As far as amenities go the service is incredible. Somehow the staff seems aware of your every move and need, choreographing turned-down service and house keeping seamlessly. I loved the spa, which is tucked into the promontory. Breakfast was a scene in the best sensea parade of caftans and croissants. Take me back.The hotel more than met my expectations. Prices are steep, so save it for a special occasion. But once youre there just suspend financial disbelief and enjoy. Sam Cochran, global features directorBOOK NOWRockhouse Hotel, Negril, JamaicaAs far as beach vacations go, I crave simplicity above all else. So when I was hankering an end-of-the-year escape in December, I wanted the ocean as close to my bedside as possible. Id long followed Rockhouse, which, in its 50 year history, has hosted the likes of Mick Jagger and what seems like every fashion and travel editor I follow on Instagram, and decided there was no time like the present to get myself to Negril.Its easy to see why the property is such a siren call. All of the hotels villas, which were designed by two Frank Lloyd Wright apprentices, make the most of the coastal, cliffside locale with private decks that lead you straight into impossibly blue waters. In under twenty steps from my bed, I could jump into the seamission accomplished. This isnt the white sand and placid bathwater you might be picturing and therefore isnt for the faint of heart, but strong swimmers with a sense of adventure will appreciate the invigorating plunge. Grab a snorkel and get moving.For vacation swims with a little less adrenaline, the infinity pool at Rockhouse gives the impression of an ocean swim with no danger in sightand the poolside happy hour offers two-for-one drinks thatll keep you quite content while you await what might be the most expansive sunset Ive ever witnessed. The property also provides a free, daily shuttle service to its sister hotel, Skylark, which is situated on the legendary Negril Seven Mile Beach. Its here that youll find the postcard-worthy white sand beach, as well as food from the Negril outpost of Manhattan-based Miss Lilys.While I wasnt busy working towards my goal of doing absolutely nothing but sitting by the sea during my five day stay, I got a chance to check out the gorgeous spa nestled in a thicket of trees as well as a tour of the hotels greenhouse, where they hydroponically produce greens and herbs used at Miss Lilys and the two on-site restaurants, Pushcart (casual, live music) and Rockhouse Restaurant (upscale, open all day).As far as luxury hotels go, the rooms are simple but not lacking amenities in any way. For me, the highlights were the private outdoor shower and the four-post, mosquito-netted bed with unparalleled ocean views available as soon as you open your eyes. After a four hour flight and scenic, 90 minute ride from Montego Bay, youll feel gloriously far away from home. Rachel Fletcher, commerce directorBOOK NOWPhoto: Sergio Amiti/Getty ImagesSofitel Legend Santa Clara, Cartagena, ColombiaStepping through the gates of the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena, a 17th century convent-turned 5-star hotel in Cartagena's historic old town, feels like traveling back in time. Here, amid the Spanish colonial style architecture, lush gardens, and intoxicating heat, time just moves more slowly. I visited last January for an impromptu long weekend escape. We were a bit hardcore and booked the red eye version: Friday morning arrival and Monday night departure, but since the direct flight from New York is only five hours, it wasnt too bad and really maximized our three-night stay. My best friend Aliza, a tour designer at Artisans of Leisure, crafted the perfect itinerary for our group of four with just enough activities. As it turns out, sunshine, ceviche (we liked La Cevicheria, near the hotel), and salsa dancing at Cafe Havana, fueled by bountiful breakfasts in the hotel garden, world class coffee, and coco loco cocktails, were just what we all needed to beat the winter blues.

