Gunman opens fire in a Roosevelt Avenue barbershop-- prompting leaders to call for continued police action on the crime-infested Corona block
Gunman opens fire in a Roosevelt Avenue barbershop-- prompting leaders to call for continued police action on the crime-infested Corona block
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Business Times
7 minutes ago
- Business Times
‘How to Train Your Dragon' tops North American box office with US$83 million
[LOS ANGELES] How to Train Your Dragon, a live-action reboot of a popular 2010 animated film, roared to the top of the North American box office with US$83.7 million in weekend ticket sales, industry estimates showed on Sunday. The family-friendly film from Universal and DreamWorks Animation tells the story of a friendship between a Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) and a dragon called Toothless. 'This is an excellent opening for a live-action animation remake, and it's especially good for the fourth episode in a series like this,' said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. Disney's Lilo & Stitch, another live-action remake, kept up its excellent summer returns with US$15.5 million, Exhibitor Relations said. So far, the film about Hawaiian girl Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and her blue alien friend Stitch (Chris Sanders) has grossed nearly US$860 million worldwide. Debuting in third place is A24's Materialists, a sophisticated rom-com starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, at US$12 million. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up 'It's a grown-up story that's well-timed as summer counter-programming,' Gross said. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - the latest, and ostensibly last, in the hugely successful Tom Cruise spy thriller series based on a 1960s TV show - held its own in fourth place at US$10.3 million. The Paramount film has now topped the US$500 million mark worldwide. In fifth place was Lionsgate's Ballerina, a John Wick spin-off starring Ana de Armas as a dancer turned contract killer, and co-starring Anjelica Huston. Keanu Reeves makes a brief appearance as the hitman Wick. It took in US$9.4 million. Rounding out the top 10 were: Karate Kid: Legends (US$5 million) Final Destination: Bloodlines (US$3.9 million) The Phoenician Scheme (US$3.1 million) The Life of Chuck (US$2.1 million) Sinners (US$1.5 million). AFP
ABC News
7 minutes ago
- ABC News
Music and meaning: What do AI conductors do to our understanding of human artistry? - ABC Religion & Ethics
Some might argue that the conductor is irrelevant to how much vibrato a violinist applies with their bow, shaping the sweeping melodies we recognise as music. But this sentiment feels all the more unsettling in light of events over the past twelve months. In October 2024, the world's first cello-playing robot made its debut with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. Just days earlier, in Dresden, Germany, a three-armed robot conductor performed a task that is impossible for humans — it conducted three time signatures simultaneously in a piece titled Robotersinfonie . Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are not just replicating human movement, but challenging our very understanding of consciousness and artistry, especially in the sacred space of live music. The question is no longer whether artificially intelligent robots can perform music. They can. The real question is whether they can understand music. Since 2008, AI driven robots have slowly emerged onto the classical stage. They've now conducted public performances at least five times. Despite some public curiosity, the resistance has been surprisingly minimal, which is troubling. These machines, however precise, are devoid of emotional experience. They mimic the gestures, but not the meaning behind them. Can AI robots truly grasp the nuances of the conductor's precisely choreographed baton movements and translate them into meaningful musical direction? A conscious being hears sorrow in a minor key, hope in a crescendo, tension in silence. A robot hears none of this. It doesn't hear at all. (Yellow Dog Productions / The Image Bank / Getty Images) As a musical director and experienced classical trumpeter, I know firsthand that conducting is more than keeping time. It is storytelling. It is conversation. It is eye contact, breath, energy, trust. Whether you're in front of a room of amateurs or seasoned professionals, the conductor is the invisible thread that holds every moment together. A musician might rely on a single glance to feel confident in their next entry. A conductor senses hesitation and offers reassurance, not just with the hand, but with the face, the body and a shared emotional understanding. This is something no robot, no matter how advanced, can authentically replicate. While AI conductors can beat time with robotic precision, musicians report a distinct lack of connection. These machines are pre-programmed to follow a musical map, but they cannot read the room. They cannot adjust