The statue of Athena had been housed in William Weddell's estate in England since the 1700s. Halsted A&A FoundationWith an owl in the palm of her hand, a cloak adorned with a gorgons head and a warriors helmet upon her swept hair, Athena, as depicted in a Roman statue from the first century C.E., is a remarkable sight.Now, for the first time in nearly 260 years, it will also be a widely accessible one.This stunning marble depiction of the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare will go on public display in the atrium of the Wrightwood 659 gallery in Chicagos Lincoln Park neighborhood starting on January 25. William Weddell, the British artistocrat who purchased the statue of Athena on a Grand Tour of Rome Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsBefore the Halsted A&A Foundation acquired the sculpture in 2023, it was tucked away in a rose-colored niche in Newby Hall, the North Yorkshire country house of William Weddell, a British landowner and politician who traveled to Rome to purchase it in the mid-1700s.By displaying the sculpture at Wrightwood 659, the foundation invites the public to see a work which has been largely out of general public view for nearly three centuries, Karen Manchester, the curator of the Halsted A&A Foundation, says in a statement.Now, scholars, students and visitors will be able to study the statue of Athena closely and interpret it from many perspectives, including those of art history, restoration practices and gender studies, she adds.Among the most interesting features of this Athena is the 74.5-inch-tall statues hodgepodge provenance. Its head came from a sculpture carved during the time of the Roman emperor Augustus (31 B.C.E. to 14 C.E.). Meanwhile, its body was grafted from a statue dating to the reign of Claudius (41 to 54 C.E.), the ruler who conquered Britain, according to the statement.But this mishmash of marble wasnt a scam to get the wealthy Weddell to purchase a seemingly intact statue of Athena. Rather, many buyers preferred complete pieces, even if composed of unrelated parts, Manchester explains. The so-called "Halsted Athena" at its new home at Wrightwood 659, a gallery in Chicago Halsted A&A FoundationWhen older parts werent available, sculptors would carve new ones, such as the so-called Halsted Athenas left arm and a section between her jaw and chest. While these pastiches might confuse archaeologists attempting to trace an artworks origins, Manchester says they tell complex stories about art, taste and aesthetics throughout history, per the Observers Elisa Carollo.The Halsted Athena emerges from the confines of Weddells Newby Hall at the same time that 58 pieces from the Torlonia Collection, a trove of ancient sculptures, travel to North America for the first time. They will go on view at the Art Institute of Chicagos Myth & Marble exhibition, which opens on March 15.Weddells own journey to Rome to purchase the statue reflects the practice of Grand Tours across the cities of the ancient world, popular among young British aristocrats. A painter who encountered Weddell on his Grand Tour of Rome once remarked that the collector had [bought] such a quantity of pictures, marbles, etc. as will astonish the West Riding of Yorkshire. William Weddell and fellow British travelers as depicted by Nathaniel Dance-Holland, who remarked on the large number of antiquities that Weddell planned to bring home with him Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsWeddell and his fellow British travelers would have referred to the statues subject as Minerva, the Roman goddess, rather than Athena, because they learned Latin in school, not ancient Greek, and therefore were familiar with the Latin names of deities, Manchester tells Elena Goukassian of the Art Newspaper.But the Roman statue distinctly depicts the Greek goddess, with her signature helmet and aegis, or sash-like cloak, draped across her chest.At the time these pieces were carved, the classical style was in vogue. In other words, ancient Roman customers wanted sculptures that reflected the look of ancient Greek and Hellenistic Greek, Manchester adds.Even in the first century C.E., when the statue took its complete form, Romans were harking back to an immemorial Greece. Now, the Halsted Athenas voyage to the leafy avenues and art galleries of well-to-do Lincoln Park adds another chapter to its rich and complex backstory, stretching from Greece to Rome and from Yorkshire to Chicago.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Art, Arts, British History, Chicago, England, Exhibitions, Exhibits, Greece, Museums, Religion, Religious History, Sculpture, Statues, Tourism

