Weekly Brief: We’ve got a Sixth Sensor

This week on the weekly brief we are discussing sweaty sensors, mind control and smart gloves. We’re exploring the interesting developments in the tech behind sensors. Plus: giving you a shortlist of our favourite startup jobs from the site this week! […]

Weekly Brief: We’ve got a Sixth Sensor

Move over Elon Musk, you’re not the only one who wants to read minds!

Facebook unveiled their Brain API Beta at F8, aiming to “integrate people’s thoughts into the next generation of apps”. Given the less-than-discreet reputation Facebook has earned, this is understandably putting some noses out of joint (would you trust them with your thoughts?) But putting privacy or morality to one side (*fingers firmly in ears*), we instead want to look at the awesome tech behind the project. Their team of scientists and developers are treading new ground in both BioTech implants and “neural machine learning”. Thinking as positively as possible, the tech could completely revolutionise treatment plans for neurological disorders. Seems a noble enough cause?

Another group using sensors to potentially tackle the way we treat debilitating disease (and pick up weapons in VR video games) are the team behind the ‘Stretch-Sensing Soft Glove.’ This glove accurately captures intricate hand movements without the need for optical tracking (watch them show off the product and absolutely slam their competitors below!) Meanwhile teams at UC Berkeley and Stanford have both developed similarly thin sensors to track even more biometric data about us “glamorously” through our sweat! Shows just how versatile and open this field is. So, whether you’re prepared to deal with the ickier privacy concerns of neural implants, or just want your sensors to be plain sticky, it looks like this tech will be a major part of future wellness and health. Really it’s just common sense(or)!

Check out this week’s hottest jobs

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Weekly Brief: Banana Fungus Slip Slidin’ AwayAI

Here is a write up of this weeks newsletter. Today we were looking at potential banana extinction and how BioTech, AI and CRISPR can be used to help! As always you can get this content straight to your inbox on our weekly newsletter – we always try to include some fun and interesting tech news! Go bananas! […]

Weekly Brief: Banana Fungus Slip Slidin’ AwayAI

How can artificial intelligence save the world’s favourite fruit?

Tropical Race 4 – don’t worry we aren’t talking about that purple hurricane game every kid seem to be playing this summer! Better yet: crop destroying fungus. Fusarium Oxysporum has come to public attention after it hit land in Colombia. Short banana PSA: a different strain of Fusarium almost obliterated bananas as we knew them 30 years ago, leaving the more resistant ‘Cavendish’ as top banana. This strain is already present in Asia and can survive dormant in the soil for many years. It is expected to sweep through Latin America, where 99% of the world’s crop is grown, decimating bananas left and right. But all is not lost! An international team is using AI to detect diseases in bananas, developing tech that could be deployed on an international scale to contain and control the epidemic. Opening up the GMO debate, CRISPR and BioTech options have also been suggested to modify bananas (or even the disease itself) to sidestep a potential biological catastrophe. Without getting all Swedish child environmentalist on you, it seems like a good time to think about how to promote biodiversity within the confines of practical and ecological production needs. Thankfully BioTech is positioned to lead this attack and protect our precious bananas! Let the fights in offices across the nation continue over (objectively) the best fruit.

Go bananas for our favourite job ads:

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Check out our vacancy for a Sales and Operations Intern – apply on the site if you think you can be our next superstar!

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Weekly Brief: Are you Paranoid about Androids?

This week’s Weekly Brief write-up: talking about developments in robotics and machine learning. Plus: the usual round-up of high quality startup jobs. News + jobs = happy reading! […]

Weekly Brief: Are you Paranoid about Androids?

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Are you completely operational and are all your circuits functioning normally? Good!

2001, A Space Odyssey references aside, it really has been a banner week for robotics news. Post-bank holiday, we (and seemingly everyone else on startup social media) watched in awe as a £700k robot tentatively picked a raspberry. This may seem a relatively benign field to throw groundbreaking robotics research at but, in a post-Brexit UK, farming and labour costs could potentially rise quite aggressively. So this is Fieldwork Robotics’ solution, boasting a 150% increase in yield when compared to human harvesters.

Meanwhile Ford is upping the ante in the delivery space with its new bipedal, startlingly humanoid robot named Digit. This guy can climb stairs, lift packages and (hopefully) do a generally better job than simply lose your countless ASOS parcels in a depot somewhere. It’s worth noting that this is a ‘research project’ with no established plans for roll-out, but having watched the video we wouldn’t be surprised if this changed in the near(ish) future.

