Amazon leads dynamic pricing with 12.6 daily changes, but Best Buy changes its price only 2.6 times per day.

Police investigating the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, have announced that the suspected assailant had used a 3D-printed gun. Several high-profile crimes in recent years have involved this kind of homemade, or partially homemade, weapon.Often called ghost guns because they can be hard to trace, these firearms can be either partially or completely made with components that have been produced in metal or plastic on commercially available 3D printers. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the legality of current federal restrictions on these firearms.The first known criminal case involving a 3D-printed gun resulted in the arrest of a U.K. man in 2013. But since then, police worldwide have reported finding increasing numbers of these weapons.My research focuses on the economic and social effects of advanced digital technologies, including 3D printing. I see that the use of 3D-printed guns in criminal and violent activities is likely to continue to increase. And it will likely prove ever harder for governments and police to regulate these firearms.Surge in arrests and seizuresArrests and seizures connected to 3D-printed guns are escalating quickly. Between 2017 and 2021, U.S. law enforcement agencies seized and reported nearly 38,000 suspected ghost guns, according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 2021 alone, 19,273 suspected ghost guns were traced, a significant increase from 8,504 in 2020. The number of seized 3D-printed guns in New York state alone surged dramatically, from 100 in 2019 to 637 in 2022.Arrests linked to 3D-printed guns are also rising. The world recorded 108 arrests in the first half of 2023, compared to 66 arrests in all 2022.North America leads in 3D-printed gun-related arrests, with 166 cases from 2013 to June 2023. Europe followed with 48 arrests, while Oceania ranked third with 24 arrests.The U.S. is a particular hot spot, with 36% of total global arrests related to 3D-printed firearms in 2023. But Canada is close behind, with 34%. The U.K. had 10%, and Australia had 8%.Growing global security threatPolice and media reports indicate that many efforts to acquire or manufacture 3D-printed firearms were connected to plans for violent actions.These guns have been used by diverse groups including far-right extremists, ethno-separatists, jihadists, left-wing anarchists, organized crime groups in Europe and pro-democracy rebels in Myanmar.From 2019 to mid-2022, there were at least nine documented cases in Europe and Australia of extremists, terrorists or paramilitary groups either producing or attempting to produce firearms using 3D-printing technology. An analysis of 165 cases of 3D-printed firearms from 2013 to mid-2024 reveals that 15% were linked to terrorism. Far-right groups appear to be the most frequent users among terrorism-related cases.A widely varied legal landscapeOften, 3D-printed guns are homemade firearms without serial numbers. This lack of identification makes them attractive to criminals because it is harder for law enforcement to link specific guns to particular crimes or suspects. Different countries take very different approaches to regulating these weapons.Japan enforces stringent laws governing the manufacture, possession and sales of firearms. Its legal system strictly prohibits unauthorized firearm production, including 3D-printed guns. In 2014, a 28-year-old Japanese man was sentenced to two years in prison for producing plastic 3D-printed firearms.In 2023, Canada effectively banned ghost guns. It is illegal to possess or manufacture them without a license from the government.In Australia, making a 3D-printed firearm is illegal, and in some states, possessing a digital blueprint to create one is also an offense. In the state of New South Wales, a person convicted of possessing blueprints can face up to 14 years in prison. In Tasmania state, the punishment can be even more severe up to 21 years in prison.Across the European Union, making or owning homemade firearms, including 3D-printed ones, is broadly prohibited. However, laws and penalties vary, with some nations criminalizing even the possession of digital files or blueprints related to 3D-printing guns.In the U.K., where firearms are very restricted, 3D-printed guns have been considered illegal. But in November 2022, the government updated the laws to specifically ban possessing, buying or producing parts for 3D-printed guns. The proposal aims to explicitly ban 3D-printed guns, addressing their unique challenges directly, rather than relying on existing laws designed for traditional firearms. The U.K. National Crime Agency has called for a ban on possessing blueprints as well, and Parliament is currently considering two bills proposing such a ban.Federal