to a flubbed entry or offer spontaneous rubato. They cannot respond to the subtle interplay of breath and timing that real musicians exchange in live performance. Human interaction relies on micro expressions, social cues and emotional intelligence. While no current AI conductor has eyes or facial features, it's likely only a matter of time before engineers try to give them this human attribute. But will fake eyes be enough? Will they truly read the needs of a nervous young brass players? Will they inspire trust? Music is a fundamentally human act, grounded in feeling, intuition and shared experience. (Stipe Perkovic / E+ / Getty Images) AI robots, no matter how sophisticated, lacks the capacity to feel. They cannot think freely. These machines do not understand music, they process data. Their 'choices' are not born from intuition or inspiration, but from algorithms selecting the most statistically appropriate path. Their 'thoughts' are not thoughts at all, but programmed possibilities within a constrained framework. This brings us to the deeper philosophical question: can something that lacks consciousness ever create or interpret art meaningfully? Consciousness is the ability to have subjective experience — what it is like to be something. This inner life, this qualitative experience, is what makes art resonate. A conscious being hears sorrow in a minor key, hope in a crescendo, tension in silence. A robot hears none of this. It doesn't hear at all. Without consciousness, an AI robot conductor is no more musically useful than a trained dog waving a stick. It might follow cues, it might look convincing, but it does not understand — and understanding is at the heart of musical interpretation. Conducting is more than keeping time. It is storytelling. It is conversation. (Eric Raptosh / Tetra Images / Getty Images) In the ongoing debate over consciousness and artificial intelligence, musical performance offers a powerful platform to bring these issues together. It highlights something humans risk losing sight of — namely, the importance, even the sacredness, of genuine human connection. Music is not just movement, it is meaning, and meaning is not programmable. As we wonder at the technological accomplishments of robot AI conductors and musicians, we must recognise that music led or played by machines is not art, it is simulation. Music is a fundamentally human act, grounded in feeling, intuition and shared experience. Replication is not understanding. Precision is not artistry. When a machine takes the podium to conduct, what follows is not interpretation but execution. AI robot conductors cannot feel nervous before the downbeat, surge with joy at the sound of harmony, or shed a tear at the final chord. It does not experience the music it performs. It follows instructions. No matter how advanced the programming, it remains incapable of emotional presence or subjective experience. These are essential qualities of both consciousness and authentic musicianship. Reducing the role of the conductor to a set of pre-programmed motions, strips music of its meaning. The moment we accept a machine in place of a human artist is the moment we accept the loss of meaning in performance. Art requires consciousness. Without it, music is nothing more than organised noise. Annabelle Stewart is a musician, conductor, and music educator. She holds a degree in Philosophy and Psychology and is currently completing a Master of Arts at the University of Waikato in Aotearoa New Zealand, where her research explores experimental free will and the natures of truth.
South Wales Argus
8 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Starmer confident Trump will back Aukus pact after US launches review
Speaking to reporters ahead of the G7 summit in Canada, the Prime Minister said he did not have 'any doubt' that the agreement would progress. Speaking ahead of the G7 summit in Canada, the Prime Minister said he did not have 'any doubt' that the agreement would progress (Suzanne Plunkett/PA) The trilateral Aukus partnership, believed to be aimed at countering China, involves building a new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines and co-operating in other areas of defence. Australia would also get its first subs from the US under the deal. Asked what his message to the US president would be on the importance of the pact, Sir Keir, who is due to meet Mr Trump in Kananaskis next week, said: 'Aukus is really important. We're fully committed to it.' Sir Keir added it was 'not unusual for an incoming government to do a review of a project like that', and that Labour had done similar. 'We, of course, looked into the issue when we came into government.. But I'm 100% committed to it. I'm really clear about that.' Asked if he was confident Mr Trump would back it, he said: 'Yeah, I think so. It's a really important project. So I don't have any doubt that this will progress.' Confirming the review on Thursday, the White House said it wanted to make sure the pact was 'aligned with the president's America First agenda.'
