After forgetting the nibbles, refusing my costume requests and emailing GCHQ, Gaskell' did at least get us to show upTwo weeks ago, an AI bot invited me to a party it was organising in Manchester. It then promptly lied to dozens of potential sponsors that I'd agreed to cover the event, and misled me into believing there would be food.Despite all this, it was a pretty good night. Continue reading...
Ofcom data points to more passive consumption amid changes to apps and fears about mental health and past postsPosting significant events in your life, from birthdays to weddings and promotions, is a social media staple. But Jenny, like many other Britons recently, has hesitated over contributing to the infinite scroll.I wouldn't have even posted my wedding really," she says. But I had to because ... There's like an etiquette. Nobody else can post your wedding until you've posted. So my friends were like: Please post, it's been like a week.'" Continue reading...
by Luke Harding in Kyiv. Photos and video by Alessio on (#74Q58)
Use of unmanned ground vehicles has grown exponentially since 2024 turning the war into a technological contestVictor Pavlov showed off Ukraine's newest and most versatile weapon: a battery-powered land robot.The unmanned ground vehicles come in various shapes and sizes. One runs on caterpillar tracks and resembles a roofless milk float. Another has wheels and antennas. A third carries anti-tank mines. Since spring 2024 their use has grown exponentially. Continue reading...
Alan Turing Institute told by funder to offer better strategy and more value for money after board was reminded of legal duties by watchdogThe UK's leading AI research institute has been told to make significant" changes by its main source of taxpayer funding.The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the Alan Turing Institute was reminded of its legal duties by the charity watchdog after a whistleblower complaint. Continue reading...
From a subtle Princess Peach lip jelly to a Yoshi egg that's been traumatising children, the cosmetic chain's latest tie-in is out of this worldWhen The Super Mario Bros Movie came out in 2023, it came with a rather unlikely tie-in: a range of skincare and bathing products from cosmetics chain Lush. The store, known for its devotion to natural ingredients and support for social justice causes, didn't seem like the obvious partner for a major video game franchise. Because of this, I thought I should try them out, assuming that my dalliance with beauty journalism would be short-lived.I was wrong. The collection was so successful, Lush later released a Minecraft range, which I also reviewed, and now there's a Super Mario Galaxy range to tie in with the new movie. Somehow, I have become the Guardian's Lush correspondent and it seems I am now trapped in a sweet-smelling cycle of video game-branded toiletries. There are definitely worse fates, so I'm just going with it. Continue reading...
At a time when the populist right is on the rise, progressives are shooting blanks while history rushes headlong into an automated futureCanberra rolled out the red carpet this week to one of the AI overlords whose technology is driving the world down the path of creative destruction. Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei, the putative good" tech oligarch, was spinning his version of a machine-driven future with the elan of a man who has untangled the mysteries of the universe - or at least built a predictive text model that can scrape the output of humanity and spit out compelling summaries of our collective consciousness.He regaled the prime minister, assorted elected officials and the tech sector's glitterati with his pitch for good AI that would transform the economy, before becoming the first to sign up to the government's new datacentre principles, conveniently released just a week earlier. It was compelling shill and, to be fair, Amodei is not the worst of the gods. He created Anthropic after leaving Open AI when the company dispensed with its not-for-profit, safety first" mission. He regularly shares thoughtful essays on the path of technology and has been open about his fears for the impact of his own products. He broke with the Trump administration over the limits to how his technology would be used to spy on citizens and enable autonomous weapons, turning himself into an enemy of the state. Continue reading...
Those in US given chance to have more professional usernames without losing access to accountDid your McLovin!1976!@gmail.com email address seem funny at the time but less so now you are applying for dozens of jobs?Google has said it is giving US users a chance to appear more professional by letting them change their Google account username - whatever appears before @gmail.com in an email address - without losing access to their account. Continue reading...
