A high-end, glossy magazine published bi-monthly, Cambridge Catalyst features profiles on high-flying local start-ups and entrepreneurs, opinion pieces, interviews and news from the fizzing Cambridge tech cluster, plus premium lifestyle content including motoring, fashion and travel.
ON T H E P U L S E O F T H E C I T Y ’ S BU S I NE S S C OMMUN I T Y
What’s now and what’s next for artificial intelligence in the Cambridge Cluster & beyond
CONTENTS
04 NEWS & EVENTS
News and events, including details on Cambridge Cleantech's Venture Day.
08 AI SPECIAL
Leading local AI firms consider the challenges facing those working in artificial intelligence. 17 ADDRESSING BIASES IN DATASETS John Cassidy of Cambridge Cancer Genomics looks at the role of AI in healthcare. 18 A NEW AI COMMUNITY Belle Taylor discusses the new network she's building for AI companies in the city. 20 SURE YOU WANT TO POST IT? Dr Marcus Tomalin looks at using AI to combat hate speech online. 22 INVEST IN THE ECOSYSTEM Anna Lawlor shows you how to get a slice of the booming Cambridge economy. 27 PITCH PERFECT Local start-ups give us their pitch. Up this month, Cambridge Carbon Capture. 28 THE BIG 3 Greg Law, CEO of Undo, on the people who've been integral to his success. 30 INNOVATION: THE FUTURE OF FOOD The director of Agri-Tech East discusses how digital mapping is revolutionising farming. 32 TECH BYTES The latest news from the fizzing Cambridge Cluster. 36 SPACE EXPLORATION We explore business spaces in the area, from co-working hubs to conference venues. 40 DOING GOOD & DOING WELL The Cambridge social ventures making an impact. 47 AGAINST THE GRAIN We find out the story behind Grain Culture, the Ely bakery everyone's talking about.
With tech giants flocking to Cambridge to develop their machine learning capabilities and cutting-edge artificial intelligence start-ups surfacing here almost weekly, our city is establishing itself as a globally recognised AI capital. But as companies and investors race to harness its mind-boggling potential and artificial intelligence becomes ever-more embedded in our daily lives, should we be worried? Many of us are, according to research highlighted in Has AI Got An Image Problem? (page 8), which explores commonly held fears about AI bias, ethics and most alarmingly, the potential for superintelligent machines to take over and make slaves of us all (thanks for that one, sci-fi). This feature, along with other AI focused articles in this issue, will draw on expert insight from movers and shakers of the Cambridge AI scene to delve into the misconceptions, challenges and opportunities presenting themselves in the world of machine learning. One Cambridge academic taking a positive view on AI’s applications is Dr Marcus Tomalin, who looks at how artificial intelligence could be the key to tackling online hate speech. Amid growing concerns about the psychological and societal harm this kind of abusive digital content can cause, he investigates how AI-powered quarantining of content may hold the solution on page 20. We’ve also got a look at the role of AI in healthcare over on page 17, where Cambridge Cancer Genomics CEO John Cassidy discusses his company’s revolutionary AI precision oncology. Then, on page 18, we learn about Camb.ai, a new network for artificial intelligence companies in the city. With a goal of creating on and offline spaces where Cambridge’s ever-growing number of AI firms and entrepreneurs can meet, learn and collaborate, it’s about bringing the community in the city together and pushing it forward, says founder Belle Taylor. Elsewhere in this issue, we continue our guide to investing in the Cambridge economy, offering pro tips on getting a piece of the commercial property market (page 22), plus get the lowdown on Cambridge Carbon Capture in Pitch Perfect on page 27. Enjoy the issue and keep an eye out for number 5, out in January.
NICOLA FOLEY EDITOR IN CHIEF
EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Nicola Foley 01223 499459 nicolafoley@bright-publishing.com CHIEF SUB EDITOR Beth Fletcher SENIOR SUB EDITOR Siobhan Godwood SUB EDITOR Felicity Evans JUNIOR SUB EDITOR Elisha Young ADVERTISING AD MANAGER Sam Scott-Smith 01223 499457 samscott-smith@bright-publishing.com AD SALES MANAGER Ed Grundy 01223 499463 edgrundy@bright-publishing.com MANAGING DIRECTORS Andy Brogden & Matt Pluck 01223 499450
CONTRIBUTORS Anna Lawlor, Matthew Gooding, John Cassidy, Belle Taylor, Marcus Tomalin, Greg Law, Belinda Clarke, Charlotte Griffiths
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52 A CATALYST CHRISTMAS
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Blitz your Christmas shopping at these interesting and innovative Cambridge shops
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What's on this month, plus we pay a visit to The White House hotel in north Norfolk.
