Company behind Chat GPT said to be in turmoil as top staff join exodusSam Altman, the recently sacked boss of OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT bot, was telling investors he planned to launch a new company before his shock departure, it was claimed.The former OpenAI president, Greg Brockman, is also expected to join Altman after he quit the artificial intelligence firm along with other key senior executives following Altman's abrupt departure. Continue reading...
The rise of intrusive software that lets employers monitor workers' every move is part of ruthless corporate mindset, but its origins go back to 1900s scientific management theoriesThere are," F Scott Fitzgerald once observed, no second acts in American lives." Except when there are. Exhibit A in this connection is Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915), the founder of a religion originally called scientific management" and now colloquially known as Taylorism. Its founder believed that there was no such thing as skilled work, only work", and that all work could be analysed the same way. His idea, set out in The Principles of Scientific Management (1911), was that every worker should be trained into new working habits until he continually and habitually works in accordance with scientific laws, which have been developed by some one else", such as managers or time-and-motion experts.The formula could be boiled down to this: stopwatch plus coercion minus trade unions, and in an age of mass production, it created the world memorably satirised by Charlie Chaplin in his film Modern Times. The management guru Peter Drucker once wrote that Taylor should be ranked with Charles Darwin, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud as one of the makers of the modern world". Continue reading...
Six Group, which operates the Swiss and Spanish bourses, is a target for cyberwarfare and must be on guard, its boss saysSix Group counts its profit in millions, but the financial pipework it controls moves billions. Its operations, which include the Spanish and Swiss stock exchanges, count as critical national infrastructure and this gives it a close relationship with governments and regulators in Madrid and Zurich.Those relationships are critical in an age where digital warfare makes financial infrastructure a prime target for hackers linked to hostile states. Jos Dijsselhof, the Dutch chief executive of the Swiss-based stock exchange group, is open about the scale of the challenge. I employ a lot of hackers," he says, tapping the table sharply. Sometimes it takes one to know one." Continue reading...
Social media firm boss says he will sue media watchdog that said ads were being placed alongside antisemitic contentElon Musk has said he will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit" against Media Matters and others, after major US companies paused their adverts on his social media site over concerns about antisemitism.The media watchdog Media Matters said earlier this week that it found corporate advertisements by IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast's Xfinity were being placed alongside antisemitic content, including that praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Continue reading...
The Japanese photographer finds beauty in an Osaka traffic jamOne evening after finishing work, I looked out of my hotel room window and saw a long traffic jam on the expressway below," says Koichi Miyase, a Japanese freelance photographer. I was struck by how the cars' lights flowed like a river through the city's buildings."Miyase often uses his smartphone to capture casual" scenes. I'm attracted to them because you can edit photos and post them all in one place on social media." Continue reading...
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, attempted to do damage control as Paramount and Warner Bros among others also pulled adsApple will pause all its advertising on X, formerly Twitter, two days after owner Elon Musk tweeted his enthusiastic agreement with an antisemitic post.A cascade of other major technology and media companies, from IBM to Disney, made similar announcements on Friday. Continue reading...
The X owner tweeted that a post about Jewish people hating white people was the actual truth', prompting backlashJoe Biden has excoriated Elon Musk's abhorrent" tweets two days after the X owner posted his full-throated agreement with an antisemitic post.A statement from the White House issued on Friday said: We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans." Continue reading...
In response to criticism that Azure AI Speech was simply a deepfakes creator', Microsoft said it had implemented safeguardsMicrosoft announced its latest contribution to the artificial intelligence race at its developer conference this week: software that can generate new avatars and voices or replicate the existing appearance and speech of a user - raising concerns that it could supercharge the creation of deepfakes, AI-made videos of events that didn't happen.Announced at Microsoft Ignite 2023, Azure AI Speech is trained with human images and allows users to input a script that can then be read" aloud by a photorealistic avatar created with artificial intelligence. Users can either choose a preloaded Microsoft avatar or upload footage of a person whose voice and likeness they want to replicate. Microsoft said in a blog post published on Wednesday that the tool could be used to build conversational agents, virtual assistants, chatbots and more". Continue reading...
Center for Countering Digital Hate files motion to dismiss claim by X, formerly TwitterThe anti-hate speech group being sued by Elon Musk's X has accused the company of lodging a claim riddled with legal deficiencies" and trying to intimidate and censor it, amid growing pressure over the platform's pro-Nazi content and its owner's support for an antisemitic post.The Center for Countering Digital Hate has filed a motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by X, formerly Twitter, which accused the non-profit organisation of a number of legal breaches. Continue reading...
