Meta has added new edit features and voice notes to Instagram Threads, as it continues to try and take over from Twitter. “Rolling out Edit and Voice Threads today. Enjoy!” wrote Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on the site. They are yet more changes as Meta looks to keep the momentum from the launch of Threads, during which it became the fastest growing app in the world but has struggled to keep users reading and posting. As with when Threads first launched, the new features come amid loud questions over the future of X since Elon Musk took over and changed its name from Twitter. Twitter had previously taken years to add an edit button, and put it behind its Twitter Blue paid-for subscription tier. Some of its delay was thought to be a result of concerns about how to add the feature without contributing to disinformation. Some had expressed concern that the button could be used to edit popular posts to change their wording, or suggest that information had been available at different times, for instance. Twitter addressed that problem by adding a clear marker when a post had been edited, and allowing users to see the history of those edits. Threads does not offer an edit history, and is not thought to be adding one. But it did add a tiny icon making clear that the post has been revised. Threads has also added what it called “Voice Threads”, which function as small audio posts. Users can press a record button and that will then make a playable audio file, which will also include captions. The two new features are the latest changes from Meta to Instagram Threads, which was launched in an early version and has been updated rapidly ever since. Those have included a chronological feed and the ability to use the site on the web. Read More Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake X introduces limits to prevent non-paying users from replying to posts Facebook’s new AI sticker tool generates ‘completely unhinged’ images

Marvel’s latest series, Secret Invasion, is making waves on the internet – though the studio may not be best pleased when it finds out why. Director Ali Selim was greeted with anger from fans after revealing that the opening credits were generated by artificial intelligence. However, he said that the idea of using AI for the sequence, designed by Method Studios, fit into the themes of the show. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He said: “When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it – it just came right out of the shape-shifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who did this? Who is this?” Selim admitted that he does not “really understand” how the AI works, only that he was interested in it. He said: “We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change.” The resulting social media backlash was largely around the fact that using AI likely meant graphic designers and animators, who usually craft opening credits, were cut out of the loop. The revelation comes as the Writers’ Guild America is on strike after negotiations with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed. Part of the negotiation was over protecting writers against the use of AI in the creative process. It means that over the last two months, the use of AI to replace humans in creative jobs has been at the forefront of discussions around the strike. Jon Lam, a storyboard artist, wrote on Twitter: “This is salt in the wounds of all Artists and Writers in the WGA strike.” Another person wrote: “I really loved the first episode of Secret Invasion but them using AI ‘art’ for their intro is just wack. Do better Marvel.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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The internet and mobile phones may not have a “blanket negative effect” on wellbeing and mental health, researchers say. A large international study used data from two million people aged 15 to 89 in 168 countries, and found smaller associations than would be expected if the internet were causing widespread psychological harm. The researchers say that if the link between internet use and poor health were as universal and robust as many think they would have found it. We looked very hard for a ‘smoking gun’ linking technology and wellbeing and we didn’t find it Professor Andrew Przybylski, Oxford Internet Institute However, the study did not look at social media use, and although the data included some young people, the researchers did not analyse how long people spent online. Professor Andrew Przybylski, of the Oxford Internet Institute, and Assistant Professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University, and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, carried out the research into home and mobile broadband use. Prof Przybylski said: “We looked very hard for a ‘smoking gun’ linking technology and wellbeing and we didn’t find it.” He added: “The popular idea that the internet and mobile phones have a blanket negative effect on wellbeing and mental health is not likely to be accurate. “It is indeed possible that there are smaller and more important things going on, but any sweeping claims about the negative impact of the internet globally should be treated with a very high level of scepticism.” Looking at the results by age group and gender did not reveal any specific patterns among internet users, including women and young girls. Instead, the study, which looked at data for the past two decades, found that for the average country, life satisfaction increased more for females over the period. Data from the United Kingdom was included in the study, but the researchers say there was nothing distinctive about the UK compared with other countries. Although the study included a lot of information, the researchers say technology companies need to provide more data, if there is to be conclusive evidence of the impacts of internet use. They explain: “Research on the effects of internet technologies is stalled because the data most urgently needed are collected and held behind closed doors by technology companies and online platforms. “It is crucial to study, in more detail and with more transparency from all stakeholders, data on individual adoption of and engagement with internet-based technologies. “These data exist and are continuously analysed by global technology firms for marketing and product improvement but unfortunately are not accessible for independent research.” For the study, published in the Clinical Psychological Science journal, the researchers looked at data on wellbeing and mental health against a country’s internet users and mobile broadband subscriptions and use, to see if internet adoption predicted psychological wellbeing. In the second study they used data on rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm from 2000-2019 in some 200 countries. Wellbeing was assessed using data from face-to-face and phone surveys by local interviewers, and mental health was assessed using statistical estimates of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and self-harm in some 200 countries from 2000 to 2019. Read More Young people the biggest users of generative AI, Ofcom study shows Software firm Cloudsmith announces £8.8m investment UK and South Korea issue warning over North Korea-linked cyber attacks Data protection watchdog warns websites over cookie consent alerts Employee data leaked during British Library cyber attack Half of adults who chat online with strangers do not check age – poll

