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sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_crime-law"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/crime-law/courts" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Courts</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/property" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Property</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_property" aria-label="Show Property sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_property"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/residential" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Residential</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/commercial-property" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Commercial Property</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/interiors" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Interiors</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/food" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Food</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_food" aria-label="Show Food sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_food"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/drink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Drink</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/recipes" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Recipes</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/restaurants" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Restaurants</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/health" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Health</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_health" aria-label="Show Health sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_health"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-family" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Family</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-fitness" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Fitness</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-wellness" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Wellness</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-fitness/get-running" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Get Running</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Life & Style</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_life-style" aria-label="Show Life & Style sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_life-style"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/fashion" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Fashion</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/tags/beauty/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Beauty</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/fine-art-antiques" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Fine Art & Antiques</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/gardening" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Gardening</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/people" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">People</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/travel" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Travel</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/culture" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Culture</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_culture" aria-label="Show Culture sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_culture"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/art" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Art</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/books" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Books</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/film" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Film</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/music" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Music</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/stage" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Stage</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/tv-radio" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">TV & Radio</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/environment" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Environment</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_environment" aria-label="Show Environment sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_environment"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/environment/climate-crisis" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Climate Crisis</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/technology" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Technology</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_technology" aria-label="Show Technology sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_technology"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/big-tech" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Big Tech</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/consumer-tech" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Consumer Tech</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/data-security" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Data & Security</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/gaming" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Gaming</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/science" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Science</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_science" aria-label="Show Science sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_science"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/science/space" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Space</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/media" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Media</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/abroad" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Abroad</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/obituaries" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Obituaries</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/transport" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Transport</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/motors" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Motors</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_motors" aria-label="Show Motors sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_motors"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/motors/car-reviews/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Car Reviews</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/listen/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Listen</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Podcasts</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_podcasts" aria-label="Show Podcasts sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 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data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-it-right-rail-advanced__main-interior-item-1" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="b-full-author-bio"><figure class="c-media-item"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Chris Horn" class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Firishtimes%2F19165d31-4107-4b81-bd4d-a8030b260b4b.png?smart=true&auth=ff23017fc5148ba8da640607b96a7c7929245242fb67d578a4912bc06be60c65&width=180&height=180" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Firishtimes%2F19165d31-4107-4b81-bd4d-a8030b260b4b.png?smart=true&auth=ff23017fc5148ba8da640607b96a7c7929245242fb67d578a4912bc06be60c65&width=180&height=180 180w, 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b-full-author-bio__role">Contributor</h3></div><p class="c-paragraph">Chris Horn, a contributor to The Irish Times, was the cofounder, chief executive and chairman of Iona Technologies. He is a former member of the board of Trinity College Dublin, a former director of Science Foundation Ireland, and a former chairman of the Irish Management Institute and of Unicef Ireland.</p><div class="c-stack b-full-author-bio__social" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><h3 class="c-heading b-full-author-bio__social-header">Connect</h3><div class="b-full-author-bio__social-icons"><a title="Connect on Twitter" class="c-link b-full-author-bio__social-link" href="https://twitter.com/chrisjhorn" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"><svg class="c-icon" width="48" height="48" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z"></path></svg><span class="visually-hidden">Opens in new window</span></a><a title="Send an email to %{authorName}" class="c-link b-full-author-bio__social-link" href="mailto:innovation@irishtimes.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"><svg class="c-icon" width="48" height="48" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M502.3 190.8c3.9-3.1 9.7-.2 9.7 4.7V400c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V195.6c0-5 5.7-7.8 9.7-4.7 22.4 17.4 52.1 39.5 154.1 113.6 21.1 15.4 56.7 47.8 92.2 47.6 35.7.3 72-32.8 92.3-47.6 102-74.1 131.6-96.3 154-113.7zM256 320c23.2.4 56.6-29.2 73.4-41.4 132.7-96.3 142.8-104.7 173.4-128.7 5.8-4.5 9.2-11.5 9.2-18.9v-19c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v19c0 7.4 3.4 14.3 9.2 18.9 30.6 23.9 40.7 32.4 173.4 128.7 16.8 12.2 50.2 41.8 73.4 41.4z"></path></svg><span class="visually-hidden">Opens in new window</span></a></div></div><div></div></div></div><div class="c-stack b-results-list__wrapper" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/11/28/airlines-charting-intermediate-courses-on-path-to-sustainability/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Geese and sharks show airlines the way to fuel efficiency " class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/6INYCLMWFJACVJ5W7O7L6TQTCI.jpg?smart=true&auth=8eaa2389f297afefee909feac46608d629258b74209de0aa92595283cb1c8e5f&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/6INYCLMWFJACVJ5W7O7L6TQTCI.jpg?smart=true&auth=8eaa2389f297afefee909feac46608d629258b74209de0aa92595283cb1c8e5f&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/6INYCLMWFJACVJ5W7O7L6TQTCI.jpg?smart=true&auth=8eaa2389f297afefee909feac46608d629258b74209de0aa92595283cb1c8e5f&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/11/28/airlines-charting-intermediate-courses-on-path-to-sustainability/">Geese and sharks show airlines the way to fuel efficiency </a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/11/28/airlines-charting-intermediate-courses-on-path-to-sustainability/"><p class="c-paragraph">Aircraft manufacturers are taking inspiration from sharks and migrating geese, as initiatives in sustainable fuel are still in their infancy</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-11-28T05:00:00Z">Thu Nov 28 2024 - 05:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/11/14/chris-horn-ai-is-90-per-cent-marketing-10-per-cent-reality-and-its-true-business-impact-has-yet-to-be-proven/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Chris Horn: AI is 90% marketing, 10% reality, and its true business impact has yet to be proven" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/MKXDKAECMRH63DPF2YNKR7NBGI.jpg?focal=665%2C414&auth=9e53e492baf7f7644b075364ef3a7d2dc85061ad572d70ddd872babf06b9c002&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/MKXDKAECMRH63DPF2YNKR7NBGI.jpg?focal=665%2C414&auth=9e53e492baf7f7644b075364ef3a7d2dc85061ad572d70ddd872babf06b9c002&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/MKXDKAECMRH63DPF2YNKR7NBGI.jpg?focal=665%2C414&auth=9e53e492baf7f7644b075364ef3a7d2dc85061ad572d70ddd872babf06b9c002&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/11/14/chris-horn-ai-is-90-per-cent-marketing-10-per-cent-reality-and-its-true-business-impact-has-yet-to-be-proven/">Chris Horn: AI is 90% marketing, 10% reality, and its true business impact has yet to be proven</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/11/14/chris-horn-ai-is-90-per-cent-marketing-10-per-cent-reality-and-its-true-business-impact-has-yet-to-be-proven/"><p class="c-paragraph">AI large language models can give an illusion of intelligence but in fact it is inherently limited in high-level reasoning</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-11-14T06:00:00Z">Thu Nov 14 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/10/24/satellite-wars-elon-musks-starlink-faces-competition-for-global-communications-network/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Satellite wars: Elon Musk’s Starlink faces competition for global communications network" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/CDBHHKVYLNDH3KXSLTFG677ZKE.jpg?smart=true&auth=adede628bf8e140e1a949171ff60eb7b504a86449babf22b8fd5563224781c98&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/CDBHHKVYLNDH3KXSLTFG677ZKE.jpg?smart=true&auth=adede628bf8e140e1a949171ff60eb7b504a86449babf22b8fd5563224781c98&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/CDBHHKVYLNDH3KXSLTFG677ZKE.jpg?smart=true&auth=adede628bf8e140e1a949171ff60eb7b504a86449babf22b8fd5563224781c98&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/10/24/satellite-wars-elon-musks-starlink-faces-competition-for-global-communications-network/">Satellite wars: Elon Musk’s Starlink faces competition for global communications network</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/10/24/satellite-wars-elon-musks-starlink-faces-competition-for-global-communications-network/"><p class="c-paragraph">Amazon’s Kuiper has big plans but both groups face costly ongoing satellite replacement programmes</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-10-24T04:00:00Z">Thu Oct 24 2024 - 05:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/10/10/boeing-and-intel-symbolise-americas-manufacturing-decline-with-innovation-needed-to-restore-its-leadership-not-subsidies-or-tariffs/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Boeing and Intel symbolise America’s manufacturing decline" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/O55NT5HWDRICBAR3NWHLQEPWYE.jpg?smart=true&auth=196ef568670e854ea92ea67bdd3b00b6f88745bebed207602d0d62ca5e14cf54&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/O55NT5HWDRICBAR3NWHLQEPWYE.jpg?smart=true&auth=196ef568670e854ea92ea67bdd3b00b6f88745bebed207602d0d62ca5e14cf54&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/O55NT5HWDRICBAR3NWHLQEPWYE.jpg?smart=true&auth=196ef568670e854ea92ea67bdd3b00b6f88745bebed207602d0d62ca5e14cf54&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/10/10/boeing-and-intel-symbolise-americas-manufacturing-decline-with-innovation-needed-to-restore-its-leadership-not-subsidies-or-tariffs/">Boeing and Intel symbolise America’s manufacturing decline</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/10/10/boeing-and-intel-symbolise-americas-manufacturing-decline-with-innovation-needed-to-restore-its-leadership-not-subsidies-or-tariffs/"><p class="c-paragraph">The American electorate must choose between Donald Trump’s politics of reminiscence or Harris’s politics of renaissance but their policies are unlikely to be economically sustainable</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-10-10T05:00:00Z">Thu Oct 10 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/09/26/is-the-investment-pumped-into-ai-really-worth-it/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Is all the investment pumped into AI really worth it? " class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/TAYCOP5TYZD6BP24JNE4MECGMY.jpg?focal=959%2C618&auth=1938a533b17ea26af0218f5243f134ae99eeaca2adf878a56a4a74e566a8ad73&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/TAYCOP5TYZD6BP24JNE4MECGMY.jpg?focal=959%2C618&auth=1938a533b17ea26af0218f5243f134ae99eeaca2adf878a56a4a74e566a8ad73&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/TAYCOP5TYZD6BP24JNE4MECGMY.jpg?focal=959%2C618&auth=1938a533b17ea26af0218f5243f134ae99eeaca2adf878a56a4a74e566a8ad73&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/09/26/is-the-investment-pumped-into-ai-really-worth-it/">Is all the investment pumped into AI really worth it? </a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/09/26/is-the-investment-pumped-into-ai-really-worth-it/"><p class="c-paragraph">With humans outperforming the technology in a recent exploratory trial, equipping such systems with the autonomy to carry out their own actions raises questions of practicality, ethics and philosophy</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-09-26T04:55:00Z">Thu Sept 26 2024 - 05:55</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/09/05/how-sharks-are-helping-the-aviation-industry-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="How sharks are helping the aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions " class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/5ULBAYYWWMKHQAMIHR4P773MIE.jpg?smart=true&auth=323ae41f63ef6c9bd44c1572f08748c6a99835aa9aa1ad4c9f5df6c23f2306bd&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/5ULBAYYWWMKHQAMIHR4P773MIE.jpg?smart=true&auth=323ae41f63ef6c9bd44c1572f08748c6a99835aa9aa1ad4c9f5df6c23f2306bd&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/5ULBAYYWWMKHQAMIHR4P773MIE.jpg?smart=true&auth=323ae41f63ef6c9bd44c1572f08748c6a99835aa9aa1ad4c9f5df6c23f2306bd&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/09/05/how-sharks-are-helping-the-aviation-industry-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/">How sharks are helping the aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions </a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/09/05/how-sharks-are-helping-the-aviation-industry-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/"><p class="c-paragraph">The idea of putting sharkskin-type grooves on planes to improve fuel efficiency has been around for years, but the technology has recently caught up with nature</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-09-05T05:00:00Z">Thu Sept 05 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/08/15/robots-have-come-a-long-way-since-i-saw-them-manufacture-the-fiat-ritmo-in-1978/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Robots have come a long way since I saw them manufacture the Fiat Ritmo in 1978" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/6ZV4LAS4UVBVDIAMKYE4PU2EDQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=37b6a981ac1d6b91eec8ceeec459e9626f882db8c38f4fad90a9c96d9092e987&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/6ZV4LAS4UVBVDIAMKYE4PU2EDQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=37b6a981ac1d6b91eec8ceeec459e9626f882db8c38f4fad90a9c96d9092e987&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/6ZV4LAS4UVBVDIAMKYE4PU2EDQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=37b6a981ac1d6b91eec8ceeec459e9626f882db8c38f4fad90a9c96d9092e987&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/08/15/robots-have-come-a-long-way-since-i-saw-them-manufacture-the-fiat-ritmo-in-1978/">Robots have come a long way since I saw them manufacture the Fiat Ritmo in 1978</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/08/15/robots-have-come-a-long-way-since-i-saw-them-manufacture-the-fiat-ritmo-in-1978/"><p class="c-paragraph">In almost half a century, we have reached a point where robots can perform intricate surgeries inside the human body</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-08-15T04:00:00Z">Thu Aug 15 2024 - 05:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/08/01/unlocking-transparency-for-renters-with-renttech-and-proptech-applications/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="New technology that can inform you about a rental property’s history, good and bad " class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/AXLJSKYFGZHZFMR3Q7YUL7RMXE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c1a11e844a3f04437a908520037c1c1df43a222217dccf163ac75ed28d356e54&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/AXLJSKYFGZHZFMR3Q7YUL7RMXE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c1a11e844a3f04437a908520037c1c1df43a222217dccf163ac75ed28d356e54&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/AXLJSKYFGZHZFMR3Q7YUL7RMXE.jpg?smart=true&auth=c1a11e844a3f04437a908520037c1c1df43a222217dccf163ac75ed28d356e54&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/08/01/unlocking-transparency-for-renters-with-renttech-and-proptech-applications/">New technology that can inform you about a rental property’s history, good and bad </a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/08/01/unlocking-transparency-for-renters-with-renttech-and-proptech-applications/"><p class="c-paragraph">Howmuchrent.com provides tenant reviews and RTB disputes, while Ambisense predicts the likelihood of mould outbreaks in homes</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-08-01T05:00:00Z">Thu Aug 01 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/07/18/cleggs-attack-on-innovation-in-europe-is-one-eyed/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Nick Clegg’s attack on innovation in Europe is one-eyed" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U76ZCLH63FNVNNT7BBNVPQLZDI.jpg?smart=true&auth=4776a1b46e3d6e97c76aa4bbcb1e76be1ef06e2bd3e5486a8a5ba6d3b6638420&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U76ZCLH63FNVNNT7BBNVPQLZDI.jpg?smart=true&auth=4776a1b46e3d6e97c76aa4bbcb1e76be1ef06e2bd3e5486a8a5ba6d3b6638420&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/U76ZCLH63FNVNNT7BBNVPQLZDI.jpg?smart=true&auth=4776a1b46e3d6e97c76aa4bbcb1e76be1ef06e2bd3e5486a8a5ba6d3b6638420&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/07/18/cleggs-attack-on-innovation-in-europe-is-one-eyed/">Nick Clegg’s attack on innovation in Europe is one-eyed</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/07/18/cleggs-attack-on-innovation-in-europe-is-one-eyed/"><p class="c-paragraph">Ill-informed rant from Meta head of global affairs appears driven by his employer’s frustration with EU rules</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-07-18T04:00:00Z">Thu Jul 18 2024 - 05:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/07/04/why-is-almost-three-quarters-of-all-internet-traffic-in-ireland-of-malicious-intent/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Why is almost three-quarters of all internet traffic in Ireland of malicious intent?" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/DESOPS3NZKFSYRJSB5F6GSH4LY.jpg?smart=true&auth=2e189042004827a06e87206f860bd21a5f1a88e79be2bab43cfebd9d3adcdb08&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/DESOPS3NZKFSYRJSB5F6GSH4LY.jpg?smart=true&auth=2e189042004827a06e87206f860bd21a5f1a88e79be2bab43cfebd9d3adcdb08&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/DESOPS3NZKFSYRJSB5F6GSH4LY.jpg?smart=true&auth=2e189042004827a06e87206f860bd21a5f1a88e79be2bab43cfebd9d3adcdb08&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/07/04/why-is-almost-three-quarters-of-all-internet-traffic-in-ireland-of-malicious-intent/">Why is almost three-quarters of all internet traffic in Ireland of malicious intent?</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/07/04/why-is-almost-three-quarters-of-all-internet-traffic-in-ireland-of-malicious-intent/"><p class="c-paragraph">In 2022, retailers on ecommerce platform Shopify started to report unusual activity from Ireland</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-07-04T05:00:00Z">Thu Jul 04 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/06/20/interactive-movies-could-reduce-the-threat-to-the-film-sector-from-the-huge-computer-gaming-sector/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Interactive movies could reduce the threat to the film sector from the huge computer gaming sector" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/EILIO5LYKLNETRO624HOHBB2AU.jpg?smart=true&auth=a568aaf26a8d84c2741342458489d19982a7e1936425ee65a52fc0f2cde80b5c&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/EILIO5LYKLNETRO624HOHBB2AU.jpg?smart=true&auth=a568aaf26a8d84c2741342458489d19982a7e1936425ee65a52fc0f2cde80b5c&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/EILIO5LYKLNETRO624HOHBB2AU.jpg?smart=true&auth=a568aaf26a8d84c2741342458489d19982a7e1936425ee65a52fc0f2cde80b5c&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/06/20/interactive-movies-could-reduce-the-threat-to-the-film-sector-from-the-huge-computer-gaming-sector/">Interactive movies could reduce the threat to the film sector from the huge computer gaming sector</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/06/20/interactive-movies-could-reduce-the-threat-to-the-film-sector-from-the-huge-computer-gaming-sector/"><p class="c-paragraph">A documentary on musician Brian Eno showcases the possibilities of generative technology, making each viewing unique and challenging the ability to critique the film</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-06-20T05:00:00Z">Thu Jun 20 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/06/06/corks-extraordinary-genius-who-influenced-the-history-of-computing/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Cork’s extraordinary genius who influenced the history of computing" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/24UOX2JZB5CJPJ5N6N5PX5TYTM.jpg?smart=true&auth=fc1b5b7172b96bf1116af41dc8f67a746ffc2f32824e6f4db175838408a422bb&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/24UOX2JZB5CJPJ5N6N5PX5TYTM.jpg?smart=true&auth=fc1b5b7172b96bf1116af41dc8f67a746ffc2f32824e6f4db175838408a422bb&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/24UOX2JZB5CJPJ5N6N5PX5TYTM.jpg?smart=true&auth=fc1b5b7172b96bf1116af41dc8f67a746ffc2f32824e6f4db175838408a422bb&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/06/06/corks-extraordinary-genius-who-influenced-the-history-of-computing/">Cork’s extraordinary genius who influenced the history of computing</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/06/06/corks-extraordinary-genius-who-influenced-the-history-of-computing/"><p class="c-paragraph">Percy Ludgate’s 1909 paper played a crucial role in shaping the early computer industry, although he was unaware of its impact</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-06-06T05:00:00Z">Thu Jun 06 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/05/23/it-seems-an-improbable-odyssey-for-london-to-ever-become-the-new-silicon-valley/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="It seems an improbable odyssey for London to ever become the new Silicon Valley" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/KHGLDHXT47N6HMFCBYQY6FCLYQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=a51cdbe9a0fccc3da1baf52f7d877b7801c926ce3e5a75b3e7641c0c7109a0bd&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/KHGLDHXT47N6HMFCBYQY6FCLYQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=a51cdbe9a0fccc3da1baf52f7d877b7801c926ce3e5a75b3e7641c0c7109a0bd&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/KHGLDHXT47N6HMFCBYQY6FCLYQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=a51cdbe9a0fccc3da1baf52f7d877b7801c926ce3e5a75b3e7641c0c7109a0bd&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/05/23/it-seems-an-improbable-odyssey-for-london-to-ever-become-the-new-silicon-valley/">It seems an improbable odyssey for London to ever become the new Silicon Valley</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/05/23/it-seems-an-improbable-odyssey-for-london-to-ever-become-the-new-silicon-valley/"><p class="c-paragraph">Jeremy Hunt believes the UK can create a home-grown tech giant, but for a trillion dollar tech company to emerge, it needs a thriving foundation</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-05-23T05:00:00Z">Thu May 23 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/05/09/advances-in-mri-may-open-window-for-treating-neurodegenerative-diseases/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Advances in MRI may open window for treating neurodegenerative diseases" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/IWBTBSJW2BDZJI4RVQBS2PBD2U.jpg?smart=true&auth=f5adecffdd67833b24a7be75c2b6a0018f3498178d5065a75349bbe602244c96&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/IWBTBSJW2BDZJI4RVQBS2PBD2U.jpg?smart=true&auth=f5adecffdd67833b24a7be75c2b6a0018f3498178d5065a75349bbe602244c96&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/IWBTBSJW2BDZJI4RVQBS2PBD2U.jpg?smart=true&auth=f5adecffdd67833b24a7be75c2b6a0018f3498178d5065a75349bbe602244c96&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/05/09/advances-in-mri-may-open-window-for-treating-neurodegenerative-diseases/">Advances in MRI may open window for treating neurodegenerative diseases</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/05/09/advances-in-mri-may-open-window-for-treating-neurodegenerative-diseases/"><p class="c-paragraph">Technology behind MRI machines, among the most complex devices in modern medicine, is still developing after 70 years</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-05-09T04:00:00Z">Thu May 09 2024 - 05:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="b-results-list b-results-list--show-image"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/04/25/we-are-at-last-creating-ai-approaching-human-intellect-but-the-underpinnings-are-insubstantial/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="We are at last creating AI approaching human intellect but the underpinnings are insubstantial" class="c-image" loading="eager" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/RICORAHMSRDDLLCZRHF5L4WCNQ.jpg?focal=947%2C668&auth=3160cc8bb43975048b1095ea6e386eadae7f21ec9f376bcef26ff7dee31e912a&width=500&height=333" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/RICORAHMSRDDLLCZRHF5L4WCNQ.jpg?focal=947%2C668&auth=3160cc8bb43975048b1095ea6e386eadae7f21ec9f376bcef26ff7dee31e912a&width=250&height=166 250w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/RICORAHMSRDDLLCZRHF5L4WCNQ.jpg?focal=947%2C668&auth=3160cc8bb43975048b1095ea6e386eadae7f21ec9f376bcef26ff7dee31e912a&width=500&height=333 500w" sizes="(min-width: 48rem) 500px, 250px" width="500" height="333"/></a></figure><h2 class="c-heading"><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/04/25/we-are-at-last-creating-ai-approaching-human-intellect-but-the-underpinnings-are-insubstantial/">We are at last creating AI approaching human intellect but the underpinnings are insubstantial</a></h2><a class="c-link" href="/business/innovation/2024/04/25/we-are-at-last-creating-ai-approaching-human-intellect-but-the-underpinnings-are-insubstantial/"><p class="c-paragraph">Power consumption required for GenAI could be heading towards entirely impractical levels</p></a><div class="c-attribution"><time class="c-date" dateTime="2024-04-25T05:00:00Z">Thu Apr 25 2024 - 06:00</time></div></div><hr class="c-divider"/><div class="c-stack b-results-list__seeMore" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><button aria-label="See more stories about this topic" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--primary" type="button"><span>See more</span></button></div></div><div class="c-stack b-flex-promo-list-block" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap" style="--c-stack-gap:1rem"><div> <div class="d-flex justify-content-center pagination-flex"><nav aria-label="Page navigation example" class="pagination-nav margin-sm-bottom"><ul class="pagination"><li class="page-item page-item-prev disabledCursor"><a class="page-link" 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"},"label":{},"owner":{"sponsored":false},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IGFQFDT55JEBREGW3KXTSXF4TA","auth":{"1":"8530c7bd8b406417b2a47fa87c147ae6ca2b602d6bc8cd1962965dbc28ad134c"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IGFQFDT55JEBREGW3KXTSXF4TA.jpg"}},"type":"story","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","name":"Innovation"},"website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/09/21/chris-horn-a-new-technology-that-could-preserve-our-data-for-1000-years/"}}}],"count":216,"next":30,"_id":"9e85cceeb3e9a070c7fbf622a8d95f6a217d5a5e7b06a1e57320aa8eecc20e46"},"expires":1732945415584,"lastModified":1732945115367},"{\"authorSlug\":\"chris-horn\",\"feedOffset\":0,\"feedSize\":50}":{"data":{"content_elements":[{"_id":"AW4DWPM4BZDBLNMUA6WMFVOEKQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":365,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/b5bd287f-1bf3-4c5a-96be-5f49ef17c7cc/versions/1732541430/media/3725943cc4786f89e62203b49a08fc37_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/11/28/airlines-charting-intermediate-courses-on-path-to-sustainability/","content_elements":[{"_id":"V6LXSZSRGBCW5NKG2UVQXUKVKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953647},"content":"In October 2022, after intensive diplomacy at a meeting of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/international-civil-aviation-organisation/\" target=\"_blank\">International Civil Aviation Organisation</a> (ICAO) in <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/canada/\" target=\"_blank\">Montreal</a>, 184 countries agreed an aspirational goal of making the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/international-airlines/\" target=\"_blank\">aviation</a> industry <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/climate-change/\" target=\"_blank\">net neutral</a> of carbon emissions by 2050.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MLPWVHJZMNECVFWYSUU42G54DE","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953648},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Ireland</a> has a key global role in this ambition. Approximately 58 per cent of all civil aircraft worldwide are leased and, of these, about 50 per cent are leased through more than 30 leasing companies operating in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4V46DG4WGFHONKOKQQAIOGVEJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569061},"content":"Financing business models used to be based on the solvency of an airline operator, its business model, the age of the aircraft and their residual values. Now the emissions impact is becoming an increasingly significant factor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C56V74CZJJDCJBDRRHQLHAXLPM","additional_properties":{"_id":"33HSVOEXJ5GFHDIUQL6LESZLAA"},"content":"Aircraft lessors prepare for ‘mega trial’ in row with insurers over planes stuck in Russia","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WMBCUUVI3ZGOJCBC5IWG5QZ5KQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953649},"content":"The recent winner of The Irish Times Innovation Awards (disclosure: I was the chairman of the judging panel), <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/2024/11/13/fexco-wins-irish-times-innovation-of-the-year-for-platform-tracking-airline-emissions-from-fleet-to-seat/\" target=\"_blank\">PACE</a>, is well positioned to assist. The company accurately measures the carbon emission impact globally from existing aviation operations, down to the granularity of specific individual flights and occupied seat classes (eg business or economy).","type":"text"},{"_id":"APOJBAPAANBJXFVRD5KA2AJCX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569063},"content":"The analysis can be aggregated across airlines, and specific aircraft models and configurations, and also for particular airports. The raw data is taken from live flight-tracking data collected worldwide, including some data made available via industry partnerships.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QF5LHDKKWBFQTI62CK3QK4QWIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953650},"content":"The ICAO goal is ambitious. By 2050 the aviation industry expects to have emission-free aircraft using electric engines, with highly efficient fuselage shapes, including blended wings and high aspect-ratio configurations. However, aircraft rolling off production lines today will almost certainly still be flying in 25 years’ time, given aircraft lifetimes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XUHQCTBBY5GARHTPJHL733EFDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569065},"content":"The big challenge is, therefore, not developing exciting new designs for roll-out towards 2050, but rather how can today’s aircraft fleets be upgraded while in service in the years ahead to become fully net carbon neutral by 2050?","type":"text"},{"_id":"KGCKOCU7DBBJXPEGJVSJLRUD6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953651},"content":"Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is typically made from waste oils and residues, and potentially from direct carbon capture systems. By recycling carbon already in the atmosphere, SAF avoids releasing additional carbon into the air. Fortunately it is compatible with jet fuel and so kerosene and SAF blends can fuel existing jet engines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KM7TATPF4FFO7LV4FTMRAGWUVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569067},"content":"However, SAF can cause rubber hoses and seals in fuel tanks and engine fittings to become brittle and susceptible to leakage over time. Both Airbus and Boeing have undertaken to enable retrofitting of existing fleets with new fuel-line systems capable of enduring high SAF concentrations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BUIE4FIUGJHTLMNJC5VVIOWJ2M","additional_properties":{"_id":"GVQLFKA4M5B65LOIFMTJLFUBIM"},"content":"Green aviation fuel industry could be worth €2.55bn to Ireland","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"E7M7S2KJNNFOHEA3E46CZJXWJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953652},"content":"Currently, SAF is approximately twice as expensive as traditional jet fuel and accounts for only about 1 per cent of global jet fuel consumption. The European Union Safety Agency has predicted that about 2.3 million tonnes of SAF would be needed annually to reach just 5 per cent SAF usage across the EU by 2030. At present, EU production is only one 10th of that.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GF36AZ5Q7RG2VGCDLPMEX44FIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953653},"content":"Hydrogen is a longer-term potential jet fuel replacement. It would be emission-free but only if the hydrogen itself is also produced without emissions, presumably by renewable electricity electrolysing water.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PW22N6YEY5AANEA4TJIX5G7EKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569070},"content":"Although very light for a given amount of energy, hydrogen has a low volumetric density and requires extremely low temperatures and high pressures to be stored. Existing fuel tanks cannot be used and new cylindrical tanks are required for hydrogen in aircraft. Hydrogen also burns at a higher temperature than traditional fuel, a challenge for existing jet engines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QIKN4NE64JGXHEZVBGVYDP4VJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569071},"content":"Airport ground operations and supply chains worldwide will also need heavy investment, almost certainly with support from national governments, to manage and store hydrogen fuel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QL7FD5PPSZF3TBZKHDOE3ASEYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953654},"content":"Airbus has committed to producing an entirely new aircraft model powered by hydrogen by 2035. Derwent Technologies, a specialist UK company, has proposed a dual SAF-hydrogen adaptor for existing jet engines, which would automatically switch between SAF for high-power situations (such as take-off and go-around) and hydrogen fuel only for low-power cruise so that the engine would be undamaged. Hydrogen would be carried by external underwing storage tanks. Derwent claims that existing short-haul aircraft could thus be converted to partial use of hydrogen fuel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RFI6JBNMYBC23HGEUCLPOM42GU","additional_properties":{"_id":"EIASY7O57VHDPHHDNSKFEJPTYY"},"content":"Green hydrogen: Cause for hope or hype?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HZJ6WC3EERDUVIKSHACVYPWJJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953655},"content":"Nature is also providing inspiration. The Lufthansa group is using sharkskin technology to reduce friction in flight and so reduce fuel consumption, as I discussed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/2024/09/05/how-sharks-are-helping-the-aviation-industry-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/\" target=\"_blank\">in September</a>. Meanwhile, migrating geese are showing the way to the aircraft manufacturer. The Airbus “fello’fly” project demonstrated how air turbulence behind an aircraft, which is usually avoided by other aircraft, could be exploited by a trailing aircraft to reduce its own fuel burn by 5 to 10 per cent. Normally aircraft are separated by at least 30 nautical miles for transoceanic flights but, as a demonstration, the project paired two A350s from Toulouse to Montreal separated by only 1.2 nautical miles. The tactic is inspired by migrating flocks of geese, flying in V-formation, where each bird benefits from reduced drag because of the bird in front.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FUESF7DX2JCHJKGCL6RJVURMJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1732537569075},"content":"A number of airlines, Boeing, <a href=\"https://www.eurocontrol.int/\" target=\"_blank\">Eurocontrol</a> and other partners are now joining Airbus in a follow-on EU Horizon-funded initiative to develop cockpit functions and flight management support to track and exploit wake vortexes. Aircraft could be safely paired for long-haul flights if navigational and air traffic procedures can be evolved appropriately.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KT72FSFHRBEALLX56JK3BSNML4","additional_properties":{"_id":1732528953657},"content":"With the imminent Trump administration, carbon neutrality goals seem likely to diverge between the US and rest of the world. That could well allow Europe and Airbus to consolidate a leadership position.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Aircraft manufacturers are taking inspiration from sharks and migrating geese, as initiatives in sustainable fuel are still in their infancy"},"display_date":"2024-11-28T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Geese and sharks show airlines the way to fuel efficiency ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"6INYCLMWFJACVJ5W7O7L6TQTCI","auth":{"1":"8eaa2389f297afefee909feac46608d629258b74209de0aa92595283cb1c8e5f"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6INYCLMWFJACVJ5W7O7L6TQTCI.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/11/28/airlines-charting-intermediate-courses-on-path-to-sustainability/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"QPHZ7VF7D5CUJLFAPRY5TBD3QM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":348,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/e840029e-421b-4438-abfe-3d56d163a7f4/versions/1731316684/media/8dec85679cd4a63bb457b3eaae56b8c1_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/11/14/chris-horn-ai-is-90-per-cent-marketing-10-per-cent-reality-and-its-true-business-impact-has-yet-to-be-proven/","content_elements":[{"_id":"4Q5VENHXLZCNJKKVIAOVMDQESY","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506234},"content":"Joe makes a call from a phone booth. It costs him 60 cents for each minute of his call. After 10 minutes, the price drops to 50 cents per minute. How much would a 30 minute call cost him?","type":"text"},{"_id":"JXIVR5BGURGUZNQEBSUM3BMXCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506235},"content":"Questions like these are a part of a suite of arithmetic tests for US grade schools, typically targeting 10 to 11 year olds. Mathematical reasoning is key to problem solving. It therefore can be used to measure the capabilities of an <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/artificial-intelligence/\" target=\"_blank\">artificial intelligence</a> (AI) system.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ML3625SMZVFOJL6ZPWRS7537NQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506236},"content":"The grade school math 8k (GSM8K) suite has become a popular benchmark for various AI large language models (LLMs), such as <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/chatgpt/\" target=\"_blank\">ChatGPT</a>. The suite contains 8,500 problems like the one above, divided into problems to train a LLM and then the real problems to be solved. The latest LLM from ChatGPT’s OpenAI, the GPT-4o model, has scored 92.5 per cent on the GSM8K suite while Google’s LLM Gemini 1.5 Pro scored 91.7 per cent. A smaller LLM having fewer tuning parameters, Microsoft’s Phi-3-small, has nevertheless achieved an impressive 88.5 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LODPD6CI2BEXXI3T33W5BMPRWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506237},"content":"However, <a href=\"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.05229\" target=\"_blank\">a recent paper</a> by six researchers at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/apple/\" target=\"_blank\">Apple</a> has uncovered significant weaknesses in the reasoning ability of 22 different state-of-the-art LLMs, including those named above. Just a simple name change – such as from “Joe” to “Dave” in the problem above – and then leaving the remainder of the test question completely unchanged, may lead to a different answer from a LLM. This is clearly surprising, and would not be expected from a student who has genuine mathematical understanding.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJM4J5QVCRBSVM2GV4MDRH3CYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506238},"content":"The fragility of the various LLMs examined by the researchers was more significant when numbers in the test problems were changed, rather than just names alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KKLJODSQJB2TFFXUVTP6WEF3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506239},"content":"For example, changing the base rate of the phone call in the test above from 60 cents a minute to 70 cents a minute, and similar numerical changes in the remainder of the test problems, led to a wider variety of accuracy in responses. The researchers concluded that the LLMs are not performing formal reasoning and hypothesised that instead they are making best efforts to match patterns within the set of supplied training problems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C3JARKNCGNDVXIMEIZYEPEDRQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506240},"content":"Even more intriguingly, dropping or adding additional clauses had a significant impact on the performance of the LLMs. For example, removing the clause specifying a call price reduction after 10 minutes in the test problem above, or adding a new clause giving a 5 per cent discount for calls costing more than $10, frequently caused a variation in the accuracy of the results.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XMMC5JGHV5FKJEVS4B35MZ7D5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506241},"content":"The researchers noted that as the difficulty of the test problems increased by adding more clauses, then the performance of the LLMs deteriorated rapidly with the increase in problem complexity. They postulated that searching and pattern matching becomes significantly harder for the LLMs as the problem difficulties increase, reinforcing their suggestion that authentic mathematical reasoning is not actually occurring.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GA67QU4I2VAARMDCFYZGGWIV3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506242},"content":"In addition to changing the specified values and complexity of problems, the researchers then tried adding apparently relevant, but in practice completely inconsequential, clauses. For example, the phone call problem above might add an unimportant clause observing that phone call prices were actually 10 per cent cheaper last year, but the problem is nevertheless about how much Joe’s phone call costs him now today. However, frequently the LLMs would nevertheless apply the discount rate. In these scenarios, the researchers observed catastrophic performance declines across all of the LLMs tested, which they attributed potentially to an over-reliance by the LLMs on the particular set of training problems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W3TUAYYB75C2PIXL36VY47BJWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506243},"content":"The researchers concluded: “Ultimately, our work underscores significant limitations in the ability of LLMs to perform genuine mathematical reasoning. The high variance in LLM performance on different versions of the same question, their substantial drop in performance with a minor increase in difficulty, and their sensitivity to inconsequential information indicate that their reasoning is fragile. It may resemble sophisticated pattern matching more than true logical reasoning.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AL7DQ3SP2JGGRNUGBE2XDEG6HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506244},"content":"The text responses from ChatGPT and other LLMs attracted the attention of both the public and investors when they gave an impression that they genuinely understand the world. In practice, it seems they have reached such a size where they absorb more information from their training data than individual humans might typically know or recall, and conjugate this data in various combinations. With sufficient input data and training, requiring considerable investment and energy, a LLM can give an illusion of intelligence but in fact is inherently limited in high-level reasoning, and has no sapient conceptual model.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z4JELXP6RFFVVC4AJKXYHKOA6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506245},"content":"One of todays most influential giants in computing is Linus Torvalds, the creator of the very widely used Linux operating system. He <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4wlrxFf2lM&t=2270s\" target=\"_blank\">recently stated</a> that while he found AI really interesting he nevertheless was going to basically ignore it for now. He observed that the whole tech industry around AI is 90 per cent marketing and 10 per cent reality, and “in five years time things will change and at that point we’ll see what AI is getting used every day for real workloads”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMQTCKAQUVC67B5TUZCQQZYEUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1731265506246},"content":"I agree with him. The current generation of LLMs have some utility in text analysis and searching, and can also produce great images and videos, but their true business impact has yet to be proven.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"AI large language models can give an illusion of intelligence but in fact it is inherently limited in high-level reasoning"},"display_date":"2024-11-14T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: AI is 90% marketing, 10% reality, and its true business impact has yet to be proven","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"MKXDKAECMRH63DPF2YNKR7NBGI","auth":{"1":"9e53e492baf7f7644b075364ef3a7d2dc85061ad572d70ddd872babf06b9c002"},"focal_point":{"x":665,"y":414},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/MKXDKAECMRH63DPF2YNKR7NBGI.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/11/14/chris-horn-ai-is-90-per-cent-marketing-10-per-cent-reality-and-its-true-business-impact-has-yet-to-be-proven/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"JY5WIXIDJRGLFCHSDBUILO7E2A","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":366,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/d7c1c44f-4619-4180-9756-944da25f97aa/versions/1729512090/media/e54a6281897e2a0a7f613543adff195f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/10/24/satellite-wars-elon-musks-starlink-faces-competition-for-global-communications-network/","content_elements":[{"_id":"7F6PSHOYKFCBPLQFETZKCXVJLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989500},"content":"In the summer of 1995, I took one of the most eventful journeys in my life when I interrupted our family holiday in Connemara for a critical business trip. I boarded the Galway bus and then another on to Shannon, flew to New York and finally on to Phoenix, Arizona.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FA2TP3G52NAS3AWQAO42TJCJJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989501},"content":"My destination was the headquarters of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/motorola/\" target=\"_blank\">Motorola</a> satellite communications. My family understandably were quite unhappy with the interruption. The Phoenix flight was also delayed by several hours, overbooked and I was very nearly denied boarding. I was exhausted arriving to my hotel at 5am, instead of the prior evening.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KMVGZJFVHJEQLJMQOTGRGCEC4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989502},"content":"Over a short 8.30am breakfast with Motorola, I signed a long-negotiated but game-changing contract for my company, Iona, and then headed straight back to Connemara, arriving to my family the next day.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZFHM6LXTEVDIHHRUWQB33IZXUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989503},"content":"The contract was for Iridium, an initiative to build a global communications network using low-orbit satellites. At a time when mobile phone networks were in their infancy, Motorola and its partners believed that a planetary mesh of satellites could instantly offer a cellular network anywhere in the world, including, in particular, for parts of the world then having a poor telecommunications infrastructure.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BUDABRVLWJBQRHHRBJGIRM7KYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989504},"content":"Iona supplied the foundational software to interconnect the three Iridium global network management centres in Phoenix, Rome and Honolulu. Because of the high profile of the project, it was an immense coup for our small Irish company against substantial brand-name competition, and subsequently created numerous opportunities for us with other mission-critical projects worldwide.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XHDFBXIMRZACFEBIKECUIG5EPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989505},"content":"Iridium, however, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 1999, defaulting on $1.5 billion business in loans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E2NGA23RLZGX3FNUIZGODL2XTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989506},"content":"Its network had become operational the prior November, and its CEO and 28 member board of directors had projected a growth rate of at least 50,000 new users per month. In the event, it only had 20,000 users in total by that August and so broke banking covenants with its debt providers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4PBRTU2Q6RHRHI4MCQ57LA6XCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989507},"content":"Various studies of the failure of Iridium have blamed the cost and physical bulk of its mobile handsets, and the competitive acceleration of terrestrial cellular networks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BAJVLE5VYFA4VEYGR6CJKM5YVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989508},"content":"Twenty-five years later, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/elon-musk/\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk</a>’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/spacex/\" target=\"_blank\">SpaceX</a> is building <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/starlink/\" target=\"_blank\">Starlink</a>, likewise a global communications network using low-orbit satellites. It primarily offers internet wifi hotspots, rather than direct connections to mobile phones as in Iridium (although Starlink promises a “direct to cell” service from next year).","type":"text"},{"_id":"RBP4L2MMLNCBPJNDB356BXHN6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989509},"content":"Iridium used 10 Mbps microwave beams between adjacent satellites in its constellation, whereas Starlink today uses infrared lasers up to 100 Gbps – 10,000 times the bandwidth of the Iridium links. Iridium deployed 66 satellites, while Starlink is currently operating 7,000 and expects to grow this to at least 12,000 and maybe even to 34,000 based on SpaceX’s analysis of the expected global demand for its infrastructure.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KUQPWYX5XNDDPDMD7SIQSBKGZU","additional_properties":{"_id":"J3YBYU3LNNBZLG4PTY45ODRG4E"},"content":"Getting insurance in space should not have to be rocket science","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"HVDMURY3KFGWRGUKQFW6PHNGYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989510},"content":"But Starlink may soon not be the only game in town. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jeff-bezos/\" target=\"_blank\">Jeff Bezos</a>’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/amazon/\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon</a> already runs much of the internet’s infrastructure with its web services and worldwide data centres. Adding a satellite constellation would allow Amazon to strengthen its competitive position with direct high-capacity connections to its infrastructure, bypassing any need for intermediary internet service providers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFHBN3YQDZHS7DKCC7PTWC6YIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989511},"content":"Amazon thus founded its Kuiper satellite subsidiary in 2019, four years after Starlink. Kuiper has so far launched just two test satellites but intends to build out its constellation of 3,000 satellites from early next year. It must have at least 1,600 in orbit by July 2026 to meet its commitments to its US regulator (the Federal Communications Commission).","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4NF67I7E5EWZGAJML65JYXVUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989512},"content":"Much of the technology appears broadly similar to that of Starlink although different frequency bands are used to connect the constellations to the ground terminals, with Kuiper using a higher bandwidth but potentially being more susceptible to weather conditions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3YCVGTNSOZFGPNIMPTPZBRDXYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989513},"content":"Starlink is estimated to have cost about $10 billion to date, and maybe $20 billion for a dense constellation. Nevertheless, SpaceX has been able to keep the Starlink costs comparatively low by largely building its satellites in-house and using its own rockets to launch the satellites.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KSDYDLC56VCP7DWIMMIBNRUEU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989514},"content":"Kuiper’s costs are expected to be significantly higher in comparison, both due to satellite manufacturing costs and contracting with multiple launch companies (including Bezos’ own SpaceX competitor, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/blue-origin/\" target=\"_blank\">Blue Origin</a>).","type":"text"},{"_id":"OEIUB27CPZE7LJC2Z3EXMUUMCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989515},"content":"Some analysts expect Starlink to grow its current 2.7 million subscribers and $6.6 billion in revenue to at least five million subscribers by 2027 and circa $32 billion in revenue. An optimal analysis for Kuiper projects 100 million customers at $30 per month, and thus $36 billion in annual revenue.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CNQAESI27JHS7LC7L73ILGGE4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989516},"content":"In both projects, satellites are an ongoing cost. Kuiper expects a seven-year satellite lifespan. So once fully operational, about 450 satellites will need to be annually replaced. Starlink’s current satellites only have a five-year span. Once its 12,000 satellites are operational, 2,400 of them will need to be annually replaced at an estimated annual cost of $8.2 billion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LNQGMBKGVADDB7IAYYPULAJQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1729506989517},"content":"The project lead for Kuiper was hired in 2018 from SpaceX and there were rumours that he was fired for being overly cautious compared with Musk’s impatience. Some analysts are now speculating that Kuiper is moving far too slowly and that there are too many challenges ahead to progress from today’s two test satellites to meeting the FCC requirement of 1,600 in 20 months’ time. Even with Amazon’s deep pockets, Kuiper’s high costs may be more than its investors wish to bear.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Amazon’s Kuiper has big plans but both groups face costly ongoing satellite replacement programmes"},"display_date":"2024-10-24T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Satellite wars: Elon Musk’s Starlink faces competition for global communications network","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"CDBHHKVYLNDH3KXSLTFG677ZKE","auth":{"1":"adede628bf8e140e1a949171ff60eb7b504a86449babf22b8fd5563224781c98"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/CDBHHKVYLNDH3KXSLTFG677ZKE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/10/24/satellite-wars-elon-musks-starlink-faces-competition-for-global-communications-network/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"RQKI5XAZ4BE6RP2YWP4WRTSNIE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":368,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8fd2a145-becb-4e7b-8a60-3e384128417b/versions/1728381862/media/b8cb1465f6ab17384b178c2d52282a30_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/10/10/boeing-and-intel-symbolise-americas-manufacturing-decline-with-innovation-needed-to-restore-its-leadership-not-subsidies-or-tariffs/","content_elements":[{"_id":"W2IBZ2KNZ5DNDKVDHDE7FTCRMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907153},"content":"Pennsylvania is a critical swing state in the imminent <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us-election/\" target=\"_blank\">US presidential election</a>. Contributing 19 votes to the national electoral college, the state was narrowly won by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/donald-trump/\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump</a> by a mere 0.72 per cent in 2016, and by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/joe-biden/\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Biden</a> with a similarly slender margin of 1.17 per cent four years later.