Kip Havel, Chief Marketing Officer, DexianJanuary 21, 20254 Min ReadRawpixel Ltd via Alamy StockAs an IT leader, youre no stranger to helping executives decipher and understand groundbreaking technology. The process usually takes persistence, careful abstraction, and a stockpile of success stories to make a persuasive business case. With luck, you eventually persuade the board of the value of your next significant IT initiative.But selling the board on AI implementation is another challenge altogether.Its not surprising that many boards are undecided about AI. A recent Deloitte study on AI governance found that Board members rarely get involved with AI:14% discuss AI at every meeting25% discuss AI twice a year16% discuss AI once a year45% never discuss AI at allOnly 2% of respondents considered board members highly knowledgeable or experienced in AI. These circumstances present a serious hurdle as IT teams not only try to implement AI solutions but also strive to build the appropriate guardrails into the AI strategy.Helping the board understand the power of black sky thinking can help to counteract some of their reservations about pursuing AI. Heres what you need to know:Black Sky Thinking Offers a New Approach to InnovationArtificial intelligence is taking enterprises to a place where no man has gone before. Even though the market is starting to define AI norms, establish regulations, determine the technologys shortcomings, and pinpoint when we need a human in the loop, were collectively flying through unfamiliar skies. As a result, IT leaders need to persuade the board of directors to embrace a more transformative way of solving problems. Enter black sky thinking.Related:The black sky thinking concept emerged during the 1960s space race and was then popularized by Rachel Armstrong, author and futurist, at the FutureFest in London in 2014 as she described the mentality necessary for humans to thrive on the cusp of unparalleled disruption.In a follow-up essay, she explains the difference between blue sky thinking (where were at now) and black sky thinking this way:Blue sky thinking is a way of innovating by pushing at the limits of possibility in existing practices.Black sky thinking is more aspirational, producing new kinds of future that enable us to move into uncharted realms with creative confidence.Rather than being constrained by current paradigms, organizations boards and leaders need to envision the future they want and reverse engineer the steps necessary to reach the desired destination. Its like planning for oceanic voyages or trips to the moon but at a societal level.Related:You might be saying, Thats great, but how does it apply to convincing the board to embrace AI use cases? Before you can unlock the power of AI, you need board members to shift from blue sky to black sky thinking and embrace aspirational, limitless potential.Leadership Is on Board with Black Sky Thinking: Now What?Even when theyre onboard with black sky thinking, most board members are going to focus on mitigating risk and maximizing profits for shareholders and the corporation. Thats a fine strategy if youre trying to maintain stasis, but not if youre attempting to break barriers and drive innovation. Your next goal is to convince the board that AI is an acceptable investment if theyre going to achieve their black sky-driven goals.Fortunately, you can increase the success of your petition by getting two key board members on your side: the CEO and general counsel.The CEO is often an easier sell. KPMG surveys indicate 64% of CEOs treat AI as a top investment priority. Since your goals align, the CEO can be a co-champion, providing profiles on each board member and answering these key questions:Which specific industry AI use cases will be the most persuasive?Related:Will AI examples from Fortune 500s carry the most weight?Which biases will you need to combat in your argument?When it comes to in-house counsel, you need to demonstrate a strong command of the legal and ethical implications of what youre proposing. General counsel and CFOs, being naturally risk-averse, require you to come prepared with your:Recognition of potential risksAwareness of pending legal casesCommitment to ethical implementationWith your CEO and general counsel as AI champions, your next step is to demonstrate ROI if the board is going to approve investment in AI. Showcasing results from programs that have already yielded measurable success can reduce barriers to an AI-forward mentality. For example, in healthcare, Kaiser Permanente has demonstrated how AI can save clinicians an hour of documentation daily -- a powerful use case to highlight.Ultimately, youll need to show them that the risk of doing nothing at all can be just as catastrophic as taking a big gamble on emerging technology. Tailored pitches to board members, both individually and collectively, can embolden them to step out of their comfort zones. This approach encourages the embrace of unconventional -- or even unknown -- solutions to complex challenges. When everyone embraces black sky thinking, no horizon is completely out of reach.About the AuthorKip HavelChief Marketing Officer, DexianKip Havel is the chief marketing officer of Dexian, forging strategies that bridge the gap between the brand and its diverse audiences. Passionate about collaboration and black sky thinking, his vision and execution have strengthened company partnerships and grown Dexians footprint in the market. He led the creation of the Dexian brand and has earned honors such as the American Marketing Associations4 Under 40 and PR Weeks Rising Star. A University of Miami alumnus, Kip has held senior marketing roles at Aflac, Randstad US, Cross Country Healthcare, and SFN Group.See more from Kip HavelNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Donald Trump's inauguration was on Monday and late-night hosts used it as ammo.Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel all also criticized the Democrats in their monologues.Stewart said Michelle Obama, who didn't attend, was the only Democrat with a "consistent ethical stance."As expected, late-night hosts took aim at President Donald Trump following his inauguration on Monday.It provided them with plenty to joke about, from Melania Trump's hat to the billionaire CEOs who were given front-row seats.But they also piled scorn on Democrats who were part of the proceedings, labelling many of them hypocrites in light of their dire warnings about Trump during the election campaign.John Stewart said on Monday night's "The Daily Show": "Also attending were all those people who warned Americans to shun this wannabe fascist dictator called Trump."He said: "'Look at me, Ma! Oh, let's go see Hitler and get a quick selfie first! Hello! Look at us! A quick one for the 'gram!' Former President Obama was there. George Bush seemed kind of there. Even Mike Pence showed up, I guess to let the crowd finish the job."Stewart also noted that Michelle Obama didn't attend with her husband: "Only Michelle Obama seemed to have the consistent ethical stance of saying, 'When they go low, I stay the fuck home.'"In a statement on Monday, she didn't address the inauguration but instead spoke about MLK Day.Jimmy Kimmel, who described Trump's address as "ominous," said: "Overall unlike the last time there was a lot of respect paid to tradition. Kamala Harris invited JD Vance to the Vice President's residence at the Naval Observatory for a ceremonial humping of the Millard Filmore futon."He also joked that Karen Pence didn't attend because she "opted not to celebrate the man who was all good with a bunch of yahoos killing her husband."Meanwhile, Seth Meyers said: "It was even weirder to see Democrats who correctly called Trump an existential threat to democracy, palling around with him," referring to Joe Biden having tea with Trump before sharing a limo with him to the Capitol.This is in contrast to the somber tone taken by late-night hosts in the days after Trump won the 2016 election, and Kate McKinnon dressed as Hilary Clinton to sing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" in an uncharacteristically mournful moment for "Saturday Night Live."

The US economy is in for a "wild ride" with Donald Trump back in office, Kenneth Rogoff says.The Harvard economist told the World Economic Forum that the dollar faces a slew of challenges.Rogoff spoke about tariffs, inflation, interest rates, currency wars, and the national debt.Kenneth Rogoff says the US economy is in for a "wild ride" now that Donald Trump is back in charge and the dollar may come under pressure.The Harvard University economist flagged several challenges ahead during a session focused on the dollar at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.Rogoff said the idea that interest rates will steadily fall is a "pipe dream at this point." The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate from virtually zero to as high as 5.5% within an 18-month period to curb post-pandemic inflation, and has only cut them by a percentage point.The former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund raised the alarm on the US national debt, which has more than tripled over the past two decades to more than $36 trillion."I think the debt does push up interest rates," he said, nodding to the idea that the federal government may have to pay more interest on its bonds to keep attracting buyers, and its competition with the private sector and state and local governments for funds could drive up rates.Debt debateRogoff pointed to the 1970s as a cautionary tale. The dollar "lost a lot of territory" as inflation spurred the Fed to raise rates to nearly 20%. There could be similar fallout "if things get out of control again," he warned.Both US political parties "think debt is a free lunch," Rogoff said, adding that he believed they're "wrong" and one likely consequence will be elevated rates. A record debt pile and rising rates have increased the federal government's annual interest payments, which exceeded $1 trillion or more than its entire military budget last year, he noted."At some point, this is one of the potential triggers for having more inflation," Rogoff said. "That's going to undermine the dollar" as it did in the 1970s, he predicted, as there's "potential for a lot of instability" stemming from America's debt pile.Rogoff said the impact of Trump's planned tariffs on interest rates and global exchange rates is likely baked into markets already, but how other countries retaliate is not.The academic said Trump's first-term tariffs caused the Fed to worry about inflation and whether rates were high enough, and that could happen again, pushing back the timeline for further rate cuts.Dollar doubtsRogoff also addressed concerns about de-dollarization and declining dollar dominance as other countries explore alternatives to the world's reserve currency.The greenback is very strong by historical standards, setting it up to weaken simply due to a likely reversion to the mean, he said. Trump's warnings to other nations to keep using the buck might also backfire. "I would guess it's not good for the dollar; you want people to use your currency," Rogoff said. "If you're being threatened, I think that only reinforces the incentive to try and diversify into doing other things."He also touched on how the dollar comes into its own during moments of distress such as the global financial crisis and pandemic. Other nations realize the value of being in the Fed's good books and having access to dollars during crises.However, Rogoff also cautioned that the dollar's unusual strength might prove short-lived: "Whoever it is that's being put up on the pedestal by the world, they're the ones that are first in line perhaps to have a crash coming."Rogoff wondered out loud whether Davos attendees might be discussing the dollar's weakness and the US economy's collapse a couple of years from now.

