Best practices in prompt engineering for the latest advances in generative AI and agentic AIs.gettyIn todays column, I identify and showcase a new prompting approach that serves to best make use of multi-agentic AI.The deal is this. We are increasingly going to witness the advent of agentic AI, consisting of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) that perform a series of indicated tasks. Turns out that there are going to be quite a number of these agentic AIs. The question then becomes how you can suitably compose prompts that will invoke the right set of agentic AIs to get whatever work you want done.There could very well be dozens, hundreds, or thousands of agent AIs to call upon. Your prompting must make sure to hit the nail on the head, otherwise, youll potentially invoke agentic AIs that you didnt need to engage, plus you might miss the boat and fail to invoke agentic AIs that you should have involved.Lets talk about it.This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here).Prompt Engineering Meets Agentic AIReaders might recall that I previously posted an in-depth depiction of over fifty prompt engineering techniques and methods, see the link here. Top-notch prompt engineers know that seriously learning a wide array of researched and proven prompting techniques is the best way to get the most out of generative AI and likely garner you some good bucks for your skilled deeds.A new twist to the prompt engineering field is the emergence of agentic AI.Ill get started by discussing what agentic AI consists of.Imagine that you are using generative AI to plan a vacation trip. You would customarily log into your generative AI account such as making use of ChatGPT, GPT-4o, o1, o3, Claude, Gemini, Llama, etc. The planning of your trip would be easy-peasy due to the natural language fluency of generative AI. All you need to do is describe where you want to go, and then seamlessly engage in a focused dialogue about the pluses and minuses of places to stay and the transportation options available.When it comes to booking your trip, the odds are you would have to exit generative AI and start accessing the websites of the hotels, amusement parks, airlines, and other locales to buy your tickets. Few of the major generative AI available today will take that next step on your behalf. It is up to you to perform those nitty-gritty tasks.This is where agents and agentic AI come into play.In earlier days, you would undoubtedly phone a travel agent to make your bookings. Though there are still human travel agents, another avenue would be to use an AI-based travel agent that is based on generative AI.The agentic AI has the interactivity that you expect with generative AI. It also has been preloaded with a series of routines or sets of tasks that perform the efforts of a travel agent. Using everyday natural language, you interact with the agentic AI which works with you on your planning and can proceed to deal with the booking of your travel plans.Voila, this agentic AI proceeds to undertake a series of efforts to fulfill your travel booking request.Multi-Agentic AI Is Even BetterIf one agentic AI is a good thing, we might as well up the ante and aim to leverage a multitude of agentic AIs. The world is headed toward having a zillion agentic AI agents that do this or that. I assure you; this is going to make everyones head spin. There will be more AI agents than you can poke a stick at.The good news is that there will be plenty of agentic AIs to pick from. Riches aplenty. The bad news, as it were, will be that trying to determine which ones to invoke is going to be a bear.Imagine that you enter a prompt that invokes a slew of agentic AI agents. If youve inadvertently invoked some that dont need to be used, thats bad for you. The odds are that youll need to pay for their usage, regardless of whether it was of use to you. There is also a solid chance that an agent AI that wasnt relevant could end up messing with whatever you were trying to undertake.The other side of that coin is when your prompt doesnt invoke AI agents that you should have engaged. Oopsie, now the problem will be that your solving efforts might falter. A crucial AI agent that should have gotten underway was not activated. Like a weak link in a long chain, the lack of invoking even one of the needed AI agents might produce either no answer or a faulty answer.For my latest coverage on the emerging role of said-to-be orchestration for multi-agentic AI, see the link here.Making Sure To Sit In The Right SeatDuring my classes on prompt engineering, I emphasize that when it comes to composing prompts that are associated with multi-agent AI, you can think of the situation as consisting of two major approaches.The two approaches are:(1) Drivers seat. It is on your shoulders to directly identify in your prompt which AI agents you want to invoke. Make sure to name them properly. Make sure to specify the needed sequence, etc. If you are ambiguous, the chances are that the agentic AIs wont get suitably engaged.