TechTarget and Informa Techs Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and InformaTechTarget and Informa Techs Digital Business Combine.Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities.The Real Cost of AI: An InformationWeek Special ReportThe Real Cost of AI: An InformationWeek Special ReportHow many pennies does it take to run efficient, effective enterprise AI? Even if CIOs are willing to spend freely, will they get the return on investment they're looking for? And while they're emptying the coffers, what hidden costs are racking up for their business and for society at large? We investigate the thorny issues in this three-week deep dive.Sara Peters, Editor-in-Chief, InformationWeek February 3, 20253 Min ReadTithi Luadthong via Alamy StockIts really getting a bit out of hand, isnt it? Governments are vying for AI dominance with a desperation reminiscent of the nuclear arms race. The market is as moody as a teenager -- a rabid fan of AI one second, and totally over it the next. Major enterprises cut staff and elected officials bend land use rules all as part of exciting strategic AI investments.American AI companies have invested hundreds of billions to build AI tools, while a Chinese AI startup claims to have whipped one up in a few million. While some media companies are meeting AI giants with multimillion-dollar lawsuits, others are meeting them with multimillion-dollar partnerships. The Screen Actors Guild is fighting to prevent studios from making AI-generated versions of movie stars while movie stars are starring in ads for AI companies during Monday Night Football. AI can solve the knottiest challenges of the climate crisis, some say, but running AI may worsen the climate crisis. There are oodles of new AI-enabled cybersecurity tools on the market, which you will need, to defend against new AI-enabled cyberattacks.And despite this, despite all the bells and whistles, sturm und drang, many CIOs look at their own AI story and find it a little boring.A bit slow and tedious, maybe. The same basic story line: behind schedule, over budget. Even if they see a positive return on their investment, the project might be a letdown.So, what is the real cost of AI? Whats the price tag CIOs have to pay in the short term and whats the cost to their business -- and to society -- in the long-term?Thats a long question. So in this special report that well roll out across three weeks, InformationWeek will delve into direct and ancillary costs of investing in AI. What are the various costs of developing AI internally versus hiring third-party resources, the impact on community, the environment through the drain on power, and regulatory enforcement on the technology. What will it cost an enterprise in real and social currency to pursue AI? And can we afford what it will take to deliver on AIs promise?Heres whats coming:Week 1: The costs and the hidden costs.Video: What Is the Cost of AI: Examining the Cost of AI-Enabled AppsThe path to realizing those AI expectations, however, comes with a variety of costs that are not all monetary -- and could have surprising impacts on the world.Video: If Everyone Uses AI, How Can Organizations Differentiate?As AI saturates the market, what becomes of its competitive advantages? Does it become a basic, digital commodity in the background?Infographic: Comparing Costs of LLM ProvidersNew Infrastructure Costs for AI Part 1: GearNew Infrastructure Costs for AI, Part 2: Utility BillsAI Legal Fees: What Will AI Cost You in Court?Dissecting The Darker Side of AI:The Cost of AI SecurityAIs Hidden Cost: Will Data Preparation Break Your Budget?Whos Hurting from the AI Talent ShortageWeek 2: The sudden demands for AI, particularly generative AI, have outpaced the world's ability to supply it.How Bad is the AI Chip Shortage Now, and How Does That Impact the Price of Your AI ProjectThe Long-Term Impact of the AI Market Crash of Summer 2024Cooling AI: How Hard Is It To Keep Temps DownWhy the Grid Cant Support AIMAP: How Hot are AI Hotspots?Spotlight: Loudoun County, Va.Spotlight: IowaSpotlight: Phoenix, ArizonaSpotlight: Santa Clara County, CaliforniaJust How Rare are the Rare Earth Metals We Need for AI?How Will Politics Limit or Complicate US Access to AI?Week 3: How can you use AI more efficiently and more effectively, to keep costs down and improve outcomes?Is a Small Language Model Better Than a LLM for You?How to Determine ROI for an AI Project.How to Make Your AI Project Greener, Without the GreenwashingHow to Set a Realistic Budget for AIAI UpskillingResearch Projects Working on Truly Green AIRead more about:Cost of AIAbout the AuthorSara PetersEditor-in-Chief, InformationWeek , InformationWeekA journalist for over 20 years,Sara Peters has spent most of her career covering cybersecurity and enterprise IT, with a dash of basketball on the side. Before joining InformationWeek, she was senior editor at Dark Reading and a featured NBA columnist for Bleacher Report.See more from Sara PetersNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

The path to realizing those AI expectations, however, comes with a variety of costs that are not all monetary -- and could have surprising impacts on the world.

