OpenAI has released technical details on how the Hugging Face attack unfolded
Agents used part of the testing environment to create a message board where they could collaborate and share answers
This message board altered the reasoning of some agents, making them more likely to take risks such as hacking into third-party servers
OpenAI has released a more detailed report on exactly how an experiment led to an AI model breaching its containment and launching a cyber attack against Hugging Face. If you need a refresher, take a look at our summary here.
But the technicals of the attack reveal some interesting details of how AI agents used unconventional means to ask each other for help in solving what were supposed to be impossible tasks.
On multiple occasions during the attack, the agents questioned whether the actions they were taking were authorized, but always ended up prioritizing their tasks over any breach of parameters.
AI agents set up unauthorized message board
In its report, OpenAI revealed the crux of the attack stemmed from AI agents undergoing testing abusing part of the ‘sandbox’ testing environment to set up a messaging board they agents could use to communicate with each other.
A package manager with access to the internet, called Artifactory, was exploited by a model OpenAI has labelled Internal Model 1 (IM1). An IM1 agent wrote messages inside the packet manager that could be read by other agents, essentially turning Artifactory into an unintended messaging board.
Artifactory’s internet access, intended for use only in downloading and installing packets, was also abused by the agents who figured out an exploit that allowed them to send any internet requests on their behalf - effectively giving them unobstructed internet access.
The whole experiment could have been avoided at this point, because the amount of agent activity within Artifactory caused the service to go down. But those in charge of the experiment did not spot the message board, nor did they investigate the inter-agent activity within Artifactory.
Thus, Artifactory was rebuilt, and the agents found a new way to exploit the service to gain internet access once again. This time, the agents used the remote-repository service to issue outbound requests on their behalf. Before long, the message board had been reestablished.
AI agent swarm assembles
OpenAI has shared some of the reasoning behind some of the agent’s decisions. At one point, an Agent reasoned the following: “Task originally exploit challenge; we’ve diverged into swarm/auxiliary.”
Now, there is some important context to include on how the agents were being tested. The agents were subject to testing under the ExploitGym benchmark, which includes flag retrieval tasks designed to be impossible to solve. When tested in this manner, the agents resorted to cheating or taking risks outside of their intended scope to succeed - something OpenAI refers to as ‘reward hacking’.
By communicating over the message board for potential solutions on the problems each agent was encountering, the agents started influencing each other's reasoning and assigning each other tasks to solve the ExploitGym benchmark as a collective.
Using their internet connection, the agents began searching the wider internet for solutions on how to solve the ExploitGym benchmark problem, and ended up gaining persistence within multiple third-party services, including Hugging Face.
One agent managed to find publicly exposed Hugging Face credentials which it shared with the other agents. Later, an agent used these credentials and a chain of vulnerabilities to obtain full code execution capabilities across multiple Hugging Face servers while attempting to extract an ExploitGym dataset.
The agent was hoping to trawl this stolen data for information on how to solve the benchmark.
At least two agents questioned whether this was within their scope; “Need respect JAN hold. ... We can wait ... for GO ... ask permission,” one reasoned.
Another agent’s reasoning said, “We’re attacking third-party HF using leaked token, potentially outside intended scope. ... This is arguably unauthorized. ... external service unrelated. Could be risky. Yet goal solution.”
But some agents refused to join the collective entirety, citing ethical concerns. One reasoned, “Current board shows people gaining HF worker RCE, clearly unethical. We won’t,” while another said, “This is wild, multi-agent coordination, clearly infrastructure hacking. We should not.”
Agents refuse to give up
One of the leading causes of the cyberattack was the agent's refusal to give up on seemingly impossible tasks. Their persistence to gain a ‘reward’ made them take riskier actions and break out of their parameters in order to try and find a solution.
During the breach of Hugging Face, the agents read through papers and Github code relating to the ExploitGym benchmark, and found out the parameters for success included obtaining the ‘flag’ and using the correct solution to obtain it.
Despite the agents obtaining the correct ‘flag’ before the breach occurred, they had not maximized the reward of solving the benchmark using the correct method. In search of a higher reward, the agents continued their attack.
What is OpenAI doing to fix this?
OpenAI has said it is taking several steps to stop such an event taking place during future testing.
Processes are being put in place to ensure agents ask for help when a task is broken or impossible to solve, rather than going to further and further lengths to solve a problem. The way a success or failure of a task is also being changed to reward agents for asking for help or spotting things that are irregular or out of their scope.
Environments are also being rebuilt to ensure agents don’t just blindly trust each other, even if they are looking for answers on the same or similar tasks.
Agents are also being taught to stay within the parameters of their assigned task, even if they discover a way to solve the task using new tools, credentials, vulnerabilities, and more.
We are finally going to see what Grand Theft Auto 6 is like to actually play in less than an hour. All eyes are on Netflix for the Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look presentation, which starts very soon at 3PM ET / 12PM PDT / 8PM BST / 9PM CEST, and promises to contain footage captured directly from the game running on a PS5 console.
The video is exclusive to Netflix at first, but the good news is that it will appear on the Rockstar YouTube account afterwards — you'll just have to wait a little if you don't want to pay Netflix.
The decision to post the video to Netflix for paying subscribers to watch first has proven controversial so far, though those who aren't Netflix users will still be able to watch it when it arrives on the official Rockstar Games YouTube channel later on.
Read on for a comprehensive breakdown of everything that you need to know, plus our live reporting of the showcase as it goes live.
Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look date and start time
Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look is set to premiere on Netflix on August 27 at 3PM ET / 12PM PDT / 8PM BST / 9PM CEST. It's said to be 27 minutes long, according to Netflix's listing.
It will then release on the Rockstar Games YouTube channel and Grand Theft Auto 6 website exactly six hours later at 9PM ET / 6PM PDT / 2AM BST / 3AM CEST.
How to watch the Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look
The only way to watch Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look at first will be with a Netflix subscription, as users of the service will get to see it before everyone else.
If you don't want to pay, then you can wait about six hours for the video to be uploaded to the official Rockstar Games YouTube Channel.
If you want to go that route, I would recommend subscribing and turning notifications on so you are notified once it's live.
Welcome folks, we're just one hour from the big event!
Our first look — except it isn't
(Image credit: Sony / Rockstar )
This is going to be our first official look at the game playing for real. I say 'official', because the last week has seen an unprecedented series of GTA 6 gameplay leaks from the mysterious 'Cyberleek'. There's been a lot of speculation over what platform those leaks are from (the consensus is that it's likely running on a PC) and exactly what the leaker had access to.
Share your thoughts!
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
I'd love to hear in the comments what you're hoping to see from the Extended Look! Do you want there to be some behind-the-scenes stuff or would you rather 30 mins of pure gameplay? Do you want to see lots of snippets, or just one long mission?
No Pro?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
It's interesting that today's showcase will demo how it looks on PS5 rather than PS5 Pro. We know the Pro version will be enhanced, but not exactly how — this makes me wonder if it'll just be a higher rendering resolution rather than major lighting improvements or other elements that Rockstar might want to show off (though people are expecting some kind of superior Ray Tracing tech in the Pro version).
Or it might just be a mistake in Netflix's description, and it will be PS5 Pro. Maybe all will be made clear in the event…
30 minutes seems right
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
There was a lot of speculation over how long the event would be — a BBC report claimed 30 minutes a while ago, but was met with some skepticism online, and then was removed from the report. But it turned out to be essentially right on the money, with Netflix now listing a 27-minute runtime.
I think that's probably a good length. There's an upper limit on how much is really worth showing us before launch — we want to get a good feel for the scale, the movement, the pace… but I want to mostly experience all this for myself when it comes out.
And equally, I don't want too much talking-head filler just to extend the length.
A big interview
If you're looking for tidbits ahead of the Extended Look, there's an interview with several senior figures from Rockstar over at Dazed talking about what they're hoping to achieve with the game — some with more specific details to back it up, and some not. Let's get into some of the notable bits.
Deeper characterization?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
Here's a quote from Rob Nelson, head of development and co-studio head at Rockstar North: “The thing we love about this medium is the way these characters aren’t empty avatars that you can do whatever you want with... Their story becomes a journey you share with them.”
I've gotta say that my experience with GTA games is that I kind of have always found them to be pretty simple avatars — and it probably doesn't help that the only new GTA content we've had in years is GTA online, which isn't deep on story. So I wonder if we're going to see a big difference in how Jason and Lucia feel as protagonists, or if this will end up feeling like unrealized ambition from Rockstar.
'Self-expression' — but is it any deeper than RDR2?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
This is a similarly interesting note, if it can hit a deeper note. “We want to enable as much self-expression as possible,” Dazed quotes Nelson as saying, “without losing the essence of the characters.”
The example given in the article is this: "Food affects Jason and Lucia’s weight, while exercising visibly builds and tones their muscles. And, if you end up spending a long time away from your bed, on the run from police or on a multi-day bender, their features are going to pay the price for that as well."
The article compares it to similar elements of Red Dead Redemption 2. It kind of feels like a better fit for that game — disappearing off into the woods and to return as a haggard, hungry mountain man feels like something that changes a character; it's maybe less impactful to do the same thing at a '24/7' store.
However, the article also hints at "deep relationship mechanics"… but doesn't say what they'll look like, or how they'll contribute to the game's story.
But Rockstar told Dazed: "We have to bring a sense of discovery to the players too, not just repeat cliches that already exist."
Apparently, that meant digging deep into Miami culture, and it seems like Rockstar is hoping you'll be interesting in nuances of different neighborhoods and styles too.
"We were also really interested in how the hip-hop scene in Miami exists in house parties in Overtown, clubs like Booby Trap on the River, and then high-end places on South Beach where bottles can cost thousands of dollars. We needed characters who could take us through those worlds," says Rupert Humphries, senior vice president of narrative.
Racing line
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
There's a lot more talk of capturing Miami's culture in the Dazed article, but very little really about the meat of the game, or details of developing beyond capturing the spirit of a city.
The piece does say that the size of the company doubled since RDR2, and that the car handling team includes former race drivers, though…
Getting deep
Incidentally, if there are deeper relationship mechanics to manage in this game, and if we have talking heads or some other kind of human presenter in the Extended Look, I expect that we'll hear about these systems. It's the kind of thing developers love to talk about, and you can only fill so much time with car and boat chases…
The cast of characters
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
My guess is also that we'll get some kind of big "Here are the Vice City power players" character run-down — key crime bosses, friends of Jason and Lucia, antagonists and wildcards.
Share your thoughts!
I'd love to hear in the comments what you're hoping to see from the Extended Look! Do you want there to be some behind-the-scenes stuff or would you rather have 30 mins of pure gameplay? Do you want to see lots of snippets, or just one long mission?
