Podcast
Irish Tech News Audio Articles
Hosted by Irish Tech News · EN
Audio versions of the articles from our news feed.
56episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Role of AI in Large-Scale Drug Manufacturing: Current Applications and Future Trends
Mar 1300:13:15Tap to summarizeArtificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising various industries, and pharmaceutical manufacturing is no exception. While much attention has been given to AI's role in accelerating drug discovery, its impact on process development for large-scale drug manufacturing is equally transformative. Dr James Dalton, from KPMG's R&D Tax Incentives Practice, explores how AI can enhance the efficiency, reliability, and scalability of drug production processes, along with future trends and regulatory adaptations. AI has the potential to reshape large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing by optimising production processes, improving quality control, and reducing costs. Through advanced data analytics and machine learning, AI can monitor equipment performance in real time, predict maintenance needs, and adjust variables like temperature or pressure to maintain consistent product quality. It also enables faster identification of production bottlenecks and enhances supply chain efficiency by forecasting demand and managing inventory. These capabilities not only streamline operations but also ensure that medicines are produced more reliably and at scale, helping meet global healthcare demands more effectively. Optimising Process Design and Scale-Up One of the critical challenges in drug manufacturing is optimising process design and scaling up from laboratory to industrial production. AI models, particularly machine learning algorithms, can analyse vast amounts of process development data to identify optimal processing parameters quickly. This reduces development time and minimises waste, ensuring a more efficient transition from small-scale to large-scale production. For example, AI can simulate various process conditions to determine the best combination of temperature, pressure, and reactant concentrations for maximum yield. This allows manufacturers to scale up production with confidence, knowing the process parameters are optimised for efficiency and quality. Advanced Process Control (APC) AI-driven Advanced Process Control (APC) systems could become pivotal in maintaining the desired output quality during manufacturing. By integrating real-time sensor data with AI algorithms, these systems could dynamically adjust process parameters to maintain optimal conditions. This not only enhances product quality but also reduces the likelihood of production errors and downtime. For instance, in a bioreactor used for drug production, AI can continuously monitor variables such as pH, temperature, and nutrient levels. If any parameter deviates from the optimal range, the AI system can automatically adjust inputs to bring the process back to the desired state, ensuring consistent product quality. This could be applied to all aspects of production, from raw material handling to packaging. This not only speeds up production but also ensures higher consistency and quality of the final product. AI systems can automatically adjust process parameters in real-time to maintain optimal conditions, reducing the likelihood of human error and improving overall efficiency. Smart Monitoring and Maintenance AI technologies enable smart monitoring and predictive maintenance of manufacturing equipment. By continuously analysing data from sensors embedded in machinery, AI can predict potential failures before they occur. This proactive approach minimises unplanned downtime and extends the lifespan of critical equipment, ensuring a more reliable manufacturing process. For example, AI can analyse vibration patterns and temperature data from a centrifuge used in drug purification. If the data indicates an impending mechanical issue, the system can alert maintenance staff to perform preventive maintenance, avoiding costly breakdowns. This proactive approach minimises downtime and ensures a smoother production process. Pharmaceutical companies already use AI to automate visual inspections on production lines, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with manua...
