Here are a few I came across last week.
Note: Each link is followed by a title and few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/most-significant-mergers-and-acquisitions-2021
The most significant mergers and acquisitions of 2021
Some of the biggest names in healthcare and technology – athenahealth, Allscripts, Microsoft, Nuance and, of course, Oracle and Cerner – made big news with big-ticket deals this past year.
By Mike Miliard
December 31, 2021 09:00 AM
It's been a big year for wheeling and dealing in the healthcare IT space, that much is for sure. And the biggest of all happened just days before the calendar flipped over, with Oracle's landmark $28.3 billion acquisition of Cerner.
That one, naturally, sits atop our list of some of the biggest and boldest M&A deals of 2021. Be sure to stay tuned in 2022 as we continue to explore what its ripple effects will be for those companies and their customers.
1. Oracle acquires Cerner
The Wall Street Journal first had the scoop, the weekend before, noting that a big acquisition might be in the offing and that the the sheer size of the deal would be Oracle's biggest buy ever – triple the size of its 2005 PeopleSoft deal.
When it was officially announced the following Monday, leaders from the two companies touted their combined ability to "provide our overworked medical professionals with a new generation of easier-to-use digital tools that enable access to information via a hands-free voice interface to secure cloud applications," according to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said, and enable "connected, high-quality and efficient patient care" (as Cerner CEO Dr. David Feinberg said).
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Fitch Gives Oracle Negative Rating Following Plans to Acquire Cerner
Fitch Ratings expressed concern about Oracle’s debt reduction plans after its announcement to acquire EHR vendor Cerner but noted the benefits of Oracle expanding into the healthcare industry.
December 30, 2021 - Following Oracle’s agreement to acquire EHR vendor Cerner, Fitch Ratings has placed the corporation on rating watch negative as Fitch’s previous debt reduction expectations for the transaction have changed.
Oracle recently announced its plans to acquire Cerner through an all-cash tender offer of $28.3 billion in equity. The company said that it hopes to address clinician burden, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient privacy and outcomes through the acquisition of the EHR vendor.
However, Cerner has an outstanding debt of approximately $1.8 billion, according to Fitch. In 2020, the company generated $5.5 billion in revenue, EBITDA of $1.7 billion, and post dividend free cash flow of $635 million. Oracle’s proposed acquisition transaction values Cerner at 17.5x EBITDA.
“Fitch's ratings are supported by the expectation that Oracle will reduce its debt at a pace aligned with its debt maturities and use its excess cash for shareholder returns or acquisitions,” Fitch wrote. “The announced agreement to acquire Cerner could result in the company deviating from its previous plan to reduce its debt to $76 billion by FY2022.”
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HSCA Releases Cybersecurity Guidelines for Medical Device Manufacturers
The Healthcare Supply Chain Association released guidelines for medical device manufacturers and providers regarding cybersecurity and patient privacy.
By Jill McKeon
December 30, 2021 - The Healthcare Supply Chain Association (HSCA) released guidance for medical device manufacturers and healthcare providers concerning cybersecurity and patient privacy practices.
HSCA is a trade association that represents healthcare group purchasing organizations (GPOs) across the US with the goal of advocating for fair procurement practices and education to improve efficiency in the purchase and sale of healthcare goods and services, its website states.
HSCA’s new cybersecurity guidance involves four main categories of consideration: cybersecurity training and software, equipment acquisition standards and risk coverage, data encryption, and information sharing and standards organizations.
The guidance provided tips for both healthcare organizations and medical device manufacturers to identify red flags before doing business with a new vendor or organization. It is crucial that third-party vendors hold themselves to strict cybersecurity standards to ensure patient data privacy.
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https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/articles/what-technology-needs-to-achieve-in-healthcare-in-2022
What technology needs to achieve in healthcare in 2022
With hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will be managed and under control, healthcare organizations need to play catch-up in making digital progress.