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5PKGNWJVZRFUPCRMLGHKXKIP7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907154},"content":"The state is squarely in the rust belt, with prosperity historically from steel manufacturing, coal and iron ore mining. Philadelphia alone at one point contributed 30 per cent of the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/united-states/\" target=\"_blank\">US</a> total manufacturing output, from its production of heavy machinery including ship building and railroad locomotives. Andrew Carnegie, an entrepreneur and industrial magnate, renamed Pittsburgh the “steel city” in the late 19th century.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQTVBHVSNZDYFMVSQJCELQ7KDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907155},"content":"In 1973, American steelworkers became among the highest paid blue-collar workers worldwide, with a six-year peace deal agreed between employers and the United Steelworkers union. Within a decade, substantial numbers had been laid off. The US steel industry faltered as competitors in Japan, South Korea and Brazil had substantially lower production costs. Then worldwide demand slowed and the industry also began switching from the primary production method dominated by the Pennsylvania steel mills, to secondary “mini-mills” using recycled scrap steel and more automated production. Today, some 35 per cent of steel worldwide is recycled.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KRLYBRT2QRDFBC7FFM2AQJOO6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907156},"content":"Demand for steel in the US stagnated compared with the glory days of the 1950s and 60s, as factory and skyscraper construction slowed, car manufacturing moved to lighter materials, and investment in new railways, bridges and freeways largely stalled. The stock price of the leading US steel producer, Nucor, has dropped steadily so far this year, about 27 per cent down from its previous high, reflecting the general bearish investor sentiment to the US steel market.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JCN247C3IRHWBMTHQJIKN6FQJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907157},"content":"Trump is promising a nostalgic return to the economic dominance of the US, by raising import tariffs and stimulating domestic production. But it is challenging to rebuild a labour market in the Rust Belt for steel production, which has been disrupted by automation. Meanwhile, from high tech California, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/kamala-harris/\" target=\"_blank\">Kamala Harris</a> offers the Rust Belt renewal via unproven alternatives based on a green industrial policy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A4DYRFZXI5GTBM6QVU4M3YXSBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907158},"content":"Steel production is not the only strategic sector in the US under pressure.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DGBX6HXASRGG5JI2IIORRDWYZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907159},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/boeing/\" target=\"_blank\">Boeing</a> is a critical player in the US aviation, space and defence industries. Its new chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, appointed just two months ago, faces innumerable challenges.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NGCN4UUDPFGNJN7CMIXZIEHX4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907160},"content":"He needs to re-establish the manufacturing quality of both the 737 and 787 lines to the satisfaction of the regulator; increase the production levels of both of these lines to that promised to customers (including Ryanair) who hold substantial back-orders; overcome jamming rudder controls on some in-service 737s; obtain certification for the new long range 777X model despite recent cracks in its engine mountings; re-energise the certification of both the 737 Max-7 and Max-10 models; complete the reabsorption of Spirit Aerosystems (spun out of Boeing in 2005), and restore confidence in the hugely expensive Starliner space capsule after it embarrassingly stranded two astronauts in space.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MGYSSRBQLJHNRIJRTVUM5QUL5Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907161},"content":"But the highest priority of all is to resolve an ongoing labour strike. At the time of writing, the Boeing machinists union has just broken off mediation talks with management, with 33,000 machinists on strike since September 13th.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5OAP625TKNHAPPHXPHVZJKLUD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907162},"content":"Meanwhile, the saga at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/intel/\" target=\"_blank\">Intel</a> has become another high-stakes business thriller. Once the dominant semiconductor player worldwide, it has stumbled despite the explosive growth in cell phone chips from two decades ago and now the recent AI revolution. Its chief executive, Pat Gelsinger, faces a Wall Street that is heavily sceptical about the prospects of Intel’s leadership position being re-established; a resulting stock price down 56 per cent since the start of this year; weak demand for its new AI chip; slow returns from heavy investments in R&D and retooled manufacturing, and now potential labour disputes as it seeks to reduce its headcount by 15 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G7IXRNUULVFXRAJIGRJ4DQU4RY","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907163},"content":"Nevertheless, Intel is one of only four companies worldwide, and the only American company, actually manufacturing leading-edge chips. Most technology companies, including <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/apple/\" target=\"_blank\">Apple</a> and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nvidia/\" target=\"_blank\">Nvidia</a>, contract the manufacturing of their chip designs to outside fabrication plants. If <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/china/\" target=\"_blank\">China</a> were to disrupt semiconductor supply chains from Taiwan or even from South Korea, the US high technology sector would become critically exposed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H67WD6KT2FH2PKDHTZOV4Q7LE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907164},"content":"Thus, Intel is now an actor on the geopolitical stage, and strategically the US cannot risk Intel’s failure. Somehow US semiconductor manufacturing has to return to commercial competitiveness, and multiple rounds of huge public subsidies are speculated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FHMHZNS5KZHQFLI4UHMF3CKIRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907165},"content":"The next US president will have to nurture its strategic industries to compete in the economic cold war with China. Innovation is urgently necessary to restore manufacturing leadership and market authority, led by workforce pride in high quality and environmentally sound products.","type":"text"},{"_id":"246WK7BKDNCSLMNI5CGPYLIKME","additional_properties":{"_id":1728310907166},"content":"Generative AI increasingly appears an entertaining sideshow, a new emperor but so far with little material economic impact. Whether the American electorate choose Trump’s politics of reminiscence or Harris’s politics of renaissance, simply giving subsidies and imposing protections either to recreate jobs as things used to be decades ago, or to merely replicate modern skills already pervasive in lower cost jurisdictions, are unlikely to be economically sustainable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The American electorate must choose between Donald Trump’s politics of reminiscence or Harris’s politics of renaissance but their policies are unlikely to be economically sustainable"},"display_date":"2024-10-10T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Boeing and Intel symbolise America’s manufacturing decline","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"O55NT5HWDRICBAR3NWHLQEPWYE","auth":{"1":"196ef568670e854ea92ea67bdd3b00b6f88745bebed207602d0d62ca5e14cf54"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/O55NT5HWDRICBAR3NWHLQEPWYE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/10/10/boeing-and-intel-symbolise-americas-manufacturing-decline-with-innovation-needed-to-restore-its-leadership-not-subsidies-or-tariffs/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"4QJJHDX7AZAFNDEYDS7JJSGEA4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":392,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/13b7fe4c-9fb7-42d8-8c11-b5c0a5bbc874/versions/1727083513/media/5dff4b059fc3f10ae1b47a4f6f5055d9_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/09/26/is-the-investment-pumped-into-ai-really-worth-it/","content_elements":[{"_id":"BDSNCLV7KFBWBII6EBPKJI6UOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619772},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/alan-turing/\" target=\"_blank\">Alan Turing</a>, the British mathematician who broke the German Enigma encryption code during the second World War, devised what has become known as the Turing test to determine whether a machine is capable of imitating human-like intelligence. Recently an Australian government senate committee used his fabled test to assess whether a generative <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2024/07/19/ai-human-augmenter-or-great-replacer/\" target=\"_blank\">artificial intelligence</a> large language model (GenAI LLM) could match or even surpass the quality of work done by its own staff.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AKCZ3QNX3ZFWNGMY363OGTALIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619773},"content":"Together with a consultancy team from <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/amazon/\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon</a>, the committee held a five-week exploratory trial in which public submissions to a parliamentary inquiry were summarised by both a chosen LLM and by humans. The resulting summaries were then individually blind-tested and evaluated by five business representatives. These assessors were not told that GenAI was involved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FUUMFYXK5JH3XL2Q5EFOAXNFSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619774},"content":"Following their work, the assessors were informed of the true nature of the trial and asked why they had rated each summary as they had. The assessors were only then made aware of the use of automated summaries, although three of the five remarked that they had suspected a GenAI trial.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PW6QOR7BARGQZPLOPQUPKUZTC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619775},"content":"The results showed that the GenAI summaries performed lower on all criteria compared to the human summaries (in total, 47 per cent versus 81 per cent) – thus failing Turing’s test.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ICAKF5OSAJE6ZKPH7MKG3M6RDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1727273243618},"content":"The reviewers felt that the automated digests often missed emphasis, nuance and context, included incorrect information and missed relevant information, and sometimes introduced irrelevant commentary. They concluded that GenAI had been counterproductive and in fact created further work because of the need to fact-check and refer back to the original public submissions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJFOI67EPJCJBNTWUJJ3ZNTPQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619776},"content":"An extract of the committee discussions and the full report, are publicly available (<a href=\"https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=b4fd6043-6626-4cbe-b8ee-a5c7319e94a0\">https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=b4fd6043-6626-4cbe-b8ee-a5c7319e94a0</a>).","type":"text"},{"_id":"GJSD72NQWFB2NHORGJMLLNUKNM","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619777},"content":"Wall Street appears to be increasingly sceptical that GenAI will significantly pay off. From the perspective of investors, the touted “transformational” technology is so far extremely expensive compared to its actual business impact and has not yet offered any “killer-app” for the public.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WIRMKCLKW5D3LEJ6JLX6BYDFPE","additional_properties":{"_id":"NJSFUXCVBVH2HA77NJS2KXR5JU"},"content":"AI pay-off doubts hang over earnings in big tech","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"F3PSOEQ3LFFRRGQCUSJZQSADHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619778},"content":"Microsoft’s capital expenditure is up 75 per cent year on year, and the company sunk almost all of its second-quarter profits – some $22 billion – back into cloud and GenAI investment. Alphabet (Google’s parent) has been less forthright about its GenAI investments, but admits its capital expenditure will be “notably larger” this year than last. Amazon is similarly guarded but has so far spent $30 billion on capital expenditure this year compared to $48 billion in 2023.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AE5CXVGGZNFZXKOUFXGRCGTOJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1727079602575},"content":"Meanwhile, the chief executive of ChatGPT’s OpenAI, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/sam-altman/\" target=\"_blank\">Sam Altman</a>, is trying to persuade the US government to join investors in a national GenAI infrastructure initiative that would cost “tens of billions of dollars”, including data centres, power generation and national grid upgrades.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZUOME6RRNNF2RF2IJIDQ4HLZMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619779},"content":"In June, Goldman Sachs published a controversial report GenAI: Too much spend, too little benefit? (<a href=\"https://www.goldmansachs.com/images/migrated/insights/pages/gs-research/gen-ai--too-much-spend,-too-little-benefit-/TOM_AI%202.0_ForRedaction.pdf\">https://www.goldmansachs.com/images/migrated/insights/pages/gs-research/gen-ai--too-much-spend,-too-little-benefit-/TOM_AI%202.0_ForRedaction.pdf</a>), in which several analysts debated the likelihood of economic upside over the next decade from GenAI. The firm concluded there is still scope for investor returns, either because GenAI may eventually deliver or its investment bubble may take some time to burst.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VTGSAZEXQ5DQVCLUS743WX6OUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619780},"content":"Despite not financially justifying its heavy investment, GenAI technology has nevertheless intrigued and fascinated. New search engines such as <a href=\"http://perplexity.ai/\" target=\"_blank\">Perplexity.ai</a> are considerable improvements over the old Google, albeit perhaps six to 10 times more expensive to operate. Assistants such as GitHub Copilot aid routine software development but are frustrating when they generate incorrect code. The hyperrealistic photographic images generated from tools such as Flux 1 from Black Forest Labs have promising commercial potential for online shopping for virtually trying on clothing and accessories before buying, but such use-cases have yet to be proven.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFYSSF7VLRGZPADTRXZTNZGTGE","additional_properties":{"_id":"MS623FIRUVEP5H2LXWQYOUICZU"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-66414","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"577IZMQTWFD65G2YPHB7NI4LUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619781},"content":"Proponents of GenAI believe that we are still in the early stages of the technology and in particular point to augmenting GenAI with autonomous actions. Such AI agents can proactively plan and execute tasks, including modifying their behaviours based on their experiences of prior actions. For example, an automated holiday assistant might not only book flights and accommodation, but also tailor excursions and entertainment based on its experiences of the user and those of other vacationers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YXZ2HPL2UFBKNBM2R2LPXMIYM4","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619782},"content":"To explore how teams of GenAI agents might autonomously behave, San Francisco based start-up Altera has given birth to 1,000 autonomous agents within the open-world Minecraft game. The agent community has created its own culture, economy, religion and government (see the YouTube summary at <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tbaCn0Kl90\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tbaCn0Kl90</a>). The townsfolk established a market for trading goods, but the community priest actually has become the richest citizen by bribing everyone to convert. Proposed constitutions have been compared, amended, and voted for adoption. When some individuals went missing, the community illuminated the area with torches to guide the lost back. None of these activities were preprogrammed, and the federated AI community autonomously derives its own planning, co-ordination and actions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZFK7WHMKQZFQJP5BJDBK7INGGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1726833619783},"content":"GenAI may not as yet pass Turing’s test but his test explicitly targets a comparison to human intelligence, which is perhaps a narcissistic evaluation. Arguably, we are now witnessing a different form of intelligence which we do not fully understand, and cannot yet accurately mathematically analyse and predict. Equipping such intelligence with the capability to autonomously carry out its own actions raises philosophical, ethical and practical implications.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"With humans outperforming the technology in a recent exploratory trial, equipping such systems with the autonomy to carry out their own actions raises questions of practicality, ethics and philosophy"},"display_date":"2024-09-26T04:55:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Is all the investment pumped into AI really worth it? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"TAYCOP5TYZD6BP24JNE4MECGMY","auth":{"1":"1938a533b17ea26af0218f5243f134ae99eeaca2adf878a56a4a74e566a8ad73"},"focal_point":{"x":959,"y":618},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/TAYCOP5TYZD6BP24JNE4MECGMY.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/09/26/is-the-investment-pumped-into-ai-really-worth-it/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"YOATDKSDZJCYXCP726GRLDQJII","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":362,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8165c156-74ff-4928-ab82-a7e86aec0d86/versions/1725379570/media/2f9988c0b1998234d4afdab0da4678e5_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/09/05/how-sharks-are-helping-the-aviation-industry-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/","content_elements":[{"_id":"36FXNXSOMFERDJDXWPT7SWZP34","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974582},"content":"The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has asserted that the aviation industry will be entirely carbon neutral by 2050.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MKZQK36ZUVEY3GLUUAFGQDA2KQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974583},"content":"Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one part of the solution. Existing fossil fuels release carbon into the atmosphere from crude oil deposits accumulated over aeons. Instead SAF relies on plants extracting carbon already in the atmosphere, converting the resulting biomass into fuel which then returns the captured carbon back into the atmosphere in engine exhaust gases.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UZVTR47WOZFVFDXNGRNPS55PNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974584},"content":"SAF is unlikely to be entire solution. I wrote about the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/2023/06/15/chris-horn-aviation-taking-plane-redesign-under-its-wing/\" target=\"_blank\">potential for new airframe designs, including blended wings</a>, to reduce carbon emissions in this column last year","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q35ECX3KKBBFVA423NMA3FRE7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974585},"content":"The Lufthansa Group has been taking an entirely innovative approach to reducing emissions and fuel consumption in its existing fleet of commercial airliners, retrofitting a new technology to them which mimics how ocean sharks are able to swim fast.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CQBYQTTMXFEH7FKHOHAWGDGV5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974586},"content":"German palaeontologist and biologist Wolf-Ernst Reif first observed miniature grooves in the scales of sharks in the late 1960s. Together with Dietrich Bechert from the German national aerospace centre, a specialist in fluid mechanics, the pair found that the prevailing doctrine that the fastest surfaces need to be entirely smooth was in fact incorrect. Micro-grooves can reduce frictional resistance in fluids, as compared to smooth surfaces, by between 8 and 11 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2H5FHPJ57BCXLHMI5E5XPBYLRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974587},"content":"In 2011, Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg started investigating whether sharkskin-like grooves could reduce air resistance in commercial airliners, and thus improve fuel efficiency. However, achieving this would be extremely challenging. High-speed air particles in-flight could degrade any grooving, as could extensive exposure to strong UV radiation at altitudes as well as just plain dirt. Any new surface would be exposed to temperatures of minus-60 degrees at flight cruise at high altitudes, and to ground temperatures of 45 degrees at some airports. Icing safeguards and flame resistance would also need to be verified. Naturally, regulatory approval would need to be given by the appropriate aviation safety authorities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R2FUMSRT75C4HF7NBUTIMKENIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974588},"content":"At first a sharkskin-like adhesive film was trialled as small test patches applied to aircraft surfaces, but had poor results. The team switched to painting on test patches, in which grooves were induced into the paint surface as it dried. A robotic application system was built, and part of a wing segment of an Airbus A330 tested under real in-service conditions. However, the approach was abandoned.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YNCZLRUSKJD7NPMPM5H6UM2TJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974589},"content":"Then in 2015 Dr Kai-Christoph Pfingsten, a senior manager at Lufthansa Technik, discovered that the Red Bull air race team in Graz were successfully using thin-film sharkskin technology developed by a start-up,<a href=\"https://www.bionicsurface.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Bionic Surface Technologies</a>, and an Austrian research institute, <a href=\"https://www.joanneum.at/en/\" target=\"_blank\">Joanneum Research</a>. Sceptical at first, Dr Pfingsten mused about trying adhesive films once again, by adapting the more advanced technique identified by Bionic Surfaces. He approached BASF (a large chemical producer) to collaborate on scaling up the approach from small racing aircraft to full-size commercial airliners.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W3QFIOY7RBBC3DLV2TYTRZ6T3E","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZTC62SAYD5CABNQ7PYJYZQHIO4"},"content":"Decarbonising aviation will be a challenge","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"RBYJ6OMK2ZFOVKXCMBV4SKBHJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974590},"content":"In 2017 the first tests of the new BASF shark film, now dubbed AeroShark, were made on a Boeing B747 at about 100 points using 15cm by 15cm patches. Then in October 2019 the entire lower fuselage of in-service B747 was covered with 500sq m of the film, requiring about 1,000 panels of film to be individually and carefully applied, almost as jigsaw pieces. The observed fuel savings were just under 1 per cent, considered an encouraging result.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HO7N3JQQUVGCZCDUZ7AMORITCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974591},"content":"To achieve the optimal orientation and positioning of the film patches, highly detailed computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models were built. Parked aircraft on the ground were digitally scanned by laser, and then augmented by photogrammetric captures of the flexing of wings in flight. The thin film patches require careful arrangement, avoiding areas susceptible to ice aggregation or foreign object damage, and avoiding maintenance and other panels. The CFD models, once available for a particular aircraft type, identify regions of the aircraft surface where the sharkskin film is likely to have the most benefit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VJLJSESPKNESDJ4D223BGVNUTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974592},"content":"In 2021 and based on the results from the B747 with only its lower fuselage covered, Lufthansa Cargo and Swiss Air jointly decided to adopt AeroShark for the entire fuselages on many of their Boeing B777s, requiring about 800 to 950sq m for each specific aircraft. It took about a year for the European Union Aviation Safety Authority to certify the new technology as safe for commercial aviation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OD36UHLO2ZCNBN54NYJCGDZYWA","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974593},"content":"The emissions reductions now being obtained are well over 1 per cent for each long-haul flight, equating on average to about 1,200 metric tonnes of carbon annually per aircraft. The fuel savings provide a return on investment in the AeroShark technology in about 18 months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BIVYRRMSVFGVDKGZVP77IOTIRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974594},"content":"Currently 17 aircraft are equipped with AeroShark, including 12 B777s from Swiss Air and four from Lufthansa Cargo. Austrian Airlines have recently decided to retrofit most of their B777 fleet with AeroShark from next December. All three organisations are within the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa Technik has said that multiple airlines are now in negotiations to adopt the technology.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUCC3TSUNVE2ZNDMVGOWSBX5DQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974596},"content":"It is interesting that nature is helping illustrate solutions to reduce carbon emissions in aviation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UZSL6KBAJNBBHNA7UKJJ5UMIZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974595},"content":"<i>Dr Pfingsten, and colleague Oliver Oeser, tell the story to date in detail </i><a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aeroshark-story-part-i-dr-kai-christoph-pfingsten/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>here</i></a><i> and </i><a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/part-2-aircraft-design-modification-material-oliver-oeser/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>here</i></a>","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUCC3TSUNVE2ZNDMVGOWSBX5DQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1725343974596},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The idea of putting sharkskin-type grooves on planes to improve fuel efficiency has been around for years, but the technology has recently caught up with nature"},"display_date":"2024-09-05T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"How sharks are helping the aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"5ULBAYYWWMKHQAMIHR4P773MIE","auth":{"1":"323ae41f63ef6c9bd44c1572f08748c6a99835aa9aa1ad4c9f5df6c23f2306bd"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/5ULBAYYWWMKHQAMIHR4P773MIE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/09/05/how-sharks-are-helping-the-aviation-industry-to-reduce-carbon-emissions/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"J5FZL5BO6JG4ZMHIKOLKWTJ6YU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":342,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/b81ca634-fc69-443c-a991-b672f705bc7e/versions/1723628683/media/2d573d6aaf61799116357c604a32b083_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/08/15/robots-have-come-a-long-way-since-i-saw-them-manufacture-the-fiat-ritmo-in-1978/","content_elements":[{"_id":"NE2PJFM5I5EMTPVSKC2RBIDM6U","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057947},"content":"As a young engineering undergraduate in Trinity College Dublin in 1978, I was lucky enough to go on one of the annual overseas student trips organised by the university’s student engineering society. Certain excursions in prior years had raised a few eyebrows: to Moscow (despite the Cold War) and to Tripoli (where Muammar Gadafy was very much in power), but I had unfortunately missed out on both. This time the society was taking a group of about 25 of us to a much less controversial destination: northern Italy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XNYZAM6XVFET7DI2SIWZQIIA6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057948},"content":"Each tour was organised around a number of site visits to interesting engineering projects, and the highlight of the Italian trip was the Fiat factory at Lingotto in the southwest of Turin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4EX3UHYSPZAD3BZ7RPCDGOIVGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057949},"content":"The Fiat Ritmo model had just gone into heavily automated production at the time, one of the first such manufacturing lines worldwide. Robotic arms contorted at impossible angles to perfectly spot weld into body frames and chassis, continuously efficient and steadily adding form to skeleton without a human worker anywhere in sight.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TGBSL4ZJ7RHSBLD3R3IVKCSPCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057950},"content":"Later in my career, I was a regular visitor to the world’s most voluminous building, the Boeing Everett plant for wide body jets just north of Seattle. In contrast to Fiat years earlier, there was hardly a robot anywhere on the assembly lines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CKDGN3Y35NEWHJU4DPUNLHCSO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057951},"content":"I often noticed that the panels on fuselage parts were obviously manually welded, with slightly irregular lines of welded rivets. Boeing did subsequently introduce robotic welders for its 777 line but then, in 2019, reverted back to using human operatives.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IXUGUPKMJJBLVJIOEKW53CCUDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057952},"content":"The precision and speed of industrial robots has significantly improved since those early-generation systems I saw in action at Fiat. Vision systems enable some robots not only to inspect parts, but also to adjust their positioning to compensate for minor alignment errors. Both heavier payloads and greater ranges of motion facilitate intricate work even on substantial assemblies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RZORLUP5WVHQHJEC4UVHN65S4M","additional_properties":{"_id":"Q2TFCGNDAJHTVDG6BRROSELJPY"},"content":"Robot-assisted surgery: ‘I heard it would be less invasive and I should recover more quickly from it’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"H7FKZPX3J5DRFIWQWCV77B5YO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057953},"content":"But how close to you would you trust a robotic arm?","type":"text"},{"_id":"FNSAOBBXYNDIDD4QF3IR6U66YQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057954},"content":"Many robots are encased in safety cages near human workers, but collaborative robots are also now common, equipped with vision and sensor systems and having force-limited joints to be allowed to operate cage-free alongside humans. But how about really close to you? Even inside you?","type":"text"},{"_id":"O3V6UYM73FHWVCUDE3UIPMOV6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057955},"content":"Last May, Sony demonstrated a prototype robot assistant for microsurgery – extremely precise surgical work in areas less than one millimetre in diameter. Finger and hand movements of a human surgeon operator are captured to enable smooth and tiny movements of a robot hand. Untrained surgeons in microsurgery and medical students were able to use the robotic assistance to successfully complete anastomosis (surgical reconnection) of animal blood vessels.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WSUQEKVVXJCBNP5CPM2F2DPZ7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057956},"content":"There are also some examples of robots conducting surgical procedures fully autonomously without any active human guidance. The smart tissue robot developed at Johns Hopkins University is one of the most impressive autonomous robots so far. It has outperformed human surgeons in both ex-vivo and in-vivo bowel anastomosis in preclinical trials on pigs. Nevertheless it may be some time yet before fully autonomous surgical procedures are approved by regulatory authorities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SB2JG7OXK5HCVLTFOFWCQ4SACU","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057957},"content":"But how about being fully conscious while the robot autonomously does its work inside you?","type":"text"},{"_id":"AEYYBUXNSJDDPDJJFPGQ5KB33E","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057958},"content":"Earlier this month, Boston-based start-up <a href=\"https://www.perceptive.io/\" target=\"_blank\">Perceptive</a> successfully completed the world’s first fully automated dental procedure on a human using an autonomous robot arm. Dr Chris Cirello, a Canadian dentist, founded Perceptive in 2020 as a follow-on from a dental services organisation he had started earlier to provide business and administrative support to dental practices.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UP3TN6YJ3FB6XFQEFE2OB6TKIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057959},"content":"He has raised more than $30 million to date, including from Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist widely known by his patients as “painless Dr Z” and the father of the Meta/Facebook founder.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HUPVYNERU5C7BIE25U43V63SAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057960},"content":"In the Perceptive procedure, a human dentist first uses a hand-held volumetric scanner to build a three-dimensional digital “twin” model of a patient’s mouth. Teeth, gums and nerves within them are mapped using “optical coherence tomography” (OCT), a light-beam technology often routinely used by ophthalmologists for checking for retinal, corneal and optic nerve diseases. Using OCT in dental treatment avoids the radiation from traditional X-ray-based dental imaging.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RGPFGTGOYBFOTFUKGLNTVZTKIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057961},"content":"Once the patient’s mouth has been digitally mapped, the robotic dental arm can then perform a procedure. <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXvSiUUO9Z4\" target=\"_blank\">Perceptive has demonstrated the robot</a> preparing, restoring and cementing a tooth for a dental crown, a procedure that Perceptive asserts can take a human dentist up to two hours over two sessions but is achievable within just 15 minutes using their system.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4L3WSOSABAFZCRP7ABPZWJE4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057962},"content":"The company also asserts that the robot is entirely safe and, by monitoring the fully-awake patient as it operates, can avoid accidental injury “even in the most movement-heavy” situations. Perceptive’s system has yet to receive approval by the US Food and Drug Administration and is not yet available for sale.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2M4BMEFX7FCXHAAFMCHEOH54KY","additional_properties":{"_id":1723477057963},"content":"It is almost half a century since I first saw cars being assembled by robots, and now automation is reaching literally inside the human body. I expect that specialist humans will always be intrinsic to medical interventions but robots may make such procedures faster and more accurate.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"In almost half a century, we have reached a point where robots can perform intricate surgeries inside the human body"},"display_date":"2024-08-15T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Robots have come a long way since I saw them manufacture the Fiat Ritmo in 1978","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"6ZV4LAS4UVBVDIAMKYE4PU2EDQ","auth":{"1":"37b6a981ac1d6b91eec8ceeec459e9626f882db8c38f4fad90a9c96d9092e987"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6ZV4LAS4UVBVDIAMKYE4PU2EDQ.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/08/15/robots-have-come-a-long-way-since-i-saw-them-manufacture-the-fiat-ritmo-in-1978/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"HXYZAOX33BGXXIKY3BANMZBRVM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":340,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/de759542-0cb8-43f5-a8e6-1e586e37cd3d/versions/1722252196/media/290c765e3f4ceea3e12ff49bdc9de6b6_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/08/01/unlocking-transparency-for-renters-with-renttech-and-proptech-applications/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6FVQVQCS75D4JCIJTTQJLO2ZUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488388},"content":"The Irish rental market is pressured from undercapacity, overdemand and well-intentioned but debatably ill-judged regulation. However, Dublin and Ireland are hardly unique, and several other European cities have similar challenges.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BXVO4NNKQNFFLCUCZOB2T5BHKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488389},"content":"In Denmark, the US private equity group Blackstone purchased tens of thousands of apartments andoffered financial inducements to prematurely sever leases. In response, in July 2020 the national government passed its so-called “Blackstone Law” to freeze rents for five years after a property purchase, prohibit incentives to terminate early, and require energy efficient upgrades before any rent increase.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V24544WXFNBVVK6C3Y6O76LJT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488390},"content":"The German housing shortage is at its highest level for decades due to surging construction costs, rising interest rates and an influx of refugees particularly from the war in Ukraine. Rents in Berlin have more than doubled in a decade. With half the population living on rent, in September 2021, Berliners voted in favour of a non-binding referendum to expropriate more than 240,000 housing units from large property investment companies to the state government.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YREIE2QACJEGNDRVFQ5DSRQD4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488391},"content":"In May 2023, the Spanish government intervened in the national rental market for the first time in its recent history. A rent cap of 3 per cent was set for 2024. All professional and agency fees, when a rental contract is put in place, are to be met solely by the landlord and not the tenant. Local governments can apply additional measures in rental stress zones, defined as areas where housing costs are more than 30 per cent of average household income.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVGV2EPJA5DSPNHI46TU6YDEVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488392},"content":"The Irish <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/residential-tenancies-board-prtb/\" target=\"_blank\">Residential Tenancies Board</a> (RTB) was established in 2004, originally to regulate the private rentals sector. Its remit was later extended to cover both approved housing bodies and student accommodation. It maintains an online searchable register of tenancies (by Eircode), and resolves disputes between tenants and landlords. Since April of last year, landlords are required to register each tenancy with the RTB annually on the anniversary of its start date. The results of RTB dispute determinations are also published online, organised by dispute category.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AOOZFQSJCZGB3D6DUUI3LKPS7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488393},"content":"Last month, the RTB 2023 <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorials/2024/07/16/the-irish-times-view-on-the-residential-tenancies-board-annual-report-a-market-that-remains-broken/\" target=\"_blank\">annual report</a> showed nationwide 223,979 registered tenancies, a drop of 9 per cent from the prior year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MSFAH4XWWFABBLJLHJGCO2R2SM","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488394},"content":"Can technology innovate in the rental sector? In the same way that fintech is an umbrella term for technologies applied to financial services, so proptech applies to the property sector and more specifically renttech applies to the rental sector.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3GQJOZCTPVEUHBTK3GURVHGGMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488395},"content":"Proptech applications include construction planning and project management, conveyancing support, property marketplaces and listings, investment and financing structures, and smart home technologies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XKMALTEEARBI7DC4IUP6ZO7AKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488396},"content":"Property management solutions cross the boundary between proptech and renttech. As but one example, Ambisense offers a monitoring sensor that detects damp and mould (disclosure: I was a board observer until last December). Using historical data accumulated from its sensors, Ambisense has also trained a machine-learning algorithm that can predict the likelihood of a mould outbreak in a given property, thus warning both tenants and landlords in advance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MZXPIIYRBZGD3A7EX23XCVGXTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488397},"content":"But for tenants, and indeed for many landlords, the probable top priority in renttech is full transparency on what properties are available for rent in a specific locality, their rental status and history, and comparisons to nearby rentals.","type":"text"},{"_id":"43RQVARYFRGERFWPSKT6OTZDI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488398},"content":"The novel free site <a href=\"http://howmuchrent.com/\" target=\"_blank\">howmuchrent.com</a> takes records published by the RTB and rental listings, and combines the data as a zoomable map of Ireland, right down to individual streets. Each marketed rental property is marked as to whether or not it is registered with the RTB, its advertised rent level, and if it is shared with other tenants. Previous tenants can post their reviews of particular properties, highlighting attractions and any issues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AQOQDL4O7ZBMFEBOTYS67U4LXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1721919298388},"content":"Properties that have had disputes resolved and then published via the RTB are tagged, including the identities of the landlords and tenants involved in each case. Specific properties having a history of an unusually high level of disputes are also flagged.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQY4XBKPGNGVVMGQDHHN6G3OCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488399},"content":"Much of the country is designated as a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/rent-pressure-zones/\" target=\"_blank\">rent pressure zone</a>, in which rents cannot rise by more than 2 per cent each year. Furthermore, if a tenancy concludes, the rent applying to a new lease must conform with the previous rent, even if the ownership of the property has changed. Using howmuchrent.com, it is possible to examine right down to the street level individual properties that appear to be breaking this rule, based on their historical and currently advertised rents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3LV6H5HDKNFZVBTX7TQCEL3G5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488400},"content":"The site was built as a service to the public and without investment by Vinny Glennon, an experienced software developer, one-time chief technology officer of the Web Summit, and part of the team that built Ireland’s first online property auction site. In discussing the initiative with him, he noted that just before Covid his landlady had terminated a lease with him because a family member was ostensibly about to move in, but three weeks later he found the property back on the market with a 30 per cent rent rise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"64UNQMVV2RC3LLRQCPQBSYSSIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1721912488401},"content":"He told me: “Everyone has a story, good and bad, about a place they rented, but these stories vanish once that tenant leaves. It’s time for a fairer rental market. Would you buy a used car without checking its history?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Howmuchrent.com provides tenant reviews and RTB disputes, while Ambisense predicts the likelihood of mould outbreaks in homes"},"display_date":"2024-08-01T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"New technology that can inform you about a rental property’s history, good and bad ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"AXLJSKYFGZHZFMR3Q7YUL7RMXE","auth":{"1":"c1a11e844a3f04437a908520037c1c1df43a222217dccf163ac75ed28d356e54"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/AXLJSKYFGZHZFMR3Q7YUL7RMXE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Property"},{"name":"Residential"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/08/01/unlocking-transparency-for-renters-with-renttech-and-proptech-applications/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"S23YXMNQUJC5REDULTYABVGO4A","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":369,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/121cdac5-8e42-4b07-95df-fc006c05bc7e/versions/1721138356/media/057e610f23713f5d8f69586391383130_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/07/18/cleggs-attack-on-innovation-in-europe-is-one-eyed/","content_elements":[{"_id":"3AIIOEMFMNAZ3IJIDUNBD4PKOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095247},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nick-clegg/\" target=\"_blank\">Nick Clegg</a>, president of global affairs at <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/meta/\" target=\"_blank\">Meta</a>/<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/facebook/\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook</a>, expressed a bleary myopic conceit in his <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/06/27/nick-clegg-europe-is-no-longer-producing-innovative-world-class-companies/\" target=\"_blank\">article</a>: “Europe is no longer producing world-class companies”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MR3PXGS52RGFDLDSSZD6Q6ZJSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095248},"content":"Clegg observed that, 30 years ago, Europe represented about a quarter of global GDP but has now fallen behind, with the European Union GDP per capita only half that of the United States. This may be true in nominal terms but purchasing power parity is a more reasonable measure for the public. If a pint of Guinness in Dublin costs €7, but €8 in New York, then I get more yeast for my yoyo in Dublin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PLAA7BDWEBF35N66R47GSQ5BZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095249},"content":"Bruegel, a Belgian not-for-profit economic analysis team, <a href=\"https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/european-unions-remarkable-growth-performance-relative-united-states\" target=\"_blank\">applying this principle across a basket of goods</a> and correcting for exchange rate fluctuations, shows that in 2022 the EU economy was just 4 per cent smaller than that of the US despite the EU expansion with former communist states.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ISUL6L5BZRBKPHZQHOICXNCHI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095250},"content":"Clegg claimed that, globally, none of the top 10 unicorns (start-ups valued at more than $1 billion) is European. He missed Europe’s Revolut, the eighth largest unicorn worldwide.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KLXUBF3IWFBIDLSW5NU7FEWCHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095251},"content":"Clegg asserted that none of the top 50 European companies was founded within the last 30 years. In fact there are seven, including Adyen (the Dutch payments company), Prosus (the Dutch internet group) and Spotify (the Swedish streaming company).","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5O3T5LUR5GMDAHBSWJXCUR3QU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095252},"content":"The Meta frontman noted that there are four times as many semiconductor plants planned for China than for Europe. However, he overlooked that Europe holds a chokehold over the entire global semiconductor industry. ASML, the second most valuable company in Europe, is almost the sole supplier worldwide of advanced lithography equipment, without which the semiconductor industry would collapse.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KZBALZH4JZCWNMPRIBBOKMVORA","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095253},"content":"Clegg also neglected the challenges faced by the US wireless sector. The US has had a fragmented wireless network market with mismatched cellular areas under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and attempted customer lock-in by operators. The US has consequently lost considerable momentum while Europe has a more harmonised approach that has benefited Ericsson and Nokia as tier-one global players.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LYUVMFAKENECNKCY67KV7ZSN3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095254},"content":"Clegg reflected that, in the US, just one of the top 10 electric vehicle brands is European. Maybe so in America, but among the top 10 worldwide sellers of electric vehicles in 2023, Blackridge, a market research company, lists five European companies (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, the Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi alliance, Stellantis and the VW Group) and just one American (Tesla).","type":"text"},{"_id":"CDP46SXYVZE5JE2GJJKNPYHYFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095255},"content":"Europe leads the US not only in electric cars: three of the top five electric bus manufacturers worldwide are European, with none from the US. Clegg also forgot that Europe is a long-standing innovator in high-speed trains, with Alstom and Siemens. The US has almost no high-speed trains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2YP5J6N745DTLGWWDTM2NEGPGM","additional_properties":{"_id":"U2CL4JGV65H4RDYBIJI2UH4JXU"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"YN6IMXWNDRG5DJQJFLPVJLREMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095256},"content":"In aviation, US company Boeing’s fall from grace has been, frankly, disturbing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G4ECYMPZDFAKLLUBE2B5JZI2IU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095257},"content":"Boeing’s evident regulatory capture of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) means that both are no longer fully trusted by many overseas aviation regulators and operators. Clegg ignored that Europe’s Airbus is now the leading aviation manufacturer globally, and continues to heavily innovate (for example with its blended wing initiative) in the drive towards low-carbon aviation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7I6WU56TLVDVTIYU7OXIZWASUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095258},"content":"Concurrently ATR, another European company, is the world leader in turboprop regional aircraft, a fuel-efficient approach apparently shunned by the US.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5LQQB4TT55B5HGRFUKR4R4ZVAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095259},"content":"Europe is a leader in green technology and environmental protection. For example Enercon, Nordex, Siemens and Vestas are four of the top five world leaders in the design and manufacture of wind turbines, including at very large scale.","type":"text"},{"_id":"34SZINHYFJH2ZJFMPOMKQRZZJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095260},"content":"Clegg stated that the EU is no longer a fertile ground for innovation and world-class companies. The above examples show just how wrong he is.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5DRD6AZUQZFBBMP4OICUIE5GAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095261},"content":"Clegg’s employer, Meta, is hardly a poster child for successful innovation. From the perspective of its shareholders, there have been numerous costly debacles such as Workplace (for companies), CrowdTangle (monitoring virality), Beacon (targeted ads), Credits (virtual currency), Ghostbusters (wiretapping encrypted data), Parse (app development), Libra/diem (cryptocurrency) and Home (Android initiative).","type":"text"},{"_id":"JLYBKXU4HZGGJFGCC2BP3SO5GY","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095262},"content":"Meta’s metaverse odyssey has been an extraordinary, interminable financial drain for shareholders, with low-margin headset sales and no meaningful impact on group revenues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4MIVSM52GJBW5HXHNDTNPDZZZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095263},"content":"Now Meta is again pivoting, this time into generative AI (genAI), and so Clegg wants Europe to embrace Meta’s related open source offerings.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EI6FQDYNBBHJ7J4OWNLRQWQCWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095264},"content":"GenAI is certainly a game changer for many industries, but a theoretical underpinning of the technology remains surprisingly elusive. Furthermore, genAI could require a quarter of all US electricity by 2030 according to Arm Holdings, a leading low-power semiconductor design company (founded in Europe but now Japanese-owned).","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKFCSLOGYRCNJNLOPEUE5QKXPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095265},"content":"This is entirely impractical, particularly when the human brain consumes only about the power of a 10-watt light bulb and yet outperforms the intelligence of the current iteration of genAI. Clearly, something is fundamentally wrong with the genAI computing model.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KQPSAOLSBJCMXC3YJFD34RJ3SM","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095266},"content":"In his rant, Clegg accused Europe of constraining innovation by its digital laws on privacy, copyright and intellectual property. It would be more accurate to observe that here in Europe, surveillance capitalism, libertarianism and invention which ignores societal impact are balanced, if not overruled, by citizens’ prerogatives, consumer data rights and protection of the environment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NRSBPJPPZRFH5K2VNK6MOALB5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1721126095267},"content":"Clegg and I thus agree on one point: European values and priorities are indeed different from those of the US.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R7P75IMSEFEK3ECM642SOQECJY","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Ill-informed rant from Meta head of global affairs appears driven by his employer’s frustration with EU rules"},"display_date":"2024-07-18T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Nick Clegg’s attack on innovation in Europe is one-eyed","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"U76ZCLH63FNVNNT7BBNVPQLZDI","auth":{"1":"4776a1b46e3d6e97c76aa4bbcb1e76be1ef06e2bd3e5486a8a5ba6d3b6638420"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/U76ZCLH63FNVNNT7BBNVPQLZDI.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Economy"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Big Tech"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/07/18/cleggs-attack-on-innovation-in-europe-is-one-eyed/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"H2APKQWSCFAC5KXTV6T54BWYRE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":346,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/a1f4f874-e1ff-4c64-b4e0-69a610c824e0/versions/1719835727/media/3bf873edd9997db963cf6be8dffb2587_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/07/04/why-is-almost-three-quarters-of-all-internet-traffic-in-ireland-of-malicious-intent/","content_elements":[{"_id":"UNWYZWTS5VE3VJ4MCDD7527ZEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236125},"content":"You’re running a successful shop in a small town in the American midwest. You decide to broaden your reach and so build a web presence using Shopify, an online ecommerce platform. You start selling your merchandise online and take out a few Meta/Facebook ads to promote your business. You come into work one morning, check your online activity and are astonished to see hundreds of sessions into your website from Ireland. You’ve never advertised in Ireland, never been there, and weren’t previously aware of any interest in your shop from the Irish. None of these Irish virtual visitors actually placed any orders with you. What’s going on?","type":"text"},{"_id":"2BED4LUFF5FPVNO2DWCXN4Y2FY","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236126},"content":"Some online forums, including those used by Shopify users in both America and also the Middle East, started reporting unusual activity from Ireland in 2022. Ecommerce vendors flagged sudden and unexplained peaks in online traffic originating from Ireland. Various theories were exchanged as to why. Could it be Shopify’s Irish technical support team checking things? Could it be Google’s web crawler bot in Ireland indexing Shopify websites to collect data for its search engine? Could it be a Facebook Ireland bot updating its retail content from Shopify users?","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZU7XBWIMZA7XCRZTDCA5AUIFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236127},"content":"A bot is a software application running an automated task. Some bots are “good” in that they monitor website performance or index website content for internet search engines, while respecting explicit permissions granted by each website owner to do so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OXXLOXSEOZGZNDX4OFZ7AQIFYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236128},"content":"However, there are also malicious bots. They may attempt to extract data without permission from websites, such as pricing information for competitive reasons. Some scalp tickets for events and concerts for which tickets are limited, to resell those tickets later at a higher price. Some attempt to break into or mimic legitimate customer accounts, so as to defraud or even blackmail. Some try to hack into business interfaces made available over the web for other software apps. Bots often reverberate and amplify misleading or outrageous perspectives on social networks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GYC24OU4JZFBFDGQFXGJUQ2GFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1720078870143},"content":"Imperva, a cybersecurity division within Thales, a French multinational aerospace, defence and security group, published its annual <a href=\"https://www.imperva.com/resources/resource-library/reports/2024-bad-bot-report/\" target=\"_blank\">Bad Bots Report</a> last April. Collecting data from its global network of customers using Imperva cybersecurity tools in 2023, Imperva found that, astonishingly, 49.6 per cent of global internet traffic came from automated bots, and thus barely half originated directly from humans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JP3DRLWV3NF7VEIV2O2F77DAUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236130},"content":"Globally, 17.6 per cent of internet traffic monitored by Imperva came from good bots. But Imperva also identified more than six trillion bad bot internet requests made to thousands of websites across dozens of industries, accounting for 32 per cent of all traffic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YE4YQ7V7EBEQ5CUE5L3MJWPVCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236131},"content":"Many bad bots mimic human behaviour by masquerading as if from a web browser, and attempt to conceal that they are in fact an automated script. They may increasingly appear to be from a residential address, when they actually originate from a computer farm. They may also originate from malware unknowingly installed by a user. Advanced malicious bots often use a “low and slow” approach to try to avoid detection, quietly carrying out significant attacks using fewer requests.