Category Archives: Futurist

He also says thats its most definitely, absolutely not at all him. Elons Theory

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks he knows who created Bitcoin and its definitely not him.

The billionaire meme thief took part in an interview with artificial intelligence researcher Lex Fridman on the latters podcast published on Tuesday. While the chat flowed from SpaceX launches, to colonizing Mars, to even love, Fridman eventually asked Musk about his theory on who is Bitcoins elusive creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Well, you can look at the evolution of ideas before the launch of bitcoin and see who wrote about those ideas, Musk told Fridman. He went on to add, It seems as though Nick Szabo is probably, more than anyone else, responsible for the evolution of those ideas.

You can check out the segment and the full interview below:

For those confused as to who the heck that even is, Nick Szabo is a computer scientist and cryptographer who helped develop smart contracts and an early form of cryptocurrency called bit gold.

While the crypto never took off, many consider it an early precursor to Bitcoin. His smart contract technology was also used as a foundational part of the ethereum blockchain. As such, many speculate that he is the father of Bitcoin. However, hes long denied the claim .

Well, I will say this, in the hope of setting the record straight, Szabo told The New York Times in 2017. Im not Satoshi.

Musk also denied that he was actually Satoshi Nakamoto. However, he told Fridman that he would definitely tell people if he was which is no surprise. After all, imagine the Twitter meme posting potential.

More on Satoshi Nakamoto: Dubious Court Case Claims Bitcoin Co-Creator Is Dead

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Elon Musk Says He Thinks He Knows the Real Identity of Satoshi Nakamoto - Futurism

The Scarborough City Centre area'sdated postmodern vibe got a jolt of modernity when a new Toronto Public Library branch opened in 2015, and the neighbourhood is about to get another addition of avant-garde architecture.

An application tabled with the city on Tuesday seeks approval to build a new Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS) Multifunction Paramedic Station at 330 Progress Avenue, a plan that has already generated buzz in architecture circles for its striking angles and enviro-friendly design from the team of Diamond Schmitt Architects and gh3.

The building's roof is to be covered in photovoltaic arrays powering the vital equipment within.

Planned on the site of the Toronto Police Service Property Unita stretch home to mostly light industrial uses west of the denser Town Centre area the building will stand out from its nondescript surroundings with a sleek bunker-like exterior that harnesses the sun to power the critical paramedic equipment housed within.

Envisioned with net-zero strategies in mind, the proposal's sustainable mass-timber structure will offer a 34 per cent reduction in embodied carbon compared to the structural steel typically used for such builds.

A sawtooth roof directs its many photo-voltaic array-covered faces to the south to maximize solar power generation, while a tilted south-facing solar wall further reduces energy consumption by 15 per cent.

The sawtooth pattern angles the photovoltaic arrays to the south to maximize solar exposure.

The interior will be arranged around a linear atrium with a skylight above, housing station functions including an administrative and education block, a command post, offices, parade room, a kitchen and lounge, a meeting room, lockers for 700 staff and visitors, and bays for 40 ambulances and 20 supervisor vehicles.

The mass-timber structure will house 20 ambulance bays.

Shaving off another 17 per cent of energy use, the station will be the first ambulance facility in Canada to include interior vestibules for its dozen overhead vehicle doors, preventing winter cold or summer heat from entering the station when vehicles depart and arrive.

This forward-thinking design hasn't gone unnoticed, the building among seven recipients of an Award of Merit by the 2021 Canadian Architect Awards, selected from a pool of over 170 entries in the design phase from across the nation.

The building's design has been lauded, taking home anAward of Merit atthe 2021 Canadian Architect Awards.

With a projected construction cost just shy of $50 million, the project is anticipated to be complete in 2024.

The rest is here:
A futuristic bunker-like building is coming to Toronto and it just won a big award - blogTO

The new year brings with it many of the emerging technology trends seen in 2021, including the next phase of the Internet and the metaverse, but it may also spark a human renaissance where we question the role of technology.

Euronews Next looks at what is in store for 2022.

Web3 was 2021s buzzword and in 2022, we can expect companies will try and jump on the bandwagon for this decentralised vision of the Internet.

Web3 is defined by the technology of blockchain, the same system used by cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but aims to use an egalitarian philosophy to cut out the Internets central gatekeepers such as Google and Facebook.

