International News in Brief: Bill Passed on Sharing of Health Information in Singapore; National EHR in Guyana, Spain to Improve...
Singapore passed a Health Information Bill requiring all licensed providers to share key patient data via a national EHR, with cybersecurity safeguards and a 2027 rollout. Guyana launched a national EHR that includes online appointments and imposes hefty fines for data breaches, aiming to cut waiting times and digitise records. The UNDP is facilitating a Zambia‑India partnership to build interoperable, open‑source medicine traceability systems. Spain is consulting on a Royal Decree to make waiting‑list data transparent and analytically accessible for primary care.
JT/DL: ICE's Surveillance State; the Doorbell Cam Problem; Tracking Court AI
In this episode, the hosts examine ICE’s expanding surveillance apparatus, highlighting recent reports of AI-driven errors, school‑camera collaborations, and the revocation of a Global Entry after facial‑scan detection. They also discuss the broader privacy concerns surrounding doorbell cameras and Iran’s...
SOCOM: The Speedboat the Services Built
The episode examines how USSOCOM’s acquisition model delivers combat capabilities in months rather than decades by embedding operators and acquisition professionals together, recruiting seasoned service acquisition officers, and maintaining a small, flat decision structure. It highlights concrete examples such as...
Executive Vice-President Virkkunen in India for Summit on Artificial Intelligence
Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen will represent the European Union at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, underscoring the EU’s push for stronger AI cooperation with India. She will lead an industry roundtable on AI skills and talent mobility...
Queen Victoria Hospital Paves the Digital Way for Treating Patients in Minor Injuries Unit
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has rolled out the Archie electronic patient record (EPR) system in its Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), marking a rapid digital transformation. Within three months, the MIU recorded 16,465 annual patient visits and achieved a...
The German Digital Healthcare Act (DVG) at Seven Years: Review of the DiGA Ecosystem and Its Impact on European Health...
Seven years after Germany’s Digital Healthcare Act (DVG) introduced the world’s first reimbursement pathway for digital health apps, the DiGA ecosystem has matured from speculative beginnings to a €234 million market serving nearly one million prescriptions. The fast‑track approval process accelerated...
Strategic Commissioning Plan for Leicestershire and Northamptonshire ICBs Notes Digital to Transform Population Health, Neighbourhood Health, and Prevention
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB and Northamptonshire ICB have released a five‑year strategic commissioning plan to 2031 that places digital and data at the core of population health, neighbourhood health and prevention initiatives. A new digital and data strategy...
The Missing Layer in Smart Waste Systems: Resident Engagement
The Senate passed the bipartisan STEWARD Act to expand recycling infrastructure and modernize data collection. While the legislation improves physical assets, it overlooks the human element that ultimately determines curb‑side success. Residents often face confusing, localized rules, leading to contamination...
IOCO Goes Desert Storming with Saudi Arabia Cloud Expansion
Johannesburg‑listed iOCO is expanding its cloud practice in Saudi Arabia through a partnership with Amazon Web Services. The move targets Saudi government agencies and enterprises as the kingdom pushes its Vision 2030 digital modernization agenda. iOCO will invest in local delivery...
Commission Launches Investigation Into Shein Under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against fast‑fashion giant Shein under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The probe targets Shein’s addictive design features, opaque recommender‑system algorithms, and the sale of illegal items, including child sexual abuse material. Regulators will...
Two Years of Digital Services Act Allows 50 Million Content Moderation Decisions by Platforms to Be Reversed
The EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) has enabled users to overturn nearly 50 million content‑moderation decisions in its first two years. About 30% of the 165 million appeals filed through platform internal mechanisms have been reversed, showing the law’s enforcement strength. In...
Planning Inspectorate Expands Digital Appeals Service
The Planning Inspectorate will extend its digital Appeal a Planning Decision platform to cover enforcement, enforcement listed‑building and lawful‑development‑certificate appeals starting 26 February 2026. The rollout follows a pilot with Cornwall Council, Havering and Brent, which validated the system’s functionality. New features...
