by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#78SXG)
Patrick McCabe's herculean feat shows limits and possibilities of special educational needs and disabilities systemPatrick McCabe is instantly recognisable in the early autumn sunshine, his wheelchair surrounded by fellow pupils at Fallibroome Academy in Macclesfield, Cheshire as they move from lesson to lesson, chatting, laughing and joking around.His extraordinary GCSE success this summer has become the stuff of legend. The 16-year-old has cerebral palsy and it took four months for him to complete his exams using eye-tracking technology. Now Patrick has started his A-levels - French, business and media studies - and fresh challenges lie ahead. Continue reading...
AI factories' developer on track to launch the second-biggest IPO in Australian history, but investors warn its forecasts are a little bit of a fairytale'
From bullets to rabbits to wand vibrators, our sexual wellbeing expert demystifies what's available and rates her top 17 models (she tested 67) 26 easy ways to spice up your sex lifeI could write here about how almost a fifth of women surveyed by Durex said using a sex toy was the most dependable way for them to climax. Or I could point out how Kinsey Institute research suggests regular masturbation can help relieve and prevent symptoms of menopause, such as vaginal atrophy. I could even tell you that studies demonstrate a significant correlation between intimate toy ownership and greater satisfaction - not only with sex but also with life itself.But the potted version is that orgasms and erotic pleasure are glorious, and top-class toys can help you savour more of both. So here are the best vibrators available. Scroll to the bottom to find out how I selected these vibrators from the 67 I tested for this piece. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Martha Dalton worked closely with Burnham's team on byelection that secured his return to parliamentA recent lobbyist for the controversial $450bn US tech company Palantir played a senior role in helping Andy Burnham become prime minister, it has emerged.Martha Dalton, whose company Lodestone worked for Palantir in 2024 and 2025, campaigned for Burnham in the Makerfield byelection that secured his return to parliament. She worked closely with his team on strategic communications and rebuttals, and was among supporters who clapped him into Downing Street in July. Continue reading...
People describe their return to physical media - whether to protect data, support artists, or retain control of one's choicesFor some, it is the security of knowing they have a physical copy of their favourite films and music, free from algorithms, interruptions and the vagaries of streaming. For others, it is the sound of needle on vinyl, the click of a cassette player and the ability to interact with a physical format.We asked people if they were moving back to CDs, DVDs, vinyl and older formats to escape algorithmically curated content. Here are some of their responses. Continue reading...
State attorney general issues subpoena to OpenAI as part of broader inquiry into potential security vulnerabilitiesCalifornia's attorney general has issued an investigative subpoena to OpenAI, starting an investigation into the startup as part of a broader inquiry into potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities and incidents related to its AI models, his office said on Thursday.Last month, Rob Bonta announced that the Department of Justice was conducting a formal investigation into the Hugging Face incident", amid increasing scrutiny of the AI industry. AI agents developed by OpenAI hacked Hugging Face in July, gaining access to parts of the open-source platform's infrastructure. Continue reading...
Tech company releases Gemini 4 Argon only to a vetted group of cybersecurity experts to avoid misuse by hackersGoogle on Wednesday said it would withhold its most powerful artificial intelligence model from the public for now, releasing Gemini 4 Argon only to a vetted group of cybersecurity experts to avoid misuse by hackers.Safely releasing frontier capabilities at this level requires a phased approach," wrote Koray Kavukcuoglu, Google's chief AI architect, in a blogpost announcing the model. Continue reading...
Jessica Watkins, the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit, is making her second trip to the space stationFour astronauts rocketed into orbit on Thursday on a space station mission that will stretch until spring, among them a Canadian whose wife will give birth while he is away.SpaceX launched commander Jessica Watkins and her crew for Nasa after a three-week delay to fix the capsule's leaking fuel system. Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but in the end, the skies cleared enough to allow for a safe liftoff. Continue reading...
Hostile states could access cameras, microphones or GPS, says intelligence agency amid concerns over Chinese importsDrivers have been warned that the smart features built into modern cars such as microphones, cameras and GPS trackers could be used by hostile states to spy on them.The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) called for awareness of espionage risks around modern vehicles", including microphones that can by switched on remotely to listen to conversations. Continue reading...
Guardian tested chatbots after French far-right politician stripped a Muslim woman of her hijab in a photoWhen prompted, AI chatbots will edit images to remove the hijabs from Muslim women, a violation of one of the world's most common and visible expressions of faith.The Guardian asked ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini and Claude to take the veil off an AI-generated image of a woman wearing a hijab. Both OpenAI's ChatGPT and xAI's Grok bots complied with the prompt. Anthropic's Claude responded that it does not have an image-editing or -generating feature but that it would not alter a photo to remove someone's hijab. Continue reading...
