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CNET is halting its use of AI-written articles for the time being. The Vergeclaims the technology publication's leadership has paused experiments with AI stories "for now" during a question-and-answer call with staff. While there's no word on the exact reasoning behind the freeze, which also affects Bankrate and CreditCards.com, editor-in-chief Connie Guglielmo reportedly said future AI-related stories would include a disclosure that the publication uses automated technologies.

Executive content VP Lindsey Turrentine also promised more transparency regarding the AI, according to The Verge. Some employees would get a preview of the tech, she said. More details of the system will reportedly be available next week. CNET owner Red Ventures has also formed an AI working group. Staff were generally unaware of either the AI's inner workings or when it was being used.

Questions about CNET's AI practices began last week, when The Byte noticed that dozens of financial explainer articles appeared to have been written using "automation technology." While there was a disclosure, it was effectively hidden when you had to click the byline to see it. CNET claimed in the blurb that humans "thoroughly" edited and fact-checked the work, but that wasn't true — the outlet started reviewing the pieces after Futurism discovered serious errors in a story.

CNET has used machine-made articles in years past. AI has advanced since then, though, and the discovery comes as text generation tools like ChatGPT draw flak and even bans over fears of plagiarism and reduced work for human writers. As with automation elsewhere in the workforce, some people don't trust that companies will use AI in an ethical way.

Quordle, a Wordle-style word game, has a fitting new owner in the shape of Merriam-Webster. The game's URL now redirects to a page on the company's website, as TechCrunch spotted. The Merriam-Webster logo appears at the top of the page too.

"I'm delighted to announce that Quordle was acquired by Merriam-Webster! I can't think of a better home for this game," Quordle creator Freddie Meyer wrote in a message on the game's help tab. "Lots of new features and fun to come, so stay tuned!"

Quordle is a supercharged version of Wordle. Instead of giving folks six guesses to find a single five-letter word, Quordle challenges players to simultaneously figure out four of them in nine guesses or fewer. The color-coded approach is the same. If a letter is the correct place, it turns green, and if it's elsewhere in a given word, it turns yellow. As with Wordle, there's one daily batch of four words.

Merriam-Webster scooped up Quordle a year after Wordle took the world by storm and got snapped up by The New York Times. Heardle, a music-themed clone, also has an apt owner after Spotify bought it last summer.

Some players (hi) have been annoyed by Quordle reusing certain words. On a few occasions, the same word has popped up two days in a row. With a dictionary company now in charge, here's hoping Quordle will freshen things up.

Now that Twitter has confirmed it's banning third-party clients, some of the most prominent alternatives are going away. Tapbots has shut down work on Tweetbot, one of the more popular iOS apps, as Twitter rendered it non-functional "in a blink of an eye." The developer is instead pivoting to Ivory, an app for the open social platform Mastodon. While it's limited to an invitation-only test for now, Tapbots hopes to make the software "better than Tweetbot ever could be."

This isn't the only major Twitter app developer calling it quits. The Iconfactory has pulled Twitterrific from the iOS and macOS App Stores, and blasted the Musk-era Twitter as a company it "no longer recognize[s] as trustworthy." Android users, meanwhile, can't count on apps like Matteo Villa's Fenix (it's no longer available on Google Play) or Luke Klinker's Talon (which the creator warns "will cease to work").

The shutdowns follow roughly a week of disruption and unclear messaging. Numerous third-party apps suddenly stopped working around the evening of January 12th, with leaks suggesting it was intentional. Twitter later acknowledged it was breaking these apps, allegedly to enforce "long-standing" developer rules. The social media giant then quietly updated its developer agreement to formally ban unofficial clients.

Third-party Twitter clients generally haven't played a major role in recent years. In 2018, Sensor Tower determined that 6 million users had installed alternatives versus 560 million for the official Android and iOS apps. However, the ban doesn't help Twitter's bid to keep users and protect its bottom line. Third-party app users downloaded their software of choice precisely because they're active and want features that the official apps don't offer (such as more powerful media previews and searches). Twitter's policy risks alienating those users who hate the first-party app.

Earlier this month, Amazon confirmed plans to lay off around 18,000 workers. The move has hit certain divisions hard, including Comixology and Prime Air. The latter's drone delivery program was just starting to gain traction after commencing deliveries in test markets and unveiling a new model, but the layoffs have reportedly had a significant impact on that team.

