Photomicrograph of Basiceros enana, a newly discovered extinct dirt ant species preserved in Dominican amber, formed from tree resin that fossilized millions of years ago. (Image Credit: Gianpiero Fiorentino (NJIT))NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsA golden opportunity in the Caribbean has led to the discovery of an extinct “dirt ant” that has been confined within a piece of amber for 16 million years. Dirt ants (Basiceros) are true experts of camouflage that can blend in with the ground, and now, a fossilized member of the group is shedding light on their complex evolutionary history. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B describes the species as Basiceros enana and its link to modern dirt ants. Although the species disappeared sometime during the Miocene epoch (23 million years to 5.3 million years ago), the new fossil specimen could still provide insight into solving local extinction issues that have become increasingly relevant in the modern age.Preserved in Amber Modern dirt ants — able to hide in dirt using particle-binding hairs on their bodies — inhabit rainforests ranging from Costa Rica to southern Brazil. The realization that one extinct ant species in the genus used to live in the Caribbean has brought a fresh heap of questions for researchers to answer.The researchers found the adult B. enana specimen preserved in 16-million-year-old amber from the Dominican Republic, which was essentially tantamount to finding buried treasure.“Dirt ants are rare finds in the wild. Finding one today is exciting given how well they stay hidden, but captured in amber, it's like finding a diamond,” said corresponding author Gianpiero Fiorentino, a Ph.D. candidate at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, in a statement. “This fossil is singularly distinct from all its modern relatives and reshapes the evolutionary history of Basiceros.”The researchers say that the existence of Basiceros on the islands may have been enabled by ancient land bridges that dirt ants could have used to travel from the mainland to the Caribbean. Visualizing the Caribbean Dirt AntTo inspect the fossil in more detail, the researchers turned to advanced imaging and 3D reconstruction techniques. Since the ant was protected inside the amber, its physical characteristics could be gleaned in great detail. The researchers then compared it with all of the known modern dirt ant species and traced its evolutionary lineage through molecular dating analyses. One of the major differences between B.enana and modern dirt ants is their size. B. enana is much smaller, measuring only 5.13 millimeters in length, while modern dirt ants can reach nearly 9 millimeters in length. Scientists previously assumed that all dirt ants were once much larger and had shrunk over time, but the study upends this notion, suggesting that the ants nearly doubled in size over the span of 20 million years.Despite the contrast in size, B. enana displays some familiar dirt ant traits. It likely had the same ability to become nearly invisible to predators and prey (called crypsis). It would have accomplished this feat with the help of long “brush hairs” and shorter “holding hairs” that could adhere soil and leaf litter particles to its exoskeleton. “What this shows is that playing dead and hiding pays off,” said Fiorentino in a statement. “Uncovering a unique fossil like this helps us understand how long organisms may have been employing this strategy, though the presence of these characteristics does not necessarily guarantee they behaved in this way.”A Blueprint for BiodiversityThe camouflaging prowess of these ants couldn’t save them from severe ecological changes during the Miocene, however. “Their extinction could have come down to a loss of available niches or interspecific competition. These ants are predators, and an overall trend that we see from the Caribbean is a loss of predator ant diversity,” said Fiorentino in a statement. “Over a third of ant genera have gone extinct on the island of modern-day Dominican Republic since the formation of Dominican amber."The researchers say that B. enana could provide a framework for understanding how local extinction should be addressed in the future, as biodiversity continues to suffer in neotropical environments like the Caribbean. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article: Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Jack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 One of the brain’s most important properties is its flexibility. Our cerebral circuitry changes constantly—every day, new links are made amongst the 86 billion individual neurons in our heads, and old connections are allowed to fall away. The result is a dizzyingly complicated network that is in a constant state of flux, rewiring itself on the fly in response to its environment and the life experience of its owner. The brain’s ability to do this is called neuroplasticity, and it’s what gives us the capacity to learn, grow, develop new skills and ideas, and adapt to the environment in which we live. We understand some aspects of neuroplasticity fairly well but others, including the reason that certain connections get made instead of others, remain deeply mysterious. Now, a new study published April 17 in Science promises to shed light on at least one aspect of that mystery. The research examines how neuroplasticity functions in mice learning to tackle a new task, and its results hint at the possibility that neurons’ shape may influence whether their connections are included in the changes wrought by this new skill. Neuroplasticity: the how The last century has seen a huge amount of research into how the brain works. As a result of all this work, we have a good grasp on the physical processes that enable neuroplasticity. When a neuron “fires,” it sends an electrochemical signal called an action potential. These signals then travel down long strands of neural tissue called axons.The signals are then received by intricate, branched filaments called dendrites and the junctions at which these structures connect are called  synapses.  