France has upped the ante in the quest for fusion power by maintaining a plasma reaction for over 22 minutes a new record. The milestone was reached on February 12 at the Commissariat l'nergie atomique et aux nergies alternatives (CEA) WEST Tokamak reactor.Achieving the dream of commercial fusion power is the Holy Grail of engineering and has been for 80 years. With a single gram of hydrogen isotopes yielding the energy equivalent of 11 tonnes of coal, a practical fusion reactor would hold the promise of unlimited, clean energy for humanity until the end of time.Small wonder that billions have been invested by both government and industry in the quest to make fusion power a reality. However, while fusion is relatively easy to achieve in the heart of the sun or in a hydrogen bomb, creating a practical reactor that produces more energy than is put into it is another matter entirely.WESTThe tricky bit isn't to get atoms to fuse. That's a fairly simple lab bench experiment. The problem is creating the right conditions where the fusion reaction is self-sustaining, with a net energy output. That means reaching temperatures of between 100 150 million C (180 270 million F), a pressure of five to 10 atmospheres at the point of reaction, and keeping a high-energy plasma stable for at least 10 seconds.The CEA seems to have done considerably better than 10 seconds and gone 25% beyond what China achieved in January 2025 with 1,066 seconds. In the latest test, the WEST Tokamak held its reaction for 1,337 seconds.The purpose of the test wasn't just to keep the plasma reaction going like a stage performer spinning plates. It was also to keep the reaction stable without the components in the reactor facing the plasma becoming eroded or polluted, or malfunctioning.WEST, the Tokamak reactor run by the CEA CEAAccording to CEA, the next step will be to create even longer reactions that could amount to a combined time of several hours, with the temperature growing increasingly hotter. Though WEST will never become a true commercial reactor, the information gathered there will be used to improve more ambitious machines, like the giant International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) being built in the south of France."WEST has achieved a new key technological milestone by maintaining hydrogen plasma for more than twenty minutes through the injection of 2 MW of heating power," said Anne-Isabelle Etienvre, Director of Fundamental Research at the CEA. "Experiments will continue with increased power. This excellent result allows both WEST and the French community to lead the way for the future use of ITER."Source: CEA

Patreon has continued on its crusade against algorithmic feeds with its latest State of Create report, a look at trends in the creator economy based on internal data, and its an effort creators can get behind.In its survey of 1000 creators and 2000 fans, the membership platform reported that 53% of creators think it is more difficult to reach their followers today than five years ago.This doesnt come as a surprise. Celebrities have fought against Instagrams video-centric, algorithmic feed, making it difficult even for the Kardashians to reach their fans. And if Kylie Jenner is having trouble connecting with her audience, then its even worse for creators who arent household names.Fans are frustrated with social platforms shift toward short-form video and the For You feed, which both have been pioneered by TikTok. According to Patreons survey, fans say that they are seeing more short-form content on social media than long-form content but 52% of fans said they find long-form content more valuable and that overall, they would be more willing to pay for it. Long-form content also tends to generate more income via ad revenue share on YouTube, since platforms continue to struggle with short-form content monetization.This is the fundamental tension of todays creator economy: platforms like TikTok have made it easier than ever to build an audience, but the sheer volume of algorithmically-served content means that once creators earn a fans attention, its hard to maintain it. If a fan follows a creator on TikTok or Instagram, they might not actually see the majority of that creators posts, since theyre drowned out by posts from people they dont follow.Thats why, as creators told Patreon, they now prioritize quality and deeper connections with fans over metrics like follower counts, likes, and views a shift from five years ago.When you focus on the platform mitigating the relationship between the creator and the subscriber, what youre essentially doing is giving the platform the power and the responsibility to decide what to send to whom, when, Patreon CEO Jack Conte told TechCrunch when Instagram made major changes to its algorithmic feed in 2022. And thats the part of it that makes me angry as a creator. Because Ive spent years, decades building communities on these platforms.As more creators than ever try to make a living on the internet, a clear path toward connecting with fans is essential to monetize their businesses. But the dominance of algorithms often obstructs that path, forcing them to adapt their content to fit platform preferences. In fact, 78% of creators in the report said that The Algorithm impacts what they create, and 56% admitted it has discouraged them from exploring their passions and interests.Those challenges are compounded by the broader instability of social media platforms themselves. With TikTok in legal jeopardy, Meta overhauling its content moderation precedents, and X platforming fringe extremism, creators are growing more frustrated with the current state of social media. Direct-to-consumer content platforms like Patreon, Substack, and OnlyFans have made it easier for creators to control their content and to make money, yet its becoming harder to connect with the people who want to pay for their content in the first place.The Algorithm doesnt measure what people want, said Karen X. Cheng, a Patreon creator, in the survey. It measures what people pay attention to.Topics

Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called Port Alpha, it announced yesterday, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion from its last round.Investor Elad Gil led the round, with General Catalyst joining existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Caffeinated Capital, among others.That should make Saronic the second, possibly third, most valuable defense tech startup in the U.S. after Andurils last round valued it at $14 billion. Shield AI could beat that, though, as it is reportedly in talks to hit a $5 billion valuation on a new round of funding. (Anduril is in talks to raise again at double its valuation, to $28 billion.)Saronic isnt the only defense tech darling with big manufacturing ambitions: Anduril, for example, announced plans to build a billion-dollar megafactory in Ohio last month. Saronic hasnt found a site for Port Alpha yet but is actively searching, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.Operations at the port, which Saronic is calling the shipyard of the future, are slated to begin within five years, Saronics co-founder and CEO Dino Mavrookas told Defense News.Saronic has already developed three models of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) that are up to 24 feet long about half as long as a modern lifeboat. But Saronic says the factory will also build large unmanned ships, while bolstering U.S. shipbuilding capacity compared to China.Unmanned ships are a hot trend in naval warfare, in part thanks to Ukraines successful use of drone ships to drive the Russian Navy out of Crimea, despite Ukraine having effectively no manned navy of its own.Saronic has now raised almost $850 million, Mavrookas said on CNBC, attributing the quadrupled valuation to Saronics speed at developing new vessels and software.Saronics raise is the latest sign that defense tech continues to hit new highs in Silicon Valley, buoyed by similar monster rounds.

A dreamy site-specific installation by New Yorkbased interdisciplinary artist Sanford Biggers illuminates the main chamber of the historic 1881 Sayles Hall at Brown University. The installation, Unsui (Cloud Forest), features 10 lighted cloud sculptures that are constructed out of aluminum, acrylic, and LED lights. Unsui, a Japanese word that translates into cloud, water, is used in Zen Buddhist tradition to refer to the wanderings of novice monks in search of their next teacher, or to any Zen practitioner who moves through life like a cloud, without being limited by attachments. The piece takes inspiration in part from Biggerss time studying Zen Buddhism in Japan. The cloud motif is something he frequently incorporates into his work. The theme will also appear in a new installation by Biggers debuting at Desert X this March.One of the impulses behind the installation was to create something that people can experience without any background information, said Biggers. They can make up their own impression and have their own experience that they can share with others.Biggers, who was a graffiti artist in his teens, has stylized the smooth faces of the clouds like an illustration. As light projects outward from the sculptures, shadows evade their flat surface. The effect is an almost cartoonish sky juxtaposed against the tangible history engrained in the wood rafters and stained glass windows surrounding it.The sculpturesmade of constructed out of aluminum, acrylic, and LED lightshang from the ceiling rafters. (Michael Vahrenwald/Brown University)Biggers was invited to create the work by artist and activist Carrie Mae Weems, who completed a campus residency with the Brown Arts Institute in 2023. Together, Biggers and arts leaders at Brown selected the 144-year-old Sayles Hall. I was thinking a lot about how bodies would move through the space and how its sort of a multi-purpose, multi-event space used by students, faculty, staff and visitors, Biggers said. Sayles Hall, a memorial to William Clark Sayles designed by Alpheus C. Morse, drew Biggers for many reasons including its history, patina and central location on Browns College Green. The space is most notable for two elements within: its housing of the oldest extant Hutchings-Votey organ in the world; and its display of a portrait collection of past university presidents, faculty members, and major benefactors. Through the installation, Biggers invites viewers to contemplate who is represented on the walls and who isnt.From the exterior of Sayles Hall, passersby can catch a glimpse of shape and light. (Michael Vahrenwald/Brown University)The Brown University Public Art Working Group, who reviewed Biggerss proposal, appreciate how the installation engages with the historic space without interfering with viewers experience of the portraits and other elements within it. We appreciated that Sanford was able to create a piece that is true to his artistic point of view but also resonated with the way the space has historically been used over many decades, shared Kate Kraczon, the Groups chair and chief curator for the Brown Arts Institute.Unsui (Cloud Forest) is expected to be on view through the end of 2025.

