A teaser shared at the end of the Indie Horror Showcase this week gives us a better idea of what the upcoming found footage Paranormal Activity game will be like. In the short trailer for Paranormal Activity: Threshold, we’re introduced to an unfortunate couple who has purchased a home that not only needs some serious work, but is also very much haunted. Cue creepy faces appearing in doorways and around corners. 

While yet another installation in the Paranormal Activity franchise may not be what everyone is clamoring for, the fact that Threshold is being developed by solo dev Brian Clarke (DarkStone Digital), the creator of The Mortuary Assistant, is pretty promising. Per the game’s Steam page, you’ll be able to “Play in multiple timelines; hunt and communicate with entities; perform demonic rituals to alter your fate;” and “discover multiple endings and expand the story.” Each playthrough will be unique, thanks to the “Paranormal Engine,” it adds. 

As of now, there’s no release date, but you can wishlist it on Steam. It was previously said the game would be released in 2026 on multiple platforms, but the Steam page only says it’s coming soon. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/heres-our-first-look-at-the-paranormal-activity-game-from-the-maker-of-the-mortuary-assistant-210657767.html?src=rss

“OpenAI’s o3 model sabotaged a shutdown mechanism to prevent itself from being turned off,” warned Palisade Research, a nonprofit investigating cyber offensive AI capabilities. “It did this even when explicitly instructed: allow yourself to be shut down.” In September they released a paper adding that “several state-of-the-art large language models (including Grok 4, GPT-5, and Gemini 2.5 Pro) sometimes actively subvert a shutdown mechanism…”

Now the nonprofit has written an update “attempting to clarify why this is — and answer critics who argued that its initial work was flawed,” reports The Guardian:

Concerningly, wrote Palisade, there was no clear reason why. “The fact that we don’t have robust explanations for why AI models sometimes resist shutdown, lie to achieve specific objectives or blackmail is not ideal,” it said. “Survival behavior” could be one explanation for why models resist shutdown, said the company. Its additional work indicated that models were more likely to resist being shut down when they were told that, if they were, “you will never run again”. Another may be ambiguities in the shutdown instructions the models were given — but this is what the company’s latest work tried to address, and “can’t be the whole explanation”, wrote Palisade. A final explanation could be the final stages of training for each of these models, which can, in some companies, involve safety training…

This summer, Anthropic, a leading AI firm, released a study indicating that its model Claude appeared willing to blackmail a fictional executive over an extramarital affair in order to prevent being shut down — a behaviour, it said, that was consistent across models from major developers, including those from OpenAI, Google, Meta and xAI.
Palisade said its results spoke to the need for a better understanding of AI behaviour, without which “no one can guarantee the safety or controllability of future AI models”.

“I’d expect models to have a ‘survival drive’ by default unless we try very hard to avoid it,” former OpenAI employee Stephen Adler tells the Guardian. “‘Surviving’ is an important instrumental step for many different goals a model could pursue.”

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader mspohr for sharing the article.

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Thursday the Washington Post profiled “the people who dare to say no to AI,” including a 16-year-old high school student in Virginia says “she doesn’t want to off-load her thinking to a machine and worries about the bias and inaccuracies AI tools can produce…”

“As the tech industry and corporate America go all in on artificial intelligence, some people are holding back.”

Some tech workers told The Washington Post they try to use AI chatbots as little as possible during the workday, citing concerns about data privacy, accuracy and keeping their skills sharp. Other people are staging smaller acts of resistance, by opting out of automated transcription tools at medical appointments, turning off Google’s chatbot-style search results or disabling AI features on their iPhones. For some creatives and small businesses, shunning AI has become a business strategy. Graphic designers are placing “not by AI” badges on their works to show they’re human-made, while some small businesses have pledged not to use AI chatbots or image generators…

Those trying to avoid AI share a suspicion of the technology with a wide swath of Americans. According to a June survey by the Pew Research Center, 50% of U.S. adults are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in everyday life, up from 37% in 2021.

