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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
131 stories archived
Scotland’s ‘green datacentres’ policy ignores emissions impact of AI, analysis shows
Definition of green facilities made in 2022, before release of ChatGPT, says Action to Protect Rural ScotlandA Scottish government policy designed to encourage datacentres to build in Scotland could lead to a massive volume of carbon emissions being ignored, according to an analysis by a Scottish charity.“Green datacentres” are at the heart of Scotland’s ambitions to develop economically. Enshrined in national policy, they are part of a larger, UK-wide effort to attract big AI investment to Scotland. Continue reading...
The devil owns Amazon: big tech has infiltrated the fashion world – will we see a revolt?
Anna Wintour has welcomed the Bezoses – and their patronage – with open arms. But after a controversial Met Gala, industry insiders are less enthusiasticThe press conference for the Met Costume Institute’s spring exhibition is always a stately affair, but this year it was giving “feudal lady addresses her serfs” or perhaps “Marie Antoinette during the last days of Versailles”. Here, among the spectacular marble sculptures of the art museum’s American wing, was a beaming Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who Anna Wintour introduced as a “force for joy”, before adding that “she and her husband, Jeff, have shown with this event that they genuinely, genuinely care about giving back”. Meanwhile, in the outside world, protests against the Bezoses’ involvement had been raging for days. The discrepancy between the word on the street and the deference within the glass-ceilinged room was head-spinning.The Met Gala has recently become a magnet for anti-excess protests, but this was its most controversial yet, owing to the $10m patronage of its honorary co-chairs, centibillionaires Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. It was not the first time Jeff Bezos bankrolled the gala – Amazon was its lead sponsor in 2012. But this year’s event came at a moment of soaring inequality, as Bezos’s personal wealth has mushroomed and his Donald Trump-appeasing decisions have made him less popular than ever with New York City’s left-leaning fashion and arts crowd. Continue reading...
A Hacker Group Is Poisoning Open Source Code at an Unprecedented Scale
GitHub is just the latest victim of TeamPCP, a gang that has carried out a spree of software supply chain attacks that has impacted hundreds of organizations.
The Universe Is Full of ‘Impossible’ Black Holes. Now Scientists Know Why
There are black holes that are too big to be born from the death of a star but aren’t quite supermassive either. There’s finally evidence for where those came from.
Can OpenAI’s ‘Master of Disaster’ Fix AI’s Reputation Crisis?
Global affairs chief Chris Lehane wants to tone down the debate over AI’s societal impacts—and get states to pass laws that won’t derail OpenAI’s meteoric rise.
‘AI washing’: firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused
PR executives say UK companies are forcing them to present ordinary automation as artificial intelligence UK companies are performing “yoga-level” stretches to describe themselves as AI specialists in an attempt to capitalise on the buzz around the technology, public relations firms have said.Weary communications executives tasked with securing media coverage for brands have complained that bosses in low-tech industries or running businesses that use automation but not generative AI, are increasingly demanding they are pitched to journalists as artificial intelligence companies. Continue reading...
US's big bet on quantum computing may not be entirely legal
Deal also launched the first quantum foundry company, but is there a need for it?
Quantum ‘Jamming’ Could Help Unlock the Mysteries of Causality
To keep communications secure in a post-quantum world, cryptographers are digging down into the concept of cause and effect.
‘We’re expanding the cinematic toolbox’: AI fault lines on show at Cannes
Darren Aronofsky among proponents of using technology, while Guillermo del Toro says he would ‘rather die’Under a white marquee on Cannes’ Croisette beach, with the Mediterranean glistening behind him and superyachts drifting across the horizon, the director Darren Aronofsky addressed an audience of executives and tech evangelists gathered for an “AI for Talent” summit.“There’s so much pushback against AI,” said Aronofsky, who has faced criticism over his embrace of generative AI projects though his new studio, Primordial Soup, at a time when artificial intelligence has become one of the film industry’s most divisive fault lines. Continue reading...
A Bipartisan Amendment Would End Police License Plate Tracking Nationwide
One line tucked into a federal highway bill would strip funds from cities and states unless they kill their automated plate tracking programs—effectively banning the tech for all but toll collection.
Meta Is in Crisis, Google Search’s Makeover, and AI Gets Booed by Graduates
In this episode of Uncanny Valley, we unpack the mass layoffs at Meta, big announcements at Google I/O, and the latest backlash against AI.