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Government invests £100m in next-generation AI taskforce

The new Foundation Model Taskforce will receive £100m to accelerate the UK’s capability in next-generation AI models that can be used in fields such as healthcare and education, the government has revealed. The recently formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced that the taskforce will be modelled on the success of the Covid-19 Vaccines Taskforce, and will aim to “ensure sovereign capabilities and broad adoption of safe and reliable foundation models”. The announcement comes amid a dramatic rise in the popularity of foundation models, a category of AI systems trained on huge volumes of data such as text, images, video or audio to gain broad and sophisticated capabilities across many tasks. The capabilities of these next-generation tools have allowed researchers…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Are the world's technology giants now just too big to care?

When Elon Musk arrived with his sink, I departed. Late last year I finally made the break from Twitter. It had become so full of hatred, bigotry, vitriol, culture warring, trolling and general bad vibes. It leaves no room for nuance, and the more extreme the sentiment the further it will go. Musk’s track record signalled this was to get worse – if he didn’t just destroy it first. He misused Twitter to manipulate share prices, to promote damaging and offensive conspiracy theories and to accuse a man of being a paedophile on absolutely no evidence – because he dared to turn down a publicity stunt offer of a submarine loan to rescue kids stranded in a flooded cave in Thailand. Now he’s running the platform, he’s dismissed key staff, haemorrhaged many more, even mocked one of his staff for his…

E+T Magazine in Cybersecurity
Mobile 3D printer could bring vaccines to remote areas

A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a mobile vaccine printer that, when scaled, could produce hundreds of vaccine doses a day. This technology would solve many of the challenges of increasing global access to vaccinations: mainly the need for infrastructure that can maintain the doses at under-zero temperatures, as well as syringes, needles, and trained healthcare professionals to administer them. In contrast, the machine built by the MIT team can print patches with hundreds of microneedles containing vaccines. The patch can be attached to the skin, allowing the vaccine to dissolve without the need for a traditional injection. Once printed, the vaccine patches can be stored for months at room temperature. This kind of printer, which can fit on a tabletop…

E+T Magazine in Biotechnology
UK and Netherlands to jointly benefit from multi-use undersea power line

The project, named LionLink, is expected to provide enough clean electricity to power 1.8 million homes – more than Birmingham and Manchester combined. The power line is the second-largest cross-border electricity line ever built, after the one that currently connects Germany and Denmark. However, LionLink will be able to carry more than four times the amount of electricity as its predecessor – making it the largest of its kind in terms of capacity anywhere in the world, according to government sources. While normal interconnectors only connect two countries, the multipurpose LionLink will join the UK and Netherlands to each other as well as simultaneously with offshore wind farms situated in the North Sea. The construction of the power line was announced by the UK government at the…

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
China’s robotic spacecraft to collect samples from near-Earth asteroid

The Chinese government has approved a plan to send a robotic spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid, according to the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Programme Centre. The Tianwen 2 mission is expected to lift off around 2025 and begin a path towards asteroid 2016 HO3, where it would land and collect samples. The small asteroid - said to be no larger than 100 metres long - was first spotted by the Pan-STARRS 1 asteroid survey telescope in Hawaii in April 2016. It was then described as a 'quasi-satellite' to Earth, as it does maintain a very distant but constant orbit around the Blue Planet. According to the centre, the mission will launch a probe consisting of two parts - an orbiter and a re-entry module - toward 2016 HO3. After reaching the…

E+T Magazine in Space
Review to investigate why some phones did not receive emergency alert

According to the Cabinet Office, while the “vast majority” of compatible phones received the alert, “a very small proportion” of mobile users on some networks did not receive it. The alert was broadcast at 3p.m. on Sunday and should have been received by every 4G and 5G device across the UK. Customers on the Three network appeared to be most affected by reports that some users did not see or hear the alert, which the firm acknowledged on Twitter. “We’re working closely with the government to understand why and ensure it doesn’t happen when the system is in use,” it said. Further still, a small number of people said that since the alert went off on their device, their phone had not been able to make or receive calls. In Wales, the test was broadcast in the Welsh language but contained…

E+T Magazine in Telecommunications
Superconducting highway concept would allow vehicles to travel at 400mph

