Hardware

Amazon Echo: Child Labour Concerns

Reports of a 2018 investigation by China Labour Watch (CLW) into the Amazon Echo manufacture at the Hengyang Foxconn factory show that the recruiting of young interns from vocational schools could mean that the Amazon devices are made with the help of child labour.

Schools Providing Workers For Night Shifts

The report of the investigation by New York-based non-profit group CLW claims that a number of interns from schools and colleges were brought in to work night shifts and if they were unwilling to work overtime or night shifts, the factory would arrange for teachers to pressure those workers. The report also claims that if those interns refused to work overtime and night shifts, the factory requested teachers from their schools to sack them from the job.

In addition to the night shift work, the report claims that young interns were required to work ten hours a day, including two hours of overtime, and to work six days a week.

Which Schools and Colleges?

The report claims that schools sending interns to work at the Hengyang Foxconn factory which manufactures Amazon Echo devices included Sinosteel Hengyang Heavy Machinery Workers Technical College, Hengyang Technician College, Hengyang Vocational Secondary School, Hengyang Industrial Workers College, and Hengnan County Technical School.

Teachers and Schools Paid

The worrying report also claims that teachers assigned to the factory put immense pressure on interns and sometimes resorted to violence and aggression against interns.  Teachers who helped at the factory are reported to have received a 3000 RMB ($425) subsidy from the factory, with their school receiving 3RMB ($0.42) for every hour an intern worked.

Dispatch Workers

The report also claims that the factory had hired a high number of dispatch workers, violating Chinese labour law.

13 Violations Listed

The report lists 13 violations that Amazon has allegedly made at the factory including interns working night shifts and overtime, and interns having to keep their heads down at their workstation for an extended period while doing repetitive motions.

What Does Amazon Say?

Amazon has been reported as saying that it is investigating the allegations and has sent representatives to the factory site as part of that investigation.  Amazon is also keen to promote the fact that it has a supplier Code of Conduct, and that suppliers are regularly assessed in relation to this.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Child labour is generally a feature of the world’s poorest countries, where, according to UNICEF, around one in four children are engaged in work that is potentially harmful to their health.  For example, International Labour Organisation (ILO) figures show that almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be found in Africa, 62.1 million in the Asia and the Pacific, and 10.7 million in the Americas.

Sadly, labour laws in China are not as strictly enforced as in other countries, and although Foxconn may be keen to promote the idea that internships at the factory are the way for young people to gain practical work experience, the report’s allegations of children working long hours and nightshifts while being pressured by teachers doesn’t appear to fit in with that picture.

While most of us like to purchase lower-priced goods, we are often unaware of how they were made and at whose expense. Companies need to keep costs down, but child labour is something that most businesses would actively avoid and is something that consumers certainly do not like the idea of.  These allegations, therefore, could have a negative impact on Amazon, thereby adding to some its other recent troubled headlines such as reports last year of Amazon’s profits trebling while its UK tax bill was significantly reduced, and how on Amazon’s Prime Day sale this year, thousands of their workers protested at sites around the world demanding better working conditions.

Brain Implants That Link Humans To Computers

Head of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, has announced that human brain implants that can link directly to devices could be a reality within a year.

Neuralink

The implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) that Mr Musk talked about recently to the California Academy of Sciences audience in San Francisco will be known as a ‘Neuralink’.  Mr Musk believes that the operation to insert such an implant could be low risk and as affordable and non-invasive as laser eye surgery and would only require a short visit to a doctor rather than a hospital stay.

Why?

The main reason why Mr Musk has developed the Neuralink implant is as a possible way to counter the threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming so far ahead of human thinking that it could pose a real threat to the existence of the human species.

Mr Musk believes that although humans now have access to large amounts of information via our devices, limitations such as the speed at which we can type could see us fall behind AI.  The ability to have a near-instantaneous, wireless communication between brain and computer via an implant would, therefore, give humans the chance to keep up with AI and, eventually, merge with AI to create access to superhuman intelligence and allowing a symbiotic relationship with AI.  The implant would, therefore, be a kind of ‘upgrade’ to enable our brains to compete with AI.

