While the Switch 2 has backwards compatibility, Nintendo is releasing upgraded versions of its old games with enhanced framerates and resolution, as well as extra content. It's also selling upgrades cheaper than full games, which you can get for titles you already own. The upgrades for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will set you back $10. Now, the company has started revealing more upgrade prices for old games, and it looks like the ones for Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree will cost you twice as much at $20. 

NintendoLife first posted about the upgrades' potential prices based on their eShop listings for Europe. The company has updated its US eShop since then to show that they're also being sold for $20 in the country. If you buy the upgrade for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, you're getting access to a new part of the game called Star-Crossed World, wherein you have to uncover the mystery surrounding the meteor that struck the world. Meanwhile Super Mario Party Jamboree comes with Jamboree TV, a game show hosted by Toad. The Switch 2 version of the title uses the console's Joy-Con 2 and microphone, and if you use its camera, you can also put your face into the action during mini-games. 

Super Mario Party Jamboree for the Switch 2 will be available on July 24, while Kirby's Switch 2 edition will be available on August 28. Both games will set you back $80 if you buy the full Switch 2 version instead of upgrading an old copy. Nintendo has yet to release the prices for the Switch 2 editions of Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which will be available later this year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-charges-20-for-mario-party-jamboree-and-kirby-switch-2-upgrades-140031152.html?src=rss

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OpenAI is giving free ChatGPT users limited access to its Deep Research tool without the need to pay for it. In addition, the company has expanded the tool's limits for all users by rolling out a lightweight version of it powered by its o4-mini model. It says the o4-mini Deep Research feature produces slightly shorter responses, but is "nearly as smart, more cost-efficient and delivers similarly high-quality results" as the original version. OpenAI previously released the tool for use by paying Pro, Plus, Team, Edu and Enterprise subscribers. But even they have a limited number of Deep Research queries per month. 

Plus users, for instance, only had access to 10 inquiries, whereas Pro subscribers paying $200 monthly had a limit of 125. Now, when users hit their limit on the original version, ChatGPT will switch over to the lightweight one. Plus and Team subscribers are now getting an extra 15 Deep Research inquiries a month on top of their 10, while Pro users are getting an additional 125 tasks powered by the lightweight version of the tool on top of their 125. Enterprise and Edu users are getting access to the lightweight tool next week and will get 15 more inquiries every month. As for free users, they can use the tool powered by o4-mini to get up to five answers monthly. 

Deep Research has the capacity to analyze websites and various sources to create thorough reports with citations. The company says the tool is "fine-tuned on the OpenAI o3 reasoning model," but the lightweight version is "significantly cheaper to serve."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-deep-research-tool-is-coming-to-free-accounts-123031773.html?src=rss

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Perplexity has rolled out an update for its iOS app, giving iPhone users access to its AI voice assistant that was initially released for Android users earlier this year. Its voice assistant can perform tasks for the user by browsing the web or accessing other apps for them. If they ask the assistant to find them a table for a specific restaurant, for instance, Perplexity can launch the OpenTable app with the number of people, the date and the time already filled out. The user still has to perform the final action and book a reservation, but it's already laid out for them — all they have to do is click the button. 

Users can also ask the assistant to draft emails for them for specific contacts, which they'll have to send themselves, and create reminders for them on the calendar. They can ask it to recommend them spots they could visit, such as restaurants serving food they want to eat, and Perplexity will mark locations on the map. Of course, they can ask the assistant to do web searches for them, such as finding specific videos that Perplexity can open on the YouTube app. 

As The Verge notes, Perplexity's voice assistant works on older iPhones, unlike Apple Intelligence that only works on the company's more recent models. The iOS assistant also doesn't have the capability to look at the world for the user and tell them what they're seeing yet, though the feature is already available on Android and could make its way to iPhones in the future. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/perplexitys-ios-app-gets-an-ai-voice-assistant-130035088.html?src=rss

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More people worldwide will be seeing ads on Threads in the future. Back in January, Meta launched a small test of ads visible to a subset of users in the US and Japan, which included a handful of brands. Threads was completely ad-free since it became available a year-and-a-half before that, though Meta had been planning to put ads on the service months before the test began. Now, Meta is rolling out ads on Threads to over 30 countries globally. That means the advertisements will reach a bigger percentage of its 300 million users, though it will be interesting to see if their rollout will have any impact on the service's steady growth. 

