Gossip Goblin hackathon at Google DeepMind in San Francisco on October 20 brings together founders building generative AI entertainment infrastructure to showcase their work.
Bear-baiting, a popular form of entertainment in medieval England where dogs attacked chained bears, originated after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and remained widespread until its legal prohibition in 1835. Archaeological evidence including bear bones dated to 1078–1300 CE from multiple English sites shows the practice was costly yet enjoyed by both aristocrats and commoners, despite bears needing to be imported. Even contemporary observers criticized the brutal spectacle on moral grounds.
NBC News aired an interview between entertainment correspondent Chloe Melas and Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actress who debuted in September 2025. During the segment on the 3rd Hour of Today, Norwood discussed her role as a creative tool while addressing concerns about AI safety raised by experts, including a former Anthropic employee warning of existential risks.
Standupd is a platform for discovering, tracking, and sharing stand-up comedy specials, allowing users to log watched performances and queue new ones. The service indexes over 1,500 specials from 672 comedians and is available on iPhone.
China's rapidly growing population of single, childless consumers is fueling a $1 trillion "loneliness economy" as younger generations prioritize personal spending on experiences, entertainment, and AI companions over traditional markers like marriage and homeownership. Businesses from karaoke kiosks to streaming services are capitalizing on solo consumers who spend more on themselves than coupled households, a trend spreading across Asia and potentially globally.
Choicer Voicer is a browser-based game that lets users record their own voice performances for 133 short scenes from movies, games, anime, and other media. Players select a dubbing scene, record each line with microphone access, receive individual and average scores, and can retry takes to improve their delivery.