The UK is about to become a world leader in artificial intelligence June 20, 2016 With the news that Magic Pony has been acquired by Twitter, we are witnessing a crucial turning point – five of the world’s biggest technology companies have now purchased UK-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. See Magic Pony Technology and Twitter, SwiftKey and Microsoft, VocalIQ and Apple, DeepMind and Google, and Evi and Amazon. Over the coming days [...]
Twitter just acquired very cool London-based AI startup Magic Pony June 20, 2016 Twitter has acquired a London-based startup, Magic Pony, in a bid to ramp up its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities, in a deal reportedly worth $150m (£102m). "Machine learning is increasingly at the core of everything we build at Twitter," said Twitter boss Jack Dorsey in a blog post today. "It’s powering much of the work [...]
VR doctors and drone delivered pizza: The six ways tech will change our lives in the next 20 years June 20, 2016 We're hurtling towards a world that's free of cold hard cash and we'll see virtual reality doctors in the future, but we'll still be ordering takeaway pizza – only it will be delivered by drone instead, people predict. These are just some of the technologies of the future envisioned as the most likely to be part [...]
Meet Rolls-Royce’s crazy driverless supercar and the glass-fronted Mini concept car of the future June 16, 2016 Rolls-Royce has created a super luxury car of the future ditching a chauffeur and any kind of driver entirely while serving the super rich with a robot concierge. The car delivers passengers to their destination in the style of Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" with a canopy roof opening up to allow owners to stand up fully as [...]
Apple had plenty of “I’d definitely use that” moments at WWDC June 13, 2016 Once again the Apple faithful dutifully attended or watched its annual developer update to see what the company had in store. Apple’s momentum with developers is staggering. It claims to have over 30m developers and since the iPhone launched, the company claims to have shared nearly $50bn (£35bn) of shared revenue with app makers. It remains the [...]
Now you can trade shares on Facebook Messenger with chatbots June 8, 2016 As if Facebook weren't already taking over your life (and the rest of the world), soon, it could be the place where you're trading shares. An online broker in Britain has revealed that it completed a live share trade using the messaging app – understood to be a world first – and plans to make this widely [...]
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell says Labour is looking at universal basic income June 6, 2016 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said that Labour is considering backing a universal basic income (UBI), which could prepare the workforce for robotisation. The change would be a transformation of the welfare state, providing a flat rate payment to individuals. McDonnell will appear at the launch of a report from campaign group Compass in the [...]
An ex-Nasa chief has revealed a stealth startup that’s built “military-grade” Apple Siri voice recognition technology June 6, 2016 A startup founded by a former top boss at Nasa has emerged from so-called stealth mode with technology that claims to beat Apple, Google and Microsoft's voice recognition technology. Dan Goldin, who spent nearly all of the 1990s leading Nasa, has revealed KnuEdge, a machine learning company that already boasts Fortune 500 clients and $100m in private funding despite its under the radar nature [...]
Porsche on-demand? VW boss reveals Gett plans June 1, 2016 Fancy ordering a Porsche to get home, instead of a plain old car or cab? Volkswagen's partnership with on-demand Uber rival Gett could very well make that a reality. VW boss Matthias Mueller has revealed more about the tie-up between the car maker and the tech company announced last week, and that could include making a high end [...]
How digitisation can help save the UK’s creative industries June 1, 2016 Creativity is the lifeblood of the modern world we live in. From writers and designers, to architects and musicians, the world around us would not exist as it is if it wasn’t for our creators, who give every office, city and country its identity and history. The UK's creative industries, which generate £9.6m per hour for the UK [...]