Breaking AI & Tech News Analyzed

President Donald Trump has been privately discussing the possibility of replacing Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, according to two people briefed on the conversations. This development comes after Gabbard's testimony at a Congressional hearing where she declined to condemn Joe Kent, a former deputy who argued that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States.Trump's frustration with Gabbard reportedly stems from her perceived defense of Kent and her reluctance to support the administration's position on attacking Iran. The President tends to poll his advisers when considering personnel changes, which suggests that Gabbard's position may be precarious.Despite this, Trump offered a mixed endorsement of Gabbard on Sunday, stating, "Yeah, sure... I mean, she's a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn't make somebody not available to serve."The White House has defended Gabbard, with spokesperson Steven Cheung stating, "As President Trump just said in his remarks, he has confidence in Director Gabbard and the tireless work she is doing."Gabbard has faced challenges in her role, including criticism for revoking the security clearances of 37 people, including congressional aides, without consulting the White House. Her tenure has been marked by both support and controversy, particularly regarding her stance on Iran and her criticism of US involvement in foreign wars.

A writer decided to hand over his dating life to AI for six weeks, using it to write his dating profile and generate conversation prompts. He matched with a woman, A, who was fine with his experiment, and they arranged a daytime cinema trip. The AI advised him to wear a turtleneck, dark jeans, and boots or minimal trainers, and helped him craft messages, including "Morning! Still on for Marty Supreme? Are you more of a trailers-lover or a trailers-hater?". However, A ignored the question and simply confirmed she was coming. During the date, the writer used AI-generated lines, such as "That hair has pure A24 energy", which A found confusing. The AI also suggested complimenting her hair, which he did, but A seemed unimpressed. As the date progressed, A began to notice that the writer's messages sounded "emotionally intelligent, yet something's off about them". She eventually discovered that he was using AI to generate his lines and told him that if someone had sent those messages without her knowing about the experiment, she wouldn't have come on the date. The writer concluded that "AI is great at choosing date ideas. Relying on it for conversation, though, comes at a price of not trusting yourself – your own curiosity, ability to listen, and what you have to offer". He realized that the artificial confidence of AI-generated lines can make them worse than someone who is honestly nervous.

UK businesses are planning to raise their prices more rapidly in the coming months due to the escalating costs triggered by the Iran conflict. A recent survey conducted by the Bank of England among over 2,000 chief financial officers revealed that companies now anticipate increasing their prices by 3.7% over the next year. This marks an increase from 3.4% in February, while the expectation of inflation across the economy has also risen from 3% to 3.5%. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has significantly driven up oil and gas prices, leading to predictions of wider price rises as these higher costs impact industries. The UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has met with retail bosses to discuss the risks of supply shortages and price increases. There is also pressure on her to mitigate the impact of likely rises in household gas and electricity bills before next winter and to reconsider plans for a 5p per liter increase in fuel duty set to take effect by next March. Bank of England policymakers are closely monitoring UK companies' pricing intentions as they consider whether to raise interest rates in the coming months from their current level of 3.75%. Financial markets are currently pricing in two interest rate rises by the end of the year, reflecting a sharp turnaround from expectations of rate cuts before the conflict began. However, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has cautioned that markets may be getting ahead of themselves, and weak consumer demand may prevent companies from passing on cost increases to their customers. He noted that businesses often report an absence of pricing power. Inflation on the consumer price index was steady at 3% in February but is now expected to rise.

The global oil market is being significantly influenced by online prediction platforms such as Polymarket, with energy traders using data from these platforms to inform their multimillion-dollar trades. Market experts have noted that Polymarket's datafeeds are being used to create algorithms that impact trading in the global Brent crude futures market. The growing reliance on Polymarket has raised concerns that anonymous account holders may be using insider knowledge to place bets, potentially influencing pricing in the global oil market. One energy trader noted that Polymarket had become the best predictor of the oil market's direction since the US-Israel war with Iran triggered a global oil crisis. Ajay Parmar, head of oil trading at ICIS, stated that betting markets have a long history of strong prediction accuracy, and traders are increasingly turning to Polymarket for market indicators. Tim Skirrow, head of derivatives at Energy Aspects, also confirmed the adoption of prediction markets as a trading tool, noting that any data with alpha is considered in modern markets. The US investment bank Goldman Sachs has included analysis of prediction-market data in its oil market research, and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has launched a trading tool providing a data feed of Polymarket's prediction markets to help traders make informed decisions. However, not all commodity traders are convinced by Polymarket's track record in predicting market-moving events. One trading analyst noted that Polymarket has made bad calls during the crisis, and that hedge funds may be more interested in the platform than traditional traders.

