Nvidia’s AI NPCs will debut in a multiplayer mech battle game next year

The Verge
A picture showing a character standing in front of a mech, with captions showing the player asking about their next mission, and the NPC responding with information.
Mecha Break lets you ask for advice from in-game characters. | Screenshot: YouTube

Nvidia ACE, the company’s AI-powered system for giving voices and conversation skills to in-game characters, is set to debut in Mecha Break, a new multiplayer mech battle game coming to PC, Xbox X / S, and PlayStation 5 in 2025.

In Mecha Break, players can choose from a variety of mechs

Ukraine says it kept its plans for the Kursk offensive secret even from the Pentagon. Here's why.

Tech Insider
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden
Zelenskyy defiantly explained why he didn't share details of the Kursk incursion with the West.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

  • Zelenskyy said that he kept the Kursk offensive under wraps even from allied nations.
  • The Ukrainian president pushed back on Western doubts about unconstrained Ukrainian assaults.
  • Analysts say he may have also been mindful of past leaks of Ukrainian plans.

President Volodymyr

Politics

Sex wellness brand Bellesa launches outlet for inexpensive toys

Mashable
hand reaching into glowing drawer

Sexual wellness brand Bellesa makes adult products a bit more accessible. The company isn't just a sex toy shop, but also has a feminist porn site (link is very NSFW) — one of Mashable's top 10 places to click when you want to get off — that offers free videos.

Now, Bellesa has launched BB Outlet, an online platform that provides inexpensive sex toys. According to the press release, BB Outlet

I studied English literature and landed a job in AI out of college. Here's why I don't regret my major.

Tech Insider
Ramani Akkati standing in courtyard with pool and rows of trees behind her
Ramani Akkati studied English literature in college because she felt she could get good grades and liked to analyze different texts.

Ramani Akkati

  • Ramani Akkati transitioned from studying English literature to working in AI and data science.
  • She self-studied coding and AI through online courses and resources like MIT OpenCourseWare.
  • Akkati secured jobs in part by directly reaching out to startup CEOs

Disney, Fox, and WBD's plan to launch sports streamer Venu has backfired — and might put the cable bundle in jeopardy

Tech Insider
A TV with a smashed screen
The cable bundle as we know it may break apart after a ruling against Disney, Fox, and WBD.

Jena Ardell/Getty, Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

  • Venu Sports, a streaming joint venture from three media giants, just had a big setback.
  • A judge ruled that Venu can't launch in late August, as originally planned.
  • Even worse for Disney, Fox, and WBD is that the future of the whole cable bundle could

A couple left their home to move onto a residential cruise ship — see inside their cabin on Villa Vie Odyssey

Tech Insider
front of Villa Vie Odyssey
Villa Vie says its Odyssey cruise ship will soon set sail on its never-ending voyage that would circumnavigate the world every 3½ years.

Angela and Stephen Theriac

  • Angela and Stephen Theriac purchased a cabin on the upcoming residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey.
  • The ship plans to circumnavigate the world every 3½ years. Its launch has been delayed by three months.
  • The cheapest dual occupancy
Travel, Travel

Anova will charge customers to use its sous vide app, because everything must be a subscription

Engadget

Anova will soon start charging customers a monthly or yearly fee to use the “smart” features of its well-regarded sous vide cooking appliances. The subscription costs kick in on August 21 and apply to the proprietary app, which controls wireless functionality. In other words, you won’t be able to remotely control the device without paying the piper.

The subscription price isn’t exactly exorbitant

Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug may prevent diabetes — but there's 1 unanswered question

Tech Insider
mounjaro tirzepatide pen

Sandy Huffaker for The Washington Post via Getty Images

  • A 3-year-study of Zepbound and Mounjaro found the GLP-1 drugs can help prevent diabetes.
  • The weekly injections cut the risk of developing diabetes by 94% among adults with high blood sugar.
  • The drugs also prompted significant weight loss: on average, 12-23% of body weight.

First, these new injectable drugs were meant to treat diabetes. Then, they

Why some people on dating apps just want to be 'pen pals'

Mashable
A brown envelope with a red heart on top of it, on a pale pink background.

As a kid, there was nothing I loved more than seeing a handwritten letter arrive on my doormat from one of my pen pals. I treasured every letter and postcard, storing them in a shoe box covered with a collage of my own fabulous design (I still have them to this day).

In my (deeply wholesome) childhood obsession with pen pals, never in a million years would I imagine that my future self would