4 h. ago Tech companies not doing enough to stop phone theft, say MPs

Many of the stolen devices end up being shipped overseas.

Politics

10 h. ago Microsoft hopes Mico succeeds where Clippy failed as tech companies warily imbue AI with personality

Remember Clippy

Events

6 d. ago Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms

The country’s largest teachers unions are teaming up with tech companies like Microsoft and OpenAI to help educators build literacy in artificial intelligence

Economics

8 d. ago ‘The city that draws the line’: one Arizona community’s fight against a massive data center

Questions grow over water and energy costs of warehouse of computers in Sonoran desert – but will Project Blue be stopped?A company’s opaque plan to build a massive data center outside Tucson, Arizona has roiled the desert city over the past few months, the latest US community to push back as tech companies aggressively seek to build out infrastructure for cloud computing and to power the AI boom.The proposed data center, known as Project Blue, would span 290 acres in Pima county, and become the biggest development ever in the county, or anywhere in the southern part of the state. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago ‘The city that draws the line’: one Arizona community’s fight against a huge datacenter

Questions grow over water and energy costs of warehouse of computers in Sonoran desert – but will Project Blue be stopped?A company’s opaque plan to build a huge datacenter outside Tucson, Arizona has roiled the desert city over the past few months, the latest US community to push back as tech companies aggressively seek to build out infrastructure for cloud computing and to power the AI boom.The proposed datacenter, known as Project Blue, would span 290 acres in Pima county, and become the biggest development ever in the county, or anywhere in the southern part of the state. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Boxxe CEO on the importance of maintaining human connection as technology evolves

Phil Doye looks back at the early 1990s roots of the IT provider and discusses how it evolved from selling Microsoft Licensing to the public sector to expansion across other services and partnering with many of the world’s leading tech companies.

Politics

1 week ago Equity threatens mass direct action over use of actors’ images in AI content

Union says growing numbers of its members have made complaints about infringements of copyright in AI materialThe performing arts union Equity has threatened mass direct action over tech and entertainment companies’ use of its members’ likenesses, images and voices in AI content without permission.The warning came as the union said growing numbers of its members had made complaints about infringements of their copyright and misuse of their personal data in AI material. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago France is not alone in its political crisis – belief in a democratic world is vanishing | Simon Tisdall

The populist right offers a solution in the form of turning back the clock. Macron and his counterparts need to find a different answer fastEmmanuel Macron sounded like a man in grief. Not angry, not defiant, just a little triste. Europe, he lamented, was suffering a “degeneration of democracy”. Many threats emanated from outside, from Russia, from China, from powerful US tech companies and social-media entrepreneurs, France’s president said. “But we should not be naive. On the inside we are turning on ourselves. We doubt our own democracy We see everywhere that something is happening to our democratic fabric. Democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred.”Squeezed between vituperative extremes of right and left, Macron knows of what he speaks. But “ungovernable” France is not alone in its bitter, intractable divisions. Across Europe, in the UK and the US, distrust and grievance daily deepen political dysfunction and social discord. Macron’s words apply, in fact, to almost an...

Politics

2 w. ago Bank of England warns of growing risk that AI bubble could burst

Possibility of ‘sharp market correction has increased’, says Bank’s financial policy committee Business live – latest updatesThe Bank of England has warned there is a growing risk of a “sudden correction” in global markets as it raised concerns about soaring valuations of leading AI tech companies.Policymakers said there were also threats of a “sharp repricing of US dollar assets” if the Federal Reserve lost credibility in the eyes of global investors. It comes as Donald Trump’s continues to attack the US central bank and threaten its independence. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from data centers amid AI boom

Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean data centers’ climate impact is worse than previously thoughtData centers’ electricity demands have been accused of delaying the US’s transition to clean energy and requiring fossil fuel plants to stay online, while their high level of water consumption has also raised alarm. Now public health advocates fear another environmental problem could be linked to them – Pfas “forever chemical” pollution.Big tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon often need data centers to store servers and networking equipment that process the world’s digital traffic, and the artificial intelligence boom is driving demand for more facilities. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom

Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thoughtDatacenters’ electricity demands have been accused of delaying the US’s transition to clean energy and requiring fossil fuel plants to stay online, while their high level of water consumption has also raised alarm. Now public health advocates fear another environmental problem could be linked to them – Pfas “forever chemical” pollution.Big tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon often need datacenters to store servers and networking equipment that process the world’s digital traffic, and the artificial intelligence boom is driving demand for more facilities. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Leading UK tech investor warns of ‘disconcerting’ signs of AI stock bubble

James Anderson voices concern over soaring valuations of artificial intelligence firmsA leading British tech investor has described soaring valuations of artificial intelligence companies as “disconcerting”, amid concerns of an AI stock market bubble.James Anderson was an early backer of Tesla, Amazon and China’s Tencent and Alibaba, generating vast returns for Baillie Gifford’s flagship fund. Now at the Italian investment company Lingotto, Anderson said he had not seen signs of an investment bubble until recently, when the ChatGPT developer, OpenAI, and its rival Anthropic announced hefty valuation increases. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago YouTube agrees to pay Trump $24.5m to settle lawsuit over account suspension

Platform suspended the US president’s YouTube channel in 2021 after the January 6 Capitol riotYouTube has agreed to pay $24.5m to settle a suit brought by Donald Trump in 2021 that alleged the platform wrongly suspended his channel after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The Google subsidiary is the latest in a long string of tech companies to make a multimillion-dollar payout to the president over past decisions about his accounts.Trump had filed the suit against YouTube and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, alleging that the platform had “accumulated an unprecedented concentration of power, market share, and ability to dictate our nation’s public discourse”. YouTube said it suspended Trump’s channel because it had violated the website’s policies against inciting violence. Because of the settlement, the case is now dismissed. Google and the White House did not immediately return a request for comment. Continue reading...

Economics