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Meta Is Shutting Down Horizon Worlds on Meta Quest

WIRED

Meta's flailing virtual reality social experience is being discontinued in June. It's part of Meta's broader moves to slim down the business that became its namesake. Pour one out from your digital bottle, because Meta is shutting down the virtual reality experience of Horizon Worlds. Meta sent an email blast to Horizon Worlds users today stating that the social VR world will officially end on its Quest VR headsets; starting March 31, Horizon Worlds will no longer be in the Quest store. Some Horizon-specific perks, including Meta Credits, avatars, and some digital clothes and in-world purchases, will also be removed.


China's dancing robots: how worried should we be?

The Guardian

Should we be impressed or worried by China's humanoid robot display? - video China's dancing robots: how worried should we be? Dancing humanoid robots took centre stage on Monday during the annual China Media Group's Spring Festival Gala, China's most-watched official television broadcast. They lunged and backflipped (landing on their knees), they spun around and jumped. The display was impressive, but prompted some to wonder: if robots can now dance and perform martial arts, what else can they do? Experts have mixed opinions, with some saying the robots had limitations and that the display should be viewed through a lens of state propaganda.


The Download: unraveling a death threat mystery, and AI voice recreation for musicians

MIT Technology Review

Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. In April 2024, a mysterious someone using the online handles "Waifu" and "Judische" began posting death threats on Telegram and Discord channels aimed at a cybersecurity researcher named Allison Nixon. These anonymous personas targeted Nixon because she had become a formidable threat: As chief research officer at the cyber investigations firm Unit 221B, named after Sherlock Holmes's apartment, she had built a career tracking cybercriminals and helping get them arrested. Though she'd done this work for more than a decade, Nixon couldn't understand why the person behind the accounts was suddenly threatening her. And although she had taken an interest in the Waifu persona in years past for crimes he boasted about committing, he hadn't been on her radar for a while when the threats began, because she was tracking other targets. Now Nixon resolved to unmask Waifu/Judische and others responsible for the death threats--and take them down for crimes they admitted to committing.





Faisal Islam: Global disruption looms large over biggest-ever Davos

BBC News

Apart from the snow and the temperature Greenland does not have much in common with the Swiss alps. But the fight for the future of the island looms over the gathering of world leaders and businesses at the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week. Indeed the timing of Donald Trump's extraordinary threat must have had in mind this meeting. And that is beyond strange given the views of his base. Last year, he beamed himself into the WEF from the White House, appearing before an audience of largely bewildered European executives just two days after his inauguration.


Day of mourning for bar fire victims in Switzerland

BBC News

A day of national mourning is being held in Switzerland on Friday, following a fire which killed 40 young people, mostly teenagers, in a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort on New Year's Eve. Church bells rang across the country for five minutes, and people stood for a minute's silence in their memory. Firefighters in the resort were applauded as they joined an audience watching the tribute ceremony, which was live-streamed to Crans-Montana from the Swiss city of Martigny. The ceremony saw the leaders of neighbouring countries, including France's Emmanuel Macron, join an audience while speakers, including the Valais canton's president, paid tribute to those who died. The annual food fight festival ''Els Enfarinats'' has left the Spanish town of Ibi covered in flour and egg shells.


Nvidia unveils 'reasoning' AI technology for self-driving cars

BBC News

Nvidia unveils'reasoning' AI technology for self-driving cars Nvidia boss Jensen Huang on Monday announced Alpamayo, a tech platform the company says will help self-driving cars think like humans. Alpamayo brings reasoning to autonomous vehicles, allowing them to think through rare scenarios, drive safely in complex environments, and explain their driving decisions, Huang said on stage at the annual CES technology conference in Las Vegas. Huang also said Nvidia has begun producing a driverless car powered by its technology, the Mercedes-Benz CLA, in partnership with the German automaker. The vehicle will be released in the US in the coming months before being rolled out in Europe and Asia. Wearing his trademark black leather jacket, Huang told an audience of hundreds that the project has taught Nvidia an enormous amount about how to help partners build robotic systems. Analysts say the announcement reinforces Nvidia's leadership in integrating AI hardware and software, deepening its push into physical AI.


'Shogun' Creator Says Season 2 'Defies Expectations'

WIRED

Creator Says Season 2 'Defies Expectations' The historical series was an international hit that won a record 18 Emmy Awards. 's second season is currently in production. At a time when complex algorithms dictate taste and determine which show will become popular next, there's some comfort in the fact that a multicultural, largely subtitled, and decidedly analog historical drama can still become a hit. The drama series, which takes place in 17th-century Japan, captivated viewers and critics across different cultures by creating a deeply immersive world. The bilingual show premiered on FX and Hulu in early 2024 and, later that year, won a record 18 Primetime Emmy Awards.