The video game industry is experiencing something that most consumer-facing businesses would consider remarkable: organized online campaigns from players are actually forcing studios to cancel projects or publicly walk back any association with AI-generated content.

Running With Scissors, the publisher behind the Postal shooter franchise, recently scrapped a title after players accused its trailer of containing AI-generated graphics. Goonswarm Games, the developer behind the canceled project, subsequently shut down entirely and cited six years of lost work alongside what it described as a flood of threats and accusations.

Sandfall Interactive's "Obscur: Expedition 33" had its Indie Game Awards Game of the Year honor rescinded after the developer said it had considered AI-generated images, even though the final release contained none. Larian Studios, the developer behind Baldur's Gate 3, faced immediate backlash after CEO Swen Vincke mentioned in an interview that the company was using generative AI to "explore ideas" for an upcoming release. Vincke later clarified on X that artists use AI only for reference images the way they would use "art books or Google," and Larian executives eventually stated on Reddit that AI would play no role in final artwork.

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Friday 72-year-old Richard Stallman made a two-hour-and-20-minutes appearance at the Georgia Institute of Technology, talking about everything from AI and connected cars to smartphones, age verfication laws, and his favorite Linux distro. But early on, Stallman also told the audience how "I despise DRM...I don't want any copy of anything with DRM. Whatever it is, I never want it so badly that I would bow down to DRM." (So he doesn't use Spotify or Netflix...)

This led to an interesting moment when someone asked him later if we have an ethical obligation to avoid piracy.. First Stallman swapped in his preferred phrase, "forbidden sharing"...

"I won't use the word piracy to refer to sharing. Sharing is good and it should be lawful. Those laws are wrong. Copyright as it is now is an injustice."

Stallman said "I don't hesitate to share copies of anything," but added that "I don't have copies of non-free software, because I'm disgusted by it." After a pause, he added this. "Just because there is a law to to give some people unjust power, that doesn't mean breaking that law becomes wrong....

"Dividing people by forbidding them to help each other is nasty."

And later Stallman was asked how he watches movies, if he's opposed to DRM-heavy sites like Netflix, and the DRM in Blu-ray discs? "The only way I can see a movie is if I get a file — you know, like an MP4 file or MKV file. And I would get that, I suppose, by copying from somebody else."

"Sharing is good. Stopping people from sharing is evil."

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Alpine have confirmed former Red Bull boss Christian Horner is part of a group of investors who have shown an interest in investing in the Formula 1 squad.

With the Barcelona Shakedown underway, F1.com explains why the event is being held in private, how much running the teams are permitted and more...

The actor gave evidence to allege Associated Newspapers Ltd used services of convicted phone hacker

The actor Sadie Frost has said she had “a price put on my head” by the publisher of the Daily Mail, as she accused it of repeatedly using information secured from her private calls and sensitive personal records.

Appearing in the high court, Frost said she was horrified by an email suggesting a Mail on Sunday journalist had confirmed to a convicted phone hacker that he was interested in information about her.

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Queensland government says it has already killed six of the 10 dingoes seen near the body of 19-year-old Piper James

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Dingo experts have said a decision to kill a 10-strong pack of the animals linked with the death of Canadian tourist Piper James on K’gari could push the island’s population towards extinction while doing little to protect humans.

The Queensland government revealed on Sunday it had already killed six of the pack seen around the body of the 19-year-old in a move that has angered the island’s traditional owners who have said they were not consulted.

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The abundantly muscled action stars are estranged siblings avenging their father in this enjoyable action-comedy throwback

Here is a straight to streaming action-thriller-comedy that is a throwback to the kind of pulpy stupid fun fare that minted money back in the 80s and 90s. The presence of a Phil Collins banger on the soundtrack and a reference to Jean-Claude Van Damme are tells. One assumes the target audience are males of all ages with a bloodlust for highly choreographed casual violence and stunts interspersed with quips. As such, it gets the job done, plus it throws in the bells and whistles you’d expect, such as fireballs erupting in the background as characters flee the scene, scads of civilians getting killed along the way while evoking not a drop of regret from the protagonists, and estranged siblings getting in touch with their feelings about their errant, recently deceased father, and learning lessons about love along the way.

Yes, you read that last bit right, because The Wrecking Crew offers a mildly enlightened, post-therapy 2020s spin on the genre – going so far as to give one of the main characters a child-psychologist wife (Roimata Fox) who is ready to diagnose emotional dysfunction when the script requires. Otherwise, the action is dominated by Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa, playing excessively muscled, abundantly inked, initially estranged half-brothers James and Jonny, who spend the film trying to work out who killed their father Walter (Brian Keaulana) in a hit-and-run incident. James is the one with the child psychologist wife; he trains Marines and is a disciplined, solid citizen only slightly simmering with rage. Jonny, an Oklahoma-based cop, is more flamboyantly booze-sozzled, roistering and irresponsible – a classic younger brother according to all those TikTok videos about sibling birth order.

