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Valve Developer Further Improves Old AMD GPUs: HD 7870 XT Finally Working On Linux
Timur Kristóf of Valve's Linux graphics driver team is the one that worked on improving the old AMD Radeon GCN 1.0/1.1 graphics card support by making AMDGPU driver improvements so it could become the default for these Southern Islands and Sea Islands GPUs rather than the legacy Radeon kernel driver
They tried everything, and nothing worked. Now, women are turning to cannabis for help
The latest chapter in Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s “Weed” documentary showed him that cannabis has become a lifeline for countless women who feel unseen by conventional medicine.
Jim Nowlan: Profiles in courage are in short supply in politics
Without political capital, leadership is irrelevant. Money has become the decisive political capital that can win elections and sustain officials.
Opinion | When politics becomes performance: From ‘Jesus-Trump’ to the Pale Blue Dot
When a political figure begins to frame himself as a kind of national redeemer, the boundaries of democratic discourse begin to shift, Dingman Yu writes.
Ranking American sports league & championship logos from worst to best
Logos play a big role in how fans view a sports league. They are more than just designs. They represent history, emotion, and identity. A good logo can last for years and become part of the sport itself. A bad…
New Apple iPhone Fold Decision Changes Smartphones Forever
Apple's key design decision has forced and inspired its rivals to follow suit. A (partially) new way to making foldable phones will quickly become the norm.
🚨 XIs confirmed: crisis clash at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge becomes the stage this Saturday (20:00 BST) for a clash between two sides under pressure. Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea are going through a deep crisis after three straight defeats without...
Athletics' Jacob Wilson problem might not go away anytime soon
This might become a season-long issue for the A's.
Steelers veteran confident in Will Howard as starting quarterback
Pittsburgh Steelers veteran defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is confident in Will Howard if he's asked to become the starting quarterback.
High gas prices become another midterm warning sign for Republicans
In a midterm election that will likely be decided by how voters feel about the economy, Republicans are grappling with how to discuss the war in Iran and its impact on fuel costs.
Amherst Sustainability Festival: A Day of Family Fun, Education, and Entertainment
Mark your calendars for the 14th Annual Amherst Sustainability Festival, taking place on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Amherst Town Common. Coinciding with the regularly scheduled Amherst Farmer’s Market, this free and family friendly event brings together local farmers, environmental vendors, advocacy groups, live entertainment, hands-on demonstrations, sustainable crafts, and much more. “The Amherst Sustainability Festival has become a beloved event
Business: Rewarding Year-rounders, Chatham Business Offers Incentives For Residents, Businesses
Even though the shoulder seasons have become busier in recent years, Lower Cape businesses can still struggle to remain open year-round. Lindsay...
Iowa State to add women’s wrestling as varsity sport beginning in 2027-28
Iowa State will become the ninth Division I school to add varsity women's wrestling. The news comes after the Cyclones eliminated women's gymnastics.
Costliest US hurricanes of the 21st century
Hurricanes have only become more dangerous — and expensive — over the last 26 years.
How Do You Measure an A.I. Boom?
A chart created by METR, a nonprofit A.I. organization, has become an industrywide obsession as it measures the rapid development of big A.I. systems.
Netflix: Advertising Could Become A Real Drag On The Business
Netflix stock is rated Hold: earnings boosted by $2.8B termination fee, but ad-tier push cuts engagement and raises costs. Click for this NFLX earnings update.
The Mustang GTD records 6m 40.8s ‘Ring time, becomes second quickest overall*
*sorta. Ford absolutely blitzes the hottest Mustang’s previous time by 11 seconds
Why science communication has become a matter of life and death
Scientists have always been trained to do research. For 40 years, they’ve been asked to ensure people believe it. How’s it going?
Health care is not ready for the new era of AI-enabled cyberattacks
“When health care infrastructure is attacked and held for ransom by hackers, patients become real casualties,” writes Andrea Downing.
Santa Fe's newest theater, EVO Entertainment, offers more reasons to go back to the movies
As streaming services have flooded our homes with entertainment options, the thought of watching movies on the big screen has become increasingly rare. The numbers agree: In 2025, the domestic
Politics News Site NOTUS to Become ‘The Star’
The Washington publication is rebranding as it expands its local news and sports coverage in the wake of substantial layoffs at The Washington Post.
