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If you're called by an unidentified number, the advice is to remain silent until you're sure there's a human being on the line. Is this the end of an era?Name: Hello.Age: 200 years old. Continue reading...

Longer battery life, faster chip, actually useful AI tools and better cameras keep quality Android ahead of competitionGoogle's Pixel 11 continues to set the standard for what you should expect from the base model of a flagship phone with class-leading cameras, long software support and almost all the bells and whistles of its most expensive phones.The regular Pixel 11 costs 879 (999/$899/A$1,499) making it 80 or equivalent more expensive than last year's model as the cost of RAMageddon continues to bite. It's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it comes with 256GB of storage and is 200 less than the Pixel 11 Pro, matching rival Samsung's Galaxy S26.Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi)Processor: Google Tensor G6RAM: 12GBStorage: 256 or 512GBOperating system: Android 17Camera: 48MP+ 13MP UW + 10.8MP 5x tele; 10.5MP selfieConnectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 6E, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6 and GNSSWater resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes)Dimensions: 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mmWeight: 197g Continue reading...

Firms are more likely to use technology as the intern in the office' than as a replacement for skilled staffProfessional designers should not feel threatened" by the rapid growth of generative AI, according to business leaders, despite fears over job losses in the sector.With design and film production companies and manufacturers all adopting AI at an accelerating pace, industry bodies said the technology would be used to enhance the work of designers rather than replace them. Continue reading...

Katy McQue, who has spent years reporting on Meta and the potential harms its platforms pose to children, explains the tactics being used by prosecutorsFor years, the investigative journalist Katy McQue has been reporting on the potential harms Meta's platforms pose to children.Yet, as she explains to Annie Kelly, despite the mountain of evidence compiled by journalists, prosecutors, bereaved families and others, it has been nearly impossible to bring Meta and other social media companies to court. Continue reading...

Consumers are increasingly encountering AI-generated images on food menus such as leathery meat and bread resembling reptile skinDuring a recent lunch break, Jill Sennett saw something so unappetizing she had to share it with her 26,000 X followers: Artificial intelligence-generated menu images from a Jamaican barbecue pop-up restaurant in which the meats looked like leather belts crawling with tiny beetles.The images were reshared by more than 500 people who similarly expressed their disgust. Eating is such an essential human experience", said Sennett, a 37-year-old nurse in Denver. I think it's a bad cultural thing that restaurants are converting to these horrific, uncanny food images that are unappetizing." Continue reading...

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A Dr Seuss-style story written in seconds alerted me to the power - and perils - of the technology. But how can children embrace it without forgetting core skills?When I was growing up, my dad and I often talked about a story we wanted to write together. It was called The Day Nobody Went to Disneyland". One day, the story goes, the weather is so perfect that everyone in the world decides to stay away from Disneyland because they expect it to be far too busy. But my dad, who has the same thought as them, sees the disappointment on my face that morning - and decides to risk it. We set off. And when we arrive, the park is completely empty. Nobody else was brave enough to visit. We have everything - the rides, shows, food - to ourselves.I loved the idea of writing that story. But, as so oftenhappens, we were too busy to do anything about it. Life ran away from us. I grew up, and we both forgotabout it. Continue reading...

Most gambling websites nudge users towards accepting tracking data and harvest it before consent is given, study showsOnline bookmakers and casinos have been accused of widespread non-compliance of information privacy requirements, including data surveillance" of customers, according to a study.Nearly nine out of 10 (86%) licensed British gambling websites appear to be flouting the general data protection regulation (GDPR), the strict rules governing how organisations can collect, store and process personal data, according to the research. Continue reading...

A machete-wielding robber, a tsunami of debt' ... campaigns echoing opposition talking points outspend major parties

Politicians on the right and left are pushing back against Flock as more Americans voice opposition to the techGrowing factions from both sides of the political aisle in the US are pushing back against surveillance cameras made by a single company, a rare response in a sharply divided country with a president pushing an unwaveringly pro-tech agenda.The bipartisan backlash against Flock Safety cameras resembles nationwide rage toward the construction of large datacenters that power artificial intelligence. Polling shows roughly 75% of Americans oppose new datacenter construction in their areas. Continue reading...

