News
Tell us: have you ever used AI to navigate everyday life and social relationships?
1+ hour, 57+ min ago (149+ words) We'd like to hear your stories about the ways you're using chatbots to assist with your social life or important life decisions Lots of people now use chatbots as personal assistants, not just for work but in everyday life and…...
‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI
2+ week, 10+ hour ago (1433+ words) Women in rural communities describe trauma of moderating violent and pornographic content for global tech companies On the veranda of her family's home, with her laptop balanced on a mud slab built into the wall, Monsumi Murmu works from one…...
You’ve got heat on you: how Jessie’s Traitors makeup is inspiring the new ‘bold beauty’
3+ week, 6+ day ago (735+ words) Goodbye, clean girl; hello, blazing icon! Hairstylist Jessie's mismatched red-and-yellow look has been a joyful shot of warmth on our screens, and makeup artists say they're here for it "It's Stephen! It's Stephen. And here they all come to chat…...
Consider the optics: why men have fallen back in love with spectacles
3+ week, 6+ day ago (452+ words) Slim frames and tinted lenses are reshaping how men present themselves. Glasses have become the must-have accessory " even if you don't have a prescription The extremely-online among you will remember those glasses, and have likely moved on with your lives....
We are living in a time of polycrisis. If you feel trapped – you’re not alone
1+ mon, 5+ day ago (1360+ words) I hadn't fully grasped how the idea of a better future sustained me " now I, like many others, find it difficult to be productive A new year is upon us. Traditionally, we use this time to look forward, imagine and…...
Use of AI to harm women has only just begun, experts warn
1+ mon, 5+ day ago (624+ words) While Grok has introduced belated safeguards to prevent sexualised AI imagery, other tools have far fewer limits "Since discovering Grok AI, regular porn doesn't do it for me anymore, it just sounds absurd now," one enthusiast for the Elon Musk-owned…...
The rise of ‘unc’: is this gen Alpha’s way of saying ‘OK boomer’?
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (454+ words) Timoth'e Chalamet celebrated his 30th birthday by embracing his unc status " and Sabrina Carpenter has used the word to describe her record producer. Why is it suddenly everywhere? Age: Younger than you might think. I have a lovely uncle " best to…...
Readers reply: should we turn the internet off?
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (1839+ words) The long-running series in which readers answer other readers" questions ponders the online world " from what"s despicable to what"s indispensable This week"s question: can you really fake it to make it? "I can"t let you do…...
‘Enshittification’: how we got the internet no one asked for – podcast
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (260+ words) Tech critic Corey Doctorow explains why for so many the internet " from Amazon to Google to Instagram " seems to be getting worseDo you ever get the feeling that the internet isn't what it used to be?Well, tech critic Corey…...
Feel a connection to a celebrity you don’t know? There’s a word for that
3+ mon, 1+ day ago (405+ words) Parasocial" crowned Cambridge Dictionary"s word of the year as unhealthy" relationships with celebrities rise If you"re wondering why Taylor Swift didn"t respond to your social media post offering congratulations on her engagement, then Cambridge Dictionary has a…...