Brad Goreski Marries Longtime Partner Gary Janetti

Celebrity fashion stylist and Fashion Police co-host Brad Goreski married his partner of 16 years, TV producer Gary Janetti, aboard a Seabourn Cruise with their family in attendance.

Writes US Weekly:

“The intimate ceremony was officiated by Seabourn Sojourn captain Tim Roberts at sunset. The Fashion Police cohost, 40, wore a custom royal blue suit by Isaia, while his 51-year-old groom donned a gray suit that was also designed by the Italian menswear brand. Their wedding rings were crafted by David Yurman…The longtime couple met in Athens, Greece, and became engaged in August 2014.”

The post Brad Goreski Marries Longtime Partner Gary Janetti appeared first on Towleroad.

Brad Goreski Marries Longtime Partner Gary Janetti

The Hype And The Hope For AI

As 2017 draws to a close it seems we are reaching a paradoxical time where many are placing AI front and centre in their 2018 trends list whilst others are finding AI to be over-hyped.  

The sad reality is that many companies are trying to make their newest product sound cutting edge by using the term artificial intelligence to mean just about anything a computer can do, take for example this child’s toy for Christmas.

Newspapers and magazines love to put out sensationalist stories on AI, buoyed by futuristic movies from the likes of Tom Cruise and Will Smith, meaning the term is thrown around casually across the world. Many are now not even clear on where we are with AI presently, never mind where it’s likely to take us in the future.

Marvin Minsky, one of the bigger names in the AI field (he co-founded MIT’s AI lab), has called “intelligence” a “suitcase word,” meaning you can stuff anything in there. In other words, it’s too broad and it doesn’t lend itself to precise definition. That’s fuelling the hype but also the confusion. The lack of precision around the term has become part of the issue.

The lessons from history

What a lot of people probably don’t know about AI is that it debutedback in 1956.  Much like today, this was a time of huge optimism and millions were invested, many believing AI would be doing the work of humans by the mid-1970s… of course, that didn’t happen.

The cautionary tale from history comes from what happened next. When expectations weren’t met with results, funding dried up and a lot of research ground to a halt leading to “The AI Winter”. It was a time when disillusionment with AI was so widespread it led venture capitalists to use the term “AI” as a synonym for “bad investment decisions.”

Now we’re at an interesting time… the sophistication and access to technology has advanced exponentially since the 1970s and there’s much more hope for AI this time around.

However, this time round, there is also a lot more hype, and as history teaches us, that can be very dangerous.

Is the hype deserved?

That depends on who you ask, of course. But consider this quote from an article about the evolution of Watson, probably still the biggest name in AI right now:

“IBM Watson is the Donald Trump of the AI industry—outlandish claims that aren’t backed by credible data,” said Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for AI and former computer science professor. “Everyone—journalists included—know[s] that the emperor has no clothes, but most are reluctant to say so.”

Strong comments, however, other major tech companies ― ones that have far surpassed IBM in the last 10 years ― are retooling their business models around AI, including Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. Some smart people work in those places, so the hype must have more than a kernel of truth in it, right?

Is the AI hype bad or good specifically?

You can argue either side here. If it results in a second AI winter where the entire idea collapses as a scalable concept, then the hype was likely bad; full of sound and fury, signifying nothing except businesses returning to the way they’ve always done things.

The good news: funding for AI startups by VCs has surged and shows no signs of slowing down, meaning a lot of money is being thrown at the research and development side of the equation. That is a benefit of the hype.

A drawback, however, is what if all the hype and the videos of robots doing box jumps and the articles about losing your job in five years are actually preventing real advancements in the AI field by researchers? What if the hype is creating too much of a drive for money and attention, and that’s curtailing what could be the next big advance in human evolution?

“The stock market has predicted nine of the last five recessions”

That’s a quote from Paul Samuelson, the first American winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Most of the recent winners of that award have been from behavioural economics, which tries to turn economics on its head and realise that people aren’t completely rational.

With this in mind, the truth is no-one knows what’s going to happen but the significant changes are unlikely to be coming in the short term.

What we do know is it’s easier to imagine a time when AI will take our jobs rather than work out how our jobs may evolve. If you tried to explain the concept of an iPhone to someone in 1975, they would have no idea why that would be necessary and would probably laugh directly in your face. Now, it seems normative.

