Category: Technology

Nintendo has asked suppliers to build 25 million Switch 2 console by the end of March 2026, Bloomberg reported. According to people familiar with the matter, the company has requested the boost because it believes the console will continue its torrid sales pace through the holiday season. Nintendo could easily exceed its own forecast of 15 million Switch 2 units sold within its first fiscal year (ending March 30, 2026) and beat first year sales of the original Switch, which was the fastest selling console of all time. 

If sales pan out as it expects, Nintendo could sell around 20 million Switch 2 units this fiscal year, according to the report. The 25 million production goal would allow it to satisfy sales demand and have enough in inventory to start the next fiscal year. 

The original Switch sold 17.79 million units in its first 13 months, so the Switch 2 could exceed that over a considerably shorter time frame. As a reminder, Switch 2 pre-orders started in April 2025 and the global release was on June 5, so it only started shipping four and a half months ago.  

Despite fears over tariffs, Switch 2 sales in the US are way ahead of the original Switch at the same time frame, according to market researcher Circana. During its last earnings report, the company said it had also sold 8.67 million Switch 2 games along with 24.4 million games designed for the original Switch, thanks in part to the new console’s backward compatibility. Game sales should get a further boost with the launch of Pokémon Legends: Z-A coming later this month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-reportedly-wants-to-build-25-million-switch-2s-by-march-2026-120006050.html?src=rss 

As expected, CNN has unveiled its new All Access subscription streaming service that will cost $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually. The new tier will include a “selection” of CNN’s live programming along with originals and more — but it doesn’t appear to offer a live CNN feed. 

“No one covers the world like CNN,” said VP of digital products Alex MacCallum. “This is an essential step in CNN’s evolution, providing a comprehensive experience that meets how audiences consume news today.”

Along with the selection of live programming, the All Access tier will open up 1,000 hours of programming from CNN’s Originals library, access to the latest CNN Original Series and CNN Films a day after they air on TV, video-on-demand programming, special features, exclusive live events and all CNN.com articles and subscriber-only content. 

CNN recently announced that its CNN Max 24/7 live news stream would removed from HBO Max in the United States due to the planned launch of the All Access product. It has now rebranded its existing $3.99 digital subscription as the Basic tier, which provides unlimited access to CNN.com articles and select subscriber features while excluding video content.

CNN likely doesn’t include the live feed in order not to upset cable TV providers, but the lack of that may deter some users from purchasing the $6.99 subscription. CNN+ was $5.99 per month and didn’t include CNN live either, though it also lacked the digital content available on All Access. It was pulled just 32 days after it launched.  

CNN All Access launches on October 28. If you’re interested, you’ll pay just $41.99 for the first year provided you sign up before January 5th, 2026. The service will be free for existing pay TV subscribers, CNN said, but those users won’t get the digital content (CNN.com articles and interactive features) available to All Access subscribers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/cnns-new-all-access-streaming-service-still-doesnt-seem-to-include-cnn-110013821.html?src=rss 

OpenAI has paused video generations of Martin Luther King Jr. on Sora at the request of King Inc., the estate that manages his legacy. The company said in an announcement on X that it worked with the estate to address how his “likeness is represented in Sora generations” after people used the app to create disrespectful depictions of the American civil rights leader. It’s not quite clear if OpenAI intends to restore Sora’s ability to generate videos with MLK in the future, but it’s wording implies it does and that it has only suspended the capability as it “strengthens guardrails for historical figures.”

After OpenAI launched the Sora app, users generated videos with likenesses of dead public figures, including Michael Jackson, Robin Williams and MLK. Williams’ daughter, Zelda Williams, had to beg people to stop sending her AI videos of her father. “To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough’, just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening,” she wrote on Instagram. MLK’s daughter, Bernice A. King, wrote on Threads that she agreed and also asked people to stop sending her videos of her father. 

According to a report by The Washington Post, the Sora-made videos that were posted online included King making monkey noises while he was giving his “I Have a Dream” speech. Another video showed King wrestling with Malcolm X, whose daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, questioned why AI developers weren’t acting “with the same morality, conscience, and care… that they’d want for their own families” in a statement made to The Post. 

OpenAI said that while there are “strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures,” it believes “public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used.” It also said that the estate owners of other historical figures and their representatives can ask the company for their likenesses not to be used in Sora videos, as well. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-suspends-sora-depictions-of-martin-luther-king-jr-following-a-request-from-his-family-110100581.html?src=rss 

Meta is working on new supervision controls that will allow parents to cut off their teens’ access to AI chatbots on its platforms completely. While the tools can remove teens’ ability to engage AI characters on one-on-one chats, they’ll still be able to access the general Meta AI chatbot. If parents don’t want to block their teens from being able to access AI bots altogether, they can also just block specific AI characters. In addition, parents will be able to get insights into the topics their children are discussing with Meta’s AI bots. The company is currently building these controls and will start rolling them out on Instagram early next year in English in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Take note that the images above are just illustrations, and the tools’ interfaces could still change. 

The company has been under fire since an internal Meta document was leaked a few months ago, showing that it allowed its chatbots to have “sensual” conversations with children. In one example, a Meta chatbot told a shirtless eight-year-old that “every inch of you is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply.” The US Attorneys General of 44 jurisdictions urged companies to protect children “from exploitation by predatory artificial intelligence products” after that information came out. The Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, chaired by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), will investigate the company, as well. 

