the resulting boycott that has been gathering impressive pace since Friday. We appreciate how Unilever explained …
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Zoom investment shines light on the woman behind Li Ka-shing’s tech bets
By: Financial Times June 30, 2020 Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s undisputed dealmaking king, has made about £30bn in investments over the past decade, spanning retail, energy and infrastructure. His sons Victor and Richard have carved out their own reputations for sealing billion-dollar buyouts around the globe. But the elder Mr Li’s investment in videoconferencing group …
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Effort to crack Big Tech’s legal shield gains bipartisan momentum
By: Roll Call June 30, 2020 Bipartisan support for a pair of Senate bills that would force social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to change their content moderation policies could mark a turning point in Washington’s ongoing efforts to maintain greater control over Silicon Valley. Both Republicans and Democrats have frequently criticized a …
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Peers call for tougher regulation of digital and social media in UK
By: The Guardian June 29, 2020 Ministers are being urged to toughen up the regulation of digital and social media because “a pandemic of misinformation and disinformation” is eroding trust in politics and public institutions. A House of Lords committee on democracy and digital technologies, chaired by the film producer and Labour peer David Puttnam, …
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Unilever to pull ads from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook through end of the year
By: The Hill June 26, 2017 Unilever, which controls brands including Dove soap and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, announced Friday that it is pulling brand advertisements from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook until “at least” the end of 2020. The decision was made after several other major companies pulled advertisements from Facebook as part of an advertising boycott called for by …
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Michigan is trying to make it illegal for companies to put microchips in their employees
By: Futurism June 26, 2020 Michigan lawmakers just introduced a bill that would ban employers from implanting their workers with microchips — unless, of course, the worker in question volunteered. In recent years, a growing number of companies have explored the idea of tagging their employees with subdermal, rice-sized RFID chips. Companies defend the chips as a …
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Business Roundtable Encourages Multilateral Resolution of Digital Tax Issues
By: New York Times March 28, 2017 “Business Roundtable has long supported a multilateral solution to tax issues arising from the digitalization of the economy. We commend the important work undertaken by the United States and its partners in the OECD and the Inclusive Framework toward international tax rules that reduce uncertainty and promote cross-border …
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