Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s running for re-election, the Republican National Committee (RNC) was primed with a new attack ad. However, new for 2023, the ad uses AI-generated imagery to create almost-realistic visions of what might happen. This includes hypothetical domestic and international incidents the RNC suggests might happen if Biden wins again: "This morning, an emboldened China invades Taiwan," a fake news announcer says.

The RNC told Axios it was the first time it had used a video made entirely with AI. The ad features a faint disclaimer in the top-left corner noting the ad was "built entirely with AI imagery." Given I thought the Pope in a puffer jacket was real, this is, unfortunately, probably just the start.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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GM will stop making the Chevy Bolt EV later this year

The company is shifting to a new battery system.

On an earnings call with investors, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the company plans to cease production of the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV by the end of 2023. Between them, the models account for most of GM's EV sales. However, the Bolt's battery cells are based on an older design, and GM is transitioning to its Ultium system. According to Barra, GM will modify a Detroit-area plant where it makes the Chevy Bolts, so it can produce the electric Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra there starting in 2024.

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ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PC hands-on

Possibly the most powerful portable gaming PC yet.

Engadget

Valve released the Steam Deck over a year ago. Now it’s finally time for some true competition. Thanks to potent specs, a speedy screen and a slick design, this might be the most powerful PC gaming handheld yet. Not only does it feature a new Ryzen Z1 chip – which is a customized Zen 4/RDNA 3 APU designed specifically for handheld gaming PCs – it also has a 7-inch 1080p screen with 500 nits of brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. That alone represents some very premium upgrades compared to the Steam Deck. But we still don’t know when the Ally will land – or how much it’ll cost. Still, you can read about it.

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DJI's Mavic 3 Pro drone comes with a triple-camera setup

The new 70mm equivalent camera gives a portrait-like view of subjects.

DJI has unveiled its new flagship consumer drone, the Mavic 3 Pro, with a triple-camera setup that includes a new 70mm lens designed for "powerful subject framing." It also includes a new 10-bit D-Log M color mode, improvements in the tele cameras and ProRes capture on the Mavic 3 Pro Cine option. As for the price, the Mavic 3 Pro is only a bit more expensive than the Mavic 3's current $2,049 starting price. The Mavic 3 Pro with a DJI remote control starts at $2,199, while the Fly More combo with the DJI RC, three intelligent flight batteries, a charging hub, carrying bag and one ND filter set is $2,999. It’s set to go on sale next month.

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Opera One is a browser designed for generative AI features

The early access version of Opera's redesigned browser coming out later this year.

Opera has released the early access version of its completely redesigned browser, Opera One. It can automatically and intuitively group websites people open based on their content. It will open all pages with menus and restaurant details in one island, for instance, and all tabs with Google Docs in another. Opera One also comes with ChatGPT, ChatSonic and AI Prompts enabled by default. If you recall, the company introduced sidebar integration for the AI chatbots back in March, allowing users to quickly launch them in a separate window in the browser.

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The long-running legal tussle between Apple and Epic Games picked up another ruling, in the former’s favor, although the three-judge panel also upheld a part of the original ruling in Epic's favor. The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling, which rejected most of Epic's claims that Apple violated federal competition law by prohibiting other app stores on its devices.

“There is a lively and important debate about the role played in our economy and democracy by online transaction platforms with market power,” the panel wrote in the decision. “Our job as a federal court of appeals, however, is not to resolve that debate — nor could we even attempt to do so. Instead, in this decision, we faithfully applied existing precedent to the facts.” In short, the ruling maintains the status quo – unless further appeals move the case to a higher court.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Grimes invites AI artists to use her voice, promising 50 percent royalty split

“Feel free to use my voice without penalty,” the artist tweeted.

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Canadian musician Grimes says AI artists can use her voice without worrying about copyright or legal enforcement. “I’ll split 50% royalties on any successful AI-generated song that uses my voice. Same deal as I would with any artist I collab with,” she tweeted on Sunday.

It comes after streaming platforms removed an AI-generated song using simulated voices of Drake and The Weeknd. Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both artists, called for the purge after “Heart on My Sleeve” garnered over 15 million listens on TikTok and 600,000 on Spotify. UMG argued that publishing a song trained on its artists’ voices was “a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law.”

