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Why Trump is worried datacenters might cost his party an election

The Guardian

The president wants big tech to pay more for electricity, but he's curbing renewable projects that could boost supply Donald Trump is worried about datacenters. Specifically, he is concerned about their effects on an already expensive electricity market in the United States. Will Americans' resentment of sharply rising energy costs scuttle his party's November election ambitions? The US president's anxiety is evident in two actions in recent weeks. On 13 January, Trump and Microsoft's president jointly announced that the tech giant would pay more for its datacenters, paying full property taxes and accepting neither tax reductions nor electricity rate discounts in towns where it operates datacenters.


Ubisoft cancels six games including Prince of Persia and closes studios

BBC News

Ubisoft has cancelled six video games - including its long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake - as part of a major reset of its operations. The French developer and publisher, known for popular games such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Just Dance, has closed two studios and delayed seven titles as part of its changes. Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot said the move would create the conditions for a return to sustainable growth. The firm's shares plunged by 33% on Thursday morning following the announcement. The move comes at a time when studios are increasingly turning to video game remakes and remasters, with new versions of Super Mario Galaxy, Oblivion and Metal Gear Solid 3 proving popular in 2025.


The year of the 'hectocorn': the 100bn tech companies that could float in 2026

The Guardian

OpenAI could be valued at $1tn if it launches an initial public offering, Reuters said. OpenAI could be valued at $1tn if it launches an initial public offering, Reuters said. The year of the'hectocorn': the $100bn tech companies that could float in 2026 Y ou've probably heard of "unicorns" - technology startups valued at more than $1bn - but 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the " hectocorn ", with several US and European companies potentially floating on stock markets at valuations over $100bn (£75bn). OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX and Stripe are among the big names said to be considering an initial public offering (IPO) this year. The success of their flotations - whether the shares maintain their value, rise or fall - could shape concerns about the AI race and whether the resulting market mania is a bubble .



Ashton Kutcher: Hollywood isn't to blame for pushing unrealistic beauty standards

BBC News

Ashton Kutcher: Hollywood isn't to blame for pushing unrealistic beauty standards US actor Ashton Kutcher has said he believes Hollywood is not pushing unreasonably high beauty standards, adding that wider society is to blame for the increasing desire to look perfect. The 47-year-old is currently starring in science fiction show The Beauty, which sees a drug become available that can transform a person into the most attractive version of themselves. Speaking to BBC News, Kutcher said he does not believe the film and TV industry is imparting the need for aesthetic homogeny. Entertainment is a reflection of society, he said. Across the different characters and actors in shows, some are traditionally handsome but others are just really interesting, he said.


Blockbusters, battles and Brits: Hollywood gears up for Oscar nominations

BBC News

The Oscar nominations will be announced later, with Leonardo DiCaprio's politically-charged thriller One Battle After Another expected to lead the field. Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, Sentimental Value, Bugonia and The Secret Agent are also expected to perform strongly when the shortlists are announced from 13:30 GMT. It's a weaker year for UK talent - Wunmi Mosaku from vampire horror Sinners is one of the few British stars with a chance of securing an acting nomination. But Irish actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are expected to be recognised for their roles in the screen adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel Hamnet. US comedian Conan O'Brien will return to host this year's Academy Awards ceremony, which takes place on 15 March.


Semi-Supervised Mixture Models under the Concept of Missing at Radom with Margin Confidence and Aranda Ordaz Function

arXiv.org Machine Learning

Abstract--This paper presents a semi-supervised learning framework for Gaussian mixture modelling under a Missing at Random (MAR) mechanism. T o quantify classification uncertainty, we introduce margin confidence and incorporate the Aranda-Ordaz (AO) link function to flexibly capture the asymmetric relationships between uncertainty and missing probability. Based on this formulation, we develop an efficient Expectation-Conditional Maximization (ECM) algorithm that jointly estimates all parameters appearing in both the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) and the missingness mechanism, and subsequently imputes the missing labels by a Bayesian classifier derived from the fitted mixture model. This method effectively alleviates the bias induced by ignoring the missingness mechanism while enhancing the robustness of semi-supervised learning. The resulting uncertainty-aware framework delivers reliable classification performance in realistic MAR scenarios with substantial proportions of missing labels.


US to transfer Islamic State prisoners from Syria to Iraq

BBC News

The US military has launched a mission to transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State (IS) group fighters from prisons in north-eastern Syria to Iraq, as Syrian government forces take control of areas long controlled by Kurdish-led forces. US Central Command said it had already moved 150 IS fighters from Hassakeh province to a secure location in Iraq. The move aimed to prevent a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security, it added. On Tuesday night, Syria's government announced a new ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after the militia alliance withdrew from al-Hol camp, which holds thousands of relatives of IS fighters. Separately on Wednesday, Syria's defence ministry said seven soldiers were killed in a drone attack by Kurdish forces in the Kurdish-dominated province of Hasakah.


Mercy review – Chris Pratt takes on AI judge Rebecca Ferguson in ingenious sci-fi thriller

The Guardian

It is the year 2029 and an LA cop finds himself accused of murdering his wife. I rish writer Marco van Belle delivers an entertaining script for this real time futurist thriller-satire set in LA in 2029, in a world (as they say) where AI is wholly responsible for assessing criminal guilt or innocence. Veteran Russian-Kazakh film-maker Timur Bekmambetov directs, bringing his usual robust approach to the big action sequences, and Chris Pratt stars as the LAPD cop accused of murder. The film's ostensible target is the insidious power of AI, though the movie partakes of today's liberal opinion doublethink, in which we all solemnly concur that AI is very worrying while not having the smallest intention of doing anything about it. Pratt plays Detective Chris Raven, an officer with a drinking problem but nonetheless a poster boy for LA law enforcement in 2029 for having brought in the first conviction under the city's creepy new hi-tech justice system, ironically entitled Mercy (it doesn't appear to be an acronym).


World's oldest-known rock art found in Indonesian cave

Popular Science

Science Archaeology World's oldest-known rock art found in Indonesian cave The claw-like drawing of a human hand is roughly 67,800-years-old. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. A drawing of a claw-like hand on the wall of a cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia is now the oldest known rock art in the world. The roughly 67,800-year-old art exceeds the previous record holder in the same region of Southeast Asia by 15,000 years or more. The drawing is detailed in a study published today in the journal, and helps fill in the archaeological timeline of how and when Australia was first settled.