【推荐1】Pokemon GO has become the most successful mobile game. It is now played in about 70 countries. While the game clearly has many fans, not everyone thinks the latest Pokemon fever is a good thing.

To play Pokemon GO, users follow maps on their phones that show virtual (虚拟的) animals, called Pokemon, in real-life places. Players have to walk around those places in search of Pokemon and try to catch as many as possible, which attracts kids most.

Fans of the game say it gets kids off the sofas and encourages them to play in new places and make new friends. That’s what Christine Elgersma, a senior app editor (编辑), thinks about it. And some educators are finding that Pokemon GO can also improve kids’ map skills.

Brain scientist Kristen Race says that kids pay so much attention to their phones that it doesn’t matter that they are outside. She warns that Pokemon GO gets in the way of real imaginative play. She argues that “even though a child may be playing this game outside, his brain is working in the same way it would as if he were spending hours inside. ”

There are some risks in playing Pokemon GO as well. Being distracted because of the game is one of the biggest dangers. People have walked into things, fallen down, and even been hit by cars while playing.

Elgersma says there are plenty of things kids can do to stay safe while playing Pokemon GO. She advises kids to discuss with their parents what they are allowed to do before playing. They should also pay careful attention to their surroundings (环境)and avoid talking to strangers. Finally, they should limit the amount of time they spend playing.

“Just like every other game, Pokemon GO should be used in balance with other things,” says Elgersma. “If it is, it can be a really great way for a family to have fun together.”

【推荐2】The regular world, which is presented to us by our five senses—you could call it reality(现实) 1.0, is not always the most user-friendly place. We get lost in unfamiliar cities; we meet people whose language we don’t understand. So why not try the improved version(版本): augmented reality (AR：增强现实) or reality 2.0? AR technology adds computer-produced images on the real world by using a mobile phone camera or special video glasses.

Early forms of AR are already here. With the right downloads, smart phones can deliver information about nearby ATMs and restaurants and other points of interest. But that’s just the beginning. A few years from now, the amount of information available will have increased hugely. You will not only see that there’s a Chinese restaurant on the next block, but you will be able to see the menu and read reviews of it.

This is where the next revolution(革命) in computing will take place: in the interface (界面) between the real world and the information brought to us via the Internet. Imagine bubbles(气泡) moving slowly before your eyes, filled with cool information about everything that you see in front of you.

Let’s jump ahead to ten years from now. A person trying to fix their car won’t be reading a book with pictures; they will be wearing a device(设备) that shows 3D computer pictures onto the equipment under repair, labelling parts and giving step-to-step guidance.

The window on the AR world can be a smart phone or special video glasses. But in ten years’ time these will have been replaced by contact lenses (隐形眼镜) with tiny LEDs, which present something at a readable distance in front of the eye. So a deaf person wearing these lenses will be able to see what people are saying.

The question is, while we are absorbed in our new augmented reality worlds, how will we be communicating with each other?

【推荐3】Here are some fun and engaging ways to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and what you can do to take action to make them a reality.

Freerice is a free online educational game where people of all ages can do their part—simply by playing. Every right answer on Freerice brings a real financial donation to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) from sponsors worth about 10 grains of rice. Use your time and knowledge to help provide food for people in need.

Frieda

Storytelling is a powerful communications tool and helps children remember lessons and virtues that they will use in everyday life. The idea behind the production of the story of Frieda was to simplify the lessons of the SDGs so young children can better understand the SDGs.

SDG Pandas

Inspired by real life animal ambassadors（大使）Qiqi and Diandian, SDG Pandas are stickers that you can use in your WhatsApp conversations to help spread the SDGs and inspire action for a better world.

SDG Elyx

Elyx, the United Nations' digital ambassador, uses various expressions and actions to help demonstrate the meaning of each Sustainable Development Goal. Created by French artist YAK, Elyx has no race, sex or nationality and is a universal character promoting the importance of the United Nations' work.

【推荐1】After a busy day of work and play, the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time, the body recovers from the activities of the previous day. The rest that you get while sleeping enables your body to prepare itself for the next day.

