The Guardian
14 hours ago
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Anthropic’s alliance with pope on AI harms: all in good faith or ‘Vatican-washing?’
Experts say AI firm’s engagement with Vatican risks creating ‘feelgood’ discourse that lacks critical examinationWhy did Anthropic’s founder sit beside the pope during a warning about AI?In the first major written teaching of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV took artificial intelligence to task. The pontiff delineated the technology’s most concerning threats to humanity: replacing workers, accelerating war and exploiting the environment. At a ceremony honoring the holy teaching the day of its release at the Vatican, the pope was flanked by an unusual guest speaker: Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, one of the people behind the AI boom so worrying Leo. Continue reading...
The Guardian
21 hours ago
‘Like a billionaire on acid’: Star Wars director Gareth Edwards comes out in favour of AI
Speaking at Amazon’s AI on the Lot event, the Rogue One film-maker Gareth Edwards said ‘it’ll do anything you ask’ and ‘it’s going to be better than CGI’Jurassic World Rebirth and Rogue One director Gareth Edwards has enthusiastically endorsed the use of generative AI in film-making, saying “it is a fucking genius at helping you” and “it’s going to be better than CGI”.Edwards was speaking at AI on the Lot, an event in Culver City, California, organised by Amazon, and in remarks reported by the Hollywood Reporter said: “I can’t see a reason why you wouldn’t become interested in this stuff as a film-maker. It’s so clearly a tool that might be up there with the camera. It’s going to be better than CGI.” Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Workers need greater say over AI rollout, says TUC-backed report
Exclusive: IPPR thinktank calls for new measures to boost employees’ influence at ‘pivotal moment’ in history Workers urgently need more bargaining power over the way AI is adopted in the workplace to ensure the benefits are fairly shared, according to a TUC-backed report from a leading thinktank.The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is calling for a package of measures to boost employees’ influence at what it calls a “pivotal moment in the history of work”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Why I’m grateful to the Pope for his encyclical on AI | Francine Prose
The intelligent and thoughtful encyclical is an important warning of the uses and misuses of a rapidly developing technology. Silicon Valley is wrong to dismiss itOften I’m asked if I think that the novels of the future will all be written by AI. It’s not so much a question as a provocation. Do I worry that a machine can do what I do, only better? I usually say something like: “No algorithm is going to write Anna Karenina!” which is also not a real answer.So I’m grateful to Pope Leo XIV, the American pope, for his recently issued letter to the world, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. It’s a long (more than 40,00 words), intelligent and thoughtful encyclical in which the pope addresses the uses and misuses of a rapidly developing technology. Now when someone asks my opinion of AI, I can refer them to the pope’s letter, or at least chapter three. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
If you want to run your first marathon in your 50s, it helps to be chased by zombies
When Ben Elton didn’t distract from the pain of moving my body, I found the perfect solution – the interactive smartphone game Zombies, Run!At 56, I am running my first marathon, an old, fat, bald dad surrounded by millennials in body-hugging Lycra and smiles that look AI-generated. But I am ahead of them. For they are only competing for positions and personal bests, and I am being chased by zombies.The black dog of depression hit me around the time of my last birthday. I didn’t feel I had achieved anything of note for an eternity. I used to work out but, for years, work kept getting in the way. I decided to kill two circling, carcass-sniffing vultures with one stone and run my first marathon. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Anthropic reaches valuation of $965bn, beating OpenAI to become world’s most valuable AI firm
Claude’s parent company’s $65bn in latest funding round underscores vast sums of money still flowing into industryAnthropic, the AI firm behind the Claude chatbot, announced on Thursday it had raised $65bn in funding to value the company at $965bn post-money. The move makes Anthropic the world’s most valuable AI startup, eclipsing its competitor OpenAI.The deal marks an exceedingly successful period of growth for Anthropic, which was once considered to be a smaller player in the global AI arms race. The widespread adoption of its products by large enterprise businesses, especially following its release of powerful coding assistants late last year, has turned it into a dominant player in the industry. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Image of Thai police in sparkly dresses with handcuffed suspect turns out to be AI fake
