Boing Boing, October 08, 2025
Mystery military craft, spicy TikTok pranks, and Apple's troubling ICE protection
Happy Wednesday! Here’s today’s stories: ICE’s troubling new “protected class” status at Apple blocks apps tracking immigration raids, while a Paris TikToker faces jail time for traumatizing strangers with fake needle attacks. A HEMS helicopter crashes dramatically on a California highway as bystanders rush to save the trapped crew. Plus, a clever tech enthusiast transforms a $5,000 defunct Google Jamboard into a massive Half-Life 2 gaming screen. Meanwhile, British authorities arrest a protester for simply criticizing their ban on Palestine Action, raising alarming free speech concerns.
Report: Apple defined ICE as a “protected class” in blocking “discriminatory” anti-ICE apps
Rob Beschizza / 10:33 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Joining racial, sexual and religious minorities in Apple’s internal list of “protected classes” is ICE, the federal agency whose masked goons may be seen firing pepper rounds at peaceful protestors, roughing up elected officials and zip-tying children. Migrant Insider reports that emails show the company is using this rationale to remove apps where users share news of sightings, raids and other immigration enforcement activity.
According to internal correspondence reviewed by Migrant Insider, Apple told developer Rafael Concepcion that the app violated Guideline 1.1.1, which prohibits “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content” directed at “religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups.”
But Apple’s justification went further. “Information provided to Apple by law enforcement shows that your app violates Guideline 1.1.1 because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group,” the company wrote in its removal notice.
Pointedly, this rationale was applied to an app which did not allow realtime tracking of law enforcement.
Concepcion’s appeal to Apple emphasized that DeICER was “a tool for education and lawful civic engagement, not the targeting or tracking of law enforcement.”
“Users cannot follow, locate, or monitor officers in real time,” he wrote in his memo to Apple’s App Review Board. “Any observation entered in the app represents a single moment in time, not a persistent or live tracking function.” ..
But Apple rejected that reasoning. In its final ruling, the company’s App Review Board upheld the removal, stating: “Information provided to Apple by law enforcement shows that your app violates Guideline 1.1.1 … because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group.”
Robotic denials of appeals are frustrating at the best of times; this is more alarming.
In the past Apple has defied authoritarian legal overreach and marketed privacy features. Just yesterday, Apple Maps warned me about a speed trap up ahead on the interstate! But it was always a secretive company given to arbitrary policy decisions. If ever its devices were fit for activism, even basic political organization seems inadvisable now. Even if these apps were restored, how could they be trusted?
Don’t take it from me; take it from Wiley Hodges, who worked at Apple for more than 22 years and is not happy with how things are going.
[this] raises the question of how easily Apple will accede to other requests. Will Apple lower its general standards for law enforcement requests from those outlined at https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/law-enforcement-guidelines-us.pdf? Will Apple give data on the identities of users who downloaded the ICEBlock app to the government? Will Apple block podcasts that advocate points of view opposed to the current US administration? I imagine and hope that these are ridiculous questions, but without a clearer demonstration of Apple’s principled commitment to lawful action and due process, I feel uncertain.
Trump’s “ego driven trade war” more than decimates American whiskey exports
Jason Weisberger / 10:25 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Unhappy with merely bankrupting his own businesses at least four times, Donald Trump’s tariffs are severely impacting the US spirits business, which relies on exports.
“In a state like Kentucky, we’ve known from the start that Trump’s sloppy tariff policies would hit us hardest,” U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey said in an email statement. “Trump should come tell Kentucky farmers who grow the corn for bourbon, and the workers who bottle it, and the truck drivers who get it where it needs to go why his ego-driven trade war is worth sabotaging their job security.”
…American whiskey, which includes bourbon, saw global exports decrease by 13%, reflecting a loss of $40.5 million in the second quarter, according to the DISCUS report.
“This trend presents a growing challenge for the U.S. spirits industry. International consumers appear increasingly inclined to substitute U.S. spirits with domestic alternatives or imports from other countries,” the report stated.
My best guess is that Team Trump’s strategy here is to drive more of the United States to drink, and thus replace the plummeting spirit exports destroying the industry here.