Donald Trump has never been on better terms with corporate America. Yet his ostensible trade agenda has never been more antithetical to the interests of big business.In recent weeks, tech billionaires whod once projected ambivalence (if not hostility) toward Trump including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates have paid him their respects at Mar-a-Lago. The worlds wealthiest entrepreneur, Elon Musk, has become the new presidents righthand man. And Trumps pick for treasury secretary, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, won wide applause within the financial industry. Even as Trump has cozied up to Big Tech and Wall Street, however, he has pledged to enact trade policies that would undermine both, along with myriad other US industries. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to put a tariff of between 10 percent and 20 percent on all imports to the United States, along with a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods and a 25 percent import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican wares at least, until our neighbors choke off the flow of all migrants and drugs across Americas northern and southern borders.This protectionist agenda is far more radical than anything Trump attempted during his first term. It threatens to hamper American tech companies by increasing the cost of semiconductors, depress stock valuations by reducing economic growth and fueling a global trade war, and disrupt the US auto industry, whose supply chains were built around the presumption of duty-free trade with Mexico.Thus, American investors, executives, and entrepreneurs watched Trumps first day in office with bated breath: Would his inaugural address and initial executive orders prioritize corporate Americas financial interest in relatively free global exchange or his own ideological fixation on trade deficits?Trumps Day 1 actions did not fully clarify his priorities on this front. In his inaugural speech, the president reiterated his broad commitment to protectionism. Meanwhile, his administration prepared to launch federal investigations into Americas trade deficit in general, as well as the trade practices of China, Mexico, and Canada in particular. Nevertheless, Trump did not actually establish any new tariffs on his first day in office, as his administrations arch-protectionists had hoped that he would.Investors interpreted Trumps caution as a sign that he would be heeding his advisers push for a more limited and incremental tariff policy; stocks rose Monday while the US dollar fell (stiff tariffs would increase the value of Americas currency). Wall Streets relief may be premature. Trump appears as ideologically perturbed by Americas trade deficit as ever. And Monday night, Trump said that his administration was thinking of enacting 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on I think February 1. Still, given that his remarks about imminent tariffs were made off the cuff, in response to a reporters question, and that Trump has a history of falsely predicting that he will fulfill various campaign promises in roughly two weeks, it is unclear whether he was referencing an actual plan the administration had in the works.How he intends to balance his protectionist instincts against his desire for a booming stock market and fawning billionaire class remains uncertain. Trumps impending trade memorandum does not end his administrations internecine conflict over trade policy, but merely prolongs it.Why Wall Street took comfort in Trumps Day 1 trade actionsIn recent weeks, arch-nationalists in Trumps orbit including his longtime immigration adviser Stephen Miller had pushed for Trump to immediately declare a national emergency on trade, according to the Wall Street Journal. This would theoretically give Trump broad authority to rapidly enact steep tariffs. (Though some of the legal mechanisms that authorize tariffs require either an investigation or comment period, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 would arguably provide Trump with a legal basis for dispensing with such procedural niceties, once he declared said emergency.)But on Day 1, the president declined to take that approach. Trump did foreground his commitment to protectionism in his inaugural address, vowing to immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. He promised to tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens and establish an External Revenue Service to collect these taxes from foreign entities (Trumps case for establishing a new agency to perform a function already fulfilled by US Customs and Border Protection is unclear). The president even dedicated multiple paragraphs of his speech to lionizing President William McKinley, a champion of extremely high tariffs.Nevertheless, it isnt hard to see why investors responded favorably to Trumps actions. The president initially kept his protectionist promises abstract. While his pledges on other policy fronts were more concrete for example, he vowed to revoke Joe Bidens emission restrictions on new vehicles and designate international drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations he did not formally reiterate his commitment to a universal tariff.Instead, Trumps advisers told reporters Monday that he would issue a broad memorandum directing federal agencies to investigate and propose remedies for Americas trade deficit, as well as the purportedly abusive trade practices of China, Mexico, and Canada. The fact that Trump declined to take a more drastic immediate step might suggest that the business wing of the Trump White House is exerting at least some influence over trade policy. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Trump aides were considering a proposal to narrow Trumps universal tariff plan, such that it would only apply to sectors deemed crucial to Americas national or economic security. Trumps initial restraint on trade lends credence to such reports of his administrations scaled-back ambitions.Of course, Trumps threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Monday night calls that restraint into question. And futures markets initially turned down in response to Trumps remarks. Yet the president has long been explicit that his vow to impose enormous duties on Americas top trade partners is a gambit for securing concession on border enforcement from our nations neighbors. It is therefore possible to interpret his reiteration of that threat as an act of posturing.Trump has strong incentives for moderating on tradeIts entirely possible that Trumps caution on trade will indeed end on February 1, if not sooner. But there are at least three reasons to think Trump will reward Wall Streets early optimism and abandon his most radical trade policies. First, those policies would benefit virtually no major interest group within the Trump coalition. Second, Trump has historically been obsessed with the stock markets performance on his watch. And third, he has recently displayed a willingness to subordinate hardline nationalism to Big Techs economic needs. Imposing even a 10 percent tariff on all imported goods would not only harm various business