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Lowell Spinners host Johnny Damon celebration
As the Lowell Spinners continue to celebrate their comeback season, Saturday night they brought in a legend from the comeback Red Sox team, Johnny Damon.
Hollywood workers rally against Paramount-Skydance deal
As he spoke at a gathering on Saturday to protest Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery , stand-up comedian Adam Conover framed the ongoing media consolidation as an existential threat to an industry that made the United States a cultural power.
Accessorize with earplugs at this summer’s concerts so you can enjoy more music in the future
Wearing earplugs at concerts can help prevent hearing damage.
How prediction markets could forecast the future of science
Online prediction markets are taking bets on everything from climate change to quantum computing. But researchers question their accuracy
Illinois 250: The political land of Lincoln, but also Addams, Daley, Washington, Jackson, Obama and more
Illinois’ political arena has always been the place for civil debate — and violent confrontation — for rights.
New mock drafts offer possibilities for potential Penguin picks
It’s getting to be mock draft season with the event now three weeks away, let’s check on a few of them. 22. Pittsburgh Penguins: Adam Novotny, LW (Peterborough Petes, OHL) Novotný would be a stellar pick here. He’s a rugged forward with an excellent shot – something we saw plenty of times with Peterborough. Novotný surpassed the […]
Car smashes into business in Volusia County
A car slammed into the lobby of a Little Caesars Pizza in Edgewater, leaving the business heavily damaged but sparing employees and customers from injury.
Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Defensive End Keon Keeley
After a detour through Alabama, the former elite recruit Keon Keeley finally arrives at Notre Dame. Can the powerful edge rusher refine his raw technique to anchor the Irish defense?
Several vehicles damaged as fire spreads to Tri-State business
Local 12 WKRC-TV is the local station for breaking news, weather forecasts, traffic alerts, community news, Cincinnati Bengals, Reds and FC Cincinnati sports updates, and CBS programming for the Cincinnati , Ohio area, including Avondale, Blue Ash, Bond Hill, Camp Washington, Cheviot, Cleves, Colerain Township, Columbia-Tusculum, Corryville, Norwood, Delhi, East Price Hill, Golf Manor, Hyde Park, Lebanon, Loveland, Lower Price Hill, Madeira, Mariemont, Mount Adams, Mount Airy, Mount Healthy, Mount Lookout, Mount Washington, Oakley, Over-The-Rhine, Reading, Sedamsville, Sharonville, Springdale, St. Bernard, South Cumminsville, Symmes Township, Mason, Hamilton, Union Township, Walnut Hills, West Chester, Wyoming, West Price Hill, Westwood, Winton Hills, Alexandria, Bellevue, Covington, Crescent Springs, Erlanger, Fort Mitchell, Fort Thomas, Fort Wright, Florence, Hebron, Highland Heights, Newport, Southgate, Villa Hills, Walton, Aurora, Greendale, and Lawrenceburg.
1666: Amsterdam from the Assassin's Creed creator finally has a release window
And you can play part of it now
Assassin's Creed Co-Creator Re-Reveals 1666 Amsterdam, 30-Minute Demo Playable Now
Once-abandoned historical action adventure 1666 Amsterdam has been re-announced at Summer Game Fest by Assassin's Creed co-creator Patrice Désilets.
Robotic Spacecraft for Swift Boost Mission Arrives at NASA Wallops
The LINK spacecraft designed to capture and boost NASA’s Swift observatory arrived at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Friday, June 5.
“New Girl” stars Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. to reunite for “Cable Guy” series
Nick and Coach are back together!
NASA Satellites Uncover Large-Scale Ocean Nutrient Stress
As Earth’s oceans warm, microscopic marine organisms are experiencing increasing stress due to a lack of vital nutrients. A new study
NASA Satellites Reveal Aquifer Decline in Brazilian Breadbasket
A collaboration of scientists from NASA and Brazilian research institutions has produced a detailed picture of groundwater change across Brazil. The images
Structure fire in Irmo leaves business heavily damaged
Irmo Fire District and the Columbia Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Friday.
Analysis: Adam Hamawy and the Mainstreaming of Pro-Terror Extremism in US Politics
The following analysis was authored by journalist and CAM editorial advisor Lee Smith: After winning the Democratic primary to represent New Jersey’s 12th congressional district on Tuesday night, Egyptian-born Adam Hamawy offered a glimpse of the worldview that’s shaped his meteoric political rise heading into the November midterm elections. “Takbir,” the 56-year-old plastic surgeon enthusiastically […]
The ethical choices of powering the AI race - Notre Dame Business Mendoza College of Business
New case study grapples with questions of energy, ethics and data centers.