Transcribe →10 Reasons Why Coinbase is a Crypto Broker You Can Trust
Mar 1200:07:20Tap to summarizeIt's 2026, and the crypto space makes the headlines with assets from exchanges being phished or neo brokers suddenly freezing their crypto offering amidst regulatory challenges. Security and trust are still important decision-making criteria when investors look for a home for their crypto trading. Coinbase has compiled 10 reasons why it is the most trusted crypto app (surveys conducted by YouGov and Qualtrics in Q4'22 and Q1'23). In addition to the reasons below, Coinbase transparently work with the Web3 community, researchers, and developers to make on-chain solutions genuinely secure. 10 Reasons Why Coinbase is a Crypto Broker You Can Trust 1. 100% Custody of Customer Assets' Value Coinbase holds the full reserve of customer deposits – all assets are fully backed and not reused. Coinbase does not use any customer funds without permission. This practice is confirmed by regular audits from independent auditors. 2. Crypto Stored Offline and Decentralised Coinbase stores up to 97% of cryptocurrencies in cold wallets (Coinbase, "A behind the scenes look", 2018), which are offline and geographically distributed. These wallets use Multi-Party Computation (MPC, Coinbase: The Standard in Crypto Custody, 2025) and Hardware Security Modules (HSM, Coinbase, "A behind the scenes look", 2018). MPC refers to a cryptographic technique where crypto keys are split among multiple parties, reducing the risk of a single point of failure, as no single actor has access to all the required information to access an account. HSM is a hardware component designed specifically for the secure storage of cryptographic keys and the execution of cryptographic operations. 3. Custodian of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs* Financial giants use Coinbase (BusinessWire, 2024) as the custodian for their Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. – Coinbase is trusted with the secure custody of crypto assets – Provides a robust and reliable trading infrastructure – Maintains high trading volumes, ensuring sufficient liquidity for the ETF product – Coinbase values compliance with regulatory requirements Crypto ETFs, incidentally, are among the fastest-growing financial products ever. The BlackRock ETF alone has grown to a net asset value of over $85 billion since January 2024 (as of October 2025), according to Bitbo. GLD, the biggest gold ETF, in comparison, has $140 billion in assets under management as stated in the official factsheet. 4. World Class IT and Data Security Personal data is protected at rest with 256 bits of encryption using standard algorithms also used by governments, financial institutions, and military organisations. To transmit data between customers and the platform, Coinbase uses state-of-the-art SSL/TLS standards (Secure Sockets Layer / Transport Layer Security). In particular, TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3 encryption and authentication offer protection against the most common types of cyberattacks and more advanced types, such as man-in-the-middle attacks. 5. Phishing Protection I: Advanced 2FA Methods Two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect your account from phishing attacks is standard, and Coinbase offers a variety of the most advanced 2FA methods, including apps, SMS, or tokens for identification, as well as U2F security keys (such as Yubikey). 6. Phishing Protection II: Coinbase Vault Another unique feature is the free Coinbase Vault: users can specify if additional persons must confirm transactions. There is a 48-hour waiting period for each transaction. Additionally, Coinbase sends email confirmations for all activities and changes to your account, allowing you to detect suspicious activity immediately. In an emergency, the account can be locked 24/7 via a free hotline. 7. Integrated Wallet for Self-Custody of Crypto Keys Coinbase offers a free software wallet* that can be connected to the Coinbase account with just a few clicks. With the Base app, customers can manage the addresses and keys for thousands of cryptos on EVM-compatible chains themselves. Regardle...
Transcribe →
Scaling Social Enterprise: The Commercial Capability Gap That's Holding the Sector Back
Mar 1200:07:53Tap to summarizeGuest post by Fiona Descoteaux and Dr Clodagh O'Reilly Ireland has more than 4,000 social enterprises employing over 25,000 people, according to Ireland's National Social Enterprise Policy 2024–2027. Across Europe, the European Commission's Social Economy Action Plan (2021) puts the social economy at 13.6 million jobs, roughly 6% of total EU employment. Recent research (Quaye, 2024) has identified social enterprise as an ideal model for delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals. By any measure, social enterprise should be considered as a serious part of the economy. So why are so many of these organisations being quietly set up to fail? Both Ireland's National Social Enterprise Policy 2024–2027 and Northern Ireland's Social Enterprise Action Plan 2023–2026 make the same demand: diversify revenue, reduce grant dependency, and build sustainable trading models. Highlighting the importance of using successful commercial models to sustain the delivery of social impact. The problem is that most social enterprises were built around grant funding, not traded income. The commercial infrastructure, pricing models, financial systems, governance for growth, and the core infrastructure for scaling were not put in place, and the ecosystem has been slow to address them. The structural gaps we see repeatedly Between us, we have spent more than four decades working in and around social enterprise leadership, research and policy. Across that time, the same structural challenges appear with striking consistency. Social enterprises are hybrid organisations, pursuing social or environmental missions while trading in competitive markets. That dual mandate requires leaders to balance purpose with financial sustainability, often without the commercial infrastructure to do either well. The most persistent gap is commercial strategy. Many organisations have strong missions and