How GenAI is Reshaping the Way We Build Recommendation Systems: A Developers Perspective 0 like December 21, 2024Share this postLast Updated on December 21, 2024 by Editorial TeamAuthor(s): Vikram Bhat Originally published on Towards AI. This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.As someone whos worked on building recommendation systems for a few years, Ive witnessed the dramatic shift in tools, workflows, and paradigms firsthand. Back in 2019, building recommendation systems required a lot of manual effort, fragmented tools, and custom code. Fast forward to end of 2024, Generative AI and modern libraries have completely transformed the landscape, making development faster, more intuitive, and far more scalable.In 2019, building a recommendation system involved a lot of manual coding and iteration. Let me walk you through a typical workflow I followed back then:Data Collection & Cleaning: I relied heavily on Pandas and SQL for data cleaning, merging, and feature extraction. Tasks like splitting timestamps for session analysis or encoding categorical variables had to be scripted manually.Model Building: I would use Scikit-learn or XGBoost for collaborative filtering and content-based methods. Training involved long cycles of feature engineering everything from creating TF-IDF vectors for text features to manually generating embeddings. For deep learning, I used TensorFlow 1.x, which was powerful but complex to debug due to static graph definitions.Model Tuning: Hyperparameter tuning was slow and mostly manual. I used grid search or random Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

The weekend is officially here, and we've rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for Saturday, December 21, below:Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for $34.99Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics - Nintendo SwitchMarvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics - PlayStation 4Finally, you can score Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for only $34.99 this weekend at Amazon. That's even lower than last week's sale! This collection packs in seven different titles, including the beloved Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. At last, you can play these classic titles on modern platforms. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven for $39.99Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the SevenRomancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is arguably the best entry point into the SaGa series at this time. Acting as a full 3D remake of the 1993 release, this game features English and Japanese voiceovers, rearranged music, retooled gameplay, and more. If you're still unsure about Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, you can check out the free demo across all platforms! LEGO Horizon Adventures for $39.99LEGO Horizon Adventures - Nintendo SwitchLEGO Horizon Adventures PS5Lego Horizon Adventures is the latest game in the Horizon series, and it marks the first time a Horizon game has been playable on Nintendo Switch. In our review, we wrote, "Lego Horizon Adventures reimagines Horizon Zero Dawn with a playful Lego twist, simplifying the story while keeping the heart of its key moments and characters."Alan Wake II for $59.99Alan Wake 2 Deluxe EditionAlan Wake II never received a physical release at launch last year, but Remedy has fixed that as of last month with the Alan Wake II Deluxe Edition. This release bundles in Alan Wake II and its two expansions, Night Springs and The Lake House. If you're a fan of survival horror, this is one of the best games available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.Astro Bot for $49.97Astro Bot PS5Selected as Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, Astro Bot is on sale this weekend, and there has never been a better time to pick up one of the PlayStation 5's best games. Building off Astro's Playroom, Astro Bot features many new abilities and bosses to fight, with over 300 bots to rescue across the galaxy. You'll find planets modeled after beloved PlayStation games like Ape Escape and Uncharted, and even surprise third-party bots like Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 2. Resident Evil 4 for $19.99Resident Evil 4 - PS5Resident Evil 4 was one of the biggest games of 2023, with Capcom recreating one of the highest-praised action titles ever. As Leon S. Kennedy, it's up to you to travel to Europe and rescue the President's daughter, Ashley Graham. With the Separate Ways DLC also available, the Resident Evil 4 remake is simply one of the best action games ever. There's never been a better time to jump in, with this price acting as an all-time low.Save on ROG Ally at Best Buy$449.99 for My Best Buy Plus MembersAsus ROG Ally AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme 512GB Gaming HandheldThis weekend at Best Buy, you can save on the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme model, where it's priced at $499.99. This handheld device is perfect for exploring your Steam library on the go, with PC Game Pass support also easily accessible. If you're planning to travel anytime soon, the ROG Ally will be your best friend.Ace Attorney Investigations Collection for $29.99Ace Attorney Investigations Collection - NIntendo SwitchAce Attorney Investigations Collection brought both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutors Gambit in one package, with Prosecutor's Gambit releasing in English for the very first time. This release features updated visuals, new animations, gallery mode, conversation history, and more. You can even switch between the old and new sprites!DJI Action 2 Dual-ScreenDJI Action 2 Dual-Screen Combo (32GB)The DJI Action 2 is on sale this weekend at Amazon for $159, and it's the perfect camera to take with you on your next adventure. With 4K/120 capability, the DJI Action 2 can be attached to all kinds of accessories, including a magnetic headband, lanyard, and more. The camera itself is even waterproof, with support for depths up to 10 meters right out of the box.

