Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Peter Kafka: Welcome back from vacation, Katie. You were out last week when Reuters broke a story I desperately wanted to ask you about: A Meta document had been telling the people in charge of building its chatbots that “It is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”It’s a bonkers report. A Meta spokesperson told Business Insider it has since revised the document and that its policies prohibit content that sexualizes children.I have so many questions for you. But maybe we can start with this one: Why does Meta want us to use chatbots, anyway?Katie…

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, created The Primary School in 2016 through their philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The tuition-free private school said in April 2025 that it would close by the end of the 2026 academic year.The Primary School is a tuition-free private school with locations in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California. According to its website, it serves hundreds of students and works to more closely connect parents, teachers, and medical and mental health professionals.The school’s website highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its closure was announced at the same time some of Zuckerberg’s other ventures rolled…

ATLANTA (AP) — Russell Henley hardly missed a putt. Scottie Scheffler hardly missed a fairway. They led a parade of players who seized on the soft conditions at East Lake to begin the race for the Tour Championship and the season-ending FedEx Cup title.Henley one-putted six of his last seven holes and made three birdie putts from 40 feet or longer and, with three straight birdies at the end, had a 9-under 61 to build a two-shot lead over the world’s No. 1 player.Scheffler didn’t miss a beat from last week — really the last five months — and finished…

The food pyramid that once guided Americans’ diets has been retired for more than a decade, but that has not stopped President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from regularly criticizing the concept.He often highlights the pyramid, misrepresenting dietary standards and criticizing health initiatives of the Biden administration. Such claims were featured in a video aired Tuesday, before his appearance on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime.”Here’s a closer look at the facts.KENNEDY: “The dietary guidelines that we inherited from the Biden administration were 453 pages long. They were driven by the same commercial impulses that put Froot Loops…

AI models can respond to text, audio, and video in ways that sometimes fool people into thinking a human is behind the keyboard, but that doesn’t exactly make them conscious. It’s not like ChatGPT experiences sadness doing my tax return … right? Well, a growing number of AI researchers at labs like Anthropic are asking when — if ever — might AI models develop subjective experiences similar to living beings, and if they do, what rights should they have? The debate over whether AI models could one day be conscious — and deserve rights — is dividing Silicon Valley’s tech…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference is moving to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, ending a yearslong debate and potentially easing a path toward another expansion of the College Football Playoff.The change was approved by conference presidents and chancellors Thursday. It previously had been recommended by league athletic directors.“Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities’ commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “This format protects rivalries, increases competitive balance, and paired with our requirement to play an additional Power opponent, ensures SEC teams are well prepared to…

I needed to focus and write this article. Hank Green had just the bean for me.YouTuber Hank Green surprise-dropped his app “Focus Friend,” saying in a TikTok that it was “the best idea I ever had.” The app’s premise is simple: The more time spent off your phone, the longer your virtual bean can knit its scarves and socks. Users can eventually trade in their knitwear for virtual room furniture.Quickly after Green posted about it, “Focus Friend” scaled the App Store, eventually hitting No. 1. It currently sits at No. 3.Green also helped his odds by posting about the app’s…

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Police responded Thursday to a report of an active shooter on the campus of Villanova University, sparking panic among students days before the start of classes.Students shared a text from the Villanova alert system that told them to lock and barricade doors and move to secure locations. A second alert from Villanova officials warned people to stay away from the law school. In a post on X, Radnor Township told nearby residents and students to shelter in place. No other information was given.Videos posted on social media showed a crowd being rushed inside a building on…

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont (AP) — Since 2021, religious schools in Vermont have been receiving an increasing amount of money through Vermont’s school tuitioning program. But Act 73, Vermont’s wide-ranging education reform law signed into law in July, effectively halts that trend.Last week, the state Agency of Education finalized a list of 18 private schools (called independent schools under state law) that remain eligible for the public tuition dollars under the new law’s provisions. Students who were already enrolled in ineligible schools prior to the law’s passing can continue receiving public dollars until they graduate. Vermont’s public tuition system allows families…

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A medical museum in Philadelphia has redrawn its policies on the collection and display of human remains, limiting its acceptance of additional specimens and working to follow “evolving modern medical ethical standards” in how it handles the 6,500 organs, bones and other body parts in its collection.The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which owns the Mutter Museum, announced this week it is restricting the taking of photos and videos of human remains, allowing it only with the museum’s permission. Photography by the public will remain prohibited.The museum “will allow photography as long as it sort of serves…