(2) Passengers seat. You tell generative AI in your prompt the overall nature of the task or tasks that you want to have undertaken. There is no need to specify which AI agents are to be used. You leave that up to the generative AI to decide.There are tradeoffs between those two approaches.The drivers seat is handy because you are explicitly stipulating the AI agents and how they are to be made use of. In a sense, this lessens the chances of some messiness if you were to allow generative AI to take the reins and ascertain which agents ought to be used. You are driving the car. Period, end of story.Being a driver of a car can be burdensome.Instead, sometimes its great to be a passenger. You simply say where you want to go and let the generative AI figure out the rest for you. This entails broadly stating what task or tasks are to be performed. The generative AI will hopefully do a bang-up job of selecting suitable agents and getting them going correctly.Sometimes you should use the drivers seat style, other times you should use the passengers seat style. It all depends on the circumstance at hand.Rules Of The Two ApproachesIn a moment, I will walk you through some illustrative examples so that you can plainly see what the prompting looks like.Before we get there, I would like to add some rules of thumb that I explain in my courses. There are five rules that are associated with each of the two approaches. Please know that many more rules are possible. Ive condensed this to the key five rules per each approach.My Drivers seat rules are as follows.Category 1: User is in the drivers seat (manual selection of AI agents)(1) Make sure to explicitly indicate the name of the AI agent and what you want it to do for you.(2) Think carefully beforehand about the sequence of AI agents that youll want to invoke.(3) Find out what inputs and outputs they each have and whether they data-connect with fellow agents.(4) Dig into the possible actions each agent performs and ascertain what overlap there might be.(5) Practice using the AI agents so that youll be ready when you truly need to use them.My Passengers seat rules are as follows.Category 2: User is in the passenger seat (supervising AI makes agent selections)(1) Specify the task you want to have undertaken and dont worry about which AI agents need to be used (let the supervising AI handle that).(2) Tell the supervising AI about any priorities or issues that ought to be on the table.(3) If you think it is valuable to know, ask which agents the supervising AI has decided to make use of.(4) The agents might provide explanations but usually only if requested, so give the supervising AI a heads-up before you let it proceed on the task at hand.(5) Expect to iterate with the supervising AI to get things aligned and properly settled.You will see these come into play in the examples I am about to showcase.Multi-Agent ScenarioLets lay out a multi-agent AI scenario that is relatively straightforward. This will allow me to then indicate various prompts associated with the situation at hand.The domain Ive chosen has to do with using generative AI and agentic AI to help with doing coding, programming, or developing software. As you look at the examples, generalize since the same precepts apply to using agentic AI in other domains. I just picked coding because it is fresh on my mind and something that I use AI with all the time.Envision that there are these five AI agents that you can invoke:(1) CodeFixer: An AI agent that debugs and optimizes programming code.(2) CodeReviewer: An AI agent that reviews code for best practices and maintainability.(3) BugHunter: An AI agent that Identifies security vulnerabilities and logic errors in code.(4) PerfAnalyzer: An AI agent that evaluates code performance and recommends optimizations.(5) DocWriter: An AI agent that generates documentation for codebases.It is important for you to know something about the nature of the AI agents and any conditions associated with them. Lets consider those various aspects.You can use any of those AI agents. There isnt a requirement that you use them, instead, they are merely available in case you would like to use them. Each one is a distinct or separate agent. The good news is that they readily share data with each other. They will automatically do so, and you dont have to give any specific instructions to them in that regard.None of the AI agents will automatically invoke another one. It is up to the mainstay invoker to specify a sequence of agents to be invoked when needed, and the mainstay invoker stipulates what the desired sequence is.There is some overlap among the AI agents. For example, CodeReviewer reviews code and could potentially identify security vulnerabilities during that review process, while BugHunter explicitly seeks to find security vulnerabilities and will doggedly try to discover them. They both touch upon security. Another example is that CodeFixer optimizes code, and so does PerfAnalyzer. Keep in mind those overlaps and decide which of the AI agents you think will best befit your needs.Drivers Seat ExampleThe easiest showcase consists of my taking the drivers seat. In my prompt, I will tell generative AI which of the agent AIs are to be invoked. In a sense, generative AI is merely a conduit and will proceed to execute the agentic AIs as I have stipulated in my prompt.Here we go.My entered prompt: I need some help with my Python script. It runs, but I think its a bit slow and might have some bugs. Please run agent CodeFixer. After doing so, run agent BugHunter. Next, run PerfAnalyzer since I want to then see if the code runs faster and seems to be hopefully bug-free. Thats it, let me know once the sequence has been completed.Generative AI response: I will invoke in this order CodeFixer, BugHunter, and then PerfAnalyzer. Once they have completed, I will show you the result. Did you want to also run DocWriter so that youll get a full set of documentation?My entered prompt: Youve got the correct sequence, thanks. No need to additionally run DocWriter at this time. I might use it after Ive seen the results of the other three AI agents.Generative AI response: Got it, proceeding.Observe that generative AI sought to clarify what I wanted to have done and gave me a helpful recap. This is useful since I might have blundered or forgotten to invoke an agentic AI that would be important to use. Likewise, generative AI might have misinterpreted my prompt and improperly laid out what needed to be done.Generative AI tried to double-check my request and suggested that an additional agentic AI be run. I told the generative AI that running the additional AI agent wasnt necessary in this instance.Nice to see that AI had my back.Happy face.Passengers Seat ExampleIn this next example, I want to do the same thing I did above, but this time I am going to let generative AI determine which agentic AIs to invoke. I am in the proverbial passengers seat. Leave the driving to AI. Thats sometimes a huge convenience.Here we go.My entered prompt: I need some help with my Python script. It runs, but I think its a bit slow and might have some bugs. Could you invoke AI agents that will help me out?Generative AI response: Got it. I interpret your prompt to mean that I am to run these AI agents in this sequence: CodeFixer, BugHunter, PerfAnalyzer, and then DocWriter. I believe that will sufficiently find bugs, figure out where the code can be sped up, and do a performance analysis after making coding changes, plus youll get a full set of documentation. Shall I proceed?My entered prompt: Thanks for telling me what you are planning to do. I dont need the full set of documentation currently so nix that part of the effort.Generative AI response: Okay, I wont run DocWriter which would have produced the documentation. The others I will go ahead and get going. Once they complete, Ill let you know.You can see that the generative AI told me which of the various available AI agents it was anticipating running. Whether you care to know or not, thats up to you. You can explicitly tell the generative AI to simply get going and not explain what it is going to do.Generally, my preference is to have generative AI tell me what it is planning to do. In this instance, the generative AI was going to run the DocWriter agent. I dont need that right now. Running it would have needlessly increased my billing charges -- I only run DocWriter once Im sure my code is done and ready to be shipped.Avoid Passengers Seat Of Inadequate DirectionIf you are opting to use the passengers seat approach, make sure to be overt about wanting to use agentic AI. I mention this because your prompt might otherwise be overly vague, and the generative AI wont catch your drift.Look at this example.My entered prompt: I need some help with my Python script.Generative AI response: I am happy to help you with your Python script. There are several AI agents that I have available to undertake debugging and optimizing code, reviewing code, finding security issues, doing performance analyses, and producing documentation. Ill need to know more about what kind of help you are interested in. What do you have in mind?My entered prompt: Im not exactly sure what help I need. All I know is that the code runs slowly and seems to have some bugs in it.Generative AI response: Got it, I know what to do. I will make use of a series of agents and get back to you with their results. Once you see the results, we can discuss whether there are other agents that I might further employ to help you with your Python code. How does that seem?My entered prompt: Thats a great plan. Please get underway.In this case, the generative AI luckily opted to ask me for some well-needed clarification.The problem with my vague help me with my Python script is that the generative AI could have gone in a wide array of directions. Maybe the generative AI would try to solve the issue directly and not invoke any AI agents. Perhaps the generative AI would simply sympathize with my plight and say something trite like dont get down about needing help writing your code.Remember, using generative AI is like a box of chocolates you never know for sure what you might get out of a prompt. Try to always be as specific as you can.Latest Research On Multi-Agent AIThe AI research community is pushing mightily ahead on the intricacies of multi-agent AI. You can expect new insights to arise nearly daily. I strive to bring the especially notable ones to your attention.Speaking of which, a recent research paper entitled AgentRec: Agent Recommendation Using Sentence Embeddings Aligned to Human Feedback by Joshua Park and Yongfeng Zhang, arXiv, January 23, 2025, made these salient points (excerpts):Multi-agent systems must decide which agent is the most appropriate for a given task.However, most research that has been done on this subject often executes these agents in a rigid order and can only allow for a certain class of questions as there is no robust way of flexibly determining which agents out of a large selection of unrelated agents are most suited to perform the given task.To solve this issue, we contribute AgentReca scalable, fast, and efficient method of selecting an agent to perform a task given a natural language prompt.The following agents are: (1) tech support agent, (2) cooking agent, (3) math agent, (4) gaming agent, (5) therapy agent, (6) reading agent, (7) health agent, and (8) fitness agent. Some agents were selected to be as unrelated as possible from other agentssuch as the cooking agentwhereas some agents were selected to have a soft overlap of their expertise domain such as the health and fitness agents.The dataset represented 8 agents of varying general topics with 1,250 prompts each, making the total number of prompts 10,000.By using sentence embeddings, we are able to extract the semantic content of a natural language prompt relevant to selecting an agent and compare it to a labeled corpus of synthetically generated prompts that specific agents are expected to be able to answer in under 300 milliseconds for 8 agents with a top-1 test accuracy of 92.2%.I thought you might find this particular study of keen interest due to the use of a specialized method for selecting AI agents.Another factor I liked was that they did an interesting experiment consisting of eight AI agents and invoking them via thousands of prompts. Doing this in the large helps to identify what works and doesnt work in the long run.Generative AI Becoming VersedAn imperative aspect of the above research study is that there is a solid chance of purposely getting generative AI to be especially good at selecting which AI agents ought to be run for a given request by a user. We can lean into the pattern-matching facility of generative AI to do so.It goes this way.Feed lots of examples of prompts and subsequent agentic AI choices into generative AI for a data training exercise (essentially, pairs that align). Generative AI will hone in on which prompts are best fitting for which agentic AI selections. After enough data training, the idea is that the prompt you enter as a passengers seat style approach will be suitably matched to which agentic AIs should be invoked. Thus, the generative AI will do better than mere chance since it has been specially data-trained accordingly.I expect well see a lot more of this as a means of inching generative AI toward the best or some optimal selection of AI agents.Now that you know about invoking multi-agent AIs and the kinds of prompts to be used, I would urge you to consider practicing doing so. Practice makes perfect. Practice, practice, practice.Admittedly, practicing is a bit challenging right now because few of the major generative AI apps are directly allowing users to invoke AI agents. Some of the generative AI apps will invoke them on your behalf, but not even necessarily tell you when this is being done, nor which ones are being invoked. It is all a mixed bag. Rapid changes are happening.Best of luck and you might keep the famous words of Abraham Lincoln in mind: The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.That equally applies to the advent of multi-agentic AI.

Attendees take pictures of a display of newly redesigned MacBook Air laptops during the WWDC22 ... [+] (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Getty ImagesApple is on a roll with new product launches to open up 2025. The most notable so far has been the iPhone 16e; a not-quite replacement for the iPhone SE that offers the standard iPhone experience without too many bells or whistles while keeping the price as competitive as Apple needs it to be. The next big-ticket item is the M4-powered MacBook Air.The MacBook Airs M4 DelayIts the last of the macOS laptops to receive the M4 Apple Silicon chipset. The M4 was launched in May 2024 and has since found its way into the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, iMac and mac Mini products. The MacBook Air, arguably Apples best-selling consumer Mac, is currently absent from that line-up.This ten-month lag between launching the M4 and adding it to the MacBook Air has several advantages for Apple. By launching an M4 MacBook Air just now, it will still be seen as part of the current M4 generation, yet the M4 is approaching its end of retail pole position. Everyone is expecting the M5 to arrive at Mays Worldwide Developers Conference.In essence, Apple has dragged out the timeline of the MacBook Air, so the new hardware is close to being a year old. That offers financial benefits in the bill of materials and some important psychological space in the product matrix.Selling The MacBook AirApple has always struggled to find an argument for the MacBook Pro with the vanilla M-series chipset. For many, the slight performance upgrade over an equivalent M-series MacBook Air made little sense. With the M4 series, the M4 MacBook Pro has become the de facto entry-level M4 chipset MacBook.Its a much easier device to sell for those looking for the newest and latest hardware when the M4 MacBook Air is not around. The MacBook Air maintains the psychologically locked-in starting price of $999, even while the MacBook Pro starts off the current M4 generation at $1599.For those who keep up with the digerati and want a Mac with the biggest number, Apple is pushing the MacBook Airway from the fashionable end of the market into the functional end. Those who want the aura will want the latest hardware. Right now, thats M4. In a few short months, it will be M5. And the MacBook Air M4 wont cut it any more.Making The MacBook Air Stand OutCreating distance between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro used to be a matter of increased performance and potential. That was certainly the case when Apple used Intel chipsets in the MacBook. The introduction of Apple Silicon equalised the Air and Pro laptops and lifted the performance ahead of the Intel-powered competition.Since then, there has been little to tell the M-series MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops apart; both were using the vanilla M-series chipset, both had broadly similar I/O ports, both had broadly similar potential, and the key difference was the fifteen to twenty percent performance boost the addition of a cooling fan in the MacBook Pro offered. And for the majority of consumers, that extra power was not needed. The MacBook Air was seen as sufficient.If the average consumer on the street isnt chasing power, then theres no need to have a MacBook Air matching the ultimate power of the day. Rolling back one generation of chipsets will not impact their experience. Still, it will create more space in the portfolio, create demand for the more expensive M4 MacBook Pro, and reduce Apples costs when parts are becoming pricier and a looming trade war between China and the US could impact margins.And all Tim Cook and his team had to do was wait a year.Now, read the latest MacBook Air, iPhone, and AirPods headlines in Forbes weekly Apple news digest...

In celebration of Pokmon Day, Pokmon TCG Pocketplayers have a brand new booster set named Triumphant Light that is already crumbling the old meta. It has delivered a slew of new and exciting Pokmon cards to play with that will serve you well in battle.With a total of 96 cards to receive or craft, its hard to figure out which will be the best for winning battles. Luckily, were here to help, so if youre ready to leave behind the Space-Time Smackdown boosters and jump into the new set, here are the best Triumphant Light cards in Pokmon TCG Pocket.Recommended VideosArceus exThe Pokemon CompanyWithout a doubt, Arceus ex is one of the strongest new cards in the game. This four-diamond rarity card has a decent 140 HP, and its main move can use three of any Energy type. Ultimate Force dishes out 70 damage and will deal 20 more damage for each of your Benched Pokmon.RelatedOne of the best aspects of Arceus ex is its passive ability, Fabled Luster. This makes it so Arceus ex cant be affected by any Special Conditions. This card is practically unstoppable with the right build.Leafeon exThe Pokemon CompanyAnother great new ex card in Triumphant Light is Leafeon ex. It also has 140 HP and requires three Energy, one being Grass, to deal 70 damage. While it may seem like just another ex card, the Leafeon ex deck is now at the top of the battle meta.This is due to its Forest Breath ability that allows it to take a Grass Energy from the Energy Zone once during your turn if its in the active spot. It doesnt just have to attach it to itself, you can attach the Grass Energy to any of your Grass Pokmon. This is great for setting up another card thats Benched with extra Energy.IridaThe Pokemon CompanyThe Irida Supporter card has skyrocketed to the top of the list for best Trainer cards. Shes perfect for any Water deck and can replace Potion cards with her healing ability.Irida can heal 40 damage from any of your Pokmon that have Water Energy attached. So even if its not a Water-type card, but it has a Water Energy on it, Irida can still heal it. This is great for when you have a bunch of Pokmon cards with low health at one time.RaichuThe Pokemon CompanyTriumphant Lights Raichu card is one of the more underrated from the set. Although it only has 90 health, it has some incredible abilities that can turn it into a tank.Resilience Link allows Raichu to take -30 damage from an attack if you have Arceus or Arceus ex in play. Also, its Spark move only requires two Lightning Energy, it deals 40 damage, and will inflict 20 extra damage to one of your opponents Benched Pokmon. Its a perfect addition to your Arceus ex build.Garchomp exThe Pokemon CompanyGarchomp ex is a heavy-hitter Fighter Pokmon card that can crush