Picture was created by administrator in charge of station’s Facebook account who wanted to create ‘friendlier image’It was an arresting image and an irresistible story. A group of tough Thai police officers – five men and one woman – all wearing elaborate festival-style dresses, surrounding a drug dealer they had caught while undercover.The image, released by local police, was so compelling that it found its way on to the front page of the UK’s Daily Star, as well as in picture stories in the Telegraph, the Sun and the New York Post. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Call of controversy? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 imagines a revived Korean war
Infinity Ward’s new game in the storied shooter genre embraces change with a potentially controversial real-world settingThere was a time when Call of Duty (CoD) regularly courted controversy. In 2009, Modern Warfare 2’s infamous “No Russian” mission saw players (optionally) shooting screaming civilians in a Moscow airport. In 2022’s entry, a drone strike mission that drew chilling parallels to the real-world US assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani two years earlier was featured. The series has not always been straightforwardly palatable.In recent years, however, the world’s most popular shooter game has largely swapped grit for melodrama, following the misadventures of a troop of larger than life elite soldiers. For 2026’s Modern Warfare 4, however, Activision’s shooter series and its developer Infinity Ward are back in tabloid-baiting territory. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
So dumb it just might work: can these dumbphone evangelists convince you to dump smartphones?
As part of a growing anti-tech movement, startup dumb.co is pushing flip phones as a way for young people to find ‘social and spiritual freedom’“They aren’t as dumb as they look,” our facilitator said, referring to the dark gray flip phone in his hand. He just as easily could have been talking about us, the 28 New York residents before him who had signed up to use the device for the entire month of March. He explained that the relic was loaded with WhatsApp, iMessage, Google Maps, Uber, Microsoft 2FA – nothing like my seventh-grade flip phone.We each had paid $75 to participate in Month Offline, or MO, a program that challenged us to swear off our smartphones entirely. Another $25 went to dumb.co, the company behind MO, for the so-called dumbphones we would use as we navigated daily life. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
‘Hidden datacentre tax’ costing Irish households millions, report says
Datacentres used 22% of country’s electricity last year, pushing up household bills, study suggestsEnergy demand by datacentres in Ireland has added hundreds of euros to household electricity bills in a pattern that could be replicated across Europe, according to a report.Ireland’s growing number of datacentres last year used 22% of the country’s electricity, more than all urban homes combined, according to the Central Statistics Office. The equivalent figure in the US and UK is 6%. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
‘Instagram truly is the new LinkedIn’: why gen Z is using social media to get hired
In this competitive market, gen Z has started to turn to untraditional ways to land a job – including dating appsSibusisiwe Khupe, 26, entered the job market once again in September after a wave of unexpected layoffs at London marketing agency Wieden+Kennedy.She knew landing her next full-time role was not going to be easy. Young workers have been hit hard by the weakening UK job market as vacancies fall and unemployment climbs to a five-year high. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Studio Display XDR review: Apple’s pro display shines very brightly
Crisp 27in 5K Mac monitor is packed with features and some of the best HDR performance you can get for work or playApple’s new 27in Studio Display XDR is its best monitor yet, with an exceptionally bright and gorgeous 5K screen that wants to be the pro display for Mac-wielding content creators everywhere, with a price tag to match.Built to be paired with the latest or high-end Macs, the Studio Display XDR costs from £2,599 (€3,099/$2,899/A$4,799), although it is a cool £3,000 if you want it with a stand. It sits above the standard £1,499 Studio Display and is £2,000 cheaper than the 2019 Apple Pro Display XDR it replaces. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Are robots nearing their ChatGPT moment? – podcast
Last month at Beijing’s half marathon, a robot named Lightning beat the human world record by nearly seven minutes. It’s the latest in a string of AI-powered milestones that have got people wondering whether robots are about to enter our everyday lives, just as chatbots have. And the country leading the charge is China, where the government has pledged to invest more than £100bn in robotics over the next 20 years. To find out how robots are already entering the workforce, and what needs to happen to get them cleaning our homes and weeding our gardens, Ian Sample hears from the Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, and from Nathan Lepora, professor of robotics and AI at Bristol University, who researches how robots can achieve human-like dexterityClips: Global News, BBC, CGTN Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
‘This isn’t freedom’: anger, anxiety and tears as Iran’s internet flickers back
After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratoryAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
The strange surveilled life of Piper Rockelle: why did a former child influencer decide to go on OnlyFans?
