All posts tagged: industry

European tech industry coalition calls for ‘radical action’ on digital sovereignty — starting with buying local

European tech industry coalition calls for ‘radical action’ on digital sovereignty — starting with buying local

Published by skeptic

A broad coalition drawn from across the ranks of Europe’s tech industry is calling for “radical action” from European Union lawmakers to shrink reliance on foreign-owned digital infrastructure and services to bolster the bloc’s economic prospects, resilience, and security in increasingly fraught geopolitical times. In an open letter to European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU’s digital chief, Henna Virkkunen, which TechCrunch reviewed ahead of publication, more than 80 signatories (representing around 100 organizations) said they want regional lawmakers to rethink current support efforts so that they are centered on fostering uptake of homegrown alternatives with the strongest commercial potential — from apps, platforms, and AI models to chips, computing, storage, and connectivity. Companies spanning areas including cloud, telecoms, defence, along with several regional business and startup associations, have put their names to the letter — which was sent to the Commission on Sunday — urging the bloc to switch its tech strategy onto a quasi-war footing by committing to support “sovereign digital infrastructure.” The plan pushes for reducing reliance on foreign-owned …

Musk’s never been more powerful so why are Tesla shares tanking? | Automotive Industry News

Musk’s never been more powerful so why are Tesla shares tanking? | Automotive Industry News

Published by Sam

The “bromance” between United States President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk was on full display on Tuesday when the White House South Lawn was transformed into a miniature Tesla showroom. Musk lined up Tesla cars to showcase the electric car producer’s latest innovations while Trump promised to brand anyone vandalising a Tesla car a “domestic terrorist” following reports of a spate of vandalism and arson attacks on Tesla cars across the country. Trump, known for his strong stance on domestic manufacturing and business leadership, has given Musk a prominent role in his new administration as leader of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which claims to have uncovered “billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse” in the US federal government – claims for which Musk and Trump have yet to show significant evidence. Meanwhile, Tesla shares, which are listed on the NASDAQ, are floundering. On Monday this week, they plummeted by 15 percent to end the day at $215 – the worst day for the stock since 2020 and …

UK bans meat, dairy imports from Hungary, Slovakia after foot-and-mouth case – POLITICO

UK bans meat, dairy imports from Hungary, Slovakia after foot-and-mouth case – POLITICO

Published by Sam

The U.K. farming industry was devastated by an outbreak of the disease in 2001, with more than 2,000 farms affected and more than 6 million animals slaughtered. The reports from Hungary follow claims last month that banned German products were being “auto-cleared” to enter the U.K. six days after the ban was put in place, with experts blaming the incident on a failure to update the government’s import notification system, known as IPAFFs. Giving evidence to the environment, food and rural affairs committee earlier this week, NPA CEO Lizzie Wilson claimed illegal German products were still bypassing the border. Currently, she explained, there is “no mechanism to identify those lorries that have self-declared themselves as low-risk and therefore auto-cleared so they don’t have to be inspected.” A spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has denied the claims. “Restrictions were immediately brought in on animal products from Germany to prevent an outbreak,” they said. “These goods are not permitted to enter the country, any consignment carrying them will not progress through our …

New measures to create a stronger UK steel industry

New measures to create a stronger UK steel industry

Published by skeptic

Businesses in the UK steel industry are being backed by the Government as the Business Secretary launches the Plan for Steel Consultation. This will look at the long-term issues facing the UK steel industry, such as high electricity costs, unfair trading practices, and scrap metal recycling, to protect jobs and living standards in the UK’s industrial heartlands. Up to £2.5bn will be put towards supporting the steel industry, including via the National Wealth Fund. This could benefit regions across the UK – like Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Redcar, Yorkshire, and Scotland – which have a strong history of steel production. It will be spent on initiatives that will give the industry a long future – such as electric arc furnaces or other improvements to UK capabilities. Securing the UK steel supply chain This week, Heathrow Airport announced a multimillion-pound investment, which will require 400,000 tonnes of steel – enough to build the Empire State Building. This will give the UK steel industry a strong pipeline of business that will secure supply chains for years to come – …

Is the International Film Industry Starting to Embrace AI?

Is the International Film Industry Starting to Embrace AI?

