Governments worldwide reacted to the COVID-19 crisis with an outpouring of financial aid to businesses and individuals that was exceptional for both its size and the speed with which the disbursements were made. 
Liquid Avatar empowers users to manage, control and benefit from their online identity and data
Access to up to 2,000 US Colleges and Universities with reach of up to 1.5 Million Students 
Summary of day one at techUK's Digital Ethics Summit 2020.
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Digital Identity, Privacy, KYC, AML/ATF
The Steps to Designing a more sustainable and digital economy
Linkedin | Bjorn-Soren Gigler, PhD | May 20, 2021
The Paris Agreement (2016) is explicit in highlighting the importance of climate technologies for a sustainable future, stating in Article 10, that: “Parties share a long-term vision on the importance of fully realizing technology development and transfer in order to improve resilience to climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Providing its full-hearted support, it makes a strong case for further action: “Accelerating, encouraging and enabling innovation is critical for an effective, long-term global response to climate change and promoting economic growth and sustainable development.”
Outlined below are seven suggested steps towards achieving this goal:
1) Recognizing that the digital and green transitions are closely intertwined
Given that, digital innovations are increasingly indispensable as key enablers for the economy’s green transition, while the greening of digital technologies is a critical success factor for digital transformation. Therefore, investments need to keep up the pace with the transition to a digital and green economy.
2) Addressing the investment gap for green tech
The investment trends in clean climate technologies have been lagging. In fact, US venture capital funding for climate technologies, after experiencing strong growth in the early aughts, has declined since 2011. Astonishingly, Silicon Valley has become green tech’s Death Valley, as almost all of the 150 renewable energy startups founded there, over the past decade, have shut down. In fact, a mere 2.5% - 6% of US venture capital funding goes into the financing of climate technologies (UNFCC Report, 2018).
See: Podcast: How blockchain could revolutionize green finance in Asia
The main reason for the tepid investment is that there is limited commercial profitability and lukewarm demand from investors to finance these highly innovative climate-tech start-ups in need of long-term patient capital. Clean tech companies’ positive externalities are not rewarded by the market, as investors prefer mature technologies to early-stage ones. The market failure in financing climate technology companies can be attributed to five prevalent factors, including green tech’s: (i) high-risk profile; (ii) capital intensive nature; (iii) patient capital demand; (iv) lack of collateral (intellectual property intensive); and (v) high-opportunity costs attributed to the high-profitability and shorter returns of competing technology investments. Based on these factors, there exists a counter-cyclical trend of underinvestment in green tech, which represents a key barrier for highly innovative green tech startups and SMEs to incubate and scale-up their businesses. Therefore, it is critical to reverse this under-investment promoting innovations that foster both a digital and green transition.
3) Getting innovations out of the lab into the market
Besides the critical financing gap facing green tech companies, another significant challenge lies in getting these innovations out of the lab and into the market. A greater concerted effort is needed to provide just-in-time technical advice to improve the commercialization of green startups. Too often, it takes too long for key technological innovations to not only reach high levels of maturity in terms of their technology development (a.k.a. high technology readiness levels), but also their optimal market and investment readiness.
See: Fintech Fridays EP44: The Vanguard of Digital Innovation and Ecosystems in Canada
Innovators often require hands-on support in terms of venture building, business planning, finance, marketing, and commercialization. Many times, highly innovative technologies do not reach markets—not because of technology bottlenecks—but due to the significant challenges that innovators face in terms of building a successful venture. Therefore, it is critical to enhance the required support to innovators through dedicated startup accelerator and venture building programs.
Key remaining issues to move forward the twin transition to a green and digital transformation
In climate change, a key and oft-overlooked factor, is the need to develop and adopt digital innovations that enable collective action among the different stakeholders, including industry, small business owners, startups, local governments and citizens. The decentralized nature of blockchain technologies, lend themselves to being adopted and appropriated by people and institutions, flexibly and suitably fitting their specific needs.
In fact, the nature of blockchain technology takes us back to the origin of the Internet, which was intended to be a highly democratic, decentralized and open system that empowered citizens to not only consume information, knowledge and data, but to produce, own and share their individual localized content. The local appropriation of Blockchain technology remains to be fully unleashed and holds great potential in this regard.
