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Mashable is a leading source for news, information & resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable's 25 million monthly unique visitors and 10 million social media followers have become one of the most engaged online news communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.
Updated: 1 hour 18 min ago

Twitter/X's AI chatbot Grok is rolling out to Premium+ subscribers

Fri, 12/08/2023 - 10:54

Twitter/X has officially launched Grok. The new AI chatbot will roll out to Premium+ subscribers in the U.S. over the next week, arriving first to people who have been paying for Twitter the longest.

"the longer you've been a subscriber, the sooner you can grok," Twitter/X said in a post announcing the rollout. "don't forget your towel!"

Tweet may have been deleted

The first AI product from Elon Musk's company xAI, Grok takes its name from the 1961 sci-fi novel "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein. In it, the term "grok" is a Martian word that means "to drink," as well as "to understand" or "to comprehend."

Twitter/X's towel reference is a nod to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy franchise, in which towels feature prominently as an important tool for travellers exploring the universe. xAI's website states that it aims to "understand the universe," while Musk has previously referred to Adams as his "hero."

How to get Grok, Twitter/X's AI chatbot

To get Grok, first you'll have to pay real money to be an X Premium+ subscriber. Once you've signed up, you can find out whether you've received access to Grok by checking Twitter/X's side menu in your mobile app or web browser. If you have it, it should appear in the menu next to it's logo: a square with a rising diagonal slash across it.

If Grok isn't appearing on mobile, make sure that your Twitter/X app is up to date. iOS and Android users who have the chatbot will also be able to add it to their bottom menu, offering them quick access to Twitter/X's new AI. 

Exactly how helpful Grok will be is unclear, as most current users seem more interested in its artificially snarky "how do you do, fellow kids" tone than how accurate its answers are. A preview from a Tesla employee earlier this week was less than reassuring, providing information that was both incorrect and vague to the point of uselessness. It was a particularly poor performance when compared to results from competitors such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, though you probably shouldn't be getting your news from AI chatbots at all.

Tweet may have been deleted

Still, if you're a Musk fan who's craving someone to talk to absent an actual human friend, Grok's Black Mirror-esque Elon Too might tide you over for a bit.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Jordan Peele and Hideo Kojima are collaborating on a horror game

Fri, 12/08/2023 - 10:48

Jordan Peele and Hideo Kojima are collaborating on a video game, bringing the two iconic auteurs together for the first time. It's safe to say that nobody saw this coming.

The unlikely duo announced their new game OD during The Game Awards on Thursday night. Kojima is a well-known and widely-respected figure at such events, having designed the first Metal Gear and directed most of the titles in the series. However, Peele's dramatic entrance to the soundtrack of his 2019 horror film Us was an unexpected surprise.

SEE ALSO: 4 ways of understanding Jordan Peele's 'Us'

"From the first moment I played Metal Gear Solid 2 I knew I was experiencing the work of an artist whose craft just hits different," said Peele. "He's been an inspiration to me and the opportunity to collaborate with him is truly incredible."

"In my film I'm always trying to maximise the immersion [and] put the audience into the main character's shoes. Hideo is the master of this, and he does it on a whole 'nother level. And what he's cooking up here is completely immersive, utterly terrifying, and I am absolutely honoured to be collaborating with the GOAT."

Kojima was similarly complimentary, calling Peele a "genius" and saying that he was a "big fan."

Developed by Kojima Productions and published by Xbox Game Studios, OD intends to explore "the concept of testing your fear threshold, and what it means to OD on fear."

Few further details have been released about OD, but we do know the game will feature Sophia Lillis (It, Sharp Objects), Hunter Schafer (Euphoria, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), and Udo Kier (Flesh for Frankenstein, Downsizing). Digital recreations of all three actors appeared in a brief teaser trailer, repeating nonsensical phrases and becoming increasingly distressed.

Kojima is also aiming to challenge the conventions of video games as a medium, much like he intended to invent a new genre of games with 2019's Death Stranding.

"It is a game, don't get me wrong, but it's at the same time a movie, [and] at the same time a new form of media," said Kojima, speaking through a translator.

Though Peele's involvement is exciting enough, Kojima also teased that the man behind Get Out and Nope may not be the only big creator joining him on OD

"It's not just Jordan," said Kojima. "I have other creative, collaborative partners with me on board on this project. I can't really say who they are right now, but I tell you, they are the legends, and they're going to be amazing."

No release date has yet been announced.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Get 1TB of cloud storage for under £130

Fri, 12/08/2023 - 06:00

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to Koofr Cloud Storage (1TB) is on sale for £126.34, saving you 80% on list price.

It’s hard to believe that the very first iPhone came with only 4GB or 8GB of storage. Now, phones, tablets, and laptops come with anywhere from 128GB, and it’s still not enough. That’s why many users are turning to cloud storage solutions.

Some platforms love charging monthly or yearly fees, but not Koofr — pay just once for their 1TB lifetime subscription, now £126.34 for a limited time.

Koofr is a top choice whether or not you already have a cloud storage solution. If you don’t, you could finally back up important files and photos. If you do, Koofr makes integration with other accounts simple. Connect your Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon Drive, and OneDrive and access all of your files in one location, or migrate them into Koofr.

Those who have been juggling free plans across platforms could finally have one central space to store all of their files. And keep them organised with Koofr’s duplicate file finder and management tools like bulk renaming.

Another reason to love Koofr? Universal compatibility. Upload, access, and share any type of file with no size limit. You’ll also be able to access Koofr from all of your desktop and mobile devices.

This lifetime Koofr subscription packs an impressive 1TB that can store up to 310,000 images, 500 hours of HD video, or 85 million MS Word documents. This is likely enough to handle your storage needs for life. 

A lifetime plan for 1TB of cloud storage from Koofr is on sale for £126.34.

Opens in a new window Credit: Koofr Koofr Cloud Storage: 1TB (Lifetime Subscription) £126.34 at the Mashable Shop Get Deal
Categories: IT General, Technology

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