The Irish Tech News Podcast

Unit4 is launching Smart Automation Services, which talks to the broader discussion around the role of AI and automation in ERP. Claus Jepsen their Chief Product and Technology Officer, recommends a more pragmatic approach and launching this initiative, it is identifying specific opportunities to integrate AI and automation into the various functions within its ERPx suite. In the course of the next year during its regular release cycle it will add specific functionality across areas like payroll, expenses, procurement, finance, and its virtual assistant.  Ronan recently spoke to Clause. Clause talks about his background, what Unit4 does, AI and more. More about Claus Jepsen: Claus Jepsen is a technology expert who has been fascinated by the micro-computer revolution ever since he received a Tandy TRS model 1 at the age of 14. Since then, Claus has spent the last few decades developing and architecting software solutions, most recently at Unit4, where he is the Chief Product and Technology Officer leading the ERP vendor’s focus on enabling the post-modern enterprise. At Unit4, Claus is building cloud-based, super-scalable solutions and bringing innovative technologies such as AI, chatbots, and predictive analytics to ERP. Claus is a strong believer that having access to vast amounts of data allows us to construct better, non-invasive and pervasive solutions to improve our experiences, relieve us from tedious chores, and allow us focus on what we as individuals really love doing.   

Integrity360's conference series Security First was recently held in Dublin this year. Bringing together the cybersecurity industry to discuss the latest threat landscape developments and industry insights, and offer actionable advice on how to protect your organisation from the most prevalent cyber threats in 2024.  One of the speakers at Security First was Patrick Wragg, Head of Incident Response at Integrity360 and Ronan recently spoke to Patrick.   Patrick talks about his background, state sponsored attacks, the good and bad points of AI, deep fakes and more. More about Integrity360: Integrity360 is an industry-leading cyber security specialist operating in Ireland and the U.K. Since 2005 they have earned the status of trusted security advisor for over 1,500 clients across UK and Ireland. Their security first approach positions security as an enabler and empowers their clients to do business securely.

The 2024 Dublin Tech Summit is taking place today in the RDS and on the first day of the conference I caught up with Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures and one of the Dublin Tech Summit speakers. Nicolas spoke to me about his background, what TDK ventures does, what they invest in and more. More about Nicolas Sauvage: Nicolas Sauvage is the President of TDK Ventures. Nicolas Sauvage is committed to invest and serve entrepreneurs – the ultimate Impact Scalers – to build innovative and meaningful solutions in Digital, Energy & Environmental Transformations that will bring positive impact to society and the planet.  Nicolas believes in the value of focusing on what really matters in one’s life and removing the noise around us as much as possible; he created the concept of the “8 words” to capture in just 8 words what matters the most to someone, and prioritise their life’s choices and activities, every day. His 8 words starts with his wife: “Sheila first. Scaling Impact Scalers. Patience and Impatience.” and are engraved on his iPad.  Nicolas is an alumnus of the Stanford GSB, INSEAD, London Business School, and microelectronics ISEN school.

The 2024 Dublin Tech Summit takes place tomorrow and Ronan spoke to Siobhan Human, Head of Programming and Marketing at Dublin Tech Summit to find out what we can expect this year. Siobhan talks about some of the speakers appearing at Dublin Tech Summit, space tech, AI and more. More about Dublin Tech Summit: Dublin Tech Summit is the most exciting tech festival in Europe. DTS brings together global leaders in innovation, technology and business to shape the future of trends and technologies. Taking place at the RDS on the 29th and 30th of May, this event brings together over 8,000 attendees and more than 200 influential speakers from all over the globe.   

What has changed and hasn’t changed in payments and marketing in the past two decades? What can we do to help more women become visible? In this episode of One Vision — FinTech Fuse! We chat with Kathryn Vazquez Kmiotek — Top 30 Influential Fintech Marketer — on the future of payments and true inclusion. Kathy’s advice? Own your voice and be the driver of your career; time is never given back.

