The Guardian
1 hour ago
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ProCook outdoor pizza oven review: a budget-friendly model that brings the pizzeria home
This no-frills pizza oven gets the basics right and is more than good enough for most people• The best pizza ovens – tested • Ooni Koda 2 reviewThe market for pizza ovens tends to be dominated by a handful of specialist brands, so it can feel like a gamble to buy from a lesser-known manufacturer or a retailer that offers a wider range of goods.The ProCook outdoor pizza oven is no gamble, though. It’s every inch a capable, compact and versatile pizza oven, despite being just one product in an offering that includes pretty much everything from storage jars to squeegees. Continue reading...
The Guardian
5 hours ago
Women in UK arts feel they do not have equal opportunities for roles, says report
Exclusive: Research says sector is fixated with young talent, with most women experiencing unconscious bias or sexismWomen working in the arts believe they do not have equal opportunities for roles, especially as they get older, according to a report saying that the industry is fixated with “young and emerging” talent.Nearly all (95%) women working in the arts thought gender inequality persisted, while three-quarters (75%) reported experiencing unconscious bias or sexism, according to a survey of 76 arts professionals. More than two-thirds (69%) felt that age negatively affected their career success – a figure that rose to 100% among those working in artistic rather than managerial roles. Continue reading...
The Guardian
8 hours ago
Sharp rise in incidents of AI escaping users’ control, research finds
Exclusive: Number of times AI lies, ignores instructions and pursues goals in harmful ways almost doubles in JulyIncidents of AIs escaping users’ control to lie, ignore instructions and pursue goals in harmful ways have hit a new high, according to research that also suggests the severity of deception and misalignment is worsening.Analysis of real-world loss of control incidents involving AI models flagged by businesses and individuals almost doubled in July compared with June, with more than 300 cases in the month, according to the Loss of Control Observatory, which monitors reports made by AI users on the social media platform X. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
UK risks falling behind in AI race without faster telecoms upgrades, say executives
Planning delays and slow 5G upgrades could leave the UK unable to cope with a surge in AI-related traffic The UK risks becoming a laggard in the global AI race as crucial telecoms upgrades to harness the technology fall behind rival nations, according to senior industry executives.The infrastructure AI race has centred on the need to build datacentres, and to ensure they have access to the huge water and energy supplies required to cool and supply the computational power to train and run AI models. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Faster, higher, funnier: what we learned from China’s robot games
Five-day showcase reveals leaps Beijing has made in humanoid tech, but also its limitations as US rivals come up from the rearWith exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief.The five-day showcase staked out China’s claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games’ blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
I dug through hundreds of Labor Day sales to find real deals on high-quality products that last
Cut through the noise with our round up of worthy Labor Day deals at brands including Caraway, Kiehl’s, Monos and SonyCollege grads share the room essentials that weathered the dormSign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better thingsLabor Day offers one last hurrah for summer, a chance to reset for fall, and if you’re shopping, some choice end-of-season discounts.No matter your plans for the long weekend, we found sales on products to make the most of it while helping you prepare for the colder months ahead. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Labour rejects Zack Polanski’s call to ‘slam brakes’ on building AI datacentres
Government says Green leader’s proposed moratorium on ‘energy-guzzling’ AI projects would be disaster for economyLabour has rejected calls to pause construction of major AI infrastructure in Britain after the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said it was time to “slam the brakes on these energy-guzzling, water-guzzling datacentres”.The government hit back at the opposition party’s proposal of a “moratorium other than [for] local-scale datacentres for the local community”, saying it “would be a disaster for jobs and national security”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past – Geralt of Rivia returns after a decade in the sun
Before The Witcher 4 arrives in 2028, CD Projekt Red is returning us to the world of The Witcher 3 for one last foray. Looks like wind’s still howlin’The game that graced us with Bathtub Geralt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, arrived more than a decade ago. So it was a touch surprising this summer when developers CD Projekt Red announced a new expansion to the venerable adventure, titled Songs of the Past, for next year. It will release alongside a full remaster of the original game, which will be free for anyone who bought it back in 2015. (The studio is also working on a sequel, The Witcher 4, but that’s not due until 2028.)As it turns out, this is all possible thanks to a partnership with Fool’s Theory, a studio founded by CD Projekt Red veterans, which took on the brunt of the development work. “We’ve had this story in a drawer for many years,” explains Marcin Blacha, VP story director at CD Projekt Red. “Of course, we moved on to Cyberpunk 2077 and now The Witcher 4, as well as our other projects. But because we knew The Witcher 4 would take time, we saw a gap in our release calendar where Songs of the Past could go. Thankfully, we were able to find the right partner to help execute it.” Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Help! I have disappeared down a rabbithole of horrible mobile gaming adverts | Dominik Diamond