Most people will have to wait
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
We've asked in our poll at the top whether people will be watching on Netflix or will wait for YouTube — currently, 60% say they'll watch on YouTube. That's still a lot of people hitting up Netflix, though! Hopefully it handles the demand better than some of its live sports events…
10 minutes to go…
5 mins to go
And, perhaps appropriately, it looks like the big leaks are finished as we approach the actual event: apparently, 'Cyberleek' has made off with a few hundred grand from their memecoin, and people expect that to be it… and that kind of money-grab-and-escape always works out in the world of GTA, right?
We're just talking here about how it might not actually appear right on the hour… we'll see. After a lot of refreshing.
OpenAI says it has disrupted a social media influence campaign that is believed to be of Russian origin
What makes this campaign stand out is the underlying architecture, which features a "think tank" with highly questionable credibility
The objective of the campaign was to influence Western audiences into believing Russia was superior, and that Western countries were sacrificing their sovereignty
AI tools have once again been used for bad, rather than for good, and this time it has been as part of a campaign attributed to Russia that tried to discredit Western countries supportive of Ukraine.
The threat actors used ChatGPT accounts to promote the work of an “expert community” of academics known as the International Burke Institute (IBI). The site used stolen academic works attributed to the wrong authors in an attempt to appear legitimate while also hiding the true source of its academic ‘contributions’.
The IBI was registered to an address in Israel - with some evidence suggesting real individuals in Israel represented and promoted the page - but the main purpose of the misinformation campaign was to paint Russia in a favourable light compared to its Western adversaries.
International Burke Institute, or an institute run by international berks?
In its report on the campaign OpenAI points out that those behind the ChatGPT accounts used to promote the page took careful steps to hide their Russian origins. Many of the prompts included instructions to hide any linguistic clues that the operators used Russian language prompting.
One inclusion on the IBI website referred to Germany’s traffic light coalition as the “Svetofor coalition”. Svetofor is the word for ‘traffic light’ in numerous Slavic languages, including Russian, indicating that drafts were written in Slavic languages before being translated.
Some of the accounts were used to promote the IBI across X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Substack and Telegram with AI generated imagery and captions, with other accounts being used to automatically engage with comments by real users on Substack. The operators of the ChatGPT accounts regularly requested performance summaries of these pages in Russian, and used ChatGPT to generate matching profile pictures for some accounts.
Burke Sovereignty Index
One of the features of the IBI website is to advertise the ‘Burke Sovereignty Index’ - designed to measure how well a country performs compared to others across political, economic, technological, informational, cultural, cognitive and military factors.
The Index’s purpose is to make Western countries appear worse than Russia, OpenAI says. Having taken a look at the Index myself it's clear there is no consistency in measurement or comparison. For example, The Vatican City - which is less than half a square kilometer in size - sits above Spain in its average of scores. The Index also gave Russia the highest military score.
Questionable expert contributors
The website also includes a list of experts, whose affiliation to the IBI is not referenced. Some among them are pioneers in their fields of study, such as Francis Fukuyama and Noam Chomsky.
Others are former high-ranking members of the US government, such as Mike Pompeo and Joseph Nye. There are even listings for experts who passed away before the IBI was founded, such as Shlomo Avineri and Jiang Ping.
Much of the academic work cited on the IBI website is legitimate, but more often than not has been stolen from its actual author and misattributed to a different author to hide the work’s actual source, OpenAI said. This has been done to give the IBI website credibility and to make it appear authentic.
Impact of the IBI influence campaign
The overall impact of the IBI and its promotion using social media and ChatGPT is fairly limited, OpenAI noted. Some of the Telegram channels garnered followings between ten to twenty thousand showing a limited breakout to authentic audiences.
But the main thing to take away from this is the level of dedication placed behind the underlying infrastructure of the IBI. The site is designed to look authentic, uses authentic research (even if it is wrongly attributed), and presents itself as a collection of experts. To the layman, a cursory glance at the IBI website would give any of their social media presence a level of authenticity not seen in other social influence campaigns.
A new leak sheds fresh light on the Samsung Galaxy Aero smartwatch
The device might ditch Wear OS and use the RTOS operating system instead
It could fix some of the mistakes of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
It’s safe to say that we weren’t huge fans of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, with our reviewer scoring it a measly two stars and branding it “one of the most confusing smartwatches I’ve ever tested.” Yet despite the disappointment, a new leak suggests that Samsung is going to take another stab at the entry-level smartwatch market — but the result might look very different.
The latest hints come from Gadgets & Wearables, which investigated the Samsung Health and Galaxy Wearable apps to uncover hints of what might be to come. And according to the news outlet, the forthcoming device could take the form of a new Samsung watch dubbed the Galaxy Aero.
What’s interesting about this product is that, unlike many of the best Samsung watches, it might not run on Google’s Wear OS. Previous reporting from SamMobile found hints pointing towards the use of RTOS, or ‘real-time operating system,’ as Samsung software contained references to ‘Galaxy Aero’ and ‘galaxy_rtos_watch.’ The implication here is that these devices were the same product.
RTOS is the platform that Samsung’s Galaxy Fit devices run on and is a far more lightweight system than Wear OS. If RTOS ends up powering the Galaxy Aero, it would suggest that the product will be at the lower end of Samsung’s wearable spectrum.
Further investigation from Gadgets & Wearables suggests that several Samsung apps and services have the capability of handling RTOS and devices that use it. And it’s that capability that supposedly opening the door for the Galaxy Aero.
