IT innovation, research and development

AI experts question tech industry’s ethical commitments

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the proliferation of ethical frameworks has done little to change how artificial intelligence is developed – we look at the challenges. We examine the future of the UK semiconductor sector as the government launches a review. And we hear how NatWest has put data at the heart of customer strategy. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Labour unveils plans to make UK global startup hub

The Labour Party has published a review into the UK startup landscape, which calls for a number of changes to help make the country a more attractive place for startups Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Online Safety Bill returns to Parliament

MPs and online safety experts have expressed concern about encryption-breaking measures contained in the Online Safety Bill as it returns to Parliament for the first time since its passage was paused in July Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CW Europe: Finland prepares for drone technology take-off

Finland is preparing for a future where it could rely on flying drone technology. Read about its plans in this issue. Also find out how a PhD student in the Netherlands is helping to detect hidden messages on the internet by using steganography. Continue Reading

Deutsche Bank powers new banking apps with Nvidia AI acceleration

The bank is looking at how AI acceleration can process financial texts, accelerate risk analysis and support its plans for the metaverse Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Industrial IoT focus of next NCSC startup challenge

The NCSC for Startups programme is looking for innovative ideas to encrypt and secure the industrial internet of things Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finland connects a quantum computer to a supercomputer

VTT and CSC recently connected a quantum computer with Europe’s fastest supercomputer to enable a hybrid service for researchers Continue Reading

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• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

How Bosch is driving Industry 4.0 in India

Bosch India is leveraging advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to detect manufacturing defects and plans to tap quantum computing for material simulation Continue Reading

By

• Pratima Harigunani

Ransomware: Is there hope beyond the overhyped?

Up-and-coming cyber concepts attack surface management and security mesh architectures seem to hold some promise in tackling ransomware, but they are a little way off maturity Continue Reading

By

• Paul Lewis, Nominet

Extended reality can be empathic reality

In the metaverse, eliciting empathy might become an important feature for many applications, including gaming and industrial uses, and there is even the potential that applications that focus on emphatic results will create their own market niche Continue Reading

By

• Martin Schwirn, Computer Weekly

How to stop data retention from killing the planet

In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a hidden environmental cost to the vast volumes of data being generated – we examine what can be done to address it. We talk to the CISO of consumer reviews site Trustpilot, about building trust in IT security. And we look at what IT leaders can do if they inherit a toxic team environment. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Plexal inducts six into cyber leadership scheme

Tech innovation hub Plexal is expanding its Cyber Runway programme with a new Ignite strand dedicated to supporting high-potential security leaders Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nominations open for Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC 2023

Computer Weekly is looking for nominations for the annual Innovation Awards to honour digital transformation initiatives in Asia-Pacific that have transformed organisations in six industries Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

XR and the real world: Feedback loops and spillovers

As the metaverse develops, the realism of advanced extended reality applications could allow users to take experiences, interests and strategies with them into the real world – creating spillovers from virtual to real worlds Continue Reading

By

• Martin Schwirn, Computer Weekly

CW Nordics: Icelandic datacentres point way to greener IT

Iceland may soon become even more attractive to firms wanting to minimise their carbon footprint while using high-performance computing services. Read more about it in this issue. Also find out how a robo investment company, Nord Investments, is harnessing open banking to make thing easier for its clients. Continue Reading

AI accountability held back by ‘audit-washing’ practices

Algorithmic auditing will be useless in holding artificial intelligence accountable until there are common standards, approaches and goals that scrutinise systems at each stage of development and deployment, says think-tank Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

South Korea data adequacy pact brings £15m Brexit bonus

UK government finalises a data adequacy agreement with South Korea, saying it will unlock a post-Brexit business bonus of just under £15m Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Netherlands wants watchdog to reduce bias in artificial intelligence

Dutch government will take swift action to prevent citizens getting into trouble due to the misuse of algorithms Continue Reading

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• Kim Loohuis

Businesses must embrace digital skills and innovate, says CBI president

Brian McBride, president of the Confederation of British Industry, says the UK is a ‘magnet for tech investment’ and calls on UK firms to step up and adapt, as tech adoption will help boost the economy Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

New India – the next global tech magnet

A group of UK tech leaders visited India, and may have seen the next world-leading tech ecosystem emerging Continue Reading

By

• Russ Shaw, Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates

Why robots will make work more human

Smart technology should be about making people’s lives easier, freeing them up for judgement-based tasks and giving them the data and information they need for smart decision-making Continue Reading

By

• George Lynch and Jason Pyle

CW APAC: Trend Watch: Artificial intelligence in APAC

Artificial intelligence is becoming more commonplace across business. In this handbook, focused on the adoption of the technology in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at what still stands in its way, Dell’s deep learning model, how AI can realise its potential in healthcare, and the pros and cons of using AI and ML applications in the cloud. Continue Reading

