Britain needs to take a giant leap forward and embrace radical competition to achieve ultrafast broadband February 29, 2016 London is one of the world’s greatest cities, and arguably the pre-eminent global financial centre. The UK has 17 of Europe’s 40 tech unicorns (startups valued at $1bn or more), and all bar three of these are in London. And yet, compared to other European cities, its broadband infrastructure – the vital sensory network of a [...]
Performing for the Camera at Tate Modern works as a history lesson but says little about the here and now February 19, 2016 Tate Modern | ★★★☆☆ Performing for the Camera asks – and generally answers – a series of questions about the role of photography in the artistic process. Does it capture or create? (The latter). Is the result different from the performance? (Yes). Does being observed, as in particle physics, somehow alter the performance itself? (Yes). These [...]
The politics of advertising: M&C Saatchi’s Tom Bazeley talks AI and Alex Salmond February 15, 2016 In the run-up to the 1997 general election, M&C Saatchi produced an iconic poster for the Conservative Party, which depicted Tony Blair’s face with the eyes of a demon. The strap-line read: “New Labour, new danger”. Though condemned in some corners as negative advertising, the piece won plaudits, though Labour still won in a landslide. For [...]
The seven weird habits of highly successful people, from Bill Gates to Marissa Mayer and Warren Buffett February 4, 2016 Bill Gates has revealed that he used to keep tabs on his employees' movements to assess when they were and were not in work – and if, like him, they were diligently in on the weekend. But he's not the only business leader with a quirky obsession or two – here we take a look at some [...]
Why does Stephen Hawking hate the future? January 31, 2016 When it comes to modern day scientists none have managed to punch through into the collective psyche of our society more than Stephen Hawking. From his incredible ambition to explain the theory of everything through to his brilliant performances (in all senses of the word) on comedy and primetime TV shows, he has become the [...]
Air India and Jet Airways bomb scare: Flight AI215 and 9W 260 grounded as authorities run security checks after laptop bomb threat January 27, 2016 A passenger jet was grounded this morning as authorities ran security checks, after receiving a bomb threat. The Air India flight AI215 from Delhi to Kathmandu has been "isolated" and is waiting for security clearance, after a message was received claiming there was a bomb in a laptop. All 122 passengers and seven crew members are waiting in [...]
Bloomberg innovators 2016 list: These are the most innovative businesses in the UK – From coffee creators to fintech leaders January 26, 2016 More than 50 businesses have been named the most innovative in Britain credited with changing the way we live, work and think. Leading fintech startups, creative coffee makers and bionic hand creators, are just some of those to have been chosen by a group of leading investors and entrepreneurs including Saul Klein and Rohan Silva. [...]
Relax: Artificially intelligent robot Godzilla won’t enslave us all – it’s humans, not technology, we should worry about says Oxford academic January 26, 2016 After stark warnings about the risk of artificial intelligence to the future of humankind from such luminaries as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, one academic has countered such arguments Breathe a sigh of relief: a robot Godzilla won't enslave us all, he reassures. Luciano Floridi, professor of philosophy and ethics of information at Oxford, has said [...]
Google agrees to pay £130m in back taxes in deal with HMRC January 23, 2016 Google has agreed a deal with HMRC in which it will pay £130m in back taxes after an "open audit" of its accounts by the UK tax authorities. The £130m covers corporation tax owed since 2005, and senior figures at Google have said it would follow rules which will result in it paying more tax [...]
Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk win 2015 Luddite Award for their “alarmist” warnings about artificial intelligence January 20, 2016 Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have just “won” the 2015 Luddite Award for their warnings about artificial intelligence. A world-renowned physicist and the entrepreneur behind ventures like Tesla and SpaceX, neither of the two are exactly what you might call afraid of technology. But the worries the two have expressed on the future of AI [...]