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One of the best quality-of-life and security upgrades you can make to your network doesn't require you to buy any new hardware or install any software—it relies on DNS filtering instead.

Microsoft has unveiled major Surface Laptop and Surface Pro updates that it says can outperform the M5 MacBook Air, but the highlight is a feature from the Android world: the Surface Laptop 8 has a privacy display similar to that of the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

If you've spent any time with Python, you've probably used it for data work, scripting, or maybe some automation—but image editing likely wasn't on your radar. It turns out Python can handle a surprising amount of what Photoshop does, and with way less code than you'd expect. This includes resizing or cropping, removing backgrounds, or even animating a still image into a GIF. Here are seven ways I use Python to edit and animate images. I'm also sharing the code snippets to help you get started.

Open-source software is literally crucial to the modern world. Without it, many technologies we take for granted couldn't interoperate, and the biggest machine ever built—the internet—simply wouldn't work.

Most people assume their work is safe as long as they save often enough, but saving manually only protects you when you actually remember to do it. RAM doesn't hold onto anything the moment power cuts out or an app crashes, and that gap between making a change and the system writing it to the drive is where work disappears. Windows has a hidden tool called File History that handles this automatically in the background, and most people have never touched it despite it being right there the whole time.

There's always some debate about what the best schedule is to run your robot vacuum (or vacuums). When will they be the most efficient and the least in your way?

VLAN sounds like an enterprise-grade, Cisco-certified, command-line-interface nightmare reserved for network engineers. We have been conditioned to believe that network segmentation is “advanced networking,” when in reality, it is the simplest way to secure your network.

For years, upgrading your home entertainment setup meant buying a bigger TV. Moving from 55 to 65 inches felt significant, and beyond 75 inches was considered high-end. Now, 85 and even 100-inch TVs are more accessible, but something hasn't really changed—the experience.

It's been almost seven years since a new Star Wars film hit movie theaters, but after watching Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, I think we should wait even more before giving it another shot.

It's not that I don't love to watch Star Wars on the big screen. I would just rather wait longer for a great, fresh Star Wars film to come along, and The Mandalorian and Grogu is certainly not that film.

SEE ALSO: 2026 Summer movie preview: Every film you need to know about now

The problem starts with the source material: TV series The Mandalorian. What began as a superlative space Western soon spiraled into a never-ending parade of references to other Star Wars stories, from the original trilogy to The Clone Wars to Rebels. The Mandalorian became nostalgia central, and a symptom of larger problems with Star Wars as a whole: The franchise is terrified to move beyond what fans already know. (Look no further than fans' reaction to The Acolyte, and the show's cancellation.)

That nostalgia is a tad less stifling in The Mandalorian and Grogu, which manages to weave in its fair share of former characters without totally hitting viewers over the head with it. However, the film is still a slog: an unwieldy adventure full of illegible action and the creeping sense of dread that we've seen this all before. Not even Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu's sweet bond can Force lift it to success.

What's The Mandalorian and Grogu about? Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Following The Mandalorian Season 3, The Mandalorian and Grogu sees Din and Grogu working for the New Republic. Supervised by Colonel Ward (an underutilized Sigourney Weaver), they hunt down Imperial warlords still in hiding.

Their first quarry in the film holes up in possibly the grayest, most underlit room in the entire galaxy, a location that doesn't quite raise your hopes for director Jon Favreau's vision. Thankfully, their quest for their next target, the mysterious Commander Coin, will take them to far more interesting (if still somewhat drab) locales, from a crime-ridden, neon-lit metropolis on Shakari to the gooey tunnels of Nal Hutta.

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The latter is the home of the Hutt clan, currently ruled by the Hutt twins. (If you're keeping score of The Mandalorian and Grogu's references to other Star Wars properties, they showed up in The Book of Boba Fett.) These big ol' space slugs are willing to cough up valuable information to the New Republic, but only if Din can rescue Jabba the Hutt's very ripped son Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) from the Shakari fighting pits. (Add another reference to the tally: Rotta's kidnapping was a key part of 2008's Star Wars: The Clone Wars film.)

