Month: November 2024

Google and its rivals are increasingly employing AI-generated summaries, but research indicates their results are far from authoritative and open to manipulation Does aspartame cause cancer? The potentially carcinogenic properties of the popular artificial sweetener, added to everything from soft drinks to children’s medicine, have been debated for decades. Its approval in the US stirred …

The chatbot optimisation game: can we trust AI web searches? Read More »

Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr organized event outside headquarters to reject company doing business in Israel Two Microsoft employees who were fired last week after organizing a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza say the company retaliated against them for their pro-Palestinian activism. The two, Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist, and Hossam Nasr, …

Microsoft workers fired over Gaza vigil say company ‘crumbled under pressure’ Read More »

Online services that promise to find people romantic matches have been likened to gambling products designed to keep customers hooked “Designed to be deleted” is the tagline of one of the UK’s most popular dating apps. Hinge promises that it is “the dating app for people who want to get off dating apps” – the …

Addicted to love: how dating apps ‘exploit’ their users Read More »

Posts lauding anything from running in the rain to tiredness and a comfy bed are springing up on Instagram and TikTok “What a privilege it is to run in the rain. What a privilege it is to have a house I need to clean.” Social media is usually criticised for being a toxic space, but …

‘What a privilege … ’ trend catches on as gratitude makes social media comeback Read More »

Rail bosses admitted earlier this week they still use the surprisingly persistent technology There’s not much Dolly Parton and Northern rail bosses can claim to have in common. Frustrated commuters from Manchester to Middlesbrough might complain the train service barely works 9 to 5. What does unite the two is that neither can let go …

From Northern trains to Dolly Parton, the institutions that can’t quit the fax Read More »