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Updated 2024-03-29 12:45
Swedish composer becomes Spotify’s most-famous musician you’ve never heard of
Johan Rohr's 2,700 songs have been streamed 15bn times and have more plays than Britney Spears or AbbaA secret" composer who has released music under hundreds of different names has been identified as Sweden's most-listened-to artist on Spotify - pulling in more plays than Britney Spears or Abba.Johan Rohr, a Stockholm-based musician, has been unmasked as the person behind more than 650 different artists on the streaming service who have been played 15bn times, making him Sweden's current most-played artist. Continue reading...
‘I turned C-3PO into a lightsaber-wielding psychopath’: a week with the Star Wars Unlimited card game
Fun for beginners and seasoned players alike, the beautifully illustrated decks let you concoct your own adventures with some surprisingly deep and interesting possibilitiesOne of the most appealing aspects of games set in the Star Wars universe is that you get to concoct scenes and stories we would never see in the movies. Whether you're playing Knights of the Old Republic, Jedi: Fallen Order or the old Star Wars role-playing board game designed by Greg Costikyan in the 1990s, there will be individual moments unrepeatable on the big screen. I know this, because I just won a round of the new trading card game Star Wars Unlimited thanks to a heroic C-3PO wielding Luke Skywalker's lightsaber.On a basic level, Star Wars Unlimited works like most modern trading card games, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic: The Gathering. You and an opponent each have a deck of cards, most of which feature a single character or vehicle, with a number for health and another number for power/damage. Usually the character will also have special abilities described on the face of the card, which add strategic depth. Players then take it in turns to place cards into the arena and attack their opponent's forces, and the winner is the player who destroys their rival's base. Star Wars Unlimited's starter kit gives you two complete decks, one of imperial forces and one of the rebels, but you can also buy booster packs to start customising your army and creating your own themed decks. Continue reading...
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch was ‘driving force’ of ‘massive’ fraud, US court told
Lawyer says tech tycoon will testify in trial on charges of fraud and conspiracy in 2011 sale of company to HPA British technology tycoon once lauded as Britain's Bill Gates" was the driving force" behind a massive" years-long fraud, prosecutors alleged, as his criminal trial got under way in San Francisco on Monday.Prosecutors said Mike Lynch, co-founder of the UK software company Autonomy, ruled the firm with an iron fist" before its blockbuster takeover by Hewlett-Packard in 2011. Continue reading...
Elon Musk defends stance on diversity and free speech during tense interview
Tesla CEO tells Don Lemon people should be treated according to their skills and integrity'Elon Musk has defended his stance on diversity and free speech in a tense interview with the former CNN anchor Don Lemon.The Tesla chief executive was openly irritated by Lemon's line of questioning during the hour-long video interview, published on Monday. Continue reading...
‘A portal to a new world’: when the Trocadero was the centre of the video game universe
Arcade enthusiasts recall the heady days when Funland and SegaWorld at the Troc' in central London had all the latest and greatest cabinets, and united subcultures in a social gaming scene that anticipated the internetEntering central London's Trocadero complex in the late 1990s could be an overwhelming, intoxicating experience. The vast building was then home to SegaWorld, an indoor theme park" and arcade based on the Joypolis" concept that the Japanese gaming giant had seen thrive in its homeland. Leaving the bustle of Coventry Street behind, visitors would pass a statue of Sonic the Hedgehog at the doors before stepping on to the famed pair of rocket escalators": a vision of the future delivered in brushed steel and slashes of electric blue lighting. Taking people high up into the building through a vast central open area, the escalator ride afforded a glimpse of the varied attractions that occupied each floor - the Mad Bazooka bumper car ride, the Ghost Hunt VR experience - before visitors were deposited at the top, ready to snake their way down through themed zones such as the Carnival and the Sports Arena.All around, arcade machines chirped and sang, backed by a chorus of juddering AS-1 simulator rides, with their whining hydraulics, and the excited chatter of guests waiting in line for Sega's VR-1 virtual reality experience, with its eight-seater pods and interactive shooter games. Intermittently the sudden mechanical wail of the Pepsi Max Drop ride would fill the air, along with the screams of its occupants. Speakers belted out the era's biggest pop hits. Props including a full-size Harrier jump jet and carefully placed Formula 1 car occupied the gaps between the cabinets housing arcade icons such as Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter. The whole experience, Sega keenly asserted in promotional videos, was the ultimate in futuractive entertainment". Continue reading...