Lenovo's 12th-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon leverages a long list of design improvements to deliver a thoughtful and well-optimized product.

Large-scale shifts at US government agencies that monitor AI development are underway. Where does that leave AI regulation?

Former Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-ThatPatrick McMullan via Getty ImagesThe CEO of Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that sparked a 2020 controversy over its harvesting billions of social media images from the internet without users consent, has resigned, the company confirmed to Forbes.Clearview co-founder Hoan Ton-That stepped back as CEO in December and took on the role of president. Then, on Friday, following a Forbes inquiry, he told the company he was resigning, noting he was leaving to start the next chapter of my life. In a statement to Forbes, Ton-That said he would continue serving as a board member.Early investor and board member Hal Lambert took over as co-CEO in December, alongside cofounder Richard Schwartz, who is overseeing day-to-day operations, Lambert told Forbes in an interview. A former fundraiser for President Trump, Lambert said that he had stepped in to help Clearview with the new administration," adding, There's some opportunities there. I'm going to be helping with that effort.During Trumps first administration, officials pushed to expand biometric surveillance, particularly at the border where they argued it could be used to enforce immigration laws. Given the second administrations Make America Safe Again priorities and Trumps pledge to oversee the largest deportation in the history of our country, Lambert sees a big opportunity for Clearview. The policy is, we want to keep America safe, and technology is a way to do it, he said. Under the Trump administration, we would hope to grow more than we were able to under the Biden administrationWe're talking to the [Pentagon], we're talking to Homeland Security. There are a number of different agencies we're in active dialogue with.Ton-That has long been the public face of the Clearview and its facial recognition tool. Built on a database of billions of photos scraped from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other websites, the tool could be used to reveal just about anyone's true identity from a surveillance image in a matter of seconds. The tool was widely tested often without oversight or public disclosure by the Department of Justice, retailers like Best Buy and Macys, and law enforcement and government-affiliated agencies in dozens of countries, raising concerns that facial recognition could be deployed at a mass scale.Got a tip? Contact David Jeans at djeans@forbes.com or 347-559-5443 on Signal.After overseeing its contentious public debut in 2020, Ton-That and the company faced an avalanche of lawsuits from civil rights groups, who claimed it violated the privacy rights of people whose faces it had scraped from the internet. It reached a settlement in 2022 in Illinois, which still allowed the company to work with government agencies, and settled another group of lawsuits last year.Clearview, which claims a database of 60 billion images, subsequently committed to selling only to government agencies, primarily local law enforcement. The company has said its technology has been used to help solve cases involving terrorism, homicide, human trafficking, and child predation. And it secured contracts with the Ukrainian government to provide facial recognition services to help identify fallen soldiers. This could be a billion-plus or $2 billion annual recurring revenue company, Ton-That told one publication in August.But it was never able to develop a robust business selling to federal agencies under the Biden administration, which was concerned about the impact facial recognition might have on civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy were it to be embraced by the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. Clearviews head of sales to the Pentagon and intelligence community left in December.Clearview had $16 million in annual recurring revenue, according to Lambert; Much of this was generated by contracts with local law enforcement agencies. He hopes Clearview, which isnt profitable, will triple its revenue this year. The company considered raising debt financing last year, but opted against it, and now plans to raise equity this year. It last raised funding in 2021, a $30 million series B funding round that valued the company at $130 million. Other early investors include Peter Thiel and Naval Ravikant.The last four years, it's been very difficult on the federal side, Lambert said. We've had lawsuits and all the stuff that's going on that's really designed to hamper things and slow things down. So I think a lot of that is behind us.MORE AT FORBES

