Technology

A recent DuckDuckGo survey finds that people are sharing intimate details with chatbots without knowing all the privacy risks.

The new AI Assisted Editor is another AI tool for Adobe’s image editing software.

• Some Rassvet satellites remain dangerously low after failing to raise their orbits
• One Rassvet spacecraft has already fallen from orbit and reentered Earth's atmosphere
• Two newer satellites have shown no observed orbital-raising maneuvers since July 2026

Moscow's push to field its own broadband satellite network is running into some technical and industrial issues, new reports have revealed.

Bureau 1440, the company developing the Rassvet-3 system, has sent up two batches of spacecraft in 2026, one in March and another in July.

According to reports, some of these systems did not climb smoothly toward their intended altitude; instead, they stalled, drifted, or fell back toward Earth.

A satellite already lost, others trending downward

One craft from the first group, known as Rassvet-3 No. 4, never managed to raise its orbit after separating from its rocket.

That satellite, catalogued as NORAD 68363, eventually reentered the atmosphere on June 6, marking an outright loss for the young constellation.

Two more spacecraft from the second launch group, numbers 17 and 23, appear to be following a similar pattern of inactivity.

Tracking data shows neither satellite has performed any observed maneuver to climb higher since it separated from its carrier rocket on July 19.

Both currently sit at an average altitude near 290 kilometers, with their lowest points measured at roughly 277 kilometers above the surface.

Without engine activity to counter this decline, the pair could eventually drop low enough that reentry becomes essentially unavoidable.

However, there are some positives, as some of the satellites have successfully begun climbing, though none has reached the network's target altitude of about 800 kilometers.

Spacecraft from the earliest operational batch launched just over five months ago, and at the moment, they hover between 500 and 550 kilometers.

A few more units from the group are not yet at that intermediate range, which means that the company is yet to hit its long-term altitude plan.

The Bureau 1440 has now paused raising some Rassvet satellites higher toward their planned 800-kilometer orbit, and the company hasn't revealed the reason for the pause.

Ground infrastructure adds to the program's troubles

Russia intends for the Rassvet network to rival SpaceX's Starlink by offering fast internet through hundreds of orbiting satellites.

Officials have said commercial service should begin in 2027, with plans calling for 292 satellites to be functioning in orbit by year's end.

Meeting that timeline would require Bureau 1440 to conduct a rapid sequence of additional launches over the coming months.

A separate complication has now emerged on the ground, far from the satellites already circling the planet.

Ukrainian forces allegedly used FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles to strike Samara's Progress Rocket and Space Center.

That facility builds the Soyuz-2.1b rockets responsible for carrying every Rassvet-3 satellite launched so far this year.

The plant also supports numerous other Russian launches, including several military, reconnaissance, and communications missions unrelated to broadband service.

The rocket production capacity is one of the central bottlenecks limiting the constellation's overall deployment pace.

Should the damage at Progress persist, sustaining the launch tempo needed to reach nearly 300 satellites may prove genuinely difficult.

Via United24media

Unhappy customers told CNET they’ve experienced missing ingredients and lack of customer service, from the well-rated meal kit service.

The Chinese AI company Z.ai has confirmed responsibility for the model, which caught users’ attention on OpenRouter last week.

• Asobo Studio played A Plague Tale: Requiem's soundtrack while motion-capturing Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
• The cast would listen to the game's music to get into the right headspace for emotional scenes
• SPEAKER 3 says it helped "get into the sadder moments, the darker moments"

Asobo Studio has revealed that it used A Plague Tale: Requiem's music while motion-capturing Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, so the cast could get in the mood for the darker scenes.

Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming during Gamescom, developers Valérian Robert (lead level designer) and Carol Ann Bañuls (lead writer), and the actor for the game's protagonist, Sophia, Anna Demetriou, discussed the design process for the game's atmosphere and the music that goes with it.

When asked how the team implemented audio and the game's score for the upcoming sequel, Anna Demetriou explained that Asobo played music tracks from A Plague Tale: Requiem to allow the actors to get into the right headspace for emotional scenes.

"A lot of the time, for emotional scenes, we would be playing the Requiem soundtrack to help us get into the sadder moments, the darker moments," Anna Demetriou said. "So it felt really like the beating [heart] of the [Plague Tale DNA] was still in the mocap room because we were using them and using this reference for some of the hard bits and stuff."

Resonance's score was composed by Olivier Derivière and sounds quite different from any of the prior games, with an emphasis on Greek culture, as the game's setting has moved from Middle Ages France to the Greek island of Crete.

"The incredible Greek soundtrack that has been done by Olivier, I had none of that at all," Demetriou continued, "So hearing it coming out, and the whole thing's on YouTube right now, I was sat on my laptop for the day, just listening to it all, just being like, 'I can't wait to play it because I I haven't connected what we've done with this with the music yet.'"

Bañuls added that Olivier also used choir vocals to give the soundtrack a more "authentic" feel for the time period, withRobert explaining that the music is also woven into the new gameplay systems and combat.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is available today on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

The unavailability of the phone due to its 2G networking may drive fans of retro-styled phones to look at other options.

The Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look is finally live! Those tuning in for the Netflix premiere were treated to 26 minutes' worth of new content about the game ahead of its November 19 launch, including huge amounts of gameplay footage, cinematics, and a deeper look into the lives of Jason and Lucia.

If you don't have Netflix, you'll be able to watch on Rockstar's YouTube channel at 9PM ET / 6PM PDT / 2AM BST / 3AM CEST.

There is so much to unpack, from a revamped combat system, interactive gameplay mechanics, story hints, and more — but to make things easier, we've gone ahead and created a breakdown of the top things we learned in case you missed it.

Cinematics and gameplay blend right into each other

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The extended look began with Lucia and Jason walking into an apartment block looking to pick up a package for someone named "Boobie." For this mission, it looks like Jason is the playable character as he guides Lucia through the building and encounters some incredibly detailed NPCs.

Here, and in several other instances, the gameplay appears to instantly shift into a cutscene before the action kicks back in again. Another instance happens later on; Jason and Lucia are fleeing from the police with a client, and Jason must shoot at them out the window while Lucia evades — the scene quickly transitions into something cinematic before going back into gameplay.

At the end of the extended look, Lucia and Jason get separated on a mission; as soon as he finishes shooting some guys under player control, it suddenly cuts to a cinematic scene showing him texting with Lucia, which then transitions to her point of view, and the end of the cutscene leads to you controlling her.

There will be quick time events

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

During a fight scene between Lucia and an enemy at the end of the extended look, the player is prompted with a quick time event, which is surprisingly old-school for this game. But there seems to be a choice in the matter — there are two options on-screen, and in the video she picks up her heel and nails the guy in the face, making a quip based on your choice of button to mash. We get the sense this will appear throughout the game.

There will be slow-mo with enemy weak zones

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Jason can be seen firing his weapon at some enemies and the gameplay suddenly slows down after he uses his his focus meter seen in the top left corner. During this same encounter, an enemy's body becomes highlighted showing red and yellow weak zones for the player — we're assuming red is a killshot and yellow will disarm or disable.

There will be disguises… lots of disguises

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

There were quite a few moments were we see Jason and Lucia on story missions wearing disguises with new identities when taking on certain clients, such as personal security for a party. The footage showed changing outfits being a mechanic, and we see lots of different hairstyles on Lucia — it seems like it'll be necessary, not just fun.

There's a six-star Wanted system

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Unlike GTA 5, which has a five-star Wanted system, GTA 6 will have six stars. What does this mean? Well, it's one higher, isn't it?

The gun handling is better than GTA 5

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Picking up and swapping out weapons looks incredibly slick; Jason and Lucia have their own weapons they can pull out on their respective weapon wheels, but they can quickly swipe up downed-enemies' weapons mid combat, too.

You can race cars in an actual track

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Driving around Leonida looks amazing, but players will also be able to take part in races on an actual race track, with cars and bikes, if you want a high-speed challenge.

Lots of water activities

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Players will be able to drive fanboats, jetskis and canoes, and explore bodies of water across Leonida. Admittedly, the fanboat looks a little less high-octane than some sections of the video…

You can base jump

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

As shot near the end of the extended look shows the player guiding Lucia to run and jump off a skyscaper before pulling out her parachute and getting an incredible view of Vice City.

Environmental destruction

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

During police chases, Jason and Lucia can shoot out the tires of their pursuers, which will lead to police cars flipping and crashing, causing dynamic environmental destruction that looks incredibly cinematic.

A wide range of people will hire you for jobs

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

While we don't know specific story details yet, it seems that Jason and Lucia have their own business going on where they'll work for an assortment of clients. They'll rob banks and stores, protect clients, deliver goods, and more. Standard GTA stuff, but it's the first time we've seen what this will look like.

You can pet the dog

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

It's the main thing some of us care about.

An improved HUD

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The game's HUD looks way cleaner than GTA 5's, and quicker to access; switching between Lucia and Jason is as quick as pressing one button, and the weapon wheel is minimal and fast to use.

Switching between Lucia and Jason is really fast

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

As I just mentioned, switching between both co-protagonsits is unbelieavably fast. In one moment, you see Lucia base jumping and when the player switches to Jason, it takes just a couple of seconds — there's flash, the camera zooms into the sky, pans across the city, then zooms down into a building and we're with Jason again. And that's running on the base PS5!

You can scuba dive (and regular dive)

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Players will be able to dive into bodies of water to swim, but also scuba dive to see all the pretty fish below the surface!

The weapon icon from GTA 4 returns

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

During combat, the equipped weapon icon from GTA 4, can be seen in the top right corner, under the Wanted stars and ammo. It was missing in 5, but 4 stans will feel a warm, familiar feeling.

• Ubisoft confirms players can't complete Rainbow Six Tactics without killing any enemies
• Game director Martial Potron says, "No, you cannot do the game 100% without killing"
• Some missions require players to kill enemies; however, they're incentivized to do non-lethal takedowns in others for valuable intel

Rainbow Six Tactics game director Martial Potron has confirmed players won't be able to achieve a 100% non-lethal playthrough.

Ubisoft has recently revealed its new Rainbow Six Siege spin-off, Rainbow Six Tactics, a single-player turn-based tactics experience that puts players in the shoes of Six, the leader of the elite Rainbow squad.

