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Rumors circulated today that robotaxi company Waymo might use data from vehicles' interior cameras to train AI and sell targeted ads to riders. However, the company has tried to quell concerns, insisting that it won't be targeting ads to passengers. The situation arose after researcher and engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered an unreleased version of Waymo's privacy policy that suggested the robotaxi company could start using data from its vehicles to train generative AI. The draft policy has language allowing customers to opt out of Waymo "using your personal information (including interior camera data associated with your identity) for training GAI." Wong's discovery also suggested that Waymo could use that camera footage to sell personalized ads to riders. Later in the day, The Verge obtained comments on this unreleased privacy policy from Waymo spokesperson Julia Ilina. "Waymo's [machine learning] systems are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads," she said. Ilina said the version found by Wong featured "placeholder text that doesnt accurately reflect the features purpose" and noted that the feature was still in development. It "will not introduce any changes to Waymos Privacy Policy, but rather will offer riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection for ML training purposes." Hopefully Waymo holds to those statements. Privacy and security are huge concerns as AI companies try to feed their models as much information as possible. Waymo is owned by Alphabet and Google is developing its own AI assistant, Gemini, as well as other AI projects with its DeepMind division.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-has-no-plans-to-sell-ads-to-riders-based-on-camera-data-225340265.html?src=rss
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Consumer electronics brand Framework announced today on X that it will temporarily suspend US sales of select laptop models as a result of the global tariffs enacted for the country last week. The company said it will remove the Ultra 5 125H and Ryzen 5 7640U versions of its Laptop 13 systems from its website. At the time of publish, that Ultra 5 Intel model is not listed, but the Ryzen 5 one with the AMD chip appears to still be available for purchase. In a follow-up post, the company said that it originally priced its laptops based on a 0 percent tariff for goods from Taiwan. With the current 10 percent tariff, the products would be sold at a loss. "Other consumer goods makers have performed the same calculations and taken the same actions, though most have not been open about it," Framework said. Given the language of the initial post, this doesn't seem to be the end of US customers' chances to buy Laptop 13 models. But the sweeping tariffs on imports enacted by President Donald Trump last week have already sparked other industries to rethink their US sales and pricing. UK-based Jaguar Land Rover also paused shipments to the US as a result of the tariffs, while Japan's Nintendo has delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2 gaming console, although the launch date appears unchanged.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/framework-pauses-some-us-laptop-sales-due-to-tariffs-221115971.html?src=rss
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After an internal investigation, The White House has come up with a likely explanation for how Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in a Signal chat filled with Trump officials planning to bomb the Houthis. The Guardian reports that the issue came down to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz not understanding how his iPhone works. Apparently, after Goldberg attempted to contact the Trump campaign about a separate issue in 2024, Brian Hughes, a Trump spokesperson, shared Goldberg's contact information and email signature with Waltz. It only took a few wrong taps after that to lay the groundwork for "Signalgate," The Guardian writes: Waltz did not ultimately call Goldberg, the people said, but in an extraordinary twist, inadvertently ended up saving Goldbergs number in his iPhone under the contact card for Hughes, now the spokesperson for the national security council. So Waltz didn't realize his iPhone was updating a contact rather than creating a new one, and meant to add Hughes to the group chat rather than Goldberg. This explanation doesn't change the fact that the kind of planning happening in the "Houthi PC small group" probably shouldn't have taken place on an encrypted messaging app and especially without Congress weighing in. But this discovery does add a new flavor of grim stupidity to the whole affair. Not long after Signalgate, the Pentagon warned against using Signal because it's vulnerable to Russian phishing attacks, but clearly the Trump administration likes the app's security and the instantaneous communication it allows. Having a more secure option reportedly hasn't stopped Waltz from using Gmail, though.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-white-house-has-reportedly-settled-on-an-explanation-for-how-signalgate-happened-212107380.html?src=rss
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Players are gearing up for the arrival of the Switch 2 this summer, and we've been piecing together details about how game ownership and sharing will work. The picture is coming together, and in true Nintendo fashion, it's a bit odd. Developers who release projects on the Switch 2 will have the option to sell their work as a "Game-Key card," which looks like a traditional physical game cartridge, but has no game data stored on it. Instead, when slotted into a Switch 2, game-key cards will automatically present instructions on how to download the title in question. The hardware will need an Internet connection and enough space for the game files on its system memory or microSD Express card. Once the download is complete, that Switch 2 can run the game whenever the game-key card is inserted into the system. The Switch no longer needs an Internet connection once the title has been downloaded, unless the game separately requires you to be online to play. We've now learned via GameSpot that game-key cards won't be automatically connected to a single console or to a user's Nintendo account. It's an unusual hybrid approach, and with many hybrid concepts, you get the best and worst of both worlds. For instance, storage is going to be at a premium in the Switch 2 and game-key card downloads will eat into that limited space. And unfortunately, game-key cards don't future-proof customers against the day when Nintendo might decide to shut down the servers for the Switch 2, as it did with other sunsetted hardware like the Wii U and 3DS in 2024. If and when that happens, the game-key cards will be essentially useless. But there are some upsides, particularly when it comes to sharing or reselling games. We already knew that Nintendo would have an option called GameShare that supports local multiplayer with only a single purchased copy of the title, while Virtual Game Cards offer digital sharing (if in a convoluted way). The addition of game-key cards that aren't tied to a single person's Nintendo account makes it easier to pass a game off to a friend once you've finished with it, or to resell it and recoup some of the $80 price tag of major releases. And in case you were wondering: yes, the game cartridges will still taste terrible.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/switch-2-game-key-cards-wont-be-tied-to-your-nintendo-account-204735286.html?src=rss
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Jackbox has been making fun party games for well over a decade at this point, but it just held its first-ever direct livestream event. The company had plenty of news to share, including the pending release of both a new minigame collection and a standalone trivia title. The Jackbox Party Pack 11 includes "five brand-new game concepts to bring the party game experience to the next level." These include an audio-based game in which players compete to make the best sound effects. Theres also a fantasy-themed trivia title and a head-to-head joke-writing game. The pack is rounded out by a social deduction game thats centered around a court trial and a "cozy drawing game." That last one tasks players to create designs based on "bizarre prompts." If its anything like Drawful, which is a fantastic drawing-based game by Jackbox, we will be extremely pleased. The Jackbox Party Pack 11 will be available this fall for just about every platform. If you feel like you haven't heard from Jackbox Games in a while, thats because it didnt release a party pack last year. The company said it took a year off to "innovate and deliver some long-requested products for fans." The showcase concluded with the reveal of Trivia Murder Party 3, the next entry in the franchise. This one brings online matchmaking into the mix, though folks can still play locally via the classic Jackbox room code. This installment is set in a summer camp with a serial killer on the loose. Only answering trivia questions can stop the murderous rampage. It will be available as an early access title on Steam later in the year, with a general release date set for 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/jackbox-is-back-with-new-party-games-including-one-based-on-sound-effects-184524066.html?src=rss
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