Max Chafkin’s thorough study of the tech titan reveals a man with his eye on the main chance, rather than a visionary This is a book about the aphrodisiac effect of wealth and in particular about the reality distortion field that surrounds people who possess it. Peter Thiel is such a person and the strength …
The Contrarian review – inside the strange world of PayPal founder Peter Thiel Read More »
Police struggle to catch online fraudsters, often operating from overseas, but now a new breed of amateurs are taking matters into their own hands Three to four days a week, for one or two hours at a time, Rosie Okumura, 35, telephones thieves and messes with their minds. For the past two years, the LA-based …
From fast food to farming, Covid-19 has accelerated the rise of the worker robots. This in turn will put more jobs at risk and makes the need to reframe society ever more urgent As the coronavirus pandemic enveloped the world last year, businesses increasingly turned to automation in order to address rapidly changing conditions. Floor-cleaning …
Robots: stealing our jobs or solving labour shortages? Read More »
Tests of natural language processing models show that the bigger they are, the bigger liars they are. Should we be worried? We are, as the critic George Steiner observed, “language animals”. Perhaps that’s why we are fascinated by other creatures that appear to have language – dolphins, whales, apes, birds and so on. In her …
The truth about artificial intelligence? It isn’t that honest | John Naughton Read More »
‘My daughter has this comedic flair, this sense of timing’ Christopher Anderson often makes breakfast for his family (eggs, pancakes), but what caught his eye here was the light and the colour, the repetition of shapes. Blue plate, yellow circle. Of course, the pose his three-year-old daughter Pia struck just as he moved into position …
Breakfast time: Christopher Anderson’s best phone picture Read More »
As dust from the gold rush settles, big record companies and elite artists emerge firmly on top With the streaming revolution breathing new life into a once-moribund music industry collapsing under plummeting CD sales and rampant piracy, the world’s biggest record companies – Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music – have got their financial …
‘Odds are against you’: the problem with the music streaming boom Read More »
Pressure piles on social media firms after US senators challenge Instagram over impact of app on children’s mental health US lawmakers have left Facebook in no doubt this week that revelations about the impact of its Instagram app on teen mental health have further damaged the company’s reputation. The Democrat senator Richard Blumenthal said the …
Hundreds of listings on online marketplaces sell merchandise venerating disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes There are posters, stickers and coffee mugs, flags, t-shirts and masks – all celebrating Silicon Valley “girl boss”, Elizabeth Holmes. The fraud case of the Theranos founder has given way to a burgeoning cottage industry for merchandise venerating the disgraced CEO. Continue …
Rise of the Holmies: the merch inspired by the Theranos ‘girlboss’ Read More »
Open letter by current and ex-staffers alleges ‘consistently inappropriate’ behaviour by Blue Origin leaders A group of current and former employees at Blue Origin, the space flight company owned by the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, has accused the business of operating a work environment that is “rife with sexism” and prefers “breakneck speed” to safety. …
Jeff Bezos’s space flight firm ‘rife with sexism’, employees’ letter claims Read More »
PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, Stadia, Nintendo Switch; Electronic ArtsThe latest iteration of the all-conquering football sim favours more structured play and rains down a multitude of modes and options – but ethical questions about Ultimate Team remain Somehow, over the past five years, the Fifa games have expanded beyond a simulation of the sport of …
Fifa 22 review – a flamboyant multiplex of total football Read More »