See:
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WEF’s Sheila Warren: blockchain is the door to new digital reality
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Brookings Event: Climate change and financial market regulations: Insights from BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and former SEC Chair Mary Schapiro
Following, are the key remaining issues to simultaneously move forward a green and digital transformation:
- How can digital innovations be leveraged to overcome the tragedy of the commons and provide incentives to all stakeholders to reduce their carbon footprint and consider the overall societal impact of their actions?
- What policy and financial instruments need to be leveraged and/or developed to better support breakthrough innovations (at incubation and scale-up) that stand at the intersection of the digital and green transition?
- How can we overcome the dilemma posed by the most game changing innovations, which are unable to raise the necessary finance due to being considered too risky, too innovative, too uncertain, or too complex for investors?
- How can we better leverage green digital finance through the adoption of fintech innovations (i.e. green bonds and alternative finance mechanisms)?
- How can UN agencies, the European Commission, national governments and the private sector further strengthen their collaboration to support a green innovation ecosystem and improve financing for green technology startups and SMEs?
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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COVID-19: Making the case for robust digital financial infrastructure
McKinsey & Co | Olivia White, Anu Madgavkar, Tawanda Sibanda, Zac Townsend, and María Jesús Ramírez | Jan 26, 2021
Governments worldwide reacted to the COVID-19 crisis with an outpouring of financial aid to businesses and individuals that was exceptional for both its size and the speed with which the disbursements were made.
According to the IMF, fiscal measures announced globally amounted to $11.7 trillion, or close to 12 percent of global GDP, as of September 2020. As a result, the pandemic has served as a high-stakes, real-life stress test for the financial infrastructure in many countries, bringing into sharp relief critical gaps and opportunities as well as providing valuable lessons about how to improve efficiency and resilience for the future.
What determines how effectively the money is disbursed, for achieving the design ambitions of the program and delivering the funds rapidly to the intended recipients? This question has been drawing the attention of economic researchers, policy makers, fintech innovators and civil society watchdogs alike. Building on our pre-pandemic research on the economic impact of digital identification and digital financial inclusion, we studied a sample of 12 government economic disbursement programs for both individuals and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in seven countries—Brazil, India, Nigeria, Singapore, Togo, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
See: How will Canada reinvent its payments framework for a post-pandemic digital reality?
Several findings stand out. First, we find that effective programs have three critical structural features of financial infrastructure: digital payment channels, the presence of a basic digital identification system with broad population coverage, and simple data on individuals and businesses that are tethered to the ID.
When these features were present in country-level financial infrastructure, these programs could be optimally designed and delivered quickly. When one or more of these infrastructure features was not present, countries had to make trade-offs between the design ambition (the scope, scale, and specificity of beneficiaries targeted) of their programs and their delivery success (the speed, coverage, and fraud levels in rolling them out).
Second, we estimate that the potential economic gain from building robust digital financial infrastructure is about 20 percent greater now than it was before the pandemic. Before the COVID-19 crisis, we estimated the potential economic gain by 2030 from applying basic and advanced digital ID to a wide range of interactions between individuals and government and nongovernmental institutions to be in the range of 3 to 13 percent of GDP. Finally, the crisis has underscored the resilience and flexibility that a robust financial infrastructure for SMEs and individuals provides, and thus its importance as a critical tool for responding to unexpected and potentially catastrophic events.
Digital financial infrastructure can improve country-level resilience in crises and on an ongoing basis
Beyond the potential economic impact, investing in digital financial infrastructure can help governments protect their populations in other important ways with long-term benefits. Effective government support in times of need helps prevent extreme poverty, hunger, and inequality, among others.
See: NCFA and KABN Systems North America enter multi-year exclusive partnership to promote Digital Identity in Canada
This cannot all be measured in GDP growth. Financial infrastructure is relevant for the effectiveness of broader national government programs in more normal times, as well as interactions between individuals and non-government institutions (Exhibit 4).
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Privacy laws might prove to be a blessing in disguise for crypto
Cointelegraph | Vyara Savova | Sep 13, 2020
With government agencies getting more savvy at tracing blockchain transactions, laws like the EU’s GDPR may play a role.
Anti-establishment and counter-government sentiments fuelled the early days of crypto. More than a decade later, crypto is slowly moving away from its wild-west early days and into a more organized system that traditional financial institutions are reluctantly adopting.
