Nature, Published online: 22 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01616-9The study adds to evidence challenging the dominance of ‘natural selection’ as the sole adaptive force in evolution.

Although volcanic eruptions are mostly known for their devastating impacts on land, they also influence the atmosphere in surprising ways. Particles that are catapulted into the sky by eruptions can alter the composition of clouds, cooling the surface below. Volcanic ash, as new research suggests, plays an unexpected role in cloud formation by manipulating ice crystals.A new study published in Science Advances found that volcanic ash enables ice to take shape in clouds, a process that hasn’t been studied extensively before. The environmental effects — how volcanic ash contributes to radiation on Earth — are still up for debate, but a better understanding of cloud formation could inform geoengineering efforts that aspire to slow global warming. How Clouds and Volcanoes Impact Radiation Clouds have a complex relationship with radiation. This is seen with their influence on Earth’s radiation budget, the balance between incoming shortwave radiation from the Sun and outgoing longwave radiation from Earth. Depending on the thickness and elevation of a cloud, it can either have an absorbing or reflecting effect. Lower, thicker clouds reflect more radiation coming from the Sun and cool the Earth’s surface. Higher, thinner clouds reflect less incoming solar radiation and even tend to absorb outgoing infrared radiation constantly emitted by Earth itself. Cirrus clouds — wispy, icy clouds that sit high in the atmosphere — generally have a net warming effect on Earth. Volcanoes also affect Earth’s radiation budget through the particles they eject. Scientists have mostly focused on sulfate aerosols, which form after sulfur dioxide is released into the atmosphere by an eruption. Although sulfate aerosols can deplete the ozone layer and produce acid rain, they also help cool Earth by reflecting solar radiation. The Impact of Volcanic Ash Volcanic ash hasn’t garnered as much attention as sulfate aerosols, but the new study proves that it also needs to be considered in climate discussions. In the study, researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) gathered information on ice crystals in clouds by examining radar and lidar data from NASA’s Cloudsat and CALIPSO missions. The team found that ash-rich volcanic eruptions caused clouds to host fewer, but larger ice crystals. “At the beginning of the study, we did expect clouds affected by volcanic eruptions to look different from natural clouds, but not in the way we ultimately found,” said Lin Lin, a scientist at LLNL, in a statement. “We anticipated that volcanic aerosols would lead to an increase in the number of ice crystals in clouds. But to our surprise, the data showed the opposite.”Dealing with Cirrus CloudsThe team initially thought that an eruption would cause homogenous nucleation, in which ice forms spontaneously without the need for a surface. They instead found that ash-heavy eruptions prompt an opposite reaction called heterogenous nucleation, in which ice needs an “impurity” like volcanic ash to form. After an eruption, water droplets stick to ash particles before they can get cold enough to freeze. By producing fewer and larger ice crystals, clouds that undergo heterogenous nucleation end up reflecting less solar radiation, but they also allow more radiation from Earth to escape into space. The team also determined that ash-rich eruptions led to a higher frequency of cirrus clouds. The researchers say volcanic ash needs to be implemented in more climate models to understand exactly how all of these factors influence Earth’s surface temperature. Further studies on volcanic ash could also guide plans for cirrus cloud thinning, a proposed idea for mitigating global warming. This process would involve spraying aerosols into the atmosphere to thin or eliminate cirrus clouds, allowing more longwave radiation to leave Earth. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Science Advances. Ice nucleation by volcanic ash greatly alters cirrus cloud propertiesJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

Ex-Bungie employees have commented on struggles facing the company following accusations of plagiarism for Marathon and big changes behind the scenes of Destiny 2Tech15:17, 22 May 2025Updated 15:17, 22 May 2025Destiny 2's Edge of Fate is just a couple of months awayDestiny 2 developer Bungie can't catch a break at present. Shortly after revealing a series of expansions for the game, its other project, a Marathon reboot, was hit by plagiarism accusations that have sent the historic studio scrambling to remove stolen art assets just months before launch.While owner Sony has reportedly set a high target for Marathon, the furore surrounding the game has seen former developers speak out about Bungie leadership and decisions made in recent years.‌Now, it's been suggested that Bungie leadership had pitched a subscription model for Destiny 2 which was "vehemently shot down" by the development team.‌Shared by Destin Legarie, former employees at the studio have suggested that there is a "toxic work culture" that involves "humiliation, HR working in their own best interest, and leadership mismanagement".With Destiny 2 having been around since 2017, with regular seasonal updates and annual expansions, leadership reportedly considered a subscription model that was shut down down "vehemently" by developers on the game.Article continues belowLegarie's video paints a picture of Bungie leadership doing its best to squeeze every penny out of Destiny 2, even going so far as to complain that one in-game armour set would be "too attractive with its glow effect" and might stop players from spending real money on cosmetics.Expect to learn a lot about The Nine in Edge of FateAnother employee said staff were "scolded" about monetising the game, while another said "everything happening to Bungie is because of greed".‌Forbes reported over the weekend that "Morale is in 'free-fall” at the studio, with staff concerned the Marathon plagiarism concerns could spell the end for Bungie's autonomy.One former developer at the studio reportedly told Legarie that Bungie becoming a part of PlayStation would be "the path forward" for the studio previously owned by Microsoft.Destiny 2's next expansion, Edge of Fate, is planned for July 2025, while its successor, Renegades, will bring a Star Wars inspired aesthetic in December.‌Bungie has committed to two mid-sized seasonal expansions each year, with sizeable free patches in between, instead of launching a large DLC and multiple seasons.We've reached out to Bungie for comment for this story.For more on Destiny, check out our hands-on with the latest Sprayground backpack collab,Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌

The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV is in Dolton, Illinois. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images 2025-05-22T21:22:22Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? The owners of Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Illinois are trying to sell it via private auction. The home was listed for $199,900 before the pope's appointment. Now, bids start at $250,000. The auction winner may not get to enjoy it because the local government wants to acquire the home. People bidding to buy Pope Leo XIV's modest childhood home in Illinois could face some stiff competition — from the local government.The innocuous three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in the Village of Dolton was thrust into the spotlight when Pope Leo XIV became the leader of the Catholic Church.The current homeowner purchased the property in May 2024 for $66,000, listed it for $219,000 in January, and dropped the price to $199,900 in February.After the pope's appointment on May 8, the owner, inundated with offers and new options, delisted the home until last week when it was put up for auction through Paramount Realty USA. The reserve price is $250,000, and potential buyers have until June 18 to bid."It's like a collectible car they only made one of," Steve Budzik, the homeowner's real estate agent, told BI earlier this month.Potential buyers, however, will be going up against the Village of Dolton, which has said through its attorney that it plans to acquire the home either through direct purchase or eminent domain laws. Eminent domain laws allow governments to make private property available for public use."If a direct purchase from the seller cannot be negotiated, the Village will cause Eminent Domain proceedings to be filed in Court and take the property through the legal process," Burton S. Odelson wrote in an email to BI. "The Village hopes a direct purchase is completed without court action."Odelson, who's been in contact with the listing broker, said the Village of Dolton is working with the Chicago Archdiocese to determine the best use of the space.Although relying on local eminent domain laws is an option, Odelson said it's a last resort. That process involves litigation, which means attorney fees, court costs, appraisal costs, and time.Under eminent domain laws, the Village of Dolton would have to compensate the owners for the home. Negotiations between the Village of Dolton and the current owner are ongoing.The hype around Pope Leo XIV's childhood home spurred immediate fanfare, prompting news trucks and curious locals to visit. One woman even told a local news outlet that she made the four-hour drive from Louisville, Kentucky, just to visit the impromptu holy site.Representatives for Paramount Realty USA and the homeowner did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Home Google Launches SynthID Detector – A Revolutionary AI Detection Tool. Is This the Beginning of Responsible AI Development? News Google Launches SynthID Detector – A Revolutionary AI Detection Tool. Is This the Beginning of Responsible AI Development? 7 min read Published: May 22, 2025 Key Takeaways Google has introduced SynthID Detector, a powerful tool that can detect AI-generated content. It works by identifying SynthID-generated watermarks in content served up by Google AI tools, such as Imagen, Gemini, and Lyria. The detector is currently in the testing phase and only available for use by joining a waitlist. SynthID Detector is also open-source, allowing anyone to build on the tech architecture. Google has launched SynthID Detector, a tool that can recognize any content generated through the Google suite of AI tools. SynthID, in case you didn’t know, is a state-of-the-art watermarking tool launched by Google in August 2023. This technology adds a watermark on AI-generated content, which is not visible to the naked eye.  Initially, SynthID was launched only for AI-generated images, but it has now been extended to text, video, and audio content generated using tools like Imagen, Gemini, Lyria, and Veo. The detector uses this SynthID watermarking to identify AI content. When you upload an image, audio, or video to the detector tool, it’ll look for this watermark. If it finds one, it’ll highlight the part of the content that is most likely to be watermarked. It’s worth noting, though, that the SynthID Detector is currently in the testing phase. Google has released a waitlist form for researchers, journalists, and media professionals. Google has also partnered with NVIDIA to watermark videos generated on their NVIDIA Cosmos AI model. More importantly, Google announced a partnership with GetReal Security, which is a leading pioneer in detecting deepfake media and has raised around $17.5 million in equity funding. We’re likely to see an increasing number of such partnerships from Google’s end, meaning SynthID Detector’s scope will keep broadening. So, you’ll be able to detect not just Google-generated AI content but also content generated with other AI platforms. The Need for SynthID Detector Notwithstanding all of the benefits that artificial intelligence has brought us, it has also become a powerful tool in the hands of criminals. We have seen hundreds of incidents where innocent people were scammed or threatened using AI-generated content. For example, on May 13, Sandra Rogers, a Lackawanna County woman, was found guilty of possessing AI-generated child sex abuse images. In another incident, a 17-year-old kid extorted personal information from 19 victims by creating sexually explicit deepfakes and threatening to leak them. A man in China was scammed out of $622,000 by a scammer using an AI-generated voice over the phone impersonating the man’s friend. Similar scams have become popular in the US and even in countries like India that aren’t really at the forefront of AI technology. In addition to crimes against civilians, AI is also being used to cause a lot of political unrest. For instance, a consultant was fined $6M for using fake robocalls during the US presidential elections. He used AI to mimic Joe Biden’s voice and urged voters in New Hampshire not to vote in the state’s Democratic primary. Back in 2022, a fake video of Ukrainian President Zelensky was broadcast on Ukraine 24, a Ukrainian news website, which was allegedly hacked. The fake AI video showed Zelensky apparently surrendering to Russia and ‘laying down arms.’ This is only the tip of the iceberg. The internet is filled with such cases, with newer ones coming out almost every single day. AI is increasingly being weaponized against institutions, government, and the societal order to cause political and social unrest. Image Credit – Statista Therefore, a tool like SynthID Detector can be a beacon of hope to combat such perpetrators. News houses, publications, and regulators can run a suspected image or content through the detector to verify a story before running it for millions to view. More importantly, tools like SynthID will also go a long way in instilling some semblance of fear among criminals, who will know that they can be busted anytime. And What About the Legal Grey Area of AI Usage? Besides the above outright illegal use of AI, there’s also a moral dilemma attached to increasing AI use. Educators are specifically worried about the use of LLMs and text-generating AI models in schools, colleges, and universities. Instead of putting in the hard yards, students now just punch in a couple of prompts to generate detailed, human-like articles and assignments. Research at the University of Pennsylvania formed two groups of students: one with access to ChatGPT and another without any such LLM tools.  The students who had used ChatGPT could solve 48% more mathematical problems correctly. However, when a test was conducted, the students who had used ChatGPT solved 17% fewer problems than those who didn’t.  This shows that the use of LLM models isn’t really contributing to learning and academic development. They’re, instead, tools to simply ‘complete tasks,’ which is slowly robbing us of our ability to think. Another study called ‘AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking’ shows that people in the age group 17-25 have the highest AI usage as well as the lowest critical thinking scores. Coincidence? We don’t think so. Clearly, the use of AI tools isn’t contributing to the development of young minds. Instead, it has become a watchdog for laziness for people who wish to cut corners. We call this a moral dilemma because the use of AI tools for education or any other purpose, for that matter, is not illegal. Instead, it’s more of a conscious decision to let go of our own critical thinking, which, as most would argue, is what makes us human. Contemporary AI Detectors Are Worthless Because AI is replacing critical thinking and being used to outsource work by students, it’s understandable why educational institutions have resorted to AI detectors to check for the presence of AI-generated content in student submissions and assignments.  However, these AI detectors are no more accurate than a blind person telling you the way ahead. Apologies if we stepped on any toes here! We forgot our stick! Christopher Penn, an AI expert, made a post on LinkedIn titled ‘AI Detectors are a joke.’ He fed the US Declaration of Independence to a ‘market-leading’ AI detector, and guess what? Apparently, our forefathers used 97% AI to pen down the Declaration. Time travel? The inaccurate results from these detectors stem from their use of parameters such as perplexity and burstiness to analyze texts. Consequently, if you write an article that sounds somewhat robotic, lacks vocabulary variety, and features similar line lengths, these ‘AI detectors’ may classify your work as that of an AI language model. Bottom line, these tools are not reliable, which is possibly why OpenAI discontinued its AI detection tool in mid-2023, citing accuracy issues. However, the sad part is that a large part of the system, including universities, still relies on these tools to make major decisions such as student expulsions and suspensions. This is exactly why we need a better and more reliable tool to call out AI-generated content. Enter SynthID Detector. SynthID Detector Is Open-Source Possibly the biggest piece of positive news with regard to Google’s SynthID Detector announcement is that the tool has been kept open source. This will allow other companies and creators to build on the existing architecture and incorporate AI watermark detection in their own artificial intelligence models. Remember, SynthID Detector currently only works for Google’s AI tools, which is just a small part of the whole artificial intelligence market. So, if someone generates a text using ChatGPT, there’s still no reliable way to tell if it was AI-generated. Maybe that’s why Google has kept the detector open-source, hoping that other developers would take a cue from it. All in all, it’s really appreciable that Google hasn’t gate-kept this essential development. Other companies that are concerned about the increasing misuse of their AI models should go ahead and contribute to the greater good of making AI safe for society. 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

Artur Debat/Getty ImagesGenerative AI is an astonishing technology that's not only here to stay but promises to impact all sectors of work and business. It's already made unprecedented inroads into our daily lives.We all have a lot to learn about it. Spewing out a few prompts to ChatGPT may be easy, but before you can turn all these new capabilities into productive tools, you need to grow your skills. Fortunately, there is a wide range of classes that can help. Also: I let Google's Jules AI agent into my code repo and it did four hours of work in an instantMany companies and schools will try to sell you on their AI education programs. But as I'll show in the following compendium of great resources, you can learn a ton about AI and even get some certifications -- all for free.I have taken at least one class from each of the providers below, and they've all been pretty good. Obviously, some teachers are more compelling than others, but it's been a very helpful process. When working on AI projects for ZDNET, I've also sometimes gone back and taken other classes to shore up my knowledge and understanding.So, I recommend you take a quick spin through my short reviews, possibly dig deeper into the linked articles, and bookmark all of these, because they're