Technology | The Guardian

Tech industry fears delays to its multi-trillion dollar infrastructure buildout meant to power artificial intelligenceSeveral newly elected Democrats and Senator Bernie Sanders have renewed calls for datacenter moratoriums in the days after the US midterm elections. The sweeping Democratic victory, which was buoyed in part by backlash to the tech industry, has added momentum to efforts to slow down the multi-trillion-dollar buildout of the controversial facilities.On the social media platform X, Sanders posted a call for an immediate national datacenter moratorium this week. Americans don't want Big Tech oligarchs wrecking the environment, gutting jobs and threatening humanity's future," Sanders said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Monogramming or customizing takes gifts to the next level - and shows recipients that you know what they like and who they are

Separate actions also take place outside fence and across Europe in backlash against impact of AI boomActivists have stormed the site of a Microsoft datacentre being built in Amsterdam, as the backlash to the social and environmental harms of the AI boom spreads across Europe.Protesters from Geef Tegengas, a Dutch direct action group, clashed with police while breaking into a construction site at Westpoort, Amsterdam, where some members climbed a crane, lit flares and tied helium balloons to equipment. Continue reading...

There are more than 100,000 words and phrases that the tech giant has restricted its predictive text from completing, research showsAustralia is a very bad place to question your sexuality on MDMA with NSA spies" might be a text you would wish to send to your friends, if you have had an extraordinarily complicated night out in Sydney.But your iPhone won't help you spell any of it if you try to swipe-type it - that is, by gliding a finger across a keyboard as opposed to pecking out a word. Continue reading...

After Thursday's share price plunge on Wall Street, could the volatility be the start of a huge market meltdown?Global financial markets have been thrown into a tailspin as investors bet on an AI slowdown after the US midterm elections.This is not the first time stock markets have wobbled in recent months due to concerns over a tech bubble. But could this volatility be the start of a huge market meltdown? Continue reading...

Regulator's initial ruling says algorithm can be harmful' and led young and vulnerable viewers down rabbit holes they can't easily escape'TikTok has been charged by the European Commission with failing to protect users' mental health by exposing them to a relentless stream of content that risks worsening eating disorders and anxiety in a case that strikes at its business model.Issuing a preliminary ruling on Friday, the EU regulator said TikTok's algorithm can be harmful" and was leading young and vulnerable users down rabbit holes they cannot easily escape from". Continue reading...

From Polaroid cameras to skincare, loungewear to gaming accessories, here are the presents teenage boys and girls told us they rate for 2026 Homemade Christmas gifts anyone can makeBecause there is no doubt your teen thinks they know better than you, we took them at their word and asked what they think makes the perfect gift for Christmas (or other religious festival they celebrate).To ensure the selection was truly tried and tested, we asked them only about presents they have already received, love and use constantly. We also made sure to ask a broad range of teens - from book lovers to tech fiends and plenty in between - to try to represent the myriad tastes of this age group. Continue reading...

While there's no evidence linking AI to mass layoffs, the tech has already changed worker psychology'When artificial intelligence researcher Mrinank Sharma quit his job at Anthropic earlier this year, the news rippled across the internet. In his resignation letter, posted on X and viewed 15.3m times, Sharma warned of a world in peril" from the technology he had helped build.It is clear to me the time has come to move on," he wrote. His next move: a poetry degree. Continue reading...

When our writer found himself among the hundreds on Oxford Street hoping to get their hands on early copies and collectibles, it was a heartwarming reminder of the shared experience of fandom The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time review - a dream come trueIt is Thursday night and I am sat blurry-eyed and runny nosed outside the Argos on Oxford Street. Incredibly, I am far from alone. This is not some strange protest against the popular retailer. When the clock strikes midnight, the lavish 4K Switch 2 remake of beloved N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be released, and I have joined a lengthy queue of about 500 fans desperate to snag early copies. There are similar events taking place across the world, from Melbourne to Mexico City; at key locations, Nintendo has senior executives waiting at the tills.These days, of course, most video games are bought as digital copies that download straight to your PC or console on the day of release. You don't even have to get out of bed to start playing. But in a bygone era, when we used to go to shops to buy games, midnight launches offered a space for likeminded enthusiasts to gather and celebrate their fandom. Every Call of Duty, Halo or Grand Theft Auto release would have fans queueing outside branches of Game or Electronics Boutique, many dressed as favourite characters. Continue reading...

Decision made in order for factory in Texas to be used for Cybercab, the carmaker's self-driving taxiElon Musk has announced that Tesla will wind down production of its Cybertruck, marking the end of a failed effort to take a chunk of the lucrative market for pickups in the US.The billionaire chief executive said production of the car would stop in about the middle of next year at the company's factory in Texas in order to use the plant for the Cybercab, its self-driving taxi. Continue reading...

Meta says it removes content that could cause imminent physical harm - but nearly half a million members have joined a group that regularly promotes misinformationAs a measles outbreak spread through Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in August, a parent turned to a massive public Facebook group, Crunchy Moms, for advice. They were considering getting their three-year-old vaccinated, in part to protect their six-month-old.I'm nervous for my baby," the parent wrote. Continue reading...

UN conference this month seen as key moment after years of discussions on filling gap in governance of AI systemsPlans to fill a gap in the global governance of autonomous weapons are in jeopardy as a group of nations led by Russia and the US move to use a UN conference this month to block proposals to negotiate a legally binding set of rules.The scale of the opposition will become clear at a diplomatic retreat starting on Friday before the seventh review conference on certain conventional weapons" in Geneva due to be attended by 128 countries from 16 to 20 November. Continue reading...

Nearly $2tn shaved off Nasdaq value as worries of curbs to AI datacenters ripple across boursesThe Nasdaq share index had its worst day in 19 months after slumping 5.5% on Thursday amid growing signs that the artificial intelligence industry will face tougher regulation because of the midterm election results.As Wall Street sustained widespread losses, the Nasdaq composite tumbled into correction territory" - more than 10% below its recent record high - with more than $2tn shaved off its value by the end of trading Thursday. The tech-heavy index had its biggest one-day fall since Donald Trump announced his liberation day" tariffs on US trading partners in April 2025. Continue reading...

Law bans social media platforms from providing minors features such as autoplay that lead to compulsive useGoogle, Meta and TikTok have sued California to block enforcement of a new state law intended to limit the risk of addicting children under 16 to social media platforms.The law, known as Assembly Bill 1709, prohibits such platforms from offering underage children psychologically exploitative features" that could lead to compulsive use, such as providing personal recommendations and sending videos through autoplay features. It also requires the deletion of children's accounts with those features. Continue reading...

Philippe Jaenada told French radio that he used ChatGPT to play with the reader', after the prize removed a different book from its longlist over allegations of AI useThe winner of France's most prestigious literary prize has admitted using artificial intelligence while writing his novel, barely a day after collecting an award whose jury had thrown out another book over suspected AI use.Philippe Jaenada, who won the Prix Goncourt on Tuesday for L'Inconnue du quai de Javel (The Unknown Woman of the Quai de Javel), told France Inter radio on Wednesday that he had turned to AI three times" while writing it. Continue reading...

Minister hints at restriction on selling technology to certain users' amid worries over surreptitious filming of womenThe government is considering placing restrictions on smart glasses amid concerns the technology is being used to surreptitiously film women, a minister has said.Speaking in the House of Commons, the safeguarding minister, Satvir Kaur, hinted at a ban on selling the technology to certain users". Continue reading...

What do you get the man who doesn't seem to want anything? From fiery condiments to chef's knives, slippers to portable speakers, these ideas are sure to hit the spot The best Christmas gifts for mums in 2026Gifts for dads, grandads and other father figures can often feel like a shot in the dark. What do you get for someone who doesn't seem to want anything, or who already has it all?Shared experiences or promises of peace and quiet are popular options, but they are tricky to wrap. Which is where my recommendations come in. Continue reading...

