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Disney Asked Character.AI to Go Bankrupt for a Get-Out-of-Lawsuits Card The entertainment giant hopes to get trust and safety tech, among other IP, from a startup whose chatbots dozens of states allege encouraged minors to self-harm and kill their parents. This week, Character.AI declared bankruptcy. While some saw the fall of a chatbot platform as a harbinger for the industry, court filings indicate that the decision was actually a key part of a deal that has let Disney hire most of Character.AI's staff--including its now former CEO Karandeep Anand --potentially acquire most of Character.AI's technology, and avoid the beleaguered startup's many legal liabilities and obligations. In the past few years, Character.AI has faced multiple private lawsuits over the safety of its chatbots, as well as investigations from regulators around the world. In a declaration filed as part of the bankruptcy, Character.AI's newly appointed CEO explained that the goal of the bankruptcy was to reach a "consensual resolution" with personal injury claimants and a group of states investigating the company, while maximizing the value of the company's assets for shareholders.

Trending Now Say More Look Up In My Bag Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable @Home Mashable Selects Top creators, ranked Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Creator Playbook AI at School Safety Net All Series Today's will be easier for those who've been to an NFL game. As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original, the game is all about finding the common threads between words. And just like, resets after midnight, and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier -- so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest solution.

Trending Now Say More Look Up In My Bag Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable @Home Mashable Selects Top creators, ranked Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Creator Playbook AI at School Safety Net All Series Every hint, nudge and outright answer you need to complete today's NYT Strands puzzle. Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you come in a small package. Strands, the ' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters -- up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer.

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Character.AI, a controversial generative AI startup that lets users create their own chatbot characters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which lost key talent to Google and had its former CEO hired by Disney, allowed Disney to make the first offer on its assets for 20 million, pending higher offers. Character expects the sale to be completed by early December. In its blog post, Character said it filed for Chapter 11 protection to facilitate the sale of the company and its assets, listing liabilities of between 50 million and 100 million. As the lead "stalking horse" bidder, Disney would buy certain assets and provide transition support using staff it previously hired from Character.AI.

Epic Games is going all in on AI for game development. The studio has been working on games for Disney, but sources told Bloomberg that its upcoming release has been delayed in order to use more AI for its creation. The publication reported that one of the game's directors informed the team that the project would be adopting an "AI first" production plan. "No more hand-written code," the internal message stated, as well as ordering all art for the project to be "generated with full AI workflows." The publication's sources said this new approach was not universally well-received by the devs, with some employees allegedly hoping that the request wasn't totally serious.

The company is also apparently willing to let bygones be bygones -- Disney has announced that it's hiring Karandeep Anand, the former CEO of Character.AI, as its first chief technology officer. "Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, and will be a vital addition to Disney's senior leadership team as we further our three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney," Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro said in a statement. "He also has real enthusiasm and respect for Disney, a clear sense of where technology and creativity meet and shares our belief that technology creates the most value when it helps people do their best work." Since becoming CEO in February, D'Amaro has leaned hard into Disney's capabilities as a technology company, pitching the Disney streaming service and app as central to its future. Hiring Anand, and making him a direct report, is a further attempt to sell that idea.

Trending Now Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Mashable Selects Mashable Voices Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Switch Off In My Bag All Series Disney and the NFL just paired every team with a character -- here's your team's match Somewhere, Doctor Doom is thrilled to be an Eagle. Soumya is a deals writer who covers consumer tech, shopping deals, and the products people use every day. With experience writing about everything from AI tools and software to smartphones and home gadgets, she enjoys breaking down product research into clear, useful recommendations. When she's not tracking deals, she's usually comparing products, digging through reviews, and figuring out what actually makes a purchase worth it. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Look Up Say More Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series D23 2026: Every movie and series announced and shown at this year's fan event From'X-Men' bombshells to Pixar sequels, here's what you need to know. Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.