Cluing you in Bonobos recognize when humans are ignorant, try to help Study provides evidence that our relatives have a "theory of mind." John Timmer Feb 3, 2025 5:28 pm | 20 Credit: Anup Shah Credit: Anup Shah Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA lot of human society requires what's called a "theory of mind"the ability to infer the mental state of another person and adjust our actions based on what we expect they know and are thinking. We don't always get this rightit's easy to get confused about what someone else might be thinkingbut we still rely on it to navigate through everything from complicated social situations to avoid bumping into people on the street.There's some mixed evidence that other animals have a limited theory of mind, but there are alternate interpretations for most of it. So two researchers at Johns Hopkins, Luke Townrow and Christopher Krupenye, came up with a way of testing whether some of our closest living relatives, the bonobos, could infer the state of mind of a human they were cooperating with. The work clearly showed that the bonobos could tell when their human partner was ignorant.Now you see it...The experimental approach is quite simple, and involves a setup familiar to street hustlers: a set of three cups, with a treat placed under one of them. Except in this case, there's no sleight-of-hand in that the chimp can watch as one experimenter places the treat under a cup, and all of the cups remain stationary throughout the experiment.To get the treat, however, requires the cooperation of a second human experimenter. That person has to identify the right cup, then give the treat under it to the bonobo. In some experiments, this human can watch the treat being hidden through a transparent partition, and so knows exactly where it is. In others, however, the partition is solid, leaving the human with no idea of which cup might be hiding the food.This setup means that the bonobo will always know where the food is and will also know whether the human could potentially have the same knowledge.The bonobos were first familiarized with the setup and got to experience their human partner taking the treat out from under the cup and giving it to them. Once they were familiar with the process, they watched the food being hidden without any partner present, which demonstrated they rarely took any food-directed actions without a good reason to do so. In contrast, when their human partner was present, they were about eight times more likely to point to the cup with the food under it.The key question, then, was whether the bonobos acted any differently when the experiment was set up behind the solid partition compared to when their human partner could see where the food was hidden.The answer was yes. When the partition was solid, bonobos were quicker to start pointing to where the food was hidden, and they pointed more often during the 10 seconds between when the partition was removed and the researcher checked the cups for the food. One of the three bonobos tested was impatient and pointed a lot regardless of whether their partner knew which cup held the food, but even then pointed a bit more often when the solid partition was used.I know what youre thinkingAll of that indicates that the bonobos can make inferences about the state of knowledge of a human partner and will adjust their behavior accordingly. So, at least on some level, the animals have a theory of mind that helps them accomplish things.That said, the experiment created a pretty contrived situation. The bonobos were cooperating with a human, something that never occurs in the wild (the animals are pretty unlikely to ever come across food hidden under plastic cups, for that matter). There are some indications in wild populations that bonobos will adjust the warnings they give to their peers if said peers are unaware of the threat. That's not a knock on this work, which was designed to test for similar behavior in a controlled manner, but just a reminder that we need to be cautious about generalizing these conclusions until we have evidence that doing so is warranted.The bonobo named Teco, who tended to point at the food a lot in all circumstances, also reminded us of another caution: animals are individuals, and they may have some quirks. With only three bonobos tested, we really don't have a strong sense of the full spectrum of behavior we might see in a large group of these species.Still, the work indicates that some of our close relatives have some aspects of a theory of mind, and there are contexts where they'll put it to use for their benefit.PNAS, 2025. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2412450122 (About DOIs).John TimmerSenior Science EditorJohn TimmerSenior Science Editor John is Ars Technica's science editor. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. When physically separated from his keyboard, he tends to seek out a bicycle, or a scenic location for communing with his hiking boots. 20 Comments

Palantir CEO Alex Karp said he's optimistic about the disruption brought about by Elon Musk's DOGE.Karp said he thinks it will be good for the US and Palantir, which has large government contracts.CTO Shyam Sankar said Palantir's real competition was "lack of accountability in government."Alex Karp, the cofounder and CEO of software company Palantir, said he thinks Elon Musk's Department of Governmental Efficiency will disrupt the US government and that it will be good for Americans and the company he leads."We love disruption, and whatever is good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir," Karp said in response to a question about DOGE during the company's quarterly earnings call on Monday."Disruption, at the end of the day, exposes things that aren't working," he said. "There will be ups and downs. There's a revolution. Some people are going to get their heads cut off. We're expecting to see really unexpected things and to win."Two weeks into President Donald Trump's second term, the DOGE-induced disruptions have included moves to dismantle USAID, the agency that handles US foreign aid, and buyouts for federal workers.Palantir has contracts with government organizations, both in the US and abroad, many of which use its software for military operations and intelligence. In the US, Palantir has contracts with the US Army and the Department of Defense, including some worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Palantir's earnings report on Monday beat analyst expectations, with US revenue for the quarter growing 52% year-over-year. The company said its US government revenue for fiscal year 2024 grew 30% year-over-year to $1.2 billion. Palantir shares were up almost 24% after-hours amid earnings news.Palantir has a close, and at times complicated, relationship with the US government. In 2016, Palantir sued the US Army, accusing it of bias in its bidding process. Palantir won the case and has since secured several contracts with the Army. In December, Palantir announced it secured a contract with the Army for more than $400 million.The stated priority of DOGE, now a White House office led by Musk, is to make the government more efficient by cutting spending and reorganizing some federal agencies. In its first week, DOGE said it canceled $420 million worth of federal government contracts.Karp recently defended Musk against criticism that a gesture he made resembled a Nazi salute. He told CNBC that calling Musk a Nazi was "completely absurd and a complete rewrite of history."Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar also said on Monday's earnings call that DOGE would be good for the company."Palantir's real competition is a lack of accountability in government," Sankar said. "DOGE is going to bring meritocracy and transparency to government."

