Deloitte will partially refund payment for an Australian government report that contained multiple errors after admitting it was partly produced by AI [non-paywalled source]. From a report: The Big Four accountancy and consultancy firm will repay the final instalment of its government contract after conceding that some footnotes and references it contained were incorrect, Australia’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said on Monday. The department had commissioned a A$439,000 ($290,300) “independent assurance review” from Deloitte in December last year to help assess problems with a welfare system for automatically penalising jobseekers.

The Deloitte review was first published earlier this year, but a corrected version was uploaded on Friday to the departmental website. In late August the Australian Financial Review reported that the document contained multiple errors, including references and citations to non-existent reports by academics at the universities of Sydney and Lund in Sweden. The substance of the review and its recommendations had not changed, the Australian government added. The contract will be made public once the transaction is completed, it said.

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The Australian Financial Review reports that Deloitte Australia will offer the Australian government a partial refund for a report that was littered with AI-hallucinated quotes and references to nonexistent research.

Deloitte’s “Targeted Compliance Framework Assurance Review” was finalized in July and published by Australia’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) in August (Internet Archive version of the original). The report, which cost Australian taxpayers nearly $440,000 AUD (about $290,000 USD), focuses on the technical framework the government uses to automate penalties under the country’s welfare system.

Shortly after the report was published, though, Sydney University Deputy Director of Health Law Chris Rudge noticed citations to multiple papers and publications that did not exist. That included multiple references to nonexistent reports by Lisa Burton Crawford, a real professor at the University of Sydney law school.

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More than two years after the release of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the 13th major installment in the franchise gets a substantial content update for free. The story expansion, called Valley of Memory, is set to release on November 18 and adds six hours of additional gameplay. According to Ubisoft, the DLC follows the protagonist, Basim, into ninth-century AlUla as he tries to find his long-lost father.

Along with the new region and map, the Valley of Memory DLC adds new assassination targets, side quests and contracts. Ubisoft is also teasing a “unique twist” on the franchise’s classic black box missions, which allows players to carry out a main assassination quest however they want. The new main questline pits Basim against a “dangerous band of robbers,” but players will get several gameplay improvements to help complete the story. These changes will even be applied to the base game.

The DLC introduces several parkour improvements, including a toggle for manual jumping, a smoother way to transition between rooftops and the ability to customize side and back ejects. Ubisoft adds replayable missions and challenges that allow for specific parameters, like killing only your main target or avoiding using Eagle Vision. Returning players will also find a new skill called Engineer 2, a new level 3 mod for all tools and two more difficulty levels.

The free content comes as a welcome surprise for Assassin’s Creed Mirage players, but the setting offers a clue as to why. Valley of Memory‘s AlUla location is closely related to modern-day Saudi Arabia, which lines up with a previous report that claimed that the DLC was made possible thanks to a partnership between Ubisoft and an esports group that has backing from the Saudi government. In September, Ubisoft employees brought up serious concerns about working with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, who also recently made a massive $55 billion acquisition of EA, alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/assassins-creed-mirages-free-dlc-valley-of-memory-drops-on-november-18-163024978.html?src=rss

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Wrangling tasks, timelines, and teams can get overwhelming fast, especially if you’re bouncing between spreadsheets and browser tabs to keep everything straight. Microsoft Project 2021 Professional is built to make that juggling act easier, and right now, it’s on sale for just $9.97 on StackSocial. The sale ends October 12. It’s a significant drop from its regular $249.99 price, offering a lifetime license for one Windows PC, with no subscription required. Just note that this code is only valid for new users and must be redeemed within 30 days of purchase.

Microsoft Project is a professional-grade project management tool that doesn’t overcomplicate things. It has features like automated scheduling that adjusts timelines based on task dependencies, built-in templates to get your planning started faster, and tools for tracking time, resources, and budgets in one place. There’s also a what-if scenario builder that can help you course-correct before things go off the rails. And because it syncs with Project Online and Server (though those tools are sold separately), it’s flexible enough to fit into larger enterprise systems as well.

That said, it’s Windows-only (no Mac compatibility here), and you’ll need at least 4GB of RAM and a DirectX 10 graphics card to run it smoothly. Installation is straightforward, with the download and license code arriving instantly via email. This isn’t a subscription-based service, meaning no recurring fees, but you do need to redeem your license within 30 days. It’s also not built for collaborative real-time work like some modern cloud tools, but it’s still a powerful solution for users who prefer full control and local access. If you’ve been meaning to get more organized in your project management, for only 10 bucks, this is a low-cost way to step things up.

European labor regulations enacted nearly a century ago now impose costs on companies that discourage investment in disruptive technologies. An American firm shedding workers incurs costs equivalent to seven months of wages per employee. In Germany the figure reaches 31 months. In France it reaches 38 months. The expense extends beyond severance pay and union negotiations. Companies retain unproductive workers they would prefer to dismiss.

