Architectural education is an important part of becoming an architect. It provides a foundation in art and architectural history, basic concepts of design, and foundational technical knowledge. It promotes critical thinking, examines social and economic complexities, and encourages creativity and teamwork. I may be biased, but I believe the camaraderie and pride that are part of architectural students’ design studio experience are unmatched by any other educational program.    In this issue of the AIA Canada Journal, Pauline Thimm, Hannah Allawi and I reached out to schools of architecture from across the country. Our conversations centred on research themes in today’s design studios, with a focus on housing affordability. Students and faculties are actively engaging in challenging the status quo on the shortage of housing. It takes a village to derive plausible solutions—and schools of architecture across the country are united in bringing their voices and minds to this pressing issue. In a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-supported partnership, AIA Canada Society is also actively participating in research on designing inclusive, sustainable and healthy cities.  We want to thank all the educators who took time to speak with us and provide their invaluable insights.  -Dora Ng, AIA Canada Society President Rick Haldenby Professor, School of Architecture, University of Waterloo Rick Haldenby, FRAIC, served as Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo from 1988 to 2013, and founded the Waterloo Rome Program in 1979. Among many accomplishments, Haldenby was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2021, and has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Council of University Schools of Architecture, the Special Jury Prize at the Kitchener Waterloo Arts Awards, and the Dr. Jean Steckle Award for Heritage Education from the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation. Q: Kitchener-Waterloo is known as a university town that is home to top Ontario post-secondary institutions. Tell us a bit about the twin cities. A: The Waterloo Region’s industrial development began with the arrival of German-speaking immigrants in the 19th century. Its cities were literally “founded on factories.” Its prosperity was influenced by a rail-based transport system. In the late 19th century, the extension of the Grand Trunk Railway contributed to the industrialization of the area. In the 1950s, visionary community leaders made concerted efforts to build educational infrastructure, and in just a few years created the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College. The region experienced significant growth in manufacturing industries, insurance companies, and high-tech businesses over time. Home to two universities and a college, it is an education hub that attracts talents and businesses, which increases the demand for housing for students and families. The once-suburban neighbourhood of Northdale, surrounded by these post-secondary institutions, saw a surge in student population in the early 2000s, including a large percentage of international students. We saw a building boom to increase medium-density housing like stacked townhomes and row houses, as well as taller buildings up to 30+ stories in what was once a primarily low-density town. Q:  Like the building boom in Waterloo, we saw many residential high-rises going up in the GTA, but this growth still does not adequately address housing demand. In many cities across Canada, there are unprecedented housing issues including affordability and homelessness. What do you see emerging as key areas of interest and inquiry among students at your school? Is housing one of them? A: Connection between affordability and homelessness is not a one-to-one problem. The housing crisis can have many dimensions. In our undergraduate design studios, we are laying the groundwork for approaches to affordability, environmental responsibility and social justice. Many of my colleagues and graduate students at the University of Waterloo are involved in various research studies, exhibitions and campaigns, including the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. We also try to keep a balance to cover diverse topics in architecture, including housing. Second- and third-year design studios focus on urban intensification amid the building boom, enabling students to discuss ideas for keeping cities habitable and attractive for future growth. Design studios have also worked with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity to support the ambitious program to build affordable housing for families in need. In partnership with the City of Cambridge, Waterloo architecture students designed and built tiny homes as prototypes for emergency shelter. Photo courtesy University of Waterloo Q: Any examples of collaboration between studio projects and practicing professionals in tackling the housing crisis? A: Through collaboration and communication with the community, the School of Architecture has engaged with social housing agencies, municipality planning authorities, Indigenous groups and aging-in-place consultants to develop housing solutions for a diverse population including seniors. Moving the School of Architecture from Waterloo to Cambridge in 2004 was a communal project with great support from the City of Cambridge. Occupying the repurposed silk mill in Cambridge, the school aims to be the design campus for the city to allow exchange of creative ideas and intellectual stimulation. Since the move, we have had many opportunities to collaborate and work closely with the municipality. The Tiny Homes project is an initiative in partnership with the City of Cambridge, whereby Waterloo architecture students were engaged to design and build prototype tiny homes that offer practical, cost-effective and dignified emergency housing solutions. It is an example of collaboration that makes a meaningful difference.  Photo by Danielle Sneesby Shauna Mallory-Hill Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba Shauna Mallory-Hill, PhD, is currently Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture. Her 25-year-long career spans teaching, research and advocacy, with a focus on building systems, universal and sustainable design, as well as building performance evaluation. Her sponsored research includes accessible design, along with post-occupancy work on how sustainably designed environments impact human health and productivity. Q: How is The University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture (FAUM) specifically engaging in design explorations addressing housing?  A: In addition to hosting public events and delivering focused design studios, we are actively engaged and support research collaborations including funded research with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). We are also committed to partnering and working with communities.    In 2022, U of M professor Lancelot Coar’s undergraduate studio engaged with One House Many Nations to develop a mobile design and construction trailer for on-site design-build work. Photo by Lancelot Coar One House Many Nations (OHMN) originally started as a grassroots movement to shed light on the housing crisis faced by Indigenous communities.  For the past four years, OHMN, led by Dr. Alex Wilson and Sylvia McAdam, has been working with faculty and students from FAUM, houseless First Nations youth, and students at Saskatoon’s Nutana Collegiate to design and construct small, affordable homes that are trucked to remote Indigenous communities in Northern Saskatchewan. After a house is delivered, it is occupied by one of the youth participants. Each year, another house is built, informed by post-occupancy data that was collected on the previous year’s house(s).  First Nations youth participants have learned to advocate for community needs while gaining skills and knowledge about home-building and maintenance.  Lancelot Coar’s 2022 undergraduate architecture studio engaged with OHMN to create a mobile design lab that can be brought onsite to design-build in First Nations communities. OHMN’s work was exhibited at the Canadian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2023.    Q: What are key areas of interest and inquiry among students at your school? Is housing one of them?  A: We are seeing that this generation is increasingly concerned about what is happening to the world—concerns about sustainability, housing, and food deserts are paramount. Students want to work on things that are meaningful. Students also really embrace hands-on learning. Any time students are encouraged and supported to engage with community, they feel like they are making a difference.     Here in Winnipeg, we can all see the encampments of the unhoused. It is apparent that there is work to do to solve this dilemma.This past year, one of our housing-themed studios worked with a local grassroots organization, St. Boniface Street Links, in the design and construction of a prototype transitional house as a safer interim housing solution. This housing project ultimately was built and included as part of the annual Warming Huts design competition at the Forks. Q: Are there any barriers to collaborating in this way, involving practitioners and real community groups? A: We often get groups who approach us to collaborate. We need to be clear that we are not providing a design service, but we are committed to the exploration of ideas and working together on important problems.     It is important to me that doing housing research work in collaboration with Indigenous communities is respectful, responsible and reciprocal. Ensuring that some benefit of the research stays with the community is crucial, given the long history of research involving Indigenous populations where this did not happen. A willingness to listen and understand community priorities and context—and adapt—is key.  It can be difficult for some to have enough capacity to deal with added administration (meetings, paperwork, report writing, etc.); a local liaison is helpful.  The Wîkiwin student-built house is part of an ongoing collaboration with Kawéchiwasik Development Corporation at York Factory First Nation. Photo by Shauna Mallory-Hill Q: Some of your current research and design work is supported by the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge. Can you tell us a bit about that project?  A: The CMHC funding in part supports the Wîkiwin Training Enterprise of York Factory First Nation project, geared to building healthy homes by leveraging local resources and tradespeople in collaboration with the Kawéchiwasik Development Corporation. The purpose is to provide design education and construction skills in the northern communities where they are needed. A key goal is that kids won’t need to leave their communities to get skills, and communities can develop capacity to increase their self-sufficiency.    