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Looking Into Ares Capital's Recent Short InterestUS goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is retiring from international soccer

The quest to endow machines with the spark of imagination that fuels human ingenuity has long fascinated the AI community. While significant progress has been made, capturing the essence of creative cognition remains an open frontier. Symbiotic, an emergent AI startup, seeks to tackle this challenge head-on, aiming to redefine the notion of machine creativity. Founded in 2024 by Harvard and Oxford graduates Riccardo Di Molfetta and Kevin Kermani Nejad, Symbiotic aims to build a new class of AI systems inspired by how creative geniuses think. Despite the startup's "meta-stealth" status, the founders have shared insights into their recent progress. Building a Superhuman Creative Thinker? Symbiotic distinguishes creativity from general intelligence. The team is currently engaged in applied research to develop a system that emulates the processes employed by human creative thinkers across a diverse range of tasks. “If you think about human creative genius,” says Di Molfetta, “what sets it apart isn’t merely the general intellectual abilities, but the ability to view the world through a different lens, actively explore novel ideas, and generate new questions rather than solving existing ones.” It all began with an early fascination with Renaissance thinkers. Di Molfetta spent his childhood in Italy poring over their works and writings—an interest that eventually led him to search for the roots of creative achievement in the human mind. "As a child, I was obsessed with their works," he recalls. "Renaissance thinkers weren't merely artists or thinkers—they were truly universal minds," he adds. Riccardo distinguished himself early, emerging as a runner-up among 6,000+ students in his yearly cohort at King's College London. This earned him a letter of commendation from the Duke of Wellington, who cited his "extraordinary achievement” and mentioning his “potential to change the world”. He went on to secure scholarships to both Oxford and Harvard, ultimately choosing the latter where he graduated with top marks while undertaking concurrent coursework at MIT. Riccardo and Kevin have dedicated countless hours to studying the thought patterns of creative thinkers. Nejad explains, "What we've found is that, compared to the average person, the neural processes of creatives are far less linear." He continues, "Individuals like artists, musicians, and innovators often form connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, forming associations that a typical brain might not consider." Nejad’s background has set him up perfectly for this line of research. Born in Iran, his remarkable aptitude for electronics emerged at a young age. At just 12, he invented a device that enabled remote control of home installations via SMS—well ahead of the IoT revolution. This innovation earned him the title of Iran’s youngest inventor. After studying Applied Mathematics at Edinburgh, he’s now a final-year PhD candidate at Oxford University. Known for his research at the intersection of machine learning and neuroscience, Nejad is particularly suited to investigate the underpinnings of biological and computational creativity. Recognizing that foundational research is crucial for such an ambitious endeavor, the team at Symbiotic believes this is the best path to developing a product that, in the long run, will, as Di Molfetta explains, “not only feel like conversing with a creative genius, but actually entering its mind.” Federico Panzera, one of the founding members of the startup, describes how foundational research has been at the core of Symbiotic's efforts. “We’re working to unlock functionalities that go far beyond today’s capabilities,” he explains. Symbiotic’s approach aims to bridge a long-standing divide between the field of Computational Creativity (CC) and the latest developments in Generative AI for human creativity–with tools such as Midjourney and DALL-E. On one side are those focused on creating machines that could one day exhibit creativity in their own right, while on the other are those building tools to augment human creativity without addressing the machines' own creative agency. Panzera is well-versed in the world of art, having brought the collections of his grandmother, Barbara Scurto—a famous Futurist painter—to the world’s most prestigious international exhibitions. He argues that focusing solely on the tools, without developing creative intelligence, defeats the purpose of augmenting human creativity. "Asking a non-creative machine to augment human creativity is like asking someone who's never experienced music to compose a symphony," he explains. "True co-creation requires a system that speaks the same language as creatives." A New Approach Under Wraps To achieve their goal, the Symbiotic team has developed a novel set of benchmarks and challenges that they believe their system should be able to tackle. These tests go far beyond the capabilities of frontier LLMs. “Current models are still far from reaching the thresholds we’ve defined,” Di Molfetta explains. “We’re looking at creativity as a multi-dimensional, multi-faceted system; therefore, new evaluations are essential.” The question of machine creativity looms large, and while it's too early to make definitive claims, the two founders believe they know a path forward—what they refer to as "creative computation." While the specifics of their method remain under wraps, their research direction has attracted substantial interest from leading institutions in both academia and industry. The Road Ahead With a first undisclosed round of funding secured, Symbiotic is poised to make significant strides in the field of AI creativity. The team is working closely with creatives from across forms and genres to build a superhuman creative computer. Despite strong interest from venture capital firms, Symbiotic chose to focus on perfecting its technical roadmap before seeking additional funds and held off on further investment rounds until their technical plan was completed. “Given the novelty of what we are doing, we believe it’s crucial to have a solid technological foundation before we start scaling it up,” Nejad concludes. However, this is set to change, with Symbiotic announcing plans to initiate their next round of funding in the coming weeks. The pursuit of creative intelligence doesn't just promise technological advancement; it ushers in a host of questions about the future. Could machines one day rival the creative genius of humans, and if so, what implications would that have for artists, innovators, and society at large? This quest pushes us to consider how we value human creativity and how we might coexist with intelligent systems that can not only replicate but also originate superior concepts. The journey ahead is uncertain, but it has the potential to reshape the world in ways we are only beginning to imagine.Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is a credible, safe choice for US Treasury secretary -- and one that is likely positive for markets -- observers said Saturday following President-elect Donald Trump's highly anticipated nomination. His selection came after competition for the top economic job spilled into the open last weekend, with the world's richest man Elon Musk throwing his support instead behind Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick. Lutnick has since been named commerce secretary to lead Trump's tariff and trade agenda, and Bessent's nomination days later appears to be uncontroversial for now. "Scott Bessent is a credible, mainstream pick for Treasury Secretary," said Jason Furman, a professor at Harvard University and former top White House economic adviser. "I could see previous administrations as having chosen him," Furman, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, told AFP. But a key difference is that Bessent, 62, has had to adopt and defend views on topics like tariffs, in a way "he never would have in pursuit of the job for a previous Republican administration." Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican president-elect vowing sweeping duties on allies and adversaries alike. In an opinion piece published earlier this month on Fox News, Bessent defended the potential use of tariffs as a means to raise revenue for the government, protect strategic US industries and negotiate with trading partners. He would be one of the first openly gay Cabinet officials if confirmed by the Senate, and the first at the helm of the Treasury Department. Jens Nordvig, chief executive of data and analytics firm Exante Data who has worked with Bessent, drew a contrast between his demeanor and that of other Trump supporters. While some Trump allies have a tendency towards "general sweeping statements," Bessent is an "analytical thinker, and he communicates accordingly," Nordvig told AFP. He counts Bessent among his early clients. "I would expect his messaging to be very focused, to get his key points across, without any unnecessary flamboyance or gusto," Nordvig added of the Wall Street veteran. Calling Bessent a "safe choice," Brookings senior fellow in economic studies David Wessel told AFP: "He will be an adult in the room for the Trump administration." Besides Bessent, others seen as top contenders for Treasury chief in recent days included former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan, and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. It remains to be seen if Bessent will be a big influence "moderating some of the administration's more aggressive trade policy" or simply be a spokesman, Wessel said. He does not have much experience in dealing with Congress either, and this would be important next year as the Trump administration works to raise the debt ceiling and effort a tax bill to deliver on his economic promises. Bessent would also have to grapple with the country's debt burden, with debt borrowed at much lower interest rates previously and Trump's plans estimated to add trillions over time. In an open letter published Saturday, Nordvig called for "thoughtful leadership" at the Treasury, saying a realistic approach to tax cuts and bond issuance was needed. He also sounded a hopeful note, saying Bessent would work to reduce extreme risks for markets. Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI, believes Bessent's nomination "will be well received by financial markets," given his deep understanding of markets and macro conditions. Guha also warned of the risk of bond yields spiking and "pushing up mortgage rates and tanking the housing market, while also causing stocks to sell off." In his past administration, Trump has viewed the stock market as a gauge of his success. bys/md Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.Baidu secures Hong Kong robotaxi trial license

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President-elect Trump slammed President Biden on Tuesday for commuting the death sentences of 37 federal prisoners in an act of holiday clemency. Trump said relatives of victims are angry that Biden spared the lives of some of the “worst killers in our country,” including inmates convicted in the slayings of police and military officers, as well as murders involved in deadly robberies and drug deals. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense,” Trump wrote on his social media site. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Trump, a vocal death penalty advocate, won’t be able to reverse the commutations. But he vowed to aggressively push for future federal death sentences when he returns to the White House Jan. 20. “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters,” Trump wrote. Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates. They will instead face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He left three inmates on federal death row: Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018; and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Biden explained his decision by noting that his administration has imposed a moratorium on federal executions except in cases of “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.” “I cannot stand by and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” Biden tweeted. Relatives of most, but not all the victims, denounced Biden’s Christmas week decision to spare the killers. Tim Timmerman, whose daughter, Rachel, was thrown into a Michigan lake in 1997 to keep her from testifying in a rape trial, said Biden’s decision to commute the killer’s sentence offered families “only pain.” “Where’s the justice in just giving him a prison bed to die comfortably in?” Timmerman said. But Donnie Oliverio, a retired Ohio police officer whose partner, Bryan Hurst, was murdered, said the killer’s execution “would have brought me no peace.” “The president has done what is right here,” Oliverio said in a statement. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement that Biden has shown “the brutal and inhumane policies of our past do not belong in our future.”Caitlin Clark named 2024 AP Female Athlete of the Year