Allianz artificial intelligence fund passes £880m mark October 15, 2018 Allianz Global Investors' artificial intelligence (AI) fund has passed the €1bn (£880m) assets under management mark 18 months after its launch. The Global Artificial Intelligence Fund, which was launched in March last year, invests in companies developing AI systems in a bid to benefit from rapid advancements in disruptive technology such as Big Data analysis, machine learning, self-driving cars [...]
Google and Atos team up to open government-backed London AI lab October 15, 2018 Google's Cloud division and digital transformation firm Atos have today launched their first artificial intelligence (AI) innovation lab, in a move backed by UK ministers. Atos said the London AI lab will bring together experts from across public and private sectors to collaborate on innovation initiatives, with the solutions built there to be made available [...]
Gender bias is unprofessional, but shutting down the debate will only fuel further backlash October 11, 2018 To Albert Einstein, Emmy Noether was the most important woman in the history of mathematics. Her 1918 theorem was fundamental in the development of modern physics, explaining the connection between symmetry and conservation laws. Yet for several years, she had to lecture at the University of Gottingen under the name of a male colleague. Even today, few [...]
Amazon abandons sexist AI-powered recruiting tool October 10, 2018 Amazon has reportedly had to scrap an artificially intelligent recruitment tool built by its in-house engineering team, after sources told Reuters the results began to be skewed in favour of male candidates. Five members of the team who worked on the tool in 2014 said it began to teach itself that male candidates were preferable over [...]
Leaks galore: What to expect from today’s Google Pixel 3 event October 9, 2018 In an annual event that is now almost always saturated with leaks, today Google is set to unveil a slew of new hardware gadgets including updates to its Pixel smartphone, tablet and smart speaker ranges. Here are the things you're likely to see walk across the main stage this year: Pixel 3 The Pixel 3 [...]
Microsoft makes strategic investment into ride-hailing firm Grab October 9, 2018 Microsoft has signed a five-year agreement with Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab to collaborate on big technology projects, which includes the software firm taking a strategic stake in the business. The valuation of the stake was not disclosed by either company. The deal will see Grab work with Microsoft on exploration of facial recognition, artificial [...]
By disrupting its own industry, Ocado has proven the power of automation October 4, 2018 Further evidence of automation’s benefits has emerged this week following the news that online retailer Ocado’s revenue jumped by 11.5 per cent in the last quarter – largely thanks to the automation of its warehouses. The effects are unquestionably positive, with the average number of orders processed by the firm reaching 283,000 per week. Its [...]
Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are becoming increasingly important to businesses October 4, 2018 When was the last time that you voluntarily made a phone call? Some of you may pretend that you prefer the human touch of chatting over the phone, but let’s be honest – phone calls are inconvenient. A ringing phone interrupts your day and train of thought, while waiting for your call to be answered [...]
City Moves for 3 October 2018 – who’s switching jobs at Healx, WorldRemit and Audere Solutions? October 3, 2018 Today's City Moves cover health, research and FX. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Healx Healx, the Cambridge (UK) technology company developing breakthrough treatments for rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Kate Hilyard as chief operating officer (COO). A senior pharma executive, with extensive drug discovery expertise, Kate’s appointment underlines Healx’s mission [...]
Will Britain Lead the 4th Industrial Revolution? October 2, 2018 With the USA in isolationist mode, if not paralysis, who will lead the west, post-Brexit and as we enter the full flood of what the World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab dubbed The Fourth Industrial Revolution: “The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, [...]