Development

Epic adds AI NPC tools to Fortnite as Vader voice sparks union clash

Epic Games is launching new tools for Fortnite creators that enable them to build AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs), following the debut of an AI-generated Darth Vader that players can talk to in-game.

The feature, which reproduces the iconic voice of James Earl Jones using AI, marks a significant step in interactive gaming—but also comes with its share of challenges and controversy.

According to The Verge, Epic encountered several difficulties in fine-tuning Vader’s voice and responses to feel authentic and fit smoothly into gameplay. ‘The culmination of a very intense effort for a character everybody understands,’ said Saxs Persson, executive vice president of the Fortnite ecosystem.

Persson noted that the team worked carefully to ensure that when Vader joins a player’s team, he behaves as a fearsome and aggressive ally—true to his cinematic persona.

However, the rollout wasn’t entirely smooth. In a live-streamed session, popular Fortnite creator Loserfruit prompted Vader to swear, exposing the system’s content filtering flaws. Epic responded quickly with patches and has since implemented multiple layers of safety checks.

‘We do our best job on day one,’ said Persson, ‘but more importantly, we’re ready to surround the problem and have fixes in place as fast as possible.’

Now, Fortnite creators will have access to the same suite of AI tools and safety systems used to develop Vader. They can control voice tone, dialogue, and NPC behaviour while relying on Epic’s safeguards to avoid inappropriate interactions.

The feature launch comes at a sensitive moment, as actor union SAG-AFTRA has filed a complaint against Epic Games over using AI to recreate Vader’s voice.

The union claims that Llama Productions, an Epic subsidiary, employed the technology without consulting or bargaining with the union, replacing the work of human voice actors.

‘We must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members,’ SAG-AFTRA said, emphasising its support for actors and estates in managing the use of digital replicas.

As Epic expands its AI capabilities in gaming, it faces both the technical challenges of responsible deployment and the growing debate around AI’s impact on creative professions.

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G42 and Mistral team up to build AI platforms

Abu Dhabi-based tech company G42 has partnered with French startup Mistral AI to co-develop advanced AI platforms and infrastructure across Europe, the Middle East, and the Global South.

The collaboration aims to span the full AI value chain, from model training to sector-specific applications, combining Mistral’s open-weight language models with G42’s infrastructure expertise.

The deal builds on prior AI cooperation agreements endorsed by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and French President Emmanuel Macron, reinforcing both countries’ shared ambition to lead in AI innovation.

G42 subsidiaries Core42 and Inception will support the initiative by contributing technical development and deployment capabilities.

This partnership is part of a broader UAE strategy to position itself as a global AI hub and diversify its economy beyond oil. With AI expected to add up to $91 billion to the UAE’s economy by 2030, such international alliances reflect a shift in AI power centres toward the Middle East.

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Reddit accuses Anthropic of misusing user content

Reddit has taken legal action against AI startup Anthropic, alleging that the company scraped its platform without permission and used the data to train and commercialise its Claude AI models.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco’s Superior Court, accuses Anthropic of breaching contract terms, unjust enrichment, and interfering with Reddit’s operations.

According to Reddit, Anthropic accessed the platform more than 100,000 times despite publicly claiming to have stopped doing so.

The complaint claims Anthropic ignored Reddit’s technical safeguards, such as robots.txt files, and bypassed the platform’s user agreement to extract large volumes of user-generated content.

Reddit argues that Anthropic’s actions undermine its licensing deals with companies like OpenAI and Google, who have agreed to strict content usage and deletion protocols.

The filing asserts that Anthropic intentionally used personal data from Reddit without ever seeking user consent, calling the company’s conduct deceptive. Despite public statements suggesting respect for privacy and web-scraping limitations, Anthropic is portrayed as having disregarded both.

The lawsuit even cites Anthropic’s own 2021 research that acknowledged Reddit content as useful in training AI models.

Reddit is now seeking damages, repayment of profits, and a court order to stop Anthropic from using its data further. The market responded positively, with Reddit’s shares closing nearly 67% higher at $118.21—indicating investor support for the company’s aggressive stance on data protection.

