The artificial intelligence evolution is well underway. AI technology is changing how we communicate, do business, manage our energy grid, and even diagnose and treat illnesses. And it is evolving more rapidly than we could have predicted. Both companies that produce the models driving AI and governments that are attempting to regulate this frontier environment have struggled to institute appropriate guardrails.In part, this is due to how poorly we understand how AI actually functions. Its decision-making is notoriously opaque and difficult to analyze. Thus, regulating its operations in a meaningful way presents a unique challenge: How do we steer a technology away from making potentially harmful decisions when we dont exactly understand how it makes its decisions in the first place?This is becoming an increasingly pressing problem as artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its successor, artificial superintelligence (ASI), loom on the horizon.AGI is AI equivalent to or surpassing human intelligence. ASI is AI that exceeds human intelligence entirely. Until recently, AGI was believed to be a distant possibility, if it was achievable at all. Now, an increasing number of experts believe that it may only be a matter of years until AGI systems are operational.Related:As we grapple with the unintended consequences of current AI application -- understood to be less intelligent than humans because of their typically narrow and limited functions -- we must simultaneously attempt to anticipate and obviate the potential dangers of AI that might match or outstrip our capabilities.AI companies are approaching the issue with varying degrees of seriousness -- sometimes leading to internal conflicts. National governments and international bodies are attempting to impose some order on the digital Wild West, with limited success. So, how ready are we for AGI? Are we ready at all?InformationWeek investigates these questions, with insights from Tracy Jones, associate director of digital consultancy Guidehouses data and AI practice, May Habib, CEO and co-founder of generative AI company Writer, and Alexander De Ridder, chief technology officer of AI developer SmythOS.What Is AGI and How Do We Prepare Ourselves?The boundaries between narrow AI, which performs a specified set of functions, and true AGI, which is capable of broader cognition in the same way that humans are, remain blurry.As Miles Brundage, whose recent departure as senior advisor of OpenAIs AGI Readiness team has spurred further discussion of how to prepare for the phenomenon, says, AGI is an overloaded phrase.Related:AGI has many definitions, but regardless of what you call it, it is the next generation of enterprise AI, Habib says. Current AI technologies function within pre-determined parameters, but AGI can handle much more complex tasks that require a deeper, contextual understanding. In the future, AI will be capable of learning, reasoning, and adapting across any task or work domain, not just those pre-programmed or trained into it.AGI will also be capable of creative thinking and action that is independent of its creators.It will be able to operate in multiple realms, completing numerous types of tasks. It is possible that AGI may, in its general effect, be a person. There is some suggestion that personality qualities may be successfully encoded into a hypothetical AGI system, leading it to act in ways that align with certain sorts of people, with particular personality qualities that influence their decision-making.However, as it is defined, AGI appears to be a distinct possibility in the near future. We simply do not know what it will look like.AGI is still technically theoretical. How do you get ready for something that big? Jones asks. If you cant even get ready for the basics -- you cant tie your shoe --how do you control the environment when it's 1,000 times more complicated?Related:Such a system, which will approach sentience, may thus be capable of human failings due to simple malfunction or misdirection due to hacking events or even intentional disobedience on its own. If any human personality traits are encoded, intentionally or not, they ought to be benign or at least beneficial -- a highly subjective and difficult determination to make. AGI needs to be designed with the idea that it can ultimately be trusted with its own intelligence -- that it will act with the interests of its designers and users in mind. They must be closely aligned with our own goals and values.AI guardrails are and will continue to come down to self-regulation in the enterprise, Habib says. While LLMs can be unreliable, we can get nondeterministic systems to do mostly deterministic things when were specific with the outcomes we want from our generative AI applications. Innovation and safety are a balancing act. Self-regulation will continue to be key for AI's journey.Disbandment of OpenAIs AGI Readiness TeamBrundages departure from OpenAI in late October following the disbandment of its AGI Readiness team sent shockwaves through the AI community. He joined the company in 2018 as a researcher and led its policy research since 2021, serving as a key watchdog for potential issues created by the companys rapidly advancing products. The dissolution of his team and his departure followed on the heels of the implosion of its Superalignment team in May, which had served a similar oversight purpose.Brundage claimed that he would either join a nonprofit focused on monitoring AI concerns or start his own. While both he and OpenAI claimed that the split was amicable, observers have read between the lines, speculating that his concerns had not been taken seriously by the company. The members of the team who stayed with the company have been shuffled to other departments. Other significant figures at the company have also left in the past year.Though the Substack post in which he extensively described his reasons for leaving and his concerns about AGI was largely diplomatic, Brundage stated that no one was ready for AGI -- fueling the hypothesis that OpenAI and other AI companies are disregarding the guardrails their own employees are attempting to establish. A June 2024 open letter from employees of OpenAI and other AI companies warns of exactly that.Brundages exit is seen as a signifier that the old guard of AI has been sent to the hinterlands -- and that unbridled excess may follow in their absence.Potential Risks of AGIAs with the risks of narrow AI, those posed by AGI range from the mundane to the catastrophic.One underappreciated reason there are so few generative AI use cases at scale in the enterprise is fear -- but its fear of job displacement, loss of control, privacy erosion and cultural adjustments -- not the end of mankind, Habib notes. The biggest ethical concerns right now are data privacy, transparency and algorithmic bias.You dont just build a super-intelligent system and hope it behaves; you have to account for all sorts of unintended consequences, like AI following instructions too literally without understanding human intent, De Ridder adds. Were still figuring out how to handle that. Theres just not enough emphasis on these problems yet. A lot of the research is still missing.An AGI system that has negative personality traits, encoded by its designer intentionally or unintentionally, would likely amplify those traits in its actions. For example, the Big Five personality trait model characterizes human personalities according to openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.If a model is particularly disagreeable, it might act against the interests of humans it is meant to serve if it feels that is the best course of action. Or, if it is highly neurotic, it might end up dithering over issues that are ultimately inconsequential. There is also concern that AGI models may consciously evade attempts to modify their actions -- essentially, being dishonest to their designers and users.These can result in very consequential effects when it comes to moral and ethical decision making -- with which AGI systems might conceivably be entrusted. Biases and unfair decision making might have potentially massive consequences if these systems are entrusted with large-scale decision making.Decisions that are based on inferences from information on individuals may lead to dangerous effects, essentially stereotyping people on the basis of data -- some of which may have originally been harvested for entirely different purposes. Further, data harvesting itself could increase exponentially if the system feels that it is useful. This intersects with privacy concerns -- data fed into or harvested by these models may not necessarily have been harvested with consent. The consequences could unfairly impact certain individuals or groups of individuals.Untrammeled AGI might also have society-wide effects. The fact that AGI will have human capabilities also raises the concern that it will wipe out entire employment sectors, leaving people with certain skill sets without a means of gainful employment, thus leading to social unrest and economic instability.AGI would greatly increase the magnitude of cyber-attacks and have the potential to be able to take out infrastructure, Jones adds. If you have a bunch of AI bots that are emotionally intelligent and that are talking with people constantly, the ability to spread disinformation increases dramatically. Weaponization becomes a big issue -- the ability to control your systems. Large-scale cyber-attacks that target infrastructure or government databases, or the launch of massive misinformation campaigns could be devastating.Tracy Jones, GuidehouseThe autonomy of these systems is particularly concerning. These events might happen without any human oversight if the AGI is not properly designed to consult with or respond to its human controllers. And the ability of malicious human actors to infiltrate an AGI system and redirect its power is of equal concern. It has even been proposed that AGI might assist in the production of bioweapons.The 2024 International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI articulates a host of other potential effects -- and there are almost certainly others that have not yet been anticipated.What Companies Need To Do To Be ReadyThere are a number of steps that companies can take to ensure that they are at least marginally ready for the advent of AGI.The industry needs to shift its focus toward foundational safety research, not just faster innovation. I believe in designing AGI systems that evolve with constraints -- think of them having lifespans or offspring models, so we can avoid long-term compounding misalignment, De Ridder advises.Above all, rigorous testing is necessary to prevent the development of dangerous capabilities and vulnerabilities prior to deployment. Ensuring that the model is amenable to correction is also essential. If it resists efforts to redirect its actions while it is still in the development phase, it will likely become even more resistant as its capabilities advance. It is also important to build models whose actions can be understood -- already a challenge in narrow AI. Tracing the origins of erroneous reasoning is crucial if it is to be effectively modified.Limiting its curiosity to specific domains may prevent AGI from taking autonomous action in areas where it may not understand the unintended consequences -- detonating weapons, for example, or cutting off supply of essential resources if those actions seem like possible solutions to a problem. Models can be coded to detect when a course of action is too dangerous and to stop before executing such tasks.Ensuring that products are resistant to penetration by outside adversaries during their development is also imperative. If an AGI technology proves susceptible to external manipulation, it is not safe to release it into the wild. Any data that is used in the creation of an AGI must be harvested ethically and protected from potential breaches.Human oversight must be built into the system from the start -- while the goal is to facilitate autonomy, it must be limited and targeted. Coding for conformal procedures, which request human input when more than one solution is suggested, may help to rein in potentially damaging decisions and train models to understand when they are out of line.Such procedures are one instance of a system being designed so that humans know when to intervene. There must also be mechanisms that allow humans to intervene and stop a potentially dangerous course of action -- variously referred to as kill switches and failsafes.And ultimately, AI systems must be aligned to human values in a meaningful way. If they are encoded to perform actions that do not align with fundamental ethical norms, they will almost certainly act against human interests.Engaging with the public on their concerns about the trajectory of these technologies may be a significant step toward establishing a good-faith relationship with those who will inevitably be affected. So too, transparency on where AGI is headed and what it might be capable of might facilitate trust in the companies that are developing its precursors. Some have suggested that open source code might allow for peer review and critique.Ultimately, anyone designing systems that may result in AGI needs to plan for a multitude of outcomes and be able to manage each one of them if they arise.How Ready Are AI companies?Whether or not the developers of the technology leading to AGI are actually ready to manage its effects is, at this point, anyones guess. The larger AI companies -- OpenAI, DeepMind, Meta, Adobe, and upstart Anthropic, which focuses on safe AI -- have all made public commitments to maintaining safeguards. Their statements and policies range from vague gestures toward AI safety to elaborate theses on the obligation to develop thoughtful, safe AI technology. DeepMind, Anthropic and OpenAI have released elaborate frameworks for how they plan on aligning their AI models with human values.One survey found that 98% of respondents from AI labs agreed that labs should conduct pre-deployment risk assessments, dangerous capabilities evaluations, third-party model audits, safety restrictions on model usage, and red teaming.Even in their public statements, it is clear that these organizations are struggling to balance their rapid advancement with responsible alignment, development of models whose actions can be interpreted and monitoring of potentially dangerous capabilities.Alexander De Ridder, SmythOSRight now, companies are falling short when it comes to monitoring the broader implications of AI, particularly AGI. Most of them are spending only 1-5% of their compute budgets on safety research, when they should be investing closer to 20-40%, says De Ridder.They do not seem to know whether debiasing their models or subjecting them to human feedback is actually sufficient to mitigate the risks they might pose down the line.But other organizations have not even gotten that far. A lot of organizations that are not AI companies -- companies that offer other products and services that utilize AI -- do not have aI security teams yet, Jones says. They havent matured to that place.However, she thinks that is changing. Were starting to see a big uptick across companies and government in general in focusing on security, she observes, adding that in addition to dedicated safety and security teams, there is a movement to embed safety monitoring throughout the organization. A year ago, a lot of people were just playing with AI without that, and now people are reaching out. They want to understand AI readiness and theyre talking about AI security.This suggests a growing realization amongst both AI developers and their customers that serious consequences are a near inevitability. Ive seen organizations sharing information -- there's an understanding that we all have to move forward and that we can all learn from each other, Jones claims.Whether the leadership and the actual developers behind the technology are taking the recommendations of any of these teams seriously is a separate question. The exodus of multiple OpenAI staffers -- and the letter of warning they signed earlier this year -- suggests that at least in some cases, safety monitoring is being ignored or at least downplayed.It highlights the tension that is going to be there between really fast innovation and ensuring that it is responsible, Jones adds.

Why should you join Secfix?Secfix is an early-stage fully remote startup in the best sense of the word. Were a fun, close-knit team on a mission to automate security and compliance for modern companies and become the European compliance automation leader. We rapidly grew from just three founders to 20 people in less than 2 years after founding.Your work will significantly impact our tech product used by CTOs, engineering teams, COOs and the whole team will celebrate your wins.In comparison to many startups we are growing the team at a healthy rate and there is a balance between fast growth and maintaining our runway as we scale. Most of our costs are already covered by revenue.With new challenges (we're looking to 2x the team next year), you're assured of growth and progress. Our trajectory is fueled by top investors, including Octopus Ventures, Neosfer (Commerzbank), founders of Signavio and many more angels.Who are we looking for?We're building an environment at Secfix where ambitious, independent engineers can thrive. We want to grow with people who take pride on building and maintaining actual products, who are curious about how the features we ship are used daily to solve real challenges, and who'll use their in-depth engineering insights to push the envelope on what we can achieve together. We own products and outcomes, not Jira tickets.Bring your commitment and drive to grow, and well deliver an environment that keeps you happy, healthy, and empowered to do your best work with us.Scope of this role: 90% backend troubleshooting, 10% new feature development.Experience that you will ideally bring1+ years of experience in Backend Engineering through first full-time job and internships.Solid foundation in object-oriented programming with Java.First professional production experience in Java Spring Boot, Hibernate, and SQL.Familiarity with 3rd-party APIs and interest in learning monitoring and troubleshooting.Willingness to take ownership of tasks, collaborate, and adapt to feedback.You should apply if:Youre ambitious, independent and growth-oriented.You bring young talent to our team with at least 1 year of equivalent experience.You have strong engineering fundamentals, code efficiently, and you know what you're great at and what you're less great at.You thrive when you have autonomy, own as many of the details as possible, and project manage your own work.Youre comfortable collaborating and communicating in a remote environment, especially in writing and on video calls. You understand that working remotely doesn't mean working alone. Remember, it requires more pro-active communication than working in the office.You should not apply if:You need a lot of processes to tell you what to do or you're comfortable only picking up highly detailed tickets from a JIRA boardYou only want to write code and dont really care about the bigger picture and customersYou dont want to test, deploy, monitor and troubleshoot your own codeYou dont want to lead your own projects, but rather be led by someone elseYou don't want to collaborate closely with other areas of the business or engage with users when neededWhat happens when you join us?Youll own complex backend issues: Work closely with the Tech Lead to take on challenging backend problems and resolve them autonomously.Youll debug, troubleshoot, and fix bugs: Solve real customer-impacting issues in our production environment, ensuring a smooth experience for our users.Youll strengthen your backend skills: Work with cutting-edge technologies like Java Spring Boot, Hibernate, and SQL, and develop a strong foundation in backend development.Youll collaborate and grow: Work with a talented and supportive team to analyze root causes, design solutions, and improve our backend systems.Youll contribute to new features: Occasionally work on feature development as the team and product expand.Youll live by our values:We are obsessed with our customers.We build smart.We create trustWe are hacky.We take ownership.We are leaders of remoteOur Technology StackFrontend: Typescript, Angular, Ngrx, Tailwind, Material UIBackend: Java SpringBoot, Postrgesql, HibernateMDM product: Golang & OsqueryInfrastructure: AWS with ECSTools: Gitlab CI/CD, Figma, Slack, Notion, Gather.town, ClickUpInterview ProcessWe aim to invite successful applicants to interview within a week and provide feedback after the take-home task stage.Applicants can expect the following:An Introductory call with a member of our talent team ~ 15-20 minutesTake home task (scope: max. 1-2h) and technical interview with Tech LeadVirtual on-site with the team and co-founders on Gather.town (approx. 2 hours)Offer stageAfter sending us your application in, please keep an eye out for an email from Grigory (CTO) or Chiara (People Ops). We will respond and move as quickly as possible.What We OfferRemote Work: 100% remote work with a virtual office in Gather.Competitive Salary: Industry-competitive local salaries. We pay local rates that are at or above the market. We share this philosophy with GitLab.Equity: Generous equity package were all owners of Secfix and beneficiaries of our collective success.Holidays: 26 days holiday + local public holidays.Health Insurance: Comprehensive health coverage.Development Budget: 1,000 annual personal development budget.Workspace Budget: Remote workspace budget and access to co-working spaces.Annual Retreat: Annual retreat to build connections and inspire ideas (this year were headed to Milan!).Tech Equipment: Latest tech equipment (MacBook, monitors, headphones).Company Events: Company-wide events to build relationships and have some fun!Mentorship: We are backed by top VCs and accelerators and have direct access to world-class mentors.Please note: We are an equal-opportunity employer and remote-only company. We work in sync using Gather as our virtual office. As a small fast-growing company, we believe in the need for an in-sync component of daily communication and therefore cannot support 100% asynchronous work. Related Jobs See more Back-End Programming jobs

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Whats next for nuclear power While nuclear reactors have been generating power around the world for over 70 years, the current moment is one of potentially radical transformation for the technology. As electricity demand rises around the world for everything from electric vehicles to data centers, theres renewed interest in building new nuclear capacity, as well as extending the lifetime of existing plants and even reopening facilities that have been shut down. Efforts are also growing to rethink reactor designs, and 2025 marks a major test for so-called advanced reactors as they begin to move from ideas on paper into the construction phase. Heres what to expect next for the industry.Casey Crownhart This piece is part of MIT Technology Reviews Whats Next series, looking across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here. Mark Zuckerberg and the power of the media On Tuesday last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta is done with fact checking in the US, that it will roll back restrictions on speech, and is going to start showing people more tailored political content in their feeds. While the end of fact checking has gotten most of the attention, the changes to its hateful speech policy are also notable. Zuckerbergwhose previous self-acknowledged mistakes include the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, and helping to fuel a genocide in Myanmarpresented Facebooks history of fact-checking and content moderation as something he was pressured into doing by the government and media. The reality, of course, is that these were his decisions. He famously calls the shots, and always has. Read the full story. Mat Honan This story first appeared in The Debrief, providing a weekly take on the tech news that really matters and links to stories we loveas well as the occasional recommendation.Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Friday. Heres our forecast for AI this year In December, our small but mighty AI reporting team was asked by our editors to make a prediction: Whats coming next for AI? As we look ahead, certain things are a given. We know that agentsAI models that do more than just converse with you and can actually go off and complete tasks for youare the focus of many AI companies right now. Similarly, the need to make AI faster and more energy efficient is putting so-called small language models in the spotlight. However, the other predictions were not so clear-cut. Read the full story. James O'Donnell This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. To witness the fallout from the AI teams lively debates (and hear more about what didnt make the list), you can join our upcoming LinkedIn Live this Thursday, January 16 at 12.30pm ET. James will be talking it all over with Will Douglas Heaven, our senior editor for AI, and our news editor, Charlotte Jee. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 China is considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk But its unclear how likely an outcome that really is. (Bloomberg $)+ Its certainly one way of allowing TikTok to remain in the US. (WSJ $)+ For what its worth, TikTok has dismissed the report as pure fiction. (Variety $)+ Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, is dealing with an influx of American users. (WP $)2 Amazon drivers are still delivering packages amid LA fires They're dropping off parcels even after neighborhoods have been instructed to evacuate. (404 Media)3 Alexa is getting a generative AI makeoverAmazon is racing to turn its digital assistant into an AI agent. (FT $) + What are AI agents? (MIT Technology Review)4 Animal manure is a major climate problem Unfortunately, turning it into energy is easier said than done. (Vox)+ How poop could help feed the planet. (MIT Technology Review) 5 Power lines caused many of Californias worst fires Thousands of blazes have been traced back to power infrastructure in recent decades. (NYT $)+ Why some homes manage to withstand wildfires. (Bloomberg $)+ The quest to build wildfire-resistant homes. (MIT Technology Review)6 Barcelona is a hotbed of spyware startups Researchers are increasingly concerned about its creep across Europe. (TechCrunch)7 Mastodons founder doesnt want to follow in Mark Zuckerbergs footstepsEugen Rochko has restructured the company to ensure it could never be controlled by a single individual. (Ars Technica) + Hes made it clear he doesnt want to end up like Elon Musk, either. (Engadget)8 Spare a thought for this Welsh would-be crypto millionaireHis 11-year quest to recover an old hard drive has come to a disappointing end. (Wired $) 9 The unbearable banality of internet lexicon Its giving nonsense. (The Atlantic $)10 You never know whether youll get to see the northern lights or not AI could help us to predict when theyll occur more accurately. (Vice)+ Digital pictures make the lights look much more defined than they actually are. (NYT $)Quote of the day Cutting fact checkers from social platforms is like disbanding your fire department. Alan Duke, co-founder of fact-checking outlet Lead Stories, criticizes Metas decision to ax its US-based fact checkers as the groups attempt to slow viral misinformation spreading about the wildfires in California, CNN reports. The big story The world is moving closer to a new cold war fought with authoritarian tech September 2022Despite President Bidens assurances that the US is not seeking a new cold war, one is brewing between the worlds autocracies and democraciesand technology is fueling it. Authoritarian states are following Chinas lead and are trending toward more digital rights abuses by increasing the mass digital surveillance of citizens, censorship, and controls on individual expression.And while democracies also use massive amounts of surveillance technology, its the tech trade relationships between authoritarian countries thats enabling the rise of digitally enabled social control. Read the full story.Tate Ryan-Mosley We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + Before indie sleaze, there was DIY counterculture site Buddyhead.+ Did you know black holes dont actually suck anything in at all?+ Science fiction is stuck in a loop, and cant seem to break its fixation with cyberpunk.+ Every now and again, TV produces a perfect episode. Heres eight of them.

Coastal scheme located at popular surfing spotThe scheme's buildings are arranged around a lushly planted central garden1/4show captionFoster & Partners has unveiled its designs for a luxury hotel and residential scheme in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.The Tempo development stretches along the Praia Brava beach, a local surfing spot backed by the Serra do Tabuleiro mountains.Designed for the Muze real estate group, the scheme consists of a main hotel building and separate residential buildings with private gardens.It is arranged around a central landscaped garden intended as an extension of the beachfront, featuring natural trails, pavilions, water features and pools.Each hotel suite includes a private terrace facing the ocean, and features sliding timber screens for shade and privacy. A rooftop infinity pool wraps around the deck to provide unobstructed 360-degree views of the water and the mountains.David Summerfield, Foster & Partners head of studio, said the scheme captures the spirit of its vibrant coastal location.Nature is woven through every part of the development, which will take residents and guests on a truly spectacular journey from the beach to their whole-floor residences and private suites, he said.

Since 2018, the practice has put forward numerous plans to demolish two buildings on the City fringe site between Whitechapel High Street and Commercial Road. In 2022, a version featuring a 14-storey block on the 0.67ha site was refused by Tower Hamlets Council.At the time councillors objected to, among other things, the schemes height, the demolition of heritage assets, its daylight and sunlight effects on neighbours, and the harm to the setting of the nearby, Charles Harrison Townsend-designed Grade II*-listed Whitechapel Gallery.The practice returned last year with a fresh application for the same developer, South Street Asset Management, working with architect Haverstock, which is overseeing the rejig of Canon Barnett Primary School within the development plot.AdvertisementAlthough the scheme in the Whitechapel High Street Conservation Area is now three storeys taller and has a larger footprint, it involves less demolition, steps back at its edges and would retain, rather than remove, the frontage at 2-4 Commercial Street. The Edwardian faade at 102-105 Whitechapel High Street would be kept, as before. The 2024 scheme promises to create 3,260 jobs, provide incubator spaces for small and medium businesses and includes a relocated and expanded playground for the primary school.But the changes have not appeased either heritage campaigners or Historic England, and Tower Hamlets planning officers are also unconvinced. They have recommended councillors refuse the scheme tomorrow night (15 January). A scheduled decision in December was deferred to allow councillors to visit the site.The scheme has also prompted 294 objections.SAVE Britains Heritage conservation officer Lydia Franklin branded the plans highly controversial and said that an office block towering 17 storeys above its neighbours is not what this area needs. Any development on this corner of Whitechapel should celebrate the areas history and identity.AdvertisementShe added: A building of this scale would tear through the conservation area which was created to draw a clear line between the bristling towers of the City fringe and the very different character of the historic East End.Also objecting is the Victorian Society, which said that though the 82.5m-tall scheme now partially steps back, these design moves were a superficial attempt to assuage height concerns.Historic England said it could not support the plans, claiming the height and massing would starkly contrast with the human scale of the surrounding buildings. It said the robust Victorian commercial character of the retained faade of 2-4 Commercial Street would be significantly undermined by the overbearing presence of the 18-storey building immediately behind and partly cantilevering over the frontage.The planning officer's report concluded: The benefits that would flow from the development when taken together do not carry sufficient weight in order to outweigh the harm to designated heritage assets and other harms that have been identified, in particular the adverse effects on existing residents and the learning environment at Canon Barnett Primary School.Foster + Partners, Haverstock and South Street Asset Management have all been contacted for comment.