ICE brownshirts shoot befrocked Chicago minister in the head with pepper ball, laugh (video)
Jason Weisberger / 9:54 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Caught on video, shooting a visibly peaceful Reverend David Black in the head with a pepper ball, the DHS declared him a dangerous rioter endangering their Gestapo’s safety.
Both Illinois and Oregon Governors have rejected the need for a military presence in their cities, but the Trump Administration is on the warpath. Their masked and unaccountable “Police” are visibly abusing the citizenry and denying their right to free speech. MAGAs, of course, ironically claim “the libs” are trying to take away their 1A rights, rather than it clearly being the other way around. Irony, like Democracy, is dying a quick death in the United States.
Litigation enthusiast, Elon Musk, settles with Twitter executives for $128 million
Jason Weisberger / 9:39 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Rather than following through on a vow to “hunt every single one of” Twitter’s executives and directors “till the day they die,” Elon Musk has reached an agreement to pay the executives he swindled out of $200 million in vesting shares.
Musk biographer Walter Isaacson claimed Musk had said both the quote about hunting Twitter’s executives, as well as a snide comment about ripping them off: “Two-hundred-million differential in the cookie jar.” Both comments wound up cited in the legal filings against him. Musk has until Halloween to pay up, or the lawsuit continues.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2024 after a lengthy dispute with the former execs, who accused Musk of closing the $44 billion Twitter acquisition early to “cheat” them out of $200 million before their stock options vested the following day. The complaint cites a quote from Musk in Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography, saying that closing the deal a day early would create a “two-hundred-million differential in the cookie jar,” and claims that the billionaire told Isaacson he would “hunt every single one of” Twitter’s executives and directors “till the day they die.”
The lawsuit against Musk and X will resume on October 31st if the settlement terms haven’t been met. X also settled “thousands” of cases in August after former employees who were laid off during a mass firing sued the company in 2022 for failing to provide the required 60 days of advance notice prior to termination.
Images from the Portland “war zone”
Jason Weisberger / 9:24 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Social media is awash with images from Portland, Oregon, where an addled Donald “Grandpa Pudding Brains” Trump has been misled into believing “the city is on fire.” There is no fire, only peaceful citizens, abusive ICE Gestapo, and dancing.
Folks in inflatable suits are seen as threatening by the Brownshirts, for some reason. They brutally attacked the famous Antifa-Frog of Portland, attempting to fill their suit with pepper spray. Happily, the Frog likes spicy things.
This video shows more Portlanders showing off their dancing skills.
Portland Police and the Oregon National Guard’s leadership have made statements that they are on the side of the protestors. It is odd that folks like Screamin’ Stephen Miller keep claiming the enemy in Portland is “hippies,” as hippies are most notably famous for a “Make Love Not War” slogan. However, the war Screamin’ Stephen wants us to believe is happening is also non-existent.
This video shows a beautiful day in Portland, with peaceful protestors. There is no war, and there is no city in flames.
Bystanders rescue crew of Emergency Medical Service helicopter after it crashes on Highway 50 (video)
Jason Weisberger / 9:05 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
A Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) craft is caught on video slamming into California’s Highway 50 in Sacramento, and then witnesses rushed to aid the crew trapped inside.
This video captures the dramatic moment when a HEMS aircraft crashes into a busy California highway, somehow not hitting other vehicles. At least one crew member is in critical condition after a number of witnesses lifted the helicopter off the trapped crew member, and she was rushed to the hospital, likely the same hospital the HEMS had just delivered a patient to.
Britain’s ban on supporting Palestine Action also a ban on criticizing the ban
Rob Beschizza / 8:25 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
The British government doesn’t want anyone to talk about Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian activist group that was designated a terrorist organization after spray-painting graffiti on RAF jets. Since then, more than 2,000 Britons have been arrested on terror charges for supporting the group while protesting the war in Gaza: typically, for carrying signs at protests that plainly expressed that support.
In London, a protestor now claims she was arrested for a sign criticizing the group’s proscription: literally, “I oppose proscription of Palestine Action.”
A video of the woman shows her being led through Trafalgar Square, London by four police officers. She said: “I’ve been holding a sign saying that I do not support the proscription of Palestine Action. I’ve been arrested for having the words ‘Palestine Action’ written on a sign. This is a police state.”
Here’s the video. The sign isn’t visible, having been confiscated.