Another practical reason for the Neuralink implant and its ability to interface with computers could be to help tackle diseases.  For example, the version one Neuralink is capable of around 10,000 electrodes, which is 1,000 times more than the current FDA-approved systems for helping patients with Parkinson’s Disease.

AI Already Trusted

People are now getting more used to the benefits of AI which has led to increased trust in the technology in recent years.  For example, back in September 2017, research from US CRM and strategic applications company Pegasystems found that 60% of UK people would use more AI if it saved them time and money and that 68% of UK consumers would use software robots for banking services. Many consumers in the survey found that the ‘artificial’ aspect was, in fact, a positive because it meant that there was impartiality.

Chip Implants

The idea of implants to humans with technology is not new.  For example, back in 2018 the UK firm BioTeq revealed that it had already fitted 150 implants to people in the UK (between their thumb and forefinger) to enable them to quickly carry out tasks such as open doors, access offices or start cars with a wave of their hand, and also to store important medical data.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

AI brings many time and money-saving benefits to businesses, which is one of the reasons why, for example, Microsoft is investing $1bn in San Francisco-based company OpenAI (of which Elon Musk was an investor) for its work on artificial general intelligence (AGI). However, the threat of AI becoming too intelligent to the point of endangering its creators is, in fact, a real one.

For the time being, however, there are other concerns for businesses and individuals related to the possible threat of AI.  For example, the threat of how to effectively counter AI cyber-attacks should be a concern to businesses. Also, this month, the SB 1001 bot law comes into effect in California which means that it is now unlawful for a person or entity to use a bot to communicate or interact online with a person in California in order to incentivise a sale or transaction of goods or services or, indeed, as a way to influence votes in an election without disclosing that the communication is via a bot.

AI is, therefore, an evolving area with many possible opportunities and threats, the largest and perhaps most obvious of which has been highlighted by Elon Musk and others who would like to ensure that AI becomes our harmless problem-solving servant rather than our unstoppable master and enemy.

London Underground To Get 4G Next Year

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that from March 2020, 4G rollout will begin across the London Underground network, thereby allowing customers, for the first time, to check emails and travel information, use social media, and stream music and video uninterrupted.

First Section

The first section of the network to get a trial of full mobile connectivity within station platforms, tunnels, ticket halls and corridors from March 2020 will be the eastern half of the Jubilee line (between Westminster and Canning Town).  This will help to remove one of the most high-profile mobile ‘not-spots’ in the UK, and to fulfil an important ambition of Mayor Khan to improve digital connectivity in public spaces, stations and right across London’s transport network.

Although free Wi-Fi is already offered by TfL within more than 260 Wi-Fi-enabled London Underground stations and on TfL Rail services, the trialling of 2G, 3G and 4G mobile services along this first section will mark the beginning of a push to boost digital connectivity across London and to tackle the city’s main areas of poor connectivity.  TfL also hopes that the trial work on connecting this first section of the Underground will also give TfL and mobile operators valuable experience of delivering mobile connectivity there ahead of awarding a concession to deliver mobile coverage across the whole underground network, starting from summer 2020.

What’s Been The Problem?

One of the main reasons why mobile connectivity in the London Underground network has been challenging is because of the many old and narrow tunnels, which weren’t built to allow space to install mobile connectivity equipment, and have twists that can make it more difficult for signals to pass through them. The fact that there are now 24-hour tube services may also prove to be a challenge to any engineering staff who need access to the tunnels.

Benefits

The benefits of having mobile (4G) connectivity across the London Underground will include potentially boosting the capital’s productivity and improving the experience of those living and working in and visiting London.

Work

It is estimated that the work to provide connections across the London Underground network could involve the use of over 1,200 miles of cabling. It has been reported that the engineers working on the project will work weeknight shifts in order to minimise any disruption to passengers.

What Will This Mean For Your Business?

