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☆ Britain's Labour faces an uphill battle as it looks to rein in AI's key players
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

By taking aim at the most powerful AI models, Labour would impose tighter restrictions on companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft , Google , Amazon , and AI startups including Anthropic, Cohere and Mistral. Matthew Houlihan, senior director of government affairs at Cisco, said any AI rules would need to be "centered on a thoughtful, risk-based approach." Even so, a U.K. AI law would be a step above the U.S., which currently doesn't have federal AI legislation of any kind. Sirion's Liu said one thing he's hoping the government doesn't do, is restrict open-source AI models. Herman Narula, CEO of metaverse venture builder Improbable, agreed that restricting open-source AI innovation would be a bad idea.

Persons: Keir Starmer's, King Charles III, doesn't, Starmer's, Matt Calkins, Appian, Lewis Liu, Liu, Rishi Sunak, Peter Kyle, Kyle, Zahra Bahrololoumi, Matthew Houlihan, Bill, Chris Holmes, Holmes, Matthew Holman, Cripps, Holman, Sirion's Liu, Herman Narula, Narula Organizations: Future Publishing, Labour, European Union, Microsoft, Google, CNBC, Conservative, BBC, AI Safety Institute, Cisco, Authority, EU, AI Safety, Tech, London Tech Week Locations: Jiangsu province, China, Ireland, Salesforce, U.S

☆ Britain looks to upstage France with play for world's third major AI hub after U.S., China
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But key challenges face the country as it looks to become the world's third-biggest AI hub. At the London Tech Week conference in the Olympia events venue earlier this month, tech executives from around the world touted London and the U.K. as a place to invest. London vs. FranceLondon is facing heated rivalry from France for the title of European AI leader. Can the UK keep its European AI crown? Seeking regulatory clarityAnother key source of uncertainty for tech leaders is the future of AI regulation in the U.K.

Persons: Mike Kemp, Alex Kendall, — Kendall, Wayve's, Brent Hoberman, Wayve, it's, Salesforce, Janet Coyle, Coyle, Arthur Mensch, Hanno Renner, that's, Europe's, CNBC's, Philip Belamant, Zilch, Matthew Holman, Cripps, Holman Organizations: Global, London Tech, Sage, Google, London, Partners, Viva Tech, Accel, CNBC, Mistral France Paris, Alpha, Alpha Germany Heidelberg, Face France Paris, France Paris, United, United Kingdom London, Kingdom London, Tech, European Union Locations: London, United Kingdom, China, Olympia, SoftBank, San Francisco, Vancouver . U.S, France London, France, Brazil, Silicon, Europe, Paris, Berlin, Alpha Germany, Germany, Brexit, Britain

☆ Computing firm Raspberry Pi to raise $211 million in rare London tech IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Raspberry Pi, which makes tiny single-board computers priced its shares at 280 pence apiece. The Raspberry Pi offering comprises 45.9 million ordinary shares sold by the company's existing majority shareholder, Raspberry Pi Mid Co Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It also includes 2.13 million ordinary shares sold by other shareholders, along with 11.23 million freshly issued shares. If there is more demand, a so-called overallotement option will allow the Raspberry Pi Foundation to issue another 4.6 million shares. In 2023, Raspberry Pi posted revenues of $265.8 million, up 41% year-on-year from 2022.

Persons: Raspberry, Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi Organizations: London bourse, Sony, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, Sony Corporation, Pi, LSE, Retail, Co, Pi Foundation Locations: Europe, U.S, British

☆ I'm a Brit who visited Los Angeles for the first time. I found myself in complete culture shock.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Alice Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

There is so much more space in LA. Alice JohnstonOne of the first things I noticed when driving to the city from the airport was how it feels like LA has way more space than London. In the UK, it can be hard to forget that you're living on a small island with millions of people. Plus, almost every house I passed here seemed to have its own garden and tons of space inside. Someone in LA told me they never even realized expensive homes sometimes share walls with neighbors, which blew my mind.