And there’s another area where robotics could potentially change the game, or rather, change your game. The Metro published an opinion piece on whether romantic or sexual relationships with bots (!) are likely to become widespread given how many individuals find love online. Now, it is a bit of a leap of faith to assume the occasional hungover right-swipe will lead to a future a la ex-Machina. But it does open up an interesting discussion about how we combat the loneliness that can come from increasingly living life on the web…

Whether or not the encroachment of our shiny metal friends is good or bad for the human race generally, we know we want to be at the party! Check out Work in Startups for a whole host of robotics, machine-learning and AI jobs. Whatever your taste in future tech we have you covered!

Robocrop: world’s first raspberry-picking robot set to work

Fieldwork Robotics have developed a robot that could revolutionise the fruit-picking industry in the UK.

Ford’s vision for package delivery is a robot that folds up into the back of a self-driving car

Ford have developed a ‘research project’ with a bipedal delivery robot called Digit.

Forming romantic and sexual relationships with robots ‘will be widespread by 2050’

Interesting opinion piece about the potential for human/robot relationships.

This weeks hottest startup job ads:

Senior Business Analyst / Product Manager at Nodal Labs in London
Experienced Product Manager at Oddbox in London
Client Executive Industrial at Syft in London
Head of Paid Acquisition at Snaptrip in London
CFO at City Relay in London
Associate at Cylon in London
Ui/Ux Designer at Nodal Labs in London
Support Engineer at Akkroo in London
Head of Marketing / CMO at Howsy in London
Product Manager at Syft in London
Mid/Senior PHP Developer Contract at Work In Startups in London
Recruitment Coordinator at Tessian in London
Lead Front-end Developer at Nodal Labs in London
Graduate Full-Stack PHP Developer at Zodiac Media in London
UX Designer at Syft in London
Customer Success Builder at JollyDeck in London
People Partner at Tessian in London
Senior Back-End Developer at Nodal Labs in London
Internal Recruiter at Syft in London
SEO Manager at Adzuna in London

As always, subscribe to our newsletter for more like this.

Happy Hunting! Happy Hiring!

Weekly Brief: Did somebody say cheese?

This week we are discussing the merits and risks of facial recognition software for security surveillance, all over the world. With the usual side of startup jobs – we have some corkers this week! […]

Weekly Brief: Did somebody say cheese?

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For those who were too busy enjoying the glorious sunshine in London yesterday, you may have missed the headlines about San Francisco’s outright ban of facial recognition tech for security surveillance purposes. The ban was brought on by widespread concern about the expansion of government surveillance and potential issues with profiling bias. While concerns over the increasing amount we are all monitored by technology are entirely justified, it is a little hard to digest the idea of San Francisco, home of social liberty and Silicon Valley, and a hub of surveillance tech, making such a sweeping (and pioneering) decision.

Unsurprisingly, opponents of the ban have been quick to extoll the value of facial recognition, highlighting its growing use in criminal suspect verification and a slowly improving success rate in this regard. Proponents, however, point to China as an example of what could happen if ‘Big Brother’ gets a little too into his steroids. Facial and video recognition is reportedly now used to monitor everything from childhood attentiveness in the classroom to isolating petty thieves in real time. The most dystopic Chinese AI project (that we’re aware of anyway) is a plan to roll out facial recognition system linked to the government database of 1.3 billion (yes, with a B) ID cards. Orwellian, we know. And it’s particularly punchy given the tech itself is still in its relative infancy (yes, your iPhone’s unlocking capabilities really aren’t that impressive). Closer to home, the Met police are currently trialling facial recognition cameras rigged to police vans in East London in order to locate suspects in ongoing criminal investigations. As you can see in the video, it is hitting mixed results!

We’re not sure an outright ban on tech is ever the optimal solution – one to watch in the news and see whether other cities (or states for that matter) follow suit…

San Francisco’s facial recognition technology ban, explained

Understanding the connotations of San Francisco banning facial recognition technology for surveillance.

Could facial recognition cut crime?

(Video) Metropolitan police are experimenting with similar software in East London.

Drones, facial recognition and a social credit system: 10 ways China watches its citizens

This is all about how China uses facial recognition (among other methods) to monitor its population.

