Technology | The Guardian

The Guardian reveals FTX trustees, in charge after the CEO's downfall, allege payments were made with looted fundsMultiple events hosted at a historic former hotel in Berkeley, California, have brought together people from intellectual movements popular at the highest levels in Silicon Valley while platforming prominent people linked to scientific racism, the Guardian reveals.But because of alleged financial ties between the non-profit that owns the building - Lightcone Infrastructure (Lightcone) - and jailed crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, the administrators of FTX, Bankman-Fried's failed crypto exchange, are demanding the return of almost $5m that new court filings allege were used to bankroll the purchase of the property. Continue reading...

Artificial intelligence is creating companions who can be our confidants, friends, therapists and even lovers. But are they an answer to loneliness or merely another way for big tech to make money?Could you fall in love with an artificial intelligence? When Spike Jonze's film, Her, came out 10 years ago, the question still seemed hypothetical. The gradual romance between Joaquin Phoenix's character Theodore and Scarlett Johansson's Samantha, an operating system that embraces his vulnerabilities, felt firmly rooted in science fiction. But just one year after the film's release, in 2014, Amazon's Alexa was introduced to the world. Talking to a computer in your home became normalised.Personified AI has since infiltrated more areas of our lives. From AI customer service assistants to therapy chatbots offered by companies such as character.ai and wysa, plus new iterations of ChatGPT, the sci-fi storyline of Her has come a lot closer. In May, an updated version of ChatGPT with voice assistant software launched, its voice's similarity to Scarlett Johansson's prompting the actor to release a statement claiming that she was shocked, angered and in disbelief" that the AI system had a voice eerily similar" to her own. Continue reading...

Less than half of Australian children and teens think they can tell real news stories from fake. So how well are we preparing them for a new media world order?Beneath an old Queenslander on the south side of the Brisbane River, beside a garage with a hand-painted sign that reads recording" and above a computer in a cluttered spare room, is a Post-it note.Sugar-coated broccoli," it reads. Continue reading...

A new essay on the rise of superintelligent machines pivots from being a warning to humanity to a rallying cry for an industrial complex to bolster American military defenceTen years ago, the Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom published Superintelligence, a book exploring how superintelligent machines could be created and what the implications of such technology might be. One was that such a machine, if it were created, would be difficult to control and might even take over the world in order to achieve its goals (which in Bostrom's celebrated thought experiment was to make paperclips).The book was a big seller, triggering lively debates but also attracting a good deal of disagreement. Critics complained that it was based on a simplistic view of intelligence", that it overestimated the likelihood of superintelligent machines emerging any time soon and that it failed to suggest credible solutions for the problems that it had raised. But it had the great merit of making people think about a possibility that had hitherto been confined to the remoter fringes of academia and sci-fi. Continue reading...

The student on the image she took while working on a series for her photography A-levelAleesha Coker, then 17, and her two younger sisters, Freda and Bintu, had stopped off at the corner shop for a snack on their way home from school. Coker had been working on a series for her photography A-level, shooting through glass from exterior to interior. As the girls passed by apayphone in Lorrimore Square, south London, Coker was inspired to set up a moment. She used an iPhone 12 set to portrait mode - I don't particularly enjoy using film cameras," she says - and was pleased with how themuted colours gave it anintimate feeling".As their older sister, I feel a responsibility to protect them and be a role model. Freda is 13. She's very quiet most of the time, but can be loud when she feels comfortable. Bintu is 10; she has a very bubbly character and can be outspoken. I don't think their expressions in the photograph necessarily reflect the excitable parts of their personalities," she says, but something deeper. When my little sisters gaze at the camera in this way, I'm reminded of how much they trust me." Continue reading...

Pope Francis is leaning on thinking of Paolo Benanti, a friar adept at explaining how technology can change worldAfter a gruelling first day discussing how to finance a prolonged war against an authoritarian dictator, G7 leaders in Puglia next turned for advice from someone who insists he is infallible, and for good measure thinks Ukraine should have the courage to wave the white flag.Normally when an 87-year-old claiming infallibility turns up at your door, the instinct is to give them a cup of tea and quietly ring social services. But when 1.3 billion other people, including your hostess, believe he is indeed infallible, the dynamic somewhat changes. Continue reading...