genuine impact but lack defined trading strategies or the operational plans required to support scaling. Without a clear commercial direction, scaling becomes reactive rather than deliberate. This is compounded by limited market analysis. Competitor positioning and market opportunities are not always assessed systematically, making it difficult to identify where and how an organisation can realistically scale. Revenue models present another challenge. Where services have historically been grant-funded, pricing structures often don't reflect the full cost of delivery or the value being created. Organisations end up quietly subsidising their users and undermining their own sustainability in the process. Operational systems can also lag behind ambition. Without reliable financial dashboards and performance data, leaders making significant strategic decisions lack the visibility that would be standard in any comparable commercial organisation. Increasingly, the tools to address this, including practical applications of artificial intelligence, are accessible to organisations of all sizes, but few social enterprise leaders have had the opportunity to explore what's relevant to their context. In effect, many social enterprises are attempting to scale impact without the commercial architecture that enables scaling in any enterprise. None of this reflects badly on the leaders involved. It reflects a sector that has been asked to change faster than the support ecosystem around it. Who is behind the programme? Led by InterTradeIreland, the programme is delivered in partnership with two practitioners whose combined experience spans research, enterprise leadership, financial systems and policy development across Ireland's social enterprise ecosystem. Fiona Descoteaux leads Unravel Complexity Ltd, a consultancy specialising in commercial architecture, governance systems and blended-finance models for social innovation, place-based regeneration and social economy development. Her career in the sector spans more than two decades, beginning in Glasgow in 2004. She has held senior leade...
Transcribe →
The Perceptive Retail Advantage: How AI Transforms Aspiration into Unrivalled Growth
Mar 1200:07:49Tap to summarizeThe retail industry stands at the threshold of a profound transformation. As we navigate an era marked by relentless change, the convergence of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, agentic systems, and real-time data has redefined what it means to be competitive, resilient, and customer-centric. In this new landscape, advanced technology is no longer a supporting player for retailers; it is a central force shaping every aspect of their organisation. From generative and agentic AI to predictive models and multi-agent systems, AI is transforming decision-making from tactical to strategic, empowering retailers to respond to market shifts in real time, personalise customer experiences, and unlock new levels of operational efficiency. At TCS, we believe perceptive retail is more than a technological evolution; it is a call to reimagine every aspect of this sector. It's a strategic imperative that TCS is helping leading retailers globally implement, moving beyond better processes to better choices. Choices informed by deep context, foresight, and a holistic understanding of customer and organisational needs. It means embracing federated supply chains and resilient operations that can thrive during uncertainty. Above all, it means fostering trust, ensuring that technology serves both the business and consumers transparently and ethically. AI has shifted from experimental technology to strategic imperative, but adoption is uneven and not yet delivering tangible economic value and transformative impact. Our recently published TCS Global Retail Outlook Study reveals only 24% of retailers currently use AI for autonomous decision-making, while 85% have not yet begun implementing – or even planning for multi-agent AI systems. Further insights from the TCS study show that retail executives overwhelmingly view AI as central to future success, consistently ranking it among the top priorities. Yet, actual deployment to date is still largely superficial. About half of retailers (51%) are currently planning to implement ad hoc chatbots as their key AI initiative for 2026. If retailers' top objective is driving profitable growth, their leading AI-led initiative of chatbots and virtual assistants will be insufficient to achieve this goal. Many seem to recognise that true profitable growth will require applying AI to customer data for real-time pricing that optimises margins, expanding retail media networks to monetise their data, and branching into additional services and business lines for growth beyond their traditional channels. Introducing Perceptive Retail Perceptive retail marks a major shift in how retail organisations operate. Instead of treating AI as just a helpful technology running in the background, retailers are now integrating AI as an active member of their workforce, which helps guide decisions and shape outcomes in real time. Many retailers are already embracing artificial intelligence within their daily operations through innovations ranging from personalised pricing to digital twins that can simulate options and optimise decisions. This is just the beginning for AI, a once-a-generation or maybe once-a-century technological disruption. What sets this transformation apart is the way AI systems can reason, interpret complex signals, and act autonomously, working alongside human teams to understand the bigger picture and anticipate customer needs and industry trends that aren't always obvious. Moving from simple predictive analytics to AI-driven decision-making with richer context represents a significant evolution in retail, unlocking new levels of precision, agility, and foresight. Executives now place high value on real-time insight into demand, competitor moves, and cost volatility. Perceptive retail offers a range of transformative benefits for retailers, fundamentally changing how they operate and engage with customers. By integrating AI as an active participant within the workforce, retailers can achieve...