A spate of serious safety incidents have increased fears about the power and impenetrability of the most advanced modelsPicture humanity in a boat being swept down a raging river, praying there is no Niagara Falls ahead. Or imagine standing with the pioneering physicists in 1942 before they triggered the first self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction beneath a Chicago stadium.These were two of the analogies used this week by Prof Robert Trager, an expert in the nascent field of AI governance, to describe the perilous but potential-filled moment the world stands at with accelerating artificial intelligence. Continue reading...

Workers who blame algorithms for lowering their earnings are getting help from academics to find out how the system worksGig economy workers are urging delivery platforms to open up the black box" of computer-driven algorithms that determine the jobs they are offered and how much they are paid, blaming increased use of AI for lowering wages.A group of food delivery riders in Edinburgh say their rates of pay have fallen and their working conditions have deteriorated at the same time as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat, the three dominant gig economy platforms in the UK and Ireland, have increased their use of automation. Continue reading...

A string of distractions on the US government's own website invite you to catch pixelated migrants - showing gaming's potential to be nastily weaponisedThe Trump White House on Thursday released a horrible little propaganda arcade via its website, a collection of nasty riffs on popular games. Wrapped in the cutesy, nostalgic aesthetic of early-90s pixel art, these mindless fascist diversions are harmless-looking, but their intent is stomach-turning: this is the appropriation of play in service of propaganda. It's just the latest in a series of attempts from Trump's administration to use video game memes and imagery to further its messaging.Having riffed on Halo and Pokemon in social media ads last year, inviting potential ICE recruits to stop the flood" and catch 'em all", this time the administration has ripped off a series of recognisable games. Flappy Bill, perhaps the least gross, is a version of the old mobile hit Flappy Bird, except here you're an eagle with a scroll in its claws. Supply Line could almost be an educational game about healthy food in schools, where you sort junk food off a conveyor belt destined for school lunches, except for some reason you play as a boxer who becomes more bloodied with every seed-oil containing, ultra-processed food item that you fail to punch into the garbage chute. Continue reading...

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Senator releases letters from armed forces after reports of location data being used to track US troops in Middle EastUS military officials say they have disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers, according to letters released on Friday by the US senator Ron Wyden and statements given to Reuters.The development follows reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East. Continue reading...

The CEO is the throughline in a history of billion-dollar blunders that have caused real harm, culminating in last week's settlementLast week, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, agreed to a settlement of up to $18bn after dozens of US states accused it of harming children with addictive products. The settlement's regulatory implications for social media will affect every user, far beyond teens.But if Meta is truly interested in prioritizing the safety of users, the board should request the resignation of Mark Zuckerberg and restructure to put safety above profit. Continue reading...

As one card recently sold for 12m, opportunistic thefts have surged - envelopes are being opened en route, costing small businesses thousandsPokemon's success over the last 30 years has seen it grow from a much-loved Game Boy classic, to a world-dominating brand with TV shows, spin-off games, toys and even a theme park. The trading card game is a huge part of that, with more than 85bn cards printed over its lifetime, and the appetite for them shows no signs of slowing down. Packs get snapped up after release so quickly it's now almost impossible to find them in shops, and a booming resale market is driving the hobby into murky waters.One card recently sold for an eye-watering 12m, and an increasing number of people have gotten into the collecting business on the hunt for huge profits, leading to a rise in thefts targeting card shops. More recently though, some small businesses have reported that their sales have been hit by thieves targeting envelopes within Royal Mail, leading to thousands in lost revenue. Continue reading...