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OpenAI and India plan AI infrastructure push

OpenAI is in discussions with the Indian government to collaborate on data centre infrastructure as part of its new global initiative, ‘OpenAI for Countries’.

The programme aims to help partner nations expand AI capabilities through joint investment and strategic coordination with the US. India could become one of the ten initial countries in the effort, although specific terms remain under wraps.

During a visit to Delhi, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer Jason Kwon emphasised India’s potential, citing the government’s clear focus on infrastructure and AI talent.

Similar to the UAE’s recently announced Stargate project in Abu Dhabi, India may host large-scale AI computing infrastructure while also investing in the US under the same framework.

To nurture AI skills, OpenAI and the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s IndiaAI Mission launched the ‘OpenAI Academy’. It marks OpenAI’s first international rollout of its educational platform.

The partnership will provide free access to AI tools, developer training, and events, with content in English, Hindi, and four additional regional languages. It will also support government officials and startups through dedicated learning platforms.

The collaboration includes hackathons, workshops in six cities, and up to $100,000 in API credits for selected IndiaAI fellows and startups. The aim is to accelerate innovation and help Indian developers and researchers scale AI solutions more efficiently, according to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

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UK NCSC releases principles for strengthening organisational cybersecurity culture

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published a framework of six principles aimed at supporting organisations in developing a strong internal cybersecurity culture. The principles are based on research conducted with government and industry stakeholders and are intended to guide organisations in embedding cyber-resilient behaviours among their personnel.

The principles are outlined as follows:

  1. Frame cyber security as an enabler that supports the organisation’s core objectives.
  2. Encourage openness by building trust, safety, and processes that support transparency around security issues.
  3. Adapt to change to address new threats and take advantage of opportunities to improve resilience.
  4. Acknowledge the role of social norms in shaping secure behaviours within the organisation.
  5. Recognise leadership responsibility in influencing cyber security culture.
  6. Maintain accessible and clear security rules and guidance to support user understanding and compliance.

Each principle is accompanied by practical examples illustrating effective and ineffective application.

Ice, Nature, Outdoors, Iceberg, Dynamite, Weapon
UK NCSC releases principles for strengthening organisational cybersecurity culture 7

The NCSC notes that building a cybersecurity culture requires ongoing and coordinated efforts across multiple organisational roles, including cybersecurity professionals, cultural specialists, and leadership. The centre highlights that the ability of staff to support security objectives is influenced by the overall organisational environment and approach to cyber risks.

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China accuses Taiwan of cyber attacks and offers a bounty

Authorities in Guangzhou have placed a secret bounty on more than 20 individuals suspected of launching cyber attacks on Chinese targets, according to state news agency Xinhua.

One named suspect, Ning Enwei, is reportedly linked to Taiwan’s government. While the size of the reward remains undisclosed, officials claim the accused hackers targeted sectors including defence, aerospace, energy, and science—alongside agencies in Hong Kong and Macau.

Xinhua stated that Taiwan’s ‘information, communication and digital army’ has coordinated with US forces to carry out cyber and cognitive warfare against China.

These accusations form part of a broader Chinese narrative suggesting Taiwan is seeking independence through foreign alliances, particularly with US intelligence agencies. State media also claimed the US has trained Taiwanese personnel and helped orchestrate cyber attacks on the mainland.

In response, a senior Taiwanese security official, speaking anonymously, dismissed the claims as fabricated. The official argued that Beijing is attempting to deflect criticism following allegations of Chinese cyber activities in Europe, especially in the Czech Republic.

‘It is typical of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to change the narrative,’ the official said, branding Beijing an international cyber threat instead of a victim.

Taiwan’s government has yet to issue an official statement.

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Amazon invests $10 billion in AI data centres

Amazon is investing $10 billion to build data centres in North Carolina, aiming to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure instead of outsourcing compute needs.

The initiative will create at least 500 high-skilled roles and includes support for education, broadband careers, and local development through a $150,000 community fund.

