Latest news with #Dreamer
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Khalil Fong to receive Jury Award posthumously at the GMA
15 May - Khalil Fong is being honoured posthumously, as it was revealed that the singer has been nominated in four major categories at the 36th Golden Melody Awards. In an announcement that was made on 14 May, the late Hong Kong singer was revealed to have been nominated in Song of the Year, Best Composer, Best Lyricist and Best Arranger for the song "Twenty-Three" from his final album, "Dreamer". The album is also nominated for Best Mandarin Album. In addition, the Jury Award is also being presented to Khalil's album "Dreamer". The judging panel stated that the album showcases a departure from Khalil's previous production style, returning to the purity and creativity of music. The content of the album "offers deep insight, they said, representing a touching musical journey of an artiste and serving as a gift to his fans." Despite the nominations, the late singer himself did not make it to the best Chinese Male Singer category, which has Trout Fresh, Terence Lam, Li Ronghao, Hsiao Huang-chi and PoLin Tung competing for the accolade. The 36th Golden Melody Awards ceremony will be held at the Taipei Arena at on 28 June. Khalil's passing was revealed by his agency back on 1 March, following a private funeral and cremation. No cause of death was revealed. He was 41. (Photo Source: Khalil IG)
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
AI Game Development Enters Its Agentic Era With Upheaval's Dreamer Portal
Upheaval Games, a new startup formed by industry veterans from Blizzard, Tencent, Unity, and Obsidian, has launched early access to its flagship platform: the Dreamer Portal. It's a no-code, AI-driven tool that allows users conjure fully animated 3D characters, worlds, and game mechanics with nothing but voice or text prompts. While the company positions Dreamer as a kind of creative sandbox, it's the front-end of a much deeper effort to rewrite the architecture of game development. 'We've spent thirty years learning how to do it the hard way,' said Twain Martin, Upheaval's co-founder, CTO, and a veteran of Blizzard, Arcane, Obsidian, and other AAA studios. 'Now we're asking, what happens when AI does it all?' Enchanted market prompted with Upheaval. The answer, if Upheaval is right, could redefine the entire game development pipeline. Dreamer is the user-friendly gateway, built for solo creators and small teams, while the real power lies in Nexus, a back-end platform for spawning and managing AI-driven agents, which can best be described as NPCs with memory, goals, and autonomy. These agents can speak and interact with players, and build, script, and even populate game environments on their own, without any prompting at all. Unlike existing AI tools that require deep technical integrations, Nexus is designed for natural language instruction. 'You can give these agents a job with your voice,' said Aaron Moon, co-founder and Head of Product. 'We're building a world where you don't need a QA pipeline to test every change. The AI handles logic and behavior live, at runtime.' A 2D image can become a rigged, animated 3D image in seconds. 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 Upheaval's soon-to-be-released Nexus platform currently connects with with both Unity and Unreal Engine, generating rigged, animatable 3D assets stored in the cloud for drag-and-drop use. The toolstack supports character generation, dialogue behavior, item crafting, and environment logic. Its proprietary agent engine enables autonomous NPCs to interact with in-game objects, generate items with histories, and adapt behavior based on player input or scene context. One of the platform's more radical ideas is to treat the game itself as an emergent system that evolves alongside the player. 'Imagine an MMO where every NPC gets older, learns new skills, or changes appearance based on weather or combat,' said Martin. 'That's the 'Forever MMO' we're aiming for—persistent, dynamic, and built on agentic AI.' The Dreamer Portal, available now via free early access, is just the beginning. It functions as an aggregation layer atop dozens of AI services such as Meshy, Tripo, OpenAI, and others, thus allowing users to rapidly iterate without getting stuck in what Moon calls 'prompting paralysis.' The company plans to introduce a marketplace later this year, enabling creators to monetize agent-based games, assets, and experiences by selling them to other users. The broader vision goes beyond gaming. Moon says the same tools used to animate a blacksmith in a fantasy world could power simulations for scientists, educators, or even doctors. 'AI can surface patterns in massive datasets that humans would never see,' he said. 'One of our alpha testers is literally using it to help identify T-cell interactions in cancer research.' Upheaval's Nexus. Still, the implications for the gaming industry are immediate and disruptive. Moon and Martin are candid about the consequences. 'We're not pretending this won't eliminate jobs,' said Moon. 'But like Dreamweaver or the iPhone camera, it expands who gets to create.' Martin agrees: 'If ten people can now do the work of a hundred, we'll see more games—but only a few will break through.' Upheaval's founders are betting that those winners will be built with agents—not scripts. 'We're not building another asset farm,' said Moon. 'We're building a world that builds itself.'
