Google has responded to allegations that it “censored” searches about Donald Trump after Elon Musk baselessly claimed the company had imposed a “search ban” on the former president. The issues, Google explained, were due to bugs in its autocomplete feature. But Musk’s tweet, which was viewed more than 118 million times, nonetheless forced the search giant to publicly explain one of its most basic features.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has determined that Amazon is responsible for hazardous or defective products sold
Cigarette butts pose a huge risk to the world’s oceans and can be a pain to clean up by hand especially on public spaces like beaches. A group of Italian scientists have built a quadruped robot that can identify litter and pick up the smaller bits with its leg mounted vacuums.
OpenAI has started rolling out its advanced Voice Mode feature. Starting today, a small number of paying ChatGPT users will be able to have a tete-a-tete with the AI chatbot. All ChatGPT Plus members should receive access to the expanded toolset by the fall of this year.
Spotify users who don't pay for a subscription can once again see lyrics for any song they listen to on the service. Back in May, the company began a wider rollout of a test that it initiated last fall, requiring a paid subscription to see lyrics to any track.
The Senate has passed two major online safety bills amid years of debate over social media’s impact on teen mental health. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, also known as COPPA 2.0, passed the Senate in a vote of 91 - T3.
The bills will next head to the House, though it’s unclear if the measures will have enough support to pass. If passed into law, the bills would be the most significant pieces of legislation regulating tech companies in years.
Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas in order to resolve a lawsuit that accused the company of illegally using facial recognition technology. The suit alleges that Meta used this tech to collect the biometric data of millions of Texans without consent. The agreement marks the largest financial settlement ever paid out to a single state.
When I attended the first hands-off briefing for Star Wars Outlaws at Summer Game Fest 2023, I left Ubisoft’s demo room on a high, thinking this could be the piece of media that finally pulls me into the Star Wars universe. I loved the focus on a solo protagonist, Kay Vess, and her cute merqaal pet, Nix. I adored the fact that developers said the game would tell a cohesive, linear story, rather than throwing players into an unfocused open world and calling it AAA. I was eager to get my hands on it.
It's the middle of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere, which means many of us are getting out and about to make the most of the warm weather. But there's little worse than finding yourself mid-hike or with several more acts to go at a festival only to find your phone is out of juice. To help you stay in touch with friends and share envy-inducing photos on Instagram, you might need a portable charger, and a solid Anker options is currently on sale.