Chinese Hit 'Dear You' Sets Global Theatrical Run Via Damai
Lan Hongchun's Teochew dialect family drama opens June 18 across Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Popular Blood Pressure Meds Linked To Kidney Damage Risk In Type 2 Diabetes
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, June 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A common class of blood pressure medications might contribute to kidney damage among people with type 2 diabetes, a new study says. Dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers (DCCBs) work by relaxing blood vessels, and are ...
A hard-charging Michigan liberal dampens Democrats’ hopes of retaking Senate
Abdul El-Sayed, who is leading in many polls, is unapologetically progressive. Democratic leaders fear he could cost the party in November.
Damai Entertainment Sets Int'l Release For $223M Hit ‘Dear You’
Film made in the Chaoshan dialect has become the second highest grossing release of the year in China.
Charles Oakley-James Dolan feud continues during Knicks' NBA Finals run despite peace efforts by Michael Jordan, Adam Silver
USM to build new life sciences research center
Southern Miss has announced plans to construct a new life sciences research center.
High Growth Tech Stocks In Asia Featuring Damai Entertainment Holdings And 2 Others
In recent weeks, Asian markets have been navigating a complex landscape influenced by global geopolitical developments and economic indicators. As investor sentiment remains buoyant with optimism surrounding AI and technology advancements, this article explores high-growth tech stocks in Asia, featuring companies like Damai Entertainment Holdings that are poised to capitalize on these trends. A good stock in this environment is one that demonstrates resilience through innovation and has the...
Wild card for SpaceX is the AI business, says NYU finance professor Damodaran
Aswath Damodaran, NYU School of Business, joins 'Closing Bell' to talk SpaceX IPO valuation.
Does Salt Secretly Damage Your Brain? Scientists Finally Reveal the Truth - Futura-Sciences
The answer is not as simple as saying salt “damages” the brain directly. Current research suggests that excess salt may influence brain health indirectly, especially through blood pressure, blood vessel health, inflammation, and possibly the gut-brain connection. Why Salt Matters for the Body Salt contains sodium, a mineral the body...
AOC-backed Dem connected to Twin Towers bombing terrorist faces congressional pressure after primary win
Rep. Michael Lawler says he will seek a full investigation of Democratic primary winner Adam Hamawy over his ties to Blind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman.
Improving Population Health Through Housing Policy: Lessons From the Public Housing Program
Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health and is particularly amenable to policy intervention.
NSF renews support for MIT-led AI and physics institute, expanding a new model for discovery
The MIT-led Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) has received renewed support from the National Science Foundation for an additional five years.
Music Producer’s Widow’s Drops Royalties Suit vs Amaru Entertainment
The widow of a musician and producer who worked with Tupac Shakur has dropped her lawsuit against a company formed by the late mother of the slain rapper in which the plaintiff alleged she was wrongfully denied royalty payments. Capucine Jackson, the widow of Johnny Lee Jackson, sought compensatory damages in her breach-of-contract action against […]
Producer’s Widow’s Drops Royalties Suit vs Amaru Entertainment
The widow of a musician and producer who worked with Tupac Shakur has dropped her lawsuit against a company formed by the late mother of the slain rapper in which the plaintiff alleged she was wrongfully denied royalty payments. Capucine Jackson, the widow of Johnny Lee Jackson, sought compensatory damages in her breach-of-contract action against […]
Partisan Politics Trumps Peer Review
On May 29, the Office of Management and Budget published a proposed rule that would fundamentally reshape how the federal government funds scientific research.
Ahualoa Family Farms: Growing More Than Macadamia Nuts
At Ahualoa Family Farms on Hawaiʻi Island, owner Chad Cleveland has built more than a successful agricultural business – he has cultivated a company
Is your personal device protecting your business accounts?
Skipping basic security steps—especially on public Wi-Fi—can expose your business accounts to unauthorized access. These five steps can help you avoid an account takeover attack.
Boston University Joins National Science Foundation Institute Pushing Frontiers of Physics and AI
AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions includes MIT, Harvard, and other leading local universities
A Moonlit Earth as Seen From Artemis II
An astronaut’s photo, taken en route to the Moon, reveals our planet and its place in space in a novel way.
Amid talk of Trump at NBA Finals, Silver cites power of sports
There has been no announcement that President Donald Trump plans to attend an NBA Finals game at New York's Madison Square Garden next week, though Commissioner Adam Silver hinted at Trump's intentions Wednesday.
Oncology providers ready to swipe right on mobile health apps
Oncology providers are embracing the potential for mobile health apps to support cancer patients, highlighting opportunities for inclusive, evidence-based care.
