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TOPSHOT - A prong extending from the CIRA-03 remote-controlled robot prototype approaches the mouth of a volunteer to extract a throat swab sample, as part of a self-funded project to assist physicians in running tests on suspected COVID-19 coronavirus patients in a bid to limit human exposure to disease-carriers, at a private hospital in Egypt's Nile delta city of Tanta, on March 20, 2021. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Can amazing tech reboot healthcare? A new book explores the future

16 July 2025

Lara Lewington's Hacking Humanity looks at the fabulous technology that is changing healthcare. But where is the critical analysis?
JG9R47 Emoticons

New book is an illuminating but flawed look at the impact of emoji

16 July 2025

Emoji add a new depth to communications, but what of their cultural impact? Keith Houston's Face with Tears of Joy offers some answers
Gen z friends make a TikTok video with a cell phone. The man is a LGBTQIA person and the female is a young woman living with alopecia. University students and friends

Slay the new slang: check out a guide to social media’s baffling lingo

9 July 2025

Language is evolving rapidly in a world of social media. Our millennial reviewer finds Adam Aleksic's Algospeak to be a much-needed helping hand
Alexander Skarsg?rd in

How the new Murderbot TV series made me a reluctant convert

28 May 2025

Murderbot fans will be thrilled to learn that the cyborg security unit that gains free will by hacking its governor module is now the star of a compelling adaptation. Bethan Ackerley has unexpectedly joined their ranks
Digital generated image of young woman standing on entrance of multicoloured portal door. Metaverse concept.

This sci-fi debut is a quietly brilliant look at a disturbing future

21 May 2025

The premise of Grace Chan’s debut novel – that you can choose to upload yourself to a virtual reality – might sound dated, but this is a stunning big‑picture look at what might lie ahead for us, says Emily H. Wilson
Signage of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is seen during the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit in Mumbai, India, on May 02, 2025. (Photo by Indranil Aditya / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by INDRANIL ADITYA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

This new book is a one-sided attempt to puncture the AI bubble

19 May 2025

The AI Con by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna wants to expose the hype generated by large artificial intelligence companies, but it is a frustrating read
An artist?s impression of the Martian settlement SpaceX has envisioned. Image: SpaceX https://www.spacex.com/humanspaceflight/mars/

Inside the outlandish, futuristic dreams of the tech bros

16 April 2025

Exposing the origins of the improbable – and at times scary – plans of tech billionaires makes Adam Becker's More Everything Forever a disturbing but important book
The Thinking Game

×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ recommends DeepMind documentary The Thinking Game

26 March 2025

The books, TV, games and more that ×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ staff have enjoyed this week
Abstract glass sphere shapes with cyborg head. 3D generated image.

Brilliant sci-fi novel shows robots coming to grips with emancipation

19 March 2025

Abigail is created to replace her owner's dead wife, just as robots are set to gain rights. Emily H. Wilson explores Lucy Lapinska's Some Body Like Me, the latest addition to "robo-rights" literature
Jennifer Walshe, 13 Ways of Looking at AI, Art & Music

×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ recommends 13 Ways of Looking at AI, Art & Music

19 February 2025

The books, TV, games and more that ×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ staff have enjoyed this week

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