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Accenture and Microsoft deepen partnership to accelerate generative AI adoption
Last week, Accenture and Microsoft announced an expanded partnership, along with their joint venture, Avanade, to co-develop new industry and functional generative AI solutions.
This builds on Accenture’s US$3 billion investment in AI, announced earlier this month.
“Generative AI is driving innovation and reinvention, transforming work across industries, and changing the ways we access information,” said Julie Sweet, chair and chief executive officer (CEO), Accenture. “Our expanded partnership with Microsoft will help our clients find the right ways to responsibly build and scale this exciting technology across their enterprises and realize the value it can create.”
This partnership will see Accenture leverage Microsoft Azure, Azure OpenAI Service, and Microsoft 365 Copilot to deliver AI-empowered solutions, accelerated by the cloud.
The companies will also help clients explore and experiment with safe and responsible AI by tapping into the new Accenture Center for Advanced AI and Avanade’s new AI Organizational Readiness Framework.
Accenture and Avanade, alongside the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Engineering team, are also training and equipping their people with advanced generative AI skills.
The companies continue to engage with numerous clients across industries, spanning financial services, healthcare, supply chain, contact centers and security, to develop such solutions.
TELUS to support refugees with low cost internet and mobility plans
TELUS has announced that it will support government-assisted refugees arriving in Canada with low cost home internet and mobility plans, as well as free mobile devices.
Plans offered:
- Mobility for Good for Government Assisted Refugees – available nationwide and includes mobility services for C$25/month as well as a free certified pre-owned device
- Internet for Good for Government Assisted Refugees – starts at C$10/month for two years and available in BC, AB and parts of QC. The plan includes speeds up to 50 Mbps, with a 150 Mbps plan set to launch in July.
The company also announced that it is working with ISSofBC (Immigrant Services Society of BC) to sponsor an immigrant family by providing more than C$50,000 in funding during their first year in Canada.
Currently, TELUS is supporting more than 3,200 government-assisted refugees across Canada in partnership with 13 Resettlement Assistance Program service provider organizations, including ISSofBC, Inter Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, Immigrant Services Calgary, and Rainbow Railroad, among others.
Resettlement agencies interested in becoming partners can contact TELUS at connectingforgood@telus.com.
Geotab leverages generative AI to improve connected transportation experience
Oakville, Ont.-based telematics company Geotab has announced that it is introducing generative AI capabilities that it calls “Project G” into its Geotab Data Connector platform, to provide participating customers with insights related to vehicle performance, efficiency and sustainability.
The Geotab Data Connector is a tool that allows users of the Geotab fleet management platform to integrate fleet performance and other data into their preferred BI tools, such as Tableau or PowerBI.
With the beta launch of Project G, the company seeks to set a new standard in connected transportation. Customers will have access to an analytics digital assistant that will answer questions through a chat interface linked to Geotab Data Connector. Insights include vehicle performance and idling times, along with fuel economy comparisons, vehicle usage, cost savings, and more.
Project G is built on privacy-by-design principles and keeps all customer telematics data within Geotab’s environment, never shared with any Large Language Model (LLM), the company says.
“With Project G, we’re taking a giant leap forward in demonstrating the impact of generative AI in the connected transportation landscape. We’ve long been recognized as leaders in data intelligence and AI, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning models for years,” said Mike Branch, vice president of data and analytics at Geotab. “This breadth of experience presents us with a unique opportunity to analyze vast amounts of fleet data, identify patterns, and generate invaluable recommendations to optimize operational efficiency and performance.”
Digital Museums Canada invites museums, cultural and Indigenous organizations to apply for funding
Investment program Digital Museums Canada (DMC) is inviting eligible museums and heritage, cultural, and Indigenous organizations to apply for over C$250,000 in funding.
Successful applicants will have to create a range of bilingual digital products, including virtual exhibits and tours, and web-based games, as well as educational resources.
The program offers two funding streams:
- Community stories – With an investment of C$25,000, develop a story using DMC’s website-building platform. Additional funding is available to have stories translated into a third language.
- Digital projects – With an investment of C$250,000, develop an online project from the ground up, in collaboration with a web development agency.
The 2023 Call for Proposals closes on December 1, 2023.
To date, DMC has provided more than C$15 million in funding for more than 200 projects. The funding program also provides expert guidance in digital accessibility, user experience, and inclusive design.
IKEA Canada launches AI-powered digital customer experience
IKEA Canada has launched Kreativ, an AI-powered, mixed reality app that enables customers to integrate design solutions and visualize them in their own living spaces.
Kreativ combines the Swedish giant’s life at home expertise with the latest developments in spatial computing, machine learning, and 3D mixed reality technologies.
The core of the technology was developed by Geomagical Labs, which Ingka Group (IKEA Retail) acquired in April 2020.
Kreativ is available on the IKEA app and allows customers to do the following:
- Explore IKEA products, combinations, and design ideas from the new Design page of IKEA Kreativ
- Browse IKEA products in spatial settings – swap, move, rotate, stack and hang IKEA products
- Design and create editable and lifelike 3D replicas of their own spaces through the IKEA Kreativ Scene Scanner
- Add products to their cart, save design ideas, and share design ideas with other users
- Bring their room designs when they shop at their local store
The complete IKEA Kreativ room design experience can be accessed for free by downloading the IKEA app from the Apple App Store, Google Play, or by visiting IKEA.ca.
More to explore
Energy producer Suncor admits ‘cyber security incident’
A major Canadian energy producer and owner of the Petro-Can gas station network has acknowledged suffering an undefined cyber attack.
Inviting CIOs into the business growth conversation: Forrester weighs in
Companies that grow better are the ones that align the capabilities of their business and technology groups, a new trends report by global research company Forrester revealed.
HPE expands its partner ecosystem, adds new cloud services at Discover
Aside from its entry into the artificial intelligence AI cloud market (see link below) Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) this week made a number of additional announcements at HPE Discover 2023 revolving around its GreenLake hybrid cloud platform, all designed, it said, to reduce complexities and improve productivity.
Private AI selected as 2023 Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum
Private AI, a provider of data privacy software offerings, was selected from among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers.”
Meta confirms it will end news availability for Canadians as Bill C-18 passes
Meta said in a statement today that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram prior to the Online News Act taking effect.
Government powers under Canada’s proposed cybersecurity law should be limited: Rights groups
Parliament must limit government powers over the private sector in the proposed Canadian cybersecurity legislation, say several civil rights groups, arguing the current version risks eroding civil liberties, privacy, and democratic freedoms.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Hashtag Trending Jun.27 – Battle brews between open source and closed AI models; J.P Morgan fined for deleting data; A company prepares to launch a robot dog with a flamethrower
Listen to the latest episode of Cybersecurity Today
Cyber Security Today, June 26, 2023 – The latest data breaches, and a Twitter hacker sentenced to five years
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances
If you live in Québec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.