Non classé

Headphone and earplug sales are booming, but individual efforts to turn down the volume may alter our brains and surrounds in unexpected ways Everywhere you look, it seems, people are resorting to accessories to turn down the volume of life: over-ear headphones on public transport, long-haul flights and in open-plan offices; coloured earplugs nestled discreetly …

The business of silence: is there a hidden cost to noise cancelling? Read More »

Taiwanese microchip manufacturer TSMC blames struggle to build Phoenix plant on skilled labor shortage but workers cite disorganization and safety concerns Posed in front of an American flag and a large banner reading “A Future Made in America Phoenix, AZ,” Joe Biden told a crowd of assembled workers, supporters and media last December: “American manufacturing …

‘They would not listen to us’: inside Biden’s troubled $53bn chip plant Read More »

Fifty years since the death of the martial arts film superstar, we look at how he inspired generations of games developers – and helped take the beat-’em-up mainstream ‘He had this disorder that filled him with too much energy,” recalled Robert of his older brother, Bruce Lee, the martial arts movie superstar nicknamed Never Sits …

‘They should be called Bruce-’em-ups’ – how Bruce Lee shaped fighting games Read More »

The DeepMind co-founder calls for the ‘containment’ of new technology in a heartfelt and candid exploration of what the future may hold for us What is it with wave metaphors? Technological determinists – people who believe that technology drives history – love them. Think of Alvin Toffler, who saw the history of civilisation as a …

The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman review – AI, synthetic biology and a new dawn for humanity Read More »

Fraudsters using fake handles displaying paid-for blue checkmark icon to carry out phishing scams Consumers who complain of poor customer service on X are being targeted by scammers after the social media platform formerly known as Twitter changed its account verification process. Bank customers and airline passengers are among those at risk of phishing scams …

Consumers complaining on X targeted by scammers after verification changes Read More »

Research suggests UK homes are uniquely unprepared to cope with rising global temperatures – but there are greener solutions to uncomfortable heat than air conditioning “I can honestly say it’s the best thing I’ve ever spent my money on,” says 30-year-old Stephen about the unassuming waist-high plastic pillar that sits in the bedroom of his …

How to stay cool without air con – and help take some heat off the planet Read More »

With the end of affirmative action, generative AI could ‘democratize’ admissions by giving students who don’t have tutors or counselors a leg up Chatter about artificial intelligence mostly falls into three basic categories: anxious uncertainty (will it take our jobs?); existential dread (will it kill us all?); and simple pragmatism (can AI write my lesson …

‘A real opportunity’: how ChatGPT could help college applicants Read More »

LinkedIn is not a place to be honest. It’s a place to sell your products, your services and most of all yourself Ever notice how fabulous everyone is on LinkedIn? “Honored to have shared the stage with such great thought leaders!” posts one keynote speaker, implying that she’s also a great thought leader because why …

Everyone on LinkedIn is absolutely crushing it – or so it seems Read More »

The Harvard scientist on his search for alien technology, academic jealousy and why we must fund space exploration Abraham Loeb, known as Avi, is a professor of astrophysics at Harvard University and he has done the unthinkable. He has repeatedly been willing to contemplate the existence of nonhuman technology and how it may explain certain …

Astrophysicist Avi Loeb: ‘UFOs should be the subject of mainstream inquiry. Science must bring clarity’ Read More »

Group Flannery Associates, backed by prominent investors, quietly buy 55,000 acres of farmland in northern California After weeks of local speculation, the purchasers of 55,000 acres of northern California land have been revealed. The group Flannery Associates – backed by a cohort of Silicon Valley investors – has quietly purchased $800m worth of agricultural and …

Silicon Valley elites revealed as buyers of $800m of land to build utopian city Read More »