The Algorithm Age

The Wolves Always Come At Night ★★★ While Berlin-based Australian filmmaker Gabrielle Brady is currently developing her first fully fictional feature, The Wolves Always Come At Night marks her second foray into what she calls “docu-feature”, a hybrid storytelling form that merges observational documentary with elements of fiction, driven by the subjects of the film. Her first was Island of the Hungry Ghosts , which was set on Christmas Island and used the visually arresting annual migration of land crabs as a metaphor for the journeys of asylum seekers across the world. A counsellor called Poh Lin Lee served as a kind of focal point in that movie, helping give individual human shape to stories of mass movement. Lee is involved in the new film too, credited as “narrative therapy consultant”. Also returning is Aaron Cupples, whose work on the ethereal land- and windscape-inspired score is just as impressive as it was on the ...

Some kids beg, some kids plead, but one brilliant Canadian girl took a completely different approach to getting her dream pet. In August 2020, she created a professional-quality PowerPoint presentation to convince her parents that adopting a cat was the logical next step for their family. The elaborate presentation went viral on Twitter when her proud parent shared screenshots of the impressive slides. Complete with charts, bullet points, and persuasive arguments, the PowerPoint demonstrated remarkable creativity and determination from someone who clearly understood the power of good marketing. Professional Cat Adoption Pitch Goes Viral Image credit: pexels Cat On Grass The young entrepreneur’s PowerPoint included all the elements of a serious business proposal. She researched cat care costs, outlined family benefits, and addressed potential parental concerns with thoughtful counterarguments. Her presentation skills would impress many adult professionals. Soci...

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Nesting Birds Constructor: Beth Rubin Editor: Amanda Rafkin Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle OLIVES (2D: Black or green ingredients in chivito) Chivito is a sandwich of grilled beef (known as churrasco), mozzarella, ham, tomatoes, and black or green OLIVES. Chivito is a national dish of Uruguay. MAR (18D: National Soup It Forward Day mo.) Since 2018, National Soup It Forward Day has been celebrated each year on MAR. 3. The focus of this day is to spread love and practice generosity, specifically by sharing soup with others. LAO (66D: Khao piak sen cuisine) Speaking of soup, khao pak sen is a rice noodle soup that is a traditional dish in LAO cuisine. Fresh rice noodles are cooked in pork or chicken broth, along with galangal (similar to ginger and turmeri...

The ability to precisely predict movements is essential not only for humans and animals, but also for many AI applications—from autonomous driving to robotics. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered that artificial neural networks can perform this task better when trained with biological data from early visual system development. The study is published in PLOS Computational Biology . Whether in mice, cats, or humans: Even before vertebrates open their eyes, a built-in training program begins in the retina—entirely independent of external stimuli. Spontaneous activity patterns spread in wave-like motions across the eye's neural tissue. This neural activity, known as "retinal waves," coordinates the early wiring between the retina and the brain's visual system. In a way, the eye starts practicing vision before encountering the real world. Researchers at TUM have now shown that artificial neural networks—which m...