Industry
Netflix will air new video podcasts from Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin this month
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini The original shows join a roster of iHeartRadio and Spotify shows now airing on the streaming service. Netflix is continuing to double down on podcasts, with the streaming service's announcement that it has hired talent to host two original shows for its platform. The first show stars NFL Hall of Famer-turned-analyst Michael Irvin and the second is a talk show for former Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. The abode in the title refers to a building near the Dallas Cowboys facilities rather than the seat of US presidential power, but the overlap was intentional. In a crowded media landscape, recognition matters -- and few names carry the same immediate weight, Irvin said.
Australian police smash e-bikes in crackdown on unruly teens
Police say at least 25 kids used e-bikes and scooters to evade arrest and intimidate drivers. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Australian police are cracking down on groups of unruly teenagers who they say are using deceptively speedy e-bikes and scooters to engage in "antisocial riding behavior." Their solution: confiscate the popular micromobility devices and crush them. The roundup, dubbed Operation Moorhead, began last week in the suburbs of Perth in southwestern Australia.
Child rights org says Google undermines parental control of child accounts
A child rights advocacy organisation in the United States is accusing Google of bypassing parental authority by allowing children to disable parental supervision over Google accounts after they turn 13. Melissa McKay, president of the Digital Childhood Institute, stated on LinkedIn that Google sent her 12-year-old an email that will unlock additional tools once he turns 13, posting screenshots of the email. Among the changes, once children turn the age of 13, they can turn off supervised experiences on YouTube and can add payment methods to Google Pay. Parents will no longer be able to block apps, turn on location sharing without the permission of the child user or block access to payment features. "Google is asserting authority over a boundary that does not belong to them. It reframes parents as a temporary inconvenience to be outgrown and positions corporate platforms as the default replacement," McKay said in a post on LinkedIn.
28 advocacy groups call on Apple and Google to ban Grok, X over nonconsensual deepfakes
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini Neither company has responded to Engadget's request for comment. The two (frequently virtue-signaling) companies have inexplicably allowed Grok and X to remain in their app stores -- even as Musk's chatbot reportedly continues to produce the material. On Wednesday, a coalition of women's and progressive advocacy groups called on Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai to uphold their own rules and remove the apps. The open letters to Apple and Google were signed by 28 groups. Among them are the women's advocacy group Ultraviolet, the parents' group ParentsTogether Action and the National Organization for Women.
Ryan Hurst cast as Kratos for live-action God of War show
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini Amazon's upcoming live-action TV adaptation has cast Ryan Hurst as its Kratos. Sony announced the casting today on X with a brief post and an image of both Hurst and Kratos in full scowl mode. Hurst is already sporting a very Kratos-style beard, so he's already got the right vibe going for him. He has past credits on familiar shows such as and . The upcoming Amazon series also isn't his first rodeo acting in this universe; Hurst voiced Thor in the video game .
Move Over, ChatGPT
You are about to hear a lot more about Claude Code. Over the holidays, Alex Lieberman had an idea: What if he could create Spotify "Wrapped" for his text messages? Without writing a single line of code, Lieberman, a co-founder of the media outlet, created "iMessage Wrapped"--a web app that analyzed statistical trends across nearly 1 million of his texts. One chart that he showed me compared his use of,,, and --he's an guy. Another listed people he had ghosted.
Civilization VII comes to Apple Arcade in February
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini Longtime fans of the franchise were disappointed in this latest installment. The App Store is a home for many kinds of apps (including, inexplicably, one that lets users undress strangers without their consent). But hey, it also has games! And soon the store's Apple Arcade service will include one more: the not-so-highly rated . Apple announced on Wednesday that will arrive almost exactly a year after launch . The game is already available for Apple devices, but its arrival on Apple Arcade will be a first.
California is investigating Grok over AI-generated CSAM and nonconsensual deepfakes
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini Governor Gavin Newsom called for an investigation into xAI. An illustration photo shows Grok logo displayed on a smartphone with the xAI logo in the background . California authorities have launched an investigation into xAI following weeks of reports that the chatbot was generating sexualized images of children. The statement cited a report that more than half of the 20,000 images generated by xAI between Christmas and New Years depicted people in minimal clothing, including some that appeared to be children. We have zero tolerance for the AI-based creation and dissemination of nonconsensual intimate images or of child sexual abuse material," Bonta said. "Today, my office formally announces an investigation into xAI to determine whether and how xAI violated the law.
California investigates Grok over AI deepfakes
California's top prosecutor has launched an investigation into the spread of sexualised AI deepfakes generated by Elon Musk's AI model Grok. Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement announcing the probe: The avalanche of reports detailing the non-consensual, sexually explicit material that xAI has produced and posted online in recent weeks is shocking. California's inquiry comes as British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warns of possible action against X. In Wednesday's statement, Bonta said: This material, which depicts women and children in nude and sexually explicit situations, has been used to harass people across the internet. The Democratic prosecutor urged xAI to take immediate action.
Neuroscientists Decipher Procrastination: A Brain Mechanism Explains Why People Leave Certain Tasks for Later
New research has discovered that a neural circuit may explain procrastination. Scientists were able to disrupt this connection using a drug. The brain avoids unpleasant tasks even if they promise reward, according to a recent study. The reason you decide to postpone household chores and spend your time browsing social media could be explained by the workings of a brain circuit. Recent research has identified a neural connection responsible for delaying the start of activities associated with unpleasant experiences, even when these activities offer a clear reward.