Microsoft slams UK move blocking Activision takeover as ‘bad day for Britain’ April 27, 2023 Microsoft’s vice chair and president has slammed the UK competition watchdog’s decision to block the software company’s 68.7bn dollar (£55bn) takeover of gaming firm Activision Blizzard, calling it a “bad day for Britain”. Brad Smith said the UK regulatory environment compared unfavourably with the EU and warned the “English Channel has never seemed wider”. He [...]
Facebook owner Meta touts AI might as digital ads boost outlook April 27, 2023 Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that AI was helping the company boost traffic to Facebook and Instagram and earn more in ad sales, as it forecast quarterly revenue well above analyst expectations. Meta shares surged 12 per cent in after hours trading, adding over $50bn (£40.06bn) to its market value and continuing a rally [...]
Human governance in the metaverse: Part One April 24, 2023 In part one of his examination of human governance in the metaverse, Dr Chris Kacher looks at 'the network state'.
Can Amazon Prime, Netflix and the streamers survive the UK’s recession fears? April 20, 2023 The number of British households signed up to streaming platforms has slumped so far this year, as more cash-strapped viewers trim their subscriptions to cut costs. The number of homes subscribed to at least one video streaming platform fell to 16.1 million between January and March this year, down from 16.91 million during the same [...]
‘Worst volatility is behind us’ after March’s mini-crisis, says Goldman’s David Solomon April 18, 2023 Goldman’s chair and chief executive David Solomon said the worst of March’s banking difficulties had passed, but stressed there were still dangers ahead. On an investor call following first quarter results, Solomon said “it appears the worst volatility is behind us thanks to prompt action from regulators.” Solomon said the quarter was “certainly volatile”, highlighting [...]
Artificial intelligence is transforming our music, starting with Kanye West April 18, 2023 Kanye West has never sung Hey There Delilah, yet there's his cover of the song online. It's been made using AI, and it's exemplary of how the technology is rocking the music industry, writes Elena Siniscalco
Wall Street rally lifts tech stocks in latest signal US inflation is cooling, now eyes turn to Fed rate decision April 14, 2023 A rally on Wall Street on Thursday lifted stocks to their highest level in almost two months following the latest sign that inflation continues to cool. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent after a report showed inflation at the wholesale level slowed last month by more than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained [...]
Nothing Ear (1) review: Slick but room for improvement April 13, 2023 Nothing Tech sells itself as a cooler, more rebellious and – crucially – cheaper alternative to Apple. Its Nothing (1) smartphone follows 80 per cent of the Cupertino playbook but then mixes it up with a clear back panel that displays the phone’s innards, as well as using a retro dot matrix font in place [...]
Spotify and Apple warned against letting AI access copyrighted songs April 12, 2023 Universal Music Group has warned streaming platforms to clamp down on artificial intelligence tools wielding copyrighted songs for training purposes. In a letter sent to streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple, the music corporation expressed concern that AI tools would collect data from copyrighted songs available on the platform to train themselves to produce [...]
Gordon Murray’s T.33 Spider is a £1.8 million hypercar head-rush April 11, 2023 The new T.33 Spider from Gordon Murray Automotive combines a super-light carbon fibre chassis with a 617hp Cosworth V12 and manual gearbox.