If the thought of The Bear's White voicing a Hutt excited you, I'd advise you to lower your expectations. His voice is nearly unrecognizable, and his performance oddly flat. The dialogue he's saddled with does him no favors. Twice, he gives almost the exact same monologue about how hard it was to have Jabba as a father, and how the fighting pits helped him step out from his shadow. Did writers Favreau, Dave Filoni (also LucasFilm President and CCO), and Noah Kloor not think we'd get it the first time?

The Mandalorian and Grogu's action is underwhelming. Credit: Francois Duhamel / Lucasfilm Ltd

While we're on the subject of Rotta, let's get into the Shakari fighting pits. At one point, The Mandalorian sets up what should be an action slam dunk: an all-out brawl between Rotta, Mando, and the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy. What follows, though, is a confused slugfest with murky visuals, too many cuts, and no standout moments. Sure, each fighter gets a formidable introduction, but they ultimately lack individuality. (The film does get points for Rotta's barrel roll.)

This winds up being the rule and not the exception for The Mandalorian and Grogu's action sequences, especially group fights where Favreau struggles to keep up with multiple players. After a certain point, despite Ludwig Göransson's impressive score amping up the energy, these battles become chores, especially when they stack up in the movie's jam-packed third act.

A notable exception to this rule is the film's snowy opening, which pits Din and Grogu against a squad of AT-ATs. It's a dynamic leap back into Star Wars, but it's also too familiar. I mean, where have we seen AT-ATs in the snow before? It takes more than adding a cliff to your Empire Strikes Back homage to create something new.

The Mandalorian and Grogu still relies too much on nostalgia. Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

The Mandalorian and Grogu's opening isn't the only place where the film tries to tug at our Star Wars nostalgia. A later sequence involving X-wings does the same thing, as does the appearance of several characters from prior Star Wars titles, including the Hutts. Elsewhere, Rebels pilot Zeb Orrelios (voiced by Steve Blum) shuttles Mando on his missions, while The Clone Wars' bounty hunter Embo wreaks havoc in the film's second half. The movie assumes viewers have total knowledge of both, waiting until about the halfway mark to call Zeb by his name, and never truly introducing Embo at all. For the latter, this works fine. Even without knowing who he is, he reads as a menacing bounty hunter. Still, the fact that The Mandalorian and Grogu can't think to create a new formidable foe is what's truly disappointing here.

As a continuation of The Mandalorian, it also makes sense that the film picks up with Din and Grogu as they were by the end of Season 3. But there's very little growth, or establishment of any dynamic beyond standard "protector and protégé" to open the film. Yes, Grogu is adorable, and it's fun to watch Din toggle between hardened fighter and protective father figure. But for most of the movie, I craved more.

Featured Video For You Andy Serkis teases 'The Hunt for Gollum': 'It's not just a nostalgia film'

Thankfully, I got it in The Mandalorian and Grogu's third act. Here, Favreau, Filoni, and Kloor flip the script, and Grogu takes on a protector role. Throughout several nearly wordless scenes, he wanders a swamp in search of ways to help his mentor. It's a much-needed breather in a film packed to the gills with action, and it finally lets Grogu evolve from his usual state of precocious mischief-maker. (Don't worry, he's still cute as ever.) The swamp sequence also serves as a reminder of the remarkable craftsmanship that goes into bringing Grogu to life, the work of Legacy Effects. It's always on display, but sometimes it threatens to get lost in The Mandalorian and Grogu's muddled fights. During this contemplative stretch of the film, we truly get to take in every minute detail and every carefully executed motion.

Part of the reason this sequence works so well is that it finally addresses Din's main anxieties about Grogu's future. Grogu will outlive Din by many centuries, but how will his life look once Din is gone? The Mandalorian and Grogu dances around this question — which should be its emotional core! — for ages. But when it finally digs into it, it's too little, too late. Despite any worries the film may stir up, we know Din and Grogu will be a pair for as long as Disney will milk them. And anyway, this standout section must end to make way for an unremarkable climax.

