What’s X done this time?
X, née Twitter is under fire. Again. This time, it has nothing to do with the platform’s removal of a feature, but rather with the internet’s favourite keyword: AI. Bloomberg recently found that Elon Musk’s $44 billion venture had quietly updated the app’s privacy policy to include language that would allow it to collect users’ biometric information in the name of “safety, security, and identification purposes.” It then took things a step further, with the new policy also collecting user’s educational and employment history.
Except… that’s no longer the case. According to X’s most recent privacy policy update – initially spotted by Alex Ivanovs at Stackdiary (via Engadget) – the platform will use all that data, both public and private, to train AI.
“We may use the information we collect and publicly available information to help train our machine learning or artificial intelligence models for the purposes outlined in this policy,” says the updated privacy policy.
Worry not, for Musk has confirmed X won’t be delving into its users’ “DMs or anything private.” Unfortunately, he didn’t confirm exactly how our “public data” would be used, though it might have something to do with one of Musk’s other sidelines, xAI. As the company’s website points out, it “will work closely with X (Twitter), Tesla, and other companies to make progress towards our mission.”
That mission? Understanding the true nature of the universe. No, really.
Mercedes takes EVs up a notch
Keeping Musk in the conversation, unfortunately, is Mercedes, with the company’s recent unveiling of an electric vehicle that’ll apparently travel further than any Tesla model on a single charge. During yesterday’s IAA car show that took place in Munich, Mercedes showed off a concept of a CLA sedan that’s capable of hitting 750km range on a single charge.
Better yet, more than half of that range can be achieved within 15 minutes of charging. “We’re taking it to the next level,” said Markus Schäfer, Mercedes’ CTO ahead of the IAA car show. “This car is extremely important for innovation reasons and to push the limits for what we can do with a series car.”
It’s a strange-looking car. Mercedes has leaned into the whole ‘car of the future’ thing here, producing something that wouldn’t look out of place in Back to the Future 2. On the inside, it sports futuristic-looking seats, a massive display that spans the entire width of the car and is powered by a new Mercedes-Benz operating system that runs on “supercomputing and artificial intelligence” because of course it does.
Mercedes is expected to put the CLA concept into production sometime around 2025, though no specific dates or years were discussed.
SAG-AFTRA going after our video games
You’ve probably heard of that Hollywood strike that’s delaying all the films you were looking forward to. The one that stops writers and actors from taking part in any film and TV production until the union representing them, SAG-AFTRA, achieves its goal: better wages for those working in the industry. Months later, and neither side has budged. Now, SAG-AFTRA could be coming for video game actors.
“Once again, artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members.”
The guild’s national board has unanimously voted to send a strike authorisation vote to members – taking on ten of the videogame industry’s biggest forces, including EA, Activision, Epic Games, WB Games, and Insomniac. Voting for the strike authorisation will begin on 5 September and come to a close on 25 September.
The last time SAG-AFTRA took on the gaming industry was back in 2016, with that strike lasting just over six months.
LG’s handing out free Apple TV+ (for 3 months)
Never had the gall to try out AppleTV+? We get it. R125/m to watch Severance and Ted Lasso is not the shining recommendation Apple thinks it is. Regardless, LG is giving away three-month free trials to its customers. But there’s a catch. LG is only handing out a free trial of AppleTV+ to anyone who bought a 4K LG TV or better in the past few years. Specifically, any 4K or higher TV that LG manufactured after 2018, according to LG.
You’ll have until 12 November to claim your three-month free trial, which can be done through the native AppleTV+ app found on the LG Store. Unfortunately, as LG has earmarked in the announcement’s dark recesses, the promotion only applies to new AppleTV+ customers. But that’s easily countered by just starting a new account, even if it is a bit of a hassle.
Once you’re done with that, it’s all about deciding what to watch. The obvious answer is Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio or Ridley Scott’s Napoleon with Joaquin Phoenix leading. Or, you know, you could watch Severance again. We know we will.