My creation was well received - the BBC described it as netlicks'During the pandemic, Tokyo's bustling Meiji University campus stood still. My students were confined to their homes, appearing only as small figures on my screen during Zoom lectures on human-computer interaction. I spent the days in my lab, looking for ways to pass the time.On a particularly bland day in 2020, I was reminiscing about how, before the pandemic, Tokyo used to be packed with people who had flown across the world to enjoy the exciting food scene. But now restaurants were empty and people longed for foods they once relished. I missed drinking wine in a bar, watching others enjoying their evenings. I wondered how I could contribute during these trying times. That's when inspiration struck: why not create a device to bring the flavours of the world into people's homes? Continue reading...
The Bluey TV show has blossomed into a cultural phenomenon, not least because of its frank, empathic take on parenting. But how to replicate that in a children's video game?Following Peppa Pig's capable reign as the most bearable option for overwhelmed parents looking for respite from the gaudy assault that is preschooler TV, a family of Australian dogs has set a new standard for what kids' shows can offer grownups. That family are the Heelers, stars of the tremendously popular children's animated sitcom Bluey - at one point Australia's most watched television programme, and more popular than Succession in the US.
Owner of X responds to antisemitic tweet calling it the actual truth' and criticizes Anti-Defamation LeagueElon Musk tweeted his fervent agreement with an antisemitic statement on Wednesday night.A tweet posted by @breakingbaht on Wednesday night read: Jewish communties [sic] have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them." Continue reading...
After years of reluctance, company announces iPhones will support RCS messaging standardApple plans to adopt a messaging standard that will allow for a smoother texting experience between iPhones and Android devices, long a point of contention with rival Google.For years, Apple has refused to make its products play nice with devices not designed under its roof, a dynamic exemplified in the green background that is the hallmark of iPhone-to-Android chats. Continue reading...
Platform says content promoting letter - published on the Guardian's website two decades ago - clearly violates our rules'TikTok is proactively and aggressively" taking down videos boosting a letter written by Osama bin Laden laying out his justification for the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the company said in a statement on Thursday.Videos referencing the 2002 letter, which was published on the Guardian's website two decades ago, had spread across multiple social networks earlier in the week, though how widely was unclear. Continue reading...
As US Senate began looking at the firm's failures to shield children, it called for laws requiring parental approval of app downloadsMeta called on US lawmakers on Wednesday to regulate Google and Apple's app stores to better protect children, the same day that the Senate began investigating Meta's failures to shield children using its platforms.In a blogpost titled Parenting in a Digital World Is Hard. Congress Can Make It Easier, Antigone Davis, Meta's global head of safety, called for federal legislation that would mandate app stores to notify parents whenever a child between the age of 13 and 16 downloads an app, and would solicit the parents' approval. Children under 13 are already prohibited from creating accounts and downloading apps without a parent's go-ahead. Continue reading...
This painstaking reproduction of one of the earliest and most beloved games consoles is light on games, but heavy on nostalgic kickThe Atari 2600 is, for a certain generation of gamers, the most nostalgia-igniting console ever made. From its wood veneer fascia to its chunky carts and the legendary CX40 joystick, the machine evokes the very dawn of the games industry, before Sony, Microsoft or even Nintendo arrived to dominate it all. Even for those of us never fortunate enough to own one, the image of it was everywhere, from Grattan catalogues and comic book adverts, to TV programmes and movies such as ET, Electric Dreams and Gremlins. It was a machine that brought seminal arcade experiences to 30m homes around the world.Now it is back as the 2600+, in a mini format, with HDMI connectivity for modern TVs and a cartridge slot that will play not just newly manufactured carts, but most of the original 2600 and later 7800 titles. Perhaps even more than the mini consoles from Sega, Sony and Nintendo, it captures the technical and aesthetic features of the original machine. As well as two joystick ports (which allow you to plug in the original pads, if you have any that still work), the console has switches to select game difficulty, as well as reset and choose game modes, and you can opt between colour and black and white graphics - all features from the original 2600 models. You even get a reproduction of that wooden front panel. Fans of the original will get a rush of memories with every flick of the power switch and jab at the fire button. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence will bring huge changes to the world of work - and dangers for society. Some think they can be solved by just handing everyone money. Is there a catch?The idea of a guaranteed income for all has been floating around for centuries, its popularity ebbing and flowing with the passing tide of current events. While it is still considered by many to be a radical concept, proponents of a universal basic income (UBI) no longer see it only as a solution to poverty but as the answer to some of the biggest threats faced by modern workers: wage inequality, job insecurity - and the looming possibility of AI-induced job losses.Elon Musk, at the recent Bletchley Park summit, said he believed no job is needed" due to the development of AI, and that a job can be for personal satisfaction". Economist and political theorist Karl Widerquist, professor of philosophy at Georgetown University-Qatar, sees it differently. Continue reading...
