I made a calculator that calculates the gravitational potential energy or kinetic energy of an object. It can also solve for the other variables such as velocity squared, or mass.
Recently, people have been finding that Google’s new AI has been giving strange and possibly dangerous answers. Users have been sharing experiences where the AI gives them advice such as “eating one small rock per day is recommended”, referencing an article from The Onion, a satirical website. But, Google says that these are “isolated examples”, and not an accurate representation of everyday user activity.
The AI was first released to a small sect of people in the UK in April, but was released to the general public in the US in May. The purpose of this AI is to give a brief summary of a topic when you search. Google is currently waring
Critique:
This wouldn’t be the first time that Google’s AI has had some issues. In February of 2024, Google released Gemini, a chatbot which was under fire due to its large amounts of diversity. While normally this would be a good thing, when asked to generate images of a historical figure such as George Washington, it often depicted him as a person of colour. While Google dominates in the search engine industry, it shows many struggles in AI. Even though Google has invested $100 billion into developing AI, we haven’t been able to see the results of that yet. I am still optimistic for the future, and I hope that they will be able to release an AI as good as their search engine.
Notebook LM
Summary:
Originally called Tailwind, Google has released a new AI called Notebook LM, which may be the new way to take notes. Google says that they started building the system from scratch, with a language model in the centre (hence the LM).
In our ever-changing world, there is a lot of new information which can be very difficult to keep up with. Google proposes that this will be able to condense information from multiple sources, greatly helping students and teachers. The AI also lets you “ground” the AI into your sources. Notebook LM can provide summaries, be asked questions about the uploaded document, and even create short scripts or even podcast episodes based on the content it is given.
Critique:
I personally believe that, while Notebook LM is a very impressive technology, it may not be suitable for many students, especially those in grades 8-10. This is because teachers often don’t provide students with the materials that the AI needs to do what it was programmed to do – condense large amounts of information into small, easy to read points. This also isn’t the first AI to be able to achieve something like this. Chat GPT and other language-model AI’s also have the capabilities to consensus information and present it in new ways. But, I was able to try it out, and I was able to find that it is able to condense a 60-page document in less than 15 seconds, which is incredibly fast, especially for an experimental model. Overall, I do believe that this AI is a good concept, it doesn’t have anything that separates itself from its competitors.
Hi, I’m Sabri Snyder and I’m part of the Programming and Robotics 8/9 Class. Below are some projects I’ve done at home and at school to showcase my skills learned in class.
My OBS YouTube Video Link:
NHL Point Predictions
We looked at API’s and used past player’s performances to predict their future performance. Ultimately, from mid February to mid April, I was off by pretty much exactly 1 goal from my expected amount of goals from my 25 players, which I think is pretty impressive and shows the potential in such a crude strategy for calculating player performances.
OpenAI recently made GPT-4o available to everybody who has an OpenAI account, and GPT-4o has some very scary and very innovative features. The first one I’ll talk about is the ability to have a “real” conversation. GPT-4o has a voice and can actively participate in a conversation with 1 or more people. The voice and the mannerisms of GPT-4o are already way ahead of every other AI voice. The voice sounds very close to being real, and the AI knows how to make jokes, laugh, and respond at correct times. Although it isn’t perfect, and sometimes struggles to understand the context of a conversation, most of the time it’s pretty accurate. What makes it even more realistic is the response time. The average response time of GPT-4o is 320 milliseconds, and it can respond as quick as 232 milliseconds. In an interactive human conversation, the average response time is around 250 milliseconds. This means that GPT-4o is nearing human response speed, sounds like a human, and can communicate like a human. Less than 2 years ago, ChatGPT was launched, and since then, AI has grown at extremely quick rates. The possibilities in the near future for AI look very innovative and interesting. Personally, I think that it may be a lot sooner than we think before AI begins to replace people’s jobs, because already people are trying to include AI into robots, and once that becomes publicly available, assuming these robots could function well, many jobs could get replaced causing a job shortage worse than what we saw from the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.
2nd Commentary on Tech News: Apple Vision Pro
The Apple Vision Pro was released on February 2nd to the United States and still has yet to release globally to the rest of the world. The Apple Vision Pro is a headset with both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) into one. It makes for an immersive experience, it’s good for entertainment, and regular productivity similar to that you could do on an iPhone. It’s very high quality, but right now gets dwarfed by other headsets on the market due to similar quality to some Meta headsets while being significantly more expensive. Apple definitely has plans to make better versions in the future, and the first ever Apple Vision Pro wasn’t really meant to be sold to the public; at least it hasn’t been optimized to do so, which will change in years to come.
