Tech hiring hits fresh high amid bumper foreign investment June 17, 2021 Hiring in the tech sector has surged to its highest level in five years as venture capital investment booms despite the impact of the pandemic. Since February tech jobs vacancies have consistently topped 100,000, while open roles rose to 132,000 in one week in May. Hiring is now at its highest level since 2016, having [...]
Belfast boost: PwC to create 800 new jobs in Northern Ireland’s capital June 16, 2021 Professional services giant PwC plans to create close to 800 new jobs in Belfast. The 771 posts are part of a £40m investment in the company’s new Advanced Research and Engineering Centre, which will open in the city next month. The jobs will be created over the next five years. The new centre is part [...]
98 per cent of hedge fund managers plan to put investment bets on crypto June 16, 2021 Hedge funds are increasingly betting on crypto, as an ‘overwhelming majority’ of senior staff eye digital asset investments over the next five years, according to a new report. The report by Intertrust, which surveyed 100 senior-level professionals, found that 98 per cent expect funds to invest in digital assets in the next five years. The [...]
Switzerland vies to become Europe’s AI hub June 15, 2021 With approximately 8.6 million people and four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh), Switzerland is uniquely at the heart of Europe but without being a member of the European Union. In global terms, Switzerland does not even enter the top five as an ‘AI leader’. But when it comes to Europe and its place [...]
How tech and medical advances are transforming healthcare investing June 14, 2021 Healthcare innovation specialist John Bowler explains the revolution going on in the sector. Covid-19 aside, what other issues are emerging that will reshape the healthcare sector? The main drivers of healthcare remain unchanged: there is accelerating demand for healthcare services as people are increasingly living longer. Governments around the world face budget pressures with the [...]
As seen on screen: How a London advertising firm uses AI to place products in films June 12, 2021 In Call My Agent, the hit French TV series about perennially pressurised talent agents, two characters are seated at the boardroom table in their swanky Parisian offices, a mug of Carte Noire coffee sat squarely in front of each. At first glance, this appears nothing more than some straightforward product placement — a form of [...]
Queen’s Birthday Honours: the full 2021 list June 12, 2021 Below the full list of names for this year ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) The Rt. Hon. Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, The Earl Howe. For political and parliamentary service. (Amersham, Buckinghamshire) ORDER OF THE BATH Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) [...]
20 times that AI has tried to make it in the music business June 4, 2021 Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming omnipresent across every segment of cultural and economic activity. But this phenomenon is not new – AI has been trying to carve a name for itself in the music business as a collaborator, composer, artist and lyricist since 1951… 1) The first computer generated music (1951) In 1951 British mathematician Alan [...]
How did we get here? A short history of artificial intelligence June 4, 2021 For over seventy years the story of artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of saturating the capabilities of AI to the level of computational power available, and then waiting for Moore’s Law to catch up. During that time there have been bubbles of AI hype, research booms, funding busts and a quiet rebirth. Here we [...]
The future of accountancy June 4, 2021 ICAS Lecturer, Molly Jamieson CA, discusses the increased use of technology in the accountancy world and the role of accountants in the future. With the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and process automation, there has been vast changes to the world of accountancy as we know it in recent years. Changes made include the use [...]