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The latest events and developments in the world of Cambridge business, innovation, start-ups and networking
Need a quiet place to park up with your laptop for a few hours? The Grafton has revealed a new space, Discover, which is equipped with power points, desks, free Wi-Fi and a handy location next to a coffee shop for when you need a caffeination break. There’s no need to book, it’s free, and it’s open to the whole community. Discover at The Grafton
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NEWS
SVC2UK is geared towards connecting the best of San Francisco’s tech hub to the UK, showcasing the businesses using technology to change the way we live, work and play for the better. This year’s event, running 18 to 20 November, will offer a special focus on exploring how emerging financial inclusion, healthtech, edtech, cybertech and spacetech are changing the world now and will in the future, keeping a continued focus on how artificial intelligence and machine learning push the boundaries of humanity. Events will take place in Oxford, London and Cambridge, designed to provide practical information for students, entrepreneurs and established
business leaders, as well as fostering important discussions around tech innovations and their implications. On the 18th at Trinity College, check out the Cambridge Masterclass, which is focused on building a business, considering the key ingredients for turning an idea into a product, taking it to market and scaling, hosted by Silicon Valley experts. The same day, the Cambridge University Union will host Cambridge Thought Leadership, with a variety of keynote speakers from Silicon Valley and UK ecosystems who will debate whether technology has the right to influence our personal choices – and whether it has started to overstep the mark. svc2uk.com
Artificial intelligence and machine learning push the boundaries of humanity"
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NEWS
A programme of talks, round tables, pitches and a networking lunch to support university-industry collaborations in the creative sector is planned for 19 November at Creative Cambridge. Geared towards sparking conversations between researchers and industry experts, this free, one-day event will highlight work by some of the top academics in the humanities, social sciences and technology, address challenges and identify opportunities. Attendees will hear from speakers including erstwhile Cambridge MP and current director of Jesus College’s Intellectual forum, Julian Huppert, as well as Rachel Drury, co-creator and director of Collusion Cambridge, a not-for-profit company that creates ambitious, interactive public artworks that consider the impact of emerging technology on society. Also on the programme is Dr Jan Storgard, project director at Reactor, a regional development scheme led by Anglia Ruskin University to support SMEs in growing their business through the use of applied games, and Dr Chris Doran, ‘entrepreneur in residence’ at Cambridge Enterprise. In addition, there will be quick pitches, informal case studies from new university ventures, collaborative projects and start-ups, and guidance on how the university can facilitate R&D collaborations. Register your interest via Eventbrite. Creative Cambridge
Cambridge Cleantech is inviting applications for its pitching and investment event, Cleantech Venture Day, due to be held 11-12 February. Established in 2006, this prestigious event has seen more than 220 business pitches since its inception, and enabled investment of as much as €600 million. “In today’s climate, with a rising need for environmental change, it becomes more and more important for Cleantech companies to expand and grow, so that their positive impact will be even greater”, says Martin Garratt, CEO of Cambridge Cleantech. “We aim to achieve that by connecting investors and SMEs at Cleantech Venture Day.”
On the day, 24 cleantech innovators will get the chance to present their pitches to an audience of investors from across Europe, with the most inspiring and investment-ready selected. It’s a great opportunity for SMEs in the sector to secure funding, as well as for experienced fund managers, business angels and corporate investors eager to invest in innovative and disruptive cleantech companies. Head along to listen to pitches, meet investors, network and hear talks about the latest trends and innovations in cleantech. Applications to pitch close on 15 November. cleantechday.com
Transformative Leadership workshop
Guest speakers Kim Wedral-Rooke (partner, Taylor Vinters), Rakhi Rajani (associate partner, QuantumBlack) and Anne Boisier- Fouché (Shine For Women) lead a workshop at Judge Business School on 21 November focusing on creating a great team that can power your business forward. It begins with an interactive session that challenges the stereotypical image of a leader, exploring how you can influence others and create impact.
International employment law expert Kim Wedral-Rooke will look at people-strategy considerations to support scaling up your business, and Rakhi Rajani will follow up with a talk on innovative methods for building and leading teams. This event is part of EnterpriseWOMEN, a CJBS programme geared towards women leaders and entrepreneurs who are starting or scaling businesses. jbs.cam.ac.uk
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
For small businesses, the benefits of a virtual office can be game-changing
or freelancers, self-employed people or start-ups, hiring an additional person full-
time to tend to jobs like managing correspondence and customer service isn’t always viable. But with a virtual office, even when you're not available, customers can reach you. Your mail is taken care of and calls are answered in your company name by a professional receptionist. A virtual office can also provide home-based and small companies with an address in a prime location, lending a feel of credibility and professionalism. Mantle Business Centres has premises in Stansted, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Duxford, Stevenage and, coming soon, Oxfordshire, and offers a full suite of virtual office services. The company answers 60,000 client phone calls annually, keeping things ticking over for customers while they travel, work from home and get on with growing their businesses. When you purchase virtual office services with Mantle, you pay a monthly fee to use the centre address as your own or, if you prefer, you can register at multiple centres, which enables your brand to have a presence in a number of locations. Prices start £45+VAT per month, £75+VAT per month for professional call answering (by an in-house team,
not a call centre) or you can get the whole lot for £99+VAT. For an affordable amount, these services can really help a business thrive and show the company in a positive light. As an added bonus, customers also get access to flexible, physical workspaces in a number of locations, whether you need a short- term working space, a private office for a couple of hours, a hot desk for a day or a cost-effective desk in a shared office, Mantle has a co-working option that is perfect for you. If you work from home, it’s an opportunity to get out of the house and work in a collaborative environment to help boost productivity: everything you need is provided, from a kitchen with tea- and coffee-making facilities to high-speed broadband.