Persons: Alice Johnston Locations: LA, London

☆ Antisemitic and Islamophobic offences soar in London after Israel attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at the London Tech Week in London, Britain, June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - London police said on Friday they had recorded a 1,353% increase in antisemitic offences this month compared to the same period last year, while Islamophobic offences were up 140% in the wake of the attack by Hamas on Israel. Police in the British capital ramped up patrols amid growing tensions, but said there had been 218 antisemitic offences between Oct. 1 and 18, compared to 15 in the same period in 2022. Islamophobic offences were up to 101, from 42. Officers have made 21 arrests for hate crime offences, including a man detained for defacing posters of missing Israelis and another over Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops.

Persons: London Sadiq Khan, Toby Melville, Rishi Sunak, sickening, Regrettably, Sadiq Khan, Michael Holden, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: London Tech, REUTERS, London, Police, Community Security Trust, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Israel, Gaza

Kin Cheung | Pool | Getty ImagesLONDON — Two countries are jockeying for position as Europe's capital for artificial intelligence. So, who is leading the race to take Europe's AI crown? The European Union has its AI Act, which is set to be the first comprehensive set of laws focusing on artificial intelligence in the West. In contrast the EU's AI Act could make France "less attractive" for investment in artificial intelligence given that it lays down "a burdensome regulatory regime" for AI, Tanna said. Alexandre Lebrun, CEO of Nabla, an AI "copilot" for doctors, said the U.K. and France are "probably even" when it comes to attractiveness for starting an AI company.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Kin Cheung, Macron, Karen Tso, Sunak, it's, Sajid Javid, Boris Johnson's, Simmons, Tanna, Anton Dahbura, Alexandre Lebrun, Lebrun, who've, Keir Starmer Organizations: British, Viva Tech, London Tech, Microsoft, U.S, CNBC, supercomputing, European Union, Johns Hopkins Institute, Autonomy, Google, Facebook, EU, Labour Locations: Europe, China, VivaTech, Paris, France, U.S, West, Germany, London

☆ Final offer: UK's Sunak seeks to end strikes with new pay deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media during London Tech Week at the QEII centre on June 12, 2023. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday sought to end months of crippling public sector strikes by offering teachers, doctors and other workers pay increases of 6% and above, but warned it would cost billions that could mean cuts elsewhere. The Conservative leader said he had accepted the recommendations of independent pay review boards on wage rises for millions of public sector workers, stressing that it was a final offer intended to end months of industrial action. Junior doctors will now get a 6% pay uplift and a lump-sum pay increase of 1,250 pounds ($1,633.25), while teachers would get 6.5%. After more than a year of elevated inflation - which at its peak hit more than 11% - the government is struggling to balance the need to end strikes with rising public debt levels.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak Organizations: British, London Tech, Conservative, Education, Police

☆ A 43-year-old entrepreneur with terminal cancer set up a charity to help children who lose a parent and named it after his 2-year-old daughter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An entrepreneur who now has just weeks to live set up a charity called Elizabeth's Smile last year. Nick Hungerford founded the charity to help children who lose a parent to a terminal illness. An entrepreneur who has terminal cancer and just weeks left to live has set up a charity to support children who lose a parent to a terminal illness. He came up with the charity idea in January 2022 after being told there were no resources to help grieving children who lose a parent. "I said 'I'm not going to accept this,'" Hungerford told The Telegraph.

Persons: Nick Hungerford, Elizabeth's, it'd, It's, I've, Hungerford, I'm, he's, Elizabeth Organizations: JPMorgan, Morning, BBC Radio, BBC, London Tech Locations: British

☆ SoftBank-backed digital lender Zopa beefs up executive team with IPO-experienced CTO
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — British digital bank Zopa is beefing up its management team with a couple of senior hires, as the company looks to fuel growth and prepare its business for an eventual public listing. Donlon notably saw Moonpig through its public listing in 2021, which valued the company at around £1.2 billion at the time. "We haven't had great IPOs," he told CNBC in an interview on the sidelines of London Tech Week this week. "If you look at kind of banks, and how they're valued, or tech companies, both of them, public market valuations are not great." "We need to make sure that there is enough liquidity for a public company to be truly public.