Five years ago I interviewed Professor Horacio Gonzalez-Velez for the Irish Tech News podcast and of things we talked about was Ireland's First Cloud Competency Centre (CCC) in NCI. A dozen years after the founding of Ireland's First Cloud Competency Centre, the CCC hosted PDP24 https://pdp2024.org. Winning this prestigious conference and its international attendees for Ireland as well as contributing to/leading many pan-European research projects, including another First - for Ireland, and indeed for Europe - a master's programme in Open Data. I caught up with Professor Horacio González-Vélez the head of the cloud competency centre in NCI, to catch up on what has happened since we last spoke. Dr González-Vélez talks about how the CCC has changed over 12 years, crypto, Ai and more. More about Professor Horacio Gonzalez-Velez: Horacio González-Vélez is a Professor of Computer Systems and Founding Head of The Cloud Competency Centre at National College of Ireland. Under his guidance, the Centre has grown exponentially, from some 20 students and a single EU-funded project in 2012 to hundreds of students and multiple EU-funded research projects underpinned by a capable team of professionals by 2023.  His research has consistently sought to bridge the gap between data-intensive computational problems and their discrete patterns of computation and communication. He has harnessed his diverse background to engage with stakeholders of all backgrounds, skills, and genders, as he actively contributes to institutional committees, European working groups, and research strategy development.

From connecting businesses to helping consumers manage their everyday spending, open banking has been in action for a while now. In this episode of One Vision — Fintech Fuse! Theo chats with Meaghan Johnson, Fintech and Bank Advisor, on the next iteration of finance and how it can deliver more value to the data-driven ecosystem. If our payments data can tell a story, how can we create a narrative that is more impactful and more relevant to our everyday lives? To anyone who thinks PFM is old news … hold your horses.

In this special edition of the Futurists, media expert Peter Csathy debates with Rob about copyright and generative AI. It’s a preview of their upcoming live debate at the Streaming Media summit in New York. Peter and Rob discuss the major issues in copyright, the most contentious lawsuits, and the most relevant precedents. If you are interested in the future of genAI for storytelling and entertainment, this episode is essential. Topics include: copyright lawsuits brought by the New York Times, Getty Images and artists; how recent rulings on fair use may affect these cases; the evolving definition of “copying” in the digital domain; why some precedents will matter more than others; why Big Tech is in hot water; and how copyright is a tax on future innovation. 

For decades, philosopher Nick Bostrom (director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford) has led the conversation around technology and human experience (and grabbed the attention of the tech titans who are developing AI - Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman). Now, a decade after his NY Times bestseller Superintelligence warned us of what could go wrong with AI development, he flips the script in his new book Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World (March 27), asking us to instead consider “What could go well?” Ronan recently spoke to Professor Nick Bostrom. Professor Bostrom talks about his background, his new book Deep Utopia Life and Meaning in a Solved World, why he thinks advanced AI systems could automate most human jobs and more. More about Nick Bostrom: Swedish-born philosopher Nick Bostrom was founder and director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University. He is the most-cited professional philosopher in the world aged 50 or under and is the author of some 200 publications, including Anthropic Bias (2002), Global Catastrophic Risks (2008), Human Enhancement (2009), and Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (2014), a New York Times bestseller.  With a background in theoretical physics, computational neuroscience, logic, and artificial intelligence, his work has pioneered some of the ideas that frame current thinking about humanity’s future (such as the concept of an existential risk, the simulation argument, the vulnerable world hypothesis, the unilateralist’s curse, etc.), while some of his recent work concerns the moral status of digital minds.His writings have been translated into more than 30 languages; he is a repeat main-stage TED speaker; and he has been interviewed more than 1,000 times by media outlets around the world. He has been on Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers list twice and was included in Prospect’s World Thinkers list, the youngest person in the top 15. As a graduate student he dabbled in stand-up comedy on the London circuit.

Have you ever looked back at your career path, and wondered out loud, what if? And if you could pursue anything, what would it be?  In this episode of One Vision podcast, Theo chats with Bhuva Shakti, fractional COO and board director, on her roles as angel investor, advisor, and digital transformation strategist. From economic inclusion and entrepreneurship to responsible innovation, the next chapter is still yet to be written. And as it turns out, in the age of AI where opportunities abound, sky is indeed the limit. It’s time to choose your own adventure. Remember the old adage: “You can be anything you want to be.”