Still, for those few brief minutes, The Mandalorian and Grogu finds greatness. In the end, though, the film sticks to Star Wars' current road map to the future. Paradoxically, that strategy is just "look to the past," and the galaxy is all the less fortunate for it.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters May 22.

Insta360 has unveiled the Mic Pro, a new lapel mic with a customisable E-Ink display. It seems that while other companies have been shrinking their transmitters, Insta360 is making its mics' size a feature instead. 

Lapel mics have become ubiquitous among content creators, frequently appearing in videos as they're difficult to conceal while in use. DJI recently announced swappable magnetic covers for its own Mic Mini 2 transmitters, allowing users to at least customise their transmitter with a variety of colours. However, these covers still retain the company's branding, and have a limited number of hues to choose from.

Credit: Mashable edit: Insta360

The Insta360 Mic Pro's E-Ink display takes such customisation several steps further, giving users massive control over their lapel mic's look. Its customisable display enables you to completely remove the Insta360 logo and replace it with any image, from words and symbols to complex photographs. The Mic Pro does have outward-facing icons marking its power and record buttons, which seem unnecessary and disrupt users' chosen design. Fortunately, the vast majority of the transmitter's visible surface is still subject to your creative whims.

SEE ALSO: DJI launches the Mic Mini 2. But there's a catch.

In terms of build, the Mic Pro transmitter is slightly larger than its predecessor the Mic Air, and over double the weight at 19.7 grams without its attachment clip. The clip can be slipped off in favour of a magnet, though Mashable found that it took a surprising amount of effort to do so in our first look. Even so, users will likely prefer the magnet, as the transmitter's weight noticeably drags down shirt collars when using the clip. Both Insta360 mics offer up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge, however the Mic Pro's new fast-charging storage case makes it easier to top up on the go. 

Credit: Insta360

Like the DJI Mic 3, the Insta360 Mic Pro has 32GB of onboard memory and can range from standard 24-bit audio files to 32-bit float internal recording. Insta360 states that the Mic Pro can record up to 22.2 hours of 32-bit stereo audio or 60 hours of 24-bit mono, with a 48kHz sampling frequency. It also has USB-C ports on the transmitters themselves, a feature we missed on the Mic 3.

Still, the Insta360 Mic Pro's biggest appeal is by far its E-Ink display.

How to change the Insta360 Mic Pro's E-Ink display Credit: Mashable

Changing the Mic Pro's E-Ink display is very straightforward and easy. Simply connect the transmitter to the Insta360 mobile app, and you'll be presented with a screen showing its current display, as well as information such as its current battery percentage and storage capacity. From here, you can tap "Custom Wallpaper" to either select from a variety of preloaded images or upload your own. 

After uploading your image, you can reposition and zoom in on it to ensure the Mic Pro frames it exactly as you'd like. You must also choose between using a detailed, lightly pixelated rendition of your chosen image, or to apply a filter which simplifies it into blocks of colour, intended for images such as simple logos. Mashable's testing found the former option looked better, as the simplifying filter tended to apply colour palettes that didn't reflect the uploaded image.

Once you finalise your choices, you can apply the custom display to the Mic Pro's E-Ink display. It will briefly flash yellow and black to refresh the screen as it does so in order to get rid of any ghosting, and then you're set. The image will remain in the Mic Pro's display until you change it, even after you've turned the transmitter off. 

Credit: Insta360

Your customised wallpaper will also be saved in the Insta360 app, so you can easily swap it in and out or apply it to other Mic Pro transmitters. The app allows you to give your wallpapers a text label for easy organisation as well, which you can choose to show on the Mic Pro's E-Ink display.

The Insta360 Mic Pro is available now at $99.99 for a single transmitter, $199.99 to add a receiver, and $329.99 for two transmitters and a receiver in a charging case.

Featured Video For You Is ChatGPT Changing the Way We Write?

