The Guardian

They claim to reduce fine lines, blemishes and redness – but which stand up to scrutiny? After consulting dermatologists and putting them to the test, we have crowned a brand new number one • The best anti-ageing creams, serums and treatments LED face masks are booming in popularity – despite being one of the most expensive at-home beauty products to hit the market. They claim to reduce the appea…

AI tools are making it easier to modify and recreate games, raising questions about piracy, copyright and how far the technology could disrupt the industry • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here If your social media algorithms have clocked that you’re into video games, something strange will have happened in the past few weeks. Your feed, like mine, will have been full …

Both private and public schools in tech regions are limiting the use of tech in classrooms. But will low-income districts be able to follow suit? German Gil spends most of his waking hours looking at screens. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2015, the software engineer has bounced between startups and giants including Netflix , Facebook and GitHub. But when it came to the education o…

Several homes have been purchased near datacenters and one resident said realtor outlined target to buy more than 400 People in a Mississippi neighborhood, many of whom dislike a nearby power plant central to Elon Musk ’s artificial intelligence ambitions, have received a stark offer – to sell their houses to his company and make way. Real estate agents have been going door to door in Southaven, …

Three-quarters of all responses were machine-generated in failed attempt to stop bill from passing into law, research finds AI bots flooded a government consultation with tens of thousands of fake responses in a failed attempt to stop the UK’s ban on disposable vapes. Three-quarters of all the responses to the 2023 consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill were machine-generated, in what is thou…

Labor government under pressure to create social media watchdog as new online safety standards bill passes lower house The federal government wants to ban AI chatbots which seek to create “emotional intimacy” after prime minister Anthony Albanese raised the alarm in a heartfelt speech about children treating these agents as their “best friend”. But Labor is coming under increasing pressure to emp…

The AI industry is still defined by a careening intensity that’s taking the world’s finances along for the ride This was originally published in TechScape, a newsletter about how technology shapes our lives. Sign up to receive it here . Today in tech, we’re discussing Anthropic ’s astronomic growth, how a settlement over social media safety dented Meta’s revenue, and Lula’s accusations of interfe…

Tesla tycoon launched Grok project after criticising Christoper Nolan’s diverse casting for his Homeric blockbuster Elon Musk has released an AI-generated rival to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey after pledging to make a version “true to the art of Homer”. Having criticised the hit movie in the summer, the tycoon said he would use Grok Imagine to make a “historically accurate” adaptation. Continu…

Social media companies including Meta have pulled back on efforts to protect voters from election-meddling lies Social media feeds are awash with an unprecedented flood of AI -driven disinformation ahead of November’s US midterm elections , according to experts, who warn many posts are probably “slipping through the cracks”. As tens of millions of Americans prepare to cast their vote, social medi…

From apps that block distractions to stripped-down phones, young people are finding ways to unplug from platforms they say profit from their attention Nelissa Moukoudi, 19, a university student in Canada, noticed a shift once she joined Instagram and TikTok. “My social life completely plummeted and it felt like my life was only [using] social media and school,” she said. Continue reading...

With six light wavelengths and almost endless ways to combine them, CurrentBody’s latest sets a new standard for red light therapy devices • The best LED face masks CurrentBody’s LED masks have long been my favourite. They’re comfortable, simple to use and effective. My previous favourite, the now-discontinued CurrentBody Multi Light Therapy LED mask , offered five treatments that used different …

Company imitates reflection of sun from mirrors, prompting pushback from some scientists, environmentalists and California locals Locals in a rural area of California were recently startled to see dazzlingly bright light shining down from nearby mountains at night, illuminating a swathe of the desert below. Unbeknown to them, the strange nocturnal illumination was the latest step in a company’s p…

Whether you favour spooky fairtales, satanic card games or infernal hijinks at the chip shop there are all manner of fresh top scarers at large this witching season Tis almost All Hallows’ Eve and naturally, the thoughts of all good video game players are turning to horror. 2026 has already been a bloody good year for the genre with Resident Evil Requiem and Silent Hill: Townfall leading the rabb…

Tasks from determining asylum seekers’ ages to border surveillance now involve AI, says Open Rights Group AI has been embedded across the Home Office in near-total secrecy, reinforcing the so-called hostile environment for immigration, according to research. Tasks from the detection of potential sham marriages to determining the age of asylum seekers and checking through the contents of phones of…

Investigation finds dozens of ministers and civil servants moved into AI roles as government developed datacentre expansion plans The UK’s policy on datacentres and AI was developed without any meetings with environmental groups, an investigation has found. The nonprofit organisation Spotlight on Corruption said a “considerable revolving door” shaped the government’s development of “AI growth zon…