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00:00 Preamble
Broadband coverage in Spain is perhaps better than the UK. Nokia and Telefónica have successfully tested 25G fibre broadband in Spain. How much does Rick pay to be connected to the www, and how does it compare with Shaun’s UK service?
“One of the big things you notice is different here is that we don’t have the roads dug up with huge, horrible tarmac trails through the middle of the road,” says Rick. “Basically, there’s these tunnels under the path. When you see people cabling up, or doing any kind of roadworks, we very rarely have the road dug up.”
03:58 Tempting Tech
- CES – the annual Consumer Electronics Show – showcased Audi’s Holoride VR technology. Rick describes how VR technology, which can often make you feel nauseous, has been tackled by car manufacturer Audi with its VR tech. It's a far cry from Microsoft's apparently failed attempt to kit US soldiers out with advanced goggle tech. The latest news on that front is that Microsoft has canned the project!
- Last year’s CES saw John Deere unveil its autonomous tractors. This year, says Shaun, the company is using robotics and sensors to reduce the amount of fertiliser and chemicals used in farming. ExactShot is technology that sends out timed bursts of fertiliser to coat individual seeds, which could reduce fertiliser use by as much as 60%. Shaun also mentions See & Spray technolgoy for killing weeds with image recognition technology.
- If neither of those stories tickle you, how about facial recognition to identify dodgy rats?
10:19 Tech News
- Genesis, a cryptocurrency lender and part of the Digital Currency Group, has declared bankruptcy after facing legal charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This follows the bankruptcy of FTX last November, and Genesis recently announced layoffs of 30% of its staff.
- Amazon is closing 10 UK warehouses and other sites, resulting in the loss of 1,300 jobs and the relocation of many other employees. Alphabet will cut 12,000 jobs (about 6% of its workforce), and Microsoft recently announced that perhaps 11,000 jobs would be lost.
- The UK’s Royal Mail has restarted the export of parcels from a backlog, and will accept new letters for overseas. The firm still refers to its recent cyber-attack as a "cyber incident" and is refusing to say publicly that it is ransomware, days after reporters confirmed it.
- A sudden change to Twitter’s policy means that third-party Twitter clients are now banned. This reverses a 16-year policy of allowing third-party clients.
News extra … Twitter pulling the plug on third-party apps such as Twitterrific. That wasn't nice, was it? Are there other cases of big tech pulling plugs with no warning? Let us know.
13:10 Artificial intelligence in the courtroom – a law unto itself?
This week, CNET author David Lumb wrote an article with the sub line of: “People have a hard time getting help from lawyers. Advocates say AI could change that.”
In this episode, Rick and Shaun run through some questions about the so-called AI lawyer (or solicitor). Will advances in AI technology eventually lead to genuine legal representation by a machine, and will it be accepted as a viable alternative to costly human representation?
- Who is DoNotPay?
- Is technology usually allowed in US courtrooms?
- Privacy concerns.
- Bias and misinformation.
- It's a PR stunt
- China already uses AI in courtrooms
- Artists in court over generative AI class action lawsuit
28:16 Outro
The year of AI or simply the year of the rabbit?
- Rick was born in the year of the tiger, Shaun in the year of the dog. This is science-breaking stuff, ladies and gentlemen. You didn’t know you needed to know this stuff, but who knew?
Multi-choice CES technology quiz
- Shaun challenges Rick to pick the least likely tech innovation from a handful of suspects. Will he get the right one? And which innovation has the worst brand name? You choose!
Further reading
Rick Huckstep
Rick Huckstep
Rick Huckstep
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