We are not officially in the Web3 phase of the Internet but the blocks are currently being built. In 2022, we can expect more companies will try and dip their toes into Web3, including Meta, Facebooks parent company.

Meta is aiming for deep compatibility with blockchain technology, according to a New York Times report, citing an internal post to employees from a Meta top executive.

My overall guidance is to target a deep compatibility with the blockchain, wrote Andrew Bosworth, Metas chief technology officer (CTO).

There arent many places where I expect us to depend on it exclusively yet, but if we see an opportunity to work jointly with entrepreneurs in the Web3 space I expect it will be worth the effort.

NFTs also exploded onto the tech scene in 2021. This year, we can expect NFT2.0.

In November, the Dutch Blockchain LTO Network revealed an upgrade called Titanium, which solves the issue of current NFTs, which is that most assets cannot be fully possessed and have to be traded through a third party.

As expected, more companies will also be putting their efforts into the metaverse, the virtual reality and augmented reality world where we can play games, work and socialise.

Though in its early stages, the technology is developing at breakneck speed. Many virtual reality worlds, such as Metas, require headsets.

But this could soon develop into augmented reality glasses or even contact lenses.

According to insiders, Apple is working hard on this technology and is predicted to release its own headsets in 2022. Media reports have also suggested Apples headsets could include eye tracking and cameras that could blend VR and AR together.

The whole discussion about the metaverse is essentially telling us that we can live in a virtual space using an avatar and we don't need a body, futurist Gerd Leonhard told Euronews Next.

While he said he sees potential benefits in the metaverse, for example in the workplace, there could be a human renaissance.

I see a discussion saying the metaverse is all very cool. But nobody wants to get married in the metaverse. Well, there are people who are interested, but nobody wants to get married to a robot in the metaverse, Leonhard said.

Technology is just a tool and its not the purpose. I think theres going to be a renaissance in the sense of people saying, we're going to rethink this to see if it's actually good for your life.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning will continue to grow and increasingly so in companies.

AI can help in fields such as healthcare, however, as data is critical for building AI systems, there may be more discussion on how data is acquired and used.

We have steep development in artificial intelligence so that computers can start to kind of sound like they're making sense, said Leonhard.

All of this leads to one final destination, which is to say that humans can be somewhat created, artificially or copied, or that machines are getting closer to being more like humans.

Cloud technology has been the saving grace for many businesses that have shifted to remote work since the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to grow.

In Deloittes Tech Trends 2022 chronicles, it said automation - such as the cloud, robotics and AI - is the emerging key to sustaining and enhancing operations, which can also empower workers.

I think tech companies are really recognising that automation is the key to freeing time to be more customer-obsessed. And that's where tech companies are winning today, Mike Bechtel, chief futurist and Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, told Euronews Next.

By examining the lessons learned in the past and applying advanced technology to solve the problems of today, organisations will be able to engineer a better future.

Read more here:
Web3, NFT2.0, the metaverse and a human renaissance: The tech trends to watch out for in 2022 - Euronews

Every week, we present a curated list of live music in a wide range of genres all around the Valley. This week, there are Christmas concerts, New Years Eve music events and more.

Mannheim Steamroller ChristmasTuesday, December 28 at ASU GammageChip Davis brings this vaunted musical holiday tradition to Tempe. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 28 at ASU Gammage, 1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe, asugammage.com. Tickets cost $40-$125.50.

Injury ReserveWednesday, December 29 at The Van BurenTempe rap group Injury Reserve takes the stage. With Slauson Malone 1 and Zsela. 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 29 at The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix, thevanburenphx.com. Tickets cost $22.25.

Jim Brickman: The Gift of ChristmasWednesday, December 29-Friday, December 31 at Musical Instrument MuseumPianist Jim Brickmans musical style crosses genres from country to pop. His vocal collaborations include songs with Carly Simon, Kenny Loggins, Olivia Newton-John and more. 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 29-Friday, December 31 at Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, mim.org. Tickets cost $49.50-$69.50.

New Years Eve with FuturisticFriday, December 31 at Crescent BallroomTempe-based breakout rapper Futuristic holds his album release party for Dont Wanna Be Famous. Featuring Khiry, Toure Masters, Samara Cyn and more. 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 31 at Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. 2nd Ave., Phoenix, crescentphx.com. Tickets cost $20-$200 plus fees.

