section
Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
474 stories archived
China wants to solve the hardest problem in robotics – making hands
Race to develop ‘embodied AI’ focuses on creating dextrous hands to transform humanoid robots from gimmicks into useful products Human hands – nimble, nerve-filled appendages that are the most flexible part of the human skeleton – are exceptionally complex. Many tasks that most people can do largely without thinking, from tying a pair of shoelaces to buttoning up a shirt, in fact require a complex set of neurological instructions and precise choreography. In thousands of years of human history, no machine has been able to truly replicate human’s greatest tool. But now, as artificial intelligence (AI) races forwards, some companies think they are close to surpassing this final but most difficult hurdle in robotics. Most of them are in China. Continue reading...
Chemical accidents rise as Trump administration proposes weakening safety rules
Chemicals from accidents that injured or killed people increased by nearly 50 percent in recent years.
The missing 500 million: Cosmic bombardment melted Earth's first crust
The heat of the Hadean may have come from impacts as well as the interior.
From ‘heat panic’ to ‘sacrificed at the altar’: Europe’s air conditioning culture wars heat up
Cooling down has become political amid record highs, as experts say row is distracting from work of protecting lives As the afternoon heat rose to a dizzying 41.7C (107F) in eastern Brandenburg on Sunday, taking German temperatures to unprecedented highs, Mario, 65, took precautions but did not panic. Two years ago, a fierce heatwave had prompted him to buy a powerful device that few Germans own: an air conditioning unit. “The summers are slowly getting warmer,” says the retired handyman in Neuzelle on the German-Polish border, whose bungalow is now among the 6% of German homes with fixed air-conditioning. “And as you get older, the heat gets harder to endure.” Continue reading...
NHS to use AI on its app to direct patients to appropriate services
Update in England expected to reach about 200,000 patients over the next year as part of £10bn package to overhaul NHS systems The NHS will begin using AI on its app to direct patients to the appropriate services, it has been announced. The tool will be used to triage patients and to ascertain if they should be allocated a GP appointment. Some may be advised to attend a pharmacy or their local A&E department instead, depending on the severity of their condition. Continue reading...
Doctors’ soaring use of AI scribes prompts Australian government warning over privacy
Exclusive: With the technology fast becoming popular in GP surgeries, regulators are monitoring its implementation and potential pitfalls Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The federal health department has raised concerns about the use of AI scribes by doctors as the health regulator considers the need for safeguards around the technology. AI scribe tools record, transcribe and summarise conversations between doctors and patients for medical notes, and have boomed in popularity in the past 18 months. Continue reading...
Review: Supergirl is not the disaster its low box office suggests
It’s a pretty good movie, but it needed to be a great movie to thrive in an oversaturated superhero market.
When the ability to smell goes away
Disturbances in this critical sense are often linked to problems with brain health.
A martian rock has lots of carbon on it, and it's not clear why
Biology could explain the find, but there are other potential explanations.
SOLVED: The Case of the Missing Megalodon
A short-statured human relative that lived on a lush island probably didn’t wield fire or hunt big game, but it did walk in the footsteps of dragons, according to a new study.
Could the next great novel be written by AI (and would you even be able to tell)?
As allegations of LLM use rock the literary and media worlds, linguists explain what really distinguishes human and machine language, while novelists including Jennifer Egan and Jeanette Winterson reflect on the future of fiction in an age of ChatGPT T hree paragraphs, from three different hotel reviews. Can you tell which, if any, were AI‑generated? “The hotel is in a great location for everything. Lots of places to eat and drink. The hotel itself is always abuzz. The tavern located on the ground floor is definitely a must. Food, service, prices and atmosphere were great.” Continue reading...
Rocket Report: Indian startup nears first launch; SpaceX's millenary milestone
NASA awarded Rocket Lab deals for three dedicated launches using the company's Electron rocket.
UK parents warned over posting images of children amid AI sexual abuse fears
Exclusive: National Crime Agency and safety watchdog issue guidance amid rise in explicit material online AI prey: why watchdogs are telling parents to protect children from nudification apps The UK National Crime Agency has recommended parents should not put photos of their children on public display online as part of landmark guidance to tackle the rise of AI-generated sexual abuse material. Advice issued by the NCA and the child safety watchdog the Internet Watch Foundation suggests parents and guardians make their social media accounts private or share pictures of their children through a “close friends” group. Continue reading...
