AI is becoming part of our daily lives as it is being used more in technology that we connect with. The EU has recognised this and are considering the introduction of the AI Act, an EU Regulation that introduces a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. So, what will this proposed EU regulation do and what is the future of AI? Barry Scannell a consultant with Irish legal firm William Fry and an expert on the subject of AI and emerging technology talks to Ronan.

Barry talks about his background, AI in policing, the proposed EU AI act, the future of AI and more.

More about Barry Scannell:

Barry is a Consultant in William Fry’s Technology department. He specialises in artificial intelligence (AI), copyright, IP, technology law and data protection.

Barry is the former Director of Legal Affairs & Regulatory Compliance of one of Ireland’s leading music organisations, and has specialist knowledge and expertise in copyright law, with very strong music industry experience, particularly in the area of music licensing and media contracts.

Barry is one of the foremost experts in Ireland on issues relating to artificial intelligence (AI), particularly regarding copyright, currently researching a PhD on the subject. He has Chaired and sat on various international music industry committees dealing with AI, data protection and copyright. He currently sits on the Law Society of Ireland’s IP & Technology Committee.

See more podcasts here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD today announced that another three innovative projects have been approved funding of up to €13.3 million in the second tranche of awards under the fourth round of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF). This brings the total allocation of DTIF funding to over €288 million, with over €165 million (57%) of the funding awarded to project partners outside of Dublin.

€13.3m to be spent on Disruptive Technologies

Announcing the three additional awards under Call 4 of the DTIF, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said:

“Innovation opens the door to future growth, future prosperity and future jobs. I am glad that we are in a position to fund a further three disruptive innovation projects under Call 4 of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.

“The three additional awards will see €13.3m shared among the 11 partners involved, bringing total investment in this call to over €53m across 14 projects. It is really positive to see the commitment of the enterprise partners to match the Government investment, which will see a further €9m in private sector funding directed to these projects.

“The latest projects being funded involve collaboration on exciting projects in the MedTech and Climate Action sectors. These projects have the potential to significantly improve the quality of life for people with heart valve problems or leg ulcers, and to reduce the carbon footprint of livestock.”

DTIF places a large emphasis on SME participation, to utilise their potential as drivers of disruptive innovation. The three successful consortia in this tranche of funding are being led by an SME, in collaboration with three other enterprise partners and five partners from our research institutions. 158 SMEs have been awarded funding in the four DTIF calls to date. SME participation is fundamental to the continued stimulation of new technologies. These technologies will help us embrace new opportunities, futureproof our economy and provide resilience for the challenges we face today and for those that lie ahead.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD also welcomed the three latest DTIF awards:

“These three additional DTIF awards are further evidence of the links between excellent research and our strong industry base. The six enterprise partners and five research institutions involved will work together to convert their industrial research into products that can disrupt existing markets. Continuous innovation enables Irish companies to compete successfully in global markets. Such innovation is however dependent on having a solid science base, and I am proud that our research institutions so regularly demonstrate that they can rise to the demands required of them by industry. It augurs well for the ongoing success of our economy and society.”

Leo Clancy, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, which administers the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, said:

“Despite the huge challenges presented in recent years, Irish companies have remained agile, and have contributed to Ireland becoming a global hub for technology and innovation. The recipients of these awards, who are working on disruptive projects with the ability to potentially improve healthcare outcomes and to have an impact on sustainability, exemplify that innovation and resilience. These awards will support these companies to continue to be ambitious and will support further collaboration.”

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is a €500 million fund established under the National Development Plan (NDP) in 2018. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment manages the DTIF with administrative support from Enterprise Ireland. The purpose of the Fund is to drive collaboration between Ireland’s world-...

The broadband market in Ireland is now flooded with providers all offering a myriad of deals. We know it’s hard to find the perfect deal that suits your needs but we’re here to help.

We’ve teamed up with Switcher.ie, the free and impartial price comparison and switching service, to find the best broadband deals available every month.

Check back regularly to stay informed of the latest deals and offers and visit the Switcher.ie website to order one of these great packages.

Best Broadband Deals

For just €30 per month for the first year, Pure Telecom’s Purely Broadband is one of the cheapest broadband offers available on the market. You’ll get unlimited broadband with speeds of up to 100Mb, ideal for surfing, gaming or streaming.

Get unlimited broadband with speeds of up to 100Mb with Sky Broadband Superfast, priced at €32 per month for the first 12 months.