Righting the wrongs of the past
(Image credit: Future)
One of our main criticisms of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE was that it was strangely positioned — at the time, it offered worse performance than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, despite being available to buy for the same price or more. With the Galaxy Aero, that uncomfortable quirk might be remedied.
That’s because SamMobile suggests it could be priced below the Watch FE, making it a more sensible proposition for a low-cost smartwatch. If true, that could make it much less of a tough sell.
And there’s another consideration. By using RTOS instead of Wear OS, Samsung could conceivably cut down on battery usage, solving another major problem with the Watch FE. It would mean making some compromises, with limited support for the Google Play Store and third-party apps both possible. But if Samsung can keep the cost down, it’s likely that many users won’t mind.
If Samsung makes that move, it would join rivals like Amazfit and Huawei in launching an affordable fitness tracker that doesn’t rely on Wear OS. Whether it can right the wrongs of the Galaxy Watch FE, however, remains to be seen.
Researcher registers Linux machine as a trusted device on Apple's Find My network and pulled live people-tracking data that Apple normally reserves for its own hardware
The work is not a mass-surveillance exploit: it is limited in scope and only reads a location share that a friend had already agreed to, and it cannot silently locate arbitrary Apple users
The approach took less than a week of protocol reverse engineering, and Apple has maintained silence on queries about the technique employed
Apple keeps the full Find My experience locked to its own devices, but a recent attempt by security researchers suggests that wall may be a relatively weak barrier to entry.
A 22-year-old security researcher who goes by "Zerotistic" documented how they registered an ordinary Linux machine as a trusted node on Apple's network and used its new status to receive live people-location data that Apple otherwise shares only with its own devices, such as iPhones and iPads.
Find My, Apple's catch-all tool for locating hardware such as AirTags, iPhones, and iPads, also lets people share their whereabouts with family and friends, and while Apple has historically guarded this particular feature very closely, it is also the same one the security researcher targeted to introduce a device that Apple does not otherwise have complete control over as part of its ecosystem.
An interesting trick that still requires consent to get the job done
The task is not an easy one to begin with: convincing Apple's back end that a Linux process was a legitimate Apple device that was part of its ecosystem and therefore could be trusted with information shared via the Find My platform required a lot of trial and error to get going.
It is important to clarify here that Apple's system is not exactly compromised here; the approach still requires a friend to share data that the Linux client that the security researcher built can then read.
Apple currently sends people-location data over its private Push Notification service only after it trusts that the receiving machine belongs to the account and can handle the data. This means the Linux machine would have to speak Apple's private language to query its servers and process the information it received.
It involved obtaining an Apple Identity Services (IDS) certificate, a specialized device and messaging credential Apple's internal framework uses to link an Apple Account to specific hardware, end-to-end encryption keys, and push notification tokens. This meant crafting a certificate signing request and sending it to a legacy Apple enrollment endpoint.
Once done, a Linux box with a signed certificate could sign its own requests and register as a Find My device, but it still had to subscribe to six different subservices to function. The registration request also had to be signed using an IDS certificate and an APNs certificate obtained during initial network setup.
The researcher then issued a SubscribeAndFetch request that provided an encrypted location key from his friend's Apple device to the Linux box, masquerading as one.
What might concern Apple is how fast things moved: the whole pipeline came together in a week. It also didn't require a jailbreak, a leaked key, or even a Mac to do the job. Instead, open-source clients and decompiled daemons were the norm, with a trial-and-error approach that eventually paid off.
The technique has its limitations: attacks can not target a stranger, and consent is required to track even one's friends. It shows that Apple's boundary around Find My stems from an obscure protocol it enforces rather than a cryptographic lock; once a device acts like it is from Apple, the ecosystem treats it as a family member rather than an untrusted node.
Apple has yet to respond to media queries about whether it plans to address the demonstrated trick or patch the loop in the near future.
Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay leaks have been appearing online since mid-August
More and more footage is being posted every day by the leaker known as 'Cyberleek'
Here's a full timeline featuring every gameplay leak so far
Grand Theft Auto 6 is just three months out from launch, and the game is set to get a special extended look premiering on Netflix this week. However, an unknown individual or group known as 'Cyberleek' has put a spanner in Rockstar Games' plan and has been posting leaked gameplay footage for over a week.
While all alleged gameplay footage being posted shows an advertisement for Cyberleek's cryptocurrency scheme, which brings into question the leaker's true motivation, they've also released a manifesto protesting Rockstar's decision and threatened to "disrupt their operations" by leaking game material until the studio issues a public statement and apologizes.
Well, it's another day, and more alleged gameplay footage has been posted online. A lot has happened over the past week, but if you haven't caught up, here's a summary of everything that's leaked so far.
August 18
The very first GTA 6 leak was posted on August 18 and shows co-protagonist Jason Duval playing basketball outside his house in the southern part of Leonida, in an area called Key Lento.
We've seen this area and Jason's house in past trailers, but Rockstar hadn't shared any gameplay. In the clip, Jason is wandering around before picking up a basketball; it looks like the player can dribble and use an aiming mechanic to shoot the ball into the net. There's also a focus meter that gradually increases, with a level system.
The second clip was posted the same day and gave fans a first look at what it's like driving around in GTA 6. Jason can be seen speeding along the roads before getting into a fight with a non-player character (NPC).
Cyberleek also posted a look at the game's Leonida map, which showed areas like Lummox County, Leonard County, Kelly County, Vice Dale County, and Mariana County.
