by Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent on (#70SN0)
Analysis of 800,000 European cars found real-world pollution from plug-in hybrids nearly five times greater than lab testsPlug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) pump out nearly five times more planet-heating pollution than official figures show, a report has found.The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by European carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive - unlike fully electric cars - while still reducing emissions. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent and Rob Davies on (#70RWX)
Cars with human safety drivers set to appear in 2026 but black-cab drivers dismiss service as fairground ride'People in London could be hiring driverless taxis from Waymo next year, after the US autonomous vehicle company announced plans to launch its services there.The UK capital will become the first European city to have an autonomous taxi service of the kind now familiar in San Francisco and four other US cities using Waymo's technology. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#70RV7)
Ultra-slim and light smartphone feels special, but cuts to camera and battery may be too hard to ignore for mostThe iPhone Air is a technical and design marvel that asks: how much are you willing to give up for a lightweight and ultra-slender profile?Beyond the obvious engineering effort that has gone into creating one of the slimmest phones ever made, the Air is a reductive exercise that boils down the iPhone into the absolute essentials in a premium body. Continue reading...
New version will allow users to customize AI assistant's personality in what firm calls treat adults users like adults' policyOpenAI announced plans on Tuesday to relax restrictions on its ChatGPT chatbot, including allowing erotic content for verified adult users as part of what the company calls a treat adult users like adults" principle.OpenAI's plan includes the release of an updated version of ChatGPT that will allow users to customize their AI assistant's personality, including options for more human-like responses, heavy emoji use, or friend-like behavior. The most significant change will come in December, when OpenAI plans to roll out more comprehensive age-gating that would permit erotic content for adults who have verified their ages. OpenAI did not immediately provide details on its age verification methods or additional safeguards planned for adult content. Continue reading...
The influential billionaire investor has been giving secret lectures warning about Armageddon. Here's why it mattersHello, and welcome to TechScape. For the past week, my brain has been marinating in billionaire Peter Thiel's byzantine musings about the antichrist and Armageddon. At this point, I'm pickled.Why, you might ask, does it matter what a billionaire thinks about the antichrist? Good question!Over the past month, Thiel has hosted four lectures on the downtown waterfront of San Francisco philosophizing about who the antichrist could be and warning that Armageddon is coming. Thiel, who describes himself as a small-o Orthodox Christian", believes the harbinger of the end of the world could already be in our midst and that things such as international agencies, environmentalism and guardrails on technology could quicken its rise. It is a remarkable discursion that reveals the preoccupations of one of the most influential people in Silicon Valley and the US.Thiel was on the forefront of conservative politics long before the rest of Silicon Valley took a rightward turn with Donald Trump's second term as president. He's had close ties to Trump for nearly a decade, is credited with catapulting JD Vance into the office of vice-president, and is bankrolling Republicans' 2026 midterm campaigns. Making his early fortune as a co-founder of PayPal, he has personally contributed to Facebook as its first outside investor, as well as to SpaceX, OpenAI and more through his investment firm, Founders Fund. Palantir, which he co-founded, has won government contracts worth billions to create software for the Pentagon, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and the NHS in the UK. Now, with more attention and political pull than ever, the billionaire is looking to spread his message about the antichrist, though he is better known for his savvy politics and investments than his contributions to theology.In these meandering talks, Thiel is clearly aiming for the kind of syncretic thinking he so relished in the books and lectures of the philosopher and professor Rene Girard, whom he knew at Stanford University and whose work he has long admired. Unfortunately, more often than not, Thiel ends up with something that reads like Dan Brown.Overall, the picture of Thiel that emerges in these lectures is someone desperately trying to disidentify from their own power. You realize," he tells his audience when interpreting a particular Japanese manga, in my interpretation ... who runs the world is something like the antichrist." Here's a man who, together with a couple of fellow Silicon Valley freaks, helped return a sundowning caudillo to a presidency he is obviously unsuited for, and who uses the awesome might of the US government to remake society and the world. A man who funds the companies that harness your data and determine who gets doxxed, deported, drone struck. Who funds far-right movements that seek to remake the very face of liberal democracy.China steps up control of rare-earth exports citing national security' concernsTrump threatens 100% China tariffs as Beijing restricts rare-earth exportsBank of England warns of growing risk that AI bubble could burstDo OpenAI's multibillion-dollar deals mean exuberance has got out of hand?Gen Z faces job-pocalypse' as global firms prioritise AI over new hires, report saysThe Guardian view on an AI bubble: capitalism still hasn't evolved to protect itselfThe AI valuation bubble is now getting silly | Nils Pratley Continue reading...