New investments face delays of years as dismissed employees are gradually replaced. Olivier Coste, a former EU official turned tech entrepreneur, and economist Yann Coatanlem tracked these opaque restructuring costs and found that European firms avoid risky ventures because of them. Large companies typically finance ten risky projects where eight fail and require mass redundancies. Apple developed a self-driving car for years before abandoning the effort and firing 600 employees in 2024. The two successful projects generate profits worth many times the invested sums. This calculus works in America where failure costs remain low. In Europe the same bet becomes financially unviable.

European blue-chip firms sell products that are improved versions of what they sold in the 20th century — turbines, shampoos, vaccines, jetliners. American star firms peddle AI chatbots, cloud computers, reusable rockets. Nvidia is worth more than the European Union’s 20 biggest listed firms combined. Microsoft, Google, and Meta each fired over 10,000 staff in recent years despite thriving businesses. Satya Nadella called firing people during success the “enigma of success.” Bosch and Volkswagen recently announced layoffs with timelines stretching to 2030.

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Amazon Big Deal Days is coming October 7-8, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it’s over.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

Simple, basic hand tools are a necessity. Whether you need to tackle basic home maintenance projects or just be prepared to deal with the occasional minor repair, everyone should have at least a basic set of tools in their home. Prime Day is a great time to take care of that, because you can put together a set of fundamental hand tools for less than $100:

The best Prime Day deal on a screwdriver set

Having the right size and style of screwdriver is an absolute necessity. From wall plates to cabinet door hinges to assembling furniture, this 10-piece magnetic set from Amartisan guarantees you’ll have the Phillips or flathead you need to get the job done—and at 41% off right now, it’s less than $10.

The best Prime Day deal on a wrench set

You’d be amazed how much you can get done with two adjustable wrenches, and you can get this durable, corrosion-resistant set from Workpro at 22% off. That’s $18 for two tools that will make everything from basic plumbing to simple mechanical jobs much easier.

Workpro 2-Piece Adjustable Wrench Set,

$17.99
at Amazon

$22.99
Save $5.00

$17.99
at Amazon

$22.99
Save $5.00

The best Prime Day deal on utility knives

If you have ever experienced the shame of using a kitchen knife to saw away at something while doing a DIY home repair (as I have), you will understand why having this set of three utility knives from Workpro is so crucial to your DIY sanity. They’re designed to be easy to swap blades, they fold up neatly, you will use them everywhere—and you can pick this up for more than 40% off.

The best Prime Day deal on a hammer

Hammers are the simplest (and perhaps most useful) tools in the universe, but a cheap hammer will let you down almost immediately (I once had a brand new head fly off of a hammer the first time I swung it. Do not recommend). This one from Irwin is basic but dependable, and it’s almost 20% off for Prime Day.

Irwin Rip-Claw Hammer

$16.99
at Amazon

$20.98
Save $3.99

$16.99
at Amazon

$20.98
Save $3.99

The best Prime Day deal on a socket set

Adjustable wrenches are necessary and often the best tool—but sometimes a simple socket set, like this one from Craftsman, is a much better tool for the job. Any time you need to budge a bolt that is either in an awkward location or frozen up enough to make a wrench a chore to use, this set will save you.

The best Prime Day deal on a basic set

Buying tools individually is always better—even at these price points—but if you just need a few basics that will get used once a year, this 15-piece basic set gives you everything you need at a reasonable quality, and it’s under $15 (more than 40% off).

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

• Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET through Oct. 12 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 12, and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.

• Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, and it has deals going up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

Last week, Amazon announced two new Echo Show devices during its fall hardware event. From the stage, Amazon execs repeatedly used the phrase “blend into the background.” Amazon hardware chief Panos Panay told a personal story, recounting how Alexa+ was able to “shift the balance” at his dinner table, supplying his family with facts to settle their mealtime debates, no phones required. He praised the fact that Alexa+ can help “without distracting you” or “taking you away from what’s most important.” Laudable sentiment, for sure. It’s jarring to be ripped away from a moment by uninvited tech.

So if the folks at Amazon really believe Alexa-enabled tech should fade into the background, they may agree that when I’m in my kitchen slicing an apple for my kid and I glance up at my Echo Show cycling through family photos, it’s really frickin distracting when the shot of the forested field just outside my old house is replaced by a full-screen advertisement for Dewalt drill bits. It sure as heckfire takes me out of the moment. My Echo Show does not “fade into the background;” it sticks ads in my face.

I don’t remember it always being this way. I can recall a time, maybe a year or so ago, when my Echo Show 15 happily cycled through my photos with no billboard pop-ups. An Amazon rep I spoke with assured me that advertising has always been a part of the Echo Show experience, though they were less clear as to whether or not there may have been a change to the way ads were served on the home screen and photo carousel.

