Mark Zuckerberg insists Facebook is not a media company August 29, 2016 Facebook is a technology company, not a media company, despite a move towards live video, working closely with traditional publishers and a recent furore over trending topics on the platform. Speaking at a live question and answer session in Italy, Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook is providing the tools for people to be able to share information but is not itself [...]
WhatsApp wants businesses to ask users what’s up as the walls between Facebook begin to fall August 25, 2016 Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp is moving to reestablish its revenue stream by allowing businesses to message users. A change to its privacy policy – announced on the company's blog – means businesses will be able to message WhatsApp's over one billion users in the same way they do with SMS messages. Whatsapp used examples of a users bank notifying them about a potentially [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]
Driverless cars, artificial intelligence and blockchain: Meet the Gartner Hype Cycle of 2016 August 16, 2016 Driverless car technology is careering towards the trough of disillusionment after hitting the peak of hype, according to Gartner analysts monitoring the progression of the world's emerging technology trends. The firm's annual Hype Cycle tracks where trends such as virtual reality, robotics, personal voice assistants and, of course, driverless cars, are in their journey from talked-about technology to [...]
What can science fiction tell us about the future? August 3, 2016 A recent book on the future of warfare warned that Britain’s pristine new aircraft carriers will be vulnerable to swarms of small, semi-autonomous drones that could not be stopped by conventional protective weaponry. Another looked at whether mass online gaming might be used to recruit networks to attack military or commercial targets. A third raised the [...]
Meet the most influential British innovator in the world August 2, 2016 Demis Hassabis, the man who founded the multi-million pound artificial intelligence company acquired by Google, has been named the most influential British innovator in the world. DeepMind hit headlines in 2014 when it was bought by Google for £400m and this year did it again when its machine learning technology beat the world-leading player of the [...]
Phew! Facebook’s AI chief says intelligent machines are not a threat to humanity July 31, 2016 The chief scientist leading Facebook's research into artificial intelligence doesn't believe the technology is a threat to human existence – unless we are very stupid. "I don’t think at AI will become an existential threat to humanity," said Yann LeCun, the top professor who is leading Facebook's efforts in the space of AI and machine learning. "I’m [...]
Microsoft’s made an iPhone app which uses AI to improve your photos July 27, 2016 Microsoft is putting its artificial intelligence technology to good uses again – this time, helping you take better pictures. After that ill-fated chatbot experiment, and more fun japes such as HowOldRobot and CaptionBot, Microsoft has put the tech to better use with a picture app for iPhone. Great news for anyone who strugggles to capture the perfect snap. Read more: [...]
This is the huge amount of money Apple is spending on R&D right now July 27, 2016 Did someone say iCar? The tech giant might remain coy about exactly what its plans are, but the numbers are clear – Apple is splashing some serious cash on developing new technology despite experiencing its second consecutive decline in revenues. Spending on research and development has rocketed, more than doubling in the last four years and Apple has spent a record amount on innovation [...]
Four things Jack Dorsey’s done to try and turnaround Twitter… so far July 26, 2016 Nine months after re-joining the flock, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is under mounting pressure to revive its fortunes. While Wall Street awaits the latest numbers, here’s a reminder of what Dorsey’s been up to… 1. Wielded the axe Dorsey wasn’t afraid to wield the axe when it came to staff numbers, cutting up to eight [...]