interests, but would also likely increase costs for consumers. Thus, such a duty would harm both Trumps donors and voters. If Trumps first term is any guide, his universal tariff would not even redound to the benefit of American manufacturers, who would be vulnerable to higher costs and retaliatory tariffs from foreign nations. Generally speaking, presidents seek to avoid enacting policies that harm the bulk of their coalition, to the benefit of a narrow band of ideologues. And this is what implementing Trumps grandest visions for trade policy would likely entail.Second, the imposition of a universal tariff would roil stock markets. During Trumps first term in office, he monitored the markets performance obsessively, tweeting about it incessantly and suggesting that stock values were a barometer of sound policy, warning in 2018, If Democrats take over Congress, the stock market will plummet.Finally, Trump has recently shown some sensitivity to the interests of his newfound friends in tech, even when those interests conflict with the tenets of rightwing nationalism. Over the holidays, Elon Musk feuded with their co-partisans over the desirability of high-skill immigration and the H-1B visa, which help American tech companies to hire foreign talent. Trump ultimately expressed support for Musks position. Trump really believes in protectionismAll this said, to the extent that Trump has any deep-seated policy beliefs, the notion that free trade hurts America is one of them. Trump has been advocating for massive duties on foreign goods since at least 1988, when he called for putting a 15 percent to 20 percent tariff on imports from Japan. Unable to seek a third term in office, Trump faces no binding political constraints. According to the New York Times, Trump feels he has a mandate to enact his ideological vision and sees himself as his own best adviser.When the Washington Post reported that Trumps aides were scaling back his universal tariff plans earlier this month, he abruptly declared on Truth Social, The story in the Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources, which dont exist, incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back. That is wrong.Trump did strike a similar tone Monday night. And his memorandum could well serve as a prelude for all his signature trade proposals, establishing a more robust legal foundation for imposing a universal tariff and punitive duties on Americas top trade partners.In backing Trump, many in corporate America placed a bet on his prudence and loyalty. As Monday demonstrated, that is not the safest wager. Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Standing in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, President Donald Trump captured the vibes buoying Republicans and the American right writ-large as he promised a lengthy list of crackdowns and policy reversals.My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, Trump said. As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda, with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society.As he takes office, it can feel like Trumps movement has the cultural and political upper hand. Republicans won the popular vote in both the presidential and congressional races. Trumps popularity has never been higher. Broligarchs, celebrities, and big business are lining up behind him.But another way of looking at it is that Trumps popularity is probably at its peak and modern presidents tend to start off their terms with high support before the public gets disillusioned. He did, after all, barely win the election. Republicans only control Congress by tiny majorities. And most of his high-profile policy proposals arent as popular as he claims.Most of the American public isnt outright rejecting everything Trump is offering (at least, not yet). On at least three different issues, Trumps position is significantly popular. But theres a difference between what the public supports and the mandate Trump claims.Where Americans back Trump Earlier this month, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Marist College, and the public opinion and market research firm Ipsos (in partnership with the New York Times) conducted polling to gauge Americans feelings about a range of Trumps proposed actions or positions. The results are clear, if not that helpful in giving Trump a mandate: Americans are pretty much split evenly on most issues. But they back Trumps side in at least three areas: pursuing an isolationist foreign policy, being less accommodating of transgender people, and pursuing a restrictionist immigration policy.For example: Six in 10 Americans think we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home, according to the Ipsos poll. And majorities think the federal government is spending too much money on aid to both Israel (53 percent) and Ukraine (51 percent).The views on both countries are reversals from earlier in 2024, when Ipsos polling found slight majorities supported continued military aid to both.On gender identity and trans rights, majorities also side with Trump. The highly politicized issue of transgender female athletes competing in womens sports, for example, isnt necessarily a top of mind concern for many Americans, but about 80 percent in the Ipsos poll think this should not be allowed. And, about seven in 10 Americans say that doctors should not be allowed to prescribe puberty-blocking drugs or hormone therapy to anyone under the age of 18, including nearly all Republican respondents, and most Democrats.Opinions on immigration policy are a different beastPublic polls over the last two years capture a much more muddled picture on Trumps plans for immigration and border enforcement. They show an overall sense of antipathy for the status quo: Americans are angry at the influx of legal and illegal immigrants over the course of the Biden presidency, afraid about the state of security at the southern border, and willing to turn away from a welcoming approach to migration.But when asked more specific questions, Americans become more critical. The AP-NORC poll and the Ipsos poll both show an overwhelming majority of respondents support some kind of legal immigration, meaning the public believes theres some value in welcoming outsiders. About 30 percent of respondents, primarily Republicans, think the US legal immigration should be reduced a lot or a little, while 24 percent think the government should increase legal immigration. That breakdown mirrors some of the tensions inside the Trump alliance, as some in the pro-business wing, like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy argued with anti-immigration Trump acolytes in late December. When it comes to illegal immigration, opinions are also nuanced. Some 55 percent of Americans in the Ipsos poll, including a third of Democrats, support deporting all immigrants who are here illegally. A plurality 43 percent in the AP-NORC poll say the same thing. That support increases significantly when specifically suggesting the deportation of those who have criminal records or those who crossed the southern border during the post-pandemic surge: 87 percent support the former, while 63 percent