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The retirement ticket controversy stemmed from an announcement made by Wu Bai's management team, stating that the upcoming "Nanjing Station" shows would be his last performances before he retires from the music industry. To commemorate this significant event, a limited number of retirement tickets were released for sale, promising exclusive perks and experiences for the ticket holders.
Britain imposes asset freeze, travel ban on ex-Angolan president’s daughter
The official statement also underscored the need for rigorous maintenance and safety protocols in establishments such as bath centers to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Authorities have pledged to work closely with relevant stakeholders to strengthen safety measures and uphold health standards in public venues across Zhengzhou.It's easy to be smug about AI "art" because, hey, doesn't that stuff look like garbage ? But the reality isn't so simple. To the untrained eye, it seems that AI-generated images are more than just passable; in some cases, they seem to match up to the old masters themselves. That at least appears to be the findings of a recent blind test conducted by the blog Astral Star Codex , which found that the readers who took part incorrectly distinguished between AI images and human art 40 percent of the time. But perhaps the most striking takeaway was that overall, the participants slightly preferred the AI creations to human ones, with six of the top ten most-liked images being AI-generated, and the top two slots going to the AI paintings. This preference was even the case among participants who identified as having a profound distaste for AI illustrations — perhaps demonstrating the unnerving capabilities of the technology. For the record, this was not a scientifically conducted test. But with 11,000 participants, it's big enough to be interesting. Via an online survey, respondents were asked to look through fifty curated images that had no accompanying details, and on each, opine whether they were human or AI. The ending included additional questions asking to explain certain decisions, expand on participants' familiarity with art, and other relevant inquiries. The blog's selection of images, meanwhile, was wide-ranging, including numerous classicist and impressionist paintings, a host of contemporary digital art, and AI facsimiles of all of the aforementioned. To make the test challenging, the chosen AI images did not include obvious giveaways like botched hands or gobbledygook text, and were often made by experienced prompt engineers (self-styled AI artists, in other words.) Certainly, some pictures could be clocked as AI from a mile away, like one of an anime girl , and an especially gaudy depiction of giant cats in a throne room . Others, though, like a quasi-impressionist night scene , are far more difficult to pin down. As we said, the takeaways are complicated. Perhaps the preference for the AI-images, many of which happened to be in the impressionist style, merely reflects partipants' taste for paintings of that era, as Astra speculates. It's also worth noting that significant human labor went into selecting only the most convincing AI art, meaning participants were being presented with only the cream of the crop. As for the people who loathed AI images but seemed to prefer them when all the labels are stripped away, it's possible the selection don't reflect what they specifically associate as bad with AI images (like the weird "sheen" you see in so many of them). The upshot, though, is that most of us don't have the refined visual palette to distinguish a human touch from a convincing machine one — which makes sense, since the AI models are fine-tuned to ape existing artworks by sort of averaging them all together and selecting for the most pleasing parts. Recently, we've seen people similarly leaning towards AI with poetry , something that very few people actually read regularly. At the same time, the test showed that there are indeed total aliens out there who correctly identified almost every single picture, with an elite five readers scoring 49/50. We'll close with a response from an experienced artist who partook in the challenge, and who displayed a remarkable talent for being a veritable art blade runner. A big telltale, she told Astral , is that the details in human pictures "have a logic to them," while AI ones are merely "superficially detailed." Summarizing her view, AI art is like the culinary equivalent of trying to replace food with a tasty and nutritionally adequate protein shake that you could make for cheap. Sure, you're getting your fill, and the slurry pleases the taste buds. But "imagine people calling this the future of food and saying chefs are obsolete," she wrote, per Astral . It'd probably drive you crazy, e specially if you're an artist. More on AI: Newspaper Fires Two AI Reporters After Bizarre Behavior Share This Article
On the flip side, Real Madrid, the most successful club in the history of the Champions League, are facing a tough challenge according to Opta's projections. The Spanish giants, who have lifted the prestigious trophy a record 13 times, are surprisingly placed in 21st position in the predicted standings. With an aging squad and questions lingering over their goal-scoring ability post-Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid will have to overcome significant hurdles to progress in the competition. The pressure will be on manager Carlo Ancelotti to navigate his team through a challenging group and restore their European dominance.
