Noel Sharkey

Noel Sharkey is Professor of AI and Robotics at the University of Sheffield and a former judge on TV show Robot Wars.

Thursday

Noel Sharkey

The nightmare: Boris’s battles are just beginning

From our UK edition

28 min listen

In this week’s podcast, ITV's political editor Robert Peston joins The Spectator's deputy political editor Katy Balls to talk over this week’s cover story, on the maelstrom of mayhem surrounding Boris Johnson. (1:29) With the recent exit of Johnson’s oldest advisor, Lord Udny-Lister, from Downing Street, the rumbling row over what Boris did or didn’t say in earshot of Cabinet staff, chatty rats and John Lewis - all in all, it hasn’t been a vintage week for Boris Johnson.

Noel Sharkey

The age of cyber warfare is a threat to us all

From our UK edition

In his recent State of the Nation address, Vladimir Putin said that if challenged by another state, Russia’s response would be swift, harsh and ‘asymmetrical’. An unusual word, but anyone who has been paying attention to the developments in cyber warfare will know what he means. Despite Russia pulling back more than 100,000 soldiers positioned on the Ukrainian border, British troops will shortly join Ukrainian counterparts to prepare for any misadventures from the Kremlin. And if a conflict were to escalate, the action may not be limited to faraway battlefields. It might involve cyberattacks, which would hit us at home. This, too, is a threat the Ministry of Defence seeks to prevent.