Technology | The Guardian

Meta, YouTube and Snapchat say ban, which would stop children using their platforms, will drive them to less safe services'

Bart and co's latest video game venture involved the show's writers, animators and voice talent - plus a showdown between the two infamous tycoons. It's a true little Simpsons episode,' say creatorsEvery generation gets its own Simpsons game. Them's the rule-diddly-ules. For some, it was the arcade cabinets that swallowed pocket money throughout the 1990s. For others, it was The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio. For millennials like myself, it was The Simpsons: Hit & Run. Joe Zanetti, vice-president of operations at Monopoly Go! developer Scopely, traces his Simpsons gaming nostalgia back to Konami's 1991 brawler, The Simpsons Arcade Game. That's the one that made such an impression on me," he says.It certainly did, because Springfield has just crash-landed in Monopoly Go! itself through a collaboration involving Simpsons writers, animators and voice talent alongside a new animated short starring Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer and Will Ferrell. While most licensed TV games have faded into obscurity, The Simpsons keeps finding new digital lives. Continue reading...

Liberal MP says Australia risks sovereignty and strategic independence being constrained by the AI superpowers reshaping the global order'

Sources say hardline measures will also prevent young users from being able to talk to strangers on gaming apps

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers' questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Our favourite music, clothes and books used to be markers of individuality - but the algorithm has made us all sheep. Meet the style rebels fighting backWhat are you into? What floats your boat? What music, films, clothes, art, books - anything, really - do you actually like? Do you find thesequestions more difficult to answer than you would have done 10 years ago? How about 20? You do? You're not alone.It has become impossible to ignore: personal taste has been seriously debased - if not completely destroyed - by technological advancement. We know the internet has radically altered the way we form our opinions and beliefs. Now we're waking up toanother sobering truth: it has wrecked our capacity to form our own preferences. Continue reading...

Site takes no action over hate posts against UK politicians including Kemi Badenoch, Shabana Mahmood and Zia YusufX has refused to take down dozens of social media posts reported as hate, abuse or harassment" in which prominent UK politicians, including Kemi Badenoch, have been racially abused.In May, researchers from the social inclusion thinktank British Future reported 30 posts from this year in which the Conservative party leader was called the N-word. In each case the researchers used the platform's hate, abuse or harassment" reporting option. X refused to act in the majority of cases, despite repeated requests. Continue reading...

After falling for a scam call, The Tech Chap' host Tom Honeyands realised he'd given away vital details in social media postsWhen Tom Honeyands realised he had been defrauded out of 70,000 he was furious and embarrassed - and left wondering if he had given away too many details on his social media videos.Honeyands was on a work trip to Tokyo when he got a call from someone claiming to be from Lloyds bank. The caller asked if he had made a recent transaction in Singapore and when he said no, the scammer said his account had been compromised and that security details needed to be reset. Continue reading...

Company said US government believes safeguards can be bypassed and product used to identify software vulnerabilitiesAnthropic said it will abruptly disable" its most advanced AI models for all users after the US government ordered it to suspend access to the models for foreign nationals, citing national security concerns.The company received the export control directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, without being given specific details of the national security concern, Anthropic said in a statement. Continue reading...

Government announces plans to invest billions, but questions linger over how its proposals on chips, social media and more will workOwnership of the commanding heights of the AI economy is a political talking point around the world, as countries seek to assert some control of a technology dominated by the US and China.London Tech Week, the showcase event for the UK tech industry, focused heavily on that theme this week. A government keen to show it has a growth story, and an assertive narrative on AI, made a number of announcements related to companies, skills and infrastructure. Some represented new commitments and ideas; others appeared to be putting a polish on already announced measures. Continue reading...

Other projects include developing tools to help visually impaired people navigate video gamesParents are constantly being told to limit their children's screen time. But when it comes to deciphering which films or TV shows are best suited to developing minds, the guidance remains largely one-size-fits-all. A relatively slow-paced programme such as Bluey offers a very different viewing experience to a fast-moving action series such as PAW Patrol, yet both are broadly considered suitable for young children.This challenge is growing as the type of content children are exposed to evolves. Today's young viewers are increasingly engaging with short-form, fast-paced, highly captivating content, often created by splicing and rearranging existing episodic content into quickly digestible snippets or compilations," said Prof Tim Smith, director of University of the Arts London's Nerve Lab. This evolution is not only changing how content is produced and distributed, but may also affect children's attention, comprehension and emotional response." Continue reading...

