Davos Diary: Prime Minister May’s reception as cold as the weather January 20, 2017 At the very least, this week’s Davos agenda had a weary air of familiarity about it: sustainability, artificial intelligence and income inequality all competing to be hailed the zeitgeistian focus of the world’s power-brokers’ power breakfasts. In that respect, little has changed. But if the Trump presidential machine rolls into town this time next year, I [...]
Britain’s investors have a responsibility to help close society’s divides January 20, 2017 I feel a touch fortunate that my Davos debut has come during such a fascinating period of change. The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Switzerland, which ends today, has long opined on the state of political, social and economic affairs. Discussions this week have seemed to possess an elevated sense of urgency. At the [...]
Theresa May is expected to launch a consultation on her flagship industrial strategy next week January 18, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to launch a consultation on her much heralded industrial strategy early next week. City A.M. can exclusively reveal that Downing Street has pencilled in Tuesday to launch a long-awaited green paper on the topic, with May expected outline the plans personally. It comes after the Prime Minister has made two [...]
MEPs vote to put robots on the agenda to tackle safety and legal concerns January 17, 2017 MEPs have started on a European health and safety standard for robots – before the fracking toasters short circuit and become our overlords. Or before other countries like Japan and the US establish their standards first. A “kill” switch and creating a status for “electronic persons” that would bear legal responsibility are among recommendations that MEPs on [...]
Davos 2017: This is what’s happening at the World Economic Forum today January 17, 2017 The 2017 World Economic Forum kicked off at Davos today, with a star line up of speakers ready to air their views on subjects ranging from the future of the digital economy to safe water. The first panel discussion on today's agenda, which began at 7.15am, was the Size Matters talk on the future of [...]
China’s Baidu targets artificial intelligence with appointment of former Microsoft executive January 17, 2017 Chinese search giant Baidu has named a former Microsoft executive as its chief operating officer in an effort to push towards artificial intelligence. Baidu's core search engine business hasn't been performing well – new advertising regulations caused Baidu to lose 16 per cent of its ad customers in the quarter ending September 2016 – so the company is refocusing its [...]
Why Davos elites should invite the populists to the table January 17, 2017 The year has barely kicked off and 2017’s biggest business get-together, held in the Swiss mountain resort town of Davos, has already begun. And, this year, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting is headlining under the theme of “Responsive Leadership”. This theme leaves plenty of room for interpretation and imagination. My sense of what best [...]
Here’s some of the best (and weirdest) new technology from CES 2017 January 11, 2017 Audio The Doppler Labs Here One wireless earphones returned to CES this year. A more practical alternative to the rather silly Apple AirPods, they’re controlled with an app via Bluetooth and can bionically enhance your hearing in a given direction or block out external sounds, as well as the usual music playback features. If you’re [...]
Artificial intelligence and robots are one of the biggest technological risks to the world January 11, 2017 Artificial intelligence and robotics are one of the biggest potential risks to humankind of emerging technologies, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. But, the development of such technology, which is expected to disrupt everything from the world of work to geopolitics, could also conversely bring the biggest benefits to the world. [...]
This noise-cancelling device means you can finally have office phone conversations in private January 11, 2017 Tired of leaping up from your desk every time you need to have a private phone conversation at the office? One company has unveiled the solution: a mask which absorbs your speech. The Hushme looks like a pair of headphones, but is designed to go around your mouth, absorbing noise so you can have conversations without your [...]