Meta didn't list out those 30 countries, and it also didn't say how often ads will show up in people's feeds. Like in the initial test period though, the advertisements will appear in between organic content or posts from people and friends users follow. Meta is opening up ads on Threads to all its eligible advertisers around the world, as well, so users will be seeing placements from more companies, including ones local to their countries. The company told us that it's adopting a phased approach to its rollout, so advertisements might appear more and more frequently on the service as time goes on. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-expands-ads-to-threads-users-in-over-30-countries-150535654.html?src=rss

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Google will not make any to changes to how third-party cookies work on the Chrome browser at all. Anthony Chavez, Google VP for Privacy Sandbox, has announced that the company has "made the decision to maintain [its] current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome." It will also "not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies" that would have allowed users to opt out of being tracked by advertisers. Google has made the announced a few days after a federal judge ruled that it has an illegal monopoly on online advertising. 

The company originally announced that it was going to phase out third-party tracking cookies in 2022 as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to make the web more secure and private to use. But due to a series of delays and regulatory hurdles — the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the US Department of Justice both looked into Google's initiative out of concerns that it could harm smaller advertisers — the planned deprecation got delayed to 2024 and then again to 2025. 

Last year, Google ultimately decided that it wasn't going to kill third-party cookies and will instead introduce "a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing." That new experience isn't coming. In his new announcement, Chavez said that a lot has changed since the Privacy Sandbox initiative debuted, and Google has taken new developments in privacy-enhancing technologies that secure people's browsing into consideration when it made its decision.

Despite killing all its plans to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, Google will keep the Privacy Sandbox initiative alive. Chavez said it will continue enhancing tracking protections in Chrome's incognito mode, such as launching IP Protection later this year, and will continue working on features like Safe Browsing, Safety Check and built-in password protections.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will-keep-third-party-tracking-cookies-on-chrome-as-they-are-130026362.html?src=rss

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Duolingo will soon add chess to its list of non-language courses, alongside music and math. The company has revealed that it will add chess lessons to its app, which will initially be available in beta in its iOS app. Senior product manager Edwin Bodge told Cnet that Duolingo is catering to "more of a beginner, medium [player]" in an effort to make the game more accessible. The app will start by asking you how much you know about chess and then tailoring lessons based on your level — it will even teach you how each piece moves if you're a total newbie. 

If you already know how each piece moves, then you'll play against Duolingo's character Oscar in mini-puzzles, wherein you'll have to capture certain pieces using a specified piece, like a rook. The puzzles are meant to get you used to how each piece moves, especially since you'll get hints for each lesson. If you move a piece where it can't go several times, Duolingo will put a big arrow on where a piece could go. But since there are many ways to move a piece around the chessboard, the app won't tell you if you made the wrong choice. It can only tell you in a banner how it wasn't the best move out of all the available options. 

In addition to the mini-puzzles, you'll be able to play full games against Oscar that scale up in difficulty based on your level, but you can't play against other learners just yet. Cnet says Duolingo is still looking into adding that feature, though it won't be part of the beta version that will be available sometime in mid-May. The company also said that it's working to make chess lessons available on Android and in languages other than English in the coming months. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/duolingo-will-soon-start-offering-chess-lessons-121545964.html?src=rss

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Kia's first all-electric sedan, the 2026 EV4, is making its official debut in the US today at the New York International Auto Show. The automaker first announced the vehicle in Spain back in February, with the promise that it will release the model in the USA, as well. It's built on top of the company's 400V Electric Global Modular Platform, which serves as the basis for all of Kia's electric vehicles. In the US, the EV4 will come with a built-in North American Charging Standard (NACS) port for compatibility with Tesla charging stations. 