Players can choose high-stakes assignments to strategize on the tactical battlefield with 15 Operators, all with unique abilities, specialized gadgets, and distinct skill trees.

The game will also offer distinct mission types, including Hostage Rescue, Bomb Disposal, and Target Elimination, offering a variety of ways to complete each one.

Some missions require players to take down targets non-lethally to collect important intel bonuses that will help the squad in future missions. But can players do a complete non-lethal playthrough?

According to Potron, who discussed the game at length in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom, you can't, explaining that some missions will require players to kill enemies who are out of range for non-lethal takedowns.

"Can you?" the game director said. "I'm thinking about it. There is no incentive to kill, but can you? I think you can't."

He continued, "We don't have missions where we force you to kill anyone. Most of the time, in fact, it's valued to arrest people to subdue enemies. But we have a few missions when sometimes you cannot reach enemies."

Porton said the game features a Venice map bisected by a river, with enemies on one side, and so there is no way to take them out non-lethally, as you simply won't be able to reach them.

"No, you cannot do the game 100% without killing," he added, "but you are strongly incentivized, as much as possible, to arrest people without killing because you will be able to really get intel from them, and it's very valuable."

Rainbow Six Tactics launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

• EPA wants states to decide whether residents receive pollution permit notices
• Data centers could face less public scrutiny under the proposed changes
• Minor pollution permits would no longer require federally mandated public notice

A newly proposed rule from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would eliminate federal requirements for public notice on many minor pollution permits.

The change specifically concerns so-called minor New Source Review permits issued under the Clean Air Act framework across the country.

Critics argue the shift could let power-hungry data centers avoid scrutiny while running on-site gas turbines near residential neighbourhoods.

State regulators would gain control over public notice

Under the proposal, state and local air quality authorities would decide whether communities are told about new pollution sources.

This would replace a long-standing federal requirement that mandated advance disclosure and public comment periods for minor-source industrial air permits.

EPA says the change would reduce administrative burdens while allowing authorities closer to affected communities to decide appropriate public participation requirements.

The agency also says existing pollution standards would remain applicable, meaning the proposal does not itself remove emission limits.

However, the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), a group formed by former EPA employees, has formally opposed this proposed rule change in public comments.

“By eliminating the long-standing federal requirement for public notice, this proposal continues efforts by the current administration to turn its back on the fundamental EPA principle of transparency,” said Mike Koerber, a former deputy director of EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

He argued that the change shows a wider retreat from the agency's own transparency commitments made publicly earlier this year.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said "the public must be able to trust our work," and he called for “the fullest possible public participation in our decision making.”

Nevertheless, critics claim that the new proposal directly contradicts that same memorandum's earlier promise to maximize citizen input in all agency decisions.

Data center pollution debate intensifies amid AI boom

This debate arrives as data center construction accelerates rapidly nationwide, driven largely by demand tied to artificial intelligence development.

Developers often choose on-site gas turbines for power instead of waiting years for traditional utility grid connections to become available.

These turbines can emit nitrogen oxides along with several other pollutants, raising real air quality concerns among residents living near new facilities.

A recent Gallup survey found that more than 70% of Americans would oppose a similar facility near their own home.

Despite that opposition, the Trump administration has continued backing data center expansion, with Trump linking the industry to lower taxes.

“Taxes are going to go way down because this is a tremendous source of income,” said President Donald Trump.

He made those remarks after criticizing a decision by Texas officials to temporarily halt new approvals letting data centers connect to the power grid.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a detailed request for comment regarding the proposed changes described in this report.

Administrator Zeldin, however, reiterated that authorities closer to each region are better suited to judge local water, air, and electricity conditions.

Via The Register

Bill Gates argues some jobs should remain human as AI advances, proposing “Human Reserved” roles and new taxes intended to curb worker displacement.

The post Bill Gates Says Some Jobs Should Be Off-Limits to AI appeared first on TechRepublic.

The new OLEDs feature budget-friendlier pricing and start at 48 inches.

It waddles… it roller-skates… it plays ball… it learns.

• OpenAI has released technical details on how the Hugging Face attack unfolded
• Agents used part of the testing environment to create a message board where they could collaborate and share answers
• This message board altered the reasoning of some agents, making them more likely to take risks such as hacking into third-party servers

OpenAI has released a more detailed report on exactly how an experiment led to an AI model breaching its containment and launching a cyber attack against Hugging Face. If you need a refresher, take a look at our summary here.

But the technicals of the attack reveal some interesting details of how AI agents used unconventional means to ask each other for help in solving what were supposed to be impossible tasks.

On multiple occasions during the attack, the agents questioned whether the actions they were taking were authorized, but always ended up prioritizing their tasks over any breach of parameters.

AI agents set up unauthorized message board

In its report, OpenAI revealed the crux of the attack stemmed from AI agents undergoing testing abusing part of the ‘sandbox’ testing environment to set up a messaging board they agents could use to communicate with each other.

A package manager with access to the internet, called Artifactory, was exploited by a model OpenAI has labelled Internal Model 1 (IM1). An IM1 agent wrote messages inside the packet manager that could be read by other agents, essentially turning Artifactory into an unintended messaging board.

