Airbnb CEO addresses issues with racist hosts
Airbnb is hosting its annual OpenAir conference today, and CEO Brian Chesky kicked off the conference by addressing recent reports surrounding the phenomenon of racist hosts cancelling travelers’ trips. “First, let me make it clear that we have zero tolerance for any amount of racism or discrimination on our platform,” Chesky said.”Over the next couple months, we’re revisiting the design of our platform end to end and look at how we can revisit decisions we’ve made.”
VP of technology Mike Curtis also addressed the issue at the end of his keynote. “I want to stand here and tell you that we are commited to battling this with every tool at our disposal and with zero tolerance,” Curtis said. “Our goal is to create a world where everyone can belong everywhere…we’re taking it seriously and we’re taking action.”
Neither Curtis nor Chesky had specifics about what sort of things the company would look for on the Airbnb platform, but it sounds like the company will be soliciting feedback from its users — including those who may have been victims of racism or discrimination. “I myself have personally engaged with a number of people who have been discriminated against on our platforms, and I want everyone to know that we’re working on this,” Chesky said. His remarks were fairly brief, but it sounds like building a more inclusive community is a topic that’ll come up more than once in today’s event.
Following the keynote, Airbnb director of diversity David King kicked off a roundtable discussion with Slack’s Leslie Miley and Project Include’s Ellen Pao on the topic of diversity and inclusion. Before that conversation, King noted that he would lead a “top-down review of the entire community” to improve discrimination issues. He also said that the company would release the results of its study this September, with changes based on those learnings to follow.
These comments come a week after Airbnb removed a host from its service for sending racist remarks to a black woman who tried to book the host’s property. At the time, Chesky tweeted that “racism and discrimination have no place on Airbnb.” But this incident was just the most recent example of the company’s problems with racism — a study last year showed that guests with “African-American sounding” names were significantly less likely to find a rental on Airbnb.
Gene-edited organisms aren’t ready for the real world
Gene editing holds the promise of eliminating diseases and perfecting humanity, but is it truly ready for real life? Not by a long shot, if you ask the National Academy of Sciences. It just issued a report warning that organisms modified with gene drives (that is, genetic additions meant to propagate through reproduction) “are not ready” to be released in the wild. We don’t understand enough about how they work, the report says, whether it’s their inner workings, their ethical questions or their impact on the environment.
The consequences could be dire, the Academy says. You could accidentally wipe out an animal population (and not necessarily the one you were targeting), or inadvertently create a super-species that’s resistant to your attempts to shut it down. Even a field test could quickly spiral out of control.
And the solution? The committee involved in the report has a few ideas. It wants phased testing that gives scientists more opportunities to collect evidence before making decisions. It also wants more input from the public, and governance that’s both more flexible and takes gene drives into account. The Academy is in favor of gene editing — it just wants to be sure that the technology is used responsibly.
Source: National Academies
Airbnb makes it easier to find a place to stay with your friends
Airbnb addressed the problem of racist hosts at the beginning of its OpenAir conference today, but the event is primarily focused on new technology and products. As such, VP of technology Mike Curtis quickly took the stage to announce three new products: group collaborative wish lists, an improved booking process for business travelers and multi-party reviews for when a group of guests stay at a property.
To most users of Airbnb, the collaborative wish are probably be the most notable new feature. For a while now, you’ve been able to book a place on Airbnb and then invite other guests to view the details for the stay. But now, you can get your friends involved earlier in the search process and have multiple users save different homes to a shared wish list. From there, you can vote on your favorite option; once you book, the property will be shared with everyone’s account so your friends can see the details of your final choice.
The multi-party review system builds on the concept of group trips. Previously, hosts could only rate or review the single person who actually booked the property, even if multiple other people stayed at the house. Now, a host can write a review that applies to all the guests in your group; hopefully you stay with respectable friends, otherwise your reputation could take a hit. Of course, for both of these features, your friends will need Airbnb accounts to join in the fun.
The last new feature is more focused on business travelers, something Airbnb says is a core part of its business — in fact, the company says that business travel has tripled on Airbnb in 2016 so far. The new third-party booking feature will let another authorized individual (like a company’s travel manager) complete a booking on behalf of an Airbnb user. The company already sees 11 percent of Airbnb useres booking for another individual, so this feature should ease the friction there. All of these new features should roll out immediately.
Source: Airbnb
The PSVR expansion to ‘Volume’ will debut at E3
Mike Bithell, the developer behind Volume and Thomas Was Alone announced a PlayStation VR expansion to the former last year. With E3 fast approaching, he’s now ready to show the fruits of his labor to the masses.
Called Volume: Coda, the expansion uses the VR headset and DualShock’s motion tracking to allow you the freedom to look around an entire level. You’ll be able to scale and rotate the board by moving the controller while you attempt to stealthily achieve your goals.
