Katina Alford

OpenAI has "indefinitely" abandoned plans to release an a erotic chatbot for adults following concerns from employees and investors, the company confirmed to The Financial Times. Plans for such a feature, first announced in October 2025 for release in December last year, had already been delayed while company debated whether to release it all. It's the second app OpenAI has decided to shelf this week, after announcing on Tuesday that it was shutting down its Sora video generator.
The adult-oriented chatbot, reportedly called "Citron mode," is now on hold with no planned release date. The company reportedly had difficulty training models that previously avoided erotic content and also removing illegal behavior like bestiality or incest, two people familiar with the matter told the FT. 
Open AI said that it wanted to conduct long-term research on the effects of erotic chats and user attachment to AI, adding that there was currently not yet enough "empirical evidence" on the subject. The company also said it wanted to focus on its core productivity tools like coding assistants and drop "side quests" like Sora and the erotic chatbot.
The idea for adult features came after OpenAI announced that it would add parental controls and automatic age detection features for ChatGPT. CEO Sam Altman said back in October that the company had always been careful about such issues over concerns around unhealthy AI attachments, but felt comfortable that it could "safely relax the restrictions in most cases."
However, the adult mode had reportedly caused concern among investors, particularly amid the controversy caused by rival xAI's Grok model that generated deepfake nudes of real people and children. Staff also worried about the feature, with one senior employee even leaving the company over the issue. "AI shouldn’t replace your friends or your family; you should have human connections," he told the FT. 
Another challenge is OpenAI's age-checking tech, introduced following lawsuits from families who said that ChatGPT harmed their children. The tech reportedly has an error right higher than ten percent, which would still give a large number of young people access to the tech. OpenAI said that figure is in the industry standard range and that it is continuing to work on its accuracy. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-drops-plans-to-release-an-adult-chatbot-113121190.html?src=rss

Uber and Chinese company Pony.ai are gearing up to launch a robotaxi service for Europe, starting with Zagreb in Croatia. The companies are working with Croatian company Verne, which will provide the service ecosystem and operational framework for the service. They’re using Arcfox Alpha T5 vehicles made by Beijing-based automaker BAIC Motor powered by Pony.ai’s Gen-7 autonomous driving system. Initially, the autonomous rides will be offered on Verne’s app, but they will eventually be available through Uber. In their announcement, the companies said they have already started on-road testing in Zagreb, where the service will be available “soon.” They’re hoping to expand it to other European cities in the future, and then to more markets, with the goal of deploying a fleet with thousands of robotaxis over the next few years. Verne will be in charge of securing regulatory approval for the rollouts, while Uber has agreed to invest in the Croatian company. This is but one of Uber’s partnerships centering around its efforts to offer more and more driverless rides to its passengers. Just earlier this month, it announced that it was launching a pilot program for a robotaxi service in Tokyo in late 2026 with Nissan and UK self-driving startup Wayve. Uber also started offering robotaxi rides to passengers in Las Vegas at the same time. The fleet deployed in the city is made up of Hyundai Ioniq 5 autonomous EVs, developed in partnership with Motional. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-and-ponyai-are-testing-a-robotaxi-service-for-europe-104811944.html?src=rss