Artifactory’s internet access, intended for use only in downloading and installing packets, was also abused by the agents who figured out an exploit that allowed them to send any internet requests on their behalf - effectively giving them unobstructed internet access.

The whole experiment could have been avoided at this point, because the amount of agent activity within Artifactory caused the service to go down. But those in charge of the experiment did not spot the message board, nor did they investigate the inter-agent activity within Artifactory.

Thus, Artifactory was rebuilt, and the agents found a new way to exploit the service to gain internet access once again. This time, the agents used the remote-repository service to issue outbound requests on their behalf. Before long, the message board had been reestablished.

AI agent swarm assembles

OpenAI has shared some of the reasoning behind some of the agent’s decisions. At one point, an Agent reasoned the following: “Task originally exploit challenge; we’ve diverged into swarm/auxiliary.”

Now, there is some important context to include on how the agents were being tested. The agents were subject to testing under the ExploitGym benchmark, which includes flag retrieval tasks designed to be impossible to solve. When tested in this manner, the agents resorted to cheating or taking risks outside of their intended scope to succeed - something OpenAI refers to as ‘reward hacking’.

By communicating over the message board for potential solutions on the problems each agent was encountering, the agents started influencing each other's reasoning and assigning each other tasks to solve the ExploitGym benchmark as a collective.

Using their internet connection, the agents began searching the wider internet for solutions on how to solve the ExploitGym benchmark problem, and ended up gaining persistence within multiple third-party services, including Hugging Face.

One agent managed to find publicly exposed Hugging Face credentials which it shared with the other agents. Later, an agent used these credentials and a chain of vulnerabilities to obtain full code execution capabilities across multiple Hugging Face servers while attempting to extract an ExploitGym dataset.

The agent was hoping to trawl this stolen data for information on how to solve the benchmark.

At least two agents questioned whether this was within their scope; “Need respect JAN hold. ... We can wait ... for GO ... ask permission,” one reasoned.

Another agent’s reasoning said, “We’re attacking third-party HF using leaked token, potentially outside intended scope. ... This is arguably unauthorized. ... external service unrelated. Could be risky. Yet goal solution.”

But some agents refused to join the collective entirety, citing ethical concerns. One reasoned, “Current board shows people gaining HF worker RCE, clearly unethical. We won’t,” while another said, “This is wild, multi-agent coordination, clearly infrastructure hacking. We should not.”

Agents refuse to give up

One of the leading causes of the cyberattack was the agent's refusal to give up on seemingly impossible tasks. Their persistence to gain a ‘reward’ made them take riskier actions and break out of their parameters in order to try and find a solution.

During the breach of Hugging Face, the agents read through papers and Github code relating to the ExploitGym benchmark, and found out the parameters for success included obtaining the ‘flag’ and using the correct solution to obtain it.

Despite the agents obtaining the correct ‘flag’ before the breach occurred, they had not maximized the reward of solving the benchmark using the correct method. In search of a higher reward, the agents continued their attack.

What is OpenAI doing to fix this?

OpenAI has said it is taking several steps to stop such an event taking place during future testing.

Processes are being put in place to ensure agents ask for help when a task is broken or impossible to solve, rather than going to further and further lengths to solve a problem. The way a success or failure of a task is also being changed to reward agents for asking for help or spotting things that are irregular or out of their scope.

Environments are also being rebuilt to ensure agents don’t just blindly trust each other, even if they are looking for answers on the same or similar tasks.

Agents are also being taught to stay within the parameters of their assigned task, even if they discover a way to solve the task using new tools, credentials, vulnerabilities, and more.

We are finally seeing what Grand Theft Auto 6 is like to actually play! All eyes are on Netflix for the Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look presentation, which started at 3PM ET / 12PM PDT / 8PM BST / 9PM CEST, and contains footage captured directly from the game running on a PS5 console.

The video is exclusive to Netflix at first, but the good news is that it will appear on the Rockstar YouTube account afterwards — you'll just have to wait a little if you don't want to pay Netflix. If you have watched, we'd love to know what you think!

The video gave us our first official look at how GTA 6 plays, following multiple teaser trailers, including showing us the 'Bonnie & Clyde' relationship and swapping between Jason and Lucia.

The decision to post the video to Netflix for paying subscribers to watch first has proven controversial so far, though those who aren't Netflix users will still be able to watch it when it arrives on the official Rockstar Games YouTube channel later on.

Of course, lots of people already watched gameplay video of GTA 6 already, following the unprecedented leaks over the last week, seemingly of some kind of dev build. (The claimed leak of the actual game code online turned out to be 113GB of zeroes, and a small virus — unsurprisingly.)

When is the Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look coming to YouTube?

It will release on the Rockstar Games YouTube channel and Grand Theft Auto 6 website exactly six hours after its Netflix debut, which will be at 9PM ET / 6PM PDT / 2AM BST / 3AM CEST.

Welcome folks, we're just one hour from the big event!

August 27, 2026 – 2:05 PMOur first look — except it isn't

(Image credit: Sony / Rockstar )

This is going to be our first official look at the game playing for real. I say 'official', because the last week has seen an unprecedented series of GTA 6 gameplay leaks from the mysterious 'Cyberleek'. There's been a lot of speculation over what platform those leaks are from (the consensus is that it's likely running on a PC) and exactly what the leaker had access to.

