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It’s been big week for the Cambre tech practice. We’ve got some fun new client work kicking off, and we’re happy to announce that Nicolas Gyss has joined our team! He’s had a brilliant career as tech policy expert in Brussels and now it’s time for Nicolas to support our unstoppable tech team!
Cambre CEO Tom Parker said. “We’re delighted to welcome a tech policy practitioner of such calibre and experience to our flourishing tech team. Nicolas will immediately help service expanding new client needs and also work on business development.”
What has Nicolas been up to? He’s joined us from Telenor, where he was Director of EU Affairs. He was previously a policy officer at the European Commission’s DG CNECT, working on cybersecurity, media and telecom policies. He also served as assistant to the Director General. Both roles included relations with the industry, Commission services and Cabinets.
Keep an eye out for expert content from Nicolas and the rest of the team in 2018.
Ready. Steady. Hack! [FT]
Major sporting events are the perfect occasion to debut new technology and futuristic devices. The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics are no exception. So far there have been lots of robots: skiing, cleaning, shepherding passengers around the airport … also drones, self-driving buses and the debut of a hyper-fast 5G network. But just as the hosting country makes a big effort to showcase its tech prowess, so do hackers. The official website was knocked out during the opening ceremony, preventing spectators from printing their tickets. The New York Times even reported that the cyberattack took down telecasts and grounded broadcasters’ drones. The immediate question is: who did it? But more importantly: how could this have been prevented? Let’s hope we do not have to wait four years to get some answers.
Uncorking the potential of e-wine [Bloomberg]
Wine can be a tricky candidate for e-commerce. So much mystique and romance surround the selection of just the right bottle that you wouldn’t imagine this could be done well over the internet. But a group of persistent Californian entrepreneurs may have found a way. Picking themselves up after an early stumble or two, the tech-savvy founders of Winc went to the root of their problems of credibility and competition. They set about making their own wine. The verdict? Their bottles are finding favour with a younger, more adventurous clientele seeking alternatives to stuffy wine clubs and intimidating sommeliers.
Autonomous driving: “Trolley” or “trop beau”? [Quartz]
Autonomous vehicles are not only a challenge for engineers, marketers and law-makers. Philosophers are taking greater interest in the evolution from cars driven by human beings to cars driven by algorithms, especially when it comes to taking decisions in situations of potential danger – the so-called Trolley Problem. This is a moral conundrum which for sure will drive discussions for years to come. Still, others see autonomous cars as an evolution offering huge opportunities for our society. Whatever the professional discipline, it is clear that autonomous cars will spark many debates.
Can data drive down the gender pay gap? [Freakonomics Radio]
One advantage of digital platforms is their wealth of data. Uber, keen to polish its image, gave researchers access to its data to investigate a possible gender pay gap. While Uber’s algorithm is gender-blind and wages are standard and formula-driven, the data shows a women drivers earn 7% less than men on average. Luckily, the data paints a detailed story. According to the researchers’ paper, 48% of the gender pay gap is explained by speed alone. Another 36 percent of the gap is explained by experience – men signed on earlier and stay on the app longer. Armed with those results, Uber can now find ways to address the problem. We hope to see more studies like these using data to drive pushes towards equality.
Facebook pushed to identify children at risk of mental illness [The Telegraph]
The UK Health Secretary is putting pressure on tech giants. Jeremy Hunt wants platforms like Facebook to take action on the use of social media by minors and to tackle online bullying. He thinks tech companies happily use personal data for business purposes but are reluctant to implement measures such as targeted pop-up messages to help young Britons with behaviour suggesting a mental health problem. The UK is now considering legislation to force tech giants to take more responsibility, especially regarding the health and safety of minors. Will other member states follow suit?
In case you haven’t had enough:
Spanish Party Weighs Tax Incentives to Lure Blockchain Firms [Bloomberg]
Even the Tech Elite Are Worrying About Tech Addiction [New York Times]
Google Lobbying Shifts to Transport, Health: The Influence Game [Bloomberg]
Google’s nemesis: meet the British couple who took on a giant, won… and cost it £2.1 billion [Wired]
His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming [New York Times]
EU trade policy is being dragged into the digital age [FT]
What porn and listings sites can tell us about Britain’s gay population [Economist]
#TechAways is brought to you by Cambre’s Technology Practice led by Victoria Main and featuring Fernando Anton, François Barry, Zachery Bishop, Nicolas Gyss, Anne-Claude Martin and Simos Piperidis.
Questions, comments or ideas to zbishop@cambre-associates.com.