Technology | The Guardian

Fan Hui, three-time champion of the east Asian board game, lost to DeepMind’s program AlphaGo in five straight gamesWhen Gary Kasparov lost to chess computer Deep Blue in 1997, IBM marked a milestone in the history of artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, in a research paper released in Nature, Google earned its own position in the history books, with the announcement that its subsidiary DeepMind has built a system capable of beating the best human players in the world at the east Asian board game Go.Go, a game that involves placing black or white tiles on a 19x19 board and trying to remove your opponents’, is far more difficult for a computer to master than a game such as chess. Continue reading...

BGL Group, parent of the well-known price comparison website, confirms it has appointed advisers for a possible £1bn flotationSimples! The owner of comparethemarket.com, which has enjoyed huge success with its meerkat advertising campaign, is considering a stock market flotation that could value the price comparison website at more than £1bn. Continue reading...

Drivers’ group complained that ridesharing app’s drivers were acting as traditional cabs and not returning to garage after each fareUber has been ordered to pay €1.2m (£910,000) to a French taxi union by a court in Paris, according to documents seen by Agence France-Presse.The payment to the national union of taxis followed a complaint that drivers for the ridesharing service were acting as traditional taxis, waiting in the street in the hope of picking up passengers. Continue reading...

Users have taken to social media to report that the native web browser is crashing across the company’s devices. There is, however, a temporary fixApple’s native web browser, Safari, is crashing for users around the world. Many angry iPhone and Mac users have taken to social media to report that typing into the address bar is causing the application to suddenly close.The bug, which doesn’t appear to be a problem for all users, seems to be connected to Apple’s Safari suggestions function, which responds to search requests and Url queries. Continue reading...

A new clinical trial is attempting to track how participants suffering from depression respond to mental health apps. Researchers and drug companies are paying close attentionIt was the second week of March 2015 and, as happens this time every year, downtown Austin, Texas, was overrun with conference goers glued to their smartphones.Adam Gazzaley, Daphne Bavelier and Eddie Martucci were seated in a fourth floor lounge at the W Austin Hotel. They had just finished giving a presentation at SXSW Interactive, the first segment of Austin’s annual festival dedicated to technology, film and music, on how video and mobile games can be integrated into healthcare. Like most conference goers, Gazzaley and Bavelier, both cognitive neuroscientists, and Martucci, the CEO of cognitive-therapy tech company Akili Interactive, were excited about mobile technology’s disruptive potential. (Akili is currently working to produce what they hope will be the first FDA-approved video game to be played by prescription.) Continue reading...

The live-streaming app announced it is now integrated with the wearable cameras, meaning that sometimes insane footage can now find a larger audienceGoPro action camera users can now broadcast their daring adventures live through Twitter’s Periscope app, opening the door to a whole new dimension of real-time video sharing.The live-streaming app announced on Tuesday that it was now integrated with GoPro, meaning that the sometimes insane footage captured on wearable cameras can now find a much larger audience – one that is drawn to the attraction of watching events on their phones as the action unfolds. Continue reading...

More than a million people have called for the firm to stop ivory sales though it claims it does not have ‘controlling ownership’ of its Japan auctions siteInternet company Yahoo has been accused of aiding in the slaughter of elephants by allowing the trade of ivory on its Japanese auction site.

Increased use follows introduction by Apple of ability to block ads on iPhones and iPadsAdblocking became almost as popular on mobile devices as on desktops and laptops at the end of last year, just months after Apple introduced the ability to block ads on iPhones and iPads.Data from the last three months of 2015 from GlobalWebIndex recorded a rise in those reporting they had used an adblocker on mobile devices within the last month, compared to 38% on computers, which was also up by 10 percentage points on previous quarters. Continue reading...

In a self-mocking stand against perfectly posed Tinder pictures, some users are showing their actual physical appearance when looking at TinderValentine’s Day looms, the true Halloween for singletons. Cut to snacking on cereal in the kitchen at 4am, stroking a circa 2006 Facebook picture of your ex, weeping to Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself.Tinder, which has recently introduced surge notifications during peak activity, can expect to become a lot busier in the next couple of weeks. But do we really represent our true selves on the dating app? Continue reading...

From weird twins to AI supervillains, here are the female characters who have intrigued, shocked and surprised usIn part one of our look at the most interesting women in video games, we had everything from wolf gods to ranch owners. In the final selection, we have computers, lawyers and interdimensional twins. One thing’s for sure, things have moved on – at least a little – since Ms Pacman and Donkey Kong’s damsel in distress, Pauline.These aren’t necessarily the “best” or the most famous female video game characters; they’re the women who have intrigued us, perhaps because they’re great heroes, but maybe because they’re twisted and complicated. Whatever, they all more than just a warrior with a laser gun and the odd smart arse remark. Continue reading...