support the latter in the Ipsos pollAnd yet that support changes when you ask about exceptions: 63 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat support protecting DACA recipients those immigrants who were children when they entered the US illegally.This complexity doesnt come across in the way Trump and his supporters talk about mass deportations and raids. They speak, and will likely act, as if theres overwhelming support for removing every undocumented immigrant. But whats been pretty constant over the last few years is that Americans have warmed up to the idea of mass deportations in theory. To see them actually play out, however, will likely change that opinion.What the public doesnt seem to wantAnd then theres the stuff the American public isnt really excited about: tariffs, prosecuting political opponents, pardoning January 6, 2021, rioters, and trying to get rid of birthright citizenship.The Ipsos poll captures something relevant to the executive order Trump is signing that seeks to overturn the 14th Amendments guarantee of birthright citizenship that anyone born on US soil is American to the children of undocumented immigrants. A solid 55 percent of the country rejects this.Theres also a mandate against Trumps plans for political retribution: Nearly three-quarters of Americans reject the idea that Trump should use the government to investigate his political opponents, while a separate AP-NORC poll shows that just two in 10 Americans support his proposed pardoning of people who participated in the January 6 Capitol attack. Six in 10 oppose those pardons.And finally, Americans are not excited for either broad or targeted tariffs that Trump has said he wants to enact. The AP-NORC polling shows almost half of US adults somewhat or strongly oppose new tariffs on all foreign goods. A slight majority also opposes more scaled back tariffs that specifically target China and Mexico, per the Ipsos survey.It might just seem like semantics to argue that the numbers for support of Trump support arent so cut and dry. But the nuance here matters: The next few months are likely to be packed with attempts by the new administration to push for big changes under the guise of having a mandate. A closer look, though, reveals what policy shifts the public might actually support and which it might not.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

New batch of GTA 6 copium has arrived (Rockstar)Less than a month into 2025 and we have our first GTA 6 trailer theory of the year, which claims a new video will arrive at the end of January.The last couple of months were rough for GTA 6 fans hoping Rockstar would have a new trailer to share. It had been a year since the initial reveal, so it wasnt too unreasonable to expect a second trailer was on its way.With no official news, some fans became convinced that Rockstar was cryptically teasing release dates in its social media posts, with a couple of outlandish theories using a motorbikes licence plate and the phases of the moon as evidence.And now theres a new theory, revolving around a new image on X, but it seems fans have wised up and are not putting so much faith in this one.Like previous theories, this one draws from an innocuous social media post from Rockstar, with this one advertising the GTA+ subscription for GTA Online.All the post says is that members can claim additional free content, like a Vapid Dominator GT muscle car, by signing up. In the accompanying image, you can see a shipping container on the left-hand side that has a vertical line of numbers, ending with a two in a square.Unsurprisingly, its been suggested that theres significance to the numbers, with a recent post to the fan-made GTA 6 subreddit pointing out how they add up to 30. This doesnt include that last two, but the theory is that this a reference to the fabled second trailer.As such, the theory is that said trailer will drop on Thursday, January 30. On its own, thats extremely flimsy, but the post attempts to back this up by pointing out that GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 had release date reveals around similar times: Thursday, January 31 for the former and Thursday, February 1 for the latter.Plus, Take-Twos next earnings call is scheduled for February 6. Since trailers and other important details for Rockstar games have tended to arrive ahead of such earnings calls, its common for fans to suspect new info whenever one of them rolls around.Amusingly, most responses on Reddit are refusing to entertain the idea, demonstrating that fans have been burned enough times that theyre no longer putting stock in anything that isnt explicitly confirmed by Rockstar.More TrendingThe top comment from Dry-Fault-5557 is predictably, but appropriately, the Here we go again meme from GTA: San Andreas, while a couple of others use the far more recent Ive played these games before! meme from Squid Games second season.You never learn, is all AdvantageHonest6584 wrote, followed up by Those who dont learn from history are doomed to repeat it, from tonlimah.Our favourite reply comes from atomicitalian, who suspects the trailer theorists will get it right eventually, but compares them to doomsday cultists pointing at calendar dates and insisting this time the world will definitely end.A new trailer does have to happen at some point, as GTA 6 is supposed to be aiming for an autumn launch. Despite assurances by publisher Take-Two, though, there is an increasing assumption that there will be a delay, although one former Rockstar developer has claimed that wont be decided till closer to the target release window. Even if an exact release date gets announced, that wont mean GTA 6 wont be delayed (Rockstar)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Vampire Survivors dev admits it has no plot but is getting a movie anywayMichael BeckwithPublished January 21, 2025 10:35amUpdated January 21, 2025 10:35am Add another upcoming game to movie adaptation to the pile (poncle)Developer poncle has casually dropped the news that Vampire Survivors is getting a live action movie while teasing more cross-media projects to come in 2025.When even games barely anyone remembers, like Segas Eternal Champions, are set to receive movie adaptations, it should come as no surprise to hear that indie hit Vampire Survivors has secured its own live action film deal.This is on top of the animated TV show that was announced in 2023. Both adaptations are being produced by Story Kitchen, which seems to be a go-to for such projects, as its also handling Amazons upcoming live action Tomb Raider show as well as the Streets Of Rage and Shinobi movies for Sega.Developer Luca poncle Galante has had nothing concrete to share about either project, but he has acknowledged that both will be tricky to get right, because of the games almost complete lack of story.This is something we discussed regarding Segas movie plans, where the company seemed to be oblivious to the fact that most of its old games had only the flimsiest of narratives.However, Galante does seem to be aware of this obvious problem. In a recent Steam post recapping all of 2024s Vampire Survivors content, he talks about how he and