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Latest Technology news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice
Site URL: www.theguardian.com/uk/technology
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‘We’re figuring out cool ways of storytelling’: how TikTok is changing the way we watch musicals
Published: December 21, 2024 16:36
Jorge Rivera-Herrans’s musical sensation Epic is just one of a series of works making a splash on the online platformWhen Jorge Rivera-Herrans released part of Epic: the Musical last Christmas, he managed to push Taylor Swift off the top of the US iTunes…
It’s probably just a plane: drone experts advise calm over New Jersey sightings
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/21/drones-new-jersey-experts
Published: December 21, 2024 16:00
Although politicians have called to shoot them down, experts say the lights are likely legal drones, planes – or starsAt first, in mid-November, the mysterious lights were seen blinking across the night skies of New Jersey. Then, they spread. Reports of…
The god illusion: why the pope is so popular as a deepfake image
Published: December 21, 2024 09:57
Experts explain the pontiff’s appeal as the most recent AI images of Francis, with the singer Madonna, go viralFor the pope, it was the wrong kind of madonna.The pop legend, she of the 80’s anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by…
How YouTube (and Skibidi Toilet) changed the Christmas toys market
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/dec/21/youtube-skibidi-toilet-christmas-toys-market-tv
Published: December 21, 2024 07:00
The shift from live TV to video platforms has made toy makers and sellers rethink products and where to sell themLetters to Santa used to be filled with ideas from the Argos catalogue or adverts on children’s telly, but for today’s kids raised on “swiping…
Can I survive for 24 hours without GPS navigation?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/21/can-i-survive-for-24-hours-without-gps-navigation
Published: December 21, 2024 06:00
Spatial memory is a use-it-or-lose it commodity, so I gave life without Google Maps a tryTaxi and ambulance drivers are less likely than other workers to die of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a Harvard study published in the British Medical Journal.On…
‘We are not a retro company’: Sega prepares to go back to the future
Published: December 20, 2024 10:00
Sega started as a rock’n’roll breath of fresh air in a Nintendo-dominated world – and America and Europe CEO Shuji Utsumi wants to shake things up once againFor more than a decade, between the late 80s and the dawn of the 21st century, Sega was one of the…
Elon Musk showcases grip on Washington by impeding spending bill
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/19/elon-musk-trump-government-shutdown
Published: December 19, 2024 20:33
The world’s richest man flexed his muscles to tank lawmakers’ first pass at a spending bill – will they fare better in round two?What is the debt ceiling?Using the power of the social media platform he owns and the threat of spending millions against…
Man who falsely claimed to be bitcoin creator sentenced for continuing to sue developers
Published: December 19, 2024 18:12
Craig Wright given one-year suspended sentence for breaching court order to stop suing bitcoin developersAn Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to be the creator of bitcoin has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence after the high…
AI learns to distinguish between aromas of US and Scottish whiskies
Published: December 19, 2024 16:00
One algorithm identified the five strongest notes in each drink more accurately than any one of a panel of expertsNotch up another win for artificial intelligence. Researchers have used the technology to predict the notes that waft off whisky and determine…
UK arts and media reject plan to let AI firms use copyrighted material
Published: December 19, 2024 14:38
Exclusive: Coalition of musicians, photographers and newspapers insist existing copyright laws must be respectedWriters, publishers, musicians, photographers, movie producers and newspapers have rejected the Labour government’s plan to create a copyright…
UK data regulator criticises Google for ‘irresponsible’ ad tracking change
Published: December 19, 2024 12:10
ICO says allowing advertisers to track digital ‘fingerprints’ will undermine consumers’ control over informationBusiness live – latest updatesBritain’s data protection regulator has labelled Google as “irresponsible” for allowing advertisers to track…
The 20 best video games of 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/dec/19/the-20-best-video-games-of-2024
Published: December 19, 2024 06:00
Ingenious puzzle games, a psychedelic take on poker, an action-packed take on Buddhist legend and a compilation of 50 faux-retro titles – our critics pick the year’s finest• More on the best culture of 2024PC It starts with a single machine: a landing pod…
