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Once the ball starts rolling in the Spanish league, the game is on for some 50 analysts who start looking for signs of online piracy.They scan websites, social media posts, IPTV platforms and streaming portals in search of illegal broadcasts of La Liga matches.The trained analysts identify the pirated content and take the steps needed to take them off air, including notifying Internet intermediaries like Cloudflare, the U.S.-based company whose content-delivery network is believed to manage nearly 20% of the Internet traffic worldwide.And that’s when the real fight begins for the Spanish league.La Liga, one of the most active European leagues fighting piracy and audiovisual fraud, accuses Cloudflare of ignoring illegal content and not doing enough to block it. It says Cloudflare plays a decisive role in the dissemination of online piracy that significantly hurts the soccer industry.Protecting its content is key for the league, which recently sold domestic audiovisual rights for more than 6 billion euros ($7 billion) through the 2031-32 season.Spanish league president Javier Tebas told The Associated Press in an email that Cloudflare is an organization “fully aware that a significant share of sports audiovisual piracy relies on its infrastructure and, despite this knowledge, it continues to protect and monetize that activity, as recognized by courts in multiple jurisdictions.”Tebas said that in Spain alone, more than 35% of La Liga’s content piracy continues to be distributed through Cloudflare’s infrastructure, despite thousands of formal notices and judicially backed enforcement measures implemented by Internet service providers.“This is not a legal, technical or ideological debate, but a case of a company prioritizing its commercial interests and financial gain over the law, the sustainability of the global sports industry, and the protection of its own customers, whom it uses as a digital shield for organized piracy networks,” Tebas said. Cloudflare speaks of censorship Cloudflare, which describes itself as a “long-standing champion of a free and open Internet,” denies wrongdoing and accuses the league of bullying its way into controlling what Spanish users see online during matches.Cloudflare told the AP that the league’s “indiscriminate blocking practices” have kept Spanish users from accessing tens of thousands of legitimate sites while the games are on.The company said La Liga thinks that its commercial interests can “trump the right of ordinary Spanish users to browse lawful sites” during matches.Cloudflare has encouraged Spanish users who notice lawful sites getting blocked because of La Liga to track those blocks and tell their lawmakers. Cloudflare highlights the need to fight “Internet censorship and the harm it causes.”“Cloudflare regularly works collaboratively with rightsholders to help address issues like illegal streaming,” it said. “La Liga, however, has shown no interest in this type of collaboration, believing instead they can bully their way to having complete control over what Spanish users see online during football matches by making unsupported claims and threats.”La Liga notes there is collaboration among several other intermediaries, including Google, Amazon and YouTube, but says Cloudflare has rejected similar collaboration efforts with the league. Legal actions The Spanish league has been successful in achieving court rulings against piracy in Spain, which also impacts Cloudflare, but it remains unable to get the company to block some of the illegal content internationally.Cloudflare has fought back in the courts, filing appeals to “demonstrate that La Liga’s overblocking practices are illegal.”“We are also engaging with talking to politicians and regulators, as well as civil society to find collaborative solutions to combating illegal sports streaming without impeding Internet access for millions of Spanish users,” it said.Cloudflare faces similar legal issues in Italy, France, Germany and Japan, among other countries. The Italian league said it has taken action against Cloudflare multiple times and will continue to do so. In Germany, the local league said it was in “regular and intensive communication with Cloudflare in order to combat the issue of digital piracy in the best possible way.” Seeking government support Cloudflare recently told the United States Trade Representative that the actions by foreign countries constitute digital trade barriers that contradict global norms and disproportionately impact U.S. technology providers, hindering market access in some countries.The Spanish league has also reached out to the European Commission and the USTR to complain about Cloudflare’s practices. It told the USTR that Cloudflare was the main facilitator for unauthorized broadcasts of La Liga and other pirated content worldwide.Cloudflare claims that its network is vital to the U.S.’ economic and security interests.“We urge the U.S. government to continue its resolute advocacy on behalf of American businesses to dismantle these structural barriers and ensure a global digital environment that rewards innovation and fair trade,” it said.The USTR did not answer an AP email requesting comment. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer Associated Press
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Its a dream come true for investors with heavy defense stock holdings. On Thursday, defense stocks surged after President Trump called for a massive $1.5 trillion defense budget next year. The figure was floated in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. That would be an increase of roughly 50% over the 2026 budget of $901 billion. I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars. This will allow us to build the Dream Military that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe, Trump wrote. Presumably, the beefed-up budget would help pay for some of Trumps military ambitions, which include a Golden Dome air-defense system, and even a new naval ship design. As for how itd be paid for, Trumps Truth Social post suggests that tariff revenue could help cover the additional costs. The reaction by the markets was predictable, as defense companies saw share prices rise during pre-trading Thursday morning. As of around 11 a.m. ET, Northrop Grumman shares were up around 3.75%, Lockheed Martin shares were up more than 6%, and Raytheon shares were up 2%. Interestingly, Trumps dream military post also comes soon after he also floated the idea of preventing defense companies from conducting stock buybacks or paying dividends to shareholders. That idea came in response to the presidents frustration that defense companies were not moving quickly enough, as he wrote in another Truth Social post earlier on Wednesday. As it stands, its unclear how realistic a huge increase to the defense budget is, but according to reporting from Politico, many Republican members of Congress have already voiced support for the increase, including House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, Representative Steve Womack of Arkansas, and Don Bacon of Nebraska.