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Microsoft will reportedly unbundle Teams from Office to avoid antitrust concerns

It hopes to head off an EU investigation, but ‘a deal is not certain.’

Microsoft has agreed to stop bundling its Teams remote collaboration software with its Office productivity suite, according to the Financial Times. The company’s move attempts to head off an official EU antitrust investigation as it deals with its most significant regulatory concerns in over a decade. The FT’s sources say companies will eventually be able to buy Office with or without Teams installed, “but the mechanism on how to do this remains unclear.” Microsoft is facing its first regulatory issues in a decade. The company agreed to a settlement with the European Commission in 2009, offering European customers a choice of web browsers; it was fined €561 million in 2013 for failing to adhere consistently to that ruling.

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Kindle Scribe update lets you send documents directly from Microsoft Word

There are also annotation improvements and a two-column layout.

The Kindle Scribe will soon be able to send documents directly from Microsoft Word to the e-reader with just a few clicks. This means you can read documents on the go or physically annotate them using the touchscreen and a Scribe pen. There’s also a new multi-column layout for reading two pages at once.

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Like it or not, a Call of Duty board game is coming in 2024

Pre-orders will open on Kickstarter this fall.

Activision has teamed up with board game publisher Arcane Wonders, along with Genuine Entertainment and Evolution to make the game. Call of Duty: The Board Game is said to be a fast-paced blend of combat, strategy and tactical planning. However, what that means in the context of a board game is unclear. Also, does multibillion-dollar publisher Activision really need to be selling its wares on Kickstarter?

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As Apple’s WWDC approaches, the rumor frequency for the company’s VR/AR headset is gathering pace. ​​Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the device, rumored to be named Reality Pro or Reality One, will have two ports: a USB-C interface for data transfers and a “new proprietary charging connector.” Judging by Gurman’s description, the latter is reminiscent of Apple’s recently reintroduced MagSafe power port. As for the power supply, it’s about the size of an iPhone, similar to Apple’s own MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhones. The component can reportedly power the wearable for up to two hours on a single charge, but you’ll be able to buy extra packs, given how quickly the headset may drain them.

It doesn’t sound particularly elegant, but there are reasons for it. At the start of 2023, Gurman first hinted at an external power supply. He reported Apple was concerned about the device overheating, while also chasing a lighter, more comfortable headset.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Leaked Pixel Fold video shows an internal display with chunky bezels

It looks a lot like the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Kuba Wojciechowski

Days after CNBC reported Google’s plans for a foldable Pixel phone at I/O 2023, an alleged video of the device is circulating online. On late Friday evening, leaker and developer Kuba Wojciechowski shared what he says is a clip of the Pixel Fold. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t show any features that definitively identify the foldable as a Pixel device, but if this is the real thing, be prepared for some noticeable borders to the device’s internal screen. The Pixel Fold will reportedly cost around $1,700 when it arrives later this year. According to CNBC, the device will have a book-like design, with a 5.8-inch external screen and a 7.6-inch folding display. It’s also said to sport the “most durable hinge” of any foldable to date and a battery that can last up to 72 hours in Extreme Battery Saver mode.

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Twitter adds blue checks to accounts of dead celebrities

Tapping the icon says the deceased individuals are "subscribed" to Twitter Blue.

Twitter has begun handing out blue ticks to celebrity users and accounts with more than one million followers. Among the users who received the verification but say they did not pay for the service include author Neil Gaiman, actor Ron Perlman, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Twitter comic dril. Also, accounts that once belonged to Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant and Anthony Bourdain, celebrities who died long before Musk’s takeover of Twitter, were also reverified over the weekend. On Friday, Musk claimed he was “personally” paying the Twitter Blue subscription for a few celebrities, including LeBron James and Stephen King.

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You can't share Xbox clips directly to Twitter anymore

The change is likely down to Twitter's decision to charge for API access.

