Welcome back to the September edition of the CoTalent Tech Review. A round-up of the most exciting trends and developments shaping the tech landscape in Australia and around the world.
Great Keppel Island releases an ambitious cryptocurrency plan, Airbnb sues NYC and Toyota backs Uber on self-driving cars. This month’s round-up highlights the tensions and opportunities emerging from developments in the world of technology.
Toyota makes US$500m bet on Uber to build self-driving cars
Toyota is investing US$500 million in Uber in a joint effort to build self-driving cars. The partnership will see Uber’s autonomous driving system combined with Toyota’s Guardian technology, which offers automated safety features, but doesn’t enable cars to drive completely autonomously. Uber said the technology will be in Toyota’s Sienna minivans and deployed across it’s ride-hailing network from 2021.
Learn more about the partnership on Reuters.
US, China & Australia lead the way on blockchain projects
Research has revealed that the US, China and Australia are considered the most advanced countries for blockchain development. PwC surveyed 600 executives in 15 countries globally about their development of blockchain and their views on its future potential. A full 84% of the executives surveyed said they have blockchain initiatives underway, while 15% say they are fully live. Trust and regulatory uncertainty were identified as the biggest blockers of blockchain adoption.
Could cryptocurrency resurrect Great Keppel Island?
Queensland’s Great Keppel Island could become a cryptocurrency micro-economy, under a new plan to revive the island’s flagging fortunes. A cryptocurrency consortium is offering investors the chance to buy cryptocurrency tokens, which will be used to fund a $300 million re-development of the island. Under the ambitious plan, the tokens would be backed by the value of the development, which includes a luxury resort, private villas, a golf course and retail outlets. Investors will be able to trade the tokens on existing cryptocurrency exchanges.
Learn more about the plans on Sydney Morning Herald.
Local tech vendors ‘average’
More than half (54%) of the C-suite tech execs surveyed by CIO in Australia say tech vendors are providing an ‘average’ service, with a further 11% rating it as ‘poor’. They listed short-term profit motives, a ‘charge for time’ mentality and lack of interest in understanding their business as issues. Smaller partners lacked the investment to keep up with rapidly evolving needs.
Airbnb sues New York City over data collection
Airbnb is suing New York City, claiming that a new law, which will force the platform to disclose information on its hosts, is unconstitutional. New York City recently passed the legislation in an attempt to regulate short-term rentals, which are considered to drive up rents and housing availability in the high-demand market. It follows action taken by other global cities, including Barcelona and Paris, to limit short-term rentals
Read the details of the lawsuit on Fortune.
Google Go can read to you
Google has launched a website reading feature for Google Go. The light search app can now read content in more than two dozen languages, making it especially useful for anyone with a vision impairment, or who likes to listen to long form articles, news and web content.
Find out more about the new feature on the Google blog.
Facebook’s Oculus takes VR to classrooms
Oculus VR, which is owned by Facebook, will soon distribute Rift and Go headsets to classrooms in Seattle, Taiwan, and Japan. The pilot programs will see VR headsets gifted to public libraries, museums and schools. The aim is to help train teachers on how to use VR in education and collect feedback that will help Oculus better understand the role of the technology in classrooms.
Learn more about the initiative on The Verge.
At CoTalent, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of the tech industry and think it’s important that you do too! Stay tuned for our next CoTalent Tech Review round-up next month.
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