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Tech

AI Summary

  • Amin Vahdat has been promoted to chief technologist for AI infrastructure at Google, highlighting the company’s focus on AI innovation.
  • State attorneys general are calling on AI companies, including Microsoft and Google, to implement safeguards against misleading AI outputs that could harm users' mental health.
  • Nvidia is reportedly testing tracking software to address concerns over chip smuggling, amid rising scrutiny in the AI chip market.
  • Amazon is expanding its same-day delivery service for perishables, now available in over 2,300 cities, further enhancing its e-commerce capabilities.
  • Spotify is rolling out a new AI-powered feature called “Prompted Playlists,” allowing users to customize their music recommendations through specific prompts.

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Engadget

  • Mewgenics, the next game from The Binding of Isaac's developer, will arrive next February on PC 3 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 5 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 5 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 5 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

  • Spotify's new playlist feature gives users more control over their recommendation algorithm 6 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Spotify is attempting to give users more control over the music the streaming service recommends with a new playlist feature called "Prompted Playlist." The beta feature is rolling out in New Zealand starting on December 11, and will let users write a custom prompt that Spotify can use — alongside their listening history — to create a playlist of new music. By tapping on Prompted Playlist, Spotify subscribers participating in the beta will be presented with a prompt field where they can type exactly what they want to hear and how they want Spotify's algorithm to respond. And while past AI


The Verge

  • Donald Trump reminds the entire world he has no idea what 6G means 3 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 4 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 5 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 5 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

  • The best budget robot vacuums 5 hours ago by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Buying Guides, Gadgets, Reviews, Smart Home Reviews, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Today’s robot vacuums are becoming a bit like cars: with all the features, upgrades, and fancy trimmings available these days, it’s easy to forget that they can just be simple machines that get us from point A to point B. Yes, some bots blow hot air on their bums (mop pads), deftly navigate dog poop, and have arms to pick up your socks, but there are plenty of basic budget robot vacuums that just do a decent job of cleaning your floor autonomously — as long as you tidy up first. Fancier models have obstacle recognition, and some even use AI-powered


Wired


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