W hen the first ever stage adaptation of the global book and film franchise The Hunger Games opens its doors in London next week, fans paying up to £200 have been promised an "electrifying" and "immersive" experience. The show at the purpose-built 1,200 seat Troubadour in Canary Wharf, which features Hollywood A-lister John Malkovich appearing via screen as the evil President Snow who oversees the televised spectacle of teenagers fighting to the death, is the latest in an explosion of launches looking to cash in on a boom in consumer demand for experiential entertainment, often linked to bankable franchises. The boom in the market for experimental, unusual nights out and shows is well established, from escape rooms, axe throwing and slumber parties to Secret Cinema's Olympic Park takeover to recreate the setting for Back to the Future and the hugely successful Abba Voyage. Recent pop-ups include experiences linked to Minecraft, Jurassic World and Squid Game. As big money has rolled into the sector, so too has a desire from companies to rely on solid gold intellectual property to bring in the crowds - with mixed results.

Rod Stewart had a few surprise guests at a recent concert in Charlotte, North Carolina. His old friend Ozzy Osbourne, the lead singer of Black Sabbath who died last month, was apparently beamed in from some kind of rock heaven, where he was reunited with other departed stars including Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and Bob Marley. The AI-generated images divided Stewart's fans. Some denounced them as disrespectful and distasteful; others found the tribute beautiful. At about the same time, another AI controversy erupted when Jim Acosta, a former CNN White House correspondent, interviewed a digital recreation of Joaquin Oliver, who was killed at the age of 17 in a 2018 high school shooting in Florida.

The days of getting your driving licence out to prove your age could soon be a thing of the past. The UK government has confirmed that a digital version is being launched this year. A new app will be unveiled this summer, which will include a'wallet' to store digital versions of official documents. This will begin with a veteran's card, followed by a pilot of driving licences. The wallet will make use of security features already built into modern smartphones – such as facial recognition – for protection.

Zoom users in the not-too-distant future could send AI avatars to attend meetings in their absence, the company's chief executive has suggested, delegating the drudge-work of corporate life to a system trained on their own content. Such a system would be "five or six years" away, Eric Yuan told The Verge magazine, but he added that the company was working on nearer-term technologies that could bring it closer to reality. "Let's assume, fast-forward five or six years, that AI is ready," Yuan said. "AI probably can help for maybe 90% of the work, but in terms of real-time interaction, today, you and I are talking online. So, I can send my digital version, you can send your digital version."

When she discovered her voice had been uploaded to multiple websites without her consent, the actor Cissy Jones told them to take it down immediately. "Others who have more money in their banks basically sent me the email equivalent of a digital middle finger and said: don't care," Jones recalls by phone. "That was the genesis for me to start talking to friends of mine about: listen, how do we do this the right way? How do we understand that the genie is out of the bottle and find a way to be a part of the conversation or we will get systematically annihilated? I know that sounds dramatic but, given how easy it is to steal a person's voice, it's not far off the mark."

A key feature of Apple's Vision Pro VR, er, spatial computing headset is Personas that that lets people see a digital version of themselves during calls, Zoom meetings, etc. At launch, they looked a bit creepy, but Apple has improved them considerably in the latest release, according to posts on X spotted by MacRumors. They're now more realistic, so users look less like impressionist paintings and more like humans. Once the visionOS 1.1 update is installed, you'll be prompted to recapture your Persona to get the "latest appearance updates" -- this is apparently done in part with the headset off and pointing at your face. Most users feel the updated Personas are better, and visually, they look less blurry and a touch more realistic, plus the proportions seem better.

The Video Game History Foundation set up shop back in 2017 and offers a gigantic collection of gaming-related archival materials, from magazines to art books and even source code. Previously, you'd have to make the trek to Oakland, California to peruse the archive, but that changes soon. The VGHF just announced a digital library that will offer remote access. These tools will be made available to researchers, academics and garden-variety gaming enthusiasts like the rest of us. The library will offer access to the collection "for free from anywhere in the world."

Adult film icon and media investor Riley Reid aims to bring the transformational capabilities of generative AI to adult entertainment with an online platform where users can chat with digital versions of content creators. But unlike other, scuzzier adult chatbots, Clona.AI's avatars are trained with explicit consent of the models' creators who have direct input in what the "AI companions" will, and won't, talk about. For $30 a month, fans and subscribers will be able to hold "intimate conversations" with digital versions of their favorite adult stars, content creators and influencers. The site's roster currently includes Reid herself and Lena the Plug. A free tier is also available but offers just five chat messages per month. "The reality is, AI is coming, and if it's not Clona, it's somebody else," Reid told 404 Media.

With the release of Android 14 creeping closer, Google just announced a makeover for the Android brand, which was last updated in 2019. The logo has been modernized, and the Android mascot, called Bugdroid, has a fresh 3D look. The company also unveiled a handful of new features for Google apps and Android devices, including a Google Assistant-powered widget and the option to store digital versions of library and gym cards in your Google Wallet. The new look is designed to "reflect Android's core ethos of being open, iterative, and inclusive." From now on, it's Android with a capital "A," and the Android logo has grown curvier, bringing it closer to the style of the Google logo.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak joined'Your World with Neil Cavuto' to discuss the dangers of artificial intelligence, comparing Steve Jobs to Elon Musk and more. In this era of hyper-personalized technology, Apple's Siri is making a leap from responding to your voice to mimicking it. Picture this: you're lounging on your couch, half-watching "The Crown," half-scrolling through your endless emails, and then you hear it - your voice reminding you about tomorrow's early morning meeting. It's as if you've stepped into an episode of "Black Mirror." CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH QUICK TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, SECURITY ALERTS AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER Welcome to iOS 17, where Siri will not just be your assistant but your voice twin too.