For those will never tire of the words of Ursula K. Le Guin, a special treat is on the way. The esteemed late author's blog, which she started in 2010 at the age of 81, is being rereleased as a podcast, In Your Spare Time. Le Guin's blog ran until 2017, and a book collecting a selection of those posts was published that year. But, the podcast will include everything: essays, poems and "even the
Instead of raising prices again, Netflix may have to lower its subscription costs in Italy. A court in Rome recently ruled that Netflix owed its Italian users a refund for price hikes between 2017 and January 2024 and a reduction to previous subscription costs. On top of the refunds, Netflix Italia would have to inform its affected subscribers of their right to a refund.
The lawsuit was originally
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OpenAI executive Fidji Simo is taking a temporary medical leave to treat postural tachycardia
In short: Anthropic has blocked Claude Pro and Max subscribers from using their flat-rate plans with third-party AI agent frameworks, starting with OpenClaw. The move, which took effect on 4 April 2026, shifts the cost of running autonomous agents onto users through a pay-as-you-go billing tier. The creator of OpenClaw, who joined OpenAI in February, called […]
In short: Meta has suspended its collaboration with Mercor, a $10 billion AI data startup, after a supply chain attack exposed what may be the AI industry’s most closely guarded secrets: not just personal data, but the training methodologies that power the world’s leading large language models. The breach, carried out via a poisoned version of […]
Ruder Finn; Bonfire Partners
AI is upending a business that hasn't changed in generations.
Over the past
In short: WHOOP has raised $575 million in a Series G round that values the screenless health wearable company at $10.1 billion — nearly three times its 2021 valuation. Backed by sovereign wealth funds, leading medical institutions, and a roster of celebrity athletes, the Boston-based startup is positioning itself for an IPO. Its founder and CEO […]
Before it's publicly available later this year, the Irish government is trialing its Government Digital Wallet, which includes a way to verify a user's age to access social media platforms. In its press release, the government's Department of Public Expediture, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation said people can store digital versions of their birth certificates, driving
RuPaul's Drag Race fans are calling out the show over alleged use of AI-generated artwork.
The artwork appears in Season 18, episode 14, when host RuPaul Charles "paints" portraits of contestants Juicy Love Dion, Myki Meeks, Darlene Mitchell, and Nini Coco. Viewers were quick to point out that the portraits fell into the uncanny valley of AI slop, from the faint yellow filter on some images to some strange incongruities, like Juicy Love Dion's boa having three separate ends.
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On social media, fans and even former contestants like Season 16's Plasma expressed frustration over the show's possible use of AI. After all, RuPaul's Drag Race is a celebration of the art form of drag. Allegedly using AI feels like a betrayal of the very authenticity the series hopes to promote.
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This is not the first time RuPaul's Drag Race has come under fire for its use of AI. Last year, RuPaul's Drag Race released a short film on its YouTube channel titled "Jinkx & Plasma’s Gay Adventure!" The short featured AI-generated recreations of iconic RuPaul's Drag Race moments, resulting in major criticism from fans. It has since been made private on YouTube.
Mashable has reached out to RuPaul's Drag Race production company, World of Wonder, for further comment.
