Tech

Technology news: AI, chips and devices, programming, security, crypto and the companies building them.

2292 articles · page 19 of 48 · The Tech front page

Hardware & Devices

GlobalFoundries returns to advanced nodes with 7nm-class FDX Fusion process for low-power chips

GlobalFoundries has announced FDX Fusion, a 7nm-class fabrication process based on fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology, marking the company's return to developing advanced nodes nearly eight years after abandoning its FinFET roadmap. The process is designed for applications prioritising low power consumption and high integration, with production scheduled to begin in 2028 at GlobalFoundries' Dresden facility.

·2 min
Crypto

Global Financial Watchdog Urges Cross-Border Crisis Planning for Stablecoins

The global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has called on countries to improve cross-border information sharing and develop contingency plans for stablecoin failures. A report published on October 12 warns that stablecoins jointly issued by multiple companies could trap reserves in one jurisdiction while redemption demands hit another, creating a dangerous gap in crisis response.

·2 min
AI

UK confirms access to latest AI models as Microsoft president urges UK-led safety rules

Britain's AI Safety Institute has confirmed it can still access and test the latest artificial intelligence models, while Microsoft president Brad Smith has argued the UK is best placed to lead global AI regulation. Speaking on a BBC podcast, Smith warned that AI is currently less regulated than milk and washing machines and called for urgent safety rules, including "kill switches" and legal duties to report breaches by rogue AI agents.

·2 min·3 sources
Security

Cyberleek demands Take-Two apology and $30M memecoin target or full GTA 6 build leak

The hacking group Cyberleek has issued an ultimatum to Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games: release a physical version of Grand Theft Auto VI and apologize, or the group will leak the full build of the game, including the complete story mode. The demand is coupled with a requirement that Cyberleek's Solana memecoin, $CYBERLEEK, reach a market cap of $30 million before the build is released.

·2 min
Crypto

AI agent discovers decade-old XRP Ledger bug that could have minted 18 trillion tokens

An AI-powered security system has uncovered a critical vulnerability in the XRP Ledger (XRPL) that could have allowed an attacker to create roughly 18 trillion XRP tokens, threatening the cryptocurrency's $94 billion market capitalisation. The bug, which survived more than a decade of security reviews and audits, was reported on September 22 and patched three days later, with no evidence of exploitation.

·2 min
Programming

Developer behind Adobe-clone suite unveils open-source Microsoft Office replicas built with Claude

Brandon Thomas, the solo developer whose ArtCraft project set out to replicate Adobe's creative suite with free, open-source tools, has announced a second set of AI-built clones aimed at Microsoft Office. Named GridCraft, DeckCraft and WordCraft, the apps are designed to replace Excel, PowerPoint and Word respectively and, like ArtCraft, were created using the Claude AI model.

·2 min
Hardware & Devices

Researchers demonstrate method to control 2D semiconductor crystal growth for future chips

Researchers have demonstrated a way to control where two-dimensional semiconductor crystals begin growing on a wafer, potentially removing a key barrier to manufacturing next-generation transistors at scale. The technique, described in a paper published in Nature on October 7, uses an etching flux to suppress random nucleation and force a single crystal to form at the centre of each patterned region. The team behind the work includes researchers from KAIST in South Korea and the startup TDS Innovation.

·2 min
AI

Veteran psychiatrist argues AI chatbots could be a lifeline for young people in mental distress

One of Australia's most experienced mental health researchers has broken with prevailing alarm about chatbots, arguing that generative AI could be the most positive opportunity ever to emerge in mental health care, particularly for young people. Ian Hickie, a researcher in clinical psychiatry who has worked in mental health and suicide prevention for nearly four decades, made the case in an opinion article published across Nine newspapers.

·2 min·3 sources
Security

King Charles III warns malicious online actors are evolving tactics using automated technologies

King Charles III has warned that malicious online actors are evolving their tactics by using automated technologies, posing challenges to trust and security in the digital age. In a letter to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to mark its 10th anniversary, the King praised the agency's achievements in defending against cyber attacks and safeguarding democratic institutions, while noting the need to balance the risks and opportunities of powerful new technologies.

·2 min
AI

SoftBank seeks $100bn from Gulf investors for AI and robotics acquisition fund

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is seeking up to $100 billion from Middle Eastern investors to establish a fund that would acquire companies and enhance their operations using artificial intelligence and robotics, according to the Financial Times. Unlike SoftBank's previous investment vehicles, the fund would purchase established businesses and introduce AI and robotics to improve their value, marking a new model for profiting from the technology.

·2 min
AI

Microsoft launches Decision-1, its own answer to the AI decision model race

Microsoft has entered the decision model race, launching Microsoft-Decision-1 in Foundry on Friday. The model was post-trained on Alibaba's Qwen3.5-9B rather than OpenAI technology, and arrives three days after OpenAI opened its Decisions API to every developer and roughly three and a half weeks after startup TypeSafe created the category with Jev. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the company is already testing the model across Microsoft.

·2 min
Tech

Aaron Sorkin's ‘The Social Reckoning’ opens below expectations as Hollywood's tech CEO wave begins

“The Social Reckoning,” Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to “The Social Network,” is on track to make only about $5.5 million at the domestic box office this weekend, according to Sunday estimates. That is well short of the $7 million to $8 million the studio had projected, and it marks a soft start for a fall season stacked with films about real-world tech executives, including a four-hour Elon Musk documentary that earned $69,000 in four theaters.

·3 min·3 sources