1 . Artificial intelligence is one of the most concentrated industries in the world, which influences education, criminal justice, hiring and welfare, But so far the industry has escapedregulation (管理), despite affecting the lives of billions of people, even when its products are potentially harmful.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sped this up. Many Al companies are now promoting emotion recognition tools (ERTs) for monitoring remote workers. These systems map the “micro-expressions”in people’s faces from their video cameras. Then they predict internal emotional states drawn from a list of supposedly universal categories: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise and fear. However, there is scientific doubt whether emotional states are accurately detected at all. “It is not possible to confidently infer happiness from a smile, or sadness from a frown,” a 2019 review stated.

Resistance to this highly controversial (有争议的) technology is growing; the influential.

Brookings Institute suggested ERTs be banned completely from use by law. The European Union becomes the first to attempt a proposal to regulate AI, but the draft AI act has its problems. It would ban most “real-time” biometric ID (生物识别) systems — but fails to define what exactly real-time means.

Clearly, we need far stronger protections and controls that address such harmful effects on society. However, too many policymakers fall into the trap of “enchanted determinism”: the belief that AI systems are magical and superhuman — beyond what we can understand or regulate, yet decisive and reliable enough to make predictions about life-changing decisions. This effect drives a kind of techno-optimism that can directly endanger people’s lives. For example, a review in the British Medical Journal looked at 232 machine-learning algorithms (算法) for predicting outcomes for COVID-19 patients. It found that none of them were fit for clinical use. “I fear that they may have harmed patients,” said one of the authors.

Many countries have strict regulations and thorough testing when developing medicines and vaccines. The same should be true for AI systems, especially those having a direct impact on people’s lives.

2 . Music influences your emotions. In turn, your emotions influence your behavior. One of these is your food intake.     1     What does science say about this subject?

Researchers at the University of Arkansas studied how music influences people when they eat in a restaurant. For the study, they used four types of music: jazz, classical, rock, and hip-hop. Their results showed that people had more appetite when they listened to jazz music while they ate.     2     This has a lot to do with emotions. For instance, when you listen to music with harmonic rhythms like jazz, you feel happier. This increases your appetite.

However, another study published in Psychological Reports suggests it isn’t only increased appetite that causes people to eat more.     3     A more stimuli-filled environment makes you eat more. In fact, they tend to urge you on to eat and even “encourage” you to eat faster. On the other hand, if the atmosphere in the restaurant is relaxed, you’re likely to feel more relaxed and spend more time enjoying yourself. For this reason, you’ll tend to eat less.

Besides, the study conducted by the Journal of the Academy suggests that the volume of music can also have an effect on how you eat. More specifically, the study states that, with low-volume music, you eat better because you make healthier choices. On the other hand, the study claims that music at high volume increases stimulation and stress.     4    

For this reason, restaurants should consider the fact when thinking about the optimization of their products and services.     5     They equip themselves with the technology needed to provide memorable experiences through music, greatly strengthening their relationship with the customer.

3 . The best-sellers of Amazon’s self-help list

With Mental Health Awareness Week in full swing, we’ve turned to the best-sellers of Amazon’s self-help list. Here are the most popular books over the past year.

Quiet

Fearne Cotton

Written to control the inner voice that says you can’t and silence what Fearne calls ‘brain-chatter’ that holds you back and stops you from believing in yourself. It’s a handbook to help deal effectively with modern life filled with expert advice and ideas you can put into practice.

Can’t Hurt me

David Goggins

Sharing his astonishing life story—from poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse to a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. David Goggins reveals that most of us only ever tap into just 40% of our capabilities. Goggins refers to this as ‘The 40% Rule’, with his story lighting a path that anyone can follow to push past pain and reach their full potential.

The Wim Hof Method

Wim Hof

If you’re fascinated by Wim Hof and his amazing achievements. Think, barefoot marathons over deserts and ice fields. As an endurance (耐力) athlete, he’s multiple broken world records bearing the most extreme temperatures through the power of the mind. Exploring the ways to activate your potential and go beyond your limits. Taking control of both your body and life by releasing the great power of the mind Hoff explains his method for surviving extreme conditions.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mark Manson

“Don’t hope for a life without problems. There’s no such thing. Instead, hope for a life full of good problems.” Manson makes the argument, backed by academic research and amounts of toilet humour, that improving our lives depends not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but rather learning to stomach lemons better.

