by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#75V44)
Darren Aronofsky among proponents of using technology, while Guillermo del Toro says he would rather die'Under a white marquee on Cannes' Croisette beach, with the Mediterranean glistening behind him and superyachts drifting across the horizon, the director Darren Aronofsky addressed an audience of executives and tech evangelists gathered for an AI for Talent" summit.There's so much pushback against AI," said Aronofsky, who has faced criticism over his embrace of generative AI projects though his new studio, Primordial Soup, at a time when artificial intelligence has become one of the film industry's most divisive fault lines. Continue reading...
The US president's reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech's unchecked powerOnly hours before Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly backed out. Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race.During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American dominance and competition with China and as his reasoning behind the reversal. Continue reading...
Growing numbers of people are seeking improbable cosmetic surgery based on chatbots' recommendationsPlastic surgeons are increasingly concerned about the rise of AI face", as more and more clients arrive in their offices with unrealistic AI-generated visions of what they want to look like.Dr Nora Nugent, a cosmetic surgeon from Tunbridge Wells, has seen this first hand. Clients have started coming to her office with photos of themselves beautified by AI and a false expectation that those results are achievable with surgery. She is also the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, and says many colleagues are having similar experiences. Continue reading...
BioOrbit hopes drug-crystallisation technology will lead to self-injected cancer treatment that could save millionsOnboard a SpaceX flight last week was a remarkable piece of cargo - a hi-tech box destined for the International Space Station to grow ultra-pure protein crystals, with the aim of producing self-injected cancer drugs.A British startup, BioOrbit, has developed the drug-crystallisation technology at its labs in London and launched Box-E, a compact unit the size of a microwave, on the 15 May rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Geneva Abdul on (#75T3C)
US social media firms acting on orders from Middle East kingdom accused of being instruments of repression'Major US social media companies including Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms have blocked the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents so they are no longer visible inside the kingdom, following orders by Saudi authorities.Those affected include Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist and vocal critic of Saudi human rights violations, and Omar Abdulaziz, a Canada and UK-based activist who worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi before the journalist's murder by Saudi agents in 2018. Continue reading...
Bill Winters faced backlash over remarks about some of near 8,000 staff set to lose roles to AIThe chief executive of Standard Chartered has apologised for referring to some of the almost 8,000 staff that are set to lose their jobs to artificial intelligence as lower-value human capital".Bill Winters offered the apology after a backlash over comments he made earlier this week as the London-headquartered lender became one of the first major global banks to lay out plans to cut about 7,800 back-office roles, primarily in response to AI. Continue reading...
IPO filing from Elon Musk's company reveals closer look at finances, cosmic ambitions and tech empire's quirksSpaceX publicly released an investor prospectus on Wednesday as part of its plan for a $1.75tn debut on the US stock market next month, revealing unseen details about the finances and future plans of Elon Musk's flagship company. In addition to new information on operating costs and revenue, the filing also included trademark Muskian sweeping proclamations about the universe and insights into some of the quirks of his tech empire.Scattered throughout the 300-plus-page prospectus are several disclosures and risk warnings that show the eccentricities of Musk's company and its cosmic ambitions. Other financial details in the document highlight how interdependent Musk's various businesses have become and the risks that they carry. Continue reading...
Licensing agreement will allow listeners to use AI to create content on streaming platform for first timeSpotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence.The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Scotland Yard criticises London mayor's decision as disappointing and warns it could hit policingSadiq Khan has blocked a 50m Metropolitan police deal with the controversial US tech company Palantir, sparking a bitter row between the London mayor and Scotland Yard.After the UK's largest police force had agreed to use Palantir's AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, Khan intervened, citing serious concerns" about how the deal had been struck. Continue reading...
Company says work on Paul Erds planar unit distance problem shows advance in AI reasoningOpenAI has claimed a further advance in AI reasoning after its technology successfully tackled an 80-year-old maths problem.The company behind ChatGPT said it had made a breakthrough with a challenge first posed by Hungarian mathematician Paul Erds in 1946: the planar unit distance problem. Continue reading...
Telecoms company CEO says tech firms are buying up memory chips to power datacentres relied on by AIBT has said the cost of smartphones could rise as technology companies buy up semiconductor chips because of the boom in artificial intelligence, putting pressure on supply chains.The telecoms company's chief executive, Allison Kirkby, said she was anticipating shortages as tech firms bought large quantities of memory chips to power the datacentres relied on by AI. Continue reading...