Although shareholders have backed chief executive's remuneration deal, doubts remain over whether he will be able to access share-based packageTesla's battle to reinstate Elon Musk's $45bn (35bn) pay package is far from over, according to legal experts, despite shareholders backing the chief executive's remuneration deal.Investors in the electric carmaker re-ratified the pay deal on Thursday after it had been struck down by a judge in the US state of Delaware. The company's chair, Robin Deynholm has already pledged to put it back in front of the court". Continue reading...

As growing numbers of people turn to grieftech, some are disturbed by its possible consequencesWhen Christi Angel first talked to a chatbot impersonating her deceased partner, Cameroun, she found the encounter surreal and very weird".Yes, I knew it was an AI system but, once I started chatting, my feeling was I was talking to Cameroun. That's how real it felt to me," she says. Continue reading...

Scam email saying that the actor was in a fix and needed cash was sent to contacts including Jamie Dornan - Beatty was the only one to come to his aidEddie Redmayne has revealed that after his email was hacked, Warren Beatty responded by offering to wire him money: whatever you need".Redmayne told the story on Late Night With Seth Meyers, and said that a couple of years ago" a scammer hacked his email and sent money requests to his contacts, including Beatty and fellow actor Jamie Dornan. Continue reading...

One for the historians and tech specialists maybe, but this documentary about the Moviola, used from the 1920s until the 21st century, is a fascinating watchHoward Berry is a British film historian and chronicler of Elstree studios; now he has directed this unique documentary, written and conceived by the legendary film and sound editor Walter Murch, who edited among other movies Apocalypse Now, The Godfather and The English Patient. Together, Murch and Berry have provided what can only described as a full-on geekgasm for connoisseurs of movie production in the pre-digital age.Their subject is the Moviola, an analogue editing machine the size of a fridge with two pedals, one for advancing, the other for rewinding film, a little screen and speaker for sound. However cumbersome it may look to people used to editing TikTok videos on their phones, the Moviola was an engineering miracle of efficiency and portability. It was passionately loved and admired by film-makers, in use in basically the same form for most of cinema's existence, from its invention in 1922 until the 21st century - and which stayed stubbornly around for while even after digital editing became the norm, as if a Model T Ford was kept on the road until the Toyota Prius took over. Using one was addictive: Orson Welles was famously obsessed with the one he owned. (Murch says he repeatedly stayed late at the office working on his, until his wife demanded to know if he was having an affair; yes, he replied, her name is Moviola.") Continue reading...

All Saints Catholic College aiming to give children their childhood back' by breaking their screen addictionsTwo months ago a radical experiment in one London state school hit the headlines. All Saints Catholic College announced it was piloting a 12-hour school day in what was reported as a bold attempt to break students' phone addictions.From 7am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday the youngest pupils, in years 7 and 8, could stay in school. For 10 a week, they would be served a cooked breakfast and family" dinner, and offered activities from drama to ceramics and sports. The only catch: their phones had to remain in their bags, switched off, for the entire 12 hours. No peeking. Continue reading...

Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android; Zynga/Lucasfilm Games

A school in west London is trying to give children their childhood back - by extending its hours from 7am to 7pm. Will it work? Helen Pidd reportsFrom the isolating effect of the Covid pandemic, to austerity and the cost of living crisis, schools are on the front line of the problems facing the communities that surround them. And on top of those challenges in recent years worries have been going of the effect that mobile phones and social media are having on the mental health of pupils. Now, one school has decided to take drastic action.For the last seven weeks, All Saints Catholic college in Ladbroke Grove has been opening its doors to children from 7am to 7pm. It's part of a pilot scheme running for 10 weeks with the aim of addressing some of the problems teachers have seen grow over the past few years. The school is in the shadow of Grenfell Tower, many children are eligible for free school meals - and it is thriving. Now it wants to help parents ensure their children do their homework, play games and socialise face to face. Continue reading...

