A Super Bowl advert had sparked new scrutiny of the smart doorbell company`s privacy practices. Read...

ExLabs taps SpacePilot autonomy for its Apophis asteroid mission, underscoring AI-led control as commercial deep-space work intensifies. Read...

One developer is struggling with the social implications of a drive-by AI character attack. Read...

AI company Anthropic is now upgrading the free version of its Claude chatbot with several features that were previously exclusive to paying users, reports Engadget. Free users can now create and edit files like Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs directly within Claude. In addition, free users will have access to so-called Connectors, which make it possible to connect Claude to external services like Canva, Slack, Notion, Zapier, and PayPal. The Skills feature is also being opened up to free users, which means users can teach the chatbot to perform recurring tasks according to predefined instructions. The Claude upgrade also includes longer conversations, more interactive responses, and improved voice and image search. It comes at a good time, allowing Claude to differentiate itself from its competitors more strongly. Recently, OpenAI rolled out ads in the free version of ChatGPT—and when Anthropic subsequently promised no ads, it prompted a prickly response from OpenAI’s CEO. Read...

Google’s Notebook LM (an excellent app for students) has long had AI-generated audio summaries, but good news: that feature is now coming to Google Docs. The company just announced yesterday that Gemini in Google Docs can now read out summaries of your documents. The AI-generated audio summaries can go up to a few minutes long, compiled from information gathered across different tabs in the document. You can access the new feature in the Tools > Audio menu in Google Docs. A small media player will appear where you can select the playback speed (from 0.5x to 2x speed). You’ll also be able to choose between different voices for the summary readout, including options such as narrator, persuader, and coach. Google Google began rolling out the new feature yesterday, but it may take up to 15 days for the rollout to complete. It’ll be available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, Google Business and Enterprise customers, and as an add-on for Google Education accounts. Read...

BriefCatch acquires WordRake’s core tech and 12 US patents, aiming to fuse document-level and in-line legal editing in one platform. Read...

“This game rocks, 10/10” and “suxors, crashed every time” are both valid game reviews. But your interpretation of them might change if you knew the former was written by someone playing on an RTX 5090, and the latter was on a Surface RT tablet clinging on for dear life. Now Steam can give you that context, at least sometimes. The latest beta update to Steam gives users reviewing a game the option to attach their PC hardware specs. Thoughtful reviewers sometimes include this info anyway, but having a system for automating the process is a great way to add very useful information for readers who want to know more about how the game might run on their specific machine. Trying out the beta spec system while leaving a review on a relevant game store page, I’m glad to see that it’s optional and disabled by default. Keep in mind that even though Steam profiles are decently anonymous, adding in specific info on your hardware could aid in digital fingerprinting. You can also save multiple hardware configurations if you play on different machines, which I expect is very handy if you play on a conventional gaming desktop or laptop, plus a Steam Deck or other handheld. Unfortunately, it looks like even though the ability to add your PC specs to a review is enabled on the user side, those specs are not yet actually visible to people reading the reviews. I looked around at reviews posted today for the most popular games and couldn’t see any specs listed, and I didn’t see it even when I left a review myself and made sure to enable the feature. I can only assume the attached spec data is being saved, and visibility will be added later, perhaps when the feature exits beta and gets out to the general build. The test system is now live in the Steam beta build. If you’re on the standard Steam build, you can switch to the beta in the Steam settings menu by clicking Interface, then look under “Client Beta Participation.” Read...

Aurasell launches GTM OS, an AI-native overlay that automates go-to-market workflows across existing CRMs without risky system replacement. Read...

The Epic Games Store is once again offering free games this week, but one of them stands out as a can’t-miss special. I’m talking about Nobody Wants to Die, an unusual detective game built on Unreal Engine 5 and complete with an intriguing setting and story. We’re taken forward to the year 2329, where a futuristic society has achieved what humanity has always dreamed of: no more death. People can escape the Grim Reaper and live forever—by transferring their memories and personalities into new bodies via chips. When a series of wealthy personalities are murdered, Detective James Karra steps up to solve the case. The story presents itself as a mix of film noir, sci-fi/cyberpunk, and drama, focusing mainly on your decisions that influence the course of the investigation. Why Nobody Wants to Die is worth playing Nobody Wants to Die was released in July 2024 and received generally positive reviews. On PC, it has a score of 75 on Metacritic, with most reviews praising the exciting setting, the atmosphere, and the complex questions raised by the story. Those hoping for fast-paced action will be disappointed. Although the game is well-staged and has visually stunning scenes to offer, it’s repeatedly made clear to us that our character is not your classic hero but an introverted detective struggling with his own demons. Nobody Wants to Die normally costs $24.99, but you can score it for free between now and February 19th at 11 AM. All you have to do is sign up for an Epic account, add the game to your cart, then add it to your library. You can keep it even after the free period ends. The indie game The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark is also available for free during the same period. Read...

Ask around and you’ll hear more and more people saying that social media is a bane on society. The discussion around digital screen addiction is gaining momentum again, with some countries introducing age limits for social media and others considering outright bans. The latest news is that Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, has come under fire after he made a statement in connection with a trial in Los Angeles where Meta, TikTok, and YouTube are being prosecuted for their use of addictive algorithms. According to Mosseri, it shouldn’t be considered an “addiction” if a young person scrolls through Instagram for 16 hours a day, although he agrees that it can be “problematic.” “I’m sure I’ve said that I’ve been addicted to a Netflix show when I binged it really late one night, but I don’t think it’s the same thing as clinical addiction,” Adam Mosseri said (spotted by Neowin). In the trial, excessive use of social media—including but not limited to Instagram—is being linked to depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. But it remains to be seen what the judge will conclude. Even so, no one can deny that social media is affecting us. We actually tried a 1-week social media detox to see what kinds of benefits we might experience—and it surprised us! Read...