The London Underground handles an estimated 5 million passenger journeys per day, and the fact that the network has suffered from a lack of connectivity may have come at a huge cost to businesses over the years as workers can’t receive travel updates and suffer frequent delays, and working people have been simply unavailable and essentially cut-off while travelling through one of the world’s leading modern capital cities. The connectivity work, beginning in key areas from March 2020 should improve the productivity of London and of businesses based there, as well as improving the experience of those living and working in London.

For mobile networks, this represents a significant business opportunity as, once the equipment installed, they will be able to pay the private operator for access to that network. TfL will also benefit from adding connectivity infrastructure by receiving a cut of the profits.

MPs Call To Stop Police Facial Recognition

Following criticism of the Police use of facial recognition technology in terms of privacy, accuracy, bias, and management of the image database, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has called for a temporary halt in the use of the facial recognition system.

Database Concerns

Some of the key concerns of the committee were that the Police database of custody images is not being correctly edited to remove pictures of unconvicted individuals and that innocent peoples’ pictures may be illegally included in facial recognition “watch lists” that are used by police to stop and even arrest suspects.

While the committee accepts that this may be partly due to a lack of resources to manually edit the database, the MP’s committee has also expressed concern that the images of unconvicted individuals are not being removed after six years, as is required by law.

Figures indicate that, as of February last year, there were 12.5 million images available to facial recognition searches.

Accuracy

Accuracy of facial recognition has long been a concern. For example, in December last year, ICO head Elizabeth Dunham launched a formal investigation into how police forces use facial recognition technology (FRT) after high failure rates, misidentifications and worries about legality, bias, and privacy.  For example, the trial of ‘real-time’ facial recognition technology on Champions League final day June 2017 in Cardiff, by South Wales and Gwent Police forces was criticised for costing £177,000 and yet only resulting in one arrest of a local man whose arrest was unconnected.

Also, after trials of FRT at the 2016 and 2017 Notting Hill Carnivals, the Police faced criticism that FRT was ineffective, racially discriminatory, and confused men with women.

Bias

In addition to gender bias issues, the committee also expressed concern about how a government advisory group had warned (in February) that facial recognition systems could produce inaccurate results if they had not been trained on a diverse enough range of data, such as types of faces from different races e.g. black, asian, and other ethnic minorities.  The concern was that if faces from different races are under-represented in live facial recognition training datasets, this could lead to errors.  For example, human operators/police officers who are supposed to double-check any matches made by the system by other means before acting could defer to the algorithm’s decision without doing so.

Privacy

Privacy groups such as Liberty (which is awaiting a ruling on its challenge of South Wales Police’s use of the technology) and Big Brother Watch have been vocal and active in highlighting the possible threats posed to privacy by the police use of facial technology.  Also, even Tony Porter, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner,  has criticised trials by London’s Metropolitan Police over privacy and freedom issues.

Moratorium

The committee of MPs has therefore called for the government to temporarily halt the use of facial recognition technology by police pending the introduction of a proper legal framework, guidance on trial protocols and the establishment of an oversight and evaluation system.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Businesses use CCTV for monitoring and security purposes, and most businesses are aware of the privacy and legal compliance aspects (GDPR) of using the system and how /where the images are managed and stored.

As a society, we are also used to being under surveillance by CCTV systems, which can have real value in helping to deter criminal activity, locate and catch perpetrators, and provide evidence for arrests and trials. The Home Office has noted that there is general public support for live facial recognition in order to (for example) identify potential terrorists and people wanted for serious violent crimes.  These, however, are not the reasons why the MP’s committee has expressed its concerns, or why ICO head Elizabeth Dunham is launched a formal investigation into how police forces use FRT.

It is likely that while businesses would support the crime and terror-busting, and crime prevention aspects of FRT used by the police,  they would also need to feel assured that the correct legal framework and evaluation system are in place to protect the rights of all and to ensure that the system is accurate and cost-effective.

