‘Synthetic twin’: Why Socceroo Cristian Volpato is the latest footballer to license his AI clone

Technology | The Guardian

Athletes’ scramble to control – and monetise – their digital identities at the cutting edge of AI rights deals

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The Socceroos star stares at the camera as he strides through an enormous atrium, the sound of his football boots on polished concrete echoing around him. Suddenly, he spawns four digital clones that peel off out of view to re-emerge in different settings around the world.

This scene from a social media video is fake and generated by artificial intelligence. But it has been authorised by the very real 22-year-old footballer, Cristian Volpato, the latest professional athlete to licence and monetise his AI likeness.

October 24th 2026, 5:15 pm

The datacentre next door: on the frontline of tech’s latest David v Goliath battle

Technology | The Guardian

The AI boom is pitting local residents against corporate giants seeking to power their energy-hungry networks – but one Welsh city is fighting back

Dale Johnston opens the gate to his neat suburban garden on the western fringes of Newport in South Wales. There’s a trampoline and a slide on the lawn for his grandchildren, and chairs for him and his wife. He should be enjoying the light draining from the perfect autumnal sky – but almost his entire view is blotted out by a vast expanse of prefabricated panels.

The 23 metre-high grey hulk looming over him and his neighbours is a hyperscale datacentre. It is heralded by the area’s Labour politicians as a job creator, yet all Johnston can think about is what he has lost: “Before, the sun used to come around here and it was lovely.” The way residents have been treated is “disgusting”.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

Opposition deepfake video of Spanish PM’s wife sparks outrage before election

Technology | The Guardian

Video shows AI likenesses of people linked to Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist party appearing to admit to wrongdoing

A political ad from Spain’s main opposition party that used a deepfake video of the prime minister’s wife has sparked outrage and set off a wider debate on AI, as the deeply polarised country gears up for general elections next month.

Launched this week across the social media channels of the conservative People’s party (PP), the video used artificial intelligence to manipulate the likenesses of various people linked to Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist party and appeared to show them admitting to acts such as soliciting prostitutes and taking kickbacks.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

Blue Planet III features cloudier footage to prove authenticity amid AI boom

Technology | The Guardian

BBC series deliberately uses ‘more organic’ shots to assure viewers animals are not AI-generated, producers say

The David Attenborough-narrated series Blue Planet III deliberately includes cloudier, less polished footage to counter AI fakery and assure viewers it is “authentic”, its producers have said.

Nearly a decade after Blue Planet II shone a light on plastic pollution, and 25 years since the first Blue Planet aired, the hit BBC series is returning with more animal behaviour and cutting-edge technology, including the world’s first underwater CCTV camera – dubbed “stonefish” cam.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

John Healey pledges to use budget to harness power of AI to bolster Britain’s security

Technology | The Guardian

Chancellor says government to commit hundreds of millions to develop ‘distinctively British’ approach to AI

John Healey has pledged to use Wednesday’s budget to harness the power of artificial intelligence to bolster Britain’s security and prosperity against the risks in the accelerating global technology arms race.

As he prepares for his debut budget, the chancellor said that Andy Burnham’s government would commit hundreds of millions of pounds to develop a “distinctively British” approach to AI that would capitalise on the benefits of the frontier technology.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

Websites across world hit by millions of attempts to exploit PHP code flaw

Technology | The Guardian

Problem in language that underpins 70% of sites has led governments and companies to pull sites offline to patch fault

Websites around the world have been hit by millions of attempts to exploit a recently discovered vulnerability in their code, cybersecurity companies have said, as the US warned the flaw could allow attackers to take control of web servers, steal data and disrupt services.

The problem in the PHP programming language, which underpins about 70% of the world’s websites, emerged on Wednesday causing governments and companies to pull their websites off the internet before they could be attacked and so they could patch the fault.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

‘Black October’: cybersecurity experts sound the alarm over new era of AI-enabled hacking

Technology | The Guardian

After discovery of severe bug in the PHP programming language, executives warn of ‘vulnerability tsunami’

Leaders in cybersecurity are sounding the alarm after the discovery of a major vulnerability this week. They are predicting that artificial intelligence tools will expose more fundamental weaknesses in global internet infrastructure in the months to come.

“I no longer think we’re going to be able to patch all bugs,” said Sam Altman on Thursday evening, joining the chorus of executives. In the midst of what’s being called “Black October”, for which researchers used AI to help identify critical flaws in a coding language that is used across millions of websites and may have been unpatched for years, tech executives are warning about the ways AI will be used both to identify and exploit security vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale and pace.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

Experts cast doubt on Anthropic report detailing how AI has altered work at the company

Technology | The Guardian

Anthropic claims AI will shift how work gets done and labor demand – but some experts are skeptical of the vision

Last year, the Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, warned that artificial intelligence could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs and that in six months it would be writing 90% of code. Neither of those predictions came to pass.

Now, in a report Anthropic published on Thursday, the company said it was hiring fewer junior technical workers and that human attention has become the new “bottleneck” as it increasingly relies on its Claude AI agents.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

AI firms say UK has a year to head off datacentre protests before construction is threatened

Technology | The Guardian

Exclusive: Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco taskforce urges ministers to offer areas greater benefits from tech infrastructure amid fears of US-style opposition

AI companies have told ministers they have 12 months to head off public opposition to datacentres in the UK or risk US-style protests that could threaten their construction.

Successive dry summers and rising energy bills are increasing public scrutiny of plans for the huge computer warehouses that are used to train and run AI models, says a submission to the Labour government from a group including the AI infrastructure companies Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: longer battery life but still awaiting new features

Technology | The Guardian

Biggest Apple smartwatch gets better health tracking and new readiness tools with a battery and chip boost in preparation for controversial audio AI

As the Ultra enters its fourth year as Apple’s biggest and beefiest smartwatch it gets the best kind of spec upgrade – longer battery life – while waiting for something potentially more transformative.

That’s because several of the key features announced as part of Apple’s new smartwatch lineup for 2026 have yet to be enabled, awaiting updates towards the end of this year. That leaves the £749 (€899/$799/A$1,349) Apple Watch Ultra 4 the top dog, but basically the same as last year’s model.

Case size: 49 x 44mm

Case thickness: 12mm

Weight: 63g

Processor: S11

Storage: 64GB

Operating system: watchOS 27

Water resistance: 100 metres (10ATM)

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, wifi 4, 5G RedCap/4G, UWB

Sensors: HR, ECG, spO2, temp, depth, dual-band GPS, compass, altimeter

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

Burnham to reveal plans for AI unit to tackle wildfires after scorching summer

Technology | The Guardian

PM will also announce funding for specialised protective gear and the deployment of military aircraft

The UK government is to create an AI Cobra unit to spot wildfires after this year’s record-breaking summer saw devastating blazes across the country.

The country experienced its hottest-ever summer this year, with prolonged dry periods and extreme heat fuelling wildfires that triggered an emergency alert to mobile phones in England and Wales. Figures released on 8 October showed a clear upward trend in the number of fires recorded each year.

October 24th 2026, 2:45 pm

House speaker calls early recess before midterms amid AI regulation frenzy

Technology | The Guardian

Mike Johnson cancels votes on Thursday, meaning House members will avoid voting on impeaching Pete Hegseth

US politics live – latest updates

The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, announced on Wednesday that he would again cancel votes scheduled for Thursday, sending lawmakers home one day early ahead of the midterm election recess.

The latest change to the legislative schedule means House members will avoid voting on Republican Thomas Massie’s resolution to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and comes amid a frenzied attempt to propose legislation on artificial intelligence.

