Dawkins appears to have gone from atheist to AI-theist: perhaps he doesn’t view AI as God, but he certainly seems to see it as God-like Are you there God? It’s me, Arwa. I’ll be quite honest, I’m afraid I’ve never been a believer. I agreed wholeheartedly with Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist, when he argued that belief in God is a “pernicious” delusion. But perhaps I should reconsi...
Dawkins appears to have gone from atheist to AI-theist: perhaps he doesn’t view AI as God, but he certainly seems to see it as God-like Are you there God? It’s me, Arwa. I’ll be quite honest, I’m afraid I’ve never been a believer. I agreed wholeheartedly with Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist, when he argued that belief in God is a “pernicious” delusion. But perhaps I should reconsider my position. Recent events have led me to question Dawkins’ judgment about life, the universe and everything. Those recent events are the evolutionary biologist publicly concluding that AI may be conscious . In an op-ed, Dawkins recounted how he gave the Anthropic chatbot Claude the text of a novel he was writing. Dawkins writes: “He took a few seconds to read it and then showed … a level of understanding so subtle, so sensitive, so intelligent that I was moved to expostulate, ‘You may not know you are conscious, but you bloody well are!’” Continue reading...
In 1997, the Comets defied the odds to win the league’s inaugural championship. From clashing stars and run-ins with Hakeem Olajuwon to city parades and mourning Princess Diana on title night, this is the story of their historic season Fran Harris remembers a late-night dinner in Sacramento. Her Houston Comets squad had just dispatched the lowly Monarchs by 10 points. To celebrate, she and a few t...
In 1997, the Comets defied the odds to win the league’s inaugural championship. From clashing stars and run-ins with Hakeem Olajuwon to city parades and mourning Princess Diana on title night, this is the story of their historic season Fran Harris remembers a late-night dinner in Sacramento. Her Houston Comets squad had just dispatched the lowly Monarchs by 10 points. To celebrate, she and a few teammates, including Cynthia Cooper, Tammy Jackson and Kim Perrot, decided to grab a bite. Cooper had scored 44 in the 25 July 1997 contest, and her talents dazzled even her dinner companions. “I said to Cynthia, ‘I just cannot believe how great you’re playing – and I know how great you are!’” Harris tells the Guardian. “And she goes, ‘I know!’ She was just, like, Yeah, I’m the motherfucker! I was like, ‘You absolutely are!’” Continue reading...
A proposed airport on a former US naval base in the Philippines near the entrance to Manila Bay is drawing fresh strategic attention after Washington agreed to fund a feasibility study, a move analysts say fits into US efforts to strengthen logistics, access and interoperability with the country in the South China Sea. Experts said the proposed Sangley Point International Airport in Cavite could b...
A proposed airport on a former US naval base in the Philippines near the entrance to Manila Bay is drawing fresh strategic attention after Washington agreed to fund a feasibility study, a move analysts say fits into US efforts to strengthen logistics, access and interoperability with the country in the South China Sea. Experts said the proposed Sangley Point International Airport in Cavite could become more than a commercial aviation project because of its access to the South China Sea and the...
Getting a proper sleep has been a problem for people throughout history and the ancient Chinese set up some rules and methods that are still believed to be effective today. In Chinese culture, sleep time is believed to be an important period for the body to absorb and restore energy. Ancient people were meticulous about the number of hours’ sleep they got and in what position they did so. For exam...
Getting a proper sleep has been a problem for people throughout history and the ancient Chinese set up some rules and methods that are still believed to be effective today. In Chinese culture, sleep time is believed to be an important period for the body to absorb and restore energy. Ancient people were meticulous about the number of hours’ sleep they got and in what position they did so. For example, it is deemed important to get sufficient sleep during the Zi hour, 11pm to 1pm, and the Wu...
In this article .SPX GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 2:17 02:17 Despite signs of a resilient economy, US consumers haven't regained confidence CNBC Digital Original Video American consumers have been pessimistic for so long that now economists are wondering when — or even if — households will ever feel financially better off. The University of Michigan Surveys...
In this article .SPX GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 2:17 02:17 Despite signs of a resilient economy, US consumers haven't regained confidence CNBC Digital Original Video American consumers have been pessimistic for so long that now economists are wondering when — or even if — households will ever feel financially better off. The University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers , a closely-watched bellwether, hit all-time lows in May, according to a preliminary reading released last week. That is just one of several consumer opinion surveys showing Americans have never regained confidence in the U.S. economy since the Covid-19 pandemic struck more than six years ago. Economists told CNBC that consumers remain scarred from years of rapid price increases, even as the annual inflation rate cools. On top of that, Americans are worn out by a salvo of economic disruptions — from Covid to wars to President Donald Trump 's tariffs — that have defined the current decade. "It's a series of shocks," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, senior economist at the Conference Board , which conducts another popular gauge of economic confidence. "Consumers don't get a break." Price level pain Economists and monetary policymakers typically track the rate of inflation over a 12-month timeframe. By that measure, price growth is closer to the Federal Reserve 's target of 2% than to the four-decade highs seen during the pandemic. But shoppers have focused on the cumulative change in prices over the past several years. From that vantage point, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told CNBC, there's been about a decade's worth of inflation in half the time. watch now VIDEO 13:19 13:19 Watch CNBC’s full interview with Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack Squawk Box "People are starting to hear that inflation is going down, but their box of cereal is still really expensive," said Kyla Scanlon , an economic commentator known for coining the term "vibeces...
Yau Ming Low/iStock via Getty Images China is no longer just a low-cost manufacturing hub - it has become a global engine of healthcare innovation. Across drug discovery, development, and commercialization, the country’s scale, speed, and integration into global pharmaceutical value chains have reshaped its role. To understand what’s coming, we believe investors should focus less on individual bre...
Yau Ming Low/iStock via Getty Images China is no longer just a low-cost manufacturing hub - it has become a global engine of healthcare innovation. Across drug discovery, development, and commercialization, the country’s scale, speed, and integration into global pharmaceutical value chains have reshaped its role. To understand what’s coming, we believe investors should focus less on individual breakthroughs and more on the structural advantages driving China’s next phase of growth. Four Growth Drivers China’s advantages in healthcare and drug development reflect a combination of scale, cost efficiency, process strength, and entrepreneurial intensity. Together, these factors support a development model that is faster, more iterative, and tightly integrated with global pharmaceutical value chains. Large, underpenetrated patient base. China’s sizable and still underpenetrated patient population enables rapid clinical enrollment and generates large datasets across diverse indications. This supports faster proof-of-concept timelines and increases the global applicability of trial results. Lower cost, faster development. Clinical trials and drug development in China are meaningfully less expensive and quicker to execute than in most developed markets. Shorter timelines allow companies to iterate rapidly, refine dosing and trial design, and move assets through development more efficiently. Process engineering and manufacturing scale. China’s strength in process engineering and large-scale manufacturing provides a structural advantage once therapies reach commercialization. The ability to scale production quickly supports cost leadership, accelerates learning curves, and enables companies to capture global market share in manufacturing-intensive modalities. Entrepreneurial intensity and rapid iteration. A highly competitive, entrepreneur-driven ecosystem emphasizes speed, experimentation, and optionality. Historically, more permissive regulatory frameworks have allowed comp...
(Bloomberg) -- A startup working to unlock excess power grid capacity for data centers raised $64 million as utilities and hyperscalers race to ease an energy crunch constraining the build-out of artificial intelligence.Most Read from BloombergIran’s Kharg Island Oil Jetties Empty Again Yesterday, Satellite ShowsAmbani’s Cola War With Coke, Pepsi Spurs Fridge Bonanza in IndiaTrump Lands in China f...
