Replace 250,000 public sector jobs with robots, urges think tank Reform in radical workforce overhaul driven by technology February 5, 2017 Automating admin jobs could reduce the public sector workforce by more than a quarter of a million people saving the economy billions of pounds, a leading think tank has suggested. And adopting technology such as artificial intelligence, chatbots and drones, could radically overhaul the public sector and streamline Whitehall even further, according to a new report [...]
It’s time for business leaders to get serious about the threat to jobs from artificial intelligence January 30, 2017 "I love driving for Uber, but they want to replace me with driverless cars. I don’t know what will happen to me and everyone else, but there could be a revolution.” A conversation with my Uber driver last week unearthed a new fear that few of the world’s business leaders seem to have grasped – [...]
Why could digital tech reach over $2.7 trillion by 2020? January 30, 2017 Whether it’s big data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud storage or cyber security, the effects of digital technology development are all around us. Recognised as the third industrial revolution, we are experiencing one of the most transformative periods in history. Digital – transforming our industrial society In 2001, a group of software developers met at the [...]
Top dogs: 37 of the hottest startups to watch right now January 25, 2017 Nearly 40 UK tech startups have been branded "ones to watch" and will be mentored by top entrepreneurs, founders and investors to get them scaling up to become tech giants. A startup which lets wannabe pet owners borrow other people's dogs, BorrowMyDoggy, and an innovative mapping company which just landed backing from Daimler, What3Words, are [...]
Hedge funds struggle against equities as investors look for stability rather than outsized returns January 24, 2017 Hedge funds struggled to keep pace with equity markets over the course of 2016, with an average return significantly lower than benchmark indices. Average hedge fund returns for 2016 hit 7.4 per cent over the course of 2016, according to data from Preqin and the Alternative Investment Management Association (Aima). That performance was the highest [...]
Want to skip congestion? Airbus is working on it with its flying car prototype January 17, 2017 Gridlocked roads and congestion might be a signature of busy cities, but Airbus hopes it'll have a way to circumvent that – sooner rather than later. The aerospace giant has said it's got plans to test a prototype of a self-piloted flying car by the end of the year. It got the wheels – or wings [...]
South Korea’s prosecutors are seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung’s chief executive January 16, 2017 The chief executive of Samsung has been accused of bribing a friend of President Park Geun-hye, and today South Korea's special prosecutor's office said it is seeking a warrant to his arrest. Jay Y. Lee was questioned for 22 hours last week as prosecutors looked into a corruption scandal that revolved around Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the [...]
Alternative lending’s leading founders and chief executives give their predictions for the sector in 2017 January 12, 2017 The road was slightly bumpy for alternative lenders last year. Authorisations for the Innovative Finance Isa were delayed, there was further Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) probing, disappointing results hounded a good handful of the UK’s largest platforms and Goldman Sachs made its foray into the market with in-house platform Marcus. But provided the regulator continues [...]
Artificial intelligence and robots are one of the biggest technological risks to the world January 11, 2017 Artificial intelligence and robotics are one of the biggest potential risks to humankind of emerging technologies, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. But, the development of such technology, which is expected to disrupt everything from the world of work to geopolitics, could also conversely bring the biggest benefits to the world. [...]
The spy who accelerated me: Meet the 7 startups fighting cybercrime with GCHQ January 11, 2017 Britain’s spymasters have selected seven startups to work “behind the wire” with the intelligence service in a bid to fight the growing threat of cyber attacks against UK business. A digital identification system which is secured via cryptographic technology and a system which uses neural networks to protect banks from being hacked are just two of [...]