Latest news with #CharlieCale
Spectator
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Will AI kill off Captchas?
It was a line on Poker Face (the excellent US detective drama currently streaming on Now TV) that piqued my interest. Hunched over a laptop, Natasha Lyonne's heroine, Charlie Cale, claimed to be working as a 'Captcha technician' – someone who solves those fiddly, occasionally infuriating internet puzzles for money. You know – the ones that ask you to 'Select all the squares with traffic lights', 'Select all the squares with bridges' or simply tick a box to say you're human before you can log into a website. Given the series has satirised everything from New York City rent controls to multi-level marketing schemes, I originally assumed it must be a joke. But not for the first time the writers had wrong-footed me: it's actually perfectly possible to earn money (around $1 per 1,000) by solving batches of Captchas from the comfort of your own home. Who pays for these services in the first place? Like many things involving the underlying plumbing of the internet, the answer isn't particularly pleasant. It turns out that the legions of hackers, bot networks and web-scrapers who make money from our data, sometimes with malicious intent, are often willing to pay remote workers in order to help them force entry to websites. So there you have it. But just one more thing, as Cale's predecessor Columbo used to say: why are Captchas still such a big deal in 2025 anyway, given that artificial intelligence is surely capable of differentiating between photos of motorbikes and fire hydrants? As much as we might find them annoying, Captchas, which were developed in the early 2000s, still play a vital role in keeping the internet safe, says Matt Bliss, technical director at agency This is Embrace. Though they have got less annoying over the years (apparently), with much of the work happening behind the scenes. 'We think that Captchas are about solving puzzles, but most of the time it's just computers talking to computers,' he tells me over Zoom. When you try to enter a website, things like your IP address, your browser version, your time zone and even your internet history can help verify that you're a genuine user. Even crossing that ubiquitous tick-box to say you're not a robot isn't without purpose, given that the Captcha can track the way that you moved the mouse. For example, if your clicker travelled in perfectly straight lines at a constant pace, it's more likely you're a bot. By the time you're asked to complete a puzzle, you've already been flagged as a risky prospect, at which point the system flips the burden of proof on to you to prove your innocence. In theory, the tests it gives you are meant to separate robots from humans (hence the full name for Captchas: 'Completely Automated Public Turing Tests to Tell Computers and Humans Apart'), but is that really the case? Not quite. Last year, a Zurich-based PhD researcher, Andreas Plesner, developed an AI model to solve the ubiquitous Google Captchas (the ones that use images from Google Maps) with 100 per cent accuracy. 'It was actually just a side project,' he tells me over Zoom from California, estimating that the entire endeavour took him and his colleague around ten hours a week over a single semester. So will AI mean the end of Captchas? Not necessarily, say cyber security experts. Ironically, some have even suggested that the age of AI could actually make it easier for websites to detect bots on the basis that they will be the ones who solve Captchas the quickest. By contrast, those users who pause or even make small mistakes are much more likely to be genuine (as Alexander Pope put it, 'to err is human'). If Captchas are here to stay, can they at least be improved, so we no longer end up in a loop of repetitive traffic light-based tasks? There are plenty of bright sparks working on that exact question. Researchers at the University of Genoa have devised an alternative test for smartphone users involving simple physical challenges (such as tilting your phone in a certain direction) which bots will find impossible. Meanwhile, programmers at the University of Alberta have suggested 'contextual Captchas' which ask intuitive questions (i.e. 'What do you think happened next?') based on Dilbert-style comic strips. In theory, sussing these kinds of human narratives will be harder for AI-driven bots to crack – at least for now. In the meantime, it isn't just the writers of Poker Face who are having fun with Captchas. On Reddit, a small community of devotees post screenshots of particularly surreal examples of Captcha. Meanwhile the website World's Hardest Captcha has turned some of the most recognisable formats into a nightmare vortex of endless puzzles, each more difficult than the last. As for Charlie Cale's side-hustle solving Captchas for beer money, it looks like it's safe for now. So perhaps those poor souls in less prosperous countries making their living toiling away on platforms like 2Captcha and CapSolver can also provide some welcome perspective to the rest of us. After all, if you think having to identify images of tractors when you use a new wifi network is a pain in the neck, then imagine having to do it all day for a job. Forget 'I am not a robot': after eight hours of Captchas, you may feel like you might as well be.
