Microsoft Corp.’s creditors turned slightly more cautious on the software company’s longer-term, high-quality debt after a US judge

By Kantaro Komiya and Supantha Mukherjee TOKYO (Reuters) -Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Saturday called for

The creator of the hugely popular AI bot ChatGPT has launched a controversial project that offers users a free share of cryptocurrency in exchange for their biometric data. Nearly four years after founding Worldcoin, OpenAI boss Sam Altman announced on Monday that the crypto wallet and app is now available in countries where it is not banned for regulatory or legal reasons. More than 1.5 million people signed up to the venture prior to its official launch, each receiving a share of Worldcoin tokens in exchange for scanning their iris using a silver orb developed by the startup. The biometric data was used to verify each individual’s “unique personhood” and ensure that no one signed up more than once. Each person will now be able to use the Worldcoin token, which is currently valued at $2.59 (£2), according to CoinMarketCap, having begun trading on Monday just below $2. Worldcoin (WLD) is similar to other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, in that it uses blockchain technology to enable digital transactions. According to its website, people can use it for “remittances, [to] tip artists, [and] buy and sell goods and services”. The main differentiator is the way that users sign up, with privacy advocates warning that it could lead to a black market of people’s iris scans. Worldcoin has defended its technology by claiming that its orb is only used to check that a person is unique and has not signed up before. The startup’s website states: “We don’t want to know who you are, just that you are unique”. Worldcoin co-founder Alex Blania wrote in a note published on Monday that he believed Worldcoin “could drastically increase economic opportunity, scale a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while preserving privacy, enable democratic processes, and eventually show a potential path to AI-funded universal basic income.” He added: “Worldcoin is an attempt at global scale alignment, the journey will be challenging and outcome is uncertain. But finding new ways to broadly share the coming technological prosperity is a critical challenge of our time.” Worldcoin does not list the countries in which it operates – The Independent has reached out for further information – though it is not yet available in Mr Altman’s native US. The startup founder was only able to sign up himself on a trip to Europe earlier this year. “Like any really ambitious project, maybe it works out and maybe it doesn’t, but trying stuff like this is how progress happens,” Mr Altman tweeted following Worldcoin’s launch. “In either case, we especially love our haters, it gives us energy, please keep it coming.” Read More What is superintelligence? How AI could wipe out humanity – and why the boss of ChatGPT is doomsday prepping How bad is bitcoin for the environment really? Crypto experts discuss bitcoin price predictions What is Solana? The crypto rising 200-times faster than bitcoin

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Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission has already filed three cases against Amazon.com Inc. Now she’s gearing up for

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Apple has opened pre-orders for the new iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. The new handsets were revealed at a livestreamed event this week, and will go on sale next Friday, 22 September. Pre-orders opened at 5am local pacific time, or 1pm in the UK. That is a little later than it used to be: Apple would open sales at midnight local time, which meant that customers on the east coast of the US had to wake up in the middle of the night if they wanted to ensure they were first in line. In the hours before those pre-orders opened, Apple took its store offline. Those attempting to buy anything saw a message reading “we can’t wait either”, and telling customers to come back later on. Apple was also once famous – and sometimes criticised – for the long lines that would appear outside of its stores ahead of the release of the iPhone, and the loud reception that customers received when they came to buy one. These days, however, it encourages people to buy the phone online if they can, and those queues have largely become a thing of the past. Nowadays, the company offers a range of ways to pre-order, many of which are intended to avoid queueing either online or at stores. Customers could line up their pre-order in advance, for instance – through a system called ‘Get Ready’ that lets them choose which iPhone and financing options they want, so that they are waiting when pre-orders actually open. Apple also lets people order their new products online and pick them up at a store, or to go to a store and have any out-of-stock products sent to them from there, in another measure that helps avoids lines or waiting. As well as buying the new iPhone directly from Apple, various networks are offering their own deals. Carriers largely run on the same schedule, opening pre-orders on 15 September and then making the phones available a week later. The iPhone 15 starts at £799, and the Pro version starts at £999. There had been considerable rumours in advance of the event that Apple was planning significant price rises – but prices actually fell slightly in the UK, while staying largely the same in the US. The normal iPhone 15 largely brings last year’s iPhone 14 Pro upgrades to the less expensive phones, including the Dynamic Island and its processor, as well as new colours. The iPhone 15 Pro gets a faster chip, improved cameras, and a new titanium material. The rest of the products unveiled during Apple’s ‘Wanderlust’ event – the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and new AirPods Pro – are already available to order. Read More iPhone 12 is not emitting dangerous radiation, Apple says, amid fears of Europe ban France’s iPhone 12 ban could spread across Europe, regulators say Everything Apple killed off at iPhone 15 event

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Female reproductive health experts are calling on Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to rethink its restrictions on reproductive health content.