updated = 2025-05-14T20:12:03-04:00
EA is bringing employees back to the office three days per week
EA is asking employees to return to the office for three days per week under a hybrid model – and it sounds like the company will be significantly reducing remote hiring. CEO Andrew Wilson and president of EA Entertainment and technology Laura Miele sent emails to staff about the change, IGN reports. Kotaku’s Ethan Gach also reported on Wilson’s email.
Corporate communications VP Justin Higgs confirmed the new hybrid model to The Verge. “We’ve adopted a globally consistent hybrid work model to bring teams together with greater clarity and intent – enabling faster decisions, sharper execution, and stronger connection to one another,” Higgs says. Hybrid roles will spend “at least three days a week in the office,” though there will be “flexibility” on other roles.
Miele’s email details how EA locations will have a 30-mile radius around them to help determine if an employee falls under the on site, hybrid, or remote model for work, IGN reports. Here’s what Miele says, per IGN:
- Employees who live within 30-miles/48-km of an EA location will transition to a Hybrid work model.
- Employees who live outside the 30-mile/48-km radius will be considered remote unless their role is designated as On Site or Hybrid.
The “offsite local” work model is going to be sunset within 3 to 24 months. In addition, “any work model exception and future Remote hires will require a CEO Direct’s /my approval,” Miele’s email says, according to IGN.
The changes to EA’s policies follow recent layoffs of between 300 and 400 people, layoffs at BioWare announced in January, and a layoff of about 5 percent of its staff early last year.
Update, May 14th: Noted that Ethan Gach also reported on Wilson’s email.
updated = 2025-05-14T19:14:46-04:00
SoundCloud changes its TOS again after an AI uproar
Music-sharing platform SoundCloud is saying it “has never used artist content to train AI models,” and that it’s “making a formal commitment that any use of AI on SoundCloud will be based on consent, transparency, and artist control.” The update comes several days after artists reported that changes made last year to its terms of use could mean it reserved the right to use their music and other content to train generative AI tools.
“The language in the Terms of Use was too broad and wasn’t clear enough. It created confusion, and that’s on us,” writes SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton.
The terms that SoundCloud is currently using were updated in February last year with text including this passage:
In the absence of a separate agreement that states otherwise, You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services.”
But Seton says that “in the coming weeks,” that line will be replaced with this:
We will not use Your Content to train generative AI models that aim to replicate or synthesize your voice, music, or likeness without your explicit consent, which must be affirmatively provided through an opt-in mechanism.
Seton reiterates that SoundCloud has never used member content to train AI, including large language models, for music creation or to mimic or replace members’ work. And, echoing what a SoundCloud spokesperson told The Verge in an email over the weekend, Seton says if the company does use generative AI, it “may make this opportunity available to our human artists with their explicit consent, via an opt-in mechanism.”
Ed Newton-Rex, the tech ethicist who first discovered the change, isn’t satisfied with the changes. In an X post, he says the tweaked language could still allow for “models trained on your work that might not directly replicate your style but that still compete with you in the market.” According to Rex, “If they actually want to address concerns, the change required is simple. It should just read “We will not use Your Content to train generative AI models without your explicit consent.”
SoundCloud did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
updated = 2025-05-14T18:53:44-04:00
Valve responds to Steam leak rumors: ‘this was not a breach of Steam systems’
A leak of old text messages sent to Steam customers with one-time codes for logins was “not a breach of Steam systems,” Valve says in a post published Wednesday.
Valve’s response follows news that a hacker is allegedly in possession of 89 million user records and put them up for sale for $5,000, as BleepingComputer reports. BleepingComputer looked at 3,000 leaked files and found “historic SMS text messages with one-time passcodes for Steam, including the recipient’s phone number.”
While one X user claimed that there is evidence tying the breach to Twilio, a Twilio spokesperson told BleepingComputer that “there is no evidence to suggest that Twilio was breached” and that “we have reviewed a sampling of the data found online, and see no indication that this data was obtained from Twilio.” Valve also told the X user that it does not use Twilio.
“The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes that were only valid for 15-minute time frames and the phone numbers they were sent to,” Valve says in its post. “The leaked data did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data. Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account, and whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password using SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages.”
Valve adds that you don’t need to change your password or phone number following this leak, though it does recommend setting up the Steam Mobile Authenticator.
The company says it’s “still digging into the source of the leak.”
updated = 2025-05-14T17:41:52-04:00
Apple might let you scroll with your eyes in the Vision Pro
Apple is testing a feature that will let users scroll through Vision Pro apps using the headset’s eye-tracking capability, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Eye-based scrolling will apparently work across all of Apple’s built-in apps, and Gurman says the company is working on letting third-party developers use the feature, too. How it would actually function is a mystery, but I could see a system where you have to look at the edge of a page long enough to start scrolling, or focusing on a UI element, then looking above or below it to move a page.
