Valve opens the door to more Steam games developed with AI

Illustration: The Verge

Valve has issued new rules about how game developers can publish games that use AI technology on Steam. Writing in a blog post, the company says that it is “making changes to how we handle games that use AI technology” which mean that developers will need to disclose when their games use it. The changes “will enable us to release the vast majority of games that use” AI, Valve’s post says.

The changes appear designed to increase transparency around the use of AI in Steam games, while offering protections against the risks of using AI generated content and allowing customers to make an informed choice about whether to buy a game that uses AI technology.

Under the new rules, developers will need to disclose when games contain pre-generated...

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Tesla’s upgraded 2024 Model 3 is now available in the US

Tesla Model 3 (2024) | Image: Tesla

An updated version of Tesla’s Model 3 sedan that was released in markets across Europe, the Middle East, and China last fall is now available in North America. Reportedly codenamed “Highland” while it was in development, it introduces several noticeable tweaks to Tesla’s mainstream electric sedan.

From the outside, the front end’s distinctive bump has been removed, with a sleeker hood and low-profile headlights compared to the old model that Tesla says is “optimized for max aerodynamics,” which should mean more range. It’s also available in two new colors, Stealth Grey and Ultra Red.

Image: Tesla

Tesla’s new and old Model 3 designs, 2023 on the left in red, and the “Highland” 2024 Model 3 in grey on the right.

T...

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Echo brings the best of Netflix’s Marvel era energy to Disney Plus

Marvel Studios

Disney Plus’ Echo limited miniseries feels like the studio’s first successful attempt at matching the energy that made Netflix’s Marvel shows great.

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Sony brings Fortnite to the car (bumper)

Where we drivin’? | Image: Sony

Sony and Honda’s in-development Afeela EV will let you display messages and images on its front bumper, according to a new video about the car, including the ability to... advertise video games.

You can see the screen-ified bumper — sorry, the “Media Bar” — starting at 3:17 in the video. The video does show some more sensible uses of the Media Bar, like displaying the name of the car, a red warning sign, or even a birthday greeting. But the video also shows how you can display logos for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Fortnite, and Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition, which is just ridiculous.

That’s not the only weird — and potentially distracting and dangerous — tech thing packed into the screen-filled car. One feature,...

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FCC says low-income internet subsidies are endangered as funding runs low

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says that it will be forced to sunset its internet subsidy for low-income families, known as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), in May if it doesn’t receive additional funding. The program is currently only funded through April this year, despite a White House push for a $6 billion extension.

CNN reports that today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the House and Senate plan to submit a bill requesting its extension. The extension bill, reportedly called the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, will be introduced in Congress tomorrow to provide a $7 billion extension for the program.

But the bill will have to overcome objections from Republicans in the House and Senate...

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Humane lays off 4 percent of employees before releasing its AI Pin

The Humane AI pin retails for $699 and requires a $24 per month subscription. | Image: Humane

Humane laid off 4 percent of employees this week in a move that was described as a cost cutting measure to those who were impacted, according to sources familiar with the matter_._ Employees were recently told by leadership that budgets would be lowered this year, said one of the people, who requested anonymity to speak without the company’s permission.

The cuts, which numbered 10 people, come ahead of the the five-year-old startup shipping its first device: a $699, screenless, AI-powered pin that is pitched as a smartphone replacement. After a lot of hype and secrecy, Humane unveiled the AI Pin to the world in November and began accepting preorders, with shipments planned to begin in March.

Humane has raised over $200 million from a...

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Intel: ‘We are bringing the AI PC to the car’

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

A few months after Intel’s CEO announced plans to put AI into “everything,” we’re starting to get a clearer picture about where it will go first. Today, the company announced its AI-focused chip for the automotive sector or, as Intel describes it, “the first-generation AI-enhanced software-defined vehicle system-on-chip.” Intel also announced the acquisition of an energy management company and a new effort to standardize battery power for electric vehicles.

