What happens to our data when we die? Elaine Kasket on a digital dilemma

The counselling psychologist and author of All the Ghosts in the Machine discusses one of the most contentious issues of our age

The Great Firewall of China by James Griffiths review – how to control the internet

An eye-opening historical picture shows how China’s online strategy takes aim at the solidarity of its citizens – aided by US tech companies

The Guardian view on critics: thin-skinned artists beware

Editorial: US rapper Lizzo took to social media when angered by an unflattering review. But the wisdom of crowds hasn’t altered the need for independent, expert advice

Trends for spring: what’s new in the world of design

Ideas ranging from a seaweed house, eye-popping cakes, craft innovations, exhibitions, furniture as art and art as furniture

It’s a #masterpiece! What if Gauguin and Monet had been on Instagram?

Illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme has imagined how great painters would have fared on social media – and the trolling their work might have received

Ian McEwan: ‘Who’s going to write the algorithm for the little white lie?’

The writer, now 70, takes an probing look at artificial intelligence in his new book

Why Mrs Hinch and the ‘cleanfluencers’ are sweeping up the book charts

Mrs Hinch, a hairdresser who dispenses cleaning advice to 2.3m Instagram followers, has sold more than 160,000 copies of her first book in three days. What’s going on?

Amazon shoppers misled by ‘bundled’ star-ratings and reviews

Guardian study finds inferior items appear highly praised, making ratings worthless

Plagiarism, ‘book-stuffing’, clickfarms … the rotten side of self-publishing

Scams are rife, particularly when some authors can rake in thousands each month – but high-profile victims of plagiarism warn ‘day of reckoning is coming’

‘I’m an Orkney librarian driving to a school when a wave engulfs my van’

My job as a librarian in Orkney involves hair raising commutes as well as running coding clubs and a community service

The rise of robot authors: is the writing on the wall for human novelists?

The unveiling of artificial intelligence that can write fiction and journalism caused alarm. But how does its prose compare with George Orwell’s – and can it report on Brexit?

Fire sale Britain: Mike Nelson on why he turned the Tate into a big salvage yard

The artist scoured asset-stripping websites for the things British companies toss out as they close. He relives his six-month journey into a country in decline

Amazon pulls books offering dangerous ‘cures’ for autism

Following reports of dangerous therapies being promoted in titles being sold through the site, a number have been quietly withdrawn

Yohann Koshy on Dril Official ‘Mr Ten Years’ Anniversary Collection

Yoshan Koshy’s piece on a twisty, topical collection of tweets was highly commended in this year’s Observer/Anthony Burgess prize

‘I can get any novel I want in 30 seconds’: can book piracy be stopped?

As publishers struggle with ‘whack-a-mole’ websites, experts, authors and Guardian readers who illegally download books, assess the damage