Hi! Since i have some free time, i would like to join Sketch #65 (this is my first time).I came up with the quick idea and probably gonna stick with it:A shield spell for a snowman character that turns him into a snow globeThats it! 2 posts - 1 participant Read full topic

As the Data Bill continues its legislative journey through the House of Lords, its important to also consider where all that data lives, including what it costs to house it.Datacentres, until relatively recently, were a bit of a niche interest, known little outside the technology world. Now, if not everywhere, they are certainly moving into many a community - potentially one near you. Of the many issues we should consider, surely at the top of the list must be how such centres are powered and where that energy is sourced?For this reason, I put down an amendment to the Data Bill, which says: Consultation: datacentre power usage. On the day on which this Act is passed, the secretary of state must launch a consultation on the implications of the provisions in this Act for the power usage and energy efficiency of datacentres.As I said in the House of Lords debate, It seems at least curious to have a Data Bill without talking about datacentres in terms of their power usage, their environmental impactThis is, rightly, a growing concern. A recent edition of the MIT Technology Review highlighted, AI emissions [are] set to skyrocket even further. This skyrocketing is seen in a trebling of datacentre emissions since 2018.The MIT article is based upon a new paper, from teams at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, whose research examined 2132 datacentres in the US representing 78% of all facilities in the country.It is important for all of us to remember, its not just the training of these vast AI models that, particularly in the US, all too often burns coal and fossil fuels - every time we ask a query of any of the models, the power draws on.AI models are moving from mere language to video, music and more and the so need for power more than surges. Also, its not just AI, datacentres are the bedrock of so much of what we do, our pictures in the cloud or our work website, all needing that datacentre power.In the US so much of this power comes from fossil fuels, not least coal due to the location of the centres and that fuels ability to deliver to demand all hours, in contrast to renewables. Is any of that sustainable though both environmentally and energy wise?We have a real opportunity in the UK to lead when it comes to datacentre technologies. If the government chooses to, we could also take a positive role when it comes to the power usage, the sustainability and environmental position of these increasingly critical national and global infrastructure. If the government wants to lead when it comes to green energy, the datacentre question seems very much to be at the centre Its far more than a technology question or even simply environmental - in so many senses, it is existential. In short, how do we power our lives? Even if we can generate the renewable energy, there are questions around how to store, how to deploy, how to even get it onto the grid in the first place with current connection constraints.If the government wants to lead when it comes to green energy, if it wants to lead when it comes to new technologies, the datacentre question seems very much to be, well, at the centre of it.Currently, power usage effectiveness (PUE) is the accepted measure for datacentre energy efficiency. Im interested in views as to the effectiveness of this standard. I asked the government, during the debate, about its view of the current PUE standard. Is it something that gives the right measure of confidence to consumers?The government promised to write to me with a detailed response on all these issues. It will be good to understand what approach they intend to take on such an important environmental, economic, as well as technological matter.In conclusion, its abundantly clear that data is far from the new oil - rather, it requires multiple supplies of old oil to fuel its flow. We may well, one day, be able to power datacentres through nuclear options and sustainable sources, but even so questions must be asked as to the opportunity cost of using all of that resource against how it may otherwise be deployed.Data and the technologies it underpins and enables has such possibilities for our economic, social, and common good. But, as ever, its in our human hands - the discourse we drive, the decisions we take and the societies we enable will determine this. Ultimately, positively - we have the power.Read more about datacentre sustainabilityNorways datacentre builders focus on energy efficiency - Datacentre developers in Norway are shifting their focus to energy efficiency, with expected increases in taxation for those who fall short.Datacentres set to consume third of Irelands energy by 2026 - Forecast data from International Energy Agency shines light on how booming demand for datacentres is affecting energy usage levels in different geographies.Datacentres can play a bigger role in grid sustainability - While improvements in energy efficiency have kept electricity consumption in datacentres in check, according to the International Energy Agency, to reach net zero, emissions must halve by 2030.