(Bloomberg) -- A startup working to unlock excess power grid capacity for data centers raised $64 million as utilities and hyperscalers race to ease an energy crunch constraining the build-out of artificial intelligence.Most Read from BloombergIran’s Kharg Island Oil Jetties Empty Again Yesterday, Satellite ShowsAmbani’s Cola War With Coke, Pepsi Spurs Fridge Bonanza in IndiaTrump Lands in China for Xi Trade Summit With Iran War in LimboXi Warns Trump of Possible ‘Clashes’ If Taiwan Issue Mishan
Dennis Diatel Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Traders on prediction platforms Kalshi and Polymarket appeared skeptical that GameStop ( GME ) would acquire eBay ( EBAY ) this year, with both markets assigning relatively low odds to the scenario despite growing online speculation. Kalshi traders placed the probability near 20%, while a similar contract on Polymarket showed roughly 17% ...
Dennis Diatel Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Traders on prediction platforms Kalshi and Polymarket appeared skeptical that GameStop ( GME ) would acquire eBay ( EBAY ) this year, with both markets assigning relatively low odds to the scenario despite growing online speculation. Kalshi traders placed the probability near 20%, while a similar contract on Polymarket showed roughly 17% odds for a deal taking place before the end of 2026. The speculation intensified after GameStop ( GME ) CEO Ryan Cohen sharply criticized eBay ( EBAY ) management during an interview with entrepreneur and investor Anthony Pompliano. Cohen argued that eBay ( EBAY ) needed to be “on Ozempic” because the company had become “obese to an unhealthy degree,” referencing what he viewed as expense mismanagement at the e-commerce platform. The comments fueled fresh discussion among retail traders about whether Cohen could eventually pursue a more aggressive strategy involving eBay ( EBAY ), though neither company has publicly indicated acquisition talks are underway. Prediction contracts on both Kalshi and Polymarket, nevertheless, remained well below 25%, signaling that traders largely viewed such a deal as unlikely. The betting activity highlighted how prediction markets are increasingly being used to speculate on corporate events alongside politics and macroeconomic developments. It also reflected continued retail fascination with Cohen’s turnaround ambitions for GameStop ( GME ), which has sought to reinvent itself beyond its traditional video game retail business. More on GameStop, eBay Wall Street Lunch: EBay Rejects GameStop Takeover Proposal eBay: GameStop Bid Doesn't Add Up GameStop's 'Crazy Idea' To Buy EBay Isn't So Crazy, But It Is Risky eBay hits a new high as Ryan Cohen bangs the drum that he should run the company Deal rejected: eBay says GameStop offer is neither credible nor attractive
The United States’ first firing of its Philippines-based Typhon missile launcher last week marked the “worst provocation” in years in the South China Sea and Beijing should ramp up air defence and stealth strike drones in response, according to Chinese military observers. Beijing has opposed the Typhon deployment since the Lockheed Martin system arrived at its Luzon base in the Philippines two yea...
The United States’ first firing of its Philippines-based Typhon missile launcher last week marked the “worst provocation” in years in the South China Sea and Beijing should ramp up air defence and stealth strike drones in response, according to Chinese military observers. Beijing has opposed the Typhon deployment since the Lockheed Martin system arrived at its Luzon base in the Philippines two years ago, claiming it has destabilised regional security. The ground-based vertical launch system can...
1968 年的旧金山，计算机科学家道格拉斯·恩格尔巴特在一场后来被称为「演示之母（The Mother of All Demos）」的发布会上，拿出一个带着两个金属轮子的木制小盒子， 向世界介绍了一个新物种：鼠标。 那是人类第一次公开用手上的鼠标，去牵引屏幕里的数字光标。此后的几十年里，这根小箭头几乎无处不在。它穿过办公软件、游戏界面、浏览器窗口和无数张电子表格， 成为人类进入数字世界时最熟悉、也...
