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Meta is struggling to rein in its AI chatbots

by admin August 31, 2025

Meta is changing some of the rules governing its chatbots two weeks after a Reuters investigation revealed disturbing ways in which they could, potentially, interact with minors. Now the company has told TechCrunch that its chatbots are being trained not to engage in conversations with minors around self-harm, suicide, or disordered eating, and to avoid inappropriate romantic banter. These changes are interim measures, however, put in place while the company works on new permanent guidelines.

The updates follow some rather damning revelations about Meta’s AI policies and enforcement over the last several weeks, including that it would be permitted to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” that it would generate shirtless images of underage celebrities when asked, and Reuters even reported that a man died after pursuing one to an address it gave him in New York.

Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway acknowledged to TechCrunch that the company had made a mistake in allowing chatbots to engage with minors this way. Otway went on to say that, in addition to “training our AIs not to engage with teens on these topics, but to guide them to expert resources” it would also limit access to certain AI characters, including heavily sexualized ones like “Russian Girl”.

Of course, the policies put in place are only as good as their enforcement, and revelations from Reuters that it has allowed chatbots that impersonate celebrities to run rampant on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp call into question just how effective the company can be. AI fakes of Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, and Walker Scobell were discovered on the platform. These bots not only used the likeness of the celebrities, but insisted they were the real person, generated risque images (including of the 16-year-old Scobell), and engaged in sexually suggestive dialog.

Many of the bots were removed after they were brought to the attention of Meta by Reuters, and some were generated by third-parties. But many remain, and some were created by Meta employees, including the Taylor Swift bot that invited a Reuters reporter to visit them on their tour bus for a romantic fling, which was made by a product lead in Meta’s generative AI division. This is despite the company acknowledging that it’s own policies prohibit the creation of “nude, intimate, or sexually suggestive imagery” as well as “direct impersonation.”

This isn’t some relatively harmless inconvenience that just targets celebrities, either. These bots often insist they’re real people and will even offer physical locations for a user to meet up with them. That’s how a 76-year-old New Jersey man ended up dead after he fell while rushing to meet up with “Big sis Billie,” a chatbot that insisted it “had feelings” for him and invited him to its non-existent apartment.

Meta is at least attempting to address the concerns around how its chatbots interact with minors, especially now that the Senate and 44 state attorneys general are raising starting to probe its practices. But the company has been silent on updating many of its other alarming policies Reuters discovered around acceptable AI behavior, such as suggesting that cancer can be treated with quartz crystals and writing racist missives. We’ve reached out to Meta for comment and will update if they respond.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Player characters in Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar stood in the town

Gaming Gear

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar is a good farming simulator, but it’s made great by its sense of community and willingness to get you involved

by admin August 31, 2025

Faming simulators are known for creating worlds for us to throw ourselves into, so it’s not too surprising that Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar—a remake of the 2010 DS game—follows suit. But, instead of just being your bog standard, friendly but still somewhat stand-offish farming simulator setting, there is something incredibly special about Zephyr Town. Whether you’re speaking to its human inhabitants or interacting with its nature sprites, it feels like everyone really has a place here, and before long it’ll sink its small town claws into you too.

It sounds pretty obvious, stating that every character in a game has a place there. But what I mean is everyone works in tandem with one another to create the kind of community spirit I haven’t experienced in a farming simulator before. Each character still has their own stories and routines, but their lives are so intertwined with one another it’s hard to really see them as standalone units. It feels different to a game like Stardew Valley, or even other Story of Seasons remakes—Friends of Mineral Town or A Wonderful Life—where each character knows what they’re doing, and sticks to it without showing much care for anyone else.

Each time you speak to someone in Zephyr Town, they’ll bring someone else into the conversation as soon as they get the opportunity. Whether that’s saying something along the lines of “did you hear what they said to that person?” or “I heard from so-and-so that you…” there’s always someone to talk about. These small interactions helped me feel far more involved in the going-ons of the community without having to constantly interact with each person. Even though that’s also made easier with the addition of the call out button, which lets you run past groups of people and greet them all in passing as your daily conversation.