There are four levels of sleep, each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep, your muscles(肌肉) relax little by little. Your heart beats more slowly, and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level, your body shifts back and forth from one level of sleep to the other.

Although your mind slows down, from time to time you will dream. Scientists who study sleep tell us that when dreaming occurs, your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (although your eyelids are closed). This period of sleep is called REM, which stands for rapid eye movement.

If you can’t fall asleep, some people recommend breathing very slowly and very deeply. Other people believed that drinking warm milk will help make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion that counting sheep will put you to sleep!

【推荐3】One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might someday get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors.

Each of us has a place in nature where we go sometimes, even if it is torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decrease in parks use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment (蚕食)?” asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.

Without having a nature experience, kids can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive (认知的) skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents — and a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature exposure. Even a small outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world.   

Kids are not responsible. They are just over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous outdoors from time to time, but when repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite (仪式) during the children’s growth, it can be more dangerous.

We should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring nature and taking friendship in fields and woods that cement love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.

【推荐1】A portrait created by artificial intelligence (AI) made a historic appearance on the auction(拍卖) block at Christie’s in New York City this week. It is the first artwork created by an algorithm to be offered for auction in the world of fine art.

The strange-looking painting of an imaginary man in a dark long dress left the auction block at Christie’s for $432,500 on Oct. 25 in New York City.

The portrait—designed in the “Old Master” style of European fine artists from centuries ago—only partially fills the canvas, leaving empty space around the central figure. It appears to represent a man with an unclear face, dressed in clothing similar to that worn by subjects painted by the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn in the 17th century.

Of course, a computer didn’t pick up a brush and become an artist. The AI that generated the image had human programmers—a Parisian art team called Obvious. To generate the portrait, titled “Portrait of Edmond De Belamy”, the Obvious team first fed the neural network a diet of 15,000 images painted between the 14th and 20th centuries, to train it to recognize visual elements in fine art, Obvious artist Hugo Caselles-Dupré told Christie’s. The algorithm that eventually created an original image had two parts that worked against each other, called the Generator and the Discriminator.

“The Generator makes a new image based on the set, and then the Discriminator tries to spot the difference between a human-made image and one created by the Generator. The aim is to fool the Discriminator into thinking that the new images are real-life portraits. Then, we have a result,” he told Christie’s.

GAN’s final image was then inkjet-printed on canvas and framed, according to Obvious. At the bottom of the portrait is a mathematical formula representing the algorithm that created it, Obvious artists wrote on the team’s website.

The goal of the painting and of Obvious, also co-founded by Hugo Caselles-Dupré and Gauthier Vernier, was to prove “artificial intelligence can do more than operate driverless cars or transform industry—it can be creative,” CNBC reported.

【推荐2】An open letter, winning the likes of Tesla CEO Musk and Apple CEO Steve, was released early last week. It advocates a 6-month pause to give Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies and regulators time to make safeguards to protect society from potential risks of the technology.

AI has progressed at a fast speed since the invention of ChatGPT, which reportedly reached over 100 million users by January, 2023. Many technology companies are racing to build AI into their products, which have caught many off guard.

“Many people aren’t well prepared for the pace and scale of these AI models. They are ideal for spreading misinformation, cheating people out of their money and convincing employees to click on dangerous links online,” says Michael, a researcher of AI company, who signed the letter. “I feel that a 6-month pause would give regulators enough time to catch up with the rapid pace of progress.”

Privacy is another growing concern, as critics worry that systems could exactly reproduce personal information from their training sets. Italy’s data protection authority prohibited ChatGPT on 31 March over concerns that personal data are being used to train Open AI’s models. Some experts warn of deeper security threats. ChatGPT-based digital assistants that can read and write emails could offer new opportunities for hackers.

Unfortunately, many problems of today’s AI models don’t have easy solutions. One complex issue is how to make AI-generated content easy to detect. Some researchers are working on “watermarking”—creating a digital mark in the AI’s output. However, a recent research finds that tools, which slightly change AI-produced text, can easily defeat this approach.

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates says that the proposed pause won’t “solve the challenges” ahead. He believes the people behind the letter are heavily involved in the technology world, which he thinks gives them a narrow perspective on the potential risks.