Personally, I will not even think of purchasing the Apple Vision Pro in this form. The only reason I would ever purchase a headset as of now is for gaming, and Meta currently dominates that market, so I would rather take a Meta Quest headset. Now, although it has some unique features, it doesn’t outweigh the fact that it is around 3x the price of the Meta Quest in my opinion. I believe what Apple wants is for this to be a mainstream thing that everyone will own for their every day life. If so, then this is the correct direction, or at least that’s what it seems like to me. I think that if it gets lighter, easier to use, and cheaper, it could become as common as an iPhone, although I think it will be a little more alien and will take longer to be integrated into society rather than the iPhone which took over the world in less than decade.
Testing an AI checker: Comparing my Essay to An AI Generated Essay to see if an “AI checker” can spot the difference
After inputting my essay into GPTZero, it gave my essay a 7% chance of being written by AI. I, of course, wrote my essay entirely without the aid of others, or AI. Then, after giving the AI the same prompt I had for my english essay, and then copy and pasting that into GPTZero, it gave that essay a 100% chance of being written by AI. Pretty remarkably accurate, even if it is a small sample size. Then, after asking ChatGPT to write this essay again, this time to go undetected, GPTZero came back with a 100% AI chances again. Although things changed when I ran the AI generated essay through Quillbot. Quillbot is a paraphrasing AI that can be used to try and go undetected by AI checkers such as GPTZero, and these results surprised me. After running the essay through Quillbot.com, GPTZero said there was only a 17% likelihood of the essay being written by AI. Ultimately, a very interesting experiment to test the accuracy of AI checkers.
Hi, I’m Nolan Chan and I’m part of the Programming and Robotics 8/9 Class. Below are some projects I’ve done at home and at school to showcase my skills learned in class.
Trinket Projects
At the beginning of the year, we were required to make 2 projects with Trinket.io and our basic knowledge of Python. Use the
My first project was a simple password interface that used basic Python functions
After winter break, we put together a spreadsheet to analyze and predict players in the NHL and how many points they would have at certain checkpoints during the year. Each student chose 25 players and had to put together an optimal way to organize and analyze their players via the NHL API. Below are my prediction differences compared to the actual points across the 25 players. Here is an interactive chart that displays my point prediction differences on each checkpoint date.
At the end of the year, each student is tasked with creating 3 end-of-year projects and creating 2 articles on recent tech news events that happened this year. 2 of these must be programming and robotics-related (ie. using trinkets to create a code, using the Jetson Nano Linux boxes and creating functions with them, etc.). Students were also tasked with narrating their website (the one you see now) and briefly touching on each of the points on the website, via OBS recording software.
End Of Year Project 1: Trinket Number Guessing Game
This is a simple number-guessing game that ranges from 1 to 100. I incorporated the randint (random number function) into my project for fun to see how I could use it.
OpenAI has been on the frontlines of the new generation of the internet: Artificial Intelligence. It’s notable for making AI tools including ChatGPT, the first mainstream large language model that accepts prompts and answers them, and DALL-E, the first mainstream AI image generator. These have had a significant impact across the tech industry, with investors and companies flocking over to this new sub-industry of the tech industry. With new innovations coming daily in the AI industry, the introduction of Sora, the upcoming AI video generation tool being released by OpenAI is another step forward for the very young and prospering Artificial Intelligence sector
Personally I think this is a large step in the daily use and usefulness of AI as a whole, but I also believe that with such a broad category that Sora is covering (AI video generation), there must be sufficient guardrails and safety features to be implemented into the system to prevent bad actors from using it for a variety of inappropriate ways (that I cannot talk about in this article). On the flipside, this technology could have a very large ripple effect across multiple industries once released. These industries include the filming, gaming, and advertisement industries, as well as many others. This would also significantly change the jobs of animators and photographers, as now, even though Sora is still in the early stages of development, their jobs and tasks can be done in a matter of seconds to minutes with only a prompt from the user.