These young people recognise dangers of addictive' social media but have differing views on a total crackdownNine in 10 parents in the UK support an under-16 social media ban, but the feeling among the children it would affect is more mixed. Or at least it is for a group of 10 preteens and teenagers who talked to the Guardian at a location in west London this week.The 12- to 16-year-olds were well versed in the debate, with a set of views ranging from mandatory time limits to tougher controls and a full ban for under-16s. All those options have been under consideration in a government consultation on children's online safety that is due to deliver an outcome next week, with an under-16 age limit expected for high-risk" platforms, and restrictions on features such as livestreaming for others. Continue reading...

Geert Wilders' PVV altered sketch of jailed Syrian brothers to make them look more menacingA Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.Petra Urban, a court artist for 19 years, was shocked to discover a drawing she had made last year of two Syrian brothers jailed for the murder of their sister had been reworked and used in a video on Instagram and Facebook by the party's Noord-Brabant region. Continue reading...

Initial public offering for aerospace and AI company made Musk the world's first trillionaire as share prices jumped

Unidentified officer removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UKA police officer is under criminal investigation over the alleged use of artificial intelligence and has been removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UK.The officer, who has not been named, is being investigated over allegations of using the technology to create evidential material in a number of cases" and perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...

Australian Human Rights Commission has called for a digital duty of care to prevent social media algorithms from incentivising racist' content

Location scans from the globally popular augmented reality game have helped train AI to recognise and interpret physical spaces

Suit filed in US alleges chatbot told Alice Carrier, 24, maybe this is just the end' as she struggled with suicidal thoughtsA Canadian mother sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in US court on Thursday, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged her daughter to kill herself. The lawsuit is the latest in a slew accusing the company of failing to address dangerous conversations between users and the company's chatbot.Kristie Carrier said in a lawsuit filed in San Francisco state court that her daughter, Alice, told ChatGPT about her suicidal ideations more than a dozen times leading up to her death but that OpenAI's safety systems never flagged the conversations for human review or terminated them. Continue reading...

Long-abandoned formats such as cassettes and VHS tapes are finding new life as consumers seek a digital detoxTen years after the last video recorder manufacturer ceased production, the first straight-to-video movie for two decades - This Is How the World Ends - was released this month. The resurgence of vinyl began long ago; sales are at their highest level for over 30years. But record buyers enthuse about the warmth of their sound and the generous visual expanse of album covers. In contrast, the new movie is shot in HD; the director acknowledges that those watching it on video will see a cropped, fuzzier image. The point of the exercise - beyond creating a buzz - lies not in the inherent qualities of VHS, but the effect of its rarity onthe viewer.When everything is available in high definition with one swipe of your screen, cumbersome physical formats that must be hunted down appear both nostalgically inviting and strikingly fresh. Last year, Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl was released in multiple physical formats, including cassette and CD - technically digital, but also enjoying a revival thanks to its retro feel. The title track of her previous album, The Tortured Poets Department, mocked a lover's attachment to his typewriter, notoriously favoured by hipsters. Continue reading...

Former xAI engineer Devin Kim alleges he was illegally fired for trying to implement safety mechanisms for the chatbotA former engineer at Elon Musk's xAI who now heads a thinktank focused on AI safety filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired from the SpaceX subsidiary for raising concerns about the risks artificial intelligence poses to humanity.Devin Kim claims in the lawsuit filed in California state court on Tuesday that his efforts to place guardrails on the development of the chatbot Grok made him a target for company leadership. Continue reading...

Quaint and often overlooked, payphones continue to provide an essential public service, with millions of free calls being placed each year

Employees at artificial intelligence companies are coming into gargantuan sums of money amid boom in IPOsHome prices in the San Francisco Bay Area's already expensive market are skyrocketing as employees at leading artificial intelligence companies come into gargantuan sums of money thanks to a boom in initial public offerings.With San Francisco's OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as SpaceX, which operates a major facility in the Los Angeles area, eyeing debuts on the stock market, the hot housing market may not abate soon. If their initial public offering (IPO) is well-received, the companies' multibillion-dollar valuations are poised to produce massive wealth for employees and executives holding shares, which experts say could trigger an uptick in demand for the Bay Area's limited housing stock. Continue reading...

