Catch up on this month’s round-up of the latest hosting and tech news. Here’s what we’ve uncovered since our last edition.
London AI Jobs Risk
A recent report from the Greater London Authority shows that at least one million jobs in London are at high risk of being affected by artificial intelligence, particularly in administrative roles.
More than 300,000 clerical jobs are at greatest risk, with AI being able to carry out many of the tasks required in these roles. The report also finds that around 748,000 jobs in areas like IT, data analysis, and secretarial work are susceptible to varying degrees, depending on the specific tasks.
Overall, the study estimates that 46% of London’s workforce, about 2.4 million people, are in jobs where AI could automate some of their duties. The most affected groups are women, younger workers, and those with higher education, as they often occupy administrative and knowledge-based roles in the city.
Jobs like brokers, web designers, phone sales reps, and journalists are noted as being more at risk, while professions like architects, chefs, barbers, and chief executives are seen as less vulnerable.
Streetlight Data Centres
Warwickshire-based Conflow Power Group has unveiled its new iLamp solar-powered smart lampposts that come with their own small computer and battery. Besides offering energy-efficient streetlighting, the lamps also carry out low-energy AI computing and can work together as a distributed AI data centre. Following testing in the UK, the company is now set to install 50,000 iLamp units in Katsina State, Nigeria.
Conflow believe this innovative approach can provide local computing power without the need for traditional data centres that rely on the electrical grid. It aims to achieve this by focusing on smaller AI functions and local tasks, rather than the heavy processing required for training advanced AI systems. The lampposts can also connect to larger, more powerful data centres.
In addition to computing, the units can also support surveillance and traffic monitoring systems, helping create advanced smart city setups that combine connectivity, AI processing, and public services into a central system.
Bradford Tech Skills Hub
Bradford College has announced a new £19 million Motor Vehicle & Engineering building that aims to expand the local pool of skilled workers required by employers in the automotive, manufacturing, and engineering fields.
Opening in September, the new four-storey facility at Junction Mills will train up to 650 students in areas like modern car engineering, digital engineering, electric and hybrid vehicles, and advanced manufacturing. Seen as an important investment in future skills, there is already significant interest in the courses available.
A sustainable facility, the Junction Mills site is currently the only new building in Yorkshire to earn platinum certification for its carbon savings. The project is mainly funded by the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund, with additional money from the college itself.
Sovereign AI Plans
Research from Red Hat shows that UK companies are increasingly turning to sovereign AI and UK hosting due to growing concern about overdependence on foreign tech providers.
The survey, which included 500 IT decision-makers from five European countries, showed that more than two-thirds of UK organisations have a backup plan if their main AI provider restricts access.
However, with 43% facing moderate to serious disruptions if that happened, the findings suggest that having sovereign AI is changing from a future goal to an urgent issue for companies that rely on AI technology.
The report also points out problems with management and oversight. While 87% of UK companies are using AI systems, only 25% have strong management practices in place, and less than half know exactly how their data is stored, processed, and who can access it. This lack of oversight can have serious implications for security, compliance and customer trust.
AI Trust Gap
While more people in the UK are using AI technology, not everyone has confidence in how it is managed. A recent survey by EY shows that although nearly 75% of people have interacted with AI, only 14% feel comfortable with systems that work completely on their own.
Trust in companies that use AI is also low. Just 43% of people trust businesses that offer AI services, and only 41% think the government can handle AI-related data properly.
The results indicate that before people start making more use of AI, they first want to see responsible use, clear information and human oversight from the organisations deploying it. Key concerns from users include hacking and misuse of data, especially where AI is used in areas like health, wellbeing and finance.
While users are more open to using AI when it improves speed, reliability or value, EY found that understanding of AI in the workplace is still very limited. Fewer than 25% of respondents said they received significant AI training from employers.
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