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Digital Euro Not Delayed by Lagarde Exit, ECB Says at Web Summit – News and Statistics

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Nov 11, 2026

The digital euro will not be derailed by Christine Lagarde’s early departure from the European Central Bank presidency, an ECB official said on Tuesday at Lisbon’s Web Summit, one of Europe’s biggest technology gatherings.

Alessandro Giovannini, adviser to the digital euro programme manager, cited the pilot due to start next year and a pledge by EU lawmakers to settle the legislation by year-end. Speaking on a Euronews-moderated panel, he said he had no fear that any change would affect the effort, calling it a strategic endeavour and a European project rather than the ECB’s alone.

Leadership changes

Lagarde said last month she would leave on 7 February 2027, nearly nine months early. Germany’s Isabel Schnabel also exits the six-member Executive Board, the ECB’s top management team, in January, while chief economist Philip Lane’s mandate runs out in May. As Euronews previously reported, Spain’s Pablo Hernandez de Cos and the Netherlands’ Klaas Knot are presently the two leading contenders to replace Lagarde.

Lawmaking calendar

EU leaders in March urged that talks on the digital euro law wrap up by the end of this year, ahead of the pilot planned for 2027. Giovannini described this as the commitment from the co-legislators, namely the European Parliament and EU governments. The two sides have been in trilogues, three-way negotiations with the European Commission that constitute the last stage of EU lawmaking, since July. The most recent round was last Thursday, and Ireland, which chairs the member-state talks, is reportedly seeking a deal on 18 November.

One unresolved issue is how the fees merchants pay are calculated, part of the digital euro’s business model. The ECB wants to be ready for a first issuance in 2029, while technical work proceeds independently of the Brussels discussions.

Pilot and infrastructure

In July the ECB picked 36 banks and payment firms, among them Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and Stripe, for a 12-month pilot beginning in the second half of 2027. Last month it selected network providers, including payments firm Nexi and telecoms group Telefonica, to link them to its platform. Giovannini said the first pilot transactions would arrive in under a year, adding that the firms building the system were all European companies controlled by other European companies.

Banks will not pay for the shared infrastructure, which Giovannini said the ECB would fund and offer free to everyone. The ECB has estimated development will cost about EUR1.3 billion before a first issuance, with running costs of roughly EUR320 million a year from 2029, borne by eurozone central banks, as with banknotes.

Global backdrop

Europe lags China, which has piloted its digital yuan since 2019, while the US chose the opposite route with the GENIUS Act, passed last year, leaving the field to private stablecoins, crypto tokens pegged to a currency such as the US dollar. Giovannini conceded that the best time to plant a tree was yesterday, adding that Europe has its own time and must accept the legislative pace that comes with it. What mattered in the end, he said, was that no time is being lost.

The wait until 2029 mirrors the scale of the task, Giovannini noted, with over 4,000 payment providers and millions of merchants to coordinate. The digital euro seeks to reduce Europe’s dependence on international card schemes such as Visa and Mastercard. ECB board member Piero Cipollone said last week that in 13 eurozone countries, card payments in shops run entirely through non-European firms.

Design and privacy

Unlike China, which since January has allowed banks to pay interest on digital yuan wallets, the digital euro will bear no interest. Giovannini said that as banknotes give no yield, neither would the digital euro, though banks and fintech firms could offer their own rewards.

Critics caution that a central bank digital currency could allow the state to monitor or even control people’s spending, a view Giovannini disputed. Holding up a EUR20 banknote, he said offline digital euros, sent by tapping phones without an internet connection, would function like cash. The system would merely verify that the token was genuine, leaving no digital trace linking sender and recipient or their bank. Such payments will face limits, which lawmakers have been negotiating, to curb money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

For online payments, banks would know who paid whom, as they do today, but the ECB would see only pseudonymised data. Giovannini pledged that the ECB, positioned in between, would never see anything, contrasting this with the card schemes that sit in the middle of payment rails today.



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Politics

Kurdistan political crisis deepens as KDP, PUK rivalry threatens regional unity

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The Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq is facing a new political crisis as tensions between its two largest political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). This is seen as potentially weakening and dividing the autonomous Kurdish region at a time when it can least afford to be divided. The region faces threats from Iran and needs to negotiate with Baghdad.

