An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Meta is preparing to spend $65 million this year to boost state politicians who are friendly to the artificial intelligence industry, beginning this week in Texas and Illinois, according to company representatives. The sum is the biggest election investment by Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company was previously cautious about campaign engagements, making small donations out of a corporate political action committee and contributing to presidential inaugurations. It also let executives like Sheryl Sandberg, who was chief operating officer, support candidates in their personal capacities.

Now Meta is betting bigger on politics, driven by concerns over the regulatory threat to the artificial intelligence industry as it aims to beat back legislation in states that it fears could inhibit A.I. development, company representatives said. To do that, Meta is quietly starting two new super PACs, according to federal filings surfaced by The New York Times. One group, Forge the Future Project, is backing Republicans. Another, Making Our Tomorrow, is backing Democrats. The new PACs join two others already started by Meta, one of which is focused on California while the other is an umbrella organization that finances the company's spending in other states. In total, the four super PACs have an initial budget of $65 million, according to federal and state filings. Meta's spending is set to start this week in Illinois and Texas, where the company generally favors backing Democratic and Republican incumbents or engaging in open races rather than deposing existing officials, company representatives said in interviews.

[...] Last year, Meta's public policy vice president, Brian Rice, said the company would start spending in politics because of "inconsistent regulations that threaten homegrown innovation and investments in A.I." The company started its first two super PACs, American Technology Excellence Project and Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California. Meta put $45 million into American Technology Excellence Project in September. That money is expected, in turn, to flow to Forge the Future Project, Making Our Tomorrow and potentially to other entities. [...] In California, which has some of the country's most onerous campaign-finance disclosures, Meta in August put $20 million into Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California, which shortens to META California. State laws require the sponsoring company to be disclosed in the name of the entity. In December, Meta put $5 million into another California committee called California Leads, which is focused on promoting moderate business policy and not A.I., according to state records.

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Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in a landmark Los Angeles trial examining whether Meta and other social media firms can be held liable for designing platforms that allegedly addict and harm children. NBC News reports: It's the first of a consolidated group of cases -- from more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including over 350 families and over 250 school districts -- scheduled to be argued before a jury in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Plaintiffs accuse the owners of Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snap of knowingly designing addictive products harmful to young users' mental health. Historically, social media platforms have been largely shielded by Section 230, a provision added to the Communications Act of 1934, that says internet companies are not liable for content users post. TikTok and Snap reached settlements with the first plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified in court as K.G.M., ahead of the trial. The companies remain defendants in a series of similar lawsuits expected to go to trial this year.

[...] Matt Bergman, founding attorney of Social Media Victims Law Center -- which is representing about 750 plaintiffs in the California proceeding and about 500 in the federal proceeding -- called Wednesday's testimony "more than a legal milestone -- it is a moment that families across this country have been waiting for." "For the first time, a Meta CEO will have to sit before a jury, under oath, and explain why the company released a product its own safety teams warned were addictive and harmful to children," Bergman said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the moment "carries profound weight" for parents "who have spent years fighting to be heard." "They deserve the truth about what company executives knew," he said. "And they deserve accountability from the people who chose growth and engagement over the safety of their children."

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For a while now, Mac owners have been able to use tools like CrossOver and Game Porting Toolkit to get many Windows games running on their operating system of choice. Now, GameSir plans to add its own potential solution to the mix, announcing that a version of its existing Windows emulation tool for Android will be coming to macOS. Hong Kong-based GameSir has primarily made a name for itself as a manufacturer of gaming peripherals -- the company's social media profile includes a self-description as "the Anti-Stick Drift Experts." Early last year, though, GameSir rolled out the Android GameHub app, which includes a GameFusion emulator that the company claims "provides complete support for Windows games to run on Android through high-precision compatibility design."

In practice, GameHub and GameFusion for Android haven't quite lived up to that promise. Testers on Reddit and sites like EmuReady report hit-or-miss compatibility for popular Steam titles on various Android-based handhelds. At least one Reddit user suggests that "any Unity, Godot, or Game Maker game tends to just work" through the app, while another reports "terrible compatibility" across a wide range of games. With Sunday's announcement, GameSir promises a similar opportunity to "unlock your entire Steam library" and "run Win games/Steam natively" on Mac will be "coming soon." GameSir is also promising "proprietary AI frame interpolation" for the Mac, following the recent rollout of a "native rendering mode" that improved frame rates on the Android version. There are some "reasons to worry" though, based on the company's uneven track record. The Android version faced controversy for including invasive tracking components, which were later removed after criticism. There were also questions about the use of open-source code, as GameSir acknowledged referencing and using UI components from Winlator, even while maintaining that its core compatibility layer was developed in-house.