Microsoft said it had to switch off the option to upload Xbox screenshots and clips directly to Twitter from Xbox consoles as well as the Game Bar on Windows. There are other options, but they're a little more inconvenient. You can use the Xbox mobile app to download console captures and share them to Twitter.

When asked for comment, Xbox declined to shed more light on the reason for the change. It seems likely that Microsoft dropped the built-in sharing option due to Twitter's decision to charge at least $42,000 per month for enterprise access to its APIs. That move is breaking functionality for all kinds of organizations, including disaster response services. This week, Microsoft said it would soon remove Twitter integration from its social media management tool for advertisers.

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As threatened for a while, Twitter has begun removing the original blue ticks from users' profiles, which includes the likes of Beyonce, the Pope and yours truly. If the Pope wants his blue tick back, he’ll need to pay $8 per month for Twitter Blue. Businesses can receive a gold checkmark without a subscription, while government and multilateral organization accounts can get a gray checkmark. When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, however, he claimed there were too many "corrupt" verified accounts and it was necessary to drop the legacy system. He characterized Blue as a way to democratize checkmarks. That said, it’s pay-for-play now – and many notable figures, like LeBron James and Chrissy Teigan, have stated (on Twitter, hah) they’re unlikely to pay for Twitter Blue.

That said, James still has his ‘tick.’ According to his own tweets, Musk has apparently paid for a few Blue accounts himself – maybe he’s a big basketball fan. Will this blue tick gambit pay off?

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Michael Schumacher’s family plans to sue German tabloid for AI-generated ‘interview’

The magazine presented the transcript as real while adding easy-to-miss disclaimers.

A German tabloid tried passing off AI chat responses as legitimate quotes. Celebrity magazine Die Aktuelle published a cover story in its April 15th issue about a supposed interview with Formula One driver Michael Schumacher; only at the end does it reveal it was a hoax produced entirely by an AI chatbot. Schumacher, who suffered a severe brain injury on a family ski trip in the French Alps in 2013, hasn’t appeared publicly since, as his family guards his privacy. Schumacher’s family told ESPN it plans to take legal action against the gossip rag.

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SpaceX's Starship completed its first fully integrated launch, then exploded

The rocket failed to separate from its booster.

SpaceX

SpaceX has completed its first fully integrated Starship flight test after months of delays. The combination of Starship and a Super Heavy booster lifted off from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas, facility at 9:34 AM ET after a brief hold, but it failed to separate and tumbled down in a botched flip maneuver before exploding. Success with the next test is vital given the timing for both SpaceX's own plans and NASA's exploration efforts. SpaceX is counting on Starship for lunar tourism and other commercial flights, while NASA's Artemis Moon landings are to start in December 2025.

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Razer Blade 18 laptop review

Overpowered and oversized.

Engadget

The Blade 18 is a beast, both physically and specification-wise. It supports the fastest components you can get on a laptop today along with a super-fast 240Hz expansive 18-inch display and excellent build quality. But with the base model starting at $2,900, it's also extremely expensive. You can get rival laptops, like the ASUS M16 with an i9 CPU and an RTX 4090 for $1,000 less than Razer’s latest laptop.

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Spider-Man movies finally arrive on Disney+

Some movies won't be available for a while.

Disney+ is finally doing more to patch the Spider-Man-sized hole in its Marvel movie lineup. The streaming service is adding the first wave of Spidey movies to its US catalog in the next few weeks. Sam Raimi's trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man are available from today, while Homecoming and Venom arrive May 12th.

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A federal judge recently gave initial approval to a $725 million settlement between Meta and Facebook users alleging the company shared their personal data without proper consent. If you used Facebook between May 2007 and December 2022 and lived in the US during that time, you’re eligible to get cash from the settlement. It’s not going to be life-changing money, though. Given the number of users, expect to get a few dollars.

The claim form recommends adding “confirmation@facebookuserprivacysettlement.com” to your contact list to ensure any important correspondence doesn’t end up in your spam folder – even though that sounds utterly like a spam email account.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Tesla's latest price cut brings Model 3 pricing below $40,000

This is the automaker's sixth price cut for the year.

