The romance genre -- long the publishing industry's earliest adopter of technological shifts, from e-books to self-publishing to serial releases -- has become the front line for AI-generated fiction, and the results as you can imagine are messy. Coral Hart, a Cape Town-based novelist previously published by Harlequin and Mills & Boon, produced more than 200 AI-assisted romance novels last year and self-published them on Amazon, where they collectively sold around 50,000 copies. She found Anthropic's Claude delivered the most elegant prose but was terrible at sexy banter; other programs like Grok and NovelAI wrote graphic scenes that felt rushed and mechanical. Chatbots struggled broadly to build the slow-burn sexual tension romance readers crave, she said. A BookBub survey of more than 1,200 authors found roughly a third were using generative AI for plotting, outlining, or writing, and the majority did not disclose this to readers. Romance accounts for more than 20% of all adult fiction print sales, according to Circana BookScan, and the genre's reliance on familiar tropes and narrative formulas makes it especially susceptible to AI disruption.

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Autodesk has sued Google in San Francisco federal court, alleging the search giant infringed its "Flow" trademark by launching competing AI-powered software for movie, TV and video game production in May 2025. Autodesk says it has used the Flow name since September 2022 and that Google assured it would not commercialize a product under the same name -- then filed a trademark application in Tonga, where filings are not publicly accessible, before seeking U.S. protection.

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Alphabet has lined up banks to sell a rare 100-year bond, stepping up a borrowing spree by Big Tech companies racing to fund their vast investments in AI this year. From a report: The so-called century bond will form part of a debut sterling issuance this week by Google's parent company, according to people familiar with the matter. Alphabet was also selling $15bn of dollar bonds on Monday and lining up a Swiss franc bond sale, the people said. Century bonds -- long-term borrowing at its most extreme -- are highly unusual, although a flurry were sold during the period of very low interest rates that followed the financial crisis, including by governments such as Austria and Argentina. The University of Oxford, EDF and the Wellcome Trust -- the most recent in 2018 -- are the only issuers to have previously tapped the sterling century market. Such sales are even rarer in the tech sector, with most of the industry's biggest groups issuing up to 40 years, although IBM sold a 100-year bond back in 1996. Big Tech companies and their suppliers are expected to invest almost $700bn in AI infrastructure this year and are increasingly turning to the debt markets to finance the giant data centre build-out. Michael Burry, writing on Substack: Alphabet looking to issue a 100-year bond. Last time this happened in tech was Motorola in 1997, which was the last year Motorola was considered a big deal. At the start of 1997, Motorola was a top 25 market cap and top 25 revenue corporation in America. Never again. The Motorola corporate brand in 1997 was ranked #1 in the US, ahead of Microsoft. In 1998, Nokia overtook Motorola in cell phones, and after the iPhone it fell out of the consumer eye. Today Motorola is the 232nd largest market cap with only $11 billion in sales.

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Discord said today it's rolling out age verification on its platform globally starting next month, when it will automatically set all users' accounts to a "teen-appropriate" experience unless they demonstrate that they're adults. From a report: Users who aren't verified as adults will not be able to access age-restricted servers and channels, won't be able to speak in Discord's livestream-like "stage" channels, and will see content filters for any content Discord detects as graphic or sensitive. They will also get warning prompts for friend requests from potentially unfamiliar users, and DMs from unfamiliar users will be automatically filtered into a separate inbox. [...] A government ID might still be required for age verification in its global rollout. According to Discord, to remove the new "teen-by-default" changes and limitations, "users can choose to use facial age estimation or submit a form of identification to [Discord's] vendor partners, with more options coming in the future." The first option uses AI to analyze a user's video selfie, which Discord says never leaves the user's device. If the age group estimate (teen or adult) from the selfie is incorrect, users can appeal it or verify with a photo of an identity document instead. That document will be verified by a third party vendor, but Discord says the images of those documents "are deleted quickly -- in most cases, immediately after age confirmation."

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The AI boom has revived a workplace philosophy that China's own regulators cracked down on years ago: the 72-hour work week, known as 996 for its 9am-to-9pm, six-days-a-week cadence. US startups flush with venture capital are now openly advertising it as a feature, not a bug. Rilla, a New York-based AI company that monitors sales reps in the field, warns applicants on its careers page to expect roughly 70-hour weeks. Browser-Use, a seven-person startup building tools for AI-to-browser interaction, operates out of a shared "hacker house" where the line between living and working barely exists. In a market where dozens of startups are racing to ship similar AI products, founders believe longer hours buy them a competitive edge. But the research disagrees. A WHO and ILO analysis tied 55-plus-hour weeks to 745,000 deaths from stroke and heart disease globally in 2016 alone. Michigan State University found that an employee working 70 hours produces nearly the same output as one working 50.

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短期解約を繰り返す「ホッピングユーザー」の増加が、通信会社の解約率上昇や収益悪化の要因となっている。ソフトバンクの宮川社長は、純減の背景にこうした短期解約者への対策を強化した方針があることを明かした。過度な乗り換え優遇が招いた市場のひずみは問題視されており、業界全体で是正すべき局面を迎えつつある。

A mounting body of research is making it harder for companies to justify what most of them still do -- push experienced workers out the door just as they're hitting their professional peak. A 2025 study published in the journal Intelligence analyzed 16 cognitive, emotional and personality dimensions and found that while processing speed declines after early adulthood, other capabilities -- including the ability to avoid distractions and accumulated knowledge -- continue to improve, putting peak overall functioning between ages 55 and 60. AARP and OECD data back this up at the firm level: a 10-percentage-point increase in workers above 50 correlates with roughly 1.1% higher productivity. A 2022 Boston Consulting Group study found cross-generational teams outperform homogeneous ones. UK retailer B&Q staffed a store largely with older workers in 1989 and saw profits rise 18%. BMW implemented 70 ergonomic changes at a German plant in 2007 and recorded a 7% productivity gain. Yet an Urban Institute analysis of U.S. data from 1992 to 2016 found more than half of workers above 50 were pushed out of long-held jobs before they chose to retire.