It's the thought that counts, but you also want a Valentine's Day gift that goes the extra mile -- even if you're on a budget. We hand-selected these presents under $50 that will hit the mark whether you're shopping for a spouse, BFF, family member or any other special someone.

January 14, 20254 min readWildfires May Be Contaminating Los Angeles Water with Harmful ChemicalsFires can make drinking water, pipes and tanks unsafe. An environmental engineer explains why thats so and what to doBy Andrew J. Whelton & The Conversation US Water runs from a pipe where a home once stood, destroyed by the Palisades Fire, on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles, California. Jay L. Clendenin/Getty ImagesThe following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.The wildfires in the Los Angeles area have destroyed thousands of structures, many of them homes, and firefighters continue to battle the infernos. Parts of Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena and other California communities are now unrecognizable.As evacuation orders are lifted, safe drinking water should be top of mind for those residents able to return to their homes.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.What many people dont realize is the extent to which their community drinking water systems can be damaged by fire, how their water is affected and what they can do about it.As an environmental engineer, I work with communities affected by wildfires and other disasters. Over the years, my team and I have been called in to help after some of the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history. In some cases, we have advised state and local officials from afar.Several local water systems in the Los Angeles area have begun issuing warnings about not using the potentially unsafe drinking water. Heres what residents in the area, and anyone else living near where a wildfire burns, need to know.How fires can make water unsafeFires can make drinking water, and the water pipes and tanks themselves, unsafe. This occurs for a number of reasons.One cause is when high water use from firefighting drains the water system.Water systems are not designed to fight wildfires. Damaged and destroyed structures also prompt uncontrolled water leaks. Powerloss also prevents water from being replenished fast enough into the draining water systems. Combined, these factors can depressurize the water system, leaving no water available.When water is depleted, the system is vulnerable to chemical contamination.Drinking water contamination can also come from the air and from damage to water system infrastructure. Heat can partially melt plastic pipes and water meters, releasing chemicals; smoke can be sucked into water systems; and breaks in the water infrastructure can introduce contamination.A host of cancer-causing chemicals have been found in damaged water systems after wildfires. Sometimes these chemicals, such as benzene, can cause someone to become immediately ill if they drink or use the water. Symptoms can include nausea, headaches and rashes.These chemicals stick to the infrastructure surfaces and can even penetrate some plastic pipes and gaskets. Removing them can take days to months. Some plastics can adsorb chemicals like a sponge and release them into clean drinking water slowly, making that water unsafe for long periods of time.How communities can reduce the riskResidents and businesses should pay attention to announcements from their drinking water provider and health officials about water safety.Safety can be determined through proper chemical testing. Fortunately, the first-ever guide for water systems to respond to and recover from fires was published in 2024. Property owners can find more information from groups like our research team at Purdue University.When to test and treat your own waterWhen it comes to testing home drinking water, caution is needed.After the 2023 wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, and the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, I met with many households who spent hundreds to thousands of dollars to hire companies to conduct their own water testing. However, many of the results turned out to be irrelevant. In some cases:Residents were charged for water analysis even though their samples were improperly handled.The potentially contaminated water was dumped out of plumbing before a sample was collected.Water samples were not screened for the correct fire-related chemicals.Samples were not collected from the right locations or enough locations in the home.Treating water is not advised until the levels of contamination are known. Water systems in the area have issued such warnings.Residents should also be aware that home water treatment devices are not certified to make extremely contaminated water safe.To help property owners make the best decisions, water utilities need to rapidly test and share with the public what chemicals are present in their water systems. Once that testing has been done and the risks are known, property owners may want to commission their own testing if their plumbing is damaged or if contaminated water has flowed in.Water systems can recoverIt can be frustrating waiting for information, but immediately after fires its often unsafe for water officials to enter the affected areas to begin testing.As history has shown, safe water can be restored. Assistance from experts who have helped others respond can expedite the recovery. In my experience, communities that recover rapidly and stronger are those where they work together and support one another.This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review - a formidable platformer that still holds up todayMod Kongs.Image credit: Eurogamer/Nintendo Review by Katharine Castle Managing Editor Published on Jan. 14, 2025 A straightforward remaster that struggles to outshine the Switch port of Tropical Freeze, but Returns HD is still a challenging and satisfying platformer that stands the test of time.It feels strange to be seeing out the twilight months of the Switch with an HD remaster of a Wii game from 15 years ago, but such is the position we find ourselves in with the launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Originally made by the folks at Retro Studios and now remastered by prolific Switch publisher and porting house Forever Entertainment, this challenging 2D platformer is itself an attempt to recapture DK's glory days from the SNES, making this something of a double dip in the rose-tinted pools of nostalgia.Donkey Kong Country Returns HD reviewPublisher: NintendoDeveloper: Forever EntertainmentPlatform: Played on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out on 16th January on Nintendo Switch.But having played Returns at the time, and again when it came to the 3DS in 2013, it is still somewhat heartening to realise that, yes, this wasn't just a great platformer in its own right a decade and a half ago - it remains a cracking platformer even now, standing the test of time with its demanding athleticism, pitch-perfect timing and warrens of devious secrets. Viewed in isolation, this is as worth playing today as it ever was, and a stark reminder of just what a great Donkey Kong Country game can be.However, it's so rare we can view things in isolation these days, and it feels doubly strange to be returning to this when its superior sequel, Tropical Freeze, was ported to the Switch back in 2018 (and still costs a sizeable 50 like Returns HD does). Back then, we were just over a year into the Switch's lifespan, but to bookend the console with its simplified and slightly drabber-looking predecessor? You can't help but feel the two games should have arrived the other way round, and if I had to pick one DKC game to play for 50 at the end of a console generation, it would be Tropical Freeze, no questions asked.Here's a video review of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD.Watch on YouTubeStill, let's not get ahead of ourselves unnecessarily. As I said, there's plenty to recommend Returns HD on its own merits, especially since it incorporates some of the 3DS version's added extras, such as its more forgiving difficulty mode where players have extra health and items, and more besides. And right from the off, Returns HD pulls no punches when it comes to putting players through their paces, requiring a dextrous understanding of Donkey Kong and Diddy's respective abilities and limitations to tackle rigorous run-and-jump gauntlets that surprise and delight in equal measure.In some respects, the 3DS still feels like the more natural home for Returns. Particularly early on, DK will regularly barrel over to plunder bits of background scenery for collectible KONG letters and hidden puzzle pieces (the latter of which will gradually swell the ranks of the game's enormous sound and image libraries if all of them get rooted out in a single level). That scenery will also regularly cascade into the foreground too, as pillars of stone domino down a cliff face to bridge looming chasms before you, while kraken tentacles snake through narrow sea caves to block your path and pesky moles chuck deadly bombs from rival minecart tracks in crystal-encrusted tunnels. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. | Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoIt's a wonderful collision of the senses, your fingers flying by the seat of your Joy-Con buttons to keep up with the sights and sounds of being hurled at you from front and behind. A dynamic camera frames the action with a deft and elastic lens, pulling in close for tense and frenetic precision work, before zooming out to capture every last crumb of its ornately drawn spectacle. And it's all set to the bombastic tunes of David Wise's original soundtrack, reworked here by Aleksander Jastrzebski. This dramatic to-ing and fro-ing is a sensation that's by no means dulled on the Switch, but when most of my time was spent playing in handheld mode, it took me right back to cranking up the 3DS' stereoscopic slider to drink it all in.I was also reminded just how much it leaves you to discover the finer nuances of its platforming, too. While handy tutorial pigs will occasionally pop up to tell you some basic controls - how to grab onto a vine, say, or slam DK's fists into the ground to break fractured scene furniture - lessons on how to apply some of its more advanced platforming techniques are never quite as forthcoming. I'll admit, I had 15 years of muscle memory to help me out here, and so I already knew that pressing jump again on enemy heads Mario & Luigi-style would let me gain extra height, while rolling would help me speed up to soar across larger gaps. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. | Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoSome of this you'll inevitably learn by happy accident, as thankfully this is a world positively teeming with little moments of magic like this. Slamming a suspicious platform and having it flip to reveal a hidden barrel to one of its many secret rooms, for example, or crouching down to blow a puff of air, only for it to launch a tiny, barely noticeable propeller seed into the air with a bunch of bananas or puzzle piece in tow. Small, incidental actions like these make each and every level feel alive with wide-eyed possibility, and the way that knowledge then ripples out to the way you approach later levels on Kong Island remains one of Returns HD's greatest strengths.The more likely scenario, however, is that you'll learn the bulk of these techniques the hard way - through grit and tears and by dying repeatedly to some of its most challenging platforming segments where precise application of these skills is your only route to success. Minecart levels - once the highlight of DKC games - are particularly bad for this, though curious banana and collectible placements do at least help to nudge you toward some kind of revelation, however frustrating. Still, when one foot wrong is often all that stands between you and a hasty restart, there are times when Returns HD can feel exasperatingly abstruse - something you might have hoped would have been ironed out for this remaster - and no amount of extra health in its lower difficulty mode will help to soften the blow here.Purists will say this is par for course with Returns. It was, after all, notoriously difficult at launch, and