We also know that not all neural connections are equal. Some are stronger than others, with a more robust connection making it more likely that the neuron on the receiving end will fire in response to a signal from the neuron at the other end of the link. The strength of these connections can also change over time.  Neuroplasticity allows for the formation of new connections, the purging of obsolete ones, and changes in the strength of existing connections—all processes that make subtle changes to the structure of our neural networks. Neuroplasticity: the why While we may well understand how neuroplasticity works, it can be more challenging for scientists to explain why this is the case. Specifically, it remains unclear how neurons are “chosen” for connection or modification. Why are certain connections created or modified and not others? Does the process work to some sort of cerebral blueprint? Or are the vast swathes of neurons in our brain more like chunks of RAM in our computers, sitting and waiting to be used as they become available? William Wright—a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California San Diego’s neurobiology faculty and one of the Science paper’s co-authors—explains that there must be some degree of determinism to the way neuroplasticity plays out. “Synaptic plasticity can’t just be happening randomly,” Wright tells Popular Science. “For us to learn … the right synapses must undergo the right types of changes (i.e., get stronger or weaker).”  But what determines which are the right neurons? According to Wright, this is the problem. “We [don’t] really understand how this process [gets] initiated at specific synapses and not others.” Of mice and dendrites To look for patterns in learning-related neuroplasticity, Wright and his team designed an experiment where each member of a population of mice in a lab was taught to activate a lever to receive a reward. They used a technique called longitudinal in vivo two-photon fluorescence imaging, which allows for the study of individual synapses in living creatures, and enabled the team to map how the acquisition of this skill altered each mouse’s brain. Wright explains that every mouse brain shares a basic layout, “a sort of general blueprint [that] sets the general connectivity patterns of the brain (i.e., which brain areas connect with which).” However, once an individual is born, their brain is on its own. The brain will develop and change in a way that reflects that individual’s life experience and circumstances. As a result, every brain is different–a statement as true of mice as it is of humans. These individual differences in the brain mean that a similar piece of learning might manifest quite differently in the brain of one mouse to how it does in another’s. In turn, this means that studying the effects of neuroplasticity has less to do with trying to identify whether the exact same neurons are being connected in different individuals, and more to do with looking for patterns that hint at some sort of underlying rules. As mice learned a new behavior, researchers closely tracked synaptic connections (depicted here as small protrusions) on the dendrites of neurons. CREDIT: Komiyama Lab, UC San Diego. Wright and his team found that their results did indeed hint at such patterns, and therefore at some sort of accompanying rules. The changes observed after the skill acquisition were localized to the animals’ primary motor cortices, and seemed to be particularly pronounced in a type of neuron called a pyramidal neuron. As their name suggests, these cells are characterised by their shape. In addition to making them reasonably easy to identify, that triangular shape affects the nature of the cells’ dendrites. Wright compares the structure of a pyramidal neuron and its connections to a tree. The cell has two types of dendrites–one trunk-like structure extending from the apex of the pyramid and a series of “roots” emerging from the bottom. These are called apical and basal dendrites, respectively, and the study’s results suggest that they have distinctly different functions.  Connections made via apical synapses seemed to be strengthened by movement information more than those made via basal synapses. The paper notes that “these results suggest apical synapses in … [these] pyramidal neurons are organized into task-related functional clusters, while this tendency is much weaker for basal synapses.” This hints that dendritic structure may be one factor in determining why a certain neural connection might end up being modified as a result of neuroplasticity. More generally, Wright emphasises the importance of the simple fact that different dendritic connections appear to perform different functions.  “We still don’t fully understand why neurons have these different types of dendrites,” Wright says, “[or] what different functions they may be [performing].” The study provides clues to the nature of at least one of these functions, and in doing so, points at directions for future research. This, Wright says, is “one of [our] most exciting [results].” 

Nature, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01255-0Carbonate mineral is long-sought evidence of conditions that supported liquid water.