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IMAGES Mantle Business
Centres at Stevenage (above) and Duxford (below left)
Get in touch to discuss how Mantle Business Centres can help you meet your business requirements, as well as your future plans. mantlebusinesscentres.co.uk 0333 00 66 330
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AI SPECIAL
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AI SPECIAL
While artificial intelligence has the potential to bring about massive positive changes in society, the emergence of powerful and complex algorithms is not without its drawbacks. Here, Matthew Gooding talks to four experts to discuss the challenges facing those working in this field
ambridge is awash with artificial intelligence companies. Barely a week goes by without a start-up announcing it will use machine learning to revolutionise a hitherto untouched area of our lives. But while entrepreneurs and investors have rushed to embrace the potential of machine learning, with over £800m of funding received by British AI businesses in the first six months of 2019 alone, consumers are not so sure. Research from the Edelman Centre of AI Expertise, commissioned earlier this year in conjunction with the World Economic Forum, found that 54% of the general public believe AI
development will hurt the poor, while 71% are concerned it will lead to a loss of human intelligence. Meanwhile, 60% of those polled feel greater regulation is critical to AI’s continued safe development. Like many emerging technologies, AI faces a battle to convince people that its benefits outweigh its drawbacks, and the depictions of powerful and rogue AIs often found in popular culture add another level of confusion. Here, four leading lights from the Cambridge AI scene tell Cambridge Catalyst about some of the misconceptions and challenges facing their industries.
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HEALTH SPECIAL AI
LEFT Mohamed Elmasry, CEO of Tactful AI
A machine will always lack the human capacity to know everything, and be limited by the information you give it"
COULD AI ENSLAVE HUMANS? “It’s very difficult to build something that’s completely flawless,” says Tactful AI’s CEO Mohamed Elmasry, when I ask him if there’ll ever be an artificial intelligence that can rule the world. And after “15 to 20 years” working in the industry, he should know. “No one was calling it AI when I started,” he recalls. “We were talking about things like neural networks. The first projects I worked on were about controlling motors or small power stations, trying to get them to think like humans so they’d know when to speed up or slow down.” This kind of relatively rudimentary task is a long way from the all- conquering computers depicted in films like Terminator and The Matrix , and despite the hype, Mohamed
of different software, a new type of programming. With the current technologies, I can’t see a path to that. “For an AI to work properly you have to put in a lot of effort to train it, and because of this it’s good for specific processes. But a machine will always lack the human capacity to know everything, and be limited by the information you give it – an AI can’t build something by itself. The standard of machine-to-machine communication you would need doesn’t exist, either.” Though his background is in hardware and Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Mohamed’s day-to-day work at Tactful is now software focused. The company has built an AI system which helps businesses improve their engagement with clients. “We’re trying to transform customer care,” he says. “We work with engagement teams to provide them with relevant information while they’re dealing with customers. Our platform uses natural language
processing to follow what’s happening in a conversation between the end user and the customer care team, and provides specific pieces of relevant information. So if someone is asking for a phone upgrade, for example, the system will check their account for previous contracts and upgrades they’re eligible for and provide the agent with the information they need to advise the customer. “This helps the company offer a more efficient and personalised service, and improves customer satisfaction and engagement.” Tactful started life in 2016 as an IoT business, but pivoted to its current product last year after Mohamed and his co-founders spotted a gap in the market. Its product is already in the hands of customers around the world, and last month the company agreed a deal with two major hotels in Saudi Arabia, Makkah Clock Royal Tower and Raffles Makkah Palace, which will use Tactful systems to help their guests. tactful.ai
expects this kind of general AI to remain firmly in the realm of science fiction.