Mint
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Poker Face: Has the show been renewed for a third season? All you need to know
The second season of Rian Johnson's crime drama series Poker Face ends on Thursday, July 10. While the Poker Face Season 2 finale episode is called 'The End of the Road', it remains to be seen when fans can get to witness its third instalment in future. In the last episode, lie detector Charlie Cale, essayed by Natasha Lyonne, starts questioning everything she believed in, while she is running from a hitman. Towards the end, Charlie loses her Plymouth Barracuda and finds out a nemesis in the Iguana, who posed as her sidekick and confidante Alex (Patti Harrison) over the past several episodes. Through her ability to hide any physical tells, she can easily lie to Charlie. Charlie remains officially wanted on the list of FBI due to her involvement with the Iguana. Also, viewers saw her leading the killer directly to the safe house, where Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman) was staying. So, now that Charlie is back on the run, will she get to solve more crimes in the third instalment? For now, Peacock has not made any official announcement regarding the highly anticipated third season of the series. This means that Poker Face has not been renewed for Season 3 or cancelled yet. But there are chances that the series can happen in future, especially after Season 2 received a positive response from critics and viewers, and found its place among Peacock's Top 10 TV Shows list. Recently, Poker Face Season 2 showrunner Tony Tost shared his dream guest list for the potential next season. 'Well, for me personally, Cissy Spacey, who is on my T-shirt… Getting someone like Paul Walter Hauser, Jon Bernthal. There's a bevy of interesting people to get… Sam Rockwell, Benicio Del Toro would be interesting," The Direct quoted Tost as saying. The first season of the show premiered on January 26, 2023, followed by Season 2 on May 8, 2025. There were several reasons behind the over two-year delay between the premieres, including the 2023 WGA and SAG strikes due to which film and TV production was significantly impacted. So, if the series is renewed for Season 3, there are chances that fans won't have to wait long for the new episodes. As of now, the show has not been renewed for a third season by Peacock. The show features Natasha Lyonne in the lead role of Charlie Cale. She was joined by Benjamin Bratt, Simon Helberg, Rhea Perlman, Steve Buscemi and Patti Harrison among others. Fans can watch the latest episodes on Peacock.
Time Out
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
'Poker Face' is giving out free burgers and fries at these 13 L.A. restaurants this Saturday
Poker Face is back to serve up bullshit once again—but the good kind. The Peacock mystery-of-the-week dramedy—which stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a casino cocktail waitress with an innate ability to detect lies—will be promoting its second season (and vying for Emmy consideration) with a delicious, day-long takeover at 13 iconic Los Angeles burger joints this Saturday, June 7. From noon to 6pm, hungry Angelenos can seek out the immersive "BLSHT Day" activation (so named for Charlie's signature catchphrase signature when she identifies a lie) at participating L.A. restaurants like Heavy Handed, Burger She Wrote and The Win-Dow, call "bullshit" at the counter and receive a complimentary "BLSHT burger and a side of lies' (a.k.a. French fries). No B.S. about it! Some fine print: Yes, there is a vegetarian version available. Guests can only pick up one order per person, the freebie is not available for online orders, and all meals are first-come, first-served, so definitely plan ahead. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HEAVY HANDED (@ Fans of the Emmy-winning series can also geek out at Charlie Cale's iconic 1968 Plymouth Barracuda from the show, which will be on display for photo opportunities at Heavy Handed's Studio City location (11838 Ventura Boulevard). There will also be other fun themed surprises at the Ventura Blvd outpost, but we won't spoil them here! The full list of Los Angeles burger joints participating in the "BLSHT Day" promotion include: Heavy Handed (3 locations: Santa Monica, Studio City and Silver Lake); Burgers Never Say Die (Silver Lake); Irv's Burgers (2 locations: La Brea and West Hollywood; Burger She Wrote (2 locations: Hollywood and Venice; The Win-Dow (4 locations: The Grove, Hollywood, Silver Lake and Venice) and OG Smash Burger (Glendale). The second season of Poker Face debuted on Peacock on May 8, with new episodes dropping on the streamer every Thursday, July 10. Along with Lyonne, the star-studded season 2 cast includes