The crisis has drawn attention from the United States, with US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is the US Envoy to Syria and Iraq. He has emphasized the importance of a strong, united Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The KDP and PUK have dominated Kurdish politics in northern Iraq for decades. The KDP, led by Masoud Barzani, is traditionally strongest in Erbil and Duhok, while the PUK, led by Bafel Talabani, is based primarily in Sulaimani, a region and city near the Iranian border. Both parties maintain extensive political and security networks and have historically competed for influence within the Kurdistan Region. The KDP is generally seen as closer to the US and the West, while the PUK is seen as closer to Iran and also has historic ties with the UK and the West.

Their rivalry dates back decades, including a period of armed conflict in the 1990s. Between 1998 and 2006, the Kurdistan Region effectively operated under two administrations, with the KDP controlling Erbil and Duhok and the PUK administering Sulaimani. The parties eventually reached agreements to reunify the government, but their rivalry has continued to shape Kurdish politics. The rivalry has also affected the Peshmerga of the KRG, meaning many units are divided as well. Despite reform efforts, this remains an issue.

The latest crisis emerged after the KDP moved to reactivate the Kurdistan Parliament following almost two years of legislative paralysis. The parliament had remained largely inactive since the October 2024 regional elections because the parties could not agree on forming a new government.

Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026.
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI/FILE PHOTO)

The KDP won 39 seats in the 100-seat parliament, while the PUK secured 23. Neither party has enough seats to govern alone, making negotiations over senior positions and cabinet portfolios essential.

 According to Rudaw, the KDP secured the attendance of 52 lawmakers, narrowly surpassing the 51-member quorum required to convene parliament. The session included KDP lawmakers, minority representatives, members of smaller parties and several legislators who broke ranks with their parties, including three PUK members.

Lawmakers elected KDP politician Vala Farid as parliament speaker, Christian representative Rami Noori as deputy speaker and Turkmen representative Muna Qahwachi as parliament secretary. The PUK rejected the move. PUK leader Bafel Talabani described parliament’s resumption as “illegal, far removed from the principles of genuine partnership, and it is an attempt to impose the will of a single party.”

Tensions in region date back years

Tensions here date back years. During the 2017 crisis, after the KRG held a referendum on independence, Bafel Talabani was accused of agreeing to a controversial deal to hand Kirkuk over to Baghdad. This led to a collapse of the Peshmerga lines and the swift conquest of Kirkuk by Iraqi federal forces and Iranian-backed militias.

Bafel Talabani recently announced that the PUK would withdraw its officials from the KRG cabinet. “This government has failed. Therefore, the first decision of the PUK leadership following this [parliament reactivation] is that we will immediately withdraw from this failed government, which calls itself the government of Kurdistan,” Talabani said in a video statement, according to Rudaw.

The PUK also announced that it would not recognize the reactivated parliament or participate in future sessions. It’s worth noting that Bafel has consolidated his position within the PUK. Lahur Talabani and his brother were pushed out, and in 2025 they were arrested after an armed clash.

The dispute in the KRG reflects disagreement over how the Kurdistan Region should be governed. The KDP argues that parliament should resume its legislative responsibilities independently of negotiations over forming a new cabinet. The PUK maintains that the parties must first agree on senior government positions and power-sharing arrangements. A lot of these disagreements can be bridged, but the fundamental divisions won’t change.

On November 9, Masrour Barzani noted that “I was pleased to speak with [US Ambassador Tom Barrack] following my visit to Baghdad. We agreed that the KRG must remain strong and unified, and that our disputes with the federal government must be resolved in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution.”

“To that end, we both welcomed today’s progress with Prime Minister [Ali al-Zaidi] and his team on the federal budget law, and we look forward to finalizing an agreement on oil and gas.” He added that “during the call, we also reaffirmed the already strong KRG-U.S. partnership.” Barrack shared his statement and said unity was important for stability in Iraq.

The PUK’s withdrawal has raised concerns about a possible return to the two-administration system. This would weaken the KRG and basically divide it. This makes it easier for Iran and others to influence the region through a “divide and conquer” strategy the pits Kurdish parties against each other. The Kurds know this and they have dealt with this challenge for years. In many ways, the KRG has opportunities now to make progress, despite the crisis. For instance, the PKK has a new peace process with Turkey, which has reduced tensions in the KRG. Turkish forces are de-deploying and reducing their presence.