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Gaming peripheral company Razer is betting that people want AI holograms. So much so that it introduce a perplexing new product at CES 2026 that early critics have dubbed a “friend in a bottle.” Project AVA, is a small glass cylinder that features a 5.5-inch animated desk buddy that can interact with you, coach you, or offer gaming advice on demandall powered by xAI’s Grok. Project AVA uses a technology Razer calls “PC Vision Mode” that watches your screen, allowing its 3D animated inhabitant to offer real-time commentary on your gameplay, track your mood, or simply hang out. It attempts to sell the illusion of presencea companion that isn’t just an app you close, but a physical object that lives in your room. Its not a bad idea, in theory. Giving AI a face is not just a marketing ploy but a biological inevitability. Yet Project AVA marks a strange new milestone in our march toward AI companions. [Image: Razer] The inevitability of holographic AI When OpenAI’s introduced ChatGPT 4o voice chats in the summer of 2024, humanity entered a new form of computer interaction. Suddenly, we could interact with AI voices that were smart and natural enough for humans to maintain a conversation. Since then, we have seen other voice AIs like Gemini Live, which introduce pauses, breathing, and other elements that cross the uncanny valley and allow many to suspend disbelief and even form a bond with these assistants. Research has shown that for deep emotional venting, users currently prefer voice-only interfaces because they feel safer and less judgmental. Without a face to scrutinize, we avoid the social anxiety of being watched. However, some neuroscientists argue that this preference may just be a temporary work-around for bad technology. Our brains are evolutionarily hardwired for face-to-face interaction. The “Mirror Neuron System” in our brainswhich allows us to feel empathy by watching othersremains largely dormant during voice-only chats. A 2024 study on “Generation WhatsApp” confirmed that neural synchrony between two brains is significantly weaker during audio-only exchanges compared to face-to-face ones. To feel truly “heard,” we need to see the listener. Behavioral science also tells us that up to 93% of communication is nonverbal. Trust is encoded in micro-expressions: a pupil dilating, a rapid blink, an open posture. A voice assistant transmits 0% of these signals, forcing users to operate on blind faith. Humans still find them very engaging because our brain fills the gaps, imagining faces like when we read a book. Furthermore, according to a 2025 brain scan study, familiar AI voices activate emotional regulation areas, suggesting neural familiarity builds with repeated interaction. The human connection deepens the younger you go (Razers demographic). While older generations largely use AI for productivity, Gen Z frequently reports using advanced voice modes for emotional regulation and companionship. One report noted that 72% of teenagers have engaged with AI companions, with a significant subset treating them as confidants. [Image: Razer] This comes with a dark side too: Since the prefrontal cortex responsible for impulse control and reality testing is not fully mature in teens, the empathy simulated by current voice AIs can feel dangerously real, leading to isolation from human peers or emotional manipulation by the model. But, while voice AIs are powerful user experience, they will never match direct facial interaction. Studies suggest that once the “uncanny valley” is solvedthat eerie feeling of revulsion we get when someone looks almost, but not quite, humanour brains will naturally gravitate toward them. At that point, holographic personas could become a common user experience in businesses and in intimate relationships. Project Ava is not it We are far from that point, though. We will need hyper-realistic AI faces that are algorithmically optimized to look exactly like humans, with every muscle, tick, and imperfection. To avoid the uncanny valley in Project AVA Razer has opted for stylized avatars. There is “Kira,” an anime-style character, “Zane,” a strategic gaming coach, and even a licensed avatar of esports legend “Faker.” The goal is to lean into the parasocial dynamics already common in gaming culture, where digital characters often feel more like friends than software. [Screenshot: Razer] Early hands-on experiences suggest the illusion is fragile. Reviews describe the interaction as “wonky,” with the hologram frequently going on irrelevant tangents. Critics have been quick to label it a “friend in a jar,” questioning whether it fulfills a enuine social need or simply exploits loneliness with a visual gimmick. Its also, and this is important, not a real hologram. These are just 3D animated characters projected in a flat transparent film. Move to the side and your friend will be reduced to 2D invisibility. [Image: Razer] The ethical concerns deepen when you look under the hood. While Razer claims the hardware is model-agnostic, the current iteration is powered by xAIs GrokElon Musks ethically challenged AI model. This instantly tethers the device to the darker side of AI development. Just this week, Grok has been embroiled in a global scandal involving its new “edit” feature, which users have exploited to generate non-consensual sexual imagery at a rate of one image per minute. While Project AVAs avatars are stylized and locked by Razer, the association with an engine currently under investigation by EU and U.K. regulators for facilitating “mass digital undressing” casts a long shadow over the product. There is no guarantee that users won’t find ways to jailbreak AVA to behave in similarly controversial ways, turning a gaming coach into something far more unsavory. Still, its a first step. The market is already betting on this shift. The holographic AI assistant sector is projected to grow from roughly $600 million in 2024 to nearly $4 billion by 2031. We are already seeing successful applications in healthcare, where users rate AI avatars dressed as doctors as more competent than voice-only agents, as well as in customer service kiosks where a digital face helps maintain user attention. AVA is hinting at this future, but it hasn’t solved the fundamental problems yet. To become natural, a holographic AI must be more than a gimmick in a glass. It must be a lot smarter than Grok, and it will need to possess the subtle social cues that signal safety to our nervous system. Until then, AVA will be just a crude toy. [Screenshot: Razer] Im not dismissing it, though. Given our biological imperative, it’s only logical to think that humans will gravitate to holographic manifestations of AI in future UX experiences. But while the holographic AIs are inevitable, Ava doesn’t seem to be it. With luck, it will be remembered as a proto-form of what’s to come. Something truly advanced that, hopefully, will not be powered by the descendants of a techno-fascist AI.
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