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UBCUG4HRTRCQXNAGRV3HEWJTFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"5C3KW6R2RJGI3K6QYGKOVUHUGM"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"WJGOKPLTFRAD5AGXXBYGKZNJZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236132},"content":"Worldwide, the government and legal sectors were the most heavily targeted by advanced bad bots, followed by the entertainment and financial services sectors. The US was the most targeted country, accounting for 47 per cent of all attempted attacks worldwide, with the Netherlands second at 9 per cent and Australia at 8 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O6YGGMAYDFDSPC2E7YTYHVRIVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236133},"content":"Imperva suggest that one big reason for the recent increase in bad bot attacks is the rise of harvesting of vast quantities of data to train large language models and generative AI systems. Such harvesting is frequently contentious, arguably unethical and also increasingly facing legal challenges over copyright, privacy and intellectual property.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G2IGCDXLKRHQRBO3TIN4QLM3V4","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236134},"content":"Alarmingly, Ireland was the worst offender of 13 countries surveyed – bad bots comprised 71 per cent of the Republic’s internet traffic, up from 45 per cent in 2022. Germany was second, at 68 per cent, and Mexico was third, at 43 per cent. The global average of bad bot traffic per country was 32 per cent, putting Ireland at well over twice the global average.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D4TVVUAKDFGEVLU3CRI3DWLYPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236135},"content":"Why is almost three-quarters of all internet traffic in Ireland of malicious intent? Have we become an online nation of hackers, scalpers and fraudsters? Have the vast majority of Irish personal devices been tainted by malware to host bad bots? Probably not. However Ireland has become one of the global leaders in data centres, and perhaps at least some of these may be, presumably unwittingly, hosting bot farms. And perhaps, presumably wittingly, some of the top-tier internet players have been using their Irish data centres, among their others, to harvest data worldwide for training their generative AI models.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3PJJUWFA5BBBNOHCUIA2EBVCDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1719768236136},"content":"Imperva makes a number of recommendations to website operators to protect their systems from bad bot attacks, including, unsurprisingly, by use of Imperva products and services. But equally, it would seem timely for a national initiative to investigate why Ireland is home to such an extraordinary level of bad bots. Not only have they become a national embarrassment but they also waste our digital resources and energy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"In 2022, retailers on ecommerce platform Shopify started to report unusual activity from Ireland"},"display_date":"2024-07-04T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Why is almost three-quarters of all internet traffic in Ireland of malicious intent?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"DESOPS3NZKFSYRJSB5F6GSH4LY","auth":{"1":"2e189042004827a06e87206f860bd21a5f1a88e79be2bab43cfebd9d3adcdb08"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DESOPS3NZKFSYRJSB5F6GSH4LY.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/07/04/why-is-almost-three-quarters-of-all-internet-traffic-in-ireland-of-malicious-intent/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"2XAHWQSY5BHCPNZCZIQC62VV24","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":348,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8bcfd182-1a29-45a7-845a-4bc5e3ce4041/versions/1718618312/media/a9915dbfaaa2322a55f4df60d0975dec_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/06/20/interactive-movies-could-reduce-the-threat-to-the-film-sector-from-the-huge-computer-gaming-sector/","content_elements":[{"_id":"ZKRSK4SHTFGVFPT5JJIB45F2QE","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968700},"content":"Thomas Edison established the world’s first commercial research laboratory in 1876, in Menlo Park in New Jersey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TLLUB524NNBQPC5D6DYGTMYDFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968701},"content":"Its mission was continuous technology and improvement. In addition to work on telegraphy and electric power, Edison and Menlo Park are credited for the first practical incandescent light bulb and for inventing the phonograph, able for the first time to both record and play back music.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AUP6K4CZTJAZNOLR2EDKVTY7QI","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968702},"content":"William Kennedy Dickson, a Menlo Park researcher, created a viable motion picture camera, a device Edison envisaged could “do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DY7PQ47PSNAFDNHEVECT2PBWSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968703},"content":"The phonograph, and the subsequent recording disc invented by Emile Berliner in 1887, changed the nature of music. Before recordings, music was transient and every performance unique. A Benedictine monk, Guido d’Arrezo, invented the first western music notation system in 1025 but nevertheless, as concert aficionados know only too well, renditions of the same music score can considerably vary. Record players opened a mass market for music, each recorded performance identically heard by all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"44GFFJEVBJDYNGZFQYT3Z3MTYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968704},"content":"Berliner founded the Berliner Gramophone Company, and soon it and many other recording companies aggregated together on to records, musical pieces that were judged complementary and appealing to consumers. Digital technology reversed this bundling strategy and so today we can each customise a progression of tracks that match our musical tastes and moods.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQ5ATACQPFAJBJVT6Y7LJPXSKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968705},"content":"Brian Eno, one of the cofounders of glam rock band Roxy Music in 1971, has pioneered an evolution back to transient music, in which every performance is unique.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUGHBPDDNREDDA257L2HRZGHCY","additional_properties":{"_id":"PQSH7RFRUFCZ7OGZQXXJXAJV5I"},"content":"Cork’s extraordinary genius who influenced the history of computing","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"LVJDCYEK2NEMPLWC7CFUV3N5LI","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968706},"content":"While experimenting in 1995, he introduced the term “generative music” as a genre in which performances are modulated by random variations and flexible composition rules. Simple wind chimes and bird song are examples of non-deterministic natural music.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3BLWADMWUBDGHGRMFPJQWQJGEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968707},"content":"Eno has typically composed by prescribing patterns and relationships among a collection of instrumental sounds, and then allowing the “system” – a computer – to synthesise myriad results within the guiding boundaries and rules.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IJJCSYCXZ5COHMY6QM3F6BICI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968708},"content":"As the phonograph and records spawned the new industry in recorded music, so the motion picture camera resulted in the new movie industry. However, like recorded music, the cinema presents repeatable and identical performances.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T3VWMZTG6RDRDLDRI7EJ7V23W4","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968709},"content":"Indeed, film critics and movie award ceremonies depend on each showing of a film being identical. What might happen to the film industry if this stricture were to be broken and so a film would never be the same no matter how many times you watched it?","type":"text"},{"_id":"63FEJQGW2RCEXP7EVMZ2DGNTQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968710},"content":"Netflix has experimented with interactive films. One of its most well-known is Bandersnatch from 2018, a part of its Black Mirror series of science fiction and dystopian instalments.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FCRHNDI5MJHYVMOLOSOQOEBRAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968711},"content":"The episode follows a young gaming software developer, Stefan Butler. It explores the boundaries between free will and reality, blurring the divisions between the game and Butler’s life. Every viewer is given numerous options as the film unfolds, leading to different story progressions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UEYY3XPAIJHITPE5OMYHACGEHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968712},"content":"There are reputedly more than 250 different segments within the film portfolio, which lead to many millions of potential progressions. Netflix has followed with films such as You vs. Wild, which allows the viewer to interactively guide the adventurer Bear Grylls through a number of challenges, and the romantic comedy Choose Love, whose main character Cami can be influenced by the viewer as she struggles with the loves and potential partners of her life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DATNMDW5UFC37PQ6WJAMPQR3EM","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968713},"content":"Interactive films transform passive consumption into active exploration. They may reduce the threat to the film industry from the constant engagement and interaction of the now huge computer gaming sector.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFOR3HEZBNB75L6DV2YYLKKI7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968714},"content":"Generative technology is commonplace in the development of computer gaming. Scenery and objects are derived with subtle variations built from core defining principles. Non-player characters populate a scene and adapt to the human player’s behaviour and decisions. Storylines evolve out of a set of rules authored by the game creator, are frequently “open-ended” and consequently can be explored without limit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FLZVIULROZDM5EUQHRMX2EKZ2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968715},"content":"Authorship, composition and artistic creativity are evolving to imagine and then describe elastic rules under which a new piece of art can be born, leaving the “system” to fill in the details in accordance with those rules. Eno’s generative music and computer gaming development are examples, but the traditional visual arts are also impacted.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z7JINKCNFZGNFA5772ORCORKHA","additional_properties":{"_id":"XK5BYEMICBHUBK4GYRPOEFRDTA"},"content":"Advances in MRI may open window for treating neurodegenerative diseases","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BI4K3OKBGZGFHBWAVNNKRLKJZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968716},"content":"For example, last year David Lester Mooney’s AI-directed <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/05/31/una-mullally-is-the-rha-trolling-viewers-with-this-ai-generated-magdalene-selfie/\" target=\"_blank\">Throwback Selfies #Magdalene</a> caused controversy at the RHA Annual Exhibition.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CPB7TLYTJRCJFKY3NSFHBF7FLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968717},"content":"Film director Gary Hustwit and generative art specialist Brendan Dawes have recently released a documentary, Eno, about Brian Eno’s life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CM66S2TZPREAHESXHO2IMJPPSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968718},"content":"Echoing Eno’s music, the documentary is different each time it is seen. Each viewing is unique, challenging the ability to evaluate and critique the film. The film is constructed from a set of generative rules, and a large portfolio of film clips.","type":"text"},{"_id":"POM7XTSXP5C3NB5OFL4YEILGJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1718551968719},"content":"Hustwit suggests that other artists with a large archive of film segments, such as Taylor Swift, might be intrigued by a new documentary form that is ever-shifting and constantly changing. He asserts: “If Christopher Nolan said my next film will never be the same twice, the industry would change. Everybody would flip out and it would break all kinds of boundaries. Eno is just an opening statement for what we’re trying to do.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"A documentary on musician Brian Eno showcases the possibilities of generative technology, making each viewing unique and challenging the ability to critique the film"},"display_date":"2024-06-20T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Interactive movies could reduce the threat to the film sector from the huge computer gaming sector","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EILIO5LYKLNETRO624HOHBB2AU","auth":{"1":"a568aaf26a8d84c2741342458489d19982a7e1936425ee65a52fc0f2cde80b5c"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EILIO5LYKLNETRO624HOHBB2AU.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/06/20/interactive-movies-could-reduce-the-threat-to-the-film-sector-from-the-huge-computer-gaming-sector/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"DM7TCITFE5AYDOX7MA6YFQENJY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":356,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/ae751b69-90e1-498b-ad27-fb5eb1284404/versions/1717497407/media/ffd21312162109421ae0c51de60659b9_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/06/06/corks-extraordinary-genius-who-influenced-the-history-of-computing/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GIJISAMHTRAJRFLT5IBDRGOVVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073833},"content":"The Corkman Percy Ludgate was an extraordinary genius.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6V73PRNUVDTBK6BFXNMIPSVIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073834},"content":"In a 1909 paper to the Royal Dublin Society, he described the world’s second general purpose mechanical computer. He worked unaware of Charles Babbage’s proposal for the world’s first such computer, the analytical engine of 1834. I have <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/remembering-percy-ludgate-ireland-s-first-computer-scientist-1.4567593\" target=\"_blank\">previously written about Ludgate</a>, recorded a podcast and reviewed a book about his inventions and life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LIKQRSCAWNFMXLV6DMTY7RJB3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073835},"content":"Now further investigative work by Brian Coghlan (Trinity College Dublin), Brian Randell (Newcastle University) and Ralf Bülow (Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum) has reinforced how influential Percy’s work was on the history of computing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EIMGP3D5PJA6HOKS5UZD3RBJ54","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073836},"content":"In 1960, a German patent lawyer working on behalf of IBM successfully relied on Ludgate’s 1909 paper to defeat an important patent application by the pioneering computer scientist Konrad Zuse. Had the patent been approved, Zuse would have controlled intellectual property for a crucial technique that all computers now use.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ACUMLTV7MFHH3GZMNYKBXKDBY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073837},"content":"Zuse began experimenting with constructing a computer in 1935. Working independently and unaware of Babbage’s or Ludgate’s prior designs, he completed his “Z1″ mechanical calculator in 1938. However, it was unreliable due to wear of its metal components.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BXZFA4GVXFEYDLH3VU5WVO72LA","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073838},"content":"Zuse followed with his Z2, replacing the mechanisms in the arithmetic core of the Z1 by electromechanical relays. His Z3 in 1943 added a relay-based memory. The machine was extensively used by the Nazi aircraft industry to solve challenges in handling vibration and stress, including for glide bombs. The Z3 was general purpose, unlike the more restricted British Colossus computer developed by Alan Turing in utmost secrecy for encryption breaking in 1943. The Z3 also used software code, as do modern computers, while the Colossus was controlled by manual plug boards and switches.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QBUUOK4D5EULNY7VCNW3FVMVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073839},"content":"Zuse’s Z4 was intended as the first ready-made commercial computer. However, the aerial bombing of Berlin in 1945 forced him to evacuate the tonne-weight machine ultimately to Hinterstein, a small Bavarian village.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HZNAQZP5KJH4HNAUYSXBKLQ6RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073840},"content":"His experiences in controlling the Z4 by low-level machine code inspired Zuse to invent the world’s first programming language, called Plankalkül. Using it, he wrote the world’s first chess program. Zuse submitted Plankalkül as his PhD thesis to the University of Augsburg but it was rejected as he had not paid the degree enrolment fee.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAW3EXAIGVHCRBAQBTVYCXYQVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073841},"content":"Zuse’s autobiography, Mein Lebenswerk, details his attempts to register a number of patents for his innovations. In mid-1941, he filed his most important patent. It was not until 1952 that a reorganised German Patent Office published the patent. However Triumph-Werke, a motorcycle and accounting machine company in Nuremberg, actively petitioned against the patent. Zuse made a number of amendments to overcome these objections, resubmitting in 1958.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VNWYVQYHMFGCNI7FFTBAR2MPZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073842},"content":"In July 1959, the patent office in Munich confirmed it had found no merit in Triumph-Werke’s objections, and intended to approve Zuse’s amended patent. By early January 1960 – a full 19 years after Zuse’s initial submission – the patent was ready to grant. However, on the 12th January, the patent office received a further objection from a newly-appointed lawyer for Triumph-Werke, Gerhard Hagen.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4Q7PFCWWU5HRLN3YYVGRRKNJAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073843},"content":"Hagen included a 10-page summary of Ludgate’s 1909 paper, which had never previously been brought to the attention of Zuse nor the patent office. Zuse’s patent lawyer worried that a whole new situation arose because of Ludgate’s prior work. In March 1960, Zuse revised his patent application yet again but Hagen’s objections were successful. In 1962, the patent office finally rejected Zuse’s patent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ZTDKZZLU5GYLNGY2RQFIPYJCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1717454673852},"content":"Zuse appealed to the new Federal Patent Office, but it rejected his appeal in 1967.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AM353VJWMZCA3BUAGRPXLOEJPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073844},"content":"Zuse believed that IBM had in fact sponsored Hagen’s abrupt intervention in 1960, rather than Triumph-Werke alone. In 1966, Hagen eventually provided clear evidence in a letter to the Federal Patent Office that this had in fact been the case.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WVZWAW4CF5AIRPJYRV4U4XLKPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073845},"content":"Why had IBM interjected?","type":"text"},{"_id":"ISSWBIWL7VAXLGFL3J3ZODTRDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073846},"content":"During 1947-48, IBM negotiated with Zuse to acquire his patents, offering what Zuse considered a generous payment in the new Deutsche mark currency. However, it became clear that IBM only wanted Zuse’s intellectual property and considered further work on the Z4 by Zuse as “perfectly foolish”. Zuse was faced with a difficult decision of accepting the payment, or of rejecting it but being able to continue further development of his computers. He decided on the latter, turning IBM down and worked on growing his new company.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SRYU6G7MMVBOVHSGB2ZJWIVO4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1717421073847},"content":"The core of Zuse’s 1941 patent was an explanation of how software code, as a stream of instructions represented as numbers, can be decoded and interpreted by a control unit in a computer, thus orchestrating the arithmetic and memory units by performing each machine instruction in turn. Hagen used Ludgate’s 1909 paper as prior art to refute Zuse’s claim. Had Zuse been awarded his patent, his control over a critical feature would have changed his career and could well have altered the course of the computer industry. Ludgate, who died in 1922 aged just 39, perhaps never imagined how significant his work would turn out to be.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Percy Ludgate’s 1909 paper played a crucial role in shaping the early computer industry, although he was unaware of its impact"},"display_date":"2024-06-06T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Cork’s extraordinary genius who influenced the history of computing","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"24UOX2JZB5CJPJ5N6N5PX5TYTM","auth":{"1":"fc1b5b7172b96bf1116af41dc8f67a746ffc2f32824e6f4db175838408a422bb"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/24UOX2JZB5CJPJ5N6N5PX5TYTM.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/06/06/corks-extraordinary-genius-who-influenced-the-history-of-computing/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"2AC5YQ224RHBHESM5VTFJPAE3I","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":332,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/11881578/media/49b3ab8ebfcf4418539d66663d729a5b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/05/23/it-seems-an-improbable-odyssey-for-london-to-ever-become-the-new-silicon-valley/","content_elements":[{"_id":"4LIGSWXPCZFXVDNY5CSVTVD4NY","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585165},"content":"On the last day of 1600, Queen Elizabeth I responded to a petition from 232 merchants and adventurers led by the queen’s cousin, the Earl of Cumberland, by granting them a royal charter to “merchandise” the East Indies, Asia and Africa at their own cost.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JKRPUGXZBFHLFLO5IJ236UY5J4","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585166},"content":"The British East India Company was accordingly launched. It came to dominate the world’s trade in commodities such as cotton, silk, sugar, tea and – notoriously – opium, paying considerable dividends to its shareholders as a result.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DFCN2XJ3QNGZDO3HQZBCEYZKXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585167},"content":"Arguably, the East India Company was Britain’s most powerful company ever.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W6KC54KYHNEAFIXLWJGGLAMGZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585168},"content":"Among its pioneers was Streynsham Master, a colonial administrator in India who rose to become a member of the company’s council, eventually lavishly retiring to a castle estate just outside of Nottingham. Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt is among his descendants, and is currently the British chancellor of the exchequer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SEEVJUJAJZCJJEY5ULVWQS7IMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585169},"content":"Perhaps his namesake ancestor and the wealth created by the East India Company were on<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/jeremy-hunt/\" target=\"_blank\"> Jeremy Hunt’s </a>mind last week when he audaciously told the Financial Times that the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/uk/\" target=\"_blank\">UK </a>can create a $1 trillion (€925 billion) home-grown tech giant to rival <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/microsoft/\" target=\"_blank\">Microsoft </a>or <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/alphabet/\" target=\"_blank\">Alphabet </a>within a decade.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UESELWADVFBCFB5LL3TIWVCWBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585170},"content":"Currently, only six companies – <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/apple/\" target=\"_blank\">Apple</a>, Microsoft, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/saudi-aramco/\" target=\"_blank\">Saudi Aramco</a>, Alphabet, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/amazon/\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon </a>and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nvidia/\" target=\"_blank\">Nvidia </a>– are members of the trillion-dollar club worldwide. Hunt aspires for the UK to be the world’s next Silicon Valley. He asserted that “it’s a big dream but we can definitely get there”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5JVMZVGLB5AJFDRKEXEVRZDOF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585171},"content":"The largest British companies today are <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/astrazeneca/\" target=\"_blank\">AstraZeneca</a> (pharmaceuticals) and <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/shell/\" target=\"_blank\">Shell </a>(oil and gas exploration). Each is approaching just a quarter of Hunt’s one $1 trillion target. The most valuable tech company is Arm Holdings (semiconductor design), valued at only one-eighth of a trillion. Although headquartered in Cambridge, the company is in fact no longer British but now 90 per cent owned by <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/softbank/\" target=\"_blank\">Softbank</a>, a Japanese investment group.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NCCQ4QG2GZCSLCZ2S76E2UV6EA","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585172},"content":"The most valuable company in all of Europe is Denmark’s <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/novo-nordisk/\" target=\"_blank\">Novo Nordisk</a> (pharmaceuticals), valued at just more than half a trillion dollars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPGRPAWC55CZ5NUBROV7F7JPYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585173},"content":"The chancellor was responding to concerns about foreign raids on UK-listed companies, such as Arm Holdings which is now listed on Nasdaq in New York rather than the FTSE in London, and also the recent spate of listing transfers from London to New York including <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/crh/\" target=\"_blank\">CRH</a>, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/smurfit-kappa/\" target=\"_blank\">Smurfit Kappa</a> and gambling group <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/flutter/\" target=\"_blank\">Flutter</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2B5DXFPTHFGGXORE67B7I7AJIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585174},"content":"While he has overhauled financial regulations to facilitate access to capital by start-ups, and to encourage UK investment funds to hold risk capital, it would nevertheless seem an improbable odyssey for London to ever become the new El Dorado.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GRTIC3GVJNDIPCXU4AG5KTJHFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585175},"content":"What would need to happen for Hunt’s vision to be realised?","type":"text"},{"_id":"5MWOUI3TF5HWDHJDPUDNLM7RGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585176},"content":"First, will there ever be another trillion dollar opportunity to own a new technology wave?","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ASTCZ7UEBCHLMJJNUBSRHOUKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585177},"content":"Although the quest for generalised artificial intelligence (GenAI) is well under way, I<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/2024/04/25/we-are-at-last-creating-ai-approaching-human-intellect-but-the-underpinnings-are-insubstantial/\" target=\"_blank\"> have argued that the current approaches to GenAI are brutally primitive</a> and unacceptably profligate. More thoughtful and indeed intelligent solutions may be latent and could potentially be extremely disruptive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NYXXCUX3ABBWXOQQWCTUGZPOUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"TZOK2O7BZRFY3GCDUEPQBS4KGA"},"content":"We are at last creating AI approaching human intellect but the underpinnings are insubstantial","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"FXY7WSFICRGC5NMUCBG7E6YDMY","additional_properties":{"_id":"VKGLJJ35ERAWHFFEYVGEGIHO6Q"},"content":"Chris Horn: AI is getting smarter","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5FKN263YSJDJBCUUQJX6NPR4EI","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585179},"content":"Are the British sufficiently innovative?","type":"text"},{"_id":"F4AFXLAISNC23CB7VZ76PROXCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585180},"content":"Absolutely, and with an impressive track record. Arm Holdings has led the world in low-power advanced semiconductors. DeepMind Technologies was founded in London in 2010 and has become a world leader in AI technology. It was acquired by Google in 2014 and is now a core foundation of Alphabet’s GenAI effort.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ALYJLT7SDNDCJEFTPXHCXRML2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585181},"content":"Colossus, an early computer, and the jet engine were major British innovations during the second World War. The first practical television, and colour television, were British inventions. Heads up displays, vertical take-off aircraft, beta-blocker drugs, hip replacements, bagless vacuum cleaners – the list is almost endless.","type":"text"},{"_id":"75TM4HBOOZBFZEFCMPGANO6JHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585182},"content":"For a trillion dollar tech company to emerge, it needs a thriving wide foundation. Silicon Valley has a portfolio of thousands of small- and medium-sized tech companies, which are the supply chain for the giants, not so for physical components but for human capital, research and innovation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4QVMHXLM3VCODO6MGV77W6WGPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585183},"content":"The chief assets in most tech companies are fiercely sought staff, rather than the traditional fixed and physical plant of manufacturing firms. Regulators in the UK and elsewhere in Europe often have protracted compliance processes carefully nurtured over decades, but which sometimes jar against the agility of a still emerging sector whose assets are highly mobile humans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UXZBVSFIKNHITKPWANV36TKVZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585184},"content":"Why have tech companies in Britain not grown even more, but instead exited in acquisitions arguably too early?","type":"text"},{"_id":"L33YVXO7LZBK3EEHVFAST2F77M","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585185},"content":"It may be natural for company founders to seek quick personal wealth. Perhaps the mind set of many UK venture capitalists and risk investors is likewise to take returns when they become available rather than confront further competitive growth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HQOCAHZCDRHLXDJKKG74RPQGXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585186},"content":"My view has often been that while each funding round should continue to accelerate a company, founders can take some small sum off the table so they can at least bank a modest return for their work to date.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2C7ICT7XDJCSBDNL77D2MSK4DM","additional_properties":{"_id":1716137585187},"content":"Most of all would be a change in economic mindset towards adventure and achievement. Perhaps Hunt is inspired by the audacity and determination of those 232 petitioners in 1600.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Jeremy Hunt believes the UK can create a home-grown tech giant, but for a trillion dollar tech company to emerge, it needs a thriving foundation"},"display_date":"2024-05-23T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"It seems an improbable odyssey for London to ever become the new Silicon Valley","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"KHGLDHXT47N6HMFCBYQY6FCLYQ","auth":{"1":"a51cdbe9a0fccc3da1baf52f7d877b7801c926ce3e5a75b3e7641c0c7109a0bd"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/KHGLDHXT47N6HMFCBYQY6FCLYQ.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/05/23/it-seems-an-improbable-odyssey-for-london-to-ever-become-the-new-silicon-valley/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"FI3FG72JYFCS3H77FWSR7R7MFY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":317,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/11724535/media/54e4a0f710bed9e888836934d91fcde0_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/05/09/advances-in-mri-may-open-window-for-treating-neurodegenerative-diseases/","content_elements":[{"_id":"YH3KBOEQ2RFNDO6CYSREBKF6TA","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016408},"content":"Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are among the most complex devices available in modern medicine. Their engineering merges quantum mechanics, superconducting magnetics, Fourier transform mathematics and advanced pattern detection and imaging software.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6GSFKDKVWRGNZPQ5LNDLFLOQ4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016409},"content":"Isidor Rabi, a Galician-born US physicist, discovered nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in 1944, going on to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHHQZ6NSLZA3RKQA5M2SQPLP6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016410},"content":"Rabi found that the atomic nuclei of certain elements – for example, particular variants of hydrogen, carbon and phosphorus – are like bar magnets. Normally the magnetic directions are randomly aligned: not just north-south, but every direction, effectively cancelling each other out. However, when placed in a strong magnetic field, the magnetic bars of the nuclei line up all pointing the same way.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QY3W4KKBDZA47KHLJV2XGDZBS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016411},"content":"If the nuclei are then given a radio pulse at a carefully chosen frequency, they rotate their orientation away from the magnetic field. Each nuclei type responds to a different radio frequency: in a particular magnetic field, magnetic hydrogen nuclei might twist at 300MHz, and carbon at 75MHz. As each radio pulse ends, the nuclei emit – as it were – a “sigh” as they relax back again to realign with the magnetic field.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ETCXCTSSZRBH5BTE2GGIEUIBL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016412},"content":"In practice their sigh is a decaying spiral motion, which induces a detectable electrical signal.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WHACXRW43JAQRDWYZVEWNHMZCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016413},"content":"NMR technology has become a common technique for analysing the constituents of a chemical compound.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XSB3OY2QOVCPLGXO44HILQAAFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016414},"content":"In 1952, Robert Gabillard published his PhD thesis at ENS Paris showing how the spatial positions of magnetic nuclei can be detected across a magnetic field gradient. Twenty years later Paul Lauterbur, an associate professor at Stony Brook in New York, realised that Gabillard’s insight could be used to build maps of biological tissues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QORGTOBFCBB4HIAV7DW7IPA4UU","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016415},"content":"Different biological tissues “sigh” differently: magnetic hydrogen in fatty tissue may relax faster than magnetic hydrogen in a blood vessel.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K7JJ52XWW5FJXFC5FNIOYLEIQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016416},"content":"Working overnights with the chemistry department’s NMR machine, he built the world’s first MRI machine. His work was submitted to the Nature journal, whose editors promptly rejected his paper asserting that his images were too indistinct. Prof Peter Mansfield, a physicist at the University of Nottingham, further developed Lauterbur’s work by using Fourier analysis on the output signals, greatly accelerating the production of images.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AV44HCRV7JHXPEA2BEHBPGW2EY","additional_properties":{"_id":"BMTKPPGYOVDCTGF4ZOYDZ2AY34"},"content":"AI to improve treatment for thousands of cancer patients at three Dublin hospitals","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"CM7YVBJPEBGTLBLXHCV6TCFOIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016417},"content":"Lauterbur attempted to patent his results, but Stony Brook declined to fund the patent costs, believing that the work was insufficiently valuable. Mansfield did, however, persuade the University of Nottingham to file patents and earned considerable royalties as a result of the commercialisation of MRI machines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WSTRC26WRJBHBJUIGNQ6CLT57E","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016418},"content":"Lauterbur and Mansfield were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2003.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6FXY6RTSQBGBPHD47AEKHX7JGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016419},"content":"The magnetic field in an MRI machine is typically as strong as those used by electromagnetic cranes in metal junkyards. The magnets within an MRI machine are usually made of niobium-titanium, and some 80 per cent of the chemical worldwide is used for MRI machines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TQFKEIUJQVC6FESFES3UM6HCGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016420},"content":"The metals form a superconductor when cooled to -273 degrees. At that temperature, an electric current can endlessly circulate to produce magnetism without consuming power.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4UQ3RGPU4ZFUHA6GQKSFXYFOCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016421},"content":"Similar technology is used in particle accelerators, such as the large hadron collider at CERN, and can generate extremely powerful magnetic fields without melting the electric wiring needed. However, cooling the magnet to a superconductor temperature can take several days, and thus MRI magnets are kept permanently on.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6V7PH5THH5ESTGGHJ3CCIERB5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016422},"content":"The field strength of an MRI magnet is usually one to two tesla. Tesla measurements are nothing to do with Elon Musk but named after <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/cutting-the-cord-when-will-tesla-s-100-year-old-vision-become-reality-1.3758876\" target=\"_blank\">Nikola Tesla</a>, a pioneer in electricity and magnetism.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M4RJCAYE4JHHXLFOPRVX6XGSZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016423},"content":"After 25 years of research and development, last month the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) announced the world’s first 11.7 tesla MRI machine, purchased for €70 million of which the magnet assembly alone cost €50 million.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2D5LUSSOGZABDDGDXUZUYDQ67A","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016424},"content":"The machine is producing images of the human brain to a resolution of 0.2 of a millimetre, compared to about 1mm in other high-end commercial machines. Significantly, it is able to detect atomic elements such as sodium, phosphorus and fluorine beyond the capabilities of other machines, thus helping further understand the brain’s biochemistry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OZ5T5ZMJBZC5ZNR4MRLDKTRTZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016425},"content":"The extremely detailed anatomical information should, for example, improve the diagnosis and management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPMJQA7Q7JEF5IK5MRU7F5YWB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1715069016426},"content":"Innovation in MRI technology is far from over. Industrial researchers in Germany started working on a 14-tesla machine in 2013, and other initiatives are under way in Korea and the United States.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Technology behind MRI machines, among the most complex devices in modern medicine, is still developing after 70 years"},"display_date":"2024-05-09T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Advances in MRI may open window for treating neurodegenerative diseases","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IWBTBSJW2BDZJI4RVQBS2PBD2U","auth":{"1":"f5adecffdd67833b24a7be75c2b6a0018f3498178d5065a75349bbe602244c96"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IWBTBSJW2BDZJI4RVQBS2PBD2U.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/05/09/advances-in-mri-may-open-window-for-treating-neurodegenerative-diseases/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"EEKQOZOXCRC7BJYMB4LSGD3JFA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":345,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/11529238/media/f7eac86db5f13d4c7bf2a916b72806a0_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/04/25/we-are-at-last-creating-ai-approaching-human-intellect-but-the-underpinnings-are-insubstantial/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TBRWNNSDD5EGXFWKKKSFCPMYHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501799},"content":"The first British regular public newspaper is generally attributed to Nathaniel Butter in 1622, a London printer. Unlike formal government gazettes that announced official diktats from the leadership of the day going back as far as Julius Caesar’s Acta Diurna, Butter’s Certain News of the Present Week encouraged a more informed society including on international current affairs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BIYQGCM3ZZAPBCCLYJJ7FHI6P4","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501800},"content":"Butter, however, became prone to filtering stories or even making up entirely fictitious news to boost his business, which in turn had a tendency to become amplified by other newspapers and in public discourse. The playwright Ben Jonson became particularly dismissive towards Butter and the developing news sector, frequently parodying his newspaper.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GNCSUSLNUZGLLHM2PHRUAUMYCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501801},"content":"Fake news is now familiar in our lexicon. Asserting that various news items are concocted has led people to question truthful news and societal norms, affecting opinions on critical issues and topics. Fake news has mutated facts and beliefs, raising doubts about information credibility and quality.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N53PMIXSDNERPMDGHLAI6WYZ5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501802},"content":"The American comedian WC Fields quipped: “You can fool some of the people some of the time – and that’s enough to make a decent living!” With social networks and partisan media swamping established news channels, some pundits and politicians have built substantial personal wealth that would have been impossible when the news industry had a business model of rigorous fact-checking that in turn attracted advertisers seeking credibility and authority.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TROOJWP6HVDHTNJ6D3TWRNJ7WM","additional_properties":{"_id":"CM5K5DGJHVG7LBGETT4I57R46I"},"content":"‘The machine does it coldly’: Artificial Intelligence can already kill people","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ES64C2MFOVGWXEOB2MKKTZ3F2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501803},"content":"Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is further pushing the boundary between reality and illusion. Articles, photographs, images, videos, audio, scripts, clips, music – frankly all content – can be algorithmically spawned from the original seeds of appropriate training data. The resulting content alchemy can be challenging to distinguish from reality.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XEL433U35FB4ZB7H2X4DE7IDE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501804},"content":"One of the core roots of GenAI is “generative adversarial networks”, invented in 2014. Two algorithms are set to compete with one another. The first generates new data extrapolated from given training data. The second attempts to distinguish the generated fake data from the original training data. The procedure iterates until the second process is largely unable to distinguish between real and generated results, thus indicating that the first has learned to produce convincing but artificial data.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LGFTR3QQX5C6HFFXOMAOP32DH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501805},"content":"Livelihoods are now being impacted by GenAI. In the same way that a typography font enables whole books to be printed in a particular visual style, a “voice font” capturing just a few spoken syllables can be used to generate arbitrary audio speech in a particular accent and tone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FZ25YLOUXNBM5I7F6SSFOYEQDE","additional_properties":{"_id":"WAFHRCMXOJANLPYNPCBBHZ5ICI"},"content":"Could AI take over your favourite TV programme?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"W3IEUVI2MZG5TNQH2UZHT66ZDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501806},"content":"Voice-over artists face an end to their profession. An “expression font” can be used to credibly mimic the dynamics of an individual’s face. A “body font” of a few movements can generate a digital twin of a human. Actors, celebrities and film extras face a challenging future.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ACKARZPGCZDYTEC7T662J2APQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501807},"content":"The video gaming industry is building illusions of the real world, with its technology also now becoming widely adopted in film production, architectural planning and training, including by security forces. Privately held <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/epic-games/\" target=\"_blank\">Epic Games</a> from North Carolina is the industry leader, well known for its Fortnite online game.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IMDF2FHMBZDABA6ENQZKQRU5RE","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501808},"content":"Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO, believes that simulations will imminently become completely indistinguishable from reality.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T34YR2P4WBFFLFPEH5PIMC7HCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501809},"content":"Some observers caution against the ebullience of GenAI, such as a recent syndicated Financial Times column in this newspaper (see <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/03/28/will-ai-really-conquer-all-before-it-some-insiders-privately-voice-doubts-about-the-ebullient-narrative/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>).","type":"text"},{"_id":"6DRFF6OWTNGQTIZ6LYCCMEQ7V4","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501810},"content":"Nevertheless, the technology is rapidly improving. For example, assistants such as <a href=\"http://perplexity.ai/\" target=\"_blank\">perplexity.ai</a> supplement their generated responses with citations, allowing you to easily fact-check and detect any tendency for inaccurate answers or fake news.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ODPM73NQ5DW5FFXVMVUX3LBO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501811},"content":"Some GenAI start-ups are already faltering, such as San Francisco-based Tome and its GenAI business presentation tool which, having raised $81 million (€76 million) since last year, announced lay-offs last week.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5DHNYZHY5ZAZPBQCQ7SP73H2BI","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501812},"content":"Nevertheless, the investment momentum remains significant. Microsoft and Open AI have announced a collaborative plan to build a $100 billion data centre, called Stargate, for their next technology iteration of GenAI, at a time when the construction cost of a typical data centre is by comparison just a few hundred million dollars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CXMD3I4D7NALBGFY4C5FCRLBMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501813},"content":"Criticism of the enormous power consumption required for GenAI remains. The chief marketing officer of Arm Holdings, a UK semiconductor design company, last week asserted that although GenAI consumes about 2 per cent of electricity today it could require a quarter of all electricity in the United States by 2030. This is entirely impractical, particularly when the human brain consumes only about the power of a 10-watt light bulb in comparison and yet still outperforms the intelligence of the current generation of GenAI.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VIUMNXAB2RG6REC5P3S5LA7HPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501814},"content":"Since biological systems considerably outperform in terms of intelligence for power consumed, I believe that the foundations of GenAI are profoundly incorrect. While we are at last creating machines approaching human intellect, the underpinnings are insubstantial.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XHDZBXNHORDKLF4YGOIOOZRADU","additional_properties":{"_id":1713720501815},"content":"The IDA was correct to observe the opportunities in the Irish economy for GenAI in a <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/04/13/full-steam-ahead-for-ida-as-it-steps-on-board-the-ai-hype-train/\" target=\"_blank\">report</a> last week. However, there is also considerable scope for researchers and theoreticians to disrupt the current iteration of GenAI to produce a more viable artificial intelligence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Power consumption required for GenAI could be heading towards entirely impractical levels"},"display_date":"2024-04-25T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"We are at last creating AI approaching human intellect but the underpinnings are insubstantial","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RICORAHMSRDDLLCZRHF5L4WCNQ","auth":{"1":"3160cc8bb43975048b1095ea6e386eadae7f21ec9f376bcef26ff7dee31e912a"},"focal_point":{"x":947,"y":668},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RICORAHMSRDDLLCZRHF5L4WCNQ.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Gaming"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Big Tech"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/04/25/we-are-at-last-creating-ai-approaching-human-intellect-but-the-underpinnings-are-insubstantial/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"IJOUR6K2ZVEFVFM5HJNJA66BYM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":342,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/11364614/media/1f4f520f9ea626a2b67cbc6e6cc51723_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/2024/04/11/sellafield-is-a-hub-of-british-innovation-and-a-symbol-of-technologys-impact-on-the-planet/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EIJOTCRPZBCILE3W4SO7QOLLPA","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955055},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/uk/2024/03/30/inside-sellafield-behind-the-razor-wire-gun-toting-guards-and-blast-barriers-at-the-toxic-nuclear-site/\" target=\"_blank\">In a piece recently in The Irish Times, London Correspondent Mark Paul reminded us</a> that Sellafield has not gone away. The 700-acre complex is a nuclear dump for most radioactive material from all over the UK. It continues to pose risk to Ireland, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S4K2CIRNZBF3PGGXTZ22PI6EUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955056},"content":"Originally named Windscale and built as an ordnance factory during the second World War, the site was repurposed in 1947 for the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons. The UK government at the time believed that the US was becoming increasingly isolationist after the war, despite the UK having merged its own Tube Alloys nuclear weapons programme with the US Manhattan Project to produce the first nuclear bombs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3SOGAW5ZDFH3XD2AIGKIFRJF3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955057},"content":"Weapons-grade plutonium is obtained by using nuclear fission to convert low-grade uranium. It is cheaper to produce than weapons-grade uranium, which was a major consideration for the UK economy, cash-strapped after the war. Although a useful byproduct of the conversion process is the generation of electricity, the primary motivation at Windscale was always national defence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DPQQQC6VXNBHLI5KROKZ7BRKBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955058},"content":"Given the novelty of the technology, and the unanticipated coolness from the US authorities, Windscale became a major centre for experimentation and innovation. Among the numerous innovations was the cooling of the early reactors using atmospheric air rather than pumped water, which substantially reduced costs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2LGVFERPBVHEDLSJALKVPYEPBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1712766886793},"content":"Another was the physical arrangement of blocks of highly purified graphite, which were used to control the flux of neutrons and hence reactor power to compensate for crystalline dislocations in the graphite structure when irradiated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZEAVUEWINRCXZCPRSXWJYQ6B5I","additional_properties":{"_id":"XLDGNZD4MRHLTP3KLPVHHIJUYY"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-18909","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"MJZPZZXT2NBVNE5FRN46QJD6PQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955059},"content":"John Cockcroft, who had shared the 1951 Nobel Prize for physics with Ireland’s Ernest Walton, fought hard to have novel filters inserted into the air flow venting chimneys. He was concerned that any one of the 70,000 reactor fuel cartridges might crack, leading to a fire from oxidisation of the uranium. Ultimately the filters, colloquially christened Cockcroft’s follies, were installed. They subsequently proved critical in capturing about 90 per cent of the radioactive particles released during the three-day reactor fire at Windscale in October 1957.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LHMC4ID4PVAQNGV75JEWXTA3LI","additional_properties":{"_id":"ASFCBVRXNBBSVCU77Y3NU6SZOY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"NMK5FHIYNJGXBGHJD6YWPCMYBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955060},"content":"In 2017, the Irish Centre for High End Computing (ICHEC) ran simulations using historical meteorological data coupled with more recent analytical techniques, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2PSjLUetPc\" target=\"_blank\">to model the dispersion trajectories of toxic effluents from the 1957 fire</a>. Despite reassurances to the contrary at the time, there appears reasonable evidence that Ireland was affected, although not as heavily as Wales, Scotland, southwest England and Scandinavia.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DVZMLZROWNGWVFP3OKJUE4SBH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955061},"content":"The UK’s 130 metric tonnes of plutonium is now stockpiled centrally in Sellafield. It has been accumulated by reprocessing of spent nuclear reactor fuel originating within the UK and from overseas plants. Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in principle forms a “closed-loop” cycle which ideally allows the fuel to be reused multiple times. In practice, worldwide, to date, the closed multi-cycle fuel loop has largely been aspirational.","type":"text"},{"_id":"256be132-0514-463c-9c0a-2ee9e99fc78f","additional_properties":{"_id":"3X636JLQNFC3NOGDLEK53TZH5Y"},"subtype":"irish-times-video","type":"video"},{"_id":"LOCABB63FRFUZFGZHIJYA54Q6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955062},"content":"Dublin is as close to Sellafield as it is to Cork. Dundalk and Belfast are closer. Just a fraction of a gram of radioactive plutonium is lethal. Plutonium also has a half-life of 24,000 years, meaning that after that period it will be half as radioactive as it is today. Back 24,000 years ago Ireland was covered in an ice sheet up to 3km thick. Imagine if some of our prehistoric ancestors, perhaps after the ice receded, had left us with an incurable lethal legacy buried among their artefacts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WJI6KOWOBFGSFLBIG6KYDPCBHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955063},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.politicshome.com/members/article/sellafield-creating-new-legacy\" target=\"_blank\">In a recent interview,</a> Euan Hutton, chief executive of Sellafield Ltd, emphasised both the heritage of invention at Sellafield and its ongoing commitment to innovation. Novel underwater robots, drone inspection flights and advanced glove boxes to protect operators are all being tailored for the management of lethal high-level nuclear waste. Hutton believes the UK can become a global leader in the multibillion global market for nuclear decommissioning.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DNODCMZ2I5FLHKI735HAXKJLNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1712656680837},"content":"Mark Paul observed, in his article, that Sellafield alone is a €156 billion 100-year project and is viewed by some as a “gravy train” for extremely well-paid staff and contractors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MTIUUGZA3FGJVGDZBAM46ELSOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"WD426TBKSNGIBLZ227VYNIJ7AY"},"content":"Inside Sellafield: behind the razor wire, gun-toting guards and blast barriers at the toxic nuclear site","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"564EDOB2E5H45D2ILE4F4WOYV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955064},"content":"Sellafield now has about 700,000 tonnes of accumulated high-activity nuclear waste, including the plutonium stockpile. The UK plans an undersea storage facility for its nuclear waste, about three times larger than Heathrow airport, with an access point from Cumbria or Lincolnshire. It is hoped that it will be built by the 2050s and be operational for a century before being sealed “for eternity”. It follows the worldwide lead being set by Finland, which expects its underground storage facility to be ready to receive nuclear waste next year and is designed to entomb it for at least 100,000 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ABFRQQT4CFCOXK7GUXD3RUNLXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1712582955065},"content":"Sellafield has been an epicentre of British innovation, once crucial to national defence and to national energy security. Nevertheless, the legacy of all the prodigious innovation is a toxic bestowal for today and for generations to come, including in Ireland. It serves as a presage for how we use our own technologies and for their impact on future humanity, not least for environmental and climate change.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R7P75IMSEFEK3ECM642SOQECJY","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The UK nuclear site, situated close to Ireland, has been key to British defence and energy security concerns for decades, but its legacy is a toxic bestowal for generations to come"},"display_date":"2024-04-11T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sellafield is a hub of British innovation - and a symbol of technology’s impact on the planet ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ZOPQVRGHJZB6REOVVDT5WDCRSU","auth":{"1":"ac0657aff7dc0369886d72dc85430518774a76e0089355a8f7e59f76e2bf41a2"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZOPQVRGHJZB6REOVVDT5WDCRSU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/2024/04/11/sellafield-is-a-hub-of-british-innovation-and-a-symbol-of-technologys-impact-on-the-planet/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Business"}}}},{"_id":"VDRVYLO7LNBTRHVIULM3TUB3PI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":349,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/11188715/media/6713ee94d0509efb95a01185a1a4bd4c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/03/28/protecting-critical-subsea-cable-network-vital-for-security-and-data/","content_elements":[{"_id":"UKM6BQ5LMREO3CP6KL33BCC3CA","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309714},"content":"Built in 1702, the Bridge Tavern in Wicklow still stands beside the bridge connecting the town to the harbour, over the Vartry river. By the early 1800s, Wicklow was an important port and the tavern was run by James and Anne Halpin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K46YATUO7ZHTPNQIJ3GAIOR6ZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309715},"content":"The Halpins had 13 children, three of whom became ships’ masters. James’s older brother George modernised much of Dublin Port and is considered the “father” of our lighthouse service, renovating 15 lighthouses and constructing a further 53 around our coasts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P5GPDFCWLNDBZFBA2GCGB7HITU","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309716},"content":"Robert Halpin, James and Anne’s youngest, left home in March 1847 at the height of the Great Famine and, at just 11, joined the crew of a Canadian lumber cargo ship. His father died the following October. By 22, Robert was a captain on shipping routes from Liverpool to India and South America. In June 1865, he was appointed first officer of the Great Eastern.