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Google is bringing its Lyria 3 AI music model into the Gemini app, allowing users to generate 30-second songs from text, images, or video prompts directly within the chatbot. The Verge reports: Lyria 3's text-to-music capabilities allow Gemini app users to make songs by describing specific genres, moods, or memories, such as asking for an "Afrobeat track for my mother about the great times we had growing up." The music generator can make instrumental audio and songs with lyrics composed automatically based on user prompts. Users can also upload photographs and video references, which Gemini then uses to generate a track with lyrics that fit the vibe.

"The goal of these tracks isn't to create a musical masterpiece, but rather to give you a fun, unique way to express yourself," Google said in its announcement blog. Gemini will add custom cover art generated by Nano Banana to songs created on the app, which aims to make them easier to share and download. Google is also bringing Lyria 3 to YouTube's Dream Track tool, which allows creators to make custom AI soundtracks for Shorts.

Dream Track and Lyria were initially demonstrated with the ability to mimic the style and voice of famous performers. Google says it's been "very mindful" of copyright in the development of Lyria 3 and that the tool "is designed for original expression, not for mimicking existing artists." When prompted for a specific artist, Gemini will make a track that "shares a similar style or mood" and uses filters to check outputs against existing content.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Stueyman has added a photo to the pool:

St John’s Church, Pinjarra WA

ntomlin124 has added a photo to the pool:

A zoomed & cropped shot on my phone at the mouth of the Arthur River, Tasmania at sunset, 2023. I think the graininess comes over as artistic, rather than just a low grade photo. Colour is true to life, hard to beat a West Coast sunset.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Adelaide CBD

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Adelaide CBD

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

A plane just leaving Adelaide Airport over the city centre at sunset.

Photon Obsolescence has added a photo to the pool:

Tourism 101: Sydney Australia

Naturallysouthaustralia.com has added a photo to the pool:

It may have half the capacity of fused silica glass, but is faster and much cheaper

Microsoft this week detailed new research aimed at preserving data in borosilicate glass plates for thousands of years longer than conventional media like hard drives or magnetic tape, without needing to worry about bit rot.…

'Potential data protection incident' at an 'independent licensing partner,' we're told

Adidas has confirmed it is investigating a third-party breach at one of its partner companies after digital thieves claimed they stole information and technical data from the German sportswear giant.…

Mijn dochter en schoonzoon duiken een paar dagen onder in het carnavalsgedruis. Hun kinderen logeren bij mij.

De twee topfavorieten voor ijshockeygoud op de Olympische Spelen hebben woensdag met de grootste moeite de halve finales gehaald.

Hoewel ze er openlijk over droomden, hadden broers Melle (26) en Jens (24) van ’t Wout toch niet echt gedacht hebben dat ze woensdagavond naast elkaar op het podium van de 500 meter shorttrack zouden staan. „Maak me maar wakker, ik weet niet hoe laat de wekker gaat.”

Even though most of us are eager for spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re happy to linger in winter a little while longer to take in Robinsson Cravents’ new project. The Colombia-based designer and illustrator recently released a pair of hand-drawn digital landscapes that take a bird’s-eye view of Yosemite National Park. Starting with a wide aerial shot of coniferous trees, the films then journey down a stream up to a waterfall, capturing the majestic scenery with grainy, tactile detail.

The project is a commission for Yosemite, a venture capital firm helmed by Reed Jobs that funds startups and researchers working on cancer treatments. For the creative direction, Cravents collaborated with LoveFrom, a collective helmed by Apple alum Jony Ive.

Winter and autumn are available for viewing, but the spring and summer films have yet to be released. Keep an eye on Crevants’ Behance and Instagram for the remaining seasons.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Journey Through Autumn and Winter in Robinsson Cravents’ Hand-Drawn ‘Yosemite’ appeared first on Colossal.

U2 drops a surprise EP, Days Of Ash, 6 songs that reflect our current times. American Obituary, The Tears OF Things, Song Of The Future, Wildpeace, One Life At A Time, Yours Eternally. YT Playlist. Accompanying issue of Propaganda Magazine with background on the songs and lyrics and more.

With the first day of the second 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain now complete, the F1 TV crew are here to analyse the key talking points.