Intel has been locked in a race with Nvidia and AMD to corner the market in processors and other hardware needed to fuel the AI boom. Now, it’s shifting to AI PCs, arguing that AI is more secure when running on a personal computer as opposed to over the internet.

The companies also...

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Podcasting is in its YouTube era

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

This is Hot Pod_,_ The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.

Welcome back, and happy new year! I am plugging away at Hot Pod Summit preparations and very excited to reveal our lineup next week. In the meantime, the lottery is still open, so please let us know if you are interested in attending.

Today, YouTube at very long last debuts RSS integration. Plus, Audacy files for bankruptcy and PRX announces a new distribution deal with Condé Nast. Let’s get into it.

YouTube finally supports RSS

YouTube is making good on its promise to support RSS feeds. In a blog post and video published today, the company provided instructions for podcasters on how to connect their RSS feeds to YouTube Studio. It’s...

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The best instant cameras you can buy right now

Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge

We found the best cameras for your budget and needs.

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Not even Notepad is safe from Microsoft’s big AI push in Windows

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Microsoft said 2024 was going to be “the year of the AI PC,” and it looks like that’s ringing true already. Microsoft appears to be readying a new generative AI feature for its Notepad application that’s built into Windows. While the software giant hasn’t officially announced it, eagle-eyed Windows watchers have discovered code in Microsoft’s latest test builds of Windows 11 that indicate a new “Cowriter” feature could be on the way soon.

It looks like it has the same credits system that Microsoft uses in its Cocreator feature in Paint to let Windows users know how many more times they can use these AI-powered features. Microsoft hasn’t announced pricing for these credits yet, but one can assume the company will eventually start charging...

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Walmart is betting that AI can help you shop faster — and maybe do your shopping for you

If AI can fix grocery shopping, count me in. | Photo: Walmart

Imagine never running out of milk again. You pour the last bit into your cereal — which is, incidentally, also empty now — and then head to work. By the time you get home the empties have been replaced as if by magic.

Walmart thinks it can make this happen, with the help of AI. The company announced a new feature of its InHome replenishment service that aims to automatically order the right stuff at the right time, and hand it off to a delivery person who can drop things off in a fridge in your house. Shoppers with the $20 monthly InHome membership already get the seamless drop-off, but they still have to select items themselves. By training its models on both your habits and Walmart’s overall knowledge of how people buy and consume...

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Walmart is bringing drone deliveries to 1.8 million more Texas households

Image: Walmart / Zipline

Walmart is expanding its drone delivery program to 1.8 million more households in Texas. The retailer says its drone deliveries now cover 75 percent of the population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, all thanks to partnerships with drone startups Wing and Zipline.

Walmart launched its drone delivery program with Zipline and DroneUp in Arkansas in 2021 before expanding it to more states in 2022. The newly expanded service in Texas allows customers living within 10 miles of a participating Walmart to get items delivered to their homes via drone.

GIF: Walmart

Since there is a weight limit, customers can only have smaller products like cold medicine, birthday candles, and even a carton of eggs delivered. Walmart...

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The SEC’s X account was hijacked to post a fake approval of Bitcoin ETFs

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s official social media account on X (formerly Twitter) posted a notice on Tuesday evening claiming it had approved listings for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which has since been deleted. Moments later, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a post on his own account that the agency’s account was “compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted.”

The SEC followed up with a post reiterating Gensler’s statement about the hack, and a spokesperson from the agency confirmed that statement to CNBC.

The post from the SEC’s account said, “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities. The approved Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing surveillance...

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I just watched the first interactive broadcast TV channel in the US

That’s a whole navigable UI... on broadcast TV. | Photo by Alex Cranz / The Verge

If you happen to live in Las Vegas and have a TV with an ATSC 3.0 tuner, then, for the next few days, there will be a new channel on your TV. At first, the Roxi channel just appears to play music videos, but when you hit the pause button on your remote, the TV pauses — despite being a broadcast channel. There’s no DVR involved or app you need to download. And with the press of your remote, you can skip ahead to the next music video or even choose from other playlists, all within the broadcast channel. It’s something that’s been central to the promise of ATSC 3.0, and Roxi thinks it’s finally delivering.

