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Anthropic, a company that does research into AI safety, is calling for proposals on ways to evaluate advanced learning models.… Continue reading AI safety and research company Anthropic calls for proposals to evaluate advanced models
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Anthropic, a company that does research into AI safety, is calling for proposals on ways to evaluate advanced learning models.

The rapid growth of AI means there are new AI providers and models all the time. Every major tech company has its own model, while there are dozens more smaller ones as well. That means that the industry has a rising benchmarking problem, making it tough to accurately evaluate how well an AI model performs.

Not only is it hard to state how effective a model is, but it’s also hard to evaluate the risks involved with AI safety. Anthropic is calling for proposals to plug this gap in AI evaluation.

“Developing high-quality, safety-relevant evaluations remains challenging, and the demand is outpacing the supply,” the company writes. “To address this, today we’re introducing a new initiative to fund evaluations developed by third-party organizations that can effectively measure advanced capabilities in AI models.”

The main focus of the proposals should be centered around: AI Safety Level assessments; advanced capability and safety metrics; and infrastructure, tools, and methods for developing evaluations. There should be details on tests that can assess an AI model’s ability to accomplish tasks ranging from cyberattacks, working on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and creating deepfakes or misinformation).

How to submit a proposal on AI safety evaluation

You can read more details on each of the sections that Anthropic is calling for proposals on and submit a proposal on the research company’s website. The team is reviewing submissions on a rolling basis and will follow up with select proposals to discuss next steps.

Anthropic has allocated various levels of funding to help get those research options to their next stages, as well as offering the possibility to talk directly with experts from across their in-house research and safety teams.

Featured image: Ideogram

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Xbox Wire has updated the list of titles coming to Game Pass in July, including Neon White, Flock, Nickelodeon All-Star… Continue reading Game Pass gets Neon White, Flock, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, and More
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Xbox Wire has updated the list of titles coming to Game Pass in July, including Neon White, Flock, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, and more.

Eight new games will be coming to the monthly subscription service:

Cricket 24
Flock
Journey to the Savage Planet
Magical Delicacy
Neon White
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
The Case of the Golden Idol
Tchia

Xbox Game Pass July announced

Journey to the Savage Planet and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 will be available to Game Pass subscribers via cloud, console, and PC on July 3.

On July 9, Cricket 24, The Case of the Golden Idol, and Neon White come to the subscription service; they will all be released for cloud, console, and PC gamers. Tchia arrives on July 11, and Magical Delicacy and Flock follow quickly behind on July 16.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s additional content for July includes the EA Sports FC 24 Supercharge Pack, Warframe: Wake Up Tenno Bundle, and The Elder Scrolls Online: 10th Anniversary Pack #2.

The titles departing Xbox Game Pass on July 15 are:

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Figment 2: Creed Valley (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion (PC)
TOEM (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The Wandering Village (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Image: Xbox Wire.

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The Sonic x Shadow Generations collectors’ edition brings the value with a reasonably priced figure for the series. Sega announced… Continue reading What’s in the Sonic x Shadow Generations special edition?
The post What’s in the Sonic x Shadow Generations special edition? appeared first on ReadWrite.

The Sonic x Shadow Generations collectors’ edition brings the value with a reasonably priced figure for the series.

Sega announced the collection earlier last month but was yet to add an opportunity for US fans of the superfast hedgehog to buy the collectors edition.

Sonic x Shadow Generations gets a price

The collectors edition will only be available through the Japanese store, so the only tag we have to go on is the converted pre-tax price:

Standard edition: 6,589 yen, which is around $40
Digital Deluxe Edition: 7,689 yen, which is around $45
Collector’s Edition: 12,969 yen, which is around $80

Standard edition

The basic deal with the base game and those pre-ordering will get a bonus Sonic Adventure Skin and three Sonic the Hedgehog original stickers (Japan physical edition only).