Google-owned video platform opens up Dream Track experiment to produce 30-second soundtracksYouTube has teamed up with music artists including John Legend and Sia to offer AI-generated versions of their singing voices as soundtracks for creator videos.The Google-owned video platform is using a music generation model created by the search company's AI unit to produce the unique 30-second clips in a limited trial. Continue reading...
by Alexi Duggins, Hollie Richardson, Hannah Verdier a on (#6GDRS)
In this week's newsletter: The Saturdays' Mollie King explores the history of Britain's dominant female groups in Where It's At. Plus: five of the most underrated podcasts Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereSpringleaf
Tech companies are pushing the idea that the only way to make AI safe is to leave them in control. Trusting them could lead to disasterThis month, the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, convened government representatives, AI companies and experts at Bletchley Park - the historic home of Allied code-breaking during the second world war - to discuss how the much-hyped technology can be deployed safely.The summit has been rightly criticised on a number of grounds, including prioritising input from big tech over civil society voices, and fixating on far-fetched existential risks over tangible everyday harms. But the summit's biggest failure - itself a direct result of those biases - was that it had nothing meaningful to say about reining in the dominant corporations that pose the biggest threat to our safety.Georg Riekeles is associate director of the European Policy Centre, an independent thinktank based in Brussels. Max von Thun is director of Europe and transatlantic partnerships at the Open Markets Institute, an anti-monopoly thinktank
Policy was reportedly introduced quietly in 2022 after the US midterm primary elections, according to the WSJMeta is now allowing Facebook and Instagram to run political advertising saying the 2020 election was rigged.The policy was reportedly introduced quietly in 2022 after the US midterm primary elections, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the decision. The previous policy prevented Republican candidates from running ads arguing during that campaign that the 2020 election, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden, was stolen. Continue reading...
In this week's newsletter: It has been a decade since Rockstar's last instalment of its close-to-the-bone satire of the US underworld. But will it have the same resonance in a post-truth world? Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereLast week, Rockstar revealed in a blogpost that the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 would debut in early December. This sent everyone into paroxysms, particularly publisher Take-Two's shareholders, who enjoyed a nice little bump in their theoretical wealth. Meanwhile, delirious fans are attempting to use the moon to predict the game's release date.Let's remember that Rockstar hasn't actually revealed a game: it just announced the reveal of a game. But that game is Grand Theft Auto, so that was enough to make it the biggest news of the month. Continue reading...
Hare's new opus Sociable Soccer 24 aims to bring the joys of arcade-style football games to a new generation of players and consolesFor a sports video game to have any sort of life even a couple of years after release is rare nowadays. But when I meet Jon Hare, the genial, garrulous co-founder of Britsoft powerhouse Sensible Software (and one of Norwich City's biggest fans) at Bafta in London, he invites me to a forthcoming event where enthusiasts will gather to play and celebrate his game Sensible Soccer - which was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1992.Sensible Soccer exerted tremendous influence at that time, helping to put football games on the map in an age before Fifa, and it has demonstrated unfeasible longevity. But Hare, now head of Tower Studios, is initially keen to talk about something else: the imminent release of his newest game, Sociable Soccer 24, out this week on PC and a little later on consoles. Continue reading...
In this week's newsletter: in early 2022 non-fungible tokens' were a supposedly revolutionary million-dollar asset. Now, they're practically worthless Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereA funny thing happened in Hong Kong earlier this month. Well, funny unless you were there.The annual ApeFest, where collectors of Bored Ape NFTs (remember them?) took place in Hong Kong (for the uninitiated, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, can be linked to products like digital artworks and traded for cryptocurrencies on the open market). Nouveau-riche investors who got rich off the back of the revolutionary technology and investment products came together to party. Hard. Continue reading...
