Are ultra-cheap online buys from Temu and Shein about to be a thing of the past? Who will benefit? And what is Comreg doing about scam texts? JJ Clarke, producer, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. Both the EU and the US moved to cutdown the free flow of low-cost online purchases from China to the West. On the EU side, customs checks, and increased costs will be imposed on ultra-cheap packages from China. The US has gone further with Trump’s new tariff programme prompting the US postal service to announce that it would temporarily no longer accept any parcels from China, however, it resumed accepting them on Wednesday. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What is life like for an Irish tech co-founder in the US? Is America a more dynamic space for technology? And what are the downsides to living in a Trump nation? Markham Nolan, co-founder of the AI startup Noan, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. The co-founder lived in the US for a decade, seven years in Manhattan and then 3 years in a suburb of the city called Larchmont. Nolan argues that America is a place of dynamism for tech companies but there are also downsides. He eventually left the states to return to Dublin with his family. Markham cited a higher quality of life, active shooter drills in his children’s school and access to healthcare as main reasons for returning home. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Could Mark Zuckerberg’s makeover of Meta cost Irish jobs? Will Trump go to war against Dublin based EU privacy fines? Will users see an uptick in hate speech? Thomas Hughes, chief executive of Appeals Centre Europe, joins Adrian on The Big Tech Show this week. The Appeals Centre Europe is a Dublin-based agency with a staff of 25. It was recently given regulatory imprimatur by Ireland’s media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, as a qualified body to accept and adjudicate on user complaints from across the EU against the three biggest social media platforms; Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. While the decisions made by Appeals Centre Europe are not binding, they are officially logged and are persuasive to regulators who can then take a more binding action such as imposing fines. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What is DeepSeek AI? How did it wipe over a trillion dollars off the US NASDAQ Index? And why are experts urging users to be cautious? Founder and CEO of Galvia AI, John Clancy, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show to discuss. DeepSeek AI is a free AI-powered chatbot founded in 2023 by Chinese hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng. The product uses a reasoning model, which means it shows the user how it arrives at an answer. The technology uses less memory than its rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT which reduces the cost to perform tasks. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Is it worth getting a generator for stormy weather? What kind of generator should you get? And do you need an electrician to install one? ?Peter Finn, also known as Pete the Builder on Instagram, and star of the Home Rescue TV show joined Adrian on the show to discuss. In the wake of storm Éowyn last week, hundreds of thousands of homes in Ireland were left without electricity and many still have no power. Peter Finn advised people to get a generator installed by an electrician. The builder also made the point that the Irish government should look at putting cabling underground to avoid mass outages. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What does a Trump presidency mean for technology? Will there be a regulatory war between the EU and US? And what was behind Elon Musk’s bizarre hand gesture?

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Is Ireland a natural place for artificial intelligence? Are we overregulating when it comes to data centres? And what can we expect from AI in 2025? ?Mark Kelly, founder of AI Ireland and chief customer officer of Alldus, joins Adrian to discuss. The founder began by saying that agentic artificial intelligence will become more common over the coming year. Agentic AI is the technology that powers AI agents so they can act autonomously without human oversight. By serving as a comprehensive platform, agentic AI facilitates seamless interaction between AI agents and humans, fostering a collaborative environment where both can work together. Mark pointed out that an AI agent will be able to book a flight for a person, pick them a seat and even purchase books for them on Amazon. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What does a TikTok ban mean for us? Who will or won’t be able access it? And what are the implications for the Irish workforce?

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January means dark days, cold weather and isolation. A new opportunity, a change of life, and that means it’s one of the most vulnerable times for those at risk from romance scammers. How do you spot a romance scam? Who are they targeting? And if it happens to you, how do you report it? Detective superintendent, Michael Cryan from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, joins Adrian on The Big Tech Show to discuss. ?The detective superintendent described romance fraud as a scam that takes place mainly online. He says, the victim will match unknowingly with the scammer and then that person will exploit the person through manipulation and exploitation over a period of time. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Are you thinking of buying an electric car in 2025? Why did EV sales drop by almost 24% last year? And from cold weather to charging points, what should you consider before purchasing? JJ Clarke, producer, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. Adrian began by quoting The Society of the Irish Motor Industry’s figures that showed that in 2024 there were 121,195 new car registrations and only 17,459 of them were electric cars. There was a decrease of 23.6% from the 22,852 registrations seen in 2023. The tech editor made the point, that consumer confidence in electric vehicles has collapsed here in Ireland as well as in some other European countries. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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