technology

A bill attempting to regulate the ever-growing industry of companion AI chatbots is now law in California, as of October 13th. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 243, billed as “first-in-the-nation AI chatbot safeguards” by state senator Anthony Padilla. The new law requires that companion chatbot developers implement new safeguards — for instance, […]

California joins a growing group of states with a new internet age-gating law after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB 1043, the Digital Age Assurance Act. The law mandates that device operating systems and app stores require users to enter their age or date of birth when setting up a new phone or computer. The […]

We got our first proper look at the upcoming Wonder Man series, but Marvel has a whole slate of shows in the works. Other than Wonder Man, though, the company didn’t roll into New York Comic Con with a firm release date for anything. The best we got were some broad release windows and few […]

Spooky season is upon us, and traditional horror films like Bring Her Back (excellently gruesome) or The Evil Dead (stone cold classic) are obvious choices for a cozy movie night at home. But, if you're looking for something that's a bit more weird than wicked to get you in the Halloween spirit, I highly recommend […]

Last week, for James Bond Day, Amazon revealed updated poster art for the movies. But fans immediately noticed that the super spy’s signature Walther PPK was conspicuously missing from every image. In some cases it had clearly and rather clumsily been Photoshopped out. Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan were left awkwardly holding thin air, in […]

We’ve been so worried about deepfaked politicians, AI musicians, virtual actresses, and phony satellite imagery that we didn’t even consider the dangers posed by precocious teenagers. Kids are using AI to create images of a disheveled, seemingly unhoused person in their home and sending them to their parents. Understandably, they’re not thrilled and in some […]

It's important to remember that two decades ago, text messages cost 10 cents. Each. Back when we measured our cell phone plans in minutes, and when even 3G connections felt fast, text messages were a huge business for wireless carriers and a huge expense for anyone whose kids learned to T9-type just a little too […]

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the downward spiral of the internet, follow Adi Robertson. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Back in 2018, two years after the UK […]

Apple’s Clips video editing app is no more. It debuted in 2017 as a way to stitch together videos with music, text, and filters with a clear focus on sharing to social media. Over the years Apple added AR features and more advanced video editing tools. But recently updates had slowed to a trickle.  Apple […]

This week the Pew Research Center published a study about how parents managed screen time for their kids 12 and under. The results were not particularly surprising (or enlightening, if we're being honest). A full 90 percent of parents said their children watched TV, and 61 percent said their kids interact with smartphones at least […]

Although Amazon’s fall Prime Day event has come to an end, there are still some lingering discounts available. That means you have yet another chance to pick up an early gift for the holidays, or just something for yourself. Right now, for instance, Apple’s base AirPods 4 are sitting at their lowest price to date, […]

When Donald Trump's administration issued orders to send the National Guard into Portland, Oregon, a person in a frog balloon suit showed up at the city's ICE facility, where protesters had gathered. After the frog humped the air in front of a throng of federal law enforcement - many dressed in head-to-toe camo with military-grade […]