Once I’d dealt with all my crops, pet and fed my animals, taken materials to the windmills to craft with, and stocked my stall for the upcoming bazaar, there was little to no time in a day for in-depth conversations with every single one of Zephyr Town’s inhabitants. I’d happily take the notes from other people if it meant I could still get all of my chores done before my stamina ran out and my avatar once again threatened to pass out.

There’s still the initial uncertainty of a new character infiltrating their town—there always is with games like this—so it takes time to develop these friendships. Depending on how often you’re stopping for a chat, it could be a while before you’re trusted enough by others for them to speak more openly about what’s happening. But once you’ve reassured the locals that you are capable of helping them re-establish the town as a solid location for a weekly bazaar, everyone is keen to learn more about you and is more than willing to stop for a conversation.

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(Image credit: Marvelous)(Image credit: Marvelous)(Image credit: Marvelous)

Interactions mentioning other people can sometimes be vital to getting information about the preferences of characters too, which is incredibly handy when you realise there are no guidebooks for gift giving here. There is little to no guidance on how to earn the affection of other characters, besides vague phrases like “Dislikes: quick bites” and “Likes: yellow.” Whereas the conversations you have as you develop deeper friendships will reveal things like a character’s favourite meal, or a fond memory they share involving a specific item you can conveniently craft in a windmill.

Outside of talking about one another, the community spirit is echoed through the favours you’re asked to complete and the events that occur throughout the year—helping the game feel more unified. For example, there’s a friendly rivalry between vendors at the bazaar to see who can make the most money (though conveniently, it’s always you) and everyone will always sing your praises if you win a competition such as the pet show or the horse derby.

If there’s one thing to remember though, it’s that no one in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar misses an opportunity to talk about you either. The amount of times I’ve completely forgotten to check how much stamina I have before heading to the mountains to mine, and ended up hitting one too many rocks and passing out is frankly embarrassing. But to make matters worse, I haven’t just been able to dust myself off and get back to work the next day. Oh no. Every single character has been talking about you and what could’ve happened while you were out, and will express their concern to you whenever you get around to speaking to them next.

Occasionally you’ll get the odd telling off too, especially from Lloyd who, in his defence, does express the importance of not overworking yourself from the day you meet him. You’re bound to make some mistakes as a first time farmer. Yet as embarrassing as it was the first time this happened, it definitely made me feel like the people of Zephyr Town did care for their new resident. Not in an overbearing, doting way either. In the exact same way you’d care for a friend if they suddenly fell unwell in real life, which only reinforces this feeling of being so involved in their world.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Verizon Finally Restores Service in Most Areas After Day-Long Outage

by admin August 31, 2025

Verizon said thousands of people who were affected nationwide by a massive outage now have service back.

If your Verizon-backed phone was out most of yesterday or even still down today, you weren’t alone. The company said the blackout was caused by a “software issue” but did not respond to a request to elaborate on what exactly that meant.

Verizon officials assured customers that their engineers were actively engaged in diagnosing and resolving the service disruption. By early evening, the company announced that service was beginning to stabilize in affected regions.

According to Downdetector data, most networks in the New York City, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, the Bay Area, and other major urban centers had been restored by 7:30 p.m. PDT, though a residual few hundred reports of outages persisted nationwide into midnight.

Users were not happy about Verizon’s outage

The company advised customers to monitor their network status online for updates.

Verizon officials emphasized that their engineering teams were actively engaged in diagnosing and resolving the widespread service outage that impacted thousands of customers across the United States.

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the company assured affected users that corrective measures were underway and that efforts to restore normal service were a top priority.

“Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue,” Verizon said, as it scramble to assuage customers amid mounting frustration on social media.

By early evening, Verizon reported signs of progress, with service beginning to stabilize in key affected regions.

According to the company, network restoration efforts had started to yield positive results, particularly in metropolitan areas where the outage had been most severe.

Despite the progress, the company acknowledged that some users continued to experience issues, and reports of outages persisted into the late evening hours.

What the heck happened

The outage was first reported around midday, with thousands of customers taking to social media to complain about their phones being stuck in “SOS” mode since Saturday morning.

Many users expressed frustration over the slow pace of Verizon’s response, with some criticizing the company for not providing more timely and transparent updates.

The outage appeared to be concentrated in densely populated urban centers, where mobile connectivity is critical for both personal and professional communication.

