US trade regulator and 22 states accuse Amazon of taking $20bn with secret surcharges

31 August 2026 at 22:41

FTC alleges in lawsuit that online retailer ‘secretly and systematically overcharged’ advertisers for years

The US’s main trade regulator and 22 states sued Amazon on Monday, alleging the online retailer “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers on Amazon.com.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said these practices led to higher costs for customers on items like groceries and other essential goods that are sold on Amazon.

‘Superhuman’ AI tool spots heart disease in less than 2 seconds

The Guardian

By: Andrew Gregory Health editor in Munich

31 August 2026 at 19:00

Technology trained on millions of routine ECGs could fast-track high-risk patients for treatment

Doctors have developed a “superhuman” AI tool that can spot heart disease in less than two seconds.

The groundbreaking technology has been trained on millions of patients and works by extracting more information from a routine electrocardiogram (ECG) than the human eye can typically see.

‘Superhuman’ AI tool spots heart disease in less than 2 seconds

World news | The Guardian

By: Andrew Gregory Health editor in Munich

31 August 2026 at 19:00

Technology trained on millions of routine ECGs could fast-track high-risk patients for treatment

Doctors have developed a “superhuman” AI tool that can spot heart disease in less than two seconds.

The groundbreaking technology has been trained on millions of patients and works by extracting more information from a routine electrocardiogram (ECG) than the human eye can typically see.

The law won't save us from Meta's 'pervert glasses'. The only solution is mockery | Jonathan Liew

The Guardian

By: Jonathan Liew

31 August 2026 at 17:56

These things are undermining not just our public spaces but the very nature of being human. Let’s shame them off the streets

So far I am yet to be tempted into purchasing a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses. To a certain extent this is a function of possessing a large, misshapen and comically convex head upon which no pair of sunglasses has ever looked remotely appropriate. Nor am I one of those consumers who professes to be “really into gadgets”, a preference I’ve always found weirdly unspecific. It’s subtly telling when people claim to be into “gadgets”, because they’re never talking about, say, a tin opener. What they really mean is something gimmicky and expensive that almost certainly requires the services of a datacentre and enough water to irrigate Kent.

And even if I were to surmount these two obstacles, you then get into the ethics of the thing. I’m nobody’s idea of a PR expert, but if your shiny new product keeps requiring patches and updates to prevent people from using it to do degenerate things to women, perhaps it might be worth walking it back to the research and development stage.

Jonathan Liew is a Guardian columnist

BT on track for estimated £2bn windfall from selling old copper amid AI boom

World news | The Guardian

By: Mark Sweney

31 August 2026 at 17:06

Telecoms company to benefit from soaring prices for recycled metal recovered from full-fibre broadband rollout

BT is on track for an estimated £2bn-plus windfall over the next decade from selling off old copper cabling, as it cashes in on soaring prices amid the AI market frenzy and switches the UK’s network to full-fibre broadband.

Copper is one of the main beneficiaries of the “electrification of everything”, essential for the rapid growth of AI datacentres, electronics and the fast-growing renewable energy industry.

Anthropic sued over alleged theft of ‘tens of thousands’ of songs

The Guardian

By: Dan Milmo Global technology editor

31 August 2026 at 15:42

AI company faces multibillion dollar lawsuit over misuse of copyrighted songs to train Claude models

All AI wants for Christmas is a vast back catalogue of songs without paying for it, according to a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the startup behind the Claude chatbot.

Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell, music publishers who manage the copyright of songs on behalf of songwriters and composers, are seeking damages for alleged misuse of “tens of thousands” of copyrighted works by Anthropic.

AI could cause global economic downturn, Bank of England governor tells G20

The Guardian

By: Simon Goodley

31 August 2026 at 12:00

Andrew Bailey, in role as financial stability watchdog chief, warns advanced models risk destabilising system

The Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, has joined the throng of figures warning about the global risks posed by the most advanced artificial intelligence technology.

In a two-page letter sent to international finance ministers and central bank governors as part of his role as chair of the international Financial Stability Board (FSB), Bailey said “frontier” AI models were “showing increasingly sophisticated autonomy and problem-solving abilities, as well as threat capabilities”.

Tropical Storm Karina strengthens into a hurricane in the Pacific

ABC News: Top Stories

31 August 2026 at 03:50

It could become a major storm this week, forecasters say.

Smartglasses should automatically blur people’s faces while filming, Australia’s online safety regulator says

World news | The Guardian

By: Josh Taylor Technology reporter

30 August 2026 at 18:00

Smartglasses with cameras can benefit the vision impaired but companies might pit ‘accessibility benefits against safety and privacy’, eSafety says

Australia’s online safety regulator has urged smartglasses companies to automatically blur people’s faces filmed on the devices, and make it clearer when someone is filming, as the federal government faces pressure to ban the technology.

In advice to industry published on Monday, the office of the eSafety commissioner warned that while smartglasses with cameras, such as Meta’s Ray-Ban, can offer accessibility benefits to low vision or blind people, companies might pit “accessibility benefits against safety and privacy considerations”, and noted there was already a backlash to the technology.

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