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According to a report from The Washington Post, DOGE is using an AI tool to analyze federal regulations and determine which to get rid of. A DOGE PowerPoint presentation obtained by the publication notes that its “AI Solution” — reportedly called the DOGE AI Deregulation Decision Tool — found that 100,000 out of over 200,000 regulations “can be deleted.” The document sets a September 1 goal deadline for agencies to complete their own deregulation lists using the tool, which it says can be done in under four weeks, and then “DOGE will roll-up a delete list of 50% of all Federal Regulations (100k Regulatory Rules).”

The tool is targeting regulations that are no longer required by law, The Washington Post reports. After it makes its suggestions, staffers would review the proposed deletions before finalizing a plan. According to the PowerPoint, the tool has already been tried out by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where it’s been used to write “100% of deregulations,” and by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for decisions on 1,083 regulatory sections. The Washington Post spoke to three HUD employees who confirmed it was recently used. One also said that the tool got things wrong on several occasions, misreading the language of the law at times.

DOGE will reportedly start training other agencies on the tool this month. Head over to The Washington Post to read the full report.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/doge-is-reportedly-pushing-an-ai-tool-that-would-put-half-of-all-federal-regulations-on-a-delete-list-212053871.html?src=rss 

For less than the price of a fully decked-out MacBook Pro, you can buy Unitree’s latest humanoid robot called the R1. You only have to shell out $5,900 for a robot that weighs around 55 lbs, stands about four feet tall, and is built with a Large Multimodal Model to handle complex tasks. 

If you’re wondering what the R1 will be used for, your guess is as good as ours. Unitree said its robot is “fully customizable” and demoed its capabilities in a video showing off cartwheels, handstands, boxing, roundhouse kicks and running downhill, but didn’t offer examples with any practical use yet. The lightweight robot has an ultra-wide view and a four-microphone array to help it recognize voices and images, but was also built with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. It’s not hard to envision a world where people program the R1 as a robot butler to handle daily chores, much like what Meta is reportedly working on. However, you might even be able to square up two R1s to fight each other, as evidenced by Unitree promoting a unique fighting tournament that felt like a less aesthetically polished version of 2011’s Real Steel.

The latest R1 is a much lower entry point than Unitree’s previous humanoid robot, the G1, which starts at $16,000 and was demoed at CES 2025 with somewhat disastrous results. Even though the R1’s sub-$6,000 price tag is arguably high, it’s still much cheaper compared to other similar options, like Tesla’s Optimus bot that’s expected to go for at least $20,000.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/this-humanoid-robot-can-do-cartwheels-handstands-and-roundhouse-kicks-at-less-than-6000-184500276.html?src=rss 

As of Friday, anyone trying to watch porn online in the UK will need to subject themselves to an awkward selfie or get their photo ID ready. The UK government announced it will start checking compliance with its Online Safety Act, which requires any website that publishes or displays pornographic content to implement a system for “highly effective age checks.”

Ofcom, the UK’s media regulatory agency, offered a few methods for sites to provide more extensive age verification, including credit card checks, photo ID matching and even estimating a user’s age with a provided selfie. Several popular porn sites, including the country’s most-visited site PornHub, have agreed to the new regulations. Beyond popular porn providers, social media sites like Reddit and Bluesky, have already implemented an age verification system that complies with the Online Safety Act’s rules.

Savvy internet users are already circumventing the age checks by using a VPN, providing a fake ChatGPT-generated photo ID, or taking a high-quality selfie of video game characters. However, the UK’s new law also makes it illegal for websites to promote VPNs that get around age verification. To make sure the Online Safety Act is effective, Ofcom will fine companies caught breaking the rules with fines of up to £18 million or 10 percent of their global revenue.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/people-in-the-uk-now-have-to-take-an-age-verification-selfie-to-watch-porn-online-164418948.html?src=rss 

China wants to work with other countries and has laid out its plans for the global governance of artificial intelligence at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai. Li Qiang, the country’s premier, warned about “technological monopolies” and said that AI could become “an exclusive game for a few countries and companies.” As such, he proposed the creation of a “world AI cooperation organization” during the event. 

Li didn’t specifically mention the United States when he talked about monopolies, but the US restricts AI chip exports to his country. NVIDIA had to develop chips that are only meant for China and conform to export rules so it wouldn’t lose the Chinese market completely. Meanwhile, Chinese companies like Huawei are developing their own AI systems to make up for China’s lack of access to more advanced AI chips from American firms. Li also made the statement a few days after the Trump administration revealed its AI Action Plan, which seeks to limit state regulation of AI companies and which aims to ensure that the US can beat China in the AI race. 

The Chinese premier said his country would “actively promote” the development of open source artificial intelligence and that China is “willing to provide more Chinese solutions to the international community” when it comes to AI. He also said that his country was eager to share AI technologies with developing countries in the global south. 

“Currently, overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences, particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts [and] institutional rules,” Li said. “We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/china-calls-for-the-creation-of-a-global-ai-organization-160005350.html?src=rss 

Welcome to our weekly roundup of what’s going on in the indie game space. There have been quite a few high-profile arrivals this week, as well as others that have left early access and or arrived on more platforms.

I have a long flight this weekend and I’m a little torn over what to play while I’m in the air. I have my Switch 2, Steam Deck and Playdate with me (excessive, I know). As such, there are many ways I can go here. I haven’t yet burrowed my way into Donkey Kong Bananza, so that’s a strong option. But then there are all the Playdate Season Two games I’ve yet to check out — Taria & Como is one I definitely want to play — while my Steam Deck is bursting with games and is running out of storage space.

