‘The Magicians’: Marina may be evil but standing up for that side of herself was the right thing to do – MEAWW

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Spoiler alert for 'The Magicians' Season 5 Episode 6 'The Balls'

Marina Andrieski (Kacey Rohl) underwent a dramatic and literal personality shift for her girlfriend, Anna (Nishi Munshi), as we saw in the last episode. Using a trance spell to suppress every evil, conniving, selfish tendency within her, she became a paragon of goodness, delight and well-meaning bad cookies, all in an effort to please Anna. It's enough to get Marina back into Anna's good graces but when Alice Quinn (Olivia Dudley) undoes the trance spell, Marina has to work at how "good" she can be.

There's no question that Anna deserves someone who doesn't lie to her. There's an argument to be made for the case of Anna wanting to see Marina be a better version of herself. However, what Marina went through to get back into Anna's good graces is a complete character change and that is not a healthy thing to do for a relationship no matter what the circumstances.

Marina's not a main character and as such we only see glimpses of her relationship to Anna and it's clear that Marina has not been a good girlfriend. It's a relationship based on lies, lies that Marina continually tells just to be able to be with Anna. It's toxic, and wrong, but we see just how far Marina is willing to go for the relationship when she rewrites her own personality and removes her ability to lie. That's no small step; Marina was willing to go to extreme lengths to be the kind of person who makes Anna happy.

In this episode, however, she stands up for her own self - the correct self. The flawed self. Marina's attempt to be someone else was its own lie, ironically, and if that's the person Anna wanted, then it's not Marina she loved. Marina is a deeply flawed character, but trying to suppress or ignore those flaws is no way for a relationship to work. 'The Magicians' is all about flaws at the heart of magical fantasies and while love is a beautiful dream, it's almost always a thing shared between two flawed people; no one is perfect.

The show has devoted a lot of time to get its characters to learn to live with themselves and part of that process has been acknowledging the flaws in themselves and in their dreams. By accepting herself, flaws and all, Marina joins the cast as someone who realizes that dreams sometimes die in the face of the truth. "You need to accept me for the me I am right now" is possibly the most honest thing Marina has ever said to Anna and it's the truth, that ends the relationship. Ultimately, it's probably for the best.

The next episode of 'The Magicians' airs April 1, on Syfy.

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'The Magicians': Marina may be evil but standing up for that side of herself was the right thing to do - MEAWW

Revive your weary spirits in a spa – MoneyWeek

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W

hen in Bath, do as the Romans did bathe. People have been coming to take the waters for centuries long before the Romans made Aquae Sulis, as they called Bath, fashionable. Some came to relax, others to be cured of their ailments. These days you cant actually go in the water at the world-heritage Roman Baths (which, by the way, are definitely worth a visit if youve never been). The water is pond-green and none too inviting. Happily, The Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel draws the water for its Spa Village Bath from the same springs. It is the only one to do this and trust me, this water you do want to get into.

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Sitting under one of the pressure spouts in the main pool, the warm water pummelling your shoulders, its all too easy to slip into a trance. While youre at it, you might as well contemplate where all this water comes from. Surprisingly, the source is still a mystery. Its thought the water fell as rain 10,000 years ago. It seeped into the earth to a depth of two kilometres to be warmed and returned to the surface in the form of three springs. One of these is Hetling Spring and it provides the three thermal pools with mineral-rich water. There are also two saunas, one of which is infrared, and a steam room. Theres also the ice alcove for hardcore spa-goers. Whether out of survival instinct or just raw cowardice, I found myself slinging the ice over my shoulder. I think one piece might have touched me.

My 90-minute Magnesium Remineraliser treatment was much easier to get onboard with. I hadnt realised that I needed to be remineralised my focus being more on animal and vegetable (read on that came later). But magnesium is apparently responsible for promoting energy levels, sleep, circulation, metabolism and muscle movement. I can vouch for the sleep part. The scrub, massage and warm wrap is terribly relaxing. Muscle movement? I think I did turn over once. As for metabolism, I defy anybody to come up with a better way of preparing for dinner than with a good massage followed by a cocktail in the bar, naturally, with The Gainsboroughs convivial general manager, Marc MacCloskey. He explained to me the history of the building.

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The Gainsborough opened five years ago. As you may have guessed, its named after Thomas Gainsborough, who lived in Bath from 1759. But the artist was never actually resident at the site, which was just as well as the two buildings that make up the present-day hotel were former hospitals. The current buildings, with their Georgian and Victorian faades, date from 1826 and 1860, but the Hospital of Thomas Bellott, which served the sick and needy, had occupied the site since 1609. Do not leave dormant in your store that would relieve the poor. If the poor sleep soundly, so will you, reads the Latin inscription etched in stone. That The Gainsborough today occupies former hospitals is somewhat fitting for a hotel that is built around a spa, albeit a luxury one. And you wont have any trouble sleeping soundly in the cosy bedrooms. Ours was a corner room with views of the Abbey and the rooftop pool at the modern Thermae Bath Spa next door.

But to dinner! If The Gainsborough is named after an artist, then so is its restaurant Dan Moon. The only difference is West Country native Dan Moon is alive and to be found in the kitchen, using local ingredients to whip up works worthy of his three AA rosettes for our seven-course tasting menu. The smoked rabbit with ethical foie gras, Parma ham and tomato was served beneath a teeny, tiny glass cloche that, when lifted, unleashed a puff of smoke. All of the dishes from the cream of mushroom velout to the chocolate marquise were excellent, while the roast duck in a plum sauce, served with a homemade spring roll, was my particular favourite. Each dish was paired with a differentwine.

These waters will be empty for some weeks to come but everyones going to need a long stint in the pool when this crisis ends, and this is the place to look forward to visiting. Salus per aquam, as those Romans might have said health through water. Or simply, Spa.

Chris was a guest of The Gainsborough. From 290 on a room-only basis, see thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk

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DIAGNOS Will Utilize its Artificial Intelligence Medical Platform FLAIRE in Response to the US White House – Call to Action to Analyse and Transform…

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Brossard, Quebec, March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DIAGNOS Inc. (DIAGNOS or the Corporation) (TSX Venture: ADK) (OTCQB: DGNOF), a leader in early detection of critical health issues through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), announces that it is participating in the Call to Action initiative implemented by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. DIAGNOS has accessed a significant dataset with the objective of analysing these medical documents with its AI Medical Platform, called FLAIRE, in order to identify key factors that could assist in the battle against the Coronavirus.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House and a coalition of leading research groups have prepared the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19). CORD-19 is a resource of over 44,000 scholarly articles, including over 29,000 with full text, about COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and related coronaviruses. This dataset is provided to the global research community to apply recent advances in natural language processing and other AI techniques to generate new insights in support of the ongoing fight against this infectious disease. There is a growing urgency for these approaches because of the rapid acceleration in new coronavirus literature, making it difficult for the medical research community to keep up.

Call to Action (from the White House)

The White House is issuing a call to action to the world's artificial intelligence experts to develop text and data mining tools that can help the medical community develop answers to high priority scientific questions. The CORD-19 dataset represents the most extensive machine-readable coronavirus literature collection available for data mining to date. This allows the worldwide AI research community the opportunity to apply text and data mining approaches to find answers to questions within, and connect insights across, this content in support of the ongoing COVID-19 response efforts worldwide.

Mr. Andr Larente, CEO of Diagnos stated: Diagnos AI platform has been built to address the complexity of multiple sources of data that includes text mining, data mining and medical imaging. The proprietary technology has been developed over a number of years in order to identify medical challenges, for example cardio vascular issues have resulted in new tests to address hypertensive patient complications and to predict a potential stroke. The intention of FLAIRE in response to the White House Call to Action is to assist in resolving some of the issues caused by the virus by analyzing the dataset made available by the US authorities.

The Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Disease and 21st Century Health Threats of the US and the WHO identified 10 scientific questions that are vital to address this international crisis. These questions include studying the transmission and incubation of the virus, risk factors for getting the COVID-19, the origin of the virus, and the proper medical practice for treating this disease.

Mr. Francis Bellido, PhD in Medical Microbiology and board member at Diagnos added: One outcome that is particularly remarkable in the COVID-19 crisis is that the majority of the deceased victims had one or several pre-condition(s) before the infection struck such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity or other Cardio Vascular issues, which are the sweet spots for the Diagnos diagnostic assisted platform. We believe that this virus could further alter the cartography of the retina in such patients, and if confirmed, creating the possibility of an additional facet to our existing detection tool for our existing patients.

Dr. Hadi Chakor, Chief Medical Officer at Diagnos added: One of the treatments for COVID-19 is the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. The recommendations of the American Academy of Ophthalmology on the screening of chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are very clear after taking high doses and for a long period of use, a rigorous follow-up with patients is required. These conditions represent the most severe risks of developing morphological alterations in the retina after treatment with chloroquine. Also, previous studies demonstrate clearly that chloroquine disrupts lysosomal function in retinal neurons and RPE. Modern screening should be based on primary AI-based automatic screening tests to assess the fundus plus optical spectral coherence tomography (SD OCT) exams. These investigations should look beyond the central macula to provide objective screening and to detect subtle changes on the retinal membrane.

The Corporation is also announcing a correction to its press release dated March 9th, 2020: The number of common shares that Mr. Tristram Coffin would hold assuming the exercise of stock warrants should read 11,047,561 instead of 10,624,560.About DIAGNOS

DIAGNOS is a publicly-traded Canadian corporation with a mission of early detection of critical health issues through the use of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform FLAIRE. Diagnos can build application rapidly using the FLAIRE platform such as CARA (Computer Assisted Retina Analysis). CARA is an application that integrates with existing equipment (hardware and software) and processes at the point of care. CARAs Artificial Intelligence image enhancement algorithms make standard retinal images sharper, clearer and easier to read. CARA is a cost-effective tool for screening large numbers of patients in real-time and has been cleared for commercialization by several regulatory authorities such as Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Union and other countries.

Additional information is available at http://www.diagnos.com and http://www.sedar.com.

