Technology
Everything Everywhere All At Once is charming, sprawling, and completely ridiculous
Maybe the weirdest factor about Every thing All over the place All At As soon as, a movie through which a notable plot level includes riffing on 2001: A Area Odyssey to clarify an alternate actuality the place people developed scorching canine for fingers, is that it generally doesn’t really feel that bizarre. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, it lies on the intersection of a frenetic music video marathon, a slapstick martial arts comedy, and a surrealist sci-fi pastiche. However it’s anchored in an earnest household drama that’s elevated by a collection of nice performances, notably from central star Michelle Yeoh.
There’s an entire lot happening in Every thing All over the place, however the primary gist is easy. Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is the harried proprietor of a failing laundromat and a messy, unsatisfying life. Her apparently milquetoast husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) has served her with divorce papers, her perpetually demanding father’s (James Hong) well being is failing, and her daughter Pleasure (Stephanie Hsu) is pissed off by Evelyn’s personal snippy disapproval. A ruthless IRS employee named Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis) is auditing her for, amongst numerous different doubtful selections, claiming a karaoke machine as a tax expense.
Then, as Evelyn is making a last-ditch try to avoid wasting her enterprise, Waymond’s physique is all of a sudden possessed by a counterpart from one in all near-infinite alternate realities. He tells her she’s the one one that can save the multiverse from a reality-destroying menace. And she or he nonetheless has to get her taxes executed.
As alt-Waymond acknowledges, the multiverse’s exact mechanics are complicated and never all the time logical. “Verse-jumpers” can use earpieces to puppet the our bodies of their alternate selves, and so they can osmose expertise from counterparts in different worlds by performing pivotal actions that set their lives on completely different paths. (For unexplained causes, most of those duties are painful or gross, like getting paper cuts or consuming chapstick.) The method opens a slight psychic hyperlink between the counterparts, and for verse-jumpers who push themselves too far, comprehending this vary of infinite potentialities can result in a devastating existential disaster.
The setup presents Kwan and Scheinert an opportunity to pinball between a number of mini-narratives and a very dizzying variety of colourful costume adjustments, and it justifies a collection of eccentric martial arts sequences that basically work on dream logic. Every thing All over the place’s combat scenes are extra entertaining, extra inventive, and better-shot than these of many full-fledged motion motion pictures, together with ones from the very cinematic franchises it’s clearly drawing on. (They’re much more enjoyable than nearly something within the Marvel movies made by the Russo brothers, who served as producers right here.)
Yeoh’s fundamental self is a pitch-perfect confused everywoman who can all of a sudden pull off unbelievable acrobatic feats tempered by goofy bodily comedy, whereas her different personas showcase her easy charisma. Quan shifts fluidly between his hapless primary-universe self and his hyper-competent alter-ego, with each tone and physique language flipping in split-second transitions. Even Curtis, launched as a snide bureaucrat, will get a menacing flip in one in all her many personas.
Every thing All over the place is stuffed with intricate connections and Chekhov’s weapons that cohere extra on an aesthetic degree than a story one. It’s continually looping again to construct prolonged multiverse vignettes from minor particulars earlier within the movie, together with jokes that vary from delicate to pretty crass. (This can be a good time to say that Kwan and Scheinert additionally directed Swiss Military Man, a movie that starred Daniel Radcliffe as a flatulent corpse.) A number of of those callbacks really feel extraneous, and based mostly on a Q&A session following the movie’s SXSW premiere, that’s after at the least one subplot was left on the chopping room ground. However they assist promote the movie’s humor by spinning cinematic references and throwaway gags — what when you put, like, every thing on a bagel, man — into deadpan scenes delivered with visible aptitude.
The dramatic parts nonetheless don’t all the time add up. Every thing All over the place’s sci-fi sequences will be written like they’re marking time between absurdities, peppered with expository dialogue that doesn’t gel with the extra compelling and naturalistic exchanges elsewhere. The script is stuffed with monologues about life and humanity that sound good in isolation however are shuffled round as abruptly because the movie’s costumes, asserting character motivations that haven’t been well-established earlier than that second.