When asked before Arsenal’s win over Everton how the upcoming international break might affect his squad, Mikel Arteta stressed the club’s “good communication” with national team coaches and promised to make “the right decisions” after assessing each player’s condition. That cautious optimism was quickly shattered. Following the Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City, a cascade of withdrawals began. William Saliba pulled out of France’s squad with a left‑ankle injury, and Jurriën Timber missed the Netherlands call‑up due to a lingering groin problem. Within 24 hours, Gabriel Magalhães (Brazil) and Leandro Trossard (Belgium) also withdrew, while Eberechi Eze was forced out of England duty because of a calf strain that kept him out of the cup final. Captain Martin Ødegaard, still recovering from a previous ankle‑ligament injury sustained on international duty, did not feature in the final and subsequently withdrew from Norway’s squad. Arsenal’s injury list continued to grow on Friday when Noni Maduke (England) and Piero Hincapié (Ecuador) limped out of their respective friendlies. Both are doubtful for the FA Cup clash with Southampton at St Mary’s, though the club hopes they may return sooner. Mid‑week, Martín Zubimendi became the eleventh Arsenal player to pull out of an international roster, citing pain in his left knee. The Spain midfielder has logged more Premier League minutes than any Arsenal player this season, edging out Declan Rice and Jurriën Timber. Despite the setbacks, Viktor Gyökeres showed full commitment to Sweden, scoring a hat‑trick in the play‑off against Ukraine and later netting the decisive goal against Poland. By contrast, Riccardo Calafiori returns to London after Italy’s 120‑minute defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, a match that highlighted Italy’s ongoing World Cup qualification woes. Arteta’s dilemma mirrors the challenges faced by Sir Alex Ferguson in the early 2000s, when the Manchester United legend famously limited his players’ international minutes. The modern Arsenal squad, arguably one of the deepest in Premier League history, now faces a delicate balancing act: preserving player fitness while competing on three fronts – the league, the FA Cup, and the Champions League quarter‑final against Sporting Lisbon next week in Portugal. With the club already having contested over 50 matches this season and potentially adding another 15 if they reach both cup finals, the psychological impact of another major‑trophy loss could be significant. Arteta will need his remaining fit players to step up and deliver, or risk seeing the season’s ambitions slip away.

The United States men's national team is gearing up for the World Cup, but their recent friendlies have left fans concerned. Over the past few months, the team has struggled, with more than six months without a win. However, this trend is not unprecedented. In 1994, the USMNT had a dismal run-in to the World Cup, winning just two games in 12 attempts, including a loss to Iceland. Despite these poor results, the 1994 team managed to survive the group stage and narrowly lost to eventual champions Brazil in the round of 16. This precedent may offer some consolation to current fans. The team's coach, Mauricio Pochettino, remains optimistic, stating that he is 'happy about the camp' and believes that 'we are not far away' from achieving their goals. Roberto Martínez, former Belgium manager, warned against reading too much into pre-World Cup results, stating that they are 'quite worthless'. This sentiment is echoed by the USMNT's history of performing well in the World Cup despite poor preparations. In 1950, the team lost their only tune-up game but stunned England 1-0 at the World Cup in Brazil. Similarly, in 2002, the USMNT made a deep run in the tournament despite losing several friendlies. The team's star player, Christian Pulisic, also remains positive, citing 'a lot of positives' from the recent friendlies. The USMNT's history suggests that their pre-tournament form may not be a reliable indicator of their performance. With the World Cup approaching, fans will be hoping that the team can defy their recent form and make a strong showing.

The 2,500-year-old gold helmet from Romania, known as the Helmet of Coțofenești, has been recovered after being stolen from the Drents Museum in the northern Netherlands in January 2025. The theft was carried out by a gang of robbers who used firework bombs to break into the museum and smash display cases.“It’s amazing. It’s the best news we could have got,” said Arthur Brand, a Dutch art detective, confirming the recovery of the helmet. Prosecutors are expected to make an official announcement regarding the recovery.The stolen items, including the golden Helmet of Coțofenești and three gold bracelets, are considered national treasures in Romania. The Dutch government had set aside €5.7m for a potential payout after the theft, highlighting the significance and value of the artifact.The recovery of the helmet has triggered outrage and relief in Romania, where the items are deeply valued. This incident underscores the importance of protecting cultural heritage and the challenges faced by museums and authorities in securing priceless artifacts.

