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Global finance watchdog warns over private credit industry fuelling AI boom
Financial Stability Board report reveals tech, healthcare and services sectors as the biggest borrowers The private credit industry’s role in fuelling the AI boom could backfire, with a sharp correction leading to “sizeable” losses, the Financial Stability Board has warned. A new report on private credit by the global watchdog, which monitors financial authorities including…
‘RAMageddon’: is the era of cheap phones and laptops over?
Bargains are disappearing and the cost of gadgets such as MacBooks and PS5s is rising as AI competes for memory chips The end of the cheap laptop, the bargain phone and affordable games consoles may be on the horizon. Not because new models are more hi-tech, but because the cost of computer components has shot…
Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it
Chats with AI bots have convinced evolutionary biologist but most experts say he is being misled by mimicry When Richard Dawkins met Claudia it was like a whirlwind romance. Over three days last week, a conversation bounced between the evolutionary biologist and the AI bot he called Claudia. “She” wrote poems for him in the…
One of AMD’s best gaming CPUs is now much cheaper than usual
Cache is the most underrated word in PC gaming, and this chip is built around having more of it than almost anything else on the market. That’s the promise the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D has always made, and at $324.99 down from $449, saving you $124.01, it’s now a far easier one to act on.…
You can protect 10 devices with this NordVPN deal for under £30
Every time you connect to a café’s free Wi-Fi, book something on a hotel network, or simply browse from home, your data is more exposed than most people ever stop to think about. NordVPN Basic covers exactly that vulnerability, and right now, a one-year subscription for 10 devices is down from £42.99 to £29.99, saving…
Tim Cook takes victory lap as Apple’s financial results soar past Wall Street expectations
Company details $111.2bn in revenue in first earnings report after announcement of Cook’s pending departure Apple blew past Wall Street expectations in its first earnings report since it announced CEO Tim Cook would be stepping down. Cook shared his thoughts about the leadership transition on Thursday, saying: “There’s no one on this planet I trust…
Meet the AI jailbreakers: ‘I see the worst things humanity has produced’
To test the safety and security of AI, hackers have to trick large language models into breaking their own rules. It requires ingenuity and manipulation – and can come at a deep emotional cost A few months ago, Valen Tagliabue sat in his hotel room watching his chatbot, and felt euphoric. He had just manipulated…
Apple’s testing 12-month subscriptions with monthly payments
Apple is experimenting with a new kind of App Store subscription that sits somewhere between monthly and yearly plans. Developers can now set up monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment, letting users pay in smaller chunks while still signing up for a full year. The feature is already live for developers to test in App Store…
MacBook Pro M5 review: serious power, still long battery life
Apple laptop sets new performance bar with more storage, new chips and plenty of options, but now has two-tier specs depending on processor Apple’s Macs have been on a roll this year with the brand new budget MacBook Neo and a faster MacBook Air M5, but now it’s time for its workhorse MacBook Pro to…
UK departments at odds over energy demands of AI datacentres
Discrepancy in forecasts raises questions over government planning for net zero One vision of the UK’s future involves a decarbonised economy powered by clean, renewable energy. Another involves making the UK an AI superpower. The government departments responsible for these two visions do not appear to have agreed on their numbers. Continue reading…