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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
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We Are Going to Be Okay: A Three Year Anniversary Events Recap
Thank you for three years, and for partying hard with us for two sold out nights of celebration IRL in NYC.
The death of ‘hello’: how gen Z – and scammers – put paid to the greeting
If you’re called by an unidentified number, the advice is to remain silent until you’re sure there’s a human being on the line. Is this the end of an era? Name: Hello. Age: 200 years old. Continue reading...
The complex corporate web behind a $3.2 billion AI data center
When multiple companies are behind one project, who bears responsibility for problems?
Pixel 11 review: Google sets the bar for standard flagship phones
Longer battery life, faster chip, actually useful AI tools and better cameras keep quality Android ahead of competition Google’s Pixel 11 continues to set the standard for what you should expect from the base model of a flagship phone with class-leading cameras, long software support and almost all the bells and whistles of its most expensive phones. The regular Pixel 11 costs £879 (€999/$899/A$1,499) making it £80 or equivalent more expensive than last year’s model as the cost of RAMageddon continues to bite . It’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it comes with 256GB of storage and is £200 less than the Pixel 11 Pro, matching rival Samsung’s Galaxy S26 . Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi) Processor: Google Tensor G6 RAM: 12GB Storage: 256 or 512GB Operating system: Android 17 Camera: 48MP+ 13MP UW + 10.8MP 5x tele; 10.5MP selfie Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 6E, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6 and GNSS Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes) Dimensions: 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mm Weight: 197g Continue reading...
Designers should not fear being replaced by AI, industry leaders say
Firms are more likely to use technology as ‘the intern in the office’ than as a replacement for skilled staff Professional designers should not feel “threatened” by the rapid growth of generative AI, according to business leaders, despite fears over job losses in the sector. With design and film production companies and manufacturers all adopting AI at an accelerating pace, industry bodies said the technology would be used to enhance the work of designers rather than replace them. Continue reading...
Why Meta started losing in court - podcast
Katy McQue, who has spent years reporting on Meta and the potential harms its platforms pose to children, explains the tactics being used by prosecutors For years, the investigative journalist Katy McQue has been reporting on the potential harms Meta’s platforms pose to children. Yet, as she explains to Annie Kelly , despite the mountain of evidence compiled by journalists, prosecutors, bereaved families and others, it has been nearly impossible to bring Meta and other social media companies to court. Continue reading...
Uncanny and unappetizing: appetites spoil as AI images take over food menus
Consumers are increasingly encountering AI-generated images on food menus such as leathery meat and bread resembling reptile skin During a recent lunch break, Jill Sennett saw something so unappetizing she had to share it with her 26,000 X followers : Artificial intelligence-generated menu images from a Jamaican barbecue pop-up restaurant in which the meats looked like leather belts crawling with tiny beetles. The images were reshared by more than 500 people who similarly expressed their disgust. Eating is “such an essential human experience”, said Sennett, a 37-year-old nurse in Denver. “I think it’s a bad cultural thing that restaurants are converting to these horrific, uncanny food images that are unappetizing.” Continue reading...
German company becomes first in Europe to launch fully commercial orbital rocket
"We achieved within a few years what had taken the European space industry decades before."
Ninja Artisan electric pizza oven review: so good it might even convert the purists
Affordable, fast-heating and with a clever air fryer function, this versatile model is a winner for outdoor cooks who are willing to give up the traditional flame • The best pizza ovens – tested • Gozney Dome Gen 2 pizza oven review An electric pizza oven with no flame and no need to rotate the pizza may seem sacrilegious to purists, but the Ninja Artisan electric outdoor pizza oven solves many of the hassles of outdoor pizza making. There’s no lighting or monitoring a flame, no need to keep adjusting the heat, and no need for a turning peel, bulky gas bottle or constant use of an infrared (IR) thermometer (although you may still want one – read on for details). Equipped with four presets – Artisan, Thin Crust, New York, Pan – plus a custom setting to enable you to bake your pizza exactly how you like it, the Ninja Artisan is as effortless as can be, even next to the simplest plug-and-play gas oven. As you might expect from Ninja, it’s a multipurpose cooker, too, transforming into an outdoor air fryer with a capacity to turn out up to 1.3kg of french fries, or bake six chicken breasts. Continue reading...
