‘When will the rain stop?’: Australia’s most searched words on Google in 2022
Australians searched for ‘floods’ and ‘La Niña’ more than any other country in the world
TechScape: Meet ChatGPT, the viral AI tool that may be a vision of our weird tech future
In this week’s newsletter: OpenAI’s new chatbot isn’t a novelty. It’s already powerful and useful – and could radically change the way we write online
‘Extinction is on the table’: Jaron Lanier warns of tech’s existential threat to humanity
The American computer scientist, who coined the term ‘virtual reality,’ cautions against online ‘psychological operatives’
UK’s digital services tax reaps almost £360m from US tech giants in first year
Figure raised exceeds what most of the digital businesses have been paying in UK corporation tax
Major investor calls on Google owner to ‘aggressively’ cut staff and pay
Hedge fund owned by Christopher Hohn urges Alphabet to emulate cost-cutting measures of Silicon Valley rivals
Australia’s consumer watchdog calls for new laws to stop scams and rein in anti-competitive behaviour online
ACCC report says digital platforms expose users and businesses to ‘harms’ as it pushes for overhaul
Machine-learning systems are problematic. That’s why tech bosses call them ‘AI’
Pretending that opaque, error-prone ML is part of the grand, romantic quest to find artificial intelligence is an attempt to distract us from the truth
Google Pixel 7 review: cracking camera at a good price
Smaller Android phone offers great software, smart AI and performance for much less than rivals
Experts fear rising global ‘incel’ culture could provoke terrorism
Almost 1,000 references to misogyny and violent action are recorded each day on dedicated incel forums
Will plunging shares end big tech’s era of ‘pornographic’ profits?
After the astonishing wealth earned during lockdown, investors fear times may never be as good again for Silicon Valley’s giants
YouTube’s battle with TikTok takes its toll as revenues dip
Owner Alphabet reveals first decline since it began reporting streaming site’s performance separately two years ago
Alphabet third quarter results fall as giant struggles to compete with TikTok
YouTube growth slowed to a crawl due to tough competition from other video streaming apps amid broader economic downturn
FCA to examine how to regulate big tech’s financial services
Firms such as Apple, Google and Amazon could harm competition in UK’s sector, Financial Conduct Authority says
Google Pixel Watch review: a good first attempt
Small smartwatch gets much right but comes up short versus cheaper rivals and cannot be repaired
Google Pixel 7 Pro review: new camera champ undercuts competition
Top-class camera and zoom, good performance and smart AI tricks costing significantly less than rivals