The Big Tech Show

Is the IDA worried about a Trump presidency? What would his tariffs do to Irish business? And should Ireland be looking to grow domestic rather than foreign investment? CEO of the IDA, Michael Lohan joined Adrian on The Big Tech Show this week. Adrian began by asking what a Trump 10% tariff would mean for Ireland as an open economy which is vulnerable to fluctuations in the global market. The CEO said that he sees tariffs as counterproductive to global trade and innovation. Lohan made the point that Ireland is the ninth largest investor in the US economy, and it isn’t proactive to put levies on trade between the two nations. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the EU strangling tech services such as Meta AI and Apple AI with regulation? Is it doing the same to startups here? Is the phrase 'America innovates, Europe regulates' accurate? Venture partner at Sure Valley Ventures, Donal Cahalane, joined Adrian on the show. Adrian opened with the question is Europe a bad place for budding startups. DC answered that start-ups in Europe must fight against more regulation than their US counterparts. He added that in the States there is an attitude of asking for forgiveness rather than permission. The venture partner argued that Europe has a different approach, they will often look to regulate first and seek to take advantage of the wave of innovation second. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week Ford relaunched the Capri model. Instead of being the exciting, lust worthy, affordable sports car we saw in the 1970s, it's a middle of the road, small, bland SUV that's almost indistinguishable from anything. Why did they play it safe? Is the bland SUV design more popular? And has the badge of this iconic car been sunk? Adrian is joined on the show this week by partnerships director of Nevo Ireland and founder of Nevo EV Review YouTube channel, Derek Reilly. Derek spoke about the motor companies' knack for taking names of former models and relaunching them with a modern twist. The original Ford Capri model began production in 1968 as a coupé, however the 2024 iteration is an SUV. The EV expert explained that Ford is trading on name recognition and that the new Chinese electric car companies entering the western market don’t have this advantage. He did add that when he posted a review video of the Capri, 90% of responses and comments were people giving out about the new look. The Michigan company has enlisted the star power of Eric Cantona with the hashtag of #Jesuiscapri, with the aim of boosting sales. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has Samsung’s Galaxy Ring kicked off the “smart ring” era? How much is it? And what other products did the tech giant release? On The Big Tech Show this week Adrian is joined by producer, JJ Clarke. The electronics company revealed a new range of foldable smarthphones, smartwatches and a smart ring at its Unpacked event this week. Adrian spoke about this being a significant move by Samsung into the smart ring space which has largely been dominated by market leader Oura. The Galaxy Ring however is more discreet and more sleek than previous smart rings. The wearable will be coming to Ireland later in the year and is largely aimed at those that don’t want a smartwatch that pings and beeps endlessly. The Ring, will cost €459 and will be available in nine sizes and three colours: silver, black and gold. The “smart ring” era has kicked off in earnest with Samsung’s announcement of its Galaxy Ring. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many people, a well-paid, high-flying career in a firm like Davy's Stockbrokers is considered a destination job in life. But not Rosanne Longmore, who went from being chief operating officer at Davy Wealth Management to leading and starting her own startup based on a concern that mothers and babies weren't getting proper attention when feeding with breast milk.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the Apple Vision Pro a flop? Are fully autonomous cars still a decade away? And will Elon’s Musk’s August announcement shake up the self-driving car market? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by producer, JJ Clarke. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you have a thick phone wallet? Do you use a novelty ringtone or set notifications to ping constantly? Is the crying laughing emoji one of your go-to texting characters? Well, you may not think of yourself this way, but you're middle aged. On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by assistant producer, JJ Clarke. Adrian kicked off the conversation by talking about the older generations' annoying habit of leaving their ringtone on in public places. There was some daylight here between Adrian’s and JJ’s view on this, with the latter stating that he believed it was the time it took to stop the ringing was the issue. Overuse of certain emojis is a hallmark of people who have aged out of the zeitgeist. Adrian spoke about the overuse of the crying laughing emoji. He said it was used like punctuation by this type of phone user and that every message from one of these senders will include it. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is brain hacking and tracking just science-fiction? Or has emotion-sensing neurotech already arrived? And what are the applications, good and bad? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Duke University Professor and Author of ‘The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology,’ Nita Farahany. The Law professor first came to neurotech as a result of being a self-described chronic migrainer. She began using neurostimulation devices and neurotechnology to treat the pain and this allowed her to physically move through the migraines without using drugs with negative side effects. In the second part of the conversation Adrian asked about the negative applications of this novel technology. The author made the point that a lot of this futuristic neurotech is already operational in society. She gave the example of an Australian company that has been selling a device for over a decade that can tell employers if their staff are wide awake or falling asleep. There are more recent reports of workers in China wearing these devices, being exposed to communist messaging and punished if they display a negative reaction. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever been tempted to get into meme stocks? Have you heard of friends making or losing money on Gamestop stocks? Or is the whole thing just a giant ponzi scheme? Adrian is joined on The Big Tech Show this week by chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Gresham House Ireland, Derek Heffernan. A meme stock is a stock that gains popularity among retail investors through social media. The popularity of meme stocks is generally based on internet memes shared among traders, on platforms such as Reddit. Investors in such stocks are often young and inexperienced investors. Examples of some memestocks are Gamestop, AMC, Nokia and Bed Bath and Beyond. Derek says that memestocks became popular in 2021 because people were sitting at home, furloughed, with more disposable income and they began betting on those stocks. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where have all the late-night cafes gone? What's the alternative for a non-drinker? And what impact is it having on newly minted tech startups? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by assistant producer, JJ Clarke. In Adrian’s most recent article, he laments the disappearing cafe culture in Dublin and how they were a useful place to go or meet people, early or late if you didn’t want to go to a pub. There are very few cafes today, that open later than 11pm or do business before 6am. When asked what effect this may have on the budding tech entrepreneurs of today. Adrian pointed to Foursquare cofounders Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. They divided much of their early coding time between a handful of Manhattan cafes, which was partly connected to them creating a ‘mayor’ feature for the social check-in platform. He made the point that tech founders who want to meet or collaborate in 2024 have nowhere to do so. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Irish tech industry grabbed its popcorn when Intercom co-founder and CEO, Eoghan McCabe, posted a thumbs-up photo with Donald Trump, endorsing the recently-convicted ex-president. McCabe isn’t alone. Across Silicon Valley, there’s a clear drift of senior figures toward Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we deal with no-shows in healthcare? Does it impact patient wait times? And can AI receptionists improve attendance? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Spryt, chief operations officer and co-founder, Neill Dunwoody. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the latest from Apple’s WWDC conference? Is user data still a priority? And why did they go big on AI? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian joins the show from Cupertino, California at Apple's WWDC conference. Joining him on the episode are tech industry analysts from CCS Insight, Leo Gebbie and Ben Wood. The big news from the conference is that the tech giant has done a deal with Open AI. It’s essentially acknowledged that its own research and training models are limited. Contingent on user permission, Open AI will be able to reach into apple products and support the user in some core functions. Adrian was particularly impressed by Siri. Now it's more of a device assistant than a voice assistant. It can access your messages, emails, photos. Apple calls this a semantic index which isn’t used singularly but can help with everyday tasks. Great pains were taken to underscore how private the new cloud setup used for its AI purposes. It uses what was described as an almost blockchain-like process. When the user asks AI a question or inputs some information, the data is anonymised, your IP address is masked and not tracked. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are the telltale signs of a Revolut scam? How can we avoid them? And is the app a safe place for your money? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by security expert and chief information security officer at Waystone, Conor Flynn. The problem of financial scams has become an issue for Irish banking customers recently, with an upsurge in fraud cases for Revolut users. The Banking and Payments Federation says that fraudsters stole about 100 million euro through frauds and scams last year. However that was from customers of AIB, Bank of Ireland and permanent TSB and didn’t include fraudulent activity on Irish Revolut accounts. Conor highlighted to Adrian that a typical Revolut scam will have certain features. They will purport to be Revolut, a family member or close friend and will create a sense of urgency to send them money. The cyber security expert warns that scammers use social engineering to get you to operate quickly and in response to an emergency trigger of some sort. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are there global rules for AI? How is Ireland contributing? And why is telecoms mogul David McCourt getting involved? On The Big Tech Show this week Adrian speaks to chairman and founder of Granahan McCourt and chairman and founder of the National Broadband Ireland, David McCourt. The businessman is attempting to set up global rules governing AI use by bringing together experts in the field to make the technology safer and more equitable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we separate fact from fiction with AI? What is an AI hallucination? And how is an Irish startup fighting faulty AI? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Inspeq AI founders Ramanujam Macharla Vijayakumar and Apoorva Kumar. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The restaurant business is notoriously fickle in Ireland with high rents, tight margins and staffing issues. How is one entrepreneur using AI to turn a profit? How does it work? And where do most restaurateurs go wrong? CEO of Nory and founder of chicken fast food chain, Mad Egg, Conor Sheridan joined Adrian on The Big Tech Show this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When will the new Range Rover EV land? Is it a good time for the brand to go full EV? And what is being worked on in their centre for excellence in Shannon? Jaguar Land Rover has achieved its highest ever yearly sales and its biggest profit in almost a decade. This is driven by record sales, particularly of Range Rovers with around 133,000 vehicles ordered at the end of the financial year (2023), and three quarters of those were Range Rovers, range Rover Sport and Defender models. Adrian was joined on The Big Tech Show this week by General Manager at the Jaguar Land Rover facility in Shannon, Paul Girr. When asked by Adrian about concerns about long term take up of EVs, Girr responded that the company has no real concerns in terms of adoption of electric vehicles in the future. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do some companies still see remote working as a positive force for their workforce? How can leadership teams adapt? And how is Ireland informing the culture as a global powerhouse? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by eBay Ireland Site Leader and Senior Director of Customer Experience, Siobhan Curtin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is remote working creating a mental health crisis? Are those working from home overeating? And what can be done to improve mental health in the digital workforce? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by the CEO of mental health and wellbeing platform Kara Connect, Tobba Vigfusdottir. Kara Connect has done research this year showing that in 2024 mental health issues cost an employer €1,500 per employee per annum. Vigfusdottir says that since the pandemic we have seen a surge in mental health issues because of two factors: our relationship with phones changing and the de-stigmatization of mental health issues. The latter has led more people to enlist the help of mental health services. The Icelander pointed out that the younger generation of workers beginning their careers are arriving in the world of work very stressed. She gave the statistic that almost 46 percent of young workers feel bad or anxious most of the time which is contributing to psychiatric waiting lists. Tobba stated that those who work from home have most difficulty in physical health and nutrition. She said that nutrition issues then compound, and the worker feels a sense of shame at the prospect of returning to the office. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What tech do you bring abroad when you travel? How do you avoid getting completely ripped off on roaming charges? And what are some of the hacks you should know about? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by the travel editor of the Irish Independent, Pól Ó Conghaile. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can Irish consumers expect from Amazon.ie? Why is Elon Musk under investigation by the US Justice Department? And do we really miss phone calls? This week on The Big Tech Show, Adrian discusses the tech stories hitting the news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How common is romance fraud? Are the victims likely to report? And how can you spot the scammers? On The Big Tech Show podcast this week, Adrian spoke to cyber security expert, Dr Jessica Barker MBE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple’s latest launch event took place in London yesterday, with four new iPads and a new Apple Pencil Pro among the latest innovations unveiled to journalists. It was once largely accepted that iPads were for leisure use and that most users (and indeed companies) would always favour laptops for business tasks but could this new generation of tablets from the tech behemoth mark a sea change in how tablets are used? On The Big Tech Show this week Adrian speaks to producer Dee Reddy on the latest from Apple’s Let Loose event. He breaks down; the new products on offer, how the technology has expanded and why the newest tablets come with a hefty price tag. He also catches up with Jeff Blaber and Stuart Mills at the event, to find out if he’s the only one who prefers his iPad to his laptop for work? You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's going on with self-driving cars? What is the current status of the technology behind it? And can it be used in other ways? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Barry Lunn, the founder and CEO of Provizio, which is a Limerick based company best known for its technology around autonomous driving. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is TikTok a security risk? Should the Taoiseach be using it against the advice of the National Cyber Security Council? Or is he one of the exceptional cases that is allowed? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it take to build a startup? What kind of personality does it require? What kind of mentality do you have to have? And what do you do when you get there? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by CEO and co-founder of Glitch, Aisling Browne.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are social media platforms unduly skewing the minds of young males? What is the harmful content they see? And is it unprompted? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by postdoctoral researcher with the Observatory on Cyberbullying, Cyberhate & Online Harassment at DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, Dr Catherine Baker. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's going on with artificial intelligence? Has EU legislation helped or hindered the AI space? and why has OpenAI updated GPT-4? Adrian is joined on The Big Tech Show this week by head of growth at Human Loop, Conor Kelly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How were Eir complaints staff instructed to treat a complaint? Why are Eir saying this instruction is being used ‘out of context?’ And how does this effect Eir customers? Telecoms company Eir was fined €7,500 in court today after pleading guilty to 12 counts of breaching regulations governing how complaints should be handled by providers. However, it says the paragraph relating to staff instructions around customer complaint telephone numbers and websites was “taken out of context”. It added that this was part of “training material for new customer service agents”, requiring agents to transfer a call rather than asking a customer to call a second time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are politicians being harassed out of office on social media? As a wave of Irish TDs leave office, partially citing invective and coarseness online, how is our new TikTok Taoiseach doing? Joining Adrian to discuss this is the Fine Gael TD for Galway East, Ciaran Cannon, who recently announced that he would not run again for the Dail, partially because of how ugly things were getting online Adrian is also joined by Damien Mulley, director of Mulley Communications, who has conducted extensive research into how politicians fare online and who is doing best.