Month: May 2026

Flaws in Kenya’s AI-driven health reforms driving up costs for the poorest

Exclusive: amid unrest, President William Ruto promised to give all Kenyans access to healthcare. But the algorithm favours the rich, an investigation has found An AI system used to predict how much Kenyans can afford to pay for access to healthcare, has systemically driven up costs for the poor, an investigation has found. The healthcare …

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London schools trialling VR to relieve pupils’ stress

Phase Space pilot programme with NHS mental health trust used to calm anxiety around exams, ADHD and home troubles Schools have begun deploying virtual reality to help pupils cope with stress caused by impending exams, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or difficult home lives. All 15 secondary schools in the London borough of Sutton are using …

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Guilty until proven innocent: shoppers falsely identified by facial recognition system struggle to clear their names

People shamed and ordered to leave shops after being misidentified then ‘given no help’ to investigate verdicts AI facial recognition oversight lagging far behind technology, watchdogs warn How does live facial recognition work and how many police forces use it? When Ian Clayton, a retired health and safety professional from Chester, popped into Home Bargains …

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Fashion’s Faustian pact: the high cost of Jeff Bezos’s Met Gala patronage

Billionaire’s role as honorary chair and main source of funding has led to boycotts and criticism event has lost its cachet The Met Gala in New York is the grandest and ritziest event in the fashion calendar, and an indicator of the growing ties between designers, celebrity and power. But with tech billionaires now joining …

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AI chatbot fraud: the ‘gift card’ subcription that may cost you dear

After subscribing to the Claude chatbot, mystery payments started to appear on one family’s credit card bill. They are not alone David Duggan* was so impressed with the ability of the Claude chatbot to answer medical questions and organise family life, that a $20-a-month (£15) subscription seemed like money well spent. But then his wife …

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Under a cloud: the growing resentment against the massive datacentres sprouting across Australian cities

Residents say AI factories with unknown environmental impacts are being rushed into development as proponents argue Australia must ride the data boom or be left behind Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast When West Footscray resident Sean Brown takes his 19-month-old …

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‘Sick of swiping’: the dating event where your mates do the talking

‘Date My Mate’ nights, which involve pitching a friend to a room of singles, are gaining momentum across the country For many young people, the dating game has been nothing but a thankless task of endless swiping and ghosting, with little hope of finding love. But as dating apps fall out of favour, and a …

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Pentagon inks deals with seven AI companies for classified military work

OpenAI, Google, Nvidia and others agreed to ‘any lawful use’ of their tech. Anthropic, feuding with Pentagon over potential AI misuse, was not included Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The Pentagon said on Friday it had reached agreements with seven leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies: …

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‘Temu Range Rover’: what the bestselling Jaecoo 7 says about China’s electric car ascendancy

Loaded with extras and produced at a cut price, the crossover SUV has overtaken rival cars from US, Japanese and Korean firms The UK is no stranger to foreign cars. The bestseller lists in recent years have been dominated by the US’s Ford Puma, Japan’s Nissan Qashqai, Korea’s Kia Sportage and occasionally even Tesla’s Model …

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