The Kia EV4 has two battery options: A standard 58.3 kWh battery for the Light model and a long-range 81.4 kWh battery for the Wind and GT-Line models. Kia says its Light and Wind models have an estimated range of 235 miles and 330 miles, respectively. However, they're manufacturer estimates and not official EPA numbers yet. You can charge the car from 10 to 80 percent within just 28 minutes for the Light battery and 31 minutes for the long-range battery. No matter what model you choose, the vehicle comes with a front-mounted 150 kW motor and Kia's Advanced Driver Assistance features. Unfortunately, the automaker didn't reveal how much it would cost you to get one, possibly because it has yet to attach an official price tag to the EV4 due to the tariffs the US government is imposing on cars and car parts made outside the country. 

In addition to the EV4, Kia is also showcasing the EV9 Nightfall Edition at the Auto Show. The Nightfall edition of the company's three-row electric SUV is covered in a Gloss Black finish, including its 20-inch wheels, and has a dark Kia emblem. Even its interior is in black. The Nightfall EV9 will be manufactured at Kia’s West Point, Georgia assembly plant and is expected to be available in the US in the second quarter of 2025.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/the-kia-ev4-makes-its-us-debut-at-the-new-york-auto-show-140036813.html?src=rss

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xAI has launched a new interface for its Grok chatbot that could be compared to ChatGPT's Canvas. The Elon Musk-helmed AI company has introduced the first version of Studio, which can generate documents, code and even browser games on a separate window. If you ask Grok to write an essay for you, for instance, you'll find text formatting buttons (Bold, Italics and Underline) at the top of the interface. You'll also find a a drop-down menu with header options and buttons to create bullet and numbered lists. 

If you ask Grok to write code for you, you'll immediately see how it runs on a preview tab that you can switch to on the upper part of the interface. In addition to being able to preview HTML, the chatbot can also run and preview Python, C++, Javascript, Typescript and bash scripts. In addition, the company has added Google Drive support for Grok, which now works with documents, spreadsheets and slides. You can upload a spreadsheet and ask it to use information from the file to prepare a report for you, complete with charts and illustrations, open an essay you want to edit, or slides you'd like to jazz up. Grok Studio is available for all premium and free users. You don't have to type in a prompt or click anything to activate it, but you'll have to sign up for an account and sign in before you can access its features. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/xais-grok-launches-studio-interface-for-documents-and-code-123016714.html?src=rss

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Netflix has started testing a new search feature powered by OpenAI that can help customers find movies and shows to watch, according to Bloomberg. The streaming service has reportedly given select users in Australia and New Zealand the option to use the tool. It will allow users to search for terms other than a specific show's title, an actor's name or the genre they want to watch. Bloomberg says it will give them a way to search for content using more specific terms, like their mood. Presumably, that means the service can surface dramatic shows for a search query that says "sad," and seeing as it's powered by generative AI, users will most likely be able to use natural language in their search terms. 

As the news organization notes, Netflix already uses artificial intelligence for some of its existing features, such as learning user's preferences based on their viewing history to recommend titles they're more likely to watch. And it's looking for more ways to use the technology. At the moment, OpenAI-powered searches are only being tested in the two countries, but Netflix reportedly has plans to expand its testing to more markets, including the United States. The company has history of rolling out features to Android users first before making them available on iOS. This time, however, the feature is currently accessible on iOS devices only, and it's unclear if the next test markets will be able to access it on Android. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/netflix-is-reportedly-testing-a-search-function-powered-by-openai-190025983.html?src=rss

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On April 14, Waymo will start testing its robotaxi technology outside the US for the first time. As Yomiuri Shimbun reports, the company will deploy 25 of its electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in Tokyo for the initial phase of its testing program. Waymo is taking it slow and will not be operating them without a driver behind the wheel yet, however. Drivers from Tokyo taxi company Nihon Kotsu Co. will be driving the cars around Chiyoda, Minato, Shinjuku and four other wards in the Japanese capital. 

