A-Z of tech

Extended reality, or XR, can involve a fully virtual experience, or perhaps an augmented one. But experts are talking more and more about mixed reality nowadays, with fascinating applications for different uses, and the pace of change is getting faster. Our host Louise Taggart is joined by PwC's Yanna Zhu, a metaverse technology specialist, Dr Alex Young, founder of the mixed reality training platform Virti, and Chris Fleischmann, founder and CEO of Arthur.

The next generation of the World Wide Web is upon us - promising a decentralised and democratic platform, as well as a more seamless, intelligent and personalised experience. Our host Louise Taggart teases apart the various threads that will make up Web3, with PwC colleagues Maria Axente, Responsible AI and AI for Good Lead, and Haydn Jones, Senior Blockchain Market Specialist.

In this episode, we learn about the widespread influence of video game technology. From the rise of Esports and professional gamers, to the growth of the Metaverse and the way we work, to the ‘gamification’ of User Experience to encourage different behaviours. Our host Louise Taggart asks our guests Jeremy Dalton, PwC’s head of Metaverse Technologies, and Tanya Laird, an inductee to the Women in Games Hall of Fame, about the past, present and future of this game-changing industry.

In this episode, we discover how a multitude of factors ranging from psychology to ethics and inclusion are taken into account when designing the user experience for products, services and experiences. How do we make sure technology works for everyone? Our host Louise Taggart asks if the user is always right, and gets to grips with the multidisciplinary world of User Experience with Roger Gagnon, PwC’s Chief Experience Officer, and Patrick Glinski, President of Normative.

In this episode of the A-Z of Tech, we make a giant leap to find out about the prospects for innovation, manufacturing and new sources of energy in space. Our guests are Andrew Bacon, co-founder and CTO of Space Forge, and Dinesh Patel from the Space team at PwC.

In this episode of the A-Z of Tech, we explore a small world with big possibilities: quantum. Our hosts Shreya Gopal and Louise Taggart learn about the seemingly endless possibilities of quantum computing, and the meaning of words like qubit, post-quantum cryptography and quantum supremacy. In one of our most mind-expanding episodes, our guests are Dr Alistair Brash, from the Quantum Centre at the University of Sheffield; Sumair Zamir, from PwC’s emerging applications and technologies team, and Rebecca Lee of the PwC Cyber Security team.

This episode of the A-Z of Tech is all about sharing - or not sharing. And trust. We ask, how has technology shaped our attitudes to shared information? And we get some helpful advice on what individuals and businesses can do to ensure that what should be private is kept private.

In this episode of the A-Z of Tech, we explore the wonderful innovations and technologies that are built on an open data platform. Our guests this month are Raspberry Pi senior developer Roger Thornton, journalist and lecturer Robert Freeman, and PwC Blockchain specialist Haydn Jones. With our hosts Shreya and Louise they discuss how open source software has encouraged a generation of young people to get hands-on with computers, the advances cryptocurrencies have made recently, and how open source intelligence can help solve and prevent crime.

In this episode of the A-Z of Tech, we explore the tiny world of nanotechnology and find out about desert ice, the hidden properties of sunscreen and using DNA for storing old lecture notes. Our guests this month are Katie King, a Nanotech PhD Student at the University of Cambridge, and Tarik Moussa, from PwC’s innovation and sustainability team. With our hosts Shreya and Louise they discuss some of the extraordinary opportunities nanotech presents for science and business, particularly in the fields of medicine and sustainable technology.

In this episode, our hosts Shreya and Louise are joined by Alex Wright from PwC’s Strategy&, journalist and lecturer Robert Freeman, and Dr Chetna Kang, consultant psychiatrist at Nightingale Hospital, to look at the upsides and the downsides of mobile technology for the economy, for society, and for individuals.

Nowadays, we’re all swimming in information, and it can be hard to make sense of it all. How do we understand and explore all the data around us? How do we help computers understand how we communicate so that they in turn can help us to connect with each other? This episode of the A-Z of Tech is about language. Hosts Shreya and Louise are joined by Natalia Danilova, Forensic Data Discovery Specialist at PwC, and Juliet Gauthier, a Strategic Product Manager at the media services company Red Bee Media, two experts in the fascinating world of words and computing.