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Answers for today's NYT Mini Crossword are just ahead.New York TimesIn case you missed Mondays NYT Mini, you can find the answers here:Wondering what a Man in Business Suit Levitating might be? Not sure what Dutch cheese is made backward? Dont worry, because I'm here to help you with the answers for today's NYT Mini crossword.The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, youll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives.MORE FOR YOUTo help you avoid getting stuck and having to reveal missing letters, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers for Tuesday, January 7 (spoilers lie ahead, of course):NYT Mini Crossword Clues And AnswersNYT Mini Across Answers1 Across: Man in Business Suit Levitating, for one EMOJI6 Across: Took a nap DOZED7 Across: Flying solo ALONE8 Across: Graphic novel style for One Piece, the best-selling of its kind MANGA9 Across: Genuine REALNYT Mini Down Answers1 Down: Dutch cheese that's "made backward," per a joke EDAM2 Down: Grinding tooth MOLAR3 Down: Gas made of three oxygen atoms OZONE4 Down: Game that might end if you accidentally bump the table JENGA5 Down: Like the best-case scenario IDEALCompleted New York Times Mini crossword for Tuesday, January 7New York TimesIt took me 1:03 to complete today's NYT Mini.Not a terrible time, Ill take that. EMOJI was the one that really tripped me up today, but by opting for slept instead of DOZED on my first pass, I made things slightly more difficult for myself. At least it was clear that was incorrect as soon as I got to the Down clues thanks to EDAM.Make sure to follow my blog for more coverage of the NYT Mini and other word games, as well as video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky! Its fun there.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 06: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman smiles during the OpenAI DevDay event ... [+] on November 06, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Altman delivered the keynote address at the first-ever Open AI DevDay conference.(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Getty ImagesOpenAI has always been great at grabbing attention in the news. Their announcements often come with big, bold claims. For example, they announced GPT-2 but said it was too dangerous to release. Or their 12 Days of Christmas campaign, where they showcased a new product every day for 12 days.Now, Sam Altman has shared his thoughts on last year, focusing on the dramatic boardroom soap opera around his firing and return. He also made a bold prediction:"We now know how to build AGI as its usually understood. In 2025, we think AI agents will join the workforce and change how companies work."AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) means creating an AI thats as smart and general as a human. Unlike narrow AI, which is built for specific tasks like translating languages, playing chess, or recognizing faces, AGI can handle any intellectual task and adapt across different areas. While I dont think AGI is near, I do believe AI will join the workforce but maybe not in the way Altman imagines.Is AGI Near? No, At least Not The AGI We (or Sam) ImagineThe arrival of AGI in 2025 seems very unlikely. Todays AI, like ChatGPT, works by recognizing patterns and making predictions not by truly understanding. For example, completing the phrase Life is like a box of with chocolates relies on probabilities, not reasoning.I dont believe AGI will happen by 2025, and many experts agree. Demis Hassabis, who I worked with at Google, predicts AGI could arrive around 2035. Ray Kurzweil estimates 2032, and Jrgen Schmidhuber, director of IDSIA, suggests closer to 2050. The skeptics are many, and the timeline remains uncertain.MORE FOR YOUDoes It Matter When? AI Is Already Powerful.Maybe it doesnt matter exactly when AGI will arrive. Even Sam Altman recently downplayed the G in AGI, saying:"My guess is we will hit AGI sooner than most people think, and it will matter much less."I agree with this to some extent. AI already has impressive capabilities. For example, Netflixs AI knows your movie preferences better than your partner. TikToks algorithms have even been joked about for recognizing someones sexual orientation before they did. AI excels at pattern recognitionand in many cases, its better at it than humans.Sam Altman Sees That AI Join The WorkforceThe more important point in Sams memo is his belief that AI will join the workforce. I completely agree this is going to happen. As I wrote in my AI agent update, for AI to succeed in the workplace, it needs two key things: (1) access to tools and (2) access to data. These are the building blocks for making AI truly effective in enterprise settings. However, even though Sam often links this idea to AGI, it might not be OpenAI leading the charge to provide these AI workforce solutions.Microsofts Pole Position Access To UsersWho has the workforce tools? Microsoft. Microsoft. Microsoft. They are in pole position. Most people already use Microsoft products whether they like it or not and AI is becoming deeply integrated into these tools, with Copilots appearing everywhere.In 2023 and 2024, many startups launched impressive AI services for office jobs, only to be quickly overshadowed by giants like Microsoft and Google, which have direct access to customers. Take Jasper.ai, for example a once-celebrated AI tool for drafting text. As I pointed out in this LinkedIn post, similar features are now built directly into Google and Microsoft products, making it increasingly difficult for smaller players to compete.The Power Of Data AccessAI needs data to be truly effective. If youre looking for answers about a companys internal processes or insights from documents, general tools like ChatGPT wont cut it. What we need are tools that