Jane Wakefield

Jane Wakefield is an award-winning technology journalist and broadcaster who translates complex tech into stories that matter to everyday lives. Over more than 20 years at the BBC, she reported on everything from cybersecurity breaches and AI to smart cities and robotics, presenting documentaries across radio and television that took her from Tanzanian drone projects to San Diego's sex robot industry. Now freelance, she hosts the UKTN podcast featuring UK tech leaders, authored Leader's Lives exploring how industry powerhouses build successful businesses, and moderates major conferences including the Times Tech Summit with figures like Demis Hassabis. Her sessions equip audiences with critical insight into emerging technologies, helping organisations navigate innovation with healthy scepticism and human-centred understanding.

Over two decades reporting on technology, Jane Wakefield has tracked down the headquarters of a Canadian data firm in a single day, become the first UK journalist to interview a sex robot, and travelled from Tanzanian lake shores to Brazilian favelas documenting how emerging tech reshapes lives. Her career at the BBC saw her cover every major development in the digital age, from the launch of the iPhone and global cybersecurity breaches to the rollout of broadband, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the promises and pitfalls of smart cities. She presented the BBC's Tech Tent programme, ran the online Technology desk, and produced dozens of World Service radio documentaries and World TV films that consistently sought the human angle in complex technological stories, explaining to lay audiences why innovations matter to their daily lives.

Since transitioning to freelance work, Jane has expanded her influence across multiple platforms and formats. She hosts the UKTN podcast, interviewing the movers and shakers of the UK tech industry, including the tech minister and founders of unicorns such as Synthesia and BuilderAI. Her Radio 4 documentary in 2024 investigated people wrongly accused of sharing child abuse imagery, whilst her podcast Scam Detectors educates the public about fraud and challenges victim blaming. She authored Leader's Lives, exploring how the tech industry's most powerful players build successful businesses. As a moderator and curator, Jane has facilitated conversations with figures including Marks and Spencer chairman Archie Norman, secured high-profile speakers such as Demis Hassabis and Ofcom CEO Melanie Dawes for the Times Tech Summit, and overseen major events including the Police Digital Summit. She remains a regular presence at leading tech conferences including Web Summit, London Tech Week, and TED, where she has attended twelve events globally.

Jane equips audiences with the critical perspective needed to navigate technological change without losing sight of its human impact. Her sessions cut through hype around innovations like the metaverse and artificial intelligence, offering practical insight grounded in decades of frontline reporting and sustained scepticism about an industry too often dominated by men. Whether speaking at industry events, moderating panels, or offering media training and consultancy, she helps organisations understand not just what technology can do, but whether it should, fostering informed decision-making that balances innovation with accountability and places people at the centre of digital transformation.