In collaboration with FAUM, the project will include a comprehensive education model based on a co-created curriculum, training programs, housing designs and research on building materials. Students earn micro-credentials through distance education to get basic training in design and construction, or have the opportunity to work as research assistants to assist with collection of data, such as indoor air quality.     Focusing on sustainable construction techniques, using local materials like stone and wood, the initiative promises to employ residents, cut production costs, and enhance housing quality. Additionally, the creation of a year-round skilled trades school facility and housing for students and teachers will boost the local labour force.    Stage 2 of the project involves the building of the Wîkiwin skilled trades training and research facility and dormitory. This phase will also see the expansion of the educational curriculum in partnership with the University of Manitoba, ultimately increasing the labour force capacity of York Factory First Nation and creating more opportunities for its youth.  Sasha Tsenkova Professor of Planning and Director of the Cities, Policy & Planning Lab at the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape (SAPL), University of Calgary Sasha Tsenkova, PhD, is a professor at the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape at the University of Calgary. With a background in architecture, urbanism, and planning, her work spans over 30 years of research, teaching, and professional practice, focusing on creating more inclusive and sustainable urban environments. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada/Academy of Social Sciences. Q: Major cities across Canada are seeing unprecedented housing issues. As an educator, what have you seen in research or studio projects that tackle these issues?    A: We are a nation of suburban homeowners, where much of the wealth creation in the urban system is driven by investment in housing. Today, income and wealth inequality in Canadian cities is higher than ever before, which is exacerbated by the suburban homeownership model. In cities, newcomers to the housing market—young and old—face incredible affordability constraints. Homelessness has grown exponentially and homeownership is not within the reach of the middle class. In the design world, we must begin to address, through systemic intervention, these challenges. Many of our research and studio projects focus on sustainable urbanism through designs  that explore strategies to provide affordable homes across the income spectrum and embrace different types of housing.      We cannot continue to replicate a model of postwar city building that no longer serves the needs of the people. We encourage students to learn from successful cities in Europe, Latin America, and the United States, where a more systematic approach to neighbourhood design and redevelopment allows various types of housing to be built along the same street within a community. This is a different approach to growth premised on urban regeneration and intensification, where people come before cars and community identity evolves over time.   Q: Any examples of collaboration between studio projects and practicing professionals in tackling the housing crisis?  A: We focus on community-engaged scholarship, research and teaching at SAPL. Integration with communities of practice is necessary, but so is a direct relationship with clients, so that we situate our studio projects in the real-world. The housing crisis is multi-faceted and future professionals need to be aware of the complexity of design intervention—solutions require a nexus of policy, planning and design approaches. In a graduate school, we must prepare aspiring designers, architects and planners to embrace these challenges.      The interface with critical practice is the ultimate test for us to remain relevant and committed to innovation and excellence within the realm of what we can control. Studio teaching needs to address housing affordability in a systematic way, as it will make a critical difference within Canadian society and will define the future of our cities. This requires a much stronger emphasis on sustainable urbanism and community-based projects.  Q: What policies do you feel cities in Canada should create or address to aid in addressing the housing crisis and homelessness?  A: The planning regulation, upzoning, and permitting processes can be improved to enhance infill housing, gentle density and inner-city intensification. Recognizing that cities and neighbourhoods need to be built for people and not for cars requires a focus on transit-oriented development in strategic locations where low-density retail, industrial and housing sites can be redeveloped to become mixed-use urban villages with a variety of housing types. Changes to minimum parking standards and lot coverage can energize the infusion of missing middle housing to create opportunities for multi-generational living, cohousing and home sharing with renters. But the real difference in addressing the homelessness and affordability crisis is the renewed investment into affordable housing through partnerships of federal, provincial and municipal governments with non-profit organizations. We need to grow this segment of the housing market and to make sure that it is an integral part of our urban neighbourhoods through the design process. Q: What role do you think schools of architecture and design have in tackling the housing crisis in Canada?  A: We need to make a major commitment to building knowledge and capacity that focuses on solutions to the housing crisis in our curriculum. Design thinking is premised on innovation; it is part of the competency, creativity and collaboration that we try to instill in future professionals. Architects today are absent from the design of neighbourhoods on the periphery of our cities. We need to bring back that creativity and the knowledge of architects, planners, and designers, and develop the prototypes that will provide solutions to the housing crisis.     SAPL is moving downtown so that we can be a part of downtown rebuilding and innovation. Our adaptive reuse of existing office space in Calgary’s downtown will provide opportunities to connect to local businesses and residents and offer immersion in city life that is critical for our students. Our school will be a living urban design lab, where we embrace social justice, community-inspired design work and collaborate with different communities of practice to demonstrate viable solutions for changing cities and changing societies.   Sara Stevens Associate Professor & Chair – Urban Design at the School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture (SALA), University of British Columbia Sara Stevens is an architectural historian and Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her book Developing Expertise (Yale University Press, 2016) studies real estate development in 20th-century American cities. She is a member of the collective Architects Against Housing Alienation, curators of the Canada Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Q:  Major cities across Canada are seeing unprecedented housing issues (affordability issues and homelessness). As an educator, what have you seen in research or studio projects that tackle these issues?  A: There are so many great examples of design studios in Canada that are looking at housing challenges, such as the ‘Not for Sale’ study abroad course on contemporary housing that recently won the ACSA’s 2024 Architectural Education Award. McGill has a long history of housing research with the Minimum Cost Housing Group, which was the subject of a recent exhibition curated by Ipek Türeli. The work of Shawn Bailey and Lancelot Coar at the University of Manitoba is bringing really innovative pedagogy to the question of housing for Indigenous communities to design schools.  Q: Any examples of collaboration between studio projects and practicing professionals in tackling the housing crisis?  A: At UBC, questions around missing middle housing brought forth a collaboration between Haeccity Studio Architects and UBC students that resulted in a publication of the students’ work, co-sponsored by SALA and the Urbanarium, an organization in Vancouver that is a forum for sharing ideas about city building, particularly around climate change and housing affordability. The Urbananium’s design competitions have focused on missing middle housing, mixed-use neighbourhoods, and the codes and regulations that are barriers to housing affordability. Their current competition, Decoding Timber Towers, is focused on prefab and mass timber housing.  Q: What policies do you feel cities in Canada should create or address to aid in the housing crisis and homelessness?  A: I think that Canada needs to take UNDRIP and the TRC Calls to Action seriously. We can’t separate the issue of housing for Indigenous people, and the history of colonization that it’s part of, from the housing challenges everyone else faces. The United Nations Housing as a Human Right work is a great resource on this, as their work also points to the problems of financialization and the effect this has had on renters, social housing, and un-housed folks.  The Land Back Courtyard was part of the Not For Sale exhibition at the Canada Pavilion in the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Photo by Maris Mezulis Q: What role do you think schools of architecture and design have in tackling the housing crisis in Canada? A: Schools of architecture and design can play an important role by educating students about the role of architects in the housing crisis in Canada. We need the next generation of architects to understand that they have a part to play. It’s not an issue that can be solved through policy and the market alone: their expertise in design, which of course touches policy and works with the private sector, is inherently part of this issue.     To develop deeper conversations around this, I am working with collaborators in the collective Architects Against Housing Alienation to organize a super-studio across Canada for the next school year (25-26) called “End Housing Alienation Now!” that is inviting all schools of architecture to run studios on a shared set of themes and principles. (This builds off of the exhibition and campaign we did for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, which the teaching award I mentioned is also related to.) We have commitments from almost all the schools already, and have hosted a number of conversations with people from the schools to develop how this will work, balancing what is shared vs. independent, the different schedules and levels of students, etc.      