As a World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks report warns that an arms race is close at hand, should we be welcoming autonomous weapons? January 13, 2017 Dr Jai Galliott works at the Australian Centre for Cyber Security at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia, says Yes. Robotics mitigates the human cost of war physically, psychologically or otherwise, and the level of this mitigation is largely dependent on the degree of automation and the removal of the human operator. [...]
Ireland targets UK fintech startups mulling Brexit contingency plans January 12, 2017 The Irish government is eyeing up the UK's thriving fintech sector and will make a bid to attract startups to Dublin directly in the wake of the Brexit vote, Morning Wire has learned. The country's junior finance minister Eoghan Murphy will head to the Square Mile along with experts in fintech and payments in the [...]
Amazon’s creating 100,000 new jobs in the US January 12, 2017 Amazon is planning to create a whopping 100,000 new jobs in the US over the next 18 months. Yep, you read that number correctly: It's roughly the equivalent of the entire population of West Dorset. The additions will mean Amazon's total staff in the US will shoot past the quarter of a million people mark to 280,000. It [...]
Increasing levels of cyber security will be vital as fintech approaches “watershed moment” January 12, 2017 | City Talk In 1993, cartoonist Peter Steiner of The New Yorker coined the phrase: ‘On the internet, no-one knows you’re a dog.’ More than 20 years later, the issue of internet privacy and a user’s ability to send and receive messages anonymously, remains a significant barrier to building online trust. “The reality is, as individuals, if we [...]
Amazon promises to help plug the UK’s digital skills gap with training for young people and ex-military personnel January 12, 2017 Amazon is launching a new scheme to help plug Britain's digital skills gap, offering free training to young people and ex-military personnel. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing arm of the web giant which powers businesses such as Transport for London and Zoopla, is launching AWS re:Start to help get 1,000 more people skilled in digital [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond praises “success story” Funding Circle as it announces $100m investment January 12, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has praised Funding Circle as a “real success story for British fintech” after the peer-to-peer (P2P) platform announced a new $100m (£82.5m) equity capital. The funding round was led by Accel Partners and included participation from existing investors Baillie Gifford, DST Global, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Rocket Internet, Sands Capital Ventures, Temasek and Union Square [...]
Here are some of the trends from CES 2017 January 12, 2017 If CES 2017 is anything to go by, this will be quite a year for consumer technology. While I didn’t see any brand-new, game-changing products (most of the technology prevalent at the show has existed in one form or another for a few years now), it’s starting to feel like the future we’ve been promised [...]
Alternative lending’s leading founders and chief executives give their predictions for the sector in 2017 January 12, 2017 The road was slightly bumpy for alternative lenders last year. Authorisations for the Innovative Finance Isa were delayed, there was further Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) probing, disappointing results hounded a good handful of the UK’s largest platforms and Goldman Sachs made its foray into the market with in-house platform Marcus. But provided the regulator continues [...]
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 [...]
Forget Brexit: London and Belgium are collaborating on fintech January 11, 2017 London's world-leading fintech sector is forging ahead despite Brexit with closer ties to counterparts in Belgium, the heart of European government. Belgium's finance minister Johan Van Overtveldt and a delegation of fintech experts are in London to build closer ties with the city and launch a new platform for fostering collaboration between startups and finance firms. "Brexit [...]