valuable resources. Let's get started. Course selection: Huge, more than 1,500(!) AI coursesProgram pricing: Free trial, then $39.99/moLinkedIn Learning is one of the oldest online learning platforms, established in 1995 as Lynda.com. The company offers an enormous library of courses on a broad range of topics. There is a monthly fee, but many companies and schools have accounts for all their employees and students. Also: Want a top engineering job in 2025? Here are the skills you need, according to LinkedInLinkedIn Learning is probably the one online education site I've used more than any other -- starting back in the late 1990s. For years, I paid for a membership. Then, I got a membership as an alum of my grad school, which is how I use it now. With so many courses on so many topics, it's a great go-to learning resource.I took two classes on LinkedIn Learning. Here's my testimonial on one of them. I also took the two-hour Machine Learning with Python: Foundations course, which had a great instructor -- Prof. Frederick Nwanganga -- who was previously unknown to me. I have to hand it to LinkedIn. They choose people who know how to teach.I learned a lot in this course, especially about how to collect and prepare data for machine learning. I also was able to stretch my Python programming knowledge, specifically about how a machine learning model can be built in Python. In just two hours, I felt like I got a friendly and comprehensive brain dump.You can read more here: How LinkedIn's free AI course made me a better Python developer.Since there are so many AI courses, you're bound to find a helpful series. To get you started, I've picked three that might open some doors:ChatGPT Tips for the Help Desk: Learn to apply strategic planning, prompt engineering, and agent scripting, as well as other AI techniques, to AI operations.Machine Learning with Python: Foundations: Get step-by-step guidance on how to get started with machine learning via Python.Building Career Agility and Resilience in the Age of AI: Learn how to reimagine your career to adapt and find success in the age of AI. It's worth checking with your employer, agency, or school to see if you qualify for a free membership. Otherwise, you can pay by month or year (the by-year option is about half price).A company representative told ZDNET, "LinkedIn Learning has awarded nearly 500K professional certificates over the past 2.5 years. And, generative AI is one of the top topics represented." Show more View now at Linkedin Learning Course selection: 93Program pricing: Free during the Skills Fest, mostly free afterMicrosoft earned itself a Guinness World Record for its online training session called Skills Fest, which ran in April and May of 2025. This was a mixed combination of live and on-demand courses that anyone could take for free. The only cost was giving up your email account and registering with Microsoft.Also: You can get free AI skills training from Microsoft for a few more days, and I recommend you doHere are three courses I took. The Minecraft one was adorable, and I recommend it for a kids' intro to generative AI.AI Adventurers: A Minecraft Education presentation about the basics of generative AIBuilding applications with GitHub Copilot agent mode:AI for Organizational Leaders:Not all the courses are available on demand. After Skills Fest ends, you should be able to get to the course catalog by visiting this link. There's a Filters block on the left. Click On-Demand and then Apply Filters. You should see a bunch of courses still available for you to enjoy. Show more View now at Microsoft Skills Fest Course selection: Quite a lotProgram pricing: Many free, some on a paid subscriptionAmazon puts the demand in infrastructure on demand. Rather than building out their own infrastructure, many companies now rely on Amazon to provide scalable cloud infrastructure on demand. Nearly every aspect of IT technology is available for rent from Amazon's wide range of web services. This also includes a fairly large spectrum of individual AI services from computer vision to human-sounding speech to Bedrock, which "makes LLMs from Amazon and leading AI startups available through an API."Also: I spent a weekend with Amazon's free AI courses, and highly recommend you do tooAmazon also offers a wide range of training courses for all these services. Some of them are available for free, while others are available via a paid subscription. Here are three of the free courses you can try out:Foundations of Prompt Engineering: Learn about the principles, techniques, and best practices for designing effective prompts. Amazon Bedrock -- Getting Started: Learn about Amazon's service for building generative AI applications. Twitch Series: AWS Power Hour Introduction to Machine Learning for Developers: This is a recording of a Twitch-based learning chat series. It helps you learn the foundations of machine learning and get a practical perspective on what developers really need to know to get started with machine learning. In addition to classes located on Amazon's sites, the company also has quite a few classes on YouTube. I spent a fun and interesting weekend gobbling up the Generative AI Foundations series, which is an entire playlist of cool stuff to learn about AI.If you're using or even just considering AWS-based services, these courses are well worth your time. Show more View now at Amazon Course selection: Fairly broad IT and career buildingProgram pricing: FreeIBM, of course, is IBM. It led the AI pack for years with its Watson offerings. Its generative AI solution is called Watsonx. It focuses on enabling businesses to deploy and manage both traditional machine learning and generative AI, tailored to their unique needs.Also: Have 10 hours? IBM will train you in AI fundamentals - for freeThe company's SkillsBuild Learning classes offer a lot, providing basic training for a few key IT job descriptions -- including cybersecurity specialist, data analyst, user experience designer, and more. Right now, there's only one free AI credential, but it's one that excited a lot of our readers. That's the AI Fundamentals learning credential, which offers six courses. You need to be logged in to follow the link. But registration is easy and free. When you're done, you get an official credential, which you can list on LinkedIn. After I took the course, I did just that -- and, of course, I documented it for you.My favorite was the AI Ethics class, which is an hour and 45 