Crypto has also managed to attract the no less reluctant attention of various regulators. With reactions ranging from a complete ban on crypto transactions to making authorities question the overall role of regulation, cryptocurrencies have wreaked havoc on policymaking everywhere.
So far, regulators have mostly focused their attention on positioning digital assets within existing financial regulations. However, experts in other areas of law have started developing interest in both cryptocurrencies and the technology behind them. Concepts such as decentralized digital identities and securely storing data on the chain have served as an introduction to blockchain technology for many lawyers.
An introduction that has brought with it yet another promise is that of private transactions on a blockchain. As highlighted in the Bitcoin white paper, privacy was of great importance to Satoshi’s vision of a purely peer-to-peer electronic currency.
See: Bill to overhaul Canada’s privacy laws coming soon
This promise influenced both Bitcoin’s use as a seemingly untraceable payment method and the emergence of many blockchain projects. It has, however, proved to not just be greatly exaggerated but simply untrue, leaving regulators and authorities alike in the uncomfortable position of having to figure out what to do about it.
The fallacy of private crypto transactions
The solution put forward in the Bitcoin white paper was that by anonymizing public keys, transactions will still be visible, but without identifying the parties. This promise of anonymity has led to a certain level of comfort among people transacting on the chain.
This sense of security culminated in the broader adoption of Bitcoin for transactions on the dark web. The practice eventually led to some high-profile arrests and sentences, such as that of the founder of Silk Road. As police got more involved, the crypto community started seeing the cracks in crypto’s “anonymity.”
The concept of anonymity is under a greater threat amid the continuous improvement of blockchain analytics tools. The compliance software market keeps getting bigger, and the products more elaborate. Even so-called privacy coins haven’t been spared by the increasingly sophisticated analytics capabilities of services such as Chainalysis. Nonetheless, some crypto users still consider their transactions untraceable and their actions on the chain private.
Data protection outside the chain
Cryptocurrency users weren’t the only people with privacy and data protection on their minds. With more or less the same incentives — protecting people’s privacy in an increasingly digital world — policymakers around the globe had started working on data protection regulations. The vision was to cover both the risks of most activities moving online and the increasing concern of private actor interference and state surveillance. No other place was as determined to provide all-encompassing privacy legislation as the European Union.
See: Fintech & Cybersecurity: Key Risks and Solutions
After years of discussions and negotiations, the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, was born (i.e., EU-wide legislation with a direct effect on citizens in all member states). Since its full adoption in 2018, the GDPR has been central to numerous privacy-related investigations and court cases. The most recent and, arguably, the most important has been the European Court of Justice’s so-called Schrems II judgement against Facebook.
One court decision with significant consequences
In a nutshell, the Schrems II decision revolved around determining the legitimacy of Facebook’s EU data transfers to the United States. The court not only decided that some cases of transferring EU citizens’ data to the U.S. were illegal but also invalidated the legal mechanism many companies were using for EU–U.S. data transfers — the Privacy Shield. The reason the ECJ gave was that ongoing surveillance practices by the American government weren’t compatible with EU data protection regulations.
Data protection doesn’t work on the chain
Even before Schrems II, blockchain infrastructures were not considered very privacy-friendly due to the dispersion of the entered information across all blocks. This dispersion makes important data protection rules, such as the right to erasure and the right to be forgotten, which are practically impossible on the chain, as they require all reference to specific personal data to be removed.
See: Future Market Dynamics Part 3 – data sharing, trust and a world of choice
Another reason why privacy isn’t necessarily compatible with hash-based, indelible infrastructures is that data protection isn’t technology agnostic. Both its protection and violations depend heavily on the technological tools at hand. And technological tools tend to improve exponentially with time — if encryption is to serve as an example, what was once a state-of-the-art encryption mechanism can now be broken without much effort.