Billionaire tells shareholders hot damn, I love you guys' after retaining largest-ever executive pay package at US-listed firm Musk's pay package not a done deal, say legal expertsTesla shareholders have approved a $45bn (35.3bn) pay deal for CEO Elon Musk, following a fiercely contested referendum on his leadership.The result, announced on Thursday, comes as the billionaire tycoon fights to retain the largest-ever compensation package granted to an executive at a US-listed company. Continue reading...

I set expectations when she saved up and got the phone - little did I know it would undermine them, and her mental healthThe byline on this essay is a pseudonym.My daughter is one of those kids the US surgeon general warned us about. Our nation's children are unknowing participants" in a decades-long experiment". Social media usage poses mental health risks to youth, who use it almost constantly", causing sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety. Continue reading...

Survive a spooky theme park, embark on a punishing journey through ancient Iceland or try your hand at a magical card game - the year's best games so farChannelling the sci-fi military satire and extreme gloopy gore of Starship Troopers, Helldivers 2 was a surprise mega hit on its launch in February. Looking back we shouldn't have been shocked: it delivers engrossing, hilarious co-op action in a range of desolate landscapes against horrible insects and crazed robots, and it makes each fight feel like part of a much wider story - a factor heightened by Arrowhead Game Studios' excellent use of social media channels. Continue reading...

Electric carmaker's CEO faces crunch vote before its AGM over biggest pay package in US corporate history

In this week's newsletter: The longtime Daily Show host takes his satirical style to podcasting with The Weekly Show. Plus: five of the best election podcasts Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhere Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes)

Company maintains its in-house AI is made with security in mind, but some professionals say it remains to be seen'At its annual developers conference on Monday, Apple announced its long-awaited artificial intelligence system, Apple Intelligence, which will customize user experiences, automate tasks and - the CEO Tim Cook promised - will usher in a new standard for privacy in AI".While Apple maintains its in-house AI is made with security in mind, its partnership with OpenAI has sparked plenty of criticism. OpenAI tool ChatGPT has long been the subject of privacy concerns. Launched in November 2022, it collected user data without explicit consent to train its models, and only began to allow users to opt out of such data collection in April 2023. Continue reading...

CEO claims he is winning investor votes by wide margins' but it is unclear if court will allow restoration of payout

Crypto firm was found liable for defrauding investors who lost nearly $40bn when its tokens collapsed in 2022Terraform Labs reached a $4.47bn civil settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, after being found liable by a jury for defrauding cryptocurrency investors who lost an estimated $40bn when the TerraUSD and Luna tokens collapsed in 2022, leading to a disastrous downturn that affected the entire crypto industry.A proposed final judgment covering Terraform and its founder Do Kwon was filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. It requires approval by the US district judge Jed Rakoff, who oversaw the trial, which ended on 5 April. Continue reading...

California Forever hopes to build sustainable city in Solano county but company's tactics have been controversialVoters in northern California will get to weigh in on whether a contentious plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a new city north of San Francisco can go ahead.California Forever, the company behind the initiative to build a green city for up to 400,000 people in California farmland, submitted well over the 13,000 valid signatures required to put it on the 5 November ballot, elections officials said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

In this week's newsletter: While the blockbuster end of the games industry is in the doldrums, independent developers are leading a creative resurgence Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereI've talked a lot about the declining state of the games industry in 2024: after an infusion of cash during the pandemic, when everybody was looking for safe ways to distract themselves and socialise indoors and the games industry's growth was temporarily supercharged, this year has been an overcorrection. Studios and corporations that expanded too fast, made too many hires and acquisitions, have been laying off staff and shuttering studios. Developers looking for work have been finding fewer opportunities. And the games whose development was disrupted by the pandemic have been taking longer to make it out into the world, resulting in a comparatively sparse slate of titles this year compared with the bonanza in 2023.You could see Summer Game Fest - the smaller event in Los Angeles that has de facto replaced E3 - as a reflection of this diminishment. What was once an enormous, expensive-looking sensory assault of a trade show in the cavernous halls of the LA Convention Centre is now a small cluster of buildings a few blocks from Skid Row. What were once ostentatious press conferences are now 90-minute-long trailer livestreams that you can watch on your laptop. I found it hard not to feel glum on my first day in Los Angeles last week; I felt like the best days of the games industry might be well behind us. Continue reading...

