Chuck E. Cheese Still Uses Floppy Disks To Make Its Rodent Mascot Dance — For Now

Chuck E. Cheese Still Uses Floppy Disks To Make Its Rodent Mascot Dance — For Now

Of the over 600 Chuck E. Cheese locations worldwide, fewer than 50 restaurants still have the quarter-century–old “Studio C” layout of animatronics that uses these floppy disks. Other restaurants have a version of the show that uses contemporary tech, while some have no animatronics at all. (Ars Technica has a story about Chuck E. Cheese’s…

People Are Thirsty For TikTok’s Hottest Ceramicists

People Are Thirsty For TikTok’s Hottest Ceramicists

Blythe’s comment sections, in comparison, are tame — although he does get some seriously horny private messages. “I get very strange emails, where it’s like, ‘Could you massage my socked feet?’ or something like that,’” Blythe recounted. “I don’t know if they thought the socked part made the outrageous request more normal, but something about…

These Men’s Rights Activists Literally Worship Elon Musk

These Men’s Rights Activists Literally Worship Elon Musk

“It’s a big relief that Elon Musk is standing up for free speech and removing censorship,” Anil Murty, a cofounder of SIFF, told BuzzFeed News. (He declined to provide evidence that the group’s tweets were shadowbanned before Musk bought Twitter.) Musk, who has fired over 70% of the company’s employees (including content moderators) since he…

“This Is What Your Worlds Are Lacking”: Artists Are Using AI To Create Fat, Black Sci-Fi And Fantasy Characters

“This Is What Your Worlds Are Lacking”: Artists Are Using AI To Create Fat, Black Sci-Fi And Fantasy Characters

He was hooked. “Sci-fi is kinda like my church,” said Smith, who is now age 47 and living in Philadelphia. “It’s spiritual and very much connected to who I am as a Black, queer person.” The problem with his church, however, is that there isn’t very much Black (or queer) representation. Mainstream sci-fi features Black…

People Submitted So Many AI-Written Stories To A Sci-Fi Magazine That The Editor Had To Close New Submissions

People Submitted So Many AI-Written Stories To A Sci-Fi Magazine That The Editor Had To Close New Submissions

He’s tried using AI-detection tools, but has found them lacking. (A detector released by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, works only about 1 in 4 times.) He said unfamiliar turns of phrase in submissions from authors based outside the US whose first language isn’t English can sometimes trip up such tools. “There’s an inherent bias…

TikTok Has Been Bombarded With Videos Of Users Flashing Their Breasts

TikTok Has Been Bombarded With Videos Of Users Flashing Their Breasts

BuzzFeed News managed to find more than 20 Foopah challenge videos within an hour of being on the platform, only to be shown more on the For You page because of that engagement. (BuzzFeed News will not be linking to or embedding any videos besides Andrews’s, as we cannot guarantee all users taking part in…

Here’s What Happens When You Train An AI On Pauly Shore Movies

Here’s What Happens When You Train An AI On Pauly Shore Movies

There are many reasons to be panicked about AI text generators like ChatGPT. The AI might allow students to cheat their way through AP exams. It might give you bad information about how compound interest works, like when CNET used AI to write SEO-friendly explainers on personal finance. It might try to seduce you and…