Apple MacBook Pro M4 review: faster, better and cheaper

Apple’s upgraded MacBook Pro for 2024 gets a significant power boost with the M4 chip, double the memory as standard, even longer battery life and a price cut, ending the year on a high.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The longstanding laptop line now starts at £1,599 (€1,899/$1,599/A$2,499), making it £100 or so cheaper than last year’s M3 models

AI may displace 3m jobs but long-term losses ‘relatively modest’, says Tony Blair’s thinktank

Artificial intelligence could displace between 1m and 3m private sector jobs in the UK, though the ultimate rise in unemployment will be in the low hundreds of thousands as growth in the technology also creates new roles, according to Tony Blair’s thinktank.Between 60,000 and 275,000 jobs will be displaced every year over a couple of decades at the peak of the disruption, estimates from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) suggest.It described the figure as “relatively modest” given the average number of job losses in the UK has run at about 450,000 a year over the past decade. More than 33 million people are employed in the UK.AI, a technology that can be loosely defined as computer systems performing tasks that typically require human intelligence, has shot up the political agenda after the emergence of the ChatGPT chatbot and other breakthroughs in the field

Silicon Valley’s right wing notches victories nationwide and at home

While Elon Musk spent election night alongside Donald Trump celebrating their decisive victory at Mar-a-Lago, Silicon Valley figures who were invested, quite literally, in the outcome of Tuesday night’s election shared in the Tesla CEO’s joy. Some also claimed political wins for their political causes in San Francisco.Venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen, Joe Lonsdale, and executives at Peter Thiel’s venture fund celebrated Trump’s win, which they predicted would usher in a new anti-woke, light-on-regulation regime that would be a boon for the tech industry.David Sacks, a startup investor and podcaster, was there at Mar-a-Lago. Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril and Oculus, celebrated by tweeting a screenshot from the animated Pokémon TV show

Australia to ban under-16s from social media – but can’t say how TikTok, Instagram and others will enforce it

The Australian government has pledged to legislate an age limit of 16 years for social media access, with penalties for online platforms that do not comply.But the Labor government has not spelled out how it expects Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others to actually enforce that age limit. Anthony Albanese is facing pressure from the Coalition opposition to rush the bill through parliament in the next three weeks, although a federal trial into age assurance technology has not yet commenced.Albanese and the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, did not rule out the potential for social media users to have their faces subject to biometric scanning, for online platforms to verify users’ ages using a government database, or for all social media users – regardless of age – being subject to age checks, only saying it would be up to tech companies to set their own processes.The prime minister confirmed the age limit at a press conference on Thursday, in the latest step of the government’s increasing scrutiny on major tech platforms, with plans to introduce legislation into parliament this month

How Trump’s ‘new star’ Elon Musk stands to benefit from his presidency

Hours before it became official that Donald Trump had returned to the White House, his biggest supporter was already inside the Oval Office.Elon Musk, who has been a key backer of Trump’s return to the presidency, was in his default wind-up mode as he used his X platform to post a superimposed picture of himself – holding a sink – inside the seat of US power.“Let that sink in,” he wrote.Let that sink in pic.twitter

Uber Eats drivers who allegedly carried NSW passengers unlawfully could cost rideshare giant $1.5m in fines

New South Wales authorities have launched legal action against Uber, alleging that the rideshare giant allowed 57 food delivery drivers to transport passengers without clearing the required background safety checks.The independent state regulator, the NSW Point to Point Transport Commission, commenced proceedings against Uber this week. It claims Uber – which is facing a maximum fine of about $1.5m – failed to ensure it was complying with safety standards designed to protect passengers.The regulator has alleged that on two separate occasions in August and December 2022, failures in Uber’s systems allowed “multiple food delivery drivers”, who were only legally allowed to deliver food on the company’s Uber Eats platform, to also carry passengers