The cameras and radars equipped on the I-PACE vehicles will collect data on Tokyo's roads, which are typically narrower than roads in the US. They'll provide the company with information on local infrastructure, road conditions and the driving patterns of locals. "It's important for us to understand the difference in driving environment, what makes the driving here unique," said Nicole Gavel, Waymo Senior Director, during an event in the city. Waymo will have to adjust its software according to the driving conditions and the capital's rules, after all. Gavel said that Waymo is focused on the testing for now but "would love to have a business" in Tokyo in the future. 

But that's probably a long ways away: After the initial mapping phase, Waymo will still have to conduct autonomous driving tests with a driver behind the wheel, and then tests without a driver on board. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-will-start-testing-its-self-driving-taxis-in-tokyo-next-week-163016736.html?src=rss

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Meta has announced that Patrick Collison and Dina Powell McCormick are joining its board of directors on April 15. Collison is the co-founder and CEO of Stripe, the payment processor and financial services company that he started with his brother. He is also the co-founder of the Arc Institute, a biomedical science and technology institution. Meanwhile, Powell McCormick was a partner at Goldman Sachs and ran its Global Sovereign investment banking business. She also worked for the US government and served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump during his first term. 

Powell McCormick helped shape the Trump administration's foreign policy, especially in regards to the Middle East as an Egyptian-American. She served as an Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives during Trump's first term, as well. Her Trump-era appointments weren't the first time she worked in the US government, though: Back during the George W. Bush administration, she served as the Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Deputy Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy. She is married to Republican senator Dave McCormick. 

"Patrick and Dina bring a lot of experience supporting businesses and entrepreneurs to our board. Patrick is deeply committed to expanding economic opportunity, and Dina has a long career advocating for economic development and supporting entrepreneurs. Their perspective will be extremely valuable to businesses that rely on our services to grow," Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. 

In January, Meta also welcomed UFC CEO Dana White, who's a known friend and associate of Donald Trump and a supporter of his re-election bid, to its board of directors. White's and Powell McCormick's additions to Meta's board are signs that the company is tacking right now that Trump is back in power, and perhaps one of the ways the company is ingratiating itself to the current administration. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/metas-new-board-members-include-former-trump-security-advisor-121510374.html?src=rss

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When Nintendo launched the Switch 2, it also revealed that it was going release upgraded versions of several existing Switch games, including both Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. It also revealed that games for the upcoming console will cost you more than what you're usually paying for games now. If you were hoping that the $70 price tag for the upgraded Breath of the Wild will at least include its DLC Expansion Pack, though, you're unfortunately out of luck. The company has told IGN that you will have to pay an extra $20 for the game's DLC season pass. 

"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition does not include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass DLC. That DLC is available as a separate purchase," a spokesperson told the publication. 

To be clear, you don't have to buy the new version if you don't want to. The Switch 2 has backwards compatibility, and you can play your old copy of the game if you still have it — it was released way back in 2017 — and its DLC at no additional cost. If you own a copy for the first Switch and want to enjoy the new version's enhanced framerates and resolution, as well as HDR support, you can purchase an upgrade pack for $10. But if you're buying the Switch 2 version new, then you'll have to be prepared to pay $90 to get the base game and its DLC.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-70-switch-2-version-of-breath-of-the-wild-wont-even-come-with-dlc-140032303.html?src=rss

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Microsoft is gradually rolling out new preview features to Windows Insiders, including Recall, which has been the target of critics' security and privacy concerns since it was announced. It was originally supposed to be a preview experience that's broadly available to all Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs when the first batch of AI-assisted devices hit the market in June last year. But Microsoft pushed back its release to ensure the feature was truly secure. It delayed the tool's rollout yet again in October 2024 to "refine the experience before previewing it with Windows Insiders."

