Technology

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 10

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Meta AI is traveling internationally, starting with Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala, Paraguay, the Philippines, and the UK this week. Over the next few weeks, the tech giant’s AI assistant will eventually debut in 21 countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Notable in its absence is any continental European country as Meta wrangles with the European Union (EU) over regulatory demands.

Meta hasn’t set a date for releasing Meta AI in the countries beyond the initial list. Still, fairly soon, people in Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Yemen will also be able to ask Meta AI their questions. They'll also be able to create images and even put their face in the results using the “Imagine Me” feature for creating a digital avatar based on uploaded photos that can then be incorporated into an image created from a text prompt. Those images can then be edited by follow-up prompts.

The wider geographic access to Meta AI will include linguistic expansion. That means the new international users won’t be limited to communicating with the AI assistant in English. The first new language on the list is Tagalog, which is spoken by many in the Philippines. Arabic, Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese are next on Meta AI’s roadmap, appropriate for the countries gaining access to the AI assistant, which are also places with many people who regularly use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other Meta platforms. Those same people will presumably form a core of Meta AI early adopters.

“Following this gradual rollout, Meta AI will be available in 43 countries and a dozen languages. That means more people than ever will be able to use Meta AI to dive deep on topics that spark their interest, get helpful how-tos and find inspiration for art projects, home decor, OOTDs and more,” Meta boasted in a blog post. “In fact, Meta AI is already on track to become the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of the year with almost 500 million active users monthly.”

Meta AI on your (non-European) face

Meta’s products are also popular in the EU, but the lack of EU expansion plans isn’t surprising. Meta has already said it won’t bring new AI tools, especially image- and video-related ones because it is leery of violating new regulations and compliance demands that it feels are unfair.

The biggest issue raised by European lawmakers surrounds ethical data use and privacy. The recently adopted rules are designed to slow the launch of AI technology that doesn’t address those potential problems. Meta AI’s current form might transgress some of the new rules. In response, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has suggested that these regulations limit innovation and hurt citizens. For now, Meta has chosen to skip the EU in favor of other markets for its AI products.

Meta AI is also expanding in another direction this week, debuting on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in more regions, which are now available in the UK and Australia. Though Australians will have the full range of features, the UK is only getting voice support for now. The wearable tech integration with Meta AI is part of the company's push to embed its AI in everything it produces. Meta didn't say why the UK isn't getting the augmented reality overlay or image recognition features immediately. Presumably, there are technical issues, regulatory hurdles, or both that need to be overcome.

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Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #487) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• HIP
• TEA
• BIG
• BAD
• EYE
• FLY
• SEW
• SAW
• ILL
• FAR
• ELF
• LEG
• HER
• RAD
• ARM
• DOE

NYT Connections today (game #487) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• Yellow: Ear could be another
• Green: Dope words
• Blue: Films
• Purple: All feature in a popular musical song

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #487) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: BODY PARTS
• GREEN: COOL, IN ’80S SLANG
• BLUE: MOVIES
• PURPLE: WORDS IN “DO-RE-MI”

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #487) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #487, are…

• YELLOW: BODY PARTS ARM, EYE, HIP, LEG
• GREEN: COOL, IN ’80S SLANG BAD, FLY, ILL, RAD
• BLUE: MOVIES BIG, ELF, HER, SAW
• PURPLE: WORDS IN “DO-RE-MI” DOE, FAR, SEW, TEA

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

As a child of the ‘80s I was delighted to see COOL, IN ’80S SLANG appear as a group today – although I’ll be honest and admit that I was never cool enough to say words like BAD, FLY, ILL or RAD myself very often. But I’ve watched enough ‘80s movies that they’re still in my mind, so solving this one wasn’t too tricky.

In fact, none of today’s four groups were particularly challenging. That didn’t appear to be the case when I loaded up the game, though: it was one of those days where all of the words are really short. In fact, all 16 of them were three-letter words, and though that doesn’t itself make a game hard, there was a strong possibility that some might be prefixes or suffixes, and that can make things tougher.

That wasn’t the case, though. MOVIES was another theme (with ELF, SAW, HER and BIG the answers), while the yellow BODY PARTS group was one of the easiest we’ve ever had in Connections. It was all much simpler than I anticipated, thankfully.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, 9 October, game #486)

• YELLOW: EFFERVESCENCE BUBBLES, FIZZ, FOAM, FROTH
• GREEN: BURGEON BLOSSOM, DEVELOP, MATURE, PROGRESS
• BLUE: MUSIC PUBLICATIONS BILLBOARD, MOJO, PITCHFORK, SPIN
• PURPLE: ENDING WITH TABLEWARE BOILERPLATE, BUTTERCUP, JACKKNIFE, WITHERSPOON

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #221) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Think about it

NYT Strands today (game #221) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• MASS
• PASS
• MAST
• PAST
• PASTY
• PASTRY

NYT Strands today (game #221) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Where's Strands?