In addition to strong earnings and market trends, a favorable regulatory environment also played a significant role in boosting investor confidence in Chinese concept stocks. Recent regulatory reforms in China aimed at improving market access, promoting innovation, and fostering fair competition have been received positively by investors, who see these reforms as a sign of greater stability and transparency in the Chinese market.Moreover, a pay-to-join approach can also create barriers to entry for deserving professionals who may not have the financial resources to afford membership fees. This can result in a lack of diversity and inclusivity within the society, limiting the opportunities for talented individuals from underprivileged backgrounds to network, learn, and grow within their chosen field.The journey through these green corridors was not without its challenges. As the convoy of buses and vehicles carrying Chinese citizens made their way through treacherous terrain and war-torn streets, the sound of anti-aircraft guns reverberated through the air, sending shivers down the spines of all those onboard. The fear of being caught in the crossfire or becoming collateral damage in the conflict weighed heavily on the minds of those seeking safety and refuge.Musk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases DETROIT (AP) — Elon Musk says the Securities and Exchange Commission wants him to pay a penalty or face charges involving what he disclosed — or failed to disclose — about his purchases of Twitter stock before he bought the social media platform in 2022. In a letter, Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro tells the outgoing SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, that the commission’s demand for a monetary payment is a “misguided scheme” that won’t intimidate Musk. The letter also alleges that the commission reopened an investigation this week into Neuralink, Musk’s computer-to-human brain interface company. The SEC has not released the letter. Nor would it comment on it or confirm whether it has issued such a demand to Musk. Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is pushing toward a vote on legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began the process on Thursday for a final vote on the bill, known as the Social Security Fairness Act. It would eliminate policies that currently limit Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million people. The legislation has passed the House. The bill would add more strain on the Social Security Trust funds, which are already estimated to be unable to pay out full benefits beginning in 2035. The measure would add an estimated $195 billion to federal deficits over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Trump offers support for dockworkers union by saying ports shouldn't install more automated systems WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is offering his support for the dockworkers union before their contract expires next month at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports. He posted on social media Thursday that he met with union leaders and that any further “automation” of the ports would harm workers. He wrote that the “amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers.” The International Longshoremen’s Association has until Jan. 15 to negotiate a new contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies. The Maritime Alliance says the technology will improve worker safety and strengthen our supply chains, among other things. IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS leadership on Thursday announced that the agency has recovered $4.7 billion in back taxes and proceeds from a variety of crimes. The announcement comes under the backdrop of a promised reckoning from Republicans who will hold a majority over both chambers of the next Congress and have long called for rescinding the tens of billions of dollars in funding provided to the agency by Democrats. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said improvements made to the agency will help the incoming administration and new Republican majority congress achieve its goals of administering an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. OpenAI's legal battle with Elon Musk reveals internal turmoil over avoiding AI 'dictatorship' A 7-year-old dispute between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and best avoid an artificial intelligence ‘dictatorship’ is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker’s ongoing conversion into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. OpenAI is filing its response Friday. OpenAI's Altman will donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund LOS ANGELES (AP) — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning to make a $1 million personal donation to President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships the incoming administration. A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed the move on Friday. The announcement comes one day after Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it donated $1 million to the same fund. Amazon also said it plans to donate $1 million. China signals it's prepared to double down on support for the economy as Trump tariffs loom BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leaders met this week to plot economic policy for the coming year and sketched out plans to raise government spending and relax Beijing's monetary policy. Analysts said the broad-brush plans from the annual Central Economic Work Conference were more of a recap of current policy than ambitious new initiatives at a time when the outlook is clouded by the President-elect Donald Trump's threats to sharply raise tariffs once he takes office. The ruling Communist Party did commit to raising China's deficit and to doing more to encourage consumer spending by bringing wage increases in line with the pace of economic growth. Here's a look at China's main priorities and their potential implications. Stock market today: Wall Street slips at the end of a bumpy week Stocks slipped as Wall Street closes out a rare bumpy week. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% in afternoon trading Friday and headed for a weekly loss. The benchmark index hit its latest in a string of records a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 58 points. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. Broadcom surged after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street’s profit targets and gave a glowing forecast, highlighting its artificial intelligence products. Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market. European markets were mostly lower and Asian markets mostly fell. Next Week: Retail sales, Fed policy update, existing home sales The Commerce Department releases its monthly snapshot of U.S. retail sales Tuesday. Federal Reserve officials wrap up a two-day meeting and issue an interest rate policy update Wednesday. The National Association of Realtors issues its latest update on U.S. home sales Thursday. African Union chairperson candidates advocate for permanent UN Security Council seats NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three African leaders seeking to head the African Union have detailed their plans for regional security amid conflicts and political coups while strongly advocating for inter-Africa trade. The race for chairperson debate was held Friday in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Kenya’s Raila Odinga, Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato are seeking to be elected as chairperson for the 55-member state African Union. They had a two-hour debate Friday in which they all advocated for two permanent seats for African countries at the U.N. Security Council to effectively represent the continent with the youngest population. The three are seeking to convince most African countries before the February election to succeed the African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki.