Tesla has slashed its electric vehicles' prices for the sixth time this year, on the eve of its next earnings report. It has quietly lowered the price for the Model 3, so the rear-wheel drive variant now starts at $39,990, $2,000 less than buyers paid for it earlier this month.

Earlier this year, Tesla cut prices drastically across its lineup, with some models dropping by up to 20 percent. As Tesla notes on its website, the rear-wheel drive model now only qualifies for $3,750 in tax credits after the government's change in guidelines took effect on April 18th. Tesla's other cars are still eligible for the full $7,500 tax credits, including Model Y vehicles, which also got a price cut.

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Google Fi adds a one-week eSIM trial and Wireless to its name

The Simply Unlimited plan now includes cellular connectivity for some smartwatches.

Google Fi has announced a series of updates and a name change. From now on, the mobile virtual network operator will be Google Fi Wireless. And if you have an eSIM-compatible device, you'll be able to test out Google Fi Wireless at no cost in the seven-day free trial. Google started the trial last month, and it's now available more broadly. If you don't cancel the Google Fi Wireless trial within a week, you'll join the Simply Unlimited plan (which you'll still be able to quit at any time).

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Google might announce a foldable Pixel phone at I/O next month

The Pixel Fold may ship in June for $1,700.

Engadget

CNBC claims the Pixel Fold will be announced at the I/O conference on May 10th and ship in June. The device will reportedly cost around $1,700 and be in a similar form factor to the Galaxy Z Fold series, unfolding like a book, not like a flip phone. The Pixel Fold will have a 5.8-inch external screen and 7.6-inch folding display and claims the "most durable hinge" of any foldable, according to the report. Google apparently says it’ll pack a larger battery that lasts up to 24 hours in normal use.

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An AI-generated song featuring Drake and The Weeknd pulled from streaming platforms

Universal Music Group says the song violates copyright.

Over the weekend, a song called “Heart on My Sleeve” went viral for featuring AI-generated voices that do a pretty good job of mimicking Drake and The Weeknd singing about a recent breakup. On Monday, Apple Music and Spotify pulled the track following a complaint from Universal Music Group, the label that represents the real-life versions of the two Toronto-born artists. A day later, YouTube, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tidal, Deezer and TikTok did the same. In a statement, Universal Music Group argued the training of a generative AI using the voices of Drake and The Weeknd was “a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law."

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The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a visual novel that ties together nine (don’t ask) Japanese folktales, spirits, curses and, well, ukiyoe block prints. You’ll hop between several protagonists, trying to figure out who’s holding magical killer trinkets and who’s trying to collect them all from reviving the dead.

It’s the usual visual novel style of play: you talk to people, click on interesting things in the background, try to choose the right dialogue options, fail and try again. Paranormasight uses 360-degree environments to keep things relatively immersive. Each character illustration has frayed red, blue and green outlines that imitate old TVs – this was a time before OLED.

Nintendo

What makes Paranormasight so much fun to play through is a rich vein of subversion — which I am not going to spoil. When you first begin the game, there’s a host of sorts, with a mysterious mask, who explains the game you’re about to play, how the menus work and other administrative fun.

When you (inevitably) meet your end due to poor decisions (or someone attacking you with cursed stones), it’ll cut back to the host, who will often hint at something that you’d have never guessed before – there are several ‘game overs’ that are inevitable for the early beats of the game to make sense. Fortunately, the game ‘logic’ settles in pretty quickly. You’ll hop between each character’s quests, with narrative paths unlocking further as the story unfolds and characters, curses and misunderstandings get messy.

In the first few chapters, you must confront others who may or may not be curse holders, unaware of how their curse “works”. This turns into an anime-style stand-off, like a fight in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure or Naruto, as you either try to sneak your way out of danger or get other curse-bearers to fall into your trap, so you can claim their cursed stone and inch closer to the Rite of Resurrection.

It gets surprisingly tense at times. One confrontation occurs between a woman that wields a pyromaniac curse, while another character with a bludgeoning curse that can tell when you lie. This stand-off all happens in an innocuous living room, with a private investigator, dressed like a villain from the ‘70s looking on, baffled and powerless.