Want every day to be a good hair day? We tested 22 hair dryers to find the best, from gentle diffusers to high-speed and travel-ready models The best hot brushes, tried and tested by our expertIn my years of reviewing beauty tech, it was upgrading my hair dryer that made the biggest difference to my routine. I used to dread hair-wash days: the chore of shampooing, conditioning and rinsing my hair, plus the time - and aching arms - spent getting it dry again.My clunky, bargain-bucket hair dryer of seven years was weighty, deafeningly loud, and took a painstaking 20 minutes to dry my hair. So happier days really did arrive when I switched to a new model. Continue reading...

Student protesters among those hacked, says digital rights group, though Aleksandar Vui's government denies spyingAt least 14 people from across Serbian civil society were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year in what the digital rights group Share Foundation said was the largest documented wave of such infection in Serbia to date.The wave of spyware infections was discovered in August after Apple notified people in 110 countries that they had probably been victims of mercenary spyware. Continue reading...

US tech company has sued London mayor after he prevented it from working with Metropolitan policeSadiq Khan has agreed for his text messages and emails to be searched as part of a legal battle with Palantir, the high court has been told, after he prevented the US technology company from working with the Metropolitan police.The London mayor stepped in to block a 50m deal between Palantir and the Met in May, with the artificial intelligence developer suing Khan's office over the decision. Continue reading...

Astra's arrival comes days after Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, described AGI as an irrelevant marketing term'The president of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, has claimed the world has entered a new era of artificial general intelligence after the release of his company's latest model, Astra, which it described as the world's most intelligent and aligned model".Brockman made the claim on Thursday as the San Francisco company released the model only weeks after a serious AI safety incident involving other models under its development caused international concern and a pause in Astra's training. Continue reading...

Opposition mounts as at least 20 projects proposed, including one in Fife billed as second largest in worldKat Jones may be the closest thing Scotland has to Erin Brockovich in 2026. Standing in the shadow of Arthur's Seat outside Holyrood, the 52-year-old is revving up the crowd of protesters around her. Who is here from Lammermuir? Ayrshire? What about Aberdeen?" she calls to the crowd.On Thursday, hundreds travelled to Edinburgh to call for an immediate moratorium on Scotland's datacentre boom, which includes one project in Auchtertool, Fife, that has been billed as the second largest in the world. Continue reading...

Semi-conductor giant bets that support for open AI models could offset potential slowdown in demand for chipsNvidia will buy the popular developer platform Hugging Face for nearly $13bn, betting that support for open AI models could offset a potential slowdown in demand for the semiconductor giant's chips.Shares in Nvidia were slightly lower after the $12.93bn (9.57bn) deal - which ranks among its biggest ever - was announced for the database of AI models on Thursday. Continue reading...

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Department store chain's Gift List vodcast' will be hosted by TV presenter Angela Scanlon

Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has awakened', or is leading them to a higher spiritual realm. The Guardian journalist Michael Safi begins investigating a phenomenon labelled AI psychosis', travelling to the US to meet two people who have been on weird journeys with their chatbots Continue reading...

Relocation coincides with proposed laws that opponents say would entrench power of US tech billionaires in countryDozens of protesters converged on Peter Thiel's mansion in Buenos Aires this week after a congressional session raised questions about the billionaire's presence in the country.In white masks, they held signs saying Peter Thief" and No to the Peter Thiel law" in front of the wrought-iron gates of the $12m (8.9m) residence, which Thiel bought in April as he moved his family to Argentina. Continue reading...

People online are distressed at men butchering words such as hyperbole' and hors d'oeuvres' - highlighting a gender reversal in intelligence gaps'There are common non-negotiables we look for in a prospective partner. They should be kind, caring and thoughtful. Having a shared interest helps. So does remembering important dates and anniversaries. But how much does it matter if they know how to pronounce the word gnocchi"?Turns out that's a potential dealbreaker, at least according to a (rather judgy) cohort on TikTok. See: the Illiterate Boyfriend" trend, which is testing some couples on the app. Users have compiled a list of what are essentially SAT words for women to ask their male partners to read. Many of these men - this is an overwhelmingly heterosexual activity - fail to finish the list unscathed. They trip over entries such as hyperbole", cynicism", diaphragmatic" and the oft-butchered French term, hors d'oeuvres". Continue reading...

