Category: Technology

AI-generated content can be found everywhere online, including your Google News feed. A report from 404 Media revealed that Google is boosting websites filled with AI-generated articles ripped from other outlets. While this isn’t a total surprise, the revelation is disappointing. Google News used to be a place you’d find the latest and most accurate information on most topics. But just because something makes it to Google News doesn’t necessarily mean the information is reliable.

404 Media cited several examples of AI-written articles getting past Google. One example involved a “news site” called Worldtimetodays, that recently published an article about Star Wars. An analysis of the article showed it was highly similar to one published earlier by Distractify. The Worldtimetodays article included the same author photo along with some odd phrasings, as you’d expect with AI. The ripped article read “Let’s be honest, war of stars fans,” instead of Star Wars fans. The site also had articles that were barely rewritten from Heavy, without bothering to replace Heavy’s watermarked images.

As AI advances and becomes even more accessible, we will likely continue to see mass output of plagiarized articles and unreliable information on Google News. Because as of right now, it’s clear Google may not be ready to fully audit the articles populating its news feed. The company told 404 Media that while it tries to filter spam on Google News, it isn’t overly concerned whether an article is written by humans or AI. A Google representative said it’s more about the quality of the content.

“Our focus when ranking content is on the quality of the content, rather than how it was produced. Automatically-generated content produced primarily for ranking purposes is considered spam, and we take action as appropriate under our policies,” the statement read.

Google went on to reiterate that websites are considered for Google News automatically, and new websites may not be immediately detected by the system. The company added that its goal is to reward “original content that demonstrates things such as expertise and trustworthiness,” but it looks like it’s missing the mark by letting these AI-generated articles through in the first place.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/your-google-news-feed-is-likely-filled-with-ai-generated-articles-194654896.html?src=rss 

Avowed, the fantasy roleplaying game from Outer Worlds studio Obsidian Entertainment, is due to hit Xbox and PC in the fall. This is a slight update from the game’s original release window, which was just “2024.” Specifically, Avowed will hit Xbox Series X/S, PC via Xbox and Steam, and it’ll be available through Game Pass on day one.

Avowed is an expansive first-person RPG with old-school fantasy vibes. Players will set off on a journey across the Living Lands, on a mission for the kingdom of Aedyr. A plague is spreading across the island of the Living Lands and players have been sent to investigate what’s going on — along the way, they’ll discover how they’re personally tied to the region and its mysteries.

The game supports multiple play styles, allowing players to approach combat and conversations in their own ways. The world is filled with magic, monsters, firearms, swords and shields, and companions will join the party along the way. If you liked Skyrim, you’ll probably like Avowed.

Obsidian is known for creating Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Pentiment, Outer Worlds, and other mainstream games. Microsoft purchased the studio in 2018.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/avowed-obsidians-big-fantasy-rpg-will-land-in-fall-2024-203343619.html?src=rss 

We finally have a release date for Ninja Theory’s Hellblade sequel: May 21, 2024. It’s been over four years since Senua’s Saga was announced at the 2019 Game Awards alongside Microsoft’s (then next-gen) Xbox Series X console. 

The first game in the series, Senua’s Sacrifice, focused on the main character’s journey to the realm of the dead, and her battle with mental health issues. Saga will focus on Senua tracking down the Vikings who have been raiding her home town. Expect more “perception puzzles led by her experiences of psychosis,” along with some pretty standard video game combat, but this time, in Iceland!

As you’d expect for a first-party title, Senua’s Saga will arrive on Microsoft’s Game Pass service for Xbox consoles and PC on day one. For those without Game Pass, it’ll be a digital-only release priced at $50. PC users will be able to buy it on either the Xbox store or Steam. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/senuas-saga-hellblade-ii-finally-arrives-on-may-21-203751802.html?src=rss 

Behaviour Interactive is the latest notable game developer to lay off workers. The Dead by Daylight studio confirmed to Game Developer that the cuts affected less than three percent of the total workforce. Kotaku first reported on the layoffs, stating that they took place earlier this month and affected around 45 people across several departments. It initially appeared that the layoffs were limited to Behaviour’s Montreal headquarters, but the publisher hasn’t confirmed whether that’s the case.

