Technology

‘You can’t control everything’: the rise in plastic surgeons asked to create ‘AI face’
Posted on Saturday May 23, 2026

Growing numbers of people are seeking improbable cosmetic surgery based on chatbots’ recommendations

Plastic surgeons are increasingly concerned about the rise of “AI face”, as more and more clients arrive in their offices with unrealistic AI-generated visions of what they want to look like.

Dr Nora Nugent, a cosmetic surgeon from Tunbridge Wells, has seen this first hand. Clients have started coming to her office with photos of themselves beautified by AI and a false expectation that those results are achievable with surgery. She is also the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, and says many colleagues are having similar experiences.

Palantir hits back at Sadiq Khan after £50m contract with Met police blocked
Posted on Friday May 22, 2026

London mayor accused of ‘putting politics above public safety’ for rejecting deal to use AI in intelligence analysis

UK politics live – latest updates

Palantir has accused Sadiq Khan of “putting politics above public safety” after the London mayor blocked its £50m contract with the Metropolitan police in a move that has also led to tensions inside Labour over its involvement with the US tech company.

Louis Mosley, who heads Palantir in the UK and Europe, accused Khan of politicising procurement after he rejected a two-year deal for Scotland Yard to use AI to process intelligence in criminal investigations, as first revealed by the Guardian. Mosley said: “What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer.”

Mars colony and Grok warnings: five strange details in SpaceX’s pitch to investors
Posted on Friday May 22, 2026

IPO filing from Elon Musk’s company reveals closer look at finances, cosmic ambitions and tech empire’s quirks

SpaceX publicly released an investor prospectus on Wednesday as part of its plan for a $1.75tn debut on the US stock market next month, revealing unseen details about the finances and future plans of Elon Musk’s flagship company. In addition to new information on operating costs and revenue, the filing also included trademark Muskian sweeping proclamations about the universe and insights into some of the quirks of his tech empire.

Scattered throughout the 300-plus-page prospectus are several disclosures and risk warnings that show the eccentricities of Musk’s company and its cosmic ambitions. Other financial details in the document highlight how interdependent Musk’s various businesses have become and the risks that they carry.

Meta and Snapchat blocking Saudi dissidents’ accounts
Posted on Friday May 22, 2026

US social media firms acting on orders from Middle East kingdom accused of being ‘instruments of repression’

Major US social media companies including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms have blocked the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents so they are no longer visible inside the kingdom, following orders by Saudi authorities.

Those affected include Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist and vocal critic of Saudi human rights violations, and Omar Abdulaziz, a Canada and UK-based activist who worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi before the journalist’s murder by Saudi agents in 2018.

Nvidia’s revenue blows past Wall Street expectations as AI boom accelerates
Posted on Wednesday May 20, 2026

Many analysts view company’s financial performance as a broader referendum on AI buildout

Nvidia continued its years-long streak of beating Wall Street’s expectations for growth on Wednesday, reassuring most investors that the AI boom, particularly the global explosion of datacenters, will continue apace.

“The buildout of AI factories – the largest infrastructure expansion in human history – is accelerating at extraordinary speed,” said Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, in a statement. “Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value, and scaling rapidly across companies and industries.”

Spotify and Universal Music agree deal to let subscribers create AI remixes
Posted on Thursday May 21, 2026

Licensing agreement will allow listeners to use AI to create content on streaming platform for first time

Spotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence.

The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform.

Google DeepMind in talks with UK unions amid staff concern over US and Israel’s AI use
Posted on Wednesday May 20, 2026

Exclusive: Google DeepMind agrees to Acas talks after workers sign petitions about governments’ use of AI for defence and intelligence

Google DeepMind has agreed to enter formal talks with UK tech workers that could lead to trade union representation amid growing staff concerns about the use of its AI by the US and Israeli governments’ defence and intelligence.

In a groundbreaking move, the artificial intelligence arm of the multi-trillion dollar Google empire, led by the Nobel prize winner Demis Hassabis, has agreed to meet the Communications Workers Union and Unite at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) after workers based at its London headquarters this month voted to make a bid to unionise.