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 [...]
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 [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 12 March 2014 March 11, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Brent crude contract underpinning Slowing output from the North Sea may require IntercontinentalExchange to add oil grades from beyond the offshore European fields to underpin its flagship Brent crude contract. The comments from David Peniket, president of the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, echo growing industry concern that the global crude oil benchmark [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Ignore the pessimists, equities are going up. Here’s why January 24, 2014 Peter Garnry of Saxo Bank is very optimistic when it comes to the future. Innovation is making things better for humanity, and Garnry thinks it's also makes things better for investors, because it pushes up the equity-risk premium "significantly". The chart below shows the S&P 500 performance (excluding dividends) since 1927. Performance is on a [...]
How to stay sane in the workplace November 27, 2013 Jonathan Trott’s dramatic surprise departure from the Ashes tour reminds us that stress is a serious problem TEST cricket, the gentleman’s game with emphasis on the gentle, is the last sport you’d envisage being a rigorous mental challenge. But just one test into the Ashes tour, the out-of-form batsman Jonathan Trott followed Marcus Trescothick and [...]
One frustrating website security feature just became useless October 28, 2013 The web's best loved test of whether you're a human being just became redundant – according to US technology firm Vicarious. The San Francisco based company says that its software can break tests which have users input a distorted string of words and symbols – known as CAPTCHAs – and they say they can do [...]
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 [...]