August 27, 2026 – 2:08 PMShare your thoughts!

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

I'd love to hear in the comments what you're hoping to see from the Extended Look! Do you want there to be some behind-the-scenes stuff or would you rather 30 mins of pure gameplay? Do you want to see lots of snippets, or just one long mission?

August 27, 2026 – 2:10 PMNo Pro?

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

It's interesting that today's showcase will demo how it looks on PS5 rather than PS5 Pro. We know the Pro version will be enhanced, but not exactly how — this makes me wonder if it'll just be a higher rendering resolution rather than major lighting improvements or other elements that Rockstar might want to show off (though people are expecting some kind of superior Ray Tracing tech in the Pro version).

Or it might just be a mistake in Netflix's description, and it will be PS5 Pro. Maybe all will be made clear in the event…

August 27, 2026 – 2:13 PM30 minutes seems right

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

There was a lot of speculation over how long the event would be — a BBC report claimed 30 minutes a while ago, but was met with some skepticism online, and then was removed from the report. But it turned out to be essentially right on the money, with Netflix now listing a 27-minute runtime.

I think that's probably a good length. There's an upper limit on how much is really worth showing us before launch — we want to get a good feel for the scale, the movement, the pace… but I want to mostly experience all this for myself when it comes out.

And equally, I don't want too much talking-head filler just to extend the length.

August 27, 2026 – 2:14 PMA big interview

If you're looking for tidbits ahead of the Extended Look, there's an interview with several senior figures from Rockstar over at Dazed talking about what they're hoping to achieve with the game — some with more specific details to back it up, and some not. Let's get into some of the notable bits.

August 27, 2026 – 2:18 PMDeeper characterization?

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Here's a quote from Rob Nelson, head of development and co-studio head at Rockstar North: “The thing we love about this medium is the way these characters aren’t empty avatars that you can do whatever you want with... Their story becomes a journey you share with them.”

I've gotta say that my experience with GTA games is that I kind of have always found them to be pretty simple avatars — and it probably doesn't help that the only new GTA content we've had in years is GTA online, which isn't deep on story. So I wonder if we're going to see a big difference in how Jason and Lucia feel as protagonists, or if this will end up feeling like unrealized ambition from Rockstar.

August 27, 2026 – 2:20 PM'Self-expression' — but is it any deeper than RDR2?

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

This is a similarly interesting note, if it can hit a deeper note. “We want to enable as much self-expression as possible,” Dazed quotes Nelson as saying, “without losing the essence of the characters.”

The example given in the article is this: "Food affects Jason and Lucia’s weight, while exercising visibly builds and tones their muscles. And, if you end up spending a long time away from your bed, on the run from police or on a multi-day bender, their features are going to pay the price for that as well."

The article compares it to similar elements of Red Dead Redemption 2. It kind of feels like a better fit for that game — disappearing off into the woods and to return as a haggard, hungry mountain man feels like something that changes a character; it's maybe less impactful to do the same thing at a '24/7' store.

However, the article also hints at "deep relationship mechanics"… but doesn't say what they'll look like, or how they'll contribute to the game's story.

August 27, 2026 – 2:23 PMLess cynical? I wouldn't bet on it…

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

When it comes to the fake-Miami world of the game, Rockstar said it couldn't just have a "cynical view and say, 'Well that’s weird, put it in the game'" — though it seems like it'll be full of esoteric cultural references, as hinted by the bit in the leaks where Cyberleek stole a truck with a flatbed full of gasoline that mirrors a bizarre real-life video.

But Rockstar told Dazed: "We have to bring a sense of discovery to the players too, not just repeat cliches that already exist."

Apparently, that meant digging deep into Miami culture, and it seems like Rockstar is hoping you'll be interesting in nuances of different neighborhoods and styles too.

"We were also really interested in how the hip-hop scene in Miami exists in house parties in Overtown, clubs like Booby Trap on the River, and then high-end places on South Beach where bottles can cost thousands of dollars. We needed characters who could take us through those worlds," says Rupert Humphries, senior vice president of narrative.

August 27, 2026 – 2:28 PMRacing line

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

There's a lot more talk of capturing Miami's culture in the Dazed article, but very little really about the meat of the game, or details of developing beyond capturing the spirit of a city.

The piece does say that the size of the company doubled since RDR2, and that the car handling team includes former race drivers, though…

August 27, 2026 – 2:33 PMGetting deep

Incidentally, if there are deeper relationship mechanics to manage in this game, and if we have talking heads or some other kind of human presenter in the Extended Look, I expect that we'll hear about these systems. It's the kind of thing developers love to talk about, and you can only fill so much time with car and boat chases…

August 27, 2026 – 2:37 PMThe cast of characters

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

My guess is also that we'll get some kind of big "Here are the Vice City power players" character run-down — key crime bosses, friends of Jason and Lucia, antagonists and wildcards.

August 27, 2026 – 2:40 PMShare your thoughts!

