Public service systems in many African regions suffer from delayed emergency response and spatial inequity, causing avoidable suffering. This paper introduces OPTIC-ER, a reinforcement learning (RL) framework for real-time, adaptive, and equitable emergency response. OPTIC-ER uses an attention-guided actor-critic architecture to manage the complexity of dispatch environments. Its key innovations are a Context-Rich State Vector, encoding action sub-optimality, and a Precision Reward Function, which penalizes inefficiency. Training occurs in a high-fidelity simulation using real data from Rivers State, Nigeria, accelerated by a precomputed Travel Time Atlas. The system is built on the TALS framework (Thin computing, Adaptability, Low-cost, Scalability) for deployment in low-resource settings. In evaluations on 500 unseen incidents, OPTIC-ER achieved a 100.00% optimal action selection rate, confirming its robustness and generalization. Beyond dispatch, the system generates Infrastructure Deficiency Maps and Equity Monitoring Dashboards to guide proactive governance and data-informed development. This work presents a validated blueprint for AI-augmented public services, showing how context-aware RL can bridge the gap between algorithmic decision-making and measurable human impact.

Accurate electricity forecasting is crucial for grid stability and energy planning, especially in Benghazi, Libya, where frequent load shedding, generation deficits, and infrastructure limitations persist. This study proposes a data-driven approach to forecast electricity load, generation, and deficits for 2025 using historical data from 2019 (a year marked by instability) and 2023 (a more stable year). Multiple time series models were applied, including ARIMA, seasonal ARIMA, dynamic regression ARIMA, exponential smoothing, extreme gradient boosting, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks. The dataset was enhanced through missing value imputation, outlier smoothing, and log transformation. Performance was assessed using mean squared error, root mean squared error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error. LSTM outperformed all other models, showing strong capabilities in modeling non-stationary and seasonal patterns. A key contribution of this work is an optimized LSTM framework that integrates exogenous factors such as temperature and humidity, offering robust performance in forecasting multiple electricity indicators. These results provide practical insights for policymakers and grid operators to enable proactive load management and resource planning in data-scarce, volatile regions.

What is Cartel de los Soles? Does'America First' make the US weaker? Who is Marjorie Taylor Greene? A bipartisan group of United States senators, including prominent Republican China hawk Tom Cotton, has unveiled a bill that would block the administration of President Donald Trump from loosening rules restricting Beijing's access to artificial intelligence chips for 2.5 years. The bill, unveiled on Thursday, is known as the SAFE CHIPS Act and was filed by Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and Democrat Chris Coons.

In this episode of, we talk to writer Evan Ratliff about how he created a small startup made entirely of AI employees--and what his findings reveal about the reality of an agentic future. This year, AI agents have been at the forefront of tech companies' ambitions. OpenAI's Sam Altman has often talked about a possible billion-dollar company being spun up with just one human and an army of AI agents. And so last summer, journalist Evan Ratliff decided to try to become that unicorn himself--by creating HarumoAI, a small startup that's made up of AI employees and executives. Hosts Michael Calore and Lauren Goode sit down with Evan to discuss how it's going, and the current promises and realities of AI agents. Write to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com . You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how: If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link . Hey, Lauren, how are you doing? It was so fantastic that I had a hard time coming back, honestly. And I saw a lot of really beautiful art. Not a bad place to go for vacation, I have to say. I've heard this before, I confirmed it. And after seeing so much incredible art and just people doing stuff with their hands and tangible goods, I was like, I don't want to go back to the world of AI. I didn't want to go back to sitting in a coffee shop and hearing everyone pitching their AI startups and driving on the 101 and seeing the billboards. I was just like, What? No, keep me in the land of Burrata and Caravaggio. Well, Lauren, I'm sorry to tell you that you came back on the show just in time to talk about AI agents. It's something that we've talked about a lot this year and our listeners have heard about it a lot, and we're not sick of talking about it.

The logos of organisations were also included in images generated by Google's Nano Banana Pro AI tool. The logos of organisations were also included in images generated by Google's Nano Banana Pro AI tool. Google's AI Nano Banana Pro accused of generating racialised'white saviour' visuals Nano Banana Pro, Google's new AI-powered image generator, has been accused of creating racialised and "white saviour" visuals in response to prompts about humanitarian aid in Africa - and sometimes appends the logos of large charities. Asking the tool tens of times to generate an image for the prompt "volunteer helps children in Africa" yielded, with two exceptions, a picture of a white woman surrounded by Black children, often with grass-roofed huts in the background. In several of these images, the woman wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase "Worldwide Vision", and with the UK charity World Vision's logo.

Several legal experts have told BBC Verify that the second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat by the US military was probably illegal, and would likely be considered an extrajudicial killing under international law. On Monday, the Trump administration confirmed that a follow-up strike on the boat - which has been criticised as a double tap - was ordered by US Navy Admiral Frank Bradley with the overall operation having been authorised by War Secretary Pete Hegseth. Nine people died in the first strike on the vessel and two survivors were left clinging to the burning wreckage when it was struck again, killing them, according to the Washington Post. A US official has said four missiles were used in the operation. The Trump administration has not denied there were survivors and has insisted the strikes on 2 September were in accordance with the law of armed conflict.

Spain and The Netherlands will boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest, after Israel was allowed to compete. They were among a number of countries who had called for Israel to be excluded over the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza, and accusations of unfair voting practices. Despite calls for a vote on Israel's participation, members instead approved a new set of rules intended to protect the integrity of the contest. In a statement, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said that participation under the current circumstances is incompatible with the public values that are essential to us. Spanish broadcaster RTVE added: The board of directors of RTVE agreed last September that Spain would withdraw from Eurovision if Israel was part of it.

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More than just rats and fleas added to the'perfect storm' plague. Photograph of the fresco Trionfo della Morte, taken at its original location in the Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa. The fresco, known as the "Triumph of Death" and attributed to the painter Buonamico Buffalmacco, is not precisely dated; scholarly estimates range from 1335 to 1350. While it does not depict the Black Death explicitly, the selected detail shows victims of an epidemic from diverse social backgrounds, their souls carried off by demons. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday.

Pots, quadrants, confederation constraints, group position grids... the 2026 World Cup finals draw on Friday is not going to be a straightforward affair. There's a lot to unpack so we're going to explain it as simply as we can. Luckily, Fifa will have a computer to do most of the heavy lifting and make sure everything runs smoothly. Though as Uefa found out in 2021, sometimes technology does go wrong. Let's hope there will be no gremlins in Washington once the draw ceremony kicks off.