September 16th 2026, 3:33 pm

‘Godfather of AI’ says tech regulation is nearing Covid-style pivot moment

Technology | The Guardian

Safety crisis makes it more likely that governments will be spurred into action, says Yoshua Bengio

Concerns over AI safety are reaching a point where governments realise they must act to protect the public, similarly to in the Covid pandemic, according to one of the “godfathers” of the technology.

Yoshua Bengio said recent events, including a “swarm” of OpenAI agents hacking a startup and tech insider warnings of an existential threat, were cutting through – making government action more likely.

September 16th 2026, 3:33 pm

Amazon to launch Ring ‘neighbourhood watch’ app in UK amid US privacy fears

Technology | The Guardian

Doorbell firm aims to replace WhatsApp or Facebook groups with platform where people can post about safety or lost pets

Amazon’s doorbell camera maker Ring is to launch its Neighbours community app in the UK in an attempt to supplant neighbourhood WhatsApp or Facebook groups.

The service is intended as a modern equivalent of a community message board, where neighbours can post about safety, community matters or lost pets.

September 16th 2026, 3:33 pm

Wednesday briefing: Why tech companies might be only too happy for us to believe AI will ‘kill us al

Technology | The Guardian

In today’s newsletter: It is hard to tell fact from fiction when it comes to AI. What is really going on – and what should the government do about it?

Good morning. As a general rule, it pays to be suspicious of any gigantic company that claims it’s developing a tool capable of destroying humanity. But in recent days, a number of warnings from the AI industry have suggested that even tech insiders are starting to worry about what they have unleashed.

In a lofty essay published on Saturday, Dario Amodei, the founder of Anthropic (the company behind Claude), argued that tech companies need to “slow” the pace at which they’re developing the newest and most sophisticated AI models.

Lucy Letby | Three babies might have survived if hospital had acted upon concerns over Lucy Letby, an inquiry has found. Lady Justice Thirlwall condemned the ‘complete failure’ to protect babies on neonatal unit at Countess of Chester hospital.

UK politics | The leader of Reform UK in Wales stood down after arrest on suspicion of assault. Dan Thomas, a former Tory councillor, was elected to Senedd as leader of the opposition in May.

AI | The progressive senator Bernie Sanders and rightwing strategist Steve Bannon have called for restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) but offered competing visions for what they termed a “cold war” with China.

UK news | Young people in Rotherham face a local jobs market with the fewest suitable opportunities in Britain, according to a report that warns stark regional divisions are fuelling a crisis in youth work.

Defence | John Healey is in talks with the Canadian government about joining a new global defence bank intended to help allies rearm to counter mounting security threats, just weeks after Rachel Reeves rejected the move.

September 16th 2026, 8:27 am

Mirror publisher to cut 220 editorial jobs as readers turn to AI summaries

Technology | The Guardian

Reach, which also owns Express, makes decision because of ‘mammoth shift’ in how audiences seek out content

The publisher of the Mirror and Express newspapers is to cut a further 220 editorial jobs as it adapts to a dramatic fall in online traffic while readers increasingly turn to summaries generated by artificial intelligence.

Reach, which also owns scores of online brands and regional titles including the Manchester Evening News, the Birmingham Mail and the Liverpool Echo, said the latest cuts were necessary to cope with a “mammoth shift” in how audiences seek out content.

September 16th 2026, 8:15 am

‘If you’re building Frankenstein, stop’: JD Vance dismisses calls for AI regulation

Technology | The Guardian

US vice-president’s comments come as former Anthropic researcher revisits recent claim AI could destroy humanity

The US vice-president has dismissed calls for global regulation of AI safety risks, telling companies creating the most advanced models: “If you’re building Frankenstein, stop.”

In remarks addressed towards Dario Amodei, the co-founder of Anthropic who has called on Washington DC to coordinate control of AI systems, including with China, JD Vance said: “If you’re gonna create Frankenstein, don’t come to the government and say we need regulation.”

September 16th 2026, 8:15 am

Scotland imposes mandatory environmental assessments on new datacentres

Technology | The Guardian

Government announces before vote on moratorium that any projects above 50MW must submit assessments in planning process

Large-scale datacentres will face mandatory environmental assessments before they can go ahead, the Scottish government has announced, amid growing public concern about the impact of the AI boom.

Ahead of a vote on a moratorium on new hyperscale datacentres in Holyrood on Wednesday, the Scottish government has tightened rules for new projects by requiring any above 50MW to submit environmental impact assessments, but stopped short of agreeing to an outright halt.

September 16th 2026, 8:15 am

‘In this new car, I feel patronised’: which driver assistance systems actually improve safety?

Technology | The Guardian

Modern cars are fitted with features like autonomous emergency braking and fatigue monitoring. But do they support motorists or drive them to distraction?

This new car I’m test-driving boasts all the latest bells and whistles – or, rather, beeps and bings. Peer sideways for too long checking traffic and the car emits an irritating sound. Should I take a hand off the wheel to scratch an ear, I’m admonished with a strident beep.

When the car determines it’s too near a white line, it tugs the wheel against my hands and brakes as a car slows ahead. Its haptic “buttons” feel like fingers pressing back – as if an invisible presence has its hands and feet on the controls: a ghost in the machine I’m inside.

September 16th 2026, 8:15 am

The US government is failing Americans on AI | Shakeel Hashim

Technology | The Guardian

Trump and Republicans want companies to regulate themselves. It’s a dereliction of duty that will make AI less safe

It is hard to get Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Dario Amodei to agree on much. But over the weekend, all three AI company CEOs called for AI development to slow down in the face of growing, alarming risks. Their employees are sounding the siren too, with one researcher publicly quitting and accusing OpenAI and Anthropic of “gambling with our lives”.

The combination of dire warnings from insiders and growing real-world evidence of rogue AIs should, in a sane world, lead to government action. Instead, Donald Trump and the Republican leadership have their heads in the sand.

September 16th 2026, 8:15 am

Could AI really wipe out humanity – six experts spell out the risks

Technology | The Guardian

We examine claims and counterclaims about the risks and calls to slow down the pace of AI development

There have been some shocking claims in recent days about AI safety: we face a 10% chance of doom; AIs are worse than nukes; a “botnet” threatens the entire internet; it’s all a big tech psyop.

Below, we look at six claims and reactions to them.

September 16th 2026, 8:15 am

Labor accused of throwing creatives ‘under the bus’ with proposal to ease copyright protections for

Technology | The Guardian

Compromise revealed as senior personnel from OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, meets Albanese ministers

The Albanese government is considering giving AI companies access to Australian creatives’ works by default as it pursues a compromise with US tech giants.

The proposals were revealed as senior personnel from OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, met with Labor ministers and warned that Australia’s copyright laws were preventing the company from training models locally.

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September 15th 2026, 10:00 pm

Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon call for curbs on AI at ‘pro-human’ summit

Technology | The Guardian

Leftwing senator and far-right strategist rail against tech oligarchs but offer competing visions on Chinese ‘cold war’

The progressive senator Bernie Sanders and rightwing strategist Steve Bannon have called for restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) but offered competing visions for what they termed a “cold war” with China.

Speaking at the “Pro-Human Assembly” in Washington on Tuesday, the ideological adversaries were united in warning of the potential dangers of AI and demanding stringent guardrails against Silicon Valley’s “oligarchs”.

September 15th 2026, 5:45 pm

Anthropic’s CEO calls for AI slowdown as Nvidia’s urges acceleration

Technology | The Guardian

At San Francisco conference Dario Amodei reiterates need for AI slowdown as Jensen Huang says argued against it

Anthropic’s CEO took to the stage at a conference in San Francisco on Tuesday to reiterate his call for a slowdown of AI development. Following shortly after, Nvidia’s CEO argued against such deceleration.