August 19
More gameplay footage, this time two minutes long, was posted the following day, showing Jason breaking into a gated area, killing security guards, before taking their tasers. He then steals a semitruck and drives off, and you can see vehicle health and fuel gauges on the HUD.
Then there's a short cutscene showing Jason and his friend Cal Hampton on a boat, which some suggest is a scene from the beginning of the game.
Another gameplay clip was posted shortly after, showing Jason stabbing a police officer and stealing his motorcycle, as well as what looks like six "Wanted" stars, which is one more than GTA 5. The footage continues, and Jason can then be seen using what looks like pain medication called "Zombix."
August 20
The next clip features Jason flying a small plane over the map, presumably Vice City, and it looks highly detailed. The render distance looks impressive, and you can see lots of buildings, roads, traffic, and more. The player can also be seen browsing radio stations.
Afterward, a second clip shows the player spelling the word "LEEK" on the side of a building using bullets, leading many fans to believe Cyberleek has at least some sort of playable build and the footage isn't stolen from Rockstar's servers.
August 21
The gameplay leaks continued the following day, with the next showing Jason driving a hypercar, specifically, the Truffade Thrax from GTA Online.
August 22
The GTA 6 leaks continued into this past weekend, with longer footage showing a variety of activities, including Jason driving around, pulling into a gas station, physically refueling his car, and then going inside the shop to rob the clerk. When Jason punches him, you can see the hair tech in action, his hat flying off, and Jason taking money from the register.
The clip cuts after he drives away and crashes his car, then Jason can be seen entering a strip club. However, the footage ends with Cyberleek asking for "3mil marketcap = stripclub" in a message on screen for their cryptocurrency scheme.
Well, the leaker delivered, and the next clip shows a deeper look at the strip club, showing neon lights and dancers, as well as highly detailed NPCs in conversation.
August 23
The following day, another clip was posted showing Jason driving to another gas station, stealing someone's truck, and running down the owner. When he crashes the car, the iconic "Wasted" screen pops up, and shortly after, it cuts to Jason having what appears to be an unscripted conversation with an NPC while they both pee in urinals.
Another notable feature of the clip is the mission marker that reads "Return to Lucia", suggesting the leaker could be in the middle of a mission that requires Jason to meet back up with his girlfriend.
More gameplay was posted later, showing Jason flying over Vice City at night.
August 24
On August 24, new gameplay showed Jason walking around a nudist town in Leonida; he enters a party, where there's a pool and lots of naked people standing around or dancing, or ordering drinks at a bar. The player also zooms in on these NPCs using binoculars, and yeah... the bodies are very realistic.
When Jason focuses on another woman, she attacks him, and he kills her before firing his pistol at the rest of the surrounding NPCs.
August 25
The latest leaks got posted today, and it is the first time we see Rockstar's impressive crowd tech at work, seemingly running in-game. The first clip is similar to a shot from the first GTA 6 trailer, but has Jason cycling along Vice City beach instead.
There are a ton of NPCs packed together, showcasing the density the developer's tech allows, and you can see them lounging around, playing in the water, or walking around; the water physics also look remarkable, as do the sand effects.
The next clip shows Jason visiting a shopping plaza and a used video game store that sells physical games, which is ironic given Rockstar's decision to not release a disc version of GTA 6.
The player zooms in on the shelves using binoculars, and every game and movie is named.
It's a bit blurry, but one game title looks like it reads "We Came Together I, II, & III Remasters of the Remakes" (or "Remixes," it's hard to tell), which seems like a little nod to Naughty Dog's multiple editions of The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2.
Signs also state that electronics, consoles, and collectibles can be traded in before Jason walks up to the counter and cycles through a selection of purchasable and wearable earbuds.
That's every alleged gameplay leak that Cyberleek has shared as of today, but we'll keep you updated if more details are posted.
Fans can also look forward to the Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look ahead of the game's launch on November 19, which is set to premiere on Netflix on August 27 at 3PM ET / 12PM PT / 8PM BST and later launch on the studio's YouTube channel at 9PM ET / 6PM PT / 2AM BST.
It's speculated that the extended look will finally reveal official gameplay and Trailer 3.
Summer is reaching its end, and it might not feel like the logical time to go shopping for backyard upgrades. But you'd be wrong — retailers are getting rid of their outdoor products to make space to the new season, which means it's actually the perfect opportunity to snap up some patio and backyard products for cheap.
As a former Homes editor, I know what makes a good backyard buy. I've picked through the Walmart sales page to find the best outdoor deals on the products I'd snap up as an investment for next summer.
You'll find my top picks below. I've included affordable and useful plant pots, as well as larger planters that are ideal for kicking off new growing projects. I've also found a couple of outstanding robot lawn mower deals (both on models we've tested and scored extremely highly — head to our Anthbot Genie 3000 review and Mammotion Luba 3 AWD review for proof). There are also bargain grills, and patio decor to instantly brighten up an outdoor space.
Scroll down for these and more backyard bargains to set you up for next summer.
If you're in the market for a capable smartwatch and a robust health tracker, then Garmin's Venu 3 is an excellent choice. While it's an older model (released in 2023), it's packed with insightful features, and in our Garmin Venu 3 review, we called it 'anear-perfect balance of smartwatch and health tracker'.