Alan Turing To Feature on £50 Note

Alan Turing, head of the Enigma code-breaking team at Bletchley Park in World War 2, mathematician and father of computer science who was driven to suicide over the treatment of his sexuality is finally being honoured by the featuring his image on the new £50 note.

Chosen By Committee

The UK Bank of England’s Banknote Character Advisory Committee advises the Governor on the characters that appear on new banknotes. In December, members of the committee were given summary biographies of 989 dead scientists, put forward by more than 225,000 members of the public, from which one would need to be chosen to feature on the new polymer £50 note when it enters circulation at the end of 2021.  The committee chose Alan Turing.

Mathematician & Scientist

Alan Turing 1912 – 1954, born in born in West London and educated in Frant, East Sussex and Sherborne, Dorset, displayed a natural ability for maths and science.  He is reported to have been able to solve complex and advanced maths problems in 1927 (aged 15) without having studied even elementary calculus, and in 1928 (aged 16) he was able to deduce Einstein’s questioning of Newton’s laws of motion from a text in which this was never made explicit.

Father of Computer Science

After studying at King’s College Cambridge, in 1936 Turing published his paper “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem”, with which Turing proved that his “universal computing machine” could perform any mathematical computation if it were representable as an algorithm. This, plus his work developed at Bletchley Park is why Turing is widely thought of as the father of modern computer science.

WW2 Bletchley Hero

Alan Turing is perhaps best known for heading the codebreaking operation during WW2 at top-secret Bletchley Park, where it is estimated that the incredible breaking of U-boat Enigma codes may have shortened the war in Europe by as many as two to four years, and potentially saved millions of lives.  Part of this work involved creating and building the electromechanical machine called the bombe, which could break Enigma more effectively than the Polish bomba kryptologiczna (from where it got its name).

Conviction, Chemical Castration and Suicide

In 1952, Turing was prosecuted and convicted of “gross indecency” over his relationship with another man. In order to avoid a prison sentence, Turing chose to be chemically castrated through injections of synthetic oestrogen.

Alan Turing committed suicide with cyanide poisoning two years later, aged only 41.

Apology and Pardon

In 2013, Alan Turing was given a posthumous apology and royal pardon for his conviction for gross indecency.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Alan Turing’s incredible mind, aptitude for maths and science, and his work in cracking the Enigma code at Bletchley Park have resulted in millions of lives being saved through the shortening of the war in Europe, and in the rapid evolution of computer science that has fed directly into the digital world and workplace that we know today. Despite being a national hero, how Turing was treated was widely regarded as shameful, and the posthumous pardon and apology, along with being honoured on a banknote have been ways in which the UK has been able, in some small but public ways, to right some the wrongs of the past, honour a truly great scientist, and contribute to a greater understanding and acceptance of sexual differences.

Scientists Discover How To Store Data On Matter Smaller Than DNA

Scientists from Brown University are reported to have discovered how to store data on metabolic molecules, which are pieces of matter that are even smaller than DNA.

Storage In Artificial Metabolomes  

The results of the recent research announced on the Brown University website and published in the PLOS ONE journal describe how researchers have discovered a way to store/encode and retrieve kilobyte-scale image files from artificial metabolomes which are arrays of liquid mixtures containing sugars, amino acids and other types of small molecules.  Some of these small molecules are smaller and have greater information density than DNA.

According to the researchers, although DNA is best for encoding larger datasets, the small molecule metabolite data method has low latency so that data sets can be written and read quickly.  The small molecule method is, however, still slower than traditional computers.

DNA Storage Research Not New

Research into storing data in DNA is not new.  For example, back in 2013 scientists in Cambridge spelt out a collection of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets in DNA.

Also, last September UK scientists developed a technique to enable them to store computer files on DNA.  Scientists from the European Bioinformatics Institute developed a method whereby the basis of digital data, which is made up of ones and zeros, is changed into their own code as Cs, Gs, and Ts.