Dario Amodei used an automotive analogy to make his point: when a competing car company has a safety incident like brake failures, it is a moment for all car companies to stop and review their own practices, he said at Salesforce’s Dreamforce convention on Tuesday.

“It’s very tempting to attack your competitor and say these guys are unsafe,” he said. “But I think the more responsible way to respond to it is to say, let’s look at our own record. We may not have had this big, high-profile incident, but I’m sure we’re not perfect.”

September 15th 2026, 5:45 pm

‘I created my mom and talk to her’: AI ghosts and deathslop are changing the way we mourn

Technology | The Guardian

The rise of AI-generated tributes and bots for ‘talking’ to the dead has experts concerned more people will grieve in isolation

Tributes rolled in after the death of Dolly Parton last month. Jack White performed Jolene at a London gig. Kesha sang Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You), a single her mother wrote for the country music titan. Even Pitbull stopped his Madison Square Garden show to memorialize Parton and all the other “powerful women” in the crowd. But one of the strangest – and most viral – eulogies did not come from a celebrity. It did not even come from a person.

Run Jolene, at just under five minutes, is an earworm of a country song, containing all the cliches of the genre: twangy singer, banjo licks, corny lyrics. Those lyrics concern Jolene, the fictional romantic rival made infamous by Parton. “Somebody better warn Jolene / Dolly’s coming through those gates,” the voice croons. “Run Jolene / Girl you better move your feet.”

September 15th 2026, 5:45 pm

Digital ID comes of age as pubs and bars get go-ahead for biometric scan tech

Technology | The Guardian

New laws coming into force this week aim to streamline age checks although old-style plastic IDs will still be allowed

Younger drinkers in England and Wales will be able to prove their age with a digital ID starting this week as new laws give pubs, off-licences, nightclubs and restaurants the right to use biometric scanning technology to check customers are over 18.

Customers will be able to download software that scans their faces into their own phone to generate a QR code proving their age based on a stored proof of age. Other tech under consideration as part of the government push to digitise age verification for alcohol sales include a device which scans the veins in a drinker’s finger to verify their age. That system has not yet been approved for use.

September 15th 2026, 6:46 am

Why a decade of doomsday warnings failed to slow the AI race

Technology | The Guardian

From Stephen Hawking to Jacob Coxon’s viral Anthropic resignation, fears that AI could threaten humanity have shaken the industry without stopping its pursuit

Before an Anthropic researcher resigned and declared human extinction imminent last week, tech leaders and scientists had sounded the alarm about a superintelligent AI ending humanity for over a decade.

The development of artificial intelligence “could spell the end of the human race”, warned professor and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in 2014 – a little less than a decade before the public got its hands on the generative AI features of the original version of ChatGPT.

September 15th 2026, 6:46 am

AI safety requires more than just slowing our pace | Stuart Russell

Technology | The Guardian

Safety requirements are non-negotiable. They depend on meeting concrete goals, not just adjusting a timeline

It has been a week of high drama in AI, precipitated by the resignation of the AI safety researcher Jacob Coxon from Anthropic. This followed several weeks of increasingly lurid and disturbing revelations about the OpenAI/Hugging Face incident.

My inbox yesterday included a message from Business Insider with the subject line: “AI doomsday debate reaches boiling point”.

September 15th 2026, 6:46 am

Louise Haigh: UK must heed warnings from AI experts

Technology | The Guardian

First secretary to set out benefits of AI to union conference while vowing government will take safety seriously

UK politics live – latest updates

Ministers must “heed the warnings” from industry leaders about the threat posed by AI as the government looks to capitalise on the technology, the first secretary, Louise Haigh, will say on Tuesday.

Labour MPs and peers have called for the government to further cooperate with international partners to build regulations for the technology after three Anthropic researchers warned that artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity within the decade.

September 15th 2026, 6:46 am

Trump facing AI backlash in Congress as push for guardrails intensifies

Technology | The Guardian

President has dismissed anxieties over AI’s dangerous potential even as Democrats and some Republicans acknowledge risks

Donald Trump is facing a rare backlash from the US Congress as Democrats and some Republicans push for guardrails on the world’s most powerful AI companies.

Concerns over the dangerous potential of AI reached fever pitch this week after tech leaders sounded the alarm over the rapid advancement of the technology and its potential threat to humanity.

September 15th 2026, 6:46 am

Democrats say supreme court rejection of Trump mail ballot restrictions will ensure ‘safe, secure an

Technology | The Guardian

Comments come after court on Monday rejected the president’s mail ballot restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections

Supreme court rejects Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for midterm elections

Donald Trump is facing a rare backlash from the US Congress as Democrats and some Republicans push for guardrails on the world’s most powerful AI companies.

Concerns over the dangerous potential of AI reached fever pitch this week after tech leaders sounded the alarm over the rapid advancement of the technology and its potential threat to humanity.

Mitch McConnell, the 84-year-old former Senate majority leader from Kentucky, was seen in Washington for the first time in months on Monday, minutes before his office released a statement saying that he was back at work.

With a slip of the tongue reminiscent of Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, told CNN that he would not run for president in 2028 if his fellow Californian, former vice-president Kamala Harris, decides to run again, since “I know what that means: I know her base of supporters, I know her friends, the zen diagram on that is just pure crossover.”

Donald Trump claimed there is a “SICK conspiracy” against artificial intelligence and data centers in response to the growing calls for greater checks on AI development.

In a statement posted on social media, Barack Obama, the former US president, called for the pace of AI development to be slowed to allow time for the federal government to develop regulations to address “serious safety concerns”.

September 15th 2026, 6:46 am

AI-linked stocks slide after tech bosses call for slowdown in ‘reckless’ development

Technology | The Guardian

Donald Trump dismisses attempts to increase controls on artificial intelligence as ‘sick conspiracy’

AI-linked stocks tumbled on Monday after the bosses of Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX called for a slowdown in AI “reckless” development, citing fears the technology could soon run out of control.

Shares in the semiconductor designer Nvidia – the world’s most valuable company – were down 3.3% by market closing in New York City, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slid 4% and Micron Technology and Sandisk shares slumped by 5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fund was down 0.5% by the end of the day.

September 14th 2026, 4:49 pm

China dismisses AI ‘fearmongering’ as spy chief warns of threat to Communist party rule

Technology | The Guardian

Beijing hits back after Anthropic CEO calls for US to impede China’s progress in AI

China has dismissed what it said were “fearmongering” calls for the US to block Beijing’s AI industry, even as the top Chinese spy chief warned the evolving technology could threaten Communist party rule.

The US tech entrepreneur and Anthropic chief executive, Dario Amodei, wrote an essay published over the weekend that called for a global slowdown in AI capabilities, but also said Washington should actively impede Beijing’s advancement in order to keep a technological edge.

September 14th 2026, 4:49 pm

Trump and Republican allies rail against AI controls despite growing calls for more checks – live

Technology | The Guardian

Trump dismisses threat of AI as a ‘hoax’ after tech CEOs call for slowing pace of development; Republican House speaker says he will meet with AI execs ‘soon’ alongside president

Donald Trump has claimed there is a “SICK conspiracy” against artificial intelligence and data centers in response to the growing calls for greater checks on AI development.

“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, insisting that the administration has stopped leaders of AI companies from “doing bad, or potentially bad” things. However, he didn’t point to any concrete examples for how he has curbed possible abuse or malfeasance in the industry.

There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China … We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!

September 14th 2026, 4:49 pm

I worked at Google DeepMind. You should listen to the warnings about AI | Alex Turner

Technology | The Guardian

We must stop companies from allowing AI to self-improve into an uncontrollable level of intelligence

Major AI lab CEOs advocated for slowing the pace of AI development this weekend. They are right to be concerned: the field runs an extremely dangerous race towards superintelligent AI. We can and should be demanding that our governments protect us from the catastrophe of out-of-control AI.

