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After four of the biggest competitors in the AI race held quarterly earnings calls late last month, two things are clear: Big Tech is not done spending record amounts on the AI data center buildout, and the AI data center buildout is not any closer to yielding its promised returns. A third thing is also […]

With smartphone sales tanking by around 20 percent compared to 2025, Qualcomm is looking to data centers to help boost its bottom line. During its Q4 2026 earnings call, the company laid out its plans to make a splash in the AI data center business, through partnerships with companies like Amazon and Meta announced earlier […]

This week on “Uncanny Valley,” we discuss the historic blue wave that swept the midterms and delivered a rebuke to the Trump administration, Big Tech, and data centers.

Google made Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash, its AI video model, generally available. It makes 15-second clips, up from 10, lets users edit them over several chat turns and costs 30% less, at about $0.07 a second for 720p video. Google has made Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash, the latest version of its AI video model, generally […] This story continues at The Next Web

Prospect to hold workplace sessions and recruit members under agreement with tech company Trade unions are expected to make further inroads into big tech companies in the UK after new rights for unions to access workplaces came into force, with Google UK signing an agreement on Monday. The Prospect union has reached an agreement with Google to begin organising among about 7,000 workers across its UK operations, including YouTube but excluding DeepMind. Continue reading...

The tech industry spent big on the midterms, but it turned out to be a poor investment. Elon Musk poured a staggering $446m dollars into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and groups since last year, but his efforts didn’t pay off. Democrats won every one of the five Senate races where Musk’s America Pac spent the most money backing Republican candidates. Carter Sherman and Kai Wright are joined by the Guardian’s US tech editor, Blake Montgomery, to ask what the ‘blue tsunami’ will mean for Musk and the wider tech industry. Will this spell the end of AI datacenters? And if so, what could this mean for the US economy? Continue reading...

Russia plans to build own version of US billionaire’s satellite communications to help attack Ukraine Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s genius and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine. The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation. Continue reading...

New electricity generating capacity would enable north-east to attract investment for large-scale AI infrastructure National Grid has taken a step towards building Britain’s biggest electricity substation on Teesside, which could supply power to a vast neighbouring datacentre as the UK races to expand its AI infrastructure. Last week, the company agreed to purchase 29.5 hectares (73 acres) of land at Dorman Point on a site owned by Teesworks, a local private-public partnership. The deal was first reported by Sky News. Continue reading...

James Talarico, the Democratic Texas senator-elect, not only managed to flip the state in yesterday's midterms but prevailed in the most expensive Senate election to date. More than $573 million was spent on advertisements between Talarico, his Republican opponent Ken Paxton, and their aligned PACs. And a big chunk of that money came from just […]

Minister hints at restriction on selling technology ‘to certain users’ amid worries over surreptitious filming of women Restrictions on smart glasses are being considered by the government, a minister has said, amid concerns that the technology is being used to surreptitiously film women. Speaking in the House of Commons, the safeguarding minister Satvir Kaur hinted at a ban on selling the technology “to certain users”. Continue reading...

Anthropic, the creator of Claude, filed to go public on the US stock market on 26 October. The company's filing statement contains a 92-page risk factor document in which it acknowledges the dangers that AI poses to society and human beings, and factors that could negatively affect Anthropic's business. Johana Bhuiyan, senior tech reporter for the Guardian, breaks down the document and explains why Anthropic's IPO could be a real test for the AI boom Anthropic files for potentially record-breaking stock market valuation in key test for AI industry Continue reading...

The tech mogul’s midterm donations backing Republicans have made him the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history Elon Musk has poured so much money into US politics this midterms election cycle that his donations could fund half a dozen SpaceX rocket launches or buy thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks. At the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, Musk could order more than 31.9m cheeseburgers with the money he has spent on the midterms. Musk, the world’s richest person, has funnelled at least $445.77m into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and groups since last year, according to US Federal Election Commission data as of 29 October. The contributions have made him the Republicans’ most prominent financial backer and the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history. Continue reading...

Philippe Jaenada told French radio that he used ChatGPT to ‘play with the reader’, after the prize removed a different book from its longlist over allegations of AI use The winner of France’s most prestigious literary prize has admitted using artificial intelligence while writing his novel, barely a day after collecting an award whose jury had thrown out another book over suspected AI use. Philippe Jaenada, who won the Prix Goncourt on Tuesday for L’Inconnue du quai de Javel (The Unknown Woman of the Quai de Javel), told France Inter radio on Wednesday that he had turned to AI “three times” while writing it. Continue reading...

In announcement geared to schools, tech giant showed how entwined AI is with the world’s most popular website Google just acknowledged that you can’t use Google Search without using artificial intelligence. The search giant announced a slate of new AI products for classrooms and schools on Tuesday as well as more ways for teachers and schools to limit or restrict use of those AI tools. The company said the schools should have control over whether students use AI in the classroom. There’s one catch, though: if a school or teacher blocks the use of Google’s AI features, students won’t be able to use Google Search. Continue reading...

Meta is planning to release the last OS update for its Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets by March 2027, the company announced today. The last OS update for those devices is planned to be v213, and after that, Meta will continue to ship security patches and critical bug fixes through the end of […]

The tech billionaire set spending record as he poured $446m into campaigns for failed Republican candidates Elon Musk set a record for election spending this year after pouring nearly half a billion dollars into backing Republicans in the US midterm elections. It turned out to be a poor investment. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO contributed at least $446m to Republican-aligned Super Pacs and groups over the course of the elections, specifically targeting several key Senate races in an effort to help the Trump administration retain Republican control of Congress. He outdid his own 2024 spending of nearly $290m. Yet as Democrats swept to power across the country on Tuesday night, it became clear that Musk would get nearly nothing in return for his hundreds of millions in spending. Continue reading...

Ted Cruz is pushing to confirm another Republican commissioner, potentially clearing the way for an all-Republican FCC that critics say would violate federal law.

The head of T-Mobile's parent company is casting doubt on SpaceX's plans to make Starlink Mobile a "major" carrier in the US. During an earnings call on Thursday, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges says he takes the Elon Musk-owned company "super serious," but that it will cost at least $200 billion to pull off: He […]

Apple will start checking iCloud items that are accessible to anyone who has the link for "harmful content" starting with iOS 27.3 and other 27.3 updates, the company says. "When you share an item that can be accessed by Anyone with the Link in version 27.3 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS, that […]