Superconductors can conduct electricity without any resistance or power loss and can effortlessly cause magnets to levitate above them. These properties would make superconductors useful for high-speed trains or long-distance power transmission in theory, but they only work at extreme low temperatures - more than one hundred degrees below zero. This requirement makes building a hyper-efficient electrical grid or high-speed rail network very expensive. Researchers from the University of Houston, Adelwitz Technologiezentrum and the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research believe that a network that accomplishes both tasks at the same time would be much more affordable. Most magnetic-levitation (maglev) designs feature the superconductor inside the vehicle, which is itself…

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
Affordable smart fabrics woven on textile-industry looms

The researchers have demonstrated a method to produce next-generation smart textiles inexpensively and without having to change the technology currently used for textile manufacturing. The team achieved this by w eaving electronic, optoelectronic, sensing and energy fibre components on the same industrial looms used to make conventional textiles. The result was patches of smart fabric, made cheaply and sustainably. The Cambridge researchers had already demonstrated the ability to make these woven displays with specialised manual laboratory equipment, and other researchers have manufactured smart textiles in microelectronic fabrication facilities. “We could make these textiles in specialised microelectronics facilities, but these require billions of pounds of investment,” said Dr Sanghyo…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Elon Musk ‘personally paying’ to keep blue ticks for some verified Twitter users

The move comes after Twitter began removing the legacy blue verified checkmarks from thousands of accounts as the social media site continues its push to drive more people towards signing up for its paid-for Twitter Blue status. Prior to Musk's takeover of Twitter, in order to receive the Verified badge, an account had to meet three criteria: authentic, notable and active. Types of accounts that were eligible for the verification included government, news organisations, brands and content creators. Twitter Verified tweeted that these legacy verified checkmarks would be removed from the site starting from 20 April, with the primary way of getting a blue tick now being to sign up for Twitter Blue, which carries a monthly fee. Users who pay £9.60 a month, or £115.20 annually, receive the…

E+T Magazine
EU Parliament approves cryptocurrency rules in ‘world-first’

The EU Parliament has approved what has been described as the "world's most sweeping cryptocurrency rules", also known as the Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA). The legislation will impose a number of requirements on crypto platforms, token issuers and traders around transparency, disclosure, authorisation, and supervision of transactions, the EU Parliament said, as it stressed its goal of reducing risks for consumers. The rules will apply to crypto assets, including currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as tradable tokens whose value is secured using blockchain technology, such as NFTs. The European Parliament also voted 529-29 in favour of a separate law known as the Transfer of Funds regulation, which requires crypto operators to identify their customers in a bid to halt…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
The rise of marathon technology

The London Marathon is no stranger to electronic technology. Even 15 years ago you could hear the near-synchronised beep of sports watches being fired up as scores of amateur runners stepped past the starting lines in Greenwich and Blackheath on an April morning. Since then, smartphones have joined sugary gel packs, energy drinks and GPS-enabled watches as part of the common armoury of the long-distance runner as well as a near-essential item for people hoping to catch a glimpse of family and friends as they make their way along the 26.2-mile course. In the background, the technology deployed to help support the race has grown. The London Marathon decided to launch a smartphone app for the race eight years ago. Despite being tested on other events and deployed just for the Apple iPhone…

E+T Magazine
Elon Musk promises second launch after Starship rocket explodes

Elon Musk has announced his rocket company will attempt a second launch of its Starship spacecraft after the first one failed its first uncrewed flight test. The spaceship was mounted atop SpaceX's new Super Heavy rocket, which the company has described as the most powerful launch vehicle ever made. The 120-metre-tall spacecraft lifted off from South Texas on Thursday. However, only minutes after the launch, the two sections of the rocket failed to detach, causing Starship to begin spinning at altitude before exploding about four minutes after leaving the ground. The test's failure is likely to delay SpaceX's ambitions to use Starship aircraft to take humans back to the Moon and beyond. Starship rocket ready for launch /SpaceX Image credit: SpaceX The goal

E+T Magazine in Space
Brazil plans ‘digital tax’ on shipments from e-commerce giants