“You would need a lot of changes in the way computers work,” he says. “Different hardware, layers and layers
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AI SPECIAL
IS AI BIASED? Examples of AI reinforcing social biases are myriad, including an infamous occasion when a Google image recognition algorithm classified black people as gorillas. “Bias is a really important problem in AI,” says Libby Kinsey, a machine learning specialist and advisor at Iprova, the Cambridge company which uses AI to help companies develop new inventions. “It occurs when people make generalised claims which aren’t backed up by sufficient data, or data which has been wrongly applied to all user groups. “But we’re all a bit biased, and I think these cases shine a light on problematic areas for humans in general. In the industry we’re starting to see a move away from the old Facebook mantra of ‘move fast and break things’ – people are becoming more conscious about how they use data and there’s a lot of work going on around establishing good practice.” Iprova’s team of invention developers (surely a candidate for the world’s best job title?) uses AI to
find the most promising opportunities. Our system helps them to make those connections.” Libby’s background is in venture capital, but she retrained in machine learning after seeing a rapid rise in opportunities in the sector. “When I tell people I work in AI, reactions tend to fall into the extreme positive or extreme negative category,” she says. “One of the most common fears is around loss of jobs, but I think machine learning has the potential to transform roles, rather than replace them, because it’s good at doing the routine, boring tasks that humans find difficult. “There was a time, around 2014 to 2016, where people were simply saying, ‘there’s AI, what can we do with it?’. Now I think people are becoming more aware of what it can do and thinking more about how it can be translated into value for businesses.” Iprova is based at the Bradfield Centre on Cambridge Science Park, and is currently hiring across a range of roles. iprova.com
LEFT LibbyKinsey, amachine learning specialist and advisorat Iprova, withcolleagues
generate potential game-changing inventions based on parameters set by its clients, which include global big names such as Philips and Panasonic. By using algorithms to search and cross-reference breakthroughs in relevant areas, the company says it can dramatically cut product development times. “We use AI to augment human innovation,” Libby says. “Invention teams within companies often become top experts in a particular area, but this sometimes makes it difficult for them to scan around and
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AI SPECIAL
IS AI UNETHICAL? Andrea Pierleoni and his team at Healx use AI to come up with potential new treatments for patients with rare diseases. Despite this being an obviously positive application of machine learning, he is acutely aware of the need for AI to develop in an ethical way. “We’re in a bit of a bubble in Cambridge, so people around here understand what we’re doing, and the area in which we work is something everyone can benefit from,” he says. “Other areas cause more concern; AI is basically a set of very powerful tools, and can be used for good or bad. The negative perceptions around it arise because there’s always a lot more noise around bad things. But AI also has the potential to make major improvements to our lives. As with everything that’s powerful, it needs to be used correctly, which is why ethics are really important. Ethics start with researchers, they have to consider the implications of what they’re working on, and whether they will necessarily be positive. “A good example is a model developed by Open AI, which had the potential to generate realistic fake news
AI is basically a set of very powerful tools, and can be used for good or bad"
which it will use to develop its drug pipeline and to launch a global Rare Treatment Accelerator programme, which will help it connect with more rare disease communities. “We work with drugs that are already approved, and I lead a team of people whose job it is to make the sense of all the information that we can digest around these drugs,” Andrea says. “We use natural language processing to understand texts, looking at publications and other relevant documents, then extract the information and put it together. This is then used to make predictions about which drug may work for a type of condition. “We’re giving patients with rare diseases access to medication where they might otherwise have nothing.” healx.io
LEFT Andrea Pierleoni,headof AIatHealx
reports if it wasn’t used in the right way. They decided to only release part of the model because they knew that part could have very good effects.” Andrea is head of AI at Healx, which was co-founded in 2014 by CEO Dr Tim Guilliams and Dr David Brown, the co-inventor of Viagra. The company aims to advance 100 rare disease treatments towards the clinic by 2025 using Healnet, its AI platform, which delivers data-driven treatment predictions that can shorten the discovery-to-clinic timeline to as little as 24 months. The company recently raised $56m in Series B financing
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AI SPECIAL
DOESN'T AI NEED A LOT OF DATA? Artificial intelligence and big data often go hand-in-hand, but generating the kind of enormous datasets required to train an algorithm can come at a big financial and environmental cost. This is why Cambridge’s Prowler.io is doing things differently, working with what CEO Vishal Chatrath describes as “small data” to create its novel AI decision-making platform. “Machine learning relies on lots and lots of data points and lots of information, and for that you need a lot of sensors,” he says. “We don’t believe in this approach, it’s costly and involves putting a lot of plastic and silicon in the world, which isn’t that great from an environmental impact perspective. “Everyone talks about a future where we will need big data, but this is often driven by IT companies trying to sell server space, rather than what can add value for businesses.” While most AI companies base their systems on deep neural networks, algorithms that learn as they are fed more and more data, Prowler’s system uses Gaussian theory, a type of probabilistic modelling that requires a lot less information. Prowler's trick has been to apply this theory at scale, something previously thought to be impractical, so that its AI can help the company’s clients, working in industries such as financial services and logistics, make smarter decisions around their processes and supply chains. Vishal believes moving away from the big data model can help smaller businesses embrace the positive impact of AI. “Companies of all sizes should be able to benefit from AI,” he says. “People do think it’s just for the big corporates, but that all stems from this idea that you need lots of data and it’s going to be expensive.”