Brexit deregulation will make UK next Silicon Valley, vows Hunt

Chancellor vows to revolutionise how the IT industry is regulated to spur competition, investment and innovation in a technological ‘Big Bang’ Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Digital confirms final settlement of £3.95m with HMRC following conclusion of IR35 investigation

The health service’s digital arm has paid HMRC £3.95m in unpaid tax to cover the cost of its IR35 compliance errors Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Datacentre Editor

Netherlands coalition aims to demystify artificial intelligence

Dutch citizens need to learn about the impact of artificial intelligence on society and their lives, says the Netherlands AI Coalition Continue Reading

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• Kim Loohuis

Global network fragmentation a source of increasing risk

Risk consultancy’s report says the weaponisation of cyber space and geopolitical clashes herald a breakdown of global networks into distinct regional or national architectures Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Applying blockchain, Kafka and MongoDB in green energy trading

Energy trading platform Powerledger has leveraged the power of blockchain, Kafka and MongoDB to make its mark in renewable energy trading in Australia Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

Inside Singapore’s public sector IT strategy

Adopting a platform approach with products that can scale across the board and building a strong engineering bench are some of the key aspects in Singapore’s public sector IT strategy Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Sadiq Khan launches Data for London Advisory Board

Board will look at how to join up and share data between public and private London organisations in an effort to build a stronger data economy and improve public services Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

CaixaBank robot answers the most customer questions

AI-based virtual assistant at Spanish bank is now used by over four million customers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Metaverse could add up to $1.4tn a year to Asia’s GDP

The metaverse may still be in its infancy, but sustained investments in the technology over the next decade could have a significant impact on Asia’s economy Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

17 West Midlands NHS trusts deploy digital pathology

Trusts hope digital pathology programme will transform cancer diagnosis in the region and reduce backlogs Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CW Benelux: Heineken finds the right brew for digital

Heineken’s data management director has revealed some of the ways the company is using information technology to transform digitally. Also read how a PhD student in the Netherlands is detecting hidden messages on the internet by exploring the practice of steganography. Continue Reading

The world's oldest cryptocurrency exchange prefers doing business in Luxembourg

One of the newest niches in fintech, cryptocurrency exchanges may fare very well in Luxembourg Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Fujitsu expert witness in subpostmaster trial ‘manoeuvred’ into role, public inquiry told

A former Fujitsu technology expert who defended the Horizon system’s robustness in court was unhappy after being ‘manoeuvred’ into acting as an expert witness, public inquiry hears Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Imec hopes to industrialise artificial intelligence

Pure research explores the fundamental questions of artificial intelligence, but applied research takes those ideas to industry, making it all worthwhile Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Gartner Symposium: Welcome to the age of force multipliers

Tech has always been asked to do more with less. Gartner says that if applied correctly, smart IT decisions offer multiple benefits simultaneously Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Kubernetes and the open-source maintainer question

While much of last month’s KubeCon-CloudNativeCon North America was focused on specific software projects, case studies and tech challenges, there was a discernible undercurrent of concern. And it ... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Betts, Freeform Dynamics

Keeping personally identifiable data personal

As it celebrates its 100th birthday, the BBC has begun a pilot looking into its role in enabling the general public to store their personal data Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Computer simulation at work for the future of nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion works, just not yet well enough. Learn how software simulations running on modern supercomputers and data science are lighting up possible paths forward Continue Reading

By

• SA Mathieson

Justice transparency: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

We speak to The National Archives about how it is using semantic data to make court and tribunal judgments searchable Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK and Japan join forces on digital government

Countries sign memorandum of cooperation to share ideas and strategies on digital government initiatives Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Why technology change is slow at larger firms

Firms that commit to a single cloud provider and a lack of investment in improving developer productivity can drive up costs and slow down the pace of change, technology leaders say Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Fewer CIOs have a seat on the board but we still need technology leaders

This democratisation of technology still needs a leader, but it’s a healthy sign that discussion of tech has become part of business as usual at board level Continue Reading

By

• Bev White, Nash Squared

Shadow digital secretary outlines Labour’s tech priorities

Labour’s digital and technology plans focus on reining in the power of the tech giants, boosting connectivity across the UK, and improving online safety Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

biotechnology (biotech)

Biotechnology is the use of biology to develop new products, methods and organisms intended to improve human health and society. Continue Reading

By

• Nick Barney, Technology Writer
• Sarah Lewis

How to build consumer trust with a privacy-by-design approach

Undertaken with the right mindset and technology, privacy by design delivers value to consumers and builds trust for the long term Continue Reading

