BeforeAssassins Creed Shadowslaunched, we talked at length in a feature about the lessons it could take about what to do and what not to do fromGhost of TsushimaandRise of the Ronin. Now, in the aftermath of the action RPGs release, were here to pit the three games against each other again, this time under a more analytical lens. As open world action-adventure games with period Japanese settings and a core gameplay loop focused on combat, stealth, and traversal, the three games obviously have a lot in common, and here, were going to talk about how the three fare against each other across multiple categories.WORLD DESIGNAs open world games, world design is a crucial element in all three of the games were discussing here, but theyre not all equally good in the department.Rise of the Roninsopen world is fairly by-the-numbers and often feels static, which means exploration never elevates itself to the heights that youd want. On the other hand, betweenAssassins Creed ShadowsandGhost of Tsushima,the competition is a little bit more- well, competitive.If we had to pick a winner, however which is the whole point of this exercise wed probably have to go with Ghost of Tsushima.Yes,Shadowsmap is beautiful and a constant joy to explore, and unlikeRise of the Ronin, its world feels wonderfully alive and dynamic (thanks partly to a system of regularly shifting seasons).Ghost of Tsushima,however, feels like its on a different level, whether thats because of its incredibly strong sense of place, how effective the world is at distracting players with its bevy of optional content, or any number of other factors.VISUAL DESIGNOnce again, we can comfortably sayRise of the Roninis the first to be eliminated in this category. Team Ninjas open world game does have its share of striking sceneries to show off from time to time, but from a technical perspective, its quite rough around the edges.Ghost of TsushimaandAssassins Creed Shadows,on the other hand, back up their gorgeous art and visual design with strong tech driving the ending under the hood- and once again, well probably have to pickGhost of Tsushima.Liberal use of bright, bold colours and stunning vistas of natural beauty combine to create what has to be one of the most memorable and distinct open world settings in recent memory.Shadowshas of course taken cues fromGhostsvisual design in how it depicts its feudal Japanese setting, but in our eyes, Sucker Punchs 2020 samurai epic has yet to be dethroned in this category.TRAVERSALUnlike the two categories weve been through so far, were going to have to placeGhost of Tsushimadead last here. Dont get me wrong, making your way around its map is fun enough, but gameplay options on that front are fairly limited. Compare that, for instance, withRise of the Ronin, which at least begins making up for its otherwise underwhelming world design by making sure that navigating that world is a lot of fun. Equipped with a horse, a gliding contraption, and a grappling hook,Rise of the Roninmakes traversal a ton of fun.We are, however, going to have to give this one toAssassins Creed Shadows.This is a franchise that has always prided itself on its traversal gameplay, andShadowsis probably the best it has been in this area for a long time. Theres multiple factors contributing to that- Naoe is perhaps the most nimble and best-movingAssassins Creedprotagonist to date; her grappling hook is a ton of fun to use; parkour feels much more precise than it has in any previousAssassins Creedaction RPG. Without a doubt, traversal is one of Shadowsbiggest strengths.COMBATWe have our first category where all three games have plenty to be proud of.Ghost of Tsushima, Assassins Creed Shadows,andRise of the Roninall tout great combat, each going for a different style- but which one comes out on top? For our money,Rise of the Roninis the winner here.Ghost of Tsushimasparry-based and stance-based combat deserves a ton of plaudits, as doesAssassins Creed Shadowsslick evolution of theOrigins-Odyssey-Valhallastyle. Combat, however, is the one thing that Team Ninja has always had unimpeachable expertise in, and for all of its faults (of which it has many),Rise of the Ronindoesnt buck that trend. Its mechanically tight and satisfying, and also manages to be much more approachable than past Team Ninja titles without sacrificing any of its depth. This is the one area whereRonindeserves unreserved praise.STEALTHStealth is part of the core loop on all three games were looking at here, but they each place different emphasis on it.Rise of the Roninis a combat-focused game first and foremost, which means stealth often ends up taking a backseat- which means this is another category whereGhost of TsushimaandAssassins Creed Shadowsare duking it out against each other. And as close as the competition is here, Shadowsultimately nabs it.For the first time in years, anAssassins Creed title feels like a stealth game above all else, delivering a much tighter and more enjoyable stealth experience thanOrigins, Odyssey,orValhalladid. Like with traversal, stealth, too, is driven by Naoe first and foremost, whose impressive toolset combines with an expanded base moveset, significantly improved stealth mechanics, and an excellent new dynamic light and shadow system that sprinkles a dash ofSplinter Cellinto proceedings.STORYTELLINGThis one is really one-sided, which is a shame, given how important this category is.Rise of the Roninsstorytelling chops are nothing to write home about (which is putting it mildly), whileAssassins Creed Shadowsalso disappoints in this area, even if it does have two excellent protagonists and the odd moment of strong storytelling in its main story here and there.Ghost of Tsushima,on the other hand, feels like it is firing on all cylinders with its main story from beginning to end. Full of memorable moments, epic set pieces, actual stakes, and strongly written conflicts, themes, and characters, Sucker Punchs open world title tells a gripping tale, and tells it really, really well.OVERALLIf youre looking for a great open world action-adventure game set in a historical Japanese setting, then you have some good options here, and, depending on what you want, you will find at least two of these games to be the best in class. Rise of the Ronin is the obvious weak link here- while it wins with combat and performs reasonably well in the traversal category, it comes in dead last everywhere else.The other two games are a lot more closely matched- people who favour traversal or stealth will get the most out of Assassins Creed, and if you want an amazing, gorgeous world with great storytelling, Ghost of Tsushima is probably the game for you. Honestly, both of these games are worth playing, but if we absolutely had to pick just the one, it would be Ghost of Tsushima. In addition to winning the most categories in this comparison outright, it also comes in in second place in most categories that it doesnt win. So sure, if you are in the market for just the one Japanese flavoured action-adventure game? Go with Ghost of Tsushima. But we really cant stress this enough, when you have the time, definitely at least take a look at Assassins Creed Shadows too.

Assassins Creed Shadowsboasts many strengths, and high on that list is how crammed full of details it is, and how effectively those details help bring its world to life. A heightened sense of immersion is whatAssassins Creedgames tend to go for with their open world settings more often than now, andShadowsachieves that with an almost obsessive level of attention to detail. Here, were going to shine the spotlight on a few that have stood out to us. Tiny details that many may never notice (or, if they do, give too much thought to) are often the ones that many players end up obsessing over the most, and we have plenty of those to talk about here.CUTTING BAMBOOPretty early on inAssassins Creed Shadows,the game tells you you can slice through bamboo, and from that point forward, its difficult to stop yourself from slicing all the bamboo you can lay your eyes on. Whether youre running through thickets in a forest or tearing through thin walls in an enemy encampment, it never stops being unreasonably fun to slash through bamboo and watch it dynamically react to your hits and fall apart in the most satisfying fashion.(LIMITED) ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTIONIts not just bamboo that you can destroy inShadowsworld. The game features limited environmental destruction-verylimited, actually, but effective nonetheless. Crates, barrels, some trees and fences, boxes and what have you can be destroyed in a variety of ways, and watching the bits and pieces fly around never loses its charm.DESTRUCTIBLE BOATSAssassins Creedhas often made naval gameplay its centerpiece, but inShadows,its a tertiary element at best. Case in point: pilot a boat through water at max speed for too long without a break, and eventually, the boat will simply crumble under the pressure and shatter, requiring you to abandon ship and swim your way to shore (or, you know, another boat).CHANGING SEASONSChanging seasons are one ofShadowsheadlining gameplay features, and watching the tiny little details in how the world changes each time remains a highlight of the experience from start to finish. The brilliantly vibrant fields of flowers when its spring, the breathtaking blankets of snow that cover the entire landscape in the middle of winter, how gorgeous a waterfall in the middle of a forest