Transcribe →Deel's 2025 State of Global Hiring Report: the Rise of the AI Trainer, Currency Hopping, and the Urban Boomerang
Mar 1200:08:42Tap to summarizeDeel, the leading global HR and payroll platform, today released its annual State of Global Hiring Report, the most comprehensive analysis of how companies hire across borders. Drawing on data from more than one million worker contracts spanning 37,000+ companies in 150+ countries, the 2025 report reveals four seismic shifts in the global labour market: AI training has emerged as a distinct, global profession, top-funded startups are hiring internationally for specialised talent rather than cost savings, remote workers are migrating back toward cities, and contractors in volatile economies are increasingly "currency hopping" into USD and stablecoins to protect their earnings. AI Is Creating Jobs, Not Just Replacing Them The report reveals a rapid emergence of AI trainers as a new, expansive global profession that barely existed two years ago. Over 70,000 workers now train AI systems across more than 600 organisations, performing tasks from basic data annotation to expert-level feedback in medicine, economics, and translation. General AI trainer roles grew 283% cross-border in 2025, making it the single fastest-growing role on Deel's platform. Additional key findings on AI trainers: Pay is sharply bifurcated: 30% of trainers earn $15–20/hour for annotation work, while 19% earn $50–75/hour, and 6% earn $100+/hour for subject-matter expertise. 58% of AI trainers are based in the U.S., followed by India (7.2%), the Philippines (4.6%), Canada (2.1%), and Kenya (1.7%). A gender pay gap persists: in the U.S., male AI trainers earn a median of $50/hour vs. $30/hour for female trainers, driven by occupational segmentation across specialisations. Top Startups Go Global for Talent, Not Cost Savings Among nearly 100 startups founded between 2020 and 2025 that raised $100M+ in funding, cross-border hiring overwhelmingly targets wealthy, high-income countries, shattering the myth that international hiring is primarily about outsourcing. The UK leads top-startup hires (12.2%), followed by Canada (11.9%), Germany (8.8%), Australia (5.8%), and Spain (5.2%) – all high-income markets. Software developers make up 28% of cross-border hires among top startups, followed by tech sales (6.2%), business developers (4%), and AI engineers (2%). Top startups are 13.6 percentage points more likely to hire software developers cross-border than general SMBs. Seven of the top 10 cross-border roles globally are in sales, marketing, or customer-facing functions – local market knowledge remains nearly impossible to automate. The Urban Boomerang: Remote Workers Are Moving Back Toward Cities After a pandemic-era exodus from major cities, remote workers are gradually migrating back. The average distance of cross-border employees from major urban centres has declined every year since 2022 (when Deel began tracking this metric). In the U.S., workers are now as close to cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco as they were in 2021. Similar patterns appear in London and Paris. Global Compensation: Leadership Roles Drive Pay Growth, Regional Gaps Widen Salary growth in 2025 concentrated in senior leadership positions, but the drivers varied dramatically by region: U.S. project managers led all roles at 24.5% compensation growth, followed by COOs (21.6%) and CEOs (20%). COOs in Latin America saw 99.8% compensation growth – nearly 5x the U.S. rate for the same role. Singapore CTOs experienced 101% pay growth, but other tech roles in the same market contracted. LATAM financial analysts saw 195.5% compensation growth, reflecting the rapid professionalisation of operational roles in emerging markets. LATAM call centre agents gained 210.8% even after excluding top employers – signalling broad-based demand, not isolated company effects. Workers Are "Currency Hopping" to Protect Earnings As part of the "currency hopping" trend, contractors in economically volatile markets with high inflation are increasingly choosing USD or stablecoins over loca...
