Kalakshar US

Big-time creators on Instagram just got a bit of welcome news. The platform is introducing inbox management tools to make it easier for influencers to wade through endless messages and requests.

The tools include multi-select filters that let users sort through messages faster to find important correspondences. Remember, popular creators are getting hundreds upon hundreds of messages each day. The software lets these influencers add, edit or remove any filter, which should be helpful. 

Instagram has also added the option to create custom shortcuts that prioritize the message folders that are accessed most often. Users can create new folders that “reflect their preferences.” These folders can be reordered based on the most-used message types. The company says these tools will give “creators the freedom to explore their creativity while building workflows that work best for them.”

This toolset is just for popular influencers with more than 100,000 followers. The plebes, myself included, will have to make do with the current inbox. However, Instagram is making this feature available to Professional accounts.

The platform did recently add some stuff for garden variety users. There’s a controversial new map to track friends and software that lets people reset all of their recommendations.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-adds-inbox-management-tools-for-creators-and-big-accounts-175621549.html?src=rss 

Yooka-Replaylee, the remaster of the platformer Yooka-Laylee, will be available on October 9. It’ll be playable on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Switch 2. It’s getting both a digital and physical release, and preorders for the physical versions are up right now.

Speaking of physical copies, the Switch 2 version will include the full game on the cartridge and no game-key card. Nintendo has given developers the option to release cartridges that are basically empty shells, called game-key cards, that require an immediate download upon being slotted in the console. Collectors aren’t exactly keen on this practice, so an actual cartridge release for Yooka-Replaylee is a welcome bit of news.

This is a remade and enhanced version of Yooka-Laylee, which was itself an homage to 3D collectathon platformers like Banjo-Kazooie. Developer Playtonic is staffed with people who worked on Rare titles like the aforementioned Banjo and the Donkey Kong Country games.

Yooka-Replaylee brings some new features to the table, including updated challenges, a fully orchestral soundtrack and, of course, more stuff to collect. There’s also a bigger map, a refined story and enhanced graphics. It looks pretty nifty.

The digital version of the game will cost $30, while physical copies will cost $50. There’s a promotion going for long-time fans, as those who already own the game will get 30 percent off so long as they buy the remaster on the same platform family as the original. This means Switch to Switch 2, PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X/S.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/yooka-laylee-remaster-comes-to-consoles-and-pc-on-october-9-180052250.html?src=rss 

Meta is re-training its AI and adding new protections to keep teen users from discussing harmful topics with the company’s chatbots. The company says it’s adding new “guardrails as an extra precaution” to prevent teens from discussing self harm, disordered eating and suicide with Meta AI. Meta will also stop teens from accessing user-generated chatbot characters that might engage in inappropriate conversations.

The changes, which were first reported by TechCrunch, come after numerous reports have called attention to alarming interactions between Meta AI and teens. Earlier this month, Reuters reported on an internal Meta policy document that said the company’s AI chatbots were permitted to have “sensual” conversations with underage users. Meta later said that language was “erroneous and inconsistent with our policies” and had been removed. Yesterday, The Washington Post reported on a study that found Meta AI was able to “coach teen accounts on suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.”

Meta is now stepping up its internal “guardrails” so those types of interactions should no longer be possible for teens on Instagram and Facebook. “We built protections for teens into our AI products from the start, including designing them to respond safely to prompts about self-harm, suicide, and disordered eating,” Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway told Engadget in a statement.

“As our community grows and technology evolves, we’re continually learning about how young people may interact with these tools and strengthening our protections accordingly. As we continue to refine our systems, we’re adding more guardrails as an extra precaution — including training our AIs not to engage with teens on these topics, but to guide them to expert resources, and limiting teen access to a select group of AI characters for now.”

Notably, the new protections are described as being in place “for now,” as Meta is apparently still working on more permanent measures to address growing concerns around teen safety and its AI. “These updates are already in progress, and we will continue to adapt our approach to help ensure teens have safe, age-appropriate experiences with AI,” Otway said. The new protections will be rolling out over the next few weeks and apply to all teen users using Meta AI in English-speaking countries.

