Lifestyle
Artificial Intelligence: The future and your current reality
Artificial intelligence (AI) has a future tech reputation that can probably speak for itself, but did you know just how much of an impact it already has on your current life?
Keeping spam out of your email box may be one of the more obvious (and welcome) AI integrations. If you’re social media savvy, you probably don’t take the appearance of coordinated advertising across most platforms to be coincidental. You might later raise an eyebrow when the ads you’re seeing on the Internet seem relevant to a conversation you had with someone over a messenger application, but you’re pretty sure the people you talk to on website chat boxes are actual people. Right? Or, maybe all of these things are part of an AI-infused reality you’ve grown to know and accept.
AI and Politics
If it’s not enough to know that AI is the perpetrator behind the most visible factors screaming for your attention and money via marketing, enter the competition for your government choices. The phrase and reality of “fake news” have haunted society long enough, and social media companies are playing catchup trying to limit both its purveyance and impact via AI.
In prior years, the validity of a news piece was mostly subject to human fact-checking, a practice in itself potentially riddled with the same bias and inaccuracies as the “fake news” it seeks to correct. With machine learning (a process that creates AI), researchers are seeking alternative data sources, such as content structure, keyword use, headline choice, and engagement to rank the validity of news articles. Current results signal more training data is still needed, but as such data increases, so will the accuracy.
Even with that promising progress, there’s a plot twist: AI can also create fake news, meaning AI spotters vs. AI disseminators. We often imagine a robot war being fought on a physical battlefield with Terminator-style creations bringing fire and fury. However, considering the current digital trajectory, the robot “cold war” is likely already here. Twitter’s recent dump of millions of state-sponsored troll bot account tweets is only one of numerous examples of AI’s darker side.
AI and the Universe
Are you interested in learning the answer to life, the universe, and everything? Artificial intelligence is a big part of that search, too. The events which followed the big bang contained within them all the secrets of time and space, specifically how they were created, and thus, the blueprint of all existence.
What’s the closest science we have to study that beginning? Atom bashing. Breaking stuff is a common technique in learning, and atoms are no exception. Turns out, when you collide the tiniest elements of matter, they break apart into even tinier parts (and tinier, and tinier…), giving out secrets the universe may or may not have known we were going to learn. For the best results (i.e., destruction), you need to get as close to the speed of light as possible, meaning lots of space to gain momentum via a big machine.
You may have heard of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland, i.e., the giant, nearly 17-mile long particle smasher infamously feared to be attempting to create black holes on purpose. The end of the world aside, the data gathered by all the LHC’s experiments is huge and overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that CERN physicists are now turning to computer scientists to implement AI for data sorting and reconstruction. Combine the power of AI with the theory that a solar system-sized collider could reveal the inner workings of the big bang, and there you have it. The answer to life, the universe, and everything, brought to you by artificial intelligence.
It’s been predicted over and over again that AI is a huge part of the future of humanity, but the reality is that it’s also a big part of the present. As we become more adjusted to life where computers are constantly improving on their ability to imitate our intelligence, what questions will we finally have answered? What new questions will arise? Time will only tell, and perhaps one day even time’s mysteries will have AI to thank for the revelation of its inner workings.
Lifestyle
Tesla Model S Plaid battles China’s 1500 hp monster Nurburgring monster, with surprising results
There is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
The Tesla Model S Plaid has been around for some time. Today, it is no longer the world’s quickest four-door electric sedan, nor is it the most powerful. As per a recent video from motoring YouTube channel Carwow, however, it seems like the Model S Plaid is still more than a match for some of its newer and more powerful rivals.
The monster from China
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is nothing short of a monster. Just like the Model S Plaid, it features three motors. It also has 1,548 hp and 1,770 Nm of torque. It’s All Wheel Drive and weighs a hefty 2,360 kg. The vehicle, which costs just about the equivalent of £55,000, has been recorded setting an insane 7:04.957 at the Nurburgring, surpassing the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
For all intents and purposes, the Model S Plaid looked outgunned in Carwow’s test. The Model S Plaid is no slouch with its three motors that produce 1,020 hp and 1,420 Nm of torque. It’s also a bit lighter at 2,190 kg despite its larger size. However, as the Carwow host pointed out, the Model S Plaid holds a 7:25.231 record in the Nurburgring. Compared to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s record, the Model S Plaid’s lap time is notably slower.
Real-world tests
As could be seen in Carwow’s drag races, however, Tesla’s tech wizardry with the Model S Plaid is still hard to beat. The two vehicles competed in nine races, and the older Model S Plaid actually beat its newer, more powerful counterpart from China several times. At one point in the race, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra hit its power limit due to its battery’s temperature, but the Model S Plaid was still going strong.