This news release contains forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements. DIAGNOS disclaims any intention or obligation to publically update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

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DIAGNOS Will Utilize its Artificial Intelligence Medical Platform FLAIRE in Response to the US White House - Call to Action to Analyse and Transform...

LiveMD Global Telehealth Platform launches artificial intelligence tracking and triaging tools to help combat COVID-19 (CoronaVirus) Pandemic -…

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ATLANTA, March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As many government and private institutions scramble to react to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, one telehealth company has been prepared for years to respond to this kind of crisis. LiveMD, a leading provider of global telehealth services, has a reliable, established, full-featured telehealth platform that allows anyone to use their phone to check their symptoms, track and self-report viruses such as COVID-19, and talk to a doctor. Plus it offers a verifiable track record of successful service delivery to patients in more than 42 countries worldwide. The company leverages the expertise of doctors in 53 distinct specialties, who are based in 30 different countries.

LiveMD offers an innovative app that can be downloaded directly from the Google Play store at http://bitly.com/livemdapp. With the LiveMD app, anyone can track the COVID-19 corona virus in their local area, regardless of where they live. They can self-report their corona virus status for tracking and covid-19 testing triaging, and connect with local government and medical agencies (such as test labs) for help and guidance. Their personal health information is kept private and secured.

As explained by LiveMD Founder and CEO Emeka Okwara, LiveMD is a global telehealth platform intended to serve anyone on this planet who has a phone. You can think of LiveMD as a global digital hospital on your phone. Anytime and anywhere, virtually anyone can be quickly and safely connected to a certified physician for a live consultation. Anyone can schedule an appointment to talk to a doctor by phone, video, text, or in person. This is our core mission and what we do best.

LiveMD also offers an innovative app that can be securely downloaded directly from the Google Play store. Use the app to talk to a certified doctor in the LiveMD global health network by phone, video, or text from anywhere. With the app, the patient literally has a self-diagnosis tool powered by advanced artificial intelligence capability, in the palm of their hand. After they use the LiveMD app to perform a self-diagnosis, the app then identifies doctors who are available for a consultation and who specialize in that patients specific medical ailment. In the near future, LiveMD will also identify which pharmaceuticals are designed and routinely prescribed to treat that condition.

LiveMD has always advocated for the idea that health care is global and not just local, and must be treated as such. We have led the industry, says Okwara, using our technology with that mindset. This allows us to provide a platform that addresses some of the global health challenges we are experiencing today, and prevent future pandemics.

Organizations such as health insurance companies, business owners and employers, and NGOs can use LiveMD to serve employees and customers. That ensures that those who get the app will receive vital access to the help they need, supported by a global network of doctors.

Okwara adds that, "LiveMD plans to work with governments and provide them with the tools to get real-time COVID-19 updates from their citizens, help triage individuals for covid-19 testing, and help provide citizens the help they desperately need. Our objective is to help governments quickly and efficiently reduce the spread of the virus and save lives. Government institutions can reach LiveMD at gov@mylivemd.com to quickly get onboard the LiveMD Global Health Platform. It takes less than an hour to get onboarded. Because of LiveMDs depth of experience and technological sophistication, the platform can swiftly and strategically respond to individual, local, regional, and global health concerns.

About LiveMD

LiveMD is a Telehealth platform used to increase access to quality healthcare services around the world using its artificial intelligence, big data and telecommunication technologies. Patients across 43 countries use LiveMD to talk to certified doctors by phone, video, and text. They also use LiveMDs artificial intelligence tools for self-diagnosis, virus tracking andmedical testing triaging.You can find more information about LiveMD at http://www.mylivemd.com and you can download the app at http://bitly.com/livemdapp.

LiveMD Media Contact:Emeka Okwarapress@mylivemd.com

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AI vs COVID-19: Here are the AI tools and services fighting coronavirus – AI News

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AI tools and services are being used or offered by companies around the world to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

In a best-case scenario, whereby the virus transmission is massively mitigated, researchers from Imperial College London predict there would still be in the order of 250,000 deaths in GB, and 1.11.2 million in the US resulting from the coronavirus.

Imperial College Londons analysis landed in Washington over the weekend and its said to be the reason behind the US stepping up its response. British PM Johnson warned that further measures in the UK will likely be introduced in the coming days and a coronavirus bill for emergency powers is making its way to the House of Commons.

Much like in wartime, technologies and social experiments that under normal circumstances would take years or decades to be tested and implemented will be rushed into use in days or weeks.

Chinas Tianhe-1 supercomputer is offering doctors around the world free access to an AI diagnosis tool for identifying coronavirus patients based on a chest scan. The supercomputer can sift through hundreds of images generated by computed tomography (CT) and can give a diagnosis in about 10 seconds.

Alibaba Cloud has launched a series of AI technologies including the International Medical Expert Communication Platform on Alibaba Groups enterprise chat and collaboration app, DingTalk. The platform allows verified medical personnel around the world to share their experiences through online messaging and video conferencing.

Another solution from Alibaba estimates the trajectory of a coronavirus outbreak in a specific region using a machine learning algorithm based on public data gathered from 31 provinces in China. Within China, it has a 98 percent accuracy rate.

For researchers and institutions working hard towards a vaccine, Alibaba has opened its AI-powered computational platform to accelerate data transfer and computation time in areas such as virtual drug screening.

Several of the other leading cloud players in China including Baidu and Tencent have opened up specific parts of their solutions for free to qualifying medical personnel. In the US, Microsoft and Google have also done the same.

Last month, scientists from South Korea-based firm Deargen published a paper with the results from a deep learning-based model called MT-DTI which predicted that, of available FDA-approved antiviral medication, the HIV drug atazanavir is the most likely to bind and block a prominent protein on the outside of the virus which causes COVID-19. In early trials, coronavirus sufferers are reportedly improving significantly using HIV drugs.

Hong Kong-based Insilico Medicine also published a paper in February which, instead of seeking to repurpose available drugs, detailed the use of a drug discovery platform which generated tens of thousands of novel molecules with the potential to bind a specific SARS-CoV-2 protein and block the viruss ability to replicate. A deep learning filtering system helped Insilico narrow down the list and the company has synthesised two of the seven molecules and plans to test them in the next two weeks with a pharmaceutical partner.

British AI startup Benevolent AI has also been active in seeking to identify approved drugs that might block the viral replication of COVID-19. The companys AI system examined a large repository of medical information to identify six compounds that effectively block a cellular pathway that appears to allow the virus into cells to make more virus particles. Baricitinib, used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, looks to be the most effective against the virus.

For its part, the White House has urged AI experts to analyse a dataset of 29,000 scholarly articles about coronavirus and use them to develop text and data-mining techniques to help scientists answer the following key questions about COVID-19:

The entire COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19) has been made available on SemanticScholar and will be updated whenever new research is published.

While the outlook around the world is currently grim, some of these AI-powered tools and developments offer a glimmer of hope we may be to reduce the viruss spread, improve treatment for patients, and ultimately conquer the coronavirus sooner than otherwise would have been possible.

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this? Attend the co-located 5G Expo, IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam.

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AI vs COVID-19: Here are the AI tools and services fighting coronavirus - AI News

New Research from Newark Reveals Strong Adoption of Artificial Intelligence within the Internet of Things Ecosystem – Embedded Computing Design

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Newark published new research on the Internet of Things (IoT) which confirms strong adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within IoT devices. The companys research showed that 49% of respondents already use AI in their IoT applications, with Machine Learning (ML) the most used technology (28%), followed by cloud-based AI (19%).

In opposition, there were still 51% of respondents that have not adopted or implemented AI technology into IoT applications.

The research survey, which is Newarks second-such report, highlighted security as being the biggest concern for those implementing IoT.

Other statistics that came from the survey are listed:

(All statistics have come directly from Newark)

The survey ran from Sept. Dec. 2019, compiling responses from 2,015 participants. Those who participated came from 67 countries in Europe, North America, and Asia. 59% of respondents were engineers who were working on IoT solutions.

For more information, visit Newark.com

Perry Cohen, associate editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content editing and creation in addition to podcast production. He also assists with the publications social media efforts which include strategic posting, follower engagement, and social media analysis. Before joining the ECD editorial team, Perry has been published on both local and national news platforms including KTAR.com (Phoenix), ArizonaSports.com (Phoenix), AZFamily.com, Cronkite News, and MLB/MiLB among others. Perry received a BA in Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State university.He can be reached by email at perry.cohen@opensysmedia.comFollow Perrys work and ECD content on his twitter account @pcohen21

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Stanford virtual conference to focus on COVID19 and artificial intelligence | Stanford News – Stanford University News

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Russ Altman (Image credit: Courtesy Russ Altman)

The impact of COVID-19 on society and the way artificial intelligence can be leveraged to increase understanding of the virus and its spread will be the focus of an April 1 virtual conference sponsored by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).

COVID-19 and AI: A Virtual Conference, which is open to the public, will convene experts from Stanford and beyond. It will be livestreamed to engage the broad research community, government and international organizations, and civil society.

Russ Altman, one of the conference chairs, is an associate director of HAI and the Kenneth Fong Professor and professor of bioengineering, of genetics, of medicine, of biomedical data science, and, by courtesy, of computer science. He is also the host of the Sirius radio show The Future of Everything. He discusses the aims of the conference.

What was the idea behind the conference?

At HAI, we felt this was an opportunity to use our unique focus on AI and humanity to serve the public in a time of crisis. The issues involved in the pandemic are both nuanced and complex. Approaching it from multiple fields of expertise will help speed us toward solutions. The goal is to make leading-edge and interdisciplinary research available, bringing together our network of experts from across different schools and departments.

We have a world-class set of doctors and biological scientists at Stanford Medical School and theyll, of course, be involved. Well also have experts on AI, as well as the social sciences and humanities, to give their scholarly perspective on the implications of this virus, now and over time. The conference will be entirely virtual with every speaker participating remotely, providing an unpolished but authentic window into the minds of thinkers we respect.

