(Reuters) -JD.com on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue below estimates, but posted a surge in profit as supply chain challenges eased.

Germany expects the cost of transforming its natural gas and heating networks to reach as much as €14

China’s internet regulator is reaching out to foreign firms, including Walmart Inc. and PayPal Inc., to discuss ways

SpaceX has hinted that flight tests of its Mars-bound Starship rocket system could begin to occur on a more frequent basis following a successful launch on Saturday. The tallest and most powerful rocket ever built lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Saturday, seven months after the first launch attempt. Unlike the first attempt, both parts of the rocket were able to separate in mid-air without immediately exploding, while the newly-built launch pad was also able to withstand the force of the 33 Raptor engines firing simultaneously. “Just inspected the Starship launch pad and it is in great condition,” SpaceX boss Elon Musk posted on X on Sunday. “No refurbishment needed to the water-cooled steel plate for next launch. Congrats to SpaceX team and contractors for engineering and building such a robust system so rapidly!” The second flight test of the fully-stacked Starship rocket was beset by delays due to the high levels of debris from the destroyed launchpad and exploded rocket following the failed first attempt. Regulators said they would be working with SpaceX before a third flight test takes place, with the US Federal Aviation Administration confirming that no injuries or property damage was reported following Saturday’s launch. The fully-stacked Starship rocket system was the first to successfully perform a hot-stage separation, which saw the upper second stage launch away from the Super Heavy Booster mid-flight. Both parts of the rocket were destroyed shortly after they achieved separation, however SpaceX already has two Super Heavy boosters and three upper-stage vehicles currently undergoing preliminary testing, according to Next Spaceflight. Mr Musk has previously outlined his plans to build a fleet of hundreds of Starship rockets, with the hope of using them to establish a permanent human colony on Mars by 2050. SpaceX has already secured a multi-billion dollar contract with Nasa to develop Starship for the US space agency’s Artemis program, which will return humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time in 50 years. Read More SpaceX launches ‘zero fuel’ engine into space SpaceX Starship rocket loses contact after reaching space: Live updates Air Force officer breaks silence over ‘red, glowing’ UFO sighting: ‘Not a joke’

X is fighting a legal case challenging several government orders to block certain accounts and posts.

Lack of data protection laws in the UK could see an increasing problem of AI “ghostbots” made from people’s digital footprints, new research from Queen’s University Belfast has suggested. “Ghostbot” is a term used to describe what happens when artificial intelligence is used to create digital reincarnations of the dead. The technology used to create this includes chatbots, deepfakes or holographs that can replicate the voice, face and even personality of a dead person using data from social media. 'Ghostbots' lie at the intersection of many different areas of law, such as privacy and property, and yet there remains a lack of protection for the deceased’s personality, privacy, or dignity after death Dr Marisa McVey, Queen’s University Belfast As the concept of digital reincarnation moves into the mainstream, celebrities are beginning to showcase the capabilities of such technology, for example, a hologram of the late Robert Kardashian created using deepfake technology was gifted to Kim Kardashian by Kanye West in 2020, which used her father’s likeness and spoke in his voice. A research study titled Governing Ghostbots from Queen’s University Belfast, Aston Law School and Newcastle University Law School, has suggested that greater societal awareness of “ghostbots” and a “do not bot me” clause in wills and other contracts could prevent people from being digitally reincarnated without permission. The research looked at potential legal avenues to protect privacy (including post-mortem privacy), property, personal data, and reputation. Dr Marisa McVey from the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast said there was a lack of protection for people’s privacy or dignity after death. Currently, in the absence of specific legislation in the UK and further afield, it’s unclear who might have the power to bring back our digital persona after we die Dr Marisa McVey, Queen’s University Belfast “’Ghostbots’ lie at the intersection of many different areas of law, such as privacy and property, and yet there remains a lack of protection for the deceased’s personality, privacy, or dignity after death,” she said. “Furthermore, in the UK, privacy and data protection laws do not extend to heirs after death,” she said. “While it is not thought that ‘ghostbots’ could cause physical harm, the likelihood is that they could cause emotional distress and economic harm, particularly impacting upon the deceased’s loved ones and heirs. “Currently, in the absence of specific legislation in the UK and further afield, it’s unclear who might have the power to bring back our digital persona after we die.” In the US and EU there is increasing momentum to legislate on who has ownership over a person’s digital identity, for example the EU AI Act which requires greater transparency for deepfakes and chatbots. In the absence of legislation in the UK, one way to protect our post-mortem selves might be through the drafting of a legally binding ‘do not bot me’ clause that could be inserted into wills and other contracts while people are still alive Dr Marisa McVey, Queen’s University Belfast Dr McVey has suggested that in addition to more formal legislation, an increased understanding of the phenomenon of “ghostbots” could help people to protect their data. “In the absence of legislation in the UK, one way to protect our post-mortem selves might be through the drafting of a legally binding ‘do not bot me’ clause that could be inserted into wills and other contracts while people are still alive,” she said. “This, combined with a global searchable database of such requests, may prove a useful solution to some of the concerns raised by ‘ghostbots’. “We also suggest that in addition to legal protections, greater societal awareness of the phenomenon of ‘ghostbots’, education on digital legacies and cohesive protection across different jurisdictions is crucial to ensure that this does not happen without our permission.” The research was a part of the Leverhulme Trust-funded project Modern Technologies, Privacy Law And The Dead. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Banking app feature allows economic abuse survivors to mute malicious messages Augmented reality headset Vision Pro is ‘most advanced device ever’ – Apple Revealed: The delivery apps charging you double for your food shop