remains so now, even for a triple-dipper such as myself. It is noticeably harder than most other platformers out there right from the get-go, though not insurmountable by any stretch - simply gathering bananas and coins to spend at Cranky Kong's shop to buy extra lives are more than plentiful enough to ensure you never actually see a true game over screen. Similarly, after several deaths in a row, those tutorial pigs will eventually offer to deploy the returning Super Guide function to skip you to the end as well (albeit at the cost of any collectibles you've gathered, and any remaining pride you have).Donkey Kong Country Returns HD accessibility optionsTwo difficulty options. Separate sliders for music and sound FX volume. Choice of two control schemes. Optional motion controls. On/off toggle for HD Rumble, and sensitivity slider.Persist through these aches and pains, however, and there's still an eminently satisfying platformer to be found underneath - one where mastery is frequently rewarded, and discovering its finer details elicits the best kind of glowing gratification. It remains a very good video game, even if it will inevitably feel like something of a step backward for those who have already played and loved Tropical Freeze, whose handsomer visuals and more ambitious set pieces easily trump this rather straightforward, no-frills remaster. If you missed it back in the day or simply can't resist the lure of nostalgia, there's still a good time to be had with Returns HD. But really, if you've yet to play either of Retro's DKC games at this stage in the Switch's lifecycle, you should probably just skip straight to Tropical Freeze. That's a Donkey Kong game at the peak of its powers, while Returns HD remains more of a warm-up act.A copy of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD was provided for review by publisher Nintendo.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereMetal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater fans still havent got a release date for their beloved game. While Konami has apologised for its poor communication, fans have no idea when they can play the game. However, merchandise tying into the popular stealth game remake is going forth. With Funko Pops be arriving imminently, fans will be able to nab toys of the game before the game has an actual release day. Metal Gear Solid Delta merch releases soonDespite being shown off with a 2024 release date, Konami has failed to keep fans in the loop. Nevertheless, Funko will be releasing two hyper-cute figures this week, modelled on the two main characters in the game Naked Snake and and The Boss. The former is sporting his trusty combat knife, while The Boss is holding her signature The Patriot weapon.As per a post via DisTrackers, the two toy figures will be available from Amazon, Game Stop, Entertainment Earth and Hot Topic. While the toys will certainly go down well with some MGS fans, Konami is still being tight-lipped about when Delta will be actually be arriving. To make matters worse, the Production Hotline, which gave MGS followers a chance to ask questions and check in on progress, has not been aired since the Tokyo Game Show special more than three months ago. While no release date is confirmed, there are rumours the game will be launching in February 2025, although given the crowded game calendar, this is highly unlikely. VideoGamer has reached out to Konami for clarification following what looked like a leak from a retailer appearing to show the games release date.The latest update on the games release came in the form of a more generic statement fromMetal Gear Solid Delta producer Noriaki Okamura. Speaking to Japanese publication4Gamer for their annual mass developer interview on what his ambition were for 2025, Okamura stated that: Our top priority is to deliver a polished and high-quality Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to our fans.Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake EaterPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Third PersonRelated TopicsSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Step behind a stone faade on the famous rue Saint-Honor, and youll discover this 753-square-foot pied--terre, an ideal French respite. Completely renovated by the Parisian interior architecture and design firm Drowicz Studio, the light-filled space recalls cabins on a luxury yacht. With its functional spaces, wooden walls, and sliding doors, the small, light-filled home feels like an invitation to escape into a unique world in the heart of the French capital.Wooden beams and a fluid floorplan are two decidedly non-Parisian elements of this made-to-measure apartment.Even though it sits in the heart of Paris, this apartment is the antithesis of Haussmann-style interiors with its open floorplan, warm living room, and spacious dining area. The unit is characterized by its curves that contrast with old ceiling beams. Every inch is optimized while the overwhelming feeling is shaped by the assertive Scandinavian style. The skillful restoration took more than a year to complete and now the 753-square-foot pied--terre feels like a perfectly designed small hotel suite, with a twist. The studio gave it a remarkably seamless flow between spaces as angles become curves and lines merge into arches. The result is a home with a sense of harmony between its different elements that invites to you to explore.Sumptuous materials are paired with furnishings and objects that are veritable collectors items.Art dealer and curation service Haensel Leith was employed for choosy decor.Thanks to the masterful touches of different materials and colors, the apartment on the sixth and top floor of its building is like a piece of jewelry with every element precisely placed to add to the overall composition. The furniture was custom-made in Italy, Denmark, and France. The Italian alpine green marble bathroom, Carlo Bartolis vintage leather chairs, and the custom-made travertine dining table are among the stand-out features of this unique pied--terre.This article was originally published in AD France. Art and objects are from Collection Haensel Leith.The sleek space is both warm and minimal.