The Guardian

As Gavin Newsom departs, ultra-wealthy flex wealth and influence to fight regulation and keep the boom going Tech billionaires are leveraging tens of millions of dollars to influence California politics in a marked uptick from their previous participation in affairs at the state capitol. Behemoths such as Google and Meta are getting involved in campaigns for November’s elections, as are venture c…

Sedentary lifestyles are bad for us, but which under-desk treadmills and walking pads are worth the cost? Our expert stepped up to find out • The best treadmills for your home Various guidelines suggest we all try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day to improve our health and wellbeing. Public Health England encourages a slightly more manageable target of just 10 minutes of brisk walking daily to …

With many unable to access or afford qualified therapists, AI is filling the mental healthcare vacuum, amid calls for tighter regulation On a quiet evening in her Abuja hotel, Joy Adeboye, 23, sits on her bed clutching her phone, her mind racing and chest tightening. On her screen is yet another abusive message from her stalker – a man she had met nine months earlier at her church. He had asked A…

Fraudsters use stolen personal details to send out products, then post a fake verified and positive online review A package arrives but you can’t remember ordering anything. When you open it, you find some cheap, flimsy jewellery. Continue reading...

Agenic AI apps first interview you and then give you limited matches selected for ‘similarity and reciprocity of personality’ Dating apps exploit you, dating profiles lie to you, and sex is basically something old people used to do. You might as well consider it: can AI help you find love? For a handful of tech entrepreneurs and a few brave Londoners, the answer is “maybe”. Continue reading...

Many people bought the devices thinking they would do little more than protect their delivery packages What happens to the data that smart home cameras collect? Can law enforcement access this information – even when users aren’t aware officers may be viewing their footage? Two recent events have put these concerns in the spotlight. A Super Bowl ad by the doorbell-camera company Ring and the FBI’…

Wall Street Journal says Claude used in operation via Anthropic’s partnership with Palantir Technologies Claude, the AI model developed by Anthropic , was used by the US military during its operation to kidnap Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday, a high-profile example of how the US defence department is using artificial intelligence in its operations. The …

Opinions are divided about the potential impact of artificial intelligence as the response to a recent viral essay shows UK ad agencies undergo biggest exodus of staff as AI threatens industry The message from investors to the software, wealth management, legal services and logistics industries this month has been clear: AI is coming for your business. The release of new, ever more powerful AI to…

From handheld to corded, self-emptying to stick models, these are our resident cleaner’s favourite vacuums for a spotless home • The best cordless vacuum cleaners, tested Buying a vacuum cleaner isn’t as easy as you might think. With so many brands and models to choose from, it can be bewildering. Sticking with established brands isn’t necessarily a safe bet, with past performance being no guaran…

Maker of chatbot boasting coding ability said annualized revenue grew tenfold in each of past three years, to $14bn The artificial intelligence company Anthropic said on Thursday it raised $30bn in its latest funding round that values the Claude maker and OpenAI rival at $380bn, underscoring the breakneck pace of AI investments. The round, led by the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and hedge …

Exclusive: in 2025 briefing to Wes Streeting, officials warned reputation of tech firm behind US ICE operations would hinder rollout of data system in UK Health officials fear Palantir’s reputation will hinder the delivery of a “vital” £330m NHS contract, according to briefings seen by the Guardian, sparking fresh calls for the deal to be scrapped. In 2023, ministers selected Palantir, a US surve…

We explore the cosy world-building spin-off with Game Freak’s Shigeru Ohmori and his fellow developers – and learn how it began with a Pokémon-hunting dream Pokémon is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, and everybody knows what to expect from these games by now. The concept is simple: head into a cartoonish paradise full of whimsical creatures, capture them in red-and-white balls and as…

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Switch 2; Tarsier Studios Childhood terrors come to wretched life in a grim fairytale of a puzzle-platformer that’s as beautifully macabre as it is hard to put down “I thought you were dead,” are the first words you’ll hear from the child protagonists of this horror puzzle-platformer. It’s your first sign that things were going badly long before you got here. Exploring da…

The YouTube gaming star’s weird and divisive adaptation of his obscure horror film is a game within a film about a game – and hints at new directions for storytelling • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Something weird struck me early on while watching the movie Iron Lung, which has so far taken $32m at the box office , despite being a grungy low-budget sci-fi thrill…

PlayStation 5 (version tested), Xbox, PC; Grasshopper Manufacture/Marvelous Inc After some dumb fun hacking at zombies, legendary developer Suda51’s first original game in a decade sadly only delivers a host of incoherent disappointments Ever since he baffled GameCube owners with 2005’s Killer7, Japanese game director Suda51 has had a reputation for turning heads. From parodying the banality of o…