Tag Archives: author_name|Will Shanklin

Drake deletes AI-generated Tupac track after Shakur’s estate threatened to sue

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Drake apparently learned it isn’t wise to mess with Tupac Shakur — even decades after his untimely death. Billboard first spotted that the Canadian hip-hop artist deleted the X (Twitter) post with his track “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which used an AI-generated recreation of Shakur’s voice to try to get under Kendrick Lamar’s skin.

The takedown came after an attorney representing the late hip-hop legend threatened to sue the Canadian rapper for his “unauthorized” use of Tupac’s voice if he didn’t remove it from social channels within 24 hours. However, the track was online for a week and — unsurprisingly — has been copiously reposted.

“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” Howard King, the attorney representing Shakur’s estate, wrote earlier this week in a cease-and-desist letter acquired by Billboard. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”

Photo of the late Tupac Shakur, staring down at the camera against a black background with subtle horizontal gray lines.
2PAC.com

King implied that using Shakur’s voice to diss Lamar was an especially egregious show of disrespect. Lamar, a 17-time Grammy winner and Pulitzer recipient, has spoken frequently about his deep admiration for Tupac, and the Oakland rapper’s estate says the feelings are mutual. “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult,” King wrote in a cease-and-desist letter.

Drake’s track also included an AI-generated clone of Snoop Dogg’s voice. The Doggystyle rapper and cannabis aficionado appeared surprised in a social post last week: “They did what? When? How? Are you sure?” He continued, “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”

However, the one-time Doggy Fizzle Televizzle host has a history of poker-faced coyness. Last year, he took to Instagram to solemnly announce he was “giving up smoke,” leading to rampant speculation about why the stoner icon would quit his favorite pastime. Soon after, his announcement was revealed as a PR stunt for Solo Stove — which, marketing gimmicks aside, makes some terrific bonfire pits.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/drake-deletes-ai-generated-tupac-track-after-shakurs-estate-threatened-to-sue-191810881.html?src=rss

Some of our favorite Bose headphones and earbuds are back to all-time low prices

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Amazon has some of the highest-rated Bose headphones on sale for record-low prices. That includes the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones, which have best-in-class active noise cancellation (ANC). Usually $429, the wireless cans are now only $379, matching an all-time low.

Engadget’s Billy Steele praised the headphones’ sound, ANC and comfort in our review, but he also found them a bit expensive at their standard retail price, so this sale could be the right time to snag a pair. The headphones are comfortable for long listening sessions — with enough battery life to keep up. Although their “Immersive Audio” spatial listening mode is a bit hit-or-miss (and not for everyone), the feature pairs incredibly well with some tracks and genres. The headphones are our runner-up picks in Engadget’s noise-canceling headphones guide.

Battery life is impressive, and our review unit surpassed Bose’s claims of 24 hours with ANC turned on or 18 hours with ANC and Immersive Audio activated. In Engadget’s testing for the latter mode, the headphones still had 30 percent remaining after 20 hours of listening. They have a streamlined design with fewer physical navigation buttons than the standard QuietComfort variant, giving them sleeker aesthetics. That includes metal in their headband and hinge (with no visible screws).

Amazon also has several other Bose products on sale. The highly rated QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, which have similar features in a compact in-ear form factor, are available for $50 off ($249). They also include a spatial audio mode and have impressive ANC to block out your environment when working or commuting. They’re our pick for the best noise cancellation in Engadget’s wireless earbuds buying guide.

If spatial audio algorithms aren’t your cup of tea, you can save $100 on the standard Bose QuietComfort headphones. They also have leading noise-blocking and high-quality audio, lacking only the illusion of sitting in an acoustic “Immersive Audio” sweet spot. They offer 24-hour battery life and multipoint connectivity to switch between several source devices easily.

