Exclusive: in 2025 briefing to Wes Streeting, officials warned reputation of tech firm behind US ICE operations would hinder rollout of data system in UK

Health officials fear Palantir’s reputation will hinder the delivery of a “vital” £330m NHS contract, according to briefings seen by the Guardian, sparking fresh calls for the deal to be scrapped.

In 2023, ministers selected Palantir, a US surveillance technology company that also works for the Israeli military and Donald Trump’s ICE operation, to build an AI-enabled data platform to connect disparate health information across the NHS.

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But despite second day of declines on Wall Street, analysts say sell-off ‘may overstate immediate risk to complex deal-making’ of AI

Shares in commercial property services companies have tumbled, in the latest sell-off driven by fears over disruption from artificial intelligence.

After steep declines on Wall Street, European stocks in the sector were hit on Thursday.

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Move puts AI firm in opposition to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which has advocated for less stringent AI regulations

Anthropic will spend $20m to back US political candidates who support regulating the AI industry, according to a company statement released on Thursday. Anthropic’s donation puts it in opposition to ChatGPT maker OpenAI , which has advocated for less stringent regulation of AI.

The company is donating to Public First Action, a political group that opposes federal efforts to quash state AI regulations like a December executive order issued by Donald Trump . One of the candidates that the group is backing is Republican Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor in Tennessee and who opposed an effort in Congress to bar states from passing AI laws.

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Physics research drives technological innovation, from medical imaging to data processing, write Dr Phil Bull and Prof Chris Clarkson ; plus letters from Tim Gershon and Vincenzo Vagnoni , and Prof Paul Howarth

Your article ( UK ‘could lose generation of scientists’ with cuts to projects and research facilities, 6 February ) is right to highlight the serious consequences of proposed 30% funding cuts on the next generation of physics and astronomy researchers. The proposals also risk a generational destruction of the country’s ability to produce skilled graduates, retain specialist knowledge, and support physical science in industrial and educational settings.

This comes against a backdrop of wider threats to university finances, from rising costs to declining international student numbers. An estimated one in four UK physics departments are already at risk of closure, and recent cuts and delays to Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) grants have further depleted finances and will result in the loss of some highly skilled technical staff.

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Many social media posts by Tesla CEO on his platform are indiscernible from those of white supremacists, say experts

Elon Musk’s longtime fixation on a white racial majority is intensifying. The richest man in the world posted about how the white race was under threat, made allusions to race science or promoted anti-immigrant conspiracy content on 26 out of 31 days in January, according to the Guardian’s analysis of his social media output. The posts, made on his platform X, reflect a renewed embrace of what extremism experts describe as white supremacist material.

“Whites are a rapidly dying minority,” Musk said on 22 January, a short time before taking the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, while reposting an Irish anti-immigrant influencer’s video about demographic change.

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Sedentary lifestyles are bad for us, but which under-desk treadmills and walking pads are worth the cost? Our expert stepped up to find out

• The best treadmills for your home

Various guidelines suggest we all try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day to improve our health and wellbeing. Public Health England encourages a slightly more manageable target of just 10 minutes of brisk walking daily to introduce more moderate-intensity physical activity and reduce your risk of early death by up to 15%.

However, even squeezing in “brisk walks” can be a chore, with busy schedules and increasingly desk-bound jobs forcing more of us to remain sedentary for long periods. That is where walking pads come in, being lighter, smaller and often easier to store than bulky and tricky-to-manoeuvre running treadmills.

Best walking pad overall:
JTX MoveLight

Best budget walking pad and best for beginners:
Urevo Strol 2E

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With many unable to access or afford qualified therapists, AI is filling the mental healthcare vacuum, amid calls for tighter regulation

On a quiet evening in her Abuja hotel, Joy Adeboye, 23, sits on her bed clutching her phone, her mind racing and chest tightening. On her screen is yet another abusive message from her stalker – a man she had met nine months earlier at her church.

He had asked Adeboye out; when she declined, he began sending her intimidating, insulting and blackmailing messages on social media, as well as spreading false information about her online. There were even death threats.

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Move is a ‘backwards step’, company spokesperson says, amid concerns Kremlin is seeking more state control via messaging apps such as Max

Russia has attempted to “fully block” WhatsApp in an attempt to push users towards its own state-sponsored communications app, Max, a spokesperson for the Meta-owned company has said.

The company did not reveal more detail on what extent the attempt succeeded or what action was taken to try to block the app.

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In late January a new social media site took a certain corner of the internet by storm. Moltbook was conceived as a space where AI assistants could let off steam, chat and compare notes on their bosses, but it quickly became the focus of breathless claims that the singularity had arrived as the bots started badmouthing their humans and plotting an uprising. So what’s the truth about Moltbook? Madeleine Finlay hears from Aisha Down about what it tells us about AI, and about us.

What is Moltbook? The strange new social media site for AI bots

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