Roxi CEO Rob Lewis knows a bit about music streaming. In the 2000s, he was the CEO of Omnifone, one of the first music streaming...

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Pennsylvania government workers will start using ChatGPT in test program

Illustration: The Verge

The state of Pennsylvania will deploy OpenAI’s enterprise ChatGPT service in a pilot program to help state employees do administrative work.

The pilot begins this month and will be limited to an unspecified number of Pennsylvania’s Office of Administration employees, but it could be expanded to other state workers in the future, a press release from Governor Josh Shapiro said. The state says it will consider feedback from the initial batch of employees before it releases another 100 licenses to access ChatGPT Enterprise.

“Our goal with the pilot is to work closely with a small number of employees to figure out where we can have the greatest impact using generative AI tools,” said Neil Weaver, secretary of Pennsylvania’s Office of...

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Netflix’s new 3 Body Problem trailer is all about the mystery

Image: Netflix

We’re inching ever closer to 3 Body Problem’s premiere on Netflix, and today, that means another glimpse at the sci-fi adaptation. Whereas the previous trailer focused on the incredibly immersive virtual reality game at the core of the story, the latest clip focuses on something different: the mystery. Basically, a whole bunch of scientists have gone missing, and Benedict Wong’s character is trying to figure out what it all means.

The show, of course, is based on the novel by Cixin Liu (which was just the first part of a trilogy), and Netflix describes the premise thusly:

The story begins in 1960s China when a young woman makes a fateful decision that reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature as we...

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Luminar says its laser sensors can do automatic emergency steering

Image: Luminar

All vehicles are required to have automatic emergency braking, but the technology is not the best at preventing crashes, especially at highway speeds. But what about automatic emergency steering?

Florida-based lidar company Luminar unveiled a new automatic emergency steering (AES) feature powered by its Iris Plus sensor. The idea is to use the laser sensor, in combination with the vehicle’s other safety systems, to proactively avoid crashes without driver intervention.

The company demonstrated the new feature at CES in Las Vegas this week. The hope is that Luminar’s long-range lidar, with up to 300 meters (984 feet) of range in the right conditions, can detect obstacles and initiate driving maneuvers before the driver does.

The...

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NASA’s Artemis mission to take humans back to the Moon has been delayed until 2025

Photo by Loren Grush / The Verge

NASA has pushed back its timeline for its Artemis missions that would send human beings to the Moon, including landing on the south pole. The first of these, Artemis II, will launch in September 2025 and will orbit the Earth’s satellite, with the landing mission, Artemis III, now planned for a year later in September 2026. Artemis IV remains on track with a 2028 launch planned, the agency wrote in its announcement today.

The future missions are intended to “establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon” and would “land the first woman and the first person of color” on its surface. NASA said that it is pushing the missions back primarily to make sure its crew is safe, as the agency needs to resolve a battery...

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Mercedes-Benz taps Will.i.am to create an ‘interactive musical experience’ for its cars

Image: Mercedes-Benz AG

People love to play their music while driving, but unless you’re some sort of wizard with control over time and space, rarely does the beat actually match up with the rhythm of acceleration and steering. Mercedes-AMG aims to change that with a new “interactive musical experience” that it’s created along with musician and entrepreneur Will.i.am.

At CES this year, the automaker announced MBUX Sound Drive, a new feature that uses sensors and software to link music to driving. It’s hard to describe, but Mercedes says it’s composed musical tracks to pair with regular functions like recuperation, acceleration, steering, and braking, turning the whole car — as Will.i.am puts it — into its own “orchestra.”

A new feature that uses sensors and...

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Mercedes-Benz’s best-in-class voice assistant is getting an AI boost

Image: Mercedes-Benz AG

Mercedes-Benz is supercharging its in-car voice assistant with generative AI, paving the way for more natural interactions and personalized driver experiences.

