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YouTube is updating its enforcement policies to give creators who break its rules a chance to wipe the slate clean. Starting today, those who receive a warning for violating the community guidelines will be able to take a training course designed to help them better understand how to steer clear of uploading videos that run afoul of YouTube’s regulations. As long as they complete the course and don’t violate the same policy within a 90-day period, YouTube will remove the warning from their account. In other words, they can go to detention to help avoid a suspension.

If they violate the policy for which they received the warning a second time in that roughly three-month window, YouTube will remove the video in question and slap the creator with a dreaded strike (which can jeopardize their chances of making a living from the platform). A creator who finishes a course and has the warning lifted from their account after 90 days but then violates the same policy again will be back at square one — YouTube will nix the offending video and give them another warning. They can go through another training program to have the new warning wiped from their account.

Another major change is that, until now, YouTube has given creators who cross the line a single, blanket lifetime warning. From now on, warnings will be applied to rule-breaking creators’ accounts based on the specific policy they violate. So, they can have multiple warnings on their account and the option to take a training course for each one to have them wiped away.

YouTube started dishing out one-time warnings in 2019 for a first rule break, which it says offered “creators the chance to review what went wrong before facing more penalties” (i.e. strikes). The service points out that over 80 percent of creators who received a warning haven’t broken the rules since. Nonetheless, YouTube says creators told the team “they want more resources to better understand how we draw our policy lines” and this new approach is geared toward that greater transparency.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the three-strike policy is still in place. If a creator receives three strikes within 90 days, it’s still likely that YouTube will punt them off the platform. Extreme policy violations are still subject to strikes and channel termination, even if a creator has gone through these training courses. There aren’t any changes to the community guidelines here either.

“Looking ahead, we’ll keep working to make our policies easier for creators to understand,” YouTube said. “We ultimately want creators to have the clarity they need to stay strike free on our platform — while maintaining a healthy experience for YouTube’s entire community.”

Offering YouTubers a chance to learn and grow from their mistakes is a net positive even if some bad actors might try to abuse the system by deliberately uploading a few videos that cross the line each year. Meanwhile, Xbox recently adopted an eight-strike enforcement policy, under which its users can have strikes removed from their accounts after six months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtubers-can-take-training-courses-to-remove-warnings-from-their-permanent-record-181432261.html?src=rss 

General Motors is taking Google’s AI chatbot on the road. The automaker announced today that it’s using Google Cloud’s Dialogflow to automate some non-emergency OnStar features like navigation and call routing. Crucially, the automaker claims the bot can pinpoint keywords indicating an emergency situation and “quickly route the call” to trained humans when needed. GM says the system frees up OnStar Advisors to spend more time with customers requiring a live human.

According to GM, the OnStar Interactive Virtual Assistant (IVA) has used Google Cloud’s Dialogflow under the hood since IVA’s 2022 launch. The virtual voice assistant can handle common customer questions and help with routing and navigation, including turn-by-turn directions. The companies see the collaboration as expanding down the road. “The successful deployment of Google Cloud’s AI in GM’s OnStar service has now opened the door to future generative AI deployments being jointly piloted by General Motors and Google Cloud,” the companies wrote in a joint press release.

The automaker says Google Cloud’s AI has allowed OnStar to better understand customer requests on the first try. In addition, it says customers have reacted positively to avoiding hold times as they can quickly begin chatting with an AI-powered bot with a “modern, natural sounding voice.” GM says the virtual assistant now handles over one million customer inquiries per month in the US and Canada. OnStar IVA is available in most GM vehicles, 2015 and newer, with OnStar connections.

GM has also reportedly worked on developing a ChatGPT-powered assistant for its vehicles, although it isn’t yet clear if that project is still on the table.

“Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the buying, ownership, and interaction experience inside the vehicle and beyond, enabling more opportunities to deliver new features and services,” Mike Abbott, GM’s executive vice president of software and services, wrote in the press release. “Our software-led approach has accelerated the creation of compelling services for our customers while driving increased efficiency across the GM enterprise. The work with Google Cloud is another example of our efforts to transform how customers engage with our products and services.”

The companies also announced today that Google’s Dialogflow tech is behind chatbots on the GM website, similar to the slew of OpenAI-powered assistants that began popping up since the launch of the ChatGPT API earlier this year. GM’s web bots can “conversationally help answer customer questions about GM vehicles and product features based on the technical information from GM’s extensive vehicle data repositories,” according to the automaker.

“General Motors is at the forefront of deploying AI in practical and effective ways that ultimately create better customer experiences,” Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO, wrote today. “We’re looking forward to a deepened relationship and more collaboration with GM as we explore how the company uses generative AI in transformational ways.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-google-powered-chatbot-is-handling-gms-non-emergency-onstar-calls-183040938.html?src=rss 

Several months after WhatsApp released a Windows desktop client, Mac users are getting to join the party with their own dedicated app for the service. The formal arrival of the client (which had been in beta since January) on Apple’s desktops and laptops means users can take part in WhatsApp group calls on their Mac for the first time. 

