内容摘要：A key trade deal would be with China, who US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said has "not been a reliable partner" and claimed it was holding back products in the global supply chain.

A key trade deal would be with China, who US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said has "not been a reliable partner" and claimed it was holding back products in the global supply chain.

According to the Blums, that could happen as AI and LLMs have more live sensory inputs from the real world, such as vision and touch, by connecting cameras and haptic sensors (related to touch) to AI systems. They are developing a computer model that constructs its own internal language called Brainish to enable this additional sensory data to be processed, attempting to replicate the processes that go on in the brain."We think Brainish can solve the problem of consciousness as we know it," Lenore tells the BBC. "AI consciousness is inevitable."

Manuel chips in enthusiastically with an impish grin, saying that the new systems that he too firmly believes will emerge will be the "next stage in humanity's evolution".Conscious robots, he believes, "are our progeny. Down the road, machines like these will be entities that will be on Earth and maybe on other planets when we are no longer around".David Chalmers – Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science at New York University – defined the distinction between real and apparent consciousness at a conference in Tucson, Arizona in 1994. He laid out the "hard problem" of working out how and why any of the complex operations of brains give rise to conscious experience, such as our emotional response when we hear a nightingale sing.

Prof Chalmers says that he is open to the possibility of the hard problem being solved."The ideal outcome would be one where humanity shares in this new intelligence bonanza," he tells the BBC. "Maybe our brains are augmented by AI systems."

On the sci-fi implications of that, he wryly observes: "In my profession, there is a fine line between science fiction and philosophy".

Prof Seth, however, is exploring the idea that true consciousness can only be realised by living systems.Hailey Bieber is selling her make-up brand Rhode to e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1bn (£740m).

The 28-year-old model, who is married to singer Justin Bieber, co-founded the line of skincare products, which includes blush and lip tints, in 2022, giving it her middle name.It has expanded rapidly thanks in part to its online popularity, reporting more than $200m in net sales over the 12 months to March, with plans of being offered in Sephora stores in the US and UK this year.

In its announcement of the deal, buyer e.l.f. Beauty called the business "a beautiful brand that we believe is ready for rocketship growth".e.l.f - short for eyes, lips and face - is paying $800m in cash and stock for the company, with a further $200m payout possible depending on future sales growth.