The Model S Plaid was first teased five years ago, in September 2020 during Tesla’s Battery Day. Since then, cars like the Lucid Air Sapphire and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra have been released, surpassing its specs. But just like the Model Y ended up being the better all-rounder compared to the BYD Sealion 7 and the MG IM6, there is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
Check out Carwow’s Model S Plaid vs Xiaomi SU7 drag race video below.
Lifestyle
500-mile test proves why Tesla Model Y still humiliates rivals in Europe
On paper, the BYD Sealion 7 and MG IM6 promised standout capabilities against the Model Y.
BYD is seeing a lot of momentum in Europe, so much so that mainstream media has taken every opportunity to argue that the Chinese automaker has beaten Tesla in the region. But while BYD sales this year in Europe are rising and Tesla’s registrations remain challenged, the raw capabilities of vehicles like the Model Y are difficult to deny.
This was highlighted in a 500-mile challenge by What Car? magazine, which showed that the new Tesla Model Y is more efficient, cheaper to run, and more reliable than rivals like the BYD Sealion 7, and even the nearly 400 KW-charging MG IM6.
Range and charging promises
On paper, the BYD Sealion 7 and MG IM6 promised standout capabilities against the Model Y. The Sealion 7 had more estimated range and the IM6 promised significantly faster charging. When faced with real-world conditions, however, it was still the Model Y that proved superior.
During the 500-mile test, the BYD nearly failed to reach a charging stop, arriving with less range than its display projected, as noted in a CarUp report. MG fared better, but its charging speeds never reached its promised nearly-400 kW charging speed. Tesla’s Model Y, by comparison, managed energy calculations precisely and arrived at each stop without issue.
Tesla leads in areas that matter
Charging times from 25% to 80% showed that the MG was the fastest at 17 minutes, while Tesla and BYD were close at 28 and 29 minutes, respectively. Overall efficiency and cost told a different story, however. The Model Y consumed 19.4 kWh per 100 km, compared to 22.2 for MG and 23.9 for BYD. Over the full trip, Tesla’s charging costs totaled just £82 thanks to its supercharger network, far below BYD’s £130 and MG’s £119.
What Car? Magazine’s testers concluded that despite BYD’s rapid sales growth and the MG IM6’s seriously impressive charging speeds, Tesla remains the more compelling real-world choice. The Model Y just offers stability, efficiency, and a proven charging infrastructure through its Supercharging network. And as per the magazine’s hosts, the Model Y is even the cheapest car to own among the three that were tested.
Watch What Car? Magazine’s 500-mile test in the video below.
Lifestyle
Tesla Cybertruck slapped with world’s least intimidating ticket, and it’s pure cringe
One cannot help but cringe and feel second-hand embarrassment at the idea of a person just driving around with a stack of these babies.
A Cybertruck parked at Stanford Shopping Center in California was recently hit with what might be the most try-hard piece of paper ever slipped under a wiper blade: a “fake citation” accusing the driver of supporting a “fascist car.”
The note, shared on X by Tesla staff program manager Ryan Torres, quickly made the rounds on X, where it quickly gained attention as an example of how not to protest.
The world’s least intimidating ticket
According to the citation, the supposed “violation” was “driving a fascist car.” The remedial action? Take the bus, call an Uber, or ride a bike. The note also dubbed Elon Musk a “chainsaw-wielding Nazi billionaire.” Now, protests against Tesla and Elon Musk have become commonplace this year, but one cannot help but cringe and feel second-hand embarrassment at the idea of a person just driving around with a stack of fake anti-Tesla/Musk citations.
Torres pointed out the irony himself in his post on X. Tesla currently employs over 140,000 Americans, and SpaceX has put the U.S. firmly back at the top of space technology. As Torres put it, maybe the person behind the world’s least intimidating ticket should “read a book on innovation before vandalizing” other people’s property.
Peak performative clownery
Not to mention that the fake ticket’s logic collapses under its own weight. EVs like the Cybertruck are literally designed to reduce emissions, not “destroy the economy.” If anything, Tesla has bolstered the United States’ economy by fueling jobs in engineering, manufacturing, and clean energy. It’s not the first time a Tesla has been the target of vandalism or politically charged notes, but this one stands out for sheer cringe value.
Torres summed it up neatly: “Peak clownery.” On that point, at least, the citation earns full marks. In a way, though, perhaps cringe fake tickets are not as bad as the literal firebombs that were being thrown at Tesla stores and cars earlier this year because some critics were gleefully misinformed about Elon Musk.
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