Why so Americans are using AI for health guidance
Turning to artificial intelligence tools for health advice has become a habit for many other Americans, according to a West Health–Gallup Center on Healthcare in America poll published Wednesday.
Raskin v Moore: what do the stats say?
Midfielder Nicolas Raskin and on-loan Tottenham winger Mikey Moore have split opinion among fans over who should be Rangers player of the year. Raskin, who was phased out under previous boss Russell Martin, has become a key player in Danny Rohl's team as Rangers continue their push for the league title. Moore, at just 18 years old, has also been impressing since joining on a temporary spell from the English Premier League outfit.
Tumour cells use a genetic trick to become drug-resistant
The same trick could also be used against them
Resilient Entrepreneur Program Elevates Local Businesses
Johanna Robinson joined the Resilient Entrepreneur Program (REP) at Cal State San Marcos with a three-ring binder filled with sketches of two kittens inspired by her twin daughters. She wasn't sure if her project would become a children's book, an animated series or something else entirely."I was thrilled to be accepted," Robinson says. “As a...
As renaissance fairs become big business, can they retain their counterculture roots?
To what extent has the line between playful community space and commercial spectacle been blurred?
Brown Athletics and Recreation Becomes Enterprise Member of Women Leaders in Sports
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Brown University's Division of Athletics and Recreation will become an Enterprise Member of Women Leaders in Sports, Mencoff Vice Presiden...
Bill to give Louisiana Legislature more power to remove elected officials draws controversy
The bill’s sponsor said it would open another way to remove officials for wrongdoing. Critics said it could become a partisan weapon.
How Dangerous Is Anthropic’s New AI Model? Its Chief Science Officer Explains.
Just how fast is the future coming at us, and how worried should we be? Last week, Anthropic announced Claude Mythos, the latest in what has become the leading family of AI models. In a very short time, AI models from Anthropic and other companies have become shockingly powerful at coding. But Mythos stands out because it is not just able to write code that can hack into critical systems, like those that run financial companies, but also to analyze systems and find and string together vulnerabilities in them, allowing Mythos to evade even sophisticated defenses. Anthropic chose to release Mythos to only about 40 leading corporations, so they could analyze the model’s capabilities and prepare countermeasures, in an effort it calls Project Glasswing. The release of Mythos—and the prospect of similarly powerful AIs to follow—has caused tremors at the top levels of Washington and corporate America. Jared Kaplan, co-founder and chief science officer at Anthropic, is at the center of this breakthrough. We sat down with Kaplan so he could walk us through just how powerful Mythos is, what the implications are for issues like our personal privacy, and what comes next. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Sean Fischer: For the layman, how is Claude Mythos different—more powerful, more dangerous—from previous models released by Anthropic? Jared Kaplan: I think most people have experienced the fact that our computers get faster and faster over time and over many decades. There’s this very smooth trend where every 18 months, maybe, computer processing power doubles. I think AI is on a trend in which it’s improving maybe 10 times faster than that. A lot of the earliest work that I did in AI was around identifying this scaling trend in AI. Claude Mythos is the latest model from Anthropic, but it’s not different because it’s qualitatively different. It’s really just kind of the culmination of the trend of AI models getting smarter and smarter at all kinds of general capabilities, from reasoning to software engineering to scientific research to knowledge work. For us, it was the first model to demonstrate very elite-level cybersecurity capabilities. It wasn’t because we trained Claude Mythos to focus on cybersecurity, but it was because, as a byproduct of its general intelligence and its general ability with software, it’s particularly good at identifying vulnerabilities in software and how to exploit them.
FDA to weigh easing limits on unproven peptides favored by RFK Jr. and MAHA supporters
The Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting this summer to consider easing restrictions on more than a half dozen peptide injections, a group of unapproved therapies that have become popular among wellness influencers, fitness gurus and celebrities.