Zoe McGrady is one of 25 contestants on season 29 of "The Bachelor," which stars Grant Ellis.During week two, her competitive approach to dating frustrates the other women.Zoe is a 27-year-old tech engineer and model based in New York."The Bachelor" season 29 contestant Zoe McGrady wants to win over Grant Ellis and she'll do whatever it takes to spend time with him.Zoe, 27, is one of 25 women participating in the latest season of the reality TV show. The competition intensifies during week two, when Zoe steals Grant away for a private chat during the first group date of the season, a slam dunk competition.Zoe causes more drama later when she interrupts Grant's one-on-one conversations with contestants Juliana Pasquarosa and Alli Jo Hinkes so she can talk to him further."We have one shot at all of this," she tells the women. "We had one shot at basketball, we had one shot on our group date today. We have one shot at this whole experience, and I know personally I gave it my all today and I'm very happy that I got time with him. That's what you gotta do."Here's everything to know about Zoe.Zoe grew up in Virginia with her adoptive parents Zoe is a contestant on season 29 of "The Bachelor." Matt Sayles/Disney During an appearance on an episode of the podcast "Miss Represented," released in January 2024, Zoe, who's a mixed woman of color, said that she was adopted by two white people and grew up in a predominantly white town in the South.She said that it was challenging growing up in Virginia as one of the few people of color who was also interested in STEM and felt like the "black sheep" of her hometown."I was definitely an outcast," Zoe said, adding that she was the first female wrestler to join her high school wrestling team.Zoe said that she was interested in science and math from a young age, and even dressed up as Albert Einstein more than once for Halloween.She went on to pursue a career in STEM after graduating from high school.She's now a tech engineer and model based in New York Zoe and Grant during week one of "The Bachelor" season 29. John Fleenor/Disney Zoe graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2019 and has been working in fintech since then.After getting hired as a project manager at the tech company Quantile, Zoe moved to New York, where she decided to become a model in addition to her day job. She signed with the modeling agency Wilhemina Models in 2023.She's done modeling jobs in beauty, lifestyle, sports, and fitness, and has walked runways as part of New York Fashion Week.Zoe is a two-time first runner-up in the Miss New York USA pageant Zoe during week one of "The Bachelor" season 29. John Fleenor/Disney In the podcast, Zoe said she never competed in a pageant prior to participating in Miss New York USA in 2022. She discovered the casting call for the pageant while scrolling on Instagram.Zoe said she spent most of her life focused on sports and education and never thought she'd fit into the pageant world. However, she learned that she had a story to tell and felt she could use her platform to speak about things that were important to her.In an Instagram post, Zoe said that she competed in the pageant so she can "share my story and advocate for other people with adverse childhood experiences," inspire women in male-dominated fields like wrestling and engineering, and make underrepresented people feel seen.She was named the first runner-up of Miss New York USA in both 2022 and 2023 and returned to the pageant to compete a third time in 2024.She's also a youth mentor and motivational speaker "The Bachelor" season 29 contestant Zoe. ABC Zoe often speaks in schools, telling kids about her passion for STEM, how her childhood and upbringing shaped her, and how she overcame adversity to succeed as a woman of color.She also appears at conference panels and offers one-on-one mentorship on topics ranging from building confidence and resilience to managing mental health and healing from adverse childhood experiences.New episodes of season 29 of "The Bachelor" premiere on Mondays.

What will be the Switch 2s first Zelda? (Nintendo/Metro)The Tuesday letters page remains to be convinced about Battlefield 6, as one reader tries to make sense of Sonys attitude towards Bloodborne.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukFour swordsOK, so whos willing to make a bet with me on what will be the first Zelda game on Nintendo Switch 2? Seems to me there are a lot of possibilities and not a lot of ways to guess which it is. But Im going to break it down as I see it:The Wind Waker/Twilight PrincessThe boring option. I cant see it being this just because theyd make a poor advert for the Switch 2 and theyve been remastered before anyway.Unknown spin-offI wouldve said this was more likely if it wasnt for last years Echoes Of Wisdom. It is possible, if Nintendo use a different developer, but Im going to guess not as its hard to guarantee the quality with someone else making it.Unknown remakeA Link To The Past or Ocarina Of Time seem like good bets here and I think this is my favourite option too, in terms of something that is likely to happen and would be worthwhile.Breath Of The Wild remasterPossible but only if its used to show how paying for remasters works, rather than having to buy the game brand new again. If Nintendo can keep the upgrade price below 10 Ill be happy.So what do you think? Even if its not at launch Zelda is coming, so whats going to be first? I think Id probably go with four, but wouldnt be surprised at three. Hopefully well find out in April!ZeissWeakly optimisticThe new Battlefield footage looks great and all, but graphics have never been the series problem. It also constantly promises to have tons of destruction and then you find out that its all in the story campaign and theres still not as much in-game as there was in Bad Company (which I have just looked up and is now a staggering 17 years ago).Ill remain optimistic but four developers working on the same game already sounds like too many cooks spoiling the broth. Not to mention having the guy that invited Call Of Duty in charge seems weird.I also dont like the idea that the game being good hinges on them testing it with a gazillion people first. Id have more confidence in a developer that knew whether the game they were making was any good or not without having to ask someone else first.JesseForgotten classicSonys attitude to Bloodborne is just so baffling to me. With the time and money they wasted banning a four year old fan patch they couldve just released an official one. I mean, its only five years overdue at this point. Why wont they do it? Theres no theory that makes any sense.At some point I assume theyll announce a remake or sequel and I assume this is in some way a prelude to that (cant sell a remake if a free update makes it not so appealing!) but theres not a clue as to when something is going to happen. It really makes me think less of Sony to be honest. Theyve got this amazing game and theyre letting it be forgotten, where most casual gamers probably have no idea it even exists.St1ngerEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukMaster and apprenticeI love how if you watch the video of that ex-Sony guy, when hes talking about Microsoft being like Sega, hes trying not to smile. He knew what he was saying, even if Sega are an obvious comparison to make.I cant imagine anyone aspires to being Sega though, especially not Microsoft. Although the two do have a long history. Microsoft were going to buy them at one point early on and always looked to them as inspiration in the early days thats why their X/Y and A/B buttons are the wrong way round.I could make an obvious joke about how Microsoft took a bit too much inspiration, in terms of the constant mistakes and slip-ups but Im going to assume that with $3 trillion more in the bank than Sega, the future prospects of Xbox are somewhat rosier.84ColbatThird party softwareSorry if GameCentral or a reader has already mentioned this but the Epic Games Store app is available on Android and iOS tablets/mobiles now and they are giving away free games each week on mobile and PC on a Thursday. They have two games free on mobile currently: Bloons TD 6 and Dungeon Of The Endless. You can use the same account on PC on your mobile to download the games.Epic Games Store is classed as a third party app on Android so you have to allow it when you try to install the app on your Android mobile/tablet. Heres the link for the Epic Games Store mobile app.Andrew J.Currently playing: Kona (PS5)Console comparisonsNaturally, Im hoping that there will be a Sony State of Play this month, but Ive given up trying to guess what will be in it. What I wonder though is what Sony must be thinking about the Nintendo Switch 2 coming up and how theyre going to work around that.The two big things this year are Switch 2 and GTA 6 and if Switch 2 is launching in June I think thats a clear sign Nintendo dont want the two things happening at the same time. That would seem to leave Sony out in the cold, but I do think the chances of a marketing campaign with Rockstar, possibly involving the PS5 Pro is very likely.Im sure thats good for Sony but it could mean another lean year for first party games. Because, lets face it, if youve GTA 6 in your pocket you dont need anything else. I cant believe that the last time Sony had dominance like this it was with the PlayStation 2 and look at the difference in games output between those two consolesXaneWate of spaceAs regards Lemptons email about the size of the Switch 2 game cases, I hope theyre actually 33% smaller, as there is so much unused real estate in the