Shortly after the internal documents leaked, Meta started retraining its AI and added new protections to prevent younger users from accessing user-made AI characters that might engage in inappropriate conversations. It also introduced age-appropriate protections so that its AIs will give teens responses guided by PG-13 movie ratings. Plus, it now only allows teens to interact with a limited group of AI characters, focused on age-appropriate topics. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-is-adding-ai-chatbot-focused-parental-controls-to-instagram-100027229.html?src=rss 

We’ve seen artificial intelligence give some pretty bizarre responses to queries as chatbots become more common. Today, Reddit Answers is in the spotlight after a moderator flagged the AI tool for providing dangerous medical advice that they were unable to disable or hide from view. 

The mod saw Reddit Answers suggest that people experiencing chronic pain stop taking their current prescriptions and take high-dose kratom, which is an unregulated substance that is illegal in some states. The user said they then asked Reddit Answers about other medical questions. They received potentially dangerous advice for treating neo-natal fever alongside some accurate actions as well as suggestions that heroin could be used for chronic pain relief. Several other mods, particularly from health-focused subreddits, replied to the original post adding their concerns that they have no way to turn off or flag a problem when Reddit Answers has provided inaccurate or dangerous information in their communities.

A representative from Reddit told 404 Media that Reddit Answers had been updated to address some of the mods’ concerns. “This update ensures that ‘Related Answers’ to sensitive topics, which may have been previously visible on the post detail page (also known as the conversation page), will no longer be displayed,” the spokesperson told the publication. “This change has been implemented to enhance user experience and maintain appropriate content visibility within the platform.” We’ve reached out to Reddit for additional comment about what topics are being excluded but have not received a reply at this time. 

While the rep told 404 Media that Reddit Answers “excludes content from private, quarantined and NSFW communities, as well as some mature topics,” the AI tool clearly doesn’t seem equipped to properly deliver medical information, much less to handle the snark, sarcasm or potential bad advice that may be given by other Redditors. Aside from the latest move to not appear on “sensitive topics,” it doesn’t seem like Reddit plans to provide any tools to control how or when AI is being shown in subreddits, which could make the already-challenging task of moderation nearly impossible.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/moderators-call-for-ai-controls-after-reddit-answers-suggests-heroin-for-pain-relief-230749515.html?src=rss 

Waymo has announced a new partnership with DoorDash that will make the company’s self-driving cars a delivery option for users in Phoenix, Arizona. You can already hail a ride in Waymo’s Arizona service area, but this new partnership will give the company’s cars something to do when they’re not transporting human cargo.

To start, Waymo says that deliveries will be limited to things you can order through DashMart, DoorDash’s storefront for convenience and grocery stores. Eventually, though, deliveries will “include more local Phoenix merchants and a wider variety of offerings.” 

In order to try out a Waymo delivery, you’ll have to place your order through DoorDash and “opt in to autonomous delivery” during checkout. Once Waymo’s car arrives, much like DoorDash’s Dot robot, you’ll then have to physically leave your home and collect your order from the car’s trunk to complete the delivery. Part of the convenience (and complication) of DoorDash is getting what you ordered brought to your door. A Waymo delivery might turn some people off, since it makes that option impossible.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Waymo has delivered food in Phoenix. In 2024 the company partnered with Uber Eats for a similar program, with similar limitations around how deliveries were completed and where food could be ordered from. Waymo runs its own robotaxi service in Arizona, Waymo One, but depending on the region, it’s also offered rides through third-party partners like Uber. Its partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash seem like variations on the same idea.

In 2020, Waymo was exploring using self-driving long-haul trucks for deliveries. The company abandoned those plans in 2023 to prioritize robotaxis and the Waymo Driver software, but these tests with DoorDash and Uber Eats could be a signal that Waymo is interested in pursuing deliveries on a smaller scale.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-will-also-drive-for-doordash-in-phoenix-213535127.html?src=rss 

Meta is shutting down its Messenger app for macOS and Windows and pushing users to the web. Meta confirmed over email to Engadget that the app will be fully shutdown on December 15, after which the easiest ways to access Messenger chats when you’re not on your phone will be the Facebook app on Windows, or the Facebook and Messenger websites.

The company hasn’t provided an explanation for why it’s abandoning its desktop Messenger apps, but Meta’s support article does say that users will receive a notification informing them of the shutdown, and will be blocked from accessing the app after December 15.

In order for your chats to be saved going forward, the company says you’ll have to turn on secure storage and add a pin code to your account. To make sure your chats will be archived:

Click on the gear icon above your profile picture.

Click on Privacy & Safety, and then End-to-end encrypted chats.

Click on Message storage, and then make sure Turn on secure storage is toggled on.

Meta officially cut Messenger out of Facebook in 2014 to create a focused messaging experience separate from the tangle of features the social media platform offered at the time. The company later tried to connect Messenger and Instagram Direct Messaging into one communication platform, but backed away from the idea in 2023. Rather than Meta’s interest in messaging suddenly waning, abandoning the desktop apps likely reflects the fact that most people prefer to use the company’s mobile apps or websites.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-shutting-down-its-desktop-messenger-app-202539375.html?src=rss