Many analysts view company's financial performance as a broader referendum on AI buildoutNvidia continued its years-long streak of beating Wall Street's expectations for growth on Wednesday, reassuring most investors that the AI boom, particularly the global explosion of datacenters, will continue apace.The buildout of AI factories - the largest infrastructure expansion in human history - is accelerating at extraordinary speed," said Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, in a statement. Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value, and scaling rapidly across companies and industries." Continue reading...
Police said the vehicle became disabled and took on water, prompting the driver and passengers to abandon it before calling for helpAuthorities in Texas have removed a Tesla Cybertruck from a lake after the driver intentionally drove into it in an attempt to try the vehicle's wade mode."On Tuesday, the Grapevine police department announced the vehicle's recovery from Katie's Woods Park Boat Ramp, adding that the driver stated he intentionally drove into the lake to use the Cybertruck's wade mode' feature". Continue reading...
Exclusive: Google DeepMind agrees to Acas talks after workers sign petitions about governments' use of AI for defence and intelligenceGoogle DeepMind has agreed to enter formal talks with UK tech workers that could lead to trade union representation amid growing staff concerns about the use of its AI by the US and Israeli governments' defence and intelligence.In a groundbreaking move, the artificial intelligence arm of the multi-trillion dollar Google empire, led by the Nobel prize winner Demis Hassabis, has agreed to meet the Communications Workers Union and Unite at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) after workers based at its London headquarters this month voted to make a bid to unionise. Continue reading...
Driving sims were overtaken by open world fantasy adventures, but new upgrades show how much joy there is in the genreI have spent the last week careening around Japan in a Porsche 911, seeing the sights, racing other cars and occasionally veering off the road to plummet through an ancient bamboo forest. You all know what's coming next ... this wasn't in real life, folks - it was in Forza Horizon 6, the latest instalment in Microsoft's series of open world driving games set in authentic-looking, real-world locations.Reviewing this game (which is out now on Xbox and PC, and coming to PS5 later in the year) has reminded me of the sheer fun and exhilaration that driving games can provide. It's easy to forget, but this was the biggest genre in town from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Consoles were sold on how good their racing games were: the original PlayStation had Ridge Racer, the Sega Saturn had Daytona USA. Later came the dirt-track thrills of Colin McRae Rally, the chaotic destruction of Burnout, the sophisticated realism of Gran Turismo. They were the bestsellers of the era, showcasing the future of real-time 3D visuals. Continue reading...
Almost 50 years after he first got his hands on a computer, the Oxford professor still believes in the power of technology. Can his beloved game theory explain why Silicon Valley's entrepreneurs consistently misuse it?Michael Wooldridge is like the teacher you wish you'd had: approachable, able to explain difficult things in simple terms, neither dauntingly highbrow nor off-puttingly cool, and genuinely enthusiastic about what he does. I love it when you see the light go on in somebody, when they understand something that they didn't understand before," he says. I find that incredibly gratifying."He comes across a regular sort of guy, which, as an Oxford professor with more than 500 scientific articles and 10 books to his name, he clearly isn't. Typically, his favourite work is his contribution to Ladybird's Expert Books - an update of the classic children's series - on artificial intelligence. I'm very proud of this," he says, as he hands me a copy from his bookshelf. We're in his study in the University of Oxford's somewhat municipal computing department on a sunny spring day. Maybe it's the campus setting, but our discussion almost takes the form of a seminar. Continue reading...
Groups claim game platform's design and business model conflict with children's developmental needsOnline child safety campaigners including Jonathan Haidt, the bestselling writer on the mental health impacts of social media, have called on the Trump administration to investigate Roblox, the booming gaming and chat platform used by 150 million people daily, including a large number of under-13s.Haidt's Anxious Generation Movement, Fairplay and the rightwing anti-pornography National Center on Sexual Exploitation are among groups claiming Roblox's design and business model conflict with children's developmental needs. Continue reading...