Recall lets you quickly jump back to whatever you previously had open on your screen, whether it's a web page, an image, a document, an email or a chat thread. It works by regularly taking screenshots of your activity in the background, which it then saves into a searchable database. If you want to go back to a particular task you were doing in the past, you can either browse through the screenshots in the tool's timeline and choose one or type a query in the search bar of its interface with a description of what you're looking for using natural language. 

Due to the privacy and security concerns around Recall, Microsoft made it an opt-in feature. You'll have to explicitly enable it, and you'll have to verify your identity with a Windows Hello authentication method before you can access your snapshots. Further, you can delete any snapshot you want, and you can pause saving them anytime. As The Verge notes, Microsoft previously made Recall available to a smaller number of test users, but releasing it to all Insiders brings it one step closer to a wide release.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/microsoft-is-rolling-out-its-controversial-recall-feature-to-windows-insiders-130003854.html?src=rss

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Lucid Motors has announced that it's acquiring certain facilities in Arizona owned by Nikola, an EV truck maker that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in February. It will also offer more than 300 former Nikola employees jobs across its facilities in the state, including roles in engineering, software, assembly, vehicle testing and warehouse support. Lucid says that most of the space it's buying is comprised of state-of-the-art manufacturing and warehousing buildings. It's also getting the equipment inside those buildings, such as Nikola's battery and environmental testing chambers, machining equipment and a full-size chassis dynamometer, among others. 

Nikola, which was founded in 2015, used those facilities as its factory, headquarters and development center for zero-emission heavy trucks. When it announced its bankruptcy in February, the company also said that it was going to sell off its assets. Lucid didn't say how much it's paying for the purchase, but the deal is valued at $30 million in cash and non-cash considerations, according to Electrek. The acquisition is part of Lucid's planned expansion in Arizona, but it still has to be approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. 

"As we continue our production ramp of Lucid Gravity and prepare for our upcoming midsize platform vehicles, acquiring these assets is an opportunity to strategically expand our manufacturing, warehousing, testing, and development facilities while supporting our local Arizona community," said Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO at Lucid. The company launched its electric SUV, Gravity, 2024. At the moment, only the $94,000 Grand Touring trim is available, but Lucid plans to start production for the $79,900 Touring model sometime this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/lucid-to-buy-nikolas-arizona-ev-facilities-after-the-latters-bankruptcy-123027329.html?src=rss

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OpenAI has filed a countersuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of staging press attacks and malicious campaigns on "the social media platform he controls," as well as of making "harassing legal claims" and a "sham bid for OpenAI's assets." In its filing, courtesy of TechCrunch, the ChatGPT-maker said Musk could not tolerate seeing such "success for an enterprise he had abandoned and declared doomed" and had made it his own project to take down the organization. It also said that Musk's efforts have ramped up in recent months after it announced its plans to restructure and become a for-profit entity with a non-profit division. 

Last year, Musk sued OpenAI, accusing it of ditching its nonprofit mission, becoming a "closed-source de facto subsidiary" Microsoft and of violating its foundational agreement to develop generative AI "for the benefit of humanity." But Musk, OpenAI said in its new lawsuit, is only pretending to represent the public and in truth is seeking to stop it from restructuring. Musk "advised that a similar reorganization was needed to salvage OpenAI's mission" years ago when he was still part of the company, it said.

After Musk filed a lawsuit last year, OpenAI published old emails from when he was still involved in its operations. The organization said Musk was there when it first started talking about going for-profit and even wanted majority equity, control of the initial board of directors and the CEO position. It also published an email wherein Musk suggested merging OpenAI with Tesla so that the automaker could fund its work. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and eventually founded his own generative AI company, xAI. The AI company recently purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, for $33 billion. 

In a tweet, OpenAI said that Musk's actions are just "bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI" and that he's spreading false information about the organization, as well as aiming to seize control of its technology for his personal benefit. In its lawsuit, it said that Musk "should be enjoined from further unlawful and unfair action" and should be "held responsible for the damage he has already caused." OpenAI has to complete its reorganization by the end of this year or its private funding could be cut by as much as $10 billion. 

