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...
by Hosted by Carter Sherman and Kai Wright with Blake on (#79HVJ)
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...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#79HS5)
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...
by Lisa O’Carroll Senior staff correspondent on (#79HQH)
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...
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...
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...
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...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#79G90)
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...
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...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#79FDP)
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...
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...
We cannot let the billionaire class take unprecedented risks with our futureAmerica is a divided country in crisis. Despite the sunny economic forecast coming from the Trump administration, millions of Americans are struggling to find and keep jobs, getting crushed under the rising cost of living, and losing health insurance when they need it the most.Meanwhile, via corporate consolidation and political corruption, the billionaire class is getting richer faster than ever before: a 40% increase in wealth in just the last two years. Today, the combined wealth of nearly 3,000 global billionaires equals one-fifth of the entire world's yearly output. Nearly 1,000 billionaires live and do business in the United States. Continue reading...
Cryptocurrency exchange has begun to allow withdrawals after theft believed to have come from North KoreaInvestors have pulled $3.6bn (2.7bn) in funds from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance as it recovers from a record hack in which billions were stolen from customer accounts.The platform was hit by a $6.3bn theft on Thursday, which has since been described as the biggest heist in history. Experts identified North Korea as the probable culprit. Continue reading...
New electricity generating capacity would enable north-east to attract investment for large-scale AI infrastructureNational Grid has taken a step towards building Britain's biggest electricity substation on Teesside, which could supply power to a vast neighbouring datacentre as the UK races to expand its AI infrastructure.Last week, the company agreed to purchase 29.5 hectares (73 acres) of land at Dorman Point on a site owned by Teesworks, a local private-public partnership. The deal was first reported by Sky News. Continue reading...
Today's crop of smooth talkers tap directly into a specific evolutionary vulnerability. Here's how to defend yourselfRecently, I was alone in a bar waiting for a friend. To pass the time, Istarted chatting to a stranger. He had an easy, confident way of speaking, which I admired. We discussed topics I know little about: the instability of modern economies, the feasibility of commercial space travel, the likelihood of a coup in Russia. I found myself leaning in and asking questions: I felt as if I could learn a lot from this person. We eventually got to psychology, which is more my wheelhouse. I brooded about how easy it's become for people to accept strange ideas. Some people will believe anything," he observed. Some people even believe the Earth is round!"It's increasingly difficult to ignore how fragmented and bizarre our beliefs have become. We live in our own echo chambers, defined by the channels, feeds and influencers we follow. As a result we can arrive at very polarised conclusions about vaccines, the climate, gender, geopolitics, the shape of the Earth and everything else. Disagreements on topics like these frequently damage relationships, alienate friends and estrange loved ones. Continue reading...
Using a fake DOB or leaving the field blank when making an online account can offer protection from identity theftYou get a call from your bank saying there has been suspicious activity on your account. They read out your name, address and date of birth so you are happy it is a legitimate caller.But you are talking to criminals who have used your date of birth as part of a web of verifying information to convince you they are someone else. Continue reading...
Almost 40% of British singles have used AI for romantic advice, from writing messages to assessing potential partnersAfter Sam's ex joked that her sister found him ugly, he turned to AI. Google Gemini had a look at the photo and politely disagreed. AI has been his wingman ever since, aiding his dating life by giving pep talks and vetting his messages.The 27-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent is not the only AI-assisted romantic - a survey of 3,000 British singles published this month by Match Group, the owner of the Tinder and Hinge platforms, found 39% had used AI in their dating lives. Continue reading...
by Nick Robins-Early, Andrew Witherspoon, Will Craft, on (#79E44)
The tech mogul's midterm donations backing Republicans have made him the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US historyElon Musk has poured so much money into US politics this midterms election cycle that his donations could fund half a dozen SpaceX rocket launches or buy thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks. At the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, Musk could order more than 31.9m cheeseburgers with the money he has spent on the midterms.Musk, the world's richest person, has funnelled at least $445.77m into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and groups since last year, according to US Federal Election Commission data as of 29 October. The contributions have made him the Republicans' most prominent financial backer and the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history. Continue reading...
In a survey, just to be clear' came out as the most loathed phrase. But I think I can do betterA new contender for the most passive-aggressive email phrase has emerged. Just to be clear" was chosen by 52% of desk jockeys in a survey by email verification company ZeroBounce, closely followed by the perennial pass-ag fave, per my last email" (40%), which tied with the identical-in-intent as previously discussed". Further down the list came for future reference" and kindly note".If you ask me, these all verge on actual aggressive. Imagine saying just to be clear" out loud to another person: that's a conversational poke in the ribs, isn't it? It's the kind of thing you unleash 10 minutes into an ill-tempered wrangle with your home insurance company about inflated renewal premiums. Kindly note" is even worse - it's a phrase from an angry message on the office kitchen wall about microwave abuse. Continue reading...
by Johana Bhuiyan, Hazel Tang, Tiara Chiaramonte, Joh on (#79DRW)
Anthropic, the creator of Claude, filed to go public on the US stock market on 26 October. The company's filing statement contains a 92-page risk factor document in which it acknowledges the dangers that AI poses to society and human beings, and factors that could negatively affect Anthropic's business. Johana Bhuiyan, senior tech reporter for the Guardian, breaks down the document and explains why Anthropic's IPO could be a real test to the AI boom
Big tech stocks falter as investors question whether billions being poured into AI can generate returns quickly enoughA sell-off of tech stocks that began earlier this month and gained steam with disappointing earnings from leading tech companies drove US markets down by hundreds of billions of dollars Friday. In total, the decline has knocked nearly $1tn in value off the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange in one week and erased about $2tn in a month.The S&P 500, the index of the 500 most valuable companies in the US, fell by more than 1% Friday, losing hundreds of billions of dollars in market value. It was on track to erase its gain for October, even though it set its all-time high during the same month. The weakness for technology stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite down even further, more than 3%, also erasing hundreds of billions in value. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less. Continue reading...
It was an ambitious notion - now Californians will vote on a one-time 5% billionaire tax, and state's super rich have pulled out all the stops in oppositionOne year ago, the idea of a billionaire tax in California was still in its infancy.It wasn't yet one of the most contentious ballot measure fights in state history - pitting Democrats against Democrats, drawing national attention from political heavyweights, and netting hundreds of millions of Silicon Valley dollars to fight it. Back then, it was a bold and desperate answer to Donald Trump's healthcare cuts. Continue reading...
Technology | The Guardian