can read and summarize company documents, tailored specifically for enterprise use. As Ive said before, 2025 will be the year of SEARCH especially enterprise search. Tools that can answer questions, summarize content, and help users navigate complex information will be game-changers.Who has access to this kind of data? Microsoft is a big player, but theyre not alone. Salesforce, for instance, holds an enormous trove of valuable data customer interactions, discussions, process documents, marketing strategies, and more. Does Salesforce want AI agents to help unlock this potential? Absolutely.Its no surprise that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently took a jab at Microsoft. He called their AI assistant, Copilot, disappointing, saying, It just doesnt work, and it doesnt deliver any level of accuracy. He even dubbed it Clippy 2.0 the funniest insult Ive heard in a while before rolling out Salesforces own AI solution, Agent Forces.OpenAI Is just The Smartest Tool?OpenAI doesnt have the same level of data access or consumer reach as Microsoft, nor does it have Salesforces treasure trove of business data. So, whats their angle? They claim to be the smartest tool on the block and they probably are, although I personally find Anthropics Claude 3.5 currently better than OpenAIs GPT-4.OpenAI is betting on their ability to outperform everyone else with superior technology. Thats why Sam Altman confidently claims well see AGI. Whats behind that bold claim? Reasoning or, as OpenAI calls it, Reasoning.OpenAI and ReasoningOpenAI recently launched o1, a model designed to showcase advanced reasoning capabilities through an iterative, self-calling process:Iteration and Reflection: The model generates an output, evaluates or critiques it, and refines it in a new round of reasoning.Feedback Loop: This creates a feedback loop where the model revisits its outputs, critiques them, and improves them further.In essence, GPT with o1 doesnt just provide answers it plans, critiques the plan, and continuously improves it.Whats especially noteworthy is the paradigm shift this represents. Instead of simply releasing a bigger model like GPT-5, the next generation of AI models is focused on "thinking longer" during inference. This ability to process iteratively may be what Sam Altman refers to when he says, We now know how to build AGI.Reasoning Is Enough of a Reason?But does "reasoning" alone get OpenAI into the game? OpenAI still needs access to data and a strong user presence, similar to Salesforce or Microsoft. To address this, OpenAI launched the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS. This app can now read code directly from developer-focused tools like VS Code, Xcode, TextEdit, Terminal, and iTerm2. This means developers no longer need to copy and paste their code into ChatGPTa common workaround until now. Its a really useful tool and a smart move to integrate deeper into the developer workflow.Chatting With Large Language Models Costs MoneyEvery call to a large language model (LLM) costs money. For heavy ChatGPT users, the $20 subscription might not even cover the cost of their usage. OpenAI recently raised $6.6 billion in a Series E funding rounda much-needed boost to sustain their operations. While Agentforce generates solid revenue from its customers, and Microsoft enjoys a massive financial war chest, OpenAI is still in the early stages of getting businesses and users to pay enough to offset the steep costs of developing cutting-edge AI.Their $200-per-month premium tier, which includes the expanded version of O1, is a move in this direction. But is it worth the price? Perhaps this is why AGI keeps being part of the conversationit helps justify the premium positioning. However, the race to create superior models is far from over. Even O1 could soon be outpaced by open-source alternatives, as weve seen before with Metas Llama.Speaking of Meta, Im confident well see their attempts to monetize AI models in 2025. Ultimately, the biggest challenge for these players remains clear: justifying enormous costs without securing a steady and reliable revenue stream.Sam is right: AI Agents Will Be In The WorkforceIn 2025, well see more AI agents entering the workforce, transforming workflows by simplifying, enhancing, and automating tasks across industries. These wont be all-encompassing AGI models but smaller, specialized models designed for dedicated workflows. AI will scale and improve processes one step at a time, combining traditional AI, context retrieval, and robust user design to tackle challenges like security, hallucinations, and user control.Success will hinge on delivering value through well-integrated, user-friendly, and ethically designed solutions, as outlined in my framework for building enterprise-ready AI tools. For Sam Altman, the key strategic question wont be about achieving AGI but about how to price OpenAIs base models for enterprise customers like Microsoft or Salesforceespecially if OpenAI ends up competing directly with them.But How Will We Work With Those New AI Colleagues?Enterprises will emerge as the winners in the race for better models, better data, and better integrations. Their main focus should be on training employees and customers to work effectively with their new AI colleagues. In my eCornell certificate course on AI solutions, I saw firsthand how productivity soared once students learned to communicate with an AI co-pilot. Initially, many struggled to achieve results, but a step-by-step guide on interacting with AI made a significant difference.Why? Because even with reasoning and planning capabilities, AI isnt truly general yet, no matter how much hype Sam Altman creates. Students had to learn when to rely on the AI and when to apply human judgment. I believe 2025 will be the year companies realize this need and invest heavily in AI education.

