Technology

X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Despite restrictions announced this week, Guardian reporters find standalone app continues to allow posting of nonconsensual contentX has continued to allow users to post highly sexualised videos of women in bikinis generated by its AI tool Grok, despite the company’s claim to have cracked down on misuse.The Guardian was able to create short videos of people stripping to bikinis from photographs of fully clothed, real women. It was also possible to post this adult content on to X’s public platform without any sign of it being moderated, meaning the clip could be viewed within seconds by anyone with an account. Continue reading...

TikTok to strengthen age-verification technology across EU
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Move comes as calls for Australia-style social media ban for under-16s grow around worldTikTok will begin to roll out new age-verification technology across the EU in the coming weeks, as calls grow for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s in countries including the UK.ByteDance-owned TikTok, and other major platforms popular with young people such as YouTube, are coming under increasing pressure to better identify and remove accounts belonging to children. Continue reading...

More than 100,000 people urge MPs to ban social media for under-16s in UK
Posted on Thursday January 15, 2026

Letters sent using campaign group’s template as Keir Starmer indicates Australia-style move being consideredMPs’ inboxes have been flooded with letters calling for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, as the prime minister indicated such a move was being considered.More than 100,000 people have contacted their local MP since the grassroots organisation Smartphone Free Childhood launched an email campaign on Tuesday evening with a template calling for “reasonable, age-appropriate boundaries”. Continue reading...

AI will transform the ‘human job’ and enhance skills, says science minister
Posted on Friday January 16, 2026

Patrick Vallance says robots would take away ‘repetitive’ tasks, but Sadiq Khan warns AI will usher in ‘new era of mass unemployment’Advances in AI and robotics will transform human jobs, starting with roles in warehouses and factories, the UK science minister has said, as the government announced plans to reduce red tape for robot and defence tech companies.Patrick Vallance said technological progress was creating a “whole new area” for robots to work in. “What’s really changing now is the combination of AI and robotics. It is opening up a whole new area, particularly in the sorts of things like humanoid robotics. And that will increase productivity, it will change the human job,” he told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Trump imposes 25% tariff on Nvidia AI chips and others, citing national security
Posted on Thursday January 15, 2026

The order follows a nine-month investigation and includes broad exemptions for datacenters and consumersDonald Trump on Wednesday imposed a 25% tariff on certain AI chips, such as the Nvidia H200 AI processor and a similar semiconductor from AMD called the MI325X, under a new national security order released by the White House.The proclamation follows a nine-month investigation under ‌section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and targets a number of high-end semiconductors meeting certain performance benchmarks and devices containing them for import duties. The action is part of a broader effort to create incentives for chipmakers to produce more semiconductors in the US and decrease reliance on chip manufacturers in places such as Taiwan. Continue reading...

UK government rolls back key part of digital ID plans
Posted on Tuesday January 13, 2026

Workers will be able to use other identification for right to work, meaning digital form not mandatoryMinisters have rolled back plans for a central element of the proposed digital ID plans, leaving open the possibility that people will be able to use other forms of identification to prove their right to work.This will mean that the IDs, announced to some controversy in September, will no longer be mandatory for working-age people, given that the only planned obligatory element was to prove the right to work in the UK. Continue reading...

Trump says Microsoft will pay more for its datacenters’ electricity
Posted on Tuesday January 13, 2026

Microsoft’s president said firm won’t accept tax breaks in towns for its datacenters as backlash against facilities growDonald Trump said he is partnering with tech companies to ensure the large energy-hungry datacenters vital for AI do not drive up electricity bills in the US. On Tuesday, the US president announced that Microsoft was “first up”.“We are the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must ‘pay their own way.’” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Thank you, and congratulations to Microsoft.” Continue reading...

AI as a life coach: experts share what works, what doesn’t and what to look out for
Posted on Thursday January 15, 2026

It’s becoming more common for people to use AI chatbots for personal guidance – but this doesn’t come without risksSign up for our free newsletter course on how to make AI work for youIf you’re like a lot of people, you’ve probably ditched your new year resolutions by now. Setting goals is hard; keeping them is harder – and failure can bring about icky feelings about yourself.This year, in an effort to game the system and tilt the scales toward success, some people used AI for their 2026 resolutions. It’s the latest step in an ongoing trend: in September 2025, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, released findings showing that using the AI chatbot for personal guidance is very common. Continue reading...