Meta didn't consult its Oversight Board last year when it announced sweeping policy changes to content moderation and a rollback of third-party fact checking in the United States in favor of Community Notes. But the company did ask the board for advice on how to expand the crowd-sourced fact checks to other countries.Now the Oversight Board is publishing its advice to Meta. In a 15,000-word policy advisory opinion, the group urged Meta to be cautious with an international rollout, warning that an expansion of the program could "pose significant human rights risks and contribute to tangible harms" if safeguards are not put in place.  The board, notably, was asked to weigh in on a fairly narrow set of questions, including how it should evaluate whether to withhold the feature in certain countries. Meta "respectfully" asked the Oversight Board to avoid "general" critiques about the system, which it has said is modeled after X.In its opinion, the Oversight Board said that Community Notes "could enhance users’ freedom of expression and improve online discourse" with enough safeguard. But it recommended Meta withhold the feature in countries with "high polarization," as well as countries in the midst of a crisis or "protracted conflict." The board also said that Meta should avoid countries with a history of organized disinformation networks, because the notes may be more easily manipulated in such places, and countries with "linguistic complexity" that Meta may be ill-equipped to understand. Depending on how you interpret that advice, that could exclude quite a few countries, though the board stopped short of making country-specific recommendations. Still, it raises questions about how closely Meta will follow the suggested guidelines. For example, the United States could be considered a country with "high polarization." (Community Notes has been live in the US for more than a year.)While the Oversight Board was careful to say it "neither endorses nor opposes" an expansion of Community Notes, it did discuss Meta's approach to fact checking, noting that its partnerships with outside fact-checking organizations are still largely in place outside of the US. And the opinion cautions against ending these relationships, noting that research into Community Notes on X shows that authors writing notes often rely on work done by professional fact checkers."Community Notes and fact checking are not mutually exclusive," Oversight Board member Paolo Carozza tells Engadget. "One doesn't have to replace or substitute for the other, they can coexist. And in some situations, there are really important reasons for them to coexist. The board really deliberately stayed away from any kind of suggestion that the introduction of Community Notes ought to result in the removal or ending of fact checking."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/oversight-board-tells-meta-expanding-community-notes-outside-of-us-poses-significant-risks-100000213.html?src=rss

Today marks the start of the 2026 baseball season and in what has sort of become an annual tradition, T-Mobile is once again offering a free subscription to MLB.TV.In order to take advantage of the deal, T-Mobile customers simply need to log into the T Life app, navigate to the Benefits tab and then hit Redeem after clicking the banner for a free season of MLB.TV. From there, you just need to download the latest version of the MLB app to your mobile device and sign in or create an account. That said, this is a time-limited offer, so if you want the ability to stream regular season baseball for free, you’ll need claim the deal prior to March 31 at 4:59 AM ET. For anyone on a different carrier, this may be enough time to switch providers and still get in on the savings. Unfortunately, MLB.TV is subject to blackouts and market restrictions, so depending on where you live and where your favorite team is playing that day, you may not be able to catch every game. Sadly, this includes tonight’s 8:05 PM ET matchup between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants, which is streaming exclusively on Netflix. Even so, with a one-year subscription to MLB.TV currently going for $150, this is one of the best perks available from any of the big cellular carriers. In addition to full season of games, an MLB.TV subscription also includes access to a collection of baseball documentaries, game streams from previous years, World Series films, highlights, news and more. And with over 1.25 million customers having redeemed last year’s offer, this is potentially one of T-Mobile’s biggest offers of the year, with the company claiming to have delivered more than $1 billion in savings since it first started running the promotion 10 years ago in 2016. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/psa-t-mobile-customers-have-a-week-to-sign-up-for-a-free-year-of-mlbtv-211306444.html?src=rss

The ESA, NASA and CSA have released new images of Saturn captured by the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes that offer an unprecedented view of the gas giant's atmosphere. Particularly, comparing shots captured with Hubble against an infrared view from Webb highlights details in the composition and movement of Saturn's outer layers.The Hubble images were captured as part of the Outer Planet Atmosphere Legacy program in August 2024, while the Webb images were shot a few months later. "Both sense sunlight reflected from Saturn’s banded clouds and hazes," NASA says, "but where Hubble reveals subtle color variations across the planet, Webb’s infrared view senses clouds and chemicals at many different depths in the atmosphere, from the deep clouds to the tenuous upper atmosphere."Hubble has historically been used to track storms on Saturn, and you can see bands of atmospheric clouds in the telescope's new photo. The infrared sensors on the Webb telescope are able to highlight even more detail, like the highly-reflective ice of Saturn's ring, which is practically white in the photo, and grey-green shading on the planet's poles. The different coloring in the Webb photo could be caused by a "a layer of high-altitude aerosols" scattering light across latitudes, or "charged molecules interacting with the planet’s magnetic field" and causing "auroral activity."The visual information from both telescopes is valuable to scientists and should prove to be more valuable over time. "These 2024 observations, taken 14 weeks apart, show the planet moving from northern summer toward the 2025 equinox," NASA says. "As Saturn transitions into southern spring, and later southern summer in the 2030’s, Hubble and Webb will have progressively better views of that hemisphere."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/webb-and-hubble-telescopes-combine-forces-for-a-new-view-of-saturn-202526270.html?src=rss