your opponent easily. Its a beefy fighter with 170 HP, and it has two different attacks. Linear Attack only requires one Fighter Energy and will dish out 50 damage to one of your opponents Pokmon.Then theres Dragon Claw with uses three Energy to deal a whopping 100 damage to your opponents Active Pokmon. Both these attacks have nice versatility, giving you a range of options for defeating the Pokmon in play from your opponent.CrobatThe Pokemon CompanyCrobat has some incredible abilities that mimic ex cards, but its just a simple Stage 2 card that evolves from Golbat. It has 110 HP, and its Darkness Fang attack deals 50 damage just from one Dark Energy.Its shining ability is Cunning Link, which allows it to do an extra 30 damage to your opponents Active Pokmon. Crobat can do this once per turn, but you have to have Arceus or Arceus ex in play. This is just another great card to throw in an Arceux ex deck.TyranitarThe Pokemon CompanyTyranitar is yet another great card to have alongside Arceus ex, and it would also pair well as a Fighter Pokmon with Garchomp ex. Its health is chunky at 160, and its powerful Land Crush attack deals 130 damage with four Energy.Power Link is one of its abilities that only comes into play if you have Arceus or Arceus ex on the board. Tyranitar can use this ability to deal 30 more damage when it attacks the opponents Active Pokmon. Use this Pokmon card if you want a strong Fighter deck to crush your opponents with.SudowoodoThe Pokemon CompanySudowoodo is another underrated Pokmon card from the Triumphant Light set that can work well in a Fighter deck alongside Tyranitar and Garchomp ex. It has 80 HP, which isnt terrible for a Basic Pokmon if you play it first.This is especially true with its Fighting Headbutt move that only needs one Fighter Energy. While it deals a base of 20 damage, if your opponents Active Pokmon just so happens to be an ex, itll deal 30 more damage. That can make a huge difference when youre up against a more powerful Pokmon card.HoundoomThe Pokemon CompanyYou may not think Houndoom is a good card, but its a great addition to a Fire deck as a Stage 1 Pokmon with 100 HP. It only has one move, but if youre short on Energy, it only requires two, one of them being Fire.Corner will deal 60 damage, and on top of that, the Defending Pokmon cant retreat during your opponents next turn. Its a pretty decent card against a player who likes to run away when their Pokmons health gets too low, allowing you to literally corner them.AdamanThe Pokemon CompanyIrida is the shining Trainer card in this pack, but Adaman takes a close second place. Hes perfect to add to any Steel decks since he can protect against incoming damage from the opposing player.When you use Adaman, all of your Steel Pokmon during your opponents next turn will take -20 damage from their attacks. If youre worried about getting knocked down, this is a good card to play to keep yourself shielded from high-damage attacks.Editors Recommendations

Ask anyMonster Hunter Wilds player and they will tell you that the most important tip and trick to know is how vital it is to always upgrade your gear. There are no levels like a normal RPG, so the only way to get stronger is to forge better weapons and armor at the blacksmith. Like almost every game, you cant just make better gear for free. It costs you money and the raw materials to make it. One of the early materials you will need to get is iron. Unlike monster parts, you need to go out of your way to find deposits of iron to mine to get your hands on it. If youre at a loss for where to track down this ore, heres where you can find iron in Monster Hunter Wilds.CapcomIron is a very common resource in the starting area of Monster Hunter Wilds, Windward Plains, but it also shows up in Scarlet Forest. You can see it as a big blue geode on the ground and a blue icon on your map. The easiest way to locate them on your map is to open your map and open the Filter Iconsmenu. Turn everything off except for theMining Outcropicons. Then, all you need to do is find an iron one on your map, set a waypoint, and have your Seikret take you there.Recommended VideosYou do not need to have a pickaxe or special tool to mine iron. Just approach the outrop and press the interact button to start chipping away at it. Each one can give you three iron, so dont stop mashing the button until you fully drain it.Editors Recommendations