Disquiet over social media addiction is leading to a growing enthusiasm for Polaroids, postcards and the physical and analogue worldFor Bea, it was moments like finding herself scrolling though the news on the toilet that made her feel the need to reassess her relationship with her phone.The 37-year-old from London had began to feel uncomfortable with the way pinging notifications and the urge to pick up her phone were encroaching on her life. So when her iPhone broke, over a year ago, she decided it was time to switch to a device that allowed her to stay in touch with others while minimising distractions. Continue reading...

Safety groups say they're increasingly finding chats about creating images based on past child sexual abuse materialPredators active on the dark web are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of children, fixating especially on star" victims, child safety experts warn.Child safety groups tracking the activity of predators chatting in dark web forums say they are increasingly finding conversations about creating new images based on older child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Many of these predators using AI obsess over child victims referred to as stars" in predator communities for the popularity of their images. Continue reading...

My Galaxy Book 360 from Currys developed screen cracks while it was just sitting on a tableIn February I bought a Samsung Galaxy Book 360 convertible laptop from Currys and paid 1,279.After a couple of months, while sitting on a table overnight, it developed two hairline cracks across the screen. This device has never been dropped or damaged by me. Continue reading...

If Musk is awarded an astronomic $56bn pay award for a second time, it will amount to an astonishing lack of self-reflectionOne reasonable view of the great Elon Musk pay affair says Tesla shareholders should stick to their guns and approve the astronomic $56bn award for a second time, thereby sending a message to the interfering Delaware judge who cancelled the 2018 scheme that they're quite capable of making up their own minds, thanks very much.That, roughly speaking, is the stance of Baillie Gifford, a big investor in the electric vehicle company since the early days. We agreed the remuneration package with Tesla back in 2018 because it introduced extremely stretching targets that would make a huge amount of money for shareholders if they were reached," Tom Slater, manager of the FTSE 100 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, told the Financial Times last month. Having agreed to that, we believe that it should be paid out." Fair enough, the line has the virtue of consistency: we understood what we were voting for, and a deal's a deal. Continue reading...

Wikiesfera is one of a handful of groups around world trying to make women visible' on user-edited sitePacked into the back room of a feminist bookshop in Madrid, 17 women hunched over their laptops, chatting and laughing as they passed around snacks. Every now and then a hearty burst of applause punctuated the sound of typing, each time marking a milestone as the group steadily chipped away at what is perhaps one of the world's most pervasive gender gaps.Just under a fifth of Wikipedia's content, including biographies, is focused on women, while women account for just about 15% of the site's volunteer editors. The numbers are pretty terrifying," said Patricia Horrillo, who for much of the past decade has spent her spare time working to tackle this gap, cultivating a community of Wikipedia editors dedicated to publishing content focused on women. Continue reading...

Tech giant's shares climb 7% a day after reveal of artificial intelligence features meant to increase appeal of the iPhoneApple shares climbed more than 7% to a record high on Tuesday by market close, a day after presenting new artificial intelligence features meant to increase the appeal of its devices, including the iPhone, under the umbrella of Apple Intelligence".The rally comes as a breather for the stock, which has underperformed versus the benchmark S&P 500 this year, as Apple grapples with weak sales for its premium consumer gadgets. Apple stands to add the better part of $200bn to its market value if the current stock price of $207 holds. Continue reading...

Tesla CEO had accused company of abandoning mission of creating artificial intelligence for greater good of humanityElon Musk has moved to dismiss his lawsuit accusing ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of abandoning the startup's original mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.Musk launched the suit against Altman in February, and the case had been slowly working its way through the California court system. There was no indication until Tuesday that Musk planned to drop the suit; only a month ago, his lawyers filed a challenge that forced the judge hearing the case to remove himself. Continue reading...