The next several weeks will give skywatchers a chance to see many planets at once. Shimpei Yamashita via Getty ImagesThe night sky will offer stargazers a special sight for the next several weeks: Right now, all planets except Mercury can be seen after sundownthen, in late February, the missing planet will join the line-up.While the planets technically always appear along the same rough line in our sky, the fact that so many can be seen at once is noteworthy, according to NASA. Six planets are currently located above the horizon after darkVenus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible to the naked eye, but youll need a telescope or binoculars to see Uranus and Neptune, the most distant planets. Then, with the addition of Mercury around February 28, all seven other planets will be together in the night sky.However, the planets wont actually form a perfect line. You can draw a line thats an arc, but its not an alignment like what you would have in your mind, explains Parshati Patel, an astrophysicist and science communicator with Stellar Dreams, to CBC News.In reality, the event is more about our perspective than the planets literal placementif the planets actually aligned with each other in space, that would be called a syzygy and thats a much, much rarer event, Kate Pattle, an astronomer at University College London, said to CNNs Jacopo Prisco during a similar alignment last year. The planetary lineup this month will feature four planets visible to the naked eye. Mercury will join them in late February. NASA / JPL-CaltechThe eight planets in our solar system all orbit the sun in roughly the same flat plane, known as the eclipticbut they move at different speeds. Earth, for instace, takes about 365 days to complete one orbit; Mercury takes roughly 88 days, while Neptune takes nearly 165 years. That plane of planetary motion forms a line across our sky, and the planets always appear to travel acrossit.Right now, they happen to all be in their orbits on the same side of our sun, within the same degrees in our sky, so that we can see them, says Rebecca Allen, an astrophysicist at Swinburne University in Australia, to the Guardians Petra Stock. That is special.Even if the planetary alignment is more of a planetary coincidence, itll still be worth spending a few minutes looking up to the sky after sunset. Allen recommends using a basic sky map, available on many phone apps. Saturn and Venus will appear in the west, while Mars will lie in the east and Jupiter will shine overhead. Uranus and Neptune, though not naked-eye visible, will be between Jupiter and the western planets.Yes, you can go on Google and get a more spectacular view of all these planets, says Jenifer Millard, a science communicator and astronomer at Fifth Star Labs, to Jonathan OCallaghan of the BBC. But when youre looking at these objects, these are photons that have traveled millions or billions of miles through space to hit your retinas.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Astronomy, NASA, Outer Space, Planets, Sky Watching Guide, Solar System

David Haddad, who has served as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president for 12 years, is leaving the company.Read More

Amplitude Studios announced Endless Legend 2, a long-awaited next entry in the award-winning fantasy strategy game series.Read More

Don't Nod delays second half of new narrative adventure IP Lost RecordsStudio says this is to "allow for additional optimisation and to give the team the necessary time to refine the experience" News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 23, 2025 Don't Nod has once again delayed the launch of its all-new IP, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, this time pushing back the release date of the second instalment.Whilst the first part, Tape 1: Bloom, will release as planned on February 18, Tape 2: Rage has been pushed back a month to April 15.In a statement, the studio said this decision was made to "allow for additional optimisation and to give the team the necessary time to refine the experience for players and enhance the storytelling for a truly immersive continuation of the journey."Like Life Is Strange, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is a narrative adventure that follows a group of teenagers caught up in a mystery involving supernatural elements.Don't Nod also delayed the launch of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage last summer, ostensibly to avoid clashing with the next instalment of Life Is Strange which was originally developed by Don't Nod.

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorJanuary 23, 20251 Min ReadImage via Everplay.At a GlanceThe newly-named Everplay will focus on its back catalog titles and franchises, as well as being a 'global indie powerhouse.'In February, Team17 Group PLC will have changed its name to Everplay Group PLC.The rebrand, according to the announcement, is a "key mechanism" that only affects its brand identity. Team17 as a developer, publisher, and game label will retain its name, as will the simulation-focused Astragon Entertainment (Police Simulator) and the edutainment maker StoryToys.Likewise, the core goal of becoming a "global indie powerhouse" remains the same. So why the change? CEO Steve Bell said it better reflects how the company's business has "evolved greatly" since its IPO in 2018 and "our DNA to never stop playing."As its three divisions focus on their individual specialities, Everplay will prioritize back catalog sales through "prioritizing our portfolio and evergreen franchises." It'll also allow for greater cross-collaboration, both internally and "across complementary sectors within the broader indie market."What's in a game company's name?Recent years have seen game developers and publishers rebrand, either with wholly new names or ones that better reflect what they make. For example, Focus Entertainment changed its name to Pullup Entertainment in January 2024, and like with Everplay, the change only affected what it was called.Conversely, 343 Industries becoming Halo Studios last October came with the studio committing to using Unreal Engine for future Halo projects. Similarly, Gearbox Publishing SF revamped as Arc Games when it remained with Embracer after Gearbox proper was acquired by Take-Two Interactive.Sometimes, a game itself will undergo a full-on rebrand: IO Interactive folded its three Hitman reboot games into Hitman: World of Assassination, which has since gained 75 million global players following its new name.Read more about:Studio announcementAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

