Month: July 2026

Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientists For many birdwatchers, recording a species outside its normal range is the holy grail. In the UK, the discoveries often make national headlinesThe western reef heron, for example, usually found in Africa and southern Europe, spotted …

Al-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk Read More »

Surprisingly easy to manoeuvre and skilled at cleaning carpet and hard floor, Shark’s upright bagless model is one of the best corded vacuums I’ve tested • The best vacuum cleaners Corded vacuum cleaners aren’t as glamorous as their cordless cousins, but swapping battery power for a plug socket has its advantages. The device will never …

Corded vacuums are supposed to be outdated – so why is the Shark Detect Lift-Away XL so good? Read More »

New national plan accompanied by Labor push for digital duty of care legislation Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety …

Government use of automated AI decision-making to be curbed under new Australian rules Read More »

Experts believe it’s at least possible. We urgently need a plan to navigate the ethical implications In January, the AI company Anthropic published a new constitution for Claude, its most advanced large language model (LLM), which contained the comment: “We are caught in a difficult position where we neither want to overstate the likelihood of Claude’s moral …

Could AI be conscious? Read More »

Meta touts safety features – but for women, the dangers of these recording devices are obvious Imagine if every time you left the house, you couldn’t be sure that the stranger you met at a bar – or even the person walking by you in the street – wasn’t secretly recording you. It sounds like …

Smart glasses are deeply creepy. Why are celebrities like Kylie Jenner endorsing them? Read More »

Republican Josh Hawley accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of relentlessly pursuing and attempting to bankrupt her A US senator has accused Meta of using lawfare in “efforts to destroy” a whistleblower who made allegations about the social media company’s dealings with China and its treatment of teenagers. In a letter to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, the …

Meta trying to destroy whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, US senator says Read More »

Cheerleading by the president, who made $1.2bn last year off uninsured currency, does not bode well for US economy The scale of the graft is decidedly off the charts, but the revelation that Donald Trump raked in a personal fortune of $2.2bn during his first year in office should come as no surprise. The president …

Trump has normalized crypto. Is it the path to the next financial collapse? | Eduardo Porter Read More »

MPs and industry experts say potential reorganisation will waste time at critical moment for AI and economic growth Andy Burnham’s plan to scrap the government’s technology department has triggered an angry backlash from MPs, Whitehall officials and tech experts. The incoming prime minister has asked officials to draw up plans to abolish the Department for …

UK tech advocates alarmed by Burnham plan to scrap technology department Read More »

They are out to steal your password to commit further fraud such as crypto scams or phishing attacks You have had an X account for years, since it was known as Twitter. When an email arrives about a new login from a location nowhere near where you live, alarm bells begin to ring. “We noticed …

‘We noticed a login from a new device’: the message from fraudsters targeting your X account Read More »

New laws would give Vcat power to force social and AI platforms to identify anonymous users in move premier says will protect children Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Social media companies could be forced to identify anonymous accounts accused of online vilification, under new laws being proposed in Victoria. …

Victoria announces new social media ‘demasking’ powers for accounts accused of vilification Read More »