Galaxy S27 To Become Much Snappier Next Year, And It Won’t Be Because Of The Industry’s First 2nm Chipsets
Samsung is rumored to mulling an upgrade for some Galaxy S27 models that will make them much snappier and response than previous launches
China doubles ‘AI for science’ computing scale in 2 months using no US chips
The Zhengzhou core node becomes the country’s most powerful scientific intelligent computing infrastructure, CCTV says.
Seattle Reign Goalkeeper Evan O’Steen signs extension through 2030
Today, the Seattle Reign announced that goalkeeper Evan O’Steen has signed a contract extension through 2030. She becomes the longest contracted player on the roster. O’Steen previously became the youngest goalkeeper signing in club history at just 17 years old. “Securing Evan O’Steen through 2030 is an important step in building long-term stability within our […]
This Superintelligent Brain Sleeps, Develops a Personality—And Eventually Dies. Is the Singularity Here?
AI could become much less artificial—and much more organic.
We tested Anthropic’s redesigned Claude Code desktop app and 'Routines' -- here's what enterprises should know
For the enterprise, the Desktop GUI is likely to become the standard for management and review, while the CLI remains the tool for execution.
Allbirds Is Selling Its Sneaker Business to Become an AI Company. The Stock Just Surged 650%
After years of losses and a 99% stock collapse, the struggling shoemaker is betting on AI infrastructure.
Old And Unsupported Kindles Might Become The Best Tech Deal Of 2026
Older Kindles may become the best tech deal of 2026 because they'll get cheaper, and you'll still be able read your favorite books in multiple digital formats.
FDA to Weigh Easing Limits on Unproven Peptides Favored by RFK Jr. and Other MAHA Figures
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting this summer to consider easing restrictions on more than a half dozen peptide injections, a group of unapproved therapies that have become popular among wellness influencers, fitness gurus and celebrities. The meeting ...
Megalodon set to become Maryland’s state shark
The Bay State is now home to the first state shark in the country.
UBS chairman says key business decisions may soon become unavoidable
Key business decisions may soon become unavoidable, UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said on Wednesday, turning up the volume on a tense debate about proposed Swiss capital requirements that has triggered growing pressure from markets and shareholders.
See Microsoft's rise from garage idea to tech giant in 50 years
Fifty years after Bill Gates and Paul Allen gambled on a piece of software, Microsoft has become something bigger than a brand. It runs business, lives.
Former All-Star closer Brad Lidge is now an archaeologist
Some retired MLB players become coaches. Some retired MLB players become broadcasters. The former Phillies star chose a different path.
Miami Dolphins' facility becomes land of opportunity for underdogs
By starting from scratch, the Miami Dolphins represent an opportunity for players who might not get much of a look elsewhere.
Millions of people are pretending to be AI chatbots
Websites like youraislopbores.me have become playgrounds for people looking for light relief in a bot-heavy world.
Later More Than Doubles Enterprise Business as Influencer Marketing Becomes a Performance Channel
/PRNewswire/ -- Later, the enterprise standard for influencer marketing and social commerce, today announces record performance milestones for Q1 2026. Fueled...
Virginia Takes Historic Action on Gun Violence Prevention | Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has acted on more than two dozen gun violence prevention bills that will soon become law in Virginia.
Ending Relationships Over Politics Has Become Boring
We all need to calm down and relearn how to agree to disagree.
Detroit Aims to Become Center of U.S. Drone Manufacturing
The state, known for making cars, is spending millions to entice drone manufacturers that can bring new business to auto suppliers.
Swimming becomes the first major Olympic sport to lift restrictions on Russian athletes
The governing body for international swimming and aquatic sports will allow athletes from Russia to compete without restrictions and with their national flag and anthem.
Xbox Game Pass ‘has become too expensive,’ says Microsoft’s new gaming chief in leaked memo
It sounds like Game Pass pricing will drop soon
Renner's three-round NFL mock draft: A wide-open top 10 becomes a case study in positional value
With as many as 20 players in play for the top 10, this class turns into a real-time test of how teams value positions at the top of the draft
Sustainability At ESMT Berlin: Bees & Business Lessons
ESMT Berlin is a place to find both future business leaders and bees. A strange combination, perhaps, but one that encapsulates sustainability at ESMT. Here, faculty prepare students to become chang...
Bob Buckhorn becomes 10th candidate to enter Mayor’s race, will reach ‘every voter’
Buckhorn enters the race as the immediate frontrunner.
How 3 small Gainesville businesses are using — or rejecting
As the integration of AI becomes more prominent, local businesses are deciding how far they are willing to incorporate it into their systems.
First-Class Seats Drive Airline Profits. It Wasn’t Always This Way.
Airlines have become adept at selling increasingly nice seats to travelers, and customers have grown much more willing to pay for them.
Jennifer Riley: Nuclear verdicts and junk science are creating a judicial hellhole
Over the years, Pennsylvania has become flooded with excessive lawsuits that are pushing our healthcare system to a breaking point. […]
2026 WNBA Draft hours away as Azzi Fudd emerges as clear No. 1 pick
With free agency complete, the 2026 WNBA Draft board becomes clearer. Azzi Fudd should go No. 1 overall.
‘I’m playing the long game’: Journalists are striking out alone and discovering the business is toughest beat of all
News Creators have become preferred sources for younger viewers, but how do they grow and sustain their independent endeavors?
❝Anti-rights groups: why we need a smarter politics of naming
As movements working to undermine universal human rights protections become more influential, the language used to call out these “anti-rights” groups also needs closer scrutiny, or else risks being self-defeating, writes Nicolas Agostini, human rights advocate and researcher.
Wisconsin AD leaving to become deputy commissioner at Big Ten, sources say
Wisconsin athletics director Chris McIntosh is leaving the school to become the Big Ten's deputy commissioner for strategy, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The Masters: Rory McIlroy wins back-to-back green jackets
Rory McIlroy becomes only the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters tournaments, joining Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966), Nick Faldo (1989-1990) and Tiger Woods (2001-2002).
Wisconsin AD McIntosh to take new position at Big Ten
Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh is set to become the Big Ten’s chief strategy officer, reporting directly to Tony Petitti. Exact responsibilities are TBD.
Wisconsin AD McIntosh to take new position at Big Ten
Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh is set to become the Big Ten’s chief strategy officer, reporting directly to Tony Petitti. Exact responsibilities are TBD.
Ohio lawmakers introduce new bills to severely restrict sports gambling across the state
Three Ohio state representatives introduced a pair of new bills this week that aim to severely restrict the availability of sports betting in the state. This comes after Gov. Mike DeWine has repeatedly said in recent months that he regrets allowing sports betting to become legalized in Ohio.
Weekly Briefing: Israel is losing its grip on U.S. politics
Support for Israel is collapsing in U.S. politics. The Iran war has fractured the MAGA base, military aid has become a Democratic litmus test, and AIPAC is losing primaries.
Golfers battle Trump takeover of public golf courses as one becomes White House East Wing dumping ground
Inside the $350 million missile silo that could become a data center
Tech firms are turning missile silos and abandoned mines into secure data centers as Americans flock to survival camps amid rising fears of world war.
The Masters 2026 - final round LIVE! Latest updates, highlights, scores as Rory McIlroy chases major victory at Augusta National
Rory McIlroy looks to become first back-to-back winner of The Masters since Tiger Woods; coverage is live from 4.30pm on Sky Sports Golf, with Featured Groups, Featured Holes and extra coverage on Sky Sports+
10 Vintage Plates That Are Worth a Small Fortune
Vintage dining ware from these 10 makers has become highly collectible, often selling for thousands. See which creators' pieces are most valuable today.
Medicaid Cuts Could Force More Kids to Become Caregivers
Trump’s Medicaid cuts are expected to limit access to home care services—potentially forcing many kids to become caregivers, warns Lisa McCarty.
Opinion: The rural health program isn't so transformational
Rural health care systems have been in crisis for decades, a situation that will become more dire when steep cuts to Medicaid kick in next year.
Pacoima business owners say Montague Street conditions are driving customers away
Montague Street in Pacoima has become nearly impossible to ignore. Trash, abandoned furniture, and human waste line parts of the sidewalk and street, creating conditions that business owners say ar…
The Dirt: Frontier Behavioral Health planning new Spokane location
The longstanding location of Spokane Roofing Company will soon become a Frontier Behavioral Health location, according to a construction permit application submitted to the city of Spokane.
