Tag Archives: author_name|Mariella Moon

Instagram is reportedly recommending sexual Reels to teens as young as 13

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Instagram is recommending Reels with sexual content to teenagers as young as 13 even if they aren't specifically looking for racy videos, according to separate tests conducted by The Wall Street Journal and Northeastern University professor Laura Edelson. Both of them created new accounts and set their ages to 13-years-old for the tests, which mostly took place from January until April this year. Apparently, Instagram served moderately racy videos from the beginning, including those of women dancing sensually or those that focus on their bodies. Accounts that watched those videos and skipped other Reels then started getting recommendations for more explicit videos. 

Some of the recommended Reels contained women pantomiming sex acts, others promised to send nudes to users who comment on their accounts. The test users were also reportedly served videos with people flashing their genitalia, and in one instance, the supposed teen user was shown "video after video about anal sex." It took as little as three minutes after the accounts were created to start getting sexual Reels. Within 20 minutes of watching them, their recommended Reels section was dominated by creators producing sexual content. 

To note, The Journal and Edelson conducted the same test for TikTok and Snapchat and found that neither platform recommended sexual videos to the teen accounts they created. The accounts never even saw recommendations for age-inappropriate videos after actively searching for them and following creators that produce them. 

The Journal says that Meta's employees identified similar problems in the past, based on undisclosed documents it saw detailing internal research on harmful experiences on Instagram for young teenagers. Meta's safety staff previously conducted the same test and came up with similar results, the publication reports. Company spokesperson Andy Stone shrugged off the report, however, telling The Journal: "This was an artificial experiment that doesn’t match the reality of how teens use Instagram." He added that the company "established an effort to further reduce the volume of sensitive content teens might see on Instagram, and have meaningfully reduced these numbers in the past few months."

Back in January, Meta introduced significant privacy updates related to teen user protection and automatically placed teen users into its most restrictive control settings, which they can't opt out of. The Journals' tests were conducted after those updates rolled out, and it was even able to replicate the results as recently as June. Meta released the updates shortly after The Journal published the results of a previous experiment, wherein it found that Instagram’s Reels would serve "risqué footage of children as well as overtly sexual adult videos" to test accounts that exclusively followed teen and preteen influencers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-is-reportedly-recommending-sexual-reels-to-teens-as-young-as-13-121626058.html?src=rss

Snap will pay $15 million to settle California lawsuit alleging sexual discrimination

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The California Civil Rights Department has revealed that Snap Inc. has agreed to pay $15 million to settle the lawsuit it filed "over alleged discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against women at the company." California's civil rights agency started investigating the company behind Snapchat over three years ago due to claims that it discriminated and retaliated against female employees. The agency accused the company of failing the make sure that female employees were paid equally despite a period of rapid growth between 2015 to 2022. 

Women, especially those in engineering roles, were allegedly discouraged to apply for promotions and lost them to less qualified male colleagues when they did. The agency said that they also had to endure unwelcome sexual advances and faced retaliation when they spoke up. Female employees were given negative performance reviews, were denied opportunities and, ultimately, were terminated.

"In California, we’re proud of the work of our state’s innovators who are a driving force of our nation’s economy," CRD Director Kevin Kish said in a statement. "We're also proud of the strength of our state’s civil rights laws, which help ensure every worker is protected against discrimination and has an opportunity to thrive. This settlement with Snapchat demonstrates a shared commitment to a California where all workers have a fair chance at the American Dream. Women are entitled to equality in every job, in every workplace, and in every industry."

Snapchat denies that the company has an issue with pay inequality and sexual discrimination. In a statement sent to Politico and Bloomberg, it says it only decided to settle due to the costs and impact of a lengthy litigation. "We care deeply about our commitment to maintain a fair and inclusive environment at Snap, and do not believe we have any ongoing systemic pay equity, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation issues against women. While we disagreed with the California Civil Rights Department's claims and analyses, we took into consideration the cost and impact of lengthy litigation, and the scope of the CRD’s other settlements, and decided it is in the best interest of the company to resolve these claims and focus on the future," the company explains.

Under the settlement terms, which still have to be approved by a judge, $14.5 million of the total amount will go towards women who worked as employees at Snap Inc. in California between 2014 and 2024. The company will also be required to have a third-party monitor audit its sexual harassment, retaliation and discrimination compliance.