StrandsNYTLooking for Wednesdays Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:Okay I am going to classify this in the tough puzzle category, at least more so than usual, as it took every hint I could find to extract the answers from this one, and I think it may be the same for you. So here is some help.How To Play StrandsThe New York Times Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. Its in beta for now, which means itll only stick around if enough people play it every day.Theres a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and youll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.Youll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links two opposite sides of the board. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.Be warned: Youll need to be on your toes.Some themes are fill-in-the-blank phrases. They may also be steps in a process, items that all belong to the same category, synonyms or homophones, The New York Times notes. Just as she varies the difficulty of Wordle puzzles within a week, [Wordle and Strands editor Tracy] Bennett plans to throw Strands solvers curveballs every once in a while.What Is Todays Strands Hint?The NYT hint really tripped me up and was not helpful today, so hopefully mine will be better.Together for the PresentAnd mine is:Dont forget the giftThats enough to get you started.What Are Todays Strands Answers?The spangram is very helpful today, provided you can actually find it. At least a lot of the letters are in a line.ANNIVERSARYAnd heres where that lies on the board:Strands NYTAnd the answer list:FIRSTPAPERFIFTIETHGOLDSIXTIETHDIAMONDStrandsNYTSo, what the deal is here is they have three milestones for anniversaries, first, fiftieth and sixtieth, and these match up with different types of gifts or just classifications that match those anniversaries which match up with some tradition that I certainly do not know the origin of. This took forever to figure out and some outside research as well.Follow me , , and .Pick up my sci-fi novels the and

In brief: Despite the controversy surrounding generative AI, some game designers use the technology to brainstorm concepts during development. Microsoft's new open-source model aims to make this practice feasible for interactive content. It focuses on maintaining consistency across many frames while recognizing and integrating player input. Microsoft researchers recently introduced Muse, a generative AI model designed to extrapolate interactive video game scenarios from images, clips, and recorded player input. The tool aims to streamline game development while upholding ethical training practices. The weights, sample data, and interactive interface for Muse, which Microsoft calls a "World and Human Action Model," are now available on Azure AI Foundry. The developers discussed details of the technology on the company's research blog and in a newly published study in Nature.Following training on one million updates, Muse can faithfully predict up to half a minute of gameplay based on one second of actual footage and nine seconds of player input. Unlike prior models, where game details disappear or become distorted as soon as they leave the visible frame, Muse remembers details like terrain, characters, and game mechanics.n a video interview with Xbox head Phil Spencer, Dom Matthews from Ninja Theory explained that the company doesn't plan to use Muse to build content for end users. Instead, the studio plans to use it to help draft and iterate ideas by rapidly generating snapshots of a cohesive vision. It remains unclear whether other developers would follow a similar philosophy, but Microsoft won't mandate the use of its models across its studios.Some developers immediately expressed disinterest. David Goldfarb, who worked on Battlefield, Mass Effect, and Killzone, offered a brief, dismissive response. Marc Burrage from Creative Assembly told Wired that even restricting generative AI to the prototyping stage can harm game development by robbing employees of hands-on experience.Click to enlargeSpencer optimistically speculated that technologies like Muse might facilitate game preservation by helping developers port older titles to modern devices. Microsoft has frequently promised to preserve its customers' digital libraries across hardware generations, but it remains to be seen whether regenerating them with AI can produce satisfactory results. Frank Cifaldi from the Video Game History Foundation isn't as optimistic, comparing the idea to a photocopy of a painting. // Related StoriesMicrosoft also faced harsh criticism regarding Muse's training data. Much of the harsh controversy facing AI models stems from companies using material from across the internet without the original creators' consent. Microsoft sidestepped the issue by training Muse on games it already owns.The initial demonstration used player telemetry data from Ninja Theory's multiplayer shooter, Bleeding Edge. Users who agreed to the game's EULA have already consented to help train Muse. Theoretically, the company could extend the practice to popular titles like Minecraft, Call of Duty, Halo, Overwatch, StarCraft, Doom, or Forza.