This converted code was sent to a US laboratory, which turned the letter code into physical DNA so that it could act like an incredibly small hard drive. The laboratory used DNA synthesis machines to transform the code into physical material in a similar way to how an inkjet printer lays down ink on paper. The physical result was a tiny piece of dust with the vital digital data stored inside. An estimated 215 petabytes (215 million gigabytes) of data could be stored in a single gram of DNA.

Why?

The reasons for developing ways to store data in DNA and even smaller molecules are that we are generating vast quantities of data with no practical and cost-effective way to store it for the future.  For example, it is estimated that there are now 3 zettabytes (3000 billion bytes) of digital data, with more being generated all the time. Storage media such as hard disks are expensive and require a constant supply of expensive electricity, and even the best ‘no-power’ archiving materials e.g. magnetic tape degrade within a decade.

The advantages of DNA and smaller molecules for storage are that:

  • Sensitive data stored in DNA and other small molecules won’t be vulnerable to hacking.
  • Data stored in this way could survive in harsher climates and environments where traditional hardware can’t.
  • DNA provides a highly effective, ultra-compact space-saving solution, that doesn’t require large amounts of costly electricity.
  • DNA can keep for hundreds of thousands of years if kept in a cool, dry place. Data stored in DNA won’t degrade over time, and it can be decoded relatively easily.
  • DNA won’t become obsolete, and unlike other high-density approaches, new technologies can write and read large amounts of DNA in one go.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The incredible science involved in this could give businesses a way to store and back up vast amounts of data in a very convenient and secure way (safe from hackers) with dramatically reduced space, equipment, and electricity costs, and with the assurance that the data could be stored, without decay, for many thousands of years.  Some tech commentators have estimated that commercial DNA storage devices may be on shelves in the next few years.

You could be forgiven for thinking, however, that DNA storage of data sounds (and probably will be) expensive, and it may be the case that most businesses will be sticking to cloud storage for quite some time yet.

Security Flaw Discovered In NHS Anaesthetic Machines

Cybersecurity firm CyberMDX has reported the discovery of a security flaw in some Internet-connected GE Healthcare anaesthetic machines which could leave them vulnerable to hacks.

Security Flaw

The security flaw has been described as the exposure of the configuration of certain terminal server implementations that extend GE Healthcare anaesthesia device serial ports to TCP/IP networks. This could potentially mean that when the devices are connected to the Internet, they could be remotely targeted by hackers who could modify the parameters of the anaesthesia devices. According to CyberMDX, this could mean that hackers could silence device alarms and even adjust anaesthetic dosages or switch anaesthetic agents.

Johnson & Johnson

The threat discovered in GE Healthcare anaesthetic devices may not sound too unlikely when you consider that back in October a security vulnerability was discovered in one of Johnson & Johnson’s insulin pumps (the Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump) that a hacker could exploit to overdose diabetic patients with insulin.  Even though the company described the risk as “extremely low”, it still led them to take the precaution of sending letters outlining the problem to 114,000 people, doctors and patients, who used the device in the US and Canada.

Affected Machines

The affected GE Healthcare anaesthetic machines are reported to include Aestiva and Aespire versions 7100 and 7900.  It has been reported that some are used in NHS hospitals.

Suggestions

Some of the suggestions offered by GE in response to reports of the possible vulnerability (which may not be exclusive to just GE machines) are for hospitals/users to use secure terminal servers with strong encryption, and to use a VPN and other features to protect against hacks.

Also, GE suggests that organisations should use industry best practices and secure deployment measures e.g. network segmentation, VLANs and device isolation.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Where any device has an Internet connection e.g. IoT devices, there is now a risk of a possible attack, but the fact that these are medical machines which could lead to serious human consequences if remote hackers were able to tamper with them makes this story all the more alarming.

If, as GE and the US Department of Homeland Security have pointed out, all equipment is correctly isolated wherever possible, unnecessary accounts protocols and services are disabled, and best practice is followed, the risk should be very low indeed.

This story does, however, highlight how all businesses and organisations should take the security of smart/IoT devices seriously, particularly where there could be a clear human risk.