Ever since it opened at Disneyland in 1969, the Haunted Mansion has spooked and delighted millions and millions of Disney Parks guests from all over the world. Now, with the Disney Treasure's Haunted Mansion Parlor, there is a brand-new way to experience this beloved attraction while in the middle of the ocean on Disney's newest cruise ship.Disney invited us on the Disney Treasure Media Preview Sailing and we had the chance to not only check out the Haunted Mansion Parlor and all of its haunts, but we also were able to speak to a couple of the Imagineers behind bringing this nautical twist on the attraction we all love to life.Welcome, Foolish MortalsThe Haunted Mansion Parlor feels like the perfect extension of The Haunted Mansion itself and just screams authenticity. From the iconic ticking clock sound to a floating Madame Leota to eerily familiar paintings that hide dark secrets to hitchhiking ghosts and the always wonderful 'Grim Grinning Ghosts,' there is so much love and care put into every inch of this lounge. However, this isn't just a smaller version of the Haunted Mansion. No, this is its own wonderful place with its own story to tell that shouldn't be missed."We built our own mythology here because we're on a cruise ship, so we wanted it to have a nautical twist to everything," Danny Handke, senior creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said. "And we built it all around this Captain character who is currently dead but lives on in this place and even in a portrait in the lounge. "This is the Captain's lounge, and the story is he rescued his bride-to-be who is actually a murderous mermaid you can also meet in the parlor. They get engaged and things start to go wrong and that's where the real Haunted Mansion story comes into play. More of the story is then told in various ways around the space and you have the option to discover it on your own and figure out what the lore is."One of the biggest additions to this lore is the centerpiece of the Haunted Mansion Parlor - an aquarium with ghost fish. While this alone seems like a very cool concept, its history goes way back to when the original Haunted Mansion was being developed.The Haunted Mansion Parlor on the Disney Treasure"The Haunted Mansion was worked on and developed for 10 years before it opened in 1969 at Disneyland for the first time and there were so many things that didn't make it in," Daniel Jones, executive illusions & effects development at Walt Disney Imagineering, told me. "So, with love, we looked at all these concepts and what really popped out were the Museum of the Weird elements that Imagineer Rolly Crump had worked on. Most of all however, the team and I agreed the Ghost Fish Aquarium was a must because it's the perfect fit."The Museum of the Weird was set to be a companion walkthrough experience to the Haunted Mansion but it never saw the light of day due in part to Walt's passing. Variations of some of the planned pieces of the museum - from the 'Donald Armchair' near the Endless Hallway to the iconic wallpaper - made it into the Haunted Mansion, and now one more of Crump's designs can be celebrated. While this was an exciting prospect for the team, it also proved to be one of the parlor's most difficult challenges."The Ghost Fish Aquarium was a call it action to my team and I because a lot of illusions and things that we like to do tend to be in the dark and from one point of view and, as you know, the aquarium is the central piece and can be seen from all sides," Joseph said. "You can look through and see other people behind it. So it is, for all intents and purposes, a real fish tank just like you'd normally have but with ghost fish."Getting this bit of "Disney Magic" came down to the wire as it wasn't quite to the standard of Walt Disney Imagineering until after it was already installed on the ship. The aquarium was mocked up and designed four years beforehand but the team was tweaking it up until the last minute to make it what they all knew it could be."The aquarium is a great example of typical Disney Magic where there's a lot of technology in it but you don't see any of it or don't even question it," Joseph said. "This thing was mocked up and developed probably four years ago and since then we've been kind of tweaking on and off how it would work and what's in it. And, really to the last minute, we didn't have it fully working to what we all knew it could do until it was on the ship, which is pretty late in our process."The aquarium is a great example of typical Disney Magic where there's a lot of technology in it but you don't see any of it or don't even question it."Grim Grinning Ghosts GaloreWhile Joseph didn't reveal all the tricks that finally brought the aquarium to the finish line, he and Handke did share how Imagineering made the rest of the parlor feel just as real and believable as the ghost fish are.We spoke previously about the paintings that change before your eyes in the parlor, which are very much in the style of those found in the original Haunted Mansion by Marc Davis, but Imagineering once again went above and beyond to honor the past while paving a new way forward."What we're really proud of about this paintings is a new technique that we use where you can go right up on top of them, put your face right near it, and it looks and seems like a real painting," Joseph shared. "Just like in a museum, you can go up and see the texture of the art, all the brush strokes, and even the glossiness and the matte finish of the oil paint."This is made even more impressive by the fact that these paintings do change and move, from the captain becoming a skeleton to his bride-to-be showing her true form as that murderous mermaid. However, Imagineering was careful never to go too far and leave what we all expect from the Haunted Mansion behind. In fact, their passion for the attraction is one of the main reasons it feels so authentic. This is perhaps seen best in the mirror behind the bar where we see the hitchhiking ghosts, Madame Leota, and more. One route the team could have taken was to update these characters and use modern-day techniques to bring them to a new audience, but they chose a different path.For the character behind the bar, we elected to go with the original Haunted Mansion animated figures," Joseph said. "So, there's no CGI in that because we wanted it to feel like the original from 1969. Those aren't animated