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Table tennis robot defeats some of world's best players – why this has major implications for robotics

Robohub

Table tennis robot defeats some of world's best players - why this has major implications for robotics A table tennis robot has outperformed elite players in recent evaluations. The robot, called Ace, marks a significant step toward artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can operate in fast, uncertain, real-world environments. In the tests, the autonomous robot won three out of five matches against elite players - competitive athletes with over ten years' experience and an average of 20 hours weekly training. The robot, developed by Sony AI, lost both matches against players in professional Japanese leagues, but did win a game against one of them. The system is described in detail in a recent paper published in Nature .


Tech leaders funding Matt Mahan's campaign for California governor say it's not about tech

Los Angeles Times

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Tech leaders funding Matt Mahan's campaign for California governor say it's not about tech This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . San José Mayor Matt Mahan's late-entry bid for California governor has been supercharged by millions from Silicon Valley billionaires. Critics say that will make Mahan beholden to Big Tech if he wins, but several of his funders from the tech sector said their backing isn't about deregulation or favors, but Mahan's centrist focus on crime, homelessness, housing and education.


An ICE Firearms Trainer Was Involved in At Least 4 Deadly Shootings

WIRED

David Norman, a former Phoenix police officer who's described himself as "a fucking savage," now runs a company that provided training to Homeland Security's Special Response Teams. The owner of a company that trained paramilitary Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents testified that he was involved in at least four lethal shootings, according to a 2021 deposition related to a lawsuit reviewed by WIRED. David S. Norman, the founder and proprietor of law enforcement training firm TruKinetics LLC, served as a Phoenix Police officer from the late 1990s until his retirement in 2020. Prior to founding TruKinetics the same year, according to records reviewed by WIRED, Norman was involved in six shootings while on duty that left four people dead and two more wounded. In every instance, the Phoenix Police Department said Norman fired on an armed suspect and exchanged volleys of gunfire in at least two of the shootings. Based in Gilbert, Arizona, TruKinetics offers training on small-team tactics, hostage rescues, close-quarters combat, building searches, night-vision firearms proficiency, pistol and rifle courses, "vehicle interdiction," breaching with explosives, and sniper tactics, according to the company's website.


A Danish Couple's Maverick African Research Finds Its Moment in RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Policy

WIRED

The work of Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn has long been controversial. Until Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became US health policy chief, most vaccine scientists tended to ignore it. In 1996, Guinea-Bissau seemed like an ideal research post for budding pediatrician Lone Graff Stensballe. Her supervisor, a fellow Dane named Peter Aaby, had spent nearly two decades collecting data on 100,000 people living in the mud brick homes of the West African country's capital. Aaby and his partner, Christine Stabell Benn, believed that the years of research in the impoverished country had yielded a major discovery about vaccines--and what they described as "non-specific effects": The measles and tuberculosis vaccines, which were derived from live, weakened viruses and bacteria, they said, boosted child survival beyond protecting against those particular pathogens. But, the scientists said, shots made from deactivated whole germs, or pieces of them, such as the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) shot, caused more deaths--especially in little girls--than getting no vaccine at all.


Instant AI answers can trivialise human intelligence, warns Royal Observatory

BBC News

The rise of AI tools that instantly answer questions and complex problems could make humans less intelligent, the Royal Observatory Greenwich has warned. The Observatory, one of the UK's oldest purpose-built scientific institutions, is known for its contributions to astronomy. Paddy Rodgers, director of the Royal Museums Greenwich group which oversees it, said its rich history of research showed the power of human knowledge and curiosity - and the need to avoid complete dependence on AI. A reliance solely on instant answers risks losing the habits of questioning and evaluation that underpin knowledge, expertise and innovation, he said. Rodgers' remarks come amid an ongoing transformation of the Royal Observatory in a project called First Light. The project hopes to seize on the passion of all the astronomers over the last 350 years, and interpret that passion through science, Rodgers told the BBC.