1968 年的旧金山，计算机科学家道格拉斯·恩格尔巴特在一场后来被称为「演示之母（The Mother of All Demos）」的发布会上，拿出一个带着两个金属轮子的木制小盒子， 向世界介绍了一个新物种：鼠标。 那是人类第一次公开用手上的鼠标，去牵引屏幕里的数字光标。此后的几十年里，这根小箭头几乎无处不在。它穿过办公软件、游戏界面、浏览器窗口和无数张电子表格， 成为人类进入数字世界时最熟悉、也最沉默的向导。 然而在这半个多世纪里，计算机的算力、形态和应用场景几乎改头换面，鼠标光标的本质几乎没有变过：它知道自己停在屏幕上的哪个坐标，知道 X 和 Y，却不知道你指向的是一行代码、一张发票，还是一张风景照。 面对眼前不断闪烁的像素，它能做的事情依旧相当朴素： 点击，拖拽，等待下一次点击。 今天，Google 要用 Gemini 重新发明鼠标光标。 在刚刚落幕的 Android Show 上，Google 几乎把围绕 Android、AI 与硬件生态的规划摊在了台面上。其中，一项名为「 魔法指针（Magic Pointer） 」的新功能，给古老的鼠标光标装上了「眼睛」和「大脑」。 Google 的意图不言而喻，未来的 AI 交互不该依赖冗长的提示词，只需像在现实生活中一样，指着屏幕说一句：「把这个，移到那里。」那么问题来了，当鼠标光标终于学会「看懂」屏幕，它究竟会把人机交互带向哪里？ 这根睁开眼睛的 AI 箭头，到底能干嘛？ 要理解这项技术的意义，必须先看清当下 AI 工具最别扭的一面：交互成本。 过去几年，大语言模型的能力一路狂飙，但使用门槛居高不下。为了让 AI 准确理解意图，用户被迫学习一套复杂的「提示词工程」：设定角色、补充背景、限定输出格式。为了一个简单的需求，写出几百字小作文更是家常便饭。 不仅如此，典型的 AI 工具通常运行在独立的网页或应用窗口中，频繁打断用户的工作流。比如当你在阅读一份 50 页的 PDF 时想让 AI 总结一张图表，通常需要经历：截图 -> 保存 -> 打开浏览器 -> 进入 AI 网页 -> 上传图片 -> 输入提示词。 Google 将这种繁琐的跨应用操作称为「AI 绕路（AI detours）」。这种跳转不仅效率低下，也容易打断人们工作时的注意力集中状态，即所谓的「心流」。 为此，Google 提出的第一个交互原则，就是「保持心...
DayOne Data Centers Ltd. is considering upsizing its Series C funding round to more than $4 billion, according to people familiar with the situation, amid strong investor interest in assets supporting an artificial intelligence boom. The new size would be about twice as big as a previous closing in January and led mostly by existing backers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the...
DayOne Data Centers Ltd. is considering upsizing its Series C funding round to more than $4 billion, according to people familiar with the situation, amid strong investor interest in assets supporting an artificial intelligence boom. The new size would be about twice as big as a previous closing in January and led mostly by existing backers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. DayOne, which was close to filing confidentially for a listing in the US in March, is now focused on completing the upsized Series C round before making a decision on the timeline of its share sale, the people said. DayOne is also considering a dual listing in the US and Singapore as an option, people familiar with the matter have said . Separately, DayOne is speaking with investment banks about raising about $1 billion in a revolving credit facility to help fund its expansion, one the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people said. A representative for DayOne didn’t respond to a request seeking comment. The rising demand for AI has made data centers a prime target for companies and investors eager to fund critical digital infrastructure. That’s sparked a wave of dealmaking activity across the US and Asia. Meanwhile, public data center stocks are surging, with US companies Equinix Inc. and Iron Mountain Inc. up 41% and 52% this year, respectively. Previously known as GDS International, DayOne secured more than $2 billion in Series C equity financing in January to support its international growth. The round was led by investor Coatue Management . DayOne runs data centers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Finland, its website shows. Other backers include GDS Holdings Ltd., Boyu Capital, Hillhouse Investment, SoftBank Vision Fund, Tekne Capital, Baupost Group and Citadel Chief Executive Officer Ken Griffin .
maybefalse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Alibaba's AI Moment Has Finally Come I've been covering Alibaba Group ( BABA ) stock since mid-September 2021 , and I eventually came to a "Buy" rating at some point in early 2025, when it became clear to me that BABA's role in the Chinese AI-boosted economy is going to be massive. My most recent article on the stock came out in March 2026 with a "Buy"...
maybefalse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Alibaba's AI Moment Has Finally Come I've been covering Alibaba Group ( BABA ) stock since mid-September 2021 , and I eventually came to a "Buy" rating at some point in early 2025, when it became clear to me that BABA's role in the Chinese AI-boosted economy is going to be massive. My most recent article on the stock came out in March 2026 with a "Buy" rating, and since then, BABA has managed to soar by ~16% while the S&P 500 index gained only 12%. The biggest contribution to this modest outperformance came from yesterday's fiscal Q4 2026 results release - BABA closed 8%+ higher on the day. In my opinion, we're finally witnessing a change of narrative regarding Alibaba's success in AI development. We've seen before that the firm's open source AI models looked pretty solid compared to the Western peers on some metrics, but we lacked the actual monetization and growth in the group's cloud division. Now, the growth has materialized based on the Q4 updates, and monetization ahead looks solid when we factor in the growth of the customer base. I think Alibaba is still undervalued given the upside potential its business can show in the medium to long term, and that is why I am still rating it a "Buy." Let's Review BABA's Q4 Earnings Results In my previous article on Alibaba, I argued that the headline numbers looked strained due to free cash flow deterioration, but the underlying cloud business trajectory looked strong, and I did not want to change my bullish thesis, although the market looked scared at the time. In the Q4 2026 fiscal update , we see BABA missing on the top line again, showing just $35.84 billion in revenues (that's just 3% growth in RMB currency). The bottom line looked even scarier - adjusted earnings per ADS came in at $0.09, missing the consensus by $0.75: Seeking Alpha, BABA How could the stock price close 8%+ on these headlines? Initially, when algos saw the double-miss of that size, they sold off BABA (t...
Czech billionaire Michal Strnad said investors are undervaluing his company, CSG NV , after its share price halved since he completed the largest-ever initial public offering for a pure-play defense firm. In his first comments since Hunterbrook Media issued a report on CSG last week, Strnad said questions raised about the size of his company’s production capacity were “total nonsense.” Busy with n...
Czech billionaire Michal Strnad said investors are undervaluing his company, CSG NV , after its share price halved since he completed the largest-ever initial public offering for a pure-play defense firm. In his first comments since Hunterbrook Media issued a report on CSG last week, Strnad said questions raised about the size of his company’s production capacity were “total nonsense.” Busy with new acquisition projects, the 33-year-old said he plans to expand the business further beyond Europe after revenue increased more than sixfold since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “Despite all the noise, the little issues, the Hunterbrook stuff and all that nonsense, I still think it was a good move” to sell shares, he said in an interview. “The market is where it is today, but that is not something we can control. We are delivering what we promised.” CSG has ridden the wave of demand for military equipment and ammunition as Europe seeks to increase aid to Kyiv and rearm. The business, which he took over running from his father when he was in his mid 20s, has turned him into the richest person in the European Union’s east, with a fortune of about $20 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Hunterbrook’s report, though, questioned CSG’s ammunition production capacity, prompting a further drop in the company’s share price. CSG said the firm’s claim was based on a flawed understanding of its model. Strnad said the element of the report that irked him the most was a reference to an allegation that CSG had close ties to Russia before the war in Ukraine. Under his father, the company started out refitting Soviet-era tanks. It has since evolved into a broader defense manufacturer and has deals with NATO allies in Europe as well as the US. “We are one of the largest long-term suppliers to Ukraine, going back to 2014,” Strnad said at his office in Prague on Wednesday. “If we were connected to Russia in any way, the US Army probably would not have chosen us to build th...