Sketches are simple human hand-drawn abstractions of complex scenes and real-world objects. Although the field of sketch representation learning has advanced significantly, there is still a gap in understanding the true relevance of the temporal aspect to the quality of these representations. This work investigates whether it is indeed justifiable to treat sketches as sequences, as well as which internal orders play a more relevant role. The results indicate that, although the use of traditional positional encodings is valid for modeling sketches as sequences, absolute coordinates consistently outperform relative ones. Furthermore, non-autoregressive decoders outperform their autoregressive counterparts. Finally, the importance of temporality was shown to depend on both the order considered and the task evaluated.

Large Language Models (LLMs) with vast context windows offer new avenues for in-context learning (ICL), where providing many examples ("many-shot" prompting) is often assumed to enhance performance. We investigate this assumption for the complex task of code translation. Through a large-scale empirical study of over 90,000 translations, we systematically evaluate the impact of scaling in-context examples from zero-shot to many-shot configurations of up to 625 examples, with prompts spanning from approximately 100,000 to 800,000 tokens. Our findings reveal a "many-shot paradox": while static similarity metrics may modestly improve with more examples, functional correctness consistently peaks with few-shot prompting (5-25 examples). Providing substantially more examples often degrades this crucial functional performance. This study highlights that for code translation, the quality of a few well-chosen examples outweighs sheer quantity, challenging the universal efficacy of "more is better" for ICL and underscoring the task-dependent nature of optimal prompting strategies. Our results have significant implications for effectively leveraging LLMs in software engineering.

International talks to revolutionise how the European Court of Human Rights handles migration cases will begin on Wednesday. The British government is urging partners to modernise the way states tackle the continent-wide illegal migration crisis. The talks are the most significant sign yet that international human rights law could be reinterpreted to make it easier for states to target people smuggling and set up'returns hubs' to hold people with no right to be in Europe. Writing ahead of the major meeting in Strasbourg, Sir Keir Starmer and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said other nations should rethink human rights laws to make protecting borders easier. Critics say the ECHR is getting in the way of removing more illegal migrants, while supporters say claims about the ECHR's role in migration are exaggerated.

Environment Animals Wildlife Birds Female Galápagos birds flaunt their sexual partners. The males don't seem to mind. 'Many of these female boobies are really freewheeling it when it comes to sexual behavior.' Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A Galápagos bird species is stunning behaviorists with their "freewheeling" lifestyles.

Google plans to launch smart glasses powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in 2026, after its previous high-profile attempt to enter the market ended in failure. The tech giant set expectations high in 2013 when it unveiled Google Glass, billed by some as the future of technology despite its odd appearance with a bulky screen positioned above the right eye. Google pulled the product in 2015 less than seven months after its UK release, but is now planning on re-entering the market with smart glasses with a cleaner look. But it comes after Meta has already made waves with its smart specs, which have sold two million pairs as of February. Google's new tech will let users interact with its own AI products, such as its chatbot Gemini.

A video game at the centre of a debate over artificial intelligence (AI) is in the running for the top prize at next year's Bafta Game Awards. Arc Raiders, from Swedish developer Embark Studios, has been a smash-hit since its October launch, selling more than four million copies. But the multiplayer shooter has been criticised for using text-to-speech tools to create additional lines, based on dialogue previously recorded by the game's actors. It is one of 10 titles longlisted for the prestigious best game award, with a shortlist to be announced in the run-up to April's annual ceremony. Other games up for the top prize include blockbusters Ghost of Yōtei and Death Stranding 2, indie games Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II, and indie adventure Blue Prince.

The EU has opened an investigation into Google over its artificial intelligence (AI) summaries which appear above search results. The European Commission said it would examine whether the firm used data from websites to provide this service - and if it failed to offer appropriate compensation to publishers. It is also investigating how YouTube videos may have been used to improve its broader AI systems, and whether content creators were able to opt-out. A Google spokesperson said the probe risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever. Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era, they said.

FixBot can check on the health of your devices and talk you through necessary repairs. You can even point your phone's camera at broken gear to get started. The company's new app helps guide people through the repair process. The online repair service iFixit has a new app out today . When you open it, you will see something you've likely grown to expect in a new release: a chatbot.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie: 'We Are a City on the Rise' Since taking office, San Francisco's mayor has been on a quest to revitalize the city and increase public safety. He's also kept the National Guard out--with a little help from some very powerful friends. I first met Daniel Lurie, San Francisco's newly minted mayor, about five minutes before we walked onstage at WIRED's Big Interview event, held in his city last week. Lurie's team let me know ahead of time that his window for this conversation was tight: He'd just come from announcing a new city police chief, and had about half an hour for me before he needed to be on to the next thing. Which was? "No idea," Lurie quipped, shortly before we were foisted from backstage and into our conversation in front of several hundred attendees--a local crowd, who, judging from their boisterous reactions to Lurie's every word, are among the 73 percent of San Franciscans who approve of the job he's done since taking office in January of this year. To Lurie's credit, the story of San Francisco right now is largely a positive one. The city is indisputably the global hub of AI innovation and the billions of dollars that accompany it, with companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, along with smaller startups, investors, and plenty of young, AI-focused technologists all calling San Francisco home. Yes, that means rents are up and housing stock remains precariously low. But office vacancy rates are dropping, retail outlets are coming back to the city's downtown, and as Lurie's office is quick to tout, several key metrics measuring municipal crime--including homicides and car break-ins--are at historic lows. I wanted to talk to Lurie about all of that, but I was also curious about the bigger picture: his administration's dynamic with the federal government, particularly in the context of President Trump's October plan to send the National Guard into San Francisco--an endeavor that Lurie managed to thwart, according to The New York Times, by recruiting a powerful coterie of technology executives to work the phones in his favor. Lurie wasn't exactly forthcoming there, in keeping with his diligent efforts to focus conversations on San Francisco, and perhaps avoid attracting the attention, or the ire, of the current administration. It's a different tack than other Democrats governing progressive parts of the country have taken, from New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to California governor Gavin Newsom. But if the response in the room last week was any indication, Lurie's local fans don't seem to mind his "say less" strategy--at least for now. Someone has a 70-something percent approval rating.

Can Bike Riders and Self-Driving Cars Be Friends? Some cycling advocates are on board with robotaxis. Others see the self-driving car boom as perpetuating auto dependency. Los Angeles is a car city, and it's rarely more obvious than from a vulnerable perch on top of a bicycle . Among big cities in the US, LA has a middling-to-bad reputation for bike riding.