Decision paralysis is an all-too-common affliction these days, particularly when it comes to games or picking something to watch. I feel like the smartest choice here is to play whatever is taking up the most space on my Steam Deck that I’ve yet to play, so I can just scrub it if I’m not interested. I’ll probably do that unless I do my usual thing while flying: try to catch up on sleep.

New releases

If there were a hall of fame just for mobile games, the first two Monument Valley games would surely be first-ballot inductees. While the third entry in the series perhaps didn’t quite hit those heady heights, it still has its fans and was well-received when it debuted on iOS and Android via Netflix late last year. Just over seven months later, Monument Valley 3 has sailed onto more platforms. Ustwo Games’ thoughtful and stylish M.C. Escher-inspired puzzler is now available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

RageSquid and publisher No More Robots had a surprise in store this week when they suddenly released Descenders Next during a showcase of that game and its downhill biking-focused predecessor. This is a multiplayer action sports game that, at the outset, features snowboarding and mountainboarding. The developers plan to add more extreme sports over time (the game is currently in early access and there’s a two-year roadmap to the 1.0 release). Descenders Next is available on Steam, Xbox and Game Pass for Xbox and PC.

Wheel World seems much more relaxing than Descenders Next, even though your mission is to save the world from complete collapse. The launch trailer for this open-world cycling game from Messhof (Nidhogg) has impeccable vibes. Between races, you’ll be able to search for parts to upgrade your bike. Given its stellar track record, any game that Annapurna Interactive publishes is worth checking out, and I’ll certainly be giving Wheel World a spin. It’s out now on Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

Wildgate is a multiplayer shooter from publisher Dreamhaven’s Moonshot Games division. Dreamhaven CEO Mike Morhaime is a co-founder and former president of Blizzard. Almost all of the company’s first wave of employees used to work at Blizzard too. So it’s maybe not too much of a surprise that Wildgate has a polished, colorful look. The team extraction shooter — which is now available on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S — has spaceship-based combat and a procedurally-generated map to help switch things up from game-to-game.

Dreamhaven has had quite a busy 2025 so far. It has released the full version of the enjoyable action RPG Lynked: Banner of the Spark (by FuzzyBot Games), forged a publishing partnership with Game River for its tactical wargame Mechabellum and unleashed two games of its own in the shape of tabletop RPG party game Sunderfolk and now Wildgate.

Supervive (previously known as Project Loki) is a game we’ve had an eye on for a while and it’s now out of early access on Steam. Theorycraft has overhauled this free-to-play MOBA/battle royale hybrid with the 1.0 update by introducing a larger map that has more traversal options, a two-seater aerial vehicle, more playable characters, faster revives, an upgraded user interface and much more.

Upcoming

Agefield High: Rock the School is a narrative adventure game that follows a high school senior after his parents move with him to a new town. Sam Tatum wants to make his last few months of school unforgettable, and if he feels the need to skip class or mow lawns for a few bucks to make that happen, so be it.

This project from Refugium Games, which is in development for PC and consoles and slated to debut in early 2026, already feels like it’s dripping with nostalgia, and that’s just based on the trailer and press release. It’s set in 2002 and is said to have a soundtrack filled with pop-punk tunes. Agefield High: Rock the School has a branching narrative too, with several endings to experience. The developers took some inspiration from Rockstar’s Bully and since we might not ever get a proper sequel to that game, Agefield High: Rock the School may just fill a certain void in my millennial heart.

I quite like the aesthetic of Oceaneers, a survival-crafting sim from Barrel Smash Studios. It seems to draw from the same well as Don’t Starve, but that’s hardly a bad thing. You’ll hop between islands in search of resources and ways to expand your colony. You’ll also battle sharks and crabs, and maybe even discover hidden bunkers — perhaps there’s someone inside who has to punch a sequence into a terminal every 108 minutes? Oceaneers is expected to hit Steam early access in 2026 with a demo dropping soon. Maybe I’ll start a long-overdue Lost rewatch in the meantime.

Getting lost in a fictional world for dozens upon dozens of hours can be quite appealing, and I do enjoy larger games in that vein. But so many games are too bloated these days and I do love shorter, more focused experiences. Catto’s Post Office is said to take around an hour to complete.

In this open-world title from In Shambles Studio and publisher Cult Games, you’ll play as a Postcat who delivers packages to the residents of a small town. You can do cat things like hide in boxes, knock stuff over and meow whenever you like with a dedicated button. It looks too dang adorable. Catto’s Post Office will cost $5 when it hits Steam on August 4, and there will be a 20 percent launch discount.

You know how, in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud has a massive sword? Well, what if you could have a weapon like that in a puzzle-focused action platformer? Enter the wonderfully titled Gigasword from solo developer Studio Hybrid and publisher Akupara Games. Along with using your weapon to take out unfortunate baddies and beastly bosses, you’ll employ it to solve puzzles and help with platforming. Gigasword is coming to Steam on October 2, and there’s a demo available now.

Speaking of games with fantastic names, The Player Who Can’t Level Up sure has one of those. This is an action roguelite that is based on a webtoon that debuted last year. It has a slick, gorgeous trailer and — as the title suggests — you won’t be able to level up your character. You can, however, select perks to help you hunt monsters. Tripearl Games is the studio behind the project, for which it’s targeting a 2026 debut on PC and consoles.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/extreme-sports-an-fps-from-former-blizzard-devs-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-110007013.html?src=rss