Technology news

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge A pair of Democratic lawmakers are seeking to give defendants more information about algorithms used against them in a criminal trial.
Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA) and Dwight Evans (D-PA) reintroduced the Justice in Forensic Algorithms Act on Thursday, which would allow defendants to access the source code of software used to analyze evidence in their criminal proceedings. It would also require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create

OpenAI just dropped an AI bombshell with its new video generating model Sora. The text-to-video diffusion model is capable of minute-long videos that are so realistic, it looks like the real thing. Reactions on X can be divided into two camps: "Is Sora going to make video production obsolete?" and "How can I try it?"Tweet may have been deletedAnswering the valid first question will undoubtedly be a long arduous battle for artistic rights, involving regulation at the highest level. Tweet may have

OpenAI just announced Sora, an AI model for generating videos. They look exactly how you think they might.On Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X asking users to "reply with captions for videos you'd like to see" and quote posting those with Sora's videos. There are plenty of valid concerns about generative AI, and the pace at which it's being developed. Still, after ChatGPT's AI-generated text and DALL-E's images, videos were the next natural step.SEE ALSO:OpenAI announces Sora, a wild A

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple is officially axing support for progressive web apps for iPhone users located in the European Union. While web apps have been broken for EU users in every iOS 17.4 beta so far, Apple has now confirmed that this is a feature, not a bug.In an update to its developer website spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple says it’s removing homescreen apps for users in the EU because bringing them into compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) would involve “an ent

Well, that was weird.Xbox's big, much-awaited "business update" came to pass on Thursday afternoon in podcast form. After a couple weeks of rumor-mongering alleging that certain Xbox-exclusive titles would start appearing on consoles like PS5 and Switch, Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed as much in the podcast. However, he didn't confirm exactly what we expected him to confirm.SEE ALSO:Xbox, Spotify leaders blast Apple for App Store changes. Here’s why.
Specifically, four mystery Xbox title

First text, then images, now OpenAI has a model for generating videos. On Thursday, the makers of ChatGPT and DALL-E announced Sora, a text-to-video diffusion model. As of today, Sora is available to red teamers, or experts who adversarially test the model for harms and risks. Per the announcement, it is also available to a select group or visual artists, designers, and filmmakers "to gain feedback on how to advance the model to be most helpful for creative professionals."SEE ALSO:OpenAI termina

The Verge Taken on their own, today’s gaming announcements from Microsoft might not seem all that earth-shattering. A handful of unspecified Xbox games are coming to rival platforms, the subscriber numbers for Game Pass have grown, Diablo IV will lead the rush of Activision Blizzard titles on Game Pass, and more hardware is on the way, including a powerful next-gen console and possibly a handheld. But they all point to a future that Microsoft hasn’t exactly been shy about: making Xbo

Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Accountable Tech The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has surpassed 60 Senate co-sponsors, enough supporters for it to pass through the chamber, the bill’s authors announced on Thursday.
The support marks a major milestone for the legislation, which seeks to create a duty of care for tech platforms to mitigate certain dangers to young users and allow them to opt out of algorithm-based recommendations. If it becomes law, it would be among the most signi

The Era 100 is a great starter speaker for anyone new to Sonos. | Image: Sonos I’ve been reluctant to jump into the Sonos game because I know just how addictive it can be once you’ve crossed over — like Pringles, I know I won’t stop at just one. It’s hard to keep resisting deals like the one we’re seeing at Woot today, though. Now through February 29th (or while supplies last), you can buy a two-pack of Sonos Era 100 speakers with a 90-day warranty for $409.99

The new Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Lego set. | Image: The Lego Group Lego has officially revealed its $220 take on Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, coming March 4th, and it looks incredible.It also looks a lot like a fan design!
This fan design, which twice gathered the required 10,000 votes to become a Lego Ideas set and was rejected by Lego each time: Image by HanwasyellowfirstA 2021 Lego Ideas submission.I definitely prefer the more thatched, lively look of Lego’s of

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Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft is teasing the potential for unique Xbox hardware in the future and a powerful next-gen console. Four previously exclusive Xbox games are officially coming to the PS5 and Nintendo Switch soon, and Microsoft wants to reassure Xbox fans that it’s still very much invested in the future of its platform and hardware.
In an official Xbox podcast today, Xbox president Sarah Bond teased that Microsoft will deliver “the largest technical leap”

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Microsoft has been gradually moving Xbox away from the idea of a single piece of hardware in recent years, with ambitions to reach billions of gamers across consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. Now it’s officially bringing four Xbox-exclusive games to PS5 and Nintendo Switch amid an “Xbox Everywhere” effort inside Microsoft that will likely see even more games arriving on rival consoles.It’s a seismic strategy shift that the company is downp

