TikTok is adding an ‘AI-generated’ label to watermarked third-party content

Image: The Verge

TikTok already automatically applies an “AI-generated” tag to content on its platform made using TikTok’s AI tools, and that same label will now apply to content created on other platforms. Now, TikTok will detect when images or videos are uploaded to its platform containing metadata tags indicating the presence of AI-generated content and says it’s the first social media platform to support the new Content Credentials.

Support for the Adobe-developed tagging system (which has been added to tools like Photoshop and Firefly) comes as TikTok partners with Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) as well as the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).

Image: TikTok

TikTok writes that Content...

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Warner Bros. Discovery’s first new Lord of the Rings movie is due out in 2026

Photo: New Line Cinema

Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it was working on “multiple Lord of the Rings movies’’ with New Line Cinema, the production company that put out Peter Jackson’s original trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. Now, we know when the first of those new movies is probably hitting theaters.

During an earnings call today, WBD CEO David Zaslav announced that the company expects Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum to debut sometime in 2026 and “explore storylines yet to be told.” Andy Serkis is set to direct the film and reprise his role as the titular Hobbit-like man whose encounters with the One Ring transform him into a crazed ghoul, and Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens have joined the project as producers.

In a...

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The joy of getting lost in Animal Well’s cryptic world

Image: Bigmode Games

Talk to someone who is fully immersed in the indie game Animal Well, and you’re bound to hear some strange things. They might get excited about a new way to use a Frisbee or be frustrated about playing music for a caged cat. They’ll probably chat your ear off about the dozens of different-colored eggs they’ve collected, and all of the ones that seem just out of reach. Mostly, though, what they’re saying will sound like gibberish. That’s because the world of Animal Well is so odd and cryptic it almost requires its own language to discuss — but once you speak it, it’s hard to think about anything else.

Animal Well is the first release from solo developer Billy Basso, and it’s probably best described as a Metroidvania. You play as a little...

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Motorola’s midrange stylus phone gets wireless charging and a glow-up

I hope other phone makers are taking notes on how to do a fun color. | Photo: Motorola

Motorola’s Moto G Stylus 5G is back this year with some notable spec bumps and an eye-catching new design. This year’s version gains wireless charging and an upgraded screen, while still holding onto vintage features like a headphone jack and microSD card slot — all for $399.

The G Stylus 5G is still a Big Phone with a capital B: it comes with a 6.7-inch screen. That’s a 1080p panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate, updating last year’s 6.6-inch LCD. There’s a generous 5,000mAh battery, compatible with 30W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The 2024 Stylus 5G uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset — interestingly, that’s the same as in last year’s model. We don’t often see phone makers going back to the same chipset two years in a...

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Why Spotify is still fighting with Apple in Europe

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Over the past couple of months, Spotify has been submitting update after update to Apple, changing the interface of its music streaming service to display pricing information in-app for users in the European Union. For users, this is barely worth noticing. But for Spotify, each submission has been yet another skirmish in its yearslong legal struggle with Apple in the EU. And right now, Spotify is the closest it’s ever been to getting Apple to finally cave.

In March, the European Commission ruled against Apple in an antitrust action over App Store restrictions on music streaming services. In 2019, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against Apple, claiming that the App Store’s cut of subscription fees — which can be up to 30 percent —...

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FDA recalls defective iOS app that injured over 200 insulin pump users

An updated version of the iOS app is available that should resolve the issue for impacted Tandem Diabetes Care customers. | Photo Illustration by Matt Harbicht/Getty Images for Tandem Diabetes Care

At least 224 people with diabetes have reported injuries linked to a defective iOS app that caused their insulin pumps to shut down prematurely, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On Wednesday, the agency announced that California-based medical device manufacturer Tandem Diabetes Care has issued a recall for version 2.7 of the iOS t:connect mobile app, which is used in conjunction with the company’s t:slim X2 insulin pump. Specifically, the recall relates to a software issue that can cause the app to repeatedly crash and relaunch, resulting in the pump’s battery being drained by excessive Bluetooth communication.

