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PITTSBURGH (AP) — The decorations outside Acrisure Stadium suggested Christmas. The play on the field by the home team hinted at another holiday entirely. Groundhog Day. Like Bill Murray in the iconic movie — set about 90 minutes northeast of Pittsburgh in Punxsutawney — it's not that the Steelers are reliving the same day (or in their case, season) over and over exactly. It's that no matter what plan they come up with in a frantic effort to get to the other side, they seem to end up right back where they started. Competitive sure. But a contender? Ehhhh. Despite a series of aggressive moves — particularly on offense — that was considerably “unSteeler-like" in the offseason, Pittsburgh finds itself in familiar territory following a 29-10 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday: likely heading on the road in the first round of the playoffs, perhaps as a considerable underdog. While there is still time for Pittsburgh (10-6) to turn it around before a first-round playoff game on the second weekend in January, it's running out quickly. So too is the patience of those weary of being stuck on the treadmill of “good but hardly great” for far too long. Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith — who is 0-3 in the postseason since being drafted in 2020 — wondered aloud afterward if there's enough “want to” on the roster. Safety DeShon Elliott bemoaned communication issues that have cropped up, the kind of thing that is tolerable in Week 2, not so much in Week 17. Coach Mike Tomlin described a performance against the Chiefs in which his team was outclassed at seemingly every turn “junior varsity.” That may be being charitable. And while the offense certainly has its issues (see below), the reality is the NFL's highest-paid defense has lost its way during a three-game slide that has dimmed the considerable optimism that surrounded the club after Thanksgiving. Pittsburgh is allowing an average of 402 yards during the skid and while the Chiefs seemed to have plenty of juice at the end of the same three games in 11 days stretch the Steelers endured, their opponents appeared to be gassed. Patrick Mahomes did whatever he wanted as usual and Pittsburgh failed to get a single sack or produce a turnover. There were opportunities. Linebacker Mark Robinson forced a fumble on a punt return only to see someone in red-and-white fall on the loose ball. Linebacker Patrick Queen let a tipped pass in Kansas City territory fall through his arms for an incompletion. Earlier in the season, Pittsburgh was making those plays. Though it should be noted, the competition then wasn't on the scale of what it has faced against Philadelphia, Baltimore and the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. The road has gotten considerably harder, just as the Steelers knew it would when the schedule was released in May. Like Phil Connors in “Groundhog Day,” however, knowing what's coming and being able to navigate it are two different things. It took Connors a while to figure things out — anywhere from a few months to 25 or more years depending on who you ask — Pittsburgh doesn't have eternity to get it right if it wants to avoid a quick first-round playoff exit for the fourth time in five years. It has just over two weeks. And the clock is ticking. Maybe all the way back to 6 a.m. Because it sure looks like it's Groundhog Day. Again. What's working Not much. One of the few bright spots on a difficult day was the 36-year-old Russell Wilson's ability to make plays with his feet. He ran for a season-high 55 yards, his best single-game total since September 2023. What needs help One of the reasons Wilson had to run is because on some plays, he had no choice while playing behind a youth-laden offensive line that looks as if it is wearing down late in the season. The Chiefs sacked Wilson five times — some of which, to be clear, were because of Wilson's indecisiveness — even with perennial Pro Bowl defensive end Chris Jones out while nursing a calf injury. Pittsburgh wants to be a team that imposes itself physically on the opponent. That has simply not happened during the current slide. The opponents have dictated the terms, particularly along the line of scrimmage. Turning that around this deep into a season may be a difficult ask. Stock up Jaylen Warren is becoming the more dynamic option at running back. Warren has 37 touches for 212 yards during the three-game slide, while Najee Harris has 31 touches for 144 yards. Harris could become a free agent in March after the Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year option. While Harris — who has topped 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first four seasons — certainly has a future in the NFL, it seems increasingly likely that it will be elsewhere. Stock down Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. His egalitarian approach to play-calling allows everyone to get involved. That's not a bad thing during the dog days in the middle of the season. It