"We will follow the example of developed nations, a digital tax," finance minister Fernando Haddad told reporters. "Consumers will be exempt from any tax collection when they make the purchase; companies will collect it without passing on any additional cost." The move comes after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked his economic team not to proceed with a previously planned ending to tax exemptions for international orders from individuals. Haddad did not provide further details on the new proposal. According to a source at the Finance Ministry, the proposed measure will not involve creating a new tax, but instead adopting an improved collection system. The source emphasised that the tax in question already exists and will be collected electronically prior to the shipment of goods…

E+T Magazine
Back Story: Ashley van Bruygom, “I don’t mind that I fit the stereotype”

Shini Somara: What is your research specifically looking at? Ashley van Bruygom: I’m based at the National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology at Loughborough University, where I’m researching hydrogen combustion for aviation. I do this under extremely controlled settings using Computational Fluid Dynamics, essentially simulating flames on the computer! In aviation, hydrogen is a relatively new concept. There is lots of history, and knowledge when it comes to burning hydrocarbons, but hydrogen is completely different. For a start, it’s not a liquid, so we don’t have to worry about atomising it. However, as a lightweight gas, it is easy to burn and therein lies one of our greatest challenges. Hydrogen can be stored as a gas in a highly pressurised vessel or can be cooled to…

E+T Magazine in Women in Engineering
Who’s really in control of getting driverless cars safely onto UK roads?

The UK government has been anticipating the imminent arrival of driverless cars for many years, but the technology is just one of the components needing further development before autonomous vehicles (AVs) appear on Britain’s roads. The reality of AVs hinges on developing a legal framework that underpins how they are safely and responsibly used. The first hurdle will be assessing what the law requires from the ‘driver’. Before relinquishing control and becoming just a passenger, the driver will have to understand the limits of the systems they’re using. The artificial intelligence systems that will take over driving responsibilities have had years of training, during which cars equipped with sensors have been gathering data on traffic and the behaviour of road users. Now the time for updated…

E+T Magazine in Automotive Engineering
Hands-on review: Viofo A229 Duo dash cam

We've previously spent some quality drive time with two other Viofo dash cams, the A139 3CH triple channel dash cam and the A139 Pro two-channel affair. Both are good systems, with the inevitable devil in the detail as to which might suit you better. Now, Viofo has an uprated two-cam system in the A229 Duo, with front and rear-facing cameras. For most private users, this is the dash cam sweet spot, covering as it does the road and all those other idiots on it both ahead of and behind your vehicle. Front and interior cam systems are ideal for professionals – e.g. taxi drivers and chauffeurs who might need to prove who did what to whom inside their vehicle – but for the rest of us, front and rear view is the optimal way to go. The A229 Duo also bucks a recent trend in dash cams by including…

E+T Magazine in Vision and Imaging
Seagate to pay $300m fine over hard drive exports to Huawei

US authorities have imposed the $300m (£241m) penalty on Seagate, for the shipping of 7.4 million hard drives to China-based Huawei, worth $1.1bn (£883m), the Department of Commerce has confirmed. The hard drives were sold between August 2020 and September 2021, immediately after the Trump administration imposed a ban on the sale of foreign items made with US technology to Huawei. Even after “its competitors had stopped selling to them … Seagate continued sending hard disk drives to Huawei”, said Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. “Today’s action is the consequence.” Axelrod said the administrative penalty was the largest in the history of the agency not tied to a criminal case. The move is the…

E+T Magazine
Proliferation of ‘hackers for hire’ risks UK cyber-security, agency says

A proliferation of hostile cyber capabilities has already enabled more states, gangs and individuals to develop the ability to hack and spy online, according to the National Cybersecurity Centre's (NCSC) latest report. The NCSC – a part of GCHQ – warned that thousands of people are being targeted each year by hackers using surveillance software, which it described as posing an unpredictable threat. The report highlights that 80 countries have purchased cyber intrusion software over the past 10 years. This included off-the-shelf capability, which the report described as "hacking-as-a-service" as well as hacking services, dubbed "hackers-for-hire". The agency stressed that the sophistication of these commercial products is as effective as some of the tools developed by nation-states. It…

E+T Magazine in Cybersecurity
Thousands of stranded cars left undetected on smart motorways, Labour claims

