1 . Smart entertainment is changing how we engage with leisure. By combining cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), augmented reality, and the internet of things with traditional forms of entertainment, this innovation is enhancing users’ experiences.

In 2023, Huawei introduced its Vision Smart TV3, transforming your home into your own amusement park. This innovative technology features groundbreaking AI super-sensing cameras and AI vision chips powered by deep learning and big data. These advanced components see and study your movements, enabling you to control characters through your body gestures. Social media is busy with users sharing their experiences of playing motion-sensing games, which require real-life movements like jumping and squatting instead of simply holding a controller.

The Vision Smart TV is not only cutting-edge but also family-friendly. Turning on the kids mode allows the screen to monitor real-time data, offering suggestions for adjusting a child’s viewing distance and posture. This provides a safe and comfortable entertainment experience for the younger audience. TorieZ, a Huawei Vision Smart TV3 owner and a mother of a 3-year-old daughter, shared her experience on Xiaohongshu. “Thanks to the smart screen, my child maintains good posture without constant supervision because her favorite cartoons stop if she slouches (懒洋洋地坐),” she said. When she’s free, TorieZ and her husband enjoy exercising together under the instructions of the TV.

We can not only play video games merely on the screens; now, with smart entertainment, you can get an immersive experience of Mario Kart, a racing video game, put right into your living room. While playing the game, players can control their karts running in their living rooms. Each kart has an onboard camera on it. The camera can record the layout of where they are and upload it to the Nintendo system. After processing it, some settings, like jungles and snowy landscapes, are created based on the layout and shown on the Switch screen. So, things in your living room, like the sofa and table, your feet or even your cat, can be a part of your game.

Step outside and you can also enjoy smart entertainment experiences. Shanghai Disney Resort uses big data analysis to offer personalized services. In the US and South America, VR World, the largest VR club, gives users super real gaming and travel adventures.

Looking forward, cutting-edge technologies will continue to change how we spend our leisure time.

2 . The appearance of text-to-video artificial intelligence (Al) technology has the potential to completely change advertising, movie trailers and short video industries, as Sora, a new AI model developed by US-based AI research company OpenAI—creator of chatbot ChatCPT—has recently become a global topic, experts said.

They added that the multimodal (多模态) large language model, which can produce high-resolution video clips based on given texts, is an undoubted future development direction for generative AI and will bring strong motivation (动力) into a new round of industrial development.

Sora can generate videos up to a minute long while keeping visual (视觉的) quality, OpenAI said. It can make complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate (准确的) details of the subject and background. The model understands what the user has asked for and how those things exist in the physical world.

Liu Xingliang, director of the Beijing-based Data Center of China Internet, a research institute specializing in the internet industry, said Sora is undoubtedly a major breakthrough for AI. “It shows AI’s advanced ability to understand and create complex visual content and brings about huge opportunities and challenges for content creation, entertainment and film and television production industries. The video-generation model will help video content creators turn their ideas into reality at a faster speed and at a lower cost.” Liu said, adding that AI is expected to play a more important role in all aspects of human lives in the future. He said that with advancements in AI technology, traditional film and TV production processes and related business models will likely be reshaped.

Still, it does not necessarily mean the disappearance of traditional film and industries, and more effort is needed to explore new artistic forms and expression methods by integrating AI technology.

Meanwhile, experts say using text-to-video AI models raises concerns about ethics (道德准则), copyright protection, personal privacy leakage and data security. Ensuring the authenticity and transparency (透明性) of the content has become an important issue, and more effort is needed to make rules and regulations to ensure the healthy development of such technology.

3 . Make life as easy as possible with devices and gear designed to simplify your travels — whether that means charging on the go, neat organizers or lightweight storage for no-trouble quick trips.

LARQ Bottle Filter (过滤器)

This innovative drinking bottle with a low-pressure sucker is designed to filter water on the go, wiping out pollutants such as chlorine (氯) for a refreshing taste. The filter will work on up to 151 litres of water before needing to be replaced — the equivalent (等同) of around 300 single-use plastic bottles. Available in 500ml (£58) and 740ml (£68) sizes.