‘Pick and mix of horror’ online pushes young people to violence, UK police chief says
Published: December 18, 2024 18:27
Counter-terrorism leader says there is often no ideology behind ‘grotesque fascinations’ with extreme contentMore young people, including children aged 10, are viewing a “pick and mix of horror” on the web that pushes them towards violence, a UK…
Google Maps car snaps vital clue in Spanish missing person case
Published: December 18, 2024 16:46
Image of man leaning into boot of a car on a street in northern Spain helps lead police to make two arrestsOn a nearly deserted street in northern Spain, the images appeared to show a man hunched over the back of a red Rover car, gingerly loading a bulky…
Uber and its CEO donate $1m each to Trump’s inaugural fund
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/18/uber-ceo-trump-donation
Published: December 18, 2024 16:38
Donation adds to list of tech companies and executives seeking to foster favorable relationship with president-electUber and its CEO have donated $1m to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, joining a growing list of tech companies and executives seeking to…
More than 140 Kenya Facebook moderators diagnosed with severe PTSD
Published: December 18, 2024 15:00
Exclusive: Lawsuit brought by former moderators against parent company Meta and outsourcer Samasource KenyaPTSD, depression and anxiety: why former Facebook moderators in Kenya are taking legal action‘The work damaged me’: ex-Facebook moderators describe…
‘The work damaged me’: ex-Facebook moderators describe effect of horrific content
Published: December 18, 2024 15:00
Former workers at Samasource say violent, graphic and sexually explicit videos left them fearful to go outsideMore than 140 Kenya Facebook moderators sue after diagnoses of severe PTSDPTSD, depression and anxiety: why former Facebook moderators in Kenya…
‘They’re looking for something’: rumors abound over unsettling drone sightings in New Jersey
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/18/new-jersey-drone-sightings-rumors
Published: December 18, 2024 12:00
At first, the relentless flocks of drones were unusual but nothing to worry about – now, people want answersKyle Breese, 36, works remotely in insurance and lives in Ocean Township, New Jersey, a sleepy suburb with tree-cloaked streets, not far from…
Chinese AI chip firms blacklisted over weapons concerns gained access to UK technology
Published: December 18, 2024 10:00
Imagination Technologies had licences with two Chinese firms - but said it had not ‘implemented transactions’ that would enable to use of technology for military purposesChinese engineers developing chips for artificial intelligence that can be used in…
Amazon workers across US gear up to strike this week
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/17/amazon-worker-strike
Published: December 17, 2024 21:03
Move comes after company fails to meet deadline to begin contract talks with workers in Staten Island, New YorkThousands of Amazon workers are gearing up to strike from Thursday, days before Christmas, over the tech giant’s refusal to begin negotiations…
Mouthwashing review – 2024’s most difficult game, but not in the way you might expect
Published: December 17, 2024 14:39
PC; Creative Reflex/Wrong OrganThe word ‘challenge’ has an accepted meaning in the world of video games, but in this engrossing sci-fi horror it’s the subject matter that’s confrontingIt is perhaps poetic that throughout this year, the 30th anniversary of…
Will the future of transportation be robotaxis – or your own self-driving car?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/16/robotaxis-general-motors-self-driving
Published: December 17, 2024 14:39
GM is shutting down its robotaxi business, Tesla is creating one of its own – what does the future hold for self-driving?Want TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereWelcome back. This week in tech: General Motors says goodbye to robotaxis but not…
Amazon-hosted AI tool for UK military recruitment ‘carries risk of data breach’
Published: December 17, 2024 13:47
Ministry of Defence says risk is low and ‘robust safeguards’ have been put in place by suppliersAn artificial intelligence tool hosted by Amazon and designed to boost UK Ministry of Defence recruitment puts defence personnel at risk of being identified…
UK proposes letting tech firms use copyrighted work to train AI
Published: December 17, 2024 11:10
Consultation suggests opt-out scheme for creatives who don’t want their work used by Google, OpenAI and othersTech companies will be allowed to freely use copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence models unless creative professionals and…
Potential payouts for up to 300,000 Australian Facebook users in Cambridge Analytica settlement
Published: December 17, 2024 04:07
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner announces deal with Meta over scandal that may have affected 300,000 usersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPotentially…
TikTok turns to US supreme court in last-ditch bid to avert divest-or-ban law
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/16/tiktok-ban-supreme-court
Published: December 17, 2024 00:18
Firm and parent company ByteDance file request for injunction to halt ban of app used by 170 million AmericansTikTok made a last-ditch effort on Monday to continue operating in the United States, asking the US supreme court to temporarily block a law…
Social media platforms have work to do to comply with Online Safety Act, says Ofcom
Published: December 16, 2024 14:02
Regulator publishes codes of practice and warns that largest sites are not following many of its measuresSocial media platforms have a “job of work” to do in order to comply with the UK’s Online Safety Act and have yet to introduce all the measures needed…
A volcanic explosion every 15 minutes: how Australia’s museums are turning to tech to lure us in
Published: December 16, 2024 14:00
Museums are using VR and immersive experiences to boost attendances – and, while it can provide an amazing spectacle, critics say it can be an expensive distractionIt starts with a low rumble, then an explosion and a deafening roar. A pyroclastic flow…
From UFOs to drones, the US fascination with – and fear of – ‘anomalous detections’
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/16/ufos-drones-new-mexico-archive
Published: December 16, 2024 12:00
A first-of-its-kind public archive of UFO records opens in New Mexico as New Jersey is gripped by drone panicA widespread panic about drones or other unknown low-flying objects has gripped New Jersey in recent days, but many other parts of the US remain…
‘People should feel there’s more than doom and gloom’: Monument Valley 3’s environmentalist hope-punk
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/dec/16/monument-valley-3-netflix-environmentalist-hope-punk
Published: December 16, 2024 11:54
How the pandemic and climate migration have influenced this third outing of a formerly sterile architectural puzzle gameArchitectural surrealism is Monument Valley’s signature. Austere, beautiful structures transform and rotate at the player’s touch,…
‘Trump has been explicit about revenge’: Asif Kapadia on his new film about the threat to democracy
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/15/asif-kapadia-2073-amy-winehouse-senna-maradona-trump
Published: December 15, 2024 08:00
The man behind Amy and Senna has turned his attention to ‘techno-authoritarianism’ in the genre-defying 2073. He talks to our journalist – one of the movie’s unlikely stars – about the events that fed his dystopian visionIt was some time in the early 2000s…
‘I received a first but it felt tainted and undeserved’: inside the university AI cheating crisis
Published: December 15, 2024 07:00
More than half of students are now using generative AI, casting a shadow over campuses as tutors and students turn on each other and hardworking learners are caught in the flak. Will Coldwell reports on a broken systemThe email arrived out of the blue: it…
She didn’t get an apartment because of an AI-generated score – and sued to help others avoid the same fate
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/14/saferent-ai-tenant-screening-lawsuit
Published: December 14, 2024 15:00
Despite a stellar reference from a landlord of 17 years, Mary Louis was rejected after being screened by firm SafeRentThree hundred twenty-four. That was the score Mary Louis was given by an AI-powered tenant screening tool. The software, SafeRent, didn’t…
‘It’s game over for facts’: how vibes came to rule everything from pop to politics
Published: December 14, 2024 12:29
From voters picking up ‘bad vibes’ to the Brat girl summer, vague instincts now make the world go round. Does this represent a crisis of seriousness or has it always been feelings that make us human? Facts were cool for about 250 years. From the…
BBC says it has complained to Apple over AI-generated fake news attributed to broadcaster
Published: December 13, 2024 22:55
Notifications from a new Apple product falsely suggested the BBC claimed the New York gunman Luigi Mangione had killed himselfThe BBC says it has filed a complaint with the US tech giant Apple over AI-generated fake news that was shared on iPhones and…
Amazon donates $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund as tech cozies up to president-elect
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/13/amazon-donation-trump-inauguration
Published: December 13, 2024 20:47
OpenAI’s Sam Altman also announced a $1m personal donation to Trump on the same day, joining MetaAmazon is the latest tech giant to donate to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.The company plans to give $1m to the fund, first reported by the Wall Street…