Erbil crisis could weaken Kurdish political institutes

Nevertheless, the crisis in Erbil has ramifications. “They appoint the President of the Region, we appoint the President of the Region; they appoint the Prime Minister, we appoint the Prime Minister; they appoint a minister, we appoint a minister,” Talabani warned, according to Rudaw.

As noted above, this could weaken the Kurdistan Region’s political institutions and complicate relations with Baghdad at a time when the region faces major economic and security challenges. However, there have also been efforts to reduce tensions.

On Monday, KDP leader Masoud Barzani called for renewed dialogue with the PUK. “The interest of the people of Kurdistan is greater than any other interest or objective,” Barzani said. “On this basis, I call upon our brothers in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to sit down together with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, resolve the issues, and put an end to the political crisis in the Kurdistan Region,” he added.

KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed subsequently welcomed the initiative. “In light of His Excellency the President’s [Barzani] initiative, we are ready for dialogue and meetings with our brothers in the PUK to resolve issues and end the political crisis in the Kurdistan Region,” Mohammed said. The dispute is also closely connected to longstanding disagreements over the distribution of revenues and public-sector salaries.

On November 11, Barrack posted on X about a meeting with key officials. “Today, Darbaz Rasool, member of the PUK Political Bureau, and Ahmed Mufti, Deputy Minister of KRG Natural Resources, joined me for a discussion on the Kurdistan Region’s future. The US supports a strong, united Kurdistan Region that reflects the Region’s diversity. As we discussed, lasting unity can only be achieved by devolving authority, empowering local government, strengthening institutions, and promoting greater transparency,” he noted.



Finance

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Business

Central Ohio marks Veterans Day with ceremonies, service events and business discounts

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Veterans Day is being observed across central Ohio with ceremonies, community service events and discounts aimed at honoring those who served.

More than 3,000 flags now cover the lawn at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, part of a Veterans Day tribute honoring service members and loved ones.

Ohio is home to more than 700,000 veterans and service members. Organizers said each flag planted at the museum represents a loved one and a service member.

The flags were donated by a community member for $25 each as part of a special fundraiser. Organizers said the annual event began with 300 flags and has grown every year since.

A special service at the museum is looking back on America’s 250 years of military service. That is set to begin at 11 a.m.

Other events:

  • People can give back at the annual Veterans Day blood drive at Ohio Stadium, running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery is hosting a ceremony that includes the unveiling of a new memorial.

Several businesses and organizations are offering Veterans Day deals.

  • COTA is offering free fares all day to veterans and active service members.
  • Piada is offering a free regular-sized entree with protein.
  • Bob Evans is offering one free Veterans Day menu item.
  • Great Clips is offering veterans and active-duty members free haircuts, or a card to use later.

Some local services are closed or operating on a holiday schedule, including most government offices, the post office and many banks. COTA is also running on a Sunday schedule. Residents are encouraged to check with their local community for additional changes.

Finance

Fed’s Goolsbee calls October inflation ‘borderline disturbing’

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“It’s another distressing report, borderline disturbing,” Goolsbee said, according to Bloomberg. “We have been hoping to get progress.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in October. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast increases of 0.3% and 0.2%, according to CNBC.

Goolsbee said the effect of tariffs on goods prices should have run its course at this stage, yet it is still being felt. He called services inflation, including health care, “perhaps the most troubling part” and said it is probably not mostly driven by oil prices or tariffs.

“We have got a real inflation issue on our hands that has been developing, and we’re going to have to deal with that,” he said.

Goolsbee said demand tied to the AI data center build-out has added a demand-side push to prices. He said he fears the overheating is spreading into services and other categories, with prices rising far above the Fed’s 2% target. He said the job market has been steady and stable.

Pressed on the prospect of a bigger hike in December, Goolsbee said he would rather not box in policymakers before they sit down to meet.

“I will say it’s literally the biggest table I have ever seen in my life in that room. So everything is always on the table, and we must get inflation back down to target, and it’s going the wrong way at this point,” he said.

Goolsbee is not among the officials holding a vote on policy this year, according to Bloomberg.

The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% at its October meeting. Its next meeting is Dec. 8-9.