Stubble & Co Adventure Bag

This 42-litre backpack has an easy-access clamshell (翻盖) design that opens to reveal zipped parts of various sizes, including a waterproof pocket for shoes. It also features a laptop sleeve, water bottle pocket and hidden parts for valuables. Available in black, olive, blue and orange. £195.

Shokz OpenFit

Shokz’s lightweight earphones sit on top of the ear canal, meaning they’re comfortable enough to wear for long periods. The 28-hour battery life ensures you won’t need to charge them on an overnight trip, though it’s easy enough to do so by plugging in the small, accompanying case. The Shokz App allows you to customize the controls, too. £179.

July Carry On Pro

For those who prefer not to carry luggage on their backs, this smart roller is the perfect overnighter. It has two separate internal parts, a waterproof polycarbonate (聚碳酸酯) hard shell and a zipped front part in which to store a laptop. The integrated, removable power bank allows travelers to charge devices on the go. £275.

5 . Broadway International Festival

About this event:

Join us for an incredible celebration of diversity and culture at the Broadway International Festival! This grand event is to take place on the streets of Broadway and will transform the heart of Sacramento into a multicultural grand gathering.

This event will show an incredible lineup (阵容) of global cuisine, a fascinating fashion show, exciting live music, and culturally rich performances by local artists. Explore our unique multicultural marketplace, where there are a variety of crafts and treasures from around the world. Additionally, take time to refresh yourself in the health and wellness space and let the kids have fun in the kid zone. The Broadway International Festival is a one-of-a-kind experience in an energetic and inclusive atmosphere. Don’t miss out on this unforgettable celebration!

Festival and Block Party:

The Broadway International Festival is a two-part event that offers both a daytime festival and an evening block party. The festival will run from 10 am to 7 pm, providing enough time to explore and enjoy all the festivities. Admission to the festival is free and open to all.

As the sun sets, the block party will kick off at 7 pm, transforming the festival atmosphere into an unforgettable experience until 11 pm. Please note that the block party requires a separate ticket, which will be available for purchase.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of the Broadway International Festival! Mark your calendars and join us on Broadway Street on November 4, from 16th to 18th Street, in Sacramento, California. Come to enjoy the global feast and make unforgettable memories at this unique multicultural event.

6 . A grocery store in Ann Arbor, Michigan opened on Tuesday to the public. This is an artist’s uneatable creation. The Plastic Bag Store presents shelves filled with items such as meat, eggs, cakes and so on, all of which are made from single-use plastics taken from streets and garbage.

The store at times during the day will be transformed into a stage for a series of short films in which puppetry (木偶戏表演), shadow play, and handmade sets are used to tell a story of how the overabundance of plastic waste we leave behind might be misinterpreted by future generations — and how what we value least may become our most lasting “cultural legacy (遗产)”.

Theater and film director Robin Frohardt is the creative driving force behind the Plastic Bag Store. “I got the idea many years ago after watching someone bag and double-bag and triple-bag my groceries,” Frohardt said on Tuesday. “I just was sort of struck by how much packaging was involved in our everyday lives. And it just seemed so unreasonable. I just thought, maybe I could set up a project to change it.” Combining a real-life supermarket with film experience, Frohardt planned to use art and humor to question our culture of consumption and convenience and to show one of the greatest problems of our planet.

Plastic bags are created by fossil (化石) fuels and often end up as waste in landfills and the ocean. Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery bags per year. She hopes that she can continue to tour with the project and bring it to different communities. “My dream would be that this project will become unnecessary one day,” said Frohardt.

“Frohardt’s work reminds us, with humor, to think not just about the next two weeks, but also about the next two decades and the next two centuries. What will remain hundreds of years later? We hope that our legacy will be plays rather than piles of plastics,” said Tim Tompkins, President of Times Square Alliance.

7 . The Monarch butterfly (帝王蝶) population has dropped to its second-lowest number on record in Mexican forests this winter. The forests are the insects’ winter home. The population decrease is worrying as the butterfly group is already considered at risk of disappearance.

