Medical information will be available from UK Biobank, despite western intelligence agencies’ security fearsResearchers from China are to be allowed access to half a million UK GP records despite western intelligence agencies’ fears about the authoritarian regime amassing health data, the Guardian can reveal.Preparations are under way to transfer the records to UK Biobank, a research hub that holds detailed medical information donated by 500,000 volunteers. One of the world’s largest troves of health data, the facility makes its information available to universities, scientific institutes and private companies. A Guardian analysis shows one in five successful applications for access come from China. Continue reading...
Plan comes after Donald Trump reiterated import threats and chipmaker’s CEO dined at US president’s resortThe chip designer Nvidia has said it will build up to $500bn (£378bn) worth of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US over the next four years, in a sign of manufacturers investing in operations on American soil amid Donald Trump’s tariffs.The announcement comes after Trump reiterated threats on Sunday to impose imminent tariffs on the semiconductors that Nvidia makes mostly in Taiwan, and after the chipmaker’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, dined at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month. Continue reading...
Class-leading camera, top-tier chip, very long battery life, AI and quality software dominate mid-range rivalsGoogle’s latest cut-price Pixel offers the best bang for your buck in Android phones and is arguably better in many areas than some models costing twice the price.The Pixel 9a starts at the same £499 (€549/$499/A$849) as last year’s equally good value model. That makes it £300 or so less than Google’s regular Pixel 9 and places it up against mid-rangers such as Nothing’s Phone 3a Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy A56.Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi)Processor: Google Tensor G4RAM: 8GBStorage: 128 or 256GBOperating system: Android 15Camera: 48MP + 13MP ultrawide, 13MP selfieConnectivity: 5G, Sim/eSim, wifi 6E, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 and GNSSWater resistance: IP68 (1m for 30 minutes)Dimensions: 157.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mmWeight: 185.9g Continue reading...
From virtual ‘wives’ to mental health support, more than 100m people are using personified chatbotsMen who have virtual “wives” and neurodiverse people using chatbots to help them navigate relationships are among a growing range of ways in which artificial intelligence is transforming human connection and intimacy.Dozens of readers shared their experiences of using personified AI chatbot apps, engineered to simulate human-like interactions by adaptive learning and personalised responses, in response to a Guardian callout. Continue reading...
Analysis finds Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft averaged 18.8%, compared with 29.7% US averageThe big American tech firms known as the “Silicon Six” have been accused of paying almost $278bn (£211bn) less corporate income tax in the past decade compared with the statutory rate for US companies making the same profits.Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft generated $11tn of revenue and $2.5tn of profits over the past 10 years. Continue reading...
Facebook parent faces threats of illegal social media monopoly after spending billions to acquire two platformsFacebook parent Meta Platforms faces a high-stakes trial in Washington starting on Monday on claims it built an illegal social media monopoly by spending billions of dollars to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp, in a case in which US antitrust enforcers seek to unwind the deals.The acquisitions more than a decade ago aimed to eliminate nascent competitors who could threaten Facebook’s status as the go-to social media platform for users to connect with friends and family, the US Federal Trade Commission claims. It filed the case in 2020 during Donald Trump’s first term. Continue reading...
Looking for love or a new career in San Francisco, Los Angeles or Phoenix? You just might find it in a Waymo autonomous vehicleName: Waymo.Age: Founded in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project. Continue reading...
People tell how their children have been negatively affected by the gaming platform or have come to serious harmRisks to children playing Roblox ‘deeply disturbing’, say researchersDavid, a 46-year-old father from Calgary, Canada, initially did not see a problem when his 10-year-old son started to play on Roblox, the platform of user-generated games and virtual environments that has exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among younger gamers.“We saw it as a way for him to maintain a level of social interaction during the Covid lockdowns,” David said, assuming his son was using the platform’s chat function only to speak with friends he knew personally. Continue reading...