looks in summertime as it catches the sunlight-Shadowsknows how to convincingly sell its seasons mechanic, especially because it also affects gameplay in everything from stealth and exploration to even moment-to-moment movement. Try moving through a thick field of snow, and youll instantly feel the difference.SNOW DEFORMATIONSpeaking of moving through snow,Shadowssnow deformation also stands out. This is, of course, one of the weirdly satisfying details that gaming audiences have been collectively obsessing over for as long as anyone can remember, andAssassins Creedhas been flexing its snow deformation muscles going as far back asAssassins Creed 3.Shadowsdoes the same, to the extent that simply walking around in a fresh and untouched field of snow to draw patterns may very well end up taking an inordinate amount of your time.SLIDING ON ICEHeres another example of how winter environments will impact gameplay in small but noticeable ways. For starters, lakes or ponds that youd be swimming through at other times become frozen over, allowing you to walk over them. If you try tosprintwhile youre on the ice, however, youll find yourself slipping and trying to regain your balance every now and then.MELTING SNOWIf you have the patience to stand around in one single spot and keep watching it while doing absolutely nothing else, youll notice that the snow around you is melting in real time. Youll watch the world around you dynamically accumulating snow, and then losing it all bit by bit as it melts and seeps into the ground.ICICLESIn another example of changing seasons impactingShadowsworld in both visual and gameplay ways, winter will also bring with it icicles of varying shapes and sizes hanging off of roofs pretty much everywhere you look. And theyre not just there as set dressing- you can also break them off, and the ice that shatters can serve as a way to distract enemies during stealth.THE DANGERS OF ICICLESAs you may have put together, icicles arent just good as distractions- they can also damage enemies. You can, for instance, make sure that youre breaking off an icicle at the exact moment that a guard passes beneath it. Its yet another way the game lets you use your surroundings to your advantage in stealth.FLAMES IN THE WINDMoving on from winter, lets jump from cold to hot. Playing around with flames and watching them interact with the environment has been a thing inAssassins Creedfor several years now, but Shadowsvirtual arson has some additional flair to it.Shadowsfeudal Japan is particularly windy, and watching flames dance in and react to the wind is oddly captivating.NPCs DAILY CHORESNPCs are often spotted doing a variety of day to day chores inShadowsvast world, especially in towns and villages, but whats particularly impressive is watching the tiny details tied to those actions- like an NPC at a well filling up buckets of water.NPCs FOOTWEARSomething else of note that you can catch withAssassins Creed ShadowsNPCs is their footwear- specifically, when they wear it and when they dont. In a nutshell, anytime they are indoors, youll see that they are moving around without any footwear, in keeping with the etiquette of the time.FEARFUL ENEMIESYasuke, as a renowned and formidable samurai, has a reputation that clearly precedes him in the world ofAssassins Creed Shadows.NPCs will often bow to him as he passes them by, for instance, while some enemies will also be blatantly fearful of him in specific circumstances. For example, if a guard catches you standing near a dead body and you confess to having killed them, the guard will fearfully back away and leave. If you are playing as Naoe, however, in that same scenario, guards will be much more willing to attack you- though of course, Naoe has plenty of tricks up her sleeve to brutally dispatch her enemies as well.ANIMALS EYESAssassins Creed Shadowsopen world is full of an impressive amount (and variety) of wildlife, which contributes significantly to the open worlds immersion. Even the simple act of watching different animals in the wild has an undeniable appeal to it- which, of course, means youll notice some interesting details as well. When its dark out, for instance, youll notice animals eyes glowing, just as they would in real life.CAMPFIRESYoull come across a number of campfires as you make your way throughAssassins Creed Shadowsvast and gorgeous open world, and chances are, youll often find yourself stopping at them for once reason or another, from conversing with NPCs to simply looking around to take in the view. While youre doing so, if you pay attention, you will also notice that when Naoe or Yasuke are standing next to a campfire, every now and then, they will bring their hands up to warm them against the flames.