By

• Emilie Gazeau

AI experts question tech industry’s ethical commitments

The massive proliferation of ethical frameworks for artificial intelligence has done little to change how the technology is developed and deployed, with experts questioning the tech industry’s commitment to making it a positive social force Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Singapore’s met service to get new supercomputer

The Meteorological Service Singapore is getting a new Cray supercomputer to improve weather forecasting and tropical climate research Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Meta tightens purse strings as it spends on Reality Labs

Facebook’s parent company is betting the business on a long-term strategy to move social media into the metaverse Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ICO warns against using biometrics for ‘emotional analysis’

ICO warning highlights risk of ‘systemic bias’ and discrimination associated with organisations using biometric data and technologies for emotion analysis Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Google commits to cloud and AI

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has been negatively impacted by the currency market, but its CEO remains focused on artificial intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Australia budget closes in on digital divide, cyber resilience

Australia’s latest budget is geared towards providing better broadband connectivity in regional and rural areas, shoring up the cyber security posture of its businesses and plugging tech talent shortages, among other areas Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

When technology lets you sleep easy

Indian mattress supplier Duroflex has taken a leaf out of mattress design in its technology implementation to double its growth in an industry dominated by unorganised players Continue Reading

By

• Pratima Harigunani

UK needs stronger regional innovation clusters outside South East

Venture capital fund managers speak to Computer Weekly about the importance of innovation clusters to the UK tech ecosystem, and the need to develop further investment opportunities outside the South East Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Government speeds up NHS Digital and NHS England merger

NHS bodies will now merge in early January 2023, aiming to create a single statutory body for NHS data and technology Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Berlingske Media to go all-digital in 2023

Danish publisher moves national daily newspaper fully online as it cuts costs and reacts to changing customer habits Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Ukrainian and UK IT sectors to deepen collaboration, partnerships

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and the IT Ukraine Association have signed an MoU to deepen collaboration between the UK and Ukrainian IT sectors, and champion new partnerships and growth opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Manchester to launch digital strategy

Four-year strategy to focus on smarter use of technology and data to make Manchester a sustainable and resilient city Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Lloyds Bank launches innovation sandbox

Banking group establishes a sandbox where fintechs can build and test applications for Lloyds Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Greenland investigates potential blockchain-based election system

Researchers have been funded to investigate blockchain-based online voting in Greenland Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Skype’s legacy and the rise of the ‘new Nordics’

Estonia and other Baltic states could be part of a ‘new Nordics’ of technology innovation Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Protecting children by scanning encrypted messages is ‘magical thinking’, says Cambridge professor

Ross Anderson argues in a rebuttal to GCHQ experts that using artificial intelligence to scan encrypted messaging services is the wrong approach to protecting children and preventing terrorism Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Tech critical to the UK’s prosperity, says Jacob Rees-Mogg

Technology could provide the answer to the energy crisis, according to the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, as he hails tech as a way to guarantee prosperity for the country Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Meta presents vision for business metaverse

How can hybrid teams collaborate seamlessly? Meta believes virtual reality tied to business applications is the way forward Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government bins IR35 reforms – what you need to know

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after the government scrapped its IR35 reforms, we examine what IT contractors need to know. With hybrid working, employee experience is a priority – we look at how it meshes with customer experience initiatives. And we assess the options for unstructured data storage in the cloud and on-premise. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

With Java 19, Oracle boosts developer productivity with an eye on the future

Major features in Java 19 will make it easier for Java developers to build applications that interface with non-Java code, among other capabilities in the 10th edition of the platform’s six-month release cadence Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Dutch infrastructure sector seeks closer collaboration with government

Although the Netherlands government is increasingly realising how vital the country’s digital infrastructure is, it lacks sufficient policy-making and vision, say industry associations Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

NHS looks to improve digital mental health support

NHS England plans for programme to use digital technologies and data to improve mental health treatment and help patients access services Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Diminishing returns

Many moons ago, the tech sector would gel around a big product launch, like the next version of Windows. But in the era of over-the-air (OTA) continuous updates, especially on smartphones, there is ... Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Forrester: US set to dominate AI enterprise software market

Artificial intelligence is the fastest growth area in software. This is driving adoption, which will make AI mainstream technology in business software Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Everything you wanted to know about the metaverse

Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but the unique qualities of digital assets mean they do not easily fit into the age-old legal concept of ownership Continue Reading

By

• Alex Cravero, Herbert Smith Freehills

Public sector aims to close digital skills gap with private sector

Digital leaders from the public sector have stressed the need to build up the digital skills and capabilities of civil servants to successfully deliver the government’s digital transformation ambitions, but not at the expense of supplier ecosystems Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Red Hat CEO on OpenShift roadmap, competitive play

Red Hat’s newly minted CEO Matt Hicks talks up OpenShift’s roadmap, the competition with VMware and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Request for Comments (RFC)

