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Whole-of-society effort needed to deter Russia threat, armed forces chief says

BBC News

More UK families will know what sacrifice for our nation means as the nation seeks to deter a potential confrontation with Russia, the head of the military has said. Sir Richard Knighton said the country's security cannot be outsourced to the armed forces and requires a whole-of-society response, including harnessing UK universities and manufacturing. While the chief of the defence staff suggested there was only a remote chance of Russia directly attacking the UK, he told an event at the Royal United Services Institute that so-called hybrid attacks showed the threat was worsening . He referenced a Russian spy ship that was recently suspected of mapping undersea cables near UK waters. Every day the UK is subject to an onslaught of cyber-attacks from Russia and we know that Russian agents are seeking to conduct sabotage and have killed on our shores, he added.


Trump admin will recruit 1,000 technologists for elite 'Tech Force' to modernize government

FOX News

The Trump administration launches Tech Force initiative to recruit 1,000 early-career technologists for AI modernization across federal agencies over two years.


Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of recipe writers: 'It's an extinction event'

The Guardian

'There are a lot of people that are scared to even talk about what's going on because it is their livelihood,' says Jim Delmage who runs the blog and YouTube channel Sip and Feast with his wife, Tara. 'There are a lot of people that are scared to even talk about what's going on because it is their livelihood,' says Jim Delmage who runs the blog and YouTube channel Sip and Feast with his wife, Tara. Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of recipe writers: 'It's an extinction event' T his past March, when Google began rolling out its AI Mode search capability, it began offering AI-generated recipes. The recipes were not all that intelligent. The AI had taken elements of similar recipes from multiple creators and Frankensteined them into something barely recognizable.


Watch: Chris Martin surprises couple with performance at their wedding

BBC News

Coldplay's Chris Martin made a surprise appearance at a couple's wedding to play the music for their first dance. The groom's mother had asked the singer for a video message to be played at the wedding of Abbie and James Hotchkiss from Stafford. He went one better, though, and said he would appear in person, with only the newlyweds and the groom's parents in on the secret. Surprised guests saw him walk into the wedding venue, Blithfield Lakeside Barns in Staffordshire, wearing a white beanie hat to perform All My Love at the piano while the couple danced. Guests took a while to notice it was actually him, but didn't want to ruin our wedding day so asked us loads of questions once he'd gone, Mrs Hotchkiss said.


He wrote the world's most successful video games – now what? Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser on life after Grand Theft Auto

The Guardian

'I wanted to write about games and tech in a way that felt authentic' Dan Houser. 'I wanted to write about games and tech in a way that felt authentic' Dan Houser. He wrote the world's most successful video games - now what? He rewrote the rule book with Rockstar then left it all behind. T here are only a handful of video game makers who have had as profound an effect on the industry as Dan Houser.


Why universal basic income still can't meet the challenges of an AI economy

The Guardian

A person holds a fake $1,000 bill signed by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang following a campaign event in Iowa City, Iowa, on 29 January 2020. A person holds a fake $1,000 bill signed by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang following a campaign event in Iowa City, Iowa, on 29 January 2020. Why universal basic income still can't meet the challenges of an AI economy Andrew Yang's revived pitch suits the automation debate, but UBI can't fix inequalities concentrated tech wealth drives Universal basic income (UBI) is back, like a space zombie in a sci-fi movie, resurrected from policy oblivion, hungry for policymakers' attention: brains! Andrew Yang, whose "Yang Gang" enthusiasm briefly shook up the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 promoting a "Freedom Dividend" to save workers from automation - $1,000 a month for every American adult - is again the main carrier of the bug: offering UBI to save the nation when robots eat all our jobs. This time Chat GPT, Yang hopes, will help his argument land: if artificial intelligence truly makes human labor redundant, as so many citizens of the tech bubble in Silicon Valley expect, society will need something other than employment for all of us to make ends meet.


Using machine learning to track greenhouse gas emissions

AIHub

"We really can't do this research without collaboration." Wąsala collaborates with atmospheric scientists from SRON (Space Research Organisation Netherlands) on machine learning models that detect large greenhouse gas emissions from space. There is too much data to review manually, and such models offer a solution. How much greenhouse gas do humans emit? The machine learning method Wąsala refers to detects emissions in the form of a point source: plumes.


'Our industry has been strip-mined': video game workers protest at The Game Awards

The Guardian

'Our industry has been strip-mined': video game workers protest at The Game Awards Outside the lavish event, workers called out the'greed' in the industry that has left games'being sold for parts to make a few people a lot of money' It's the night of the 2025 Game Awards, a major industry event where the best games of the year are crowned and major publishers reveal forthcoming projects. In the shadow of the Peacock theater in Los Angeles and next to a giant, demonic statue promoting new game Divinity, which would be announced on stage later that evening, stands a collection of people in bright red shirts. Many are holding signs: a tombstone honouring the "death" of The Game Awards' Future Class talent development programme; a bold, black-and-red graphic that reads "We're Done Playing"; and "wanted" posters for Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick and Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer. The protesters, who were almost denied entry to the public space outside the Peacock theater ("they knew we were coming," one jokes), are from United Videogame Workers (UVW), an industry-wide, direct-join union for North America that is part of the Communications Workers of America. "We are out here today to raise awareness of the plight of the game worker," says Anna C Webster, chair of the freelancing committee, in the hot Los Angeles sun. "Our industry has been strip-mined for resources by these corporate overlords, and we figured the best place to raise awareness of what's happening in the games industry is at the culmination, the final boss, as it were: The Game Awards."


Radiation-Detection Systems Are Quietly Running in the Background All Around You

WIRED

If a major disaster like Fukushima or Chernobyl ever happens again, the world would know almost straight away, thanks to an array of government and DIY radiation-monitoring programs running globally.


Roomba vacuum cleaner firm files for bankruptcy

BBC News

The US firm behind the Roomba smart vacuum cleaner, iRobot, has filed for bankruptcy protection after facing competition from Chinese rivals and being hit by tariffs. Under the so-called pre-packaged Chapter 11 process, the main manufacturer of its devices, Shenzhen-based Picea Robotics, will take ownership of the firm. The tough commercial landscape had forced iRobot to cut its prices and make major investments in new technology, according to documents filed on Sunday. US import duties of 46% on goods from Vietnam, where most of iRobot's devices for the American market are made, increased its costs by $23m (£17.2m) this year, the firm said. The loss-making company was valued at $3.56bn in 2021 after the pandemic helped to drive strong demand for its products.