An 11th-century warlord who fought for both Christian and Muslim rulers left behind a reputation that expanded into myth.

The dramatic end of Nicholas IIs reign in Russia was one of the turning points of the early 20th century. Could he have avoided his downfall?

The human sense of smell is more powerful than we realize. It often works best in subtle collaboration with our other senses.

Another brick in the wall (Part 4) AI could create 78 million more jobs than it eliminates by 2030report As AGI talk sparks job loss fears, new WEF report projects AI-driven net job growth by 2030. Benj Edwards Jan 10, 2025 12:52 pm | 36 Credit: Moor Studio via Getty Images Credit: Moor Studio via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Wednesday, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its Future of Jobs Report 2025, with CNN immediately highlighting the finding that 40 percent of companies plan workforce reductions due to AI automation. But the report's broader analysis paints a far more nuanced picture than CNN's headline suggests: It finds that AI could create 170 million new jobs globally while eliminating 92 million positions, resulting in a net increase of 78 million jobs by 2030."Half of employers plan to re-orient their business in response to AI," writes the WEF in the report. "Two-thirds plan to hire talent with specific AI skills, while 40% anticipate reducing their workforce where AI can automate tasks."The survey collected data from 1,000 companies that employ 14 million workers globally. The WEF conducts its employment analysis every two years to help policymakers, business leaders, and workers make decisions about hiring trends.The new report points to specific skills that will dominate hiring by 2030. Companies ranked AI and big data expertise, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy as the three most in-demand skill sets.The WEF identified AI as the biggest potential job creator among new technologies, with 86 percent of companies expecting AI to transform their operations by 2030.Declining job categoriesThe WEF report also identifies specific job categories facing decline. Postal service clerks, executive secretaries, and payroll staff top the list of shrinking roles, with changes driven by factors including (but not limited to) AI adoption. And for the first time, graphic designers and legal secretaries appear among the fastest-declining positions, which the WEF tentatively links to generative AI's expanding capabilities in creative and administrative work.Despite planned workforce reductions, the WEF expects human-machine collaboration to define the workplace more than outright worker replacement. The report shows that 77 percent of surveyed firms will launch retraining programs to help current workers collaborate with AI systems between 2025 and 2030. About 70 percent plan to hire specialists who can design AI tools, while 62 percent seek employees skilled at working alongside these systems.The findings arrive as the WEF prepares for its annual meeting in Davos later this month, where AI's impact on the global workforce will take center stage in discussions among world leaders and executives.Longer-term AI jobs outlookSurveys aside, it's too soon to say for certain whether AI will have a net positive or negative effect on employment, but it's a safe bet that it will trigger a shift in how knowledge workers do their jobs. While the shift may be subtle over time, some people think it could be far more profound.In 2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mentioned to the press that AI could replace the labor of the "median human" worker, suggesting that many jobs could be automated in the future. His company is currently on a quest to create not only artificial general intelligence (AGI) as a well-rounded worker but also "superintelligence," which would ostensibly far surpass human intellectual capability.To address employment challenges from the development of these new automation technologies, Altman has been a proponent of exploring solutions like universal basic income (UBI), which could provide a base level of money to every American citizen to supplement or replace job-related income. He has funded significant trials to study the impact of basic income, including one of the largest randomized basic income experiments.Altman's projections are still hypothetical, but that has not stopped general angst over the potential impact of AI on jobs in the near future. It's an unresolved issue that we'll continue to cover over time.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 36 Comments