WhatsApp for Mac supports up to eight people in video calls and as many as 32 in audio-only chinwags. You can hop into a group call after it’s already started, view your call (and chat) history and opt to receive notifications about incoming calls even if you don’t have the WhatsApp client open. Sharing files should be a cinch too, as you’ll be able to simply drag and drop them into a conversation.

The WhatsApp team has spent quite some time making sure that the service supports end-to-end encryption (E2EE) across multiple devices with cross-platform syncing. So, it’s not super surprising that WhatsApp for Mac includes E2EE protection for your chats and calls. The app is available from the WhatsApp website and it’ll hit the Mac App Store soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapps-new-mac-app-supports-group-video-calls-for-up-to-eight-people-170053104.html?src=rss 

Meta will not suspend Cambodia’s former Prime Minister from Facebook and Instagram, declining to follow a recommendation from its Oversight Board. The board, which functions independently from the social media company, had recommended Meta suspend then-Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for six months for inciting violence.  

In a response to the case published Wednesday, Meta said a long-term suspension “would not be consistent” with its policies. “Upon assessing Hun Sen’s Facebook Page and Instagram account, we determined that suspending those accounts outside our regular enforcement framework would not be consistent with our policies, including our protocol on restricting accounts of public figures during civil unrest,” the company wrote.

Meta’s handling of the high-profile case has been closely watched around the world, with many viewing it as a test of the company’s policies governing speech from politicians, who have historically had more leeway on the platform. In a statement, an Oversight Board spokesperson said the group “stands by” its recommendations, “Elections are a crucial part of democracy and social media companies must ensure their platforms are not misused in ways which threaten to undermine them. The Board stands by its original decision and urges Meta to do everything in its power to deter public figures who exploit its platforms to incite violence.”

The company had originally asked the Oversight Board to weigh in on a video posted by Sen. The video was of a speech in which Sen told political opponents he’d “gather CPP (Cambodia People’s Party) people to protest and beat you up.” Meta had opted to leave up the video, citing its controversial newsworthiness policy, despite concluding it had violated the company’s own rules.

The Oversight Board overruled Meta’s decision and said the video should come down. The board also said that Sen should face a lengthy suspension. “Given the severity of the violation, Hun Sen’s history of committing human rights violations and intimidating political opponents, as well as his strategic use of social media to amplify such threats, the Board calls on Meta to immediately suspend Hun Sen’s Facebook page and Instagram account for six months,” it wrote.

Meta complied, removing the video in response to the board’s decision, which is binding under the organization’s rules. The company had 60 days to respond to the board’s non-binding recommendations.

Notably, Meta declined other Oversight Board recommendations in the case as well. The company opted not to clarify how its rules for public figures applies in “contexts in which citizens are under continuing threat of retaliatory violence from their governments” rather than a single incidence of violence.

“The protocol is not designed for situations where a history of state violence or human rights restrictions have resulted in ongoing state restrictions on expressions for an indeterminate period of time,” Meta wrote, referring to a policy it implemented in response the Oversight Board’s recommendations in the suspension of former President Donald Trump’s account. “Applying the protocol in those circumstances could lead to an indefinite suspension of a public figure’s account, which (apart from fairness issues) could be detrimental to people’s ability to access information from and about their leaders and to express themselves using Meta’s platforms.”

Similarly, Meta said it was “assessing [the] feasibility” of a board recommendation that it amend its newsworthiness policy to explicitly bar incitement of violence. It also said it was considering a recommendation that posts from heads of state and other government officials are prioritized for review by human moderators when being reviewed for inciting violence.

The company said it was “implementing in part” two other recommendations in the case. The company agreed to make some “product and/or operational guideline changes” to aid in its review of long-form videos. But in response to a suggestion that the company commit to being more forthcoming about how it enforces its rules on the accounts of high-profile government officials, the company said there were some cases when it may continue to withhold details.

“While we have shared details about enforcement actions on the accounts belonging to Hun Sen in this case, and on the accounts of former U.S. President Trump, there may be circumstances where privacy and security considerations weigh against Meta publicly sharing details about actions taken on an account.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-declines-oversight-board-recommendation-to-suspend-cambodias-former-prime-minister-170531152.html?src=rss 

Now that the Tears of the Kingdom dust has settled like one of those Korok dandelion leaf puzzles, Nintendo is starting to ramp up its efforts for the holiday season. You know what that means. Another Nintendo Direct is scheduled for August 31st at 10AM EST, according to a social media post from the company.

Nintendo promises that the streaming event will feature an “in-depth look” at the forthcoming 2D side-scrolling adventure Super Mario Bros. Wonder, with around 15 minutes of gameplay and information. More Mario is never bad, but this is a themed-direct that exclusively features Wonder. In other words, don’t get your hopes up for any trailers for other games, surprise reveals or anything like that. You’ll get plenty of juicy tidbits, however, about the first 2D Mario in over a decade.