Company says rules similar to US parental guidance' film rating will be applied to teenagers' accountsInstagram is to adopt a version of the PG-13 cinema rating system to give parents stronger controls over their teenagers' use of the social media platform.Instagram, which is run by Meta, will start applying rules similar to the US parental guidance" movie rating - first introduced 41 years ago - to all material on Instagram's teen accounts. It means users aged under 18 will automatically be placed into the 13+ setting. They will be able to opt out only with their parents' permission. Continue reading...
As they flew above Yu Suzuki's innovative, psychedelic 3D landscapes combating space dragons and alien rock monsters, the moving arcade cabinet would fling players around and physically involve them in the actionDuring our family's holidays in the 1980s, most of which were spent at classic English seaside resorts, I spent all my time and pocket money trawling the arcades. From Shanklin to Blackpool, I played them all, attracted by those vast bulb-lit frontages, the enticing names (Fantasy Land! Treasure Island!), and of course by the bleeping, flashing video machines within. And while I spent many hours on the staple classics - Pac-Man, Galaxian, Kung Fu Master - there was one particular game I always looked out for. A weird, thrilling design classic. A total experience, operating somewhere between a traditional arcade game, a flight sim and a rollercoaster. At the time, it seemed impossibly futuristic. Now, it is 40 years old.Released by Sega in 1985, Space Harrier is a 3D space shooter in which you control a jetpack super soldier named Harrier, who flies into the screen blasting surreal alien enemies above a psychedelic landscape. When designer Yu Suzuki was first tasked with overseeing its development, the game had been conceived as an authentic military flight shooter, but the graphical limitations of the day made that impossible - there was too much complex animation. So Suzuki, inspired by the flying sequences in the fantasy movie The NeverEnding Story, envisaged something different and more surreal, with a flying character rather than a fighter plane and aliens resembling stone giants and dragons. It was colourful and crazy, like a Roger Dean painting brought to life by the Memphis Group. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#70QZF)
Premium commuter cans upgraded with longer battery life, USB-C audio and improved sound, but still cost a lotBose has updated its top-of-the-line noise-cancelling headphones with longer battery, USB-C audio and premium materials, making the commuter favourites even better.The second-generation QuietComfort Ultra headphones still have an expensive price tag, from 450 (450/$450/A$700), which is more than most competitors, including Sony's WH-1000XM6. Continue reading...
After charging, there was a power system malfunction but MG closed the case and insisted a safety check was at our own expenseOur MG5 electric car became dangerously out of control, but MG won't do anything about it.The car suffered a power system malfunction after we had used a charger at a motorway service station. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer is considering Aadhaar as model for UK, but detractors warn of digital coercion' and security breachesIt is often difficult for people in India to remember life before Aadhaar. The digital biometric ID, allegedly available for every Indian citizen, was only introduced 15 years ago but its presence in daily life is ubiquitous.Indians now need an Aadhaar number to buy a house, get a job, open a bank account, pay their tax, receive benefits, buy a car, get a sim card, book priority train tickets and admit children into school. Babies can be given Aadhaar numbers almost immediately after they are born. While it is not mandatory, not having Aadhaar de facto means the state does not recognise you exist, digital rights activists say. Continue reading...
Once a stalwart of Hong Kong's journalism scene, Wang Jian has found a new audience on YouTube, dissecting global politics and US-China relations since the pandemic. To his fans, he's part newscaster, part professor, part friendOn a Friday night in late May, Wang Jian was getting ready to broadcast. It was pouring outside, and he was sitting in the garage apartment behind his house, just outside Boston, eating dinner. I am very sensitive to what Trump does," Wang was telling me, in Mandarin, waving a fork. When Trump holds a cabinet meeting, he sits there and the people next to him start to flatter him. And I think, isn't this the same as Mao Zedong? Trump sells the same thing: a little bit of populism, plus a little bit of small-town shrewdness, plus a little bit of I have money.'"Wang was sitting next to a rack of clothing - the shirts and jackets the 58-year-old newsman wears professionally - and sipping a seemingly bottomless cup of green tea that would eventually give way to coffee. By 11pm, he would walk across the room and snap on a set of ring lights, ready to carry on an unbroken string of chatter for a YouTube news programme that he calls Wang Jian's Daily Observations". It was a slow news night but he would end up talking until nearly 1am. This was his second broadcast of the day. Different time zones, he explained to me, different audiences. Continue reading...