Let’s just hope the current hype wave isn’t working against true growth for AI’s potential.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-hype-and-the-hope-for-ai_uk_5a3d2558e4b06cd2bd03da0f

15 Most Important LGBT TV Moments of 2017

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/12/28/15-most-important-lgbt-tv-moments-2017

Reporter’s Name Altered with Anti-Gay Slurs in California Newspaper: ‘Paul Gayzalez – News-Press Faggoat’

The Santa Barbara News-Press apologized on Wednesday after a reporter’s name was altered using anti-gay slurs in the print edition of its Christmas Day paper.

The reporter, Paul Gonzalez, had his name altered to read ““Paul Gayzalez, News-Press Faggoat.”

Hey @sbnpnews: what’s this about? pic.twitter.com/rhRZss2ofR

— Max Matthies (@Selfmademax) December 25, 2017

Wrote Director of News Operations Donald Katich: “In Monday’s News-Press, one of our employees changed another employee’s byline to reflect an offensive slur. The News-Press has taken immediate and swift action with this employee; we do not tolerate any form of harassment in the workplace. We apologize to our readers.”

The San Luis Obispo Tribune adds:

The byline is unaltered in the online version of the story. Katich told SF Gate that the employee behind the change “is represented by the Teamsters. There is a process we are obligated to follow when it comes to discipline or termination. The employee is no longer in the building.”

The post Reporter’s Name Altered with Anti-Gay Slurs in California Newspaper: ‘Paul Gayzalez – News-Press Faggoat’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Reporter’s Name Altered with Anti-Gay Slurs in California Newspaper: ‘Paul Gayzalez – News-Press Faggoat’

US Evangelical Christians ‘Uncritically Accepting’ Of Donald Trump, Bishop Of Liverpool Says

Conservative evangelical Christians in the US are “uncritically accepting” of Donald Trump’s comments, a senior Church of England bishop has said.

Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, said that some American religious leaders were colluding with a divisive system which “marginalises the poor”, contradicting the teachings of the Bible.

Bayes told the Guardian: “Some of the things that have been said by religious leaders seem to collude with a system that marginalises the poor, a system which builds walls instead of bridges, a system which says people on the margins of society should be excluded, a system which says we’re not welcoming people any more into our country.

“Whenever people say those kinds of things, they need to be able to justify that they’re saying those things as Christians, and I do not believe it’s justifiable.”

The US President is a Presbyterian Christian and has referenced the Bible at a number of rallies to appeal to his Evangelical base, but his attempts at espousing religious views in public have been awkward at times. 

Trump has admitted that he has not asked God for forgiveness, and refers to the Holy Communion as “my little wine” and “my little cracker”.

He said: “When I drink my little wine ― which is about the only wine I drink ― and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that as often as possible because I feel cleansed,” he said. 

Trump’s contentious travel ban is currently in place, which prevents predominately Muslim nationals of Libya, Somalia, Syria, Chad, Iran, and Yemen from entering the US. 

Earlier this year the US commander in chief also announced he wanted to ban transgender people from enlisting in the US military – a plan which has been blocked by judges.

Bayes said that people in the US who call themselves evangelical “seem to be uncritically accepting” positions taken by Trump and his allies.

Although he stressed that not all evangelicals were Trump supporters.

In October, Trump became the first sitting US President to address a summit held by the Family Research Council (FRC), an evangelical Christian group which has been branded a “hate group”.

The FRC is an anti-LGBT, anti-Islam organisation, whose website states:

Family Research Council believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed. It is by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects. While the origins of same-sex attractions may be complex, there is no convincing evidence that a homosexual identity is ever something genetic or inborn. 

Last month, the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, told ITV’s Robert Peston on Sunday that he does not understand why fundamentalist Christians in the US are so supportive of Trump. 

“There’s two things going through my mind: Do I say what I think, or do I say what I should say? And I’m going to say what I think,” said Welby. “No, I don’t understand it. I really, genuinely do not understand where that is coming from.”

Bayes, who assumed the role of bishop of Liverpool in 2014, said that people could support right-wing populism, but questioned how that would relate to their Christian faith.

He added: “And if what I believe are the clear teachings of the gospel about love for all, the desire for justice and for making sure marginalised and defenceless people are protected, if it looks as though those teachings are being contradicted, then I think there is a need to say so.”

