Things To Do In SW Florida

Presenting a 2026 wish list for Orlando’s theme parks: There is one hope or dream per park, and the goal is to have them not be too expensive. Disney, Universal and SeaWorld already have their big-ticket to-do lists going, even if they are frequently under wraps.

If we’re wishing big, we’d like all those juicy details about impending opening dates and new attractions. Instead, those facts likely will seep out bit by bit into 2027.

To keep this exercise out of total-negativity mode, there also are shout-outs for each park for something that brings joy.

Epcot

• In my mind: I wish the Disney Skyliner onboard spiel would be updated, specifically the part about learning languages around World Showcase. How do you say “as if” in Japanese?

• On the bright side: Watching actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, who was at the park serving as a narrator for Candlelight Processional, take two spins on Cosmic Rewind: Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster, was a double delight, thanks to a Disney-released video. read more

By CHAN HO-HIM

HONG KONG (AP) — China said on Thursday it would assess and investigate Meta’s acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus, in a move highlighting its technology rivalry with the U.S.

Meta announced last week it was buying Manus, which is Singapore-based with Chinese roots, as the California tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram expands its AI offerings across its platforms.

It is a rare acquisition by a U.S. tech group of an AI company with Chinese roots, at a time of heightened frictions between Washington and Beijing.

On Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yadong told reporters that it would work with relevant departments to assess and investigate whether Meta’s acquisition of Manus is consistent with Chinese laws and regulations.

Any enterprises engaging in outward investment, technology export, data transfer and cross-border mergers and acquisitions must comply with Chinese laws, He said.

Meta and Manus did not immediately reply to requests for comment. read more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

More artificial intelligence is being implanted into Gmail as Google tries to turn the world’s most popular email service into a personal assistant that can improve writing, summarize far-flung information buried in inboxes and deliver daily to-do lists.

The new AI features announced Thursday could herald a pivotal moment for Gmail, a service that transformed email when it was introduced nearly 22 years ago. Since then, Gmail has amassed more than 3 billion users to become nearly as ubiquitous as Google’s search engine.

Gmail’s new AI options will only be available in English within the United States for starters, but the company is promising to expand the technology to other countries and other languages as the year unfolds.

The most broadly available tool will be a “Help Me Write” option designed to learn a user’s writing style so it can personalize emails and make real-time suggestions on how to burnish the message.

Google is also offering subscribers who pay for its Pro and Ultra services access to technology that mirrors the AI Overviews that’s been built into its search engine since 2023. The expansion will enable subscribers pose conversational questions in Gmail’s search bar to get instant answers about information they are trying to retrieve from their inboxes. read more

By SOPHIE BATES

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is set to spend $20 billion to build a data center in Southaven, Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Thursday, calling it the largest private investment in the state’s history.

The data center, called MACROHARDRR, is being built in Mississippi’s DeSoto County near Memphis, Tennessee. It will be the company’s third data center in the greater Memphis area. xAI CFO Anthony Armstrong said the cluster of data centers will house “the world’s largest supercomputer” with 2 gigawatts of computing power.

The announcement comes as xAI faces scrutiny over its data center projects in the Memphis area. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have raised concerns over air pollution generated by xAI’s supercomputer facility located near predominantly Black communities in Memphis.

A petition by the Safe and Sound Coalition, a Southaven group opposing xAI’s developments, calls for shutting down xAI’s operations in the area and has received more than 900 signatures as of Thursday afternoon. read more

By MATT O’BRIEN

The promise of artificial intelligence was front and center at this year’s CES gadget show. But spicing up a simple machine like a refrigerator with unnecessary AI was also a surefire way to win the “Worst in Show.”

The annual contest that no tech company wants to win announced its decisions Thursday. Among those getting the notorious “anti-awards” for invasive, wasteful or fragile products were an eye-tracking AI “soulmate” companion for combating loneliness, a musical lollipop and new AI features for Amazon’s widely used doorbell cameras.

Shouting at a ‘bespoke AI’ fridge that also hawks grocery products

Samsung’s “Bespoke AI Family Hub” refrigerator received the overall “Worst in Show” recognition from the group of consumer and privacy advocates who judged the contest.

Samsung invites users to speak to the refrigerator and command it to open or close the door, but a demonstration at the sprawling Las Vegas technology expo showed it didn’t always detect what people were saying if there was too much ambient noise. That was just part of the complications and reliability concerns Samsung added to an appliance that’s supposed to have one important job: keeping food cold, said Gay Gordon-Byrne of the Digital Right to Repair Coalition in a recorded video ceremony announcing the anti-awards. read more