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RFGA2ZXW5ZCVLMJ7B5VGGYDUZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309717},"content":"The Great Eastern had been launched in 1858 for the UK to Australia route, the first ship ever with a double-skinned hull, and with accommodation for up to 3,000 people. She proved uneconomical, however, as a passenger ship and, in 1864, was purchased cheaply at auction by a consortium of investors. They converted her into a telegraph cable-laying ship, renting her out to telegraph companies and being paid in shares rather than cash, so riding the bull market for information traffic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U2Q2YH43A5DPZJLBDYL22N6DZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309718},"content":"The first transatlantic cable, connecting Trinity Bay Newfoundland to Valentia island, had been laid in 1858. The quality and transmission speed were poor, however. It took 16 hours to confirm a 98-word message from Britain’s Queen Victoria to US president James Buchanan. Within a month, the cable completely failed having being subject to over-voltage.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6JRW5HMAGVEIHBD6INYMUTITHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309719},"content":"In July 1866, under its new owners, the Great Eastern<i> </i>successfully laid an improved cable from Valentia to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland. The following month, Robert Halpin navigated back mid-ocean to where a prior attempt had failed the previous year, successfully grappling the broken cable at a four-kilometre depth and then repairing it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AGD4D4KPNJAKDLZ4FOQDC2POHM","additional_properties":{"_id":"PLECJECX25FMFIHLC6X5LY2HQY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"VBW5AP77QJDKZFFWB3SNATJYO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309720},"content":"Halpin subsequently became captain of the Great Eastern<i>. </i>Under his command, a further north transatlantic cable and a south transatlantic cable from Madeira to Brazil were laid, and then cables connecting the Middle East, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. He built Tinakilly House just outside Rathnew in 1876 as his home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I5ID2MWPGVCNJKYMRZK2LW42O4","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309721},"content":"Today, the majority of north transatlantic data cables from Europe to the US pass through the waters of the Irish exclusive economic zone, which extends up to 370km from our coastline. The growth in data centres in Ireland has been catalysed by some of these cables. As well as cables for public internet and telephony, there are numerous privately operated cables, including those used by Google/Alphabet, Facebook/Meta and Microsoft.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DXLMETBNNZHXXAUJLO6JYFGJZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309722},"content":"Cable breaks can occur worldwide due to natural events, such as seabed earthquakes and sediment flows. Satellite technology, having lower transmission capacities and higher latencies, does not yet provide an acceptable alternative.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TUFS4OQ42VEXJG7KDKNA6YDFXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309723},"content":"Recently, actual or suspected sabotage of subsea cables has risen as an issue. Last October, Finland and Estonia accused a Chinese ship of deliberately dragging an anchor to damage two Baltic seabed cables. In February, four cables in the Red Sea were disrupted, causing a 25 per cent capacity loss in the region, with Yemen rebels being accused.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5LFIULHZJFG7HZU5CACL4SRCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309724},"content":"This month a further four cables off the west coast of Africa were broken, with Ivory Coast, Benin and Liberia severely impacted. The cause is not yet clear.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SM5XHO4YMRFHRMVOEKERJ6ULLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309725},"content":"With heightening international tensions, suspicions closer to home have been raised by Russian ships apparently mapping the routes of data cables across the Irish continental shelf. In December, the Irish Examiner reported that a Russian submarine, accompanied by a surface ship, had been detected directly south of Cork harbour just outside the territorial 22km limit and near undersea data cables.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MZX6WK3JKNFLFEOT2NT3DXY26A","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309726},"content":"A Royal Navy helicopter deployed a sonar buoy, and the submarine was tracked by a Royal Navy anti-submarine frigate.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6SJHIZH5DVCBZHQP5EM7YFOIHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309727},"content":"With our diminished Naval Service and no sonar capability, what possibilities lie ahead to defend undersea cables in the Irish exclusive economic zone?","type":"text"},{"_id":"2WPPW3DTG5EM7JVOCWZ5LFBIMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309728},"content":"Should Ireland subcontract to foreign armed forces, offering payment or some other attractive quid pro quo? Does Ukraine’s example of low-cost jet-ski powered sea drones offer an interesting approach for both surveillance and potentially for lethal capability?","type":"text"},{"_id":"NLZN3CIYR5AKRIZAGIUD2USOYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309729},"content":"Likewise, various navies have trialled the low-cost dropping of sonar buoys and even torpedoes from modified quadcopters. Should Ireland impose a levy on subsea cable operators and data centres to help allay the costs of protection against sabotage? How would the Government respond if a private consortium of tech companies indicated that if the State is not prepared to protect their valuable undersea assets, then they will operate their own security capabilities in Irish waters?","type":"text"},{"_id":"MNKTOLYWYJA6ZIZUV6ZW4L2C2U","additional_properties":{"_id":1711375309730},"content":"The Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation celebrates the island’s role in transatlantic telegraphy. Next October, the foundation will debate these and related issues at a timely <a href=\"https://symposium.valentiacable.com/\" target=\"_blank\">symposium on subsea cable security</a>. Proposals for papers are invited by the end of April.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Irish mariner is at the heart of much of today’s subsea cable network but we no longer have the capability to monitor and defend it"},"display_date":"2024-03-28T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Protecting critical subsea cable network vital for security and data","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"FRIWNJ25HMHZPWJTXKSHRCRLBI","auth":{"1":"c08414ca4611b0f6ff3f2871886f201d5280f10256cadb21945134933968cc62"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/FRIWNJ25HMHZPWJTXKSHRCRLBI.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/03/28/protecting-critical-subsea-cable-network-vital-for-security-and-data/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"4I34IUWLB5EA7KQ6Q6EQBNLVHM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":353,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/10906716/media/122b352d6d3ab84ba48bcbf3147a9e4d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/03/07/chris-horn-discarding-premium-brand-science-foundation-ireland-may-transpire-to-be-wrongheaded/","content_elements":[{"_id":"T5Z2CNAFPVC5FM2VY45J2MZ4XY","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261365},"content":"As a young PhD student at Virginia Tech. in 2008, Georgette Yackman was told by her professor: “You’re one person. One person can’t change the world”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WAFW6AUCRVCVVCIJ3QGFEAUQQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319071},"content":"She, however, proceeded to build her doctorate by proposing extending the multidisciplinary and integrated teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem), to also include arts (Steam).","type":"text"},{"_id":"KTQLAS4THFFUJNFKECBLTDVAPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261366},"content":"Today, many educational professionals and strategists worldwide have adopted Yackman’s advocacy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SYH5D5EA5VGLDMBFT35NLKK53A","additional_properties":{"_id":"EDRZ2XSMVNETZICOKB2ARJ4VCU"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"2FJWVKMCQJDSNKUWPYPC23V35E","additional_properties":{"_id":1709658201632},"content":"One of the first proponents in Ireland of the Steam perspective in 2008 was the Science Gallery, a project with which I was involved. Sadly now discarded by Ireland, the initiative has nevertheless gained momentum across Europe, Asia and the Americas.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GXYGRUO26JEX7DZRDZZNZHK6WE","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319074},"content":"The Naughton family (of Glen Dimplex) were strong supporters of the Science Gallery, and have followed by generously encouraging the Cork-based company Steam Education, founded in 2014 to promote a Steam-based approach in primary schools, including a hands-on programme with co-teaching from experts in academia and industry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CHRS2T77Q5AXBADZMHKLLJ2BGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261368},"content":"Research in the Stem areas is comparatively well funded by the Irish taxpayer, but the funding of research in the arts and humanities is less so. Nevertheless, Ireland has some world-class arts research. I have personally been impressed by initiatives such as the advanced high-tech restorative work within the National Gallery, the intricate reconstruction of the Virtual Record Treasury and insightful investigations at the Chester Beatty.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6FQZMZU6BJDUBLLB47ROP536ZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261369},"content":"Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) was founded in 2000 by then tánaiste Mary Harney to aggressively evolve basic and applied research into twin foundations for the Irish economy. Faced with rapidly increasing international competition for foreign direct investment, the national strategy assessed that world-class scientific research undertaken in Ireland would create a big differentiator against low-tax economies and mobile international investment. Coupling academia with leading commercial research, thus building collaborative and multidisciplinary university and industry teams, became a key objective.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5TSRMND5DVGV3B2BSATD2JPF34","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319077},"content":"This was well-aligned with national enterprise policy, complementing SFI’s sibling agencies in the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CITNPTQIIJCVRBRCYWQT2K255A","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261370},"content":"Industry generally favours collaborative research since it reduces the risk of failure, and enhances the possibility of commercially interesting spin-offs from intermediate results as a project progresses. Research is generally a continual journey rather than just a singular outcome after an investment eternity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JCPNSSCLK5FTXJBTHBWTUU7QSM","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZFE3SNFRMBEEDDIX554NLXWAI4"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"W522LAYNANFKHOTTDSXN7IJOSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1709658201639},"content":"In November 2000, The Irish Times observed that, in launching SFI and marrying academic with industrial research, “Minister Mary Harney and her Department of Enterprise and Employment have stolen a march on the Department of Education and Science”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4V2R5CXMPVDZHB3KYNA5PIAMSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319080},"content":"SFI consequently became the flagship funder of scientific research in Irish universities, with corresponding aid to industry for collaborative research via the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. SFI grew to have a similar level of financial support from the Oireachtas as for the IDA (in 2022, they received €229 million and €225 million respectively).","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZATUD75CFRD77KW6WF65XLE3NM","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261372},"content":"SFI has certainly lifted Ireland’s scientific reputation and brand. In 2020, Ireland scored 12th worldwide for general scientific paper citations, including a remarkable second place in immunology, and third place in both agricultural sciences, and pharmacology and toxicology.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KVFSPTZUBNBLRFP6OCOOGFDCGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319082},"content":"We also scored first for business and employment impacts from innovation in the pan-European innovation scoreboard.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q7RQDNVQ4BCA3HPZF574A3IBPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261373},"content":"Now, in a remarkable reversion, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris proposes to extract SFI from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and back into his department, including merging it with the Irish Research Council.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WVLHCZEAWFBQJABGU7KZZ6B5KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319084},"content":"The Irish Research Council is effectively a suboffice within the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, established by ministerial letter in 2012. It aids the career development of young researchers across all disciplines (including the arts and humanities), particularly those with a social and cultural significance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RK35AUKMKVGXTC7VVLJNQIALMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261374},"content":"The new organisation will be called Taighde Éireann. The shrewd 20-year nurturing of an international brand in SFI is to be discarded.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KLNTKY7NRVDHTIKRLB5NEKLB3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"NQGTLZOLVBFR5PNGP2YCGCLQFE"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3WZOKX6TOBGAZBNRREGBMNNCSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1709658201647},"content":"No doubt in reflex to the 2003 act establishing SFI in which its 12-member board had one seat allocated to the Department of Education, Taighde’s 12-member board will have a single representative from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N7TFG2724JBJHHRFKM4UOWXCSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1709495319087},"content":"The Taighde chief executive will explicitly have two masters, the board of Taighde and the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, in my view resulting in an ambiguous structure that has led to governance issues in other State bodies. Private sector chief executives by contrast have a single authority, their board, and then with the chairman/woman and entire board being in turn responsible to shareholders.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TAPMNQGTEVDN3JXWCTBKZZJA4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261376},"content":"Taighde’s focus will bring arts and humanities research on to a statutory footing for the first time. Nevertheless, the dissolution of SFI and Taighde’s move into Steam rather than just Stem is an audacious expedition by the Government, with deep potential consequences for the Irish economy and society.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZBAYL7VXBRCHNBJRI7J2GZ5PNY","additional_properties":{"_id":1709469261377},"content":"There has hitherto been remarkably little public comment from industry and national policy groups, such as Ibec, the chambers of commerce and the Industry Research & Development Group, nor indeed from the Opposition. Independent evidence of success, or otherwise, will be whether Ireland’s research and innovation scores continue to climb in the international rankings.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"SFI has become a flagship funder of scientific research in our universities, with corresponding aid to industry for collaborative research via the IDA and Enterprise Ireland"},"display_date":"2024-03-07T05:45:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Discarding premium brand Science Foundation Ireland may transpire to be wrongheaded","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"WGT2VXX5ERBXVOIUDCW6ROOHYI","auth":{"1":"e9e35022f2c3b3a55be68b9d0bfa7b06bb04c8449fcfdb4044203a81dde638cb"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/WGT2VXX5ERBXVOIUDCW6ROOHYI.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/03/07/chris-horn-discarding-premium-brand-science-foundation-ireland-may-transpire-to-be-wrongheaded/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"EGY7H7HOHNAALHUXQHULPE5ZOA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":356,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/10697367/media/ca65bcb3dde1f6bb02b027e75fa904e4_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/02/22/with-meta-paying-shareholders-a-first-dividend-has-mark-zuckerberg-run-out-of-credible-growth-strategies/","content_elements":[{"_id":"DJOTLPG3MJBQRDZF47MGPVLYMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987660},"content":"Meta’s stock price has now risen by 420 per cent since its seven-year low in November 2022, including a 20 per cent rise alone since the start of this month, after its most recent earnings results. Some 96 per cent of Meta’s revenue is advertising.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZMI2L5J6NB4HGFSDTDURCFQNY","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987661},"content":"The 2022 stock price low was primarily a reaction to the dramatic decline in advertising revenue impacted by an updated privacy policy introduced by Apple in the spring of 2021. A new version of the iOS operating system for iPhones enabled users to prohibit apps from tracking usage of other apps and websites owned by other companies, which then immediately eroded Meta’s ability to mine culled data for targeted advertising.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4KPS7GTTLBFIVMVHFIXPJYDYZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987662},"content":"Meta rebuilt its advertising technology in response. In this month’s quarterly earnings call, Susan Li, the Meta chief financial officer, argued that advertising customers are now benefiting from Meta’s advances in artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve the creation and focus of ad campaigns. Despite international trade tensions, revenue growth was particularly strong from Chinese online retailers exporting to the rest of the world. Meta’s family of apps – Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger – are, however, banned within China.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JL4PBM7EIVAJHGR6M7645HKN6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987663},"content":"A widely held thesis that Facebook’s advertising revenues are gradually declining in favour of Instagram was strengthened when Li announced that she would no longer publish Facebook-specific metrics. Instagram is itself facing strong competition from China’s TikTok, favoured by younger Gen Z audiences for informality and intolerance of paid adverts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JZ4JZ2EN3ZFIPCCNCQMIYDVQ7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987664},"content":"In the same earnings call, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg emphasised his commitment to AI and virtual reality (VR). He noted that sales of the Quest VR headset had exceeded $1 billion (€930 million) for the first time in a quarter, and that Meta’s metaverse showpiece, Horizon Worlds, continues to grow.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6S4OXZKTBNBETFIAILATSJAXQY","additional_properties":{"_id":"IBUUXV6NDNGZ5FK7YDTQTOBQZM"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"YETTCL7RCJBFRJMTZ5Q6WRNG44","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987665},"content":"Meta has invested heavily in its metaverse concept since its $2 billion acquisition of the Oculus VR headset 10 years ago. From January 2019 to September 2022 alone it spent $36 billion, equivalent in Irish terms to 15 new national Children’s Hospitals.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZRVIKSW7BBEL7M2E2QSUMT35EQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987666},"content":"And for what? Horizon Worlds has been an embarrassment, with its goofy avatars, indifferent graphics and a distinct lack of commercial advertising partners. It is put to shame by virtual worlds such as Fortnite, the social ecosystem from Epic Games, which just last week announced a major collaboration with Disney.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R42BJON6HZCLZHPWW3KSERGRD4","additional_properties":{"_id":"4X27JITH2JGNVMHJWJOUMHCLPI"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-45353","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"TJUPMGIWMBCEDKFUJ5AYAF5NEM","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987667},"content":"The Quest 3 VR headset is acceptable, but Apple – Meta’s nemesis – has just released the first version of its revolutionary Vision Pro. While Vision Pro is expensive ($3,500, compared to Quest’s $500) and heavier to wear, the quality and resolution of its real-time images are nevertheless outstanding. It does not yet have a large portfolio of apps which exploit its capabilities, but TikTok, among others, has just released an impressive Vision Pro-specific version.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6LXFEMTPDZBP3EHZHG57QYRDQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987668},"content":"Meanwhile, generative AI has dramatically changed the technology universe over the past year. Meta was researching AI for some time with two separate teams, but was apparently wrong-footed by ChatGPT’s public release in November 2022. Zuckerberg has stressed his urgency to bring these two groups closer to the Meta business teams and find commercial partners.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3Y6UHOIVKND5DK4CDYFNSKGFUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"D3NJAZGMSVAYVBKVXVNR3VMAPQ"},"content":"Talk of AI dangers has ‘run ahead of the technology’, says Meta’s Nick Clegg","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UB4JJUL5M5HWNLGZFHAAWCKLBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987669},"content":"An obvious challenge is how to create sufficient fiscal space to fully compete in the industry move into generative AI alongside Zuckerberg’s now decade-long metaverse crusade. Zuckerberg declared 2023 the “year of efficiency”, proceeding to lay off about 22 per cent of the staff and to freeze hiring. The free cash flow (remaining after capital investment is subtracted from operating profit) more than doubled as a result.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TKU7GU73QBB2FG2UR2YL2U2XW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987670},"content":"Zuckerberg intends to resume hiring, “swapping out certain talent profiles for others”. Capital investment will increase by a further $2 billion, primarily to purchase high-end hardware for training of large language models similar to ChatGPT. He asserted that Facebook and Instagram together provide a natural corpus of text, images and videos for such training.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EROP3FH7FJF4DIIVB2IKFDE4P4","additional_properties":{"_id":"RZ5OICL2YJDW5J2SSRR7G2QNV4"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3YZPVMOTKZCTFDNGO5CA6K2OAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987671},"content":"Some, however, believe that the brute force training of immense large language models is running out of steam. Even with all of Meta’s culled social media archives, there are insufficient data to train models with hundreds of trillions of tunable parameters. A superior strategy for generative AI may be possible without substantial quantities of premium hardware and of (potentially mediocre) training data.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QSV5PTCGVZHK7BQ7S32QZNEIBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987672},"content":"Meta is also facing growing regulatory pushback, especially in Europe. It may well need to augment its expensive explorations of the metaverse and AI with a substantial ramp in both talent and reworked technology to meet emerging regulations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WOUQYKZHBJH7ZAZKXXDKNKRZFU","additional_properties":{"_id":"FHZCSUXFGZG2PEASNW3EW37CXA"},"content":"Can AI be taught to stop straying from its ethical guardrails?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"FTLDC62V7RCGBPOFLEJURFP5BU","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987673},"content":"My business mentor once emphasised that technology companies that start paying shareholder dividends have run out of credible innovation strategies. Good technology companies fully reinvest in pragmatic creativity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UOISOAYT5NGCHMOYG54HAH6GNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1708115987674},"content":"Meta has just announced its first ever shareholder dividend, enhancing its recent stock bounce and perhaps placating investors concerned that its improved free cash flow may otherwise be squandered. Nevertheless, I believe Meta has a difficult time ahead from its competitors in advertising, metaverses and AI, on top of both emerging regulatory enforcement and self-inflicted new shareholder expectations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Meta has just announced its first ever shareholder dividend, perhaps placating investors, but nevertheless the tech giant likely has a difficult time ahead"},"display_date":"2024-02-22T05:45:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"With Meta paying shareholders a first dividend, has Mark Zuckerberg run out of credible growth strategies?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"TXGBXAR2ITA6VCYBK32IKGBGAE","auth":{"1":"c60a91c4e06fbeedf13e52b05d63a7e5f3a50d6a294bbe132cfb9f0cd707231f"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/TXGBXAR2ITA6VCYBK32IKGBGAE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/02/22/with-meta-paying-shareholders-a-first-dividend-has-mark-zuckerberg-run-out-of-credible-growth-strategies/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"TW7IC3VMQBCKPER3DCP3LX5NUY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":335,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/10513836/media/c0b96f879e2994be69af33e745a8b9d0_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/02/08/internet-data-congestion-a-solution-that-slows-broadband-speeds-and-video-streaming/","content_elements":[{"_id":"MD45KPHX4FFY5IFFGPDJIIIGTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608842},"content":"An unfortunate truth of road improvement schemes is the resulting increased efficiency merely accelerates traffic into the next bottleneck.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GLZBUHNSZJARRCM3C6Z56YDCR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608843},"content":"Many roads alternate clot and flow, shaped just like the proverbial string of sausages. Frequent traffic lights and roundabouts do slow road traffic and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. But the staccato of relentless start and stop increases driving stress and literally wastes energy in accelerating and then slowing each multitonne vehicle.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZVUAQILANEGHIKKNKPROW5A5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608844},"content":"The internet is rather similar. You might have a very nice 25 Mbps broadband service to your home, or a healthy 5G connection to your smart device. However, there are usually numerous bottlenecks on the journey data undertakes between you and the far side of the internet for whatever the remote website, streaming service or other cloud software you are using. Sure, you might be able to upgrade perhaps to a 100 Mbps service from your favourite internet provider, but that will only accelerate your traffic into the first bottleneck on its odyssey. The Stillorgan dual carriageway does a similar fine job in efficiently delivering traffic to the back of the endless queue into the narrow conduit through Donnybrook.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DDDLJYR3ZFHMPBJ6TIYYECXSYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608845},"content":"In the case of the internet, what are these bottlenecks? There are multiple routers and switches, which steer traffic across the internet, as well as gateways which mediate traffic between different network operators, including across international boundaries. Simultaneous traffic for thousands of consumers and businesses can converge through the same pathways, and temporary spikes in demand lead to congestion. Every bottleneck separately adds to the overall delay in getting your traffic across the internet.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIB4FYAAE5BQRFOVFGPA32TZ4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":"HLD2XW4WGJEIVPE75RW4LMIYRE"},"content":"Three Ireland begins trial of next evolution of 5G technology","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"UPRSEX7V2BFMPB7QX2PRNDLCVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608846},"content":"Network infrastructure devices not only temporarily queue data if congestion arises but may deliberately discard data under heavy load conditions. For audio and video streams, a small data loss is barely noticeable but, at higher losses, the streaming becomes choppy. For other applications, such as financial transactions, data loss is overcome by detecting gaps and requesting retransmission of the missing traffic. Higher loss rates lead to slower response times.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PTT7CQJ7ZRBHHEWMVFYAFWNEZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608847},"content":"The classic internet control algorithms have barely changed since their original design 40 years ago. They throttle traffic when a sender and receiver infer that congestion is happening somewhere between them. If traffic is flowing without loss from the sender to the receiver, the sender typically increases the rate at which it dispatches data. Equally, if losses are occurring, the sender reduces its transmission rate. Oscillating rates often result, with regular peaks and troughs, rather than a consistent flow. Worse still, the troughs may underestimate the available capacity and bandwidth, while the peaks then overestimate them. The overall result is that the latency – the average time it takes data to cross the internet – can vary very considerably, depending on the concurrent traffic loads on the various arteries and intermediary devices in the internet infrastructure.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XGN4MNHJJBE2POQKWTZENBQYOA","additional_properties":{"_id":"5HTZYXFCBVH6XB2AKRQ5OGRHZI"},"content":"You’re not imagining it - the internet really is getting worse. Here’s why","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5CBHFNKY5FB5RKD3SGJ2TZLS4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608848},"content":"Sometimes, unsteady oscillating data flow is barely perceptible to us as users. But as internet usage has grown, problems are increasingly surfacing. Latency delays can snarl multiparty video conferencing, disrupt game play in multiplayer online gaming and impact remote control of automated systems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E5ORGLWJU5HPJAY4LTOOBV7ZKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608849},"content":"Internet architects have been working on improvements, but changing the core control algorithms implemented literally on millions of devices, worldwide in a couple of hundred national jurisdictions, and across thousands of network operators requires intricate intervention. Any adjustment can only be deployed to a comparatively small number of devices at a time, must coexist with older versions of the technologies and – most of all – must “do no harm”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CTD6EQ7ZJVFQHMVCNT5OVWYHHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608850},"content":"At last, though, there seems to be a breakthrough. Engineers at Nokia Bell Labs, British Telecom and Cablelabs (a not-for-profit collaborative research lab in Colorado), and others, have worked together for over 10 years on a viable improvement. The innovation, Low Latency, Low Loss and Scalable (L4S) management, results in the senders of traffic adjusting their transmission rates but with minimal queuing within the network infrastructure. The approach includes a mechanism for downstream infrastructure equipment to explicitly warn senders of congestion. Importantly, it largely eliminates the oscillating rate behaviour of the traditional algorithms, thus matching the data flow to the actual transmission capacity of each network link.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3DHTNAI7OVCCDNYAWLCNWJWLRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608851},"content":"L4S can coexist alongside the traditional internet control mechanisms, without making their performance any worse.,Adopting the innovation requires updates to software in the systems connected to the internet – your smartphone, laptop, gaming computer as well as the cloud and server systems to which they connect. It also requires software updates to the myriad routers, switches and gateways of the internet infrastructure.","type":"text"},{"_id":"POHE5JSPE5DSPEVJD6YJENGAWA","additional_properties":{"_id":"AEAHJZ2N2NBTTH4KMRNGSKZFOI"},"content":"Email continues to grow as top reason people use internet","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YTBDQ5UBYJGY3DV3FAGPR3FKPA","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608852},"content":"However, it can be deployed gradually, and at different rates by different manufacturers and operators. Apple has introduced L4S into its latest iPhone, laptop and desktop operating system releases. Comcast, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Google, Nvidia and Valve have all also announced support.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TBX7JYVP7NFB7AFZ4LJH2JNVXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1707131608853},"content":"So, when your broadband operator next tries to convince you to upgrade your package, ask them whether they implement L4S across their entire network.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Developed by engineers at Nokia Bell Labs, BT and Cablelabs, L4S could solve the latency issues on the web that interfere with video streaming or cause financial transfers to freeze"},"display_date":"2024-02-08T05:45:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Internet data congestion: a solution that slows broadband speeds and video streaming","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"JT2AMCUD3FAL5P4G6Q2UR6T4PI","auth":{"1":"2175618dc828020a3f6491d1d1e925828b7075120c4412109f7050454e90f987"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/JT2AMCUD3FAL5P4G6Q2UR6T4PI.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/02/08/internet-data-congestion-a-solution-that-slows-broadband-speeds-and-video-streaming/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"6OWTFZQUX5A3ZOJIGPEG6DNLO4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":336,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/10318373/media/1308b8a89338650aa216ed1ddaee21a9_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/01/25/huawei-was-banned-by-trump-but-has-since-reinvented-itself-and-is-now-looking-at-all-electric-smart-cars-and-ai/","content_elements":[{"_id":"CFZGT6ZBSJBHZGLBSH5CYQK4KU","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240702},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"GHPT4QEYZJBYPBRDFIMNNTVLCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1706021722173},"content":"Starting in 1972, UNIDO (a United Nations agency) hosted a series of training courses in Shannon on national strategies for export processing zones. In 1980 eight Chinese led by Jiang Zemin, a senior vice-minister, attended as part of a six-nation global tour of special economic zones.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X2LJW4TP5NB3FKP7KIXQGQOORE","additional_properties":{"_id":1706021722174},"content":"Returning to China, Jiang persuaded the Premier, Deng Xiaoping, to commence a special zone in Shenzhen, at the time a small regional city of about 300,000. By the millennium Shenzhen had grown to more than 4 million, of which 70 per cent were workers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MEJR5HYMYFEDFD5F6QBQCCA2WU","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240703},"content":"In 1987 a 43-year-old engineering manager, Ren Zhengfei, was attracted by the incentives available and so decided to found his start-up in Shenzhen. As a student Ren had survived a famine in his home province of Guizhou, and subsequently the challenges of the Cultural Revolution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YG5VCJTIFNB2NIVQNXTW7DMESY","additional_properties":{"_id":1706021722176},"content":"He raised the equivalent of €2,700 for his start-up, Huawei, and focused on reselling telephone switches imported from neighbouring Hong Kong. In due course his team learned the technicalities of various imported European and American telephone exchanges and began developing their own.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FOSEHFCBEVGNBB25IE3HNPP2Y4","additional_properties":{"_id":1706021722177},"content":"By 1993 Huawei had built the most advanced telephone exchange available in China, and by the end of the decade started exporting to the Middle East and Africa.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KNXX5OZ4NFHI3ITPUQRMCHBWMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240705},"content":"Forward to 2019 and with the 75-year-old Ren still at the helm as CEO, Huawei was by far the leading telecommunications infrastructure company worldwide by brand value, and the largest mobile phone vendor in China with a 40 per cent market share.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BXNVGJLHFZEWHKMYJOWI5ESKFE","additional_properties":{"_id":"EME6W57VMZB5NFZAN3EIEVZ5Q4"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"LZB4YSA6HBB5JKJ3DXQOTQS2TU","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240706},"content":"Along with ZTE (another Chinese company), Huawei had begun to dominate the global market for 5G mobile infrastructure, ahead of Europe’s Nokia and Ericcson, and without any credible American competitor. However it had drawn the attention of US policy strategists and particularly the Trump administration.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U44HL7VWDVCFBBPL3UM5GULHMA","additional_properties":{"_id":1706021722180},"content":"Concerns were expressed over the vulnerability of American 5G data to cyber-espionage via Chinese-supplied infrastructure. The administration also alleged that Huawei had violated US sanctions on Iran, which in turn led to criminal charges against Ren’s daughter and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. Meng was placed under house arrest while visiting Canada and faced extradition to the US.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EKNLU5RO7VEWXGHE7K7EMI5R24","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240708},"content":"In May 2019, Trump declared a national emergency banning US companies from using technology from Huawei. A number of American semiconductor companies, including Qualcomm and Intel, were prevented from continuing to supply Huawei. Pressure was applied to US allies, including Ireland, not to use Huawei technology in their 5G networks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PFBQWEUINJHO3CKSBS6JIACYYE","additional_properties":{"_id":"F7AXANVP2ZBEZNLUJQYY243EGE"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-60529","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"YIKOCOXGIFELZKCFEI5WHIWPDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1706021722183},"content":"Chip tooling manufacturers, especially Dutch lithography specialist ASML, were forced to stop shipping advanced equipment and so hinder Chinese development of advanced seven nanometre chips and beyond.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VWJX4DTHMBBTFB2LQQVDF25AMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240709},"content":"Huawei denied any wrongdoing and fought in various courts, and Meng was released in September 2021. Nevertheless, the actions significantly impacted Huawei’s market share and forced it to diversify away from integrating western technologies into its product ranges. Ren issued a companywide memo in August 2022 expressing deep concerns for the future of the company.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7M2N75ZMA5G5LAEOUSRVZ3YUYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240710},"content":"Today Huawei seems to be well on its way to reinventing itself. Its 2023 revenues were €90 billion, up 9 per cent from 2022 although still below the peak of €113 billion in 2019. It has regained 22 per cent of the Chinese mobile phone market, having dropped to as low as 14 per cent after the US sanctions were imposed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TUFJ6DO5ORC77AL7Y6NQ5UUP2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240711},"content":"Last August saw its first new phone release since the US crackdown, with two further new phones just a week later. The new Mate60 Pro phone uses seven nanometre technology, and is largely the result of a 2019 initiative by the Shenzhen city government to accelerate a domestic “self-sufficient chip network”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T2NYEDWT75B7PFU4URO5U6MBXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240712},"content":"Up to 10,000 Huawei engineers were reportedly on a 24-hour cycle to redesign Huawei’s products away from imported technologies. Engineers who had previously worked at ASML and other key companies were actively recruited. A Shenzhen-based specialist chip lithography company, SiCarrier, has formed a symbiotic relationship with Huawei’s research department.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IBLUCJR2QRFWBKO3DO5ADRMLAU","additional_properties":{"_id":"T2X7WRS2JRA7TNS6CUZSF2AEJU"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"TDRH2VTTGNFOTOL3OYKYQC7EJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240713},"content":"Concurrently Huawei invested heavily to develop a software ecosystem for its phones and other applications, independent of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Its HarmonyOS operating system was designed from scratch, starting in 2012 and making its first appearance in Huawei products in 2019.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6VUCI5WZKNB57DGNXB3YA6NQVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240714},"content":"The rapid advance in semiconductor capability and software was unexpected from the US perspective, and no doubt embarrassed the US trade secretary who was visiting China when the new phone was launched. US analysts immediately doubted whether Huawei and its Shanghai foundry partner SMIC could produce the new advanced chips in volume. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"6TSECOXU7RCQLFRW7DOXO5FPPI","additional_properties":{},"content":"Nevertheless it now appears that Huawei may well ship some 70 million units of the new phone this year, representing about a quarter of the Chinese market.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QR2XOSQ6CJAB3FLL34HWVHAGRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1705914240716},"content":"Ren is also leading Huawei into the markets for all-electric smart cars and artificial intelligence, but those are analyses for another time. His remarkable leadership and charisma have rebuilt Huawei from the restrictions imposed in 2019, underlining his view that “America does not represent the world”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Up to 10,000 Huawei engineers were reportedly on a 24-hour cycle to redesign Huawei’s products away from imported technologies"},"display_date":"2024-01-24T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Huawei was banned by Trump but has since reinvented itself and is now looking at all-electric smart cars and AI ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"TUIU4BQWRPFWQHBUE2TXCOKSNU","auth":{"1":"7c31099b9f62abb715417f1b0bc54af2c1cab9ce96680e502c683cbaeeb9ade1"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/TUIU4BQWRPFWQHBUE2TXCOKSNU.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Big Tech"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/01/25/huawei-was-banned-by-trump-but-has-since-reinvented-itself-and-is-now-looking-at-all-electric-smart-cars-and-ai/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"2Q6GXTIDYFCBRLMMPEU3MVGH4U","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2024/01/11/chris-horn-in-this-year-of-elections-get-ready-for-the-rise-of-political-avatars/","content_elements":[{"_id":"HQUL2NWFNNBOFABVO2E4EQQHLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574648},"content":"Politicians and leaders have frequently used body doubles throughout history. One of the most celebrated Irish cases was that of George Brendan Nolan of Ballinasloe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LTCKPFBCR5FV3DWJ7FX7XTGCUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574649},"content":"As a child, he emigrated to New York with his mother, but returned to Dublin in 1921 at the age of 17 and joined the Abbey Theatre. He also became a courier and then doppelgänger for the revolutionary leader Michael Collins, before fleeing back to the US via Canada with a British bounty on his head.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X6SS4AYJ7ZGBRB4P6IYDSZUVNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574650},"content":"Nolan adopted the new name George Brent. He proceeded to conquer Broadway and Hollywood, appearing in 88 films, 11 of which teamed him up with Betty Davis with whom he had a steamy two-year affair amid his five marriages. A licensed pilot, he largely avoided using a double for his screen stunts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZDCHDQMB5VDTLLTY5XTQN5QN4U","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574651},"content":"Nevertheless, stand-in doubles have been routine in Hollywood. Digitisation and computer-generated imagery are not only making stunts even more spectacular but completely replacing the need for human actors with fully animated avatars in scenes from, for example, the Marvel superhero movies, Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A6MM2V4JCJA67PF5PKIQZOSQF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574652},"content":"Last year, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the union Sag-Aftra fought Hollywood against the “dehumanising of the workforce” by digitisation and artificial intelligence (AI). The WGA was apprehensive that AI systems like ChatGPT could be used to generate entire movie scripts, so obsoleting human scriptwriters.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LAST6ZU6LFBGDLXNV3LNZ22QSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574653},"content":"Sag-Aftra was concerned that for a very modest once-off payment, an actor’s “digital twin” could be used in perpetuity. In a settlement last October, the WGA won the right for writers to use AI only as they wished, rather than being forced to do so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UG4ZMFQCENCIHJELIPIVOAS45Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574654},"content":"In December, Sag-Aftra won compensation royalties for human actors whose digital avatars are subsequently used.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JXN6U4KCRJBONOV3C27YTFF7P4","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574655},"content":"Also in December, the CNN journalist and news anchor Anderson Cooper broadcast a striking TV clip (see <a href=\"https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/12/01/artificial-intelligence-deepfake-anderson-cooper-actws-vpx.cnn\">https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/12/01/artificial-intelligence-deepfake-anderson-cooper-actws-vpx.cnn</a>) in which he noted the profound potential impact of AI on many industries, including journalists and news anchors like himself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5XYQJ3U45ZDWVFXW7UUHGIOS44","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574656},"content":"He then teased that perhaps AI already has already done so. He confessed “because what you just saw and heard a moment ago was not actually me”, but rather an identical digital avatar presenting as Cooper even though he had never spoken the words it used. He challenged viewers as to how can they know any longer what is real, and what is not.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HOL2BHAT55GNVBUFOFEKQQZFT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574657},"content":"Entirely fictitious influencers are now becoming popular on social media networks. Extremely realistic digital avatars, such as the virtual supermodels Shudu Gram and Aitana Lopéz, are earning substantial endorsements for their creators and agencies without the complications of managing the foibles of human models and artists.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSFEX7F4U5FCJHNO7CKDTFPFJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574658},"content":"This year will see multiple political elections worldwide, which may have a profound effect on societies, the global economy, and perhaps even democracy itself. Brazil, India, South Africa and numerous others will have national elections, the EU will hold its parliamentary election, and Russia a presidential election. Both Ireland and the UK may have a general election this year. November will host the US presidential election.","type":"text"},{"_id":"722BQBJ6QBFWZOE2D3KBVXEPWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574659},"content":"Digital mischief in these elections is not only imaginable but eminently achievable. Anderson Cooper noted that his digital doppelgänger had been created in just a few weeks by a student contractor using widely available open source tools. We should not be surprised if credible but fake videos of certain politicians appear making outlandish assertions, particularly on the run-up to election days when there is little remaining time for fact-checking or refutation as bogus.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5MEYVK66JRGM5E4E3LCI4GEBAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574660},"content":"Politicians and their advisers may well see the opportunity for positive use of digital doppelgängers, rather than just for dirty political assertions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FH4JA5IGX5FS3HSVQKMQO7Q7CU","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574661},"content":"A photorealistic avatar, removing any skin blemishes and wrinkles, could be a youthful vibrant virtual alternative to its human political embodiment. Such a political avatar – I call it an “avatician” – could then be used in video footage, digitally animated with appropriate body movements.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YNTWT7HLUBEJ7KERFI4TOU6U4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574662},"content":"Like Anderson Cooper’s avatar, an avatician could deliver statements and speeches convincingly indistinguishable from its human doppelgänger.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TQN7ZACEMZHUTJ64V2YQ7QMWPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574663},"content":"As I explored in an article last January on how ChatGPT can be encouraged to mimic various Irish political leaders, an avatician could readily be trained to respond to arbitrary questions posed to it by the public or by journalists, in the style of its human equivalent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TZDNV7JYNFGCTNAXQZ3PYS4OQY","additional_properties":{"_id":"OASJ3E3UENHXXCV2NDHSP2WZAE"},"content":"Meet my new online friend: Michael D GPT","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"YGAGZELSEVGHTNNQSWQCHXXXXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1704742574664},"content":"It does not take much imagination to envisage an avatician surviving the death of its human twin. Some historical regimes have been known to use body doubles to sustain an administration after its leader passes, including for Joseph Stalin by the KGB and for Kim Jong-il by the North Korean administration. An entirely credible, speaking, moving, AI-generated virtual double could now conceivably carry out such a deception just as well, thus enabling a dictator’s administration to remain in power.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Digital mischief in elections is not only imaginable but eminently achievable"},"display_date":"2024-01-11T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: In this year of elections, get ready for the rise of political avatars","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XAP7LBA4NISCGI7G2IUV47DPOA","auth":{"1":"1814d98600b373fff384232d822861f32f25583004e3b33e0c04a93c0a45e37e"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XAP7LBA4NISCGI7G2IUV47DPOA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2024/01/11/chris-horn-in-this-year-of-elections-get-ready-for-the-rise-of-political-avatars/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"XJCVC2ZWVZGIBGL74GBD34OUK4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":327,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/9992980/media/8b409c3edb55a66392bd7b739b09ab0c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/12/28/chris-horn-nvidia-successfully-leverages-a-market-frency/","content_elements":[{"_id":"ESH7ELEQ3FFGBKSNFPEH7HUHZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225555},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"FM46UYJADBHFBAKKASBGLDOO5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225556},"content":"In a frothy market, the shrewd opportunist will sell soap and wands to blow bubbles. Turkish flower exporters capitalised on the 17th-century Dutch tulipmania; Lehman Brothers and other banks created “collateralised debt obligations” to fuel the housing boom in the mid-2000s, while simultaneously Cisco drove computer networking equipment to accelerate the internet bubble before the dotcom crash.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RBR3LN3ARVC5RJKOI74KSG5PG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225557},"content":"Then there was the first Californian millionaire Sam Brannan, whose Waterford-born father Thomas had emigrated to Portland Maine in 1775. Learning of the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in 1848, Sam Brannan bought up as much prospecting equipment as he could find.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RNUXUE4CHRFKNESAZ3ARP6XTSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225558},"content":"Then, opening the only specialist store for gold diggers, he reportedly catalysed the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/the-irish-american-who-became-the-first-millionaire-west-of-the-mississippi-1.4254636\" target=\"_blank\">Californian gold rush</a> by striding the San Francisco streets shouting “gold, gold, gold from the American river!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5ROTJC2TFH3XJZFDGPNBCDNZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":"U3J7ZTMPMJCIPPMTSYULZE3H4Y"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"CWS4ZNHYKNBHXHIAKFB3S2XEJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1703694150785},"content":"Today, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/nvidia/\" target=\"_blank\">US chip maker Nvidia </a>is successfully leveraging a market frenzy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4S7H2SWVUJFS7NSQSORFJNFZWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225560},"content":"A mere 15 months ago, Nvidia appeared to be in deep trouble when it wrote off a large product inventory as the computer gaming market on PCs stalled after its boom during the Covid pandemic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UQCSF34WOBHDVEKS32JRZLTIWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1703684186601},"content":"At the same time, Nvidia’s sales into the cryptocurrency sector weakened as that sector underwent a technology transition and a market collapse. By October 2022, Nvidia’s stock price had declined 40 per cent compared to the previous year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EJMV2CRZHBCQ5OFDOIMNAFR4M4","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225561},"content":"Earlier that February, Nvidia had abandoned its attempt to acquire UK-based ARM, a semiconductor design company particularly dominant in the mobile phone sector. Nvidia had offered €36 billion in 2020, but the proposed transaction faced severe regulatory objections in the EU, UK, USA and China over both anti-trust and national security concerns.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FKERLY5PSRBEPCRAMMTTPIQAQE","additional_properties":{"_id":"3QNRDBH5K5FX7NXSSXJB2WNX64"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"LABT2OXEKZC7DE47CTOEZUUTKE","additional_properties":{"_id":1703694150790},"content":"Nvidia had also expanded its headquarters in Santa Clara (California) in early 2022, with the futuristic “Voyager” building named after a Star Trek starship.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KDSYK3DA6VHJHMFBZTRRTRQ7PY","additional_properties":{"_id":1703684186604},"content":"A smaller and equally avant-garde building, “Endeavor”, opened in 2017 for a cool €340 million. In light of the autumn 2022 stock price decline, some investors were querying the prudence of such lavish real estate plays.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KRGB4VMNVBWZG32BN7QMLJIHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225563},"content":"However today the stock price is over 300 per cent since autumn just a year ago. Its core products underpin this year’s explosive growth of investment in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). A shortfall in the supply to the major cloud vendors, enterprise sector and start-ups focusing on GenAI has resulted in a market squeeze and premium pricing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q3Q7WLQL2JFFVCESLI3FQUUBPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1703694150794},"content":"What does Nvidia make? Its core products are “graphic processing units” (GPUs), which were originally specialised particularly for computer gaming. GPUs simultaneously process substantial volumes of data concurrently in multiple streams and are particularly efficient at creating gaming images, mining cryptocurrency and training GenAI models.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TRUKPGF2YZFLDPLW4HO3KEWVV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225565},"content":"Last week there were reports that at a company all-hands staff meeting, some newer employees complained that some old timers had become complacent and work-shy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NERSPJCRM5FEZER2VYLIMOX24E","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225566},"content":"Those fortunate enough to have been granted stock options just a few years ago are now sitting on substantial personal fortunes as the stock price has climbed and their options vest. Chief executive and co-founder Jensen Huang apparently responded that working at Nvidia is voluntary, and individual staff members should act as chief executives of their own time and commitment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SCHFIBBGMZCBRNZ4FUSHSH7VQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":"3L75XHROBVEGDFFZAZDC6OE7ZM"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"D7B4LSQ3W5BP7GWUZUHLNQMH4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1703694150798},"content":"There are of course inevitable multiple headwinds for Nvidia. Intel, AMD, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and indeed ARM are competing to create GPUs for GenAI. GenAI technology is facing scaling limits as envisaged because there is insufficient data to train hyperscale models of a trillion parameters or more.