Published by skeptic

Has Hollywood reached peak AI paranoia? This awards season, before Karla Sofía Gascón’s tweets about George Floyd and Islam became the focus of consternation, the Oscar uproar was centered on the use of artificial intelligence in the tweaking of voice performances in Emilia Pérez— for Gascón’s singing — and in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, to improve the pronunciation of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones’ Hungarian-language dialog. The virulence of the backlash against such minor and technical applications of AI — used, in both cases, with the full participation and approval of the artists involved — illustrates the widespread perception, inside the film industry and among the general public, that AI is a threat to jobs and to artistic integrity. An AI zero-tolerance policy has become fashionable for celebrities, with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Glenn Close and Hank Azaria raising the alarm. Distributors have taken to slapping “no AI” labels on their films, the tech equivalent of a “no animals were harmed” guarantee of ethical behavior. The “made by humans” credit at the end of Adam Elliot’s delightful claymation feature Memoir of a Snail (an animated Oscar …

Industry Expert Forecasts Book Sales in 2025

Industry Expert Forecasts Book Sales in 2025

Published by skeptic

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. The Rehab Demon Copperhead Built Barbara Kingsolver, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead depicted the catastrophic impacts of the opioid crisis in Appalachia, has used the profits from the book to fund an addiction recovery center in Lee County, Virginia. When Higher Ground Women’s Recovery Center opens later this spring, it will offer housing, counseling services, and other support, including education and career services, for up to 12 women at a time, for stays as long as two years. If you know anything about rehab centers, you know that is an incredibly generous care plan. Kingsolver, who conducted much of her research for Demon Copperhead in Lee County, returned soon after the book’s release—it was an immediate hit and eventually sold more than 3 million copies—and asked people directly affected by opioid addiction what she could do to …

Revitalising the battery recycling industry

Revitalising the battery recycling industry

Published by skeptic

Cirba Solutions considers the growth of the battery recycling industry, emphasising the importance of collaboration and strategic investment in establishing a stable and competitive supply of critical materials. As the battery industry continues to grow, the importance of developing a closed-loop raw material supply chain has never been more critical. The critical material processing industry that manufactures battery-grade metals for new batteries is critical to securing our supply chains, enhancing global competitiveness, and deploying advanced energy technologies. A key growth sector around the world is battery recycling. Developing the global battery recycling industry The transition from historically known battery recycling is moving into sophisticated chemical manufacturing, and that is getting less noticed in the market because capacity in the sector is still small in comparison to virgin material. However, without new avenues of critical materials, we cannot meet future demands, and that transition requires investment. The recycling industry will not prosper without an acceptable return on investment. However, global powers that control the market today are using influence to ensure that control stays strong in …

Google owes UK news industry £2.2bn from 2023, claims research

Google owes UK news industry £2.2bn from 2023, claims research

Published by Sam

Google News. Picture: Shutterstock New research has suggested UK news publishers are owed £2.2bn by Google for their contribution to the search platform in 2023 alone. Google responded that such studies are “misleading” and have been “debunked”, insisting it makes very little money from news content. The Public Interest News Foundation worked with FehrAdvice to calculate the value of journalism to Google with a survey of 1,484 people which observed their internet browsing habits. Participants revealed that Google is by far the most important way they searched for online information about current topics. Some 82% said they use search engines to find news (and Google itself is estimated to have 94% market share of online search in the UK). The survey also underlined the extent to which Google has become a destination for news content itself (rather than simply an aggregator which sends traffic to publishers). The research found that some 67% of those using Google for news get all the information they need on the platform without clicking out of it. Over the last …

Game industry predictions for 2025 | The DeanBeat

Game industry predictions for 2025 | The DeanBeat

Published by skeptic

This year’s best prediction for the game industry in 2025 already came from Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios, maker of Baldur’s Gate 3, the Game of the year in 2023. At The Game Awards this year, Vincke got to announce the new Game of the Year (Astro Bot), and he made a prediction. “The oracle told me that the Game of the Year 2025 is going to be made by a studio who found the formula to make it up here on stage,” Vincke said. “It’s stupidly simple, but somehow it keeps on getting lost. A studio makes a game because they want to make a game they want to play themselves. They created it because it hadn’t been created before. They didn’t make it to increase market share. They didn’t make it to serve the brand. They didn’t have to meet arbitrary sales targets, or fear being laid off if they didn’t meet those targets.” The audience erupted into applause at his words, and he was not drummed off the stage for taking …

2024 Was the Year the Bottom Fell Out of the Games Industry

2024 Was the Year the Bottom Fell Out of the Games Industry

Published by skeptic

Games with Black leads and characters were derided as forced. Female characters deemed unattractive or masculine were suffering from “DEI chin.” Dragon Age: The Veilguard, was criticized by far-right trolls for its customization options, which allow players to create characters with top surgery scars or play with a nonbinary companion. After reviews were released, conspiracists latched onto clichéd phrases or other language as proof that studio BioWare was instructing reviewers how to talk about their game. Even not-yet-released titles faced bombardment. Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight, about a young Black woman in the Deep South, drew ire from the anti-DEI crowds on platforms like X, where they’ve photoshopped the heroine to make her looks less “repulsive” and put forth conspiracy theories about Sweet Baby’s influence on the game’s development. But pressure to remain apolitical—a curious agenda for an entertainment form that marries the artistic preferences of narrative and imaginary worlds with agency granted to players who inhabit them—did not come just from a vocal minority. Following the release of Black Myth: Wukong, some streamers were …