The player can jump between the overlapping timelines, even redoing very early decisions to see if they can change how the story progresses. I did find at one point that I was a little ahead of the story, but couldn’t continue with what I thought was the logical way forward until I’d clicked/tapped absolutely everything on a particular 360-degree scene.

Nintendo

Everyone is seemingly hunting the Rite of Resurrection, which can supposedly bring anyone back from the dead – one character isn’t even looking to resurrect a friend or loved one, but Katsushika Hokusai, arguably the most famous Japanese artist of all time – the ‘tsunami’ guy. The characters have plenty of delightful quirks, which reminds me of Capcom’s Phoenix Wright series, but Paranormasight feels a little smarter. Some of the twists and solutions break the fourth wall brazenly and I loved it. My only criticism is that The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a little short – I finished it in 16 hours. Hopefully, more games will expand on this formula.

My spoiler-free advice is: listen to the masked host, keep an eye on your notes database as you learn more about the legends and don’t be afraid just to guess what might work. Often it does.

The game is available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android and Steam.

Since February, Netflix has offered paid account sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The add-on allows primary account holders to pay an additional fee every month to share their Netflix service with up to two people outside of their household. Now, it’s coming for US subscribers – or non-subscribers. The company wrote in its Q1 letter to shareholders: “In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results.” It added: “We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2.” Netflix has estimated more than 100 million non-paying households have access to its service – and it wants them to pay something.

Netflix will also close its DVD rental business in September. Yes, that’s still a thing.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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The Polestar 4 electric SUV arrives with 544 HP and no rear window

It also supports up to 200kW DC fast charging.

Polestar

Polestar has revealed its coupe-style electric SUV at the Shanghai Auto Show, and as expected, the Polestar 4 is a head-turner – but not for the driver. There's no rear window, so a camera provides the driver's rear view. With a large 102kWh battery, it has a 300-plus mile targeted range and $60,000 starting price, with both all-wheel and rear-wheel drive versions. It'll go on sale starting in China by the end of the year and launch in North America in 2024.

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Apple’s debut VR Headset might include workouts and fitness features

The company has reportedly been working with ‘a small number of developers.’

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s mixed reality headset (maybe named Reality One or Reality Pro) will focus heavily on gaming, fitness, sports and collaboration tools. The headset is rumored to switch between virtual and augmented reality. It may even run Apple Fitness+ workouts in VR as well as support for immersive sports viewing, which could include 360-degree views at live events. It has the technology: Apple bought VR sports startup NextVR back in 2020. We’re expecting the company to announce the headset at WWDC 2023 – which isn’t far off.

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The best e-ink tablets for 2023

Scribble to your heart’s content.

Engadget

Is it time to replace your notebook with something high-tech? There’s been a boom in e-ink tablets to replace your myriad notebooks with something that can connect to the internet, detect your handwriting and more. We tested a bunch of the most popular e-ink tablets available now – and we have recommendations.

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Xiaomi's 13 Ultra features four Leica-tuned cameras

These cover focal lengths across 12mm, 23mm, 75mm and 120mm.

After debuting the first "1-inch" mobile camera sensor with the 12S Ultra last year, Xiaomi is back with a familiar-looking new phone with some significant upgrades. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra packs not three but four rear Leica cameras, with the main camera using the same "1-inch" 50-megapixel sensor, but with variable aperture to toggle between f/1.9 and f/4.0. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is already available for pre-order in China, starting from 5,999 yuan (around $870). While it’s unlikely to launch in the US directly, we’ve been told the phone will reach international markets at some point. If you’re tempted, you may be able to import one.

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Paramount+ greenlights Star Trek film starring Michelle Yeoh

The recent Oscar winner will reprise her ‘Discovery’ character.

Paramount+ is finally making the long-rumored Star Trek Section 31 project, starring recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh. However, this won’t be a TV show, but a feature-length movie. A Yeoh-led Star Trek: Section 31 has been in development since 2019, transitioning from a series to an “event film” with this latest announcement, according to Variety. Star Trek: Section 31 joins multiple forthcoming Trek projects, including a just-announced Starfleet Academy show and upcoming seasons of Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks. Star Trek: Picard finishes its three-season run this week, and Star Trek: Discovery returns for a final season sometime next year.