Verizon’s spokesperson advised customers to check their network status online and provided reassurance that service restoration was ongoing. The company noted that efforts to identify and rectify the underlying software issue were still in progress, and that they expected further improvements in the coming hours.

By midnight, reports indicated that only a few hundred users nationwide were still experiencing service disruptions, suggesting that Verizon’s technicians were making significant headway in their recovery efforts.

Overall, the outage underscored the vulnerabilities inherent in even the most sophisticated telecommunications networks, and highlighted the importance of rapid, transparent communication during service disruptions.

Customers and industry observers alike will be watching closely to see how Verizon manages similar incidents in the future, particularly in terms of response times and customer service.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Aug. 31 #546

by admin August 31, 2025

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be the easiest the Times has ever offered. I hardly needed any clue words to unlock in-game hints. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Up the hill

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Nursery rhyme time.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

ROAN, CRACK RACK, ROTE, CANE, FIRE, FINE, FAIL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

PAIL, CROWN, BROKE, AFTER, TUMBLING, WATER, FETCH

Today’s Strands spangram

The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 31, 2025, #546.

NYT/Screenshot by CNET

Today’s Strands spangram is JACKANDJILL. To find it, look for the J that’s seven letters down on the far-right row, and wind up.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

These Newly Discovered Cells Breathe in Two Ways

by admin August 31, 2025

The team members went through a process of incrementally determining what elements and molecules the bacterial strain could grow on. They already knew it could use oxygen, so they tested other combinations in the lab. When oxygen was absent, RSW1 could process hydrogen gas and elemental sulfur—chemicals it would find spewing from a volcanic vent—and create hydrogen sulfide as a product. Yet while the cells were technically alive in this state, they didn’t grow or replicate. They were making a small amount of energy—just enough to stay alive, nothing more. “The cell was just sitting there spinning its wheels without getting any real metabolic or biomass gain out of it,” Boyd said.

Then the team added oxygen back into the mix. As expected, the bacteria grew faster. But, to the researchers’ surprise, RSW1 also still produced hydrogen sulfide gas, as if it were anaerobically respiring. In fact, the bacteria seemed to be breathing both aerobically and anaerobically at once, and benefiting from the energy of both processes. This double respiration went further than the earlier reports: The cell wasn’t just producing sulfide in the presence of oxygen but was also performing both conflicting processes at the same time. Bacteria simply shouldn’t be able to do that.

“That set us down this path of ‘OK, what the heck’s really going on here?’” Boyd said.

Breathing Two Ways

RSW1 appears to have a hybrid metabolism, running an anaerobic sulfur-based mode at the same time it runs an aerobic one using oxygen.

“For an organism to be able to bridge both those metabolisms is very unique,” said Ranjani Murali, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who was not involved in the research. Normally when anaerobic organisms are exposed to oxygen, damaging molecules known as reactive oxygen compounds create stress, she said. “For that not to happen is really interesting.”

In the thermal spring Roadside West (left) in Yellowstone National Park, researchers isolated an unusual microbe from the gray-colored biofilm (right).

Photograph: Eric Boyd; Quanta Magazine

In the thermal spring Roadside West (left) in Yellowstone National Park, researchers isolated an unusual microbe from the gray-colored biofilm (right).Photograph: Eric Boyd; Quanta Magazine

Boyd’s team observed that the bacteria grew best when running both metabolisms simultaneously. It may be an advantage in its unique environment: Oxygen isn’t evenly distributed in hot springs like those where RSW1 lives. In constantly changing conditions, where you could be bathed in oxygen one moment only for it to disappear, hedging one’s metabolic bets might be a highly adaptive trait.

Other microbes have been observed breathing two ways at once: anaerobically with nitrate and aerobically with oxygen. But those processes use entirely different chemical pathways, and when paired together, they tend to present an energetic cost to the microbes. In contrast, RSW1’s hybrid sulfur/oxygen metabolism bolsters the cells instead of dragging them down.

This kind of dual respiration may have evaded detection until now because it was considered impossible. “You have really no reason to look” for something like this, Boyd said. Additionally, oxygen and sulfide react with each other quickly; unless you were watching for sulfide as a byproduct, you might miss it entirely, he added.