Masters 2026: Masters 2026: Rory McIlroy faces history or heartbreak on Sunday at Augusta
McIlroy will either become just the fourth player ever to win back-to-back Masters, or will have given up the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history.
Seniors: John Lemp, 70
Has been working for more than 50 years in the business — M. Lemp Jewelers in Syracuse — that his great-grandfather started in 1890 By Mary Beth Roach Don Lemp owns and represents the fourth-generation of the family business, M. Lemp Jewelers, but he still calls himself “a counter guy.” “I love interacting with couples. It’s a wonderful business. You’re celebrating marriages, engagements, births, anniversaries — all these different significant moments that people invite you into their lives for whatever brief period of time it might be to help them celebrate whatever their important occasion is,” he said. This is one of several reasons why Lemp, at 70, has been working for more than 50 years in the business that his great-grandfather started in 1890. Always located in the downtown Syracuse area, the store has been situated in the building that the family owns on East Fayette and Warren streets since 1971. He jokes that he’s been in the business so long he is now selling engagement rings to the second generation in some families. He also loves the opportunity to learn about the ever-changing industry and gemstones. “You have to know not only diamonds, but all the colored stones, from A to Z, from andalusite to zircons,” he said. Lemp said he had originally thought he wanted to become an attorney, but while working part-time in the store while attending college at Syracuse University, he decided to follow in the family business. His father, Walter D. Lemp Sr., and his mother tried to discourage their son from pursuing retail, reminding him of the hectic hours and lifestyle intrinsic in this business. But the younger Lemp [whose full name is Walter D. Lemp Jr.] prevailed. So, over the years, father and son got to work together in the family business for 35 years. And while many other jewelers retreated from downtown to suburban malls in the 1970s, the Lemps decided to stay downtown. And it’s a decision that Lemp Jr. feels it has worked out well. As he explained, downtown Syracuse is seeing a rebirth. One website, Point2Home.com, has noted that more than 6,000 people live there and the median income is about $62,000. In addition, according to the website that Lemp built years ago, the store can cater to customers throughout the country. His customers, whether from across the country or across Onondaga County, are just one reason that Lemp stays engaged in the business. His employees, the opportunity to continue to learn in an industry, and the challenge to continue to improve business are all other reasons, he noted. He’s also been able to travel to India to buy diamonds and he enjoys buying and selling estates. “I’d rather gallop in the corral than ride into the sunset,” Lemp said.
Seniors: Carol Watson, 72
Owner of Carol Watson Greenhouse and Landscaping in LaFayette enjoys her growing business — still puts in six-, seven-day weeks By Mary Beth Roach Carol Watson, the owner of Carol Watson Greenhouse and Landscaping, has been in gardens since she could walk. Literally. She said she learned to walk in her grandfather’s garden, which was next door to her current home and business in LaFayette. Today, at 72, she is running the business that her mother, Claire, opened in 1981 as Watson Greenhouse. Watson worked part-time for her mom until 1990, when she joined her full time. While she may not have had any formal horticultural experience, she said she learned so much about growing and raising plants from her mom, who had an abundance of energy and talent. Now, after 35 years in the business full time, Watson has no plans to retire, although she joked that she’d like a couple of days off a week. On her seven-acre site, complete with four greenhouses, Watson said her favorite parts of the job are working with and educating her customers; helping some of her young customers build terrariums; conducting occasional class field trips; and supporting local art by decorating the shop with an eclectic mix of pottery from at least four area craftspeople. A one-time employee of the former Dey Bros. department store in Syracuse, Watson said she loves merchandising and enjoys displaying unique pieces of art on shelves and even suspending from ceilings. “We’re creative. We also had top quality plants. We got a reputation of quality plants and unusual products,” she said. It’s tending to her customers and her plants, showcasing the unusual products, and hosting special events to benefit the community that keep her motivated to work six to seven days a week. “I just love it. I love taking care of the plants. I’m one of the few people that really enjoys watering,” she said. And while she has cultivated a solid customer base over the years, she remains savvy in her marketing efforts to draw in new customers. For example, she does a gardening segment on CNY Central television; her active Facebook page has thousands of followers; and she hosts a number of unique events and classes that not only introduce her shop to potential new clients, but some benefit nonprofits as well. About 13 years ago, when the local symphony orchestra was struggling, she said she wanted to help. So, partnering with the group, she began offering concerts, called Soirees, featuring the Syracuse Orchestra’s string