Only most powerful iPhones will meet processing requirements to run new Siri and Apple Intelligence featuresApple's big push into AI - which the company insists stands for Apple Intelligence" - could spark an upgrade supercycle", with the intense processing requirements for the souped-up Siri limiting it to only the most powerful iPhones currently on the market.The company risks angering users who will update to iOS 18 this autumn to discover that even a brand-new iPhone 15 is unable to run features such as automatic transcription, image generation and a smarter, more conversational voice assistant. Continue reading...

Chris Ailman, chief of one of the largest pension funds in the US, says he will vote against packageThe manager of one of the largest pension funds in the US said it will vote against Elon Musk's ridiculous" pay deal as Tesla campaigns for its reinstatement.Shareholders in the electric carmaker are voting on the $56bn compensation package - the largest ever granted to an executive at a US-listed company - after it was thrown out by a Delaware judge earlier this year. Continue reading...

Thibaud Hug de Larauze says sales at his marketplace for refurbished electronics are soaring not just because people need to save money, but because they also care about wasteThibaud Hug de Larauze is waving his iPhone, boasting that it is more than seven years old. It works great," he says. Not what you'd expect from a tech entrepreneur heading one of France's biggest unicorn" startups - Back Market - which has raised more than $1bn to expand into 18 countries.The chief executive of the secondhand gadget marketplace says he would rather identify as an eco-warrior than a tech guru, fighting to persuade us all to buy pre-owned phones, laptops and other devices, and repair or recycle our old ones. Continue reading...

Exclusive: NHS source says clarity needed on how Russian hackers gained access and whether records are retrievableThe cyber-attack that is causing serious disruption for hospitals and GP surgeries in London will take many months" to resolve, a senior NHS source has warned.It is unclear how long it will take for the services to get back to normal, but it is likely to take many months," the well placed official said. Continue reading...

As Apple's new Passwords app tries to solve our identity crisis, why are we still proving who we are via strings of random characters?Whether it stands for artificial intelligence or, er, Apple intelligence, AI is the hot news of the day. Which is why I think it's time to talk about [sits backwards on chair] passwords.It may have been buried in the reporting of last night's Apple event - which the inestimable Kari Paul and Nick Robins-Early covered for us from Cupertino and New York - but one of the more consequential changes coming to the company's platforms in the next year is the creation of a new Passwords app.The average user probably has never heard of 1Password or LastPass, and they may or may not be aware that the iPhone can automatically create and store passwords for them. For users like that, a new Passwords app showing up on their iPhone's Home screen this fall is going to hopefully lead them to a more secure computing future.A mild improvement in your daily life. That's what Apple, Google and Microsoft are offering, with a fairly rare triple announcement that the three tech giants are all adopting the Fido standard and ushering in a passwordless future. The standard replaces usernames and passwords with passkeys', log-in information stored directly on your device and only uploaded to the website when matched with biometric authentication like a selfie or fingerprint.At around 11pm last night my partner went to change our lounge room lights with our home light control system. When she tried to login, her account couldn't be accessed. Her Apple Keychain had deleted the Passkey she was using on that site ... Just like adblockers, I predict that Passkeys will only be used by a small subset of the technical population, and consumers will generally reject them.Zoom users in the not-too-distant future could send AI avatars to attend meetings in their absence, the company's chief executive has suggested, delegating the drudge-work of corporate life to a system trained on their own content. Phasing out voice based authentication as a security measure for accessing bank accounts and other sensitive information

Data watchdogs in UK and Canada to look at whether there were enough safeguards on personal information

Solid sound, 50 hours of battery life, spatial audio and cross-platform features elevate fourth-gen BeatsThe Solo 4 headphones are a revamp of the fan favourite that helped make Beats a household name, upgraded with longer battery life, better sound and modern Apple and Android-loving features.The original Solo HD launched in 2009 and was most recently updated as the Solo 3 in 2016 after Apple's purchase of Beats. Now in their fourth generation, the Solo are the company's smallest and lightest headphones, costing 200 (230/$200/A$330), and sit below the 350 Studio Pro.Weight: 217gDimensions: 177 x 158 x 68mmDrivers: 40mmConnectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm, USB-C audio and chargingBluetooth codecs: SBC, AACBattery life: 50 hours Continue reading...