Furkan Malli gave us a behind-the-scenes look at crafting a mosaic influenced by Eastern Mediterranean art, detailing how he created the centerpiece and surrounding patterns in Substance 3D Designer and integrated them into an environment with Marmoset Toolbag.Read here: https://80.lv/articles/imagining-anatolian-inspired-mosaic-with-substance-3d-designer/

Illustrations for Danish Lottery Easter tickets, Quick.

From Nobel to Novel: How AI Is Redefining Molecular ModelingPublished inData Science Collective·11 min read·Just now--Figure created by Dall-E 2 via Skype.IntroductionIn 2020, Google’s DeepMind started a revolution in structural biology when it released its AlphaFold 2 model, an AI system that dramatically advanced our capability to predict the 3D structures of proteins from their amino acid sequences. This breakthrough addressed a long-standing challenge in biology, earning widespread acclaim and catalyzing further developments in the field. This wasn’t just about solving a scientific puzzle; it unlocked the potential to understand biological mechanisms at a molecular level in ways previously impossible, accelerating research across numerous areas. In fact, the revolution made Deepmind’s CEO and founder Demis Hassabis and AlphaFold efforts leader John Jumper worthy of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.The revolution was not only about a new powerful AI-based system for predicting the 3D structures of proteins, but also about demonstrating the power of AI to learn complex physical and chemical principles directly from data, setting a precedent for tackling other complex scientific challenges.Soon after, other AI models began to appear that could do protein structure modeling and even design, as I’ve covered for some:

Instant Vintage Unshakable Resolve Member Oct 25, 2017 3,345 So, with the announcement of the price increase for PS Plus in multiple territories, the "perceived cost" issue (and charging for the C button) for Nintendo's Switch 2, and Microsoft being Microsoft, is this the last generation that you are investing into the console space? I have had conversations with my wife about this; right after the purchase of the PS5 Pro, I wondered out loud if this would be it for me and I would stop here. It's going on 30 months since the last time I purposely turned on my Series X, and almost 18 months since I turned on my Switch for Super Mario Wonder. With life being... life and everything trying to snag my attention (and wallet), I sincerely don't know if console gaming is in my future. I have no evidence to back this up, but I do feel like normal people are getting priced out of the hobby. We are watching the price of EVERYTHING go up, with no brakes on the train we're on. I am lucky in the sense that I have a backlog and could just stop today with no more new releases and go through it, but other people are not. Tightening of the budget, other real world responsibilities, and obligations that aren't easily ignored are making my hobby more expensive than it's worth, and if I'm feeling that way, I'm certain others are as well. This is just a topic I'm curious about; ultimately it's really not that serious (TO ME) but I wanted to do a heat check. Raise the cost of admission high enough to close the doors on this if it's old.  Gaspode Member Jan 17, 2025 97 No, I'll be playing games until I die (and I don't really like playing on pc).   Last edited: Yesterday at 4:07 PM nolifebr Member Sep 1, 2018 12,419 Curitiba/BR If Sony start to releasing everything on PC on Day 1, yes.   KKStrider Member Oct 10, 2024 1,588 Between the cost of the Switch 2 (particularly for Canadians) and receiving that email from Playstation just now about my PS Plus going up by $30 this year, I'm definitely pondering this question right now. I never really saw a future where I didn't buy whatever Nintendo's new console is, but right now I can't even fuckin pre-order it anyway lol. It feels like this shit (i.e. everything) is unraveling, fast.  Besiktas Member Sep 2, 2024 841 No I will buy consoles but I don't play them as much I would as X360/PS3 days. But here and there are some rare games that will be released that might take my time  DNAbro Member Oct 25, 2017 29,639 Idk man PS6 and NextBox aren't even announced. Switch 2 day one for me though  NotLiquid One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 37,632 That's ultimately going to depend on Nintendo for me. Price or not, they're still the only console maker to make a lot of exclusives that I want to play. For my other needs, I'm set with PC.   Juraash Member Oct 25, 2017 6,713 Really depends on how bad console gaming gets, but probably not. The amount I'd have to spend to get a PC I want is way too high and way too much at once for me to want to bother with it. Consoles have to get a lot more fucky for me to tap out.   TheWooniestWoona Member Oct 27, 2017 7,219 It depends if the next gen has physical media. Actual physical media with the game on it, and not just discs that download the game. If they go all digital, then I'm out. At that point I'll play on PC where I can at least get DRM-free installers and back them up on my own.  