The tech industry spent big on the midterms, but it turned out to be a poor investment. Elon Musk poured a staggering $446m dollars into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and groups since last year, but his efforts didn't pay off. Democrats won every one of the five Senate races where Musk's America Pac spent the most money backing Republican candidates. Carter Sherman and Kai Wright are joined by the Guardian's US tech editor, Blake Montgomery, to ask what the blue tsunami' will mean for Musk and the wider tech industry. Will this spell the end of AI datacenters? And if so, what could this mean for the US economy? Continue reading...

As GTA 6 looms, we look at the films that have influenced Rockstar's creatives, from Heat to Bonnie and Clyde, via Boyz n the Hood and SpeedGrand Theft Auto is arguably the most cinematic video game series ever made. Over the past three decades, the games have studied and stolen the themes, conventions and visual dynamism of great gangster and action movies, applying them to open worlds filled with low-life characters and grand set-piece possibilities. Here then are the movies (and TV show) that have shaped the GTA experience, from the 1996 original to this year's inescapable instalment. Continue reading...

Democrats' success was helped by popular anger over tech, AI and the super rich - life for billionaires could become much more difficultThe photo of Silicon Valley centibillionaires at Donald Trump's inauguration - Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg, front row and side by side - now looks like a hitlist for a blue Congress hellbent on making life difficult for billionaires.The picture symbolized at the time the bending of the knee by the richest men in the world to its most powerful, a symbiosis of the ultra-rich. Already unfathomably wealthy, Silicon Valley tycoons believed a Maga-sized public shift to the right would enrich them even more. It did. For several years, while Trump seemed an everlasting kingmaker and AI's expansion seemed unstoppable, their fortunes ballooned to values beyond comprehension. Elon Musk's surpassed $1tn. Continue reading...

More than 100 campaign groups will join together in 15 countries this week to call for a halt to major AI projectsProtesters across Europe are planning two days of action against datacentres this week with demonstrations taking place in 15 countries.More than 100 groups are joining together for the Stop Dirty Data Centres" events on Friday and Saturday. They are calling for a moratorium on large projects, citing environmental and social costs that we can no longer afford". Continue reading...

All-round upgrades fit a bigger OLED screen in a smaller and lighter body with water resistance for first timeThe new iPad mini takes Apple's fan-favourite tiny tablet and upgrades just about everything about it, including giving it a new OLED screen, serious performance, speakers embedded into the display and even water resistance, all with a big new price tag.The eighth-generation iPad mini costs from 699 (749/$699/A$1,099), which is 200 or equivalent more than the original price of its predecessor as RAMageddon continues to bite. That makes it uncomfortably expensive, costing 270 more than the base model iPad (A16) and only 50 cheaper than the bigger 11in iPad Air M4. Continue reading...

Delivering net zero also at risk, say MPs as they call for centralised policy and funding for mines and diversificationThe UK is dangerously" dependent on China for critical raw materials needed for the military, renewable energy infrastructure and AI, a parliamentary investigation has found.MPs on the business select committee called for an urgent centralised policy and the creation of a critical minerals finance facility" to help fund rare earth and other critical mineral mines, and deploy grants, equity and debt to accelerate a diversification programme. Continue reading...

The tech billionaire set spending record as he poured $446m into campaigns for failed Republican candidatesElon Musk set a record for election spending this year after pouring nearly half a billion dollars into backing Republicans in the US midterm elections. It turned out to be a poor investment.The SpaceX and Tesla CEO contributed at least $446m to Republican-aligned Super Pacs and groups over the course of the elections, specifically targeting several key Senate races in an effort to help the Trump administration retain Republican control of Congress. He outdid his own 2024 spending of nearly $290m. Yet as Democrats swept to power across the country on Tuesday night, it became clear that Musk would get nearly nothing in return for his hundreds of millions in spending. Continue reading...

