It’s Friday again, so it’s time to take a look at what you may have missed in the world of technology outside healthcare.
Here are five interesting general technology stories from the past seven days that people in healthcare should pay attention to. These issues could have an impact on health tech in the future.
“Predictive Technology May Be Powerful, but It’s No Crystal Ball” (eMarketer)
Transforming the OR: CEO Reveals Game-Changing AI Tech for Better Efficiency
How Apella leverages technology to increase OR efficiency.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence [AI] are the bright, shiny objects surrounding predictive technology, and companies get caught up in the lure of something that’s sexy, new and innovative. But before they can do predictive marketing, they have to do predictive modeling and analytics, which lies in the [data].
Data from various customer touchpoints as well as third-party data must be brought into a centralized location, normally a data management platform. Once the data is clean, it can be used to build a model of successes and failures that will predict which actions have a higher propensity to succeed.
“iPhone 7 Leak Confirms New Advanced Technology” (Forbes)
This will be the first iPhone to ship with dual-lens technology, which can offer improved low-light performance, different levels of physical zoom in the lens, and the ability to use depth analysis to improve post-processing on the image. LG’s handset business already ships a dual-lens camera in its G5 smartphone, so the company has experience with these optics. How Apple optimizes the hardware into its own software chain will be an interesting comparison when the 7 Plus is released.
“Twitter Resets Passwords After Stolen Data Appears on Dark Web” (PC Magazine)
Enhanced Direct Enrollment: Georgia Access and the Power of Partnership
Across the nation, state-based health insurance exchanges are searching for ways to better serve their communities while making enrollment easier, more personal, and more accessible for everyone.
Twitter on Friday announced it has reset an unspecified number of accounts after tens of millions of user credentials were discovered on the dark Web.
The microblogging service reiterated that the leak did not result from a hack of its servers. Instead, the hackers amassed the stolen credentials by combining information from other recent breaches and via password-stealing malware on victims’ machines. …
The site also recommends that users enable login verification, its two-factor authentication tool. Coates called this “the single best action you can take to increase your account security.”
“Lenovo unveils augmented reality smartphone using Google’s Project Tango” (USA Today)
Lenovo has been working with Google for about a year on Tango, which has elements of augmented reality and virtual reality. Google has been selling a $512 Tango development kit tablet to phone manufacturers, and Lenovo claims a six-month headstart over rivals.
“Whole industries will be wiped out by new technology, warns Bank of England’s Mark Carney” (The Telegraph)
The Bank chief concluded: “Your generation will determine how well the world commercializes fundamental breakthroughs in areas such as new energy technologies, biotech and fintech.
“And your generation will determine whether we maintain the social capital for shared prosperity consistent with the values of this university and country.”
The Governor’s comments echoed a speech made by Andy Haldane, the Bank’s chief economist, who last year warned that nearly half of all British jobs could be performed by robots in the years ahead.
Photo: Flickr user pasukaru76