Technology

How generative AI in Arc Raiders started a scrap over the gaming industry’s future

The use of AI in the surprise game-of-the-year contender has sparked a heated cultural and ethical debate, and raised existential questions for artists, writers and voice actors• Don’t get Pushing ...

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‘Fear really drives him’: is Alex Karp of Palantir the world’s scariest CEO?

His company is potentially creating the ultimate state surveillance tool, and Karp has recently been on a striking political and philosophical journey. His biographer reveals what makes him tickIn ...

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Stock market sell-off continues, as Google boss warns ‘no company immune’ if AI bubble bursts – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as shares fall across Asia and bitcoin hits a seven-month lowEurope’s major share indices are down by more than 1%, as the sell-off sprea...

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Master System at 40: the truth about Sega’s most underrated console

Forty years ago, the Nintendo Entertainment System dominated the markets in Japan and the US. But in Europe, a technologically superior rival was making it look like an ancient relicThere’s an old ...

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What AI doesn’t know: we could be creating a global ‘knowledge collapse’ | Deepak Varuvel Dennison

As GenAI becomes the primary way to find information, local and traditional wisdom is being lost. And we are only beginning to realise what we’re missingThis article was originally published as ‘Ho...

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review – hallucinogenic romp through dystopia is stupidly pleasurable

Activision; PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, PCWith a deafening onslaught of massive shootout set-pieces in exotic locations, an evolving campaign mode and excellent multiplayer offerings, this maximalist in...

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How young people can use their online gaming skills to fight cybercrime – and what parents can do to help them

For many young people, the online gaming world is a refuge, as well as a place to build up their digital skills through gaming and coding. Now, a new initiative to offer pathways into cybersecurity...

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‘We were effectively props’: young stars of game development feel let down by the ‘gaming Oscars’

Announced in 2020 by the Game Awards as an inclusive programme for the industry’s next generation, the Future Class initiative has now been discontinued. Inductees describe clashes with organisers ...

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What we lose when we surrender care to algorithms | Eric Reinhart

A dangerous faith in AI is sweeping American healthcare – with consequences for the basis of society itselfThe computer interrupted while Pamela was still speaking. I had accompanied her – my dear ...

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Meet gen X: middle-aged, enraged and radicalised by internet bile | Gaby Hinsliff

Who is driving the populist insurgency? It’s not grumpy pensioners or vulnerable teenagers – it’s my generationIf in doubt, we used to talk about the weather. Or if not that, then why the trains we...

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Fortnite’s The Simpsons season is a worthy tribute to one of the most celebrated shows of all time

Crammed with cameos, this recreation of Springfield in Fortnite’s evolving virtual playground is a delight for long-time fans of the show. Shame it’s not here for longAfter years of collaborations ...

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The Simpsons has a long, weird love affair with video games

The Fortnite tie-in is only the latest in a longstanding relationship between The Simpsons and video games, showing how the hit sitcom has survived as a cultural iconAnd so Fortnite has done it aga...

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The mind-boggling valuations of AI companies

You try wrapping your head around a string of deals worth nearly $600bnHello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery. If you like reading our newsletter, forward this email to fi...

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Football Manager 26 review –a modern sim for the modern game

Sports Interactive; PC (version tested), PS5, Switch, XboxAfter a two-year wait, Football Manager 26 upgrades every aspect of the football sim, but it may take some getting used toYou can imagine w...

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Why the new Dyson V16 Piston Animal isn’t the vacuum you should buy

Dyson’s latest cleaner is the company’s biggest redesign in years. We put it through its paces on everything from flour to pet hair• The best cordless vacuum cleaners for a spotless homeThe arrival...

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Why Trump’s White House is using video game memes to recruit for ICE

A recent spate of posts has garnered attention, but Trump and his allies have long been using gaming imagery to mobilise a toxic subculture of ‘rootless white males’ Just days after Microsoft annou...

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‘DeepSeek is humane. Doctors are more like machines’: my mother’s worrying reliance on AI for health advice

Tired of a two-day commute to see her overworked doctor, my mother turned to tech for help with her kidney disease. She bonded with the bot so much I was scared she would refuse to see a real medic...

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I tried out a virtual Halloween festival – and got more than I bargained for

Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival began as a lockdown project and has now become an annual gaming tradition. My children and I paid it a visitIn an attempt to avoid spending £80 to walk around a local pa...

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The Séance of Blake Manor review – gripping gothic detective game steeped in mystery and menace

Raw Fury/Spooky Doorway; PCAn atmospheric folk-horror adventure combines colonial guilt, spiritualism and supernatural chills in a tale of secrets and seances on Ireland’s haunted west coastA remot...

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‘People thought I was a communist doing this as a non-profit’: is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales the last decent tech baron?

In an online landscape characterised by doom and division, the people’s encyclopedia stands out – a huge collective endeavour giving everyone free access to the sum of human knowledge. But with Elo...

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Virtual Monopoly, Uno and Yahtzee over the real thing? No thanks | Dominik Diamond

When our family board game night got cancelled, I sampled digital spins on the classics instead. I’m not sure I should have bothered – with one exception…I don’t play video game versions of board g...

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