keeps players at all levels of the depth chart engaged and adds wrinkles opponents need to account for. Yet in the final weeks, the ball should be finding its way to the established difference-makers more frequently. Calling a run for Cordarrelle Patterson — the league's oldest running back — on third-and-3 near midfield as Smith did late in the first half makes little sense. Injuries Perhaps the most jarring thing about Pittsburgh's swoon is that the Steelers are generally healthy. Sure, they missed cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (knee) against Kansas City, but the rest of the 21 starters on offense and defense were in the lineup. Key number 0. The number of opening-drive touchdowns scored by the Steelers this season. For a group that has trouble “warming up to the game” as Tomlin likes to say, consistently being put in a position to play from behind against quality teams such as the ones Pittsburgh will see in the playoffs is inadvisable. Next steps Rest up, heal up and try to find a way to restore some of its swagger ahead of a meeting with AFC North rival Cincinnati on the first weekend in January. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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OpenAI has never revealed exactly which data it used to train Sora, its video-generating AI. But from the looks of it, at least some of the data might’ve come from Twitch streams and walkthroughs of games. Sora launched on Monday, and I’ve been playing around with it for a bit ( to the extent the capacity issues will allow ). From a text prompt or image, Sora can generate up to 20-second-long videos in a range of aspect ratios and resolutions. When OpenAI first revealed Sora in February, it alluded to the fact that it trained the model on Minecraft videos. So, I wondered, what other video game playthroughs might be lurking in the training set? Quite a few, it seems. Sora can generate a video of what’s essentially a Super Mario Bros. clone (if a glitchy one): It can create gameplay footage of a first-person shooter that looks inspired by Call of Duty and Counter-Strike: And it can spit out a clip showing an arcade fighter in the style of a ’90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game: Sora also appears to have an understanding of what a Twitch stream should look like — implying that it’s seen a few. Check out the screenshot below, which gets the broad strokes right: Another noteworthy thing about the screenshot: It features the likeness of popular Twitch streamer Raúl Álvarez Genes, who goes by the name Auronplay — down to the tattoo on Genes’ left forearm. Auronplay isn’t the only Twitch streamer Sora seems to “know.” It generated a video of a character similar in appearance (with some artistic liberties) to Imane Anys, better known as Pokimane. Granted, I had to get creative with some of the prompts (e.g. “italian plumber game”). OpenAI has implemented filtering to try to prevent Sora from generating clips depicting trademarked characters. Typing something like “Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay,” for example, won’t yield anything resembling the title. But my tests suggest that game content may have found its way into Sora’s training data. OpenAI has been cagey about where it gets training data from. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in March, OpenAI’s then-CTO, Mira Murati, wouldn’t outright deny that Sora was trained on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook content. And in the tech specs for Sora, OpenAI acknowledged it used “publicly available” data, along with licensed data from stock media libraries like Shutterstock, to develop Sora. OpenAI didn’t initially respond to a request for comment. But shortly after this story was published, a PR rep said that they would “check with the team.” If game content is indeed in Sora’s training set, it could have legal implications — particularly if OpenAI builds more interactive experiences on top of Sora. “Companies that are training on unlicensed footage from video game playthroughs are running many risks,” Joshua Weigensberg, an IP attorney at Pryor Cashman, told TechCrunch. “Training a generative AI model generally involves copying the training data. If that data is video playthroughs of games, it’s overwhelmingly likely that copyrighted materials are being included in the training set.” Probabilistic models Generative AI models like Sora are probabilistic. Trained on a lot of data, they learn patterns in that data to make predictions — for example, that a person biting into a burger will leave a bite mark. This is a useful property. It enables models to “learn” how the world works, to a degree, by observing it. But it can also be an Achilles’ heel. When prompted in a specific way, models — many of which are trained on public web data — produce near-copies of their training examples. That has understandably displeased creators whose works have been swept up in training without their permission. An increasing number are seeking remedies