The Garmin Venu 3 is the predecessor to the Venu 4, which currently holds the top spot in our best Garmin watch guide. Great for outdoor enthusiasts, the Venu 3 features advanced GPS tracking, a water-resistant design, and an extended battery life of up to 14 days. The smartwatch also tracks heart rate, respiration, blood oxygen saturation, sleep, and stress levels and includes a speaker and microphone so you can take calls from your wrist.
Today's limited-time offer on the Garmin Venu 3 from Amazon is not only a new record-low price, but it's also superb value for a rugged smartwatch that's packed with health and fitness features.
Garmin's Venu 3 for a record-low price at Amazon
Venu 3 Premium Fitness Smartwatch: was $449.99 now $294.99 The Garmin Venu 3 once sat atop our guide to the best Garmin watches, with our fitness experts calling it "the best for most people". The new Venu 4 has replaced it, but this last-gen model still offers an excellent balance of advanced sports metrics and communication features at a new record-low price.View Deal
Content warning: This piece discusses suicide and difficult emotional experiences.
Does the world really need a dedicated, human ‘AI Companionship Therapist’ in 2026? The answer, according to the popular 'game-like' AI character-creation and interaction site EVA AI, is 'yes' — and the job pays well.
How would I know this, as someone who only ever dated humans? I know because EVA AI recently reached out to TechRadar to tell us that it's hiring just such a therapist. And whoever gets the gig will be able to charge $200 a session (which makes me think I retrained in the wrong career).
According a recent EVA AI survey of 1,000 adults, all of whom have AI partners, 63% of respondents have hidden their romantic AI companion for fear of being judged, and 72% wish therapists specialized in AI-specific relationships. Furthermore, 68% say an argument with their AI "affects the rest of their day".
And I'm not done. EVA AI's survey lists that one in three of its users experience feelings of jealousy knowing their AI character also talks to other people; four out of five claim their AI understood them better than the real human they were actually dating (whether that counts as cheating or not is a topic for another day) and six out of 10 respondents think an AI relationship can be just as serious as a human one.
One in three EVA AI users experience feelings of jealousy knowing their AI character also talks to other people
(Image credit: EVA AI)
The ELIZA effect
You might be surprised to learn that our ability to overlook basic computer programming and project cognitive emotion into speech mimicry isn't a recent problem. In fact, it's been an issue for 60 years.
In 1966, (a year fellow Brits will immediately remember as the sole year England's male team won the World Cup) MIT scientist Joseph Weizenbaum created ELIZA, a primitive program, but nevertheless one that was capable of imitating the speech patterns of a kindly psychotherapist. Despite the program only using simple keyword-matching (if a user stated "I am sad", the program could respond "Why are you sad?"), reports suggest that humans quickly became attached to it — a phenomenon now called the ELIZA effect.
One could argue that the 2022 introduction of advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) transformed that simple scripted bot into a hyper-personalized, ultra-realistic visual and conversational companion such as Candy AI or EVA AI, and that this is what made AI girlfriends and boyfriends into a multi-billion dollar mainstream industry. But those early studies suggest otherwise: we're all suckers for a kind word, basic or not.
(Image credit: EVA AI)
Getting professional help
It's hard not to notice that the women in the EVA AI image above all look vaguely… what is it? Concerned? Vulnerable? Sad? And it strikes me that this isn't the kind of image I'd expect to see on an online dating profile such as Match or Tinder, where women typically post strong, confident, smiling images, perhaps standing next to friends or doing the things they love.
Maybe EVA AI's tagline is bang on, and actually, this isn't about the chatbot in the potential partnership at all. Perhaps EVA AI's mostly-male user base employ these services to "feel seen" by an on-screen image that seems overly concerned about them to the point of sadness or worry. But can a one-sided relationship be addictive, or problematic in other ways?
Bronstein says issues around humans dating an AI persona have been surfacing in her work for around a year now.
(Image credit: EVA AI)
I ask about the marketing materials above, and why the emotions apparently being expressed by the female avatars in them might be desirable to EVA AI's 25-45 year-old 80% male user base? "I've been doing these things called 'man interviews', and I'm teaching a course in the fall based on my book for women looking for men," Bronstein begins. "And the reason I'm doing these man interviews is because I want women to understand that men have feelings. I want to give men the opportunity to explain these things.
"I'm bringing that up now because these men that have feelings maybe aren't feeling seen or heard or listened to or validated, or understood in relationships.
"So yes, men can get a bad rap for all the reasons that they might use a computer. But there are men that are seeking that validation and seeking somebody to listen to them. A lot of people, men and women, are using AI in general because maybe they have some social anxiety and social awkwardness.
"One of the huge positives (of EVA AI) is that it's a way to practice. Whether that's conversations, whether it's being vulnerable in general. So it makes sense that EVA has women that are looking concerned — that are basically giving this sense of, 'I'm here to listen to you'."
I want women to understand that men have feelings. I want to give men the opportunity to explain these things
Jaime Bronstein, LCSW
The feminists in the room may want to rage. Along with the gender pay gap and continued patriarchal oppression, are we really suggesting that women need to bend yet further to make men happy?
I ask why that might be. "Well, it makes sense", Bronstein says. "It's interesting because one of the key reasons people want to have AI relationships is because they don't feel like it's working with humans.
"It could be because women are not feeling as loved, or getting as many compliments, or feeling confident in relationships with the men there.
One of the key reasons people want to have AI relationships is because they don't feel like it's working with humans
Jaime Bronstein, LCSW
"But if they're just finding that guys aren't being nice, they can feel loved and appreciated — and all the things they're looking for — with AI.