Even so, the connection between Evelyn, Pleasure, Waymond, and (unexpectedly) Deirdre builds as much as one thing candy that stays simply a hair away from being cloying. Every thing All over the place’s particular person personas are largely archetypes, albeit archetypes that aren’t usually seen in mainstream sci-fi motion pictures. However the movie treats them as complementary sides of a single difficult particular person slightly than a plethora of separate entities. There’s no low cost ambiguity about whether or not any of the movie’s occasions are occurring — the multiverse positively exists, and it comprises individuals whose fingers are positively scorching canine — however its array of worlds have the vibe of fantasies that spotlight facets of the characters’ core selves, making them greater than gimmicks or weirdness for its personal sake.
This may be due much less to the script than to the forged, who carry consistency to essentially the most nonsensical eventualities. Quan provides Waymond a resilient vulnerability that comes by means of even when he’s dragging Evelyn across the multiverse. Whereas Hsu will get much less display time as her original-universe character, she balances being viciously nihilistic and hopelessly misplaced as one in all Pleasure’s alter egos. Deirdre is legitimately imply, however — like many real-world jerks — able to kindness and affection.
And in a movie evoking numerous earlier motion pictures about disaffected losers who uncover they’re secretly heroes, Yeoh presents a poignant and magnetic tackle the trope. Her protagonist is upset in life however nonetheless a functioning, mature human being surrounded by people who find themselves flawed however in the end first rate. Evelyn’s plunge into the multiverse is foreshadowed by the best way she navigates her multigenerational and multilingual household, her rapid-fire dialog switching between Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. One in every of Every thing All over the place’s operating jokes is that its protagonist is actually the least gifted potential model of herself, however the gaps between Evelyn’s selves by no means appear jarring — you’ll be able to imagine that just a few selections separate a beleaguered laundromat proprietor from a grasp chef or opera singer.
For all of the weird stuff that’s thrown into Every thing All over the place, Kwan and Scheinert’s riskiest transfer is arguably choosing a virtually 140-minute runtime for a comedy constructed round deliberate tonal whiplash, a doubtlessly polarizing fashion of humor, and an exhausting tempo. Every thing All over the place is a big tangled yarn ball of a film, and if it doesn’t give you the results you want, that feeling will final for a really, very very long time. If it does work, although, it may be one of the crucial charmingly ridiculous motion pictures you see this 12 months.
Every thing All over the place All At As soon as debuts in theaters on March twenty fifth
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Unlike the Asus Zenbook Duo and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i we reviewed earlier this year, it’s not a twin-screen tablet with a detachable keyboard; this one’s most definitely a laptop with an extra screen on a hinge that swings all the way around. And unlike the upcoming GPD Duo, it swings horizontally instead of vertically. The company is calling it the “world’s first horizontally foldable 360 degree laptop.”
While we don’t have a price, release date, or full spec sheet yet, it seems this laptop isn’t shooting for gaming or high-end productivity; it’ll be equipped with a two-year-old 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor (we’re expecting 15th Gen this fall), 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD.
It also only supports 5Gbps transfer speeds from its USB-A and USB-C ports and HDMI 2.0 rather than HDMI 2.1 for its video output. And one of its two USB-C ports is only for charging.
Still, there are lots of tasks that don’t necessarily need lots of horsepower but could benefit from more visual real estate — and the second screen isn’t the only unique thing about this machine!
The Acemagic X1 also includes, and I quote:
Adding to its distinctive appeal, ACEMAGIC has engraved Steve Jobs’s iconic quote, “Stay hungry, Stay foolish,” in real gold on the left side of the keyboard. This touch symbolizes the device’s premium quality and innovative spirit.
(No, we don’t have a picture of the gold lettering to see if Steve Jobs’ name is also on the side of this laptop.)
A groundbreaking AI-powered exoskeleton developed by researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill promises to be a game-changer for individuals with mobility issues.
I showed off a similar technology and got a mountain of messages asking if there was an application for disabled folks. This new exoskeleton could very well be that help.
The wearable technology provides unprecedented energy savings during human movement, making users feel as if they’re carrying 26 pounds less. This results in significant improvements in athletic performance and daily life activities.