‘Mobile-Sensing System’ Could Evaluate Your Workplace Performance

A newly developed ‘Mobile-Sensing System’ that uses a combination of smartphone, fitness bracelet, app and cloud-based machine learning algorithms can track and rank the workplace performance of employees with 80% accuracy.

Based On Student Monitoring App

The underlying technology blueprint for the new system, which was developed by a group of researchers including Dartmouth University computer science professor Andrew Campbell, is a student monitoring app that was used to help improve productivity. The ‘StudentLife’ app monitored student behaviour and predicted academic performance.

The ‘Mobile-Sensing System’

The new ‘Mobile-Sensing System’ uses the combination of a smartphone to track physical activity, location, phone usage and ambient light, a wearable fitness tracker to monitor heart functions, sleep, stress, and body measurements e.g. weight and calorie consumption, and location beacons that can be placed in the home or office to provide information about time at work and breaks.

The number-crunching for the system is carried out by cloud-based machine learning algorithms that have been trained to classify workers by performance level.

Why?

The system provides feedback to both the employee and employer and, according to the researchers, by using this ‘passive’ sensing and machine learning system, companies have another way of assessing how individuals are doing in their jobs, and employees can be helped to see how they can optimise and boost their performance.

The researchers believe that the system can unlock and give greater insight into behaviours that drive performance and offers benefits over more traditional review techniques that can require manual effort and can be biased and unreliable.

Best Performers

The researchers have noted that, according to the new system, the best performers are likely to be those who have lower rates of phone usage, have longer deep sleep periods and are more physically active and mobile.

Surveillance?

Although the researchers have pitched the system as something that could help employer and employee, critics may say that, in the relationship where the employer has the power, this kind of close surveillance and micro-management tool could favour younger physically active people (those without disabilities or sleeping disorders), could create stress in individuals who feel that they are constantly being monitored and ‘ranked’ by a ‘big brother’ system with a view to being replaced based on numbers created by secret algorithms.

It could also mean that employees without home/family commitments or who live closer to work may be ranked as more productive because they are able to stay longer or come into the workplace outside normal hours.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This system does show how new technologies can be combined to provide closer insights into work and performance and in some jobs e.g. repetitive manual jobs where time is a key factor anyway.  For some employers, therefore, this system could have a real value in evaluating and improving working processes, particularly if it is accompanied by a positive rewards-based system, and if support is made available to those employees who don’t rank as highly.

This system, however, may not be able to take account of many of the other dynamics and soft factors that make up good performance, and may not be suitable as the main monitoring method in certain more specialised jobs and roles.  There is also a danger that this kind of system in the wrong hands could be used as a blunt instrument of surveillance and control over a workforce.

Privacy and security are also a major concern for businesses and employees, and whether or not the data and performance measurements can be linked to an individual, where (and how securely) that data is stored, and who the data can be shared with should be areas of concern.

New Electric Cars Will Emit Noise For Safety Reasons

In contrast to the vision of a quieter, close-future utopia where vehicles pass noiselessly by, a new law means that from 2021, all new four-wheel electric cars will be required to include a noise emitting device so that pedestrians can hear the cars approaching. At low speeds, at least.

Avas

The EU rules on the inclusion of a noise that is emitted at low speeds to help safeguard pedestrians dates back to 2014 when MEPs agreed that new models of electric and hybrid vehicles would have to make a noise similar to a combustion engine by 2019 and that all new electric and hybrid cars would need to audible by 2021.

The new legislation, which has been approved by the European Parliament, and has been welcomed by the UK government’s Roads Minister Michael Ellis, will mean the mandatory inclusion and use of Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (Avas).  The Avas will emit a sound like a traditional car engine when the electric vehicle is reversing or travelling below 12mph/19km/h.  With electric engines being virtually silent, the hope is that the new law will reduce the risk posed to pedestrians, and particularly the visually impaired if they are not able to hear an electric car approaching.

