Month: May 2024
Top 5 Trailers from Sony’s State of Play video – CNET
We collected the five best trailers shown during Sony’s May 2024 State of Play livestream.
We collected the five best trailers shown during Sony’s May 2024 State of Play livestream.
Gurman: ‘iOS 18 Siri AI Update Will Let Users Control Features in Apps With Voice’
Mark Gurman, with yet another scoop:
The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features
within apps for the first time, said the people, who asked not to
be identified because the initiative isn’t public. That change
required a revamp of Siri’s underlying software using large
language models — a core technology behind generative AI — and
will be one of the highlights of Apple’s renewed push into AI,
they said. […]
Siri will be a key focus of the WWDC unveiling. The new system
will allow the assistant to control and navigate an iPhone or iPad
with more precision. That includes being able to open individual
documents, moving a note to another folder, sending or deleting an
email, opening a particular publication in Apple News, emailing a
web link, or even asking the device for a summary of an article.
This sounds a lot like a large action model, not just a large language model. It makes sense if Apple can pull it off.
In 2018, Apple launched Siri Shortcuts as well, letting users
manually create commands for app features. The new system will go
further, using AI to analyze what people are doing on their
devices and automatically enable Siri-controlled features. It will
be limited to Apple’s own apps at the beginning, with the company
planning to support hundreds of different commands.
This makes me think that developers will need to support new APIs to describe and define the sort of actions Siri can perform — like Siri Shortcuts but richer, and hopefully easier for developers to support. According to Gurman, this feature isn’t slated to roll out to iOS 18 users until sometime next year. That makes sense, given that the ink seemingly isn’t yet dry on the Apple-OpenAI partnership.
Writing at 9to5Mac, Ryan Christoffel puts it thus:
Presumably, this change will lead to a lot fewer occasions of
having you ask Siri to complete a task and finding it has no idea
what you’re talking about. A more intelligent Siri that can
understand natural language for a much wider array of commands
sounds like the Siri we have always expected but never quite got.
That sounds like exactly where Apple’s goalposts should be.
★
Mark Gurman, with yet another scoop:
The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features
within apps for the first time, said the people, who asked not to
be identified because the initiative isn’t public. That change
required a revamp of Siri’s underlying software using large
language models — a core technology behind generative AI — and
will be one of the highlights of Apple’s renewed push into AI,
they said. […]
Siri will be a key focus of the WWDC unveiling. The new system
will allow the assistant to control and navigate an iPhone or iPad
with more precision. That includes being able to open individual
documents, moving a note to another folder, sending or deleting an
email, opening a particular publication in Apple News, emailing a
web link, or even asking the device for a summary of an article.
This sounds a lot like a large action model, not just a large language model. It makes sense if Apple can pull it off.
In 2018, Apple launched Siri Shortcuts as well, letting users
manually create commands for app features. The new system will go
further, using AI to analyze what people are doing on their
devices and automatically enable Siri-controlled features. It will
be limited to Apple’s own apps at the beginning, with the company
planning to support hundreds of different commands.
This makes me think that developers will need to support new APIs to describe and define the sort of actions Siri can perform — like Siri Shortcuts but richer, and hopefully easier for developers to support. According to Gurman, this feature isn’t slated to roll out to iOS 18 users until sometime next year. That makes sense, given that the ink seemingly isn’t yet dry on the Apple-OpenAI partnership.
Writing at 9to5Mac, Ryan Christoffel puts it thus:
Presumably, this change will lead to a lot fewer occasions of
having you ask Siri to complete a task and finding it has no idea
what you’re talking about. A more intelligent Siri that can
understand natural language for a much wider array of commands
sounds like the Siri we have always expected but never quite got.
That sounds like exactly where Apple’s goalposts should be.
Google defends AI search results after they told us to put glue on pizza
Image: The Verge
Last week, Google rolled out its AI search results for millions of users to tinker with. The goal was to deliver a better search experience. Instead, AI delivered all sorts of weird results, like saying people should put glue on their pizza to help the cheese stick and eat rocks.