OP OP Instant Vintage Unshakable Resolve Member Oct 25, 2017 3,345 Gaspode said: No, I'll be playing games until I die. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Oh, I'll never stop gaming, I'd just sell everything and get a PC. LOL nolifebr said: If Sony start to releasing everything on PC on Day 1, yes. Click to expand... Click to shrink... That's my thought process as well, I'd get to Nintendo games when I get to them.  LewieP Member Oct 26, 2017 19,661 Maybe. I got a high end PC recently and the only console games I am planning to buy in the immediate future are the likes of Astrobot and Nintendo games.   Lotus One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 122,660 Just by the nature of Nintendo existing, no I would never realistically give up console gaming   Jahranimo Community Resettler Member Oct 25, 2017 10,162 Nah, I still have my PS5 for the few and far inbetween Playstation exclusives. but in regards to 10th generation? Nintendo is still the move. If it doesn't make sense financially for me given some extreme hardship then that's different.  Dark Knight One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 21,179 High-end GPUs are multiple times the cost of a console, so.... Like I could really stand to build a new gaming PC but a Switch 2 is far more affordable for me rn.  Stibbs Member Feb 8, 2023 4,154 The 518 I already made the transition. Beyond Nintendo there's no reason for me not to just hang on PC especially with Sony spooling up efforts, Microsoft being firmly entrenched as day one releasers (including Game Pass) and all the other benefits of PC (modding, free online, the largest library on Earth etc)   steviestar3 One Winged Slayer Member Jul 3, 2018 5,286 I'll buy Nintendo consoles as long as they are required to play new Nintendo games. Sony and Microsoft though........ hahaha yeah I'm done.  CielYoshi Member May 10, 2018 2,294 Santiago, Chile As much as it pains me, this is probably it for my stay in the PlayStation enviroment, and if Nintendo ever pivots to full digital that'll probably be the end for my stay at Nintendo's too.   Rosebud Two Pieces Member Apr 16, 2018 50,497 Already switched at the end of last gen. Bought a PS5 for the backlog but probably the last one   Zeal543 Next Level Seer Member May 15, 2020 7,058 I think you can get every base console this generation for the price of a good GPU alone and mobile games aren't replacing console/pc games anytime soon so no Edit: thread title changed. No, if anything I'm personally weeing off PC in favor of console more compared to last gen  Ouroboros Member Oct 27, 2017 15,773 until the day i die ill spill my heart for you (nintendo)  Helix Mayor of Clown Town Member Jun 8, 2019 26,687 aside from Nintendo and the very occasional exclusives on PS, I am mostly on PC at this point and have already moved most of my library there but that is not to say I won't buy consoles, they really have to be appealing for me to get them now  Jetsun Mila Member Apr 7, 2021 3,923 I will get a Switch 2 someday, but not now.   Tamaa Member May 16, 2021 1,215 As a PS5 and PC owner, if Sony stops gatekeeping their exclusives for a year or more, I'll just stick with PC.   Staf Member Nov 7, 2017 4,114 Gothenburg, Sweden They could double the price of the console and I would still probably buy it 🤷‍♂️. Married with no kids with stable income.   HouseDragon Member Dec 4, 2017 612 That was the last gen, i haven't bought any consoles since the PS4. I've gone Full PC since then and I'm so glad I did.   Eros Member Oct 27, 2017 10,446 i'll say it's lowest excitement i have ever felt for new consoles/graphics cards. the way the market is. ai integration. does not inspire excitement in me. i won't quit gaming any time soon, but i'm not looking forward to any hardware announcements and reveals.   PlatypusDude Member Oct 25, 2017 2,309 I'll be around as long as Nintendo still exists and doesn't jump their catalogue to PC. Probably last gen I buy one of a PS or Xbox though (PS5 gathers dust most of the time for me).   Grakchawwaa Member Mar 10, 2022 620 I find there is still value in the console box price compared to pc gaming. I will probably just play less online games or generally stop gaming as much. I don't like sitting at a desk anymore as I work at a desk all day, but gaming prices are getting a bit wild for me. Unfortunately no one else makes the games I really love like Last of Us or God of War, so Sony it is.  Greywaren Member Jul 16, 2019 12,732 Spain If Sony releases everything on PC, I won't buy another PlayStation. Same with Nintendo, but that seems very unlikely.  Sotha_Sil Member Nov 4, 2017 5,764 Consoles are still the simplest way to play a whole bunch of games for relatively cheap. I did enjoy PC gaming when I built a mid-tier rig in 2016, but after a few years I eventually opted to go back to simplicity. Consoles getting 60fps much more often is a big help. I'll get whatever the next Xbox is.  GK86 Member Oct 25, 2017 20,288 Yes. I made the jump to PC last year and I doubt I will look back.   