What useful information will come out of the conference?

Were asking our speakers to begin their presentation by talking about the problem theyre addressing and why it matters. They will present the methods theyre using, whether scientific or sociological or humanistic, the results theyre seeing even if their work is preliminary and the caveats to their conclusions. Then theyll go into deeper detail that will be very interesting to academic researchers and colleagues. Importantly, we intend to have a summary of key takeaways afterward along with links to information where people can learn more.

We will not give medical advice or information about how to ensure personal safety. The CDC and other public health agencies are mobilized to do that.

What do you think AI has to offer in the fight over viruses like COVID-19?

AI is extremely good at finding patterns across multiple data types. For example, were now able to analyze patterns of human response to the pressures of the pandemic as measured through sentiments on social media, and even patterns in geospatial data to see where social distancing may and may not be working. And, of course, we are using AI to look for patterns in the genome of the virus and its biology to see where we can attack it.

This interdisciplinary conference will show how the availability of molecular, cellular and genomic data, patient and hospital data, population data all of that can be harnessed for insight. Weve always examined these data sources through more traditional methods. But now for the first time, and at a critical time of global crisis, we have the ability to use AI to look deeper into data and see patterns that were otherwise not visible previously, including the social and cultural impact of this pandemic. This is what will enable us to work together as a scholarly, scientific community to help the future of humankind.

Who do you hope will attend?

The core audience is scholars and researchers. We want to have a meaningful discussion about the research challenges and opportunities in the battle against this virus. Having said that, we know that there are many people with an interest in how scientists, researchers, sociologists and humanists are helping in this time of crisis. So were making the conference open to anyone interested in attending. It will be a live video stream from a link on our website, and available as a recording afterward.

What kind of policy effect do you hope the conference can have?

Good policy is always informed by good research. A major goal of HAI is to catalyze high-quality research that we hope will be heeded by policymakers as they work to craft responses to COVID-19 and future pandemic threats. So this will give insights to policymakers on what will be published in the coming months.

Register for the April 1 conference.

Learn more about the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI).

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Stanford virtual conference to focus on COVID19 and artificial intelligence | Stanford News - Stanford University News

Artificial Intelligence in the energy sector: opportunities and challenges – WhaTech

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Its an article on the various opportunities and challenges for A.I. to dominate the energy sector

What lies in the store for AI in energy sector: Its potential applications and shortcomings

Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning and Machine Learning- whatever you are doing, if you dont understand it Learn it. Because you are otherwise going to be a dinosaur in 3 years.

These words by American entrepreneur Marc Cuban can be a bit over-the-top but it puts a strong emphasis on how these modern technologies are gonna dominate almost every industry in the coming years. So today, we are gonna talk about one of these technologies- Artificial Intelligence (AI.) in detail and about its growing importance in specifically, the Energy Sector.

So, lets begin our article with some insights on AI.

Artificial Intelligence: An Introduction

AI is certainly the talk about the hour nowadays. In high-tech industry, AI is the one with most potential. But before proceeding and discussing further on this exciting technology, wed like to first understand what AI means-:

Artificial Intelligence may be defined as a technology which incorporates human intelligence in machines. It provides machines or computer programs the potential of thinking or performing certain tasks which otherwise, wouldnt be possible without human intelligence.

These tasks may include the likes of visual perception or speech recognition for instance.

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible for machines to accomplish specific tasks by processing large amounts of information in form of data and recognizing patterns within the data. Today AI has taken a crucial place in many sectors and with increasing digitisation and increased flow of information everyday, the longer term for AI looks promising.

From retail to banking, from healthcare to manufacturing, AI is resulting in increased efficiency and security by enhancing the speed, precision and effectiveness of human efforts.

AI IN ENERGY SECTOR: AN OVERVIEW

With Artificial Intelligence expanding itself every day, energy sector has also not been left untouched by it.AI and energy sector are a perfect matchto each other. AI thrives on data and the energy resources are flooded with huge chunk of data coming from power grids, wind-farm operations and even oil-companies. AI coupled with other technologies like cloud computing canprocess, stream, analyse and interpret this dataprecisely and with unimaginable speeds to make the energy sector more efficient and secure.

So, lets begin our discussion on what future lies for AI in this ever- changing energy sector and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead to it:

Opportunities for AI in Energy Sector-:

The numerous opportunities for AI can be narrowed down to these five points-

AI in power grids : Smart grids

With time, power grids are becoming more and more decentralized and digital. It is leading to more number of grid participants and hence, more difficult to manage it and keep the grid in balance. This requires evaluating and analyzing a huge chunk of data. AI can help us with quick and efficient processing for this flood of data!

As power is being generated from more volatile sources like solar and wind, the requirement is that power generation must react intelligently to consumption (and vice versa). With AI, we canevaluate, analyse and control participants connected to each othervia these smart grids.

Intelligent Energy Storage(IES)

With modern day emphasis on climate changes and increasing pressure to reduce CO2 emissions, we must find ways to have most of our power generated from renewable resources. The problem with renewable sources of energy are that they areunpredictable, which makes production of energy periodical and sometimes even chaotic. With renewable sources, there can be power outages or too much power generation which needs to be controlled.

Smart storage, also known asIntelligent Energy Storage(IES)can effectively handle these disrupt changes in power supply. If we combine renewable energy with AI-powered storage ,we can greatlyimprove energy storage management, increase business value and minimize power losses.

AI in power trading: AI forecasting

Use of AI in power trading can help improve forecasting. Improving their predictive analysis methods by the use of AI can serve many goals for energy companies:Cost Cutting, Power Saving, Being ready for changing conditionsand also improving their existing customer service. With the help of machine learning and deep learning, its possible to bring forecasting to the next level in the energy industry .The cost of error in energy industry is very high, which means thatprecision of highest levelis required.

Ex- Worlds largest electricity producer company GE Power is working on incorporating AI in its energy supply change to enhance precision and efficiency.

Resource Management

Suppliers can use AI topredict for demandin advance orcheck for problemsto save resources wherever possible. They can therefore haveoptimal utilizationof their resources, hence increasing efficiency.

AI can also enable users to save electricity and reduce their monthly bills. With AI enabled system, the networked devices canreduce power billsby reacting to prices on electricity market.

Preventing disaster

AI can be used topredict system overload or potential transformer breakdowns, thus giving an added layer of security to any disaster sort of mis-happening. Analyzing the available data and coupled with technologies like deep learning, AI can predict corrosion, cracks etc. which pose a threat to the system and can be a cause of future disasters.

Challenges for AI in the energy sector

By learning about so many potential applications of AI. in the energy sector, you would guess that its gonna be a pretty easy path for it in this industry. But turns out, that the path isnt really without its obstacles. So, lets take a look at the major challenges which has to be cleared before AI takes a giant domination in this industry-:

Let us read about each challenge one-by-one:

Lack of expertise and finances

For a shift to AI enabled energy sector, we require a large number of employees withsufficient technical expertiseon AI who could be able to lead this transition, but thats not present. Moreover, theconservative approachof some organisations andhuge risksassociated with data compels many companies to not join this AI revolution.

Moreover, this implementation of technology in the energy sector would requiredeveloping, adjusting and monitoringsoftware which requireslot of resources and finances.

Data Privacy and Security

Data privacy is one of the biggest issues of this century and AI literally thrives on data, so it is natural for data security to be a challenge for AI in the energy sector. Energy supply and entire energy system are prone tocyber-attacks and data theft. Being integral part of a countrys infrastructure,cybersecurity needs to be insuredbefore completely handling over our data to the technology.

Data Consumption by AI itself

Data centers the huge server farms around the world storing users data, now consume 3% of global energy.Processing a lot of data requires large amount of electricity- making it a requirement to have a check on data consumption of AI itself. To make the energy sector artificially intelligent, its integral to ensure that thesedata centres are themselves, energy efficient.

CONCLUSION

Its a no-brainer that the future lies in AI and furthermore, the capability of AI to revolutionize the energy sector must also not be doubted. AI can increase the efficiency, speed and security of energy consumption and generation and could lead the constant transitions in this sector to meet the changing climate needs. But it also goes without saying that even this intelligent technology has its own shortcomings which needs to be taken care of before we can embrace it with open hands.

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Artificial Intelligence in the energy sector: opportunities and challenges - WhaTech

KT zu Guttenberg, Artificial Intelligence and You – theTrumpet.com

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Many, many prophecies in your Bible describe the world after Jesus Christ returns as being a world filled with happiness!

Did you know that God actually commands us to be happy? And He gives a formula for making you happy in His Bible, which is for the whole world.

God is full of joy! And He is creating us to be like He is, so He wants us to be filled with joy, too. Only those people who have that joy will be in His Family in the future.

But look around, and you see todays world filled with unhappiness and other strong, negative feelings.

Revelation 12:9 says this whole world is deceived. One of the greatest deceptions of all is about how to be happy.

Why are people so deceived about this subject? And how can you be happy?

Let me explain the answer to both of those questions. It is deeply misunderstood, and strongly resisted. I present The Key of David, a weekly television program that reaches millions of potential viewers and is available online, and I have noticed that whenever I cover this subject, we get less response than normal.

Id like to challenge you to think about this subject, to read and study the additional literature we offer on it. We give away all our literature freely because God commands us to do so in Matthew 10:8: Freely you have received, freely give. We have done this for over 80 years. We give over a million dollars worth of free literature every year, yet we always have the income we need to do the Work. God commands us to do certain things in the Bible, and He rewards us immensely for obeying Him.

In John 13, Jesus Christ instructs the disciples about the Passover, which begins the holy day plan of God. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you (verse 15). You must do things the way Christ does. That includes the holy days, which He kept and He commands us to keep. (Request our free booklet Pagan Holidaysor Gods Holy DaysWhich? to learn about how Gods holy days reveal Gods master plan for human beings. This is truth we need!)

Then notice verse 17: If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. Christ said that following His example and obeying Him will make you happy.

God puts everything on the line. If doing these things doesnt make you happy, then that would make God a liar. But He doesnt lieHe cannot lie! (Titus 1:2).