Voters approved nearly every datacenter moratorium that was on the ballot, dozens in total in Tuesday's elections

Transparency and advertising experts say trust in politics could be further eroded as a result of lies, deepfakes and AI-generated politicians'

Owners of pilates and yoga studios in the US got political and encouraged their followers to vote on social media

As tech bosses get richer and ordinary Americans struggle, Democrats put the case against the US's grotesque unfairness - and voters respondedRemember the vibe shift"? Just last year, columnists and corporate boardrooms alike declared that the second coming of Donald Trump meant the old rules of politics and even everyday civility were roadkill.I feel liberated," one top banker told the Financial Times. We can say retard' and pussy' without the fear of getting cancelled...it's a new dawn." Continue reading...

Titanium Court is a bizarre world of 8-bit fairies, Shakespeare and surprise songs - its magic lies in never knowing what on earth is going on Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEarlier this year, I was stuck in hospital for several days, fuzzy on pain medication and bored out of my mind, with nothing but a Steam Deck for company. In the middle of one of those long nights, unable to sleep, I played a game called Titanium Court. It's a strange creation that looks like it was made for the ZX Spectrum and reads like a postmodern Shakespeare adaptation - a compelling mix of strategy game and match-3 where you rearrange battlefields by matching tiles, before sending tiny lo-fi fairy armies to their deaths.At the end of this late-night run, I met a boss I'd defeated before - a comically hungry dragon - and the game asked if I would like to skip the boss fight and enjoy a musical performance instead. A game has never asked me this before. Of course, I accepted. And then, instead of the familiar tiled battlefield, I was looking at a pixellated singer-songwriter, who launched into an extremely long preamble about the mating habits of the Pacific salmon before saying, This is a song for anyone else who ever got so horny they could die," and launching into a soulful acoustic guitar number accompanied by crude images of leaping fish. I began to wonder if my meds were making me hallucinate. Continue reading...

Centre for Public Integrity report calls for audit and public register of all automated decision-making

Cost of living and AI outrank climate change and war as top concerns for future, but support for multiculturalism remains strong

Temperature and defrosting thresholds raised to very high levels' at three cold stores stocking vital blood productsFrance's national blood service has said hackers accessed control systems and boosted temperatures at three cold stores stocking vital blood products, in an apparent escalation of recent cyber-attacks on fridges and freezers across Europe.The French blood service (EFS) said temperature and defrosting thresholds had been raised to very high levels" in the attack, adding that its alarm systems had allowed technicians to intervene before the products were compromised. Continue reading...

Documents show Home Office developing programme to use technology for general immigration enforcementThe Home Office is preparing to deploy facial recognition technology at transport hubs and public events as part of the biggest immigration enforcement crackdown in British history.Policy documents show the government has been developing a programme to deploy live facial recognition (LFR) cameras for general immigration enforcement", including non-criminal immigration offences. Continue reading...

Nintendo Switch 2; Nintendo

Chief executive Melanie Perkins describes job cuts as without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history' in email to staff

Midterms didn't appear to have huge impact, though predicted wins for Democrats could mean more regulationUS tech stocks made a recovery on Tuesday afternoon after a selloff spooked investors over AI spending.Tuesday's midterm elections didn't appear to have a huge impact on Wall Street, though investors are predicting Democrats get at least a majority in the House and potentially gain seats in the Senate, which could lead to more AI regulation. Continue reading...

Nobel winner warns the tech could be near to triggering major incident such as power or banking shutdownOne of the godfathers of AI", Geoffrey Hinton, has said it could turn out that humans would have been better off never developing the technology as he warned it could trigger a large-scale incident this year or next, such as a temporary blackout of financial or power systems.The Nobel prize-winning computer scientist told the Guardian he is not a doomer" about the technology that is underpinned by his groundbreaking research into artificial neural networks and believes AI has the potential to lead to a wonderful future" but he said it might be that we would have been better off never developing it". Continue reading...

In announcement geared to schools, tech giant shows how entwined AI is with the world's most popular websiteGoogle just acknowledged that you can't use Google Search without using artificial intelligence.The search giant announced a slate of new AI products for classrooms and schools on Tuesday as well as more ways for teachers and schools to limit or restrict use of those AI tools. The company said the schools should have control over whether students use AI in the classroom. There's one catch, though: if a school or teacher blocks the use of Google's AI features, students won't be able to use Google Search. Continue reading...

