Market Fish, Printed Mosque, Smart AI

Hi there, it's time for another episode of News Bites! I'm Nancy Sun… And I'm Hope Ngo. In today's news: Changes to night markets, a 3D printed mosque, and the dangers of AI. Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next. ________________________________ 台灣夜市禁止撈魚遊戲 Goldfish Catching Games Banned at Night Markets Night markets are a part of Taiwanese culture. Taiwan has some of the best night markets in the world. People of all ages come for the delicious food, variety of products, and games. There are many games at night markets… Classic (經典) pinball, balloon darts, basketball hoops, and others. But there is one game that might disappear from the night market, goldfish scooping (撈). At Taiwanese night markets, six paddles can cost $200 NT. There are also occasions where stalls provide turtles instead of goldfish. Some stalls also have shrimp fishing games with a rod (釣竿) where you can exchange the shrimp for gifts. But now, these games will not be allowed. The Council of Agriculture (COA 農委會) has announced draft amendments (修正草案) to the Animal Welfare Act. It prohibits (禁止) vendors from exchanging animals as gifts for games and entertainment. There is a maximum fine of $250,000 NT for people who do not follow the law. Over the years, people have started thinking more about protecting animals. Many stalls at markets have switched to plastic fish and floating balls. 雖然塑膠魚不會跳動，但是要在紙破之前撈起來還是不容易喔。 ________________________________ 全球第一座3D列印清真寺 World's First 3D-printed Mosque If you have a 3D printer, then you know you can print almost anything if you have the blueprints. You can print in many materials. You could use plastic, resin (樹脂), carbon fiber, nylon and more. You can also print with concrete (混凝土) if your 3D printer is big enough. 3D printing is also used in construction (建築業). They use large printing machines that squeeze out the construction material from a nozzle (噴嘴). The building is then made, layer by layer. Most 3D printed buildings are made from concrete, but other materials like clay are also possible. 3D printing can help save time and resources. Now, Dubai is constructing the world's first 3D printed mosque. 600 worshippers could fit inside. It will cover 2,000 square meters and will have two floors. Currently, new 3D printed buildings are popping up across the world. Refugee housing in Jordan, a military training center in Texas, and even entire neighborhoods in Mexico are printed. 3D 列印技術已經為建築業帶來革命性的改變。 It solved the problem of lack of construction workers and also reduces construction costs and failures. There is even a plan to 3D print a building on the moon! ________________________________ AI教父警告人工智慧的威脅 The Danger of AI? Do you remember those movies about machines taking over the world? There's "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "The Matrix", "I, Robot" and many others. They all tell the same story, that machines become so smart that they overpower (壓迫) humans. This is something that some people worry about. Recently, one particular (特別的) scientist came forward to talk about this. He's not just any scientist. He's the "Godfather" of artificial intelligence, Geoffrey Hinton. Since the 1970s, Hinton has been working on neural networks (神經網路). This is the method that teaches AI to process data in a way that's similar to the human brain. It is also the foundation (基礎) for modern chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard. For years, Hinton believed that neural networks were inferior (不及) to human brains. But now, he says he has started thinking differently. Geoffrey says he sees how much AI has developed in the last five years. Originally, he thought it would take 50 years for AI to outsmart humans. But now he predicts it will only take 5 to 20 years. But there are others who believe AI will bring a new era of enlightenment (領悟) for humans. 不過，所有的科學家們都有一個共識，人工智慧的應用需要被好好的監督。 ________________________________ So, in today's News Bites… Draft amendments to the Animal Welfare Act prohibits night market vendors from exchanging animals as gifts for games and entertainment. This means night market games like scooping fish or shrimp will no longer be allowed. There is a maximum fine of $250,000 NT for people who do not follow the law. ________________________________ Dubai is constructing the world's first 3D printed mosque. 600 worshippers could fit inside. It will cover 2,000 square meters and will have two floors. ________________________________ And, The "Godfather" of artificial intelligence, Geoffrey Hinton says he sees how much AI has developed in the last five years. He now he predicts it will only take 5 to 20 years for AI to outsmart humans. ________________________________ And that's today's episode of News Bites!