Officials say increased dependence on technology leaves society more vulnerable to threats such as ransomwareHighly significant" cyber-attacks rose by 50% in the past year and the UK's security services are now dealing with a new nationally significant attack more than every other day, figures from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have revealed.In what officials described as a call to arms", national security officials and ministers are urging all organisations, from the smallest businesses to the largest employers, to draw up contingency plans for the eventuality that your IT infrastructure [is] crippled tomorrow and all your screens [go] blank". Continue reading...
Union says growing numbers of its members have made complaints about infringements of copyright in AI materialThe performing arts union Equity has threatened mass direct action over tech and entertainment companies' use of its members' likenesses, images and voices in AI content without permission.The warning came as the union said growing numbers of its members had made complaints about infringements of their copyright and misuse of their personal data in AI material. Continue reading...
The traditional playground favourite is staging a comeback - without the threat of violenceName: Conkers.Age: Introduced to the UK 409 years ago. Continue reading...
Trade unions and online safety experts sign letter warning jobs losses could expose children to harmful contentTrade unions and online safety experts have urged MPs to investigate TikTok's plans to make hundreds of jobs for UK-based content moderators redundant.The video app company is planning 439 redundancies in its trust and safety team in London, leading to warnings that the jobs losses will have implications for online safety. Continue reading...
Musicians have long criticized the streaming service's paltry payouts, but a new wave of boycotts is emergingThis month, indie musicians in Oakland, California, gathered for a series of talks called Death to Spotify, where attenders explored what it means to decentralize music discovery, production and listening from capitalist economies".The events, held at Bathers library, featured speakers from indie station KEXP, labels Cherub Dream Records and Dandy Boy Records, and DJ collectives No Bias and Amor Digital. What began as a small run of talks quickly sold out and drew international interest. People as far away as Barcelona and Bengaluru emailed the organizers asking how to host similar events. Continue reading...
Critics condemn Robby Starbuck, appointed in lawsuit settlement, for peddling lies and pushing extremism'A prominent anti-DEI campaigner appointed by Meta in August as an adviser on AI bias has spent the weeks since his appointment spreading disinformation about shootings, transgender people, vaccines, crime, and protests.Robby Starbuck, 36, of Nashville, was appointed in August as an adviser by Meta - owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other tech platforms - in an August lawsuit settlement. Continue reading...
The Oxbridge-educated boffin is feted as the codebreaking genius who helped Britain win the war. But should a little-known Post Office engineer named Tommy Flowers be seen as the real father of computing?This is a story you know, right? It's early in the war and western Europe has fallen. Only the Channel stands between Britain and the fascist yoke; only Atlantic shipping lanes offer hope of the population continuing to be fed, clothed and armed. But hunting wolf packs" of Nazi U-boats pick off merchant shipping at will, coordinated by radio instructions the Brits can intercept but can't read, thanks to the fiendish Enigma encryption machine. Unless something is done - and fast - Hitler's plan to first bomb, then starve the country will succeed. Enter the genius Alan Turing, working as a codebreaker at the top secret Government Code and Cypher Schoolat Bletchley Park, who, in a generational act of intellectual virtuosity, designs and builds the world's first computer to crack Enigma, allowing the U-boats to be neutralised and the war ultimately to be won. This is why Turing is known as the father of computing.It's a great story. But, like a lot of great stories, it couldn't be more wrong. The world's first digital electronic computer, forerunner of the ones reshaping our world today, was built in Britain to revolutionise codebreaking during the second world war - a mind-boggling feat of creative innovation - but Turing wasn't in the country at the time. Neither was it conceived by the mostly private school and Oxbridge-educated boffins at Bletchley Park. Rather, the machine Park staff called Colossus was the brainchild of a degreeless Post Office engineer named Tommy Flowers, a cockney bricklayer's son who for decades was prevented by the Official Secrets Act from acknowledging his achievement. Now, with his 120th birthday approaching and a Tommy Flowers Foundation established to right this historical wrong, he is finally getting some of his due, starting with a mural by the artist Jimmy C (best known for the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London) at the National Museum of Computing. Continue reading...
Don't splash out just yet! Your existing laptop may have plenty left to give From smash-proof cases to updates: how to make your smartphone last longerSo you want a new laptop. Of course you do. Everybody always does, except for perhaps during that short honeymoon period after you've just bought one. But the glamour wears off, technology marches on, and before you know it, a newer, younger, more powerful model is wandering into your thoughts.I'm not here to judge, but as a technology specialist I can share a few thoughts that might help you fight the urge to upgrade. Continue reading...