minutes. Through real-world examples you'll learn about AI ethics, how they are implemented, and why AI ethics are so important in building trustworthy AI systems. Show more View now at IBM SkillsBuild Course selection: Nearly 90 AI-focused coursesProgram pricing: FreeDeepLearning is an education-focused company specializing in AI training. The company is constantly adding new courses that provide training, mostly for developers, in many different facets of AI technology. It partnered with OpenAI (the makers of ChatGPT) to create a number of pretty great courses.I took the ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers course below, which was my first detailed introduction to the ChatGPT API. If you're interested in how coders can use LLMs like ChatGPT, this course is worth your time. Interspersing traditional code with detailed prompts that look more like comments than commands can help you understand these two very different styles of coding.Read more: I took this free AI course for developers in one weekend and highly recommend itThree courses I recommend you check out are:ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers: Go beyond the chat box. Use API access to leverage LLMs into your own applications, and learn to build a custom chatbot.Evaluating and Debugging Generative AI Models Using Weights and Biases: Learn MLOps tools for managing, versioning, debugging, and experimenting in your ML workflow.Large Language Models with Semantic Search: Learn to use LLMs to enhance search and summarize results.With AI such a hot growth area, I am always amazed at the vast quantity of high-value courseware available for free. Definitely bookmark DeepLearning and keep checking back as it adds more courses. Show more View now at DeepLearning Google Generative AI Leader course Designed for business leaders Course selection: 5Program pricing: Free to learn, $99 for a certificateGoogle is offering a 7-8 hour program that teaches generative AI concepts to business leaders. This is a pretty comprehensive set of courses, all of which you can watch for free. They include: Gen AI: Beyond the chatbot: Foundational overview of generative AIGen AI: Unlock foundational concepts: Core AI concepts explained Gen AI: Navigate the landscape: AI ecosystem and infrastructureGen AI Apps: Transform your work: Business-focused AI applicationsGen AI Agents: Transform your organization: Strategy and adoption of AIThere is a small catch here: If you want the actual certificate, you need to pony up $99 and take a 90-minute exam. But if you're calling yourself a business leader and want the recognition, I figure $99 is probably a fair price to pay for anointing yourself (with a Google seal of approval) as a generative AI business leader.Also: Google offers AI certification for business leaders now - free trainings includedI took the foundational learning module, which was mostly text-based with interactive quizzes and involvement devices. It provided a good overview for someone just getting into the field, and I'm sure the remainder of the classes are equally interesting. Show more Course selection: Thousands of courses on AI aloneProgram pricing: Free trial, then $20/mo. Courses are also sold individually.Udemy is a courseware aggregator that publishes courses produced by individual trainers. That makes course style and quality a little inconsistent, but the rating system does help the more outstanding trainers rise to the top. Udemy has a free trial, which is why it's on this list.  I spent some time in Steve Ballinger's Complete ChatGPT Course For Work 2023 (Ethically)! and found it quite helpful. Clocking in at a little over two hours, it helps you understand how to balance ChatGPT with your work processes, while keeping in mind the ethics and issues that arise from using AI at work.Udemy offers a $20/month all-you-can-eat plan, and also sells individual courses. I honestly can't see why anyone would buy the courses individually, since most of them cost more for one course than the entire library does on a subscription.Also: I'm taking AI image courses for free on Udemy with this little trick - and you can tooHere are three courses you might want to check out:ChatGPT Masterclass: ChatGPT Guide for Beginners to Experts!: Gain a professional understanding of ChatGPT, and learn to produce high-quality content seamlessly and grow your earning potential.Discover, Validate & Launch New Business Ideas with ChatGPT: Learn how to generate startup ideas, evaluate their potential, and test them with customers in real life.Midjourney Mastery: Create Visually Stunning AI Art: Learn how to use Midjourney to create art.One of the more interesting aspects of Udemy is that you may find courses on very niche applications of AI, which might not suit vendors offering a more limited selection of mainstream courses. If you have a unique application need, don't hesitate to spend some extra time searching for just the right course. Show more View now at Udemy Course selection: One AI courseProgram pricing: FreeGoogle's Grow With Google program offers a fairly wide range of certificate programs, which are normally run through Coursera. Earning one of those certificates often requires paying a subscription fee. But we're specifically interested in one Grow With Google program, which is aimed at teachers, and does not involve any fees.The Generative AI for Educators class, developed in concert with MIT's Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education, is a 2-hour program designed to help teachers learn about generative AI, and how to use it in the classroom. Also: Google and MIT launch a free generative AI course for teachersGenerative AI is a big challenge in education because it can provide amazing support for students and teachers and, unfortunately, provide an easy way out for students to cheat on their assignments. So a course that can help teachers come up to speed on all the issues can be very powerful.The course provides a professional development certificate on completion, and this one is free. Show more View now at Google Why should you trust me? I've been working with AI for a very long time. I conducted one of the first-ever academic studies of AI ethics as a thesis project way back in the day. I created and launched an expert system development environment before the first link was connected on the World Wide Web. I did some of the first research of AI on RISC-based computing architectures (the chips in