Meta’s policies have also caught the attention of lawmakers and other officials, with Senator Josh Hawley recently telling the company he planned to launch an investigation over its handling of such interactions. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also indicated he wants to investigate Meta for allegedly misleading children about mental health claims made by its chatbots.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-re-training-its-ai-so-it-wont-discuss-self-harm-or-have-romantic-conversations-with-teens-182418587.html?src=rss 

Despite some fallout between President Trump and Elon Musk, the White House appears to still be in Musk’s corner. Wired is reporting, based on documents obtained by the outlet, that the White House allegedly directed leadership at the General Services Administration (GSA) to include xAI’s Grok on its list of approved AI vendors.

xAI is owned by Elon Musk and was not included in the slew of approvals the GSA issued in August that saw the agency add OpenAI, Google and Anthropic to its list of vendors. In emails sent last week and published by Wired, agency leadership demands xAI’s products be included. “Team: Grok/xAI needs to go back on the schedule ASAP per the WH,” writes Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, one of the branches of the GSA. “Should be all of their products we had previously (3 & 4),” likely referring to Grok 3 and Grok 4, which are iterations of xAI’s LLM chatbot.

Carahsoft, a major government contractor that resells technology from third-party firms, is mentioned. “Can someone get with Carahsoft on this immediately and please confirm?” wrote Gruenbaum. According to Wired, Carahsoft’s contract was modified to include xAI earlier this week. As of Friday morning, both Grok 3 and Grok 4 are available on GSA Advantage, an online marketplace where government agencies can purchase products and services.

xAI announced a version of Grok for US government agencies in July, when it appeared that GSA approval for the chatbot was all but certain. Shortly beforehand, the chatbot went off the rails and started spouting Nazi propaganda and antisemitic rhetoric while dubbing itself “MechaHitler.” This came in the wake of Musk and Trump’s public spat over the president’s spending bill, after which GSA approval of Grok seemed to stall. Why the change in directive now is unclear.

There were no details in the reporting regarding pricing or whether xAI will be offering discounted services to the federal government. Earlier this month, both OpenAI and Anthropic began offering their large language models to federal agencies for just $1 in an effort to drive adoption among the government workforce. xAI still holds a $200 million contract with the Pentagon to develop AI workflows within the US Department of Defense.

These AI models have been in the hot seat lately as increasingly disturbing cases of hallucinations and errant behavior have arisen. Just this week, OpenAI is facing a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that ChatGPT spent months discussing and ultimately enabling the suicide of a teen boy.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-white-house-reportedly-ordered-xais-grok-to-be-approved-for-government-use-165625891.html?src=rss 

YouTube TV subscribers won’t have to worry about missing key college football games and other Fox content after the two sides struck a deal yesterday. “We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Fox to keep their content on YouTube TV,” the Alphabet-owned company wrote on its blog. 

Earlier this week, YouTube TV warned subscribers that they could lose access to Fox content including the start of the NFL season and a key college football game between top-ranked Texas and Utah. The standoff was over money, of course, with YouTube TV saying Fox demanded more of it than rival stations with comparable offerings. 

That has now been resolved with a “renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, Big Ten Network, the Fox network and all Fox Local Stations,” Fox said in its own press release.

Such disputes are not unusual and often happen ahead of key sporting events, allowing stations like Fox to ratchet up the pressure on cable operators and live streaming services. In the past, YouTube TV has lost access to local Fox stations that carry regional sports, though usually disputes are extended and resolved before they get that far. 

Fox has a bit more leverage now, having recently launched the Fox One streaming service that includes all NFL and MLB games aired on Fox networks, for $20 per month or $200 per year. YouTube TV also exclusively offers NFL Sunday Ticket that broadcasts NFL games produced by Fox and CBS that aren’t available on local affiliates as an add-on starting at $85 per month. That package was never impacted by the standoff. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/youtube-tv-subscribers-wont-lose-access-to-fox-content-after-all-130054330.html?src=rss