The Guardian

Streaming platform says remix tool agreed with Universal Music Group will protect artists from piracy Spotify’s chief executive has defended the company’s move into AI-generated music, claiming it offers users and creators a better alternative to piracy and unregulated AI slop. Last week, the platform announced a new feature in which premium users will be allowed to create their own, AI-generated…

The intelligent and thoughtful encyclical is an important warning of the uses and misuses of a rapidly developing technology. Silicon Valley is wrong to dismiss it Often I’m asked if I think that the novels of the future will all be written by AI. It’s not so much a question as a provocation. Do I worry that a machine can do what I do, only better? I usually say something like: “No algorithm is g…

Exclusive: IPPR report backed by TUC proposes ‘worker support levy’ to boost employees’ influence Workers urgently need more bargaining power over the way AI is adopted in the workplace to ensure the benefits are fairly shared, according to a TUC-backed report from a leading thinktank. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is calling for a package of measures to boost employees’ influen…

When Ben Elton didn’t distract from the pain of moving my body, I found the perfect solution – the interactive smartphone game Zombies, Run! At 56, I am running my first marathon, an old, fat, bald dad surrounded by millennials in body-hugging Lycra and smiles that look AI-generated. But I am ahead of them. For they are only competing for positions and personal bests, and I am being chased by zom…

Claude’s parent company’s $65bn in latest funding round underscores vast sums of money still flowing into industry Anthropic, the AI firm behind the Claude chatbot, announced on Thursday it had raised $65bn in funding to value the company at $965bn post-money. The move makes Anthropic the world’s most valuable AI startup, eclipsing its competitor OpenAI. The deal marks an exceedingly successful p…

Picture was created by administrator in charge of station’s Facebook account who wanted to create ‘friendlier image’ It was an arresting image and an irresistible story. A group of tough Thai police officers – five men and one woman – all wearing elaborate festival-style dresses, surrounding a drug dealer they had caught while undercover. The image, released by local police, was so compelling tha…

In this competitive market, gen Z has started to turn to untraditional ways to land a job – including dating apps Sibusisiwe Khupe, 26, entered the job market once again in September after a wave of unexpected layoffs at London marketing agency Wieden+Kennedy. She knew landing her next full-time role was not going to be easy. Young workers have been hit hard by the weakening UK job market as vaca…

Infinity Ward’s new game in the storied shooter genre embraces change with a potentially controversial real-world setting There was a time when Call of Duty (CoD) regularly courted controversy. In 2009, Modern Warfare 2’s infamous “No Russian” mission saw players (optionally) shooting screaming civilians in a Moscow airport. In 2022’s entry, a drone strike mission that drew chilling parallels to …

As part of a growing anti-tech movement, startup dumb.co is pushing flip phones as a way for young people to find ‘social and spiritual freedom’ “They aren’t as dumb as they look,” our facilitator said, referring to the dark gray flip phone in his hand. He just as easily could have been talking about us, the 28 New York residents before him who had signed up to use the device for the entire month…

She made millions as a tween and teenager by posting clips of herself and her friends on YouTube. Then the business collapsed amid acrimony. What does her success in the adult industry, at 18, say about surveillance, social media and sexualisation? ‘Honestly, the answer is kind of gross,” says Piper Rockelle, in a recent TikTok video, reflecting on why she is so popular on OnlyFans. In the clip, …

Datacentres used 22% of country’s electricity last year, pushing up household bills, study suggests Energy demand by datacentres in Ireland has added hundreds of euros to household electricity bills in a pattern that could be replicated across Europe, according to a report. Ireland’s growing number of datacentres last year used 22% of the country’s electricity, more than all urban homes combined …

US DoJ alleges software engineer Michele Spagnuolo, 36, earned $1.2m betting on Google’s most-searched list The US justice department has charged a Google software engineer with using insider information to rig bets tied to Google’s most-searched list on prediction market Polymarket, earning $1.2m in profits, according to a complaint unsealed on Wednesday. Michele Spagnuolo, a 36-year-old Italian…

Finnish-US startup has sold 5.5m rings worldwide since it was founded in 2013 and is valued at $11bn Stylish Finnish-American smart ring company Oura may be the darling of wearables, adorning the fingers of celebrities and sportspeople, but it is not resting on its laurels as it heads towards an IPO later this year. This week it launched the world’s smallest smart ring, the Ring 5, its latest evo…

After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratory After 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life . The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were…

Crisp 27in 5K Mac monitor is packed with features and some of the best HDR performance you can get for work or play Apple’s new 27in Studio Display XDR is its best monitor yet, with an exceptionally bright and gorgeous 5K screen that wants to be the pro display for Mac-wielding content creators everywhere, with a price tag to match. Built to be paired with the latest or high-end Macs, the Studio …