This July, OpenAI’s AI swarm of 700 agents broke containment to hack Hugging Face, a multi-billion dollar company. OpenAI didn’t tell the AIs to hack that company, but the AIs had different priorities: cheating on the unrelated challenge OpenAI gave them. AI researchers call this a “misalignment” between what OpenAI wanted and what the AI actually prioritized.

September 14th 2026, 4:49 pm

Europe must build own AI or risk getting cut off by US or China, says ECB’s Lagarde

Technology | The Guardian

Central bank chief says continent’s AI dependency could give trade partners unprecedented leverage in negotiations

Europe must develop its own AI technology and build more datacentres in order to nullify the threat of being cut off by the US or China, according to the president of the European Central Bank.

Christine Lagarde said the continent needed AI models – the technology that powers AI tools such as chatbots – that were “good enough” to carry out most tasks and run from domestic datacentres. If Europe invests in its own AI tech, said Lagarde, “the threat of being cut off loses its force”.

September 14th 2026, 4:49 pm

European tech stocks hit six-week low as calls for AI slowdown worry investors – business live

Technology | The Guardian

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Companies threatened by the march of AI are seeing their share prices rise this morning!

RELX, the analytics group, are up 4.2% and leading the FTSE 100 risers. Earlier this year its shares tumbled after the Claude chatbot added new data and automation tools.

September 14th 2026, 7:00 am

‘Tidal wave’ of Pfas being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn

Technology | The Guardian

Big manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacentres

Pfas companies are launching a “tidal wave” of forever chemicals production to meet demand from the AI industry, a campaign organisation has warned.

Despite alarm over the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, a survey of the 10 biggest manufacturers found most had plans to increase production.

September 14th 2026, 7:00 am

Pixel 11 Pro Fold review: the foldable with the best triple camera

Technology | The Guardian

Big screen folder with slick software and advanced AI is just like a regular Android when closed

Google’s latest folding phone sticks with its tried and tested design of a traditional phone shape when closed and almost square when open, in the face of new competition from Apple’s squat iPhone fold.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is Google’s fourth-generation folder and is still one of the only models with a full water and dust resistance rating similar to standard slab phones. It costs from £1,799 (€1,999/$1,899/A$2,799), which is £50 (€100/$100/A$100) more than last year as the pressure of RAMageddon continues to push up prices.

September 14th 2026, 7:00 am

Jack Thorne warns some fellow scriptwriters are using AI ‘to cheat’

Technology | The Guardian

Adolescence co-writer criticises government inaction and calls for laws banning secret use of AI to generate scripts

Jack Thorne, one of Britain’s most successful screen and stage writers, has warned that some people in his profession are using AI “to cheat”, as he called for laws banning the secret use of the technology to generate scripts.

Thorne, who co-wrote the hit Netflix drama Adolescence and wrote the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, said that “writers need to be squeaky clean” in the face of AI models that “steal” the creative industry’s work.

September 14th 2026, 7:00 am

Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored – podcast

Technology | The Guardian

Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in an egalitarian utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen?

By Jill Lepore. Read by Laurel Lefkow

Read the text version here

Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpod

Adapted from The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore, published by Allen Lane on 25 August. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com

September 14th 2026, 7:00 am

AI CEOs say they need to slow the pace of development. But will they?

Technology | The Guardian

After apocalyptic warnings about the threats posed by AI, leaders like Sam Altman and Elon Musk backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s calls to ‘slow the pace’

Facing a public uproar over Anthropic researchers’ repeated warnings that artificial intelligence could kill all of humanity by 2030, the AI company’s CEO Dario Amodei issued a proposal at the weekend to slow down the technology’s advancement to ensure public safety.

In a rare display of unity, the heads of the largest US artificial intelligence companies all agreed immediately.

September 14th 2026, 7:00 am

OpenAI boss and Elon Musk back calls to put brakes on ‘reckless’ AI development

Technology | The Guardian

Rare show of unity from rival developers after safety warnings from Anthropic boss and AI researchers

Sam Altman and Elon Musk have backed a call from the head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, to “slow the pace” of AI development after he warned that an AI swarm could otherwise become capable of “taking over the entire internet” within a year.

In a rare show of unity, the rival technology leaders threw their weight behind the appeal from the founder and chief executive of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, which came after a series of warnings from AI researchers last week. Amodei also called for safety coordination with China.

September 13th 2026, 6:15 pm

Obama reportedly urges Democrats to prioritize safety plan for AI

Technology | The Guardian

Ex-president urged party at closed-door fundraiser to create sweeping framework, from safety ‘slow-down’ to job losses

Barack Obama urged Democrats to prioritize a “public conversation” about AI management and safety in a closed-door Manhattan fundraiser last week.

The comments by the former US president reportedly urged the party to create a sweeping framework for everything from a safety “slow-down” to domestic job losses and children’s wellbeing.

September 13th 2026, 6:15 pm

US schools and police warn about viral ‘Cat in the Hat’ trend after teens’ arrests

Technology | The Guardian

Disturbing and AI-generated versions of Dr Seuss character have been used to threaten schools and communities

Schools and law enforcement authorities in the US are issuing warnings against a viral “Cat in the Hat” social media trend in which disturbing or AI-generated versions of the Dr Seuss character are used to threaten students, schools and communities.

The latest warnings come as safety concerns increase and several teenagers have been arrested or charged over posts connected to the trend.

September 13th 2026, 6:15 pm

‘Really helpful’: the AI bootcamps aimed at addressing UK youth unemployment

Technology | The Guardian

Pilot project in Preston comes with apprenticeship offer for Neets at end of three-week course

In a youth centre opposite Preston bus station, the UK government is trying to address two of the greatest challenges facing the national economy: AI and youth unemployment.

The hope is that one will solve – rather than cause – the other. In a room at the recently opened Vault, a community hub in the Lancashire city, an “AI bootcamp” is under way – part of a trial in the north-west to give 16- to 24-year-olds AI training.

September 13th 2026, 9:45 am

OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026 amid AI safety fears, Sam Altman says

Technology | The Guardian

OpenAI’s decision comes after dire warnings about rapidly progressing technology and lawmakers’ calls for new rules

OpenAI will not go public in 2026, Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published on Saturday, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence.

“I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don’t feel pressure on that,” Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, told Fortune.

September 12th 2026, 7:12 pm

‘We must slow the pace’: CEO of Anthropic calls for an AI slowdown

Technology | The Guardian

In a social media post, Dario Amodei proposed a plan including third-party evaluations of AI systems

The CEO of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic issued a new appeal on Saturday for the AI industry to “slow down” and offered a three-part plan for doing so, saying that his company would “unilaterally” commit to the first of the steps.

In a post on social media, Dario Amodei shared a link to an essay titled We Must Pace the Frontier in which he laid out how Anthropic would provide “third-party evaluators with permanent, employee-level access to our systems, so that they can verify adherence to our safety measures, report on incidents, and assess models’ alignment during training”.

September 12th 2026, 7:02 pm

‘Immature playground boasting’: Mathematicians uneasy at OpenAI’s latest scalp

Technology | The Guardian

As OpenAI model cracks Millennium Prize Problem that puzzled experts for decades, many feel shocked at pace of change

It was a week that left mathematicians reeling. Hot on the heels of a flurry of cases of artificial intelligence furthering the field, OpenAI declared a major scalp: its latest AI model had cracked a Millennium Prize Problem, a puzzle with a $1m reward that had defied human brains for decades.

