They're just lying because they really are doing it for the first reason you pointed out. What they should do is recognize that some of their content works fine as an audio experience and start selling audio only ads to play when delivering content in that way. Even if the audio ads don't make them as much money, the savings from not having to delivery video streams to people who aren't watching the video should make up for it.

There's no such thing as a "financial crime" in the US if you have over a billion dollars and are willing to pay tribute to the king.

I don't think that's the problem at all. The problem only ones doing the consolidating are the dinosaurs scooping up other dinosaurs. It's big studios trading on past successes. The people who made the games you love and remember them for are likely long gone. The one big dev team will make one game that loses out to a smaller indie game that's actually fun to play. It's never been easier for anyone to publish their own games and the most talented developers are making their own games or forming small studios instead of joining the corporate giants. Why would any creative want to work for some company like EA or Activision to churn out the next yearly slop entry when they can do whatever they want, self-publish and sell through Steam, and reap the rewards if they make a hit game? Do all of that and make a good bit of money and if it isn't enough then you can always sellout to one dinosaurs trying to cling on and remain relevant for an even bigger bit of money.

Even without AI these companies would still be lying off a lot of employees. The big studios that used to be able to sell 10 million copies are now struggling to see half that number and cannot support the large teams that they amassed. It doesn't matter if they die because there are plenty of small studios or independent developers making better games. They may not have the flashiest graphics or the tie-in to some recognizable mainstream IP, but they're actually fun to play unlike Yearly Sportsball 2026, Awful Film Tie-In Action Game, Derivative Arena Shooter, or Milked Franchise Cash-cow XIV.

AI isn't going to fix anything for this studios either. Maybe they can get an LLM to crank out uninspired shit for less money than it would take for a human to do the same, but no one is going to buy that either.

On the other hand, I was not aware of this feature and enabled it IMMEDIATELY.

The government could stay out of it entirely and not spend any of the taxpayers money on this sort of useless crap. If people feel they need to train to use AI they can decide to spend their own money (which they'll have more of because the government didn't take it from them in the first place) and companies that want to offer services that people consider worth buying.

Instead we get government paying for a crap product or more often a crap product being sold by someone they're old chums with with no real concern for the quality because it's not their money and they're not using it themselves. Then when it ends up failing the government concludes that clearly they didn't spend enough so the people had better fork over even more of their money.

I suspect that if left to the individual, there may be about $50 spent on these AI training services. That should tell you exactly how much they're really worth.

Markets don't make people anything. They are merely an efficient means for delivering what people actually want. If the people are not moral then they will create black markets dealing in illegal goods or services.

I find it completely unsurprising that people of the time wanted more access to the outside world. Even if things were good for them, the grass always seems a little greener on the other side. There are billions of people on the planet. The likelihood that your best possible partner lives within a few miles of where you were born is statistically unlikely even given most people's in-group preferences.

Better transportation networks merely enabled people to do what they already wanted to do but previously couldn't afford to due to prohibitive costs. People becoming more accepting of outsiders as they are exposed to them at a higher rate is hardly surprising either.

My takeaway is that my phone apparently had a useful feature that I wasn't aware of. I don't know why rich and powerful people would be calling me, but if they can leave their name and reason for calling I'll be sure to get back to them instead of completely ignoring the unknown call.

If they're so rich and powerful in the first place why are they calling anyone? Shouldn't they have servants for something like that?

In a democracy the people get the government they deserve.

If the American people have a ruling class it's only because they continue to vote for them.

We're supposed to just take them at their word that this is unrelated to the white collar job cuts.

They also forced some of us to stop being their customers. A lot of businesses are perfectly fine with employees running Linux these days. Apple selling $500 Mac Minis also make it very easy for people to drop Windows entirely even if they still need Office. I've still got one (well two if you want to count an old laptop that hasn't been turned on in over a year) Windows machine at home, but it's never getting upgraded and I will not replace it with a new Windows box. If prices ever settle down and I build a new gaming rig, I can just throw SteamOS on it. Ditching Windows is easier than ever and Microsoft is giving people every reason to find alternatives.

Microsoft's problems have nothing to do with antitrust laws. The fact that they're doing so poorly suggests that no action on the part of the government is needed or that buying development studios up for exclusivity on their Xbox platform did not benefit Microsoft at all. Their failings are because of idiotic management trying to force a business model onto customers that the customers don't want. Perhaps they would have been more successful if they had more games people wanted to play, but they don't. Forcing Bethesda to sell games on Sony consoles won't make those games more desirable. The studios Microsoft bought are only valuable for their IP, but have become too bloated or otherwise incapable of making good games that will entice people to buy in to Xbox.

Competition will come naturally as the big studios flounder. Smaller studios or independent developers will fill the void left by the dinosaurs of the industry dying off. The game that won GotY at the game awards last year was made by a small team of ex-Ubisoft developers. A few dozen capable developers made a massive hit when teams ten times larger at Ubisoft churn out more crap that no one wants. No amount of regulation you propose can solve problems caused by stupid managers at Microsoft or these game studios. That both took big payouts from Microsoft should tell you that they knew they were in trouble and wanted a big payday before shit hit the fan. Microsoft was foolish enough to oblige them.

I'd read the first 10 books when I was younger but lost momentum and stopped. I finally powered through it a few years back, and found the change of pace from Jordan to Sanderson rather jarring.

I wonder if I would have enjoyed WoT more if the whole series had been on Sanderson's pace or Jordan's. Advantage Sanderson since Jordan's writing was ponderous at best.

The best month for music was just about any month in the mid to late 60's. Even people who weren't alive at the time tend to agree once they listen to what was being released back then.