Aggregator

Ed Sheeran has revealed he once turned down the chance to perform in space because he didn't want to risk leaving his children without a father. 

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Like the rest of its Big Tech cadre, Google has spent lavishly on developing generative AI models. Google's AI can clean up your text messages and summarize the web, but the company is constantly looking to prove that its generative AI has true intelligence. The International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) helps make the point. Google says Gemini 2.5 participated in the 2025 ICPC World Finals, turning in a gold medal performance. According to Google this marks "a significant step on our path toward artificial general intelligence." Every year, thousands of college-level coders participate in the ICPC event, facing a dozen deviously complex coding and algorithmic puzzles over five grueling hours. This is the largest and longest-running competition of its type. To compete in the ICPC, Google connected Gemini 2.5 Deep Think to a remote online environment approved by the ICPC. The human competitors were given a head start of 10 minutes before Gemini began "thinking." According to Google, it did not create a freshly trained model for the ICPC like it did for the similar International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) earlier this year. The Gemini 2.5 AI that participated in the ICPC is the same general model that we see in other Gemini applications. However, it was "enhanced" to churn through thinking tokens for the five-hour duration of the competition in search of solutions. At the end of the time limit, Gemini managed to get correct answers for 10 of the 12 problems, which earned it a gold medal. Only four of 139 human teams managed the same feat. "The ICPC has always been about setting the highest standards in problem-solving," said ICPC director Bill Poucher. "Gemini successfully joining this arena, and achieving gold-level results, marks a key moment in defining the AI tools and academic standards needed for the next generation." Gemini's solutions are available on GitHub.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

They're taking a leap of faith in the hope of finding their perfect match

Allegations of mass high seas executions on board the overcrowded vessel emerged at the start of the month after 248 survivors were rescued off the African coast and taken to Gran Canaria.

Macchu Picchu could lose its status as one of the Seven Wonders of the World amid protests that have left tourists trapped at the popular Peruvian destination.

The couple tied the knot in June 2023, however their relationship hit the headlines last month after Olivia was pictured cosying up to longtime pal Pete Wicks during a messy trip to Ibiza.

The Welsh TV presenter made the unlikely admission on an old episode of the BBC series Would I Lie To You? back in 2017, before the rapper's sordid past was unearthed.

Blake Lively is leaning on art as her escape amid her fallout with Taylor Swift and highly publicized lawsuit with her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

Governments worldwide are implementing heat protection laws as 2.4 billion workers face extreme temperature exposure and 19,000 die annually from heat-related workplace injuries, according to a World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization report. Japan imposed $3,400 fines for employers failing to provide cooling measures when wet-bulb temperatures reach 28C. Singapore mandated hourly temperature sensors at large outdoor sites and requires 15-minute breaks every hour at 33C wet-bulb readings. Southern European nations ordered afternoon work stoppages this summer when temperatures exceeded 115F across Greece, Italy and Spain. The United States lacks federal heat standards; only California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have state-level protections. Boston passed requirements for heat illness prevention plans on city projects. Enforcement remains inconsistent -- Singapore inspectors found nearly one-third of 70 sites violated the 2023 law. Texas and Florida prohibit local governments from mandating rest and water breaks.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The latest instalment of beloved series will be hitting screens next month, much to the delight of die-hard fans.

A touchy President Donald Trump risked breaking royal protocol several times on Wednesday as he patted King Charles on the back and grabbed his arm in a warm display of affection.

The Goop Founder, 52, had 38-year-old Knox on the show on Tuesday, where she discussed details of the infamous murder case.

The UK's top hidden gem seaside town has been revealed - and it's a 'postcard-perfect' spot with independent shops and a quiet waterfront lifestyle that's perfect for a staycation

A YouGov poll showed Keir Starmer's popularity reaching another low, with his net favourability at minus 50 following his latest disastrous week.

Liz Bates, 42, used to enjoy an uninterrupted panorama of Poole Bay from the balcony of her first floor flat in the affluent Southbourne area of Bournemouth, Dorset.

The ability of AI displace humans at various tasks is accelerating quickly, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said at an Axios event on Wednesday. From the report: Amodei and others have previously warned of the possibility that up to half of white-collar jobs could be wiped out by AI over the next five years. The speed of that displacement could require government intervention to help support the workforce, executives said. "As with most things, when an exponential is moving very quickly, you can't be sure," Amodei said. "I think it is likely enough to happen that we felt there was a need to warn the world about it and to speak honestly." Amodei said the government may need to step in and support people as AI quickly displaces human work.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

You didn't really trust the crims to keep their word, did you?

Spiders don't change their stripes. Despite gang members' recent retirement claims, Scattered Spider hasn't exited the cybercrime business and instead has shifted focus to the financial sector, with a recent digital intrusion at a US bank.…

King Charles III kept his composure with Donald Trump during what could have been a 'moment of suppressed tetchiness,' a body language expert has claimed.

An experimental pill funded by a leading AI architect is designed to reverse age-related brain decline by clearing accumulated debris, with human trials beginning soon.

If the hyperscalers are masters of anything, it is driving scale up and driving costs down so that a new type of information technology can be cheap enough so it can be widely deployed. …

Google Shows Off Its Inference Scale And Prowess was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.