Microsoft launched its Bing AI chat product for the Edge browser last week, and it's been in the news ever since — but not always for the right reasons. Our initial impressions were strong, as it offered up workout routines, travel itineraries and more without a hitch.
However, users started noticing that Bing's bot gave incorrect information, berated users for wasting its time and even exhibited "unhinged" behavior. In one bizarre conversation, it refused to give listings for Avatar: The Way of the Water, insisting the movie hadn't come out yet because it was still 2022. It then called the user "unreasonable and stubborn" when they tried to tell Bing it was wrong.
Now, Microsoft has released a blog post explaining what's been happening and how it's addressing the issues. To start with, the company admitted that it didn't envision Bing's AI being used for "general discovery of the world and for social entertainment."
Bing subreddit has quite a few examples of new Bing chat going out of control.
Open ended chat in search might prove to be a bad idea at this time!
Captured here as a reminder that there was a time when a major search engine showed this in its results. pic.twitter.com/LiE2HJCV2z
Those "long, extended chat sessions of 15 or more questions" can send things off the rails. "Bing can become repetitive or be prompted/provoked to give responses that are not necessarily helpful or in line with our designed tone," the company said. That apparently occurs because question after question can cause the bot to "forget" what it was trying to answer in the first place. To fix that, Microsoft may add a tool that lets you reset the search context or start from scratch.
The other issue is more complex and interesting: "The model at times tries to respond or reflect in the tone in which it is being asked to provide responses that can lead to a style we didn’t intend," Microsoft wrote. It takes a lot of prompting to get that to happen, but the engineers think they might be able to fix it by giving users more control.
Despite those issues, testers have generally given Bing's AI good marks on citations and references for search, Microsoft said, though it needs to improve with "very timely data like live sports scores." It's also looking to improve factual answers for things like financial reports by boosting grounding data by four times. It's also "adding a toggle that gives you more control on the precision vs. creativity of the answer to tailor to your query."
The Bing team thanked users for the testing to date, saying it "helps us improve the product for everyone." At the same time, it expressed surprise that folks would spend up to two hours in chat sessions. They'll no doubt be just as diligent trying to break any new updates, too, so we could be in for an interesting ride until it's perfected.
The PlayStation VR 2 is the virtual reality upgrade console gamers have been waiting for — but is it really worth $550? That depends on how much you need high quality VR.
The virtual reality landscape looks completely different today than it did in 2016. The original PlayStation VR arrived amid the peak of the VR hype, which kicked off with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. While they weren't perfect, wearing any of those devices was like shoving your eyeballs right into the next major leap for computing. And if VR took off, it was only a matter of time until we were all wearing augmented reality glasses. Clearly, that hasn't happened.
Now that much of the initial excitement around VR has fizzled out, the PlayStation VR2 is more of a curiosity than a must-have gadget. It has all of the specs you'd want from a next-generation headset, but it also costs more than the PlayStation 5 itself. Sony says more than 30 games will be available during the PS VR2's launch window, but who knows how well it'll be supported over the next few years.
And really, what's the point of a pricey tethered headset when the Meta Quest 2 gets you completely wireless VR (albeit of much lower quality) for $399? No matter how you look at it, the PSVR2 is a tough sell. And yet, I can't help but be impressed by it. The PS VR 2 packs in the best of high-end PC VR, including innovative features like eye tracking, as well as something we've never seen before: Haptics for your head!
Before we get to that though, let's take a look at the PS VR2 itself. At first glance, it seems like an evolved form of the original, with a design that's more reminiscent of the PS5. Instead of a bulbous Fisher Price-esque toy, the PS VR2 actually looks like something built with artistic ambition. (Get ready to roll your eyes when it's highlighted at MOMA.) Sure, it's still made of plastic, but at least it's good plastic, the same stuff used for the PS5's exterior shell and the DualSense controllers.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
I also didn't mind the plastic much since the PS VR2's internal hardware is such a massive upgrade. It features dual 2K OLED screens, which effectively deliver a 4K image. The field of view has also been bumped up to 110 degrees, putting it on-par with most other high-end VR headsets. While the displays still offer 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rates, in my experience everything just looks smoother thanks to the PS5's additional horsepower.