I liked Notion until my workspace became harder to manage than the tasks inside it. Moving my workflow into Excel gave me a faster, offline-friendly system built around simple tables, filters, and structured data. What surprised me most was how naturally Excel handled the parts of Notion I actually used every day.

They say don’t meet your heroes. I say do.

Last week, my brother came to visit me from New Jersey. He’d been to my old apartment, but where I’m at now is new territory. He was losing his mind over my office, a sunroom I’ve filled with plants that are, against all odds, still alive. I was more than happy to let him snoop. It’s a space I’m proud of. He picked up a framed photo I have sitting on my desk. It captures the iconic moment Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi writes “The Note” (if you know, you know) at an internet cafe in Miami alongside her best friend Jenni “JWoww” Farley. He asked one simple question:

“Why?”

Easy reply.

“Working from home gets lonely. Snooki is my coworker.”

It was just a few hours later when I got an email with the title, “Interview opp: Snooki available Friday." And I swear I’ve never opened an email faster.

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Snooki and JWoww have collaborated again, but this time, they aren’t roommates at an apartment in Jersey City. The two have partnered with Ninja to release a limited-edition SLUSHi Sundays kit. The first 100 customers who purchase the Ninja SLUSHi Twist on May 24 will receive Snooki and JWoww’s exclusive slushie recipes (plus some fun extra gifts like hats and cups) to keep your summer going the Jersey way. Perfect for moms on the go, party girls, slushie lovers, and dudes pushing 30 writing stories next to a framed photo of Snooki in their Chicago apartment.

As someone who grew up thinking Slurpees only existed at the 7-Eleven in Point Pleasant (and whose current drink of choice is the frozé at Sidetrack in Chicago), this was big news. I said yes to the interview, obviously.

Released on May 19, the Ninja SLUSHi Twist is a two-for-one, sort of like Snooki and JWoww in Seaside circa summer 2009. The machine has two 48-ounce vessels that can make around 10 or more drinks per batch. (Mashable reviewed the SLUSHi in 2024, rating it 4.6 out of 5 and giving it a Mashable Choice award.) This is great for kids and adults alike, because one side can be filled with Ron Ron Juice and the other with Ron Ron Juice sans vodka. Fun for the whole family. You can purchase this one for $399.99.

Ninja also has the Ninja SLUSHi XL, which is two times bigger and faster than the OG SLUSHi 2. It’s got a 128-ounce capacity that also makes ten or more drinks per batch. This one runs $349.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Slushi Twist $399.99 at SharkNinja
  Shop Now Meet your heroes: Talking with Snooki about boozy slushies Credit: Ninja

The day after the premiere of the final season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, I got on a call with my idol. I entered the Zoom sweaty at my underarms, tilted the camera up so Snooki couldn’t see, and waited. Then she entered. Sipping a slushie. Hungover. She’d had a viewing party the night before, so she and Jenni were, in her words, “dying today.” I asked her what was in her cup.

“Well, today we did pickles and mango with like, a million alcohols… it’s delicious. It’s a beautiful hangover drink.”

It’s not something my brain would have come up with, but I like the way hers works. (You can find the recipe for Snooki's Pickleback Twist on the Ninja website.) I pondered what boozy slushie I'd like, and all I could think was frozé, frozé, frozé, and realized I might have a serious problem. I asked her for some more ideas, and she told me lemonade and vodka, and separately, a fountain Diet Coke with vodka, because both are perfect for the boat. 

Kids drink first, though. Alcohol-free, so no mixing happens, she confirmed. Adults second. She says her kids are just as excited about the collab as she is.

When her kids came up, a light beamed through Snooki’s eyes. And through my pixelated laptop screen, which I realized I really needed to clean. She’s the mom of a teenager now, with her oldest having turned 13 last August. 

To that, she said, “Oh God, see this is why I’m really going to enjoy my SLUSHi machine.”

She told me that her husband grew up with a shore house but she didn’t have that luxury, opting instead for “gross, nasty hotels with roaches.” Something I understood to a T. I didn’t have a shore house either. But now she’s excited to give her kids memories she didn’t get. A shore house that’s packed with family. Cousins around all the time. Memories to be made that will last a lifetime. 