Ready, aim... Viral ChatGPT-powered sentry gun gets shut down by OpenAI But actual autonomous AI weapons systems are much more terrifying. Kyle Orland Jan 10, 2025 12:07 pm | 38 If you build an AI-controlled sentry gun, of course you're gonna try to ride it like a mechanical bull. Credit: sts_3D / Tiktok If you build an AI-controlled sentry gun, of course you're gonna try to ride it like a mechanical bull. Credit: sts_3D / Tiktok Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOpenAI says it has cut off API access to an engineer whose video of a motorized sentry gun controlled by ChatGPT-powered commands has set off a viral firestorm of concerns about AI-powered weapons.An engineer going by the handle sts_3d started posting videos of a motorized, auto-rotating swivel chair project in August. By November, that same assembly appeared to seamlessly morph into the basis for a sentry gun that could quickly rotate to arbitrary angles and activate a servo to fire precisely aimed projectiles (though only blanks and simulated lasers are shown being fired in his videos).Earlier this week, though, sts_3d started getting wider attention for a new video showing the sentry gun's integration with OpenAI's real-time API. In the video, the gun uses that ChatGPT integration to aim and fire based on spoken commands from sts_3d and even responds in a chirpy voice afterward.@sts_3d OpenAI Realtime API project integration #robotics #ai #openai original sound - sts_3d"If you need any other assistance, please let me know," the ChatGPT-powered gun says after firing a volley at one point. "Good job, you saved us," sts_3d responds, deadpan."I'm glad I could help!" ChatGPT intones happily.In response to a comment request from Futurism, OpenAI said it had "proactively identified this violation of our policies and notified the developer to cease this activity ahead of receiving your inquiry. OpenAI's Usage Policies prohibit the use of our services to develop or use weapons or to automate certain systems that can affect personal safety."Halt, intruder alert!The "voice-powered killer AI robot angle" has garnered plenty of viral attention for sts_3d's project in recent days. But the ChatGPT integration shown in his video doesn't exactly reach Terminator levels of a terrifying killing machine. Here, ChatGPT instead ends up looking more like a fancy, overwrought voice-activated remote control for a legitimately impressive gun mount.The demonstrated voice controls don't even seem particularly efficient in the video. Each of sts_3d's commands takes a few seconds to speak aloud, and it takes a few more seconds for ChatGPT to process and execute them. Compare that to sts_3d's other videos, where the gun automatically tracks a specific colored object with terrifying speed or quickly rotates between mouse-specified targets on a video feed, both of which seem much more ruthlessly methodical. Hobbyist sentry gun projects have also been showing off the ability to track and fire on moving targets since well before the recent LLM boom.@sts_3d Update on the tracking system #robotics #vision #electronics original sound - sts_3dStill, any potential link between "AI" and "weapons" quickly brings up images of merciless autonomous machines that can "intelligently" identify and neutralize threats without human intervention. The US military apparatus has definitely shown potential interest in that kind of automated AI weapons system, even if a human is still always "in the loop" on firing decisions (for now).OpenAI's usage policy has long included language barring uses that could "harm people, destroy property, or develop weapons." But last January, The Intercept reported on a stealth usage policy update removing a previous prohibition on "military and warfare" uses. And just last month, OpenAI announced a partnership with military contractor Anduril "to develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions."Policies aside, the wider proliferation of open-weight and open source AI models pretty much ensures that engineering hobbyists and weapons enthusiasts will continue to experiment with various levels of AI-controlled guns. That's true whether or not ChatGPT is being used as the vocal interface for those projects.Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 38 Comments

Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) should be visible from the southern hemisphere, and possibly also the northern hemisphere, over the next few days

On Friday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the TikTok divest-or-ban law.TikTok asked the court to pause its divestment deadline, set for January 19.Legal experts expect the Supreme Court to uphold the law despite pressing the government on its case.TikTok is fighting for its life as it faces a US ban set to arrive in a little over a week. On Friday, it argued its case before the Supreme Court.The justices peppered attorneys on both sides with questions about a divest-or-ban law that compels TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest from the US version of TikTok by January 19 or be forced to shut the app down.Legal experts told Business Insider that TikTok's prospects remain dim.Matthew Schettenhelm, a litigation and policy analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said he thinks TikTok's chances of a Supreme Court rescue look slimmer after Friday's hearing. "I expect the court to deny the stay, probably soon, and also uphold