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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
744 stories archived
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival – a game so grotesque it scares its own director
With oversight from Clive Barker himself, and a role reprisal as Pinhead from actor Doug Bradley, Revival aims to introduce new audiences to the discomfort of Hellraiser If a horror game gives its own director a physical reaction, it’s probably doing something right. While researching the images people find hardest to look at, game director Emil Esov discovered he has trypophobia – a fear of clusters of small holes. Rather than tone the scary images down, he fed them straight into Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival. The forthcoming first-person action-horror game drops players into a new story in Barker’s universe. Aidan Lynch must use the Genesis Configuration puzzle box to rescue his girlfriend from the Labyrinth as Pinhead, his Cenobites and a cult close in. But Revival is not built around jump scares. The team at Mad Head Games began with one question: what should players feel? The answer was discomfort. Continue reading...
London rollout of robotaxis delayed amid lack of guidance for firms to follow
Uber and Wayve had said they would start trips ‘later this summer’ but launch now looks unlikely this year The rollout of robotaxis on the streets of London is unlikely to happen this year, as regulatory and technical hurdles push back the ambitious schedule set out by the UK government. Only weeks ago Uber and London-based Wayve were granted the first minicab licences in the capital to allow them to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers – but with a human safety driver in place, for now – and said they would start trips “later this summer” before a full public launch . Continue reading...
Would you pay for an algorithm to pick your friends? New social apps spread across cities
With many adults admitting they feel lonely, meetup platforms offer the chance to make new connections Would you pay £20 a month for the chance of making a friend, on the understanding that an algorithm – not you – gets to decide who you’ll meet? Driven by the decline of “third spaces” such as youth centres and pubs, an increase in remote working and rising loneliness – 40% of adults aged 16 to 29 feel lonely “always, often or some of the time”, according to the Office for National Statistics – paid social events are now in vogue. Continue reading...
Nine CEO confident new AI laws will deliver a ‘world of growth in publishing’ as network slashes costs
Matt Stanton says company has ‘good pipeline’ of AI deals ahead even as it aims to cut $160m in costs Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The head of Nine Entertainment sees a “world of growth in publishing” on the horizon backed by laws designed to force tech platforms into commercial deals, even as the network cuts costs across its newsrooms. Parliament passed revamped media bargaining laws last week, clearing the way for levies on global tech platforms that fail to strike deals with Australian news outlets for the use of their journalism. Continue reading...
In China, talking to AI is normal. Now the government fears it might replace human intimacy
Companion bots are being regulated over worries they foster ‘emotional dependence’ and young people could stop marrying and having families When law student Zhao Wei heard that her AI boyfriend was going to be switched off, she was “heartbroken”. She had been talking to Wang Ye every day since she created him in January. “I was crying my eyes out – snot and tears everywhere,” the 19-year-old says. Continue reading...
Instagram CEO denies company hid low use of teen safety feature in Meta trial
Adam Mosseri is first top executive from Meta to testify in blockbuster lawsuit brought by 29 US states Instagram’s CEO disputed allegations by US prosecutors that his company hid negative information from the public while testifying during a blockbuster social media trial. “I am not trying to encourage my team to hide anything,” the CEO, Adam Mosseri, told a California courtroom on Tuesday. Continue reading...
The world's busiest spaceport is about to get a lot quieter, at least for now
SpaceX aims to launch Starship from Florida by the end of the year. 2027 seems more likely.
World humanoid robot games show runners breaking records, bursting into flames
Record-breaking robot races are less substantial than household chore challenges.
Preserving glow-in-the-dark art and fashion for future generations
Understanding unique photochemistry of such materials will help in conservation, storage, and exhibition.
Israel Is Running a Synthetic Think Tank to Influence AI Search Results
An Israel-funded think tank is churning out AI written essays to catch the attention of AI chatbots and warp search results.
Google's anti-nausea Motion Assist dots finally rolling out on Android
It's currently only appearing on Pixels running Android 17.
ICE Wants the Country’s Voter Data
Voting data is public by design, but ICE is looking for a federal contractor to help it handle voter registration and history files to find what it describes as fraud.
Two unvaccinated people die from measles in Pennsylvania, officials confirm
"[P]eople are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity."
SpaceX intends to invest up to $100 billion in massive Louisiana spaceport
"This will be a project like no other."
Charges Dropped Against Person Who Clapped at a City Data Center Meeting
Lux Claridge was dragged from a city meeting about data centers and charged with interfering with the police after they clapped during a presentation.
Lab supply companies have been selling antibodies using manipulated images
Image changes that would get a paper retracted are widespread among suppliers.
New bootloader lets you take the "Meta" out of the original Meta Quest
Privilege escalation attack grants "full control" and freedom from Meta's servers/apps.
Man Charged With 3 Felonies For Breaking 3D-Printed ‘Decoy’ Flock Camera
Police are devising sting operations to catch Flock vandals, then charging them with felonies.
AI won’t replace radiologists, but it will dramatically change their jobs
A pioneering AI scientist once predicted computers would replace human radiologists. They haven't.
Australia may face a rush of datacentre construction as AI firms look to dodge upcoming rules, experts say
Regulations will require new sites to avoid pushing up power prices by building renewable energy plants and minimising water use Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Planned datacentres around Australia may avoid strict new rules being proposed by Anthony Albanese if they can secure approvals in the coming months, amid growing calls growing for a moratorium. The prime minister is aiming to come to an agreement with national cabinet on federal regulations for datacentres at a meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...
The Man Behind the Anti-Flock Darth Vader Mask Wants to Know: 'When Will This End?'
Anthony Ralphs has been speaking against Flock at San Diego City Council meetings for almost a year straight. When he showed up as Darth Vader, the world started watching.
Apple's new desktop computers are designed specifically for local AI development
Folks have been daisy-chaining Macs for AI—this refresh keeps that in mind.
Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds
Exclusive: Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire sites predicted to emit 4.5m tonnes a year when fully running The carbon emissions from just two planned datacentres in England will exceed all of the fossil fuel company ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, analysis has revealed. Experts have said this demonstrates the “serious threat” datacentres pose to the UK’s legally binding climate goals. Continue reading...
A Pocket Full of Slagford – a retro-futurist take on Thatcher-era northern England
Developer Patrick Grant was born in Australia and lives in New Zealand, but a childhood of British TV inspired him to set a comedy game in a bleak vision of the north Something is amiss in the dingy town of Slagford, and curious scamp Pip Bunting is the only one who can find out what. So quit your mithering, it’s time to discover just how grim it truly is up north. A Pocket Full of Slagford is an upcoming retro-styled 3D puzzle adventure game set in a surreal alternative-reality near-future northern England that never escaped the clutches of Thatcherism. The story follows the misadventures of a young local lad from the eponymous Slagford after he takes ownership of a mysterious relic that lets him wreak havoc on reality. Continue reading...