Category: Technology

New Orleans’ police force secretly used constant facial recognition to seek out suspects for two years. An investigation by The Washington Post discovered that the city’s police department was using facial recognition technology on a privately owned camera network to continually look for suspects. This application seems to violate a city ordinance passed in 2022 that required facial recognition only be used by the NOLA police to search for specific suspects of violent crimes and then to provide details about the scans’ use to the city council. However, WaPo found that officers did not reveal their reliance on the technology in the paperwork for several arrests where facial recognition was used, and none of those cases were included in mandatory city council reports.

“This is the facial recognition technology nightmare scenario that we have been worried about,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, an ACLU deputy director. “This is the government giving itself the power to track anyone — for that matter, everyone — as we go about our lives walking around in public.” Wessler added that the is the first known case in a major US city where police used AI-powered automated facial recognition to identify people in live camera feeds for the purpose of making immediate arrests.

Police use and misuse of surveillance technology has been thoroughly documented over the years. Although several US cities and states have placed restrictions on how law enforcement can use facial recognition, those limits won’t do anything to protect privacy if they’re routinely ignored by officers.

Read the full story on the New Orleans PD’s surveillance program at The Washington Post.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/new-orleans-police-secretly-used-facial-recognition-on-over-200-live-camera-feeds-223723331.html?src=rss 

Spotify is continuing to add more ways for listeners to directly make purchases within its iOS app. Following on the streaming service‘s changes to make purchasing subscriptions easier earlier this month, there’s now an an option for users to buy audiobooks in Spotify.

“Spotify submitted a new app update that Apple has approved: Spotify users in the United States can now see pricing, buy individual audiobooks and purchase additional ‘Top Up’ hours for audiobook listening beyond the 15 hours included in Premium each month,” the company said in its updated blog post.

The wave of changes stem from the ongoing court case between Apple and Epic Games surrounding fees for purchases made outside the App Store. While things appear to be swinging in favor of app and service providers, Apple is likely to continue challenging the rulings even as it makes changes to allow for external payment options.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/spotify-ios-users-can-now-buy-audiobooks-directly-from-the-app-230304105.html?src=rss 

The latest generation of Motorola Razr smartphones was slated to go on sale last week beginning May 15, but availability has been delayed for purchases through select carriers. 9to5Google reported that the launch was delayed to May 22 for Verizon, Straight Talk, Total Wireless and Visible. We’ve reached out to Motorola for additional comment on the situation.

When a potential customer asked on X about availability after the phones were not seen at the expected May 15 date, a Verizon rep replied that the launch was “placed on hold.” The Verizon blog post announcing the plans and pricing for the Razr models has been updated to show a May 22 release date.

Razr phones are still listed as available to buy at other mobile carriers. However some customers have taken to Reddit, sharing that their orders have been delayed and speculating as to why. Most of them did not specify which channels or carriers they used for the purchases, so it’s possible that all of the issues are centered on the four carriers mentioned in Motorola’s statement, although there are posts claiming their phones’ new ship date will be May 28.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/motorola-has-mysteriously-delayed-its-new-razr-phones-but-only-for-some-carriers-211654192.html?src=rss 

Thrasher is coming to flat screens, with a launch on Steam and Steam Deck scheduled for later in 2025. The new platform releases follow the VR game’s debut last summer on the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro. Devs Brian Gibson and Mike Mandel, collaborating under the moniker Puddle, announced the new hardware additions in a fittingly surreal trailer today.

Both Gibson and Mandel have a history making music- and audio-driven interactive experiences. Mandel worked on Fuser, Rock Band VR and Fantasia: Music Evolved. Gibson’s previous project was the VR title Thumper, which bills itself with the tagline “a rhythm violence game.” (Imagine Tetris Effect if it was filled with aggression rather than transcendent joy. But in a really, really good way.)

Thrasher follows their existing legacy of immersive and unsettling games with its strange concept of a cosmic eel doing battle against a space baby, all set to a throbbing soundtrack. The addition of a non-virtual reality option is an exciting development for fans of the title, and it should be interesting to see how well the pair adapts their VR control scheme to gamepads and mouse/keyboard setups.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/vr-bop-thrasher-is-heading-to-pc-and-steam-deck-200753057.html?src=rss 

SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing performers in film, television and interactive media, has submitted an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) filing against Epic Games for using an AI-generated version of Darth Vader’s voice in the current season of Fortnite. Disney and Epic first announced on May 16 that Fortnite would feature a take on the character using an AI-generated version of James Earl Jones’ voice. 

The issue in SAG-AFTRA’s eyes is that the union is currently on strike while it negotiates a new contract with video game companies, and using an AI-generated voice represents Epic refusing to “bargain in good faith.” The AI-powered version of Darth Vader is interactive, but that doesn’t change the fact that the video game version of Darth Vader has frequently been played by actors other than Jones.

Disney got permission from Jones and his family to use AI to replicate his voice for film and TV in 2022, so there is precedent for an AI performance of this kind. After Jones’ death in September 2024, the AI route technically became the only way to use Darth Vader’s “original voice,” other than reusing clips of past performances. Unless of course Epic or Disney wanted to pay another actor to play Darth Vader, which would require coming to an agreement on a new contract for video game performers.

