Why Britain needs a minister for AI August 8, 2019 With the nation in a state of economic and political uncertainty, Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister looks to technology to rejuvenate and refocus the country. He announces “a major national effort to bring advanced technology and new processes into industry”, launching the government’s first ministry of technology. Tech experts across the country rejoice as policymakers [...]
Public mistrust in AI ‘puts UK tech dominance at risk’ August 8, 2019 Public mistrust in artificial intelligence risks setting the UK back in the global tech race, according to a report published today. UK businesses must lead by example and take an ethical approach to the new technology if they are to secure consumer confidence, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned. Read more: Google-owned AI firm [...]
Google-owned AI firm Deepmind suffers ballooning losses as debt mounts August 7, 2019 Deepmind, the artificial intelligence company owned by Google, has posted a huge increase in loss for the full year as its debt level reached more than £1bn. Read more: Google takes off as revenue tops expectations The London-headquartered company reported a loss of £470m in 2018, compared to £302m the previous year, according to its [...]
Payments firm Wirecard posts surge in profit as it nets new clients August 7, 2019 German payments firm Wirecard reported a jump in profits in its half-year results today and said it expected to do better in 2019 than originally thought. The firm, which provides payments systems to businesses and cards to customers, was boosted by new relationships with companies such as supermarket Aldi. Read more: Softbank to invest €900m [...]
No respite for BT investors as shares sink again August 6, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. BT shares continue to fall after first quarter results do little to dispel fears over its dividend. After a torrid year for followers of Britain’s best-known stocks, first quarter results from BT Group (LSE:BT.A) have done little to ease their fears that the telecom group’s dividend is next for the chop. While last week’s figures [...]
Former Virgin Money boss snubs Bank of England for top Salesforce job August 6, 2019 Former Virgin Money chief executive Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has shunned a prospective job at the Bank of England to instead head up the British business of software giant Salesforce. The US tech firm, which is planning to inject $2.5bn (£2.05bn) into its UK business in the next five years, said Gadhia would begin the role [...]
Facebook ‘still flooded with fake reviews’ despite regulator warning August 6, 2019 Facebook is failing to crack down on a “thriving” marketplace of fake reviews on its website, despite being told by regulators to tackle the problem, a new investigation has revealed. Consumer group Which found dozens of groups on the social media site that recruit people to write fake reviews on ecommerce sites such as Amazon [...]
Far-right website 8chan down as Cloudflare pulls support after mass shootings August 5, 2019 8chan, the far-right messaging forum linked to recent mass shootings in the US, has been forced offline after cybersecurity firm Cloudflare cut ties with the website. San Francisco-based Cloudflare said it would stop protecting the controversial website at midnight Pacific time (8am BST) today. Read more: At least 30 people killed in separate US mass [...]
Phrasee reveals how artificial intelligence will change marketing August 5, 2019 We’re all aware that artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to transform every sector of the economy, and marketing is no exception. Already, the industry is using this new technology to analyse data or give product recommendations to customers. Of course, as adoption of the technology increases, so too is anxiety over the future of jobs. [...]
DEBATE: Should we be worried about police use of facial recognition technology? August 5, 2019 Should we be worried about police use of facial recognition technology? Silkie Carlo, director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, says YES. A society where we’re watched, tracked, and identified by facial recognition cameras was once the stuff of dystopian fiction – and for good reason. In a free society, citizens [...]