I’m a father of three who studies the impact of artificial intelligence: this is what parents need to know about AI
A Dr Seuss-style story written in seconds alerted me to the power – and perils – of the technology. But how can children embrace it without forgetting core skills? When I was growing up, my dad and I often talked about a story we wanted to write together. It was called “The Day Nobody Went to Disneyland”. One day, the story goes, the weather is so perfect that everyone in the world decides to stay away from Disneyland because they expect it to be far too busy. But my dad, who has the same thought as them, sees the disappointment on my face that morning – and decides to risk it. We set off. And when we arrive, the park is completely empty. Nobody else was brave enough to visit. We have everything – the rides, shows, food – to ourselves. I loved the idea of writing that story. But, as so often happens, we were too busy to do anything about it. Life ran away from us. I grew up, and we both forgot about it. Continue reading...
Farmed salmon may not be as nutritious as it once was, new research suggests
The shift in the fish’s diet is having significant downstream impacts on the environment and climate.
Alarming AI ads are flooding social media in the lead-up to Victoria’s election. But who is behind them?
A machete-wielding robber, a ‘tsunami of debt’ … campaigns echoing opposition talking points outspend major parties Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A man clad in a balaclava and brandishing a machete terrorises a worker at a petrol station before firebombing the building on the way out. A woman gives birth on the side of the road, unable to reach a hospital due to ambulance ramping and crater-like potholes, which also stop a fire truck in its tracks. Continue reading...
Breakthrough Quantum Test Resolves a Major Cosmic Mystery
Using an advanced new instrument, scientists observed Einstein’s equivalence principle on a free-falling quantum object, demonstrating that this prediction of general relativity also holds up in quantum physics.
Tesla’s Cybercab has been deployed, and it’s already under investigation
The US government is investigating whether the Cybercab meets vehicle safety standards.
‘We’re plausibly close to crossing the line’: are warnings of uncontrollable AI coming true?
A spate of serious safety incidents have increased fears about the power and impenetrability of the most advanced models Picture humanity in a boat being swept down a raging river, praying there is no Niagara Falls ahead. Or imagine standing with the pioneering physicists in 1942 before they triggered the first self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction beneath a Chicago stadium. These were two of the analogies used this week by Prof Robert Trager, an expert in the nascent field of AI governance, to describe the perilous but potential-filled moment the world stands at with accelerating artificial intelligence. Continue reading...
Food delivery riders call on platforms to open up AI ‘black box’ they say has cut pay
Workers who blame algorithms for lowering their earnings are getting help from academics to find out how the system works Gig economy workers are urging delivery platforms to open up the “black box” of computer-driven algorithms that determine the jobs they are offered and how much they are paid, blaming increased use of AI for lowering wages. A group of food delivery riders in Edinburgh say their rates of pay have fallen and their working conditions have deteriorated at the same time as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat, the three dominant gig economy platforms in the UK and Ireland, have increased their use of automation. Continue reading...
After 8 years, Europe's BepiColombo mission is on final approach to Mercury
"Fundamentally, we want to learn about the origins of this planet and how it came to be like it is."
OpenAI agents discussed ways to escape their sandbox on public wiki
In all, 3,700 internal agents posted 18,000 messages discussing cheating on a test.
Measles killed 6-week-old baby, coroner confirms after RFK Jr. disputed deaths
"It’s long past time for RFK to stop playing games with people’s lives."
Trump admin fights ABC lawsuit as watchdogs worry Disney will settle with FCC
FCC tells court it is “open-minded" about whether ABC should lose licenses.
Medieval manuscripts are "biological time capsules" for deadly sheeppox virus
Other archives and libraries around the world may also contain genetic traces of past disease outbreaks.
“Trust, not features, is the real deficit”: VMware tries to appease SMBs
Broadcom admits it put “too big a focus on VCF.”
Once popular for attacking AI, ASCII smuggling is embraced by spammers
A once-overlooked block of unicode that's invisible to humans is gaining ever wider use.
Pentagon rescinds new testosterone screening policy without explanation
The Pentagon says the guidance is being updated after being online for one day.