Gov.uk smartphone app to launch with limited functionality

A government app intended to “cut life admin” will be free to download by millions of UK citizens from Tuesday, but its functions will be limited and the cabinet minister in charge has admitted: “The design is not as we would like it to be.”The gov.uk app will be accessible on smartphones for people aged 16 and over and is intended to be the main mobile hub for many citizen interactions with the government, although not the NHS or HM Revenue and Customs.Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science and technology, said the version launched this week would only steer users to existing government webpages, with more functionality to be added by the end of the year.A generative artificial intelligence chatbot trained on 700,000 pages of the gov

Microsoft says AI system better than doctors at diagnosing complex health conditions

Microsoft has revealed details of an artificial intelligence system that performs better than human doctors at complex health diagnoses, creating a “path to medical superintelligence”.The company’s AI unit, which is led by the British tech pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, has developed a system that imitates a panel of expert physicians tackling “diagnostically complex and intellectually demanding” cases.Microsoft said that when paired with OpenAI’s advanced o3 AI model, its approach “solved” more than eight of 10 case studies specially chosen for the diagnostic challenge. When those case studies were tried on practising physicians – who had no access to colleagues, textbooks or chatbots – the accuracy rate was two out of 10.Microsoft said it was also a cheaper option than using human doctors because it was more efficient at ordering tests

‘Lidar is lame’: why Elon Musk’s vision for a self-driving Tesla taxi faltered

After years of promising investors that millions of Tesla robotaxis would soon fill the streets, Elon Musk debuted his driverless car service in a limited public rollout in Austin, Texas. It did not go smoothly.The 22 June launch initially appeared successful enough, with a flood of videos from pro-Tesla social media influencers praising the service and sharing footage of their rides. Musk celebrated it as a triumph, and the following day, Tesla’s stock rose nearly 10%.What quickly became apparent, however, was that the same influencer videos Musk promoted also depicted the self-driving cars appearing to break traffic laws or struggle to properly function

Elon Musk calls Trump’s big bill ‘utterly insane and destructive’ as Senate debates

The billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk on Saturday criticized the latest version of Donald Trump’s sprawling tax and spending bill, calling it “utterly insane and destructive.“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” Musk wrote on Saturday as the Senate was scheduled to call a vote to open debate on the nearly 1,000-page bill.“Utterly insane and destructive,” Musk added. “It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”Passing the package, Musk said, would be “political suicide for the Republican Party

Online hacks to offline heists: crypto leaders on edge amid increasing attacks

Industry figures are seeing beyond the ‘illusion of invisibility’ after series of investor kidnappingsCryptocurrency traders such as Mohammed Arsalan are prepared to watch their online assets expand and explode if they miss the right moment, making or breaking their fortunes in just minutes. All in a day’s work on the internet. Offline, though, they have found themselves less equipped for the consequences of affluence. A string of kidnappings has plagued the industry over the past year and left traders across the globe paranoid, fearful and keen to invest in physical security measures.Arsalan grew up working class in Karachi, Pakistan

Jeff in Venice: seven takeaways from the Bezos-Sánchez wedding

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sánchez held their wedding ceremony in Venice’s Grand canal on Friday, the centrepiece of a three-day gala that drew dozens of stars but also protests by local activists. Here are seven takeaways.The couple kicked off celebrations with a foam party on their $500m (£364m) super yacht moored near the Croatian island of Unije. Coinciding with Sánchez’s son Evan Whitesell’s 19th birthday, paparazzi photos showed the couple wearing swimwear and sunhats covered in frothy suds as they partied alongside Whitesell and his friends. Foam parties can cause conjunctivitis, so the decision to hold one just days before their nuptials was somewhat surprising but maybe billionaire foam hits different