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Tinseltown takeover: how Harry Potter fanfic has become Hollywood’s hottest property | Film

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There was a time when fan fiction meant furtive scribbles uploaded to shadowy corners of the internet, in which Mr Darcy was recast as a moody vampire flatmate, Captain Kirk discovered his inner romantic, or Gandalf finally got around to opening an artisanal shop in the Shire. It was an underground hobby that could never trouble Tinseltown’s accountants. And yet here we are in 2025, with the news in the Hollywood Reporter that Legendary Pictures has just paid at least $3m – (£2.2m) – an unprecedented amount – for the screen rights to a forthcoming novel called Alchemised that began life as an unauthorised and kinky Harry Potter spin-off.

The backstory behind Alchemised, by SenLinYu, sounds pretty freaky. SenLinYu’s original book, titled Manacled, inhabited a strange sub-niche of Potterverse named “Dramione” in which Hermione Granger finds herself regularly involved in unlikely and transgressive romantic encounters with Draco Malfoy. Now stripped of all reference to Hogwarts, butterbeer and Nimbus 2000s, and with renamed characters, Alchemised will hit shelves and online bookstores later this month as the dark fantasy tale of a young woman with memory problems who finds herself at the mercy of a powerful and cruel necromancer.

As well as Alchemised, The Love Hypothesis is heading to cinemas, with Lili Reinhart as a PhD candidate who falls for professor Tom Bateman. If you thought Hermione and Draco were strange bedfellows, this one is based on a subgenre of Star Wars fanfic known as Reylo, which focuses on the forbidden love between Rey and Kylo Ren.

This is not the first time Hollywood has plumbed the depths of fanfic for its next big thing, and there currently looks like no let-up. Where once studios might have relied on pulp novels, classic plays or New Yorker-approved short stories to fill the multiplexes, producers are increasingly turning to Tumblr and Archive of Our Own (AO3). In 2019, Sony Pictures Television signed a first-look deal with Wattpad, the online clearing house that has become a farm system for aspiring authors, to develop scripted series and films from the site’s most popular stories. Wattpad was also the source for the After series, which started out as a cheeky riff on One Direction’s Harry Styles, and miraculously led to five films (some straight-to-streaming) between 2019 and 2023, with more on the way.

Then of course there’s Fifty Shades of Grey, which began life as Twilight fanfic but ended up as a trilogy of films that despite being almost universally rubbished by critics somehow made more than $1.3bn at the global box office. Its success showed studios that provenance didn’t matter: a story could start out as Edward and Bella with the serial numbers filed off, and still become a billion-dollar franchise.

What exactly is the attraction for Hollywood here? The logical answer is that, in a twisted sort of way, all these projects benefit from a kind of brand recognition by proxy. Given the choice, Harry Potter fans would probably prefer to see the real Hermione and Draco enjoying a bout of magically enhanced heavy petting on screen than a reimagined take that wipes away all the wizarding world stuff. But readers of the “original” on AO3 have themselves been part of this strange journey from slash fiction to multiplex, often along with millions of others, and that brings a sense of ownership that studios value hugely.

From a corporate vantage point, all that pre-existing fervour is catnip. Such huge online readerships provide proof of concept without the bother of focus groups or test screenings; it arrives trailing a ready-made, highly motivated community. In a climate where genuinely original scripts are treated like financial landmines, that sort of data means these films look less like a gamble and more like a franchise incubator, one that’s already warmed and fed by the fandom itself.



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The Role Of AI In Enhancing Online Gaming Engagement

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This content was produced in partnership with VegasSlotsOnline.

Artificial intelligence is really revolutionizing the online gaming landscape by providing personalized solutions to consumers. Precision-based platforms are now personalizing gaming worlds based on personal choice without compromising regulatory mechanisms or consumer safety.

Machine learning innovations are really beginning to imprint virtual entertainment and gaming. Personalized recommendations, dynamic UI and risk management tools are commonplace in contemporary casino systems. Insights gleaned from user behavior are helping to optimize engagement plans, delivering safer and more enjoyable experiences.

The emergence of personalization through AI in internet gaming

Building sophisticated AI models has enabled a better understanding of behavior patterns. Sites examine a set of session lengths, game picks, stakes and timing of interaction to create individual profiles. Such profiles inform dynamic interfaces, which do not employ blanket templates. Interfaces are dynamic, presenting game offers of a comparable mechanic or styling preference in a non-intrusive manner. Suggestions can be variant slot themes, table game variants or even timing recommendations by peaks of historical activity. Such subtle refinements ensure that players are presented with experiences related to their interests, minimizing friction while navigating and providing variety. Implementing such models can increase user satisfaction within retention constraints appropriate for playing enjoyment and regulatory obligations, clearing the ground for even more innovative responsible gaming tools that adapt in sync with emerging behaviors.