The video was posted by Defend Our Juries, which describes it as “a totally lawful statement to make, even under the Labour government’s absurd new laws proscribing the direct action group. … It is not unlawful to oppose the proscription of Palestine Action.”
Right-wing responses on social media amount to “you knew what you were doing,” which is to say they agree with the implied authoritarian position that to mention the group supports it. You cannot say you support it. You cannot say down with it, either. If you say it at all, you know what you’re doing. Getty Images, welcome to the Intifada!
The U.K. and other Western nations nonetheless recognized Palestinian statehood last month after a United Nations commission found that Israel’s war in Gaza amounted to genocide. The invasion followed a Hamas raid on October 7, 2023 which killed 1,195 people in Israel; Hamas took more than 200 hostages and still holds dozens. More than 65,000 people in Gaza have been killed since.
TikToker jailed for fake needle attacks that left victims traumatized
Ellsworth Toohey / 8:24 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
TikTok influencer Amine Mojito was sentenced to twelve months in prison with six months suspended for filming fake needle attacks on strangers. The 27-year-old was convicted of “violence with a weapon not resulting in incapacity to work,” as reported in Libération.
Beyond jail time, he received a €1,500 fine and a three-year weapons ban.
At trial, Mojito claimed ignorance, stating he was “in his bubble.” He admitted his videos were meant to relaunch his influencer career and promote a fitness program. “I had the very bad idea to do these pranks imitating what I saw on the internet in Spain and Portugal,” he told the court. “I didn’t think it could hurt people. That’s my mistake — I thought about myself, not others.”
His attorney, Marie Claret de Fleurieu, told Libération that the ruling “brings the debate back to more fair proportions after the initial media frenzy.”
Watch the videos here and decide for yourself whether or not the sentence was fair.
$5,000 Google paperweight becomes giant Half-Life 2 gaming screen
Grant St. Clair / 8:00 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Do you remember the Google Jam Board? No? I didn’t think so. It was, in essence, a smart whiteboard of the type that was popular in the mid-2010s, but because it was Google that manufactured it, it came with a four-figure price tag and a monthly subscription required for its use. That service was discontinued last year, turning every Jam Board into a $5,000 paperweight… or did it?
Andy, a Salem, Massachusetts-based computer technician and general tech wizard, documented his journey to turn his Jam Board into a person-sized gaming tablet capable of running Half-Life 2 (among others) natively. If you ask me, that’s a little cooler than its intended purpose of displaying Google Slides.
You haven’t lived until you’ve played Fruit Ninja on a screen bigger than you are.
“A job is a job” — inside the minds of ICE recruitment applicants
Ellsworth Toohey / 7:48 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Eric Garibay drove over 12 hours from El Paso to Provo, Utah for a chance at a Border Patrol career. Speaking in Spanish to NPR reporters at a recent Department of Homeland Security recruitment fair, the current immigration detention officer acknowledged the emotional weight of his work: “It hurts to see. They’re human, but a job is a job.”
Army veteran John Heubert, who traveled from Georgia, told NPR, “I’m the guy that just executes at this point. So whatever they want, they tell me to do it, I go do,” Heubert said.”
Eighty years ago, Germans who were asked why they took jobs that involved persecuting others explained that “Befehl ist Befehl“ (”an order is an order”).
Garibay and Heubert were among more than 1,500 people who registered for the DHS career expo, part of the Trump administration’s effort to hire 10,000 new ICE employees. The recruitment drive attracted an eclectic mix of candidates, including veterans, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and former federal workers who had been previously laid off. The agency extended 500 tentative job offers at the event, with 370 specifically for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations positions.
Every Ikea catalog since 1950
Rob Beschizza / 7:45 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Ikea published an online archive of every catalog since 1950, with a search engine and PDF downloads of each. Pictured is the cover of the 1968 edition; you can’t get the Fåtölj in red leather anymore, but it’s still sold as the Havberg nearly 60 years on. [via]
For over 70 years, the IKEA catalogue was produced in Älmhult, constantly growing in number, scope and distribution. From the 1950s when Ingvar Kamprad wrote most of the texts himself, via the poppy, somewhat radical 1970s and all the way into the scaled-down 2000s – the IKEA catalogue always captured the spirit of the time. The 2021 IKEA catalogue was the very last one printed on paper.
