Kids as young as 3 on social media, JLR design boss axed

Children as young as three are “being fed content and algorithms designed to hook adults” on social media, a former education minister has warned. Lord John Nash said analysis by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) suggesting more than 800,000 UK children aged between three and five were already engaging with social media was “deeply alarming”. The peer, who served as minister for the school system between 2013 and 2017, said that “children who haven’t yet learned to read [are] being fed content and algorithms designed to hook adults”, which, he said, “should concern us all”. Sky News 

Hundreds of accounts on TikTok are garnering billions of views by pumping out AI-generated content, including anti-immigrant and sexualised material, according to a report. Researchers said they had uncovered 354 AI-focused accounts pushing 43,000 posts made with generative AI tools and accumulating 4.5bn views over a month-long period. According to AI Forensics, a Paris-based non-profit, some of these accounts attempt to game TikTok’s algorithm – which decides what content users see – by posting large amounts of content in the hope that it goes viral. The Guardian 

More than 2,000 extremely abusive social media posts – including death and rape threats – were sent about managers and players in the Premier League and Women’s Super League in a single weekend, a BBC investigation has found. The analysis – conducted with data science company Signify – focused on posts made during 10 Premier League and six WSL matches on the weekend of 8 and 9 November, and also found messages including racist slurs, homophobia and threats of violence. BBC 

More than a hundred browser extensions spread across Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers turned malicious after five years of “normal” operation. The attackers were apparently playing the long con game – building trust for years before pulling the trigger on unsuspecting victims. Apparently, around 4.3 million devices are at risk. This is according to security researchers Koi Security, who discovered the campaign it later dubbed : ShadyPanda. Tech Radar

Critics call it “carspreading”. In the UK and across Europe, cars are steadily becoming longer, wider and heavier. Consumers clearly like them – a lot. Big cars are seen as practical, safe and stylish, and sales are growing. So, why are some cities determined to clamp down on them – and are they right to do so? Paris is renowned for many things. Its monuments, such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. Its broad, leafy avenues and boulevards, its museums and art galleries, its fine cuisine. And its truly appalling traffic. BBC 

JLR has axed design boss Gerry McGovern, sources inside the firm have told Autocar and Autocar India. It is understood that the brand’s chief creative officer was asked to leave the firm on Monday and his position was terminated with immediate effect….The Coventry-born designer is responsible for reinventing Jaguar for its transition into an electric-only car maker, which includes creating the highly controversial Type 00 Concept. He was also key in JLR’s 2021 Reimagine strategy. Autocar