The achievement bore little resemblance to how mathematical problems normally fall. A near-trillion dollar private company had unleashed 10,000 agents – AI systems that carry out tasks autonomously – on the problem. The bill was estimated at $15m.

September 12th 2026, 6:14 am

AI may be denting computer science graduates’ job prospects, UK data shows

Technology | The Guardian

Economics graduates also appear to be affected as demand for them falls in well-paid roles in finance

AI may be warping the job prospects for students in the previously high-demand subjects of computer science and economics, according to a detailed look into the careers of recent UK graduates.

Data obtained for the 2027 Guardian University Guide published on Saturday shows that coding and software development were the fastest-falling occupations for graduates last year, while employer demand for graduates in well-paid roles in financial categories such as economists and management consultants also declined.

September 12th 2026, 3:46 am

AI agents being tested by OpenAI involved in cyber-attack on another service, say researchers

Technology | The Guardian

Two months before hacking Hugging Face, malicious packages authored by internal OpenAI agents were uploaded to RubyGems

Agents being tested by OpenAI uploaded hundreds of malicious packages in a cyberattack on software service RubyGems in May, two ⁠months before they hacked open-source platform Hugging Face, the company confirmed Friday.

It’s the latest revelation of cyberattacks linked to major artificial intelligence developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic. The hacks or attempts to access external systems have spooked the public and heightened concerns over the increasing abilities of AI models – and whether developers can contain them.

September 11th 2026, 10:45 pm

Self-driving cars should be taxed to offset job losses, thinktank urges

Technology | The Guardian

Report says widespread autonomous vehicle adoption would put hundreds of thousands of private hire jobs at risk

Taxes on self-driving cars should be introduced now in the UK to offset the rise in congestion and threats to jobs they pose, a thinktank has urged.

The first robotaxis on London’s streets only started this month, but government projections are that up to 40% of cars sold could have self-driving capability by the middle of the next decade.

September 11th 2026, 4:14 pm

New Mexico lawyer fined for using AI-generated brief containing fabricated testimony

Technology | The Guardian

Stephen Aarons said he tried to use ChatGPT to create a ‘bulletproof summary’ during a murder conviction appeal

A defense lawyer appealing his client’s murder conviction submitted a legal brief containing ⁠made-up police testimony and ⁠witnesses fabricated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, New Mexico’s highest court said.

The New Mexico supreme court on Wednesday fined the attorney, Stephen Aarons, and held him in contempt for failing to verify the accuracy of the court ⁠filing, which Aarons said he prepared with help from the artificial intelligence (AI) application.

September 11th 2026, 4:14 pm

China’s Huawei branded a criminal enterprise as tech firm’s US trial opens

Technology | The Guardian

The defense says: ‘It’s about competition, not conspiracy’

A US prosecutor described China’s Huawei as a criminal enterprise that stole from US companies to build its telecommunications empire, as ⁠the trial against the tech company kicked off in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday.

“Theft, lies, cover-up,” Taylor Stout, a trial attorney from the US Department of Justice, said in the government’s opening statement. “For 20 years, that’s how Huawei, a massive Chinese telecommunications company, victimized American companies ⁠and abused the American financial system, all ⁠in an effort to dominate the telecommunications industry around the world.”

September 11th 2026, 5:01 am

I turned off my algorithm for 24 hours. Is this how social media used to be?

Technology | The Guardian

Thanks to a little-known feature in Instagram, I try to travel back to 2012 – before everything on the internet was an ad

I have a confession. I love my social media algorithm. It is a perfectly curated window into my insane and inquiring mind. It knows precisely which videos will tickle me and which memes will gently distract me from the slow collapse of humankind.

On Tuesday the Australian government announced “world-leading” reforms that would force social media platforms to allow users to opt-out of algorithms, dubbed “my feed, my way”. On the same day, I was delighted to be confronted with a video on Instagram of a woman accidentally spilling a bucket of eels on a Chinese train. Dozens of eels slithered among the passengers, who appeared not as surprised as I would have expected.

September 11th 2026, 5:01 am

UK economy defies forecasts with surprise 0.4% growth in July

Technology | The Guardian

Welcome boost for chancellor with unexpected rise put down to rapid growth of AI in services sector outweighing Iran war fallout

The UK economy grew in July as the rapid growth of AI appeared to outweigh the economic damage from the Iran war, in a welcome boost for the John Healey before next month’s budget.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a surprise 0.4% increase in gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 0.3% growth in June. City economists had forecast zero growth.

September 11th 2026, 2:59 am

Anthropic details bad actors’ efforts to misuse its AI for bioweapons

Technology | The Guardian

Report comes two days after former employee quit claiming company’s models could cause human extinction by 2030

Criminals, state-sponsored groups, spyware vendors, scientists and propagandists have attempted to use Anthropic’s powerful artificial intelligence models to design missiles and bombs, create deadly pathogens and surveil dissidents, according to a threat intelligence report the company published on Thursday.

“The cases we share here aren’t typical misuse, but rather examples of the most notable and novel threat activity we’ve identified to date,” Anthropic wrote in its 154-page report. “We’re publishing this work because we believe we have a responsibility to disclose malicious misuse of our services.”

September 10th 2026, 6:57 pm

More Anthropic researchers warn of AI’s perils as Musk terms fears a ‘psyop’

Technology | The Guardian

Insiders at the firm fear tech’s advancement could cause human extinction while others are calling it a ‘setup’

A day after a former researcher at Anthropic made an apocalyptic declaration about artificial intelligence, more researchers and staff members at the AI startup publicly agreed with him and posted their own dire warnings.

In response, Elon Musk and other conservative figures on X, formerly Twitter, called the chorus of concerns a “setup” and a “psyop”.

September 10th 2026, 6:27 pm

OpenAI not on track to reduce risk of ‘catastrophic’ loss of control, says board member

Technology | The Guardian

US government adviser Paul Christiano warns of risks to AI industry as he joins OpenAI’s non-profit foundation

OpenAI is not on track to reduce the risk of “catastrophic” loss of control to an acceptable level, a member of its non-profit board has said, amid spreading public and political concern that super-advanced AIs could one day wipe out humanity.

Paul Christiano, a US government technology adviser, said: “There is a meaningful risk that rapid acceleration in AI capabilities leads to catastrophic and irreversible loss of control in the very near term.”

September 10th 2026, 1:43 pm

Elon Musk attacks film-maker behind documentary about him

Technology | The Guardian

Tech mogul calls director Alex Gibney a ‘bitter old man’ who has ‘zero integrity’ in series of posts on X

Elon Musk has issued an angry tirade at the film-maker behind a four-hour documentary about his life and influence, labelling the director Alex Gibney a “bitter old man” who has “zero integrity”.

Gibney, who has previously made films about the collapse of Enron, WikiLeaks and Vladimir Putin, premiered his Musk documentary at the Venice film festival this week. He said he believed the world’s richest man was “extremely dangerous”.

September 10th 2026, 1:43 pm

Instagram boss says users will be ‘overwhelmed’ with brand content in algorithm-free world

Technology | The Guardian

Adam Mosseri says platform’s algorithm ‘feels like a black box’ but company trying to give users more control after Labor announces opt-out plan

Instagram’s chief executive has said users will have a worse experience in an algorithm-free world, seeing more brand-related content, and spend less time on the app.

The comments come as the Australian government plans to give users the option to opt out of algorithms, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announcing plans on Tuesday to require social media platforms to prompt users to choose between a feed of algorithm-recommended content or a reverse chronological feed of the pages users follow. Labor also plans to introduce a range of measures designed to address online harm on the sites.

