AI regulators are under-resourced, Tories turn to TikTok ahead of UK election

Regulators for artificial intelligence in the UK are “under-resourced” compared to developers of the technology, the Commons science committee chief has warned. Outgoing chairman of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Greg Clark, said he is “worried” by the gap between regulators and the “finance that major developers can command”. In a report produced by the committee into the governance of AI, the group said the £10m announced by the government in February to help Ofcom and other regulators respond to the technology’s growth was “clearly insufficient”. SkyNews 

David Beckham has signed a deal to be a global ambassador for AliExpress, an online retail platform owned by Chinese technology giant Alibaba. The announcement comes as the Euros football tournament is due to kick off in Germany next month. The company did not reveal how much it is paying the former England captain. In March, AliExpress agreed an exclusive e-commerce platform partnership with European football’s governing body UEFA. Under the deal, the football superstar turned entrepreneur will be the face of AliExpress’ Score More promotion, which will run during games. BBC 

There’s already been quite a bit of chatter around the Samsung Galaxy S25 – due in January 2025 – and in particular around the Ultra model. Now a new leak suggests the most expensive handset in the range is in line for a significant camera upgrade. This comes from well-respected leaker of information Ice Universe on Chinese social media site Weibo (via Android Authority). According to the tipster, there will be four cameras around the back of the Ultra. Tech Radar 

Openreach has announced plans to build full fibre broadband in more than 500 further locations across the UK, covering an additional 2.7 million homes and businesses. The new locations include 400,000 premises in the hardest to reach, most rural parts of the country, including Tobermory in Argyll and Bute, Haworth in West Yorkshire, Saundersfoot in South Wales, Pinxton in Derbyshire, Harlow in Essex and Roborough in Devon. The work is part of Openreach’s £15 billion project to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure. ITV

“Tech bros” such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are “the largest dictators”, Maria Ressa, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2021 for her defence of media freedom, has said. The American-Filipina journalist has spent a number of years fighting charges filed during then president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, but said Duterte “is a far smaller dictator compared to Mark Zuckerberg, and now let me throw in Elon Musk”. The Guardian 

Oliver Dowden vowed that Britain would not compromise when it came to protecting government secrets. As he announced a ban on TikTok on government devices, the Deputy Prime Minister said that “security must always come first”. Parliament’s Wi-Fi network blocked the Chinese-owned social media app a few days later.  That was 14 months ago. Now, although security fears around TikTok have not disappeared, the political reality appears to have trumped them. On Sunday, Rishi Sunak embraced the video sharing app, appearing in the Conservative party account’s first official TikTok to promote his policy of national service for every 18-year-old. Telegraph