Mexico’s government and the non-profit World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently issued findings of their yearly joint study on the butterflies. The research shows that the Monarch butterfly presence has decreased to less than a hectare (公顷) of forest area. In the mid-1990s, Monarch butterflies could be found on around 18 hectares of the forests. The findings represent an almost 60 percent decrease in the Monarch butterfly population compared to last year’s study. It is also the second-lowest population finding since the first study took place more than thirty years ago.

Biologists blame the drop on higher-than-usual temperatures and dry conditions in the northwestern U. S. where the butterflies lay eggs. The weather conditions affect the growth of milkweed, the plant where the butterflies lay their eggs. When the young arrive, milkweed is their food for a time. In one of the planet’s famous wildlife migrations (迁徙), the butterflies travel south as many as 4,500 kilometers from places as far north as Canada. They spend the winter in warmer Mexico, where millions of the insects stay in trees that protect them from the rain and cold.

Monarch butterfly populations change year to year. As recently as 2021, the same study showed a 35 percent increase to cover around 2.8 hectares. Officials and activists called for more action to help the species. Such calls include the need to reduce threats of destroying milkweed and the need to protect forests. “We can’t lower our guard,” Jorge Rickards, head of WWF’s Mexico office, told reporters after releasing the latest data.

8 . Books that can help teens manage anxiety

Children experience anxiety differently from adults, and it also looks different in each child. Fortunately, books can serve as tools for guiding children through the anxious thoughts and feelings they may experience. The following are four books that can help children effectively manage their anxiety.

The Healthy Coping Coloring Book and Journal by Pooky Knightsmith

This coloring book is specifically designed for children aged 8 to 14 and activities range from coloring to journaling and drawing, all of which are developed to help children deal with troubling situations. The different activities can be beneficial for self-expression.

Please Explain Anxiety to Me! by Laurie E. Zelinger and Jordan Zelinger

Written by psychologists, this story breaks down both the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety. The story compares the natural anxiety kids feel to dinosaurs fearing being threatened in the wild. It explains that some anxiety (for example, a dinosaur’s anxiety about being eaten) can be our body’s way of protecting us from threats.

Sea Otter Cove by Lori Lite

This is a book that teaches children how to use proper breathing techniques to calm down, lower stress, and control anger. Through playful sea otters and other delightful characters in the book, children get to experience belly breathing. This effective, self-calming technique is also known as diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing.

The Worry Glasses by Donalisa Helsley

This book is about a little girl named MJ. It tells the story of how she learns to defeat her worries. All through the story, her wonderful counselor Miss Jessica patiently helps her. The book includes a list of exercises designed to relieve kids’ anxiety. It also offers tips to parents and adults who live with anxious children.

9 . The maker of ChatGPT recently announced its next move into generative artificial intelligence. San Francisco-based OpenAI’s new text-to-video generator, called Sora, is a tool that instantly makes short videos based on written commands, called prompts.

Sora is not the first of its kind. Google, Meta and Runway ML are among the other companies to have developed similar technology. But the high quality of videos displayed by OpenAI — some released after CEO Sam Altman asked social media users to send in ideas for written prompts-surprised observers.

A photographer from New Hampshire posted one suggestion, or prompt, on X. The prompt gave details about a kind of food to be cooked, gnocchi (意大利团子), as well as the setting — an old Italian country kitchen. The prompt said: “An instructional cooking session for homemade gnocchi, hosted by a grandmother — a social media influencer, set in a rustic (土气的) Tuscan country kitchen.” Altman answered a short time later with a realistic video that showed what the prompt described.

The tool is not yet publicly available. OpenAI has given limited information about how it was built. The company also has not stated what imagery and video sources were used to train Sora. At the same time, the video results led to fears about the possible ethical and societal effects.

The New York Times and some writers have taken legal actions against OpenAI for its use of copyrighted works of writing to train ChatGPT. And OpenAI pays a fee to The Associated Press, the source of this report, to license its text news archive (档案) . OpenAI said in a blog post that it is communicating with artists, policymakers and others before releasing the new tool to the public.

The company added that it is working with “red teamers” — people who try to find problems and give helpful suggestions — to develop Sora. “We are working with red teamers-express in areas like misinformation, hateful content, and bias — who will be adversarially testing the model,” the company said. “We’re also building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora.”