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Horror entertainment specialist Blumhouse is running special screenings of its movie M3GAN where audiences will be encouraged to use their smartphones. Yes, flying in the face of all the warnings and announcements to not interrupt the experience for other viewers, Blumhouse is partnering with Meta to deliver special content during screenings of M3GAN. During these one-night engagements, viewers can use Meta's Movie Mate service to access second screen content, such as a chatbot version of the M3GAN doll, film trivia and behind-the-scenes details. Blumhouse movies Annabelle and Ma are also getting one-night engagements this spring, but those seem to be standard showings where people will get annoyed if you bust out your phone. To take advantage of this tie-in, theater-goers start by sending a DM to the movie's Instagram account. It will also only work for people inside participating theaters, meaning Instagram will likely require access to viewers' location data. "The M3GAN in-theater Movie Mate is a first-to-market moviegoer experience," said Omar Zayat, group lead entertainment, tech, travel, gaming and auto at Meta. "We are happy to introduce filmgoers to it by way of Instagram Direct and Click-to-Messenger Ads. We are thrilled to be working with Universal Pictures and Blumhouse to deliver rich experiences designed to get audiences back into theaters." Buried in all that corporate jargon is an acknowledgement that movie theaters were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Possibly in an effort to encourage more business, there has been a wave of cinemas allowing or encouraging activities that would normally get you booted from the theater. AMC started hosting special sing-along showings of Wicked because some audience members apparently couldn't stop themselves from doing their best Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande impressions. A Minecraft Movie has also seen disruptive behavior, thanks to fan reactions and the filming of fan reactions hoping to go viral.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/meta-wants-you-to-be-on-your-phone-during-special-showings-of-m3gan-220411260.html?src=rss
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A group of organizations, including nonprofits like LatinoProsperity and labor groups like the California Teamsters, are petitioning California Attorney General Rob Bonta to stop OpenAI from becoming a for-profit entity, The Los Angeles Times reports. OpenAI announced plans to transition to a public-benefit corporation in 2024, and reportedly has two years to pull it off or risk a large portion of the money its raised become debt. The group's primary concerns are that OpenAI "failed to protect its charitable assets" and is actively "subverting its charitable mission to advance safe artificial intelligence." OpenAI started as a nonprofit research organization studying AI, but transitioned to a for-profit company that's overseen and run by a nonprofit in 2019. That structure is legally allowed in the state of California, but the group's petition claims that OpenAI's decision to pursue a new structure is driven by a desire not to further its mission, but to provide "AIs benefits the potential for untold profits and control over what may become powerful world-altering technologies to a handful of corporate investors and high-level employees." Engadget has reached to OpenAI and AG Bonta for comment on the petition and will update this article if we hear back. OpenAI's primary justification for going for-profit is to raise more money. Currently, there's nothing stopping OpenAI from convincing more people to invest, but as Engadget reported in February, it is limited in the returns it can offer investors. It wouldn't have those limitations as a for-profit company, nor would it have to heed the demands of a nonprofit board focused on the risks of the company's breakthroughs, rather than their utility as consumer products. OpenAI's board has attempted to reign in the for-profit side over the years, like pushing out Sam Altman in 2023, before he was rehired and the board was filled with new members more friendly to OpenAI's for-profit goals. The organizations behind the petition believe that moves like that are enough justification for the AG to step in to protect the public's interest. The petition joins other attempts to stop OpenAI's conversion, like Meta's letter to Bonta claiming that OpenAI's transition to a for-profit would "flout the law," and Elon Musk's attempt to buy the company.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/labor-and-nonprofit-coalition-calls-on-california-ag-to-stop-openai-from-going-for-profit-212548103.html?src=rss
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The National Recording Registry announced its 2025 inductees, and there are some geeky sounds that will be immortalized in the Library of Congress. The Microsoft Windows 95 reboot chime was selected to be a part of the registry, as was the Minecraft soundtrack. "These are the sounds of America our wide-ranging history and culture. The National Recording Registry is our evolving nations playlist," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said. "The Library of Congress is proud and honored to select these audio treasures worthy of preservation, including iconic music across a variety of genres, field recordings, sports history and even the sounds of our daily lives with technology." The Windows 95 start-up audio was composed by ambient music pioneer Brian Eno. According to the blurb from the Library of Congress, the final sound clip was twice as long as Microsoft's engineers had requested of the composer. But they went ahead with the chime because they felt it "conveyed the sense of welcome, hopefulness and progress that they envisioned" for this era of personal computing. The Volume Alpha soundtrack to Minecraft is only the second piece of gaming music to be added to the registry. It joins the iconic theme for Super Mario Bros, which was inducted in 2023. The launch audio for the popular sandbox game (which just got its own movie) was composed and performed by Daniel Rosenfeld under stage name C418. The 2025 inductees include music from across the genre spectrum. Some of the other selections include the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton, Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, and Celine Dion's single "My Heart Will Go On."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/the-windows-95-start-up-chime-has-been-added-to-the-library-of-congress-203909673.html?src=rss
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