News

Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics

• July 26, 2022 26 Jul'22

  Supermarket facial recognition challenged by privacy group

  Big Brother Watch’s legal challenge against Southern Co-op’s use of facial recognition claims the use of the technology in stores is ‘unlawful’ and ‘Orwellian in the extreme’

• July 26, 2022 26 Jul'22

  Meta publishes first-ever human rights report

  Meta details its approach to protecting and promoting human rights, but civil society groups say the company has failed to grapple with the human rights risks associated with its own business model

• July 26, 2022 26 Jul'22

  Lambeth maps future with cloud applications

  With its funding dramatically cut, Lambeth Council has turned to cloud delivery of its business applications to have a simpler technology stack and be nimbler in delivering services to its 330,000 population

• July 22, 2022 22 Jul'22

  SAP Q2 2022: Revenue up 13%, Ukraine war impact steady at €300m

  SAP has announced first-quarter revenue of more than €7.5bn, and restated its expectation that Ukraine war is projected to have a €300m impact in 2022

• July 21, 2022 21 Jul'22

  Digital drives workplace trends in the Nordics

  Workplaces are rapidly changing in Nordic countries, driven by digital technologies such as artificial intelligence

• July 21, 2022 21 Jul'22

  UK government introduces data reforms legislation to Parliament

  Proposed changes to UK’s data protection regime include new grounds for data processing, significant powers for the secretary of state to direct the regime’s application, and fewer restrictions on law enforcement’s use of data

• July 21, 2022 21 Jul'22

  Data and Tech Aid pledges 10,000 first aid kits to Ukrainian civilians

  Data and Tech Aid, a recently founded fundraising body, is pledging 10,000 medical kits to treat civilian Ukrainian casualties of the war

• July 21, 2022 21 Jul'22

  Victorian multilingual chatbot to provide Covid-19 support

  The AskVic WhatsApp chatbot will provide culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia’s state of Victoria, with Covid-19 information and support

• July 20, 2022 20 Jul'22

  Transatlantic PET contest open for entries

  A joint UK-US innovation prize challenge for developers of privacy-enhancing technologies has opened for entries

• July 20, 2022 20 Jul'22

  Estonia calls on tech experts to develop its Siri-like civil servant

  Estonian government opens up applications to tech experts across the world, offering them the chance to work on a world first for digital government services

• July 20, 2022 20 Jul'22

  How NEC is transforming its business

  While NEC is known for its public safety systems, the company has been expanding into new areas including e-government, financial services and customer experience in Asia-Pacific

• July 19, 2022 19 Jul'22

  CIO interview: Michael Taylor, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One

  We speak to the IT director of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team about historical data, race data and fast-paced analytics

• July 19, 2022 19 Jul'22

  Pro-business AI framework spans sector-specific regulations

  But should organisations deploying artificial intelligence comply with EU or UK proposals?

• July 18, 2022 18 Jul'22

  Putting automation into motion will put the wheels on UK economic growth

  Automation technologies and artificial intelligence will change the workplace for the better, giving people time to focus on high-value creative work

• July 18, 2022 18 Jul'22

  Government proposes pro-innovation AI framework

  In contrast to the EU’s more centralised approach to artificial intelligence regulations, the UK government is giving regulators more freedom to adapt rules

• July 18, 2022 18 Jul'22

  Oracle payroll system causes underpayment of Next staff

  Oracle’s payroll HR software module seems to be at the root of a systematic underpayment of staff at retailer Next

• July 13, 2022 13 Jul'22

  Met police deploy facial-recognition technology in Oxford Circus

  Police facial-recognition deployment results in three arrests, despite sustained calls from Parliament and civil society to limit the technology’s use until a specific legal framework for biometrics is in place

• July 12, 2022 12 Jul'22

  First cohort of data science professionals certified by AfDSP

  The Alliance for Data Science Professionals has certified its first cohort, with the imprimatur of the UK’s national statistician, Ian Diamond

• July 12, 2022 12 Jul'22

  Ordnance Survey research reveals sustainability projects as hot for software developers

  According to research by Ordnance Survey, sustainability projects are emerging as hot zones for software developers, attracted by the chance to do some good as well as make good money

• July 06, 2022 06 Jul'22

  Vodafone and Google Cloud collaboration gives rise to AI Booster platform

  Vodafone and Google Cloud have gone public with details of a jointly created artificial intelligence platform that is already live in more than 18 countries

• July 04, 2022 04 Jul'22

  MPs call for ban on Chinese surveillance camera technology

  Nearly 70 MPs have called on the government to ban Chinese camera technology that is widely used by UK government agencies despite links to human rights abuses in China

• July 04, 2022 04 Jul'22

  Government rejects Lords police tech inquiry recommendations

  The government has largely rejected the findings and recommendations of a House of Lords inquiry into police tech, which called for an overhaul of how police deploy artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies

• June 30, 2022 30 Jun'22

  H&M Group tries Google Cloud on for size as omnichannel push gathers pace

  H&M Group has tapped up Google Cloud to add data analytics and machine learning capabilities to its omnichannel strategy

• June 30, 2022 30 Jun'22

  India gears up for 5G but challenges remain

  The country’s upcoming spectrum auction marks the start of larger scale deployments of 5G in the subcontinent, but telcos will need to find a way to address high infrastructure costs and monetise their investments

• June 29, 2022 29 Jun'22

  Urgent need for new laws to govern biometrics, legal review finds

  Independent review says new framework is needed to clear up legal and ethical concerns over the use of biometric data and technologies, which can impact privacy, freedom of expression and other human rights

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  Proposed changes to copyright law open doors for AI data mining