Dec 30 2021
For healthcare, it’s been a challenging two years of bailing out the boat to keep things afloat. The future still appears challenging and clouded.
But looking ahead to the end of 2022 (forever the optimist here), what will healthcare organizations have under control by that point?
Various advances with technology over the last two years – and hopefully, a path through the coronavirus forest – will require the industry to catch up on initiatives that were put on hold or were not the focus of attention.
In addition, some of the advances made and efficiencies gained through the use of technology must be built upon. Healthcare was forced to revamp dramatically because of the pandemic, and the industry can’t afford to backslide on the progress it’s discovered in some areas.
So where does healthcare need to be at the end of the New Year? What gains must be made by December 2022? Here are some thoughts.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/expert-offers-depth-look-conversational-ai-and-its-vendors
Expert offers in-depth look at conversational AI and its vendors
Manu Aggarwal of the Everest Group explains how the technology can help both caregivers and patients, and offers health IT leaders some valuable advice.
By Bill Siwicki
December 30, 2021 01:04 PM
Companies in a variety of industries are leveraging conversational artificial intelligence to better serve customers and support employees. Some healthcare provider organizations are using conversational AI to help caregivers and patients.
The technology is being used in healthcare for such things as patient chatbots, medical triaging and patient support, patient data management and access, and access to medical services.
Healthcare IT News recently sat down with Manu Aggarwal, a partner in Everest Group's business process services practice. Everest Group recently evaluated 20 vendors in the conversational AI field and classified them as leaders, major contenders and aspirants in the firm's PEAK Matrix framework.
Here, Aggarwal explains the workings of conversational AI and reveals some of the findings of his firm's vendor evaluation.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/survey-finds-healthcare-execs-bullish-ai
Survey Finds Healthcare Execs Bullish on AI
Analysis | By Eric Wicklund | December 30, 2021
Optum's fourth annual survey on artificial intelligence in healthcare finds that nearly every executive either has an AI strategy or is planning one, and almost half are already using AI technology.
A new survey from health insurer Optum finds that almost half of healthcare executive respondents are using artificial intelligence, while roughly 85% say they have a strategy in place.
The Optum Survey on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Care, the fourth annual installment from the UnitedHealth Group business unit, found that 98 percent of the 500 senior healthcare industry executives surveyed either have an AI strategy or are planning one, and 96% believe AI will play an important role in targeting health equity.
How they’re using AI is a different matter. Some 72% of respondents say they trust AI to support administrative processes that would otherwise be handled by clinicians, thereby allowing providers to spend more time on patients and patient care. When asked about using AI in clinical care, 41% said they were excited about the potential for AI in virtual patient care, while 40% saw a future in diagnoses and predicting outcomes and 36% saw potential in medical image interpretation.
“This year’s survey findings continue to validate how the responsible use of AI can help health systems strengthen and scale essential functions and reduce administrative burdens, all of which helps clinicians focus on their core mission of patient care,” Rick Hardy, chief executive officer of Optum Insight, the data and analytics business within Optum, said in a press release. “We share their enthusiasm for AI, but more importantly, we look forward to combining our healthcare expertise with AI to help people — patients, physicians, and those working behind the scenes — as that is where the real value is delivered.”
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31% of Older Americans Worry Telehealth Not as Effective as In-person Care
Having a prior relationship with their provider and having the option to exchange emails or direct messages with them can help alleviate older adults' telehealth concerns, according to a survey.
By Anuja Vaidya
December 29, 2021 - Close to a third of older Americans remain concerned about the efficacy of telehealth visits as compared with in-person care, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and funded by the SCAN Foundation, polled 1,000 adults, aged 50 years and older, between Nov. 12 and 15.
Though telehealth use remained popular in 2021 — with 62 percent of respondents reporting using the care modality in November, up from 56 percent who said the same in March — older adults cited several concerns with virtual visits.