Google worked quickly to remove some inaccurate AI results, which it calls AI Overviews, but the damage — and meme-ification — was already done.
Now, in a company blog post published Thursday by Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, the tech giant blames “data voids” for the inaccurate results, along with people making up odd questions, and doubled down by claiming that AI results are leading to “higher satisfaction” with Search. Reid argues that AI Overviews generally don’t “hallucinate;” they just sometimes misinterpret what’s already on the web.
“There’s nothing quite like having millions of people using the feature with many novel searches,” she writes. “We’ve also seen nonsensical new searches, seemingly aimed at producing erroneous results.” She also correctly notes that a “very large number of faked screenshots” of AI Overviews have been spreading online.
First, I’d like to point out that “what mammal has the most bones?” is a fair query if you spend any amount of time with an inquisitive toddler. Second, Google opted millions of people into this feature, which resulted in a lot of backlash and even spurred articles explaining how to improvise a way to disable it.
Reid’s blog also explains how Google is fixing AI Overviews by limiting when they appear for “nonsensical” queries and satire. This is good to address because a lot of people were surprised that the well-known satirical website The Onion and a Reddit user named “fucksmith” were not filtered out of AI results in the first place.
Part of Reid’s blog also compares AI Overviews to another longstanding Search feature called featured snippets, which highlight information from a relevant webpage without using generative AI. According to Reid, the “accuracy rate” for featured snippets is “on par” with AI Overviews.
Ultimately, Google’s introduction of AI Overviews has been yet another PR blunder for the company. Meanwhile, Google is racing to compete against OpenAI and AI search startups like Perplexity, which is already worth a rumored $3 billion.
If Google is going to compete, it has to move fast. But it also needs to maintain user trust. That could be difficult to regain after AI Overviews told us all to eat Elmer’s glue.
Image: The Verge
Last week, Google rolled out its AI search results for millions of users to tinker with. The goal was to deliver a better search experience. Instead, AI delivered all sorts of weird results, like saying people should put glue on their pizza to help the cheese stick and eat rocks.
Google worked quickly to remove some inaccurate AI results, which it calls AI Overviews, but the damage — and meme-ification — was already done.
Now, in a company blog post published Thursday by Google’s head of search, Liz Reid, the tech giant blames “data voids” for the inaccurate results, along with people making up odd questions, and doubled down by claiming that AI results are leading to “higher satisfaction” with Search. Reid argues that AI Overviews generally don’t “hallucinate;” they just sometimes misinterpret what’s already on the web.
“There’s nothing quite like having millions of people using the feature with many novel searches,” she writes. “We’ve also seen nonsensical new searches, seemingly aimed at producing erroneous results.” She also correctly notes that a “very large number of faked screenshots” of AI Overviews have been spreading online.
First, I’d like to point out that “what mammal has the most bones?” is a fair query if you spend any amount of time with an inquisitive toddler. Second, Google opted millions of people into this feature, which resulted in a lot of backlash and even spurred articles explaining how to improvise a way to disable it.
Reid’s blog also explains how Google is fixing AI Overviews by limiting when they appear for “nonsensical” queries and satire. This is good to address because a lot of people were surprised that the well-known satirical website The Onion and a Reddit user named “fucksmith” were not filtered out of AI results in the first place.
Part of Reid’s blog also compares AI Overviews to another longstanding Search feature called featured snippets, which highlight information from a relevant webpage without using generative AI. According to Reid, the “accuracy rate” for featured snippets is “on par” with AI Overviews.
Ultimately, Google’s introduction of AI Overviews has been yet another PR blunder for the company. Meanwhile, Google is racing to compete against OpenAI and AI search startups like Perplexity, which is already worth a rumored $3 billion.
If Google is going to compete, it has to move fast. But it also needs to maintain user trust. That could be difficult to regain after AI Overviews told us all to eat Elmer’s glue.
Everything announced at PlayStation’s State of Play for May 2024
Sony kicked off its annual Days of Play celebration (now in its eighth year) with a rapid-fire, 14-game showcase on… Continue reading Everything announced at PlayStation’s State of Play for May 2024
The post Everything announced at PlayStation’s State of Play for May 2024 appeared first on ReadWrite.
Sony kicked off its annual Days of Play celebration (now in its eighth year) with a rapid-fire, 14-game showcase on Thursday teasing a great range of games, first-party and third, coming to its consoles as well as PC later this year or in 2025.
If you couldn’t tune in for the Thursday evening festivities, here’s a recap of each trailer shown.
Concord
A year after its original announcement at the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, now we know more of what Concord is about. In terms of gameplay, it’s a hero shooter. As a story, it seems greatly derivative of Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s the wise-ass improvising leader, his down-to-earth female co-lead, a pure-muscle character who speaks in simple declarative sentences, and a non-human support robot with amazing abilities, all of whom dress their over-the-top action with pithy, ironic asides.
Concord also got a gameplay trailer (which didin’t air during State of Play) after the broadcast, too:
God of War Ragnarok
The widely acclaimed 2022 action-adventure for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 will, as long suspected, come to PC on Sept. 19. It’s part of a steady march of PlayStation exclusive prestige titles to PC, which includes Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone, The Last of Us Part I, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
Monster Hunter Wilds
The sequel to 2018’s smash success Monster Hunter: World will launch in 2025. Capcom lent Sony a big three-minute gameplay trailer showing what players can expect when the series returns. (Spoiler alert: Monsters, plus hunting them.)
Silent Hill 2 Remake
Hey, look at that, Konami’s back to being interested in making video games people love from its deep library of award winning IPs. Silent Hill 2, developed by Bloober Team, is coming to PlayStation 5 Oct. 8, 2024, and here’s what folks can expect
Path of Exile 2
This sequel to Grinding Gear Games’ free-to-play action RPG (think: Diablo) is coming to PlayStation 5 and PC in early access in “late 2024.” The big difference? Couch co-op, for those gracious enough to share the loot.
Astro Bot
As expected, the lovable robot buddy who onboarded PlayStation fans to their VR headsets in 2018, and the new DualSense controller in 2020, finally gets his own show with Astro Bot. It looks like a proper platforming adventure (with a little bit of racing thrown in). Slowly but surely, Team Asobi’s delightful little android is working his way to official PlayStation mascot status, especially if this adventure is half as fun as it looks.
Marvel Rivals
The one big spanner in Concord’s works could be Marvel Rivals, a licensed hero shooter drawing from that comic book universe, currently in cloud testing on PC. A closed beta for PlayStation 5 begins in July for those looking to play with gamepads on a console.
Alien: Rogue Incursion
This is for PlayStation VR 2 only but, you know what, that’s probably the best medium for what looks like an intense piece of survival horror. The Alien franchise has done its best, as a video game, when it’s delivered the hunted-vs.-hunters chills and thrills of the original film, a la 2014’s Alien: Isolation. In virtual reality, the ride should be even more intense.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins
This will be the first mainline entry in the 25-year-old Dynasty Warriors franchise since 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9. From this trailer, fans can expect more of the same: One against hundreds, and button-mashing, hacking-and-slashing action abounds. Dynasty Warriors: Origins will also launch on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
Until Dawn (remastered)
Somewhat butting heads with Silent Hill 2’s remake is the remastered Until Dawn, another survival horror narrative featuring jump scares and people continually making bad decisions that trigger more jump scares. Until Dawn first launched in 2015 on PlayStation 4.
Infinity Nikki
It’s hard to put a label on this game, as it appears to be a mixture of cozycore role-playing with a lot of dress up options and cute mascots. In either case, it’s a very pretty game, with a beta test coming this fall.
