‘Fast tech’ warning as demand for cheap gadgets heats-up

Published

2 weeks ago

June 24, 2025

The Editors

Chris Vallance

Senior Technology Reporter

Getty Images An asian woman with red dyed hair wearing sunglasses holds a pink mini-fan

Demand for so-called “fast tech” – cheap electronic items often quickly binned or abandoned in drawers – is growing, a not-for-profit that works to reduce electronic waste has warned.

Material Focus singled out heatwave-fuelled demand for battery powered mini-fans as an example of the problem, suggesting over seven million were purchased last year.

Nearly £8m was spent on light-up toilet seats, mini karaoke machines and LED balloons, the group’s calculations also suggested.

Overall, consumer spending on fast tech has quadrupled to £11.6bn since 2023, surveys carried out for Material Focus suggested.

The boom could be as rapid as the growth in fast fashion with a “similar negative impact”, Professor Cathrine Jansson-Boyd wrote in the announcement of the findings.

Although fast tech can cost less than a pound, valuable materials can still be locked up in the cut-price gadgets.

A previous report by Material Focus looking at tech lurking in so-called “drawers of doom” suggested in total the junk could contain over 38,000 tonnes of copper.

The mining of materials used by tech gadgets can be environmentally damaging, and yet, experts say, such elements will be crucial as nations seek to transition to low carbon technologies.

Material Focus, whose board includes trade bodies representing manufacturers of domestic appliances, and lighting manufactures, argued that consumers needed to be more thoughtful,

“We had fast food, then fast fashion, now fast tech”, Scott Butler, the group’s executive director wrote.

He urged consumers to “think before you buy your latest fast tech item, and if you do really need it”.

Unwanted tech should always be recycled, Mr Butler argued. However, surveys carried out for the group suggest that over half of fast tech ends up in the bin or unused.

Repair and recycle

Joe Iles of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation which promotes the idea of a “circular economy” based on reuse and recycling said the charity believed the problem of fast tech could be fixed.

“It’s easy to think of these patterns of rapid use, disposal as inevitable, but they’re a recent symptom that has accelerated in the past 50 years or so”, he told the BBC.

There was already a booming market for some durable, reused, and refurbished electronics, he added.

And policy tools such as Right to Repair and Extended Producer Responsibility could encourage better design, as well as new practices in collection, repair, and resale, he said.

Others highlight how goods need to be manufactured in a way that helps consumers make sustainable choices.

Laura Burley, plastics campaign lead at Greenpeace UK told the BBC that the combination of plastic and electrical components made fast tech “a toxic cocktail that is very hard to recycle”.

The fact that so much cheap tech is not built to be repaired or to last exacerbated the problem she said.

When plastic and electronic waste is thrown away it often ends up being dumped on poorer countries.

The solution was “a circular economy where producers are responsible for the full life cycle of their products, and incentivised to make them easier to repair”.

Consumers could help by not buying fast tech – “manual fans or an open window work just as well” she noted.

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Ascendion Wins Gold as the Artificial Intelligence Service Provider of the Year in 2025 Globee® Awards

Published

12 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

The Editors

Awarded Gold for excellence in real-world AI implementation and measurable enterprise outcomes
Recognized for agentic AI innovation through ASCENDION AAVA platform, accelerating software delivery and unlocking business value at scale
Validated as a category leader in operationalizing AI across enterprise ecosystems—from generative and ethical AI to machine learning and NLP—delivering productivity, transparency, and transformation

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ascendion, a leader in AI-powered software engineering, has been awarded Gold as the Artificial Intelligence Service Provider of the Year in the 2025 Globee® Awards for Artificial Intelligence. This prestigious honor recognizes Ascendion’s bold leadership in delivering practical, enterprise-grade AI solutions that drive measurable business outcomes across industries.

Ascendion Wins Gold as the Artificial Intelligence Service Provider of the year in 2025 Globee® Awards

The Globee® Awards for Artificial Intelligence celebrate breakthrough achievements across the full spectrum of AI technologies including machine learning, natural language processing, generative AI, and ethical AI. Winners are recognized for setting new standards in transforming industries, enhancing user experiences, and solving real-world problems with artificial intelligence (AI).

“This recognition validates more than our AI capabilities. It confirms the bold vision that drives Ascendion,” said Karthik Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Ascendion. “We’ve been engineering the future with AI long before it became a buzzword. Today, our clients aren’t chasing trends; they’re building what’s next with us. This award proves that when you combine powerful AI platforms, cutting-edge technology, and the relentless pursuit of meaningful outcomes, transformation moves from promise to fact. That’s Engineering to the Power of AI in action.”

Ascendion earned this recognition by driving real-world impact with its ASCENDION AAVA platform and agentic AI capabilities, transforming enterprise software development and delivery. This strategic approach enables clients to modernize engineering workflows, reduce technical debt, increase transparency, and rapidly turn AI innovation into scalable, market-ready solutions. Across industries like banking and financial services, healthcare and life sciences, retail and consumer goods, high-tech, and more, Ascendion is committed to helping clients move beyond experimentation to build AI-first systems that deliver real results.

“The 2025 winners reflect the innovation and forward-thinking mindset needed to lead in AI today,” said San Madan, President of the Globee® Awards. “With organizations across the globe engaging in data-driven evaluations, this recognition truly reflects broad industry endorsement and validation.”