cartoon characters that you can see in a video game, they are very analog looking. So, we took a very high ISO camera with high resolution and filmed a whole bunch of the figures in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and then amped up the quality and added glow and all that."I know it's cliche to say, but the Haunted Mansion Parlor truly is a love letter to the original attraction and the incredible people who made it into the iconic attraction it is and always will be. To shine a haunted light on that and bring this story to a close, I want to share one final story from Daniel Joseph that just really proves why this is more than just another lounge."Another character we all loved from the Museum of the Weird was Rolly Crump's Candleman," Joseph said. "Sadly, Rolly passed away during the development of the Haunted Mansion Parlor and we were all saddened by that and the fact he'd never get to see it completed. "So, we knew we wanted to do a bust in there no matter what just like you'd find in the Haunted Mansion, but we then knew the perfect choice was to make it of Rolly. To make it even more special, one of our team members suggested we do Rolly partially as the Candleman and make sure the side of his head that's melting is next to the fireplace. This was a huge honor and another really detailed thought and the authenticity of the design that follows suit with everything else in the Mansion parlor. For more on the Disney Treasure, check out why The Tale of Moana is one of the best shows I've seen on land or sea and why the Plaza de Coco dining experience was one of the most emotional I've had in quite some time.Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

My Dad passed away in 2018, well before his time, and Coco helped me in such a way with this terrible loss that I could never hope to truly put it into words. The film, and the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos that inspired it, felt like the warmest blanket on the most frigid of nights and helped me believe for the first time that he was still with me and always would be. So, it should go without saying that when Disney invited me on the media preview sailing of the Disney Treasure and I first stepped into that world via the Plaza de Coco restaurant, complete with a recreation of the Riveras Ofrenda and the Plaza de Santa Cecilia, my heart soared and that feeling came rushing back.This dining experience was one of the most emotional meals Ive had in quite some time and I was so honored to be able to speak to and hear from Cocos director Lee Unkrich, Miguels voice actor Anthony Gonzalez, and members of the team that brought Plaza de Coco to life to learn more about why this is one celebration you wont want to miss.Our Love For Each Other Will Live on ForeverPlaza de Coco is set three years after the events of the film and it was such a pleasure to see how Santa Cecilia and the Rivera family have changed since the credits rolled. Hctor is now the star and Ernesto de la Cruz is nowhere to be found. There is a long hallway that leads to the main part of the restaurant, and it is adorned with the letters Hctor wrote Coco and the song lyrics and notes to the tracks my kids and I still dance and sing along to today. The hallway also has nods to the Rivera family being shoemakers with a workbench, shoes, and tools all around, and these are joined by pictures of the family from the present and the past. From those first few steps, you can feel how the events of Coco have changed the family and this town for the better.This then extends into the dinner show itself, which takes place over two nights. We only got to see the second night, which is much more a retelling of the events of Coco and features a lot more of the most popular songs, but the first night appears to set the stage in a wonderful way."We're seeing how generational trauma has been healed through music, and that's really, really powerful.Because our story starts three years after the film, we wanted to let that sink in for our guests, Plaza de Coco Show Director Juan Cantu said. So, it really is about seeing Miguel meeting Abuelita Elena a few years later where she's allowed music into her life. I mean, remember, she's the one that broke his guitarra, and I know what that felt like.I mean, my parents never broke my guitar, but I certainly felt the way Miguel felt at that moment wanting to be a musician. So, we're seeing how generational trauma has been healed through music, and that's really, really powerful.Speaking of powerful, seeing the Riveras Ofrenda in person - complete with the picture of Mama Coco who passed at the end of the film and the restored photo of Hctor, Mama Imelda, and Coco that now allows Hctor to cross the Marigold Bridge - was a tearful moment I wont ever forget. It also meant a lot to Cocos director Lee Unkrich, who had never seen it brought to life in such detail before.We spent a lot of time creating the Rivera familys Ofrenda and we based it upon elements of the most beautiful Ofrendas that we saw in rural Mexico during our research trips, Unkrich said. We would be with families that were very, very poor, yet they pulled together the most beautiful Ofrendas that sometimes took over whole rooms in their homes.We wanted more than anything to capture that beauty, so it was crazy for me to walk in and see that Ofrenda there that the Disney team put together because it looks so much like the one in the film. In all seriousness, I've only ever experienced that Ofrenda digitally while making the film, so it was really amazing for me to be able to walk up to it and touch it and just see the actual framed photos. It was very surreal in the best way. Plaza de Coco on the Disney TreasureGonzalez was also moved by seeing the Ofrenda at Plaza de Coco, because it means so much to not only his character in the film, but his heritage and those he loves the most.Seeing the Ofrenda was a very special moment because it represents the love that Miguel has for his family and represents the love that we all have for our ancestors, Gonzalez said. So, to see Miguel's family there and Mama Coco right in the middle was a very special moment to see in real life. "Plaza de Coco is a place that honors family. Sure, it honors Miguel's family, but also all the families that are going to come here and experience this wonderful culture, food, and music for themselves.Remember MeI know its taken a while, but yes, Im happy to report Anthony was right and the food is also wonderful! There were a ton of authentic Mexican dishes crafted specifically for Plaza de Coco, and the Michoacn Carnitas tacos entree was my favorite bite of the entire cruise. It just had the most tender and crispy bits of carnitas and a beautifully spicy and bright salsa, cilantro-lime rice, guacamole, pickled red onions, and delicious tortillas. Miguels Churros Calientes, which were sugar spiced and came complete with a warm cajeta caramel, were a close second as they were everything youd hope a churro would be. Delightfully crispy on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside, and accented masterfully with that sauce.Other highlights included the Red Chicken Enchiladas with Guajillo spiced red enchilada sauce, the Beef Birria Empanada with Oaxaca Cheese and Birria Consomme, and the Sunrise Spectacular Chocolate Cake with raspberry chocolate creme and Marigold petals. Oh, and its hard to beat chips and salsa waiting for you on your dinner table.Also waiting for us was that second night of the Plaza de Coco show, which features Miguel being joined once again by Hctor and Mama Imelda and singing the most popular Coco and Mexican songs. Just like everything else at Plaza de Coco, the team infused so much of Mexican culture into the show and hearing them talk about what a meaningful thing that was stuck with me long after I left the ship.It was such an honor to be invited to be part of this project as the cultural consultant, Mario Trujillo said. It was such a critical part to find authentic musicians to play the instruments from Mexico like the vihuela, wear the proper Mariachi outfits in the trajes de charro, and play beautiful, authentic Mexican melodies that are very, very familiar to not only our Hispanic cultures and Mexican cultures, but worldwide like Cielito Lindo, Cu Cu Ru Cu Cu Paloma, Sabor a Mi, and the birthday song Las Maanitas.We wanted to bring so much of our culture to Plaza de Coco and share it with our guests, who we believe will leave here as familia knowing they can start their own traditions after hearing this beautiful story and learning more about Dia de los Muertos, which is not a somber occasion, but a celebration of life. It's a celebration of the future. It's a celebration of the past of those we loved. And when it's deeply rooted in culture and tradition, I think that's the magic.Mario, Im so happy to report that there was magic in that room and the love, care, and authenticity put into every corner of Plaza de Coco shines so bright. It also really made me think of father in a beautiful way, and there is a truly special moment in the show where we all get to honor those we lost. I could ramble on about what that meant to me, but I want Juan Cantu to have the final words here and share a story that echoes my own and so many others around the world."It's a celebration of the future. It's a celebration of the past of those we loved. And when it's deeply rooted in culture and tradition, I think that's the magic."My parents are from Monterrey, Mexico, and I definitely dedicate this to my parents, Cantu said fighting back tears. I do this to honor them, and I celebrate them every night when I see the show. There's a beautiful moment where you will be invited to remember a loved one and I definitely think of Maria y Ramiro Cantu and honor them through this work.That's the beauty of this whole experience. They were a part of me going to Mexico to hold auditions for our actors and then they were there for every creative decision along the way. I felt them whispering in my ear, and not just them, but all of our ancestors, who we truly feel are present in this space when we perform this show. It's a very heartfelt, meaningful experience.It may have been the rendition of Proud Corazn that gets me every time when watching Coco or the Ofrenda or that moment where got to honor our loved ones, but I did feel that my Dad was in that room with us, and whats a better gift than that? For more on the Disney Treasure, check out why The Tale of Moana is one of the best shows I've seen on land or sea and why the Haunted Mansion Parlor is the perfect extension of the beloved Disney Parks Attraction.Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Brought to you by Uniq:The Lyden Collection features iPhone cases, AirPods cases, and magnetic cardholders, all crafted from premium vegan leatherette. Designed with both style and sustainability in mind, this collection adds a sophisticated touch while embodying our dedication to eco-conscious living. Check out the collection. Flashier features like camera upgrades, faster performance, and bigger screens usually take the spotlight when it comes to iPhone. However, Apples smartphone has evolved with powerful safety tools over the years. Heres a look at 6 safety features that offer real peace of mind with iPhone 16 and how you test them out or make sure thyere enabled.While the features below arent exclusive to iPhone 16, theyll be new for anyone upgrading from an iPhone 13, 13 Pro or earlier.iPhone 14 and 14 Pro were the first devices to get capabilities like Emergency SOS via satellite and Roadside Assistance via satellite with two years of access included for free. Then in fall 2023, Apple extended that so both iPhone 14 and 15 users will have the emergency services included for free until fall 2025. iPhone 16 users will have those features until fall 2026.Meanwhile features like Crash Detection, Safety Check, and Stolen Device Protection are included with modern iPhones and iOS with no subscription. Lets dig in.iPhone 16: 6 priceless safety featuresEmergency SOS with and without satelliteEmergency SOS on iPhone has been available for many years but the more recent enhancement has been Emergency SOS via satellite. That means even if you dont have WiFi or cellular service, you can request help from emergency services (in supported countries).While hopefully youll never need to use this feature Apple has built a demo into iOS for iPhone 14, 15, and 16 so you can practice using the feature before you need it in a real-life situation. Read our full guide below how how to try it out.How to use iPhone Emergency SOS via satelliteRoadside Assistance via satelliteBeyond calling emergency services, Apple has partnered with AAA and Verizon to deliver Roadside Assistance when youre without