Where once people were duped by soft-focus photos and borrowed chat-up lines, now they have to watch out for computer-generated charm. But it's one thing to use a witty phrase - another thing entirely to build a whole fake persona ...Standing outside the pub, 36-year-old business owner Rachel took a final tug on her vape and steeled herself to meet the man she'd spent the last three weeks opening up to. They'd matched on the dating app Hinge and built a rapport that quickly became something deeper. From the beginning he was asking very open-ended questions, and that felt refreshing," says Rachel. One early message from her match read: I've been reading a bit about attachment styles lately, it's helped me to understand myself better - and the type of partner I should be looking for. Have you ever looked at yours? Do you know your attachment style?" It was like he was genuinely trying to get to know me on a deeper level. The questions felt a lot more thoughtful than the usual, How's your day going?'" she says.Soon, Rachel and her match were speaking daily, their conversations running the gamut from the ridiculous (favourite memes, ketchup v mayonnaise) to the sublime (expectations in love, childhood traumas). Often they'd have late-night exchanges that left her staring at her phone long after she should have been asleep. They were like things that you read in self-help books - really personal conversations about who we are and what we want for our lives," she says. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Six tech leaders dined with investment minister, documents reveal, underlining growing influence of ex-PM's consultancyTony Blair and Nick Clegg hosted a private dinner earlier this year at which a select group of technology entrepreneurs were given access to a key minister, official documents have revealed.The former prime minister, who is a champion of the tech industry, held the dinner in an upmarket London hotel in his capacity as the head of the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) political consultancy. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence is more than Trump deepfakes of Tilly the actor. It's used in smartphones, customer service, healthcare - even legal cases. Is it possible to avoid?
His AI video generator Sora 2 has been reviled for pinching the work of others. One giant leap for Sam: for everyone else, not so muchTake a look at Sam Altman. I mean, actually do it. Go to Google images, where you can find countless photos of the OpenAI boss smiling in a kind of wan genius way, the humble lost puppy of Silicon Valley. But I urge you to simply cover the bottom half of his face in any of these pictures, and you will immediately clock that Sam has the sad-psycho eyes of the lost woman's boyfriend who the police have asked to front the missing person's appeal. Please come home, Sheila - we're all worried sick and we just want you back.If that joke seems off-colour, or crass, or some kind of manipulative stretch - please, don't worry. I'm using the OpenAI gold standard of giving-a-toss, where the unwilling subjects of any generated content have to formally, time-consumingly and bureaucratically opt out of being used/abused/exploited any way anyone likes. I haven't heard from Sam, so my assumption is that he's fine with me saying that he knows exactly where Sheila is because he put her there. He is, after all, fast emerging as precisely the type to appear alongside the phrase in plain sight".Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistA year in Westminster: John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#70NK9)
Carmakers accused of cheating air pollution rules have faced little punishment in UK but trial brought by 1.6m motorists is about to beginLittle lungs are still paying for Dieselgate every day," says Jemima Hartshorn, the founder of the Mums for Lungs campaign group. Her own young daughter has suffered serious breathing problems, which at their worst involved the harrowing experience of having to pin her to the floor to administer an inhaler.It is 10 years since the scandal erupted, exposing cars that pumped out far more toxic fumes on the road than when passing regulatory tests in the lab. But Dieselgate is far from over. Continue reading...
Chiptune alt-rock band Anamanaguchi are having a bumper year, culminating in an opportunity to create the soundtrack they've always wanted to make - for a new Scott Pilgrim gameScott Pilgrim, the series of pop culture-saturated graphic novels by Canadian author and comic book artist Bryan Lee O'Malley, has become a timeless epic about teenage insecurity, love and redemption, and the intersection of arrogance and self-esteem - as well as a Canadian interpretation of emo, indie rock and shnen-style comic books. It is a coming-of-age tale about an initially unlikable teenage boy growing up in the 00s, who matures through six graphic novels that deftly reference everything from Japanese manga to western superheroes, video games and Tintin. It is also, of course, a hit movie, a 2022 Netflix anime series, and a 2010 video game - the last two of which were soundtracked by New York City-based indie rock band Anamanaguchi.My favourite scene in the Scott Pilgrim anime is where Knives and Kim are just jamming in a room together, and almost nothing happens," laughs Peter Berkman, one of the lead songwriters and guitarists in the band. It's just one of those slice-of-life moments where you remember why you love music in the first place. It really struck a chord with me. No pun intended." Continue reading...