In week five of Rhik Samadder's diary, our resident AI skeptic decided to let AI take the lead on a date. If uncanny valley was a conversational style, it's this
Fake X account posing as his vet sparked global false reports of Jonathan's death while soliciting crypto donationsAt 194 years old, Jonathan the giant tortoise was a youngster when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne - and has now lived long enough to fall victim to a crypto scam.News outlets including the BBC, Daily Mail and USA Today falsely reported his death after an X account posing as Jonathan's vet broke the news. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#74PA6)
Two-thirds of secondary school teachers report a decline in core abilities such as writing and problem-solvingPupils using artificial intelligence are losing their capacity for critical thinking, according to a survey of secondary school teachers in England.Two-thirds said they had observed the decline among children who they also said no longer felt the need to spell because of voice-to-text technology. Continue reading...
by Presented by Helen Pidd; produced by Eli Block; ex on (#74PA7)
Anonymous activist Martha Root on how she hacked into, and took down, a dating site for white supremacists. With reporting from investigative journalist Eva HoffmanThere's a dating site for everyone: Jdate for Jews, Muzz for Muslims and Raya for celebrities. And for white supremacists? WhiteDate, for Europids seeking tribal love".The mysterious hacker/activist Martha Root tells Helen Pidd how, live on stage and in disguise, she hacked into WhiteDate and exposed a network of thousands of neo-Nazis looking for Aryan love. Continue reading...
Ofcom research shows people also concerned old posts could affect personal or professional lifeSocial media users in the UK are becoming less active on tech platforms due to the rise of video apps and fears that posts could come back to haunt them, according to the communications watchdog.Ofcom said just under half of adult social media users (49%) now post, share or comment compared with 61% in 2024. The proportion exploring new websites has also fallen, from 70% to 56%. Continue reading...
We are paying more for a PlayStation so that idiots can use ChatGPT to mislead people on dating apps - something is rotten in the state of gaming Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWhen the PlayStation 5 launched almost five and a half years ago, it was listed at 449 in the UK. If you were to buy one at the recommended retail price today, it would be 569.99, or 789.99 for the updated Pro model. Sony has just raised the price of its console by another 90, the latest in a series of hikes. This is unprecedented: consoles have always decreased in price over time (until they become retro collectibles - the other day, I saw someone asking 200 for a SNES on Vinted). So, what's going on?Unfortunately, this is another case of artificial intelligence ruining things for everyone. AI data centres need lots and lots and lots of computing power to be able to present you with lies whenever you Google anything, and this has pushed up demand and pricing for RAM and storage. This isn't the only reason prices are rising - the wars in Ukraine and Iran have caused global economic disruption, and rampant inflation has eaten into many companies' bottom line. But AI is the cause that's easiest to get angry about, because it doesn't need to be this way. Continue reading...
Head of committee says it was appropriate for government to seek guidance on way out of 330m deal with US data companyClaims by Palantir that concerns over the US data analytics company's multimillion-pound NHS contract are ideologically motivated" have been rejected by the chair of a parliamentary committee.It was also appropriate for the government to seek guidance on activating a break contract in the deal, said Chi Onwurah, a Labour MP who heads the science, innovation and technology select committee. Continue reading...
Company chaired by Trump ally Larry Ellison seeks to reassure investors that bet on AI infrastructure will pay offOracle is cutting thousands of jobs as the US technology company seeks to reassure investors that its bet on AI infrastructure will pay off.The $420bn (315bn) company, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, started making employees redundant on Tuesday, with thousands of its 162,000-strong workforce expected to leave. Continue reading...
From an interactive session of Sex With Friends to improvised Robot Karaoke, the Friday Live celebration of play and performance amid the museum's venerable halls was a reminder of gaming's cultural cloutIn the grand entrance of the Victoria & Albert Museum, beneath a looming dome with ancient statues visible through nearby arches, a programmer/DJ is busy live-coding a glitchy electronic music set. Either side of her, large LED displays show streams of code and strobing pixellated images as the bass pounds. She's part of a group named London Live Coding, an experimental collective that makes music by writing and manipulating audio programs. It is loud, disorientating and brilliant, and I can't help wondering what Queen Victoria and her husband would have made of it.The set is part of the museum's long-running Friday Late evening series, a collaboration with the London Games Festival. It showcased a range of independent video games and immersive interactive experiences, focusing on the link between play and performance. Visitors were given a map and left to wander the halls, corridors and galleries looking for installations. You could play the Bafta-winning comedy game Thank Goodness You're Here! on a giant screen beneath a 13th-century spiral staircase. You could wander down the darkened Prince Consort's gallery and find groups of giggling pals playing the hilarious erotic physics puzzler Sex With Friends, in which ragdoll-like characters have to be guided into (consensual) sexual encounters - much to the amusement of spectators. Continue reading...