his team wanted to take their time finding the right partners for adaptations because of how difficult such projects will be.Rather than jumping the gun and make stuff for the sake of making it, we have preferred to wait to find partners that felt right, especially because to make anything that isnt a video game out of Vampire Survivors requires good ideas, creativity, and that quirky knowledge of the game, that is a very difficult triplet to get 100% right, explains Galante.That said, he does find the prospect exciting, specifically because of Vampire Survivors lack of a proper story, adding: Nobody can really anticipate how a film about it is going to be.For what its worth, Vampire Survivors does have some backstory involving a Dracula stand-in called Bisconte Dracul, who unleashes monsters in rural Italy, which prompts the Belpaese family to stop him.More TrendingIts all very Castlevania, but this does afford a vague basis for a movie or TV show plot, while allowing lots of creative freedom with how the characters and overall tone are handled.In fact, thats precisely what Galante suggested when we spoke with him last year: In Vampire Survivors, there isnt a strong and coherent narrative. For me thats a very strong point, actually. Because whoever is writing the TV series, the movie, whatever it gives them creative freedom to tell whatever story they want.Galante has also teased other cross-media projects that the team is hoping to reveal later this year, though you probably shouldnt expect any in-depth teasers for the movie or TV show.Both projects are likely still in the early stages and Galante also says that theyre respecting all the strikes, which suggests the ongoing Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strike is having an impact on production. You have to wonder how a live action adaptation is going to interpret visual nonsense like this (poncle)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

AI-generated scientific research is polluting the online academic information ecosystem, according to a worrying report published in the Harvard Kennedy SchoolsMisinformation Review. A team of researchers investigated the prevalence of research articles with evidence of artificially generated text on Google Scholar,an academic search engine that makes it easy to search for research published historically in a wealth of academic journals. The team specifically interrogated misuse of generative pre-trained transformers (or GPTs), a type of large language model (LLM) that includes now-familiar software such as OpenAIs ChatGPT. These models are able to rapidly interpret text inputs and rapidly generate responses, in the form of figures, images, and long lines of text. In the research, the team analyzed a sample of scientific papers found on Google Scholar with signs of GPT-use. The selected papers contained one or two common phrases that conversational agents (commonly, chatbots) undergirded by LLMs use. The researchers then investigated the extent to which those questionable papers were distributed and hosted across the internet. The risk of what we call evidence hacking increases significantly when AI-generated research is spread in search engines, said Bjrn Ekstrm, a researcher at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, and co-author of the paper, in a University of Bors release. This can have tangible consequences as incorrect results can seep further into society and possibly also into more and more domains.The way Google Scholar pulls research from around the internet, according to the recent team, does not screen out papers whose authors lack a scientific affiliation or peer-review; the engine will pull academic bycatchstudent papers, reports, preprints, and morealong with the research that has passed a higher bar of scrutiny. The team found that two-thirds of the papers they studied were at least in part produced through undisclosed use of GPTs. Of the GPT-fabricated papers, the researchers found that 14.5% pertained to health, 19.5% pertained to the environment, and 23% pertained to computing.Most of these GPT-fabricated papers were found in non-indexed journals and working papers, but some cases included research published in mainstream scientific journals and conference proceedings, the team wrote. The researchers outlined two main risks brought about by this development. First, the abundance of fabricated studies seeping into all areas of the research infrastructure threatens to overwhelm the scholarly communication system and jeopardize the integrity of the scientific record, the group wrote. A second risk lies in the increased possibility that convincingly scientific-looking content was in fact deceitfully created with AI tools and is also optimized to be retrieved by publicly available academic search engines, particularly Google Scholar. Because Google Scholar is not an academic database, it is easy for the public to use when searching for scientific literature. Thats good. Unfortunately, it is harder for members of the public to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to reputable journals; even the difference between a piece of peer-reviewed research and a working paper can be confusing. Besides, the AI-generated text was found in some peer-reviewed works as well as those less-scrutinized write-ups, indicating that the GPT-fabricated work is muddying the waters throughout the online academic information systemnot just in the work that exists outside of most official channels.If we cannot trust that the research we read is genuine, we risk making decisions based on incorrect information, said study co-author Jutta Haider, also a researcher at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, in the same release. But as much as this is a question of scientific misconduct, it is a question of media and information literacy. In recent years, publishers have failed to successfully screen a handful of scientific articles that were actually total nonsense. In 2021, Springer Nature was forced to retract over 40 papers in the Arabian Journal of Geosciences, which despite the title of the journal discussed varied topics, including sports, air pollution, and childrens medicine. Besides being off-topic, the articles were poorly writtento the point of not making senseand sentences often lacked a cogent line of thought.Artificial intelligence is exacerbating the issue. Last February, the publisher Frontiers caught flak for publishing a paper in its journal Cell and Developmental Biology that included images generated by the AI software Midjourney; specifically, very anatomically incorrect images of signaling pathways and rat genitalia. Frontiers retracted the paper several days after its publication. AI models can be a boon to science; the systems can decode fragile texts from the Roman Empire, find previously unknown Nazca Lines, and reveal hidden details in dinosaur fossils. But AIs impact can be as positive or negative as the human that wields it. Peer-reviewed journalsand perhaps hosts and search engines for academic writingneed guardrails to ensure that the technology works in service of scientific discovery, not in opposition to it.