Blending affordability with individualization

Price sensitivity indices are integrated into tailored systems. As a potential illustration, a website can identify frugal tendencies and thus emphasize low-risk headlines. This is especially true with minimum deposit online casinos, where minimum deposit limits are set low to facilitate access without compromise on disciplined usage. Artificial intelligence systems can subtly direct players towards options that allow spending, which may be monitored and sanction enjoyment in the same breath. Budget-sensitive audience groups can be given low-variance/volatility game lists, allowing for a customized experience mindful of their wallet and desire to play frequently. In the long term, this generates a sustainable cycle of engagement, where entertainment becomes a frequent, low-stakes activity rather than a rare, high-stakes event, such that affordability and personalization work in conjunction to construct a balanced virtual gaming sphere.

Increasing engagement via intelligent content distribution

Artificially intelligent content distribution systems respond on a discrete, granular basis to the preferences demonstrated by the user. Recommendations that refresh with shifts in behavior, such as increased use of evenings on live dealers or non-standard access on weekends for table games, cause refreshes in content viewing. Instead of static lists, casino lobbies offer individualized menus that are streamlined to focus on probable areas of interest. Display banners and graphic composition become less general, focusing instead on relevance and context. Such improvements make a better end-user experience possible, reducing time spent navigating and money spent interacting with games and better aligning individual taste profiles. In the long term, such responsiveness also helps identify subtle changes in engagement, allowing platforms to introduce new titles or features at points of most significant interest while gradually retiring less relevant ones, thereby producing a better, more dynamic relationship between platform design and user behavior.

Striking a balance with responsible play

AI systems are not merely crafted to engage optimally; there are plans for responsible gaming. Frequency, session length or increase in stakes deviating from patterns of regularity are tracked by detection algorithms, which raise alerts or nudges that cause self-awareness. When threshold levels are crossed, soft messages reminding of breaks taken or activity review are provided. Adaptive deposit limits can also be activated, where stakes are established based on past behavior and safety limits are defined. Focusing on player welfare averts personalization from turning into remorse-causing over-engagement and, on a related note, puts regulators’ minds at ease knowing safety is paramount. In the long term, such systems can evolve into forward-looking buddies, offering supporting tools like summaries of playing, spending dashboards or voluntary pauses, such that entertainment is complemented by accountability.

Regulatory and privacy concerns

Personalization elements must operate within a framework of data protection and compliance. Regulators examine player data usage, calling on platforms to clarify how behavioral analytics affect platform presentation. Platforms must include precise opt-out mechanisms for personalization elements and collection procedures must comply with privacy guidelines. Anonymization and data minimization are standard practices within the industry, ensuring that AI models learn patterns without holding personally identifiable information. Responsible vendors must utilize personalization algorithms to provide audit and transparency, demonstrating that the recommendations are not exploitative or unfairly nudging users towards higher spending.

Artificial intelligence-powered personalization represents a paradigm shift in video gaming, transitioning from static interfaces to dynamic, context-sensitive worlds. Personalized content streaming, dynamic recommendation and risk/benefit tailoring define a new norm of player-centric experience. The deployment of such technology fosters engagement that aligns with personal preferences and boundaries, strengthening a healthier bond between users and platforms.

Although AI introduces advanced opportunities for personalization, ongoing attention must focus on ethics, fairness and regulatory alignment. Transparency about algorithmic functionality, robust safeguards against over-entitlement and accessible user controls remain essential. Successful integration occurs when gaming platforms balance enjoyment, trust and safety, ensuring that personalization supports rather than undermines player well-being.

If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.





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AI bills in Michigan House follow heavy-handed and punitive regulatory approach – Mackinac Center

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Newly proposed legislation in Michigan would impose burdensome requirements on artificial intelligence systems. The predictable impact from these proposed laws would be to drive AI development out of the state, likely to China or other Asian economies.

House Bill No. 4667 would create new felony offenses and mandatory prison sentences for the criminal use, development, or distribution of AI systems. House Bill No. 4668 would require AI developers in Michigan to conduct regular risk assessments and third-party audits, as well as implement and publicly disclose safety protocols. Both bills were introduced by Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport. HB 4668 has been referred to the House Communications and Technology Committee. HB 4667 has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee.

A notable feature of HB 4667 is that it would establish an absurdly broad definition of AI as “any machine-based system that can process data, generate content, or simulate human-like interactions, including, but not limited to, chatbots, voice assistants, generative AI models, and automated decision-making tools.” By this definition, basic spreadsheet sort functions would qualify as an AI system. So would routine business marketing analytics, and almost any customer profiling using a computer. Many small business owners have no idea that when they maintain and sort routine customer data in their Excel spreadsheet, they are using “AI.” Yet if they are prosecuted for a separate offense, even a minor violation, they could face a mandatory eight-year prison sentence when the prosecutor adds a violation of HB 4667 to the charges.