Digital Deluxe Edition

Digital Deluxe buyers will receive the base game and gain access to the Digital Deluxe Season Pass. An additional character skin and level for Shadow (releasing Winter 2024), Terios Skin, Extra BGM Pack, Skill Points (for SONIC GENERATIONS), and the digital version of the art book and soundtrack. Pre-order bonuses include the Sonic Adventure Skin.

Collectors Edition

The collector’s edition, which costs $80 plus, features a 12 cm Shadow figure, a 5 cm keychain with a Sonic and Shadow shoe, stickers, and an art book of the game.

The collector’s edition will have an exclusive pre-order bonus Sonic Adventure Skin (in-game), and players can get a three-day head start on the game with 72 hours of early accesss — but not for the Nintendo Switch version.

SEGA has tried to promote Shadow, who will debut in the next installment of the Sonic cinematic universe. The game’s publisher has pushed the title alongside the classic Sonic tales, saying, “All-new collection that includes SONIC GENERATIONS, which unites Classic and Modern Sonic in a journey through time and iconic Sonic worlds!”

The game launches Oct. 25 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

Image: SEGA.

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Tether (USDT) has launched a new payment option in the Philippines, enabling citizens to pay their Social Security System (SSS)… Continue reading Tether launches USDT for Filipino social security contributions
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Tether (USDT) has launched a new payment option in the Philippines, enabling citizens to pay their Social Security System (SSS) contributions using USDT, Tether’s stablecoin.

The SSS, a state-run social insurance program, provides support to both formal and informal sector employees, offering financial assistance during difficult times. To facilitate this new payment method, Tether has partnered with Uquid, a Web3 shopping and infrastructure company.

Uquid will enable USDT payments for SSS contributions on the TON blockchain. With a large user base across various markets, Uquid aims to promote cryptocurrency adoption in everyday transactions.

This development comes amid growing interest in stablecoins and their potential role in mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins have evolved from being primarily used as on-ramp tools for centralized exchanges to becoming liquidity providers in both centralized and decentralized markets.

Industry adoption of stablecoins

Some industry participants argue that stablecoins could disrupt the payments sector due to their transaction speed and low costs. Various companies in the financial industry have been exploring stablecoin implementation.

PayPal introduced its PYUSD stablecoin to enable transfers within its payment infrastructure, while Stripe announced that merchants using its platform can accept certain stablecoin payments for online transactions. There’s also growing interest in stablecoins for cross-border payments at the institutional level.

However, recent data indicates a decline in stablecoin holdings among investors. From December to May, stablecoin holdings decreased for both institutional and retail investors. Bitcoin (BTC) currently represents the largest single asset held by these investors.

Institutional investors appear to show a preference for Bitcoin over Ethereum (ETH), with Bitcoin holdings increasing following the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs in January 2024. Meanwhile, Ethereum positions have decreased among institutional investors. This trend might be influenced by various factors, including perceptions of investment potential and regulatory developments.

Retail traders, on the other hand, have shown different behavior patterns, particularly during recent market movements. Their actions during the March-April 2024 market correction suggest an ability to adapt to changing market conditions.

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The First Descendant, like other free-to-play games, offered a chance to get in on some looter shooter action before the… Continue reading The First Descendant beta rewards: A full list and how to claim
The post The First Descendant beta rewards: A full list and how to claim appeared first on ReadWrite.

The First Descendant, like other free-to-play games, offered a chance to get in on some looter shooter action before the official release.

This was in the form of betas, and if you were one of the eager ones who got in and explored the world of Igris you would have earned yourself some rewards.

Here, we’ll explain how to claim The First Descendant beta rewards, as you’re not automatically given them when you load up the game for the first time.

How to claim The First Descendant beta rewards

Obviously, it seems like a given, but you must have played the beta to be eligible for any beta rewards.

If you did play at least some of it, whether that is five minutes or if you got your character to max level, you would have earned at least some in-game items.

To claim these, you must head to Albion in-game and your beta rewards will be available in your Mailbox.