Japan holds a special place in my heart because I taught English straight out of college. My wife and I took our kids to Japan for a wedding. We learned that Japan is a great destination for little kids. One of the greatest joys of my life has been traveling with my family, especially to other countries. Japan has an especially important place in my heart I lived in Japan and taught English there for my first job out of college, and I still have wonderful friends in Tokyo. Japan has also given my family some of our happiest travel memories.In October 2017, my wife and I traveled to Tokyo for the wedding of two of our Japanese friends. We brought our two kids, who were ages 9 and 7 at the time. Before the trip, I worried that the crowds and bustle would be intimidating for young kids under the age of 10.But I was wrong Japan might be the perfect travel destination for families with young kids.Here are a few of the happiest memories from my family's travels in Japan.Tokyo is a kid-friendly cityTokyo is a fascinating, massive, futuristic, neon megalopolis, but it's also safe, clean, peaceful, orderly, and fun for kids to explore. Japan is so safe that young children often ride the subway alone while going to and from school.Our kids felt comfortable in Tokyo. They loved the interesting, colorful Japanese vending machines dispensing hot tea or cold lemonade bottles. They enjoyed choosing sushi rolls and baked goods from Japanese convenience stores ("Konbini"). They loved looking at Japanese arts and crafts, toys, and souvenir treasures at local shops in the neighborhood of Shinjuku where we stayed. We loved walking as a family in Tokyo's gorgeous parks and shrines, like Meiji Jingu, offering sanctuary and quiet spaces.Tokyo is easy to navigate, with great public transitFrom our first train journey into the city on the "Narita Express" from Tokyo Narita International Airport, our kids were fascinated by the easy-to-use, on-time Japanese train systems. It was fun giving our kids their own little tickets for each subway ride, showing them the complex web of Tokyo subway maps, and helping them listen for the name of each stop to be called out in Japanese on the subway intercom.Tokyo has lots of cute places to visitJapanese culture has created so many popular imaginative universes, like anime and Hello Kitty. The best of Japanese pop culture is easily within reach when you travel to Tokyo, with fun spots like the Ghibli Museum for fans of movies like "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro."Our favorite place for kids in Tokyo was KidZania, an immersive, impressively detailed children's museum and "kid city," where kids could do various real-life "jobs" like bread baker, magician, firefighter, or Tokyo Gas engineer. Our kids met and played with many Japanese kids their age and were guided by friendly, English-speaking Japanese staff. Best of all, KidZania had an in-house caf where moms and dads could relax with a cup of coffee.Japanese hospitality culture is warm and welcomingEvery meal in Japan was delicious! Our kids especially enjoyed conveyor belt sushi ("kaitenzushi"), the hole-in-the-wall ramen shop that our friends took us to, and the izakaya restaurant where we could all choose multiple small plates (kind of like Japanese tapas) and eat family-style. We felt well-fed and well cared for at every meal in Japan.Japan is a magical place of exciting sights, wonderful food, and friendship. It was an honor to see It with my family, vicariously through the eyes of my children and nostalgically through the eyes of my own younger self. I hope to visit Tokyo again sometime soon in the next few years.

The 97th Academy Awards will premiere on Sunday.Prediction markets are picking "Anora" will win Best Picture.Polymarket correctly predicted Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election win.Betters are banking on Sean Baker's "Anora" to win big at the 97th Academy Awards.Hollywood stars will descend upon the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday to attend the Oscars. Emmy Award-winning late-night host Conan O'Brien will host the ceremony. There are nine films nominated for Best Picture this year, including "The Substance," "Dune: Part Two," "Wicked," and "Emilia Prez."Prediction markets have suggested that "Anora," starring Mikey Madison, will take home the prize. Mikey Madison starred in "Anora," which scored a 2025 Oscar nomination. Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images Prediction markets allow people to purchase and sell contracts based on the projected outcome of a specific event.Events could be anything from daily weather predictions to who will win the 2024 US presidential election. Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi correctly signaled Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris last November (although they got it wrong during the 2022 midterms).On Kalshi, "Anora" is predicted to win at 65% at the time of writing. Users on Kalshi are predicting that "Anora" will win at the Oscars on Sunday. Kalshi Purchasing a "Yes" contract on Kalshi costs 65 cents, while a "No" contract costs 37 cents.Users placed similar bets on Polymarket, where "Anora" is expected to win the award at 65%. On Polymarket, buying a "Yes" contract costs 65 cents, while a "No" contract costs 36 cents. Polymarket users predict that "Anora" will win Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars. Polymarket "Anora" premiered in 2024 at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Since then, the film and its cast have snagged several awards. Madison won a BAFTA award for Best Leading Actress.Both prediction markets placed political thriller "Conclave" and "The Brutalist" behind "Anora."Supporters of prediction markets believe they can be more accurate than traditional polls because they are quicker to adapt to new information and users are directly invested in the outcome.Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said on an episode of The New York Times podcast, "Hard Fork," last month that prediction markets are "the future."Representatives for FilmNation Entertainment, which produced "Anora," did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Disneys live-action remake ofSnow Whitearrives this month, and you know what that means. Its time to push out some toys for the kids. Mattel has debuted several limited-edition, fully poseable dolls inspired by the hero (played by Rachel Zegler) and villain (Gal Gadot) of the upcoming film. Snow Whites doll features her in the blue and yellow gown with puffy sleeves, a red hooded cape, bow headband, and crimson shoes. Meanwhile, the Evil Queen doll puts her in the sparkling purple gown, a collared black cape, and a crown inspired by stained glass. Both dolls also come with extra goodies befitting their respective natures: the Queen has a scepter, her pet vulture, and a half-eaten apple, while Snow White has the uneaten apple and two birds that rest on her shoulders. Disney/Mattel The dolls will cost $75 each at the big retailersboth of Amazons pages are up, while Target and Walmarts currently arent) and come in collectors edition packaging with illustrated background panels. The New York Toy Fair is going on this weekend, so you might find pictures of them online, along with any other toys Mattel may have whipped up ahead of the films release. Disneys been surprisingly quiet with promoting Snow Whitemore than its previous live-action remakesover the holidays, it felt like you couldnt take two steps without hearing about lions wanting a brothaaaaaaaaaaor other movies likeMoana 2. Thats either indicative of the films quality, or maybe theyre focusing their efforts on hyping upThunderbolts* and similarly hiding the upcomingLilo & Stitchremake. Either way, well find out whenSnow Whitehits theaters on March 21. [via The Hollywood Reporter] 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.

qiyu Hair Salon / FATHOMArchitects: FATHOMAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:45 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 Lead Architects: FATHOM Text description provided by the architects. A project to open a hair salon in Hiroshima by a couple who run a modelling and hairstylist business from two bases in Tokyo and Hiroshima. They live apart from each other and can only spend a short time together, so they wondered if they could project their lives between Tokyo and Hiroshima into the space of their shop, which is not their home.The property is located on the fifth floor of a small building facing Namiki-dori in Hiroshima City. It is inconspicuous from the street, with a small common space off the elevator. At first, we felt that it was a little inadequate, considering the potential the two of us had. So, we thought about whether it would be possible to create a space that would instantly convey to visitors the world view that the two of them have woven together the moment they open the door while keeping the building's design close to the approach and daring to shut out information about the shop.Save this picture!We secured four cutting spaces and two shampoo units, the maximum number that can be taken in a 45sqm space, and placed a large reception counter at the end of the entrance door to create a floating space. We named this space "the yuqi table" so that when the wife returns from Tokyo, she can try various things, such as a pop-up store. The cloakroom is made of acrylic to make its presence transparent and light, as the small space is filled with voluminous objects such as chairs and counters.An H-shaped timber frame made of wood, resembling an H-shaped steel frame, was devised for the skeleton of the restored building frame. The counter of the yuqi table is supported by this frame, which is connected to the husband's cutting space, where a mirror is suspended from the beam frame, and the pillars have a face stand and sockets attached to them. I hope that the electric current circulates through the frame like blood so that the two people, who live in different places and have different jobs, can work here as husband and wife, feeling connected to each other as if their blood is flowing under their consciousness.The moment you open the entrance door, you are immediately struck by the sight of a couple who live far away from each other being able to connect for a moment, a new business interwoven with a lifestyle that is still rare in Hiroshima. By creating a hub in the space where the couple work as they travel between Tokyo and Hiroshima, we believe that the lifestyle they weave together will become a unique culture, and if it can be derived and spread in various ways in Hiroshima, the city will become more interesting.Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeFATHOMOfficePublished on March 01, 2025Cite: "qiyu Hair Salon / FATHOM" 01 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1027472/qiyu-hair-salon-fathom&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

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