A new report from IE University in Madrid suggests a decent level of support for the implementation of AI in security and surveillance, with many Europeans favoring the use of technologies like facial recognition and biometric data.
However, concerns about AI’s role in elections and public decision-making highlight the complex relationship between trust in AI and fears of manipulation.
According to the study, 75% of respondents support the use of AI technologies by police and military forces. Given Europe’s stringent data privacy laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the fear of authorities or AI misusing data is far lower than it would be in the US. GDPR imposes severe penalties for non-compliance, with fines reaching up to 4% of a company’s annual revenue or 20 million euros, whichever is higher.
Fear of manipulation persistsWhile many Europeans are comfortable with AI’s use in public administration and security, they express significant concern about its impact on elections. The report found that 67% of respondents fear that AI could manipulate democratic processes, particularly by spreading misinformation.
Moreover, nearly a third (31%) of Europeans believe AI has already played a role in shaping their voting decisions, underscoring the growing influence of these technologies in political campaigns.
The public enthusiasm for AI use in some areas like traffic management is high with 79% of respondents supporting its use in optimizing transportation systems. However, opinions shift when AI is applied to more sensitive tasks, such as deciding parole outcomes, with 64% opposing its involvement in judicial matters.
The younger generation, aged 18 to 34, is more open to the idea of delegating political decisions to AI and about 34% of respondents in this age group said they would trust an AI-powered app to vote on their behalf.
Only 29% of individuals aged 35 to 44 would consider using AI to cast their votes. The skepticism becomes even more pronounced among older adults, with just 9% of people aged 65 and above willing to trust AI in the voting process.
Via CNBC
You might also likeThe food colorant has been linked to behavioral problems in children, including inattention and hyperactivity. California passed a law to ban it last year.
(Image credit: mtreasure)
Glenn Miller was the swing era's biggest star. Then, he vanished without a trace.
(Image credit: D. Hess/Getty Images)
The Levoit LVAC-200 is a lightweight cordless vacuum that won't break the bank. I tested one out to see how it compares to the rest of the best vacuum cleaners, as well as the best cordless vacuums specifically.
This brand is better known for its air purifiers, but as an affordable alternative to high-end cordless vacuums, the LVAC-200 impresses. At only 6lbs, it's easy to maneuver no matter the configuration. There are three suction levels to choose from, and in my testing, I found these were enough to tackle most messes, including fine dust. The fact you'll need to unleash the battery-sapping max mode for carpets means it's perhaps better suited to homes with mostly hard floors and perhaps the occasional rug.
Admittedly, the LVAC-200 can have some trouble picking up larger debris, especially if you go over the debris too quickly, and it struggles to vacuum in reverse. However, it still offers solid performance for the price.
The battery lasts over 40 minutes on the lowest suction setting, and while that's not the longest runtime around, it's in line with what I'd expect from today's best cheap vacuums and will be plenty sufficient for most people's needs. That's the short version; read on for my full Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum review.
(Image credit: Future) Levoit LVAC-200 review: price & availabilityThe Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum is sold in a range of territories, including the US, UK, and Australia. It was first announced in November 2023 and sits in TechRadar's budget price bracket for manual vacuums.
It's priced at $199.99 in the US, and is sold direct at Levoit as well as a range of third party retailers. In the UK and Australia, it's only available at third-party retailers like Amazon, and costs around £160 or AU$400.
At time of writing, this is the only vacuum in Levoit's range. Based on the number of accessories that you get, the length of the battery life, and the quality of the build, I think this vacuum is well priced.
The Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum is one of the lightest vacuums I've ever tested. At 6.17 lbs or 2.85kg, it is easy to maneuver this vacuum no matter if you're using it as a stick vacuum, a handheld vacuum, or by taking the vacuum head off and using the wand to clean in high places.