Bose also has the same sale on its website, a good option if you don’t have Amazon Prime. You can hit up the complete sale for details.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/some-of-our-favorite-bose-headphones-and-earbuds-are-back-to-all-time-low-prices-180039087.html?src=rss

Tupac’s estate threatens to sue Drake for his AI-infused Kendrick Lamar diss

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Tupac Shakur’s estate is none too happy about Drake cloning the late hip-hop legend’s voice in a Kendrick Lamar diss track. Billboard reported Wednesday that attorney Howard King, representing Mr. Shakur’s estate, sent a cease-and-desist letter calling Drake’s use of Shakur’s voice “a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights.”

Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) dropped the diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle” last Friday, the latest chapter of the artist’s simmering decade-long feud with Pulitzer and 17-time Grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar.

“Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast savior / Engraving your name in some hip-hop history,” an AI-generated 2Pac recreation raps in Drake’s track. “If you deal with this viciously / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity.”

Representing Shakur’s estate, King wrote in the cease-and-desist letter that Drake has less than 24 hours to pull down “Taylor Made Freestyle,” or the estate would “pursue all of its legal remedies” to force the Canadian rapper’s hand. “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult,” King wrote, according to Billboard.

“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” King wrote. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”

Rapper Snoop Dogg stands at a podium with the text
SnoopDogg.com

“Taylor Made Freestyle” also used AI to clone Snoop Dogg’s voice, with Drake using digital clones of two of Lamar’s west-coast hip-hop influences to try to hit him where it hurts. In a video posted to social media the following day, Snoop didn’t appear to know about the track. “They did what? When? How? Are you sure?”, the 16-time Grammy nominee and herb connoisseur said. “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck? What happened? What's going on? I'm going back to bed. Good night,” he continued.

Engadget emailed Snoop Dogg’s management to ask about his thoughts on Drake cloning his voice. At the time of publication, we hadn’t heard back.

The saga contains more than a bit of irony — if not outright hypocrisy — from Universal Music Group (UMG), the label representing Drake. You may remember the track “Heart on My Sleeve” by “Ghostwriter977,” which briefly went viral last year. It was pulled after UMG complained to streaming services because it used an AI-generated version of Drake’s voice (along with The Weeknd).

Engadget asked UMG if it approved of Drake’s use of AI-generated voices in “Taylor Made Freestyle” and where it stands on the broader issue of using artists’ digital clones. We haven’t received a comment at press time. Without a clear explanation, it’s hard not to see the label as being on the side of whatever seems most financially advantageous to it at any particular moment (surprise!).

Laws addressing AI-cloned voices of public figures are still in flux. Billboard notes that federal copyrights don’t clearly cover the issue since AI-generated vocals typically don’t use specific words or music from the original artist. Mr. King, speaking for Shakur’s estate, believes they violate California’s existing publicity rights laws. He described Drake’s use of Shakur’s voice as forming the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.”

Last month, Tennessee passed the ELVIS (“Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security”) Act to protect artists from unauthorized AI voice clones. The “first-of-its-kind legislation” makes copying a musician’s voice without consent a criminal Class A misdemeanor.

But none of the parties involved in this feud are in Tennessee. On the federal level, things are moving much more slowly, leaving room for legal uncertainty. In January, bipartisan US House legislators introduced the No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplications Act (“No AI FRAUD”), putting cloned voices like those Drake used in the government’s crosshairs. Congress hasn’t taken any public action on the bill in the more than three months since.

“It is hard to believe that [Tupac’s record label]’s intellectual property was not scraped to create the fake Tupac AI on the Record,” King wrote in the cease-and-desist letter. He demanded Drake offer “a detailed explanation for how the sound-alike was created and the persons or company that created it, including all recordings and other data ‘scraped’ or used.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tupacs-estate-threatens-to-sue-drake-for-his-ai-infused-kendrick-lamar-diss-182518997.html?src=rss

Tupac’s estate threatens to sue Drake for his AI-infused Kendrick Lamar diss

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Tupac Shakur’s estate is none too happy about Drake cloning the late hip-hop legend’s voice in a Kendrick Lamar diss track. Billboard reported Wednesday that attorney Howard King, representing Mr. Shakur’s estate, sent a cease-and-desist letter calling Drake’s use of Shakur’s voice “a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights.”

Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) dropped the diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle” last Friday, the latest chapter of the artist’s simmering decade-long feud with Pulitzer and 17-time Grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar.

“Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast savior / Engraving your name in some hip-hop history,” an AI-generated 2Pac recreation raps in Drake’s track. “If you deal with this viciously / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity.”

Representing Shakur’s estate, King wrote in the cease-and-desist letter that Drake has less than 24 hours to pull down “Taylor Made Freestyle,” or the estate would “pursue all of its legal remedies” to force the Canadian rapper’s hand. “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult,” King wrote, according to Billboard.

“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” King wrote. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”

Rapper Snoop Dogg stands at a podium with the text
SnoopDogg.com

“Taylor Made Freestyle” also used AI to clone Snoop Dogg’s voice, with Drake using digital clones of two of Lamar’s west-coast hip-hop influences to try to hit him where it hurts. In a video posted to social media the following day, Snoop didn’t appear to know about the track. “They did what? When? How? Are you sure?”, the 16-time Grammy nominee and herb connoisseur said. “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck? What happened? What's going on? I'm going back to bed. Good night,” he continued.

Engadget emailed Snoop Dogg’s management to ask about his thoughts on Drake cloning his voice. At the time of publication, we hadn’t heard back.

The saga contains more than a bit of irony — if not outright hypocrisy — from Universal Music Group (UMG), the label representing Drake. You may remember the track “Heart on My Sleeve” by “Ghostwriter977,” which briefly went viral last year. It was pulled after UMG complained to streaming services because it used an AI-generated version of Drake’s voice (along with The Weeknd).

Engadget asked UMG if it approved of Drake’s use of AI-generated voices in “Taylor Made Freestyle” and where it stands on the broader issue of using artists’ digital clones. We haven’t received a comment at press time. Without a clear explanation, it’s hard not to see the label as being on the side of whatever seems most financially advantageous to it at any particular moment (surprise!).

Laws addressing AI-cloned voices of public figures are still in flux. Billboard notes that federal copyrights don’t clearly cover the issue since AI-generated vocals typically don’t use specific words or music from the original artist. Mr. King, speaking for Shakur’s estate, believes they violate California’s existing publicity rights laws. He described Drake’s use of Shakur’s voice as forming the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.”

Last month, Tennessee passed the ELVIS (“Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security”) Act to protect artists from unauthorized AI voice clones. The “first-of-its-kind legislation” makes copying a musician’s voice without consent a criminal Class A misdemeanor.

But none of the parties involved in this feud are in Tennessee. On the federal level, things are moving much more slowly, leaving room for legal uncertainty. In January, bipartisan US House legislators introduced the No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplications Act (“No AI FRAUD”), putting cloned voices like those Drake used in the government’s crosshairs. Congress hasn’t taken any public action on the bill in the more than three months since.

“It is hard to believe that [Tupac’s record label]’s intellectual property was not scraped to create the fake Tupac AI on the Record,” King wrote in the cease-and-desist letter. He demanded Drake offer “a detailed explanation for how the sound-alike was created and the persons or company that created it, including all recordings and other data ‘scraped’ or used.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tupacs-estate-threatens-to-sue-drake-for-his-ai-infused-kendrick-lamar-diss-182518997.html?src=rss

TikTok Lite axes ‘addictive as cigarettes’ reward-to-watch feature under the EU’s watchful eye

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The EU has effectively vanquished a TikTok feature that Europe’s digital commissioner described as “toxic” and “addictive as cigarettes.” Owner ByteDance said on Wednesday that TikTok Lite’s reward-to-watch feature would be suspended. It’s been a brutal day for TikTok as President Biden signed a bill (also on Wednesday) forcing ByteDance to sell the platform’s US operations or face a ban.

TikTok Lite, launched earlier this month in France and Spain, lets users earn rewards by watching and liking videos. They can then exchange their points for real-world perks like Amazon vouchers or in-app ones like TikTok’s virtual currency, which is used to tip creators. The EU Commission said the “task and reward” feature can stimulate “addictive behavior” in children.

“Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” EU commissioner Thierry Breton posted on X (Twitter) on Wednesday. “I take note of TikTok’s decision to suspend the #TikTokLite ‘Reward Program’ in the EU.”

However, he added a parting shot to remind ByteDance it isn’t out of the woods: “The cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue.”

Breton fired a warning shot at ByteDance earlier this week, saying the EU had opened a formal investigation into TikTok for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). The landmark legislation, adopted in 2022, gives European regulators the teeth to force significant changes in social media platforms to protect consumers.

Companies that break the rules can risk fines of up to six percent of their global revenues — enough to force compliance from even the richest companies. Wednesday’s suspension marks the first concrete example of the EU using the DSA’s enforcement powers to force significant changes on a social platform.

The EU’s formal investigation into TikTok Lite was its second targeting the platform this year. An earlier case, launched in February, opened proceedings against TikTok and Meta for their handling of the privacy and safety of minors. The Guardian notes that both cases remain active.

“TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,” the platform’s Policy Europe X account posted on Wednesday. “We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-lite-axes-addictive-as-cigarettes-reward-to-watch-feature-under-the-eus-watchful-eye-211157092.html?src=rss

PUBG will take a nostalgia-infused trip back to its first map in May

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PUBG: Battlegrounds is somehow old enough to evoke nostalgia. The pioneering battle royale game, which entered Steam Early Access in 2017, will borrow a page from Fortnite’s playbook and honor its first map. Erangel Classic will recreate the old-school battlefield from the game’s inception for a limited two-week run in May and June.

Developer and publisher Krafton says the Erangel Classic map will reproduce the original’s concepts, graphics, atmosphere and UI. However, it will blend those with “modern tweaks” to deliver “the enjoyable gameplay experiences that players have grown accustomed to.” In other words, much like remasters of other classic games, the goal is to feel as close to the original as possible without chucking out all of its subtle quality-of-life improvements from the game’s evolution.

Still from PUBG, featuring a player taking cover behind a crate with an assault rifle. Rural scene with an old house behind.
Krafton

If the revamped map idea sounds familiar, Fortnite brought back its original 2018 island map late last year, breaking its records for player counts. (It peaked at 44.7 million players, marking its biggest day ever.) It’s easy to see why Krafton would want a piece of that action.

Specific nods to the original map include foggy and rainy weather to add an air of unpredictability. In addition, you’ll find bench weapons on the starting island (get ready to scramble for your favorite), and all weapons will have reduced recoil to match the original. It will also have a Tommy Gun in the care package, a vintage map UI and a “charmingly tacky font and graphics.”

The tiered rollout will arrive on PCs and consoles at different times, extending the playtime for those who own the game on multiple platforms (perhaps helping Krafton sell a few extra in-game items). Erangel Classic will be available in PUBG: Battlegrounds on PC from May 14 to May 28 and on consoles from May 23 to June 6, replacing the modern Erangel map during those periods. Krafton says the May 14 patch notes will go into more detail about all the map’s changes, so keep an eye out.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pubg-will-take-a-nostalgia-infused-trip-back-to-its-first-map-in-may-194736249.html?src=rss

The White House wants a zero-emission freight industry by 2040

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The Biden administration is tackling the monumental task of making America’s industrial freight system more environmentally friendly. The White House said on Wednesday that it aims to have 30 percent of industrial truck sales produce zero emissions by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040.

In addition to those non-binding targets, the White House is meeting on Wednesday with stakeholders from the commercial vehicle, shipping and infrastructure industries to help execute its agenda. The roundtable is designed to advance the Biden Administration’s goal of “supercharging the buildout of the infrastructure necessary to make a zero-emissions freight ecosystem a reality in the United States.”

Unsurprisingly, the freight industry uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of pollution to match. Bloomberg notes that the transportation sector emits about 29 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions, and freight (including shipping, trucking and trains) makes up about a third of that figure. So, you can ballpark that the American freight industry is responsible for roughly 10 percent of the country’s carbon emissions.

As part of the election-year rollout, the Biden Administration plans to ask the public to comment on charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles, signaling that the specifics of the plan aren’t yet finalized. The White House wants to avoid a fragmented industrial EV charging system without a universally agreed-upon standard. The industry has seemingly settled on Tesla’s NACS as the de facto choice in the lightweight consumer sector.

