Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Death toll in Hong Kong high-rise fire rises to 36, with 279 people reported missing 香港高层火灾死亡人数升至36人,另有279人失踪


The Canadian Press has this video.

The raging fire sent up a column of flames and thick smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the housing complex in Tai Po district in the New Territories.

Some Translations: 部分翻译:

raging fire  熊熊烈火
thick smoke 浓烟滚滚
ambulance 救护车
fire truck 消防车

Hong Kong: 6 high-rise buildings on fire, people possibly still trapped inside 香港:6栋高层建筑起火,可能有人员被困


DW News has the story.

In Hong Kong, a fire has killed at least four people after tearing through a complex of residential high-rise buildings on Wednesday. Teams of firefighters have been attempting to douse the flames at Wang Fuk Court, a housing complex made up of eight blocks in the city's Tai Po district in the north east. 

The fire department said it received reports at 2:51 p.m. (0651 GMT) of a fire in the residential complex. It was upgraded to a Number 4 alarm at 3:34 p.m. and as night fell it was declared a number five-alarm fire, the highest level. Earlier, local media also reported that an unknown number of people were trapped in the 31-storey towers — home to around 2,000 residential apartments — although it is unclear as to whether that remains the case. Taipo District Council member, Lo Hiu-fung, told local broadcaster TVB that most of the residents trapped in the fire were believed to be elderly people, the AP news agency reported, although this has not yet been confirmed by authorities. A number of towers currently burning have bamboo scaffolding and construction netting fitted to their exterior. TVB reported that the complex was undergoing major renovations.

Chinese translation:

德国之声报道:

周三,香港一栋高层住宅楼发生火灾,造成至少四人死亡。消防人员正在扑灭位于香港东北部大埔区、由八栋楼组成的宏福苑的火灾。

消防部门表示,他们于下午2点51分(格林尼治标准时间06:51)接到报警,称该住宅楼发生火灾。下午3点34分,火警级别提升至四级,夜幕降临后,火警级别升级为五级,达到最高级别。此前,当地媒体报道称,有人数不明的居民被困在这栋31层高的楼宇中——该楼宇拥有约2000套住宅公寓——但目前尚不清楚是否仍有人被困。据美联社报道,大埔区议员卢晓峰告诉香港无线电视台(TVB),被困火灾中的居民大多为老年人,但这一说法尚未得到官方证实。目前一些着火的楼宇外墙搭有竹制脚手架和施工网。TVB报道称,该楼宇正在进行大规模翻修。

Some Translations: 部分翻译:

Hong Kong 香港
Fire 火灾
complex of residential high-rise buildings 住宅高层建筑群
firefighters 消防员
attempt 尝试
douse 扑灭
flames 火焰
elderly people 老人
bamboo 竹子
scaffolding 脚手架
construction netting 施工网
exterior 外观
interior 内部
renovations 装修

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Is this really how DeepSeek plays chess? Some say it does not make illegal chess moves - DeepSeek 真的是这样下棋的吗?有人说它不会做出非法的棋步


GothamChess on Youtube has the story.

Chess is indeed a strategy game played on a board with 64 squares. Players take turns moving their pieces to capture their opponent's king.

How to play:
1. Set up the board with the pieces. White moves first, then Black, and so on. 
2. Move a piece to a vacant square or capture an opponent's piece. 
3. Repeat until the opponent's king is checkmated or the game ends in a draw.

Piece movement:

King: Moves one square in any direction. The king can be put in check, but it can't be captured. 

Queen: Moves any number of squares in any direction. 

Rook: Moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically. Rooks can also castle with the king. 

Bishop: Moves any number of squares diagonally. Bishops can only move on squares of the same color they started on. 

Knight: Moves in an "L" shape, jumping over other pieces if needed. 

Pawn: Moves one square up the board, or two squares on its first move.

Capturing pieces:
When an attacking piece takes an opponent's piece, the captured piece is removed from the game. The move is recorded using algebraic notation. For example, "Rxf5" means the rook captured the opponent's piece on the f5 square.

Winning:
The goal of chess is to checkmate the opponent's king, which means threatening to capture it in a way that can't be escaped. 

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of AI that creates new content like text, images, audio, and video. It uses machine learning to analyze large amounts of data and generate new content based on a user's input.

Castling is indeed a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same rank and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over.

Can chess pieces be brought back to life after being killed?
Yes, in chess, a captured piece can be reborn as a different piece through a process called promotion. A pawn can also be promoted when it reaches the other side of the board.

In chess, en passant (French: [ɑ̃ pasɑ̃], lit. "in passing") describes the capture by a pawn of an enemy pawn on the same rank and an adjacent file that has just made an initial two-square advance. This is a special case in the rules of chess.

An AI might make illegal moves in chess because it lacks a deep understanding of the chess rules, particularly when dealing with complex situations, and might rely on pattern matching without fully considering the logical constraints of the game, leading to moves that violate basic chess principles or simply aren't allowed by the rules; this is especially true for language-based AI models that aren't specifically designed for chess gameplay.