For these studios, one ambition is that the studios work with local activists, advocates, and professional practices to show students how important these kinds of collaborations can be, and how important embedded local knowledge is. We hope to share resources and create opportunities for students to connect across geographies to ensure that many, many people with lots of passion and expertise are focused on this topic.     As appeared in the June 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine  The post AIA Canada Journal: Canadian educators on housing affordability appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Netflix Tudum 2025 has begun and promises to reveal a ton of exciting details about the most-anticipated shows and movie heading to the streamer in the future, including Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery's release date and Squid Game's Season 3 trailer.There will be a ton of announcements during the Netflix Tudum 2025 livestream, and we'll be gathering all the big new right here as it happens, so make sure to stay tuned and refresh often!Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Release Date RevealedRian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery's latest teaser trailer not only revealed more about Benoit Blanc's latest adventure, but it also shared it will arrive on Netflix on December 12, 2025.We don't know much about this new mystery yet, but Blanc himself has described this as his "most dangerous case yet." What we do know is that Daniel Craig's Blanc will be joined by Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.Squid Game Season 3 Trailer Teases the Final GamesSquid Game Season 3 is set to debut on Netflix on June 27, and Tudum shared with the world a new trailer that showcases what these final games have in in store for Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun and more. “The new season will focus on what Gi-hun can and will do after all his efforts fail,” series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said. "He is in utter despair after losing everything and watching all his efforts go in vain. The story then takes an interesting turn, questioning whether Gi-hun can overcome his shame and rise again to prove that values of humanity — like conscience and kindness — can exist in the arena.” Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Gets a Teaser Trailer That Shows Off Oscar Isaac's Victor Frankenstein and the 'Misbegotten Creature He's Created'Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, which is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's iconic novel, got a new teaser trailer that shows off Oscar Isaac's Victor Frankenstein and the "misbegotten creature (Jacob Elordi) he's created." Alongside a glimpse at these film that will be released in November, fans of del Toro's work will note "plenty of familiar imagery in the new teaser, from Isaac’s Victor standing on a decaying staircase holding a candelabra (see: Crimson Peak) to a blood-red angelic figure surrounded in flames (see: the Angel of Death in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the blue Wood Sprite and the sphinxlike Death in Pinocchio, and even the Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth). One Piece Season 2 Trailer Reveals the First Look at Tony Tony ChopperThe latest trailer for Season 2 of One Piece has arrived and it has given us our first look at Tony Tony Chopper, who is voiced by Mikaela Hoover (Beef, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Superman). For those unfamiliar, Chopper is a blue-nosed reindeer-boy hybrid and is able to treat various illnesses and wants to travel the world and cure all the diseases that pop up. “What excited me about playing Chopper is the tug of war between his standoffishness and his huge heart,” Hoover told Tudum. “He tries so hard to hide his emotions and put on a tough exterior, but underneath, he’s a big softy, and his love can’t help but come out.“I believe there is a little Chopper in all of us,” she adds. “We all want to be loved and accepted. We go to great lengths to keep the people that we love safe. There’s a purity to his nature that reminds us of what’s good in the world.”Developing...

Silicon Valley nerds have been lonelier since Fry’s Electronics shut down in February 2021 in the midst of the pandemic. The electronics store chain was an embodiment of the valley’s tech roots. But Micro Center, an electronics retailer from Ohio, has opened its 29th store in Santa Clara, California. And so the nerd kingdom has returned. I see this as a big deal, following up on the opening of the Nintendo store — the second in the country after New York — in San Francisco earlier this month. After years of bad economic news, it’s nice to see signs that the Bay Area is coming back. No. To answer your question, nerds cannot live at the Micro Center store. But this isn’t just any store. It’s a symbol — a sign that shows tech still has a physical presence in Silicon Valley, in addition to places like the Buck’s Restaurant, the Denny’s where Nvidia started, the Intel Museum, the Computer History Museum, the California Academy of Sciences and the Tech Museum of Innovation. Other historic hangouts for techies like Walker’s Wagon Wheel, Atari’s headquarters, Lion & Compass — even Circuit City — have long since closed. But hey, we’ve got the Micro Center store, and the Apple spaceship is not that far away. The grand opening week has been going well and I got a tour of the superstore from Dan Ackerman, a veteran tech journalist who is editor-in-chief at Micro Center News. As I walked into the place, Ackerman was finishing a chat with iFixit, a tech repair publication which has its own space for podcasts inside the store. That was unexpected, as I’ve never seen a store embrace social media in such a way. Can you stump the geniuses at the Knowledge Bar at Micro Center? Nearby was the Knowledge Bar, where you can get all your tech questions answered — much like the Genius Bars in Apple Stores. And there were repair tables out in the open. There are a lot of things for tech enthusiasts can like about Micro Center. First, it’s not as sprawling as Fry’s, which had zany themes like ancient Egypt and a weird mix of electronics goods as well as household appliances, cosmetics, magazines and tons of snack foods. (The Egyptian-themed Campbell, California Fry’s store that I drove by often was 156,000 square feet, and now it’s home to a pickleball court complex). Fry’s was a store that stereotyped nerds and Silicon Valley, which also had its own HBO television show that carried on the stereotypes. Nvidia’s latest RTX 50 Series GPUs were in stock at Micro Center. The Micro Center store, by contrast, is smaller at 40,000 square feet and stocked with many more practical nerd items. For the grand opening, this store had the very practical product of more than 4,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) in stock from Nvidia (which just launched its 50 Series GPUs) and AMD, Ackerman told me. Some of those graphics cards cost as much as $4,000. Not to be outdone. AMD has a row of GPUs at Micro Center too. “There were people waiting to get to the GPUs,” Ackerman said. On display was a gold-plated graphics card that was being auctioned off for charity. It was signed by Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signed this GPU being auctioned for charity at Micro Center. “I joke that whoever wins the bid should get a Jensen leather jacket as well,” said Ackerman. And this Micro Center store has a good location (5201 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Santa Clara) that is just a six-minute drive from Apple’s worldwide headquarters and (perhaps better yet) a one-minute walk from the Korean Hair Salon. Micro Center had a previous store in Silicon Valley, near Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara. But that store close in 2012 because the company couldn’t negotiate better terms with the landlord. For its return to the Bay Area, Micro Center bided its time and came back at a time when many other retail chains were failing. It proves that the once proud region — the birthplace of electronics — still merits its own electronics store. You can buy dyes for liquid-cooled tubes at Micro Center. Sure, we have Target, Best Buy and Walmart selling lots of electronics gear. But there’s nothing like the Akihabara electronics district in Japan, which is full of multi-story electronics stores and gaming arcades. But this store is loaded with today’s modern top gear, like AI PCs, Ubiquity home networking gear, and dyes for multi-colored water-cooling systems. Vendors like Razer and Logitech had their own sections. Ackerman was pleased to show me the USB-C to USB-A adapter in stock, among many obscure items. And he showed me the inventory machine that could rotate its stock of 3D-printing filaments and give you the exact SKU that you scanned with a bar code. Tech hobbyists can find their love at Micro Center. “That’s super fun. I call it Mr. Filaments,” Ackerman said of the inventory robot. There’s a section for hobbyists who like single-board computing and DIY projects. There’s a set of video, audio and digital content creation tools for content creators. All told, there are more than 20,000 products and over 100 tech experts who can help. It even has the numbered cashier locations where you can check out — the same kind of checkout stands that Fry’s had. The Mr. Filaments robot inventory system at Micro Center. Customers can receive authorized computer service for brands like Apple, Dell, and HP, benefiting from same-day diagnostics and repairs, thanks to over 3,000 parts on hand through partnerships with leading OEMs. I only wish it had a help desk for Comcast. Micro Center has gear to entertain geeks. Micro Center started in 1979 in Columbus, Ohio. It’s a surprise there aren’t more nerd stores, given how ubiquitous tech is around the world these days. But Ackerman said, “These guys are really doing it right, picking and choosing, finding the right cities, finding the right locations. That’s why Charlotte is great. Miami is a big tech hub, especially for health tech. And we’re literally five minutes away from Apple headquarters and plenty of other places. People from HP and Nvidia and other companies are coming in today to hang out.” “Even though this store is big, the CEO (Richard Mershad) is really into curation, making sure it’s the right mix of stuff. He’s making sure it doesn’t go too far afield. So you’re not going to come in here and find, you know, hair dryers or lawncare equipment,” Ackerman said. “You’re going to find computer and home entertainment stuff, and DIY gear. There are components, just like in a Radio Shack, that hobbyists care about.” Dan Ackerman knows how to install a TV on your wall. As for the Micro Center News, Ackerman told me he has around 10 regular contributors and 20 more freelancers writing gadget reviews and other stories about tech gear. It is a kind of refuge for that vanishing breed of professional tech journalists. No wonder I was so nostalgic visiting Micro Center.