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Exclusive: Development minister is considering closing Independent Commission for Aid Impact

A close ally of Keir Starmer is drawing up plans to scrap the UK’s aid watchdog, prompting concerns that the government is attempting to “escape scrutiny” while implementing “brutal” cuts.

Jenny Chapman, the development minister, said she was actively considering the closure of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which examines projects funded by the £14bn aid budget.

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Joël Guerriau is alleged to have drugged centrist member of parliament Sandrine Josso in order to sexually assault her

A former French senator has gone on trial in Paris accused of drugging a fellow politician in order to sexually assault her, in a case that has shaken French politics.

Joël Guerriau, 68, was a centrist senator for Loire-Atlantique in the west of France in November 2023 when he is accused of spiking a glass of champagne with MDMA and serving it to Sandrine Josso, a centrist member of parliament.

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More than 100 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe

Devastating floods have killed more than 100 people in southern Africa since the beginning of the year and displaced hundreds of thousands, as authorities and aid workers warn of hunger, cholera and attacks by crocodiles that have spread with the waters.

More than 70 people have died in Zimbabwe and 30 in South Africa, where hundreds of people were evacuated from Kruger national park earlier this month after a deluge of rain.

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Inter and Juventus exchanged remarkable home victories, while dominant Roma were held to a draw at home by Milan

Lady Gaga’s electropop banger Born This Way is 15 years old, but by the standards of some Serie A stadium DJs that makes it positively modern. Thumping out at the Olimpico on Sunday night it somehow felt timely. Roma were on the right track, baby, after a first half in which they thoroughly dominated Milan.

The expected goals counter had them up by 1.8 to 0.02. Sure, the actual scoreboard still showed 0-0, but the way Donyell Malen kept making space for himself inside the box was enough to convince fans his swaggering debut against Torino seven days before could be no flash in the pan.

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The TV cook and food writer replaces Prue Leith, who has stepped down after nine seasons on the show

Nigella Lawson has been announced as the new judge on The Great British Bake Off. She replaces Prue Leith, who stepped down after nine seasons of judging contestants’ culinary creations, so she could spend summers enjoying her garden, explaining: “I’m 86 for goodness sake!”

Lawson will join the programme for its next series, the 17th, which will launch later this year. She will serve alongside Paul Hollywood, who will continue in the role he has held since the baking competition launched on BBC Two in 2010.

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Team with an average age of just under 29 finally ended their losing streak since turn of the year

The biggest cheer of the afternoon at the BayArena was a result from elsewhere. A stunning first league defeat of the season for Bayern Munich at home to Augsburg was not important in any sort of title race context – any faint thoughts of that disappeared a while back, and not just for Bayer Leverkusen. No, the shock result of the afternoon, the week, the month, the season means Xabi Alonso’s 2024 double winners remain the only unbeaten Bundesliga champions.

“You’re welcome,” said Augsburg’s English language X account, quote-tweeting Leverkusen’s acknowledgment that their record would endure for at least a season more. And if ever Die Werkself needed a lift, it was here and now. They may have stopped the rot with a single-goal win over Werder Bremen, following a run of four losses in their previous six Bundesliga matches, but it was as bare minimum as the scoreline suggested. Against similarly out-of-form opponents (more so, in fact – Bremen last won on 7 November, nine games ago), they crawled to three points. “We are very relieved,” admitted Kasper Hjulmand with laudable candour.

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TEL AVIV (ANP/RTR) - De overblijfselen van het lichaam van de laatste Israëlische gijzelaar in Gaza zijn gevonden, meldt het Israëlische leger. Zondag maakte het kantoor van Netanyahu bekend op zoek te zijn naar het lichaam op een begraafplaats in Gaza.

KATWIJK (ANP) - De bekendmaking van het stoppen van de musical Soldaat van Oranje heeft maandagmiddag tot een stormloop op de website geleid. Een woordvoerder van de productie heeft een bericht daarover van het AD bevestigd.

Door de enorme belangstelling lag de website er enige tijd uit. Een woordvoerder kon om 14.00 uur niet zeggen hoeveel bezoekers de site probeerden te bereiken.

Rond 14.10 uur werden bezoekers in een digitale wachtrij geplaatst. "We werken aan een oplossing, maar dit is ongekend", bevestigt de producent.

4000 keer opgevoerd

De langstlopende musical uit de Nederlandse theatergeschiedenis maakte maandag bekend op 12 juli de laatste show te spelen. De musical is dan bijna 4000 keer opgevoerd. In totaal werden er bijna 4 miljoen kaarten verkocht. Hoewel de show nog steeds volle zalen trok, liep de kaartverkoop volgens ingewijden de laatste tijd terug.