A so-called illegal move in the game of chess happens whenever a player violates the official rules, approved and governed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). For example, a move that breaks these rules would be placing or leaving your king in check. This is a big no-no because kings don't like being in check.

Has anyone beaten the "best AI" in chess?
The Ponomariov vs Fritz game on 21 November 2005 is the last known win by a human against a top-performing computer under normal chess tournament conditions.

If during a game it is found that an illegal move has been completed, the position immediately before the irregularity shall be reinstated. If the position immediately before the irregularity cannot be determined, the game shall continue from the last identifiable position prior to the irregularity.

It is illegal to make a move that places or leaves one's king in check. The possible ways to get out of check are: Move the king to a square where it is not in check. Capture the checking piece.

"Competing in the AI market" - is this a kind of "economic chess move" itself? While billion-dollar companies are busy throwing money at problems, DeepSeek seems to be playing so-called 4D chess, one smart move at a time. So, the next time someone tells you that you need a mountain of cash to compete in AI, just point them to DeepSeek. DeepSeek seems to require less expenses.

Translation to Chinese:

Youtube 上的 GothamChess 讲述了这个故事。

国际象棋确实是一种在有 64 个方格的棋盘上进行的策略游戏。玩家轮流移动棋子以捕获对手的国王。

玩法:
1. 用棋子设置棋盘。白棋先走,然后黑棋走,依此类推。
2. 将棋子移到空位或捕获对手的棋子。
3. 重复,直到对手的国王被将死或游戏以平局结束。

棋子移动:

王:向任意方向移动一格。王可以被将军,但不能被捕获。

后:向任意方向移动任意数量的方格。

车:水平或垂直移动任意数量的方格。车也可以和王一起王车易位。

象:沿对角线移动任意数量的方格。象只能在与起始颜色相同的方格上移动。

马:以“L”形移动,必要时跳过其他棋子。

兵:在棋盘上移动一格,或第一步移动两格。

吃子:
当进攻棋子吃掉对手的棋子时,被吃掉的棋子将被移出游戏。该移动使用代数符号记录。例如,“Rxf5”表示车在 f5 格吃掉了对手的棋子。

获胜:
国际象棋的目标是将死对手的王,这意味着威胁要以一种无法逃脱的方式吃掉它。

生成式人工智能 (AI) 是一种可以创建新内容(如文本、图像、音频和视频)的人工智能。它使用机器学习来分析大量数据并根据用户的输入生成新内容。

王车易位确实是国际象棋中的一步棋。它包括将王向同等级的车移动两格,然后将车移到王经过的格子上。

棋子被杀后可以复活吗?
是的,在国际象棋中,被捕获的棋子可以通过称为升级的过程重生为另一个棋子。当棋子到达棋盘的另一侧时,也可以升级。

在国际象棋中,过路兵(法语:[ɑ̃ pasɑ̃],字面意思是“过路”)描述的是棋子吃掉同等级的敌方棋子和刚刚前进两格的相邻棋列。这是国际象棋规则中的一个特例。

人工智能可能会在国际象棋中做出非法举动,因为它缺乏对国际象棋规则的深入了解,特别是在处理复杂情况时,并且可能依赖模式匹配而没有充分考虑游戏的逻辑约束,导致违反基本国际象棋原则或规则不允许的举动;对于并非专门为国际象棋游戏设计的基于语言的 AI 模型来说尤其如此。

在国际象棋游戏中,当玩家违反国际象棋联合会 (FIDE) 批准和管理的官方规则时,就会发生所谓的非法举动。例如,违反这些规则的举动是将王置于或不将其置于将军位置。这是大忌,因为王不喜欢被将军。

有人在国际象棋中击败过“最佳 AI”吗?

2005 年 11 月 21 日的波诺马廖夫与弗里茨的比赛是人类在正常国际象棋锦标赛条件下最后一次战胜表现最佳的计算机。

如果在比赛中发现已经完成了非法举动,则应恢复违规行为之前的位置。如果无法确定违规行为之前的位置,则比赛应从违规行为之前的最后一个可识别位置继续进行。

让王置于或不将其置于将军位置的举动是违法的。可能的摆脱将军的方法有:将王移到没有被将军的格子上。吃掉将军的棋子。

“在人工智能市场竞争”——这本身就是一种“经济棋步”吗?当价值数十亿美元的公司忙着花钱解决问题时,DeepSeek 似乎在下所谓的 4D 国际象棋,一步一个脚印。所以,下次有人告诉你你需要一大笔钱才能在人工智能领域竞争时,就把他们引向 DeepSeek。DeepSeek 似乎需要更少的开支。

Xiangqi (/ˈʃɑːŋtʃi/; Chinese: 象棋; pinyin: xiàngqí), commonly known as Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China.

The names of the pieces in Chinese chess, or xiangqi, are: 
General: Jiàng (将) or shuài (帅)
Advisor: Shì (士)
Elephant: Xiàng (象)
Chariot: Chū (車)
Horse: Mǎ (馬)
Cannon: Pào (砲)
Soldier: Zú (卒) or bīng (兵)

Explanation 
The general is also known as the king.
The advisor is also known as the guard.
The elephant is also known as the bishop.
The chariot is also known as the rook.
The horse is also known as the knight.
The cannon is also known as the catapult.
The soldier is also known as the pawn.