The ArtScience Museum is a building within the integrated resort of Marina Bay Sands in the Downtown Core of Singapore. Opened in 2011, it features exhibitions in art, science, culture and technology. The museum was designed by Moshe Safdie and features an exterior made of fibre-reinforced plastic supported internally by a steel lattice. It is anchored by a round base in the middle, with ten extensions referred to as "fingers" in the shape of a flower. This photograph shows the ArtScience Museum with other buildings of Singapore's Central Business District in the background.Photograph credit: Basile MorinRecently featured: Chestnut-naped antpittaSilene flos-cuculiJoseph BazalgetteArchiveMore featured pictures

March 31: Cesar Chavez Day in various U.S. states (1927); International Transgender Day of VisibilityWoodcut picture of Matthew C. Perry1854 U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (Japanese depiction pictured) and the Tokugawa shogunate signed the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to American trade.1959 After a two-week escape journey from Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama reached the Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh in India.1964 The Brazilian Armed Forces overthrew President Joo Goulart, establishing a military dictatorship that lasted 21 years.2004 The Old National Library Building in Singapore was closed to make way for a tunnel, despite widespread protests.Guru Angad (b.1504)J. P. Morgan (d.1913)Ewan McGregor (b.1971)Ahmad Sayyed Javadi (d.2013)More anniversaries: March 30March 31April 1ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout

Hello everyone! Cara is proud to be the official platform partner once more for this years #PleinAirpril 2025 with Warrior Painters! What is PleinAirpril?PleinAirpril is a social media event started in 2017 to celebrate Earth Day. The aim is to challenge and engage with plein air artists across the globe and to encourage them to share their artworksone per dayduring the month of April. How to participate in PleinAirpril 2025Every day of April 2025, paint one painting based on the themes "Plants, Aqua, Industrial, Nocturne" and post your work on Cara and/or Instagram: Use the hashtag #PleinAirpril, and tag @warriorpaintersYou can use any medium you want as PleinAirpril is about experimentation, practice, and exploration! Challenge yourself to paint more from life, but feel free to create photo studies or virtual plein air piecesDue to Instagrams limitations on artwork discovery via hashtags, Warrior Painters encourages participants to post on Cara for increased visibility. Content shared on Cara stands a better chance of being discovered and reshared by both the Warrior Painters and Cara community. About Warrior PaintersWarrior Painters was founded in 2016 as a way to connect artists from all walks of life, who share the same passion of showcasing natural and architectural diversity through plein air painting. The majority of painters in the group work in the entertainment industry, spanning from animation and games, to live action films and theme park designs. There is also a good number of freelance illustrators and concept artists. We look forward to how the community will be inspired and enjoy this event, and hope to see you join us this PleinAirpril! - The Cara Team

I had initially placed an order with Play-Asia, but they cancelled my order due to stock shortages, though the second listing recently appeared so you have a shot with that.I ended up securing a copy through Videogamesplus, but sadly it looks like they've already sold through their stock.@Wool_SheepSquare Enix have put out a few full on-cart releases like this in the "Asia" region, which aren't Japanese releases but apparently intended for markets like Singapore where internet access to download updates or full games isn't a guarantee.Their release of Final Fantasy X & X-2 for example, most territories has X-2 as a download code, but the Asia region release (and apparently also the Japanese release) actually has both on-cart. It's one of the rare 32GB Switch cartridges, which are expensive to manufacture so publishers often avoid going for it unless there's a good reason.These Asia region imports that end up having all content on-cart with multi-language support are understandably quite popular.

The David G. Fales House of Central Falls, Rhode Island, is an excellent example of the Second Empire architecture style in a high-end residence. The home was built around 1858 and belonged to David Gilmore Fales (1806-1875), one of the partners of the nearby Fales and Jenks machine works. Mr. Fales either built or purchased the home which was then a flat-roofed Italianate style home, and hired architect Clifton A. Hall, to modernize the residence, adding trim and the mansard roof. Its broad eaves are supported by brackets with pendants; segmental-head dormers are set in the mansard and a square belvedere with round-head windows tops the roof. A major fire gutted much of the house in the 1960s, and its future was uncertain. It was preserved and is now a multi-family apartment building.

ZDNET's key takeaways The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are on sale now for $129 They're a reboot of the previous model with an even more comfortable, light fit, improved ANC, and booming, rich sound The app is a little clunky, the touch controls take some getting use to, and the voice commands can be finicky. more buying choices The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) are on sale for $149 at Bose, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Bose will offer these earbuds for their sale price until March 30.In response to Apple's latestAirPods 4, Bose just released its 2024 generation of theQuietComfort earbuds, a reset on the previous version with an improved fit, better noise-cancellation, voice command controls, and a redesigned app.Right off the bat, I can tell you that these earbuds fit and feel fantastic. I am a bit of a tough customer when it comes to earbuds since I have small ears, and I typically