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The technology most people use only as a chatty tool for daily tasks is reportedly aiding US military aggression. And there is not much we can do about itThere are a lot of things that AI can do. It can sort out your shopping list, and it can keep your kids entertained when they're mutinous by spinning up a tailor-made bedtime story for them. It can make you more efficient at work, and can help our government operate more effectively.What is written less about, and what we need to shout louder about now, are the risks inherent in the militarisation of AI. In the last three months Donald Trump's White House has reportedly used AI twice to effect regime change, or to – in the most recent case in Iran – get as close to doing so as possible, and leaving it up to rank-and-file Iranians to finish the job.Chris Stokel-Walker is the author of TikTok Boom: The Inside Story of the World's Favourite App Continue reading......

ChatGPT owner's CEO says it will bar its technology being used for mass surveillance or by intelligence servicesBusiness live – latest updatesOpenAI is amending its hastily arranged deal to supply artificial intelligence to the US Department of War (DoW) after the ChatGPT owner's chief executive admitted it looked “opportunistic and sloppy”.The contract prompted fears the San Francisco startup's AI could be used for domestic mass surveillance but its boss, Sam Altman, said on Monday night the startup would explicitly bar its technology from being used for that purpose or being deployed by defence department intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA). Continue reading......

Google, Microsoft and Amazon among companies using algorithms and AI to influence what crops are grown and how, say criticsTech companies and industrial agriculture are “playing with the food system” by using AI and algorithms to undermine farmers in choosing what the world eats, leading food security experts have warned.Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM and Alibaba are working with industrial agriculture firms to influence what crops are grown and how, according to a report by the thinktank International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). Continue reading......

Retailer known for its sausage rolls and steak bakes says it has been resilient in a challenging marketBusiness live – latest updatesGreggs has reported a slump in profits as it bemoaned “challenging” market conditions hitting consumer confidence and disposable income, amid pressure to prove the UK has not hit “peak Greggs”.The high street bakery chain, known for its sausage rolls and steak bakes, said statutory pre-tax profits fell by 17.9% to £167.4m for the year to 27 December, compared with a year earlier. It also reported a slowdown in sales growth over the start of the new year. Continue reading......

Extended war in Middle East could cause 'substantial spike' in inflation and 'sharp drop in output' in eurozone and UK, ECB official saysBusiness live – latest updatesShoppers faced a surprise jump in grocery inflation last month after four successive months of falls, as experts warned there is worse to come if there is prolonged war in the Middle East.In a blow to households struggling with the cost of living, grocery price inflation rose to 4.3% in the four weeks to 22 February, after falling to 4% in January from 4.7% in December, according to the market research company Worldpanel by Numerator. Continue reading......

Select departures organised as US state department warns Americans to leave on commercial flights 'due to safety risks'US-Israel war on Iran – live updatesTravellers stranded by a widening war in the Middle East began departing the United Arab Emirates onboard a small number of evacuation flights on Monday, as governments around the world worked to extract their citizens from the region.Etihad Airways and Emirates, the airlines based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively, and the budget carrier FlyDubai said they would operate limited flights after the chaos and damaged caused by Iranian missiles and drones. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including the UK's spring forecastRachel Reeves's plans could be hit by Middle East conflict, say economistsThe European Central Bank's chief economist has warned that a prolonged war in the Middle East and a persistent fall in oil and gas supplies from the region could cause a “substantial spike” in inflation.Philip Lane has told the Financial Times said that “directionally, a jump in energy prices puts upward pressure on inflation, especially in the near term.”“The impact would be amplified if it also gave rise to a repricing of risk in financial markets”. Continue reading......

The rapid rollout of datacenters across the US is creating a divide between municipal governments and residentsWilmington, Ohio, resident Quintin Koger Kidd was so concerned last June with his local public officials' alleged misdoings – open meeting violations and other discrepancies – that he filed a complaint in court to have the mayor and city council members removed from their posts.When Koger Kidd later heard that the city supported plans by Amazon Web Services to build a $4bn datacenter on 500 acres (200 hectares) south of town, he was aghast. Amazon has sought a tax abatement that would see its datacenter exempt from paying property taxes for 30 years in exchange for the funding of local schools and infrastructure projects. Continue reading......

Claude climbs to top of app store charts in US and UK after being blacklisted by Pentagon over ethics concernsThe AI model Claude has surged in popularity after being blacklisted by the Pentagon last week over ethics concerns.Claude climbed to the No 1 spot on Apple's chart of top free apps on Saturday in the US – dethroning OpenAI's ChatGPT, just one day after the Pentagon tapped OpenAI to supply AI to classified military networks. The bot's app climbed the iPhone app charts in the UK but did not beat out ChatGPT. Claude also raced up the Android charts in the US and UK, though ChatGPT reigned supreme, according to data from Sensor Tower. Continue reading......

Warning comes as OBR projections in the spring forecast are expected to show public finances moving in the right directionSoaring global energy prices as a result of the widening Middle East conflict will jeopardise Rachel Reeves's plan to conquer inflation and rekindle growth, economists have warned as she prepares to deliver her spring forecast later today.Responding to the latest projections from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the chancellor will insist she has “the right economic plan for our country, in a world that has become more uncertain”. Continue reading......

Billionaire Paramount Skydance chief announces plan days after winning takeover battle for Warner Bros DiscoverySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxParamount Skydance plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into one streaming service, chief executive David Ellison announced during a call with investors, days after the company said it would acquire HBO parent company Warner Brothers Discovery.The deal would allow major HBO Max titles, such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Succession, to sit alongside Paramount offerings including Yellowstone and Survivor. Ellison said combining the two platforms would give the company over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers. Continue reading......

