• Canon's new free app is an easy way to livestream with up to three iPhones or iPads
    www.techradar.com
    Canons Live Switcher Mobile app may help streamers manage complex setups from a single phone.
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  • Gold Sneakers and Too-Tight Suits: The Menswear Guy Weighs In on Inauguration Weekend
    www.wired.com
    Menswear influencer Derek Guy is unimpressed by what tech barons and the MAGA rank and file wore this weekend. To be frank, he says, many conservatives are often behind on fashion trends.
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  • AI can predict career success from a facial image, study finds
    www.computerworld.com
    A new study by researchers from four universities claims artificial intelligence (AI) models can predict career and educational success from a single image of a persons face.The researchers from Ivy League schools and others used photos from LinkedIn and photo directories of several top US MBA programs to determine what is called the Big Five personality traits for 96,000 graduates. It then compared those personality traits to employment outcomes and education histories of the graduates to determine correlation between the personality and success.The findings highlight the significant impact AI could have as it shapes hiring practices. Employers and job seekers are increasingly turning to generative AI (genAI) to to automate their search tasks, whether its creating a shortlist of candidates for a position or writing a cover letter and resume. And data shows applicants can use AI to improve the chances of getting a particular job or a company finding the perfect talent match.I think personality affects career outcomes, and to the extent we can infer personality, we can predict their career outcomes, said Kelly Shue, a study co-author and a Yale School of Management (SOM) finance professor.Shue also noted there are many disturbing moral implications related to organizations using AI models to determine personalities. I do worry this could be used in a way to put lightly it could make a lot of people unhappy, she said. Imagine using it in a hiring setting or as part of university admissions. A firm is trying to hire the best possible workers, and now in addition to screening on standard stuff, such as where you went to school and what degrees you have and your work experience, theyre going to screen you on your personality.I think our study may prompt [the technologys] use, although were careful in the way we wrote it up in that were not advocating for adoption, Shue said.Organizations have been screening job applicants based on personality for years using behavioral assessments such as Pymetrics games, which measure up to 91 personality traits that fit into 9 different categories.In fact, Shue said, a ton of companies already heavily use these more obvious estimates of someones personality, they just havent been doing that from pictures of a persons face, she said. Ive known students who dont get a callback after the behavioral assessment. So, presumably they were screened out based just on personality.Derived from a psychology framework, the Big Five personality traits (also known as the OCEAN model) comprise: Openness (curiosity, aesthetic sensitivity, imagination); Conscientiousness (organization, productiveness, responsibility); Extraversion (sociability, assertiveness, energy level); Agreeableness (compassion, respectfulness, trust); and Neuroticism (anxiety, depression, emotional volatility).Yale School of ManagementDepending on which personality trait surfaces in the AIs assessment, a school or company might pass an applicant by. For example, someone whose photo shows a tendency toward neuroticism is less likely to be hired.Neurotic is a very important personality trait, Shue said. In much of our analysis, it seems to have substantial predictive power for labor market outcomes, often going in a negative direction.Or, for example, someone who is less conscientious might be passed over by college admissions. I think its possible personality matters for admissions, Shue said. Maybe schools want people who are going to be successful in their future careers, maybe they want diversity in personality, but certainly personality does matter for a lot of outcomes.To the extent that a school wants to admit a class thats more likely to have [successful outcomes] theyd want to screen on personality.Using a combination of computer vision and AI natural language processing (NLP) technologies, the researchers from Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, Reichman University, and Indiana University, were able to determine how the personality traits played into career and educational outcomes.While someone changing their expression in a photo could play into how the AI perceives personality, Shue said the researchers seen stability in results using different photographs of the same individual. We can also use separate algorithms to determine whether a person is smiling or not and if theyre holding that smile fixed, she said.There has already been pushback on the use of AI in culling job candidates, as the technology has proven to be flawed based on its data sources. As AI continues to influence hiring practices, this research invites further exploration into its ethical, practical, and strategic considerations, the study states.Shue said the research highlights how cognitive skills and personality traits are key to labor market success, and that if a photo can uncover personality, it could be equally important to other factors on a resume.The reason we think it matters is when first companies are looking to hire, the key thing theyre looking at is education, or GPA and standardized test scores sometimes, she said. So, then, what were saying is our personality measures is in the same ballpark as those other measures or variables for how much they predict career success.The study also highlights that individual pay varies widely, and factors like race or education explain only a small portion of this variation. For example, while education matters for income, it doesnt account for much of the variation in pay, which also includes experience and proficiency.Another way of looking at it, Shue said, is among people with say 12 years of education, theres still huge variations in income within that group.The study also drew from previous research conducted on how personality traits could be revealed through an analysis of someones face. For example, a 2020 paper published in the scientific journal Nature noted a growing number of researchers had shown a link between facial images and the Big Five personality traits.Other follow-on studies revealed how facial recognition technology could pick up on a persons political affiliations through a facial image. That study used more than one million images to predict their political orientation by comparing their similarity to faces of liberals and conservatives.Political orientation was correctly classified in 72% of liberalconservative face pairs, remarkably better than chance (50%), human accuracy (55%), or one afforded by a 100-item personality questionnaire (66%), the study published in Nature revealed.The newest study focused on four main objectives:Human Capital: Cognitive skills and personality traits are crucial for labor market success, but scaling personality measurement is challenging.Methodology: Researchers developed Photo Big 5, extracting personality traits from facial images of 96,000 MBA graduates, with strong predictive value for career outcomes.Predictive Power: The Photo Big 5 predicts school rank, compensation, seniority, industry choice, job transitions, and career growth, with modest links to GPA.Ethics: The method improves accessibility and resists manipulation, but raises concerns about discrimination and autonomy.A subsection of the study also cites literature about how a persons facial image can uncover someones genetic makeup or even how pre-natal environment can contribute to personality.Genetics, Shue said, can explain 30% to 60% of the variation in personality across individuals. Theres also research showing early childhood hormone exposure affects personality and how people look.So, then, I dont think theres a stretch to say theres a strong genetic as well as environmental component to how we look, theres a strong genetic-environmental component to our personality, she said.