Celeste creator Extremely OK Games (EXOK) has canceled production of its next title, Earthblade. Founder Maddy Thorson explained she and co-founder Noel Berry chose to scrap the game in December after the team began to "fracture."According to Thorson, a disagreement formed between her and Berry (referred to in the statement as "us") and fellow EXOK co-founder Pedro Medeiros concerning Celeste's IP rights. After resolving that dispute, "both parties agreed in the end that we should go our separate ways." Medeiros' leave wasn't the deciding factor in Earthblade's cancelation, but it made Thorson and Berry consider "whether fighting through to finish was the right path forward."Earthblade was first announced in 2021, and by her admission, development "was not as far along as one would expect," despite starting in 2019. The project "had a lot going for it," and Thorson believes it would have ended up great in the end. But the idea of toughing out development to reach that point was not worth it, and felt indicative of a "deeper problem."Much of what made development so daunting was Celeste's success and the pressure "to deliver something bigger and better," Thorson continued. She said the strife with Medeiros "gave us the clarity to see that we have lost our way, and the opportunity to admit defeat. I feel many ways about it, but one big feeling is undoubtedly relief."Extremely OK will be alright in the endAccording to Thorson, several EXOK staffers have "moved on" following Earthblade's cancelation. The current team has now pivoted to smaller-scale projects in order to "rediscover game development in a manner closer to how we approached it at Celeste's or TowerFall's inception." While she considers building up staff post-Celeste a "failure," she and Berry have made peace with it."We are happy to return to our roots and reclaim some joy in our creative process, and see where that takes us," she concluded.Thorson's full explanation for ending Earthblade and the studio's disagreement can be read here.

Perplexity has turned its AI answer engine into a mobile assistant on Android. The new assistant can answer general questions and perform tasks on your behalf, such as writing an email, setting a reminder, booking dinners, and more.Its also multimodal, meaning you can ask it questions about whats on your screen as well as have it open your camera and see whats in front of you. In an example shared by Perplexity, a user asks the assistant to get me a ride. Once it learns where the user wants to go, the assistant automatically opens Uber with available rides to that destination.I tried it out for myself, and it is kind of neat. When I asked it to open up a good podcast, my phone started playing the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube. It worked rather quickly, even though its taste may be questionable.Perplexity gave me the rundown on these promotional Pokmon cards. Screenshots: The VergeUsing my phones camera, Perplexitys assistant successfully identified the promotional Pokmon pack I got in a McDonalds Happy Meal (dont judge), which I found impressive since the promotion only started a couple of days ago. It also helped me write and send a text to a family member using the information in my contacts.Alongside Samsungs announcement of the Gemini-equipped Galaxy S25, Google revealed that its AI assistant can now complete tasks across multiple apps, as well as complete multimodal requests.RelatedBut Perplexitys assistant doesnt work across every app and with every feature. Its not able to access Slack or Reddit, for example, and I also couldnt use it to leave a comment on a YouTube video. Right now, the assistant supports Spotify, YouTube, and Uber, along with email, messaging, and clock apps, according to Perplexity spokesperson Sara Platick. Were continuing to add support for more apps and more functionality though, so this is just the starting point, Platnick adds.You can enable the assistant through the Perplexity app, which prompts you to replace your phones default assistant with Perplexity. From there, you can swipe up on the left corner of your screen or hold down your home button to access the assistant.Its currently not available on the iPhone, however. If Apple gives us the right permissions, well make it happen, Platnick says.

Meta and YouTube arent the only platforms looking to benefit from TikTok potentially disappearing Substack wants in on the action, too.The company announced Thursday its launching a $20 million creator accelerator fund, promising content creators they wont lose revenue by jumping ship to Substack. Creators in the program also get strategic and business support from Substack, and early access to new features. We established this fund because weve seen creators who specialize in video, audio, and text expand their audience, revenue, and influence on Substack, where the platforms network effects amplify the quality and impact of the work theyre doing, the company said in a blog post.This pivot on Substacks part has been in the works for a while for months, the company has been marketing itself not as a newsletter delivery service but as a creator platform similar to Patreon. On Substack, [creators] can build their own home on the internet: one where creators, not platform executives or advertisers, own their work and their audience, the blog post reads. The post also cites bans, backlash, and policies that change with the political winds as a reason creators cant depend on traditional social media services.Thats all fine (we at The Verge have been saying this for a while). But creators focusing on Substack are also subject to ebbs and flows depending on what the company is prioritizing: first, it was newsletters, then it was tweet-like micro blogs, followed by full-on websites and livestreaming. For some, Substacks initial stated mission of giving more freedom to independent writers is fading. And TikTok creators looking to move to Substack will need to rebuild their following all over again you obviously cant export your TikTok followers.Substacks business is not immune from political winds, either. Just a year ago the company found itself in hot water over Nazi newsletters that were being monetized on the platform. Substack eventually banned some of the newsletters, but only after sustained and public pressure from high-profile writers. In 2022, when Substacks promise was to be a better version of a newsroom, the company abruptly fired an editor who had worked on a newsletter critical of Substack. The $20 million fund isnt the first time Substack has offered a pool of money meant to entice creators. Under a program called Substack Pro, the company poached top media talent from traditional newsrooms with higher pay, health insurance, and other perks. That program ended in 2022, with Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie saying the deals werent employment arrangements but seed funding deals to remove the financial risk for a writer in starting their own business. In other words, welcome to Substack. Now that youre here, youre on your own which is more or less the deal other platforms offer.

