Uber is turning to OpenAI and ChatGPT to help push the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) by its drivers. The ride-share company announced the new AI assistant at the Go Get Zero sustainability conference in London among several other green initiatives. Uber will employ OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, the same one undergirding ChatGPT, to create a guide for drivers along the road toward where they are confident and comfortable behind the wheel of an EV.

The idea of AI as a personal automotive concierge makes sense, considering the complexities of switching away from gas cars. That means the AI will adapt to the user, tailoring its answers around how to buy and take care of an EV to who is asking. The AI will come packed with data about purchase prices, how to charge and maintain the car, and other useful information unique to EVs. 

Apple has just debuted the first scripted film captured in Apple Immersive Video and made specifically for the Vision Pro headset.

Designed to put viewers in the center of the action, the new movie, called Submerged, was written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Edward Berger.

The 17-minute immersive thriller takes viewers onto a WWII-era submarine and follows its crew as they attempt to deal with a harrowing attack. It offers viewers a 180-degree view, allowing you to explore your surroundings and follow the action wherever it takes place. The story features a lot of water and a lot of panic, so don’t even think about watching it in the bath.

“With Submerged … we’re excited to premiere the next generation of narrative filmmaking,” Apple executive Tor Myhren said in a release. “Vision Pro places you in the middle of the story — inside a densely packed submarine, shoulder to shoulder with its crew. That deep sense of immersion just wasn’t possible before, and we can’t wait to see how it inspires filmmakers to push the boundaries of visual storytelling.”

Berger, director of the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front, described Apple Immersive Video as “a wonderful new medium that expands the horizon of storytelling,” claiming that the technology pioneered by Apple will “change the future of filmmaking.”

Submerged was shot on location in Prague, Brussels, and Malta over three weeks, and Apple has released a behind-the-scenes look (see the video at the top of the article) showing how it was made. It was filmed using a full-scale 23-ton submarine set made with real steel, brass, and metal that was modeled after WWII-era vessels, and freedive training for actors was part of the preparation.

Apple said it’s preparing to release more content specifically for the Vision Pro, including an immersive short film of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, and a Concert for One series aimed at “bringing fans closer to their favorite artists than ever before.”

For a while now, Google Search has been experimenting with ways to offer useful data directly in the results feed. The idea is that for certain tasks, they don’t have to open websites unless they want more in-depth details. In line with that, Google is testing a new feature that shows full recipes directly in Search.

Google wants to change the way you use Search by spending more time on the feed than before. That’s why the company relied on the power of artificial intelligence to develop the AI ​​Overview feature. The latter didn’t turn out as expected, but the idea was pretty cool. Cooking recipes seem to be the next step in this direction.

Google Search shows full recipes in the feed for some websites as a test

Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google Search is testing a feature that allows it to display full recipes in the results feed. The option isn’t available for all recipe websites, though. On supported ones, you’ll see a “Quick View” button among the graphical results in the feed when you search for a particular recipe. For example, Preppy Kitchen, a cooking blog, is one of the platforms that supports the new feature. The “Quick View” button appears over featured images in the results for the “chocolate chip cookies recipe” search, as shown below.

You might perceive Google “pulling” data from websites as a potential loss of visits to those websites. However, a company spokesperson disclosed that partnerships with those recipe platforms enable the feature. This explains why the feature isn’t available on all of them. So, in theory, blogs receive fair compensation for the use of their content.

“We’re always experimenting with different ways to connect our users with high-quality and helpful information. We have partnered with a limited number of creators to begin to explore new recipe experiences on Search that are both helpful for users and drive value to the web ecosystem. We don’t have anything to announce right now,” Google spokesperson Brianna Duff told The Verge.

No date for the wide rollout yet

Given that this feature is currently undergoing testing, numerous changes may occur prior to its widespread implementation. The release date for the final version of recipes in the Google Search feed is still unknown.

There are a ton of Shrek movies but not one of them have ever answered this question: Who cleans up the mess when the ogre and his various fairytale villains are done fighting? Square Enix’s PowerWash Simulator finally has an answer.

Dreamworks and Square Enix have teamed up to create the for PowerWash Simulator available now on all consoles and PC. The new pack adds a bunch of scenarios from the iconic animated films and some new armor and tools to help you scrub down the many layers of crud that have accumulated over Shrek’s world.

The new DLC pack comes with 5 new locations that need a good power washing. They include Shrek’s home swamp, the town of Duloc complete with that adorable wind-up information booth, the Fairy Godmother’s potion factory, the dragon’s lair and Hansel’s delectable Honeymoon Hideaway with the Shreks’ onion wedding carriage.

The Shrek Special Pack also offers a new campaign mode that takes you through the new scenes and grants you a new set of knight themed power washing armor and hoses. You’ll also receive messages from “some familiar faces,” maybe even the Muffin Man. (The Muffin Man!) Yes, the Muffin Man! (Actually, you probably won’t. He’s not really an ancillary character in the Shrek universe outside of the nursery rhyme reference from the first movie.)

One of the great things about PowerWash Simulator is just how crazy they’ve gone with the DLC packs. Square Enix has also developed special cleaning scenarios based on , and . The developers have been working on so many things to clean up that they’ve accidentally lost track of one and .