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Heroes

California's going to try to solve the water crisis in the most sci-fi way possible: AI.

If you've ever thought to yourself, "Hm, I wonder how close we are to actually creating artificial intelligence," the answer is IBM's Watson.

The supercomputer/"Jeopardy" champion/Ridley Scott advisor is basically the closest we've come as a species to creating a machine that can think for itself. Well, the closest we've come so far.


Photo by Ben Hider/Getty Images.

Watson works through a concept called "cognitive computing." It basically means that instead of following rigid computer structures like decision trees and "if this, then that" types of programmable behavior, Watson takes in more information and context and can actually think about the solution to a problem.

It also gets smarter over time, building on its previous knowledge as it learns how to solve problems faster and more efficiently.

Watson's cognitive abilities are pretty much endless, and so far, it's done some pretty cool stuff.

Watson partnered with the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City to create 65 recipes by learning about what ingredients go well together.

Watson analyzing ingredient pairings. Image via IBM Research/YouTube.

Watson has also read millions of medical studies to learn about health and wellness, and it can even guide you through an art museum while answering every question you have about the artists.

Recently, Watson got a new job in California tracking water use.

The environmental consulting firm OmniEarth hired Watson to essentially be the overseer of water in California, a state often plagued by droughts and most recently a massive water shortage.

Watson will look at satellite images by the truckload and try to learn as much as it can. The more it looks at California's many farms, golf courses, vineyards, backyards, and deserts, the more it starts to recognize patterns and trends. It actually learns where all of California's water is going just by observing and thinking.

Then it can figure out who might be using too much and where more might need to be distributed.

A dried up reservoir in San Jose, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

"Watson doesn’t know anything about water usage or Earth images," said Jerome Pesenti, vice president of IBM’s Watson platform, to The Huffington Post. "But if you give it some training images, the system can take those as examples and learn from them."

From there, Watson only gets smarter and better at its job.

It's just information now, but California can use it to enact real change.

Local governments can use Watson's data to make customized water budgets for their communities. Also, because many people might not be aware they're overusing water, Watson can help with targeted messaging to those people, informing them of their potential water abuse and providing solutions and ways to cut back. Watson can also spot places where water is scarce and help cities divert resources to those areas.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Solving environmental crises requires the greatest minds of today.

In this case, one of those minds is a manmade computer that kicks ass on "Jeopardy." Whoever, or whatever, solves the problems challenging our environment will need to learn, think, and adapt on a massive scale and act as fast as possible.

Watson is pretty much the perfect candidate.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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@SopheAlice/TikTok

Best way to travel, really.

As they say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

This old adage was brought to life in a whole new way after two friends who thought they booked tickets to Budapest, Hungary, instead found themselves heading to Bucharest, Romania.

Just a minor 500-mile difference, but who’s counting?

TikToker @SophAlice posted a video of the pair realizing their mix-up, which went viral and set them off on an impromptu adventure based entirely on the comments they received.
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