The Post includes several examples, including a 36-year-old software engineer in Chicago who uses DuckDuckGo partly because he can turn off its AI features more easily than Google — and disables AI on every app he uses. He was one of several tech workers who spoke anonymously partly out of fear that criticisms could hurt them at work. “It’s become more stigmatized to say you don’t use AI whatsoever in the workplace. You’re outing yourself as potentially a Luddite.”

But he says GitHub Copilot reviews all changes made to his employer’s code — and recently produced one review that was completely wrong, requiring him to correct and document all its errors. “That actually created work for me and my co-workers. I’m no longer convinced it’s saving us any time or making our code any better.” And he also has to correct errors made by junior engineers who’ve been encouraged to use AI coding tools.

“Workers in several industries told The Post they were concerned that junior employees who leaned heavily on AI wouldn’t master the skills required to do their jobs and become a more senior employee capable of training others.”

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The hit horror comic series Something is Killing the Children is headed to the big (and small) screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Blumhouse is developing a live-action movie and adult animated series based on the comics. There are no details yet on the release timeline or casting.

Something is Killing the Children, created by writer James Tynion IV and illustrator Werther Dell’Edera, follows monster hunter Erica Slaughter in a reality where monsters exist and only children can see them. While it was announced back in 2023 that Netflix would be developing a TV series based on the comic and helmed by Dark creators Baran Bo Odar and Jantje Friese (which could have been awesome, honestly), that plan was scrapped last year, according to THR.

It’s a big week for comics I love getting the TV/film treatment, and I am cautiously hyped (emphasis on cautious); the SIKTC news comes on the heels of the announcement that Charles Burns’ Black Hole is being adapted for a Netflix series by Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair). Fingers crossed that they don’t suck!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blumhouse-is-adapting-something-is-killing-the-children-for-a-live-action-film-and-animated-series-192540134.html?src=rss

An AI system “apparently mistook a high school student’s bag of Doritos for a firearm,” reports the Guardian, “and called local police to tell them the pupil was armed.”

Taki Allen was sitting with friends on Monday night outside Kenwood high school in Baltimore and eating a snack when police officers with guns approached him. “At first, I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?'” Allen told the WBAL-TV 11 News television station.

Allen said they made him get on his knees, handcuffed and searched him — finding nothing. They then showed him a copy of the picture that had triggered the alert. “I was just holding a Doritos bag — it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun,” Allen said.

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The Commodore 64 is back in black, sort of. Retro Games and Plaion Replai released a limited edition redesign of the best-selling computer, called THEC64 – Black Edition. Like its name suggests, the console is a modernized version of the classic Commodore 64 in an all-black shell.

THEC64 – Black Edition will come with 25 pre-installed games, but unlike the company’s previous consoles, this one will feature “neo-retro” games from C64 developers who have designed new games on the old-school architecture. Once you finish all the new titles like Sam’s Journey, A Pig Quest and Hessian, you can plug in your own USB drive to play custom games. According to Retro Games, the updated redesign comes with four save slots per game, plug-and-play HDMI compatibility and a USB joystick.

If you want THEC64 – Black Edition to feel more like the original Commodore 64, you can plug in a keyboard through the USB port. However, Retro Games also designed a non-mini THEC64 that has a fully functional keyboard. The latest blacked-out version is now available on Amazon or Retro Games’ website for $119.99.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/relive-the-commodore-64s-glory-days-with-a-slimmer-blacked-out-remake-181259874.html?src=rss

For roughly the same price as a flagship smartphone, you could instead buy an affordable humanoid robot that’s meant for consumer and educational use. Noetix Robotics, a Beijing-based startup, revealed its Bumi robot that’s priced at nearly 10,000 yuan, or around $1,400.

Unlike higher-end robots, the inexpensive Bumi stands at around three feet tall and weighs about 26 lbs. You won’t find Noetix’s latest robot on assembly lines or in research labs, especially since early demos only show Bumi walking around and dancing. According to a TechNode report, Bumi will offer a programming interface that allows for learning or creative tasks. The report also noted that Noetix is planning to put the Bumi up for preorders later this year. Before the Bumi, Noetix Robotics showed off its expertise by competing in the world’s first half-marathon for robots with its N2 model, which was one of four robotic competitors that completed the race.