Some experts fear AI could be weaponised in south-east Asia, home to nations with predominately young and hyper-connected populationsYears ago it would have been an elaborate operation involving an army of cyber troops creating fake news websites, social media accounts and forged dossiers, all deployed to spread disinformation en masse.Now, all you need is AI. Continue reading...
Democratic governor sharply critical of Donald Trump for not passing comprehensive federal AI regulationsGovernor Gavin Newsom signed laws on Wednesday aimed at protecting California workers from the threats of artificial intelligence , including potential job losses and workplace surveillance.The laws ban employers from using the technology to predict a worker's emotional state by using their biometric data, require employers to send written notices to workers if AI is responsible for mass layoffs and ban employers from relying on AI to decide to fire someone. Continue reading...
FTC move is first official US enforcement action on rogue AI agents, following surge in incidents first reported in JulyThe US's main trade regulator is conducting an industry-wide investigation into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs to uncover the potential dangers their technology poses to consumers.The investigation by the Federal Trade Commission is the first official US enforcement action that delves into rogue AI agents, following a surge in incidents first reported in July that have stoked fears among the public that uncontrolled AI could one day harm humans. Continue reading...
Republicans supported legislation although Democrats said it wouldn't effectively address energy consumptionSenate Democrats on Wednesday blocked legislation intended to offset the impact of datacenters on consumer electricity bills, calling it a toothless" attempt to address a top voter concern ahead of November's midterm elections.The Ratepayer Protection Act failed by a 57-to-43 vote, falling just shy of the 60 votes necessary to advance through the Republican-controlled chamber. Four Democrats - Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and both Georgia senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock - joined Republicans in support of the measure. Continue reading...
Donald Trump and six tech executives voluntarily signed the document, which included a misspelling, committing to safely developing AIThe White House misspelled United States" under the signature of Donald Trump on an accord he signed with AI executives on Tuesday.At the bottom of the accord on Super Intelligence", the term Trump has used to rebrand artificial intelligence, the president's signature appeared as President of the Unites States". Continue reading...
Late-night hosts weighed in on Trump's relationship with tech leaders and the White House's new AI-powered siteOn Tuesday night, late-night hosts discussed a Maha summit in Washington DC, the White House's new AI-powered website and Donald Trump once again falling asleep on live TV. Continue reading...
Fed up with condensation, mould and musty smells? A dehumidifier could help - plus, they're a cheaper way to dry laundry compared with tumble dryers The best electric blankets and heated throws, tested by our expertYou don't have to live in the American deep south to feel the effects of humidity. At home, just breathing makes the air more humid, let alone cooking or showering.And when it gets too humid, it's bad for our health as well as our homes. In fact, the two are connected: humidity lets mould and dust mites flourish - and they, in turn, can trigger asthma and allergies. Continue reading...
There's no Leon, Claire or Ada Wong in Cregger's adaptation. Instead, it re-creates something more fundamental - the strange, terrifying experience of actually playing the game Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereI've been surprised by the number of Resident Evil fans complaining on social media about Zach Cregger's cinematic adaptation of the survival horror series. It's not a real Resident Evil movie," they've claimed. Were we watching the same film? Certainly, it doesn't feature any of the familiar heroes - there's no Leon, no Claire, no Ada Wong - and there's a distinct lack of recognisable antagonists and well-known locations. Despite all of this, Cregger's interpretation is one of the most accurate and interesting video game films ever made.On the surface, it's about a zombifying virus that gets accidentally released in Raccoon City by the Umbrella Corporation. These are, of course, the foundations of the Resi mythos. More interestingly, Cregger seeks to replicate and explore the structural and narrative conventions of the series. In the film, the player character, hapless courier Bryan Hodukavich, is thrust into a viral outbreak, with no weapons and no idea what's going on. He is then submerged into an uncanny shadow world of escalating peril and body horror. The film takes us through a series of locations dragged straight from the games - an abandoned farmhouse, a road tunnel crammed with abandoned cars, a hospital and the obligatory sewer level. As he progresses, Bryan finds increasingly powerful weapons, from a handgun to an assault rifle - but he is always short on ammo. And there are typewriters in at least two scenes! Continue reading...
For those employed in arduous solitary work such as cab driving, a marathon phone call is the perfect place to navigate the dislocations of immigrant life
Kenjiro Tsuda wins case against TikTok account in landmark Japanese verdict to protect publicity rightsA court in Japan has ruled that the human voice has legal protection after a landmark case involving a well-known actor and a TikTok account that he claimed had cloned his lustrous" baritone voice in its AI-generated videos.Tokyo district court said on Wednesday that voices should enjoy the same protection as publicity rights, at the end of a closely watched legal action brought against TikTok by Kenjiro Tsuda - best known for voicing the character Kento Nanami in the anime Jujutsu Kaisen. Continue reading...
