Latest from the Blog

According to The Royal Society, only 9% of respondents have heard about Machine Learning, yet when faced with the impact this technology can have - it's something 100% of us have a view on. It seems every conversation on Artificial Intelligence comes back to Philosophy - read this to see why...

The release of the 2016 Gartner Business Intelligence and Analytics Magic Quadrant has profound implications for everyone working in the Data Analytics industry. Read this article to see what has changed.

Who are the potential winners and losers from the Machine Learning Age? The dataPHILOSOPHER was asked to give evidence to The Royal Society as part of their policy project on Machine Learning. Read more to see more details on this project and the areas of focus for Policy Makers and their advisers.

It's rumoured that Apple will shake the industry with the launch of its iPhone 7 later this year and abandon the standard headphone jack in favour of their own proprietary Lightning connector. I discuss the pros and cons of such a move and argue (again) for the need for industry to agree standards and consumers to enforce them.

All cars are the same... or are they? Why are those little differences between vehicles that get in the way of you keeping your eyes fixed on the road? Why has the auto-industry only embraced a limited form of standardisation in the design of cars?

Six ways to avoid the new Star Wars movie, and why Google needs some data visualisation Jedi to help us see the world in a better way...

Why running from a woolly mammoth is not always a smart choice, and other data driven questions from the modern world.

"On a scale of 1-to-5, from very dissatisfied to very satisfied, what do you think..."
Find out how technology will soon bring an end to these pointless surveys, and how we'll all be back to expressing our feelings, in our own words soon.

Thanksgiving by numbers. Sadly Thanksgiving 2015 seems to have been hijacked by Infographic designers. Let's explore where they get it wrong!

What can we learn from the natural world to help us build better human - computer interfaces? Is the bombardment of information from machines (both visual and audible) sustainable? Can we find a better way? Find out.

What is all the fuss about AI today? How exactly could AI ever become a threat? What exactly is Gates, Hawking and Musk worried about? Find out.

Will anyone cry if lawyers lose their jobs to technology? What of the rest of us? Who will be the commercial winners from investment in the Artificial Intelligence Industry? Read on to find out.

Do you think AI is the stuff of science fiction? If so, read this three part post to find out how much you know about AI and why it really matters, today.

Can you spot the difference between a good Data Visualisation and a poor one? Have you ever been misled by a chart simply because of how it was presented? Do you simply want to laugh at some catastrophic creative failures? Read on.

Named after the Butler in Batman, Alfred promises to be a solution for all smart home enthusiasts like myself by integrating all my devices into a single platform. No more will I have to search for the Philips Hue app to control my lights, the Belkin or Geo apps to control my power sockets, or the Nest app to control my heating - Alfred can control all of my smart devices from a single interface...

Have you ever been caught in the cross-fire between the Business and IT? Do IT have too much power, do they not understand the needs of users? Are the Business a dangerous maverick bunch who should be restricted, controlled, and monitored - prevented from straying outside governance and policy? You decide.

Why do firms such as Google collect all this data on us in return for using apps and services for free? Could there be a better way?

So what's the difference between an Algorithm and a Heuristic?
"A heuristic is an algorithm in a clown suit. It’s less predictable, it’s more fun, and it comes without a 30-day, money-back guarantee.”

The five key areas of thought before investing in Big Data. Above all, if you can follow the Golden Rule - you won't go far wrong!

A blockchain is a transaction ledger where groups of transactions are encoded into ‘blocks’ then ‘chained’ together and distributed across the network. There are a number of features that make it special, in particular the fact that the blockchain is massively distributed.

Why can't we automate the London Underground (and other mass transport networks)? Is safety really at risk, or is this just a smokescreen from the Unions? Could the threat of automation dissuade workers from taking industrial action in the future...?

The singularity, Asimov's Laws, and Philip - a robot that's even older than Arnie...

So what is a Data Scientist anyway? Are they just jumped up statisticians or does the term provide some greater insight into what they (should) be doing?

What can we learn from Star Trek to help us answer the ethical questions the Artificial Intelligence industry are posing to us...?

In June 2015 I stepped down as CEO of BIPB, a company I had spent the previous five years developing. My final event with BIPB was in March 2015 when we were fortunate enough to have Brent Spiner join us, the actor famous for playing the character 'Lt Commander Data' in the Star Trek TV and movie franchise...