AI resurrection can turn your grief into “spectral labor”

By: Paulo Vargas

20 January 2026 at 05:10

AI resurrection tools can make the dead “talk,” but researchers argue that comfort isn’t the point. Their “spectral labor” framework warns that voice, likeness, and emotion can be extracted and monetized without consent.

The post AI resurrection can turn your grief into “spectral labor” appeared first on Digital Trends.

What happened to home theater PCs?

How-To Geek

By: Sydney Butler

18 January 2026 at 11:30

The HTPC or Home Theater Personal Computer was an idea before its time. Something only well-heeled and tech-savvy tinkering media geeks could even achieve, and then, more often than not, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. Yet, we have the HTPC to thank for our myriad modern media options. So let's look back at the HTPC and give it the respect it deserves.

Federal data underscores meteoric rise of streaming subscription prices in 2025

Ars Technica

By: Scharon Harding

14 January 2026 at 14:56

The prices that Americans paid for subscription- and rental-based access to video streaming services and video games increased 29 percent from December 2024 to December 2025, according to data that the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Tuesday.

According to the BLS, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), which BLS says represents over 90 percent of the US population across the country, for all items “increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.”

The CPI-U for “subscription and rental of video and video games” includes subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming services, like Netflix and Disney+, and "one-time rental of video and video game media. These may be rented or subscribed to through physical copy, streaming, or temporary download," BLS says. For comparison, "cable, satellite, and live streaming television service [such as YouTube TV and Sling]" saw 4.9 percent inflation last year.

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