Up front, you'll find four sensors that track the headset and its new Sense controllers. Thanks to these "inside out" sensors, which are also found on the Meta Quest and many other headsets, the PS VR2 doesn't require a PlayStation camera to track its movement like before. Along the top, there's a button to extend the front half of the headset, as well as a dial to adjust the pupillary distance. It does so by physically moving the lenses to match the distance between your eyes, something that was sorely missing from Sony's first headset.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
At the bottom of the PS VR2 there's a small microphone, power button and selection button. To get audio, you'll have to plug in the bundled earbuds along the back of the headset. There's nothing stopping you from using your own headphones or earbuds, but the cable situation would likely be a mess.
As for securing the PS VR2 to your head, I was happy to find that Sony didn't really change much from the incredibly comfortable first model. The PS VR2 features plush cushioning for your forehead, as well as a thicker cushion that sits behind your skull. Clicking the dial on the rear extends the arms of the headset, and like before, you secure it by twisting the dial. Together with its impeccably balanced design and light weight, the PS VR2 is a dream to wear. I only wish the headset flipped up like those forgotten Windows Mixed Reality devices – that would have made it far easier to slip on and off.
Still, I'm happy that Sony listened to the many criticisms of the Move wand controllers on the original PS VR. The new Sense controllers are actually purpose built for virtual reality – they're practically a carbon copy of Meta's Quest controllers, with a large tracking ring, analog sticks, two face buttons, triggers and grip buttons. Both remotes have haptic feedback, PlayStation buttons, and they also split the sharing and option buttons found on the DualSense. Overall they're a huge step up, though it would be nice if they were easier to put on when you're stuck in VR. It's hard to tell which controller is which, and their elaborate design makes it tough to get your fingers in the right places.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Every time I was frustrated with those controllers, though, I took a breath and appreciated what Sony got right. The setup process for the PS VR2, for example, is vastly simpler than the previous model. Now all you need to do is plug in a single USB-C cable into the front of your PS5 to get the headset going. You're still dealing with a nearly 15-foot cable, but at least it doesn't involve an additional breakout box and camera.
After pairing my Sense controllers with my PS5, I stepped through the familiar process of scanning my space and measuring the floor by lowering my controllers down. The PS VR2 did an impressive job of recognizing the safe play space I had in my basement, but I also appreciated being able to tweak specific sections to my liking. As with every other VR headset, you can choose to play games while sitting or standing up. I enjoyed both positions, but intensive games like Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain benefit from having more room. It's easier to feel like a post-apocalyptic warrior when you're actually breaking a sweat.
Horizon VR ended up being the perfect game to show off everything the new headset could do. From the start, the PS VR2's screens astounded me with rich color and a wonderful level of contrast. You can chalk that up to the power of OLED displays. I'm no stranger to the elaborately detailed environments of the Horizon games, but scaling cliff sides and peering down mountains in VR is another matter entirely. Horizon VR taps into the headset's eye tracking sensors for choosing menu options, and it also uses that feature for foveated rendering, which concentrates the PS5's power on the things you're looking at.
As I ogled the game's robotic wildlife, I was also surprised to find the PS VR2 rumbling around my head. I forgot that Sony was actually bringing haptics to the headset, and my first experience with that practically had me jumping out of my seat. Now I've tested tons of VR headsets, many with far better screens than the PS VR2. But none of them shook me to my core in the same way. Headset haptics could be abused down the line, but right now many developers are trying to use it tastefully.