Digital Permits 2026: From Regulatory Mandate to Industrial Excellence
The RavaBIM 2026 seminar examined Finland’s shift from PDF‑based permitting to mandatory BIM/IFC submissions, highlighting both regulatory progress and lingering gaps in standards and technical capacity. Panelists stressed that regional disparities, especially among smaller municipalities and modest design firms, demand focused...
Cambodia's Payment System Outsourced Abroad Threatens Sovereignty
🇰🇭#Cambodia's payment infrastructure: Outsourced to overseas vendors, platforms and foreign-owned banks. How to maintain the country's sovereignity?
HMRC Offers Nudge Tool via MTD Software as Providers Cite ‘Need to Educate Customers’
HMRC has introduced the Assist nudge tool within the Making Tax Digital (MTD) Income Tax Self‑Assessment beta, delivering data‑driven reminders through accredited software. A recent trial of similar nudges generated an extra £27 million in revenue, and the department plans to...
FOI Is Arming Cyberattackers – Here Is How to Fix It
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on cybersecurity governance are exposing a stark inconsistency in public‑sector disclosures. Large NHS trusts and other big bodies tend to refuse or invoke national‑security exemptions, while smaller organisations often provide granular details. This uneven approach...
Treasury Chief: ‘AI Can Relieve Staff of Lower-Value Work’
HM Treasury senior official Beth Russell told the Treasury Committee that the department is actively deploying artificial intelligence to handle routine administrative tasks and support policy work. The Treasury has introduced an HR chatbot, is piloting Microsoft Copilot with 25%...
AI Is Getting Scary Good at Making Predictions
Artificial intelligence has surged up the ranks of elite forecasting tournaments, moving from obscurity in 2024 to challenging top human forecasters. These contests span geopolitics, economics, and pop culture, measuring pure predictive skill rather than domain expertise. Simultaneously, AI is...
Ireland Launches ‘Large-Scale Inquiry’ Into Musk’s AI Bot Grok
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has opened a large‑scale GDPR inquiry into Elon Musk’s X over its AI tool Grok, which has been linked to a surge of sexualized deepfakes, including images of minors. Regulators estimate Grok produced three million non‑consensual...
Singapore: Expanding Community Support for Digital-Age Parents
Minister of State Rahayu Mahzam opened Phase 2 of the First Device Campaign, a new effort by TOUCH Cyber Wellness to provide community‑based support for parents navigating children’s digital lives. The initiative moves beyond online guides, offering hands‑on workshops and peer‑learning...
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The Bank of England is spearheading a sovereign payment system to challenge Visa and Mastercard’s dominance in the UK. A dedicated industry group will receive detailed infrastructure blueprints next year, outlining the technical and regulatory framework. The initiative aims to...
Identity Is the New Perimeter for State Government Cybersecurity
State and local governments are shifting from perimeter‑based defenses to an identity‑first security model, as highlighted in the State CIO Top 10 Priorities for 2026. The article argues that who a user—or nonhuman account—is matters more than where they connect,...
Telefónica Tech Promotes Digital Identity Management in the Insurance Sector in Spain
Telefónica Tech is launching a unified digital identity platform for Spain’s insurance sector, enabling secure, self‑sovereign access to digital services. The initiative builds on a 2023 European trial and integrates cloud, IoT, big‑data and blockchain capabilities. Partnering with the insurance...
Md. FD Whole Blood Program Saves 14 Lives Since Inception
Carroll County, Maryland launched a Whole Blood Program in May, enabling paramedics to carry and transfuse 500‑ml Type O‑positive units on scene. The initiative has saved 14 lives and been used 17 times, with 100% survival for internal hemorrhage cases...
