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Id Software, the company behind Doom, has voted in favor of forming a “wall-to-wall” union. The term “wall-to-wall” refers to a union that includes every employee, regardless of duties. The vote wasn’t unanimous, with 165 of 185 total employees in favor of the union.

The union will work in conjunction with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which is the same organization involved with parent company ZeniMax’s recent unionization efforts. Microsoft, who owns ZeniMax, has already recognized this new effort, according to a statement by the CWA. It agreed to a labor neutrality agreement with the CWA and ZeniMax workers last year, paving the way for this sort of thing.

“The wall-to-wall organizing effort at id Software was much needed; it’s incredibly important that developers across the industry unite to push back on all the unilateral workplace changes that are being handed down from industry executives,” id Software producer and CWA committee member Andrew Willis wrote in a statement to Engadget.

From the onset, this union will look to protect remote work for id Software employees. “Remote work isn’t a perk. It’s a necessity for our health, our families, and our access needs. RTO policies should not be handed down from executives with no consideration for accessibility or our well-being,” said id Software Lead Services Programmer Chris Hays. He also said he looks forward to getting worker protections regarding the “responsible use of AI.”

Workers at id began organizing around 18 months ago, according to a report by Aftermath. Things sped up after Microsoft closed several Bethesda studios in the middle of last year.

“We look forward to sitting across the table from Microsoft to negotiate a contract that reflects the skill, creativity and dedication these workers bring to every project,” said CWA Local 6215 President Ron Swaggerty.

The developer’s latest game is Doom: The Dark Ages, which we loved. It scooped up an award for accessibility at last night’s The Game Awards. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/doom-studio-id-software-forms-wall-to-wall-union-with-165-employees-voting-in-favor-164808311.html?src=rss 

Google is rolling out new Gemini-assisted functionality to Search and its Translate app. It says its AI can now provide more natural and accurate text translations for phrases that have more “nuanced meanings.”  Translate will now take slang terms and colloquial expressions into consideration rather than provide sometimes unhelpful direct translations.

The latest update to its text translation feature is rolling out first in the US and India, translating between English and just under 20 other languages, including German, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. It works in the Translate app for iOS and Android and on the web.

Gemini’s speech-to-speech translation feature has also been updated, so you can now hear real-time translations in your headphones, like with Apple’s AirPods Pro 3. Google says the new functionality, which is now in beta in the Translate app for Android (iOS is coming next year) in the US, tries to “preserve the tone, emphasis and cadence of each speaker” so you better understand the direction of the conversation and who said what. It works with any headphones and supports more than 70 languages.

Finally, Google is adding more tools to its potentially Duolingo-rivaling AI-powered language learning tools, which it introduced to the Translate app in August. Like Duolingo, Translate can now track how many days in a row you’ve been attempting to learn a new language, so you can check your progress over time. Whether it will nag you as persistently as the Duolingo owl famously does for slacking off is not clear.

The feedback feature has also been improved, so you should receive more useful tips on how you’re pronouncing words or phrases. Germany, India and Sweden are among the 20 new countries that can now use these educational tools.

After not showing it much love for a while, Google has been busy adding new features to Translate recently. As well as the new language practice feature, an update last month added the ability to select between “Fast” and “Advanced” translations that allow you to prioritize speed when you’re in a rush (ordering a drink at the bar, for example) or receiving more accurate translations using Gemini.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-translate-is-now-better-at-translating-slang-terms-and-idioms-using-ai-173428316.html?src=rss