Month: September 2026

Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ for US users after Trump order

Tech company submits to controversial Trump order to rename body of water amid US trade spat with Canada Apple has renamed Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for US users of its Maps app, after an executive order from Donald Trump to change the name of the Great Lake amid his trade spat with Canada. The …

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Apocalypse prep or pure pragmatism: what is behind Peter Thiel’s move to Argentina?

Relocation coincides with proposed laws that opponents say would entrench power of US tech billionaires in country Dozens of protesters converged on Peter Thiel’s mansion in Buenos Aires this week after a congressional session raised questions about the billionaire’s presence in the country. In white masks, they held signs saying “Peter Thief” and “No to …

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Black Box: The Chatbots | Spirals | Ep 1 – podcast

Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has ‘awakened’, or is leading them to a higher spiritual realm. The Guardian journalist Michael Safi begins investigating a phenomenon labelled ‘AI psychosis’, travelling to the …

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Women are giving their partners the ‘Illiterate Boyfriend’ test: ‘Do your best to pronounce these words’

People online are distressed at men butchering words such as ‘hyperbole’ and ‘hors d’oeuvres’ – highlighting a gender reversal in ‘intelligence gaps’ There are common non-negotiables we look for in a prospective partner. They should be kind, caring and thoughtful. Having a shared interest helps. So does remembering important dates and anniversaries. But how much …

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‘Ruin and decay bring a chance of rebirth’: Hidetaka Miyazaki on uniting players in a damaged world

As FromSoftware’s new multiplayer game The Duskbloods nears release, the legendary game director behind Dark Souls talks connection, pessimism and of course, feet Since 2020’s Demon’s Souls, Japanese video game director Hidetaka Miyazaki has shown the world a different way to think about game design. His games defy convention with punishing fights, obscure rules, and …

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Child sexual abuse survivor alleges Elon Musk’s AI chatbot used photos of her to generate new illegal images

Musk denied he was aware Grok ever produced ‘any naked underage images’ A survivor of child sexual abuse has sued Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, alleging that its chatbot used pictures of her abuse to generate new illegal pornographic images that depict her. “Using real images of Plaintiff and class members, Grok generated child pornography …

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Trump administration sides with OpenAI in lawsuit against New York Times

The Times and many companies are accusing OpenAI of misusing their material to train AI systems without compensation The Trump administration is supporting OpenAI in ⁠a lawsuit against the New York Times, arguing in favor of the use of copyrighted writing to train artificial intelligence. The Times accuses OpenAI and its largest financial backer, Microsoft, …

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Google defeats US justice department bid to force ad tech sale

Judge declines to make Google sell AdX in win for firm against US antitrust enforcers’ attempts to break up big tech Alphabet’s Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia ⁠rejected US antitrust enforcers’ bid to force a sale of Google’s online advertising exchange. While the ad …

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New York City to ban student AI use in public schools until high school

Teachers and parents have warned against AI use in schools over concerns of ‘cognitive surrender’ New York City will ban students’ use of artificial intelligence in public schools through eighth grade, typically age 13 or 14. The prohibition is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday and will go into effect next week. The change is …

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