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The pervasive metaphor likening information to crude obscures the reality of surveillance capitalism The phrase “data is the new oil” is the cliche du jour of the tech industry. It was coined by Clive Humby, the genius behind Tesco’s loyalty card, who argued that data was “just like crude. It’s valuable, but if unrefined it …

Data isn’t oil, whatever tech commentators tell you: it’s people’s lives | John Naughton Read More »

The Mexican author won the Dublin literary award last week for Lost Children Archive. She reflects on how reading and writing have helped her through the pandemic I read an article the other day about a computer program that writes fiction. You feed it a few lines, tell it the genre – science fiction, horror …

‘Without books, we would not have made it’: Valeria Luiselli on the power of fiction Read More »

An Australian engineer-turned climate activist hosts Coal Miners Driving Teslas, a YouTube and Twitter channel heavily spiced with unbridled swearing What happens when you take an electric car into a town full of petrolheads and coalminers, and film them planting their steel-capped boots on the accelerator? “Fuck me … it’s like a rocket ship,” says …

‘It’s like a rocket ship’: videos show petrolheads behind the wheel of an electric car Read More »

Officers expected to discover a cannabis farm when they raided building on industrial estate Police have discovered a cryptocurrency operation that used stolen electricity to mine bitcoin in the West Midlands. Officers from West Midlands police raided a building in an industrial estate on 18 May expecting to find a cannabis farm, but instead stumbled …

Police find bitcoin mine using stolen electricity in West Midlands Read More »

Attempt to tackle racial bias long overdue say practitioners, but it’s not just about the equipment Christina Ebenezer first started taking photos with a group of friends when she was a 17-year-old student. Even then, she noticed the difference in how her camera captured people of different skin tones. “I didn’t think much about this …

Skin in the frame: black photographers welcome Google initiative Read More »

Microsoft says group targeted more than 15o American and foreign organisations using USAid account The state-backed Russian cyber spies behind the SolarWinds hacking campaign launched a targeted phishing assault on US and foreign government agencies and thinktanks this week using an email marketing account of the US Agency for International Development (USAid), Microsoft has said. …

Russian SolarWinds hackers launch email attack on government agencies Read More »

Appearance in Apple and Android stores signals long-rumoured launch may be imminent Twitter has listed a new paid-for “Twitter Blue” service on app stores, suggesting the social media company may launch its long-rumoured subscription service soon. Mobile phone app stores showed the service, although its expected features did not yet appear to be available. Continue …

Twitter lists paid-for ‘Blue’ subscription service on app stores Read More »

Future-proofed Apple smart TV upgrade has widest selection of streaming apps but is super pricey The second-generation Apple TV 4K gets a faster processor and future-proofed specs, but is really all about its new iPod-inspired Siri remote. And it all comes at a price. Costing £169, the Apple media-streaming box is very much at the …

Apple TV 4K 2021 review: faster chip, fancy iPod-like remote Read More »

Growing Old Disgracefully sees the actor meet over-70s ripping up the rulebook. Plus: Moya Lothian-McLean investigates how slavery continues to intersect with British society Growing Old DisgracefullySniggering at an older dominatrix or bodybuilder is a popular theme in many a voyeuristic TV show, but Miriam Margolyes is having none of that. As she speaks to …

Miriam Margolyes meets pensioners in their prime – podcasts of the week Read More »

AmaZen, a small box for employees’ ‘mental wellbeing’, came under fire as critics called out the company’s problematic working conditions Amazon was lampooned on social media Thursday after sharing a video highlighting “AmaZen”, a small enclosed booth installed in an Amazon warehouse where employees can go to “focus on their mental wellbeing”. Related: Amazon must …

Amazon’s mental health kiosk mocked on social media as a ‘Despair Closet’ Read More »