Priced at just €34.99 per month for 24 months, eir’s Unlimited Broadband with Talk plan is available exclusively via Switcher.ie. Offering a 2-year discount, you won’t find this deal anywhere else! Plus, sign up before 29/12/2022 and get €100 credit on your eir bill.

(If you’ve come across this article after some of these deals may have expired, check out our main Broadband Deals category page to find the latest offers)

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Embedded Finance – What, why now, how, examples

From Open Banking to Open Finance – Trends, regulations, transformations

Platforms, Ecosystems, and Super Apps

Innovations in Financial Services – The most successful

Fintech from a different angle- In which areas has Fintech failed or found it difficult to scale

I am interviewed by Denis Astapchenia, Director of Financial Technologies at Andersen, a global software company, on a range of Fintech topics.

Embedded Finance – What, why now, how, with Denis Astapchenia

Andersen FinTech domain: Denis Astapchenia:/

Dr. Efi Pylarinou is the No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Data conversation by Refinitiv, a Top Thought Leader by Onalytica, and a Top Digital Futurist, Linkedin and Twitter Voice, by Engatica.

A seasoned Wall Street professional & a recognized technology thought leader on innovation topics. Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory servicing Big Tech, Financial Services and Fintech clients. She strongly believes in building bridges between the old and the new economy. She shares her passion of content creation with her 190,000+ followers on Linkedin and 18,000+ on Twitter. Join her on the social platforms

See more podcasts here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

As different as they may seem, black holes and Las Vegas have one thing in common: What happens there stays there – much to the frustration of astrophysicists trying to understand how, when and why black holes form and grow. Black holes are surrounded by a mysterious, invisible layer – the event horizon – from which nothing can escape, be it matter, light or information. The event horizon swallows every bit of evidence about the black hole’s past.

Machine learning reveals how black holes grow

“Because of these physical facts, it had been thought impossible to measure how black holes formed,” said Peter Behroozi, an associate professor at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory and a project researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Together with Haowen Zhang, a doctoral student at Steward, Behroozi led an international team to use machine learning and supercomputers to reconstruct the growth histories of black holes, effectively peeling back their event horizons to reveal what lies beyond.

Simulations of millions of computer-generated “universes” revealed that supermassive black holes grow in lockstep with their host galaxies. This had been suspected for 20 years, but scientists had not been able to confirm this relationship until now. A paper with the team’s findings has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

“If you go back to earlier and earlier times in the universe, you find that exactly the same relationship was present,” said Behroozi, a co-author on the paper. “So, as the galaxy grows from small to large, its black hole, too, is growing from small to large, in exactly the same way as we see in galaxies today all across the universe.”

Most, if not all, galaxies scattered throughout the cosmos are thought to harbor a supermassive black hole at their center. These black holes pack masses greater than 100,000 times that of the sun, with some boasting millions, even billions of solar masses. One of astrophysics’ most vexing questions has been how these behemoths grow as fast they do, and how they form in the first place.

To find answers, Zhang, Behroozi and their colleagues created Trinity, a platform that uses a novel form of machine learning capable of generating millions of different universes on a supercomputer, each of which obeys different physical theories for how galaxies should form. The researchers built a framework in which computers propose new rules for how supermassive black holes grow over time. They then used those rules to simulate the growth of billions of black holes in a virtual universe and “observed” the virtual universe to test whether it agreed with decades of actual observations of black holes across the real universe. After millions of proposed and rejected rule sets, the computers settled on rules that best described existing observations.

“We’re trying to understand the rules of how galaxies form,” Behroozi said. “In a nutshell, we make Trinity guess what the physical laws may be and let them go in a simulated universe and see how that universe turns out. Does it look anything like the real one or not?”

According to the researchers, this approach works equally well for anything else inside of the universe, not just galaxies.

The project’s name, Trinity, is in reference to its three main areas of study: galaxies, their supermassive black holes and their dark matter halos – vast cocoons of dark matter that are invisible to direct measurements but whose existence is necessary to explain the physical characteristics of galaxies everywhere. In previous studies, the researchers used an earlier version of their framework, called the UniverseMachine, to simulate millions of galaxies and their dark matter halos. The team discovered that galaxies growing in their dark matter halos follow a very specific relationship between the mass of the halo and the mass of the galaxy.

“In our new work, we added black holes to this relationship,” Behroozi said, ...

Enterprise communications company DigitalWell-based has agreed a project with the national women’s domestic abuse charity, Women’s Aid. The partnership will enable the charity – through technical innovation – to increase support for all women, including those that are not English-speaking, and will deliver a streamlined experience for those that need help from Women’s Aid in the future.

