AMC is leaning into its relatively newfound status as a meme stonk by letting people buy gift cards with Dogecoin. The theater chain already had plans to accept bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash payments later this year.

CEO Adam Aron said that while AMC is working on enabling crypto payments for movie tickets, you can use a BitPay Wallet to buy up to $200 worth of gift cards per day with Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies. Aron noted customers can pay with digital cash on the AMC website and mobile app, as well as in theatres.

In a Twitter poll last month, Aron asked if the company should accept Dogecoin. Just over two thirds of the 140,000 voters opted for the “yes, for sure do it” option.

AMC and Dogecoin have been two of 2021’s wildest success stories. Their respective valuations skyrocketed toward the moon early this year. In AMC’s case, it was part of a run on the stock market initiated by Reddit users, while Tesla technoking Elon Musk boosted Dogecoin’s price by promoting the cryptocurrency.

Motorola is expanding the Moto G lineup with another budget-friendly device. The $160 Moto G Pure runs on the MediaTek Helio G25 octa-core processor, rather than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 seen in the slightly more expensive Moto G Play.

The G Pure has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (expandable by up to 512GB via microSD). The IPS TFT LCD 6.5-inch screen only has a 720p resolution, which might be helping Motorola keep costs down.

Motorola says you'll get up to two days of use with the 4000mAh battery. It's promising rapid charging through the USB Type-C port. The handset is water repellent, with an IP52 rating, meaning it should be able to withstand spills, splashes and light rain. There are also fingerprint and face unlock sensors, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The rear camera setup includes a 13MP camera, 2MP depth sensor and LED flash. On the front, there's a 5MP selfie camera. Motorola says you can capture video on both sides in full HD at 30 fps.

There's no NFC or 5G support, unfortunately. However, Motorola says the device will run on Android 11 out of the box.

Pre-orders for the unlocked Moto G Pure will open on October 14th. On the same date, Verizon (Engadget's former parent company) will offer it at no extra cost to folks who sign up for a new smartphone line. The Moto G Pure will be available through other providers and in Canada in the coming months.

Developers who let users create an account in their iOS, iPadOS and macOS apps will soon have to offer people a method of deleting their accounts in apps too. Apple says that as of January 31st, all app submissions (including updates) will need to include the option.

The company announced this requirement alongside other App Store guideline changes at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June as part of a push to give users more control over their data. As The Verge notes, Apple is only requiring developers to let people "initiate deletion of their account from within the app," so apps might send you to a website or even a chat with an agent before you can actually close your account.

It remains to be seen how useful this requirement will actually be in practice, given the tricks many developers employ to encourage you to remain as a user. Still, if you have an account in an app, deleting it will be slightly less of a headache, which can't be a bad thing. This will hopefully make it easier for people to ditch subscriptions and apps they aren't actually using. 

Elsewhere, App Store pages on iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey (which is still in beta) now have a Report a Problem button, so you can flag any issues or concerns you have with an app to Apple. The feature is available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US for now. Apple will roll out the button to more regions later.

It can sometimes come across as rude when you leave your earbuds in while chatting with someone. However, those with AirPods Pro now have a better reason for keeping them on during conversations, particularly if they have mild hearing difficulties.

Apple has rolled out the latest AirPods firmware, which includes Find My integration for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. As noted by MacRumors, AirPods Pro users can now take advantage of the Conversation Boost feature the company revealed at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference this summer. The earbuds can use built-in microphones to amplify the volume of people you're speaking with. You can reduce ambient noise too.

Once your AirPods Pro are running the latest firmware (Apple installs AirPods updates automatically), you can turn on the feature by going to the Accessibility menu in the Settings on your connected iPhone or iPad. From there, tap Audio/Visual, then Headphone Accommodations and switch on Transparency Mode. You can then enable Conversation Boost.

The European Parliament has called on lawmakers in the European Union to ban automated facial recognition in public spaces and to enforce strict safeguards for police use of artificial intelligence. MEPs voted in favor of the non-binding resolution by 377-248, with 62 abstentions.

The MEPs said citizens should only be monitored when they're suspected of a crime. They cited concerns over algorithmic bias in AI and argued that both human supervision and legal protections are required to avoid discrimination. The politicians noted there's evidence suggesting AI-based identification systems misidentify minority ethnic groups, LGBTI+ people, seniors and women at higher rates. As a result, the MEPs say, "algorithms should be transparent, traceable and sufficiently documented," with open-source options being used wherever possible.

The resolution states that "those subject to AI-powered systems must have recourse to remedy." Under EU law, according to the document, "a person has the right not to be subjected to a decision which produces legal effects concerning them or significantly affects them and is based solely on automated data processing."

In addition, the MEPs called on EU officials to ban private facial recognition databases (some law enforcement agencies in Europe are using Clearview AI's one), as well as "predictive policing based on behavioral data." They also urged the European Commission to prohibit social scoring or social credit systems and said the iBorderCtrl virtual border agent and other border control systems that use automated recognition should be shut down.