In xiangqi, pieces are placed on intersections of lines, not squares.

What are the names of Western Chess pieces (not 象棋)?

王 King

后 Queen

城堡(城堡) Rook

主教(主教) Bishop

騎士(騎士) Knight

兵 Pawn

Shocking Chinese AI tech advancement called DeepSeek is sending USA stocks plunging lower 中国人工智能技术 DeepSeek 令人震惊的进展导致美国股市暴跌


CNN has the story.

USA stocks dropped sharply after a surprise advancement from a Chinese artificial intelligence company, DeepSeek, threatened the aura of invincibility surrounding America’s technology industry.

Official Company Site: https://www.deepseek.com
DeepSeek, unravel the mystery of AGI with curiosity. Answer the essential question with long-termism.

DeepSeek (Chinese: 深度求索; pinyin: Shēndù Qiúsuǒ) is a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company that develops open-source large language models (LLMs). Based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, it is owned and funded by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, whose co-founder, Liang Wenfeng, established the company in 2023 and serves as its CEO.

The DeepSeek-R1 model provides responses comparable to other contemporary Large language models, such as OpenAI's GPT-4o and o1. It is really trained at a significantly (so it claims to be) lower cost—stated at US$6 million compared to $100 million for OpenAI's GPT-4 in 2023— and requires a tenth of the computing power of a comparable LLM. So-called DeepSeek's A.I. models were developed amid USA sanctions on India and China for Nvidia chips, which were intended to restrict the ability of the two countries to develop so-called advanced A.I. systems.

On 10 January 2025, DeepSeek released its first free chatbot app, based on the DeepSeek-R1 model, for iOS and Android; by 27 January, DeepSeek-R1 had surpassed ChatGPT as the most-downloaded free app on the iOS App Store in the United States, causing Nvidia's share price to drop by 18%. DeepSeek's success against larger and more established rivals has been described as "upending AI", constituting "the first shot at what is emerging as a global AI space race", and successfully ushering in "a new era of A.I. brinkmanship".

DeepSeek makes its generative artificial intelligence algorithms, models, and training details open-source, allowing its code to be freely available for use, modification, viewing, and designing documents for building purposes. However, the API version of DeepSeek-R1, hosted in China, has been reported to censor politically sensitive topics, including the Tiananmen Square massacre, Uyghur persecution, and Taiwan's status. The company reportedly vigorously recruits young A.I. researchers from top Chinese universities, and hires from outside the computer science field to diversify its models' knowledge and abilities.

What is Open Source?

Open source is a model for creating and sharing software that allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute it. The source code for open source software is freely available, so developers can contribute new features and fixes.

How it works:
Source code: The code that programmers use to control how a program works. 
License: A license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software. 
Collaboration: Open source software is developed through collaboration between developers from a community.

Some Benefits of "Open Source" could be:

Constant improvement: Programmers with different skills can contribute to the software, leading to constant improvement.

Faster updates: Programmers can fix and upgrade the software without needing permission from the creator. 

Innovation: Open source encourages collaboration and innovation, especially in areas like big data, blockchain, and cloud computing.

Here are some interesting examples of open source software:

Python: Developed under an open source license, so it's free to use and distribute, even for commercial use

OpenStack: An open source cloud computing platform 

ownCloud and Nextcloud: Open source cloud computing applications


What Can "AI" really Do? It deploys algorithms and computer systems to learn, reason, and solve problems using large datasets. AI spans technologies like machine learning, natural language processing, and image generation, revolutionizing healthcare, finance, transportation, and creative domains.

What is the most impressive thing AI can do? The most impressive task that AI can accomplish seems to be so-called "Computer Vision" - a branch of Deep Learning which helps machines see and perceive the way humans do.

The following is a quote from https://venturebeat.com/ai/smarter-than-humans-in-5-years-the-breakneck-pace-of-ai/

“By 2029, computers will have human-level intelligence,” Kurzweil said in an interview several years ago. He further predicted that by 2045, AI will have achieved the “Singularity,” the point when “we will multiply our effective intelligence a billion-fold by merging with the intelligence we have created.”

Interesting Vocabulary: 有趣的词汇

DeepSeek (Chinese: 深度求索; pinyin: Shēndù Qiúsuǒ)
Deep 深度
Pursue 追寻
Artificial Intelligence 人工智能
Open Source 开源
Language Model 语言模型
Computing Power 计算能力
Download 下载
Upload 上传
Rival 对手
Space Race 太空竞赛
Algorithm 算法
Tiananmen Square 天安门广场
China 中国
Taiwan 台湾
Computer Science 计算机科学
License 许可
Collaboration 合作
Software 软件
Hardware 硬件
Update 更新
Programmer 程序员
Creator 创造者
Innovation 创新
Blockchain 区块链
Chain 链
Cloud Computing 云计算
Perceive 感知