EU Tech Enforcer Tells Officials Not to Be Scared by US Threats
EU Digital Services Act (DSA) enforcer Prabhat Agarwal urged regulators and civil‑society groups not to be intimidated by recent U.S. actions that exposed their identities and barred some from entering the United States. He highlighted the Commission’s commitment to protect...
FDNY Receives $9M to Modernize Firehouses and Build EMS Training Center
Federal officials secured a $9 million grant to modernize firehouses on Staten Island and Brooklyn. $5 million will fund a new EMS classroom facility, cutting travel time for trainees, while $2 million upgrades Squad Company 8’s station to accommodate larger crews and equipment. An...
Online Harms: Millions Could Be Forced to Use Unregulated Age Verification
The UK government plans to embed Henry VIII powers in the Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill, enabling a rapid ban on social media for under‑16s via statutory instrument. Simultaneously, it will broaden mandatory age‑verification for social media, VPNs and AI chatbots,...
Cubbit Powers Swiss Cantonal-Level Sovereign Cloud for Ailanto
IT integrator Ailanto announced a sovereign cloud service for Swiss organizations built on Cubbit’s DS3 Composer software‑defined object storage. The offering launches with 1 PB of capacity hosted in Swiss‑based data centres and will expand later in 2026. It provides S3‑compatible,...
Embedding Strategic Foresight Into Strategic Planning: A Conversation with Professor Bert George.
In this episode, host Michael J. Keegan talks with Professor Bert George about the fundamentals of strategic foresight and how it can be woven into an organization’s strategic planning and management processes. George explains the core concepts of foresight, the...
How Global Digital Cooperation Entered Its Implementation Phase
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the WSIS+20 outcome document in December 2025, cementing a ten‑year architecture for global digital governance aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Digital Goals. Coupled with the Global Digital Compact adopted at the 2024 Summit of...
The Data Checkup: A Framework for Assessing the Health of Federal Datasets
The Data Checkup framework, launched by dataindex.us, offers a systematic way to evaluate the health of federal datasets across six risk dimensions. It moves beyond simple URL monitoring to assess historical and future availability, quality, statutory context, staffing, funding, and...
Machine Digital Souls
In this episode, host Brett King chats with futurist Cecilia Tham about the convergence of science, design, and business to create products and services that don’t yet exist. Tham explains how Futurity Systems delivers Futures‑as‑a‑Service, helping corporations and governments move...
TomTom Partners to Support Data-Driven Mobility and Infrastructure Planning
TomTom has entered a strategic partnership with engineering firm AECOM to embed TomTom’s high‑resolution mobility data into AECOM’s global planning workflows. The collaboration gives AECOM access to precise traffic, safety and congestion insights, enabling more accurate, data‑driven decisions for road...
Keir Starmer Vows to ‘Tackle’ Social Media Infinite Scrolling
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a UK consultation on children’s online safety, targeting addictive social‑media features such as infinite scroll and autoplay. The three‑month review could lead to swift regulatory action, including a possible ban for under‑16s, though a full...
City of Atlanta Modernizes Constituent Services with Oracle Permitting, Licensing, and Embedded AI
The City of Atlanta announced an expansion of its partnership with Oracle and Deloitte to deploy Oracle Permitting and Licensing (OPAL) across planning, zoning, code enforcement and inspections. The new ATLcloud Permitting solution builds on the city’s existing Oracle Fusion...
CISA Gives Feds 3 Days to Patch Actively Exploited BeyondTrust Flaw
U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has ordered all federal agencies to patch the actively exploited BeyondTrust Remote Support vulnerability (CVE‑2026‑1731) within three days. The flaw, an OS command‑injection that enables unauthenticated remote code execution, affects Remote Support 25.3.1...
Home Office Previews Plan to Appoint £100m Partner to Manage Datacentres
The Home Office has issued an early‑engagement notice for a £102 million hosting capability supplier contract to manage its on‑premises datacentre estate. The agreement is slated to commence in December 2026 with an initial three‑year term, covering 24/7 operational support, maintenance, engineering...