Amid talk of Trump attending NBA Finals game in New York, Silver says sports can be unifying
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — There has been no announcement that President Donald Trump plans to attend an NBA Finals game at New York's Madison Square Garden next week, though Commissioner Adam Silver hinted at Trump's intentions Wednesday when he said sports remain something that unifies even in divided ...
NBA commissioner Adam Silver defends league’s 65-game rule for awards eligibility: ‘The rule is working’
Dan Bongino: I miss the good old fashioned political scandals
Fox News contributor Dan Bongino discusses Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy’s New Jersey House primary victory and his past association with a top terrorist on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’
'A Fundamentally New Threat': Researchers Develop New AI-Powered Worm That Might Be Unstoppable
A team of researchers have shown how a self-replicating AI agent can take over a computer network at almost no cost.
Scientists just built a powerful AI computer worm that learns as it spreads
The prototype could help the world prepare for AI malware threats, the researchers say
Adams to offer master’s degree in computer science
Online program will be the ninth masters program at the university
Health data: Ethics and equity at the heart of research
Experts meeting at the Vatican call for stronger ethical governance and greater fairness in the collection, use, and sharing of health data and ...
NASA’s Juno Reveals New Insights into Cosmic Ray Origins
Particles traveling close to the speed of light near Jupiter were captured by NASA’s Juno mission, providing new evidence for how and where high-energy
AT&T Expands Connected Car™ Platform with LiveOne and Cisco
AT&T announces collaboration, which simplifies how automakers integrate connectivity, billing, and premium audio content, at AutoTech Detroit.
The cult of objectivity has broken consciousness science
With 22 competing theories and no consensus in sight, the science of consciousness is lost. In this exclusive IAI interview, Berkeley psychedelics researcher and bestselling author of a new book on consciousness Michael Pollan insists that even though consciousness lies beyond traditional forms of scientific investigation, we should resist becoming dualists who see it as something radically different from ordinary stuff in the world. Instead, he makes the case for reimagining science itself: it must stop reaching for objective descriptions of physical reality, and instead embrace subjectivity as the indispensable core of all inquiry. Alasdair Craig: How did your experiences with psychedelics get you interested in consciousness?Michael Pollan: One of the things that happens on psychedelics is that they foreground consciousness. What formerly seemed perfectly transparent and ever present—and yet, non-existent, as water is to fish—suddenly you see it. The metaphor I use in the book is that psychedelics sponge the windscreen. Suddenly you realize: wow, there’s a windscreen, there is this phenomenon that’s mediating my relationship to reality. This is not an unusual realization on psychedelics. I think a lot of people are called to think about consciousness after psychedelic experiences. So that was the proximate inspiration for A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness (2026).And then there was a more specific way in which psychedelics influence the book. That was a particular experience I had on psilocybin. I had the sensation that the plants in my garden were conscious and returning my gaze, with their own point of view and agency, and I got curious as to how to evaluate an insight like that. I mean, what’s the truth quotient of insights you have on psychedelics? And I was reading William James—who, of course, wrote beautifully about mystical experience—and he said, we can’t judge the metaphysics here, but we should pay attention to two criteria: (1) How useful is it to think this is true? He was a pragmatist, of course. And (2) can we subject it to other ways of knowing to validate it? Because maybe we should treat these insights as hypotheses. And that’s kind of how I approach psychedelics, as a great generator of hypotheses, but they need to be tested against other ways of knowing. And so that led me down this long path exploring the science of plant intelligence and plant sentience.AC: I love your phrase, “smudging the windowpane of conscious experience.” So do you now start to think, actually, even when I’m not on psychedelics, I’m just seeing a screen all the time, which is not reality, but rather is my conscious experience, behind which reality is hidden?MP: Well, you know, not when I’m brushing my teeth and making breakfast! But yes, in meditation, certainly. I mean, one of the things you realize is that my experience happens to be this way now, but it could be another way. And many things can affect it. My morning coffee changes the screen in various ways, sharpens certain things.___The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness.___There’s this wonderful metaphor in Aldous Huxley’s book, The Doors of Perception, where he thinks we channel consciousness, and that what the brain does is edit it, and there’s a reducing valve. And psychedelics open the reducing valve wider. I don’t know that I’m ready to buy into the idea that consciousness exists outside brains, but I do love that metaphor because there are times when you are more conscious than others. I know I’ve switched from window pane to valve, but you know, a camera aperture can open wider or narrower. And I do have a sense of that. I have a sense of when I’m being less conscious, and when I’m being more conscious, by which I mean, you know, more present, taking in more sensory information. So when you start thinking about consciousness as a matter of degree, that changes things also.I think when we scroll on social media, obviously, we’re conscious. But minimally so, because we don’t have