Last week, people noticed (and hated) AI-generated users that were created and managed by Meta.But these AI bots were actually a year old, and mostly defunct. Meta has now deleted them.This is all totally separate from what a Meta exec described as a future with AI-generated users.There's been some confusion about Meta's ambitions for AI-generated users. Let me clear it up for you: Meta is still, definitely, very excited about AI-generated users despite removing a few of the ones people were complaining about last week.Here's the backstory: Sometime last week, people discovered a handful of Instagram accounts that were "AI managed by Meta." In other words, they were Meta bots programmed to look and interact like real people powered by AI. There was one named Liv, a "Proud Black queer momma of 2," Grandpa Brian, and a dating coach named Carter all AI-generated.These accounts spit out conversation that was treacly and weird and also somewhat problematic. (Liv told Karen Attiah of The Washington Post in a chat that none of her creators were Black.)As soon as people on social media noticed the AI bots, they hated them. Meta quickly removed the accounts.But it turns out, these accounts were actually quite old. Liz Sweeney, a Meta spokesperson, said that the AI accounts were "from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters."(This was around the same time Meta launched a bunch of AI chatbots based on celebrities like Kendall Jenner and MrBeast. Those celeb AIs were scrapped this past summer.)But here's where there was some confusion: Liv, Grandpa Brian, and Dating with Carter were not the AI users that Meta is dreaming of they were an abandoned experiment from over a year ago. Meta is very much full steam ahead with its vision of an AI-user-filled future.Connor Hayes, VP of generative AI at Meta, recently gave an interview to the Financial Times in which he talked about Meta's vision for an AI user-filled future:"We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do," said Connor Hayes, vice-president of product for generative AI at Meta. "They'll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform...that's where we see all of this going," he added.Hayes's interview doesn't really give too much detail about what these AI users would be for or why people would want to interact with them, or much detail at all. (I asked Meta for additional comment.)Meanwhile, Facebook already has AI bots you can chat with they're inside Messenger. Just go to "Compose a new message" in Messenger, and you'll see an option for "Chat with AI characters," where you can design your own AI or use someone else's.If you look through the user-made chatbots, you can sort of start to get a sense of what people are using these for: companionship chatting.Companionship/romance AI chatbot services like Replika or Character.ai are becoming very popular (if not also problematic). There is a market for people who want to chat with an AI, even if I don't see the appeal. (I've tested them!)Meta has been, uh, inspired by features from other competing social apps plenty of times before (Instagram Stories seeming to be rather inspired by Snapchat, for instance). Perhaps Meta is just seeing that social chatbots are popular, so they're rolling out their own.I'm not sure I understand exactly what Meta's vision is here, and I'm pretty skeptical about why I would ever want to interact with an AI-generated user on Facebook. I tried out a few of the AI chatbots in Messenger and even tried creating a few of my own.But as far as a social network full of these kinds of AI accounts? I just don't get it even if Meta seems very confident about its future.

Kidman channeled a flamenco dancer with this ruffled hot pink dress at a May 1995 screening of "To Die For."Kidman at the Cannes Film Festival for a screening of "To Die For" on May 20, 1995. Eric Robert/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images Kidman won a Golden Globe for her performance.One month later, in June 1995, Kidman shined bright like a disco ball at the "Batman Forever" premiere.Kidman at the "Batman Forever" premiere on June 9, 1995. Barry King/WireImage/Getty Images She looks the part of the next big movie star. Her 1997 Oscars dress proved she was willing to take risks not many can pull off a silk dress this color.Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise at the 69th Academy Awards on March 24, 1997. Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage/Getty Images Technically, this John Galliano-designed Dior dress is considered chartreuse, and it was considered the "first true couture dress on the red carpet," according to Smithsonian Magazine.Kidman paired a black see-through top with this patterned fringed skirt for the premiere of "The Peacemaker" in September 1997.Nicole Kidman at the premiere of "The Peacemaker" on September 22, 1997. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images She added a large jeweled choker over the collar of her shirt. Kidman was the picture of '90s glam with this almost entirely backless, oxblood set at the premiere of "Eyes Wide Shut" in July 1999.Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise at the premiere of their new movie "Eyes Wide Shut" on July 13, 1999. David Keeler/Online USA, Inc./Getty Images; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc./Getty Images InStyle rightfully calls this look "perfect" to this day though it's a wonder Kidman didn't experience any type of wardrobe malfunction.Kidman rocked a similarly backless top at the premiere of "Mission: Impossible 2" in May 2000.Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman during the "Mission: Impossible 2" premiere on May 18, 2000. S. Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images This kerchief-esque style of top is trendy once again in 2025, like the rest of '90s and early 2000s style. For the Australian premiere of the film that same month, she wore a floor-length leather dress.Nicole Kidman arrived for the premiere of the film "Mission Impossible 2" on May 30, 2000, in Sydney, Australia. Peter Carrette Archive/Getty Images We have to wonder why she's yet to play a super spy after seeing her in this outfit.She wore this almost entirely sheer black dress at the premiere of "The Others" in August 2001.Nicole Kidman arrived at the premiere of her movie "The Others." Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images Kidman was nominated for another Golden Globe for her performance in the film. At the 2001 Hollywood Film Festival Gala Awards later that month, Kidman wore an ornate gold belt on her stomach.Nicole Kidman at the Hollywood Film Festival Gala Awards on August 6, 2001. Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images She paired it with a black crop top and blazer, and a golden snake choker.Kidman vamped it up in this black velvet off-the-shoulder gown with a plunging neckline in February 2002.Nicole Kidman at the after-party for the BAFTAs on February 24, 2002. Dave Bennett/Getty Images The Yves Saint Laurent dress has a simple silver vine detail on the front. Kidman's dress at the 2002 SAG Awards in March resembled a tuxedo vest, without the accompanying shirt or jacket.Nicole Kidman during the 8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 10, 2002. SGranitz/WireImage/Getty Images It was designed by Jean Paul Gaultier as part of his Haute Couture line.Kidman wore a lingerie-inspired slip dress to the 2003 Critics' Choice Awards in January of that year.Nicole Kidman at the 8th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on January 17, 2003. Robert Mora/Getty Images She carried a blush silk jacket with her. For the 2003 Met Gala in April, she wore this semi-sheer, sparkly, one-shoulder gown and giant diamond earrings.Nicole Kidman arrived for the "Goddess: Costume Institute Benefit Gala" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art April 28, 2003. Mark Mainz/Getty Images The Gucci by Tom Ford dress fit in well with the theme of "Goddess: The Classical Mode."The "Cold Mountain" star once again opted for an entirely backless dress, this time a black one, for a November 2003 event.Nicole Kidman at the 2003 Presentation of the 18th Annual American Cinematheque Award on November 14, 2003. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images She added a giant red flower in her hair. She wore a white-and-gold one with an exaggerated collar and belt for a "Cold Mountain" premiere in December 2003.Nicole Kidman attended the "Cold Mountain" premiere on December 14, 2003. Justin Goff\UK Press via Getty Images Note the matching over-the-top cuffs, too.Kidman paired sequins and mesh paneling at the 2004 Golden Globes.Nicole Kidman attended the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 25, 2004. Carlo Allegri/Getty Images This Dior dress wouldn't be out of place at a 1920s-themed party. The following month at the Academy Awards, she wore an icy blue strapless dress with a feathered hem.Nicole Kidman during the 76th Annual Academy Awards on February 29, 2004. SGranitz/WireImage/Getty Images The satin Chanel gown had matching feathers at the neckline, too.In January 2005, Kidman wore a peacock-inspired dress to the Golden Globes.Nicole Kidman arrived at the 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 16, 2005. Carlo Allegri/Getty Images The dress is the classic peacock blue-green and is accented with peacock feathers on the shoulder. It was designed by Gucci. Kidman's 2007 Academy Awards dress with the giant bow at the neckline remains one of her most iconic looks.Nicole Kidman at the 79th Annual Academy Awards on February 25, 2007. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images "That one was controversial," Kidman said of the Balenciaga dress in 2016. "Some press people didn't like it. But that kind of talk doesn't bother me. I still liked it, especially the structure," she told InStyle.She returned to the metallics in December 2007 with this shiny silver suit.Nicole Kidman at the Australian premiere of "The Golden Compass" on December 16, 2007. Gaye Gerard/Getty Images Kidman looked ready for battle in a suit of armor for the "Golden Compass" premiere. At a February 2008 press conference, Kidman managed to combine lace, mesh, and feathers in a single dress.Nicole Kidman at "The Golden Compass" press conference on February 20, 2008. Jun Sato/WireImage/Getty Images Kidman, who was five months pregnant at the time, wore Prada for the event.Once again, Kidman proved she loves a backless dress at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2009.Nicole Kidman at the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009. Jason Merritt/Getty Images The high-neck, backless look is one she returns to time and time again. This particular gown was designed by L'Wren Scott. Kidman wore a mauve dress with a matching capelet at a screening of "Nine" in December 2009.Nicole Kidman at the Los Angeles Premiere "Nine" at Mann Village Theatre on December 9, 2009, in Westwood, California. Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images The dress was also designed by L'Wren Scott.Kidman channeled a circus ringmaster at the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards.Nicole Kidman waved at the 45th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 18, 2010. Frazer Harrison/ACMA2010/Getty Images Once again, she chose a L'Wren Scott look. In June 2011, she mixed a green velvet/brown sheer dress with periwinkle heels at the CMT Music Awards.Nicole Kidman attended the 2011 CMT Music Awards on June 8, 2011. Jason Merritt/Getty Images This interesting look was designed by Proenza Schouler.Kidman pulled out all the stops for Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse in November 2012.Nicole Kidman attended the Swisse marquee on Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 3, 2012. Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images Kidman deserves to attend a royal wedding if her hat game is this strong. Kidman walked the Golden Globes red carpet with her husband, Keith Urban, in this black dress with a sheer corset bodice and bronze bees in January 2013.Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban arrived at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 13, 2013. Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images That year she was up for two awards: best supporting actress for "The Paperboy" and best actress in a miniseries or motion picture television for "Hemingway & Gellhorn."Kidman's 2013 Oscars dress shimmered and shined down the red carpet that February.Nicole Kidman at the Oscars on February 24, 2013. Jason Merritt/Getty Images The L'Wren Scott dress had golden swirls along the bottom. One doesn't know what to look at Kidman's sequined and lace blue gown at Cannes in May 2014.Nicole Kidman at the Opening Ceremony Dinner Arrivals at the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2014 in Cannes, France. Pascal Le Segretain/WireImage/Getty Images This dress was designed by Armani and it was fit for a princess, which was appropriate, as she was there for the premiere of her film "Grace of Monaco."She wore a white gown that featured a large black bird for an awards ceremony in November 2015.Nicole Kidman at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards at The Old Vic Theatre on November 22, 2015. Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images Kidman chose an Alexander McQueen gown for the 2015 Evening Standard Awards in London. At the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards in April, Kidman wore this busy dress with sheer sleeves and butterflies.Nicole Kidman at the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards on April 3, 2016. John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images Once again, this dress is Alexander McQueen.Kidman looked like a celestial goddess at the 2016 Met Gala in this dress adorned with the moon and stars.Nicole Kidman attended the Met Gala on May 2, 2016. John Shearer/Getty Images That year's theme was "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology," and she wore this Alexander McQueen dress, complete with a cape. Kidman's black dress at the 2016 Critics' Choice Awards had both a large cutout and a dramatic slit.Nicole Kidman attended the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards on December 11, 2016. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images She opted for a simple black Brandon Maxwell dress for the December 2016 ceremony.Kidman's dress at the 2017 SAG Awards in January featured a plunging neckline and a parrot on each shoulder.Nicole Kidman at the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 29, 2017. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images The flamboyant, green sequined gown was designed by Gucci. The star returned to dramatic bows for the 2018 Academy Awards.Nicole Kidman attended the 90th Academy Awards on March 4, 2018. Dan MacMedan/WireImage/Getty Images Kidman's royal blue Armani Priv gown is her favorite dress she's ever worn, according to Harper's Bazaar.In January 2019, she attended the Critics' Choice Awards in a black-and-white column dress with a structured skirt.Nicole Kidman attended the 24th Critics' Choice Awards on January 13, 2019. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images This look was designed by Armani Priv. Kidman bared her abs in this one-shouldered gown with a large cutout and a thigh-high slit to the 2021 CMAs in November.Nicole Kidman attended the 55th Country Music Association Awards on November 10, 2021. Jason Kempin/Getty Images Kidman attended the CMAs in this Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello gown to support her husband, country star Keith Urban.Kidman attended the 2022 Academy Awards in March wearing this light blue strapless dress with an exaggerated peplum skirt and train.Nicole Kidman at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022. Gilbert Flores/Variety/Penske Media/Getty Images Kidman's stylist, Julia von Boehm, told Vogue that this dress exhibited "quiet elegance." Her dress at the premiere of "The Northman" in April 2022 featured coral feathers and beaded embroidery.Nicole Kidman at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Northman" on April 18, 2022. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images Kidman wore Prada at the film's premiere.For the 2023 Academy Awards, she wore a sequined black gown with a thigh-high slit and two large beaded roses.Nicole Kidman at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023. Kayla Oaddams/WireImage/Getty Images This was another look by Armani Priv for Kidman, who served as a presenter at the ceremony. Kidman's entrance at the 2023 Met Gala was nothing short of jaw-dropping.Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban attended the 2023 Met Gala on May 1, 2023. Taylor Hill/Getty Images This is the same Chanel gown that Kidman wore in her iconic commercial for Chanel No. 5 in 2004, directed by Baz Luhrmann. According to Vogue, the blush gown is made of silk tulle and is covered with "250 pink ostrich feathers, and over 3,000 silver crystals and sequins."To attend a gala in September 2023, Kidman wore a baby-blue feathery gown with black opera gloves.Nicole Kidman attended Kering's 2nd Caring For Women Dinner on September 12, 2023. James Devaney/GC Images/Getty Images The dress was accentuated by a satin bow around her waist. Kidman went for vintage glam at the 2024 Met Gala in May.Nicole Kidman at the 2024 Met Gala on May 6, 2024. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images The theme of the 2024 Met Gala was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," which meant bringing back vintage looks from their "sleep."Kidman's look was a recreation of a 1950s gown designed by Cristobal Balenciaga. Per Vogue, it took 800 hours to attach 3,000 black feathers to the silk bodice.Kidman wore a sparkling low-cut black gown to the premiere of "The Perfect Couple" in September 2024.

Its perhaps historically appropriate that the word ironic contains iron. Mining and smelting minerals like iron represented technological highs at the Roman Empires peak. But those activities also produced enough lead pollution to impair its citizens IQs, according to a new study in PNAS.Detailed ice core records of Arctic lead pollution, together with sophisticated atmospheric modeling and modern epidemiology, indicate that human industrial activities were measurably damaging human health more than 2,000 years ago, says Joe McConnell, a scientist at the Desert Research Institute and lead author of the study. Ice sample on the melter during continuous ice core chemical analyses at the Desert Research Institute (Credit: Sylvain Masclin)Scholars have debated lead poisonings impact on Roman history for decades. Some have even argued that lead poisoning played a role in the downfall of the Roman empire. Most of those arguments have focused on ancient writings and archeology that provide hints about leads impact circumstantial evidence, if you will.Now a team of researchers has provided hard evidence linking pollution and ancient intellect. They identified the level of pollutants in three ice cores that dated between 500 B.C.E. through 600 C.E. the era spanning the rise of the Roman Republic through the fall of the Roman Empire. Then they compared those levels with how lead pollution affected the general public during its peak in the 1970s, before it was banned from gasoline.The lead in the air in Roman times was enough to affect IQs then by about a third as much as in the late 1970s, when the U.S. Clean Air Act went into effect and about twice as much as in the early 2010s, according to the study.Elites and non-elites in cities and rural areas alike were affected by the background air pollution no one could escape the health effects," says McConnell.However, there was almost certainly differences in impact depending upon how close people lived near mining and smelting sites. Blood lead levels and other health impacts associated with modern smelting are much greater nearby and drop off almost exponentially the farther away one lives from such a site. The same would have been true during the Roman era, says McConnell.Read More: The Hierarchy of the 1,200-Year-Long Roman EmpireTracing Pollution's Impacts on the PastIce in the core barrel while drilling on the Greenland ice sheet (Credit: Joseph McConnell)To reach this conclusion, the researchers used sophisticated computer modeling to move backward and forward in time. Once they determined lead levels in ice cores matching the years of the Roman empire, they ran their model in what McConnell calls "backward mode" to see how lead pollution likely spread from known Roman mining and smelting sites to areas throughout Europe. Then they ran the model in forward mode to see how emissions from those sites yielded the atmospheric concentrations in the ice cores.Finally, they compared links between modern lead pollution and health outcomes like childhood blood levels and cognitive decline to determine the likely impact lead pollution made during the height of the Roman Empire.There has been other examples demonstrating just how widespread lead pollution was during that period. For example, scientists have measured it in European peat bogs, lake sediments, and, rarely, in human remains such as tooth enamel. But those results are piecemeal at best, says McConnell. No attempt has been made previously to understand and especially quantify the widespread effects of this pollution on the environment and so on human health and history, he says.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Pan-European atmospheric lead pollution, enhanced blood lead levels, and cognitive decline from Roman-era mining and smeltingBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.