New Government Commercial Agency to Launch on 1 April
The UK government will merge the Crown Commercial Service with central commercial teams in the Cabinet Office to form the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) on 1 April. The new agency will operate as a self‑sustaining trading fund, led by CCS chief...
DVSA Seeks £95K Digital Chief to Steer Test Booking System Out of the Ditch
The UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is recruiting a chief digital and information officer with a £95,000 salary to overhaul its 18‑year‑old practical test booking platform, which has been plagued by bots and resale schemes. A National Audit...
UK Councils Prioritise Connectivity but Lack Impact Data
Four‑in‑five UK councils now list digital connectivity as a top local priority, with gigabit broadband and rural inclusion driving the agenda. Yet nine‑in‑ten admit they cannot quantify the economic or social returns of improved connectivity, and 70% would like formal...
Large-Scale Pilots of AI and GenAI for Medical Imaging
The European Commission will launch a call for proposals on 21 April 2026 to fund two large‑scale pilots that deploy cloud‑based AI and generative AI for medical imaging, allocating €9 million under the Digital Europe Programme. The pilots target real‑world clinical settings,...
Everdrone to Deploy Emergency Response Drones in Stockholm
Everdrone and the Ambulance Services Administration in Region Stockholm have signed an agreement to roll out an autonomous emergency‑response drone system. The drones will transport defibrillators to suspected cardiac arrests and deliver early situational awareness at accident scenes. Placement of...
India Can Lead Globally in AI: Ahead of Delhi Summit, CEA Nageswaran Explains How
Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran told the AI Impact Summit 2026 that India’s ascent to a global AI leadership position will not happen by accident. He emphasized that sustained political will, robust state capacity, and a national commitment are...
Natural England Uses Aerial Survey Technology for Seabird Flight Data
Natural England’s Reducing Seabird Collisions Using Evidence (ReSCUE) project is deploying LiDAR‑enabled aerial surveys to map seabird flight heights across UK offshore waters. The 12‑month campaign, running September 2025 to August 2026, will conduct 20 surveys in the North Sea, Irish Sea...
AI, the SEC, and the 2026 Reporting Season | The D&O Diary
The SEC announced an AI Task Force led by a newly appointed Chief AI Officer to centralize responsible AI integration across the agency, backed by a 2025 AI Compliance Plan aligned with OMB guidance. This internal effort signals a durable,...
Aided by AI, California Beach Town Broadens Hunt for Bike Lane Blockers
Santa Monica will become the first U.S. city to equip its parking enforcement fleet with Hayden AI’s scanning technology, deploying the system on seven vehicles to spot illegal bike‑lane blockages. The AI captures a ten‑second video and license plate only...
GSA Aims to Publish Results on USAi Program, Official Says
The General Services Administration announced it will publish documentation on the USAi program, detailing how federal agencies are testing and deploying artificial‑intelligence tools. Chief AI Officer Zach Whitman said the agency will release a six‑month performance report and form a...
NOAA Nears Rollout of Its Modernized National Spatial Reference System
NOAA's National Geodetic Survey is nearing completion of the modernized National Spatial Reference System, which integrates GPS and GNSS to replace the legacy NAD83 and NAVD88 datums. The new system will deliver centimeter‑level accuracy, streamline surveying, and cut costs for...
Who’s in Charge of AI at Every Federal Agency
Federal agencies are rapidly appointing chief artificial intelligence officers (CAIOs) to comply with President Biden’s 2023 AI executive order and a 2025 Trump administration memo that mandates AI leadership. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has also launched a...
#715 How Not to Engage Historically Marginalized Communities with Chyanne Eyde, Washington, DC
In this episode, Deputy Chief of School Planning Chyanne Eyde discusses the pitfalls of public outreach to historically marginalized communities in Washington, DC, highlighting how missteps have hampered school boundary planning. She outlines specific challenges—such as tokenism, limited access to...