A near-halt to shipping in strait of Hormuz and attacks on Middle East refineries are threatening supplies and stoking inflationNils Pratley: A gas shock – not an oil shock – looks more threateningUS-Israel war on Iran – live updatesIran has responded to US and Israeli attacks by launching a series of counterstrikes against states across the Middle East, with serious consequences for the oil and gas industry and the global economy.Tehran has attacked oil facilities in neighbouring countries, while shipping traffic through the strait of Hormuz – the crucial bottleneck at the mouth of the Gulf – has all but ground to a halt. Continue reading......

Europe and Asia will take an economic hit if the supply of Qatari LNG is halted by the closure of the strait of HormuzGas prices soar and oil jumps as Iran war pushes down global stock marketsThe price of oil grabs most of the energy-related attention during conflicts in the Middle East for understandable reasons: oil is the commodity on which the world runs (still) and analysts have roughly reliable models for what every $10 per barrel increase in cost does to global growth and inflation.So, on that front, one can say we're still a long way from “oil shock” territory. Monday's rise to $79 a barrel, up 9% since the end of last week, is sizeable, especially as the price was $62 at the start of this year, but remember that $125 was seen shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and $100-plus was then sustained for three months. Continue reading......

Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed and vessels rerouted, sending some freight costs surgingLeading maritime insurers have cancelled war risk cover for vessels operating in the Gulf as the escalating Iran conflict disrupted shipping and sent some freight costs surging.At least 150 vessels including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers have dropped anchor in the strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters. Continue reading......

Many early-stage crowdfunders left empty-handed as Tilray acquires beer company's UK and Irish assetsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK and Irish assets of BrewDog, the Scottish self-styled “punk” brewer, have been sold to US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray for £33m, in a deal that will cost nearly 500 jobs and leave legions of the company's early-stage crowdfunders empty-handed.Tilray agreed a deal to buy BrewDog's brand, intellectual property, UK brewing operations and 11 “strategic” bars in the UK and Ireland, the two companies confirmed, preserving 733 jobs. The remaining 38 bars will close immediately, at a cost of 484 jobs. Continue reading......

Effects of extended conflict between US and Iran could also lead to higher interest rates and hit economic growthBusiness live – latest updatesUS-Israel war on Iran – live updatesThe impact of the deadly and unpredictable conflict in the Middle East on the global economy will be felt most immediately, and keenly, through the rising cost of oil.Prices jumped on Monday, as markets had their first opportunity to digest the weekend's tit-for-tat attacks. A barrel of Brent crude oil was trading at about $79 (£59)by lunchtime in London, up about $6 or 8.5% on the day. Continue reading......

AI is transforming our world. Accepting independent oversight is the least companies can do to protect our rightsThe speed with which AI is transforming our lives is head-spinning. Unlike previous technological revolutions – radio, nuclear fission or the internet – governments are not leading the way. We know that AI can be dangerous; chatbots advise teens on suicide and may soon be capable of instructing on how to create biological weapons. Yet there is no equivalent to the Federal Drug Administration, testing new models for safety before public release. Unlike in the nuclear industry, companies often don't have to disclose dangerous breaches or accidents. The tech industry's lobbying muscle, Washington's paralyzing polarization, and the sheer complexity of such a potent, fast-moving technology have kept federal regulation at bay. European officials are facing pushback against rules that some claim hobble the continent's competitiveness. Although several US states are piloting AI laws, they opera...

Even though my algorithm knows I'm a sucker for outlandish reality TV property shows, it's now offering me less-than-glamorous copycats trying to flog a buy-to-let in BeaconsfieldI'm not proud to admit that I love property as entertainment, especially smooth-brained “reality” shows in which peptide-plumped, pilates-honed NYC Amazons in towering Louboutins scrap over commission on Upper West Side condos. It's a world where make-believe sums of money are bandied around, drama is manufactured, people say “I'm super excited” without any part of their preternaturally glossy faces moving and every surface is Carrara marble. I'm never more at peace than when I'm slumped under a crisp-strewn blanket, muttering “that's hideous” at a $26m (£19m) penthouse.Inevitably, social media cottoned on to my proclivities and now offers me endless real estate content. I appreciate the aspirational stuff: the Modern House (brutalism but make it chic), Inigo (for people with a cornicing kink), and Parisian i...

Rachel Reeves' upcoming spring forecast has not led to slowdown, as property tax rumours did in NovemberBusiness live – latest updatesUK politics live – latest updatesHouse prices in the UK increased in February as Rachel Reeves avoided a repeat of the pre-budget “negative speculation” that depressed the market, as she prepares to present the spring forecast on Tuesday.The average price of a home rose to £273,176 last month, up 0.3% from the month before, Nationwide said. It matched January's monthly increase, and was above analysts' forecasts of a 0.2% gain. The annual growth rate remained steady at 1%, the country's biggest building society said. Continue reading......

Regulator looks into claim Hilton, InterContinental Hotels and Marriott could be sharing 'competitively sensitive' information via analytics tool Business live – latest updatesThe UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into three of the world's biggest hotel chains – Hilton, InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Marriott – amid suspicions they could be sharing “competitively sensitive” information with each other.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating allegations that the businesses, which together operate more than 25,000 hotels worldwide, could be sharing information through the data analytics tool STR. CoStar, the real estate data firm which owns STR, is also under investigation. Continue reading......