How Did BIM Help Notre-Dame Rise from the Ashes?Save this picture!Courtesy of Nicolas MangonIn many cultures, fire is a sacred element used in rituals of rebirth and renewal. It carries a dual symbolism, being both a creator and a destroyercapable of illuminating paths or consuming everything in its wake. In Greek mythology, for example, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, marking it as a symbol of progress, knowledge, and creative power. However, fire also evokes destruction, as seen in biblical tales like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, where it was used as divine punishment. This duality was also evident in the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, which devastated its historic structure. The disaster sparked a wave of solidarity and led to unprecedented technological advancements, with restoration efforts utilizing digital tools such as laser scanning and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to recreate intricate details and preserve architectural heritage.Even before firefighters fully extinguished the flames, a surge of donations flowed in for this symbol of Western civilization built in the 12th century. Among the restoration efforts, Autodesk played a pivotal role by contributing technology and expertise, providing its software, and creating detailed BIM models of the cathedral for reconstruction. These digital tools enabled precise planning and collaboration, ensuring that intricate structural details and historical authenticity were preserved while demonstrating how technology can be a powerful ally in efforts to conserve built heritage. We spoke with Nicolas Mangon, VP of AEC Industry Strategy at Autodesk, about this process and how BIM usage benefited the cathedral's reopening.Save this picture!The 3D BIM model was created through a combination of laser scanning, photogrammetry, and drone footage, taking over a year to complete. This effort resulted in a detailed digital twin of the structure as it appeared before the fire. The project was a collaboration between Autodesk and Art Graphique & Patrimoine (AGP), a leading French company specializing in laser scanning and digitizing historic monuments. The model was essential in addressing three major challenges: facilitating collaboration among more than 200 companies and 2,000 individuals involved in the project, meeting the ambitious five-year restoration timeline, and overcoming the limited documentation of the cathedral's original design. The BIM model also enabled precise planning, construction phase simulation, and early identification of potential issues, ensuring the project stayed on track. We collected billions of points to capture every intricate detail of the cathedral, from its vaulted ceilings to its iconic spire. Because of the complex structural details and sheer size of the Notre-Dame, it took over a year to create the full-scale model as it existed before the fire. No one had built a spire like this in over 100 years, and the 3D model was used to guide the new design to honor its historic integrity as well as test and understand its stability against storms. Nicolas Mangon Save this picture!Save this picture!The model guided the project to honor its historical authenticity while incorporating modern engineering to enhance resilience against environmental stressors such as storms. Additionally, the mapping facilitated logistical planning, particularly given the site's limited storage and restricted access. By simulating material deliveries, worker routes, and construction phases, it improved efficiency and safety throughout the process. The 3D BIM model was the solution to these challenges; it enhanced collaboration, clarity, and efficiency across the reconstruction teams, was used to simulate and plan every phase of construction, and predicted issues that could arise before they occurred on the jobsite. The BIM model, and our software, which Autodesk donated to the tablissement public Rebtir Notre-Dame de Paris, provided a shared and scalable 3D database to guide collaboration amongst the project's architects, engineers, and historians. Nicolas Mangon The shared BIM platform served as a central database, enabling architects, engineers, historians, and restoration specialists to work cohesively. This unified approach ensured that every restoration phase adhered to historical integrity and modern safety standards. The restoration of Notre-Dame has also set a benchmark for the use of BIM technology in preserving other cultural heritage sites. As Mangon points out, this project shows the importance of proactive measures, such as the digital documentation of historic landmarks, to safeguard them against potential disasters. Beyond restoration, BIM's predictive capabilities can simulate how structures will respond to environmental challenges, guiding maintenance and conservation strategies for future centuries.The restoration of Notre-Dame transcends a mere recovery effortit stands as a pivotal moment in marrying technology with historical preservation. Leveraging 3D BIM modeling allowed for unparalleled precision and efficiency, raising the bar for safeguarding historic monuments. By uniting specialists across disciplines on a single collaborative platform, the project exemplified how technological innovation can secure cultural heritage for future generations. This achievement underscores the critical need to invest in the digital documentation of global landmarksa forward-looking approach that strengthens resilience against the dual tests of time and environmental adversity.Save this picture!Image gallerySee allShow lessAbout this authorEduardo SouzaAuthorCite: Eduardo Souza. "How Did BIM Help Notre-Dame Rise from the Ashes? " 21 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025809/how-did-bim-help-notre-dame-rise-from-the-ashes&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Raj Sabhagruh Discourse Hall / Serie ArchitectsSave this picture! Rory GardinerBilpudi, IndiaArchitects: Serie ArchitectsYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Rory Gardiner More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Serie Architects has completed the much-anticipated Rajsabahgruh, the centrepiece building in the 100-ha masterplan development for the Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram, Dharampur, Gujarat, India.The Raj Sabhagruh is an ambitious complex, housing a 5,000-seater auditorium, classrooms, discourse rooms, a 1,000-square-meter museum, a gift shop and a 