VC fund targets £83m space sector shake-up October 5, 2015 A VENTURE capital fund that aims to nurture start-ups disrupting the UK space industry will kick off a roadshow this week to close an £83m fundraising. Seraphim Capital’s Space Venture Fund wants to speed up the commercialisation of space by investing in small to medium-sized businesses developing cheaper and more accessible technologies. It will also [...]
Why we need to stop countries developing killer military robots before it’s too late October 2, 2015 The prospect of human-killing robots walking among us on our streets is a very scary one, and while it was once stuck firmly in the realms of science fiction, it is now becoming a distinct possibility. It's no wonder, then, that thousands of scientists and artificial intelligence researchers signed an open letter calling for [...]
Immigrants are fuel for the UK tech sector – but slow-moving bureaucracy is keeping them out September 27, 2015 The UK’s tech star is certainly rising. From the growing number of unicorn valuations, to the ever-larger venture capital cheques, British entrepreneurs are now commanding global attention. Yet much has been said about the UK’s poor track record in harnessing technology and science talent. This is now being addressed – Britain recently became the [...]
Rise of sex robots: Prepare yourself for the inevitable September 23, 2015 Who’s the sexiest robot you know? Obviously the answer is C-3PO. But think harder. Is there a robot in the world that you could fall in love with? Could you bring a replicant home to meet your parents? What about the robot that runs around screaming “danger Will Robinson”, could he support your family? The [...]
From Corbyn’s win and Scottish independence revisited to Apple’s iOS 9 release and Rugby World Cup: Here’s what got us talking this week September 18, 2015 Prince Harry gave up his seat to a pensioner. Left-wingers were outed as being potty-mouthed. And all around London, buildings are opening their doors to complete strangers. This is what got us talking this week 1) Cor, blimey Corbyn Although it was widely expected, we were still left reeling when Jeremy Corbyn became the [...]
Demis Hassabis of Google’s DeepMind on AI: Three things he said about Siri-like smart assistants, AI helping doctors and a possible killer robot future September 16, 2015 Demis Hassabis, founder of the British artificial intelligence company DeepMind which was snapped up by Google for millions, has spoken about the implications of a future with AI, from healthcare to smart assistants – but warned misusing the technology could do harm. Speaking in a rare interview with the BBC, he addressed warnings made by [...]
The rise of the walking sim September 2, 2015 Walking. Everybody’s doing it. Striding here and there, flouncing up and down flights of stairs, marching wherever they please. What more proof is needed of walking’s supremacy than that, as soon as we learn how to do it, we promptly forego all of our previous methods of getting from place to place. Crawling? Old news. [...]
This is why the world needs Facebook M: Its new AI and people-powered virtual personal assistant in Messenger app could be better than Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now August 27, 2015 Soon Facebook will be able to answer any question you have, book a restaurant on your behalf and give you the weather forecast for the day. The social network is working on creating its very own virtual assistant like the already well-known and commonly used Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now. Facebook is testing the service, called [...]
Alibaba’s cloud computing arm Aliyun launches “China’s first” artificial intelligence service August 25, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s cloud computing arm is breaking into the artificial intelligence market, launching what the company is proclaiming to be “China’s first AI platform”, which will give developers the capacity to analyse large amounts of data. Cloud computing division Aliyun is Alibaba’s fastest-growing division, and although the company still gets most of its [...]
Google share price U (for up) after Alphabet restructure August 11, 2015 Wall Street's more than happy with Google's restructuring move. Google shares, or Alphabet shares as they should now be known, opened more than five per cent up continuing the trend in after-hours trading following Larry Page's blog post revealing the new company vision. Investors are likely pleased that the move brings more transparency to the [...]