Art schools are being torn apart by AI
Art schools are being torn apart by AI

When my baby brother, a 3D modelling and animation student, talks to me about his projects and studies, the pride I usually feel is becoming increasingly tainted by a growing sense of dread. As a creative professional and former design student myself, I understand all too well how fierce the competition for postgraduate jobs will […]

There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series
There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series

In the coming years, HBO wants its new Harry Potter series to become “the streaming event of the decade” as it adapts each of the franchise’s seven original books. The show could very well become a hit that captures the imaginations of a new generation of fans who weren’t there for the first wave of […]

Meta’s legal defeat could be a victory for children, or a loss for everyone
Meta’s legal defeat could be a victory for children, or a loss for everyone

Is social media not just bad, but illegally bad? Should tech companies pay for making it that way? According to two US juries – and no shortage of outside commentary – the answer to both questions is “yes.” Earlier this week, two juries – one in New Mexico, one in Los Angeles – held Meta […]

Why can’t TikTok identify AI generated ads when I can?
Why can’t TikTok identify AI generated ads when I can?

I’ve been struggling to tell whether the ads appearing in my TikTok feeds have been made with generative AI tools. As someone who spends a great deal of time scrutinizing images and videos for the usual “tells” that something was synthetically generated, some of the promotions I’ve seen have definitely sparked suspicion. For several weeks, […]

Why OpenAI killed Sora
Why OpenAI killed Sora

On Tuesday morning, everything was business as usual at OpenAI. By the end of the day, the company had announced that it would scrap its video-generation app, Sora, and reverse plans for video generation inside ChatGPT; it would wind down a $1 billion Disney deal; it would shuffle the role of a high-level executive; and […]

Returning from a humanitarian aid trip to Cuba, Americans have phones seized at US airport
Returning from a humanitarian aid trip to Cuba, Americans have phones seized at US airport

Members of a convoy that delivered humanitarian aid to Cuba were detained and interrogated by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon returning to the United States on a charter flight from Havana. Of the 20 US citizens who were pulled for secondary inspection at Miami International Airport on Wednesday morning, 18 had their phones and […]

The photo mode consultant helping you take better video game screenshots
The photo mode consultant helping you take better video game screenshots

Three children stare at the dilapidated remains of a battlefield, with trees and man-made structures mostly razed to the ground, save for the sturdy frame of a lone trebuchet. It’s a pensive snapshot of the bloodshed in A Plague Tale: Innocence by virtual photographer Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme – but it’s no mere screenshot. It’s a […]

Judge sides with Anthropic to temporarily block the Pentagon’s ban
Judge sides with Anthropic to temporarily block the Pentagon’s ban

After Anthropic’s weeks-long standoff with the Pentagon, the company won one milestone: A judge granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit, which sought to reverse its government blacklisting while the judicial process plays out. “The Department of War’s records show that it designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk because of its ‘hostile manner […]

Brendan Carr says his broadcast license threat wasn’t really about Iran war coverage
Brendan Carr says his broadcast license threat wasn’t really about Iran war coverage

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr never meant to threaten broadcast licenses over their coverage of the war in Iran, he told reporters after an event hosted by FGS and Semafor. “My comments weren’t actually on the Iran war,” Carr said in response to a question from The Verge about his statement regarding coverage of […]

Apple’s AI Playlist Playground is bad at music
Apple’s AI Playlist Playground is bad at music

Apple Music: “What do you want to hear?” Me: “Atmospheric instrumental black metal to write to.” Apple Music: “Here’s three metal songs with vocals, a field recording, an ambient electronic track, and a piece of doom jazz.” I am skeptical of AI’s ability to serve up the music I want to begin with, but even […]