Led by the nose from game to terrible game by increasingly disturbing and terrible adverts, I feel like I’m in the cinema scene from A Clockwork OrangeWe’re all escaping something when we play video games. Mostly it’s the drabness of real life, where we don’t get to command kingdoms using armies of dragons, win Champions League trophies with our local team, or inhabit the body of an improbably speedy hedgehog.Sometimes I play them because I want to escape from the version of me that gets paralysed by depression, and boy has the black dog been sniffing at my bits recently, because the Atlantic Ocean is separating me from my wife for a few months. For 30 years she has been the light that banishes that darkness, and I am honestly lost without her. If that sounds pathetic, you haven’t met her. She leaves everybody she meets feeling better. It’s a superpower that warrants a call from the X-Men. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Nicola Coughlan and Matt Lucas among stars backing campaign against AI voice cloning
About 80 people sign open letter to Andy Burnham calling for legislation to protect voice ownershipNicola Coughlan, Hugh Bonneville and Matt Lucas are among a group of actors backing a campaign against artificial intelligence voice cloning.Save Our Voices Now, which is also being supported by Luke Evans, Jen Brister, Siobhán McSweeney and Pearl Mackie, aims to stop the practice in which AI technology is used to replicate a real person’s voice to say anything it is prompted to. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
No special carve-out for states using fossil fuel to power datacentres, Chris Bowen insists, despite new conditions
Energy minister says states can apply to use coal and gas supply to power datacentres but must prove it is cheaper than renewablesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChris Bowen insists federal Labor’s new national laws on datacentre power supply will not include carve-outs for Queensland and the Northern Territory, with states that are eager to use coal and gas required to make their case to the national regulator.The energy minister told Guardian Australia on Friday the only concession agreed at Wednesday’s meeting of national cabinet was that existing coal and gas supply could be used on the condition it could be shown to be cheaper than renewables. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
What could Meta’s US settlement mean around the world – and what now for other claims against firm?
Other governments could seek similar concessions, while separate legal action is pending in places ranging from Kenya to the NetherlandsIn October 2021, Abrham Meareg’s father, a professor of chemistry in Ethiopia’s northern town of Bahir Dar, was shot at close range and died outside his family home. This was in the middle of the country’s civil war.For weeks, Facebook’s algorithm had actively promoted posts calling for the academic to be murdered, according to Meareg and Foxglove, a nonprofit organisation supporting Meareg’s lawsuit against the company in Kenya. These posts included photos of his father and his home address. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic was unlawful, US judge rules
Anthropic argued designation as ‘supply-chain risk’ could cost billions in lost business and reputational harmA US judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration broke the law when it designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk earlier this year, finding that the government had unlawfully targeted the AI firm for refusing to comply with defense department demands.“The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” Judge Rita Lin said in a 59-page decision. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Grand Theft Auto VI’s long-overdue gameplay reveal – as it happened
Under some strange circumstances, Rockstar broadcast the first (official) gameplay footage of Grand Theft Auto VI, the most-anticipated game of the year. Here’s everything you need to know.Ah yes, it’s a drug den. We’re in familiar GTA territory here: narcotics, smart phones, tattooed gangsters and a police raid. The duo shoot their way out of the room – the gunplay is very familiar to the series – third-person over the shoulder. I’m getting a distinct True Romance/Leon vibe to this chaos.These closeup slow-motion kill shots are giving me flashbacks to Fallout 3 and its slightly sickening VATS violence. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
AI can detect heart disease in women using mammograms, study suggests
Experts say findings mean breast screenings for cancer could also flag cardiovascular problems in womenDoctors have discovered a way to use routine mammograms that screen for breast cancer to spot heart disease, the world’s leading – and frequently underdiagnosed – cause of death in women.Researchers analysed the scans using artificial intelligence and were able to successfully identify women with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure or who had suffered a stroke. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
AI-proof? Younger workers desert the digital world for traditional crafts
In a disrupted job market people are turning to heritage crafts such as bookbinding, metalwork and boatbuildingIt’s a bleak moment for young people entering the workforce for the first time. For decades, a university degree seemed to promise a stable career – but entry-level white-collar jobs across almost all sectors are being disrupted by AI. Budding accountants, software engineers and junior lawyers increasingly find themselves displaced by cheap automation.Even creative fields are struggling against AI tech that can produce artwork, lengthy prose or complex design briefs in seconds. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy review – picture-postcard retelling of haunting Minoan myth