Everyone talks about a future where we will need big data, but this is often driven by IT companies trying to sell server space"
ABOVE Prowler CEO Vishal Chatrath
Prowler has enjoyed a stellar 2019, securing additional investment and major new clients. And while Vishal believes more and more people are opening their eyes to the potential of AI, he is aware that the industry still has some work to do on its image. “I think one of the biggest problems is around expectations and the hype that comes with AI, because if you build up expectations and then don’t meet them, you get into difficulties," he says. “I think we’re now in a place where people are becoming more aware of the hype and having a healthy scepticism towards it. “When we go and talk to customers we just ask them about their problems and how we can solve them. We take the AI out of the customer’s world, because the method we use to solve their problem isn’t particularly relevant - whether we’re using a hammer, a spade, or an AI is a moot point.” prowler.io
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AI SPECIAL
John Cassidy, CEO of Cambridge Cancer Genomics (CCG.ai), considers the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare
manage to record a patient’s race, then perhaps clinical follow-up was less than robust. Indeed, most cases of ‘unknown race’ within our training set were from a single clinical centre in the USA. In cases like the above, identifying biases in our training sets through the use of interpretable machine learning models could have an unforeseen benefit: we could use them to correct human biases. The real danger comes when we use models with poor interpretability. If unchecked, AI could amplify and perpetuate biases that already exist in healthcare. But what if we were to use powerful black-box models in data sets without any bias? Aside from being a technical challenge, AI can be ‘brittle’. While a model trained on data from our best clinical centres may performwell in our best in a similar scenario, they may break when exposed to brand-new data. At CCG.ai, we are building software tools to enable AI-powered precision oncology for all patients, so it’s important to ensure that AI doesn’t perpetuate inequalities already present in healthcare. Therefore, we need to 1) uncover and reduce biases already present in our healthcare systems, and 2) ensure a wide variety of medical data sets are free for researchers to train from.
rtificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform healthcare as we know it. But will it make
patterns and connections in large and often apparently unconnected training data sets. While these could tell you that you are more likely to die of heart disease, for example, they are terrible at explaining the hidden logic between connections and distinguishing correlation from causation. In some ways this is a familiar concept in biomedical science – we still don’t understand how paracetamol works on the molecular level, for example. Doctors may be keen to deploy whatever tool is most effective, regardless of our deeper scientific understanding. For healthcare, this raises an interesting question: do we need to understand the reasons for our diagnosis or treatment regimen? Or is it enough to know they will work? More interpretable methods in machine learning may offer some assurances to regulators by at least attempting to define the most important features of a decision. Indeed, these methods often uncover hidden biases within data sets. In our work at CCG.ai, for example, we uncovered a signature correlated with poor response to chemotherapy for breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, one of the most important individual features identified to be associated with poor response was race. In this case, we did not uncover one of the deeper socio- economic issues in our healthcare system, in fact ‘unknown race’ was far more associated with relapse than any other label. We reasoned that if a hospital did not
healthcare fairer and more accessible for all, or will AI lead to a widening of healthcare disparities between the rich and the poor? AI, and in particular deep learning, excels at uncovering non-obvious connections in large data sets. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that healthcare professionals are excited about the possibilities of AI. In general, the aim is not to replace existing healthcare professionals, but to give them the tools they need to reduce mundane or repetitive tasks. With AI that can process thousands of images in minutes, a doctor’s time can be freed up to focus on providing experience- based judgements on difficult to diagnose ‘edge cases’. As our population ages and the burden on our healthcare systems increases, there is also a huge economic incentive to develop intelligent systems to improve healthcare efficiencies. For these reasons, it is not surprising that hardly a day goes by without a new announcement on how intelligent algorithms will soon be able to diagnose cancer, macular degeneration or heart disease better than many experts. However, as with all new technologies, there are limitations that need to be addressed. Perhaps the most glaring in healthcare are those of ‘black-box algorithms’. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), a specific type of deep learning, for example, excel at finding hidden
Identifying biases in our training sets through the use of interpretable machine learning models could have an unforeseen benefit: correcting human biases"
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AI SPECIAL
AN AI COMMUNITY FOR CAMBRIDGE
Belle Taylor, director of Camb.ai, introduces Cambridge's new artificial intelligence network, designed to connect and push forward the AI community in the city
amb.ai is a recently launched network to connect the AI community in Cambridge. But
