If you’ve drunk wine infused with vanilla, then you’ve had a taste of royalty. Archaeologists have discovered several ancient storage jars from the debris of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem with traces of vanilla, a highly prized imported herb. The jars had a rosette stamp indicating they were part of the royal kingdom of Judah. This evidence, along with several wine-markers, points to the possibility that the ancient Judean elite drank wine infused with vanilla, showcasing their stature. Read full article here
Societal Issues
AI Predicts Crime A Week In Advance With 90 Per Cent Accuracy
An artificial intelligence model built by Ishanu Chattopadhyay and his colleagues analysed crime data in Chicago from 2014 to 2016 and managed to predict future levels of crime down to the nearest 300 metres, a week before they actually happened. While extremely useful, this artificial intelligence has been shown to expose racial prejudice in law enforcement. Hopefully, as the study’s data and methodology have been made available for others to evaluate, these prejudices can be avoided in the next iteration. Read full article here
Merv
August 15, 2022