Analysts predict slowest-ever iPhone sales growth of just 1% in the first three months of its financial year, down from 46% same quarter in 2015

Exclusive: The ride-sharing company is conducting a trial in Texas using movement sensors in smartphones to track signs of erratic drivingUber has quietly begun monitoring the movements of some of its drivers in an experimental Texas-based pilot that is attempting to flag up dangerous driving.Abrupt movements in a smartphone’s accelerometer, a movement sensor built into most smartphones, can show when a driver accelerates and brakes too quickly – consistent with driving too close to the car in front, or “tailgating”.

After a rise in assaults on drivers, Uber has been experimenting with leaving a Bop It in the back seat to distract drunken ridersUber, the designated driver of the iPhone generation, thinks intoxicated adult passengers are a lot like restless kids: both can be pacified with a game.

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Tuesday. Continue reading...

Shodan’s search engine capabilities show the need for ‘internet of things’ security to be taken more seriouslyFor every benefit of the internet of things, such as being able to unlock a garage door with your mobile phone, or find your car keys by sending them a text message, there’s a downside.

Department for Transport gives £40m fund to eight towns and cities as part of a drive to boost the uptake of cleaner carsUK cities are to allow electric car drivers to beat congestion by using bus lanes, as part of a government drive to encourage uptake of the cleaner vehicles.Milton Keynes and Derby will copy similar measures in Norway and allow the cars to drive in miles of bus lanes, while owners in Hackney will be able to plug in at street lights. York drivers will be able to recharge their batteries at a solar-powered park-and-ride and electric car owners in Bristol and Milton Keynes will be allowed to park for free. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Monday, and we’re late! Continue reading...

Sponsored Windows tablets fail to provide New England with crucial play information leading to enraged fans, coaching staff and playersMicrosoft’s Surface tablets went offline at a crucial moment in last night’s NFL playoffs leaving Tom Brady and the New England Patriots without play information and eventually losing to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

The latest Legend of Heroes is superb, the siege of Sarajevo is seen through children’s eyes and Super Mario RPG barely shows its age(PS3, PS Vita, NIS America, cert: 12)

UK chancellor and American philanthropist expand funding for partnership that was set up in 2015 to support research into the diseaseThe British chancellor, George Osborne, and the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, have unveiled a plan to spend billions to defeat “the world’s deadliest killer” malaria.

With interviewees ranging from Elon Musk to a gaming addict, Werner Herzog presents the web in all its wildness and utopian potential in this dizzying documentaryIf all the data transmitted online for only one day was burned on to CDs, the pile would stretched to Mars and back. If a directory of people on the internet – like the one that existed when it was in its nascent form – was to be published, it would be 72 miles thick. There’s a young scientist who’s trying to create a robot that’s better at football than Christiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi.These are just a few of the things Werner Herzog fixes his critical eye upon during Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, a quizzical look into the seemingly arcane worlds of the web and tech. Continue reading...

Tax expert says firm has paid equivalent of just 2.77% of profits over last decade compared to standard 20%Google’s attempt to counter criticism of its tax arrangements by agreeing to make a back payment of £130m in the UK unravelled after claims that the internet giant had effectively paid an annual rate of corporation tax of just 2.77% over the last decade. Most British businesses currently pay corporation tax on 20% of their profits. But even after the extra payment, the internet giant is said to have paid just £200m in tax since 2005, on estimated profits in the UK of £7.2bn.Professor Prem Sikka, a tax avoidance expert at the University of Essex, estimated that the company has avoided around £1.6bn in taxes over the decade, despite earning 10% of its global revenues in the UK. Sikka made the claim in response to a deal under which Google agreed to pay £130m in additional tax, on top of the £70m it has already paid on its profits in the UK since 2005. Continue reading...

Stephanie Berman, otherwise known as Spermin’ Berman, is among a growing number of entrepreneurs exploring new technologies for a market that is no longer tabooRelated: Something for the weekend, sir? The latest in sex techStephanie Berman is sitting on the terrace of the Hilton hotel near Hollywood in the hazy January sunshine, and holding a bright pink dildo. Continue reading...

Space venture set up by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos among handful of companies working to develop reusable rocketsBlue Origin, the space transport venture set up by Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, has launched and landed a sub-orbital rocket for the second time, an achievement hailed as a significant development in the company’s drive to develop reusable rockets.Blue Origin posted a video of the New Shepard rocket’s launch and return to the launchpad in west Texas on Friday morning. Continue reading...