quartet. Following up on a suggestion from a customer whose brother is a deejay in retirement, specializing in sock hops, she hosted the greenhouse’s first sock hop. Plants got moved back toward the walls to make room for dancing; a caterer was brought in, offering diner-like food; guests came in period outfits; and proceeds went to the Food Bank of CNY. She is excited about doing it again in October. Via her website, she promotes the greenhouse as an “oasis in the snow,” offering visitors the opportunity to pick up some decorating and gift ideas while taking in the floral and citrus scents. And she also caters to her four-legged friends. Over this past winter, she said, she came up with a “brilliant idea,” although at the time she didn’t appreciate just how brilliant it would become. Feeling it too cold outside to take her dog for a walk, she opted to bring it into the greenhouse. And before long, she was inviting people to bring their dogs into the big greenhouse as well. She looks forward to extending that invitation again this upcoming winter season. For Watson and her customers, the greenhouse is always in season.
Brian Cox: ‘We don’t know how powerful AI is going to become – it’s both exciting and potentially a problem’
The physicist, BBC presenter and author on snowflakes, art v science and the time Paul McCartney quizzed him about one of Saturn’s moons
Babies too young for MMR vaccine become ‘sitting ducks’ in measles outbreaks
Babies too young to be vaccinated are among the most vulnerable in a measles outbreak and depend entirely on herd immunity.
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
France Kicks Windows to the Curb, Pivots to Linux OS
David Amiel, France’s Minister of Public Action and Accounts, said his country must 'break free' and 'become less reliant on American tools.'
In praise of popular science
As a kid, I was enthusiastically and unreservedly in favor of a manned space program. Our destiny lay in the stars, I figured. Get people out there. We need Star Trek here and now. As I got older, I became rather disenchanted with the idea. Humans are expensive, fragile, and inefficient as space cargo. We could flood the solar system with 100 robotic probes for the price of any single manned mission and get back just as useful data. Besides, it turns out space travel is dangerous. Tusk is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe When it came to the recent Artemis II mission, my cynical side didn’t really see the point. Flying around the Moon and back is literally something we did before I was born, and I once owned a Members Only jacket. Apollo 8 circled the Moon ten times and returned to Earth safely the same month that “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was released. What was the point of repeating a feat that far braver people once did with tin foil and slide rules? Yet I’ve surprised myself with how moving I’ve found the Artemis II mission to be. The photos have been stunning. The crew has been professional and engaging. There have been modest but important milestones — the farthest humans have travelled from Earth; the first woman, person of color, and non-American to leave low-Earth orbit; innovations in communication, and more. One thing that really stood out is that this is really NASA at its finest. Not that this is the most important mission they ever pulled off, but they did this in a competent way that celebrated the achievements and kept the crew and the science at the forefront of the project. This wasn’t some billionaire throwing celebrities or cars into orbit as a vanity project — this was a collective effort to send experts in to do a job and come home safely. We don’t see that sort of thing much these days. I’m guessing few people would describe many government agencies as inspiring, but this one counts for me. We’re living through a profoundly anti-science era, in which pathbreaking, lifesaving discoveries like mRNA vaccines are routinely downplayed or even vilified. As I’ve noted previously, this era is something like that of the Red Scare in the 1940s and 50s, in which “egghead” professors were portrayed as out of touch or even hostile to regular Americans. One of the things that helped break that spell was Sputnik — the Soviet communications satellite that demonstrated that the United States was falling behind in crucial scientific research and applications. Its launch triggered a new appreciation for American science and goaded the federal government into supporting research universities and labs. I’m not saying that Artemis is the equivalent of Sputnik, but it potentially reminds people that there’s some value to scientific endeavors and the human faces attached to them. Despite my love for the show “For All Mankind,” I’m far from convinced that there’s any real value to putting colonies on the Moon or Mars that would justify the capital investment and the massive health risks to the astronauts. But sending scientific good will ambassadors on a trip into space once in a while? Bring it. Share
Science students find mentorship and pathways to career success
Batool Abdulruhman and Alyssa Rivera both grew up in rural Valley communities where doctors are scarce and medical care is difficult to access. Now they are on a path to become doctors practicing in the Valley because of the support and mentorship they received through the Center for Access to Science for All (CASA) in […]
Scientists Successfully Made Advanced, Lab-Grown Brains—Could They Become Conscious?