A food delivery driver has taken to TikTok with claims his company marked the trip as "too short" to complete. In the viral clip, that's racked up almost 4 million views, Josh (@BikingDC) recorded himself collecting a coffee order from the vendor, before delivering it to a customer two blocks away. “Quick trip,” Josh jokes to the customer, who responded: "Yeah man, it’s hard to get out of the office." As Josh rides away, his phone shows a notification that read: "Can not complete delivery … The trip was too short to complete." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "Imagine doing your job so fast they app tells you to slow down," the TikToker wrote as the caption. "Homie ordered down the street because he cant leave post and i can respect that … but like i still need paid. [sic]." The footage was flooded with comments from baffled users, with one saying "They really need to fix that." Another joked: "Bro does his job so good that app can't process." "It’s probably because he bought normal delivery instead of priority so he has to take his time delivering it," a third theorised. @bikingdc Imagine doing your job so fast they app tells you to slow down ? Homie ordered down the street because he cant leave post and i can respect that … but like i still need paid ? #uber #ubereats #doordash #delivery #fooddelivery #bike #bicycle #washingtondc It comes after a separate food delivery driver hit out at their customer for giving a $5 (£3.90) tip. "I just wanna say, this is a nice house for a $5 tip," the driver says in footage captured on the video doorbell. In response, the customer responds: "You're welcome." The worker didn't take to the response too well, and yelled "f*** you," before heading back to his car. "I say 5$ is good since it was a 20$ order...seriously, what do they expect more than what the order is," one person wrote under the viral clip, as another chimed in: "Did he expect a 100 dollar tip on a 20 dollar order?" Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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SpaceX is about to launch the world’s biggest and tallest rocket once again. Elon Musk’s private space company has got its final approval from US federal regulators to launch Starship on Friday morning local central time. The first launch of the rocket initially appeared to go well, with the rocket launching up into the sky and preparing for its journey around Earth. But minutes later the spacecraft began to tumble and soon after that it blew up in a vast explosion. Since then, SpaceX has been working to comply with regulators including aviation authorities as well as those tasked with protecting the environment and wildlife around its base in Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration issued its license Wednesday, noting that SpaceX has met safety, environmental and other requirements to launch again. Elon Musk's rocket company said it was targeting Friday morning. After the self-destruct system blew up the rocket over the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX made dozens of improvements to the nearly 400-foot (121-meter) rocket and to the launch pad, which ended up with a large crater beneath it. SpaceX has a $3 billion NASA contract to land astronauts on the lunar surface as early as 2025, using the spacecraft. A month ago, the FAA completed its safety review of the upcoming Starship launch. It needed more time to wrap up its environmental review. No one was injured in the first attempt, but the pad was heavily damaged as the rocket's 33 main engines ignited at liftoff. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later reported that concrete chunks, steel sheets and other objects were hurled thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) from the pad. It also said a plume of pulverized concrete sent material several miles (up to 10 kilometers) away. Wildlife and environmental groups sued the FAA over what they considered to be the FAA’s failure to fully consider the environmental impacts of the Starship program near Boca Chica Beach. Plans call for the test flight to last 1 /1/2 hours and fall short of a full orbit of Earth. The spacecraft would go eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans before ditching near Hawaii. Nothing of value will be on board. Additional reporting by agencies Read More The world’s most powerful rocket should launch imminently, Elon Musk says Robot hand with bones, ligaments and tendons 3D printed in world first Users of iPhones can now check bank balance from Wallet app

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