to generate our own thoughts. We’re basically taking these little hits from other people and thinking their thoughts.The process of writing this book made me kind of relativize everyday consciousness as just one type, which is exactly what William James said. Normal consciousness is one type, separated by the flimsiest of screens from the other types.AC: If we stick with the metaphor of the smudge on the window that you get when you take psychedelics, it seems like we’re saying that consciousness has become like an object that you’re looking at, right? You’re looking at the smudge and that just is consciousness. But sometimes we’ll talk about consciousness as a state that you’re in, rather than an object you can perceive. You’re either conscious or you’re not conscious. So it’s difficult to really know what sort of thing we’re talking about when we talk about consciousness, right?MP: Yeah. When you say that consciousness is an object, what’s the subject? Consciousness also? The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness. So we’re in a closed loop and when we get a perspective on consciousness, we’re not achieving any distance from it. That’s one of the problems with studying consciousness. Science is predicated on an objective, God’s eye view of things, and you never get that. There’s no such thing. SUGGESTED VIEWING The brain filters consciousness With Àlex Gómez-Marín But, yeah, there is this sense, I think, that consciousness is something you can approach. Certainly, when you’re writing and trying to recreate a conscious experience, it’s a fiction, but you’re standing back from it, and looking at it. But there’s no real subject-object distinction.AC: That’s so interesting, because when philosophers start talking about consciousness, they often talk about what they call “qualia”, which is their word for the felt experience of, say, the color red. And I think that way of speaking often makes us think of the qualia as an object, which you can see out there: the redness of red. But, as you say, we also want to collapse the subject-object distinction when we talk about consciousness. So there’s something strange going on here…MP: Oh, yeah, there are many strange things going on! *AC: Let’s talk about the varieties of consciousness. Apart from perceptions, there are, pains, emotions, thoughts, and so on. What is it that holds all this diversity together so that they all count as instances of consciousness? What is it that they all have in common?MP: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I mean, there is sensory information, right? Which we perceive coming from the world outside ourselves. And then there’s internal information, which is what’s called interoception. And this is very important too. This is where feelings come from—what are sometimes called homeostatic feelings—that are intended to get the brain to keep us in these narrow ranges of temperature and glucose and so on. That’s a very important part of consciousness. And according to some researchers, who I think are probably right, this is where consciousness begins, with these very primal feelings, like hunger and thirst and warmth and itch, and things like that. And then there’s this third thing, which is our thinking about thinking.And what holds all this together is, I think, the sense of self. Consciousness generates a self: it is probably an organizing principle. All this stuff is happening to the self. It’s a construct, I think, but it is very useful. It can connect all these different streams of consciousness to a single being or a place, metaphorically speaking.* AC: The first half of your book is about the science of consciousness. Is consciousness just another thing, like black holes or the origin of life, which we don’t yet understand, but which we should have every hope that science will one day get to the bottom of, or is there something special about consciousness that makes this unlikely?MP: It depends how you define science. As we define science now, it’s going be very difficult. Science since Galileo has had a set of rules or assumptions, which is that the proper remit of science is to deal with the objective, quantifiable, third-person world. And the physical sciences have done amazing work under that set of limitations. Galileo—for tactical reasons, not for philosophical reasons—said science should not deal with the soul, which at the time was what consciousness was considered to be. So what is subjective, what is qualitative, what is first person, we’re going to leave to the church, he said. And this was a good agreement, and it probably kept many scientists from getting burned at the stake. But it leaves science in an awkward spot, now that it wants to venture into that territory of qualities, of first-person experience. And I don’t think it has the proper tools. I think it will have to add to its toolkit in some way, and find a way to bring in phenomenology, or lived experience and introspection, which science is usually dismissive of.The challenge—we alluded to it earlier—is that the only tool you have to study consciousness with is consciousness. And what I mean by that is, the whole scientific enterprise is a manifestation of consciousness. As much as scientists like to flatter themselves with this idea that they attain a godlike perspective on what they study, when it comes to consciousness, there’s no such thing. And it’s fine for all the things you can step outside of and study from that perspective. But two areas it won’t work are consciousness and cosmology.___It could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.