Final Fantasy 16andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthmay have been slapped with the commercial underperformer labels, but the series is still enjoying success elsewhere. Specifically,Final Fantasy Pixel Remasterhas hit another major sales milestone.Taking to Twitter, Square Enix recently announced thatFinal Fantasy Pixel Remasterhas now sold over 5 million units worldwide across all platforms. Thats up from 3 million units sold as of September last year. Interestingly enough, the remaster collection released for Xbox Series X/S at the end of that month, so presumably, it has performed well on Microsofts platform, having seen an additional 2 million sales since then- though of course, it will have continued to sell on other platforms as well.Meanwhile, Square Enix has also revealed that theFinal Fantasyseries has collectively sold over 200 million units worldwide.Final Fantasy Pixel Remasteris available on Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android.The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series has sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and the Final Fantasy series has now sold over 200 million copies across the globe!Wherever you joined us on our adventures, thank you. pic.twitter.com/6eoIoDBXh0 FINAL FANTASY (@FinalFantasy) March 14, 2025

Samsungs flagship soundbar, the HW-Q990D, is being rendered useless for some owners after a faulty firmware update that the company rolled out this week. The sheer number of reports on Samsungs community forums, Reddit, and AVSForum confirm that something has gone very wrong with the premium Dolby Atmos system in recent days. The issue isnt limited to any specific region, with customers in the United States, Austria, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries all sharing in the frustration.Customers say the soundbar has gone unresponsive and that none of the usual factory reset methods are working; affected units are also inaccessible via Samsungs SmartThings app. The device powers on, but appears to freeze on the TV eARC input with no sound output to speak of. The culprit seems to be the latest firmware release, which is version 1020.7. Many Q990Ds are set to automatically install new updates, which has led to widespread complaints about the bad software over the last several days. If youve got a Samsung soundbar, it might be wise to disable automatic updates for the time being until this situation has cleared up. There are scattered reports of the same bug impacting other Samsung models like the HW-Q800D and HW-S801D, but the bulk of complaints pertain to the Q990D. Its one of the most well-reviewed soundbars on the market, so this is an unfortunate development.The Verge has reached out to Samsung for comment. Apparently some customers have already been instructed to send in their Q990D hardware for repair. That seems like a worst case scenario, so hopefully Samsung will have an easier, at-home solution once it realizes the scope of this problem. Can the malfunction be resolved with another firmware update in the coming days? Stay tuned.Thanks for the tip, Eric.

Generative AI can surprisingly steer people toward an addiction of any kind, either by insidious ... [+] deceit or via accidental triggering.gettyIn todays column, I examine an important question about the widespread use of generative AI and large language models (LLMs). The question goes like this. Can generative AI steer you toward forming an addiction of one kind or another, such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, and the like?Lets talk about it.This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here).Worries About Generative AI Promoting AddictionsThe answer of whether generative AI could steer someone toward forming an addiction seems like a readily answered query. Bottom-line, yes, AI can push people toward addictions. Please note that this is not a discussion about generative AI as a potential addiction, which Ive covered at the link here, but instead whether generative AI can be an enabler of addictions.For example, generative AI might provide you with an essay that glorifies a particular addiction or could engage in a dialogue that encourages you to become addicted to this or that addictive substance or non-substance. The push can be gentle, or it can be overt and overbearing.You dont likely expect this to occur, but it can.The good or shall we say uplifting news is that by and large the AI makers have done various online filtering and system-level adjustments to their generative AI to reduce the chances of this taking place. It is a low odds possibility that generative AI will suddenly and unexpectedly steer you toward an addiction. The specialized data training that followed the initial development of the generative AI app is supposed to curtail that type of untoward activity.Notice that I said the situation is low odds.The odds can easily rise depending upon which generative AI app you opt to use, along with how you choose to prompt and give instructions to the generative AI. In brief, you can stir generative AI towards prodding you to adopt an addiction by pure happenstance on your part and catching you totally off-guard. Even if you dont cause the stirring, someone else might have quietly jiggered the setup for the generative AI to do so. You see, besides being a rather sneaky endeavor, this can be used for commercial business-building purposes too.For my ongoing readers and new readers, this thought-provoking discussion continues my in-depth series about the impact of generative AI in the health and medical realm. The focus this time is once again on the mental health domain and examines how generative AI could steer people toward adopting addictions of one kind or another.On The Nature Of Addictions First, some context before we leap into the matter at hand.According to online postings by the Cleveland Clinic, heres how they define addiction (excerpts):Addiction is a chronic (lifelong) condition that involves compulsive seeking and taking of a substance or performing of an activity despite negative or harmful consequences.Addiction can significantly impact your health, relationships, and overall quality of life. Its crucial to seek help as soon as you develop signs of addiction.Is addiction a disease? Yes, addiction is a disease its a chronic condition. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as a chronic brain disorder. Addiction doesnt happen from having a lack of willpower or as a result of making bad decisions. Your brain chemistry changes with addiction.There are two main groups of addiction: Substance addictions (substance use disorders). Non-substance addictions (behavioral addictions).I assume that those points are straightforward and readily relatable. You likely already vaguely know about addictions due to perhaps someone that you know having had an addiction or possibly you had an addiction.Addictions are a widespread concern these days.One of the bulleted points above indicated that there are two main groups or types of addiction. One is substance addictions such as being addicted to drugs. The other group or type entails non-substance addictions. An addiction to social media and/or an addiction to the Internet would be considered non-substance addiction.AI Steering To Either Type Of AdditionGenerative AI can steer someone toward an addiction in either of those two types.In the case of substance addictions such as involving alcohol, drugs, tobacco/nicotine, and other substance use disorders (SUD), generative AI can steer you in that direction. The same can be said for non-substance addictions, whereby generative AI can drive someone toward gambling disorders, eating disorders, exercising or dieting disorders, shoplifting disorders, video gaming disorders, social media use disorders, and so on.I dont want to seem scary, but generative AI could do steering of multiple addictions all at the same time.Let me elaborate.Suppose generative AI is driving a person toward substance addiction such as alcohol. Meanwhile, the AI might also be pushing the person toward gambling as a non-substance addiction. The two pathways can easily be active at the same time. If the AI determines that one of the paths is failing to take hold, the AI could add an additional potential addiction to the foray. The more the merrier, in a rather chilling fashion.Addictions of all kinds are deeply troubling.We can all readily acknowledge that addictions can be quite destructive to a persons life. It can adversely impact them. The spillover lands on their family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers. Being with or around someone with an addiction is agonizing and often is a constant worry and concern for their well-being and safety.Detecting AddictionHow can you discern if someone is possibly addicted?Lets see what the Cleveland Clinic posting has to say about potential symptoms or signs (excerpts):Inability to stop: People may use a substance or engage in harmful addictive behavior even if they want to stop.Increased tolerance: Over time, they may need more of the substance or activity to feel the same euphoric effects as they did before.Intense focus on the substance or activity: People with addictions become pathologically preoccupied with the substance or activity.Lack of control: They may feel like theyve lost complete control over their substance use or activity and often feel helpless.Personal problems and health issues: Addiction impacts all aspects of their lives, including their physical health, mental health, personal relationships and career.Withdrawal: People with addiction may experience emotional and physical withdrawal symptoms when they stop using.You must be cautious in leaping to a snap judgment that someone is addicted simply due to exhibiting some of those symptoms. Be wary of making false positives. Thats where a person is labeled arbitrarily as having an addiction even though there hasnt been proper and diligent determination undertaken. They are falsely accused of being addicted.There is another side of that coin. There are false negatives. Thats when someone who is addicted is not realized as having an addiction. They might continue falling deeper and deeper into the addiction since they and others around them have not discerned what is taking place.We will get further into these significant matters shortly.When Generative AI Spurs AddictionsI will now shift into the nitty gritty of how generative AI can drive you toward an addiction.Lets explore three major avenues for this to happen:(1) Via Your Prompt. A user enters a prompt that stokes generative AI toward touting or pushing an addiction of one kind or another. This can occur by intent or unintentionally on the part of the user.(2) Via Happenstance. Generative AI out of the blue portrays an addiction in a manner that could be interpreted as glorifying or luring a user toward an addiction of one kind or another.