Technology

The Spectator's notes

13 May 2023 9:00 am

I dropped a morphine capsule in my Moscow Mule

12 November 2022 9:00 am

A dear friend came to stay for two nights. Could I be persuaded, wondered he and Catriona, on the first…

Is Russell Brand really so dangerous?

8 October 2022 9:00 am

Once the dust has settled over the government’s mini-Budget, another big political battle looms: the Online Safety Bill. This is…

China vs the US: who will win the chip war?

10 September 2022 9:00 am

Semiconductors are the latest battleground for China and the US

The China threat our politicians don’t seem to have noticed

30 July 2022 9:00 am

The threat our politicians don’t seem to have noticed

Nick Bostrom: How can we be certain a machine isn’t conscious?

9 July 2022 9:00 am

Philosopher Nick Bostrom on the AI threat

Why sat navs are a conversation killer

28 May 2022 9:00 am

When my daughters learned to drive, I suggested they take their tests in automatics as driving manual cars would soon…

Are iPhones sending women gaga?

14 May 2022 9:00 am

The girl wound down her window, stuck her mobile phone out into midair, and started to take pictures of the…

The wonder of the Metaphor Map

30 April 2022 9:00 am

‘What’s that?’ asked my husband, looking at my laptop. ‘Fibonacci fossilised?’ His question made no sense, but I saw what…

Nadine Dorries: My vision for the BBC

30 April 2022 9:00 am

Nadine Dorries on online safety, the BBC and taking risks

We must all become Doctor Dolittles and listen to the wisdom of animals

23 April 2022 9:00 am

One day the writer and artist James Bridle rented a hatchback, taped a smartphone to the steering wheel and installed…

Can you tell which of these artworks was created by a computer?

23 April 2022 9:00 am

Will AI change painting — or destroy it?

Will there ever be a reliable lie detector?

16 April 2022 9:00 am

For as long as we have been human we have looked for some way of telling when we are being…

How to watch YouTube on your TV – and why you should

16 April 2022 9:00 am

According to Pliny the Elder, Scipio Aemilianus was the first man to shave daily. The origin of the name Boeing…

The Aesopian language of algospeak

16 April 2022 9:00 am

To evade algorithms that hunt down forbidden words, users of platforms like TikTok employ cryptic synonyms. So deadbecomes unalive, and…

What’s the right way to pronounce ‘gif’?

9 April 2022 9:00 am

The man who invented gifs, Stephen Wilhite, has died, aged 74. Controversy survives him – over how to pronounce the…

How to post a parcel without leaving your house

5 March 2022 9:00 am

Here’s a useful tip. Go to the Royal Mail websiteand you can ask your postman to collect letters or parcels…

The untimely death of the landline

5 March 2022 9:00 am

The premature death of the home phone

The algorithm myth: why the bots won't take over

19 February 2022 9:00 am

The psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer on how to stay ahead of the algorithms

The ghosts that could come back to haunt Blair

5 February 2022 9:00 am

I’m picturing Sir Tony Blair enjoying a fitting of his Garter robes after watching Boris Johnson stagger through PMQs. ‘I’m…

My Orwellian battle with Vodafone

29 January 2022 9:00 am

After launching an investigation into my missing phone, Vodafone informed me it could not deal with me any further until…

Will our future lives be like a video game?

22 January 2022 6:00 pm

A few years ago, the software company Owlchemy Labs released a computer game called Job Simulator. Its premise was simple.…

Why cash is still king to me

22 January 2022 9:00 am

In defence of hard cash

The tyranny of the smart phone

22 January 2022 9:00 am

‘Can I ask you why you don’t want a smart phone?’ said the chirpy manager, as I stood blinking in…

My strange encounter with foot fetishists

15 January 2022 9:00 am

My strange encounter with the foot fetishists