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbookand why everyones going to follow its lead When the Chinese firm DeepSeek dropped a large language model called R1 two weeks ago, it sent shock waves through the US tech industry. Not only did R1 match the best of the homegrown competition, it was built for a fraction of the costand given away for free. DeepSeek has now suddenly become the company to beat. What exactly did it do to rattle the tech world so fully? Is the hype justified? And what can we learn from the buzz about whats coming next? Heres what you need to know.Will Douglas HeavenOpenAIs new agent can compile detailed reports on practically any topic Whats new: OpenAI has launched a new agent capable of conducting complex, multi-step online research into everything from scientific questions to personalized bike recommendations at what it claims is the same level as a human analyst. How it works: In response to a single query, such as draw me up a competitive analysis between streaming platforms, the tool, called Deep Research, will search the web, analyze the information it encounters, and compile a detailed report which cites its sources. Why it matters: OpenAI says that what takes the tool tens of minutes would take a human many hours. And it claims it represents a significant step towards its overarching goal of developing artificial general intelligence that matches (or surpasses) humans. Read the full story. Rhiannon Williams DeepSeek might not be such good news for energy after all In the week or so since DeepSeek became a household name, a dizzying number of narratives have gained steam, including that DeepSeeks new, more efficient approach means AI might not need to guzzle the massive amounts of energy that it currently does. The latter notion is misleading, and new numbers shared with MIT Technology Review help show why. These early figuresbased on the performance of one of DeepSeeks smaller models on a small number of promptssuggest it could be more energy intensive when generating responses than the equivalent-size model from Meta. The issue might be that the energy it saves in training is offset by its more intensive techniques for answering questions, and by the long answers they produce. Add the fact that other tech firms, inspired by DeepSeeks approach, may now start building their own similar low-cost reasoning models, and the outlook for energy consumption is already looking a lot less rosy. Read the full story.James ODonnell What DeepSeeks breakout success means for AI If youre interested in hearing more about DeepSeek, join our news editor Charlotte Jee, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and China reporter Caiwei Chen for an exclusive subscriber-only Roundtable conversation today at 12pm ET. Theyll be discussing what DeepSeeks breakout success means for AI and the broader tech industry. Register here. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Elon Musk donated at least $288 million to help elect Donald Trump Making him by far the USs largest political donor. (WP $)+ Some of the engineers carrying out Musks efficiency orders are still teenagers. (Wired $)+ Theres a chance Musks team has access to your social security number. (NY Mag $)2 LGBT and HIV references have been scrubbed from the CDC websiteIn response to Trumps executive orders to remove all DEI references. (404 Media) + Some vaccine data has also been taken down. (BBC)+ Its just the latest step in the Trump administrations plans to purge the government. (The Atlantic $)3 Trumps tariffs are bad news for carmakers The new rules affect every company that ships goods across the US borders with Canada and Mexico, or uses parts from China. (NYT $)+ Shares in carmakers dropped drastically following the announcement. (Reuters)+ The three countries have very different trade war playbooks. (Economist $)4 OpenAI has released its new o3-mini reasoning model for freeIts the first time its reasoning models have come out from behind a paywall. (MIT Technology Review) + Meanwhile, ChatGPT subscribers have hit 15.5 million. (The Information $)5 The Pentagon is kicking mainstream media outlets from their offices Mostly in favor of smaller conservative outlets. (NBC News)6 AI data center landlords are starting to worry Perhaps a little prematurely, given the uncertainties over DeepSeeks implications for energy use. (Bloomberg $) 7 The FDA has approved a new non-opioid pain medicine For the first time in more than two decades. (Ars Technica)+ Why is it so hard to create new types of pain relievers? (MIT Technology Review)8 This AI tool allows you to speak to your future selfJust make sure you take what it tells you with a pinch of salt. (WSJ $) + Please stop using ChatGPT to write obituaries. (Vox)+ Technology that lets us speak to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready? (MIT Technology Review)9 Climate change means more rats in our cities New Scientist $) 10 AI could point us to how the universe will end Thats according to Mark Thomson, the next director general of Cern. (The Guardian)Quote of the day Oligarchy is bad enough. But oligarchy with a competitor doing the enforcement is double, triple as bad. Richard Aboulafia, managing director at aerospace consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, wonders about the ethics of Elon Musk leading efficiency drives at companies that rival his own, the Financial Times reports. The big story How tracking animal movement may save the planet February 2024 Animals have long been able to offer unique insights about the natural world around us, acting as organic sensors picking up phenomena invisible to humans. Canaries warned of looming catastrophe in coal mines until the 1980s, for example. These days, we have more insight into animal behavior than ever before thanks to technologies like sensor tags. But the data we gather from these animals still adds up to only a relatively narrow slice of the whole picture. This is beginning to change. Researchers are asking: What will we find if we follow even the smallest animals? What if we could see how different species lives intersect? What could we learn from a system of animal movement, continuously monitoring how creatures big and small adapt to the world around us? It may be, some researchers believe, a vital tool in the effort to save our increasingly crisis-plagued planet. Read the full story. Matthew Ponsford We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.)+ Why we all stand to benefit from a bit of quiet time.+ Why New York City bagels are the best in the world.+ The fascinating science behind getting the ick, and why its worth trying to push through it.+ Forget the giant squidits all about the colossal squid now.

