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Tech

AI Summary

  • Waymo continues to face challenges with its autonomous taxi service, as a recent incident highlights a lingering issue with transporting patients to hospitals.
  • Amin Vahdat's promotion to chief technologist for AI infrastructure at Google signals the company’s commitment to strengthening its position in the AI landscape amid competition from other tech giants.
  • State attorneys general are urging leading AI companies to implement measures against the misleading and potentially harmful outputs generated by their technologies, focusing on consumer safety.
  • Intel has lost a lengthy antitrust battle in the EU, leading to a significant regulatory fine, which reflects ongoing scrutiny and challenges faced by major tech companies in the region.
  • Spotify is testing new AI-powered features, including “Prompted Playlists,” which allow users to curate playlists based on personal prompts, showcasing a growing trend of personalized content in the streaming industry.

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Engadget

  • The best streaming deals: Save on MasterClass, Audible, Philo and others 2 hours ago by Valentina Palladino
    Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Valentina Palladino

    Streaming services keep raising prices. At this point, if you subscribe to all the major services out there, you're basically paying the same price as cable — those antiquated local monopolies that streaming was supposed to save us from. But streaming still has one big advantage over the old ways: no contracts. That means you can grab a good streaming deal and then cancel without penalty. Our advice is to sign up for a service when you see a good streaming deal (or the latest season of, say, Doctor Who, Severance, Andor and/or The Last of Us). Then, when the deal

  • Mewgenics, the next game from The Binding of Isaac's developer, will arrive next February on PC 10 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Video Games, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Indie game developer Edmund McMillen hosted a Reddit AMA today offering some more details about his upcoming game Mewgenics. For starters, the Steam release date for this turn-based cat-breeding RPG has been slightly delayed to February 10. The game was first announced all the way back in 2012 and had most recently been slated for a launch some time this year. Part of the long development cycle was so that McMillen could pause to launch Super Meat Boy Forever, the sequel to his Super Meat Boy platforming hit from 2010. Gamers may also know McMillen for The Binding of Isaac,

  • The NES game Jaws is getting a retro physical re-release on Switch and PS5 11 hours ago by Will Shanklin
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Will Shanklin

    The year is 1987. Beverly Hills Cop II is the highest-grossing movie. "Walk Like an Egyptian" is the hottest song. The Iran-Contra scandal dominates American political headlines, while Konami’s Contra sucks up coins in arcades. But towering above them all is the watershed moment of Jaws arriving on the NES. ("This time there's no escape!", warned the box art.) Now, 38 years later, the 8-bit game is returning as a Limited Run Games physical re-release. The retro release coincides with the Spielberg movie's 50th anniversary. From December 19 to January 18, you can pre-order a physical copy for Switch and PS5. It

  • Apple TV and Apple Music were down for some users 11 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Apple Music and Apple TV were briefly down during outage, according to Apple’s System Status page. The outage was logged on Apple’s own system at around 2:53PM ET and affected both of the company’s streaming services, along with Apple TV’s Channels feature, until the company resolved the issue around 4:31PM ET. On DownDetector, reports of issues with Apple TV and Apple Music first appeared right around 2:33PM ET, a little before Apple officially confirmed the outage on its own site. Only “some” users were affected by the outage, according to Apple, and anecdotally, multiple members of Engadget’s staff were still able

  • Meta is reportedly working on a new AI model called 'Avocado' and it might not be open source 12 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    Mark Zuckerberg has for months publicly hinted that he is backing away from open-source AI models. Now, Meta's latest AI pivot is starting to come into focus. The company is reportedly working on a new model, known inside of Meta as "Avocado," which could mark a major shift away from its previous open-source approach to AI development.  Both CNBC and Bloomberg have reported on Meta's plans surrounding "Avocado," with both outlets saying the model "could" be proprietary rather than open-source. Avocado, which is due out sometime in 2026, is being worked on inside of "TBD," a smaller group within Meta's AI


The Verge

  • Ayaneo’s first Android phone looks like a return of the Xperia Play 17 minutes ago by Dominic Preston
    Gadgets, Gaming, Mobile, News, Phones, Tech

    Retro gaming handheld manufacturer Ayaneo has finally revealed the design of its first Android phone, which has been teased since August. Fittingly, it too is a throwback - to 2011's Sony Ericcson Xperia Play. The Pocket Play has a screen that slides up to reveal a full set of inset physical controls, including a D-pad, ABXY fact buttons, and two circular touch pads. There are twin sets of shoulder buttons round the back of the phone too, though no sign of a 3.5mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, that's all we know. The Pocket Play is only confirmed to launch "soon," and the Kickstarter

  • Donald Trump reminds the entire world he has no idea what 6G means 10 hours ago by Sean Hollister
    5G, Mobile, News, Policy, Tech

    When business leaders spout buzzwords like "AI," "8K" and "5G," sometimes in the same sentence, we often get a sneaking suspicion they don't know what they mean! With President Donald Trump, there's no need to wonder: he clearly has no idea. "What does [6G] do? Give you a little bit deeper view into somebody's skin?" he mused today, live on TV, right in front of Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, who did not bother to correct him. > Trump: So we're into 6G now. Yeesh. I was a leader on 5G, getting that done. What does that do? Give you a little

  • Trump could introduce ‘mandatory’ social media reviews for travelers 10 hours ago by Emma Roth
    News, Policy, Politics, Social Media, Tech

    The Trump administration could soon require tourists from dozens of nations to hand over their social media handles before entering the country. Under a proposal from US Customs and Border Protection, the agency would make social media history from the past five years a "mandatory" part of the screening process, as reported earlier by The New York Times. Right now, travelers from 42 countries - including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK - can visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa. If the proposal becomes official, visitors would have to include their social media accounts when

  • Spotify’s Prompted Playlists use AI to control your algorithm 11 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    AI, Entertainment, News, Spotify

    A new beta feature on Spotify takes the idea behind the Discover Weekly playlist and puts the control in users' hands through AI prompts. Prompted Playlists, which are initially launching in New Zealand on Thursday, let users type out exactly what they want to listen to, with as much or little detail as they like. Then Spotify's AI curates a playlist based on those instructions and the user's listening history. Users can also set Prompted Playlists to regularly refresh with new songs based on the same prompt, effectively allowing you to make a Discover Weekly playlist with an algorithm you control.

  • Operation Bluebird wants to reclaim Twitter’s ‘abandoned’ trademarks for a new social network 12 hours ago by Emma Roth
    Law, News, Policy, Report, Tech, Twitter - X

    A startup called Operation Bluebird is trying to reclaim Twitter's branding, as reported earlier by Ars Technica and Reuters. Last week, Operation Bluebird filed a petition that asks the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel X Corp.'s ownership of the "Twitter" and "Tweet" trademarks, claiming they've been "abandoned" by the Elon Musk-owned company. Operation Bluebird is led by founder Michael Peroff, an Illinois trademark and brand protection attorney, along with Stephen Coates, a trademark attorney who worked as Twitter's associate director of trademarks, domain names, and marketing from 2014 to 2016. The startup also filed a t … Read the


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