Maybe 2022 Will Be Better FestivalFriday, December 31 at The CompoundNumerous local music artists perform at this festival, which also features a visual arts exhibition. Playboy Manbaby, Djentrification, and Grackle Beats are among the performers. 8 p.m. Friday, December 31 at The Compound, SE corner of Farmer and University, facebook.com/The-Compound-102937626493538. Admission is free.

Live Jazz at Wrigley MansionFriday, December 31 at Wrigley MansionThe formal dining room at the Wrigley Mansion hosts intimate jazz shows every Friday night. On New Years Eve, the trio scheduled to perform is Beth Lederman (piano/keyboard), Dwight Kilian (upright bass) and Dom Moio (drums). Friday, December 31 at Wrigley Mansion, 2501 E. Telawa Trail, Phoenix, wrigleymansion.com. Reservations required.

Read more:
5 Concerts to Check Out this Week (December 27-January 2) - phoenixmag.com

Welp, it looks like not even your favorite boy bands are safe from Omicron.

Cases of the COVID-19 are surging across the globe as the highly transmissible Omicron variant becomes the most dominant strain of the virus. With an increase in travel due to the holiday season, it resulted in a perfect storm impacting flights, hospitals, sporting events, and even K-pop megastars BTS.

BTSs management company Big Hit Music announced that members Suga, RM, and Jin tested positive for COVID on Saturday following a string of concerts performed in the US, The New York Times reports. All three members are fully vaccinated as of August.

Suga discovered he was infected last Thursday after returning to South Korea and quarantining. On Friday, he wasnt displaying any symptoms and continued to quarantine himself at home, according to the newspaper.

The multibillion dollar band wasnt alone in their COVID troubles. Over Christmas weekend, thousands of flights were cancelled due to a surge of COVID cases amongst airline crews.

More than 1,300 flights were cancelled in the US on Sunday alone, the Times reports. This is despite the fact that the number of Christmas Eve and Christmas travelers were nearly double from last year.

Hospitalizations have also been rising precipitously as cases rise higher than last years winter peak. As of Monday, more than 73,000 patients are being hospitalized for COVID in the US on average, per the NYT coronavirus database.

While that number is still below last years hospitalization rate during the same time frame, its still disconcertingly high.

Luckily, there is some hope in our bleak winter. On Sunday, the nations top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said that there is a lesser degree of severity with the Omicron variant.

However, he stressed that the tens of millions of Americans who are unvaccinated are most at risk for the new variant.

Those are the most vulnerable ones when you have a virus that is extraordinarily effective in getting to people and infecting them the way Omicron is, Fauci told ABC.

So mask up, avoid large indoor gatherings, and get vaccinated if you havent already. If not for yourself, then at least do it for your favorite K-pop band.

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Omicron Continues to Wreak Havoc on Flights, Hospitals, and Worst of All, BTS - Futurism

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a follow-up patent from Apple relating to their possible future iMac encased in an all-glass housing. The design is shown to be one of Apple's most excitingly creative concepts for a future iMac to date.

This future iMac/desktop PC may include a display coupled to the glass housing member and configured to provide a visual output at the display area. The electronic device may include a keyboard coupled to the glass housing member and configured to detect an input at the input area. Alternative designs show the keyboard being separable.

Apple clarifies that the glass housing could be made with materials that are transparent, coated, painted, or otherwise treated to produce a non-transparent (e.g., opaque) component; in such cases the material may still be referred to as transparent, even though the material may be part of an opaque component. Translucent components may be formed by producing a textured or frosted surface on an otherwise transparent material (e.g., clear glass). Translucent materials may also be used, such as translucent polymers, translucent ceramics, or the like.

The housing member may have properties that enable the diverse input and output functions. For example, the housing member (e.g., the optically transmissive member) may be strong and may have a high resistance to scratching, and may provide a surface finish having a superior appearance and/or tactile feel as compared with other materials or components.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below we see a continuous glass iMac/Desktop PC design that includes an OLED display,an integrated keyboard and left and right touch input zones like a seamless dual trackpad construction; FIG. 11E illustrates the back of the new device with ports and speaker. The device could double as a home automation system.

Apple's patent FIG. 4B below notes that the housing member #450, and in particular the portion of the input area #455 in the lower portion #454, may be shaped to define physically distinctive key regions.

