CNBC reports:


Amazon is requiring that third-party sellers label any product images or videos that contain "AI-generated people" after New York recently passed a law mandating greater transparency around "synthetic performers" in ads... The policy directs sellers to tag images [and videos or other graphics on listing pages] with specific metadata keywords before they're uploaded. "Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in advertisements contain photorealistic AI-generated people," Amazon wrote in the announcement [clarifying that the requirement doesn't apply to content featuring TV/video game/movie characters or content including real people, even if they've been altered using AI]. The company said it will "add an indicator" to listings on its website, informing consumers that images or other content feature AI-generated people, "where applicable." It's unclear what criteria Amazon will apply when deciding when to display the label to shoppers...

Amazon has embraced AI internally and it's increasingly infusing the technology across its portfolio. The company has optimized listing titles and details so they're more likely to be spotted by AI systems, invested in a recently rebranded assistant called Alexa for Shopping, and launched a feature that injects AI-generated [images of] products into its search bar in real time based on user queries. More Amazon third-party sellers are using AI to generate text, images and other content for their listings, partly by using the company's tools.

Outside sellers account for more than 60% of goods sold on Amazon, the article points out. It adds that there's currently no nationwide U.S. law requiring companies to disclose AI-generated advertising content, it adds — but YouTube, Meta, Pinterest, and TikTok have already added labels for AI-generated content.

And a new California law also requires large AI providers to embed watermarks in AI-generated images, video and other content...

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Futurism reports:


[Some online publications] are now debating whether to cut Google off entirely, as the Wall Street Journal reports, illustrating an increasingly fraught relationship between the tech giant and the publishers that are creating content its AI models are regurgitating. According to the newspaper, prominent outlets including USA Today, Politico, the Economist, People, and Reuters are all reexamining their relationship with Google. Some are debating whether to continue to work with the tech giant at all... Even Reddit executives are reevaluating the company's $60 million-a-year contract that allows Google to train its AI models on user-submitted content on the platform. They've similarly watched as Google's AI features discourage users from navigating to Reddit...


Beyond pondering whether to cut Google off, other publishers have resorted to suing the company, accusing it of illegally rehashing their intellectual property via AI summaries.
It's an extremely undesirable position for publishers. By severing ties with the search giant, they could face even steeper declines in traffic. At the same time, there's seemingly little to gain from having Google's AIs crawl their content — and in the long term, it could guarantee their destruction.

Two interesting data points from the article:


"Last month, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince noticed that automated bot traffic had overtaken human traffic for the first time in the internet's history."

"USA Today has seen its traffic from US users drop by almost half over the last year."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

CNN reports on yaks "designed and cloned" in secretive, high-altitude labs in Tibet — 2.4 miles (4,000 meters) above sea level. They're a critical part of the local economy, and researchers "hope to create an 'elite' herd of super-yaks, healthier and more fertile than their predecessors."



Both domestic yaks and their wild cousins have been facing threats for years, with some rare subspecies at risk of disappearing entirely. Authorities in the southwestern Chinese region have poured tens of millions of dollars into boosting the yak industry in recent years — and they hope cloning can help. The first yak clone came in July 2025, Chinese state media hailing it as a breakthrough achievement that combined cloning with gene selection. More clones were born this spring — and researchers are now aiming to create a herd of more than 100 "elite" yak clones by 2028, boasting desired traits like faster growth and larger size. "This shows the technology has moved from a one-time success to a stable, mass-scale application," said Fang Shengguo, the project's scientific lead and director of the State Conservation Center for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, according to state-run news agency Xinhua...


Many experts acknowledge there are legitimate arguments for using cloning in conservation, and for gene selection in farming. But the ethical waters are murky, and any such project should have high levels of public transparency and accountability, said Lisa Moses, a veterinarian and bioethicist at Harvard Medical School. So far, much of the yak cloning project remains mysterious, with information largely limited to glowing state-media coverage...


[S]ome scientists say these projects reduce our sense of urgency toward fixing the environment, and that we can't simply churn out clones while the planet burns. To truly enact change, they say, we have to continue addressing the root cause of the problem — restoring degraded habitats, lowering carbon emissions, cracking down on poaching, and more. But for others, "there is a strong feeling ... that traditional conservation is essentially failing now," Moses said. "What we've been doing for the last 100 years to try to stave off ecological destruction is not working.... The argument is, we don't have a choice," she added. "If we want to try to do something that will actually make a difference, we need to use these technologies, specifically synthetic biology, to essentially override evolution and change the fitness of the species for the environment that they live in."

"History is littered with good intentions in the environment gone wrong," Moses said, "and I would argue that these technologies have even more unknowns than ones that we previously employed."



The article points out that the number of wild yaks "dropped more than a third in the last 30 years,
with just 10,000 to 20,000 individuals left, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society."