rules in the U.S.The U.S. Constitution poses some unique challenges to regulating ghost guns, especially for the federal government, but also for states.For regular firearms that is, those not produced by 3D printing U.S. federal law requires that a key component, called the lower receiver, bear a unique serial number. Purchasing a lower receiver requires a federal background check and conducting the transaction through a merchant who holds a Federal Firearms License.The situation is more complicated when it comes to 3D printing weapons. The First Amendment to the Constitution protects freedom of expression, which includes sharing digital files that could contain firearm designs. And the Second Amendment protects citizens right to bear arms.In the U.S., selling 3D-printed firearms requires a federal license. But producing or owning homemade firearms for personal use is allowed. That includes 3D-printing the lower receiver component, and assembling the rest of the weapon with unregulated parts.Current federal law, under review by the Supreme Court, also requires 3D-printed guns meet specific guidelines, even if they do not contain any currently regulated firearms components. Under the rule, makers of ghost gun kits must obtain a federal license, conduct background checks, record information about their customers and add serial numbers to their products.The type of weapon also matters when determining the legality of a 3D-printed firearm. Automatic weapons, or machine guns, can continue to fire ammunition as long as the user holds the trigger down. These weapons have been heavily regulated by federal law for almost 90 years.Criminals have used 3D printers to produce Glock switches or auto-sears, which convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns. That turns those items into machine guns under federal law, making them illegal. Owning this kind of 3D-printed conversion device can lead to a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.In the statesThe states can also regulate firearms, and many are trying to get control of 3D-printed guns.By November 2024, 15 U.S. states had established regulations on ghost guns, though exact requirements vary. The rules typically require a serial number, background checks for firearm component purchases and reporting to authorities that a person is producing 3D-printed guns.For instance, in New Jersey, a 2019 law mandates that all ghost guns have a serial number and be registered. Under current New York law, possession or distribution of a 3D-printed gun is classified as a misdemeanor. However, a proposed law seeks to elevate the manufacturing of firearms using 3D-printing technology to a felony offense.As technology advances and rules evolve, criminals who use 3D-printed firearms will continue to pose threats to public safety and security, and governments will continue playing catch-up to effectively regulate these weapons.Nir Kshetri is a professor of management at the University of North CarolinaGreensboro.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Its a common seasonal refrain: Christmas just isnt like it used to be.This is not a new complaint. History shows that Christmas traditions are just as subject to change as any other aspect of human societies, and when customs change, there are always some who wish they could turn back the clock.In the 1830s, the English solicitor William Sandys compiled a host of examples of Britons bemoaning the transformation of Christmas customs from earlier eras. Sandys himself was especially concerned about the decline of public caroling, noting the practice appeared to get more neglected every year. He worried that this neglect was indicative of a wider British tendency to observe Christmas with less hospitality and innocent revelry in the 19th century than in the past.Yet the 19th century also produced new holiday customs. In fact, many of the new Christmas practices in Sandys time went on to become established traditions themselvesand are now the subject of nostalgia and fretted over by those who fear their decline. Take, for example, the humble Christmas card. My research shows that these printed seasonal greetings borrowed from the customs of the past to move Christmas into a new age.A British traditionAnnual sales and circulation of Christmas cards have been in decline since the 1990s. Laments over the potential death of the Christmas card have been especially vocal in the United Kingdom, where the mailing of Christmas greetings to family and friends via printed cards was long considered to be an essential element of a British Christmas.Indeed, historians Martin Johnes and Mark Connelly both argue that throughout the 20th century the Christmas card was viewed as just as essential a part of Britains distinctive blend of holiday traditions as children hanging stockings at the end of their beds, Christmas