Technology | The Guardian
Articles about Technology | The Guardian
Dyson, Breville, Apple: the 59 best Amazon Prime Day deals actually worth it, obsessively vetted by us
From Ugg and Ninja to KitchenAid and Shark – these are best sales and deals during Amazon’s fall Prime Big Deal Days
OpenAI’s release of mathematical findings draws concerns from experts
Leaders worry OpenAI is not doing due diligence to vet results and that AI models aren’t accessible to broader field of mathematicians OpenAI has astounded mathematicians after releasing hundreds of new mathematical findings on Tuesday. The company published over 370 mathematical results across a variety of topics such as algebra, theoretical computer science and mathematical logic, showcasing what some of its most advanced artificial intelligence models are capable of. Continue reading
What the £350 Grand Theft Auto ‘collector’s box’ says about the escalating cost of gaming
The launch of a collector’s box hints at a new reality: the kinds of games I grew up with are becoming a luxury item, locked behind a forbidding spending barrier
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Wife of Jamaica-born sociologist says project celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ he made to Britain’s culture
McDonald’s sued for allegedly using AI tool to determine pricing for franchises
Suit says AI tool allows independently owned franchises to exchange nonpublic price and sales information
IMF chief urges governments to tighten belts as global debt levels soar
Kristalina Georgieva says big economies will have to make ‘very touch choices’ as soaring bond yields hit budgets Business live – latest updates The head of the International Monetary Fund has called on governments across big economies to tighten their belts as soaring bond yields hit budgets. Speaking in Singapore, the IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said global debt-to-GDP ratios were at their highest level since the second world war and on course to hit 100% in the coming years. Continue reading
Scientists who put faith in technology less likely to take climate action
‘Techno-optimism’ may lead to reliance on unproven solutions at expense of societal changes needed Scientists who believe technology will largely solve the problems caused by the climate crisis are less likely to engage in civic action on the issue, according to a study. The report from the London School of Economics found they are 23% less likelyto sign petitions or take part in protests than peers who doubt that technology is the answer.
Privacy watchdog launches investigation into China-based company behind Kmart ‘pervert glasses’ app
Commissioner says Shenzhen Qingcheng, the app maker behind the HeyCyan app in the smartglasses, failed to respond to her inquiries
Jaguar targets young Americans with Type 01 EV – but it’s too long for UK parking spaces
Latest model is launching in New York to target rich US buyers – and is more than 5.2 metres long and 2 metres wide It has no rear window, will not fit into a UK parking space and – starting at £130,000 – ($172,000) is aimed squarely at rich tech industry buyers driving the wide open roads of America. Jaguar’s electric car, the Type 01, was launched in New York on Tuesday night and marks the culmination of a two-year rebrand that has been one of the most scrutinised in automotive history. Continue reading
Silver Pines review – a stylish, neo-noir detective drama
PC, PS5, Switch 2; Wych Elm Games, Team 17 Abandoned shops, ruined apartment buildings and rotting sewer networks make up a dark landscape in which you play a private eye searching for a missing singer-songwriter In a weird deserted town miles from anywhere, a troubled detective searches for a missing musician and the girl he may or may not have murdered. It could be a Silent Hill game or a lost David Lynch movie from the 1990s – in fact, it’s neither. And also both. If that whets your appetite, stick around, there’s plenty more to come.
Making scents: could AI help perfumers take pressure off endangered plants?
Firms working on reproducing compounds without need for repeated harvesting but conservationists are sceptical Many of the world’s most expensive perfumes begin with a wounded tree. When some Aquilaria trees are damaged, they produce a dark, fragrant resin that becomes agarwood, or oudh – an ingredient so valuable that wild trees have been illegally felled in its pursuit. The result has devastated wild Aquilaria populations. But what if perfumers could create the smell without cutting down the tree? Continue reading
Ofcom investigates Meta over Instagram Instants safety checks
Watchdog examining whether company carried out adequate risk assessment as required by Online Safety Act
‘We’re not going to go away’: the mom fighting for social media reform after her son’s suicide
A new documentary follows Kristin Bride as she takes on Congress after the death of her 16-year-old son who was cyberbullied
Apple iPhone 18 Pro review: big changes for small differences
Longer battery life, better screen, upgraded Siri and new variable aperture camera in refreshed design from last year’s model
Rural Queenslanders have seen gas projects come and go – but a 725-hectare datacentre poses a whole new level of ‘stupidity’
Residents of Dalby may soon live beside a $31bn datacentre. The premier sees ‘opportunity’ for the state – but others fear AI’s global creep
California’s new laws target workers’ biggest fear of AI taking their jobs
The state, which is home to many AI companies, is one of the first to roll out workplace regulations targeting the technology
‘Elon is my prophet’: how Musk’s Doge team took a wrecking ball to Washington
When the new ‘department of government efficiency’ sent young techies to disrupt federal agencies, not everyone complied. Here’s what happened when one worker fought to protect immigrant data In the early hours of Saturday 22 February 2025 the following email landed in the inboxes of the entire US federal workforce: From: HR hr@opm.gov Continue reading
Gears of War: E-Day review – an alien invasion shouldn’t be this boring
Xbox, PC (version tested); The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios E-Day boasts the best combat in 20 years of Gears games – but everything surrounding it is disappointing Every Gears of War game released in the last 20 years has made reverent reference to Emergence Day, when alien creatures emerged from the earth, single-minded in their savagery. In E-Day, you’re there to witness it: the police lights, flipped cars, ground tremors, civilians running, aliens pouring out of fissures in the earth and ripping faces off.
How Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil stands out from all other game adaptations
There’s no Leon, Claire or Ada Wong in Cregger’s adaptation. Instead, it re-creates something more fundamental – the strange, terrifying experience of actually playing the game
OpenAI announces ‘dots’ agent after scrapping launch of new AI model over safety concerns
Company’s product comes weeks after Meta introduced its own artificial intelligence agent Muse Less than 24 hours after OpenAI announced it would scrap the launch of an artificial intelligence model over safety concerns, the company debuted a whole new suite of AI tools. During its annual showcase for developers in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, enthusiastically unveiled an AI agent called “dots” that he said was “more ambitious” than ChatGPT and a “whole new way to work with AI”. Continue reading
How American political campaigns are using AI – and what they’re spending on the tools
Though politicians are quiet about how they use AI, the book Rewiring Democracy examines how AI is starting to influence American politics
Mac mini M6 review: truly mighty but now more pricey
Apple’s cheapest desktop computer is no longer a bargain but its newest, fastest chip makes it a pocket powerhouse
Democracy blindsides Silicon Valley’s power players looking to transform the world with AI
‘The push against datacenters speaks to the frustration of people who don’t feel they are making the choices in their lives’
‘Mum, where did my Robux go?’ The Roblox scam targeting children
Criminals are trying to glean login details to harvest players’ in-game currency and personal data Your 10-year-old son has started playing Roblox, when he realises all of his in-game currency, Robux, is gone. When you try to find out what happened, he says he was recently promised extra Robux if he followed a link on YouTube. When he signed on at the site link, he was taken to the Roblox site as usual but there was no sign of the extra currency. Continue reading
It’s going to take more than an email to a public inbox to protect Australians from potential AI doom
OpenAI’s hack of Medicare suggests safeguarding civilisation is the task facing leaders in this extraordinary new era
TikTok drops appeal against £12.7m fine for not keeping under-13s off platform
UK watchdog fined video app in 2023 for failing to enforce minimum age limit and remove underage users TikTok will pay a £12.7m fine to the UK’s data watchdog after dropping an appeal against a ruling that it did not do enough to keep children below the age of 13 off the platform. The video app was punished by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2023 for inadequate checks of who was using the platform, and failing to remove underage users. Continue reading
‘Eat the rich, save the planet’: climate protesters call out big tech’s disconnect from reality
Activists gathered outside the OpenAI offices on Monday during climate week in New York City On Monday evening, protesters gathered outside the unmarked Manhattan offices of OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, holding signs calling to “Eat the rich, save the planet”. Over the next two days, groups also picketed outside the offices of fellow tech giants Google and Amazon; other protesters, including clergy, were arrested while disrupting a closed-door AI health summit in the city.
Senator confirms ‘eight suicide attempts’ by US navy personnel assigned to USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group – as it happened
Kirsten Gillibrand says acting US navy secretary told her of attempted suicides after carrier strike group’s lengthy deployment as part of US war in Iran. This blog is now closed.
Why Europe has been absent from the great AI safety debate
Though Europe has measures that address how consumers might encounter AI, technology will impact them if the worst scenarios bear
Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying
Liberal MP speaks of AI’s shortcomings as cyber chief tells inquiry the tech is needed to fend off ‘highly capable malicious cyber actors’
Bernie Sanders says Congress has been ‘asleep at the wheel’ over AI – video
Bernie Sanders criticised the advancement of artificial intelligence at the Pro-Human Assembly in Washington on Tuesday, warning that the current type of AI was 'the least capable version of AI that we will ever have'. The independent senator from Vermont was speaking at the conference alongside a number of AI sceptics, including Steve Bannon Continue reading
Texas governor threatens to penalize datacenters not obeying water laws
Republican Greg Abbott says datacenters must help ‘protect’ drought-prone state and disclose water use
Did you solve it? Do you have the brain of an engineer?
The answers to today’s puzzles Earlier today I set four engineering puzzles. Here they are again with solutions. (Do check out the hundreds of great comments posted below the line in the original story.) The cranberries Continue reading
‘Tidal wave’ of Pfas being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn
Big manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacentres Pfas companies are launching a “tidal wave” of forever chemicals production to meet demand from the AI industry, a campaign organisation has warned. Despite alarm over the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, a survey of the 10 biggest manufacturers found most had plans to increase production. Continue reading
Pixel 11 Pro Fold review: the foldable with the best triple camera
Big screen folder with slick software and advanced AI is just like a regular Android when closed Google’s latest folding phone sticks with its tried and tested design of a traditional phone shape when closed and almost square when open, in the face of new competition from Apple’s squat iPhone fold. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is Google’s fourth-generation folder and is still one of the only models with a full water and dust resistance rating similar to standard slab phones.
AI CEOs say they need to slow the pace of development. But will they?
After apocalyptic warnings about the the threats posed by AI, leaders like Sam Altman and Elon Musk backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s calls to ‘slow the pace’