Month: January 2026

Blurry rats and coyotes with mange: the oddly thrilling subreddit dedicated to identifying wildlife

The most popular posts on r/animalid are exotic lizards and rare birds – but it’s the haziest trail cam screenshots that feel the most dangerous, the most spectacular Read more in the Internet wormhole series I spent the first decade of my life in Vancouver Island, Canada, in an area rich with parks, lakes and …

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Sam Altman’s make-or-break year: can the OpenAI CEO cash in his bet on the future?

Altman’s campaigning for his company coincides with its use of enormous present resources to serve an imagined future Sam Altman has claimed over the years that the advancement of AI could solve climate change, cure cancer, create a benevolent superintelligence beyond human comprehension, provide a tutor for every student, take over nearly half of the …

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AI needs to augment rather than replace humans or the workplace is doomed | Heather Stewart

Tech could lose its social acceptance unless it makes people’s lives better – and trade unions want an urgent conversation “Who wouldn’t want a robot to watch over your kids?” Elon Musk asked Davos delegates last week, as he looked forward with enthusiasm to a world with “more robots than people”. Not me, thanks: children …

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Meet ‘Amelia’: the AI-generated British schoolgirl who is a far-right social media star

The avatar, created to deter young people from extremism, has been subverted and is breaking out of niche online silos In certain corners of the internet, on niche news feeds and algorithms, an AI-generated British schoolgirl has emerged as something of a phenomenon. Her name is Amelia, a purple-haired “goth girl” who proudly carries a …

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How the ‘confident authority’ of Google AI Overviews is putting public health at risk

Experts say tool can give ‘completely wrong’ medical advice which could put users at risk of serious harm • AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any medical site, study suggests Do I have the flu or Covid? Why do I wake up feeling tired? What is causing the pain in my chest? For more than …

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Google AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any medical site for health queries, study suggests

Exclusive: German research into responses to health queries raises fresh questions about summaries seen by 2bn people a month • How the ‘confident authority’ of AI Overviews is putting public health at risk Google’s search feature AI Overviews cites YouTube more than any medical website when answering queries about health conditions, according to research that …

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Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal

Guardian found OpenAI’s platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniers The latest model of ChatGPT has begun to cite Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as a source on a wide range of queries, including on Iranian conglomerates and Holocaust deniers, raising concerns about misinformation on the platform. In tests done by the Guardian, GPT-5.2 …

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The influencer World Cup: Fifa and the TikTok deal targeting an avalanche of posts

Partnership with tech giant speaks to push to engage younger fans but also has wider strategic goals in mind In this World Cup year, Fifa has come out of the blocks quickly. In the past few weeks any number of initiatives have been announced or activated, from a data partnership with Opta to facilitate more …

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‘Cornwall isn’t resilient enough’: towns struggle with broadband outage after Storm Goretti

Politicians call for more infrastructure funding amid anger that county is seen as ‘holiday playground’ Accessed by a steep, winding lane, the tiny settlement of Cucurrian in the far-west of Cornwall feels remote at the best of times. But over the last two weeks, the people who live here have felt even more isolated after …

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Young will suffer most when AI ‘tsunami’ hits jobs, says head of IMF

Kristalina Georgieva says research suggests 60% of jobs in advanced economies will be affected, with many entry-level roles wiped out Artificial intelligence will be a “tsunami hitting the labour market”, with young people worst affected, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned the World Economic Forum on Friday. Kristalina Georgieva told delegates in Davos …

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