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Two weeks ago, Netflix confirmed it would livestream the Love Is Blind season four reunion. But when the time came, first it was delayed, then, after an hour, Netflix pulled the plug. The streaming service soon tweeted an apology and aired the reunion yesterday.

This was only Netflix's second attempt at livestreaming. Its first, Chris Rock's comedy special Selective Outrage, aired live in March. But Netflix edited his material about being hit by Will Smith at the Oscars. Rock got a film name wrong in a punchline when performing live and corrected himself mid-delivery. The streaming service subsequently cut around the hiccup. Netflix also owns the rights to stream the Screen Actors Guild Awards live, next year, which should give it enough time to fix those technical difficulties.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Google wants you to help listen for fish

Help train a conservation-focused AI model by listening for fish sounds.

Google

Google’s new project, a collaboration with marine biologist Steve Simpson and marine ecologist Mary Shodipo, is training AI to recognize aquatic wildlife sounds, hoping to replenish them and raise awareness of the ocean’s troubled habitats. The Earth’s coral reefs have been declining thanks to climate change, overfishing and pollution. The project has online volunteers listening to some reefs and flagging fish noises. Is it thrilling? No. But at least it works, unlike the Love Is Blind livestream.

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Nike’s first digital shoe collection, with real-world perks, launches

But you won't know exactly what design you're paying for until later.

After launching its .Swoosh web3 platform in November, Nike is ready to unveil its first set of digital collectibles today. The company has announced the Our Force 1 (or OF1) series of "virtual creations" will be available to invitees on May 8th, while general access opens on May 10th. You can choose to buy one of two boxes – Classic Remix or New Wave – and each will cost $19.82.

That gets you a digital box – but you won't know which design you got. On an undisclosed date after May 10th, Nike will reveal all the OF1 boxes, but you can choose not to open the box, leaving it as a virtual Schrodinger's sneaker situation.

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Adobe Firefly's new AI tools can do some simple editing tasks for you

Use prompts to animate text and add b-roll, music and sound effects to your projects.

Adobe

Adobe announced Monday it’s working on more AI upgrades, coming to Firefly's beta program later this year. Building on the company's long-running AI program, Sensei, Firefly is a suite of generative AI models that can both create and transform audio, video, illustrations and 3D models using text prompts in the same way that Dall-E and ChatGPT do. Firefly's features are already available across Adobe Premiere Pro, Illustrator, After Effects and Photoshop, with these new features accessible through the closed beta program later this year. They’re to help professional editors cut down on their drudge work, boosting color levels, inserting placeholder images, adding effects, even autonomously recommending b-roll for video projects.

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Accused of leaking classified documents, Jack Teixeira was charged after a quick investigation focused on his digital trail. The New York Times' investigative journalism team identified Teixeira by finding an Instagram account mentioned in his Steam profile. That, in turn, showed photos of the granite kitchen countertop and floor tiles visible in the leaks. The suspect hasn't yet entered a plea and will face a hearing on April 19th. The charges against him carry a maximum combined sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Teixeira allegedly began sharing the documents on a Minecraft-oriented Discord server in late 2022. He supposedly didn't intend to act as a whistleblower, but the content eventually spread to other Discord servers as well as 4chan and Telegram.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Montana is about to become the first state to ban TikTok

The state passed a bill that requires app stores to block the service.

Montana is to become the first state to ban TikTok. The state’s legislature passed a bill requiring app stores to block the app in the state. The bill passed 54 to 43 and will now head to Republican Governor Greg Gianforte, who previously banned the app from state-owned devices. The ban is slated to go into effect in 2024, though it will likely face legal challenges well before then. Like federal lawmakers, the Montana bill claims TikTok’s ties to ByteDance puts US users' personal data at risk because the company could be compelled to turn over information to the Chinese government.

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Is Apple prepping a 15-inch MacBook Air?

It's expected to feature an M2 chip.