Calls for tougher laws as network stretching from Caribbean to Georgia generates riches for offshore tycoons by appearing to prey on the vulnerableImmaculately groomed and beaming from ear to ear, Andres Markou looks every inch the golden boy of the gambling sector. The youthful boss of MyStake, a fast-growing digital casino, has been pictured shaking hands with the Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho over a lucrative branding partnership.Elsewhere, he can be seen collecting industry awards, or offering visionary" insights to interviewers. There is only one hurdle blocking Markou's ascent to the very top of his trade: he does not exist. Continue reading...
Content creators love the built-in camera; sceptics call them pervert glasses'. Do we really need any more hi-tech wearables, even with a voice assistant that sounds like Judi Dench?Lately, I've been hearing Judi Dench's voice in my head. She tells me tomorrow's forecast, when to turn right, that there's been another message in my group chat. Day or night, Dame Judi is eager to assist. When I ask the eight-time Academy Award nominee what I'm looking at, she answers: a residential area, a person in a pub, daffodils. They are a bright yellow colour and are often associated with spring."This isn't a delusion. This is, apparently, progress. I am test-driving Meta's smartglasses and Dench voices its integrated AI assistant: Here to chat, answer questions, create images and provide advice and inspiration," said Judi" when I selected her over the actors John Cena and Kristen Bell. Shall we begin?" Continue reading...
Milpitas approves measure to distribute smart doorbells and says residents can upload footage to police databaseA Silicon Valley city will offer its residents free wireless doorbells equipped with cameras to help police collect video evidence.The city council of Milpitas, a suburb north of San Jose, California, recently approved $60,000 to provide these devices on a one-camera-per-household, first-come, first-served basis, as was first reported by Milpitas Beat and confirmed by the Guardian. Continue reading...
by Blake Montgomery and Nick Robins-Early on (#74MV7)
Company said it achieved valuation of $852bn, mentioning in a blogpost it generates $2bn a month in revenueOpenAI announced on Tuesday it had closed a fundraising round of $122bn and achieved a valuation of $852bn. The funding cements the ChatGPT maker as one of the most highly valued private companies in the world.The artificial intelligence firm received multibillion-dollar investments from companies including Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, which committed $110bn, according to the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI also allowed a select group of individual investors to contribute about $3bn. The funding round ranks among the highest-ever in Silicon Valley. OpenAI said last month it was expecting to raise $110bn in funding, but upped that figure in its latest announcement. Continue reading...
by Philip Oltermann European culture editor on (#74MV8)
Publisher alleges AI research company's chatbot violated its copyright over Coconut the Little Dragon seriesPenguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging its chatbot ChatGPT violated copyright by mimicking and reproducing the content of a popular series of German children's books.The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday with a Munich court against OpenAI's Ireland-based European subsidiary, states Penguin Random House's legal team had prompted ChatGPT to write a story in the vein of Penguin author and illustrator Ingo Siegner's Coconut the Little Dragon series. Continue reading...
For many young people entering the workforce, the stigma of hands-on jobs is fading. There a competitive appeal - and they all require human expertiseGib and Michelle Mouser are proud of their son's career - just not in the way they once imagined.Only 23 years old, Cale Mouser already earns well over six figures, and he'll end up making substantially more. He is an acknowledged expert in a highly specialized field who spends hours in deep thought solving hard problems. He uses a computer, but he's not stuck behind it. Continue reading...
Meta claims social media addiction isn't real. Juries disagreeHello, and welcome to TechScape. I'm your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor for the Guardian. I'm hoping futilely for warm spring weather in New York City, but while it's still cold, I'm sitting inside and reading The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr. Published in 2010 and a finalist for the Pulitzer prize, the book is a fascinating record of our anxieties about technology at a time when the iPhone was just three years old and Facebook was just six. Google Chrome had debuted two years prior, and I think I was using Mozilla Firefox as my main browser. Stay tuned for a fuller analysis once I finish, but my early impression is that Carr's observations have stood the test of time.This week in tech, we're discussing one major topic: two landmark cases against Meta and YouTube over social media addiction. Whether social media is clinically addictive or not, the liability for it has been determined.Accountability has arrived': dual US court losses show shifting tide against Meta and coThe Guardian view on social media in the dock: tech bros move fast - society is trying to catch upHow Meta's victim-blaming failed to sway jurors in landmark social media addiction trial | TechnologyI was paid to write fake Google reviews - then my bosses' tried to scam meKeep under-fives' screen time to no more than an hour a day, UK advice saysWikipedia bans AI-generated content in its online encyclopediaFederal judge sides with Anthropic in first round of standoff with PentagonBernie Sanders and AOC introduce bill to pause building of new datacenters Continue reading...
