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Entertainment over policy? White House arcade games ignite backlash

Al Jazeera

The White House's unveiling of five arcade-style games on its website, each believed to be promoting a different policy of United States President Donald Trump's agenda, has ignited backlash, with critics accusing the administration of prioritising entertainment over addressing rising living costs and the ongoing war on Iran. Announced on Thursday, the games include "Build the Wall" where players run to capture little green figures before they reach a border wall; "Rio Run", a Snake-style game in which players gather border crossers along a fence; "Supply Line", in which players reject food items that fail to meet "Make America Healthy Again" standards; "Flappy Bill," a Flappy Bird-style game in which a bald eagle carries legislation over the National Mall; and "Trump Savings Tycoon", in which players catch flying cash and gold bars to "fill your kids' Trump Accounts," in reference to the administration's child savings programme. Rights groups have also criticised the administration for the gaming website. They've been playing games with people's lives for years, now they've made a video game of what they're doing," Amerika Garcia Grewal, co-director of the Frontera Federation in Eagle Pass, Texas, told AFP news agency. The game designers "have lost touch with what it means to be human and care for others".


Conservatives split from Silicon Valley allies as datacenter backlash grows

The Guardian

The opposition to datacenters has crossed party lines. The opposition to datacenters has crossed party lines. Tue 1 Sep 2026 08.19 EDTLast modified on Tue 1 Sep 2026 09.08 EDT I was lucky enough to see her in concert a decade ago in California, in the same arena where Google now hosts its annual I/O conference. It's been a long time, and all my iPhone 4 photos are so blurry you can barely tell it's a musical performance, but my memory is clear enough to compensate. She told many stories about her childhood, which led into a trio of fabulous songs: My Tennessee Mountain Home, Applejack and Dr Robert F Thomas.


The AI Backlash Gets Professional

The Atlantic - Technology

A new group is targeting tech companies and the government with the climate movement's playbook. I f there's one thing America seems to agree on, it's AI. Some three-quarters of Americans oppose a data center being built in their area, three-quarters of Americans think AI will hurt their job security, nearly 70 percent think the technology is advancing too quickly--the polls go on. Progressive and Republican candidates alike are bashing the tech industry to win primary elections. States and cities are halting plans for data-center development.


Submit Your Questions: The Great Data Center Backlash

WIRED

You have questions about data centers, and WIRED has answers. Join our livestream on September 10 and our panel of experts will tell you everything you need to know. Just a couple of years ago, hearing the term "data center" wouldn't have struck a nerve with most Americans. Now, mention the noisy oversized warehouses and you'll spark a fierce debate. The infrastructure powering the AI industry is at the heart of heated discussions of politics, business, and the environment, and in the months leading up to the 2026 midterm elections, backlash to data centers has proven to be an issue activating Americans across the political spectrum.


Meta goes on trial as Silicon Valley faces a growing backlash

The Guardian

Meta went on trial last week for allegedly designing platforms that are addictive for children. Meta went on trial last week for allegedly designing platforms that are addictive for children. I'm Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian, writing to you from a sunny park in New York City, which was supposed to endure rain all weekend but in fact delivered the best weather of the year. Why Meta's big American backlash happened in court A blockbuster case against Meta went to trial a week ago in Oakland, California, just north of the US tech company's headquarters in Silicon Valley . California and 28 other US states are suing the ยฃ1tn ($1.36tn) company for allegedly designing products that are addictive for children, and hiding that information from the public.


Australia's music charts ban AI-made songs amid backlash over Madonna cover

Al Jazeera

Australia's music charts ban AI-made songs amid backlash over Madonna cover Share Australia's music charts ban AI-made songs amid backlash over Madonna cover on social media Australia's official music charts have banned tracks mostly created by artificial intelligence (AI) following a backlash over a cover of Madonna's "Like a Prayer" that relied heavily on the burgeoning technology. "Wholly AI-generated" music will be excluded from the charts under the changes, while tracks that use AI in a "supporting role" will still be eligible, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) said on Tuesday. ARIA said it would rely on a labelling system introduced by music industry groups last month to distinguish AI-generated tracks from those that use AI to complement human creativity. Under the labelling rules announced by a coalition of organisations including the Recording Industry Association of America, tracks may be labelled "AI-Generated" or "AI-Assisted" depending on the level of human involvement in the writing and recording process. Tracks are classed as "AI-Generated" if AI was used to create the "entirety or the primary portion of the creative elements of the recording" and "AI-Assisted" if the technology was used only for "some expressive elements".


The Download: threats from space mirrors and credit for AI drugs

MIT Technology Review

Plus: The data center backlash is scrambling the midterm elections. This company's plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the night sky for many A company that plans to beam sunlight from space to Earth on demand might unintentionally brighten the night sky for many more people than intended, according to a new study. Later this year, Reflect Orbital plans to launch a test satellite that will extend an 18-by-18-meter mirror in orbit. The goal is to eventually launch up to 50,000 larger satellites that can reflect sunlight to Earth on demand. Reflect Orbital says the technology could extend sunlight for solar panel charging, emergency response, and military activities. But new research suggests the giant beams could shine as bright as 10,000 full moons and scatter light over tens of kilometers, raising concerns about dark skies, aviation, and wildlife.


Silicon Valley Doesn't Get Why You Hate AI

WIRED

Silicon Valley Doesn't Get Why You Hate AI Technology leaders don't seem to understand society's gripes about AI, but boy, are they posting through it. Silicon Valley is trying to make sense of the growing backlash against artificial intelligence, but so far, it's not going that well. The inconvenient truth is that a significant portion of the world is not optimistic about the technology they're building. But recent attempts to diagnose the root of the problem by CEOs like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Anthropic's Dario Amodei indicate they don't understand what's actually driving society's disdain for AI. The rest of popular culture, meanwhile, is finding ways to capitalize on AI hate. Just look at this new commercial for Liquid Death and Garage Beer.


The AI Slop Backlash Is Actually Having an Impact

WIRED

Platforms are finally recognizing that people don't want to consume AI slop. A growing number of sites and apps now have tools and policies to flag, label, and ban AI-generated content. I was recently digging through my Instagram settings, trying to disable Meta's now-defunct feature that allowed anyone to create AI deepfakes of me without consent. Anger bubbled up inside as I tapped through the Kafkaesque opt-out process . Rather than throwing my phone across the room, I blurted to my partner that we should leave San Francisco behind and be off-grid sheep farmers.


How AI could ruin your life: From exposing affairs to leaking your private chats and medical records - why everyone should be concerned amid string of incidents where artificial intelligence goes rogue

Daily Mail - Science & tech

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