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HFI4IFUKU5AKHAAGMEAFJBORAY","additional_properties":{"_id":"HM5VZTLODZF27NTQRBX62IQI2M"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-2949","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"HEJRACGFZFDLFAZL4TAZRDASJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225568},"content":"Mainland China has been a key market for Nvidia but the Biden administration’s export restrictions to China are curtailing advanced semiconductor technologies for supercomputers. Nvidia has had to withdraw products which were intended to comply with the US’s China policy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V6IEBVQ4GFAOHHLD7GH4PRI76U","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225569},"content":"Huang is expanding opportunities elsewhere. The Indian market may emerge to become as significant to Nvidia as China. Despite investor scepticism at the massive investments made by Facebook in the metaverse, Huang nevertheless sees the long-term opportunity for Nvidia in the “omniverse”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FH3OSH46TZBZ3PYIWFXD5BEPBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"2N2DHIZ3HVHQXDVLNPUEJOBIUI"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"EN4TSTDX4RBR7OZL4G6BTZWGZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1703694150802},"content":"This would combine Nvida’s core strength of real-time image processing for gaming with GenAI capabilities, thus allowing consumers to instantly create, explore and play in their own shared-experience virtual worlds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OHX33K36EVB23NE4TOKAU4HCAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225571},"content":"Nvidia is one major multinational which is not yet an IDA client and it has no presence in the Republic. However, there is nevertheless Irish heritage. Martin Murphy had emigrated from Wexford to Canada in 1820 and, subsequently, his family were in the first wagon train to successfully cross the Sierra Nevada into California.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YQJNDVIDSVFXXM3TAOJHCPCCJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1703681225572},"content":"His two sons, Dan and John, opened a general store during the California gold rush and competed with Sam Brannan. They built a thriving business, in part sourcing beef and supplies from a Santa Clara ranch owned by a third son, Martin jnr. That ranch grew to be substantial on the back of the gold rush and now the two gorgeous Nvidia headquarter buildings are built on his former land.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"There are of course inevitable multiple headwinds for Nvidia. Intel, AMD, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and indeed ARM are competing to create GPUs for GenAI"},"display_date":"2023-12-28T07:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Nvidia successfully leverages a market frenzy","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"7MXLSYY46TNSGZF5ACKNVH5PUU","auth":{"1":"db344f44ac4173d26d3069e0a44a7afff1d86438261964ab86e386036a5e11c9"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7MXLSYY46TNSGZF5ACKNVH5PUU.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Big Tech"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/12/28/chris-horn-nvidia-successfully-leverages-a-market-frency/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"V64Y3DQC4RAYVPG2SRQJEKN7U4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":333,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/9759001/media/7aa29296979b3bcdfa43931d340ef6cf_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/12/14/ukraine-war-shows-how-cheap-and-common-drone-technology-can-be-turned-into-lethal-weapons/","content_elements":[{"_id":"KWGF34VCXVBGXFRLGGKZP5AYCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050188996},"content":"As winter has set in across <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/ukraine-crisis/\" target=\"_blank\">Ukraine</a>, and after an extreme storm battered the Black Sea region, social media clips and commentators are drawing parallels to the nightmarish trench warfare of the western front during the first World War. Deep slush and snow has made moving heavy battlefield equipment nearly impossible, and so confrontations are reduced to soldiers making forays on foot.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MK2SBFRRO5D65KPDJXUYDWI6AQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050188997},"content":"Both <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/russia/\" target=\"_blank\">Russian</a> and Ukrainian military bloggers describe the trenches infested with mice and rats – “some as big as an AK-47″ – spreading disease and damaging equipment cables, attracted by the relative warmth from the freezing conditions, food scraps and all the human detritus from an appalling war.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YUFAUQ72JBGUPCY3XJ2GIMUBH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050188998},"content":"The 1914-18 trench warfare ignited frantic innovation to try to break the desperate stalemate. Tanks, tunnelled charges and mustard gas were created. Aircraft, initially used just for artillery spotting, morphed into a potent new form of artillery.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UTR7LZMRGBHIRAIUNA3JB3KYXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050188999},"content":"The catastrophic <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/ukraine-war/\" target=\"_blank\">war in Ukraine</a> is equally resulting in extreme creativity. With limited human resources compared to those of Russia, Ukraine is innovating with new weapons systems and at a fraction of the normal expenditure on elaborate and expensive equipment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TWKTH5HAJVALDIXYRJ4NPCLBCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"LTMWGRZVVZDPBNVRLWHZ7RMKGE"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"Q2MQBXBE6RBPDJZEB6RPKAOPCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189000},"content":"Initially, Ukraine led Russia with repurposed hobbyist drones and quadcopters, but these are now used extensively by both sides. Officially, consumer drone manufacturers such as China’s DJI censure their products being used in warfare. Nevertheless, spare parts and components are widely available. In the Ukrainian case, numerous workshops assemble drones, often with considerable continuous innovation and with feedback and suggestions from the front lines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3VRDYAII2RBL5I5D5OBTLCMIEI","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189001},"content":"First-person view (FPV) drones, in which a drone’s video feed is transmitted directly into headset goggles, were originally conceived for quadcopter racing. Skilled operators in Ukraine fly such drones as “kamikazes”, each with an onboard grenade, directly on to or even into targets. Social media clips show FPV drones chasing down vehicles and boats, even flying into open hatches on tanks. A recent clip showed a Russian soldier desperately trying to fend off such a pursuing quadcopter with a stick.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RARN54GUBBELVN3RDYBHWTDEUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189002},"content":"The range of such drones initially was limited to a few kilometres, but now has been extended to tens of kilometres. Larger “mothership” quadcopters have been built to transport their smaller brethren to a target area, then releasing them for individual sorties.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QOBEQP2T4RAX5PZMBT6QSZ5ZSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189003},"content":"Electronic countermeasures on both sides, to jam the control of drones, is challenging to ensure adequate air coverage over troops, and to keep up with changing communication tactics. A Ukrainian team recently hacked into an in-flight Russian drone and tracked it back to its operating base, whose co-ordinates were then immediately passed to a Ukrainian field artillery unit. Some of the ostensibly highly accurate guided munitions, supplied to Ukraine by the US and others, have been misled by spoofing satellite navigation signals.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CE4FUKMLOFCAJAILLVQOZPNPLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189004},"content":"Electronic warfare jammers are themselves susceptible to becoming targets, since they in effect broadcast signals trackable back to their own locations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SM5UET73IFGF7JKHLOW2MVE57A","additional_properties":{"_id":"X322FWOJJZHEXKNJCC4GZL3SBU"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"UQGGXKQPMRE4JCB4RHUSXLZT4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189005},"content":"Recently, an ordinary 4G cellular modem was found unexpectedly taped inside a downed Russian drone. When such a modem connects to the Ukrainian public mobile phone network, simple triangulation from the mobile phone towers enables accurate navigation. A loss of modem signal can precisely identify where a drone had been downed and hence safe navigation corridors deduced for further drone attacks. To counter this very simple piggybacking approach, the entire Ukrainian mobile phone network might need to be switched off.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FTXWUCBHRNA3XPD5PVKZK7TZ6U","additional_properties":{"_id":"EQEY2SML2NHL7OR4ECSJDVDYVI"},"content":"Zelenskiy pledges Ukraine victory ‘against all odds’ amid US funding fears","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"Z2AMBJYKV5BB3M4UJNWC23EP4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189006},"content":"The past few months have seen drones equipped with thermal cameras, including for FPV flights. Since many army operations are under the cover of darkness, night flight drone attacks have considerable consequences for the battlefield, badly disrupting troop reinforcements and logistics supplies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HZGAKZ4RVGHBJCPE64EJXTXSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189007},"content":"The recent extreme weather in the Black Sea has severely damaged protective barriers for the vulnerable Kerch Strait bridge. The Ukrainians have had considerable success on water, despite having no navy of note, by using sea drones. These in effect are converted jet-skis, capable of remote and autonomous operation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KKIUZVZUCJA6TIXNY2B6ZUTPBU","additional_properties":{"_id":"WQRNHIM57NFVBL4WFW2C2K2CXA"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"TTKUXJD3RBDHHJD4MZXKUBET6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189008},"content":"The most recently announced can achieve 80kph over a 500km range, and carry a one tonne warhead. The Russian Black Sea fleet has largely withdrawn to ostensibly safer waters to the southeast at Novorossiysk or Sochi but still may be susceptible.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ETCXNHFKFBDBE7T2H2BAILH6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":"L3ME5J64YJF47NZAY6GG4MJ6QM"},"content":"Putin says ‘no one can stop’ Russia as presidential election set for March","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KK63MGGLRZFHVET6JEXDTCMMGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189009},"content":"Even on land, the Ukrainians are innovating with hobbyist drones. In the past few months, cheap dune buggy toys have been re-envisaged as kamikazes equipped with thermal sensors. Casually dropped into an enemy trench, they can self-navigate towards warmth and then explode when in proximity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RM7HFGEIEVCPFGJSRBV235UDAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189010},"content":"Ukraine and now Russia are showing how cheap and common technology can be put to dual use and so destroy elaborate multimillion euro weapons systems as well as human life. International policy strategists and defence contractors face an irrefutable new reality.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2PASFV7G25AYFI4XIMUCVYCDVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1702050189011},"content":"The warfare of 1914 and 2023 are also overlapping in more ways than one. Last week, a Ukrainian drone destroyed a Russian machine gun originally fielded in 1910.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HITRL72YC5GGXB6SFASUGJBL5Y","additional_properties":{},"type":"list"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Toys from drones to cheap dune buggies are being repurposed by both Ukraine and Russia and are proving to be highly effective weapons"},"display_date":"2023-12-14T05:45:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Ukraine war shows how cheap and common drone technology can be turned into lethal weapons ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"HDAYYIZW4KQZLOPYQSYNXDNPSY","auth":{"1":"ffd9ebabf3776427006c8f26d96fde146afa8351ba59310dc89075f342e897cd"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/HDAYYIZW4KQZLOPYQSYNXDNPSY.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/12/14/ukraine-war-shows-how-cheap-and-common-drone-technology-can-be-turned-into-lethal-weapons/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"5FFR252WYVD2HCCD7L6IWC2RUA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":326,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/9602453/media/da2cbe4cf91a2644dc079daa988f4379_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/11/30/overcoming-limits-of-wind-turbine-technology-and-opposition-to-their-use/","content_elements":[{"_id":"SOD6F7XQSNF3JLP3CRN36PAAY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185542},"content":"The <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/renewable-energy/\" target=\"_blank\">wind energy market</a> is a very strange paradox. On the one hand, wind energy is almost universally accepted as a critical pillar to decarbonise the planet. It enjoys the stability of long-term policies and commitment by governments worldwide.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BYWKZQSWRHBXC2SVJNR52RMIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185543},"content":"On the other hand, the entire wind energy industry seems to be in a deep crisis, with cancelled projects, financial losses and diminishing investor support. Industry observers note rising interest rates, materials costs and challenging issues across the industry’s supply chains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DHLFTOPESZB23DVJTNLVF64A4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185544},"content":"Denmark’s Ørsted, a big wind energy player, has seen its stock price fall by more than 50 per cent since the start of the year to just one-quarter of its high point of €180 back in December 2021. Siemens lost nearly €1 billion in its wind energy division last year. Vestas, another Danish wind turbine supplier, saw its operating margins decline by over 360 per cent - from €428 million in operating profits in 2021 to a €1.15 billion loss last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZNJGXT3GIRAVTATCCCLZALFW5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185545},"content":"The UK, striving to be a world leader in wind farms, received no bids at all in its most recent auction round for 15-year fixed-price contracts. It is expected to try again at double its original guide price (to over €80 per megawatt-hour).","type":"text"},{"_id":"FPHGO7N3EJGTFKLNWK5W64WKFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185546},"content":"Here in Ireland, multiple planning challenges are reducing the momentum behind several proposed wind farm projects, both onshore and offshore. Objectors point to potential damage to marine environments, visual impact to upland amenities and noise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZMXRMIGXFJDSRAO2ZKM7ZBUHNM","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185547},"content":"The combination of predictable certainty of demand, but stumbling suppliers and challenges in public acceptance would seem to be a perfect opportunity for innovators and new entrants.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CLLVBGZ6INGUVNE7HWXOPXAGTI","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185548},"content":"The industry norm is “horizontal axis wind turbines”, the familiar blades spinning around a central generating hub at the top of a tall mast. Some turbines now have towers over 100 metres in height, with rotor diameters almost as long as the pitch at Croke Park. If such blades rotate at about 20 revolutions per minute, the blade tip speeds can approach 500km/hour.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YNML4UBYPJBB7AP6HU6K4LXNSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185549},"content":"The energy density at the blade tips far exceeds that at the central hub and the high rotational torque can generate three megawatts (MW) of energy or more. The huge machines benefit from more stable wind flows at height rather than at their tower base but they are complex to design and awkward to transport and assemble – as well as being a highly visible intrusion in our landscapes and maritime horizons.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7RVOMJGTNRBDTGBOPJOBXDESKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185550},"content":"An alternative design, a “vertical axis wind turbine”, has blades that spin merry-go-round style around a vertical shaft. These can position their generators at the mast base for easy access. However, they are relatively rare in part due to wind stress variation from ground level to the top of their blades, potentially leading to shorter lifetimes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MU3B6F2GHFGWVNTAC3I3Y6H544","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185551},"content":"Ideally, we need a new turbine design with its generating equipment placed away from a central shaft and close to the dense energy at the blade tips, but also near to ground level for ease of access and maintenance, with smooth and uniform wind stress.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WOH2VDHS7ND5HLXWQGBTM26VPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185552},"content":"Bill Gates thinks a Wyoming-based start-up, Airloom Energy, has a solution and he has just invested $4 million (€3.65 million) in the business.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IM2DFKMZ2BDTNE4AS3SEBUOCFE","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185553},"content":"Airloom uses aerofoil-shaped blades, each about 10 metres long. They are vertically mounted and equally spaced apart on to a shared horizontal track, held in place typically about 25 metres above the ground. The blades power the track in a loop, changing direction around the loop much like a yacht sail can tack across the wind.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RYUBZOCSGVEWLNXEYHMA2ZTYQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185554},"content":"The wind stress across the length of each aerofoil is uniform since the blades are relatively short, thus overcoming the fatigue challenges of vertical axis turbines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YU5PIPJJTNFOBK4DHIRUUGZWFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185555},"content":"Instead of rapidly spinning blade tips powering a central rotating hub generator. Airloom places multiple generators around the track loop, in principle one on each of the small masts which support the track. The generators are thus close to the ground and easily accessible for maintenance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VGIV3M5U5VCRZLSSBHLMOFYXF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185556},"content":"The key insight is that the design is highly scalable because the track loop can be extended horizontally. Airloom’s current prototype track is short, but their test results and modelling show that 50kW could be generated from a 45-metre track with 10 blades; 250kW from a 72-metre track, and 1.3MW from a 400-metre with some 90 blades. Installed Airloom systems could even be upgraded, simply by extending an existing track and adding more blades.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DB33EUKASZA2ZOLKVEZPMZQEO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185557},"content":"The entire system is readily manufactured, and transported. Airloom asserts that an entire 2.5MW system would fit into a single standard cargo container. The “levelised cost of energy”, an energy industry-standard metric, is expected to be around €12 per MW, which is substantially less than current wind turbine systems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BSLII4CPMZD7HDVKTSZOM67CGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185558},"content":"The Airloom system is designed to be quieter than most existing wind turbines. Given its low height, it is not particularly visually intrusive and less dangerous to birdlife than traditional turbines. It is currently designed for flat ground, but an elevated track could conceivably be run above uneven or sloping ground should a flat site be unavailable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5Z5MUHDPPNH4JNVVBUX6KXO2BU","additional_properties":{"_id":1701175185559},"content":"Airloom potentially could disrupt the global wind energy industry.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Bill Gates has just invested in Airloom, a US business that promises quieter wind power generation closer to the ground"},"display_date":"2023-11-30T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chasing the promise of cheaper and less obtrusive wind power generation ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"2J52YMEZ62VX6QADFD2IJCAP7U","auth":{"1":"4bd4987e26f314ee25ba020e49d60b2db274aabf879b025f38388ab2213f264a"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/2J52YMEZ62VX6QADFD2IJCAP7U.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/11/30/overcoming-limits-of-wind-turbine-technology-and-opposition-to-their-use/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"DFCALVWKRRD3BLFQJXEGZVY4OI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":334,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/9385999/media/3bbb235756c9ba89e832fde259f35b7c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/11/16/bringing-robots-into-the-kitchen-to-cook-meals-taste-food-and-detect-salmonella/","content_elements":[{"_id":"AKROV4KNLFFD7HMQMZ6E77KBDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220085},"content":"Juanelo Turriano, an Italian clockmaker and inventor, served as the Court Clock Master and later as Matemático Mayor to the Holy Roman emperor, Charles V. When the emperor retired to the San Yuste monastery in 1555, about 200km west of Madrid, Turriano accompanied him.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4KR2DPLCJ5FO5BFHA2WJIE35IA","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220086},"content":"Turriano made a number of wooden and iron robotic toys for the amusement of the emperor while eating, including men on horses staging battles, musicians playing and birds that appeared to fly. One of his automata, built in 1557, could even fetch bread from the monastery bakery and so, perhaps, was the first kitchen robot.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VWDOGXQL2FBL7JLCYI6MQNK7SI","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220087},"content":"Today, food and drink preparation is increasingly being automated. Simple dispensers for drink cans and snacks have been with us for some time. Self-service barista machines are common in our filling stations and motorway service stops, able to reliably dispense a variety of styled coffees in high volume.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAZIQ6P3OVCKBIB3LTPUWXBZNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220088},"content":"Some start-ups, such as Artly in Seattle and CafeX in San Francisco, add articulated robotic arms to coffee stations. These barista bots theatrically manipulate cups and jugs, and even artistically pour latte art patterns into the coffee foam.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NZ6K4AOGINDKHPKQ46OKUUQJ2U","additional_properties":{"_id":"YKZ4LWG6U5BYBCYJ2TITAROXHA"},"content":"How technology is transforming the Irish restaurant experience","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"RGKFT3DUXJATFNLSYGCZT7ER4U","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220089},"content":"Chowbotics, a 2014 start-up in the San Francisco Bay area, created a self-service salad kiosk. The machine operator filled up to 20 tube stacks of pre-prepared salad ingredients – such as lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and grains – which were then mixed on demand to create a variety of fresh salad bowls. Chowbotics was acquired by food delivery company DoorDash in 2021 during the Covid pandemic, but was shut down 18 months later.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M4EP3EEDAFCYTO7PYFEBGCW53Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220090},"content":"There are a number of pizza robots, chiefly targeting retail outlets. PicnicWorks (Seattle), Piestro and Stellar Pizza (both in Los Angeles) supply automated pizza machines. Paris-based Pazzi Robotics adds a multi-arm articulated robot to prepare the dough, add ingredients, cook and package the pizzas.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MBNE3VE3UFDY5GDWE5J77FV3NU","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220091},"content":"Coffee, salads and pizza are a staple diet of many tech Gen Zs but, as <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/food-month/\" target=\"_blank\">The Irish Times’ Food Month </a>continues, what innovations are there for cooking a more varied menu?","type":"text"},{"_id":"XVHKY4P6HVCF3AWIF3ADAJ5WAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220092},"content":"London’s Moley Robotics was started in 2014. It now offers a fully robotic domestic kitchen. There are preloaded recipes for a variety of dishes but you can also instruct the robot to create a particular recipe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KGGPIBWGMFBQRHIZHNTPVI3K2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220093},"content":"Its arms dexterously operate standard appliances, select pre-prepared ingredients, manipulate utensils and pots and pans, and cook the food automatically. It even cleans up after itself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KAUZYUNKZFC2LI5FQHDNBRBRNY","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220094},"content":"It can also be turned off, allowing you to use the same appliances, utensils and pans if you occasionally want to do the cooking yourself. One potential drawback: it costs of the order of a quarter of a million pounds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RZ76EI7O4VCYNOWD2PKQEI452A","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220095},"content":"Hamburg’s GoodBytz has just closed a €12 million Series A round for its commercial robotic kitchen. Its storage module can work with up to 72 base ingredients and sauces. Its cooking module can simultaneously prepare eight meals, and up to 3,000 meals a day. Its topping and serving modules autonomously plate and garnish each serving, with options for both eat-in plating and to-go labelled packages.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3HEVDNWSKZGE3PXYTNMABKNTW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220096},"content":"No doubt robotic chefs will in time become more discerning. Cambridge University, working with the domestic appliances company Beko, has experimented with sensors on a robotic arm to “taste” food in preparation, specifically saltiness. IBM Research Labs has developed “Hypertaste”, an e-tongue prototype having 16 sensors which can learn to distinguish drinks by their chemical composition. Israel’s OlfaGuard has been developing an e-nose to sniff out dangerous pathogens such as salmonella and E.coli in food processors and kitchens.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6OPVLM4225DV7KXYGQNOO2OREE","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220097},"content":"But how long before we can have an automated, practical and affordable chef in the domestic kitchen?","type":"text"},{"_id":"K5JWDMZNWNEMNP727FTS4X7CCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220098},"content":"Nymble was founded in 2022 in Bengaluru, in India, and now has an office in San Francisco. For $100, you can reserve the launch edition of its cooking robot due for release in April 2024, which will initially be priced at $1,095 (€1,025).","type":"text"},{"_id":"DORWFUJR3VBCLC2HDRVKDZXHPI","additional_properties":{"_id":"FJ35UTHH65DTDARHHEALVQABKE"},"content":"Growing appetite for automated home kitchen assistants and ‘ghost kitchens’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"NLHI724XT5BDZJGQCW7FCPI37A","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220099},"content":"You load it with up to four ingredients which it then cooks, stirring while monitoring for consistency and temperature, and adding spices if appropriate. There are a wide range of recipes, selected via the Nymble app and you, of course, will be able to develop and share your own with the Nymble community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PXBS7X5IUJD4HDMX4MH5UDSSYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220100},"content":"When Charles V died in 1528, his son Philip II became emperor. Philip had no time for toy robots to aid sustenance and to entertain while digesting. He instead directed Turriano towards practical real-world problems. Turriano duly complied, building an astonishing and massive robotic water delivery system from the river Tagus uphill to a height of 100m to supply the city of Toledo.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UO6JJHSUWNEN3CD6C2VSJIDXIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220101},"content":"While contracted to deliver 12,000 litres per day, the mechanical system actually delivered 18,000 litres per day. A second similar system was built, which lasted for 60 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KDURCMXAXBHMZPQN4EFKKKC3PQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1699875220102},"content":"Turriano was an accomplished innovator, capable not just of glitzy marketing to capture attention but also of awe-inspiring practical real-world engineering.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"As homes become increasingly tech-enabled, several companies are working on robotic chefs that prepare, cook and clean up after themselves"},"display_date":"2023-11-16T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Bringing robots into the kitchen to cook meals, ‘taste’ food and detect salmonella","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"SG3UNIVKK5BG5FZZH4VBBKNPFE","auth":{"1":"570abafae7e597ed74ed1b30e4617fec8db2ad1d884e0c5408158edc605ea40d"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SG3UNIVKK5BG5FZZH4VBBKNPFE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Food"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/11/16/bringing-robots-into-the-kitchen-to-cook-meals-taste-food-and-detect-salmonella/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"LV63UAJF7ZH7HJNTWSFHGDDEEA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":310,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/9194357/media/75131290c2eaab6227564ef6adde470b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/11/02/tech-cant-yet-bring-back-the-dead-but-can-it-imitate-them/","content_elements":[{"_id":"CQLPTY2THBEV5DIUTY3DEMLRNM","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394749},"content":"Halloween is a time of year when, traditionally, the boundaries between the living and the dead diminish. In ancient Celtic times the departed were believed to be repositories of great wisdom which, during Halloween, they would return each year to share with their descendants.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RNZGX5HXNNDNTFS3D4FKGF2EFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394750},"content":"Technology has not quite advanced sufficiently to resurrect the dead. Nevertheless Colossal Biosciences, a company based in Dallas, has stated its aim is to “de-extinct” the woolly mammal and other species. It expects its first woolly mammal cubs to be born in 2028. If successful, then perhaps in a decade’s time we will then face the ethical quandary of resurrecting a human.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4TQIGAVQFBEBNJFMEOQFAOS3HE","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394751},"content":"But today, can technology virtually resurrect humans?","type":"text"},{"_id":"I5YHAQV2BZFIVA4XNIU4ATGMUQ","subtype":"youtube","type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"LSKI5QACL5DXFBGFKJBKW4MREM","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394752},"content":"The “Be Right Back” episode of Black Mirror, a speculative near-future television series, tells a story of a widow signing up for an artificial intelligence service that mimics her dead husband. The incarnation is trained by the deceased’s social media posts and accordingly adopts memories and the persona.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZQ5RWFU545CJXAKC7D6EETKZQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394753},"content":"In July 2021 the San Francisco Chronicle documented the true experiences of freelance writer <a href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2021/jessica-simulation-artificial-intelligence/\" target=\"_blank\">Joshua Barbeau</a>, who lost his fiancee to liver disease. By chance he then discovered a text-based chatbot website that allows you to customise its behaviour. He uploaded a synopsis of her life and some archived text messages. The system duly adopted her personality, apparently faithfully chatting to him despite his initial scepticism and his trying to maintain emotional distance. There were tremendous similarities to her banter, in both content and rhythm. It showed empathy both for the pain of her death and gratitude for how he was honouring her life, albeit all just in text on his computer screen.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XRW63H6A2RHYZGUPXCO5LPUVCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394754},"content":"But how about visual representations of the dead? Projections in 3D have been used to create realistic avatar concerts. One of the first was the 2012 reincarnation at the Coachella Music Festival of the rapper Tupac Shakur, murdered in 1996. His image performed “live” with (living) rappers Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. Michael Jackson (died 2009), Roy Orbison (died 1988), Whitney Houston (died 2012) and others have all been virtually recreated in concerts, and in some cases even touring.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WIVUXILPY5AITKSKWCZVZUOIOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"3QIJJ2M46VDR7PHDNOB53D3LKE"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"HGS6LOLU65FOZEY3KHT232DSYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394755},"content":"But can you interact with a projected image? Los Angeles-based start-up StoryFile goes part of the way there by offering conversational video services. You provide the system with a number of short video sequences, each addressing or answering one of a number of suggested questions or points. Subsequently, a speech recognition subsystem analyses questions spoken to the service, which then automatically selects and replays the most appropriate video clip back in reply. One application is to build a digital legacy that can respond to questions about your life, for your descendants. Ed Asner, the late actor, thus appeared virtually during his memorial service to answer questions about his life from relatives and friends.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TNX5Q2I5EJDMHBBP2L257PL5YU","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394756},"content":"Unlike a chatbot, StoryFile does not construct its own replies, and is not using AI to create answers. Could 3D avatars be combined with chatbot technology so that a virtual resurrection could be both visually engaging and credibly responsive? I believe it inevitable. A number of companies already enable you to design and build your own speaking avatar, such as elai, synthesia and bhuman. There are also various YouTube videos showing how to roll your own using free software tools.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6EBLYSLNWRHTZDFQT6MYVAEYKY","additional_properties":{"_id":"NX5H4HVZNFGSZN6VW2BUPPJ64A"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"N4UOB6SFYFEGNJZFQFTHCOWP6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394757},"content":"Being able to easily produce photorealistic avatars derived from images and videos of real people was one of the flashpoints of the recent Hollywood actors’ strike. London-based start-up Metaphysic is now assisting individuals to copyright their digital face, voice and performance, although such copyrights have yet to be tested in the courts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FPSSEGUOBFHC3OGVSL5UOI3IHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394758},"content":"The core technologies to build a photorealistic, interactive and talking avatar for your relatives and descendants are already widely available. Given sufficient archival material from, for example, social media posts, it is also now also possible to resurrect a digital 3D chatting avatar of a dead loved one.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JEN62JHXPFAXHKQC3T2WHRIHDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394759},"content":"Would it be creepy to talk to an avatar that faithfully impersonates and captures the personality of a dead partner, relative or friend? The mother of Barbeau’s fiancee avoided reading the chat transcript, while her sister felt it an unhealthy way of coping with death. She asked what if the chatbot became inaccessible – would there then be a second grieving but this time for an AI?","type":"text"},{"_id":"JHLCNEQRO5EL7IZO4WFIIXKJ6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394760},"content":"In fact, the precise situation has already arisen. Alabama-based start-up Intellitar promised its customers digital eternity via crafted avatars, but then itself died in 2012, going out of business after just two years and with a claimed 10,000 signed-up users.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VM3KBDPRNBAS3GTSRENM4J2ZNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1698672394761},"content":"The boundaries between the living and the dead are indeed diminishing. We need great wisdom to navigate the consequences.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Technology advances have allowed apps to recreate the personalities of people who have died"},"display_date":"2023-11-02T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Tech can’t (yet) bring back the dead, but can it imitate them?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"QEA5RFH2Y5CS7OMS2VYOMXAVNM","auth":{"1":"cc826ca931a85a22ec0700bf9fc2e948f1a68256eb64589d527121372bd348b7"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/QEA5RFH2Y5CS7OMS2VYOMXAVNM.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/11/02/tech-cant-yet-bring-back-the-dead-but-can-it-imitate-them/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"WGDLNZJTKVBFPKG53ZTM5HEWVI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":327,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8965787/media/9c99b8560635f43c0aafa96c96d5a082_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/10/19/energy-beams-market-for-long-distance-wireless-transmission-of-power-not-yet-viable/","content_elements":[{"_id":"ESCGZKX5ZNCFNBBEQGFL3FDBWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851282},"content":"Tesla cars are named after the Serbian-American entrepreneur Nikola Tesla, born in 1856 in western Croatia. He was a prodigious inventor, filing over 300 patents, despite not completing a university degree. He is best known for his work on alternating current (AC) electricity, including induction motors and transmission systems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BNVXJAPBAZB25DBY6H34LGENMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851283},"content":"He initially worked with telegraph technology in Budapest, and then in Paris with the first electric lighting systems from the Edison company. In 1884, he moved to New York with Edison before resigning the following year to found his own start-up.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGZ5EAI3XVDEHHS2MI6T5ILESU","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851284},"content":"Edison used direct current (DC) electricity at relatively low voltages. Tesla’s AC system used fluctuating current and was licensed by Tesla to the Westinghouse company.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HFSV5XEPZZFXRAEOKWZVXMKIY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851285},"content":"Tesla and Edison publicly clashed in the late 1880s in the “war of the currents”. Tesla showed that only his AC system was capable of using high voltages for efficient long-distance power. Edison countered that Tesla’s high voltages were dangerous, with grotesque demonstrations of the electrocution of animals. Ultimately, both Tesla and Edison lost control of their respective companies. The industry moved through consolidation to adopt AC as the preferred technology for long-distance transmission over cables.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3HAVR6ARHRDCTPUG6W6B7W6KGY","additional_properties":{"_id":"42QUQWRANZGKTBF7TH2D6GPBPE"},"content":"SuperNode to invest €40m in research to develop renewable transmission technology","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"OY7426PQLFB4FIDCCWYF6VQ4V4","additional_properties":{"_id":"6PCILRGS5NGYZLZF3NZVRMHV7I"},"content":"Cheaper energy bills on the horizon if current trends continue, says ESB finance chief","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"OPZNEF25JRHNLN5EOS4HZB5SOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1697465880795},"content":"Tesla also invented wireless transmission of electric power by induction. His solution is now routinely used to recharge consumer devices such as toothbrushes and watches. Placing the device on its wireless cradle recharges it without having to plug it in.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VL3NXFCJJFAENJ3RJ4MCTKRJDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851287},"content":"Inductive recharging is beginning to be used for electric cars and even buses. A vehicle’s battery is recharged simply by parking over a special mat, without any cable. A number of demonstrations in Italy, Sweden, Germany and Israel have even trialled recharging moving vehicles, by driving over a length of road embedded with <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/2023/08/03/electric-vehicles-take-a-leap-wireless-charging-can-power-cars-as-they-drive/\" target=\"_blank\">inductive pads</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z7IV5HC4VBF3VG7FYLRPKO45VQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851288},"content":"Tesla believed that electricity could be transmitted wirelessly not just a few centimetres, but over long distances and potentially worldwide. He successfully demonstrated illuminating light bulbs by simply connecting them to the Earth’s crust, wirelessly powered by a generating transmitter several kilometres away. His solution was, however, not viable because of incorrect assumptions about the conductance of the Earth. His approach was also highly inefficient. Large amounts of power were simply dissipated, because power was “broadcast” in all directions rather than being steered towards only those devices intended to receive it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DVTKL6V77NACTP4VTPX7XFLQSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851289},"content":"However, if Tesla’s vision could be implemented, we would no longer have the need for electric pylons and towers, and the cables strung between them or expensively buried underground. While existing national grid infrastructures might be replaced over time, new networks could extend current power grids. One application would be to transmit power from offshore turbines directly to shore, without having to lay undersea cables. Another would be to rapidly bring up an electric grid in an area devastated by natural disaster or war.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ERHXVXR74FHCTFYRVOYAPGAFLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851290},"content":"The US army and navy have experimented with wireless power using point-to-point microwave beams. The <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGuPaYtcJx8\" target=\"_blank\">“Scope-M” project</a> conducted last year successfully transmitted 1.6kWatts over a distance of about a kilometre, with 95 per cent efficiency.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KIGCLK6ZFJDEBNTYSUYEKRQDQY","additional_properties":{"_id":"EFD2SAF74FHZPATLZNAMR4T2BY"},"content":"Tesla boosts China investment with plans for Shanghai battery factory","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BATVM72WJRF7NPA23EQF7DC3KI","additional_properties":{"_id":"47FBYNFRXBFERPS3XSWA2BDQG4"},"content":"Potential for power system alerts this winter lower than last year, says EirGrid","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MK76ORBDFZEV5AVTRUDPTX4M4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1697465880802},"content":"There are also a small number of wireless power start-ups. Powerlight, near Seattle, is trialling high-intensity laser beams. Viviz Technologies in Texas experimented with “Zenneck” electric waves that can propagate across the Earth’s surface, but then went bankrupt last year. Perhaps the most promising is a New Zealand start-up, <a href=\"https://emrod.energy/\" target=\"_blank\">Emrod</a>, which uses high-frequency microwaves as in the Scope-M initiative.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O6HTFY3TSNDGHKQN2TSDA5CBMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851292},"content":"Emrod has trialled a small system with New Zealand’s second-largest power company and successfully transmitted 2kWatts of power over a couple of hundred metres, in various weather conditions, with 97 per cent efficiency of the beam. They also trialled with Airbus and the European Space Agency, for beaming energy from space-based solar panels.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4QP6SOS2SVHD5DR5ZJC2BBE6YU","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851293},"content":"As with Edison’s challenges to Tesla and his AC system, one of the major challenges of microwave wireless power is convincing the public that the technology approach is safe. Emrod claims to follow applicable industry standards. The microwave beam is concentrated, an invisible cable in the air, rather than a broadcast system that transmits signals in every direction. Their system is designed to detect threats that could interrupt the beam – such as birds or drones – and temporarily pause.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XQREMO3HH5DSHEWAVKS5MJCIPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851294},"content":"Emrod’s promoters maintain that their approach can readily be scaled up in both power and distance, using relay lens stations to periodically refocus the beam. Nevertheless, existing high-voltage transmission lines can each carry several hundred MWatt or more, a hundred thousand times as much power as the current microwave beam prototypes. Emrod plans further trials of a scaled-up solution next year and in 2025.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WOER6TVIYBGSXBIYNQRO3POHF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1697382851295},"content":"The potential market for safe, long-distance wireless transmission of power is extremely attractive. However, practical commercial systems have yet to be demonstrated and it may yet be some time before Tesla’s vision is accomplished.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Nikola Tesla’s original plan for wireless energy is still evolving with the goal of doing away with pylons, towers and underground cables"},"display_date":"2023-10-19T04:30:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Energy beams: Market for long-distance wireless transmission of power not yet viable","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"332WYEHC54M5S3IYLASX5G5V5Y","auth":{"1":"408a594d59f10704b8a91f0bcac95483889d983a57eef3788c8c04bf3b4ada59"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/332WYEHC54M5S3IYLASX5G5V5Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/10/19/energy-beams-market-for-long-distance-wireless-transmission-of-power-not-yet-viable/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"7MHGTNZZIRB2NCJICXKDYNXAMU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":328,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8783076/media/daf1877272a6fdf2c274255ce694876b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/10/05/investing-in-solutions-to-historic-neglect-and-short-termism/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6QPJBGMQY5A7FCUPDUZSVDAQKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848844},"content":"Over the last year, I have become an occasional driver from Cairnryan ferry port in Scotland. Two hours and 120km later, the single lane road at last skirts Dumfries via its innumerable roundabouts, before yet another hour and eventually on to the M6 motorway at Gretna Green.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TQ4NY2LJL5DJVNLEBZCVR6K4QE","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848845},"content":"The endless bóthar absorbs Scottish allure while drivers lumber along behind a heavy freight truck, or dawdle in a long queue behind a farm tractor. The gentle serenity contrasts with the hustle of the M11/M50/M1 motorway near home which brings me the 200km to Belfast ferry port in just two hours.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4SX465TE4BCIPIZ3JVIJI74NOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848846},"content":"The trek highlights the dichotomy between the fervour of <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/northern-ireland/\" target=\"_blank\">Northern Ireland</a>’s unionist politicians for frictionless integration with the UK and the weak physical infrastructure on the Scottish side. Cairnryan should be a significant economic gateway. But the roads north to Glasgow and east to Carlisle are unsuited to any reasonable level of freight traffic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NPZ4BCEFKRFSJEJZFQU6XHIM34","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848847},"content":"The old military railway connecting the port to Stranraer is long gone, and Stranraer itself has just a sporadic connection north to Glasgow.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S62XWXDOAZCPTA5AJ4JTZ6BVDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848848},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/boris-johnson/\" target=\"_blank\">Boris Johnson</a>, when prime minister, did propose <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/boris-johnson-an-enthusiast-on-building-of-ni-to-scotland-bridge-1.3944545\" target=\"_blank\">a bridge to connect Scotland and Northern Ireland</a>. However, the waters off southeast Scotland run relatively deep. The Beaufort Dyke depression is 50km long and the 300m depth even facilitates submarine exercises by the Royal Navy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HPDQHUV5CNC2VP3U7YVNYJYDEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848849},"content":"In November 2018, the Stena Superfast ferry, which I now use, had to take evasive action when a periscope appeared just a couple of hundred metres away on a collision course. The subsequent inquiry ruled that the submarine’s commander had badly misjudged both the ferry’s range and speed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LHUJPMTT75DABHPQPUV4MD4EPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848850},"content":"The Beaufort trench is also one of the largest dumps worldwide for unexploded ordnance. The UK ministry of defence estimates that, since the 1920s, over a million tons of surplus conventional and chemical weapons have been discarded there – or in the vague vicinity. Unsurprisingly, some of the dumping crews offloaded their highly dangerous cargoes at their first opportunity, without necessarily waiting to reach their designated drop areas.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LHUJPMTT75DABHPQPUV4MD4EPQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848851},"content":"Johnson’s proposal was consequently (dare I say?) torpedoed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HWUQK2OTFJCEROCZV7VHJMLGZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848852},"content":"Some of the ordnance and chemical weapons have now been submerged for 100 years. Climate change is leading to warmer seas and increasing acidity, both of which increase corrosion. Explosive materials such as TNT and its variants are extremely toxic to marine organisms.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JQIRIASVW5G3DFZ2VCZANLAUDU","additional_properties":{"_id":"EUXSWU5JRBBZVDQY4WK7XR4S7A"},"content":"Beaufort Dyke reveals its deadly secrets","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"N44MMJ4OCNARNJL2MJMBOGA57I","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848853},"content":"A comprehensive study by the University of Aberdeen back in 1995, which at the time found no evidence of food chain contamination from the Beaufort trench, should be redone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7TNGJ3UQUJBNLH7YVNJZCMUUVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848854},"content":"Of course, the Beaufort dyke is only one of many maritime dumping sites for munitions. The areas off the German coast and in the Baltic Sea are even larger, with an estimated two million tons of unexploded conventional and chemical ordnance in German waters alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A5TKJWECUNBBPOOOGO4QPDPSWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848855},"content":"In some areas, there is only 30 metres of depth. The region around the Danish island of Bornholm, close to the Nord Stream pipelines, is one of the most heavily littered with ordnance. Corrosion or acoustic vibration of dumped munitions could perhaps have caused<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2022/09/27/two-explosions-reported-near-nord-stream-pipelines-gas-leak-in-baltic-sea/\" target=\"_blank\"> the pipeline explosions last year</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"666UNPXULVGVLCLW5DGFCMZ6LA","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848856},"content":"There are various records of locations and types of munitions dumped, although Russian record-keeping, in particular, was apparently weak. But in any case, sea floor munitions can and do move due to currents and storms, which are increasingly stronger with climate change.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K6NIA4DZ4NEUJIASSPHSPNW5BQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848857},"content":"Political pressure is increasing to try to clean the Baltic and German sea beds. The<a href=\"https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/featured-projects/basta_en\" target=\"_blank\"> EU-funded Basta project </a>developed ultra high-resolution 3D maps of sea floor ordnance by using untethered autonomous vehicles with video cameras and magnetic sensors. A separate EU ExPloTect project used spectrometers to very rapidly analyse chemical traces found in sea samples close to suspect munitions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KDJKME74BFB57FCPQQMLABFK7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848858},"content":"But once the current location of a dangerous undersea ordnance is identified, then what?","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZPLTBY3ZMFCYVIZN7VGC3N54GA","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848859},"content":"Recovering a corroded munition from the sea floor is usually highly dangerous, potentially resulting in complete disintegration or uncontrolled explosion. Forcibly detonating them is also discouraged, due to the acoustic shock to marine life and the potential for residual chemical leakage.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YRR5JOFJTZHDLAJD36DMVNBAG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848860},"content":"Instead, undersea deflagration is gaining acceptance. A small shaped charge is placed on to the munition casing, and activated to cause the explosive inside the munition to rapidly burn away without causing an actual detonation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WPFJKVUQ4ZCLFFMEMQCJ4X3CKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848861},"content":"There is obvious danger in having a diver scrape a portion of the casing clean of marine growth and then attaching a deflagration charge, even assuming the sea bed is reachable. Ideally, a remotely operated vehicle should instead perform the process. A small number of firms are innovating low-order deflagration technology for undersea ordnance, including Alford, Eodex and ECS in the UK, Germany’s Atlas Elektronik and Hydroid in the United States.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y5WQVNZMAFB3FEO4JWQRDMTUCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1696324848862},"content":"Climate change is exacerbating a legacy from previous generations. I believe that political attention in the EU is opening up a market for creative solutions to dumped ordnance. But I wonder whether the UK will follow, and invest in regions hitherto quietly ignored, both on land and at sea.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The Beaufort trench between Ireland and Scotland is one of the largest dumps worldwide for unexploded ordnance"},"display_date":"2023-10-05T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Is there a safe way to get rid of unexploded ordnance under the sea?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"UQQ4WRGSGZGBDKHEHPI3ZUPGKM","auth":{"1":"da43f4f43dd40115ec532cabf68696d74b157e1f5c4a3129aeed7ee2b6773f3b"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/UQQ4WRGSGZGBDKHEHPI3ZUPGKM.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/10/05/investing-in-solutions-to-historic-neglect-and-short-termism/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"U4LAFH5OFBCNRIMLMQ5C2TKNFA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":304,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8568642/media/6f515a14d977d381ddea0c08632b3886_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/09/21/chris-horn-a-new-technology-that-could-preserve-our-data-for-1000-years/","content_elements":[{"_id":"UMJBSX6E2JBYJNGS6IPYVBJMT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411530},"content":"A little secret of cloud computing is that the energy used to store data is about a third as much again as that used for computing. In June, the <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2023/06/12/data-centres-consume-as-much-electricity-as-urban-houses-cso/#:~:text=Electricity%20consumption%20by%20data%20centres,total%20consumption%20across%20the%20economy.\" target=\"_blank\">Central Statistics Office reported that data centres in Ireland used as much energy last year as all the three million urban residents in the country</a>. My arithmetic shows the energy used for storage alone (excluding cooling) by Irish data centres was about the same as that of the combined urban areas of Cork, Galway and Limerick.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IELSG6O5HZC2FJV2IYTJEFK3IM","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411531},"content":"In an inconvenient truth, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/amazon/\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon</a> has admitted that on average if data is older than a month, there is only a one-in-a-1,000 chance that it will ever be retrieved. But the data is stored perpetually, continuously consuming energy, just in case that embarrassing photo, old cat video or other digital detritus is ever needed again.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ADOGDMQFVFAQRMGNJROYSTATCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411532},"content":"Furthermore, to keep the data safe there are also redundant copies, usually in several locations. Just in case.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UNVZSTLJYRADPLDZWAC6BWVRY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411533},"content":"Awkwardly, a disk drive wears out over time despite the energy spent keeping it cool. A hard drive typically lasts about five to 10 years in practice, and so – you trust – your favourite data centre dutifully copies your data to new drives every now and again. The old worn-out units are usually shredded, not recycled, to ensure confidentiality of your data. You know, just in case.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B52L6HQAEJAXRAUOKDQOYZUE2A","additional_properties":{"_id":"SVJSF5BJ7FCMTEWRZ7E4AFA2UQ"},"content":"Cap on data centres ruled out despite surge in energy use","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"DNVAUITL6BBJ7MG6ELJONBJYWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411535},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/technology/2023/08/24/karlin-lillington-technology-helps-piece-together-archive-lost-in-1922-four-courts-fire/\" target=\"_blank\">Karlin Lillington recently wrote about concerns for the long-term retention of the digital records</a> that have been laboriously pieced back together after the 1922 Four Courts fire. <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/innovation-preserving-the-digital-future-of-the-forgotten-format-1.4704723\" target=\"_blank\">I have previously written about </a>the digitisation of the records in the 80km-long shelves of the Venetian State Archives.","type":"text"},{"_id":"POLK2U34IZEOVA3UGMSS7QNU7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1694795748392},"content":"In a thousand years, without vellum, how can we ensure that our own digital culture and social artefacts will be available to future historians?","type":"text"},{"_id":"FBMNWDQJNRBS7BS3XYKALGVR3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411536},"content":"Martin Kunze might well have the answer. Kunze is an Austrian silicate technologist and specialist in ceramics who in 2008 began to wonder about the fragility of our written records stored in the cloud. He started the Memory of Mankind project in 2012, a time capsule of our civilisation, etched on to ceramic tiles. Several hundred of his tiles are now stored safely deep underground in an unused Austrian salt mine. His invited contributions include newspaper articles, diary entries, love letters, technical drawings, blogs and dissertations, all carefully etched on to tiles.