Apple’s claims about risk of outside payments ‘do not survive scrutiny’,
At start of what is expected to be a five-month trial, Epic says Apple has allowed such options for physical goods and the sky did not fall in'
‘My 17-year-old son was arrested for sharing child abuse images – he said it was a relief’
A mother describes how her autistic son became one of thousands of under-18s caught viewing or sharing indecent images of childrenLouise* thought she had been open and clear with her two children about the dangers of the internet. But last year there was a knock on her door at 6am. It was the police looking for her 17-year-old son.There were five or six police coming up my stairs," she says. When they said they were looking for my son because of indecent images I thought I was going to pass out. Continue reading...
Internet providers have left rural Americans behind. One county is fighting back
Congress is spending $65bn to connect the rural US to the world. Orangeburg, South Carolina, knows the stakes better than anywhereOrangeburg, South Carolina, is not the middle of nowhere.It's an hour south of Columbia. It's an hour and 15 minutes north of Charleston. It's an hour and a half away from Augusta. It's just country enough to be out of the way but tantalizingly close to somewhere. Continue reading...
Epic Games takes on Apple and Google in Australia over alleged misuse of market power
Maker of Fortnite says in lawsuit that by controlling in-app purchases, the tech companies are restricting competition and innovation
Brain chips: the Sydney researchers ‘miles ahead’ of Elon Musk’s Neuralink
Multiple Australian projects are on the cutting edge of neurotech breakthroughs and man-machine interfaces - raising questions of security and privacy for human minds
Leading adviser quits over Instagram’s failure to remove self-harm content
Exclusive: Psychologist accuses Meta of turning a blind eye' to posts she believes represent further danger to vulnerable womenA leading psychologist who advises Meta on suicide prevention and self-harm has quit her role, accusing the tech giant of turning a blind eye" to harmful content on Instagram, repeatedly ignoring expert advice and prioritising profit over lives.Lotte Rubaek, who has been on Meta's global expert group for more than three years, told the Observer that the tech giant's ongoing failure to remove images of self-harm from its platforms is triggering" vulnerable young women and girls to further harm themselves and contributing to rising suicide figures. Continue reading...
‘To the train lady with dark brown hair … ’: extraordinary stories of four couples who found love via small ads
What are the chances of real romance via a missed connection'? And has the internet turned these interactions from the stuff of romcoms to just a bit creepy?In the beginning, Darcy had a boyfriend and an aisle seat. It was 29 March 2000, and she was the last person to board the plane from Atlanta, Georgia, to Sacramento in California. Hot, sweaty and tired from running to catch the flight, she was frustrated to see that someone else was in her seat. I'm sorry," the stranger said, do you mind switching with me?" The thing was, he explained, his wife was afraid of flying - he wanted to sit by her. Darcy McGaffic is 6ft tall - there's a reason she had booked to sit in the aisle of the exit row. The stranger gestured to his seat, right at the back of the plane. A middle seat. Darcy said: Fine." She laughed, made her way back, sat down, and then another stranger opened their mouth. I wouldn't have done that," the man next to her smiled.That man was Scott Germond - just a stranger named Scott back then. They spoke for the entire five-hour duration of their flight; Darcy, who was in her 30s, told him about her job sorting out the instant replays" for sports tournaments, and the pair told stupid jokes" that made each other laugh. At one point, Scott asked Darcy if she was dating anyone. She hesitated. Technically she was, but she had already decided to break up with her boyfriend the night before, because they had beenon the phone and he hadn't stopped talking abouthis ex-wife. Darcy stumbled over Scott's question. She couldn't tell him the truth: Well, I'm dating somebody, but I'm thinking about dumping him because I might like you." Continue reading...
Scroll on: why your screen-time habits aren’t as bad as you think they are
The increasing use of digital technology has inspired many scare stories, but is it reducing our attention span, does smartphone addiction actually exist - and should we even be feeling bad about it?Digital technology is now inextricably woven into the fabric of society, and for many of us, that does not always feel like a good thing. As screens have become more numerous, so the anxieties that we have about them have become more salient and pressing. But what if we are focusing on the wrong sorts of worries? Here are five common questions about screen time, the answers to which may help us to frame the relationships we have with our tech more accurately. Continue reading...