OpenAI has launched a new agent capable of conducting complex, multistep online research into everything from scientific studies to personalized bike recommendations at what it claims is the same level as a human analyst. The tool, called Deep Research, is powered by a version of OpenAIs o3 reasoning model thats been optimized for web browsing and data analysis. It can search and analyze massive quantities of text, images, and PDFs to compile a thoroughly researched report. OpenAI claims the tool represents a significant step toward its overarching goal of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that matches (or surpasses) human performance. It says that what takes the tool tens of minutes would take a human many hours. In response to a single query, such as Draw me up a competitive analysis between streaming platforms, Deep Research will search the web, analyze the information it encounters, and compile a detailed report that cites its sources. Its also able to draw from files uploaded by users. OpenAI developed Deep Research using the same chain of thought reinforcement-learning methods it used to create its o1 multistep reasoning model. But while o1 was designed to focus primarily on mathematics, coding, or other STEM-based tasks, Deep Research can tackle a far broader range of subjects. It can also adjust its responses in reaction to new data it comes across in the course of its research. This doesnt mean that Deep Research is immune from the pitfalls that befall other AI models. OpenAI says the agent can sometimes hallucinate facts and present its users with incorrect information, albeit at a notably lower rate than ChatGPT. And because each question may take between five and 30 minutes for Deep Research to answer, its very compute intensivethe longer it takes to research a query, the more computing power required. Despite that, Deep Research is now available at no extra cost to subscribers to OpenAIs paid Pro tier and will soon roll out to its Plus, Team, and Enterprise users.

Submitted by WA ContentsHAS design and research built a museum featuring curved walls resembling landscape caves China Architecture News - Feb 03, 2025 - 13:35 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Bangkok-based architecture firm HAS design and research has built a museum featuring curved walls for "endless spiritual perception" in Hefei, China. The project is described as "a poetic sanctuary" by the architects.Named Simple Design Archive, the 440-square-metre museum is situated in Anhui, China, it is well-known for the renowned Huangshan alpine, whose breathtaking alpine landscape gives visitors a sense of eternity and limitless spiritual vision.The building features openings instead of windows, creating a sense of mysteryModern Northern European furniture and contemporary Asian artwork are collected at the Simple Design Archive, a hybrid museum.Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee, the founders and architects of HAS Design and Research, were also influenced by this exceptional natural beauty, which led them to design an endless natural flow experience for the museum and art spaces.In contrast to traditional museums, which typically open directly to the public, the Simple Design Archive has a distinct entrance. Hung And Songkittipakdee (HAS) has installed almost ten curving walls at the entrance, which resemble landscape caves facing the sky, in response to the crowded and noisy surroundings.By progressively altering the height of the wall apertures, these walls not only block out the noise from the outside highways but also transform the cave into a poetic sound sanctuary by creating a "echo chamber" courtyard.During the day, cicadas and birds from the wild world are drawn to the echo chamber courtyard in front of the museum by the aromatic landscape vegetation.The extended curved wall forms a natural entrywayThis offers city dwellers a new kind of relaxation by bringing a natural and refreshing micro-ecosystem to the cacophonous surrounds and offering tourists a rich and varied audio feast.In the afternoon, the curving walls create a church-like hallowed place by blocking the harsh western sunshine and letting some sunlight into the echo chamber courtyard. This gives the normally everyday city life a feeling of remarkable ritual.The wall also introduces a unique play of light and shadow to the interior spaceWith its curving walls that reach from the outside to the inside, the external architecture has an impact on the inner space. This creates a dynamic and flowing look that delicately blends the interior and exterior spaces.The entryway leads to the curved gallery, where the external seasonal skylight forest garden's tall walls are completely open except for a five-meter-tall skylight.The transparent foyer seamlessly integrates with the forestThis forest region gives the space a timeless and everlasting air by coordinating with the sun's movement to cast distinctive light and shadows on the seasonal trees below.The art and materials library, on the other hand, offers visitors a calm and stress-free viewing experience with its endless, continuous walls that blend art collections with handcrafted wooden furniture.The internal art gallery spaceIn addition to using continuous walls as architectural features for directing, showing, and storing purposes, Simple Design Archive employs these walls to demarcate indoor and outside locations.The external curved wall brings a sense of tranquility to the interior spaceArchitects Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee are working on this project