Trump pressures Apple into removing ICEBlock from the App Store
The app’s name may have made it sound like a game. In reality, it was far from one and served as a vital tool to help individuals evade ICE agents within their own cities. In the past year alone, countless acts of cruelty have been committed under the guise of...
Current in Tech
Does the Game Pass price hike signal the end of accessible gaming?
Microsoft is about to hike Game Pass up again, with the price of Ultimate tier increasing by 50%. Many subscribers are ditching the service altogether, but Xbox is doubling down. It felt a little too good to be true, didn’t it? Game Pass has ensured, amid a lingering cost-of-living crisis, that...
AI actress Tilly Norwood is causing a significant stir in Hollywood
Several talent agencies are genuinely interested in Tilly Norwood, an AI actress recently created and unveiled by the world’s first ‘AI talent studio’ Xicoia. The pushback from Hollywood has been significant. Hollywood and controversy go together like popcorn and butter, but this latest palaver is wholly unique – in that...
EA bought by private investors for $55 billion USD
Electronic Arts (EA) has agreed to a new $55 billion USD acquisition deal with a consortium of investors. It’s the second most expensive gaming purchase of all time, only beaten by Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard for $75.4 billion USD. Electronic Art (EA) has been purchased by a consortium of...
New mandatory digital ID for UK residents sparks controversy
Prime Minister Kier Starmer has announced the UK government’s plan to introduce a new, mandatory digital ID scheme with the goal of deterring immigration. Widespread political and public pushback has been instantaneous. Thought your driver’s license and passport were enough to prove your identity in the United Kingdom? Well, not...
ChatGPT is increasingly substituting critical thought
OpenAI’s latest usage report on ChatGPT sheds light on how people are moving away from having the chatbot complete ‘doing’ tasks, but are leaning on it for advice, problem solving, and outsourcing judgement calls. Is this cause for concern? You know who doesn’t ever get brain fog? ChatGPT. Use of OpenAI’s...
Albania appoints world’s first AI-powered minister
The nation did the unthinkable and put an AI entity in charge of public procurement in an effort to combat the nation’s high levels of corruption. Artificial intelligence is everywhere. From aiding students in their studies to detecting diseases, our lives are becoming increasingly intertwined with AI. This also applies to governments worldwide, some of which use it to automate processes or even to make e-portals easier for citizens...
Rwanda launches Africa’s first self-flying electric air taxi
The East African country is now the first in the continent to have a public flight of a self-flying electric air taxi, adding to its fast-growing reputation as a hub for advanced aviation and technology innovation. In a demonstration of the pilotless aircraft, which followed an agreement with an implementer from China’s Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Rwandan skies witnessed an air taxi that embodies not only technological advancement but...
TikTok wants you to fact-check your For You Page
With its new ‘footnotes’ feature, the platform is betting on crowdsourced context to clean up the chaos of viral video culture. TikTok’s endless scroll has always been a cocktail of brilliance, absurdity, and the occasional conspiracy theory. For every dance challenge or cooking hack, there’s a dubious wellness tip promising to fix your gut in three days or a breaking news claim with no evidence beyond a shaky iPhone video. The...
Life is Strange highlights TV’s blind spot towards game creators
The 2015 hit narrative game is getting its own television series courtesy of Amazon. But Story Kitchen and LuckyChap have opted not to collaborate with the original writers at Don’t Nod. Is this repeating mistakes of the past? Life is Strange caught everyone off guard in 2015. Interactive drama games were having something of a boom at the time, but nobody quite anticipated the sheer emotional weight that the coming-of-age...