The approval of the resolution follows similar calls by EU data protection regulators this summer. The European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor said the EC should ban AI systems from using biometrics to categorize people "into clusters based on ethnicity, gender, political or sexual orientation," or any other classifications that could lead to discrimination.

In April, the EC proposed a bill called the Artificial Intelligence Act, which would introduce a sweeping regulatory framework for AI. Among the measures are a ban on remote biometric identification (such as facial recognition) in public spaces unless it's being used to tackle major crimes, including terrorism and kidnappings.

YouTube has taken down R. Kelly's official channels after the singer was convicted of sex trafficking. The RKellyTV and RKellyVevo channels no longer exist and Kelly will not be allowed to create or own any other channel on the platform, YouTube told Reuters. YouTube made the move in line with its creator responsibility guidelines.

However, this isn't a blanket ban. Kelly's music will still be available on YouTube Music. Kelly videos that other users have uploaded will still be available. Engadget has asked YouTube for clarification on why that's the case.

Two women started a campaign in 2017 to have Kelly's music removed from streaming services and radio. Accusations have been made against him for decades. Prosecutors said Kelly used his fame to exploit women and underage girls and a federal jury found him guilty last month of sex trafficking.

Kelly's sentencing hearing will take place in May. The mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years in prison, though he faces up to life behind bars.

Microsoft and Adidas have teamed up to celebrate Xbox's 20th anniversary with the first official Xbox sneakers. The Xbox 20th Forum Tech sneakers take inspiration from the original 2001 console. The green and black footwear even has the original Xbox logo. Keeping in with the vibe of that era, the fun launch trailer has a skate tape aesthetic and features some friends playing some Halo: Combat Evolved.

Xbox's announcement suggests these are limited-edition sneakers it's giving away to fans. There are more Xbox sneakers on the way in the coming months, including ones you can actually buy and pairs inspired by current and previous consoles. Here's hoping Adidas goes a bit wild and makes sneakers based on Kinect too. Meanwhile, Microsoft is set to release another quirky Xbox product later this year: a mini fridge.

Air traffic is picking back up after dropping dramatically amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and more people need to get from an airport to where they're going. To make things a little easier for airline passengers, Uber is rolling out a bunch of tools centered around airport rides.

The Uber Reserve feature that the company debuted last November is now available for Uber Black and Uber Black SUV at more than 20 airports across the US, including ones in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Washington DC. You can book rides up to 30 days in advance. Uber will be able to track your flight information and automatically adjust your reservation time if you're going to land at a different time than expected. The driver will wait for up to 60 minutes at no extra cost to you and there's a curbside pickup option.

Speaking of curbside pickup, Uber says it's using machine learning to forecast demand so it can dispatch drivers and match them with passengers at the curb. The feature is live at 13 US airports, as well as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, London Heathrow, Montreal, Toronto Pearson and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

A new feature called Ready When You Are will let you choose from a few pickup timing options when you reserve a ride after landing. You can make a request for 10 or 20 minutes out, or as soon as possible. This option is being piloted on Android starting today at six airports: Nashville, New Orleans, Portland (the one in Oregon), Philadelphia, Seattle and Toronto Pearson. The feature will hit iOS in November.

Finally, Uber Eats will let you order food in advance from some airport restaurants, so you can pick up a meal without having to wait in line. Uber is testing the option at Toronto Pearson, and it plans to bring the feature to US airports in the coming months.

Filming is underway on the first feature-length movie to be shot in space after Russian actor Yulia Sherepild and director Klim Shipenko docked at the International Space Station. Their movie, The Challenge, will feature around 35-40 minutes of scenes filmed on the space station, according to The New York Times. The film is about a surgeon (Sherepild) who goes on an emergency ISS mission to save the life of a cosmonaut (Shipenko).

The two cosmonauts who were already on the ISS captured a shot as Peresild (or her character) emerged from the capsule and entered the station. Sherepild and Shipenko will film scenes over the next couple of weeks before returning to Earth on October 17th.

Other projects have been filmed on the ISS, including documentaries, virtual reality projects and a short called Apogee of Fear. Tom Cruise hoped to make the first feature film in space with the help of NASA and SpaceX, but the Russian team beat him to the punch. Russia's Roscosmos agency announced a plan to send an actor to the ISS soon after word emerged about Cruise's movie in May 2020.

Time will tell whether The Challenge is any good. Regardless, the creatives behind the project have carved out their own little slice of history.

Google has revealed the date for its big fall hardware event. It will show off the Pixel 6 lineup in more detail on October 19th, starting at 1PM ET.

The company has already revealed some details about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, including what they phones look like. In August, Google said Tensor, the first system-on-chip it designed, will debut inside these phones. The SoC will power the Pixel 6's AI-heavy features, such as speech recognition and on-device live captions and translation.

The phones will have camera upgrades, of course. The Pixel 6's main camera will allow in approximately 150 percent more light than previous models, while the Pro will have 4x optical zoom and an additional telephoto option. The company claimed that Tensor will improve the photo processing capabilities too.

You can expect up to a day's worth of battery life from a single charge, Google told us. The devices are 5G compatible and they'll be able to take advantage of all the new features of Android 11.

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