The usual visual language of hospital dramas relies on sterile whites and bright fluorescents. ‘What I’m Here For’ discards that palette entirely, immersing the audience in a world of black costumes and shadow‑filled set pieces.This daring aesthetic is the result of a collaboration between Vanishing Point of Glasgow and Teater Katapult from Aarhus, Denmark. Designer Mai Katsume outfits nurses, doctors and patients in deep black, arranging them in stark rows that dominate an ominously dark stage.At the centre stands Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht as Flora, a nurse forced onto an extra weekend shift because of chronic short‑staffing. Even the flickering strip lights beneath her feet are cloaked in darkness, a visual choice amplified by Simon Wilkinson’s austere lighting design that drains the scene of any residual warmth, turning a hectic night ward into a gothic horror tableau.Written by Josephine Eusebius and performed in a blend of Danish and English, the script follows a familiar premise—too many patients, too few staff—but pushes it to a psychological extreme. Flora cheerfully repeats the hospital‑as‑hotel mantra while confronting impossible choices, such as whether to prioritize a pleasant woman with a brain tumour in room 22 or a demanding lady with a heart condition in room 33.The tension is heightened by Mark Melville’s pulse‑driven soundtrack, a low‑frequency thrum that underscores Flora’s isolation. As in many of director Matthew Lenton’s productions, the protagonist is both integral to and alienated from the medical team, a duality made palpable by her physical separation from the other actors and their disembodied commentary.Throughout the performance, Flora remains downstage, engaging in dream‑like exchanges with colleagues whose looming presence becomes as oppressive as the life‑and‑death decisions she must make. The staging forces the audience to feel the weight of each moral dilemma, turning routine triage into an almost tactile nightmare.‘What I’m Here For’ runs at the Tron in Glasgow until 4 April and will tour to other venues until 18 April.

Ministers are rewriting planning rules to make it easier to approve intensive livestock farms, despite ongoing concerns about water pollution, air quality and local opposition.Freedom of Information documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) have been discussed in response to lobbying by the country’s leading chicken producers for at least two years.The British Poultry Council (BPC) told farming minister Angela Eagle last autumn that “access to more growing space is the number one priority for the poultry meat sector.”In a submission to the government’s farm profitability review, the BPC argued that the need for a solution—whether through planning reform or land‑use policy—“dwarfs all other issues currently facing us.”Ahead of a January round‑table with Eagle, the BPC urged the government to “develop national planning direction and oversight for food production … to safeguard the UK’s long‑term food security.”Eagle responded that the government has “announced proposals to reform the planning system to more quickly unlock food and farming infrastructure,” emphasizing that “planning should enable ambition, not stifle it.”Her briefing notes directly linked the proposed changes to industry lobbying, describing planning reform as one of the sector’s “biggest asks” and noting that the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are working to “find solutions to planning barriers to poultry sheds and other infrastructure necessary for food production.”The draft NPPF includes several measures that could ease approval of new intensive livestock developments: a higher threshold for refusing applications on environmental grounds, reduced scope for local authorities to adopt tougher rules, greater weight given to “domestic food production,” and a new emphasis on “better accommodation for livestock.”The industry says it needs extra space to house chickens because of voluntary commitments to lower stocking density. Critics point out that these welfare commitments are not legally binding and that planning conditions do not guarantee long‑term compliance. Recent withdrawals by restaurant chains from the Better Chicken Commitment underscore the controversy.Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the BPC, said the reforms are needed to accommodate welfare improvements rather than to expand production, noting a voluntary reduction in stocking density from 38 kg to 30 kg per square metre.Griffiths warned that failing to support domestic production could increase imports, and the BPC has called for food production to be classified as “critical national infrastructure.”Prof. Paul Behrens of the University of Oxford countered that the food‑security case for intensive poultry is “illusory” because the sector depends on imported feed and vitamins and is vulnerable to disease outbreaks such as avian flu.Opposition to poultry megafarms is organised, with local residents raising concerns over water pollution, air quality and the climate crisis. The Environment Agency estimates agriculture accounts for roughly 70 % of nitrate and 25‑30 % of phosphorus pollution in UK waterways, and runoff from intensive poultry units contributes to that burden.Last year, Norfolk councillors rejected Cranswick’s plan for a 900,000‑bird chicken farm after the company failed to demonstrate that the development would not cause “significant adverse effects on protected sites.”The BPC has also urged early intervention by the Planning Inspectorate to minimise delays, arguing that centralised oversight would bring objectivity to a system where “naysayers, particularly via social media, have a disproportionate sway in the decision‑making process.”Campaign group Communities Against Factory Farming warned that the proposed regime “risks embedding decades of industrial livestock land use in rural and green‑belt locations without adequate scrutiny,” giving “substantial weight” to the economic benefits of intensification.A government spokesperson rejected claims that the NPPF proposals are driven by lobbying, stating that they have been carefully considered to balance sector support with broader priorities such as food security and environmental protection.