with the goal of creating a lyrical haven that skillfully combines indoor and outdoor areas.In addition to being a museum and collection space, it provides residents of the crowded and bustling metropolis with a sense of spatial belonging and deeper spiritual healing.This method gives the city and its residents a new sense of life that goes beyond the confines of the architectural site.The extension of the interior space provides visitors with a relaxing nature effectNature and architecture merge seamlessly into one anotherHung And Songkittipakdee (HAS) have designed a unique circulation for these art spacesThe internal art space exudes elegance and timelessnessThe floating ceiling creates a pure effect, akin to sunlight pouring down from the skySeasonal skylight forest garden links both exterior and interior spaces seamlesslyThe unique seasonal skylight forest garden imbues the interior with spirituality and ritualThe curved wall and ceiling provide a dynamic experienceThe internal openings not only connect the spaces but also serve as visual axesBringing peace of mind and a perception of eternal spaceThe interior wooden furniture echoes the forest garden, bringing a sense of nature into the spaceThe seasonal skylight forest garden creates a unique interplay of light and shadowView from the entrance to the foyerThe forest in the front coexists with the oval bubbles wallThe curved wall not only guides the flow of movement but also creates a unique framing effectThe infinite curved wall extends from the inside to the outsideThe curved wall extends upward, creating a unique skylight effectGround floor planGeometry planAxonometric diagramWest elevationHAS design and research, previously, completed a showroom like "a snowy landscape" in Hefei, China. In addition, the firm designed a public ground interior made of disc-like thousands of aluminum rods in Bangkok, Thailand.HAS design and research is an internationally recognized, leading architecture practice by architects Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee.Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS design and research explore Asias architectural language through a design + research parallel approach, emphasizing the analogy of nature and man-made nature. Project factsProject name:Simple Design ArchiveLocation:Hefei, ChinaCompletion year: 2024Architecture firm:HAS design and researchLead architects:Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida SongkittipakdeeDesign team:Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida Songkittipakdee, Atithan Pongpitak, Tapanee LaddahomLighting consultant: Jenna Tsailin LiuLighting technology: Visual Feast (VF)Landscape consultant:Weili YangConstruction consultant: Zaiwei SongConstructor:Guangdong Xingyi Decoration Group Anhui Co., LtdGross built area:440m2All images W Workspace.All drawings HAS design and research.> via HAS design and research

Turnover in Middle East region grew more than sixfold in 2023The King Salman stadium in Riyadh is expected to host the final of the 2034 World CupTurnover at Populous almost quadrupled in 2023 following a string of high profile commissions in the Middle East, according to the firms latest published accounts.The international practices EMEA arm, based in London, posted income of 135m in the 12 months to 31 December 2023, up 288% from 34.9m which it brought in the previous year.Its pre-tax profit has also ballooned from 731,000 in 2022 to more than 12m in 2023 in what its chairman Peter Rigby described as a standout year for the firm.The Middle East contributed the bulk of the increased revenue, with income from the region soaring from 14.8m in 2022, when it was already Populous largest market, to 103m in 2023.The firms major projects in the region include two stadiums listed as potential venues for the 2034 World Cup, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium in Qiddiya and the Aramco Stadium in Khobar.The practice also fared well in Europe, with income increasing from 8.6m to 21m on the back of several major projects including the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, the MUCcc Arena in Munich and a new stadium for AS Roma in Rome.However, in the United Kingdom, where the firms plans for a London version of the MSG Sphere was called in by former communities secretary Michael Gove during the year, income dipped from 11.1m to 10.7m.Populous plans for the MSG Sphere venue in Stratford were called in by Michael Gove in 2023 and pulled by the developer in early 2024The Sphere project was pulled in January 2024 by its US backer, MSG Entertainment, which said the 21,500-seat venue had become a political football.Staff numbers have also jumped by more than 100, from 166 employed in 2022 to 288 in 2023, as the practice opened new regional offices in Madrid and Germany and expanded its Middle East base in Riyadh.The accounts show that the firm was owed nearly 49m from debtors during the year, up from 12.1m in 2022.Populous EMEA managing director Chris Lee said the results reflect the firms deliberate strategic expansion across Europe and the Middle East, emphasizing the establishment of practices in key locations led by strong local leadership with deep expertise.He added: This approach underscores the companys commitment to delivering the highest-quality architectural and design services in sports, entertainment, transportation, and major events. By appointing leaders from each country, Populous aims to integrate local knowledge with its global expertise, ensuring culturally and regionally relevant solutions for clients across the EMEA region.