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Science & Environment

A Remote Island Holds a Major Warning Sign for the Future of Humanity

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The word “terraforming” is typically reserved for discussions of other worlds. Sci-fi writers dream up vast galactic empires where humans have bent entire planetary ecosystems to their will while, in the real world, the world’s richest man contemplates a similar future. But on the remote island of Ascension in the South Atlantic, an accidental 180-year-long experiment shows what happens when you terraform our own planet. Some see the story as a small slice of hope for areas around the world facing desertification in the face of climate change, while others see the history of Ascension Island as a warning about humanity’s impact on the natural world.

Around one million years ago, volcanic eruptions along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge pushed the island up out of the Atlantic. It went unseen by humans until 1501, when Portuguese admiral João da Nova came across it. Two years later, Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque found it again on the Christian holiday of Ascension Day, which is how the island got its name. However, neither of these expeditions set up shop on the island, and it wasn’t until 1815 when Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to St. Helena, an island located some 800 miles away, that the United Kingdom finally established a military outpost Ascension to keep tabs on him (a good idea since he’d escaped exile once before).

Some of the most colorful descriptions of Ascension come from naturalists arriving at the island in the decades following British settlement. Among these voices was a young Charles Darwin, who arrived on the island in the summer of 1836 and described it as possessing a “naked hideousness.”

“Those who have beheld a volcanic island, situated within an arid climate, will be able at once to picture to themselves the aspect of Ascension,” Darwin wrote. “To complete this desolate scene, the black rocks on the coast are lashed by a wild and turbulent sea.”

However, a little less than two centuries after this bleak description, the island is now a lush tropical cloud forest filled with eucalyptus, bamboo, banana plants, araucaria, and Cape bramble—all plants from three separate continents. So how did this happen? Well, the short answer is humans, but the slightly longer answer is the work of the British botanist Joseph Hooker. In 1847, Hooker persuaded the Royal Navy to bring plant specimens from the Kew Gardens in London to catch rain, reduce evaporation, and improve soil health, according to El Pais.

The introduction of these plants, along with more humans (who brought with them insects, rats, and cats, in a cyclical parade of invasive species), essentially terraformed the island, turning a once desolate landscape into something more suitable for human habitation.

Some scientists see this history as a possible blueprint for fighting desertification, which is spreading as climate change threatens vulnerable ecosystems. Among them is Victor Maull, who recently finished a Ph.D. at Pompeu Fabra University focused on the island.

“In the laboratory we are working to make minimal models that can explain changes to ecosystems,” Maull said in a press statement. “Normally, we model ecosystems that degrade, but with Ascension we have the opportunity to understand the reverse process and see if we can invert the collapse.”

However, other experts who spoke to El Pais have a different interpretation of Ascension island’s ecological history—one that stresses caution rather than celebration. Although Darwin had little positive to say about the island on his visit, endemic species did live on the roughly 34-square-mile island back then. Today, those native species are being crowded out by invasive plants that now cover almost the entire island. One of those natives, the Ascension Island parsley fern, was thought to be extinct until 2009, when researchers found four plants clinging to a cliff.

“What remains today is an unusual combination of species—bamboo, eucalyptus, ficus and others—that would never have grown or evolved together naturally in an ecosystem,” Tiffany Simpson, director of Conservation and Fisheries for the Ascension Island Government, told El Pais. Because of this mismatch, even some of the invasive plants are struggling to establish roots in the shallow, volcanic soil, causing many trees to topple over during fierce storms.

Whatever one makes of its history, Ascension offers two lessons. It shows that deliberate intervention may help hold back advancing deserts, and it warns of what can be lost when humans reshape a one-of-a-kind ecosystem to suit their own needs, whether on this planet or another.

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Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough. 

East asia World news

Japan Emperor, Empress Meet with Vietnam Leader, Wife

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Tokyo, Nov. 11 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako met with Vietnamese leader To Lam and his wife, Ngo Phuong Ly, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday.

In their 20-minute talks, Emperor Naruhito welcomed the Vietnamese couple’s visit to Japan, saying that it was “extremely meaningful for promoting friendly relations between the two countries.”

The Vietnamese couple invited the Emperor and Empress to visit the Southeast Asian country as state guests.