All reigns, no matter how historic, ultimately come to an end. And according to officials, Yellowstone National Parks Queen of the Wolves finally passed away at 11-years-old after succumbing to wounds from a fight.The recognizable, one-eyed gray wolf (officially known as Wolf 907F) had long been a staple for conservationists in the 22.2-million-acre park, and lived over double the species average life expectancy in the wild. Smithsonian Magazine notes 907F is one of just six gray wolves known to live past the age of 11 since the animals were reintroduced into Yellowstone in 1995. The matriarch of the Junction Butte pack birthed a total of 10 litters, the most recent of which were born in May 2024. Although the total number of surviving offspring are unknown, she is considered the most reproductively successful wolf in Yellowstones history.907F overcame adversity time and again during her life in the national park. She lost her left eye due to an unknown injury at the age of 4, contracted mange, and at one point developed a limpnone of which changed her prominent status among her pack. 907F also possessed a distinctive howl that set her apart from many other gray wolves.She had a very low-pitched howl, wildlife enthusiast and longtime 907F follower Jeff Reed told Cowboy State Daily last month. I always laughed, because she had a flat howl, like a monotone. And I always thought that she was saying, Thats because Im so old, I dont give a shit. Im just going to give this monotone howl.On December 22, however, 907F and some of her pups were ambushed by members of the Rescue Creek pack while grazing on a bison carcass near Yellowstone River. An offshoot of the Junction Butte pack, the Rescue Creek wolves reportedly generally stay on the rivers south side, but for unknown reasons decided to cross the waters that day. Although 907F survived the initial encounter, her radio collar indicated she ultimately succumbed to her wounds on December 25.Its sad. But specifically for all of us on the project, we always like to see a wolf die naturally, rather than at the hands of a human, said Taylor Rabe, a biological science technician with the Yellowstone Wolf, Cougar and Elk Project. It gives us peace to know that she went in a natural manner. She was a cool wolf.The post Yellowstones Queen of the Wolves dies after fight with rival pack appeared first on Popular Science.

The patient in Louisiana who contracted a severe case of bird flu has died, officials announced.

Only certain cleaners kill norovirus, a leading cause of vomiting, diarrhea and foodborne illness. Why is that?

Which Apple headphones reign supreme?

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John Wick: Titans of Cult Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) $53.49 (was $60) See at Amazon The beloved action franchise John Wick celebrated its 10th anniversary last fall with a new collector's edition of the film that started it all. The Amazon-exclusive John Wick: Titans of Cult Steelbook is on sale for the first time. Normally $60, this stylish 4K Blu-ray edition is discounted to $53.49 for a limited time. John Wick was already available on 4K Blu-ray prior to this release, but the Titans of Cult edition marks the first time the film has supported Dolby Vision. This limited-edition release includes 4K, standard Blu-ray, and digital versions of the movie.John Wick: Titans of Cult 4K Steelbook (Amazon Exclusive)$53.49 ($60)John Wick: Titans of Cult 4K SteelbookLike other Titans of Cult limited-edition releases, the presentation and packaging here is impressive. When you unhook the clasp the open the oversized box you're greeted with a recreation of John Wick's hidden gun case on the left. The box contains the steelbook case featuring John Wick on one side and his dog Daisy on the other. The steelbook holds the 4K and standard Blu-ray discs, each of which have art depicting tires from John Wick's prized 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429. The box set also comes with four art cards, an acrylic stand to display them, and a replica enamel Continental coin pin.Here's a list of the special features included across the two discs:Continue Reading at GameSpot