Latest posts

  • ‘Obedient, yielding and happy to follow’: the troubling rise of AI girlfriends

    AI dating sites claim they remove potential for exploitation, but critics say they are reinforcing harmful stereotypes Eleanor, 24, is a Polish historian and lecturer at a university in Warsaw; Isabelle, 25, is a detective serving with the NYPD; Brooke, 39, is an American housewife who enjoys an opulent Miami lifestyle financed by her frequently…

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  • TikTok ‘directs child accounts to pornographic content within a few clicks’

    Despite platform’s limits on adult content, study finds it not only accessible but often suggested TikTok has directed children’s accounts to pornographic content within a small number of clicks, according to a report by a campaign group. Global Witness set up fake accounts using a 13-year-old’s birth date and turned on the video app’s “restricted…

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  • ‘My son genuinely believed it was real’: Parents are letting little kids play with AI. Are they wrong?

    Some believe AI can spark their child’s imagination through personalized stories and generative images. Scientists are wary of its affect on creativity Josh was at the end of his rope when he turned to ChatGPT for help with a parenting quandary. The 40-year-old father of two had been listening to his “super loquacious” four-year-old talk…

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  • Why I gave the world wide web away for free | Tim Berners-Lee

    My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation – and here’s why it’s still worth fighting for I was 34 years old when I first had the idea for the world wide web. I took every opportunity to talk about it: pitching it in meetings, sketching it out on a whiteboard for anyone who was…

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  • Kido nursery hackers threaten to publish more children’s profiles

    Criminals calling themselves Radiant say they will post additional private data online unless they are paid Hackers with pictures and the private information of thousands of nursery children have threatened to publish more material online unless they are paid. Criminals calling themselves Radiant hacked the UK-based Kido nursery chain and posted profiles of 10 children…

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  • Hackers reportedly steal pictures of 8,000 children from Kido nursery chain

    Firm, which has 18 sites around London and more in US, India and China, has received ransom demand, say reports The names, pictures and addresses of about 8,000 children have reportedly been stolen from the Kido nursery chain by a gang of cybercriminals. The criminals have demanded a ransom from the company – which has…

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  • Instagram still poses risk to children despite new safety tools, says Meta whistleblower

    Meta rejects review findings, which claim two-thirds of new features designed to protect young people are ‘woefully ineffective’ Children and teenagers are still at risk from online harm on Instagram despite the rollout of “woefully ineffective” safety tools, according to research led by a Meta whistleblower. Two-thirds (64%) of new safety tools on Instagram were…

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  • Chatbot site depicting child sexual abuse images raises fears over misuse of AI

    Child safety watchdog calls for child protection guidelines to be built into AI models from the outset A chatbot site offering explicit scenarios with preteen characters, illustrated by illegal abuse images has raised fresh fears about the misuse of artificial intelligence. A report by a child safety watchdog has triggered calls for the UK government…

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  • Parents outraged as Meta uses photos of schoolgirls in ads targeting man

    Exclusive: Instagram pictures of girls as young as 13 were posted to promote Threads site ‘as bait’, campaigner says Meta has used back-to-school pictures of schoolgirls to advertise one of its social media platforms to a 37-year-old man, in a move parents described as “outrageous” and “upsetting”. The man noticed that posts encouraging him to…

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  • How memes, gaming and internet culture all relate to the Charlie Kirk shooting

    Kirk’s rise to fame was largely bolstered by being extremely online – and it seems the suspect has that in common Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Dara Kerr here, filling in for Blake Montgomery, who promises he’ll come back from vacation. Meanwhile, I’m looking at the memes, gaming and internet culture behind the shooting of…

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