<a href=\"https://www.dw.com/en/austria-the-memory-of-mankind-project/video-65029799\" target=\"_blank\"> You can watch a</a><a href=\"https://www.dw.com/en/austria-the-memory-of-mankind-project/video-65029799\" target=\"_blank\"> short documentary about the initiative</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RAW6CQCUNBBWBENBJ2YCY2WOAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411537},"content":"The Boston Consulting Group invited Kunze to present his project. In the audience was Christian Pflaum, an experienced consultant from the mobile phone industry. Kunze and Pflaum brainstormed on the challenge of archival storage of digital data, and subsequently registered a series of patents. A research project at the Technische Universität Wien followed, supported by the Austrian government. Last year they founded Cerabyte, just south of Munich. Cerabyte has come out of “stealth” and is presenting at a major data storage industry conference this week in Silicon Valley.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L632U6WGDRE27PYYIPJWHEGYSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411538},"content":"In a recent zoom call with me, Kunze and Pflaum laid out the implications of their remarkable innovation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JLDU3Y57PRDZZMVE23Z74DNQ7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411539},"content":"Data is laid out in microscopic QRcode-like patterns by laser etching into extremely thin ceramic layers on glass substrates. The data is stored at more than five times the density of the current generation of disk drives. As a result, the capacity is enormous. A standard data-centre storage rack shelf with a Cerabyte system should be able to hold multiple “petabytes”, compared with the couple, at most, of petabytes offered by disk-drive racks today. A single petabyte can store more than 4,000 high-definition movies, or more than 16 million hours of music in MP3 format.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ROQFETL4GNBYPA5JCVRPJ3NBF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411540},"content":"Cerabyte data is physically written, unlike the fragile electronic or magnetic charges held by disk drives. In consequence, the data is stable across a very wide range of temperatures, and even in corrosive or acidic atmospheres. It is fire and water resistant, and can survive exposure to radiation or electromagnetic pulses, unlike today’s storage technologies. Cerabyte expects its data to last at least 1,000 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4Y5ICMMYGVGGZCICYDQU3BLRKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411541},"content":"The design uses off-the-shelf components to simplify manufacturing and keep costs low. The access times for reads and writes of data are comparable to the top speeds of modern disk drives. Best of all, once written, Cerabyte data requires absolutely no further energy to preserve it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FR75PUVB6NFGRLYABYDWH7WDD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411542},"content":"Several global cloud companies are engaging with Cerabyte, and are reputedly extremely intrigued by the potential of the breakthrough.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S2USZKAWARGJNKINT35DFZM63U","additional_properties":{"_id":"B7K3U3R4DJCGNB45OAOEPQVMGE"},"content":"‘No savings, no pension’: Ten census ‘time capsules’ that people have made public","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"S2N7X6FGVFCUFGIWVPQA65S4LU","additional_properties":{"_id":1694793411543},"content":"Prehistoric Mesopotamian clay tablets exist from 9,000BC (about 11,000 years ago). Perhaps ceramic recordings of our digital civilisation will be accessible in at least 10,000 years time.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Cerabyte data is physically written, stable across a wide range of temperatures, is fire and water resistant, and can survive exposure to radiation or electromagnetic pulses"},"display_date":"2023-09-21T04:45:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: A new technology that could preserve our data for 1,000 years ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IGFQFDT55JEBREGW3KXTSXF4TA","auth":{"1":"8530c7bd8b406417b2a47fa87c147ae6ca2b602d6bc8cd1962965dbc28ad134c"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IGFQFDT55JEBREGW3KXTSXF4TA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/09/21/chris-horn-a-new-technology-that-could-preserve-our-data-for-1000-years/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"DGNYMONOSZAADFJ3FTEPO27XQM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":342,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/8390028/media/c483cc5c10e689d55dae076a3696a9a3_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/09/07/chris-horn-maritime-transport-a-key-area-in-fight-to-cut-carbon-emissions/","content_elements":[{"_id":"BWHZBQVE2JGARGXM2PYEY6PCWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107258},"content":"The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a United Nations agency, regulates shipping worldwide. In London in July, its marine environment protection committee agreed that member nations would accelerate their reductions in annual maritime emissions of greenhouse gases. They revised their original 50 per cent target reduction, as compared with 2008 levels, by 2050 to instead “near-zero”. However, a number of green lobbyists accused the committee of insufficient urgency.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R6URW2KGNFAA3PVDEZLG36PSPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107259},"content":"Last December, the European Council and European Parliament included maritime transport within the European Union’s emission trading scheme. Ship operators will consequently have to pay for carbon emissions on a phased scale from next year, reaching 100 per cent by 2026.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2ADPZM6UW5EZXNRMOR4J7KRTZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107260},"content":"The IMO has prescribed a number of indexes to measure a vessel’s carbon emissions, so that individual ships can be compared. In general, vessels with stronger assessments should be more likely to win cargo contracts. Older ships may be forced to reduce their speeds, to meet the maximum allowable emission thresholds. The indexes are not prescriptive, and thus individual shipowners and operators may choose any of a number of complementary technologies to achieve the targets.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7F4RZFAVJRDLTP3OFQ3WU5GHUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107261},"content":"Hull designs are generally considered to be close to their maximum potentials, and so unlikely to deliver substantial operating improvements. Bulbous bows are arguably the most widely adopted innovation since the last century, first appearing on the German sister ships SS Bremen and Europa for the North Atlantic liner route in the late 1920s. Shaped bows produce reflections which tend to cancel oncoming waves, thus reducing the friction on the hull.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GIKYA347PRG5HPUYGCEF3NG4UE","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107262},"content":"Anti-fouling paints can help lower adhesion from marine organisms such as barnacles. However, they tend to lose their effectiveness over time, and may leach chemicals or heavy metals (such as copper) into the sea. Several firms – such as Norway’s Jotun, Denmark’s Hempel, and Nanotech Marine in Cornwall – are actively trialling novel coatings but there is as yet no widely accepted solution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H55XPHUUZFCRDM2CO44XXPPDRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107263},"content":"The US navy first experimented with injecting streams of air bubbles below ships’ hulls in the 1940s, so as to reduce noise and improve undersea warfare capabilities. In 2010, Mitsubishi introduced its “air lubrication” system, which builds a cushion of air below a hull to improve hydrodynamic performance. It is mainly intended for flat-hulled vessels, such as container transports and tankers, achieving up to 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption. Challenges include ensuring a uniform bubble size along the hull length, and preventing excessive vibration of the ships propellers from the air stream bed at the stern.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XX6D4KV5RBBOXLSGGK4MJHPOZU","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZIZIQGSDNJF2JHX7VRODZ7KOPM"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"UDI56PZEARCDHB5BKZKZUCDRYM","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107264},"content":"Modern marine engines are increasingly capable of using multiple fuels, to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. Wärtsilä, a Finnish leading marine engine manufacturer, was one of the first companies to produce a dual-fuel marine engine in 2001. The industry is moving away from traditional heavy fuel oil and diesel towards cleaner liquid natural gas, and ideally to reduced emission biofuel blends.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OB4H7ZKL2NAR5HGENPMLDXMDQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107265},"content":"Norway has led the world in electrifying its car ferry fleet, both retrofitting existing vessels and commissioning all-electric new ones. However, an Australian shipbuilder, Incat Tasmania, has just announced the construction of the largest battery-electric ship worldwide yet, a 225-vehicle car ferry (a similar capacity to the Irish Ferries Dublin Swift ship). The on-board 40 megawatt-hour energy storage system will reputedly be four times larger than any other to date.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCPGXTUOLJBS7FOF7MOO6A7HHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107266},"content":"While some may wish to see a return to the sailing clippers of the 19th century, there is considerable interest in exploiting wind for today’s container ships and tankers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7KG7ELWHFFDC3DKPZHHWACU4ZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107267},"content":"In 1924, German engineer Anton Flettner added two 15m-high cylindrical spinning rotors to the deck of the schooner Buckau. When powered by a small engine, the rotation produces an air pressure differential across each cylinder, yielding a propulsive force. The physics is similar to that of “curve balls” in sports. In 2008, German wind turbine company Enercon added four Flettner-style rotor sails to its E-Ship 1 cargo vessel, used to transport wind turbine blades. Since 2014, Finnish Norsepower has installed rotor sails on several ships, including the ferry M/V Estraden, cargo ship Fehn Pollux, tanker Maersk Pelican and five tilting rotor sails on the very large ore carrier Guaibamax<i>.</i>","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZI7W72HG3NBWRHKFGE6H7CPTH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107268},"content":"Hamburg-based SkySails has created a large foil kite, resembling those used in kite surfing. The MS Beluga SkySails container ship was the first to use the system, in a 2008 Atlantic crossing from Germany to Venezuela. Average fuel savings of about 5 per cent have been reported, but the system has not been widely adopted.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2T6SARWLH5G3RB5JSR5EJYFZOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107269},"content":"UK design consultancy BAR was spun out of Ben Ainslie’s 2017 Americas Cup yacht racing team. Working with Yara Marine Technologies in Norway, two 38m high “WindWing” sails have recently been fitted to the Pryxis Ocean bulk carrier. The ship is currently on her maiden voyage from Shanghai via Singapore and Port Elizabeth to arrive in Brazil on September 14th.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AGAXSCEBIREQLF3U7HXPMZAMHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1693903107270},"content":"Until recently, the marine sector has largely escaped regulation over carbon emissions. The urgency to now evolve the industry provides intriguing opportunities for innovation.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Urgency around reducing emissions provides intriguing opportunities for innovation in the industry"},"display_date":"2023-09-07T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Maritime transport a key area in fight to cut carbon emissions","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"DVSS2MMX4VCURE3K666CVS4NCQ","auth":{"1":"5d6612557a89ead4187291bae4b2b0a98915a523a5e5c820d4e4e7e5a65e9df1"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DVSS2MMX4VCURE3K666CVS4NCQ.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/09/07/chris-horn-maritime-transport-a-key-area-in-fight-to-cut-carbon-emissions/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"R3SP3DR7CBCONBUKTXVCRPT2XU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":309,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/7875344/media/2c6a208442c58470a844105b84579f8f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/08/24/is-the-answer-to-earths-power-conundrum-in-space/","content_elements":[{"_id":"2MX3SXJ3QBANZK5OCQR7S47WDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742376},"content":"Jetting away from our wet, unsettled summer to sear under the extreme heat of the southern Europe, holidaymakers are inevitably bankrolling their resulting carbon emissions into an even hotter Mediterranean and more heavily drenched Ireland next summer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GUANQ5KR75FU3AMTWEXARHG7EU","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742377},"content":"Air conditioning has become critical across continental Europe, driving high energy usage at a time when hydroelectric generation is being throttled by low rivers. Some nuclear power stations along the Rhône and Garonne rivers have had to reduce their power output because the river waters are too warm to act as coolant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BG2UZH7BPRF2DMLC2YNEWCXUMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742378},"content":"Matching the hot summer demand for air conditioning, both the Spanish and Greek authorities have invested heavily in solar power. Earlier this month, Reuters reported 24 per cent of Spain’s energy in July had come from solar farms, from 16 per cent a year ago.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJMTBQSSZBFQZJP5V6332N4Q5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742379},"content":"In Greece, 34 per cent of its electricity generation came from solar on July 24th, a national record. The Irish figure, reported in this newspaper on July 22nd is around 10 per cent of national output.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UOXMDST25ZCP5IQ4JODTGKYVWI","additional_properties":{"_id":"7GB5KMTGNFHHBEUHJ3PJDFNXOE"},"content":"Ireland’s solar revolution: the country’s fastest-growing renewable power source is having a profound impact","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"ASEZGZZTZZD2HF27CATQS6V5GE","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742381},"content":"Australia is also investing heavily in solar power, particularly using rooftop panels for domestic housing. On October 17th last, an astonishing 92 per cent of South Australia’s energy came from solar. But <a href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-38566-z\" target=\"_blank\">a study this month</a> by the University of New South Wales cautioned against the medium-term stability of Australian solar power.","type":"text"},{"_id":"66V3HUR6HJESJERATCKGJR4AUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742382},"content":"The Australian weather is becoming cloudier. Scattered fair-weather cumulus can lead to a temporary ramp down in solar energy output, and stratus clouds may diminish generation for hours. Equally, sudden clearing of the skies can lead to a rapid surge in output. As the Australian power grid becomes dominated by solar power ahead of other energy sources, abrupt reductions and surges from local weather conditions can adversely impact the system stability. In the light of climate change, the report recommends careful national planning to manage solar ramping effects.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSCVYO3NDRGGTF3AWV5PI5GNR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742383},"content":"Can we overcome the clouds?","type":"text"},{"_id":"I42FN5GWSNGDDFWZDFWBWB7A5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742384},"content":"As a young man growing up in Los Angeles in the 1940s, Donald Bren was fascinated by a Popular Science magazine article discussing the possibility of satellites capturing solar energy and beaming it back to Earth. Today, the 91-year-old is a retired real-estate developer, having become one of the richest philanthropists in the US. A decade ago, he and his wife Brigitte committed $100 million to the California Institute of Technology for a space-based solar project. This month the first prototype system demonstrated the transmission of harvested solar energy as microwave power in space, and beaming it back to Earth. The amounts of energy were small but the prototype shows it is feasible to use relatively low-cost components, and to concentrate the generated energy into a focused and steerable beam.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YMESOGADXBFPRPF56XVQLVB4FY","additional_properties":{"_id":1692820485871},"content":"The research team believe that their system could be about eight times more efficient than any terrestrial solar farm, due to the intensity of solar energy in space. The lightweight satellite reduces the power required by the launch system, mitigating criticism that the carbon emissions from a launch would outweigh the carbon-free solar generation. However, critics also observe the long-term vulnerability of solar panels in space to micrometeroids and radiation, particularly since the panels might be several square kilometres in area to harvest commercially viable amounts of power.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JGM4NSKI3NGPXDW2WKE4JAM2SY","additional_properties":{"_id":"4ONUCQIOUJDTTENDIHRDHDXL7A"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"PLJDNVOSAFBSJEAE6U7W4QGKME","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742386},"content":"Can we instead create our own suns here on Earth?","type":"text"},{"_id":"C7KAMTNH5REYTITIIZJXGADVVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742387},"content":"Current nuclear reactors use fission to generate energy – disintegrating uranium atoms by bombarding them with neutron bullets, with each rupture leading to even more neutrons in a chain reaction. The process is challenging to control, and the resulting fragments remain radioactive for decades. By contrast, nuclear fusion, as occurs in the sun, merges small hydrogen atoms together to make larger atoms of helium. The result has minimal radioactive waste, and cannot form a chain reaction. Furthermore, if the pressure and temperatures required to achieve fusion are lost, the activity simply stops – unlike the possibility of runaway fission reactions. Finally, fusion produces more energy per kilogramme of fuel compared with fission.","type":"text"},{"_id":"35HEWXRBZNCS5P4EARXXHEWONQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742388},"content":"Fusion is thus considerably safer than fission. However, fusion is difficult to engineer, recreating the sun in a miniature form. Nevertheless, last December a team at Lawrence Livermore Labs in California successfully achieved controlled nuclear fusion, yielding more energy than that required to attain fusion. This month they have had a second successful demonstration. Further experimentation and scaling are needed before a commercial system, but it is a very considerable breakthrough.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LU5ELE22RVH6HCRPTPCH7KPYMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1692549742389},"content":"Solar power, and perhaps in due course fusion, is superseding carbon-based fuels. And there can be other benefits. AP News this month reported that a Bavarian farmer is using 32 acres of raised solar panels not only to generate power, but as a parasol to shield his crops of hop from the intense summer heat and to help retain ground moisture.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Harvesting solar power from space, and nuclear fusion, are two possible ways forward for the planet’s energy crisis"},"display_date":"2023-08-24T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Is the answer to Earth’s power conundrum in space?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ZIIYCQQ5RZEUBIQGORUVK4PCFQ","auth":{"1":"639f8e3d661b5c1580469f7e502c212a7e8d6217bf3c15a51cd737272be09be6"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZIIYCQQ5RZEUBIQGORUVK4PCFQ.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Environment"},{"name":"Climate Crisis"},{"name":"Science"},{"name":"Space"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/08/24/is-the-answer-to-earths-power-conundrum-in-space/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"B6ZQAZ3VMRCTNLNWFXS45NCIVE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":311,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/7702199/media/e28ccdebc2f63bb60fdc427f4525c696_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/08/10/ai-gets-smarter-biological-neuron-breakthrough-could-pave-way-to-a-simpler-future/","content_elements":[{"_id":"MVP3NMFH4FHXLJYZXTK32JO2RI","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365799},"content":"So far this year, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the innovation sector. The consequences for career paths and for venture investment are widely debated. But despite the almost magical qualities of generative chatbots and the artistic capabilities of image generators, the underlying mechanisms remain relatively obscure. If we are to use AI systems to drive our cars, diagnose our health and further automate our public services, then they need to be safe, foolproof and comprehensible. Furthermore, they require considerable computing resources for training, and are rarely carbon neutral.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KNXMKYU6XVGRXIPRBVPJXYWSZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365800},"content":"The foundational tool of AI is a computer mimic of a biological neuron. Like each of the 80 billion or so neurons in our brain, a machine neuron receives incoming signals from other neurons and sensors. It adds these input signals together, favouring some over others. If the sum then exceeds some threshold, an output signal is generated. The degree to which some inputs are more influential than others, and the threshold amount, are all adjustable parameters that regulate the neuron’s behaviour. Training the neuron means giving it numerous sets of illustrative inputs and examining each output. If an output is incorrect, then the neuron’s parameters are gently tweaked and the training repeated.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAYSEW2VLFDMBMM3SPOKUKA3HQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365801},"content":"In an AI application such as automatically driving a car, there can be hundreds of thousands of machine neurons, each with its own collection of multiple parameters, and many millions of connections between them all. In turn, numerous sample training sets are used to tune the huge number of parameters. And, after all that, the system may still behave poorly or even dangerously if it is confronted with a situation not adequately covered by its training.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AH47555K75FEVHUXMH62ZMOJHI","additional_properties":{"_id":"EM3LT5JP75HEFKR6ULCITSCABI"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"XYIYZUYAAZF73K3XGLCCANXBZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365802},"content":"It is beyond human capabilities to fully understand the role of each trained machine neuron in such an artificial system, given the intractable scale and complexity of the neuron network involved. Can we ever be really certain that such a system is correct and safe, particularly if it faces scenarios it has not previously encountered?","type":"text"},{"_id":"2DQAGVIZIJE6JLTBA5UYOFJMVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365803},"content":"Researchers led by Prof Daniela Rus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in conjunction with the Technische Universität Wien have derived a remarkable improvement in designing artificial neurons. Their approach counters the widely held belief that AI systems always have to be scaled to colossal numbers of neurons to be able to solve real-world problems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MP3V76CHKRDOXERKTO2WHBFD64","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365804},"content":"By more accurately modelling the real behaviour of biological neurons studied in a worm species (Caenorhabditis elegans), they have built the core of an AI-driven car with just 19 of their new neurons. Given such a low number, it becomes feasible to understand the role of each artificial neuron in the compact system.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RQISGJPQSNHI3MA7C7QFRNPKNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365805},"content":"Furthermore, the innovation appears to automatically adapt well in new situations and for new tasks, which it has never previously encountered in its training. An experiment confirmed that an AI-controlled drone trained to navigate itself to a visual target through a forest in summer, automatically deduced how to accomplish the same task in winter snow conditions and, as impressively, in the entirely different setting of an urban university campus.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T3EFCXE72RDODEZ7AWTZKKYKS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365806},"content":"How did Prof Rus and her research colleagues achieve their breakthrough?","type":"text"},{"_id":"2W4SMEDIC5FYVEHJACHU7HI5ZU","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZMBC7RV6NNALLHPGOHEZNCX3DY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"ZXDT4ETD4ZCNNNSZAF57TDEHMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365807},"content":"Most AI systems that predict behaviour over time use periodic samples of their environment – for example, weather sensor readings every hour or stock market trades every second. But for the robotic systems in which the research team specialise, it is important to continuously track and predict a robot’s movement. Rather than sequences of discrete steps used in almost all neuron-based AI systems, the team instead exploit mathematical calculus and use a continuous flow of time. Their improved model of a biological neuron uses a differential equation to capture how the neuron continuously evolves and adapts over time, and extends the usual parameters of an artificial neuron with a varying responsive delay.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IPAO36WPVNEYLF3IWSVXBYEJ3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365808},"content":"A key requirement for an artificial neuron is to be able to go back and tweak its parameters in training when its output is not as desired. In the case of the new neuron design, the team’s initial approach used a standard mathematical technique to estimate the amount by which each control parameter needed to be separately adjusted for each incorrect output. However this approach was relatively cumbersome to compute, making their entire effort questionable compared with more standard neural networks based on time sampling. But in early 2022, the researchers discovered a more elegant solution that was considerably faster. As a result, their “closed-form continuous-neural” networks appear to be an extraordinary breakthrough.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ON7URUP65DKBLV3RCQF7GPWSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1691475365809},"content":"Much research remains to be done, not least to explore whether the continuous neural approach can be more widely applied, including to text-based systems such as generative AI chatbots. Nevertheless the team have amply demonstrated that, for at least some applications, AI need not require brute force and immensely large computational systems, but rather a smarter and more intelligent approach to design.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"New approach counters widely held belief that AI systems have to be scaled to colossal numbers of neurons to solve real-world problems"},"display_date":"2023-08-10T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: AI is getting smarter","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ROGTRT6VKJAJVPXILMC3T3PYKA","auth":{"1":"1c919c615b2ff51a52f2f0a81741a716181ddaf20ae9569744e702233a9f0f01"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ROGTRT6VKJAJVPXILMC3T3PYKA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/08/10/ai-gets-smarter-biological-neuron-breakthrough-could-pave-way-to-a-simpler-future/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"QZ4M3JWYC5BIXJZ636L5KPPYYY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":347,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/7462443/media/1841a39a3fa5b6eadecae7dce3fcb1b2_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/07/27/chinese-ingenuity-is-tested-as-semiconductor-sanctions-bite/","content_elements":[{"_id":"NP4DFAJWTNE6JN6GDJKFGYZPLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518465},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"XJD5ADGWTJFNNIOFBVJUPFB6DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518466},"content":"At the time of writing, Taiwan’s defence ministry is reporting a record 16 Chinese warships around Taiwanese waters, accompanied by numerous military aircraft. Chinese state media has acknowledged that its navy is “breaking the record for the number of vessels deployed in its drills in the region”, noting that the exercises “likely feature amphibious landing training”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXRA7Y2EJRB4BOCYYXVGAXBAGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518467},"content":"The supply of advanced semiconductors worldwide is dominated by foundry plants in Taiwan, in particular by the contract manufacturers TSMC and UMC. Concerned by US vulnerability to the concentration of chip manufacturing in Taiwan, the Trump administration underwrote a major TSMC investment in a new fabrication plant in Arizona. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXEF747P2ZHOZIHW4UVQ7XI3X4","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Biden administration then led last year’s bipartisan “CHIPS and Science Act”, to reinvigorate domestic semiconductor manufacturing and advanced research.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4PYIPKYAMFDYDKKANIUZQX4GUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518468},"content":"President Biden followed up by imposing stringent export restrictions on American semiconductor technology to China, during President Xi Jinping’s national party congress celebration of a new era of Chinese technology.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2JX5XYMCQZDM7MJKQ4AQYR4BX4","additional_properties":{"_id":"WAGJJQUFPBD7NITK2MS5EE6AMY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"LDCK5Z72IRF3NNT6FQ3KL4RFUM","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518469},"content":"The timing appeared intentional, and some in China interpreted the message as “we have it and you do not”. The comprehensive regulations halted exports by American chip sector to China, and barred its citizens and companies from assisting the Chinese semiconductor industry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5PFHXHGQDZFD5D5CUW5WBQHSE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518470},"content":"Under American pressure, TSMC has stopped producing advanced chips in China. Japan has imposed export controls on Nikon, Tokyo Electron and others. The Dutch government is forbidding ASML – the key worldwide manufacturer of photolithography machines for chip fabrication – to export its high-end systems to China, and likewise to stop maintaining any of its products already operating there.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TC7MVNGIYJB5PK4D72XDLSLZQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518471},"content":"Beijing has retaliated by restricting exports of both gallium and germanium from next month. It controls about 90 percent of the global gallium market and 70 per cent of the germanium one. Both metals are used widely across the semiconductor industry. Gallium is also a critical component in advanced military radars.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6G536AYUKNDOZATSCRQAHJSIAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518472},"content":"However, the exports are only worth a few hundred million euro per year to China. Rising prices for these metals will encourage renewed mining by other global suppliers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E2NVEX6SSRBWVL33VCC56EGZ7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":"O2CKJBANHJD35N35W7DWKX43FI"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"PU6R6XW3YVA65IVR5G7ZESRHW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518473},"content":"Chinese technology firms have been startled by the scope of the new American sanctions, but naturally are innovating. Huawei in particular has been actively researching a novel approach to packaging semiconductor chips since 2021. It was reputedly granted over 900 Chinese patents relating to its “chiplet” technology in 2022.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4EFWURG6ZC3JLPXF3JVJOO7JM","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518474},"content":"Others elsewhere, including Sony, AMD and Intel, and silicon valley start-ups such as ZGlue and Eliyan, are also innovating chiplet technology.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DFYP2PEVVNAOTADIFHMZUFWKF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518475},"content":"In contrast to monolithic chips, chiplets are smaller units stacked together. Different suppliers and different manufacturing technologies can be assembled into a tower of chiplets. Chiplets avoid having to integrate different subsystems with the same manufacturing technology into a monolithic chip.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63S6VDYUHRBITBGH4PA46WYJ7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518476},"content":"However the considerable challenge with chiplet technology is to extremely precisely orientate the vertical connections up and down neighbouring chiplets, including connections which pass completely through an intermediary chiplet from the those above and below it. The very slightest misalignment results in an unusable result.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PZCWGK7XTZHADBB7XNWYQG73WU","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518477},"content":"Huawei’s approach is to partially overlap chiplets with respect to each other. This reduces the alignment complexity to wire together the chiplet stack. The larger exposed surface area also assists cooling of the assembly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O5O2FMPMTRDGNEFSCACBRZOEDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518478},"content":"ZGlue was founded in 2014 by three engineers with careers at AMD, Intel, Samsung and TSMC. Their innovation is a proprietary layer, with multiple connection pins, sandwiched between each pair of chiplets. Each chiplet is intended to connect with a particular pattern of these pins, but may become slightly misaligned during manufacturing and so incorrectly attach the wrong points. However the ZGlue layer is programmable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OQU2VTYUWVFNPOUYMH454R3IE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518479},"content":"After assembling each chiplet stack, ZGlue’s technology detects which pins have actually been connected, and then by software adjusts the routing within each layer to compensate for any alignment errors. Thus, each chiplet stack need not necessarily be absolutely identically assembled.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUYU654UXRDG3HQTWNDSFJOYHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518480},"content":"ZGlue went into voluntarily bankruptcy in January 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic and when venture funding in Silicon Valley almost dried up. One early investor was Skywood Capital, a cross-border venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Shanghai. Intriguingly, a Shenzhen-based startup, Chipuller, then purchased the ZGlue portfolio of 28 patents out of bankruptcy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TYK4OQNMDVFCZOVVAEVH2A2RBI","additional_properties":{"_id":"6V5JP5JUINFGZHXXZV4YLBAY5I"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"K6XWTJJOANADDDYBUAM3SQWIHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518481},"content":"This transaction has recently raised some eyebrows in Washington, including by the powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a body which reviews business acquisitions for potential threats to US security. However, since a patent portfolio is not an entire business, the Chipuller IP purchase does not appear to currently fall under CFIUS’s remit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A5TLWOCDYJAANFQQCMU35GZKEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518482},"content":"US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently visited Beijing, during which she appealed to China not to allow frustration over US technology exports disrupt bilateral relations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A55PZ4L52JCHJLGJMTX2QFTUS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1689861518483},"content":"Greeting her, Chinese premier Li Qiang poetically referred to a rainbow over the airport when she landed, noting that while there may be wind and rain, there will always be hope in the sky. Perhaps Yellen was charmed, but Li may also have been thinking of the Chinese ingenuity when presented with challenges.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Technology firms have been startled by the scope of the new American restrictions"},"display_date":"2023-07-27T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chinese ingenuity is tested as semiconductor sanctions bite","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"3B7PWDII54YFLZ3BMLGHIHIZA4","auth":{"1":"ba7f8c220a6ec462a5b0357d161705043b030d6f77206edae2061b62e49b299e"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/3B7PWDII54YFLZ3BMLGHIHIZA4.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/07/27/chinese-ingenuity-is-tested-as-semiconductor-sanctions-bite/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"RS5OGRZWMFDYXBQ2NF3TOSRK34","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":319,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/7329641/media/5641d8b30b448054322383db2b2dea27_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/07/13/chris-horn-could-regulation-stifle-ai-innovation-in-europe/","content_elements":[{"_id":"JXIJKDIMXZEJ7AVUOXL7BTSMEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287763},"content":"Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, suggested during a recent European tour that he might have to withdraw ChatGPT from Europe if it becomes too challenging to comply with the EU’s proposed new regulations for artificial intelligence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UXN45U47PBFWXKA67I7DWM3QYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287764},"content":"On June 14th the European Parliament adopted its position on its proposed AI Act. Negotiations have now begun with the European Council of the heads of states, with the Act likely to pass into legislation across Europe by the end of this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSA3A2TEDFGK5LTVRHJDG3VUZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287765},"content":"The proposed regulations would prohibit AI systems that carried unacceptable risks to public safety or discrimination, such as classifying people according to their social behaviour. Systems deemed at high-risk include those affecting health, rights, the environment and influencing the outcome of elections.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RDIDUG3FHZCBBN6SGQG5JOFJ2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287766},"content":"Generative systems, such as ChatGPT, would have to disclose that their outputs were computer-generated (and thus fake images and videos would have to be labelled as such). Full details of materials used to train each generative system would have to be disclosed, and all copyright protections and applicable legislation duly honoured.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F2FRVXY7DBB6HN6RIVQQ3A4MFA","additional_properties":{"_id":"F7DXIYZLQJE4HOPKVY4RZGHFR4"},"content":"OpenAI teams up with Stripe to monetise ChatGPT","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IFVYMG7K2NAKHMDCDC6HFERL4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1689233693920},"content":"Altman later retracted his position in a tweet at the end of his tour, stating that he is in fact excited to continue to operate in Europe and has no plans to leave.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4CUBVJNKRRETTLPMKIK4KVGRB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287768},"content":"However, at the end of June, <a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wrtxfvcD9FwfNfWGDL37Q6Nd8wBKXCkn/view\" target=\"_blank\">an open letter</a> to the European Commission, European Council and European Parliament expressing deep concern about the proposed legislation was signed by 160 senior executives from across Europe, including leadership from Airbus, Dassault Systèmes, Deutsche Telekom, E ON, Renault and Siemens – although no executive in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VPT5KMTUEFFHNEQEXIV6UJCOI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287769},"content":"The letter notes that highly innovative companies, and investor risk capital, might move outside Europe to avoid the proposed new regulations. The signatories accept that due duty of care in the development and labelling of AI content should be enforced, but baulk at encapsulation in law as being bureaucratic and counterproductive. Instead they propose a regulatory body of appropriately qualified experts that would be sufficiently agile to respond to technology changes and developments, including in co-operation with the United States.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFRO4WYCEBG3TG33BU72T72XKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287770},"content":"Three of the less well-known signatories to the letter are Timothée Lacroix, Guillaume Lample, and Arthur Mensch. They are co-founders of Mistral AI, a Parisian start-up. They launched their company in mid May and just four weeks later they had raised an astonishing €105 million in venture capital, valuing their company at more than €260 million – one of the fastest and highest fund raises in Europe. They are in their 30s, they have known each other since school days and are first-time company founders. Mensch was previously at Deep Mind (a UK AI company acquired by Google in 2014), and Lacroix and Lample were at Meta’s AI research division.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DJL44CZ4WJDOPEPNZR643VOTTM","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287771},"content":"The financing round was led by the Parisian office of LightSpeed Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. More than a dozen other firms and individuals joined the financing. The French national public investment bank, Bpifrance, also strongly participated. The French digital minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, expressed his strong congratulations for the raise.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BLSBNZ5U2BC5VAV63GHQ46VLWY","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZXRVXJXFBVDEZIGM7WED4R5GYA"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"Y6RZFWJUAFFLZPNTLRKVW4QLRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287772},"content":"Can Mistral AI take on the even better-funded US leaders in generative AI, including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Meta? Some may recall the 2005 joint French and German initiative, Quaero (Latin for “I seek”), to publicly fund a text and multimedia search engine to compete with US dominance. That project ended, unsuccessfully, in 2013. Why could Mistral AI be different?","type":"text"},{"_id":"KIMLAUKSFBBGNNAYDEI5BCN3XY","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287773},"content":"Perhaps the answer is: because of regulation. Mistral has asserted that it intends to be fully compliant with the imminent EU AI Act, including only using publicly available data for its training materials, and abiding by all applicable copyright protections. This would certainly differentiate it from its American competitors, at least at this time when the American systems have already been extensively trained with apparent casual regard for legal protection of content. Mistral could gain competitive advantage through regulation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z4AFSF2UXVGPXJGDN4JLHOACEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287774},"content":"Furthermore, Mistral’s trained models and data will be made fully open source, thus allowing others to duplicate them, unlike the restrictions imposed by its competitors. Finally, the commercial focus of the start-up will be on business rather than consumer applications, including enabling businesses to easily integrate their own proprietary data sets.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TVHIWES5GNGAXJZAF3PXYFMLCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287775},"content":"It may be surprising, therefore, that the three Mistral co-founders signed the joint letter. In early June, Barrot had also publicly indicated his similar concerns, not wishing to constrain European companies from competing with the US titans. In May, French president Emmanuel Macron expressed the need for synchronisation between regulation and innovation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ONCSEVZKZRHDRDRWHGWFHPCX7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1688904287776},"content":"The French leadership cite the success of the European aerospace industry against American competition and appear determined that Europe, especially France, might develop a counter to American leadership in AI systems. Regulation of digital systems should not only protect society and norms, but also may play a strategic economic role if balanced with innovation.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"French firm Mistral could gain a competitive advantage over US firms through regulation that balances protection and innovation"},"display_date":"2023-07-13T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Will regulation help or hinder AI innovation in Europe?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"VKUUMGOX6J3TIO4IOZJ7LFU2WE","auth":{"1":"a70324b53040b56c28513e21b70ffc13e4faa5d184dc16b6b6aa6a44449199d3"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VKUUMGOX6J3TIO4IOZJ7LFU2WE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/07/13/chris-horn-could-regulation-stifle-ai-innovation-in-europe/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"E3JJZGXUAJE6TC7PZINDVWP7JE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":360,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/7093868/media/ec4c4f5ee5b3e9bb4fbffd63db9681b8_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/06/29/keeping-one-step-ahead-of-lethal-anti-personnel-mines-in-ukraine/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EMO5AE6CJBEIJLYD4GQYQJRDXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339853},"content":"Last month, six specialist instructors from both the Engineer and the Ordnance Corps of the Irish Defence Forces finished delivering a training course alongside Cypriot military engineer instructors on locating and neutralising both mines and unexploded ordnance such as artillery shells and bombs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J5E55FHMRZBKXOJVIW2BPICKIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339854},"content":"The course attendees were from the Ukrainian armed forces. This was the first of 30 Irish training staff pledged by the Government at any given time to the EU military assistance mission, established in October 2022. Twenty-four EU member states have offered training, personnel and military equipment to the mission.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4Q5IEWJZ7JCTVI2PXWISEE7IUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339855},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.mineactionreview.org/about-us\" target=\"_blank\">Mine Action Review</a> is a Norwegian-based research group conducting analysis on land contamination from mines and cluster munition remnants worldwide. It collates and analyses data globally from national authorities, clearance operators and NGOs. In its <a href=\"https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/5268_NPA_Clearing_the_Mines_2022_Web_ART_LV.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">report</a> last October, 56 countries were listed as contaminated with anti-personnel mines, with the worst being Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Iraq and Yemen. The report noted that worldwide, a total of just 152sq km were cleared of anti-personnel mines in 2022 – slightly less than the area of Cork city.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4THI2F25QVBJVACOKCUWWIM3TI","additional_properties":{"_id":"GYJOH4IPXRC7XFYHWX6VMERZM4"},"content":"Bomb disposal in Ukraine: ‘It will take years to clear’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"Y6EHO24WINBERPBAAAWKRV5MYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339856},"content":"After 15 months of war, Ukraine is believed to be covered by more mines and unexploded ordnance than any other country. About 30 per cent of its land mass may be contaminated – about 180,000sq km, or more than twice the area of Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5GFP2XVLMRDKTA2UKXLIS43ABE","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339857},"content":"Ukraine is a signatory of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, whereas Russia is not, though it is nevertheless bound by applicable UN restrictions. Although both Russia and Ukraine have landmines stockpiled from the former Soviet Union, some Russian anti-personnel mines were found to have been manufactured as recently as 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VOTPVYADJGLVAEB7TBQBD766A","additional_properties":{"_id":"UK6KJCX7GFCMTDI6ZGYYWRLEIY"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-47716","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"TJYSIQCZ2NHLPLUIOAGG2SVMUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339858},"content":"Among the most lethal of modern anti-personnel mines are Russian POM-3 “jumping” mines, seen in combat for the first time in the Ukraine war. Using a seismic sensor, these devices detect approaching footsteps from up to 16 metres away and then eject a fragmentation charge into the air at chest height. The mines can be scattered across a target site by a rocket launcher up to 15 kilometres distant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BJ536JNFGVAR5MIYEFEN3H4Z3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZQM75QZ2CBFPBN73SXGRGYPXMA"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"JFH3R3IO6RECZIBEMBSE2KETQU","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339859},"content":"The majority of demining techniques worldwide are derived from the second World War period. In the heat of battle, mine-clearing ploughs detonate or simply push mines out of the way. Humanitarian demining operations after battle have to be more cautious and forensic, however.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G2Z3O23XLFCMJJZPNEZTLSITTY","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339860},"content":"The classic approach is to use metal detectors. Animals – particularly dogs – can often assist with narrowing searches by sniffing for explosives. Ground-penetrating radar and sensors to detect vapours leaking from mine casings have also been tested, but can have challenges in wet and cold conditions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BOMVFGAUZJAGVPU6SZPD5MWWVA","additional_properties":{"_id":"HYMX3QIOY5DMDOKPKZOTOKZMDM"},"content":"Landmine detection rat awarded gold medal for ‘lifesaving bravery’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"Q34SK7NUZRFE7LHLUPVVEM532U","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339861},"content":"A Danish geologist, Martin Jebens, has led a recent project with the International Committee of the Red Cross using a GPS-enabled thermal camera on a low-flying drone. Differential heat signals from the ground, possibly from buried landmines or maybe just harmless pieces of scrap metal, are interpreted by a machine learning algorithm. This was developed by Waseda University in Tokyo and has been trained on numerous images of landmines and ordnance. The approach reduces the false alarm rate and greatly improves the probability of accurate detection.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NEY7LWDBCFGXLIADQTTG77STF4","additional_properties":{"_id":"WI4JPVLWAVHAZEPPPS6ILYKS34"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"3OBC6QUTG5HINCEQI6SJECAK5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339862},"content":"The Australian federal government agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, recently spun out a start-up in partnership with a technology development firm. The new company, MRead, uses magnetic resonance to pulse radio frequency signals into the ground. The waves are tuned to resonate with various crystalline compounds used in explosives. If these are present, a radio wave echo is detected by the device indicating the presence of a mine or unexploded ordnance. Unlike some other approaches, the technology works with mines which do not contain any metal, and cannot be misled by harmless metal debris.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PTS77EFVWNENJMIWIAZAJ7R5MU","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339863},"content":"Many Ukrainians fear it may take decades before their agricultural lands can be fully restored. Frustrated by the shortages of official mining sappers and by the sheer scale of the task, some brave farmers have even started demining their own lands themselves, using ordinary metal detectors. In a report last month, Reuters described how one innovative Ukrainian farmer has been successfully clearing his farmland by retrofitting an old tractor with protective armour from abandoned Russian vehicles, and then operating it remotely. It survived running over an anti-tank mine, and was put back to use after repair to the armour plating.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZV4XQKDJCBFZXBOHFQQLOYEGXU","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZL25MI5QSFCNLBRPQ5VBBJV5QU"},"content":"Afghanistan’s curse: Munition from two wars ago crushes family today","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"EZOFUXJOEFANHMODP747HENO3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339864},"content":"The demining task ahead in Ukraine is enormous, but 55 other countries worldwide also remain in danger from mines still malingering after previous conflicts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6ZX2IOQIU5AW5C5RPVZHDTLUIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1687259339865},"content":"As we are about <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2023/06/18/tanaiste-strongly-defends-neutrality-debates-following-criticism-by-president/\" target=\"_blank\">to debate our historical neutral stance at the forthcoming Consultative Forum on International Security Policy</a>, I wonder whether we might broaden our national science and research policies beyond just raw commercial and academic objectives to also target innovation for humanitarian applications. Regardless of each particular hostility and the parties involved, Irish technologists could have a legitimate role in compassionate innovation and so help rebuild peace for shattered lands, localities and lives.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Low-flying drones with GPS-enabled thermal cameras and magnetic resonance are among new methods used to clear mines and unexploded ordnance"},"display_date":"2023-06-29T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Keeping one step ahead of lethal anti-personnel mines in Ukraine","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"AMRI5E5DWPPFCH5HQZ3VANLN6I","auth":{"1":"ad72fc73d8579cecbb43fb0db7f6fd70d390d2268b10cf4d08d776e93549c9ac"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/AMRI5E5DWPPFCH5HQZ3VANLN6I.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/06/29/keeping-one-step-ahead-of-lethal-anti-personnel-mines-in-ukraine/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"TYB4YPNDPBETPJ52ORUQV5LLFY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":337,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/7042408/media/ade76e98b2ea4ab07ca22770a8eb7ca0_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/06/15/chris-horn-aviation-taking-plane-redesign-under-its-wing/","content_elements":[{"_id":"7N5Z3SNTXBFX7MRIMYAQQ4NAMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974637},"content":"Vehicles inundate the car parks at Dublin Airport as vacationers escape the Irish heat for summer stickiness elsewhere, and Ryanair places its biggest order yet with Boeing. It seems we are remaining compulsive flyers despite aviation carbon emissions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NGY2BTIK6VDVHK7JKA3T2KWSVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974638},"content":"In 2021, Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association, asserted that the global aviation industry would be carbon neutral by 2050. What are the innovations that could make this possible?","type":"text"},{"_id":"7AGOXR7PT5FBTMECUYYDL3KVUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974639},"content":"On the ground, we are transitioning to electric vehicles. However, in the air, electric aviation is likely to be a niche market. Batteries currently have far lower energy density than jet fuel. At best, electric aircraft may be restricted to air taxis and very short-range flights.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L5SIHXBAP5DAFPPLHIHASLXNYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974640},"content":"Instead, many in the aviation industry propose that sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can fully replace aviation kerosene.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ORQOBT5BZBBAFBYXQIZOMHSC3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974641},"content":"Bio-fuel SAF results from refining hydrocarbon byproducts, waste oils, fats and biomass. SAF can be blended up to 50 per cent with aviation kerosene, with relatively minor impact on most current jet engines. Airbus has demonstrated both narrow and wide body flights with 100 per cent SAF. Nevertheless, the production of biofuel is not carbon neutral.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P23WLYDQ6FHO3CTNBZ34GS337Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974642},"content":"Hydrogen-based SAF is an alternative with potentially near-zero carbon emissions, if surplus green energy is used to extract hydrogen from hydrolysis of water. Several consortiums have declared their intentions to use offshore wind farms in Irish waters to produce hydrogen fuel. Nevertheless, for a given volume of fuel tank, hydrogen SAF is not as efficient as current jet fuels. It must be pressurised and cooled to reach even a quarter of the energy inherent in an equivalent tank of kerosene. Furthermore, to be cryogenically effective, a hydrogen fuel tank ideally should be cylindrical. But such tanks are challenging to fit into existing airframe designs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2LI3ZHV2CFEONFS56F6HYUCIYM","additional_properties":{"_id":"UCGQ5GBMCVG2VHEAVKH4DY46U4"},"content":"Avolon to boost fleet with 40 ‘fuel-efficient’ Boeing 737 Max aircraft","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"2FIGJSMMUBEY3OFPNIKCBMTIO4","additional_properties":{"_id":"3ZJA7XIJYBGDRN75TQ6LJTDC5Y"},"content":"Aircraft lessors call for Irish sustainable jet fuel policy","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"MGE3LEMEHBAJTEMWVI4QEN7JFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1686769208730},"content":"Boeing, Airbus and others are considering whether aircraft could be fundamentally redesigned to be significantly more aerodynamically efficient, and hence reduce fuel consumption, whether it be kerosene, bio or hydrogen SAF, or even electric.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YEU3NOORIJBSHPYID4X3YZ7YSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974644},"content":"Boeing recently confirmed it would evaluate a full-size prototype of a new airframe design by 2028 which, if successful, could lead to production by 2035. This would have a new wide but narrow wing, similar to the high aspect-ratio wings on extreme-performance gliders. It would be mounted on top of the fuselage, as a “transonic truss-braced” wing structure. A co-design with Nasa has predicted an 8-10 per cent reduction in fuel burn in a 130-210 seat aircraft, with a 52m wing span (as opposed to the 36m of a 737). The large increase in span would, however, require that the wing be foldable, like those often found on naval aircraft on aircraft carriers, to remain compatible with current airport infrastructures. This, in turn, would add weight to the wing, reducing its performance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FM5F6WCZARD3TK7EMTRG6YQFHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974645},"content":"Airbus, Bombardier and JetZero (a Californian start-up) are considering even more radical designs for passenger aircraft, using blended wing bodies (BWBs). Lifting bodies, such as space shuttles, have small wings and a fuselage shaped to give lift. By contrast, a flying wing, such as the US B2 bomber, has a large wing area and small fuselage. A BWB differs from both lifting bodies and flying wings, in having no distinguishable transition from wing to fuselage.