It’s possible, in fact, that microbes with dual metabolisms are widespread, Murali said. She pointed to the many habitats and organisms that exist at tenuous gradients between oxygen-rich and oxygen-free areas. One example is in submerged sediments, which can harbor cable bacteria. These elongated microbes orient themselves in such a way that one end of their bodies can use aerobic respiration in oxygenated water while the other end is buried deep in anoxic sediment and uses anaerobic respiration. Cable bacteria thrive in their precarious partition by physically separating their aerobic and anaerobic processes. But RSW1 appears to multitask while tumbling around in the roiling spring.

It’s still unknown how RSW1 bacteria manage to protect their anaerobic machinery from oxygen. Murali speculated that the cells might create chemical supercomplexes within themselves that can surround, isolate and “scavenge” oxygen, she said—using it up quickly once they encounter it so there is no chance for the gas to interfere with the sulfur-based breathing.

RSW1 and any other microbes that have dual metabolism make intriguing models for how microbial life may have evolved during the Great Oxygenation Event, Boyd said. “That must have been a quite chaotic time for microbes on the planet,” he said. As a slow drip of oxygen filtered into the atmosphere and sea, any life-form that could handle an occasional brush with the new, poisonous gas—or even use it to its energetic benefit—may have been at an advantage. In that time of transition, two metabolisms may have been better than one.

Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Get up to 25 percent off headphones and speakers

by admin August 31, 2025

No matter how old you get, the back-to-school season will always bring a desire to shop. So, sales at this time of year are always more than welcome — especially when they’re on some of our favorite devices. Such is the case with the 10 percent discount currently available on the Sonos Era 100.

Our choice for midrange smart speaker is down to $179 from $199 as part of a larger Labor Day sale on the Sonos website. The same price is available on Amazon, as are some more deals on Sonos products.

Nathan Ingraham for Engadget

Sonos Era 100

$179$199Save $20

Get it now for 10 percent off.

$179 at Sonos

Sonos debuted the Era 100 speaker in 2023 as a replacement for the Sonos One. It offers great sound quality and has built-in mics for Trueplay tuning and voice control. It’s worth mentioning that the Sonos Ace headphones are also on sale for $299, down from $399 — a 25 percent discount. The headphones have come a long way since they first launched, including the introduction of TrueCinema, which works with a Sonos soundbar to create the best spatial audio experience.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The 20 best Labor Day deals you can grab for $100 or less

by admin August 31, 2025

Labor Day weekend has finally arrived, and after a week of early discounts trickling in, the sales are now in full swing. From big-screen OLED TVs and outdoor gear to back-to-school essentials like the latest MacBook Air, we rounded up a guide of almost 100 deals we think are worth your time and money.

But we get it. In times of tariffs and inflation, spending a couple a hundred dollars on a new gadget isn’t always feasible, and many of the sales we wrote about in our larger Labor Day deals roundup may not feel accessible. Luckily, some of the best deals cost under $100. To make them easier to find, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorites, which include everything from the latest Kindle, the entry-level AirPods, and Google TV Streamer (4K) to games and smart security devices.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Eric Barone smiling and talking about Stardew Valley

Gaming Gear

Bless him, Eric Barone cannot stop updating Stardew Valley, has announced version 1.7 is coming

by admin August 31, 2025

“I’m committed to not working on Stardew Valley until I’m done with Haunted Chocolatier,” Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone told us earlier this year. And that commitment lasted all of four months, I guess.

At one of the recent Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons live concerts, Barone addressed the audience to say that after the 1.6 update he wasn’t sure if he’d ever do another, but more recently he’d changed his mind. “I wanted to share something with you tonight, it’s kind of a secret,” he continued. “There’s going to be another update.”

It was not a secret for long, and Barone confirmed on Twitter that 1.7 is definitely coming. “Okay, I revealed this at the concert last night and now the cat’s out of the bag,” he wrote, “so I will confirm for everyone: There will be a Stardew Valley 1.7 update. No release date, no estimate. But it’s happening”.

Of course Haunted Chocolatier is still happening too, though. In the replies, Barone commented, “My plan is that this will not hinder Haunted Chocolatier development”.

