Recent Post Recent Post
View More

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
US President Donald Trump during a Presidential memorandum signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, June 29, 2026

At a time when AI is facing a growing backlash, when even his own administration is tiptoeing towards real regulatory oversight of the industry, President Donald Trump is doubling down on his own usage of what can only be described as AI slop — this time containing dubious deepfakes.

On July 1, Trump posted an AI-generated video casting himself as "Doctor Trump," a white-coat-wearing physician offering a "treatment plan" for “Trump Derangement Syndrome," a phrase he and his supporters have long used to attack his critics.

The clip opens like a pharmaceutical ad, with an AI-generated Trump wearing a stethoscope and telling viewers he has a plan to treat TDS. It then cuts to fake versions of celebrity critics, including Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts, Rosie O’Donnell, Edward Norton, and John Leguizamo, who appear as "patients" describing their supposed symptoms and recovery.

The fake De Niro says he could not eat or sleep, and was "constantly angry." The fake O’Donnell says she had been "suffering for over a decade." The fake Goldberg describes herself as a lost cause. The clip ends with Trump’s AI persona prescribing a mix of media criticism, prayer, and Diet Coke.

Social media, outside Trump's MAGA followers, was not amused.

This is not Trump's only bizarre interaction with AI this week. On Wednesday, the president visited the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, where he interacted with an AI version of Roosevelt.

The library, which opens to the public on July 4, lets visitors explore Roosevelt’s letters, speeches, photographs, and other archival material, including via a lifelike AI version of the former president, all created with help from Microsoft.

During the visit, Trump asked the AI Roosevelt whether the Panama Canal was his greatest achievement. The digital Roosevelt said the canal was one of his proudest achievements, but also pointed to parks, medicine, and the Square Deal.

Trump later told the audience he had "a conversation with Theodore Roosevelt," a comment which circulated online before clips made clear he was referring to the library’s AI exhibit. Not everyone was convinced, however.

This is all part of a broader pattern on Trump’s social feeds, where AI-generated images and videos have frequently found a home.

Earlier this week, Trump shared what appeared to be an AI image of a giant golden eagle attached to the White House’s Truman Balcony, calling it “A Golden Gift to the White House for its 250th Birthday Year." The "gift" was also shared by official White House social media accounts.

The image’s metadata suggested it was indeed created with Google Gemini. Photos taken later that evening showed no giant gold bird attached to the White House, which is generally the kind of thing people would notice.

Social media users wondered why the shield on the eagle appeared to include 11 stars instead of 13. Others mocked the design as “tacky” and questioned the caption — since 2026 marks 250 years since American independence, not 250 years since the White House was built (it was completed in 1800).

In April, Trump posted and then removed an AI-generated image that showed him as a Jesus-like figure healing a sick man. After backlash from conservative and religious figures including Riley Gaines, Megan Basham, and Bishop Robert Barron, Trump said he thought the image depicted him as a medical worker "making people better." He has also previously posted an AI image of himself as the Pope.

Trump has also shared AI-generated videos and images that place him in more stylized or exaggerated roles. In May, Trump went on a spree, posting more than 20 mostly AI-generated images or clips in about 90 minutes, including images targeting Barack Obama, Gavin Newsom, Hakeem Jeffries, JB Pritzker, and others.

Another AI-generated video, shared in June and created by Trump-backed congressional candidate Anthony Constantino, depicted Trump as a globe-trotting hero, including scenes of him riding a lion, appearing on Mount Rushmore, riding a camel, and appearing as beloved Japanese character Naruto.

The Naruto-style imagery added to an existing backlash from anime and manga fans in Japan, where about 20,000 people have signed a petition titled “Protect Japanese Manga” back in March protesting the White House’s use of imagery from Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Naruto, and other franchises in political posts.

According to the petition, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already contacted the U.S. Embassy in Japan over unauthorized use of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Nintendo imagery.

In short, AI has become a regular part of Trump’s online presence. Not in any serious policy-based sense, but as a tool for memes, self-promotion, political attacks, and spectacle.

