Technology News Era

As of today, the UK is criminalising actions such as cyberflashing and — in a world fist — epilepsy-trolling, with offenders potentially facing prison time. The new offences will come into play as part of the Online Safety Act, a recently introduced bill designed to protect people from illegal or “harmful” online content. Cyberflashing is the act of sending unwanted sexual photos. Studies have shown that about half of younger women (aged between 18 and 25) have received unsolicited nude images. The percentage is even higher for females under 18, reaching 76%, according to a 2020 research. Now, cyberflashing offenders… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/9EZvymL

Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Andrii and Linnea talk about a new European space mission, AI-generated podcasts, antiquated tech in German trains, and much more. In the interview section, we’re featuring a conversation with Oscar Kneppers, CEO of the Amsterdam Centre for Entrepreneurship, or ACE. He’s also founded several well-known local publications and one of the country’s major startup accelerators, Rockstart. Here are the stories and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/a6AlDsr

Big change is here for big tech — and it might just improve your life along the way. First, some context is in order. For the past several years, tech companies and EU regulators have been battling it out over app stores, fair access, and the digital market in general. This led to the EU bringing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to life in 2022. While the DMA is complex and multifaceted, its rules are broadly aimed at making the digital economy fairer and more open. This means companies that are often gatekeepers to digital content, such as Apple and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/tbMqAC9

US-based VCs are holding tight to a large amount of cash as they navigate a capricious startup environment and investment landscape. While deemed an important enough technology to warrant export restrictions, quantum computing is not high on the list of safe investment bets, and has also suffered from the drop in funding activity. However, across the pond, things are looking brighter for the European quantum ecosystem. That is according to a report released today by Finnish quantum hardware company IQM, along with VCs OpenOcean and Lakestar. The report analyses VC investment, government funding, as well as national quantum strategies. Globally,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/vgGW19M

Dutch challenger bank bunq has reported its first full year of profit, a welcome cash cushion as the company plans its UK relaunch. Bunq, which is Europe’s second largest neobank, said it made €53.1mn in net profit in 2023, a dramatic jump from the €16.5mn loss it incurred the year previous. Riding this momentum, bunq has now submitted its application for an E-Money Institution (EMI) licence in the UK, three years since Brexit invalidated the one it had.  “The UK is home to the second-highest number of digital nomads globally, so naturally, we want to be there,” said bunq founder… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/bqNy8Mv

On the shallow surface of Instagram, Ramon “Hushpuppi” Abbas was a quintessential influencer. The flamboyant Nigerian portrayed a lavish lifestyle of private jets, luxury cars, and designer clothes. His glamorous adventures had earned him over 2 million followers and millions of dollars. But his posts concealed a darker reality. The 41-year-old was “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world,” according to the FBI. By his own admission, Hushpuppi conspired to launder over $300mn in just 18 months. One of his alleged clients was a certain Kim Jong Un — the supreme leader of North Korea. With his… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/rd549ui

Nuclear energy is undergoing a renaissance. Across Europe, governments are pouring huge amounts of money into new power plants while startups are busily working on smaller, modular alternatives.  Most of these plants rely on uranium, the radioactive metal that fuelled the atomic age (and contributed to a couple of catastrophic meltdowns). However, Swiss startup Transmutex wants to reinvent nuclear energy using a lesser-known element called thorium.  Uranium’s forgotten cousin Thorium is a lead-like metal that is mildly reactive, but four times more abundant than uranium and a lot safer to handle. However, thorium is a fissionable material but not a… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/ideQqVM

Research has shown that local dialects play an important role in self, in-group, and cultural identity. But can they also impact our interaction with robots? This question is particularly relevant for social robots — the ones designed to interact with humans, such as classroom assistants or even the famous Sophia humanoid. To facilitate their relationship with people, these robots feature many anthropomorphic characteristics, including human-like appearance and voice. However, studies have so far been divided on whether the use of local dialects or standard language has a stronger effect on the perception of their trustworthiness and competence. To further shed… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/8VgS0RA

The European Space Agency (ESA) has embarked on a new mission to explore our closest planetary neighbour Venus in unprecedented detail.  Known as EnVision, the spacecraft will study Venus from the planet’s inner core to its outer atmosphere, to help astronomers understand why the scorching, toxic world is so different from Earth.  Work will begin on the spacecraft and its instruments later this year, following the selection of an industrial contractor. EnVision is set to launch on board an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana in 2031.  “EnVision will answer longstanding open questions about Venus, arguably the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/anZTFDP

The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, the first scientific endeavour to detect and study cosmic ripples from space.  The launch of LISA is planned for 2035, on an Ariane 6 rocket. The project is expected to be the most expensive and complex the agency has ever undertaken.  Cosmic ripples, also known as gravitational waves, are created during some of the most dramatic events in the Universe, such as when black holes collide.  By measuring them, LISA will probe the entire history of the Universe, going back long before stars and galaxies formed.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/CmW0Oxh