Now, prototype spinal cords are part of the brain organoid assembly.
Broncos ownership group becomes largest minority partner of Rockies, reportedly buys 40 percent stake in MLB club
Walmart CFO bullish on e-commerce growth, Marketplace potential - Talk Business & Politics
Walmart’s e-commerce business has become a meaningful contributor to the retailer’s growth, now comprising roughly 20% of the company’s revenue. Last year, Walmart’s e-commerce sales exceeded $150 billion, with 27%...
Penner Sports Group becomes largest minority owner of MLB's Colorado Rockies
Broncos owners Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner are expanding their footprint in Denver sports.
Science fiction becomes reality at USF's Engineering Expo
At the University of South Florida’s Engineering Expo, visitors can control a robotic catapult using nothing but their thoughts. It's one of dozens of hands-on exhibits drawing thousands of students and families to campus.
Slate of new Virginia laws address health care and housing affordability
Addressing health care and housing affordability were prominent pillars of Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s successful campaign and Virginia Democrats’ legislative agenda this year. Cost-conscious proposals saturated the 2026 legislative session and many have become law.
Celebrate Amazing Stories and Science Fiction’s 100th Birthday
Doors Open 7:15 p.m. Celebrate Amazing Stories and Science Fiction’s 100th Birthday with us! In April 1926, Hugo Gernsback published Amazing Stories magazine for the first time, and while the name of the genre took a few more years to become a household term, many credit this moment with the birth of Science fiction fandom as we know it today! Join us for a two-panels featuring a discussion on the impact of Amazing Stories and Science Fiction as a genre! Featuring published authors, scholars, and podcasters with deep knowledge of the history and great works of the last 100 years. The second panel will be a how-to guide for writing your own Science fiction stories or novels, including teachers, authors, and scholars of the genre. Verbatim Books on Facebook / Instagram
Wisconsin becomes 33rd state to legalize online sports betting
Sabrina Carpenter, Mona Lisa and Ozempic: A roundup of the buzziest Coachella 2026 billboards
Debuting bold billboards that reflect their visual aesthetic has become a rite of passage for Coachella performers.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon should not be happening, says Keir Starmer
In article for Guardian, PM also calls for Iran conflict to become watershed moment for future UK security
Wendy Loretto Takes Helm at Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School With Global Ambitions
Wendy Loretto becomes head of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, outlining plans to boost global visibility, expand partnerships, and shape the future of business education.
