Technology

Netflix’s The Kitchen is a stunning parable about the future of housing inequality

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2024

Netflix’s The Kitchen is a stunning parable about the future of housing inequality

There are no aliens or sentient killing machines menacing the ordinary people going about their lives in Netflix’s new dystopian action drama The Kitchen from co-directors Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares. But the film’s arresting story about the monsters of the future and how the most disadvantaged members of society have to stand up to them feels all too real and like a reminder of the ways systemic poverty creates its own dystopia.

Set in a near-futuristic London where fluorescent hologram ads dance across signs and camera-encrusted police drones loom silently high up in the air, The Kitchen is a chronicle of the goings-on in its titular neighborhood. After years of public housing across the United Kingdom being bought up by private companies and transformed into expensive luxury flats for the wealthy, the Kitchen — a towering, dilapidated apartment complex long-scheduled for demolition — is the only place in London where people like Isaac (rapper Kane “Kano” Robinson) can really afford to live.

The Kitchen is beyond poor, and its residents never know whether their power and water will be shut off by the city. But it’s still a bustling hub of commerce where vendors sling food on streets dense with playing children and old men relax on the doorsteps of barbershops. There’s always an atmosphere of tension as Kitcheners brace themselves for yet another one of the city’s violent police raids meant to expel them from their homes.

But the Kitchen’s air is also constantly filled with the sound of music broadcasting from the Lord Kitchener’s (Ian Wright) pirate radio station along with his calls for the neighborhood’s predominantly Black and brown community to hold fast to the idea that they have a right to exist in a place where their families have survived for decades.

As a Kitchener himself, Isaac — who works with his friend Jase (Demmy Ladipo) for a company that composts the dead whose families can’t afford traditional funerals — knows that the neighborhood is so much more than a block full of people illegally squatting in condemned buildings. But after a lifetime of watching the Kitchen be razed and its residents brutalized by cops in riot gear, all Isaac wants is a shot at getting out and moving into the kind of high-rise where he can shut himself away from the world and his feelings.

The Kitchen makes it easy to recognize the parallels between its vision of futuristic housing inequality and our present-day reality in which renters and would-be homebuyers across the globe are increasingly being priced out of the limited, highly competitive real estate market. But the film’s script from Kaluuya and co-writers Rob Hayes and Joe Murtagh and its focus on young Londoners navigating the complexities of near homelessness makes The Kitchen read like a scathing reflection of the long-term devastating impacts of the UK’s Margaret Thatcher-era right-to-buy policies.

The Kitchen presents its namesake as a cramped Kowloon-like mosaic of barely livable spaces packed with outdated technology that contrasts sharply with the spacious neighborhoods nearby, where gleaming driverless cars idle by luxury boutiques. At all times, Kitcheners like Isaac and Staples (Hope Ikpoku Jr.) — the leader of a biker gang whose robberies provide the Kitchen with its only source of food — are surrounded by reminders of basic comforts they’re denied.

But out of the many ways The Kitchen illustrates how society systemically dehumanizes the poor, few are as profound as its depiction of Isaac going to work every day and convincing his neighbors to buy into a service they all understand as being meant to erase them from the public consciousness. That erasure is part of what scares young orphan Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) so much about seeing his mother’s remains turned into tree fertilizer at Life After Life, where he first meets Isaac. What really scares Isaac, though, is his unshakable sense that simply by being from the Kitchen, Benji’s mother’s fate was inevitable and a glimpse of what’s in store for Benji if he doesn’t escape the Kitchen himself.

As Isaac and Benji come into each other’s lives, The Kitchen becomes a kind of coming-of-age story as well as a rumination on the power of communal action and found families. Isaac — a stoic character Robinson portrays with a brilliant emotionally-congested quality — wants little to do with Benji when the pair first meet. There’s no room for a kid in Isaac’s plan for the future or really even in his present-day corner of the Kitchen where he has to lock himself in whenever the police show up ready to evict people by beating them to death.

But for all of Benji’s resourcefulness, he’s just a boy Isaac knows will end up running with Staples’ crew or murdered because they live in a world filled with systems designed to leave people like them with no other options. From somewhat different angles, the concepts central to The Kitchen have been explored in other genre films like Attack the Block and They Cloned Tyrone, which both leaned much harder into their respective hard sci-fi elements.

What makes The Kitchen feel so distinct, though, is the way its subtle touches of speculative futurism work to highlight realities about how at-risk communities are surveilled and how riots end up becoming people’s organic response to state-sponsored violence. Through both the Lord Kitchener’s broadcasts and Isaac’s looming sense of dread, The Kitchen never lets you lose sight of the fact that the Kitcheners are fighting for their lives in a war they’re not likely to win.

