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AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio to focus on safer uses of AI, argues regulation necessary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

TORONTO — Artificial intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio says he will be redirecting his research to ensure he is working on applications of the technology that are safe for society.“I have been thinking a lot about this and I am going to do what I think is best to go in the right direction,” the 2018 winner of the A.M. Turing Award and director of the Mila AI institute in Quebec said Thursday evening.“I think I am going to reorient my research so that either I am working on applications that are not dangerous or very safe like…healthcare or the environment or working on safety, to prepare and prevent what could happen.”Bengio’s remarks came at the conclusion of a Munk debate hosted at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, where he and Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics professor Max Tegmark sparred with other technology experts about whether AI poses an existential threat.The pair argued that AI is on a trajectory to become even more powerful and coul...

India’s Modi brings comedy game to big White House dinner in his honor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought his comedy game to Thursday’s big White House dinner in his honor, cracking jokes about his lack of singing chops, the time President Joe Biden wanted him to eat even though he was fasting and how well Indians and Americans are getting along. Not really known for having a sense of humor, the prime minister kept the nearly 400 guests in stitches as he toasted Biden and first lady Jill Biden before dinner was served. “I know your hospitality has moved your guests to sing. I wish, I too, had the singing talent,” Modi joked. “I could have also sang before you all.”He was referring to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who surprised guests when he got up onstage during a White House state dinner honoring him in April and belted out a rendition of “American Pie,” one of his favorite songs, to raucous applause. Modi is on a state visit designed to highlight and foster deeper ties between India and the U.S. He said that ...

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is writing a book on leadership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday she is writing a book, with the focus more on leadership than on politics.In an Instagram post, Ardern said she is often asked whether she will write about her five years as New Zealand’s leader.“At first, my answer was no. I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to,” Ardern wrote.“That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of things I talked about in my valedictory instead — like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference. And so that’s what I’m planning to do.”Ardern said she had no date for when the book will be published.“But I hope when it’s done, it’s the kind of book that would have made a difference to my 14-year-old self,” Ardern wrote. Just 37 when she became prime minister in 2017, Ardern was seen as a global icon of the left....

Residents, leaders call for end of violence in West Pullman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

CHICAGO — Residents, officials and community leaders gathered Thursday evening in West Pullman calling for an end to the violence.Since May 23, the group said there have been at least nine shootings and five homicides in the area they are concerned about.The latest shooting, less than two hours before the press conference, wounded a 14-year-old girl. 14-year-old girl shot while outside in West Pullman The group said over the past couple of days, two shootings within two blocks stem from what they believe is an ongoing "turf war" between two groups. Those shootings happened on 128th Street between Parnell and Normal.Bob Jackson, the CEO of Roseland Ceasefire, was contacted by residents to help engage with them and help stop the violence.“Over the weekend there were a few people that were shot, and they’re tired of it," Jackson said.On Wednesday, police arrested a mother and her 14-year-old son in connection with a homicide on Sunday at a hot dog stand. Mother instructed 14-year-o...

1 dead after being struck by motorboat in Otter Tail County lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

One person was accidentally struck and killed by a boat on a northwestern Minnesota lake on Thursday afternoon.The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office said it received a 911 call around 4:15 p.m. Thursday regarding a report of an individual struck by a boat on Six Lake, just southwest of Frazee.The victim was pronounced dead at the scene despite lifesaving efforts.Authorities were not releasing information about the victim and boat operator or any details about the circumstances of the incident.However, no foul play or alcohol use is suspected, the sheriff’s office. No charges are anticipated in what it characterized as a tragic accident.Related ArticlesLocal News | Man charged with second-degree murder in fatal June 9 shooting in Itasca County Local News | St. Paul fire captain remembered at funeral as leaving MN ‘a better place than he found it’ Local News | Authorities ID 26-year-old man killed in grain bin accident in western...

