BYD triples European sales, Gucci faces backlash over AI slop

Wayve, the self-driving car firm set to launch robotaxis on UK roads, has raised 1.5 billion US dollars (£1.1 billion) from investors including Uber, Microsoft and chip giant Nvidia. It has secured 1.2 billion dollars (£890 million) through a funding round backed by the major tech firms, institutional investors and car makers, with Uber investing extra funds to help deliver its driverless taxi plans. The Series D funding round, which is one of the largest ever for a British start-up, values the London-based business at around 8.6 billion dollars (£6.4 billion). Standard 

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February 27
2 p.m. CET

Created with AI pic.twitter.com/sNbcFrpTX9

— gucci (@gucci) February 23, 2026

Gucci is facing a backlash after using AI to generate images to promote its forthcoming show at Milan Fashion Week. The images have been posted on social media – where users have questioned how using AI instead of human models and photographers is in keeping with the fashion house’s claim that it celebrates “creativity and Italian craftsmanship.” “Bleak days when Gucci can’t find a real human Milanese grandmother to wear an outfit from 1976,” said one in response to an AI-generated image of a glamourous older Italian woman,  in a classic Gucci outfit. BBC 

Analyst firm Gartner thinks talk of placing datacenters in space has reached “peak insanity,” because orbiting facilities can’t be run economically or satisfy demand for compute power on Earth. “Datacenters in space won’t analyze data on Earth for Earth applications for decades, if ever,” states a report published this week titled “Orbital Datacenters Won’t Serve Terrestrial Needs, So Focus on Earth,” penned by distinguished VP analyst Bill Ray.“Companies are wasting money by pouring funds into the orbital data center ‘bubble’ because the economics do not work,” the analyst wrote. Register

The Dark Sky weather app, with its ultra regional forecasts and rain-stopping predictions, was the best I’ve ever used – until Apple acquired it, integrated into Apple Weather app for iPhone and then shut it down. At the time, the team behind the app joined Apple to ease the transition. Now they’re back on the scene hoping to fill the void left behind by the standalone Dark Sky app. The new iPhone app (which will come to Android eventually) is called Acme Weather. The major unique selling point is the “alternate predictions”. Stuff 

For years, the conversation around online safety centred on the “stranger danger” of chat rooms. However, a new risk has now emerged: the AI chatbot’s simulated empathy. New research from Vodafone reveals the scale of this shift. According to its study of 11-16-year-olds, a staggering 81% are now using AI chatbots. Most concerning to experts, however, is the emotional weight these interactions carry. Nearly a third (31%) of these young users feel the bot is an actual friend and 33% have shared secrets with an AI that they wouldn’t tell their parents, teachers, or even their closest human peers. ShinyShiny 

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