About 31 percent of respondents said they were worried that receiving care via telehealth was not as effective as a traditional in-person visit. They also cited concerns regarding not having a personal relationship with their doctor (29 percent), the security of health information (17 percent) and running into technical issues (16 percent).
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Cybersecurity in 2022: password-less authentication, zero trust, blockchain and more
Manoj Srivastava, a cybersecurity expert at Kaseya, offers a view ahead at a variety of security technologies important to the year ahead.
By Bill Siwicki
December 28, 2021 10:00 AM
Nearly a third of hospitals and health systems are planning to implement biometrics (29%), digital forensics (28%) or penetration testing (28%) within the next 24 months, according to new HIMSS research. (HIMSS is the parent company of Healthcare IT News.)
However, 43% say funding is keeping their organizations from executing on security challenges they have, the research shows. This is not good as healthcare remains a primary target of cyber criminals.
So Healthcare IT News has interviewed a cybersecurity expert to get his views on where healthcare cybersecurity will be headed in 2022. Manoj Srivastava is general manager of security, ID Agent and Graphus at Kaseya, a vendor of IT management software.
Q. What do you see on the horizon in 2022 when it comes to technological advances in healthcare cybersecurity?
A. There are at least three technological advances that will apply to healthcare cybersecurity and across other industries as well. They are password-less authentication, secure access service edge (SASE) and zero trust.
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One Possible Model For A VR-Based Primary Care Practice
December 29, 2021
With Facebook purportedly moving towards being part of the metaverse, a new proposed 3D iteration of the Internet, I’ve been thinking a lot about how such an environment would impact healthcare delivery.
Given that over the past two years most of my medical visits have been via telemedicine anyway, it’s been natural to begin to think about how it would be if I was completely immersed in virtual environments. My conclusion is that the right VR environment could quite possibly deliver care more smoothly than either offline or traditional telemedicine services could.
Below, I’m going to describe what I would consider to be an ideal setup for virtual reality-based primary care practice. I’ve deliberately decided not to dig into existing medical VR environments, but rather just describe what might work best for me as a patient.
First, I’d start by checking in with a virtual receptionist, probably an avatar with advanced AI-driven features. Its capabilities would include the ability to guess what questions or concerns you have and display related prompts.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/6-clinical-care-trends-2022
6 Clinical Care Trends for 2022
Analysis | By Christopher Cheney | December 29, 2021
HealthLeaders asked one of the top chief medical officers in the country to gauge trends for clinical care next year.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· Nursing has been a flashpoint for workforce shortages in 2021, but physician shortages will also likely become acute in 2022.
· Keeping up with coronavirus variants in 2022 will likely become an exercise in "whack-a-mole" at healthcare organizations.
· The growth of artificial intelligence in healthcare is expected to accelerate in the next year.
Workforce shortages will be the most significant clinical care trend in 2022, according to the chief medical and scientific officer of Novant Health.
In addition to serving as chief medical and scientific officer at Novant, Eric Eskioglu, MD, is an executive vice president at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based health system. His background also includes practicing as a neurosurgeon and working as a former aerospace engineer at Allied-Signal Aerospace and Boeing.
In a recent interview, HealthLeaders asked Eskioglu about the top clinical care trends for 2022. The following is a lightly edited transcript of his comments.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/why-2022-could-be-year-zero-trust-healthcare
Why 2022 Could Be the Year of Zero Trust in Healthcare
Analysis | By Scott Mace | December 29, 2021
Network segmentation, strong authentication, and detecting unusual network behavior can slow attackers already inside your network
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· A May 2021 Presidential Executive Order directed critical infrastructure providers to adopt the principles of zero trust.
· A security consultant says healthcare computer systems definitely fall within the definition of critical infrastructure.
· Reducing implicit trust zones and minimizing reliance on older security technology such as traditional VPNs can aid in threat detection and prevention through methods such as flagging unusual network user behavior.