In response, Musk's legal team told Reuters that if OpenAI had taken a close look at his offer for the company, then it would know that the bid was serious and not a sham. "It's telling that having to pay fair market value for OpenAI's assets allegedly 'interferes' with their business plans," Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff told the news agency. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-files-countersuit-against-elon-musks-bad-faith-attacks-123030861.html?src=rss

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Netflix has released a game called Thronglets based on episode seven of the latest season of Black Mirror. It's like a game of Tamagotchi and Pokémon, with dark, existential themes like what you'd expect from a tie up for the series would be. Thronglets was developed by Night School, the same studio behind Oxenfree that Netflix had acquired in 2021. "Our explorations in narrative gameplay and Netflix’s track record of supporting diverse storytellers was such a natural pairing," said Sean Krankel, the founder of Night School Studio, at the time. 

In the series, Thronglets is at the center of episode seven's story, which is set in the same universe as Netflix's interactive movie Bandersnatch. It's a long-lost game by Tuckersoft, the same gaming studio in the movie, that hasn't been seen since it was cancelled in 1994. In the game, you'll have to hatch, evolve and raise creatures called Thronglets, bathing them, feeding them and entertaining them as they multiply more quickly than gremlins. Netflix says the game is not really only about raising virtual creations, though, but about "exploring the depths of human nature and the consequences of our digital obsessions." 

When you build groups of Thonglets known as a Throng, you can unlock video fragments of a documentary titled Ritman Retrospective. The videos are from a series of interviews with Tuckersoft chief Mohan Thakur (Asim Chaudhry) and the game's creator Colin Ritman (Will Poulter). At the end of the game, you'll get a personality test result that you can share on your socials. Thronglets, like Netflix's other games, are free to play on its iOS and Android app for anybody who has an account. It comes after the company's first gaming boss Mike Verdu left the company and after it announced that it will put a focus on party and narrative games. The new season of Black Mirror arrives on the streaming service today. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-black-mirror-game-thronglets-is-real-and-available-for-ios-and-android-070128362.html?src=rss

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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released the administration's revised policies for the use of AI in federal agencies. As Reuters notes, it has altered Biden-era guidelines and has rescinded orders by the previous administration related to safety over the technology's use. The Trump administration said it's shifting towards a "forward-leaning, pro-innovation and procompetition mindset" instead of maintaining and "pursuing the risk-averse approach" of Biden's government. 

Before Trump took office, the government ordered federal agencies to ensure that any AI tools they use "do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people" and to be transparent about the technologies they use. It also placed restrictions on AI acquisitions. According to the Trump administration, the new rules "will no longer impose unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions on the use of innovative American AI." 

Federal agencies will still have to appoint a Chief AI Officer like the previous administration had ordered. While Biden's government wanted those officers to ensure that agencies are using AI responsibly, their main role in the current government is to serve as "AI advocates," promoting agency-wide AI adoption. "Agency Chief AI Officer roles are redefined to serve as change agents and AI advocates, rather than overseeing layers of bureaucracy," the White House said. Accountability for using AI will be more akin to the existing process for using IT in the government, OMB said, "instead of creating new layers of approvals." In addition, the new rules remove what the new administration calls "burdensome agency reporting requirements" for the acquisition of AI in the government. 

The government now wants federal agencies to develop an AI strategy within the next six months. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-white-house-wants-federal-agencies-to-maximize-the-use-of-american-ai-123053019.html?src=rss

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Amazon's new feature could make it easier to get into the latest release in a series, especially if it's been some time since you've read the previous books. The new Recaps feature is part of the latest software update for the Kindle, and the company compares it to "Previously on..." segments you can watch for TV shows. Amazon announced Recaps in a blog post, where it said that you can get access to it once you receive the software update over the air or after you download and install it from Amazon's website. Amazon didn't talk about the technology behind the feature in its post, but a spokesperson has confirmed to TechCrunch that the recaps will be AI generated. 

