Technology

OpenAI considered alerting Canadian police about school shooting suspect months ago
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Company behind ChatGPT last year flagged Jesse Van Rootselaar’s account for ‘furtherance of violent activities’ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has said it considered alerting Canadian police last year about the activities of a person who months later committed one of the worst school shootings in the country’s history.OpenAI said last June the company identified the account of Jesse Van Rootselaar via abuse detection efforts for “furtherance of violent activities”. Continue reading...

The splinternet: how online shutdowns are getting cheaper and easier to impose
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Iran has shown how plausible blackouts now are, with far-reaching consequences for the internet as we know itDuring the height of Iran’s blackout in January, people could still access a platform that, in some senses, was like the internet.Iranians could message family members on a government-monitored app and watch clips of Manchester United on a Farsi-language video-sharing site. They could read state news and use a local navigation service. Continue reading...

After meeting with unspecified tech leaders, senator calls for urgent policy action as companies race to build ever more powerful systemsBernie Sanders has warned that Congress and the American public have “not a clue” about the scale and speed of the coming AI revolution, pressing for urgent policy action to “slow this thing down” as tech companies race to build ever-more powerful systems.Speaking at Stanford University on Friday alongside congressman Ro Khanna after a series of meetings with industry leaders in California, Sanders was blunt about what he called the “most dangerous moment in the modern history of this country”. Continue reading...

Mind launches inquiry into AI and mental health after Guardian investigation
Posted on Friday February 20, 2026

Exclusive: England and Wales charity to examine safeguards after Guardian exposed ‘very dangerous’ advice on Google AI Overviews‘Very dangerous’: a Mind mental health expert on Google’s AI summariesMind is launching a significant inquiry into artificial intelligence and mental health after a Guardian investigation exposed how Google’s AI Overviews gave people “very dangerous” medical advice.In a year-long commission, the mental health charity, which operates in England and Wales, will examine the risks and safeguards required as AI increasingly influences the lives of millions of people affected by mental health issues worldwide. Continue reading...

Nascent tech, real fear: how AI anxiety is upending career ambitions
Posted on Friday February 20, 2026

AI has convinced computer science students to shift majors and white-collar workers to change careers, while some are embracing itMatthew Ramirez started at Western Governors University as a computer science major in 2025, drawn by the promise of a high-paying, flexible career as a programmer. But as headlines mounted about tech layoffs and AI’s potential to replace entry-level coders, he began to question whether that path would actually lead to a job.When the 20-year-old interviewed for a datacenter technician role that June and never heard back, his doubts deepened. In December, Ramirez decided on what he thought was a safer bet: turning away from computer science entirely. He dropped his planned major to instead apply to nursing school. He comes from a family of nurses, and sees the field as more stable and harder to automate than coding. Continue reading...

Amazon’s cloud ‘hit by two outages caused by AI tools last year’
Posted on Friday February 20, 2026

Reported issues at Amazon Web Services raise questions about firm’s use of artificial intelligence as it cuts staffAmazon’s huge cloud computing arm reportedly experienced at least two outages caused by its own artificial intelligence tools, raising questions about the company’s embrace of AI as it lays off human employees.A 13-hour interruption to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) operations in December was caused by an AI agent, Kiro, autonomously choosing to “delete and then recreate” a part of its environment, the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...

‘It’s survival of the fittest’: the UK kebab chain seeking an edge with robot slicers
Posted on Friday February 20, 2026

German Doner Kebab aims to open at 25 new sites this year with self-service screens and healthy options aimed at gen Z They are already packing our groceries and delivering shopping. Now robots are coming to the kebab shop, alongside self-service screens and loyalty apps, as takeaways look for ways to tackle rising costs.German Doner Kebab (GDK), a perhaps surprisingly British-owned chain that has been springing up across the country, has turned to technology to keep its fast food business buzzing in the face of rising costs and tough times on the high street. Continue reading...

Families are navigating the tough choice between unimaginable riches and the identity that comes with landWhen two men knocked on Ida Huddleston’s door last May, they carried a contract worth more than $33m in exchange for the Kentucky farm that had fed her family for centuries.According to Huddleston, the men’s client, an unnamed “Fortune 100 company”, sought her 650 acres (260 hectares) in Mason county for an unspecified industrial development. Finding out any more would require signing a non-disclosure agreement. Continue reading...