Gig workers are endlessly exploited. AI could make more of us share their fate

As companies integrate AI and hire fewer employees, a shift toward a ‘gig economy’ will commence

Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices

Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition

The malignant rise of OnlyFans managers: ‘It’s exploiting. It’s grooming. It’s predatory’

As the pornography platform has exploded in popularity, a side industry has emerged: middlemen who encourage young women into the industry, then take a large cut of their earnings

Inspired by Ukraine, and worried by China: Taiwan teaches its citizens how to fly drones

Ordinary Taiwanese, young and old, are joining courses to learn how to fly drones amid looming China military threat.

The best power banks and battery packs in the UK for reliable charging on the go, tested

Forever running out of juice? Top up your battery-powered devices with our expert picks, from tiny smartphone chargers to super speedy models

Apocalypse when? ‘Earth’s Black Box’ to be installed in remote Tasmanian airfield

Rouser Lab says the steel structure will record ‘every step’ humanity takes towards climate catastrophe

UK critical infrastructure hit by 200 cyber incidents in a year, agency says

Head of National Cyber Security Centre says UK in ‘ongoing contest with capable adversaries’ and AI could add to threat

Fears for Xbox as it puts its developers on the chopping block once again

After the billion-dollar company’s leaders sent staff a memo saying the brand had ‘over-extended’, game studios may be in the firing line

I had a blood clot. An AI diagnosis may have saved my life

An AI tool is no replacement for a doctor, and regulation is essential. But together, physicians and AI could prove beneficial

‘A neoliberal nightmare’: my ride on the Vegas Loop – Elon Musk’s answer to traffic jams

Ten years ago, after complaining that traffic was ‘driving him nuts’, Musk’s Boring Company began building underground tunnels to ease congestion on the roads. Did he overpromise and underdeliver?

The curious case of Elias Thorne – and what he tells us about AI inbreeding

A character bearing that name appears in a remarkable number of chatbot-generated stories, writes Arwa Mahdawi. He could be a messenger from the future – or a warning that generative AI is in danger of ‘model collapse’

Will it take a ‘Chornobyl-scale disaster’ for us to regulate AI?

Unsafe AI systems are leading to cyber weapons of mass destruction writes Stuart Russell, a computer scientist known for his contributions to AI

UK under-16s social media ban: which apps will be blocked and how will it work?

After PM announces ‘Australia plus’ plan, we look at how it is likely to be enforced – and potential problems ahead

How the fight over US datacenters is scrambling this state’s politics: ‘We don’t want it’

Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s governor, squares off with state lawmakers over the facilities powering an AI boom

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