How to solve today's Wordle.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesLooking for Wednesdays Wordle hints, clues and answer? You can find them here:Yesterday was Wordle Wednesday so naturally I gave you a riddle to solve. Always an extra challenge on Wednesdays and then I share the answer every Thursday. Some of you messaged me with the solution, so bravo to you!The riddle was: I follow the jolly man dressed in red, But I bring fear and dread instead. Before youre naughty, best think twice Ill only coming knocking if you havent been nice. Who am I?The answer is Krampus, the somewhat demonic counterpart to Santa Claus. Krampus originated in Central Europe, a horned Alpine nightmare creature who does the dirty business that Santa simply cant stomach: Punishing naughty children for their misdeeds.With all that in mind, lets solve todays Wordle!How To Solve Todays WordleThe Hint: Challenging, contesting.The Clue: This Wordle is a present participle.Okay, spoilers below!...The Answer:Today's WordleScreenshot: Erik KainPlay Puzzles & Games on ForbesWordle AnalysisEvery day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here. This was not a great Wordle for me today, and Im not sure it was necessarily because it was a tricky word or if my luck had simply run out. Either way, whoof.I began with PLATE, getting zero boxes and leaving 346 possible solutions on the table. CHOIR gave me a yellow I and slashed that to 27. If Id been a little smarter or a little luckier, Id have guessed something better than MINUS for #3 (Wordle Bot says FUNDS would have been more efficient) and then I picked DYING even though my gut was all for VYING. Five tries and I got there at last!Competitive Wordle ScoreI get -1 points for guessing in five and -1 for losing to the Bot, who took four today. -2 for me today. Cest la vie.How To Play Competitive WordleGuessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.If you beat your opponent you get 1 point. If you tie, you get 0 points. And if you lose to your opponent, you get -1 point. Add it up to get your score. Keep a daily running score or just play for a new score each day.Fridays are 2XP, meaning you double your pointspositive or negative.You can keep a running tally or just play day-by-day. Enjoy!Todays Wordle EtymologyThe word vying comes from the verb vie, which originates from the Old French envier (meaning "to challenge or provoke"). This, in turn, comes from the Latin invitare, meaning "to invite or challenge." The modern form vie emerged in the 16th century, and vying is simply its present participle form, following English conjugation patterns.Let me know how you fared with your Wordle today on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog where I write about games, TV shows and movies when Im not writing puzzle guides. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.

