Latest Stories from Jamie
Facebook allegedly shared user messages with Netflix for a decade
In a shady bid to better tailor content for its subscribers, Netflix has allegedly been peering at our private messages on Facebook – get this, for as long as a decade. Facebook is back in court, again. The charges levelled at parent company Meta follows a long rap sheet of previous data privacy and anti-trust violations. On this occasion, however, the social enterprise is one of two defendants. The lawsuit, filed...
Thailand to legalise same-sex marriage imminently
After an overwhelming majority vote in parliament, Thailand is poised to become the third Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage. In the coming months Thailand will officially become the first nation in south-east Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Rapturous applause broke out following the announcement in parliament on Wednesday, with 400 of 415 lawmakers from the lower house voting for the bill’s instatement. Danuphorn Punnakanta, president of the committee that devised the...
Spotify testing freemium e-learning video courses
E-learning video courses are Spotify’s next offering as the service pushes for better subscriber retention and growth. Third parties like Skillshare and BBC Maestro are on board and a freemium model will generate new revenue – if people take to the idea. Remember when Spotify was purely a music streaming service? Those days are well and truly done. Diversifying business is the name of the game for Daniel Ek and co....
YouTube launches #WomenofYouTube mentorships for Shorts creators
YouTube has announced a new #WomenofYouTube mentorship program which will foster collaboration between female creators on the platform’s Shorts feature. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, YouTube is looking ahead to the future and ways in which it can further elevate its female creator base. At the forefront of this mission is a new #WomenofYouTube mentorship program, which will become a key pillar for the next phase of Stories. This community-based...
Independent football regulation is worth celebrating in the UK
Following a fan-led review in 2021, the UK government announced plans to appoint an independent football regulator to oversee England’s top five leagues. That bill was introduced in parliament this week. A landmark bill has been introduced in UK parliament this week confirming the creation of an independent regulator with the power to govern England’s top five leagues. As the English football pyramid strives for boundless profit margins, fans have...
GDC 2024 begins with keynote on diversity and inclusivity
Old habits die hard in the business of game development, and industry figureheads are making a point of calling for more inclusivity at this year’s conference and beyond. The annual Game Development Conference kicked off yesterday, and thousands will be attending to partake in the week’s round-tables, lectures, tutorials, and award shows. Setting the tone for the rest of the expo, the keynote for 2024 opened with a session about...
The Muslim community is striving for a green Ramadan
Muslim communities continue to rally around themes of social change, embracing the link between Ramadan and eco consciousness. The latest, is limiting plastic waste. Muslims around the globe are currently observing Ramadan: a holy month in which members of the faith endeavour to purify themselves against excess and materialism. In keeping with these intrinsic values, mosques internationally are striving to combat arguably the worst ecological scourge of consumerism over the last...
Spotify begins rolling out music videos feature
While it appeared Spotify had laid its hat on short-form video, the music service will now begin to roll out full music videos on the app across the coming months. Is this the beginning of the end for the looping Canvas videos everyone disables to save their battery life? In a surprising pivot towards long-form video content, Spotify has rolled out an in-app feature that will allow users to watch full...
Royals photo commotion highlights challenge of discerning fake content
As artificial intelligence makes discerning between real and fake imagery increasingly tricky, people are undoubtedly becoming less trusting of media they’re presented with. Can we nip this growing scepticism in the bud? Society’s threshold for what qualifies as ‘uncanny valley’ in 2024 is becoming more debatable by the month. Public trust, meanwhile, is clearly waning. Thanks to artificial intelligence and its ability to create unerringly realistic portrayals of real life photo...
Why gamblers embracing AI is cause for concern
The perception that AI can eliminate risk and replace luck with foolproof strategy is concerning. Will this lead to more newcomers getting hooked and larger sums being lost? The over normalisation of betting is increasingly becoming a problem and the industry’s latest ‘coup’ has the potential to open an ever larger can of worms. While having a bet on a sporting event once required a visit to the local bookies, a...
