Meta AI is a new genAI assistant that will span the company’s various properties including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram (and arriving shortly on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest 3). User will be able to interact with it using natural language prompts. The AI is built on a custom model derived from Meta’s LLaMA 2 LLM and will pull real-time information from the web using Microsoft Bing.
What’s more, the company is also rolling out 28 (!!!) chatbot “characters” meant to address specific niche interests, whether those are specific sports, media, or genre choices. These personalities will be voiced by a variety of modern influencers and celebrities:
Charli D’Amelio as Coco, Dance enthusiast
Chris Paul as Perry, Pro golfer helping you perfect your stroke
Dwyane Wade as Victor, Ironman triathlete motivating you to be your best self
Izzy Adesanya as Luiz, Showy MMA prospect who can back up his trash talk
Kendall Jenner as Billie, No-BS, ride-or-die companion
LaurDIY as Dylan, Quirky DIY and Craft expert and companion for Gen Z
MrBeast as Zach, The big brother who will roast you — because he cares
Naomi Osaka as Tamika, Anime-obsessed Sailor Senshi in training
Paris Hilton as Amber, Detective partner for solving whodunnits
Raven Ross as Angie, Workout class queen who balances fitness with meditation
Roy Choi as Max, Seasoned sous chef for culinary tips and tricks
Sam Kerr as Sally, Free-spirited friend who’ll tell you when to take a deep breath
Snoop Dogg as Dungeon Master, Choose your own adventure with the Dungeon Master
Tom Brady as Bru, Wisecracking sports debater who pulls no punches
The initial batch of personalities will be available to US users starting today, with more performances coming from Bear Grylls, Chloe Kim, Josh Richards and others in the coming weeks.
Since the release of ChatGPT last November, Meta has been relatively slow to release a generative AI chatbot of its own, at least compared to competitors like Google and Microsoft. Instead, Meta has kept its focus on the LLaMA platform, its open-source large language model designed for commercial use, as well as a host of AI-enhanced, multimodal tools.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-unleashing-more-than-25-ai-chatbot-personalities-onto-the-world-181428710.html?src=rss
Meta is starting to make good on its promise to bring generative AI to all of its products. At the company’s Connect event, it revealed new AI image editing and sticker-creation features for Instagram.
A tool called “restyle” is a bit like a supercharged generative AI filter. It allows users to remix their existing photos into different looks. “Think of typing a descriptor like ‘watercolor’ or a more detailed prompt like ‘collage from magazines and newspapers, torn edges’ to describe the new look and feel of the image you want to create,” the company explained.
The company also previewed a new tool called “backdrop,” a generative AI-powered green screen feature. Users can type prompts like “put me in front of a sublime aurora borealis” will create a new version of the image with the relevant background applied. The company didn’t say when restyle and backdrop would be available to Instagram users, but said the tools would be arriving “soon.”
Meta
It added that posts created using both backdrop and restyle would come with labels indicating “the use of AI to reduce the chances of people mistaking them for human-generated content.” Meta didn’t share what the labels will look like, but info screens saying “image generated by Meta AI” have previously been spotted in Instagram.
Meta also showed off new AI-generated stickers, which will be available on Instagram, as wel as WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook Stories. The feature allows users to quickly create custom stickers for their chats and Stories via text prompts. The stickers will be rolling out “to select English-language users” of the company’s apps “over the next month,” Meta said.
The features come as Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly promised that generative AI features will be coming to every Meta-owned app. The company also announced more than 25 generative AI chatbots, including several personalities based on real-life celebrities and creators.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/generative-ai-image-editing-is-coming-to-instagram-183711111.html?src=rss
Rex Heuermann is charged with killing three of the women whose bodies were found on Long island and has been named as the the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman.
During its “Drop 01″ livestream event, Netflix unveiled the first official look at its Tomb Raider anime, The Legend of Lara Croft. The show was originally announced back in 2021 and marks the first new piece of Tomb Raider media since the 2018 reboot movie starring Alicia Vikander.
Sony continues its mission to release first-party titles on PC, as the critically-acclaimed PS5 sequel Horizon Forbidden West is coming to Steam and the Epic Games Store early next year. The port’s being handled by Nixxes Software, a company Sony purchased back in 2021. Nixxes was behind the well-received PC ports of the Spider-Man games, so we should be in good hands here.