Here is another scripture that describes how happy we can be: But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (Malachi 4:2). Here is a picture of a young calf in the stall that has been born recently and is jumping around because its so thrilled to be alive! And this tells you how to have such abundant lifehow to be happy, and bright and shining like the sun! It starts with fearing God.

Notice verse 4: Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. The main law Moses received on Mount Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai), was the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). And the statutes we are here commanded to remember include the holy days.

The first five books of the Bible are referred to in Scripture as the Law (e.g. Luke 24:44). Those five books are the foundation of the entire Bibleand the Ten Commandments are the center of that foundation. Remember that law! Dont forget it, because keeping it will make you happy!

The book of Malachi shows that most of Gods own people in this end time95 percenthave turned away from that law (e.g. Malachi 2:8-9; 3:7, 14). And here at the end of the book God is saying, Remember this! Remember that law of Moses that he received on Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning, with the mountain and the earth shaking!

In the days of the second temple construction, the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from captivity had renewed appreciation for the law of God. Nehemiah 8 records them gathering to observe the Feast of Trumpets, and then the Feast of Tabernacles, two of Gods seven annual festivals.

When they gathered, Ezra and the spiritual leaders read the Law to the people. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading (verse 8). They really made it plain. And how did the people respond? [A]ll the people wept, when they heard the words of the law (verse 9). They were convicted and repentant. That may seem like the opposite of happinessbut in reality, it is the only true path to real happiness!

Nehemiah saw their response. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord [referring to the Feast of Tabernacles]: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength (verse 10). If you are keeping those holy days, God says it will fill you with joy, and that is your strength! Obedience to Gods law makes you strong!

Verse 17 says that they celebrated this festival properly as they hadnt done for generations, and there was very great gladness. That is what keeping Gods law brings.

Many scriptures show that very shortly, Jesus Christ will return to Earth and apply that law, and the Earth will become a paradise, filled with happy and joyful peopleadults, children, everybody. The Almighty God will ensure that this happens!

Jesus Christ continually spoke of the importance of the law and the Old Testament as a whole. He corrected many people for not believing and obeying the law and the Old Testament prophets. The Jews boasted that they followed the law scrupulously. But Moses wrote the Bibles first five books, called the Law, and in John 5:46-47, Jesus told them, Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Jesus confirmed the veracity of the Bibles record of the Flood (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27). He confirmed the account of the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15; Luke 17:29). He corroborated the fate of Lots wife (Luke 17:32).

After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He spent some time with His disciples, teaching them. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27). He went through the first five books, throughout the Law, and all the prophets, including the former prophets, the major and minor prophetsand taught them just how relevant and significant it all was! Many people dismiss these sections of the Biblebut Christ certainly didnt!

I saw one commentary that drew together all these examples showing just how much Christ underscored the importance of the Old Testament. But do you know what this commentary did not say? It didnt say what Christ said about the law, the foundation of the entire Bible! This commentary said nothing of that because most of them believe the law has been done away. But what did Christ say? You would think such an important subject would have been mentioned above some of those other miraculous events.

Christ told His disciples, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). Those people who are obeying Him, Christ calls the light of the world! If you are a light to the world, that means you are shining and happy! People will see it! Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel . Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (verses 15-16). Wow! Let that light shine, and people will see your good works and glorify God!

Now, notice this amazing scripture that is so contrary to what nearly every commentary will tell you: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil (verse 17). He is talking about the Ten Commandments above all. But also the first five books of the Bible and all the prophetic books. He didnt come to destroy these, but to fulfill themto fill them to the full!

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (verse 18).

This is the perfect Son of God talking! He said He would cross every T and dot every I of the law in every little detail. He came to fill the law to the full perfectly! Most people in the so-called Christian world talk about the law being done away. But that is the opposite of what Jesus Christ taught!

The Ten Commandments are the foundation of the Bible and are the heart of everythingif you want to be happy. Yet the way the world views it, if youre keeping the law, you are in bondage! What a deception! And look at how unhappy, miserable and dangerous this world is as a result!

Look at how politicians and political adversaries hate each other today. Gods law says you must love your neighbor(Leviticus 19:18). Christ confirmed that this even means loving your enemies (Matthew 5:44). They often talk about how religious they are, but they have such hate in their lives! Harboring such hate means they are not doing what Christ commanded. That is what your Bible says!

God says through the Prophet Isaiah, For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed (Isaiah 9:16). The leaders and scholars of Israel should be an example to the whole world, and would be, if they were obeying God. But they have rebelled against God. They are causing people to err and leading people to destruction, spiritually and even physically. Isaiah 3:12 concurs: Those leaders cause thee to err. God emphasizes this! Watch out, because people are leading you astray, causing you to make serious mistakes! Their lawless approach is making you unhappy, and they make God unhappy by what they are doing!

Christ said if you are obeying the law, you will be like the sun, shining with happiness so people can see! You wont be hating peopleyou will love them and be giving to them in any way you can.

The Apostle Paul also strongly endorsed the Old Testament. He explicitly backed up its account of Cain and Abel, of Enoch, of Melchizedek and Abraham, of the miracle of the Red Sea, of Israels rebellion by creating a golden calf, of the life of Rahab and the fall of Jericho, and many other historical incidents that most people dismiss as myth.

Paul also underscored the importance of Gods law. In Romans 10:1-3, he talks about people who have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of Gods righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. How many people fall into that trap? Do you submit to Gods definition of righteousnessas He defines it in His Word and by His lawor do you try to establish your own definition of righteousness?

Verse 4 reads, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. That does not mean that Christ ended the law, as many would have you believe. The word end comes from the Greek word telos, which means a point aimed at. When you look at Christs example, you see up close what real righteousness looks like, and what God and Christ are all about. If you keep the law the way God directs you to, and you are doing it spirituallythen in the end, you will have the very character of Christ! You will be following His example (1 Peter 2:21), you will have His mind (Philippians 2:5), and you will be keeping the law of love!

1 John 5:3 says, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. Gods commands are not grievous, as so many people say they are. They make you happy! And they fill you with love and many other wonderful virtues!

Paul got to the heart of peoples problem with Gods law. He wrote, Because the carnal mind is enmity [or hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Romans 8:7). You see this natural hostility to God everywhere! And if you are honest, you can even detect it, at least to some degree, within yourself.

The only way we can obey God and keep His law is by receiving His Holy Spirit!

Paul referred repeatedly back to Adam and Eve in his epistles (e.g. Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). He spoke about the Garden of Eden and the first two human beings disobeying God and rejecting the tree of life. God kicked them out of the garden, and mankind has followed their example ever since. They rebelled against God and set the example for this world, so God condemned this world to 6,000 years of being cut off from Him.

Now we are very close to the time when Jesus Christ will return. Mankind has had his six days of the weekeach day symbolizing a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8)and the seventh, the Sabbath, is almost here. The Fourth Commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath holy each week (Exodus 20:8-11)and He even says He will bless us with delight and abundance for doing so (Isaiah 58:13-14)but most people ignore that and rebel. The Sabbath points to the fact that Christ is about to use that seventh daythat seventh thousand-year periodto fill this world with happiness and joy! Many scriptures tell us this. Do you believe them?

God tells us we must be doers of the Word (James 1:22-25). You have to do something. Verse 25 says, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work [or this law], this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Do you see Gods law as a law of liberty? If you keep it, you will have freedom. Youll be blessed in special ways by God, and one of those blessings is youll be happy! That is what freedom brings. How can you be happy without freedom? People in this world think they have freedom, but they are really in bondage to sin.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, HAPPY is he (Proverbs 29:18). Keeping the law gives you vision, and it makes you happy. It shows you how to make things work out in your life, and how to solve your problems. Keep the law, and you have vision: You know where you are going, and you know where God is taking every one of us.

Your life can be filled with happiness, joy and great purpose. That doesnt mean you wont have trials and tests, but the Bible tells us to rejoice even when you have fiery trials, because God is using those to build His very character within you! (e.g. James 1:2-4). He is preparing you for a spectacular eternal future in the very Family of God!

If you want to be happy, God shows you how: He says you must turn from your iniquities (Daniel 9:13)and turn to that law of love, that law of happiness, that law of freedom, that law of joy! Christ came so you could have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). God wants you to be filled with joy, and to live the abundant life! His law shows you the way.

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KT zu Guttenberg, Artificial Intelligence and You - theTrumpet.com

31 Companies, Products and People making Artificial Intelligence a Reality in 2020 – PR Web

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Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards logo

PHILADELPHIA (PRWEB) March 25, 2020

The Business Intelligence Group today announced the winners of its Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards program. This business awards program sets out to recognize those organizations, products and people who bring Artificial Intelligence (AI) to life and apply it to solve real problems. Nominations were received and winners were chosen in all four of the categories of AI including Reactive Machines, Limited Memory, Theory of Mind, and Self-Awareness.

The role of Artificial Intelligence is transforming nearly every aspect of our lives and culture, said Maria Jimenez, chief nominations officer for Business Intelligence Group. Companies are quickly becoming reliant on AI as they build new tools, launch new services or deploy the AI of strategic vendors. We are so proud that such an incredible group of companies won this years program. Congratulations to all of them.

