The Register

Zuck backs a ‘digital majority age’ and Google open sources tech that might enforce it

Google and Meta have independently taken actions to support a safer internet for kids – and given blockchain boosters a moment to celebrate.…

Mistral fears continental companies may not get time to escape 'distant, behemoth corporations'

French AI business Mistral on Thursday announced an initiative called “AI for Citizens,” which it says offers a way to work with governments and public institutions to transform public services using AI.…

If you come out of a coma in 2026, this is the machine you might see staring down at you

Taiwanese tech manufacturer Foxconn and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries have revealed a jointly developed robotic nursing assistant they hope to start selling in 2026.…

Job cuts aren’t big, symbolism of quitting the world’s fifth-most-populous nation might be

Exclusive  Microsoft has decided to close its presence in Pakistan.…

And with some increases to rural broadband funds, fresh spectrum auctions, and wholesale dismantling of clean energy subsidies

Lawmakers have passed President Trump's budget reconciliation but removed one of its most tech-contentious measures - the ban of state-level AI regulation – meaning the law will have little effect on the tech industry.…

A thermoelectric material called CHESS is pretty cool

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and Samsung have developed a nano-engineered thermoelectric material that is twice as efficient at material-level cooling as existing alternatives, paving the way for broader adoption of solid-state refrigeration technology.…

Cutting out middle man dents coffers of larger service providers, helps Redmond offset AI investments

The sweeping changes Microsoft is making to its licensing incentives for large service providers is taking hold.…

Researchers find models' success at tests hides illusion of understanding

Researchers from MIT, Harvard, and the University of Chicago have proposed the term "potemkin understanding" to describe a newly identified failure mode in large language models that ace conceptual benchmarks but lack the true grasp needed to apply those concepts in practice.…

Red-tailed tropicbirds stymie Johnston Atoll maneuvers

The US Air Force is putting plans to use rocket landings for resupply missions on hold over environmental concerns about the effect they would have on local seabirds.…

Frequent flyers’ info takes flight

Australian airline Qantas on Wednesday revealed it fell victim to a cyberattack that saw information describing six million customers stolen.…

Robotaxis, humanoid robots, and fights with Trump can't hide declining EV sales

Comment  Tesla reported its vehicle delivery and production numbers for Q2 2025 this week, and while the figures weren't quite as low in absolute terms as Q1, they still mark a worrying downward trend as CEO Elon Musk continues to spread his attention across a huge variety of topics unrelated to making and selling electric cars.…

Just ignore the warnings. Nothing to see here. Move along

A mysterious piece of "under development" code is playing havoc with the Windows Firewall after the latest preview update for Windows 11 24H2.…

The insurance SaaS slinger may trade under a different name, but past continues to haunt it

Young Consulting's cybersecurity woes continue after the number of affected individuals from last year's suspected ransomware raid passed the 1 million mark.…

Biz needs AI infra for training ever larger models, but something's gotta give

World War Fee  Datacenter operators in Northern Europe say US tariffs and growing global geopolitical instability are inflating costs and causing delays to construction projects.…

Vendors have reason to celebrate as geopolitics recalibrate

World War Fee  The US has lifted the requirement to secure a license before exporting Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools to China, say EDA vendors.…

'Deserves fair compensation for the valuable and innovative services'? Which ones are those then?

Meta has come out swinging following the European Commission's decision that its pay-or-consent model falls foul of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).…

Don't let their kind words sway you – leaders are still up to no good

Ransomware gang Hunters International has shut up shop and offered decryption keys to all victims as a parting favor.…

Juices the tooling and support for developers and enterprise customers

Canonical has some extra toppings, flavorings, and offers coming for its bigger Java fans – because the suits swallow a lot of the stuff.…

India, Japan, USA and Australia see risks and opportunities in rare earths

India, Japan, USA and Australia have launched a “Critical Minerals Initiative” they hope will harden supply chains.…

Customers booted from system and technical integration missing from upgrade

A UK bank serving charities has come under fire from customers unable to log in or make transactions on its new online platform.…