There's more to Apple's patent that we covered back in January 2020 here. In today's published patent, Apple has added 20 new patent claims. Below are 14 of the key additions:

Added Claim #1: An electronic device comprising: a glass housing member comprising: an upper portion defining a display area; a lower portion defining an input area; and a transition portion extending between the upper portion and the lower portion and defining part of a continuous surface defined by the upper portion, the lower portion, and the transition portion; a display coupled to the glass housing member and configured to provide a graphical output at the display area; an input device coupled to the glass housing member and configured to detect an input at the input area; and a support structure coupled to the glass housing member and configured to support the glass housing member.

Added Claim #2: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the upper portion defines a first planar region of the continuous surface; the lower portion defines a second planar region of the continuous surface; and the transition portion defines a concave, curved region of the continuous surface.

Added Claim #3: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass housing member is a single piece of glass.

Added Claim #4: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the glass housing member defines a rear surface opposite the continuous surface; and the display is coupled to the rear surface.

Added Claim #5: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the display area extends along the upper portion, the transition portion, and the lower portion; and the display has a curvature that corresponds to a curvature of the glass housing member.

Added Claim #6: The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the display area extends to an edge of the glass housing member.

Added Claim #7: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass housing member is movable, relative to the support structure, from a first configuration resulting in a first display angle to a second configuration resulting in a second display angle different from the first display angle.

Added Claim #8: A desktop computer comprising: a display; an input device operably coupled to the display; a glass sheet comprising: a first portion defining a planar display area; a second portion defining a planar input area; and a curved portion between the planar display area and the planar input area; and a support structure coupled to the glass sheet and configured to support the glass sheet.

Added Claim #9: The desktop computer of claim 8, wherein: the glass sheet is configured to move relative to the support structure; in a first configuration, the first portion has a first display angle; and in a second configuration, the first portion has a second display angle different from the first display angle.

Added Claim #14: The desktop computer of claim 8, wherein the input device extends along at least a portion of the planar display area to form a touchscreen-style display.

Added Claim #15: An electronic device comprising: a slumped glass housing member defining: a continuous exterior surface of the electronic device; and an opening extending through the slumped glass housing member; a support structure coupled to the slumped glass housing member and configured to support the slumped glass housing member; a display coupled to an upper portion of the slumped glass housing member; and a keyboard having: a storage configuration in which the keyboard is positioned at least partially within the opening; and a use configuration in which the keyboard is extended from the opening.

Added Claim #16: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the keyboard is: releasably coupled to the slumped glass housing member; and configured to detach from the slumped glass housing member in the use configuration.

Added Claim #17: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein: the slumped glass housing member further defines an input area; the electronic device further comprises an input device configured to detect inputs at the input area; and in the use configuration, an actuation of a key of the keyboard causes an input to be detected by the input device.

Added Claim #18: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein: the opening is a first opening; a second opening is defined in the upper portion of the slumped glass housing member; the electronic device further comprises: a camera positioned at least partially in the opening; and a processing unit positioned in the support structure; and the camera is operably coupled to the processing unit by a camera trace coupled to the slumped glass housing member.

To review the full patent and the rest of the new patent claims, see patent application 20210397220.

Renderings

The excitement for this new iMac concept had a number of renderers post images of what the design could translate to. Our cover graphic and those presented below are fromYanko Design. You could view a variety of additional rendering on their sitehere.

Originally posted here:
Apple continues to Work on their Exciting Futuristic All-Glass iMac - Patently Apple

We have become accustomed to a precipitous pace of technological change, for better and for worse. Driven by scientific and then engineering breakthroughs, electronic devices and communications have progressed exponentially. Robots and AI perhaps will follow the same path.

So, whats to stop the world of tomorrow from becoming dystopian, like in the movie The Terminator? Batteries. The robots that want to kill us and eat our medicine wont last long before they need to recharge.

A modern supercomputer crushes the machines of the mid-20th century. Fugaku, 2021s fastest computer, is about 100 trillion times more powerful than ENIAC, the fastest computer of 1945. However, a Tesla lithium-ion battery stores only roughly six times as much charge, per pound, as a lead acid electric car battery of 1920. This ten-trillion-fold greater advancement of electronic circuits over batteries is staggering to consider.