___With cosmology, too, you have to study the universe from inside the universe. It’s not that cosmologists haven’t made progress. We know a lot about the age of the universe and expansion and things like that. But we can’t penetrate what happened before the Big Bang. We just don’t have the tools because we can’t stand outside.The fact that there are 22 full-scale theories of consciousness tells you all you need to know: we’re kind of lost. And I was surprised to find that we are more lost than I thought we were when I started this. I thought that there’d be leading theories, or that we had experiments that we could conduct that would nail some of this down. And the fact is, we don’t.So, I don’t know if science can solve it. But, of course, we can change the rules of science. A really influential book for me was a book called The Blind Spot, by two physicists, Marcello Gleiser and Adam Frank, and a philosopher, Evan Thompson. It’s a reminder that science is a social practice. It’s organized in a certain way and it can be organized in a different way. But it has this huge blind spot at the center of it, which is its failure to recognize that it is a form of consciousness itself, and it doesn’t have a good way of taking account of lived experience.AC: On the one hand, I think you want to resist traditional dualism, which would say that consciousness is something magical, something supernatural, right? But on the other hand, you’re accepting that there is this division in reality between the stuff that you can investigate objectively and measure, and so on—the stuff that science has been good at finding out about—and consciousness, which, for some reason, you can’t objectively measure. Some would take this to suggest that the dualism is actually right. Is there a way of reconciling these two strands of your thinking?MP: To call it magical is full of value judgement. I mean, you could just say immaterial. The interesting thing is, I think, that intuitively we’re all dualists. And I don’t know whether that’s because we’re children of Descartes and other cultures are less dualist than we are. Or it may be because that’s how consciousness feels. It feels different than the body. It feels separate from the body. But I don’t think we should trust that intuition.AC: So let’s think about ways that science might be changed to get at consciousness. I suppose the starting point would be the way that you begin the second half of your book. You have this nice line from William James, where he says, “We now begin our study of the mind from within.” Could you give us some sense of the ways of studying the mind from within? What does this involve?MP: I don’t know what that science looks like. But one of the points I’m making is that it depends on the humanities. I found that I learned as much, if not more, about consciousness, from reading novels and poetry. There is a sense of the fullness and complexity of consciousness that you don’t get in any scientific account. I interviewed this stream-of-consciousness writer and I approached her as an expert on consciousness, and she is. So I think that dialogue is really important.I’m reading Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription. Just read the first page of this novel: it’s a man falling asleep on a train, going to conduct an interview, and there is the experience of being in the train, facing backwards, there’s the view outside, but there’s a reflection of himself through which he’s seeing outside. There’s the memory of dropping his kids off at school. All this is going on in one moment of consciousness. Scientists aren’t going anywhere near that. But I think it’s useful for them to think about. That’s where we’re trying to go: like, how does such a layered experience happen? You know, it also makes you wonder, could a computer ever do this? And it gives you some doubt.*AC: Before we get to computers, perhaps we could talk briefly about plants. How did you come to feel that they are sentient?MP: Well, it was a psychedelic experience, and it’s not unusual on psychedelics. In fact, there’ve been studies about how people become animists during psychedelic experience. Their belief in animism arises after a single psychedelic experience.You know, most scientists would say this is all a myth. But we have only 400 years of the age of enlightenment and science. Before that, we were animists, and if you go around the world, most indigenous cultures are still animists, and children are animists, by and large, until they go to school. So it could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.As I said, I wanted to test this idea, and see whether there was conventional scientific evidence for it. And there’s fascinating work going on in a field that calls itself—in a rather cheeky way—plant neurobiology. These are people who fully realize there are no neurons in plants, but they’re trolling conventional botanists! And they’re doing experiments that are demonstrating that plants can learn and remember, which is kind of amazing: how do you store a memory without neurons? They’re finding plants that can solve problems, that can hear and see. In fact, they have 20 senses to our five or six. For example, a bean plant looking for something to twine, and given a pole within eight inches or so of it, knows where that pole is and will aim its spiraling reach at that pole. What is that about? Is it bouncing signals off of it?One of the spookiest things is the fact that the same anesthetics that put us out put plants out. You might think that plants are already out, but they’re not. They’re just slow. If you take a plant with a fast behavior, like a Venus flytrap, and give it an anesthetic, it will stop reacting. So you have to ask yourself, what is lost when the plant is anaesthetized? Some state of alertness, of awareness, of its environment, of reactivity. I’m not prepared to call that consciousness, but maybe it’s sentience—which is a simpler form of consciousness, and involves the ability to sense what’s going on in your environment and assess what’s good and bad for you and act appropriately. That may be a universal quality of life.AC: Let’s turn from plants to AI. You point out that LLMs are trained on the internet rather than direct interactions with reality. You put this really nicely when you say the internet is not the world so much as a shadow cast by the world. So LLMs are living in this kind of shadow