The lichen-covered ornament turned out to be a rare work by a pioneering American sculptor.A person sits on a leopard in a sculpture found inside a small stone building. What did this unusual pairing mean to the people of Karahantepe?
The post Karahantepe’s 11,000-Year-Old Figure Shows a Person Seated on a Leopard appeared first on Curiosmos.
Exposure to light at night may be linked to potentially harmful changes in the heart’s structure and performance, according to a study involving more than 11,000 people. The findings were published in the European Heart Journal on September 9. The research was led by Professor Lu Qi of Tulane University, New Orleans, USA. He said: [...]Helm no Snap Store facilita instalar e atualizar o gerenciador de charts do Kubernetes em Linux.
O post Helm chega ao Snap Store com foco em Kubernetes apareceu primeiro em Blog do Edivaldo - Informações e Notícias sobre Linux.
A popular heart scan may be unnecessary for many patients but valuable for those whose risk is difficult to judge. Coronary artery calcium scanning has become an increasingly accessible way to refine estimates of heart attack and stroke risk. Yet a Northwestern Medicine study involving more than 6,000 adults suggests the quick, relatively inexpensive test [...]Remember how Elon Musk vowed that his AI Grok would make an anti-woke, “historically accurate” version of the Odyssey?
Well, he ended up throwing together a whole contest around it — and the winner of the first place prize of $100,000 is, as you probably expected, laughable nonsense.
The problems run deep. The Cyclops Polyphemus is depicted with three eyes, which feels disqualifying. And just a few cuts later, the famously monocular giant is at least four times as large as he was before. The other creatures and gods look like something out of a mobile game; Poseidon emerges from the sea appearing conspicuously cartoonish and impossibly muscled, before smashing Odysseus’s ship and his crew of photorealistic, ripped men.
Half the dialog is delivered in dramatic whispers with the same cadence. The fight scenes are cut to disguise the actual moments of impact, in the same way real B-movies do with aging action stars.
There are some shots here and there that look convincing enough, if you can overlook their bland aesthetic. But this AI “film” suffers the same tragic flaw that all AI films do: their component clips fail to coalesce into a coherent whole. It doesn’t do much on the “historically accurate” front, either; some of the Greek soldiers are clearly wearing the armor donned by Roman legionnaires.
Nonetheless, its creator Nem Perez declared that “this is ‘The Odyssey’ as Homer intended,” before calling it his “most intricate work to date.” He also labeled the video, in oxymoronic fashion, a “5-minute epic.”
This is "The Odyssey" as Homer intended. My longest, most intricate work to date. I pushed @grok @imagine to its absolute limits to create this 5-minute epic.
— Nem Perez (@NemPerez) August 31, 2026
What bothered me most about the recent adaptation was the omission of the Phaeacians and Princess Nausicaa, whom… https://t.co/awYW6Hu4W8 pic.twitter.com/hJHOgdkEec
It’s unclear if Musk actually watched the winner; as far as we can tell, he hasn’t replied or retweeted it, something he’s done for other AI Odyssey adaptations.
For those blissfully out of the loop, the centibillionaire and culture war crusader spent this summer raging against Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the Greek epic, attacking it for its diverse cast, which included several Black women and a trans actor.
Nolan, Musk accused, “desecrated Homer and groveled on his knees just to meet the woke rules required to win an Oscar.” As such, he vowed that his AI “Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.”
We’re still waiting for that full-length adaptation. But the short films that the contest has produced already make it painfully clear that AI video generators, and the “filmmakers” that embrace them, simply aren’t up to snuff. In all of the top three entries, Odysseus looks more or less like the same guy — some weird, looksmaxxer’s fantasy of a buff Antonio Banderas. Is this a fault of Grok or Grok users? At this point, the distinction may be moot.
More on AI: Amazon Deploying AI Tech That Forces Actors’ Mouths to Match Dubbed Dialogue
The post The Winner of Elon Musk’s AI “Odyssey” Contest Will Make You Laugh Out Loud appeared first on Futurism.
Pauline Hanson’s gas policy and the party’s relationship with Rinehart is examined in a new Guardian podcast series, The Populist
Listen: The Populist: Aeroplanes and bulldozers | Episode 1 – podcast
Get our new political email, free app or daily news podcast
One Nation has come under fire for quietly shelving support for a new domestic gas reservation policy in preference for a policy that favours the party’s billionaire patron, Gina Rinehart.
The Albanese government has announced it will establish a new reservation policy for Australia’s east coast, requiring gas exporters to supply a portion of the gas they produce to the domestic market. The policy is aimed at “modestly” supplying the domestic market to put downward pressure on prices for consumers.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here
Continue reading...
© Composite: Getty/AAP
© Composite: Getty/AAP
© Composite: Getty/AAP
Amazon is catapulting us into the final boss of sub vs dub debates.
On Thursday, its Prime Video streaming service announced the launch of a new AI-powered feature that matches actors’ mouth movements to dubbed audio tracks — which we’re sure won’t result in nightmarish hallucinations of facial disfigurement.
For now, the company says that the AI-powered lip syncing will exclusively be available on the English dub of the German Series “Maxton Hall,” though there are plans to expand it to other titles in the future.
“At Prime Video, we’re constantly innovating with new tools that enhance the viewing experience for our customers,” Raf Soltanovich, vice president of technology at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement, per the New York Times. “With lip-syncing, we’re creating a more seamless and immersive way for customers to enjoy global content.”
Right now, it’s unclear how much of the feature is automated by AI, and there’re plenty of questions to be asked about how it’ll be deployed. Such as: in the future, will it be available on all titles, and will the rightsholders get a say in it? And isn’t this an overreach on Amazon’s part in how much it’s determining how a work of art is being presented? Will an actor’s unique facial movements be smoothed down into something generic? And lest we forget the most obvious question mark: how convincing will it be? (It feels telling that Amazon hasn’t posted any clips of its tech in action.)
It’s not the first time Amazon Prime Video has tried something like this. Last year, it rolled out an experimental “AI-aided” dubbing feature for a dozen movies and shows in English and Spanish. It also experimented with showing AI-generated recaps of TV shows, and an AI tool that picked movie and show recommendations based on similar character arcs and plot points. Amazon, in other words, is trying to make consuming the content it provides as frictionless as possible.
There are plenty of valid reasons for preferring dubs, especially for those with accessibility issues. But the fact that actors in a movie might be speaking a different language from your own is being treated as something that needs to be erased and covered up is a bit worrying — at least in our humble opinion.
More on art: Gal Godot Starring in Heavily AI-Generated Movie About the Glories of Bitcoin
The post Amazon Deploying AI Tech That Forces Actors’ Mouths to Match Dubbed Dialogue appeared first on Futurism.
The legendary German director Werner Herzog had a few choice words about other so-called “filmmakers” who use AI to imitate their inspirations — one of those inspirations being himself.
In an interview with IndieWire, the 84-year-old — whose wide-ranging filmography includes 1982’s “Fitzcarraldo,” 2009’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” and 1979’s “Nosferatu the Vampyre“ — was asked about a 2025 movie called “About a Hero,” which made heavy use of AI to evoke the style of his films. It gets even more on the nose than that: on top of using an AI-generated script trained on his movies, it also featured AI-deepfaked Herzog as the narrator.
The flesh and blood director didn’t sound impressed.
“The intention of this young filmmaker was never to remake any [of my films], but making something in the spirit. And I immediately said, ‘You will fail. It is such a stupid idea,'” he said, in what we can imagine was his trademark husky voice.
“‘It’s phenomenally, abysmally stupid,'” Herzog drove home. “‘I will not take part in it.'”
Herzog seemed to venture that if AI is useful for anything, it’s replacing the talentless hacks.
“It’s so standardized that AI can step in because there’s not real storytelling,” Herzog sneered. “It’s mimicry of something that has happened before.”
“And I welcome AI to replace all the idiots who are into nothing but repeating, repeating, repeating until it’s ad nauseam,” he told IndieWire. “When it’s ad nauseam, please, please, please let AI step in and do the job.”
When it comes to artists, the irony of a technology like AI, which promises to let users create virtually anything they want, is that rather than realizing their creativity, it instead often ends up exposing how little of it they actually possess. Truly interesting uses of AI in art are few and far between; by and large it simply automates the process of churning out something unoriginal, only without the human spark or rawness unique to all of us that can elevate a work.
This isn’t the first time Herzog — who provocatively proclaimed that a “computer will not make a film as good as mine in 4,500 years,” — has unloaded on AI.
In a conversation with the comedian Conan O’Brien last year, he praised the tech’s “magnificent abilities” in applications like science, but sounded grave about how AI is being used in warfare.
He was no less despondent about its intrusion in the arts.
“I’ve seen movies, short films, completely created by artificial intelligence. Story, acting, everything. They look completely dead. They are stories, but they have no soul,” he told O’Brien, as quoted by Gizmodo.
“You know it is the most common, lowest denominator of what is filling billions and billions of informations on the internet,” he continued. “The common denominator and nothing beyond this common denominator can be found in these fabrications.”
More on AI: Gal Godot Starring in Heavily AI-Generated Movie About the Glories of Bitcoin
The post Werner Herzog Demolishes Talentless Hacks Who Use AI to Imitate Other Filmmakers appeared first on Futurism.
Burning Man, the week-long festival that takes place in the middle of the Nevada desert and draws many luminaries from the tech industry, prides itself on building community.
But unfortunately, this year’s festivities, which concluded on Monday, were not without incident. As NBC reports, there have been three separate deaths in less than a week at this year’s Burning Man.
This past Saturday, officials announced that 60-year-old Craig Mann was found dead in his camp, days after Sampson Tshombe, a man in his mid-50s, passed away after experiencing a medical emergency.
Then on Monday, the Washoe County Medical Examiner confirmed that 51-year-old Armando Ramirez died on the way to a hospital in Reno, which is roughly two hours south of the festival grounds in Black Rock City, Nevada.
News of a third death wasn’t far behind.
“Although we average one death a year at the Festival, we have had two so far this year within the confines of the Festival and I have received information regarding a third who died in transit to a hospital in Reno,” said Pershing County sheriff and coroner Jerry Allen in a Monday statement, as quoted by NBC.
The three incidents leave far more questions than answers. Officials have yet to comment on the exact cause of death, but said there are no indications of any foul play. The deaths also don’t appear to be linked in any way.
It’s nonetheless a sobering facet of organizing an often drug-fueled festival in the middle of the desert with giant art installations, the structural safety of which is the responsibility of festivalgoers. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, it’s the most deaths on record for a single Burning Man. Previous incidents involved a man on a motorcycle being fatally struck by a van in 1996, and a woman who was killed after being run over by a trailer in 2003. There have also been reports of suicide and a man running into the Burning Man effigy fire.
According to a survival guide on the festival’s website, the site is a “huge, flat, prehistoric lakebed, composed of a hardpan alkali, ringed by majestic mountains” where “daytime temperatures routinely exceed 100 Fahrenheit, with extremely low humidity.”
“It takes nearly everyone a day or so to adjust to the desert climate,” the website reads. “Don’t be surprised if you spend your first day feeling queasy and cranky. DRINK WATER!”
Officials also warned that taking drugs, including alcohol or caffeine, can increase the risk of dehydration.
In the case of emergencies, experienced festival goers dubbed Black Rock Rangers volunteer to patrol the grounds in pairs.
More on Burning Man: Burning Man Has a Meta AI Glasses Problem
The post Numerous Deaths Reported at Burning Man appeared first on Futurism.
A major trial found that implantable cardioverter-defibrillators may benefit some patients younger than 70 with mild-to-moderate heart dysfunction and cardiac scarring. A more than decade-long randomized trial suggests that implantable cardioverter-defibrillators may benefit some patients who have heart scarring and only mild-to-moderate loss of heart function, a group that currently falls outside standard treatment guidelines. [...]
This is not the real Slim Shady.
In a world dominated by cheaply-produced AI content, it’s never been easier to imitate your favorite artist. YouTube, for instance, has succumbed to a tidal wave of AI-generated music released under the names of real artists without their permission — and a baffling number of its unknowing users are blissfully unaware they’re being served a microwaved counterfeit.
A track titled “I’m Back” by rapper Marshall “Eminem” Mathers — not to be confused with the musician’s now 26-year-old song of the same name — offers YouTube users almost 12 minutes of painful AI mimicry.
The track, which has seemingly convinced countless users that it’s actually Mathers’ latest return to the music world, has amassed well over 100,000 views since being uploaded last week. It’s achieved surprising prominence on YouTube, being featured prominently in a search for “Eminem” on the platform — where it’s even beating out charting singles by the actual rapper, including “Superman” and “Shake That,” as well as the actual “I’m Back” track.
“Guess who’s back?” the algorithmic Eminem raps in the video. “Yeah, a headache return. Same match in my hand.”
The low-rent beat alone should be a dead giveaway. And while AI music generating tools certainly have come a long way, giving the fake Mathers a passing imitation of the real one’s voice and delivery, the plasticky sound of the vocals make it clear that it’s not the real deal.
Nonetheless, users on YouTube were fooled hook, line, and sinker.
“This is fire eminem is the goat hands down,” one user gushed.
“Really Proud of you Eminem!!” another wrote. “You really are getting it and not giving up!! Keep going!”
The video’s title gives no indication that it’s not a real release, and doesn’t feature YouTube’s official AI label. Buried in its description is a strangely-phrased disclaimer.
“Fan-made music videos inspired by Eminem, Slim Shady, and legendary Detroit hip-hop,” it reads. “This is a fan-made audiovisual project created for entertainment purposes only.”
The owner of the account even proactively offers up an email address for “copyright concerns or removal requests,” suggesting they’re all too familiar with the process of having angry record labels try to shut them down or get hung up in YouTube’s infamous copyright filters.
A web search for the email address reveals that it’s also listed on a litany of other YouTube accounts, many of which masquerade as other rap artists, including Meek Mill — an account that has over 13,000 subscribers — and 21 Savage.
Some of the tracks have been affixed with an “AI” label by YouTube, indicating that “sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated.”
Reached by email, the account owner offered their thoughts on the situation.
“No, my intention was never to make it look like a genuine new Eminem release,” the creator, who goes by the name Milana Salaeva, told Futurism in a message, referring to the “I’m Back” track. “I make it clear in the description that the content is unofficial and that AI-generated or AI-assisted elements may be used.”
“I’m a music producer, and I’ve been making music myself for quite some time,” they added. “I often create my own beats and handle the arrangement, mixing, mastering, and other parts of the production process. AI is just one of the tools I sometimes use as part of that workflow.”
The Eminem mimicry is only a drop in a bucket in an internet dominated by AI-generated music. For years now, we’ve watched as outraged artists and their labels have tried to tamp down on a proliferation of tracks that use their voice and likeness without permission, often going viral on social media.
But in many ways, it’s a losing game. The AI slop is starting to crowd out real music while even Universal Music, which own’s Eminem’s Shady Records, is signing deals with AI companies, including AI chipmaker Nvidia and AI music platform Udio. (Universal didn’t respond to a request for comment, but we’ll update if they do.)
We’ve also come across users exploiting royalties on platforms like Spotify by flooding them with AI. A man pled guilty earlier this year for posting slop on Spotify and using an army of bots to fraudulently boost listenership, netting $8 million in royalties.
While it’s unlikely Salaeva is making anywhere near that amount of cash — especially now that YouTube has significantly changed how it counts views — the fake Slim Shady’s 11-minute tirade also touches on a far more profound subject: the authenticity of human creativity and expression.
“If you came here for the old me, here’s the new me kicking his ass,” the fake Eminem raps. “That’s why they call me Slim Shady. I’m back again. Same crooked little grin with a pad and pen.”
More on AI music: AI-Generated Music Is Starting to Crowd Out the Real Stuff on Streaming Platforms
The post Someone AI-Generated a Completely Fake Eminem Song That’s Already Gotten 120,000 View on YouTube, Where It’s Appearing More Prominently Than Some of the Rapper’s Actual Music appeared first on Futurism.
Patience is the cheapest upgrade in Apple’s lineup. Skip launch day, wait a few months, and you can buy a Certified Refurbished iPhone, iPad, or Mac that Apple says is indistinguishable from new — typically for about 15% less.
That pitch is looking more crowded. Amazon Renewed and Walmart Restored now sell the same products at steeper discounts, including recent iPhone 17 Pro models that still command $1,099 and up when new. The savings are real. So are the compromises: who inspects the device, whether the battery and shell are new, which accessories you get, and how long you are covered if something goes wrong.
A comparison published this week by 9to5Mac‘s Ben Lovehoy, plus the retailers’ own program rules, makes the split clear. Apple sells peace of mind. Amazon sells price. Walmart is cheaper too, but much vaguer about what “restored” actually means.
Apple’s program is refurbished in name only
Apple Certified Refurbished products are inspected and tested by Apple, not a marketplace seller. For iPhones and iPads, Apple replaces the outer shell and battery, includes original accessories and cables, and ships the device in a plain white box. The one-year limited warranty is the same as new hardware, and the product remains eligible for AppleCare+ or AppleCare One.
That is why buyers who have used the store often describe the units as new devices with different packaging. Official Apple pages currently advertise savings of up to 15%, full functional testing, genuine Apple parts as needed, and free delivery and returns. Featured stock this week includes a refurbished iPhone 16 128GB for $619, down from $729, and a 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro for $1,439, down from $1,599.
The catch is timing and selection. Refurbished models usually show up on Apple’s site about three months after launch, stock is limited, and the discount is modest compared with third-party listings. If you want the newest phone immediately, Apple’s own refurb store will not help. If you want a device that looks and is warranted like new, it is still the cleanest option.