Firm reveals details about how its cryptocurrency exchange was compromised, saying operation began in JuneThe hackers behind the $6.3bn (4.7bn) Binance heist used bogus job interviews, malicious software and an internal AI tool, the company has revealed.The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange was compromised in an operation that began with an inadvertent download of malware in June, led to a recruitment scam in September and then a raid last week of hot wallets" where billions of dollars worth of crypto-assets were taken. Continue reading...

Cybersecurity experts say national impact minimal' but incidents may represent the foothills' of a wider threatFood suppliers in the UK have been hit by cyber-attacks after hackers raised the temperatures of supermarket freezers across Europe.The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS) said it was working with the affected companies but the national impact was minimal. Continue reading...

World's largest crypto exchange faces fallout from angry customers, and Lula wins with WhatsApp

Drax's FTSE 250 owner strikes 20bn deal to build infrastructure in what it says is site's next chapter'Britain's most polluting power plant could soon power the country's largest datacentre under a 20bn deal to build AI infrastructure on the site of the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire.The power plant's FTSE 250 owner has struck a deal with the infrastructure investor Brookfield and and the AI infrastructure platform Radiant to develop a datacentre with an eventual capacity of more than 1 gigawatt that could begin operations by early 2028. Continue reading...

iPhone maker says decision to raise prices has offset some of impact, as revenues are stronger than expected

Exclusive: Nonexistent precedent cited in alleged child rape case adds to dozens of AI-related errors plaguing court proceedingsA senior crown prosecutor acting in a high court case cited an imaginary legal precedent in an error that has sparked fresh concerns about AI hallucinations infecting the justice system.Ravinder Dhillon, representing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), referenced an entirely made-up case during a dispute over whether a child should be prosecuted for the rape of his younger sister, court documents have revealed. Continue reading...

National Cyber Security Centre expects attacks on critical facilities such as power stations, airports and hospitalsAI-powered malicious software is highly likely" to be used in hacking attacks against the UK's power stations, airports and hospitals by 2028, according to the state cybersecurity body.The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said AI will probably enable a ransomware attack against critical national infrastructure [CNI] between now and 2028. The UK's definition of CNI covers a range of facilities and services across sectors including energy, transport, defence, food, health and finance. Continue reading...

Chains in seven countries say cooling unit temperatures rose overnight in incident similar to hack of French shops

Prospect to hold workplace sessions and recruit members under agreement with tech companyTrade unions are expected to make further inroads into big tech companies in the UK after new rights for unions to access workplaces came into force, with Google UK signing an agreement on Monday.The Prospect union has reached an agreement with Google to begin organising among about 7,000 workers across its UK operations, including YouTube butexcluding DeepMind. Continue reading...

Airline also weighs up reducing crew on flights and increasing use of AI as part of cost-cutting measures

Casserole dishes, electric heaters and silk shirts: your autumnal favourites show you're hunkering down - with one eye on party season Don't get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAutumn, we've been expecting you. After a September that seemed to miss the memo about changing seasons, October made up for it with serial storms and nights that drew in faster than you could say fall back". Time to hunker down and, whisper it, even put the heating on - or at least fire up an electric heater if you're still holding out on the radiators.But while you were drawn to the indoor pleasures of heaters, hot casseroles and hotter coffee, you've also had your eye on party season, or at least been thinking about venturing into those corners of your wardrobe that haven't seen daylight since March. From a clothes steamer to breathe new life into your threads, a pencil skirt and sheer silk shirt to update your wardrobe, to a vitamin C serum to keep your skin glowing all winter, these were your favourite things in October. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Gap between NHS claim and trusts' comments described as very misleading' by senior health officialMore than two dozen hospital trusts the NHS claims have benefited from Palantir's medical data platform are not using all or most of the AI-powered technology, the Guardian can reveal.The 29 hospital trusts that NHS England publicly lists as realising benefits" from the controversial 330m federated data platform (FDP) have said the system is not live or they are not using any of its applications. The apparent gap between the NHS claim and the trusts' understanding was described as very misleading" by one senior health official. Continue reading...