Science and Tech

Chatbot platform Character.ai is overhauling the way it works for teenagers, promising it will become a “safe” space with added controls for parents. The site is facing two lawsuits in the US – one over the death of a teenager – and has been branded a “clear and present danger” to young people. It says safety will now be “infused” …

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has donated $1m (£786,000) to an inauguration fund for President-elect Donald Trump. The tech giant’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in November, having sought to repair his and his firm’s relationship with Trump following the election. Trump has previously been highly critical of Mr Zuckerberg and Facebook …

Australia’s government says it will create new rules to force big tech companies to pay local publishers for news. The long-awaited decision sets out a successor to a world-first law that Australia passed in 2021, which was designed to make giants like Meta and Google pay for hosting news on their platforms. Earlier this year Meta – which owns Facebook …

Users of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have experienced difficulties accessing them due to a mass global outage. “Thanks for bearing with us! We’re 99% of the way there – just doing some last checks. We apologize to those who’ve been affected by the outage,” Meta, which owns the apps, said on X. Over 22,000 people reported issues with Facebook on …

Doughnut chain Krispy Kreme says it has been hit by a cyberattack which has disrupted its online systems. Some customers have been unable to make online orders as a result of the hack, which occurred in late November but has only just been disclosed. Krispy Kreme revealed the attack in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission …

A chatbot told a 17-year-old that murdering his parents was a “reasonable response” to them limiting his screen time, a lawsuit filed in a Texas court claims. Two families are suing Character.ai arguing the chatbot “poses a clear and present danger” to young people, including by “actively promoting violence.” Character.ai – a platform which allows users to create digital personalities …

General Motors has announced that it will stop funding the development of the Cruise self-driving taxi. The company says it will now “refocus autonomous driving development on personal vehicles”. GM also pointed to the increasingly competitive robotaxi market as a reason for the move. In October, Tesla boss Elon Musk unveiled the electric car giant’s long-awaited robotaxi, the Cybercab, at …

Cyber warfare, aerodynamic tech in athletics and the new Indiana Jones.

Online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay will have to pay their “fair share” of recycling electrical waste under new government proposals. Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said planned reforms would create a “level playing field” for electronics producers by putting more onus on international retailers to contribute to recycling costs. Some foreign sellers have been able to avoid this …

Prime Video A digital Keanu Reeves appears in an episode of Secret Level based on giant robot shooter Armored Core You can’t please all of the people all of the time, and that’s especially true of gamers. It’s something Tim Miller, the producer of Amazon’s new series Secret Level, knows all too well. The animated anthology show is made up …