The opening scenes of Jurassic World Aftermath, for example, hit a lot differently with a vibrating headset. Within the first few minutes, you encounter a pterodactyl attack, plane crash and a hungry T-Rex. And every time a dinosaur roared, it vibrated through my skull. You can, of course, turn off headset haptics if you want. But personally, I can't wait to see how new games take advantage of it. It's almost like feeling the DualSense controllers for the first time – we've all experienced haptics before, but Sony is doing it in entirely new ways.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The company's tracking technology also feels more mature than what I've seen from the Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro. It rarely runs into hiccups, something I saw frequently with the first PS VR. The new inside out tracking system handled fast-paced games like Rez Infinite without any issues, and it also proved to be great with titles that required fine movement, like Tentacular. That game puts you in the role of a giant tentacle monster tasked with odd jobs like demolishing buildings or collecting enormous shipping containers. Having tentacle arms is tough – trying to manage them with glitchy motion tracking would be even tougher.
Sony knows how to make a good controller, so it's no surprise that the new Sense VR devices both feel great, even for lengthy play sessions. They typically lasted for around four hours, so I'd recommend investing in the $50 charging bay to keep the topped up. Otherwise, you'll have to remember to plug them into USB-C cables.
When you're not gaming, the PS VR2 also makes for a great personal cinema, something that could be useful if you're forced to share a living room TV. The headset makes video appear as if you're a few feet away from a 100-inch screen, so it's far more immersive than most televisions. I was able to kick back and comfortably enjoy some YouTube videos, Netflix shows and Blu-rays. This wouldn't be my first choice for binge watching anything (it's tough to eat or drink while plugged into VR) but it's great if you don't have space for a projector screen.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
As much as I enjoyed my time with the PS VR2, playing many of these games felt like being thrown back in time. Seriously, I'll play Rez Infinite at every given opportunity, and it looks dramatically better on the new headset. But fundamentally, it's the same game that was released back in 2016 on the PS4 (itself a remake of the original 2001 title). And really, that's the story of many games coming to the PS VR2. Tentacular is a blast, but it arrived on the Quest 2 last year, and the Jurassic World game is even older. Perhaps upcoming VR releases, like Grand Turismo 7 and Resident Evil Village, will make a better case for Sony's new headset. Right now, though, it feels like it's arriving several years too late.
And then there's the price. Asking gamers to spend $550 on an accessory just feels like punishment after they shelled out almost the same amount on the PS5 itself. The original PS VR cost $500 if you bought the camera and controller bundle, but its base price was $400 if you already had those accessories. If Sony actually wanted to push VR adoption to new heights, rather than extract every cent of profit possible, the PS VR2 should have been $400 or less. It's particularly tough to stomach now with the $400 Meta Quest 2 around (and don't forget it used to be $300 before Meta bumped its price up). But hey, at least the PS VR2 feels like a better deal than the $1,500 Meta Quest Pro.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
I'm sure the PlayStation VR2 will come down in price eventually, but it seems like Sony is bungling what should be an important launch. Right now, it feels more like the PlayStation Vita than any other Sony product — an innovative device that the company just doesn't know how to handle. I'm also hoping Sony considers PC compatibility eventually, as that could help to justify its higher price. (I won't be surprised if third-party drivers arrive soon, though pairing the controllers may be an issue.)
If you're a PS5 owner that's been dying to see what PC VR enthusiasts have been enjoying for the past few years, the PSVR2 is exactly what you've been waiting for. Everyone else should just sit tight until the price drops and more new games arrive. And if the VR industry continues its current downward trajectory, that discount may happen sooner than you think.
Plex now has the capability to skip intros and credits, so you don't have to sit through them if you don't want to. The streaming media service has introduced its new "Skip Credits" feature, a couple of years after a similar feature debuted for intros, and it shows up as a button at the bottom right corner of the screen. It appears the moment credits start rolling, allowing you to play the next episode in a series or to automatically jump to a mid- or post-credit scene in a movie with a single click.
This new credit detection feature is available throughout Plex's entire free streaming catalogue, giving it a viewing experience similar to Netflix's in that regard. But you can also enable it for your personal collection, so long as you have Plex Pass subscription, which will set you back $5 a month or $40 a year. The company said it developed its own Skip Credits technology by training a machine learning algorithm to be able to detect markers like text and dark frames. It admits that the feature might still have a few hiccups and might not work as intended all the time, but it said those cases "should be few and far between."