pantomimes, and the eating of turkey and Brussels sprouts.Yet, as these same historians are quick to note, at one time Britons did none of these things at Christmas. Each of these traditions became an element of the customary British Christmas only during the second half of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th.This makes them all relatively new additions to the countrys holiday customs, especially when viewed in light of Christmas more than 2,000-year history.Industrial revolution and Christmas cardsThe custom of mailing printed Christmas cards began in the middle decades of the 19th century and was a product of the industrial revolution. It was made affordable by new innovations in printing and papermaking and more efficient modes of transportation such as the railway.First world postal stamp the Penny Black. [Image: General Post Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland/Wikimedia Commons]The development of this new tradition was also facilitated by Parliaments introduction of the Penny Post in 1840, which allowed Britons to mail letters to any address in the United Kingdom for the small price of a penny stamp.Most historians date the Christmas cards arrival to 1843, the same year in which Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol.In that year, the inventor and civil servant Henry Cole commissioned the artist John Callcott Horsley to design a card to help Cole handle his Christmas correspondence more efficiently.Printed versions of Coles card were also made available for sale, but the high price of one shilling apiece left them outside the bounds of affordability for most of the Victorian population.Coles experiment, however, inspired other printers to produce similar but more affordable Christmas cards. The use of these cheaper cards began to spread in the 1850s and had established itself as a holiday tradition by the final decades of the century.A Victorian invention?While the Christmas card may have seemed like an entirely new invention to Victorian senders and receivers, the first Christmas cards design was actually influenced by other, older British holiday traditions.An illustration by artist Randolph Caldecott summarizing the range of old English Christmas traditions. [Image: The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA]As historians Timothy Larsen and the late Neil Armstrong have demonstrated, Christmas status as an established holiday meant that new Christmas customs developed during the 19th century needed to connect with, supplement or replace already existing traditions. The Christmas card was no exception to this recorded pattern.In 1843, many Britons bemoaned the disappearance of a variety of Old English Christmas customs. Foremost among these were traditions of Christmas hospitality, including Christmas and New Years visiting, when family, friends and neighbors went to each others homes to drink toasts and offer best wishes for the holiday and the coming year.Scholars argue popular belief in these traditions depended on a mixture of recalled reality and constructed fictions. Foremost among the latter were the popular stories depicting old English hospitality at Christmas by the American writer Washington Irving, published in the 1820s. In fact, Britons regularly invoked Irvings accounts of Christmas at the fictional country house, Bracebridge Hall, when debating the changing character of their nations Christmas observances.Regardless of these old customs historical reality, they nevertheless came to feature prominently in discussions regarding the supposed disappearance of a range of community level Christmas observances, including feasting, caroling and public acts of charity.All of these, it was believed, were endangered in an increasingly urban Britain characterized by class tensions, heightened population mobility and mass anonymity.A union of the old and the newWhile it is unclear whether these ongoing debates inspired Coles decision to commission his 1843 Christmas card, the illustration Horsley designed for him alluded to them directly.The card features a family framed by trestles adorned with holly and mistletoe, accompanied on either side by charitable scenes involving the feeding and clothing of the poor. The center of the cardand the symbolic center of Horsleys Christmas visionhowever, is the family of three clearly defined generations enjoying a collective feast, including the classic English Christmas pudding.They face the viewer, their glasses raised in a toast, directly above a banner wishing them a A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The central visual imagery of the cardas a paper visitor to the home of the recipientreplicates the social act of toasting associated with the older custom of holiday visits.In fact, Horsleys design invoked many of the same elements featured in Irvings stories. This is not