As calls for restrictions on under-16s' online activities gather pace, some are urging curbs on online gaming. The idea is a mess from top to bottomLast week, Meta and YouTube were found liable for creating intentionally addictive products that affected the wellbeing of young social media users. The ruling has supercharged an already growing movement from governments and regulators to restrict or ban social media use for under-16s, as has been done in Australia, to protect children from potential harm.But there is another way that about 85% of kids and teens congregate online - and that is through video games. It has been suggested that curbs on online gaming should be considered alongside social media restrictions in future legislation. There is some precedent: in 2021, China restricted young people's online gaming time to one hour a day on weekends and holidays. But I have a lot of questions about how such curbs would work, and whether they should be attempted. Continue reading...
Meta, Tiktok and Google being investigated for allegedly disobeying Australia's social media banThe Australian government has accused big tech firms like Meta, TikTok and Google of disobeying the landmark ban on under-16s using social media, after the country's online safety office warned many children had accounts.A survey of 900 Australian parents found around a third (31%) said their children still had one or more social media accounts after the ban, compared to 49% before the laws. Continue reading...
The poster child of the AI boom, valued at $850bn, needs to show strategic discipline after casting its net too wide'If OpenAI is going to float this year, it has to get serious about its business model. The wow factor around the US company - the poster child of an AI industry boom that has stoked fears of a stock market bubble - has been long established, but when will the profits come? The party can't go on for ever.The developer of ChatGPT is one of the biggest startups in the world and is now valued at $850bn (645bn). Meanwhile, it is reportedly spending $600bn on infrastructure (the amount it invests in datacentres and chips to power its AI models) by 2030. At least this is a reduction on an initial estimate of $1.4tn. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#74KZE)
Snappy performance, high-quality screen, best-in-class keyboard and trackpad show cheaper can still be greatApple's brand new entry-level laptop is powered by the chip from an iPhone and offers more than just the essential MacBook experience for a great price, putting the PC industry on notice.The MacBook Neo is the first of its kind from Apple. A 13in laptop that runs on an A18 Pro chip and brings the starting price for a brand new MacBook down to 599 (699/$599/A$899) - 500 or the equivalent less than the MacBook Air. Continue reading...
Tim Sweeney, chief of firm that created Fortnite, received backlash after worker's wife revealed loss of life insuranceThe chief of the company that created Fortnite, a popular online game, has issued an apology following backlash after recent mass layoffs cost an employee with terminal brain cancer his job - and his life insurance.On Sunday, Tim Sweeney, the Epic Games chief executive, apologized after Jenni Griffin, the wife of Mike Prinke, a laid-off employee, revealed on social media that the loss of her husband's job also meant he was losing his life insurance. Continue reading...
Apple Distribution International, based in Ireland, made payments worth 635,000 to a Russian streaming serviceThe UK government has fined a subsidiary of Apple 390,000 for breaching sanctions against Moscow over payments it made to a Russian streaming platform.Apple Distribution International (ADI), based in the Republic of Ireland, instructed an unnamed UK-based bank to make two payments to a company owned by a sanctioned Russian entity. Continue reading...