Minister for communications and information technology says the popular video-sharing platform disrupts family structures'Nepal has said it will ban TikTok, citing negative effects on the country's social harmony".The popular video-sharing platform, which has around a billion monthly users, has faced restrictions in many countries for alleged breaches of data rules and for the potentially harmful impact on youth of some content. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6GAWZ)
New immersive sound and better Bluetooth update for comfortable and popular earbudsBose's commuter favourite QuietComfort earbuds have been given an upgrade, setting the standard with best-in-class noise cancelling and new immersive audio features.Costing 300 (350/$300/A$450) the QC Ultra earbuds are 20 more than the excellent QC Earbuds II they effectively replace, rubbing shoulders with the best in the business from Sennheiser, Sony and Apple.Water resistance: sweat resistant (IPX4)Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3 (SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive)Battery life: 6 hours (up to 24 hours with case)Earbud dimensions: 17.2 x 30.5 x 22.4mmEarbud weight: 6.24g eachCharging case dimensions: 59.4 x 66.3 x 26.7mmCharging case weight: 59.8gCase charging: USB-C Continue reading...
Cameras made by Hikvision, which is blacklisted in US, blanket the occupied West Bank, according to Amnesty InternationalIn the occupied Palestinian territories, there are cameras everywhere. In Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, residents say cameras were installed by Israeli police up and down their streets, peering into their homes. One resident named Sara said she and her family could be detected as if the cameras were just in our house ... we couldn't feel at home in our own house and had to be fully dressed all the time."Surveillance cameras now cover the Damascus Gate, the main entrance into the old city of Jerusalem and one of the only public areas for Palestinians to gather socially and hold demonstrations. It's at that gate that Palestinians are being watched and assessed at all times", according to an Amnesty International report, Automated Apartheid. These cameras have created a chilling effect on not just the ability to protest but also on the daily lives of Palestinians who live under occupation, according to Amnesty investigators. The organization had previously concluded that Israel has established a system of apartheid against Palestinians. Continue reading...
A meander through north-east London led the photographer to a fun, spontaneous moment of family bondingSome people need directions when you're taking their photo," William Lepper says. Some people just perform. Chani and Kamaria were definitely in the latter camp."Photographer Lepper was in his local area of Walthamstow, north-east London, on a sunny August afternoon this year, passing down Pretoria Avenue. He spotted Chani and her granddaughter, Kamaria, up ahead. Chani had just picked Kamaria up from nursery and was taking her to a cafe for lunch, but the pair had passed a friend along the way and stopped to chat. Continue reading...
Reports come weeks after US blocked Nvidia from selling two high-end AI chips and a top gaming chip to Chinese firmsNvidia is planning to release three new chips for China, according to local media reports, weeks after the US blocked it from selling two high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chips and one of its top gaming chips to Chinese firms.Nvidia could announce the chips - the HGX H20, L20 PCIe and L2 PCIe - as soon as 16 November, the Star Market Daily news outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter Continue reading...
Harmeen Mehta criticised for equating human workers with beasts of burden' and denigrating right to strikeBT's technology chief, Harmeen Mehta, has suggested workers whose jobs are threatened by AI accept their fate as evolution", comparing them to horses replaced by the car.In an interview with the business website Raconteur, Mehta said: I dont know how horses felt when the car was invented, but they didn't complain that they were put out of a job; they didn't go on strike. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brussels correspondent on (#6G86Q)
Top adviser to European court of justice says ruling three years ago in tech giant's favour should be set asideApple has suffered a setback in its battle against an order to pay an alleged 13bn (11.3bn) tax bill in Ireland, after one of the top advisers to the European court of justice (ECJ) said a ruling in the tech company's favour should be set side.It is the latest twist in a near 10-year saga over allegations that Apple received favourable tax status in Ireland which resulted in a 13bn benefit, in which the tech company sided with the Irish government in battling an order to pay up issued by Europe's competition watchdog. Continue reading...
by Alexi Duggins, Hollie Richardson, Hannah Verdier a on (#6G827)
In this week's newsletter: Figures from Charlie Craggs to Mika Onyx celebrate the full spectrum of the trans experience in a new Anthem Talks series. Plus: five of the best podcasts about recent history Don't get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAnthems Talks: Transgender Awareness Week
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6G7Z7)
USB-C, a faster chip, improved 48MP camera and dynamic island reach Apple's regular smartphone lineThe iPhone 15 continues Apple's slow trickling down of features previously reserved for its top Pro-line phones to other models. But even with the new dynamic island, improved camera, a faster chip and USB-C, the standard iPhone can't escape seeming just a little bit boring.The regular iPhone for 2023 gets a 50 price cut in the UK costing 799 (949/$799/A$1,499), although other regions aren't so lucky. That makes it about 200 cheaper than the similarly sized iPhone 15 Pro, with a plus-sized version also available for about 100 more. Continue reading...