surprising, given that in later life Horsley recalled the impact of reading Irvings depictions of the Christmas at Bracebridge Hall as a boy, and how he and his sister Fanny had been determined to do our best to keep Christmas in such a notable fashion.Refashioning old English hospitalityEarly Christmas cards favored similar imagery associated with the Old English Christmas of carolers, acts of charity, the playing of country sports, games such as blindmans bluff, copious greenery, feasting and the toasting of Christmas and the New Year.A Christmas card. British Museum, [Image: William Maw Egley/CC BY-NC-SA]These Christmas cards were thus novel, industrial products adorned with the imagery of British Christmases past.The development, and ultimate triumph, of the Christmas card in Victorian Britain demonstrates how nostalgia was channeled into invention. The Christmas card did not revitalize the traditions of Christmas and New Years visiting; it offered a paper replacement for them.Industrial production and transportation transformed the physical visitor into a paper proxy, allowing more people to visit many more of the homes of others during the holiday season than they ever would have been able to in person.The desire to hold on to one element of an older, supposedly declining Christmas tradition thus proved instrumental in helping to create a new holiday tradition in the midst of unprecedented changes in the character of communications and social relations.Today, a similar context of social and technological changes has caused some to predict the death of the Christmas card. The history of the 19th century suggests, however, that should the tradition die, whatever replaces it will thrive by drawing selectively on the Christmas customs of the past.Christopher Ferguson is an associate professor of history at Auburn University.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Renovations and adaptive reuse continue to be key trends in contemporary architecture. Here, Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson names 10 that exceeded expectations in 2024, including a museum with rotating walls and a plant-covered shopping centre.Photo by Juliusz Sokoowski (also top)Plato Contemporary Art Gallery, Czech Republic, by KWK PromesOne of the most ambitious refurbishments of the year saw architect Robert Konieczny and his Poland-based studio, KWK Promes, convert an abandoned 19th-century slaughterhouse into a major new art museum.The building is located in the northern Czech city of Ostrava and boasts six rotating concrete walls. Matching the form of the original architecture, these allow the exhibition galleries to open up to the surroundings.Find out more about Plato Contemporary Art GalleryPhoto by Zhang ChaoNantou Hybrid Building, China, by UrbanusOne of the winners from Dezeen Awards 2024, this project has breathed new life into five adjoining buildings in the heart of Nantou Old Town in Shenzhen.Featuring a series of colourful additions, including playful rooftop extensions and a new exterior staircase, the now-combined blocks accommodate shops on the ground floor and apartments upstairs.Find out more about Nantou Hybrid Building Photo by Nigel YoungTransamerica Pyramid, USA, by Foster + PartnersThe modernist Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper in San Francisco was one of the most high-profile renovations completed in 2024, led by developer SHVO and overseen by architecture studio Foster + Partners.The revamp of the 260-metre-high tower included an overhaul of the lobby and amenities,giving greater presence to the building's cross-braced concrete structure and improving visual connection with the streetscape.Find out more about Transamerica Pyramid Photo by Vladimir de Mollerat du JeuEugnie Brazier, France, Vurpas ArchitectesProving that renovations are possible for education buildings, this clever adaptive reuse project converted a former wholesale market in Lyon into a primary school and nursery.Vurpas Architectes updated theconcrete-framed 1960s building with perforated brickwork and floor-to-ceiling windows, creating classroom spaces that fit neatly within the original structural grid.Find out more about Eugnie Brazier Photo by Alan WilliamsKunstsilo, Norway, by Mestres Wge Arquitectes, BAX and Mendoza PartidaNorway's latest major cultural offering, the Kunstsilo art museum in Kristiansand, provided one of the most impressive building transformations on Dezeen this year.Home to the world's largest collection of contemporary Nordic art, the museum occupies a huge former grain silo building. The design a collaboration between Mestres Wge Arquitectes,BAXandMendoza Partida involved carving out part of the 37-metre-high structure to create a "basilica-like" atrium.Find out more about Kunstsilo Photo by HGEschCalwer Passage, Germany, by Ingenhoven AssociatesPlants are the focal