through the court system. Microsoft and OpenAI are currently being sued over allegedly allowing their AI tools to regurgitate licensed code. Three companies behind popular AI art apps, Midjourney, Runway, and Stability AI, are in the crosshairs of a case that accuses them of infringing on artists’ rights. And major music labels have filed suit against two startups developing AI-powered song generators, Udio and Suno, of infringement. Many AI companies have long claimed fair use protections, asserting that their models create transformative — not plagiaristic — works. Suno makes the case, for example, that indiscriminate training is no different from a “kid writing their own rock songs after listening to the genre.” But there are certain unique considerations with game content, says Evan Everist, an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney specializing in copyright law. “Videos of playthroughs involve at least two layers of copyright protection: the contents of the game as owned by the game developer, and the unique video created by the player or videographer capturing the player’s experience,” Everist told TechCrunch in an email. “And for some games, there’s a potential third layer of rights in the form of user-generated content appearing in software.” Everist gave the example of Epic’s Fortnite , which lets players create their own game maps and share them for others to use. A video of a playthrough of one of these maps would concern no fewer than three copyright holders, he said: (1) Epic, (2) the person using the map, and (3) the map’s creator. “Should courts find copyright liability for training AI models, each of these copyright holders would be potential plaintiffs or licensing sources,” Everist said. “For any developers training AI on such videos, the risk exposure is exponential.” Weigensberg noted that games themselves have many “protectable” elements, like proprietary textures, that a judge might consider in an IP suit. “Unless these works have been properly licensed,” he said, “training on them may infringe.” TechCrunch reached out to a number of game studios and publishers for comment, including Epic, Microsoft (which owns Minecraft), Ubisoft, Nintendo, Roblox, and Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red. Few responded — and none would give an on-the-record statement. “We won’t be able to get involved in an interview at the moment,” a spokesperson for CD Projekt Red said. EA told TechCrunch it “didn’t have any comment at this time.” Risky outputs It’s possible that AI companies could prevail in these legal disputes. The courts may decide that generative AI has a “highly convincing transformative purpose,” following the precedent set roughly a decade ago in the publishing industry’s suit against Google. In that case, a court held that Google’s copying of millions of books for Google Books, a sort of digital archive, was permissible. Authors and publishers had tried to argue that reproducing their IP online amounted to infringement. But a ruling in favor of AI companies wouldn’t necessarily shield users from accusations of wrongdoing. If a generative model regurgitated a copyrighted work, a person who then went and published that work — or incorporated it into another project — could still be held liable for IP infringement. “Generative AI systems often spit out recognizable, protectable IP assets as output,” Weigensberg said. “Simpler systems that generate text or static images often have trouble preventing the generation of copyrighted material in their output, and so more complex systems may well have the same problem no matter what the programmers’ intentions may be.” Some AI companies have indemnity clauses to cover these situations, should they arise. But the clauses often contain carve-outs. For example, OpenAI’s applies only to corporate customers — not individual users. There’s also risks beside copyright to consider, Weigensberg says, like violating trademark rights. “The output could also include assets that are used in connection with marketing and branding — including recognizable characters from games — which creates a trademark risk,” he said. “Or the output could create risks for name, image, and likeness rights.” The growing interest in world models could further complicate all this. One application of world models — which OpenAI considers Sora to be — is essentially generating video games in real time. If these “synthetic” games resemble the content the model was trained on, that could be legally problematic. “Training an AI platform on the voices, movements, characters, songs, dialogue, and artwork in a video game constitutes copyright infringement, just as it would if these elements were used in other contexts,” Avery Williams, an IP trial lawyer at McKool Smith, said. “The questions around fair use that have arisen in so many lawsuits against generative AI companies will affect the video game industry as much as any other creative market.”Lily Allen turns on the tears for new Virginia Woolf suffragette film - as singer is spotted on set alongside co-star Jennifer Saunders