She made millions as a tween and teenager by posting clips of herself and her friends on YouTube. Then the business collapsed amid acrimony. What does her success in the adult industry, at 18, say about surveillance, social media and sexualisation?‘Honestly, the answer is kind of gross,” says Piper Rockelle, in a recent TikTok video, reflecting on why she is so popular on OnlyFans. In the clip, she fidgets her fingers and swings in her swivel chair. “It’s because I look so young. I mean, I am really young. I’m literally like fresh turned 18 … and people kind of like that, unfortunately.”This is an accurate and honest assessment. At the end of last year, not long after turning 18, the former child star and teen influencer began an online countdown, telling her millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram that she would be launching herself on OnlyFans on 1 January. Every day or so since, she has posted pictures of herself on the platform, sometimes posing in a typical teenager’s bedroom – a pink cuddly stuffed pig on the bed behind her, fairy lights on the wall – wearing teddy-bear-themed pants and bras, or fluffy underwear decorated with bunny-rabbit faces and floppy ears. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Ribbit is the new Wordle, and I’m here to share it with you
A gentle daily puzzle is quietly becoming the most joyful part of my morning routine and reminds me that not every win needs to be epicThere’s been some pretty big news in the last couple of weeks in video game world: the long-running space shooter Destiny 2 is winding up after almost nine years, PlayStation appears to have decided to stop releasing its flagship single-player games on PC, and Microsoft wants us to look like we’re shouting every time we type XBOX. But the biggest news for me is that I have found my new favourite word game. I am going to be so bold as to call it the new Wordle.Ribbit is one of the varied suite of daily games on Puzzmo, an online puzzle platform. It launched at the beginning of January, but I only recently discovered it because I have been unwell, bored, and spending too much time on my phone. Puzzmo’s daily hits include a satisfying shape-arranging game, variations on chess that make me feel extremely stupid, and pleasing word games, which are my favourites. Circuits has you making connections between the beginnings and ends of phrases (eg “stone cold > cold medicine > medicine cabinet”) as fast as you can. Bongo gives you a bunch of letter tiles and asks you to arrange them for a maximum score. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Samsung memory chip staff in line for £310,000 bonuses after AI profit-sharing deal
Agreement averts strike and shows latest impact of AI boom as two more chipmakers join $1tn clubEmployees at Samsung Electronics’ memory chip division are to receive bonuses averaging about £310,000 each through a landmark profit-sharing agreement, as the AI boom drives up chipmakers’ profits.Fears of a strike at Samsung were averted on Wednesday after two unions for the world’s largest memory chipmaker said 74% of the 62,616 workers who cast their votes had backed the deal. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
Spotify boss defends move to AI music, saying it is better than ‘slop’
Streaming platform says remix tool agreed with Universal Music Group will protect artists from piracySpotify’s chief executive has defended the company’s move into AI-generated music, claiming it offers users and creators a better alternative to piracy and unregulated AI slop.Last week, the platform announced a new feature in which premium users will be allowed to create their own, AI-generated remixes and song covers using music from participating artists. Continue reading...
