TechRadio Best of 2017

Technology news and interviews from Ireland, brought to you by the team at TechCentral.ie.

Tech Radio Ireland

On this week's show Niall and Dusty await the latest on Twitter and bid farewell to the fax machine and Google Hangouts. In more serious news we talk with University College London's Dr Nikolas Pontikos about his project Eye2Gene, a device that can help identify rare eye diseases at the genetic level.

Tech Radio

Dr Nikolas Pontikos on the genetics of eye disease

For the last 18 years Tech Radio has featured guests ranging from the brains behind multinational brands to researchers working on emerging technologies to start-up entrepreneurs, to young people with big ideas.

This week Niall, Dusty and some friends of the show look back on 1,000 episodes with some friends of the show.

Sharing their opinions on travel, money, transport and tech's most influential personalities are roundtable veterans Jason Walsh and Martha Rotter. We also have contributions from Ai Institute founder Maryrose Lyons; Back From The Future boss and gadget guru Colin Baker; cybersecurity expert and BH Consulting CEO Brian Honan; and Fujitsu Ireland distinguished engineer Caragh O'Carroll.

Episode 1000!

This week we take a look at some good news and bad for Elon Musk; Taylor Swift forces US lawmakers to get tough on deepfakes, why TikTok is at loggerheads with Universal Music Group, and Apple makes concessions with the EU over third party app stores.
Also, what does your PC say about you? Colin Baker from the Laptop Lab shares some funny observations.

Laptop Lab's Colin Baker on the evolution of the PC

On this week's show Neuralink goes public with another breakthrough, Microsoft has big plans for AI in Ireland and Apple gets in more trouble over payment processing.
Later, Oculus co-founder and Innovator in Residence at UC Berkeley Jack McCauley shares his opinions on where VR and the company in general is going.

Neuralink makes a breakthrough and Oculus co-founder Jack McCauley on VR

This week we look at how AI is being used to identify targets in Palestine, the commercial effect of regulation on Big Tech and Prof Marco Ruffini looks at the next generation of cellular networks.

The dark side of AI and Connect's Prof Marco Ruffini on sustainable networks

We look back on the seven biggest stories of the week including the eclipse, Paddy Cosgrave returns as Web Summit CEO, and can AI teach you Irish?
Plus, with lots in the news of city planning with housing and transport (particularly in Dublin), we ask if AI is going to dictate how and where we live with Dr Federico Cugurullo from Trinity College Dublin.

Spotify goes FM and Dr Federico Cugurullo on cities designed by AI

Niall and Dusty happen to be in the market for a new smartphone so they’re going to take a look at three phones each, from high-end to budget busters, and decide which one they’re going to buy with their own cash!

What you need to know about buying a smartphone in 2024

This week we check out Samsung's latest gadgets and AI hype from Unpacked in Paris.

We also look at the EU forcing Apple to open up its payment system and ask is this good for consumers or a security risk?  We also have news on smartphone bans in schools. 

Finally, we’re joined by PwC Head of Generative Artificial Intelligence Martin Duffy to chat about how the way we do business is changing.

What everyone is talking about from Samsung Unpacked and PwC's Martin Duffy

This week we find out just how far behind Ireland is in electric vehicle adoption, Google gets slammed for being like Apple, and a new wave of AI assistants is upon us. Also, Fidelity Investments’ Aaron Smith talks about an innovative approach to start-ups being worked on in association with Dogpatch Labs.

Ireland’s low-energy EV game

This week, Apple drops an unexpected new iPad plus we have the new Kindle and Android OS. In other big stories, Big Tech plans to power AI with their own nuclear reactors, Spotify has a problem with fake albums, and we learn about the murky world of Dark Data with Phil Wilkinson of Iotics.

Apple's surprise iPad mini and Dark Data explained by Iotics' Phil Wilkinson

This week Niall and Dusty look at the refurbed tech market, which is bigger than you think. Plus we have more AI agents to scare you with and artists say no to using their work as training data.
Also, in a brilliant preview of Beta Festival, our guests Susanne Treister and Patricia Dominguez share their experiences at CERN, and some thoughts on ChatGPT and the future of art.

