Zuckerberg reveals AI projects to power Metaverse

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled several ambitious artificial-intelligence projects, describing AI as “the key to unlocking the Metaverse”. In a livestreamed demonstration, he created a basic virtual world – including an island, trees and a beach – using the AI feature Builder Bot. Mr Zuckerberg also announced a plan to build a universal speech […]

Ukraine: EU deploys cyber rapid-response team

A cyber rapid-response team (CRRT) is being deployed across Europe, after a call for help from Ukraine. The newly formed team of eight to 12 experts, from Lithuania, Croatia, Poland, Estonia, Romania, and the Netherlands, has committed to help defend Ukraine from cyber-attacks – remotely and on site in the country. An official warned attacks […]

Truth Social: Banned from Twitter, Trump returns with a new platform

Donald Trump’s social-media platform, Truth Social, has launched, in a limited form, on the US Apple App Store. The app had similarities to Twitter, commentators noted – Mr Trump was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube last year. And some early users had difficulties registering accounts. Project lead and former congressman Devin Nunes said it […]

Amazon workers in Alabama vote again on joining union

Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, are voting again on whether to join a union. It follows a ruling from the US National Labour Relations Board (NLRB), that Amazon had interfered with the previous election. More than 6,000 workers are eligible to vote to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Workers have […]

Tesla investigated over ‘phantom braking’ problem

The US government is investigating reports of Tesla cars braking unexpectedly on motorways. The so-called “phantom braking” problem is being looked at by US regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It received 354 complaints in the past nine months and its investigation will cover approximately 416,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles […]

Apple boss Tim Cook faces backlash to £73m pay package

Investors are being urged to vote against a $99m (£73m) pay package awarded to Apple boss Tim Cook last year. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said it has “significant concerns” over the size of the award, up from $14.8m the year before. Mr Cook, whose net worth is reportedly more than £1bn, received the pay in […]

Google moves to make Android apps more private

Google’s plan to limit data tracking on its Chrome browser has been extended to cover apps on its Android-based smartphones. Its so-called Privacy Sandbox project aims to curb the amount of user data that advertisers can gather. Rival Apple now forces app developers to ask permission from users before tracking them. The news will be […]

Apple AirTags – ‘A perfect tool for stalking’

Amber Norsworthy lives in Mississippi with her four children. It had just turned 3pm when she got home on 27 December. She received a notification on her phone. “My phone made a ding that I’d never heard before”, she says. The notification told her that an unknown device had been following her movements. Ms Norsworthy, […]

Sony slides on Microsoft-Activision Blizzard tie-up plan

Shares in Japanese technology giant Sony have slumped in Tokyo trade after Microsoft said it plans to buy mega games company Activision Blizzard. The deal worth $68.7bn (£50.5bn), would be Microsoft’s biggest ever buyout and the largest deal in gaming history. It would see the US firm owning popular gaming franchises including Call of Duty, […]