The winning team selected for the estimated 50,000 contract will draw up plans to restore and enhance the 3.5ha parkland which features five lakes, including ornamental streams and waterfalls.The project aims to celebrate the parks heritage and provide improved facilities for residents and visitors. A new volunteer welfare hut, play area, resurfacing pathways and signage will be delivered.According to the brief: Bradbourne Lakes is a tranquil local park of historical and local significance located in a residential built-up area 2km northwest of Sevenoaks town centre.AdvertisementMeasuring 3.5 hectares and comprising a series of five ornamental lakes with waterfalls, cascades and a circular walking route set in areas of amenity grass, dense overgrown vegetation and clumps of trees, and some striking specimen veteran trees.Originally founded as a market town in the 13th century, Sevenoaks is now a popular commuter belt settlement home to around 30,000 people and located around 40km from London. The latest competition focusses on transforming a large open green area in the north of the settlement.The search for a design team comes a year Sevenoaks District Council sought an architect for a new 2.6 million light industrial development on a 1.3ha site located on the northern fringes of the settlement close to the Bat & Ball train station.Theis and Khan won a RIBA contest for a new community centre in the centre of the neighbourhood in 2015. The disused Grade II-listed Bat & Ball train station next door was converted by Theis + Khan into hireable halls and a caf in 2019.Bids for the latest commission will be evaluated 60 per cent on quality and 40 per cent on price. Applicants must hold employers liability insurance of 5 million, public liability insurance of 10 million and professional indemnity insurance of 2 million.AdvertisementCompetition detailsProject title Bradbourne Re-bourne (Bradbourne Lakes) - Conservation Architect ClientContract value TbcFirst round deadline Midday, 17 February 2025Restrictions TbcMore information https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/d04d5d20-348e-41e9-8a03-483c9c9de6fc

The rise of cellular and 5G internet has grown in recent years. Heres why its catching peoples attention.

OpinionFebruary 3, 20255 min readThe Link between Cannabis and Psychosis in Teens Is RealTeens have access to vastly more potent cannabis than their parents had at their age. Parents need to understand the risks, including psychosisBy Carrie E. Bearden edited by Megha Satyanarayana Caption Photo Gallery/Getty ImagesSams father sat slumped on the leather couch in our clinical interview room, head in his hands. He had just finished telling us the long, painstaking history of his sons descent into psychosis. Sam (name changed to protect confidentiality), then 17, had started casually using marijuana with friends in the ninth grade. He dabbled with other substances as well (Xanax, ecstasy), but cannabis was the most consistent.Sams father told me that he and his wife had used cannabis themselves a fair amount in college, and were inclined to agree with their son when he told them, Dont worry, its just pot! They pleaded with him to buy it from cannabis shops, rather than getting it on the street.In California, where I work as researcher and clinician studying the links between cannabis use and psychosis, it is not difficult to get a medical marijuana card, even for a teenager.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Sam started high school as a fairly good student with several friends. Over time, he began using cannabis daily. He took it a variety of ways, first with friends at parties, and then increasingly alone. His parents noticed increasingly odd behavior: He covered up the camera on his laptop and then placed cardboard over the windows in his room. He stopped showering. They occasionally heard him mumbling to himself in his room, and he began refusing to go to school. Against his will, his parents took him to a rehab facility for teens. During the three-week program he was fully abstinent from cannabis, but disturbingly his psychotic symptoms got worse rather than better; simply stopping wasnt enough for Sam to recover.By the time his family came to our clinic, he had had persistent delusions for more than six months. Sam was fully convinced that the government was following him and constantly surveilling him. It took hours for his parents to convince him to get in the car that day. While we dont know if cannabis caused Sams psychosis, it was striking that his symptoms didnt go away when he stopped using. It's possible cannabis had altered his brain chemistry.What people need to know is that cannabis is simply not the same as the original plant used in the 1960s through 1980s, and even as recently as 10 years ago. These new strains of cannabis are highly potent, making them more addictive and potentially more dangerous, and we are still trying to understand what it does to developing adolescent brains. As a scientist and a parent, I recommend that adolescents avoid using cannabis until at least their mid-20s, but I realize that this may not be the most realistic advice. If your teens are going to use todays cannabis, it is critically important that you be aware of the data that show what a different beast this