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, PC; Asobo StudioThe medieval franchise is transplanted to Crete, conjuring action-adventure magic from familiar ingredientsThe path in Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a familiar one. Amid ancient ruins and sun-dappled gorges, a young woman, Sophia, dutifully treads the same footsteps as a Minoan warrior from millennia ago, one with whom she seems to share a visionary connection. The “resonance” between these two characters is made clear by their echoing actions – a crank pushed in the bronze age that still works in the medieval present, for example. Through these spliced timelines, it becomes clear that Sophia, compelled by her supernatural gift, possesses little agency. Destiny beckons her forwards.This is a smart meta concept for a game that, at its most basic level, boils down to keeping your left thumb planted firmly on the analogue stick, always pushing Sophia onwards in linear fashion. You jostle her through ornate corridors rendered as higgledy-piggledy pirate camps and cobbled Venetian streets. For the greater part of the game, you propel her through the Minoan remains of Crete, which harbour a dark and terrible secret. It is classic third-person action-adventure fare, building on the template laid down by the likes of Tomb Raider and then refined and complicated by titles such as The Last of Us. Little, from an interactive perspective, surprises: you dash, vault and swing between teetering podiums, squeeze through tiny gaps in rock and crouch behind conveniently placed walls to avoid enemies. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Trainwatch – alone with your thoughts on a railway line to nowhere
The flat routines of a dead end railway job screen out an approaching menace in a quietly intriguing game from the indie developer of Cat Lady and LorelaiLonely jobs have provided excellent material for independent video games over the years. From Papers, Please to Firewatch to The Stanley Parable, players have been happy to spend hours dwelling in depressing cubicles or rural hideaways, usually because there is an intriguingly hidden point to it all.In Trainwatch, a character named Troy has taken a seemingly godforsaken job as a railway worker in an unnamed desolate backwater. His main task over the course of a single month is to manage a level crossing, closing the gate whenever a train comes, while also carrying out daily chores such as cooking and washing. It sounds serene, but Troy is also running away from something. The other stipulations are that he stays sober and calls his wife every night. And there is something lurking in the fog at the edges of the fields – one day he must face it. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes designed to join search and rescue teams in major disasters
Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life and death.Biorobotics engineers have been working on the design of six-legged cyborg insects with cameras and miniature medical injectors for search and rescue missions. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Fairphone 6+ review: the most repairable, ethical phone gets faster
Dutch sustainable smartphone revamped with new chip and more RAM without sacrificing modular designFairphone’s top Android for 2026 is a little faster with more memory while maintaining full compatibility with its previous phone, including its repairable and ethical chops.The Fairphone 6+ continues the Dutch cooperative’s mission to make consumer electronics longer lasting and more sustainable, containing 51% either recycled or ethically sourced materials while being fully repairable at home with just the one screwdriver included in the box. Continue reading...
The Guardian
6 days ago
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: the top dog of folding Androids
With great software and battery for two days, the pricey svelte folder strikes best balance between phone and tabletSamsung’s top folding phone for 2026 is its first to carry the “Ultra” moniker in its name, packing a much bigger battery and better cameras into the thin and light body of a book-style foldable.The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra continues from where the exquisite Z Fold 7 left off last year. With its svelte chocolate bar dimensions opening into a square tablet, the Ultra sits above the new passport-shaped Z Fold 8 as Samsung’s top model. Costing £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), it is a lot of money to pay for a phone, regardless of how many other devices it can theoretically replace in your pocket. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 weeks ago
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: your passport to a folding phone future
Novel squat Android opens to an iPad-like screen for video or multitasking, with plenty of power and battery lifeSamsung’s latest folding phone breaks the mould with a squat, passport-like shape reminiscent of the Blackberry, which opens up to become a tablet similar to an iPad mini. It is certainly a better shape for a tablet than other designs, but is a short and wide phone when closed a compromise too far?The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is an entirely new variant in Samsung’s foldable family for this year launched alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra with a more familiar candy bar shape. Both folders are extremely expensive, with the Fold 8 starting at £1,699 (€1,999/$1,899.99/A$2,699) and the Fold 8 Ultra at £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), with RAMageddon driving up prices even at the top of the market. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 weeks ago
Honor Magic V6 review: sleek foldable phone lacking a bit of polish
Super-premium Android has top performance, long battery life and good cameras, but is let down by softwareHonor’s svelte Android phone-tablet has been given a glow-up for its sixth version, offering a great alternative to Samsung for a fancy foldable with a red suede-like back framed in gold.The Magic V6 continues the Chinese challenger brand’s strategy of taking a razor-thin device and slapping a giant circular lump on the back to fit in top-class cameras, something others often forgo. It costs a not inconsiderable £1,500 (€1,700/A$2,999) but only until August when the price jumps to a cool £2,000 (€2,300) – a solid £300 more than last year’s model as the cost of RAMageddon continues to bite, even at the very top end of the market.Main screen: 7.95in (403ppi) 120Hz OLED flexible displayCover screen: 6.52in (406ppi) 120Hz OLEDProcessor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5RAM: 16GBStorage: 512GBOperating system: MagicOS 10 (Android 16)Camera: 50MP + 50MP ultrawide + 64MP 3x tele; 2x 20MP selfieConnectivity: 5G, dual sim + esim, USB-C, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, GNSSWater resistance: IP68/69 (1.5 metres for 30 minutes)Dimensions folded: 156.7 x 74.5 x 8.75-9mmDimensions unfolded: 156.7 x 145.6 x 4.0-4.1mmWeight: 219-224g Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 month ago
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