Transcribe →Qualcom invests €500K to launch new AI practice
Mar 1200:02:34Tap to summarizeQualcom, a leading Irish provider of IT and cybersecurity services, has announced that it is investing €500,000 to launch its new artificial intelligence (AI) practice. This investment will span three years and, in the continued expansion of its team, Qualcom plans to hire four AI specialists within this timeframe. The new practice will support secure AI adoption for Irish organisations and enable them to align with evolving regulatory requirements. The investment includes a new partnership with AI infrastructure provider NROC and, as part of this, Qualcom will provide a full wraparound service to secure and manage customers' AI environments, using NROC's technology. The funding also includes the training and upskilling of new team members, as well as AI training for Qualcom's existing managed services and infosec teams. In turn, the new practice will further enable Qualcom to deliver AI-powered solutions that will secure customers' Microsoft data, and to provide ultra-secure managed services to businesses. Qualcom has also developed a comprehensive AI policy framework designed to help organisations to incorporate AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT into their daily operations, while safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring compliance, The company is launching the new dedicated practice in response to heightened demand among customers for AI solutions, services, and capabilities to drive business growth and remain competitive. This investment comes as Qualcom celebrated 30 years in business in 2025. The company recently announced that it has boosted the headcount within its support centre by 33%, and enhanced facilities at its Dublin headquarters to equip the business for continued growth. David Kinsella, Technical Director, Qualcom, said: "This investment in our people, platforms, and capabilities reflects our commitment to supporting customers as they navigate both the opportunities and risks of AI. As we look ahead to the next three years, there's no doubt that the use and applications of AI will continue to grow exponentially. The launch of the new practice will enable us to adapt quickly in line with industry demand, delivering right first-time services that are fully compliant and maximise IT uptime for businesses in Ireland. We're looking forward to working closely with customers as we support the secure rollout of AI tools to help them to keep pace with their competitors." See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
Transcribe →Google's new Pixel 10a reviewed
Mar 1200:05:25Tap to summarizeOur testers took a look at the new Pixel 10a. See more about it here, retailing for 559 euros. Google's new Pixel 10a reviewed It is here, out, snazzy, small, with lots of good things inside. As with the 9a, and previous 'a' iterations of the Pixel phone series, you get a lot of the benefits and attractions of the flagship version of the device. The price is significantly lower however, so for many the pros outweigh the cons, and for what you are paying for, you are getting a lot that is good value for the price. With the Pixel 10a, perhaps more so than some over 'a' reviews, this is a significant element to consider, because in many ways it is not significantly different to the 9a. Therefore this may well not be the upgrade that a 9a user is looking for. However, and our own inhouse user experience would back this up, we are still comfortably using a Pixel 8 for our day to day operations. Therefore, if you have something earlier than the 9 range, then this could be a great upgrade, where you would quickly, and happily recognise the improvements and updates. There are some actual, subtle changes from the 9a, the camera is now flush with the camera, so that it sits flat on the desk, if that is how you use it. The edges and sides of the phone are also much, much closer to being smooth, rather than sticking out, if that was also something that got your goat. With this being a Google device of course, it is really on the inside, with the software, rather than the hardware where all the good things are happening. The fact that they are offering seven years of updates included too suggests that they plan for this to be around for awhile and give you a good user life. If you can avoid dropping or breaking these phones, they do seem to have pretty good physical durability especially once you get it into a case as well. With these elements considered, this could well be a great phone for the right buyer and user. Our team liked it, were happy to give it a thumbs up, while also wondering what will be coming down the line. The zoom could be a little better for example, but overall, another good piece of kit. More about the Pixel 10a Powered by Google Tensor, with AI features and Gemini Pixel 10a is powered by our custom-built Google Tensor G4 chip, giving you total access to Gemini — your personal AI assistant. You can do things like use Gemini Live to have natural, back-and-forth conversations. Or play with Nano Banana to reimagine your photos, blend images together or apply different creative styles to make them your own. Pixel 10a's refined smooth design features a completely flat back. The camera bar blends seamlessly with the back of the phone, so it easily slips in and out of your pocket, and lies perfectly flat wherever you place it. Designed with sustainability in mind, Pixel 10a is made with the most recycled material of any A-series Pixel yet, including for the first time recycled cobalt, copper, gold and tungsten. It has a satin-finish 100% recycled aluminium frame and an 81% recycled plastic back cover. Get more with Google Pixel 10a, brilliant photography, a durable design and helpful AI. Pixel 10a is the newest member of the Pixel 10 family, with a fresh design and vibrant new colours – plus the same Pixel promise. It comes with 8 GB of RAM and Tensor G4, custom built for Pixel to power all you do. There's a ton of value packed into this phone. From the front to the back, we've engineered every part with the consumer in mind, bringing Pixel experiences at a great price. Pixel 10a also comes with three months of YouTube Premium and three months of Google One. Pixel 10a's dual camera system is made up of a 48 MP main camera and a 13 MP ultrawide camera. Take amazing photos, capturing crisp details up close and in low light with features of the Google Pixel 10a camera. Snap beautiful shots easily, get everyone into the group pic and take photos where everyone looks their best. For the first time on an A-Series phone, you'll...