The Japanese and Vietnamese couples also talked about cultural exchanges between the two countries and music. The Emperor shared a story from his student days about playing a piece by Pyotr Tchaikovsky on the viola alongside Tetsuji Honna, who has served as principal conductor of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra for many years.

The four had lunch together after the meeting, with Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko joining them.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako meet with Vietnamese leader To Lam and his wife, Ngo Phuong Ly, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday. (Pool photo)

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]



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World news

Netanyahu says Israel is not to blame for the flood crisis in Gaza, and other Mideast news

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations that Israel has been delaying the entry of winter supplies into the Gaza Strip as the enclave faces worsening conditions this week, with severe rains flooding makeshift tents.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a tanker caught fire after hitting a naval mine early on Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz. The British military also reported an incident with a tanker in the contested waterway, but it was not immediately clear if it was the same vessel. And Israel struck Gaza twice today, killing three Palestinians.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. Read our full coverage here.

Netanyahu dismisses claims that Israel is blocking supplies to Gaza

Netanyahu said Israel was not to blame for the worsening conditions for Palestinians in Gaza’s tent camps that have been hit with severe winter floods.

His remarks came after the U.S.-created Board of Peace — established under President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Israel-Hamas war and oversee Gaza’s recovery — said Monday that Israel’s delaying of the entry of winter supplies into Gaza had “exacerbated the consequences of a foreseeable humanitarian challenge.”

Torrential rain has battered the war-torn enclave in recent days, damaging tens of thousands of makeshift tents. Four people, including three children, were killed on Sunday when a large sandstone slab collapsed onto tents during the rains.

Netanyahu said the Palestinian militant group Hamas is to blame because it continues to refuse to disarm, although the ceasefire deal does not make entry of tents and other aid conditional on disarmament. Netanyahu also accused Hamas of seizing humanitarian aid to use for military purposes, though he did not provide evidence.

“Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza, and it is now cynically exploiting that suffering to shift blame onto Israel once again,” he said Tuesday.

The U.N. and other aid groups have more than 150,000 tents ready to enter Gaza, but Israel has not given permission, the U.N. humanitarian office said Sunday. Israel has also not allowed entry for pumps or other equipment to remove floodwaters, the office said.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the situation in Gaza was “intolerable” and demanded Israel end “arbitrary restrictions” on aid. And in Washington, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the top Democrat on the Senate’s foreign spending subcommittee, called for Israel to immediately allow winter gear into Gaza.

“There are a lot of challenges when it comes to Israel and Palestine that are complicated, and fraught, and contentious,” Schatz said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. “But we should all be able to agree that repairing torn tents and helping people to dry out, and providing warmth to freezing children is a basic human obligation.”

Iran says a tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said that a tanker caught fire early Wednesday after hitting a naval mine, Iran’s state media reported. It said the tanker was traveling through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway.

The British military said a tanker was involved in an incident while transiting the strait. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, or UKMTO, did not identify the tanker, and further details of the incident were not immediately available.

The center also said the status of the crew remained unknown. UKMTO is part of the British military tasked with monitoring maritime safety.

Last month, it had said it was “struggling to accurately report” the true number of attacks as the majority of ships now refuse to report them.

It was not immediately clear if the Iranian and UKMTO reports referred to the same incident.

Israeli strikes kill 3 in Gaza City, local health officials say

An Israeli strike on Wednesday morning killed one person in Gaza City, and a second later in the day killed two more people, according to Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were taken.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted military operatives. It did not provide additional details.

Large-scale fighting has slowed since Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal in October 2025.

However, Israel continues to launch near-daily strikes on the enclave. Israel has killed more than 1,600 Palestinians in Gaza since the deal was reached, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

___

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Technology

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake sells in huge numbers, becoming the fastest-selling Switch 2 game

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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake has been a huge success for Nintendo, becoming the fastest-selling Switch 2 game ever, shifting more than 5.2 million copies in four days.

Nintendo announced the sales result this morning in a press release, specifying that the record relates only to Nintendo-published games. But since Nintendo’s games are the most popular Switch 2 games, the fastest-selling-ever title presumably holds.

Comparing the original Ocarina of Time with the remake.Watch on YouTube

It’s an incredible result for a game that’s been received with enormous enthusiasm. Christian Donlan awarded The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time five golden stars in Eurogamer’s review, saying: “Alongside great judgement and clever tweaks, this astonishing remake has a proper ace up its sleeve.” We’ve also already seen a jump in US Switch 2 sales because of the game’s release. So much for not launching in November near GTA 6, eh?

