2023

Sam Altman in 2019

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In less than a week, a showdown took place within the top management of OpenAI, an organization that began as a non-profit before creating a for-profit subsidiary. On Friday, November 17, the Board of Directors removed Sam Altman from his position as CEO and Greg Brockman from the Board. After frantic days of announcements, threats of mass resignations from the employees, further changes at the top, and the announcement of the move of Altman and Brockman to Microsoft, there was instead a restoration with the return of the two of them to their roles and the announcement of radical changes in the Board.

Stargazer: Judgment Day by Ivan Ertlov

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The novel “Stargazer: Judgment Day” (“Stargazer: Weltenrichter”) by Ivan Ertlov was published for the first time in 2022 and translated from German by Marly Gram. It’s the fourth book in the After Terra series and follows “Stargazer: Civil War”.

In the Council that rules the Protectorate, there’s confusion when the Plachtharr Alliance withdraws its fleets from the borders. This turns into panic when the Plachtharr Ambassador formally requests military support. The reason is the approach of a cosmic entity capable of devouring everything it finds, an entity part of the nightmares of all sentient species, even when they have never actually seen it. Humans know it as Yog-Sothoth.

When old enmities are put aside and even pirate fleets arrive to join the final battle, the situation seems desperate. However, hope comes from the ancient technologies that produced the starship Yrsha restoring its weapons to their full power. Frank Gazer and his crew are ready to join the fight with the knowledge that this time the enemy is the most dangerous entity they have ever faced.

Michael Bishop (Photo Derryl Murphy)

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News arrived of the death of the writer Michael Bishop, which occurred on Monday, November 13. Since the end of June 2023, he was in a hospice. He didn’t feel close to death but his health problems led him to that decision.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

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The novel “Six Wakes” by Mur Lafferty was published for the first time in 2017.

When Maria Arena wakes up, she remembers the beginning of the journey of the starship Dormire but something went wrong because she discovers her previous clone, who shows visible signs of being much older than when the journey began and was killed. The other crew members turn out to be in the same situation except the captain, whose previous body is in a coma but still alive.

A check-up of the onboard systems shows that the IAN artificial intelligence is not working. The cloning systems have been sabotaged, meaning that records of the crew members’ memories are unavailable and it’s impossible to create new clones. There’s a saboteur on board but everything suggests that he must be a member of the crew, an easy conclusion to reach also because they’re all criminals.

Skeleton of the Thescelosaurus neglectus nicknamed Willo (Photo J. Spencer)

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An article published in the journal “Scientific Reports” offers new information on the sensory capabilities of the Thescelosaurus neglectus, a small dinosaur that lived just before the great extinction that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. Paleontologists David Button and Lindsay Zanno submitted a Thescelosaurus skull to a CT scan to reconstruct its interior to create a 3D representation of its brain and inner ear. The conclusion is that this species had some very developed senses, useful for living in burrows.