Amid backlash and fears, AI startups are quietly creeping into Hollywood

Keanu Reeves has fought machines on-screen. Now, his performances are teaching them. 

In September, Lionsgate inked a deal with Runway, permitting the AI firm to train a new generative AI model on its extensive film and TV library, including blockbuster franchises like John Wick, Saw, and The Hunger Games. Lionsgate’s vice-chair Michael Burns believes the partnership will save the studio “millions and millions of dollars” by aiding filmmakers in pre-produ

The U.K.’s Royal Mail plans to save Christmas deliveries with 2.5 million IoT Pixels

We’re gearing up for the holiday season, a time when parcel shipments go crazy. Last year, in the three months leading up to December 2023, the U.K.’s Royal Mail—the country’s equivalent of the USPS—handled 387 million parcels, up 36% from a year before. Every day, the service s

The 15 best tech-themed horror films of all time

This article is republished with permission from Blood in the Machine, a newsletter about AI, Silicon Valley, labor, and power. Subscribe here.

Halloween is upon us, which means it’s a good excuse to watch some films from one of cinema’s most under appreciated genres: science fiction horror.

As I argued years a

Voters are writing in memes as their presidential picks—and bragging about it on TikTok

Some rage-baiting TikTok and X users are choosing not to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Instead, they’re writing in their favorite meme. 

At the bottom of the presidential ballot, some states let voters to write in their preferred candidate. Some people have used that allowance to write-in, say, their favorite Twitch streamer, or even references to memes—and post abo

Why Sony killed the PS5 game ‘Concord’—and the entire studio that made it

Sony Interactive Studios is swinging the axe with a ferocity even God of War’s Kratos would have trouble matching. The video game company announced plans Tuesday to shut down two internal studios and to “permanently sunset” Concord, the online multiplayer shooter it took offline after less than two weeks in September.

It’s a brutal end to a game (and ga

Trump’s ‘Access Hollywood’ tape is making the rounds on TikTok

“Grab them by the p***y.” Thought that phrase was buried in the past? Think again. With the election on the horizon, the notorious conversation between former President Donald Trump and Billy Bush, then of Access Hollywood, has since resurfaced on TikTok and is horrifying a whole new generation of voters. 

Earlier this month, the TikTok account of the Republican Voter

This VC firm developed a fitness program for startup founders

Running a startup can be all-consuming, and founders and CEOs often prioritize work over healthy eating, exercise, and even sleep.

Over time, that takes a toll. Byron Deeter, now a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, recalls visiting the dentist after the successful sale of a company he had founded, where he learned that a steady diet of energy bars hadn’t been the best for his dental health. Despite never having issues with tooth decay in

‘Like, seriously, go vote’: Influencers are getting paid to court your vote

“I hypothetically was just offered a lot of money to endorse a political party. Like, millions,” internet personality Tana Mongeau told her podcast co-host last month. “Then I was being allegedly told an alleged list of other influencers that have already hypothetically accepted money to do those hypothetical things that were hypothetically offered to me to hypothetically do.”

High-priced Trump merch is flooding Facebook Marketplace

Donald Trump shut down a Pennsylvania McDonald’s to shovel some fries. Now, those “authenticated” fries are listed on Facebook Marketplace for $10,000. 

Alongside the fries are dozens of high-priced, questionably sourced items linked to the Republican nominee. A cursory scroll of Facebook Marketplace reveals $1,000 Trump magazine covers, $5,000 Trump signatu

How this fitness app reveals Biden’s, Trump’s and Putin’s whereabouts

An investigation by French newspaper Le Monde found that the highly confidential movements of U.S. President Joe Biden, presidential rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and other world leaders can be easily tracked online through a


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