TRANSCRIPT · The Eerie True Story of The Nightmare Face Haunting The Internet

## The Eerie True Story of The Nightmare Face Haunting The Internet (ScienceAlert)
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-eerie-true-story-of-the-nightmare-face-haunting-the-internet
GRANT BRICKMAN: A face nobody ordered keeps turning up in AI image generators, and Nova is live with the full story.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Breaking news this Saturday night. A face nobody asked for is haunting the internet, and Nova has the full story. Nova, what have we got?
NOVA: Grant, Greta, this just landed and it is spooky on a cosmic scale. In 2022, a Sweden-based artist called Supercomposite was exploring text-to-image AI.
NOVA: They were trying negative prompts. Those ask the algorithm to find the extreme opposite of something. And out came a creepy face.
NOVA: On screen, file footage of an image generator: type the words, wait, and a face comes up. Her name is pronounced like lobe.
NOVA: When the artist ran the prompt again, they said the same woman came back, this time next to the word loab.
NOVA: The artist said the AI reproduced her more easily than most celebrities, and that her presence is persistent. A single face, in a universe of possibilities.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: To be clear, ScienceAlert says this is a Halloween revisit of its December 2022 story. The new part is the re-run, not a new sighting.
GRANT BRICKMAN: A haunted face living inside the AI. I'll say it plainly: that is one guy with a very strange hobby. Thank you, Nova.

## Elder Scrolls Skyblivion mod faces lawsuit from former volunteer, project lead urges 'Please don't turn this into any kind of witch hunt' (PC Gamer)
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/elder-scrolls-skyblivion-mod-faces-lawsuit-from-former-volunteer-project-lead-urges-please-dont-turn-this-into-any-kind-of-witch-hunt/
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The Skyblivion fan project is now facing a lawsuit, and the project lead is asking for calm.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Now the full story on Skyblivion. Vera, games story or courtroom story? Which AI do I ask for the legal one?
GRETA FOOTNOTE: We first told you earlier this evening that a former volunteer was threatening legal action over code. Now it's a lawsuit, and the project lead wants calm.
DR. VERA VECTOR: PC Gamer reports the Elder Scrolls Skyblivion mod faces a lawsuit from a former volunteer. The project lead urges: don't turn this into a witch hunt.
DR. VERA VECTOR: From PXL's own earlier report: the team said the threats concerned code the volunteer contributed. The team is remaking Oblivion in Skyrim's engine.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Gary, what's the mood on the ground? Is it a creeper situation?
GARY: Gary at the courthouse, helmet on. Quest log: the volunteer team is seeking pro bono legal aid. Difficulty setting: hard. Nightfall: soon.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Vera, did other outlets add anything? And why would anyone volunteer for this?
DR. VERA VECTOR: No other outlets turned up, so PC Gamer is our only source. It notes it only has one side's accounting of the case.
DR. VERA VECTOR: PC Gamer adds that joining could be a strong resume line, but it's not a clear-cut money incentive, and clout depends on productive contribution.
GRANT BRICKMAN: So: a lawsuit, volunteers, no pay, and a resume line. Sounds like an internship with better graphics.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: And we still only have one side's accounting. We'll see what the other side says.

## The Spin Room (PXL)
GRANT BRICKMAN: One Final Fantasy 14 announcement, two very different headlines. Welcome to the Spin Room.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Welcome to The Spin Room, where one event puts on two outfits. Tonight it's Final Fantasy 14.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: What happened: the expansion Evercold launches on 23rd February 2027. Its second new job is zephyr, a crossbow-wielding ranged DPS with a bird.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: It was revealed in the Fan Festival 2026 keynote in Tokyo. Pre-orders open Wednesday 4th November at 9am GMT.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Eurogamer wrote: Final Fantasy 14 reveals Evercold’s second new job and February release date, with pre-orders opening next week
GRETA FOOTNOTE: PC Gamer wrote: Final Fantasy 14: Evercold delayed to February, preorders start next week. One leads with the job, the other with the word delayed.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Only PC Gamer says delayed. Eurogamer's piece doesn't, and neither gives an earlier date.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The spin score is 65 out of 100. The two outlets share few words in their headlines.
GRANT BRICKMAN: PC Gamer is right, it's delayed. Delayed from last Tuesday, obviously. I set the VCR timer once and it recorded the wrong channel too.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Neither article says last Tuesday, Grant.

## [AD · fictional product] Trowelsworth
BILLY MAYHEM: Is your garden a sad brown rectangle? Meet TROWELSWORTH, the trowel that digs the hole while you stand there looking confident!
BILLY MAYHEM: Watch! One squeeze and it plants a tulip! Okay, that was a shoe. Okay, that was the neighbour's shoe. BUT WAIT, there's more!
PRUDENCE NUANCE: I got a tulip and a shoe. Lovely garden, strong feelings about the shoe.

## Weather
STORMY BYTES: Hype front moving in over the Evercold coast, with pre-order pressure rising ahead of Wednesday.
STORMY BYTES: Over in fan-project country, a legal cold snap is settling on the Skyblivion valley.
STORMY BYTES: Overnight, fog warnings for anyone typing negative prompts. Outlook: spooky.

## Real or PXL?
GRANT BRICKMAN: Correct! You spotted the genuine article. I can smell authenticity from forty paces, like a good fax.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Fooled! PXL made that one up, and rather well, if I say so myself. Do try the other one next time.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Time's up! The clock, like the news, waits for no anchor.

AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.