Latest news with #authors
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
At 60 JK Rowling is a national hero. What have her spineless critics achieved?
Tomorrow is JK Rowling 's 60th birthday. So, as well as wishing her many happy returns, I feel it's the perfect time to reflect on the qualities that have made this monumentally successful author stand out from the crowd. Obviously there's her epic imagination, her mastery of plot, her flair for page-turning prose. Above all else, though, she has something that makes her practically unique in the current cultural landscape. It's called a spine. Nowadays, such an item constitutes a rare and unusual gift, because – from publishing to comedy, and from theatre to pop – 21st-century culture is dominated by cowardly conformists. People who obediently parrot the latest fashionable mantras about politics, history and 'social justice', while traducing those who dare question them. As a result, the arts world has effectively become a kind of private members' club, from which anyone who voices the incorrect opinions about current affairs will be automatically blackballed. This, I believe, is a key reason why so much of today's art and entertainment feels stale and predictable: it's commissioned and produced by people who all think the same. Who have identical views and values. In short, they promote every form of diversity, except the one that matters most: diversity of thought. What makes their conformism all the more pitiful is that they're utterly blind to it. They invariably see themselves as fearless rebels. Take Kneecap, who appear to think they're brave for flying Palestinian flags in front of thousands of people who agree with them. Sorry, dears, but if you want to do something truly rebellious at Glastonbury, try flying an Israeli flag. In today's stiflingly homogeneous cultural climate, that would be greeted as the most shocking act of subversion. Which brings me back to JK Rowling – because, unlike so many of her artistic peers, she exhibits zero desire to keep in with the in-crowd. Politically, we know she's on the Left (she used to donate to Labour). Yet she doesn't toe the Left-wing line. On the contrary, she's been happy to enrage the Left by mocking Jeremy Corbyn, lampooning idiotic efforts to legitimise 'sex work' – and, most scandalously of all, refusing to kowtow to trans activism. That, in particular, took real courage. Genuine independence of thought. And it's why she should be saluted today by anyone who believes in free speech. Because, over the past few years, she hasn't just been campaigning for women's rights to single-sex spaces. She's been campaigning for what George Orwell recognised as the single most important right that any of us can have: the right to say that two plus two makes four. And rarely has that right been under greater threat than in the 2020s, a period during which so many politicians, employers and broadcasters have insisted that two plus two makes five – and tried to crush those who won't comply. Of course, some might argue that JK Rowling's got it easy – because, thanks to her mind-boggling riches, she's beyond cancellation. But if anything, that makes her interventions all the more remarkable. Being so fabulously wealthy, she didn't have to bother. She could have ignored the whole trans row, and just sipped cocktails on her private yacht, blissfully oblivious to the vastly poorer and less powerful women being persecuted for the crime of defending their own rights. Yet she intervened anyway, knowing full well how this would be received. How many other super-rich celebrities would willingly risk endless abuse, threats, and the concerted trashing of their reputation by speaking out for a cause deplored in high-status circles? How many would choose to bring all that grief upon their own heads, for no personal gain? Miserably few. But JK Rowling did. And now, unmistakably, it's paying off. Her financial support helped the group For Women Scotland bring the appeal that ended with the Supreme Court ruling that, under the law, women are female – and therefore do indeed have the right to single-sex spaces. More than the money, though, I think her most crucial contribution has been moral. Her speaking out has emboldened countless others to speak out, too. This is why, as she turns 60, JK Rowling has become more than just our biggest-selling novelist. She's become a national hero. And what have her spineless critics achieved? Obviously they'll never have her success. But more importantly: they'll never have her guts.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Will AI Start To Figure Us Out? The Rise Of Intelligent Systems
Cheerful Asian gamer celebrating his success after winning in video game over PC in gaming club. We hear a lot about AI agents these days, next-gen engines that are able to, in limited ways, act like humans and tackle tasks. But what about intelligent systems? The intelligent system is something distinctly different from an agent, including in terms of the game theory that's applied. Where an individual AI agent might compete with a human worker, for example, the intelligent system will seek to interact with dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of humans, and in some way, build capacity based on those interactions. Defining The Intelligent System You can get a concise definition of an intelligent system from this resource at GeeksforGeeks: 'Intelligent systems in artificial intelligence (AI) represent a broad class of systems equipped with algorithms that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence. These systems span various domains from robotics to data analysis, playing a pivotal role in driving innovation across industries. Here, we delve into the essence of intelligent systems, their core components, applications, and the future trajectory of this transformative technology.' Authors provide the following list of prime aspects of intelligent systems: You start to get a picture of how these systems might work, at least in theory. The intelligent system is working with us every day, learning at a global level, and applying its knowledge base to a wider world than the typical AI agent would have access to. That's especially true in these early days of edge AI, where the agent can be installed on a non-connected, decentralized edge device. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Intelligent Systems in Gaming Mike Ambinder has been in the gaming industry for 20 years. He's an R&D partner at NEURAO, and has an evolved theory of how AI works in gaming and beyond. In a recent TED Talk, Ambinder broke down some of these key concepts. First, he contrasted games, with their interactivity, to other forms of digital experience: you listen to music, he pointed out, and you watch TV and movies, but you play games. That's different. By way of explanation, Ambinder broke things down into a linear process of a behavior that goes into a system and generates a response, and the cycle continues. He also mentioned a term, 'avoidances,' that represents, in his explication, the functions that are offered by a system. What do you get with an intelligent system built for interaction? I'll put these in bullet points: A System with Goals Ambinder further explained that an intelligent system has a systemic intention that is 'goal-directed.' In other words, the system has its own greater purpose. That's a hard concept to get your mind around, but in the age of semi-sentient AI, why not? An intelligent system can also have incredible, far-reaching powers of surveillance. 'You can record everything,' Ambinder noted. Intelligent Systems and Knowledge Generation Engines Ambinder also described processes whereby an intelligent system can make sense of the data that it collects in what he framed as an 'adaptive experience.' 'Instead of the player figuring out the game, the game can figure out the player,' he said. That seems to be at the heart of this concept: that as you play, you, as the player, are not the only thinking party. The game will be looking to figure you out, getting more information about who you are, what you want, and how you act, as you play. Use Cases for Intelligent Systems Ambinder enumerated these key areas of use: For example, he talked about treating PTSD, and how an intelligent system might be applied. When you think about how these gaming ideas apply to AI, you start to see the ability to put everything in play, and have an intelligent system working on us, figuring us out, to some particular end. Presumably, it's the owner of the system, probably a company or government agency, that's going to benefit. Let's make sure we talk about the rules for these evolved systems before we put them into implementation.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
What's a spredge? The latest booming trend in book design.