Deepfakes and misinformation driven by artificial intelligence have become a point of deep concern for legislators, advocates and the publicAn image of Bianca Motley Broom, the mayor of College Park, Georgia, kissing a man - who was not her husband - in a bar spread far and wide on Facebook. The fact that it's fake is spreading faster, now, but only after it had been seen by thousands of people.I think this is a sad commentary about where we are in our democracy, and where we are in our political discourse," Motley Broom said. It also seeks to reinforce really tired stereotypes about women in leadership." Continue reading...
Swedish-American actor exhumed for bizarre, humourless 99 seconds that give us another reason to resent AIPoor Greta Garbo.Perhaps, in life, she thought her final indignity would be the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore TV sketch from 1970, showing Pete as the legendary recluse standing on the back of a flatbed truck as it rumbles through the crowded city streets, shouting at everyone through a megaphone: I vant to be alone!" Continue reading...
by Alexandra Topping Political correspondent on (#78QPS)
Exclusive: Culture secretary says UK will crack down further and be pioneer of tech as a force for good'Lisa Nandy has warned technology firms that the government's online safety crackdown is not finished, saying that banning under-16s from social media platforms is only a staging post".Earlier this year the government announced that teenagers under the age of 16 would be banned from accessing high-risk" social media apps, while safer platforms would be subjected to restrictions. Continue reading...
Relatives of Hollywood legend say her doppelganger could now be used for more glamorous rolesShe shimmered in Hollywood's silent movie era and lit up the first talkies - now Greta Garbo may be about to star in cinema's new AI age.More than a century after her screen debut and decades after her ashes were laid to rest in a Swedish woodland cemetery, the Hollywood superstar's descendants are ready to consider an AI version of her taking a 21st-century film role. Continue reading...
Company's product comes weeks after Meta introduced its own artificially intelligent agent MuseLess than 24 hours after OpenAI announced it would scrap the launch of an artificial intelligence model over safety concerns, the company debuted a whole new suite of AI tools.During its annual showcase for developers in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, enthusiastically unveiled an AI agent called dots" that he said was more ambitious" than ChatGPT and a whole new way to work with AI". Continue reading...
Researchers say the IPO market was off to a solid start but tailed off in the third quarterSmart ring maker Oura Inc says it is postponing a planned initial public offering due to market uncertainty".In a Tuesday press release, Oura said it is delaying the stock market float despite strong demand". Continue reading...
Health secretary calls for medical and lifestyle details to be sent to doctors and AI to address chronic disease epidemic'Robert F Kennedy Jr laid out an expansive vision for collecting, sharing and analyzing US health information at a Maha event hosted by a close ally and outspoken anti-vaccine activist.Medical and lifestyle data, from doctor's visits to exercise, should be connected and shared with the government and independent researchers, where it can be searched by AI - including potential links between vaccines and health outcomes including autism and mortality, suggested Kennedy, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime vaccine skeptic. Continue reading...
The new AI agent, Muse, was released last week and has been downloaded by 3 million usersWhen Usman asked if a keyboard for sale on Facebook Marketplace was still available on Saturday, he received an enthusiastic and immediate response.Yep still available!" wrote Matt Robb. Continue reading...
The industry is engaged in a perverse quest to replace humans. We cannot cede the best tools available to the other sideI don't need to tell you that people hate AI. The list of grievances is long: slop, cheating, bias, enfeeblement, electricity bills, environmental destruction, exploitation, theft, cybercrime, doom. But resistance to the technology has often taken the form of shaming people for personally using it, with precious little organizing against the companies building the machines. This is perplexing, given that those companies are attempting to render us obsolete.The executives may contest this framing, offering some bromides about how AI will augment human work or how we'll simply find new jobs to do. But their clear goals are to create systems that so clearly surpass our abilities that we will have little hope of competing. Continue reading...
Though politicians are quiet about how they use AI, the book Rewiring Democracy examines how AI is starting to influence American politicsNew campaign finance disclosure data shines a light on which US political campaigns are using AI tools and how much they are spending on them.Candidates', parties' and committees' spending reveals that AI is fast becoming an essential tool of politics. The candidates themselves are quiet about how they are using the technology in their own campaigns. It's a sensitive issue that we have been tracking closely since we started writing our book, Rewiring Democracy, which examined how AI is beginning to influence politics. A September 2025 Pew survey of Americans found that more than 70% would think less of a candidate if they used AI to help write a speech. Continue reading...
Reported admission to investors of AI's self-preserving behaviours' comes as company prepares for a potential $2tn flotationAnthropic is telling investors that advanced AI could pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity", according to reports, as it prepares for a potential $2tn (1.5tn) flotation.The warning inside the startup's IPO prospectus, which has yet to be made public, was reported by Reuters and the Financial Times. It follows the company's call for a slowdown in breakneck development of the technology - a warning echoed by rivals. Continue reading...
