The Big Tech Show

The Irish tech industry grabbed its popcorn when Intercom co-founder and CEO, Eoghan McCabe, posted a thumbs-up photo with Donald Trump, endorsing the recently-convicted ex-president. McCabe isn’t alone. Across Silicon Valley, there’s a clear drift of senior figures toward Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we deal with no-shows in healthcare? Does it impact patient wait times? And can AI receptionists improve attendance? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Spryt, chief operations officer and co-founder, Neill Dunwoody. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the latest from Apple’s WWDC conference? Is user data still a priority? And why did they go big on AI? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian joins the show from Cupertino, California at Apple's WWDC conference. Joining him on the episode are tech industry analysts from CCS Insight, Leo Gebbie and Ben Wood.  The big news from the conference is that the tech giant has done a deal with Open AI. It’s essentially acknowledged that its own research and training models are limited. Contingent on user permission, Open AI will be able to reach into apple products and support the user in some core functions. Adrian was particularly impressed by Siri. Now it's more of a device assistant than a voice assistant. It can access your messages, emails, photos. Apple calls this a semantic index which isn’t used singularly but can help with everyday tasks.  Great pains were taken to underscore how private the new cloud setup used for its AI purposes. It uses what was described as an almost blockchain-like process. When the user asks AI a question or inputs some information, the data is anonymised, your IP address is masked and not tracked.  You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are the telltale signs of a Revolut scam? How can we avoid them? And is the app a safe place for your money? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by security expert and chief information security officer at Waystone, Conor Flynn. The problem of financial scams has become an issue for Irish banking customers recently, with an upsurge in fraud cases for Revolut users. The Banking and Payments Federation says that fraudsters stole about 100 million euro through frauds and scams last year. However that was from customers of AIB, Bank of Ireland and permanent TSB and didn’t include fraudulent activity on Irish Revolut accounts. Conor highlighted to Adrian that a typical Revolut scam will have certain features. They will purport to be Revolut, a family member or close friend and will create a sense of urgency to send them money. The cyber security expert warns that scammers use social engineering to get you to operate quickly and in response to an emergency trigger of some sort. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are there global rules for AI? How is Ireland contributing? And why is telecoms mogul David McCourt getting involved? On The Big Tech Show this week Adrian speaks to chairman and founder of Granahan McCourt and chairman and founder of the National Broadband Ireland, David McCourt. The businessman is attempting to set up global rules governing AI use by bringing together experts in the field to make the technology safer and more equitable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we separate fact from fiction with AI? What is an AI hallucination? And how is an Irish startup fighting faulty AI? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Inspeq AI founders Ramanujam Macharla Vijayakumar and Apoorva Kumar. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The restaurant business is notoriously fickle in Ireland with high rents, tight margins and staffing issues. How is one entrepreneur using AI to turn a profit? How does it work? And where do most restaurateurs go wrong? CEO of Nory and founder of chicken fast food chain, Mad Egg, Conor Sheridan joined Adrian on The Big Tech Show this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When will the new Range Rover EV land? Is it a good time for the brand to go full EV? And what is being worked on in their centre for excellence in Shannon? Jaguar Land Rover has achieved its highest ever yearly sales and its biggest profit in almost a decade. This is driven by record sales, particularly of Range Rovers with around 133,000 vehicles ordered at the end of the financial year (2023), and three quarters of those were Range Rovers, range Rover Sport and Defender models. Adrian was joined on The Big Tech Show this week by General Manager at the Jaguar Land Rover facility in Shannon, Paul Girr. When asked by Adrian about concerns about long term take up of EVs, Girr responded that the company has no real concerns in terms of adoption of electric vehicles in the future. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do some companies still see remote working as a positive force for their workforce? How can leadership teams adapt? And how is Ireland informing the culture as a global powerhouse? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by eBay Ireland Site Leader and Senior Director of Customer Experience, Siobhan Curtin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is remote working creating a mental health crisis? Are those working from home overeating? And what can be done to improve mental health in the digital workforce? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by the CEO of mental health and wellbeing platform Kara Connect, Tobba Vigfusdottir. Kara Connect has done research this year showing that in 2024 mental health issues cost an employer €1,500 per employee per annum. Vigfusdottir says that since the pandemic we have seen a surge in mental health issues because of two factors: our relationship with phones changing and the de-stigmatization of mental health issues. The latter has led more people to enlist the help of mental health services. The Icelander pointed out that the younger generation of workers beginning their careers are arriving in the world of work very stressed. She gave the statistic that almost 46 percent of young workers feel bad or anxious most of the time which is contributing to psychiatric waiting lists. Tobba stated that those who work from home have most difficulty in physical health and nutrition. She said that nutrition issues then compound, and the worker feels a sense of shame at the prospect of returning to the office. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.