Digitalwell will work with Women’s Aid to implement state-of-the-art Genesys Cloud CX technology, along with deploying training and team support with migration to the new systems. The new system will include upgraded contact centre configuration and capability, webchat and web messenger roll-out, along with the Genesys Cloud Chat Translator Blueprint.

This chat-based translator will allow the charity to support multiple languages and will work alongside an online function that ensures that the front-line team can increase support for victims of domestic violence in Ireland, irrespective of their native language.

As part of partnership, Digitalwell have committed to covering all Women’s Aid’s costs for inbound and outbound calling, meaning that callers can call in or out, completely free of charge.

Albert Keating, Head of CX Solutions for Digitalwell said, “Women’s Aid offers amazing support to victims of domestic abuse. With the roll-out of these new contact centre technologies and Genesys Cloud CX system, any language barriers the team have faced in the past will instantly become easier to navigate.

“The chat translation assistant will support call handlers, across all digital and communications channels, allowing them to quickly help those women who do not have English as their first language. We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Women’s Aid in their untiring efforts to support women and children experiencing domestic violence.”

The charity works with victims of domestic abuse and is a source of education and support that raises awareness for the issue. In February 2021, it was reported by Safe Ireland that, on average, at least 2,018 women and 550 children accessed supports from a domestic violence service each month from September to December 2020 in Ireland.

The Women’s Aid Annual Impact Report 2021 details the 26,906 contacts made with Women’s Aid frontline services in Ireland including the 24hr National Freephone Helpline and its Dublin-based Face-to-Face support services last year.However, the charity believes the expanded translation technology will ensure that it can support more women that need the service but have been previously unable to communicate with them due to language or technology barriers

Linda Smith, 24hr National Freephone Helpline Manager said, “Sadly we see a consistent increase in the need for our service but with the addition of the cost-of-living crisis we need to be as prepared as we can be to help women when they need us most. The work Digitalwell will do with us will be instrumental in helping us to digitally streamline the work we do and enable our team to get help to people that need us, as quickly as possible.

“We want to be able to support as many women as possible. As Ireland has become more multicultural, so has the need for language translation services at Women’s Aid, enabling us to better support non-English-speaking women. We are also witnessing an increase of contacts via website chat and SMS as it eliminates the fear of being overheard by an abuser.”

Partnering with Digitalwell on the implementation of the new communication infrastructure and translation technologies will truly empower us digitally to support more women, more effectively and efficiently.“

Digitalwell will be delivering the full program of work over the next three months, with the Genesys Cloud Chat Translator Blueprint technology being ready to support call-handling teams by March 2023.

See more stories here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Te...

Image Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola) © Steven Falk

“Get the Marches Buzzing” a new Buglife project, set to restore 57 hectares of lowland heath and species-rich grassland across Shropshire and North Herefordshire has received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Severn Trent Water.

Get the Marches Buzzing starts Winter 2022 and will work to restore habitats critical to the survival of the Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) and the Bilberry Bumblebee (Bombus monticola). This project is added to the cohort of B-Lines projects running up and down the country, from Perthshire in Scotland down to Cornwall in South England.

New project aims to restore 57 hectares of Shropshire lowland heath

Since the 1930s over 97% of all flower-rich grasslands has been lost, leaving our pollinators vulnerable and in serious decline; B-Lines are an imaginative and beautiful solution to this loss. B-Lines are 3km wide ‘insect pathways’ running through our countryside and towns, connecting wildflower-rich habitats across the UK. These lines are to be filled with wildflowers to enable pollinators, and other wildlife, to move through our landscape to feed, nest and hibernate.

Get the Marches Buzzing will see Buglife teaming up with delivery partner Herefordshire Meadows to work with landowners in North Herefordshire; restoring over 13 hectares of species-rich grassland. In Shropshire, Buglife will be working with Shavington Estate, Telford & Wrekin Council, Severn Trent and the National Trust to restore almost 44 hectares of lowland heath and species-rich grassland.

Two roles will be created for this project, a Project Officer and Intern. They will oversee delivery of the habitat works; putting together a wide-reaching events programme engaging with schools, community groups, other local charities, youth clubs and reach out to people in-need through Telford and Wrekin Council’s green-prescribing service.

Get the Marches Buzzing will also have a strong focus on landowner engagement; working with farmer cluster groups to promote and support nature-friendly farming, as well as hosting events to showcase the work delivered with landowners and inspire further action.