Transcribe →How to get the best from AI without losing humanity
Mar 1200:07:28Tap to summarizeGuest post by David Stokes, an advisor at Quant, a pioneer in Agentic AI, AI Adoption Is Not a Technology Decision For all the noise – and headline-grabbing numbers – surrounding Artificial Intelligence, one reality remains consistent across every serious boardroom conversation: some roles will not survive this transition. The World Economic Forum has quantified that reality – 92 million existing positions globally are projected to be eliminated by AI before 2030. In an Irish context, where research indicates that 63% of roles carry meaningful exposure to automation, this is not an abstract global statistic. It lands close to home. For those entering the workforce, building careers, or planning the final chapter of a professional life, that figure demands honest engagement. The question is not whether disruption is coming. It is whether leaders and organisations are positioning themselves to be on the right side of it. The Number That Changes Everything The headline figure rarely travels with its companion statistic. That same WEF report projects the creation of 170 million new roles as a direct consequence of AI adoption. The net result is 78 million additional professional positions worldwide – growth, not contraction. In Ireland, AI deployment is forecast to contribute in excess of €250 billion to GDP by 2035. The trajectory of investment is not decelerating. Organisations that treat this moment as a threat to be managed will find themselves overtaken by those treating it as a capability to be built. The more precise framing is this: the future of professional work is not human or AI. It is human and AI. For most organisations, that distinction will define competitive performance over the next decade. But whether Irish organisations capture that opportunity will depend far less on which tools they deploy than on how their leaders choose to lead through the transition. The Human–AI Collaboration Imperative Early empirical evidence is striking. Studies indicate that professionals augmenting their work with AI tools see productivity gains in the region of 40%, with a concurrent 18% improvement in accuracy. These are not incremental improvements – they represent a structural shift in what individuals and teams are capable of delivering. When AI absorbs the repetitive, rules-based work, human capacity is redirected toward strategic judgement, relationship complexity, and creative problem-solving: precisely the capabilities that drive differentiated outcomes. The organisations that will define their sectors in the years ahead will be those that architect genuinely integrated human–AI operating models where agents and professionals function as a coherent unit, each amplifying the effectiveness of the other. This is not a futurist proposition. It is an operational decision that leaders are making now. What Leadership Looks Like in This Environment The first mark of any leader navigating an AI transition is credibility through practice. If you are mandating adoption, it helps to be a visible and genuine user of the technology yourself. There is no more powerful signal to a team than watching their leader engage with AI tools substantively – learning publicly, adjusting, improving. It shifts the cultural frame from imposition to shared endeavour. The second priority is sustained investment in people. Individuals who feel that AI is being done to them, rather than enabled for them, will disengage. Structured upskilling programmes, designed not merely to train tool usage but to help people understand how their roles evolve and where their value compounds, become the foundation of a sustainable transition. Third, identify and amplify your early adopters. Celebrate those achieving measurable results through AI integration. The effect operates on two levels simultaneously — it reassures those who are uncertain, and it creates a performance culture where the competitive instinct works in the organisation's favour. The compounding effect...
