Technology
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Free speech debate rages after US killings
Should websites that promote violence be shut down? After 31 more deaths in the US, apparently fuelled by racist talk and easy access to guns, is it time to rethink western ideas of liberty?
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Esports industry set to break $1bn barrier
An addictive waste of time or a serious competitive sport? After a US teenager won $3m in the first-ever Fortnite World Cup on Sunday, the debate over the future of esports has exploded.
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Giant asteroid near-miss shocks scientists
Are asteroids our biggest threat? A huge one just missed Earth this week and nobody had a clue. It seemed to come out of the blue. Scientists are calling for more early-warning resources.
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France hires sci-fi writers to predict threats
Can fiction be truer than fact? The French army is to create a “Red Team” of sci-fi writers to imagine possible, future threats. But many say it is absurd and that soldiers would be better.
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One in six believe this was taken in a studio
Why are conspiracy theories so powerful? Despite all the proof that it happened, there are still thousands who are convinced that the Moon landing was a hoax set up by the US space agency.
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Celebrating 50 years since mankind’s giant leap
Will humans ever live on the Moon? Tomorrow, it will be 50 years since the Apollo 11 astronauts began their historic journey to the Moon. Now, the world wants to go back — this time to stay.
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Health warning over ‘inverted hallucinations’
Is there a deadly new plague sweeping through rich societies? Tomorrow, a leading psychologist will warn of the public health threat caused by lack of awareness of what is before our eyes.
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New exhibition reveals the secrets of spies
See yourself as a real-life James Bond or Eve Polastri? To celebrate 100 years of the UK’s spy headquarters, the Science Museum is unveiling secret files and gadgets from a century of spying.
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Robots to replace 20m factory jobs by 2030
Should we embrace or fear the robot revolution? Yesterday, Oxford Economics warned that up to 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world could be replaced by robots by 2030.
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Now Facebook wants to create its own currency
Is the social media giant turning into a shadow government? This is the warning from some experts, today, after Facebook announced ambitious plans to launch a new global currency called Libra.
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Call for cyberwar rules as US attacks Russia
Does the world need new rules of war? Yesterday, we learned that the US has placed malware deep in Russia’s power grid. Elsewhere, most of Argentina was mysteriously plunged into darkness.
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Artificial stars could redesign the night sky
Why not re-write the stars? We have the ability. Already, Japan wants to create fake meteor showers, China wants an artificial moon for street lighting and Russia wants to sell advertising.
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Underwater metropolis planned as seas rise
Is the best response to climate change to invent new ways of living? The Japanese Shimizu Corporation plans to build a giant underwater metropolis powered by energy from the seabed.
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Amazon faces facial recognition rebellion
Shareholders of Amazon will demand, today, that the company stops selling its system to the police. It is simply too powerful and invasive, they say. Is facial recognition going too far?
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iPhone cracked in WhatsApp surveillance attack
News is emerging today that a weakness in WhatsApp has allowed spy software on to phones, possibly for years. The implications for our privacy are huge. Civil rights groups are outraged.