current Switch cases, especially as there are no longer instruction booklets. Although I do buy the ones sold by MBPUK off Etsy.I think the Switch 2 game cases on the shop shelf should be bigger, so they can be seen easily but the actual ones we take home should be smaller.LeighDappaDont sleep on itI picked up Citizen Sleeper 2, following your review last week, and havent been left quite so conflicted about a game in such a long time.By the way, your review did an excellent job of explaining to me what the game was and sold me, hook, line and sinker; and I consider that no bad thing at all.However. However. Where to begin?Well, its not pushing my PlayStation 5 to its limits, but then it wasnt sold on its groundbreaking graphical capability a Digital Foundry breakdown of its technical abilities might be their shortest episode ever (of note, too, is that that might be no bad thing either).My first impressions of the game were basically, What on earth have I bought here?, so underwhelmed I was.Give it a chance, though, and theres something with an undeniable hook underneath, despite all of Fellow Travellers (lack of) razzamatazz.I know this as Saturday morning disappeared into Saturday evening, me completely oblivious.It was only as I got into a situation with several broken die, following a period of them glitching, and the game pushing me towards an inevitable fail state that I grumbled my way back up to reality in a fit of pique.Was it the story that compacted all that time? Perhaps, certainly alongside the subtle musical backdrop which, although nearly invisible, builds a mildly trance induced state both of these factors are excellent.But the gameplay has me completely I want to say non-plussed but thats not right, baffled, not that either its a devil, for sure virtually rolling dice for dopamine kicks, I just cant find the right word.And yet theres strategy to it; planning, too, an upgrade system; the risk reward values that you create in your own head to, for sure this time, coerce the game your way.Its an oddity.Its an oddity that has me thinking about it outside of game time, and Im going to have to go back again to try a different approach.Thats an achievement any game developer should be proud of.Shambling RegInbox also-ransRE: XCOM 2. Ive put almost 200 hours into it on my Switch, but I didnt realise it is a free download on the PlayStation 5, if you have an account. It is one of the best games ever made.SimonGC: Its certainly one of our favourites.I will say again that if Phil Spencer ever brings back Blinx: The Time Sweeper I will forgive him for all his many failings. I fell confident neither thing will happen.TollyMore TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.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

Sid Meiers Civilization 7 not a series best (2K)The most famous name in strategy gaming has finally got a new sequel but theres something strangely absent from this entry.There are some franchises that are so iconic that they personify an entire genre, whether its Tetris for puzzle games or Street Fighter 2 for fighting games; some titles are so famous that theyre the first thing that comes to mind for most people, whether theyve personally played them or not and regardless of whether the game is actually the most successful in its genre. Civilization is that game when it comes to strategy titles.Although this new sequel is being launched on every format possible (well get into whether that was a good idea later on) most have been initially PC-only titles, allowing you to conquer the world according to your personal preferences, whether that be militarily, economically, scientifically, culturally, or some combination thereof.The scale is dizzying and while there are some esoteric elements to the gameplay, and a tendency for it to get bogged down in its endgame, its not by accident its remained popular these past 34 years and certainly not because people were only playing it for the graphics. Its getting on for a decade since Civilization 6, so a new sequel was overdue but unfortunately this entry feels like it needed a couple more years in the oven.Every new Civilization is essentially the same game but while that would be a criticism with most other franchises here its not just about refining a successful formula but expanding and highlighting different elements in different entries. The importance of religion, for example, has waxed and waned over the years, as has the emphasis on military conquest, but one of the primary focuses this time is player accessibility and if that already has your spider-sense tingling then it does so with good reason.We were very optimistic about Civilization 7, not simply because of the series track record but because the hands-on and interview we had at Gamescom last summer seemed to acknowledge one of the intrinsic flaws of the game; namely that the opening hours, where youre controlling a prehistoric tribe of nomads as they explore the planet, are considerably more interesting than quietly adding defences and tech upgrades to your cities at the end of the game.Not that that stuff isnt interesting in its own way and unavoidable if you take the games premise to its logical conclusion but it seems fair to say that many more games of Civilization are started than are ever finished. Unfortunately, the most obvious way in which Civilization 7 chooses to address this problem is by simply stopping the game in the 1960s, with the first manned space launch, cutting out the modern and future ages entirely which not only feels anticlimactic but reeks of an excuse to charge