From riches to ankle bracelet: UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s stunning fall
Britain's Bill Gates' could spend up to 25 years in jail if convicted of fraud in the 2011 sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-PackardMike Lynch, the technology tycoon, once dubbed Britain's Bill Gates, has spent the past 10 months in San Francisco, with a GPS bracelet strapped to his ankle and two armed guards monitoring him around the clock. This week he heads to court to face a long, hard fight for his freedom.It's been 13 years since one of Silicon Valley's most storied companies bought Lynch's business in a blockbuster takeover that seemed to confirm his image as one of the UK's most brilliant technologists. Now that deal is at the center of a criminal fraud trial. If convicted, Lynch could spend up to 25 years in jail. Continue reading...
Steven Mnuchin putting together investor group to buy TikTok
Ex-treasury secretary tells CNBC of plans a day after US House passes bill giving app's owner six months to divest or face US ban
Much of west and central Africa without internet after undersea cable failures
Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso among countries experiencing outagesMuch of west and central Africa has been left without internet service, as operators of several subsea cables reported failures.The cause of the cable failures on Thursday was not immediately clear. Continue reading...
I’m not surprised people are suing a dating app company – our addiction to swiping makes us miserable | Georgina Lawton
Those who - like me - have spent years looking for love on a six-inch screen know the pitfalls of these platformsOn Valentine's Day this year, a lawsuit was brought by six people in the US against Match Group, the company behind dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge and Match. The suit blames dating apps for game-like tactics that, they say, contribute to addictive behaviour, making miserable swiping addicts of us all.Match Group denies this, calling the claims ridiculous". But anyone who, like me, has spent years on and off the apps knows that there are clear parallels between love algorithms and online gaming - only with dating apps, we are the commodities.Georgina Lawton is the author of Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity and the Truth About Where I Belong Continue reading...
‘There’s joy I haven’t felt for years!’ How an app finally got me hooked on the piano
Thirty years after failing his grade two exam, our writer is banging out Handel, Billie Eilish and Elton John - and he's not alone. With apps to help with learning, there's never been a better time to tinkle the ivoriesMisplaced pride may have clouded my memories of learning the piano as a kid in the early 90s. I can still picture the piano itself, a knackered upright that was so old it had brass candleholders. I definitely remember my teacher, Issie, a local jazz musician. And I thought I'd done pretty well until ... what, grade three? Maybe even four?Forgot you failed grade two!" came a recent WhatsApp message from my mother, who had excavated the marking form from a filing cabinet. That made two of us. Continue reading...
The House passed a TikTok bill. Will the US really ban the app?
A bill passed Wednesday by the House requiring TikTok owner ByteDance to sell or face a US ban is most existential threat yet
Elon Musk abruptly cancels Don Lemon’s X talk show hours after interview
Lemon said Musk texted contract terminated' after the former CNN anchor interviewed the billionaireThe former CNN anchor Don Lemon announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk had abruptly terminated a deal to exclusively host Lemon's new talkshow on X, formerly Twitter. Lemon said in a post on the platform that Musk cancelled the partnership hours after the two of them had filmed an interview, which was set to be part of the show's debut episode. Lemon said Musk texted him, contract terminated".His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me," Lemon said in the post. Continue reading...
Pushing Buttons: Nintendo is making a new Mario movie – and I have an idea to make it better than the last one
In this week's newsletter: To win over the critics, a second instalment of the $1bn box-office smash should focus more on storytelling than nostalgic iconography Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWith classic oblivious timing, Nintendo chose 10 March - or Mar10 day, as the company likes to style it - to announce that it is working with Illumination Studios on another Mario movie, even though it was the Oscars that day and absolutely nobody was paying attention. Last year's Mario movie was a smash hit, grossing $1bn and finally ending the long era of the cursed video game film adaptation once and for all, so it's not surprising that another one is in the works for April 2026.What is surprising is that it's not necessarily going to be a direct sequel. Co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and writer Matthew Fogel will return, but neither Nintendo nor Illumination committed to calling the new film a sequel. In a video broadcast announcing a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros", Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto (that's Mario's dad) said: This time, we're thinking about broadening Mario's world further, and it'll have a bright and fun story." Continue reading...