After a year of debilitating ransomware attacks and a presidential order partly in response, healthcare faces a cybersecurity call to action in 2022: Adopt the principles of zero trust.
According to NIST Special Publication 800-207, Zero Trust Architecture, published in August 2020 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, zero trust security models assume that an attacker is present in the environment and that an enterprise-owned environment is no different—or no more trustworthy—than any non-enterprise-owned environment.
The importance of zero trust grew in 2021 as President Biden on May 12 signed Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” to support US cybersecurity efforts and protect the critical infrastructure and federal government networks underlying the economy.
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AMA Encourages Health App Developers to Implement “Privacy by Design”
AMA released guidance for health app developers to help them navigate health data governance and equitable digital health data collection.
By Jill McKeon
December 28, 2021 - The American Medical Association (AMA) released a guide on data governance and equitable digital health data collection for health app developers to reference as they navigate the new age of health data sharing. The guide supplements AMA’s “Privacy Principles,” which were released in 2020 to help health app developers understand their role and responsibility when it comes to patient privacy.
Health app developers often fall into a regulatory gray area when it comes to data collection and use. Certain health apps may collect as much sensitive information as traditional healthcare providers, but they are not bound to HIPAA.
In September 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) aimed to tackle this problem by releasing a policy statement affirming that health apps and connected device companies that collect health information must comply with the Health Breach Notification Rule.
The policy statement raised new considerations as to what entities can be defined as healthcare providers under the rule and what the FTC considers a data breach to be.
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Breast MRI dataset aims to support research, machine learning
Studies of 922 patients include images and supporting documentation that helps provide a full picture of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes.
Dec 27 2012
Machine learning and artificial intelligence initiatives are dependent on the quality and consistency of information fed into advanced computing systems that help them “learn.”
To do a better job of advancing this process with breast cancer, a wide range of imaging and supporting clinical documentation from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies is being made available to advance understanding of the disease.
A dataset of 922 breast cancer patients treated at Duke Hospital has been made publicly available for machine learning and clinical research, thanks to The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA), a service that de-identifies and hosts a large archive of medical images of cancer accessible for public download.
TCIA was created and originally hosted by Washington University in Saint Louis, but was relocated in 2015 from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University to the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
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The healthcare crisis that technology can’t solve – too few hands of care
The ongoing COVID pandemic has pushed nurses, doctors and healthcare providers beyond human capacity, and everyone will pay the price for years to come.
Dec 27 2021
As is tradition (and the easy way out), it’s not unusual for editors in late December to pontificate about prognostications for the New Year. Many times, we write upbeat, hopeful soliloquies that make bold, sometimes crazy, predictions about the year ahead.
And while Health Data Management leans to the hopeful side about what technology can accomplish, that will not be this column.
Instead, I want to take a moment to reflect on a crisis that is likely to beset the industry for years, dragging down performance, jeopardizing patient outcomes, patient care, patient safety and, in worst-case scenarios, could result in massive care delivery issues and countless, unnecessary deaths.
It is a problem that no amount of technology can solve; no number of bricks-and-mortar structures will ameliorate. Artificial intelligence can’t help it, nor can any magical efficiency gains.
It’s this – a beaten down, overburdened, overwhelmed workforce facing an overload of death-dealing sickness that doesn’t have an end in sight.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/wider-ehi-scope-compliance-tap-2022-onc-offers-clarity
With wider EHI scope compliance on tap for 2022, ONC offers clarity
"There’s no need to wait until October 6. Anyone ready to share more than the USCDI v1 is welcome and encouraged to do so as permitted under applicable law."
By Mike Miliard
December 23, 2021 10:29 AM
Leaders from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT offered some help for healthcare organizations who will face broader information blocking compliance in 2022 – specifically with regard to the sharing of electronic health information, or EHI.