a connection.This is another good one to learn about ahead of needing to use the feature check out all the details in our full post: Roadside Assistance via satellite on iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 now works with both AAA and VerizonMessages via satelliteExpanding on Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance via satellite, Apple launched Messages via satellite with iOS 18 that lets users stay in touch with friends and family in the event you dont have WiFi or cell service.Shortly after launching, this feature saved lives during Hurricane Helene. If you find yourself in this situation, iPhone 14 or later will prompt you in the Messages app to connect to a satellite to send a message.Learn more about how this works:Messages via satellite provides lifeline to iPhone owners in Hurricane Helene falloutCrash DetectionThis feature is automatically enabled on iPhone 14, 15, and 16 (Apple Watch 8 and later too). But you can double-check its turned on by heading to Settings > Emergency SOS > Crash Detection.In the event a severe car crash is detected, your iPhone or Apple Watch sounds an alarm and displays an alert. If you dont respond in 20 seconds, your device automatically calls emergency services. But keep in mind this does require a WiFi or cellular connection to work.In the years since it debuted, weve seen a number of scenarios where the feature has saved lives.Apple Watch Crash Detection comes to the rescue yet again: Amazing technology that clearly impacted a persons lifeSafety CheckThis feature is available for any iPhone running iOS 16 or later. Its primarily aimed at those at risk for domestic abuse or similar. Safety Check for iPhone lets users immediately revoke location access others have including apps and also walks users through a security review.You can find this features in Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check or read our full guide below for all the details:Safety Check for iPhone: How to immediately stop sharing location and moreStolen Device ProtectionIn early 2024, we got a new safety feature for iPhone called Stolen Device Protection. The launch came after there was a rise in iPhone thefts in public places like bars.The great thing about the feature is theres very little downside to the user experience while providing a great boost to security.If you dont have it turned on or want to double-check, head to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection.How to turn on iPhone Stolen Device Protection; and should you?Do you have a favorite iPhone safety feature? Have any of these saved the day for you? Share your expereince down in the comments!Brought to you by Uniq:The Lyden Collection features iPhone cases, AirPods cases, and magnetic cardholders, all crafted from premium vegan leatherette. Designed with both style and sustainability in mind, this collection adds a sophisticated touch while embodying our dedication to eco-conscious living. Check out the collection. Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Woah.Blast RadiusIn 2018, astronomers took the first-ever picture of a black hole, a fascinating and unprecedented glimpse of an event horizon.And as it turns out, the black hole dubbed M87*and located some 55 million light-years away also let out a massive belch of gamma rays while scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope team, an international collaboration combining data from sensors around the globe, were getting a closer look.The campaign gathered data from 25 terrestrial and orbital telescopes in"We were lucky to detect a gamma-ray flare from M87 during this Event Horizon Telescope's multi-wavelength campaign," said University of Trieste Giacomo Principe, coauthor of a new paper accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, in a statement. "This marks the first gamma-ray flaring event observed in this source in over a decade, allowing us to precisely constrain the size of the region responsible for the observed gamma-ray emission."Violent DelightsThe team is hoping the gamma ray outburst data will help scientists study the "physics surrounding M87s supermassive black hole," according to Principe.The researchers found that the outburst, an energetic flare releasing copious amounts of high-energy radiation, absolutely dwarfed the black hole itself, extending beyond its event horizon by tens of millions of times.The blast lasted for roughly three Earth days, covering an area roughly 170 times the distance from the Sun to the Earth.Scientists believe the flare is the result of material consumed by the black hole interacting with its external magnetic field.Explosions of this type are some of the most violent in the universebut are infamously hard to capture as they are usually only visible in specific wavelengths."The activity of this supermassive black hole is highly unpredictable it is hard to forecast when a flare will occur," said coauthor and Nagoya City University researcher Kazuhiro Hada in a statement.The team found that the "flare region has a complex structure and exhibits different characteristics depending on the wavelength," according to University of Tokyo astroparticle physicist and team member Daniel Mazin.It was such a violent event that even the overall ring structure of the black hole itself appeared to change in relation to the flare, suggesting an intriguing relationship between the two.But there's still a lot we don't understand about the nature of these massive celestial objects."How and where particles are accelerated in supermassive black hole jets is a longstanding mystery," said coauthor and University of Amsterdam professor Sera Markoff. "For the first time, we can combine direct imaging of the near event horizon regions during gamma-ray flares from particle acceleration events and test theories about the flare origins."More on the black hole: Scientists Capture Amazing Image of Black Hole at Center of Our GalaxyShare This Article

