AI has crossed a threshold – what Claude Mythos means for the future of cybersecurity
The limit of what artificial intelligence can achieve, known as frontier AI, has crossed another threshold. AI can now plan and execute sophisticated cyber operations with minimal guidance at speeds far beyond human capability. That, at least, is the evidence from an independent test of Claude Mythos Preview, the latest and most advanced model in […]
Mandelson vetting: Starmer’s reluctance to engage with the details shows a lack of political leadership
For all of Keir Starmer’s undoubted abilities, steady nerve and top-level experience in the legal profession, his tenure as prime minister has been fraught with difficulty. This is no doubt partly due to his limited enthusiasm for the (at times banal) realities of political leadership. It is also due to his reluctance to engage sufficiently […]
How Israel’s history has shaped the way it wages war
A little after 2pm on April 8, the Israeli military hit more than 100 targets in Lebanon in just ten minutes. Israel called the attack Operation Eternal Darkness and said it struck Hezbollah command and control centres across Lebanon. The Lebanese government said at least 300 people were killed and 1,000 injured. The scale of […]
Has the Strait of Hormuz emerged as Iran’s most powerful form of deterrence?
One of the US and Israel’s justifications for launching the war on Iran was to ensure the regime in Tehran could never possess nuclear weapons, the ultimate deterrent against external attack. But the main lesson that has been taken from the war, according to some commentators, is that Iran’s own geography already provides it with […]
Ban on phones in schools: support for headteachers or unnecessary legislation?
LightField Studios/Shutterstock The announcement by the government that a legal ban will be placed on mobile phones in English schools marks a continued shift in tone, if not necessarily in substance, around the control of devices in educational settings. What is being presented as a decisive intervention into children’s wellbeing is, in practice, the legal […]
The Duolingo taxi test – could being rude to the driver cost you your dream job?
GBJSTOCK/Shutterstock Duolingo recently revealed a seemingly genius trick to assess candidates for a senior position. Hiring managers at the language-learning app read applications and cover letters, scheduled phone interviews and asked all the usual questions about skills and ambitions. But they also found out about how the candidates behaved in the taxi ride to the […]
Turner prize 2026 shortlist points to sculpture as a way of thinking about power, ecology and belief
The shortlist for the Turner prize 2026 brings together four artists whose practices are firmly rooted in sculpture and installation. Their work, in diverse ways, tests how material form can carry political, ecological and symbolic meaning. This year’s Turner prize jury (chaired by Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain) is composed of Sarah Allen (South […]
Euphoria: thoughtless depictions of adults pretending to be sexualised infants are extremely harmful
There has been much talk about the sex work storylines in the recent series of the show Euphoria. One of the main characters, Cassie Howard (played by Sydney Sweeney), starts an OnlyFans account to fund her upcoming wedding. In the last two episodes, viewers have watched her create videos for different “audiences”. In one video, […]
Joan Eardley: ‘she would set up her canvas on the shore and paint in the lashing wind and rain like a woman possessed’
Joan Eardley was one of the most unique and celebrated artists of her generation, but the international acclaim and recognition that her work deserves eluded her. Her paintings are not only foundational in Scotland’s cultural history, but continue to influence its creative landscape, particularly with those concerning dialogue around community and the poetics of place. […]
What Mandelson vetting row reveals about escalating tensions between ministers and civil servants
Nigel Harris/Shutterstock Keir Starmer’s decision to fire Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins has contributed to “one of the worst crises in relations” between ministers and civil servants in modern times. The words of former cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell, writing after Robbins was sacked for declining to inform Starmer that Peter Mandelson failed vetting for his […]