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Google's Dreamer AI uses imagination to conquer Minecraft's most difficult task
It looks like if you're on the internet this weekend, you just cannot miss Minecraft. First, A Minecraft Movie featuring Hollywood stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa graced the silver screens, flooding social media with 'Chicken Jockey' memes. And now, Google has revealed that it is using the beloved game to train its AI model. While the movie is passable at best and strictly for superfans or kids, Google's AI breakthrough is anything but trivial. The tech giant's DeepMind team has managed to train an AI called Dreamer (not to be confused with Dream, a streamer who also plays Minecraft) to master Minecraft entirely on its own in just nine days, marking a significant milestone in AI self-improvement. Unlike previous AI models trained with hours of human gameplay footage, Dreamer learned Minecraft without prior exposure. Researchers at Google DeepMind and the University of Toronto designed Dreamer with a unique reinforcement learning system that rewarded it for collecting diamonds, one of the game's most valuable resources. The AI was not given step-by-step instructions but was instead encouraged to explore and optimize its approach through trial and error. Every 30 minutes, researchers reset the Minecraft world, forcing Dreamer to adapt to a new, randomly generated environment. Despite these constant changes, the AI rapidly improved. By the end of the experiment, Dreamer could mine diamonds in under 30 minutes—matching human players—after just nine days of gameplay. Dreamer's success was driven by its ability to envision potential future scenarios. Google DeepMind researcher Danijar Hafner explained, 'Dreamer marks a significant step towards general AI systems.' Instead of blindly trying different strategies, the AI created a mental model of its environment, allowing it to simulate actions before executing them. This ability to 'imagine the future' gave Dreamer an advantage, allowing it to focus only on the most efficient paths to its goal. The AI's learning process mirrors how humans refine their skills through experience. It absorbed information from its surroundings, identified successful actions, and discarded ineffective ones. This differs from traditional AI models, which often rely on massive datasets of human input. 'Dreamer is, to our knowledge, the first algorithm to collect diamonds in Minecraft from scratch without human data or curricula,' the Google researchers stated in the study. The significance of Dreamer's achievement goes far beyond video games. By proving that AI can teach itself complex tasks without direct human guidance, this research paves the way for more autonomous AI systems in real-world applications. Hafner noted that the AI's ability to mentally simulate scenarios could help develop robots that interact more intelligently with their surroundings. While mastering Minecraft may seem like a niche accomplishment, the underlying technology could have far-reaching consequences. AI that can learn and improve on its own could be used in robotics, automation, and problem-solving tasks across various industries. Just as Dreamer refined its strategies in a digital world, future AI models may soon apply the same principles to real-world challenges, from logistics optimization to autonomous navigation. The study is posted in the journal Nature.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Travelodge opens new 59-room hotel in Bromley town centre
A new 59-bedroom hotel has opened in Bromley town centre. The Travelodge hotel, located in the London Bromley Mall, opened its doors on Monday, March 10. The hotel features a new premium design, including a redesigned reception and next-generation rooms. The rooms include a king-size Dreamer bed, a duvet and four pillows, an ensuite shower room, a desk, a TV with Freeview, LED lighting, and USB desk and bedside charging points. The hotel has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of B and features LED lighting throughout and green roofs to encourage biodiversity. It is located near Bromley Civic Centre, the Churchill Theatre, and other attractions. Bromley train station is a two-minute walk from the hotel, and there is a 30-minute train journey into central London. The hotel has created 19 new jobs for the local community. Steve Bennett, chief property and development officer, said: "We're thrilled to welcome guests to our newly opened London Bromley Mall hotel, which is the very latest in our growing network of hotels throughout London. "Guests can benefit from design features such as our revamped reception area and next-generation room, including king-size Dreamer bed, LED lighting, and USB charging. "We continue to look for more London locations and have four more new London hotels currently under construction in Beckenham, Chiswick, Stratford, and Upminster." Travelodge operates more than 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland, and Spain. It runs 83 hotels and has more than 10,000 rooms across London, employing around 4,000 people across the city, with the chain continuing to expand across the capital. Travelodge also recently acquired an office building in St Paul's for conversion into a 95-room hotel, subject to planning permission. Mr Bennett said: "Travelodge also recently acquired an office building in St Paul's for conversion into a 95-room hotel, subject to planning permission, which is a very exciting new route for growth for Travelodge."
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
My family came to the US undocumented. People say we're criminals stealing jobs and benefits but here's what I wish they knew.