I’m surprised to learn that they no longer print the catalogs! If Ikea can’t justify printing catalogs, no-one can.
With over a million copies sold, Megabonk joins the ranks of surprise indie hits with its addictive formula
Grant St. Clair / 7:30 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
There truly is no predicting what unlikely indie smash hit the larger Internet will latch onto next. Last month, it was bugs doing Dark Souls. The month before that, it was climbing mountains and eating your friends. This month, the new hotness seems to be Megabonk, a roguelike horde shooter that uses its blocky PS1-esque graphics as a resource-saving method to render thousands of enemies at a time. Your objective? Well, it’s in the title. You bonk.
Evidently, something about the formula of “make number go up, get more stronger” works, because Megabonk has already sold over a million copies to players who (rightly) think playing as a skateboarding skeleton is the coolest shit ever. All it takes is finding a satisfying loop and iterating on it, along with a heaping helpful of luck. If you’ve ever wanted to shoot Anubis in the face as a legally-distinct Link from Legend of Zelda, Megabonk has you covered.
Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to support public television
Rob Beschizza / 7:21 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Bob Ross, famous for his hair, his brushwork and his happy little trees, is rarely to be found at auction houses despite the vast number of canvases he generated producing The Joy of Painting for PBS. The warehouse owner plans to let some go, though, to help public television after the Trump administration cut off $1.1bn in funding to it.
Here’s Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc: “This auction ensures his legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades.” Two exemplary 1990s mountain-and-lake Rosses were sold in August for $114,800 and $95,750.
Bonhams in Los Angeles will auction three of Ross’ paintings on Nov. 11. Other auctions will follow in London, New York, Boston and online. All profits are pledged to stations that use content from distributor American Public Television.
The idea is to help stations in need with licensing fees that allow them to show popular programs that include “The Best of Joy of Painting,” based on Ross’ show, “America’s Test Kitchen,” “Julia Child’s French Chef Classics” and “This Old House.” Small and rural stations are particularly challenged.
Ross died in 1995 after a long illness. Of his work, he said: no mistakes, only happy accidents.
This video of sneezing dogs is the “most important compilation of our generation”
Jennifer Sandlin / 7:00 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
This compilation of sneezing dogs makes me guffaw. If you need a chuckle today, definitely go check it out. We Rate Dogs (one of my favorite animal social media accounts) found videos of ten amazing dogs experiencing their absolute best sneezes — somehow as you go through the list, each one just gets funnier than the last. And luckily, even though some of them made me worry, the good folks at We Rate Dogs confirmed that there’s nothing wrong with any of these precious pups. They’re all perfectly healthy, despite sometimes sounding super disturbed when sneezing.
Starting at ten is Lola, the cutest mini Dachshund I’ve ever seen, who seems to truly be struggling with whether to sneeze or not. Just let it out, Lola, you’ll feel better, I promise! Next there’s Archibald, a 15-year-old sweetie who has a slow build-up that explodes into a vigorous sneeze that causes him seek comfort in a bedspread. Number eight is Romeo, whose first sneeze sounds literally like a car engine turning over, and whose second sneeze veers more into horse neighing territory. Hilarious. Next is the tiniest Labrador puppy who emits the tiniest, almost imperceptible sneeze. Number six is Louis, a Pomeranian who, as the video commentator says, turns into Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal when he sneezes. Next is Vinnie, who looks like some kind of Chihuahua mix, and who shakes likes Elvis Presley when he sneezes — it’s almost uncanny. Next is Ryder, who is maybe a pitbull mix, who is very talented — he can sneeze on command! Impressive, sir! At number three we have Ollie, a very gentle-looking Labrador who scared both himself and his cat sibling with his powerful sneeze. Next we’ve got Poppy, another perhaps pitbull mix, and her ridiculous (and ridiculously entertaining!) full body sneezes — my favorite sneezes of hers are when she is on her back, shimmying away, with all of her legs up in the air.