As well as adding VR support, Coda will also feature 30 new missions and an all-new story. It’ll follow a fresh protagonist, picking up immediately after the events of the main game. It’s going to be entirely free for owners of the original game once the PlayStation VR launches in October, and we should hear more about it at E3 next week.
Apple’s App Store is changing, starting with subscriptions
At next week’s WWDC, Apple is set to unveil some major changes to the way developers and users interact with the App Store. According to Apple’s senior VP of Worldwide Marketing (and perennial WWDC keynote presence) Phil Schiller, Apple is working to improve everything from the app review experience to the discovery process. But the most notable change is a shift in the business models to allow for subscriptions from any kind of app.
As The Verge reports today, the 70/30 revenue split between developers and Apple will stay in place, but apps that keep a user subscribed for more than a year will see that split shift in their favor to 85/15. “Now we’re going to open up to all categories,” Schiller told The Verge, “and that includes games, which is a huge category.”
According to LoopInsight, developers will be able to choose “one of over 200 subscription price points” and will be able to create region-specific pricing. If a developer chooses to raise a subscription price, users will have to re-authorize the price increase. The new system will also effect current subscription-based apps.
The shift looks enticing for developers, who will now be able to offer their apps and games for a monthly fee rather than a single price up front. And with iPhone sales finally on the decline, the arrangement also allows Apple to turn existing users into even more lucrative revenue streams.
Also per Schiller, Apple will be introducing display ads into the iOS App Store search results for the first time. Although Apple has previously stated that Featured positioning in the App Store is “not for sale,” Schiller now feels confident they’ve built a system that will work for everyone. The auction system behind the ads, Schiller said, will be “fair to developers and fair for indie developers, too.”
As for the app review process, Schiller says that the turnaround time has dropped to the point where a full half of the apps submitted to Apple are reviewed in the first 24 hours and 90 percent are reviewed within two days.
Finally, Schiller is looking to drive even more traffic to the App Store, to the point where it becomes a daily visit for most users. One of the ways Apple plans to do that is to add a “Share” button to every app’s 3D Touch menu on the home screen. As you might expect, tapping the share button allows you to shoot off a download link on your social network of choice.
Xbox One won’t get a television DVR feature after all
Back at Gamescom in August, Microsoft announced that the Xbox One would be getting a DVR feature for over-the-air TV this year. Well, if you got your hopes up about the add-on, we’ve got some bad news. The company has confirmed to Engadget that the tool is no longer being added to the console. Why the change of heart? Microsoft cites a decision to focus on “new higher fan-requested gaming experiences across Xbox One and Windows 10.” While the company says development is “on hold,” there’s no indication that it will pick the project back up at a later date.
When the DVR tool was announced last year, Microsoft said users would be able to stream recorded content via the SmartGlass app for Android and iOS or the Xbox app on Windows 10. Apps would’ve also offered the ability to schedule recordings while on the go through OneGuide and that the content would be stored on an external hard drive. The addition of the DVR would’ve made the console a more complete TV solution, at least for over-the-air shows. However, it appears the company has turned its focus solely on gaming, and we should hear more about that topic at next week’s E3. Here’s the full statement from Microsoft.
“After careful consideration, we’ve decided to put development of DVR for Over-the-Air TV on hold to focus our attention on launching new, higher fan-requested gaming experiences across Xbox One and Windows 10. We’re always listening to fan feedback and we look forward to bringing more requested experiences on Xbox One, Windows 10 and Xbox Live this year.”
Via: The Verge
UK spies may have risked lives by collecting too much data
One of the common arguments against mass surveillance is that it could backfire: you might collect so much data that finding crucial info becomes difficult. As it turns out, that’s a well-founded theory. A 2010 UK report leaked by Edward Snowden warned that MI5 spies were collecting so much data that there was a real risk of an “intelligence failure” where it would miss info that could save lives. Without enough staff and tools, it simply couldn’t handle the sheer glut of raw surveillance content.
GCHQ’s snoops have had problems, too. In 2009, a study revealed that 97 percent of data collected on surveillance targets hadn’t even been seen. There was a real risk that something important might slip between the cracks, according to the findings. And there are more privacy concerns than previously thought. GCHQ would later offer internet metadata to other British agencies (such as MI5 and tax agents) as part of a sharing program codenamed Milkwhite, giving them information about suspects that they either wouldn’t have or would need to collect themselves.
While this was more of a warning than a definitive conclusion, the Intercept notes that there have been some real-world examples of mass surveillance failures leading to deaths. The extremists who murdered British soldier Lee Rigby in London were already known to MI5, but officials missed call and messaging records that would have revealed the killers’ intentions. Like it or not, governments may need to worry less about expanding their powers and more about reining themselves in — targeted spying could actually provide more useful intelligence.