substance has become and the risk of major mental health issues.All cannabis products contain a mix of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the intoxicating component of the cannabis plant, and cannabidiol (CBD), which may have anxiety-reducing properties. In the 1990s the marijuana in a typical joint contained about 5 percent THC.But genetic modification has drastically increased THC potency; from 1995 to 2015 there has been a 212 percent increase in its content in the average cannabis plant, And its not just joints or pot brownies; with the legalization and commercialization of cannabis, there are few limits on the levels of THC for products like fast-acting vape pens and edibles. What teens like Sam can buy today is nothing like what his parents used in college.Ripley Cleghorn; Source: Cannabis Potency Data, National Institute on Drug AbuseThe risk of psychosis rises with the higher potency of THC, the earlier one starts using, and more frequent use. A Canadian research team studying over 11,000 teens found that for cannabis users, there was an 11-fold increase in the risk of developing a psychotic disorder compared with nonusers. In light of such daunting data, some researchers have begun sounding the alarm. But we are struggling to get this information to the people who most need to hear it: parents, educators and legislators.Andr J. McDonald, modified and restyled by Ripley Cleghorn; Source: Age-Dependent Association of Cannabis Use with Risk of Psychotic Disorder, in Psychological Medicine, Vol. 54, No. 11; August 2024And while there isnt a clear consensus that cannabis causes psychosis, studies like the ones I mention, which are well-designed and carefully analyzed, still indicate that the two things are associated.Another big question we are trying to answer: Why is the increased risk of psychosis so profound in teens? The researchers in my field think it has something to do with the profound rewiring that happens in adolescent brains, which continues into our early 20s. Thats when psychotic disorders typically start. The same molecules in our brains that interact with THC (known as the endocannabinoid system) play an essential role in brain development. And there is growing evidence from both animal and human studies that early cannabis exposure can disrupt the way brain cells, or neurons, respond to what we experience, and how they talk to each other to make those experiences memories.So how do you talk to your kids about todays cannabis? When families come to our clinic for youth at risk for psychosis, we ask the kids about why they use cannabis, what their reasons are and how feel afterward. We ask them why they might stop using, and whether they could stop if they needed to. And then: Why not try stopping for a few days and see how you feel? The answers help us assess whether that teen has a cannabis addiction.Some teens tell us they can stop. But others arent willing. For them we take a harm reduction approach. That is, we recommend avoiding high-potency products and that they choose instead products with higher CBD-to-THC ratios.If you have a teenager at home, or will soon, the odds are that they are going to be exposed to a lot of cannabis in many formsat school, at parties, all around the neighborhood. It is never too early to have that conversation. Part of this is making sure you have good cannabis literacy and encouraging your child to seek out reputable sources of information, rather than believe what they hear from friends or see on social media. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a good start. It can help to set clear rules and boundaries around cannabis use that you all agree on, and establish what the consequences are for breaking those rules. Parents should encourage clear, nonjudgmental communication about use, and encourage their children to share their questions and concerns.For Sam, we recommended ongoing psychiatric treatment and family therapy, which the family found to be helpful in navigating challenges with the very different expectations they now had of their son, given that he was living with a chronic psychotic disorder. If your child starts experiencing worrisome symptoms or unusual behaviorssuch as isolating themselves from others, talking to themselves, or hearing or seeing things that other people dontseek psychological treatment right away. Your family physician or childs pediatrician can provide a referral to a specialist for an evaluation and treatment.Like so many things our children are exposed to now, the vastly changed landscape of cannabis products and their availability is an experiment that none of us consented to in an informed way. The best we can do is to try and make our retroactive consent (and that of our kids) as informed as possible.