To that, I told her to lock her damn doors. In my older teenage years, my friends and I would sneak out and drive down the shore in the winter to throw parties in friends’ abandoned-for-the-season shore houses. And with a SLUSHi machine sitting in her shore house, there’s even more of an incentive to get down there. I felt my 17-year-old brain working on overdrive again. She’s not worried about that. She says it’s impossible.

“We have cameras everywhere. Once a door or window opens, an alarm goes off. They really can’t pull what I pulled.”

I wrapped up the call by inviting her to my 30th in Nutley, New Jersey, next month, and she can’t go. Which is a bummer. But Snooki is a busy lady. She has slushies to drink. And I get it. I have slushies to drink, too. She invited me to a future event somewhere in New Jersey, where we plan on making a slushy together. A weird one.

And when I showed her the framed photo of her on my desk, she had just one thing to say.

“Oh my God, we’re like coworkers!”

I thanked her for her time. I hung up. My brother was playing on his phone in my living room, legs kicked up on my coffee table.

“You’re sweating,” he said.

“I know.”

I changed my shirt. We put on our shoes and got Slurpees at 7-Eleven.

SAVE OVER $300: As of May 19, the Roborock Qrevo S5V robot vacuum and mop has been discounted to $549.99 at Amazon. This is $350 off its list price of $899.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Roborock Roborock Qrevo S5V Robot Vacuum and Mop $549.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $350   Get Deal

Amazon has been dropping some great early Memorial Day deals, and that includes some solid price drops on robot vacuums. If you've been searching for a model to bring home for extra cleaning help ahead of the summer months, this offer on the Roborock Qrevo S5V robot vacuum and mop is well worth checking out.

As of May 19, the Roborock Qrevo S5V (in both black and white) is on sale for $549.99 at Amazon. Considering its full price is $899.99, this is a great opportunity to save $350 in Memorial Day sales. Amazon has it marked as a limited time deal right now, so this is the time to jump on it before the offer comes to an end.

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If you're dealing with pet hair scattered across your floors right now, dirt making its way inside, or food crumbs in the carpet, the Roborock Qrevo S5V features 12,000Pa suction to clear it all up. It even has a rubberized floating main brush and arc-shaped side brush that helps keep hair from getting tangled inside and slowing it down.

Pesky stains on harder surfaces in your home are handled thanks to the Roborock Qrevo S5V's dual spinning mops, which boast speeds of 200 rotations per minute. It even has an extendable mop arm that can reach into corners or around furniture legs. Plus, this robot vacuum also features obstacle avoidance technology that helps it navigate around any items in its way, from shoes to toys to cables and more.

If the Roborock Qrevo S5V has been on your radar, this is your chance to save at Amazon while Memorial Day sales are live.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Looking to upgrade your tool collection or shop this year? Ryobi has an excellent selection of power tools, and while we've already seen several new products arrive in 2026, more are on the way. The company has released over 75 new items in the last year, which is part of what makes the brand so successful. Here are a few new Ryobi tools I'm still looking forward to this spring and summer.

After a harsh winter across much of the U.S., warmer weather has finally arrived, ushering in road trip season. Soon, millions of Americans will be packing up their cars with kids, dogs, and luggage, ready to hit the open road.

Controlling your content is a big reason people move to Jellyfin, and it is much better than Plex. Self-hosted media setups keep you from getting stuck with one service, paying ongoing fees, and having companies control your media. However, relying on a project built by volunteers in their spare time can cost you time. You can spend more time managing the server than actually using it; it's only free in terms of money, and it's not a complete solution.

TL;DR: Amazon has the KPop Demon Hunters Collectible Trading Cards Energy Edition Collector Box available for preorder at $22.49. The box includes five individually wrapped packs, with eight cards per pack, working out to about $4.50 per pack before tax.