Ballad of Antara
Back on task, here’s a harder-edge, apparently Soulslike adventure from TipWorks studio coming sometime in 2025. Per the official YouTube page: “A faraway land is on the verge of being lost to a conflict from eons ago, and the invasion that followed it. Embark on a perilous journey, seek towering divine creatures, to reclaim the twisted and lost fundamentals of the world.”
Where Winds Meet
Hats off if you remember this game’s original reveal, during Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2022. We’ve heard little from it since, but Where Winds Meet is a wuxia (martial arts and chivalry, in the Chinese tradition) open-world action-RPG fromn
Behemoth
Coming from Skydance, Behemoth is a VR-only adventure arriving later in 2024. It looks like an against-all-odds fight against hu-jungus monsters and beasts, at least the last, final boss, for sure.
The post Everything announced at PlayStation’s State of Play for May 2024 appeared first on ReadWrite.
Cooler Master Hit By Data Breach Exposing Customer Information
Computer hardware manufacturer Cooler Master has confirmed that it suffered a data breach on May 19 after a threat actor breached the company’s website, stealing the Fanzone member information of 500,000 customers. BleepingComputer reports: [A] threat actor known as ‘Ghostr’ told us they hacked the company’s Fanzone website on May 18 and downloaded its linked databases. Cooler Master’s Fanzone site is used to register a product’s warranty, request an RMA, or open support tickets, requiring customers to fill in personal data, such as names, email addresses, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and physical addresses. Ghostr said they were able to download 103 GB of data during the Fanzone breach, including the customer information of over 500,000 customers.
The threat actor also shared data samples, allowing BleepingComputer to confirm with numerous customers listed in the breach that their data was accurate and that they recently requested support or an RMA from Cooler Master. Other data in the samples included product information, employee information, and information regarding emails with vendors. The threat actor claimed to have partial credit card information, but BleepingComputer could not find this data in the data samples. The threat actor now says they will sell the leaked data on hacking forums but has not disclosed the price. Cooler Master said in a statement to BleepingComputer: “We can confirm on May 19, Cooler Master experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to customer data. We immediately alerted the authorities, who are actively investigating the breach. Additionally, we have engaged top security experts to address the breach and implement new measures to prevent future incidents. These experts have successfully secured our systems and enhanced our overall security protocols. We are in the process of notifying affected customers directly and advising them on next steps. We are committed to providing timely updates and support to our customers throughout this process.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Computer hardware manufacturer Cooler Master has confirmed that it suffered a data breach on May 19 after a threat actor breached the company’s website, stealing the Fanzone member information of 500,000 customers. BleepingComputer reports: [A] threat actor known as ‘Ghostr’ told us they hacked the company’s Fanzone website on May 18 and downloaded its linked databases. Cooler Master’s Fanzone site is used to register a product’s warranty, request an RMA, or open support tickets, requiring customers to fill in personal data, such as names, email addresses, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and physical addresses. Ghostr said they were able to download 103 GB of data during the Fanzone breach, including the customer information of over 500,000 customers.
The threat actor also shared data samples, allowing BleepingComputer to confirm with numerous customers listed in the breach that their data was accurate and that they recently requested support or an RMA from Cooler Master. Other data in the samples included product information, employee information, and information regarding emails with vendors. The threat actor claimed to have partial credit card information, but BleepingComputer could not find this data in the data samples. The threat actor now says they will sell the leaked data on hacking forums but has not disclosed the price. Cooler Master said in a statement to BleepingComputer: “We can confirm on May 19, Cooler Master experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to customer data. We immediately alerted the authorities, who are actively investigating the breach. Additionally, we have engaged top security experts to address the breach and implement new measures to prevent future incidents. These experts have successfully secured our systems and enhanced our overall security protocols. We are in the process of notifying affected customers directly and advising them on next steps. We are committed to providing timely updates and support to our customers throughout this process.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Information: ‘OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Cements Control as He Secures Apple Deal’
Amir Efrati and Wayne Ma, reporting for The Information (paywalled; Ars Technica has a good summary):
Now, he has fulfilled a longtime goal by striking a deal with
Apple to use OpenAI’s conversational artificial intelligence in
its products, which could be worth billions of dollars to the
startup if it goes well, this person said.