and failed analysis techniques, or debating how to minimise biases in AI data sets: there are few problems in AI that someone else won’t have met in some capacity before. It is therefore in everyone’s interest to meet people beyond their immediate workspace. By forging more connections, people have access to more knowledge, resources and support. From that, who knows what great things will happen? While Cambridge does not lack cool AI events and initiatives, it is hard to keep on top of them without trawling websites and signing up to a million mailing lists. Camb.ai aims to be a central resource for local AI related events with our website, newsletter and social media highlighting AI events or workshops happening locally. This, we hope, makes finding and signing up to cool events – and meeting like-minded, interesting people in the process – that much easier. Additionally, Camb.ai runs its own programme of events. But, with the very real possibility of ‘event fatigue’, we try to ensure that they add to the conversation without overwhelming them happen! One of our most recent events, in partnership with World AI Week, brought together an eclectic panel – a science and tech journalist, an AI philosopher, a machine learning engineer, a doctor-turned-CSO and a decision-making researcher – to talk about the impact of AI in business and academia (this will be released as a it. We consult our members as to what events they’d like to attend, and then we do our best to make
does Cambridge really need a(nother) AI network? What do we hope it will achieve? And how do we hope people will get involved? There are so many exciting and interesting companies and people doing great things with AI in Cambridge, but they often don’t have a chance to talk to each other and share their experiences. The aim of Camb.ai is to create spaces — both on and offline — where people can meet, learn from and collaborate with other people in the AI community. Camb.ai is a not-for-profit initiative started by Cambridge Cancer Genomics (CCG.ai). As an AI start-up in Cambridge, CCG.ai benefits hugely from the vibrant tech and life science ecosystem locally. However, with the explosion of AI around us — including huge companies like Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, and much smaller start-ups operating out of labs and shared workspaces — we find that it is increasingly difficult to make meaningful connections with all our neighbours. AI is a field that benefits hugely from communication. Whether sharing new research, discussing successful
The aim of Camb.ai is to create spaces – both on and offline – where people can meet, learn from and collaborate with other people in the AI community"
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AI SPECIAL
RIGHT An event held recently at The Bradfield Centre by Camb.ai as part of World AI Week 2019
It is important to us that we are not competing with existing communities: rather, we are linking them together into one giant spiderweb of connections"
podcast via Science:Disrupt soon). In contrast, the next event was a Health and AI recruitment event! The hub of AI activity in Cambridge is so exciting! But, in an era of events and networks, it is important to us that we are not competing with existing communities: rather, we are linking them together into one giant spiderweb of connections. We believe that by strengthening the cross company/ people links within the area, we can raise awareness of all the great work occurring here and increase the collaborative spirit of the community. Camb.ai’s aims for our members are therefore quite simple: Develop professional skills and
Be a central resource for all AI related events in Cambridge. Our aims for Cambridge are: Connect people and companies to create and strengthen professional links in the area. Showcase Cambridge as a world AI hub in order to attract and retain AI talent. This is hopefully just the beginning of an exciting AI community in Cambridge. So, if you’re interested in AI in any capacity, we’d love to welcome you to Camb.ai! To get involved, check out our events listings online at camb.ai and subscribe to our Slack channel or mailing list for updates. We hope to meet you soon! To join the Camb.ai community and stay up to date with local events, request training, or discover recruitment opportunities, visit camb.ai/events
networks by creating spaces for people to meet, talk to and learn from others in the AI community.
ABOVE Belle Taylor is the founder and director of Camb.ai
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ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO POST IT? Dr Marcus Tomalin, senior research associate at the University of Cambridge's Machine Intelligence Laboratory, looks at using AI to combat hate speech online ILLUSTRATION BRUCE RICHARDSON
here are currently deep concerns about the psychological and societal harms caused by online hate speech. Published in June, a government report called the Online Harms White Paper recognised that “hateful content on digital platforms is a growing problem in the UK, inflicting harm on victims, creating and exacerbating social divisions, and eroding trust in host platforms”. But determining the scale and scope of hateful online content is not easy. Hate speech is defined as abusive or threatening language directed towards an individual (or group) who is targeted because of protected characteristics such as gender, race, religion and age. In many countries, victims of social hate speech can seek redress under existing laws. But online hate speech raises particular problems. Many of the offensive messages are posted anonymously, and some of them are generated by automated chatbots.
This topic is of particular contemporary relevance because language-based artificial intelligence (AI) systems are starting to determine with reasonable accuracy whether a given utterance constitutes hate speech or not. These emerging technologies present the possibility of handling the growing phenomenon of offensive online language in new ways. For instance, automated hate speech detection systems could enable the responsibility of dealing with harmful messages to be delegated to the users themselves, rather than to corporations or to governments. A specific example should clarify this. If someone with the username ‘White Dragon’ tried to post a blatantly homophobic message as a comment beneath a YouTube video, then the
At present, social media companies
generally deal with hate speech reactively on their platforms. An
already-offended user can report an offensive message, but it will only be removed if human moderators decide to uphold the complaint. In terms of protection, this is usually too little too late: the victim has already suffered; the damage has already been done. Keen to take a more proactive stance, Facebook recently chose to ban all overtly white nationalist material, having previously banned white supremacist content. While those decisions may well be positive and effective ones, it’s important to consider whether unelected corporations should be the self-appointed gatekeepers of censorship and free speech in our modern digital democracies.