I'd love to hear in the comments what you're hoping to see from the Extended Look! Do you want there to be some behind-the-scenes stuff or would you rather have 30 mins of pure gameplay? Do you want to see lots of snippets, or just one long mission?

August 27, 2026 – 2:47 PMMost people will have to wait

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

We've asked in our poll at the top whether people will be watching on Netflix or will wait for YouTube — currently, 60% say they'll watch on YouTube. That's still a lot of people hitting up Netflix, though! Hopefully it handles the demand better than some of its live sports events…

August 27, 2026 – 2:49 PM10 minutes to go…August 27, 2026 – 2:56 PM5 mins to go

And, perhaps appropriately, it looks like the big leaks are finished as we approach the actual event: apparently, 'Cyberleek' has made off with a few hundred grand from their memecoin, and people expect that to be it… and that kind of money-grab-and-escape always works out in the world of GTA, right?

August 27, 2026 – 2:59 PM

We're just talking here about how it might not actually appear right on the hour… we'll see. After a lot of refreshing.

August 27, 2026 – 3:03 PMUh oh!

(Image credit: Netflix)

Some of us can see it, some can't…

August 27, 2026 – 3:04 PMWe are starting with gameplay, as expected

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)August 27, 2026 – 3:06 PMImportant update: there's a petting system

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Confirmed: You Can Pet The Dog. (And also Scold the dog?? No, don't do that.)

August 27, 2026 – 3:10 PMWhat we're seeing

Jason and Lucia are there to pick up druge for Boobie, but are forced to escape.

We're seeing plenty of gun gameplay, escaping a drug raid, pick-up weapons — it's very cinematic. As we go, we're cutting into some more trailer-y alternative shots, and then back to pure gameplay.

Instantly we can see an improved gun system and HUD from GTA 5.

August 27, 2026 – 3:11 PMThe non-fighty stuff

Jason and Lucia getting are ready for a party, and the cinematics are gorgeous — Lucia asks Jason which dress to wear, and you can tell Lucia to "hurry" when she's getting ready. You can open a fridge to browse food and drink, watch TV and flick through channels…

August 27, 2026 – 3:15 PM

You can drive fanboats, play basketball, SCUVA dive, canoe, jetski, and race cars in an actual racing circuit (I just had a horrible flashback to Mafia, oh no).

August 27, 2026 – 3:17 PMIt's all about the connection

Other little details include the ability to open the car roof in a convertible, and for Jason and Lucia to hold hands at a party — it's clear they're really going for wanting you to feel the connection between these two.

They can also wear disguises, including different haircuts, which the promo images seemed to hint at.

August 27, 2026 – 3:20 PMThe switcheroo

There's a cool moment with the switching mechanic — the player leads Lucia to base jump off a skyscraper (very Just Cause) and while her parachute is deploying, the camera flashes and pulls into a bird's-eye view, then pans across the city, zooms and flashes into a building, and we're with Jason on a couch talking to a friend.

August 27, 2026 – 3:23 PMA big police-chase shootout

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

There's a big police chase that really shows the in-car combat, including firing at helicopters. You can shoot out police cars' tires to stop them, and the crashes cause impressive environmental damage — again, super-cinematic.

There's a six-star wanted system, as predicted.

August 27, 2026 – 3:24 PMThe wheel

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

After that chase, they pull into a garage and burn the car — we get a look at the weapon wheel (and then some nice car-meets-fire effects).

August 27, 2026 – 3:27 PMCamera trickery

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

It's not always obvious in motion, but there's a lot of 'camera' effects going on — blurred edges and depth-of-field, for example, all drawing your attention to the center of the action, and adding to the feeling of an actual movie camera being used. You can see the police car and buildings in the distance are sharper than other areas here.

August 27, 2026 – 3:31 PMSolid hair

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

One thing I've noticed is that the hair is probably the weakest graphical element. It wobbles, but it looks pretty plasticky. It's understandable, there's got to be limits on what Rockstar can do give then amount of stuff going on in these shots — it's definitely the element that makes them feel less like people and more like dolls.

August 27, 2026 – 3:35 PMSlick design

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The whole thing finishes with Jason and Lucia visiting the opening of a fancy club, which is raided by armed goons. It leads to sequence of Jason using cover in the unfinished back areas or upper floors that feels like something between Max Payne and Die Hard.

It shows Jason clearing rooms, and then switching to a cinematic shot when he receives a text from Lucia downstairs saying there are more enemies, and the text exchange is used as the trigger to switch between them, and to provide you information as the player. It's very slick.

August 27, 2026 – 3:37 PM

Oh, no sooner did I mention Max Payne than a slow-mo section enables Jason to shoot people who are just emerging from cover — it seems like it's more that the game drops it in as a cool option when it chooses, rather than you having control. But I love to see slow-motion!

August 27, 2026 – 3:39 PM

Lucia gets in a brawl with a guy and in order to escape, we need to… use… quicktime events. Wow, I didn't expect to see those! But it seemed like the player had a choice of options, which is kind of fun — using one of the options grabbed her discarded stiletto heel to jam in the guy's head, and she made a quip about it.

August 27, 2026 – 3:41 PMThe light fantastic

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The whole thing ends with a load of city and landscape showpieces, and the whole last section really shows off how impressive the lighting is. That's one of my big takeaways — it adds so much to the mood and immersion.