Aside from the financial windfall such a deal might bring, a
partnership with Apple has the potential to boost OpenAI’s
position within the tech industry over the long term. Altman and
his colleagues hope the Apple partnership might one day supplant a
longstanding alliance Apple has with Google, OpenAI’s main rival,
which today handles searches on Apple’s Safari browser and is
critical to preserving Google’s search monopoly.
While a partnership between Apple and OpenAI has been rumored for months, this report by The Information is the first I’m aware to assert that the deal is official. It’s light on details, to say the least, starting with just who is paying whom and how either company plans to make money from the partnership. Presumably it’ll be Apple paying OpenAI for the privilege of integrating with their expensive-to-run cloud-based servers.
The financial arrangement between Google and Apple for default search, on the other hand, is both simple and lucrative. Google makes money showing ads in search results. Safari drives zillions of users to Google search. Google pays Apple roughly $20 billion per year for that traffic acquisition, while selling ads worth many tens of billions of dollars for those searches. Google makes money and maintains access to the Apple demographic. Apple makes money from Google’s payments. And Safari users get Google Search results by default.
There’s nothing like that with OpenAI, right now. There’s also this:
To top it off, Altman is working on two new projects outside
OpenAI: the first is a daring effort to make AI server-chip
factories and the other is developing an AI-powered personal
device, such as earbuds with forward-facing cameras that could
emulate the AI companion in the film “Her,” with the aid of former
Apple designer Jony Ive. Both efforts could complement his work at
OpenAI — which would own stakes in the ventures — and give him
even more clout.
Apple and Google’s friendly relationship — Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt was an Apple board member from 2006 to 2009 — ended when Google changed Android from being an open alternative to Blackberry to being an open alternative to iPhones. OpenAI is — according to multiple reports — not only looking to create its own personal computing devices, they’re considering partnering with Jony Ive and LoveFrom to do it. They’re setting themselves up to be frenemies with Apple before the first partnership is even announced.
★
Amir Efrati and Wayne Ma, reporting for The Information (paywalled; Ars Technica has a good summary):
Now, he has fulfilled a longtime goal by striking a deal with
Apple to use OpenAI’s conversational artificial intelligence in
its products, which could be worth billions of dollars to the
startup if it goes well, this person said.
Aside from the financial windfall such a deal might bring, a
partnership with Apple has the potential to boost OpenAI’s
position within the tech industry over the long term. Altman and
his colleagues hope the Apple partnership might one day supplant a
longstanding alliance Apple has with Google, OpenAI’s main rival,
which today handles searches on Apple’s Safari browser and is
critical to preserving Google’s search monopoly.
While a partnership between Apple and OpenAI has been rumored for months, this report by The Information is the first I’m aware to assert that the deal is official. It’s light on details, to say the least, starting with just who is paying whom and how either company plans to make money from the partnership. Presumably it’ll be Apple paying OpenAI for the privilege of integrating with their expensive-to-run cloud-based servers.
The financial arrangement between Google and Apple for default search, on the other hand, is both simple and lucrative. Google makes money showing ads in search results. Safari drives zillions of users to Google search. Google pays Apple roughly $20 billion per year for that traffic acquisition, while selling ads worth many tens of billions of dollars for those searches. Google makes money and maintains access to the Apple demographic. Apple makes money from Google’s payments. And Safari users get Google Search results by default.
There’s nothing like that with OpenAI, right now. There’s also this:
To top it off, Altman is working on two new projects outside
OpenAI: the first is a daring effort to make AI server-chip
factories and the other is developing an AI-powered personal
device, such as earbuds with forward-facing cameras that could
emulate the AI companion in the film “Her,” with the aid of former
Apple designer Jony Ive. Both efforts could complement his work at
OpenAI — which would own stakes in the ventures — and give him
even more clout.