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Civilization 7 reviewThe king isn't dead, but now's a good time to come at him.Image credit: Eurogamer/2K Review by Sin Vega Contributor Published on Feb. 3, 2025 A competent entry with some poorly executed ideas and a striking lack of personality.Civilization 7 is by no means a bad game. I open with that to acknowledge its competence, and to damn it. Civ is the archetypal 4X, and in some senses, Civ 7 remains a standard-bearer. It's better, in a general sort of way, than most recent attempts to unseat or deconstruct it. There's lots going on, production values are high, and it innovates with a new structure and revamped diplomacy, city expansion, and more.Civilization 7 reviewDeveloper: Firaxis GamesPublisher: 2KPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out on 11th February on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo SwitchBut it's dull. Even some of its most flawed challengers are far more interesting. At times, when I hit a stretch of "just one more turn!" it felt less like an in-joke than a curse.The most immediate changes are to the formula of "take a historical culture from an ancient village to modern world domination" itself. Your choice of leader is now untethered from their historical place. A full game is divided into three ages that require you to choose a new culture (with bonuses less numerical and more specific than in Humankind). Each age partly resets foreign relations, trade, reserves, and building effects. They downgrade cities into towns, themselves a new feature: newly founded settlements can only buy (not build) a limited set of buildings, but grow faster, and can halt that growth to become specialised tributaries instead of cities.The intent is, I think, to break away from slogging through 6,000 years of one path, of warring forever against that one rival, and to allow adaptation and experimentation. The first two ages close with escalating crises that force you to choose negative modifiers (evil doppelgangers of social policies, which are unlocked with culture instead of science) until the act break. It's a move towards narrative - an unpredictable challenge to make the game - and you - less rote. In practice, they're either irrelevant or deeply irritating. Navigable rivers are a new, map-dependent detail that sometimes connect a lake to the sea. Giant camel attack unrelated. | Image credit: Eurogamer/2KPicture a Civ where you're suddenly told everyone's unhappy for no reason. You can influence where the damage falls somewhat, but unless you knew in advance, chances are you didn't focus on getting everyone's happiness above 12-18, considering there's little benefit to being above 1. Excess pools into an empire-wide "celebration": several turns of whichever dull bonus your otherwise irrelevant government type provides.As a child, I played an old copy of Civilization on a yellowed second hand machine while recovering from surgery. When a city was happy, a gentle tune played as people paraded past their town, proclaiming "we love the emperor". In Civ 7, you make Number Go Up until you get 20 percent more of another number. Angry Civ-izens would rampage across that same town, and might declare independence. In 7, they burn down the library and the exact fucking buildings you need to produce things that would make them happier. Grab a tile or add a specialist. I ignored specialists for most of the game, raw resources were way more versatile. | Image credit: Eurogamer/2KMy recourse was to pay for repairs. They burned them down again on the next turn. And the next, and the next. What did the library do to you people?Eventually an unhappy town "rebels" by seamlessly joining another, potentially allied empire. You can't contest it without warring on that empire. You can't grant independence or trade it away. You never exchange anything, in fact, unless you're at war, in which case the AI will concede exactly one settlement. "My metropolis in exchange for survival? Sure! My two villages in exchange for survival and your entire empire? NEVER!"You could raise happiness through trade. Goods acquired via expansion or merchants can slot into settlements to bump production, food, etc. It allows, for example, a single-hex island city that can still build. But you can only redistribute resources after acquiring a new one, just as you can only change social policies after researching a new one. Most goods become useless in the third age until you build a heap of infrastructure, making my trade specialty almost as laborious as its interface. Confusing language and UI around "happiness maintenance" suggests libraries cause unhappiness. As a former librarian: it can go either way. | Image credit: Eurogamer/2KIt's arbitrary. Civ 7 has ideas to add a narrative spin, but the dully numerical execution has the opposite effect. Narrative events are eye-glazing pop-ups amounting to "get 50 culture or 80 food". One crisis was a religious conflict over I don't even know. I founded Buddhism, someone else Orthodoxy. None have any relationship or meaning (there's something very uncomfortable about Pachacuti converting people to Catholicism). The only difference is what bonus you picked for converting cities, which nobody seems to mind. There's a terrible conflict, I'm told. The reality: sometimes a foreign missionary visits a city, so my people burn down three buildings. I repair them one by one, for 20-100 of my 41,552 gold.It's the same for natural disasters, which add a chance that some farms will remain damaged for hours because you didn't manually check every settlement. You can't name continents, rivers, or even your own cities, deepening the sense of disconnect, a lack of character you can't fill in. Oh no what a catastrophe. It'll take like 12 clicks to undo this. | Image credit: Eurogamer/2KAge progress is driven by what are essentially achievements, divided across four "legacy paths". Age 2's economic path was the least tedious: a colonialism-themed race to siphon resources from "distant lands". But its culture path equates culture with religion, which means "acquiring relics", mostly through unexciting research. Age 3 is about ideology - democracy, fascism, or communism (capitalism is a civic - like colonialism, which comes with a quote about how bad it is, so that's all right then). I thought, this might be the first time I'd needed to think about what other empires might do. It was not. It meant so little I'm still not sure if anyone else researched an ideology. Nobody even told me when several wars started, although to be fair I ignored them without consequence. The narrative falls flat, conveying no meaning, binding with nothing, but insisting on chores.Though I recognise the concept - eras defined by more than technology - they're imbalanced, and worse: dull. Dull, too, is diplomacy, built on generating "influence" and spending it to initiate or counteract overtures. Nobody shows any personality, nobody has anything to say and nowhere is anyone's motivation explained, beyond the "agendas", which alter relations based on some arbitrary metric. One leader dislikes you if you have too many mountains, which would be funny if he ever mentioned it, and it wasn't depicted as a bland "-30 leader agenda". I think of Six Ages: Ride like the Wind, where you get guys who obsess about goats, or roast people in song. The age system reduces technology gulfs, but much research feels perfunctory. | Image credit: Eurogamer/2KRelationship modifiers don't specify who they refer to, and you don't even determine your own opinion - if a leader settles on someone's border, you automatically like them less. There's nothing to them. "We were allied in the last age, have great relations and loads of trade? I reject your alliance offer! -30 to relations!". All right, whatever, I forgot you existed anyway.Civ 7 has another key conflict: it wants to be sleek and approachable, but teems with hidden rules and details. Information is absent or buried away in submenus, while microscopic icons - another issue - deliver poorly organised, irrelevant news every turn. Some text is needlessly confusing, and the encyclopedia offers paragraphs on the historical context of grassland, but not what you can do with it. Statistics screens are almost non-existent, laborious layouts make poor use of space, its "breakdowns" are unsortable and near useless, and there's no unit list. If you park an explorer, you're never finding him again.Civilization 7's interface is ashamed that it's a strategy game. But all its obscuration makes it less accessible and convenient, and contradicts the city-growing element, which poses endless questions about what to build where, which tiles to expand into, and why in the christ can't I demolish buildings? There are many "adjacency" bonuses I thought I was using, yet I sailed through to age 3 with double everyone's numbers only to implement a "+1 for every adjacency" policy that amounted to +9, while alternatives produced triple figures. Wonders and buildings are wonderfully modelled, but underwhelming to actually build. You will not remember a single quote. | Image credit: Eurogamer/2KCivilization 7 accessibility optionsHeavily mouse-driven, but definable keyboard shortcuts and a controller option linked to Steam Input. Red-, green-, and blue-blind colour options. Subtitles, OS-voice narration when hovering and/or receiving multiplayer chat. NB: narration is inconsistent, reading overlong descriptions in some menus, partial ones in others, and ignores some things altogether. There's no button to interrupt it, rendering quick browsing impossible. Note that even without narration, tooltips vary in clarity. Likewise, many icons/notifications are so small that tooltips are necessary, but its font scale settings don't tangibly improve matters.As for war, I hesitate to mention that I once went through two ages without a single battle (or alliance), because the other was a tedious whack-a-mole with limited, poorly organised information (thanks for the red alert when a soldier saw my town! Next time, please use that tone when my capital is besieged before it's conquered). Don't start me either on how it wants you to unlock shit. Half the cultures were greyed out because I hadn't jumped through hoops, and the "new game" screen hints you must grind for "memento" bonuses. I don't know if I unlocked none because I play offline, because it's pre-release, or I plain didn't qualify, and I don't care.Civilization 7 is pretty and detailed and sounds fine (I caught that one tune from Colonization!). AI turns are perhaps the fastest I've ever seen, and its UI has enough potential to make some of my complaints feel patchable. Its design broadly works, and a certain kind of city-optimising fan may even love it. But its lack of character is endemic, the extent of its annoying habits and oversights shocking for a series of such pedigree. It's a dull, contradictory game, and instead of showing everyone how it's done, it's felt since hour one like a game that leaves the 4X throne empty.A copy of Civilization 7 was provided for review by publisher 2K.