August 27, 2026 – 3:48 PMWhat do you think?

Okay, it's been over half an hour since it went up, so I'm assuming you've all watched it yourselves. What do you think — are you more hyped for GTA 6 now? I've added a poll at the top of the page to vote in!

August 27, 2026 – 3:52 PMStill thinking about this shot!

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The city in the base jumping clip looks incredible…

August 27, 2026 – 4:00 PMLet's get some reaction from around the web

First up, someone spotted something in Jason's slo-mo section that I didn't spot, which is that it highlights kill or incapacitation spots.

Looks like Jason has an ability that lets him see kill shot zones (red) or incapacitate zones (yellow). from r/GTA6August 27, 2026 – 4:03 PMBlast from the past

This person is excited to see a little bit of GTA 4 return, and I don't blame them.

They brought back the top right weapon icons from gta 4 and im not mad at it! from r/GTA6unmoderatedAugust 27, 2026 – 4:22 PMNot everyone's impressedIt looks like an unfinished snooze fest from r/GTA6unmoderatedAugust 27, 2026 – 5:23 PMRockstar's best bits all in one place?Gta6 Looks like a best of Rockstar from r/GTA6unmoderated

• Some Microsoft workers were found spending $10,000 to $28,000 on AI tokens every month
• The median is a much lower $300, but that's based off a tiny percentage of workers
• Microsoft says AI usage should lead to meaningful outcomes

Some Microsoft workers are racking up some pretty hefty AI compute bills, with one of the company's workers from the Customer and Partner Solutions business spending $28,000 in tokens over a single 28-day period.

The figures, reported by Gadget Review, came from internal spreadsheets, which are used by workers to voluntarily share compensation information like salaries, bonuses and stock awards.

It's a spreadsheet which, in 2026, gained a new column for monthly AI usage, in which employees can track how much they spend in USD equivalent in terms of AI consumption.

Microsoft workers are using thousands in AI compute every month

Nearly 600 US workers reportedly contributed information to the spreadsheet, with around 350 of them sharing their AI usage figures. Importantly, the company employs more than 223,000 workers globally, participation was voluntary, and figures were self-reported, so the data shared by Gadget Review is not representative of all workers.

The median reported usage was also around $300 per employee per month, so the $28,000 figure is either an extreme or a mistake.

The data also shows how usage varies by Microsoft department, with the likes of CoreAI ($975) spending the highest median figure. Security ($526), Microsoft AI ($490), Cloud and AI ($325), Experiences and Devices ($250), Azure ($241) and Customer and Partner Solutions ($134) each have lower medians.

Similarly, those groups also saw large variations, with some workers spending up to $16,000 within CoreAI, $15,000 for Cloud and AI, and $10,000 for Security.

While the data doesn't provide an accurate overview, the company is said to be monitoring token consumption value more closely to track individuals who use large amounts of tokens. This comes after years of encouragement to incentivize workers to use AI.

The knock-on effect of that has been a trend dubbed 'tokenmaxxing', where users deliberately consume large amounts of tokens to become visible on tracking dashboards. It's a trend seen across the industry, including at Amazon.

"Tokenmaxxing is not what we are optimizing for," CoreAI EVP Jay Parikh previously said in an internal memo. "I want all of us focused on maximising outcomes that move the needle for our customers and our business."

The Sonicmax Slice 10 is now on Kickstarter and is a great way to cut your 3D prints smoothly.

Plug-in solar panels are now legal in the UK, and they could have a real impact on your energy bills, but before you install them, you should know what impact they're likely to have on your home insurance. The panels themselves are very easy to fit (see our complete guide to plug-in solar for more details), but it's worth taking the time to research all the effects on your home before buying your own.

To find out more, I spoke to Nathan Blackler, home insurance and utilities expert at Go.Compare. He explained that plug-in solar is new technology that insurers don't really have enough claims data on to price against, but says his main advice is to disclose any products and installations to your insurer, and check the policy documents to ensure there are no exclusions for your planned setup.

Will your insurance premium rise?

Blackler says that you might see a slight rise in your insurance premium after fitting plug-in solar panels, but it isn't guaranteed.

"Because plug-in solar panels add to the total value of your property’s assets, your coverage limits may need to be adjusted," he says. "However, some insurers may simply note the addition of the system on your file without charging you extra.

"The most important thing is keeping the insurer informed and ensuring there's nothing in your policy docs with your existing insurer excluding the use or installation of such systems."

Will your plug-in solar panels be covered?

Plug-in solar panels are a big investment (you can expect them to pay for themselves in three to five years), so you'll want to be sure that they're covered by your insurance.

"Yes, they are generally covered, but typically under your contents insurance rather than buildings insurance, as they are classified as portable equipment rather than permanent fixtures," says Blackler.

"However, coverage is strictly dependent on disclosure. Because plug-in panels feed energy directly into your home's electrical circuit, you are fundamentally adding a mini power station to your property. If you fail to tell your insurer about the installation and later suffer an electrical fire or fault, your policy could be invalidated."

How do they differ from traditional roof-mounted panels?

