So Dune and Star Wars' Filmmakers Walk Into a Bar…

At this point, most of us can agree that Denis Villeneuve made the impossible possible. He took Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi book Dune and made it into popular, digestible entertainment, a feat no one thought would ever happen. And yet along the way he had multiple obstacles, including one from a galaxy far, far…

Read more…

What Are The Most Common Symptoms Of The Omicron Variant Right Now?

What’s different about the new COVID strain compared to others like delta? Here’s what you need to know.

Media From Both Sides Think CNN Should Fire Chris Cuomo

“If some news channel intern did what Chris Cuomo did they’d have been fired one second after these docs were published,” one journalist noted.

Auschwitz Museum Condemns Fox Nation Host Lara Logan For Fauci Comments

Prominent Jewish groups spoke out after Logan compared Fauci to a Nazi doctor who experimented on death camp prisoners.

Muslim Lawmakers Condemn Republicans’ Inaction After Boebert’s Islamophobic Remarks

After Omar was called “the jihad squad,” GOP leaders are told: “Condemning this should not be a partisan issue. This is about our basic humanity.”

FDA advisory panel endorses Merck’s COVID-19 pill, but it was a close vote

<img width=”1280″ height=”720″ src=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/molnupiravir-fda-panel-EUA-recommendation-1280×720.jpg” class=”webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image” alt=”” style=”margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%” data-attachment-id=”700853″ data-permalink=”https://www.slashgear.com/fda-advisory-panel-endorses-mercks-covid-19-pill-but-it-was-a-close-vote-30700852/molnupiravir-fda-panel-eua-recommendation/” data-orig-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/molnupiravir-fda-panel-EUA-recommendation.jpg” data-orig-size=”1440,810″ data-comments-opened=”0″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”molnupiravir-fda-panel-EUA-recommendation” data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”

Twitch will use machine learning to catch ban-dodging trolls

Twitch is introducing a new machine learning feature to help streamers protect their channels from people attempting to avoid bans. Dubbed “Suspicious User Detection,” the tool will automatically flag individuals it suspects may be “likely” or “possible” ban dodgers.

In cases involving the former, Twitch will prevent any messages they send from showing up in chat. It will also identify those individuals for streamers and any mods helping them with their channel. At that point, they can decide if they want to ban that person. By default, possible repeat trolls can send messages in chat, but they too will be flagged by the system. Additionally, Twitch says creators have the option to prevent them from sending any messages in the first place.

Twitch Suspicious User Detection
Twitch

“The tool is powered by a machine learning model that takes a number of signals into account — including, but not limited to, the user’s behavior and account characteristics — and compares that data against accounts previously banned from a Creator’s channel to assess the likelihood the account is evading a previous channel-level ban,” a Twitch spokesperson told Engadget when we asked about the signals the system uses to detect potential offenders.

While Twitch plans to turn on Suspicious User Detection for everyone, the tool won’t automatically ban users for streamers. That’s by design because it’s impossible to create a machine learning tool that is 100 percent accurate in every context. “You’re the expert when it comes to your community, and you should make the final call on who can participate,” the company said in a blog post. “The tool will learn from the actions you take and the accuracy of its predictions should improve over time as a result.”

The introduction of the tool follows a summer in which Twitch struggled to contain a phenomenon called “hate raids.” The attacks saw malicious individuals use thousands of bots to spam channels with hateful language. In many cases, they targeted creators from marginalized communities. Hate raids became such a frequent feature of the platform that some creators walked away from Twitch for a day in protest of the company’s lack of action.

Microsoft's Ugly Holiday Sweater Is a Hideous Ode to Minesweeper, and I Need It

I’m glad I didn’t buy anything on Black Friday this year—not because it means I can finally afford Apple’s mythical microfiber cloth, but because Microsoft just dropped a new ugly holiday sweater and I’m on the brink of spending $75 on it.

Read more…

Boy, Netflix Sure Has a Lot of Nerd Stuff Coming in 2022

I hope you didn’t have anything going through, uh, the entirety of 2022. That’s because Netflix isn’t going to make it easy for you to get anything done for those 365 days. The streaming giant has announced which 19 genre offerings, of the countless projects it has in the works, are slated to come out next year,…

Read more…

Patrick Leahy Calls For Native American Activist’s Release From Prison

The former Judiciary Committee chairman and longest-serving U.S. senator says it’s time for the Native American activist to go home after 44 years.