Wesleyan University says it will stop giving preferential treatment to applicants who are the children of alumni. Last month, the Supreme Court said universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admission.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2023--

Australian inflation is being driven by climate change, geopolitical shocks and government policies — factors typically beyond the

The official account for Elon Musk’s X app has switched from @Twiter to @X, after the previous owner of the account moved to a new one. The single-letter username had been registered to Gene X. Hwang, the co-founder of photo firm Orange Photography, for more than 16 years before Twitter’s sudden rebranding on Monday brought the account under scrutiny. On Tuesday, Mr Hwang said that neither Mr Musk nor X had reached out to him, however by Wednesday the account was under the control of the tech billionaire’s company. “Alls well that ends well,” Mr Hwang posted from a new account, @x12345678998765. It is unclear how much Mr Musk or X paid for the one-letter account, if anything at all. The Independent has reached out to both X and Mr Hwang for further information. Mr Musk has reportedly taken over other accounts without permission since he took over the platform in October 2022. According to Platformer editor Zoe Schiffer, the world’s richest person took over the username @e shortly after acquiring the company for $44 billion, despite the original owner of the account being unwilling to part with it. The @e account remains inactive, featuring the name ‘John Utah’ – the same as the protagonist of the 1991 film Point Break – and following just three accounts: Elon Musk, LAist and Nasa. X has also changed its other official accounts to ditch the Twitter branding, renaming its subscription service to @XBlue, and @TwitterSupport to @Support. The company’s Twitter signage was also removed from its San Francisco headquarters on Monday. The website domain X.com also now redirects to Twitter.com, while all of the site’s blue bird logos have been replaced with a crowd-sourced X logo. The hasty switch from one brand to another may result in legal difficulties for Mr Musk, according to trademark lawyers, after it was revealed that the billionaire does not own the intellectual property rights for the letter X when it relates to social networking. Tech rivals Meta and Microsoft both own trademarks for ‘X’ in different domains, with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg currently controlling the federal trademark for a blue-and-white letter ‘X’ for “social networking services”. “There’s a 100 per cent chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody,” one US-based IP lawyer said on Tuesday. Read More What is Elon Musk’s ‘everything app’ X? What is Elon Musk’s ‘everything app’ X? Elon Musk red-faced as police halt Twitter sign removal leaving firm called ‘ER’ Twitter to X: Why Elon Musk rebranded the social networking platform

The Eurovision song contest takes place this weekend in Liverpool after Ukraine won last year. Kalush Orchestra came out on top in 2022 with a huge show of support for their song 'Stefania' - and have since handed over hosting duties to the UK because of the ongoing war with Russia. Speaking of the UK, Mae Muller has been selected to represent the country and will perform her song 'I Wrote A Song' at the final. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter With glory and hosting duties to play for, then, choosing a good song is very important. So who (or what) better to turn to than ChatGPT, everyone's favourite controversial AI system, to write a song for us? That is exactly what we did and here's what the software came up with: Verse 1: Under the bright lights, We stand here tonight, In this moment we unite, With hearts open wide. Chorus: We dance to the beat of our own drum, We sing with passion until the night is done, We are the stars that light up the sky, We are the ones who never say die. Verse 2: We come from every corner, From the north to the south, We share the same desire, To let our voices out. Chorus: We dance to the beat of our own drum, We sing with passion until the night is done, We are the stars that light up the sky, We are the ones who never say die. Bridge: Let's forget about the past, Let's live in the moment that will last, Together we'll make history, And show the world what we can be. Chorus: We dance to the beat of our own drum, We sing with passion until the night is done, We are the stars that light up the sky, We are the ones who never say die. Outro: So let's keep dancing, And keep singing our song, We'll show the world who we are, And prove that we belong. So there you have it - ChatGPT could become the next best singer. After all, we reckon this song is probably better than half the actual entries we will endure this weekend. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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The introduction of robots into businesses actually slows – at least at first, according to a new study. Researchers found that the introduction of robots bring down profit margins. But as they technology becomes better integrated, it will start to rise again, the study found. Researchers believe that U-shaped curve comes about because of reduced costs, new processes and innovative products. When companies first adopt robots with the aim of reducing costs, competitors are able to do the same, and so profit margins do not initially grow. The real profits come, however, when the robots are properly adopted and integrated into the company’s processes, and they can use that new innovation to develop new products, the researchers suggest. Those are the findings from a new study from the University of Cambridge and published in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. While robots are known to increase productivity when looking at a whole industry or country, it is less clear whether it helps with profit margins. The researchers set out to answer that question and see whether companies were using robots to improve processes within companies. And they were also looking to understand whether it had followed the same perhaps unexpected trajectory as when computers were first introduced into businesses. “If you look at how the introduction of computers affected productivity, you actually see a slowdown in productivity growth in the 1970s and early 1980s, before productivity starts to rise again, which it did until the financial crisis of 2008,” said co-author Professor Chander Velu from Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing. “It’s interesting that a tool meant to increase productivity had the opposite effect, at least at first. We wanted to know whether there is a similar pattern with robotics.” To find out, researchers gathered data for 25 European countries that showed industry-level trends between 1995 and 2017. That data did not include specific companies but did allow them to see whole sectors. They then gathered robotics data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). By setting the two against each other, they were able to see how the adoption of robotics changed profit margins. There they found that U-shaped curve: that the adoption of robotics drove down profits, initially, even if it came back eventually. “Initially, firms are adopting robots to create a competitive advantage by lowering costs,” said Velu. “But process innovation is cheap to copy, and competitors will also adopt robots if it helps them make their products more cheaply. This then starts to squeeze margins and reduce profit margin.” Read More Apple planning new version of AirTags – but not for some time Algorithm finds 600-foot, ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid near Earth Reddit closes Place after obscene protests Apple planning new version of AirTags – but not for some time Algorithm finds 600-foot, ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid near Earth Reddit closes Place after obscene protests

