Technology

Teacher v chatbot: my journey into the classroom in the age of AI
Posted on Tuesday March 03, 2026

I was a newcomer, negotiating all of usual classroom difficulties for the first time. Throwing AI into the mix felt like downing a coffee in the middle of a panic attackTwo years ago, at the age of 39, I began training to be a school teacher. I wanted to teach English – to help young people become stronger readers, writers and thinkers, with a deeper connection to literature. After 15 years of working as a freelance writer and as a novelist, I felt confident that I had something to offer. But the further I progressed in my training, the more uncertain I felt. One particular question taunted me for my lack of an answer. What to do about artificial intelligence?The immediate dilemma: what does it mean for English instruction that all pupils now have access to free online chatbots that can produce fluid, fairly complex prose on demand? This question sits atop a teetering pile of timeless pedagogical quandaries: What are we actually trying to do in school? How should we go about doing it? How do we know if we’ve succeeded? I was a newcomer, negotiating all of this for the first time. Throwing AI into the mix felt like downing a coffee in the middle of a panic attack. Continue reading...

Dassault Aviation says €100bn project may soon be ‘dead’ if Airbus will not agree on how to share workloadFrance and Germany’s next-generation fighter jet project could soon be “dead”, one of the two companies tasked with delivering it has warned, amid a worsening corporate rift over who gets to build the aircraft.Dassault Aviation, France’s leading warplane maker, said Airbus’s defence arm – which represents Germany and Spain – needed to cooperate on the €100bn programme otherwise it would collapse. Continue reading...

Google faces lawsuit after Gemini chatbot allegedly instructed man to kill himself
Posted on Wednesday March 04, 2026

Lawsuit is first wrongful death case brought against Google over flagship AI product after death of Jonathan GavalasSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxLast August, Jonathan Gavalas became entirely consumed with his Google Gemini chatbot. The 36-year-old Florida resident had started casually using the artificial intelligence tool earlier that month to help with writing and shopping. Then Google introduced its Gemini Live AI assistant, which included voice-based chats that had the capability to detect people’s emotions and respond in a more human-like way.“Holy shit, this is kind of creepy,” Gavalas told the chatbot the night the feature debuted, according to court documents. “You’re way too real.” Continue reading...

Nvidia and UK Wealth Fund invest in British autonomous driving startup Oxa
Posted on Wednesday March 04, 2026

Oxford-based firm has raised $103m for commercial development of software for self-driving industrial vehiclesNvidia is investing in the British autonomous driving startup Oxa, alongside backing from the UK’s National Wealth Fund, in a boost to the country’s technology sector.The Oxford-based company, which has developed software for self-driving industrial vehicles, said it had raised $103m (£77m) from investors to focus on commercial solutions for that software, as well as its physical AI and robotics technology, and to push on with its global expansion plans. Continue reading...

Quit ChatGPT: right now! Your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism | Rutger Bregman
Posted on Wednesday March 04, 2026

As a historian, I’ve studied the major consumer boycotts of history. We can take down ChatGPT and send a powerful signal to Silicon ValleyOpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is on track to lose $14bn this year. Its market share is collapsing, and its own CEO, Sam Altman, has admitted it “screwed up” an element of the product. All it takes to accelerate that decline is 10 seconds of your time.A grassroots boycott called QuitGPT has been spreading across the US and beyond, asking people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions. More than a million people have answered the call. Mark Ruffalo and Katy Perry have thrown their weight behind it. It is one of the most significant consumer boycotts in recent memory, and I believe it’s time for Europeans to join. Continue reading...

What was really behind Jack Dorsey laying off nearly half of Block’s staff?
Posted on Tuesday March 03, 2026

CEO cited AI advances in cutting 4,000 workers, but a weak crypto market and declining stock price may also be at playJack Dorsey cited AI as the driving force behind cutting 40% of his company’s employees, but other factors such as a weak crypto market, overstaffing and a declining stock price may also have motivated the move.Last week, the financial technology company Block announced that it would lay off 4,000 of its 10,000 workers. Dorsey, Block’s CEO, said in a letter to shareholders that advances in AI “have changed what it means to build and run a company”. Continue reading...

OpenAI amends Pentagon deal as Sam Altman admits it looks ‘sloppy’
Posted on Tuesday March 03, 2026

ChatGPT owner’s CEO says it will bar its technology being used for mass surveillance or by intelligence servicesBusiness live – latest updatesOpenAI is amending its hastily arranged deal to supply artificial intelligence to the US Department of War (DoW) after the ChatGPT owner’s chief executive admitted it looked “opportunistic and sloppy”.The contract prompted fears the San Francisco startup’s AI could be used for domestic mass surveillance but its boss, Sam Altman, said on Monday night the startup would explicitly bar its technology from being used for that purpose or being deployed by defence department intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA). Continue reading...

Showdown over datacenter politics at heart of North Carolina primary
Posted on Wednesday March 04, 2026

Democratic rematch in Durham-area district draws focus to fight over AI datacenters increasingly shaping US electionsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA North Carolina congressional primary held on Tuesday is an early test of datacenter politics – a fight increasingly shaping elections nationwide.In the Durham-area fourth district, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee is seeking her third term against progressive challenger Nida Allam, a Durham county commissioner she defeated in 2022. The election was too close to call as of Wednesday morning, with Foushee up by less than one percentage point, and is likely headed for a recount. Continue reading...