Computer processors famously followed an exponential growth curve in capability, known as Moores law. The solid-state transistor was a physics breakthrough that won the Nobel Prize. Vast territory was opened up and then conquered by engineers burning circuits into silicon chips with visible and ultraviolet light. R&D fueled continuous advancements in computer circuitry for 40 years. Over the past decade or so, this pace has fallen off as hard physics limitations have stepped in. You might notice that your new laptop is no longer light-years faster than your old laptop.

Whereas integrated circuits are a mid-to-late-20th century invention, batteries have been a topic of scientific interest for more than 200 years. Early devices such as the Leyden jar were a curiosity for physicists who had not yet settled on the paradigm of electric charge. By 1910, battery technology was sufficient to produce practical electric cars, which were highly popular at the time. At one point, more than 30% of registered cars in America were electric vehicles. What happened? Internal combustion engines ate their lunch. It has taken a century, plus government intervention, for batteries to catch back up.

Progress in battery technology is glacial because there have been no breakthroughs in the fundamental science, and thus no open territory for subsequent optimization through engineering. While claims of battery breakthroughs have been common, in reality, the technology has evolved in baby steps. Scientists and engineers simply work to discover slightly better charge storage chemical formulations, tweak cathode and anode design, and hone operating cycles.

That is why batteries remain a limiting factor in many forms of modern electronic technology, such as cars, laptops, phones, and human-slaying robots. The lump of coal in this years futurism stocking is that batteries will keep dragging behind.

Having said all that, two modest advances in battery technology are worth mentioning. First, a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society describes an advance for sodium-sulfur (Na-S) cells. These kinds of cells can, in theory, store about twice as much power per pound as a lithium-ion cell. In practice, Na-S batteries have been limited by several factors: They charge poorly, drain quickly when sitting idle, and fade quickly in capacity.

However, researchers from the University of Texas have developed a new version of the battery by tweaking the chemistry of the charge-storing electrolyte material to improve the lifetime of the batterys anode and cathode. If further research and engineering lead to economical manufacturing, this technology could yield cells with somewhat better charge storage than lithium-ion batteries.

Second, a paper published in the Journal of Power Sources proposes a very different idea, a sort of hybrid technology. The system uses battery-like chemistry to produce carbon from carbon dioxide. The carbon is then combusted to liberate energy. The researchers produce something close to a viable system, able to recharge multiple times and operate at high efficiency. Though it is far from commercial readiness, the technology may provide a means to harness the great energy advantage of combustion over storage of electrical charge. (This advantage is why gasoline vehicles left their electric counterparts in the dust 100 years ago.)

Unfortunately, the known laws of physics dictate that battery technology likely will continue to lag, and so researchers will continue to probe every creative avenue to find new possibilities for a breakthrough. On the bright side, this means the robot apocalypse is far less likely than some futurologists fear.

Read more here:
Batteries are the lump of coal in futurism's Christmas stocking - Big Think

BATON ROUGE - A high-tech law enforcement camera system is online, tracking people's movements in 19 locations and growing.

Baton Rouge Police discussed the project in a news conference Wednesday.

Police won't reveal all the locations where cameras are mounted, but said angles include shots from above city hall where 80 different views of downtown are fed back to police.

The camera system goes online amid record-setting homicides in East Baton Rouge.

"I had a gentleman that was killed on Thomas Delpit, East Boulevard; That's where I live," exclaimed Councilwoman Carolyn Coleman when discussing the cameras. "Let them know, that a lot of this killing, must stop."

City officials hope the camera system will help them track the evil-doers with ease and at rapid pace.

The cameras pick up motion and track movements.

"It gives us standard motion detection, it gives us person detection, meaning the cameras ability to look at movement and you know, based what [the camera is] programed to do, it looks like it might be a person. They're actually able to, depending on how well it's being received at that time, detect the difference between gender, age, hair color or clothing color," said Lt. Will Clarida of the Baton Rouge Police department.

"When something goes 'red' it'll pick up something. [A] car going the wrong way on a one-way street; A crowd [that suddenly] starts running... Even just 3 to 4 people running at once," will be alerted and tracked.

The system can send text or email alerts and, the police department hopes to communication to radios next.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said he is already identifying high-crime areas for cameras to be installed.