Man missing, presumed drowned after canoe capsizes in Boundary Waters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

Authorities continue to search for an 18-year-old man who has not been seen since his canoe capsized in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Wednesday evening.The Cook County Sheriff’s Office dispatch received word of the missing canoeist at 6:44 p.m. He was fishing on Gillis Lake and was not wearing a personal flotation device when his canoe overturned. Another occupant of the canoe was able to swim to shore, but did not see their companion resurface.At the time of the incident, winds out of the south-southwest were reported at about 6 mph, gusting to as high as 13 mph.Sheriff’s deputies, Cook County Search and Rescue, Gunflint Fire Department and U.S. Forest Service staff responded, staging their recovery efforts from the Tuscarora Lodge, about 4 miles to the east of Gillis Lake on Round Lake. A Forest Service Beaver floatplane assisted in the search for the missing canoeist, who was not yet publicly identified as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday.In a statement, Cook County Sheriff P...

Timberwolves trade into start of second round to select G-League Ignite forward Leonard Miller

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

The Timberwolves made a move to shoot up the board Thursday, dealing a pair of future second-round picks to nab the No. 33 selection — the third pick of the second round — to select G-League Ignite forward Leonard Miller.Miller is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-10 forward who averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds in the G-League this past season. Miller pulled out of the draft a year ago and decided to play against pro competition that helped him develop and mature as a prospect.Minnesota entered the evening with only the No. 53 overall selection, but basketball boss Tim Connelly noted Wednesday it’s easier to move into the top of the second round versus the first should a prospect pique your interest.“I think the early second there is a lot of picks in play. It’s just what’s the price?” Connelly said. “Certainly we have a board and if we think a guy has dropped to an area we can move up to get him, we think he’s undervalued, we’d be pretty aggressive.”...

Low-energy Lynx routed 89-68 by Connecticut Sun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

With the temperature outside Target Center around 90 degrees at tip Thursday, the Lynx could not have come out much colder.Minnesota trailed by as many as 16 points in the opening half and 27 early in the fourth quarter, failing to put up much fight in an 89-68 loss to Connecticut.There was a flash here and a flash there, but consistency was a foreign concept offensively and defensively.“Our energy wasn’t there for whatever reason. We were quiet on both ends. We use our defense to get our offense going, we need that energy to translate on the other end, and I don’t think we did that tonight,” said Napheesa Collier, who again led Minnesota with 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals.Said coach Cheryl Reeve: “Another milestone game for her with a 20-point game, more than five rebounds and four steals. There’s only two other players that have done that multiple times in their career and that’s Maya (Moore) and (Sylvia Fowles), so she continues to sort of build her résumé as one of t...

Apartment complex in Troy evacuated, nearly 100 displaced

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Numerous code violations forcing Troy residents to evacuate their homes over safety concerns. Attorney General’s office assessing deadly shooting in Gloversville Nearly half of the 124 unit building at Harbour Point Gardens apartments has been evacuated displacing nearly 100 people. Adding to the difficulty, some tenants have disabilities, others with pets. Some of the conditions that raised concerns are bowed out walls and windows along with crumbling brick facades. Tenants tell NEWS10 about the moment they found out they couldn’t go home.“It was extremely stressed because we had just moved in here 20 days, we moved in the first of the month; it seemed like a very nice place,” said resident, Marcos Argueta Guevara.Troy City officials posting signs throughout the complex telling people they can't get in.  Mayor Patrick Madden, at a news conference, was pressed for answers on how this could happen.“What's the policy with the codes departmen...

U.S. Coast Guard confirms all aboard Titanic submersible dead  

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:36 GMT

ST. LOUIS - On a quest to see the Titanic wreckage, five men lost their lives."Worst situation is something happened to the hull," said G. Michael Harris. Harris led the largest expedition to the Titanic wreck site in 2005, according to his website. "Our fear is it imploded at around 3200 meters," he said.That fear was confirmed by the US Coast Guard on Thursday when they found debris from the submersible."We found five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan," said Paul Hankin, the U.S. Navy Director of Salvage Operations. "Within that large debris field, we found the front-end bell of the pressure hull. That was our first indication that there was a catastrophic event." St. Louis County’s longest road? It runs 31 miles through 16 communities The Ocean Gate Expedition, known as Titan, took five passengers to the site of the Titanic, 900 miles off the coast of the U.S. in the North Atlantic. However, only two hours into the...