The social media star on performing to silent audiences, turning spite into success and still having to prove herself as a proper' comedianCan you recall a gig so bad, it's now funny?

New features and deal with OpenAI presented at conference marks change in focus for tech giant, which is under pressure to catch up with rival firms' AI pushTim Cook, the Apple CEO, announced a series of generative artificial intelligence products and services on Monday during his keynote speech at the company's annual developer conference, WWDC, including Apple Intelligence" and a deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.The new tools mark a major shift toward AI for Apple, which has seen slowing global sales over the past year and integrated fewer AI features into its consumer-facing products than competitors. Continue reading...

Preview of this autumn's new edition promises fresh missions in the service of US power and a ground floor' rebuild of the gaming monster truckMicrosoft wasn't messing about with its Xbox showcase this year. After a raft of announcements about job losses and studio closures, the company looked to give gamers what they wanted in its Sunday night Summer Game Fest slot, ending with a full 40-minute preview of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, a game so large it will require a 300GB download, as well as continual online access even for the single-player mode, due to the amount of textures it's going to be streaming from remote servers. As expected, the Xbox version will be available day one on GamePass, but there will be no platform exclusivity - the PlayStation version will arrive the same day: 25 October.The game itself is set during the geopolitical tumult of the early 1990s, taking in the fall of the Soviet Union, the Gulf war and the transition of the US presidency from George Bush to Bill Clinton. As ever, the Campaign story is an airport novel spy thriller taking in deniable CIA ops, clandestine power struggles and conspiracies that go to the very top, dammit. Series regular Frank Woods has been gravely injured and withdrawn from active duty, giving way to reckless spec ops squad leader Troy Marshall and smart CIA handler Jane Harrow. When a mission screws up, they're forced to go rogue, recruiting a ragtag team of tech nerds and glamorous assassins. It is almost definitely going to be your ass on the line here, sir. Continue reading...

In the middle of a troubled year for Xbox, Microsoft showed a packed slate of games for its Game Pass subscription service in 2024 and 2025Xbox has not had the best year, so far. In January and February, a leaked announcement that formerly Xbox-exclusive games were about to make their way on to rival consoles the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch sent the most vociferous portion of its fanbase into a tailspin, convincing themselves that Microsoft was about to give up on Xbox exclusivity altogether. (In the end it was only four games, but Xbox's leadership took their time clarifying.) In May, Xbox closed two well-loved studios that it had acquired in a spending spree a few years ago: Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush, The Evil Within) and Arkane Austin (Prey, Dishonored). All this comes on the back of flagging sales for its Xbox Series X/S consoles; analysts have estimated that the PlayStation 5 is outselling them lately by a factor of 5:1.Microsoft will have been hoping to rescue the narrative with its Xbox games showcase, which was broadcast live on Sunday and screened at an event in Los Angeles for media, games industry and a coterie of Xbox fans. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, a new Indiana Jones game and the return of brutal action-game series Gears of War led the pack in blockbuster games, but there were also plenty of smaller-scale announcements. With its Game Pass service, which offers an ever-changing library of games for a monthly fee, Microsoft has made a billion-dollar bet on Netflix-style streaming as the future of video games - and after its recent merger with Activision Blizzard, it now has a huge number of game studios making games for it. Continue reading...

It didn't work after it switched his landline to digital without warningMy 101-year-old father was left without a landline and a functioning panic button after BT switched his phone service from analogue to digital without warning us. BT had informed us that the contract was about to finish, and asked me to contact them about renewing. I duly called and was, at no time, advised to contact the panic button provider, or told of the possible need for adaptors to connect analogue phones to the new service. After four hours on the phone to BT when the service failed, I was informed that digital adaptors were required to ensure our phones worked. Four days later, these had still not arrived and BT said it was unable to expedite the delivery. My father, who is registered blind and has only 30% hearing, was without his panic button for five days until the care line team attended and got it working.

