Racist and sexist gadgets to be targeted in new product safety rules
Business Minister Paul Scully says the planned overhaul is possible now the UK has left the European Union
11 March 2021 • 12:01am
Racist facial recognition algorithms and smart speakers that fail to understand women are among the technologies being targeted by new product safety rules as part of a post-Brexit overhaul.
Business Minister Paul Scully today revealed the government was looking at ways to update the decades-old laws amid concerns of race and gender bias baked into consumer products.
In a statement, the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy said it wanted to explore how product safety can be improved to reflect the needs of everyone in society .
UK s secretive £800m tech research agency to launch next year
Britain s answer to America s Darpa will have a high tolerance for failure as it prepares to back moonshot projects
19 February 2021 • 12:01am
A new Government-funded tech research agency that will back “high risk, high reward” projects will launch next year.
The £800m Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) will be led by scientists who will be given freedom to identify and fund transformational science and technology projects.
ARIA, which will operate independently from the Government, is Britain’s answer to America’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa). The US agency is best known for its involvement in the creation of the internet, GPS, and stealth bombers.