If you want to enable Skip Credits for your collection, you'll need to have the latest Plex Media Server and perform "Analyze" on your whole library. Plex will then analyze your collection, say as a scheduled task and whenever new media is added, in order to identify when credits begin in your shows and movies. Since analyzing users' libraries to detect end credits use a lot of processing power — and "all that processing isn't cheap," the company said — Plex built a cloud-based repository where it will store users' results. It will allow you to get back your results in seconds if you need to do a clean install or to rebuild your whole library.
If you've been using Twitter's For You feed this week, you might’ve noticed the algorithmic feed showed a lot of Elon Musk's tweets and replies. According to Platformer, which interviewed Twitter employees, engineers tweaked the social network to benefit their CEO. Elon's cousin and Twitter employee James Musk sent an urgent message on the company's Slack on Monday morning. He called the situation "high urgency" and asked everyone who can write code to help.
What had happened? President Biden's Super Bowl tweet about rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles got more engagement than Musk's. Apparently, the president's tweet generated almost 29 million impressions, whereas Musk's generated only 9.1 million before he deleted it.
The fix they came up with, Platformer says, was code that artificially boosted Musk's tweets by a factor of 1,000. Musk acknowledged the change in his own way, by posting the "forced to drink milk" meme. He also asked people to stay tuned while Twitter adjusted the "algorithm." According to the report, Musk's tweets are still artificially boosted, it seems, just not quite as much.
– Mat Smith
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Oppo has been watching the foldable competition. Last year, it revealed its second generation of foldable phones would compete with the same form factors as Samsung. Now, while the West won’t be getting the bigger Find N2 Fold, in the UK and Europe, we will get the Oppo Find N2 Flip. In many ways, the Find N2 Flip attempts to address some shortcomings of the existing foldables, with a bigger cover screen and a larger battery. Sadly, however, there are no plans to launch the phone in the US.
The original Xbox Elite controller came out way back in 2015, so it's a wonder why Sony took so long to release its take on a premium, customizable gamepad. But now the PlayStation 5 is more widely available (kind of), the $200 DualSense Edge is here. It costs a bit more than its Xbox rival but offers a few nifty features you don't get on Microsoft's controller. However, it’s not perfect: Its short battery life is definitely a downer.
The company and the league have more info on the service.
Apple already announced many details on its MLS Season Pass, the company's biggest entry into live sports streaming yet. However, the company and the league still had a few details they hadn't yet revealed. As the start of the new season draws closer, the two collaborators shared more info, including that every game will stream in 1080p. That's the same quality the company offered for its weekly Major League Baseball games last year.
Five more filthy free levels are coming to the relaxing game on March 2nd.
PowerWash Simulator developer FuturLab will soon give players more stuff to clean up with their trusty pressure washers, as it's adding another free crossover expansion. Five levels set in Final Fantasy VII's Midgar are coming to the game on March 2nd. Yes, it’s a game where you powerwash stuff. And it’s wonderful.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Tesla workers in the company's Buffalo, New York Autopilot facility had sent a letter to CEO Elon Musk stating their attention to unionize. Now, organizers at the same location are accusing the company of illegally terminating employees "in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity," Bloomberg has reported.
In a filing with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Workers United union accused Tesla of attempting to discourage its organizing activities. It has asked for a federal court injunction to "prevent irreparable destruction of employee rights resulting from Tesla’s unlawful conduct." Several of the employees let go had been involved in labor discussion, and one was the member of an organizing committee.
"This is a form of collective retaliation... designed to terrify everyone about potential consequences of them organizing, as well as to attempt to cull the herd," Workers United organizer Jaz Brisack told Bloomberg. (Engadget has contacted Tesla for comment, but doesn't anticipate a reply given the company no longer has a dedicated press office.)
Employees involved in the campaign are in charge of labeling data for Tesla's Autopilot technology. The group is asking for better pay, job security and a work environment that reduces production pressures. The group previously said that Tesla engages in keystroke monitoring to see how long they spend on tasks, and shut down an internal chatroom used for airing grievances.