A series of webinars, in-person events and volunteering will share knowledge about pollinators, wildlife gardening, practical habitat restoration and species monitoring encouraging people to take action themselves and add their projects to the interactive B-Lines map.

Kate Jones, Get the Marches Buzzing Project Officer said, “This project is ambitious in its scope and will do important work for wildlife across our rural and urban landscapes by working with landowners, councils and communities to restore and protect our precious habitats, for wildlife and people to enjoy. We are grateful to National Lottery players for making Get the Marches Buzzing possible.

Come and help us on a volunteer workday on one of the lowland heath sites in Telford, join us for guided mindfulness events in a local greenspace or log onto one of our webinars to learn what you can do to help pollinators.”

Get the Marches Buzzing is being made possible with substantial funding from National Lottery players, via The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Additional funding has been secured through Severn Trent’s Great Big Nature Boost. Severn Trent are funding the habitat restoration work in Shropshire which will contribute to their recently released Pollinator Strategy which aims to show how the organization will champion pollinators across the region, through funding projects like this and through work on their own land.

Graham Osborn, Principal Ecologist at Severn Trent, said: “Our Pollinator Strategy sets out exactly why everyone, including large businesses need to champion pollinators, they are vital to a healthy ecosystem for wildlife and habitats.

“We’re delighted to fund what is a wonderful project that will transform such a large area of heath and grassland in our region as part of our commitment to im...

Clarisse Hagege, founder and CEO of Dfns, joins the show this week recorded recently as part of the Techstars Web3 Community Series events organized by the Techstars Web3 Accelerator. Dfns is a cybersecurity company providing wallet infrastructure for web3. From banks to gaming studios, developer teams rely on their decentralized custody network to build seamless applications and deliver smooth experiences for crypto.

This episode of MoneyNeverSleeps is sponsored by SecuriCentrix. SecuriCentrix is a trusted cyber security company with offices in Dublin, Cape Town and London. SecuriCentrix provides expert advisory services, primarily in the finance and fintech industries, with tailored security solutions to fit your specific needs and regulatory challenges.

In addition to Dfns, Clarisse is also a mentor for the Techstars Web3 Accelerator, and a graduate of the ABN Amro + Techstars Future of Finance Accelerator class of 2021.

In this episode, Clarisse Hagege and Pete Townsend riff on the drivers behind why ‘builders are still building’ in web3 in the midst of the bear market, getting the right balance between security and freedom when protecting your crypto assets, how the history of custody is informing how we decentralize trust so that we can ‘trust the tech’ rather than third parties, and the challenges of building in web3.

KEY TAKEAWAY:

“When you’re in a bear market, you should start building – this is true for all industries – and this is usually when you get the best solutions. You’re no longer trying to catch up with a market that is growing way too fast and not looking at your own priorities. You’re focused on building a good product for customers rather than for the hype.”

LINKS:

Follow Clarisse Hagege on LinkedIn and learn more about Dfns

Follow Dfns on Twitter

Leave a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Check out our MoneyNeverSleeps website and get in touch via [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter: MoneyNeverSleeps | Eoin Fitzgerald | Pete Townsend

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

We look at this book by Ross Dawson, THRIVING ON OVERLOAD The 5 Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information. See more on the website here.

Thriving On Overload : The 5 Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information, reviewed

Firstly the title is misleading. It suggests this is going to be a macho, rest is for the weak type of narrative. However it is actually nothing of the sort, and, as we dug into the book we found it to be a useful way to tackle information overload, therefore it is a slight shame that it has been titled in a way that, initially, suggests the complete opposite.

We liked the book, and it tackles the issue well, with a good breakdown of the challenges faced, and strategies for engaging with, and mitigating the problem. There is too much information, there are too many sources, and we also have our own filter bubbles and restrictions on what we will remain open too. These are all issues we need to be cognisant about, and have strategies for mixing up our sources of information and intelligence. Dawson takes us on a streetwise tour of how to tackle, manage and wrestle control over the over flowing hydrant on stories and information.

This is a useful book and we would recommend it as a stocking filler or something to reboot your new year with.

Very happy to announce that my latest book:Thriving on Overload: The 5 Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information will be published by McGraw-Hill @MHBusiness on September 6! Full story and stacks of extra resources at@thrivingovrload

Ross Dawson (@rossdawson) April 19, 2022

More about the book

When keeping up with massive amounts of information is part of your job and daily life, how do you transform a feeling of overwhelm to a sense of abundance and empowerment? Discover practical insights and strategies to build a positive relationship with information and excel at work and all your ventures.