Apple will allow EU-based users of its devices to download apps without going through its app store, as the tech giant reluctantly moves to comply with the bloc’s incoming Digital Markets Act (DMA).  Apple will also give iPhone and iPad users a range of browsers to choose from as their default and allow the use of alternative payment systems to Apple Pay. The sweeping changes will come into effect for all new Apple devices purchased in the EU from March of this year.  In theory, this could see major competitors like Google’s Play Store becoming available on Apple devices.  Pro-competition… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Apple from The Next Web https://ift.tt/vP1nMfA

Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Andrii and Linnea talk about Europeans in space, laser weapons of the future, embodied cognition, functional programming languages, and more! In the interview section, we’re featuring a conversation with Ton van ‘t Noordende, Managing Director at QDNL Participations and Architect at InfinityQD. We’ll talk about the quantum computing ecosystem in the Netherlands and globally, its challenges and prospects, and everything in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/gRx0GaL

Britain’s aviation regulator is investigating “vertiport” designs as part of plans to bring flying taxis to the UK. The new consultation will lay the foundations for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Wednesday. To fly them between land and sky, the CAA wants to install vertical airports — aka vertiports — at existing aerodromes.  By adapting existing infrastructure, the CAA plans to abridge the path to lift-off.  The regulator notes that there are already hundreds of airfields spread across the UK. Equipping them with vertiports could create a domestic transport network for VTOLs. It’s an… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/zmPRnqo

If you’re an iPhone user in the EU, you could soon get to buy audiobooks and subscriptions from within the Spotify app. The reason? A new EU antitrust regulation that targets big tech. Known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the law designates companies as “gatekeepers” if they have a monopoly in the digital economy. In September, the EU revealed the first six members of the club: Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft,  and — you guessed it — Apple. The gatekeepers were given six months to comply with the DMA. In Apple’s case, one of the requirements is ending the… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Spotify from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Qu4dwrY

Towards the end of last year, the winners of the 16th edition of the Amsterdam Science & Innovation Awards (AmSIA) were announced at the NEMO Science Museum. This competition — hosted by the Innovation Exchange Amsterdam (IXA) — highlights three innovative ideas from the Netherlands each year. These are split into three categories: health, society, and environment & climate. Beyond simply spotlighting the fascinating minds behind these inventions, the event also helps make them a reality. For winners, this not only means a €10,000 cash prize for funding, but also access to a community of experts who can help their… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Ilp64qE

Swiss startup ClearSpace has unveiled its latest project to make space exploration sustainable: an orbital refuelling service. The company is collaborating with the US-based Orbit Fab on the mission. Under the plans, the duo will combine a ClearSpace shuttle with an Orbit Fab fuel depot. The result would be a spacecraft that delivers fresh fuel to satellites. As a result, clients could extend the operations of active satellites and refuel unused ones that otherwise become space junk. Naturally, both teammates on the project also stand to benefit. ClearSpace, which is best known for space debris removal, gets a diversified service… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/VS2Jt4u

Junbi.ai joined the TNW for Startups programme and exhibited at a previous TNW Conference. This story was part of the programme offering; it’s written under full editorial control of TNW. Check out this year’s packages here! A few years ago, the AI-focused team at Junbi.ai conducted an insightful neuroscientific study. They invited 10 advertising creatives to bring in their favourite work. They then put the creatives in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to monitor brain activity and asked them to grade each other’s work.  As it turned out, the grades given were both similar and consistent.  Save for one crucial exception —… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: YouTube from The Next Web https://ift.tt/CLWSEIf

AI-generated malware that avoids detection could already be available to nation states, according to the UK’s cybersecurity agency. To produce such powerful software, threat actors need to train an AI model on “quality exploit data,” the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said today. The resulting system would create new code that evades current security measures. “There is a realistic possibility that highly capable states have repositories of malware that are large enough to effectively train an AI model for this purpose,” the NCSC warned. As for what a “realistic possibility” actually means, the agency’s “probability yardstick” offers some clarity. It’s… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/IvGebMJ

While the tech sector suffered a downturn in 2023, leading to swathes of job cuts, there remains a high demand for certain tech jobs within the industry itself and beyond. Nonetheless, these job losses, alongside the rapid growth of generative AI tools in the past year sowed seeds of doubt for many, begging the question: do tech jobs offer good job security? In a recent interview, Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof Christopher Pissarides cautioned students on selecting to study STEM subjects for future roles in tech that may be more limited in availability than expected.  This, he clarified in a later… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/yoVpRPh

London-based nuclear energy startup Newcleo has scrapped plans to build its first power plant in Britain, opting to invest in France instead.  The move follows extensive lobbying by France’s president Emmanuel Macron, who has personally met with Newcleo’s chief executive and founder Stefano Buono several times, to convince him to build the company’s first modular nuclear reactor in France, the Telegraph reports.  Founded in 2021, Newcleo develops small nuclear reactors powered by radioactive waste. The company initially sought to tap the UK’s vast stockpile of nuclear waste at the former Sellafield site to power its reactors.  But after two years… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/m9LkMaS