Viewt Member Oct 25, 2017 3,148 Chicago, IL Probably done with Xbox/PlayStation, but I'll likely keep up with Nintendo until those games are available elsewhere. But PC gaming just seems like it's where everyone is heading, so yeah, I plan on picking up a Steam Deck 2 whenever that comes out. My PS5/Series X are probably the last dedicated home consoles I'm gonna purchase.   R3ndezvous Member Dec 17, 2024 1,071 I like the convenience, still a strong reason to me.   Mobius and Pet Octopus Member Oct 25, 2017 16,351 I can hardly believe people care that there is a non-gameplay button being "charged for". Ugh, there is a slot on my controller that I don't use, quick call the police! I have to pay for an attachment to use it! But no, this isn't my last console generation. I stopped like 3 generations ago.  Mass_Pincup The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 7,738 The only thing holding me back is PS Studio games so hopefully everything stays crossgen until Sony goes day 1 on PC too. I already have a gaming PC and already sold my Series X, and with the price and the lackluster lineup of the Switch 2 I;m not getting one anytime soon.  RockyROB Member Oct 25, 2017 220 UK Currently own everything but a pc but can see me being Nintendo only or perhaps Nintendo plus pc game pass in the near future   mute ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 25, 2017 28,970 There is enough unique to a Nintendo console to keep me buying them. The rest I'm already checked out on.   Man Called Aerodynamics Member Oct 29, 2017 8,208 It depends on what the next Xbox console looks like. I don't want to put too much stock in rumors, but I'm a little concerned about it changing to a PC hybrid architecture and what that means for compatibility with the current Xbox BC library. If the functionality is reduced or the full current library isn't still compatible, that's a serious problem for me.   Bardeh Member Jun 15, 2018 3,706 Dark Knight said: High-end GPUs are multiple times the cost of a console, so.... Like I could really stand to build a new gaming PC but a Switch 2 is far more affordable for me rn. Click to expand... Click to shrink... You don't need a 1500 dollar GPU to play PC games  ShineALight Member Oct 27, 2017 579 I'll definitely be getting the Switch 2, hopefully at launch. Now that I have a gaming PC, I intend to stick to that and Nintendo platforms, whereas until now PS systems were as essential to me as Nintendo's. In 8 or 10 years, when a "Switch 3" is released, I'd anticipate being as excited for it as I am the Switch 2, but so much will happen for me personally and to the industry by then, who knows.   Captain_Vyse Member Jun 24, 2020 7,087 No because I love Nintendo games. This is my last generation with a Sony or Microsoft console though. Don't need them since I built my gaming PC.  PLASTICA-MAN Member Oct 26, 2017 28,673 If next-gen can't do what current PCs can do in path tracing then there is no need for me to even think about getting games on consoles anymore especially that all games (except Nintendo ones) are reelasing on PC and with much better graphics.   Doc Laserstein Member Oct 25, 2017 5,542 I will always own whatever hardware Nintendo releases. PS5 will almost certainly be my last Sony hardware for the foreseeable future, such a disappointing console. XBox 360 was my last MS console.   Rosebud Two Pieces Member Apr 16, 2018 50,497 Dark Knight said: High-end GPUs are multiple times the cost of a console, so.... Like I could really stand to build a new gaming PC but a Switch 2 is far more affordable for me rn. Click to expand... Click to shrink... You could build a PC that has the power of Switch 2   Cameron122 Rescued from SR388 Member Oct 27, 2017 2,567 Texas I think eventually Sony will do Day 1 PC releases but I don't ever seen Nintendo doing that so no.   Rolodzeo Member Nov 10, 2017 4,247 Spain, EU Yeah, I think so, because I'm not willing to pay the prices they are asking any longer. I'm heading towards PC only, it's waaaaaay cheaper in the long run and it gives me emulation, free online if I ever want it and mods, among other things. I might buy a nextbox if it is indeed a PC hybrid though.  Strike Member Oct 25, 2017 30,240 Probably not. At least until physical dies out.   J_ToSaveTheDay "This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance Avenger Oct 25, 2017 22,163 USA Nintendo is my only guaranteed lock after this console generation ends, and that's still a console, so nah. I'm either going Nintendo ONLY or Nintendo+PC. The latter at this point is basically just depends on how pricing looks at the end of this generation, I think. I already ditched Xbox last year, and PlayStation feels like 99% like I'm leaving it behind -- Sony could keep me pretty easily by allowing online play without a sub but they would never. ;)  Ravelle Member Oct 31, 2017 19,991 nolifebr said: If Sony start to releasing everything on PC on Day 1, yes. Click to expand... Click to shrink... If only their games would have zero issues day 1 as well.  mookie1515 "This guy are sick" Member Oct 25, 2017 1,657 I think I'm done with everything but Nintendo and PC. Been looking sideways at my PS5 wondering why I even have it now. Death Stranding 2 might be the only new game I play on it this year.  

