Tom Barfield

Stay informed with Tom Barfield’s coverage and analysis for Fortune.

  • A large screen in the Dubai Metro is out of function on July 19, 2024, amid a massive global IT outage. Airlines, banks, TV channels and other business across the globe were scrambling to deal with one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years on July 19, 2024, caused by an update to an antivirus program. Microsoft said in a technical update on its website that the problems began at 1900 GMT on July 18, affecting users of its Azure cloud platform running cybersecurity software CrowdStrike Falcon. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)Tech

    Microsoft’s memorable cultural legacies at 50, from Clippy to the Blue Screen of Death

    By Tom Barfield and AFP
  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman poses with his laptop during the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit, at the Grand Palais, in Paris, on February 11, 2025. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP) (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)Tech

    Startups and academics clash over whether superhuman AI is really ‘coming into view’

    By Tom Barfield and AFP
  • An attendee engages with a differentiated connectivity demonstration in the Ericsson AB pavilion at the MWC25 tech show in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The Mobile World Congress tech show runs March 3-6. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesTech

    Color-changing smartphones, connected cars and smart contact lenses: the gadgets of Mobile World Congress 2025

    By Valentin Bontemps, Mona Guichard, and others
  • Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, delivers a speech during Keynote 1 at the MWC (Mobile World Congress), the world’s biggest mobile fair, in Barcelona on March 3, 2025. Surrounded by investment and innovation projects, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicks off today in Barcelona amid a context of euphoria but also tensions over artificial intelligence (AI), whose rapid advancement is shaking up the tech sector. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)Tech

    AI optimism and Trump trade tensions will be the trending topics at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

    By Mona Guichard, Valentin Bontemps, and others
  • In contrast to both the United States and China, “the ethical philosophy of respecting citizens is at the heart of European regulation”, according to digital lawyer, Cohen-Hadria.Tech

    The global race for AI—here’s how countries are regulating to stay ahead

    By Tom Barfield and AFP
  • France's Prime Minister Michel Barnier speaking to reporters.Health

    French government ‘must block the sale’ of Sanofi’s Doliprane painkiller to U.S. private equity, critics argue

    By Jurgen Hecker, Tom Barfield, and others