The Design Intelligence Awards are Open for Entry The DIA, an international design competition, founded in 2015 by the China Academy of Art in collaboration with other organizations, has a mission to connect cultures through design by recognizing innovative, forward-thinking, and sustainable solutions to real-world problems.DIA brings together a global network of entrepreneurs, creatives, and innovators to address major societal challenges. It is considered one of the most prestigious international design awards, despite its relatively recent inception.It's time to submit your entry which is free until June 20th!Product Award CategoriesCultural Innovation Focus: Culture as a driving force for design. Recognizes: Revival of traditional culture Design craftsmanship Cultural IP value and sustainable development. Eligible Entries: Culture gifts, stationery, packaging Fashion accessories, tableware, furniture, lighting products related to cultural tourism and social innovation.Life Wisdom Focus: Enhancing daily living and addressing societal needs. Recognizes: Intelligent design in everyday life care for vulnerable groups. Eligible Entries: Electronics, digital devices, smart home technology, kitchen/bathroom essentials, household appliances, elderly care, maternal/child supplies, personal care, toys, pet products, leisure/sports gear, disaster prevention items, use of new tech/materials. Industrial Equipment Focus: Driving industrial transformation and efficiency. Recognizes: Strategic, emerging industry tools, and high-efficiency production solutions. Eligible Entries: Transportation, logistics, medical and construction equipment, agricultural, forestry, and military tools, office equipment, green energy solutions, robotics, and automation equipment. Development and Application of AI Focus: Innovations in artificial intelligence and smart technologies. Recognizes: Forward-looking AI applications across industries. Eligible Entries: Smart cities, mobility, business, healthcare, education, smart community systems, industrial internet, VR, and spatial computing.Use this Invitation Code: US2025-PMPC1KK to skip the first review round and fast track to the next level!

Last year Hunger Games social media accounts made shocking news when they announced there would be a new book and movie in the series. Shortly afterward, Collins released the novel on March 18, 2025 where it promptly sold 1.2 million copies in its first week in the U.S.—three times more than what Mockingjay, which closed out Collins’ original Hunger Games trilogy, did in the same time frame.  Sunrise on the Reaping follows Peeta and Katniss’ mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, when he is chosen to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, which due to the anniversary means there will be double the amount of tributes. The novel tells the story of Haymitch’s life in District 12 and his rebellion against the Capitol, which led him to become the unfriendly mentor we know from the original series.  This is the second prequel Collins has released after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which followed a young Coriolanus Snow on his journey to becoming the ruthless president in the original trilogy. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie grossed $349 million worldwide, and Collins and Lionsgate are likely eager to repeat that success at the box office with a Sunrise on the Reaping film.  The most successful movie in the franchise has been The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with a worldwide box office gross of almost $845 million. Hunger Games hasn’t been able to recreate those numbers since. But the Sunrise on the Reaping movie will follow a character the audience already connects with (as opposed to despite like Coriolanus), which may encourage more casual fans to see it. The announcement of Sunrise on the Reaping release brought new life to the Hunger Games audience, with many fans speculating about casting and production choices for the already confirmed movie adaptation, which is set to release in November 2026.  The Sunrise on the Reaping movie starts production in July and reportedly has a budget of over $150 million, according to a Deadline report, which could make it the largest budget Hunger Games movie to date. Fans of the franchise have been eagerly awaiting information about the highly anticipated movie adaptation, and they won’t have to wait long to get it. Here’s a look at some of the casting choices so far and what the expectations are for the upcoming film.  Amazon Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy There were many fan castings following the release of the book involving popular actors such as Outer Banks’ Rudy Pankow and Harris Dickinson from Babygirl. Instead the lead role went to industry newcomer Joseph Zada, who will bring a fresh perspective. Zada is an Australian actor who began his career in 2019 in a film directed by his father, Jeremy Cumpston. He continued acting and has only been involved in four projects before his casting in Hunger Games, two movies (Bilched and The Speedway Murders), one small role in the Australian TV show Total Control, and a lead role in the currently airing Australian show, Invisible Boys. The Sunrise on the Reaping movie will be Zada’s first Hollywood blockbuster role.    In Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch’s character suffers unimaginable loss and faces treacherous conditions in the arena, so it will be interesting to see what Zada brings to the emotional impact of his journey.  Zada will also be starring in another anticipated book-adaptation, We Were Liars, which is set to release in June. Also of note, at age 20, Zada is actually the appropriate age to be playing a 16-year-old, which differs from both fan casting and a franchise that previously has cast actors over 25 as teenagers. Photo by: Nick Morgulis Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner Maysilee is a fierce but kindhearted character, which is not uncommon ground for Mckenna Grace. Grace is one of the more well-known additions to the cast, having starred in Gifted alongside Chris Evans, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Many fans were in favor of this choice on social media as well.   Grace will have the task of conveying the multiple layers to Maysilee’s arc. At the start of the novel, the character is viewed as a stuck-up rich girl but as the story progresses, Haymitch realizes there is more to her that meets the eye, and the two characters form a strong bond. Grace’s performance will ride on her ability to capture Maysilee’s development in a way that will have audiences empathizing with her until the very end. Grace already has almost three million followers on Instagram and five million on TikTok because of her popularity with a Gen Z audience, which likely appealed to the Lionsgate marketing department as well. She’s also only 18 years old, making this another case of the filmmakers again avoiding the common Hollywood issue of folks pushing 30 playing teens.  A24 Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee Plutarch is a recurring character in the original trilogy, having a pivotal role in Mockingjay where he helps Katniss take down President Snow and the Capitol. In the film version, he was played by Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of the actor’s final roles. In Sunrise on the Reaping, we see Plutarch’s rise to power and how he gained the trust of the president while also helping the rebel cause. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Jesse Plemons was cast to play a younger Plutarch in the upcoming movie. It will be hard to live up to Hoffman’s charisma and talent, but Plemons seems up for the job. In fact, Plemons and Hoffman have actually shared the screen together when Plemons played Hoffman’s son in the 2012 film The Master. Plemons has been in the industry for a while and, most notably, played a role in the popular TV series Breaking Bad. He was also nominated for an Oscar as a supporting actor in The Power of the Dog. Max/WBD Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Whitney Peak was cast to play Lenore Dove, the musical, free-spirited girlfriend of Haymitch, who is a part of the traveling musical band in District 12, or the “Covey.” Peak is a relatively new actress, best known for her roles in teen dramas like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and the Gossip Girl reboot on Max.  