Prime Air employees learned about the cuts on Wednesday, according to CNBC. Employees in the drone delivery department's design, maintenance, systems engineering, flight testing and flight operations teams are said to have been laid off. Workers at multiple locations have been dismissed, it has been claimed, including at Amazon's Seattle headquarters and a drone testing facility in Oregon. Around half of the employees at the test site were reportedly let go.

Headcount reductions were seemingly expected given the many struggles that the drone delivery group has endured over the years. In 2013, Amazon founder CEO Jeff Bezos announced a plan to start delivering packages by drone within 30 minutes. After years of testing, the company finally gained approval from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2020 to start delivering orders by drone. Amazon began doing so in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, just a few weeks ago.

A spokesperson declined to tell CNBC how many Prime Air workers Amazon has let go. The layoffs come only two months after the company unveiled a redesigned drone that could fly further than its predecessor and withstand light rain.

In recent months, Amazon executives have laid off workers from the hardware, Alexa, robotics and physical store divisions. CEO Andy Jassy said in early January that the company was “prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses.”

This week, Apple announced and set the release date for the new MacBook Pros and both Amazon and Best Buy rushed to offer a slight discount on pre orders. Amazon also knocked a hefty 40 percent off many of their Fire Tablets, including the new Fire HD 8. Bose's QC II earbuds are back down to $250, and a couple robot vacuums are on sale, including the best budget vac we've tried, iRobot's Roomba 694. We also found a few deals on SSD cards from both Samsung and Crucial, plus a tidy 32 percent discount on one of our favorite tiny Bluetooth speakers. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet

Amazon's own tablets are already among the most affordable out there but right now, you can grab the latest eight-inch HD model for just $60. That's a 40 percent discount off the usual $100 price tag and while it's not quite the all-time low we saw for Black Friday, it's still an extremely low price for a tablet. For a moderate upgrade the Fire HD 8 Plus adds an extra gigabyte of ram, wireless charging and improved cameras. Right now it's 33 percent off, for a sale price of $80. You can save a larger percentage on the 10-inch models like the Fire HD 10. It's down to $85, or 43 percent off the list price. It's important to note that these are all ad-supported models, meaning you'll see ads from Amazon on your lock screen. The non-ad-supported models are currently full price.

While Fire tablets don't have the level of processing power or performance that you'd get from a more expensive iPad or Galaxy Tab, they're decent options for casual web browsing, e-reading and video streaming. The Fire HD 10 Kids Pro is what we recommend for kids in our latest tablet guide and the sale brings it down to $140 or $60 off the list price. Fire tablets for kids don't have ad-supported versions and include a year of Amazon Kids+ which offers thousands of kid-oriented games, apps and videos. Plus it comes with a protective case with a handle that doubles as a kickstand.

Amazon Kindle Kids

It was just released back in September, but the new 2022 Kindle Kids just got its first discount at Amazon. The kid-focused e-reader is $85 right now, which is $35 less than its usual $120. The Kindle Paperwhite for Kids is also on sale for $110, or $50 off the usual price. The Paperwhite edition adds waterproofing, adjustable warm light, and a slightly larger screen (6.8 inches vs the Kindle Kids' 6-inch screen). The deal isn't the lowest we've seen, but it's only $5 more than its all-time low during last year's holiday sales. 

Both kid-focused Kindles include a year subscription to Amazon Kids+, which grants access to thousands of age-appropriate e-books and audiobooks. They also have a Parent Dashboard to set age filters and device time limits. The new Kindle Kids ups the storage capacity to 16GB, while the Paperwhite is available in either an 8GB size or a 16GB size. You can also snag the same deals on the Kindle Kids at Best Buy or Target if you prefer.   

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 usually retails for $1,100, but right now it's $ 929, which is cheaper than it's been since its release back in October. The slab is our current favorite Windows tablet thanks to its laptop-like capabilities with a slim tablet design. With Windows 11 and a 12th-gen Intel Evo i5 processor, the tablet is built for productivity. You also get a beautiful display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and improved stereo speakers. There's a front-facing camera that allows for facial recognition for easier log-ins. Unlike many tablets, you can access and upgrade the SSD as needed. The larger app icons and touch-friendly controls in Windows 11 make it easy to use as a tablet, or you can add a keyboard and mouse for a full laptop-like experience. 

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

If you want to shut out the world, we recommend going with Bose's QuietComfort Earbuds II. They usually sell for $300, but right now at Amazon the earbuds are down to $250. We've seen the buds dip to this price a few times in the past, and it matches their sale price for Black Friday last year. While $250 still isn't cheap, if you're ready to invest in a set of earbuds with the best noise cancellation we've tried, saving $50 could help. We gave them a score of 87 in our review, giving them kudos for their sound quality, comfort and ambient (transparent) sound — in addition to the phenomenal ANC. 

