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Designers should not fear being replaced by AI, industry leaders say
Despite fears about the rapid growth of generative AI, industry leaders point to robust employment figures and argue that the tools have so far done little to reduce demand for design skills. Despite fears about the rapid growth of generative AI, industry leaders point to robust employment figures and argue that the tools have so far done little to reduce demand for design skills. Firms are more likely to use technology as'the intern in the office' than as a replacement for skilled staff Professional designers should not feel "threatened" by the rapid growth of generative AI, according to business leaders, despite fears over job losses in the sector. With design and film production companies and manufacturers all adopting AI at an accelerating pace, industry bodies said the technology would be used to enhance the work of designers rather than replace them. Mat Hunter, the chief executive of the Design Council - a charity which champions the industry - said that while AI was increasingly being used by designers, "they are using it to add value".
Conservatives split from Silicon Valley allies as datacenter backlash grows
The opposition to datacenters has crossed party lines. The opposition to datacenters has crossed party lines. Tue 1 Sep 2026 08.19 EDTLast modified on Tue 1 Sep 2026 09.08 EDT I was lucky enough to see her in concert a decade ago in California, in the same arena where Google now hosts its annual I/O conference. It's been a long time, and all my iPhone 4 photos are so blurry you can barely tell it's a musical performance, but my memory is clear enough to compensate. She told many stories about her childhood, which led into a trio of fabulous songs: My Tennessee Mountain Home, Applejack and Dr Robert F Thomas.
'Scary': how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia's parliament
In some cases, committee reports have cited submissions in which the majority of sources appear to be AI-generated - because they do not exist. In some cases, committee reports have cited submissions in which the majority of sources appear to be AI-generated - because they do not exist. 'Scary': how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia's parliament Mon 31 Aug 2026 11.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 31 Aug 2026 11.02 EDT Australia's government inquiry process is supposed to help parliament make better decisions, hearing from experts and constituents alike. But Guardian Australia can reveal that the system is being flooded with AI-generated material, which is inventing studies and attributing nonexistent research to real academics and authors. In some cases, committee reports have cited submissions in which the majority of sources appear to be AI-generated "hallucinations", when large language models (LLMs) invent content that looks real but doesn't actually exist.
US building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China in AI boom, analysis finds
When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse. When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse. There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid'frenzy' to build more datacenters Tue 25 Aug 2026 06.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 25 Aug 2026 09.12 EDT The US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found. For decades, China's rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent "frenzy" in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this, said Global Energy Monitor (Gem) in its new report. The US is now building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China, and more than any other country in the world, after a stunning 76% increase in under-construction projects in the first half of this year.
UK to use Ukraine battlefield data to train AI to protect sensitive sites
A pilot project will use AI-optimised sensors in buried fibre-optic cables to detect different kinds of movement at a UK defence site. A pilot project will use AI-optimised sensors in buried fibre-optic cables to detect different kinds of movement at a UK defence site. Mon 24 Aug 2026 14.16 EDTLast modified on Tue 25 Aug 2026 00.13 EDT AI models trained on Ukrainian battlefield data will be used to stop protesters and foreign states targeting UK defence sites, railways and energy plants under a deal struck between London and Kyiv. Private companies will also be given access to the vast trove of data from Ukraineâ s Avengers AI lab to help build new systems, the first agreement of its kind in the UK. The scheme will be piloted at a UK defence site, building a model to identify protesters or a hostile-state attack.
An AI 'debt bomb' crisis? No. This isn't Enron 2.0 Gene Marks
Is there a pending AI'debt bomb' crisis? Fears of a datacenter buildout debt crisis are exaggerated. Sun 23 Aug 2026 10.00 EDTLast modified on Sun 23 Aug 2026 10.01 EDT Some experts are warning of a looming "debt bomb" crisis because big datacenter builders such as Meta, Oracle, xAI and CoreWeave are not only raising billions to construct these facilities but are also not recognizing these long-term debt obligations on their balance sheets. I know because I've seen this movie before. It works like this: Meta wants to build a datacenter to accommodate its growing AI and cloud computing needs.
AI agents aren't legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. So who is?
An AI developer's agentic program, tasked with moving a person up a class waitlist, responded by hacking the institution's system to accomplish its goal. An AI developer's agentic program, tasked with moving a person up a class waitlist, responded by hacking the institution's system to accomplish its goal. AI agents aren't legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. Following Australia's first reported automated hacking accident, experts warn deployers - and possibly developers - of AI agents could be held liable for the actions of their bots Wed 12 Aug 2026 11.00 EDTLast modified on Wed 12 Aug 2026 11.01 EDT The law is clear, says Prof Jeannie Paterson. "If I deploy an AI agent and it causes harm to someone else, I am responsible for that harm. "Even if I didn't intend for that to happen, it was foreseeable, and I should be taking responsibility." However, the director of the University of Melbourne's Centre for AI and Digital Ethics acknowledges there is also a ...
US stock market hits record highs as AI profits pile and oil prices ease
A screen displays stock market index data as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Tuesday. A screen displays stock market index data as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Tuesday. S&P 500 shot up 1.8% and the main measure of Wall Street's health topped its prior all-time high set a few months ago Tue 4 Aug 2026 16.56 EDTLast modified on Tue 4 Aug 2026 18.03 EDT The US stock market rallied to records on Tuesday as profits kept piling up for companies and as oil prices eased. The S&P 500 shot up 1.8%, and the main measure of Wall Street's health topped its prior all-time high set a couple months ago. The Dow Jones industrial average added 907 points, or 1.7%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6%.
Alarm over launch of facial recognition in UK shops that instantly alerts police
Customers inside a B&M store, which is one of more than 100 businesses that will be using the technology. Customers inside a B&M store, which is one of more than 100 businesses that will be using the technology. Civil liberties groups say Facewatch system in stores such as Sainsbury's and B&M is'dangerous escalation' Fri 10 Jul 2026 06.19 EDTLast modified on Fri 10 Jul 2026 06.57 Facial recognition technology in shops will soon alert police in real time to the presence of serious offenders, with civil liberties groups warning of a "dangerous escalation" towards surveillance and criminalisation in the retail sector. Facewatch, a facial recognition system used by more than 100 businesses including Sainsbury's, B&M and Spar to monitor thieves, said it was launching a UK-first feature to "alert police instantly when the most serious offenders trigger a live facial recognition match".
Scotland could freeze datacentre projects in challenge to UK's AI strategy
Scotland could freeze datacentre projects in challenge to UK's AI strategy The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK's AI strategy at risk. Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)'s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider. It could apply to all datacentre projects that have not yet received planning permission - although its exact implementation is up to the Scottish government to decide. Lesley Backhouse, who attended the national council meeting, said that Scotland's current datacentre plans amounted to "overdevelopment" and were "intrusive and not keeping with the local environment".