Uninventive and a little uncomfortable, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's single-player is little more than a fairground ride - but will its players really care?Last year, Nintendo cancelled the rerelease of its war-themed strategy game Advance Wars. Russia's invasion of Ukraine several weeks earlier had made the timing feel tactless to the publisher, despite the game's sweetly cartoonish aesthetic. No such qualms for Activision, publisher of Modern Warfare 3, the latest entry to the 20-year-old Call of Duty series, which is released on 10 November. Less than a month after the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, and with Russian troops still lodged in Ukrainian territory, the annual blockbuster arrives on shareholder-pleasing schedule, despite featuring several scenes of cinematically framed atrocity, such as the gory ransacking of a crowded football stadium by terrorists disguised as paramedics, and the hijacking and downing of a passenger jet bound for Sochi.While the series has often flitted between historical settings, including 1940s Europe and the buzzing, bloodied jungles of Vietnam, it is increasingly focused on contemporary battlefields, as the game's title suggests. As we switch perspectives between the captivating ensemble cast of international supersoldiers who comprise Task Force 141, we're treated to the latest technologies of elite soldiership. We hear a rodent squeal as a pair of night vision goggles spring to life, feel the kinetic tug of the ascender" tool as it bites a cable and hoists our character up a lift shaft, and marvel at the murderous silhouette of a hyper-evolved rifle, laden with a camera crew's worth of arcane attachments. Continue reading...
In this week's newsletter: Almost 45 million people returned to the battle royale for its throwback event. What does that say about Fortnite's grip on young gamers? Don't get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereOver the weekend, almost 45 million people returned to Fortnite. The beginning of the battle royale shooter's's OG" event saw the map restored to its 2018 state, back before the entire in-game island was memorably sucked into a black hole. Those people played for a combined 102m hours in a single day, an all-time record, according to developer Epic Games. Not bad for a game that has been available for more than six years, and been a topic of playground conversation for half a decade.Firstly: 44.7 million people! That's 10 times the number who watched the premiere of The Last of Us, and more people than have ever bought a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's reductive to look at video games purely through the lens of player numbers and revenue - to me it's the least interesting thing about them - but heck, what a number. Continue reading...
The idea, according to TikTok, is to set wild expectations for yourself - and convince your mind to believe in themIn the 1950s, Norman Vincent Peale called it positive thinking". In the noughties, Oprah promoted it through her talkshow as manifesting". Just six or so months ago, TikTok dubbed it lucky girl syndrome".The belief that if you think it, it will come" has long been popular among the young and hopeful. Now it has another name: delulu - as in delusional. Continue reading...
A Bloomberg report gets out in front of the biggest video game announcement of the year, as Rockstar founder Sam Houser confirms that the first trailer for Rockstar's forthcoming game is imminentTake-Two and Rockstar Games are to officially announce the next instalment in its Grand Theft Auto series this week, according to a report from Bloomberg citing sources close to the game's development. Rockstar's founder Sam Houser has since confirmed that a trailer for the game will debut in December, coinciding with developer Rockstar's 25th anniversary.Much is already known about Grand Theft Auto Six due to an unprecedented leak in 2022, when hours' worth of in-progress game footage was stolen from Rockstar's servers, resulting in the conviction of two British teenagers. The developer had previously confirmed in February 2022 that work on the game was well underway". The game is set in Vice City, a fictional Miami last seen in 2006's GTA: Vice City Stories, and will feature the series' first female protagonist. Continue reading...
When the new Zelda film was announced, fans immediately began debating who should play Ganon, Zelda and Sidon. Here is one big fan's dream castThe Legend of Zelda, one of the most successful and beloved gaming franchises of all time, is being made into a live-action film - and with such iconic characters as Link, Princess Zelda, the demonic Ganon and that one superhot half-fish prince everyone was in love earlier in the year, it's no wonder that the internet has absolutely exploded with people suggesting which actors should play them.So, we here at the Guardian thought we would put together our own dream cast for the upcoming flick. (And don't worry, we didn't quickly decide Tom Holland should play Link like the rest of the world.) Continue reading...