A Request for Comments (RFC) is a formal document from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that contains specifications and organizational notes about topics related to the internet and computer networking, such as routing, addressing and transport technologies. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

Digital transformation is brewing at Heineken

In a presentation at the Digital Transformation Week conference in Amsterdam, Heineken’s data management director revealed some of the ways the company is using information technology to transform Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

CIO interview: James Fleming, Francis Crick Institute

Francis Crick Institute CIO discusses how Europe’s largest biomedical research institute has co-developed a framework for data sharing Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

A new take on an old relationship: Nordic startups lure UK investors to their front doors

When startup worlds collide: investment and entrepreneurship partnerships form across the Nordics and UK Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Surveillance tech firms complicit in MENA human rights abuses

Research finds companies are profiting from surveillance technologies that facilitate human rights abuses against migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the Middle East and North Africa, with little to no oversight Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Dutch PhD project aims to automate discovery and deciphering of steganography

Meike Kombrink, a PhD student in the Netherlands, is focused on detecting hidden messages on the internet Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Cost-of-living crisis could spur fintech adoption

The cost-of-living crisis could have a similar impact on fintech and digital banking as the Covid-19 pandemic did, inducing further innovation in the fintech sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Carbon copies: How to stop data retention from killing the planet

Our society has a serious digital hoarding problem, which is coming at a cost to the environment. But what can be done to address it? Continue Reading

By

• Chris Merriman

KPMG: IT chiefs vote for innovation, but are they forgetting tech debt?

New study from KPMG shows businesses are keen to adopt new technologies to drive improvements to customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Guy’s Cancer collaborates with healthtech provider to digitise patient care

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has begun working with digital healthcare platform provider Carology to build capacity, drive efficiencies and improve patient experience Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Data analysis and artificial intelligence key industrial strategy missions for Labour

Shadow business secretary announces Labour’s proposed industrial strategy, in which data would take a central role Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

More than 30 startups to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator

Now in its second year, the Cyber Runway accelerator has been designed to support firms at various stages of growth, as well as help the cyber security sector to improve on its diversity, inclusion and regional representation Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The challenges of verifying AI for healthcare

Artificial intelligence promises to revolutionise healthcare, but even in areas such as medical imaging, where it is easy to spot AI errors, more research is needed Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

How Great Eastern is transforming its IT organisation

Singapore-based insurer Great Eastern made painstaking efforts to rid itself of legacy systems and transformed its IT organisation to become nimbler by building up its cloud and DevOps capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

CCS £2bn big data and analytics framework goes live

The Crown Commercial Service has launched a big data and analytics framework worth up to £2bn over the course of the agreement Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

European Central Bank working on prototypes of digital Euro interfaces

European Central Bank’s digital Euro investigation phase is at the point of developing and testing systems that might interface with consumers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Mobile operators work on holographic calling pilot

Thanks to 5G, it may soon be possible add a third dimension to video calls using ‘realistic’ holograms Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NHS Scotland to transform population health through digital technologies

A collaboration between NHS Scotland, industry partners and academia aims to launch large-scale programmes to improve population health in the country through digital technologies and new patient pathways Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Dutch student team aims to enable uninterrupted drone cargo delivery

Dutch student team aims to make the world of flying more sustainable by creating a global network of autonomously flying cargo drones that can have their batteries swapped mid-air Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

India ramps up on AI amid talent and scalability challenges

Indian organisations are speeding up deployments of AI across multiple sectors, but legacy systems, siloed data and a shortage of AI-specific talent will stand in the way of greater adoption Continue Reading

By

• Harigunani P

How Mondelez is driving change with tech

From empowering citizen developers to deploying drones to monitor the health of cocoa trees, Mondelez has been firing on all cylinders to disrupt the old ways of doing things Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Airtel to deploy edge computing platform

Bharti Airtel will deploy its multi-access edge compute platform across India to support edge computing applications in manufacturing and other industries, as India gears up for 5G Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

AI Sweden connects the dots to keep the country competitive

How and why a centre dedicated to accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence technology has been created in Sweden Continue Reading

By

• Pat Brans, Pat Brans Associates/Grenoble Ecole de Management

Source responsibly: Tech sector efforts to root out forced labour are failing

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we analyse the technology industry’s failure to extirpate forced labour and slavery from its supply chains. We find out how cyber security firm Okta is rebuilding customer trust after a major security incident. And we discover how Caterpillar is modernising its data management to offer better customer service. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Lloyd’s of London is digitally transforming through the front door

Centuries-old financial services organisation is transforming its complex IT infrastructure through digital data Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Adding trust to AppSec and DevSecOps

When building in trust and assurance into app development through standards, it is critically important not to stifle innovation Continue Reading

By

• Rowland Johnson