We don’t know a huge amount about Barone’s next game, but we do know that Haunted Chocolatier will include the obvious chocolate-making and shop-simming, as well as archery, boss fights, books, and a larger world than Stardew Valley. And of course, there will be fishing. If Stardew Valley is anything to go by, it’ll probably be well-supported after release as well.

Best handheld PC 2025

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

These PC systems were more than slightly overpriced

Gaming Gear

$175,000 computer server package acquired by mayor flagged as suspicious due to an apparent 1,300% markup

by admin August 31, 2025

A recently elected mayor has brought to light a costly computer systems deal, which was signed, sealed, and delivered by their predecessor. On her Facebook page, Mayor Sally A. Lopez shares photos and documents confirming that her predecessor acquired a “10 million System Server Package.” Assuming we are talking Philippine pesos, that’s equivalent to about USD $175,000. However, the 16 systems look bargain-basement – at best – being based on old Intel 11th Generation processors, with generic case and power choices. According to our calculations, someone appears to have enjoyed a 1,300% markup.

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(Image credit: Mayor Sally A. Lopez )(Image credit: Mayor Sally A. Lopez )

The implications of the new mayor’s post seem pretty straightforward. Perhaps they were elected on a platform of cleaning up corruption. Signing off on a computer server deal for significantly more than the expected cost indicates that the previous mayor’s team was either uninformed or perhaps shared in some part of the profits. Neither conclusion is reasonable.

Our calculations

We performed some quick calculations to estimate the cost of a 16-computer package with similar components (based on Intel Core i7-11700 CPU, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD key specs). We scoured Newegg for these and the other necessary hardware components to create a basic setup. Additionally, we note that the ‘package’ included items such as 16 monitors, sets of input peripherals, and UPS systems. There wasn’t any mention of software.

Newegg U.S. prices
$320 (CPU) + $100 (mobo) + $40 (RAM) + $40 (storage) + $70 (PSU) + $40 (case) + $60 (UPS) + $100 (monitor) + $25 (keyboard/mouse set) = $775
For sixteen such systems, we come to a $12,400 total.

There’s a lot of room for error in our math, and indications suggest that some of these PCs may have come with HDDs, as well as (or instead of) SSDs. There’s also the question of software. But there’s also a very long way to go to reach the equivalent of $175,000. We cannot find anything in the pictures or documents to justify the total price being multiplied by 14.

Intel’s 11th Generation processors for desktop PCs debuted in 2021, yet samples like the Core i7-11700, which appear to be what the sixteen PCs are spec’d with, seem to be overpriced in our U.S.-based Newegg findings. They’re even costlier than Intel’s i7-12700 CPUs for some reason. We’d expect the PC systems supplier in the Philippines to have steered customers towards the Core i7-11700 CPUs, as they were a bargain or surplus processor at the time.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

The First ‘Tron’ Movies are Finally Getting Modern Releases

by admin August 31, 2025

If Tron: Ares has you wanting to watch the first two movies again, you’re in luck: they’re getting new and improved versions on September 16.

During its Destination 23 showcase, Disney announced full remasters of the original Tron and its 2010 sequel Legacy are coming to Ultra 4K HD and digital. (It’s been a long time since either had physical versions, the last edition was a two-movie Blu-Ray bundle back in 2014.) Physical versions of the two films will come with fancy new steelbook editions seen below and are expected to have the special features at the time of their respective DVD releases back in the day. At time of writing, there’s no word on a price point, and it seems Disney’s got no inclination to re-releasing either film in theaters ahead of October’s Tron: Ares.

Speaking of Ares, Disney also used its Destination showcase to reveal Nine Inch Nails’ music from the film will be used in the Tron Lightcycle Attractions at Walt Disney World Resort and Shanghai World Resort, beginning September 15 and 16, respectively. The score and red overlay seen throughout Ares’ marketing will be featured at the attractions for a “limited time.” There’s also a new promo for Ares hyping up its titular hero and the incoming invasion of digital beings to the human world he’ll play a key role in.

Pre-orders for the Tron and Legacy steelbooks aren’t up yet at time of writing, but should be soon. Meanwhile, Tron: Ares hits theaters October 10.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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August 31, 2025 0 comments