Chaos & Amazement #2514 Pattie Maes, OpenAI Academy, and One Minute Park
From groundbreaking tech and fresh AI quirks to emojis that perfectly capture our collective exhaustion—this week’s edition has it all, plus a proud Belgian moment that doesn’t involve fries or beer.
Tech news
Big moment for Belgium! Pattie Maes has received the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Research Award for her groundbreaking work in human-computer interaction. Her research continues to shape the future of technology. To give you an idea of how visionary her work is: here’s her TED talk from 16 years ago about wearable tech. https://news.mit.edu/2025/pattie-maes-acm-sigchi-lifetime-research-award-0331
It’s that time of the year again: a new batch of emojis has been added to the emoji alphabet. And iOS 18.4’s new emoji ‘Face With Bags Under Eyes’ is about to be everywhere. Did you know there are 3,790 emojis in the Unicode Standard, and over 92% of the world uses emojis in their messaging? https://www.fastcompany.com/91309448/new-emojis-face-with-bags-under-eyes-ios-184
Fresh AI
OpenAI Academy just launched. It offers, among other things, “AI for older adults.” I feel seen. https://academy.openai.com
This fascinating article from 80,000 Hours presents a range of expert predictions regarding the potential arrival of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Timelines discussed include possibilities as early as 2030.
From my blog
Bluesky for Journalists: a valid alternative to Twitter/X? https://bnox.be/2025/04/bluesky-for-journalists-valid.html
Summary [in Dutch]: Hoe ga ik aan de slag met Bluesky? | Vlaamse Vereniging van Journalisten https://journalist.be/nl/nieuws/hoe-ga-ik-aan-de-slag-met-bluesky
#AI5050 Keynote: Navigating our way through the Technological Singularity https://bnox.be/2025/04/ai5050-keynote-navigating-our-way.html
I only now discovered In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles https://bnox.be/2025/04/i-only-now-discovered-in-this-shirt-by.html
Weird and wonderful
One Minute Park: spend one minute in a park somewhere on this planet.
Belgium’s national treasure Stromae released new version of 'Ma meilleure ennemie' featuring Chris Martin from Coldplay, showcasing their musical friendship. The song, originally a collaboration with Pomme, now includes Chris Martin singing in both English and French.
Everybody’s favorite bard has taken on Toto’s Africa. Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you in a medieval tavern!
You think your job is hard? Meet Glorioso, a skilled bus driver in the Peruvian Andes who has been behind the wheel for over 50 years.
Snowy White parody that goes unnecessarily hard. https://www.reddit.com/r/SipsTea/s/Y12vYnYoz0
Fish cosplay
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