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Brooks: Altman firing drama highlights the fight for the soul of AI

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

One of the nice things about OpenAI is that it was built on distrust. It began as a nonprofit research lab because its founders didn’t think artificial intelligence should be pioneered by commercial firms, which are driven overwhelmingly by the profit motive.As it evolved, OpenAI turned into what you might call a fruitful contradiction: a for-profit company overseen by a nonprofit board with a corporate culture somewhere in between.Many of the people at the company seem simultaneously motivated by the scientist’s desire to discover, the capitalist’s desire to ship product and the do-gooder’s desire to do this all safely.The events of the past week — Sam Altman’s firing, all the drama, his rehiring — revolve around one central question: Is this fruitful contradiction sustainable?Can one organization, or one person, maintain the brain of a scientist, the drive of a capitalist and the cautious heart of a regulatory agency? Or, as Charlie Warzel wrote in The Atlantic, will t...

49ers rest up before ‘little rematch’ with Eagles next weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

SEATTLE – Brock Purdy barely had time to relish the 49ers’ 31-13 win Thursday night in Seattle when, well, it was time to look at the next challenge.Too soon to talk about the next road game, Dec. 3 at Philadelphia? Too soon to rekindle memories from 10 months ago, when his right elbow was injured in a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game.“Obviously it’s going to be a big one on the road,” Purdy said. “We know that. Everyone knows that. But we’re just taking it one day at a time and we’re going to enjoy this one.”Purdy preached about taking the extended weekend to “recover and clear our mind,” and when it comes to the game plan for the Eagles, “we’ll get to it next week.”Coach Kyle Shanahan offered a similar message to end his locker room address to the first-place 49ers (8-3).“There’s not many times in football where you can play on Thanksgiving, have three days off, have three days to think about what you did. These three days go fast,” Shanahan said. “You guys have earned it. I...

La verdad sobre la frecuencia con la que debes lavarte el pelo

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

(CNN) — Los expertos afirman que no existe una respuesta única sobre la frecuencia con la que debes lavarte el pelo, ni sobre lo que puedes hacer para mantenerlo en los días de descanso.“Algunas personas creen que tienen que lavarse el pelo todos los días o se les va a poner muy graso”, dice el Dr. Anthony Rossi, dermatólogo adjunto del Centro Oncológico Memorial Sloan Kettering de Nueva York y miembro de la Academia Estadounidense de Dermatología. “Si se dan una oportunidad, puede que vean que en realidad no tienen ese cuero cabelludo o pelo graso. Y, por otro lado, puede que no toleren esperar demasiado tiempo o lavarlo con poca frecuencia porque sienten que su cuero cabelludo se vuelve muy graso”.La frecuencia con la que debes lavarte el cabello depende de múltiples factores, como el tipo y el estilo, el grado de grasa que suele tener tu cuero cabelludo y tus niveles de actividad.“Es una cuestión personal”, dice Rossi. Lavar el pelo con d...

Police searching for missing juvenile in Margate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

Margate Police are seeking the public’s assistance in searching for a missing girl. Serenity Anivin was last seen by her mother around 7 p.m. on Friday leaving her residence wearing pink pajamas.She is described as a black female, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen Anyone who has any information on her whereabouts is urged to contact Margate Police Department at 954-972-7111.

The polls keep getting worse for Biden

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

President Joe Biden’s poll numbers keep getting worse.November started with New York Times/Siena College polls showing Trump ahead in four of the six swing states, but more indicators of Biden’s electoral peril soon followed. The president’s standing in head-to-head matchups with Trump is falling: Among the latest surveys this month from 13 separate pollsters, Biden’s position is worse than their previous polls in all but two of them.And while polls suggest most of the movement comes from voters abandoning Biden — who might become undecided but not swing to supporting Trump — the Republican has also started to gain steam. Trump’s vote share in the national polling average is higher now than at any point in the past year.The state-level data are just as striking: In addition to those New York Times/Siena polls, within the last week and a half, other surveys have shown Trump ahead by 8 points in Arizona and 5 points up in Michigan.Biden’s recent slide — and his political predicament s...