the law," he told BI.Many of the back-and-forths in the hearing centered on whether a TikTok divestment was the only path to solving Congress's national security concerns and if the law violates the free-speech rights of TikTok and its users. TikTok's attorney asked why its company had been singled out in the law and why e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu were granted exemptions.TikTok is appealing to the Supreme Court for a pause on its divestment deadline after it lost its case in the DC Circuit in December. But more time may not ultimately make much of a difference for the company.During oral arguments on Friday, TikTok's lawyer Noel Francisco said it would be "extraordinarily difficult" to divest its US platform from the rest of TikTok globally over any timeline.The attorney said divestment would be challenging because of the complexities of TikTok's algorithm and its reliance on interoperability with teams and creators in other countries.TikTok appears to be hoping for some type of political resolution that does not involve divestment, possibly brokered by President-elect Donald Trump.Alan Rozenshtein, a former Justice Department official and current University of Minnesota law professor, said the government "got hard questions in a way that it did not at the DC Circuit," but that doesn't mean TikTok will get a better outcome."I don't think that's going to be enough," Rozenshtein told BI. "I still think the most likely outcome is the law will be upheld."He gave an 80% chance that the Supreme Court would uphold the law.TikTok would 'go dark' if the court doesn't interveneAfter January 19, the company said it would "go dark" without court intervention as it would be pulled from app stores. Its service providers would also stop working with the company."It's essentially going to stop operating. I think that's the consequence of this law, which is why I think a short reprieve here would make all the sense in the world," Francisco, the TikTok lawyer, said.Still, like the DC Circuit, the Supreme Court is likely to show deference to Congress on questions of national security, even in instances where First Amendment rights are at stake."It's going to be an uphill battle," G.S. Hans, a clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School, told Business Insider ahead of the hearing. "TikTok lost 3-0 in the DC Circuit. They lost with a cross-ideological panel."He added: "If you're the company, you're hoping for a change of fortune. That's a tall order because of the general deference on natural security grounds to the political branches from the courts."Why is TikTok facing a ban?TikTok was included in the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, passed in April. The act sought to limit the influence of social apps with ties to countries the US deemed foreign adversaries to guard national security interests. ByteDance is headquartered in China, which the US government has called a foreign adversary.While members of both parties in Congress have raised alarm bells about TikTok, support for a ban among the American public has declined over the past couple of years. Support for a government ban fell from 50% in March 2023 to 32% in July and August among US adults who responded to Pew Research Center surveys.Donald Trump may try to save TikTok as president, as he pledged to do during his campaign run. Trump filed an amicus brief on December 27 asking the Supreme Court to pause the deadline for a TikTok divestment so he could try to negotiate a political resolution once in office.

2025-01-10T18:41:44Z Read in app Angle down iconAn icon in the shape of an angle pointing down. I live an hour from Rocky Mountain National Park. Emily Pogue This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? I live near Rocky Mountain National Park, so I know of lots of hidden gems in the area.In the park, I recommend checking out the Holzwarth Historic Site and Alpine Visitor Center.Outside the park, it's worth visiting the picturesque Chapel on the Rock and the Stanley Hotel.Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, which spans 415 square miles, offers endless recreation opportunities. From watching the trees change colors in the fall to cross-country skiing in the winter, there's always something to do.However, I've noticed that many visitors tend to check out only a few popular areas in the park. Since Rocky Mountain is practically in my backyard, I've come across some less-busy treasures in and around the park that are worth exploring.Here are five hidden gems I think all tourists should check out when visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. Venture over to the west side of the park.The Colorado River begins in Rocky Mountain National Park. Emily Pogue I've found that the vast majority of Rocky Mountain National Park visitors only visit the east side of the park, particularly the Bear Lake area. In fact, I've gone on hikes on the west side and have only seen a handful of people over multiple hours.My favorite