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When is Disney+ clamping down on password sharing? What is Apple’s new robot project? And why does Elon Musk think AI will exceed human intelligence next year? This week on The Big Tech Show, Adrian discusses the tech stories hitting the news. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you overpaying for mobile, broadband or TV? Is it a bother to switch? And will your service suffer in quality if you change provider? On The Big Tech Show, Adrian discusses how you can save on mobile, broadband and TV amid price hikes this month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What led Emmet O’Neill to the role of CEO of StoryToys? Was it a straight line to the top? And how did he deal with the failures along the way? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by CEO of StoryToys to discuss the often-perilous journey of an entrepreneur. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the best foldable phone on the market? How much do they cost? And why is the Honor Magic V2 first in class? On this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian discusses the best flip and foldable smartphones available this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did Mike Feerick build a business with 40 million users? How did he convince Chuck Feeney to mentor him? And how is he helping Irish diaspora connect with their roots back home? CEO of global e-learning platform Alison.com, Mike Feerick, joined Adrian to discuss his highs and lows in a life in business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are EV sales dropping? Will the price discounts help them bounce back? And what does it have to do with the charging network? Derek Reilly, founder of Nevo and the EV Ireland YouTube Channel joins Adrian to discuss the latest on electric cars, including why sales are plummeting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the Apple MacBook Air worth getting? What are the new features? And how does it compare to the previous model? On this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian looks at Apple’s newest multi-purpose laptop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ThreatLocker IT is one of the most significant players in cybersecurity in the world, but from the start it wasn’t smooth sailing. What is the company’s Irish connection? How did it persevere through failure? And why did its CEO focus on small businesses rather than the big firms? Danny Jenkins, CEO and co-founder of ThreatLocker joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin has hit a record high again. Is it back to high growth? Will it hit $100,000 in value? And what on earth is leading to this spike? To discuss, Adrian is joined on today’s episode by adjunct assistant professor in technology trends at Trinity College Dublin and head of stablecoin at MSX Limited, Lory Kehoe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When is drone delivery coming to greater Dublin? What are Manna’s plans for the US? And will the company IPO? On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by CEO of Manna Drone Delivery, Bobby Healy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is people hacking? How difficult is it to con your way into a building? And what is a burglar for hire? On this episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian is joined by Jenny Radcliffe, author of ‘People Hacker: Confessions of a burglar for hire.’ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What fitness smartwatch wearable should you get? Are you better off getting a specialist watch? Or might one of the latest fitness trackers or rings be a good option? Joining Adrian on The Big Tech show is fitness and wearables editor at TechRadar, Matt Evans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you grow a small company? Is it worth doing an MBA at some point? And is Ireland making a mistake by concentrating so heavily on foreign tech? Executive director of the Owner’s Scale up project at IE Business School in Madrid, professor Joe Haslam joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will the current clampdown on dodgy boxes curb use? Should the dodgy box owners be worried? And is their use funding criminality? On this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian discusses the potential impacts of this crackdown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How should we feel about garda body cams and facial recognition technology? Are we barreling towards a police state? And do we really want to be under surveillance all the time? Practising barrister, Senator Barry Ward joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show to discuss the technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does OpenAI’s new text-to-video system Sora work? Where does it get its content from? And how will we protect ourselves from a whole new level of disinformation? On The Big Tech Show today, Adrian discusses the new technology and how lifelike its creations appear. More episodes of The Big Tect Show available hereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you know disinformation if you saw or heard it? And might you be seeing it now in the U. S. on topics such as immigration around the Texas border? If you are seeing this, might any of it be influenced by actors such as Putin's Russia? On this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian talks to David Gilbert, a reporter for Wired.com who specialises in investigating disinformation See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gone are the days of a €10 streaming subscription with most platforms warning of increased fees and less to watch. Which service will you cut? How much are they going up by? And will live sport become the next big thing for streaming giants? On this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian discusses streaming services upping their prices.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.