Warning Sounds Already Developed

The challenges posed to pedestrian safety by electric vehicles that are ‘too quiet’ have long been anticipated by car manufacturers who have been developing electric warning sounds since 2011.  For example, many Nissan, Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, and Toyota models already have the noises.

Reasons For Move To Electric Cars

The shift towards investment by vehicle manufacturers in electrification is being driven by pressure from regulators in China, Europe and the US to cut carbon emissions from fossil fuels, and plans by China, India, France and the United Kingdom to phase out vehicles powered by combustion engines and fossil fuels between 2030 and 2040.

All the major car manufacturers, including GM, Volkswagen, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Volvo have been investing heavily in electric cars to bring the next wave of profits.  For example, back in January last year, the Ford Motor Co announced its plans to more than double its previously announced target of $4.5 billion investment in electric cars to $11 billion by 2022.  Ford’s aim was to have as many as 40 mainstream, hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its model line-up.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

It may seem a little ironic that instead of being able to completely eradicate the noise pollution of traditional combustion engines, electric engines have ended up being too quiet and will require the specific inclusion of a noise.  Nevertheless, the noise will only be made at low speeds, and drivers will have the power to deactivate the noise-making devices in certain situations.

Car companies have been developing electric vehicles and have known about the need for a noise for many years, and as such, the development and inclusion of such a noise has been part of the overall investment and plans anyway.  The nature of the noise used by each manufacturer may, however, vary and provides another opportunity for differentiation and brand identity as each company works on its own ‘sound signature’.

For pedestrians, the visually impaired, and road safety campaigners, legislation to force companies to include a warning sound in their vehicles is good news and is one way in which road safety can be improved in a new era of electronic transportation.

E-Waste Inquiry

The growing number of connected electronic devices in use in the UK has led to an inquiry by the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) which will focus on reducing ‘e-waste’ (dumped devices) and creating a circular economy.

Mostly As Landfill

One of the most startling statistics which has led to the EAC inquiry is that 90% of the 44.7 million tonnes of e-waste produced worldwide in 2017 ends up in landfill, is incinerated, is illegally traded or is otherwise treated in a sub-standard way.

Plastics & Precious Metals

The need to do something now to prevent an even bigger future problem has been heightened by recent reports of plastic waste and microplastic particles in the world’s oceans, sea creatures, and even frozen in arctic ice.  For example, figures (SAS.org) show that it is estimated there are 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.  The UK is also acknowledged to be a major exporter of waste to developing countries, many of which are not equipped to dispose of the waste in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

In the case of e-waste, plastic is just one of the components which could pose a serious environmental risk and could represent a missed opportunity to recycle valuable elements. For example, the UK currently produces 24.9kg of e-waste per person, which is nearly 10kg more than the European Union (EU) average.

In addition to large quantities of plastic, e-waste can include high value, difficult to obtain elements such as lithium, tantalum and tungsten, and other polluting and dangerous chemicals (up to 60 different metals and chemicals) which could pose a risk to public health, wildlife and the wider ecosystem if, for example, they got into the water supply via landfill.   

Need To Create A Circular Economy

In addition to investigating the e-waste problem, the EAC will be investigating the UK’s e-waste industry and looking at how a circular economy can be created for electronic goods.  A circular economy is an economic system aimed at minimising waste and making the most of resources.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

We know that the growing number of devices is creating a massive e-waste problem, and it is good that the UK government is launching its own inquiry, hopefully bringing one more to the 67 countries that have enacted legislation to deal with the e-waste they generate. 

Some commentators have noted that, having a more digital and connected world could actually help to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals, thereby helping emerging economies, and ensuring that less precious minerals, metals and resources are dumped into landfill.

Some of the suggested ways to help deal with e-waste problem, and which will have an impact on many businesses, not least those who manufacture and sell devices, are looking at ways to dematerialise the electronics industry e.g. through device-as-a-service business models, better product tracking and take-back schemes, and entrepreneurs, investors, academics, business leaders and lawmakers working together to find ways to make the circular economy work.