During a Playdate Update livestream Thursday, Panic announced plans for a second season of games for its stylish black and white portable console with a crank — and those include a new game from Subset Games, the team behind FTL: Faster than Light and Into the Breach. Fulcrum Defender is a single-screen defense game where you use the crank to protect yourself from incoming attacks, inspired by games like Vampire Survivors. “I wanted to make a replayable experience that starts out slow and relaxing, but gradually ramps up until it becomes frantic chaos,” said Subset Games’ Jay Ma in the livestream. “Originally I didn’t plan on finishing this game. I was making it as a form of self-therapy. I have been struggling with long COVID the past few years and I wanted to prove to myself that I can still make games in my current state.” Playdate Season 2 begins on May 29, with two games releasing every week over the course of six weeks, for $39. The season will also include platformer Taria & Como, adventure game Shadowgate PD, and digging game Dig Dig Dino!, along with “a must see surprise for all those who want something….a little different,” according to a press release. Playdate’s first season launched free with the console in 2022, though due to the slow rollout of hardware players didn’t all get to download each game together each week as originally planned. The season consisted of 24 games including Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi and Whitewater Wipeout from Chuhai Labs. Panic also announced earlier this week that it has sold more than 289,000 games through its Playdate Catalog store, totaling more than a million dollars paid to developers. And in late 2024, it posted a fascinating podcast about how it hired a private detective to track down a bunch of stolen consoles.

Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech AIMobile AI Personas May Be Undercover Police, Engaging With Suspects Online Through Social Media And Text Ezza Ijaz • Apr 17, 2025 at 01:50pm EDT The AI frenzy is not going away any time soon and is only extending to more industries and being adopted by wider audiences and institutions. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate technology to help perform daily, mundane tasks. Not only the tech giants are increasingly opting for it, but also government agencies, and now it seems like police departments are also using AI tools to go undercover in digital spaces. The U.S. police departments are said to be using human-like AI agents that interact with individuals in order to catch offenders. Law enforcement agencies are now creating lifelike virtual agents that infiltrate and engage with individuals online to collect evidence Just when we thought we had seen enough of AI, we saw initiatives driven by artificial intelligence that are novel and unique in their purposes. As per a report by 404Media, U.S. law enforcement agencies are now resorting to Overwatch, an AI tool developed by Massive Blue that is meant to create lifelike virtual agents that can engage with individuals in digital environments. These AI bot personas are being used to engage directly with people on social media platforms and text messaging. The AI agents interact with suspects by building trust with them through interaction and extracting information that can potentially then serve as evidence against crime. Throughout this process, it is not revealed that the interaction is fake or done by law enforcement agencies. While the goal of this AI persona is to gather evidence and is meant to target serious offenders such as human traffickers, it is said that the system is also being used to communicate with