The stick vacuum itself is mostly white with black accents, and has a removable battery. In terms of size, it's 9.8 inches long, 7.7 inches wide, and 43.3 inches tall or 110 x 19.5 x 25 centimeters. Three LED lights are located on the front of the vacuum head. Inside that vacuum head is an anti-tangle brush. The wand is not bendable (as is the case with the best Shark vacuums on the market), but it can lie 180-degrees flat so you can vacuum underneath furniture with relative ease.
(Image credit: Future)Setting up the vacuum took no time at all. I connected the wand to the handheld part and then attached the vacuum head to the wand. The dustbin is 0.75L, and it's attached to the front of the vacuum. This was a smart design choice by Levoit as it allows the vacuum to stand upright on its own, and not fall over when the vacuum head is locked into place. A wall mount is provided if you'd prefer.
(Image credit: Future)On top of the dustbin is a power button. In front of the power button is the suction speed button that lets you move between suction speeds – I, II, or III. If I needed to increase the power, I'd just push the button, and the vacuum would increase the suction. According to Levoit, the suction power is 70AW – that's likely the maximum power, although this isn't specified. (Here's more on how to tell how much suction a vacuum has).
(Image credit: Future)Thanks to a 5-stage filtration system, this vacuum is able to capture 99.9 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. The filter is washable.
The charger plugs into the side of the battery. Two accessories are provided: a crevice tool that also doubles as a brush tool, and a 2-in-1 pet tool. You'll have to store these accessories when not in use since this vacuum doesn't come with a base or has a built-in holder.
The Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum is lightweight with a vacuum head that swivels with ease. It can be broken down into three configurations – as a cordless stick vacuum with the vacuum head, a vacuum with just the wand, and as a handheld vacuum. There are three different suction modes that are labeled in roman numerals – I, III, and III – with sound ratings of 78, 82, and 83 dB respectively.
I tested this vacuum in my house, which has three types of flooring (hardwood, laminate, and rugs). I also utilized the different accessories to clean my furniture and blinds.
My testing process began by vacuuming my entire house as I normally would. Originally, I felt like it did a good job vacuuming the hard floors in my house as well as the large rugs. There was some dirt and dried mud in my mud room that it picked up well, and hair in my bathroom that it cleaned away without the hair getting stuck in the brush. However, if the caked mud was larger in size, I had to vacuum over the pieces more slowly for the vacuum to suction it all up.
I am a big fan of bendable vacuum wands, and unfortunately, this Levoit LVAC-200 is not equipped with one. I was able to lean the vacuum completely down to 180 degrees so I could reach under my bed and couch for more thorough cleaning, but this required me to crouch down. The floorhead is equipped with LED lights to help illuminate dingy areas.
(Image credit: Future)I should also note that this vacuum doesn't have any smart capabilities, which means it can't sense or notify you if the floor is dirty or clean. That's not surprising at this price point – mid-range models like the Shark Detect Pro can sense if they're on carpet or hard floor, and boost or lower suction in response, while very high-end models like the Dyson V15 Detect or Gen5detect can adjust suction specifically based on what needs sucking up on any particular patch of floor. Here, you'll have to change the suction mode manually.
(Image credit: Future)I also tested out the two supplied detail tools. I used the crevice tool to clean tight spaces around furniture and the corners of the wall. The crevice tool doubles as a brush tool, and I used that and the middle suction setting to clean my blinds, which were very dusty. The results were great.
(Image credit: Future)I should also note that I was surprised by how well the 2-in-1 pet tool managed to pull up hair from my couch. Granted, I had to put the handheld vacuum on the highest suction setting and brush the couch as the vacuum suctioned, but it did better than most vacuums I have tested – and impressively well for a budget model.
(Image credit: Future)Although it appeared like the vacuum did a good job cleaning my floors, I wanted to do more thorough tests with the Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum. To do that, I poured cereal, dried tea, and flour on my hard floors and on one of my rugs and then vacuumed over these items on the lowest suction setting.
No matter the flooring, it was clear that this vacuum is not equipped to vacuum in reverse, especially when it came to larger debris like cereal. Occasionally the cereal particles got stuck behind the wheels of the vacuum, and generally I noticed that the vacuum didn't pick up the dried tea or the flour as well when vacuuming in reverse as it did when vacuuming forward.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Future)When I tested the vacuum on my historic hardwood and laminate floorings, I found it did a good job suctioning dried tea while set on the lowest suction setting and performed fairly well in cleaning up the flour, leaving only a slight sheen of flour on the floor. In my opinion, it's best to use the middle or high suction level when vacuuming fine materials on hard floors just to pick everything up in one go.
What surprised me the most was how much difficulty the vacuum had with picking up cereal on hard floors. When I pushed the vacuum head forward, larger pieces of the cereal would get pushed ahead of the vacuum head. Just like what occurred with large pieces of caked mud, I had to slowly vacuum over the cereal for the vacuum to suction the cereal up.
Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Future)When I ran these same tests on my rugs, the results were slightly different. The Levoit vacuum picked up cereal way better on carpet than it did on hard floors. Unfortunately, when I vacuumed over the flour and the dried tea, I had to do a few passes to clean these fine materials.
Again, using higher suction settings, such as the medium or high setting, requires only one or two passes on rugs. If you want to use this vacuum on carpet, you'll need to use the higher suction settings (which will sap battery fairly quickly). On balance, I don't think this is the best vacuum choice if your home has a lot of carpet.
(Image credit: Future)All the dust and debris are contained in a dustbin on the front of this cordless vacuum. It is very easy to dump the bin. I just had to remove the handheld portion of the vacuum from the wand, take it to a trash can, press a latch, and the dust and debris went straight into the trash can.
Beyond that, I didn't have to do much maintenance. The brushroll does a good job of preventing the tangling of hair, string, or debris. However, it's simple to remove it from the vacuum head and wash it separately if required. The filters are also washable and should be washed once a month, then replaced every three months.
According to Levoit, the LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum has a battery life of 30-50 minutes. However, when I ran the vacuum on the lowest suction setting, it only lasted about 42 minutes. On the medium suction setting I managed 25 minutes of cleaning. In maximum mode, I only got about 16 minutes of battery life (probably long enough to clean less than 900 square feet in a single go).
In my opinion, the vacuum has a decent battery life considering how much it costs. It was more than enough time for me to clean my home – in fact, I could clean my house almost three times over in 42 minutes. If you have a much larger home, pricier models will give you longer – up to a full hour on a single charge. The fact that the battery is removable means you could also buy a backup battery and hot-swap them to eke out a longer cleaning time.
What is most impressive is that the LVAC-200 took about 2 hours and 40 minutes for the battery to fully recharge. This is much faster than the 4-5-hour estimate that Levoit provides on its website.
You're on a budget
The main selling point here is really how affordable this vacuum is. You're getting solid performance, battery life and build quality for the price.
You have mostly hard floors
In my tests I found the LVAC-200 did a good job of clearing debris on hard floor, and can also handle rugs with no issues.
You need a vacuum that can handle a variety of jobs around the house
The Levoit LVAC-200 has three configurations and comes with two accessories. Essentially, you can vacuum hard floors and rugs with ease, as well as clean furniture, blinds, baseboards, and in tight spaces. View Deal
Your home is full of carpets
This vacuum is better suited to homes with hard floors and rugs. For a proper clean on carpet, you'll need to use the maximum suction mode, which will run down the battery quickly. If you have a number of rooms with carpets, you'll be better with a more powerful model.
You want or need to vacuum efficiently, in a hurry
There are no automation features here, you'll have to vacuum slowly to pick up large debris, and this model doesn't vacuum very well in reverse. All that can extend your cleaning times.
You have lots of furniture to clean around
Although the floorhead pivots well, this vacuum doesn't have the outright maneuverability of a Dyson model, nor does the wand bend forwards to easy under-furniture cleaning as is possible with many Shark vacs.
I used the Levoit LVAC-200 as my main vacuum for a couple of weeks, using it to clean my apartment – which has a mixture of hardwood, laminate, and rugs. During this time, I got a feel for how well designed it is, how easy to maneuver, and whether there are any usability issues.
To get a more objective idea of this vacuum's suction powers, I ran TechRadar's standard tests, on both hard floor and soft rugs. These tests included vacuuming cereal, flour, and dried tea forwards and in reverse to determine the vacuum's suction capability. I also tested the sound rating and battery life to see if it matched up with the specs provided by the brand.
Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners.
Hugging Face has introduced its latest offering, Hugging Face Generative AI Services (HUGS), aimed at simplifying the deployment and scaling of generative AI applications using open-source models.
Built on Hugging Face technologies such as Transformers and Text Generation Inference (TGI), HUGS promises optimized performance across various hardware accelerators.
For developers using AWS or Google Cloud, the service is available at $1 per hour per container, with a five-day free trial on AWS to help users get started.
Streamlining AI with zero-configuration inferenceHUGS offers developers a solution to run AI models on their own infrastructure without the need for manual configuration. One of the primary challenges when deploying large language models (LLMs) is optimizing them for specific hardware environments. Each accelerator, whether it is an NVIDIA GPU or an AMD GPU, requires fine-tuning to extract maximum performance.
With HUGS, these optimizations are managed automatically, delivering high throughput out of the box. In addition to NVIDIA and AMD GPUs, the company promises that its support will soon extend to AWS Inferentia and Google TPUs.
Hugging Face aims to ease the transition from black-box APIs to open, self-hosted solutions with support for a wide array of models, including well-known LLMs like Llama and Gemma, with plans to introduce multimodal models such as Idefics and Llava soon. In the future, the company says it will include embedding models like BGE and Jina, giving developers even more options to customize their AI applications.
This service uses standardized APIs compatible with OpenAI’s model interfaces, therefore, developers can migrate their own code.
For startups in particular, HUGS provides an opportunity to build AI applications without incurring the high costs associated with proprietary platforms. The availability of one-click deployments on DigitalOcean makes it even easier for small teams to experiment with generative AI technologies.
Meanwhile, larger enterprises can leverage HUGS to scale their applications without being locked into a single cloud provider or proprietary API. On DigitalOcean, HUGS is included at no extra charge beyond the standard cost of GPU Droplets. Hugging Face also offers custom deployment solutions for enterprises through its Enterprise Hub.
You might also likeThe Samsung Galaxy S25 series has been extensively tipped and rumored at this point, so we have a good idea of what the key features of these phones will be.
By ‘features’ we refer here to the major upgrades and new things relative to the Samsung Galaxy S24 series – so in other words the main things that might make you consider buying a Samsung Galaxy S25 over a Galaxy S24.
You’ll find all of these claimed features and upgrades below, and note that we’re looking at the whole Samsung Galaxy S25 line here – so the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra as well as the base model.
MagSafe-like charging The Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Future)One interesting addition that has only recently got tipped is the possible presence of a MagSafe-like system on the Samsung Galaxy S25 line, though exactly how it will work is uncertain.
One rumor suggested the Samsung Galaxy S25 series would all support Qi2 wireless charging, which is a very similar tech to MagSafe, with magnets in the phone that let you magnetically attach wireless chargers and accessories, such as battery packs and tripods.
However, another suggested that instead Samsung might simply sell some magnetic cases, which you could then attach magnetic accessories to.
We’re inclined to say that both of these rumors are probably true – that the phones will support Qi2 charging, but also that Samsung might release a range of magnetic cases, perhaps so that you can still firmly attach magnetic accessories when there’s a case on the phone.
A new ultra-wide camera The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Several sources have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could have a new ultra-camera, with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s fairly modest 12MP ultra-wide being replaced with a more pixel-packed 50MP sensor.
This should allow for more detailed photos, and will hopefully lead to an overall quality increase, bringing ultra-wide shots more in line with photos taken with the main camera.
However, this upgrade is reportedly just for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, with the other models likely sticking with the same cameras as their predecessors.
A super-powered chipset The Snapdragon 8 Elite powering an unnamed phone (Image credit: Qualcomm)Perhaps the most noticeable upgrade in day-to-day use could be a new chipset, with every Samsung Galaxy S25 model sure to have a faster chipset than their predecessors.
There’s been some debate about which chipset or chipsets will be used, but the consensus seems to be that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra at least will have a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which based on benchmarks should deliver a huge boost in power.
As for the other models, they may well use the Snapdragon 8 Elite too, but there’s a chance that in some regions they could use an Exynos 2500 instead. This is a chipset that Samsung itself makes, and based on past form it probably won’t be quite as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite – but it should still be a big upgrade on the Galaxy S24’s chipset.
A new ‘Slim’ model The Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Future | Roland Moore-Colyer)Not a feature as such, but the biggest ‘new’ thing in the Samsung Galaxy S25 line might be a completely new model, which for now we’re referring to as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim.
This – as that name suggests – could be a much thinner alternative to the other Galaxy S25 models, and we’ve heard that the Galaxy S25 Slim could even have an ‘Ultra’-level camera.
However, to keep it slim there may be compromises elsewhere, such as in the number of lenses or the size of the battery.
Extra RAM Using AI to create a wallpaper on the Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Going by rumors, it’s looking very likely that both the base Samsung Galaxy S25 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will have more RAM than their predecessors. The former could ship with 12GB (up from 8GB in the Samsung Galaxy S24), and the latter with up to 16GB (up from 12GB in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra).
However, one tip suggests that the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s starting configuration will still have 12GB of RAM, with only higher storage variants getting 16GB.
In any case, a boost in RAM could be desirable, especially for AI tasks, which can be very dependent on RAM. Notably though there’s no sign of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus being boosted from the 12GB of its predecessor.
A larger screen The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)Finally, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra specifically might have a bigger screen than its predecessor, with reports suggesting it could have a 6.86-inch display, which would likely be marketed as 6.9 inches. That’s up slightly from 6.8 inches on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
So this probably won’t make a drastic difference, but it will bring the phone more in line with the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus will probably have the same screen sizes as their predecessors, at 6.2 inches and 6.7 inches respectively.
You might also likeWelcome, folks, to a week that has included some of the biggest announcements we might see before CES 2025, in what was an uncharacteristically busy few days so close to the holidays.
Samsung dropped a buzzer-beating announcement to keep its promise we’d find out about its XR tech “this year,” Apple Intelligence finally dropped its most-hyped features, and the Nintendo Switch 2 possibly broke cover. Phew!
To help you get all caught up, scroll down for our picks of the seven biggest tech news stories of the week. Once you’ve recapped the news, why not check out our picks for the seven new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend (December 13).
7. Sony’s PlayStation Wrap-Up broke day one (Image credit: Sony)It’s the end of the year and that means Spotify Wrapped clones for everything – not just your music. PlayStation got in on the action with its own gaming Wrap-Up, but either because it was too popular or due to some glitch it was down for a while after launch.
Thankfully it’s back up now, so you can finally head to the official PlayStation Wrap-Up 2024 page to see your stats – I apparently played nearly 200 hours of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in my hunt for the Platinum Trophy, and over 50 hours just of Balatro, TechRadar’s Game of the Year.
6. We celebrated the lighter side of (wild) life Smooching owlets, Sarthak Ranganadhan (Image credit: © Milko Marchetti)From more than 9,000 images 45 finalists were shortlisted for this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2024, with Italian photographer Milko Marchetti scooping the top award for a hilarious image of a squirrel looking like it’s stuck head-first in a tree.
Every image is an inspiring look at what artists can achieve with the best cameras on the market, and some creativity.