We'll wait to see whether that helps Team Trump in the 2026 midterm elections. But with the president at an all-time low approval rating, and AI not faring much better in surveys, it's hard to see how such slop-like usage can do anything more than amuse his most hardcore fans.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/qkRmTfa
Continue reading

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
JUNE 30: Interns work for cable news network run out of the U.S. Supreme Court with the latest ruling for their news anchors on June 30, 2026 in Washington, DC.

In 2026, the fastest news delivery system in Washington still appears to be a sweaty intern in sneakers.

After the Supreme Court handed down a series of major rulings on June 30 — including a landmark decision on birthright citizenship and rulings on transgender athletes and campaign finance limits — interns were once again seen sprinting from the court with printed opinions in hand.

The footage quickly turned into its own internet event, partly because the visual is irresistible and partly because everyone had the same questions: what is this tradition, and why are they still doing this?

Let us introduce the "running of the interns," one of Washington's strangest and most beloved rituals.

The tradition has existed in some form for decades, dating back to the print era of Supreme Court coverage. Because recording devices are banned inside the courtroom, hand-delivered opinions were once the fastest way for news organizations to get major rulings from the Court to reporters outside.

That job often fell to interns at media outlets such as CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and other news organizations covering the Court. They would wait for printed opinions inside or near the building, grab copies as soon as they were available, and race them to producers and correspondents stationed outside so their networks could report the decision as quickly as possible.

The "running of the interns" became a recognizable Washington media spectacle during the Bush v. Gore case in 2000, when TV networks were racing to report the decision that effectively settled a presidential election. In the years that followed, interns kept running on major decision days, including the 2012 Affordable Care Act ruling and the 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, which popularized the tradition.

The routine is simple: interns wait for printed opinions, grab the documents, and race them across the Court plaza to producers and correspondents preparing to go live. It's part breaking news, part relay race, part free cardio.

This tradition comes at a very digital time, when the Supreme Court posts opinions online — and PDFs are often available within moments of a ruling. I mean, the rule of birthright citizenship was posted online by SCOTUS the moment it was announced.

Plus, during the pandemic (March 2020 to June 2022), the Court actually released opinions exclusively online. Once that became normalized, the old paper relay started to feel less like a breaking-news necessity and more like a relic from another media era.

After this change, the concept was declared extinct. But the ritual clearly still has legs (pun intended), and the "run" is back, both IRL and online.

Many online are admiring the tradition — some to the point of tears — and the interns' hustle. Others find it absurd and intense. Some are tagging sneaker brands, begging them to turn the scene into an ad.

In a world where every major ruling instantly becomes a PDF, a push alert, a live blog, and a social post, there's something refreshing about watching young people sprint through the streets in business casual attire, driven purely by their love of breaking news.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/8wf9u2G
Continue reading

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
Asha Sharma of Xbox

There's no other way of putting it: Things are looking grim at Xbox right now.

A couple of different reports paint a bleak picture of the Microsoft-owned video game console manufacturer. Chiefly, The Verge reported that large-scale layoffs and even studio closures could happen around July 6. This could include Arkane Studios, the French developer behind Dishonored, Prey, and the upcoming Marvel Blade game, which still exists only in vague teaser form. The Verge's report suggests Microsoft could cancel Blade, which was set to launch in 2027.

SEE ALSO: Did PlayStation outsell Xbox 8 to 1 with 'GTA VI' pre-orders? Microsoft rebuts claims.

Arkane joins a list of at least four other Xbox subsidiary studios that could either be shut down or, potentially, spun off and sold to someone else. It's unclear how likely the latter possibility is, though. One other studio on that list includes State of Decay developer Undead Labs, per Gamesbeat. The next game in that series, State of Decay 3, has been in development for years and is set to launch in 2027 at the time of this publication.

Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory round out the list of studios that might cease to exist as soon as next week, per previous reports. One of Xbox's major issues during the last decade or so has been a distinct inability to consistently ship first-party games, and shutting down or spinning off several studios is unlikely to help in that regard. Layoffs in other parts of the Xbox business that are not otherwise shutting down are also likely, per GamesBeat.

