Ah, what a beautiful family portrait.

Great UI design ...shame about the 'art'.

The gap between the ultra-rich minority and the vast majority has never been greater. But a wave of activist millionaires is asking for higher taxes.

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.Heres a question. Imagine that, for $15,000, you could purchase a robot to pitch in with all the mundane tasks in your household. The catch (aside from the price tag) is that for 80% of those tasks, the robots AI training isnt good enough for it to act on its own. Instead, its aided by a remote assistant working from the Philippines to help it navigate your home and clear your table or put away groceries. Would you want one?Thats the question at the center of my story for our magazine, published online today, on whether we will trust humanoid robots enough to welcome them into our most private spaces, particularly if theyre part of an asymmetric labor arrangement in which workers in low-wage countries perform physical tasks for us in our homes through robot interfaces. In the piece, I wrote about one robotics company called Prosper and its massive effortbringing in former Pixar designers and professional butlersto design a trustworthy household robot named Alfie. Its quite a ride. Read the story here.Theres one larger question that the story raises, though, about just how profound a shift in labor dynamics robotics could bring in the coming years.For decades, robots have found success on assembly lines and in other somewhat predictable environments. Then, in the last couple of years, robots started being able to learn tasks more quickly thanks to AI, and that has broadened their applications to tasks in more chaotic settings, like picking orders in warehouses. But a growing number of well-funded companies are pushing for an even more monumental shift.Prosper and others are betting that they dont have to build a perfect robot that can do everything on its own. Instead, they can build one thats pretty good, but receives help from remote operators anywhere in the world. If that works well enough, theyre hoping to bring robots into jobs that most of us would have guessed couldnt be automated: the work of hotel housekeepers, care providers in hospitals, or domestic help. Almost any indoor physical labor is on the table, Prospers founder and CEO, Shariq Hashme, told me.Until now, weve mostly thought about automation and outsourcing as two separate forces that can affect the labor market. Jobs might be outsourced overseas or lost to automation, but not both. A job that couldnt be sent offshore and could not yet be fully automated by machines, like cleaning a hotel room, wasnt going anywhere. Now, advancements in robotics are promising that employers can outsource such a job to low-wage countries without needing the technology to fully automate it.Its a tall order, to be clear. Robots, as advanced as theyve gotten, may find it difficult to move around complex environments like hotels and hospitals, even with assistance. That will take years to change. However, robots will only get more nimble, as will the systems that enable them to be controlled from halfway around the world. Eventually, the bets made by these companies may pay off.What would that mean? One, the labor movements battle with AIwhich this year has focused its attention on automation at ports and generative AIs theft of artists workwill have a whole new battle to fight. It wont just be dock workers, delivery drivers, and actors seeking contracts to protect their jobs from automationit will be hospitality and domestic workers too, along with many others.Second, our expectations of privacy would radically shift. People buying those hypothetical household robots would have to be comfortable with the idea that someone that they have never met is seeing their dirty laundryliterally and figuratively.Some of those changes might happen sooner rather than later. For robots to learn how to navigate places effectively, they need training data, and this year has already seen a race to collect new data sets to help them learn. To achieve their ambitions for teleoperated robots, companies will expand their search for training data to hospitals, workplaces, hotels, and more.Now read the rest of The AlgorithmDeeper LearningThis is where the data to build AI comes fromAI developers often dont really know or share much about the sources of the data they are using, and the Data Provenance Initiative, a group of over 50 researchers from both academia and industry, wanted to fix that. They dug into 4,000 public data sets spanning over 600 languages, 67 countries, and three decades to understand whats feeding todays top AI models, and how that will affect the rest of us.Why it matters: AI is being incorporated into everything, and what goes into the AI models determines what comes out. However, the team found that AIs data practices risk concentrating power overwhelmingly in the hands of a few dominant technology companies, a shift from how AI models were being trained just a decade ago. Over 90% of the data sets that the researchers analyzed came from Europe and North America, and over 70% of data for both speech and image data sets comes from YouTube. This concentration means that AI models are unlikely to capture all the nuances of humanity and all the ways that we exist, says Sara Hooker, a researcher involved in the project. Read more from MelissaHeikkil.Bits and BytesIn the shadows of Arizonas data center boom, thousands live without powerAs new research shows that AIs emissions have soared, Arizona is expanding plans for AI data centers while rejecting plans to finally provide electricity to parts of the Navajo Nations land. (Washington Post)AI is changing how we study bird migrationAfter decades of frustration, machine-learning tools are unlocking a treasure trove of acoustic data for ecologists. (MIT Technology Review)OpenAI unveils a more advanced reasoning model in race with GoogleThe new o3 model, unveiled during a livestreamed event on Friday, spends more time computing an answer before responding to user queries, with the goal of solving more complex multi-step problems. (Bloomberg)How your car might be making roads saferResearchers say data from long-haul trucks and General Motors cars is critical for addressing traffic congestion and road safety. Data privacy experts have concerns. (New York Times)