Geek Feed
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
Natasha Lyonne: How Poker Face Scared Execs and Championed Feminism
Besides the third Knives Out movie, Rian Johnson is currently in the middle of the second season of Poker Face which stars Natasha Lyonne was a non-detective who can tell whenever someone is lying. The show has managed to attract a number of stars and is getting rave reviews, and Lyonne says that the series originally scared several execs with the concept. Talking to Variety, she explains: 'I was doing backflips when I read it… I expected all the networks to feel the same, but a lot of people were scared by the idea that it wouldn't be a completely serialized storyline. You know, Charlie Cale goes back into her childhood and tries to find a husband while she's solving cases.' If anything, the fact that Charlie is a woman on the run who isn't tied down by a husband or boyfriend is what Lyonne considers a feminist theme for the series. 'For a female character to be led by a philosophical concept, or an ethical soul journey, is a really bold act by one of our greatest living auteurs (i.e., show creator Rian Johnson), who happens to be a guy,' says Lyonne. Admittedly, Poker Face does fall into this weird new web that Johnson has with the 'whodunnit' genre that also includes the Knives Out films; though Poker Face does have a different format in that the murders are revealed, but the real excitement is watching Charlie figure out how to catch the real perpetrators. The second season is still ongoing, and after that, audiences will be primed for Johnson's project with Netflix, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. For now, you can watch out for the second season of Poker Face now streaming on Peacock.
The Review Geek
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Has Poker Face been renewed for Season 3? Here's what we know:
Renewed or Cancelled? Poker Face is the latest comedic drama on Peacock, with an energetic cast, an inspired Natasha Lyonne in the driver's seat and a simple but effective premise. Having watched the first two seasons in its entirety, you may be wondering if this one has been renewed or cancelled. Well, wonder no more! What is Poker Face about? Charlie Cale is on the run. She stays on the move from town to town, out of sight of the casino bosses looking for her. Oh and also, Charlie knows when people are lying. A handy skill which comes into use as she stumbles across mysterious cases on the road. Poker Face is a mystery comedy-drama following the case-of-the-week format, created by Rian Johnson. So if you liked Knives Out and Glass Onion, this show will definitely tickle your itch for a good murder mystery. We have ongoing coverage of Poker Face on the site, including recaps for every episode. You can find those HERE! Has Poker Face been renewed for Season 2? At the time of writing, Poker Face has not been renewed for season 3. Generally Peacock would gauge numerous metrics before renewing a show, including how many people initially watch it and then looking at the drop-off rate. With some shows, cancellations or renewals happen quickly. Other times, it can take months before a decision over a show's future is made. So far, Poker Face has had a pretty good reaction online from critics and audiences alike. Given the way this show is set up, and the ending we receive, we're predicting that this will be renewed for a third season. The series has potential no doubt, and given its enduring popularity, it seems like it's only going to be a matter of time but we'll have to wait and see. However, we could be completely wrong too, so take our prediction with a pinch of salt! What we know about season 2 so far: Barely anything is known about Poker Face season 3 at this point given Peacock haven't officially renewed or cancelled this one. Given the season's conclusion, it seems likely that we could be seeing more of our characters though. Should this get the nod, we'd expect another 12 episode season and a return of the same cast and crew too. We will update this page when more information becomes available, so be sure to check this page out in the near future. Would you like to see Poker Face return for a third season? What's been your favourite part of the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