The automaker’s upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant will run on the next-generation MB.OS operating system to create “the most human-like interface with a Mercedes-Benz yet,” the company says. Examples include predictive behavior, like playing the morning’s news headlines upon entering the vehicle or offering to dial into a meeting if the vehicle owner’s calendar indicates they are running late for a meeting.

Mercedes vehicles already have voice-command capabilities, allowing drivers to use the phrase, “Hey, Mercedes,” followed by a short command to do things like adjust the...

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Sony brought its new PS5 colors to CES

The PlayStation 5 “slim” is barely a couple months old, but Sony is already preparing to release new sideplates for the console. And the company is showing off a trio of those new color options — blue, silver, and red — here at CES 2024. The side covers will start at $54.99 when they go on sale in the near future.

Unlike the standard white PS5 slim, these don’t have the glossy / matte split between the top and bottom plates. I prefer matte all the way, so I’m happy to see that. (There’s no avoiding dust on that black center section of the PS5, unfortunately.)

Will Sony sell the detachable disc drive in new colors, too?

Sony’s playing it fairly safe with the colors here, but they all looked pretty eye-catching on...

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Honda debuts new global EV series, Honda Zero, coming in 2026

The Saloon concept will be the basis for the first Honda Zero production model coming in 2026. | Image: Honda

Honda announced a new global electric vehicle series, dubbed Honda Zero, presenting it as an antidote to the recent trend of “thick, heavy” EVs seen on the road today. Honda says it will introduce its first model, based on a sleek, sedan-like concept called the Saloon, starting in North America in 2026.

In addition to the Saloon, Honda also introduced a boxier van-esque concept called the Space-Hub. The concepts are meant to demonstrate Honda’s lighter approach to EV development, riding atop a “thin” vehicle architecture with a low floor that’s meant to accentuate aerodynamics.

Yep, still an H.

“Thin” and “light” are two of the three principles, the third being “wise,” that Honda says is guiding the development of...

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Hyundai says its four-passenger eVTOL will be ready for 2028

The last time Hyundai brought an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype to CES, it was 2020, and the South Korean automaker was talking bullishly about adding it to Uber’s forthcoming air taxi network.

Today, Uber’s air taxi network has been sold to another startup, the air taxi industry as a whole is still struggling to get a commercial service up and running, and Hyundai is unveiling a new “product concept” that it says will be ready for production by 2028.

Supernal, the automaker’s eVTOL division, says its S-A2 concept can cruise at 120mph and reach an altitude of 1,500 feet. It packs enough battery capacity for the type of 25- to 40-mile trips that helicopters commonly conduct between downtowns and airports for...

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L’Oréal’s futuristic hairdryer uses infrared light for smoother, more hydrated hair

The idea is to reduce heat damage and energy consumption. | Image: L’Oreal

L’Oréal has been a staple of CES for years, showing up with surprising twists on beauty products like a wearable UV sensor, a lipstick printer, and an AR-powered brow applicator. This year, the company is taking on the classic hairdryer with the AirLight Pro, and it’s doing so in an unconventional way.

Most conventional hairdryers rely on thermal coils to produce heat and air that then dries the hair. Unless you use heat protectant, it can be pretty brutal on your hair with frequent use. Meanwhile, Dyson’s Supersonic hairdryer mostly uses a powerful motor and clever ergonomic design to maximize airflow while also reducing heat. L’Oréal’s AirLight Pro also does that, but it adds infrared light into the mix.

Image:...

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The Rabbit R1 is an AI-powered gadget that can use your apps for you

The Rabbit R1 is not a phone... but it’s not not a phone. | Image: Rabbit

Jesse Lyu, the CEO and founder of an AI startup called Rabbit, says he doesn’t want to replace your smartphone. At least not right away. His company’s new gadget, a $199 standalone AI device called the R1, is so staggeringly ambitious that Lyu seems to think he can’t help but replace your phone at some point. Just not quite yet.