Finally, the top dog, the kind of the sneezers, is Theo, a silly longhaired Dachshund who managed to muster up a truly impressive 34 sneezes in a row! I didn’t just take We Rate Dogs’ word for it — I counted for myself! I truly laughed out loud when I witnessed the sneezes and also when I read some of the comments on the video who addressed Theo’s sneezes specifically. Theo’s got some big fans already. They said:
“Theo’s sneezing slows down like when popcorn is almost done in the microwave”
“Watching Theo was like listening to a skipping CD”
“Theo needs a neck rub after that performance”
“Has anyone used Theo’s sneezing as a beat yet”
“Theo had a sneeze for every trump felony conviction”
And, my favorite: “Legend says Theo is still sneezing and you can hear him if you listen closely.”
I wholeheartedly agree with the person who commented, “This is the most important compilation of our generation.” Congrats to all of these cool canines for their wonderful sneezes. Thanks for the laughs, I definitely needed them!
See more wonderful dogs at We Rate Dogs.
Synology ends own-brand drive requirement after sales tumble
Rob Beschizza / 6:34 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Synology specializes in network-attached storage (NAS), power-efficient computers loaded with big drives most often used to share media on local networks. It decided to impose upon its very nerdy customer base a requirement that they use Synology’s own hard drives. This did not go well, sales have slumped, and the company is reversing that decision. Hilbert Hagedoorn:
For users, this means more choice and lower costs when building or upgrading a NAS. For Synology, it’s a much-needed course correction after months of backlash. While the company hasn’t publicly admitted fault, it’s clear that sales pressure and community outrage played a major role in reversing the decision.
Critics say the entire episode has damaged Synology’s reputation. The company seemed to believe that after QNAP’s well-known ransomware troubles, it could tighten control of the market without losing customers. Instead, the plan backfired—hard. Many loyal users have since turned to alternative brands or expressed hesitation about buying another Synology product.
There’s no consumer more averse to DRM-adjacent restrictions on computer technology than the data hoarders who buy NAS devices. Synology’s thinking here was close to incomprehensible. When I read about it I assumed it had been sold off to private equity or hired an AI trained on a remote learning MBA syllabus as CEO.
Cult comic “Halloween Boy” in new hardcover edition
Gareth Branwyn / 6:00 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
Oni Press has picked up Dave Baker‘s Halloween Boy, the self-published underground series that’s been steadily building a devoted following. The first hardcover volume, Halloween Boy Vol. 1: Last of the Halloween Boys, will be out May 26, 2026, collecting the first five oversized issues between a new cover.
If you read Baker’s wild metafictional epic Mary Tyler MooreHawk last year, you already know he’s one of the most inventive voices working in comics at the moment. Halloween Boy takes that same duotone signature style and applies it to a brash, bloody, meta-pulp story about “an adventurer without a past and a combatant of the impossible.”
The Oni Press edition marks Baker’s first full-length release since Mary Tyler MooreHawk (Top Shelf/IDW) and his standout contribution to Godzilla Versus Los Angeles. Publisher Hunter Gorinson explains Dave this way: “Dave’s work is like riding a psychic vortex through eight decades of comics history where Golden Age archetypes, underground comix, postmodern fiction, and above all, some ripping good yarns all combine into a new kind of intensely calculated storytelling.”
In other words: In Haloween Boy, get ready to be introduced to “the greatest archaeologist-for-hire, super-scientists, and warlock that the globe has ever seen.” Expect bruises, brains, and the fate of the universe hanging in the balance.
Here are a few pages from the book, shared exclusively with Boing Boing.
“9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off” — real-world strategies for when clients ghost you on payments
Ellsworth Toohey / 5:13 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
When a government agency steals your design style or a concert promoter ghosts you on a $50 Megadeth poster payment, what’s your next move? Raymond Biesinger, veteran illustrator for The New York Times and The New Yorker, transforms two decades of these professional headaches into practical guidance in his new book, 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off.
Published by Drawn & Quarterly, Biesinger’s illustrated handbook offers creatives strategies for navigating the industry’s least glamorous realities. Biesinger’s approach draws from his own experiences chasing payments and confronting plagiarists. The book acknowledges the gray areas of creative influence—Biesinger even admits to his own tendencies to borrow.
“I’ve been amused by how flawed and inconsistent I have been towards the rights of older illustrators and designers,” Biesinger confesses in the book. His honesty about being both victim and occasional perpetrator adds unusual credibility to his perspective. Rather than presenting legal theory, he shares real-world tactics that worked when formal channels failed.