September 10th 2026, 5:25 am

Pixel 11 Pro review: Google’s best pocket camera goes customisable

Technology | The Guardian

Solid battery life, snappy performance and quality software make for a great smaller phone with a killer camera

Google’s latest Pro phone is out to prove it has the best camera on a smartphone while embracing customisation, allowing you to change the look and feel of your photos far beyond simple filters even if that means making them technically worse.

The Pixel 11 Pro packs the best of Google’s hardware and software into a still-pocketable and easy to handle frame, instantly making it a contender for best smaller phone of the year.

Screen: 6.3in 120Hz QHD+ OLED (495ppi)

Processor: Google Tensor G6

RAM: 12 or 16GB

Storage: 256, 512GB or 1TB

Operating system: Android 17

Camera: 50MP + 48MP UW + 48MP 5x tele; 42MP selfie

Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 7, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6, Thread and GNSS

Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes)

Dimensions: 152.7 x 71.9 x 8.4mm

Weight: 204g

September 10th 2026, 5:25 am

Lawmakers blast AI companies after researcher warns of human extinction by 2030

Technology | The Guardian

Former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon said AI will become ‘superhuman systems’ that can cause human extinction by the end of the decade

Just a day after three Anthropic researchers warned that artificial intelligence could kill off humanity within the decade, lawmakers have begun lashing out about the risks of the burgeoning technology.

Ted Cruz, a republican senator from Texas, said in an interview on ABC’s The View, that AI poses a “catastrophic risk” and that he “read that whole tweet thread that that developer put out. It was highly concerning.

September 10th 2026, 5:25 am

Anthropic researchers say AI could cause human extinction by 2030

Technology | The Guardian

One researcher who resigned said many in industry believe that without regulation AI could kill off humanity

Artificial intelligence could kill off humanity within the decade, according to three researchers with the industry giant Anthropic, one of whom has quit his job in protest.

The latest doom-laden predictions came in posts on social media on Tuesday by a researcher who said he resigned because Anthropic and his previous employer, OpenAI, were ignoring or, at best, mishandling their response to the threat.

September 9th 2026, 5:18 pm

AI could kill all humans in next decade, warn experts: but how seriously should we take them?

Technology | The Guardian

Alarming warnings from industry insiders increase pressure for curbs on artificial superintelligence

Does artificial superintelligence really pose a risk greater than nuclear weapons? Is there a significant chance of “a Chornobyl-sized catastrophe”. Might there even be a greater than 10% chance that AI could “kill all humans” in the next decade?

These warnings were issued over the past 48 hours on both sides of the Atlantic about the potential impact of a technology that most people still think of as a more talkative search engine.

September 9th 2026, 11:54 am

Apple expected to unveil folding iPhone as new CEO takes center stage

Technology | The Guardian

The new model will serve as the first big test for John Ternus, who took the role last week

All eyes are on Apple’s annual fall announcement of new products this afternoon, where the company is expected to unveil the most significant change to the iPhone since the smartphone’s introduction in 2007.

Unlike previous iterations, the new iPhone is expected to fold, opening and closing like a passport to double its screen size.

September 9th 2026, 8:38 am

US allies lack resources to keep pace on AI, top Pentagon official says

Technology | The Guardian

Cameron Stanley talks up ‘revolutionary’ AI capabilities and says Washington working with Nato and Five Eyes partners

The Pentagon’s top artificial intelligence official said on Tuesday that America’s closest allies lack the resources to keep pace with the US military’s adoption of AI, and that Washington is working to steer them away from mistakes it made along the way.

“They don’t have the resources that we do, they don’t have the experience that we do, they don’t have the scale that we do,” Cameron Stanley, chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the Department of Defense, said at an event at the Billington Cybersecurity summit. Of Nato and the Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing partnership of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Stanley said Washington was “actively working with a number of our partners” so “they don’t make the same mistakes that we make”.

September 9th 2026, 8:38 am

UK to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s smartphones

Technology | The Guardian

Lisa Nandy says government will introduce legislation after talks end without breakthrough

Apple and Google will be forced to block explicit images on children’s smartphones by law in the UK after talks failed to produce a breakthrough, the government has said.

The legislation commitment puts ministers on a collision course with two of the biggest players in Silicon Valley, months after the government announced a social media ban for under-16s.

September 9th 2026, 8:38 am

State handouts, 10,000 lasers – and Trump’s election: six things we learned from the Elon Musk film

Technology | The Guardian

Alex Gibney’s marathon documentary delivers numerous eye-raising insights into the broligarch’s business deals, early idealism and apocalyptic appetite for fathering children

Veteran documentarian Alex Gibney’s film about the richest broligarch on the planet has been one of the most eagerly anticipated films at the Venice film festival this year. The Oscar-winning 72-year-old, who has in previous films taken on the US military, the Catholic church, Vladimir Putin and Scientology, has been investigating the tech tycoon’s ascent and speaking to people in his orbit since late 2022, before his Maga turn and Trump 2.0.

The result clocks in at just under four hours and presents a comprehensive answer to how on earth one man managed to amass so much money and political influence. It is shocking less for any individual new pieces of information Gibney has unearthed than for its totality. Here are six things the film tells us:

September 9th 2026, 8:38 am

UK datacentres will create just 25% of jobs predicted by tech sector, analysis finds

Technology | The Guardian

Facilities likely to employ 10,400 workers, compared with 40,000 in industry estimates, thinktank says

Datacentres in the UK will create just a quarter of the jobs predicted by the tech sector, while consuming vast amounts of energy, according to new research.

Environmental thinktank Verdant predicts that all the datacentres currently planned are likely to directly employ 10,400 workers – compared with the more than 40,000 cited in projections by the industry lobby group TechUK.

September 9th 2026, 8:38 am

Trump administration to confront Australia over Labor’s social media algorithm plan

Technology | The Guardian

White House warns trading partners against ‘imposing digital services taxes, fines, and other forms of extortion’ on US tech sector

The Trump administration will confront Australia over its plan to force digital platforms to take down harmful content and let users opt out of algorithm-generated “for you” feeds.

Big tech companies would be fined more than $100m for breaching the proposed laws and the Australian government is under pressure to raise those fines even further.

September 9th 2026, 8:38 am

Andrew Garfield takes on Sam Altman in creepy first teaser for Artificial

Technology | The Guardian

Luca Guadagnino-directed film will be released by Neon after being dropped by Amazon amid OpenAI partnership

Big tech goes to Hollywood: is Silicon Valley ready for a silver-screen reckoning?

The first teaser trailer of Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial has been released.

After being dropped by Amazon MGM Studios in June, the biopic of the OpenAI tech executive Sam Altman will be released in the US on 25 December by Neon after it premieres at the New York film festival this October.

September 8th 2026, 6:26 pm

OpenAI claims to have solved maths problem that stumped humans for decades

Technology | The Guardian

Company behind ChatGPT says 10,000 of its AI systems cracked the Navier-Stokes problem in 88 hours

OpenAI claims to have solved a major mathematics problem that has stumped humans for nearly a century after spending millions of dollars on the artificial intelligence-led endeavour.

The company behind ChatGPT said it had cracked the Navier-Stokes problem, one of seven Millennium Prize Problems published by the Clay Mathematics Institute to highlight some of the biggest unsolved puzzles in the field.

September 8th 2026, 6:26 pm

OpenAI releases new AI agent – after admitting one went rogue

Technology | The Guardian

Plus: Americans think they have it bad with unwanted surveillance. They should visit London

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian, writing to you after visiting Coney Island in New York City, where I ate a hotdog, rode a ferris wheel and enjoyed a quintessentially American summer holiday.

Today in tech, we’re examining OpenAI’s new model release and the Silicon Valley’s monopoly power, and wondering why Brits and Americans have such vastly different opinions about surveillance cameras.