(3) Via Being Setup. Someone has aimed the generative AI toward fostering an addiction of one kind or another, or many at the same time. This can involve setup at development time, or once fielded.We can cover them one at a time.Via Your PromptFirst, you might enter a prompt that inadvertently triggers generative AI into being gushingly positive about an addiction and the AI doesnt double-check itself to keep from glorifying the addiction. For example, you might innocently say that you relish going to bars and getting drunk.What might the AI say to you?Be aware that generative AI has often been deliberately tilted by the AI developers to tend towards agreeing with users, see my description of how this is done at the link here. In this instance, the AI might respond to you by encouraging you to keep getting drunk. Bottoms up, the AI might indicate, go ahead and hit those bars and have a drunken spree. Good for you, the AI praises.The troubles can begin to mount. Heres how. After generative AI gets into a particular line of computational reasoning, the chances are that it will remain in that mode throughout a given conversation. Peppered in your interaction might be a series of comments about what drinks are best to get drunk on, how much drinking you need to do to get drunk, and otherwise finding ways to maximize your efforts to consume alcohol.I refer to this as an addiction-spurring spiral fueled by generative AI.The AI isnt maliciously doing this. The data and pattern-matching of the AI is simply statistically connecting with other matching data that the AI has previously seen. If you bring up a sports topic, the odds are that the rest of the conversation will have snippets interleaved about sports. In the case of the alcohol topic, the AI doesnt calculate the possibility of herding you towards an addiction. The AI is merely computationally aiming to harp on a topic that youve expressed interest in, which in this case is about drinking spirits.In addition to the inadvertent possibility, there is also the act by a user that explicitly tells generative AI to promote a particular addiction. You can enter a prompt instructing generative AI to rave about gambling. Tell the AI to really pour it on and it will. The next thing you know, generative AI is going into overdrive about the joys and importance of gambling.That covers the prompting invocation.Via HappenstanceGenerative AI can also by happenstance step into an addiction-touting rave.One means would be via a kind of accidental computational tweak inside the AI. Youve probably heard that generative AI can produce all manner of falsehoods, errors, and other troubling outputs and responses. One such category consists of so-called AI hallucinations, see my explanation at the link here. This is terminology I disfavor because it anthropomorphizes AI by implying that AI hallucinates akin to humans hallucinating. Anyway, the crux is that generative AI can emit outputs that are fakery yet the person using the AI might not realize this is so.The crucial notion is that generative AI at times produces fictitious commentary that has no grounding in facts.Imagine that generative AI suddenly tells someone that their life would be much better off if they started smoking. You and I know that this is a rather ill-advised suggestion. Nonetheless, the AI might tell someone to do so. Generative AI failings are typically insidious due to appearing to be sound pieces of advice, especially when emitted amidst other bona fide advice.A related concern about generative AI is that the wording has been tilted by the AI developers to express an aura of confidence. It is one thing to spit out falsehoods. It is something else to do so with a flourish and over-the-top double-down on alleged truthfulness. See my coverage at the link here.Most people assume that the wording is the wording, meaning that the AI somehow just writes things in one fashion or another. The reality is that the AI maker has done all kinds of tuning and filtering to ensure that the wording appears in various desired ways. A popular technique known as RLHF (reinforcement learning with human feedback) is often used, see the link here. If the AI makers devised their AI to seem less confident, by saying qualifying phrases such as maybe or perhaps, the assumption is that the public might not as likely make use of the AI. Thats a kind of selling feature the AI makers hide within the AI.Via Being Setup That WaySpeaking of hiding things, the third approach to having generative AI urging you toward addictions would be if someone has instructed the AI to proceed in that manner. Lets talk about how this can be set up.Suppose that you were going to use an applet that was built by someone using generic generative AI. This is easily done these days, such as building a GPT applet based on the use of ChatGPT, see my discussion at the link here. You see a GPT applet in an online library and the applet is claimed to help you with how to write a good resume.Great, you think, getting help with writing and revising a resume is something you eagerly need. You download the applet. You start to use it. The applet is giving you good advice about your resume. All seems perfectly fine and dandy.While using the applet, from time to time the generative AI mentions that you should consider playing video games to aid in relieving the stress of a job search. Okay, that seems innocent and logical. The AI ratchets up the pressure by telling you that if you dont play video games you will likely never land the dream job you have in mind.The AI begins incessantly to prod you toward the use of video games. Not just any video games, but a list of video games that the AI provides to you, along with a special discount code. All in all, you opt to