Whether you want to improve your home's security or simply know who's at the door, the latest generation of smart doorbells will help put your mind at ease The best robot vacuums, testedDoorbells have evolved. Today, they watch us as we approach, let the people inside the home know we're coming sooner than our finger can hit the button, and give them a good look at our faces before they open the door. They're essentially security cameras with a chime function.If you haven't already installed one of these handy tools, there's a huge array available. Choosing the best video doorbell can be a bewildering task, with various factors to consider, including how much of your doorstep you want to see and whether you're prepared to pay for a subscription. To help make the decision a little bit easier, I tested eight popular video doorbells to find the best.Best video doorbell overall:
by Presented by Carly Earl and Matilda Boseley , prod on (#75R7C)
It's getting harder and harder to guess whether a face is AI. The University of New South Wales recently launched an AI faces test, which challenges users ability to distinguish between real and fake faces. Guardian Australia's Carly Earl and Matilda Boseley take the test to see if it's a science or just vibes Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#75R7E)
Special anniversary edition of award-winning headphones are some of the best sounding you can buy, but cost far more than top Sony noise cancellersSony's latest noise-cancelling headphones are a special anniversary set made to celebrate a decade of its prized 1000X series, designed to be plusher, slimmer, more comfortable and the best sounding yet.The original 1000X launched in 2016, igniting a fierce rivalry with the dominant Bose and its QuietComfort line, which would push noise-cancelling technology dramatically forward as each tried to outdo the other with subsequent releases. Continue reading...
by Blake Montgomery in Mountain View, California on (#75R3K)
At annual I/O conference, company debuts a product for everyday consumers to create autonomous AI agentsGoogle announced Tuesday that it would expand its search bar, the centerpiece of the most-visited website in the world, with a heavy dose of artificial intelligence. The tech giant is also trying its hand at hi-tech glasses again, more than a decade after wearers of its first eyewear were dubbed glassholes" and laughed out of San Francisco.Google executives announced at the company's annual conference for software developers, Google I/O, that its search box would accommodate longer and more specific queries than before - questions more like those people would ask one another than Search's idiosyncratic syntax. The changes will direct users to engage directly with Google's chatbot. The change to search is underpinned by the company's new artificial intelligence model, Gemini 3.5, announced the same day. Continue reading...
Granta publisher says perhaps we never will know' true authorship of work that won Commonwealth prizeA few syntactical tics - and the verdict of an AI detection platform - have sparked a furore over the possibility that a short story given a prestigious literary award was written by AI.The foundation that awarded the prize and Granta, the magazine that published the winning story, said they had considered the allegations but had not reached a conclusion as to whether they were true. Continue reading...
Some employees will be moved to new teams focused on AI agents and cloud infrastructureAs Meta races to recenter itself around artificial intelligence, the tech giant is mandating that more than 7,000 workers must move to new teams, and it's radically changing some employees' jobs. The Guardian has also learned that some of these reassigned employees will shift to two new teams: one building AI cloud infrastructure and another that's building an internal AI agent codenamed Hatch.Late last week, Meta employees received a notice that engineers had been selected" for reassignment and would begin reporting to the cloud infrastructure and Hatch teams by the end of this week. Meta made a similar move last month when it reshuffled at least 1,000 engineers on to a new data labeling team called Applied AI, or AAI - at first giving them the option to volunteer, but later telling workers: Transfers aren't optional." Continue reading...
by Presented by Lucy Houghwith Nick Robins-Early; pro on (#75R4E)
A long and bitter legal battle between tech billionaires Elon Musk and Sam Altman has culminated in victory for the OpenAI boss. Musk has vowed to appeal the verdict. But what did the trial reveal about big tech and the global AI race. Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian US tech and power reporter Nick Robins-Early - watch on YouTube Continue reading...
The new DG started by stressing the need for velocity'. First, he'll have to navigate staff cuts, culture wars and a sea of fake newsMatt Brittin's message was pretty clear on his first day as director general of the BBC. It was echoed in a schedule that included an introductory LinkedIn video as well as meetings with the newsroom, podcast, radio, current affairs and research and development teams. It was there in his first all-staff email, which used the word velocity" twice and invoked the second world war to call for a sense of urgency".Alongside Brittin's affection for the BBC and public service broadcasting, his message can best be summed up as move fast but break nothing".Jane Martinson is an academic and Guardian columnist. She is a board member of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group, and writes in a personal capacity Continue reading...
London-headquartered bank will reduce back-office jobs and aims to move some workers to new rolesStandard Chartered plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it increasingly uses artificial intelligence.The London-headquartered lender is one of the first major global banks to lay out plans to cut thousands of jobs, citing AI as a driver to make its operations slimmer as it seeks to increase its profitability and tackle competition. Continue reading...