We’ve taken a break in the A to Z to reflect on some emerging tech trends during the coronavirus pandemic. In this edition, we look at how the adoption and development of some technologies has accelerated over the past few months, and what might be round the corner. Louise and new co-host Shreya Gopal are joined by three PwC guests, Sheetal Vyas,Gabriel Currie, and Penny Flint, to discuss AI, 3-D printing, the future of work, cybersecurity, and supply chains amongst other topics.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to engaging children with technology. How do we teach children their digital rights and protect them from online harms whilst also ensuring they stay engaged with the online world and consider tech as a viable career option? This month, Louise is joined by Maithreyi Rajeshkumar, head of policy and communications at child online safety charity, Childnet, and Robyn Howard, who was instrumental in the creation of the Tech She Can Charter and it’s Tech We Can school lesson plans.

Do you know your machine learning from your AI? Do you know what a digital twin is and how they’re used? Or what Web 3.0 means for your future internet browsing? This month, Hugo and Louise are joined by 10 special guests who debunk and demystify the tech terminology you’re hearing every day but still not really sure what it means.

Can you hack a smart device? How are Internet of Things devices making Chinese strawberry farms more sustainable? How are traffic sensors helping South American cities predict air pollution? For our ‘I for Internet of Things’ episode, Hugo & Louise are joined by Jo Gilbert from the GSMA and Matt Wixey from PwC’s cyber research team. In the first half of this episode, Jo sheds some light on how smart devices are used beyond household appliances. In the second half, Matt shares some insights into his research on the ‘hackability’ of devices. Finally, the team wrap up with their usual trend predictions and crystal-ball gazing.

Who are the hackers and can they really be reformed? Louise and Hugo investigate the world of hacking are joined the Ethan Thomas from the National Crime Agency and Stuart Criddle, PwC’s ethical hacking expert.

This month Louise and Hugo are talking all things 5G with EE’s Howard Jones and Strategy&’s Kirolous Zikry. For the first half of the conversation, the group discuss the hype surrounding 5G, what the technology is and how it compares to analogue and everything up to 4G. In the second half of the conversation, the group talk about 5G’s potential uses and some crystal ball gazing on what comes next. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to be the first to hear our October episode, ‘H for Hacking’.

In this temporary veer away from the alphabet, we sit down with Margaret Campbell, a curator at the Science Museum's latest exhibition 'Driverless: who is in control?'. Louise and Hugo chat to Margaret about her highlights from the exhibition, including the UK's first driverless car from the 1960s, the use of driverless technologies to clear Afghanistan’s land mines and how autonomous bots are monitoring the ocean’s oil spills. Stay tuned for next month’s episode ‘G for 5G’ where we’re cutting through the noise to tell you all about the world of new technologies that will be enabled by 5G.

What is fintech? Who are the challenger banks? What comes next for retail banking? Listen to the latest episode ‘F for Fintech’ as hosts Louise Taggart and Hugo Warner are joined by Starling Bank’s Head of Technology Advocacy Jason Maude and PwC’s financial services disruption lead, Arthur Hughes-Hallet.

In this episode, host Louise Taggart is joined by new co-host Hugo Warner. Listen in to Louise and Hugo as they tackle some of the most difficult questions regarding ethics from innovation and regulation to unconscious bias - with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation’s Oliver Buckley and PwC UK’s AI Programme Driver, Maria Axente.

In this episode we hear from two women working in the drones sector - Dr Pippa Malmgren, founder of H Robotics, and PwC's UK drones leader and former RAF engineer, Elaine Whyte. We discuss the potential of this emerging technology - from avoiding crocodiles to opening up new commuter routes high above the Thames!

In this episode we hear from the National Cyber Security Centre about various different types of hackers, what information they're after, and what you can do to protect yourself as a consumer. A short second interview covers CEOs as a target for cybercriminals and the risks of oversharing on social media.

In episode two we take a look at demystifying blockchain with Seamus Cushley, a director in our blockchain team at PwC, and introduce some interesting use cases beyond cryptocurrency with Niall Dennehy, co-founder of blockchain for good start-up, AID:tech.

We're kicking off our series with an introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Rob McCargow, director of AI at PwC and special guest Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder of CognitionX and chair of the UK government's AI Council. Check out Rob's kids' Robot Rules here: twitter.com/robmccargow/status/843740450397835266 and the MIT research study on human perspectives on machine ethics here: moralmachine.mit.edu/

A for Artificial Intelligence, B for Blockchain, C for Cyber Security. We'll be starting a journey through an alphabet of technology trends in January with technologists and special guests. Subscribe to get the first episode as soon as it's released.