Waymo robotaxis set for September UK launch, ‘Magical’ Neuralink brain chip – Tech Digest

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Waymo, the US driverless car firm, said it hopes to be operating a robotaxi service in London as soon as September this year. The UK government has said it plans to change regulations in the second half of 2026 to enable driverless taxis to operate in the city but has not given a specific date. Waymo said a pilot service will launch in April and Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “We’re supporting Waymo and other operators through our passenger pilots, and pro-innovation regulations to make self-driving cars a reality on British roads.” BBC 

One of the first people in the UK to use Elon Musk’s brain chip says it “feels magical” and believes it could transform the lives of those with severe paralysis. “It is a massive change in your life where you can suddenly no longer move any of your limbs,” said Sebastian Gomez-Pena, a volunteer in the first UK trial of the device developed by Mr Musk‘s company Neuralink. “This kind of technology kind of gives you a new piece of hope.” Seb had just completed his first term at medical school when an accident left him paralysed from the neck down. Sky News 

The UK could introduce a universal basic income (UBI) to protect workers in industries that are being disrupted by AI, the investment minister Jason Stockwood has said. “Bumpy” changes to society caused by the introduction of the technology would mean there would have to be “some sort of concessionary arrangement with jobs that go immediately”, Lord Stockwood said. The Labour peer told the Financial Times: “Undoubtedly we’re going to have to think really carefully about how we soft-land those industries that go away, so some sort of [universal basic income], some sort of lifelong mechanism as well so people can retrain.” Guardian

Britain’s online censorship is becoming as bad as Iran’s, US officials have warned. A proposed ban on virtual private networks (VPNs) in Britain has infuriated officials in Washington. The use of VPNs have exploded in the UK since age checks were introduced for pornography and other age-restricted websites under the Online Safety Act last year. The House of Lords passed an amendment on Monday to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which if approved by the Government, would effectively ban VPN access for individuals under 18. Telegraph 

According to a new survey conducted by SellCell on 2,000 US-based adult iPhone users this month, 22% haven’t upgraded to iOS 26 yet, despite it being available since September. The main reason is not knowing about it, followed by thinking the iPhone would update automatically. Battery life getting worse is also a reason, followed by people simply not wanting the new Liquid Glass design. People are also concerned about their iPhone getting slower after the update. GSM Arena 

Apple has made a series of notable internal changes with the second-generation AirTag, according to a teardown video by Joseph Taylor.

Externally, the second-generation ‌AirTag‌ itself is effectively indistinguishable from the original. The only visual differences are slight changes to the text on the back, which lists IP67 water and dust resistance, as well as NFC and Find My support. However, the main PCB inside the second-generation ‌AirTag‌ is visibly thinner than that of the original model and the speaker coil embedded in the plastic shell appears slightly larger than in the first-generation ‌AirTag‌. MacRumors

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