Ava, a female-presenting robot created by Nathan, is at the center of a thought-provoking experiment. Caleb, Nathan’s employee, interacts with Ava to gauge her sentience and self-awareness. As director Alex Garland masterfully weaves in themes of gender and AI ethics, the film reveals uncomfortable truths about women’s treatment in society. Nathan’s creation of Ava raises … Read more
Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian psychedelic drink, has been found to help people feel less anxious about death and more accepting of it in a new study published in the journal Psychopharmacology. Long-term ayahuasca users showed lower levels of fear, anxiety, and avoidance around death compared to non-users, with impermanence acceptance as the key mediator. Researchers … Read more
OpenAI’s new app, Sora, faced criticism after launching with an opt-out policy for copyright holders. The company initially required media companies to explicitly state they didn’t want their characters or likenesses used in the app. However, after receiving backlash over “deepfakes” of Nazi SpongeBob and other unacceptable content, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a reversal … Read more
A new app called Sora 2, which uses artificial intelligence to generate videos and audio content, has encountered problems. The app, which is similar to TikTok, allowed users to create videos of popular characters like SpongeBob SquarePants or Stephen Hawking in unpleasant situations. However, this raised copyright concerns. As a result, the app’s popularity quickly … Read more
US President Donald Trump is close to brokering a major diplomatic accomplishment in the Middle East – a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This deal could be a test of his presidency as a peacemaker and may bring him closer to winning the Nobel Peace Prize. However, critics warn that success will depend on how … Read more
The US Mint plans to issue a commemorative $1 coin with President Donald Trump’s image on both sides, despite the fact that living presidents are usually not featured on currency. The 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act authorizes redesigns of quarters, half dollars, and $1 coins, including a series commemorating the US’ 250th anniversary in … Read more
Federal authorities arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, charged with arson. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a minimum 5-year sentence. The blaze destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people. Source: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/palisades-fire-california-arrest-johnathan-rinderknecht-31e2dbe7
US President Donald Trump has made a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, calling for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to be imprisoned. He didn’t specify which laws they allegedly broke. The Illinois leaders strongly condemned the president’s increased immigration raids and the deployment of National Guard troops in … Read more
Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, in a breakthrough in negotiations to end the devastating war in Gaza. The deal would involve a pullback of Israeli troops, entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the release of Israeli hostages as early as this weekend. The agreement … Read more
Microsoft has released the latest update for Windows 11, version 25H2, despite knowing about four known issues with the operating system. Users may encounter problems playing protected video files, sharing files via SMB v1, and installing updates on certain devices. The Media Creation Tool is also incompatible with Arm-based computers. It’s recommended to wait before … Read more