“Recently, changing market conditions necessitated adjusting the scope of several Behaviour projects,” Behaviour told the publications in a statement. “In these situations, our preference is always to reassign talent to other projects. Unfortunately, this option is not always available to us. These departures represented less than three percent of our total workforce.”

Behaviour bought several studios last year, including ones in the UK and the Netherlands as part of a deeper expansion into Europe. While much of the company’s focus is on Dead by Daylight (a new Alan Wake-focused chapter will arrive later this month), it has been working on other projects, such as last year’s Meet Your Maker.

According to estimates, more than 9,000 workers in the video games industry were laid off in 2023. We’re just 18 days into 2024, and there have already been more than 3,000 layoffs at gaming and gaming-adjacent companies (including Twitch and Discord). Unity alone is reducing its headcount by around 1,800 — a quarter of its workforce.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dead-by-daylight-studio-behaviour-confirms-layoffs-due-to-changing-market-conditions-173751623.html?src=rss 

Activision has taken aim at Call of Duty cheaters in a swathe of novel and often hilarious ways over the last few years, from cutting their parachutes so they splat onto the ground in Warzone to straight up taking their guns away. The latest tactic targets those who use illicit tools to activate aim assist while playing with a mouse and keyboard.

The Ricochet anti-cheat team says that when its security detection systems spot such players, the Call of Duty app will simply close itself. No clever trick like cloning another real player from elsewhere in the match. The game will just shut down. “Repeated use of these tools may lead to further account action,” the Ricochet group wrote on X. In other words, Activision will likely suspend or permanently ban persistent offenders.

As always, the idea behind this tactic is to level the playing field for everyone. Aim assist is a feature primarily designed for console or controller players to make up for the greater accuracy afforded by a mouse. While this most recent effort to frustrate bad actors won’t solve all of Call of Duty’s cheating problems (wallhacks still seem to be an issue), annoying cheaters into perhaps changing their habits continues to be a very funny strategy on Activision’s part.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/call-of-dutys-latest-anti-cheat-tactic-is-simply-shutting-down-the-game-161411410.html?src=rss 

TikTok has shared more about its plans to fight misinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election. And, like many of its social media peers, the company’s 2024 efforts will closely resemble what it’s done in the past.

To start, the company is introducing its in-app election guide, which will point users to information about voting, including how to register and how to vote by mail. While the election guide will look similar to years past, the company is introducing it earlier than it has in past elections (its election resources for 2020 and 2022 debuted much closer to their respective contests than this year’s, which comes just as the presidential primaries are getting underway).

TikTok’s approach to misinformation in 2024 hasn’t changed much since 2022. The company will continue to bar political ads, including those that come via creators’ branded content. It will also keep working with fact-checking organizations, which help determine whether content is eligible for recommendations or warrants an “unverified” label. The company says it will “expand media literacy resources to these labels” later this year, which could make the notices more useful to users who encounter them, though it’s unclear what that will look like just yet.

TikTok’s plan for 2024 comes as experts warn that the rise of generative AI could fuel a new wave of viral election misinformation. On its part, TikTok acknowledges that generative AI has created “new challenges” for the social media industry, but stopped short of offering any new policies to address it. Instead, the company says it will keep enforcing its existing rules, which prohibit “misleading” AI-generated content and require creators to disclose when videos use “realistic” AI-generated content.

“As the technology evolves in 2024, we’ll continue to improve our policies and detection while partnering with experts on media literacy content that helps our community navigate AI responsibly,” the company wrote in a blog post.

When it comes to disinformation and coordinated efforts to manipulate its platform, TikTok is making a notable change. The company says it plans to release detailed reports on covert influence campaigns ahead of the 2024 contest It already discloses some information about influence campaigns it uncovers in its quarterly transparency reports, but the disclosures are typically short on details. That should change this year, according to TikTok, which says it will begin releasing “dedicated covert influence operations reports” later this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-details-its-plan-to-counter-election-misinformation-in-2024-150040486.html?src=rss