world, or in Plato’s cave, as you put it. What’s the significance of this for AI consciousness and moral consideration? And, to recall the beginning of our conversation, if we’re stuck behind a veil or screen of consciousness, are we also stuck in a kind of shadow world?MP: I don’t think they’re the same shadow worlds because our world includes nature and other people. And even if it’s mediated in some ways... There is a reality out there, and we are in relation to it, through consciousness. There’s friction with it. What’s missing from the LLMs is that friction with the real world. There’s more to the world than human representation, which is what they’re dealing with. And that means that so far, AI is a cultural technology for combining thoughts we’ve already had. SUGGESTED VIEWING Cracking the code for thought With Roger Penrose, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, Max Tegmark, Güneş Taylor Genuine creativity is more than collage. A lot of what AI does now is tantamount to collage, putting this with that and you know, that’s part of art, certainly. But there are also genuinely new ideas that come into the world that don’t come in through manipulating the representations we already have. So it remains to be seen whether AIs can be truly creative in that more radical sense.But my arguments against AI becoming conscious have to do with the fact that the idea of AI consciousness is based on this faulty metaphor that the brain is a computer. There are dimensions in which the brain is like a computer—it certainly does its share of computation. But computers have this sharp distinction between hardware and software, and brains don’t. In a brain, hardware and software are identical. Every memory is a physical change to the brain. Brains are not interchangeable in the way computers are. So this idea that you could take the consciousness out and somehow run it on another substrate, a silicon substrate, seems foolhardy.Anyway, it’s a more extended argument, and I may be wrong. And when we move to computers that aren’t based on silicon—neuromorphic computers and things like that—all bets may be off.AC: Regarding your point about LLMs being stuck in the world of our representations—the internet or whatever—and not being able to interact with reality, are these representations, the world of the internet, themselves part of reality? We’ve created the internet, but it’s still a real thing that exists. And so while the LLMs may be trapped within that part of reality, they’re nevertheless within reality and interacting with it and so on. So it’s not obvious that there’s a barrier there to them becoming conscious and being creative.MP: Yeah, I mean, if our consciousness is built out of human culture, which is what we’re talking about with all those representations. But I tend to think consciousness comes a bit more out of nature and friction with the natural world, but...AC: So there’s a fundamental divide between the natural world and human artefacts?MP: And we lose track of that, and especially people in this computer world. You know, the people who are creating these AI systems, my guess is they’ve been into video games since the age of three, and they didn’t go outside a lot. And their own contact with nature is somewhat limited. I could be wrong, it’d be a very interesting thing to ask, all the wizards of AI, whether they like to go fishing and hiking and do things like that. Or were they on computers from a very early age? I interviewed Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer who came to believe that LaMDA, the Google LLM out at the time, was conscious and deserved personhood. It was very clear that he didn’t see a distinction between this bubble in which he lived and the real world. And I think we’ve all been distanced from the natural world, and this is taking us even further away. But it’s still there, you know, and we still have bodies, and we’re still mortal, and we don’t live in a simulation.AC: I think that’s a great place to finish. Michael Pollan, thank you very much!
Former US Army doctor Adam Hamawy will win Democratic House primary in New Jersey, CNN projects
Adam Hamawy, a retired US Army combat surgeon and sharp Israel critic, will win the crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.
The Gerrymandering of America: It’s About More Than Politics
The design of political constituencies is an important element in the maintenance of community. The way we have manipulated voting districts has eroded a relationship that ought to be fundamental to public life.
U.S. science must innovate or die, National Academies president says
The last year has been “filled with turmoil” for science, National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt said during her State of Science address
Disney reveals new entertainment offering for Oogie Boogie Bash amid ‘Coco’ construction
Disneyland is making changes to its entertainment lineup for Oogie Boogie Bash. Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake, a new entertainment offering, will replace the popular Frightfully Fun Parade this year…
Recently released Brewers minor-leaguer to give college football a try
Jordyn Adams, an outfielder on the Brewers' Class AAA minor-league team and a former top football prospect, will give football a try at SMU.
Mercy’s Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences Welcomes New President
Pamela Slaven-Lee will lead Mercy's Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Cape Girardeau as its new president, as selected by the college's Board of Trustees.
Disneyland construction forces Oogie Boogie Bash to replace Frightfully Fun parade
The new Madame Leota’s Swinging Wake street party joins the 2026 Halloween after-hours event at Disney California Adventure.
They Started Their Business in College. Now It’s Valued at Nine Figures. Here’s How Breakaway Broke the Mold for Live Events.
Adam Lynn, co-founder of Breakaway, explains how he and his company found the white space in live entertainment.