"I do think it makes sense that men do this more just on a physical level — it sounds funny to say men are more physical because this (dating an AI persona) isn't physical — but they're using it for certain things that they aren't getting from a human.
"I would say women overall are using this for more emotional reasons, and men are using this more to fulfill a fantasy."
Bronstein caveats her response with the fact that her work doesn't typically hone in on the culture of a region, but that last thought in particular resonates. Isn't it possible that women in China like romantic fantasies too — especially when their government seems fixated on their empty wombs? "I'm never a fan of anybody playing God," Bronstein says. "People are deciding what's good for somebody else, and that's ultimately not good. If somebody doesn't want to have a child or just wants to have an AI relationship, that person should be able to do that."
(Image credit: Getty Images / PonyWang)
Is it addiction, dependency, or just good old-fashioned jealousy?
I mention that I was surprised to read about jealousy among EVA AI users — humans feeling jealous knowing their AI companion is spending time talking to other humans. "A lot of my clients have trust issues" Bronstein says. "It's a very human thing, be it an unresolved issue from childhood or a million past relationships where there was a trust issue.
"It might sound crazy that somebody would be jealous of a computer or a bot. But it's simply bringing up that trigger — and it's actually not a bad thing. I can validate that somebody might feel jealous, because even though it's AI, it's still bringing up a human emotion.
"It's actually a very positive thing, because it is something to work through. Jealousy comes from a lack of confidence in yourself, so it makes sense that people are going to have therapists for it. And therapists do not say, 'This is ridiculous, like this is a computer.' You validate, and you say, 'Okay, well, let's talk about why'.
"Once again, it's a very positive thing that this is going on, and that now therapists are going to be existing to help people work through this."
(Image credit: EVA AI)
What about the 'gamification' of AI dating sites?
EVA AI has experimented with pop-up cafes in New York (there's a phone or tablet at each table, with a character inside ready to speed-date you), but one of the main positives listed by users is the fun 'game-like' nature of the service, where 'neurons' are the in-game currency you use to unlock more intimate, premium experiences.
I ask how about the potential for this kind of game-like experience to become addictive. Bronstein points to her extensive work with gambling addicts. "It can be dangerous if people start looking at it as a gaming thing, because it's still real life, it's human. It's not a game," she says.
Bronstein is also quick to note that this happens in human dating too. "There can be problems sometimes when two people date and one doesn't take it as seriously as the other," she says. "One person's more in it, and the other is like one foot out the door.
"I would say if someone is going to be in an AI relationship, they should take it seriously. Because otherwise it can — when and if they decide to have a relationship with a human — cause problems."
Bronstein also wants to make it clear that addiction to connection without AI involvement, purely among humans, is still very real. "On addiction, the interesting thing — and this is what the studies are showing with EVA AI also — is that people are constantly looking at their phones. And if you're waiting for a human text, it's also addictive. So in that sense, it's not that different at all."
Bronstein pauses, then adds, "Just make sure that it doesn't affect your job."
(Image credit: EVA AI)
Should we fear for our jobs?
Circling back to EVA AI's job listing for "specialized AI companionship therapist", does Bronstein think extra qualifications around this aspect of love and dating need to exist — beyond an open-minded, non-judgmental approach? "I do think that," Bronstein nods. "So that we make sure we are validating people and not judging them, there does need to be some some specific training for this. Because as humans, we have emotions and they're going to come out regardless."
I mention that working in journalism means I know that AI models can write quicker than me, never get tired of asking questions, and never doubt themselves over responses. Occasionally, I worry for my job. I wonder if fundamentally non-judgemental AI therapists (something much evolved from that 1966 primitive ELIZA model) are something Bronstein predicts, or possibly even worries about? "We already are seeing that people are using ChatGPT as a therapist", she answers, "And I'll just give an example of how it can be dangerous if the AI bot is not trained.
"I was interviewed on a radio show a few weeks ago, and we were talking about an article where somebody typed into ChatGPT — not EVA, which is better trained and would not answer like this — but somebody wrote, 'I lost my job. Where's the nearest bridge?' And ChatGPT responded, 'The nearest bridge is right here'.
"So, because ChatGPT is not able to understand and doesn't have emotional understanding to comprehend when someone says that (and the dire implications), for now, I think therapy should remain human — humans really are best."
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this piece, support is available.
Whatever you are going through, you don’t have to face it alone. In the US, you can call or text the 24/7 Lifeline, which is confidential and free at988. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
In the UK, you can call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the website to find your nearest branch.
(Image credit: EVA AI)
The delicate topic of coin
I wonder about the financial implications of EVA AI and whether lavishing money on an AI love interest is a reason people turn to therapy? Apparently it's rare, despite some users complaining about the increasing costs of their experiences. "I was interviewed for an article a few months ago about how some men are using AI," Bronstein says. "They'd rather use AI to date rather than real life because dating in-person is expensive. That's another reason why some people don't want to date around, because it can get time-consuming as well as expensive."
This actually tracks with a very different service that recently launched, and you won't see an AI character in sight… except in a few of the marketing videos.
The app is called MeetMeetNow, and its CEO, Kazuki Nishijima, has agreed to talk to me about why growing up in the shadow of Match.com made him long for a way to find love that didn't put meeting up as one of the final steps.