Evaluating conversational AI systems powered by large language models (LLMs) presents a critical challenge in artificial intelligence. These systems must handle multi-turn dialogues, integrate domain-specific tools, and adhere to complex policy constraintscapabilities that traditional evaluation methods struggle to assess. Existing benchmarks rely on small-scale, manually curated datasets with coarse metrics, failing to capture the dynamic interplay of policies, user interactions, and real-world variability. This gap limits the ability to diagnose weaknesses or optimize agents for deployment in high-stakes environments like healthcare or finance, where reliability is non-negotiable.Current evaluation frameworks, such as -bench or ALMITA, focus on narrow domains like customer support and use static, limited datasets. For example, -bench evaluates airline and retail chatbots but includes only 50115 manually crafted samples per domain. These benchmarks prioritize end-to-end success rates, overlooking granular details like policy violations or dialogue coherence. Other tools, such as those assessing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, lack support for multi-turn interactions. The reliance on human curation restricts scalability and diversity, leaving conversational AI evaluations incomplete and impractical for real-world demands. To address these limitations, Plurai researchers have introduced IntellAgent, an open-source, multi-agent framework designed to automate the creation of diverse, policy-driven scenarios. Unlike prior methods, IntellAgent combines graph-based policy modeling, synthetic event generation, and interactive simulations to evaluate agents holistically.At its core, IntellAgent employs a policy graph to model the relationships and complexities of domain-specific rules. Nodes in this graph represent individual policies (e.g., refunds must be processed within 57 days), each assigned a complexity score. Edges between nodes denote the likelihood of policies co-occurring in a conversation. For instance, a policy about modifying flight reservations might link to another about refund timelines. The graph is constructed using an LLM, which extracts policies from system prompts, ranks their difficulty, and estimates co-occurrence probabilities. This structure enables IntellAgent to generate synthetic events as shown in Figure 4user requests paired with valid database statesthrough a weighted random walk. Starting with a uniformly sampled initial policy, the system traverses the graph, accumulating policies until the total complexity reaches a predefined threshold. This approach ensures events span a uniform distribution of complexities while maintaining realistic policy combinations.Once events are generated, IntellAgent simulates dialogues between a user agent and the chatbot under testa as shown in Figure 5. The user agent initiates requests based on event details and monitors the chatbots adherence to policies. If the chatbot violates a rule or completes the task, the interaction terminates. A critique component then analyzes the dialogue, identifying which policies were tested and violated. For example, in an airline scenario, the critique might flag failures to verify user identity before modifying a reservation. This step produces fine-grained diagnostics, revealing not just overall performance but specific weaknesses, such as struggles with user consent policiesa category overlooked by -bench.To validate IntellAgent, researchers compared its synthetic benchmarks against -bench using state-of-the-art LLMs like GPT-4o, Claude-3.5, and Gemini-1.5. Despite relying entirely on automated data generation, IntellAgent achieved Pearson correlations of 0.98 (airline) and 0.92 (retail) with -benchs manually curated results. More importantly, it uncovered nuanced insights: all models faltered on user consent policies, and performance declined predictably as complexity increased, though degradation patterns varied between models. For instance, Gemini-1.5-pro outperformed GPT-4o-mini at lower complexity levels but converged with it at higher tiers. These findings highlight IntellAgents ability to guide model selection based on specific operational needs. The frameworks modular design allows seamless integration of new domains, policies, and tools, supported by an open-source implementation built on the LangGraph library.In conclusion, IntellAgent addresses a critical bottleneck in conversational AI development by replacing static, limited evaluations with dynamic, scalable diagnostics. Its policy graph and automated event generation enable comprehensive testing across diverse scenarios, while fine-grained critiques pinpoint actionable improvements. By correlating closely with existing benchmarks and exposing previously undetected weaknesses, the framework bridges the gap between research and real-world deployment. Future enhancements, such as incorporating real user interactions to refine policy graphs, could further elevate its utility, solidifying IntellAgent as a foundational tool for advancing reliable, policy-aware conversational agents.Check out the Paper and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our70k+ ML SubReddit. Vineet Kumar+ postsVineet Kumar is a consulting intern at MarktechPost. He is currently pursuing his BS from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kanpur. He is a Machine Learning enthusiast. He is passionate about research and the latest advancements in Deep Learning, Computer Vision, and related fields. Meet 'Height':The only autonomous project management tool (Sponsored)