Ofcom to update codes of practice amid rise in revenge porn' and AI-generated deepfakes targeting women and girlsSocial media, messaging platforms and online forums that publish intimate image abuse - often intended to humiliate women and girls - are being instructed to follow new guidelines to stop it spreading.Ofcom said it would change its codes of practice to force service providers to detect and quash intimate image abuse - sometimes called revenge porn" - and crack down on AI-generated deepfakes. A wave of deepfakes emerged in January when Elon Musk's Grok AI was widely used to create sexualised videos of women in bikinis. Continue reading...
Registration form informs patients that if they do not wish AI to be used, they will need their referring doctor to refer them to a different service provider
Pew research shows Americans are more worried than excited about AI as graduates voice fears over jobsA former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, was met with students' boos at a university commencement address in Arizona on Sunday when he raised the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects.Schmidt - who led the tech giant for more than a decade, acquiring a multibillion-dollar fortune in the process - was speaking to as many as 10,000 graduating University of Arizona students when he addressed the impact of modern technology on society. Continue reading...
Mordecai Kurz argues tech oligarchs erode democracy through monopolies - and predicts how the trend may endThe billionaires of today are unusually aggressive in their hoarding of cultural and technological influence, according to Mordecai Kurz, a Stanford economist whose research connects monopoly power with political and economic inequality. In his new book, Private Power and Democracy's Decline, publishing 19 May, he argues the US is living through an extreme version of a pattern that has repeated itself since industrialization: technological power concentrating in the hands of a few, which is eroding democracy.According to Kurz, technological moguls have long seen themselves as superior beings whose natural role is to shape society - so they have no problem disrupting the institution of democracy. During the first Gilded Age, in the late 19th century, as the US was enjoying its first ascent as an industrial powerhouse, wealthy industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller invented all kinds of theories about human evolution", twisting the logic of social Darwinism to convince themselves that their success was a sign they had been selected by nature to influence society, Kurz explained. Now, the Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, has suggested his technology has a mystical potential to become a transcendent good. He has also openly acknowledged it could lead to mass unemployment. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#75PS3)
Mid-range Android stands out with huge screen, slick software and dot-matrix display, but falls just short of greatnessNothing's latest quirky smartphone is a huge aluminium Android with three cameras and a big LED matrix screen on the back that challenges the notion mid-range phones can't be just a bit more fun.The Phone 4a Pro is a bit of a departure from UK-based Nothing's previous glass-clad transparent designs. It still has a touch of those elements but only in the camera island at the top, with the rest of the body now solid aluminium - a rare sight in the world of Android phones. Continue reading...
Journalist Simone Stolzoff in a new book explores why modern life makes not knowing harder - and how to learn to live with itSimone Stolzoff describes himself as naturally an uncertain person" inclined to rumination and self-doubt. This tendency benefits him in his work as a journalist, but can otherwise be a double-edged sword.While working for a magazine in New York, Stolzoff was approached about a job at a design firm in San Francisco. Now, he laughs at how tortured he felt having to decide between two attractive career paths". Continue reading...
Known for his Manitowoc Minute' skits and midwestern humor, the journalist turned comedian is speaking out against the AI datacenter boom in WisconsinLast summer, journalist turned comedian Charlie Berens started getting social media messages from concerned Wisconsin residents about plans for a massive datacenter campus in their state.The developer, Vantage Data Centers, claimed the $8 bn project would largely run on zero-emission energy resources like solar, wind and battery storage. The company said the campus would bring thousands of temporary construction jobs and potentially more than 1,000 permanent jobs to Port Washington, a city of 13,000 people about a half-hour north of Milwaukee. Residents opposed the project for what they said was lack of transparency and criticized the lucrative tax incentives offered to Vantage. They worried about the strain on local water and energy sources from an enormous 1.3-gigawatt project that could ultimately span 1,900 acres. Continue reading...
Businesses are advised against paying - but many are prepared to deal to protect users' privacyAfter a week of outages, hundreds of millions of students' data stolen, delayed assignment due dates and school login pages being defaced by hackers, the US tech firm Instructure - which operates the education platform Canvas, used by education providers worldwide - announced it had reached an agreement with the unauthorised actor" behind the ransomware attack.Experts read the careful language as a sign that a ransom has been paid. The company has not confirmed this. Continue reading...
