Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Major UK Phone Network Outage

2025-07-25

A major outage has hit several major UK phone networks, including BT, EE, Three, and Vodafone, on Thursday afternoon. Millions of customers are reporting inability to make or receive calls, flooding social media with complaints. Carriers have acknowledged the issue and are working to resolve it. DownDetector shows London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow as the hardest-hit areas. O2 claims its network is operating normally, attributing the minor spike on DownDetector to users trying to reach those on affected networks.

(www.the-independent.com)

Tech network outage

Zuckerberg's $100M AI Talent Grab from OpenAI Fails

2025-07-20

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempted to lure ChatGPT employees to his AI team with offers of up to $100 million in compensation, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Despite these exorbitant offers, the recruitment drive largely failed. Altman revealed on a podcast that OpenAI employees prioritized the company's leading role in developing superintelligence. The incident highlights the fierce competition for AI talent and the allure of the superintelligence field.

(www.the-independent.com)

AI

Fungus-Controlled Robot: A Glimpse into the Future of Agriculture?

2025-07-20

Researchers from Cornell University and the University of Florence have developed a novel biohybrid robot controlled by a living edible mushroom, the king trumpet. The robot uses the mushroom's electrical signals for movement and environmental sensing. This use of a living organism allows the robot to respond to light, heat, and other stimuli, making it more adaptable to unpredictable environments. The researchers envision future applications in agriculture, such as sensing soil chemistry to optimize fertilizer application, potentially mitigating harmful environmental impacts. This groundbreaking research, published in Science Robotics, represents a significant advancement in biohybrid robotics.

(www.the-independent.com)

Tech biohybrid robot agricultural technology

Hundreds of Apps Secretly Spying on Users Through Their Microphones

2025-04-27

Hundreds of smartphone apps and games are monitoring users via their microphones, even when phones are in pockets or apps run in the background. A startup called Alphonso provides the technology, collecting TV viewing data and selling it to advertisers. While Alphonso claims it doesn't record conversations, only identifying commercial audio, privacy concerns remain. Users can protect themselves by denying microphone access to unnecessary apps.

(www.the-independent.com)

Tech microphone surveillance