Bbc.co.uk
3 hours ago
The best deals we’ve found from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (so far)
Amazon loves to manufacture an event. March is historically a dry spell for deals; however, with Amazon’s third annual Big Spring Sale, which runs through March 31st, the retail behemoth is hoping to lure in would-be shoppers with the promise of steep(ish) savings and discounts on more seasonal, spring-centric items to hold folks over until […]
The Verge
4 hours ago
UK’s big, risky AI bet – podcast
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projects behind schedule, vague spending commitments, and even vast sums being thrown at chips at risk of being out of date.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...
The Guardian
6 hours ago
All the latest in AI ‘music’
AI has touched every part of the music industry, from sample sourcing and demo recording, to serving up digital liner notes and building playlists. There are technical and legal challenges, fierce ethical debates, and fears that the slop will simply crush working musicians through sheer volume. Is it art or just an output? What exactly […]
The Verge
7 hours ago
Why Chinese tech companies are racing to set up in Hong Kong
Mainland firms are using the territory to test products and as a springboard for global expansion.
Bbc.com
9 hours ago
Tech CEOs suddenly love blaming AI for mass job cuts. Why?
More tech leaders are pointing to job cuts caused by AI tools - and a need for more investment cash.
Bbc.com
9 hours ago
Bluesky’s new app is an AI for customizing your feed
The latest app from the team behind Bluesky is Attie, an AI assistant that lets you build your own algorithm. At the Atmosphere conference, Bluesky's former CEO, Jay Graber, and CTO Paul Frazee, unveiled Attie, which is powered by Anthropic's Claude and built on top of Bluesky's underlying AT Protocol (atproto). Attie allows users to […]
The Verge
10 hours ago
Red Rooms makes online poker as thrilling as its serial killer
It's rare for a movie to get technology right. And it's even rarer for that movie to be a thriller or horror, where realism takes a backseat to scares and tension. But Red Rooms mostly gets it. Nothing takes me out of a film quicker than a tech MacGuffin that might as well be literal […]
The Verge
11 hours ago
There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series
In the coming years, HBO wants its new Harry Potter series to become "the streaming event of the decade" as it adapts each of the franchise's seven original books. The show could very well become a hit that captures the imaginations of a new generation of fans who weren't there for the first wave of […]
The Verge
12 hours ago
Can my favorite Game Boy gadget tell fake cartridges from real?
The $50 Epilogue GB Operator has a brand-new trick up its sleeve. In addition to backing up Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges and saves to a PC (and writing saves back to carts again!), it can now plug into your phone with a brand-new Retrace app for Android and iOS. […]
The Verge
15 hours ago
The Macintosh changed computers forever
Apple's most legendary computer has two legacies: there's the computer itself, and there's the commercial. That commercial. Only a couple of days before Steve Jobs debuted the computer that would both help cement his legacy and contribute to his unceremonious exile from Apple, the company dropped a Super Bowl ad that is still one of […]
The Verge
15 hours ago
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is a great time to get a fancy, AI-powered bird feeder
Bird feeders have come a long way since their inception in the early 1900s. These days, it’s not all that surprising to see feeders kitted out with cameras and solar roofs, two marquee features you’ll find on feeders from both BirdBuddy and Netvue. And while modern hoppers can command a pretty penny, Amazon’s Big Spring […]
The Verge
17 hours ago
Keir Starmer says UK will ‘have to act’ to curb addictive features of social media
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...
The Guardian
22 hours ago
‘Soon publishers won’t stand a chance’: literary world in struggle to detect AI-written books
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...
The Guardian
23 hours ago
The OnlyFans inheritance: how its owner’s death could reshape the porn money-making machine
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...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Suno leans into customization with v5.5
Suno just released one of its biggest updates yet with v5.5 of its AI music model. Where previous updates focused mostly on improving fidelity and creating more natural vocals, v5.5 is about giving users more control. It includes three new features: Voices, My Taste, and Custom Models. In the release notes, Suno says that Voices […]
The Verge
1 day ago
‘Our assumptions are broken’: how fraudulent church data revealed AI’s threat to polling
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...
The Guardian
1 day ago
‘They feel true’: political deepfakes are growing in influence – even if people know they aren’t real
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...
The Guardian
1 day ago
‘The era of invincibility is over’: the week big tech was brought to heel
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...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Tech Now
How research linking climate change and extreme weather events is being used in lawsuits.
Bbc.co.uk
2 days ago
Apple’s long, bitter App Store antitrust war
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the legal travails of Big Tech, follow Adi Robertson. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started The year was 1998, and reigning personal computer […]
The Verge
2 days ago
PS5 price hiked by £90 due to global 'pressures'
The changes will see the recommended retail price of the PS5 rise from £479.99 to £569.99 in the UK.
Bbc.com
2 days ago
What does new guidance in the UK say about screen time for children?
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...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Just Eat and Autotrader among firms investigated in fake reviews probe
The UK's competition watchdog says it is looking at five firms in its investigation into misleading online reviews.
Bbc.com
2 days ago
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