3L Rachel Sadler Charts Path in Brain Health, Technology, and Policy Through UC Law SF’s Health Law Concentration - UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings)
3L Rachel Sadler studies health law and policy at UC Law SF while researching the legal implications of neurotechnology and other emerging tools that may affect human cognition. 3L student Rachel Sadler shares how UC Law SF’s Health Law Concentration prepared her for a career focused on the intersection of brain health, government policy, and technology. Gained a detailed understanding of how U.S. health care is regulated and where policy reform is needed through coursework and research. Interned with state and federal agencies that regulate health care services and worked with a major health care provider’s bioethics department. Plans to pursue a career focused on protecting cognitive liberty and mental privacy as new technologies reshape healthcare. 3L Rachel Sadler: The Health Law Concentration has given me fluency in one of the most complex regulated industries and the tools to become an effective advocate for better health policy. Before coming to law school, I spent a decade teaching and working with teachers and administrators on high school programming for multilingual learners. Healthcare kept emerging as the most powerful driver of student outcomes. I wanted to understand how to make effective policy change in this area and how to use existing law to defend people’s health rights in California. Through the concentration’s coursework, I gained a sophisticated understanding of how U.S. healthcare is regulated. I also learned where the pressure points for reform exist. The courses gave me space to develop what became my central research interest: how law and policy can be built to protect human cognition and healthy brain development, particularly regarding new technologies such as generative AI and neurotechnology. The health law faculty were instrumental in that process, genuinely invested in helping me and other students define and pursue our own intellectual vision. During law school, I interned at the General Counsel’s Office for Region IX of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I also externed at the California Department of Justice’s Health, Education and Welfare Division. Additionally, I externed at Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Bioethics Department. Alongside those placements, I conducted extensive independent research on mental privacy and emerging neurotechnology, working closely with Professors Emily Murphy and George Horvath. That research became the throughline of my law school experience and the foundation of my current policy focus. I must also credit Nicole Ozer of the Center for Constitutional Democracy (CCD), whose deep knowledge of California privacy law and the public-interest privacy landscape deeply informed my work. I currently serve a research assistant with the CCD, where I spearhead the development of K-12 educational resources in partnership with law faculty and students. I’ve found UC Law SF to be an ideal place for second-career, nontraditional students. There is a tremendous diversity of life and career experience here, and I felt fully welcomed into the community, despite returning as a student at a different stage of life. I came to law school wanting to promote equity in California’s healthcare system. I am leaving with a sharper and more specific ambition: to build a policy career focused on protecting cognitive liberty and mental privacy from technological intrusion. This is both an urgent and underserved area of law, and I want to be part of defining this landscape going forward. Whether as a practicing attorney or a policy advisor, I plan to work on these issues after law school. I strongly recommend UC Law SF and the Health Law Concentration. When I arrived in law school, I worried the concentration would be narrow and that my non-clinical background would be a disadvantage. The opposite was true. The health law faculty thinks about health expansively, encompassing social determinants of health, structural inequity, and emerging technologies alongside the regulatory mechanics of the industry. The faculty are accessible, intellectually generous, and genuinely invested in students’ development. I found my research vision here, and I deeply appreciate the concentration’s role in this. The Evidence of Success series highlights UC Law SF students as they share how the College’s opportunities equip them with the experience, skills, and confidence to excel in the legal profession.
Politicians Are Spending More Money on Security as They Increasingly Become Targets
Political candidates are purchasing more home alarms, bulletproof vests, and other protections amid rising fears of political violence.
Max Verstappen's Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase set to join McLaren in 2028 in shock move having turned down Aston Martin
Max Verstappens engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull and join McLaren in a shock move; Sky Sports News understands Lambiase will become head of race engineering at McLaren, having previously turned down an offer from Aston Martin
'Fed up': Brice Barnes becomes latest Democrat seeking to flip Neal Dunn's seat
After years of family health care struggles, Barnes plans to take her fight to Washington.
Cash expects a tough match in Italy
Bologna have become a familiar face for the Aston Villa faithful in recent times. Not only did the sides play eachother in the group stage of the Europa League earlier this season, but they also met in last season's Champions League campaign. Unai Emery's side came out on top on both occaisions, but Villa defender Matty Cash is not expecting an easy ride.
Ishbia family taking swing at youth sports facility for vacant Office Depot
(Editor’s Note: Alex Harrison Perry reported this story for Evanston RoundTable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.) The vacant Office Depot building at 2722 Green Bay Road — just a block south of Wilmette — could become a year-round site for youth sports, as a North Shore family […]
IT’S SCIENCE. IT’S SURREAL. IT’S THE SIBILANCE OF KIM SALMON
KIM SALMON APPEARS on my screen intact, in motion, but not, I assure him, infected by any filters adding bunny ears, cat whiskers or fish scales. Dignity is appropriate for the man who emerged from the most isolated punk scene of all in late ‘70s Perth to become a force of nature, and whose early swamp-rock take on life after punk was to spawn a decade and a half later – for better and worse – the more earnest, less thrilling grunge movement.Yes, somehow that mega selling, decade-defining scene