The Startup Manifesto: Why the digital economy has never been a bigger political issue September 3, 2014 The UK’s digital startups are thriving – we have the fastest-growing digital economy in the G20 and have created 11 tech companies worth over $1bn in the last decade. British digital successes like Zoopla, Shazam and YPlan are now household names, and in London alone the tech sector is forecast to create 46,000 jobs and [...]
Meet the magical computing that puts the human into artificial intelligence August 3, 2014 Think Artificial Intelligence and the first thing that comes to mind is probably robots. Thanks to popular culture, AI is considered distinctly un-human, and can prompt people to worry about the role of technology in our daily lives and who is really in control. However, there’s a new wave of technology fighting to put the [...]
The parking app that’s going to change how you drive August 7, 2014 Did you know the average driver wastes 106 days of their life hunting for a car parking space? It's pretty depressing, but one London-based company is on a mission to make life better for drivers. JustPark, an online platform that lets you park wherever and whenever, has just announced a global first in motoring technology: [...]
World Gold Council summit set to reform shaky gold fix process June 18, 2014 Gold industry experts will meet next month to discuss reforms to the gold fix, after a series of setbacks for London’s historical price-setting organisation. The World Gold Council announced the sector’s summit yesterday, with a first meeting scheduled for 7 July. The group said that bullion banks, refiners, central banks, exchange-traded fund and miners would [...]
This robot can understand feelings and goes on sale next year June 5, 2014 Japanese tech group Softbank has unveiled the world's first robot capable of recognising human emotions. Named Pepper, the 120cm tall humanoid robot can read into the tone of its owner's voice to understand its temperament. However, Pepper's abilities are not set in stone. Pepper will use cloud-based AI to gather what Softbank calls "collective wisdom". The [...]
Letters to the Editor – 09/09 – Twitter complaint, AI developments, Best of Twitter September 8, 2013 Twitter complaint [Re: Twitter complaint signals the start of a revolution for corporate reputations, Friday] This is a wonderful story. So many companies, of which British Airways is one, do not dedicate sufficient resources towards dealing with customers. The resultant media coverage, not to mention the thousands who saw the comment on Twitter, should set [...]
Google snaps up UK artificial intelligence company DeepMind for $400m January 27, 2014 Google has agreed to buy London-based artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepMind for a reported $400m (£242m). The price was first reported by technology news website Re/code. The deal represents Google's largest European acquisition. DeepMind was founded in 2012 by 37-year-old chess prodigy and neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, along with Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman. The AI [...]
This new technology could give you 4pc of your life back April 28, 2014 In Mountain View, California, Google's top dogs are working on what could be one of the most important labour-saving devices of the century. Speaking to The Atlantic Cities, Google's Chris Urmson says that the typical American now spend 52 minutes of each day commuting. That's four per cent of the average American's lifetime – "If [...]
Why robots are finally breaking into business – but sadly not our kitchens March 10, 2014 ROBOTICS is now the fastest growing industry in the world, according to a recent report from Littler Mendelson, and could well become one of the largest within a matter of decades. Yet for all the hype, and fears of autonomous machines replacing human jobs, this is a comparatively recent development. The fields of robotics and [...]
Why robots are finally breaking into business – but sadly not our kitchens March 10, 2014 ROBOTICS is now the fastest growing industry in the world, according to a recent report from Littler Mendelson, and could well become one of the largest within a matter of decades. Yet for all the hype, and fears of autonomous machines replacing human jobs, this is a comparatively recent development. The fields of robotics and [...]