Tech
‘They can shape the outcomes they claim to forecast’ – could Polymarket influence an election?
A platform backed by Peter Thiel and advised by Donald Trump Jr. is taking anonymous crypto bets on UK elections, missile strikes and the death of world leaders. In Britain no regulator will touch it, writes Ian Tucker in this in-depth guide to so-called "prediction markets"
Tech
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New fears over spread of Palantir’s influence after ‘Big Brother’ Met police project extended
The programme, designed to expose officer misconduct, was due to expire last month. The Nerve has established that it was extended to today, May 15, with no indication what happens next. Officers fear they will be under long-term surveillance, while it’s also emerged the project could be rolled out to more staff. Report by Max Colbert and Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Palantir
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‘It’s like they were sharing tips on building a barbecue’: how the ‘rape academy’ teaching men to become Dominique Pelicot was exposed
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy was one of a team that made headlines when they uncovered a porn site specialising in abusing drugged women. She talked to Lucia Osborne-Crowley about the impact of her work – and the toll it can take
News
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Richard Dawkins’s chatbot isn’t conscious: it’s just all talk
The acclaimed scientist spent time with Anthropic’s ‘Claudia’ and couldn’t believe she wasn’t sentient. But Dawkins' own work has taught us that complexity can exist without a divine spark, writes neuroscientist Anil Seth
Tech
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Cory Doctorow: Comrade Trump is the unwitting hero of a green revolution
In the first of a new monthly column for the Nerve, the author and cyber-activist argues that by dumping cheap solar panels on Asia and starting a catastrophic war in the Gulf, the president has started a headlong rush for cleantech that no eco-activism could match
Tech
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Iran is winning the propaganda war against Trump – brick by brick
Tehran’s viral videos satirising a Lego-style president have harnessed the power of AI – and Maga’s debasing of political discourse – and turned it against the US, writes disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz
Tech
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Your pension, Palantir’s war machine
USS, the UK's largest private pension fund, has £45m invested in the AI company that, its CEO boasts, can bring ‘violence and death’ to America's enemies. University union leaders want change, reports Ian Tucker
Palantir
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Big Tech tried to get young people addicted. Now the reckoning has begun
Two seismic court decisions in the US have intervened where legislators have failed to defend social media users from exploitation, writes campaigner Zamaan Qureshi
Tech
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Will Google’s AI hype man kill the BBC?
Matt Brittin spent two decades at Google, a tech company helping to destroy journalism. His appointment as leader of Britain’s biggest news organisation represents an existential threat, writes Carole Cadwalladr
Tech
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Is Palantir in your pension? UK institutions have over £5bn invested in US tech corporation
Research reveals size of investment by UK organisations – including some of Britain’s biggest retirement providers – in Silicon Valley’s most controversial technology company. Carole Cadwalladr and Ian Tucker report
Palantir
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'Why should young people have to beat an algorithm?’ Molly Russell, Meta, and the fight against online harm
As a new documentary tells the story of the teenager, who took her own life in 2017, her father, her friends and the film’s director talk about the unchecked power and threat of social media
Tech
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The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science
Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-long project that cloaked eugenics, race science and sexual misconduct in Ivy League respectability
Tech
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A teenager was hounded until she died by the 'ordinary women' of Tattle Life. A ban is long overdue.
The suicide of 16-year-old Princess Dickson came after incessant targeting on the anonymous influencer gossip forum. The commenters – mainly professional women – should be ashamed, writes Dr Jessica Taylor
Tech
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I confronted a tech boss about my sister’s suicide. I don’t know why I bothered
Aimee died at 21 after going on a notorious self-harm forum. But when I approached a tech CEO to talk about online safety at a Davos debate, I was threatened with removal, writes Adele Walton
Tech
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What’s happening in America is technofascism. It could happen here
Peter Thiel's data surveillance company Palantir is powering Trump's ICE operation in the US. Carole Cadwalladr argues that the UK will be next
Palantir
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Revealed: Palantir deals with UK state total at least £670m – including £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency
EXCLUSIVE Nerve investigation finds Trump ally Peter Thiel's surveillance firm has won at least 34 contracts, including management services for Britain's nuclear deterrent, with MPs warning of 'gaping vulnerability' as US president threatens Nato allies. By Carole Cadwalladr, Charlie Young and Max Colbert
Palantir
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Cringe, actually. A young person's guide to how not to do politics on social media
In the absence of any youth-friendly policies, British politicians, led by Keir Starmer, are doubling down on online comms – and it isn’t working. Nerve editorial assistant Anandita Abraham analyses some cover-your-eyes examples
Tech
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AI boom? Or AI bust? Are even the broligarchs admitting AI is a bubble?
Peter Thiel is panic-dumping stock. Sam Altman is getting twitchy in interviews. The world is waking up to a trillion dollar emperor with no clothes, writes Carole Cadwalladr
Palantir
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‘He’s so unafraid’: how New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani aced his TikTok game
As New Yorkers went to vote, the unapologetically leftwing – and hugely popular – candidate was leading the polls. Mamdani's fearless, canny, often funny, social media posts played a key role in his campaign. Kat Tenbarge reports
Tech
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