The ability to identify a specific person also depends on a combination of technical tools available and information accessible. This means that even if a person is using a privacy coin, such as Zcash or Monero, their wallet address can potentially be found if there’s additional information available; for example, previous transactions from the same wallet address that are traceable.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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KABN to Release Liquid Avatar in App Stores Feb 18 to Further Progress Self Sovereign Identity
KABN | Cara Buckspan | Jan 26, 2021
Liquid Avatar empowers users to manage, control and benefit from their online identity and data
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 26, 2021 / KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN)(OTC PINK:TRWRF)( FRA:4T51) (the "Company", "KABN North America" or "KABN NA") (www.kabnsystemsna.com), a North American Fintech solutions company specializing in empowering individuals to manage, control and generate value from their biometrically-verified Self Sovereign Identity ("SSI") through its Liquid Avatar (www.liquidavatar.com) platform, will be releasing its live, open beta app globally in the Google Play and Apple App stores on February 18, 2021, subject to all final approvals .
Liquid Avatar, available at no cost to consumers, makes it easy for individuals to start and maintain the process of managing their SSI/digital identity. With the ability to share that with their friends, family, colleagues, and others easily, safely, and securely through biometrically enabled Self Sovereign Identity tools and services.
See: Digital Identity Isn’t Only For People
The Liquid Avatar platform allows users create high quality digital icon representations of themselves which can be used to easily share what they want, when they want, and with whom they want. Liquid Avatar users will also be able to create digital wallets to manage and store a wide range of verifiable identity and access credentials, and to take their conventional identity online, allowing users to prove themselves as easily and effectively as they do in the "real world".
With online identity and data management at the forefront of the global regulatory and legislative landscape, the addressable market for services, such as Liquid Avatar, can potentially be 100% of the online market, over 400 Million people in North America and over 5 Billion people worldwide.
As a verified platform, an individual user of Liquid Avatar can only have one account (with possibly multiple digital personas) which potentially reduces the ability for bad actors to create bots and fake accounts. Liquid Avatar users know that when they use and interact with other Liquid Avatar users, they are dealing with real, known people.
Liquid Avatar users are able to select from 1000's of combinations of facial features to create their perfect digital representations of themselves - all at no cost. Users can also visit the Liquid Avatar Marketplace (www.liquidavatarmarketplace.com) if they are interested in purchasing custom icons from leading pop-culture, anime, and comic book artists. In the future, users will also be able to upload certain personalized images and logos to represent their avatars.
See: Liquid Avatar Partners with The Campus Agency to Reach 2,000 US University and Colleges
KABN NA together with Liquid Avatar are already working with key partners like Vancouver-based Disrupted Logic Inc., which has access to millions of online gamers and Boston-based The Campus Agency that has relationships with over 2,000 US colleges and universities and their students, alumni, and families. Liquid Avatar also has agreements with Loop Insights Inc., TripXpertz and XTM Inc. to increase opportunities for integration and engagement and expects to add additional partnerships and distribution programs in the coming months.
While Liquid Avatar is free to consumers and KABN and Liquid Avatar never sells or rents data, the Company believes that verified, known users can create increased value for themselves and select marketers and vendors. Through the Liquid Avatar platform and approved, permission-based communications, Liquid Avatar will offer up value-based opportunities users can select. At the same time, Liquid Avatar partners who want to reach real, known users will be willing to provide increased value as they won't be spending money to reach fake users and bots.
"Self Sovereign Identity will become, in our opinion, a major pillar of the Internet, like communications, browsers, and search, making it universally applicable to everyone online," said David Lucatch, CEO KABN. "We are excited to bring Liquid Avatar to the online market, and unlike traditional business models, Liquid Avatar is focused squarely on individuals and consumer users, making it a Consumer-to-Business initiative."
KABN NA also has its KABN KASH rewards and loyalty program, with over 300 major online vendors, that will provide Liquid Avatar users with cash back incentives for purchases they make through KABN KASH. This program, together with the KABN Visa Card (initially available in Canada with the US and other regions under review), provides users with new and innovative ways to create and earn value.
See: PwC Report: Canadian Digital Trust Insights 2021: Cybersecurity comes of age
KABN NA will earn potential revenues through card transaction fees, comarketing, bounties, commissions, and other fees paid by partners and vendors. The Company believes that other consumer and revenue programs will emerge as Liquid Avatar gains traction in the market.
Liquid Avatar will launch in phases, as the Company prepares and tests additional service and program offerings to make it easier for users to become familiar with the Liquid Avatar platform, Self Sovereign Identity and Verifiable Credentials.
Interested individuals can sign up for Liquid Avatar and receive information and notices on upcoming releases and services by visiting www.liquidavatar.com
If you would like to join our mailing list and receive updates on KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp., please click here
View the original release --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Liquid Avatar Partners with The Campus Agency to Reach 2,000 US University and Colleges
KABN | Cara Buckspan | Jan 19, 2021
Access to up to 2,000 US Colleges and Universities with reach of up to 1.5 Million Students
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 19, 2021 / KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN)(OTC PINK:TRWRF)(FRA:4T51) (the "Company", "KABN North America" or "KABN NA"), a North American Fintech solutions company specializing in empowering individuals to manage, control and generate value from their biometrically-verified Self Sovereign Identity ("SSI") through its Liquid Avatar platform, announces today that it has entered into an agreement to partner with US based, The Campus Agency to create innovative engagement programs for Liquid Avatar to reach the US college and university student, alumni and family market.
KABN NA and The Campus Agency will be working together to engage micro-influencers, develop and launch innovative engagement and Augmented Reality programs to introduce the college and university market to the Liquid Avatar and KABN value programs. The partnership goals are to increase brand awareness, maximize engagement, educate users on the value proposition of Self Sovereign Identity, and generate user benefits and revenue for the partnership program.
See:
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Law reform to move identity verification online
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Digital IDs Help Open Banking Reach Its Fullest Potential
With reach to over 2,000 US College and University campuses and over 1.5 Million Gen Z students, alumni and families, The Campus Agency has been supporting innovative direct to student and online marketing programs for over 40 years.
"We're excited to bring our 40 years of creating success on campus and digital initiatives to Liquid Avatar and to bring this important and innovative program to our collegiate communities, allowing users to manage and control their digital identity and future credentials safely and securely," said Chris Nyland, Chief Operating Officer, The Campus Agency. "This is our second program with KABN North America and Liquid Avatar, as we're already jointly a part of the COVID-19 consortium for creating Verifiable Identity Healthcare Credential."
KABN North America's mission is to empower users to manage, control and financially benefit from their biometrically verified Self Sovereign Identity. Launching in the coming weeks, KABN NA's Liquid Avatar platform allows users to create high quality digital icons of themselves, representing various facets of their personality that allows them to share what they want, when they want, and with whom they want, as easily as sharing an image. Liquid Avatar users will also be able to create digital wallets to manage and store a wide range of verifiable identity and access credentials, providing users with the tools and services to take their conventional identity online, and prove themselves as easily and effectively as they do in the "real world".
"The collegiate market and Gen Z cohort are primary opportunities for Liquid Avatar and KABN" said David Lucatch, CEO KABN. "These groups are major influencers to their friends and families, and we believe that we can offer users a wealth of value and increase their ability to manage their Self Sovereign Identity through our tools and services. The Campus Agency is the perfect organization to complement our efforts and to partner with."
See: PwC Report: Canadian Digital Trust Insights 2021: Cybersecurity comes of age
KABN KASH, in combination with its KABN Visa Card (currently available in Canada with expansion opportunities for the US currently being explored), provides access to over 300 brand-named merchants that will reward users with cash back on their online purchases.
If you would like to join our mailing list and receive updates on KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp., please click here
Continue to the original release --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Digital Ethics Summit 2020 Day One- Lessons to be learnt from 2020
WiredGov | TechUK | Jan 11, 2021
Summary of day one at techUK's Digital Ethics Summit 2020.
On Wednesday 9 December we kicked off techUK’s fourth annual Digital Ethics Summit. The overarching theme for day one of the Summit was lessons to be learnt from 2020. Through a series of keynote speeches, breakout sessions and plenary panels, our speakers from across industry, government, academia and civil society, assessed the role and effectiveness of the digital ethics debate during the critical events that occurred this year.
To kick start the day we were joined by the Minister of State for Media and Data, John Whittingdale. As part of his keynote speech the Minister set out Government’s ambition for the upcoming National Data Strategy and highlighted work that is already underway, starting with the publication of the Government Data Quality Framework. The Minister stressed that underpinning this strategy is public trust and highlighted the need to bring the public along in these important conversations. The Minister also recognised the importance of digital skills and highlighted government’s 13M investment in a bid to boost digital skills. The Minister finished by reaffirming the importance of collaboration between the public and private sector, as well as the need for the UK to remain active in the global debate on digital ethics.
Watch the Minister’s full session recording here.
