Technology today is widely associated with the digital realm - computers, the internet, mobile device, and smartphones, - just to name a few, which has seen the mushrooming of a myriad of tech startups. However, technological innovation may not translate to definite technological progress. For example, Uber-fication has seen similar applications based on the ride-sharing giant’s model in various other industries like hospitality, healthcare and personal services.

The coastal city of Danang in Vietnam, is famed for its white sandy beaches and idyllic resorts and is Vietnam’s fifth largest city. Home to more than a million residents, the city is rapidly urbanising and its population is set to more than double to 2.5 million by 2030.Danang joins 25 other pilot cities from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN).

Thanks to digital transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is possible for the same output from ASEAN's top six economies today to be produced using 28 million fewer workers by 2028. Digital transformation is always said to disrupt the workforce but its impact has never been truly quantified.

Singapore is putting together the final few pieces of its e-payment infrastructure jigsaw puzzle with the introduction of the Singapore Quick Response (SGQR) code. As SGQR is rolled out over the next six months, store merchants will only need to display one single QR code that will work with all the payment vendors they have signed up with. Gone will be the days when they need to display a different code for each vendor.Cashless transactions are gaining pace in the region.

Alibaba and Tencent are two household names in the global technology sphere. For a long time now, these two Chinese giants have slugged it out on their home turf in a struggle to achieve dominance in the growing Chinese internet consumer market. Having had a duopoly advantage thanks to China’s “Great Firewall,” these two, battle-hardened titans of the tech industry have sought to extend their businesses beyond their borders.

Personal mobility devices (PMDs) no longer apply to battery-operated vehicles used by old folks or people with mobility issues to move around. Today, they are more like a cross between skateboards and electric bicycles. They have also become smaller, lighter and more portable than Segway devices used by security personnel in some large shopping malls.As the popularity of PMDs increase, safety issues have appeared and has prompted calls for regulatory controls.

Indonesia is one of the largest countries in the world in terms of both, land area and population. Over the past five years, Indonesia’s urban population has increased by 53.5 percent, more than half of the country’s total population, according to Statistics Indonesia.

You may think that artificial intelligence (AI) will make doctors obsolete soon but that day is still far off. In fact, computers are not that intelligent just yet.Most of the computer solutions emerging in healthcare rely on algorithms written to analyse data and recommend treatments. They do not rely on computers thinking independently.

A pilot project in Cambodia may help small-scale organic rice farmers get better deals for their produce. Using blockchain technology, the project connects a large network of people in the supply chain and hopes to ensure everyone gets a fair share of the deal made.The Blockchain for Livelihoods from Organic Cambodian Rice or Blocrice involves developing a “smart contract”, a three-way digital contract farming agreement between organic farmers, rice exporters and retailers.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to tackle the scourge of human trafficking for a while now. Unfortunately, as 2018 dawned, none of the ASEAN member states made it onto the United States (US) Department of State’s Tier 1 list for human trafficking.