"People want these shootings to stop. So, this whole thing of 'people don't want any of them there, they don't want cameras,' that is just not the truth. The truth is, people want to feel safe, people want us to continue to arrest those bad actors, this is just another tool," the chief said Wednesday.

In a next phase of the project, cameras are expected to be installed in the Gus Young and Brookstown areas along with Dixie and Tigerland communities.

Raw footage is being saved for 45 days but certain pieces of video can be isolated and held for longer.

Read the rest here:
Candid camera: Futuristic police camera system will track people, pickup movement in parts of Baton Rouge - WBRZ

To what lengths would you go to save your loved ones from the pain of losing you?

Thats the question Cameron Turner (played by two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) must answer in Swan Song, the Apple original drama about a terminally ill man who yearns to spare his wife Poppy (Oscar nominee Naomie Harris) and son from the grief of watching him die. The solution presented to Cameron is the opportunity to replace himself with a duplicate named Jack who will slip into his familys lives without them knowing.

Swan Song is set in the very near future, approximately 2040, with writer-director Benjamin Cleary and his team of producers (including Ali) and artisans working to ensure that the sci-fi elements were as technologically sound as possible. But this movie spends less time weighing the ethical debate around these technological advances, focusing instead on Camerons existential questions about Jack taking his place. Sure, they share a genetic code, but can Jack really become Cameron? Will Jack be able to convince Poppy that hes her husband and will that mend their fractured marriage? Can love transfer from one being to another? And at what point will Cameron feel ready to take a step back and watch his family live on without him?

Beyond those big questions, another layer of nuance stands out. The Turner family is Black a detail necessitated by Ali joining the project as both its star and producer, and bolstered by his work behind the scenes to help Cleary present a fully realized and culturally specific portrayal.

We just wanted to spend real time talking about the things that were important, and thinking about fatherhood and family and what that means for anyone to leave their family behind, Ali tells Variety about his influence on the narrative. But especially a Black man leaving a young, 10-year-old boy without a father and also having a child on the way and how much anxiety that that brings up for any of my friends who are fathers or in myself.

Knowing what the stereotype is about us, about Black fathers, and knowing that that stereotype is not true for my friend circle, Ali explains. I wanted to honor that and play a father that I think would be an inspiration to all the brothers out there.

When Cleary (the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind the short film Stutterer) conceived this story a decade ago and began writing the script five years later, he drew from personal experiences, aiming to create a universal story about love, life and grief. But he too was struck by the opportunity that centering the narrative on Black people offered.

We havent seen Black leads in movies like this nearly enough, Cleary says simply.

Harris seconded that sentiment, noting that while Cleary didnt write the project (his feature directorial debut) with Black people in mind, the filmmaker ensured that the characters racial and cultural identities were weaved into the story.

Ultimately, this movie is an ode to love, and thats another reason why I wanted to be part of it, Harris explains. And its very rare that you see Black men being portrayed in this way. Its more often Black women with that level of sensitivity, vulnerability, deep connection, sacrificial love. [But] how often do you see that in a movie where Black people are involved? Its very, very rare.

Harris, who was recruited for the film by her Moonlight co-star when he reached out via email to see if shed be interested in the role of Poppy, Camerons wife a music teacher who works with children with disabilities. Harris was thrilled to get the invitation from Ali, with whom shed only shared a day of filming on Moonlight, bonding instead during the press tour on the way to that films best picture Oscar win.

His generosity, for me, is equal to his talent, Harris says of Ali, adding that shes hopeful theyll work together again, but instead of another weepy indie, maybe next time they can team up for a big blockbuster. I think we should just change things up now, she quips.

With Swan Song, Harris recalls being moved to the point of tears when she first read the script, but the actor initially found Poppy to be a challenging character to portray.

It really encouraged me to find this vulnerability, this openness and this giving nature, which I hadnt really explored. In my body of work, its really about strength characters who are fighting for the survival of the world or fighting for liberty, says the actor, whose recent resume includes reprising her role as Miss Moneypenny in the latest James Bond movie, No Time to Die, and playing the villainous Shriek in Venom 2.

So it was jarring for me initially, when I had to step into Poppys shoes and inhabit such vulnerabilities such openness, and it was really scary. I kept trying to toughen her up a bit, Harris explains. When youre that vulnerable, then you are open to the loss of someone in such a profound way that youre not if your heart is closed. But then you feel the joy and the connection of being with those you love in such a deep way that you cant if your heart is closed.

Alis work portraying both Cameron and Jack was equally tricky, but with the added challenge of the physical logistics of playing a man and his clone. To pull it off, Ali acted opposite actor Shane Dean, while also working to make each character truly distinct.

It first started, in the mind and the heart and being very clear about the differences in what they wanted, Ali shares. Being very clear about that made a certain element of [the portrayal] very easy, because I always knew Jack wanted something very different than what Cameron wanted.

The actor also leaned into the physical differences between the characters, like how they breathed or moved in comparison to one or the other. But the biggest key was understanding that power differential where Cameron, as the real person, is driving the train, until its time for Jack to assume his place.

Jack was always in a submissive position, and so that ended up influencing how every thought is processed and how every line, every scene played out is just being conscious of whos in power in that scene, Ali says.

The deep character work paid off for Cleary, who says he and editor Nathan Nugent were blown away watching the footage because of the subtlety and nuance with which Ali was able to play each character so that you knew immediately who you were looking at.

When youre dealing with characters that are totally [physically] identical like that, it really takes a master to go in and find the internal differences, the filmmaker notes, adding that watching the chemistry between Ali and Harris from the other side of the monitor often brought him to tears.

They were creating magic in the room, Cleary says. Im deeply honored and just feel so grateful for the cast I got to work with for my first feature.

Swan Song is now playing in select theaters and streaming globally on Apple TV Plus.

Ace Lever, Naomie Harris, director Benjamin Cleary and Mahershala Ali behind the scenes of Swan Song, now streaming on Apple TV Plus.Kimberley French / Apple TV+ / courtesy Everett Collection

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Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris Explain How the Sensitivity of Swan Song Sets the Futuristic Family Drama Apart - Variety

In a new interview with conservative satire website The Babylon Bee, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took a stab at the concept of the Metaverse, the quirky virtual world Facebook-now-known-as-Meta says will supplant our boring two-dimensional screens.

Am I like one of those people who was dismissing the internet [in] 95 as some fad or something thats never going to amount to anything? Musk asked the site.

Sure you can put a TV on your nose, he added derisively. Im not sure that makes you in the metaverse.'

Musk, for one, is certainly not compelled by the idea of strapping a frigging screen to their face all day and not wanting to ever leave.

That seems no way,he said in the interview.

It gets uncomfortable to have this thing strapped to your head the whole time, he added. I think were far from disappearing into the metaverse.

Musk also offered what he sees as a far better alternative: a chip surgically implanted in your brain, courtesy of the brain-computer interface company Neuralink he co-founded.

Long term, a sophisticated Neuralink could put you fully, fully in a virtual reality thing,he said.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has made a huge VR push as of late, selling its Metaverse as a more meaningful way of connecting with others via a VR headset. But even the companys own vice president for global affairs and communications Nick Clegg recently admitted the experience is still lacking.

If Im lifting my head, its because Im drinking my coffee and this wretched headset is too bulky for me to drink my coffee without moving my headset, Clegg told the Financial Times in a recent interview.

Musk also took aim at Web3, the concept of democratizing the internet by rebuilding it around the blockchain. He described Web3 in his Babylon Bee interview as more marketing than reality.

I dont get it, he added dismissively. But I dont get ityet, lets put it that way.

But Musk stopped short from condemning the idea of the metaverse or Web3 outright. He argued there is a danger of not being able to see a compelling metaverse situation, comparing his perspective to David Letterman tearing apart the idea of the internet in a 1995 interview with Bill Gates, a video of which he shared earlier this week.

Whether the idea of the Metaverse will eventually take off or die as a fad is anything but certain. Besides, Musk has been wrong before.

While VR technologies have come a long way, theyre still far from mainstream nevermind reaching even close to the number of people Facebooks social media platform can.

But will a surgically implanted brain chip convince enough customers if VR headsets fail? Thats arguably an even bigger stretch.

READ MORE: Elon Musk: metaverse isnt compelling and Web3 more marketing than reality [The Verge]

More on metaverse: Sexual Assault Is Already Happening in the Metaverse

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Elon Musk Says the Metaverse Sucks and Neuralink Will Be Better - Futurism