Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Share Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin explains why Getty Images is suing an AI art maker. Devon & Cornwall Police are putting speed cameras on drones while a Janapese company is offering to create meteor showers to order. There's an AI humanoid robot and AI earbuds, while Italy is banning ChatGPT. Sony have come up with a spatial reality display that doesn't need glasses, Buckingham Palace has produced a coronation emoji while scientists have mimicked polar bears, producing material that is lighter than cotton and better at retaining heat.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses Joe Biden's visit to Northern Ireland and why the UK needs to build other alliances rather than rely on "The Special Relationship". He laments political attack adverts and the use of racist rhetoric. And he looks at the end of Humza Yousaf's honeymoon period as the SNP's troubles continue and deepen.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University believes that the UK joining the Trans Pacific Partnership could be a massive boost for the country in the coming years. With Sanna Marin losing her role as Finnish PM, he considers the country's geopolitics and why the country is so impressive militarily. And he looks at the achievements of Lord Nigel Lawson following his death and the extraordinary impact he had on British politics and the economy.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson tells Simon Rose how surprised he was by Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (the 29th Hasbro movie spinoff), finding it very funny and bursting with imagination. Still recommending Allelujah he also liked gritty drama The Wife And Her Househusband (a very limited release) and YouTube short film Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times. His home video release of the month is the surreal Oscar-nominated EO, which looks at our world through the eyes of a donkey.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Tech obsessive Steve Caplin demonstrates to Simon Rose just how impressive text-to-speech has become and why AI should really be AGI. There's the UK's first self-driving bus, why cars with damaged batteries must be scrapped, Paris banning e-scooters, AI suggesting how your home can be redecorated, the noises plants make if they are stressed, how you can insulate your home with coconut & lemon and a crowdfunded punchbag – that fights back.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell finds it curious that central bankers are not looking in the mirror, but blaming social media and older people for recent problems, given that an excess of cheap money is at the root of so much that has gone wong. He believes there will still be reckonings to come in some areas and that the chances of a recession in the US have increased. UK investors, though, should concentrate on value and ignore short-term static. Don't be influenced by the mistakes of others.
Guests: Russ Mould
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, which has picked up thanks to the arrival of John Wick: Chapter Four at #1. Almost 3 hours long, James though it assassin porn, repetitive and exhausting. He found 80 for Brady (#8) a major embarrassment for Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno & Sally Field. He adored Zach Braff's A Good Person with Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman but it only debuted at #18. Fans of Life of Brian should note a re-release on April 7.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin uses AI to build a website in just 30 seconds but 1,000 AI experts have called for a halt to the AI race. German monks have made the world's first powdered beer, there's a 3D-printed cheesecake (with no cheese), a 3D-printed rocket, carbon-negative concrete, an amazing glamping RV, superb paint-matching for next to nothing, smart socks for old people and airbags for motorcyclists.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian considers Boris Johnson's Partygate evidence and wonders if will be the end of the ex-PM's political career. He explains why he feels Rishi Sunak has had a good fortnight with his more pragmatic approach to the country's problems. And, while he believes the SNP leadership result will benefit Labour, he wonders if it will be enough.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Victoria Scholar of Interactive Investor discusses the MPC's decision to raise interest rates 25 basis points to 4.25%, although there were 2 votes against the move. With inflation ticking up again, the Bank is clearly still concerned about how far CPI is above its 2% target, maintaining that the UK banking system is robust, despite problems in the US and Switzerland. While savers may cheer rising rates, Victoria points out that inflation is still well above savings rates, so there's a negative real return.
Guests: Victoria Scholar
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