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch; Vertigo Games

Nor is the dreamy promise that this tech will unlock boundless potential and productivityEverything we hear about artificial intelligence is conflicting, and hearing about it feels inescapable. AI is terrible. AI is wonderful. It will break the world. It will transform the future. It's essential to embrace it. It's a moral imperative to abstain from using it.Already, AI is projected to generate nearly unfathomable amounts of revenue. In the last quarter of 2025, it represented nearly 60% of the growth in the US economy. Already, pundits and economists wring their hands about what calamity will befall us if and when the AI bubble bursts. Continue reading...

Looking for hands-free cleaning? We trialled the most powerful robot vacuums - some of which even mop your floors - to find the best The best vacuum cleaners, testedRobot vacuum cleaners take the drudge work out of cleaning your floors and carpets. No more tiresome weekly stints of vacuuming, and no more last-minute panic when you have visitors on the way. Instead, your compact robot chum regularly trundles out from its dock, sucking up dust, hair and debris to leave your floors looking spick and span.Over the past few years, robot vacuums have become much more affordable, with basic units starting at about 150. They're also doing more than they used to: mopping hard floors and charging in sophisticated cleaning stations that empty their dust collectors and clean their mop pads for you.Best robot vacuum cleaner overall:

Robert Dillon was arrested at home in Florida despite living 300 miles away from where a crime was committed

From horror galore to Chinese action games, the key trends, trailers and surprises from Summer Game Fest's many, many hours of streams and broadcasts Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereDid you spend hours of your weekend watching a relentless series of video game adverts? No? I don't blame you - Summer Game Fest, the collection of livestreams that has arisen in place of the giant annual E3 video game expo in Los Angeles, is extremely overwhelming. There are the bigger, longer shows: the PlayStation and Xbox streams, the main SGF show hosted by Geoff Keighley and Lucy James, Future's duet of the Future Games Show and the PC Gaming Show. Each show is two hours long. Then there are all the indie showcases: cosy games, women-led games, Black voices in gaming, Day of the Devs. Between them, they show off hundreds of games that might pique your interest.I picked out exactly 34 highlights here: the biggest news, the most interesting-looking smaller games. But from the barrage of trailers I was also able to discern some trends. Here's what we can learn. Continue reading...

Interactive takes on MI6's globetrotting spy have been around almost as long as the films, but that doesn't mean all of them were a success. Here's 007's chequered past of hits, flops and oddities

As Hollywood searches for its next iteration of the superspy, the actor explains how he earned pop culture's most sought-after role - and how he's taking 007 back to basics

What about using voice notes, or calling someone totally unannounced? Experts give their verdict on how to use your phone without causing offenceIt is not news that many of us are addicted to our phones and nor is it a revelation that inconsiderate public behaviour now appears to be the norm, but when the two collide it can cause anger. Last week, at the end of a performance of the drama Inter Alia in London's West End, the actor Rosamund Pike took to the stage after the curtain call to announce that she had seen someone texting during the performance. I just wanted to say for anyone going to the theatre, it's a huge thing that we're trying to give you. I am trying to tell you a story, and I'm feeling you, and I hope you're feeling me too ... Maybe it was very important, and maybe you're a doctor, and you're saving someone's life, and I hope you are, but we do see these, we do feel them."What is the correct etiquette when using your phone? Myka Meier, author of Modern Etiquette Made Easy, says: It is always thinking about other people before yourself when you're on the phone." This also means being aware of how disabled people might use, and rely on, their phones. As an academic with hearing loss pointed out to the BBC after Pike's comments, bans on phones in theatres, or public shaming, could exclude disabled people in audiences, such as those who use hearing aid apps and need to adjust the settings. Continue reading...

Apple Peiqing Ni targeted by account portraying her as promiscuous drug addict after posting about Tiananmen SquareA high-profile Chinese activist in the UK who was inundated with deepfake posts on X portraying her as a sexually promiscuous drug addict was told that the abuse did not breach the rules of Elon Musk's platform.Apple Peiqing Ni, the 27-year-old founder of the UK-based China Dissent Network, had been advised by UK police to complain to the US-headquartered platform after she was targeted by what she believes is a pro-regime bot. Continue reading...