You can do a version of eye-based scrolling with the Dwell Control accessibility feature, which lets you open menus or carry out actions by briefly resting your eyes on items in your view. To scroll, you can gaze at an icon until the page scrolls a set amount — it’s clunky, and I’d be surprised if what Apple is testing works the same way.
Apart from accessibility alternatives, other ways to scroll include the default — pinching with your finger and thumb and raising or lowering your hand — connecting a Bluetooth mouse, or using the analog stick on a wireless game controller.
Over the weekend, Gurman wrote in the subscriber edition of his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg that Apple is planning a “pretty feature-packed release” for visionOS 3, so we may hear more about this new eye-tracked scrolling feature during its June WWDC show.
updated = 2025-05-14T17:30:54-04:00
Trump wants to weaken protections against forever chemicals in drinking water
The Trump administration plans to weaken drinking water rules meant to protect Americans from “forever chemicals” that have been linked to cancer, reproductive risks, liver damage, and other health issues.
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the nation’s first legally enforceable federal drinking water limits on the most common types of forever chemicals. Today, the EPA announced an about-face. The agency now wants to exclude several types of the chemicals from the rule, including so-called GenX substances initially intended to replace older versions of forever chemicals but that ended up creating new concerns. It also proposed extending compliance deadlines for the two most prevalent forms of forever chemicals, and says it’ll establish a “framework” for more exemptions.
Health and environmental advocates slammed the proposed exclusions and enforcement delays as a threat to Americans. “Today’s decision is a shameful and dangerous capitulation to industry pressure that will allow continued contamination of our drinking water,” Mary Grant, water program director at the nonprofit Food & Water Watch said in a press statement. “This will cost lives.”
“A shameful and dangerous capitulation to industry pressure”
There are thousands of different types of forever chemicals, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Companies have used them for decades to make products such as nonstick pans, food packaging, and fabric protector water, stain, and heat-resistant. As a result, forever chemicals are estimated to have trickled into at least 45 percent of the nation’s tap water and are present in most Americans’ blood streams.
The Biden-era standards set limits for just five widely used types of chemicals: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as “GenX Chemicals”), plus mixtures of several chemicals, including perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), found in floor wax, carpeting, and carpet cleaners.
Some manufacturers have already pledged to stop using PFAS after facing a slew of lawsuits. The company 3M agreed to a $450 million settlement with the state of New Jersey on Tuesday over PFAS pollution.
In April, the EPA said it would launch new efforts to study the chemicals and consider guidelines to limit pollution from manufacturers. At the time, advocacy groups were wary that the agency might simply delay action by calling for more studies — especially as the Trump administration attempts to slash the agency’s staff, budget, and research department. Advocates have been pushing for drinking water limits since President Donald Trump’s first term as a growing body of evidence pointed to the health risks.
Now, it’s clear the agency doesn’t want to enforce existing forever chemical rules for drinking water.
The initial compliance date for those rules was 2029. The EPA now says it only plans to keep limits for PFOA and PFOS, and move the compliance deadline back to 2031 to relieve pressure on small water systems. As their name suggests, forever chemicals are difficult to destroy and the Trump administration says its proposal would save money.
“This commonsense decision provides the additional time that water system managers need to identify affordable treatment technologies and make sure they are on a sustainable path to compliance,” National Rural Water Association CEO Matthew Holmes said in the EPA press release.
“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a press release. The agency says it’ll put out a more detailed proposal “this fall,” with the goal of finalizing the rule in spring 2026.
updated = 2025-05-14T17:29:09-04:00
Apple Maps will show recommendations from Michelin and The Infatuation
Apple is updating Maps to show recommendations and information from outside sources like Michelin, The Infatuation, and Golf Digest, according to a press release. Michelin recommendations will be available first, with “rankings and insights” from The Infatuation and Golf Digest added “soon” and “more expert sources to follow,” Apple says.
“With this update, place cards will now reflect distinctions, descriptions, and images from expert sources,” Apple says. “Additionally, for select hotels, users can now book directly from Maps, with the option to schedule restaurant reservations through Michelin and tee times through Supreme Golf coming soon.”
I was able to get the “Michelin Distinctions” search filter to show up after searching for “Hotels” inside the Maps app on my iPhone 16 Pro. When I tapped on one of the hotels that popped up, The Hoxton in Portland, Maps showed that it had one Michelin Key (like a Michelin Star, but for hotels) and a summary of the hotel pulled from Michelin Guide.
Apple and Formula 1 also announced updates to Monaco in Maps ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix and the release of Apple’s F1 movie.