Technology
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Amazon promises to fix Alexa’s ‘creepy’ laugh
Would you want Alexa in your home? The AI assistant can answer questions, play music and switch off your lights. But recently it has begun “randomly” laughing at users for no reason…
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UK mourns death of ‘classic British inventor’
Is the age of the maverick inventor over? Trevor Baylis: circus performer, stuntman and inventor of the wind-up radio has died. Some say eccentric engineers like him are facing extinction.
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Anti-gun activists take aim at Amazon
Is Amazon evil? A huge backlash has hit the business for supporting the National Rifle Association. But some say Amazon represents far deeper dangers which put our very democracy at risk.
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Politics, KFC and the new ‘culture of apology’
What do apologies mean in today’s world? Damian Green, Oxfam’s boss, Fergie, KFC and Blenheim Palace have all recently said sorry. That word is becoming more common — and more controversial…
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TB, AIDS and polio on the verge of extinction
Is a world free from disease really possible? The news may be about superbugs and cancer but the deeper trends show that many of the great killer diseases are in long-term dramatic retreat
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Shakespeare exposed by plagiarism detector
Is the world's greatest writer a cheat? Software normally used to outwit exam fraud has disclosed an obscure manuscript that was the source of many of the Bard's most famous lines.
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‘World’s most powerful rocket’ set for lift-off
Are we about to witness a giant leap or a silly stunt? Today SpaceX will launch a huge rocket which could pave the way for future Mars missions. But some people do not believe the hype.
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How to find out your entire genetic make-up
Should everyone get their genome sequenced? A new, handheld device could allow people to analyse their DNA from “the comfort of their own home”. But they might not like what they find…
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NASA’s cool, hot, and fast mission to the Sun
How much could we learn from NASA’s next mission? This summer a probe will travel closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft in history. Scientists hope it will unlock many solar secrets.
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How an army of bots buys influence on Twitter
Are social media bots putting democracy at risk? The New York Times has discovered a “follower factory” which sells fake...
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Welcome to the future: air taxis and robodogs
Are we getting tired of tech? Countless weird and wonderful new gadgets are being launched this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Here are five ways your life could change…
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Facebook admits social media is bad for you
Is the answer to social media’s problems… more social media? Facebook has admitted that “passively” using its website may not be good for you. Its answer? Just use it a little differently.
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America’s secret UFO research unit revealed
Just how wacky is it to believe in UFOs? The US government has spent millions investigating sightings. Now previously secret footage reveals a dramatic encounter with possible aliens.
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Facebook is ‘ripping apart the social fabric’
Is Facebook destroying society? A former executive has revealed he feels “tremendous guilt” for helping to build the site — he claims it is “eroding the core foundations” of how we behave.
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2017 in review: the year the robots got smart
Should we be excited or afraid of advances in AI and robotics? This year, systems gained the ability to teach themselves skills and anticipate the future — one robot even gained citizenship.