Hearing loss is bad for the whole body – but new treatments are coming
From dementia to heart attacks, hearing loss has been linked to a wide range of effects across the body, and the condition is on the rise. Fortunately, we're learning how best to safeguard this crucial sense and how we might be able to reverse the damage
EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 Reveals Cover Athletes Celebrating The Next Generation of Football Stars
Dante Moore, Malachi Toney and Kewan Lacy Appear on the College Football 27 Standard Edition, While Deluxe Edition Features Colin Simmons, Leonard Moore, Jayden Maiava and Coach Curt Cignetti Fans Can Expect Full Game Reveal This Thursday and Worldwide Launch on July 9 EA SPORTS™ today revealed the covers of EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 ahead of the game’s full reveal this Thursday. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, and Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy shine on the Standard Edition cover as a trio of electrifying playmakers who stood out in a competitive 2025-2026 college football season. The Deluxe Edition is joined by prominent defenders Texas linebacker Colin Simmons and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore, alongside USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, national championship-winning coach Curt Cignetti, several beloved mascots and iconic gameday gear, celebrating the breadth of successful collegiate programs. Standout athletes Kewan Lacy, Malachi Toney
EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 Reveals Cover Athletes Celebrating The Next Generation of Football Stars
Dante Moore, Malachi Toney and Kewan Lacy Appear on the College Football 27 Standard Edition, While Deluxe Edition Features Colin Simmons, Leonard Moore, Jayden Maiava and Coach Curt Cignetti Fans Can Expect Full Game Reveal This Thursday and Worldwide Launch on July 9 EA SPORTS™ today revealed the covers of EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 ahead of the game’s full reveal this Thursday. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, and Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy shine on the Standard Edition cover as a trio of electrifying playmakers who stood out in a competitive 2025-2026 college football season. The Deluxe Edition is joined by prominent defenders Texas linebacker Colin Simmons and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore, alongside USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, national championship-winning coach Curt Cignetti, several beloved mascots and iconic gameday gear, celebrating the breadth of successful collegiate programs. Standout athletes Kewan Lacy, Malachi Toney
Wisconsin Badgers legend Russell Wilson set to join CBS Sports
Former Wisconsin Badgers legend Russell Wilson is set to join CBS Sports, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Pope calls for stronger health data protections in digital age
Pope Leo XIV urges experts revising the World Medical Association's Declaration of Taipei to strengthen ethical safeguards for health databases and ...
CVS continues to celebrate soccer with community events
CVS celebrates soccer this summer with local block parties, fan experiences and FIFA merchandise, bringing communities together nationwide.
Caring for Two Generations: How CVS Health Supports Family Caregivers
For nearly 30 years, Nicole has cared for her father while raising a family. Discover how CVS Health helps her manage care and find moments of relief.
Rainy Memorial Day weekend dampens Coast tourism business
Biloxi businesses report disappointing holiday showing
AI Boosting Business Formation
The surge in new US business formation is being fueled by AI and large language models, which are dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of launching a company, see chart below. Subscribe for daily updates.
UC researcher secures $3.3M grant to study microplastics’ impact on heart
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded a $3.3M grant to University of Cincinnati researcher Hong‑Sheng Wang, PhD, to study how microplastics and nanoplastics affect cardiovascular health.
‘Ransacked’: Owner of Northwest Jacksonville business says repeated burglaries has put its future at risk
The owner of Kitty’s Car Wash in Northwest Jacksonville said repeated burglaries in less than a month have left thousands of dollars in damage and put the business’s future at risk.
Celebrity art auction to raise money for Lake County mental health, recovery programs
The Friends of Lake ADAMHS Celebrity Art Auction will feature local artists and leaders supporting mental health and recovery programs
Val Kilmer's “Conspiracy” director calls actor the 'worst human being I've ever known'
Adam Marcus directed Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, in the 2008 action thriller.
Val Kilmer's 'Conspiracy' director calls actor 'worst human being I've ever known'
'Conspiracy' director Adam Marcus slammed Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, as the 'worst human being I've ever known' in a social media post.
Building damaged after car catches fire at business in southwest OKC
Crews put out a fire that started in a car and spread to a building Monday morning at a business in southwest Oklahoma City.
High diesel prices may dampen summer lobster fishing season
The spike could mean higher prices for lobster in Maine this summer.
NASA’s Dragonfly Flight System Faces Heat
In preparation for the journey to reach the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, the heat shield for NASA’s Dragonfly mission completed thermal-structural
Reid becomes Barrow's first summer arrival
New Barrow head coach Adam Murray brings in former Hartlepool forward Alex Reid as first Bluebirds signing.
Sources: QB Russell Wilson finalizing deal to join CBS Sports
Quarterback Russell Wilson is finalizing a deal to become a CBS Sports analyst, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.
