David Ellison says AI could be the ‘biggest creative unlock in modern history’
During Paramount Skydance's latest earnings call, CEO David Ellison said "it's hard to imagine" AI won't have a bigger impact on the film industry than CGI. In response to a question about the company's outlook for AI, Ellison said:
"I think when you zoom out and look at production, AI really has the potential to be the biggest creative unlock in modern history. The last time we saw anything close to this was really the, you know, advent of CGI and digital composites in the early 90s. That technology gave birth to amazing stories like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, and it's hard to imagine that AI is not going to have a more significant i …
What could China get from Jensen Huang?
It's difficult to overstate Nvidia's power in today's AI landscape. The company's chips are the bedrock upon which advanced AI technology in the US is being built, and demand has consistently outpaced supply for years. Nvidia has also been an influential investor in a wide range of up-and-coming AI companies in recent years, with about $99 billion worth of equity investments in frontier AI labs, neoclouds, infrastructure companies, and more. Its chief executive has even become close with President Donald Trump.
This is why, as both cofounder and longtime CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang would be a valuable target for a foreign adversary with sig …
Here’s what Trump said he knew about Jensen Huang
President Trump held a White House press briefing earlier today and responded to several questions about his knowledge of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy. Huang said this weekend that he had been "unfaithful" to his wife, and the company has opened an investigation into Huang.
Recent articles from The New York Times indicated that Trump had been aware of a relationship between Huang and Alice Huang, the suspected spy, before information about it became public. In October, The New York Times reported that Trump had been briefed "roughly a year ago" on intelligence that Huang and the alleged spy, Alice Huang, ha …
Everything we know so far about the Nvidia spy scandal targeting CEO Jensen Huang
The leather-jacketed CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has acknowledged an affair with Megaspeed exec Alice Huang, spurring an investigation by his company and intense discussions worldwide. Recent reporting noted that since last year, US intelligence reports had identified Alice Huang (no relation) as not only the exec for an AI compute company renting access to Nvidia GPUs, but also a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security.
In recent years, Nvidia has become a key part of the Trump administration’s AI push, a central figure in negotiations over potential Chinese access to cutting-edge AI hardware, and a company that has used its now $4 trillion-plus market cap to finance other AI companies, including the “neoclouds” like Coreweave who have been some of its biggest customers. So far, Nvidia and Jensen Huang have said that they have “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised,” but that hasn’t settled things as the investigation continues.
MSI’s refurbished QD-OLED gaming monitor is on sale for under $300
One of the best upgrades you can make to your PC gaming setup is an OLED monitor. Fortunately, MSI’s factory-reconditioned Mag 272QP X24 is on sale at Woot through November 18th with a 180-day manufacturer warranty for $290.99, which is more than $100 cheaper than the full MSRP of $399.99.
MSI’s 27-inch screen is well-featured for the price, with 1440p resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate, and both G-Sync and FreeSync compatibility, which help reduce screen tearing when your FPS is below the max refresh rate. PC games are particularly well-suited to take advantage of the deep black levels OLED panels produce, too, giving every game you play a deeper, more immersive feel. MSI’s budget OLED also features quantum dots for fuller, more vivid colors. It doesn’t cut corners on ports either, with two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4a, and one USB Type-C DP Alt input.
The global pledge to use AI for climate good is a cruel joke
At this point, reading through the latest splashy pledge to use AI for the good of the environment feels like downing a nonalcoholic beer. Admittedly, I'm suspicious from the onset. How can this be good? But I love beer and our planet enough to give it a whirl - and hey, why not try a little harm reduction?
Negotiators from more than 190 countries around the world are in Antalya, Turkey, this month for the annual United Nations climate summit, called COP31 (the 31st "Conference of the Parties" that ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change). Turkey previewed its Antalya Artificial Intelligence Pledge ahead of the convening, inv …
Apple’s $50 Intelligence Usage Packs extend access to some AI features
After publishing a support article in early September outlining usage limits for some Apple Intelligence features, the company has updated Logic Pro with an option to "Buy More Usage" for a one-time purchase price of $49.99, as spotted by 9to5Mac. It has a built-in AI assistant to do things like "start a new song, set up a vocal track from a single prompt, or refine an active project."
