The damage the Trump administration has done to science in a few short months is both well documented and incalculable, but in recent days that assault has taken an alarming twist. Their latest project is not firing researchers or pulling funds--although there's still plenty of that going on. Three "dire wolves" are born in an undisclosed location in the continental United States, and the media goes wild. This is big news for Game of Thrones fans and anyone interested in "de-extinction," the promise of bringing back long-vanished species. There's a lot to unpack here: Are these dire wolves really dire wolves?

Trust is fragile, and that's one problem with artificial intelligence, which is only as good as the data behind it. Data integrity concerns -- which have vexed even the savviest organizations for decades -- is rearing its head again. And industry experts are sounding the alarm. Users of generative AI may be fed incomplete, duplicative, or erroneous information that comes back to bite them -- thanks to the weak or siloed data underpinning these systems. "AI and gen AI are raising the bar for quality data," according to a recent analysis published by Ashish Verma, chief data and analytics officer at Deloitte US, and a team of co-authors.

A handful of wealthy, politically connected Silicon Valley investors are reportedly eyeing Greenland's icy shores as the site for a techno-utopian "freedom city." That's according to a report from Reuters, which details a proposed effort to establish a new, libertarian-minded municipality characterized by minimal corporate regulation and a focus on accelerating emerging technologies like AI and mini nuclear reactors. Supporters of increased economic development in Greenland argue its frigid climate could naturally cool massive, energy intensive AI data centers. Large deposits of critical and rare earth minerals buried beneath the island's ice sheets could also potentially be used to manufacture consumer electronics. The so-called "start-up city"--which bears similarities to another ongoing venture in California's Solano County--reportedly already has the backing of PayPal founder Peter Thiel and Ken Howery, President Donald Trump's pick for Denmark ambassador.

DoorDash has started robot deliveries in Los Angeles and Chicago. This is thanks to a partnership with the company Coco Robotics. Eligible customers will be able to receive sidewalk deliveries sourced from over 600 participating merchants. Coco robots have been making deliveries for DoorDash in Helsinki since late last year through its international sub-brand Wolt. DoorDash says that Coco robots completed over 100,000 deliveries during this initial pilot phase.

On Wednesday, Google announced via an X post that it will support Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP). This protocol lets AI systems -- including agents -- access data stores, developer spaces, and business applications for better performance. Specifically, support will go to Gemini models and its software development kit (SDK). Also: Block's new open-source AI agent'goose' lets you change direction mid-air The news follows OpenAI's March 26 announcement that it would adopt MCP, first with its SDK. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said MCP would also eventually be available for ChatGPT on desktop and in the app, though it is unclear when.

Canva launched in 2012 and has become a widely used visual communication platform with over 230 million monthly active users. At its Canva Create annual conference, the company announced what it called its biggest product launch since its inception. Also: Adobe Photoshop is getting its first AI agent - here's what it can do for you On Thursday, Canva unveiled Visual Suite 2.0, which has new features that touch nearly every aspect of Canva's current design platform. Artificial intelligence (AI) is sprinkled throughout these features to speed up workflows and unlock new capabilities, including a new design companion, Canva AI. For the roundup, keep reading below. "From reimagined workplace essentials to entirely new ways to create with your own design partner, we're excited to continue making it easier than ever for anyone to bring their ideas to life," said Melanie Perkins, Canva's co-founder and CEO.

Lockin has stuffed pleny of clever ideas into this smart lock, but it feels like it's a few firmware updates away from something I'd trust to guard any of my entry doors. Lockin claims a history dating back to 2014--as well as the involvement of Hartmut Esslinger, best known as a key Apple Computer designer in the 1980s--but it wasn't until CES 2025 that the company really touched down with a major presence in the smart lock space. Though Esslinger has a reputation for minimalism, the new Lockin Veno 7 Pro really does come loaded with everything. It's a hub-free Wi-Fi lock with ANSI grade 2 and IP65 certifications that allows for access via a numeric touchpad, fingerprint reader, or palm vein scan--in addition to support for its mobile app and a physical key. A very wide-angle camera mounted on the front of the device also lets the unit work as a video doorbell, complete with a ring button that illuminates when someone comes near.

Re your article ('Dystopian' tool aims to predict murder, 9 April), the collection and automation of data has repeatedly led to the targeting of racialised and low-income communities, and must come to an end. This has been found by both Amnesty International in our Automated Racism report and by Statewatch in its findings on the "murder prediction" tool. For many years, successive governments have invested in data-driven and data-based systems, stating they will increase public safety – yet individual police forces and Home Office evaluations have found no compelling evidence that these systems have had any impact on reducing crime. Feedback loops are created by training these systems using historically discriminatory data, which leads to the same areas being targeted once again. These systems are neither revelatory nor objective.

Going to the movies these day is a crapshoot. People might scroll on their phones or record the screen the whole time. Audiences may lose their damn minds over "chicken jockey." And thanks to a new announcement from Meta and Blumhouse, the production company behind horror films like M3GAN and The Woman in the Yard, the moviegoing experience might be about to get a whole lot worse. On April 9, Blumhouse revealed it would be re-releasing three of its biggest hits -- Annabelle, Ma, and M3GAN -- for its Halfway to Halloween festival, part of the company's 15-year anniversary celebration.

Amazon is running a sale on its Blink home security devices. Among the items that have seen a price drop is the Blink Video Doorbell, which is available for a record low of 30. That's half what you might otherwise pay for it. The doorbell allows you to answer your door using your phone. You can see who rang your doorbell via a 1080p video stream (there's an infrared night vision mode) and chat to them using the two-way audio feature.