Tech and Science Daily | The Standard

Alan Leer's on the mic for your London commute as Anthropic admits it’s built an AI model it won’t release — and launches Project Glasswing with a who’s-who of tech to secure critical software. We also hit a London bit of calendar-watching as Tech.eu reveals what it’s pushing at its London summit, and a UK transparency drop as the ICO details how an LLM helps turn messy complaints into real cases. In gaming, 007: First Light slips again on Switch 2 — “later this summer” doing a lot of heavy lifting. Plus the UK’s ongoing experiment in teen screen rules at home. More on everything at standard.co.uk — and follow Tech and Science Daily from The Standard for your weekday briefing.

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A UCL team in Bloomsbury is finding ways to make tumours less “invisible” to the immune system, while the government looks to clamp down on signal jammers — the sneaky gadgets that help thieves blank your doorbell, tracker, or shop alarms. After that, we go full sci-fi-but-real with lab-grown mini brain models, then land in gaming with Cyberpunk showing off on PS5 Pro. And yes, there’s even a “not-a-smartphone” gadget for kids that might save a few parents’ sanity. More on everything at standard.co.uk — and follow Tech and Science Daily from The Standard for your weekday briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Episode Nine, Evgeny is joined by Michael Pollan, journalist, author, and one of the leading voices exploring the human mind. Drawing on his new book A World Appears, Pollan makes an impassioned case for consciousness as something precious, private, and increasingly under threat. Together, they explore how social media and AI are not just competing for our attention, but beginning to shape attachment, emotion, and even our sense of self.
The conversation ranges from chatbots and “AI psychosis” to meditation, psychedelics, and the idea of “consciousness hygiene” - the habits and practices that might help us protect our inner lives. Pollan also reflects on why writing is a form of thinking, why boredom and mind-wandering matter, and how experiences of ego dissolution, art, and nature can deepen our understanding of consciousness. The episode ends on a wider question: whether the real challenge is not only understanding consciousness, but learning how to practise it.

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Al’s on the mic for a quick commute-friendly sprint: London’s hosting a 13-nation quantum pow-wow as the UK tries to help write the rules for the next big tech era. Then up to Sheffield, where researchers say the way we make chips could get a lot greener if supply chains shift closer to home. Also: telecoms firms re-promise to stop the sneaky bill stuff, with legacy inflation-linked rises heading for the exit after April 2026. After the break, Nature delivers a proper AI reality check — chatbots confidently chatting about a disease that doesn’t exist — before we finish with Xbox Game Pass loading April like it wants you to cancel plans. More on everything at standard.co.uk.

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Alan Leer is in with a proper commute-friendly sprint through today’s tech and science. London researchers linked to UCL hit a bonkers fibre speed record — using existing installed cable — while the UK’s Online Safety regime gets sharper as a key reporting duty kicks in today. Then we go brainy with a study teasing out a “neural fingerprint” for psychedelics, before switching to gaming where Starfield finally opens up on PS5 with a big update and fresh story content. Plus, a quick reality check on why your next phone might cost more than your last — and what to do about it. More at standard.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.