for DLC later.Beyond that, the most obvious change for returning fans is the interface, which has been streamlined to within an inch of its life no doubt in order to more easily facilitate the console versions. We imagine a lot of people are going to complain that Civilization 7 has been dumbed down, but its not quite as simple as that, as while developer Firaxis has clearly tried to make it appear more approachable therere inexplicably few tooltips and visual aids to explain how anything works.The customisation options before starting a game have also been drastically cut back, as while playing on a map of Earth is fun occasionally its the randomly-generated maps where youll spend most of the time, and you no longer have as much control over how theyre created.Civilization 7 isnt a lazy sequel by any means, but it does seem very misguided. The original idea for the series was that you pick a famous culture and take that all the way from prehistory to the near future, which never really made that much sense not when you had Ghandi and Queen Elizabeth I arguing over nukes but it was the only easy way to add a human element to proceedings.Therere more storytelling moments in this new game, including what are essentially side quests, but the cultural avatars are now independent of their historical origins, so you can have Catherine the Great leading China for the whole of the game, if you think her leader benefits are the most desirable. The graphics are fine for what they are (2K)What you cant have though is Ghandi, as he and many of the other fan favourite leaders are simply not in the base game. Neither is Great Britain or any of its leaders, which has already been announced as being locked behind a two-part paid-for DLC expansion. Buy that as part of the Deluxe Edition and suddenly the games price balloons to 90. Or 120 if you get the Founders Edition that includes extra civilisations and leaders on top of that.The game is now divided into three different ages, with the option to change culture at the end of each one. Each age has its own victory conditions and special rules, with the idea being that its more realistic to have cultural influences changing over time. However, not only is this an idea obviously stolen from Humankind (although Civilization 7 places more realistic restrictions on the culture choices) but the way everything gets a soft reset at the end of an age, in terms of construction and diplomatic relations, can ruin your plans just as they were bearing fruit.More TrendingAnother longstanding problem with Civilization, and indeed most strategy games, is that the artificial intelligence can do some very illogical things when it comes to both diplomacy and combat. This is something else that Civilization 7 tiptoes around without actively improving, with the AI never seeming to have a clue that an age is about to end. Although the increased importance of commanders on top of which you can stack several combat units, so you can move entire armies at once and synchronise attacks is very welcome.There are other positive changes too, with the influence level of opposing nations now being just as important as their military strength, as you try to change public opinion at home and abroad. This makes diplomacy in general much more interesting, especially when utilising the range of espionage options, making it one of the rare times when Civilization 7 manages to create an interesting gameplay mechanic that also makes the game more realistic.Overall though this is definitely a disappointment. Reputations can change over time the last few Civilization sequels were all hated at launch, by a significant subset of the fandom but this feels just too much like a backward step. Its small number of improvements dont outweigh the sense that all the most interesting parts of the game have been shaved off, in a nave attempt to expand the audience and publisher 2Ks wallet. Its not the end of Civilization as we know it, but its certainly not encouraging for the future.Sid Meier's Civilization 7 review summaryIn Short: A very disappointing sequel that features a few interesting new ideas but either streamlines the rest or leaves it out on purpose, for you to buy later as DLC.Pros: The core Civilization gameplay is as entertaining as ever, with plenty of that just one more turn magic. Diplomacy and influence changes work well, as do the new commander units.Cons: The soft reset at the end of an age is too intrusive and AI is still weak. Overly streamlined interface with too little onscreen help. The game is very obviously leaving out content on purpose, in order to sell it separately later.Score: 6/10Formats: PC (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5Price: 59.99Publisher: 2KDeveloper: Firaxis GamesRelease Date: 11th February 2025Age Rating: 12 Many fans will probably stick to Civ 6 (2K)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

