Your Exclusive Guide to the 7th FinTech Scotland Festival-DIGIT Tech News Roundup
Welcome to the latest edition of the DIGIT Tech News Roundup.
In this week’s newsletter, we will cover some of our top-trending tech news stories and features from the week beginning the 26th of August.
This week, major players in the Scottish tech ecosystem announced a new energy bridge, the government launched new funding for AI in education, and the Labour party was reprimanded from the ICO for their data practices
All this and more below.
Scottish Business Confidence Second Highest in the UK
Business confidence in Scotland rose 13 points during August to 64% according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland.
Companies in Scotland reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 21 points at 66%.
When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up five points to 62%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 64%, beating out July’s figure of 51%.
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ONE, CodeBase, and Eagle Labs Launch Latest EnergyTech Bridge
The latest version of a programme which supports firms working at the intersection of the energy transition and digital tech innovation has been launched by Opportunity North East (ONE), in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs and CodeBase.
The EnergyTech Bridge Programme aims to support digital tech firms with entering new markets, scaling internationally, innovating with new products or services, and contributing to the transition towards cleaner, greener energy.
It’s now bringing together 27 tech businesses, as well as 22 north east-based companies—a record number for the EnergyTech Bridge.
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Gemini Can Generate Images of People Again After Controversy
Google has announced a rollout of new and upgraded features to its AI chatbot, Gemini, including better creative image generation capabilities, expanding language availability, and restoring the generation of images of people.
In February this year, Google came under fire after a flurry of posts on X allegedly showed the AI art generator neglecting to create art with white people, or generating what many classified as historically inaccurate or ‘overly diverse’ depictions of different people, with Google then pausing Gemini’s AI art generator altogether.
Some of the images that caused controversy included a Black Viking, an Asian Nazi soldier and a female Pope.
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DIGIT Expo
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Taking place on November 21st at Edinburgh's International Conference Centre, DIGIT Expo is the largest annual technology event in Scotland. Attendees will experience a packed conference programme featuring keynotes, interactive workshops, and panels, alongside an extensive exhibition hall and networking area.
Your Exclusive Guide to the 7th FinTech Scotland Festival
Before the latest FinTech Scotland Festival kicks off, which runs from the 25th of September to the 4th of October, DIGIT has created this detailed guide—giving you the complete lowdown of what’s happening during what’s to be another action-packed festival.
The seventh annual FinTech Scotland Festival offers an exciting array of bespoke conferences and events aiming to highlight, invigorate, and further the vibrant Scottish fintech ecosystem.
This year FinTech Scotland is offering a line-up of engaging events in partnership with Scotland’s leading tech news and events company DIGIT, who will headline the festival with two of our top yearly events.
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Labour Party Reprimanded by ICO Over Information Request Backlog
The Labour Party has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after repeatedly failing to respond to people who asked what personal information the party held on them.
Known as a subject access request (SAR), a backlog of this type of request developed after the Labour Party faced a cyber-attack in October 2021.
In total, the ICO received over 150 complaints regarding the Labour Party’s handling of SARs in the year from November 2021 to November 2022.
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