Shock of the old: 11 wild views of the future – from winged postmen to self-cleaning homes
Do you have to brush your own hair, own an umbrella or keep at least one hand on your steering wheel? Don't blame these visionary thinkersThings can only get better", D:Ream promised, but they were wrong, and so were most people in history who have tried to predict the future.It never stopped us from trying, though, and a few visionaries have been pretty good at it. There was Leonardo da Vinci, of course, with his helicopters and fridges, and Joseph Glanvill, who in 1661 suggested moon voyages and communication using magnetic waves" might be a thing. Civil engineer John Elfreth Watkins, writing in 1900, predicted mobile phones, ready meals and global digital media (Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance. If there be a battle in China a hundred years hence, snapshots of its most striking events will be published in the newspapers an hour later"). Visionary US cartoonist Arthur Radebaugh's late 1950s and early 1960s Closer Than We Think series conjured wrist-worn TVs, robot-run warehouses and bloodless surgery. Continue reading...
The Digital Divide: could you live without the internet?
Could you live without the internet? Doctors' appointments, job applications, personal banking, key services and more are today mostly managed online. While the UK government details its plans for a digital future to transform public services, one in seven Britons are forced to live without the internet. This film is voiced by three individuals experiencing digital exclusion, revealing how varied and complex the repercussions can be. Through enacted scenes from their lives, it makes visible the expanding digital divide - an issue too often unseen or ignored Continue reading...
China could use TikTok to influence US elections, spy chief says
The US House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill giving Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to sell that part of its businessChina could use social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 US elections, the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, has told a House of Representatives intelligence committee hearing.Asked by Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi if China's ruling Communist party (CCP) would use TikTok to influence the elections, Haines said we cannot rule out that the CCP would use it". Continue reading...
How an infamous ransomware gang found itself hacked – podcast
LockBit was a sophisticated criminal operation, offering the tools needed to steal a company's data and hold it to ransom. Then it was itself hacked. Alex Hern reportsA ransomware site on the dark web has allowed criminals to extort hospitals, businesses and schools for years. By encrypting data or threatening to post data online, hackers have cost companies millions of pounds.It's called LockBit, and it was very successful until one day last month when hackers who logged on to the site found it had been hacked by authorities including the UK National Crime Agency and the FBI. These agencies announced they were in control of LockBit's site, marking a new stage in their war on cybercrime. Continue reading...
Google restricts AI chatbot Gemini from answering questions on 2024 elections
Change, made out of abundance of caution', now applies to US and India and will roll out in nations where elections are held this yearGoogle is restricting its Gemini AI chatbot from answering election-related questions in countries where voting is taking place this year, limiting users from receiving information about candidates, political parties and other elements of politics.Out of an abundance of caution on such an important topic, we have begun to roll out restrictions on the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses," Google's India team stated on the company's site. Continue reading...
Labor rights? Whatever. TikTok frenzy over Trader Joe’s mini tote bags
High prices, mega mergers and union busting are just water under the bridge judging from the scramble for a new bagWhat's so special about Trader Joe's new mini totes? Aesthetics-wise, nothing: the canvas bag resembles LL Bean's ubiquitous totes. The only difference is that these come stamped with the name of a supermarket chain known for its fancy cheeses, frozen dinners -and the fact that it's currently one of the corporations lobbying to declare the National Labor Relations Board unconstitutional. Union drip, these are not.Still, there are plenty of people who approach these bags with the same enthusiasm that Trader Joe's lawyers reportedly reserve for union busting. Young women on TikTok have taken to decorating their mini Trader Joe's totes with embroidery, patches and paint. It all looks very summer camp. CNN reported that the tote has reached a cult status not seen since ... well, just a few weeks ago, when pink Stanley tumblers took the world (or at least Target shopping aisles) by storm. Continue reading...
Ransomware groups warned there is no money in attacking British state
British Library says in review it weathered cyber-attack without paying hackers behind itRansomware gangs have been warned that there is no money in attacking the British state, after the British Library revealed that it weathered a damaging cyber-attack without paying - or even speaking to - the hackers behind it.The library, which was hit by a ransomware attack in October 2023, issued the warning as part a review of its response to the incident. Continue reading...