You can control everything from your heating to your exercise routine with an app, so why not bluetooth your sex life? Robina Gibb reports on the latest tech from the Sexual Health Expo in Los AngelesToday’s entrepreneurial generation might not have invented sex, but they have invented bluetooth-connected sex toys.Robina Gibb scoured Los Angeles’s Sexual Health Expo in January, exploring some of the market’s most innovative and intimate devices, from electronic stimulators for couples to smartphone-controlled pelvic floor exercisers. Continue reading...

Shadow chancellor questions deal and says he will ask George Osborne for details of the deal in the Commons on MondaySenior MPs have condemned Google’s deal to pay £130m in back taxes in the UK as derisory, with Labour calling for a National Audit Office investigation into the “trivial” settlement.The search giant said on Friday it had struck an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs to pay tax that it has owed since 2005. Significantly, the company will also now start paying tax on revenue from UK-based advertisers. Continue reading...

Firm will pay back a decade’s worth of taxes and bear greater tax burden in future to compensate for underpayment of UK taxesGoogle has agreed a deal with British tax authorities to pay £130m in back taxes and bear a greater tax burden in future. The deal will cover a decade of underpayment of UK taxes by the company, which has been criticised in the past for its tax avoidance policies.

Rise of social eating networks in Italy presenting women with opportunity to monetise skills not widely utilised in male-dominated restaurant kitchen cultureDuring the day, Claudia Proietti works in the insurance industry. But at night, she is dreaming up menus. Next week, the 59-year-old plans to serve a 16-people carnival-inspired feast that uses “all the colours of nature”, beginning with a velvety orange pumpkin soup with ricotta crostini and ending with a rich chocolate semifreddo with ginger, doused in a green pistachio sauce.While the menu may sound fit for a fine dining restaurant, Proietti will be seating her guests – who are paying €25 (£19) a head – in her own home. She is one of the top-rated Roman chefs on the Gnammo website, a social eating network – think Airbnb for restaurants – that is offering chefs, especially women, a new outlet to show their talent. Continue reading...

Charity boss calls for much-needed help from tech firms as it faces the biggest child poverty and refugee crisis in decadesSave the Children International is calling on the world’s largest tech firms to provide expertise to help fight the worst child crisis in decades.

Card games offer us a tactile experience that provides a much-needed escape from the world of tapping and clicking – especially in times of stressThings were pretty bleak here in January. I got slammed with two major deadlines. Two regular clients, whose payments covered the mortgage and my health insurance premium, were late, and when I asked where my money was, they informed me that those payments would be even later because of the holidays – after, of course, those two big bills were due. To make things even worse, I was then socked with an unexpected $630 medical bill – due immediately.And then, arching over this mess, a good friend wound up in the ICU. When I thought of him, and the terror his family faced if the odds the doctor gave him were accurate, I felt overwhelming guilt for even worrying about my problems. And then the cycle started all over again. Continue reading...

Microsoft has been demonstrating its new schools version of the blockbuster, but crucially this spin-off could break off from the original Minecraft modding communityAt the densely crowded Bett show, a mammoth education technology conference taking up most of London’s ExCel venue, a vast audience has gathered to watch one particular demonstration.It is Microsoft’s newly announced Minecraft: Education Edition, a special version of the hugely successful building sim, specifically customised for the classroom environment. Continue reading...

Lawsuit proceedings reveal Google paid handsomely to be default search option for iPhones and iPads and that company’s total revenue from Android is just $31bnApple and Google are rivals. So why is Google the default search engine for mobile Safari, which is the pre-installed web browser on iPads and iPhones?The answer, court documents revealed on Thursday, is simple: money talks. And $1bn, the amount Google paid Apple in 2014 for the privilege of default access to the hundreds of millions of iPhone users, talks very loudly. Continue reading...

Online retailer says it will hire new staff in London, Cambridge and Edinburgh and at warehouses across the countryAmazon is creating more than 2,500 permanent jobs in the UK this year as it expands across the country.This will take the online retailer’s workforce in Britain to more than 14,500 by the end of 2016. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Friday! Continue reading...

The first winners of India’s Smart City Challenge will be announced next week, as part of prime minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plans to transform urban life. Rahul Bhatia goes behind the scenes in the final, chaotic stages of one bidIn the final days of India’s first Smart City Challenge – an endeavour both ambitious and suspect – consultants just wanted the whole thing done with. As the December deadline for submissions approached, they crisscrossed the country holding on to nearly finished plans and proposals for the cities they had been assigned just two months earlier.Their documents evoked those familiar, romantic overtures of urban development: constant electricity and an endless flow of water, cyclists with their own avenues, renewed rivers and promenades for families to enjoy each evening, and streetlights that sensed when they were needed. The effects would be felt far beyond the limited geography of each smart city, the consultants thought. Continue reading...

