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Could THIS be the next Miss England? Stunning pageant queen candidate is revealed - but there's a HUGE catch

Daily Mail - Science & tech

A stunning Miss England semi–finalist has been revealed, but there's a huge catch – she is AI–generated. The Miss England pageant has launched a brand new AI round, featuring computer–generated beauty queens. Glamorous contestants can now walk down a virtual catwalk by making digital twin avatars of themselves as part of the Black Mirror–style qualifying round. Organisers believe they are the first beauty pageant in the world to introduce a digital AI round which will help'reflect the world' the young women are stepping into. The contest has already axed its bikini swimwear round in a bid to move away from outdated pageant stereotypes and replaced it was a CPR round teaching life–saving skills.


Rage against the machines: ignore the fury at Wimbledon, AI in sport works Sean Ingle

The Guardian

We are all suckers for a good story. And there was certainly a cracking two‑parter at Wimbledon this year. First came the news that 300 line judges had been replaced by artificial intelligence robots. Then, a few days later, it turned out there were some embarrassing gremlins in the machine. Not since Roger Federer hung up his Wilson racket has there been a sweeter spot hit during the Wimbledon fortnight.


Astronomers think newly discovered comet may be way older than the sun

Mashable

A giant comet spotted days ago hurtling through the solar system may be the most ancient one ever seen -- and may be loaded with frozen water. The icy traveler, called 3I/ATLAS or Comet ATLAS, was discovered on July 1 by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile. This enormous space snowball came from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and is about 300 million miles from Earth right now. After running a new kind of computer simulation, scientists believe the comet originated from a rarely seen corner of the galaxy, far beyond the birthplace of the sun. And because it likely formed around an ancient, thick-disk star in the Milky Way, it should be rich in water ice, said Matthew Hopkins, a University of Oxford astronomer, who led the research.


This tool strips away anti-AI protections from digital art

MIT Technology Review

To be clear, the researchers behind LightShed aren't trying to steal artists' work. They just don't want people to get a false sense of security. "You will not be sure if companies have methods to delete these poisons but will never tell you," says Hanna Foerster, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge and the lead author of a paper on the work. And if they do, it may be too late to fix the problem. AI models work, in part, by implicitly creating boundaries between what they perceive as different categories of images.


Why don't we trust technology in sport?

BBC News

For a few minutes on Sunday afternoon, Wimbledon's Centre Court became the perfect encapsulation of the current tensions between humans and machines. When Britain's Sonay Kartal hit a backhand long on a crucial point, her opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova knew it had landed out. She said the umpire did too. But the electronic line-calling system - which means humans have been fully replaced this year following earlier trials - remained silent. The human umpire eventually declared the point should be replayed.


I loved Arc browser and was skeptical of its agentic Dia replacement - until I tried it

ZDNet

When The Browser Company announced they were ending Arc and developing an agentic browser that could leverage AI in ways other browsers were not, I was skeptical. I was starting to see the value in AI, but using it in such a way seemed like just another crutch for users to lean on -- so they didn't have to take the time to do those things themselves. I also saw it as a possible security and privacy issue. And then I was accepted into the Dia beta program. After installing Dia on my MacBook, I saw it in action, and, well, it's impressive.


AI could be about to completely change the way we do mathematics

New Scientist

Is an artificial intelligence revolution about to transform mathematics? Some prominent mathematicians think so, thanks to automated tools that can help write proofs suddenly showing impressive leaps in capability, with the potential to change the way maths research is done. Around 100 of the world's top mathematicians gathered at the University of Cambridge in June for a conference whose theme was based on whether computers might help mathematicians resolve some long-standing problems over how to check that their proofs were correct. This process, known as formalisation, doesn't necessarily have to involve artificial intelligence, and indeed a similar meeting held at Cambridge in 2017 made no mention of AI. But eight years later, AI has come on by leaps and bounds, most notably with the success of large language models powering tools like ChatGPT.


I drove the world's first anti-sickness CAR - and it's the smoothest ride I've ever experienced

Daily Mail - Science & tech

If, like me, you suffer from motion sickness, then you know just how quickly a trip down Britain's winding back roads can turn into a nausea-inducing nightmare. But if you struggle to hold on to your lunch as the car starts to lurch, there may soon be a solution. ClearMotion, a Boston-based startup, claims that its latest generation of cutting-edge suspension can'eliminate motion sickness' for good. So, with anti-nausea tablets in hand, MailOnline's reporter, Wiliam Hunter, took a trip to their Warwickshire testing facility to try it for himself. With compact motors tucked away above each wheel and a sophisticated onboard computer, the system can push and pull the wheels to cancel out bumps in the road.


Wimbledon chiefs defend AI use as Jack Draper says line calls not '100% accurate'

The Guardian

Wimbledon bosses have defended the use of AI line judges after Jack Draper said the technology was not "100% accurate". The British No 1 said it was "a shame" human line judges were ousted after crashing out in the second round to the 36-year-old former finalist Marin Cilic. Draper, 23, grew frustrated with the AI-enhanced Hawk-Eye technology during Thursday's match, holding his arms out in disbelief after one of his opponent's serves was not called out in the fourth set. "I don't think it's 100% accurate in all honesty," he said in his post-match press conference. "A couple of the ones today, it showed a mark on the court. There's no way the chalk would have showed that. I guess it cannot be 100% accurate – it's millimetres."


Flies disguised as wasps can't fool birds

Popular Science

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Despite their bee-like appearance, hoverflies are all buzz, no bite. The harmless insects, more closely related to midges than wasps, imitate their distant stinging cousins with stripes, high contrast colors, and narrow waists. In theory, the "flies in wasps' clothing" use this strategy to ward off would-be predators, without having to pay the cost of evolving venom and an appendage to inject it. The quality of hoverfly mimicry can vary– from detailed disguises to the insect equivalent of slapping on a pair of cat ears for a Halloween party.