The Big Tech Show

You’ve seen and heard it from every science fiction movie or TV programme. You’ve heard it from scientists and philosophers.So are we living in a multiverse? Is there a version of you that’s a billionaire? Or a mass-murderer? Or a talking frog?Or are we, like Elon Musk insists, living in a simulation created by some other intelligent species?To talk about some of these big philosophical, technical and scientific questions, Adrian is joined this week by Dr Mark Mitchison, recently appointed as assistant professor in quantum science at Trinity College Dublin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should Ireland follow Norway in bringing in a law that would make it mandatory for online influencers to disclose that they have digital altered images of their faces or bodies when promoting products? And if so, should it stop there? Should digitally-enhanced derrieres or dermatological features be admitted more widely, to give impressionable teens a truer idea of what is real and what isn’t?Adrian is joined by three experts in their field — Instagram makeup influencer Niamh Martin (‘Nima Brush’), YouTuber Clare Cullen (‘Clisare’) and Irish Independent columnist Tanya Sweeney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will tech companies flee Ireland if it abandons its 12.5pc corporate tax rate? Will the pipeline for new ones dry up?Adrian is joined by UCD business lecturer (and former IDA executive) Emmet Oliver and Irish Independent business reporter Sarah Collins to discuss the issue.Is the 12.5pc drive an about global equity, European jealousy or both? What will Ireland have to offer tech companies over other countries if the 12.5pc rate is uniformly introduced? How important is it relative to other infrastructural issues here?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can a pub pass work in Ireland? This week, Adrian talks to Irish ex-pat Zoe Healy Jensen, now living in Denmark. She explains how QR codes have been successfully integrated into everyday life in the Scandinavian country, allowing her and other vaccinated people to enter restaurants and pubs with little fuss.Goosed.ie’s Martin Meany also joins the conversation to talk about the background and context of QR codes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s topic is Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite broadband service that some believe is the future for rural areas that have been deprived of broadband connectivity.But with the National Broadband Plan slowly being rolled out to every rural home here, does Starlink realistically have any role to play? Who would pay two to three times the price of a fibre connection for Starlink’s dish and monthly fees when it only delivers a fraction of fibre’s speed?Adrian is joined in discussion by Rory Fitzpatrick, CEO of the National Space Centre and Brian Flanagan, a retired business consultant who has been testing Starlink’s service from his home in Blackrock, County Dublin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we debate whether facial recognition should be banned or curtailed. It comes after Europe’s data regulators called for a total ban on facial recognition in public places.But is that practical? What are the pros and cons?Adrian is joined by privacy expert Carey Lening and technologist and retailer, Colin Baker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, $150m was raised by Peter Foley’s LetsGetChecked, giving the five year old startup a valuation of over $1bn. Last month, €100m was raised by two Irish startups — Wayfarer (€62m) and Qualio (€41m). The month before that it was a handful of others, such as Payslip.It means that well over €1bn will be raised year, significantly up on last year.What’s going on with these eye-watering sums? Is there any suspicion that we may be in a frothy boom at the moment? Is tech just benefitting from a lack of other places to put your money? Or has there been a transformation in the underlying value of Irish tech companies?Adrian is joined by seasoned venture capitalist (CEO of Scale Ireland) Brian Caulfield and the Irish Independent’s deputy business editor, Jon Ihle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dublin looked on nervously this week as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that staff at the 6,000-strong Irish office can now work from the UK. From January next, they will also be allowed to move to France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland while working for the Irish office. This is a major policy shift. Until now, ‘remote’ working at tech multinationals meant somewhere else within Ireland.Will other multinationals follow Facebook’s lead? If so, does that mean the end of the tech boom in Dublin, with talented engineers free to base themselves in coastal Spain, Tuscany or the Black Forest?Adrian is joined by Boundless CEO Dee Coakley and Irish Independent business reporter Ellie Donnelly to discuss the pros and cons of remote working, and what we might see next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it time to take a punt on Bitcoin? Or is it all a big Ponzi scheme waiting to collapse?Bitcoin’s value has slumped by 30pc this month.China, where so much of it is mined, is saying it might crack down. Environmentalists are against it, saying it uses up too much energy. And now even Elon Musk has nixed its use for buying Teslas. So what does this mean for Bitcoin’s value? Is it just a normal month in the ever-turbulent-yet-often-soaring life of crypto currencies? Or is there something different going on this time?Adrian talks to Goodbody senior trader David Bergin about the topic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the gig economy a dystopian modern sweatshop or a new flexible way of working that gives people more control over their lives?This week, Adrian discusses the issue with John Ryan, the founder of Gigable. Gigable connects restaurants to freelance delivery drivers — it has over 2,000 drivers on its books.John Ryan says that the gig economy has unfairly earned a bad rap; done right, he says, it can be the answer to what a lot people need. Adrian puts it to him that there is a danger the gig economy is a creeping casualisation of work, stripping rights such as sick pay, parental leave and holiday pay. Ryan says that it needn’t be like that, pointing out that Gigable is introducing some benefits, such as access to online GPs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.