About Ascendion

Ascendion is a leading provider of AI-powered software engineering solutions that help businesses innovate faster, smarter, and with greater impact. We partner with over 400 Global 2000 clients across North America, APAC, and Europe to tackle complex challenges in applied AI, cloud, data, experience design, and workforce transformation. Powered by +11,000 experts, a bold culture, and our proprietary Engineering to the Power of AI (EngineeringAI) approach, we deliver outcomes that build trust, unlock value, and accelerate growth. Headquartered in New Jersey, with 40+ global offices, Ascendion combines scale, agility, and ingenuity to engineer what’s next. Learn more at https://ascendion.com.

Engineering to the Power of AI™, AAVA™, EngineeringAI, Engineering to Elevate Life™, DataAI, ExperienceAI, Platform EngineeringAI, Product EngineeringAI, and Quality EngineeringAI are trademarks or service marks of Ascendion®. AAVA™ is pending registration. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

About the Globee® Awards
The Globee® Awards present recognition in ten programs and competitions, including the Globee® Awards for Achievement, Globee® Awards for Artificial Intelligence, Globee® Awards for Business, Globee® Awards for Excellence, Globee® Awards for Cybersecurity, Globee® Awards for Disruptors, Globee® Awards for Impact. Globee® Awards for Innovation (also known as Golden Bridge Awards®), Globee® Awards for Leadership, and the Globee® Awards for Technology. To learn more about the Globee Awards, please visit the website: https://globeeawards.com.

SOURCE Ascendion

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AI Insights

Overcoming the Traps that Prevent Growth in Uncertain Times

Published

39 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

Rachel DuRose

An executive’s guide on developing a momentum-building game plan when the future is foggy. by Rachel DuRose

July 7, 2025

Today, with uncertainty a seemingly permanent condition, executives need to weave adaptability, resilience, and clarity into their operating plans. The best executives will implement strategies that don’t just sustain their businesses; they enable growth.

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AI Insights

AI-driven CDR: The shield against modern cloud threats

Published

1 hour ago

July 7, 2025

The Editors

Cloud computing is the backbone of modern enterprise innovation, but with speed and scalability comes a growing storm of cyber threats. Cloud adoption continues to skyrocket. In fact, by 2028, cloud-native platforms will serve as the foundation for more than 95% of new digital initiatives. The traditional perimeter has all but disappeared. The result? A significantly expanded attack surface and a growing volume of threats targeting cloud workloads.

Studies tell us that 80% of security exposures now originate in the cloud, and threats targeting cloud environments have recently increased by 66%, underscoring the urgency for security strategies purpose-built for this environment. The reality for organizations is stark. Legacy tools designed for static, on-premises architectures can’t keep up. What’s needed is a new approach—one that’s intelligent, automated, and cloud-native. Enter AI-driven cloud detection and response (CDR).

Why legacy tools fall short

Traditional security approaches leave organizations exposed. Posture management has been the foundation of cloud security, helping teams identify misconfigurations and enforce compliance. Security risks, however, don’t stop at misconfigurations or vulnerabilities.

Limited visibility: Cloud assets are ephemeral, spinning up and down in seconds. Legacy tools lack the telemetry and agility to provide continuous, real-time visibility.
Operational silos: Disconnected cloud and SOC operations create blind spots and slow incident response.
Manual burden: Analysts are drowning in alerts. Manual triage can’t scale with the velocity and complexity of cloud-native threats.
Delayed response: In today’s landscape, every second counts. 60% of organizations take longer than four days to resolve cloud security issues.

The AI-powered CDR advantage

AI-powered CDR solves these challenges by combining the speed of automation with the intelligence of machine learning—offering CISOs a modern, proactive defense. Organizations need more than static posture security. They need real-time prevention.

Real-time threat prevention detection: AI engines analyze vast volumes of telemetry in real time—logs, flow data, behavior analytics. The full context this provides enables the detection and prevention of threats as they unfold. Organizations with AI-enhanced detection reduced breach lifecycle times by more than 100 days.

Unified security operations: CDR solutions bridge the gap between cloud and SOC teams by centralizing detection and response across environments, which eliminates redundant tooling and fosters collaboration, both essential when dealing with fast-moving incidents.

Context-rich insights: Modern CDR solutions deliver actionable insights enriched with context—identifying not just the issue, but why the issue matters. It empowers teams to prioritize effectively, slashing false positives and accelerating triage.

Intelligent automation: From context enrichment to auto-containment of compromised workloads, AI-enabled automation reduces the manual load on analysts and improves response rates.

The path forward

Organizations face unprecedented pressure to secure fast-changing cloud environments without slowing innovation. Relying on outdated security stacks is no longer viable. Cortex Cloud CDR from Palo Alto Networks delivers the speed, context, and intelligence required to defend against the evolving threat landscape. With over 10,000 detectors and 2,600+ machine learning models, Cortex Cloud CDR identifies and prevents high-risk threats with precision.

It’s time to shift from reactive defense to proactive protection. AI-driven CDR isn’t just another tool—it’s the cornerstone of modern cloud security strategy. And for CISOs, it’s the shield your organization needs to stay resilient in the face of tomorrow’s threats.

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