In a blog post, Kathryn Marchesini and Michael Lipinski offer providers, certified health IT developers and health information networks/exchanges some clarity on a deceptively simple question: "So, what is EHI anyway?"
This past year, of course, ONC's information blocking regulations took effect on April 5. But to give those covered entities a phased-in way of compliance, the info blocking rules covered only a subset of EHI – specifically information represented by the data elements identified byUnited States Core Data for Interoperability v1.
"A USCDI data element is the most granular level at which a piece of data is represented in the USCDI for exchange (e.g., patient date of birth, medications, or procedure note)," note ONC officials.
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https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/information-blocking/say-hi-to-ehi
Say Hi to EHI
Kathryn Marchesini and Michael Lipinski | December 20, 2021
ONC’s information blocking regulations apply to interferences with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI) (45 CFR Part 171) and define certain exceptions to the definition of information blocking. Thus, it’s important that those subject to the information blocking regulations – health care providers, developers of certified health IT, and health information networks/exchanges (cumulatively, “actors”) – understand what health information the regulations cover. So, what is EHI anyway?
What’s EHI?
EHI is defined as electronic protected health information (ePHI) to the extent that it would be included in a designated record set (DRS), regardless of whether the group of records are used or maintained by or for a covered entity. The EHI definition incorporates terms (ePHI and DRS) defined by the regulations (Rules) issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (generally referred herein as HIPAA). The definition of EHI, however, specifically excludes psychotherapy notes as defined in the HIPAA Rules and information compiled in anticipation of legal proceedings, which is consistent with the individual “right of access” standard in the HIPAA Rules. EHI relies on the electronic part of what the HIPAA Rules define as the DRS. The use of terms defined by the HIPAA Rules (“HIPAA-defined terms”) provides familiarity for the health care industry and consistency across regulations.
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Oracle Acquisition Of Cerner Sets Stage For More Big Health IT Buyouts
December 28, 2021
As most readers know, Oracle Corp. recently agreed to acquire EHR giant Cerner for about $28.3 billion. Oracle has stated that it intends to leverage its existing tools to modernize Cerner’s systems and move them to its Gen2Cloud, a step which shouldn’t be too difficult given that Cerner already runs its key clinical system on an Oracle database.
This is reportedly the biggest acquisition in Oracle’s history and probably the biggest healthcare IT buyout by a tech giant on record as well.
The deal follows a couple of smaller but also significant healthcare acquisitions, including Amazon’s $753 million purchase of online pharmacy PillPack in 2019 and Microsoft’s $19.7 billion acquisition of Nuance Communications earlier this year.
I’m not surprised that Amazon was the first Big Tech player to see that it couldn’t outflank its way into the healthcare business. Amazon has proven time and again throughout its history that when it’s ready to dig into a market, it buys its way in. (The e-tailer’s acquisition of Whole Foods is just one example.)
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/artificial-intelligencecollaborationaimstoimprove-alzheimers-care
Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Aims To Improve Alzheimer’s Care
By leveraging data on artificial intelligence, consumer informatics, and aging, the University of Pennsylvania’s Collaboratory will aim to improve Alzheimer’s care.
December 27, 2021 - The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, the Perelman School of Medicine, and other departments across the university are working together to create the Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech).
PennAITech will explore the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies to improve in-home care for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. According to the research team, the collaboration will leverage extensive data and expertise in artificial intelligence, consumer informatics, and aging.
The collaboration is being led by George Demiris, PhD, FACMI; Jason Karlawish, MD; and Jason Moore, PhD, FACMI.
“Aging in place is a priority for most older Americans. This goal can be challenged by chronic illness including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. We need innovative solutions that will help us detect risks, address disparities, support decision- making and improve access to care,” DemirisI said in a press release.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/roundup-multiple-healthcare-orgs-report-cyber-attacks
Roundup: Multiple healthcare orgs report cyber attacks
CompuGroup Medical worked to get internal systems back online after a ransomware attack, while healthcare providers in West Virginia and Texas notified hundreds of thousands of individuals about information breaches.