  Update to copyright law will mean researchers who already have access to data will not require extra permission from copyright owner to run data mining algorithms, removing barriers to artificial intelligence research and development

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  Veritas aims at autonomous backup discovery and provisioning

  Veritas bets on a backup platform that can discover all enterprise data – on-premise and in the cloud – and make its own decisions about the optimal place to store copies

• June 28, 2022 28 Jun'22

  How MSD is harnessing AI

  MSD’s global lead for artificial intelligence discusses what it will take for the technology to realise its full potential in healthcare

• June 27, 2022 27 Jun'22

  Manchester Airports Group taps Rise with SAP service to speed recovery

  Manchester Airports Group, which includes London Stansted and East Midlands as well as Manchester, has chosen SAP’s Rise package, on AWS, as it seeks to ‘build back smarter’ post-pandemic

• June 27, 2022 27 Jun'22

  China’s Cyclone Robotics eyes APAC market

  One of China’s largest suppliers of robotic process automation software has made a foray into Asia-Pacific, leveraging its bot management and ‘human-in-the-loop’ capabilities

• June 24, 2022 24 Jun'22

  Ministers and MPs outline vision for digital economy

  Government ministers and MPs met with the tech sector to discuss the UK’s digital strategy, the future of work, and how to deal with the country’s tech skills deficit

• June 22, 2022 22 Jun'22

  Uber drivers strike over pay issues and algorithmic transparency

  Unionised Uber drivers take industrial action against the company over its failure to pay workers in line with a Supreme Court decision and inflation, as well as the lack of transparency around how it uses their data

• June 22, 2022 22 Jun'22

  CIO interview: Simon Liste, chief information technology officer, Pension Protection Fund

  While aspects of the PPF’s three-year digital transformation plan were delayed by the pandemic, the organisation is now pressing ahead with widespread improvements to IT

• June 20, 2022 20 Jun'22

  Hyundai taps Singtel’s 5G network in electric vehicle manufacturing

  Automotive giant is tapping Singtel’s 5G network and multi-access edge computing platform to manage and power its electric vehicle factory in Singapore

• June 17, 2022 17 Jun'22

  MoD sets out strategy to develop military AI with private sector

  The UK Ministry of Defence has outlined its intention to work closely with the private sector to develop and deploy a range of artificial intelligence-powered technologies, committing to ‘lawful and ethical AI use’

• June 14, 2022 14 Jun'22

  Government data talk to the fore at London Tech Week

  Data figured prominently in the unfolding of the government’s digital strategy at the start of London Tech Week, with privacy-enhancing technologies and anonymous health data sharing notable

• June 13, 2022 13 Jun'22

  London Mayor pledges £500,000 for city’s data economy

  At the start of London Tech Week 2022, the Mayor of London is announcing £500,000 in funding for the city’s data economy, in the form of the Data for London platform

• June 10, 2022 10 Jun'22

  Investment firm takes Salesforce to task for lack of racial diversity

  Retail investment platform Tulipshare is campaigning to hold Salesforce to account for its lack of racial diversity

• June 09, 2022 09 Jun'22

  CIO interview: Yiannis Levantis aims at total quality for Unipart IT

  Unipart has a heritage in quality manufacturing and services that CIO Yiannis Levantis is building on, in part by harnessing SAP’s cloud-based business transformation service Rise

• June 03, 2022 03 Jun'22

  How digital twins can improve datacentre operations

  Singapore’s Red Dot Analytics has built an AI-powered digital twin platform that lets datacentre operators simulate their operations to manage their carbon footprint and energy consumption, among other uses

• May 16, 2022 16 May'22

  Gartner Data & Analytics Summit: Unleash innovation on emergence from pandemic

  Analysts at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit in London urged D&A leaders to unleash innovation as their organisations emerge from the shadow of the pandemic

• May 13, 2022 13 May'22

  Government levelling up bill promotes open data-based digital planning

  The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech includes proposals for digital planning powers to be given to local government in England and Wales, based on open data

• May 12, 2022 12 May'22

  Fashion tech investment grew 66% during pandemic

  As the pandemic caused an increase in online shopping, fashion businesses began investing in technology to help them match customer demand

• May 11, 2022 11 May'22

  Data Reform Bill announced in Queen’s Speech

  Government claims proposals to reform the UK’s data protection regime will create a framework ‘focused on privacy outcomes rather than box-ticking’

• May 11, 2022 11 May'22

  DWP partners with AI-powered career and job services

  Partnership involves a trial to see how well artificial intelligence can be used to help job seekers find work more quickly

• May 11, 2022 11 May'22

  Sapphire 2022: Klein majors on sustainability and supply chain resilience

  At SAP’s first in-person Sapphire customer conference in three years, CEO Christian Klein and his top team revisited the themes of sustainability and supply chain resilience, which were prominent in 2020 and 2021

• May 09, 2022 09 May'22

  India’s IT services market grew at record pace in 2021

  Growing investments in cloud, artificial intelligence and cyber security have been a boon to India’s IT and business services market

• May 05, 2022 05 May'22

  Prepare for smart robot revolution

  While industrial robots are well established, smart robots are being deployed across retail and logistics – but much of the tech is still nascent

• May 04, 2022 04 May'22

  CIO interview: Loïc Giraud, global head of digital platform and product delivery, Novartis

  Data is at the heart of life sciences – and for Novartis, that means investigating emerging technologies such as quantum computing and blockchain, as well as using analytics, artificial intelligence and automation

• May 03, 2022 03 May'22

  Qualcomm to power Volkswagen’s future automated driving technology

  Volkswagen Group’s software division looks to global chip giant to supply system-on-chips to enable assisted and automated driving functions