Worried she was missing out, Ella Glover took off her headphones for a month and rediscovered the soundscape of humanity, made space to listen to friends - and tuned in to her own thoughtsUntil about a month ago, the thought of leaving my flat without my headphones connected to my smartphone filled me with anxiety. Any length of time, whether a two-minute walk to the shop or a two-hour commute, with nothing but my own thoughts and the racket of the city to listen to, was enough to send me into a mild frenzy.This borderline compulsive relationship with my headphones wasn't something I was even aware of until earlier this year, when my friend, the environmental sound artist Lance Laoyan, noted how headphones not only disconnect us from the reality of noise pollution, but also keep us distracted under the guise of helping us to focus. This conversation sent me down a bit of a thought spiral, of which I am prone, and I became acutely aware of the ubiquity of headphones in our culture and how little attention we pay to it. Continue reading...

The proliferation of Quick Response codes has created a cybersecurity nightmare, but public vigilance can helpHere's a familiar scenario. You're going to a meeting in an unfamiliar part of town. You're running late and it's raining. And there isn't a car park in sight. Ah, but here's some on-street parking and you gratefully pull into the empty bay. Now all you have to do is pay for a couple of hours and then scuttle along to your meeting. But the parking meter (of course) no longer takes coins. This is the 21st century, after all.No worries - you can pay by phone. There are notices plastered all over the meter on how to pay using an app that - of course - you have not yet downloaded. The rain is getting heavier and there's no mobile signal. You're getting increasingly flustered. And then you spot that there's a Quick Response (QR) code - a nice (if incomprehensible) square with lots of funny squares and spaces - on one side of the meter. Phew! All you have to do is scan it and you'll be through to a website in no time. So you do and you are. Job done. Relax. Continue reading...

Billy Basso; Bigmode; PC, PlayStation, Switch

The Italian photographer on capturing a moment of peace on the Rimini riviera during a difficult timeAs a portraitist and wedding photographer, Matteo Fagiolino likes to reflect his subjects' personalities in his work. This photograph was taken after the first Covid lockdown ended, at the beach at Torre Pedrera, a town on the Rimini riviera in Italy.It was a summer afternoon after months of social distancing," he says. It had been so long since my whole family had spent the day together, it was a breath of fresh air for everyone." Continue reading...

After plans to make St Albans the first smartphone-free city for children under 14, our panellists discuss potential benefits and drawbacksI wouldn't mind if it was only in St Albans that headteachers want to create a smartphone-free city for under-14s. I can take reasonable steps not to live there. But banning phones for young people is raised all the time, and it's the lazy way out. There are noticeable negative effects of extensive internet use: I'm 16, and in the middle of GCSEs - if I could get back all the revision time I've lost on TikTok, believe me, I would. Continue reading...

Users are 31% more likely to vote left than people of the same age and background who do not use it, poll findsThis might be the first TikTok general election, but it probably won't be the first election decided by it for one simple reason: the video app's British users are already likely to vote Labour.The problem is that almost everyone on TikTok is already on our side," said one Labour campaign source. We need to reach swing voters." Continue reading...

The latest title in the long-running strategy series was the biggest reveal at an event that celebrated small indie titles as much as big hittersIn a two-hour presentation that was short on major announcements, but big on independent titles, this year's Summer Game Fest was dominated by one reveal - Civilization 7 is coming out in 2025.The legendary strategy simulation series, which debuted back in 1991, hasn't seen a fresh instalment for eight years. Although it seems publisher 2K accidentally leaked the announcement earlier in the day, it was still a treat for fans to see designer Sid Meier on video, introducing the new project standing in front of a table filled with Bafta awards. Continue reading...

After three years of silence, Keith Gill resurfaces in bizarre live stream while GameStop shares tumble 40%Can y'all hear me right now?" Keith Gill began his broadcast. I kinda forget how to do this."Back in 2021, the influencer better known as Roaring Kitty led a crusade by retail traders which triggered the extraordinary surge in GameStop, an embattled video games chain - and left Wall Street scrambling. Gill became an internet star, and even testified to Congress about his bullish stance on the stock. Continue reading...