If you’re not too busy watching the Game of Thrones finale, and you’re interested in pop culture facial recognition, check out Black Mirror (generally) but specifically “Nosedive” Season 3, Episode 1. Minority Report is also an early 2000’s Tom Cruise classic! Both available on your favourite streaming services.

This weeks hottest startup job ads… check em out!

Senior Business Analyst / Product Manager at Nodal Labs in London
Senior Front-End Developer at Get My Grades in London
People Operations Manager at Beauhurst in London
Mid/Senior PHP Developer Contract at Work In Startups in London
Marketing Manager at Pasta Evangelists in London
Recruitment Coordinator at Tessian in London
Full Stack Developer at Talentpool in London
Lead Front-end Developer at Nodal Labs in London
Graduate Full-Stack PHP Developer at Zodiac Media in London
Customer Success Builder at JollyDeck in London
People Partner at Tessian in London
Chief Of Staff at Beauhurst in London
Senior Back-End Developer at Nodal Labs in London
SaaS Sales Development Representative at Akkroo in London
Head of Growth at Pass the Keys in London
SEO Manager at Adzuna in London

As always, subscribe to our newsletter for more like this.

Happy Hunting! Happy Hiring!

Weekly Brief: You shop, they… might drop?

Usual deal here folks! A weekly roundup on an interesting topic. A selection of our favourite startup jobs from your favourite startup job board. What’s new? Well: we’re discussing the interesting developments into how we buy and deliver produce online. Read on! […]

Weekly Brief: You shop, they… might drop?

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If the growing mountain of ASOS deliveries and returns in our office is anything to go by, the popularity of online shopping is on a constant rise. Though it would seem that the fantastically convenient world of online shopping and delivery is not quite sitting on a bed of roses.

Resolver, a platform to air and (shock!) resolve customer grievances with companies has announced an 84% increase YOY in UK consumer complaints referencing online shopping. Some of the more recurrent problems included (perhaps unsurprisingly) customer service, issues with deliveries, quality control and refunds. So… basically everything that a high street experience could resolve? Meanwhile in their storming expansion through the subcontinent, African delivery giant Jumia have reported similar issues… and some more interesting ones. In a fascinating piece by the FT they explore some region-specific troubles such as distrust of corrupt suppliers, resulting in a pay-on-delivery culture and an (even more) hazardous life for the underlying couriers. Maybe this is something the giants of Alibaba and Facebook can solve as they weigh into the fray – the former is helping pioneer facial recognition tech to the way we buy, while the latter is supposedly about to introduce online marketplace functionality across all three of its major platforms, suggesting that they hope to marry influencer power and personal recommendations from your inner circle (and then take your cash). Time will tell if innovation, technical development and design from the big dogs will unseat the likes of Amazon – who knows if buying a package on Whatsapp will solve any of these issues?

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Online shopping complaints soar 84% in a year

Resolver has announced a huge rise in complaints about online shopping and package deliveries.

Jumia’s rise exposes the challenges of online shopping in Africa

There are a variety of issues facing online-shopping giant Jumia in Africa as it plans aggressive expansion.

Alibaba-backed facial recognition startup Megvii raises $750 million

Megvii, an ambitious facial recognition software has raised $750 million in a Series D funding round.

WhatsApp and Instagram to add online shopping as Facebook takes on Amazon

Facebook is to add an online shopping feature to its ‘Big Three’ apps (including Instagram and Whatsapp).

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Check out our hottest startup jobs from this week!

Transformation Programme Manager at GoCardless in London
Ruby Developer at Bloom & Wild in London
iOS Developer at Monese in London
Front End Engineer at Gousto in London
SEO Manager at Adzuna in London
Customer Success Builder at JollyDeck in London
People Partner at Tessian in London
Recruitment Coordinator at Tessian in London
Chief Of Staff at Beauhurst in London
Full Stack Developer at Talentpool in London
Marketing Manager at Pasta Evangelists in London
SaaS Sales Development Representative at Akkroo in London
People Operations Manager at Beauhurst in London
Talent Scout Software Engineering at Workshub in London

As always, subscribe to our newsletter for more like this.

Happy Hunting! Happy Hiring!

Weekly Brief: Facebook, don’t you know we’re detoxing?

