Latest news with #Hotshot
Business Wire
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Suffolk Law Partners with Hotshot to Deliver GenAI Learning Track to All 1L Students
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Suffolk University Law School today announced a partnership with Hotshot, a popular learning platform for lawyers, to integrate Hotshot's AI content into its mandatory 1L curriculum for all first-year students. Beginning in the 2025-26 academic year, all first-year students will complete a custom Generative AI learning track as a required component of their Legal Practice Skills course, making Suffolk Law the first law school in the nation to mandate this Hotshot learning track for all its incoming students. During the fall semester of the Legal Practice Skills course, which recently ranked No. 3 in the country in the U.S. News Rankings for Legal Writing, students will complete a tailored learning track featuring Hotshot courses specifically selected in collaboration with Suffolk Law. The course combines asynchronous videos with in-class exercises designed to bridge foundational knowledge with practical application. The learning track features a curated list of Hotshot AI courses covering topics like understanding GenAI and why it matters for lawyers; large language models, including use cases, risks, and limitations; ethics and professional responsibilities; and practice-area specific use cases and considerations. The partnership gives Suffolk Law students access to Hotshot content used by major law firms, including half of the Am Law 100, as well as other top law schools nationwide. This ensures students are learning what they'll need to know in practice. Upon completion of the track, students will receive personalized certificates they can share with employers via LinkedIn to show their practical AI knowledge. 'Today, legal skills press far beyond traditional memos and research,' said Dyane L. O'Leary, Professor of Legal Writing and Director of Suffolk Law's Legal Innovation & Technology Center. 'Law students and lawyers are expected to understand the basics of Generative AI tools, including their limitations and risks. While Suffolk Law's LIT Concentration offers unique upper-level electives for a deep dive, all students need a strong, foundational understanding.' The partnership reflects Suffolk Law's commitment to preparing students for the realities of modern legal practice. 'Suffolk's program strives to teach students 'old' but still critical analysis skills alongside transformative tools—we can't pretend they don't exist, or that students aren't using them,' O'Leary continued. 'The asynchronous, flexible Hotshot videos offer the perfect kick-off in combination with our curriculum as we help students transition from personal users of tools like ChatGPT to professional ones.' 'Suffolk's approach to legal education perfectly aligns with our mission to provide practical, accessible training for all lawyers, law students and other legal professionals,' said Ian Nelson, Co-Founder of Hotshot. 'By working together to create a custom learning track for all 1L students, Suffolk is ensuring students have the traditional skills and the technological fluency that they need.' The program launches in fall 2025, with all incoming 1L students participating in the integrated curriculum. About Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School is a leading institution known for its innovative curriculum and commitment to practical legal education. The school's Legal Practice Skills Program, ranked No. 3 nationally by U.S. News, emphasizes real-world application and professional readiness. About Hotshot Hotshot is a learning platform for lawyers that supports on-demand, interactive, and experiential learning as well as CLE in nearly all MCLA jurisdictions. They offer 300+ short, practical courses and training materials across corporate, litigation, technology, and business topics. Hotshot's customers include half the Am Law 100 law firms, regional and boutique firms, top law schools, and companies. For more information, visit
01-06-2025
- Automotive
Shizuoka: A Global Center for Plastic Modeling
The city of Shizuoka is a modeling mecca. Home to 10 hobby manufacturers—Tamiya, Bandai, Aoshima, and Hasegawa, to name a few—it is where more than 80% of Japan's plastic model kits are produced. The town is so passionate about its status that authorities at city hall created a special department to promote plastic models, playfully proclaiming the municipality 'A Model City.' To highlight its modeling culture, Shizuoka has established 15 life-size monuments shaped like plastic model kits around town. These include information signs as well as working public phones and a mailbox designed to look like kits with pieces still attached to their runners. Clockwise from upper left: a monument in the shopping arcade near Shizuoka Station features parts of a seat and a digital display of a Shinkansen; the monument at the smoking area near the station's north exit consists of parts from a large outdoor ashtray; a monument designed like an old-style model box and a newly opened kit advertises Shizuoka's connection to modeling. (© ) The monument outside Shizuoka City Hall is an actual post box. (© ) The monuments have garnered attention as the modeling market as a whole continues to enjoy broad popularity. According to a Tamiya spokesperson, the pandemic brought a brisk uptick in sales for