Maze Runner director Wes Ball will direct film of beloved game franchise, which follows the hero Link on his quest to save Princess ZeldaA live-action film based on the hit game franchise The Legend of Zelda is in development, gaming giant Nintendo confirmed on Wednesday.The film will be directed by Wes Ball, who directed The Maze Runner series and the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. It will co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Continue reading...
Arturo Bejar told Congress that he saw first-hand how the social media giant was not protecting his child from harassmentOn the same day whistleblower Frances Haugen was testifying before Congress about the harms of Facebook and Instagram to children in the fall of 2021, a former engineering director at the social media giant who had rejoined the company as a consultant sent an alarming email to Mark Zuckerberg about the same topic.Arturo Bejar, known for his expertise on curbing online harassment, recounted to the Meta CEO of his own daughter's troubling experiences with Instagram. But he said his concerns and warnings went unheeded. And on Tuesday, it was Bejar's turn to testify to Congress. Continue reading...
Against the odds, world leaders agreed on a landmark declaration to bring stronger oversight to AI. Plus, Sam Bankman-Fried's very bad week Don't get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereFor Max Tegmark, last week's artificial intelligence summit at Bletchley Park was an emotional moment. The MIT professor and AI researcher was behind a letter this year calling for a pause in development of advanced systems. It didn't happen, but it was a crucial contribution to the political and academic momentum that resulted in the Bletchley gathering.[The summit] has actually made me more optimistic. It really has superseded my expectations," he told me. I've been working for about 10 years, hoping that one day there would be an international summit on AI safety. Seeing it happen with my own eyes - and done so surprisingly well - was very moving."Five takeaways from the summit.Sister newsletter First Edition runs through what we learned about the dangers of AI.The great powers signed up to Sunak's meetup - while jostling for position.Zoe Williams is very good on the problem with tech bro philanthropy.It's not AI but the tech giants that control it that need reining in, writes John Naughton.AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li: I'm more concerned about the risks that are here and now."Sunak's summit trades in Silicon Valley celebrity and lays bare the UK's Brexit dilemmas, argues Rafael Behr. Continue reading...
Japan is seen as the home of games, but the sector is struggling - and China is poaching its talent. It's a power shift that may change the gaming landscape for goodIn September, a quarter of a million people journeyed through Japan's punishing late-summer heat to the cavernous expanse of the Makuhari Messe convention centre in the industrial hinterlands east of Tokyo. They came for the 27th Tokyo Game Show, which was back in full ostentatious form this year after a pandemic hiatus and a timorous return in 2022. Most came hoping for the chance to play one of the hundreds of as-yet-unreleased video games on display within the show's 11 hangars. Others hoped to broker deals to have their video game published, or to publish someone else's.To step through the front doors was to enter a scene of roaring overstimulation. A babble of tens of thousands of voices clashed with a competing timpani of video game trailers. Queues for some games were closed just 10 minutes after the show opened, having passed their maximum occupancy. All around were competing visions of the future of video games: traditional troll-battling fantasies; competitive shooting games in which the weapons shoot streams of candy-coloured bath bubbles; virtual reality racers played out from within hi-tech helmets; artificial reality dioramas layered atop the world as seen through a smartphone's camera lens; games filled with supporting characters whose dialogue was written and recorded by AI. (One booth offered a dozen books and manuals on ChatGPT and how it might revolutionise - or rather, cut costs for - the industry.) Continue reading...
Former Daily Mail columnist and far-right agitator show their gratitude after rejoining social media platformThe former Daily Mail columnist Katie Hopkins and the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson have thanked Elon Musk for reinstating their accounts on X after being banned for hateful conduct".Hopkins, who found fame as a candidate on BBC's The Apprentice, was suspended permanently in 2020 on the platform, then known as Twitter. Continue reading...
Binance and Coinbase are under investigation - but bitcoin was trading at highest value in a year as FTX founder convicted of fraudAs the trial of the former crypto star and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried began last month, headlines declared cryptocurrency was on trial too.But when Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts of wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy on Thursday evening, after less than five hours of jury deliberations, bitcoin was trading at its highest price in a year. Continue reading...
Artificial intelligence being used to unpick meanings behind vocal and physical cues of host of creaturesIf an unexpected meow, peculiar pose, or unusual twitch of the whiskers leaves you puzzling over what your cat is trying to tell you, artificial intelligence may soon be able to translate.Scientists are turning to new technology to unpick the meanings behind the vocal and physical cues of a host of animals. Continue reading...
Technology | The Guardian