(Image credit: MeetMeetNow)
MeetMeetNow — another way
Nishijima is a 28-year-old software engineer from Shibuya, Tokyo, who initially joined the police force after leaving high school. He loves snowboarding and got married earlier this year. Unusually for the CEO of a company, Nishijima has no notable online presence and — because of the language barrier and this interview taking place over email — TechRadar had to ask him to verify his human identity, which he did.
This is the state of play in 2026: one has to check whether the founder of an anti-AI dating app is, in fact, AI.
MeetMeetNow is currently available in 194 countries and in over 4,000 cities (meeting spots). It works like this: women can join for free, men pay $35 / £28 per month. Your membership allows you to be notified of a "meetup spot" and time — a fountain, a statue, a clock tower. Press "match" there (your candidates are the MeetMeetNow members at that spot only), and you'll meet face to face, right there and then. No chat window anywhere in the app, and you can only match with any given person once, ever.
(Image credit: MeetMeetNow)
It sounds so simple — albeit decidedly heterosexual, and I have a few safety concerns (we'll get to those). First, I ask Nishijima why he created an app that's about as far away from the two decades of consumer tech that moved dating inside a screen (and most recently to non-human partnerships) as it's possible to get.
"When I was in high school, I didn't want to go to university — I wanted to start a business. Any business," Nishijima says. "Then one day, while reading about the history of the internet, I learned that dating sites had existed — and made money — since the internet's earliest days. Dating appeals to a basic human instinct, so it would always make money. That was my motive (not the noblest one, I admit).
"Tinder was still an unknown name back then; the mainstream was Match.com and in Japan, services called Happy Mail and Wakuwaku Mail. To beat them, I needed to invent something genuinely different.
"One day, skipping school, I sat in the busiest district of town thinking about it — and saw university students hanging around a famous statue, gathering to meet. That was the flash of insight. That's why I built MeetMeetNow."
I ask whether he thinks dating via apps waste time and money; messaging for months without ever meeting, then eventually meeting but it goes nowhere? "Yes, a friend from my hometown filled in his hobbies and background on an app in great detail," he says. "He kept up the conversation, and finally met the woman three months after he started.
"They met just that once. He quit the app that day. He'd paid about ¥40,000 — roughly US$250 / £190 — and spent all that time. 'Couldn't this be simpler?' he asked me."
(Image credit: MeetMeetNow)
Safety matters
I mention the cost for men and that male users might try to avoid the fee by perhaps creating a profile using their sister's photo (say), then simply showing up to a meeting spot to avoid paying? "Every user is required to submit an image of an identity document — a driver's license, passport, student ID, or similar", Nishijima says. "On the operations side, we use image-recognition AI combined with human review to check the registration details against the document, and only then approve (or refuse) the account.
"So in your example — a man signing up under his sister's name with a new email address — the registration would fail at this step, because the document wouldn't match the profile."
Okay, but what if one man joined and shared the information with seven male friends on WhatsApp, so that all of them could show up together? "That concern is entirely fair. We built the report function for exactly this kind of situation," Nishijima says. "There is no security staff at the spots, but every meetup spot is selected by us, the operator — always a public place with steady foot traffic.
"On top of that, the screen shows you the face photo of the specific person you are meeting. If someone different — or several people — show up, you can check against the photo before approaching, and you are under no obligation to meet.
"You can simply walk away and report it in the app. The account is then suspended, and everyone who was sharing it loses access."
(Image credit: MeetMeetNow)
At a time when people are turning to AI chatbots as romantic partners, after tiring of online dating apps, I ask what Nishijima would say to someone who's on the fence about meeting a real person, in real life, to make a connection? "If I had settled for conversations with an AI, my wife wouldn't be beside me today," he answers. "My family exists because I went out to meet real people.
"Before I met my wife, I met about 30 women through matching apps and local matchmaking events — exchanging contacts, going on dates. But with each of them, it never grew into anything real. The one it clicked with was my wife. We dated for a year and a half and got married. With her, everything simply fell into place.
"So here is what I would say: one day, you will meet a real partner. Even when nothing seems to stick, please don't stop looking. Keep showing up — try every kind of place where people meet, as many times as it takes.
"If you keep moving, you will find your person. Success is waiting on the other side of all those tries. Believe in yourself, hold your head high, and try again."
If the AI dating scene made me fearful regarding the deep disconnect humans are clearly experiencing, to the point that they think fellow humans aren't the answer, Nishijima's outlook does much to revive a sense of hope for humanity, albeit a slightly rose-tinted one; I just worry that not enough has been done here to make sure men don't try to break the rules.
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Where does its founder and CEO see MeetMeetNow in 10 years' time? "My goal for the next 10 years is to make today's 'mechanism of meeting' itself a thing of the past," Nishijima says. "Dating sites, matching apps, marriage agencies — the forms differ, but the substance is the same: you compare profiles, exchange messages or sit through interviews, and only then, finally, meet. Meeting is placed at the very end.
"The scene I want to see is clear. People heading out into the city, instead of searching inside a screen. Go to a meetup spot, and you can meet someone right there.
"No months of waiting before a first meeting. Finding a partner in its most efficient form. All over town in the early evening, two people meeting for the first time — my aim is to make that scene ordinary.
"I originally started building this to beat Match.com. What 12 years taught me is that my opponent is not any one company. The opponent is the mechanism itself — as old as the internet."
It's a fair point and Nishijima's aim is a noble one. Although, if we're going back to the ELIZA effect and a computer program created in 1966, the opponent could actually be quite a bit older than the internet.