This level of success begs the question of whether Nintendo would consider remaking more beloved old Zelda games – or Nintendo games – to replicate this nostalgia-driven effect. Are there other Zelda games that have the pull of Ocarina of Time that haven’t been remade or remastered already in some capacity?

If you’re inspired to pick the game up because of this, or already have it, know that we’ve got a whole proverbial library shelf of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time guides to help you through the game.

Gaming

The Comeback Of Human Opponents In An AI Gaming World

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1734090340007 https://www.mkaugaming.com/the-comeback-of-human-opponents-in-an-ai-gaming-world-2/

Artificial intelligence has moved into the opponent’s chair across almost every genre. Bots fill out multiplayer lobbies, adaptive AI adjusts difficulty on the fly, and many card and board games now offer a computer opponent the moment you open them. It is convenient and often very good. Yet the more capable AI opponents become, the more players seem to value something machines cannot fully replicate: knowing there is a real person on the other side.

AI opponents are everywhere, and they work

It would be wrong to dismiss AI opponents. They solve real problems. New players need someone to practise against without being crushed, matchmaking queues need filling at odd hours, and solo players want a challenge without the social pressure of strangers. Research suggests they can even help social play. A 2026 study in Information Systems Research, reported by Tech Xplore, found that after PUBG: Battlegrounds introduced slightly weaker, unlabelled AI opponents, player time rose by about 50 percent and team play with friends rose by 28 percent. Early wins against bots built confidence, and confident players were more willing to join their friends.

That finding points to something important. The bots worked best as a bridge to human play, not a replacement for it.

What humans bring that AI cannot

A human opponent is unpredictable in a way that feels meaningful. They bluff, tilt, get lucky, make mistakes under pressure and occasionally do something brilliant you will talk about for weeks. A win against a person carries social weight. A loss stings in a way a loss to a bot rarely does. And after the match there is someone to shake hands with, trash-talk or queue up with again.

That is why the multiplayer side of gaming remains so strong. Our multiplayer reviews cover everything from party racers to asymmetrical horror games, and the common thread in the best of them is not the mechanics but the people.

Poker shows the paradox

Poker is a useful test case. In 2019 an AI system called Pluribus, built by Carnegie Mellon University and Facebook AI, beat elite professionals at six-player no-limit Texas hold’em, a milestone many people had expected to take much longer. If playing strength were all that mattered, that would have been the end of human poker as a spectator interest. Instead, tournament fields and streamed games have kept their audiences, and solver tools have mostly become study aids that players use away from the table. People did not stop wanting to play each other. They just got better at it.

The rise of human-hosted play

The same pattern shows up outside competitive gaming. Live-streamed game shows, community tournaments and live dealer tables have all grown alongside AI-driven formats rather than being replaced by them. A real host or dealer adds personality, pace and a sense of shared occasion that an animation cannot match.

Casino-style platforms show this clearly. Slots in a lobby of ACE casino games or any similar platform are driven by a random number generator, but many social and sweepstakes lobbies now also include live dealer tables streamed from real studios, where players can see the cards being dealt and chat with the dealer. The outcome still depends on chance, and the dealer is not an opponent in the poker sense, but the human presence changes how the game feels. US availability depends on the state, so eligibility is worth checking.

Transparency matters more than ever

One reason people seek out human opponents is trust. When a lobby mixes bots and players without telling you, it can be hard to know what you are up against. Some players do not mind. Others feel cheated when they discover a hard-won victory came against a script. As AI opponents become more convincing, clear labelling is likely to matter more, not less.

The same goes for any game involving chance. Knowing whether a result comes from a random number generator, a live dealer or another player is basic information, and the best platforms make it obvious.

Both have a place

The future of gaming is not humans versus machines. AI opponents are excellent training partners, reliable fillers and patient teachers. Human opponents provide the stories, rivalries and friendships that keep people coming back for years. The players who get the most out of modern games use both: practise against the AI, then take what they have learned into a lobby full of real people.

Whatever the format, the usual advice applies. Play for the experience, take breaks, and keep any spending on games, especially games of chance, inside limits you set before you start.