Apple M2 MacBook Pro Laptop 

The latest Apple laptops haven't even been released, yet the base configuration of the new MacBook Pro with the brand's fastest M2 Pro processor chip is seeing its first discount both on Amazon, which has it for $50 off, and Best Buy, where members can get a $100 gift card along with a pre-order. It's rare for new Apple products to get discounts this early, but the two retailers are hoping the savings will help you click Add to Cart through their sites. Announced earlier this week, the new computers have the new, faster M2 Pro chip, plus support for WiFi 6E and an HDMI port that supports 8K up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz. Battery life has also been upgraded with lifespans of up to 22 hours, the longest ever on a Mac, according to Apple. 

Note that Amazon's $50 discount applies to the space gray colorway in the base configurations of the 14- or 16-inch models. The 14-inch base model has a 10-core CPU, 16‑core GPU and 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. The 16-inch model has 12-core CPU, a 19-Core GPU, 16GB RAM and 12GB of SSD storage. The Best Buy gift card offer applies to more configurations, but is only available to TotalTech members, a $200-per-year membership that you can sign up for with your pre-order. Compared to the list price of $2,000 for the 14-inch base model, these aren't huge discounts, but if you were planning on getting Apple's latest release anyway, you may as well save yourself a little cash. The computers will release next Tuesday, January 24th. 

Sony X95K Series Bravia XR Mini LED TV

Sony's 65-inch X95K Bravia mini LED TV is $1,000 off right now, bringing the price down to $1,798. That's the lowest price the set has gone for since its release last May. If you want a bigger screen, the 75-inch model is $500 off, bringing that one down to $2,498. Amazon is offering other Sony sets at a discount as well, including some high-end OLED and 4K LED sets like the 55-inch Sony Bravia XR A80K Series 4K Ultra HD TV, which is 35 percent off or $1,298. 

A slightly more affordable TV, Sony's Sony 65 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV is 30 percent off its usual $1,000 price tag, bringing that set down to $698. All the sets come with Google's smart TV OS, Google TV, which we liked for its super simple streaming interface. And since Sony also makes the PlayStation, many of these sets include bonus features designed to enhance the look of your PS5 gaming. With the Super Bowl in the US around the corner, this might be a good week to upgrade if you've had your eye on a Sony. 

Samsung 980 Pro SSD 2TB

When your PC or console edges close to its storage limits, it might be time to grab an SSD or memory card. Right now Amazon is hosing a sale on Samsung storage options, including the 980 Pro SSD in the 2TB capacity. We named it the best SSD for your PS5 in our guide (and included instructions on how to install it). Right now it's a steep 53 percent off, bringing it down to just $180. It's a fast PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive with read speeds up to 7,000MB/s, but it also has a reputation for reliability. Also on sale is the 256GB Evo Select microSD card for just $20, that's a 52 percent discount on a card that'll expand the storage of a tablet, Android phone or a Nintendo Switch. 

Crucial MX500 SSD

Storage from Crucial is also on sale at Amazon right now, with the 1TB option down to $62, which beats its Black Friday price. The MX500 SSD is a good option for adding extra storage to a computer that's nearing capacity, either extending the life of an older device or simply upgrading what you've recently picked up. The 2.5-inch design should fit most laptops and desktops, and it supports read speeds up to 560MB/s and write speeds up to 510MB/s. AES 256-bit hardware encryption is built in and also comes with power loss immunity to protect your saved data it the power goes out. We also appreciate that the MX500 comes in a number of capacity options. The 1TB is arguably best for most people, but you can get it as low as 250GB or as high as 4TB — and all configurations are discounted right now.

iRobot Roomba 694

This turned out to be a great week for anyone looking to dive into automated cleaning for their floors. Our current "best overall" pick in our budget robot vacuum guide is just $174 at Amazon right now. That's $95 off its usual price and just $4 more than it was for Black Friday. We like iRobot's Roomba 694 machine for its good cleaning power and simple app. We think iRobot's app is great, and even those new to robot vacuums will feel comfortable setting schedules for a mostly hands-free experience (you'll still need to empty the vac once its full).  

iRobot Roomba Combo j7+

We had a chance to try the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ a couple of months ago and liked the way it worked its way into a daily cleaning routine with minimal fuss (after contending with the initial mapping of the floor plan). The unit self-empties into the base and the app is "beautifully simple." We feel that the water reservoir might need refilling to get a full clean in larger homes, but the fact that it lifts up the mop pad when not in use to avoid dripping on your carpet is a nice touch. The price is steep, usually going for $1,100, but right now both Wellbots and Amazon are knocking $200 off the list price, making it a slightly more manageable $900.  

Logitech Pebble Wireless Mouse

One of our favorite mice for general productivity is the Pebble mouse from Logitech and right now, the blue and tan colorways are down to $22. We liked the mobile mouse for its slim portability that still had enough heft to feel reassuring in the hand. It's got a simple, two button plus a wheel configuration and can connect via Bluetooth or with the included USB dongle (which conveniently stores in the battery compartment). The long battery life can get up to 18 months on a single AA and while it might not be the most comfortable for extended use, you can't beat the price for an on-the-go mouse. 

Tribit StormBox Micro 2

A carryover that's still going strong this week, Tribit's StormBox Micro 2 is down to $48 from its usual $70 at Amazon right now. It's one of of the Bluetooth speakers we recommend in the sub-$200 range thanks to its compact size that manages to pump out decent volume. It'll get up to 12 hours of play time on a charge and you can even use the unit as a USB-C power bank to charge your phone. Pair up two of them for stereo sound and is waterproof enough to handle a dunk into water. 

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Now is around the time of year when we start to see price drops on last year's TVs, after most brands introduce their sets for the forthcoming year at events like CES and subsequently need to clear out inventory on their older, but often still worthwhile, models. Sony is one manufacturer that hasn't revealed its 2023 lineup just yet, but even still, a number of the company's 2022 TVs are currently discounted across multiple retailers.

The highlight of the bunch is Sony's X95K, which is down to $1,798 for a 65-inch model and $2,498 for a 75-inch set. Neither deal is exactly cheap, but both prices represent new all-time lows, coming in about $200 and $500 below the two models' respective street prices in recent months. 

While we don't review many TVs here at Engadget, the X95K has received strong reviews from our peers at Rtings, Tom's Guide and the like. It's a Mini LED display, which generally gives it greater contrast than most traditional LED panels and higher brightness than a typical OLED TV. This should help it perform well with HDR content in particular, though you might see a blooming effect around particularly bright objects. Beyond that, it has four HDMI ports, two of which are HDMI 2.1 and can output a 4K resolution at up to 120 Hz. For gaming, it also supports variable refresh rate, and the whole thing runs on the Google TV interface.

To be clear, this is a crowded market, and the X95K isn't the best choice for everyone. Samsung's S95B OLED TV has been widelypraised for offering an OLED panel that offers typically excellent contrast without sacrificing as much in the way of peak brightness. A 65-inch model of that set is currently available for $200 more, though it's worth noting that it lacks 75-inch variant and Dolby Vision support.

LG's C2 TV isn't as well-suited to bright rooms, but it should still be a great option for those who'd prefer an OLED panel, and its 65-inch set is currently $100 less than the X95K's equivalent. Hisense's U8H looks to offer similar Mini LED performance at a lower price, too. And if you don't need a new set right now, many of the TVs announced for later this year are focusing onimproved brightness, and we'll likely see prices on last year's models drop further over the next couple of months.

Nevertheless, if brightness is your main concern and you've had your eye on Sony's set in particular, this is as cheap as we've seen it. Besides the X95K, other deals of note from the sale include the high-end A95K OLED TV back down to $2,498 and the mid-range X90K available for $898. We've seen those deals before, but both match the lowest prices we've seen. Lower-tier models like the X80K and X85K are also discounted, though those are harder to recommend since they lack local dimming.

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It seems Google is feeling the heat from OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The artificial intelligence-powered chatbot has taken the tech world by storm over the last couple months, as it can provide users with information they're looking for in an easy-to-understand format. Google sees ChatGPT as a threat to its search business and has shifted plans accordingly over the last several weeks, according to The New York Times.

The report claims CEO Sundar Pichai has declared a "code red" and accelerated AI development. Google is reportedly preparing to show off at least 20 AI-powered products and a chatbot for its search engine this year, with at least some set to debut at its I/O conference in May.

According to a slide deck viewed by the Times, among the AI projects Google is working on are an image generation tool, an upgraded version of AI Test Kitchen (an app used to test prototypes), a TikTok-style green screen mode for YouTube and a tool that can generate videos to summarize other clips. Also in the pipeline are a feature titled Shopping Try-on (perhaps akin to one Amazon has been developing), a wallpaper creator for Pixel phones and AI-driven tools that could make it easier for developers to create Android apps.

