The Irish Tech News Podcast

Is inequality the inevitable byproduct of accelerating change?  Can we reverse the winner-take-all dynamic? Common Future is a “think and do tank" dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap by empowering individuals to take ownership of their futures. The three co-CEOs of Common Future tell the Futurists about their strategies and action labs to build economic power and build real estate ownership amid black, brown and indigenous communities across the USA. Because everyone deserves a stake in a fairer future.  Web site:  https://www.commonfuture.co/ Generations of Black and Indigenous communities and other communities of color are intentionally locked out of wealth and power. We collaborate with leaders who have the imagination and courage to rethink our economy, and model new ways for excluded communities to thrive.

In this episode of One Vision — FinTech Fuse! Theo and Barb chat with Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy & Content at Sardine, and the brain behind the Fintech Brainfood, on being infinitely curious. One of Simon’s passion topics and mission at Sardine is to eradicate scams from the Internet. According to Simon, not only is fraud a massively underrepresented trillion-dollar problem, it is also getting exponentially worse, with so much of it being underreported. It is, as Simon calls it, the biggest issue that impacts human misery.  What does the future hold for the financial services industry and its workforce, against the backdrop of credit quality concerns, the rapid development of advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, and with big techs advancing? What are the top things on Simon’s list and what does he think is overhyped? Tune in and find out!

Last year Ronan spoke to Paul Conaty, Principal Consultant at mobile and cloud security specialist CWSI about hybrid working which was one of the biggest predicted trends on the tech industry in 2023. Ronan caught up with Paul who is now Client Solutions Director - Security & Compliance at CWSI. Paul spoke about his background, the coffee shop security model, hybrid working, device as a service, AI and more  MORE ABOUT CWSI: CWSI are one of Europe’s most experienced mobile and cloud security specialists, providing flexibility, security and productivity solutions to the private and public sectors in the UK and Europe. Theirr purpose is to help organisations thrive, and stay secure, in a mobile world. CWSI was founded in Ireland in 2010 by Conor Headon, Philip Harrison and Ronan Murphy. The idea for the business was sparked by the launch of the very first iPad and the realisation that few IT teams had the knowledge or skills to get the best from these devices in an enterprise environment. CWSI originally partnered with MobileIron, one of the first solutions on the market to leverage Apple’s device management APIs to enable enterprise users to maximise the benefits of the smartphone while giving IT teams visibility, control and management of the device. From this simple initial idea, and a single desk in the corner of the living room, the business has expanded to provide a full suite of enterprise mobility, security and productivity solutions to some of Ireland and the UK’s leading organisations and supported by some of the industries most talented technologists.

Against the backdrop of elevated interest rates and lingering economic uncertainty brought about by layoffs and geopolitical conflicts, it is perhaps not surprising to see consumers seeking alternative ways to consume and pay. At the same time, they are also demanding more. In this episode of One Vision, Theo and Barb chat with Julie Muhn, Senior Research Analyst, and the heart and soul of Finovate, on the state of consumer fintech. What challenges will PFM tools face? And how can financial services providers leverage data and technology to help consumers navigate their financial lives?

Ireland’s first sustainability hackathon is coming to Wexford’s GreenTechHQ, Ireland’s premier sustainability innovation hub. in partnership with NDRC and the 2050 Accelerator. Earlier this week Ronan spoke to Ed Murphy, CEO Greentech HQ & Joe Gorman NDRC Programme Manager about the hackathon.    Ed and Joe talk about their backgrounds, the hackathon, and more. More about Ireland’s first sustainability hackathon at GreenTechHQ  The one-day hackathon will welcome up to 80 budding entrepreneurs, who want to o start, grow, and power up a startup with sustainability at its core. Participants will get the chance to tackle themes including biodiversity management and applications of AI in building a circular economy, the carbon credits market, upend social economies, or promote more diverse and equitable perspectives in the professional world. Aspiring founders, developers, and curious minds are encouraged to sign up to join or build a team, develop an idea from scratch, and benefit from expert mentorship before pitching their business at the evening showcase. 

BlackBerry recently got together several of Ireland’s emergency services and public sector organisations to a private event in Dublin. They discussed the state of major emergency management in Ireland and across the EU, sharing lessons learned and best practice. Insights drawn from BlackBerry AtHoc’s work with aid and emergency services organisations; from the UK’s Greater Manchester Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary, to the United States Senate and International Red Cross. Keiron Holyome, VP UKI & Emerging Markets, BlackBerry Cybersecurity was one of the speakers at the event and Ronan sat down to speak with him after the event. Kieron talks about his background, how Blackberry pivoted, the four pillars of what blackberry does and more  More about Keiron Holyome: In his role as Vice President for the UK, Ireland and Emerging Markets, Keiron applies his depth of knowledge in cybersecurity threats and AI-powered solutions to work with BlackBerry customers and prospects across a broad range of industries including public sector, manufacturing, finance and health. Keiron joined BlackBerry in 2021 from McAfee, prior to which he built his career with global IT organisations including Dell, Lenovo and Computacenter. 

Cloud Capitalism with Yanis Varoufakis GUEST: Yanis Varoufakis DESCRIPTION: Capitalism is dead, according to Yanis Varoufakis, the author of Technofeudalism. This week on The Futurists you’ll learn about the dramatic reconfiguration of the global economy, whereby profit has been replaced by rents and a flood of central bank money, leading to bigger bubbles and worse crises than ever before. Yanis calls this new system Cloud Capitalism.  Find Yanis Varoufakis on the Web: Yanis Varoufakis home page: https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/ Follow Yanis on X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/yanisvaroufakis?lang=en Read Yanis’s Articles on The Guardian:  https://www.theguardian.com/profile/yanis-varoufakis

“If you get the chance to wake up tomorrow, what will you do with your day?” In this episode of One Vision — FinTech Fuse! Theo chats with Natasha Harper-Madison, a city council member for Austin, an entrepreneur, and a champion for the local community and racial equity, on civic engagement and cultivating economic opportunity and mobility.  It is often said, talent is everywhere, opportunities are not. If small businesses are the backbone of our society, what more can we do to enable them to thrive? How can we collectively partner across sectors to create a more vibrant startup economy?  More can be done — more needs to be done. And there is a cost of inaction.  As Gandalf said to Frodo in Lord of the Rings: “All that we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” We hope Natasha’s story will inspire you to reflect and act. Because each day is a gift. Let’s fight the good fight. 

The Startup World Cup, the world’s largest startup pitch competition, will make its debut in Ireland, with the semi-final taking place at Dublin Tech Summit 2024. Powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures, the tournament consists of over 50 regional startup competitions across over 20 countries, providing an unmatched opportunity to access Ireland’s startup ecosystem and global tech companies. Ronan spoke to Brian Ó hOisín who is one of the Dublin Tech Summit team and a Director of Innovation at Catalyst Media. Brian talks about the Startup World Cup, emerging tech, AI Tribes, Dublin Tech Summit and more. More about Brian Ó hOisín : Brian is a well known business and tech entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Career Zoo. He is also the CEO of Tech Tribes, the head of innovation at Catalyst Media, the founder of Tech Nomads and is also involved with Dublin Tech Summit and AI Tribes which is taking place this Friday the 23rd of February.

Biohacking Longevity In this weeks TF, Brett King interviews Swedish Biohacker and Futurist, Hannes Sjoblad. The two futurists get into the evolution of biohacking and longevity treatments, the merging of man and machine through implants, neural/brain control interfaces and advanced robotic prosthetics. This is advanced application of technology for the future of health and life spanBrett KingBestselling Author, Founder, Radio Hostwww.thefuturists.comwww.brettking.com