One thing to note here though is that you must be playing on the same account tied to the beta otherwise you won’t have the beta rewards that you earned.

What are all of The First Descendant beta rewards?

Since there were two betas for The First Descendant, there were also two sets of rewards you could pick up.

Moreover, these rewards differed depending on how much of the betas you played, with the people who spent the most time in-game receiving the ‘better’ gear.

Here are all of The First Descendant beta rewards you could get:

Steam Beta Test (Oct 2022) rewards

High Five emote – All test participants
Frost Walker Hunter & 2 titles: Groundbreaking (Prefix), Explorer (Suffix) – Completed Void Intercept Battle <Frost Walker>

Crossplay Open Beta Test (Sep 2023) rewards

Send Heart emote – All test participants
Bear Cub back attachment – Players who leveled a Descendant to Level 20
Passion spawn effect – Players who cleared a Hard Mode Void Intercept Battle
Bunny head skin “Trendsetter” – Survey participants

If you sadly didn’t get in on the two betas, you can pick up some additional gear through The First Descendant Twitch Drops, so don’t be too disheartened!

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A Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 item has caught the eye of players taking on a new GTA Online Update.… Continue reading GTA 6 item surfaces in GTA Online’s Bottom Dollar Bounties update
The post GTA 6 item surfaces in GTA Online’s Bottom Dollar Bounties update appeared first on ReadWrite.

A Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 item has caught the eye of players taking on a new GTA Online Update.

The Bottom Dollar Bounties update, launched on June 26, focuses on Maude Eccles’s Bottom Dollar Bail Enforcement service. This new in-game trade allows players to enter the bond service and hunt down lucrative wrongdoers.

The update also introduced a fleet of new vehicles, game modes, and various cosmetic items. One item has particularly captured the attention of the GTA 6 Reddit fanbase.

GTA 6 cosmetics catch the eyes of gamers in GTA Online

On the GTA Online Reddit community, user DogWifDreads posted a familiar-looking necklace. This item, the Silver Layered Necklace, was previously seen on protagonist Lucia in the GTA 6 trailer.

Noticed a Small Detail…
byu/DogWifDreads inGTA6

Some members of the GTA Reddit praised the post, saying, “This is a kind of cool thing to point out. I like that they’re giving us a tiny taste of it.”

Another user speculated that other cosmetics are being ported over, saying, “There are some tattoos that are reused, too. Like the 3 smiley faces that become more warped/wavy from the Fooligan DLC on the guy who’s hanging out of the door of the green truck in the GTA6 trailer.”

Rockstar, the publisher of GTA, is no stranger to referencing older titles and including a host of Easter eggs throughout the game series.

GTA 6 has been one of gaming’s top stories across 2024 for many contrasting reasons. The launch trailer for the much-anticipated new venture back to Vice City was hijacked and hacked before being leaked to the world.

Arion Kurtaj, the British teenager who played a key role in the GTA 6 hack, was detained indefinitely for his online attack on Rockstar. He has previous blackmail charges against him for similar digital fraud on Brtish Telecom and mobile provider EE.

GTA 6 is set for a 2025 launch, and we have broken down all the need-to-know news including release date, setting, characters, map, and much more on Rockstars’ much-awaited gangland title.

Image: Rockstar.

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Swedish scientists have discovered how to use nanorobots to target and kill cancer cells. Made of amino acids, the tiny… Continue reading Tiny nanorobots could enter your body and kill cancer cells in the near future
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Swedish scientists have discovered how to use nanorobots to target and kill cancer cells.

Made of amino acids, the tiny robots can be injected into the body. They can activate ‘death receptors’ in cells, helping to shrink tumors. All cells have death receptors, so the main obstacle has been finding a way for the robots to identify the harmful cancer cells, rather than attacking healthy cells and cancerous ones alike.

The team of scientists, based in the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, had been working on finding this ‘kill switch’ for years, ever since they first discovered how to create the tiny robots made from amino acids.

How do the robots identify cancer cells?

