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If you are in the PS5 beta program a system update is rolling out to bring some changes just for you. Well, a select few at any rate.
This update is only being rolled out at this stage to a limited number of invited participants, but the intention is to release it globally “in the coming months”. Taking a look at what has changed, there has been a sizable update to the DualSense controller software which sees the following changes.
Controller speaker enhancements. The controller speakers can now produce higher volume sound, allowing you to hear in-game sounds and voice chat audio more clearly.

Improved noise cancellation. The mic input quality on these controllers has been improved, courtesy of a new AI machine learning model. Background noise from button presses and game audio are suppressed, resulting in a better voice chat experience. Install the system software beta and update the controller device software to enjoy enhanced clarity of your voice chat audio when using the controller mic.

With this update, you may feel that the sounds coming from your controller speaker may sound louder. You can adjust the controller speaker volume from the control center.
There have also been changes made to Share Screen Interactions and players watching games in this way can interact in new ways.
The PlayStation blog states: 
“Viewers can move a pointer around, send a ping, or draw a line on the shared screen, allowing them to highlight certain objects or areas to guide the host player more accurately. Viewers can send emoji-based reactions to the host’s screen to visually encourage and celebrate gameplay actions. Note: this feature is available by default but can be turned off by the host in the Share Screen settings. Both the host and the viewer must be participating in the beta to use this feature during the beta period.”
We aren’t sure just how many people have been invited to this PlayStation 5 beta update, or whether it will be rolled out further before its main launch, but it’s a good insight into what is coming to your DuelSense later in the year.
The post PlayStation 5 Beta update brings big changes to DualSense controllers and audio appeared first on ReadWrite.

When a grand strategy game gets it right the potential to pour in hundreds and hundreds of hours in it is endless. Paradox Interactive has three on the go at the moment with Hearts of Iron IV, Europa Universalis IV, and Crusader Kings III, each offering a different flavor of history.
The latter is the youngest of the trio and will, next month, receive a huge update with Paradox unveiling a 2024 roadmap that will have fans of the game readying their armies for an invasion onto foreign soil, medieval style.
It all spins up around an expansion called Legends of the Dead – Paradox is calling this a Core Expansion. Game Director Rageair said in a dev post on Steam, “Chapter III is definitely our most ambitious chapter yet, with a Core Expansion, Major Expansion, and an Event Pack (as well as an instant chapter unlock!) New ways of playing the game, and big, sweeping systems are the name of the game this year.”
Part of this initial core expansion will feature the arrival of major diseases that swept the time period – the likes of plagues of consumption, measles, and Holy Fire (the Dancing Plague), before, as the game progresses, the inevitable sweep of The Black Death plague, wiping out all the good work you have managed before it.

The overarching aim of Legends of the Dead is to, “Turn yourself into a figure of legend in this Core Expansion, where great feats and effective propaganda can enhance the power of your bloodline through the centuries. Direct the course of your dynastic legend through Court Chroniclers, whether building a reputation for great buildings or legendary feasts.”
Legends of the Dead is due to be released on the 4th of March.
The whole 2024 roadmap is being referred to as Chapter 3 of Crusader Kings and, later in the year we will get the Major Expansion, Roads to Power which is billed as, “The majesty of the Byzantine Empire takes center stage in this Major Expansion. Rule from Constantinople through a new Administrative Government form and experience a variety of new Byzantine-themed events and flavor. Or, be truly daring and live a life where your noble reputation is not tied to the land, roaming the map as an Adventurer for hire.”
There is no date for this new major expansion yet other than Q3, so we should be expecting it around Fall potentially.
Crusader Kings III is a great game, and if you haven’t played it yet, now would be a good time to get used to its key mechanics before the new stuff arrives.
The post Crusader Kings III Chapter 3 is bringing the Black Death to gaming appeared first on ReadWrite.

Microsoft announced several new collaborations on Monday (Feb. 5) aimed at helping news organizations adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools and techniques.
The initiatives are part of Microsoft’s broader efforts to ensure journalism can innovate to serve the public interest during a critical election year.
Through these new programs, Microsoft will provide AI training, resources, and technology access to partnering news outlets and journalism schools. The goal is to demonstrate how AI can make news gathering more efficient and sustainable while upholding ethical standards.
“Our goal is to support thriving, sustainable newsrooms with the technology they need to perform the essential function of informing the world,” Noreen Gillespie, Journalism Director of Microsoft wrote on the Reporting The World blog said.
The collaborating organizations include The GroundTruth Project, Semafor, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, the Online News Association (ONA), and the AI startup Nota.
GroundTruth will add an AI track for its corps of local reporters. Semafor will use Microsoft tools to help journalists discover diverse sources and perspectives. The CUNY journalism school will offer a tuition-free AI training program for working journalists. ONA will host events and training sessions to scale AI best practices. Nota, which is already partnering with over 100 newsrooms on AI, plans to release a new tool to optimize content.
All partners have committed to sharing their findings across the media industry. The projects build on Microsoft’s Democracy Forward initiative launched last year to help journalism counter information threats.
Central to these efforts is ensuring human journalists remain at the core of newsrooms. “Healthy news organizations do not exist without journalists who know their communities and topics,” Gillespie affirmed.
By demonstrating AI’s potential while mitigating risks, Microsoft hopes to shed positive light on how emerging technologies can sustain quality journalism despite economic headwinds. With billions voting in elections worldwide this year, the company sees reliable, ethical journalism as critical for healthy democracies.
“The survival of fact-based news is inextricably linked to healthy democracies, thriving communities, and civic participation,” Gillespie concluded.
AI disruption in journalism
The news industry is no stranger to disruption. It has been hit hard by the switch to online media consumption and the corresponding decline in print revenue. Then there have been major issues with Google and Facebook gobbling up the lion’s share of ad revenue and finally, with it easier than ever to set up a news website, small, insurgent, independent publications have sprung up.
AI poses a new challenge. While AI tools hold promise to improve efficiency in newsrooms, there are also significant downsides to relying too heavily on automated technologies for news gathering and production. It also poses concerning risks regarding loss of quality, diversity, jobs and trust.
Clearly, it’s a technology that cannot be ignored and must be tackled head-on. The benefits could outweigh the negatives, but only if managed carefully and consciously.
The post Microsoft announce new partnership with journalism organizations appeared first on ReadWrite.