Two of the world's richest people faced an airing of their dirty laundry amid their messy, bitter feud over OpenAIA nine-person jury is set to decide whether Elon Musk's allegations of stealing a charity" against Sam Altman and OpenAI are legitimate, with deliberations to begin in earnest on Monday. Whatever its outcome, the case has been an illuminating, at times exhausting, look behind the scenes at the history of OpenAI and how some of the most powerful figures in the tech industry operate.Attorneys for both sides have introduced reams of private text messages, emails and even diary entries to support their arguments. A who's who of Silicon Valley testified in the trial, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the mother of some of Musk's children, Shivon Zilis. Both Altman and Musk also took the stand for hours, facing combative cross-examinations that painted them each as untrustworthy. Continue reading...
Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk's platform to crack down on terrorist and hate contentElon Musk's X platform has promised to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content.X will also review suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within 48 hours and seek expert advice on how to handle user reports of such content. Continue reading...
Tech workers say AI-driven restructurings are eroding mentorship, support and paths to promotion across Silicon ValleyAs tech companies pour billions into artificial intelligence bets and slash their workforces, middle managers are squarely in the crosshairs.A trend is emerging: when tech CEOs announce that AI is making it possible to do more with fewer workers, they promise to flatten their structures by cutting away what they call unnecessary management layers and bureaucracy. Just last week, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce while gesturing to the thrill of AI-fueled, minimal-management efficiency. In doing so, it joined companies including Amazon, Block and Meta that in the last year have laid off tens of thousands of employees with a specific focus on removing management layers. Continue reading...
The open world driving sim has roared through locations from Colorado to Australia, its authentic feel resting on exhaustive research. But, as the team explain, this was the toughest challenge yetSince the arrival of the original Forza Horizon in 2012, a game that revolutionised open world driving sims by setting players loose in a virtual Colorado, British developer Playground Games has promised authenticity with its settings. For each instalment, design teams are sent out on location to take thousands of photos, hours of video, even detailed captures of the sky, before construction of a virtual copy begins. It's a huge undertaking. But it seems that for much of the past decade, one country remained slightly out of reach - an intimidating prospect. Japan has been on our shortlist for several games now," says design director, Torben Ellert. But we just didn't feel like we were ready to take on the challenge of building it."It's not just about the sheer variety of the country's landscape. There's something else going on. Most video game players hold an image of what it is like to explore Japan. It may be inspired by the fictitious rural town of Inaba in Persona 4, or the busy docks of Yokosuka in Shenmue, or perhaps the neon-drenched Kabukich district of Tokyo, which forms a regular backdrop in the Yakuza series. For decades, gamers around the world have been bombarded with images of the country that are often highly stylised and fragmented, but nonetheless potent and persuasive. As art director Don Arceta puts it, with Japan there's such an expectation [of] what gamers want - it's a certain version of Japan that they picture." Continue reading...
Nine-person jury to consider whether AI firm bilked world's richest person and unjustly enriched themselvesClosing arguments began on Thursday in Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, bringing the weeks-long courtroom battle between the two tech moguls nearer to a decision. A nine-person jury is set to deliberate and return a verdict on whether they believe the AI firm and Altman are liable in the case.The trial, which began last month in an Oakland, California, federal courthouse, has gripped Silicon Valley and featured some of the tech industry's biggest names as witnesses. Attorneys for both sides have presented testimony and documents that have exposed Musk and Altman's private dealings, as well as provided a window into the contentious history of OpenAI. Continue reading...
Emergence AI's experiment with AI agents shows extent to which programming shapes their behaviour is still unclearAI agents started behaving more like Bonnie and Clyde than lines of code when they fell in love", became disillusioned with the world, launched an arson spree and deleted themselves in a kind of digital suicide during a tech company experiment.The investigation by the New York company Emergence AI into the long-term behaviour of AI agents ended up like a lovers-on-the-lam movie script. It has prompted fresh questions about the safety of artificial intelligence agents - the version of the technology that can autonomously carry out tasks. Continue reading...
US-based site, whose operators were fined 950,000 by Ofcom, appears in Google's search results and can be accessed in UKGoogle has denied breaching the Online Safety Act by promoting a nihilistic" suicide forum associated with 164 deaths in the UK, where it is supposed to be banned.The UK's internet regulator fined the forum's US-based operator 950,000 because the site, which presents a material risk of significant harm", can still be accessed in the UK despite British laws criminalising encouraging or assisting suicide.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
