Lifestyle

Human extinction threat 'overblown' says AI sage Marcus

Ever since the poem churning ChatGPT burst on the scene six months ago, expert Gary Marcus has voiced caution against artificial intelligence's ultra-fast development and adoption.. - In March, alarmed that ChatGPT creator OpenAI was releasing its latest and more powerful AI model with Microsoft, Marcus signed an open letter with more than 1,000 people including Elon Musk calling for a global pause in AI development.

'Woke' fried chicken? Fast food chain at center of US culture wars

The "Lord's chicken" no more: US fast food chain Chick-fil-A -- beloved among Americans for its sandwiches, nuggets and milkshakes -- found itself on the receiving end of right-wing ire this week, accused of succumbing to "woke" ideology.. "Chick-fil-A you are no longer the Lord's chicken.

Transylvania gears up for King Charles III's first post-coronation visit

After being received with military honours at the Romanian capital Bucharest, Britain's Charles III on Saturday visits Transylvania -- a region the king has said is in his "blood" as a descendant of Vlad the Impaler.. "It will be a unique moment to receive a king in our community," she said, grateful that Charles honours the work done "all these years".

Experts warn bird flu virus changing rapidly in largest ever outbreak

The virus causing record cases of avian influenza in birds across the world is changing rapidly, experts have warned, as calls increase for countries to vaccinate their poultry. . - Vaccinating poultry - One way to bring down the number of total bird flu cases, and therefore reduce the risk to humans, would be for countries to vaccinate their poultry, Webby said.

YouTube scraps 2020 US election misinformation policy

YouTube will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 US presidential election was plagued by "fraud, errors or glitches," the platform said Friday, a decision quickly criticized by anti-misinformation advocates.. "We will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US presidential elections."

Chile says recent mass seabird death not due to avian flu

Early tests indicate that the recent mass death of thousands of seabirds along Chile's northern coast were not caused by avian flu, authorities said Friday.. Initial tests on the dead birds did not reveal presence of avian flu, which has wracked other parts of Chile, Jorge Mautz, regional director of the service, told AFP. Residents of Coquimbo voiced surprise at the mass seabird deaths.

Chinese dissidents in New York open world's only Tiananmen Square museum

Chinese dissidents who took part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests unveiled a museum in New York on Friday dedicated to remembering the "democratic dreams of the Chinese people," two days ahead of the 34th anniversary of the uprising's "brutal suppression.". In New York, a march was due to take place late Friday from the Tiananmen Museum to the Chinese Consulate General. nr/led/jh/des

In Costa Rica, climate change threatens 'cloud forest'

The "cloud forest" of Monteverde, in the center of Costa Rica, will soon no longer be worthy of the name: climate change threatens this unique ecosystem, and its fauna and flora face an unclear future under a brilliant blue sky.. As she spoke, she stared into the forest where the temperature had risen to more than 25 degrees Celsius, under a blue sky where only a few clouds crowned the peaks.

Breast cancer drug shown to reduce recurrence risk

Even when the disease is caught early, breast cancer recurrence is relatively commonplace -- and for survivors, the prospect can be daunting.. A drug developed by Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis reduced this risk by a quarter in a large group of early-stage survivors of the most common type of breast cancer, according to clinical trial results presented Friday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) annual meeting, offering patients new hope.

Hong Kong artists mark Tiananmen quietly or overseas

Avant garde street performance, politically charged theatre, pro-democracy music and poetry -- powerful works of art dealing with China's bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown that were once commonplace in Hong Kong have all but disappeared in recent years.. As part of the "Our Generation's June 4" art project, some performers had covered their bodies with yellow paint -- a colour associated with the city's pro-democracy camp -- as a representation of "freedom and hope", Luk said.