This battery drain can cause the pump to shut down “earlier than typically expected” according to Tandem,...

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WiiM announces two new wireless audiophile streamers — one with a touchscreen

WiiM has announced two new audiophile streaming devices for the high end of its wireless audio streaming devices. Called the WiiM Ultra and the WiiM Amp Pro, both support AirPlay 2, Chromecast, DLNA, and several other streaming protocols and will be available this summer.

Both devices are equipped with a 32-bit / 384kHz ES9038 Q2M Sabre DAC. (Last year’s Wiim Amp used an ES9018 Sabre DAC instead). They also use Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity, and they each sport the same shrunken-down Mac Studio look. WiiM says the two devices also automatically tune audio output to the room they’re in.

Image: Courtesy of WiiM

The WiiM Ultra, front and back.

But the WiiM Ultra has a 3.5mm touchscreen on...

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Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio

Image: Tango Gameworks

Today, one day after Microsoft announced that it would shut down four of its games studios, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, held a town hall to discuss the division’s future goals. “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards,” Booty told employees, according to internal remarks shared with The Verge.

For some listeners on the call, it was a surprising goal: Microsoft had just shut down the Japanese developer Tango Gameworks, which was coming off the small, prestigious hit title Hi-Fi Rush.

Hi-Fi Rush, which was a surprise release last year, was praised for its innovation and charm. The rhythm action game featured music by The Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails, with an art style that evoked the hyper-stylized games of the...

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Intel and motherboard makers disagree on how to stabilize your crashing i9 CPU

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Recently, motherboard makers have issued BIOS updates to improve the stability of Intel 13th and 14th Gen i9 chips in crashing games. But Intel, which announced last month that it was investigating these issues, is now asking gamers not to implement those settings.

The companies now seem to be at odds on how to adjust your CPU. Motherboard makers like Asus are recommending an “Intel Baseline Profile” with “basic functionality” and “lower power limits,” while Intel says you should go with a higher power profile depending on your motherboard and chip.

Here’s Intel’s full statement, from Anandtech:

Several motherboard manufacturers have released BIOS profiles labeled ‘Intel Baseline Profile’. However, these BIOS profiles are not the same...

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Microsoft’s ‘air gapped’ AI is a bot set up to process top-secret info

Image: The Verge

Microsoft Strategic Missions and Technology CTO William Chappell announced that it’s deployed a GPT-4 large language model in an isolated, air-gapped environment on a government-only network. Bloomberg first reported the setup, citing an unnamed executive who claimed that the Azure Government Top Secret cloud-hosted model represents the first time a “major” LLM has operated separated from the internet.

Chappell announced the AI supercomputer on Tuesday afternoon at the “first-ever AI Expo for National Competitiveness” in Washington D.C. Unlike the models behind ChatGPT or other tools, Microsoft says this server is “static,” operating without learning from the files it processes or the wider internet.

Chappell told Bloomberg, “It is now...

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Here are the best Apple Watch deals right now

The Apple Watch Series 9 doesn’t shake things up too much, but it does pack a handful of iterative updates. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

In September, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches, introducing the Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($799) alongside the Apple Watch Series 9 ($399). Each wearable has its own pros and cons, as does the second-gen Apple Watch SE ($249), but the introduction of the new wearables also means there are now more Apple Watch models on the market than ever before — and a lot more deals to be had.

But with all of those options, which one should you pick? Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 10, launched in September on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer, though no one can say with certainty whether the Series 4 will get the next...

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A Disney, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle is on the way

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

There’s a new streaming bundle coming to town. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to offer Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max in a bundle that will become available in the US this summer.

The new bundle will include both ad-supported and ad-free options, but there’s still no word on how much it will cost. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery say they will share “additional details” about the bundle in the “coming months.” Once available, you’ll be able to purchase the bundle from Disney Plus, Hulu, or Max’s website.

This fall, the Disney-owned ESPN will also offer a live sports streaming service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox.

The bundle comes at a pivotal point for the streaming industry, where companies are now turning their...