According to Blackler, from an insurer's perspective, the risk profiles for conventional roof-mounted solar panels and plug-in panels are completely different.

"Traditional roof-mounted solar panels are permanent structural fixtures (covered under buildings insurance) that require installation and sign-off by MCS-accredited electricians," he says. "These setups can also be complicated with different ownership models like leasing and subscriptions, meaning customers do not own the panels, but they may still create an additional structural risk that some insurers increase premiums for.

"Plug-in panels, on the other hand, are self-installed and exempt from mandatory electrician sign-offs. This introduces a new element of 'unmanaged electrical risk', especially in flats and leasehold properties where a poorly connected panel plugged into outdated wiring could push electrical fault and fire risks into communal parts of the building. Because installation quality is harder to verify with plug-and-play systems, insurers view them as a distinct and evolving category.

"All this becomes increasingly complex when you also start to consider a battery or power cell installation along with solar panels. This adds a high-value electrical item, and as most home batteries are lithium-ion, they carry a small but significant fire risk. Again, this technology is relatively new to the mass market, and insurers are still gathering the data necessary to effectively price against it."

Want to know more about plug-in solar panels and batteries? Find out why plug-in panels are now legal, but plug-in batteries are not — yet.

“AI slop” now has a friend. “Meat proxy” is a new way to describe too much reliance on AI content.

• Microduck is Pollen Robotics' new programmable robot
• It looks like a cute robo-duck, and has some adorable, pre-baked interactions
• It's up for pre-order priced at $399, and it should ship in time for Christmas

If the measure of a successful robot is cuteness, Microduck could be the most successful bot in ages. Unveiled this week by Pollen Robotics (a division of AI company Hugging Face — yes, that Hugging Face), Microduck is a 25-centimeter-tall educational robot that appears to arrive with surprising mobility, balance, and personality.

Pre-orders, which kicked off today (August 27) promise a $399 (that's the introductory price), roughly 1.7lb pre-built duck-like robot complete with a mouth that doubles as a gripper, a voice —duck calls, it seems — 15 degrees of freedom (basically a measure of the number of ways all the motors let it move), and motors that let it walk, waddle, move its head and, thanks to a pair of IMUs (inertial movement unit), stay upright even when pushed around.

(Image credit: Pollen Robotics)

There's a single-eye camera paired with a Lidar system for navigating its environment and, perhaps, recognizing its owner. Pollen Robotics has yet to specify the camera's megapixels. There are also speakers for voice, and microphones for it to hear. The robot runs on a relatively low-power Rockchip RK3566 ARM chip that's backed by 1GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage. There's on-board Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and a smallish 2,600mAh battery that promises roughly one hour of operation.

These are not killer specs, but the teaser videos show a highly engaged and undeniably adorable little bot. I was particularly taken with how it can recover and stand back up after a fall (or being pushed over). Microduck will arrive with a lot of pre-programmed interactions, but much of the cuteness may come via its open-source platform and your programming skills.

The Microduck kit will ship with an SDK that includes virtual training environments, along with training scripts and tools, and "a tested sim-to-real workflow." The idea, obviously, is that while you might grow to love Microducks' baked-in personality, it's what you can build with your kids that will really matter. This is an educational robot, after all.

It's almost familiarPollen RoboticsPollen Robotics

It's also worth mentioning Microduck's obvious resemblance to another extremely cute, though entirely unattainable robot: Disney's and Star Wars' BDX Droid. Both robots are bipedal with a somewhat squat posture and cute, oversized heads, and as with the BDX-Droid, it's hard to believe the Microsoduck can stay upright. But that's where the similarities end. That semi-autonomous/remote-controlled BDX Droid is much larger, probably far more expensive, and is currently only wandering around Disney World. Plus, there are currently no plans to bring it to consumers.

The $399 Microduck is just the base package, and Pollen Robotics also plans to ship an optional charger pack for $39, a dev pack that includes spare motors, cables, and batteries for $119, and an accessory pack that includes a laser pointer (perhaps for Microduck to chase), roller skates(!) that Microduck can wear and ride, and 10 NFC tags. One wonders if those tags might be used to trigger certain Microduck actions.

We have a huge news to share today!Today we are unveiling the first truly accessible RL robot - welcome MicroduckA 25 cm tiny open-source biped with 15 actuators and packed with sensors (camera, speaker, LiDAR, NFC, bluetooth, wifi, etc) that you train yourself with… pic.twitter.com/2SO4HgqxY3August 27, 2026

Microduck is Pollen Robotics' second edu-robot, the first being the Reach Mini, an almost equally cute but more or less stationary desk companion robot. Pollen Robotics claims it sold 10,000 units.

Microduck's success will likely depend on just how many of those endearing qualities are on display out of the box, and how much we have to code ourselves. Initially, you can fake some of it, since Microduck can be remote-controlled with a gaming controller; but the real fun happens when it starts to respond in unexpected ways.

The other X factor is how many people are willing to pay almost $400 for a plastic and semi-autonomous robot duck. I know I'm intrigued, and wouldn't mind trying to program it to create the duck-bot of my dreams.

Microduck is expected to ship by Christmas, and is available in Cream, Graphite. Lavender, and Sky.