With awards season in full swing ahead of the Oscars, the cast of the very-nominated Wicked is pulling out all the stops aboard their emerald green hype train. In a recent interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the Wizard of Oz himself (Jeff Goldblum) and his right-hand conspirator Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) talked about their timely takes on the characters when asked if their villains were inspired by historical figures. Gregory Maguires original Wicked novel and its Broadway adaptation from Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman depicted the duo as fascists behind the veneer of the emerald green facade of Ozand both Goldblum and Yeohs performances speak to the very timely attributes of figures in power. Speaking about his collaboration with Wicked director Jon M. Chu, Goldblum explained, There have been people throughout human history, who have, even though they seemed nice enough, and just like one of us, use demonizing others to seize and enhance power, and sometimes theyre quite charismatic. Jon helped me in my whole approach. Im nothing if not conscientious, and I had worked on my lines and was having a hundred ideas, besides all the moments that were in the script, which was delicious and wonderful. He continued. And then [Jon] called in Ariana [Grande] and Cynthia [Erivo], and he said, Lets act out a couple of these scenes, and if Jeff wants to kind of change up a couple of things, just go with him And thats how it started. It was an organic kind of approach that was just full of joy and synergy. You know, I looked in their eyes and, how can you not be moved and inspired to come up with a thousand other things? For Yeoh, who worked with Chu previously on Crazy, Rich Asians as the romantic leads mother, adding nuance and complexity to the monster-in-law tropes, here went more into a villain era for Madame Morrible, the Shiz headmistress with a plan to keep the Wizard in power. Yeoh recalled asking Chu, Why do you think of me when you think of someone a little, you knowI dont want to say wicked, but a little bit tough. Madam Morrible has an agenda, and this agenda she has shared with definitely the wizard. So I think between John and Jeff [and I] we said, Maybe there was something always going on between them.' Wow. So Morrible and Wizard ship confirmed.She continued. Because they were the only two people who were always strategizing, manipulating, making things happen. And at the beginning, you can see Madame Morrible is an educator, so she is a nurturer. And I think that the journey was even worse for Elphaba, because this was the first time she felt loved, seen, and heard. That was where Jon was really brilliant in making Madame Morrible someone that you truly trusted and wanted to believe in, because [it] means you believed in yourself, and she brought you to greater heights. Yeoh described how her characters charm was turned against Elphaba who wanted to make good, then became a scapegoat when she realized the Wizard and Morribles plans. Madame Morrible, she really is the wicked witch. They both had such a precious agenda that they couldnt let go of. They would take someone elses dream so that they can fulfill their own. The Wizard, wanting to go home, getting on that balloon and flying off back to Kansas. And Madame Morrible wanted her Book of Enchantment to be open, and couldnt understand why Elphaba wouldnt want the same thing, because she was doing it for the good of us. Jeff and I had a wonderful time sort of like giving everyone this illusionwas it there, isnt there, are they, are they not? So that was fun for us.Watch more of the interview from Rotten Tomatoes below. Wickedis out now in theaters and ondigital.Wicked: For Goodopens this Thanksgiving. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Get the snacks ready. Super Bowl LIX is nearly upon us, and it might feel like a bit of deja vu. Not only is it a rematch of last years Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Chiefs are hoping to make this their third consecutive NFL championship. Heres a fun fact youll surely hear a lot leading up to and during the game: No team since the 1965-1967 Green Bay Packers has won three consecutive Super Bowls. The Packers are the only NFL franchise to do it twice (1929-1931 and 1965-1967). But lets be honest: Plenty of us are mainly watching the game for the commercials, despite knowing we will see fewer movie trailers this year. When Is the Super Bowl? The Super Bowl is Sunday, February 9, 2025. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. Where Is the Super Bowl? The Super Bowl LIX is happening at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, home to the New Orleans Saints.How Do I Watch the Super Bowl on TV? The Big Game is airing live on FOX (check local listings). Where Can I Stream the Super Bowl? The FOX broadcast can be streamed on the following apps:Tubi (this is free and is the official streaming partner) Hulu with Live TV DirecTV Sling TV YouTube TV FuboTubi is free, but you have to sign up for an account to log in and watch the game. The other streaming platforms offer free trials; remember to cancel your subscription when the trial ends if you dont want to pay. The game will not be streaming on the Fox Sports app, and there will be no kids broadcast this year. So, if you were looking forward to hearing SpongeBob and Patrick call the game, youre out of luck.Can I Watch the Super Bowl for Free? You can watch the Super Bowl for free on the Tubi, though youll have to check if the app is available on your smart TV. If you really want to avoid signing up for cable or another streaming app, you could pick up an over-the-air antenna to pick the signal up for free. Just make sure it carries your local FOX affiliate and tune into that channel.Whos Performing in the Super Bowl Halftime Show? Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Kendrick Lamar will perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. Fellow Grammy winner SZA is joining Lamar on the big stage. Will Taylor Swift Be at the Super Bowl? Seems like it! We are seeing a rise in Swift-related prop bets on various betting sites about who the mega-star will sit next to and how many times we will see her face during the game.

