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Al-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk
'Nobody is falling for a toucan sighting in Siberia' This image is AI-generated, using ChatGPT. 'Nobody is falling for a toucan sighting in Siberia' This image is AI-generated, using ChatGPT. For many birdwatchers, recording a species outside its normal range is the holy grail. In the UK, the discoveries often make national headlinesThe western reef heron, for example, usually found in Africa and southern Europe, spotted in a seaside town in north Wales in June, which was widely celebrated on birding forums. But a new scourge is threatening to disrupt the fun: AI slop.
Robert Laidlow: Reality Eaters album review
Einstein's field equations, Newton's universal law and artificial intelligence are among the subjects of Laidlow's ambitious orchestral works R obert Laidlow is as at home in the realms of science and technology as he is in the world of classical music. As this NMC debut album demonstrates, his intricate, wildly imaginative work is eminently approachable, even if the core concepts are highly complex. Warp, a terse, 12-minute piano concerto, proposes a musical solution to Einstein's field equations as the intrepid Joseph Havlat boldly goes where no pianist has gone before amid the distorting fabric of orchestral space-time. Strident orchestral lines spiral ever upwards, stretching instruments to their limits, while the piano maintains its course towards a serene conclusion. Handsomely recorded, the BBC Philharmonic and Vimbayi Kaziboni offer vibrantly detailed support. The Piatti Quartet plays Gravity, a harmonically unstable if slightly verbose homage to Newton's universal law that at one point pitches the players into the musical equivalent of a black hole.
Christopher Nolan says people 'disdain' AI and the idea it will replace humans is 'nonsense'
Christopher Nolan says young people in particular are pushing back on AI and'they coined this term AI slop'. Christopher Nolan says young people in particular are pushing back on AI and'they coined this term AI slop'. Christopher Nolan says people'disdain' AI and the idea it will replace humans is'nonsense' Odyssey director addresses industry fears over artificial intelligence and says rightwing criticism of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy is'irrelevant' The Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan believes the kind of movies he makes - big-budget action films shot mostly on location - would survive the spread of artificial intelligence, a technology he says many people "disdain". The Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight director is promoting his latest blockbuster, an adaptation of the Greek epic The Odyssey, which will be released in cinemas this week. "The interesting thing with AI is I've never seen a technology that's been so successfully adopted by Wall Street and by investors and by tech companies that the public has so thoroughly rejected," he told AFP in Paris.
Robota review – machines on the march in next-gen version of sci-fi classic
Headlong's take on Karel Čapek's 1920 tale of romance and robots is rife with timely debates about tech's threat but at times the philosophical discussions drag on I f our world is currently thinking through the brave new future of generative AI and super intelligence, Karel Čapek's 1920 play RUR: Rossum's Universal Robots proves the notion of robot consciousness and rebellion is not a new anxiety. So does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which Čapek's drama resembles in its philosophical debates and moral warnings, despite its futurism. Ella Road adapts Čapek's play for our times in this Headlong and Schwarzman Centre co-production, its science apparently informed by research from Oxford University academics, which gives it a cutting-edge, real-world underpinning. The stage is presented as the operations office for the company, also named RUR, which is creating humanoids by mixing human flesh and blood with code and data at its headquarters on an island (a lovely, lush foliage and scaffold design by Loren Elstein). Dom (Trevor Fox) is the company's boss - a "dom" in more ways than one as he is having a Secretary-style, S&M romance with his robot personal assistant, Sulla (Tiffany Gray).
AI summaries of Tripadvisor hotel reviews downplay serious complaints, investigation finds
Travel, said users should'scroll past these summaries and look at guest reviews'. Travel, said users should'scroll past these summaries and look at guest reviews'. AI-generated overview found to gloss over allegations of sexual harassment and describes hotel being sued over hygiene as'spotless' A hotel being sued for mass food poisonings was described as "spotless" and a resort where guests complained of sexual harassment by staff was praised for "friendly" service by an AI intended to summarise millions of Tripadvisor reviews. The overviews of customer feedback downplayed serious complaints, ranging from the stench of mould to a lack of mains water, according to an investigation by the consumer campaign organisation Which? The AI-generated reviews appear on the travel website's hotel webpages to help holidaymakers decide where to book.
Rocky week for AI as shares slump but no sign of crash – yet
Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2026. Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2026. The markets are souring on artificial intelligence, but is this the bubble being burst? Today, we're discussing a rocky week for the AI industry's finances and how California's proposed billionaire's tax is changing the political posture of the state's governor. AI is facing a financial stress test, but the bubble hasn't popped After the share prices of Alphabet, Samsung, and SK Hynix dropped, a global stock selloff caused markets worldwide to slump.
Hikers lost in Kosciuszko national park rescued within five hours by AI drone
A screengrab from video of the drone and AI assisted search and rescue at Dead Horse Gap in Kosciuszko national park. A screengrab from video of the drone and AI assisted search and rescue at Dead Horse Gap in Kosciuszko national park. Two hikers who veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park have been found within five hours using a drone powered by artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind mission, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has said. The two men, aged in their 20s, were reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday evening after they failed to return to a rendezvous point on time. FRNSW's remote air piloted system was put into the air, and was able to use thermal imaging to find the hikers who had been walking the Dead Horse Gap track, about 35km south-west of Jindabyne.
A little bird told her: scientist wins 100,000 prize for decoding birdsong
Elie observed and recorded the sounds the zebra finches made and classified the calls according to the situation and the bird that made them. Elie observed and recorded the sounds the zebra finches made and classified the calls according to the situation and the bird that made them. A scientist who decoded the dictionary that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals - without being met with a blank response. Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for two-way interspecies communication after working out the 11 core calls in the zebra finch vocabulary and their meanings. Her work revealed how the birds announce who they are and what they are doing, and recognise one another regardless of what they are saying by using individual signatures.
SpaceX overtakes Amazon as world's fifth most valuable company
SpaceX staff and guests celebrate the company's IPO in New York on Friday. SpaceX staff and guests celebrate the company's IPO in New York on Friday. SpaceX overtakes Amazon to become world's fifth most valuable company Elon Musk's firm briefly reached $2.97tn valuation days after its IPO following purchase of AI coding startup Cursor SpaceX has overtaken Amazon to become the world's fifth most valuable company days after its stock market debut . The milestone came as Elon Musk's company agreed to buy the startup behind the AI-powered coding app Cursor for $60bn (£44bn), in an attempt to capitalise on the technology's success as a coding tool. SpaceX is the parent of Musk's AI business, xAI, which will be able to boost its capabilities in an area - AI systems writing code - that has proven to be a strong commercial success for Anthropic, the rival company behind the Claude chatbot.
Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after changing image with AI
Petra Urban's sketch (before it was manipulated by AI) of the Syrian brothers jailed in January 2026 for murdering their sister. The PVV changed the image and used it on social media. Petra Urban's sketch (before it was manipulated by AI) of the Syrian brothers jailed in January 2026 for murdering their sister. The PVV changed the image and used it on social media. Geert Wilders' PVV altered sketch of jailed Syrian brothers to make them look more menacing A Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.