Business

Google will pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle claims the company collected users' data without permission, the state's attorney general announced Friday.... Read more

Tech leaders representing four major players in artificial intelligence appeared before Congress on May 8, urging looser regulation and heavier investment in energy to support the technology's growth.... Read more

India has ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts, the platform said Thursday, adding that it was reluctantly complying with what it described as government-imposed "censorship."... Read more

The founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency trading platform Celsius, Alexander Mashinsky, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison on fraud charges.... Read more

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced Thursday an accelerated timeframe for giving away his fortune as he touted artificial intelligence as a game-changer to boost public health and save lives globally.... Read more

When the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was proposed in 2008, the goal was simple: to create a digital currency free from banks and governments. Over time, that idea evolved into something much bigger: "decentralized finance," or "DeFi."... Read more

The Trump administration plans to rescind Biden-era AI chip curbs as part of a broader effort to revise semiconductor trade restrictions that have drawn strong opposition from major tech companies and foreign governments, according to people familiar with the matter.... Read more

Sam Altman's reputation for spin was out in full force this week in a published "letter to employees" announcing that he was abandoning plans to turn OpenAI into a for-profit company. Instead, it will "continue to be overseen and controlled" by its nonprofit board.... Read more

Apple Inc. is "actively looking at" revamping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines, a seismic shift for the industry hastened by the potential end of a longtime partnership with Google.... Read more

As Donald Trump threatens a second wave of 'reciprocal tariffs'—not just on China, but on Southeast Asian countries allegedly helping Beijing dodge US sanctions—a new chapter in the global chip war is unfolding.... Read more

The Port of Rotterdam and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE are working with Australian partners to investigate opportunities for Western Australia to become a world-class producer, user and exporter of renewable hydrogen. Western Australia could provide for a substantial portion of the European demand for hydrogen in... Read more

Last week, Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp—unveiled a new "personal artificial intelligence (AI)."... Read more

Google last year began offering some artificial intelligence firms a way to anchor chatbot responses in its search results, but still reserves key features for its own AI service, Gemini, a company executive testified.... Read more

A US jury on Tuesday handed WhatsApp a major victory in its cyberespionage suit against NSO Group, ordering the Israel-based firm to pay some $168 million in damages.... Read more

The European Union launched the NextGenerationEU recovery plan in 2020 to address the economic crisis caused by the COVID pandemic. In Spain, this plan has taken the form of investments that aim to increase productivity and growth, transitioning towards a greener, more digital and inclusive society. These objectives are aligned... Read more

Electric cars are seen as a more sustainable option compared to conventional vehicles, which contribute to increases in greenhouse gases. However, their adoption in Spain is still limited (21% penetration rate), especially when compared to the high adoption rates in countries such as Norway (with rates of 142.7%).... Read more

The hospitality industry can leverage the gender characteristics of service robots to influence customers' decisions, according to new research from a team in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management.... Read more

Recent artificial intelligence advances have largely focused on text, but AI increasingly shows promise in other contexts, including manufacturing and the service industry. In these sectors, targeted AI improvements can improve product quality and worker safety, according to a new study co-authored by an interdisciplinary team of experts from the... Read more

Sam's Club is going register-free and introducing an all-digital, AI-powered shopping experience for its customers, a move that has privacy advocates worried that the new AI tool could be used to unfairly target some customers with higher-priced items based on their shopping habits.... Read more

After months spent pursuing a plan to convert itself into a for-profit business, OpenAI is reversing course and said Monday its nonprofit will continue to control the company that makes ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence products.... Read more

Meta on Saturday vowed to fight Nigerian fines for various consumer data violations, reportedly threatening to cut off Facebook and Instagram in Africa's most populous country.... Read more

China on Saturday denied it required companies to hand over data after TikTok was hit with a massive fine in the European Union for its handling of personal data.... Read more

Fans of the hugely popular video game series Grand Theft Auto will have to wait a little longer to play the latest version.... Read more

Google on Friday faced a demand by the US government to break up its hugely profitable ad technology business after a judge found the tech giant was commanding an illegal monopoly.... Read more

Apple on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above expectations but warned that US tariffs could cost the company and were disrupting its supply chain.... Read more

Britain's booming green energy generation has a costly side-effect: the national electricity system operator has had to compensate wind turbine operators that could have produced more clean electricity than the grid could take.... Read more