plastic models as people stayed at home, with the hobby taking on a family flair as parents and children shared in the fun of building replicas together. Makers have also capitalized on the growing popularity of radio-controlled cars as more people take to the outdoors for activities like camping. These trends have fueled the sales of higher-end items as former hobbyists rediscover modeling in middle age and snap up expensive kits that were once beyond their budgets. Tamiya's Hotshot. The four-wheel-drive radio-controlled buggy debuted in 1985 and remains a popular item with hobbyists of all ages. (© ) Hobby Square is another site celebrating Shizuoka's modeling industry. The facility, near the south exit of JR Shizuoka Station, has displays highlighting the history of plastic modeling and exhibits from different makers, including rare and historic items. The onsite shop carries new releases and specialty items. Characters from the Mobile Suit Gundam series, a mainstay among modeling enthusiasts, greet visitors to Hobby Square. (© ) New and historic items are on exhibit at Hobby Square. (© ) An exhibit detailing the manufacturing process for Gundam models. (© ) Manufacturer Bandai offers specially designed model kits as part of its Gunpla Academia, a school-based initiative to introduce students to the world of craftsmanship. (© ) Deep-Rooted Craftsmanship Shizuoka's tradition of craftsmanship was greatly influenced by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan for more than 200 years. As a young boy, Ieyasu was a political hostage in Sunpu, which later became the modern city of Shizuoka. At age 40, he took control of the area, relocating from Hamamatsu to the southwest, and built Sunpu Castle in 1589. Ieyasu gathered master carpenters, sculptors, metalworkers, and other skilled craftsmen from around Japan for the project. He also rebuilt the important Sengen Shrine and later expanded the confines of the castle, where he settled after passing the title of shōgun to his son Hidetada, although he continued to wield power behind the scenes. After Ieyasu's death in 1616, the craftsmen constructed Kunōzan Shrine as his resting place. Later shōguns supported these artisans, and many settled in the area, taking advantage of the surrounding forests to create exquisite crafts. Such traditions as Suruga bamboo craftwork are still produced today. A plastic model monument featuring the golden Kindamigusoku armor worn by Tokugawa Ieyasu. (© ) The Model Industry Lifts Off Shizuoka's modern model-making industry dates to 1924 when aviation enthusiast Aoshima Jirō founded an airplane research center in the city. Using his knowledge and experience, Aoshima started manufacturing wooden model airplane kits, which he began to sell in 1932. The models were used to teach aviation, becoming popular items nationwide. Restrictions in the postwar years forced the area's burgeoning number of manufacturers to shift to selling wooden ships. From the late 1950s, as imported plastic models grew in popularity, they adopted plastic for their kits. Aoshima established Aoshima Bunka Kyōzai in 1961 to develop and manufacture model kits, and the company grew to be an industry leader with its easy-to-build offerings. Early wooden models made by Aoshima's company on display at Hobby Square. (© ) A Global Model Giant Emerges Tamiya is another Shizuoka success story. Founded as a lumber company in 1946, it began selling wooden model kits in 1948, making these its primary offering after closing the lumber mill in 1953. It released its first all-plastic kit, a 1/800 scale of the Japanese battleship Yamato , in 1960, but it was the Panther, a 1/35 scale motorized tank issued in 1962, that gave the firm its first major hit and led to the establishment of a separate plastic molding division. Tamiya continued to find modeling success, including the 1976 release of the 1/12 scale radio-controlled Porsche 934 Turbo and its mini 4WD models of the 1980s. It began expanding overseas, and in 1994, it set up its only factory abroad, in Cebu, Philippines, making the firm one of the largest model manufacturers in the world. Clockwise from upper left: Wooden boat models; the 1/800 scale model of the Yamato ; Tamiya's Panther tank. (© ) Tamiya's radio-controlled Porsche 934 Turbo (right), which triggered an R/C car boom in Japan, and other offerings in the series. (© ) Tamiya Craftsmanship Tamiya offers fans several exhibits of interest at its head office. The Archive Room displays products from early wooden models to modern creations, and the lobby of its headquarters features actual sports cars and other vehicles, many of which have been turned into R/C models. The exhibits are open to the public by reservation. Racing cars on display at Tamiya's headquarters. (© ) Tamiya's Archive Room. (© ) Tamiya has also helped in establishing Takumishuku, a center highlighting the traditional crafts of the region. Visitors to the facility can try their hand at techniques like Suruga bamboo lattice ware, hand-dying, pottery, and lacquerware, providing a sense of the centuries-old culture of craftsmanship that remains the backbone of Shizuoka's plastic model industry. The interior of Takumishuku. (© ) A display of Suruga bamboo lattice ware and indigo dying. (© ) An artisan shows how Suruga bamboo lattice ware is made. (© ) (Originally published in Japanese. Reporting, text, and photos by . Banner photo: Different plastic model monuments around Shizuoka. © .)