With the rise of cheap tech websites like Temu, Wish, AliExpress, and more, there comes the slew of knock-off name-brand products too. Some are obvious knockoffs, while others are actually trying to be the legitimate thing. These products, often known as “reps” aren’t talked about often and aren’t given the credit they deserve. Many name-brand items such as Airpods, Jordans, and Gucci Bags retain much of their value in their brand, rather than the product itself. This means that a Gucci bag without the Gucci logo would only be worth $100, but with the logo and official branding, it could cost upwards of $20,000. Good reps are often made in the same factory as the real product but are branded differently and shipped in obscure places. Many of the products sold on the cheap tech websites listed in the beginning are often not legitimate reps but attempts at creating a similar product.
I personally buy and use these products on a daily basis, and since I’m not an audio or shoe connoisseur, I quite honestly can’t tell the difference between the name brand and off-brand products and I highly recommend people try it out. Just make sure you check the reviews to make sure it’s not a scam!
This page shows some of what I have accomplished in grade 9 programming and robotics. 🙂
OBS walkthrough
Here is a filmed walkthrough of my website!
Trinkets
I made some basic Python code on Trinket. This is a collection of my favourite games, quizzes and everyday software.
Number-Guessing Game
This was one of the first games I made this year. It is a number-guessing game that features other languages. It uses a random number generator and while statements.
I made this around Christmas. This game is meant to test how much you really know about Christmas. It is built on if statements and has a point system to keep track of your answers.
I experimented with Breadboards and the Arduino software outside of class. I liked how we could see the physical result of our code. I started with just buttons, wires and lights but soon worked my way up so I could run and write my own basic code to do many things. Below there are some examples of code I modified to do a different task than originally given.
Blink Without Delay w/ Potentiometer
Normally whenever you want to cause a light to blink with an Arduino you will have to add a delay to pause the program. However, this will stop the entire program for a few seconds, making it so you can not run anything else in the background. Blink without delay lets us bypass these problems. I added a Potentiometer to control how fast the lights will blink.
const int ledPin = LED_BUILTIN; // the number of the LED pin
// Variables will change:
int ledState = LOW; // ledState used to set the LED
// Generally, you should use "unsigned long" for variables that hold time
// The value will quickly become too large for an int to store
unsigned long previousMillis = 0; // will store last time LED was updated
const int analogPin = A0;
// constants won't change:
long interval = 1000; // interval at which to blink (milliseconds)
void setup() {
// set the digital pin as output:
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(12, OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
// here is where you'd put code that needs to be running all the time.
// check to see if it's time to blink the LED; that is, if the difference
// between the current time and last time you blinked the LED is bigger than
// the interval at which you want to blink the LED.
unsigned long currentMillis = millis();
int analogValue = analogRead(analogPin);
interval = analogValue;
if (currentMillis - previousMillis >= interval) {
// save the last time you blinked the LED
previousMillis = currentMillis;
// if the LED is off turn it on and vice-versa:
if (ledState == LOW) {
ledState = HIGH;
} else {
ledState = LOW;
}
// set the LED with the ledState of the variable:
digitalWrite(ledPin, ledState);
}
Serial.print(currentMillis);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print(previousMillis);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.println(interval);
}
If Statement Conditional 3 Lights
This code will cause certain lights to turn on when the potentiometer reaches a certain threshold. I added 3 lights so that at 3 different levels of the potentiometer a different lights will turn on.
const int analogPin = A0; // pin that the sensor is attached to
const int ledPin = 12;
const int ledPin2 = 11;
const int ledPin3 = 10; // pin that the LED is attached to
const int threshold = 400;
const int threshold2 = 800; // an arbitrary threshold level that's in the range of the analog input
void setup() {
// initialize the LED pin as an output:
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
// initialize serial communications:
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
// read the value of the potentiometer:
int analogValue = analogRead(analogPin);
// if the analog value is high enough, turn on the LED:
if (analogValue < threshold) {
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
} else {
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
}
if (analogValue < threshold) {
digitalWrite(ledPin2, LOW);
} else {
digitalWrite(ledPin2, HIGH);
}
if (analogValue > threshold2) {
digitalWrite(ledPin3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(ledPin2, LOW);
} else {
digitalWrite(ledPin3, LOW);
digitalWrite(ledPin2, HIGH);
}
// print the analog value:
Serial.println(analogValue);
delay(1); // delay in between reads for stability
}
NHL Predictions
My Chart
We made automatic NHL prediction charts to better understand Google Sheets and its full potential. We played around with APIs, import JSON, ranges and self-sufficient graphs among other things. This will help us in universities and jobs.