Transcribe →European Initiative Offers to Establish Sovereign National Search Indices Across the EU
Mar 1100:03:08Tap to summarizeEuropean Search Perspective, a Franco-German joint venture for sovereign search infrastructures, has sent open letters to heads of government across the European Union proposing to establish national search indices to strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign technology providers. The proposal comes 100 days after the Digital Sovereignty Summit in Berlin, where European leaders committed to reducing critical digital dependencies and building sovereign infrastructure where necessary and achievable. Search engines play a central role in both democratic societies and digital economies. They determine how citizens access information, how businesses are discovered online and how artificial intelligence systems retrieve knowledge from the search. Today, 99.5 percent of European search queries are based on answers by just two US companies (96 percent), and one Russian company (3.5 percent). According to European Search Perspective, this concentration exposes European countries to systemic risks. If access to dominant search indexing infrastructure were restricted – whether due to sanctions regimes, regulatory conflict, export controls or commercial decisions – governments could lose critical analytical capabilities and economies could face complete collapse within days. The majority of Europe's GDP (approximately 18 trillion) is directly dependent on the search index based economy. European Search Perspective proposes that EU member states establish sovereign search infrastructure consisting of a national search index hosted under European jurisdiction, a national ranking algorithm, and infrastructure supporting both public search services and AI search grounding. "Without a sovereign search index, Europe does not control the gateway to its own digital economy," says Wolfgang Oels, Director Europan Search Perspective. The organisation argues that search infrastructure should be treated as strategic public infrastructure, comparable in importance to energy grids or telecommunications networks. European Search Perspective is currently establishing a sovereign search index for France and Germany and has offered to extend the initiative to other EU member states. See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
Transcribe →DoneDeal Cars Price Index: The EV Price Crash Is Over and Electric Cars Are Now Cheaper Than Diesel
Mar 1100:03:49Tap to summarizeThe sharp decline in used electric vehicle prices appears to have stabilised, with the latest DoneDeal Cars Price Index showing the EV market entering a more settled phase after several years of volatility. After falling significantly during 2023 and 2024, used EV prices were broadly flat year-on-year by the end of 2025, suggesting the major price correction has now run its course. At the same time, electric cars have become cheaper than comparable diesel vehicles on Ireland's used market for the first time. According to the analysis, across all cars in the dataset, a typical three-year-old electric car now has a median asking price of €28,825, compared with €35,893 for a diesel vehicle of the same age. When factors such as age, mileage and model are taken into account, used electric cars are now priced around 11% below comparable diesel vehicles, marking a dramatic shift from 2022 when EVs carried a clear price premium. Petrol cars remain the cheapest option upfront, with a typical three-year-old model priced at around €22,900, but the gap between petrol and electric vehicles has narrowed significantly in recent years. The data suggests the used EV market has now entered a more stable phase following a turbulent period triggered by falling new-car prices, reduced purchase grants and increased supply of electric vehicles entering the second-hand market. Paddy Comyn, Head of Automotive Content and Communications at DoneDeal, said: "We've come through a full cycle in the EV market. Prices surged during the supply shortages of the pandemic years, then corrected sharply as supply improved and manufacturers cut new-car prices. What we're seeing now is the market settling into a more normal pattern. The big shift is that electric cars are no longer carrying a premium over diesel. In many cases, they're thousands cheaper, which is a significant turning point for buyers considering making the switch." The report also highlights ongoing pressures in the lower end of the used car market. Vehicles priced below €6,000 rose by 7.6% year-on-year, reflecting continued shortages of cheaper cars. Separately, the report shows how Brexit has reshaped Ireland's used car supply chain. Imports from the UK have fallen sharply since 2019, while Japan now accounts for roughly half of all used car imports into Ireland, many of them European brands originally sold in the Japanese market before being re-exported. Dr Tom Gillespie, economist and analyst of the DoneDeal Cars Price Index, said: "The data suggests the market has found a more sustainable level. EV prices are stabilising, supply is improving, and price movements are becoming more predictable again after several volatile years." More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
Transcribe →