Dublin goes back into Beta

On this week’s show, social network X loses a popularity contest, Apple is on the hook for billions from an unexpected source and Ireland still can’t get its head around passwords.

Later, CEO of The Futures Agency and futurist Gerd Leonhard talks about the challenges to teaching science, technology, engineering and maths when factual solutions (and hallucinations) are a few prompts away.

Rethinking education in the age of AI with futurist Gerd Leonhard

From the dramatic fall of crypto kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried to the challenges facing electric vehicle adoption in Ireland, get ready for a no-holds-barred analysis of the year's most compelling tech stories. We unpack everything from the impact of brand new AI regulation to streaming economics, the shifting landscapes of digital innovation and much more. 
Plus, in a year where DORA, the AI Act and the NIS2 directive were huge talking points, we chat with PwC’s Digital Risk Partner Moira Cronin about how a uniform approach to risk can save time, resources and even improve how different departments talk with management.

The year that was 2024 and PwC's Moira Cronin on compliance

This week we’re looking at which professions are considered 'AI-proof', the potential benefits and concerns around Google's new Gemini Kids AI homework helper, plus the fascinating story behind SpaceX's Starbase City and the strategic reasons for its unusual development.

We also get an insider's look at how a digital twin has revolutionised the Sandyford Business District with CEO Ger Corbett.

Sandyford Business District's Ger Corbett on building better spaces

This week, Niall and Dusty talk about Samsung's thinnest-ever smartphone which delivers the same powerhouse camera as the Ultra but in a dramatically slimmer package. Is extreme thinness the future, or just a gimmick?

We continue to monitor Big Tech's stealth layoff strategy where Microsoft's performance improvement plans are actually targeting 6,000 jobs and what this means for your career. Plus the EU could be causing an online advertising earthquake by outlawing how cookies work.

In this week's interview we dive into a fascinating conversation about how creative industries might actually learn to embrace AI with Dr Martin Clancy.

Meet Samsung's S25 Edge: the slimmest smartphone ever

This week we have new AI announcements from Google I/O and Microsoft Build, Bitcoin hits a new high and Elon Musk says goodbye to the world of politics. Plus, Barry Scannell from William Fry explains how to stay on the right side of the EU AI Act.

I/O, I/O, it’s off to work we go

This week Niall and Dusty talk about how the Irish Council for Civil Liberties is taking on Microsoft; the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition gets a new title sponsor; we learn what a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' is; and ask what's next for Elon Musk as he departs the White House.
Later, Ashley Casovan, managing director of the AI Governance Centre at the International Association of Privacy Professionals, talks about making policy and using open data to make better public services.

IAPP's Ashley Casovan on how best to manage data

This week we have the beginning of the end of the Trump/Musk alliance, Nintendo drops the Switch 2 console, and we have two copyright cases that could define the future of AI. We also meet Rebecca Barford-Ryan to talk about the upcoming Women in Data Science Regional Conference.

Rebecca Barford-Ryan on Women in Data Science

This week we have the highs and lows of WWDC 2025, find out Ireland’s favourite AI and Nasa’s goes all quiet on social media.

Plus, we talk with three start-up founders about how their companies are exploring the boundaries of sustainability.

Was WWDC 25 about keeping up appearances?

This week we have an expensive race for talent in AI; the Trump Organisation gets into mobile; and ask how long Irish people are willing to go without Internet connectivity.Plus, we talk with three more start-up founders from BnM's Accelerate Green programme.

How long could you go without the Internet?

This week Niall and Dusty chat about the wedding of the year courtesy of Jeff Bezos. Trump Mobile’s ‘American’ phone fails to meet expectations and with Tesla’s robotaxi has a mixed start in Austin. Also up for discussion are two cases tackling AI, copyright and fair use.
We also find out more about early-stage Irish startups, who are driving transformative solutions for a greener future with BnM’s Accelerate Green Grow Programme. Sharing their stories are Frank Daly from JTM Energy; Paul Mahon from Watt Footprint; and Michael O’Shea from Pulse Market. 