According to US think tank the Pew Research Center, 80% of those who identified as white evangelical Christians said they voted for Trump.

The think tank’s findings state: “While earlier in the campaign some pundits and others questioned whether the thrice-married Trump would earn the bulk of white evangelical support, fully eight-in-ten self-identified white, born-again/evangelical Christians say they voted for Trump, while just 16% voted for (Hillary) Clinton.”

Meanwhile, Trump has had a rocky relationship with the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, which finally culminated in this iconic photo being taken during the Pope’s first meeting with the US President earlier this year.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/evangelical-christians-trump-bishop-liverpool_uk_5a44bba1e4b025f99e19acb9

50 Men that Made 2017 BEARable

www.advocate.com/photography/2017/12/28/50-men-made-2017-bearable

Wie Macron die französische Asylpolitik auf den Kopf stellt

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/macron-asylpolitik_de_5a449a1fe4b025f99e199bd7

The UK Experienced Its ‘Greenest Year For Electricity Ever’ In 2017

The UK enjoyed its greenest year ever in 2017 in terms of how it produced its electricity, the National Grid has revealed.

Proving that renewable and clean energy has been enjoying stratospheric growth, the country managed to break an impressive 13 records around renewable energy.

These included the first day since the industrial revolution where the UK was able to generate electricity without any coal power.

Other records include the first time where over half of the UK’s electricity needs were met by renewable energy.

“It’s been an exciting year managing the many ‘network firsts’“said Duncan Burt, Director of the System Operator at National Grid.

List Of Broken Records In 2017:

• First 24 hour period without coal generation since the Industrial Revolution – 21 April
• Longest period without coal generation (40 hours 35 minutes) – 28-29 October
• Greenest summer ever, with almost 52% of our electricity generation from low carbon sources – 21 June to 22 September
• The lowest amount of carbon produced by electricity production at any one moment (73 gCO2/kWh) – 2 October 
• The largest amount of  electricity produced from renewable sources at any one moment (19.2 GW) –21 March
• Most electricity production from solar power at any one moment (8.9 GW), a quarter of Britain’s electricity supply – 26 May
• Highest percentage of solar produced relative to national demand (26.8%) – 2 July
• Most wind power produced in a day (285GWh)– 7 December
• Most offshore wind generation at any one moment (4.3 GW) – 1 October
• Most electricity production from all wind generation at any one moment (12.4 GW) – 6 December
• Most electricity production from hydropower at any one moment (4 GW) – 27 February
• Record low strike price at the second Contracts for Difference subsidy auction of £57.50/MWh, well below Government guarantee for Hinkley C – 11 September

Figures from MyGridGB reveal the true extent of how renewable and low-carbon energy have transformed the UK’s power grid.

British wind farms generated more electricity than coal plants on more than 75% of days this year, figures show.

The continuing rise of renewables and the decline of the most polluting fossil fuel also saw solar outperform coal more than half the time.

Overall, renewables provided more power than coal plants on 315 days in 2017, or more than 90% of the year, figures up to December 12 show, while coal was beaten by wind on 263 days and by solar on 180 days.

Coal generation only exceeded solar on 10 days from the beginning of April to the end of August.

In total, renewables generated more than three times the amount of electricity as coal over the year to December 12.

Strong winds and the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia helped send a staggering 1.7 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the National Grid.

WWF Scotland’s Director Sam Gardner said: “We’re blown away by these figures but they are part of a pattern of increasingly green power production made possible thanks to many years of political support in Scotland. Across the year, renewables now contribute over half of our electricity needs.”

But with daily output from wind only outstripping gas on two days of the year, and renewables overall – including wind, solar, biomass and hydropower – beating the fossil fuel on just 23 days, there were calls for more support for low-carbon power.

Dr Andrew Crossland from MyGridGB and the Durham Energy Institute said: “The Government has focused on reducing coal use which now supplies less than 7% of our electricity.

“However, if we continue to use gas at the rate that we do, then Britain will miss carbon targets and be dangerously exposed to supply and price risks in the international gas markets.

“Clearly, refreshed government support for low carbon alternatives is now needed to avoid price and supply shocks for our heat and electricity supplies.”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/2017-was-the-uks-greenest-year-for-electricity-ever_uk_5a44bb29e4b06d1621b6ec6f