All posts tagged: world

U.K. to Turbocharge AI, Gain up to Billion a Year as World Leader

U.K. to Turbocharge AI, Gain up to $57 Billion a Year as World Leader

Published by skeptic

Artificial intelligence will “be unleashed across the U.K. to deliver a decade of national renewal.” At least, that is the vow made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he unveiled a plan that his Labour Party government says will “turbocharge AI” and “deliver a decade of national renewal” by “backing AI to the hilt.” Agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford, chairman of talent investor Entrepreneur First, in his “AI Opportunities Action Plan,” which he was tasked to draw up last summer, Starmer and his team said on Monday that AI could help with “revolutionizing our public services and putting more money in people’s back pockets.” Citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate, the government emphasized that “if AI is fully embraced and productivity gains are fully realized, this could be worth up to an average £47 billion ($57 billion) to the U.K. each year over a decade.” Concluded the government: “Today’s plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation – revolutionizing our public services and putting more …

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall—Book Review by TBE

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall—Book Review by TBE

Published by skeptic

Eiren Caffall’s debut novel “All the Water in the World” emerges as a distinctive voice in climate fiction, offering a unique perspective on survival in a world transformed by rising seas and societal collapse. Through the eyes of young Nonie, a girl with an innate connection to water and weather, we experience a post-apocalyptic New York that feels both familiar and frighteningly possible. The novel begins at AMNH (affectionately called “Amen” by its inhabitants), where a small community of museum workers and their families have created a sanctuary on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. Their mission: to preserve humanity’s knowledge while surviving in a city largely abandoned to floods and chaos. When a hypercane destroys their home, Nonie and her remaining family must navigate treacherous waters—both literal and metaphorical—in search of safety. Literary Merit & Storytelling Caffall’s prose shines brightest in her descriptions of water in all its forms. The language flows like the element itself, sometimes gentle and contemplative, other times powerful and devastating. The author’s background as a musician …

RNS | Covering the world of religion.

RNS | Covering the world of religion.

Published by skeptic

(RNS) — Turning 80, as I do this month, tends to focus the mind on one’s mortality. I plan to live another 20 years, as did Jimmy Carter, but I could just as easily be dead in 20 months. I can no longer kid myself that death is a distant reality. St. Ignatius Loyola, as part of his Spiritual Exercises, advises people to meditate on their deathbeds and reflect on their lives. In such a meditation, money is of little importance, even for nonbelievers. Most people wish they had spent more time with family and friends. In such reflections, there is a temptation to focus on the negative and feel sorry for oneself — opportunities missed, roadblocks experienced and time wasted. I admit that as I began this column, that temptation was strong. Instead, I am forcing myself to reflect on what I should be thankful for. Looking back, I now see that whenever a door closed (not getting a job I wanted, or getting fired), a better door opened. But even before I was …

What schools can and can’t learn from the world of startups

What schools can and can’t learn from the world of startups

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles Startups are lauded for bringing ideas into the real world, being responsive to customers and adapting quickly – qualities that senior cabinet office minister Pat McFadden recently called on Whitehall to embrace. But schools operate in a very different context from startups. Teachers have limited time and resources, meaning that any new approaches must be thoroughly considered and effective. The time pupils spend at school is scarce too, so the stakes are high. One way to strike the balance is with the deceptively simple model of ‘test and learn’. At its heart lies a willingness to trial new ideas, gather evidence, and rapidly iterate to improve outcomes. This agile approach is often contrasted with the perceived single-mindedness of institutions in the public sector. The major challenges facing schools – the retention and recruitment of teachers, the increasing complexity of leadership, and disparities in pupil outcomes – demand evidence-based solutions. This is why many schools, academy trusts, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and teacher-training providers like ourselves at the National …

The World in a Cloverleaf: A World Map from 1581

The World in a Cloverleaf: A World Map from 1581

Published by José

In 1581, the medieval car­tog­ra­ph­er and Protes­tant the­olo­gian Hein­rich Bünt­ing cre­at­ed a sym­bol­ic map of the world that adorned his book Itin­er­ar­i­um Sacrae Scrip­turae (Trav­el Through Holy Scrip­ture). Hand-col­ored and shaped like a three-leaf clover, the map put Jerusalem at its cen­ter, high­light­ing its cen­tral role in Chris­tian­i­ty, Judaism, and Islam. From that cen­ter flowed three continents—Europe, Africa, and Asia—each sur­round­ed by swirling waters teem­ing with ships, mer­maids, and sea mon­sters. Then, off to one side, we find a bar­ren “Amer­i­ca,” oth­er­wise known as the “New World.” The three-leaf clover design like­ly sym­bol­izes the Chris­t­ian trin­i­ty, while also pay­ing homage to the clover design found on the coat of arms of Bünt­ing’s native home­town, Hanover. Beyond the map fea­tured above, Bünt­ing also designed some oth­er notably uncon­ven­tion­al maps. Take, for exam­ple, a map where Europe takes the form of a vir­gin queen, or a map of Asia that’s shaped like the winged horse Pega­sus. You can view a copy of the Itin­er­ar­i­um Sacrae Scrip­turae online. If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s …