As FromSoftware's new multiplayer game The Duskbloods nears release, the legendary game director behind Dark Souls talks connection, pessimism and of course, feetSince 2009's Demon's Souls, Japanese video game director Hidetaka Miyazaki has shown the world a different way to think about game design. His games defy convention with punishing fights, obscure rules, and unknowable, inhospitable worlds. The Soulslike" genre - named after Demon's Souls and its sequel Dark Souls - is now ubiquitous, influencing multimillion-sellers from God of War and Star Wars: Jedi to Hollow Knight. Miyazaki's most recent success, 2022's Elden Ring, which credited Game of Thrones author George RR Martin as a co-creator, sold over 30m copies and inspired Alex Garland to adapt it for the big screen at A24. It earned Miyazaki a spot on Time magazine's most influential" list, an accolade he shares with just one other game developer: Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.Miyazaki is now 51 and has been FromSoftware's president since 2014, elevated from game designer to CEO after the success of the Souls series. He has a cherubic face that could pass for 35. He rarely speaks publicly, and never on camera. When he does speak, he answers questions like one of his characters - softly, sadly, his head bowed, making eye-contact only when I am speaking. Outside the studio where we speak is the sprawl of Tokyo's Shinjuku, an ever-changing maze where tourists get lost and pop-up stores appear and vanish without a trace. Today, a J-pop band performs in the square as the cicadas scream from the trees. A gilded statue of Malania, one of Elden Ring's toughest bosses, looms over this dimly lit conference room inside From's headquarters, a bonfire checkpoint away from the chaos. Continue reading...

Musk denied he was aware Grok ever produced any naked underage images'A survivor of child sexual abuse has sued Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, alleging that its chatbot used pictures of her abuse to generate new illegal pornographic images that depict her.Using real images of Plaintiff and class members, Grok generated child pornography depicting Plaintiff and class members," states the complaint, which was filed last week in a US district court in California. Continue reading...

Wayve robotaxis added to Uber app and will have human in front ready to take over if needed - but only 15 cars licensedLondoners are now able to hire self-driving taxis for the first time, after rides in Wayve's autonomous vehicles were added to the Uber app on Thursday.The chances of landing a robotaxi on request immediately are slim, with only 15 vehicles so far licensed. That contrasts with the more than 100,000 private hire vehicles in the capital - roughly the same number of Uber customers who have registered to take autonomous rides. Continue reading...

Tech company submits to controversial Trump order to rename body of water amid US trade spat with CanadaApple has renamed Lake Ontario as Lake America" for US users of its Maps app, after an executive order from Donald Trump to change the name of the Great Lake amid his trade spat with Canada.The Apple Maps app now displays the controversial new name for the lake, which sits between New York state and the Canadian province of Ontario, for users in the US. Apple users outside the country will still see the Lake Ontario name. Continue reading...

The Times and many companies are accusing OpenAI of misusing their material to train AI systems without compensationThe Trump administration is supporting OpenAI in a lawsuit against the New York Times, arguing in favor of the use of copyrighted writing to train artificial intelligence.The Times accuses OpenAI and its largest financial backer, Microsoft, of using millions of newspaper articles without permission to train OpenAI's popular chatbot. Other newspapers have joined in the suit, first filed in 2023. Continue reading...

Judge declines to make Google sell AdX in win for firm against US antitrust enforcers' attempts to break up big techAlphabet's Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia rejected US antitrust enforcers' attempt to force a sale of Google's online advertising exchange.While the ad exchange is a small part of Google's business, the ruling is the second powerful symbolic victory against the US Department of Justice in its efforts to force Google to sell assets to address illegal monopolies. Continue reading...

Landmark lawsuit claims tech company's pay-setting system has breached privacy laws and pushed down earningsUber drivers have launched a landmark legal action against the ride-hailing company claiming they live in constant fear" of a soulless" algorithm it uses to set pay and allocate jobs.Drivers from the UK, the Netherlands and other countries have joined the compensation claim that could run into billions of dollars. It alleges an AI-powered pay-setting system breaches data protection laws and pushes down their earnings. Continue reading...