Kioxia shares awash in buy orders after AI-driven profit surge

The Japan Times

Shares are up more than 300% this year for the Tokyo-based company. Kioxia Holdings' shares were untraded in a glut of buy orders Monday morning after the supplier of storage for artificial intelligence data centers reported soaring profit and gave an outlook that trounced expectations. The Tokyo-based company said it expects to earn an operating profit of ¥1.3 trillion ($8.2 billion) during the June quarter, above the record profit it earned for the full year ended March. Its quarterly profit also surged past expectations, surpassing that of Toyota's, making Kioxia one of Japan's most profitable businesses. Kioxia's shares are up more than 300% this year.


I'm an exorcist... Here's the chilling encounter that made me believe UFOs are the work of Satan

Daily Mail - Science & tech

No one wants to hang out with her': Why Meghan and Harry have been ditched by A-list friends as insiders reveal Oprah's merciless snub, why the Clooneys now want nothing to do with them - and how SHE'S the problem Truth about Kate Middleton's past before Prince William... we Americans see this for what it is: KENNEDY I was on track to make $1 million... then I quit my job and moved into an off-grid tiny home with no running water or electricity Professional tasters decide best and worst fast food cheeseburger - do you agree? Hamptons cancer cluster: Rates are spiking in summer enclave of New York's wealthy elite... and doctors think they know the tragic reason why Disturbing trove of images woke Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass doesn't want you to see: Filthy truth is so much worse than people think... Comedian replacing Stephen Colbert appears to take a swipe at his predecessor as he vows to avoid politics and'just be funny' Jordon Hudson blasts double standards over Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini'affair' scandal: 'What is going on?' I've discovered my'nice' neighbor's dirty secret... what I caught him doing one night was far more disturbing than I realized: DEAR JANE SNL season finale cold open sees ghost of Jeffrey Epstein played by Will Ferrell'haunt' Trump as dark jokes leave viewers shocked Golf star becomes instant fan favorite after stopping to smoke a cigarette with crowd in the middle of the PGA Championship: 'Man of the people' New kind of penis enlargement surgery will add inches, claims the doctor set to offer it... but there is a gruesome detail that may make some think twice I saw a 40-year-old middle-class mom in a psychiatric ward after a single hit of this drug. Her symptoms were terrifying but it's so common now... here's what you must know: DR MAX PEMBERTON US airman returns home to every dog owner's nightmare as he finds his husky DEAD in garage after trusting pet sitter to take care of his beloved companion I'm an exorcist... Here's the chilling encounter that made me believe UFOs are the work of Satan A Catholic priest and exorcist who has encountered demons first-hand has revealed a chilling experience that led him to believe UFOs are actually the work of the devil. Father Carlos Martins, an Ontario-born priest who has performed exorcisms around the world, believes the UFO phenomenon is part of a larger spiritual deception designed to undermine Christianity and cast doubt on the Bible . The priest said a longtime friend who later converted to Christianity once witnessed a gigantic spacecraft hovering silently over a suburban park before it shot away'instantly to the speed of a bullet.'


Scientists are baffled by mysterious blue flashes coming from deep space that are 'unlike anything we have observed before'

Daily Mail - Science & tech

SNL season finale cold open sees ghost of Jeffrey Epstein played by Will Ferrell'haunt' Trump as dark jokes leave viewers shocked Jordon Hudson blasts double standards over Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini'affair' scandal: 'What is going on?' No one wants to hang out with her': Why Meghan and Harry have been ditched by A-list friends as insiders reveal Oprah's merciless snub, why the Clooneys now want nothing to do with them - and how SHE'S the problem Truth about Kate Middleton's past before Prince William... we Americans see this for what it is: KENNEDY Kim Kardashian roasted over'ridiculous' outfit at Gucci show as she sits front row with Anna Wintour and Mariah Carey I was on track to make $1 million... then I quit my job and moved into an off-grid tiny home with no running water or electricity Professional tasters decide best and worst fast food cheeseburger - do you agree? Hamptons cancer cluster: Rates are spiking in summer enclave of New York's wealthy elite... and doctors think they know the tragic reason why Disturbing trove of images woke Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass doesn't want you to see: Filthy truth is so much worse than people think... Taylor Swift dazzles in glittering gown as she and Travis Kelce steal the spotlight at friend's wedding in NYC Golf star becomes instant fan favorite after stopping to smoke a cigarette with crowd in the middle of the PGA Championship: 'Man of the people' New kind of penis enlargement surgery will add inches, claims the doctor set to offer it... but there is a gruesome detail that may make some think twice She was every bit the adoring mother... then a leaked video exposed a'sadistic' secret even cops said'will bring tears to your eyes' I saw a 40-year-old middle-class mom in a psychiatric ward after a single hit of this drug. Her symptoms were terrifying but it's so common now... here's what you must know: DR MAX PEMBERTON Expert reveals the best way to cut the bread - and why you should never leave a'hinge' 'I saw things I can never unsee': Man who snuck into Air India crash morgue reveals what he saw... why it could blow apart the pilot suicide theory... and what happened when we visited the lone survivor Scientists are baffled by mysterious blue flashes coming from deep space that are'unlike anything we have observed before' For almost a decade, scientists have been baffled by a series of mysterious blue flashes emerging from deep space. Since the first lit up astronomers' telescopes in 2018, only 14 of these strange pulses have been detected, making them some of the rarest astronomical events on record. Known as Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs), these lights burn faster and up to 100 times brighter than anything else scientists have seen .