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  • Apple's biggest innovation of the last 25 years isn't the iPhone
    appleinsider.com
    There's a new year upon us, with 2025 capping off a quarter-century of the modern Apple and its definitive role in personal computing innovation. In particular, 2025 marks 25 years of Apple's intuitive experience that turns elements of hardware and software into a magical coherence.Apple Park is the host for the next 25 years of Apple innovationsThese last twenty five years have represented the most critically important turn-around in the history of personal technology. In that quarter-century the formerly underdog "Apple Computer Inc" completely shed its beleaguered, clumsy, struggling image as the faded remains of the 1980's Macintosh company, hopelessly trying to remain relevant in a Microsoft Windows world.The tech media widely regarded Apple as simply flailing, indecisively pursuing ineffectual software and impractical hardware strategies to desperately patch together a reason for existing in what appeared to be a new age that had simply passed Apple up and left it to decay into the past. Just like Atari, Polaroid, Sega, or Kmart. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
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  • Interactive mapping platform of urban development in Canadian cities launched by researchers
    archinect.com
    A group of researchers in Canada has developed a digital platform to analyze urban accessibility and promote equitable urban development. The platform, named Atlas, was created as part of the CoLLaboratoire for Activating Multi-modal Mobility (CAMMM) research project.Initially designed to assess public transit accessibility, Atlas has since expanded to cover broader accessibility concerns in urban centers. The platform seeks to provide an intuitive interface for users, including researchers, urban planners, and the general public, to analyze accessibility data in various cities, whether allowing urban planners to identify areas with inadequate transportation options or helping homebuyers assess proximity to essential services.Image credit: CAMMM ATLASThe platform currently covers Montreal, Quebec City, Trois-Rivires, Sherbrooke, and Gatineau, organizing information into three levels of analysis: neighborhoods, transportation hubs, and access points. Neighborhood-level data examin...
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  • Nintendo Switch 2 Might Come Out During the 2025/2026 Financial Year
    gamingbolt.com
    In its latest earnings report, Nacon has revealed that it has games as well as accessories ready for the Nintendo Switch 2 when it launches. Going by its earnings report, Nacon expects its revenue in the first half of the 2025/2026 financial year, with the assumption that the Switch 2 will be launched in this period.Nacon is the publisher for a host of different games across various genres, including titles like Ravenswatch, RoboCop: Rogue City, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown and Gangs of Sherwood.This essentially makes Nacon the only publisher to have any confirmed games for the Nintendo Switch 2. Even big companies like Ubisoft and Microsoft are both only rumoured to be working on titles for the upcoming console. Nintendo itself has done little more than teased a potentially new Mario Kart game.As for Ubisoft, the company is rumoured to be working on more than half a dozen titles for the Switch 2, including Assassins Creed Mirage and the upcoming Assassins Creed Shadows. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is also one of the big titles rumoured to be under development for the Switch 2.Nintendo itself will reveal more details about the Switch 2 during a Direct planned for April 2.
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  • Guilty Gear Strive DLC Fighter Venom Delayed to Late March
    gamingbolt.com
    Arc System Works Guilty Gear Strive received Queen Dizzy, the first DLC character of Season Pass 4, back in October. Unfortunately, the next fighter, Venom, wont arrive in early 2025 as planned. Instead, he joins the roster in late March following the Arc World Tour Finals 2024 (which starts on March 21st and ends on March 23rd).Regarding the delay, producer Ken Miyauchi said this was to provide the character at the best quality possible. It hasnt affected the rollout of future DLC characters like Unika from the upcoming Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers anime or Lucy from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Theyre still set for Spring and Summer, respectively.Alongside refinements for Venom, the development team is also implementing new Training Mode features and improving Network Mode. Stay tuned for more details on what those entail and when theyll go live.Guilty Gear Strive is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Its due to launch on January 23rd for Nintendo Switch.
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  • Marvel Snap developer seeking new publisher to avoid another U.S. ban
    www.gamedeveloper.com
    Marvel Snap is back online in the United States but developer Second Dinner is searching for a new publisher to ensure the game remains available in the country.The title was briefly banned in the region due to its links with TikTok owner ByteDance. Marvel Snap is published by Nuverse, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese company.Now, Second Dinner has confirmed the title has returned but explained it wants to avoid a repeat scenario. At present, that means ditching Nuverse in favor of another publisher."Marvel Snap is back online in the U.S. But to make sure this never happens again, were working to bring more services in-house and partner with a new publisher. This is the start of a new era for Marvel Snap," reads a statement posted on X."We know this probably leaves you with even more questions than answers. We appreciate your patience, but in the meantime enjoy playing Marvel Snap."At the time of writing, it appears players looking to download the title from digital storefronts such as the App Store are encountering issues. Second Dinner confirmed it's working on restoring App Store availability but noted "it may take some time" to remedy the situation.The studio added that in-app purchases also remain unavailable on some platforms, but explained web shop purchases are functional.Earlier this week, Second Dinner said it was working around the clock to bring Marvel Snap back online after what it called a "surprise" outage. A message shared with players indicated the game had been banned in the United States.The news came shortly after a U.S. law banning social media platform TikTok (also owned by ByteDance) came into effect. TikTok was banned over purported links to the Chinese government, but as reported by the BBC has been granted a 75-day reprieve in the country by President Donald Trump.ByteDance must now sell its operations in the U.S. to a local buyer or face the prospect of another ban.
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