Newsletter Volume 28 Issue 11, Nov 2016
From The Editor
“One of the biggest shifts flagged by Taylor is a shift away from the present system of agencies needing to specify requirements to industry and allowing providers to nominate off-the-shelf solutions without a formal approach to market from agencies.”
The GovInnovate Digital Government Conference in Canberra 14th – 16th November 2016 flagged some sweeping changes, see below, Trading in the Digital Marketplace.
“Has data de-identification and consumer trust already been solved by industry while the public sector slumbered?”
The above question is asked and answered in a 16.11.2016 article in The Mandarin by Paul McCarney, co-founder of a data exchange start-up. See below, Building trust: what agencies can learn from data exchange industry
Talking of building trust, a 28 October 2016 Science Daily article provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology says “In recent years, the best-performing systems in artificial-intelligence research have come courtesy of neural networks, which look for patterns in training data that yield useful predictions or classifications. Now researchers present a new way to train neural networks so that they provide not only predictions and classifications but rationales for their decisions..” See below, Technique reveals the basis for machine-learning systems’ decisions: Making computers explain themselves
“Malicious websites promoting scams, distributing malware and collecting phished credentials pervade the web. As quickly as we block or blacklist them, criminals set up new domain names to support their activities. Now a research team has developed a technique to make it more difficult to register new domains for nefarious purposes.“
The above research appears in an October 27, 2016 Science Daily article from Princeton University, Engineering School. See below New tool detects malicious websites before they cause harm.
Current Issue
Articles in the current Issue cover:
Trading in the Digital Marketplace
“much of what distinguishes DTA from its predecessor are high-level, strategic responsibilities.”
Building trust: what agencies can learn from data exchange industry
“Undoubtedly, the draft report represents a major step forward for Australian data policy, however the implications for the proposed implementation and enforcement of these reforms for the private and public sector must be considered. It is my belief that further thought and detail should be given to three priority questions.”
Technique reveals the basis for machine-learning systems’ decisions: Making computers explain themselves.
“In real-world applications, sometimes people really want to know why the model makes the predictions it does … One major reason that doctors don’t trust machine-learning methods is that there’s no evidence.”
New tool detects malicious websites before they cause harm
“These early signs of likely evil-doers help security professionals take preemptive measures, instead of waiting for a security threat to surface.”
QESP Blog
An October 27, 2016 blog by Anne-Marie Elias, Collaborative Alchemist | Change Strategist | International Speaker & Facilitator gives some relevant insights on Disruption from inside and outside government, see The inevitable shift is here – startups disrupting government.
Events
Governance in the Digital Age
Date: Thursday 8th December 2016 – 7:30 AM
Location: Microsoft Pty Limited L28, 400 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
Jan Begg, the Chair of the international (ISO) IT Service Management and IT Governance standards committee, invites you to attend a presentation and panel discussion on the latest guidance on governance and outsourcing in the digital age. This event, to be held in the Microsoft Queensland offices in Brisbane (Microsoft Pty Limited L28, 400 George Street, Brisbane QLD 4000) on Thursday 8th December, is for business leaders who want to stay current on strategic imperatives. The event is free of charge, but please register to reserve a place.
QESP/ ACS NSW evening networking event
A further joint QESP/ ACS NSW evening networking event is now being planned, see http://qesp.org/progalore.
Quotes
Quote of the Day
“A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.” ? Freeman Dyson
Quote from Yesteryear
The people have lost the confidence of the government. It is time to dissolve the public and elect another. — Berthold Brecht
Ted Smillie
QESP Chairman