Three near-death experiences that convinced doctors the soul may exist

Daily Mail - Science & tech

SNL season finale cold open sees ghost of Jeffrey Epstein played by Will Ferrell'haunt' Trump as dark jokes leave viewers shocked Jordon Hudson blasts double standards over Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini'affair' scandal: 'What is going on?' No one wants to hang out with her': Why Meghan and Harry have been ditched by A-list friends as insiders reveal Oprah's merciless snub, why the Clooneys now want nothing to do with them - and how SHE'S the problem Truth about Kate Middleton's past before Prince William... we Americans see this for what it is: KENNEDY Kim Kardashian roasted over'ridiculous' outfit at Gucci show as she sits front row with Anna Wintour and Mariah Carey I was on track to make $1 million... then I quit my job and moved into an off-grid tiny home with no running water or electricity Professional tasters decide best and worst fast food cheeseburger - do you agree? Hamptons cancer cluster: Rates are spiking in summer enclave of New York's wealthy elite... and doctors think they know the tragic reason why Disturbing trove of images woke Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass doesn't want you to see: Filthy truth is so much worse than people think... Taylor Swift dazzles in glittering gown as she and Travis Kelce steal the spotlight at friend's wedding in NYC Golf star becomes instant fan favorite after stopping to smoke a cigarette with crowd in the middle of the PGA Championship: 'Man of the people' New kind of penis enlargement surgery will add inches, claims the doctor set to offer it... but there is a gruesome detail that may make some think twice She was every bit the adoring mother... then a leaked video exposed a'sadistic' secret even cops said'will bring tears to your eyes' I saw a 40-year-old middle-class mom in a psychiatric ward after a single hit of this drug. Her symptoms were terrifying but it's so common now... here's what you must know: DR MAX PEMBERTON Expert reveals the best way to cut the bread - and why you should never leave a'hinge' 'I saw things I can never unsee': Man who snuck into Air India crash morgue reveals what he saw... why it could blow apart the pilot suicide theory... and what happened when we visited the lone survivor Many people have reported near-death experiences, but in some cases, survivors appeared to bring back something far more unsettling than memories. Some survivors claimed they saw and heard things that should have been impossible while they were clinically dead, including conversations in operating rooms and objects located far outside their hospital beds. Several of the most famous cases involved patients whose brains allegedly showed little or no measurable activity at the time of their experiences.


OpenAI is offering ChatGPT Plus to citizens of Malta for a year

Engadget

OpenAI has signed deals with fintech startups, tech giants and even Disney, but it's breaking new ground by announcing a world's first partnership with the country of Malta. In a post on its website, OpenAI said that it would provide ChatGPT Plus for one year to every Maltese resident or citizen. Malta is the first country to launch a partnership of this scale because we refuse to let our citizens stay behind in the digital age, Silvio Schembri, Malta's minister for Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects, said in a statement. We are putting our people at the very forefront of global change. For the approximately 574,250 residents living in Malta, they'll have to complete a course developed by the University of Malta before launching the ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 a month in the US.