All of these developments follow a leadership change at Xbox earlier this year, though the problems go back much farther than that. New Xbox head executive Asha Sharma has made some small symbolic overtures to win hearts and minds, such as confirming the existence of a next-gen Xbox console, Project Helix, in development. However, Xbox's reputation among video game enthusiasts is at a historical low, thanks to rampant layoffs, a lack of compelling software, and Microsoft's very controversial relationship with the Israeli military.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/jcQsL6m
Continue reading

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.

Love Island USA has become one of the internet's biggest reality TV obsessions over the past couple of summers, and its fans are doing a lot more than watching hot twenty-somethings couple up.

The reality dating show, which airs every night except Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock, gives viewers a near-daily stream of developments to analyze, from bombshell arrivals and public votes to recouplings, shifting loyalties, and the small villa moments that can turn one Islander into a fan favorite or send another into the internet's crosshairs. Fans track, post, and debate every change in the villa like it is a sport (with better swimwear).

So maybe it was only a matter of time before someone tried to put a market around all that forecasting.

Kalshi, the prediction market platform, has been offering Love Island USA contracts this season, giving users a way to trade on outcomes connected to the show, including which couple will win, which Islanders might be eliminated next, and which couples could finish in second or third place. They have also partnered with creators to launch a breadth of TikTok and Instagram ads.

"Because the fandom around Love Island is so popular, we knew our traders would be excited about getting in on the action," Kalshi spokesperson Laura Frank tells Mashable. "Trading on the outcome of shows like Love Island allows fans to feel like they're part of these moments."

According to Kalshi, Love Island USA markets brought in more than $20 million in trading volume across the first two weeks of the season, a major figure for an entertainment market. For comparison, the most recent Oscars race for Best Picture, one of the biggest awards-season betting events, drew about $25 million in volume. Kalshi’s Week 2 elimination market closed with $3.3 million traded, more than the $2.8 million traded on the winning couple market at the time.

The demand was not limited to an early burst of curiosity. Frank said trading has been "exceptionally popular," with total trading volume for Love Island U.S. and UK markets reaching nearly $40 million as of Monday, June 29. She said trades crossed $1 million in cumulative volume within the first week around the premieres and reached a single-day peak of nearly $3 million traded on June 11.

Currently, Kalshi's winning couple market has Trinity Tatum and Bryce Dettloff as heavy favorites, with an 80 percent chance of winning (both Melanie and Sincere and Zach and Kayda have a 33 percent chance of landing in the top three). There are also weekly elimination contracts — Amora and Kenzie were both priced around 56 and 37 percent in the Week 5 market.

Kalshi is not the only prediction market platform turning Love Island USA into something tradable. On Polymarket, users have also been able to trade on Season 8 outcomes, down to even what might be said during a specific episode (for example, the word "red flag"). A spokesperson from Polymarket declined to comment on their Love Island trading platform.

Love Island is different from a traditional awards show or sporting event, though, because fans are not only watching from the outside. Sometimes, they shape what happens next.

Often, the producers prompt fans to vote for their favorite (or least favorite) cast members on the Love Island app, and each time, the fandom certainly mobilizes: The Love Island USA app crashed during both a June 9 and June 16 vote and later climbed to the top of the App Store.

When asked about the ethics and integrity of markets where users can influence outcomes through public voting, Frank says, "We draw a hard line against insider trading — it's prohibited on Kalshi."

She also says it has safeguards in place to detect suspicious activity on its platform. Kalshi uses Know Your Customer checks for everyone who trades on the platform, which Frank describes as "very similar (and more extensive) than signing up for a bank."

"When people trade, we use advanced AI surveillance technology that tracks for any irregular trading and investigates suspicious trading activity," Frank adds. "We go beyond looking at individual households and look at people’s social connections as well."