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China’s Chang’e 6 Moon probe has a mysterious guest on board

Check out the little wheels on the upper left side. | Image: CAST

China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe mission is bound for the far side of the Moon, and there seems to be a small rover affixed to the side of the lander, as seen in new images released by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

China’s National Space Administration announced today that the probe, which launched last week, has successfully entered the Moon’s orbit, a big step toward landing the spacecraft early next month.

Yeah, okay. That looks like a previously undisclosed mini rover on the side of the Chang'e-6 lander lol. Via CAST: https://t.co/gS0Jy5L9hw pic.twitter.com/9vvTnribpl

— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) May 3, 2024

But as Space.com reports, people have noticed that CAST’s published images show a mysterious mini rover — one that...

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OpenAI’s Model Spec outlines some basic rules for AI

Illustration: The Verge

AI tools behaving badly — like Microsoft’s Bing AI losing track of which year it is — has become a subgenre of reporting on AI. But very often, it’s hard to tell the difference between a bug and poor construction of the underlying AI model that analyzes incoming data and predicts what an acceptable response will be, like Google’s Gemini image generator drawing diverse Nazis due to a filter setting.

Now, OpenAI is releasing the first draft of a proposed framework, called Model Spec, that would shape how AI tools like its own GPT-4 model respond in the future. The OpenAI approach proposes three general principles — that AI models should assist the developer and end-user with helpful responses that follow instructions, benefit humanity...

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Walmart shopper data will soon feed targeted ads on Disney Plus and Hulu

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Advertisers can now use Walmart’s shopping data to target Disney’s streaming portfolio, which includes Disney Plus and Hulu, Adweek reports. The news comes after the companies announced a partnership between Disney Advertising and Walmart Connect, the retailer’s media business, on Wednesday.

As a part of the deal, Walmart advertisers will be able to match the retailer’s shopper data with Disney’s proprietary Audience Graph tools, helping them target audiences and measure data better. Datasets will be combined using clean-room technology so that — theoretically — user data can’t be shared with other external parties.

“Approximately 145 million customers shop with us online and in stores weekly,” Ryan Mayward, senior vice president of...

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People sure are pressed about Apple’s crushing iPad commercial

Sometimes, this is me. | Screenshot: Apple

Credit where it’s due: the commercial for the new iPad Pro is impeccable. In the commercial, a hydraulic press, like the kind that crushes Skittles all day on TikTok, slowly descends onto a whole amalgamation of artistic endeavors. As the large metal plate drops like Tesla’s stock in 2024, it crushes musical instruments and destroys classical sculptures. Tubes of paint pop like balloons sending a cascade of color across Apple’s carefully constructed canvas of stuff. Finally, it accomplishes its job. This gathering of creations meant to represent the whole history of human creativity is laid flat by the unstoppable force of Apple’s hydraulic press.

And then, as the press slowly rises, all of that artsy mess disappears. What is left behind...

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The Xbox app on Windows is getting even more handheld-friendly

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Microsoft introduced a compact mode for its Xbox app on Windows last year, which is designed to improve the handheld experience. While compact mode initially focused on UI improvements for small screens, Microsoft is moving on to tackling some of the challenges of navigating around the Xbox app with a D-pad and sticks.

In a new update for Xbox Insiders today, Microsoft is adding a new “Jump back in” feature that lets you quickly launch games you’ve recently played on a Windows handheld. Jump back in will list up to nine games on the main screen of the Xbox app, and you can press the menu button on a controller to launch the game directly.

Image: Microsoft

The new “Jump back in” section.

It’s intelligent enough...

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Inside Microsoft’s Xbox turmoil

Microsoft launched a fiery Xbox controller on the same day it announced gaming layoffs. | Image: Microsoft

Just hours after learning that Microsoft was shutting down a number of game studios this week, Dinga Bakaba, head of Microsoft-owned Arkane Lyon, decided to let the company know how he felt about the decision — right in public. “Don’t throw us into gold fever gambits, don’t use us as strawmen for miscalculations / blind spots, don’t make our work environments Darwinist jungles,” Bakaba wrote on X.

