Emerging Technologies Handbook

1 Internet of Things - overview and applications

IoT connects physical and digital worlds through sensors and software to enable real-time data collection for applications in intelligent mobility, smart cities, smart living, and government operations across transport, planning, education, defence and environmental monitoring, delivering benefits including cost reduction, improved citizen services, enhanced security and health monitoring. Leading governments including the USA, China, India, Colombia and Chile are investing heavily, with India's IoT policy targeting a 15 billion dollar market share and 100 smart cities with 31 billion dollars investment, 60 billion dollars in 5G investments, universal 50 mbps broadband, 10 million public wifi access points and 18% household internet access by 2022, while Los Angeles achieved 16% travel speed increase and 12% intersection delay reduction through sensor and camera-based traffic control. India has launched IoT Centre of Excellence initiatives coordinating development across specialized centres with startup incubation, financing and mentoring, achieving 304% IoT talent growth from 2014 to 2017, and Colombia is developing computer vision and IoT systems for road accident prevention, with the global IoT startup sector attracting 874 million dollars in investment in the second quarter of 2018 with 20% annual growth and 27 acquisitions.

2 Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence uses algorithms and training data to simulate human intelligence processes including problem-solving, voice recognition, and decision automation, with applications across government services spanning workforce optimization, pattern recognition, national security including unmanned systems and cyberattack detection, health and welfare including precision medicine and remote monitoring, and security and justice including surveillance and criminal investigation. Barriers to AI deployment include algorithmic bias, overestimation of capabilities due to high costs and skill shortages, and cybersecurity risks from attacks designed to introduce biases and alter algorithm function, with five priority areas identified as precision agriculture, smart mobility, smart cities, and remote healthcare diagnostics. Case studies show AI-powered smart traffic signals reducing travel time by 25% and traffic idle time by 40%, voice interview analysis for Sustainable Development Goals connections, and autonomous taxis using deep learning for object recognition to reduce congestion and pollution.

3 Robotics - RPA

4 Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a shared computing infrastructure model that governments use to deliver more efficient and cost-effective public services through infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, or software as a service, with providers charging according to usage and benefits including cost efficiency through rapid provisioning of scalable resources, enabling multiple client platforms and rapid technology updates, and support for transformational analytics. Deployment models include private clouds providing exclusive infrastructure to a single organization, community clouds allowing multiple organizations to share resources when they have similar objectives, and public clouds making infrastructure available to the general public. Examples include the United States apps.gov portal for public sector cloud services, the United Kingdom's Cloud First policy that achieved savings of 18 million pounds and 30 percent cost reductions, and Colombia's program through MinTIC and Colombia Compra Eficiente offering services from providers including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud.

5 Blockchain

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that maintains encrypted transaction records across a network without requiring a central authority, with each participant holding a complete copy of all transactions, consensus among all participants required for transaction approval, smart contracts enabling rule-based transaction processing, and confirmed transactions remaining unalterable; governments use blockchain to increase citizen trust in operations such as tax collection, document issuance, and asset management. Countries including Estonia (digital identity cards and online voting since 2012), Indonesia (VAT fraud reduction), Vermont and Delaware (state record management and corporate registration), and Hong Kong, Ukraine, Sweden and China (property titles, municipal voting, education platforms, smart city infrastructure) have implemented blockchain across applications spanning payments, identification, security services, asset management, lending, property transfers, and anti-fraud measures; Colombia's National Land Agency uses blockchain for land adjudication through automated consensus mechanisms, smart contracts on hybrid Ethereum networks, and facial biometric identity verification, while universities use blockchain to verify document authenticity and prevent falsification through immutable digital recording.

6 3D Printing

Three-dimensional printing creates physical objects from digital designs using successive layers of material, offering benefits like faster manufacturing, reduced waste, lower environmental impact, and cost savings. Governments and sectors including defense, infrastructure, and transportation use this technology to reduce expenses and improve operational efficiency.

7 Ciberseguridad

Cybersecurity is the protection of computers, networks, programs and data against unauthorized access, modification or destruction, and functions as a cross-cutting element for all emerging technologies in the handbook, requiring coordinated efforts across technology infrastructure, processes and controls to achieve identity and access management, resilience to cyberattacks, and data and privacy protection. The section provides specific cybersecurity considerations for Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, and blockchain technology, noting that blockchain's secure and tamper-resistant properties depend on selecting appropriate network types, and that three-dimensional printing implementations face increased vulnerability to intrusion threats from open-source firmware. Case studies from Switzerland and the United Kingdom illustrate data protection laws and cybersecurity strategies.

8 Analítica y Big Data

Big Data comprises large volumes of varied data obtained at high velocity and managed through technology, with three types of analytics: descriptive analytics providing immediate event information, predictive analytics forecasting actions from multiple data sources, and prescriptive analytics determining optimal decisions for specific objectives. Applications include real-time audio analysis, anomaly detection, energy loss detection, customer attrition prediction, and autonomous vehicle picking, with benefits for improved citizen services, simplified data management, fraud and threat detection, and crime prevention through behavioral pattern analysis. Case studies from the United States, Colombia and the United Kingdom demonstrate predictive analytics uses in detecting fraudulent insurance claims, combating smuggling and managing debt collection, including Medicare and Medicaid fraud prevention systems and Colombia's Sofía data analysis prototype.

9 New Dimensions

Virtual reality (computer-generated three-dimensional environments for interaction) and augmented reality (digital overlays on real-world views) have applications in training for dangerous work and cybersecurity threat visualization, though they carry risks including reduced strategic impact and harmful behaviors like harassment and stalking. Investment in these technologies reached approximately 829 million dollars in virtual reality and 1.1 billion dollars in augmented reality in 2018, with 14 acquisition operations by companies including Google, Apple and Lyft, and forecasts showing the United States and China will lead AR/VR spending in 2019 with 6.6 billion and 6 billion dollars respectively. Other emerging technologies with government applications include machine learning for pattern analysis and personalized services, voice interfaces for automated transactions, geospatial technologies for information dissemination and planning, cybersecurity, 3D printing for reducing construction costs, and blockchain for facilitating transactions and ensuring traceability and security of operations without intermediaries while establishing decentralized databases with high standards of security, transparency and traceability.