SAVE 200: As of July 17, get the Hisense 75" Class QD7 Series Mini-LED 4K TV for 599.99, down from its usual price of 799.99 at Amazon. Ready to bring a new TV home? Whether you're looking to enhance the way you watch your favorite movies and TV shows or you want a display to enjoy new video games on, you can't go wrong with a discounted screen. And right now you can get an especially sweet deal on a large TV that can take center stage in your home and shine wherever you put it. As of July 17, get the Hisense 75" Class QD7 Series Mini-LED 4K TV for 599.99, down from its usual price of 799.99 at Amazon. This 4K smart TV boasts a native 144Hz refresh rate and a Mini LED screen with up to 500 nits of peak brightness.

Roblox is a popular digital space for kids and teens to congregate while playing their favorite video game, or in the platform's parlance, experience. Now teens ages 13 to 17 who want to access a special feature designed to make those hangouts even more fun will have to verify their age via a video selfie. Roblox announced the new requirement Thursday as part of a slate of safety and privacy measures. Once Roblox estimates the user's age -- via the AI-powered age verification product Persona -- and assigns a qualifying age group to their account, it allows them to take advantage of the new feature, called "Trusted Connections." Teen users can add each other as Trusted Connections, which allows them to communicate via voice and chat without filters.

Should umpires be updating their LinkedIn? A robot umpire, powered by automated tech and employed for the first time at an MLB All-Star Game, helped reverse four ball/strike calls, the CBC reports. Only one appeal, by Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers, did not result in a changed call after input from the Automated Ball-Strike System. "The ABS system powered by T-Mobile's 5G network utilizes the Hawk-Eye system to track a pitch's trajectory and location to relay an immediate verdict on whether it was a ball or a strike," the MLB notes. According to the league, fans have been receptive to the tech intervention, which was introduced in the Minor Leagues in 2021 and Triple AAA games the following year.

A new report from Totally Human Media reveals that nearly 20 percent of video games released on Steam in 2025 use generative AI. The report from Totally Human, which uses machine learning and generative AI to recommend games, books, shows, and movies, reported that approximately 7,818 games on Steam disclosed using Generative AI. That represents about 7 percent of the entire available Steam library. For games released on the platform in 2025, just under 20 percent -- or about 1 in 5 games -- utilized AI, or disclosed doing so, at least. Game Rant reported that the most popular game to make that Generative AI disclosure is My Summer Car, a vehicle simulation game that lets users build, fix, tune, and perform maintenance to their car.

Feedback is New Scientist's popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com Feedback has been dimly aware for a while that there is a slew of AI-generated music swamping platforms like Spotify. Our awareness was limited, we confess, because we are so old that we still prefer to listen to CDs. Still, we weren't too surprised when New Scientist's Timothy Revell told us about an indie rock band called The Velvet Sundown that appears to be entirely AI-generated, from their songs, which sound like the beige love-children of Coldplay and the Eagles, to their uncanny-valley Instagram photos, which look like rejected concept art from Daisy Jones & the Six.

"Alexa," I asked the Echo display in my kitchen, "what was that song from The Hills? You know, that MTV show? Can you play it on the Echo Show in the office?" The old Alexa wouldn't have had a prayer of answering such a poorly worded query. But the new Alexa, now packing AI-enhanced smarts, handled it easily.

The Legend of Zelda game franchise was created by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, with the first game launching in 1986. Since then, the franchise as remained one of Nintendo's best known brands, and has sold more than 150 million copies across its multiple instalments over various consoles. Video game adaptations have had a mixed reception at the box office over the years. Many, such as Resident Evil, Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat, were not always as well received as their source material. But more recently, the success of The Super Mario Bros Movie, Sonic The Hedgehog, A Minecraft Movie and Uncharted, along with the TV adaptation of The Last of Us, has gone some way to turning the tables.

When you think of Nintendo, it's almost impossible not to picture Donkey Kong. Yet despite Donkers' undeniable place in gaming history – and obligatory appearances in Smash Bros and Mario Kart – for the last few console generations, Donkey Kong platformers have been MIA. Enter DK's first standalone adventure in 11 years, Donkey Kong Bananza. While Mario's recent adventures saw him exploring the reaches of outer space or deftly possessing enemies with an anthropomorphic hat, DK's grand return is all about primal rage. As you smash and punch your way through walls, floors and ceilings, you can burrow all the way to the ground below, forging new paths and unearthing hidden treasures.

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. As a classically trained singer preparing for a professional career, Erin Perry can see quite clearly how artificial intelligence is upending her field--all the way down to the classroom. Perry just completed her first year as a graduate student in voice performance at the Peabody Institute, the prestigious music conservatory run by Johns Hopkins University. It's been rewarding so far: She's been learning how to navigate the modern classical music sector and confronting the relevant impacts of generative A.I., having taken on a project to study the major record labels' lawsuit against the Amazon-backed A.I. startup Anthropic, which trained its models on songwriters' lyrics sans permission or compensation. Understandably, Perry's rather skeptical of A.I.'s artistic applications, and fearful of the sweeping effects it could have on her chosen field, especially as generative-music startups like Suno and Udio are programmed to replicate specific artists and musical styles.

A screenshot from the new simulator that will be trialled for a special challenge at RoboCup2025. The annual RoboCup event, where teams gather from across the globe to take part in competitions across a number of leagues, will this year take place in Brazil, from 15-21 July. In advance of kick-off, we spoke to two members of the RoboCup Soccer 3D Simulation League: Executive Committee Member Klaus Dorer, and Stefan Glaser, who is on the Maintenance Committee and who has been recently developing a new simulator for the League. Could start by just giving us a quick introduction to the Simulation League? Klaus Dorer: There are two Simulation Leagues in Soccer: the 2D Simulation League and the 3D Simulation League. The 2D Simulation League, as the name suggests, is a flat league where the players and ball are simulated with simplified physics and the main focus is on team strategy.