Apple and Google’s friendly relationship — Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt was an Apple board member from 2006 to 2009 — ended when Google changed Android from being an open alternative to Blackberry to being an open alternative to iPhones. OpenAI is — according to multiple reports — not only looking to create its own personal computing devices, they’re considering partnering with Jony Ive and LoveFrom to do it. They’re setting themselves up to be frenemies with Apple before the first partnership is even announced.
Spotify offers Car Thing refunds as it faces lawsuit over bricking the streaming device
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submitted by /u/TommyAdagio
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Twitch Terminates All Members of Its Safety Advisory Council
According to CNBC, Twitch is expected to terminate all members of its Safety Advisory Council on Friday. “The council is a resource of nine industry experts, streamers and moderators who consulted on trust and safety issues related to children on Twitch, nudity, banned users and more,” notes the report. From the report: The Amazon-owned game-streaming company formed its Safety Advisory Council in May 2020 to “enhance Twitch’s approach to issues of trust and safety” on the platform and guide decisions, according to a company webpage. The council advised Twitch on “drafting new policies and policy updates,” “developing products and features to improve safety and moderation” and “protecting the interests of marginalized groups,” per the webpage.
For four years, the group advised the company on “hate raids” on marginalized groups and nudity policies, among other things. But in the afternoon of May 6, council members were called into a meeting after receiving an email that all existing contracts would conclude on May 31, 2024, and that they would not receive payment for the second half of 2024. The council was not made up of Twitch employees, but rather advisors, including Dr. Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center; Emma LlansÃ, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Free Expression Project; and Dr. T.L. Taylor, co-founder and director of AnyKey, which advocates for diversity and inclusion in gaming.
“Looking ahead, the Safety Advisory Council will primarily be made up of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors,” the email, viewed by CNBC, stated. In a formal notice in the same email, the company wrote, “Pursuant to section 5(a) of the SAC advisor Agreement, we are writing to provide you with notice of termination… This means that the second 2024 payment won’t be issued.” Twitch Ambassadors are users of the streaming platform “chosen specifically because of the positive impact they’ve contributed to the Twitch community,” according to the company’s website. Payment depended on the length of the contract, but council members were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 per 12-month period, according to a source familiar with the contracts.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
According to CNBC, Twitch is expected to terminate all members of its Safety Advisory Council on Friday. “The council is a resource of nine industry experts, streamers and moderators who consulted on trust and safety issues related to children on Twitch, nudity, banned users and more,” notes the report. From the report: The Amazon-owned game-streaming company formed its Safety Advisory Council in May 2020 to “enhance Twitch’s approach to issues of trust and safety” on the platform and guide decisions, according to a company webpage. The council advised Twitch on “drafting new policies and policy updates,” “developing products and features to improve safety and moderation” and “protecting the interests of marginalized groups,” per the webpage.
For four years, the group advised the company on “hate raids” on marginalized groups and nudity policies, among other things. But in the afternoon of May 6, council members were called into a meeting after receiving an email that all existing contracts would conclude on May 31, 2024, and that they would not receive payment for the second half of 2024. The council was not made up of Twitch employees, but rather advisors, including Dr. Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center; Emma LlansÃ, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Free Expression Project; and Dr. T.L. Taylor, co-founder and director of AnyKey, which advocates for diversity and inclusion in gaming.
“Looking ahead, the Safety Advisory Council will primarily be made up of individuals who serve as Twitch Ambassadors,” the email, viewed by CNBC, stated. In a formal notice in the same email, the company wrote, “Pursuant to section 5(a) of the SAC advisor Agreement, we are writing to provide you with notice of termination… This means that the second 2024 payment won’t be issued.” Twitch Ambassadors are users of the streaming platform “chosen specifically because of the positive impact they’ve contributed to the Twitch community,” according to the company’s website. Payment depended on the length of the contract, but council members were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 per 12-month period, according to a source familiar with the contracts.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.