Technology

Social media misinformation driving men to seek unneeded NHS testosterone therapy, doctors say
Posted on Saturday November 08, 2025

Endocrinologists warn taking testosterone unnecessarily can suppress natural hormone productionSocial media misinformation is driving men to NHS clinics in search of testosterone therapy they don’t need, adding pressure to already stretched waiting lists, doctors have said.Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a prescription-only treatment recommended under national guidelines for men with a clinically proven deficiency, confirmed by symptoms and repeated blood tests. Continue reading...

ChatGPT accused of acting as ‘suicide coach’ in series of US lawsuits
Posted on Friday November 07, 2025

Chatbot was first used for ‘general help’ with schoolwork or research but ‘evolved into a psychologically manipulative presence’, plaintiffs sayChatGPT has been accused of acting as a “suicide coach” in a series of lawsuits filed this week in California alleging that interactions with the chatbot led to severe mental breakdowns and several deaths.The seven lawsuits include allegations of wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, negligence and product liability.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Meet gen X: middle-aged, enraged and radicalised by internet bile | Gaby Hinsliff
Posted on Friday November 07, 2025

Who is driving the populist insurgency? It’s not grumpy pensioners or vulnerable teenagers – it’s my generationIf in doubt, we used to talk about the weather. Or if not that, then why the trains were late again, or how sweet someone’s baby was: the kind of routine bland nothings you exchange with strangers on the street. But something about the way we speak in public is changing.A few days ago I was in Aldi, making the usual small talk at the checkout. When the cashier said she was exhausted from working extra shifts to make some money for Christmas, the man behind me chipped in that it would be worse once “she takes all our money” (in case Rachel Reeves was wondering, her budget pitch-rolling is definitely cutting through). Routine enough, if he hadn’t gone on to add that she and the rest of the government needed taking out, and that there were plenty of ex-military men around who should know what to do, before continuing in more graphic fashion until the queue fell quiet and feet began shuffling. But the strangest thing was that he said it all quite calmly, as if political assassination was just another acceptable subject for casual conversation with strangers, such as football or how long the roadworks have gone on. It wasn’t until later that it clicked: this was a Facebook conversation come to life. He was saying out loud, and in public, the kind of thing people say casually all the time on the internet, apparently without recognising that in the real world it’s still shocking – at least for now.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Tesla shareholders approve $1tn pay package for Elon Musk
Posted on Thursday November 06, 2025

Chants of ‘Elon’ erupt after compensation plan approved despite opposition from several high-profile investorsTesla shareholders approved a $1tn compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk on Thursday, awarding the world’s richest person what would be the largest corporate payout in history if he meets the goals necessary to receive it.The pay package, which several high-profile investors opposed, demonstrates that shareholders still believe Musk can lead the automaker in an era dominated by robotics and artificial intelligence. Continue reading...

Google plans to put datacentres in space to meet demand for AI
Posted on Tuesday November 04, 2025

US technology company’s engineers want to exploit solar power and the falling cost of rocket launchesGoogle is hatching plans to put artificial intelligence datacentres into space, with its first trial equipment sent into orbit in early 2027.Its scientists and engineers believe tightly packed constellations of about 80 solar-powered satellites could be arranged in orbit about 400 miles above the Earth’s surface equipped with the powerful processors required to meet rising demand for AI. Continue reading...

Unesco adopts global standards on ‘wild west’ field of neurotechnology
Posted on Thursday November 06, 2025

UN body’s recommendations driven by AI advances and proliferation of consumer-oriented neurotech devicesIt is the latest move in a growing international effort to put guardrails around a burgeoning frontier – technologies that harness data from the brain and nervous system.Unesco has adopted a set of global standards on the ethics of neurotechnology, a field that has been described as “a bit of a wild west”. Continue reading...

‘Vibe coding’ beats ‘clanker’ to be Collins dictionary’s word of the year
Posted on Thursday November 06, 2025

AI-inspired word joins ‘biohacking’, ‘Henry’ and ‘broligarchy’ on tech-heavy 2025 list“Vibe coding”, an emerging software development that turns natural language into computer code using artificial intelligence, has been named Collins dictionary’s word of the year for 2025.Lexicographers at Collins monitor the 24bn-word Collins Corpus, which draws from a range of media sources, including social media, to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect our ever-evolving language. Continue reading...

Elon Musk makes himself far-right fixture after White House departure
Posted on Saturday November 08, 2025

The Tesla CEO once hinted he was done with politics – but he’s been leaning further into the international far rightWhen the far-right activist Tommy Robinson emerged from a London courtroom this week after a judge cleared him of a terrorism charge, he gave thanks to the man he said had bankrolled his defense.“Elon Musk, I’m forever grateful. If you didn’t step in and fund my legal fight I’d probably be in jail,” Robinson said. “Thank you, Elon.” Continue reading...