DeepMind’s AlphaGo versus Go world champion Lee Sedol: Everything you need to know about the man versus machine showdown March 7, 2016 Artificial intelligence is about to face its biggest test to date. The AI software AlphaGo created by British-based Google-owned DeepMind will face its most challenging human foe yet – the champion player of the chess-like ancient Chinese game Go, Lee Sedol. Man and machine will meet for a five set game in Seoul starting this week. Representing the human corner is [...]
Apple will have to pay millions over ebook price-fixing after supreme court declines to hear case March 7, 2016 Apple will have to pay out $450m in a settlement over ebook price-fixing after losing a battle in the US courts. The supreme court declined to hear Apple's challenge to a previous ruling which found that the tech giant conspired with publishers to increase the price of ebooks. A New York court ruled in June last year that it [...]
BBVA acquires Finnish digital banking startup Holvi March 7, 2016 The Spanish bank BBVA which last year invested £45m for a stake in UK challenger bank Atom has snapped up a digital banking startup in Finland. Helsinki-founded Holvi, set up in 2011, has been acquired for an undisposed sum. "We’re excited about Holvi as we share a vision about the benefit of technology for the customer. They use [...]
Modern life is probably killing you by middle age – but the government’s new “One You” public health campaign wants to change that March 7, 2016 Modern life is probably killing you. That's what the government thinks, anyway, blaming too much drinking, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise among the middle-aged for an £11bn a year bill footed by the NHS. Now, in an effort to improve the health of the nation and those aged between 40 and 60 in particular, a £6m campaign [...]
Employees’ lack of cyber security knowledge is putting companies at risk, with just a quarter of companies feeling their training has been “very effective” at altering workers’ behaviour March 7, 2016 Companies are failing to bolster their employees' cyber security knowledge, putting their data and their reputation at risk. Research released today by Axelos – a joint venture of the UK government and professional services giant Capita – has found that organisations are underestimating what impact their staff's lack of knowledge can have on the safety of their systems, [...]
Monitise’s share price soars more than 40 per cent as payments firm enters talks to sell off MyVoucherCodes arm Markco Media March 4, 2016 Monitise has confirmed it is in "very early stage discussions" around the possibility it will sell off part of its content business after the Aim-listed firm's share price soared more than 40 per cent this morning. Monitise, whose share price has tumbled 85 per cent in the last year after a series of bad results [...]
Facebook’s UK tax bill is about to leap after it agreed to pay tax on British ad revenue in the UK March 4, 2016 Facebook is set to pay "millions" more in UK tax after a fundamental overhaul of its revenue structure in the UK. The company will route ad revenue from its British operations through the UK, rather than Ireland. Facebook paid £4,327 in corporation tax in the UK in 2014, results showed – but it's thought the changes will mean the [...]
As the collapse of Powa shows, fintech can be a dangerous game because the UK’s capital structure is prohibitive to growth March 4, 2016 Another day, another failed fintech business. I don’t say this glibly as it is in my interests to be part of a thriving UK financial technology industry. I do however think that we need to analyse ‘sustainable’ fintech and concentrate on that arena. Companies like Powa Technologies, the payments group, stand out. Powa was at [...]
Twitter, eBay, LinkedIn and about a dozen other technology giants file legal brief supporting Apple in its iPhone encryption row March 3, 2016 Seventeen household names in the tech sector have filed a legal brief with a court in California today, backing Apple in its dispute over iPhone encryption. Apple has recently been embroiled in a dispute with US authorities after the technology company refused to unlock the iPhone of one of the attackers involved in the fatal San Bernardino [...]
Superhot review: a first-person shooter in which time only moves when you do March 3, 2016 ★★★★★ | Platform: PC, Mac, SBO Superhot is a first-person shooter in which time only moves when you do. Stand still and your enemies become rooted to the spot, their frozen bullets hanging in the air like hot black conkers. You’re free to look around while time is stopped, surveying the room for anything that [...]