Media
We have lost so much of ourselves to smartphones: can we get it back?
Will Storr: 'I was shocked to find my daily average was over four hours.' Will Storr: 'I was shocked to find my daily average was over four hours.' We have lost so much of ourselves to smartphones: can we get it back? My use of mobile phones has been compulsive - has it been for better or for worse? From a priest to a pensioner, a teenager to a tech CEO: can you guess our screen time? I n 2003, the Stanford social scientist BJ Fogg published an extraordinarily prescient book.
Sundance doc 'Ghost in the Machine' draws a damning line between AI and eugenics
Sundance doc'Ghost in the Machine' draws a damning line between AI and eugenics The Sundance documentary boldly declares that the pursuit of artificial intelligence, and Silicon Valley itself, is rooted in eugenics. Director Valerie Veatch makes the case that the rise of techno-fascism from the likes of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel is a feature, not a bug. That may sound hyperbolic, but, which is built around interviews with philosophers, AI researchers, historians and computer scientists, leaves little room for doubt. If you've been following the meteoric rise of AI, or Silicon Valley in general, Veatch's methodical deconstruction of the technology doesn't really unearth anything new. The film begins with the utter failure of Microsoft's Tay chatbot, which wasted no time in becoming a Hitler-loving white supremacist .
'Infinite Jest' Is Back. Maybe Litbros Should Be, Too
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure--but at least they read. The host had been grilling Wallace, ostensibly invited on to discuss his own literary and journalistic output, on range of topics: tennis, teaching, why women don't like Westerns, depression, and, yes, Anthony Minghella's Academy Award-winning epic war drama, which had by the time the interview aired already become a punch line . Watching the interview, it's clear Wallace, who died by suicide in 2008, bristles at being pressed to purvey rank punditry on the popular culture at large like some kind of dancing monkey. But the exercise revealed how Rose, and large swaths of American intellectual culture circa the late-1990s, thought of Wallace.
Revealed: The classic office words and phrases that Gen Z no longer understand - so, do you know your 'synergy' from your 'paradigm'?
Baffled Florida parents sue fertilization clinic after delivering someone else's baby Huge pancreatic cancer breakthrough as scientists achieve'permanent disappearance' of disease with new triple-threat approach tested in lab Bombshell new leaked audio that could sink Blake Lively: Listen to actress' four-minute voice note to Justin Baldoni The truth about the Sussexes at that Kardashian party is out - and it's a big, hot jelly of a mess: JAN MOIR Trump chooses'central casting' Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair Real estate tycoon accused of indecent proposal to realtor mom while enjoying an affair. Ryan Seacrest's gaunt face concerns fans as he congratulates Wheel Of Fortune co-host Vanna White on wedding Margot Robbie fans go wild over red carpet'slip-up' about her husband and joke she'must be in an open relationship' following red carpet moment Trump says'agitator Alex Pretti's stock has gone way down' after video of him spitting on and kicking an ICE vehicle emerged, saying he was'crazed and out of control' Boy, 5, in ICE custody after being detained in Minneapolis is'depressed, sad, and not doing great' Brooklyn Beckham is mocked by fans for showing off his'special' spaghetti bolognese recipe - but reveals he's run out of spaghetti - despite wife Nicola Peltz's $1m a month allowance from billionaire father Nelson Woke Democrats on verge of driving party's popularity off cliff again with this new slogan, former Obama advisor warns Nurse banned from working in his home state of Florida after saying he wouldn't anesthetize MAGA supporters Inside Kris Jenner's extremely risky surgery to transform the only remaining part of her body that betrays her true age Melania invited me to watch her new documentary inside the White House. Now I know why you wouldn't want to cross her: LINK LAUREN's movie review Full known list of Alex Pretti's battles with cops revealed before Minneapolis nurse was shot dead by DHS Lauren Sanchez has hit a despicable new low. I can't defend her any longer. Revealed: The classic office words and phrases that Gen Z no longer understand - so, do you know your'synergy' from your'paradigm'?
Theatre Review: "An Ark" and "Data"
Two plays soaked in technological anxiety. "An Ark" resembles a webinar with a staring contest, one that no human can win. Before you enter "An Ark," a "mixed reality" performance at the Shed, you check your coat and, more oddly, your shoes. Inside, there are three concentric circles of chairs arranged on a red carpet and, overhead, a white globe resembling a hot-air balloon. A docent explained that, through my virtual-reality headset, I would see four more chairs--and, ideally, they shouldn't float.
Our verdict on Annie Bot: This novel about a sex robot split opinions
Members of the New Scientist Book Club give their take on Sierra Greer's award-winning science-fiction novel Annie Bot, our read for February - and the needle swings wildly from positive to negative Annie Bot by Sierra Greer was the Book Club's January read The New Scientist Book Club moved on from reading a classic piece science fiction in December - Iain M. Banks's - to an award-winning sci-fi novel in January: Sierra Greer's, which won the Arthur C. Clarke prize in 2025. I must admit, I was nervous to announce this one to my fellow readers. is the story of a sex robot, owned by a controlling and abusive man. It gets very dark in places, it has a number of sex scenes, and I wanted to make sure you all knew what you were getting into before getting started. That cupboard scene, some way into the book, was super disturbing, for example. It turns out my wariness was warranted.
AI-generated news should carry 'nutrition' labels, thinktank says
The IPPR recommended standardised labels for AI-generated news, showing what information had been used to create those answers. The IPPR recommended standardised labels for AI-generated news, showing what information had been used to create those answers. AI-generated news should carry'nutrition' labels, thinktank says AI-generated news should carry "nutrition" labels and tech companies must pay publishers for the content they use, according to a left-of-centre thinktank, amid rising use of the technology as a source for current affairs . The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said AI firms were rapidly emerging as the new "gatekeepers" of the internet and intervention was needed to create a healthy AI news environment. It recommended standardised labels for AI-generated news, showing what information had been used to create those answers, including peer-reviewed studies and articles from professional news organisations.