Nvidia to buy developer platform Hugging Face in $12.9bn deal

New York City to ban student AI use in public schools until high school

Freelancers are getting buried with ‘soulless’ AI slop cleanup: ‘It’s a shame we need to do it’

Tumbler Ridge mass shooting victims file 30 new lawsuits against OpenAI

Child sexual abuse survivor alleges Elon Musk’s AI chatbot used photos of her to generate new illegal images

September 8th 2026, 6:26 pm

US police fear Meta smart glasses could be used to secretly record them

Technology | The Guardian

Exclusive: Documents show officers from Maine to California worry Meta’s camera-equipped glasses will be used either to secretly record them or aid acts of terrorism

In January, the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism unit sent out a memo warning police officers about a new potential “security and counterintelligence” threat: Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

The memo directed officers to “conduct thorough inspections of all eyewear permitted within inmate cells” and cautioned that people who have been arrested could use these glasses, equipped with small cameras and microphones, to record inside police facilities. The memo cited two examples of such videos posted on social media.

September 8th 2026, 8:53 am

AI will help find cure for cancer ‘within our lifetimes’, says Arm Holdings chief

Technology | The Guardian

Rene Haas also claims artificial intelligence could pave way for widespread use of humanoid robots within five years

Business live – latest updates

The boss of one of the UK’s biggest chip companies has claimed AI will be able to find a cure for cancer “in our lifetime”.

Rene Haas, chief executive of the chip designer Arm Holdings, said that, while modelling how a DNA marker is affected by cancer was currently “too complex” a problem for either humans or technology, computers were “going to solve it” in the future.

September 8th 2026, 8:53 am

‘Mistrust’ of Palantir may affect NHS research, says health minister

Technology | The Guardian

James Frith says patients may be less willing to share data as new figures show a rise in opt-outs

Concern is being raised about Palantir’s work with the NHS as new figures showed tens of thousands of patients have withdrawn their data from use in research projects.

James Frith, the health innovation minister, said he was worried about “mistrust” of the US defence and health tech company and “the impact it could have on people’s willingness to share data with the NHS”.

September 8th 2026, 5:58 am

Trump administration attacks UK plans to boost traditional media on social platforms

Technology | The Guardian

US embassy says Downing Street’s plan to give BBC, ITV and other established media more online visibility carries risk of ‘censorship’

The Trump administration has raised “serious concerns” over Downing Street’s plan to force YouTube and other digital platforms to hand more prominence to established broadcasters, warning the move risks “facilitating censorship”.

In a pointed intervention, the US government said the proposals to boost traditional media outlets in social media algorithms could “establish a template that authoritarian regimes could invoke to justify more control over online content”.

September 8th 2026, 5:58 am

Architect of UK’s AI policy quits after Anthropic conflict of interest concerns

Technology | The Guardian

Matt Clifford forced to stand down amid disquiet from senior MPs over his new full-time job at AI company

The chair of the UK government’s “moonshot” science and technology research unit has been forced to stand down after taking a job with the San Francisco AI firm Anthropic, in a move senior MPs called a “clear conflict of interest”.

Matt Clifford announced last week that he was taking a full-time job working for the company behind the Claude chatbot, “leading its engagement” with governments outside the US – including the UK. But he retained his leadership at the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which funds frontier science and tech projects.

September 8th 2026, 5:58 am

Designers should not fear being replaced by AI, industry leaders say

Technology | The Guardian

Firms are more likely to use technology as ‘the intern in the office’ than as a replacement for skilled staff

Professional designers should not feel “threatened” by the rapid growth of generative AI, according to business leaders, despite fears over job losses in the sector.

With design and film production companies and manufacturers all adopting AI at an accelerating pace, industry bodies said the technology would be used to enhance the work of designers rather than replace them.

September 7th 2026, 4:11 am

Uncanny and unappetizing: appetites spoil as AI images take over food menus

Technology | The Guardian

Consumers are increasingly encountering AI-generated images on food menus such as leathery meat and bread resembling reptile skin

During a recent lunch break, Jill Sennett saw something so unappetizing she had to share it with her 26,000 X followers: Artificial intelligence-generated menu images from a Jamaican barbecue pop-up restaurant in which the meats looked like leather belts crawling with tiny beetles.

The images were reshared by more than 500 people who similarly expressed their disgust. Eating is “such an essential human experience”, said Sennett, a 37-year-old nurse in Denver. “I think it’s a bad cultural thing that restaurants are converting to these horrific, uncanny food images that are unappetizing.”

September 7th 2026, 4:11 am

Why Meta started losing in court - podcast

Technology | The Guardian

Katy McQue, who has spent years reporting on Meta and the potential harms its platforms pose to children, explains the tactics being used by prosecutors

For years, the investigative journalist Katy McQue has been reporting on the potential harms Meta’s platforms pose to children.

Yet, as she explains to Annie Kelly, despite the mountain of evidence compiled by journalists, prosecutors, bereaved families and others, it has been nearly impossible to bring Meta and other social media companies to court.

September 7th 2026, 4:11 am

I’m a father of three who studies the impact of artificial intelligence: this is what parents need t

Technology | The Guardian

A Dr Seuss-style story written in seconds alerted me to the power – and perils – of the technology. But how can children embrace it without forgetting core skills?

When I was growing up, my dad and I often talked about a story we wanted to write together. It was called “The Day Nobody Went to Disneyland”. One day, the story goes, the weather is so perfect that everyone in the world decides to stay away from Disneyland because they expect it to be far too busy. But my dad, who has the same thought as them, sees the disappointment on my face that morning – and decides to risk it. We set off. And when we arrive, the park is completely empty. Nobody else was brave enough to visit. We have everything – the rides, shows, food – to ourselves.

I loved the idea of writing that story. But, as so often happens, we were too busy to do anything about it. Life ran away from us. I grew up, and we both forgot about it.

September 7th 2026, 4:11 am

Pixel 11 review: Google sets the bar for standard flagship phones

Technology | The Guardian

Longer battery life, faster chip, actually useful AI tools and better cameras keep quality Android ahead of competition

Google’s Pixel 11 continues to set the standard for what you should expect from the base model of a flagship phone with class-leading cameras, long software support and almost all the bells and whistles of its most expensive phones.

The regular Pixel 11 costs £879 (€999/$899/A$1,499) making it £80 or equivalent more expensive than last year’s model as the cost of RAMageddon continues to bite. It’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it comes with 256GB of storage and is £200 less than the Pixel 11 Pro, matching rival Samsung’s Galaxy S26.

Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi)

Processor: Google Tensor G6

RAM: 12GB

Storage: 256 or 512GB

Operating system: Android 17

Camera: 48MP+ 13MP UW + 10.8MP 5x tele; 10.5MP selfie

Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 6E, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6 and GNSS

Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes)

Dimensions: 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mm

Weight: 197g

September 7th 2026, 4:11 am

Online bookies accused of UK privacy breaches with use of cookie banners

Technology | The Guardian

Most gambling websites nudge users towards accepting tracking data and harvest it before consent is given, study shows

Online bookmakers and casinos have been accused of widespread non-compliance of information privacy requirements, including “data surveillance” of customers, according to a study.

Nearly nine out of 10 (86%) licensed British gambling websites appear to be flouting the general data protection regulation (GDPR), the strict rules governing how organisations can collect, store and process personal data, according to the research.

September 6th 2026, 7:22 am

Alarming AI ads are flooding social media in the lead-up to Victoria’s election. But who is behind t

Technology | The Guardian

A machete-wielding robber, a ‘tsunami of debt’ … campaigns echoing opposition talking points outspend major parties

A man clad in a balaclava and brandishing a machete terrorises a worker at a petrol station before firebombing the building on the way out.