Super Mario Bros. Wonderhas been described as the “next evolution” in the 2D franchise. We’ve only gotten one trailer so far but it was packed with discussion-worthy moments. Mario can turn into an elephant and the game world changes by devouring a psychedelic flower. The appropriately-named Wonder Flower looks to be unpredictable, making pipes come alive, creating hordes of new enemies or completely shifting the overall look and feel of a level. I’m sure the power up does a whole lot more, which should be revealed Thursday.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches for the Nintendo Switch on October 30th, just in time for that oh-so-important holiday season. Beyond the sidescroller, the Switch’s holiday release schedule looks pretty dry, compared to other years. There’s Detective Pikachu Returns, a remake of the SNES classicSuper Mario RPG and some Pokémon DLC, and that’s pretty much it for first-party releases. This is the console’s seventh holiday season, which could have something to do with it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/super-mario-bros-wonder-will-have-its-own-nintendo-direct-on-august-31st-171530276.html?src=rss 

Panic is an odd little company. It started out in the late 1990s as an app developer, and in 2016 it pivoted to video game publishing with Firewatch, followed by Untitled Goose Game in 2019. Both of these were breakout indie hits, resulting in significant success for the developers and Panic itself. And then, in 2022, Panic debuted the Playdate, a tiny yellow game console with a crank on the side and a monochromatic display. Playdate was a verified hit and its library is still being updated today.

Now it’s mid-2023, and Panic just unveiled a fresh slate of projects it’s publishing in its first-ever games showcase. Panic showed off five games and teased new titles from the makers of FAR: Changing Tides (Okomotive) and the team behind Untitled Goose Game (House House).

Nour: Play with your Food is what happens when high art meets a food fight, and honestly, it looks delicious. Nour lays out a bright and colorful landscape where players can mess around with bubbly, 3D versions of doughnuts, burgers, boba tea and other foodstuffs, creating strangely beautiful scenes or simply exploding noodles everywhere. It’s all set to music and there are tiny challenges to complete, but Nour is mostly about making digital edible art. It all comes from Missouri studio Terrifying Jellyfish, helmed by designer and digital artist TJ Hughes. Nour is due to hit PC, PlayStation 4 and PS5 on September 12th, and it features DualSense-specific interactions — like slurping soup through the controller’s microphone — on PS5.

Thank Goodness You’re Here! got center-stage treatment during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live showcase last week, and developers Will Todd and James Carbutt offered additional, sheep-laden context for the game during Panic’s event today. Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a slapstick platformer reminiscent of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, but in a hand-crafted Gumball or Adventure Time art style. It’s a silly romp through a Northern English town, starring a traveling salesman who picks up odd jobs from the equally odd people of Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! comes from Yorkshire studio Coal Supper and it’s set to come out in 2024 for PC, Switch and PS5.

Arco is a complex archery game masquerading as a pixelated, top-down adventure, and it comes complete with a rich original soundtrack. Arco is the product of an international team of developers: Polish pixel artist Franek Nowotniak, Australian game developer Max Cahill, Spanish composer and sound designer José Ramón “Bibiki” García, and Mexican industry veteran Antonio “Fayer” Uribe. Arco is a tactical turn-based RPG with a unique combat system that has players plan moves in real-time, dodging incoming shots and taking aim in the moments between seconds. It’s heading to PC and consoles (no specifics yet) in 2024.

There were no specific updates for this next game, Despelote, but its segment was powerful regardless. Despelote comes from Ecuadorian developers Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena, and they use childhood memories of playing football around the city of Quito to tell their country’s story of economic ruin and resurgence in the early 2000s. Panic’s showcase highlighted personal stories from Cordero and Valbuena, and dove into the making of the game: Its dialogue is based on recordings of conversations they’ve had with family members and friends who lived through Ecuador’s economic downturn in the late 1990s, and those who witnessed the country unite ahead of the 2002 World Cup. The backgrounds of the game, covered in static and color, are photographs of real places around Quito, and interactable objects, like the soccer ball, are highlighted in black and white. Despelote is coming to PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5 in 2024.

The final confirmed game in Panic’s lineup is Time Flies. This one has been generating buzz for a while now, and we had a great time with the preview at Summer Game Fest in 2022, but the big news today is that Panic has signed on to publish it. Time Flies is a simplistic, black-and-white game about the short life of a fly — and, in effect, the person playing as the fly. With mere seconds to live, players get to choose how a lonely housefly will live out its existence, completing a series of small challenges or just buzzing around, enjoying the scenery. The game comes from Michael Frei and Raphaël Munoz, it’s produced by Frei’s studio Playables, and is now being published by Panic. Time Flies will land on PC, Switch and PlayStation 5 in 2024 (a delay from its initial 2023 window).

The final two projects in Panic’s lineup are just teases, for now. The Swiss team behind FAR: Changing Tides and FAR: Lone Sails, Okomotive, is working on a new game that will be published by Panic. Additionally, the developers of Untitled Goose Game, House House, are building something new, and they’re pitching it as a totally different experience than the honk-fest that put them on the map. Panic published Untitled Goose Game, and the studio is on board to handle whatever comes next from House House.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/panics-first-games-showcase-highlights-five-deliciously-weird-titles-173045645.html?src=rss