In her keynote address the Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham reflected on the year, highlighting the accelerated adoption of many digital technologies and suggested we’d seen greater collaboration on privacy issues this year than ever before. During her keynote, the Commissioner provided three takeaways to consider as we enter the new year. First, that data ethics will continue to be a lexicon for these shared discussions. Second is a real need to focus on the people that are affected by data decisions and third is considering the role of data ethics boards. The golden thread throughout each of these three areas is trust. When asked where she’d like to see more focus in 2021, the Commissioner said it comes down to doing more work for kids, including in areas of algorithmic decision-making.
Watch the Information Commissioner’s full session recording here.
Plenary session – Lessons to be learnt from 2020
In the Summit’s first plenary panel session titled ‘Lessons learnt in 2020’ speakers included Maria Axente, Responsible AI and AI for Good Lead at PwC, Edwina Dunn OBE, Board Member at the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, Stephen Metcalfe MP and Co-Chair for the APPG on AI an Kay Firth-Butterfield Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the World Economic Forum. Building on the Commissioner’s keynote, Maria Axente added that we’re building on a strong foundation when it comes to businesses establishing ethics boards.
See: Canada “AIMS” to raise the bar for AI development and use through standardization
It’s now key that businesses connect their various internal initiatives to see progress. Stephen Metcalfe acknowledged the impact of a current digital divide in society and suggested the need for a refreshed look when it comes to access of digital equipment. Ensuring we’ve got the right digital infrastructure in place, including access to broadband, will be key in 2021. Kay Firth-Butterfield agreed that we need to grow the infrastructure that supports wider adoption of AI to occur. Drawing on her own experiences, Kay highlighted that countries are starting to develop a better understanding of the work that needs to be done when it comes to digital ethics, with many countries learning from other’s experience. Finally, Edwina Dunn OBE, highlighted the work of the CDEI this year and argued the importance of balancing innovation and what we are allowed to do. As we create more data, the more we can do, she says, but does that mean we should do it?
Watch the full plenary session recording here.
Following the plenary session, the Summit broke out into three breakout sessions focusing on three key issues:
Fairness and equality – Data and technology and the fight against systemic discrimination
This breakout session was chaired by Jessica Lennard, Senior Director, Global Data and AI Initiatives, Visa. Panellists include: Ashleigh Ainsley, Co-founder, Colorintech, Brhmie Balaram, Head of AI Research & Ethics, NHSX AI Lab, Renée Cummings, Data Activist in Residence, The School of Data Science, University of Virginia & Community Scholar Columbia University, Dr Kanta Dihal, Senior Research Fellow & Principal Investigator, Global AI Narratives, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge and Allyn L. Shaw, President & CTO, Recycle Track Systems and Founding Partner, Deed.Partners.
Whilst discussing some of the greatest challenges we’ve faced this year, Allyn L. Shaw highlighted that current data training sets are still not representative of underrepresented communities, and in addition, many of these communities don’t have access to technology, causing a cascading effect when it comes to fairness and discrimination.
See: Banking Must Take A Stand On Tough Social Issues
On the topic of defining fairness, Ashley Ainsley preferred to approach this from an equality perspective. He asked- Who are the people responsible for creating algorithms and making decisions? What opportunities are there to have equitable input into those systems and challenge the decisions made? He stated that people should have the opportunity to get involved and influence from the beginning point of the process.
The public has become more conscious to the impact of AI this year, and Dr Kanta Dihal suggested that in 2020, naïve techno-optimism has become inexcusable. Brhmie Balaram commented that when we think of fairness, we must ask fairness for whom? As fairness will look different for different people. She also added that it’s not just tools but also the culture. What’s happening around the way rules are implemented and the way they’re able to be challenged? Renée Cummings highlighted the need to consider due diligence, duty of care and due process, when it comes to the application of data into any kind of system.