Home city of Amazon and Microsoft passes moratorium as backlash against energy-guzzling AI infrastructure growsSeattle has passed a year-long moratorium on the construction of new datacenters. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the temporary ban on Tuesday.A major tech hub whose metro area is home to Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country. Continue reading...

AI company restricted access to Fable 5, its most powerful Mythos model, for months over cybersecurity concernsAnthropic, the maker of the Claude artificial intelligence (AI) models, made a new version of its technology available to the general public on Tuesday while restricting its use in sensitive areas.Dubbed Fable 5, the model is the first to be made widely available from the company's new Mythos class - its most advanced lineup of AI technology, unveiled in April but restricted to a small set of partner institutions for months over cybersecurity concerns. Continue reading...

Bluetooth sleep masks block out light and let you stream audio. I spent weeks testing some of the top-rated ones on the market

US embassy came out against UK's proposed under-16 social media ban, which would affect American firmsWhite House displeasure over the prospect of an under-16 social media ban will not deter the UK from cracking down on tech platforms, the British government has said.The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, told the Guardian she was not concerned in the slightest" by the Trump administration's intervention in the debate over restrictions, after the US embassy in London posted a notice warning against a ban. Continue reading...

Tech company says it caught and disrupted' NSO Group's attempts to access accounts in Jordan and LebanonA spyware firm has been targeting WhatsApp users with malicious links in contravention of a US court order forbidding it from doing so, Meta has said.In a post, Meta said WhatsApp had caught and disrupted spear phishing attempts" by NSO Group, which a spokesperson said targeted a handful of users in Jordan and Lebanon. It had also caught the group creating test accounts and groups" on WhatsApp. Continue reading...

US spy-tech company to challenge London mayor's intervention after he raised concerns over breach of procurement rulesPalantir intends to sue the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, after he blocked a contract between the US spy-tech firm and the Metropolitan police.The Met had planned to use Palantir's software to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, until Khan intervened in late May, sparking a row between the UK's largest police force and the mayor's office. Continue reading...

Also: Anthropic advocates for a pause' on AI advancement - days after filing to go public on the US stock marketHello, and welcome to TechScape. I'm your host, Blake Montgomery, the US tech editor at the Guardian. Today we're discussing Donald Trump's neediness for AI and the contradictions of Anthropic's safety-first posture.OpenAI confidentially files for initial public offering on US stock marketApple debuts revamped Siri AI' and new child safety features for iPhones and iPadsThe Guardian view on children and the internet: rolling back big tech's untrammelled power | EditorialSilicon Valley including Meta has embraced Maga politics, says Nick CleggBernie Sanders' AI sovereign wealth fund plan is good. But we think this is better | Nathan E Sanders and Bruce SchneierMajority of US's new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit landBillions spent and hypothetical returns: the AI boom explained with six chartsA driver of political violence': how the breakneck AI boom is fueling anti-tech extremism Continue reading...

Governor urges people to report videos on X that falsely show the men clashing in the Question Time studioThe Bank of England has warned the public against falling for AI-generated scams after deepfake videos of Nigel Farage fighting its governor spread online.Andrew Bailey, the head of the BoE, said AI-generated content related to central banks was spreading and urged people to be vigilant". Continue reading...

Medical Protection Society calls for law to be overhauled to help medics avoid liability for errors made by technologyDoctors and the NHS could be sued for medical negligence over mistakes made by artificial intelligence tools used in diagnosing patients and suggesting their treatment, ministers are being warned.Under the law as it stands, medics and the health service can be held liable for patients being harmed or dying even if it was AI that made the errors that resulted in their suffering. Continue reading...

Datacentre off Shanghai coast uses less power and water than land-based equivalentThe world's first wind-powered underwater datacentre has started operations off the coast of Shanghai, as China presses forwards with solutions for energy challenges created by the country's artificial intelligence boom.The Shanghai Lingang undersea datacentre demonstration project, which launched in May, has a capacity of 24 megawatts. It is a joint effort between HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction, a state-owned company. Continue reading...

