Tag: lifestyle

Japan’s humble ‘onigiri’ rice balls get image upgrade

By Mathias Cena with Cecilia Sanchez in New York TOKYO, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with delicious fillings, “onigiri” rice balls are shaking off their reputation as a cheap and uninspiring snack in Japan — and enticing hungry converts abroad. Mouth-watering pictures on social media, rising demand for affordable lunches, and a surge in tourism to Japan are all drawing people to the humble onigiri. Just ask any of the […]

At CES, tech knows if you’re sick and rocks babies

LAS VEGAS, Jan 10, 2024 (AFP) – CES, the annual high tech gadget extravaganza in Las Vegas, again delivers its wave of new inventions and cutting edge technology with artificial intelligence this year’s unavoidable buzzword. Here’s a look at some selected examples shown to the media, ahead of the official opening on Tuesday. – Mirror, mirror on the wall… – …who’s the healthiest of them all? Called “MagicMirror,” NuraLogix’s connected mirror scanned the face of […]

Top Italian influencer fined 1 mn euros over cake deal

ROME, Dec 15, 2023 (AFP) – Italy’s competition watchdog on Friday fined two companies owned by the fashion entrepreneur and Instagram star Chiara Ferragni one million euros ($1.1 million) for “unfair commercial practices” over her endorsement of a cake marketed as raising money for charity. The pandoro cake “designed” by Ferragni for the food group Balocco went on sale in November 2022, purportedly to raise funds for the treatment of children with bone cancer in […]

The fight over a ‘dangerous’ ideology shaping AI debate

PARIS, Aug 28, 2023 (AFP) – Silicon Valley’s favourite philosophy, longtermism, has helped to frame the debate on artificial intelligence around the idea of human extinction. But increasingly vocal critics are warning that the philosophy is dangerous, and the obsession with extinction distracts from real problems associated with AI like data theft and biased algorithms. Author Emile Torres, a former longtermist turned critic of the movement, told AFP that the philosophy rested on the kind […]

Mexican volcano crater home to ‘unique’ football pitch

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A volcano crater is not an obvious venue for a football match, but that’s where a referee blows the whistle for kick-off each weekend on the outskirts of Mexico City. “It’s a unique pitch,” said 32-year-old player Adrian Garcia, a graphic designer by profession. “It’s very nice to come here to distract yourself, to relax, with friends and family,” he added. The inactive Teoca volcano rises around 2,700 meters (roughly […]

Small but powerful: tiny data center heats UK swimming pool

By Anastasia CLARK Agence France-Presse EXMOUTH, United Kingdom, June 23, 2023 (AFP) — A leisure centre in Exmouth, southwest England, is using a small data centre to heat its indoor swimming pool, trialling an innovative solution that reduces its energy bills and carbon footprint. An on-site installation captures heat generated by a bank of computers, bringing the 25-metre swimming pool to the required temperature around 65 percent of the time, cutting reliance on gas boilers. […]

‘Don’t steal our voices’: dubbing artists confront AI threat

By Claudia Tenorio and Alexander Martinez Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY, June 21, 2023 (AFP) — Voice actors around the globe are mobilizing against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate and clone human voices that they fear poses a threat to their livelihoods. “We’re fighting a very big monster,” said Mario Filio, a Mexican artist who has done voiceovers for Hollywood star Will Smith, the Obi-Wan Kenobi character in Star Wars and the […]

When is an eSport not an eSport? Olympic event puzzles gamers

By Satish Cheney Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, June 20, 2023 (AFP) — ESports has long been derided as “not a real sport”. But now, an Olympic-organized event is being dismissed by competitive gamers as not real eSports. Many long-time backers of big-money digital contests, which are edging their way towards elite-level recognition, are puzzled by the choice of games at the inaugural Olympics Esports Week that kicks off in Singapore on Thursday. Instead of well-established gaming […]

Nigeria chef cooks up Guinness record in four days

LAGOS, Nigeria — A Nigerian chef has clinched the Guinness World Record for the longest solo cooking session after a marathon 93 hours and 11 minutes cooking nonstop on her feet, the organization confirmed on Tuesday. Hilda Baci, 26, who trained at the gym to stay on her feet for the four days needed to break the record last month, had said her May 11-15 bid was meant to help “put Nigerian cuisine on the […]

‘World’s best restaurant’ to reopen in Spain as museum

By Rosa SULLEIRO Agence France-Presse ROSES, Spain, June 7, 2023 (AFP) — Spain’s elBulli, repeatedly voted the world’s best restaurant before it closed over a decade ago, is set to reopen as a museum dedicated to the culinary revolution it sparked. Nestled in an isolated cove on Spain’s northeastern tip, the museum is dubbed “elBulli1846” — a reference to the 1,846 dishes ground-breaking chef Ferran Adria says were developed at the eatery. “It’s not about […]

AI could replace 80% of jobs ‘in next few years’: expert

By Eugenia LOGIURATTO Agence France-Presse RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Artificial intelligence could replace 80 percent of human jobs in the coming years — but that’s a good thing, says US-Brazilian researcher Ben Goertzel, a leading AI guru. Mathematician, cognitive scientist and famed robot-creator Goertzel, 56, is founder and chief executive of SingularityNET, a research group he launched to create “Artificial General Intelligence,” or AGI — artificial intelligence with human cognitive abilities. With his […]

AI work sparks fierce debate after winning photo award

Paris, France | AFP | Tuesday 4/18/2023 ADDS new statement from awards organiser, detail A German artist has sparked an angry row after winning a prestigious photography prize with an entry that was generated by artificial intelligence. Boris Eldagsen eventually rejected the gong from the Sony World Photography Awards after concluding that such competitions were not yet equipped to handle AI entries. The awards organisers initially accused the artist of “misleading” behaviour, but removed the […]