Five years ago, scientists managed to recreate what is known as superionic ice, in lab experiments for the first time. Superionic ice is believed to form within Uranus and Neptune as familiar materials are subjected to extreme pressures and heat, with iron atoms forming hot, black, heavy ice. But just last year researchers at several universities in the United States discovered a new phase of superionic ice. The discovery helps broaden our understanding of why Uranus and Neptune have off-kilter magnetic fields with multiple poles. Different to forms of water on Earth, the oxygen atoms in superionic ice are locked in a solid cubic lattice, while the ionised hydrogen atoms are loose, flowing through the lattice. This gives superionic ice conductive properties as well as raising its melting point, meaning the frozen water remains solid at temperatures up to 4704 Degree Celsius (8500 Fahrenheit). In this latest study, Stanford University's Arianna Gleason and colleagues blasted thin slivers of water, sandwiched between two diamond layers, with some extremely powerful lasers. "Recent discoveries of water-rich Neptune-like exoplanets require a more detailed understanding of the phase diagram of [water] at pressure–temperature conditions relevant to their planetary interiors," Gleason and colleagues explain in their paper, from January 2022 X-Ray diffraction revealed the hot, dense ice's crystal structure, and confirmed the ice crystals were in fact a new phase, distinct from the superionic ice that was observed in 2019. This newly discovered superionic ice, Ice XIX, has increased conductivity compared to its 2019 predecessor. The conductivity is important because it helps us understand why certain off-kilter magnetic fields are generated on planets such as Neptune and Uranus. You can read the paper, published in Scientific Reports here. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

EA Sports has called out sexist remarks about including female players in 'EA Sports FC 24'.

Swedish truck giant Scania has unveiled a first-of-its-kind hybrid lorry covered in dozens of solar panels that are capable of providing up to 10,000 kilometres of range annually. The next-generation vehicle has already been successfully tested on public roads, with Scania hoping to develop the technology for use in commercial transport fleets. “Never before have solar panels been used to generate energy to a truck’s powertrain like we do in this collaboration,” said Stas Krupenia, who heads Scania’s research department. “This natural energy source can significantly decrease emissions in the transport sector.” The energy produced by the solar panels provide the truck with a driving range of up to 5,000 kilometres per year in Sweden, though this would double in countries with more sunshine like Spain. The researchers who created the concept believe future versions could double the solar energy generation to improve the range even further by making use of new perovskite solar cells. “Our research towards efficient and light solar cells will be truly important, especially when it comes to applying them in future trucks,” said Erik Johansson, a professor of physical chemistry at Uppsala University in Sweden who was involved in the project. “This is an exciting project where academia and industry together try to decrease the climate impact from truck transports. The results from this unique truck will be very interesting.” The hybrid truck forms part of a push by companies and institutions around the world to research ways to transition away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles towards more sustainable solutions. Last year, Dutch startup Lightyear showcased a solar-powered car capable of travelling hundreds of kilometres on a single charge. Described as the “world’s most efficient and sustainable” vehicle, the Lightyear One is already available for pre-order and is expected to be the first four-wheeled solar-powered car capable of carrying more than one passenger to make it to market. “Our road tests confirm that we’re on track to producing the most aerodynamic five-seater to date,” the firm stated in a release posted to its website. “As our world moves to more sustainable energy sources, Lightyear is driving the development of clean mobility in the automotive industry.” Read More Hundreds of years after it was discovered, one material is about to change the world Apple is about to make a huge change to the iPhone that it never wanted to do Vodafone users say they can’t call people Microsoft is removing its decades-old text editor

California’s insurance commissioner announced a new regulatory plan on Thursday that would allow insurers to factor future climate

OTTAWA The Canadian regulator responsible for implementing the country's online news law on Thursday said it will start