The Verge It’s official: Microsoft is bringing some Xbox-exclusive games to PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It’s part of a broader strategy shift inside Microsoft’s gaming business to grow games beyond just the company’s Xbox consoles.
“We’ve made the decision that we’re going to take four games to the other consoles,” reveals Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer on the official Xbox podcast. Bizarrely, Microsoft is refusing to name the four titles, but the

Beauty trends on TikTok are a revolving door. Last year's entries included: the clean girl aesthetic, strawberry girl, rat girl, latte makeup, and more. The app's latest favorite phenomenon is something called "visual weight." It's a dedicated filter that slices your face in two, applying heavier makeup on the left and lighter, more natural makeup on the right. But visual weight is much more complicated than simply applying makeup and, when done correctly, it can help you understand and celebrat

The Cranberries dropped "Linger" more than 30 years ago. Yet, for one reason or another, it is now having a moment on TikTok. But not how you might think. It seems like everyone and anyone is covering the song on TikTok right now. There are so many beautiful covers floating around. It is legit a trend to cover a wonderful, decades-old song.There are a number of variations of covers. But for the most part, the recent covers have focused on one verse and chorus.Chiefly, this part of the song: So w

Google has just announced (but not released) Gemini 1.5, an update to its flagship language model — the model used in the chatbot once known as Bard, but synergistically renamed Gemini a week ago. The big claim with this release is "a breakthrough in long-context understanding across modalities." It's also meant to be a step-up in terms of efficiency, having been built on an architecture type known as "Mixture-of-Experts (MoE)," meaning performance supposedly akin to Gemini 1.0, but relyin

OpenAI has confirmed that state-affiliated bad actors are using the company's tech for malicious purposes, a validation of what many have feared since the company's rise to prominence in the generative AI race. The discovery comes as part of a collaboration with Microsoft Threat Intelligence, a community of thousands of security experts, researchers, and threat hunters that analyze and detect cyber threats. Using the network's intelligence gathering, OpenAI discovered at least five confirmed sta

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Destination research? Check. Flights booked? Check. Beach attire purchased? Check. If the last thing on your list to prep for spring break is replacing luggage that no longer rolls through the airport, Amazon has great deals on options that'll leave you with plenty of time to pack.Today's best luggage deals at AmazonBest hard-side luggage dealAmerican Tourister Airconic (2 pack, deep ocean)$149.95 at Amazon(save $90.04) Get DealBest soft-side luggage dealSamsonite Ascella 3.0 (2 pack)$144 at Ama

Personal data from 200,000 Facebook Marketplace users were leaked to a hacker forum. Leaked data reportedly includes names, phone numbers, email addresses, Facebook IDs, and Facebook profile information. According to Bleeping Computer, the data was shared on a dark web forum by known leaker IntelBroker who says the data was hacked by someone who goes by "algoatson" on Discord. "In October 2023, a cyber criminal by the name of 'algoatson' on Discord, breached a contractor that manages cloud servi

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Tags on chips and a global registry of their locations can reduce the risks of AI espionage by hostile nations, experts say. The proposals were made in a new report on AI safety, which calls for a stronger regulation of hardware. Three Cambridge University institutes co-led the study paper, alongside OpenAI and the GovAI research community. They fear that governments are overlooking the dangers of compute, which could trigger disasters. Without tighter protections, they warn that

SAVE $50: As of Feb. 15, Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones are on sale at Amazon for $379, which is down from their normal price of $429. That's a discount of 12%.Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazonBose QuietComfort Ultra headphones$379 at Amazon (save $50)Get DealListening to your favorite album can be a much more exciting experience with the right pair of headphones. Whether you love dance pop or indie rock, it all sounds better with great cans. Bose has a reputation for making some particula

Microsoft will invest €3.2bn in AI tech in Germany over the next two years, the firm’s vice chair Brad Smith announced today. The investment will see the doubling of Microsoft’s AI and data centre infrastructure capacity in Germany, said Smith. It marks the largest single investment in Microsoft’s 40-year history in the EU country.  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the move, noting that it signifies a vote of confidence for Europe’s largest economy. 

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Lenovo is reportedly working on a transparent laptop, and it's bringing a concept device to this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This is according to leaker Evan Blass, who shared some images of the device on Twitter. Tweet may have been deletedBlass first shared the news of the device's existence last week, together with a couple of images, shared on Windows Report. The images show a laptop-like device with a completely bezel-less, semi-transparent display. The components are apparen

The Netflix adaptation of beloved David Nicholls novel One Day has hit the public (read: online) consciousness so hard, it’s like we’re bleeding sentimentality and nostalgia. A bestselling book, film, and now smash TV show, One Day follows the story of Emma and Dexter (played in the series by Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall), who meet at university and develop a close, perhaps unlikely, friendship. As we check in with our protagonists on the same day each year throughout their 2