Jeff Bezos presents the social event of the year

On this week's show Samsung shows off the latest in Flip and Fold smartphones and a new Watch; we enter nightmare territory courtesy of OpenAI and Grok; and Kyran O'Mahoney from Nexus Inclusion talks about how companies can become more accomodating for people with disabilities.

Samsung knows what time it is and Kyran O'Mahoney from Nexus Inclusion

This week Jason and Dusty find out more about the dark side of WeTransfer; the EU’s digital passport you may need to access the Internet; and the dark reality of AI replacing workers, starting with the people who built it.

Rant show: Passing the buck

This week, Microsoft dropped an emergency patch for a vulnerability in Sharepoint that Chinese hackers have been exploiting since 7 July. Plus, now age verification is here how are social media platforms making sure users are of age?
Lastly, we learn about EdTips, a push to bring science, technology and engineering into primary schools with Keith Nolan from TU Dublin.

Microsoft’s Sharepoint patchwork and Keith Nolan from TU Dublin on EdTips

We often talk about the work people won’t have to do thanks to technologies like automation and AI. However, there are plenty of jobs out there that people shouldn’t be doing in the first place. This week Niall Kitson is joined by Anybotics' senior product manager and Swiss chapter co-lead of Women in Robotics Kateryna Portmann, and technical project manager for Verity Nazrin Aliyeva to talk about the state of the art.

Kateryna Portmann and Nazrin Aliyeva on new directions in robotics

In this episode we look at the many shapes of artificial intelligence, from companies that don’t love us back, to optiistic valuations, and Accenture head of technology in Ireland Austin Boyle shares his thoughts on how AI agents have yet to fulfill their promise. Finally, as Pac-Man turns 45 Niall and Dusty revisit the golden age of arcade games.

Accenture’s Austin Boyle on agentic AI and beyond

This week Google drops a new series of devices including Pixel phones, watches and true wireless ear buds.
Plus, we find out more about AI and the science of longevity with our special guest Kennedy Schaal, CEO & founder of Rejuve.

Google gets smarter with the Pixel 10 and Rejuv's Kennedy Schaal on longevity

This week we look at the role of AI in the tragic death of an American teen and Nvidia’s financials continue to impress.
Later, Orivium’s Emma Clarke talks about her company’s method of extracting and reusing rare earth materials to give new life to devices beyond repair.

Artificial intelligence and a real tragedy

In this extended interview Niall Kitson meets Bank of Ireland head of design thinking Lesley Tully to find out how business can benefit from a more creative approach to problem solving.

TechRadio Extra: The value of design thinking with Bank of Ireland's Lesley Tully

This week Google gets hit by a record EU fine; ransomware (Not)Petya goes international; and Dusty talks to astronaut Dan Tani as part of Cork Institute of Technology's 2017 Space Studies Programme.

One step beyond with astronaut Dan Tani

Do you have a licence for that hydraulic hand? Can your employer decide how you shouild be rebuilt after an accident on the job? We explore these ideas and more with legal researcher Shane P. McNamee.

Legally cyborg with Shane P. McNamee

Can you be tricked into handing over personal information? Have you ever gotten into a concert without a ticket? How secure are help desks? Jenny Radcliffe is an expert in social engineering who knows all about getting what you want through the power of persuasion. This week Jenny got Niall Kitson to devote an entire show to interviewing her.

Hacking the human with Jenny Radcliffe

Where does the science of data end and the art of data begin? This week Niall explores this idea with Jer Thorp, co-founder of The Office for Creative Research, Adjunct Professor at New York University's ITP programme and innovator in residence at the Library of Congress.
In other news, Facebook, Google and Twitter get a grilling over Russia.

Jer Thorp on the art and science of data

Using robots as teaching aides for autistic children, managing the energy lost to bitcoin mining, a sensor to detect concussion in hurlers, and a treatment for teethgrinding - it can only be the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2018

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