By Andrew R. ChowDecember 11, 2024 1:37 PM ESTHeating and lighting buildings requires a vast amount of energy: 18% of all global energy consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. Contributing to the problem is the fact that many buildings HVAC systems are outdated and slow to respond to weather changes, which can lead to severe energy waste.Some scientists and technologists are hoping that AI can solve that problem. At the moment, much attention has been drawn to the energy-intensive nature of AI itself: Microsoft, for instance, acknowledged that its AI development has imperiled their climate goals. But some experts argue that AI can also be part of the solution by helping make large buildings more energy-efficient. One 2024 study estimates that AI could help buildings reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions by at least 8%. And early efforts to modernize HVAC systems with AI have shown encouraging results.To date, we mostly use AI for our convenience, or for work, says Nan Zhou, a co-author of the study and senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. But I think AI has so much more potential in making buildings more efficient and low-carbon.AI in Downtown ManhattanOne example of AI in action is 45 Broadway, a 32-story office building in downtown Manhattan built in 1983. For years, the buildings temperature ran on basic thermostats, which could result in inefficiencies or energy waste, says Avi Schron, the executive vice president at Cammebys International, which owns the building. There was no advance thought to it, no logic, no connectivity to what the weather was going to be, Schron says.In 2019, New York City enacted Local Law 97, which set strict mandates for the greenhouse emissions of office buildings. To comply, Schron commissioned an AI system from the startup BrainBox AI, which takes live readings from sensors on buildingsincluding temperature, humidity, sun angle, wind speed, and occupancy patternsand then makes real-time decisions about how those buildings temperature should be modulated.Sam Ramadori, the CEO of BrainBox AI, says that large buildings typically have thousands of pieces of HVAC equipment, all of which have to work in tandem. With his companys technology, he says: I know the future, and so every five minutes, I send back thousands of instructions to every little pump, fan, motor and damper throughout the building to address that future using less energy and making it more comfortable. For instance, the AI system at 45 Broadway begins gradually warming the building if it forecasts a cold front arriving in a couple hours. If perimeter heat sensors notice that the sun has started beaming down on one side of the building, it will close heat valves in those areas.After 11 months of using BrainBox AI, Cammeby has reported that the building reduced its HVAC-related energy consumption by 15.8%, saving over $42,000 and mitigating 37 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Schron says tenants are more comfortable because the HVAC responds proactively to temperature changes, and that installation was simple because it only required software integration. Its found money, and it helps the environment. And the best part is it was not a huge lift to install, Schron says.BrainBoxs autonomous AI system now controls HVACs in 4,000 buildings across the world, from mom-and-pop convenience stores to Dollar Trees to airports. The company also created a generative AI-powered assistant called Aria, which allows building facility managers to control HVACs via text or voice. The company expects Aria to be widely available in early 2025.Scientific StudiesSeveral scientists also see the potential of efforts in this space. At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, Zhou and her colleagues started studying the potential impacts of AI on building efficiency several years before ChatGPT captured public attention. This year, they published a paper arguing that AI/HVAC integration could lead to a 8 to 19% decrease in both energy consumption and carbon emissionsor an even bigger decrease if paired with aggressive policy measures. AI, the paper argues, might help reduce a buildings carbon footprint at every stage of its life cycle, from design to construction to operation to maintenance. It could predict when HVAC components might fail, potentially reducing downtime and costly repairs.Zhou also argues that AI systems in many buildings could help regional electricity grids become more resilient. Increasingly popular renewable energy sources like wind and solar often produce uneven power supplies, creating peaks and valleys. Thats where these buildings can really help by shifting or shedding energy, or responding to price signals, she says. This would help, for instance, take pressure off the grid during moments of surging demand.Other efforts around the world have also proved encouraging. In Stockholm, one company implemented AI tools into 87 HVAC systems in educational facilities, adjusting temperature and airflow every 15 minutes. These systems led to an annual reduction of 64 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, a study found, and an 8% decrease in electricity usage. And the University of Marylands Center for Environmental Energy Engineering just published a study arguing that AI models predictive abilities could significantly reduce the power consumption of complex HVAC systems, particularly those with both indoors and outdoor units.As the globe warms, efficient cooling systems will be increasingly important. Arash Zarmehr, a building performance consultant at the engineering firm WSP, says that implementing AI is a necessary move for all designers and engineers. All engineers are aware that human controls on HVAC systems reduce efficiencies, he says. AI can help us move toward the actual decarbonization of buildings.Despite its potential, AIs usage in building efficiency faces challenges, including ensuring safety and tenant data privacy. Then theres the larger question of AIs overall impact on the environment. Some critics accuse the AI industry of touting projects like this one as a way to greenwash its vast energy usage. AI is driving a massive increase in data center electricity demand, which could double from 2022 to 2026, the International Energy Agency predicts. And this week, University of California Riverside and Caltech scientists published a study arguing that the air pollution from AI power plants and backup generators could result in 1,300 premature deaths a year in the U.S. by 2030. If you have family members with asthma or other health conditions, the air pollution from these data centers could be affecting them right now, Shaolei Ren, a co-author of the study, said in a statement. Its a public health issue we need to address urgently.Zhou acknowledges that the energy usage of AI data centers increased drastically after she and her colleagues started writing the paper. To what extent it will offset the emission reduction we came up with in our paper needs future research, she says. But without doing any research, I still think AI has much more benefits for us.