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Iron Fire breaks out in Gila, where forecasters have warned of dangerous fire conditions
Forest Service public information officers pictured during the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire in the Gila National Forest. A 900-acre fire known as the Iron Fire erupted Sunday in the Whitewater-Baldy Fire's burn scar, though conditions have improved Monday, a spokesperson said. (Photo courtesy Gila NF) A 900-acre wildfire broke out Sunday in an area that forecasters have warned for months would experience above-normal wildfire risk. Witnesses reported the Iron Fire around noon Sunday in the Iron Mesa area of the Gila Wilderness. It occurred amid a Red Flag Warning in the area due to dry conditions and wind gusts exceeding 40 mph. The fire ignited in a remote area within the 2012 Whitewater Baldy Fire burn scar and is burning in grass, heavy dead and downed fuel and timber, according to an update from the Gila National Forest. Brace for a bleak water year on top of 'nightmare' fire weather season A spokesperson for the Gila National Forest said Monday afternoon no formal update on the fire was expected until Monday evening, but the conditions are improving. 'We haven't seen significant growth today, under cloudy skies, cooler temps, and much lighter winds. We even had some snow over the fire this morning,' spokesperson Maribeth Pecotte wrote via email. No homes are under evacuation orders, Gila forest officials said in an update, though those at recreational facilities at Snow Lake are ordered to leave. Also, crews are assessing whether structures in the Willow Creek area need to be protected, Pecotte said. Nearly 50 people are responding to the fire, including two helicopters, two engines and two Hotshot teams. Two more teams are on their way, along with four additional engines. High winds Sunday prevented helicopters from collecting water at nearby Snow Lake, according to the Forest Service. As of Monday morning, the last update given, the fire was 0% contained. Its cause has not been determined. The fire occurs in an area where snowpack is far below normal, including some areas in Southwestern New Mexico where it is 0% of the median snowpack that accumulated there between 1991 and 2020. 'It's bad': How drought, lack of snowpack and federal cuts could spell wildfire disaster in NM According to the May national wildfire outlook from the National Interagency Fire Center, citing drought and other factors, all of Southwestern New Mexico should expect above-normal fire conditions. The outlook for much of the rest of the state has improved to normal, however, according to the outlook. In addition to the dangerous conditions, more than 25 people who work in the Gila National Forest were fired earlier this year as part of federal cost-cutting measures. It's not clear how many of them returned to work due to federal orders or how many are on administrative leave. The Silver City Interagency Dispatch Center, which responded to the Iron Fire and handled communications and resource orders, is housed in a building on a list of federal lease terminations identified by the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency.' U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich's office previously told Source New Mexico he'd received 'assurances' that the dispatch centers would stay open, but he has not yet received official word. See a map below of the fire start location. More updates can be found here.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, acquires a generative AI video startup
Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, has acquired Hotshot, a startup working on AI-powered video generation tools along the lines of OpenAI's Sora. Aakash Sastry, Hotshot's CEO and co-founder, announced the news in a post on X on Monday. "Over the past 2 years we've built 3 video foundation models as a small team — Hotshot-XL, Hotshot Act One, and Hotshot," Sastry wrote. "Training these models has given us a look into how global education, entertainment, communication, and productivity are about to change in the coming years. We're excited to continue scaling these efforts on the largest cluster in the world, Colossus, as a part of xAI!" Hotshot, which is based in San Francisco, was founded several years ago by Sastry and John Mullan. The startup initially focused on developing AI-powered photo creation and editing tools, but eventually pivoted in favor of text-to-video AI models. Hotshot managed to attract investments from VCs including Lachy Groom, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and SV Angel prior to its exit. The company never publicly disclosed the size of its funding rounds. xAI's acquisition of Hotshot could indicate that the former plans to build its own video generation models to compete with the likes of Sora, Google's Veo 2, and others. Musk has previously hinted that xAI is developing video-generating models to add to its Grok chatbot platform. During a live stream in January, Musk said that he expects a "Grok Video" model to be released "in a few months." Hotshot said on its site that it began sunsetting new video creation on March 14. Existing customers will have until March 30 to download videos they've created using the platform, the company added. It wasn't immediately clear whether the entire Hotshot staff would be joining xAI. Sastry declined to comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