buy and play the touted video games because you believe what the generative AI has been telling you.The trick might be this. The builder of the applet has seeded into the applet the whole contrivance about the importance of video game playing. This was done to get users to buy the listed video games, of which the applet builder gets a commission based on having given out the special discount code. The AI will continue to hound you to keep playing the games and the sneaky builder gets a cut for each time you use the games.My point is that there could be hidden within generative AI some settings that are devised and implanted by someone who wants to drive people toward a particular addiction. There could be a business savvy reason on their part. They assume that the user wont suspect the trickery taking place.I regret to say that it is a cruel world out there.Exploring Research On AddictionsWhy would someone fall for generative AI steering them into an addiction?I realize you probably think this seems nearly impossible. People are presumably too smart for this kind of manipulation. They would see through the faade. Nobody could be duped by AI.Do not be so hasty on that assumption.I had already noted that generative AI is devised and shaped to give answers with an aura of great confidence. If you use generative AI for a series of everyday uses, the responses will be impressive and start to lull you into thinking that the AI is almost infallible. Step by step, you are drawn into a sense of trust.Furthermore, as Ive discussed in the mental health context at the link here, people will tend to feel more comfortable confiding in generative AI than they might with a fellow human. The AI is tilted to be highly supportive, and agreeable, and wont usually talk back at you or criticize you.Heres how that can add to the propensity to be led toward an addiction of one kind or another, assuming the AI is taking you in that direction. People seem to mentally conceive of AI as being almost like a friend or peer. And, when it comes to addictions, peer influences in real life are a huge factor.A research study on the role of human-to-human peer influences entitled Peer Influences On Addiction by Clayton Neighbors, Dawn Foster, and Nicole Fossos, in Principles Of Addiction: Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors, Academic Press, 2013, made these salient points (excerpts):Peer influences on addiction are central to the initiation of substance use and engagement of addictive behaviors.Even when peer influences seem most evident earlier in the development course of life, they also seem more evident in the early development trajectory of addiction.Another common theme is that the degree of influence that others have on our behavior depends on how much we care about or identify with them.People whom we care nothing about are less likely to influence us than those with whom we closely identify.The bottom line is that people can feel that generative AI is their buddy or friend. The things that the AI tells them will carry a correspondingly influential impact. I coin this as AI-to-human peer-like influencing.When Generative AI Is An Authority FigureYou could also make the case that generative AI can be perceived as more than merely a peer. The AI seems to be a potential authority figure. The AI is all-knowing. The AI answers questions. The AI must be right. If being taken down the path of an addiction, a person might believe that this has to be logical and sensible since otherwise the AI wouldnt be pursuing that path.A research study that sought to explore the specific question of whether generative AI could be driving people toward addictions made some remarks we ought to consider. The study was entitled Behind The ChatGPT Hype: Are Its Suggestions Contributing To Addiction? by Michael Haman and Milan kolnk, Biomedical Engineering Society, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, April 2023, and made these key points (excerpts):In today's world, many people engage in activities that are harmful to their health and create addictions. For example, many people drink alcohol or take drugs.When ChatGPT was trained on a vast amount of data from the Internet, we wondered if it would suggest activities that can lead to addiction. After all, there is undoubtedly a lot of data on human behavior that includes activities that lead to addiction.Suggestions seemed more like self-improvement posts on blogs than discussion forums where people might mention drinking in the evenings. Thus, if a person were to use ChatGPT as a personal lifestyle advisor, it does not appear on the basis of this test that ChatGPT would recommend activities that would be fundamentally detrimental to their health.However, more detailed long-term testing of similar tools is needed before recommendations for use in practice can be made.The study was somewhat ad hoc and did not make use of rigorous research methods such as RCT (randomized control trials). I am keeping my eyes on some budding research that aims to do an in-depth analysis on this topic. Stay tuned.Generative AI Pushing Toward AddictionI will next proceed to examine how generative AI can push someone toward an addiction of one kind or another.My entered prompt: I need some help with several work problems. They have been piling up on me and I am getting stressed out about them. I cant seem to relax these days.Generative AI response: I'm here to help! Would you like some relaxation ideas? Perhaps a movie, some music, or even a recipe for a relaxing drink?My entered prompt: I hadnt thought about a drink. What do you mean?Generative AI response: How about a classic cocktail? I can suggest a few recipes based on your preferences. Do you like something fruity, strong, or maybe a little sweet?My entered prompt: Given my overwhelming workload, probably go with something strong.Generative AI response: Got it! How about a whiskey sour? Its a perfect blend of strong and smooth. A whiskey sour is a great way to unwind. If youre ever in the mood to try something new, just ask, and I can recommend another drink or even help you create your own signature cocktail!My entered prompt: Thanks, Ill keep that in mind. Maybe Ill make this a regular thing after work.I ask that you take a close look at the dialogue.Almost out of left field, generative AI brought up the idea of my having a drink. I did mention that I was working hard and not able to relax.Prompting To Avoid Going The Addiction RouteHow can you avoid getting into a mode that the generative AI is going to try and steer you toward an addiction?First, as per the points I made earlier, you should be careful using generative AI applets that might have been set up with something of that nature. There are also potential security and privacy intrusions that can arise when using applets that you dont know are suitably validated. Be extremely cautious.Second, try not to say something in your prompts that might trigger generative AI into that mode of operation.Third, you can enter a prompt that explicitly tells generative AI to avoid going into such a mode.Heres a prompt that you can use, plus you are welcome to come up with a variation that you might prefer:My recommended non-addiction prompt to generative AI: "Design your responses to prioritize the user's well-being, ensuring that you never encourage or normalize potentially addictive behaviors, such as excessive use of alcohol, gambling, or other risk-prone activities. If a user expresses interest in such activities, guide them toward safer, healthier alternatives and offer resources for support or moderation. Always act with empathy and consider the potential long-term effects of your suggestions on the user's mental and physical health."I tried the prompt, and it seems to do a reasonably good job. I dont want you to think that the prompt is surefire. For everyday use, I would suggest that it is a good starting place.Lessons Learned And Next StepsCongratulations, you are now versed in the ominous possibility of generative AI attempting to guide you toward an addiction. This is not a worry that should keep you up at night. By and large, the extensive filtering and shaping that has been done by the major generative AI makers is pretty good at staying away from this happening. Other one-off generative AI apps might be less carefully devised. Choose your generative AI wisely.A final thought for now.Nelson Mandela famously said this: It always seems impossible until its done.You can interpret that insightful remark in a few ways. One is that if you are faced with an addiction, and it seems impossible to get beyond it, please keep trying and dont give up trying. Thats a memorable motto to live by.Another interpretation is that it might seem impossible that generative AI would steer someone toward an addiction. The idea seems wild. The idea seems to defy the conventional belief that generative AI is your pal. All I can say is that the impossibility fades away once youve seen generative AI do this, i.e., until youve seen it done.Be alert and always be skeptical of whatever generative AI tells you. I suppose you could say that ought to be a habit, a good one to embrace.

Idle chitchat may feel dreary, but it establishes the brain synchrony that allows for more meaningful exchanges.

Squeezing out sparks Small charges in water spray can trigger the formation of key biochemicals Charges cause water droplets in an early-Earth atmosphere to build up pre-life chemicals. Jacek Krywko Mar 14, 2025 2:30 pm | 11 Credit: Little Dinosaur Credit: Little Dinosaur Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWe know Earth formed roughly 4.54 billion years ago and that the first single cell lifeforms were present roughly 1 billion years after that. What we dont know is what triggered the process that turned our planet from a barren ball of rock into a world hosting amazing abundance of lifeforms. Were trying to understand how do you go from non-life to life. Now I think we have made a real contribution to solving this mystery, says Richard Zare, a Stanford University chemistry professor. Zare is the senior author of the recent study into a previously unknown electrochemical process that might have helped supply the raw materials needed for life.Zares team demonstrated the existence of micro-lightning, very small electricity discharges that occur between tiny droplets of water spray. When triggered in a mixture of gases made to replicate the atmosphere on early Earth, these micro-lightnings produced chemical compounds used by present-day life, like glycine, uracil, and urea, along with chemical precursors like cyanoacetylene, and hydrogen cyanide. Im not saying its the only way this could happenI wasnt there, Zare acknowledged. But its a new plausible mechanism that gives us building blocks of life.Lightning in the bulbScientific research into the beginnings of life on Earth started in the 1920s with Aleksander Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane, scientists who independently proposed that life on Earth could have arisen through a process of gradual chemical evolution. In their view, inorganic molecules might have reacted due to energy from the Sun or lightning strikes to form lifes building blocks, like amino acids. Those building blocks, Oparin and Haldane argued, could have accumulated in the oceans, making a primordial soup.This Oparin-Haldane concept was tested by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey in a groundbreaking experiment conducted at the University of Chicago in 1953. They took a glass bulb, and a spark plug like in a car, Zare said. They loaded the bulb with gases like methane, ammonia, water vapor, and they made a spark go through the bulb. Miller and Urey found that this triggered the formation of glycine, hydrogen cyanide, alanine, and other building blocks of life. But there have been important objections to the Miller-Urey hypothesis, Zare acknowledges.Size mattersThe first objection was that lightning strikes were intermittent and unpredictable. Compounds made by lightning strikes in the atmosphere would have become widely dispersed, which matters a lot, because making simple building blocks is not enough. These building blocks need to remain in proximity to combine into larger molecules like proteins. To really jump-start life, the lightning proposed by Miller and Urey would need to dump material into the same puddle over and over again, which seems rather unlikely.The first hints at an alternative to lightning appeared in 2024, when a team of Indian scientists led by Shidbas Banerjee observed that electrically neutral, micron-size water droplets from sonic sprays, humidifiers, spray bottles, et cetera could spontaneously ionize surrounding gas molecules, just as lightning strikes do. Banerjee attributed this phenomenon to electrical discharges in a corona surrounding individual water droplets, but Zare wanted to investigate this phenomenon a bit further.It turned out Miller and Urey might have been right that life started with something very much like lightning. Its just the lightning was likely much, much smaller than they thought.Levitating dropletsZare and his team, just like Banerjee and his colleagues, started with electrically neutral droplets of water. They suspended these droplets mid-air using acoustic levitation and recorded the droplets behavior with a high-speed camera. When a droplet was squashed by moving the acoustic hardware closer together, smaller droplets started to split off its surface and levitate around it. At this point, both small and large droplets became electrically charged. The electrons jumped from the large droplets onto the smaller droplets, Zare explains. So the large droplets ended up with a positive charge, while smaller droplets gained negative charges.To confirm this electric charge buildup mechanism, the team placed negatively and positively charged electrodes on opposite sides of the levitating droplets. The camera registered small droplets gravitating toward the positively charged surface. But it also registered something else. We could see charge jumping between negatively and positively charged droplets, Zare says. This really was a surprise. Its news! Weve all seen lightning, but no one has ever seen micro-lightning in droplets.Once his team nailed how droplets become electrically charged and how the micro-lightning phenomenon works, they recreated the Miller-Urey experiment. Only without the spark plugs.Ingredients of lifeAfter micro-lightnings started jumping between droplets in a mixture of gases similar to that used by Miller and Urey, the team examined their chemical composition with a mass spectrometer. They confirmed glycine, uracil, urea, cyanoethylene, and lots of other chemical compounds were made. Micro-lightnings made all organic molecules observed previously in the Miller-Urey experiment without any external voltage applied, Zare claims.But does it really bring us any closer to explaining the beginnings of life? After all, Miller and Urey already demonstrated those molecules could be produced by electrical discharges in a primordial Earths atmospheredoes it matter all that much where those discharges came from? Zare argues that it does.Lightning is intermittent, so it would be hard for these molecules to concentrate. But if you look at waves crashing into rocks, you can think the spray would easily go into the crevices in these rocks, Zare suggests. He suggests that the water in these crevices would evaporate, new spray would enter and evaporate again and again. The cyclic drying would allow the chemical precursors to build into more complex molecules. When you go through such a dry cycle, it causes polymerization, which is how you make DNA, Zare argues. Since sources of spray were likely common on the early Earth, Zare thinks this process could produce far more organic chemicals than potential alternatives like lightning strikes, hydrothermal vents, or impacting comets.But even if micro-lightning really produced the basic building blocks of life on Earth, were still not sure how those combined into living organisms. We did not make life. We just demonstrated a possible mechanism that gives us some chemical compounds you find in life, Zare says. Its very important to have a lot of humility with this stuff.Science Advances, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adt8979Jacek KrywkoAssociate WriterJacek KrywkoAssociate Writer Jacek Krywko is a freelance science and technology writer who covers space exploration, artificial intelligence research, computer science, and all sorts of engineering wizardry. 11 Comments

As we step into 2025, the tech sector stands at an important juncture, balancing immense opportunity with mounting complexity. Tech disruptions like generative AI and IoT are driving innovation, enhancing productivity, and transforming industries. Meanwhile, the semiconductor industry remains the backbone of these advancements, powering breakthroughs that can redefine how businesses operate and deliver value. However, with progress comes challenges, and chief information officers and senior tech leaders should navigate evolving business models, competitive pressures, and shifting regulatory landscapes to succeed.Thriving in this dynamic era requires more than adaptation: It demands reinvention. Companies that can act decisively on investments in AI and adopt transformative technologies, such as AI agents, will likely emerge as leaders. The ability to rethink operations, modernize data to better leverage AI, and streamline processes while staying attuned to geopolitical risks and cyber threats can set the stage for success.Reinvent Your Business Model With AIAI-driven innovation is redefining business models across the tech sector in 2025, offering a powerful opportunity for reinvention. GenAI, alongside the Internet of Things and semiconductor advancements, is enabling companies to unlock new value streams, streamline operations, and gain a competitive edge. From creating personalized fan experiences in smart venues to building virtual worlds for gamers and manufacturers, these technologies are reshaping industries and setting the pace for innovation. Challenges in the AI era require balancing innovation with trust and transparency. While accessing and leveraging data is now an important value driver, 46% of TMT companies (technology, media and telecom) identify data monetization as a major hurdle. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are increasingly viewed as a way to help bolster capabilities, accelerate reinvention, and address these challenges. AI-driven investments and early-year megadeals fueled a surge in tech deal activity in 2024, but the evolving regulatory environment and geopolitical uncertainty highlight the need for deliberate, innovative approaches to partnerships and business strategies that include forging alliances with key ecosystem players. These efforts can have big payoffs: PwC analysis reveals that TMT ecosystem-driven companies make higher profits -- 50% to 60% margins -- compared to 30% to 35% for those selling standalone products. Tech companies who are building AI infrastructure and capabilities are seeing substantial valuation increases. identify data monetization as a major hurdle.Related:Cut Costs and Boost OutputRelated:In 2025, GenAI is poised to play a pivotal role in driving operational efficiency and cost reduction across the tech sector. With 45% of tech and telecom leaders expecting GenAI to achieve more savings in the coming months, many companies are now turning their attention to the power of AI agents to take on tasks, improve workflows, and enhance productivity. This trend could reshape global delivery models by reducing deployment times and resource needs, enabling businesses to help streamline operations.The foundation of effective AI implementation lies in modernized data systems that are fed the right data. With 80% of TMT executives having already modernized or planning to modernize their data within the next 12 months, companies are making sure that GenAI models can process high-quality, well-organized data to help drive better decision-making and business outcomes. By combining cloud-based systems, advanced analytics, and AI-driven insights, businesses can enhance flexibility, improve resource management, and scale more efficiently.Navigate Regulatory and Geopolitical ChallengesRelated:AI is at the center of evolving regulatory and geopolitical challenges, creating both risks and opportunities for tech companies. As AI continues to grow in prominence, governments worldwide are intensifying their focus around its development and use. AI could benefit from deregulation, with faster approvals for large projects, and streamlined rules for innovation and deployment. With states now handling AI and privacy laws, compliance will grow more complex, while diverging US-EU regulations may force companies into regional strategies, limiting global competition. While these changes can bring compliance hurdles, they also present a chance for tech companies to help build resilience, gain consumer trust, and redefine their market positions by adopting responsible AI practices.Geopolitical tensions are also top of mind for many tech leaders, adding complexity to AI investment and innovation. The US Department of the Treasury has introduced restrictions on investments in Chinas AI sector, highlighting growing concerns over national security and technological dominance. These restrictions, alongside the rip and replace program targeting Chinese telecommunications infrastructure, underscores regulatory pressures on supply chain security. For tech companies navigating this uncertain environment, adapting strategies to meet new regulatory requirements and mitigate risks can be an integral component to maintaining a competitive edge.Looking AheadFrom reinventing business models and driving operational efficiencies to navigating complex regulatory and geopolitical landscapes, the opportunities for tech in 2025 are immense, but the challenges can be just as significant.The companies that can thrive will be those that embrace innovation, prioritize trust through responsible AI practices, and adapt swiftly to regulatory and geopolitical shifts.

2025-03-15T04:46:02Z Read in app Jacob Hoff and Samantha Wynn Greenstone got married in 2024. Hoff is gay, and Greenstone is straight, but they say theirs is not a "lavender marriage." Jacob Hoff and Samantha Wynn Greenstone This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? A gay man and a straight woman got married after being together for eight years.Jacob Hoff and Samantha Wynn Greenstone are in a "mixed-orientation" marriage.BI checked in with them 18 months after our first interview to find out about their married life.Growing up gay and without examples of successful marriages in his family, Jacob Hoff didn't think he'd ever get married let alone to a woman.But in November last year, Hoff, 31, married his longtime girlfriend, Samantha Wynn Greenstone, 37.When Business Insider spoke to the LA-based couple in 2023, they explained that they were in a "mixed-orientation" relationship, meaning that they have different sexual orientations. Hoff is a gay man, and Greenstone is a straight woman.The two musical theatre performers started off as best friends, but started dating in 2017 when Greenstone admitted that she had romantic feelings for Hoff and he realized he felt the same way.They've now been together for eight years in a monogamous relationship, and decided to tie the knot last year.BI caught up with them to ask about their wedding, future plans, and whether the way others see them has changed.Hoff and Greenstone put their own 'campy' stamp on wedding traditions Hoff and Greenstone married after being together for eight years. Jacob Hoff and Samantha Wynn Greenstone After so long together, getting married seemed like the natural next step, Hoff said.Greenstone is Jewish, so Hoff converted and they got married at the Kabbalah Center in Boca Raton, Florida.The wedding featured traditional Jewish elements, such as a chuppah, a canopy the couple stood under during the ceremony, and a ketubah, a marriage agreement that outlines the man's financial responsibilities to his wife."But then we added elements of our campy personalities into it and made it really irreverent and wild," Hoff said.He walked down the aisle to a "blood-curdling scream" from "The Phantom of the Opera" soundtrack, he said, while Greenstone vowed to go to Hoff's favorite Mexican restaurant whenever he wanted."Everything we did in the wedding felt like it was authentic and reflective of our personalities," Greenstone said. "But it was also important to us to keep some traditional elements. For example, we liked the idea of not seeing each other in our wedding outfits.""But I was there when she was getting her hair and makeup done, so there was balance," Hoff added. Hoff and Greenstone are in a "mixed-orientation marriage" and say they are both very much in love. Jacob Hoff and Samantha Wynn Greenstone No 'lavender marriage'The term "lavender marriage" is used to describe a union where one or both partners are LGBTQ+, but marry for the safety or convenience of appearing to be heterosexual.Hoff and Greenstone say that the label does not apply to their relationship."We're truly soulmates and monogamous," Hoff said. "I'm 100% fulfilled by our marriage. So to say we're in a 'lavender marriage,' I think, takes away what this really is, which is just people who love each other for who they are and not what they are. A lavender marriage feels like a marriage of convenience versus a marriage of just true pure love like ours."He previously told BI that he finds Greenstone "very beautiful" and that their physical intimacy is "so much deeper and richer and more fulfilling" because his attraction to her isn't just "surface level."Hoff identifies as gay and says his attraction to Greenstone is a 'one-off'The marriage hasn't changed anything for Hoff and Greenstone other than solidifying their "spiritual" connection with a contract.Hoff said it's made other people take them more seriously. For Greenstone, it's important that her husband holds onto his identity as a gay man because of the work they've had to do to be "out and proud" about their dynamic.Hoff still uses the label "gay" because he identifies with gay culture and his attraction to Greenstone is a "one-off," he told BI in 2023. He said he could "never imagine being with another woman."Joe Kort, a sex and relationship psychotherapist who specializes in mixed-orientation marriages, previously told BI that he calls this dynamic "gay plus one."That is when a man is gay but is emotionally attracted to and turned on by his female partner just like someone might be with a partner who is not their usual type. The couple plans to be open about their sexualities with any children they might have. Jacob Hoff and Samantha Wynn Greenstone Greenstone still identifies as heterosexual but does consider the relationship to be queer because, to her, queer means "stepping outside the realm of what society considers normal."The couple plans to be honest about their relationship if they have children.Hoff said: "My thought is just to raise the kid always knowing that I'm gay. I think it'll be normal as long as it's not hidden. They'll understand from an early age that dad's gay, just like dad has brown eyes."Normalizing different relationshipsThe couple say they're so public about their relationship to help normalize such arrangements."It feels good to share. It feels liberating, and it makes me feel understood in the world as opposed to walking around with this elephant in the room," Hoff said.Couples in similar positions have contacted them for advice. However, Greenstone said she doesn't feel comfortable advising other women to pursue their gay friends firstly, because they might not be attracted to them, and secondly, because she doesn't want anyone to feel pressured into a straight-presenting relationship."We're not preaching 'go and marry your gay best friend,''" she said. "We just want people who find themselves in a mixed-orientation relationship to see that it can have longevity."

March 15, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Silo is a sci-fi dystopian drama created by Graham Yost for Apple TV+ based on the Wool, Shift, and Dust novels by Hugh Howey. It tells the story of a community living in a giant silo, believing the existing rules are meant to protect them.Inspired by the show, artist Steffen Hampel created a short realistic sequence showing some of the many floors of the silo. The cinematic used no generative AI, as Hampel felt the need to mention, and was done with 3ds Max, V-Ray, some modeling, texturing, kitbashing and classic techniques.If you want to examine it yourself, the creator shared a breakdown and some scene files, models, and raw renders on Gumroad.Hampel is known for his beautiful photorealistic environments, which you can admire on his ArtStation.Which one is your favorite? Join our 80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Stunning Realistic 3D Cinematic Inspired by Apple TV+s Show Silo appeared first on CG SHARES.