According to Labour’s analysis of live lane breakdown incidents between 2016 and 2020, 60,925 were believed to be on roads without a permanent hard shoulder. The party then drew upon detection rates published by the Office of Road and Rail to come up with its figure of an average of more than 4,000 breakdowns being missed in a year, or approximately 12 a day. Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said the “shocking” statistics show motorists have been “left at risk”, as she urged the government to reinstate the hard shoulder on such roads. Transport secretary Mark Harper said it would cost “billions of pounds” to reinstate the hard shoulder while maintaining the capacity of the road network. He added Labour has “no plan to pay” for such a move and instead claimed the opposition’s…

E+T Magazine in Road transport systems
Drop in demand for new electric cars puts green transition at risk, report warns

The volume of new electric car searches, ad views and messages to retailers on the Auto Trader platform has dropped by almost two-thirds (65 per cent) between March 2022 and 2023, the company has reported. Electric vehicles (EVs) then made up 16.3 per cent of new car ad views on the website, but by March 2023 the figure had fallen to 10.54 per cent, Auto Trader said. Auto Trader's Road to 2030 has attributed this to the high cost of EVs, which were found to be, on average, 37 per cent more expensive than petrol and diesel cars. Moreover, other factors such as high interest rates and an increase in the cost of electricity also played a role. The company stressed that these high costs are hampering the uptake of EVs, with the number of models priced between £20,000 and £30,000 significantly…

E+T Magazine in Road transport systems
Why investors should stop chasing unicorns

The term ‘unicorn’ was first used to describe a category of high-growth company in a 2013 blog post by venture capitalist Aileen Lee. She defined a unicorn quite narrowly as a US-based software company started since 2003 and valued at $1bn+ by public or private market investors. These companies are very rare and very desirable to investors, hence ‘unicorn’. Venture capitalists hunt for start-ups with unicorn potential because they need their many risky investments to return the occasional reward. Back then, Lee counted 39 unicorns. Today, there are many more – over 1,200, according to the CB Insights definition of private companies valued at $1bn+. Almost half of those are based in the US and a quarter in China. The mightiest unicorn is TikTok owner ByteDance (China), which is valued at…

E+T Magazine
HS2 work ‘will continue to progress’ despite concerns over rail line's future

Transport secretary Mark Harper made his comments in the Commons earlier today (Thursday) after Conservative MP Theo Clarke (Stafford) asked him: “I welcome the government’s commitment to railway reform, but the secretary of state will know from my recent meeting with the rail minister that my Stafford constituency is heavily impacted by the construction of HS2 and we have always been promised that there will be economic benefits for Stafford through the Handsacre link. “Given the recent push to find savings in this project, concerns have been raised that the Handsacre link will be scrapped. So, can I ask him to confirm this will go ahead?” Harper replied: “Whilst our priority is to deliver the opening stage of HS2 on schedule and for high-speed services to commence from Old Oak Common…

E+T Magazine in Railways
Environmental protesters vow to help London Marathon run ‘smoothly’

The climate action group is staging a four-day protest outside Parliament Square from 21 April, but has been in talks with the marathon race director to ensure minimal disruption. A Just Stop Oil activist also confirmed there are no plans to disrupt the race on Sunday, although they encouraged protesters to attend. An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson said: “There’s over 200 groups who have joined us for the weekend and everyone is committed not to disrupt the race and our stewards who are responsible for the whole group will facilitate that. “It’s our intention to facilitate the marathon to take place smoothly.” Extinction Rebellion said it had been in talks with the London Marathon since November, which the spokesperson described as “a really fruitful conversation about how we can…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
El Salvador slashes taxes for companies developing AI products

The Central American country has voted in favour of the tax exemptions, in a bid to make the country a more attractive destination for technological companies, entrepreneurs and investors. The tax exemptions - which are anticipated to be kept in place for the next 15 years - will be available for eligible companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools, as well as other computer programming work. Lawmakers approved the motion with 69 voting in favour among the 84-member unicameral legislature. "With these exemptions, we are facilitating the development of the technological sector in our country, and manufacturing as well, which will help a new industry emerge," said lawmaker Rodrigo Ayala during the debate. Next week, I’ll be sending a bill to congress to eliminate all taxes…

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