Nvidia’s ‘Cosmos’ AI Helps Humanoid Robots Navigate the World

Nvidia’s ‘Cosmos’ AI Helps Humanoid Robots Navigate the World

Published by skeptic

Nvidia announced today it’s releasing a family of foundational AI models called Cosmos that can be used to train humanoids, industrial robots, and self-driving cars. While language models learn how to generate text by training on copious amounts of books, articles, and social media posts, Cosmos is designed to generate images and 3D models of the physical world. During a keynote presentation at the annual CES conference in Las Vegas, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed examples of Cosmos being used to simulate activities inside of warehouses. Cosmos was trained on 20 million hours of real footage of “humans walking, hands moving, manipulating things,” Jensen said. “It’s not about generating creative content, but teaching the AI to understand the physical world.” Researchers and startups hope that these kinds of foundational models could give robots used in factories and homes more sophisticated capabilities. Cosmos can, for example, generate realistic video footage of boxes falling from shelves inside a warehouse, which can be used to train a robot to recognize accidents. Users can also fine-tune the models using …

Luke Littler is the youngest World Darts champion ever – how did he get here? | UK News

Luke Littler is the youngest World Darts champion ever – how did he get here? | UK News

Published by Sam

Seventeen-year-old Luke Littler swept aside darting great Michael van Gerwen last night to become the youngest World Darts champion ever. The teenage sensation made it look easy in the final at Alexandra Palace, beating the three-time world champion 7-3. To add insult to injury, he also stole the Dutchman’s record as youngest ever world champ with seven years to spare – van Gerwen was 24 when he first won it. The extraordinary victory comes off the back of an equally impressive 12 months for Littler which saw him win 10 trophies in his first pro season. Image: Littler holds his trophy after dispatching van Gerwen. Pic: PA The teen has fast become one of the sport’s biggest names and is now world number two – but how did he get here? Here’s everything you need to know about the darting prodigy and his meteoric rise – from learning to play in nappies as a toddler to building new rivalries. Playing darts at 18 months old He may only be a teenager but Littler, from Warrington, …

The new leaders in the world of faith to follow in 2025

The new leaders in the world of faith to follow in 2025

Published by skeptic

(RNS) — Like its politics, the United States’ religious scene could at times this year appear intractably stalled by partisanship and warring ideologies. But Americans of faith and observers of the religious landscape can also be encouraged and fascinated by the new voices that have emerged in past 12 months, in ancient faith traditions and new movements alike. These emerging faith leaders promise to take the country in new directions, whether offering new perspectives on immigrant rights in a new Trump administration, pushing young people to engage in faith-based environmental activism or fighting ableism. Not all of the new names that came to our attention this year offer escape from our discord: Some are engaged in political fights over whether the country, or our households, should adopt a Christian polity to live up to our highest ideals.  Here are some of the newsmakers we’ll be keeping our eyes on in the year ahead. Tia LevingsAuthor and social media influencer  Tia Levings. (Photo by Hannah Joy Photography) Levings, author of the New York Times bestseller “A …

‘My world came crashing down’: Parents on finding out their children had dwarfism

‘My world came crashing down’: Parents on finding out their children had dwarfism

Published by Sam

FINDING LOVE Although Ms Xu now walks with her head held high and has grown accustomed to the stares and whispers she often faces, her insecurities about her height used to run deep, especially when she first started using dating applications.  Having her height listed on her profile in a dating app meant she was bombarded with never-ending questions, with some even accusing her of lying about it to prompt men to start a conversation with her.  “But the conversation usually stops when I tell them I have dwarfism,” she said.  This happened like clockwork until she swiped on Mr Soh’s profile. He did not care about her height and was insistent on meeting her.  “I kept emphasising my height to him and that I have short legs, so some people think I look like an alien,” she added.  “But he was very straightforward and said: ‘I don’t care how tall or short you are, how beautiful or ugly you are. I just want to find a life partner’.” Now, three years after their marriage, Mr Soh …

How Conservative Estimates of Climate Change May Destroy or Save the World

How Conservative Estimates of Climate Change May Destroy or Save the World

Published by skeptic

“We didn’t expect this heating to happen so early in the year and to be so extreme,” Derek Manzello, a coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch, told CNN (Zerkel 2023). This is just one of many articles expressing surprise at worse-than-expected effects of global warming. Scientists have been systematically underestimating the effects of climate change in their statements to the public. They apply scientific terminology to an engineering problem, leading us to evaluate the data inappropriately. I submit that the problem lies with the difference between how scientists and engineers use the term conservative in evaluating data.  The scientists’ use of the term conservative is consistent with the definition “marked by moderation or caution” in that scientists are cautious not to allow uncertainty to inflate an estimate. This use of conservative is common in scientific presentations, such as “scientists have in fact been conservative in their projections of the impacts of climate change. In particular, we discuss recent studies showing that at least some of the key attributes of global warming from …