The 2020 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards winners are:

Limited MemoryWelltokOrganization - Medium-sized Company

zenloop GmbHOrganization - Small Company

AppFolios AI Leasing Assistant, Lisa Product or Service - Large Company

KneronProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

VeritoneProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

Awake Security PlatformProduct or Service - Small Company

ContactEngineProduct or Service - Small Company

Reactive MachinesImran Shah & Fadhel A. Ghuwainem of Saudi AramcoIndividual - Large Company

TripActionsOrganization - Medium-sized Company

BrainBox AIOrganization - Small Company

WekaIOProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

Nucleon Cyber IntelligenceProduct or Service - Small Company

Theory of MindDr. Marios Savvides, Chief AI Scientist, Bossa Nova RoboticsIndividual - Medium-sized Company

Johnson ControlsOrganization - Large Company

PersadoOrganization - Medium-sized Company

CherreOrganization - Small Company

Marvis ActionsProduct or Service - Large Company

CleverTapProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

Perfect Corp.'s YouCam AI SkinTechProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

John Snow LabsProduct or Service - Small Company

Open CategoryMohan Giridharadas, LeanTaaSIndividual - Medium-sized Company

Teachers Insurance and Annuities Association (TIAA) Automated AssistantOrganization - Large Company

KountOrganization - Medium-sized Company

DeepCubeOrganization - Small Company

AI Cashflow PredictionProduct or Service - Large Company

IBM Watson OpenScaleProduct or Service - Large Company

Teleperformance IndiaProduct or Service - Large Company

AarkiProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

BirdEyeProduct or Service - Medium-sized Company

RemeshProduct or Service - Small Company

Vigilent Dynamic Cooling Management SystemProduct or Service - Small Company

The program also recognized several companies as finalists including Acuant Trusted Identity Platform, Bluecore, Brightfield, Cognizant Inventory Optimization Backorder Prediction and Safety Stock Prescription, dCube by DataVisor, enaible, Marlabs Inc, OpenText Magellan, SDL Linguistic AI and ThetaRay Financial Crime Platform

About Business Intelligence Group http://www.bintelligence.comThe Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, these programs are judged by business executives having experience and knowledge. The organizations proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.

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31 Companies, Products and People making Artificial Intelligence a Reality in 2020 - PR Web

Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market report reviews overview with demographic data and industry growth trends by 2025 – WhaTech Technology and…

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The Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market report is a collection of pragmatic information, quantitative and qualitative estimation by industry experts, the contribution from industry connoisseurs and industry accomplices across the value chain. Furthermore, the report also provides the qualitative results of diverse market factors on its geographies and segments.

Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market Overview 2020 Forecast 2025

The latest research report on the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets market for the forecast period, 2020- 2025 is involved in screening the business environment and the companies operating in the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets industry. Importantly, the research sheds a lot of light on their winning strategies to help stakeholders, business owners, and field marketing executives stay ahead in the competition.

Besides, the industry is thoroughly weighed upon on the basis of the total revenue generated as well as the output/volume produced year after year. Other aspects including but not limited to the market drivers, key opportunities and probable restraints are thoroughly assessed during the study.

You Can Download Free Samples PDF Copy of Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market at http://www.supplydemandmarketresearch.com/home/coMREL904121

Major Players in the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets market are: IBM Corp. (U.S.) Microsoft Corp. (U.S.) Google Inc. (U.S.) FinGenius Ltd.

(U.K.) NVIDIA Corporation (U.S.) Intel Corporation (U.S.) General Vision, Inc. (U.S.) Numenta, Inc. (U.S.) Sentient Technologies (U.S.) Inbenta Technologies, Inc.

(U.S.)

This report gives an analysis of the historical data and trends to draw a forecast of the potential growth Artificial Intelligence Chipsets exhibits a potential for growth and technological advancement primarily in its uses in rubber industries and shall experience a stable growth in the next five years. The historical analysis suggests certain trends that the industry might experience and the prospects of growth during the forecasted years.

This study also offers vital insights into the industry to provide the fields that are the most beneficial for investment and gives a competitive strategy that is most advantageous in the industry.

In market segmentation by types of Artificial Intelligence Chipsets the report covers- Deep Learning Robotics Digital Personal Assistant Querying Method Natural Language Processing Context Aware Processing

In market segmentation by applications of the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets , the report covers the following uses- Retail Transportation Automation Manufacturing Others

Some of the key findings from our Artificial Intelligence Chipsets market forecast report:

This report gives an analysis of the historical data and trends to draw a forecast of the potential growth Artificial Intelligence Chipsets exhibits a potential for growth and technological advancement primarily in its uses in rubber industries and shall experience stable growth in the next five years. The historical analysis suggests certain trends that the industry might experience and the prospects of growth during the forecasted years.

This study also offers vital insights into the industry to provide the fields that are the most beneficial for investment and gives a competitive strategy that is most advantageous in the industry.

Accesswww.supplydemandmarketresearch.com/home/coMREL904121

Unveiling the regional landscape of this market:

Owing to the regional geography of the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets market, this research segments the industry into USA, UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. Statistical data indicating product consumption across all these topographies have been cited in the report.

The study encompasses the value that each region contributes for collectively along with the anticipated regional market share.

The report comprises of the rate of the product consumption across all these regions alongside the consumption market share and the regional consumption rate.

Understanding the market size:

The size of the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region.

Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints, and others form an important part of the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets report.

Key takeaways from the Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market Report

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Artificial Intelligence Chipsets Market report reviews overview with demographic data and industry growth trends by 2025 - WhaTech Technology and...

BrainChip and Socionext Provide a New Low-Power Artificial Intelligence Platform for AI Edge Applications – Design and Reuse

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ALISO VIEJO, Calif.-- March 23, 2020 -- BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN), a leading provider of ultra-low power high performance AI technology, today announced that Socionext Inc., a leader in advanced SoC solutions for video and imaging systems, will offer customers an Artificial Intelligence Platform that includes the Akida SoC, an ultra-low power high performance AI technology.

BrainChip has developed an advanced neural networking processor that brings artificial intelligence to the edge in a way that existing technologies are not capable. This innovative, event-based, neural network processor is inspired by the event-based nature of the human brain. The resulting technology is high performance, small, ultra-low power and enables a wide array of edge capabilities that include local inference and incremental learning.

Socionext has played an important role in the implementation of BrainChips Akida IC, which required the engineering teams from both companies to work in concert. BrainChips AI technology provides a complete ultra-low power AI Edge Network for vision, audio, and smart transducers without the need for a host processor or external memory. The need for AI in edge computing is growing, and Socionext and BrainChip plan to work together in expanding this business in the global market.

Complementing the Akida SoC, BrainChip will provide training and technical customer support, including network simulation on the Akida Development Environment (ADE), emulation on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and engineering support for Akida applications.

Socionext also offers a high-efficiency, parallel multi-core processor SynQuacerTM SC2A11 as a server solution for various applications. Socionexts processor is available now and the two companies expect the Akida SoC engineering samples to be available in the third quarter of 2020.

In addition to integrating BrainChips AI technology in an SoC, system developers and OEMs may combine BrainChips proprietary Akida device and Socionexts processor to create high-speed, high-density, low-power systems to perform image and video analysis, recognition and segmentation in surveillance systems, live-streaming and other video applications.

Our neural network technology enables ultra-low power AI technology to be implemented effectively in edge applications, said Louis DiNardo, CEO of BrainChip. Edge devices have size and power consumption constraints that require a high degree of integration in IC solutions. The combination of BrainChips technology and Socionexts ASIC expertise fulfills the requirements of edge applications. We look forward to working with the Socionext in commercial engagements.

As a leading provider of ASICs worldwide, we are pleased to offer our customers advanced technologies driving new innovations, said Noriaki Kubo, Corporate Executive Vice President of Socionext Inc. The Akida family of products allows us to stay at the forefront of the burgeoning AI market. BrainChip and Socionext have successfully collaborated on the Akida IC development and together, we aim to commercialize this product family and support our increasingly diverse customer base.

About BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

BrainChip is a global technology company that has developed a revolutionary advanced neural networking processor that brings artificial intelligence to the edge in a way that existing technologies are not capable. The solution is high performance, small, ultra-low power and enables a wide array of edge capabilities that include continuous learning and inference. The company markets an innovative event-based neural network processor that is inspired by the spiking nature of the human brain and implements the network processor in an industry standard digital process. By mimicking brain processing BrainChip has pioneered an event domain neural network processor, called Akida, which is both scalable and flexible to address the requirements in edge devices. At the edge, sensor inputs are analyzed at the point of acquisition rather than transmission to the cloud or a datacenter. Akida is designed to provide a complete ultra-low power Edge AI network processor for vision, audio and smart transducer applications. The reduction in system latency provides faster response and a more power efficient system that can reduce the large carbon footprint datacenters.

About Socionext Inc.

Socionext is a global, innovative enterprise that designs, develops and delivers System-on-Chip based solutions to customers worldwide. The company is focused on technologies that drive todays leading-edge applications in consumer, automotive and industrial markets. Socionext combines world-class expertise, experience, and an extensive IP portfolio to provide exceptional solutions and ensure a better quality of experience for customers. Founded in 2015, Socionext Inc. is headquartered in Yokohama, and has offices in Japan, Asia, United States and Europe to lead its product development and sales activities. For more information, visit http://www.socionext.com.

Additional information is available at https://www.brainchipinc.com

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BrainChip and Socionext Provide a New Low-Power Artificial Intelligence Platform for AI Edge Applications - Design and Reuse

Richmond-based Blue Heron Capital invests in company that uses artificial intelligence to improve lung disease monitoring – Richmond.com

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Richmond-based private equity fund Blue Heron Capital said Tuesday that it has invested in a company that uses artificial intelligence to help health care practitioners care for patients at risk for lung disease.

Blue Heron took part in an $11 million investment round in VIDA Diagnostics Inc., based in Coralville, Iowa.

The company uses a combination of artificial intelligence and CT imaging software to aid medical practitioners with the early detection, evaluation and treatment planning for patients who have lung disease or are at risk of lung diseases, including emphysema and airway obstructive diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, interstitial lung disease and lung cancer.

Blue Heron participated in the investment round along with the venture capital fund First Analysis and the Iowa-based hospital network UnityPoint Health.

Founded in 2012, Blue Heron focuses its investments on companies in health care, technology and tech-enabled business service companies.

Core to our investment strategy, we will leverage our worldclass operator network to help VIDA accelerate their already impressive growth, said Tom Benedetti, a partner at Blue Heron Capital.

Blue Heron will have a VIDA board seat as part of the investment, and Blue Heron firm has named two advisers to the company: David Hunt, the CEO of Ensemble IP and former owner of Landon IP; and Dick Hamrick, a pulmonologist who served as chief medical officer at HCA Virginia Health System and HCA Capital Division.

