Author: Engadget Online News

The UK’s antitrust regulator will formally investigate Alphabet’s $2.3 billion Anthropic investment

The UK’s competition regulator is probing Alphabet’s investment in AI startup Anthropic. After opening public comments this summer, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said on Thursday it has “sufficient information” to begin an initial investigation into whether Alphabet’s reported $2.3 billion investment in the Claude AI chatbot maker harms competition in UK markets. The… Continue reading The UK’s antitrust regulator will formally investigate Alphabet’s $2.3 billion Anthropic investment

Latest UN report demands ‘unprecedented’ emissions cuts to salvage climate goals

The United Nations’ Environmental Program has released a new report with yet more dire news about our odds of avoiding climate disaster caused by greenhouse gas emissions. According to this assessment, the current trajectory of international commitments will see the planet’s temperature increasing 2.6 degrees Celsius or more over the course of this century. That… Continue reading Latest UN report demands ‘unprecedented’ emissions cuts to salvage climate goals

Good Omens’ final season will have only one episode

There’s time for one more Armageddon for Amazon’s Good Omens but not much. Amazon Prime Video announced that Good Omens would return for one final season last year, but TVLine reports it’s only going to have one 90-minute episode that will begin filming in Scotland soon. Amazon originally confirmed that author Neil Gaiman, who co-wrote… Continue reading Good Omens’ final season will have only one episode

President Biden sets up new AI guardrails for military, intelligence agencies

The White House issued its first national security memorandum outlining the use of artificial intelligence for the military and intelligence agencies. The White House also shared a shortened copy of the memo with the public. The new memo sets up guidelines for military and intelligence agencies for using AI in its day-to-day operations. The memo… Continue reading President Biden sets up new AI guardrails for military, intelligence agencies

iOS 18.2 has a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple

In iOS 18.2, Apple is adding a new feature that resurrects some of the intent behind its halted CSAM scanning plans — this time, without breaking end-to-end encryption or providing government backdoors. Rolling out first in Australia, the company’s expansion of its Communication Safety feature uses on-device machine learning to detect and blur nude content,… Continue reading iOS 18.2 has a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple

Bluesky’s upcoming premium plan won’t give paid users special treatment

Bluesky has revealed how it plans to start making money without necessarily having to rely on ads. The platform will remain free to use for everyone, though it’s working on a premium subscription that will provide access to profile customization tools (remember when Myspace offered that for free?) and higher quality video uploads. One thing… Continue reading Bluesky’s upcoming premium plan won’t give paid users special treatment

Google Photos will show when images have been modified with AI

Big tech firms have been releasing AI tools all over their software offerings over the past year. But as it becomes ever easier to manipulate images and video with generative AI, there’s been a second wave of launching companion policies to better inform people when that technology has been applied to content. Google is the… Continue reading Google Photos will show when images have been modified with AI

Overwatch 2’s long-awaited 6v6 tests start in December

It’s finally happening, Overwatch 2 fans: as Blizzard indicated back in July, it will test out a return to six-player teams. When the transition from the original game took place just over two years ago, Blizzard switched to a 5v5 format, dropping one tank from each side. But after countless requests from the community, the… Continue reading Overwatch 2’s long-awaited 6v6 tests start in December

Google Calendar’s web client finally gets a dark mode

Google Calendar’s web client just got a fairly significant refresh, all of which should bring the app more in line with Google Material Design 3. There are updated buttons, dialogs and sidebars to make the whole thing “more modern and accessible.” The interface typography got a custom-designed refresh that adds “highly-legible typefaces” to ensure a… Continue reading Google Calendar’s web client finally gets a dark mode