OpinionDecember 21, 20245 min readHow Feminism Can Guide Climate Change ActionFeminism gives us the analysis, tools and movement to create a better climate future for everyone. Its time to embrace itBy Laura Turquet, Silke Staab & Brianna Howell edited by Megha Satyanarayana Amr Bo Shanab/Getty ImagesThis year is projected to be the hottest on record. The latest United Nations estimates indicate that, without radical and immediate action, we are headed toward an increasingly unlivable planet with an increase of up to 3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Solving the climate crisis requires urgent, global cooperation.But the yearly global climate meeting (called the Conference of the Parties, or COP) held in November in the petrostate of Azerbaijan upheld the status quo, at best. The current economic system that underpins that status quo is rooted in the extraction of natural resources and exploitation of cheap or unpaid labor, often done by women and marginalized communities. This system therefore drives the climate crisis while perpetuating inequalities based on gender, race and class. It prioritizes the interests of corporations, governments and elites in positions of power and wealth, while destroying the natural environment that poor and marginalized people depend on the most.We need a different tack to move the needle. As gender-equality researchers at the U.N., we see growing evidence that women, girls and gender-diverse people are bearing the brunt of climate change. And that raises a question: What if we approached climate from a feminist perspective?On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Feminism offers an analysis of how inequalities structure our world and therefore drive the climate crisis, among other global concerns. We believe that it provides a vision of a better climate future, and a practical approach for moving towards it. That sound future is not just about ending fossil fuelbased economiesthough that is urgent and necessarybut a more fundamental transformation of our economic and political systems.Women worldwide have unequal access to economic resources, such as jobs, bank accounts, land and technology. This means that when weather patterns change, disrupting infrastructure and public services, they are less able to adapt, recover and rebuild. As a result, their livelihoods and economic security are particularly at risk. U.N. Womens latest research finds that, globally, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty, and 236 million more women and girls into food insecurity, by 2050 under a worst-case scenario. In addition to income poverty, women and girls face rising time poverty. As water, fuel and nutritious food are harder to come by and the health care needs of family members increase, women and girls have to spend more time on unpaid care work. This reduces the time they have to do paid work, go to school or take care of themselves.This toxic combination of time and income poverty has far-reaching, long-term consequences. After years of slow progress in reducing rates of child marriage, for example, this practice is on the rise again in places experiencing environmental stress, as families struggle financially and see early marriage as a form of security for their girls. In drought-prone areas, girls are increasingly likely to drop out of school, as families cannot afford fees and need their girls to contribute to household work, stunting their opportunities for life.The feminist climate justice approach tries to address the interlinked challenges of climate change, gender inequality and social injustice. It is based on the recognition that women and girls who are poor, from lower castes or a marginalized ethnic group, or are disabled, are most affected by disasters and environmental degradation, while their knowledge and contributions to addressing them are consistently sidelined. A feminist climate justice approach elevates their voices and values their contributions to understanding the climate crisis and charting a new way forward. For example, women from Indigenous and local communities have used their traditional knowledge of tree species to lead sustainable forestry initiatives in Colombia; and in Bangladesh, during extreme floods, women relied on traditional rural cooking methods to provide food in remote affected areas.We need to move away from economies based on extraction and pollution, towards ones that are based on regeneration and care for one another and for the environment. These new systems would prioritize the well-being of people and the planet, over profits and elite power, to enable a more sustainable, resilient, inclusive and equitable future. This feminist vision builds on thinking from a diversity of cultural contexts and growing interest in well-being economies. For example, the Buen Vivir (Living Well) paradigm that underpins the development strategies of Bolivia and Ecuador is inspired by Indigenous knowledge and values that promote harmonious relationships between humans and nature. Meanwhile in Canada, a Quality of Life strategy was introduced to support a resilient COVID-19 recovery, focusing on improving key areas of life such as health, social belonging, environmental quality, prosperity and public trust.As detailed in our report Feminist Climate Justice: A Framework for Action, moving towards this vision requires action around four pillars.First, we must recognize women's rights, labor and knowledge. To be effective, climate policymaking needs to take into account the expertise that women, including Indigenous and rural women, bring to bear on issues like preserving ecosystems and environmentally sustainable agriculture. This is essential to avoid the problem of maladaptationwell-intended adaptation projects that either dont work or cause more harm than good.We must redistribute resources away from male-dominated, environmentally harmful economic activities towards those prioritizing womens employment, regeneration and care for both people and ecosystems. The idea of a just transition, which is gaining prominence on the climate agenda, must extend beyond providing new jobs for men laid off from fossil fuel industries to address the longstanding economic disadvantages women and marginalized groups face: persistent wage gaps; vast inequalities in land ownership, labor force participation, access to education, training and technology; and inadequate or absent social protection.We must ensure representation of diverse womens voices in environmental decision-making, whether in social movements, environmental ministries or COP delegations. In civil society, women organizing collectively within and across movements have the right to be heard and see their interests reflected, without being threatened, harassed and even killed for their activism. Ending impunity for violence against