Just over 74% of South Africa's electricity still comes from burning coal. In 2021, the country negotiated the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Germany, the UK, France, the US and the European Union. They committed to providing South Africa with US$8.5 billion (R157 billion) to move away from coal to... Read more

With the hospitality industry embracing algorithmic management (AM)—a type of intelligent system that delegates managerial functions to algorithmic and automated programs—frontline hotel managers find themselves caught in an increasingly complex web of technology and human interaction.... Read more

Over the past decades, many countries worldwide have been trying to gradually transform their energy systems, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. Hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) transport networks, infrastructures designed to transport hydrogen gas and captured CO2, could support the... Read more

Google's ad network has begun showing advertising within the flow of conversations with chatbots—part of Alphabet Inc.'s efforts to keep its edge in digital advertising as generative artificial intelligence takes off.... Read more

A US judge on Wednesday accused Apple of defying an order to loosen its grip on the App Store payment system to the point that criminal charges could be warranted.... Read more

Artificial intelligence "agents" are supposed to be more than chatbots. The tech industry has spent months pitching AI personal assistants that know what you want and can do real work on your behalf.... Read more

Silicon microchips underpin our modern lives. They are at the heart of our smartphones and laptops. They also play critical roles in electric vehicles and renewable energy technology.... Read more

Microsoft on Wednesday committed to boosting its presence in Europe and protecting European citizens' data against a backdrop of rising "geopolitical volatility."... Read more

Canada's The Metals Company said Tuesday it applied to the United States to mine deep-sea minerals in international waters, a world first made possible by President Donald Trump's embrace of the industry.... Read more

Tracking thousands of products in massive warehouses presents a logistical nightmare for many businesses. To address this, Kennesaw State University assistant professor Jian Zhang has introduced an autonomous robot that can log inventory.... Read more

In its latest annual publication, insurance group Hiscox surveyed more than 2,000 cybersecurity managers in eight countries, including France. Two-thirds of the companies in the survey reported having been the victim of a cyberattack between mid-August 2023 and September 2024, a 15% increase over the previous period. In terms of... Read more

Social media behemoth Meta unveiled its first standalone AI assistant app on Tuesday as it tries to take on ChatGPT by giving users a direct path to its generative artificial intelligence models.... Read more

Manufacturers who fail to adapt to emerging digital technologies are not just at risk of losing their competitive edge—they are setting themselves up for inevitable failure, according to researchers from the University of Surrey.... Read more

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance.... Read more

Durham University has contributed to new international research that critically assesses the intricate relationship between urban digitization and sustainability, focusing on the significant environmental impact of data centers.... Read more

In an era where technology and luxury converge, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) have increasingly become part of the marketing strategies for high-end brands. Many luxury companies have adopted digital twinning, linking NFTs to their physical products in an effort to create a seamless connection between the tangible and the digital.... Read more

Anybody who's ever watched "Antiques Roadshow" knows the value of provenance in adding value to a collectible.... Read more

Around the world, more and more electric vehicles are hitting the road. Last year, more than 17 million battery-electric and hybrid vehicles were sold. Early forecasts suggest this year's figure might reach 20 million. Nearly 20% of all cars sold today are electric.... Read more

Technology giant IBM announced plans on Monday to invest $150 billion in the United States over five years, including $30 billion earmarked for research and development to bolster manufacturing of mainframe and quantum computers.... Read more

Internet company Yahoo Inc.—backed by owner Apollo Global Management Inc.—would bid for the Chrome web browser if a federal court orders Google to divest it as a remedy for maintaining an illegal monopoly, a senior executive said.... Read more

As the gaming world buzzes with the recent unveiling of the Nintendo Switch 2 and anticipated releases of the PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X refresh, a timely study sheds light on how game developers can navigate these industry upheavals.... Read more

In the heart of New York City's Times Square, there are signs of an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution in marketing. In a health supplement store, a popup by British tech startup, Hypervsn, showcases life-size holograms. From behind the glass, a virtual humanoid avatar with spunky pink hair waves to passersby.... Read more

Independent French studio Sandfall Interactive's first video game "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" launched worldwide on Thursday but has already built up a solid community of fans eager to discover its post-apocalyptic fantasy world.... Read more

As U.S.–China tech tensions continue to mount, the semiconductor industry has become a focal point in a high-stakes geopolitical standoff.... Read more