Source: The Intercept
Mark Zuckerberg holds his first live Facebook Q&A on June 14th
Now that Mark Zuckerberg has talked to astronauts using Facebook Live, he’s ready to talk to the Facebook community at large… and it might just be one of the biggest showcases of the streaming service to date. The social network founder will use Facebook Live to host a Q&A on June 14th at 2:30PM Eastern, and he’s using comments on the announcement post to determine what he’ll answer. If you’ve been yearning for a big new feature or have a question about Facebook’s artificial intelligence efforts, you might just get your voice heard. Suffice it to say that there will likely be a lot of people watching — it’s not often that Zuckerberg gets to address the people who made his site what it is.
Source: Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)
Valencia CF is the next big soccer club to start an eSports team
At this rate, soccer (aka football) clubs signing eSports teams is quickly becoming an everyday occurrence: Valencia CF has become the first club in Spain’s La Liga to have its own eSports team. It’s not certain just how many games the new outfit will play (Hearthstone and Rocket League are in the mix), but it’s counting Twitch as an official partner. The first virtual match takes place roughly three weeks from now, in Madrid.
Valencia isn’t shy about the reasons behind the move. At the least, the eSports team will give greater visibility to the conventional sports club. However, the organization also sees the potential for big money. ESports are already pulling in hundreds of millions of Euros in Europe, and they’re only expected to grow in the next few years. The move could give Valencia a head start in a competitive gaming world that could easily hit the big time.
Source: Valencia CF
What to expect at this year’s E3
Ah, the Electronics Entertainment Expo. It’s Paris Fashion Week for the video game crowd, where practically the entire industry descends onto downtown Los Angeles for a week of media briefings, game announcements, ill-advised open-bar parties and, for folks on the press side of things, an awful lot of walking, talking and writing to bring you the latest news and interviews straight from the convention. Before the show floor opens on Tuesday, Electronic Arts, Bethesda, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Sony each have keynotes scheduled. We’ll be at all of them, starting Sunday with Bethesda and EA and liveblogging Microsoft and Sony on Monday. Here’s what you can expect for the week.
Microsoft
This year is Microsoft’s chance to show what the Xbox One is truly capable of. We’ve already seen the excellent Quantum Break from developer Remedy Entertainment this year, and, indeed, the company has a new focus on original, exclusive games. Cases in point: the cel-shaded pirate simulator Sea of Thieves, the robotic mystery of ReCore and a long-awaited return to Halo’s strategy roots with Halo Wars 2. There’s also the chance we could hear more about Inside, from Limbo developer Playdead, and maybe, just maybe, Crackdown 3 and the newly leaked and zombie-focused Dead Rising 4 and State of Decay 2. That’s to say nothing of Below from Capybara Games or Tacoma from Fullbright — both of which have been running under the radar in terms of media access.
There are also rumors that Microsoft will have new hardware to show off, including a microconsole that accesses games and apps like Netflix from your Xbox One. Given the work that Microsoft has put into Xbox-to-PC streaming, this doesn’t seem farfetched. Other reports say that Microsoft may unveil two new pieces of hardware, one of which might be a smaller and lower-priced Xbox One with a whopping 2TB of internal memory. Rumors suggest that might launch later this year.
The other theory is that Microsoft has a more powerful Xbox in the works, code-named “Scorpio.” There’s a chance this hardware won’t debut next week or even come out in 2016, but supposedly it’ll pack a stronger GPU and support for Oculus Rift headsets. That way, the PS4 wouldn’t be the only console built with virtual reality in mind.
Sony
Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
If the rumors are to be believed, Sony is developing a revamped, higher-spec PlayStation 4, code-named “Neo.” Will it hit stores this year, though? That’s anyone’s guess. Unlike, say, the Xbox 360 Slim that came out five years into the Xbox 360’s life cycle, this sounds different than just a mid-cycle refresh with more-efficient innards in a smaller chassis. It supposedly packs a stronger GPU and a faster processor and is capable of outputting 4K video. Reportedly, games can be patched to take advantage of these new specs to run more smoothly, and by October, every PS4 game will be required to support both systems. Translation: Sony doesn’t want to split its user base between the 40 million existing PS4 owners and those with newer hardware.
Now, that doesn’t mean that the Neo/PS4.5/PS4K will be out by October; it’s just an internal timeline (again, based off rumors) laid out by Sony. And that puts the Neo in a weird spot. Think about it this way: Sony’s been pitching PlayStation VR, a $400 virtual reality headset for the living room, for over two years. The company has remained silent about the Neo since rumors started cropping up earlier this year, but smart money says Sony will finally talk about it at E3 next week.
Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images
But when will it come out? If the console is announced next week but doesn’t actually arrive until the fall or maybe next year, sales of the current PS4 would likely grind to a halt, thus giving Microsoft an opportunity to surge ahead. That’s not something Sony wants. With that in mind, it doesn’t seem like a stretch that the newly formed Sony Interactive Entertainment will do as Microsoft did with the Xbox 360 Slim and launch the hardware either during or immediately after E3.
As far as games go, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see more of the titles that debuted at last year’s show but haven’t hit store shelves yet. That includes The Last Guardian, the recently delayed Horizon: Zero Dawn and, of course, PlayStation VR, which ships in October. Maybe we’ll hear about PS VR support for the also-delayed No Man’s Sky or Gran Turismo Sport. And you can’t forget about David Cage’s next game, Detroit: Become Human.
The typically E3-averse Rockstar Games could even make an appearance at Sony’s show: The company recently renewed its trademark for Agent, a game announced but not shown during Sony’s 2009 E3 keynote.
Of course, E3 wouldn’t be E3 without a number of surprises (remember last year’s Shenmue sequel?), which means you should definitely follow along with our liveblog come Monday.
Nintendo
Nintendo is in a weird spot this year. It’s skipping a traditional media briefing in favor of a livestream. The Wii U is in its twilight period, and its successor, the still-code-named NX, won’t come out until next March. Meanwhile, the company is adamant that the console won’t make an appearance at E3. Like the other console manufacturers, Nintendo typically has a sizable booth on the show floor with tons of demo kiosks featuring a bevy of playable games. The company says this year will be different because every one of those will be occupied by a fairy boy sporting a green tunic this year.
The perpetually delayed next entry in the Legend of Zelda series is going to be the only playable game in Nintendo’s booth, and it’ll be the Wii U version — not the one planned for the NX.
In fact, Nintendo is dedicating next Tuesday to streaming Zelda footage exclusively, along with commentary from its developers. A few days ago, Nintendo said in a statement that it would also be streaming the new Pokemon games, Sun and Moon, as part of its Treehouse Live broadcasts in addition to Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII and Tokyo Mirage Sessions. As has been the case for the past few years, the company is using these streams as a replacement for a traditional E3 press event.
Everyone else
Bethesda
A giant Rubik’s Cube in Fallout 4
Bethesda, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft all have press conferences scheduled for next week, with the first two kicking off the show on Sunday. Last year was Bethesda’s first-ever E3 keynote, and it spent the bulk of the time talking about Fallout 4 and Doom. Both of those are already out, so what could the company have to brag about now? Dishonored 2, for starters. Earlier this year, Bethesda promised we’d see the steampunk sequel’s first gameplay at E3 well ahead of the game’s Nov. 11th release.
There are also whispers of an Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim HD port as well. Considering that during Fallout 4’s development process the team ported Skyrim to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this seems like a no-brainer. Furthermore, now that the company has a framework in place for mod support on Fallout 4 and Doom, a shiny version of Skyrim getting the same treatment is highly likely.
Speaking of Fallout 4, more info on add-on packs for the game is also pretty likely, and maybe we’ll hear more about post-launch missions or multiplayer maps for Doom. Expect to hear more about The Elder Scrolls card game and Legends as well. There are also reports that Bethesda is resurrecting the alien-bounty-hunting sequel Prey 2.
EA
EA is pouring a lot of resources into Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1 and the new FIFA game. We haven’t seen any gameplay of the former whatsoever and only a brief snippet of the new Battlefield. That changes next week, with new details expected at E3. FIFA is a perennial favorite, but, well, it’s soccer, and aside from switching from EA’s sports engine to Frostbite (which is used to develop everything else from the company) it’s hard to reinvent the wheel.
You’ll also notice a Mass Effect–size hole here. After the long-awaited sequel Mass Effect: Andromeda debuted during the keynote last year, the game has mostly gone silent. There hasn’t been any gameplay footage released since (last year’s trailer was just CGI), and its “fall 2017” release window has been pushed to early next year. Key talent has left developer BioWare following last E3 as well. My crystal ball is cloudy here, but there’s the slightest of chances we’ll learn more next week.
Ubisoft
There won’t be a new Assassin’s Creed title this year.
Don’t expect to finally see Beyond Good and Evil 2 from Ubisoft at E3: It’ll only lead to heartbreak when the “one more thing” from the company’s press conference is another Tom Clancy-branded shooter. Speaking of which, there should be a whole lot more info and gameplay coming out for the open-world Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, in addition to Watch Dogs 2 making a guaranteed appearance. It’s safe to say that we’ll see more of the period-piece brawler For Honor and the superhero-centric South Park role-playing game The Fractured But Whole as well, considering both debuted last year. A Ubisoft press conference wouldn’t be the same without Assassin’s Creed making an appearance, but with the series taking a much-need break this year, we’ll probably get a new trailer for the upcoming movie starring Michael Fassbender instead.
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