thing to check out on the west side is the Holzwarth Historic Site. Here, you can find a small village of log cabins, giving you an idea of what life looked like in the Rockies 100 years ago.However, what really makes this stop stand out is the creek you walk over to get to the site. Although it's easy to overlook, this stream is actually the beginning of the Colorado River.It's difficult to imagine that this babbling brook grows into the mighty river that carved out the Grand Canyon. For spectacular views, venture up to the Alpine Visitor Center.I love taking in the views from the Alpine Visitor Center. Emily Pogue If you're visiting in the warmer months, Trail Ridge Road is your lifeline through Rocky Mountain National Park. The main route through the park offers gorgeous views of the Continental Divide, mountain lakes, and wildlife.At the highest point on the road (11,796 feet above sea level), you'll find the Alpine Visitor Center. This is a great place to grab a coffee and look out over the expansive landscape below.You also have a good chance of seeing two fuzzy critters: marmots and pikas. Both are part of the rodent family and make for some great entertainment as you sip on a drink. After visiting the park, stop by the Chapel on the Rock.The Chapel on the Rock is officially known as the St. Catherine of Siena Chapel. haveseen/Shutterstock The Chapel on the Rock somehow feels completely out of place yet blends in perfectly with its surroundings.Located near Rocky Mountain National Park, the 90-year-old stone church almost startles you after seeing nothing for miles on the country highway leading up to it.Officially named the St. Catherine of Siena Chapel, visitors are able to enter the building to pray or learn about its history, which is fascinating in itself. In 1993, the chapel even hosted a very famous guest: Pope John Paul II.Although it's not a long stop, the Chapel on the Rock is a very unexpected landmark in rural Colorado. Check out the Stanley Hotel the inspiration for "The Shining."Stephen King and his wife stayed at the hotel in September 1974. Emily Pogue Estes Park is the mountain town just outside the main entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park. The downtown is lovely to stroll through filled with taffy stores and souvenir shops. However, the most famous landmark in the town is the Stanley Hotel.First and foremost, the Stanley is a luxury hotel complex, complete with restaurants, a whiskey bar, and a theater. The hotel opened in 1909 and has hosted its fair share of notable guests including Stephen King in September 1974.King and his wife Tabby were the only guests in the entire hotel, as the property was set to close up for winter the next day. This stay inspired his bestselling thriller, "The Shining."If you want to dive into "The Shining" lore and the hotel's ghost stories, you can book a special tour around the hotel grounds. However, if you don't have time for that, quickly stopping by to check out the beautiful buildings (and hedge maze out front) is well worth the time. Spend some more time outdoors at the YMCA of the Rockies.The YMCA of the Rockies offers day passes. Emily Pogue After hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, you might want to continue your dive into the "full mountain" experience. Luckily, there are plenty of activities to scratch that itch, from fly fishing to ax throwing.The YMCA of the Rockies is a great option if you want to try several activities at a time. After buying a day pass (which costs $29 for adults), you'll have access to their entire grounds, which often have elk and other animals wandering around. TravelColoradoClose iconTwo crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Influencers have filed a lawsuit against Capital One.They allege its Shopping extension hurt their earnings by unfairly claiming credit for sales.Capital One said it disagreed with the premise of the lawsuit.First, the influencers came for PayPal's Honey. Now, Capital One is in the crosshairs.Capital One is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week by creators, who allege the company's Shopping browser extension hurt their affiliate-marketing commissions by stealing credit for driving sales."We disagree with the premise of the complaint and look forward to defending ourselves in court," a Capital One spokesperson told Business Insider.Capital One Shopping is a free browser extension that searches for discount codes and coupons, compares prices across around 30,000 online retailers, and lets users earn rewards that can be exchanged for gift cards. It makes money by earning a commission when its users purchase an item from its merchant partners.In a class-action lawsuit filed on January 6 in a Virginia court, two creators who promote products on social media allege Capital One's Shopping browser extension is designed to "systematically appropriate commissions that belong to influencers."The lawsuit alleges Capital One Shopping "stole credit" by swapping out