Latest news with #CAGE
Spectator
2 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Watch: Pro-Palestine mob in Leicester chant ‘death to the IDF'
Pro-Palestine demonstrators on the streets of Britain have been led in a chant of 'Death, death to the IDF' – in a sick imitation of punk duo Bob Vylan's performance at Glastonbury. Protestors who gathered in Leicester on Sunday shouted the slogan during a speech by controversial activist and ex-Guantanamo inmate Moazzam Begg. Begg, now a director at CAGE, told the crowd: 'One of the beautiful chants you made today was death to Zionism…You know yesterday at Glastonbury what was said? Shall I say the words? Death, death to the IDF'. He went on to tell activists that 'Israel itself is a war crime' before ending his speech by leading the crowd in a chant of: 'Free, free Palestine'. The video of Begg's address, which was released on the 5Pillars X account, showed a protestor in the background wearing a balaclava. Several hundred people took part in the demonstration.
Belfast Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
The AI Collaboration Centre: leading the way amid the emergence of world-changing tech
And what's happening at the AI Collaboration Centre (AICC) is only the beginning of what's to come in the years ahead. The AICC is the first of its kind here – an ambitious venture helping to teach, inform and support companies and individuals, lead in engagement and future government policy, as well as develop a wider eco-system in Northern Ireland. It's a £16.3m initiative led by Ulster University, in partnership with Queen's University Belfast backed by Invest NI and the Department for the Economy. The focus is on bridging the gap between AI research and practical business needs, especially for SMEs who may lack in-house expertise, as well as teaching others, fixing skills shortages, and tackling areas such as a lack of trust, fear of complexity, and cost of entry. At the Centre's helm is tech visionary David Crozier CBE – an Ulster University graduate with serious credentials. A former chief executive of Software NI, David subsequently spent more than a decade driving strategic partnerships at Queen's University Belfast's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) and its Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT). 'Our team is currently 16-strong, with more roles in the pipeline, and is spread out across Ulster University's Belfast and Derry~Londonderry campuses, as well as on the Malone Road at Queen's University Belfast,' he says. One of the organisation's core mandates is to drive AI adoption across Northern Ireland's SMEs, spanning all sectors, to help them adopt AI into their businesses. 'It's about the democratisation of AI and getting access to AI tools and technologies for SMEs here,' David says. The first step for companies is to register an expression of interest, before being chosen by the AICC and onboarded. 'We have a light touch engagement framework that covers a non-disclosure agreement, an IP clause and a statement of work,' David says. 'From there, we work closely with each company to understand their pain points and explore how AI tools can be trialled to deliver targeted solutions,' he says. 'Once the challenges are defined, the AICC builds out a tailored statement of work and enters a phase of active engagement, supporting the business as the AI technologies are tested and refined. 'The team uses its new Core Assessment of Governance and Ethics (CAGE) framework to ensure AI is applied responsibly and in line with regulations such as GDPR – reinforcing trust, transparency, and fairness from the outset.' The AICC is now actively working on almost 40 projects with firms from across the sectors, utilising a range of technologies from global software providers – such as Microsoft and AWS. 'We are getting a whole variety of different use cases coming through the door, for example, a construction firm looking to use AI to be more efficient around its route planning for deliveries,' David says. The AICC provides 20 days of support for one-to-one consultations, potential development of proof of concepts and matchmaking with data scientists and applied researchers. And it's also delivering almost 400 postgraduate scholarships, over the next five years. But aside from the direct company engagement and postgraduate education, it's also offering professional short courses to over 3,000 individuals within industry, as well as hosting hands-on workshops across Northern Ireland. The use of AI is referenced to play a key part of our future as part of Stormont's Programme for Government, especially looking towards strategic regional investment. And part of the AICC's role will be to engage and inform our policymakers around the ever-evolving role of AI in our society, and how it can be a boon for many of us. And for David, a key to Northern Ireland's AI future is ensuring we have sufficient training and skills to deal with the emerging technologies around us. 'The demand for skills is there and there are many examples of where AI can demonstrably improve productivity and efficiency,' he says. 'So, it's important that we share that knowledge and expertise.' David says, while image generators and similar popular AI models push the technology into the mainstream consciousness, the possibilities are considerably more complex and useful. 'Simple content creation and image generation is really only scratching the surface,' he says. 'It can be about embedding technologies into workflows, assisting in productivity, automation, and things like agentic AI, which could help an organisation augment its human resources.' By the end of the five-year programme, the AICC will have delivered around 250 proof-of-concept projects with SMEs – each offering valuable insight into how AI can be practically applied across different sectors. While some solutions will address common challenges, many will be tailored to unique business needs, creating a rich bank of knowledge, case studies, and tested products that can be shared to accelerate wider adoption and build AI confidence across the SME community. Looking ahead, the AICC is aiming to become a catalyst for innovation in Northern Ireland's economy and position Northern Ireland as a global leader in responsible, human-centred AI. 'We are clearly at the top of a hype cycle with AI and there is a lot of interest out there. 'What we're seeing through these early projects are practical and measurable applications of AI. 'We're already capturing clear evidence of improved productivity and operational efficiency – proof that AI, when applied with purpose, can deliver significant value for our SMEs.'