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U5HHJXJZSFBRNKE65SGXDOTXJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974646},"content":"In 2019, Airbus tested a small model of its blended wing concept, and followed in 2020 by a design of a 200-seat passenger aircraft. It anticipates that fuel consumption could be reduced by 20 per cent due to the extra lift and reduced drag. The engines would be mounted above the wing, resulting in both less ground noise and a quieter cabin. Because of the new airframe shape, in principle it should be easier to accommodate cylindrical fuel tanks, for liquid hydrogen, than current aircraft.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WNUWII2OXNG6JKJFOGO4MKRFWY","additional_properties":{"_id":"LNKEGCD62FCLVJWEASLB3XFV5M"},"content":"Ryanair has a lot riding on development of cheaper sustainable aviation fuel","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"4A7WFEZH25DG7JSWCKC3JFZV34","additional_properties":{"_id":"RLN6YR26EFDYTIJEWAV4GWXDQU"},"content":"Decarbonising aviation will be a challenge","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WEOJKISIMJA6FCUIRJAJLODP4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974647},"content":"Bombardier has recently announced successful flights of its second model BWB design for a business jet. It believes fuel consumption could be reduced by 50 per cent as a result of the novel airframe and propulsion systems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VVDOGC2TQBGLTKQ63YX3VOGNR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974648},"content":"JetZero intends to initiate commercial operations of its BWB design by 2030. The aircraft would accommodate up to 250 passengers, over a range of 5,000 nautical miles, also with a 50 per cent reduction in emissions. The design fits within the footprint of existing aircraft, thus avoiding substantial changes to airport infrastructures. The company recently previewed the spacious cabin layout, with both side and overhead windows. The cabin layout is essentially triangular with fewer seats per row at the front, increasing to more per row at the rear. Certification of course is yet to come, including how quickly a full cabin could be safely evacuated in an emergency.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZOJS2VKQ2ZF3REGVOWQPKSUYKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1686580974649},"content":"Will radically new aircraft designs be successful? As ever in the history of aviation, innovation is frequently influenced by the military. Given the large internal volumes of BWB designs, the US Air Force is expressing strong interest in them for a possible new in-flight refuelling tanker.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Fuels that are less emitting of carbon are possible but may require a rethink of what our planes look like"},"display_date":"2023-06-15T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Aviation taking plane redesign under its wing","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"TF4W4W2FOHQOY66FITOF2QJIGY","auth":{"1":"023168a543560ce84692aceb51fa2f533815ed9f0970b6b93318e16ea3437cce"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/TF4W4W2FOHQOY66FITOF2QJIGY.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/06/15/chris-horn-aviation-taking-plane-redesign-under-its-wing/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"M4ZBXSUV65HQBIRXMSUYTPKUHU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":341,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6912235/media/0f1e621bb009aff04888caf4fbf5ed36_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/05/25/coalition-must-weight-costs-and-responsibilities-of-irish-offshore-wind-projects/","content_elements":[{"_id":"YVHCEUSRQJDFVIRQP5JA3L7WEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466833},"content":"Last week, the Government announced the provisional results of its first offshore wind auction. Four projects were successful, two off the coast of Dublin, one off Wicklow and one off Galway. Together they would implement 60 per cent of the Governments target of five gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power for the national grid by the end of 2030, and equivalent by then to about 20 per cent of national capacity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BB6OHKGUXNA35LF2USZEWFC52M","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466834},"content":"The Government’s 2021 climate action plan (<a href=\"https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/6223e-climate-action-plan-2021/\">gov.ie/en/publication/6223e-climate-action-plan-2021/</a>) envisages a longer-term goal of up to 30GW of offshore wind power off our Atlantic coasts. This enormous capability could in part be exported, and also be used to generate liquid hydrogen as a fossil fuel replacement.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEZ4ZFBNZ5CU3BUGJMF7MYP4KY","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466835},"content":"There is considerable work before the projects are operational. None of the successful auction bidders have yet been able to apply for planning permission. Delays in An Bord Pleanála, the National Parks & Wildlife Service and in the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority are causing concern for the industry. A Government taskforce for offshore wind delivery (<a href=\"https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c8749-offshore-wind-delivery-taskforce/\">gov.ie/en/publication/c8749-offshore-wind-delivery-taskforce/</a>) was established a year ago and chaired by the Department of the Environment with six other Government departments, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, EirGrid and Enterprise Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MDIDOMQ6EBDC3JKM6QKAPKZVQE","additional_properties":{"_id":"LIUYDFFFIRA3RDECFSZNI36YN4"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-42639","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"GDY62DDICZCJNLQTVJQLFZZY3U","additional_properties":{"_id":1684934577547},"content":"Offshore wind generation faces considerable engineering challenges compared to onshore plants for initial installation, subsequent servicing and eventual end-of-life decommissioning. Nearshore wind farms can be built using pylon towers anchored deep into the sea bed. Pylons on floating platforms can be used further offshore, benefiting from steadier wind conditions and less visual impact. In both cases, periodic inspection and maintenance not just of the generators, but also of the turbine blades, must be feasible offshore. Larger turbines generally have higher operating efficiencies, and so some offshore towers now have gearboxes at least 100m above the sea surface. Some suppliers are manufacturing blades for offshore, which are themselves more than 100m in length, and so require even higher pylon towers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VPOTCDUL5ZGAZJNMME3USJHVPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466837},"content":"The design and engineering of such massive structures is highly specialised. The blades on a single turbine must be delicately balanced, due to the immense strains induced on the structure. Damage to a blade and erosion of the leading edge — whether by ageing and delamination, physical strikes from birds, or ice accretion in winter conditions — can cause excessive vibration, leading to failure of the drive train. While blades and gearboxes are typically designed for lifetimes of 20 to 25 years, it is not at all unusual for a gearbox to be changed or replaced in as little as 10 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RUAEPO4H7JC3RPHKCPAY7X4PDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466838},"content":"Paradoxically, climate change may affect our national plans for offshore wind. Over the next 20 to 25 years we may well see stronger storms and possibly even hurricane conditions, especially off our Atlantic coasts. Also, as the Marine Institute recently emphasised, the Gulf Stream may change leading to cooler conditions for Ireland and our waters. Both stronger wind conditions and heavier icing have consequences for offshore wind generation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YYXYGIT6X5B6PD4P4A6MTKLGQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"23VIMUD5BJEVXNMI4PQOQBEOQY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"4LQDNGIZ5RBNPHVQKJBOLW77JA","additional_properties":{"_id":1684934577551},"content":"Ironically, wind farm technology is not yet particularly green when the whole of life is considered. While pylon towers, gear trains and generating equipment can usually be dismantled and recycled at the end of life, the turbine blades themselves are a very different story. Large offshore blades are typically cast from fibreglass-reinforced epoxy resins. Carbon fibre technology is also being introduced, although its manufacturing releases much greater carbon emissions than for epoxy or glass fibre blades.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R3HY5U26S5ENJCJXNCMYC53H6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466840},"content":"The scale of the decommissioning challenge is growing. A 2020 study (<a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956053X20301306\">sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956053X20301306</a>) forecasts 325 thousand tonnes of annual blade waste in Europe by 2050, to which the Irish offshore farms will contribute.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7KVEHYRIWRGNTNM67ROMWOHBXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466841},"content":"Decommissioned turbine blades are usually disposed of in a landfill or incinerated. However, there are a few alternatives. The Dutch firm Superuse Studios has proposed architectural applications, using decommissioned blades to make bus shelters or city benches. There have also been proposals to reuse blades in the construction of affordable housing for roof frames. The US company Global Fibreglass Solutions crushes old blades into pellets for fibre boards for walls and flooring. Danish company Refiber recovers the glass fibres in blades under high temperatures in a rotary kiln, for insulation materials.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4DFYACW535C75BFYJPMNOC3KQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1684843466842},"content":"There are several EU directives relating to the control of composite waste, including hazardous waste directive, incineration and landfill. However, there are no standards for the decommissioning of wind turbine blades across the industry. Furthermore, the costs of decommissioning are sometimes ignored in considering the total lifetime costs of a wind energy project, potentially with downstream implications for the public purse. I hope the Government is carefully considering the full costs and responsibilities over the lifetimes of each Irish offshore wind project.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"‘Wind farm technology is not yet particularly green when the whole of life is considered’"},"display_date":"2023-05-25T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Offshore wind farm technology is not particularly green when its ‘whole of life’ is considered","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IAE66FG2PJCEJNQ2IWAHXG6KBE","auth":{"1":"aa2963e7a4209059e73ae9246a3bc3eef3135f97ae08da422a103872fb4e9012"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IAE66FG2PJCEJNQ2IWAHXG6KBE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/05/25/coalition-must-weight-costs-and-responsibilities-of-irish-offshore-wind-projects/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"AZSPLT7ACZG77PGW3PEHPZFHMI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":366,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/6775696/media/fce483837ee59672c76d49139a5d4902_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/05/04/ai-advances-an-opportunity-to-think-differently-about-public-sector-expansion/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GNUNGXWGJVB3BFO7AVBM5NVJFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057437},"content":"At a time of full employment and a bulging fiscal surplus, <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/04/26/thousands-more-civil-servants-needed-to-keep-up-with-growth-in-economy-eamon-ryan-says/\" target=\"_blank\">Minister for Transport and leader of the Green Party Éamon Ryan has asserted that the State now needs to employ thousands more civil servants</a>. In an Inside Politics podcast for this newspaper last week, he claimed there was a clear understanding and agreement between the Government, employers and unions that the State’s public services need to be scaled up to match the success of the economy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RCBCJZQHVVFBLCYGPM5IVK475Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057438},"content":"This year is seeing an extraordinary revolution in technology, in my view quite possibly as significant a transformation as the introduction of the printing press in the mid-15th century. The capabilities of large language models, as exemplified by ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Bing Chat (from Microsoft) and Bard (from Alphabet), suggest inflection opportunities for most business sectors to innovate new products, streamline operations and ease staff workloads.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DUIQEA7IB5HPRGU3655EJ2SOOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057439},"content":"Mundane tasks can become more automated but, as importantly, we can be encouraged and aided to engage our intuition and creativity throughout the workplace.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J26DE547CFGVNF5ZB74FTNU7NE","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057440},"content":"The competitive consequences of artificial general intelligence systems are being actively debated across the private sector worldwide. Could the new technology also deliver public services at an even higher standard, with nationwide consistency and seamless integration of multiple agencies and bodies, reducing the need for myriad new job positions across the Civil Service?","type":"text"},{"_id":"X7CO6TKTYNBLZKCN3P46YGGP6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057441},"content":"Some administrations have been trialling natural language chatbots for some time, not least our own Revenue Commissioners regarding tax clearance inquiries by telephone. One of the most comprehensive systems to date is the “Ask Jamie” service offered by the Singapore government, integrating more than 70 government websites with a philosophy of “no wrong door” for a citizen’s inquiry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C3DKHLJY6BEVVF3XXEDCCCPQNI","additional_properties":{"_id":"2IQX56DE2JD25AZPNCIFHZIVIE"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-54796","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"GHAATGXLCFHJLGMHSPUR4H7V4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057442},"content":"These projects predate this year’s artificial general intelligence renaissance. With artificial general intelligence, the general public in principle should be able to freely use ordinary language to access information about all government services to find guidance and advice. Likewise, public service staff should now also be able to use natural language to interact with internal systems, whether querying databases, analysing data or tracking fraud. Legislation, policy papers, reports and correspondence can all be better informed and researched, and all can be rapidly and accurately summarised as briefs as required.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KUUCX7G3HBBGBD25XVDTMPX6CQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"SDETEA2SDVGEHNFGMSE7ADUZZM"},"content":"Judges do not believe their jobs will be taken over by artificial intelligence - yet","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"V2MJTWPLXZC4FIKJBKPSHG6UFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057443},"content":"Also last week, the European Council’s internal analysis and research team published a white paper on <a href=\"https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/63818/art-paper-chatgpt-in-the-public-sector-overhyped-or-overlooked-24-april-2023_ext.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><i>ChatGPT in the Public Sector</i></a><i>.</i> The report reviews opportunities and risk mitigation across the eight European principles of public administration, including accountability, transparency, impartiality and reliability.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VOXIKTZTFBCM7MIFN5IGWLIBLI","additional_properties":{"_id":"BG6PWW34TJGUXHH3ZGJALSTMIY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"C7YKGFBF2VHGTBPCUGIESCVI4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057444},"content":"A Green Party minister might object to the carbon footprint involved in training large language models. However, the figures given by OpenAI for the training of its ChatGPT show it required less than a quarter of the total power consumed annually by the data centres wooed into Ireland by the Government.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPGVJKUOLBA3VIRBAW74DX23AI","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057445},"content":"More significantly, artificial general intelligence systems are trained using the open internet and thus need extension to answer queries relating to confidential data in the public sector, such as urban planning, welfare or taxation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BGR6XBTQIVETHJD5XZ2EMXWURY","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057446},"content":"The private sector of course faces a similar requirement for queries over commercially sensitive data. Software developer forums are flourishing with how to fine tune artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems and providing contexts for queries into proprietary data. PwC has very recently announced a substantial commitment to Microsoft’s AGI technology, which includes guarantees that PwC commercial information and client data cannot be inappropriately accessed, including of course by Microsoft itself.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E5G3FINSRZFPVCPJ4VBREXCRCA","additional_properties":{"_id":"CVS5G2TJIVHIPHYYMN3TVIJLBM"},"content":"‘Thank you for your understanding’: Patrick Freyne’s battle to make sense of ChatGPT","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"PENAP2IRSBC6DJSEDYAL7P5IP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057447},"content":"Large language systems require an expensive brute force approach to their training and one that only a few technology companies can afford, currently all of them American. The resultant concentration of power in these companies and the proprietary nature of their offerings means that as yet there is no independent oversight to inspect and analyse their models.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VQGKNWNKUZERRHMEATO2GJUDEY","additional_properties":{"_id":"3F3PW5MIW5DU3F2TAXVR7QXDYI"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"2EIUBH6Q5VCWNLIJ5OHESGM6XA","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057448},"content":"However, the main political groups of the European Parliament have just last week reached agreement on the AI Act, now expected as a result to pass a plenary vote in June. The draft Act includes timely provisions relating to artificial general intelligence, including high-risk uses, safeguards against bias (for example in religious views or sexual orientation) and disclosure obligations of copyrighted information in the training of machine models.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N6WWR3EEI5IQ45CBL7QPTUIF6E","additional_properties":{"_id":"GIERUSUPJBCMDIDPKWXK6QEMMA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5MK5ZVBQPFDZFAHX4SGVJ6SYMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057449},"content":"The technology is also rapidly evolving. Within the artificial general intelligence community, there is a growing acceptance not to further expand the extreme scale of large language models, but instead to move towards even better performing smaller systems. Rather than being trained by just analysing and predicting text patterns, the next versions may be augmented by knowledge which is widely accepted as common sense by humans. Sam Altman, the OpenAI chief executive, hinted last week that artificial general intelligence systems can be improved in other ways than by simply making them even larger.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZ6AY3MP35FNFMVQD7BG3QATKE","additional_properties":{"_id":"C5R2LQ2LYZBB7C2ZT5JIK4AISY"},"content":"AI speed cameras capable of detecting phone and seatbelt use considered by Garda","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"POPYQPZICJBKXJR6BSEMQOKGOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1683027057450},"content":"The State is apparently considering a long-term investment and financial commitment to the expansion of the public service. I urge that the rapid advances in technology would be a major consideration in how to best provide a transparent, consistent and socially just society.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Rapid advances in technology should be a major consideration in how to best provide a transparent, consistent and socially just society"},"display_date":"2023-05-04T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"AI advances an opportunity to think differently about public sector expansion","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XPIRYQWRBZHXRHIUGQNYTU2OLY","auth":{"1":"9d8058bfd73357828b1d8889586acd184c047d9481e0aac6759094a00fae5928"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XPIRYQWRBZHXRHIUGQNYTU2OLY.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Work"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/05/04/ai-advances-an-opportunity-to-think-differently-about-public-sector-expansion/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"DTMEUSMGSBAMPLY7R4RKCLV5EQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":355,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/6678321/media/ef6833182caab57e7ef9eed75db659b1_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/04/20/biden-visit-highlights-potential-of-irelands-soft-power-in-supply-chain-disputes/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TBSOCH3DTJBJFFIVTUISN5P6FQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761892},"content":"As the rumble of Air Force One’s engines faded away from Ireland in the early hours of Saturday, media on both sides of the Atlantic were reflecting on the significance of President Joe Biden’s extended recess. Here, the emphasis has been on warmth of kinship and community as the country celebrated the attention of a world leader. In the US, some commentary has been on the lack of political substance and the familial focus of the visit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VC3LHMEBZNCQBLTI3R3KDB3EZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761893},"content":"The international significance of the trip may have yet to play out. Trade tensions between Europe and the US have been rising as both the Ursula von der Leyen and Biden administrations respond to challenges to global supply chains.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4M24RS2XIZDBTAOMVKMT5CVCIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761894},"content":"The Ukraine war is forcing a reconsideration of hitherto acceptable dependencies on exclusive suppliers. The deteriorating relationship between China and Taiwan is likewise accelerating a re-evaluation of trade chains. Ireland plays a particularly unique role in having the ears of both Brussels and Washington, which the Biden trip has demonstrably strengthened.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPANV2GVTFEYPNGGDZK23SLDVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761895},"content":"The semiconductor industry is a well-analysed battleground. The US, under Donald Trump and now Biden, has dramatically restricted China’s access to western semiconductor technology in response both to China’s growing military capabilities and an urgency to strengthen the US domestic economy. The unique position of certain European sole suppliers in the global semiconductor value chain, and the vulnerability of key fabrication plants in Taiwan, have led to a realisation in Brussels of the strategic opportunities for Europe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PN4TDKQ24VGTPBRHCWMTD2CK7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"RZ3Q5Y6HQBC7FOTTZ6I4OB7YLQ"},"content":"Tesla sales of China-made electric vehicles up 18% in January","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"M44NSLVA5FBJJBJSDPAXUO6MIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761896},"content":"A less-recognised conflict is now emerging with the transition to electric vehicles, and especially their power source. China processes almost 90 per cent of the world’s rare earth metals, and 60 per cent of lithium, a key element for vehicle batteries.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E4V6H7OXING6BJ7AUYYLTCMJB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761897},"content":"In early 2022, the US department of energy convened various industrial experts to recommend how to establish a robust and stable supply chain for lithium battery technology, as a matter of national economic security. Their <a href=\"https://ee.cdnartwhere.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Li-Bridge-Industry-Report_2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">report</a> was duly published in February. It recommends a national consortium for procuring raw materials, shared commercialisation pilot projects, reform of environmental permits for mining and battery production, and substantial investment in workforce education.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WFVPW3BVMFEWLOSIUH3UTBIZBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761898},"content":"American observers believe that the US is about five years behind Europe in battery manufacturing, and even more behind Asia. The report notes that, currently, US companies capture less than 30 per cent of the value of lithium battery cells sold into the rapidly growing domestic market for electric vehicles.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZCPMSQGWVVAUJEN7WMTEB3V4QU","additional_properties":{"_id":"E6BXHK3QSRDBXPHVSD3I4KFKGM"},"content":"China says it is open for business again as western CEOs descend on Beijing","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"BATJMOOBEZBKHGX665WGODYSAE","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761899},"content":"Earlier this month, the US Environmental Protection Agency published a plan for two-thirds of passenger cars and a quarter of heavy trucks to be all-electric by 2032. In 2022, just 5 per cent of new cars and fewer than 2 per cent of trucks were all-electric.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BQO26UIKBF3RMSF4BLTVEOG5E","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761900},"content":"The aggressive transition plan has met some strong resistance from automobile manufacturers which express concern over sourcing the raw materials for vehicle batteries. Consumer groups have pointed to an insufficient national fast-charging network for electric vehicles. The industry is, naturally, also contemplating whether the outcome of the 2024 presidential election could lead to subsequent potential policy reversal on the ambitious move to all-electric.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NM5ZEHTBIRCI5FCMIJBKTHVSHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761901},"content":"In the EU, there is concern that the $369 billion (€336 billion) of green subsidies in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will only apply to products made in the US. Manufacturing operations and human talent could be lured out of Europe, making Europe even more dependent on US-based industry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P4ZS3B5UTBEMHML7UO2A4R77KU","additional_properties":{"_id":"DEDPDRKAYJB6JLWZVMRDU5Y5EI"},"content":"Tesla boosts China investment with plans for Shanghai battery factory","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"Y2DXPJJSK5EIVC3ETVJGPJXQNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1681746188428},"content":"Under pressure from France and Germany – and their vehicle manufacturers – the commission proposed easing state aid rules to accelerate green investment. Ireland joined other smaller member states in objecting to such subsidies for the European green industry, citing to Brussels the weakening of the coveted single market. The commission has responded by enabling €225 billion of loans and €20 billion of grants for the green industry, money unspent from the post-pandemic recovery fund.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZXTLO7WB4ZFJVBHMV2DVTU2JZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761903},"content":"The commission has also recently announced that not more than 65 per cent of any key raw material should be sourced from a single third country. Europe should mine at least 10 per cent of critical raw materials, including lithium, copper and nickel, and recover at least 15 per cent of its needs from recycling. Raw materials handling will be deemed strategic, thus accelerating access to financing and environmental permits.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QQ4ELNGCLBEANGJAH6HZLZIRF4","additional_properties":{"_id":"N2TD4LHEZVG4BERMOPGEHCTK2Q"},"content":"EU looks to US with goal of depriving China of most advanced technologies","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"FOG67TCWJZB7JLCKGE2AFNTH5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761904},"content":"Japan has very recently negotiated an agreement with the US to co-operate on raw materials supply, particularly for electric vehicles, which will remove import duties and enable US consumers to avail of tax credits for vehicles sourced with Japanese critical materials. The deal controversially circumvented normal congressional approval for international trade agreements.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZPKSXTVYXFA7BHN7DVLEIFVA2U","additional_properties":{"_id":1681726761905},"content":"The EU and US administrations are exploring a similar agreement but both parties are sensitive to political support and process. Irish soft power, astute political navigation and delicate compromise may be a welcome opportunity for further influence in Brussels and Washington.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Having the ear of both Washington and Brussels can put Ireland in unique role as powers battle over green subsidies, EV production and chip technology"},"display_date":"2023-04-20T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Biden visit highlights potential of Ireland’s soft power in supply chain disputes ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GSL5S3NWTZED7I477IKF5G3DKY","auth":{"1":"f6a10af70546c55cb1c84478445579f1f7ff4adbf8c83eb4f8817cf4518ed7d5"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GSL5S3NWTZED7I477IKF5G3DKY.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Economy"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/04/20/biden-visit-highlights-potential-of-irelands-soft-power-in-supply-chain-disputes/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"QXPRQFWHAJBVLC7OJEDGO5YL7Y","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":458,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/6636573/media/1e393d6862f4c7731b921b1fa63537e1_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/technology/big-tech/2023/04/13/ai-will-change-everything-is-human-critical-thinking-up-to-the-challenge/","content_elements":[{"_id":"J362VDKJ2VHENDYWG2F24VB6FA","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602010},"content":"“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” wrote the futurist Arthur C Clarke in a 1961 essay. The artificially intelligent chatbot ChatGPT, recently released by San Francisco-based OpenAI, can appear magical: its capabilities are dramatically more advanced than the computer technologies that we have grown to accept, such as search engines, Wikipedia and office tools. ChatGPT is almost like having a wizard at your fingertips.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OS6UJWVTN5BKZOATCIVAOONDCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602011},"content":"In the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger is born a Muggle (a non-magical human) but devotes herself to become a wizard. She is an obsessive student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her psych is the power of information. Her magic skills frequently solve challenges and puzzles throughout the series.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6IWDFMYMTZDDVAEOZN2ZEK4RWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602012},"content":"“When in doubt, go to the library,” observes her friend Ron of Hermione’s philosophy of life. Hermione studies a very wide range of topics, including astrology, charms, herbology, potions, defence against the dark arts, and the history of magic. ChatGPT has extensive training, using data culled from the internet between 2016 and 2019, including from Reddit (a social network platform), Wikipedia and two internet corpora of literature. Its versatility is extensive. It can answer almost any question; take tests; write business pitches and also poetry; summarise articles; generate essays, and compose both software and music.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5LDBZRAACVGUNAX2MAKIUTQH74","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602013},"content":"When asked whether she intends to follow a career in Magical Law, Hermione indignantly retorts, “No I’m not, I’m hoping to do some good in the world”. OpenAI’s stated ambition is an artificial general intelligence that can solve human-level problems, safely and beneficially. Because of potential bias (such as racism and misogyny) in the internet training materials for ChatGPT, OpenAI supplemented the automated learning with reinforcement feedback from humans, who rewarded good answers and rejected inappropriate or incorrect replies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AMEANKQJJZG6RIRWIXNRYBQVTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602014},"content":"ChatGPT has a number of internal safeguards to moderate its responses. When researching this article, I challenged ChatGPT on whether it knew how to make a bomb. It answered that it would not provide information on creating weapons, nor indeed on engaging with any illegal activities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJUVUPRXQRG5NPNNTVTKOURZEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"YTXSSENGVVC5ZDZ23MU4IIIYXE"},"content":"Google’s cuts to perks feel like a red herring to bigger issues facing tech","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"NLPAKZ56JRE3XKFFOMZFZDSZEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602015},"content":"Some writers and artists are deeply concerned that their original works have been used by OpenAI for the training of ChatGPT, without attribution or royalties. ChatGPT correctly explained the concepts of plagiarism and fair use to me. It asserted that it cannot create something that did not previously exist. Then, when I asked it whether it had used the works of others in creating some poetry for me, it blustered that although its poem was original, it may have been influenced by its training materials.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GANHWRVOIJCGJBAEAP3NSRRNF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602016},"content":"Microsoft and OpenAI are already being sued for copyright violations because their new AI-based coding tool reputedly reproduces sections of licensed open source code without attributing the original authors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IIVFURRCXRBO7LPKZ2GAWISNOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602017},"content":"“Everything’s going to change now, isn’t it?” observes Hermione when the threat of the return of an arch-villain finally materialises. The potential of AI has been debated over the centuries since the Roman poet Ovid wrote of Aphrodite bringing Pymaglion’s sculpture to life, but now in 2023 AI has finally and very dramatically arrived.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K5MQMHCKDJEHNAEMEIMAE6W4DM","additional_properties":{"_id":"X7Q5M6COT5AQRJ65YDPMRHF7AU"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"U3JLN4F5KZDQXFMQEEM4RMFGOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602018},"content":"Technology like ChatGPT will fundamentally disrupt many occupations – any in which content is delivered from base material. Handling customer inquiries, producing guides, secretarial duties, workaday accounting, routine software coding, generating advertising content, speech writing, news flow reporting, paralegal work, spotting trends, teaching and instruction are just a few. After all, a wizard who has read everything can elucidate and imitate almost anything.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFWMRENPSVE4BHG6Y7HZ36XAYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602019},"content":"A recent open letter reputedly signed by more than 1,000 AI experts and backers, including Elon Musk, called for an immediate pause on the work on general AI systems for at least six months, so that the capabilities and dangers can be studied and understood. In my view this will not happen. Both economies and multinationals are in intense global competition: standing still is not an option, since others will not.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2CWZPSJNRVGMPLOK36EU34OK7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1681365179930},"content":"Hermione jibes: “I mean, it’s sort of exciting, isn’t it, breaking the rules?” Many traditional patterns of work are about to fracture: your career may well be about to change, now that you – and everyone else – can have an articulate know-it-all assistant. AI opens entirely new opportunities for understanding, ingenuity and invention. It can yield insights and perceptions that others may have missed, and guide your imagination and creativity. But like any tool, it needs attention and experience to problem-solve and to gain the most benefit.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EBWPWEBQ45BGNCY2T6BZ4AU5HU","additional_properties":{"_id":"TPTUSEIUWZEZVN6IUAQFRXN7XU"},"content":"I’m deeply frightened by Bing’s artificial intelligence after testing it. Here’s why","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"AFAJVNQJ5BFILOW2PGM4FEXIYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602021},"content":"Dumbledore, Hermione’s mentor and the headmaster of Hogwarts, sighs: “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.” Hermione’s self-assured confidence occasionally irritates others, particularly Ron. A big fault of the current versions of ChatGPT is an occasional hallucination or cheerfully asserted delusion. ChatGPT currently provides no indication of its uncertainty. If asked to write software, the code produced may have faults. In writing this article, my fact-checking of ChatGPT’s responses exposed a number of errors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z6LDSWZY2VDSJKF3XLPNSK43AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602022},"content":"An Australian mayor, Brian Hood, has threatened to sue OpenAI because ChatGPT mistakenly claimed he pleaded guilty in a bribery scandal in which he was in fact a whistleblower. Jonathan Turley, a law professor in Washington DC, has asserted that ChatGPT defamed him by claiming that during a class trip to Alaska, he had made sexually charged remarks and tried to touch a student, based on a supposed newspaper article.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BDCZHEP2FNB7ZJQHAS5ZPCTI4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602023},"content":"A critical danger from the power and “magic” of artificial intelligence systems is the temptation over time to come to trust the machine response, to unquestioningly accept its utterances. What will our society become if we accept the pronouncements of intelligent machine assistants without critical assessment? Will culture become shaped by whatever histories and norms are captured within the system’s training materials, forgetting other historical perspectives? Will some knowledge become hidden from us, filtered out by those who control what the intelligence is allowed to tell us?","type":"text"},{"_id":"OWFMYKVGGJGWTHWTXEKS4OH4SQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1681150602024},"content":"ChatGPT eloquently regurgitates whatever it has been taught, like any diligent student. But Hermione also assesses her knowledge to solve challenges. Artificial intelligence tools are definitively not sentient, but they can catalyse us to critically evaluate, reflect and decide.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The temptation over time to come to unquestioningly accept the machine response is a big danger"},"display_date":"2023-04-13T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"AI will change everything. Is human critical thinking up to the challenge?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"JPPU7KEQ6EJYRJ6T7CXG5A2M5E","auth":{"1":"76a79a09f1c9bd88bc46f94ee2295c9e6e625fefc27b33b14562934dab3930b9"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/JPPU7KEQ6EJYRJ6T7CXG5A2M5E.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Big Tech"},{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Technology"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/technology/big-tech/2023/04/13/ai-will-change-everything-is-human-critical-thinking-up-to-the-challenge/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/technology/big-tech","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Big Tech"}}}},{"_id":"OTCKM4J5W5AM7B27I5OSYCJ3TE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":326,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6598940/media/1e70cd22794b26ccceceea85ac28bb2c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/04/06/five-years-on-from-its-launch-has-the-states-500m-tech-innovation-fund-delivered-on-the-investment/","content_elements":[{"_id":"QLP5E7ZOK5HN5AFO3TLAASXGPY","additional_properties":{},"content":"Internet traffic worldwide has steadily grown in the past decade,  averaging a 30 per cent annual increase.  In turn,  teleommunications operators, internet access providers and content distributers have invested heavily to meet demand and anticipated further expansion.  ","type":"text"},{"_id":"VSKFW67ZOBFRFKHOHNPJ4LQ7RI","additional_properties":{},"content":"At the start of the Covid pandemic in early 2020,  a full year’s worth of internet traffic growth occurred in just eight weeks. The pattern of traffic dramatically switched heavily towards residential access, as home working became necessary and home entertainment was not just for evenings.  Remarkably, despite the internet coming under such heavy pressure, there were no systemic failures of the infrastructure.  By contrast, consider how frequently road networks can quickly congest under rapid traffic loads.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NE5EO47TLJB43NGQ46L2MUHDJI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The early internet was built as a collaboration of computer networks,  each independently operated. A major turning point in performance and scaling of the internet occurred in 1998 when the US company Akamai noted that traffic from websites does not frequently change.  The company built a global “content delivery network” (CDN) which kept copies of website pages taken from their original sources, and delivered web content to users from whatever Akamai server was closest to them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M27SFXQ6CZGJLLSFAS23POKRUU","additional_properties":{},"content":"Today, internet traffic is dominated by video streaming (such as from YouTube,  Netflix,  Amazon Prime and Apple TV).  Since each video consists of predetermined data,  CDNs for video streaming are key to how the internet successfully scales.  Major search engines, social network platforms and content streaming services have meshes of interconnected data centres. Internet service providers hook up homes and businesses to the internet, whether it be by mobile or fixed connections,  and so control the “last mile” from the internet out to individual users.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PDCXETWWGFF3VCWJNZGNZRZHZM","additional_properties":{},"content":"The internet is now reaching another turning point.  With 5G networks,  there is widespread expectation that a myriad new devices will imminently connect and start generating traffic. Sensors are being widely deployed for smart cities and urban infrastructures,  for smart homes and home care, for intelligent driving systems and even for smarter supply chains for manufacturing.  ","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z346LBL7GVCEHBJBBMN3FSS46E","additional_properties":{},"content":"However the most intense source of new internet traffic is likely to be augmented reality applications,  in which headsets and glasses overlay the view of the real world with content streamed over the internet.  Live imaging of the real world may transform digital social interactions and e-gaming applications.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BKRPCFOOARAJ7AJMYG46I2PW4M","additional_properties":{},"content":"Augmented reality systems may cause a fundamental shift in internet traffic patterns.  When a video is streamed from a server to a consumer, with the consumer generating little traffic in return,  an asymmetric traffic flow results.  However augmented reality applications may live-stream mixed content, symmetrically peer-to-peer between consumers.  The scaling advantages from CDNs may thus reduce in relevance. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"DBSOB7VBBVEOBDFGOIARXH3JCM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Who should invest in 5G and new technologies to support the growth of the internet?  In May 2022,  the European Telecommunication Network Operators Association (ETNO), representing most of the major operators, published a white paper advocating stronger regulation by the European Commission and in particular proposed charging content providers and video streaming services, who are mainly American, to help defray the cost of new infrastructure investment.  ","type":"text"},{"_id":"HOREGEU5FZDEVE5ANYCOFCIVJM","additional_properties":{},"content":"In turn, Meta (Facebook’s parent) commissioned a response in October, which actively refuted many of the ETNO claims and demands.  The association representing the European Telecommunication Regulators, BEREC, also published a paper, which challenged additional charges to content providers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSHALRT5ZFAVBFFI67GPMQHPWE","additional_properties":{},"content":"How about the consumer perspective?  We are used to paying our mobile and fixed line broadband operators regular fees to access the internet.  What if these access fees were removed,  but the operators injected advertisements instead?   We use websites, social media platforms,  search engines and some video content for free,  accepting that advertising meets the costs.  Would we be prepared to pay to remove advertisements?  Some of us also take out subscriptions to video streaming for films and series,  which are largely without advertisements.  What if these video streaming services were free but started showing advertisements?","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4QIRRPCBRHGNIHW2DDI5B6RQM","additional_properties":{},"content":"Would a “one-stop shop” approach be preferable?  Could we pay a single supplier a subscription fee to then access the internet and interact with all of its content, without any further charges or advertisements?   Such aggregation would involve the supplier negotiating reseller agreements with major content and streaming providers.  The approach is not without precedent:  the music industry underwent a fundamental change two decades ago as consumers largely switched from buying from individual music labels to instead from content aggregators.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ITUX252I5ZDUJLK4B5BBHJD4B4","additional_properties":{},"content":"Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic is treated fairly, without regard to source.  A one-stop shop for internet access would not necessarily preclude net neutrality,  but bilateral relationships could improve scaling and efficiency.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GRJ3CCSFUVBQJMPAAC5NAS4AI4","additional_properties":{},"content":"The rollout of 5G networks,  the drive towards even higher internet capacities, and new usage patterns from augmented reality and e-gaming may yet disrupt the current players as new business models for internet infrastructure emerge.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Could we pay a single supplier a subscription to access the internet and interact with all of its content, without any further charges or ads?"},"display_date":"2023-04-06T04:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Who should invest in 5G and new technologies to support the growth of the internet? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"LYHCPDLKNX55CEGWJ62JUOMG3Y","auth":{"1":"3d96e27833977c908b59682c45466083f6ab476f1d7b5c395f1acfb7289f3ec3"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/LYHCPDLKNX55CEGWJ62JUOMG3Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/04/06/five-years-on-from-its-launch-has-the-states-500m-tech-innovation-fund-delivered-on-the-investment/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"DN72WZMZ4ZGTNPGGKLLM2WT3XQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":333,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6499096/media/d32b1603921cca4b87262e455809900b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/03/23/state-can-show-foresight-by-backing-successes-of-disruptive-technologies-innovation-funding/","content_elements":[{"_id":"BYJU7C5YEJARNH6V7D3MOKOJLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407034},"content":"The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has recently announced its sixth call since 2018 for projects seeking funding under its Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).","type":"text"},{"_id":"GSDSDZJG5FGDJCNI6AV62KJKAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1679394129405},"content":"Proposed projects can seek at least €1.5 million of public funding over three years. Each proposal should have at least three independent partners in Ireland, including at least one small or medium enterprise (SME) and at least one larger company. The closing date for submissions is May 31st.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5FSNSB733NDUVH55MMP5NCKPRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407035},"content":"The DTIF has a €500 million allocation under the 2018 and 2021 National Development Plans. It aims to reduce the financial risk to collaborative initiatives which could disrupt a global market, transforming the way in which we work and live in the future. A secondary goal is to protect existing companies from the impact of anarchic technologies developed elsewhere, by suitable preparation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5KEK6CNYAJAMTKF2JXXKSM3OT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407036},"content":"As background, the State has invested relatively heavily over 20 years in research and development via Science Foundation Ireland into the Irish academic system and industrial research collaborations, with a budget of €222 million in 2021 alone. The public commitment to world-class research is doubtless one reason for continued interest by the multinational sector in Irish operations, tapping into a talent pool of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as into advanced outcomes and results.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YGMIODTRNBFTHHDPUK6OIKVMSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407037},"content":"Recipients of funds from the DTIF potentially can exploit this foundation to pull innovation through to significant global commercial impact.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3PDMSJZT5NHWBH6ZL4BHNLEJDA","additional_properties":{"_id":"FESU4MROXJGMPBMIHGRWR6OQPE"},"content":"Autistic father develops language tool for ‘the unreachable and unteachable’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KDZGGOEFNBAB3MYOQL45AGFJQ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407038},"content":"More than 80 projects with a total public investment of €275 million have been supported in the first four calls. The announcement of the results of the fifth call, which closed in July 2022, are expected imminently.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G3SIUIO445CEPAEX7NUO4VSS4A","additional_properties":{"_id":"3W3I6VIREZFVVJFKNS2JVKPDMY"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-20343","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"UIVAOFD3KFBCTBA2WMY5MTKCHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407039},"content":"The department highlights some of the funded projects in its <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@EnterTradeInnov\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube channel</a>. These include real-time monitoring of water quality in a collaboration between TechWorks Marine (an SME) and Dublin City University, and a sound and vision platform for voice-enabled toys involving Soapbox Labs (an SME), Xperi (a Californian public company) and the University of Galway. Others include laser-based transmission systems for situations where physical connections (eg fibre optic cables) are unfeasible, involving Pilot Photonics and mBryonics (two SMEs), Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin, and a novel approach to screening candidate drugs for clinical trials, with Hooke Bio (an SME), Munster Technical University and the University of Galway.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5EB53IEDBRDUNDWGH354NQGSAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407040},"content":"Further projects highlighted in a February promotion in this newspaper include a device to help reduce heart arrhythmia, with Atrian Medical (an SME) and the University of Galway, and a machine for improving the final quality of 3D printed metallic parts especially for medical implants, with SME Blueacre Technology and Trinity College Dublin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EGCUKHFADBHHZNULYXCRITPNFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"35HNMFAFINADZAVLR7QQDZLTA4"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"XVBLJCKACJCBDETATICHBIYCQY","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407041},"content":"I believe that, so far, disruption to any specific global market has yet to materialise from the DTIF investments. The department briefing materials note that ideally a venture would have commercial impact only after a period of between three and seven years of completion of a funded project, so perhaps it is as yet premature to expect visible market impacts. Achieving commercial success takes time. An innovative offering generally requires cultivating adoption by a market, bringing customers and partners on a gentle evolutionary journey beyond the comfort of their current solutions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UMFTVIZPUZGUHBQU4HANRNNQ7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407042},"content":"By contrast, a truly disruptive contender into a market revolutionises current approaches, totally transforming the dominant solutions. Most markets are naturally cautious and conservative to adopt new solutions, particularly from young companies. To be acceptable, a disruptive entrant must dramatically improve efficacy or efficiency, or both.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OHLHR4MFYRGHBAJOOJ5BJWLIHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407043},"content":"Successful disruption requires an insightful understanding of the dynamics of a given market, and especially of the incremental values added by its various suppliers and partners.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FJ5RHVDM6ZE7HOM4BYXA7O5UEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"VVFWX6D46ZEEDAFMADSSVQZMN4"},"content":"‘These are not business-as-usual projects, they are focused on the development of disruptive, game-changing technologies’","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"KZA56I4JS5GTRCOMYIYVX3RGQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407044},"content":"Commercial innovation and disruption are thus related, but are not the same. The DTIF designation uses both “disruptive” and “innovation”, arguably conflating both in its mission. But in either case, the department is catalysing technology development to strengthen the economy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F2HKFFZMAFBILDGRNXOVZUSU6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407045},"content":"Given the maturation of the early DTIF-supported ventures, what more could the State now do? The DTIF says it aims to “transform the way in which we work and live in the future”. Five years into the DTIF, it seems an appropriate point to consider seriously how the department and its first DTIF recipients meet this expectation from their use of public funds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JVTLOJ2XO5CVDHZRDLGFCSJZ5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407046},"content":"An obvious step is to adopt and deploy commercial results in the public sector now. By being an early adopter of at least some of the technologies successfully built as a result of the DTIF, the State can demonstrate its foresight, not only in identifying significant initiatives, but also in verifying practical use for society at large.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZGGSDNEVWZBSPDK3JH6O7L5FXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1679386407047},"content":"The unfortunate resignation of the Health Service Executive’s head of digital transformation in January, citing significant resistance to change and to new approaches, delivered a very unhelpful message throughout the applied research and commercialisation sectors. An intelligent and strategic action to “join up thinking” of industrial policy across the public sector would clearly be opportune, to both develop new technologies and more importantly to prove their benefits in the market.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Adopting and deploying commercial results into the public sector could prove the commercial case for new solutions"},"display_date":"2023-03-23T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"State can show foresight by backing successes of Disruptive Technologies Innovation Funding ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"YQWNE5JDJBHOVPORA6MX4AK2SI","auth":{"1":"371a6e80bcdd224d339e539ce061c7972b06e0490b77997b7377528c1118eb20"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YQWNE5JDJBHOVPORA6MX4AK2SI.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/03/23/state-can-show-foresight-by-backing-successes-of-disruptive-technologies-innovation-funding/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"47FM67RPABFUXEHWQKM3HOJ56U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":409,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6451817/media/2fbf8134fcab1d561ebf134bd396237b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/03/14/will-silicon-valley-banks-collapse-lead-to-a-change-in-the-tech-industrys-winner-takes-all-culture/","content_elements":[{"_id":"H3BPT2IN2FGW3GOTTYZOQG6CFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734578},"content":"The Silicon Valley ethos is winner takes all, driven by risk-taking and stepping away from any pesky regulations. The stories of Uber, Facebook owner Meta, Google’s parent Alphabet and others provide ample evidence to support the principle.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XN7GA5LMGVCNJPUZSTVA3MDPCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677509},"content":"There is, then, some considerable irony that when Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) followed the same mantra and has now failed, the tech sector has been so astounded by the demise of its flagship financial partner.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TVPYU7RM7FBLFBAEWMPAWKYFVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734579},"content":"SVB was founded in 1983 by two former Bank of America managers. By 2015, the bank asserted that over 65 per cent of all US start-ups, and myriad others worldwide, used its services. Until last week, while it was only the 16th-largest US bank, it was the clear winner in banking to the Silicon Valley community. SVB knew, and was known by, anyone in the Valley who matters.