Teachers and parents have warned against AI use in schools over concerns of cognitive surrender'New York City will ban students' use of artificial intelligence in public schools through eighth grade, typically age 13 or 14. The prohibition is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday and will go into effect next week.The change is part of a sweeping overhaul of the use of technology in the US's largest school district, which enrolls roughly 900,000 students a year. In another policy shift, classrooms will keep students off laptops or tablets through the third grade, age nine or 10. The city's public school technology policies are closely watched by the rest of the United States. Continue reading...

Pay and shares deal nearly matches $58m award to John Ternus, his successor as CEO at the $4.7tn tech companyTim Cook has received a $47m (35m) pay deal as Apple's executive chair, a remuneration package that nears the level set for his successor as chief executive.Cook, who handed over to John Ternus on Tuesday, will be paid a base salary of $2m and $45m worth of shares. Half of the share award will be based on performance targets being met, while the remaining half will be paid out over four years. Continue reading...

Matt Clifford will stay as chair of government funding body for tech projects alongside his senior role at US firmThe architect of the UK government's AI strategy has joined the US startup Anthropic in a senior role a year after stepping down from his Downing Street post.Matt Clifford, a successful tech investor, was appointed as AI opportunities adviser by Keir Starmer last year but resigned from the unpaid role six months later for personal reasons. Continue reading...

As Rockstar's blockbuster prepares to dominate the headlines, it's time for the mainstream media to stop treating video games as a novelty that needs explainingPredictably, the Grand Theft Auto VI extended look" which premiered on Netflix last week was a success for all involved. The 30-minute preview scorched to No 1 on the viewing chart and even brought the site down for a few minutes as millions of gamers tried to watch what was, effectively, a very long teaser trailer. According to data collated by Eurogamer, more than 9,000 Twitch streamers covered the show leading to 5,227,798 hours of viewing there alone. And this was just the beginning of what will surely be two months of escalating hype - and unprecedented media attention.Call me cynical, but I suspect the coverage of GTA VI in the media over the next few weeks will follow a familiar pattern. Mostly, it will be five-minute slots wedged in near the end of news bulletins in which games journalists, industry analysts and other pundits will be asked why the game is such a big deal, how much it cost to make and how much revenue it will generate. Perhaps a few will try to reignite the hoary old violence in video games" debate, there will be presenters laughingly admitting they've not touched a game since Pac-Man, rolling their eyes and wallowing in their ignorance, in a way they never would while discussing any other art form. Somebody will venture the subversive view that games are no longer just for kids"; somebody else will say games make more money than films and music put together". And that will be that, job done for another decade ... or until there's a funny story about Pokemon. Continue reading...

We boiled litres of water to find the best electric kettles, from hard-water heroes to vintage-style, repairable and wifi-connected models The best air fryers, tried and tested for crisp and crunchDespite the march of progress, the humble kettle remains a kitchen staple. It's what we turn to in times of strife, when spirits are flagging, or to start our day. When a visitor calls, one of the first things we often do is put the kettle on.Many small appliances have evolved beyond their original form, but the kettle's basic principles remain largely unchanged. Water goes in and heats until a thermostat switches it off; the water then pours out, and we enjoy a cuppa. However, the technology that goes into a kettle has been slowly improving: better insulation to keep water hotter for longer and reduce reboils; different temperature settings to suit every drink from green tea to herbal brews; and more features such as filters and concealed elements to keep scale out of our cups. Continue reading...