point in this overhaul of a shopping centre and office block in Stuttgart, designed by Ingenhoven Associates.Above the heritage-protected, glass-vaulted shopping arcade, the old upper levels were replaced with six new floors of offices and apartments. These are fronted by balconies incorporating a "natural curtain" of trailing plants, while the roof is a terrace lined by trees.Find out more about Calwer Passage Photo by Anne HoltropSiyadi Pearl Museum and Mosque, Bahrain, by Studio Anne HoltropThe relationship between old and new is carefully highlighted in this renovation designed by Bahrain-based Dutch architect Anne Holtrop in the city of Muharraq.Tasked with refreshing two buildings, a museum dedicated to the region's pearling history and an adjoining mosque, Holtrop's studio developed a textured plastering technique that differentiates between existing and new walls.Find out more about Siyadi Pearl Museum Photo by Leandro BulzzanoSanta Tere Espacio, Mexico, by Oficina de Diseo Colaborativo and Atelier TBDArchitecture studios Oficina de Diseo Collaborativo and Atelier TBD are behind one of the most colourful renovations on Dezeen this year, a cultural venue for a neighbourhood in the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende.Designed with interiors studio Maye Colab, the project converted a former residence. Its six rooms now boast blue-framed glazing, glossy red tiles and yellow walls, based on hues found during the construction.Find out more about Santa Tere Espacio Photo by Arch-Exist PhotographyWeishan Chongzheng Academy Bookstore, China, by Trace Architecture OfficeThis renovation by Beijing-based Trace Architecture Office converted the former Weishan Chongzheng Academy in Yunnan, a building with a 500-year history, into a new venue for bookseller Librairie Avant-Garde.A new cast-concrete building adds an auditorium and sunken bookstore, while two mesh-wrapped "book galleries" playfully intersect with the existing timber-framed structures.Find out more about Weishan Chongzheng Academy Bookstore Photo by Finbarr FallonNew Bahru, Singapore, by FARM and Nice Projects"Modern tropical" architectural details are celebrated in this refurbishment of a former school building, designed by Singapore studios FARM and Nice Projects.The building's future looked uncertain after the school moved out in 2013, but it is now home to various shops, restaurants, and wellness and culture spaces. Serviced apartments also feature, along with a playground that replaced a former car park.Find out more about New Bahru The post The top 10 building renovations of 2024 appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio MAD Architects has unveiled a round pavilion topped with a distinctive roof called The Never Hut in Foshan, China.Created for The Guangdong Nanhai Land Art Festival, the round hut in the village of Yanqiao sits alongside a river on the site of a school's former playground.MAD Architect has unveiled the Never Hut in FoshanFor the pavilion, MAD Architects aimed to pay "tribute to the collective childhood memories" and channel the site's history to create a playful structure that would be a community asset."This project is about capturing the freedom and wonder of childhood while providing a space for the community to gather, reflect, and imagine what lies ahead," said MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong. "The Never Hut is a celebration of imagination and community a space where childhood memories find a new home."The hut is topped with a "flying saucer-shaped" roofThe structure has a simple form with a bright pink, enclosed central space that acts as a servery,surrounded by an open area for sitting or gathering.It is topped with a "flying saucer-shaped" roof that is supported on a ring of steel columns.Read: Ten projects by MAD Architects with distinctive sculptural formsBright yellow steps lead up to the raised platform, while a trio of colourful discs made from local fishing nets protrude from the top of the structure.The pavilion follows MAD Architects' previous installation in Nanhai District named Timeless Beacon.An open seating area surrounds the central standFounded in 2004 by Yansong, MAD Architects is one of China's best-known architecture studios.Recent projects by the studio include a residential building in Denver with a "cracked open" facade and a giant bubble added to a century-old Japanese house. We recently rounded up 10 projects by the studio with distinctive sculptural forms.The photography is by Tian Fangfang and Zhu Yumeng.The post MAD Architects unveils "flying saucer-shaped" hut appeared first on Dezeen.

We take a dive into the psychology of fonts, looking at how different fonts are perceived.

With big cash prizes at stakeand AI supercharging researchinterspecies translation is closer than ever. But what, if anything, would animals want to tell us?