Bakaba, whose studio wasn’t impacted by the layoffs this week, said his message was aimed at “any executive reading this,” including the Xbox leaders behind the latest wave of layoffs. It was a rare public display of criticism, but sources at Microsoft tell me it reflects a growing discontent and fear among Xbox employees about what comes...

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You can save 15 percent on an LG C3, now as low as $847

The LG C3 is still one of the best gaming OLEDs you can buy in 2024. | Image: LG

With eBay’s spring sale going on right now and running through May 12th, you can save an extra 15 percent on purchases when you use code SPRING15OFF. There’s no minimum purchase amount required, but you can only save up to $500 on each of the two maximum purchases you’re allowed to make.

There are thousands of electronics you can purchase in the sale, but I want to shout out the 48-inch LG C3 today. Its usual $996.99 sale price was already beating traditional retailers by a few dollars, but with the code above, you can save another $149.55 and bring your total down to $847.44. You can use the same code on the 65-inch model, which then drops from $1,596.99 to $1,357.44 (around $240 off). The listings are by Electronic Express, a Verge-...

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The judge in Epic v. Apple thinks Apple’s being shady about buttons and links

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Epic Games and Apple are in court for evidentiary hearings for the next couple of weeks over whether Apple violated the anti-steering injunction set down by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in 2021 after their landmark trial.

These hearings are going to be a lot of nitty-gritty details about App Store guidelines. Today, for example, involves a lot of questioning about buttons. (Apple restricts button styles for links that go outside of their in-app payment system.)

But this interjection, from Judge Rogers, doesn’t look good for Apple:

I can’t imagine a logical reason why Apple would demand that of competitor apps. What’s a logical competitive reason, not for suggesting it, but demanding it? ... Other than to stifle competition, I see no...

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Marvel is bringing a mixed reality edition of What If…? to the Vision Pro

Who watches the watcher watching The Watcher watching them? | Image: Marvel / Disney

The Vision Pro is about to get what sounds like an honest-to-goodness mixed reality video experience from Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive, something the platform sorely needs. The companies announced What If...? – An Immersive Story, which they say is Disney Plus’ “first-ever” interactive original content. It’ll come exclusively to Apple’s VR headset and use a mixture of augmented and virtual reality.

The hour-long What If...? episode is based on Marvel’s Disney Plus show of the same name. It’s a promising development for starved Vision Pro owners, and not just because it’s far longer than the small library of immersive films Apple has offered to date.

Image: Marvel / Disney

Gimme that time stone.

Marvel says...

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You can get a $100 gift card when you preorder Google’s Pixel 8A

Say Aloe to my little friend. | Photo: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Apple and Sonos aren’t the only companies dominating the headlines with new devices this week. Google also officially announced the Pixel 8A following weeks of rumors, introducing the forthcoming handset a full week ahead of Google I/O 2024. The phone launches on May 14th, but you can preorder an unlocked model from Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store starting at $499 with a $100 gift card.

As expected, the upcoming Pixel 8A is aimed squarely at the midrange market. Google’s Pixel 7A ended up being our favorite Android phone for under $500 despite its $50 price bump, with much of its success riding on its 64MP main camera and a number of features typically reserved for more premium phones (ahem, wireless charging). The 8A only builds...

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Peacock is turning The Office into a franchise with a new spinoff series

Newer shows like Abbott Elementary have proven that there’s still interest in mockumentary-style TV more than a decade after The Officecame to an end, and NBC has plans to capitalize on the moment with a new series set in the same — apologies — universe Dunder Mifflin exists in.

Greg Daniels was responsible for adapting The Office for NBC, and the network announced today that he and Michael Koman are creating a new, untitled spinoff series for Peacock that will focus on “a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.” In a statement about the news, head of NBCUniversal Entertainment Lisa Katz noted how The Office has continued to draw viewers to Peacock more than a decade since the...