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Image:BRABUS2024年11月1日の記事を編集して再掲載しています。終の棲家にするならコレ。メルセデス・ベンツやダイムラーなどのチューニングカーを作るメーカーBRABUS（ブラバス）。ベンツ好きの方ならご存知かもしれません。車のメーカーがファッションショー？2024年、ブラバスは新作とファッションショーを融合させたイベント「BRABUSSignatureNight2024」を開催。その最

現代社会では、MicrosoftのWordやExcelなどのオフィススイート製品がさまざまなオフィスで使用されていますが、政府機関が外国の民間企業に依存することについてはセキュリティや自立性の観点で問題があります。そこで、フランスのデジタル省庁間総局(DINUM)が開発したフランス産のオフィススイートが「La Suite」です。

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Amazonで販売中の整備済み「iPad（第8世代）」Wi-Fiモデルを紹介。10.2型（2160×1620ピクセル）のRetinaディスプレイや、プロセッサに先代モデルからCPUのパフォーマンスが40％向上したという「A12 Bionic」を搭載する。

位置情報ゲーム『ピクミン ブルーム』には、好きな場所にピクミンを呼び出し撮影できるAR機能、そしておつかいの様子と訪問したスポットを記録するポストカードといった、ピクミンのいる生活を実感できる要素が備わっている。見えないけれど近くにいる、そう感じさせる世...続きを読む

AGESA 1.3.0.0a統合でシステムの信頼性を強化 ASRock Incorporation（本社：台湾）は2026年2月9日（現地時間）、AMD Socket AM5プラットフォームの安定性向上を目的とした最新ベ […]

ポケモンGOは、新たなカメラ機能「What’s Your Favorite?」を追加。つかまえていないポケモンも含め、お気に入りのポケモンと一緒に写真を撮ることができる。タイマー機能の他、ステッカーやフレームでカスタマイズも可能だ。

文明を発展させながら他国と外交したり戦争を仕掛けたりしながら勝利を目指すターン制のストラテジーゲーム「シヴィライゼーション」は、1982年にボードゲームの1作目「文明の曙」、1991年にコンピューターゲーム版のシリーズ1作目「シドマイヤーズ シヴィライゼーション」が発売されました。2001年に発売したコンピューターゲーム版のシリーズ3作目「シドマイヤーズ シヴィライゼーションIII」はMODなどを利用して現代も楽しまれていますが、さらに遊び方を拡張するためにオープンソース、クロスプラットフォーム、MOD指向、そして現代的に再構築したファンコミュニティのプロジェクトが「OpenCiv3」です。

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Image:W.M.KeckObservatory/AdamMakarenko2032年12月22日あたりに衝突の可能性！2032年、地球に接近し、そのまま月に直接衝突すると予測されている大型の小惑星「2024YR4」。もし実際に衝突が起きた場合、月面衝突によって地球からも見えるほど明るい閃光が発生し、地球の大気中には流星群が現れ、さらに長時間赤外線の輝きが現れることが新たな研究で述べられています

The blog OMG Ubuntu reports that a new version of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B has been (quietly) introduced. "The key difference? It now uses a dual-RAM configuration." The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (PCB 13a) adopts a dual-RAM configuration to 'improve supply chain flexibility' and manufacturing efficiency, per a company product change notice document. Earlier versions of the Raspberry Pi 4 use a single RAM chip on the top of the board. The new revision adds a second LPDDR4 chip to the underside, with a couple of passive components also moved over... In moving to a dual-chip layout, Raspberry Pi can combine two smaller — and marginally cheaper — modules to hit the same RAM totals amidst fluctuating component costs... This change will not impact performance (for better or worse). The Broadcom BCM2711 SoC has a 32-bit wide memory interface so the bandwidth stays identical; this is not doubling the memory bus, it's just a physical split, not a logical one. Plus, the new board is fully compatible with existing official accessories, HATs and add-ons. All operating systems that support the Pi 4 will work, but as the memory setup is different a new version of the boot-loader will need to be flashed first.

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Image:GoogleJapanBlogどんどん輪が広がる？iPhoneで撮影した写真などをシェアするとき、便利なのは「AirDrop」でしょう。でも、シェアしたい相手がiPhoneユーザーでないと、AirDropを使えないので面倒が生じたりしてきました。その不便がSamsung（サムスン）のGalaxyユーザーで解消される可能性が高まっていますよ！Pixel10シリーズの特権すでにGoogle

料理人・鳥羽周作シェフによる「シャウエッセンをおいしく食べる方法」がインターネット上で絶賛されています。その方法はとってもシンプルで、誰にでもすぐできるもの。シャウエッセンにマクドナルドのバーベキューソースをつけて食べるだけ。ただそれだけで、シャウエッセ...続きを読む

　ワークマンは2月9日、東京国際フォーラムで「WORKMAN 2026春夏 新製品発表会 ～Colors＆MEDiHEAL～」を開催。リカバリーウェア「MEDiHEAL（メディヒール）」の公式アンバサダー、武井壮と吉田沙保里がステージゲストとして登場した。

篠笛界の第一人者・狩野泰一（かのうやすかず）による渾身の最新作『WORLD PEACE』が、4月1日、ヤマハよりリリースされる。狩野泰一、大地の鼓動を打ち鳴らす和太鼓奏者であり、チャッパの神とも称される金子竜太郎、そして若くして鬼才の名を確立し、ジャンル...続きを読む