In 2022, Alienware debuted a 14-inch size for its X Series gaming laptop line, impressing

Robots could end up controlling humanity, the founder of an artificial intelligence firm will warn. Emad Mostaque, 40, who founded Stability AI three years ago, will say this could happen in a “worst case scenario” and humans could be told “goodbye, you’re kind of boring”. However, governments could soon be shocked into regulating the machines by an event that suddenly makes their impact real, he will add. In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg On Sunday programme, he will say: “If you have a more capable thing than you, what is democracy in that kind of environment? “This is a known unknown because we can’t conceive of something more capable than us but we all know people more capable than us. If you build open models and you do it in the open, you should be criticised if you do things wrong and hopefully lauded if you do some things right Emad Mostaque “My personal belief is that it will be like that movie Her with Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix, humans are a bit boring and it will be like ‘goodbye, you’re kind of boring’, but I could be wrong. “It deserves to be discussed in a public sphere, if we have agents more capable than us that we cannot control, that are going across the internet and hooked up and they achieve a level of automation, what does that mean? “The worst case scenario is that it proliferates and basically it controls humanity because you could have a million things replicating effectively, but we don’t know.” He believes the moment that actor Tom Hanks caught coronavirus in March 2020 was the moment millions understood the risk of the novel disease. When a similar moment arrives with artificial intelligence governments will conclude “we need policy now”, he will claim. The impact of the new machines could be “painful” to begin with and their effect on the economy could be greater than that caused by the pandemic, he believes. However, he thinks the jobs which disappear will be replaced by better ones because machines will do menial tasks, allowing us to concentrate on the things which make us human. The new technology could also bring “huge” benefits, he claims. Companies such as ChatGPT and DeepMind will be bigger than Google and Facebook in 10 years time, he adds. Stability AI has already been valued at 1 billion dollars (£803 million) and could soon be worth 4 billion dollars (£3.2 billion) as more money, including from Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher, floods into it. The company created Stable Diffusion, a tool which uses AI to make images from simple text instructions by analysing pictures found online. Mr Mostaque, a mathematician, is determined to keep his technology open source – allowing anyone to look at the code, share it and use it. He believes this should give the public the confidence that the technology will not become too dangerous. He will say: “I think there shouldn’t have to be a need for trust. “If you build open models and you do it in the open, you should be criticised if you do things wrong and hopefully lauded if you do some things right.” However, Getty Images is currently engaged in legal action against his company, with the photo agency claiming the rights to the images it sells have been infringed. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live AI pioneer warns UK is failing to protect against ‘existential threat’ of machines TikTok ‘does not want to compete with BBC for Eurovision final viewers’ Eurovision’s preparations for potential Russia cyberthreat ‘in good place’

This week’s new entertainment releases include an album from Foo Fighters and some lost songs by the late Kenny Rogers, a new gritty HBO series from “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson called “The Idol” starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd

SAVE $30: As of Sept. 8, the Scuf Instinct Pro Xbox controller (which rivals the

Verdansk is coming back to Modern Warfare 3, though it might be as part of the single player campaign and not as a Warzone map.

A majority of investment bankers tasked with setting the first industry standards for calculating the carbon footprints of