-
Arundhati Roy on Beatles, AI and Indie Filmmaking at London Indian Film Festival
Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy discussed the unauthorized use of Beatles songs in “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones,” the growing presence of artificial intelligence in cinema, and the handmade aesthetic of independent filmmaking during a Q&A at BFI Southbank on July 15, following the U.K. premiere of the film’s 4K restoration. On the…
-
xAI sues Grok user for generating nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes
xAI has filed a lawsuit against Terry Wayne Harwood, a 67-year-old South Carolina man, accusing him of using its Grok chatbot to generate nonconsensual sexualised images of adults and children. The case, filed in Texas, is notable as one of the first lawsuits an AI company has brought against its own user, signalling that xAI…
-
Renzo Piano’s giant glass cube towers over the rest of the Stirling prize’s samey brick-built shortlist
Renzo Piano’s 18-storey glass office block, Paddington Square, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Stirling prize, Britain’s leading architecture award, standing out as the only non-brick scheme among six finalists otherwise dominated by tasteful, brick-built projects. The building, developed by the late Irvine Sellar (also behind the Shard), was originally conceived as a 72-storey residential…
-
AppleCare+ prices just went up for Macs and iPads
Applecare+ prices for Mac, MacBook and iPad products just rose by $.50 per month or $5 per year.
-
The social media ban sceptic: are we getting it wrong on kids, tech and mental health?
Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers, who has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years, is challenging the widely accepted view that social media bans are the best way to protect young people online, arguing that such measures are likely to make things worse rather than better. Her position puts her at odds with Jonathan Haidt, author…
-
Miracle update after tradesman, 25, is nearly killed by his robot vacuum cleaner… but there’s a devastating toll as his home is destroyed
A 25-year-old tradesman in Brabham, Perth, is recovering after narrowly surviving an explosion caused by his robot vacuum cleaner, though the blast destroyed his home. The incident highlights the fire risks posed by lithium-ion batteries in household devices, which can ignite or explode if damaged or faulty, and adds to a growing list of similar…
-
Moroccan intelligence insider reveals widespread use of Pegasus hacking software
Whistleblower suggests internal security services deployed spyware from 2017 against key domestic and foreign targets A former member of Morocco’s domestic intelligence service has helped to provide an unprecedented insight into how the north African state used hacking software – including Pegasus spyware – to target journalists, human rights defenders, French politicians and Spanish cabinet…