Israel accuses Spain, Belgium leaders of backing ‘terrorism’ after Gaza remarks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

Israel lashed out at the leaders of Spain and Belgium for their comments about the situation in the Gaza Strip, labelling the remarks “false statements” made “in support of terrorism.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly condemns the comments” by Spanish Prime Ministers Pedro Sánchez and Belgian leader Alexander De Croo during a visit Friday to the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the prime minister’s office said in a statement on X.In Rafah, Sánchez and De Croo gave a joint press conference during which they both criticized Israel’s attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip and stressed the need for more humanitarian aid.“The indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, including thousands of children, is completely unacceptable. Violence will only lead to more violence,” Sánchez said, according to a report by Spanish newspaper El País. Sánchez also said Spain would be open to unilaterally recognizing a ...

Alberta Energy Regulator reports runoff spill at Suncor’s Fort Hills oilsands site

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

CALGARY — The Alberta Energy Regulator says a spill at Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills oilsands site spanned more than a year, releasing close to 10,000 cubic metres of surface runoff from a containment pond.  The regulator says on Oct. 9, the energy company reported an “unplanned release” of around 662 cubic metres from the pond adjacent to Fort Hills into the Athabasca River. But on Nov. 24, Suncor informed the regulator that the spill was likely much larger than originally reported and may have been happening since June 2022 due to a faulty valve.The regulator says it visited the site and found the valve is not currently leaking, adding it will be reviewing sampling data from June 2022 through to November 2023. It says Suncor has taken water quality samples of the pond, the results of which indicate the water spilled into the river was “within release criteria parameters for discharge.”It says the pond the water was released from “is not related to mining, extraction or tailings proce...

Pope Francis has a hospital checkup after coming down with the flu

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis went to the hospital Saturday for tests after he came down with the flu, but the results ruled out any respiratory problems, the Vatican said.Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, underwent a CAT scan, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.The test at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where Francis was treated for a respiratory infection earlier this year, was done to rule out any possible respiratory problems and came back negative, Bruni said in a statement.Earlier Saturday, the Vatican said the pope had canceled his audiences because of the flu.Francis is due to travel on Friday to Dubai for the COP28 conference on climate change. Bruni provided no information about any change in his plans and in fact the Vatican on Saturday gave new details about his itinerary, suggesting the trip was still on.The pope will turn 87 next month. When asked about his health in a recent interview — after setbacks that included abdominal surgery just a few months ago...

Hamas is set to exchange more hostages for Palestinian prisoners

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas was preparing to release more than a dozen hostages Saturday for several dozen Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, part of an exchange on the second day of a cease-fire that has allowed critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and given civilians their first respite after seven weeks of war.While uncertainty remained around the details of the exchange, there was optimism, too, amid the scenes of joyous families reuniting on both sides. On the first day of the four-day cease-fire, Hamas released 24 of the about 240 hostages taken during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison. Those freed in Gaza were 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Filipino.On Saturday, Hamas provided mediators Egypt and Qatar with a list of 14 hostages to be released, and it has been passed to Israel, according to a Egyptian official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to talk about details o...

Elon Musk's Bastrop 'town' gets bodega, salon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:24:59 GMT

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) – Elon Musk's new "town" in Bastrop County for employees of two of his companies now has a bodega, salon, and pub coming soon. The Boring Company partnered with Lennar Corp., one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, in 2022 to build 110 subdivisions in a project codenamed “Project Amazing.” The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Musk was planning to create a town near a SpaceX industrial site and the Boring Company’s  Bastrop headquarters.  MORE: New homes for Elon Musk’s workforce planned in Bastrop County Musk posted to his platform X, formerly Twitter, after the WSJ article was published, calling it “false.” Hyperloop Plaza, near Space X and the new development, now has several amenities, which are reportedly open to the public, and merchandising branding the community space.The Bastrop community has had a mixed reaction to Musk's presence in the low-key Austin suburb. Much of the concern from the community has to do with Musk's Bor...