ULP filings are reviewed by the National Labor Review Board and can lead to hearings and injunctive relief (a court ordering Epic to remove Darth Vader from the game until a settlement is reached, for example). They are also often used as a way for unions to provoke companies to come back to the bargaining table or respond with a more realistic offer. SAG-AFTRA’s Interactive Media Strike has been ongoing since July 26, 2024. SAG-AFTRA members originally voted in favor of a strike in September 2023 for better wages and AI protections. 

Engadget has reached out to both Disney and Epic for comment on SAG-AFTRA’s ULP filing. We’ll update this article if we hear back.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sag-aftra-says-fortnites-ai-darth-vader-voice-violates-fair-labor-practices-202009163.html?src=rss 

President Donald Trump is set to sign the Take It Down Act today, according to CNN. The act is a piece of bipartisan legislation that criminalizes the publication of “nonconsensual intimate visual depictions,” including AI deepfakes. The law made it through the US House of Representatives in April 2025, prompting concern from free speech advocates that believe parts of the law could be easily abused to curtail speech.

The Take It Down Act was created to address the spread of nonconsensual, sexually exploitative images online. Laws exist addressing the issue at the state level, and some online platforms already have methods for requesting a nonconsensual image or video be taken down. This new law would set a federal standard, though, making taking down posts mandatory and directing companies to create a system for requesting images or videos be removed, under the supervision of the Federal Trade Commission.

The issue with the law as written, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is that its takedown provision “applies to a much broader category of content…than the narrower NCII [nonconsensual intimate image] definitions found elsewhere in the bill.” The EFF also suggests that the short time-frame of 48 hours that the Take It Down Act requires means that smaller online platforms will probably just remove posts when they receive a complaint rather than verify that the post actually violates the law.

Trump has expressed interest in taking advantage of the new law, as well. “I’m going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don’t mind. There’s nobody gets treated worse than I do online. Nobody,” Trump said during a joint session of Congress in March. Given the lopsided composition of the current FTC and the Trump administration’s already loose interpretation of existing laws, it’s not hard to imagine how the original intentions of the Take It Down Act could be twisted.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-will-sign-the-take-it-down-act-criminalizing-ai-deepfakes-today-184358916.html?src=rss 

It has been nearly two months since 23andMe declared bankruptcy and the company has officially been sold. The US biotech company Regeneron has agreed to buy 23andMe and all of its assets for $256 million (even though it was valued at $50 million in March). This purchase marks the end of former 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki’s bid to buy the company, which included resigning in order to make an independent offer. 

According to Mark Jensen, Chair and member of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of 23andMe, Regeneron is offering to keep all of the former company’s employees. This decision, “will allow us to continue our mission of helping people access, understand and gain health benefits through greater understanding of the human genome,” he said in a release. 

The announcement also tries to emphasize data protection following 23andMe users’ concerns about where their information might end up and, in some cases, deleting their data from the site. “We are pleased to have reached a transaction that maximizes the value of the business and enables the mission of 23andMe to live on, while maintaining critical protections around customer privacy, choice and consent with respect to their genetic data,” said Jensen. 

The sentiment was echoed by its soon to be new owner. “Through our Regeneron Genetics Center, we have a proven track record of safeguarding personal genetic data, and we assure 23andMe customers that we will apply our high standards for safety and integrity to their data and ongoing consumer genetic services,” said George D. Yancopoulos, MD, PhD, co-founder, board co-chair, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron in a statement. “We believe we can help 23andMe deliver and build upon its mission to help people learn about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while furthering Regeneron’s efforts to improve the health and wellness of many.”

How exactly 23andMe will shake out after the Regeneron purchase is to be seen. The company has taken a dramatic fall in recent years, since going public. Hackers accessed the information of 6.9 million people in 2023 and 23andMe laid off over 200 people last year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/23andme-bought-by-regeneron-in-court-auction-174003286.html?src=rss 

Bluesky doesn’t have its own live streaming capabilities, but the service testing out a new feature to boost users’ streams off the platform. The company is allowing “select” accounts to link their Twitch or YouTube accounts to their profiles, which will display a red indicator and “live” badge when they’re actively streaming.

In an update, Bluesky described the feature as an “early test” that will initially only be available to a “handful of accounts” before it’s ready for a wider launch. “Bluesky is the place for breaking news and real-time updates,” the company said. “This tool supports streamers, journalists, and anyone sharing live moments as they happen.”

The update comes one day after the service showed off a similar badge for the NBA’s official Bluesky account. The league will apparently direct fans on Bluesky to “live content they are promoting,” Bluesky COO Rose Wang said. Partnering with the NBA on the feature is an interesting move for Bluesky. Sports fans, and NBA fans in particular, have had an outsized impact on Twitter’s culture. And the company now known as X has inked several high-profile deals with the NBA and other major sports leagues over the years to promote their content.

Notably, Bluesky doesn’t have advertising. It’s using the “live” indicators to direct users to off-platform content, so it’s unclear if there are any business opportunities for the upstart platform that come with this feature. But it shows that Bluesky wants to play a bigger role in the kinds of conversations that once shaped Twitter’s culture, and make a name for itself as a destination to follow live events.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-is-testing-a-live-now-feature-with-streamers-and-the-nba-174443865.html?src=rss