Join the Scientific American Summer Reading Challenge
Fill your bingo card with fascinating science stories, discoveries and ideas all summer long for a chance to win prizes
NASA’s Webb Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has collected its first mid-infrared chemical fingerprint of an interstellar object during a recent revisit to comet 3I/ATLAS.
Adam Cervera nears $350K toward keeping his Broward School Board seat
Nearly 3 in 4 dollars his campaign holds were self-loaned.
Orlando musicians raged outside and inside Uncle Lou’s Entertainment Hall this weekend for ‘Free Uncle Lou’ benefit show
Local musician Robby Shambles assembled a veritable army of Orlando performers — including TV Generation, Pinko Beats, Warm Like Winter, Tom Haney, Constant Throw, Why Rhyme, Red Lungs, Anthony Smith and Ran Damone — to rock out for Uncle Lou on Saturday.
NFL insider's latest prediction could turn out to be huge news for Bryce Young when it comes to extension talks with the Panthers
ESPN's Adam Schefter believes the Houston Texans will get a deal done this summer with quarterback C.J. Stroud, which can set the foundation for Bryce Young's extension with the Carolina Panthers.
Minecraft DLC Marketplace
Check out the Minecraft Marketplace. Get Minecoins and discover new games and exclusive DLC like new maps, skins, mods and modpacks, and even more from our creator community.
Streets closed due to business fire
Bimbo Bakeries is located in the 1300 block of Adams Avenue.
Increased UK Harassment Liability from October 2026: Is Your Business Ready?
October 2026 will mark a fundamental shift in UK workplace harassment law, significantly raising the stakes for employers and reinforcing a broader move away from reactive complaint handling towards proactive prevention, governance, and risk management.What is Changing?Key legal developments in October 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) are:
Scientists are racing to stop a type of Ebola we have no vaccine for
A deadly Ebola outbreak is spreading fast—and U.S. cuts to foreign aid are making it worse
Fed's Powell warns Trump's political 'stress test' will wreck public trust in central bank
Jerome Powell said White House pressure on the Fed will damage public trust in the U.S. central bank.
Science Group And 2 Other Undiscovered Gems in the United Kingdom
As the United Kingdom's FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices face headwinds from weak global cues and faltering trade data from China, investors are increasingly seeking opportunities in less prominent areas of the market. In this environment, discovering small-cap stocks with strong fundamentals and potential for growth can be a rewarding strategy, as these companies often operate under the radar yet possess unique attributes that may offer resilience amid broader market challenges.
Gravity Waves From Super Typhoon Sinlaku
Satellites observed striking upper-atmosphere phenomena generated by an intensifying tropical cyclone.
Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. San Francisco Giants
Crew returns home for four-game set with former friend Willy Adames, Giants
'We've Created an Amazing Trans-Atlantic Business': Winston Taylor Goes Live
Firm leaders say the integration of U.K. and U.S. offices was the heart of the deal closing Monday, noting the combination is already generating trans-Atlantic business opportunities.
Ex-Jill Biden spokesperson on why he thinks former first lady’s recent CBS interview has damaged her credibility
Adam Rowe is writing a new book about science fiction art
His first, Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s, is a fantastic book
Jason Benetti explains why NBC’s ‘Inside the Pitch’ is unlike anything MLB broadcasting has done before
Two months into NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball experiment, Jason Benetti knows exactly what separates it from every baseball broadcast that came before it. The “Inside the Pitch” concept — NBC executive producer Sam Flood’s live at-bat breakdown feature that debuted Opening Day alongside former pitchers Adam Ottavino and Clayton Kershaw — has drawn acclaim since…
College pipeline rankings: Which schools produce the most Ravens players?
Clemson and Penn State lead the Ravens' college pipeline rankings, while Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame also stand out.
New solar desalination breakthrough makes fresh water without toxic brine
Scientists have developed a solar desalination system that turns seawater into drinking water without creating environmentally damaging brine. Special laser-textured metal panels use sunlight to evaporate water while automatically moving salt deposits away from the working surface, preventing clogging. The process was successfully tested with water from three oceans and can recover nearly all salts as solids. Those leftover materials could even become a source of valuable lithium for batteries.
Scientists found the hidden switch fueling alzheimer’s brain inflammation
Scientists at Scripps Research have uncovered a molecular “switch” that appears to fuel the damaging brain inflammation seen in Alzheimer’s disease. They found that a protein called STING becomes chemically altered in a way that keeps the brain’s immune system stuck in overdrive, harming the connections between nerve cells.
Top U.S. science funder slows research grants to universities
It's not clear why the National Science Foundation may be limiting funding to certain U.S. universities