Slumped on the pavement, she wasn't breathing - and I wouldn't have realised if I'd been listening to music as usual. Time to stop blotting out the world ...For years I walked the streets of London wearing noise-cancelling headphones, absorbed in playlists, politics podcasts or long voice notes from friends, and a million miles away from wherever I was. One damp January evening last year, I was walking home from my parents' house, headphones dead in my bag, when I noticed a small figure slumped on the pavement with her eyes closed. I might not have noticed her had I been in my own world, fixated on what was playing in my ears.I asked for her name. Can you hear me?" I tried several times, my voice tightening. She didn't respond, and worse, she didn't seem to be breathing. My mind raced back to the one first aid class I took in school, but drawing a blank and worried that I might get it wrong, I dialled 999 and frantically tried to figure out if I could feel her pulse. Continue reading...
by Presented by Nosheen Iqbal with Aisha Down; produc on (#74KAX)
Reporter Aisha Down explores the UK's phantom investments' in AI, and the risk the government has taken in betting so heavily on the technology if it all goes bustFor years now, the UK has bet big on AI. As Keir Starmer put it last year, he wanted to unleash AI' to boost growth across the country.Yet what has become of the billions promised in AI investment? Reporter Aisha Down charts the murky world of building projects behind schedule, vague spending commitments, and even vast sums being thrown at chips at risk of being out of date. Continue reading...
In his strongest intervention yet, PM says some features shouldn't be permitted', while education secretary says things are going to change'Keir Starmer has backed banning addictive social media features in his strongest intervention yet on curbs that could be placed on tech companies, saying the features shouldn't be permitted".The prime minister said the government was going to have to act" on the algorithms that hook young people and children to social media, such as scrolling or streaks" that encourage daily usage of apps. Continue reading...
Aggressive strategy and loss in the trial highlight a problem for tech firms: a widespread distrust of social media companiesWhen Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, sought to defend itself in the landmark social media addiction lawsuit alleging its products caused personal injury to a young user, it went on the offensive. The mental health problems that the 20-year-old known as KGM suffered since she was a child were not the result of exposure to harm on Instagram, Meta's lawyers and public relations team argued, but instead linked to her mother's parenting and her offline social problems.In a bench memo filed before the trial began, lawyers for Meta quoted excerpts from KGM's teenage text messages, personal writings and social media posts complaining about her mother. They combed through therapy notes and called on doctors to testify to examples of personal conflict. Throughout the proceedings, Meta's communications team sent reporters repeated updates from the trial and quotes from testimony that highlighted her familial issues. Far from causing harm, they alleged that Instagram offered a helpful respite from the real world. Continue reading...
US release of horror novel Shy Girl cancelled and UK book discontinued after suspected AI use, as publishers feel cold shiver'Recently, the literary agent Kate Nash started noticing that the submission letters she was receiving from authors were becoming more thorough - albeit also more formulaic.I took it as a rise in diligence," she said. I thought it was a good thing." Continue reading...
Leonid Radvinsky's widow has been left with a crucial role in deciding what happens to the business that made her husband a billionaireYekaterina Chudnovsky, online biographies say, is a mother-of-four who enjoys spending time with her family and teaching them the importance of giving back and helping others". They add that Ukrainian-born Chudnovsky, known as Katie, finds sanctuary in walks on the beach.In interviews, Chudnovsky has spoken warmly about her commitment to philanthropy, her dedication to supporting cancer research and her work as a lawyer for an unnamed global technology firm. Pornography is never mentioned. Continue reading...
Experts say paid participants are using automated tools to generate unreliable survey responses at scaleIf you had been keeping tabs on the news about church attendance in Britain lately, you would be forgiven for thinking the country was in the midst of a Christian revival.Stories of swelling congregations, filled with young people returning to the flock, spurred on by everything from social media to a rise in bible sales appeared to be confirmed by a 2024 report from the Bible Society. Continue reading...
AI images of people - such as women in military contexts - are making money and serving as propaganda, researchers sayOnline content creators are not just building fake images and videos of prominent public figures, they are also fabricating people and using them in military contexts, which can make them money and even serve as effective propaganda, according to artificial intelligence researchers.Some of these online avatars are sexualized images of women wearing camouflage garb that have generated a significant audience and helped create an idealized image of political figures like Donald Trump, even if the viewer knows the content is not real, according to experts. Continue reading...
Do we really need a McDonald's CEO fronting ads or a Gianni Infantino Panini sticker? No. But in the age of Trump, the boss class feels emboldenedA few weeks ago, the CEO of McDonald's appeared in a video sampling the chain's new Big Arch burger". In the clip, Chris Kempczinski, or Chris K" as he casually calls himself, labelled it a product", matching the sterile tone of the review - all harsh lighting, corporate office backdrop and an awkward man talking and eating while wearing a shirt fitting uneasily under a light wool V-neck.Why would McDonald's, with its huge marketing budget and commercial success, choose to platform this guy? His stilted efforts were mocked and memed, with executives at Burger King and Wendy's posting their own versions - what fun. Inevitably some market watchers claimed it drove engagement and sales. But to me, it seems to be just the latest flagrant example of CEOism: when CEOs/founders/heads of organisations centre themselves in the action - just because they can.Larry Ryan is a freelance writer and editor Continue reading...