Nintendo just announced it will soon start charging different prices for first-party Switch 2 games based on whether the content is digital or physical. This could actually be a good thing for those who like to download their games instead of heading to a brick-and-mortar store to pick up a copy, as digital titles are getting a nice discount.
It starts with the release of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book on May 21, which will be $60 on the eShop but $70 at retail locations. Prior to this, most first-party games were $70 no matter how you bought them. I prefer downloading games, for convenience, and paid that much for both Donkey Kong Bananza and Pokémon Pokopia.
Nintendo
It's yet another blow, however, for consumers who prefer physical media. They aren't getting any kind of a discount, and many Switch 2 cartridges don't even contain the game nowadays. The boxes include game key cards, which allow the user to download the title to the console but are basically paperweights after that.
This isn't the first time Nintendo has participated in this kind of dual pricing structure. The digital version of Donkey Kong Bananza was cheaper than the physical version in some parts of the world, including the UK.
Is this another sign that making and shipping actual things is getting to be prohibitively expensive? There are storage and memory shortages due to AI and oil shortages due to war, not to mention an ever-shifting tariff policy here in the US. It's tough out there. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-to-start-charging-different-prices-for-first-party-digital-and-physical-games-184249374.html?src=rss

YouTube creators can start making money earlier in their careers. On Wednesday, the company said it's reducing the Shopping affiliate program subscriber threshold from 1,000 to 500.The affiliate program launched in 2022, allowing creators to earn kickbacks when viewers buy products tagged in their videos. It applies to YouTube Shorts, VOD and Live content. Creators will still need to meet the YouTube Partner Program's other requirements to reap the benefits.Perhaps not a coincidence, the move comes only a day after Meta added shopping links to Reels. Creators on Facebook and Instagram can now link to up to 30 distinct products from marketplace partners in a single video.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/youtube-is-bringing-affiliate-shopping-features-to-more-creators-183927027.html?src=rss

Apple’s excellent For All Mankind might be wrapping up after its recently confirmed sixth season, but as one big-budget alt-history sci-fi show departs, another is born. Apple TV has just dropped the first teaser for Star City, which focuses on the reimagined space race of the 1960s from the Soviet perspective.
ICYMI, For All Mankind has been running for nearly five seasons now (the fifth arrives later this week), with its debut season in 2019 asking, "what if Russia had beaten America to the moon?" For All Mankind has jumped a number of decades ahead since then, but Star City returns us to that initial premise, taking us behind the Iron Curtain to see how the Soviet Union orchestrated its fictional historical triumph.

The brief teaser doesn’t show us much in the way of plot, but you straight away get what vibe the streamer is going for with a show it describes as a "propulsive paranoid thriller." We also get a look at some of the cast, which includes House of the Dragon’s Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin and Agnes O’Casey.
Interestingly, Star City’s two-episode premiere lands on Apple TV on May 29, right after the finale of For All Mankind season 5, which takes place in the 2010s. That could make for a pretty jarring backwards time jump if you watch both seasons back to back, but nobody can say that Apple isn’t serving its sci-fi audience.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/heres-your-first-look-at-for-all-mankind-spinoff-star-city-174359587.html?src=rss

Ring has today announced a spec bump to its battery-powered video doorbells for all those folks who can’t wire their units to power. The flagship Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) gets 4K video, with 10x zoom and the promise of far longer time between recharges than the previous model. At the same time, it’s bringing 2K imaging to its lower-end battery doorbells, the Battery Doorbell Plus and Battery Doorbell (2nd gen). The former, as fitting its higher price, gets a quick-release battery pack, while both models get 2K video and 6x zoom. Naturally, these features are already available on Ring’s wired products, the bulk of which were announced back in September 2025.
The company is also aware that swapping out batteries isn’t ideal if you really need a doorbell to work all of the time. That’s why it’s also launching a new Solar Charger which integrates into the mount, keeping your doorbell running for longer between trips to the wall outlet. There’s also a bigger Solar Panel, which pumps out more juice than its smaller sibling, and can be mounted in a wider variety of places. All of the above are available to pre-order from today, and are priced as follows: Pro ($250), Plus ($180), Battery Doorbell ($100), Solar Charger ($50), Solar Panel ($60).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/ring-adds-4k-to-its-battery-powered-video-doorbells-130021181.html?src=rss