Opens in a new window Credit: KAYOU KPop Demon Hunters Collectible Trading Cards Energy Edition Collector Box (5 Packs) $22.49 at Amazon
Use the product page coupon for full discount. Get Deal

KPop Demon Hunters has already made the jump from Netflix hit to full-on collectibles craze, and now preorders for the official trading cards are starting to land at major retailers. 

As of May 19, Amazon has the KPop Demon Hunters Collectible Trading Cards Energy Edition Collector Box available for preorder at $22.49. That gets you five individually wrapped Energy Edition packs, with eight cards in each one, giving fans 40 cards in total across 11 rarity levels for just under $23 — releasing on Aug. 31. 

That works out to roughly $4.50 per pack before tax, which is a budget-friendly way to get into the new KAYOU set, if you don’t want to jump straight to the bigger 12-pack Energy Edition box for $53.99 (out on July 14). 

Unlike the Classic Edition that’s made for general trading card lovers (with eight rarities and five cards per pack), the 11-rarity and eight-cards-per-pack Energy Edition is designed with collectors in mind — including several serialized rarities designed for superfans chasing the biggest pulls. 

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The standout cards are the SE cards, inspired by the song Golden, featuring premium laser-etched finishes and serialized birthday numbering from 1 to 366. There are also BP cards numbered from 1 to 999, capturing HUNTR/X in all-black stage outfits before the spotlight hits.

If you’re a trading card fan who’s been exploring other TCGs, try out Magic: The Gathering with the Final Fantasy Starter Kit for $20 — after a $5 price drop on Amazon. Pokémon fans can also score packs of the Perfect Order expansion for under $9. The Pokémon TCG’s newly-announced Pitch Black expansion is also available to pre-order at TCGplayer.

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Android Auto is a peculiar beast. Some users seem to have quite a bit of trouble with it, while others tend to love using it. If you wish, it was better. I learned Android Auto is compatible with a variety of apps that you might not expect—including open-source apps.

There are few tech brands with as iconically cool branding as Marshall, and even fewer still with headphones that work as effectively as a fashion accessory as the Major V headphones. Yet, the on-ear headphones were missing a crucial feature: active noise cancellation.

As of May 19, Marshall is changing that, releasing a new pair of on-ear headphones with ANC: the Milton A.N.C. The headphones are available today for $229.99 on Marshall's website.

Marshall Milton A.N.C.: What's new

Prior to the release of the Milton A.N.C., if you wanted a pair of noise-cancelling headphones from Marshall, you'd have to go for the more expensive Monitor IIIs, which clock in at $379.99 (though you can usually grab them on sale for under $300). While I found the Monitor IIIs to be a great pair of headphones, especially for a solid blend of style, portability, and impressive battery power, they do feature a slightly different design than Marshall's iconic on-ear headphones, and aren't quite as compact.

The Milton A.N.C. (center) compared to the Monitor III (left) and Major V (right). Credit: Marshall

That's where the Milton headphones aim to fill a gap. For starters, at $229.99, they're more firmly on the low end of mid-range headphones. According to Marshall, the ear cushions will be larger for better passive noise cancellation and made with softer memory foam for more comfortable periods of extended wear. As someone who's tried the Major V headphones, I'm curious to see how those changes stack up, as I certainly felt the on-ear difference (it wasn't the most positive experience). A huge advantage of the on-ear design is that they are smaller, so you'll get max portability.

SEE ALSO: The Marshall Major V headphones claim to have 100 hours of battery life, so I put them to the test

Of course, the hallmark feature here is the adaptive active noise cancellation that is designed to adjust to environmental noise in real time. Marshall also introduces a new driver system to enhance the bass and treble.

Welcome as a hold over from the existing Marshall headphones is an impressive battery life. Marshall estimates you'll get some 50 hours with ANC on, and 80 hours of playback with ANC turned off. For comparison, the Monitor IIIs boast 70 hours of battery with ANC, but seeing as those headphones have more physical space for the battery, it makes sense that the life of these is a bit less. On the high end is the Major V with 100 hours of battery life, but as those have no noise cancellation, the triple digits make sense.