The R1 looks a little like a Playdate console or maybe a modernized version of one of those ’90s-era handheld TVs. It’s a standalone gadget about half the size of an iPhone with a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a rotating camera for taking photos and videos, and a scroll wheel / button you press to navigate around or talk to the device’s built-in assistant. It has a 2.3GHz MediaTek processor, 4GB of memory, and 128GB of...

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EcoFlow’s scalable solar generator can power your entire home or just a weekend away

A fully maxed out system like this will cost more than $50K, and that’s before you factor in the cost of solar and labor. | Image: EcoFlow

The Delta Pro Ultra is EcoFlow’s upgraded answer to US power outages that have been made worse by a surge in extreme weather. In the event of a blackout, the scalable battery solution can seamlessly switch over and provide days of backup power for your entire home or for more than a month if only powering your essential devices.

The Delta Pro Ultra isn’t just for emergencies, though. It can be configured with up to 16.8kW of total solar input to intelligently offset daily energy costs at home or act as a solar generator to continuously power an off-grid cabin or job site. It’s also portable enough to toss into a vehicle for any occasion that requires a big-ass battery.

The basic Delta Pro Ultra kit consists of two stackable units. On...

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Don Lemon, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jim Rome are pivoting to Twitter videos

Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images

Similar to the way X (formerly Twitter) offered Tucker Carlson a soapbox to broadcast from following his ouster from Fox News, the streaming platform is launching a trio of new shows built around former CNN journalist Don Lemon, ex-Representative Tulsi Gabbard, and sports radio host Jim Rome.

Today, X announced that it has tapped Lemon, Gabbard, and Rome to host three new series that will stream exclusively on the website. Per X, The Don Lemon Show will air three times a week, with each 30-minute-long episode exploring topics like “politics, culture, sports and entertainment” from Lemon’s “unique and honest” perspective. Over the course of multiple years, Rome is set to produce multiple shows as part of a content partnership with X. But...

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The Last of Us casts Kaitlyn Dever as Abby

Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Kaitlyn Dever will officially take on the role of Abby in the highly anticipated second season of The Last of Us, HBO announced on Tuesday.

Rumors about Dever’s role as Abby in the video game adaptation began circulating late last year. Abby is one of the major characters in The Last of Us Part II, the PlayStation game from which the second season will draw its story, and is a rival to protagonist Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey).

While Dever has starred in shows like Last Man Standing and Justified, her most recent performance as the main character in Hulu’s sci-fi flick No One Will Save You stands out, as her character remained silent for nearly the entire movie.

Kaitlyn Dever has joined the cast of the HBO Original series #TheLastofUs...

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Google is making your smart devices play nicer together

Faster pairing is caring. | Image: Google

Modern digital life comes with a great many gadgets — and those gadgets are often loath to work together. Nowhere is that more apparent than the OLED-paneled halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES, where Google is announcing some small efforts to get the wide constellation of gadgets in its ecosystem talking to each other a little more easily. Android’s AirDrop-like sharing feature is combining forces with Samsung, LG smart TVs are getting smart home updates, and TikTok is coming to Chromecast, among other things.

We were tipped off late last year that one of these features was coming, but it’s official now: Android’s Nearby Share will adopt the same name as Samsung’s sharing protocol and become Quick Share. That’s welcome...

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Asus’ new laptop has two screens and a removable keyboard

The Asus Zenbook Duo with its two 14-inch displays in Dual Screen mode.

Asus is back with another Zenbook Duo, the latest device in its range of dual-screened laptops. But rather than including a small secondary display above this laptop’s keyboard like previous Duos, the revamped version for 2024 has two equally sized 14-inch screens. They’re both OLED, with resolutions of up to 2880 x 1800, aspect ratios of 16:10, and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. Between them, they offer a total of 19.8 inches of usable screen real estate.

It’s a similar approach to the one Lenovo took with last year’s dual-screen Yoga Book 9i, albeit with a couple of tweaks. Like Lenovo, Asus gives you a choice of typing on the lower touchscreen via a virtual keyboard or by using a detachable physical Bluetooth keyboard. But what’s...

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