RiverRidge Office Entrance / KKOL STUDIOSave this picture! Donggyu KimArchitects: KKOL StudioAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:107 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Donggyu KimMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Humanity is innately wired to constantly seek a better life and home rather than to be content with the present. Our desire and drive toward the ideal has been aggregated for eons to compose the contemporary society we live in, and allowed us to forge into the new world that could otherwise have been nothing more than a fantasized ideal.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!RiverRidge concurrently visualizes the impression of an ideal city imagined by antiquated societies and the harmonious future we dream of today. Every element of the space is congregated into one becoming deemable as a piece of compositional art and was designed to execute the vision of a space where all elements interact intimately, needing no further addition or removal of elements.Save this picture!The "ideal city" as envisioned during the Renaissance embodies perfectly precise rules, displaying a finetuned and controlled appearance spearheaded by exquisite perspective. It also minimizes the expression of human presence in comparison. The sizeable elements composing the context of the RiverRidge space carry the refined harmoniousness akin to the Renaissance era, yet breaks free of archetypal forms to accentuate free will and flexibility. As such, design elements reinterpreted through a contemporary lens exist within a classic frame, coexisting and mingling without favoring one or the other to deliver a pleasant visual whimsy.Save this picture!RiverRidge, located on the first floor of the KN Global office building, serves as a break room for company executives and as a caf offering specialty coffee blends. The interior is segmented into a Sacred zone, a Public zone, and a Private zone, reflecting the essential components of the conceptual "ideal city" of antiquity. The space's composition is varied, including one-person seating for patrons that study in the caf, two-person seating for private individuals, group seating for small meetings that accommodates eight or more guests, and a rostrum meant for seminars. RiverRidge strives to empower all types of customers with unique needs to form their own ideal community in its bounds.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South KoreaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeKKOL StudioOfficePublished on February 04, 2025Cite: "RiverRidge Office Entrance / KKOL STUDIO" 03 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026179/riverridge-office-entrance-kkol-studio&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

This AI-feeding frenzy reminds me more and more of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, but with less focus on overpaying employees. As it was then, the core issue now is companies screaming that their AI is better, but most buyers are still not well enough informed or trained to deploy AI effectively.One of the big problems DeepSeek seemed to address out of the box is that quality is important in an AI. What makes DeepSeek interesting is that rather than glossing over that problem, it addressed it up front, resulting in what appears to be both a cheaper and better AI alternative.It is also fascinating that because DeepSeek was blocked from using Nvidias current top AI technologies, its developers optimized the model to work better on older Nvidia technology. The result appears to be 94% cost savings in creating the model.These cost savings have improved performance while reducing expenses. The trade-off is the typical security concern and potential model corruption by the Chinese government, although China may simply be using a filter that blocks unacceptable queries and doesnt corrupt the core AI.Lets discuss AI-wars this week, with a focus on DeepSeek. Well close with my Product of the Week from Samsung, which is arguably the most premium non-foldable phone on the market and a showcase of Qualcomms latest processor.DeepSeek: Its Good. ButUnless youve been living under a rock, youve heard of DeepSeek. Its entry into the market tanked Nvidia stock last week (even though many argue it shouldnt have done that) and put OpenAI on notice that there is a new AI sheriff in town from China.Ive been arguing for some time that the industrys huge mistake was focusing more on speed than quality and accuracy because AIs have become increasingly unreliable over time. What DeepSeek did differently was build in an AI quality check. Instead of just focusing on speed, it puts a lot of effort into quality. The result is impressive.The other advantage to DeepSeek is that while it takes around $100 million to spin up a generative AI model like DeepSeeks, it claims it did it for only $6 million, resulting in a better, cheaper product. Better and cheaper generally result in a win.OpenAI is not amused and is suing DeepSeek. However, the lack of cooperation between the U.S. and China makes it unlikely that OpenAI will prevail globally in this effort because China will certainly not support it, which is where DeepSeek is based. DeepSeeks origin in China presents a significant drawback because the Chinese government appears to be interfering with the app. Users are blocked from asking questions about anything China finds sensitive or critical of the governments actions, past or present.While this looks to be a front-end filter, typically, when you place artificial rules on an AI, it will both seek to break them and foster a knowledge base on how to get around the restrictions, which could eventually result in a degradation of accuracy that defines this product.Finally, if the U.S. government has issues with TikTok, it will hate DeepSeek because it is more damaging and appears closer to the Chinese government than TikTok. This AI brings up huge domestic privacy and security concerns that easily