These Intelligence Usage Packs, as Apple calls them, will allow users to continue accessing certain Apple Intelligence features that have usage limits because they rely on cloud-based AI models from OpenAI or Google Gemini. The Usage Packs can only be used …
Anthropic launches new Claude Fable and Mythos 5.2 models
Anthropic is announcing two new models today: Claude Fable 5.2 and Claude Mythos 5.2, which it says are designed to take on "daunting" technical challenges. The company claims the new models show improvements in coding, reasoning, and vision, and can generate outputs faster than the 5.1 versions of the Fable and Mythos models.
Claude Fable 5.2 is good at challenging software engineering problems, Anthropic says, and can orchestrate agent teams and tackle long-running projects. The new model has also solved some complex scientific problems, including two open theoretical physics problems.
During prerelease testing, the two models have "help …
You can grab three months of Game Pass Ultimate for under $20 per month
The price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has fluctuated between $20 and $30 per month over the last year, but you can get three months of the top plan for around $19 per month. At Newegg, using the coupon code BNWF2656 at checkout knocks $11 off the usual cost of a three-month subscription. That brings the price down to just $57.99 for three months. In addition to full access to over 500 games on both Xbox consoles and Windows PC machines, the upgraded Ultimate plan includes EA Play and Ubisoft Plus Classics, which have their own libraries and benefits, and Fortnite Crew for full access to the Fortnite battles passes. On Xbox, Ultimate enables online multiplayer, as well.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (three-month subscription)
Where to Buy:
Previously a straightforward proposition, the service has undergone a variety of changes over the last year that has made it slightly less appealing. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was previously $29.99 per month, but earlier this year Microsoft removed the Call of Duty games from the library, and in the process dropped the price to $22.99.
More recently, Microsoft added hourly limits to cloud gaming. All Game Pass plan subscribers previously enjoyed an unlimited amount of cloud gaming on their computer or mobile device, but now plans scale the number of included hours, with the Ultimate plan including 15 hours per month. That news came just weeks before announcing pay-as-you-go plans for non-Game Pass subscribers.
Other deals to consider
- The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is discounted to $269 at various retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H, a $70 break from the usual price. This eight-core, 16-thread desktop CPU is compatible with AM5 motherboards, and has a maximum boost clock of up to 5.5GHz out of the box, with full support for overclocking. It’s probably overkill for light gaming, but serious gamers and demanding PC users will get the a lot of bang for their buck with this AMD processor. The discounted price lets you reach near AMD’s fastest consumer chip offerings, and is much cheaper than the faster Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
- This Lego Pokémon Pikachu and Pokéball set is on sale for $159.95 at Amazon. That $40 discount is the largest we’ve seen since the collaboration launched back in March, and a remarkably good value for a set with 2,050 pieces. Once built, it’s a sizable set, standing 13.5 inches tall and 15.5 inches deep, and the Pikachu has posable ears and limbs. This seems like a fantastic gift, either to yourself or to another Pokémon fan you care about.
- Amazon has the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar marked down to $899, a $200 discount from the usual price. This Dolby Atmos-equipped soundbar supports eARC over HDMI, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for easy adjustments or listening to music, and has Alexa voice commands for when you can’t find the remote. You can also combine the soundbar with Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speakers for a proper surround system.
Instagram’s Effect Builder makes new filters from AI prompts
After expanding its Edits app to macOS last week, Instagram's next move is launching this Effect Builder that generates custom filters for your Stories posts with AI. Available now for US residents who are over 18, it has a prompt box for describing your filter idea to the chatbot, with an option to attach style reference images.
Then you can upload your own photos to preview the AI-generating effects, and ask for changes in follow-up prompts. There's also an option to allow Instagram's AI to rewrite your prompt, which turned my one-line test prompt "Make a filter that turns photos into comic book pages" into several AI-generated paragraphs …