An overly broad definition of AI combined with heavy-handed regulations “could inadvertently impose stringent regulatory obligations on common practices that have minimal, if any, adverse impacts on consumer welfare or privacy interests,” according to a recent article by the International Center for Law and Economics. “Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, would face significant uncertainty and disproportionately high compliance burdens,” it said. “Indeed, smaller firms already rely heavily on low-risk AI applications to boost productivity and maintain competitiveness in an increasingly technology-driven marketplace.”

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce has concerns, too. “While Michigan HB 4668 is well-intentioned in seeking to address real concerns around AI misuse, it places overly burdensome and impractical requirements on developers. The MI Chamber emphasized that rather than having individual states pass their own AI regulations — risking a patchwork of conflicting and duplicative rules across the country — this issue should be addressed through federal legislation.”

These bills create penalties for things are already illegal. Frauds, scams, defamation, illegal discrimination, and anti-competitive business conduct violate the law regardless of whether AI was used in the process. Thus, it is not clear how victims of illegal conduct will benefit from these proposed AI laws. One group that would benefit greatly, though, is trial attorney bar. Some attorneys would reap new business opportunities by defending clients against prosecutions under HB 4667. Others would gain by bringing class action lawsuits for failing to comply with all the new regulatory requirements under HB 4668, which would apply regardless of whether anyone is actually harmed.

HB 4667 and 4668 follow the regulatory approach of President Joe Biden’s much-criticized 2023 AI executive order, which in the words of analyst Kristin Stout, “sees dangers around every virtual corner” and imposes “regulations born of fear [that] threaten to derail beneficial innovation.” The Biden AI executive order states that the administration “places the highest urgency on governing the development and use of AI safely and responsibly.” President Donald Trump rejected this kind of government-directed approach to AI development when he repealed the Biden AI executive order in his first week in office.

On July 23, Trump issued his own AI executive order, “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan.” The new executive order stresses that cybersecurity, technological innovation, and infrastructure construction are not opposing or wholly separate efforts, but rather complementary objectives to be achieved in tandem. The proposed Michigan laws, by contrast, fail to take into account the importance of promoting technological innovation. Instead, they focus solely on imposing regulatory restrictions and punitive punishments.

American companies are already struggling with excessive state and local mandates, dubbed the “Sacramento Effect” for California’s misadventures in regulating AI. This places our most innovative companies at a competitive disadvantage with foreign competitors and undercuts efforts to stay ahead of China in the race for AI supremacy. HB 4667 and 4668 would add an unwelcome “Lansing Effect” to the most innovative companies in Michigan and give them an incentive to relocate to a more welcoming state, or even another country.




Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.





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AT&T Exec on Why AI, 5G Are Critical to IC

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The intelligence community requires not just artificial intelligence, but reliable 5G connectivity to maintain its strategic advantage against adversaries, according to Jill Singer, vice president of national security for AT&T and an eight-time Wash100 Award winner.

In an article posted on the AT&T website, Singer said AI and 5G implementation within the IC is no longer optional but mission essential.

Singer will take the stage alongside intelligence community leaders at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Intel Summit on Oct. 2. She will serve as moderator in a panel about the role of artificial intelligence in supporting the IC mission. AT&T is also a platinum sponsor of the highly anticipated government contracting event. Secure your tickets today.

Why 5G is Crucial in AI Implementation

AI is capable of ingesting and processing complex data sets from various sources, including satellite imagery and signals intelligence, and then turning information into actionable insights. The technology also powers autonomous systems and unmanned platforms operating in high-risk environments, allowing personnel to carry out missions from a safe distance.

Singer explained that, to reap the benefits of AI, the IC needs an infrastructure that delivers the speed, capacity and reliability that the technology needs for real-time data exchange. She pointed out that 5G networks offer ultra-low latency connectivity, higher bandwidth and network slicing capabilities that would facilitate the seamless flow of data between AI-enhanced sensors, devices and platforms.

The executive also shared that 5G connects assets on land, sea, air or space and supports computing on the tactical edge.

Why AT&T

In the article, Singer highlighted AT&T’s 5G offering to support the employment of AI for IC missions.

She shared that the company’s communications network is equipped with encryption, zero-trust architectures and multi-factor authentication to protect sensitive data. The company also uses AI at its 24/7 Security Operations Centers to monitor network activity and identify and respond to threats, the executive added.

Moreover, Singer noted AT&T’s decades of experience supporting missions.

“Our professionals are leaders in secure networks, AI and 5G innovation,” she said. “Through close relationships with government agencies, technology providers, and research institutions, we co-develop and implement solutions tailored to the IC’s unique needs.”





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