California's Civil Rights Department was the same agency that sued Activision Blizzard in 2021 and accused the company of fostering a "frat boy" culture that encouraged rampant misogyny and sexual harassment. The agency also found that women in the company were overlooked for promotions and were paid less than their male colleagues. It settled with the video game developer in late 2023 for $54 million, though it had to withdraw its claims that there was widespread sexual harassment at the company. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/snap-will-pay-15-million-to-settle-california-lawsuit-alleging-sexual-discrimination-120019788.html?src=rss

California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to restrict phone use in schools

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Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has issued a statement in support of efforts aiming to restrict the use of smartphones in schools within the state. As The New York Times reports, the governor aired his stance merely hours before board members at the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to pass a proposal for a school phone ban. Newsom said he will work with lawmakers "to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day" this summer, because children and teens "should be focused on their studies — not their screens."

The governor also mentioned and agreed with the US Surgeon General's op-ed published by The Times, wherein he said that social media platforms should be required to display warning labels from his office because they can significantly harm teenagers' mental health. In his piece, Vivek Murthy explained that the label "which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe."

Newsom said the rules he develops will build upon the directive he signed in 2019, which authorizes (but doesn't require) districts to adopt phone bans. If California does pass a law to ban the use of phone during school hours, it'll join Florida and Indiana in the list of states with similar legislation. Florida's schools are required to prevent their students from using their phones during class time, and some districts even require them to ban phone use until it's time for the students to go home. Other states are poised to follow suit. New York City designated social media as a public health hazard earlier this year, and Governor Kathy Hochul previously said that she would pursue phone restrictions for schools in the New York state next year.

While LA's board members ultimately passed the proposal for a phone ban, two members voted against it. One told The Times that he voted no because teachers are already having difficulties imposing existing restrictions in schools. Perhaps more importantly, he said that parents need to be able to contact their children during emergencies, like school shootings, echoing the concerns of parents who opposed phone bans in the past. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/california-governor-gavin-newsom-wants-to-restrict-phone-use-in-schools-120012532.html?src=rss

More than 1,000 students pledge not to work at Google and Amazon due to Project Nimbus

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No Tech for Apartheid (NOTA), a coalition of tech workers demanding big tech companies to drop their contracts with the Israeli government, is close to reaching its goal for a campaign asking students not to work with Google and Amazon. As Wired reports, more than 1,100 people who identified themselves as STEM students and young workers have taken the pledge to refuse jobs from the companies "for powering Israel's Apartheid system and genocide against Palestinians." Based on its website, NOTA's goal is to gather 1,200 signatures for the campaign. 

"As young people and students in STEM and beyond, we refuse to have any part in these horrific abuses. We’re joining the #NoTechForApartheid campaign to demand Amazon and Google immediately end Project Nimbus," part of the pledge reads. Google and Amazon won a $1.2 billion contract under Project Nimbus to provide the Israeli government and military with cloud computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence services. A Google spokesperson previously denied that the company's Nimbus contract deals with "highly sensitive, classified or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services."

As two of the biggest tech companies on the planet, Google and Amazon are also two of the biggest employees of STEM graduates. Wired says the campaign's pledgers include undergraduate and graduate students from Stanford, UC Berkeley, the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University — institutions located in the same state as Google's HQ. 

NOTA had also organized actions protesting tech companies' involvement with Israel in the past, including sit-ins and office takeovers that had led Google to fire dozens of workers. In March, one of its organizers was fired from Google after interrupting one of its executives at an Israeli tech conference in New York and loudly proclaiming that he refuses to "build technology that powers genocide or surveillance."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/more-than-1000-students-pledge-not-to-work-at-google-and-amazon-due-to-project-nimbus-042439081.html?src=rss

Gemini in Google Messages now works on any Android phone

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At MWC earlier this year, Google announced Gemini's integration with Messages, giving you a way to access the chatbot from within the texting app. The feature was limited to newer Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones at launch, but now Google has updated its Help page to say that all you need to access it is an "Android device with 6GB of RAM or higher." 9to5Google first reported the change, along with the news that the feature is launching in India. 

At the moment, Google Messages only supports Gemini in the English language in 164 countries where it's available. The only exception is Canada, where it also supports French. (If you're curious, the feature hasn't made its way to France just yet.) Google says it's "working hard" to make it available in more languages and more territories in the future. But for now, your phone has to be set to English — or French, if you're in Canada — if you want to be able to get Gemini to draft messages, plan events or even just chat with you to pass time. 