We will see if Peak can capture the same wild, whimsical energy that Rachel Zegler did when she played a very similar role as Lucy Gray Baird in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie. Zegler captured the hearts of Hunger Games fans, helping her to land roles afterward like Y2K and the latest Broadway production of  Romeo and Juliet. Zegler has already expressed her support for Peak’s casting on social media, writing, “I know she’s gonna do the Baird name proud.” Searchlight Pictures Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee Beetee is a major character in the second Hunger Games novel, Catching Fire, where he uses his intelligence and knowledge of the arena to help stop the Games. In Sunrise on the Reaping, we learn about his family and his previous involvement in the rebellion, making his actions in the original trilogy more impactful. Young Beetee will be played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. who has had roles in other major movies like Elvis, The Trial of Chicago 7, Luce, and Waves and has been acting since 2013.  The character was previously played by Jeffrey Wright in the original trilogy, who unsurprisingly did a good job of coming across as shy and dorky while simultaneously using his intelligence to take down the Capitol. Harrison will act as a mentor to young Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping and aid him in his rebellion against the Capitol, showing that just because he’s nerdy doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous.  Netflix Maya Hawke as Wiress  Wiress is one of Haymitch’s mentors in the novel who won the Hunger Games the year before by outsmarting the gamemakers and the other tributes. Wiress will be played by Maya Hawke, who is known for being the daughter of famous actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman as well as her role in the popular TV series Stranger Things. Many fans of her and the franchise were satisfied with the charismatic choice.  Like Beetee, Wiress’s character is introduced in Catching Fire as the smart but mentally disturbed tribute from District 3. In Sunrise on the Reaping, we see that she used to be able to communicate normally before the Capitol tortured her for her involvement in the rebellion. She was played in the original movies by Amanda Plummer, who embodied her eccentric, odd demeanor well, but Hawke will be playing a more sane and coherent version of Wiress. She will have to embody the young, capable victor who encourages the District 12 kids to use their intelligence to succeed in the Hunger Games without having to kill.  Amazon Prime Lili Taylor as Mags The kind and loveable mentor Mags will be played by Lili Taylor. The American actress has had roles in many successful movies, including Mystic Pizza, The Conjuring, I Shot Andy Warhol and Dogfight. Mags was also introduced in Catching Fire as Finnick’s mentor and a sweet, maternal figure. We see more of her in Sunrise on the Reaping as she helps Haymitch and the District 12 tributes prepare and shows us what she was like before the Capitol’s influence on her.  Mags was played in the Catching Fire movie by Lynn Cohen, but she was nonverbal and frail after years of Capitol torment. The Mags in this movie will be different, more energetic and able-bodied while still retaining the same affectionate nature. We will see her taking care of the tributes and making them feel like human beings even though they are headed to almost certain death.  Sony Pictures Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow Wyatt Callow is one of the District 12 tributes and a mathematical genius. Wyatt is known to take bets on the Hunger Games and calculate the odds of each tribute for his father, which Haymitch doesn’t like. The two characters get off to a rocky start, but Haymitch eventually realizes Wyatt is a good person with how loyal he is to their group.  Ben Wang will be playing Wyatt in the upcoming adaptation. Wang is also about to star in Karate Kid: Legend and has also appeared in the Mean Girls remake and the Disney+ series American Born Chinese.  Wyatt is socially awkward, but kind-hearted, and Wang will have to portray the depth of his character beyond just his intelligence.  Focus Features Ralph Fiennes as President Snow The ruthless President Snow will be played by the legendary Ralph Fiennes. The British actor has received multiple Academy Award nominations for his roles in Schindler’s List, Conclave, and The English Patient. His legacy also extends to some of the most popular movies of the last 30 years, running the gamut from Skyfall to The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fiennes is one of the most veteran members of the cast and someone that the younger actors can look up to as a mentor.  Of course Fiennes is no stranger to playing ruthless dictators either since his transformation into the role of Voldemort in the Harry Potter series is etched into the memories of generations. Fiennes will be playing the heartless president of Panem in Sunrise on the Reaping when he confronts Haymitch, the rebellion, and the 50th Hunger Games. There is no doubt that Fiennes will be able to portray Snow in the movie just as intimidating and coldhearted as fans have imagined him to be. Hulu Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket The most recent casting announcement has been Elle Fanning as the Capitol mentor Effie Trinket. Fanning was actually who many fans suggested should play the role, and it seems like the Hunger Games producers that request seriously. Fanning is the sister of the actress Dakota Fanning and has been in a number of popular films including A Complete Unknown, Maleficent, and The Great TV series.  Effie is a constant character throughout the original series (where she is played by Elizabeth Banks onscreen), and in Sunrise on the Reaping, we get to see how she obtained her position in District 12 and her first meeting with her fellow mentor Haymitch. Effie is sympathetic toward the district kids, but the Capitol propaganda prevents her from fully understanding their struggles. She thinks it’s sad they have to go into the Hunger Games but believes it’s necessary to keep the peace. Fanning will have to play the naïve and extravagant character who has a very ignorant outlook toward the real world. HBO Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman  Caesar Flickerman is the charismatic entertainer and showman we see in the original trilogy interviewing the tributes before they enter the arena. In Sunrise on the Reaping, we get to see more of a younger Caesar conducting interviews before the 50th Hunger Games, but we also get some insight into how he can manipulate and sell a certain narrative to the Capitol audience. The character was previously played by Stanley Tucci who completely transformed himself into the role and really brought the preening media personality to life. And now Kieran Culkin has been cast for the upcoming prequel where he will get the chance to commit to the same eccentric hair, makeup, and outfits that Tucci made iconic.  Culkin is a seasoned actor and will almost certainly be up for the challenge. After all, he just won an Oscar for A Real Pain, and before that he won an Emmy (and was nominated for several more) due to his turn as Roman Roy on HBO’s Succession. Of course for a whole generation of movie watchers, he will always be Fuller from Home Alone. Molly McCann as Louella McCoy and Iona Bell as Lou Lou Louella and Lou Lou are two very similar looking characters who will each have to play very different roles. Louella will be played by Molly McCann who will have to play the sweet, innocent girl who Haymitch vows to protect when she is reaped in the Hunger Games at just 13. McCann is a young Irish actress who has already been a part of 19 projects, including movies and TV shows, and nominated for an Irish Film and TV award in 2021.  On the other hand, Iona Bell is cast as Lou Lou, who is an unknown girl from District 11 who was tortured by the Capitol and has been driven to almost insanity as a result. Bell is a British actress who has only been a part of one project before this casting. The teenage actress is currently filming in a few independent films, as well as a movie with Taika Waititi (Fing!) which will come out later this year. Her character in Sunrise on the Reaping is an odd one, but you can’t help but sympathize with her because of what she’s been through. 

