We’ve got used to dumping old devices. But a new breed of firms is making products that they hope you will hang on to It is a habit that has become ingrained in so many consumers that you could be forgiven for thinking there was no other way: dumping your old and tired tech for …
Say hello to longlife tech that can challenge our throwaway culture Read More »
We live in worrying times. From the climate crisis to the culture wars, there is always something to keep us fretting. But sometimes the facts tell a different story – a more hopeful one. Here, we speak to experts in search of some optimism and find 13 reasons to be a little more cheerful Kriti …
Doom busters: why some things aren’t (quite) as bad as we think Read More »
Ruxley Manor in south-east London is among the increasing numbers of retailers installing biometric security technology At 11.12am last Tuesday, a woman in her 70s sauntered through the main entrance of the Ruxley Manor garden centre in Sidcup, south-east London. Upstairs in its offices, the phone of director James Evans pinged. Facial recognition cameras had …
The country’s manufacturers are starting to dominate not just sales charts, but also supply chains for crucial materials If you bought an electric vehicle in the UK this year, there’s a good chance it was an MG4. The fully electric hatchback, which launched in 2022, sold 5,200 units in the first three months of this …
Battery power: how China could take charge of the electric vehicle market Read More »
Understanding how to interact with ChatGPT and its rivals so that their output matches your expectations will soon be a key office skill. Here’s what you need to know After all the initial excitement over ChatGPT, the language-processing tool driven by artificial intelligence (AI), the use of chatbots is becoming more commonplace. So how do …
AI prompt engineering: learn how not to ask a chatbot a silly question Read More »
When staff in Coventry downed tools, they kickstarted a David v Goliath battle against one of the most powerful companies on Earth. This is what happened next It takes a lot to frighten Zee. The 35-year-old father of two rarely gets flustered: not when he first set out on the 4,000-mile journey from his family …
He was after big architectural ideas, when three men and three pigeons caught this photographer’s eye … “Britain looks most like itself on an overcast day,” Sheffield-born photographer Johny Pitts says. He shot these three men – and three pigeons – outside partly renovated flats on London’s Jamaica Road in Bermondsey. At the time, he …
Generative AI can involve citizens directly in decision-making, but not while developers’ incentives are only financial The YouTube clip I return to most often is David Bowie being interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight in 1999. Bowie is talking about what the internet might do: “I don’t think we’ve even seen the tip of the …
Elon Musk’s latest bid to save the social media platform by a changing its name is part of a desperate attempt at world domination Elon Musk’s latest change to Twitter, the social media platform he has appeared intent on sabotaging ever since he was strong-armed into honouring his commitment to buy it, appears to be …
These devices should be regarded as potentially as destabilising as cars or alcohol, writes Siobhan O’Tierney. And Sushila Dhall laments parents who ‘phub’ As a teacher, I am thrilled that the UN has called for a ban on mobile phones in schools (Report, 26 July). This is long overdue. Since the ubiquity of phones has …