Take note that you also have to be 18 or over and be using Google Messages with an account you manage on your own to be able to access the feature. You'll also need to make sure your RCS chats is switched on. To access Gemini, simply open the Messages app and start a new conversation to see the option to talk with the chatbot. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gemini-in-google-messages-now-works-on-any-android-phone-130034890.html?src=rss

Google DeepMind’s new AI tech will generate soundtracks for videos

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Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence laboratory is working on a new technology that can generate soundtracks, even dialogue, to go along with videos. The lab has shared its progress on the video-to-audio (V2A) technology project, which can be paired with Google Veo and other video creation tools like OpenAI's Sora. In its blog post, the DeepMind team explains that the system can understand raw pixels and combine that information with text prompts to create sound effects for what's happening onscreen. To note, the tool can also be used to make soundtracks for traditional footage, such as silent films and any other video without sound. 

DeepMind's researchers trained the technology on videos, audios and AI-generated annotations that contain detailed descriptions of sounds and dialogue transcripts. They said that by doing so, the technology learned to associate specific sounds with visual scenes. As TechCrunch notes, DeepMind's team isn't the first to release an AI tool that can generate sound effects — ElevenLabs released one recently, as well — and it won't be the last. "Our research stands out from existing video-to-audio solutions because it can understand raw pixels and adding a text prompt is optional," the team writes.

While the text prompt is optional, it can be used to shape and refine the final product so that it's as accurate and as realistic as possible. You can enter positive prompts to steer the output towards creating sounds you want, for instance, or negative prompts to steer it away from the sounds you don't want. In the sample below, the team used the prompt: "Cinematic, thriller, horror film, music, tension, ambience, footsteps on concrete.

The researchers admit that they're still trying to address their V2A technology's existing limitations, like the drop in the output's audio quality that can happen if there are distortions in the source video. They're also still working on improving lip synchronizations for generated dialogue. In addition, they vow to put the technology through "rigorous safety assessments and testing" before releasing it to the world. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-deepminds-new-ai-tech-will-generate-soundtracks-for-videos-113100908.html?src=rss

Neopets is back with a new storyline that’s meant to foster inclusivity

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Neopets has been trying to get back its once substantial userbase over the past year by fixing and relaunching its classic games, holding timely events and releasing new features meant to get people hooked on the virtual website again. Today, Neopets is launching a new storyline — or as the website calls it, a new "plot" — which is typically a site event that requires players to solve puzzles, fight opponents in the Battledome and do other activities in order to participate. Neopets says it spent the past three years crafting a narrative that "resonates with players from all walks of life" for the plot called "The Void Within."

The storyline will feature a new protagonist named Nyx who'll embark on a journey with players to explore "themes of community, family, inclusion, well-being and identity." Together, they'll have to find a way to banish the gray curse that's killing all the colors across the Neopets universe. As part of the event, players will get access to new items, like a range of diverse hairstyles, as well as pride and accessibility customization options, for their characters. The website has also removed outdated terms and lore used years ago, has given the Library Faerie a wheelchair and has introduced new social media mascots with accessibility items like hearing aids. 

The Void Within starts rolling out today, with more episodes coming out one by one until early 2025. Neopets is also advising old players to log in if they haven't visited in recent years, because it's removing accounts that have been inactive for a decade by October, ahead of its 25th anniversary.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/neopets-is-back-with-a-new-storyline-thats-meant-to-foster-inclusivity-161213313.html?src=rss

Until Dawn’s original actors will not star in its film adaptation

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PlayStation Productions and Screen Gems have announced the cast for the upcoming movie adaptation of the interactive horror game Until Dawn. According to Deadline, the ensemble will include Ella Rubin, who stars alongside Anne Hathaway in Amazon Prime's The Idea of You, and Michael Cimino, who played Victor Salazar in Hulu's Love, Victor. Expats' Ji-young Yoo and Sitting in Bars with Cake's Odessa A'zion have also signed on to play characters in the game revolving around eight young adults who have to survive the night at a remote mountain lodge while being hunted by a killer.

Supermassive Games got some pretty well-known actors to provide motion capture and voice acting for the game's characters, including Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere. They're no longer the right age to play their original roles, so it doesn't come as a surprise that they're not involved in the project. But since they're not unknown motion capture actors, the filmmakers are dealing with a unique situation in that famous people's faces are tied to the characters other people will now portray.

"At PlayStation Productions, we are always looking to find creative and authentic ways to adapt our beloved games that our fans will enjoy," Asad Qizilbash, head of Sony's production company, told Deadline. "Alongside Screen Gems, we’ve assembled a fantastic cast of new characters that builds upon our already stellar filmmaking team and their vision for the adaptation."

