AI for the Many: Reframing the Tech Revolution, Immortality Talks, and Online Radicalisation

The moment is being defined by a three‑part conversation: how AI will reshape work, how new technologies may extend life, and how the online environment tests our beliefs. The Guardian argues that Britain risks handing the steering wheel of the digital era to Silicon Valley unless citizens and workers demand a seat at the table. Across the economy, unlicensed use of people’s creative labor to train generative AI has generated vast revenues for tech giants while eroding protections for writers, photographers and coders who rely on fair pay and clear rules. The piece urges that the tech revolution be steered for the many, not the few, and that Britain’s future workplace be redesigned with accountability and shared prosperity in mind.

Meanwhile, the debate about living longer is moving from sci‑fi to policy. When leaders like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin spoke about immortality and the biotechnology that could replace age with youth, they raised questions about power, inequality and global governance. If those at the top could live longer, healthier lives, what would that mean for governance, taxation and social contracts? The conversation invites us to imagine a future where access to life‑extending tech is distributed as a public good rather than a private luxury, and where the moral questions keep pace with the science.

There is also a stark reminder of how digital ecosystems shape belief and crime. A data trail tracing far‑right radicalisation across tens of thousands of Facebook messages shows how online communities can normalise grievance and hatred. The investigation reveals that more than a thousand people were charged in connection with the 2024 summer riots, with the online chatter both defending and challenging actions. The numbers, the narratives and the platforms themselves raise urgent questions about transparency, accountability and the balance between free expression and public safety.

Taken together, these threads point to a single imperative: design technology and policy with people at the center. That means stronger protections for workers, smarter distribution of profits from AI, ethical governance of life‑ extension research, and a robust, humane approach to policing online extremism—one that relies on evidence, oversight and community resilience rather than fear. The call is for a society where innovation serves dignity, opportunity and common good as much as efficiency.

As we publish, the underlying message is clear: the tech revolution will be what we make of it. If policymakers, unions, scientists and citizens work together, the benefits of AI, biotech and data networks can be shared widely rather than captured by a few. The future of work, of human longevity and of digital culture deserves a plan that respects workers, protects rights and strengthens democratic oversight. That is the vision readers can return to every day as these headlines unfold.

1. The Guardian view on AI and jobs: the tech revolution should be for the many not the few
2. ‘To them, ageing is a technical problem that can, and will, be fixed’: how the rich and powerful plan to live for ever
3. Reading the post-riot posts: how we traced far-right radicalisation across 51,000 Facebook messages