Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

AI probably isn’t the big smartphone selling point that Apple and other tech giants think it is


As is their tradition at this time of year, Apple announced a new line of iPhones last week. The promised centrepiece that would make us want to buy these new devices was AI – or Apple Intelligence, as they branded it. Yet the reaction from the collective world of consumer technology has been muted. The lack of enthusiasm from consumers was so evident it immediately wiped over a hundred billion dollars off Apple’s share price. Even the Wired Gadget Lab podcast, enthusiasts of all new things tech, found nothing in the new capabilities that would make them want to upgrade…

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How your online world could change if big tech companies like Google are forced to break up


The US Department of Justice may be on the verge of seeking a break-up of Google in a bid to make it less dominant. If the government goes ahead and is successful in the courts, it could mean the company being split into separate entities – a search engine, an advertising company, a video website, a mapping app – which would not be allowed to share data with each other. While this is still a distant prospect, it is being considered in the wake of a series of rulings in the US and the EU which suggest that regulators are…

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Space rover tests ‘natural intelligence’ based on insect brains


In a simulation of Mars, a space rover is testing a control system with an unusual inspiration: insect brains. The software was created by Opteran, a startup based in the UK. But the idea originated from research on bugs. Scientists at the University of Sheffield had been studying the brains of insects. They discovered remarkable neurological efficiency. A honeybee’s brain, for instance, only contains about 1 million neurons. A human brain, by contrast, has around 86 billion. But the bee mind’s tiny size belies its impressive power. It’s capable of complex navigation, obstacle avoidance, and communication. It also functions with formidable energy…

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Tech bosses think nuclear fusion is the solution to AI’s energy demands – here’s what they’re missing


The artificial intelligence boom has already changed how we understand technology and the world. But developing and updating AI programs requires a lot of computing power. This relies heavily on servers in data centres, at a great cost in terms of carbon emissions and resource use. One particularly energy intensive task is “training”, where generative AI systems are exposed to vast amounts of data so that they improve at what they do. The development of AI-based systems has been blamed for a 48% increase in Google’s greenhouse gas emissions over five years. This will make it harder for the tech…

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TNW Podcast: Phill Robinson, Boardwave on Europe’s pathway to success


 Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s special episode, we’re happy to present an interview with Phill Robinson, founder of Boardwave — a networking platform for founders and CEOs working in the European software industry. The conversation — recorded by our senior editor Linnea Ahlgren — focuses around Europe’s pathway to success. What are we doing right and wrong, compared to the other continents? What’s the future of…

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