Month: September 2023

‘An absolute mess’: learner drivers forced to buy tests on black market as companies block-book slots

As brokers exploit the hunt for tests with an automated ‘bot’ system, many are paying extortionate fees to ditch their L-plates Britain’s system of allocating driving tests is in disarray in many parts of the country as learner drivers are forced to travel hundreds of miles for their tests or pay unofficial brokers up to …

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‘I’d just delayed the inevitable’: what I really learned going without a mobile phone for a day

Banning phones in schools might help children concentrate in class but how will it impact their overall relationship with devices? Tuesday started like any other: before I was even really awake, I looked at my phone. Weather. Transphobes. Did Anybody Famous Die? Potential Polly Pocket/Scrabble/Settlers of Catan movies. But unlike other days, I then put …

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Engineering firms lose out to fintech and IT in recruitment war

Work is needed to counter the ‘oily’ image of jobs for engineers, and stop the digital sector from luring the best graduates ‘It is incredibly hard to recruit enough experienced people,” says civil engineer Liz Chapman, head of design at the UK arm of global infrastructure business Stantec. “I have never known it to be …

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Plan for 55,000-acre utopia dreamed by Silicon Valley elites unveiled

Flannery Associates, the California group behind the $800m effort, launched a website showcasing renderings The Silicon Valley elites who have been quietly buying up northern California farmland for several years have gone public with their vision for the utopian city they hope to build from scratch on 55,000 acres in Solano county. This week the …

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The Guardian blocks ChatGPT owner OpenAI from trawling its content

Publisher is latest news organisation to block the artificial intelligence company from harvesting content to create its tools The Guardian has blocked OpenAI from using its content to power artificial intelligence products such as ChatGPT. Concerns that OpenAI is using unlicensed content to create its AI tools have led to writers bringing lawsuits against the …

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