Persons: Peter Donlon, Kate Erb, Erb, Donlon, Zopa, Jaidev Janardana, IPOs Organizations: LONDON, CNBC, KPMG, Leeds Building Society, London Tech

☆ UK's Sunak faces down critics after Boris Johnson honours row
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | Thomson Reuters | Sachin Ravikumar Is A Correspondent For Reuters In London Covering General News Across The Uk. Over Nine Years At Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends the London Tech Week at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, Britain June 12, 2023. Responding to critics within his ruling Conservative Party, which has been rocked in recent days by Johnson's dramatic Friday night decision to quit parliament, Sunak added that he had no sympathy for those who did not like his decision. Sunak has the power to overrule HOLAC's advice, but said he chose not to. As prime minister, Johnson had himself overruled HOLAC when appointing a Conservative Party donor in 2020. Johnson resigned from parliament on Friday in a protest against lawmakers investigating whether he misled parliament over illegal parties during COVID lockdowns at his Downing Street office when he was prime minister.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Queen Elizabeth II, Ian Vogler, Boris Johnson, Sunak, Johnson, HOLAC, COVID lockdowns, Sachin Ravikumar, Alistair Smout, William James, Kylie MacLellan, Alex Richardson Organizations: British, London Tech, Queen Elizabeth II Centre, REUTERS LONDON, Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, parliament's

☆ British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pitches UK as home of A.I. safety regulation as London bids to be next Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media during London Tech Week at the QEII centre on June 12, 2023. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a big pitch to the tech community Monday, casting the U.K. as a global center for artificial intelligence and regulation of the technology. "I want to make the U.K. not just the intellectual home but the geographical home of global AI safety regulation," Sunak added. However, the U.K. is trying to make measures of its own to be more of a leader in the world of AI. The government in March published a white paper detailing its plan for AI regulation, which sought to take a principles-based approach to the technology rather than proposing new tailored regulations.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Jeremy Hunt Organizations: British, London Tech, Microsoft Locations: London, Silicon, U.S, Union

☆ UK must seize opportunities of AI to remain a tech capital, Sunak says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Britain must act quickly to remain a tech capital, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will tell tech leaders on Monday, urging them to grasp the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence. Sunak, speaking at the start of London Tech Week, will say the "tectonic plates of technology are shifting". And I feel a sense of urgency and responsibility to make sure we seize it." During a visit to Washington last week, Sunak said Britain would host a global summit on artificial intelligence safety later this year to consider the risks of AI and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. "I want to make the UK not just the intellectual home, but the geographical home of global AI safety regulation."

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Kylie MacLellan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: London Tech, Thomson Locations: Britain, Washington

☆ Taiwanese minister to make rare Britain visit this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, June 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang will make a rare high-level ministerial trip to Britain this week where she is expected to visit government departments and meet a company specialising in low-earth orbit satellites, her ministry said on Sunday. The two sides will "exchange views on issues related to digital governance and digital industry cooperation", the ministry added, without giving details. Tang will also visit OneWeb, which specialises in low-earth orbit satellites, and hopes to bolster Taiwan's communications resilience plans, the ministry said. Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu is expected to go to Europe this week, too, where he will attend a security forum in Prague. The last Taiwanese minister known to have visited Britain was Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng, who went last June.

Persons: Audrey Tang, Tang, Elon Musk's, Joseph Wu, John Deng, Britain's, Trade Greg Hands, Tsai Ing, Taiwan's, Ben Blanchard, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Taiwan Digital, WHO, Twitter, London Tech, Britain's Department for Science, Innovation, Technology, Department for Business, Trade, Elon, Taiwan, State, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Britain, Taiwan, Beijing, China, Europe, Prague

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