“This hexagonal nanopattern of peptides becomes a lethal weapon,” Professor Björn Högberg, who led the study, told Metro. “If you were to administer it as a drug, it would indiscriminately start killing cells in the body, which would not be good. To get around this problem, we have hidden the weapon inside a nanostructure built from DNA.”

The construction of this nanoscale DNA structure is known as DNA origami. By combining DNA and peptides, the team created robots that only target cancerous cells. The pH (or potential of hydrogen) measures how acidic or alkaline any given substance is. For most part of the human body, the pH level is around 7.4, or neutral, but the areas surrounding tumors are usually slightly acidic.

By measuring the pH, the robots can identify which areas are cancerous. They stay inactive in areas at pH 7.4 but start taking out cells at pH 6.5.

“We have managed to hide the weapon in such a way that it can only be exposed in the environment found in and around a solid tumor,” said Professor Högberg. “This means that we have created a type of nanorobot that can specifically target and kill cancer cells.”

Initial testing has taken place on mice, with the robots helping to shrink breast cancer tumors by up to 70%.

“We now need to investigate whether this works in more advanced cancer models that more closely resemble the real human disease,” said first author of the study Yang Wang. “We also need to find out what side effects the method has before it can be tested on humans.”

In the future, the team also hopes to make the nanorobots able to target specific types of cancer. Cancer research also recently benefitted from technological advancements in AI, reducing treatment time and accelerating diagnoses.

Featured image: Ideogram

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The Bahamas, a pioneer in launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC), is now crafting regulations to boost the adoption… Continue reading The Bahamas pushes for CBDC adoption of ‘Sand Dollar’
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The Bahamas, a pioneer in launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC), is now crafting regulations to boost the adoption of its “Sand Dollar.”

According to a Reuters report published on Monday, the Caribbean nation aims to mandate commercial banks to offer access to this digital currency. John Rolle, governor of the Bahamas’ central bank, revealed plans to expand the Sand Dollar’s reach. He said:

We foresee a process where all of the commercial banks will eventually be in that space and they will be required to provide their clients with access to the central bank digital currency. […] We’ve begun to signal that to our institutions.

Launched in 2020, the CBDC has seen limited uptake. To address this, the government is developing rules that would require commercial banks to distribute the digital currency.

Since its October 2020 debut, the Sand Dollar has shown growth. Central bank data indicates that by the end of 2023, the currency’s circulation volume increased by 60.8% to $1.7 million from the year’s start. Personal wallets for the Sand Dollar grew by 20% over the year, reaching 118,955 by December’s end.

The news follows a mid-April report that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has announced that it is exploring the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), often referred to as “digital cash.”

The history of the Sand Dollar

The SandDollar, launched by the Central Bank of The Bahamas in October 2020, is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) designed to complement the Bahamian dollar. Its development began in the late 1990s as part of broader efforts to modernize the country’s payment systems.

In December 2019, a pilot program was initiated on the island of Exuma, chosen for its representation of The Bahamas’ archipelagic features. Following Hurricane Dorian in 2019, the pilot was extended to Abaco in February 2020 to aid in restoring financial services.

The SandDollar officially launched nationwide in October 2020, making The Bahamas the first country to roll out a retail CBDC according to Intereconomics. The currency operates on a tiered wallet system with different levels of access and transaction limits based on user verification requirements.

Initial adoption of the SandDollar was relatively slow, with monthly transactions averaging around 15,000 SandDollars. Usage increased in 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions eased and promotional efforts resumed. By the end of 2022, monthly transactions had grown to an average of 85,000 SandDollars.

In December 2022, the total SandDollars in circulation surpassed one million. However, as of early 2023, SandDollars still represented less than 1% of the total Bahamian dollars in circulation.

The Central Bank has continued to develop the SandDollar system, integrating it with the Automated Clearing House in 2022 to allow for transfers between e-wallets and bank accounts. As of 2023, the bank is working on implementing new features and improvements to enhance user experience and functionality.

