Month: December 2024

AI tools may soon manipulate people’s online decision-making, say researchers

Study predicts an ‘intention economy’ where companies bid for accurate predictions of human behaviour Artificial intelligence (AI) tools could be used to manipulate online audiences into making decisions – ranging from what to buy to who to vote for – according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. The paper highlights an emerging new marketplace …

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‘I deleted news apps’: Guardian readers on how to stop doomscrolling

While we certainly don’t encourage people to turn away from the news, we also know it’s important to take breaks Doomscrolling happens to the best of us. Algorithms across social platforms are finely tuned to feed you content and posts that keep you locked in. It can be hard to pull yourself away even when …

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How will AI reshape the world? Well, it could be the spreadsheet of the 21st century | John Naughton

Large language models have changed how big corporations function, and the arrival of AI ‘agents’ – essentially automated Moneypennys – could prove irresistible If 2024 was the year of large language models (LLMs), then 2025 looks like the year of AI “agents”. These are quasi-intelligent systems that harness LLMs to go beyond their usual tricks …

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Britain will never be great again until we stop flogging our top companies to the US | Will Hutton

Tech selloffs not only cost tax revenue and jobs, but are turning the UK into a vassal state There is much to admire about the US. The great French social observer Alexis de Tocqueville, nearly 200 years ago, lauded its commitment to civic virtue, individual self-improvement and hard work – legacies of its puritan founders. …

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From climate denial to gothic movies to ‘treat culture’ … what to expect in 2025

The new US president will almost certainly bring unpredictability but several themes will dominate the year ahead. Observer writers offer their guide on what lies ahead in politics, film, fashion, sport and more The only thing that can be predicted with absolute certainty about Donald Trump’s second term as US president is that it will …

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‘All people could do was hope the nerds would fix it’: the global panic over the millennium bug, 25 years on

Planes were going to drop out of the sky, nuclear reactors would explode. But then … nothing. What really happened with Y2K? People still disagree … Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, 25 years ago, Queen Elizabeth II stepped off a private barge to arrive at London’s Millennium Dome for its grand opening ceremony. …

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How I beat overwhelm: Tracking my heart rate left me feeling like a frustrated failure

Biofeedback devices promised a whole new world of mental and physical harmony. They did change my life, but not in the way I’d hoped I love to run, but ask me about my running times or distances and I will have no idea. For me, running is about squeezing exercise into a busy schedule, clearing …

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‘Godfather of AI’ shortens odds of the technology wiping out humanity over next 30 years

Geoffrey Hinton says there is 10% to 20% chance AI will lead to human extinction in three decades, as change moves fast ‘We need dramatic changes’: is societal collapse inevitable? The British-Canadian computer scientist often touted as a “godfather” of artificial intelligence has shortened the odds of AI wiping out humanity over the next three …

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How I beat overwhelm: I deleted my email app – and my sleep suddenly improved

Checking my emails at every possible opportunity had become distracting and draining. So I set myself new boundaries As a freelance writer, the structure of my work day can often vary wildly. Sometimes, it feels as if I have too much to do – other days, too little. Yet no matter the shape of my …

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