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AI toys for young children must be more tightly regulated, say researchers
University of Cambridge study finds AI-powered toys can misread emotions and respond inappropriately to children It was all going well. Charlotte, five, was chatting with an AI soft toy called Gabbo at a London play centre about her family, her drawing of a heart to represent them and what makes her happy. She even offered…
Palantir’s NHS England contract ‘opens door to government abuse of power’, health bosses told
Health justice charity Medact says data-sharing potential could be used for UK version of US immigration raids Palantir’s NHS contract opens the door to the Big Brother-style data-sharing that Reform UK would use for a version of US immigration raids, health bosses have been told. Palantir Technologies – the data analytics company founded by Peter…
‘Invasive’ AI-led mass surveillance in Africa violating freedoms, warn experts
Countries across the continent have spent more than $2bn on Chinese tracking technology that is not ‘necessary or proportionate’, new report finds The rapid expansion of AI-powered mass-surveillance systems across Africa is violating citizens’ right to privacy and having a chilling effect on society, according to experts on human rights and emerging technologies. At least…
Exercise and brain function, hedgehog hearing, and can AI change our minds? – podcast
The Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample, talks to Madeleine Finlay about three eye-catching science stories from the week, including a study that explores the link between exercise and brain health. Also on the agenda: the discovery that hedgehogs can hear high-frequency ultrasound and what this could mean for their conservation, and new research examining how…
‘Convincing’ AI scams drove UK fraud cases to record 444,000 last year
Criminals using artificial intelligence tools to take over mobile, bank and online shopping accounts, says Cifas Criminals are increasingly exploiting AI technology to take over people’s mobile, banking and online shopping accounts, the UK’s leading anti-fraud body has warned. Last year, a record number of scams were reported to the national fraud database, fuelled by…
Musk’s xAI wins permit for datacenter’s makeshift power plant despite backlash
Billionaire’s artificial intelligence company gets approval to run 41 methane gas turbines at its ‘Colossus 2’ in Mississippi Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI won approval on Tuesday to run 41 methane gas turbines at its “Colossus 2” datacenter in northern Mississippi. That’s nearly double the amount it has been operating. The turbines will help…
Apple iPad Air M4 review: still the premium tablet to beat
Faster laptop-level power, rapid wifi and 5G, plus much-improved multitasking make the middle iPad highly capable beyond just watching TV The latest iPad Air is faster in almost all facets, packing not just a processor upgrade but improvements to most of the internal bits that make the tablet work, providing laptop-grade power in a skinny,…
Should we be boycotting ChatGPT? – podcast
Rutger Bregman on why he thinks consumers should cancel their ChatGPT accounts The historian Rutger Bregman argues that consumers should boycott OpenAI’s ChatGPT after the company’s deal with the Pentagon. “A lot of people don’t know that their friendly chatbot, ChatGPT, has embedded itself into the authoritarian infrastructure of the Trump administration,” Bregman tells Helen…