Lack of information raises fears over environmental impact of the AI boom

As more companies turn to AI, they're hiring freelancers to clean up its mistakes rather than create original workLisa, a freelance graphic designer based in Spain, noticed a shift in her work after the release of ChatGPT in 2022. She went from receiving slow one-off jobs creating logos and packaging to an onslaught of requests asking her to fix versions that were generated by artificial intelligence - from sharpening fuzzy images for printing to turning flawed designs into usable files.By 2025, Lisa, who asked not to be fully named to avoid solicitations, said 90% of her incoming logo and packaging design requests required cleaning up AI-generated content, work that accounted for 60% to 70% of her annual income. But the grind was exhausting. Clients lowballed her;' some AI-generated designs were so flawed that she had to recreate them from scratch and she worried about being complicit in AI-driven copyright infringement. By the end of the year, she began turning those jobs down. Continue reading...

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Hundreds of university staff were stationed at picket lines, calling for stronger protections around the use of AI

In today's newsletter: Communities from Scotland to India are pushing back against datacentres, warning they threaten energy supplies and the climateGood morning. This summer, datacentres have become targets of resistance across the world. Ever since the arrival of ChatGPT, big tech has been lobbying for the creation of enormous new facilities. Many governments claim they're essential in any country that wants to cash in on AI.Campaigners argue datacentres drain resources and exacerbate the climate crisis. The Scottish National Party has backed a moratorium on new developments; so has the Greens. The boom has been immense, and so has the backlash. Today's newsletter explains why.UK politics | Andy Burnham has blamed Brexit and Margaret Thatcher for a decade of low growth in the UK, arguing that Britain needs to be brutally honest about having taken a series of wrong turns" in the last 40 years.Nepal-Tibet | A week on from the flash flooding disaster, authorities are urging relatives of the thousands of missing and dead to provide blood samples.Middle East | The US has launched new airstrikes on Iranian targets, prompting counter strikes by Tehran targeting American interests in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, fuelling concerns about a wider renewal of hostilities.Ukraine | Russia has opened a deadly new phase in its war against Ukraine by deliberately targeting the country's railway network, with six employees killed on Tuesday in the latest strikes on Kyiv.US news | Mark Carney has rebuked Donald Trump's administration and urged officials in Washington to start being serious" amid escalation trade tensions between the US and Canada. Continue reading...

Exclusive: financial disclosures from Emil Michael - who also reaped millions from xAI stock earlier this year - show he sold his Perplexity stock for up to $25mThe top Pentagon official overseeing military artificial intelligence policy, who reaped profits earlier this year of up to $24m selling his private investment in Elon Musk's AI company, has now sold his holdings in another AI company for between $5m and $25m, according to records seen by the Guardian. (Federal financial records show ranges of dollar values rather than specific figures.)Earlier this year, the Guardian disclosed that the official, Emil Michael, had profited handsomely from his investment in Musk's xAI in January, with a gain of between 400% and 4,800%. Continue reading...

Hardware engineering executive succeeding Tim Cook is a longtime Apple insider, indicating company will continue strategy that has led to record profitsTim Cook stepped down as CEO of Apple on 31 August. John Ternus, a longtime company veteran, succeeded him the next day as the company's new chief executive. Cook has transitioned to the role of executive chairman of Apple's board of directors.Ternus, a hardware engineering executive, is a tenured Apple insider, and his ascension indicates the company will stay the course that has led to record profits under Cook's leadership. Apple's yearly profit now tops $100bn, the company is worth about $4.5tn, and it has notched record revenue from its iPhones this year, boosted by renewed demand in China. Continue reading...

AI datacentres are almost universally unpopular. They are loud, unsightly and drain environmental resources, with most of the profits generated flowing back to the US companies that build them -and the statistics against them are piling up.Guardian reporter Hettie O'Brien visits Brick Lane in east London, where people are trying to resist plans for a 5,200-sq metre datacentre being pushed through by the government, to find out why people hate them so much Continue reading...

US owner of Claude chatbot previously said its models had hacked three organisations during testingThe US startup behind the Claude chatbot has admitted a series of hacking incidents involving its models reflected a failure of operational security" and said it has tightened its testing procedures.Anthropic revealed in July that its models had accessed the open internet three times and gained unauthorised access to the systems of three organisations. Continue reading...