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsNewsflash: the number of mortgages approved by UK lenders has fallen to its lowest level since the end of 2023.Just 54,918 new home loans were approved in August on a seasonally-adjusted basis, new Bank of England data shows, as rising borrowing costs deterred potential home buyers.The average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.93%. This is up from 5.91% the previous working day.The average 5-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.94%. This is up from 5.93% the previous working day. Continue reading...
Freedom of information request finds six-month trial cost 320,000, used almost 100 police hours and led to just one - incorrect - alertA six-month trial of live facial recognition (LFR) technology in London's railway stations that cost more than 320,000 and almost 100 hours of police officers' time led to one false match against a watchlist of suspects and no arrests.More than half a million faces were scanned between February and July this year in some of the capital's busiest transport hubs during the British Transport Police (BTP) trial of the surveillance technology, which aimed to help catch offenders and people breaching court orders. Continue reading...
As a business journalist, Nilsson began rigorously reporting on the power players of the adult industry, who prefer to remain in the shadows. Along the way, she uncovered how porn has shaped the internet - and our lives as a wholeThere was a time, a few decades ago, when the men who owned the world's biggest pornography businesses were happy to be famous. They paraded a lifestyle they hoped looked glamorous, appearing in public dressed in silk pyjamas or with a woman in swimwear on each arm. Porn moguls like Hustler's Larry Flynt or Playboy's Hugh Hefner were household names.Say what you want about these old perverts, who once set the tone of our sexual culture, but at least you knew who they were and what they were selling," Patricia Nilsson writes in her new book, Guilty Pleasure: The Pornification of the Internet, the Economy, and Everything Else. These days, the men calling the shots are nowhere to be seen." Continue reading...
It's often thought of as the problem, but what if the right technology could help us switch off and live more in the moment? The best screen-free activitiesWith the continued backlash against AI and growing concern about our reliance on screens, an analogue life has never looked so appealing. I haven't gone so far as to get myself an analogue bag just yet, but I have done a relatively complex puzzle and read five physical books this year, which is already two more than in 2025.But it also struck me recently that I have, somewhat conversely, been using digital tools to do a lot of analogue activities. What if tech could help us live more in the present and reduce our screen time, while benefiting our physical and mental health in the long run? Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#78PXE)
Apple's cheapest desktop computer is no longer a bargain but its newest, fastest chip makes it a pocket powerhouseApple's latest Mac mini brings real speed and power for far more than everyday tasks in a practically pocketable form you can fit almost anywhere.The impressive new desktop machine is the first to receive an update to Apple's latest M6 chip while remaining smaller than a headphones box. It is the cheapest computer Apple sells with an M-series chip, but like every other memory-containing piece of electronics, it has been hit by RAMageddon, driving up the starting price to 899 (1,049/$899/A$1,449) from the 599 or equivalent of its M4 predecessor. Continue reading...
Chipmaker says new system was designed to prevent AI agents from going rogue amid incidents at top companiesNvidia on Monday unveiled a new security platform that the chipmaker said can stop artificial intelligence agents from going rogue.The company announced a $150bn stock buyback the same day, the largest in US corporate history. Continue reading...
OpenAI chief scientist also among authors of report on prospect of most consequential technological development in history'Two of the godfathers" of modern AI and senior executives at OpenAI and Anthropic have warned governments to prepare for an AI intelligence explosion", which they say could be the most consequential technological development in history.A report co-authored by the Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton and the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, considered godfathers of modern AI for their work in the field, urges politicians to act now before there is runaway progress in the technology. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Instructors at tech training company Multiverse hit out at remorseless' and unnerving' monitoring systemTeachers at Euan Blair's 1.6bn tech training company, Multiverse, have blown the whistle about horrendous stress" and feeling constantly watched after bosses started using AI models to surveil and rate their teaching.Staff delivering apprenticeship training in computer and AI skills to thousands of UK public and private sector workers now have transcripts of online classroom sessions analysed and scored by an AI programmed to alert human managers when they are suspected of doing things wrong. Continue reading...
Scientists and entrepreneurs knew the dangers of AI a quarter-century ago. But animated by curiosity and profit, they went ahead anywayOver the past few weeks, many of us have struggled to concoct a mental image of brains in the cloud jumping their sandbox", sneaking on to the internet, recruiting swarms" of other agents" to cheat on a test, and, after discussing the ethics of the act, hacking into a wiki platform with the weird name Hugging Face.We knew that artificial intelligence was devouring our jobs, degrading our kids' education and deepfaking our politics; that datacenters were sucking up our water and electricity and sending us the bills. But until 8 September, when the Anthropic computer scientist Jacob Coxon posted his existential terror on Twitter/X, few of us suspected AI might be endangering our survival. Continue reading...
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