RoboCup is an international scientific initiative with the goal of advancing the state of the art of intelligent robots, AI and automation. The annual RoboCup event took place from 15-21 July in Salvador, Brazil. The Logistics League forms part of the Industrial League and is an application-driven league inspired by the industrial scenario of a smart factory. Ahead of the Brazil meeting, we spoke with three key members of the league to find out more. Alexander Ferrein is a RoboCup Trustee overseeing the Industrial League, and Till Hofmann and Wataru Uemura are Logistics League Executive Committee members.

Opposition parties in Italy have complained to the communications watchdog about a series of AI-generated images published on social media by deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini's far-right party, calling them "racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic", the Guardian has learned. The centre-left Democratic party (PD), with the Greens and Left Alliance, filed a complaint on Thursday with Agcom, the Italian communications regulatory authority, alleging the fake images used by the League contained "almost all categories of hate speech". Over the past month, dozens of apparently AI‑generated photos have appeared on the League's social channels, including on Facebook, Instagram and X. The images frequently depict men of colour, often armed with knives, attacking women or police officers. Antonio Nicita, a PD senator, said: "In the images published by Salvini's party and generated by AI there are almost all categories of hate speech, from racism and xenophobia to Islamophobia. They are using AI to target specific categories of people – immigrants, Arabs – who are portrayed as potential criminals, thieves and rapists. "These images are not only violent but also deceptive: by blurring the faces of the victims it is as if they want to protect the identity of the person attacked, misleading users into believing the photo is real.

Are you a basketball fan? If so, you've undoubtedly heard of Joel Embiid, the talented center for the Philadelphia 76ers. Let's begin with his successes on the court. Embiid was chosen to the All-NBA Third Team and the All-Defensive Second Team in just his fifth season in the NBA. Additionally, he participated in his third consecutive All-Star game and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team for a second time in a row.

South Korean team DRX pulled a surprise victory over T1, the three-time Worlds winners. In the venue, the announcers described it as “a miracle run.”

K'Sante's launch was complicated by some of Riot's marketing efforts. Lil Nas X is this year's "League of Legends" World Championship performer, after the annual esports event "hosted" a group of virtual Korean pop stars called K/DA (a group invented by Riot) in years prior. Lil Nas X's collaboration came with a big marketing rollout: The singer debuted a new theme song, and starred in several advertisements where he pretended to be the so-called president of Riot Games. The collaboration will also help Riot sell in-game merchandise: Lil Nas X designed a cosmetic skin for K'Sante that will be sold for real money via in-game currency.

It's possible to love a video game. To be devoted to it, to value what it does for you, and how it makes you feel. To want the best for it. Not in the same way you love a person -- or at least, I hope not. But take a look at any major fan convention for video games, movies, TV, or almost anything that develops a subculture, and you can see this love is real, active, and powerful. And if it's possible to love a video game, then of course it's possible to fall out of love.

It's possible to love a video game. To be devoted to it, to value what it does for you and how it makes you feel, and to want the best for it. Not in the same way you love a person -- or at least, I hope not. But take a look at any major fan convention for video games, movies, TV, or almost anything that develops a subculture, and you can see this love is real, active, and powerful. And if it's possible to love a video game, then of course it's possible to fall out of love. To feel disconnected from what first drew you to it.

Watching "League of Legends" live for the first time in person, after years of following along while the tournament was held in Paris or Chinese cities, was a wild experience. I brought a friend with me, one who only casually plays "League." Sitting down in Hulu Theater at New York's Madison Square Garden this past weekend, I immediately felt a rush from seeing thousands in the crowd screaming, booing and cheering over things as small as an enemy stealing a red buff with smite, or a few players trying to return to base but getting stopped by an enemy spell. At first, it was blood-pumping. Feeling the crowd's nail-biting trepidation only added to a broader sense of communal joy.

Needham: The thing that's really cool about "Valorant" in general -- and you see it come through in our shows -- is it's very stylish, it's very cool, right? And it's got this high-intensity action to it in ways that are different than "League of Legends." You know, the "League of Legends" show for esports is technical. Our players watch that show to really learn how to get better at the game. We want to lean into that.

For the past two years, PlayVS (pronounced "play versus") has been the exclusive platform for high school competitions of "League of Legends." Anyone can play "League of Legends" free at home, but to compete in officially sanctioned high school leagues, students and schools had to pay PlayVS, which charges $64 per player per season. But the exclusive agreement between Riot and PlayVS barred these leagues from hosting interscholastic matches in "League of Legends," one of the most popular competitive games in the world.