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 [...]
Letters to the editor – 05/12 – Intelligent future, Tax revenue, Best of Twitter December 4, 2013 Intelligent future [Re: As Amazon tests delivery drones, could the technology prove transformative? Tuesday] Even more exciting is the prospect of machines that think in ways no human could. They would have a deep “understanding” of the laws of inference, and would be incredibly good at solving problems. We could use them to design better [...]
Against the Grain: What chess champions can teach us about how businesses make decisions November 20, 2013 THE WORLD Chess Championship is underway, and the current champion – the Indian Viswanathan Anand – is trailing his young rival Magnus Carlsen by three to five. In the opinion of many, Carlsen is set fair to become the strongest ever human player. The match is an absorbing spectacle, but the game of chess is [...]
ACCA Comment: We should celebrate big businesses November 19, 2013 Large firms are bad at explaining their role in Britain’s economy BIG BUSINESS bashing is all the rage, whether over tax, rising energy costs, or bonuses. But as some point out, we need these businesses for our economy to make a full recovery, even if large companies need to change their ways and do more [...]
Reed Elsevier sells tech group back to founder October 7, 2013 BRITAIN’S fastest growing technology company MVF yesterday announced that it has bought back Approved Index, the business that its founder sold to Reed Elsevier in 2008. Titus Sharpe sold Approved Index to the FTSE 100 firm five years ago, before using the proceeds of the sale to found MVF, which uses technology to win customers [...]
Self-driving pods and 3D printing will be the real challenge for Royal Mail September 12, 2013 TWENTY years ago, as the web came into existence, it was obvious that Royal Mail would be carrying fewer personal and business letters by now, that there would be a vast rise in junk mail and another huge increase in parcel deliveries thanks to online buying. All of those expectations have come true. After a [...]
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 [...]
Artificial Intelligence will destroy jobs – but technological pessimism is wrong September 4, 2013 DEVELOPMENTS in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be among the most exciting advances of this century. No longer the preserve of science fiction, from driving our cars to managing our health, the products of AI research are already quietly revolutionising our world. But warning bells are ringing. John Maynard Keynes coined the term “technological unemployment” to [...]
Geeks and hackers are transforming healthcare and saving our economy July 23, 2013 THE future of healthcare is taking shape. But it’s not being invented in drug company labs or planned by the NHS. Amateurs, obsessives and hackers are leading the charge. It’s a movement that will help us live longer – and could save the economy. It’s all happening through a combination of new gadgets, the power [...]
Three technological earthquakes are breaking up businesses for the better February 7, 2013 WE LIVE in extraordinary times. Robots are cleaning floors, accompanying soldiers into battle and just starting to drive our cars. Artificial intelligence is turning phones into personal assistants. The internet is connecting more of us than ever, in more ways than ever. For all the economic gloom, remarkable technologies are transforming our lives for the [...]