eclipse those surrounding TikTok, given how an AI is trained and how much more information could be captured from its users.AI WarsThe competition is just beginning, as we are already up to our necks in new AI companies at 1,532. Most of these companies will be acquired or will fail, which makes this a really interesting and impressively scary market to work or invest in at the moment, much like it was back in those dot-com days when VCs were throwing money at internet companies until it became clear that many of them werent going to make it to revenue, let alone profit.This rapid evolution in AI is only a precursor to what we are likely to see in a few years when the first AGI (artificial general intelligence) products show up. Things will likely get crazy because most of the limitations with generative AI will go away, models should drop rapidly in price, and much like the internet is everywhere now, AI will be on the fast path to being everywhere then.The amount of money in play is in the trillions of dollars for whoever gets this right first. If Elon Musk is displaced at the top of the rich guy pile, it will likely be by someone as closely connected to AGI as Musk was to electric cars a decade ago. Since AI covers robotics and self-driving vehicles, whoever that is may eclipse Musk quickly once their AGI product sells at scale.There is already both a fight for top talent and significant efforts to get AI to develop itself. The latter effort is likely to be the most disruptive because once AI can develop itself, the door opens to an even bigger problem with speed and quality unless that quality aspect is addressed as DeepSeek has.Nvidia Is in Trouble. ButSince the DeepSeek announcement, people have argued that Nvidia is in trouble, so its valuation has taken a beating. However, Nvidia isnt in trouble because of DeepSeek. It is in trouble because of the U.S. policy preventing Nvidia from selling its best tech to China. As a result, China is figuring out how to use older technology effectively, which has enabled DeepSeeks impressive, inexpensive, and accurate performance.Instead of protecting Nvidia and other U.S. companies, this policy is turning China into a far stronger competitor and effectively locking Nvidia out of competing with Chinese companies. The embargo doesnt prevent China from getting and reverse engineering a part; they have been doing that for decades with defense technology, and a commercially available part is pretty easy to gray market. So, the embargo only creates the illusion of security and limits Nvidia from protecting its IP more effectively. DeepSeek would likely perform even better on Nvidias Blackwell AI GPU, which is significantly more efficient and powerful than the older hardware it currently runs on.Nvidia should be allowed to compete for this opportunity. However, since its blocked, China is successfully figuring out how to move beyond Blackwell and eventually will figure out a way to move beyond Nvidia. Its not what they want to do because they recognize Nvidia has better technology; it is what they are being made to do by what I view as a foolish U.S. policy that is creating a competitive problem for them.If this doesnt get fixed, the next AI wave will likely break out of China, which, thanks to DeepSeek, may already be happening.Wrapping Up: Who Will Win the Global AI Race?With the launch of DeepSeek, the AI-wars have kicked off, but this is just the opening salvo. Its an impressive opening move that gives the world a heads up that Chinese companies are more than willing to compete despite technology sanctions that appear to be hurting U.S. companies and consumers (the Chinese EVs are now leading that market) more than they are hurting Chinas prospects.If the U.S. doesnt step up to this competition more aggressively by helping rather than hindering U.S. tech companies, it is increasingly likely that China will eventually emerge as the stronger AI competitor (which it may be doing right now), and to the new victor will go the AI spoils.Samsung Galaxy S25 UltraImage Credit: SamsungWhile I prefer foldable phones, most people still opt for traditional single-screen devices. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a technology powerhouse based on Qualcomms best processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. You can pre-order it now, and it will be available by Friday in the U.S.The S25 Ultra is an expensive phone at $1,300. Right now, theres a sale that makes the 512GB upgrade free, and you can get up to $900 off if you have a relatively current smartphone or tablet to trade in.Its sleeker than its predecessor, with a bigger, brighter, and tougher display. It also allows actions across multiple apps. Its 50 MP camera is amazing, and its AI will work out of the box (Apples AI lagged in its latest phone announcement). Some iPhone users who have tested this product found it better than their Apple phones, which is high praise.The ability to span apps with AI can be very useful. For instance, you can look up a date for a coming event, put that event on your calendar, and send details to whoever is going with you with a single prompt. This feature continues to make me wonder if separate apps will even be a thing in the future since this phone can seamlessly move between apps using agentic AI to complete complex tasks like the one just mentioned.While the phone has some interesting noise cancellation features, early testing has been mixed, suggesting there may be a learning curve to getting the tech to work properly or the need for a patch, which is not unusual for a brand-new advanced feature. The phone comes in several colors. I like the Titanium Jetblack (pictured above with the S pen) the best.The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is as much a showcase of Qualcomms advanced technology as it is of Samsungs. It is arguably one of, if not the best, premium phones on the market and my Product of the Week.

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