But at the core of that fight, there’s an undeniable sense of hope and beauty to the lives of everyone in the Kitchen. The Kitchen’s ability to showcase that beauty in intimate scenes between Isaac and Benji and in larger moments like the movie’s surprising third-act dance sequence, all while telling a story that’s so heartbreaking, is a feat. And it’s precisely what makes the film one of Netflix’s most powerful new releases that you’re all but certain to start hearing more about now that it’s streaming.

Technology

Here’s your first look at Kratos in Amazon’s God of War show

Published

8 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Here’s your first look at Kratos in Amazon’s God of War show

Amazon has slowly been teasing out casting details for its live-action adaptation of God of War, and now we have our first look at the show. It’s a single image but a notable one showing protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus. The characters are played by Ryan Hurst and Callum Vinson, respectively, and they look relatively close to their video game counterparts.

There aren’t a lot of other details about the show just yet, but this is Amazon’s official description:

The God of War series storyline follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.

That sounds a lot like the recent soft reboot of the franchise, which started with 2018’s God of War and continued through Ragnarök in 2022. For the Amazon series, Ronald D. Moore, best-known for his work on For All Mankind and Battlestar Galactica, will serve as showrunner. The rest of the cast includes: Mandy Patinkin (Odin), Ed Skrein (Baldur), Max Parker (Heimdall), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Thor), Teresa Palmer (Sif), Alastair Duncan (Mimir), Jeff Gulka (Sindri), and Danny Woodburn (Brok).

While production is underway on the God of War series, there’s no word on when it might start streaming.

Technology

300,000 Chrome users hit by fake AI extensions

Published

8 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

300,000 Chrome users hit by fake AI extensions

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Your web browser may feel like a safe place, especially when you install helpful tools that promise to make your life easier. But security researchers have uncovered a dangerous campaign in which more than 300,000 people installed Chrome extensions pretending to be artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. Instead of helping, these fake tools secretly collect sensitive information like your emails, passwords and browsing activity.

They used familiar names like ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Assistant. If you use Chrome and have installed any AI-related extension, your personal information may already be exposed. Even worse, some of these malicious extensions are still available today, putting more people at risk without their knowing.

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More than 300,000 Chrome users installed fake AI extensions that secretly harvested sensitive data. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

What you need to know about fake AI extensions

Security researchers at browser security company LayerX discovered a large campaign involving 30 malicious Chrome extensions disguised as AI-powered assistants (via BleepingComputer). Together, these extensions were installed more than 300,000 times by unsuspecting users.

Some of the most popular extensions included names like AI Sidebar with 70,000 users, AI Assistant with 60,000 users, ChatGPT Translate with 30,000 users, and Google Gemini with 10,000 users. Another extension called Gemini AI Sidebar had 80,000 users before it was removed.

These extensions were distributed through the official Chrome Web Store, which made them appear legitimate and trustworthy. Even more concerning, researchers found that many of these extensions were connected to the same malicious server, showing they were part of a coordinated effort.

While some extensions have since been removed, others remain available. This means new users could still unknowingly install them and expose their personal data. Here’s the list of the affected extensions:

AI Assistant
Llama
Gemini AI Sidebar
AI Sidebar
ChatGPT Sidebar
Grok
Asking ChatGPT
ChatGBT
Chat Bot GPT
Grok Chatbot
Chat With Gemini
XAI
Google Gemini
Ask Gemini
AI Letter Generator
AI Message Generator
AI Translator
AI For Translation
AI Cover Letter Generator
AI Image Generator ChatGPT
Ai Wallpaper Generator
Ai Picture Generator
DeepSeek Download
AI Email Writer
Email Generator AI
DeepSeek Chat
ChatGPT Picture Generator
ChatGPT Translate
AI GPT
ChatGPT Translation
ChatGPT for Gmail

FAKE AI CHAT RESULTS ARE SPREADING DANGEROUS MAC MALWARE

These malicious tools were listed in the official Chrome Web Store, making them appear legitimate and trustworthy. (LayerX)

How the fake AI Chrome extension attack works

These fake extensions pretend to offer helpful AI features, such as translating text, summarizing emails, or acting as an AI assistant. But behind the scenes, they quietly monitor what you are doing online.

Once installed, the extension gains permission to view and interact with the websites you visit. This allows it to read the contents of web pages, including login screens where you enter your username and password.

In some cases, the extensions specifically targeted Gmail. They could read your email messages directly from your browser, including emails you received and even drafts you were still writing. This means attackers could access private conversations, financial information and sensitive personal details.

The extensions then sent this information to servers controlled by the attackers. Because they loaded content remotely, the attackers could change their behavior at any time without needing to update the extension.

Some versions could also activate voice features through your browser. This could potentially capture spoken conversations near your device and send transcripts back to the attackers.