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Google DeepMind’s new AI can model DNA, RNA, and ‘all life’s molecules’

Illustration: The Verge

Google DeepMind is introducing an improved version of its AI model that predicts not just the structure of proteins, but also the structure of “all life’s molecules.” The work from the new model, AlphaFold 3, will help researchers in medicine, agriculture, materials science, and drug development test potential discoveries.

Previous versions of AlphaFold only predicted the structures of proteins. AlphaFold 3 goes beyond that and can model DNA, RNA, and smaller molecules called ligands, expanding the model’s capability for scientific use.

DeepMind says the new model shows a 50 percent improvement in prediction accuracy compared to its previous models. “With AlphaFold 2, it was a big milestone moment in structural biology and has unlocked...

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Uber’s not out of the woods yet

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In 2023, Uber achieved an important milestone, earning more money than it spent for a full year for the first time. It was widely seen as a sign that the perennially cash-strapped business was finally on a more sustainable path.

Today, there are signs that the journey may be longer than we thought.

The ridehailing and delivery company reported a surprise net loss of $654 million for the first quarter of the year, as legal settlements and equity investments proved to be more of a drag on Uber’s business than many expected.

The ridehailing and delivery company reported a surprise net loss of $654 million

Wall Street analysts had been expecting a profit of $474 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. In particular, the company’s...

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I regret to inform you that LinkedIn’s games are very fun

Photo: LinkedIn

I almost didn’t get Pinpoint this morning. Here’s what it taught me about B2B sales.

I’m kidding! But I have to admit something: I’ve been going on LinkedIn every day recently, and I’m having a great time. Last week, the company announced it was adding three games to its app, both on desktop and mobile, as a naked engagement ploy to get you to open the app every day. I hate to say this, but it’s working.

The three games are called Pinpoint, Crossclimb, and Queens. Pinpoint is basically The New York Times’ Categories game but in reverse: the game gives you items, and you have to guess the category. Crossclimb is like the Times’ mini crossword, with a twist that you then have to rearrange the answers into a word ladder. And Queens, my...

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Intel expects revenue blow after US blocks chip sales to Huawei

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Intel expects new export restrictions to China to impact its revenue for the next quarter, according to a new financial filing.

The US Department of Commerce said Tuesday it had revoked certain licenses for chip exports to sanctioned Chinese company Huawei. Intel said in its filing that the Commerce Department informed it Tuesday of the license change, which it said impacted the export of “consumer-related items to a customer in China, effective immediately.” Intel did not list Huawei by name in the filing.

Intel said its revenue for the second quarter of 2024 will still fall within the original range it outlined of $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion but below the midpoint.

Huawei has been on a US trade blacklist since 2019, limiting its...

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A new iPhone shortcut replicates Android’s best new feature

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

One of Android’s best new features, Circle to Search, is unfortunately not available to iPhone users. But Google is throwing Apple fans a bone with a solution that essentially replicates the function.

Google’s design manager for Google Lens, Minsang Choi, shared a new iOS shortcut in a post on X that’s designed to leverage the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro devices. When activated, the shortcut takes a screenshot of whatever you’re looking at and immediately funnels it into the Google app and runs a Lens scan. “It’s basically Circle to Search, but faster,” Choi exclaims.

GIF: Umar Shakir / The Verge

The Google app shortcut in action.

Over on 9to5Mac, author Abner Li discovered that the shortcut can also be...

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TikTok ban: all the news on attempts to ban the video platform

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images

Here’s a roundup of all the news about a new law requiring parent company ByteDance to sell off its platform.

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Stack Overflow is feeding programmers’ answers to AI, whether they like it or not

Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos: Getty Images

Stack Overflow’s new deal giving OpenAI access to its API as a source of data has users who’ve posted their questions and answers about coding problems in conversations with other humans rankled. Users say that when they attempt to alter their posts in protest, the site is retaliating by reversing the alterations and suspending the users who carried them out.

A programmer named Ben posted a screenshot yesterday of the change history for a post seeking programming advice, which they’d updated to say that they had removed the question to protest the OpenAI deal. “The move steals the labour of everyone who contributed to Stack Overflow with no way to opt-out,” read the updated post.

The text was reverted less than an hour later. A...

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