Since President Donald Trump's first day in office, he has ramped up his mass deportation plans. Jazmin, who was brought to the US when she was 6, shares how receiving DACA allowed her to become a nurse. She reflects on the fear and uncertainty she now feels for her loved ones and herself. Since entering office on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has pushed forward with his plans for the mass deportation of immigrants, something that could be a boon to private prison companies and a hit to Social Security tax revenue. During his first term as president in 2017, Trump announced that his administration would be terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA is a policy introduced by the Obama administration in 2012 that grants relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. The program's legality continues to be debated in court; as of the time of publication, DACA recipients are still eligible to renew their protected status every two years, but new DACA applications are no longer being accepted. According to USCIS data, there were 537,730 DACA recipients, also known as "Dreamers," as of September 2024. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jazmin, a 26-year-old travel nurse and DACA recipient, about her experience as a Dreamer and how she has navigated the weeks since Trump took office. Jazmin's last name has been withheld for privacy reasons, but her identity and DACA status have been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I was six when I came here. I remember living in Mexico and my parents telling me we were going on a trip, which became a very long trip. I think it was really hard for them to tell a 6-year-old what was actually happening. When I got older, my mom explained that we had left because they wanted to protect my siblings and me from violence and poverty. She had lived her whole life starving and she didn't want her kids to live the same life as her. My mom always told me, "Education will lead you places, so just make sure you stay educated." Receiving DACA was the best thing that ever happened to me. I worked 10 times harder because I felt like I needed to prove to this country that I was a good, educated person trying to do good. Today, I'm a travel nurse and am sent to different hospitals to help out wherever there is a shortage. My family might not have come the "right" way, but ever since we set foot in this country, we've tried to do things the right way. In the US, we settled in New Jersey and adjusted pretty well. My parents told me not to tell people where I was from and to just go to school, do everything right, and learn English, and I did. When I was a teenager, I saw other kids having opportunities to work and my mom told me I might not be able to. That's when I learned that I was undocumented. I wondered, Why am I not considered to be here legally? Why am I not welcome here? Then, President Obama launched DACA. My mom said, "This is our ticket for you." At first, I thought DACA meant I'd be able to get my residency and become a citizen. But then I found out that it was just a work permit and wouldn't lead to citizenship. I was happy regardless — I was going to be able to work while in high school and go to college. Even though I received DACA, that doesn't mean that I'm safe. Every two years, I have to pay for and submit a new application to renew my DACA status. With Trump's administration, he could do anything — he could cancel it or even give us citizenship. We're in such limbo between a potential pathway to citizenship and being completely deported. I've seen people online say we're just stealing jobs and taking benefits. But we don't receive financial aid and we pay taxes and Social Security that we will never touch unless we become citizens. And people say we're criminals, but in order to receive DACA, we have to have a clean criminal record. In my DACA applications, there's an answer that has always been the same — I always say I want to do something to give back to this country. I started by saying I wanted to become a nurse. Then, I was able to say that I was in nursing school thanks to DACA. And then I was able to write, "I'm finally a nurse, thanks to DACA." We DACA recipients have to keep advocating for ourselves. I feel that if we contribute to this country, then we should get some kind of pathway to citizenship. People say, "Just go back to your own country," but I have two homes. The US is my home, and I love it. I love Mexico too and am proud that I'm Mexican — that's my culture and it's in my blood. I've never been ashamed of where I came from. I was granted permission to travel through what's called "advance parole" and had the chance to go back last year for the first time since coming here 20 years ago. It was a beautiful experience, and I pray to God that he gives me the opportunity to visit again someday. But being there also felt so foreign because I'd been away for so long after not being able to visit. I also saw what my life would've been like if I hadn't come to America. We're from a very rural part of Mexico; the closest city and hospital is two hours away and most people don't have cars, and there isn't proper running water. It's a hard life — not knowing if you're going to have food on the table. And many people don't graduate middle school or high school because of the costs involved with getting an education. What my parents did for me and my siblings was worth it. I see so many opportunities in America that I don't see in Mexico. I know some people criticize America, but America has given me so much. My family is here in America, and I want to stay here. A lot of people say, "Just go apply for your citizenship." Or, "Why come here illegally? Why didn't you wait?" We couldn't wait because some of us might not have seen tomorrow if we hadn't crossed the border. And the process of gaining citizenship can take many years. People say that illegal immigrants are bringing in criminals. My family brought in their dreams, they brought in their kids. Sure, there might be some bad apples out there, but I believe that with any population, there are always more good people than bad. My mom's a restaurant manager, and for as long as I can remember, she's worked day and night. Recently, after 20 years, she was finally able to get a work permit. We know there's a process to doing things the right way, and we're always working with our immigration lawyer to figure out how to do so. The last couple of weeks since Trump took office have been overwhelming. I check in with my family and they're OK. They're still going to work and praying to God that everything works out. What hurts is thinking about what would happen if they were deported. My sister, for example, doesn't have documentation because she didn't get to apply for DACA; she was too young to be eligible before USCIS stopped accepting new DACA applications. If she does get deported, what would happen to us? We're so close. We wouldn't be able to see each other for 20 years? I asked my mom and aunt how they dealt with the fear of knowing that this kind of thing could happen. They said, "The fear that we have here doesn't compare to the fear that we had in Mexico — the fear of cartels taking my kids, raping my children, killing my family in front of me. That's real fear. God has given us the privilege to live here for this long. We just have to keep going day by day, working hard, and caring for our families." I tell myself that it's OK to be sad and feel the emotions we're feeling, but we just have to keep showing up and getting up every day. We can't let them win. If you have been impacted by President Trump's deportation orders or any other executive orders and would like to share your story, contact Jane Zhang at janezhang@ or on Signal at janezhang.01 using a non-work device. Read the original article on Business Insider