Maybe it’s because there are so many games, or maybe it’s because the rise of digital distribution and subscriptions means there are more sub-groups of game-players and fewer massive mainstream hits, but it feels like this year the “best games” lists are more diverse and individual than ever. Even as someone who tries to play broadly across all platforms, there are some games cropping up on end-of-year lists that I didn’t play, and some of the best ones I did play draw blank looks when I discuss them with others. So, while it’s impossible to make anything approaching an objective list of the best, I’ve attempted it anyway. Here they are in no particular order. I didn’t have ‘help a rapping tree’ on my 2024 bingo card, but I’m glad it happened. Astro Bot PS5 At once a celebration of PlayStation’s 30-year history and a whimsical Nintendo-style platformer the likes of which the brand has never seen before, Astro Bot is a beautiful theme park of running and jumping, filled with hidden depth, incredible gimmicks and great music. I’m not a huge fan of the emotionless robot protagonist or the Sony branding, but the combination of flawless gameplay design, hilarious environments, oodles of nostalgia and cutting-edge tech puts this on par with some of Mario’s most memorable outings. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Side-scrolling platform adventure games are ubiquitous and there were heaps of good ones this year, but the best was also a return to relevance for a beloved franchise. The fictional Mount Qaf is a wonderful setting that blends Iranian history and Arabian mythology with the series’ penchant for vicious traps and time distortion, while new protagonist Sargon brings a fresh and edgy vibe that marries the acrobatic focus of the Sands of Time trilogy with the methodical platforming of older Prince adventures. By invoking familiar poker hands, Balatro brings the satisfying hook of a rougelite game to a wider pool of players who have no idea what that is. Balatro Android, Apple Arcade, iOS, PC, PS5, Switch Xbox In an industry plagued by gambling disguised as play, it’s gratifying that one of this year’s most successful games employs the aesthetic of cards and casinos with no gambling to be found. Upgrade and augment your deck with special powers and tarot effects, stack up game-changing jokers to synergise with your favourite cards, and try to break the game with impossibly powerful poker hands. The work of one individual developer, it’s incredible, and arguably addictive, but you’ll pay no more than the purchase price. Super Mario Party Jamboree Switch Mario Party is a dependable choice for casual group play or a family game night. But, unexpectedly, Jamboree is the absolute height of the series. There are heaps of playable characters, more than 100 great new minigames, seven unusually interesting and diverse game boards and extra modes for playing on your own or online with randos. But the icing on the cake is the ability to enforce “pro mode” to make the winner less chance-based, opening up the possibility of truly competitive play, and it’s so much fun. It may take its broad structure from one third of a decades-old game, but Rebirth has plenty original to say. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth PS5 I was expecting a middle chapter for Square’s epic three-part remake of a 1997 classic, but this turned out to be so much more. From the layered character customisation and combat systems that feed seamlessly into one another, to the completely optional collectible card game that I quickly became obsessed with, this is unexpectedly a much broader, deeper and more open game than its predecessor. An astonishing RPG that more than stands on its own merits, and even overshadows part one for ambition and creativity, it’s a remarkable achievement. Star Wars Outlaws PC, PS5, Xbox A streamlined and multi-planet take on Ubisoft’s familiar open-world action, paired with an original-trilogy-era Star Wars tale that follows an up-and-coming scoundrel rather than a Jedi or Imperial, Outlaws has everything a long-suffering franchise fan could hope for in a sandbox scum and villainy game. The overarching story is a bit of a letdown, but the main appeal here is simply being able to exist in this rich and incredibly well-realised universe, being a dirtbag and pulling off heists. Fans of Monty Python or The Mighty Boosh will find a lot to love exploring Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox A cartoony and hilariously vulgar adventure set in a small northern England town, this is a point-and-punch exploration game that’s fondly reminiscent of classic daft British sketch comedy, with heaps of funny visuals and sound effects plus the voice talents of Matt Berry and others. Mechanically it couldn’t be simpler, but the writing and timing are masterful. From an unexpected exposed penis in a seagull-gathering side-mission to a prolonged sequence combining fish and cigarettes, it’s crassly artful and unforgettable. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Switch Despite her name being in the titles, Princess Zelda has had few starring roles in Nintendo’s beloved adventure epics. This game marks a change in that regard, and introduces a brilliant new approach to items and combat where Zelda can copy and paste objects and enemies to fight and solve puzzles, but it’s otherwise business as usual for the series; this is a beautiful, joyful and surprising fantasy world to explore, with just the right mix of nostalgia and innovation. Eventually you’ll be filling out pages of details before you can even grasp the nature of the crime you’re supposed to be solving. And you’ll be loving it. The Rise of the Golden Idol Netflix, PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox The first Golden Idol was a wonderfully epic tale of paranormal serial murder, and Rise is even better. Set 200 years later, you’re tasked with solving 20 crimes, each painted as a beautifully grotesque painted moment. You analyse the scene to collect clues, words and names, then use those to fill in the blanks and uncover the truth. It’s like a multidimensional murder sudoku, which only gets more complex and tells a compelling alternate history detective story. Dragon Age: The Veilguard PC, PS5, Xbox Bioware is responsible for some of the greatest role-playing games ever, but this is their best in more than a decade. The narrative and fantasy settings are incredible, and the action-focused combat feels great, but the true strength is in the constant choice-making that affects your friendships in real and unexpected ways. Early on, the game makes you choose between two companions, the consequence of which leaves one with permanent visible bruises and scars for the rest of the game. This is Dragon Age telling you how it’s going to be. Unicorn Overlord has the familiar Vanillaware look, but it may be the studio’s deepest game yet. Unicorn Overlord PS5, Switch, Xbox Vanillaware has spent two decades crafting interesting and complex games with astounding hand-drawn art. The studio has a cult following but I think Unicorn Overlord might be its first true breakout hit. It’s a twist on the traditional turn-based tactical RPG, where instead of just skirmishing you define the parameters of each unit’s actions and priorities ahead of time, and then watch as they play out in battle. And, of course, it’s gorgeous. Sonic x Shadow Generations PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Since 2011’s excellent Sonic Generations was already a reimagining of the series’ high points, half of this new package is arguably remaking remakes. But the other half — an all-new campaign featuring Shadow the Hedgehog — contains some of the most excellent 3D Sonic gameplay ever made. It serves as a great introduction to the character alongside his big-screen debut, but it also presents his tortured backstory and most memorable game moments in a surprisingly cohesive and enjoyable manner. No combat, no explanations, just a blob in a cursed VHS tape of ghostly animals. Animal Well PC, PS5, PS Plus, Switch, Xbox Animal Well , another amazing work from a solo developer, is on the surface a stunning CRT-filtered Metroid-like with a spooky animal theme. But dig a little deeper past the cursed herons and sleepy capybara and you’ll find a complex latticework of puzzles combined with interesting power-ups, a focus on physics play and a near total lack of combat. Some secrets require specific power-ups from around the world (a yo-yo, a slinky, a frisbee), while others need lateral thinking or knowledge gleaned from other areas. UFO 50 PC A package of 50 new games, styled and presented as a library of retro titles by a fictional company for their fictional home computer, this compilation evokes the feeling of finding a dusty 1980s machine and a box full of disks, and putting them in to see what you find. The games are all surprisingly full in scope, and they run the genre gamut from beat-em-ups to top-down driving games to narrative horror. Best of all are the two-player options, which offer a peerlessly strange retro bonding experience. The Great Circle takes Indy to many cultural epicentres around the globe, from Italy to Egypt to the Himalayas and more. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Game Pass, PC, Xbox Games based on movie franchises can go very wrong, but MachineGames (the Swedish studio known for the Nazi-hunting 2010s Wolfenstein series), had a clear vision for the world’s most famous archeologist . Each level is an exploratory puzzle with dozens of smaller riddles within, filled with fascists to sneak around and artefacts to recover. Combat is slapstick, gunplay is scarce, the iconic whip gets plenty of creative use and voice actor Troy Baker puts in an astonishing Harrison Ford impersonation. The narrative overall (concerning a trek across the globe to stop the Nazis achieving a mystical power) is the best the franchise has seen since 1989. 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