your phone) when RISC processors were the size of refrigerators. I also wrote and deployed the AI Editor, a generative AI tool that built news and content dynamically. That may not seem like much today, but I did it way back in 2010, when I had to create a generative AI engine from scratch. At that point, to work, it had to be distributed across five individual servers, each running one agent of a team of clustered AI agents.Also: Six skills you need to become an AI prompt engineerI also have a master's degree in education, focusing on learning and technology. My specialty is adult online learning, so this kind of stuff is right up my alley. When it comes to the courses and programs I'm spotlighting here, there's no way I could take all of them. But I have taken at least one course from each vendor, in order to test them out and report back to you. And, given my long background in the world of AI, this is a topic that has fascinated and enthralled me for most of my academic and professional career.With all that, I will say that the absolute high point was when I could get an AI to talk like a pirate. Show more Some companies are promoting micro-degrees. They seem expensive, but fast, but are they any good? Let's be clear: A micro-degree is not a degree. It's a set of courses with a marketing name attached. Degrees are granted by accredited academic institutions, accredited by regional accrediting bodies. I'm not saying you won't learn anything in those programs. But they're not degrees and they may cost more than just-as-good courses that don't have a fancy marketing name attached. Show more So, do certificates have any value? Yes, but how much value they have depends on your prospective employer's perspective. A certificate says you completed a course of study successfully. That might be something of value to you, as well. Also: Want a job in AI? Check out these new AWS AI certificationsYou can set a goal to learn a topic, and if you get a credential, you can be fairly confident you have achieved some learning. Accredited degrees, by contrast, are an assurance that you not only learned the material but did so according to some level of standard and rigor common to other accredited institutions.My advice: If you can get a certificate, and the price for getting it doesn't overly stretch your budget, go ahead and get it. It still is a resume point. But don't fork over bucks on the scale of a college tuition for some promise that you'll get qualified for a job faster and easier than, you know, going to college. Show more Other learning resources you'll probably loveYou can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly update newsletter, and follow me on Twitter/X at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.Want more stories about AI? Sign up for Innovation, our weekly newsletter.Artificial Intelligence

Freefolk has just shared with VFXWorld and AWN a new VFX breakdown reel for the studio’s work on a commercial for car manufacturer Škoda. Created by FCB London, the global campaign for the brand’s new electric model, the Enyaq, showcases the vehicle's aerodynamic features; the 60-second spot was created in collaboration with directors Ian Pons Jewell, Yukihiro Shoda (Prod Co.) and Freefolk. The short poses the questions, “So, what happens when you drop a car and an umbrella in a vacuum chamber?” Well, without air, everything moves in the same way, and the car falls slowly through the chamber at the same pace as an umbrella before landing on the ground, intact. Safely back on the ground, the car exits the vacuum chamber and drives in the real world, illustrating that, thanks to its design, it moves beautifully even where there is air. In crafting the campaign, the Freefolk team, led by their Creative Director Jason Watts, built a CGI replica of the biggest vacuum chamber in the world – the NASA Space Power Facility in Ohio, United States – and plugged in all its calculations to see how the Enyaq and the umbrella would realistically fall in that environment. The design of the chamber took inspiration from NASA's vacuum chamber. To match the NASA chamber, the VFX team created brushed aluminum panels for the walls to reflect the surrounding light. The goal was to make it modern and sleek to align with both the Skoda brand and the car’s aesthetic. To simulate a space with no air, the team used simulated physics models for both the car and the umbrella release mechanism. The car and umbrellas movements were slowed down to 10% of their actual speed to achieve a dramatic slow-motion effect. The VFX team had to create a smooth and elegant transition from the chamber’s interior to the lush, exterior forest environment.  This was one of the most challenging aspects of the project along with the intricate material properties involved in the car design Watts comments, “We built an entire CG forest inspired by the live-action scenes of the commercial, it was populated with various tree species, shrubs, stumps, twigs, and other assets, along with a CG road to complete the scene.” He adds, “For the CG car, we had to replicate the two-tone base layer and clear topcoat, the goal being  to match the real car’s materials as closely as possible, particularly for one driving shot where we transition from a CG car (viewed from underground) to a live-action plate. Achieving a seamless transition between the two was key to maintaining visual consistency.” Rob Farren, Creative Director at FCB, said, “The team at Freefolk are some of the best I’ve worked with in the industry, both from a CG and collaboration perspective. Their attention to detail for the creation of the car, vacuum chamber and forest environments was flawless throughout the entire project. It looks even better than we imagined and is testament to their perfect combination of technical skill and creativity.” Source: Freefolk Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Marvel Rivals Team-Ups are a crucial part of the 6v6 shooter gameplay as players rely on their teammates to boost their abilities and provide them with new powers to unleash on the enemy team. Over the past two seasons, several Team-Up abilities have changed and been added to the game, allowing players to create unique synergies with different heroes to dominate lobbies. From Namor’s Gamma Overload Monstro Spawns to Scarlet Witch’s newform synergy with Doctor Strange in Season 2, the update also removed some popular team-ups to balance the meta. However, now that the game is nearing its mid-season update, the latest Dev Talk post has revealed six new team-up abilities and the removal of four of the current lot from Season 2.5. Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 new and removed team-up abilities According to Marvel Rival devs in the latest Dev Talk Vol. 06, six new Team-Up abilities will be added to the game, and four from the existing roll will become unavailable. This will include some of the fan-favorite concepts that have been brought to life by the devs, as well as iconic synergies seen in comics. Six new Team-Ups are added and four will be removed. Image by VideoGamer. Jeff gets a Symbiote makeover. Image by VideoGamer. Black Widow gets to use The Punisher’s firepower. Image by VideoGamer. Luna shares chilling arrows with Hawkeye. Image by VideoGamer. Rocket and Peni Parker will combine their tech. Image by VideoGamer. Stark and Ultron will blast enemies together. Image by VideoGamer. Jeff and Storm join hands to unleash a tornado. Image by VideoGamer. Previous Next 1 of 7 Previous Next Here are all the team-up ability changes in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5. New Team-Up abilities Symbiote Shenanigans (Jeff <-> Venom) – Jeff the Land Shark can borrow Venom’s symbiote to extend tendrils and link nearby allies for some quick healing. Operation Microchip (Punisher <-> Black Widow) – Black Widow gains a new firing mode to her rifle from The Punisher that allows her primary fire to pierce through enemies while aiming down sights. Chilling Assault (Luna Snow <-> Hawkeye) – Hawkeye uses Luna Snow’s ice to fire a special arrow that penetrates terrain. If enemies are far enough away, this arrow also deals bonus damage and stuns. Rocket Network (Rocket Raccoon <-> Peni Parker) – Peni Parker uses Rocket Raccoon’s tech to drop a second, smaller Bionic Spider-Nest that also spawns armor packs. Rocket’s beacon is changed into a mini Bionic Spider-Nest that spawns Spider-Drones and even full Arachno-Mines. Stark Protocol (Iron Man <-> Ultron) – Ultron gains the ability to use Iron Man’s Unibeam for a powerful piercing blast that damages enemies and heals allies. Jeff-Nado (Storm <-> Jeff) – By popular demand, Jeff and Storm combine their ultimate abilities to drag enemies into the raging twister for massive damage before swallowing up any remaining foes. Removed Team-Up abilities Symbiote Bond Ammo Overload Chilling Charisma Allied Agents According to Guangguang, the game’s Creative Director, the Team-Up ability mechanic has undergone a 50% change ever since the Season 0 launch, and more such abilities are on the way. Since starting Season 3, all Marvel Rivals seasons will be only two months long, expect more new team-up abilities to be introduced and present ones removed to balance the meta with new heroes and changes. Also, check out the full list of nerfs and buffs coming to Season 2.5. Marvel Rivals Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Fighting, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

May 22, 2025Ravie LakshmananVulnerability / Software Security Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered multiple critical security vulnerabilities impacting the Versa Concerto network security and SD-WAN orchestration platform that could be exploited to take control of susceptible instances. It's worth noting that the identified shortcomings remain unpatched despite responsible disclosure on February 13, 2025, prompting a public release of the issues following the end of the 90-day deadline. "These vulnerabilities, when chained together, could allow an attacker to fully compromise both the application and the underlying host system," ProjectDiscovery researchers Harsh Jaiswal, Rahul Maini, and Parth Malhotra said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The security defects are listed below - CVE-2025-34025 (CVSS score: 8.6) - A privilege escalation and Docker container escape vulnerability that's caused by unsafe default mounting of host binary paths and could be exploited to gain code execution on the underlying host machine CVE-2025-34026 (CVSS score: 9.2) - An authentication bypass vulnerability in the Traefik reverse proxy configuration that allows an attacker to access administrative endpoints, which could then be exploited to access heap dumps and trace logs by exploiting an internal Spring Boot Actuator endpoint via CVE-2024-45410 CVE-2025-34027 (CVSS score: 10.0) - An authentication bypass vulnerability in the Traefik reverse proxy configuration that allows an attacker to access administrative endpoints, which could then be exploited to achieve remote code execution by exploiting an endpoint related to package uploads ("/portalapi/v1/package/spack/upload") via arbitrary file writes Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-34027 could allow an attacker to leverage a race condition and write malicious files to disk, ultimately resulting in remote code execution using LD_PRELOAD and a reverse shell. "Our approach involved overwriting ../../../../../../etc/ld.so.preload with a path pointing to /tmp/hook.so," the researchers said. "Simultaneously, we uploaded /tmp/hook.so, which contained a compiled C binary for a reverse shell. Since our request triggered two file write operations, we leveraged this to ensure that both files were written within the same request." "Once these files were successfully written, any command execution on the system while both persisted would result in the execution of /tmp/hook.so, thereby giving us a reverse shell." In the absence of an official fix, users are advised to block semicolons in URL paths and drop requests where the Connection header contains the value X-Real-Ip. It's also recommended to monitor network traffic and logs for any suspicious activity. The Hacker News has reached out to Versa Networks for comment, and we will update the story if we hear back. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE    

