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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg's Ashley Carman: Welcome to the modern era of podcasting in which thousands of new shows are released into the world every day with a sizable portion likely being AI-generated. Figuring out exactly which ones fall into that growing category is becoming more difficult just as the industry is starting to take this issue seriously. In only the past month or so, Amazon launched a feature that explains a product by generating a quasi-podcast, complete with co-hosts talking to each other and taking questions from users. Shout out to Business Insider reporter Katie Notopoulos for spotting this (and, naturally, demoing it with an adult diaper rash-cream). Not long ago, Nicholas Thompson, chief executive officer of the Atlantic, noted "podslop" dominated his Spotify search results when he typed in the word "Sora." This was around the time that OpenAI shut down its user-generated, AI-content-only app. [...] All of which raises some big, difficult questions. For one, what should the listening platforms do about this incursion? As of right now, Apple Podcasts requires creators who generated a "material portion" of their show using AI to disclose it. The platform also bans misleading or deceptive content. Spotify hasn't published any specific guidelines around AI, though it maintains general rules around dangerous and misleading content. Where this conversation gets even trickier is when it comes to money. Many of these podcasts are hosted on at least one free service that allows programs to opt into their ad marketplace with zero barrier to entry, meaning these shows (and the hosting service) profit off every listen or download. Spreaker, a company owned by iHeartMedia, is the primary one to watch here. Though it tells users to disclose when they rely on AI, it still allows those shows to opt into its programmatic ad marketplace, which pays creators 60% of the revenue generated by the ads placed in their shows. It stands to reason that most of these thousands of shows don't reach many people. But in the aggregate, the ears and dollars could add up. Are the advertisers on board with being next to AI-generated content, some of which might be deemed "slop?" There's also the question of how to define "slop." Jackson of the Podcast Index and his co-host Adam Curry treat it as something listeners simply know when they hear it, while Alberto Betella, co-founder of RSS.com, defines it as "fully automated content with no human review." Jeanine Wright, co-founder of Inception Point, rejects the debate altogether: "The people still talking about slop are still making 6-7 jokes," she said. "It's still yesterday's conversation."

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The 44-year-old pop star did not appear in person in front of a judge weeks after being taken into custody on March 4, but entered a guilty plea via her lawyer Michael A. Goldstein.

Far from the historic simplicity of sausage rolls to meats and cheeses, the great British picnic has grown in variety towards sophisticated truffle-topped charcuterie and creatively flavoured crisps.

There are local elections taking place in England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday. Except there's nothing particularly 'local' about them, at least in England.

The former top catwalker also went makeup free as she was dressed casually in a blue denim jacket with white slacks and sunglasses on her head.

The former professional boxer, 43, is thought to have grown close to the ex-wife of Paddy McGuinness, 38, and both women have dropped several hints on social media in recent days.

Anthropic is reportedly nearing a roughly $1.5 billion joint venture with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Hellman & Friedman, and other Wall Street firms to sell AI tools to private-equity-backed companies. "The investors aim to create a company that acts as a consulting arm for Anthropic and helps teach businesses -- including the private-equity firms' portfolio companies -- how to incorporate AI across their operations," reports the Wall Street Journal. Anthropic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman would each invest about $300 million, while Goldman would contribute around $150 million.

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Zendaya and her husband Tom Holland will NOT be attending the Met Gala Ball in New York tonight. 

The back of the older woman's shirt read 'Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You' as she decapitated the pinata of the president.

The pub is a favourite in the area

GameStop has made an unsolicited $56 billion cash-and-stock offer to buy eBay (paywalled; alternative source), with CEO Ryan Cohen arguing he can turn the marketplace into a far larger Amazon competitor. "EBay should be worth -- and will be worth -- a lot more money," Cohen said in an interview. "I'm thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars." The Wall Street Journal reports: Cohen said GameStop has a commitment letter from TD Bank to provide up to $20 billion in debt financing to help make a deal possible. GameStop delivered an offer letter to eBay on Sunday and released a copy of it following the Journal's report on the details of the bid. Cohen wrote in the letter to eBay Chairman Paul Pressler that GameStop started building its eBay position on Feb. 4. It said its offer consists of 50% cash and 50% GameStop shares. EBay said Monday morning its board and financial advisers would review GameStop's unsolicited proposal. It said there were no discussions with or outreach from GameStop before receiving the offer. Ebay added that it will review the offer "with a focus on the value to be delivered to eBay shareholders, including the value of the GameStop stock consideration and the ability of GameStop to deliver a binding, actionable proposal." If eBay isn't receptive, Cohen said he was prepared to run a proxy fight and take the offer directly to its shareholders. The window for shareholders to nominate director candidates at eBay ahead of an annual meeting scheduled for this June has already closed, according to the company's proxy materials. Cohen told the Journal that putting his videogame retailer and eBay under one roof could create opportunities to cut costs and improve earnings. The two companies have some overlap already, including a focus on selling collectibles such as trading cards. "There is nobody who is more qualified, based on my experience, to run the eBay business," Cohen said, referencing his time at GameStop and previously Chewy, the online pet-products marketplace he co-founded.

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The Royal Navy's fleet of frigates was reduced to just five today after the withdrawal of HMS Iron Duke - while the Army has 'no money to buy weapons'. She is to be retired despite £103m refit.

Nobody is under any illusion that the Met Gala comes cheap - but even by its famously stratospheric standards, this year's ticket price has raised eyebrows.

Former owner Galton Blackiston has been replaced - but supporters point out Norfolk hotspot Morston Hall's Michelin star was reconfirmed just before he left.

It's not the fork that's the problem, it's the attempt to make it look official, says original Notepad++ dev Don Ho

It's not the fork that's the problem, it's the attempt to make it look official, says original Notepad++ dev Don Ho

Notepad++ remains a Windows-only app, at least under that name. The beloved developer-focused, open-source text editor recently was ported to macOS by a third party. However, developer Don Ho wants to be perfectly clear that, no matter how convincing the new project might look, it's not official. …

Kim Kardashian shared a series of throwback snaps to Instagram of her dazzling array of Met Gala looks over the last 13 years.

KIERAN GILL AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: The teenager alarmingly did not use his arms to break his fall as he collapsed to the floor in mid-air.

Layla Nicholson was left 'pleasantly surprised' after booking a 24-hour trip to Faro's Old Town, where she basked in 30C sunshine, feasted on octopus salad and explored cobbled streets.

Fresh details published by the US National Transportation Safety Board appear to confirm suspicions that the China Eastern Airlines Flight was intentionally crashed into mountains in 2022.