A free exhibition is happening from 11-15 December in the Gallery@Oxo in London, but if you can’t make it, all of 2024's finalists can be seen on the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards website.
5. We saw the Switch 2, maybe (Image credit: Shutterstock/Kyli Petersen)The Nintendo Switch 2 is one of tech most poorly kept secrets. The follow up to the hugely popular Nintendo console has been the subject of multiple leaks over the past few months, and we might now have our first glimpse of it thanks to a now-deleted trailer from third-party accessory manufacturer Satisfye.
The video was for the Zengrip 2 specifically, and the trailer for the add-on seemingly showed us a blurry Nintendo Switch 2 model which highlighted a similar overall design to the original but with the rumored extra button which has been teased.
There are questions around whether this leak is legitimate or merely a way to stoke up hype for a Nintendo Switch grip, but with a release date announcement for the Switch 2 possible before the end of 2024, even, we might not have long to wait before we see the console for real.
4. Apple crowned the 17 best App Store apps (Image credit: Kino)Following Google’s recent announcement of the best Android apps of 2024, Apple has revealed the 17 apps it thinks are the best its App Store had to offer us this year.
iPhone App of the Year Kino will help you capture better videos, Mac App of the Year Adobe Lightroom will help you edit those videos and other snaps, while Apple Arcade Game of the Year Balatro+ will help you lose a lot of hours from the working day (I’m definitely not speaking from experience on that one. Not at all).
There are a lot of good picks among them, so you’ll want to see what the winners have to offer users across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro.
3. Sora video generation looks scarily good (Image credit: Future)OpenAI has been busy of late, giving us a slew of big new reveals as part of its 12 Days of OpenAI event.
This week, it finally gave us access to Sora, its new AI video-generation platform that lets you generate shockingly realistic-looking videos. We’ve been giving it a test and even in our brief hands-on it’s clear that the tech will bring about a video creation revolution – though maybe not in a great way.
You can give it a try at Sora.com once you log into your ChatGPT Plus account; you need at least that level of access to start creating up to 50 generations a month, while Pro gets you unlimited. However, while it is kinda fun to play around with the software to create fun clips, their realistic look can’t help but set off fears that this technology could be abused.
The tech isn’t perfect right now, with our own tests generating dogs with tails that grow and disappear at random, for example – but it is something to be wary of as you browse the web. It's all very impressive, sure, but it's about to become a lot harder to tell what is and isn’t real online.
2. iOS 18.2 took Apple Intelligence up a notch (Image credit: Apple / Kino / NYT / Moises)Apple Intelligence has, to put it mildly, been feeling a little lacking. That was until this week, when iOS 18.2 rolled out with some much-needed updates to Apple's AI.
These include Genmoji and Image Playground for generating custom emoji and images using text prompts, ChatGPT integration into Siri for more in-depth answers, and the rollout of Apple Intelligence to non-US English – meaning you can access it in the UK and Australia without changing your phone’s language settings.
It wasn’t just for iPhones either; Apple Intelligence updates came to Apple’s full suite of products via iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates.
1. Samsung’s Project Moohan broke cover (Image credit: Google)The worst-kept secret in tech – even more so than the Switch 2 – finally got unveiled this week, with Samsung and Google showcasing Project Moohan, the pair’s mixed-reality headset. And yes, it does look a lot like an Apple Vision Pro.
Powered by the Android XR platform, Moohan will launch sometime in 2025, with the developer kit rolling our right now to app creators so they can make software ahead of the headset’s release.
Details are light on the ground with regards to cost, a precise release date, and even battery life and weight – but we do know that Samsung has a pair of AR glasses up its sleeve, too. Once again, though, we’ll have to wait a while before we hear more about them, and even longer until we can try the specs out for ourselves.
South Korea's parliament voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol as authorities investigate allegations of rebellion over his controversial Dec. 3 martial law decree.
(Image credit: Kiim Do-hoon)