By Kat Jercich
December 27, 2021 08:13 AM
CompuGroup Medical, a medical software vendor, reported that it had been hit with a ransomware attack leading to what the company described as a "technical failure."
In a notice posted to its website on December 20 at 4:50 p.m. Eastern Time, the company said that the attack affected the availability of some internal services, such as email and phones.
At that point, CompuGroup said it had no indication the attack had impacted customer systems or data – a point it reiterated in a post the next day.
By December 22 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, the company said it had made progress in remediating disruptions to services. Over the course of the day, said CompuGroup, it had been able to set up emergency telephone numbers and replacement email addresses for customer support purposes.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/25/national-patient-ids-privacy-526096
Idea of national patient IDs revives privacy fight
Its ultimate fate is still tied to uncertainties surrounding the appropriations process and an overdue report on the benefits and risks from HHS’ health information tech office.
By BEN LEONARD
12/25/2021 07:00 AM EST
Advocates of unique IDs to match patients to their health records may be close to lifting a decadeslong congressional ban on using federal funds to develop the system.
The effort, long mired in broader debates over patient privacy, gained steam this fall when the Senate for the first time left the ban out of a fiscal 2022 spending package. But its ultimate fate is still tied to uncertainties surrounding the appropriations process and an overdue report on the benefits and risks from the Department of Health and Human Services' health information technology office that could influence the system's design.
“Whenever you propose anything that sort of resembles national ID, then what happens is that the ACLU will jump down your throat from the left and then the Red Dawn people jump down your throat from ... the Libertarian right,” said Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), who has led efforts to drop the ban with Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.). The two lawmakers last month urged HHS’ health IT agency to publish its report, which was due a year ago.
The ID is a number that health providers would use to match and manage patient information and, for example, help distinguish patients with the same name. Unique identifiers have been billed as a way to reduce clinical mix-ups and improve patient safety and data sharing, while fortifying a patchwork medical privacy system. The United States is an outlier among developed countries in not having a universal patient identifier, experts say.
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Enjoy!
David.
4 comments:
Editorial https://www.theage.com.au/national/leaders-must-show-clarity-and-compassion-if-we-are-to-beat-covid-20220108-p59ms3.html seems to be mouthing the words "health information technology to the rescue ... please!". But the facts on the ground - starting with the latest garble of citizens phoning in their RAT results to a State-based data repository - spells out how far away is a useful national collection of health data. Could have started 30 years ago with States porting their Births-Deaths-Marriages-etc data to federal citizens bureau, but here we are - floundering, while political pygmies pit State against State for banal partisan ends. There's a Giant looming below the horizon - who wants a first peep at its silhouette?
(Apologies if this offends utopian ideals.)
The "Giant looming below the horizon" is, IMHO, population growth, a subject that no politician wants to even raise. They would rather natural disasters fix the problem, than make tough decisions about dealing with it. Economic and political theory only works with constant growth. Where does the money to fund global contractions come from?
Technology isn't the answer, its the problem. It amplifies what humans do, which is to go forth and multiply - so you can include religion in the mix.
Happy new year, we've only got a few left - at least of the type we call normal.
Are you suggesting technology won't save us all? If you aren't, you should be.
Just look at what's happened to the internet. All those bright eyed, wet behind the ears technologists who forecast how good the world would be with access to all that information have been proven wrong by those nutters who have gamed the system.
The internet has been poisoned by the ignorant and the stupid. Governments who think that automation, AI and ML will make their jobs easier are in for a shock. It will take a lot of people to make sure the technology works properly - just look at the way China polices their enclave.
A prime example is the electronic health record - not MyHR, proper ones. They are increasing the work load on health professionals, both inputting and reading the mass of data, the value of which has still to be identified and demonstrated.
Is the government still pretending that their app COVIDSafe is still being used?
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