Following the earlier report, Tesla issued a directive to "protect the confidentiality, integrity and security of all Tesla business information." However, one employee said the terminations are galvanizing, rather than intimidating workers. "It's pretty clear the message they're sending," said Sara Constatino. "And it's really I think backfiring on them." The NLRB will now investigate the claims and could prosecute them before a judge if it finds merit.
IK Multimedia has been in the guitar rig emulation game for a long time. It released the first version of AmpliTube way back in 2002. And while the company has branched out quite a bit since then into synths, microphones and studio monitors, it hasn't given up on the world of guitar just yet. In September it released Amplitude ToneX, an AI-powered update to its long-running modeling software. And now it's combining that cutting edge software with its line of AmpliTube effects pedals to make a play at the increasingly popular market for hardware amp emulators.
The ToneX Pedal, at least physically, appears to be nearly identical to the other members of the AmpliTube pedal family. Though, rather than just offer a selection of delay effects, it can play host to entire rigs — from amplifies, cabs and even effects pedals. Users can capture and recreate their own gear if they want, great if you've got a lot of heavy (and expensive) vintage gear that you don't want to risk at your next gig at the local punk rock bar. Just make a digital emulation, save it to the pedal and plug that straight into the venue's PA. Of course, what will be of more interest to most is the library of over 1,000 Tone Models that are included with the ToneX Max software, and the over 6,000 user generated models on ToneNet.
The pedal can store up to 150 presets at a time that model everything from modern metal rigs to individual pedals. What's more, if you've got a collection of impulse responses (IRs) you've collected, you can load them on the pedal as well to customize your selection of cabinets, and the pedal even has mic simulation built in, so you can plug straight into your DAW without having to sacrifice "room tone".
Beyond that, the ToneX Pedal has a noise gate, EQ and compressor circuits, as well as five reverbs borrowed from the AmpliTube X-Space pedal. Plus it integrates with AmpliTube 5 on your computer, and can even be used as an audio interface for directly capturing guitar tracks, and it has MIDI in and out to make sure everything syncs up right. The ToneX Pedal is available now for $400,
The city government of Oakland, California was hit by a ransomware attack on February 8th, and its departments can still feel the security breach's ramifications. While the local government didn't give out details about the incident, such as how much money the bad actors are demanding, it said in an announcement that the city had to take its network offline to contain the attack. That has rendered many of Oakland's non-emergency services inaccessible, such as websites that would allow residents to pay parking fines or taxes online. The city's systems meant for processing reports and issuing permits or licenses are offline, as well.
While Oakland previously assured residents that 911 dispatch and fire emergency services weren't affected by the breach, its police department warned people that the attack has delayed response times. It's now encouraging people to file reports online for non-emergency complaints. Oakland also had to close some of its buildings and is now asking people to email government offices' service counters before coming to visit.
Oakland's recent ransomware attack has delayed response times.
If you don’t have an emergency, please consider the following to report incidents:
However, it warns of delayed response times while it works "around the clock to implement recovery plans that will restore impacted systems as quickly and as securely as possible." According to the San Francisco Chronicle, residents are also having difficulties reaching city departments by phone and are being redirected to recorded messages, most likely due to an influx of calls.
On February 14th, local Oakland officials declared state of emergency in an effort to combat the effects of the attack. Doing so allows them to expedite the purchase of equipment and materials needed to get government services running as usual, as well as to deploy emergency workers if needed. Although details surrounding the attack remain unclear, the city's Information Technology Department is currently working with law enforcement and a leading forensics firm to investigate the scope and severity of the issue. "This continues to be an ongoing investigation with multiple local, state, and federal agencies involved," Oakland said in an announcement, along with the promise to keep the public updated if it has more details to share.
In a video ad Google posted on Twitter, its yet-to-be-launched AI chatboard Bard confidently spouted misinformation about the James Webb Space Telescope. "JWST took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system," the chatbot replied, which is patently false. (It was the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope that captured images of exoplanets for the first time.) Now, the tech giant is looking to improve Bard's accuracy, and according to CNBC, it's asking employees for help.