David Lammy to announce trial of AI assistants in crown courts in effort to cut backlog of casesA plan to roll out virtual legal assistants powered by artificial intelligence to crown courts has prompted warnings that the technology should not be used to replace vital funding and additional court staff".David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, will announce on Tuesday that AI assistants will be trialled in an effort to cut the backlog of court cases in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Echo project will help erase images as part of package of support to end prolonged suffering of survivors'Victims of child sexual abuse in England and Wales will be given help to remove online images of their abuse as part of a wider package of support to end the prolonged suffering of survivors".The Echo project will help those who have reported their abuse to the police to identify and remove images of abuse online. They will also be given trauma support, the possibility of having a victim impact statement read in court against their perpetrators and the opportunity of criminal or civil compensation. Continue reading...

ChatGPT maker expected to be valued at more than $850bn, one of most highly valued listings in market historyOpenAI has filed confidentially to go public on the US stock market, according to a company blogpost published on Monday. The artificial intelligence giant's debut on Wall Street is expected to be one of the most highly valued listings in market history with a valuation at more than $850bn.We recently submitted a confidential S-1. We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it," the company's post reads. We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it's a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best." Continue reading...

At his final WWDC keynote, Tim Cook highlights AI-forward upgrade to the voice assistant to be widely released in fallAfter years of anticipation, user frustration and false starts, Apple announced a major upgrade to Siri at its annual developer conference on Monday. The voice assistant will come integrated with Apple's artificial intelligence tool, Apple Intelligence, and has been rechristened Siri AI".The new Siri, which will be widely released in the fall, will more closely resemble AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, than a question-and-answer tool that draws from the web. Continue reading...

Hundreds of video games were shown at June's annual bonanza. After watching more than 15 hours of showcases, our video games editor picks the highlightsThe sequel to a revered 2014 horror game from British developer Creative Assembly: this time you must evade the xenomorph on the surface of a storm-ravaged colony world. Continue reading...

Our writer found a surprisingly effective way to cut down his smartphone use. Plus, what to eat while watching the World Cup - inspired by all 48 teams Don't get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereI recently learned through Apple's Screen Time app that I was spending about eight hours a week on my phone browsing Reddit and Instagram. That's 17.3 days a year spent consuming entertaining but ultimately pointless fluff. So my piece looking for solutions for phone addicts was highly personal.The warning signs are if your phone is the first thing you look at in the morning and the last thing you look at in bed, says Prof Marcantonio Spada, emeritus professor of addictive behaviours and mental health at London South Bank University and chief clinical officer at Onebright, who I spoke to for my article. Continue reading...

Drops follow sharp sell-off of US tech stock last week while oil prices seesaw after Iran and Israel exchange strikesStock markets have fallen amid concern about the prospects for tech stocks, while oil prices have risen after renewed conflict in the Middle East dampened hopes that the strait of Hormuz would soon reopen.Markets in Asia and Europe fell on Monday after a sharp sell-off in US tech stocks late last week, as investors fretted over how firms at the forefront of the artificial intelligence boom would fund their eye-watering" spending plans. Continue reading...

In response to AI's hyperrealism, artists and creatives are gravitating toward the homespun and imperfectEarlier this year, a group of film-makers, commercial directors and AI industry influencers gathered in New York City for the Runway AI Summit - a daylong hype-fest, trumping up the potential of this new technology. During one talk, Rob Wrubel, co-founder and managing partner at San Francisco ad firm Silverside, talked up his work on the Coca-Cola company's AI-generated 2025 Holiday Caravan ad. What's incredible about AI," Wrubel said, is that you can go from script to production is just two weeks!"What Wrubel failed to mention was that the ad - with its computerized polar bears and fake-looking trundling delivery trucks - was widely despised by pretty much anyone who saw it. Indeed, the public distaste for the campaign became its own news story, spawning headlines like People really don't like Coke's AI holiday commercial" and Coca-Cola's New AI Holiday Ad is a Sloppy Eyesore". It may indeed have been quickly conceived - and it looked like it. Reached for comment about the backlash, Wrubel admits: The conversation around the ad became almost as important as the ad itself because it surfaced questions the entire creative industry is wrestling with right now." Continue reading...