Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out - but it's going to take collective effort Summer after summer, I used to descend into a creek that had carved a deep bed shaded by trees and lined with blackberry bushes whose long thorny canes arced down from the banks, dripping with sprays of fruit. Down in that creek, I'd spend hours picking until I had a few gallons of berries, until my hands and wrists were covered in scratches from the thorns and stained purple from the juice, until the tranquillity of that place had soaked into me. The berries on a single spray might range from green through shades of red to the darkness that gives the fruit its name. Partly by sight and partly by touch, I determined which berries were too hard and which too soft, picking only the ones in between, while listening to birds and the hum of bees, to the music of water flowing, noticing small jewel-like insects among the berries, dragonflies in the open air, water striders in the creek's calm stretches. I went there for berries, but I also went there for the quiet, the calm, the feeling of cool water on my feet and sometimes up to my knees as I waded in where the picking was good. At home I made jars of jam. When I gave them away I was trying to give not just my jam - which was admittedly runny and seedy - but something of the peace of that creek, of summer itself.

Tesla has reported its first-ever decline in annual revenue on a busy day for corporate earnings that also saw the release of results from Microsoft, Meta and Samsung Electronics. Elon Musk's electric car company said on Wednesday that revenue fell 3 percent year-on-year to $24.9bn in the final quarter of 2025. Revenue for all of 2025 was $94.8bn, down from $97.7bn the previous year. The Austin, Texas-based company also revealed that it had agreed to invest $2bn in Musk's artificial intelligence start-up xAI - the developer of Musk's controversial Grok chatbot - as part of a push to lessen its reliance on the auto market. "Together, the investment and the related framework agreement are intended to enhance Tesla's ability to develop and deploy AI products and services into the physical world at scale," the company said in its earnings report.

Tesla says its annual revenue has fallen for the first time as the electric vehicle (EV) maker shifts it focus to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The company, which is run by multi-billionaire Elon Musk, reported a 3% decline in total revenues in 2025, while profits fell 61% in the last three months of the year. Tesla also announced plans to end production of its Model S and Model X vehicles. It will now use the manufacturing plant in California that made those cars to produce its line of humanoid robots - known as Optimus. In January, China's BYD overtook Tesla as the world's biggest EV maker, while Musk's involvement in politics both in the US and abroad has proved controversial.

U.K. proposes letting websites refuse being included in Google's AI search Website publishers argue that Google's artificial intelligence-generated summaries discourage clicks to their original pages, reducing traffic to their sites and, in turn, cutting their advertising revenue. LONDON - Britain's competition watchdog proposed Wednesday that websites be allowed to opt out of having their content be used by Google's AI Overviews feature as it tackles the technology giant's dominance in online search. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in October paved the way for tougher regulation on the matter, under new targeted measures focused on technology giants. Last year, it designated Google with strategic market status (SMS), subjecting it to special requirements, following a nine-month investigation. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Nvidia helped DeepSeek hone AI models later used by China's military China's DeepSeek received extensive technical assistance from Nvidia as a legitimate commercial partner hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, it has been revealed. SAN FRANCISCO - U.S. chipmaker Nvidia helped China's DeepSeek hone artificial intelligence models that were later used by the Chinese military, the chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said in a letter on Wednesday. DeepSeek shook markets early last year with a set of AI models that rivaled some of the best offerings from the United States but were developed with far less computing power, fueling concerns in Washington that China could catch up with the U.S. in AI despite U.S. restrictions on the sale of high-powered computing chips to China. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said documents obtained by the committee from Nvidia showed the achievement came after extensive technical assistance from Nvidia. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

It will stop producing the two models next quarter. Tesla will "basically stop the production" of its Model S and X electric vehicles next quarter, CEO Elon Musk has announced at the automaker's earnings call for the 2025 fiscal year. "It's time to bring the Model S and X program to a end with an honorable discharge, because we're really moving into a future that's based on autonomy," Musk said. You can still buy the vehicles as long as there are units to be sold, and Tesla promises to support them for as long as people have them. Once they're gone, though, they're gone for good, because Tesla is converting their production space in the company's Fremont factory into a space for the manufacturing of Optimus humanoid robots.

South Korea has launched what it calls'world-first' laws aimed at regulating artificial intelligence. South Korea has launched what it calls'world-first' laws aimed at regulating artificial intelligence. South Korea's'world-first' AI laws face pushback amid bid to become leading tech power The laws have been criticised by tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don't go far enough S outh Korea has embarked on a foray into the regulation of AI, launching what has been billed as the most comprehensive set of laws anywhere in the world, that could prove a model for other countries, but the new legislation has already encountered pushback. The laws, which will force companies to label AI-generated content, have been criticised by local tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don't go far enough. The AI basic act, which took effect on Thursday last week, comes amid growing global unease over artificially created media and automated decision-making, as governments struggle to keep pace with rapidly advancing technologies.

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' The death toll from a Russian attack on a passenger train in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Tuesday rose to six, after the remains of several bodies were recovered from the wreckage, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said on the Telegram messaging app. At least six people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg plans to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence (AI) projects this year, even as other executives warn of a potential bubble in the industry. During a call with financial analysts on Wednesday to discuss the Facebook-owner's 2025 financial results, the company said it expects to spend up to $135bn (£97bn) this year, mostly on infrastructure related to AI. That is nearly twice the $72bn Meta spent last year on AI projects and infrastructure. In the last three years, the technology giant has spent roughly $140bn in an attempt to get ahead of the AI boom. Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that he is expecting 2026 to be the year that AI dramatically changes the way we work.

Candace Owens leaks Erika Kirk phone call: 'It makes my skin crawl' Why I'm more concerned than ever about what Barron Trump is doing behind closed doors: KENNEDY Revealed: Truth behind Barron Trump's dramatic Facetime phone call with'girlfriend' and the British public school-educated MMA fighter who beat her up Kim Kardashian breaks silence on why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle photos were deleted from Kris Jenner's birthday post Nicki Minaj flashes dagger-long nails as she clutches Trump's hand after gushing she's his No. 1 fan Telling detail stitched into Melania's Dior dress that hints at her true ambitions, as the First Lady rings the New York Stock Exchange bell: JANE TIPPETT Hilarious live gaffe on David Muir's World News Tonight that'triggered behind the scenes meltdown' Extraordinary transformation of beloved child star who has'self-canceled' and ditched Hollywood to live off grid in POVERTY as'Catholic extremist' He's the famed Glambot director whose slow-mo videos of celebs go viral. But now, as he's forced to apologize for leaked emails... nasty rumors are swirling'Greedy pig' Harry Styles is shamefully exploiting obsessed women. I know... because it happened to me: LIZ JONES Bruce Willis' wife Emma makes heartbreaking admission about star's dementia battle Julie Newmar, 92, who played Catwoman on TV's Batman in the '60s, looks amazing in rare sighting Woke CNN guest scolded for vicious personal attack on co-panelist Kevin O'Leary Scientists are about to DRILL into the most fragile part of Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier READ MORE: Doomsday Clock ticks forward... taking us closer to annihilation Scientists are about to drill into the most inaccessible and least-understood part of the Thwaites Glacier. Measuring around the same size as Great Britain, this huge mass of ice in West Antarctica is one of the largest and fastest changing glaciers in the world. Worryingly, research has shown that if it collapses, the glacier will cause global sea levels to rise by a whopping 2.1ft (65cm) - plunging entire communities underwater.