According to Bloomberg, Apple recently began testing a 15-inch laptop to ensure its compatibility with third-party App Store apps, something the company does in the lead-up to the release of a new device. Developer logs reportedly show a machine with an eight-core CPU and 10-core GPU, along with 8GB of RAM. Those specs suggest the 15-inch MacBook Air, referred to as Mac 15.3 in the logs, will ship with an M2 chipset, not Apple’s next-generation chip.

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‘Horizon Burning Shores’ launch trailer teases the franchise’s biggest boss fight

The DLC arrives next week.

Sony

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a DLC chapter that continues Aloy’s story. Ahead of its launch, a new trailer offers a fresh look at the Burning Shores, a volcanic archipelago once home to Los Angeles. We also get a closer look at a Metal Devil boss fight – which looks huge. In fact, that battle is one reason Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores won’t be available on PlayStation 4, even though you can play the original game on Sony’s last generation console. Game Director Mathijs de Jonge said: “The cityscape ruins of LA and its surroundings are highly detailed and require a lot of processing power as well as fast streaming technology to run properly.”

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German artist refuses award after his AI image wins photography prize

The artist said: 'AI is not photography.'

Boris Eldagsen

An AI-generated photo called The Electrician by Boris Eldagsen took first prize in the Creative category at the recent World Photography Organization’s Sony World Photography Awards — despite not being taken by a camera. Eldagsen subsequently refused the award, saying "AI is not photography. I applied to find out if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not." Eldagsen explained he used his experience as a photographer to create the prize-winning image, acting as a director of the process with the AI generators as "co-creators." Although photography inspired the work, he said the point of the submission is it’s not photography.

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Nintendo shared one last trailer of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom before it launches on May 12th. It teases the whole Hyrule world – including the floating island – as well as Link's allies, who will fight alongside him. The plot is typical Zelda fare: You have to find the princess and defeat Ganon. But the fused weapons and vehicles both seem to be major parts of how the game will play. You can even build a robot to take on enemies that have their own battle platform. Robot Wars, but make it Zelda?

– Mat Smith

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PBS has also quit Twitter over its 'government-funded media' label

Fellow public broadcaster NPR said this week it would stop tweeting.

PBS has halted its use of the platform. The organization hasn't posted on its Twitter account since April 8th. Both PBS and NPR claim the label, which previously read "state-affiliated media," doesn't represent them accurately. Twitter previously reserved such labels for state-run outlets, like China's Xinhua News Agency and Russia's RT and Sputnik.

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How to choose the best pizza oven

What you need to look for when shopping for one.

Small outdoor pizza ovens have become popular for backyard cooking in recent years. While anyone with a decent-sized patio could install a permanent one, these versatile products are more compact and store easily in a bag when you’re not using them. That makes them great if you have limited outdoor space. Alongside what to look for, we’ve separated outdoor and indoor pizza ovens – so everyone gets pizza in 2023.

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ASUS' ROG Phone 7 uses AI to automatically record your wins and losses

The new external cooler doubles as a subwoofer.

ASUS ROG

For someone (and some reason), ASUS continues to create its pro-gamer ROG phones. Once again, they wouldn’t look out of place beside keyboards, gaming mice and beefy gaming laptops. The ROG Phone 7 series, this time, incorporates AI for automatic gaming capture. The new clip-on cooler also now doubles as a subwoofer for even… louder gaming. In Taiwan and Europe, you can pre-order select models in the ROG Phone 7 series starting today. ASUS has confirmed the ROG Phone 7 series will eventually launch in the US.

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Researchers used machine learning to improve the first photo of a black hole

The photo algorithm was trained on over 30,000 black hole simulations. 

Lia Medeiros / Institute for Advanced Study

Researchers have used machine learning to tighten up a previously released image of a black hole. As a result, in a report published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the portrait of the black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, over 53 million light years away from Earth, shows a thinner ring of light and matter surrounding its center. They used PRIMO, “a novel dictionary-learning-based algorithm” that learns to “recover high-fidelity images even in the presence of sparse coverage” by training on generated simulations of over 30,000 black holes. It’s an impressive new use of AI, even if the result isn’t particularly visually stunning. And don't get any ideas, Samsung...

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