Peter Molyneux recalls how Project Milo, the Kinect game with revolutionary promise, died a death At Nordic Game 2025, Molyneux shared how tech limitations and changing priorities killed the Xbox game Milo & Kate Feature by Samuel Roberts Editorial Director Published on May 22, 2025 Vapourware can end up being the stuff of legend, like Rockstar's Agent, Star Wars 1313, or StarCraft: Ghost. Without ever seeing the light of day, these games never risked the possibility of being played and forgotten, and instead live on forever as the subjects of lengthy YouTube essays. Peter Molyneux, formerly of the studios Bullfrog and Lionhead, and currently working on Masters of Albion at 22cans, has had a number of cancelled projects in his career. The original Xbox's prehistoric game BC was axed around the time Fable became Lionhead's priority, for example. Still, Molyneux's most notable lost game (or tech demo, depending on who you asked at the time) was arguably Project Milo. Revealed alongside the Kinect device at E3 2009, which was then known as Project Natal, players would interact with a young male character called Milo using voice and gesture commands. Watch on YouTube This unusual premise made the game a huge talking point. The project was revealed just as traditional game genre boundaries were starting to blur following the success of the Nintendo DS and Wii. The actual game based on the tech demo was to be called Milo & Kate, with Molyneux demoing it in more detail at a TED presentation in 2010. Lionhead's stylistic touches are obvious throughout the demo, like its tone, music, narration, and choice of story about a British family that's recently moved to America. Molyneux described the game at the time by saying, "most of it is just a trick; but it's a trick that works". The game ultimately didn't release, with some of its ideas rolled into Fable: The Journey on Xbox 360, which was not well-received. Still, the demo arguably did its job, putting Microsoft's Kinect device at the centre of the cultural conversation for its reveal, a full 17 months before it was commercially available. Fable: The Journey ended up being the final Lionhead game before the studio's closure in 2016. While the broad details (and many specifics, per a 2013 Polygon piece) of Project Milo's demise are fairly well-known, it was undeniably exciting to hear Molyneux himself recall the project during Nordic Game 2025 in Malmö this week. During the Q&A section of his fireside chat, one attendee asked about Milo, saying they believed that to this day, Molyneux had a vision for what it could've been. "I'll tell you exactly what happened," Molyneux said. "Microsoft had [bought] us, we were owned by Microsoft, and they had...I'm going to say this, I might get in trouble...what I thought was a bit of a crazy idea. And that was to do gesture recognition as an input device, rather than a controller. They showed me this stuff, and Microsoft had this amazing research building. Incredible. "It was run by this brilliant bloke called Alex Kipman. Makes me look boring and passionless – he had ten times more passion than I had. He had this demo of this device, and when he showed me this demo, it could see people's faces. He said, 'it can do voice recognition', and it had a massive field-of-view so it could see this whole room." Molyneux then recalled his first reaction to the tech that would eventually become Kinect. "He said, 'what do you think?', and I said, 'well, firstly' – when he did the demo, he was jumping all over the room – 'I'm a gamer, I don't want to play games standing up. That's the first thing. It doesn't appeal to me, I want to sit back, I want to smoke what I smoke, and I want to drink what I want to drink, and I don't want to prance around like a twat'. "The death blow of Milo, which still breaks my heart to this day, was that it was decided that Kinect shouldn't be a gaming device: it should be a party device" Peter Molyneux "I said, 'I'll go away and I'll create a demo of [how we should use] the technology you showed me.' "Again, I go back to what I want the player to feel," Molyneux continued. "Now, at that time, my son, Lucas, was about seven years old. And, anyone who's a parent will probably experience this: there was this moment where you realise you're crafting, inspiring, a human being. Wouldn't it be an incredible thing to create a game around that feeling?" Molyneux's phone then started ringing during the panel, and he paused to turn it off before continuing. "Wouldn't it be incredible to create an experience around that? About inspiring, in Milo's case, a boy. That was contentious in itself, because of course, lots of people go to the dark side with that [idea]. Molyneux then said staff at Lionhead started working on the demo, collaborating with an unnamed technology company on Project Milo's voice recognition. "We had all sorts of experiences, like you could hand things to Milo in the game world and he would take them. They really worked well." Molyneux then said the team "cheated in a big way about how you could talk to Milo", recalling that his intention was to have players sit back on the sofa and "just experience things with this game character". "Even though voice recognition now is almost a solved problem, back in those days we solved the problem by cheating," Molyneux said. "So, when Milo asked you the player a question, we had set that question up to different points, so he knew what sort of answer he'd give." At this point, Molyneux explained how the changing specs of the Kinect device in the run up to launch impacted the potential of Project Milo. "Unfortunately, as we were developing Milo, so the Kinect device was being developed. And they realised that the device that Alex Kipman first showed off would cost $5,000 for consumers to buy. "So they cost-reduced that device down to such a point, where the field-of-view...I think it was a minuscule field-of-view. In other words, it could only just see what's straight in front of you." Ultimately, the demise of Project Milo came down to Microsoft's changing priorities with the Kinect device, which was soon synonymous with the kinds of casual games that exploded in popularity on the Wii. "Then, the death blow of Milo, which still breaks my heart to this day, was that it was decided that Kinect shouldn't be a gaming device: it should be a party device. You should play a sports game with it, or dancing games with it. So, it just didn't fit into the Microsoft portfolio, and unfortunately the project was cancelled." "No one ever saw the complete experience," Molyneux continued. "We didn't finish the experience. But it was a magical thing. What was so magical about it: it wasn't about heroes and aliens coming down, there wasn't this 'end of the world' narrative scenario." "It was just experiencing what it's like to hang out with someone that loves you." GamesIndustry.biz is a media partner of Nordic Game 2025. Travel and accommodation were covered by the organisers.