Month: March 2026

‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom

In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithms Each day when you wake up, you come back to yourself. You see the room around you, feel your body brush against your clothes and think about your plans, worries and hopes for the …

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Retailers want ‘delightfully human’ AI to do your shopping, but will the chatbots go rogue?

Plans for agentic shopping assistants are under way at Australia’s major companies. Guardian Australia tested the technology after a string of mishaps Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Major retailers say it won’t be long before sophisticated AI “assistants” plan your meals, organise your parties and do your shopping. But …

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Pokémon Pokopia review – collectible creatures create their own perfect world

Nintendo Switch 2; Game Freak/Omega Force/Nintendo Work together with a bunch of lovable Pokémon to restore a long-abandoned town in this novel, absorbing game that’s quite unlike others in the series Bear with me here: Pokémon has always had an environmentalist subtext. As you wander its verdant, creature-filled worlds, collecting species like an acquisitive David …

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Union tries to seize control of works council at Tesla’s German factory

Lawsuits and slander claims fly in IG Metall’s battle with Elon Musk over employment rights and conditions Business live – latest updates Europe’s largest trade union is trying to gain control of the works council at Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in an industrial relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander. …

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Elon Musk takes witness stand in trial over Twitter takeover

Twitter investors allege the billionaire publicly derided the social network to sink its stock price and buy it at a bargain Elon Musk took the stand on Wednesday in a trial brought by Twitter investors, who allege the billionaire committed securities fraud as he was buying the social media company in 2022. The class-action lawsuit …

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Sam Altman admits OpenAI can’t control Pentagon’s use of AI

CEO’s claims come amid increased scrutiny of US military’s use of the technology and ethics concerns from AI workers Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, told employees on Tuesday that his company does not control how the Pentagon uses their artificial intelligence …

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US tech firms pledge at White House to bear costs of energy for datacenters

Companies will pay for upgrades and new electricity generation in agreement to mitigate concerns of rising bills Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and several artificial intelligence companies signed a pledge at the White House on Wednesday to bear the cost of new electricity generation to power their datacenters. The agreement is meant to help mitigate concerns …

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Google Pixel 10a review: cheaper Android is great, but no real advance

Quality camera, good software and long battery life, but you should just buy the Pixel 9a instead The latest smartphone in the lower-cost A-series Pixel line shows what makes Google phones so good, while undercutting the competition on price. The problem is that it differs little from its predecessor, which is still on sale. Priced …

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Breaking Social review – Rutger Bregman leads an irresistible rallying cry for global activism

Fredrik Gertten travels the world meeting activists who have had enough of corruption, kleptocracy and structural inequality – while Bregman’s nuggets of wisdom are a joy Bicycling Dutch historian Rutger Bregman does not identify as an optimist. He says that optimism makes people lazy, complacent that history is going in the right direction. Instead he …

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Europe’s next-generation fighter jet project may collapse if row continues, says warplane maker

Dassault Aviation says €100bn project may soon be ‘dead’ if Airbus will not agree on how to share workload France and Germany’s next-generation fighter jet project could soon be “dead”, one of the two companies tasked with delivering it has warned, amid a worsening corporate rift over who gets to build the aircraft. Dassault Aviation, …

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