This isn’t a bare-bones port. It’s the recently-announced Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition, so expect plenty of bells and whistles. There’s the game itself, of course, but the update also includes the Burning Shores DLC, a digital soundtrack, a digital artbook, a comic book and more in-game items than you can shake a spear at. You can check out some in-game screen shots on the official Steam page.
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition comes to PS5 first, on October 6, and costs $70. There’s no concrete release date for the PC version, other than early next year. It’s also worth noting that this edition is not coming to the PS4, despite the original game being available on the now-ancient console.
We praised Horizon Forbidden Westwhen it launched last year, citing the surprisingly fun underwater traversal mechanics, new power ups and the massive scope of the world, calling it a “triumph in many ways.” PC players can already wishlist the port on Steam and Epic. It remains to be seen if the game will run on the Steam Deck, but we’ll be sure to cross our fingers and give it a shot early next year. In any event, Marvel’s Spider-Man runs pretty well.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/horizon-forbidden-west-battles-its-way-to-pcs-in-2024-172658431.html?src=rss
Last year Meta caught a bit of backlash when it released the Quest Pro. It was too expensive, it had a number of features people didn’t really want, and there just weren’t enough apps that fully utilized its hardware. But today at Connect, Meta is announcing the follow-up to the most popular VR headset on the market and I think the Quest 3 is exactly what people have been waiting for.
Meta isn’t straying too far from the Quest 2’s basic template. The headset’s facelift includes a new y-shaped headband that offers better support along with a fresh row of sensors in front. There are now two full-color cameras that provide sharper pass-through vision along with a depth sensor in the middle that can automatically map your room and detect nearby objects like tables and chairs. On the bottom, Meta also added a dial for adjusting IPD (inter-pupillary distance) and, for users who wear glasses, there’s now a way to adjust the depth of the lenses to better accommodate the shape and size of your spectacles. You still get a USB-C port for charging, built-in speakers that support spatial audio and a headphone jack (in case you’d rather use wired headphones).
On the inside, the headset is the first retail device powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, which Meta says provides double the performance compared to the Quest 2. You also get new pancake lenses similar to the ones used in last year’s Quest Pro, along with displays that offer 30 percent more resolution (2,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye). All told, it’s a pretty significant jump in horsepower, with its default 90Hz refresh rate being the only spec that’s staying unchanged (though like the Quest 2, there is an experimental 120Hz setting). Even its field of view has grown by around 15 percent (110 degrees horizontal and 96 degrees vertical). Notably, what you don’t get are eye and face tracking, which were some of the more forward-thinking features Meta included on the Quest Pro.
Meta didn’t forget about the Quest 3’s controllers either. That’s because while they’re still the same basic shape and size, the tracking ring around the top is gone. The company says that the new sensors on the headset can track the controllers without needing the rings and, when the controllers move outside the camera’s visible range, Meta is using AI and machine learning to better predict your hand movements. That said, the Quest 3’s controllers still aren’t quite as sophisticated as the Quest Pro due to their lack of built-in cameras, which means they aren’t fully self-tracking. On the bright side, the controllers have what Meta is calling True Touch haptics, which do an even better job of conveying tactile feedback. And despite the increased performance and new features, battery life is expected to be about the same as the Quest 2 (between 1.5 and three hours depending on what apps you use).
Now all these upgrades look great on a spec sheet, but after testing the headset out myself, they make an even better impression in person. Right away, everything just looks sharper, hand movements feel more precise and even audio sounds more immersive. You can also feel that increased performance, most noticeably when switching between VR and the pass-through cameras. Just a double-tap on the side and let me jump back into meat space with only the briefest of pauses anytime I wanted to take a drink or see what I just stepped on.