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A man running while wearing an AI-powered exoskeleton (NCSU) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
The power of digital twin simulations
The secret behind this revolutionary exoskeleton lies in sophisticated digital twin simulations, where humans and machines coexist, learning and adapting through millions of iterations to perfect physical assistance. The exoskeleton’s AI algorithm, still in development, goes beyond traditional machine learning focused on simulations and games, venturing into a new frontier where technology directly enhances human capabilities.
A woman walking while wearing an AI-powered exoskeleton (NCSU) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Data-driven and physics-informed reinforcement learning
The researchers have embraced data-driven and physics-informed reinforcement learning, an approach that ensures their wearable robots are not just smart but also intuitive, aligning with their mission to improve human mobility and health. This cutting-edge technology maps sensor inputs from the robot to assistive torque without any intermediate steps, enabling end-to-end control.
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A man climbing stairs while wearing an AI-powered exoskeleton (NCSU) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Versatile assistance across multiple activities
One of the most remarkable features of this exoskeleton is its ability to generate synergistic assistance across various activities, including walking, running and stair-climbing. The learned controller automatically adapts to each user’s different kinematic patterns, accommodating transitions between activities seamlessly without the need for handcrafted control.
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A man running while wearing an AI-powered exoskeleton (NCSU) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Unprecedented metabolic cost reduction
The experimental results are nothing short of impressive. Among state-of-the-art portable exoskeletons, the exoskeleton achieved the greatest metabolic cost reduction for walking (24.3%), running (13.1%) and stair-climbing (15.4%). This remarkable achievement stems from the experiment-free and versatile control approach, which eliminates the need for lengthy human tests and handcrafted rules.
Diagram of AI-powered exoskeleton’s results (NCSU) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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How much will the exoskeleton cost?
We spoke to Hao Su, Ph.D., associate professor at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the director of Biomechatronics and Intelligent Robotics Lab (BIRO), and he told us, “While the exoskeleton price is about $50,000 to $120,000 due to research and development costs and actuators, our approach can significantly reduce the R&D cost by leveraging our efficient learning-in-simulation framework, which allows for rapid design and testing in computer simulations rather than intensive testing on humans and physical robots.
“Looking forward, we plan to make our robots truly affordable and accessible through innovative hardware design, namely low-ratio gears and cost-effective but high-torque electric motors. In about one year, we aim to make our exoskeletons for sale at a price range of $1,500 to $4,000, depending on specific features and manufacturing scale.”
Kurt’s key takeaways
This AI-powered exoskeleton marks a major advancement in wearable robotics. It offers the rapid development and widespread adoption of assistive robots for both able-bodied and mobility-impaired individuals. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the field of exoskeletons, paving the way for a future where mobility is no longer a barrier and eliminates the hurdles of movement limitations.
What activities or tasks do you struggle with currently that this type of wearable robotic assistance could help make easier or more accessible? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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The next generation of Pixel phones could come with new “Google AI” features, including one that sounds a little like Microsoft’s controversial Recall tool. As reported by Android Authority, Google is working on a “Pixel Screenshots” feature that can “save and process helpful details” from your screenshots, allowing you to search through them.
However, unlike Microsoft Recall, which automatically captures what you’re doing on your device, Google’s version would only process the screenshots taken manually — which should immediately make it less creepy-feeling than Recall. Microsoft delayed the rollout of Recall on Windows 11 after security experts raised concerns about the feature. Even though Google AI may only use the screenshots you take, it could raise similar concerns based on how the information is processed and stored.
Images obtained by Android Authority indicate that you can enable or disable AI processing for your screenshots at any time. When toggled on, it looks like you can use the feature to summarize your screenshots or answer questions about the information in them. Google will also save metadata, such as links, app names, and when the screenshot was taken to make it easier to search for specific images, according to Android Authority.
Google is planning to roll out a similar feature in Google Photos that uses AI to help you search through your photos. These aren’t the only AI features Google is working on, either. In addition to Pixel Screenshots, Android Authority reports that a new photo editing feature called “Add Me” will live under the Google AI umbrella. This feature could let you add someone to a group photo, which goes a step further than tweaking everyone’s faces with Best Take. Google will also reportedly add a previously rumored Studio tool that could use AI to generate stickers and other images.
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