Modern data programming involves working with large-scale datasets, both structured and unstructured, to derive actionable insights. Traditional data processing tools often struggle with the demands of advanced analytics, particularly when tasks extend beyond simple queries to include semantic understanding, ranking, and clustering. While systems like Pandas or SQL-based tools handle relational data well, they face challenges in integrating AI-driven, context-aware processing. Tasks such as summarizing Arxiv papers or fact-checking claims against extensive databases require sophisticated reasoning capabilities. Moreover, these systems often lack the abstractions needed to streamline workflows, leaving developers to create complex pipelines manually. This leads to inefficiencies, high computational costs, and a steep learning curve for users without a strong AI programming background.Stanford and Berkeley researchers have introduced LOTUS 1.0.0: an advanced version of LOTUS (LLMs Over Tables of Unstructured and Structured Data), an open-source query engine designed to address these challenges. LOTUS simplifies programming with a Pandas-like interface, making it accessible to users familiar with standard data manipulation libraries. More importantly, now the research team introduces a set of semantic operatorsdeclarative programming constructs such as filters, joins, and aggregationsthat use natural language expressions to define transformations. These operators enable users to express complex queries intuitively while the systems backend optimizes execution plans, significantly improving performance and efficiency.Technical Insights and BenefitsLOTUS is built around the innovative use of semantic operators, which extend the relational model with AI-driven reasoning capabilities. Key examples include:Semantic Filters: Allow users to filter rows based on natural language conditions, such as identifying articles that claim advancements in AI.Semantic Joins: Facilitate the combination of datasets using context-aware matching criteria.Semantic Aggregations: Enable summarization tasks that condense large datasets into actionable insights.These operators leverage large language models (LLMs) and lightweight proxy models to ensure both accuracy and efficiency. LOTUS incorporates optimization techniques, such as model cascades and semantic indexing, to reduce computational costs while maintaining high-quality results. For instance, semantic filters achieve precision and recall targets with probabilistic guarantees, balancing computational efficiency with output reliability.The system supports both structured and unstructured data, making it versatile for applications involving tabular datasets, free-form text, and even images. By abstracting the complexities of algorithmic choices and context limitations, LOTUS provides a user-friendly yet powerful framework for building AI-enhanced pipelines.Results and Real-World ApplicationsLOTUS has proven its effectiveness across various use cases:Fact-Checking: On the FEVER dataset, a LOTUS pipeline written in under 50 lines of code achieved 91% accuracy, surpassing state-of-the-art baselines like FacTool by 10 percentage points. Additionally, LOTUS reduced execution time by up to 28 times.Extreme Multi-Label Classification: For biomedical text classification on the BioDEX dataset, LOTUS semantic join operator reproduced state-of-the-art results with significantly lower execution time compared to naive approaches.Search and Ranking: LOTUS semantic top-k operator demonstrated superior ranking capabilities on datasets like SciFact and CIFAR-bench, achieving higher quality while offering faster execution than traditional ranking methods.Image Processing: LOTUS has extended support to image datasets, enabling tasks like generating themed memes by processing semantic attributes of images.These results highlight LOTUS ability to combine expressiveness with performance, simplifying development while delivering impactful results.ConclusionThe latest version of LOTUS offers a fresh approach to data programming by combining natural language-based queries with AI-driven optimizations. By enabling developers to construct complex pipelines in just a few lines of code, LOTUS makes advanced analytics more accessible while enhancing productivity and efficiency. As an open-source project, LOTUS encourages community collaboration, ensuring ongoing enhancements and broader applicability. For users seeking to maximize the potential of their data, LOTUS provides a practical and efficient solution.Check out the Paper and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences. [Download] Evaluation of Large Language Model Vulnerabilities Report (Promoted)

Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of Marvels What If? Season 3, Episode 1, which premieres on Disney+ on Sunday, December 22.The second season of Marvels What If? was truly a mixed bag, suffering from an overemphasis on Hayley Atwells Agent Carter and a season finale payoff that felt underwhelming at best. Fortunately, Season 3 starts off by giving us exactly whats needed - a strong palate cleanser. Its hard to go wrong with the giant mecha vs. kaiju formula.Dubbed "What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?", the premiere takes place in a world where Hulks attempt to cure himself of his gamma affliction has major unintended consequences for humanity. Borrowing liberally from franchises like Godzilla, Pacific Rim, and Voltron, this episode ups the scope of the series considerably and allows for some truly titanic battles between radioactive super-monsters and Avengers piloting giant robo-suits. The series has always been devoted to showing us situations and plot twists that could never happen in the regular MCU. Sometimes it succeeds more than others, but this is one case where it definitely makes the most of the alternate timeline premise.PlayGranted, like most What If? episodes, the limited runtime becomes a bit constraining. The plot is nothing if not straightforward and predictable, and viewers will be able to easily call the major plot beats well in advance. But to its credit, this episode does find a solid emotional throughline to anchor all the larger-than-life