The game itself is getting a remake for the PS5 and for PC. It was built in Unreal Engine 5 for the newer console, and it will add a third-person camera mode, new locations and new interactions to the original. Until Dawn's remake is coming out sometime this fall.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/until-dawns-original-actors-will-not-star-in-its-film-adaptation-110036254.html?src=rss

Microsoft postpones the launch of its controversial Recall AI feature

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Microsoft's Recall AI feature won't be launching with the first batch of Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs on June 18. In an update on the Windows Blog, the company said that Recall will shift from being a "preview experience broadly available for Copilot+ PCs" next week to a preview that's only available in the Windows Insider Program. It will only release the feature for all Copilot+ PCs after it receives feedback from its Insider Community of testers. 

The company added that it's adjusting Recall's release to "ensure the experience meets [its] high standards for quality and security." Microsoft has faced a lot of criticism related to Recall ever since it announced the feature at an event in May. Recall gives users a way to find anything they've ever looked at on their computer — web pages, images, documents, emails, presentations, chat threads, so on and so forth. It works by taking screenshots of a user's activity every few seconds and then storing them in the "Recall timeline." 

Microsoft assured users when it launched that Recall processes data locally and will keep their information secure, but that wasn't enough to assuage critics' privacy concerns. The company announced more privacy and security changes to Recall earlier this month, including making it opt-in. When a user sets up a Copilot+ PC, its Windows OS will ask them whether they want to enable the feature. Users will also need to verify their identities through a Windows Hello authentication method, such as facial recognition or fingerprint scan, before they can access the encrypted Recall timeline. That's not a foolproof method, however, since anybody who knows their PIN will still be able to see their Recall snapshots. 

Despite those changes, Microsoft has chosen to delay Recall's launch. Maybe the company realized that there's room for improvement and that it's better to be absolutely sure that the feature won't end up becoming a massive privacy and security nightmare. At the moment, it doesn't have an exact date for Recall's availability in the Windows Insider Program yet. It will be accessible to testers in the coming weeks, though, and the company will publish a new blog post on how to get its preview version when it comes out. Testers will need a Copilot+ PC to be able to access it, though, since the feature will only work with advanced CPUs that come with neural processing units (NPUs) for AI tasks.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-postpones-the-launch-of-its-controversial-recall-ai-feature-031554596.html?src=rss

Insta360’s GO 3S is its new tiny wearable camera with 4K video

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If you're looking for a discreet action camera that can take Dolby Vision-ready 4K resolution videos, Insta360's latest model is a great candidate. The Insta360 GO 3S is an updated version of the GO 3 action camera the company released last year, and it comes with several upgrades in addition to its capability to capture 4K 30fps footage. It's equipped with a chip that has 50 percent more computing power than its predecessor's, and it has a new wide-angle lens that enables videos with less distortion and straighter edges. The model can also take smoother slow-motion footage with a 1080p resolution at 200fps or a 2.7K resolution at 100fps. 

Insta360's new action-camera is compatible with Apple's Find My network, which sounds incredibly useful for such a small device that could be easily misplaced. It also has native waterproofing for up to 33 feet, or twice that of the GO 3. If you want to switch from horizontal to vertical shooting, you can simply twist the camera. And if the device is out of reach, you can use its new hand gesture feature to start or to stop shooting, as well as to take photos. 

A person holding a phone with a tiny camera attached to it.
Insta360

For hands-free shooting, you can set a recording frequency and length if you want the camera to automatically record your day, thanks to its new Interval Video mode. Plus, you can use its app's new Auto Edit function to get an AI to combine several clips into one long video, with scoring, in case you'd rather not edit your footage manually. 

The model's Action Pod serves as its all-in-one housing, remote control and charger, and you can still preview your shots on its 2.2-inch touchscreen that you can flip up or down. Aside from the Action Pod, the Insta360 GO 3S standard bundle also comes with a magnet pendant and an easy clip that you can use to attach the camera to your cap, clothes, your pet's collar or anywhere else you want to. It also ships with a pivot stand and a lens guard. The standard bundle is now available for purchase around the world via the Insta360 website and retailers like Amazon. You can choose between the 64GB and the 128GB variant, which will set you back $400 and $430, respectively. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/insta360s-go-3s-is-its-new-tiny-wearable-camera-with-4k-video-130044121.html?src=rss