Month: August 2023

Meet the artists reclaiming AI from big tech – with the help of cats, bees and drag queens

AI’s potential is huge and terrifying. But a new generation of artists is starting to find new uses for the technology, as well showing its many limitations When I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in early June, a fabulous drag cabaret was in full swing. Across seven small screens and a large …

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: a big screen inside and out

More refined flip phone gets better screen on the outside, gapless hinge and faster chips Samsung’s popular folding-screen flip phone gains a bigger, more useful screen on the outside for its fifth generation, while keeping its stylish looks with a sleeker gapless design when shut. The new Z Flip 5 costs £1,049 ($999/A$1,649) – £50 …

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Hacked UK voter data could be used to target disinformation, warn experts

Data from Electoral Commission breach could allow rogue actors to create AI-generated messages in effort to manipulate elections Data accessed in the Electoral Commission hack could help state-backed actors target voters with AI-generated disinformation, experts have warned. The UK elections watchdog revealed on Tuesday that a hostile cyber-attack had been able to access the names …

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‘Even closing my eyes is an intense movement’: the VR experience that simulates a serious neurological condition

Ben Joseph Andrews’ chronic vestibular condition leaves him with migraines and dizziness – which he’s transformed into a VR experience. Luke Buckmaster gives it a go Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email You would’ve heard of déjà vu: the surreal sensation of having previously experienced the present, or something like it. You may not …

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Pushing Buttons: Why the closure of Disney’s Star Wars hotel isn’t the end of immersive gaming

The $350 million Galactic Starcruiser will shut this year – but experiences that combine the real world with online gameplay could still fly • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Next month, Disney’s immersive Galactic Starcruiser “Star Wars hotel” in Florida will shut down, less than two years after opening. …

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Google and Universal Music working on licensing voices for AI-generated songs

Early stage talks are expected to include a potential tool that fans could use to make AI-generated songs Google and Universal Music are negotiating a deal on how to license the voices and melodies of artists for artificial intelligence-generated songs. The talks are expected to include the potential development of a tool for fans where …

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AI hysteria is a distraction: algorithms already sow disinformation in Africa

Forget ‘AI doomerism’ hype over ChatGPT, big tech’s colonial attitude lets hateful electoral propaganda be fed to millions More than 70 countries are due to hold regional or national elections by the end of 2024. It will be a period of huge political significance across the globe, with more than 2 billion people (mostly from …

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Baldur’s Gate 3 review – awe-inspiring D&D rendition is a towering landmark

PC, Mac, PS5; LarianExpanding on the basic role playing structure with seemingly limitless reactivity and options, this game is so varied you’d swear it was sentient A good dungeon master (DM) in any role playing adventure session wastes no time getting to the point of the story. So let’s do that. Just like the fantastical …

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A decade after a disastrous launch, is Apple Maps finally good?

Engineers’ work on cycling and public transit have transformed the app – but rural directions remain a sticking point In October 2022, New York City officials unveiled a new bike lane on Schermerhorn street, one of the most dangerous and heavily trafficked streets in downtown Brooklyn and somewhere I had always avoided on my bike. …

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Electoral Commission and PSNI data breaches: what we know so far

Russia named as likely culprit in cyber-attack on election watchdog, while police service accidentally publishes staff details The UK election watchdog and Northern Ireland’s police service both announced serious data breaches on Tuesday, in the latest example of the vulnerability of personal details to hacks and human error. The UK data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s …

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