Inside the Luddite festival harnessing Gen Z’s rage against Big Tech
New York City’s Summer of Ludd festival is teaching people how to live offline.
AI prey: why watchdogs are telling parents to protect children from nudification apps
As imaging tools become more sophisticated, online predators are using images of children to make extreme pornography UK parents warned over posting images of children amid AI sexual abuse fears The two photos started out as typical teenage selfies: looking into the mirror, fully clothed. But once online predators had got hold of those pictures and ran them through an AI imaging tool, they had become the basis for extreme pornography videos. These examples come from the Report Remove service, which allows children who have had explicit pictures of themselves distributed without their consent to flag the image confidentially and have it blocked or taken down from social media. Due to breakthroughs in AI, and the wide availability of AI models and nudification apps , some under-18s are becoming victims without even being in contact with criminals. Continue reading...
Despite the darkness, I still see signs of hope in America
It's difficult to pinpoint the moment in my life where America started to lose the plot.
Visiting the stars (and planets, and telescopes) in VR
Walkthrough experience includes visits to stars, exoplanets, and observatories.
Wing Commander IV and the FMV future that never quite was
C:\ArsGames takes a look at the time Chris Roberts more or less made a whole movie.
Behind the Blog: With Blogs Like These, Who Needs a Private Jet
This week, we discuss the Supreme Court, the private jet, and AI on the TV.
I tested 53 water bottles to find the best for leaks, looks and sustainability: here are my favourites
Ditched single-use plastic bottles but can’t find a good reusable one? I spent months putting dozens through their paces – these are the ones worth buying • The best travel mugs and reusable coffee cups, tested If you think a water bottle is just a water bottle, it’s time to wake up. These days, there’s a lot riding on your choice of drinking vessel . The heady combination of worrying about the planet and, on a more day-to-day level, staying hydrated has made reusable water bottles a must-have. Once the preserve of hikers and gym-goers, water bottles have become a small but significant act of environmental virtue signalling. Not all bottles are created equal, though. Some are insulated, some leak, some weigh as much as a toddler, and some even infuse your water with hydrogen (more on that later). The choice is dizzying. Best water bottle overall: Owala FreeSip Best budget water bottle: Ion8 stainless-steel water bottle Continue reading...
What is Paralives? The creative life simulator game that could rival The Sims
With players leaving EA’s series once life there felt like a grind beset by ethical concerns, this quirky new sim promises a better life elsewhere For 26 years, the life-sims genre has been dominated by one series: The Sims. Originally designed by Will Wright, creator of Sim City, EA’s virtual dollhouse series has grown into a $5bn [£3.8bn] empire with the constant release of new games, expansion packs, and collaborations cementing its place among the bestselling video game franchises of all time. But things are beginning to change. New contenders are emerging and turning the heads of even loyal players in The Sims community. The most recent, and promising, of these is Paralives , once the solo project of indie designer Alex Massé, who is now employing a small team of developers. Released on the PC games platform Steam in May 2026 as an early access title (meaning it’s technically unfinished and looking for user feedback), it sold 250,000 copies in just eight hours. On that first day, the concurrent player count hit 78,603 – not far off The Sims 4’s all-time peak of 96,328 in 2022. While Paralives is a small project, this success is understandable. Following the news of EA’s controversial acquisition by a Saudi-backed business consortium, some simmers are looking for what they see as a more ethical alternative. But this is only part of the game’s appeal. The real draw is the game’s focus on creativity over realism: the quirky details that made many fans fall in love with The Sims in the first place. Continue reading...
3,000% bonuses but a growing wealth divide: South Korea grapples with its AI chip boom
Powered by chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea is seeing a surge in wealth, but there are questions over who gets to share in the profits When South Korea’s most high-profile divorce case returned to court last month, the lawyers were arguing not just about the breakdown of a relationship, but also the exact date at which to value shares in one specific company. The judges’ decision in Seoul could change the value of business tycoon Chey Tae-won’s assets by billions of dollars. The shares were in the holding company behind SK Hynix, the manufacturer of chips powering AI systems around the world. Continue reading...
Newly discovered PamStealer isn't your typical macOS malware
The discovery underscores the increased effort being poured into Mac infostealers.
FAA proposal: Supersonic airliners can fly over US cities if they’re quiet
New US rules would legalize quiet supersonic flights without the sonic boom.