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

Tech Radio Ireland

It's a truly packed show on this week's podcast in association with Bord na Mona's Accelerate Green programme. First, we have good news for Apple with a slate of new devices. However, Cupertino is also on the losing side of a decision from the Court of Justice of the EU, meaning it has to pay €13 billion in back taxes to the State. It's a seismic decision, but will it mean anything to the Tech sector at large?

Good Apple/Bad Apple and a field of Green start-ups

Facial recognition technology is becoming a routine part of daily life, from unlocking phones to assisting law enforcement. But as its use expands, so do the ethical and legal dilemmas it presents. 

Today we dive into the mechanics of facial recognition technology—how it works, its limitations, and the biases it can reinforce. From government policies to legal frameworks, and the importance of public awareness in shaping the future of AI-powered surveillance, we break down the pressing issues surrounding this technology.

Joining us are two experts who are working to promote awareness and caution around FRT. They are Assistant Professor at Maynooth University’s School of Law and Criminology, Dr. Ciara Bracken-Roche, and Senior Policy Officer at ICCL and coordinator of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations, Olga Cronin. 

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

●	The rise of facial recognition technology in everyday life and law enforcement
●	Concerns about ethics, flaws and AI bias in FRT 
●	Examining government policies, legal challenges, and human rights issues 
●	Potential dangers and misuse of mass surveillance
●	Engaging society to critically think through creative mediums 

GUEST DETAILS

Dr. Ciara Bracken-Roche is an Assistant Professor in the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa. She completed her PhD (Queen's University), MA (Warwick), and BSc (Toronto).

Ciara's current line of research explores the adoption and use of drones and other surveillance technologies in Canada and Ireland by policing and public safety agencies. 
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/ciara-bracken-roche 

Olga Cronin is a Senior Policy Officer of Enforce and the coordinator of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO). She is focused on facial recognition technology, encryption, state surveillance, privacy and data protection.

Her work to date, with academics and other NGOs, helped prevent use of the powerful mass surveillance without pre-legislative scrutiny or debate. She also leads ICCL’s work on several EU proposals, including the EU ‘ChatControl’ proposal which could mandate unprecedented mass surveillance of all public and private digital communications. She is leading several complaints to the Data Protection Commission.
https://www.iccl.ie/staff/olga-cronin/ 

MORE INFORMATION

You can learn more about your AI Literacy in the Classroom here: https://ai-literacy-in-the-classroom.adaptcentre.ie/ 
Adapt Radio is produced by DustPod.io for the Adapt Centre
For more information about ADAPT visit www.adaptcentre.ie/  

KEYWORDS
#AI #facialrecognition #biometric #data #humanrights #masssurveillance #AIAdvisoryCouncil


Facial Recognition: Innovation or Invasion?

It’s high-stakes drama this week as Trump's tariff policies collide with Ireland's tech giants. 
In other  news, we find out how online catfishing could land a five-year prison sentence, Manna takes flight in Cork, and we expose Microsoft's  push to replace your permanent software with never-ending subscriptions.
Plus, our guest David McIntyre shares his story of Cubbie. A multisensory space that could be coming to a school, library or hospital near you.


Tar-iff or not tar-iff? That is the question

This week Niall and Dusty warn of dark times ahead for Apple customers as tarriffs against China take hold. We also keep you up-to-speed on AI's Irish Invasion, how Minority Report has become reality in the UK, and share some brilliant innovation at Ireland's two main airports.Plus we find out how companies can use blockchain to fend off the security challenges posed by quantum computing, with John Woods, chief technology officer of the Algorand Foundation.

John Woods, chief technology officer of the Algorand Foundation, on post quantum computing

Are all astronauts created equal? This week Niall and Dusty go to the outer reaches of logic to make sense of this week's Blue Origin 'mission'. Elsewhere we have more tarriff news, why services are the next frontier in the trade wars and we mourn the loss of 4chan. In our interview we talk to Dr Brendan Darby, Marama Labs co-founder and CEO, about his company's journey from wine making to pharmaceuticals.

Marama Labs co-founder Dr Brendan Darby on wine and drug discovery

2025 is International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Joining TechCentral.ie editor Niall Kitson to discuss the state of the art are Marc O’Regan, EMEA CTO, Dell Technologies Ireland; Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research, The Walton Institute; Donal Óg McCarthy, EMEA cloud and application security lead, Accenture; John Woods, CTO, The Algorand Foundation; John O'Donoghue, Equinix senior global solutions architect, and Prof Felix Binder, assistant professor in Quantum Science, School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin.

TechCentral.ie Webinar: The quantum computing challenge

This week, we have the inside scoop on how Intel Ireland may be affected by their global restructuring plan. We look at how bad things have got at Tesla and X, and wrap up with the surprising results from a human v robot half-marathon challenge.
Plus we discover how tech is helping our physical and mental health with guest Stephen Costello, CEO and co-founder of Spectrum.Life.

Uncertainty at Intel and Spectrum.Life CEO Stephen Costello

Could Ireland manage a massive blackout like Spain and Portugal endured this week? We also see how Big Tech has been getting on with the Trump administration after 100 days in office, and Amazon's plan to offer satellite broadband.

Rant show: Going dark

How many times have you gone to the doctor and then on the way home from the appointment, realized there were things that you forgot to ask about?

Today, we hear about an AI-powered platform that helps patients record questions and quality-of-life issues ahead of time to support more effective consultations. Currently being trialled with cancer patients, we hear how the system integrates with electronic health records, improves patient engagement, and has the potential to cut clinician workload in half. 

Our guest is a seasoned expert in digitising patient care with over 25 years of experience in clinical and research settings. We’re delighted to welcome CEO of eAltra, Denis Roche.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

●	The role of AI in enhancing patient communication
●	Human-centreed design and clinical insight in ai development
●	Technical integration with electronic health records (EHR)
●	Real-world testing and impact on clinical workflows
●	Incorporating wearable and environmental data

GUEST DETAILS

Denis Roche is the CEO and founder of eAltra, a Trinity College Dublin spinout developing conversational AI to support cancer care. With over 25 years of experience in digitising patient pathways, Denis brings deep expertise in cognitive computing and data analytics. His clinical insights, gained from working in leading healthcare settings, have driven eAltra’s mission to address global under-capacity in cancer care. Under his leadership, the company has secured Enterprise Ireland funding and won Best Emerging AI at Spark Crowdfunding’s Top 100 Awards.
https://www.eAltra.com/ 

MORE INFORMATION

You can learn more about your AI Literacy in the Classroom here: https://ai-literacy-in-the-classroom.adaptcentre.ie/
 
Adapt Radio is produced by DustPod.io for the Adapt Centre
For more information about ADAPT visit www.adaptcentre.ie


QUOTES

It's really just to combine the information source with the accessibility, making it more powerful. - Denis Roche 

What we're trying to do at eAltra is to equip the patient as best as we can. Give them the information that they need, in the way that they want it, at the time that they need it. - Denis Roche 

We're trying to create somewhere that patients can come and know that it's safe and it's private. - Denis Roche 

The hospital teams think it's going to bring the time they spend down by about 50%. - Denis Roche

It feeds into streamlining or improving the patient scheduling process. - Denis Roche

KEYWORDS
#AI #technology #cancer #healthcare #EHR #clinicaltrials #patient #data #digitalhealth

Empowering Cancer Patients with AI

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

Technology news from Ireland to the world

Good Apple/Bad Apple and a field of Green start-ups

Tech Radio Ireland

Related tracks