UK tech firms suffer worst quarter in seven years as uncertainty weighs February 10, 2020 The UK’s thriving tech sector suffered its worst quarter since 2012 at the end of last year as political uncertainty took its toll on growth. Staff hiring declined and new business activity flatlined in the final three months of 2019, according to figures published today by KPMG. UK tech firms reported that overall business was [...]
Britain will regret Huawei decision, warns exiled artist Ai Weiwei February 4, 2020 The UK will regret its decision to allow Chinese tech firm Huawei to build parts of the country’s 5G networks, Ai Weiwei has warned. The artist and activist, who has been exiled from his homeland since 2015, branded the move “short-sighted profit seeking”, adding that the British would “feel sorry later”. Boris Johnson’s government last [...]
Cyber firm Callsign set to unveil bumper JP Morgan backing February 4, 2020 London-based identity fraud firm Callsign is said to be on the verge of unveiling fresh funding worth tens of millions of dollars from Wall Street giant JP Morgan. Callsign, which uses AI to verify the identity of users, is signing off on a deal with JP Morgan Asset Management, which manages $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) [...]
Government’s AI adviser calls for crackdown on social media targeting February 4, 2020 Social media users are being left in the dark about the way major platforms target information at them, the government’s artificial intelligence (AI) adviser has warned. A report published today by the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) called for tighter regulation of online targeting systems, which use personal information about users to decide [...]
The second order impacts of artificial intelligence February 4, 2020 Much has been said about how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning might change the investment profession. Whether it is the advancement of automated trading, using alternative data to find new investment signals, or robo-advisors becoming more capable, the main focus to date has been on how these tools will cause the investment manager’s job [...]
Demystifying corporate social responsibility: It’s not just about ‘do-gooders’ February 4, 2020 When Nationwide Building Society asked us to maximise the impact of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) function, we were very excited. Nationwide already had a deeply embedded sense of social responsibility. The brand was born out of a social purpose, and since 2007 it has been committed to investing at least one percent of its [...]
The ethical executive is coming to a boardroom near you February 3, 2020 We are undergoing a paradigm shift in our political, economic, and commercial worlds — and it’s truly stranger than fiction. Donald Trump, Brexit, Cambridge Analytica, the weaponisation of data, deep fakes, and artificial intelligence (AI) — phenomena that would have seemed inconceivable a decade ago are now our day-to-day reality. While some businesses are ahead of [...]
Audit resignations jump as sector faces regulatory pressure February 3, 2020 The number of audit firms to resign from jobs jumped last year as the sector comes under increasing regulatory pressure. Resignations have risen 21 per cent to 229 in 2018/19, up from 190 the previous year, according to the latest research by Thomson Reuters. The spike in resignations comes as audit companies are increasingly in [...]
This marks the start of a brave new post-Brexit future January 30, 2020 Tonight at 11 o’clock, as the Brexit countdown clock ticks to zero, I will be toasting the moment with a bottle of Brexit Beer, produced by my friend and fellow Leave campaigner Jon Moynihan. My toast won’t be to winning the Referendum or Getting Brexit Done. Rather, it will be a toast to the future, [...]
Huawei gets government’s go ahead for limited involvement in UK 5G January 28, 2020 Chinese tech firm Huawei has been given the go-ahead for limited involvement in the UK’s 5G infrastructure, the government has confirmed. The full details of the decision, which was agreed at a meeting of the National Security Council this morning, are expected to be laid out by culture secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan in the House [...]