The company is also developing AI-powered humanoid robots for future delivery tasks, reportedly testing them in a newly constructed ‘humanoid park’ at its San Francisco office.

Although using third-party hardware for now, the long-term goal is to embed Amazon’s software into these robots, according to sources.

Experts say the investment underlines a growing concern: that only large firms can afford the infrastructure needed for cutting-edge AI.

‘It’s positive for growth but risks concentrating innovation in Big Tech’s hands,’ said Leo Fan, co-founder of Cysic, a blockchain-based AI firm. He argues that the shift could disincentivise smaller players and dampen broader AI progress.

Amazon is also rolling out Alexa+, a new generative AI-powered assistant, and has secured a licensing deal with The New York Times to integrate journalism, recipes, and sports content into Alexa and other AI products, further extending its ecosystem instead of relying solely on internal data.

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OpenAI hits 3 million business subscribers

OpenAI has added another 1 million paying business subscribers since February, bringing the total to 3 million across ChatGPT Enterprise, Team and Edu.

The milestone was shared during a company livestream and confirmed in interviews with outlets like CNBC.

Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap noted that the business tools are being adopted widely, even in regulated sectors like finance and healthcare.

He said growth among individual users has fuelled enterprise adoption instead of stalling it, highlighting a feedback loop between consumer and business uptake.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Enterprise in August 2023, followed by Team in January 2024 and Edu in May 2024. Within a year of its first business product, the firm had already reached 1 million paying business users—a number that has now tripled.

Lightcap said AI is reshaping work across sectors—from student learning to patient care and public services—by increasing productivity instead of just automating tasks.

A separate PYMNTS Intelligence report found that 82% of workers using generative AI weekly believe it improves their output. OpenAI’s overall user base has reportedly reached 800 million people, with CEO Sam Altman claiming 10% of the global population now uses the company’s tools.

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Google email will reply by using your voice

Google is building a next-generation email system that uses generative AI to reply to mundane messages in your own tone, according to DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.

Speaking at SXSW London, Hassabis said the system would handle everyday emails instead of requiring users to write repetitive responses themselves.

Hassabis called email ‘the thing I really want to get rid of,’ and joked he’d pay thousands each month for that luxury. He emphasised that while AI could help cure diseases or combat climate change, it should also solve smaller daily annoyances first—like managing inbox overload.

The upcoming feature aims to identify routine emails and draft replies that reflect the user’s writing style, potentially making decisions on simpler matters.

While details are still limited, the project remains under development and could debut as part of Google’s premium AI subscription model before reaching free-tier users.

Gmail already includes generative tools that adjust message tone, but the new system goes further—automating replies instead of just suggesting edits.

Hassabis also envisioned a universal AI assistant that protects users’ attention and supports digital well-being, offering personalised recommendations and taking care of routine digital tasks.

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Ask Photos rollout stalls as Google tackles speed and UX

Google has temporarily paused the rollout of its Ask Photos feature in Google Photos, citing performance concerns.

The tool, powered by Gemini’s multimodal AI, was designed to enhance search by allowing users to find images using natural language—such as ‘pictures of my dog eating on the sofa’ or ‘me in a swimming pool.’

The feature began rolling out in September last year but has seen limited availability. Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall revealed the rollout had stalled at ‘very small numbers’ due to latency, quality and user experience issues.

He confirmed that an improved version is expected within two weeks, promising search speeds comparable to the app’s original functionality.

Users with access to Ask Photos can continue using it, though they may encounter slow response times. Those who prefer to wait can turn off the feature in the app’s settings until the update is released.

In the meantime, Google has improved its traditional photo search capabilities. You can now search for specific text in your images by enclosing keywords in quotation marks. This refined approach delivers more accurate results for users who prefer a faster and more direct search experience.

As part of its tenth-anniversary celebrations, Google Photos has also introduced new features, including an updated image editor with AI tools, the ability to share albums via QR codes, and broader access to formerly Pixel 9-exclusive tools like Reimagine and Auto Frame.

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