Computing and the net books
James Muldoon, Mark Graham and Callum Cant: ‘AI feeds off the work of human beings’
The Fairwork trio talk about their new book on the ‘extraction machine’, exposing the repetitive labour, often in terrible conditions, that big tech is using to create artificial intelligence
The Atomic Human by Neil Lawrence review – return of the Terminator
Tales of great men dominate this otherwise sensible study of intelligence versus AI
Literary Theory for Robots by Dennis Yi Tenen review – the deep roots of AI
A secret history of machine intelligence, from 14th-century horoscopes to 1930s ‘plot genies’ for coming up with storylines
Generation Anxiety: smartphones have created a gen Z mental health crisis – but there are ways to fix it
Those born after 1995 were the first people in history to go through puberty with a portal to an alternative universe in their pockets – and the toll this has taken on their wellbeing has been devastating
Book of the day
Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia review – understanding the human impacts of AIDaunting tales of how everyday algorithms are changing us
The AI tools that might stop you getting hired
One-way video interviews, CV screeners and digital monitoring are among the ways employers are using tech to save time and money on recruitment. But do they work?
The Guardian picture essay
‘I dreamed of blocky pixels’: the strange, sweaty, sociable early days of gaming – in picturesBack in the early 2000s, multiplayer gaming meant lugging huge PCs to friends’ houses or school halls and connecting them with wires to have Lan parties. Early adopters remember that heady time
The Handover by David Runciman review – is the future out of our control?
Books interview
‘I hope I’m wrong’: the co-founder of DeepMind on how AI threatens to reshape life as we know it
The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman review – AI, synthetic biology and a new dawn for humanity
The DeepMind co-founder calls for the ‘containment’ of new technology in a heartfelt and candid exploration of what the future may hold for us
Fancy Bear Goes Phishing by Scott J Shapiro – hacking for beginners
A fascinating history of cybercrime, from teenage pioneers to international bot armies
Book of the day
Fancy Bear Goes Phishing by Scott Shapiro review – a gripping study of five extraordinary hacksA professor of law who’s a computer geek carves an undaunted path through the conceptual and technical undergrowth in this illuminating tour of cyberspace’s dark side
The big idea
The big idea: are we living in a simulation?Could the universe be an elaborate game constructed by bored aliens?
Observer book of the week
The Digital Republic by Jamie Susskind review – why the west was no match for the tech giantsBook of the day
The Digital Republic by Jamie Susskind review – how to tame big tech
Book of the day
Break the Internet by Olivia Yallop review – the anxiety of influenceIn the bizarre world of the influencer, set out here in engaging style, the line between leisure and labour is increasingly blurred
Ailsa Land obituary
Researcher into mathematical approaches to real-world problems who seized on the increased possibilities offered by computers
Lockdown culture
Why do video games matter? 20 books every player should readWhy do we play? How do games work? From games philosophy to sci-fi, here are 20 delightful and essential reads for gamers
Observer New Review Q&A
Jill Lepore: 'When did we hand Google, Twitter and Facebook the reins?'The historian talks big data, social media and the US election
Observer book of the week
Don’t Be Evil review – how the tech giants have become too big to failRana Foroohar’s masterly critique of the internet pioneers who now dominate our world
About 192 results for Computing and the net books 
The Guardian picture essay‘I dreamed of blocky pixels’: the strange, sweaty, sociable early days of gaming – in picturesBack in the early 2000s, multiplayer gaming meant lugging huge PCs to friends’ houses or school halls and connecting them with wires to have Lan parties. Early adopters remember that heady time
