Russia has said that a division of its Bastion coastal defence missile systems has been deployed to Paramushir, one of the Kuril Islands in the north Pacific, some of which Japan claims as its territory. The move is part of a wider strengthening of Russia's defences in its vast far eastern regions, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday, partly in response to what he called United States efforts to "contain" Russia and China. Moscow's move also comes after high-level visits by Asian leaders to both sides of the Ukraine war. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, a close US ally and a key Chinese rival in East Asia, made a surprise trip to Ukraine this week, which some observers said was an attempt to upstage Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia. "To contain Russia and China, the United States is significantly increasing its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, strengthening its political and military links with its allies, continuing to create a new American security architecture in this region," Shoigu said in a video of his address to Russia's top brass, published by the defence ministry.

The digital evolution of the financial services (FS) industry is heavily reliant on having quality information and analytics to deliver services to customers and manage operations in an efficient and risk-appropriate manner. With developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) transforming the information processing and data analytics landscape, and opening up potential benefits, such as business process simplification, cost reduction, efficiency improvements and enhanced customer engagement, many FS firms have become early adopters of AI. Building and operationalising a trustworthy AI framework within an FS firm takes time and effort, however the benefits can be significant. While regulators around the globe encourage and support innovation in the FS sector, questions have been raised on whether AI has been used in an ethical and trustworthy way for customers and our society. In this report, we explore the principles underpinning ethical use of AI issued by regulators and governments in the Asia Pacific region, and what FS firms need to consider when developing their own'trustworthy AI framework'.

Singapore ------ Moloco, a leader in machine learning and growth solutions for performance marketers, has today announced the launch of Moloco Retail Media Platform (RMP) for Singapore and Southeast Asia. Singapore has been selected as RMP's next market for expansion as a strategic hub for the e-commerce industry in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region. Retail media has been touted as digital advertising's'new' third pillar, following search and social, with the market valued at USD$100 billion over the next 5 years. The RMP is a turnkey ad serving platform that enables e-commerce marketplaces to set up their own in-house advertising business. Powered by machine learning, RMP is able to drive higher return on ad spend (ROAS) for merchants with relevant and personalized sponsored product recommendations based on real-time shopper behavior.

Having helped grow Google from a Silicon Valley startup to a global heavyweight, Eric Schmidt appreciates more than almost anyone the power of technology in the modern world. But some things scare him, too. Speaking at the TIME100 Leadership Forum in Singapore on Sunday, the technologist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of philanthropic foundation Schmidt Futures said "you don't need to worry about the killer robot." It makes for a good movie, but "we're not building that, right? However, he is concerned about the misuse of artificial intelligence to help build things in the real world.

SINGAPORE, September 27, 2022 – Asia/Pacific* spending on AI systems (including hardware, software, and services) will rise from $20.6 billion in 2022 to around $46.6 billion in 2026, according to IDC's latest Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions have become an essential part of process improvement and business decision-making, assisting organizations in keeping up with market viability. IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.7 percent for 2021-2026. "Pre-trained natural language and computer vision models have contributed largely to the 1st wave of adoptions. It's time for more organizations to tap into their own data asset and start managing the "data to intelligence" lifecycle. This will become one of the differentiating capabilities for companies to compete in the digital-first era," says Jessie Danqing Cai, Associate Research Director, Artificial Intelligence, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Technologies that enable data storage and data-based decisions will attract investment focus from Asia/Pacific* healthcare providers. SINGAPORE, September 12, 2022 – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud are the top technologies that healthcare providers in Asia/Pacific (including Japan) will be investing on in the next three years, according to the recently published IDC report titled IDC Public Sector Asia/Pacific (Including Japan) Survey, 2022 -- Healthcare Sector Analysis. The survey report focuses on healthcare providers, such as hospitals, clinics, and primary healthcare centers, and covers 99 respondents for healthcare providers out of a total of 421 respondents. Analysis reveals the trend of emerging technologies, hybrid working strategies, outsourcing priorities, and priority care areas as part of integrated care in Asia/Pacific. "The priorities of care providers in Asia/Pacific are undergoing a clear change, driven by their patient-centric care needs and increased focus on clinical data. While there will be an investment focus on cloud and AI by the care providers to have better efficiency and agility in handling data, there must also be a focus on structured data generation and'explainability' for AI-based solutions. This approach will ensure acceptability, adaptability, and scalability of solutions in predictive and personalized care management, moving forward," says Manoj Vallikkat, Senior Research Manager, IDC Asia/Pacific Healthcare Insights.

In Asia Pacific (APAC), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are increasingly being deployed in credit and risk functions for improved credit assessment, credit scoring and fraud detection. Moving forward, AI will no longer be an option for banks and financial institutions but rather a necessity, enabling them to meet rising customer expectations, tap new business opportunities, and address the rapidly evolving fraud landscape, data specialists and top finance executives said in a recent webinar. During Fintech Fireside Asia's latest panel discussion, C-level executives representing Union Bank of the Philippines, credit bureau TransUnion, lending startup Funding Societies and data solutions provider Mobilewalla discussed the state of AI adoption across APAC's financial ecosystem, delving into how predictive modeling and ML are now being used in the lending process. For Anindya Datta, Founder, CEO, Chairman, Mobilewalla, AI offers an opportunity to deliver innovative business models that can leapfrog traditional solutions and reach the unbanked, a potential that's particularly relevant in Southeast Asia considering that more than 70% of the region's adult population remain either unbanked or underbanked today. "A major part of decision making in lending is around figuring out how likely a person is going to pay back and whether they will pay back in time. Why it's so interesting In emerging markets, especially in APAC, is because the credit footprint is small [and a lot of people don't] have credit scores," Anindya said.

Asia Pacific spending on artificial intelligence (AI) systems will rise from $17.6 billion in 2022 to around $32 billion in 2025, said a study. According to IDC's latest Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide, businesses invest in AI to gain a competitive advantage through improved customer insight, increased employee efficiency, and accelerated decision making. IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.2% for the period 2020-2025, the study noted. Over the next five years, the banking industry will continue to invest the most in AI solutions. Risk mitigation would be vital for the banking industry's AI investment through augmented threat intelligence and fraud analysis applications.

The global Automotive Cybersecurity Market size is projected to grow from USD 2.0 billion in 2021 to USD 5.3 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 21.3%. Increasing incidents of cyber-attacks on vehicles and massive vehicles recalls by OEMs have increased awareness about automotive cybersecurity among OEMs globally. Moreover, increasing government mandates on incorporating several safety features, such as rear-view camera, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning system, and electronic stability control, have further opened new opportunities for automotive cybersecurity service providers globally. As a result, there are various start-ups present in the automotive cybersecurity ecosystem. Government initiatives toward building an intelligent transport system have also further escalated the demand for cybersecurity solutions all over the world.

The dynamics of the global commercial artificial intelligence market continues to change over time, thanks to the persistent advancements in technology. This research report offers a detailed and insightful assessment of the global commercial artificial intelligence market, taking primary trends and the future prospects of this market in consideration. Various segments of this market, based on a number of parameters, have also been evaluated to gain a clear overview of the dynamics in the worldwide commercial artificial intelligence market. The global commercial artificial intelligence market demonstrates a highly fragmented and competitive business landscape. The leading companies in this market, including NVIDIA, Intel, IBM, Google, Microsoft, AWS, General Vision, GE, Siemens, and Mitsubishi Electric, are all competing on the basis of R&D, innovations, and new product launches.