Each week on Polygon, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home. This week, Captain America: Brave New World, the Marvel superhero movie starring Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford, smashes its way onto Disney Plus after hitting video on demand in April. It’s a big week for animation, with the Oscar-nominated The Wild Robot and the Korean science fiction romance Lost in Starlight both releasing on Netflix, while DreamWorks’ adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s internationally bestselling Dog Man graphic novel series arrives on Peacock. New titles available to rent include the Chinese legal thriller The Prosecutor, and two tales of forbidden love: the Shakespearean musical Juliet & Romeo and The Grey director Joe Carnahan’s action flick Shadow Force. Here’s everything new that’s available to watch this weekend! New on Netflix Lost in Starlight Genre: Science fiction romanceDirector: Han Ji-wonCast: Kim Tae-ri, Hong Kyung/Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Justin H. Min Set in 2050 Seoul, Netflix’s first Korean original animated film is a story of literally star-crossed lovers. An astronaut headed for Mars and a musician fall for each other and face the pain of separation. Trying to make a long-distance relationship work is especially difficult when you’re 139 million miles away from each other. A Widow’s Game Genre: Crime dramaDirector: Carlos SedesCast: Carmen Machi, Ivana Baquero, Tristán Ulloa Based on a true story, this Spanish film stars Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth) as Maje, the young widow of a man stabbed seven times and left in a parking lot in a seeming crime of passion. The investigation leads to Maje’s lovers, as the police try to figure out who’s really behind the crime. The Wild Robot Genre: Family science fictionRun time: 1h 42mDirector: Chris SandersCast: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor Based on Peter Brown’s middle-grade book, DreamWorks’ Academy Award-nominated film follows Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), a helpful robot who accidentally washes up on an island that’s only inhabited by animals. While she initially terrifies all the creatures there, she winds up befriending a fox (Pedro Pascal) who helps her raise a runty gosling (Kit Connor) and prepare him for his first migration. From our review:  From director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon), The Wild Robot is a tenderly crafted story that pushes computer animation in a beautiful new direction — and is exactly the sort of movie that the current animation landscape so desperately needs. New on Disney Plus Captain America: Brave New World Genre: Superhero actionRun time: 1h 58mDirector: Julius OnahCast: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Harrison Ford Set after the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World sees Sam Wilson — having fully embraced his role as the new Captain America — being called on to resolve an international incident in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on newly elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). With time running out and the walls closing in, will Sam be able to come out on top and rescue the world from the brink of devastation? Probably! From our review: As a Captain America movie, Brave New World is batting strongly below average. Its plot is at least mildly reminiscent of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it’s both fair and unfair to compare the two. Unfair in that Winter Soldier is still among the best-regarded MCU movies, while BNW is running uphill from table-setting a potential new Captain America franchise, dealing with post-production rewrites and reshoots, and the general malaise of the MCU’s post-Avengers: Endgame audience. But fair in that, like Winter Soldier, BNW was also clearly designed as a grounded thriller (by the sliding scale of “grounded” in the MCU) featuring global political stakes and a superpowered conspiracy at its heart. New on Hulu The Seed of the Sacred Fig Genre: Political dramaRun time: 2h 48mDirector: Mohammad RasoulofCast: Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Mahsa Rostami Writer and director Mohammad Rasoulof had to flee Iran after he was sentenced to eight years in prison ahead of the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Fig. The Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated film is a fictional story set against the backdrop of political protests, incorporating real footage of the 2022 and 2023 unrest that followed the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, who was fatally beaten by Iranian “morality police” under the accusation that she was wearing her hijab improperly. New on Peacock Dog Man Genre: Family comedyRun time: 1h 29mDirector: Peter HastingsCast: Peter Hastings, Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery Peter Hastings continues the Captain Underpants franchise with an adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s graphic novel series about a hero created when a police officer and his dog were stitched together into one individual after being wounded while failing to defuse a bomb. Pete Davidson plays Dog Man’s evil cat nemesis in the DreamWorks film, which uses CG animation styled to resemble craft materials. New on Starz Flight Risk Genre: ThrillerRun time: 1h 31mDirector: Mel GibsonCast: Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace, Michelle Dockery No one is quite who they seem in Mel Gibson’s claustrophobic thriller, where a U.S. Marshal (Michelle Dockery) hires a pilot (Mark Wahlberg) to get an informant from Alaska to New York so he can testify against the crime family he worked for. As they travel across the wilderness, the group fights for control of the increasingly tense and violent flight. New on Shudder and HIDIVE Vampire Hunter D Genre: Horror animeRun time: 1h 31mDirector: Toyoo AshidaCast: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizō Katō AMC Networks re-released a digitally remastered version of Toyoo Ashida’s classic anime film to celebrate its 40th anniversary in theaters in April, and is now offering it across both its anime and horror streaming services. Set in a far future where vampires rule the world, the action-packed film follows a mysterious vampire hunter hired to protect a woman from a vampire lord who wants her to be his next bride. New to digital Fight or Flight Genre: Action comedyRun time: 1h 42mDirector: James MadiganCast: Josh Hartnett, Katee Sackhoff, Charithra Chandran Basically Bullet Train but in the air, Fight or Flight casts Black Hawk Down and Penny Dreadful star Josh Hartnett as a disgraced Secret Service agent given the chance to clear his name by catching an elusive hacker known as the Ghost, who’s boarded a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. Unfortunately, the plane is packed with assassins looking to kill the Ghost and anyone who gets in their way. Juliet & Romeo Genre: Musical romanceRun time: 2h 2mDirector: Timothy Scott BogartCast: Jamie Ward, Clara Rugaard, Rupert Everett West Side Story already did the decisive musical version of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, but this adaptation plays closer to the original text while adding a soundtrack full of original pop tunes to the tale of two feuding houses of Verona. Filmed on location in Italy, Juliet & Romeo’s high-profile supporting cast includes Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The White Lotus) as Lord Montague and Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect) as Lady Capulet. The Prosecutor Genre: Legal thrillerRun time: 1h 57mDirector: Donnie YenCast: Donnie Yen, Cheung Chi Lam Julian, Michael Hui Ip Man’s Donnie Yen directs and stars in this Chinese legal thriller loosely based on a real 2016 drug trafficking case. Yen plays detective Fok Chi-ho, who loses faith in policing and decides the better way to ensure criminals face justice is as a public prosecutor. The Prosecutor might be mostly courtroom drama, but there’s still plenty of action, combining old-school martial arts techniques with modern film technology. Shadow Force Genre: Action thrillerRun time: 1h 43mDirector: Joe CarnahanCast: Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark StrongEight years ago, Kyrah Owens (Kerry Washington of Scandal and Little Fires Everywhere) and Isaac Sarr (Omar Sy of Lupin and Jurassic World) joined a multinational special forces group dubbed Shadow Force, but they’ve left that life behind to raise their son. Their old boss (played by Mark Strong of Shazam! and Sherlock Holmes) doesn’t accept their resignation, and is trying to hunt them down.

