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  • Hazardous substances found in all headphones tested by ToxFREE project

    Substances include chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of males You wear them at work, you wear them at play, you wear them to relax. You may even get sweaty in them at the gym. But an investigation into headphones has found every single pair tested contained substances hazardous to human…

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  • China’s dancing robots: how worried should we be?

    Eye-catching martial arts performance at China gala had viewers and experts wondering what else humanoids can do Dancing humanoid robots took centre stage on Monday during the annual China Media Group’s Spring Festival Gala, China’s most-watched official television broadcast. They lunged and backflipped (landing on their knees), they spun around and jumped. Not one fell…

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  • ICE reliance on Microsoft technology surged amid immigration crackdown, documents show

    Exclusive: ICE more than tripled the amount of data stored in Microsoft’s cloud at the same time that its arsenal of surveillance technology ballooned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deepened its reliance on Microsoft’s cloud technology last year as the agency ramped up arrest and deportation operations, leaked documents reveal. ICE more than tripled the…

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  • Tech billionaires fly in for Delhi AI expo as Modi jostles to lead in south

    Google, Anthropic and OpenAI bosses to mingle with global south leaders wrestling for control over technology Silicon Valley tech billionaires will land in Delhi this week for an AI summit hosted by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, where leaders of the global south will wrestle for control over the fast-developing technology. During the week-long AI…

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  • Race for AI is making Hindenburg-style disaster ‘a real risk’, says leading expert

    Prof Michael Wooldridge says scenario such as deadly self-driving car update or AI hack could destroy global interest The race to get artificial intelligence to market has raised the risk of a Hindenburg-style disaster that shatters global confidence in the technology, a leading researcher has warned. Michael Wooldridge, a professor of AI at Oxford University,…

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  • Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing

    Industry using ‘diversionary’ tactics, says analyst, as energy-hungry complex functions such as video generation and deep research proliferate Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report. Most claims that AI can help avert climate breakdown refer to machine learning…

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  • Starmer vows to fast-track social media law but says under-16s ban not definite

    Prime minister says action will be taken on young people’s social media access in ‘months, not years’ What social media restrictions has Keir Starmer announced? Keir Starmer has pledged action on young people’s access to social media in “months, not years”, while saying this did not necessarily mean a complete ban on access for under-16s.…

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  • Google puts users at risk by downplaying health disclaimers under AI Overviews

    Exclusive: Google fails to include safety warnings when users are first presented with AI-generated medical advice Google is putting people at risk of harm by downplaying safety warnings that its AI-generated medical advice may be wrong. When answering queries about sensitive topics such as health, the company says its AI Overviews, which appear above search…

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  • ‘It’s the most urgent public health issue’: Dr Rangan Chatterjee on screen time, mental health – and banning social media until 18

    The hit podcaster, author and former GP says a failure to regulate big tech is ‘failing a generation of children’. He explains why he quit the NHS and why he wants a ban on screen-based homework A 16-year-old boy and his mum went to see their GP, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, on a busy Monday afternoon.…

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  • TikTok creator ByteDance vows to curb AI video tool after Disney threat

    Videos created by new Seedance 2.0 generator go viral, including one of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting Business live – latest updates ByteDance, the Chinese technology company behind TikTok, has said it will restrain its AI video-making tool, after threats of legal action from Disney and a backlash from other media businesses, according to…

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