By Billy PerrigoDecember 11, 2024 11:57 AM ESTCan a Big Tech company be sued in Kenya for alleged abuses at an outsourcing company working on its behalf?Thats the question at the heart of two lawsuits that are attempting to set a new precedent in Kenya, which is the prime destination for tech companies looking to farm out digital work to the African continent. The two-year legal battle stems from allegations of human rights violations at an outsourced Meta content moderation facility in Nairobi, where employees hired by a contractor were paid as little as $1.50 per hour to view traumatic content, such as videos of rapes, murders, and war crimes. The suits claim that despite the workers being contracted by an outsourcing company, called Sama, Meta essentially supervised and set the terms for the work, and designed and managed the software required for the task. Both companies deny wrongdoing and Meta has challenged the Kenyan courts' jurisdiction to hear the cases. But a court ruled in September that the cases could each proceed. Both appear likely to go to trial next year, unless the Kenyan Supreme Court intervenes.Read More: Inside Facebook's African SweatshopMeta declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Sama did not respond to requests for comment. It has previously called the allegations both inaccurate and disappointing.If successful, the lawsuits could enshrine a new precedent into Kenyan law that Big Tech companies not just their outsourcing partners are legally liable for any wrongdoing that happens inside subcontracted facilities. Supporters say that this will boost workers rights and guard against exploitative work in Kenyas data labeling sector, which is booming thanks to growing demand for AI training data. But opponents argue that such a decision would make Kenya a less attractive place for foreign firms to do business, potentially resulting in a loss of jobs and hindered economic development.In a sign of the cases significance, Kenyas president William Ruto waded into the debate on Monday. At a town hall event in Nairobi, Ruto said he was preparing to sign a bill into law that he claimed would prevent outsourcing companies from being sued in Kenya in the future. Those people were taken to court, and they had real trouble, Ruto said, referring to Sama, the outsourcing company that directly employed the Facebook content moderators. They really bothered me. Now I can report to you that we have changed the law, so nobody will take you to court again on any matter. Ruto said Sama had planned to relocate to Uganda because many of us were giving them trouble. And he cast the change to the law as an effort to make Kenya a more attractive location for outsourcing companies, similar to India or the Philippines, in order to bring much-needed jobs to the country.The reality is more complex than Ruto made it sound. There is a bill in the Kenyan Senate that would change employment law as it relates to the outsourcing industry. But that bill would not, as Ruto claimed, prevent outsourcing companies from being sued. Quite the opposite: its text instead explicitly prevents outsourcing companies clients for instance big tech companies like Meta or OpenAI from being drawn into lawsuits against their contractors in Kenya. The majority leader of the Kenyan Senate, who drafted the bill, said in a post on X that the proposed change was in the best interest of the ever growing number of unemployed youth in the country, arguing that it would make Kenya a more attractive place to do business without eroding its workplace protections. Industry players insist that if we are to fully realize our potential, this is their ask to us as a country, he said, without elaborating on which specific companies had lobbied for the change to the law. (He did not respond to a request for comment. Meta has not advocated for changes to these laws, a company spokesperson said in a statement to TIME. Rutos office did not respond to a request for comment.)Supporters of the lawsuits disagree. This notion that economic development can only come at the expense of exploitation, that needs to die, says Mercy Mutemi, the lawyer leading the cases against Meta and Sama at the law firm Nzili and Sumbi Advocates, alongside UK tech justice non-profit Foxglove. One hundred percent, lets get more jobs for young people. But it doesnt mean that they have to do these jobs in an exploitative model. Theres a way to achieve both.If the lawsuits against Meta proceed to trial and the courts decide in the plaintiffs' favor, Ruto could face a political headache. The President ran on a platform of economic transformation, says Odanga Madung, an independent tech analyst based in Nairobi and former Mozilla fellow who has studied the countrys outsourcing industry. Court cases that challenge the [outsourcing] sector are getting in the way of him delivering his political goals. In essence he's telling young Kenyans that court cases like the one against Meta are a threat to their future, which he is trying to secure. It's very important to consider that political context.The lawsuits in Kenya were filed after a 2022 TIME investigation revealed that young Africans had been recruited from across the continent for what some of them believed were call center positions at Sama, only to find themselves moderating graphic Facebook content. The story described how many of them developed PTSD, and how some were fired after advocating for better working conditions and planning a strike. The lawsuits allege human rights violations, labor law violations, discrimination, human trafficking, unfair dismissal, and intentional infliction of mental health harms. Both companies deny the accusations, with Meta also arguing it wasn't the direct employer of the moderators.While Rutos political intervention may stave off any lasting precedent, it does not appear likely to have a direct impact on the proceedings of the cases against Meta, says Mutemi. She says that this is because the cases cite human rights violations rather than simple employment claims, so they are protected under the Kenyan constitution, and could proceed regardless of any changes to employment law. We agree that the law needs to be amended to reflect the new categories of work, for example the gig economy and platform work, Mutemi says. However the bill thats currently in parliament does not offer any protections to the workers. As a matter of fact, it seems to be prioritizing the protection of the [outsourcing companies] and the tech companies at the expense of workers rights.