Soldaat van Oranje: De musical is gebaseerd op de oorlogsjaren van verzetsheld Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema.

Trump sluit niet langer uit dat zijn ICE-agenten in Minneapolis twee mensen zomaar hebben vermoord. En hij overweegt ook terugtrekking van zijn troepen.

Trump zegt dat zijn regering “alles onderzoekt” rond de dodelijke schietpartij op de 37-jarige verpleegkundige Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, die zaterdag door een federale grenswacht werd neergeschoten tijdens een protest. In een kort telefonisch interview met de Wall Street Journal weigerde Trump twee keer te zeggen of de betrokken agent juist heeft gehandeld en beloofde hij pas later met een oordeel te komen.

Trump bekritiseert Pretti omdat hij een geladen pistool bij zich had tijdens de demonstratie, terwijl hij tegelijk benadrukt dat hij “niet van schietpartijen houdt”. Federale functionarissen stellen dat Pretti zich gewelddadig verzette toen agenten hem probeerden te ontwapenen en dat er uit zelfverdediging is geschoten. Maar videobeelden van omstanders lijken dat beeld tegen te spreken: daarop is te zien hoe agenten Pretti op de grond drukken, een wapen van hem wegnemen en seconden later meerdere kogels afvuren.

De zaak-Pretti is de tweede dodelijke schietpartij door federale immigratieagenten in Minneapolis in korte tijd en vergroot de druk op het Witte Huis. Trump zegt dat immigratie- en grensbewakingsagentschappen “op een gegeven moment” uit de regio zullen vertrekken, maar geeft geen tijdschema. Binnen de regering groeit de zorg dat de harde immigratieaanpak en de aanwezigheid van federale troepen in de stad politiek schadelijk worden nu de publieke opinie in Minnesota snel kantelt.

Toch blijft Trump vasthouden aan intensieve immigratiehandhaving en verwijst hij naar grootschalige uitkerings- en uitkeringsfraude als argument om hard op te treden. Topadviseurs, onder wie Stephen Miller, dringen er volgens Amerikaanse media op aan niet te “terug te krabbelen” in Minneapolis, ondanks de groeiende verontwaardiging over het optreden van ICE en de federale agenten. Protesten en herdenkingen voor Pretti nemen ondertussen toe, terwijl lokale bestuurders meer transparantie en verantwoordelijkheid eisen van Washington.

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Paradiso moet een "ingrijpende" renovatie ondergaan, heeft het poppodium bekendgemaakt. Onder meer geluidsoverlast, ruimtegebrek en de verslechterde constructie maken de verbouwing noodzakelijk. Het gaat om de renovatie van het huidige gebouw en een nieuwbouwproject op het perceel naast de concertzaal.

De renovatie betekent dat het poppodium tijdelijk moet verhuizen. Paradiso heeft nog geen alternatief onderkomen gevonden voor de periode van minimaal een half jaar waarin het dicht moet.

Het poppodium verwacht over ongeveer vijf jaar te starten met de verbouwing, die 93 miljoen euro moet gaan kosten. Paradiso verwacht zelf 25 procent van de kosten te kunnen dekken en is voor het overige deel nog in overleg met de gemeente.

Door de verbouwing verhoogt Paradiso ook de capaciteit van de concertzalen.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Ongeveer 3,5 miljoen Nederlanders merken de gevolgen van de tekorten aan geneesmiddelen in Nederland. Dat is een op de drie medicijngebruikers, meldt de beroepsorganisatie voor apothekers, de KNMP.

Als een geneesmiddel tijdelijk niet beschikbaar is, kan het zijn dat een gebruiker een ander middel krijgt. Soms krijgen ze hetzelfde middel, maar met een andere dosis. Het lichaam moet daaraan wennen. "Dit leidt tot verminderde therapietrouw, duurdere alternatieven en verkeerd medicijngebruik met onnodige ziekenhuisopnamen als meest ingrijpende gevolg", aldus de KNMP.

Volgens de organisatie daalt het aantal tekorten wel. Vorig jaar was de voorraad van 1134 geneesmiddelen te laag. Een jaar eerder waren er 1563 tekorten. Dat is een afname van ruim een kwart.

De Rotterdamse politie heeft een nieuw middel ingezet tegen bankfraude: een politieman doet zich voor als bejaarde die op een phishingbericht reageert. De oplichter komt van een koude kermis thuis als hij geen geld weet af te troggelen, maar wordt gearresteerd.

Probe follows outcry over use of creepy image generation tool

The European Commission has launched an investigation into X amid concerns that its GenAI model Grok offered users the ability to generate sexually explicit imagery, including sexualized images of children.…