The Guardian
4 days ago
007 First Light review – a triumphant James Bond game made by obsessive fans
PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5; IO InteractiveThe stealth masters behind Hitman go loud for this game about Bond’s brilliant beginningsGiven that we’ve not had a great James Bond video game in decades – or any Bond film at all in five years – there’s a lot of pressure on 007 First Light to reinvigorate a British cinematic hero. But developer IO Interactive has been auditioning for this role for some time. It’s there in the globetrotting nature of its Hitman assassination games, starring a besuited hero who knows how to turn a soiree to his deadly purpose; then there’s the developer’s evident eye for corporate opulence and brutalist architecture. Even their in-house game engine, Glacier, sounds like a secret codename cooked up in a Bond villain’s lair. All it would take is a slight shift in Hitman’s moral compass – more old boys club, fewer old boys clubbed – to turn IO’s familiar series into a Bond game with minimal fuss.007 First Light refuses that easy route. We join young Bond in his pre-00 days, as a petulant, belligerent rule-breaking trainee. Actor Patrick Gibson begins as a cookie-cutter insubordinate, but warms to the role once he’s bouncing off M (herself a green leader looking to make her mark), and an enjoyably urbane Q who drops the frustrated quartermaster routine and introduces Bond to the wonders of vinyl. A scene where he teaches our agent to tie a bow tie is a perfect bit of prequelcraft: arriving at an iconic look through a lovely character touch. Continue reading...
The Guardian
4 days ago
Driving sims were once all the rage – will Forza Horizon 6 get them back on track?
Driving sims were overtaken by open world fantasy adventures, but new upgrades show how much joy there is in the genreI have spent the last week careening around Japan in a Porsche 911, seeing the sights, racing other cars and occasionally veering off the road to plummet through an ancient bamboo forest. You all know what’s coming next … this wasn’t in real life, folks – it was in Forza Horizon 6, the latest instalment in Microsoft’s series of open world driving games set in authentic-looking, real-world locations.Reviewing this game (which is out now on Xbox and PC, and coming to PS5 later in the year) has reminded me of the sheer fun and exhilaration that driving games can provide. It’s easy to forget, but this was the biggest genre in town from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Consoles were sold on how good their racing games were: the original PlayStation had Ridge Racer, the Sega Saturn had Daytona USA. Later came the dirt-track thrills of Colin McRae Rally, the chaotic destruction of Burnout, the sophisticated realism of Gran Turismo. They were the bestsellers of the era, showcasing the future of real-time 3D visuals. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 week ago
Sony 1000XX the Collexion headphones review: supreme comfort and quiet luxury for your ears
Special anniversary edition of award-winning headphones are some of the best sounding you can buy, but cost far more than top Sony noise cancellersSony’s latest noise-cancelling headphones are a special anniversary set made to celebrate a decade of its prized 1000X series, designed to be plusher, slimmer, more comfortable and the best sounding yet.The original 1000X launched in 2016, igniting a fierce rivalry with the dominant Bose and its QuietComfort line, which would push noise-cancelling technology dramatically forward as each tried to outdo the other with subsequent releases. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 week ago
Nothing Phone 4a Pro review: premium aluminium meets quirky design
Mid-range Android stands out with huge screen, slick software and dot-matrix display, but falls just short of greatnessNothing’s latest quirky smartphone is a huge aluminium Android with three cameras and a big LED matrix screen on the back that challenges the notion mid-range phones can’t be just a bit more fun.The Phone 4a Pro is a bit of a departure from UK-based Nothing’s previous glass-clad transparent designs. It still has a touch of those elements but only in the camera island at the top, with the rest of the body now solid aluminium – a rare sight in the world of Android phones. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 week ago
Galaxy S26 review: Samsung’s still-compact flagship Android
Small top-tier Android is great to use, being fast, AI-loaded and with reasonable battery life, but falls short of rivals on cameraSamsung’s compact flagship phone hasn’t changed much in a year, but the S26 is still one of the best smaller handsets available as rivals grow larger and larger.The S26 is the cheapest and smallest of this year’s top Samsungs, dwarfed by the top-of-the-line S26 Ultra in size and price. But like everything with a memory chip at the moment, the S26 has increased in price by £80 or the equivalent to £879 (€949/$899/A$1,349). At least it has double the starting storage. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 month ago
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