Why it matters: A legal feud between the co-founder of WordPress and a private equity-owned WordPress hosting platform has taken a sharp turn in favor of the latter. WP Engine users can resume normal operations but remain stuck in the crossfire of a fight that could impact tools critical to many websites. A California judge has granted hosting platform WP Engine a temporary injunction against WordPress parent company Automattic. Until the court battle between them is resolved, WordPress.com can no longer block WP Engine from accessing its toolchain.The court confirmed the injunction partly out of concern for WP Engine users, who aren't involved in the legal war between the platform and Automattic. Blocking WP Engine prevented users from viewing WordPress.com updates and accessing other crucial tools. WP Engine praised the ruling, saying it preserves the stability essential for collaboration within the WordPress community.Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg founded WordPress, an open-source content management system that runs around 40 percent of websites. In September, he accused WP Engine, a hosting service that uses WordPress tools, of profiting by tricking customers into equating it with WordPress. In a scathing attack, he called the platform, which received most of its initial investment from private equity firm Silver Lake, a "cancer" on WordPress.WP Engine retaliated with a cease-and-desist, defending its use of the WordPress name under fair use and demanding that Mullenweg stop his defamatory statements. Automattic, claiming exclusive WordPress Foundation rights, responded by blocking WP Engine from using WordPress.org software and imposing a paid licensing fee equaling eight percent of WP Engine's monthly revenue.The WordPress Foundation is a non-profit supporting WordPress.org, the open-source set of tools underpinning WordPress.com, the free service many websites use. Although the main dispute is about who has the right to profit from WordPress, it has also ignited discussion over the meaning of the term "open source." // Related StoriesDavid Hansson, creator of the open-source web framework Ruby on Rails, claimed that Automattic's trademark claim goes against the spirit of open-source development and the GNU General Public License (GPL). By charging royalties, Automattic is theoretically treating WordPress.org as proprietary rather than open-source software, which could damage the credibility of the GPL and the Free Open Source Software movement.

Facepalm: Building a robotaxi business isn't easy, even for one of the nation's biggest automobile manufacturers. General Motors has concluded that problems with regulation and operation, coupled with ever-increasing costs of scale and stiff competition, make further development of the Cruise taxi service not worth the capital expenditure. General Motors is calling it quits on its goal of operating a robotaxi service. On Tuesday, GM announced it would combine its teams working on the Cruise autonomous taxi with teams in charge of its Super Cruise advanced driving features in passenger cars. The focus shift comes after GM put Cruise Origin development on indefinite hold in July.After evaluating the project over the last several months, GM has determined that the robotaxi business is not profitable enough to warrant further development. It cited expanding investments to scale and increasing competition in the robotaxi market as reasons for pulling out."[General Motors] intends to combine the majority-owned Cruise LLC and GM technical teams into a single effort to advance autonomous and assisted driving," the automaker said. "Consistent with GM's capital allocation priorities, GM will no longer fund Cruise's robotaxi development work given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market."Since purchasing a majority share of Cruise LLC, GM has poured over $10 billion into the startup, with $2 billion in just 2024. However, raw capital is only the least of the now-defunct project's problems.Going back as far as 2022 and earlier, Cruise has had trouble operating on the streets of San Francisco. Initially, the robotaxis were causing traffic flow issues because they would stop in the middle of the street for no reason. When this happened, remote techs had to boot into the cars to get them moving again. This issue spawned many complaints from civilians and emergency workers, such as fire and EMS personnel, who could not escape the traffic jams.In an incident in October 2023, a motorist hit a pedestrian and knocked the woman into the next lane, where a Cruise taxi ran over and stopped on top of her. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to remove the car from the pedestrian's pinned leg. // Related StoriesThree weeks later, San Francisco officials suspended GM's permit to operate Cruise. Two days after the suspension, the automaker halted Cruise operations nationwide, which included pilot programs in Austin, Houston, Phoenix, and Miami. The entire debacle cost Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and about a quarter of Cruise's workforce their jobs.General Motors did not say whether its restructuring would impact employees through layoffs, although that is highly likely. It is merging at least some of the Cruise workforce into its driver assistance division, but it's unclear if the Super Cruise team can accommodate all of them.In the meantime, GM has offered up a restructuring plan to shareholders, including purchasing at least 97 percent of Cruise it currently owns 90 percent. If the board approves the plan (and can acquire the proposed shares), the company will "work with the Cruise leadership team to restructure and refocus Cruise's operations." So, a Cruise robotaxi is still possible, but under entirely different conditions.If everything goes as planned, GM will execute its Cruise restructuring in the first half of 2025 and expects to save over $1 billion annually.