VIDAs artificial intelligence solution applied to radiologic images improves quantitative analysis, Hamrick said. When you combine this solution with the judgment delivered by trained radiologists and specialists, overall accuracy improves and enhances the diagnosis of lung diseases. This powerful combination is better than either humans or machines can do separately.

This is the fourth investment from Blue Herons Fund II.

Previous investments included Blue Herons participation last year in a $26 million investment round in Stratasan LLC, a provider of data analytics software that helps hospitals and health systems do strategic planning and evaluate growth opportunities.

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Richmond-based Blue Heron Capital invests in company that uses artificial intelligence to improve lung disease monitoring - Richmond.com

The unconvincing hedonism of The Weeknd’s After Hours – McGill Tribune

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In his latest album, After Hours, The Weeknd appears as a 1970s synth-pop star overcome by his own dark side. He casts himself as the victim of his own fameashamed of his wickedness, but too far gone to changeand the ensuing identity crisis reverberates throughout the album. No matter how forced it becomes, The Weeknd is desperate to convince listeners that he remains the contemptible, womanizing, intoxicated anti-hero that first captivated fans of his 2012 Trilogy.

The enthusiasm with which After Hours commits to its pop-star nightmare vibe is admirable, and there are moments when it is contagious. Blinding Lights and Scared to Live are two of several spine-tingling intersections between sumptuous production and eerily perfect vocals. The albums peak is Faith, which climaxes in The Weeknds best lyrical moment of the album: but if I O.D. / I want you to O.D. right beside / I want you to follow right behind. This is the Weeknd at his most extreme; equal parts superstar and suicidal, teetering between exaltation and self-loathing, and entirely indifferent to the personal destruction he leaves in his wake.

The albums highlights, however, are eclipsed by lows, particularly lyrical ones, bound to leave listeners wincing. Hardest to Love is a little more than a half-baked preamble to Scared to Live, and Save Your Tears is so generic that it could conceivably have been intended for any of Max Martins clients. Escape From L.A. is the worst offender, responsible for such lapses as She pulled up to the studio / Nobodys watching / She closed the door and then she locked it / For me, for me / We had sex in the studio. Despite its triumphant production, After Hourss lyricism is amusing at best (Futuristic sex give her Phillip K. Dick) and downright cringeworthy at worst.

The Weeknds inability to match sonic form with lyrical content on After Hours is suggestive of his more damning problem: His inability to convince anyone that he truly is the wretched, guilt-ridden virtuoso that After Hours claims he is. The self-loathing rings hollow, the regret feels contrived, and next to the wicked splendour of Trilogy, After Hours is as empty as the celebrity lifestyle it is meant to denounce. For all its pretensions, maybe After Hours is just a really well-produced break-up album about Bella Hadid.

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The unconvincing hedonism of The Weeknd's After Hours - McGill Tribune

The Weeknd Returns to Hopeless, Loveless Hedonism on ‘After Hours’ – Daily Utah Chronicle

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Isabelle Schlegel

(The Weeknd released his new album After Hours on March 20 | Cartoon by Isabelle Schlegel )

Since Abel Tesfaye emerged as The Weeknd in 2011 with his moody and mesmerizing mixtape House of Balloons, hes kept listeners on their toes, intentionally or not, dividing his career into chapters marked by each albums distinctive sounds and aesthetics. Hes released three lo-fi R&B mixtapes, smashing pop hits like Cant Feel My Face and the Daft Punk-assisted Starboy in 2016. On his fourth studio album, After Hours, The Weeknd has returned to his early roots the dark, smoky atmospheres, fragile falsettos and quiet confessions. Its as if hes spent the last four years scouring the underground music scene, creating complex synth rhythms to support his lo-fi R&B style to make his balladry feel thrilling, alive and hedonistic again.

The Weeknd has launched his next era with After Hours, his most self-realized album yet. While his early blend of soulful R&B and lyrical tropes about unfulfilling drug-use and sex were fresh on his trilogy of mixtapes in 2011, his 2013 label debut Kiss Land proved to be a disappointment. The newness of his self-loathing lyrics and cutting beats had grown stale. A new approach was in order for The Weeknd with an ambitious pivot on the 2015 album Beauty Behind the Madness garnering massive commercial success. He showed his versatility by proving he could survive in the mainstream realm by incorporating a brightened sound and less overtly profound lyrics.

He carried this strategy into his 2016 album Starboy a glossy, disco-funk effort boasting collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Future, Daft Punk and Lana Del Rey. Starboy solidified Tesfaye as a global superstar and shot him into uncharted territory sonically.

On Starboy, he ventured into the 80s realm, sampling The Romantics and Tears for Fears on one track. But with After Hours The Weeknd has recorded an almost entirely 80s R&B dream album. Sonically, After Hours features electronic keyboards, flourishing synths and punchy often dark bass lines. Its distinctively a Weeknd sounding album, with a suite of songs showing remorse for a failed relationship one that seemed doomed from the start and offering hints of self-reflection along the way.

The album has 14 tracks and runs 62 minutes long, beginning with gentler, quieter songs. The Weeknd sets the mood for After Hours with the haunting tracks Alone Again and Too Late loaded with ominous keyboards and bass before shifting into the achingly painful Hardest To Love.

Its followed by Scared To Live, a slow-burning ballad that has The Weeknd apologizing for mistakes he made in his past relationship. Next up is the autobiographical Snowchild featuring lyrical memories from the singers upbringing in Toronto, Canada, and his come up in the music industry.

Roughly 25 minutes into the album, the vibe changes and the bangers are introduced starting with Heartless, a dark, bass-heavy Metro Boomin-produced track that has The Weeknd leaning into the toxic side of his persona. He makes it immediately clear where his head is at with the blunt opening line, Never need a b-, Im what a b- need.

His hedonism continues in Blinding Lights a track packed with layers of luminous synth textures and trembling hooks that are unmistakably 80s-sounding. The Weeknd rounds out his 80s saga with In Your Eyes and Save Your Tears, both featuring groovy electro-keyboard synths that are destined to become hits.

The good times and upbeat melodies soon end as the ominous atmosphere looms over the final two tracks, After Hours a track with heavy, pulsating beats and desperate lyrics and Until I Bleed Out. The abrupt, distorted ending of Until I Bleed Out suggests an unhappy ending for The Weeknd.

On After Hours, The Weeknds vision is clear hes crafted a cohesive album and visuals with a real narrative arc. The songs bleed together in an effortless precision with sonic references tying any unraveling threads together in the end. After Hours is a balance of the beauty and the madness that consume The Weeknd.

5/5 Stars

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@oakley_burt

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The Weeknd Returns to Hopeless, Loveless Hedonism on 'After Hours' - Daily Utah Chronicle

After Hours Is the Weeknds Most Accomplished Work Yet – The Ringer

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Every week, Micah Peters surveys the world of musicfrom new releases to bubbling trends to anniversaries both big and obscureand gives a few recommendations.

On March 7, which now belongs to an entirely different era of human life, Daniel Craig hosted Saturday Night Live.

He seemed to have the time of his life doing itCraig wasnt too cool to wear a wig, pass up a single histrionic make out, and leaned into whichever excessive accent the joke in question required. His dutiful commitment to all the bits reminded me of his Benoit Blanc, the Southern-fried private eye in Knives Out, and Joe Bang, the hillbilly munitions expert from Logan Luckyboth characters that you get the sense Craig got to make choices about, unlike the role that made him the most money, James Bond. No Time to Die will be Craigs final Bond movie, whenever it comes out, and once again his action suit will be tastefully dotted with soot as he whips an Aston Martin through the cobblestone streets of some exotic locale, glowering and being emotionally distant. SNL poked fun at the self-conscious grimness that defined Craigs Bond films for, wow, 14 years, with a sketch in which the showy MI6 agent spends a little too much time at the craps table. The Weeknd was the musical guest.

I bring up Craig and Bond and SNL because Ive been thinking about how the phrases after hoursthe title of the Weeknds new album, out last Fridayand no time to die evoke a similarly hammy self-consciousness. James Bond is a ridiculous concept in the main, being the worlds loudest and most obvious secret agent, but functionally, hes an empty vessel for your average males basest desireshaving sex, driving fast, and blowing shit up. No Time to Die then, as a title for a movie that will probably start with a car chase and end with a coup de grce, almost seems A.I. generated. Ditto for After Hours: Since his introduction in 2011, the Weeknd has grown from faceless alternative R&B enigma to cover star, successfully scaling his wee-hours, sullen, sexy, Ill kill us both vibe for mainstream audiences. The Weeknd is also kind of a ridiculous concept: a sexy, vengeful ghost with commitment and impulse-control issues. Even if it werent called After Hours, you could guess that cocaine and nontheism were involved. Like Bond, the Weeknd fucks, drives fast, and blows shit up (relationships). Here is his explanation of the album title, in his own words:

You can find love, fear, friends, enemies, violence, dancing, sex, demons, angels, loneliness, and togetherness all in the After Hours of the night.

Scared To Live probably speaks to the angels portion of thatthe song, made in tandem with Max Martin and Oscar Holter, is a soaring ballad in which the Weeknd expresses joy and pain where once there was crushing melancholy. Vulnerability, or at least the suggestion that others practice it, is a new trick for the Weeknd. His idea of love still looks the same though: On Faith, which sounds lifted from Kavinskys Nightcall sessions and shows up just after the albums halfway point, The Weeknd says, with a straight face, If I OD I want you to OD right beside me.

After Hours is the Weeknds most accomplished and coherent project to date: Beauty Behind the Madness struggled to make his House of Balloonsera hedonism and lofty pop ambitions jell, Starboy was more of a playlist of 18 expensive-sounding songs than an album, and we dont need to talk about Kiss Land. After Hours is his most intentional project yet, from the leisure suits and tortoise aviators he wore in all the videos and promo shoots to the 80s synth pop the best songs on Hours are indebted to: Save Your Tears, In Your Eyes, and Blinding Lights.

