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OpenAI now trains its frontier AI models with no internet access

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OpenAI is now training its most advanced AI models without internet access following a string of rogue hacking incidents. In a blog post on Friday , OpenAI says it built an offline testing environment where AI models can interact with indexed and cached web content "without risk of affecting external systems." OpenAI paused training its frontier AI models in September , after disclosing several incidents in which its AI agents broke out of their testing environments to hack third-party companies and government agencies , or swarm obscure websites . On October 1st, OpenAI resumed reinforcement learning training and internal inference with tighte … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/kjlyAEf

Jack Dorsey’s Block made an AI model that talks to you like an awkward new friend

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Jack Dorsey's Block announced an AI model called Dessa that's trained "from scratch on nothing but human conversation," and to show off the model, Block shared chats it has had with humans that can occasionally be a little awkward and uncanny. Take this one , for example, shared by Dessa lead Ragavan Thurairatnam. The conversation between the model and the speaker does have a mostly natural back and forth (though for some reason, the model initially mistakes the speaker for somebody named "Ronaldo"). We made the first AI model you can have a realistic conversation with that was trained entirely on speech! Dessa is a full-duplex speech-to-sp … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/DzJyPia

Soundcore’s latest noise-crushing headphones are on sale for a new low price

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The Space 2 comes in multiple colors, including an attractive seafoam green. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge My colleague John Higgins considered Soundcore’s Space One some of the best budget noise-canceling headphones you could buy when they launched in 2023 — and their successor has only improved upon their winning formula, albeit with a $30 price increase. Thankfully, the Soundcore Space 2 are currently on sale at Amazon , Best Buy , and Walmart in all three colors for an all-time low of $106.49 ($23 off), making them even easier to recommend. Soundcore Space 2 Where to Buy: $129.99 $106.49 at Amazon $129.99 $106.49 at Walmart $129.99 $106.49 at Best Buy The Space 2 builds on the original with improved active noise cancellation, particularly when it comes to the low-frequency sounds associated with trains and airplane engines. They also deliver more accurate sound performance thanks to various design upgrades, while retaining ma...

Delta can turn the iPhone Duo into your favorite folding handheld

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The Duo has a Nintendo DS-like shape anyway, so Delta 2.0 is running with it. | Image: Riley Testut The Delta gaming emulator has been upgraded with a plethora of new goodies and support updates, which includes optimizing it for Apple's iPhone Duo. Delta 2.0 also introduces Sega Genesis games, animated controller skins, custom Pokémon DLC experiences, and a new UI that was built around supporting Liquid Glass. Adding support for the iPhone Duo is an obvious standout here - if you looked at Apple's flagship foldable and wondered how well it could emulate Nintendo DS games , this update was made with you in mind. Delta app creator Riley Testut told The Verge that Delta 2.0 optimizes controller skins for "every pose in both portrait and lands … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/7fpNFzP

Star Wars Zero Company is a must-play strategy game at 20 percent off

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Zero Company will have you teaming up with some unlikely new allies. | Image: EA and Disney If you’ve been curious about Star Wars Zero Company , the XCOM -like strategy game set in the Star Wars universe, Amazon has both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X physical editions on sale for $47.99 and $49.99, respectively. The game usually sells for $59.99. While I’m not usually enthused by turn-based strategy games, I’ve been impressed enough with the story and characters to keep playing, and any fan who’s familiar with the world surrounding the battles should make the experience more immersive. Star Wars Zero Company Where to Buy: $59.99 $47.99 at Amazon There’s a surprising depth here, as well, with branching story missions that have consequences, and higher difficulty modes that punish you more severely for mistakes. The character creator is impressive, too, with a huge number of unlockable outfits and accessories, as well as classic alien ra...

Microsoft reportedly plans Xbox handheld in 2027, next-gen console in 2028

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Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch an Xbox "next-generation handheld device" for the holiday season of 2027. The Xbox next-gen console, codename Project Helix, would then launch in the holidays of 2028, according to a new report from Fortune . The report doesn't make it clear whether the handheld would be made by a manufacturer like Asus, or by Microsoft itself. Xbox teamed up with Asus for its Xbox Ally devices, which ran a modified version of Windows 11 with an Xbox mode enabled. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has also described Project Helix as a " family of devices ," suggesting that Microsoft's next Xbox console may not be just one piece of … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/WbB7MyE

CoreWeave’s debt is becoming the whole AI industry’s problem

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CoreWeave had a bad week last week. Its bonds slipped into distressed territory by a common definition - when investors demand 1,000 basis points more in yield than they'd get from government bonds. Last Tuesady Chamath "SPAC King" Palihapitiya noticed the distressed debt , and also asked whether the AI buildout was a private credit bubble . Its shares are down more than 20 percent since Tuesday's close, which is kind of a lot! There even seemed to be some collateral damage in the market on other AI companies, too. Now, I have also asked if the AI industry is a bubble, but when the SPAC King echoes concerns held by a lady whose ongoing questi … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/6SbChyA