prefer over-ear headphones or earbuds without a silicone tip. The new QuietComfort earbuds, however, have a design that feels far lighter and more comfortable than they look.Also: The best noise-canceling earbuds of 2024: Expert tested and reviewedThe buds appear somewhat chunky, but when they're in-ear, they feel incredibly light and minimal. The angled, oval-shaped ear tips differentiate themselves from the wide, completely round tips that a lot of other earbuds have, resulting in a secure but comfortable fit. details View at Amazon That being said, there seems to be one single way that these earbuds go into the ear: there's a single optimal angle where they "click" into place, and if you don't get it right, they don't feel secure. I took the QuietComfort buds to the gym with me for a week, and a rushed placement one day resulted in not one, butbothearbuds falling out of my ears onto the floor.Needless to say, I now make sure to take the time to put them in correctly before hitting the floor.So let's talk about the sound. As you'd expect from Bose, the audio quality on these earbuds is rich and booming. The bass is fat and all-encompassing, the mids are distinct, and the highs allow for a textured, dynamic soundstage. There is a good deal of separation between sound elements, and the sound quality is virtually indistinguishable whether the active noise-cancellation (ANC) is on or not.The approach with these earbuds seems to be to provide an aggressive, bass-forward audio profile that pairs well with noise-cancellation to be good for commuting, exercising, or in otherwise loud environments.The sound quality goes hand-in-hand with the redesigned companion app, which provides a fair amount of customization. You get a few pre-set EQ settings, including a bass booster and reducer, and a custom five-band EQ window where you can adjust as you see fit. The bass booster setting sounds pretty good on most content, but the low-end is so fat that it can end up sounding a little muddy on some tracks.Also: These $70 wireless earbuds are my go-to recommendation for audiophiles on a budgetI found the custom EQ settings to provide the best sound profile, bringing up the mids and highs to compete with the hefty bass these earbuds are capable of. On my custom setting, the buzzing, bone-shattering low end in Asha Devi's "The Seventh Element" pairs seamlessly with lighter tones, giving life to the airy flute that rides atop the abyss.Another track with intense bass, Sega Bodega's "Adulter8" sounds expansive and textured in my custom EQ -- despite the crushing bass at high volumes -- whereas in the custom "Bass booster" setting it sounded a little too thick and soupy, with the lower end bleeding into other sound elements. Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETThe touch controls on the buds are very sensitive, recognizing even the lightest taps, and allow for a high degree of customization with one-, two-, and three-tap controls or a tap-and-hold associated with any action you can think of. These, I found to be reliable and straightforward for the most part, although if you're in motion (running, for example), you might need to be extra deliberate about how you tap.By comparison, I found the voice controls to require some getting used to. You need to say the "Hey headphones" command clearly and loudly, then wait for the chime to give the command. Additionally, it only recognizes its list of pre-determined commands. For example, you have to say "Hey headphones," and then "Pause". You can't say "Stop."Also: One of the best earbuds I've listened to are not by Bose or AppleSwapping between the different noise control settings is best done with voice commands, but these also need to be spoken correctly. You have to say "Aware on" to turn on the pass-through aware mode if you want to hear your surroundings, and "Quiet on" to turn on the ANC. The app has a list of acceptable commands you can use, so I recommend reading through that list and just memorizing those commands before trying to use the voice control features.Unfortunately, the voice command capability has a tendency to disable itself for some reason, requiring you to restart the app to enable it again. Hopefully, this is something that will be addressed with further software updates. Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETBose's ANC is pretty solid, though. I wore these earbuds over the course of a week commuting to and from the office in New York, and they hold their own on the subway, on the street, and in a loud office. With the ANC on, it will still pick up sounds on the higher end of the spectrum, particularly voices, but these earbuds do a fantastic job at eradicating ambient noise and chatter.Regarding call quality, I did have some intermittent issues being understood by the person on the other end. Most of the time, the quality was fine, but the earbuds did occasionally drop out my voice, especially if I wasn't speaking particularly loudly.Also: These Beyerdynamic earbuds delivered glorious sound for any kind of music I playedOther features that come with the QuietComfort app include a low latency mode, which is great for gamers (but does require extra battery), and a battery prediction mode that gives you a rundown of how long your buds will last.Luckily, the battery life on these is pretty good. You're looking at over eight hours of use time on the buds with a full charge and over 30 hours with a fully charged case. You also have a few ways to charge, including USB-C on the case itself and Qi2 wireless charging, which couldn't be more convenient. Do note that the case tends to heat up after sitting on your wireless charger.ZDNET's buying adviceBose's latest QuietComfort Earbuds are one of the best pairs of earbuds on the market for anyone looking for strong ANC paired with bold sound and a light, airy fit. Even better is the $179 price point, which is highly competitive given all the features.The bold, expansive level of sound these earbuds provide is matched by how good the ANC is, making them shine in urban environments. The voice commands can be finicky, but once you get the feel for them, become second nature. Additionally, if you like a high degree of customization with touch controls, these are about as granular as you can get.This article was originally published on September 23, 2024, and was updated on November 16, 2024.Featured reviews