But of course, without solid software, a new headset isn’t all that exciting. Thankfully, the Quest 3 is backward compatible with all of the 500+ apps in the Oculus Store, with Meta claiming that there are another 100 new apps or titles with updated features on the way designed specifically for its latest headset, some of which I got to try out during my demo.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
I started with First Encounters, which is a tutorial that’s kind of like an MR-version of Space Invaders that also introduces users to the Quest 3’s features. Since the app takes place in mixed reality, before I could get to blastin’ I had to map out the room which involved simply looking around at all the walls and objects before tracing a final boundary (in smaller rooms you might even be able to skip this step, but this was an open event space), all of which took less than 30 seconds. After that, fuzzy aliens started to appear so, naturally, I had to dispatch them. The interesting thing was that, because the headset had already mapped the room, I noticed that portals naturally formed on the walls while some critters managed to spawn behind shelves and tables, all of which added an extra dimension to the gameplay.
After that I played Red Matter 2, which is an existing title that has been updated to take advantage of the Quest 3’s improved performance. The difference was immediately apparent. Textures were more detailed, text was way more legible and simply moving around felt smoother. I was even able to flip a switch that simulated how the game looked on a Quest 2 and, honestly, I don’t think I can go back to that. The Quest 3 is raising the bar for how things should look on a mainstream XR headset.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Then I played some more games including a VR version of Samba de Amigo and Assassin’s Creed Nexus, both of which felt really fluid. I can’t remember the last time I held a real maraca, but moving virtual ones around with the headset was really intuitive. Anytime I missed a cue, I could tell I messed up, it wasn’t the headset’s fault. And in Assassin’s Creed, I was surprised at how precise aiming a crossbow felt. I even caught myself closing one I just like would in the real world.
I’m not sure this headset is doing much to entice people who aren’t already interested in VR and AR. But, it feels like Meta has done a thorough job of improving almost every spec and feature. It’s got everything you need without any unnecessary frills or add-ons. And sometime in the future, Meta says the Quest 3 will be able to stream console titles to the headset via Xbox Cloud Gaming starting in December, so if all the existing and upcoming apps can’t hold your attention, you’ll have even more games to play. And with a starting price of $500 for 128GB of storage (or $650 for 512GB), it’s a lot more affordable than the Quest Pro too.
The Quest 3 is available for pre-order today ahead of official sales starting on October 10.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-quest-3-hands-on-a-proper-successor-to-the-most-popular-vr-headset-173750489.html?src=rss
Video shot by a bystander outside showed a desperate effort to help those trapped inside, with one man trying to knock through a wall with an excavator.
Designing a program in such a way that it can truly convince someone that another human is on the other side of the screen has been a goal of AI developers since the concept took its first steps toward reality. Research company OpenAI recently announced that its flagship product ChatGPT would be getting eyes, ears,…
It seems the lure of building the Warcraft universe is irresistible for some folks. Long-time Blizzard lore chief Chris Metzen has returned to the publisher on a full-time basis to help shape the future of the franchise.
Before he retired from Blizzard in 2016, Metzen worked on every Warcraft game, helping to build the story and lore. He eventually became Blizzard’s senior vice president of story and franchise development and was involved in all of the studio’s projects (he voices Bastion in Overwatch 2, for instance).
Metzen kept himself busy after leaving Blizzard. He opened a tabletop game company called Warchief in 2018. However, he returned to Blizzard in an advisory role last year and now he’s fully back in the saddle as Warcraft’s executive creative director. His main focus is on “supporting our World of Warcraftleadership in crafting the next generation of adventures,” the Warcraft team wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
It’s been amazing working on Warcraft again. Like coming home. The stories we’re developing right now – how the world unfolds over the next few years… Well, I can’t wait for y’all to see where we’re headed.
“It’s been amazing working on Warcraft again,” Metzen wrote. “Like coming home. The stories we’re developing right now — how the world unfolds over the next few years… Well, I can’t wait for y’all to see where we’re headed. SOON…”
You won’t have to wait too long to find out what Metzen and the Warcraft team have been working on. Blizzard is planning to reveal some details at BlizzCon, which starts on November 3. We might learn details about the next WoW expansion, which will follow 2022’s Dragonflight. Updates on the Warcraft Rumble mobile game, which recently opened up for pre-orders on iOS, may be on deck too.
News of Metzen’s return to Blizzard on a full-time basis emerged as the publisher carried out layoffs. It let go 10 people from the Hearthstone division, according to Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach. Activision Blizzard confirmed that it made some roles redundant following organizational changes to the Hearthstone development team.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-veteran-chris-metzen-returns-to-build-wows-next-generation-of-adventures-163032921.html?src=rss
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