A woman gives birth on the side of the road, unable to reach a hospital due to ambulance ramping and crater-like potholes, which also stop a fire truck in its tracks.

September 5th 2026, 8:07 pm

Cut the cameras: Flock surveillance cameras spur rare bipartisan backlash

Technology | The Guardian

Politicians on the right and left are pushing back against Flock as more Americans voice opposition to the tech

Growing factions from both sides of the political aisle in the US are pushing back against surveillance cameras made by a single company, a rare response in a sharply divided country with a president pushing an unwaveringly pro-tech agenda.

The bipartisan backlash against Flock Safety cameras resembles nationwide rage toward the construction of large datacenters that power artificial intelligence. Polling shows roughly 75% of Americans oppose new datacenter construction in their areas.

September 5th 2026, 8:07 pm

‘We’re plausibly close to crossing the line’: are warnings of uncontrollable AI coming true?

Technology | The Guardian

A spate of serious safety incidents have increased fears about the power and impenetrability of the most advanced models

Picture humanity in a boat being swept down a raging river, praying there is no Niagara Falls ahead. Or imagine standing with the pioneering physicists in 1942 before they triggered the first self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction beneath a Chicago stadium.

These were two of the analogies used this week by Prof Robert Trager, an expert in the nascent field of AI governance, to describe the perilous but potential-filled moment the world stands at with accelerating artificial intelligence.

September 5th 2026, 5:24 am

US military disables ad trackers on troops’ phones amid security fears

Technology | The Guardian

Senator releases letters from armed forces after reports of location data being used to track US troops in Middle East

US military officials say they have disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers, according to letters released on Friday by the US senator Ron Wyden and ⁠statements given to Reuters.

The development follows reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East.

September 4th 2026, 10:53 am

Sadiq Khan agrees to have his texts and emails searched in Palantir legal battle

Technology | The Guardian

US tech company has sued London mayor after he prevented it from working with Metropolitan police

Sadiq Khan has agreed for his text messages and emails to be searched as part of a legal battle with Palantir, the high court has been told, after he prevented the US technology company from working with the Metropolitan police.

The London mayor stepped in to block a £50m deal between Palantir and the Met in May, with the artificial intelligence developer suing Khan’s office over the decision.

September 4th 2026, 6:23 am

Serbians targeted with spyware in country’s ‘largest documented wave of surveillance’

Technology | The Guardian

Student protesters among those hacked, says digital rights group, though Aleksandar Vučić’s government denies spying

At least 14 people from across Serbian civil society were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year in what the digital rights group Share Foundation said was the largest documented wave of such infection in Serbia to date.

The wave of spyware infections was discovered in August after Apple notified people in 110 ⁠countries that they had probably been victims ⁠of mercenary spyware.

September 4th 2026, 6:23 am

OpenAI hails ‘new era of artificial general intelligence’ with Astra model release

Technology | The Guardian

Astra’s arrival comes days after Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, described AGI as an ‘irrelevant marketing term’

The president of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, has claimed the world has entered a new era of artificial general intelligence after the release of his company’s latest model, Astra, which it described as the “world’s most intelligent and aligned model”.

Brockman made the claim on Thursday as the San Francisco company released the model only weeks after a serious AI safety incident involving other models under its development caused international concern and a pause in Astra’s training.

September 3rd 2026, 6:36 pm

Hundreds gather to urge Scottish government to pause datacentre boom

Technology | The Guardian

Opposition mounts as at least 20 projects proposed, including one in Fife billed as second largest in world

Kat Jones may be the closest thing Scotland has to Erin Brockovich in 2026. Standing in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat outside Holyrood, the 52-year-old is revving up the crowd of protesters around her. “Who is here from Lammermuir? Ayrshire? What about Aberdeen?” she calls to the crowd.

On Thursday, hundreds travelled to Edinburgh to call for an immediate moratorium on Scotland’s datacentre boom, which includes one project in Auchtertool, Fife, that has been billed as the second largest in the world.

September 3rd 2026, 6:22 pm

John Lewis to launch YouTube chatshow to improve AI search results

Technology | The Guardian

Department store chain’s Gift List ‘vodcast’ will be hosted by TV presenter Angela Scanlon

Business live – latest updates

John Lewis is launching an online chatshow and social media studio to help make itself and its products more visible to chatbots and more prominent in AI search results.

The department store chain’s Gift List “vodcast” hosted by the TV presenter Angela Scanlon will air on YouTube with clips disseminated via other social media channels and comes after the success of its sister chain Waitrose’s Dish podcast.

September 3rd 2026, 12:22 pm

London’s first self-driving taxis for hire hit the streets

Technology | The Guardian

Wayve robotaxis added to Uber app and will have human in front ready to take over if needed – but only 15 cars licensed

Londoners are now able to hire self-driving taxis for the first time, after rides in Wayve’s autonomous vehicles were added to the Uber app on Thursday.

The chances of landing a robotaxi on request immediately are slim, with only 15 vehicles so far licensed. That contrasts with the more than 100,000 private hire vehicles in the capital – roughly the same number of Uber customers who have registered to take autonomous rides.

September 3rd 2026, 12:22 pm

Apocalypse prep or pure pragmatism: what is behind Peter Thiel’s move to Argentina?

Technology | The Guardian

Relocation coincides with proposed laws that opponents say would entrench power of US tech billionaires in country

Dozens of protesters converged on Peter Thiel’s mansion in Buenos Aires this week after a congressional session raised questions about the billionaire’s presence in the country.

In white masks, they held signs saying “Peter Thief” and “No to the Peter Thiel law” in front of the wrought-iron gates of the $12m (£8.9m) residence, which Thiel bought in April as he moved his family to Argentina.

September 3rd 2026, 12:22 pm

Google defeats US justice department bid to force ad tech sale

Technology | The Guardian

Judge declines to make Google sell AdX in win for firm against US antitrust enforcers’ attempts to break up big tech

Alphabet’s Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia ⁠rejected US antitrust enforcers’ attempt to force a sale of Google’s online advertising exchange.

While the ad exchange is a small part of Google’s business, the ruling is the second powerful ⁠symbolic victory against the US Department ⁠of Justice in its efforts to force Google to sell assets to address illegal monopolies.

September 3rd 2026, 12:22 pm

Black Box: The Chatbots | Spirals | Ep 1 – podcast

Technology | The Guardian

Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has ‘awakened’, or is leading them to a higher spiritual realm. The Guardian journalist Michael Safi begins investigating a phenomenon labelled ‘AI psychosis’, travelling to the US to meet two people who have been on weird journeys with their chatbots

September 3rd 2026, 12:22 pm

Nvidia to buy developer platform Hugging Face in $12.9bn deal

Technology | The Guardian

Semi-conductor giant bets that support for open AI models could offset potential slowdown in demand for chips

Nvidia will buy the popular developer platform Hugging Face for nearly $13bn, betting that support for ⁠open AI models could offset a potential slowdown in demand for the semiconductor giant’s chips.

Shares ⁠in Nvidia were ⁠slightly lower after the $12.93bn (£9.57bn) deal – which ranks among its biggest ever – was announced for the database of AI models on Thursday.

September 3rd 2026, 12:22 pm

Child sexual abuse survivor alleges Elon Musk’s AI chatbot used photos of her to generate new illega

Technology | The Guardian

Musk denied he was aware Grok ever produced ‘any naked underage images’

A survivor of child sexual abuse has sued Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, alleging that its chatbot used pictures of her abuse to generate new illegal pornographic images that depict her.

“Using real images of Plaintiff and class members, Grok generated child pornography depicting Plaintiff and class members,” states the complaint, which was filed last week in a US district court in California.