Giant pandas prefer eating shoots and leaves of bamboo, all of    1    are richer in nutrition. Because of their low-energy diet, they avoid stressful situations,    2    (prefer) spending time alone.

In addition to eating for about half a day, the giant pandas spend the rest of their time in sleeping. In the wild, they sleep for 2 to 4 hours    3    its two meals. The keepers feed giant pandas twice    4    day at regular times in the zoo.Therefore, they spend most of their spare time in rest.

Pandas get into positions of    5    (vary)kinds.Their favorite sleeping position is putting their hind paws on the trees with their front paws shading their eyes.

Panda families don't live together, and each female    6    (have)a well-defined range. Males generally live apart, except for in the short breeding season. They enjoy    7    (free) of being alone. In addition to one month spent with their partners during mating season, most of their time     8    (spend)alone.

Seldom    9    (active)attacking men or other animals, the giant pandas always evade them when coming across them. However, they will burst into anger at small things such as their cubs(幼兽)    10    (watch)by visitors.

Helen Keller became blind and deaf at nineteen months old. Because she was deaf, Helen was unable to talk. She didn’t know how words sounded and couldn’t read     1     (they). Despite her disabilities, Helen learned to communicate.

Her teacher, Anne Sullivan,    2     (teach) her how to communicate with others. Anne wrote words on Helen's hand. Next, Helen learned how to make sounds in her throat.

Although her words didn’t sound very clear, she had learned to say words     3     her mouth. Helen also learned to read and write by     4     (use) Braille (盲文). She could read     5     (fast) with her fingers than people could read with their eyes! Helen Keller not only overcame many difficulties in her own life, but she also helped other people try to make their lives better. She became     6     writer and wrote about the challenges of being blind and deaf.

Helen travelled to towns and cities, and even other countries. She told people to be     7     (thank) for all their senses and to look at and listen to things as if they would never see or hear them again. Helen Keller was a kind of     8     (encourage) to others. She showed     9     a Person who couldn’t see or hear could achieve. For Helen, nothing could get in the way of her strong wish     10     (live) a full life.

10 . Today’s journalists face modern challenges. Online media platforms are springing up. And the lowly newspaper---and its reporters---are fighting money, tech, and distrust issues. Journalism students and teachers must emphasize new skills to keep their profession alive.

A trustworthy press helps inform people and monitor all levels of government. That is essential to a nation. Yet this useful establishment is growing increasingly unpopular. According to the University of North Carolina (UNC), newsroom jobs across the Country are fewer than half what they were 10 years ago. And on many college campuses, the news about the news is bleak too.

Take the Syracuse, New York, student-run newspaper The Daily Orange: It isn’t daily anymore. The paper prints just three times each week. Next year, The Diamondback of the University of Maryland will be online only. Half the newspapers that still exist on paper say they don’t print as many copies. And UNC’s The Daily Tar Heel has cut staff pay and rented cheaper offices to make its budget.

Considering the problems in journalism, it’s surprising that the enrollment(注册人数) in college journalism programs is up. The Daily Orange managing editor Catherine Leffert calls the layoffs and cutbacks disheartening. “But what keeps me wanting to be a journalist is seeing the effect that The Daily Orange has,” he says.

But journalism educators wonder, “Are we preparing young people for a dying industry?” Years ago, journalism graduates took low-level reporter jobs at newspapers or television stations. That still happens. But today’s jobs more often involve digital editing, social media production, and video streaming. Some universities are taking action. The University of Florida offers a sports media program. Several schools highlight statistics-driven data journalism.

The news isn’t all bad. Journalism professor Kathleen Culver says, “When I look at 18-and 20-year-olds in journalism and see what they want to do, I’m optimistic.” Maddy Arrowood is the student editor of The Daily Tar Heel. She says her experience makes her more interested in a journalism career, not less. Her optimism “comes from knowing that people still need news. They still need information.”