Prediction markets are expanding just as sports betting has become a massive part of American digital life. Americans legally wagered nearly $167 billion on sports in 2025, according to the American Gaming Association, and online betting has transformed how many fans experience games. Some states — like Illinois, Nevada, and most recently Michigan (as of June 29) — have placed bans or taxes on prediction markets as state governments debate whether to classify them as financial exchanges, gambling platforms, or something in between.

The sports gambling world has been built, for the most part, around men. Men are nearly twice as likely as women to report gambling-related problems, and sports betting has become one of the clearest examples of how quickly gambling products can move from occasional entertainment to an everyday phone habit.

So when prediction market companies start using pop culture, influencers, and reality TV to reach more women, it raises a question: Is this just another way for fans to engage with the shows they love, or is it opening a new pathway to betting addiction for an untapped market?

According to Frank, there are "3x more female traders" in Love Island markets compared with other Kalshi markets, and "2/3 of new Love Island traders are women."

Kalshi and Polymarket have both experimented with pop-culture contracts and social media strategies that look different from a sportsbook ad during a football game, setting wagers on — for example — Taylor Swift's wedding venue, Dancing with the Stars cast members, or the Bachelor drama.

It doesn't mean every fan trading on these outcomes is treating Kalshi and Polymarket like a sportsbook. Prediction markets differ from betting platforms; their contracts are described as "event-based trading," where users buy and sell positions against each other rather than placing bets against the house. In that framing, a Love Island contract is less like a traditional sportsbook wager and more like a stock price fluctuating around a future event.

But for users, the actual experience can still feel familiar, potentially hooking a new prediction-market audience one recoupling at a time.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/UagKEI9
Continue reading

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
Serena Williams of the United States during practice on Court Twelve as she prepares for the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on June 27th, 2026

A first-round match at Wimbledon is not usually treated like the main event. Serena Williams’ return is one of the exceptions.

Williams, 44, is set to play 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint on Tuesday, June 30, in her first Wimbledon singles match since 2022, and tennis fans are abuzz with anticipation.

Williams has not played a singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open, where she "evolved away" from professional tennis after a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic. In the years since, she has had a second child, expanded her business life, and moved into the kind of post-tennis chapter most fans assumed was permanent.

SEE ALSO: Serena Williams dances in Kendrick Lamar's halftime show. Yes, there's an alleged Drake connection.

The comeback did not come out of nowhere. Williams has been inching back onto the court since 2025. But the singles decision, according to Williams, was not automatic. At her pre-tournament press conference, she said Wimbledon had held a wild card for her and that she was still unsure until the final days before the draw.

Part of the hesitation, Williams said, came from what returning to professional tennis required off the court. To compete again, she had to re-enter tennis’ anti-doping testing pool and make herself available under the sport’s whereabouts rules, which require players to provide a daily one-hour testing window and keep officials updated on where they can be found.

Williams told reporters that the process has been "grueling," especially as someone balancing tennis with children, travel, and running multiple businesses. She said she understands why testing is necessary, but argued that parts of the system feel unreasonable for players whose lives do not fit neatly into one location or one schedule.

Ultimately, though, "I thought I should really take this opportunity,” Williams said. “Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again? This could be it.”

Williams has won seven Wimbledon singles titles and 23 Grand Slam singles titles overall. This time, though, Williams has said her expectations are different. She has talked less about chasing history and more about enjoying the chance to compete again.

Tennis players have spoken about the comeback as a major moment for the sport. Novak Djokovic called it "inspirational" and "epic," while Aryna Sabalenka said Williams' return is bringing more eyes to tennis. Online, fans have followed her practice sessions, press conference quotes, wild-card news, and even prediction-market movement around whether she would actually take the court.

But the reaction has not been entirely celebratory.

Williams’ wild card has also reopened a debate about access and fairness at Grand Slam tournaments. Wild cards are discretionary entries, meaning tournaments can award them to players who do not qualify strictly through ranking. In Williams’ case, Wimbledon left its final women’s singles wild-card spot open before giving it to her.