300-seater meditation hall, stacked within a 40-meter-tall building at the apex of a crescent-shaped 60-meter hillock.Save this picture!Awarded to Serie Architects in 2012 through an international invitational competition, the design of Raj Sabhgruh draws its ideas from the Jain Samavasaran, a fabled temple, composed of a tapering ascension of platforms, housing humans, animals, and demi-gods in divine communion with a 'Tirthankara', an enlightened being, seated at the apex of this formation. This mythical building represents the aggregation of knowledgethrough discourse and learningas building blocks, to bring devotees ever closer to enlightenment. This concept is reified in all Jain temples, where the aggregation of self-similar elements creates lofty shikarascurved, pyramid-like forms that cap the sanctum sanctorium at the heart of the temple and appear to reach for the sky. Serie's design consists of 13 stacked rooms, rotated 45 degrees as they stack upwards. This rotational stacking gives rise to an interlocking sheer wall structure made up of thin, gently curved concrete sheer walls, perforated to let in natural light. This lean architecture, combining structure as faade and space definers, aims to reduce the material used for the entire building. Programmatically, one ascends upwards from spaces of the discourse hall at the ground level, to experiential learning within the museum at the second level, deep study within classrooms at the third and finally to introspection within the meditation hall at the apex tier. A journey from speech to silence.Save this picture!Save this picture!A circular 5,000-seater auditorium anchors the plan at the ground level, accessed by a large circumambulating foyer with an array of 8 entrances radially placed at the cardinal and intermediate directions. Four curving and intersecting concrete arches span across the 54-meter diameter and 20-meter-tall concrete drum to create a column-free interior. The resultant square formed at the intersection of the arches forms the structural seat of the meditation hall placed above the auditorium.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!An array of concentric, timber, acoustic baffles radiate outward from the centre of the drum ceiling, recalling the radial patterns of the intricately carved sky-domes found within the ceilings of the Maha-mandapa, the primary gathering halls of ancient Jain temples. The circular auditorium with the stage for the Guru, placed within its eastern quadrant draws the audience close to him in intimate dialogue and instruction. A suspended balcony provides clear sight lines to the stage while a flat auditorium floor allows for a flexible space where various programs and events can unfold.Save this picture!Save this picture!The 300-seater meditation hall, placed above the auditorium rises 20 meters to cap the building composition as a glowing lantern, with over 1000 glowing pins of light etched into its marbled surface, visible afar from the streets of Dharampur. Necessitated as a completely dark interior, a double structure of space frames holds up the exterior volume and interior space independently. An array of glowing, white acoustic panels rotates gradually within the interior of the hall, drawing the eye and mind upwards to deep contemplation.Save this picture!The exterior concrete sheer walls are clad in 50mm thick, hand-chiseled, rough-cut Makrana white marble bricks. These bricks, salvaged from discarded marble slabs, are deliberately small to accommodate the curvature of the sheer walls, adding a fine texture to the facade. Utilizing discarded marble enhances the lean architectural approach of Serie's design and reduces construction costs. Over 800,000 bricks were hand-laid over the 36 faces of the building's volumes over two years, reflecting the same materiality as the monolithic trabeated structure of the Jain temple completed a few years prior to the Raj Sabhagruh. The rough cuts expose the crystalline structure of the marble, which refracts and disperses light in numerous luminous tones and hues across the building's surfaces, changing with the sun's movement throughout the day. Deep-set circular windows bring daylight deep into the interior, adding a layer of visual depth and animating the monolithic form.Save this picture!Save this picture!Christopher Lee and Kapil Gupta, Principals at Serie Architects, explain, "We worked very closely with Ashram and the Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, listening to their needs and aspirations, responding with architectural ideas, and discursively refining them over a two-year long design period. We tested several iterations exploring typologies of sacred form. There was a deep desire to find an architecture that was contemporary, memorable and timeless, that could serve as a signifier for a young, growing Ashram".Save this picture!The architecture that emerges can accommodate a wide range of uses and continues to evolve with the spiritual mission it serves. It acts as a backdrop where Ashram life can unfold, anchoring it as a place for the acquisition of knowledge and inner spiritual experience.Save this picture!Save this picture!The building sits on an expansive plinth, a large plaza radiating outwards from its center, connecting it to a large dining hall to the north, a 5000-seater open-air amphitheater to the west and the Jain temple to the south. The plaza is laid out in cool, concentric white marble rings that reflect away the heat of the summer sun and is dotted with rows of shade-giving ficus trees. The plaza enables the social life of the Ashram to unfold over it, as thousands of devotees and visitors move from building to building through their daily rhythms of discourse, study and meditation, punctuated by meals and sessions of rest. The gardens that are laid out to the West of the building, on either side of the amphitheater, were designed by local landscape architects, Ficus Design and contain a sacred grove of 108 ancient species of sacred trees that cascade down the slopes of the hill. Shaded pathways through the grove allow residents to move between their homes and plazas.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Bilpudi, IndiaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeSerie ArchitectsOfficePublished on January 21, 2025Cite: "Raj Sabhagruh Discourse Hall / Serie Architects" 21 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026005/raj-sabhagruh-discourse-hall-serie-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream