French law enforcement may soon have far-reaching authority to snoop on alleged criminals. Lawmakers in France's National Assembly have passed a bill that lets police surveil suspects by remotely activating cameras, microphones and GPS location systems on phones and other devices. A judge will have to approve use of the powers, and the recently amended bill forbids use against journalists, lawyers and other "sensitive professions," according to Le Monde. The measure is also meant to limit use to serious cases, and only for a maximum of six months. Geolocation would be limited to crimes that are punishable by at least five years in prison.

An earlier version of the bill passed the Senate, but the amendment will require that legislative body's approval before it can become law.

Civil liberties advocates are alarmed. The digital rights group La Quadrature du Net previously pointed out the potential for abuse. As the bill isn't clear about what constitutes a serious crime, there are fears the French government might use this to target environmental activists and others who aren't grave threats. The organization also notes that worrying security policies have a habit of expanding to less serious crimes. Genetic registration was only used for sex offenders at first, La Quadrature says, but is now being used for most crimes.

The group further notes that the remote access may depend on security vulnerabilities. Police would be exploiting security holes instead of telling manufacturers how to patch those holes, La Quadrature says.

Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti says the powers would only be used for "dozens" of cases per year, and that this was "far away" from the surveillance state of Orwell's 1984. It will save lives, the politician argues.

The legislation comes as concerns about government device surveillance are growing. There's been a backlash against NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware has allegedly been misused to spy on dissidents, activists and even politicians. While the French bill is more focused, it's not exactly reassuring to those worried about government overreach.

All of the the world's governments will, at least officially, be out of the chemical weapons business. The US Army tellsThe New York Times it should finish destroying the world's last declared chemical weapons stockpile as soon as tomorrow, July 7th. The US and most other nations agreed to completely eliminate their arsenals within 10 years after the Chemical Weapons Convention took effect in 1997, but the sheer size of the American collection (many of the warheads are several decades old) and the complexity of safe disposal left the country running late.

The current method relies on robots that puncture, drain and wash the chemical-laden artillery shells and rockets, which are then baked to render them harmless. The drained gas is diluted in hot water and neutralized either with bacteria (for mustard gas) or caustic soda (for nerve agents). The remaining liquid is then incinerated. Teams use X-rays to check for leaks before destruction starts, and they remotely monitor robots to minimize contact with hazardous material. 

The Army initially wanted to dispose of the weapons by sinking them on ships, as it had quietly done before, but faced a public backlash over the potential environmental impact. Proposals to incinerate chemical agents in the 1980s also met with objections, although the military ultimately destroyed a large chunk of the stockpile that way.

The US last used chemical weapons in World War I, but kept producing them for decades as a deterrent. Attention to the program first spiked in 1968, when strange sheep deaths led to revelations that the Army was storing chemical weapons across the US and even testing them in the open.

This measure will only wipe out confirmed stockpiles. Russia has been accused of secretly making nerve gas despite insisting that it destroyed its last chemical weapons in 2017. Pro-government Syrian military forces and ISIS extremists used the weapons throughout much of the 2010s. This won't stop hostile countries and terrorists from using the toxins.

Even so, this is a major milestone. In addition to wiping out an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, it represents another step toward reduced lethality in war. Drones reduce the exposure for their operators (though not the targets), and experts like AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton envision an era when robots fight each other. While humanity would ideally end war altogether, efforts like these at least reduce the casualties.

Now's the time to get a smart speaker with a little flourish. Amazon is running an early Prime Day sale on Echo devices that includes steep discounts on fifth-generation Echo Dot bundles with Star Wars stands. The best deal is for a bundle featuring The Mandalorian's ever-so-adorable Baby Grogu for $46, or 41 percent off — that's less than the normal price of the speaker by itself. You can also buy a Darth Vader bundle for $63 (30 percent off), and a Stormtrooper kit for the same price. Just remember that you'll need to be a Prime subscriber to take advantage of these discounts.

You'll also find bargains for the latest Echo Show displays, the higher-end Echo Studio and the entry-level Echo Pop. Fourth-gen Echo Dot bundles are also on sale.

The fifth-gen Echo Dot is ultimately a refinement of the previous model, but that's not a bad thing. You're getting surprisingly powerful sound for a budget speaker, an eye-catching design and the robust Alexa smart home ecosystem. This newest model ups the audio quality and adds a temperature sensor that can help check indoor conditions. This may be helpful if you want to keep a child's room cool during the summer, for instance.

The current Echo Dot doesn't have a 3.5mm jack like its predecessor, so it's not your pick if you're just looking to enhance a conventional speaker system. Likewise, there are still more capable speakers if audio quality is a priority. For the money, though, it's difficult to find better.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

OnePlus has unveiled the Nord 3, and it's a significant upgrade over the 2T — to the point where you might prefer it over comparable rivals. The new mid-range model jumps to a 6.7-inch, 120Hz 2,772 x 1,240 screen, promising a big boost over the 6.4-inch, 90Hz 1080p panel from its predecessor. You'll also get 80W wired fast charging the company claims can deliver a 60 percent charge in 15 minutes.

The OnePlus Nord 3 also makes the leap to a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chip (versus the 2T's Dimensity 1300), and it now comes with up to 16GB of RAM instead of last year's 12GB. The battery is larger, too, at 5,000mAh versus 4,500mAh. The device's 50MP primary camera is the same as on the higher-end OnePlus 11. That won't beat the absolute best cameras on the market, but it's more compelling in this price class. You can also expect an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro sensor and a 16MP front cam.

Software support is stronger this time around. OnePlus now promises three years of major OS updates for the Nord 3 compared to just two for the 2T. You'll also receive four years of security fixes. That's not as extensive as for the OnePlus 11 or rivals like Samsung, but it still means your phone will likely remain up to date until you're ready to replace it.

OnePlus is taking Nord 3 pre-orders today, starting at €449 ($488) for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Pay €549 ($597) and you'll get 16GB of RAM alongside 256GB of storage. At the moment, though, it's only poised to reach 16 European Union countries as well as key markets like India. It's not surprising that OnePlus won't release the phone in the US (the company only offers its entry Nord N-series stateside), but it's also not coming to the UK as of this writing. A spokesperson toldTech Advisor last week that "logistical challenges" with customs prevented it from offering the Nord 3 and other phones online. You may still see a UK debut, but not in the immediate future.

Whether or not it's a good buy versus the Google Pixel 7a or Samsung Galaxy A54 depends on your priorities. OnePlus is offering some of the best display, camera hardware and memory in this category, but Google typically produces better real-world photos and offers a 'pure' Android interface with timelier upgrades. Samsung, meanwhile, offers better secondary cameras than OnePlus, more updates and tight integration with its ecosystem.

You'll have some good choices for summer gaming if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Microsoft has revealed that Capcom's dinosaur shooter Exoprimal will be available to Game Pass members on Xbox, PC and the cloud when the title launches July 14th. If you were hesitant to buy the hybrid PvE/PvP game sight unseen (or weren't sure about the beta), you won't necessarily have to.

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V is also making its third appearance on Game Pass, albeit only for Xbox and streaming — sorry, no PC downloads this time. There's not much more to add about the decade-old classic at this point, but it's likely worth checking out if you somehow haven't played GTA V before or simply miss the escapades of Michael, Franklin and Trevor.

Other additions include adventure game pioneer Ron Gilbert's The Cave (July 18th for cloud and Xbox), Insurgency: Sandstorm (July 11th for PC), McPixel 3 (July 6th for all platforms), Common'hood (July 11th for all platforms) and the preview for Techtonica (July 18th, all platforms). You may want to play Spelunky 2 soon, though, as the side-scrolling cave explorer is leaving Game Pass on July 15th.

These arrivals aren't necessarily as sweet as Sony's free PlayStation Plus games for July, which include Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Alan Wake Remastered. That's not true every month, though, and it's clear there are different objectives this time around. Microsoft is hoping to reel in people who look for launch day games and long-time favorites. Sony, meanwhile, is choosing well-known games that shine a spotlight on Microsoft's attempt to buy Activision Blizzard.

The Las Vegas skyline will soon be dominated by a massive display. MSG Entertainment has started full testing of the Sphere, a 17,600-seat venue near the The Venetian Resort that's defined by an enormous (516ft across and 366ft tall) animated dome and a wraparound internal 16K LED screen. It's eye-catching on the outside, but the main attraction is the immersion for live entertainment on the internal display — it's meant to rethink concerts and cinematic experiences.

As MSG's James Dolan and David Dribble explain to Rolling Stone, the aim is to effectively create a VR experience without the "damn goggles." Creators use a special camera to produce footage that envelops the audience. There's also a unique 164,000-speaker audio system that can isolate specific sounds, or even limit them to certain parts of the audience. One section could hear only Spanish-language dialog, for instance.

Like "4D" movie theaters, the MSG Sphere also has a sensory experience for some guests. About 10,000 seats have haptics, cold, heat wind and scents. If you're on a virtual trip to the Arctic, you might feel the coolness while you watch.

The venue will have its first performance on September 29th, when U2 starts a 25-show run with a custom production. The shows have effectively sold out, so you'll have to rely on the inevitable flurry of social media videos to see what the Sphere looks like during its inaugural stint. Partial screen testing took place this spring.

Whether or not it's a wise investment isn't clear. Construction started in 2019, but the pandemic and technological complexity have swelled the expected cost to $2.3 billion. That will make it the most expensive venue in Las Vegas to date (even the Raiders' Allegiant Stadium costs 'just' $1.9 billion), and there are no guarantees MSG will recoup its investment in a timely fashion. It's not clear what comes after U2's concerts, either, although there is the possibility of hosting eSports tournaments and mixed martial arts fights.

The draw, however, is clear. Large-scale concerts typically take place in stadiums where the audio, visuals and seating are designed around sports, not music. Even traditional concert halls haven't changed much over the decades. In theory, you'll make a pilgrimage to the Sphere to get an experience you simply can't get elsewhere.

Meta will have to limit the reach of its personalized ads in the European Union. The region's Court of Justice has ruled that Meta's Facebook brand will need to obtain consent before delivering at least some personalized ads in the EU. The custom ads "cannot justify" processing that volume of data without users' permission, according to the ruling.

We've asked Meta for comment. In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson said the social media giant was still "evaluating the court's decision" and would say more in the future.

Meta is already appealing a €390 million EU fine (now worth about $425 million) for requiring that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users accept personalized ads just to use those platforms. The governing body requires "freely given" consent for features, and believes Meta violated the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by asking for ad targeting data just to use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on a basic level. In the new ruling, the Court of Justice said it was up to a site operator to prove that people willingly give permission.

The decision is included in a larger court finding that local competition regulators, such as Germany's Federal Cartel Office, can factor in compliance with other laws (such as the GDPR) when investigating antitrust cases. Put simply, a country could decide that rule breaking in one area is evidence of broader anti-competitive behavior.

The ruling is somewhat vague, and it's not clear just how officials will interpret the requirement in practice. Meta might have to ask permission to provide personalized ads on Facebook and other platforms. That could improve privacy for users, but affect the company's bottom line. The outfit warned of a hit to its ad revenue when iOS 14 gave users the ability to reject ad tracking in apps — this could represent another blow that affects everyone in the EU, regardless of the device they use.

Spotify might soon let you watch music, not just listen to it. Bloombergsources claim the streaming service is mulling the addition of full-length music videos to its app. The company is reportedly talking to potential partners, but it's not clear who would support the feature or when it might arrive. Spotify has already declined to comment.

Video on Spotify is currently limited to podcasts, 30-second storytelling clips (to help artists talk about their work) and 10-second GIFs that loop while you listen to a given song. The media giant launched a TikTok-like home feed in March, but it's meant more for discovering music and podcasts than video viewing. The company tried using TV content several years ago, such as clips from Comedy Central and ESPN, but it didn't gain much traction.

The concept isn't novel for streaming music services. Apple Music has had music videos for years. Spotify's addition would help it match Apple, though, and might lure audiences who would otherwise watch the videos on YouTube. It would also add content to the new feed and help Spotify draw musically-inclined viewers from social networks like Instagram and TikTok.

Music videos don't generate much direct revenue by themselves. YouTube gives creators a 55 percent share of ad revenue, which on average amounts to $18 per 1,000 views. Artists, labels and others involved then have to split that small amount. The clips supplement audio income, though, and potentially improve exposure for musicians.

There's pressure to find new sources of income, too. Spotify laid off a significant portion of its staff earlier this year, including 200 in its podcast team, as it grappled with both a rough global economy and business missteps. Music videos could improve the company's finances without requiring a large production team, as is the case with podcasts.

University of Toronto professor Geoffrey Hinton, often called the “Godfather of AI” for his pioneering research on neural networks, recently became the industry’s unofficial watchdog. He quit working at Google this spring to more freely critique the field he helped pioneer. He saw the recent surge in generative AIs like ChatGPT and Bing Chat as signs of unchecked and potentially dangerous acceleration in development. Google, meanwhile, was seemingly giving up its previous restraint as it chased competitors with products like its Bard chatbot.

At this week’s Collision conference in Toronto, Hinton expanded his concerns. While companies were touting AI as the solution to everything from clinching a lease to shipping goods, Hinton was sounding the alarm. He isn’t convinced good AI will emerge victorious over the bad variety, and he believes ethical adoption of AI may come at a steep cost.

A threat to humanity

Photo by Jon Fingas/Engadget

Hinton contended that AI was only as good as the people who made it, and that bad tech could still win out. "I'm not convinced that a good AI that is trying to stop bad I can get control," he explained. It might be difficult to stop the military-industrial complex from producing battle robots, for instance, he says — companies and armies might “love” wars where the casualties are machines that can easily be replaced. And while Hinton believes that large language models (trained AI that produces human-like text, like OpenAI’s GPT-4) could lead to huge increases in productivity, he is concerned that the ruling class might simply exploit this to enrich themselves, widening an already large wealth gap. It would “make the rich richer and the poor poorer,” Hinton said.

Hinton also reiterated his much-publicized view that AI could pose an existential risk to humanity. If artificial intelligence becomes smarter than humans, there is no guarantee that people will remain in charge. “We’re in trouble” if AI decides that taking control is necessary to achieve its goals, Hinton said. To him, the threats are “not just science fiction;” they have to be taken seriously. He worries that society would only rein in killer robots after it had a chance to see “just how awful” they were.

There are plenty of existing problems, Hinton added. He argues that bias and discrimination remain issues, as skewed AI training data can produce unfair results. Algorithms likewise create echo chambers that reinforce misinformation and mental health issues. Hinton also worries about AI spreading misinformation beyond those chambers. He isn’t sure if it’s possible to catch every bogus claim, even though it’s “important to mark everything fake as fake.”

This isn’t to say that Hinton despairs over AI’s impact, although he warns that healthy uses of the technology might come at a high price. Humans might have to conduct “empirical work” into understanding how AI could go wrong, and to prevent it from wresting control. It’s already “doable” to correct biases, he added. A large language model AI might put an end to echo chambers, but Hinton sees changes in company policies as being particularly important.

The professor didn’t mince words in his answer to questions about people losing their jobs through automation. He feels that “socialism” is needed to address inequality, and that people could hedge against joblessness by taking up careers that could change with the times, like plumbing (and no, he isn’t kidding). Effectively, society might have to make broad changes to adapt to AI.

The industry remains optimistic

Photo by Jon Fingas/Engadget

Earlier talks at Collision were more hopeful. Google DeepMind business chief Colin Murdoch said in a different discussion that AI was solving some of the world’s toughest challenges. There’s not much dispute on this front — DeepMind is cataloging every known protein, fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria and even accelerating work on malaria vaccines. He envisioned “artificial general intelligence” that could solve multiple problems, and pointed to Google’s products as an example. Lookout is useful for describing photos, but the underlying tech also makes YouTube Shorts searchable. Murdoch went so far as to call the past six to 12 months a “lightbulb moment” for AI that unlocked its potential.

Roblox Chief Scientist Morgan McGuire largely agrees. He believes the game platform’s generative AI tools “closed the gap” between new creators and veterans, making it easier to write code and create in-game materials. Roblox is even releasing an open source AI model, StarCoder, that it hopes will aid others by making large language models more accessible. While McGuire in a discussion acknowledged challenges in scaling and moderating content, he believes the metaverse holds “unlimited” possibilities thanks to its creative pool.

Both Murdoch and McGuire expressed some of the same concerns as Hinton, but their tone was decidedly less alarmist. Murdoch stressed that DeepMind wanted “safe, ethical and inclusive” AI, and pointed to expert consultations and educational investments as evidence. The executive insists he is open to regulation, but only as long as it allows “amazing breakthroughs.” In turn, McGuire said Roblox always launched generative AI tools with content moderation, relied on diverse data sets and practiced transparency.

Some hope for the future

Photo by Jon Fingas/Engadget

Despite the headlines summarizing his recent comments, Hinton’s overall enthusiasm for AI hasn’t been dampened after leaving Google. If he hadn’t quit, he was certain he would be working on multi-modal AI models where vision, language and other cues help inform decisions. “Small children don’t just learn from language alone,” he said, suggesting that machines could do the same. As worried as he is about the dangers of AI, he believes it could ultimately do anything a human could and was already demonstrating “little bits of reasoning.” GPT-4 can adapt itself to solve more difficult puzzles, for instance.

Hinton acknowledges that his Collision talk didn’t say much about the good uses of AI, such as fighting climate change. The advancement of AI technology was likely healthy, even if it was still important to worry about the implications. And Hinton freely admitted that his enthusiasm hasn’t dampened despite looming ethical and moral problems. “I love this stuff,” he said. “How can you not love making intelligent things?”

The technology industry isn't thrilled with Arkansas' law requiring social media age checks. NetChoice, a tech trade group that includes Google, Meta and TikTok, has sued the state of Arkansas over claimed US Constitution violations in the Social Media Safety Act. The measure allegedly treads on First Amendment free speech rights by making users hand over private data in order to access social networks. It also "seizes decision making" from families, NetChoice argues.

The alliance also believes the Act hurts privacy and safety by making internet companies rely on a third-party service to store and track kids' data. State residents often don't know or associate with the service, NetChoice claims, and an external firm is supposedly a "prime target" for hacks. The law tries to regulate the internet outside state laws while ignoring federal law, according to the lawsuit. As Arkansas can't verify residency without requiring data, it's effectively asking everyone to submit documents.

State Attorney General Tim Griffin tells Engadget in a statement that he looks forward to "vigorously defending" the Social Media Safety Act. The law requires age verification for all users by submitting driver's licenses and other "commercially reasonable" methods. Anyone under 18 also needs to get a parent's consent. There are exceptions that appear to cover major social networks and their associated categories, such as those for "professional networking" (think LinkedIn) or short entertaining video clips (like TikTok).

Arkansas' requirement is part of a greater trend among politicians to demand age verification for social media. States like Utah, Connecticut and Ohio have either passed or are considering similar laws, while Senator Josh Hawley proposed a federal bill barring all social media access for kids under 16. They're concerned younger users might be exposed to creeps and inappropriate content, and that use can harm mental health by presenting a skewed view of the world and encouraging addiction.

There's no guarantee the lawsuit will succeed. If it does, though, it could affect similar attempts to verify ages through personal data. If Arkansas' approach is deemed unconstitutional, other states might have to drop their own efforts.