Airbnb bans hosts from using indoor security cameras in rentals
Platform said change will take effect by the end of next month as it seeks to simplify' security policy while prioritizing privacyAirbnb said on Monday that it's banning the use of indoor security cameras in rentals around the world by the end of next month.The San Francisco-based online rental platform said it is seeking to simplify" its security-camera policy while prioritizing privacy. The change will take effect 30 April. Continue reading...
Princess of Wales photo furore underlines sensitivity around image doctoring
AI makes the challenge of spotting manipulated or faked media even greaterAt a time when suspicion of manipulated media has reached a new pitch of concern, the Princess of Wales photo furore underlines the sensitivity around image doctoring.Catherine was the subject of an image editing row in 2011 when Grazia adapted a photo of her on her wedding day - but that was before breakthroughs in artificial intelligence put everyone on edge. Continue reading...
A Million Days review – low-budget sci-fi thriller asks if we should trust AI with our survival
In the near future humanity is doomed and our options are being determined by AI simulation - unfortunately for us, the AI doesn't seem particularly bothered if we surviveThis intriguing sci-fi thriller is a throwback to the kind of cerebral teleplays and low-budget movies that flourished in the 1960s: ripe with gloomy lighting and dystopian pessimism, but with barely enough money in the budget to pay for more than two sets. Think On the Beach from 1959, or Seconds from 1966 - but then lower your expectations because it's not anywhere in their league. But it's not bad, and the subject is timely.The time is a couple of decades in the future, and humanity has accepted that we've messed up the planet beyond repair. The only answer is to start colonies off-world, starting with the moon. Helping to sow these seeds for the future is an AI called Jay that runs simulations to calculate risks and resolutions. All that is explained in a crawl and with faux news footage. The drama properly begins at a rural house that looks like something from Grand Designs; it's the home of Jay-creator Sam (Kemi-Bo Jacobs) and astronaut Anderson (Simon Merrells, one of those actors you're sure you've seen before even if you can't quite place him). He is going to be the head of the next crucial mission to the moon, which launches tomorrow. The couple's last night together is interrupted by the arrival of Sam's employee Charlie (Hermione Corfield), who is troubled that Jay's simulations posit not a trip of a few days but one going to the Jupiter moon Europa, and from there the titular million days journey to Alpha Centauri. Quicker than you can sing Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do," the trio start to suspect Jay has gone rogue and has her own agenda. Continue reading...
Crypto firm moved $4.2m of assets to digital wallet linked to alleged Russian arms dealer
Analysis shows link between Copper Technologies and Jonatan Zimenkov, who was later hit with US sanctions over Ukraine invasionA cryptocurrency firm transferred digital assets worth more than $4.2m to a crypto wallet belonging to a member of an alleged Russian arms-dealing network who was later hit with US sanctions, it can be revealed.Details of the transactions involving Copper Technologies raise questions about whether UK laws governing crypto have adapted quickly enough to keep pace with a rapidly evolving sector that has come under increasing scrutiny over the level of anonymity it can provide. Continue reading...
Warning over use in UK of unregulated AI chatbots to create social care plans
University of Oxford study shows benefits and risks of technology to healthcare, but ethical issues remainBritain's hard-pressed carers need all the help they can get. But that should not include using unregulated AI bots, according to researchers who say the AI revolution in social care needs a hard ethical edge.A pilot study by academics at the University of Oxford found some care providers had been using generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Bard to create care plans for people receiving care. Continue reading...
‘I welcome our digital minions’: the Silicon Valley insider warning about algorithms – while embracing them
Marek Kowalkiewicz has made a career of harnessing new technology. But on the question of if algorithms have agency, he realised he was wrongHouses hide behind patches of subtropical rainforest in Brisbane's western outskirts; horses graze paddocks and road signs warn of deer and kangaroos.Nestled between a bend in the river and the foothills of the D'Aguilar Range, the suburb of Anstead may appear unsuitable habitat for a Polish-born business professor who believes that we must embrace the age of artificial intelligence. Continue reading...