Twelve months, thousands of tests and a revolutionary potato masher - here are our readers' and writers' ultimate buys Don't get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe Filter is turning one. Since we launched a year ago, we've run, hiked, camped and swum; we've drunk 455 cups of coffee; washed 34 loads of clothes; slept on mattresses for 2,240 hours, and much more, testing a total of 2,040 products - from coffee machines to gin - to bring you the most rigorous, informed and entertaining buying advice.We've even had a decent stab at identifying the preferred lipstick of a global icon. And we've helped you consume less - and look after your precious things, from your phone to your wooden kitchen utensils, to make them last longer. Continue reading...
Many US-built AI systems fall short but competing against tech giants neither easy nor cheapIn Singapore, a government-funded artificial intelligence model can converse in 11 languages, from Bahasa Indonesia to Lao. In Malaysia, ILMUchat, built by a local construction conglomerate, boasts that it knows which Georgetown you're referring to" - that is, the capital of Penang and not the private university in the US. Meanwhile, Switzerland's Apertus, unveiled in September, understands when to use the Swiss German ss" and not the German-language character ".Around the world, language models like these are part of an AI arms race worth hundreds of billions of dollars mostly driven by a few powerful companies in the US and China. As giants such as OpenAI, Meta and Alibaba plough vast sums into developing increasingly powerful models, middle powers and developing countries are watching the landscape carefully, and sometimes placing their own, expensive bets. Continue reading...
In a world of distraction, it's easy to jump from one interruption to another. Could sitting doing nothing for an hour help us cope - or is it just meditation by another name?Name: Rawdogging marathons.Age: In its therapeutic sense, brand new. Continue reading...
In this week's newsletter: The almost 50% increase in the cost of Microsoft's game-streaming service is step closer to the model of TV, music and filmIn the music, TV and film industries, streaming has completely upended the business model. Instead of buying albums and films, most of us pay for a few subscriptions depending on what we want to watch, and maybe supplement that with the odd vinyl or special-edition Blu-ray. This has been pretty terrible for musicians, who earn approximately $0.004 per play on Spotify, while Spotify itself made $1bn in profit last year (admittedly after many years of operating losses). On the TV front, it's increasingly annoying for customers: in my household we have to carefully bounce around between five different TV subscriptions depending on what series we're into, to keep costs down.This model hasn't really caught on in video games. Apple has its Arcade service that offers premium mobile games for 6.99 a month, but free-to-play games are the norm on phones and tablets and make gigantic profits through ads and in-game purchases. (Fun fact: around 85% of all revenue in the entire games industry comes from free-to-play games, mostly in territories such as China.) Netflix packages games as part of its subscription, but not very many people play them. PlayStation and Nintendo both have subscription services, but they only include older games, rather than brand new ones. And then there's Game Pass, the Xbox subscription service, which has offered a library of 200+ games including all of Xbox's brand new exclusives for an eyebrow-raisingly generous price. Until now. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#70KNM)
First new design in ages, upgraded camera, serious performance and longer battery life make it a standout yearThe 17 Pro is Apple's biggest redesign of the iPhone in years, chucking out the old titanium sides and all-glass backs for a new aluminium unibody design, a huge full-width camera lump on the back and some bolder colours.That alone will make the iPhone 17 Pro popular for those looking to upgrade and be seen with the newest model. But with the change comes an increase in price to 1,099 (1,299/$1,099/A$1,999), crossing the 1,000 barrier for the first time for Apple's smallest Pro phone, which now comes with double the starting storage. Continue reading...
Authorities in Japan are taking action against excessive phone time - but what is it like to restrict scrolling to 120 minutes a day?Despite working full-time for a company in Tokyo, Shoki Moriyama manages to eke out eight hours a day to devote to his smartphone.I need my phone to navigate my way through the information wars," says Moriyama, who at 25 is part of a generation that can't imagine life without scrolling through news and social media, messaging apps and off-the-wall video clips. Continue reading...
A new exhibition in Berlin shows how the notoriously paranoid East German state greeted the dawn of video gaming with surprising enthusiasmIn 2019 researchers at Berlin's Computer Games Museum made an extraordinary discovery: a rudimentary Pong console, made from salvaged electronics and plastic soap-box enclosures for joysticks. The beige rectangular tupperware that contained its wires would, when connected to a TV by the aerial, bring a serviceable Pong copy to the screen.At the time, they thought the home-brewed device was a singular example of ingenuity behind the iron curtain. But earlier this year they found another Seifendosen-Pong (soap-box Pong"), along with a copy of a state-produced magazine called FunkAmateur containing schematics for a DIY variety of Atari's 1970s gaming sensation. Continue reading...