Google is adding a couple of new features to Androids safety alert system that will help users find unknown trackers moving with them. The new features cover all tags and tracking devices that support Googles Find My Device service for locating lost hardware.The first one is Find Nearby. This one will help users locate any hidden tracker. For example, if your Android phone flashes an unknown tracker alert, you can check for its presence using the Play Sound feature.Recommended VideosHowever, if the tracker is covered under layers, or its speaker system has been tampered with, it becomes nigh impossible to find it. For such scenarios, the Find Nearby feature opens a map that guides them in the direction of the hidden device.GoogleThe shape fills as you get closer to the tracker and also displays a text that describes the status of the connection, explains the company on a support page. Once you reach close to the indicated spot, you can tap on the Play Sound feature and try to find it using audio cues.Please enable Javascript to view this contentAs an extra layer of precaution for such scenarios, Google will also let users disable their phones location sharing for the Find My Device network. This temporary pause on location sharing lasts for 24 hours. It can be done by following this path: I cant find the tracker > Temporarily pause.RelatedGoogle assures that doing so will prevent your devices location from being used by a detected unknown tag for up to 24 hours. Googles tracker alert system for Android also helps users with tracker details, such as device identifier and owners hidden email address, and in some cases, the last four digits of the owners phone number.Get constant protection with Android's unknown tracker alertsGoogles support page also offers a resource table where you can find steps to disable trackers from different brands, including Chipolo, Motorola, and Apple, among others. It can be accessed here.It is advised that when you find an unknown tracking device, move to a safe public spot and alert law enforcement officials as soon as possible. Moreover, take screenshots and save details of the tracking device that appears following the initial alert.The unknown tracker alert system developed by Google kicks into action on its own. But if you have any suspicions, you can launch a manual scan from within the Settings app by following these steps: Safety & Emergency > Unknown tracker alerts > Scan now.Back in 2021, Apple had to release a dedicated app called Tracker Detect so that Android phones could detect hidden AirTags. Google started working on an automatic tracker detection systemand released it soon after.Editors Recommendations

Microsofts Copilot is an amazing AI assistant, and Copilot+ PCs and laptops are designed to take advantage of the technology. The Acer Swift 14 AI is an excellent example, and its available from Best Buy with a huge $400 discount that slashes its price from $1,200 to only $800. Were not sure how much time is remaining before this offer expires, but if you want to make sure that you buy this powerful machine for less than $1,000, we highly recommend proceeding with your purchase as soon as possible.The Acer Swift 14 AI is a Copilot+ laptop thats made by one of the best laptop brands, so you can be sure youre getting a high-quality device. With Microsofts Copilot running on the laptop itself, youll receive faster response times from the AI with enhanced security, for tasks such as finding documents and web pages using Recall, generating and editing images, and translating between languages in real-time. The Acer Swift 14 AI can handle these functions because its powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Adreno Graphics, and 16GB of RAM.Another major feature of the Acer Swift 14 AI, as we described in our review, is its exceptionally long-lasting battery life. This makes the laptop pretty portable, as its also compact with its 14.5-inch screen with WQXGA resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The Acer Swift 14 AI ships with Windows 11 Home, which is pre-loaded in its 1TB SSD that will provide you with lots of storage space for all of your projects.RelatedIf youre on the hunt for laptop deals, you should think about going for one thats built for Microsofts Copilot. The Acer Swift 14 AI, a Copilot+ laptop, should be at the top of your list because its on sale from Best Buy for just $800, for savings of $400 on its sticker price of $1,200. The discount may end at any moment though, so you better hurry if youre interested in this offer. Push forward with your transaction for the Acer Swift 14 AI laptop immediately, as you may miss out on this special price if you wait too long.Editors Recommendations

The auction house, which just got a $1 billion boost, blames cuts on a challenging art market.

A new generation of AI models will take its time to reason, providing more reliable answers to increasingly complex questions.

Following an enormous, expensive restoration effort after the devastating 2019 fire, the Paris cathedral has reopened to the world, at once recognizably itself and possessed of a startling new vibrancy.