human and environmental rights defenders is therefore also essential.And we must repair the impacts of environmental degradationacknowledging that the Global North bears the largest share of responsibility for historical emissionsand guarantee not to repeat those harms. Wealthy countries need to make good on long-standing climate finance commitments and ensure resources get to grassroots womens organizations at the forefront of this crisis. As campaigners chanted at COP28, billions not millions, make polluters pay. Taxing and regulating the corporations that are causing climate chaos in developing countries is necessary as part of reparations.As well as the what of feminist climate justice, the how is equally important. The vast gap between the demands for bold climate action and sluggish government responses raises urgent questions on how to ensure accountability. Given the tensions and conflicts between countries at the moment, the fact that every government comes together each year to negotiate on climate is an achievement not to be dismissed. But still, it feels like we are a million miles from where we need to be. The role of social movementsfeminists, environmentalists, indigenous peoples organizations, youthworking with allies in the UN, governments and progressive business to demand faster, more radical action will be critical. Our hope is that the feminist climate justice framework can help unite a common understanding of the urgency and direction of necessary action across these four pillars to demand a more sustainable future.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.Laura Turquet is deputy chief of research and data at U.N. Women. Follow Turquet on Bluesky lauraturquet.bsky.socialand LinkedInSilke Staab is senior research specialist at U.N. Women. Follow her on Bluesky @silkestaab.bsky.social and LinkedInBrianna Howell is research analyst at U.N. Women. Follow her on LinkedIn

Amazon delays return-to-office mandate for thousands of workers due to space Dec. 19, 2024 at 6:38 am By Spencer Soper, Matt Day and JOHN GITTELSOHN Bloomberg Amazon.com wont have enough space for thousands of employees when they start returning to the office five days a week next month.The company recently told some personnel working in at least seven cities including Austin, Dallas and Phoenix that their return dates will be pushed back as much as four months, according to people familiar with the situation.Seattle-area officesIt was unclear on Thursday morning if any of Amazons Seattle-area offices will see return-to-office delays. In a statement, Amazon said for the vast majority of Amazonians, buildings will be ready on Jan. 2, but for some locations, there may be different timelines. The company said it is communicating directly with employees in those locations.The delay is the latest twist in a return-to-office saga that has roiled Amazons normally heads-down workforce. Some employees say theyre unhappy about being asked to come in full-time when many of their tech industry peers have more flexible work arrangements.Amazon employs more than 350,000 corporate employees worldwide mostly in the U.S. and its not clear precisely how many people are affected by the return-to-office delays. A company spokesperson said the vast majority of employees will have desks starting on Jan. 2. Employees in Dallas were recently told there wouldnt be sufficient space for them all to work five days a week in the office until March or April, one of the people said. Some workers in the companys Midtown Manhattan office in the Lord & Taylor building might not have space for full-time work until May, another person said. Amazon also notified employees in Atlanta, Nashville and Houston that it didnt have sufficient space for them all to return in January, Business Insider reported Monday.When Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy announced the aggressive return-to-work mandate in September, he and other executives said it was necessary to nurture an eroding company culture. But some employees suspect the mandate is an effort to thin the ranks and avoid layoffs and severance payments. Amazon denies this.Employees say they have proved in recent years that teams can be effective while working remotely. Some of those affected by the RTO delay reacted with relief evidence that the five-day office mandate is widely unpopular.For more than a year, most Amazon employees have been asked to badge in three days a week, though there are exceptions for teams and fully remote positions. Amazon didnt have enough seats ready for that initial return-to-office plan, including in Bellevue where Amazon has focused much of its headquarters growth after building out its Seattle campus.Some workers say the company is still struggling to host people three days a week. In recent interviews, employees complained of working from shared desks, crowded corporate canteens and a lack of conference rooms for confidential calls or team meetings. The company has added a feature to its room reservation tool that requires workers to attest they actually plan to use the space, an apparent effort to crack down on squatters looking for a quiet place to work.Its not an ideal moment to be seeking new office space. While vacancies soared as remote work surged during the pandemic, theres now a shortage of the high-quality space typically leased by tech companies. Amazon has been leasing temporary space from WeWork in New York and Silicon Valley in recent weeks, a WeWork spokesperson confirmed.Coming out of the pandemic, Amazon froze hiring and tapped the brakes on its own real estate development, pausing high-profile office projects in Bellevue, Nashville and at the companys second headquarters campus in Arlington, Virginia. Some of those projects have since resumed and could eventually ease the strain.A spokesperson said that in most cases, the return-to-office delays are the result of reconfigurations of buildings that had been laid out to accommodate part-time remote workers, rather than a lack of available office space. This story was originally published at bloomberg.com. Read it here. The Seattle Times does not append comment threads to stories from wire services such as the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post or Bloomberg News. Rather, we focus on discussions related to local stories by our own staff. You can read more about our community policies here.