Another thing we did to prepare for university was learn how to use Word and Excel. When we are older we will have to work on documents much too large for our computers to handle, so we will have to start using more complicated software. We had a test to learn about these platforms and all the uses that Google Docs does not provide.
Agentic AI is a new and more complex kind of artificial intelligence, used for understanding and interpreting complex contexts and goals; without the need for human intervention. This is the most shocking difference when comparing AI to agentic AI. This means whenever you use Aagentic AI it allows for more advanced interactions and solutions to your problems. Causing Agentic AI to have more similarities to human employees than other kinds of AI. They are also better at comprehending and following casual human conversation than the other subtypes of AI. Another bonus that Agentic AI has is its workflow optimization. Causing it to move between subtasks and applications more efficiently. When this all combines then we get the major benefit of Agentic AI: the fact that it can have a deeper and more complex understanding of any problems you may give it, expanding on its thoughts without the need for human supervision. The current leader in the production and evolution of Agentic AI is Microsoft’s Project AutoGen. They hope to turn these algorithms into “co-copilots” for certain positions in a workforce( I.g IT teams, HR teams, Customer service, Fraud monitoring and Diagnostics). However, before they reach this point they have some risks that they must fix first. Firstly, these systems rely on stats that might not have all the facts needed to make an informed decision. So, they might propose solutions that would seem to work but actually could cause problems down the line. Without human review of all their decisions, they could make flawed recommendations, which is exactly what we are trying to stop. Secondly, the complex reasoning of these systems might use terminology that could be difficult to understand. Despite these problems, Agentic AI will continue to evolve and will probably become integrated into most everyday jobs.
I think that Agentic AI could become a great thing in the future. However, I do have some concerns about how it could affect the rest of society. First of all, it could take away possible job opportunities that people of lower education normally have. This could lead to unemployment rates skyrocketing and a rush to get jobs that would be “tech-free”; a concept that is becoming obsolete in our modern world. But this could be combated by the fact most of these AIs will need a human to overview their data and make edits where needed. There still is the downside of how if you were an “AI checker” you would need to understand the content to a certain degree. Another problem with this is if it starts to draw its conclusion to problems and gets its data from other AI sources, this could lead us down a rabbit hole of false information. Overall Agentic AI coil drastically change our future, but for better or worse that is for us to find out.
The Nintendo Switch has almost been out for 7 years now, with all the new advancements happening in the technological world it is no wonder that Nintendo is starting to make a new switch. But what bonuses would this new switch have? The first big change that is under speculation is that the new Joy-Cons will attach to the console magnetically. Along with the new joy-cons, they could feature additional buttons letting players have more control while playing. Another upside of the new Switch is that it should be backward-compatible with present Switch games and even some hardware. This means that if you want to upgrade you will not need to rebuy all your favourite physical games and controllers. In addition, The Switch 2 should be able to be used in portable mode. Moreover, the dock will be similar to the original Switch’s. However, there is currently no information if there will be a handheld-only sub-type like the Switch Lite. One last plus side the new switch might be getting is a bigger screen, it is expected to be around 8 inches wide. The new switch should be released around March 2025.
I can’t wait until the new switch will come out. Nintendo is one of my favourite gaming brands and I love when they get new updates. I hope that this new Switch comes out with new games that would still be compatible with the old models. One thing that I am worried about though is if they decide to end online servers for the original Nintendo Switch. Nintendo recently ended online servers for the 3DS, not letting games play with each other without mods. However, I am not that worried about this because of the overall success of the Nintendo Switch. I am so excited for the new Switch and I hope that it brings a new era of Nintendo with it.
Hello there! I’m Joah Boland-Landa, I’m a programmer, diligent worker, and lover of video games and cats. I have many applicable skills in the world of game development and programming. I will try my best to deliver the best possible content with passion behind it for anyone interested in my skill set. Please reach out to me here if you wish to work with me. Thanks for stopping by!
News: There are now ads in the beta of Windows 11 on the start menu. They do not tell you it is an ad, but it is disableable.
Opinion: Even though it can be disabled, it is still not good practice to not only put ads inside of your operating system, but also not tell the user it is an ad. YouTubers are held to a higher standard than microsoft, a multi-billion dollar corporation, as they have to tell their viewers that adds will be shown, but Microsoft just puts them in there start menu and doesn’t even tell you it’s an ad, the average user will just think it’s a part of the computer, not knowing it will redirect them to something that they would need to buy. Overall, this is just unfair practice from Microsoft.