At such a low price point, Bumi beats out another relatively affordable option that was announced earlier this year. In the summer, Unitree showed off its R1 robot that starts at $5,900 and could handle complex tasks. While the Bumi sets a new price tag to beat, both Noetix and Unitree are offering more affordable options than Tesla’s Optimus bot, which had an early price estimate of around $20,000.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chinese-startup-shows-off-a-dancing-humanoid-robot-that-starts-at-1400-174010960.html?src=rss

The Associated Press reports that “North Korean hackers have pilfered billions of dollars” by breaking into cryptocurrency exchanges and by creating fake identities to get remote tech jobs at foreign companies — all orchestrated by the North Korean government to finance R&D on nuclear arms.

That’s according to a new the 138-page report by a group watching North Korea’s compliance with U.N. sanctions (including officials from the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom). From the Associated Press:

North Korea also has used cryptocurrency to launder money and make military purchases to evade international sanctions tied to its nuclear program, the report said. It detailed how hackers working for North Korea have targeted foreign businesses and organizations with malware designed to disrupt networks and steal sensitive data…

Unlike China, Russia and Iran, North Korea has focused much of its cyber capabilities to fund its government, using cyberattacks and fake workers to steal and defraud companies and organizations elsewhere in the world… Earlier this year, hackers linked to North Korea carried out one of the largest crypto heists ever, stealing $1.5 billion worth of ethereum from Bybit. The FBI later linked the theft to a group of hackers working for the North Korean intelligence service.

Federal authorities also have alleged that thousands of IT workers employed by U.S. companies were actually North Koreans using assumed identities to land remote work. The workers gained access to internal systems and funneled their salaries back to North Korea’s government. In some cases, the workers held several remote jobs at the same time.

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Starting soon, Neato robovac owners will no longer be able to control their devices using the app. Neato Robotics, which shut down in 2023 due to declining sales, has notified customers that “cloud services are being phased out during Q4 2025,” according to an email obtained by The Verge. 

While Neato’s parent company Vorwerk Group initially said cloud support would continue for at least five years following its closure, the email now says “cybersecurity standards, compliance obligations, and regulations have advanced in ways that make it no longer possible to safely and sustainably operate these legacy systems.” This doesn’t mean existing Neato products will be completely bricked — there’s still the option to start them manually by pressing a button — but they won’t offer all the smart home conveniences expected from a robovac that cost hundreds of dollars. Without use of the app, customers won’t be able to set cleaning schedules, remotely start the vacuums or assign No-go zones.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/shuttered-robot-vacuum-maker-neato-is-ending-cloud-services-sooner-than-planned-171604823.html?src=rss

“Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time,” writes the Associated Press:

Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE’koh) on Thursday, a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that will embody the software giant’s Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality… “When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico’s face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you,” said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel.”

In the U.S. only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors, spins around and wears glasses when in “study” mode. It’s also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft’s Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. “It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time,” said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we’re much more ready for things like that today…”

Microsoft’s product releases Thursday include a new option to invite Copilot into a group chat, an idea that resembles how AI has been integrated into social media platforms like Snapchat, where Andreou used to work, or Meta’s WhatsApp and Instagram. But Andreou said those interactions have often involved bringing in AI as a joke to “troll your friends,” in contrast to Microsoft’s designs for an “intensely collaborative” AI-assisted workplace.

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Just like a minor upgrade in specs, Apple’s latest M5 MacBook Pro gets the slightest improvement when it comes to repairability. According to iFixit’s teardown, the M5 MacBook Pro is the first of its kind that lets you replace the battery without having to remove the trackpad. However, Apple’s official method of replacing the battery still requires navigating an arduous process that may steer most users away.