Pichai reportedly brought in Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin last month to meet with current leaders, review AI plans and offer input. The duo hasn't had much day-to-day involvement with the company since 2019, as they're focusing on other projects.

Google has attempted to speed up product approval processes, including checks to ensure that AI-driven tech is fair and ethical, it's claimed. In addition, the company is said to be adjusting the risk levels it's prepared to take on as it rolls out such tech. Priorities for a demo of the search chatbot seemingly include safety, accuracy and blocking out misinformation. However, for the other products and tools Google is working on, it has "a lower bar and will try to curb issues relating to hate and toxicity, danger and misinformation rather than preventing them," the Times reported.

Of late, Google has exercised some caution when it comes to unveiling new products. The slide deck reportedly mentioned "copyright, privacy and antitrust" as the main risks of AI tech. It's said to have noted that solutions were needed to keep out copyrighted material and prevent personally identifiable information from being shared.

Over the last few years, there has been a backlash against Google's handling of AI ethics. Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, two leading AI ethics researchers, said Google fired them. Gebru and Mitchell accused Google of censoring research that criticizes AI language-learning models, including concerns that they encode biases found in training data. That can result "in models that encode stereotypical and derogatory associations along gender, race, ethnicity, and disability status," the researchers wrote in a paper. Training datasets can include false information as well. Two other prominent ethics researchers left Google early last year, after Gebru and Mitchell's departures.

It's not difficult to understand why Google is said to be in panic mode over ChatGPT. For one thing, earlier this month, reports suggested that Microsoft (an OpenAI investor) plans to incorporate some of the tech powering ChatGPT into Bing. The company said this week that it will soon integrate ChatGPT into the Azure OpenAI Service.

The latest report over Google's response to ChatGPT comes just after the company announced it's laying off 12,000 people. "I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI," Pichai wrote in a memo to staff. "To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices."

The CEO added that the company is preparing to unveil "some entirely new experiences for users, developers and businesses. We have a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products and are prepared to approach it boldly and responsibly."

GM might make an electric truck for those who think the GMC Hummer and Chevy Silverado are simply too huge. As Autoblognotes, the industry journal Automotive Newshas seen a prototype small electric pickup at a GM-organized workshop. The EV would reportedly make even the hybrid Ford Maverick seem enormous with two doors, a low-slung profile and a bed 4ft to 4.5ft long. It would start below $30,000, making it a bargain compared to the $39,900 Silverado.

The design isn't guaranteed to enter production, and it's not even clear which GM brand would carry the pickup if it moves forward. Affordable EV design director Michael Pevovar told Automotive News the company creates prototypes like these to "get a reaction" and either improve the result or scrap it. If the prototype is too small but otherwise well-received, GM could use another platform to make it larger.

There are incentives for GM to go ahead. The small pickup market is relatively hot at the moment. Autoblog points out that the was Maverick outselling the larger Ranger and the Expedition SUV as of last summer, while Hyundai's Santa Cruz (more of an El Camino revival than a classic truck) outperformed the Accent compact and Venue mini-SUV. GM would not only have something to offer in the category, but could stand out as the only brand with an all-electric model.

As it is, there's a rush to produce more affordable EVs. Chevy's own Equinox EV is expected to start around $30,000, while Tesla and other brands are also pursuing lower-priced vehicles in the years ahead. A lower-priced pickup would help GM's EVs reach a much wider audience, not to mention help meet expectations of a profitable electric division in 2025.

LG just unveiled a portable projector for those who are willing to give up battery power in the name of image quality and features. The new PF510Q Smart Portable Projector is small and light enough to be carried one-handed at 5.8 inches across and 2.2lbs, but still throws a 1080p picture on your wall at sizes between 30 and 120 inches. More importantly, you won't need to plug in other devices. WebOS provides access to the usual streaming media apps, while AirPlay 2 and Screenshare support lets iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android users cast media. You can pair two Bluetooth devices to either share listening or connect to multiple wireless speakers.

This isn't LG's brightest portable projector at 450 lumens. It does offer a solid 150,000:1 contrast ratio, though, and the 30,000-hour light source life might spare you a costly replacement. A built-in 5W mono speaker is on hand if you can't connect your own audio setup. Automatic keystone correction, meanwhile, will save you from fussing with vertical angle adjustments.

The Smart Portable Projector is available now for $600. This won't compete with LG's flagship 4K CineBeam line or even many mid-range projectors, but that's not the point. The PF510Q is meant more to bring a smart TV experience to other parts of your home, or for dorms and other places where a large-screen TV just wouldn't be practical.

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