Another year is coming to a close, so lets look back at the MIT Technology Review stories that resonated most with you, our readers.We published hundreds of stories in 2024, about AI, climate tech, biotech, robotics, space, and more. There were six new issues of our magazine, on themes including food, play, and hidden worlds. We launched two newsletters, to share tech industry analysis from our editor in chief and to step people through the basics of AI. And we hosted 11 exclusive conversations with our editors and experts in our subscriber-only event series, Roundtables.What did people enjoy most? Heres a quick look at some of the stories that performed best with our audience:10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024Every year as we compile this annual list, we look for promising technologies poised to have a real impact on the world. It represents the advances that we think matter most, and the 2024 edition included weight-loss drugs, chiplets, and the first gene-editing treatment. The 2025 list is dropping in early January. To find out what made the cut, join us for a special live Roundtables event, Unveiling the 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025, on Friday, January 3, at 12:30 p.m. ET. This is a subscriber-only event. Register to attend or subscribe for access.)What is AI?Everyone thinks they know, but no one can agree. Senior editor Will Douglas Heaven explored the problem in this in-depth feature storyand explained why it matters for all of our futures. He covers the origins of modern AI and digs into the ongoing debate among experts about this technologys capabilities and potential.The AI Hype IndexTheres no denying AI moves fast, and it can be hard to know whats worth your attention. Thats why we started plotting everything you need to know about the state of AI in a new matrix, along axes that run from Hype to Real and Doom to Utopia.What are AI agents?Major tech companies are now developing AI tools that can do more complex tasks, like sending emails or booking plane tickets, on your behalf. Heres how they will work.Super-efficient solar cells: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2024Solar cells that combine traditional silicon with cutting-edge perovskites could push the efficiency of solar panels to new heights. Thats why we put them on our list of the 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024.Happy birthday, baby! What the future holds for those born todayAs part of our 125th anniversary issue, contributor Kara Platoni spoke with a dozen experts to sketch out how technology might influence the life of someone born today over the next 125 years.The messy quest to replace drugs with electricityIn the 2010s, the field of electroceuticals was born, attracting much fanfare and investment. Contributor Sally Adee explored how the field fizzled and how its being revived as an effort to turn gene expression on and off with electric fields.15 Climate Tech Companies to WatchFor the second annual edition of this list, our reporters and editors chose 15 companies from around the world that we think have the best shot at making a difference on climate change.Weight-loss drugs: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2024Drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro have quickly become embedded into American life. In 2024, they even earned a place on our 10 Breakthrough Technologies list. The long-term implications are unknown, but plenty of people are using semaglutides anyway, and many lose around 15% of their body weight.Dont miss out on even more emerging technology coverage and subscriber-only stories.Subscribe today for unlimited accessto expert insights that you cant find anywhere else.