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In games like The First Descendant, it’s all about the grind, as you make your way through the various quests… Continue reading What is The First Descendant max level? Descendant and Mastery levels explained
The post What is The First Descendant max level? Descendant and Mastery levels explained appeared first on ReadWrite.

In games like The First Descendant, it’s all about the grind, as you make your way through the various quests in the game, progressing the story and securing loot.

There is also a leveling system in The First Descendant and it works a little differently than your basic get to level 100 and be done with the game.

Here, we’ll take you through what The First Descendant max level is along with explaining what the different Descendant and Mastery levels mean.

What is the max level in The First Descendant?

As you play through the game, completing missions, unlocking new characters, and defeating bosses, you’ll make progress toward the levels that are in the game.

These are split into two different leveling systems – Descendant level and Mastery Rank.

The max Descendant level you can reach is 40, whereas the max Mastery Rank is 30, therefore meaning there are two different pools you’ll be pumping experience into.

We’ll now explain the difference between the two so you know exactly what’s in store for The First Descendant’s leveling system.

How do Descendant and Mastery levels work in The First Descendant?

So, how do the different Descendant levels and Mastery Ranks work in The First Descendant?

Well, to put it simply, Descendant levels are tied to the specific character you are playing but Mastery Rank is your overall progression in the game, with everything you do contributing toward it.

As you increase your Descendant level you will gain small stat increases as well as unlocking various skills. Mastery Rank, however, almost opens up more of the game as you progress, giving you increased storage capacity, equipment inventory, and grants access to unique abilities on legendary weapons, for example.

Upping Mastery Rank is also different to that of the Descendant levels since it isn’t an automatic process. Gaining the experience is, but you must physically increase your Rank via Prime Hands in Albion.

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Anybody who has been online for more than five minutes in their lifetime instinctively knew that Ubisoft’s first portrayal of… Continue reading Cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows demand angry Japanese gamers furious at Ubisoft’s lack of ‘cultural respect’
The post Cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows demand angry Japanese gamers furious at Ubisoft’s lack of ‘cultural respect’ appeared first on ReadWrite.

Anybody who has been online for more than five minutes in their lifetime instinctively knew that Ubisoft’s first portrayal of the land of the Rising Sun in an Assassin’s Creed game was, at best, going to raise eyebrows.

Now you can rarely accuse Assassin’s Creed games of being steeped in historical accuracy anyway, but by making the two main characters bear no semblance to the historical setting they are placed into was going to annoy people who are big fans of accurately representing cultures and the like.

In Assassin’s Creed: Shadows for starters, the female – Naoe – is a made-up ninja. So what you might say. The second character, Yasuke, seems to be the one a lot more people have taken issues with.

The real-life African, Yasuke served a short period of time as a vassal or retainer to warlord Oda Nobunaga. In AC Shadows he is a full-on Samurai.

Does it matter? Japanese gamers think so with one starting up a petition that states (in part):

The game is about samurai in Japan and ignores the fact that samurai are the upper class of the samurai class and should be “gokejin” or nobles who serve them. In fact, William Adams, the first European to receive the title of samurai, was a man in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu as the bannerman of the 250 koku.

In this history, Ubisoft continues to misunderstand the nature and role of the samurai. This is a serious insult to Japan’s culture and history, and can also lead to Asian racism. We call on Ubisoft to immediately cease the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and to show sincere research and respect for Japan’s history and culture.

The petition has a target of 35,000 signatures and at the time of writing is fast approaching 29k of them.

Not that it will make a difference of course. A lot of the issues seem to be around the game being pushed as accurate whereas it is seen by signatories of the position as out and out fiction.

One comment however says, “This is falsification of history. We cannot just stand by and let it happen. In addition, the content of the game and the response of the manufacturer showed no respect for Japan. It is unbearable to see black samurai slaughtering Japanese people. I hereby object.”

We await the time-honored tradition of a good old-fashioned review bombing.

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