“Through trial and error, I’ve found what works when someone steals your creative output,” Biesinger says. “My hope is that sharing these stories saves others from learning the hard way what took me twenty years to figure out.”
China censors influencers who question work culture and traditional values
Ellsworth Toohey / 5:00 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
China’s internet censors are targeting more than just political dissent — they’re now going after bad vibes. A new campaign is purging social media of content that spreads “excessively pessimistic sentiment” or promotes ideas like “hard work is useless,” as reported in The New York Times.
Chinese leaders believe the best way to deal with the problems of public malaise, economic uncertainty, youth disenchantment is by suspending accounts of bloggers and influencers who advocate for less work pressure or questioned the benefits of marriage and children.
“The internet is not a dumping ground for negativity,” declared state broadcaster CCTV.
The cleanup extends beyond just deleting gloomy posts. Platforms have been ordered to root out commentary that uses isolated incidents to point to broader social problems — what censors call “malicious misinterpretation.”
“The bugle has been sounded and all parties should act accordingly,” warned the People’s Daily, making clear that allowing pessimism to spread unchecked is no longer an option for China’s social media influencers.
Discarded vape pen gets second life as tiny internet server
Ellsworth Toohey / 4:31 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
A tech-savvy hobbyist turned a thrown-away vape pen into a working website host. Bogdan Ionescu, who collected old vapes mainly for their batteries, found something unexpected inside newer models: actual programmable computer chips rather than basic circuits.
“Instead of the expected black blob of goo hiding some specialized chip, I see a little integrated circuit inscribed ‘PUYA,’” Ionescu writes on his blog. The tiny chip—with processing power roughly 100 times slower than a 10-year-old phone—proved sufficient to run a simple website. After connecting it to his computer and writing custom software, Ionescu got the vape to communicate over the internet and serve web pages.
After fixing some initial slowness, the results were impressive for such limited hardware. “Pings now take 20ms, no packet loss and a full page loads in about 160ms,” notes Ionescu. His creation can successfully display text and respond to basic requests while using less than half of the vape’s available memory.
“I wouldn’t want to be the lawyer who one day will have to argue how a device with USB-C and a rechargeable battery can be classified as ‘disposable,’” Ionescu comments about the increasingly sophisticated vape devices being marketed as single-use products.
Tom the Dancing Bug: Super-Fun-Pak Comix, feat. Lester the Jester’s gig in Riyadh
Ruben Bolling / 3:27 am PT Wed Oct 8, 2025
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Grandpa Pudding brains barely veiled racism on display
Jason Weisberger / 3:02 pm PT Tue Oct 7, 2025
Today, the Orange Menace, Donald Trump, glitched while attempting to foist the blame on Democrats for shutdown-related delays in air travel, and used one of his favorite racist dogwhistles when talking about a phenomenal Congressperson, Jasmine Crockett.
Trump uses “low IQ” as a barely veiled epithet. He has called six people this, that I was able to find, four of whom are Black folks in leadership positions and most decidedly not “low IQ.” Another is a Latina, and only one white man has earned the distinction. The white guy is Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell and certainly isn’t “low IQ.”
Elon Musk promises to release a “great” AI-generated video game next year
Grant St. Clair / 1:49 pm PT Tue Oct 7, 2025
If there’s one thing melting Ken doll Elon Musk really does have a true, God-given talent for, it’s making promises. Actually fulfilling them is a whole other can of worms, but he really can make wildly speculative promises with hard expiration dates and then deny he ever did that to your face when he never follows through.
His latest claim is directly related to my area of expertise, though, and all the more groan-worthy for it. Mark me, and let it never be forgot: On this day, Elon Musk has declared on a public forum (the world’s town square, apparently) that his XAI game studio will release a “great” AI-generated game before the end of 2026.
Note that this promise is attached to some incoherent AI-generated Call of Duty. If Musk’s game comes out looking anything like this, if it comes out, I think the industry is probably safe. Generative AI use in video games has been a hot topic for some time now, but I’ve yet to see a single argument for its integration that isn’t “well, we can pay developers less!” You sure can, if you don’t mind your output looking a glossy, plasticky, distorted mess.