The Lie Detectives: Trump, US politics and the disinformation damage done
Sasha Issenberg considers attempts to distort electoral reality on both sides of the great American divideMost of Joe Biden's past supporters see him as too old. An 81-year-old president with an unsteady step is a turn-off. But Donald Trump, Biden's malignant, 77-year-old predecessor, vows to be a dictator for a day", calls for suspending the constitution and threatens Nato. Russia, if you're listening", his infamous 2016 shout-out to Vladimir Putin, still haunts us eight years on. Democracy is on the ballot again.Against this bleak backdrop, Sasha Issenberg delivers The Lie Detectives, an examination of disinformation in politics. It is a fitting follow-up to The Victory Lab, his look at GOTV (getting out the vote") which was published weeks before the 2012 US election. Continue reading...
‘It was a real carnival of the senses’: Shamil Tanna’s best phone picture
The London-based photographer on capturing the buzz of a festival celebrating Menorca's purebred horsesThere's a slight voyeuristic quality to using a phone to take pictures," Shamil Tanna says. The London-based photographer was in Menorca last summer for Fiestas de Sant Lluis, a series of events revolving around the island's purebred horses and traditional Menorcan dressage".I was staying on the island for a while and was keen to shoot some personal projects," he says. I'd just replaced my old phone and the festivities provided agood opportunity to try the new model out. It was super-busy, full of people, horses, parades and music - a real carnival of the senses." Continue reading...
Instagram overtakes TikTok as world’s most downloaded app
Copycat video feature Reels helps Meta app in fightback against Chinese-owned rivalInstagram has overtaken TikTok as the world's most downloaded app after its copycat video feature Reels helped it recover ground lost to its Chinese-owned rival.The photo- and videosharing app soared in popularity after its launch in 2010 alongside reality royalty such as the Kardashians and is a cornerstone of the influencer phenomenon, but has faced stiff competition on its own territory in recent years from TikTok, the short video platform. Continue reading...
Democrats investigate Elon Musk’s SpaceX over Russian ‘misuse’ of Starlink
House Democrats write to company about Russia's alleged use of satellite internet service in war against UkraineUS House Democrats are investigating SpaceX over whether Russia has accessed the company's Starlink satellite internet service as part of its ongoing war against Ukraine, according to a letter sent to the company on Wednesday.The letter, authored by the Democratic representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Robert Garcia of California, comes after Ukrainian officials claimed in February to have found evidence Russian use of Starlink terminals for satellite internet, calling it a systemic problem". Continue reading...
The Intercept, Raw Story and AlterNet sue OpenAI for copyright infringement
Progressive US outlets file lawsuits claiming the company in effect plagiarized journalists' work to develop ChatGPTOpenAI and Microsoft are facing a fresh round of lawsuits from news publishers over allegations that their generative artificial intelligence products violated copyright laws and illegally trained by using journalists' work. Three progressive US outlets - the Intercept, Raw Story and AlterNet - filed suits in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, demanding compensation from the tech companies.The news outlets claim that the companies in effect plagiarized copyright-protected articles to develop and operate ChatGPT, which has become OpenAI's most prominent generative AI tool. They allege that ChatGPT was trained not to respect copyright, ignores proper attribution and fails to notify users when the service's answers are generated using journalists' protected work. Continue reading...
US leading global alliance to counter foreign government disinformation
Washington hopes more countries will join US, UK and Canada in signing agreement to define, identify and label such operationsA global coalition of democracies is being formed to protect their societies from disinformation campaigns by foreign governments, the US special envoy on the issue has said.James Rubin, the special envoy for non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts at the US state department's global engagement centre (GEC), said the coalition hoped to agree on definitions for information manipulation versus plain old opinions that other governments are entitled to have even if we disagree with them". Continue reading...
Neuralink implant patient can move computer mouse by thinking, Musk says
First human implanted with brain-chip can use thoughts to move mouse, startup's founder claims but details are scantThe first human patient implanted with a brain-chip from Neuralink appears to have fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts, the startup's founder, Elon Musk, said late on Monday.Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking," Musk said in a Spaces event on the social media platform X. Continue reading...