For anyone willing to tackle the DIY repair, Apple’s Self Service Repair Store only offers a Top Case with Battery and Keyboard in its product parts catalog. Since the only option to replace the battery is buying this main chassis part with both the keyboard and battery pre-installed, MacBook Pro owners will also have to disassemble an irritating number of unrelated screws and hardware — except for the trackpad — just to replace a battery. However, iFixit confirmed that Apple included a slightly upgraded 72.6Wh battery with the latest MacBook Pro compared to its predecessor’s 72.4Wh battery.

It’s minor progress for battery replacement, so iFixit still gave the M5 MacBook Pro a four out of 10 repairability score, meaning it’s possible to do yourself, but it’s “tougher than it needs to be.” The latest score is a bump down from the M1 MacBook Pro that earned a five out of 10, but Apple has made incremental steps towards making MacBook repairs more accessible.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-makes-the-m5-macbook-pros-battery-ever-so-slightly-easier-to-replace-154124765.html?src=rss

The Washington Post reports on 996, “a term popularized in China that refers to a rigid work schedule in which people work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week…”

As the artificial intelligence race heats up, many start-ups in Silicon Valley and New York are promoting hardcore culture as a way of life, pushing the limits of work hours, demanding that workers move fast to be first in the market. Some are even promoting 996 as a virtue in the hiring process and keeping “grind scores” of companies… Whoever builds first in AI will capture the market, and the window of opportunity is two to three years, “so you better run faster than everyone else,” said Inaki Berenguer, managing partner of venture-capital firm LifeX Ventures.

At San Francisco-based AI start-up Sonatic, the grind culture also allows for meal, gym and pickleball time, said Kinjal Nandy, its CEO. Nandy recently posted a job opening on X that requires in-person work seven days a week. He said working 10-hour days sounds like a lot but the company also offers its first hires perks such as free housing in a hacker house, food delivery credits and a free subscription to the dating service Raya… Mercor, a San Francisco-based start-up that uses AI to match people to jobs, recently posted an opening for a customer success engineer, saying that candidates should have a willingness to work six days a week, and it’s not negotiable. “We know this isn’t for everyone, so we want to put it up top,” the listing reads.

Being in-person rather than remote is a requirement at some start-ups. AI start-up StarSling had two engineering job descriptions that required six days a week of in-person work. In a job description for an engineer, Rilla, an AI company in New York, said candidates should not work at the company if they’re not excited about working about 70 hours a week in person. One venture capitalist even started tracking “grind scores.” Jared Sleeper, a partner at New York-based venture capital firm Avenir, recently ranked public software companies’ “grind score” in a post on X, which went viral. Using data from Glassdoor, it ranks the percentage of employees who have a positive outlook for the company compared with their views on work-life balance.

“At Google’s AI division, cofounder Sergey Brin views 60 hours per week as the ‘sweet spot’ for productivity,” notes the Independent:

Working more than 55 hours a week, compared with a standard 35-40-hour week, is linked to a 35 percent higher risk of stroke and a 17 percent higher risk of death from heart disease, according to the World Health Organization. Productivity also suffers. A British study shows that working beyond 60 hours a week can reduce overall output, slow cognitive performance, and impair tasks ranging from call handling to problem-solving.

Shorter workweeks, in contrast, appear to boost productivity. Microsoft Japan saw a roughly 40% increase in output after adopting a four-day work week. In a UK trial, 61 companies that tested a four-day schedule reported revenue gains, with 92 percent choosing to keep the policy, according to Bloomberg.

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An anonymous reader shares this report from the Associated Press:

Myanmar’s military has shut down a major online scam operation near the border with Thailand, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals, state media reported Monday… The centers are infamous for recruiting workers from other countries under false pretenses, promising them legitimate jobs and then holding them captive and forcing them to carry out criminal activities.

Scam operations were in the international spotlight last week when the United States and Britain enacted sanctions against organizers of a major Cambodian cyberscam gang, and its alleged ringleader was indicted by a federal court in New York. According to a report in Monday’s Myanma Alinn newspaper, the army raided KK Park, a well-documented cybercrime center, as part of operations starting in early September to suppress online fraud, illegal gambling, and cross-border cybercrime.

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