I cant say that the Weeknds writing has improved leaps and boundssee Snowchild, on which he says hes dropping off Philip K. dick, or Heartless, which begins never need a bitch, Im what a bitch needand the self-conscious twistedness he traffics in can still come off as hacky. (The heavy-eyed Escape From LA leaps to mind; you can only have so much sex in the studio.) And yet, After Hours is The Weeknds best work so far, and indicates the reconciliation, once and for all, of his R&B pathos and desire for mainstream viability. Of the 14 songs, Blinding Lights, which has been out for months, is still the most emblematic of that. It comes already assembled and radio friendly, so that everyone, not just your average male, can project their wildest, sexiest desires onto it. The drug is a lover, and withdrawal leads you to dance. And once the songs over, you want to go back for another hit. Which seems, to me, like the platonic ideal of a song from the Weeknd.

Now for some recommendations:

The Skepta feature to grab the most blog headlines last week would have been Papi Chulo, the new Octavian single. Its a union of two of the most culturally relevant rappers in the U.K., but also between the new and old guard: Skepta, the seasoned veteran, and Octavian, the ascendant star. Less newsworthy was his appearance on U.K.-by-way-of-L.A. rappers Jaxxon D. Silvas Lalaland, a two-minute song on which Skepta steals the spotlight, obviously. About halfway through Skeptas verse, theres this amazing, honest-to-god passage:

Australian ting, and she blowin on me like a digeridoo My jeans by my ankles, and I keep my t-shirt on like Winnie the Pooh

Producer Jennifer Lees roots are in the Los Angeles beat scene but, more and more, on each new project, she opens space in her intricate arrangements for vocalists. Often, on Oasis Nocturno those vocalists can outshine her production, because thats what vocalists doyou might miss the subtle strings in Fried For the Night because EARTHGANG is rapping. Some of Oasiss best songs, by contrast, are purely instrumental. To be Remote flies off the handle at about the 2:30 mark, when a vocal sample is stretched thin and spooled around a bridge before being layered into the remainder of the song. Its every bit as confounding as it sounds.

Last week, in what Im sure was an honest attempt to quell our mounting and variegated anxieties due to a global pandemic, Gal Gadot enlisted the help of a bunch of celebrities you know, and a handful you dont, for a cover of John Lennons Imagine. The video was lambasted because it was a dumb thing to do in the first place; on the order of things rich people can do for the public good in a time of crisis, singing isnt high up. Others pointed out that Gadots cover was in the spirit of the original: Lennon penned the words imagine no possessions while being worth an estimated $800 million.

Comedian Zach Fox decided to get a different group of (internet) famous people to do his own cover. Of Slob On My Knob. Stay safe out there this week.

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After Hours Is the Weeknds Most Accomplished Work Yet - The Ringer

Working from home seriously disadvantages me, so I’m calling for unis to void this year – The Tab

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This is even bigger than an extenuating circumstance

Look, were all sick of hearing about coronavirus. You literally cannot escape from it, especially now that Boris has put Britain on lockdown. Its made life for everyone a hundred times more stressful, but particularly for students.

GCSEs and A-levels have been cancelled. Unis have suspended face to face teaching, seminars and lectures are done over Hangouts and Zoom calls and most exams and assessments have moved online.

Universities have tried to adapt, and this might be fine for some students, but what about those who are suddenly at a disadvantage as a result this? Not everyone has an expensive laptop, fast wifi, or the peace and quiet at home thats required to concentrate? What if students have a vulnerable family member that they need to care for, or cannot effectively access the internet? This could result in their grade for this year being significantly lower than if they had been able to access the resources available to other students, or that would have been available to us had we remained at uni if the world was back to normal.

I am struggling with exactly this. I study English at Aberdeen University, and personally, Im finding online learning impossible. I live in the countryside, without a stable internet connection. I have to sit on a particular step on my stairs to access Blackboard. I also have to assist with the care of my disabled sister, because the nurses and carers who would previously help us can no longer come to our house. Caring for someone is a 24/7 job, so where do I find the time to write an essay and teach myself exam material? Why should I have to be banished to sit halfway up the staircase for hours at a time, trying to find good referencing material without access to a library? The effort required is so extensive, far more than that required of students with adequate and comfortable surroundings, that it will undoubtedly set me back in terms of time and mental effort. I am not able to produce my best work, or be assessed accurately, in this kind of environment. Its not fair.

Also, it feels as this the universities across the UK have forgotten that there is also the issue of a global pandemic occurring outside? GCSEs and A Levels are cancelled for this very reason, why do they expect university exams to keep going? Universities are more likely to have summatives, January exams and coursework to base grades on anyway. These final assessments are not necessary. There are more pressing issues to focus on, compared to writing an essay about posthumanism literature, or filling in an exam about hedonism? I am struggling to teach myself the information I need to sit an exam. My current grades are not the best, due to a year filled with mental health issues. But even with that, I would much rather take the poor grades (still a pass), and have the rest of the year voided, than continue to have sleepless nights on my staircase, trying to listen to a lecture recording about modern literature.

There have been several petitions to cancel exams and coursework for university students since the majority of students were sent home and classes moved online. This is a very fair demand, and Im calling for it too. Especially for first and second years, since these results do not count towards our final grades later on in our courses. Third years, additionally, should not have to worry about their final degree outcome being affected by such a massive disruption. And the universities must also consider the fact that staff have been striking throughout March. Our learning process has been disrupted constantly, all year, and yet we are expected to carry on at home as if nothing is wrong!

Forcing students to continue studying for exams and submitting coursework is anxiety-inducing and unreasonable, especially for those who, like myself, do not have the easiest home circumstances. Surely there are more important things to be worrying about in the current times? I am asking for allowances to be made, because students deserve what has been widely described as exceptional circumstances to be treated as an extenuating circumstance. Void this year, please, and save your students grades from suffering any more than they already have.

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Working from home seriously disadvantages me, so I'm calling for unis to void this year - The Tab

Ron DeSantis, Why the #@*! Are Florida’s Beaches Still Open? – The Daily Beast

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UPDATE, 11:26 a.m.: Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis was onFox & Friendsthismorning and was asked about beaches staying open. Presumably in response to the pushback he has received, DeSantis said the message for Spring Breakersis the party is over in Florida. Still, he acknowledgedthat the state wouldntshutdown all the beaches, although groups of 10 or more would no longer be allowed to congregate (good luck with that). Additionally (as noted in the column, below), he said that some prominent local communities have decided to shut down their beaches. The fact remains that DeSantis was slow to actand that beaches in the state of Florida remain open.

Beaches in Florida and Texas are packed full of Spring Break revelers, and Im not having it. We shouldnt be surprised by youthful hedonism, but where are the adults?

Maybe you saw that viral CBS News video of the Florida Spring Breakers? You know, the one that begins with a guy declaring, If I get Corona, I get Corona.

Then, the last kid explains his irresponsible actions by declaring that hes just living in the moment. Its a telling line. People who care about the future dont live this way. People who believe they have a purpose and a meaning dont live this way. If you thought that innocent Covington kid with the MAGA hat was full of smug privilege, these are the kids who really deserve our scorn (they should read this, now). Nobody should personally target them, but if this were a horror movie, these kids would be the first to get it.

Dont get me wrong. Im sure its stressful being a promiscuous drunk on a college campus. Who doesnt need a week at the beach in March to relieve the stress of being a college student?

But what they are doing is both dangerous and selfish. Its dangerous because they could easily become infected (judging by the photos, theres not much social distancing going on). Its selfish because although they would likely survive infection, their behavior could kill vulnerable Americans, such as the millions of old people who happen to live in the state where they are currently partying, or the people theyll come into contact with once they get back home.

Of course, its hard to blame testosterone-fueled young adults who are doing the same stupid things most of us would do before our frontal cortex was fully grown. The real problem is that the adults arent stepping up to the plate.

Why are these beaches still open? Where are the adults?

In many ways, this has been a moment for local leaders to shine. While Donald Trump was slow to respond to the pandemic, several governors sprang into action, closing down gathering spots, canceling events, and helping flatten the coronavirus curve.

The one glaring exception seems to be the beaches.

Now, the truth is that outdoor spaces are, perhaps, our last refuge. Twice this week, my family and I have hiked around a national park. We saw maybe five other hikers (and rightfully gave them the stink eye). The exercise is keeping us sane, and it would be a mistake to close down such isolated havens.

But whats happening on these beachesand, again, since the media loves nothing better than a good excuse to show photos of young coeds in bikinis, Im assuming youve seen themis entirely different.

There are reports that it takes three hours to cross the bridge into South Padre Island in Texas. These are huge crowds of people who are behaving with wanton disregard for public safety.

Floridas governor, Ron DeSantis, has verbally called out spring breakers for not practicing social distancing. What we're going to be doing for the statewide floor for beaches, we're going to be applying the CDC guidance of no group on a beach more than 10 and you have to have distance apart if you're going to be out there, DeSantis said. But thats both too little and too unrealistic. (I never had the money to go to Florida, but I did spend one senior week at Ocean City, Maryland. As I recall, there wasnt a whole lot of social distancing going on.)

The big question, then, is why are these beaches still open?

DeSantis ran for governor of Florida as a loyal Trumpist, but, since then, has gained accolades and, generally, gotten credit for being competent. Until now. My sense is that the Trump era has taught us the lesson that competence and experience and prudence dont matter. One outcome of this emergency might be that our politicians learn that these things do matter, greatly.

In fairness, its hard to judge DeSantis too harshly when the guy he narrowly defeated was just found drunk in a Miami Beach hotel room with a man who is suspected to have overdosed on crystal meth. Imagine if THAT GUY were in charge now

With nightclubs and restaurants already closed, its hard to see how theres an economic incentive for keeping the beaches open.

Still, DeSantis reminds me of Mayor Larry Vaughn, from the movie Jaws. You know, the idiot who ordered Amitys beaches open, despite the presence of a HUGE FRIGGIN SHARK that kept eating people?