What just happened? The announcements from CES are coming thick and fast. As expected, there have been updates to the two main display interface standards: HDMI and DisplayPort. The former, HDMI 2.2, offers increased bandwidth for a wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates, while the latter, DisplayPort 2.1b, increases active cable lengths. The HDMI Forum had hinted at the reveal of HDMI 2.2 at CES in December. As we predicted then, the latest standard does not require a new connector, but taking advantage of all its best features will require a new cable.The new cable, called Ultra96, will enable HDMI 2.2's increased bandwidth of 96Gbps. That's double the 48Gbps bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 and is more than the 80Gbps supported by DisplayPort 2.1.The resolution/refresh rate combinations mentioned in the HDMI Forum's release for HDMI 2.2. include 4K at up to 480Hz, 8K at up to 240Hz, and 10K at 120Hz resolution support reaches 16K. The current HDMI 2.1 standard supports up to 10K@120Hz using Display Stream Compression (DSC) and 8K@60Hz without DSC.We currently don't have any commercial monitors or displays that are capable of these specs, but they will be here eventually. Until then, the Forum writes that the 96Gbps of bandwidth will improve demanding data-intensive, immersive and virtual applications such as AR/VR/MR, spatial reality and light field displays. It will also be useful in various commercial applications such as large-scale digital signage, medical imaging and machine vision.HDMI 2.2 also introduces Latency Indication Protocol (LIP). This improves audio and video synchronization, especially for multi-device systems such as those with AV receivers or a soundbar. LIP could be especially welcome by those whose systems can't seem to precisely synchronize the dialogue being heard with the actors' mouth movements. // Related StoriesHDMI 2.2 is set to arrive in the first half of this year, when companies will receive the full specifications. Don't expect to see the latest standard implemented in devices such as monitors or graphics cards for quite a while, though. The gap between HDMI 2.1 and the first supported TVs was about 2 years, and it took around four years before gaining widespread adoption.HDMI 2.2 is backward compatible, so it will work with anything featuring an older HDMI port. Buyers of an "Ultra96 Certified Cable" can use the HDMI Forum's labelling program to confirm it's the real thing by scanning the QR code on the box.The new DisplayPort 2.1b specification is certainly a smaller upgrade, but still a welcome one. VESA has announced new DP80LL ("low loss") active cables that enable up to four-lane UHBR20 link rate support, offering up to 80Gbps of bandwidth over lengths of up to three meters (9.4 feet). This triples the length of UHBR20 connections compared to existing DP80 passive cables.Nvidia's newly announced RTX 5000-series cards support DisplayPort 2.1b. VESA says Nvidia has been actively collaborating with the organization to ensure optimal performance and compatibility between the GPUs and DisplayPort 2.1b.

The company plans to grow the companys Azure cloud business in India and set up new data centers.

HealthmRNA vaccines have been a long time coming, but were only approved after covid-19 emerged, marking the beginning of a new way of preventing and treating various conditions 1 January 2025 Some covid-19 vaccines are based on long-anticipated mRNA technologyThe covid-19 pandemic saw the advent of a revolutionary technology: the first vaccines to be approved that contain messenger RNA (mRNA). The approach helped scientists create vaccines based on this genetic material in less than a year, turning the tide of the pandemic and shattering the previous four-year record set by the mumps vaccine.Not only have these new vaccines saved millions of lives, they have also confirmed the potential of mRNA to transform treatments. Today, hundreds of trials for mRNA-based therapies are under way. This is a technology thats