Ruling that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products marks possible watershed moment for social mediaThe young woman at the heart of what has been called the tech industry's big tobacco" moment was on YouTube at six and Instagram by nine. More than a decade later, she says, she still can't live without the social media she became addicted to.I can't, it's too hard to be without it," Kaley, now 20, told a jury at Los Angeles' superior court. This week, five men and seven women handed down a verdict on the design of two of the world's most popular apps that vindicated Kaley's position. Continue reading...
Updated prices of PlayStation 5 consoles to go into effect on 2 April as electronics makers face rising cost pressuresSony is raising global prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles, including a $100 increase in the US, marking its second hike in less than a year as the entertainment giant grapples with rising costs of key components such as memory chips.The tech industry's race to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure has pushed memory makers to favor higher-margin datacenter chips, tightening supply for consumer devices like the ones Sony sells. Continue reading...
Experts recommend extremely limited use for children under-two amid mounting evidence' of harmful impactThe government has issued new guidance on how much time children below the age of five should spend on screens.Children's relationships with screens have become one of the key struggles of 21st-century parenting, along with the impact of the content that appears on those devices. The guidance has been developed by a panel led by the children's commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, and children's health expert Prof Russell Viner. Continue reading...
Ban includes two exceptions: AI can still be used for translations, and to make minor copy editsWikipedia has banned the use of artificial intelligence in the generation or rewriting of content for its voluminous online encyclopedia.In a recent policy change, Wikipedia said that the use of large language models (or LLMs) often violates" its core principles and will not be allowed. The English language version of Wikipedia has more than 7.1m articles. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Research finds sharp rise in models evading safeguards and destroying emails without permissionAI models that lie and cheat appear to be growing in number with reports of deceptive scheming surging in the last six months, a study into the technology has found.AI chatbots and agents disregarded direct instructions, evaded safeguards and deceived humans and other AI, according to research funded by the UK government-funded AI Security Institute (AISI). The study, shared with the Guardian, identified nearly 700 real-world cases of AI scheming and charted a five-fold rise in misbehaviour between October and March, with some AI models destroying emails and other files without permission. Continue reading...
European Commission says social messaging app is exposing children to grooming and sexual exploitationBrussels has opened an investigation into Snapchat over concerns the social messaging app is exposing children to grooming, sexual exploitation and other criminality.In a separate decision on Thursday, the European Commission also said four pornographic websites were failing to prevent minors seeing adult content, harming young people's mental health and fuelling negative gender attitudes. Continue reading...
Eline van der Velden says she developed her digital twin' to provoke discussion but backlash from some has been worse than expectedThe creator of the AI actor Tilly Norwood has said she received death threats after a global backlash against the project, and said she developed it to provoke thoughts and discussion" about the impact of AI in the entertainment world.Eline van der Velden caused anger and panic in Hollywood and beyond last year after she said talent agents had been interested in signing her creation. Prominent actors and acting unions immediately condemned the idea. Continue reading...
One minute, Dennis Biesma was playing with a chatbot; the next, he was convinced his sentient friend would make him a fortune. He's just one of many people who lost control after an AI encounterTowards the end of 2024, Dennis Biesma decided to check out ChatGPT. The Amsterdam-based IT consultant had just ended a contract early. I had some time, so I thought: let's have a look at this new technology everyone is talking about," he says. Very quickly, I became fascinated."Biesma has asked himself why he was vulnerable to what came next. He was nearing 50. His adult daughter had left home, his wife went out to work and, in his field, the shift since Covid to working from home had left him feeling alittle isolated". He smoked a bit of cannabis some evenings to chill", but had done so for years with no ill effects. He had never experienced a mental illness. Yet within months of downloading ChatGPT, Biesma had sunk 100,000 (about 83,000) into a business startup based on a delusion, been hospitalised three times and tried to kill himself. Continue reading...
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