When is Amazon's Spring Sale 2025?Amazon's Big Spring Sale runs from now through Monday, March 31.Are deals really better during Amazon sales?Deals on flagship Amazon products are typically the best during Amazon's own sales. These sales are also a great opportunity to scoop up decent savings across dozens of categories. Keep in mind that you'll be able to shop at plenty of other retailers during the same period as Amazon's sale as retailers look to compete.Will other retailers offer spring savings?Yes, other major retailers will likely offer their discounts via competing sales. Often, retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more directly match (or sometimes outdo) Amazon's pricing during sale events. It's not unusual to see the same products on sale for the same price across many retailers. I expect many competing sale events to precede, overlap, or follow Amazon's spring sale.How did we choose these anti-Amazon Spring Sale deals?ZDNET only writes about deals we want to buy -- devices and products we desire, need or would recommend. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is on sale and how frequently it drops.We also reviewed customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we recommend. Our recommendations may also be based on our testing -- in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter.What are the best Amazon Spring Sale 2025 deals?ZDNET's experts are searching through Amazon's Spring Sale deals to find the best discounts by category. These are the best deals so far:You can also find the best Amazon Spring Sale deals by price:And the best deals from other retailers this week:Best anti-Amazon Spring Sale dealsLooking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites withZDNET Recommends.

A pedestrian bridge in Tongan district in Xiamen, Fujian province, ChinagettyHeres a question thats a little bit more in the zone of philosophy when it comes to artificial intelligence how do we think about these technologies impacting our world? In what way do we understand the discovery of LLMs and their capacities, and what happens to our societies, not just in business, but beyond that, where we live?A corollary question would be how we apply it to commerce and development, and how we see those crucibles where the technologies are actually developed and worked on before they get to consumer technologies.Listening to some words from Alvin Graylin recently, I was thinking about some helpful analogies and frameworks that he pointed out for an AI roadmap that we could all use a look at when considering the future of our coexistence with powerful digital sentience.Three Types of AI Approaches - and a Fourth OneFirst Graylin enumerated three distinct approaches that many people are taking toward new technology.The first one is to slow down, and move as close to a snails pace as possible. This is where you hear the most about heavy regulation of AI project and deployment where some urge universal caution, and suggest that we cant allow these things to spiral out of control.Theres another school of thought, though, that may be called accelerators. They feel like its in our best interest to go as fast as possible, to improve the world at the most rapid pace.Then theres selective accelerators, which is a third way of looking at the issue,We're heading to a world of abundance, and we understand that that's the future, he said. We're going to change the way that we think.But Graylin has his own construct, too, and its pretty different. He asks us to think about all of us as standing on a bridge, either with or without tethers, and thinking about how we stay on that bridge, rather than falling off into oblivion.We have 8 billion people already, everybody's tied together, he said. So (if) we fail, we all fail. I think that's something that is not encapsulated in any of these three concepts.I thought that was rather important to think about as we try to figure out how were going to implement the power of a quickly evolving artificial intelligence capability.The Big IssuesThis was also impressive to me: Graylin mentioned that one of the biggest impacts will be job displacement. Not just job displacement, he noted, but the mental health issues that come along with job displacement.This is especially true in America, where we tie someones job to their identity, their routine, even their healthcare. For most of us, our jobs are our identification they inform our sense of self. So if we lose them to AI, you have some considerable angst and discomfort that goes along with that, if not existential despair that can work itself out in all kinds of disturbing ways.He also mentions misinformation and the potential of AI to introduce confusion and chaos.Then, too, Graylin notes that theres a geopolitical race on around development of AI technologies. Weve heard people call the DeepSeek announcement the Sputnik moment for the U.S., as American officials try to tighten export controls and contain China in this way. Theres no doubt that the Americans and the Chinese are in competition in certain aspects of AI development.However, Graylin also talks about the prospect of AI maturity. Initially, he suggests, certain problems will crop up, but in the end, they will subside as the technology matures. And thats something we can hope for, since the power of AI seems to be growing exponentially.All of this informs what we do at events and conferences, and in the classroom, and in the business world. We simply have to reckon with both the good and the bad sides of AI disruption, and figure out how to tackle these problems now, before they get worse. We have to move forward confidently, while holding onto our humanity, and making sure that it is valued, in a world where robots can do almost anything.