Alongside the newly announced industrial goals, the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is opening up about $1 billion in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to replace Class 6 and 7 vehicles (school buses, garbage trucks and delivery trucks) with electric equivalents.

The IRA requires that at least $400 million of that funding goes to local communities hit the hardest by industrial pollution. The White House says 72 million Americans live near truck freight routes and bear the brunt of their short-term output. Sadly but unsurprisingly (given the nation’s history), people of color and those from low-income households are most likely to be heavily affected by high environmental toxin levels.

The White House’s goals are admirable, given the urgency of the global climate crisis and the freight industry’s role. However, one significant problem remains: These are voluntary, non-binding resolutions that could — and, given public comments, almost certainly would — be undone by a second Trump Administration, should the serial napper return to office next year. As with many other aspects of the nation’s and world’s future, US voters will decide the outcome this November.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-white-house-wants-a-zero-emission-freight-industry-by-2040-180401537.html?src=rss

Roland’s mobile podcasting studio gives you a mic and streaming app for $140

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Roland has a new on-the-go podcasting setup with an eye-catching price. The company’s Go:Podcast studio includes a USB condenser mic (with support for four polar patterns) and a companion app that can stream to platforms like YouTube, Twitch and Facebook.

The company describes the Go:Podcast as “the simplest way to do high-quality live streaming with a mobile device.” For $140, you get the USB microphone and access to the companion app (iOS and Android), which supports live streaming, including dual-camera setups. The latter can work simultaneously with your smartphone’s front and back cameras, or you can pair a second “satellite” camera to complement your phone’s. It also supports wireless screen sharing for things like live-streaming mobile gameplay.

The microphone’s polar pattern options include cardioid (best for one person speaking), omni (multi-directional) and stereo (best for two people or musical performances). A fourth option lets you flip the stereo channels to match your video.

Product marketing photo for the Rode Go:Podcast mobile studio. At center is a desktop microphone, and it's flanked by two smartphones on mini tripods (showing the podcast video on their screens) and a pair of headphones.
Roland

Somewhat confusingly, many of Roland’s product photos (like the one above) show a mini smartphone tripod and V-Moda headphones alongside the mic, but those accessories aren’t included. A Roland spokesperson clarified to Engadget that those were meant to illustrate an example of a complete mobile podcasting system with the mic and app at its center.

The Go:Podcast app includes perks like overlaying text and images, playing video clips and audio tracks, picture-in-picture and split screen. It has free-to-use background music tracks (which hopefully sound better than I imagine) along with stock photos and videos.

Roland’s $140 Go:Podcast studio will arrive in early May. You can learn more (and look out for more specific availability as its launch date approaches) at Roland’s website.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rolands-mobile-podcasting-studio-gives-you-a-mic-and-streaming-app-for-140-193359879.html?src=rss

Amazon’s updated grocery delivery program has some strings attached

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After asserting itself as an overshadowing presence in retail, Amazon is still experimenting with ways to leave a similar mark in groceries. The company’s latest tweak to its service lowers the minimum price for free grocery deliveries to $35. However, most customers using the service will also need to pay a $10 monthly subscription in addition to having a Prime membership ($15 monthly or $139 annually).

To participate, you must live in one of the 3,500 supported cities and towns in the US. (When signing up, it will let you know if your primary shipping address isn’t supported.) The service offers unlimited grocery deliveries from Amazon Fresh, the Amazon-owned Whole Foods and various local and specialty partners. Those include Cardenas Markets, Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid, Pet Food Express, Mission Wine & Spirits and more.

The subscription includes one-hour delivery windows where available, unlimited 30-minute pickup orders and priority access to the company’s Recurring Reservations. This feature lets you pick a guaranteed weekly grocery delivery window. To use it, you’ll need to pick your weekly two-hour slot at least 24 hours in advance.

