Month: January 2024

Prime movers: the German circus exploring Amazon through acrobatics

Rimini Protokoll’s new show is part of a series of performances inspired by James Joyce’s Ulysses and draws a connection between its Aeolus episode and hypercapitalism On the eastern outskirts of Berlin, a big top has been erected by theatre company Rimini Protokoll for a circus with a twist. These acrobatics come wrapped in metaphor …

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It was expensive and underpowered, but the Apple Macintosh still changed the world | John Naughton

After its hyperbolic, Ridley Scott-directed launch 40 years ago, Apple’s all-in-one computer was a commercial flop. And yet its impact is still being felt Forty years ago this week, on 22 January 1984, a stunning advertising video was screened during the Super Bowl broadcast in the US. It was directed by Ridley Scott and evoked …

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Farmbots, flavour pills and zero-gravity beer: inside the mission to grow food in space

Astronauts content themselves with freeze-dried gruel, but plans for crewed missions to Mars mean scientists need to create more delicious, nutritious menus Three robots are growing vegetables on the roof of the University of Melbourne’s student pavilion. As I watch, a mechanical arm, hovering above the crop like a fairground claw machine, sprays a carefully …

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The joy of CeX: how to spend £10 in the secondhand gaming mega store

Entertainment (and thrill) seekers on a budget never know exactly what they’re going to find in the ubiquitous technology shop. Just don’t mistake it for a pawn shop Feel free to mispronounce Ikea (it should be ee-kay-uh, from the Swedish) and Lidl (lee-dal, from the German). But there’s no arguing when it comes to CeX, …

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Taylor Swift deepfake pornography sparks renewed calls for US legislation

Fake but convincing explicit images of pop singer were viewed tens of millions of times on X and Telegram, prompting outcry from US politicians The rapid online spread of deepfake pornographic images of Taylor Swift has renewed calls, including from US politicians, to criminalise the practice, in which artificial intelligence is used to synthesise fake …

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‘Not knowing anything about the figure is an important part of the photo’: Gerry McCulloch’s best phone picture

The photographer noticed this ‘humble story’ playing out silently on a visit to the Tate Modern in London In the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London, Gerry McCulloch and his wife, Kaori, were buying tickets for a Yayoi Kusama exhibition. “I happened to turn around and catch a glimpse of this unidentifiable figure,” he says. “Among …

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George Carlin’s estate sues over AI-generated standup comedy special

Estate says Dudesy podcast outlet had no license to Carlin’s likeness or copyrighted material, which was used to create special The estate of George Carlin is suing the media company behind a fake, hour-long comedy special whose creators boasted of using artificial intelligence to re-create the late standup comic’s style and material. The lawsuit filed …

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Data gold rush: companies once focused on mining cryptocurrency pivot to generative AI

Tech companies are cashing in on an unprecedented demand for computing power needed to operate artificial intelligence Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Since generative AI exploded into global consciousness in 2023, an unprecedented demand for computing power has emerged alongside the demand for apps utilising the technology. …

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For five years, my flip phone has changed my life for the better. Yes, I get lost a lot

Life on the flip side has its challenges, but each day free from my soul-sucking smartphone brings moments of reprieve • Sign up to our free coaching newsletter to help you spend less time on your phone One afternoon five years ago, I walked into a Verizon store and asked a bemused salesman for the …

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