If you installed one of these extensions, attackers may already have access to extremely sensitive information. This includes your email content, login credentials, browsing habits and possibly even voice recordings.

We reached out to Google for comment, and a spokesperson told CyberGuy that the company “can confirm that the extensions from this report have all been removed from the Google Web Store.”

BROWSER EXTENSION MALWARE INFECTED 8.8M USERS IN DARKSPECTRE ATTACK

Once installed, the extensions could read emails, capture passwords, monitor browsing activity and send the data to attacker-controlled servers. (Bildquelle/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

7 ways you can protect yourself from malicious Chrome extensions

If you have ever installed an AI-related Chrome extension, taking a few simple precautions now can help protect your accounts and prevent further damage.

1) Remove any suspicious or unused browser extensions

On a Windows PC or Mac, open Chrome and type chrome://extensions into the address bar. Review every extension listed. If you see anything unfamiliar, especially AI assistants you don’t remember installing, click “Remove” immediately. Malicious extensions depend on going unnoticed. Removing them stops further data collection and cuts off the attacker’s access to your information.

2) Change your passwords

If you installed any suspicious extension, assume your passwords may be compromised. Start by changing your email password first, since email controls access to most other accounts. Then update passwords for banking, shopping and social media accounts. This prevents attackers from using stolen credentials to break into your accounts.

3) Use a password manager to create and protect strong passwords

A password manager generates unique, complex passwords for each account and stores them securely. This prevents attackers from accessing multiple accounts if one password is stolen. Password managers also alert you if your login credentials appear in known data breaches, helping you respond quickly and protect your identity. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com.

4) Install strong antivirus software and keep it active

Good antivirus software can detect malicious browser extensions, spyware, and other hidden threats. It scans your system for suspicious activity and blocks harmful programs before they can steal your information. This adds an important layer of protection that works continuously in the background to keep your device safe. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

5) Use an identity theft protection service

Identity theft protection services monitor your personal data, including email addresses, financial accounts, and Social Security numbers, for signs of misuse. If criminals try to open accounts or commit fraud using your information, you receive alerts quickly. Early detection allows you to act fast and limit financial and personal damage. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft at Cyberguy.com.

6) Keep your browser and computer fully updated

Software updates fix security vulnerabilities that attackers exploit. Enable automatic updates for Chrome and your operating system so you always have the latest protections. These updates strengthen your defenses against malicious extensions and prevent attackers from taking advantage of known weaknesses.

7) Use a personal data removal service

Personal data removal services scan data broker websites that collect and sell your personal information. They help remove your data from these sites, reducing what attackers can find and use against you. Less exposed information means fewer opportunities for criminals to target you with scams, identity theft or phishing attacks.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

Kurt’s key takeaway

Even tools designed to make your life easier can become tools for cybercriminals. Malicious extensions often hide behind trusted names and convincing features, making them difficult to spot. You can significantly reduce your risk by reviewing your browser extensions regularly, removing anything suspicious and using protective tools like password managers and strong antivirus software.

Have you checked your browser extensions recently? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

Published

20 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

Less than 24 hours before the deadline in an ultimatum issued by the Pentagon, Anthropic has refused the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted access to its AI.

It’s the culmination of a dramatic exchange of public statements, social media posts, and behind-the-scenes negotiations, coming down to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s desire to renegotiate all AI labs’ current contracts with the military. But Anthropic, so far, has refused to back down from its two current red lines: no mass surveillance of Americans, and no lethal autonomous weapons (or weapons with license to kill targets with no human oversight whatsoever). OpenAI and xAI had reportedly already agreed to the new terms, while Anthropic’s refusal had led to CEO Dario Amodei being summoned to the White House this week for a meeting with Hegseth himself, in which the Secretary reportedly issued an ultimatum to the CEO to back down by the end of business day on Friday or else.

In a statement late Thursday, Amodei wrote, “I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries. Anthropic has therefore worked proactively to deploy our models to the Department of War and the intelligence community.”

He added that the company has “never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner” but that in a “narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values” — going on to specifically mention mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. (Amodei mentioned that “partial autonomous weapons … are vital to the defense of democracy” and that fully autonomous weapons may eventually “prove critical for our national defense,” but that “today, frontier AI systems are simply not reliable enough to power fully autonomous weapons.” He did not rule out Anthropic acquiescing to the military’s use of fully autonomous weapons in the future but mentioned that they were not ready now.)

The Pentagon had already reportedly asked major defense contractors to assess their dependence on Anthropic’s Claude, which could be seen as the first step to designating the company a “supply chain risk” – a public threat that the Pentagon had made recently (and a classification usually reserved for threats to national security). The Pentagon was also reportedly considering invoking the Defense Production Act to make Anthropic comply.

Amodei wrote in his statement that the Pentagon’s “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” He also wrote that “should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”