The Big Tech Show

Flipdish co-founder Conor McCarthy reveals how a simple idea to make ordering food easier grew into a billion-dollar Irish tech business.

From a cash crunch that threatened payroll to unicorn status and a new push into AI, McCarthy explains how Flipdish evolved, why it is doubling down on restaurant technology and what it takes to build a business for the long term.

‘Can It Scale?’ is a new podcast exploring the people, ideas and businesses shaping Ireland’s startup scene.

Through candid conversations with founders and industry insiders, we uncover the breakthroughs, setbacks and big decisions behind building a successful company.

Why you can trust the Irish Independent

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI could soon make cyber-attacks on public services far more frequent, with Ireland potentially facing serious disruption to everything from healthcare to banking and transport.

Adrian speaks to Peter Tanham, analyst at TheState.ie, former founder, political strategist and recently departed Meta global data policy executive, about why AI is changing the hacking game, how exposed our computer systems really are and why the HSE cyber-attack of 2021 could offer a warning of what lies ahead.

Is it time to stop hoping for the best and start preparing for the worst?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

StoryToys chief executive Emmet O’Neill reveals how the Dublin company came within a thread of collapse before an unexpected email from Lego changed its fortunes. 

From cutting staff and negotiating million-euro debts to working with Lego, Disney and Netflix, O’Neill explains the decisions that kept the business alive and helped it grow into one of the world’s biggest producers of children’s apps.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is Apple’s new folding iPhone Duo really like to use? Is its huge screen worth the eye watering price, and what compromises come with the design?

Adrian Weckler joins Saoirse Hanley to discuss a week of testing Apple’s first folding phone, from its impressive display and pocket friendly design to its missing Face ID, lack of a telephoto camera and eye watering price tag. With a premium build and impressive battery life, could this be the future of smartphones, or is it still a niche luxury?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OpenAI’s chief financial officer Sarah Friar joins us to discuss the company’s growing ambitions in Ireland, where weekly ChatGPT usage has more than doubled to 2.5 million people.

She outlines plans for 450 additional jobs, the prospect of Irish data centres and how AI could transform businesses. But with mounting concerns over cyber security, rogue AI agents and the vast cost of infrastructure, can OpenAI deliver on its promises while building a sustainable business?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Sorkin returns to Facebook with The Social Reckoning, a follow up to The Social Network exploring whistleblower Frances Haugen’s allegations about the platform’s role in extremism.

But does the film capture the scale of the scandal, or fall short of its predecessor? On this week’s Big Tech Show, Adrian Weckler and Irish Independent journalist and host of the No Encore podcast Dave Hanratty assess its portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg, its accuracy and whether Hollywood’s latest attempt to hold Big Tech to account has anything meaningful to say.

Why you can trust the Irish Independent

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Gates says AI could contribute to the deaths of a billion people. Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, says we may have only a year to regulate it.

But Meta’s Yann LeCun, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg are far more optimistic.

In this week’s Big Tech Show, Adrian Weckler and Irish Independent technology journalist Darragh Nolan examine the growing divide over whether AI poses an existential threat or whether the warnings are being overhyped.

They also review Apple’s new Watch Series 12, its controversial AI listening features, and a Xiaomi smartphone with a 10,000mAh battery that can last three days.

Why you can trust the Irish Independent

­

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Mark Little sold his news verification startup Storyful to Rupert Murdoch for $25m, he was summoned to the Australian's New York office.

"Let's go make some f***ing money," Murdoch told him, according to Little.

In this week's episode of the Big Tech Show, the former RTE anchorman-turned-entrepreneur talks in depth about his time running Twitter in Ireland, his challenges as a startup founder and what he thinks about the future of social media and AI.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we have the extraordinary story of Fr Brendan McGuire, a priest from Bray who runs a parish in Silicon Valley and has become an advisor o Anthropic and other AI giants on spiritual, moral and ethical matters

By day, he says mass. By night, urges reflection and restraint to executives within those AI giants, some of which are now warning of humans being wiped out by the technology.

I sat down with Fr McGuire to talk about his life, his ministry, the idea of computers having souls and whether AI might eventually kill us all.

And that was me talking to Fr Brendan McGuire of St Simon’s church in Los Altos, California. Gavin Hennessy was on sound for this episode and JJ Clarke is the producer of the Big Tech Show.

https://www.independent.ie/service/why-you-can-trust-the-irish-independent/a/98708550.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of The Big Tech Show, Adrian Weckler is joined by Dr. Alan Eustace, an assistant professor at the School of Law in Trinity College Dublin, to explore how AI is changing third level education. They discuss students relying on AI to complete coursework, the challenge of assessing genuine learning and how universities can adapt their approach. Eustace explains how Trinity is using research trails, document versions and oral assessments to verify students' work. They also consider whether heavy reliance on AI could weaken critical thinking and ultimately change how we value university degrees.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.