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Whether or not you’ve actively been using Threads, you may have noticed — thanks to its integration into the Instagram feed — an off-putting shift in the kinds of posts the platform has been recommending over the last few weeks. At best, you might be seeing tons of content that is of no interest to you whatsoever, or copypasta-style engagement bait. At worst? A whole lot of hate speech. In a short video shared on Friday responding to an Ask Me Anything question, Instagram head Adam Mosseri apologized for the “low-quality recommendations” proliferating on Threads and said the team is working on a fix.

“We want people to have a positive experience on Threads, and we’ve actually had some issues over the last few weeks with low-quality recommendations,” Mosseri said, “things that don’t quite violate our Community Guidelines — which is where we take content down entirely — but kind of go right up to that line. We’re working on improving it. A lot of it should be fixed at this point.” He goes on to say that while “there’s a lot more work to do,” users can “expect it to get much better over the next few weeks. Again, apologies.”

While Threads already felt cluttered with posts meant to milk engagement as new users try to generate followings on the budding social site, things have taken a palpably darker turn recently. Suddenly, ragebait seems to be front and center. Users have complained that they’re being suggested an alarming amount of hateful content, particularly posts that are outright transphobic. It’s crept into my own feeds, enough so that it feels like I’ve muted more accounts in the last two or so weeks than I previously had in six months on Threads.

Engadget asked Meta for clarification on whether the improvements Mosseri mentioned will specifically address transphobia and other forms of hate speech. In response, a spokesperson reiterated Mosseri’s comments and said, “In addition to removing content that violates our community guidelines, we’re aware that some users are seeing this type of repetitive, low-quality content they may not be interested in, and we’re taking steps to address it.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-head-adam-mosseri-says-sorry-for-all-those-trashy-threads-recommendations-193001655.html?src=rss 

Beats Fit Pro earbuds in the three newest colors have dropped back down to their best price in a deal on Amazon. The true-wireless, noise canceling headphones are 20 percent off for the Volt Yellow, Coral Pink and Tidal Blue designs, making them just $160. These popular earbuds normally go for $200, so you’d be saving $40. If those options are too vibrant for your style, there’s a 10 percent discount on other, subtler colors as well. That includes Beats Black, Beats White, Sage Gray and Stone Purple, which are all just $180 with the current deal.

Beats Fit Pro buds are a great choice for both Apple and Android users, especially if you’re looking for reliable workout earbuds. They’re among the best wireless earbuds you can get today, and our favorite for fitness. With an IPX4 water resistance rating, they’ll hold up against sweat and splashes of water, like light rain. They have comfortable silicone ear tips and secure-fit wings that are meant to keep them in position in your ear. Beats Fit Pro earbuds are also equipped with Active Noise Canceling and Spatial Audio so you can really get in the zone.

As for battery life, they achieve up to 6 hours of listening, which can be extended to as much as 24 hours with the charging case. Beats Fit Pro earbuds run on Apple’s H1 chip, and have a slew of convenient features for iPhone users, like quick pairing, hands-free Siri access and Audio Sharing with other Apple devices or Beats earbuds. That means you can sync up with your workout buddy (as long as they’re using a compatible device) for tandem listening.

Android users may not get all the extra perks, but they can still make use of the buds’ high-quality audio and on-device controls. When pairing them in the Android app, you’ll also have the option to fine tune the audio with Beats’ Fit Test. In the box, Beats Fit Pro come with a charging case in the same color as the earbuds, silicone ear tips in three sizes and a USB-C charging cable.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-beats-fit-pro-noise-canceling-wireless-earbuds-are-20-percent-off-at-amazon-160536914.html?src=rss 

In November, a group of non-fiction authors filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI and Microsoft of using other people’s intellectual property without permission to train the former’s generative AI technology. Now, more non-fiction writers are suing the companies for using their work to train OpenAI’s GPT large language models (LLM). Journalists Nicholas A. Basbanes and Nicholas Gage are accusing the defendants of “massive and deliberate theft of copyrighted works” by writers like them in a proposed class action lawsuit. 

Professional writers “have limited capital to fund their research” and “typically self-fund their projects,” they said in their complaint. Meanwhile, the defendants have “ready access to billions in capital” and “simply stole” the plaintiffs’ “copyrighted works to build another billion+ dollar commercial industry,” they allege. Using copyrighted works is a “deliberate strategy” by the companies, the complaint reads, and not paying writers give the defendants “an even higher profit margin.” The plaintiffs added that the companies could’ve explored alternative financing options, such as profit sharing, but have “decided to steal” instead. 

Basbanes and Gage are seeking “to represent a class of writers whose copyrighted work has been systematically pilfered” by the defendants. They’re seeking up to $150,000 per infringed work in damages, as well as a permanent injunction “to prevent these harms from recurring.” Basbanes is a “renowned authority on the history of books and book culture.” Gage, according to the CNBC, had previously worked for the Times and The Wall Street Journal.

OpenAI is contending with a growing list of lawsuits filed by creatives accusing it of using their work without permission to train its LLMs, including one by fiction authors George R.R. Martin, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. In late December 2023, The New York Times sued the company and its biggest backer, Microsoft, for using the newspaper’s articles for AI training. An OpenAI representative told us at the time that both parties were engaged in “productive conversations” and that the lawsuit was unexpected.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/more-non-fiction-authors-are-suing-openai-and-microsoft-103046599.html?src=rss