Year: 2026

Each time someone asks ChatGPT a question, the exchange feels nearly invisible: just text appearing on a screen. But behind that response lies a massive physical infrastructure drawing electricity, consuming water, and producing carbon emissions at an unprecedented scale. As generative artificial intelligence becomes embedded in everyday life, the environmental footprint of the system powering...

The world's largest social media companies have been accused of creating "addiction machines" as a landmark trial began in California examining the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube. "This case is about two of the richest corporations in history who have engineered addiction in children's brains," said Mark Lanier, lawyer for a plaintiff suffered from mental health issues as a...

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) expresses grave concern over the increasing number of individuals charged in court for corruption related offences from 2025 through to early 2026. The sums involved run into billions of Ringgit, funds that could have benefited Malaysians through the maintenance or upgrading of infrastructure, rather than being uncovered by Malaysian Anti-Corruption...

Spain will ban social media for under-16s and require platforms to employ strict age verification tools, joining Australia, France and Denmark in moves to curb the influence of digital platforms on children. “Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone. A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation and violence,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez...