Protesters target Tesla showrooms in US over Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting

Protesters gathered outside Tesla dealerships across the US on Saturday in response to Elon Musk’s efforts to shred government spending under the president, Donald Trump.Groups of demonstrators up to 100-strong gathered outside the electric carmaker’s showrooms in cities including New York, Seattle, Kansas City and across California. Organisers said the protests took place in dozens of locations.While the protests were scattered, they highlighted the risks to the car company of Musk’s close association with Trump’s radical rightwing agenda. Many of the protesters carried placards likening the Trump administration to Nazis – a characterisation that Musk has previously emphatically denied

Amazon accused of targeting Coventry union members after failed recognition vote

Amazon has been accused of targeting 60 trade union members with disciplinary action after narrowly defeating a recognition vote at its Coventry warehouse last summer.The GMB trade union said all 60 workers were involved in action at the warehouse – where it has about 700 members out of a workforce of at least 1,500 – that culminated in a ballot on formal recognition in July last year that failed by only a handful of votes.One worker at the warehouse said there had been multiple rule changes to productivity targets and how “non-productive time” – such as trips to the toilet or equipment failure – were recorded and assessed since late last year, with delays in dealing with queries. Workers had fallen foul of those rule changes, leading to written warnings and the threat of dismissal, they claimed.“A lot of people are not even aware of these adjustments and changes,” he said

Elon Musk’s mass government cuts could make private companies millions

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has vowed to oversee a radical hollowing out of government agencies, asserting this week that some should be “deleted entirely” as he defunds public programs and lays off federal workers. While the immense cuts are framed as a means of removing waste, they may also become a boon to private companies – including Musk’s own businesses – that the government increasingly relies on for many of its key initiatives.Musk and his allies in the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), the unofficial committee acting as the operations arm of his cost-cutting efforts, have targeted a range of major government departments. They have moved to close the United States Agency for International Development, slashed the Department of Education and taken over the General Services Administration that controls federal IT structures. Doge staffers have also gained access to the treasury department, as well as set their sights on the Department of Defense, energy department, Environmental Protection Agency and at least a dozen others

If the AI Roundheads go to war with tech royalty, don’t bet against them | John Naughton

There’s a moment in the 1967 film The Graduate that has become renowned. At a party thrown by his parents to celebrate his graduation, Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) is approached by Mr McGuire, an elderly bore who wants to say “just one word” to him: “plastics”. “Exactly how do you mean?”, asks the hapless Ben. “There’s a great future in plastics,” says McGuire. “Think about it

Tell us: how has artificial intelligence affected your work?

Just how much artificial intelligence will “enhance” our jobs or displace them and create different roles remains to be seen, but what impact has the technology already had on our work?We’d like your help to find out about the different ways that AI has affected your job. Has the technology been positive or negative in your experience? Or perhaps a bit of both? How much do you think might it impact your work in the future?You can tell us about your experiences of working with AI using this form.Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible

Global disunity, energy concerns and the shadow of Musk: key takeaways from the Paris AI summit

Political and business leaders descended on Paris this week for the third annual artificial intelligence summit with the technology causing tensions across the globe.Emmanuel Macron, who opened the summit with a montage of deepfakes of himself, acknowledged AI’s potential to “disrupt”. A day later, the schism threatened by the rapidly developing technology was apparent.The AI Action Summit ended with the US vice-president criticising European regulation and warning against cooperation with China, while leaders from Washington and London snubbed a diplomatic declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” AI. Here are some takeaways from the conference