Latest Stories from Jamie
Study says using AI is way more expensive than human labour
MIT researchers conducted a study to see whether or not AI was more cost-effective than employing human workers across 800 occupations. Your job is probably secure, for now. When revolutionary technologies spring to life, it’s common for people to fear the unknown. The age-old prophecy that ‘machines will take our jobs’ isn’t immediately in the offing, however. This placating assurance arrives courtesy of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Then...
Xbox gamers are not happy about full-screen ads
Unexpected changes to the Xbox dashboard have become commonplace in recent years, but the unsolicited introduction of full-screen ads is arguably the worst to date. If there’s one unforgiving community you really don’t want to antagonise, it’s gamers. A bona fide way of doing so is to immediately interrupt our sessions the instant the dashboard loads. Alas, Microsoft has deemed this start-up window as the perfect opportunity to hit Xbox owners...
Is burning trash really the lesser evil of waste management?
A significant number of trash incinerators are operating across the US. Proponents of this type of waste management proclaim it environmentally preferable to landfill, but how much of a lesser evil is it – if at all? A proverbial ‘steaming pile of garbage’ has no redeemable qualities, but there is a notable upside to be gleaned from real-life trash incineration. For well over a century now, parts of the US have...
Study lays bare Meta’s intrusive data gathering for targeted ads
Facebook has anything but a clean record when it comes to the intrusive data gathering of its consumers. Now, data watchdog Consumer Reports has revealed that tens of thousands of companies send Facebook data on single users. Your phone isn’t actually listening to you, don’t worry about turning your mic settings off. When you’re sent targeted ads for something overly specific, it’s far more likely that you’ve been ingratiated into a...
Big Oil to be fined for methane emissions following new climate law
Under a new climate law introduced by the Biden administration, US oil and gas companies will soon have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed a certain threshold. Could this be an effective deterrent for repeat offenders? It’s a poorly kept secret that methane is an ecological scourge on our planet. In-fact, the gas is responsible for a quarter of recorded climate warming linked to greenhouse gas emissions. Within...
This giant ancient ape became extinct because of climate change
An ancient species of great ape, named Gigantopithecus blacki, was driven to extinction hundreds of thousands of years ago. Scientists believe climate change is mostly to blame for putting the giants’ favourite fruits out of reach during dry seasons. Between witnessing entire regions becoming upended by extreme weather and warnings of impending, irreversible changes from eco scientists, we’re hardly lacking for reasons to mitigate climate change. Nevertheless, here’s another for...
Opinion – AFCON’s fossil fuel affiliation will further damage Africa
As the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in the Ivory Coast, yet another tournament will ultimately serve to fill the pockets of those already destroying the continent. While the self-confessed obsessed (like myself) will happily take all the football we can get, at times there is a bigger picture to consider beyond sporting merit. Though I’ve no personal connection to the Africa Cup of Nations - the biennial tournament...
OpenAI alleges the New York Times tricked ChatGPT into plagiarism
In what is due to be a definitive case for the future of generative AI, the New York Times is suing OpenAI for training ChatGPT using its articles without permission. The defendant alleges that the media outlet tricked its AI model specifically to produce answers verbatim. The landscape of generative AI may not look so lawless in 2024, if the New York Times can win its landmark case against OpenAI’s...
Can wooden wind towers make renewable energy even cleaner?
Eradicating carbon-intensive materials from the production of wind turbines, like steel, Swedish start-up Modvion is creating easy-to-assemble alternatives from wood. Is this the way forward? Solar maybe the current undisputed king of the renewable energy farmyard, but wind is a close runner-up. There’s a global consensus that any chance of achieving the terms of the Paris Agreement will rely on drastically increasing renewable forms of energy. Specifically, wind and solar reportedly...
The taxman is coming for your resale side hustle
Those looking to make a buck through resale platforms including Vinted, eBay, and Depop will now have their earnings taxed by HMRC. Can we have anything at this point? So, you wish to supplement your national insurance contribution, rent, road tax, pension, student loan, and eye-watering living expenses with a simple side hustle? How embarrassing. The UK’s greedy hand will soon extend to resale apps like Vinted, eBay, and Depop as...