News: All Cybertrucks have been recalled due to an issue within them when it came to its brakes.
Opinion: The Cybertruck has kind of been a dumpster fire since day one, with the window breaking when they said that it would not break, and then basically 3 years of radio silence while they were developing it. and now, as they finally start to roll out the first generation of Cybertrucks, they recall them due to an issue that could prove to be fatal. Even though everything surrounding the Cybertruck is absolutely insane, I think this is one of the few good decisions surrounding the car. The break apparently had an issue, where you would not be able to break, and there is footage online of Cybertrucks absolutely destroying other cars with how safe they are, and if your break doesn’t work on a glorified tank, you are now a danger to everybody else on the road. Good call for once, Elon.
Summary: NewsBreak, a leading U.S. news app with Chinese origins, has faced criticism for publishing false AI-generated stories, including a fictitious shooting in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The app has produced numerous errors affecting local communities and faced legal challenges for copyright infringement. Despite being U.S.-based, half of its workforce is in China, raising data privacy concerns. NewsBreak claims compliance with U.S. laws and has taken steps to correct inaccuracies, but maintaining a U.S.-based perception is crucial for its credibility.
IKEA wants to pay real people to work in its new store inside Roblox game
Summary: IKEA is hiring 10 full-time employees to work in its new virtual store on Roblox, opening June 24. This move marks IKEA’s first major venture into gaming, with the virtual store named “The Co-Worker Game.” Applicants, who must be 18 or older and based in the UK or Ireland, will earn £13.15 ($16.82) per hour, the same as London-based IKEA staff. Workers will assist customers and manage sections of the online store. IKEA’s job listing, which includes whimsical questions, has gone viral on social media. This initiative follows similar virtual ventures by brands like Walmart on Roblox.
“The world’s most advanced display,” “most powerful device of its kind.” The new iPad Pro handles tasks 4x faster than its its predecessor even while being the new thinnest iPad product. Its two options: 11 inch/13inch weight 0.98lb/1.28lb, 5.3mm/5.1mm. All possible from the M4 integration.
M4: Adds raytracing to iPad. The “Ultra Retina XDR” 1000nits SDR and HDR 1600 nits of peak HDR tandem OLED XDR. The option of nano-texture glass for anti-glare for the new iPad Pro. For the first time, the iPad Air comes in two sizes like the Pro with 11/13 inch options. The new starting storage 128 GB and starting at a very affordable price of $599 with the M2 chip.
“It empowers users to push the limits of productivity… it’s the combination of the world’s best displays.”
The Magic Keyboard was completely redesigned with a new function row and larger responsive track pad with haptic feedback. Plus, updates on accessories: New apple pencil pro new interactions squeeze sensitive, and it joins find my. Plus, the new Final Cut Pro!
I find the new iPad amazing. I’m not sure how they did it, but the power up from the last version is a much larger jump with many new innovations. Their inclusion of their new strongest chip and Apple’s best display really surprised me. (Especially with the nano-texture glass). The size options, however, seem a bit obnoxious to me; the width and weight are quite interesting, but if it hinders performance, I’d prefer a larger iPad. Personally, I’ve never felt that an iPad was too thick and too heavy. Older versions already seemed very slim, so this change has cool implications in tech, but it doesn’t appeal to me that much. Overall, these additions are nice, but considering prices, (I got the prices listed here from Apple’s introduction video for the new iPads) I feel a bit deceived, since the website lists different prices. (and it’s expensive).
A.I. Summary Snippets
A recent change to how Google’s A.I. is used in a normal browsing experience creates concerns for news businesses. Search prompts are answered with AI in browsing with Google, creating access to specified information on the user’s search. The concern is that this makes it so that people are less likely to search deeply and click links and articles with perhaps more general information when A.I. extracts that precise details. The lowered traffic on sites means less revenue and indirectly less subscriptions.
My personal thoughts on this current problem is why haven’t more articles come out on the Bing copilot. They’ve been using the same system of search summarization as a default for a while. I guess it’s from the popularity of the search browsers. A potential solution to this could be charging extra for A.I. database training for article subscriptions or perhaps charging per reader. Honestly, this only affects large-scale companies with strong news businesses, so many of these concerns are between high influence, big money people. However, the siphoning of audience with A.I. might cause partially biased anti-propaganda through the influential articles which is where I got my information from.