UK retailers are able to follow and target customers using facial recognition software and handset identifiers broadcast via Wi-Fi

Google’s global mapping mission means it is now possible to scale the Alps’ famous peak in the company of some of the world’s top mountaineersMont Blanc, western Europe’s highest peak, can now be explored using Google Street View, after a team from the company climbed to the top of the mountain range with a hi-tech Trekker camera.The panoramic imagery, available to view now, lets the viewer traverse the mountain, offering a 360-degree look at the dramatic, snow-covered surroundings. Continue reading...

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, says terror groups can have the weapon of free speech used against them. She says connectivity and data can be used to improve people’s lives

The NHS hasn’t got the greatest track record when it comes to innovation – but could the latest developments in tech help plug the gap in its finances?We look at the NHS in all its digital glory ... or lack thereof. The health service has a notoriously bad rep when it comes to tech. The failed National Programme for IT that it launched in the early 2000s tore a £10bn hole in the public purse.Now the NHS has pledged to go paperless by 2020. Can it manage it? What about some of the more hi-tech possibilities for patient care, could wearables provide the solution to 24 hour doctors? Or 3d printed pills democratise pharmaceuticals? Continue reading...

Speaking at Davos, Facebook’s COO said the company believes ‘counterspeech’ by the online community is the best way to combat propaganda

The House of Cards star, who recently became head of Relativity Studios, tells a debate in Davos about cybersecurity that the Sony hack was a wake-up callHouse of Cards star Kevin Spacey has said his new role as a studio boss made him doubly fearful that material could be destroyed or leaked in a repeat of the Sony Pictures hack last year.

The Judicial Redress Act would allow EU citizens to sue over data privacy in the US but is likely to miss a January deadline for completionLegislation that would grant US privacy rights to Europeans is being delayed in the Senate, which may complicate negotiations over a broader trans-Atlantic data transfer pact that faces a January deadline for completion, sources said on Wednesday.

ASA research shows four out of five consumers can’t work out total cost of broadband contract from adverts

Luxury cars, cash and ingredients to make ecstasy seized as part of international investigation after banks had seen ‘large sums of money’ being depositedDutch police have arrested 10 people in the Netherlands as part of an international investigation into money-laundering through sales of the shadowy virtual currency bitcoin, prosecutors said on Wednesday.Fifteen places were raided Tuesday in eight Dutch towns as part of the investigation, during which luxury cars, cash and the ingredients to make ecstasy were seized. Continue reading...

With both Twitter and Square struggling on the stock market, Dorsey has fallen out of the three-comma club with a net worth of $944m, Forbes reportsJack Dorsey is no longer a billionaire, thanks to the crashing stock markets and his struggling tech empire.Related: News Corp denies rumors company wants to buy Twitter Continue reading...

Consultation on car hire app’s business ditched as Boris Johnson reveals plans to put the brake on pedal rickshawsUber is claiming a major victory after Transport for London (TfL) ditched a number of proposals that would have imposed restrictions on the car hire app’s business.TfL, the body that regulates public transport in the capital, has decided against implementing proposals that would have hit Uber’s service, including forcing operators to provide booking confirmation details to the passenger at least five minutes before a journey starts. It also ditched a proposal to require operators to allow passengers to pre-book minicabs up to seven days in advance. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Wednesday! Continue reading...

The popular streaming video service outdid Wall Street expectations for the quarter by a full five cents per share and added 5.59 million new viewersEverybody worried about Netflix can chill: the company added more subscribers than expected at the end of last year and its sky-high share price soared another 9% on the news.In the company’s fourth-quarter 2015 results, it outdid Wall Street expectations by a full five cents per share and added 5.59 million viewers, boosting worldwide subscriptions to nearly 75m. Continue reading...

Alarmed by the recent $1bn investment in their rival, Uber’s deal with Airbus is only the first in a series of campaigns to step up competitionThe announcement of another Uber helicopter service, this time for the Sundance film festival, signals the beginning of a new, more aggressive campaign to compete with their ride-hailing competitor Lyft.Uber executives have been rattled by the recent $1bn investment in Lyft, a round announced in January and led by General Motors. Continue reading...

Greatest disruption could be experienced by workers who have so far felt immune to robotic competition, Swiss bank addsThe richest stand to gain more from the introduction of new technology than those in poorer sections of society, according to a report which warns that policymakers may be required to intervene to tackle the widening inequality.The so-called fourth industrial revolution, following on from the introduction of steam power, electricity and electronics, will have less of an impact on developed economies, such as Switzerland, Singapore and the UK. Emerging markets – notably in parts of Latin America and India – will suffer when artificial intelligence and robots become widely used, reducing the competitive advantage of their cheap labour. Continue reading...