Home OpenAI Academy – A New Beginning in AI Learning News OpenAI Academy – A New Beginning in AI Learning 5 min read Published: May 29, 2025 Key Takeaways The OpenAI Academy is a collection of tutorials and live webinars that educate users about OpenAI products and LLMs. The main aim of the Academy is to enable users to understand the full capabilities of these AI tools in various sectors, such as education, business, and everyday work. With AI advancing rapidly, we might soon see artificial intelligence being offered as professional courses from recognized universities. OpenAI has launched the OpenAI Academy – a one-stop destination for you to learn everything about OpenAI LLM products, such as ChatGPT, Sora, Deep Research, and more. The portal provides extensive video demonstrations on using various features of these AI models and optimizing inputs to get the best results. Here’s a quick look at what you can learn at the OpenAI Academy: ChatGPT on Campus: Meant for students, specifically those in higher education courses. This includes tutorials on researching and writing, managing time effectively, designing resumes, and preparing for interviews. AI for K-12 Educators: Designed for educators, this module focuses on how teachers and support staff can leverage AI tools to streamline school operations and enhance communications. With detailed videos on lesson planning and student support, educators can improve education from the bottom up. It also includes detailed tutorials on using ChatGPT Edu – OpenAI’s specialized chatbot version for educators. ChatGPT at Work: This module will help you with prompt engineering, coding, introduction to ChatGPT projects, ChatGPT Search, data analytics, and Deep Research. Sora Tutorials: Sora is OpenAI’s very own video generator. It can render videos from text, images, and video prompts. Sora tutorials on OpenAI Academy teach you how to build a storyboard, recut, blend, and remix videos with the AI tool. OpenAI for Business: This module is all about personalizing ChatGPT to make it more relevant to your day-to-day work. You can learn more about ChatGPT’s Deep Research integration with GitHub, connecting ChatGPT to Google Drive to tap into internal knowledge, run multi-step workflows, and do extensive market research. In addition to these pre-recorded tutorials, videos, and ‘how-to’ articles, the OpenAI Academy hosts many live events and webinars. These sessions are quite exhaustive, from the introduction to ChatGPT to practical use cases for career development and education. There’s no debating that ChatGPT has endless real-world applications, whether in business or education. However, a vast majority of people are simply unaware. The OpenAI Academy looks to eliminate the lack of awareness around its products and show the world their capabilities. The Art of Prompts In a nutshell, the art of using AI is essentially your ability to feed these LLM models proper and effective prompts. For example, if there’s an image to be generated, an average person’s prompt might be as simple as ‘generate an image of a kid playing football.’ However, those who know what the AI is truly capable of will feed more specific prompts, such as ‘Generate a portrait image in HD showing a kid aged roughly six years old, wearing a Chelsea jersey and shorts with Nike boots playing football on a grassy ground. Keep the lighting in the image close to what we see during sunset in August.’ Here’s how the two results would vary: Interestingly, both these images have been generated using the same model, i.e., ChatGPT, with the only difference being the prompt. This goes to show that people who have fully wrapped their heads around what AI can do will be able to use it to its full potential. It’s worth noting that you can extrapolate this example to endless scenarios. For example, if you’re too lazy to read a book, you can simply ask ChatGPT to generate a mind map of the entire book. This will help you understand the text better and remember the book’s content for a long time. However, you must have professional AI training to do so. Alternatively, ChatGPT can serve up some work emails or sort numerical data. However, experienced users can also use it for tasks like strategic planning, breaking down trends and competitions, finding new strategic leads and opportunities, and generating an actionable market strategy using accurate prompts. AI Isn’t Just a Feature Anymore Gone are the days when AI was just a new, cool feature for us to try. Using ChatGPT or Gemini to write a work email, complete an assignment, or generate an AI image are just the tip of the iceberg. Using AI tools now requires real skills and comes with a learning curve and even a curriculum. If you give an average person a blank canvas and a paintbrush, he may draw a couple of houses, a river, the sun, and other basic elements. However, put the same canvas and paintbrush in the hands of a trained artist, and he’ll make you a masterpiece. Today’s AI tools are essentially the canvas and the paintbrush. In the hands of the average user, it’s hardly anything more than a text or image generator. However, those aware of their potential can design entire business plans, write and run complex codes, and learn new things almost every day. In its initial days, coding, too, was just a soft skill or an extracurricular activity. However, with time, coding has developed into a full-fledged education stream with postgraduate and PhD certifications. Something similar might happen with AI as well. As these tools become more sophisticated, the need for a structured AI education will also rise. The day isn’t far when we might see recognized universities offering professional degrees in artificial intelligence, focusing not only on designing the systems but also harnessing the most out of AI. Krishi is a seasoned tech journalist with over four years of experience writing about PC hardware, consumer technology, and artificial intelligence.  Clarity and accessibility are at the core of Krishi’s writing style. He believes technology writing should empower readers—not confuse them—and he’s committed to ensuring his content is always easy to understand without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Over the years, Krishi has contributed to some of the most reputable names in the industry, including Techopedia, TechRadar, and Tom’s Guide. A man of many talents, Krishi has also proven his mettle as a crypto writer, tackling complex topics with both ease and zeal. His work spans various formats—from in-depth explainers and news coverage to feature pieces and buying guides.  Behind the scenes, Krishi operates from a dual-monitor setup (including a 29-inch LG UltraWide) that’s always buzzing with news feeds, technical documentation, and research notes, as well as the occasional gaming sessions that keep him fresh.  Krishi thrives on staying current, always ready to dive into the latest announcements, industry shifts, and their far-reaching impacts.  When he's not deep into research on the latest PC hardware news, Krishi would love to chat with you about day trading and the financial markets—oh! And cricket, as well. View all articles by Krishi Chowdhary Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors. More from News View all View all

The Canada Council for the Arts is recognizing the potential of emerging architects and the contribution of practicing architects by awarding the following four prizes. The Canada Council contributes to the creative and diverse arts and literary scene, and supports their presence across Canada and around the world. The winners include the following: Prix de Rome in Architecture — Professional The Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional is awarded to a young practitioner of architecture or an architectural firm that has completed their first built works and has demonstrated exceptional artistic potential. With this prize, the recipient may travel abroad to develop their skills and their creative practice, and to strengthen their position in the international architecture world. D’Arcy Jones ArchitectsPhoto: Shane Hauser This year’s winner is D’Arcy Jones Architects. D’Arcy Jones is the principal of D’Arcy Jones Architects (DJA), a Vancouver practice recognized for design excellence. DJA’s responses to contemporary conditions have earned awards and publications nationally and internationally. Their work focuses on arts, residential and commercial projects. Previous practice honours include an Architectural Institute of British Columbia Emerging Firm Award, a Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Emerging Architectural Practice Award and the Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement from the Canada Council for the Arts. Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement The Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement is given to a practitioner of architecture or an architectural firm. The successful candidate must be in the early stages of a career or practice and must demonstrate both outstanding creative talent and exceptional potential in architectural design. Odami. Photo: Arash Moallemi The latest winner, Odami, is an award-winning architecture and design studio that aims to “converge the pragmatic and the expressive, the subtle and the striking, the familiar and the unexpected.” Led by Arancha González Bernardo, a Spanish architect and Michael Fohring, a Canadian designer, the practice represents a merging of design values and histories, a process deepened by the contemporary multiculturalism of the city in which Odami lives and works. In embracing difference and purposely working between modes, perspectives and dichotomies, they’re in search of a fertile meeting ground—a space of conference and connection that gives rise to inventive outcomes.     Prix de Rome in Architecture — Emerging Practitioners Daniel Wong. Photo: Kabir Olatinwo The Prix de Rome in Architecture – Emerging Practitioners is awarded to a recent graduate from a Canadian architectural school who demonstrates exceptional potential in architectural design. With this prize, the recipient may visit architectural buildings and carry out an internship at an international architectural firm. The latest winner, Daniel Wong, is currently an intern architect at AAmp Studio, in Toronto. He holds a Bachelor of Architectural Science from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and a Master of Architecture from the University of Toronto. During his studies, he received several awards including the Barry W. Sampson Scholarship and the John and Myrna Daniels Foundation Opportunity Award. He also received the Kuwabara-Jackman Architecture Thesis Gold Medal for his research on architectural maintenance as a sustainable alternative for the built environment.   J.B.C. Watkins Award: Architecture Fabio Lima. Photo: Yixin Cao The J.B.C. Watkins Fellowship: Architecture is offered to an individual who has completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in architecture in Canada and who will pursue postgraduate studies in another country, ideally Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Iceland. The latest winner, Fabio Lima is a graduate student and research fellow at Pratt Institute, in New York City, USA. His work explores the social archaeology of queer spaces by mobilizing the tools of historic preservation. Lima studied architecture at the Université de Montréal, in Quebec, and his work has been supported by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.           The post Canada Council announces Prix de Rome and J.B.C. Watkins Award winners appeared first on Canadian Architect.