In Thriving on Overload, Ross Dawson provides simple actionable techniques for staying ahead in an accelerating world. It’s all about choosing to thrive on overload—rather than being overwhelmed by it. He draws on his work as a leading futurist and 25 years of research into the practices that transform a surplus of information into compelling value. Develop the five intertwined powers that, together, enable extraordinary performance:

Purpose: understanding why you engage with information enables a healthier relationship that generates success and balance in your life. Framing: creating frameworks that connect information into meaningful patterns builds deep knowledge, insight, and world-class expertise. Filtering: discerning what information serves us, using an intelligent portfolio of information sources, helps surface valuable signals above the pervasive noise. Attention: allocating your awareness with intent, including laser-like focus and serendipitous discovery, maximizes productivity and outcomes. Synthesis: expanding our unique capacity to integrate a universe of ideas yields powerful insight, the ability to see opportunities first, and better decisions.

Discover valuable lessons from some of the world’s most extraordinary “information masters”: entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and researchers who are completely at home in a world awash with information, capable of transforming vast mines of data into the solid gold of insight and effective action. Packed with clear guidance, useful exercises, engaging stories, and handy resources,

Thriving on Overload will help you build the capabilities that enable you to outperform your peers and prosper as never before in a world defined by excessive information.

More about Ross Dawson

Ross Dawson is globally recognized as a leading futurist, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, bestselling author, and entrepreneur.

Ross is in strong demand globally, having delivered keynote speeches and strategy workshops in over 30 countries across six continents for companies such as American Express, Bos...

The Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey, led by conservation charities Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, found a 64% decline in insect numbers sampled on vehicle number plates between 2004 and 2022 across the UK, highlighting the urgent need for more, large-scale research on insects, and action to reverse declines in their abundance.

As world leaders meet to discuss global declines in biodiversity at the COP15 UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the 2022 Bugs Matter Survey results reveal further shocking declines in the numbers of flying insects in the UK, supporting the call that urgent action is needed to restore insect populations. Increasingly, abundance, not just diversity, is being recognised as a key driver in creating landscapes that are resilient to the impacts of the climate and nature crises.

Are falling insect numbers due to record summer temperatures?

The Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey uses an innovative method for the large-scale surveying of flying insect abundance across the UK. The survey runs every summer and involves citizen scientists recording the number of insect splats on their vehicle number plates following a journey.

The latest 2022 Bugs Matter report has found that the number of insects sampled by citizen scientists across the UK reduced by a worrying 64% between 2004 and 2022. This is a 5% greater decline than that observed between 2004 and 2021, it is not clear what proportion of this decline is due to the long-term trend or the result of record summer temperatures, but climate change links these two factors. England, Northern Ireland and Wales saw continued declines into 2022, but figures for Scotland showed an upward trend.

Insects make up the greatest proportion of life on Earth. They underpin food chains, pollinate most of the world’s crops, and provide natural pest control services. Without insects, life on earth would collapse and the survivability of humanity on our planet would be threatened.

There are many causes of insect declines – these include the loss and damage to habitats, climate change, pollution of rivers and streams, use of pesticides, and development of wild spaces. There is growing evidence that these factors have caused significant declines in insect abundance in the UK and worldwide – with knock on consequences for other wildlife and for people.

The Bugs Matter Citizen Science survey provides an efficient and scalable approach to monitor trends in insect abundance. It is hoped that the survey method could be adopted in other countries, with citizen scientists across the planet taking part to compile a hugely valuable global dataset.

The Bugs Matter team are now busy with upgrades to the app in time for the 2023 survey season, including a trial of artificial intelligence to automatically detect the number of insect splats on a number plate.

Evan Bowen-Jones, Chief Executive at Kent Wildlife Trust, said : “Thanks to citizen scientists across the country, we are building a better picture of the health of our insect populations and already we are seeing some concerning patterns in the data. However, we need more citizen scientists to take part in the Bugs Matter survey next year and into the future, to understand whether we are seeing actual long-term trends or the impact of the extreme temperatures we faced in 2022. Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s survey. We hope even more citizen scientists will contribute to this valuable dataset in the 2023 survey period and beyond.”

Andrew Whitehouse, Head of Operations at Buglife, said: “For the second year running, Bugs Matter has shown potentially catastrophic declines in the abundance of flying insects. Urgent action is required to address the loss of the diversity and abundance of insect life. We will look to our leaders at COP15 for decisive action to restore nature at scale – both for wildlife, and for the health and wellbeing of future generations.”

The 2023 Bugs Matter survey season will begin on 1 June 2...