‘Humanity’s remaining timeline? It looks more like five years than 50’: meet the neo-luddites warning of an AI apocalypse
From the academic who warns of a robot uprising to the workers worried for their future - is it time we started paying attention to the tech sceptics?Eliezer Yudkowsky, a 44-year-old academic wearing a grey polo shirt, rocks slowly on his office chair and explains with real patience - taking things slowly for a novice like me - that every single person we know and love will soon be dead. They will be murdered by rebellious self-aware machines. The difficulty is, people do not realise," Yudkowsky says mildly, maybe sounding just a bit frustrated, as if irritated by a neighbour's leaf blower or let down by the last pages of a novel. We have a shred of a chance that humanity survives."It's January. I have set out to meet and talk to a small but growing band of luddites, doomsayers, disruptors and other AI-era sceptics who see only the bad in the way our spyware-steeped, infinitely doomscrolling world is tending. I want to find out why these techno-pessimists think the way they do. I want to know how they would render change. Out of all of those I speak to, Yudkowsky is the most pessimistic, the least convinced that civilisation has a hope. He is the lead researcher at a nonprofit called the Machine Intelligence Research Institute in Berkeley, California, and you could boil down the results of years of Yudkowsky's theorising there to a couple of vowel sounds: Oh fuuuuu-!" Continue reading...
Jeff Bezos could save $600m in taxes after moving to Florida
Windfall stems from $2bn stock sale as Bezos and Lauren Sanchez pick state that doesn't levy taxes on income or capital gainsThe multibillionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, could save $600m in taxes simply because they moved to Florida.The accounting windfall stems from a $2bn sale of Amazon stock. Continue reading...
Advertising slump sinks Google investor confidence despite overall high revenue
The tech giant beat revenue predictions for the last quarter of 2023 but failed to deliver on predicted advertising revenueAlphabet stock slid more than 5% in after-hours trading Tuesday despite narrowly beating overall revenue predictions for quarter four of 2023 after the tech giant fell short in its key advertising sector.The Google parent company reported a miss on predicted advertising revenue at $65.52bn compared to $65.8bn, but beat predictions for overall revenue at $86.31bn compared to $85.36bn - up 13% year over year. Continue reading...
The experts: photographers on 20 easy, enjoyable ways to vastly improve your pictures
You don't need an expensive camera - a smartphone can capture a great shot. Just move that plastic bag out of the frame, make your subject laugh and practise your selfiesWe are all photographers now, with a phone in our pocket ready to capture life, love and everything in between - which, quite often, is incredibly mundane, such as what we had for lunch. But how can you make sure you are taking the best possible pictures? Here, photographers share their top tips. Continue reading...
What is going on with ChatGPT? | Arwa Mahdawi
Over the last month or so, there's been an uptick in people complaining that the chatbot has become lazy. What's behind this trend?Sick and tired of having to work for a living? ChatGPT feels the same, apparently. Over the last month or so, there's been an uptick in people complaining that the chatbot has become lazy. Sometimes it just straight-up doesn't do the task you've set it. Other times it will stop halfway through whatever it's doing and you'll have to plead with it to keep going. Occasionally it even tells you to just do the damn research yourself.So what's going on? Continue reading...
Tesla pauses German production after Red Sea shipping attacks
Delays in delivery of parts result in suspension of manufacturing at factory near Berlin for two weeks
Why are self-driving cars exempt from traffic tickets in San Francisco?
Laws in California have yet to catch up to autonomous vehicles, even though hundreds are already on the roadAutonomous vehicles in San Francisco are exempt from traffic tickets if there is nobody in the driver's seat, according to the San Francisco police department (SFPD), underscoring ongoing legal and safety concerns surrounding the expanding technology. California law has not caught up to the cars, even though they are already on the road, say public safety agencies and experts.SFPD policy states that officers can make a traffic stop of autonomous vehicles (AVs) for violations, but can only issue a citation if there is a safety driver in the vehicle overseeing its operations. Since June 2022, autonomous vehicles have been permitted to operate without safety drivers as long as they are inside the city limits. Officers can issue citations to the registered owner of an unoccupied vehicle in absentia for non-moving violations such as parking or registration offenses but not violations like speeding, running a red light, driving in the wrong lane or making an illegal turn. Continue reading...
Best podcasts of the week: The mysterious tale of the officer and the socialite
In this week's newsletter: A killing in Belize which seems to implicate a British aristocrat takes a strange turn in White Devil. Plus: five of the best podcasts to get you through the dark days of winter Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe Traitors: Uncloaked
AI Elvis not the first hologram star to shake his moves on stage
From Abba to Tupac Shakur, more and more deceased or ageing stars are being brought back to their former glory thanks to AI
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