TL;DR: The Apple Pencil (2nd Gen) is on sale for £99 this Prime Day. This

OpenAI boss Sam Altman has finally signed up for his own Worldcoin cryptocurrency, four years after founding the controversial venture. The tech boss, whose AI startup created ChatGPT, recently raised $100 million to finance his crypto side project, which involves scanning millions of people’s eyeballs in order to trade their biometric data for free cryptocurrency. Until this week he had been unable to join the project due to it being unavailable in his native US. On a trip to Europe on Tuesday, where the technology is not restricted, Mr Altman signed up to the venture through a silver orb that uses iris scanning technology to capture user data. This data is used to verify an individual’s “unique personhood”, which entitles them to a free share of Worldcoin tokens when it officially launches. More than 1.5 million people have already signed up for the project, according to the company’s own figures, with the launch expected to take place in the coming weeks. The company describes the cryptocurrency as a “new, collectively owned global currency that will be distributed fairly to as many people as possible”, claiming that everyone in the world is eligible for a free share of it. The Worldcoin tokens, called WLD, is similar to other cryptocurrencies in that it can be used as a store of value or to make payments, with the project’s website stating that it can be used for “remittances, [to] tip artists, [and] buy and sell goods and services”. Worldcoin has generated controversy for collecting biometric data from people in developing countries in exchange for free gifts and cash, but the company claims this unique approach to crypto means it can be distributed fairly and inclusively After scanning a person’s iris with the spherical device, which the company calls the “chrome orb”, a user is given their allotted share of Worldcoin. This means no one is able to get more than their individual free share of the digital currency, though it will still possible to buy and trade it separately, just like any other cryptocurrency. “Nothing like this has ever been done before and the outcome is uncertain,” Mr Altman wrote in a blog post in 2021, alongside other Worldcoin co-founders. “But we are obsessed with the idea that revolutionary new technologies like blockchain and cryptography can let us do something collectively that even governments have not been able to: increase individual empowerment and equality of opportunity on a global scale.” Read More What is superintelligence? How AI could replace humans as the dominant lifeform on Earth

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--

The move into podcasting is a natural progression for the TikTok star, who has amassed a dedicated following for her candid and relatable content

Emergency 999 calls across the country are not connecting amid technical issues with the phone lines. People have been urged to call 101 in an emergency for police and fire, or 111 in a medical emergency, after problems were reported on Saturday morning. Several police forces and fire and ambulance services said they were facing issues and said BT had reported a “system failure”. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Due to a technical fault that is impacting a number of police forces, many 999 calls are not connecting. “Until further notice, anyone in London who requires the police in an emergency is asked to call 101. “Please only call in an emergency and please wait until later to make any 101 non-emergency calls.” The spokesperson confirmed that BT runs the 999 system. It is not known how many emergency services have been affected, or when the issue will be resolved. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Despite the generous tax breaks they are receiving from the Biden administration, many US companies planning to build

WASHINGTON Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday he has scheduled three briefings for senators on artificial

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2023--

A warning to readers who don’t have a fear of the deep ocean: this story might soon change that. Back in 2019, a group of researchers who wanted to stir excitement down in the murky recesses of the sea conducted a unique experiment. The team, from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), dropped three dead alligators 6,560 feet (2,000 metres) down into the Gulf of Mexico to see how deep-dwelling creatures would react to an uncommon food source. Initially, the scientists thought that the tough hide of the reptiles would put scavengers off, because it would make it hard for them to reach the more desirable soft flesh. However, this swiftly proved to be far from the case. Within a day, nine large isopods (Bathynomus giganteus) were observed feasting on the first carcass, eventually penetrating its hide and eating their meal from the inside out – imagine a crew of foot-long, pink woodlice crawling all over a gator and you get the picture. The second croc, dropped around 100km away, was almost totally devoured in just 51 days – leaving behind nothing more than its skull, spine, and the rope and weight that were used to anchor it to the sea floor. The scant leftovers became a source of great excitement to the researchers when they noticed it had been targeted by a brand new species of bone-eating worm. They concluded that it appeared to be a member of the Osedax family – commonly known as "zombie worms" because they suck away at, and live off, the bones of the dead – which had never been seen around Mexico before. Testing revealed that its nearest identifiable relatives are native to Antarctica and California, therefore making it an “undescribed species”. The investigators wrote in a paper about their discovery, which was published in the journal PLOS, that the creature “will be named in due course”. So, what happened to the third alligator? Well, that part is a mystery, because within eight days of its drop-off at its 1,996-metre-deep observation spot, it had disappeared. The researchers noted that although the body had vanished, the 20.4kg anchor, shackle and rope used to weigh the animal down were found 8.3 metres away – suggesting they had been “dragged” there. The experts concluded that a “large scavenger” had most likely snapped up the reptile. And given the depth at which it had been left, and the “implied body size necessary to both consume a moderately-sized alligator and move a large weight” it was probably a large shark. Clearly, whatever the beast was, it didn’t feel like sharing its dinner with a bunch of greedy worms. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A US watchdog has filed a compliant against Elon Musk’s X – previously Twitter – calling for an investigation over the platform’s advertising practices, including the alleged non-disclosure of some posts as ads. The non-profit organisation Check My Ads filed the complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission about the lack of labeling of some posts as ads, arguing that such content on the platform could mislead users. “This misrepresentation tricks users into trusting content as organic and exacerbates the opportunity for scams to occur,” the complaint noted. “Furthermore, by failing to adequately disclose advertisements, X Corp. misrepresents the methods employed to target users or facilitate third-party ad targeting,” it said. After initially spotting instances of adverts on X not being labelled, the watchdog called out users on the microblogging platform in September to flag more such instances they spot. In the following weeks, it gatherd information on “hundreds of unlabelled ads” from several users to build a case to the FTC, demanding X to be investigated. “Not marking ads is no small thing. As the complaint points out, unlabeled ads could trick users into thinking content is organic, increasing the chance for scams,” Check My Ads explained in a blog post. With unlabelled ads on social media platforms, people also have no way to know they are being targetted. While X is set up to explain why any user is seeing a particular ad with a hyperlink, the watchdog found that these links are “frequently broken”. “X Corp.’s lack of disclosures to consumers, misrepresentations to advertisers, and flawed access to explanations about targeted advertising constitute unfair and deceptive practices,“ Check My Ads’ policy director Sarah Kay Wiley said. “We urge the Commission to determine the extent of these violations and address them to the full extent of its authority,” Ms Wiley said. X did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. The complaint comes as X countinues different approaches, including new paid for services, to shore up more revenue, which is down 60 per cent since Mr Musk took over the company. While once advert posts had the word “promoted” below them, they now are seen with a smaller “ad” label, which do not seem to appear on some posts as the complaint mentions. Users have also complained on the platform that they are sometimes even unable to block or report some unlabeled ads. Read More Elon Musk’s new AI bot will help you make cocaine which proves it’s ‘rebellious’ How Elon Musk’s ‘spicy’ Grok compares to ‘woke’ ChatGPT Elon Musk unveils new sarcasm-loving AI chatbot for premium X subscribers VR tool aims to help rail passengers spot and safely tackle sexual harassment WhatsApp warning over fee to keep old messages ChatGPT Plus stops signups after major update

By Aditya Soni Microsoft is outstripping Alphabet in the race to make money from generative artificial intelligence through

The developer of beloved art app Procreate has announced Procreate Dreams, a new iPad animation