The Guardian spoke with therapists, media experts and journalists about helping kids process bad news and develop healthy media habitsWhen rightwing commentator Charlie Kirk was killed last month, footage of his shooting spread rapidly across social media. Today, anyone with a smartphone can access gruesome videos and images - as well as troves of misinformation. Though some experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential harm of smartphones on children and teen's mental health, the fact is most young people still have access to phones - and the often disturbing content that flows out of them.The Guardian spoke with seven experts on how best to speak with kids about upsetting content and news, at what age to start those conversations - and what to avoid.Anya Kamenetz, journalist and publisher of The Golden Hour newsletterEugene Beresin, MD, psychiatrist and executive director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts general hospitalTara Conley, assistant professor of media and journalism at Kent State UniversityTori Cordiano, PhD, Ohio-based licensed clinical psychologistJill Murphy, chief content officer of Common Sense MediaAshley Rogers Berner, professor at Johns Hopkins UniversityHolly Korbey, author of Building Better Citizens Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#70JPM)
Top Apple buds get upgraded sound, improved fit, live translation and built-in heart rate sensors, but are still unrepairableApple's extremely popular AirPods Pro Bluetooth earbuds are back for their third generation with a better fit, longer battery life, built-in heart rate sensors and more effective noise cancelling, and look set to be just as ubiquitous as their predecessors.It has been three years since the last model, but the earbuds still come only in white and you really have to squint at the details to spot the difference from the previous two generations. Continue reading...
Film-maker tells the public to stop sending her videos, saying: You're not making art, you're making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings'Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late actor and comedian Robin Williams, has spoken out against AI-generated content featuring her father.Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad," Zelda wrote in an Instagram story on Monday. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I'll understand, I don't and I won't. If you're just trying to troll me, I've seen way worse, I'll restrict and move on. But please, if you've got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop. It's dumb, it's a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it's NOT what he'd want. Continue reading...
The criminal organisation is believed to have smuggled up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China over the past 12 monthsPolice have disrupted an international network suspected of smuggling tens of thousands of stolen phones from the UK in its largest operation to tackle phone theft in London, the Metropolitan police said.The criminal organisation is believed to have smuggled up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China over the past 12 months - up to 40% of all phones stolen in the capital, the Met said on Monday. Continue reading...
The deal offers the ChatGPT maker an opportunity to buy a 10% stake in chipmaker AMDOpenAI and the chipmaker AMD announced on Monday that they had signed a multibillion-dollar chip deal that would also give the ChatGPT creator the option to buy a large stake in the chipmaker.The deal offers OpenAI an opportunity to buy 10% in AMD and marks a major vote of confidence in the company's AI chips and software. Shares of AMD surged more than 30% and added about $80bn to its market capitalization after the announcement. Continue reading...
Your September favourites are all about getting cosy - with a little side of glam Don't get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhen the weather turns colder, we all crave a little comfort. For some, that's a cosier bed, complete with a new memory foam mattress topper, or a more comfortable office chair. For others, it's a waterproof hooded scarf to keep your hair dry in style - or a hair dryer to blast it again.And it seems that for some of you, it means fringed party skirts and a cheese box through the post. Who are we to judge? Here are the things you loved the most this month. Continue reading...
AI dating sites claim they remove potential for exploitation, but critics say they are reinforcing harmful stereotypesEleanor, 24, is a Polish historian and lecturer at a university in Warsaw; Isabelle, 25, is a detective serving with the NYPD; Brooke, 39, is an American housewife who enjoys an opulent Miami lifestyle financed by her frequently absent husband.All three women will flirt and chat and send nude photographs and explicit videos via one of a soaring number of new adult dating websites that offer an increasingly realistic selection of AI girlfriends for subscribers willing to pay a monthly fee. Continue reading...
In a Consumer Champions special, Anna Tims tackles online rental disasters, from a tree collapsing on to a cottage to being trapped in a flatThe 100-year-old oak fell on the first day of the holiday. It crashed on to the terrace where James and his partner, Andrew, had been breakfasting minutes earlier, smashing the table and chairs and crushing the windscreen of their hire car.The Airbnb cottage in Provence, France, was engulfed by the branches that broke the living room window and damaged the roof. I was sure the ceiling was going to come in," says James. If it hadfallen minutes earlier we would have been seriously injured or killed." Continue reading...
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