These emerging technologies present the possibility of handling the growing phenomenon of offensive online language in new ways"
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It’s important to consider whether unelected corporations should be the self-appointed gatekeepers of censorship and free speech in our modern digital democracies"
offensive nature of the notification would be identified automatically, in real time, and the sender could receive a warning message:
protection would be beneficial, since the sender and the recipient may share offensive views that are not shared by other users. The basic approach summarised here is similar to quarantining methods that have been used since at least the 1980s to protect computers from malware. It is also similar to other protective measures that certain social media companies have introduced for images in recent months. As a method for countering the growing online hate speech problem, it acknowledges the traditional tensions between freedom of expression and appropriate censorship, and it tries to find an acceptable middle ground between the equally dubious extremes of entirely unregulated free speech and coercively authoritarian suppression. Quarantining, it seems, may need to become a more familiar part of our global digital ecosystem.
This may be homophobic hate speech. Are you sure you want to post it? No Yes
An interface like this would also enable the recipient to see who sent the message, but the content would remain undisclosed initially. In other words, the potentially harmful post would be temporarily quarantined, and the recipient would be able to decide whether to read it or not, and whether it should appear or not. And even if the recipient allowed the message to appear, the same warning could still be received by anyone else who happened to be reading through the posts. This additional level of
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Anna Lawlor, co-founder of Luminescence Communications, on the pros and cons of investing in commercial property
Direct or indirect? A crucial decision is whether to make your property investment directly or indirectly. A direct investment means either buying a property – its freehold or leasehold – and generating a return from a tenant or setting up a business there, or investing in a fund that does the same thing. An example of this would be M&G Real Estate, which recently purchased a warehouse development on Buckingway Business Park in Cambridge for £22m. An indirect investment includes investing in the shares of property companies, developers or housebuilders, or investing in a fund or real estate investment trust (known as a Reit) that targets the same opportunities, but can be traded similarly to shares (see issue 2 of Cambridge Catalyst for more on this). investments to be located might help make the direct or indirect decision. Investors don’t have any control about where a fund manager buys property for their fund but a direct investor can choose to home in on one location, such as Cambridge. That being said, as Philip Woolner, a managing partner at Cheffins in Location, location, location Where you want your property
ith Cambridge’s seemingly ever-buoyant property market attracting international
interest and the expansion of myriad property developments springing up, is commercial property the missing asset class in your investment portfolio? Commercial properties are premises that house the likes of shops, warehouses, offices, cafes, hotels, restaurants and pubs, and are usually owned by an individual, company or organisation that then rents them out to a tenant. The collection of this rent provides an income stream for the owner – as does any price rise if the building is ever sold – making it an attractive asset class to include in a portfolio. With UK commercial property investment volumes hitting £62.1bn in 2018, according to estate agent Savills, plenty of people seem to be doing it, too. While last year’s figure was 5.7% below that of 2017, it was comfortably above the three-year rolling average of £59.8bn, suggesting commercial property investors have largely regained their confidence after the shock they exhibited on the back of the EU referendum result. Snapping up a commercial property might sound ideal, but there is a lot to consider.
Commercial property investors have largely regained their confidence after the shock they exhibited on the back of the EU referendum result"
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Competitive Cambridge While a high-demand city is attractive to investors, it means intense competition for investable properties, reducing available real estate stock. Savills cites Cambridge as a city that has low office availability and limited choice for occupiers. This means valuers are applying higher rental value growth and above average increases in capital values; you pay higher prices for the same property stock, and profitability is squeezed. Philip Woolner says the competition to own property in the city is “quite intense, because the story of Cambridge is so good”. “Cambridge stands out for the growth potential everyone sees here as well as its sector-specific nature,” he says. “This is one of the places in the world where tech businesses want to come and set up their research and development (R&D) facilities.” This view is substantiated by the recent move
Cambridge warns, commercial property investment is “not for the uninitiated”. “If you don’t know what you are doing then you need to take good advice from a surveyor,” he says. “Freehold transactions are more straightforward, but some investments are long leaseholds. You need to look carefully at what the leaseholder interests are to ensure what you are buying is a good investment.” To reinforce the point, Woolner states that residential leasehold documents might be roughly three to four pages whereas a commercial lease would be a minimum of 35 pages – although often around 65 – and each one is usually different to the next. Other major considerations are the financial strength of your tenant and whether you believe they will remain in business for a long time. Just like with
While a high-demand city is attractive to investors, this means intense competition for investable properties, reducing available real estate stock"
from Chinese communications giant Huawei, which splashed out £37.5m on the 550-acre former Spicers site at Sawston. Large amounts of central Cambridge are owned by the university and its respective colleges: the combined property holdings of Oxbridge colleges were worth £3.5bn, while the universities collectively hold property investments worth £863m in 2018. Beyond this, strong demand means rents are being pushed ever higher, possibly reducing the pool of tenants
a residential let, if you don’t have a tenant, you still have to pay the mortgage (see box).