As per, we are giving you this week’s hottest UK startup jobs, although this week we have exclusively London startup jobs. We’ve been talking about the changes to Facebook Dating, Instagram like-hiding and digital detoxes. Check it out! […]

Weekly Brief: Facebook, don’t you know we’re detoxing?

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Facebook’s F8 developers’ conference has reignited the discussion about online welfare and wellness in the age of social media (we’re as shocked as you are!)

The debate’s kick-off point was Instagram announcing details of their experiment into ‘Like-hiding’ in the Canadian market. The modified functionality allows users to still view “Likes” if they choose to, but it reduces the prominence of such “validatory” features, (hopefully) keeping eyes on the content itself and boosting user wellness. So you can like that picture of a cat without giving a stuff who else has, or post your own cat and not be reminded that the neighbour’s cat is supposedly three-times more popular! Don’t worry though, your cat’s great…

This move to protect against “toxic envy” was somewhat undermined by Facebook revealing features that could induce “toxic lust.” Of course we’re referring to the new ‘Secret Crushes’ feature added to Facebook Dating, which allows one to covertly mark which of your facebook friends the user would like to… get to know better. Without delving into the value of dating one’s friends, we wonder whether a feature designed to mark physical attractiveness in members of your social network does a great deal to circumvent envy online. Others meanwhile have questioned whether we should even be concerned with toxicity online, and instead just crack on and develop better tools to enjoy it. We’re not overly worried about “Likes” at Work in Startups, being far more concerned with getting the best talent into UK startups… but of course we won’t say no if you follow us on facebook and twitter!

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Instagram officially tests hiding Like counts

Instagram has been conducting an experiment in Canada to hide likes in order to boost wellness in users.

Facebook adds ‘secret crushes’ so you can see which friends are thirsting after you

Facebook Dating have announced new functionality to mark which of your friends you find attractive.

Why it’s high time you ditched that digital detox nonsense

Some say we should develop new ways to enjoy technology without being overwhelmed by it instead.

These are the startup jobs we ‘like-like’ this week:

Front End Engineer at Gousto in London
Chief Of Staff at Beauhurst in London
Full Stack Developer at Talentpool in London
Marketing Manager at Pasta Evangelists in London
SaaS Sales Development Representative at Akkroo in London
People Operations Manager at Beauhurst in London
Talent Scout Software Engineering at Workshub in London
iOS Developer at Monese in London
Digital Marketer at Acasa in London
Mid Level Developer at Fountain Money in London
Transformation Programme Manager at GoCardless in London
SEO Manager at Adzuna in London
Digital Marketing Manager at Revolut Ltd in London
Public Relations Manager at Astroscreen in London

As always, subscribe to our newsletter for more like this.

Happy Hunting! Happy Hiring!

Weekly Brief: Less (users) is more?

As usual, we are providing our weekly rundown of cool startup jobs, with just a hint of interesting industry news. We’ve been really interested in the some “seemingly counterproductive” business model tacts from your favourite dating and social giants! Read on! […]

Weekly Brief: Less (users) is more?

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You may have been lucky (unlucky?) enough to have received a rather slick email announcing the Hinge dating app redesign last week. It heralded a new UI and business model: Hinge officially want you to delete Hinge… after finding the love of your life, of course! The “app designed to be deleted” may seem a little counterproductive on the face of it, but it’s a marketing plug that seems to be making some headway. Twitter has also been embodying the adage of “doing more with less” as they eked out promising advertising sales in Q1 despite a drop in their overall user count. No matter what Donald Trump may have to say on the topic, it would appear Twitter’s efforts to clean up their act have gone over well with consumers, or “Daily Active Users” to use the parlance. This model of appealing to a smaller, loyal client base by clamping down on internet nastiness seems to have also struck a cord with Apple. CEO Tim Cook not only introduced a range of features to promote “digital wellness” at the WWDC, but also heavily advocated switching off push notifications. Effectively: aiming to get people off their iPhones.

Call it being a responsible internet citizen or creative frugality, the bottom line is the same; less is more when it comes to tech strategy in 2019!

Hinge redesigns to get people off dating apps

The recent Hinge redesign is aiming to get people off dating apps and into long-term relationships.

Twitter is proving you can monetize smaller pool of users

On Twitter’s recent turn-a-round, and increased earnings with a smaller user base.

Tim Cook wants you to put down your iPhone

Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled a suite of ‘wellness’ apps to reduce the amount we use our iPhones.