Amazon Renewed is cheaper — and not the same product
Amazon Renewed can undercut Apple by a wide margin. Inspection and testing are done by the seller, not Apple. The outer shell is used, so marks and scratches are possible. The battery is used and only guaranteed above 80% of original capacity on standard listings. Accessories may not be genuine Apple parts. Coverage is the Amazon Renewed Guarantee: 90 days on most items, 365 days on Renewed Premium.
Amazon grades cosmetics in four tiers:
• Premium: no signs of damage when held 12 inches away; battery typically above 90%; one-year coverage
• Excellent: same cosmetic standard, battery above 80%, 90-day coverage
• Good: light scratches barely visible at 12 inches
• Acceptable: scratches that can be seen and felt
Those grades matter. Premium is the only Amazon tier that approaches Apple’s warranty length, and even then the device is still a used shell with a used battery. Seller quality also varies, which is why independent buyer guides treat Amazon as reliable if you check the seller, the grade, and the return window before you click Buy.
The price gap is the reason people take that risk. <em>9to5Mac flagged all-time or near all-time lows on Amazon Renewed iPhone 17 Pro models this week:
• 1TB Cosmic Orange: $1,214 (new: $1,499)
• 1TB Deep Blue: $1,215
• 1TB Silver: $1,208
• 512GB Cosmic Orange: $1,164 (new: $1,299)
• 512GB Deep Blue: $1,170
• 512GB Silver: $1,171
That is roughly $280 to $290 off the 1TB models and about $130 off the 512GB models — far more than Apple’s usual 15%. The iPhone 17 Pro launched in September 2025, so these listings are appearing just as the next cycle approaches and shoppers start hunting for last year’s flagship at a discount.
Walmart Restored is the least specific of the three
Walmart Restored uses third-party sellers, not Apple. The company promises “like-new performance and reliability,” but it does not match Apple’s guarantees on a new enclosure, a new battery, or original accessories. Tiers are Premium, Like New, Good, and Fair. Walmart is thinner on public definitions than Amazon, which is the main knock in the 9to5Mac comparison.
Walmart’s own help pages fill in some of the gaps. Restored Premium items are supposed to come from manufacturers or authorized sellers, carry at least a one-year warranty, and offer 30-day returns. Like New, Good, and Fair Restored items get 90-day free returns; warranty details often sit with the individual seller. Separate category rules say Premium batteries should be at least 90% of new capacity, while the lower restored grades are typically 80% or better. Cosmetic language is similar to Amazon’s 12-inch test, but enforcement still depends on the seller.
How the three programs actually compare
| Apple Certified Refurbished | Amazon Renewed | Walmart Restored | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who inspects it | Apple | Seller | Seller |
| Outer shell | New | Used | No hard cosmetic promise |
| Battery | New on iPhone/iPad | 80%+ (90%+ on Premium) | 90%+ Premium; ~80% other tiers |
| Accessories | Original Apple | May be generic | Not clearly specified |
| Warranty | 1-year Apple; AppleCare eligible | 90 days; 1 year on Premium | 1 year Premium; 90 days other tiers |
| Typical discount | About 15% | Often larger | Competitive, inconsistent |
| Best for | Near-new condition and official support | Maximum savings | Price plus easy returns |
Independent 2026 buyer guides land in the same place. Apple is the safer buy when the price gap is small, especially on expensive Macs. Amazon becomes more interesting when the savings hit $150 or more and the listing is Premium from a strong seller. Desktop devices such as a Mac mini or Apple TV carry less risk than a laptop or phone, because battery wear and cosmetic damage matter less.
The practical rule
Buy from Apple if you want the product to look new, last like new, and stay inside Apple’s support system. The white box is the only obvious tell.
Buy from Amazon if the discount is large enough to offset a used battery, possible scuffs, possible third-party cables, and a shorter warranty — and stick to Renewed Premium when you can.
Treat Walmart as a third option, not a peer to Apple’s store. Confirm the seller, the grade, the battery claim, and the warranty on the product page before you pay.
Refurbished Apple gear is no longer a niche. The secondhand phone market alone is now measured in the billions, and Amazon and Walmart want that business. Apple is still selling the closest thing to a new device. Everyone else is selling a cheaper one. The right choice is whichever gap — price or uncertainty — you are more willing to live with.
MacDailyNews Take: In short: Walmart is Walmart; it can be a bargain and you can send the product back if it is a miss, but you should not assume you are getting an Apple Certified Refurbished device.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple Certified Refurbished still looks like new; Amazon and Walmart refurbs cost less, but come with trade-offs appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Login