Auteurs Irfan Mehmood Associate Professor in Business Analytics and AI, University of Bradford Kamran Mahroof Associate Professor, Supply Chain Analytics, University of Bradford Dclaration dintrtsLes auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possdent pas de parts, ne reoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont dclar aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.PartenairesUniversity of Bradford apporte des fonds en tant que membre fondateur de TheConversation UK.Voir les partenaires de TheConversation FranceYoure running late at the airport and need to urgently access your account, only to be greeted by one of those frustrating tests Select all images with traffic lights or Type the letters you see in this box. You squint, you guess, but somehow youre wrong. You complete another test but still the site isnt satisfied. Your flight is boarding now, the tannoy announces as the website gives you yet another puzzle. You swear at the screen, close your laptop and rush towards the gate. Now, heres a thought to cheer you up: bots are now solving these puzzles in milliseconds using artificial intelligence (AI). How ironic. The tools designed to prove were human are now obstructing us more than the machines theyre supposed to be keeping at bay. Welcome to the strange battle between bot detection and AI, which is set to get even more complicated in the coming years as technology continues to improve. So what does the future look like?Captcha, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, was invented in the early 2000s by a team of computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. It was a simple idea: get internet users to prove their humanity via tasks they can easily complete, but which machines find difficult. Machines were already causing havoc online. Websites were flooded with bots doing things like setting up fake accounts to buy up concert tickets, or posting automated comments to market fake Viagra or to entice users to take part in scams. Companies needed a way to stop this pernicious activity without losing legitimate users. The early versions of Captcha were basic but effective. Youd see wavy, distorted letters and type them into a box. Bots couldnt read the text the way humans could, so websites stayed protected. This went through several iterations in the years ahead: ReCaptcha was created in 2007 to add a second element in which you had to also key in a distorted word from an old book. Then in 2014 by now acquired by Google came reCaptcha v2. This is the one that asks users to tick the I am not a robot box and often choose from a selection of pictures containing cats or bicycle parts, or whatever. Still the most popular today, Google gets paid by companies who use the service on their website. Damn those bicycles.LilgrapherHow AI has outgrown the systemTodays AI systems can solve the challenges these Captchas rely on. They can read distorted text, so that the wavy or squished letters from the original Captcha tests are easy for them. Thanks to natural language processing and machine learning, AI can decode even the messiest of words. Similarly, AI tools such as Google Vision and OpenAIs Clip can recognise hundreds of objects faster and more accurately than most humans. If a Captcha asks an AI to click all the buses in a picture selection, they can solve it in fractions of a second, whereas it might take a human ten to 15 seconds. This isnt just a theoretical problem. Consider driving tests: waiting lists for tests in England are many months long, though you can get a much faster test by paying a higher fee to a black-market tout. The Guardian reported in July that touts commonly used automated software to book out all the test slots, while swapping candidates in and out to fit their ever-changing schedules. In an echo of the situation 20 years ago, there are similar issues with tickets for things such as football matches. The moment tickets become available, bots overwhelm the system bypassing Captchas, purchasing tickets in bulk and reselling them at inflated prices. Genuine users often miss out because they cant operate as quickly. Similarly, bots attack social media platforms, e-commerce websites and online forums. Fake accounts spread misinformation, post spam or grab limited items during sales. In many cases, Captcha is no longer able to stop these abuses. Whats happening now?Developers are continually coming up with new ways to verify humans. Some systems, like Googles ReCaptcha v3 (introduced in 2018), dont ask you to solve puzzles anymore. Instead, they watch how you interact with a website. Do you move your cursor naturally? Do you type like a person? Humans have subtle, imperfect behaviours that bots still struggle to mimic. Not everyone likes ReCaptcha v3 because it raises privacy issues plus the web company needs to assess user scores to determine who is a bot, and the bots can beat the system anyway. There are alternatives that use similar logic, such as slider puzzles that ask users to move jigsaw pieces around, but these too can be overcome. Slider Captcha:Some websites are now turning to biometrics to verify humans, such as fingerprint scans or voice recognition, while face ID is also a possibility. Biometrics are harder for bots to fake, but they come with their own problems privacy concerns, expensive tech and limited access for some users, say because they cant afford the relevant smartphone or cant speak because of a disability.The imminent arrival of AI agents will add another layer of complexity. It will mean we increasingly want bots to visit sites and do things on our behalf, so web companies will need to start distinguishing between good bots and bad bots. This area still needs a lot more consideration, but digital authentication certificates are proposed as one possible solution. In sum, Captcha is no longer the simple, reliable tool it once was. AI has forced us to rethink how we verify people online, and its only going to get more challenging as these systems get smarter. Whatever becomes the next technological standard, its going to have to be easy to use for humans, but one step ahead of the bad actors. So the next time you find yourself clicking on blurry traffic lights and getting infuriated, remember youre part of a bigger fight. The future of proving humanity is still being written, and the bots wont be giving up any time soon.

submitted by /u/DomesticErrorist22 [link] [comments]