An Amazon Fresh worker in a neon green vest loads Prime Fresh groceries into a hatchback with a child grinning in the backseat. The person loading the groceries smiles back.
Amazon

People using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other government assistance programs can get the same grocery delivery benefits for half the price ($5 monthly). If you fall in that camp, you can get those perks without needing a Prime subscription on top of the subscription fee.

It remains to be seen if this latest iteration of the program will stick since Amazon’s strategy has been all over the place. Early last year, the company increased the minimum checkout price for free grocery deliveries from $35 to $150, then dropped it to $100 (while voiding the Prime requirement) about 10 months later. If you like this version of the program, cross your fingers that Amazon doesn’t change it again in a few months.

Before rolling out the program’s latest version on Tuesday, Amazon tested it in Columbus, OH, Denver, CO, and Sacramento, CA, in late 2023. The company says over 85 percent of survey respondents who used the service were “extremely” or “very” satisfied, leaving high marks for its convenience and savings on delivery fees.

You can see if the program is available in your area on Amazon’s groceries sign-up page. If it is, you can try it free for 30 days before paying.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-updated-grocery-delivery-program-has-some-strings-attached-171513989.html?src=rss

Finally, someone used Pareto’s economic theories to find the best Mario Kart 8 racer

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Who hasn’t spent sleepless nights pondering what would happen if we applied Vilfredo Pareto's (the early 20th-century Italian economist) theories to Mario, the Mushroom Kingdom’s Italian high-jump champion and part-time elephant cosplayer? Data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz, PhD, tackled that age-old question, and the resulting work provides an objective way to tell us the best Mario Kart 8 racer combinations. Hint: It sure as hell ain’t Koopa Troopa.

When you break down the build options (including driver stats and various vehicle details) in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, there are over 700,000 possible combinations. Yikes. But once you eliminate duplicates that differ only in appearance, you can narrow it down to “only” 25,704 possibilities. How do you narrow it down to find the best racer from there? Enter Mr. Pareto.

Pareto’s theories, most notably the Pareto front, help us navigate the complexities of choice. They can pinpoint the solutions with the most balanced strengths and the fewest trade-offs. Pareto’s work is about efficiency and effectiveness. Now we’re talking.

Mario in his Tanooki (racoon-like) suit, jumping in the air and sticking his ass out above his striped off-roader.
Nintendo

When choosing a Mario Kart racer, you have to consider their stats for speed, acceleration, handling, weight, offroad and mini turbo. That’s a lot to weigh.

Even if you decide that speed and acceleration are the most important, you’re still left with imbalances. For example, it’s tempting to go all in on speed (like Bowser or Wario), but they have weak acceleration. However, if you prioritize acceleration instead (such as Baby Mario or Dry Bones), you may be left with quick surges that plateau at a lousy top speed.

Meanwhile, some racers are always dominated in the most important stats — meaning their balance of speed and acceleration consistently comes out behind. Koopa is one example of that, so don’t pick him if you care about winning. (But you can absolutely choose him because he has cute bug eyes and a snazzy shell.)

Mario racing on a neon track in Mario Kart.
Nintendo

Mayerowitz’s Pareto front analysis lets you narrow your possibilities down to the 14 most efficient. And it turns out the game’s top players were onto something: One of the combinations with the most ideal balance of speed, acceleration and mini-turbo is Cat Peach driving the Teddy Buggy, roller tires and cloud glider — one already favored among Mario Kart 8 competitors.

Of course, if that combination isn’t your cup of tea, there are others that allow you to stay within the Pareto front’s optimal range. As Eurogamer points out, Donkey Kong, Wario (my old standby, mostly because he makes me laugh) and Princess Peach are often highlighted as drivers, and you can use Mayerowitz’s data fields to find the best matching vehicles. Keep in mind that others have identical stats, so racers like Villager (female), Inkling Girl and Diddy Kong are separated only by appearances.

To find your ideal racer, you can head over to Mayerowitz’s website. There, you can enter your most prized stats and view the combos that give you the best balance (those highlighted in yellow), according to Pareto’s theories.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/finally-someone-used-paretos-economic-theories-to-find-the-best-mario-kart-8-racer-211046789.html?src=rss