To state the obvious: Our species has fully entered the Age of AI. And AI is here to stay. The fact that AI chatbots appear to speak human language has become a major source of confusion. Companies are making and selling AI friends, lovers, pets, and therapists. Some AI researchers falsely claim their AI and robots can “feel” and “think.” Even Apple falsely says it’s building a lamp that can feel emotion. Another source of confusion is whether AI is to blame when it fails, hallucinates, or outputs errors that impact people in the real world. Just look at some of the headlines: “Who’s to Blame When AI Makes a Medical Error?” “Human vs. AI: Who is responsible for AI mistakes?” “In a World of AI Agents, Who’s Accountable for Mistakes?” Look, I’ll give you the punchline in advance: The user is responsible. AI is a tool like any other. If a truck driver falls asleep at the wheel, it’s not the truck’s fault. If a surgeon leaves a sponge inside a patient, it’s not the sponge’s fault. If a prospective college student gets a horrible score on the SAT, it’s not the fault of their No. 2 pencil. It’s easy for me to claim that users are to blame for AI errors. But let’s dig into the question more deeply. Writers caught with their prose down Lena McDonald, a fantasy romance author, got caught using AI to copy another writer’s style. Her latest novel, Darkhollow Academy: Year 2, released in March, contained the following riveting line in Chapter 3: “I’ve rewritten the passage to align more with J. Bree’s style, which features more tension, gritty undertones, and raw emotional subtext beneath the supernatural elements.” This was clearly copied and pasted from an AI chatbot, along with words she was passing off as her own. This news is sad and funny but not unique. In 2025 alone, at least two other romance authors, K.C. Crowne and Rania Faris, were caught with similar AI-generated prompts left in their self-published novels, suggesting a wider trend. It happens in journalism, too. On May 18, the Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer published a “Summer Reading List for 2025” in its Sunday print supplement, featuring 15 books supposedly written by well-known authors. Unfortunately, most of the books don’t exist. Tidewater Dreams by Isabel Allende, Nightshade Market by Min Jin Lee, and The Last Algorithm by Andy Weir are fake books attributed to real authors. The fake books were dreamed up by AI, which the writer Marco Buscaglia admitted to using. (The article itself was not produced by the newspapers that printed it. The story originated with King Features Syndicate, a division of Hearst, which created and distributed the supplement to multiple newspapers nationwide.) Whose fault was this? Well, it was clearly the writer’s fault. A writer’s job always involves editing. A writer needs to, at minimum, read their own words and consider cuts, expansions, rewording, and other changes. In all these cases, the authors failed to be professional writers. They didn’t even read their books or the books they recommended. Fact-checkers exist at some publications and not at others. Either way, it’s up to writers to have good reason to assert facts or use quotes. Writers are also editors and fact-checkers. It’s just part of the job. I use these real-life examples because they demonstrate clearly that the writer — the AI user — is definitely to blame when errors occur with AI chatbots. The user chooses the tool, does the prompt engineering, sees the output, and either catches and corrects errors or not. OK, but what about bigger errors? Air Canada’s chatbot last year told a customer about a bereavement refund policy that didn’t exist. When the customer took the airline to a small-claims tribunal, Air Canada argued the chatbot was a “separate legal entity.” The tribunal didn’t buy it and ruled against the airline. Google’s AI Overviews became a punchline after telling users to put glue on pizza and eat small rocks. Apple’s AI-powered notification summaries created fake headlines, including a false report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been arrested. Canadian lawyer Chong Ke cited two court cases provided by ChatGPT in a custody dispute. The AI completely fabricated both cases, and Ke was ordered to pay the opposing counsel’s research costs. Last year, various reports exposed major flaws in AI-powered medical transcription tools, especially those based on OpenAI’s Whisper model. Researchers found that Whisper frequently “transcribes” content that was never said. A study presented at the Association for Computing Machinery FAccT Conference found that about 1% of Whisper’s transcriptions contained fabricated content, and nearly 38% of those errors could potentially cause harm in a medical setting. Every single one of these errors and problems falls squarely on the users of AI, and any attempt to blame the AI tools in use is just confusion about what AI is. The big picture What all my examples above have in common is that users let AI do the user’s job unsupervised. The opposite end of the spectrum of turning your job over to unsupervised AI is not using AI at all. In fact, many companies and organizations explicitly ban the use of AI chatbots and other AI tools. This is often a mistake, too. Acclimating ourselves to the Age of AI means finding a middle ground where we use AI tools to improve our jobs. Most of us should use AI. But we should learn to use it well and check every single thing it does, based on the knowledge that any use of AI is 100% the user’s responsibility. I expect the irresponsible use of AI will continue to cause errors, problems, and even catastrophes. But don’t blame the software. In the immortal words of the fictional HAL 9000 AI supercomputer from 2001: A Space Odyssey: “It can only be attributable to human error.”

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Boris FX has begun its 2025 updates to Silhouette, its roto and paint software.Silhouette 2025 adds new AI tools for refining mattes, generating depth maps and fixing glitches in video, and a new 3D Scene node for importing scenes with tracked 3D cameras. A VFX-industry standard tool for rotoscoping and roto paint work First released 20 years ago, and acquired by Boris FX in 2019, Silhouette is a rotoscoping and paint tool.The software is widely used in production for movie and broadcast visual effects, winning both a Scientific and Technical Academy Award and Engineering Emmy Award in 2019. As well as the original standalone edition, Silhouette is available as a plugin, making the toolset available inside Adobe software and OFX-compatible apps like Nuke and DaVinci Resolve. New AI tools for refining mattes, generating depth maps, and fixing glitches Silhouette 2025 introduces new AI-based features for automating common tasks.The 2024 releases added an AI-based matte workflow, with the Mask ML node automatically generating a mask for a significant object – like a person or animal – in a frame of video, and Matte Assist ML propagating it throughout the rest of the footage. They are now joined by Matte Refine ML, a new node for processing hard-edge mattes into “natural, detailed selections”, creating better results when isolating hair or fur. In addition, new Depth Map ML and Frame Fixer ML tools generate depth maps from footage, and semi-automatically fix artifacts like scratches, camera flashes, or dropped frames. You can read more about them in our story on Continuum 2025.5, Silhouette’s sibling tool. New 3D Scene node lets users work with tracked 3D cameras Other new features in Silhouette 2025 include the new 3D environment.The 3D Scene node makes it possible to load a scene with a tracked 3D camera in FBX or Alembic format, or to perform a 3D track using Mocha Pro or SynthEyes. It is then possible to place cards in 3D space and paint directly on them in the viewer, while a new Unproject/Reproject node allows for fuller composites. Other new features When using a PowerMesh from Silhouette’s Mocha module to track deforming organic surfaces, it is now possible to paint on undistorted frames using a new PowerMesh Morph node.In addition, it is now possible to merge custom node setups into a single Compound node, which can be reused between projects or shared with collaborators. Prices up since the previous release The price of the software has also risen since Silhouette 2024.5, although the increases aren’t as large as with some of Boris FX’s other recent product updates.For the standalone edition, the price of perpetual licenses rise by $200, to $2,195. Subscriptions rise by $15/month, to $165/month, or by $80/year, to $875/year. For the plugin edition, the price of perpetual licenses rise by $100, to $1,195. Subscriptions rise by $3/month, to $103/month, or by $50/year, to $545/year. Price and system requirements Silhouette 2025 is available as a standalone tool for Windows 10+, Linux and macOS 12.0+, and as a plugin for Adobe software and OFX-compatible tools like Nuke.Perpetual licences of the standalone cost $2,195; the plugin costs $1,195. Rental costs $165/month or $875/year for the standalone; $103/month or $545/year for the plugin. Read a list of new features in Silhouette 2025 on Boris FX’s blog Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.