The yaks are threatened by climate change and habitat degradation, "with warmer temperatures bringing invasive plant species and increased competition for resources... in one of the world's most inhospitable terrains."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Facebook announced Friday they're launching a badge "that verifies there's a real person behind a profile".



"You record a short video selfie, which we check against your existing profile photos to confirm a match. The process is free and typically takes just a few minutes. Accounts must meet our trust and safety standards to qualify for verification...." Once verified, your badge will appear across the places on Facebook where it matters most: Marketplace, Dating, Groups, and Profile to start. Over time, we'll add badges in Feed posts as well. There's no subscription fee — you verify once, and the badge travels with you across Facebook... [Y]ou'll see the Verified badge on accounts that have completed the verification process... It's a quick, visible signal, before you respond to a listing, accept a date, or join a conversation, that there's a real person on the other end.

"We're rolling out Facebook Verified in phases, starting in select markets with plans to expand globally..." their announcement adds. "As AI makes it easier to do more on Facebook, a clear signal that distinguishes real people becomes essential. That's what Facebook Verified is for: keeping the moments that matter on Facebook grounded in real people."

Lifehacker shares their reaction:


Facebook says it will store your selfie video for "up to 30 days" after verification, which is a one-time process. It's not entirely clear what happens with that video in the meantime, and it's worth noting that Meta has relied on user data to train its AI. Meta AI (and Meta more broadly) is a terrible offender when it comes to privacy and security, so you should consider whether the tradeoff of a verification mark is worth handing over more of your data and read the privacy policy before you agree.

Google also launched a video selfie verification feature this week, though its purpose is to prove your identity should you get locked out of your account. Unlike Facebook Verified, which is meant to be a trust signal to other users, Google's selfie verification allows access to your entire Google account, bringing with it some additional security considerations.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mercedes have shared some more details around George Russell’s Qualifying stoppage at the Hungaroring, with a power unit change being carried out on the Briton’s car as a result.

Lewis Hamilton explained after Qualifying in Hungary how he was already preparing himself for a race of “damage limitation”, ahead of the stewards handing him a grid penalty.

Kimi Antonelli has joined Lewis Hamilton in being given a grid drop after Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying at the Hungaroring.

Fernando Alonso has celebrated the success of Aston Martin’s upgrades after he progressed to Q2 for the first time this season.

Max Verstappen did not have a straightforward Qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the Red Bull driver stating that his problems got "worse and worse" with each lap.

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a grid penalty after initially qualifying P2 at the Hungaroring.

Mercedes’ George Russell has shared the issues he faced during Q3 at the Hungaroring.

All the continent’s a stage.

Donald Trump may hate to hear it, but Barack Obama was right about avoiding „stupid shit”.

De dominantie van Tadej Pogacar deed de spanning in de Tour de France van 2026 al vroeg verstommen. Nachtelijke dopingcontroles en gevaarlijke drukte op de Alpe d’Huez maken dat er toch nog veel over deze editie zal worden nagepraat.

We hadden hier eerder een barokachtrig klinkend werkje voor acht contrabassen. Gecomponeerd in 1978 door Bertold Hummel.

Wie aan barok denkt, denkt al gauw aan Bach. Die heeft nooit muziek voor acht contrabassen gecomponeerd. Ook niet voor enig ander instrument dat met acht stuks tegelijk Bach’s composities ten uitvoer brachten.

Wel had heer Bach een aantal motetten geschreven waarvan een deel bestemd was voor achtstemmig dubbeklkoor. Bijvoorbeeld  Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied. Maar achststemmig wil alleen maar zeggen dat de vier zangstemmen in een gemengd koor (Sopraan, alt, tenor en bas) met twee groepen aanwig zijn, daamree een dubbelkoor vormend. Luister en kijk mee met de partituur.

Maar dat allemaal terzijde. De acht contrabassen knorden en bromden in de lage registers. De hoge noten klonken als  een afgeknepen geschuur. Een instrukent waar dat ook al gauw het geval kan zijn is de trombone.

En jawel, als die met acht stuks aan Bach beginnen klinkt dat in de verste verte niet als een orgel, het instrument waarvoor Bach zijn Passacaglia in C Mineur oorsponkelijk heeft geschreven.

Een kwestie van smaak of je liever de orgeluitvoering hoort of de versie voor acht trombones meer waardeert. Ik ga voor de trombones.

Norway’s striker left his mark, as did Scotland’s fans in Boston, but Turkey’s dark horses fell at the first hurdle

“I played with him on my PlayStation, and now I’ve scored against him,” Livano Comenencia said after converting Curaçao’s first World Cup goal past Manuel Neuer in their opening match against Germany. The smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup went on to lose 7-1 but that goal – their only one of the tournament – will go down in history.

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lynddion has added a photo to the pool:

Fabio Bruna posted a photo:

Paleisstraat, Noordeinde, Den Haag