The Guardian

From Crocs to indestructible wallets, we rounded up the best guy-approved gifts they won’t know how they lived without The 15 US gifts to give the women in your life Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things Whether you have been together for years, just made it official, or maybe you’re just shopping for your brother, one thing remains certain: he is …

As shoppers ask ChatGPT for inspiration, brands scramble to ensure their products appeal to the bots calling the shots Consumer test drive: can AI do your Xmas gift shopping for you? Christmas shopping – some love it, to others it’s a chore, and this year for the first time many of us will outsource the annual task of coming up with gift ideas to artificial intelligence. While traditional interne…

We asked you to share your views on your children’s use of social media and how the ban is affecting your family. Here is what you told us For some parents, social media sucks up their children’s time and steals them away from family life, instilling mental health issues along the way. For others, it provides their children with an essential line to friends, family, connection and support. When A…

Pregnant immigrants in ICE monitoring programs are avoiding care, fearing detention during labour and delivery In early September, a woman, nine months pregnant, walked into the emergency obstetrics unit of a Colorado hospital. Though the labor and delivery staff caring for her expected her to have a smooth delivery, her case presented complications almost immediately. The woman, who was born in …

Buying the Zombies, Run! studio wasn’t part of ​my plan, but a post-apocalypse ​game with stories that make people feel seen pulled me in • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here A few days ago, I clicked a button on my phone to send funds to a company in Singapore and so took ownership of the video game I co-created and am lead writer for: Zombies, Run! I am a novelist, …

If search interest holds, glitchy glam, cool blue, aliencore and gummy bear aesthetics are among the vibes set to rock the creative world next year Next year, we’ll mostly be indulging in maximalist circus decor, working on our poetcore, hunting for the ethereal or eating cabbage in a bid for “individuality and self-preservation”, according to Pinterest. The organisation’s predictions for Austral…

Sam Eng/Devolver Digital, PC, PS5, Switch 2 An exquisitely fluid game of tricks, grinds and manuals is framed by a story that uncovers the poignancy of the infamously painful pastime Skateboarding video games live and die by their vibe. The original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater titles were anarchic, arcade fun while the recent return of EA’s beloved Skate franchise offered competent yet jarringly corpo…

European Commission to assess whether Gemini owner is putting rival companies at a disadvantage Business live – latest updates The EU has opened an investigation to assess whether Google is breaching European competition rules in its use of online content from web publishers and YouTube for artificial intelligence. The European Commission said on Tuesday it will examine whether the US tech compan…

Experts warn of dangers as England and Wales study shows 13- to 17-year-olds consulting AI amid long waiting lists for services It was after one friend was shot and another stabbed, both fatally, that Shan asked ChatGPT for help. She had tried conventional mental health services but “chat”, as she came to know her AI “friend”, felt safer, less intimidating and, crucially, more available when it c…

Gen Z are the first generation to have grown up with social media, they were the earliest adopters, and therefore the first to suffer its harms. Now they are fighting back Late one night in April 2020, towards the start of the Covid lockdowns, Shanley Clémot McLaren was scrolling on her phone when she noticed a Snapchat post by her 16-year-old sister. “She’s basically filming herself from her bed…

From nascent policy idea in one state to passing federal parliament in just days, it has been a whirlwind journey for the world-first legislation that will take effect from 10 December Australia social media ban explained: everything you need to know In early 2024, the South Australian premier’s wife put down a book she had been reading. It was Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation. “[She] said…

Easy-to-guess words and figures still dominate, alarming cysbersecurity experts and delighting hackers It is a hacker’s dream. Even in the face of repeated warnings to protect online accounts, a new study reveals that “admin” is the most commonly used password in the UK. The second most popular, “123456”, is also unlikely to keep hackers at bay. Continue reading...

A surprising economic bubble is making it hard for anyone to buy Pokémon cards – especially children Pokémon has been huge since the late 90s. Millions of people have fond memories of playing the original Red and Blue games, or trading cards in the playground for that elusive shiny Charizard (if your school didn’t ban them). The franchise has only grown since then – but, where the trading cards a…

Power blackouts, public chaos and loss of communication with space were all thrown at troops in seven days Russia and China were barely mentioned, but they were the threats in everyone’s minds in Tallinn this week, where Nato hosted its largest ever cyber war game. The goal of the war game, conducted 130 miles from the Russian border in Estonia, was to test the alliance’s readiness for a rolling …

Pulled by Steam and Epic Games Store, indie horror Horses shook up the industry before it was even released. Now it’s out, all the drama surrounding it seems superfluous On 25 November, award-winning Italian developer Santa Ragione, responsible for acclaimed titles such as MirrorMoon EP and Saturnalia, revealed that its latest project, Horses , had been banned from Steam - the largest digital sto…