Shortly after the feature rolled out, users talked about it on social media, wondering if Amazon is using generative AI to write series summaries. They expressed concerns about the use of generative AI, especially about the possibility of the technology hallucinating plot elements that aren't actually in the books. "We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content," Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta told the publication. Iraheta assured TechCrunch that Amazon's recaps are accurate, but of course, use it at your own risk. 

At the moment, the Recaps feature is available for best-selling English-language book series on all Kindle devices in the US. To know if your favorite series has one, look for the "View Recaps" button within the series page in your Kindle library. It will soon be available for the Kindle app on iOS, as well. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-will-use-ai-to-generate-recaps-for-book-series-on-the-kindle-170018503.html?src=rss

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Jamie Siminoff, who founded Ring and started the company in his garage, is back at Amazon after leaving the company as its CEO in 2023. Siminoff joined Amazon when the e-commerce website acquired Ring in 2018, but he left in 2023 and founded another startup that he sold to lock maker Latch Inc. When he left Amazon two years ago, he said that invention was his true passion. Now, he's taking on the role as the vice president in charge of not just Ring, but also Amazon's smart home camera unit Blink, the company's in-garage delivery operations called Key and the Amazon Sidewalk low-bandwith, long-range shared network. 

Siminoff is replacing Elizabeth Hamren, who took over his role two years ago. Hamren used to be the COO of Discord and was also an executive at Microsoft and at Meta. According to Bloomberg, she's still looking for new opportunities from inside and outside the company. 

In a post welcoming him back posted on the Amazon website, Siminoff briefly and broadly talked about his plans for the divisions he's heading. He plans to focus on security, on making people feel their "homes are safe, even when they’re thousands of miles away." Siminoff also wants to make sure Amazon's experiences related to home security "work seamlessly across different types of devices." In addition, he talked about how he's going to explore the use of artificial intelligence in Amazon's products and services in the future. "The AI transformation happening right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and I think we’re super well positioned with helpful and practical AI features like Smart Video Search," he said. "It's just the start here — we're just scratching the surface of what we can do with AI — and I look forward to digging into this with the team even more."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ring-founder-jamie-siminoff-is-back-at-amazon-to-run-its-video-doorbell-unit-130009731.html?src=rss

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© Ring

Midjourney has released the alpha version of V7, which it says is an "entirely new" AI image generation model and is much smarter at processing your text prompts. The image quality of its output is noticeably higher, the Midjourney team says, and can create better textures, bodies and hands. AI image generators typically struggle with creating accurate depictions of hands, but based on photos posted by some users on their socials, V7 is capable of spitting out some photorealistic images of human hands. 

The new model comes with a feature called "Draft Mode," which can render images at half the speed the program usually takes. Its results are rougher and less detailed, but it will cost half of what a standard generation costs. Midjourney says Draft Mode is the best way to iterate on ideas. You can use it, say, if you're collaborating with someone and just spitballing ideas with them — it works with voice, so you don't even have to type out each other's suggestions — or if you're unsure what kind of vibe you're going for. If you like an image Midjourney creates in Draft Mode, you can click "enhance" or "vary" on it to re-render it at full quality. 

At launch, V7 will have Turbo and Relax modes for standard rendering, with the former costing twice as much as a normal speed job on the V6 model. Midjourney needs more time to optimize its standard speed mode for V7, but it will make the option available in the future. The new mode is missing more capabilities, as well, including upscaling, editing and retexturing, which will fall back to the program's V6 model for now. Midjourney promises to roll out new updates for the model every week or two over the next two months.

To be able to test the alpha version of V7, you'll have to unlock your personalization profile first. Midjourney describes personalization as "a style assistant for your image creations," since it teaches the AI your visual preferences. You'll have to rank at least 200 pairs of images to create a V7 Global Personalization Profile and test the model. Personalization is switched on by default for the V7, but you'll be able to switch it off if you want. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/midjourney-launches-its-new-v7-ai-image-model-that-can-process-text-prompts-better-134546883.html?src=rss

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© Midjourney