influencers' affiliate-marketing browser cookies with its own. Cookies are small data files stored on a user's device that help companies track users' browsing history.The war for the last clickMuch like recent lawsuits filed by influencers against PayPal over its Honey browser extension, the Capital One Shopping case hones in on the marketing practice of "last-click attribution."In this model, cookies, unique web links, promo codes, and other analytics tags are used to determine the last piece of content a user engages with before they make a purchase. That entity, be it a YouTube video or an ad, gets credit for the purchase.The practice has fallen out of favor in some marketing circles because it doesn't consider the full cycle of convincing someone to buy a product. There are also concerns that some middlemen may try to game the system to unfairly claim last-click credit for purchases that they had little to do with.Companies in the affiliate-marketing industry often seek to adhere to "stand down" practices, where they won't override another affiliate's cookies.In their lawsuit, content creators Jesika Brodiski and Peter Hayward allege Capital One Shopping took credit for sales and conversions that were originally derived from affiliate-marketing links they shared to social media.Brodiski shared affiliate-marketing links on social media for products on Walmart.com, and the lawsuit claims that if a user had the Capital One Shopping extension activated during the checkout process Capital One would remove her associated cookie and replace it with its own. The lawsuit said Brodiski earned around $20,000 through affiliate marketing in 2024 but that her earnings were hampered by Capital One Shopping. The lawsuit alleges that if users have the Capital One Shopping extension activated, Capital One can unfairly take credit for some sales. Jesika Brodiski and Peter Hayward, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff(s), v. Capital One Financial Corporation, Wikibuy LLC, and Wikibuy Holdings LLC. Hayward is part of the Amazon affiliate-marketing program and similarly alleges Capital One would replace his referral tag with its own.The lawsuit also alleges Brodiski and Hayward "face future harm in the form of stolen referral fees and sales commissions because the Capital One Shopping browser extension continues to steal affiliate marketing commissions with each passing day."A court will need to certify the class action in order for the case to proceedThe plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial. If the case is certified as a class action, other influencers could join the suit.Christopher Roberts, partner and class-action attorney at the law firm Butsch Roberts & Associates, told BI the most difficult part of such cases is getting the class certified. The court will need to rigorously analyze various factors, such as whether the class is big enough and whether it would make more sense to litigate complicated cases individually.Certification aside, Roberts said he felt the case would come down to what discovery showed."This case, on its face, is very well-pled, and it's pretty specific as to the code for this app being supplanted on the computer so that they can get the affiliate payment," Roberts said.

EA FC 25's latest Numero FUT squad has been revealed, and there are some fantastic cards from the best leagues in the world, with a couple of fantastic Premier League keepersTech18:00, 10 Jan 2025Which players do you have your eye on?Numero FUT, the latest in a long line of EA FC 25 promos, is still going and there are new cards out now.The developer has revealed a fresh host of cards, with Madrid stars Griezmann and Militao representing Atletico and Real respectively, while there are plenty of goalkeepers included with five 'keepers included alongside a quintet of RMs and LBs.The highlight is Liverpool star Alisson, but a Jordan Pickford with a 90 OVR is likely to be a huge boon for Premier League teams.The Mode Mastery event is continuing, too, so there's plenty of reason to crack packsThe new cards are here as of Friday, January 10 at 6pm GMT.They'll be gone by the same time on January 17, so move quickly!The final Numero FUT squad coveres the numbers 7, 3, and 1Here's the final squad for Numero FUT:RM: Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) - 92RM: Cuadrado (Atalanta) - 90RM: Naz (Spurs) - 89RM: Juanmi (Real Betis) - 87RM: Gabriel Strefezza (Como) - 86LB: Eder Militao (Real Madrid) - 91LB: Balde (Barcelona) - 90LB: Anton (Dortmund) - 89LB: Itakura (Borussia Munchengladbach) - 87LB: Van der Hoorn (Utrecht) - 86GK: Alisson (Liverpool) - 91GK: Endler (Lyon) - 90GK: Pickford (Everton) - 90GK: Alex Remiro (Sociedad) - 90GK: Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt) - 90Looking for more players to earn? Be sure to check out our rundown of the latest Team of the Week.You can also cast your vote for the EA FC 25 Team of the Year, which includes the world's best players.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.RECOMMENDED