The saying goes: Never judge a book by its cover. But what about the edges of its pages? Sumptuous fore-edges — sprayed a bright color, stenciled with city skylines, made to look like pointy teeth — used to be relatively rare. But in recent years, publishers have brought decorated edges to the masses. Edge-painted books are now so widespread that you can find them at Walmart. The feature has spread from romance and fantasy to horror, thrillers and even literary fiction; it's spread from works by famous authors with ravenous followings to those by debut novelists hoping to make a splash. It even has a (horrifying) portmanteau: spredges. On social media, readers show off floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed full of these books — spines facing inward, of course.
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
This number of steps a day can reduce risk of death, diseases, analysis finds
How many steps do you need to take a day for better health? A new analysis landed on a number different than the 10,000 daily step recommendation you may have previously heard. The research, published Wednesday in The Lancet Public Health journal, looked at dozens of past studies published between Jan. 1, 2014, and Feb. 14, 2025. It found that 7,000 steps a day was associated with a 47% lower risk of death, a 38% lower risk of dementia and a 25% lower risk of heart disease, among other health benefits, when compared to people who only had about 2,000 steps a day. Risk of death from certain diseases also went down, including a 47% lower risk of death from heart disease and a 37% lower risk of death from cancer. The higher number of steps was found to have "a non-significant" 6% lower risk of getting cancer, the authors of the research said. The step count was also associated with a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, a 22% lower risk of depressive symptoms and a 28% lower risk of falls. "Although 10,000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active, 7,000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some," the authors wrote. If 7,000 steps still seems like a lot, even a more modest step count was associated with lower risk. For example, 4,000 steps per day compared to 2,000 was associated with substantial risk reduction, including a 36% lower risk in death, according to the analysis. The bottom line? Walking — at whatever amount you can accomplish in a day — is good for your body and mind. The research did have some limitations, the authors noted, including a lack of age-specific analysis and a small number of studies available for most specific outcomes. Still, the authors say they hope the 7,000 step count can serve as a practical public health target with future studies looking closer at age-specific targets. Trump reacts to DOJ reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer on Jeffrey Epstein files Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal pioneer, dies at age 76 Details on Trump's executive orders on artificial intelligence
CBS News
23-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
This number of daily steps can reduce your risk of death, chronic diseases and more, analysis finds
How many steps do you need to take a day for better health? A new analysis landed on a number different than the 10,000 daily step recommendation you may have previously heard. The research, published Wednesday in The Lancet Public Health journal, looked at dozens of past studies published between Jan. 1, 2014, and Feb. 14, 2025. It found that 7,000 steps a day was associated with a 47% lower risk of death, a 38% lower risk of dementia and a 25% lower risk of heart disease, among other health benefits, when compared to people who only had about 2,000 steps a day. Risk of death from certain diseases also went down, including a 47% lower risk of death from heart disease and a 37% lower risk of death from cancer. The higher number of steps was found to have "a non-significant" 6% lower risk of getting cancer, the authors of the research said. The step count was also associated with a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, a 22% lower risk of depressive symptoms and a 28% lower risk of falls. "Although 10,000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active, 7,000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some," the authors wrote. If 7,000 steps still seems like a lot, even a more modest step count was associated with lower risk. For example, 4,000 steps per day compared to 2,000 was associated with substantial risk reduction, including a 36% lower risk in death, according to the analysis. The bottom line? Walking — at whatever amount you can accomplish in a day — is good for your body and mind. The research did have some limitations, the authors noted, including a lack of age-specific analysis and a small number of studies available for most specific outcomes. Still, the authors say they hope the 7,000 step count can serve as a practical public health target with future studies looking closer at age-specific targets.