Following last weeks major patch 1.1, GSC Game Worlds S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has received several smaller patches to fix issues. The latest, patch 1.1.3, is now available and fixes a bug with the story mission The Road to the Foundation, where an important character may disappear.Other fixes include skipping shader warm-up to temporarily prevent crashing during compilation, correcting ACCESS VIOLATION ERROR crashes, and a bug where inverting axis options wouldnt be saved when restarting. Also, if you ever lost control after shooting, reloading and examining an artifact, that should be fixed.Patch 1.1.3 is the final patch for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl this year, but GSC Game World has much more in the pipeline. Its also preparing a content roadmap for the beginning of 2025 and will also release a next-gen patch for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy to update it for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.Patch 1.1.3Fixed an issue when Richter could disappear from the Enerhetyk Palace of Culture during the The Road to the Foundation mission.Added temporary solution to avoid crash on shader compilation by skipping shaders warm up.Fixed a few ACCESS VIOLATION ERROR crashes.Fixed an issue when invert axis options could not be saved after restarting the game.Fixed an issue when controls could be lost after shooting, reloading and then examining the artifact.

When Microsoft and Obsidian Entertainment announced at The Game Awards earlier this month that whenThe Outer Worlds 2launches next year, itll also be available for PS5 day and date, there were some who were taken by surprise- though given Microsofts recent activity, maybe it wasnt such a shock in the end. After all, its no secret to anyone that the company intends to keep bringing its more and more of its games to platforms beyond just Xbox.In fact, as per journalist Jez Corden, the sight of a first-party Microsoft title releasing as an Xbox console exclusive is going to grow exceedingly rare. Speaking during a recent Xbox Two podcast episode, Corden stated that though he isnt familiar with Microsofts full release roadmap, based on what he has heard, first-party Xbox games releasing as Xbox console exclusives will be an exception going forward. As per Corden, barring unforeseen factors such as a lack of development time or resources, for instance the plan is for all first-party Microsoft titles to also be ported to PlayStation consoles.2025 will also seeIndiana Jones and the Great Circlecoming to PS5, though beyond that and the aforementionedThe Outer Worlds 2, Microsoft has yet to officially announce any other upcoming ports.

Sega has had a ridiculously good 2024, having enjoyed critical and commercial success with a number of major releases inLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Persona 3 Reload, Unicorn Overlord, Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance,andSonic x Shadow Generations. To say the least, the company has a strong catalog of games to fall back on- which, for publishers in the modern market, usually means an opportunity for a subscription service.In fact, thats something that Sega is very much considering. Thats as per president and COO Shuji Utsumi, who told BBC in an interview that he finds the idea of a Game Pass-style subscription service from Sega very interesting, and that Sega is evaluating some opportunities in this space.He added, Were thinking something and discussing something we cannot disclose right now.Of course, Sega would by no means be the first company in the industry to try its hand at a subscription service. The company certainly has a strong catalog of titles to lean on, but whether itll be able to enjoy more success with such a service than some others have in recent years will be the big question.In the meantime, as far as games are concerned, Sega has several major projects currently confirmed to be in development, including Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Virtua Fighter, Project Century, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Streets of Rage Revolution, and more.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Gnomon Workshop has released Introduction to Marvelous Designer, a complete introduction to the 3D clothing design software, recorded by games artist Erika Lochs.The workshop provides over two hours of video training in Marvelous Designer and ZBrush.Get started with industry-standard software for 3D clothing and environment assetsMarvelous Designer is quickly becoming an industry-standard tool for creating clothing for characters and cloth simulation in environment art, in animation, videogames and visual effects.In this introductory workshop, suitable for artists who have never previously used the application, Lochs covers all of Marvelous Designers essential features.She begins by discussing how to navigate the software, setting out the key features of the 3D and 2D windows, and explaining how to use avatars.Lochs then demonstrates how to create a basic denim jacket, working with a pattern provided a workflow that viewers can follow along with from start to finish.A bonus tutorial for environment artists covers creating a medieval tent.Viewers of the workshop can download Lochs Marvelous Designer material sheet, Shortcuts sheet, her references and props, and the Marvelous Designer file for the jacket and tent.The workshop uses a commercial base mesh created by Hamza Ben Salah.About the artistErika Lochs is Principal Character Artist at Electric Square, specializing in creating clothes for game characters. Titles she has worked on include Diablo 4, Far Cry 6 and Riders Republic.Pricing and availabilityIntroduction to Marvelous Designer is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.Read more about Introduction to Marvelous Designer on The Gnomon Workshops websiteHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.