That year-or-so-timeline jibes with what I’m seeing on Reddit and Amazon’s help pages. From one to two years ago, complaints started popping up. People were suddenly confronted with ads and hoping, in vain, that someone could explain how to turn them off. The posts ranged from confusion to disbelief, to irritation and infuriation — exactly the emotional range I experienced when a cereal ad popped up (coincidentally?) while I was making breakfast.

I, like those hopeful redditors, wondered whether there was a secret setting, some buried menu option that would offer escape from the march of commerce while I washed the dishes. So I double checked with the Amazon rep and had it unequivocally confirmed: There is no way to turn these ads off.

I get it. From the printing press to AI chatbots, ads have always been inseparable from technology. My very paycheck depends, in part, on that airline/insurance/PC banner over there on your screen. I accept that I must first close the Old Spice pop up to read an article on Deadline. I tolerate the pillow commercial on YouTube so I can watch Josh Johnson ruminate. I begrudgingly agree to these things; They’re part of the contract. But a billboard in my kitchen? Family vacation pics interspersed with Moen faucet promos? That’s not something I agreed to. I shouldn’t have to suffer through an ad so I can watch content if the content is my own damn pictures and the home page of a machine I paid hundreds of dollars to own. Built-in ads don’t even subsidize the cost of an Echo Show like they do with Kindles — buying one of Amazon’s ereaders with lockscreen ads at least knocks $20 off the price.

If, as we were told last week, Alexa+ and its vessels are supposed to fade into the background, if we’re meant to invite this AI into our homes, into our kitchens, to our dinner tables, as a distraction-free helper, then un-opt-outable ads on the Echo Show home screen are not aligned with that goal. I’ve unplugged my Echo Show 15. Soon I’ll delete my data from it and stick it on the sidewalk with a big free sign on it. If you’re in the neighborhood, you’re welcome to pick it up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/dont-buy-an-echo-show-you-can-have-mine-155730401.html?src=rss

Few modern F1 venues are as dazzling as the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore. If you watch the early practice or the young women of F1 Academy in their races, you’ll get an idea of the street circuit’s relationship to the city in daylight as it takes in landmarks and crosses the water. At night, the brilliant white ribbon of racetrack throws the rest of the surroundings into darkness. Unlike a Le Mans car, there are no headlights in F1.

Just over 1,600 lights are needed for the job, which got underway in mid-June. They’re LED now, a switch made in 2023 that cut energy consumption by a noticeable 30 percent. The light itself is even carefully tuned—a color of 5,700 K and a color rendering index of 90 best replicate daylight for the drivers. Oh, and there can’t be any flickering that could affect the TV broadcast. The results look spectacular, especially in 4K.

As for the racing this year? Perhaps not so much. Past Singaporean Grands Prix have tended to be action-packed—or even chaotic. In the inaugural 2008 race, Red Bull came away convinced that electromagnetic interference from an underground train line caused the failure of one of its race cars, as well as a sister car belonging to the team we now call Racing Bulls. Other teams remained worried about this phenomenon as late as 2015, although no similar failures had been recorded. For the record, Singapore’s Land Transit Authority says there was no train track below the relevant corner of the circuit—the nearest train tunnel is more than 600 feet away (200 m) and 32 feet (10 m) below ground level.

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Anker has been expanding their brand over the years from just making chargers. They now make some great portable projectors, and now, their smallest portable projector, the Nebula Capsule Air, is down to $249.99 (originally $399.99) for Prime Members after a $150 discount during the October Prime Day sale. This is the lowest price this portable projector has been, according to price-tracking tools.

Anker Nebula Capsule Air

$249.99
at Amazon

$399.99
Save $150.00

$249.99
at Amazon

$399.99
Save $150.00

Portable projectors must work independently of an outlet and be easy to cart around. The Nebula Capsule Air can do both, measuring just 5.5 x 2.7 x 2.7 inches (HWD)—that’s slightly bigger than a regular soda can. The battery isn’t great, but considering the size, two hours is fine (you’ll be able to watch most movies in one shot). Where this projector falls short is in the brightness, reaching a mere 150 ANSI lumens. That means you need to get your space dark if you want to see a good image. If you have ambient light outdoors and you’re hoping to use this projector, it might be washed out. The native resolution is also just 720p, although it supports 1080p input in HDR.

PCMag gave this projector an “excellent” rating on their review, pointing out how the HDR makes shadows look much better, giving it props for the Google TV OS (which is my favorite—it lets you seamlessly cast your phone to the projector), and praising the twist-on stand that allows you to position the image easily on your screen, wall, or ceiling.

Portable projectors need a good keystone; by their very nature, they will be moved a lot and the image will be constantly out of focus. The Nebula Capsule Air has an excellent keystone, with autofocus and automatic horizontal and vertical adjustments.