Nicole Kobie
Nicole Kobie first started writing for ITPro in 2007. As a freelance journalist covering technology and business, Nicole's work includes bylines in New Scientist, Wired, PC Pro and many more.
Nicole the author of a book about the history of technology, The Long History of the Future.
Latest articles by Nicole Kobie

Why cutting-edge innovation is killing the planet
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth AI and robots will do our work, we’ll get paid in cryptocurrency, and cars will drive themselves – but each of these technologies is a massive energy hog

Why 2024 won’t be the year of AR, VR or any kind of immersive tech
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Whether it’s Apple’s Vision Pro or Meta’s continued metaverse push, many predict we’re at the turning point for mixed reality, but there’s little evidence to show for that

Meet the CAVForth project: The world's first autonomous bus
By Nicole Kobie published
Case Study Edinburgh's AB1 route, in Scotland, lets the public catch a ride on an self-driving bus over the Forth Road Bridge. But is this really the future of public transit?

Innovation is harder than it looks – we should go easy on tech firms
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion From Google’s bungled generative Bard launch to Twitter’s ongoing troubles, we must remember the often-forgotten truth that innovation is slow and software is difficult to build

GPT-4 shouldn’t worry anybody – we just need to be better
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion Although generative AI tools like GPT-4 and ChatGPT have many industries worried, humans just need to find new ways to prove their worth

Stop worshipping CEOs – tech is a team sport
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion Tech leaders are showing themselves for who they are, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise

The Cookie Law is finally crumbling – good riddance
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion The stalest of all laws is getting an overhaul after years of menacing the web, and its end can’t come soon enough

How quantum computing can fight climate change
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Quantum computers could help unpick the challenges of climate change and offer solutions with real impact – but we can’t wait for their arrival

The best email sign-offs and 14 to avoid
By Nicole Kobie last updated
Opinion There are good ways and bad ways to sign-off from your emails. Here's everything you need to know to avoid a digital etiquette misstep

Smart contact lenses could kick AR into the mainstream
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Smart contact lenses will let you see directions, messages and data in the blink of an eye, leaving cumbersome headsets in the past

Social media engineers should stop copying TikTok
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion Instagram is foolish to mimic its rival instead of offering a calmer alternative better suited to its own users

No Wi-Fi is better than slow Wi-Fi
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion Struggling with internet connections isn’t worth the time, but it’s hard to resist the temptation when it’s just within reach

Fighting wildfires with sensors, AI and drones
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Wildfires are dangerous to battle, although machine learning predictions and sensor-based alerts could make fighting them safer and more successful

Mapping an entire country: Meet Singapore’s digital twin
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Digital twins are the future of urban planning – disclosing insights we could have once only dreamed of

We aren’t spending too much time on our smartphones, actually
By Nicole Kobie published
Opinion The web is stuffed with articles making us feel guilty about staring at our phones, but five hours or more of screen time makes perfect sense for me

Cambridge-1 and the future of medicine
By Nicole Kobie published
Case Studies Nvidia’s first public supercomputer could change healthcare in the UK and around the world

Watching the oceans using off-the-shelf tech
By Nicole Kobie published
Case Studies Drones and AI are helping researchers monitor the safety and behaviour of whales and seabirds

Robot dogs won't save policing – but AI just might
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Some police forces are turning to robots, AI and facial recognition, but high-profile failures harm public trust

Have driverless cars stalled?
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Self-driving vehicles are taking a circuitous route to becoming reality. What’s holding up automotive automation?

Facial recognition for bears
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Researchers have paired a neural network and a facial detection system used in a “dog hipsterisation” app to help manage and protect grizzly bears

The quantum internet is on its way
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth A pair of key experiments show how quantum tech could add unbreakable security to the internet

Mind over matter: Why work is more than work
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth The psychological contract can build our new work world if we get it right on all sides

How to be a great motivator
By Nicole Kobie published
In-depth Keeping employees motivated – through the good and the bad – is not always easy
Get the ITPro. daily newsletter
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Focus Report 2025 - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives