United Nations members gathered this week in Busan, South Korea to negotiate the first treaty reducing plastic pollution. But Politico reports that “talks collapsed late Sunday after negotiators failed to resolve their differences and agree on a global plastic treaty. At the heart of the disagreement was a refusal by Read more…
China has overtaken the United States as the dominant force in critical technology research, according to a report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The study found China now leads in 57 of 64 critical technologies, up from just three technologies in 2003-2007, while U.S. leadership dropped from 60 to Read more…
Following a public vote in which more than 37,000 people had their say, we’re pleased to announce that the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024 is ‘brain rot.’ Our language experts created a shortlist of six words to reflect the moods and conversations that have helped shape the past Read more…
ChatGPT users have spotted an unusual glitch that prevents the AI chatbot from saying the name ‘David Mayer.’ OpenAI’s hugely popular AI tool responds to requests to write the name with an error message, stating: “I’m unable to produce a response.” The chat thread is then ended, with people forced Read more…
Major technology companies criticized Australia’s new law banning social media access for users under 16, which passed parliament on Thursday with bipartisan support. The legislation threatens fines up to $32 million for platforms failing to block minors. TikTok warned the ban could drive young users to riskier online spaces, while Read more…
Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun consumed Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” artwork — a banana taped to a wall — during an event in Hong Kong on Friday, declaring “the real value is the concept itself.” Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron, purchased the piece for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s last week, significantly Read more…
Major academic publishers including Elsevier and Springer Nature are grappling with a sophisticated new journal hijacking scam that precisely mimics their websites to deceive researchers. The fraudulent operation, reported by Retraction Watch, has cloned at least 13 legitimate journals through fake domains, according to Crossref data. The scam, the publication Read more…