radical activists or even college protestors. Massive Blue is said to be pitching the technology to law enforcement agencies with several key uses for it, including school security, human trafficking prevention, and school safety. Even though the company is painting Overwatch as a solution for fighting crime, it seems that there have not been any known arrests with the given evidence so far. It could be that the agencies are keeping the information confidential or that the technology is still in its testing phase. While we see a growing trend of law enforcement agencies using AI for surveillance and for ensuring public safety, it does raise questions regarding an ethical line that may be crossed as a result of the wider adoption, especially if the technology is being used against protestors and activists. Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

مجلس الأمن يدين هجمات الدعم السريع بالفاشر ويدعو لفك الحصار عن المدينةآثار حريق جراء القصف في إحدى القرى قرب الفاشر (مواقع التواصل)18/4/2025-|آخر تحديث: 18/4/202505:22 ص (توقيت مكة)أدان مجلس الأمن الدولي مساء الخميس "بشدة" هجمات قوات الدعم السريع "المتكررة" على مدينة الفاشر عاصمة ولاية شمال دارفور غربي السودان، داعيا لرفع الحصار عن المدينة. كما طالب كلا من الجيش السوداني وقوات الدعم السريع إلى "الانخراط بحسن نية في حوار سياسي من أجل وقف دائم لإطلاق النار" في السودان. وكان الجيش قد أعلن في وقت سابق الخميس مقتل 62 مدنيا، بينهم 15 طفلا، وإصابة 75 آخرين في قصف عشوائي لقوات الدعم السريع على أنحاء مختلفة من الفاشر. وعبر مجلس الأمن -في بيان له- عن "قلقه الشديد" إزاء تصاعد العنف في شمال دارفور، خاصة في مدينة الفاشر وما حولها. وأدان هجمات الدعم السريع على المدينة ومخيمي زمزم وأبو شوك للنازحين، مبديا قلقه من التقارير التي تفيد بمقتل نحو 400 مدني، بينهم أطفال و11 عامل إغاثة، في هجمات للدعم السريع بالمنطقة. كما دعا إلى محاسبة هذه القوات "وجميع مرتكبي الهجمات على المدنيين" في السودان. وطالب مجددا بوقف فوري للقتال وتهدئة الأوضاع في الفاشر وما حولها، داعيا الجيش وقوات الدعم السريع إلى "احترام وحماية العاملين في المجال الإنساني ومقارهم وممتلكاتهم". كما ناشد أطراف النزاع تسهيل وصول المساعدات بشكل آمن إلى جميع المناطق، وفق نص البيان. إعلان عشرات القتلى وفي قت سابق الخميس، أعلن الجيش السوداني أن 62 مدنيا قتلوا وأصيب 75 في قصف عشوائي لقوات الدعم السريع على أنحاء مختلفة من الفاشر. وأضاف الجيش أنه والقوات المتحالفة معه صدوا الثلاثاء هجوما للدعم السريع على شرق مدينة الفاشر، وألحقوا بها خسائر فادحة في الأرواح والعتاد. من جهته، قال مصدر عسكري للجزيرة إن قوات الدعم السريع قصفت بالمدفعية الثقيلة الخميس مخيم أبو شوك للنازحين شمال غرب الفاشر. وتحاصر قوات الدعم السريع الفاشر منذ نحو عام، وحاولت مرارا اقتحامها تحت غطاء من القصف، لكن الجيش والقوات المتحالفة معه أفشلوا كل المحاولات. والأسبوع الماضي، اقتحمت قوات الدعم السريع مخيم زمزم الذي يبعد حوالي 12 كيلومترا عن الفاشر، وتحدثت الأمم المتحدة ومنظمات إغاثية عن سقوط أكثر من 500 مدني بين قتيل وجريح، بينهم 10 من موظفي منظمة الإغاثة الدولية، ونزوح نحو 400 ألف شخص إثر اقتحام المخيم. من جانب آخر، قال المتحدث باسم المنسقية العامة لمخيمات النازحين واللاجئين بدارفور للجزيرة إن عددا كبيرا من نازحي مخيم زمزم بالفاشر لقوا حتفهم خلال رحلة النزوح. وأضاف المتحدث أن النازحين تعرضوا لانتهاكات جسيمة، وعانوا من العطش والجوع، مشيرا إلى أن مئات الأطفال النازحين يحتاجون إلى الغذاء والمأوى والرعاية الصحية. انتهاكات خطيرة وواجهت قوات الدعم السريع اتهامات من الداخل والخارج بارتكاب انتهاكات خطيرة ضد المدنيين في دارفور ومناطق أخرى خلال الحرب الدائرة منذ عامين، لكنها تنفيها بشدة، وتوجّه تهما مماثلة لخصومها. ومنذ عامين يشهد السودان صراعا بين الجيش وقوات الدعم السريع أسفر عن مقتل عشرات الآلاف ونزوح أكثر من 14 مليونا داخل البلاد وخارجها. ومؤخرا تمكن الجيش من طرد قوات الدعم السريع من الخرطوم ومن معظم منطقة أم درمان بعد أن طردها قبل ذلك من ولاية الجزيرة وسط البلاد. إعلان المصدر : الجزيرة