A drawing of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, when German and British soldiers left their trenches to meet, talk and swap food in no-mans land. CBW / AlamyAlmost five months after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and the ambitious powers of the world began the First World War, tearing the continent into a muddy, broken remnant of its former self and turning the oceans into battlefields, the fighting along the Western Front stopped on December 24, 1914. It was, after all, Christmas Eve, a seemingly inappropriate time for the Christians of Europe to kill each other. Earlier in December, Pope Benedict XV urged a holiday truce. But the popes project seemed purely aspirational. His holiness has little hope for success, the Associated Press reported from Rome.On the same day, The Stirling Observer, a Scottish newspaper, reported that the idea of a Christmas truce was not a new one. It had precedent in olden times. But in the case of the Great War, there was, again, little hope, since Germany, the most attached to the solemnities and festivities of Christmastide, was also the most belligerent in her present temper and hatred of her enemies.With the holiday rapidly approaching and no apparent truce in the works, public opinion began to turn against the notion. The idea of a truce on Christmas Day is beautiful, and no doubt would commend itself to the sentimentalist, one pundit for the Cheshire Observer wrote. But warfare is grim, not beautiful, and warfare with savage foes like the Germans cannot be conducted upon sentimental principles.The first five months of the war had been so grim indeed that not only had thousands of lives been lost but also the spirit of adventure and hope with which so many soldiers had gone to war had almost been destroyed, historian Malcom Brown wrote in Meetings in No Man's Land: Christmas 1914 and Fraternization in the Great War.This destruction of hopeabout the truce but also about the goodness and decency of humanitymade the events that occurred on and around Christmas 1914 all the more remarkable.Along the Western Front, which stretched through northeastern France, Christmas trees, holly and mistletoe abounded as part of drives to show support and boost morale. On the British side, Princess Mary, the kings daughter, organized a fund that gave each soldier and sailor a brass gift box, a pipe, tobacco, cigarettes and a Christmas card, according to The Guardian. Millions of letters and packages poured in from families. Millions of letters and packages poured in from families.It will be strange if one of those little truces arranged tacitly by the men and winked at by commanders does not occur tonight, The Guardian wrote on Christmas Eve.That very night, British troops heard Germans singing carols and saw decorations poking up from the opposite trenches. One group hoisted its own canvas banner reading Merry Christmas (next to an unflattering cartoon of Kaiser Wilhelm). It wasnt shot downa promising sign of a brief, if unofficial, cessation of total hostility between the warring sides.Next day would have made a good chapter in Dickens Christmas Carol, one British officer wrote to the New York Times on Christmas Day. He describes many of our chaps walking out to meet the Germans in no-mans land. He took photographs with the enemies and exchanged military ribbons.Common humanity reigned for those brief moments. The Germans opposite us were awfully decent fellows, the officer wrote. I had quite a decent talk with three or four and have two names and addresses in my notebook.Some informal soccer even took place, now an iconic image of the bonhomie (although whether any games actually got going is disputed).These brief truces were magical, Mike Dash wrote for Smithsonian, although many officers disapproved, and headquarters on both sides took strong steps to ensure that it could never happen again.No other year of the war had truces as wide-reaching or iconic as 1914, but they still took place sporadically. We had a truce on Xmas Day and our German friends were quite friendly, one Canadian soldier stationed in France wrote in a 1916 holiday letter home.Despite the best efforts of officers and the relentless, mechanical drive of war, peace still sprung up organically whenever the season allowed.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: British History, France, Germany, Military, On This Day in History, Warfare, World War I,