Google's VP for search, Prabhakar Raghavan, reportedly sent an email to staff members, asking them to rewrite Bard responses on topics they know well. The chatbot "learns best by example," Raghavan said, and training it with factual answers will help improve its accuracy. Raghavan also included a list of "dos" and "don'ts" when it comes to fixing Bard's responses, based on the email seen by CNBC.
Responses should be in first person POV, should be unopinionated and neutral, and they should have a polite, casual and approachable tone. Employees are also instructed to "avoid making presumptions based on race, nationality, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, political ideology, location, or similar categories." They're asked not to describe Bard as a person, imply that it has emotions or claim that it has human-like experiences. Plus, they're instructed to thumbs down any responses the chatbot might give containing "legal, medical, financial advice" or are hateful and abusive.
Raghavan's memo came after Google CEO Sundar Pichai emailed employees, asking them to spend a few hours each week testing the AI chatbot. Google employees reportedly criticized Pichai for a "rushed" and "botched" Bard rollout. The CEO is now giving staffers the chance to "help shape [the chatbot] and contribute" by testing the company's new product. He also reminded everyone that some of Google's "most successful products were not first to market" and that they "gained momentum because they solved important user needs and were built on deep technical insights."
People have been anticipating Google's response to ChatGPT ever since the OpenAI chatbot arrived late last year. The Microsoft-backed technology has gained tremendous popularity over the past few months, enough to rattle Alphabet and its investors. Google tried to assuage investors' concerns during its quarterly earnings call in early February by talking about its own chatbot and by touching on its work developing an AI-powered Search to compete with the next-gen Bing.
Twitter is loosening its advertising policies to allow cannabis companies to promote their brands on the service. The changes makes Twitter the first major social media platform to welcome cannabis ads within the United States.
“Going forward, Twitter is allowing advertisers to promote brand preference and informational cannabis-related content for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services,” the company announced in a blog post.
While the change will allow companies that sell cannabis products to advertise their businesses, there will still be some restrictions on what can appear in the advertisements. As Axios points out, the ads can’t directly “promote or offer the sale of cannabis” with the exception of certain CBD products. There are also age and location-related restrictions that limit who can be targeted with cannabis-related ads.
The change is the latest way that Twitter has shaken up its rules under Elon Musk’s leadership in order to allow content that was once barred. The policy update also comes at a time when many advertisers have either fled the platform or significantly reduced how much they’re spending. By opening up to cannabis companies, which until now have had extremely limited options to reach people on social media platforms, Twitter has the opportunity to bring in a fresh set of advertisers.
In its announcement, Twitter suggested that cannabis companies could reach a large audience on the platform, noting that cannabis-related conversation “is larger than the conversation around topics such as pets, cooking, and golf, as well as food and beverage categories including fast food, coffee, and liquor.”
Apple may be narrowing down the launch window for its fabled mixed reality headset. Bloombergsources say the headset is now set to premiere at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. The device, possibly called Reality Pro, was unofficially slated to arrive in April but reportedly needed extra development time to address hardware and software issues. The company has already declined to comment, but the hardware might ship later in the year.
The headset is believed to carry a steep price tag, possibly as high as $3,000, but may also include capabilities not found even on alternatives like the Meta Quest Pro. Rumors suggest it could include dual 4K displays and a wide range of cameras that allow advanced tracking and controller-free input. You'd have to wear the battery in an external pack, but you'd also get an M2 processor that outperforms the mobile chips in other stand-alone AR and VR wearables.
The underlying platform, xrOS, is said to include an iOS-style interface that relies on finger pinches and voice commands for interaction. There would be an emphasis on health as well as upgraded versions of familiar experiences, such as full-body avatars during FaceTime calls. You might even have an easy way to create apps using Siri.
This initial model is supposedly aimed at creators and enthusiasts, and a WWDC debut would help developers understand the technology just as it becomes public. However, rumors also suggest Apple is working on a more affordable headset that's nearer to the Quest Pro's $1,500 price. That more accessible design might not surface before 2024, but it hints at a long-term strategy to make the company's mixed reality tech more accessible.