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who will be able to afford the monthly payments: prime sites in Cambridge are now demanding around £45 per square foot compared to between £20 to £25 a decade ago, according to city agents. More broadly, the city’s local plan, adopted in October 2018, predicts 44,000 jobs and 33,000 homes will be created by 2031. For smaller investors, therefore, investable opportunities may be more attractive outside the city. Philip Woolner suggests “looking where the chimney pots are going”, given that larger residential developments are likely to be accompanied by a surge in surrounding commercial property. Action required Just like any asset, care and attention is needed to achieve results in commercial property. A tenant is only going to want to pay the market rate if the building is of a good standard, which might require further investment from the owner post-purchase.
Care and attention is needed to achieve results in commercial property. A tenant is only going to want to pay the market rate if the building is of a good standard, whichmight require further investment from the owner post-purchase"
which type of tenant you want. Such a decision obviously has a huge impact on the building you invest in, given the needs of a retail or an industrial tenant, for instance, are very different. Analysing industry data is a useful way of deciding which sector to target. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) produces its Tenant Demand Indicator on a quarterly basis. This remained in negative territory for the fifth consecutive quarter in Q2 this year, but the retail sector was largely responsible for this, while tenant enquiries for industrial space “continued to rise smartly”. If possible, it would be sensible to diversify your
Attracting – and importantly keeping – a tenant is vital to the success of a commercial property investment, too. Not only does their rent pay the mortgage but a high-quality tenant could bolster the property’s capital value during an economic downturn. Given that Savills expects price appreciation to account for less than one third of total returns across UK property for 2019 to 2023, keeping tenants happy will be extremely important for any near-term property investment. Picking a side Before deciding how to keep your tenants happy, you need to identify
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Savills prime yields comparison
January 2018 December 2018 January 2019
West End offices
3.25%
3.5%
3.5%
City offices
4%
4%
4%
Offices M25
5%
5%
5%
Provincial offices
4.75% 4.75%
4.75%
High street retail
4%
4.5%
4.5%
Shopping centres
4.75% 5.25% 5.25%
Retail warehouse (open A1) Retail warehouse (restricted)
5%
6%
6%
5.25% 6.25% 6.25%
Foodstores (OMR)
4.5%
4.75%
4.75%
Industrial distribution (OMR)
4.5%
4.25% 4.25%
Industrial multi-lets
4.25%
4%
4%
Leisure parks
5%
5.5%
5.5%
Regional hotels
4.5%
4.25% 4.25%
Source: Savills Research
commercial property investments. Large institutions that invest in the sector will often have exposure to multiple areas. Cambridgeshire County Council, for instance, recently snapped up the 986-year leasehold of a Tesco site and industrial land in Peterborough for a combined £63m as part of its ambition to grow income from commercial property from 3% of its budget now to 15%within the next five years. If picking a winner seems overwhelming or the likelihood of raising the necessary finance is a tall order, online property investment marketplaces have made it possible to invest in mortgages. Companies such as Lendinvest allow individuals and institutions to invest in mortgages secured against UK properties. Such websites allow you to create a portfolio of property investments, providing the possibility of accessing several industries at once. Of course, just like more direct investments, the prices of the properties that these mortgages are secured against could fall and economic pressures could also stretch the finances of tenants, making it more likely they might negotiate for rent relief or even default on their lease.
Just like any investment, taking on a commercial property warrants serious consideration – and professional advice too – to help ensure you make the best use of your money. Experts also recommend investors have a well-diversified portfolio, which means a good mix of different asset classes such as equities, bonds, property and alternatives, such as energy. This is because it is less common for these asset classes to move in the same direction (increase/ decrease in value) simultaneously, giving a diverse portfolio a better chance of providing positive returns over the long term. RICS data shows that nationally, 53% of respondents to its survey view the commercial property market as in some stage of a downturn, with fear heightened in London due to Brexit uncertainty. Nonetheless, those in the market are expecting a ‘soft landing’ rather than a full-blown crisis at present, meaning it might be worth doing your homework on property investment.
Just like with a residential property, most individual investors are unlikely to have the necessary spare cash to buy a commercial property outright. This means a mortgage will be needed to complete a transaction. While notionally a residential and commercial mortgage are the same thing, lenders such as banks and building societies are likely to demand a bigger deposit for the latter. According to Cheffins partner Philip Woolner, commercial property borrowers are more likely to be offered two thirds to three quarters of the value of the property as a mortgage, unlike the more common 80 to 90% for residential property transactions. “Commercial property is seen as more of a specialist product and potentially more vulnerable to valuation swings,” he says. “The bank wants to know that you can service the loan.”
The author, Anna Lawlor, is co-founder of Luminescence Communications. Additional reporting by Bradley Gerrard
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