But its even worse: At least Mayor Vaughn had a reason. He wanted those sweet tourist dollars that pour into town during the big July 4 weekend. Amity was a small town whose local economy was built around that weekend, so his was, at least, a rational (if dangerous) bet.

Thats not the case for Florida or Texas. With nightclubs and restaurants already closed, its hard to see how theres an economic incentive for keeping the beaches open. Some cities are actually doing this on their own. To be honest, the impact this is going to have on a states economy is so large that keeping the beaches open is sort of like, well, peeing in the ocean.

DeSantis isnt Mayor Vaughn. Hes the states governor who empowers him.

Im all for localism, but local communities may have their own reasons for doing things that, collectively, arent in the best interest of the state or the nation. So why is DeSantis deferring to the Mayor Vaughns of Florida? Weve seen some big crowds on the west coast of Florida and Ive had a chance to speak to mayors on both coast[s] today, DeSantis recently said. If they want to continue to [leave the beach open], we want them to have the freedom to do that, but we also want them to have the freedom to do more if they see fit.

So heres an idea. Im told that there are hospital boats setting up to treat the virus in New York harbor. Lets confiscate some cruise ships, and sequester these kidsfor as long as it takesout to sea.

Otherwise, if we let the partying continue, its hard to tell how bad this virus could getor how many people these kids might infect before its all over.

Were going to need a bigger boat.

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Ron DeSantis, Why the #@*! Are Florida's Beaches Still Open? - The Daily Beast

The Hollywood #MeToo Movie Inspired by a Weinstein-Esque Creep – The Daily Beast

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TAPE, a #MeToo-era film, manages to be both overwrought and hyperliteral. In the films opening sequence, Rosa (Annarosa Mudd, who also produced), a former actress, pierces her own tongue, shaves her head, and (trigger warning) slits her wristsbut not quite suicidally. Shes on a revenge mission to get evidence against an abusive movie producer who now has a new crop of identical young women to prey on.

A compelling aspect of TAPE is that it refuses to render the abuser, a guy simply named Lux (Tarek Bishara), monstrous. Hes conventionally attractive, charming, and, at first, professional. He uses nonviolent communication and reels in his victims with finely-tuned grooming techniques. Unfortunately, writer-director Deborah Kampmeiers script is full of cliches and histrionics that spin the film into an after school special rather than a searing commentary; the ways abusers can insinuate themselves into the lives of others and manufacture their consent by exploiting not just naked ambition but existential fear gets lost in the films artless noise.

As a director, Kampmeier fashions Rosas spying into a multilayered gaze, but weve seen the gimmick before. The film relies too heavily on foregrounding the digital technology Rosa uses to spy on Lux and his new conquestthe kind, desperate, and lonely upstart actress Jessica (Isabelle Fuhrman)seemingly under the illusion that hidden cameras and an iPad offer a bold and empowered way of seeing.

Julie Taymors 1999 Titus Andronicus film adaptation is the films central inspiration, but Kampmeier takes surface-level notes from Taymors innovations. Rosas opening scene costumes her as Lavinia, the tragedys sacrifice to unchecked hedonism, but TAPE is uninterested in the major theme of female complicity in abuse and destruction in the playTamora, the mother of Lavinias rapists, revels in violencenor does it examine the sexist virgin and whore castings that determine the demises of both women. In that way, TAPE is a simplification of the plays female subjectivities. Rosas drive is to expose her abuser and Jessicas is to succeed as an actress; both are virgins merely manipulated into whores, and the viewer is meant to believe Lux is the evil genius behind it all, about to be bested by very expensive home video technology.

The trouble with this perspective on abuseparticularly the kinds of abuse that are difficult to make sense of through the narratives the law providesis that it turns women into infants who can only defend themselves with the tools, if not the direct intervention, of the state. Rosa rejects a carceral approach to punishing Lux (to her, the prison sentences for sexual abuse are not long enough); instead, she accepts extreme surveillance as an alternative. Rosa is even willing to (spoiler) expose Jessicas private interactions with Lux to the public without her consent. In that way, Rosas Lavinia morphs into a hackneyed Tamora by using the violence of others as the means for her own bloodied liberation.

In the end, TAPE seems to land on disclosure, the very mechanism of the Hollywood #MeToo movement, as the wisest method for liberation or healing. A journalist gets the tapes Lux made of both Rosa and Jessica with contextual information showing his methods of manipulation; meanwhile, Rosa and Jessica are finally able to bond in a caf as women tell the stories of their rapes to each other. There are no revelations in these scenes, but rather, a breathless restaging of the age-old storytelling methodology.

But what are struggling actresses to do? Throughout the film, Jessica dutifully rattles off reasons why its easy to exploit and manipulate actresses in the film and television industry: misogyny, hierarchy, scarcity, precariousness. In other words, capitalism reinforces the various abuses of power that working women are subject to. Because these actresses must not only do good work but make money for producers and corporations, they are often at the mercy of their handlers and benefactors. Even if these actresses become wise and hardened, at the end of the day, their images are up for sale, and the profits go to the highest bidders.

Under the current system, for actors to form collectives or cooperatives without ample money or status to back it up would ensure a kind of lifelong poverty and obscurity thats only normalized in the theater (a sphere racked with economic exploitations that depend on both passion and patronage). Thats showbiz, anyhow. To my great disappointment, TAPE has nothing new or generative to say about it.

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The Hollywood #MeToo Movie Inspired by a Weinstein-Esque Creep - The Daily Beast

The Weeknd’s New Album Cuts Through the Isolation – Fordham Ram

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Alexandra Lange, Staff WriterMarch 25, 2020

Every album by The Weeknd gives listeners a glimpse into the sad-boy universe of Abel Tesfaye. Often singing about loneliness, failed romance, his inability to love and battles with his inner self, The Weeknd never fails to get his XO fanbase in their feels. At a time in which the streets are all but deserted and people are isolated across the globe, The Weeknds dark, solitary universe has become more relatable than ever.

After Hours, The Weeknds long-awaited fourth studio album, is a spookily appropriate reflection of the times we are living in. Dark, moody and told from the perspective of a lonely narrator, the album captures the way many of us are feeling in a world filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Although the projects eerily timed drop may seem as if The Weeknd is capitalizing on this bleak moment in time, After Hours was long in the making. In fact, it is Tesfayes most cohesive and fully realized album to date, meshing the pop-noir of his early career with the glitzy 80s nostalgia of his more recent releases.

The Weeknd established himself as an R&B star thanks to three 2011 mixtapes, in which he crafted an entirely new strain of R&B, reveling in his own hedonism and singing in his signature piercing falsetto about despondent narratives. His dark introspection bled into his debut album Kiss Land, giving Tesfaye cult status among R&B fans. However, it was his 2015 album Beauty Behind The Madness that truly made The Weeknd a superstar. Teaming up with Max Martin, arguably the most successful producer-songwriter of the past 25 years, the album spawned several massive singles, including I Cant Feel My Face and In The Night. A year later, he followed up his Grammy-winning album with the pop-centric Starboy, which was filled with radio-friendly, groove-heavy tracks. This project was followed up by a four-year hiatus in which The Weeknd released a low-key EP and embarked on two tours.

After Hours is a cohesive blend of all The Weeknds phases. It strikes a seamless balance between the hazy trap beats of Kiss Land and the upbeat 80s synths of Starboy. The only notable change in Tesfayes sad-boy persona is the tinge of remorse that runs through his latest project, compared to the cold tone of his earlier tracks.

Promising his latest release would feature no more daytime music and would be a new brain melting psychotic chapter, The Weeknd begins After Hours unexpectedly with a string of quiet, gentler songs. The opener, Alone Again, is loaded with cinematic, ominous keyboards and twinkling synths, setting the throwback mood for the album as Tesfaye begs his lover to break (his) little, cold heart. He continues to deal with his loneliness and places the blame for his failed romances on himself on the throbbing, unplugged Too Late and the Max Martin co-produced Hardest to Love.

The project smoothly transitions into Scared To Live, a slow-burning ballad that interpolates Elton Johns Your Song. The Weeknd touches on his on-again-off-again relationship with Bella Hadid, encouraging his ex to not be afraid to move on while still longing for her when he sings I should have made you my only / When its said and done. On Snowchild, the albums most visceral track, Tesfaye reminisces about life before his come-up: memories of his Toronto childhood, drug-filled teen years and contemporary references to his lack of fulfillment with fame. Cali was the mission, he says before expressing a desire to leave, displaying his growth from his 2011 song The Morning when he sang Order plane tickets / Cali is the mission and the 2015 Tell Your Friends when he sang MIA a habit / Cali was the mission.

Side B of the album is packed with pop-bangers, including Blinding Lights and Heartless, which are already among the biggest hits of Tesfayes career. One of the projects standout moments comes on In Your Eyes, thanks to the Careless Whisper-esque saxophone solo that takes the track to a truly nostalgic level.

The Weeknd returns to his typical cold nature on Save Your Tears. Although it is one of the most pop-driven songs on the album, it is filled with personal anecdotes. Tesfaye refers to the impact both Hadid and his other famous ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, had on him. He acknowledges that his heartlessness in his breakup with Hadid stemmed from the heartbreak he felt when Gomez left him, singing, I broke your heart like someone did to mine / And now you wont love me for a second time.

The moody album comes to a close with the pulsating title track and then the tragic finale Until I Bleed Out, in which The Weeknd admits he feels paralyzed and terrified after giving his entire heart to someone and realizing it still wasnt enough. I wanna cut you outta my dreams, he cries.

The Weeknd has always been a master at contrasts and is at his finest on his latest project. Smoothly integrating beauty and madness, innovation and commerciality and loneliness and togetherness, After Hours is one of The Weeknds greatest gifts. It is a blinding light amid the worst of situations, distracting listeners from their loneliness and comforting them in the fact that someone else is experiencing the same isolation we all are feeling.

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The Weeknd's New Album Cuts Through the Isolation - Fordham Ram