Watch the full session recording here.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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KABN North America and Imagine AR Bring Augmented Reality to Liquid Avatar’s Verified Self Sovereign Identity Users
KABN North America | Cara Buckspan | Jan 12, 2021
New services empower Liquid Avatar users to receive & share Augmented Reality social messages, rewards, and commercial offers instantly
TORONTO, ON, VANCOUVER, BC, and ERIE, PA / ACCESSWIRE / ACCESSWIRE / January 12, 2021 / KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN)(OTC PINK:TRWRF)(FRA:4T51) (the "Company", "KABN North America" or "KABN NA") and Imagine AR Inc. (IP)(IPNFF) ("ImagineAR"), are excited to announce the execution of a multi-year licensing agreement to launch Augmented Reality ("AR") immersive experiences integrated with Liquid Avatar. Liquid Avatar empowers users to manage, control and gain value from their biometrically verified Self Sovereign Identity and personal data ownership.
Using ImagineAR's licensed AR SDK and cloud-based studio suite, KABN will deliver a series of dynamic AR interactions to Liquid Avatar mobile app users starting in early 2021. Liquid Avatar users will experience immersive consumer AR-based social, event, educational and information-based messages. Commercial enterprises and media companies will present dynamic measurable interactive AR offers to Liquid Avatar users knowing the consumer is real and verified thereby significantly reducing marketing waste and breakage. The range of opportunities are potentially limitless as Liquid Avatar's Self Sovereign Identity platform is addressable to up to 100% of all online users.
See: KABN North America and Liquid Avatar Unveils New Challenger Banking Program
Liquid Avatar users will soon be able to create and share interactive 3D greetings and messages that are automatically integrated with their Liquid Avatar icons and can be experienced inside the Liquid Avatar app. Liquid Avatar users will also be able to share AR enabled resumes, invitations, event programs, and other information with their social connections. Additionally, Liquid Avatar is exploring interactive digital wallets, which will allow users to easily visualize all their in-wallet verifiable access and identity credentials, like those for healthcare, gaming, travel, financial services, education, ecommerce, and government services.
"Augmented Reality provides a new way to see the world around us and allows KABN to empower Liquid Avatar's known and verified users to take advantage of this interactive technology to engage with friends, family, and other connections," said David Lucatch, CEO KABN. "ImagineAR's platform provides immersive experiences and an effective way for us to instantly deliver AR opportunities to our constituents, therefore creating revenue and value opportunities for our expanding user base."
Exploring other partnership programs, KABN NA and ImagineAR will enable commercial enterprises and media companies to create and deliver fully immersive AR experiences, allowing users to have a 3D view of products and services, whether they are shopping online, or visiting a specific geo-location like a shop, restaurant, etc. Movie trailers, in-shopping and music videos, online concerts and other media productions, menus, schedules, podcasts and other items can "come alive" online or right at the location, along with any special bonuses, rewards, offerings and incentives.
For the travel industry, users can review immersive experiences directly from printed materials, on locations, venues and resorts. The education and information services sector can create and deliver interactive engagement opportunities to convey information and choices.
"We are thrilled to partner with KABN to provide our AR expertise, knowledge and products to their Liquid Avatar users," says Alen Paul Silverrstieen, Founder and CEO of ImagineAR. "KABN's programs provide engagement with known and verified users, creating the type of value our clients are looking for, and our multi-year agreement allows us to quickly ramp up our programs and create long-term value for our stakeholders."
See: KABN’s Liquid Avatar partners with Geon Network for Augmented Reality
Industry Information:
According to FinancesOnline.com's - 45 Vital Augmented Reality Statistics 2020 - Market Share & Data Analysis and Digitalintheround.com's report, 21 Amazing Augmented Reality Statistics [The 2020 View]:
- The AR market was worth roughly $3.5 billion in 2017 and will reach a staggering $198 billion in 2025.
- There will be an estimated 2.4 billion users of mobile AR worldwide by 2023 (Statista).
- Most users of AR are in the 16 - 34 age group.
- 44% of consumers under 40 have used AR technology for shopping (Statista).
- 55% of consumers highlighted music and concerts as an area where AR experience would be of greatest benefit to them (Statista).
- 48% of consumers would likely shop at a retailer that utilizes or offers AR. Meanwhile, 32% of retailers plan to utilize AR within 3 years.
- 61% of consumers prefer to make purchases from sites that offer augmented technology (Invespcro).
- 77% of customers prefer to use augmented reality capabilities to preview product variations such as color or style differences (Invespcro).
- To improve consumer engagement, 67% of media agency executives want more AR and VR ads incorporated into digital marketing campaigns.
- 70% of consumers believe AR technology can help them learn new and professional skills.
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