That decision has frustrated some fans, who argue that a player active on tour could have used that spot, and Williams should remain retired.

On the other hand, Williams' draw is also bringing eyes to her opponent, Maya Joint. Joint was born after Williams had already won several Grand Slam titles, and she has spoken about Williams with nothing but respect.

“It’s an honor,” Joint told the WTA. “I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams, and if you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that’s just crazy.”

Nevertheless, a win over Williams at Wimbledon would be career-cementing for her.

The result could become a Serena comeback moment, a Maya Joint breakout, or simply an early look at what this version of Williams can still bring to the court. Either way, it has already become bigger than a normal first-round match, and us at Mashable will be tuning in.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/vTq9xiZ
Continue reading

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
A man sits in a dark jail cell.

Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2.

It's always nice to see a familiar face in House of the Dragon, even if said face is rolling across the floor of the Great Hall minutes after reappearing on our screens.

We're talking, of course, about Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the former Hand of the King who's had quite the spectacular fall from grace since Season 1.

But what exactly happened to him, and where has he been all this time? It's been a while since we last saw him, so let's recap.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 family tree: How the Targaryens, Velaryons, and Hightowers connect

What happens with Otto Hightower in Season 3, episode 2?

After Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) stroll into King's Landing to seize control, the latter pays a visit to the dungeons.

"If you would, my prince," says a man holding a torch. "A gift for you, if you ever returned, from Lord Larys Strong."

Daemon follows him deep into the bowls of the Red Keep, then reappears in the Great Hall with a familiar face: Otto Hightower, looking very much the worse for wear.

Otto is brought to kneel before Rhaenyra, and Daemon advises her to behead him in the place of on-the-run Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).

"If your father could see what it's come to," mutters Otto. "He would never have imagined it."

Otto's final words, before Rhaenyra starts hacking away at his neck? "I did my best..."

Featured Video For You
'House of the Dragon': Everything you need to remember about Season 2 in 60 seconds

When did we last see Otto Hightower?

It's been a while, but we did briefly see Otto in the Season 2 finale. Back then, he was already in his jail cell, although at the time we didn't know where he was being held or why.

Prior to last season's finale, we last saw a very different Otto all the way back in Season 2, episode 2. After being fired as Hand by Aegon, Otto told his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that he planned to leave King's Landing to return to Oldtown. Alicent advised him to go to Highgarden instead so he could stop the Tyrells from "wavering" in their support for Team Green, but it looks like he was waylaid before he could get very far at all.

And finally, now, we know what happened to him: He was captured at the request of Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who clearly planned to use him in order to buy favor with Team Black, should they ever reclaim power. Sneaky.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/fBSaD7Y
Continue reading

at 0
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
A smartphone displays a folder of social media applications, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Snapchat, and YouTube

Australia's teen social media ban has been in effect since December, and the government's verdict on how it's going is pretty clear: not well enough.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this week that Australia will double the maximum penalty for violating its social media minimum age law, raising the fine ceiling from $AUD49.5 million ($US33 million) to $AUD99 million ($US68.2 million). The government is also moving to expand the eSafety Commissioner's powers to compel platforms to hand over evidence of what they're actually doing to keep under-16s off their services.

SEE ALSO: The next social media ban? Austria looks to block kids under 14 from social media

The news comes roughly six months after Australia's Online Safety Amendment Act took effect, banning platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, X, and YouTube from allowing users under 16 to hold accounts, as Mashable previously reported. More than five million accounts have been removed, deactivated, or restricted since Dec. 10 — but according to Albanese, that's not good enough.

"It is clear that social media platforms are adopting tricks straight out of the big tech playbook and doing the bare minimum to get by," said Minister for Communications Anika Wells in the government's statement.

The eSafety Commissioner is currently investigating potential non-compliance across five platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

The new legislation would also extend the Commissioner's reach to third parties like age-verification and app-store providers — closing a loophole that let platforms point fingers elsewhere when their enforcement fell short.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/TOCkvDA
Continue reading
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)