spectacle. This scenario hinges on the friendship between Anthony Mackies Sam Wilson and Mark Ruffalos Bruce Banner, hearkening back to Sams role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a counselor to wounded warriors. Their bond helps give the episode some emotional heft, and actually left me wishing something similar existed in Earth-616. The MCU lost something with the transition to a smarter, more well-adjusted Hulk in Endgame.Another strength of this episode is in how it makes use of the larger Avengers roster. Rather than focus on the classic Phase 1 and 2-era Avengers, the premiere instead emphasizes more recent, post-Endgame MCU players. It gives us a valuable chance to see how characters like Simu Lius Shang-Chi, Teyonah Parris Monica Rambeau, and even Oscar Isaacs Moon Knight interact. Because, well, its not as if the live-action movies have been in any hurry to get us to that point. It all makes for a much more novel viewing experience. And with most of the live-action actors reprising their roles here, the team banter has that necessary air of authenticity. Isaac in particular is a lot of fun here, making it all the more unfortunate the series hasnt really focused on Moon Knight up till now. Visually, this is probably the most memorable What If? episode since the Season 2 premiere, the neo-noir-themed What If Nebula Joined the Nova Corps? The sheer scale of the action and the varied designs of the Mech Avengers ensure theres rarely a dull moment. The action is smooth and does a fine job of channeling the various anime shows and movies that have clearly inspired this episode. Theres even a delightful opening segment that pays homage to classic 80s anime, one that I only wish lasted longer than it does.

Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He had been well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAIs strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchirs loved ones during this difficult time, said a statement from OpenAI.Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on 26 November in what police said appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation. The citys chief medical examiners office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.His parents, Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy, said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a happy, smart and brave young man who loved to hike and recently had returned from a trip with friends.Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.Suchirs contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldnt have succeeded without him, said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what had made him such an exceptional engineer and scientist was his attention to detail and ability to notice subtle bugs or logical errors.He had a knack for finding simple solutions and writing elegant code that worked, Schulman wrote. Hed think through the details of things carefully and rigorously.Balaji later shifted to organizing the huge datasets of online writings and other media used to train GPT-4, the fourth generation of OpenAIs flagship large language model and a basis for the companys famous chatbot. It was that work that eventually caused Balaji to question the technology he helped build, especially after newspapers, novelists and others began suing OpenAI and other AI companies for copyright infringement.He first raised his concerns with the New York Times, which reported them in an October profile of Balaji.He later told the Associated Press he would try to testify in the strongest copyright infringement cases and considered a lawsuit brought by the New York Times last year to be the most serious. Times lawyers named him in an 18 November court filing as someone who might have unique and relevant documents supporting allegations of OpenAIs willful copyright infringement.His records were also sought by lawyers in a separate case brought by book authors including the comedian Sarah Silverman, according to a court filing.It doesnt feel right to be training on peoples data and then competing with them in the marketplace, Balaji told the AP in late October. I dont think you should be able to do that. I dont think you are able to do that legally.He told the AP that he had grown gradually more disillusioned with OpenAI, especially after the internal turmoil that led its board of directors to fire and then rehire the CEO, Sam Altman, last year. Balaji said he was broadly concerned about how its commercial products were rolling out, including their propensity for spouting false information known as hallucinations.But of the bag of issues he was concerned about, he said, he was focusing on copyright as the one it was actually possible to do something about.He acknowledged that it was an unpopular opinion within the AI research community, which is accustomed to pulling data from the internet, but said they will have to change and its a matter of time.He had not been deposed and its unclear to what extent his revelations will be admitted as evidence in any legal cases after his death. He also published a personal blog post with his opinions about the topic.Schulman, who resigned from OpenAI in August, said he and Balaji coincidentally left on the same day and celebrated with fellow colleagues that night with dinner and drinks at a San Francisco bar. Another of Balajis mentors, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, had left OpenAI several months earlier, which Balaji saw as another impetus to leave.Schulman said Balaji had told him earlier this year of his plans to leave OpenAI and that Balaji didnt think that better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence was right around the corner, like the rest of the company seemed to believe. The younger engineer expressed interest in getting a doctorate and exploring some more off-the-beaten-path ideas about how to build intelligence, Schulman said.Balajis family said a memorial is being planned for later this month at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California, not far from his hometown of Cupertino. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.orgThe Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the APs text archives.