The press release for the headphones also notes that the Milton A.N.C. are repairable with a replaceable battery, which, depending on its cost and efficacy, could provide huge value for the headphones over time.

Marshall Milton A.N.C.: Just the specs

As for what else to expect with the Milton A.N.C., here's the overview:

• Battery: 50+ hours of playback with ANC, 80 hours without

• Noise cancellation: Adaptive ANC

• Microphones: 6 microphones for ANC and call quality

• Spatial audio: Yes, soundstage spatial audio with Marshall app

• On-ear controls: Customizable M button

• Bluetooth connection: Bluetooth 6.0

• Codecs: SBC, AAC, LC3, and LDAC

• Colors: Black and gold

It's a podcast, but make it hosted by two AI-generated hosts talking to each other about the game last night.

Reader, I hate it.

Announced on Tuesday, Alexa Podcasts is Amazon's latest venture for Alexa+, the company's rebooted AI-powered virtual assistant. Described by the company as "AI-generated audio episodes on any topic," these on-demand offerings essentially replace an entire team of human podcast producers and presenters with artificial intelligence — "no documents or prep work needed."

SEE ALSO: AI audiobooks are invading Libby. Here’s how I avoid them.

It's essentially a Big Tech-backed pile of "podslop" or AI-generated podcasts, which are on the rise along with other AI audio formats. A recent analysis by The Podcast Index found that 39 percent of recently uploaded podcasts were probably created using AI, with companies like Inception Point AI churning out the episodes.

Now, Amazon's joining the surge with Alexa Podcasts. Users (anyone with a Prime membership) can ask the AI assistant to cover any topic from news roundups to sports results to the consensus of movie reviews, "and let you adjust the length and direction conversationally." That means you can pick both the AI assistant's personality — these are dubbed "Alexa, Brief, Sweet, Chill, and Sassy" — and its "conversation style" — "from concise and efficient to warm and conversational."

Then, Alexa will generate a short episode with two AI hosts, which will be sent to your Echo device and the Alexa app.

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Without a human research team, where is all this precious information coming from? According to Amazon, over 200 news publications have signed up as sources, including local U.S. newspapers as well as "Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, TIME, Forbes, Business Insider, Politico, USA Today, and and publications from Condé Nast, Hearst, and Vox." Cool cool cool.

Everything about this makes me want to throw my tech in the sea, especially when you listen to...the examples Amazon has provided on Soundcloud (on Soundcloud!). Why listen to painstakingly researched history podcasts like Greg Jenner's You're Dead to Me and Marc Fennell's Stuff The British Stole when you can have two AI voices regurgitating generic Ancient Roman facts at you? Who needs groundbreaking investigative journalism at a time of casual convenience like this? Why be educated by music historians like Cole Cuchna on Dissect when you can have AI tell you what's good? Why listen to actual athletes and sports commentators present their analysis of the game when you can hear it generated?

Featured Video For You Is ChatGPT Changing the Way We Write?

I listen to podcasts for the hosts, whose personalities and production teams cannot be replicated by Alexa's "Sassy conversational" or "Brief efficient" settings — Ira Glass, Trixie and Katya; Hrishikesh Hirway; Kid Fury and Crissle West; Monét X Change and Bob The Drag Queen; Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang; Kara Swisher; Taylor Lorenz; Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad; Keke Palmer; Amy Poehler; Jon Lovett; Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon; Richard Osman and Marina Hyde; Louis Virtel, and so many more, not to mention the enormous amount of human news teams providing daily news podcasts from the BBC to CNN, and my colleagues at Mashable pouring their creativity and energy into the craft.

It's enough platforms like Spotify and Libby are feeling the creep of AI-generated music and audiobooks, now podcasters are two AI chatbots talking to each other? I don't want to, as Amazon suggests, "turn your dinner table conversations into learning opportunities." What, are we gathering 'round the Alexa for an AI-generated podcast on the Apollo 11 mission? I'm out of here.