NIST Commits To Renaming Racially Suggestive Technology Terms

From Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s to Lady Antebellum and the Dixie Chicks, we’ve seen a wave of rebranding sparked by ongoing anti-racism protests. Now, it’s moving beyond consumer-facing brands and groups. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — the nonregulatory agency that publishes standards for federal activities — announced last week that it plans to remove terms with racial associations from its own publications. NIST’s publications use common technology nomenclature such as “whitelist” and “blacklist” for describing certain software rules, as well as “master” and “slave” to describe the control relationship between hardware components. At a time when the country and the world is paying closer attention to the context of racially suggestive terminology, NIST is reviewing the terminology of all its cybersecurity publications and has committed to replacing the language. Moral, social, and political values matter to the stakeholders you serve — whether they’re consumer or business customers. But they look for action that extends beyond value-washing marketing campaigns. Use our assessment to gauge your commitment to your own corporate values.

Speaking of committing to corporate values… 

Corporate Climate Action Spurs A Resurgence In Green Technology Investments

Last week, Amazon announced a $2 billion Climate Pledge to invest in the development of technologies that help companies reduce environmental impact and improve climate resilience. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund to help accelerate, develop, and scale climate solutions. Both also announced new climate goals. Amazon will be carbon neutral by 2040, and Microsoft will be carbon negative by 2030 and will remove all the carbon it’s ever emitted by 2050. Increasing their investment in green technologies, climate resilience, and carbon reduction, capture, and removal prepares the tech giants for the risks associated with both the physical impacts of climate change and the global transition to a low-carbon economy. For partners, employees, and entrepreneurs interested in addressing the climate crisis, these initiatives decentralize green technology development and incentivize science-based climate action. Stay tuned for more research on the risks and opportunities of climate action soon. 

Ford Will Use 5G To Advance Electric Car Manufacturing In The UK

Ford plans to use a 5G system to improve the speed and accuracy of the manufacturing equipment — such as welding machines — it uses for battery and electric motor installations. Ford partnered with Vodafone Business to provide this network solution for its Dunton Campus. The two firms are leading a consortium to prove the potential of private 5G networks throughout manufacturing and have received UK government backing for this effort. Ford will also be using edge computing for this, as fast, reliable, high–capacity data capture and analysis are required for ensuring these faster, improved manufacturing processes. This 5G solution is expected to overcome many of the issues surrounding wireless connectivity in factory environments by reducing delays, providing wider bandwidth and faster deployment times, and improving security and reliability. To learn more about the potential opportunities for 5G in manufacturing — without succumbing to the hype — read our research or schedule an inquiry.