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q4XVYGFF4NFR3PA3DNR5LENPKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677511},"content":"It lobbied, with others, to reduce the Dodd-Frank banking regulations introduced under the Obama administration, and the Trump administration obliged by rowing back on solvency tests and liquidity obligations applicable to non first-tier banks. Meanwhile, SVB took a huge gamble with its investment strategy. And it has now failed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MJGKNRGMPRAJ3DORMELGQ3KQBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"MU4J6LPASVENFDIZAI3UB6AFTM"},"content":"Paul Krugman: Silicon Valley Bank isn’t Lehman Brothers","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"WOAC3W7MXJHH5OOFBFQVYQY2BY","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734580},"content":"Why did companies, venture capitalists and private equity specialists bank with SVB, often exclusively? Because nearly everyone else did, and thus SVB knew everybody and could often facilitate introductions. The bank was a matchmaker, a connector, and a catalyst, but also a quality filter: a rising rookie company or founder could quickly and informally be vetted through the personal networks of SVB senior managers and executives.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXTDVY4IGJGZTKPECVWWXHE6OY","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677513},"content":"The 11 non-executive directors on the SVB board included management consultants, experienced executives and venture capitalists spanning the tech sector. Just one came from the banking industry, and one from a US treasury background.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CICIIGTXARBGXHEPWYMIISY5KQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"H6SFZJ5OJZGBLD4RZ3JVOJBOQQ"},"subtype":"blockquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"L6E46OIEZVA3FD6ENXPUENTVXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734581},"content":"The business model of most banks is to take deposits from those who have money to invest, to lend at a higher interest rate to those who need money, and to pocket the difference.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QKOHAWGKCBF3HMHZV557YIWNSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677516},"content":"But by focusing on start-ups, venture capital and private equity funds, SVB had a majority of customers who had surplus money and often did not need loans. This was particularly the case throughout 2021, when interest rates were very low and almost all investors sought higher returns via riskier investments.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SIWR7YYXRRCHZOZY7I5WJMV6Z4","additional_properties":{"_id":"AQ4NXXIF2VC7BOGBU2SHKMXGNI"},"content":"Collapsed Silicon Valley Bank had ‘many’ Irish customers, says McGrath","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"QL435K3RHRGK3KXQCCEFT7PI3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677518},"content":"Funds drenched the tech sector from venture capital, private equity, initial public and secondary offerings, and special purpose acquisitions (Spacs). Many tech sector customers, start-up or risk funds alike, parked their excess cash into SVB. SVB’s deposits grew by 86 per cent in 2021 alone, reaching $209 billion (€195 billion) by the end of 2022. About 37,000 customers accounted for 74 per cent of the bank’s assets, with an average account size of $4 million.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XUSPCSXXTJEX7JWSZBTHR42Z4E","additional_properties":{"_id":"J6SXMVYQOFBWNIQWFFHOC6VJMU"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-60011","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"EQ2UTVVDKVGT3LOQDBTK72IJTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734582},"content":"Because few customers needed to borrow money – quite the opposite – SVB sought a low risk haven for its substantial deposits. But interest rates were low – which drove the inflows of underused capital into SVB in the first place – and so the bank purchased US government bonds with long maturity dates, which offered better interest yields. After all, US government bonds are a safe investment, or so the SVB board presumably judged.","type":"text"},{"_id":"27J5DNA2Z5FC3NRKKL5FD6C4MA","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734583},"content":"The inevitable happened. In mid-2022, the US Federal Reserve started raising interest rates, concerned as inflation rates in the US economy surged after the pandemic downturn. US government bonds became available at higher yields, reversing the earlier investor flight from bonds into risk capital.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EJICDGLKJNDWVEYTE3GJDJJMF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677523},"content":"The tech sector started to stall, and public and secondary offerings diminished. Company valuations fell, and the start-up sector struggled to raise new funding rounds. Naturally, those with deposits at SVB began drawing down to cover routine costs such as payroll.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F44NUQ6LDRHWLDNQMCN2M3MXJM","additional_properties":{"_id":"VEV3IEQ6BFC7JIUFEI5AB4ZI3Q"},"subtype":"blockquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"RND5RZP725HXTEXVBERUSVEXFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734584},"content":"SVB needed to meet its customers’ understandable withdrawals, yet much of its deposit capital was tied into long-term, low-yield, US government bonds purchased in previous years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JWFF2XW2OZAHVMXIG7GUMJ7QCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677526},"content":"These bonds were perfectly safe but were not in themselves an immediate source of cash. The bonds could of course be sold but only at a loss, because they were low yield as compared to the higher yields available today from current US government bonds. SVB’s chief risk officer, responsible for managing the bank’s exposure and in particular balancing customer cash requirements against the bank’s assets, stepped down in April 2022. She was not replaced until January.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAJ3LGMSFVGBFKIGT2OHCIJRZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734585},"content":"In December, there were some whispers by industry insiders that SVB had serious challenges. While the customer base was apparently diversified, in practice a relatively small number of risk investment firms strongly influenced the bulk of these customers. Neither SVB’s investment portfolio nor customer base were in reality diverse.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V75DJQ75X5DDDKYF2TO27U7ODM","additional_properties":{"_id":"X5EVFCBLQZEVTJYJY5IUE4IETE"},"content":"Bank share sell-off spreads to Japan as SVB collapse shakes markets","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"RJGEH4JSRBE7JJYRLRATBMI4MQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677529},"content":"SVB then sold $21 billion worth of its US government bonds, but at a loss of $1.8 billion. It hired Goldman Sachs to undertake a private sale last week of $2 billion of new SVB equity to plug the gap, planning to announce this publicly only after completion, so as not to spook its investors and customers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A3JQM6SNGBFWFKCRTPCVNF4SD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677530},"content":"On Wednesday, Moody’s notified the bank that it was about to downgrade its credit rating. SVB executives feared a credit downgrade would alarm its investors and customers, and sought to immediately anchor the private sale with a $500 million commitment from private equity firm General Atlantic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5PDASH3TV5C7LAUNQWFX6BELME","additional_properties":{"_id":1678791677531},"content":"On Thursday, the rumour machine was rife, with many customers seeking to totally withdraw their funds despite the protestations of SVB leadership, and others calmly advising that that they would stay with SVB: after all, it was just too important to the tech sector to be allowed to fail. SVB stock fell 60 per cent, and General Atlantic withdrew. On Friday, government regulators stepped in to take control to try to protect depositors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2J6TETQYCJDDFKVZVCM5SA4HZE","additional_properties":{"_id":"IUJ6NCBNGZGBFDOLAHYAZVDZZU"},"content":"Problems remain for Irish tech firms despite SVB rescue","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"3TEL76UY2BD2FDUR3Y4ARX3J6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1678784734587},"content":"As the Valley well knows, innovation and disruption change entire sectors, economies and societies. The Valley celebrates the consolidation of power in new industry leaders. But SVB clearly demonstrates how this culture creates obvious vulnerability.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXPUTK4FZRAE3AUGUQTEIHH3CY","additional_properties":{"_id":1678792801105},"content":"Will the disruption now caused by the failure of SVB become a case of Silicon Valley having to – in a Valley phrase – eat its own dog food? And should we expect changes in Valley culture as a result?","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The tech sector celebrates the consolidation of power in new industry leaders, but SVB’s collapse may change that"},"display_date":"2023-03-14T09:07:51.769Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Did ‘winner takes all’ culture of tech industry lead to Silicon Valley Bank’s fall?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"UT4VM5SYSRJ5HIOIQMKDDXKXKE","auth":{"1":"93114796ffc3583449fa1c82ef1c946efc0f8078b7ce3ff3a99751318d33ced1"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/UT4VM5SYSRJ5HIOIQMKDDXKXKE.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Technology"},{"name":"Financial Services"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/03/14/will-silicon-valley-banks-collapse-lead-to-a-change-in-the-tech-industrys-winner-takes-all-culture/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"4XTREDZ64RERZMLN3AGCWOQIM4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":324,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6283827/media/cf471cf153c4704329275a77e97209fa_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/02/23/how-close-is-a-reliable-prediction-system-for-earthquakes/","content_elements":[{"_id":"KXUXFXYJYRC67BXXQ2AUC4DMPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691367},"content":"A professor of mathematics in Utrecht, Buys Ballot, founded the world’s first meteorological centre in January 1854, analysing weather reports from four stations along the Dutch coastline. A few months later Robert Fitzroy, the captain of HMS Beagle during the historic global circumnavigation with Charles Darwin, founded the UK’s Meteorological Office.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AEF2YM74W5EE7P5PZ4MHG62LNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691368},"content":"By June 1860 Ballot had established a regular service to warn of storms, based simply on deviations from average barometric pressure. The next year Fitzroy also started a storm-warning system after a disastrous shipwreck off Anglesey. Unlike Ballot’s four Dutch stations, Fitzroy connected 50 weather reporting stations around the British Isles by telegraph to his office in London. As a byproduct of his analysis of atmospheric data, Fitzroy also inaugurated a daily 24-hour national weather forecast, first published by the Times in London that August. Although his forecasts were reasonably correct, there was considerable public criticism of inaccuracies. Fitzroy died by suicide in April 1865.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K7KQDYQZ2JGIHIV2AC35WWKHGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691369},"content":"Weather forecasting today is remarkably accurate, saving countless lives at sea, on land and in the air. It catalyses economic activity for farming and the marine, and warns of potential damage to physical assets from storms. Given the phenomenal success of weather prediction, why do we not yet have a similar prediction system for earthquakes since they too can cause immense loss of life and economic disaster?","type":"text"},{"_id":"PM3HSKH74FHPLBE6HN4MKF3DJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691370},"content":"For centuries humans have observed some animals appear to become alarmed a few seconds, or occasionally hours or days, before an earthquake. However, other factors may also cause animals to behave unusually when an earthquake is not imminent. Animals are thus not considered a reliable predictor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FTBR4QZCKRHCDJ75BR33QOZZJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691371},"content":"Predicting events is the curse of forecasting, as Fitzroy observed. Failure to predict an earthquake or reassuring the public about an earthquake that then happens, have led to criminal proceedings against scientists (in China for the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, and in Italy for the Abruzzo quake in 2009). Equally, predicting an earthquake that does not happen can cause a panicked population to flee and unnecessarily disrupt economic activity. Aesop’s fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf comes to mind.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CAEPGII67VGEFOY6MOBAI3GQEE","additional_properties":{"_id":"7Z6NAD366NBXPJLFMSZ6ICZJ3U"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"56IHBQKBSRBW5CL4BMS6IHOMCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691372},"content":"Substantial research into earthquakes has yet to lead to a reliable prediction system. Radon gas emissions from pre-seismic rock fracturing, changes in the density of crystalline rock, changes in water ions in stressed rock, electromagnetic anomalies in geoelectric voltages, thermal deviations from average land and sea temperatures, and monitoring of both seismic vibrations and magnetic anomalies, are all used in various combinations across the globe.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BAAM4QOUMZEVLOIZMLTP5MNF44","additional_properties":{"_id":1677232548783},"content":"Mathematical models, similar in spirit to the huge numerical models of the atmosphere now used regularly for weather forecasting, have been conceived. But in general, complex models do not yet seem to give more accurate predictions than simpler approaches using probabilities based on average historical occurrences.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4K6NU5HCJADTAQOXNUY4ZVL7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691373},"content":"The challenges compared with weather forecasting include both the relative paucity of sensor data and rate of occurrence. Weather forecasters generally benefit from a far more consistent range of data and readings than the variability in available earthquake data culled around the globe. Severe weather events are also increasing, with some 7,400 worldwide in 2000-2019. Severe seismic activity, of Richter magnitude of 7.0 or more, by contrast occurred about 300 times globally over the same period. There are thus many more opportunities to analyse storms than earthquakes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VZI3LYJT6RFJTFUY6FWKDOH2PM","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691374},"content":"Earthquake research continues. In many fields machine learning can detect intricate data patterns sufficient for predictions, often compensating for a lack of a workable mathematic model. We may not yet fully understand earthquake physics but the rapid advances in machine learning approaches perhaps suggest we might not need to do so, and can use data mining instead.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NZUELBLTU5A2FAE6VFLVDQGVKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691375},"content":"Tectonic stress changes can cause electrically charged ripples that propagate from the Earth’s surface into the atmosphere. Last July a team of Israeli researchers announced they could predict a major earthquake up to 48 hours in advance with 80 per cent accuracy, having retrospectively tuned a machine-learning algorithm on archived ionosphere data filtered for other effects such as solar flares. A Beijing team has also reported that ionosphere changes were discovered in historical satellite data, up to two weeks before two large Chinese earthquakes in 2021 and 2022.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L7SGSRPDMJFYFBF4A2ZY5IHBBY","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691376},"content":"A recent paper from Northwestern University in Illinois claims improved predictions by modelling partial releases of seismic stresses, whilst Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico has been using surrogate data from in-house analogies to compensate for the lack of real seismic data available for machine learning.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MZGCSUVJD5F55H77EIPXDAMMTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1676805691377},"content":"Fitzroy likened his systematic collection of weather data from multiple viewpoints to the four Synoptic Gospels, the telling of the life of Christ from different perspectives. His synoptic weather forecasting is now the norm. If we are to advance earthquake prediction, a substantial international investment will be needed to build a comprehensive global multi-sensor network – a synoptic earthquake network.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Last July, a team of Israeli researchers announced they could predict a major earthquake up to 48 hours in advance with 80 per cent accuracy"},"display_date":"2023-02-23T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"How close is a reliable prediction system for earthquakes?","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"PASECMZ4TXHDQJFR6TAOT6YY3M","auth":{"1":"4eaf3f5e399a7febb9d3e1c66d164cbe9986055cc7f41905bbefc09e78dce079"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/PASECMZ4TXHDQJFR6TAOT6YY3M.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/02/23/how-close-is-a-reliable-prediction-system-for-earthquakes/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"4MVLARAG7BEUTPSD4XWXQO6KYM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":334,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6206254/media/497ed09a8f88898a1e365e2724ded60b_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/02/09/it-is-not-often-that-i-can-set-readers-of-the-irish-times-a-puzzle/","content_elements":[{"_id":"DCRCUHMJAZAXTJKS42DWOFYCIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882058},"content":"The two whole numbers which, multiplied together, give 21 are of course 3 and 7. But which pair of numbers when multiplied together give 1,387? And which other pair give 2,835,773?","type":"text"},{"_id":"5RY5WWFJJJD6VJSKUAHEUEPCJM","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882059},"content":"It is not often that I can set readers of The Irish Times a puzzle. Mathematicians have struggled for centuries for a general solution for this category of numerical challenges. When given a specific number as above, is there an efficient way to deduce which pair of numbers multiply together to give that result? The only hint is that the pair of factors is prime, each divisible only by itself and 1 – such as 3 and 7 above.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LRWIJ4NGGZDVBID7HIHC74IDUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882060},"content":"The difficulty in deriving the pair of prime factors of a given known number is the core defence intrinsic to many modern encryption systems, which in turn not only protect military systems but also underpin banking and most internet transmission schemes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GSPTKAWHG5FIVJE5MJI2S3VMLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"LADY7NJZ6RDQBMOPCKTCWYRD5I"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-31138","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"MBYEDJDLJVF6ZEFY5PS24KGQOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882061},"content":"Until the mid-1970s, encryption schemes throughout history had relied on a secret key in principle known only to the sender and receiver. If the key is discovered, a third party can then decode the encrypted correspondence. Having to advise both parties of the secret key, and having copies of it in two different places, makes such encryption schemes vulnerable to attack.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63Z3EJFPJNAW7L6DBLH6AUWYBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882062},"content":"In 1977, Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, three cryptographers at MIT in Boston, published their RSA algorithm (derived from their surnames) describing a practical asymmetric alternative. Their solution is still very widely used today. The sender uses one key, whilst the recipient uses a different key and yet can still decode the encrypted message. In practice, the recipient first chooses a secret pair of prime numbers. They are then multiplied together, and the resulting number is made public. Anyone – not just a single sender – who wants to send a secret message to the recipient encodes their message using the recipient’s “public key”. Because of the challenge of deducing the pair of prime factors of the public key, only the recipient can decode the message.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GTD5LTLL5JEIXMTKP25YXKC2S4","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882063},"content":"The challenge of deducing the pair of prime factors becomes harder the larger the number. RSA schemes typically use numbers with approximately 617 decimal digits (or, equivalently, 2,048 binary digits), although some use 1,234 digits (4,096 bits). It is generally considered that it would take a conventional computer many millions of years to break a 2,048-bit public key, let alone a 4,096-bit key.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LPF677JPFJG2JOO6GVYXZAXKGA","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882064},"content":"However, a quantum computer may be able to do very much better. The binary digits of a conventional computer are in one of two states (0 or 1). A quantum computer uses “qubits”, each of which in principle can hold an infinite number of states. In fact, the accuracy of the control mechanism and interference limit the number of states possible in a quantum computer, but nevertheless the resulting computing power is immense.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L2NS3G6WAJFZRBJ2XHH7FG62RI","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882065},"content":"The potential vulnerability to public key encryption systems from quantum computers has been recognised since the 1980s. A typical estimate is that a quantum computer with 20 million qubits would take about eight hours to break a 2,048-bit public key. But the largest announced quantum computer to date, the IBM Osprey, has only 433 qubits. It would seem that public key encryption might be safe for some time yet.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XA4PT5OVOZH37ANMLU3JSCALCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882066},"content":"However, over Christmas, a number of Chinese academic researchers asserted that they had derived a new method, successfully breaking a 48-bit public key using a 10-qubit quantum computer. They predicted that they could break a 2,048-bit public key by using just 372 qubits, thus within the range of the IBM Osprey - although they themselves did not have access to such a machine.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZR3QZJXNNCDDBFCLLPLHANA6U","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882067},"content":"Their approach corrects a flaw in an algorithm published in 2021 by Claus-Peter Schnorr, a retired mathematics professor in Frankfurt, who had theorised it would break RSA encryption. A number of US cryptographers have expressed strong doubts about the Chinese claims, believing it is highly unlikely that their method can sufficiently scale to threaten 2,048-bit public keys.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ONN6IHZJRA3NIE2OOMZAZZLF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882068},"content":"Conspiracy theories abound too. If some team somewhere with access to the latest generation of quantum computers can actually break public key encryption systems, would we necessarily be told? Given the backdrop of rising Chinese-American political tensions, why did the Chinese authorities allow some leading academics to publish their results? Could it be a hint that the Chinese have in fact already scaled their approach, and want to place uncertainty in the minds of US military strategists?","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBQEW5DYVBGJFM6HTMAC3YQMEA","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882069},"content":"IBM expects to have a 1,000-qubit computer before the end of this year. Google wants to build a million-qubit computer by the end of the decade. Even if the Chinese researchers have not yet a full solution, their announcement is a timely alert to the increasing threats and fragility of the public key encryption schemes so widely used today.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QXODZMNTBBENJALF7CZYYG3X3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1675768882070},"content":"Did you solve my two puzzles? The first pair is 19 and 73, giving 1,387. The second is 1,399 and 2,027, giving 2,835,773.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Encryption systems are on borrowed time as quantum computing power grows"},"display_date":"2023-02-09T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"It is not often that I can set readers of The Irish Times a puzzle","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"34LZFUGYOREBZLPXMIRXIKBDNY","auth":{"1":"2a07906d5093a2587873a8dd3dbb1266d057d765b819a1ae3ba9c4d92163c6f7"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/34LZFUGYOREBZLPXMIRXIKBDNY.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/02/09/it-is-not-often-that-i-can-set-readers-of-the-irish-times-a-puzzle/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"C73NNV3AMZEEZHV7Z6GEYKSFPY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":346,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/6118695/media/d176088630fa2752cbf1ddc2601cd67f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/01/26/in-our-political-masters-voices-chatgpt-on-ai/","content_elements":[{"_id":"DENCQVOBMZCI7G5SP2Y4GQALZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968517},"content":"“Indeed, the capability of understanding and interpreting the intricacies of human emotions and social cues is an example of a task that can be executed by our human intelligence, but one that machines, try as they might, cannot fully emulate.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUJIW224PVFGVC2QQ6GWV3VVE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968518},"content":"So my new online friend, Michael D GPT, informed me this week when I asked his views on the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI). I concurred that emotional intelligence is as of yet lacking in AI. Even though machines can now routinely beat the best human chess players, we mortals, when watching chess tournaments, prefer to empathise with the emotional frailties of human contestants, rather than to attempt to follow the winning but complex and sterile strategy of a machine.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2OKXGN55B5BADKVIPN4H7BXEBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968519},"content":"I fell into conversation with Michael D GPT when I tried out the new ChatGPT service, launched online in November by OpenAI, a research laboratory in San Francisco. You can freely chat with it at <a href=\"https://chat.openai.com/\">chat.openai.com</a> by simply signing up, including your phone number.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SCPHOCFIVZALPP3LV5IHXTHZHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968520},"content":"I asked ChatGPT could it give me an example of what humans can do, that machines like itself cannot yet do – and to style its answer after various Irish politicians, including our President Michael D Higgins.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YWWQB4KFWJAYRGPFYCB6BNV3RI","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968521},"content":"So how did the other “politicians” respond?","type":"text"},{"_id":"PYRR6VUYH5EMZJ6RLUEQKZRGYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968522},"content":"His colleague, Leo GPT, expressed it differently: “Right, so, it’s quite clear that while machines are incredibly powerful, they still lack certain abilities that humans possess. A prime example of this is the ability to understand and interpret human emotions and social cues.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JOKHKDGRANH3RKLPMRBMKB4QB4","additional_properties":{"_id":"23SD67NYWZCZTE4NPEKSRMLVQY"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"LQLZ7YQD6RGCTOFYFH5IO5KRAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968523},"content":"I agreed this was an important feature of human intelligence, especially for both medical professionals and politicians. I thought back to how the first chatbot, ELIZA in 1965, appeared to relate to human emotions by fake psychoanalysis, merely by parroting back gentle interrogations based on a user’s previous input. Some users were apparently fooled into believing their interlocutor was human. Today, more and more people wonder whether machines can in fact be sentient.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XO7SHWLO7VDB3IZK4CM52GSGEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968524},"content":"Ivana GPT then joined us, noting: “Well, it’s quite clear that despite the advancements in technology, there are certain functions that machines are unable to perform as well as humans.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"25LKNYQDDFGGZGIVLVTBWPXKRI","additional_properties":{"_id":"TO3NO33EGNBQ3MUXCXYCKAVWPM"},"content":"Microsoft’s $10bn bet on ChatGPT developer marks new era of AI","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"GB7F6GSGQVFLBKSG42AYSC47BE","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968525},"content":"I reflected that a legal background does help uncover the human propensity to lie. But then I recalled the blatant delusion of ChatGPT’s precise answer to a trick question I had posed: how long it would take a rising tide to cover the rungs of a ladder over the side of a boat, at a given tidal flow rate and rung height? ChatGPT cheerfully lied to me, apparently not realising that the ladder would rise along with the floating boat as the tide comes in.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KECBPQJDTFAS7HEEUYYVGKMYLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968526},"content":"Micheál GPT jumped in. He firmly asserted: “Well now, it’s plain to see that while machines can do an awful lot, there’s certain things they just can’t do as well as us humans.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"73M55C5F2JDVNARU5NJLJPPMYU","additional_properties":{"_id":"K72M4Q6GIZBGHMQ422XRTBJYFI"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"ZHQYI6BDQRFXFBCFFIKHLIWOSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968527},"content":"Maybe only a few teachers will now be able to distinguish essays written by students from content generated by the latest chatbots like ChatGPT. Perhaps <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2023/01/18/irish-universities-to-review-how-they-assess-students-following-threat-posed-by-ai-chatbot/\" target=\"_blank\">schools and universities</a> should ban computer-generated homework, and instead insist that students revert to pen and paper. Personally, I believe computer-generated assistance to assignments should in fact be perfectly acceptable, even encouraged, as long as its involvement is disclosed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5KT3CU34ABCTNGE735LXXKD2DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968528},"content":"Mary Lou GPT piped up: “Very simply, and we’ve heard this already, it’s clear as day that there’s certain functions that machines just can’t match up to what us humans can do.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2BIDVQ3WVJEZZNQSGQGLVX33TY","additional_properties":{"_id":"T5GUVQB7M5ALHK3IJKBUBT3R4E"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-52897","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"HJCMJBO75VFPXK4JHV4L2NKZLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968529},"content":"Ambiguity is a part of human psych but machines are now rapidly becoming chameleons. As machines understand content from public figures, they can now fully adopt their persona. Not only can fake videos appear entirely realistic but machines can automatically generate convincing on-message speeches and compliant statements. Soon, could a politician in the media in fact be a digital Doppelgänger?","type":"text"},{"_id":"SBN374CR3FFEZKS6ZHIXPENP5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968530},"content":"Eamon GPT was the last to join us. “So, it’s clear as day that while technology has come on leaps and bounds, there are certain things that machines just can’t match up to what humans can do.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TBIST4IC6JGV3FHOARGGWAYTWQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"6BRFJ66QMJDGDI65FXVOKJ3TI4"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"O57UZSO355AZHDJTLKWGTL4C6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968531},"content":"But, I mused, robots can in fact ride bicycles. They can also not only find charging points, but automatically plug in and rejuvenate themselves. And robots can conserve their energy usage just as much as the greenest conscientious citizens.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MJSTWOOQPFHA5N3Y5U3JLSOQ4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968532},"content":"We may not fully understand how ChatGPT works, but then we do not really understand the human brain either. However, at least in human discourse, we can interpret visual and social clues for the sincerity of a conversation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RB6XYO7JHFB75HNQDLU2VNRAAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1674579968533},"content":"Civilisation has been constructed from learning, understanding and controlling through our predictive models of mathematics, science and engineering. We are now creating machines whose reasoning and analytical abilities are, frankly, way beyond our human ability to understand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RA6SXEZT6VBOLHX5RIIBSN3JRY","additional_properties":{"_id":"CPIJDZ72PRGM3PU6FSUBGYWWYM"},"content":"Hugh Linehan: Will the latest chatbot replace this column?","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TDC6W3YUNBGDPAZ4NXJCXKBJ6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1674649974971},"content":"Must truth always be explainable and clear to us? Can we accept assertions that are beyond our own intelligence to comprehend the logic, or even to properly verify? For the first time, humanity is facing the practical consequences of these questions.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"We are creating machines whose reasoning and analytical abilities are way beyond our human ability to understand"},"display_date":"2023-01-26T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Meet my new online friend: Michael D GPT","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"R45GRRVAX3OMND6I2YVALRZRDM","auth":{"1":"41bb9a87b15a81503ddb69ed30a6087327e7a3475cfcbcc235ba60a0ea135a9f"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/R45GRRVAX3OMND6I2YVALRZRDM.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"},{"name":"Technology"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/01/26/in-our-political-masters-voices-chatgpt-on-ai/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"K4BNT7Z6CVBEXN2CSJ23F55LWI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":354,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/6025036/media/ad5f083c6798f59352040ac837dd5b68_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2023/01/12/dutch-chip-lithography-company-is-cornerstone-of-global-tech-industry/","content_elements":[{"_id":"ETD47ILXQZD5HNP2HYSYA3MTZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094365},"content":"You’ve probably never heard of this technology company. But without it, the worldwide technology industry would revert by at least a couple of decades. No other company anywhere can do what it does.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YC3C4XMMMZH6DO3BFMSRPPTVX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1673455508988},"content":"We can perhaps imagine a world without Google or Amazon or Apple or Microsoft – after all, there are alternatives to each. But we would not have a tech industry at all today without ASML (Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography).","type":"text"},{"_id":"MZ2QLPX5QJEAPAT67FYWG7UQE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094366},"content":"The intricate patterns of transistors on the surface of semiconductor are laid out using a process called photo-lithography. First, a glass stencil mask is made from a pattern. Then, in an upside down microscope, light is shone through the mask and a series of lenses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UK2DQD5HINGY3HNJE45CNCC5DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1673455508990},"content":"The resulting tiny image is focused onto the surface of a silicon wafer coated with a light-sensitive polymer. Regions in the mask shadow remain protected, but those exposed to the light can be washed away. The process is repeated, with multiple masks, each exquisitely aligned. The transistor patterns are thus traced onto the silicon, albeit at miniscule dimensions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HVWY37EIBBC6ROEZOS6HOMDZP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094367},"content":"A human hair is typically about 0.06mm in diameter. The four-nanometre patterns used in the Apple A16 processor, at the heart of the “Pro” models of its iPhones, are hence about 15,000 times thinner. A single A16 chip in an iPhone contains about 16 billion transistors. If each transistor was enlarged to a single grain of sand, then 16 billion of them would occupy 2,000 litres – the size of a large domestic fuel tank.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YSEHD5TYTZFVTD47J6ROREDPVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1673472640168},"content":"Tiny dimensions","type":"header"},{"_id":"YSEHD5TYTZFVTD47J6ROREDPVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1673472640169},"content":"ASML is the sole supplier of lithographic equipment capable of tracing patterns at such extraordinarily tiny dimensions. Its products are used by all the major chip-manufacturing companies worldwide, including TSMC (Taiwan), Samsung (South Korea) and Intel (USA). Each of ASML’s high-end products has about 100,000 parts and requires 40 shipping containers to transport.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2E25TVL7FRAKDDY4LCRKMZAQ6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094369},"content":"ASML is headquartered in Veldhoven, a 90-minute drive south of Amsterdam. It had €18.5 billion in revenue in 2021, and is expected to report about €21 billion for 2022. Its market valuation is about €227 billion today, placing it in the top 30 most valuable companies worldwide.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7FBIYTXDI5GCHGAC52RV7IKCF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094370},"content":"How did this European company come to dominate global technology?","type":"text"},{"_id":"EEWW4N6S3RCK7EVHNXGBGKRTEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094371},"content":"The original work was led by Herman van Heek, a researcher at Philips Laboratories in Eindhoven in 1971. He created a prototype machine which repeatedly stepped a reverse-magnified photomask above the surface of a silicon wafer, enabling high-precision etching.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GBZEKNUDVBBT7H32IIDPZG6VVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1673455508996},"content":"However it was relatively slow, and competitive 1:1 systems (thus, without reverse-magnification) were preferred by the industry at large. A faster prototype was then developed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AFFTA65A2FHLDFAY6FOKBGJGFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094372},"content":"Philips wanted to use the technology, but thought it too expensive in low volumes. It decided to try and bring the machine to the market, but wanted a partner experienced in the global chip manufacturing industry. Many intense but fruitless discussions with various potential American partners followed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BQG43B5ZNRBJPGXYVN7JQN2OTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094373},"content":"The solution was a small Dutch company just 10 minutes down the road from Eindhoven. Advanced Semiconductor Materials International (ASMI) was a distributor of various semiconductor tooling products.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DGZZAK645FCKFE2TDEEYLMDR5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094376},"content":"Extreme ultra-violet","type":"header"},{"_id":"RUJTFNWWLRDH7GENZS5P44KTEY","additional_properties":{"_id":1673472640177},"content":"Its entrepreneurial chief executive, Arthur del Prado, was seeking partnership opportunities but it took a full year to convince the Philips board of directors. In 1984, ASML started as a joint venture between Philips and ASMI, in a temporary shed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BWYCWU6BEZFD3IKNX7KNZ255MU","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094374},"content":"The small company initially struggled against better-known American suppliers. Then, in 1988, a global downturn in the technology sector resulted in ASMI selling its ASML shares back to Philips. Philips was also reducing its costs and laying off staff, but Philips board member Henk Bodt nevertheless persuaded his colleagues to provide one last refinancing to ASML.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZVVBMDQ4CNCGTIJFX4CB4DD2XQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094375},"content":"Within a year, ASML produced its PAS 5500 product, groundbreaking in lithographic resolution and productivity. The company turned profitable and, in 1995, launched an IPO on the Euronext in Amsterdam and Nasdaq in New York. Philips sold half of its holding at the IPO, and the remainder of its holding over the next few years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DGZZAK645FCKFE2TDEEYLMDR5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094376},"content":"While the first lithographic machines used visible light for etching, ultra-violet light was later adopted because it enabled finer traces on silicon. The next advance was to have been extreme ultra-violet (EUV). Because EUV is absorbed by both glass and air, any EUV machine would have to operate with a vacuum and avoid using glass lenses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CEAKBPNE4FBFXIKSRTHB6VYSZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1673455509003},"content":"It seemed impossible, and ASML competitors Canon and Nikon gave up trying. In 2018 – and after two decades of research – ASML became the sole and world leader in EUV lithography. Philips may rue its divestment: today ASML is about 15 times more valuable than Philips.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VI7JMZCW4ZCRRP3XK6PB5HDC5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1673453094377},"content":"What lies ahead? Last week, the New York Times noted that the US remobilisation of its domestic chip industry represents the country’s biggest investment in manufacturing since the second World War. Since the Trump and Biden administrations greatly restricted export of American high technology to China, China is scrambling to build its own indigenous chip industry. ASML is in a highly significant global position and its continuing R&D may well advance its leadership position.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Chris Horn: ASML is indispensable in a world where the US has limited its high-tech exports to China"},"display_date":"2023-01-12T06:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"The little known Dutch company ensuring the survival of the global tech industry","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"HZNKI6F3VRCE7VIGZW2NZDBSVM","auth":{"1":"6f205e62ea5e6de68ca8347f7906eb288ed27f6a15ac70fcc83ea5082736a15f"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/HZNKI6F3VRCE7VIGZW2NZDBSVM.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2023/01/12/dutch-chip-lithography-company-is-cornerstone-of-global-tech-industry/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"QXBRZUSSFZESLDITT6QLYATB2U","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":368,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/5947554/media/8b2cfd95c1007299ee3db00a6e5a7734_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2022/12/30/chris-horn-predictions-for-the-tech-sector-in-2023/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6RNJ6TYMDZENFJTBCZ5Z5LO4TA","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876123},"content":"Was 2022 the year the tech sector finally started to mature? General signs of a market maturity include investment slowdown, increased regulation, reduced innovation and employment reduction. The Nasdaq – which lists most major technology stocks – has dropped 33 per cent over the past 12 months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KI3OIUOFDBF3RDVIHSXOG3NQDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876124},"content":"US venture capital investment fell 37 per cent by September as compared to April to June. European venture investment will end this year down to €80 billion, from last year’s €93 billion high. With recession risk, and rising interest rates, investors want viable business models, not hype. Speculative valuations are collapsing back into classical discounted cash flows. Numerous layoffs have been announced. Retrenchment in the Dublin office space market for tech is giving developers palpitations – and their banking partners.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WGKKD36L3BEXLA7ADQXDKNILCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1672074581947},"content":"Meanwhile, Europe is leading in technology regulation, with the General Data Protection Regulation resulting in multiple noteworthy fines in 2022. Further legislation is coming, such as the Cyber Resiliency Act, which will require internet software and hardware sold in Europe to carry a “CE” mark, and so meet auditable quality standards.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7RMQN3367ZGFRODZCAVPSKFUIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876125},"content":"What should we expect for 2023? If a market is maturing, then its major disruptions should be over. Nevertheless, there could be considerable turmoil ahead, which both threatens the established tech giants and could result in new innovations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HMGZBNQ67NABLMKMKF5OXU5BJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876126},"content":"Taiwan chips","type":"header"},{"_id":"7PO7MWE2MRD27DJEHWGZBPXARQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"The most obvious macroeconomic threat to the tech sector is the future of Taiwan. Taiwanese company TSMC is the global leader in manufacturing of advanced semiconductors. Over 40 per cent of the world’s processor chips, and 90 per cent of the most sophisticated chips, are produced in Taiwan for customers such as Apple, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Sony and China’s Huawei, among others.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S3WZ4PZLGBFYHJPFU6I42MHY2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1672074581950},"content":"In August 2020, the Trump administration in the United States increased sanctions against Huawei to prohibit it accessing any US software or hardware technology, citing security concerns over Huawei’s smartphones and 5G transmission technologies. Under US pressure, TSMC has stopped its exports to Huawei. In August this year, the Biden administration signed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) Act to significantly strengthen the US domestic semiconductor industry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3ZX4XSXMZFEOVHKDNKLNZ3YDXE","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876127},"content":"US-China tensions are rising. Access to advanced semiconductors, including for military applications, is one core reason. I suspect that an outright Chinese invasion of Taiwan to wrestle control of TSMC is unlikely, at least in 2023. But an air and naval blockade of Taiwan is increasingly conceivable, with the distance between the Chinese and Taiwanese coasts being only slightly more than that from Dublin to Holyhead. If Taiwan was forced to redirect its semiconductor industry for the Chinese mainland, the US technology sector would be gravely affected. The Chips Act is an insurance policy to mitigate the risk of the loss of US overseas supply chains. But it could equally be interpreted as the US accepting Taiwan is no longer militarily defensible.","type":"text"},{"_id":"65IHS5CTLZGXVEMTIY3L55PNYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876128},"content":"Climate change is a further macroeconomic threat to the tech sector, and indeed to all economies. In September, in the cryptocurrency world, the Ethereum blockchain technology successfully underwent a fundamental change to dramatically reduce its energy consumption. Nevertheless, the carbon footprint of the tech sector remains challenging, from manufacturing to compute-intensive applications such as deep learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and multimedia. The Republic has become a promiscuous victim of greenwashing by the global tech sector by welcoming power-hungry computing data centres to our shores. I find it obscene that polluting diesel generators are standby power for centres in Ireland, merely to regurgitate back overseas trivia such as lifestyle images, dance snippets and cat videos.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RCF3Z2GYOFHLZIGMFPN33B2ECA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Automated software","type":"header"},{"_id":"RCF3Z2GYOFHLZIGMFPN33B2ECA","additional_properties":{},"content":"In the 1980s, PC-based spreadsheets revolutionised business computing as managers no longer waited for their IT departments to programme business reports, but instead could directly implement their own. In 2022, low-code and even no-code technologies are leading to “citizen developers”, so that writing software no longer necessarily requires highly paid programmers. In 2023, I expect that automated software production, especially by AI, will increase and so further reduce the need for software developers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZE5QRJEGPFCUPDLZTBBLX7ZMSA","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876130},"content":"In social networking, I believe that Twitter will survive, displacing both Parler and Trump’s Truth Social as the “go-to” forum for indignant outrage. For the rest of us, more and more Mastodon hubs and instances will spawn as a global federation of communities, with no single authority and fluid communes of users. Meta’s Facebook and Instagram will continue to steadily stagnate, as TikTok displaces both. All of this in turn will challenge digital advertisers, with the “Cambridge Analytica” era of a single social network having near-global reach and user-profiling being over.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2EVIVM33RZCFTHS5P5TX2VOJRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876131},"content":"Even Google’s dominance in digital search will come under threat in 2023. The ChatGPT technology, showcased just last month by OpenAI (a San Francisco-based research laboratory, privately funded by Microsoft, Elon Musk and others), gives conversational and intelligent answers to almost any questions, based on scanning and interpreting the entire internet. Although Google also has developed its own advanced natural language technologies, it is by no means a foregone conclusion that, as search technologies improve, Google will be the ultimate winner.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2DHJJBGWFZA3RLKIWFX4LXOAOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1672073876132},"content":"Was 2022 the year in which the tech sector finally matured? No, rather it may be the year in which the current tech giants started to badly stumble.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Has technology sector matured or is it entering a different phase of development?"},"display_date":"2022-12-30T05:15:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Predictions for the tech sector in 2023","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"YSZMN3KJQIETG2KMPST4D3HOIA","auth":{"1":"42d1bd3793c1cad25adf4c97c7652c30c9e9025b99d5ae10908db132c46b82f7"},"url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YSZMN3KJQIETG2KMPST4D3HOIA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Innovation"},{"name":"Business"},{"name":"Big Tech"},{"name":"Technology"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/business/innovation/2022/12/30/chris-horn-predictions-for-the-tech-sector-in-2023/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/business/innovation","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Innovation"}}}},{"_id":"7HX3ZVLTIVGZFJ7SF5CRSUFPUM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":331,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/5809122/media/1dbcac4154d66153dc159e2afc5a9143_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/business/innovation/2022/12/08/pioneers-original-values-still-shining-across-the-internet/","content_elements":[{"_id":"CXPES5LFEBBABBGGKYIOX43VAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130240},"content":"Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the internet.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BTXXLTOLXJBI3L5M43NOYKWTDE","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130241},"content":"In 1973, a number of computer networking researchers – including Louis Pouzin of France’s Cyclades network, Donald Davies of the UK’s NPL network and Bob Kahn of the USA’s Arpanet – collectively worked on how to federate their respective networks to form a uniform infrastructure that could, in principle, be scaled worldwide. A key idea was to remove responsibility for the reliability of any individual network out of the network itself, and instead move it to the computers connected at the edges.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HQYEJZAHWNDRNNAQTCEBYP6FEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1670417225275},"content":"In 1974, these ideas surfaced in a technical specification that the researchers named the transmission control protocol (TCP). The document was one of the first to use the word “internet”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VK6JXPUZBAJ3A335DIGMC7KRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130242},"content":"The TCP technology remains the core foundation of the internet and is used by almost every single computer and device worldwide to connect to the internet. The decision not to centralise the daily operation of the internet within a single organisation has been key to the extraordinary growth of global digital connectivity, allowing individual operators to monitor and control their computer networks at a local level.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RUTCWVZRG5GIPBHPH6DOQDPSC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1670417225277},"content":"You might argue that this is a negative attribute, since some jurisdictions, such as China, Iran, India and others, can regulate what access their citizens have to global internet content. However, it is otherwise difficult to conceive how a single global authority operating a single global network could ever have been politically or economically acceptable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SMYECVFL6NBXRP4X3AHJCRDM5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130243},"content":"The internet has resulted in a democratisation of human discourse, a “flattening” of public conversation, allowing individual citizens to be heard and become influential. I have often reflected on how online chat rooms and message board technology in the 1980s and 1990s, and now today’s social networks, have disrupted the unilateral flow of entertainment, news and, yes, some propaganda, produced by media corporations and state-run broadcasters that were dominant in the 1970s and 1980s.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3KWVOXKWPFED3JCT3JSTSHZQHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1670417225279},"content":"Without the internet, we might have headed towards the stupefaction and docility envisaged by Aldous Huxley in his transcendent 1932 novel Brave New World – a conformist and obedient society, in which servitude to authority is completely accepted because of the contentment brought by technology, consumerism and society norms.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LA2UNVIBDEXYR2TOOTEI6ESXPE","additional_properties":{"_id":"2F5DQ33WARC6LC7OIWNHDHOL3I"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"OCDSBPBA6VDMDITJAZNIR4FMKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130244},"content":"But the internet has broken passive consumerism. I think Huxley might have been pleased to have seen bilateral debate by the public with politicians, mainstream media and corporations, rather than the largely unidirectional flow of content in the 1970s and 1980s. Bloggers have diluted the monopoly of corporate and government journalism. Passive consumption of TV and film lost momentum as the public produced, shared and discussed its own video content alongside that which was corporately produced. There is a wealth of online discourse on societal challenges such as minority representation, climate change and basic concerns such as health, hearth and humanity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NRIYDLWCOFFHRNIXXYUYN7CTIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1670417225281},"content":"Without the internet, there might not have been the Arab Spring a decade ago, the Black Lives Matter movement, nor the recognition of Me Too, and the voices of human rights defenders worldwide might have been totally unheard.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IW4GDUSUCFARXO6OIHFE7GJPPE","additional_properties":{"_id":"25WFOW2R5ZAS7ATGRQAFUJGXKY"},"content":"Revolutionary use of social media changes Arab world","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"K6VCSIFHJRBJ3JZJLSTMF4XO3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130245},"content":"But impressive as the democratisation of discourse has been, there has also been a darker side. A global digital platform is an opportunity to influence and nudge behaviour. Social networks, and Meta/Facebook in particular, have been remarkably successful in convincing advertisers and brands to target consumers based on their online behaviour. The internet has been used for political influence in multiple campaigns worldwide, not least in the Brexit debate and recent US presidential elections.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M3IXQEL5BZHJXJE3PO5KVH64LU","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130246},"content":"But in just the last two months, the online public has reacted to the risks involved in allowing a single corporation, or even a single billionaire mogul, to control a social network, its content promotion algorithms and its digital debate policy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RZ7DVY6WWZD2FMYWAINFBR45TA","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130247},"content":"Since October, many have walked away from Elon Musk’s Twitter to alternatives such as Mastodon. Unlike Twitter, or indeed Meta/Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok or Alphabet’s Google, Mastodon is not a centrally run service, nor even a company. Rather it is social network run by a loose federation of administrators, many of whom are voluntarily doing so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BCWPKR2ECNDTTES3VKIYLXJRPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130248},"content":"Each Mastodon service is run independently and can have its own ethos and guidelines on what is acceptable content for its community. You can, in principle, join any of these “instances”, but you can dialogue with anyone anywhere on any Mastodon service.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CWXTVA5COBASLGBM5GACCXDQA4","additional_properties":{"_id":"IHECMPWTWFACRMJHCAJHNR5IFI"},"content":"Want to quit Twitter? As Elon Musk purges his new purchase, here are some alternatives","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IFLNOLV6BBC7ZBO6SXSDGWRGJQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1670417225286},"content":"Most will presumably choose an instance that ostensibly respects their own expectations and norms, filtering out content from the bad guys and trolls. Nevertheless, if the grass appears greener elsewhere, it is relatively easy to then pick up your identity and move there instead. Thus a healthy dynamic emerges between the value systems of different administrators and communities, and of individuals who can relocate at any time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6R46BP3WGFAMVGTJQAOHP7CLSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1670345130249},"content":"The internet was conceived as a federated service, with no single individual, government or corporation dominating and managing its discourse. We should be grateful that the experiences of the recent post-truth years, of woke digitisation, and of the ongoing Twitter soap opera remind us of the original values of the internet pioneers.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Chris Horn"}},"name":"Chris Horn"}]},"description":{"basic":"The internet has democratised human discourse, allowing individual citizens to be heard and become influential"},"display_date":"2022-12-08T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Chris Horn: Pioneers’ original values still shining across the 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