NYT Strands today (game #221) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: left, 4th row

Last: right, 4th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #221) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #221, are…

• JUMBLE
• SUDOKU
• JIGSAW
• MAZE
• CROSSWORD
• CRYPTOGRAM
• SPANGRAM: PUZZLES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Give me a puzzle and I'll solve it; give me a puzzle about puzzles and I'll solve it and enjoy every second while doing so. Today's Strands is exactly that – a puzzle about puzzles. I was somewhat surprised not to see Wordle, Connections or indeed Strands in there, but the likes of SUDOKU, JUMBLE and CROSSWORD were all obvious enough that this didn't cause me any trouble.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday 9 October, game #220)

• HALL
• OFFICE
• STUDY
• KITCHEN
• LIBRARY
• PANTRY
• FOYER
• SPANGRAM: HOMEROOM

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #990) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #990) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #990) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #990) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #990) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• U

• M

• M

• W

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #990) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #990, are…

• UNTIL
• MARSH
• METAL
• WINDY

With four common words and plenty of common letters, today's Quordle holds no real dangers for experienced players. The biggest challenge will likely have been in avoiding the wrong answers for the MARSH. This could also have been HARSH if you had the four final letters in place, or the likes of CRASH or EARTH if you had only a few. But that was about it, so I imagine most people will have solved today's Quordle without major problems.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #990) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #990, are…

• NORTH
• FUNNY
• EAGER
• STRAP

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #989, Wednesday 9 October: TRIAL, HUSKY, DOWNY, TRADE
• Quordle #988, Tuesday 8 October: TROUT, HATER, BARGE, DOZEN
• Quordle #987, Monday 7 October: CAULK, HALVE, APING, HEATH
• Quordle #986, Sunday 6 October: FUDGE, TENOR, BEGAT, ROUSE
• Quordle #985, Saturday 5 October: ELECT, CROAK, FRISK, JAUNT
• Quordle #984, Friday 4 October: ELFIN, GRAIL, PATIO, RECAP
• Quordle #983, Thursday 3 October: TENTH, REMIT, CURVE, TOAST
• Quordle #982, Wednesday 2 October: ARGUE, CRANE, TOKEN, PRINT
• Quordle #981, Tuesday 1 October: FRILL, MADLY, GRANT, NYLON
• Quordle #980, Monday 30 September: CRUSH, TARDY, TEACH, STUMP
• Quordle #979, Sunday 29 September: SERIF, BORNE, WRITE, SLEEK
• Quordle #978, Saturday 28 September: BUSHY, CIVIC, SNOUT, EQUIP
• Quordle #977, Friday 27 September: GUEST, CHASM, ROOST, BASAL
• Quordle #976, Thursday 26 September: STAGE, VOGUE, CLUMP, HEATH
• Quordle #975, Wednesday 25 September: UMBRA, DADDY, GLAZE, PRANK
• Quordle #974, Tuesday 24 September: SPACE, INNER, SPAWN, BEGAT
• Quordle #973, Monday 23 September: GUILT, STERN, ANNEX, FIELD
• Quordle #972, Sunday 22 September: ZESTY, MEATY, ALIVE, DRAWN
• Quordle #971, Saturday 21 September: VITAL, FRAIL, SPEAR, EERIE
• Quordle #970, Friday 20 September: ELIDE, DITTO, SHAWL, BONUS

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A recent study published in the PNAS Nexus journal suggests the rise of AI models like ChatGPT may be challenging the dominance of traditional knowledge-sharing sites like Reddit and the programming forum Stack Overflow. This shift could impact the availability of freely accessible public information.

The research, conducted by Maria del Rio-Chanona and her colleagues, shows Stack Overflow saw a 25% decline in user activity within just six months of ChatGPT’s launch.

This drop was not observed on similar sites where ChatGPT access is restricted, highlighting the significant impact of the AI model’s rapid adoption. According to the study, users may be turning to AI-generated responses instead of seeking human-driven content, shifting how people obtain information online.

(Image credit: Maria del Rio-Chanona )

"LLMs are so powerful, have such a high value, and make a huge impact on the world. One begins to wonder about their future," says Del Rio-Chanona, who is also an associate faculty member at the Complexity Science Hub (CSH). The findings raise concerns that a growing dependence on AI could reduce the number of contributions to public forums, leading to a shortage of diverse and authentic data needed to train future models. “This has quite big implications. This means there may not be enough public data to train models in the future,” she warns.

Python and JavaScript

The trend could disrupt the open web ecosystem, as AI tools like ChatGPT rely on publicly shared knowledge for training data. "Even AI models like ChatGPT are trained on human-generated content like Stack Overflow posts,” explains Johannes Wachs, a faculty member at CSH. Ironically, as AI displaces these platforms, the quality of training data may deteriorate over time.

The impact is especially pronounced in posts related to widely-used programming languages like Python and JavaScript, where activity has dropped significantly. The study suggests this shift is not limited to novices but affects users across all experience levels, indicating a broad move from public to private interactions on AI platforms.

With fewer people contributing to public platforms, AI models may eventually rely on lower-quality data, which could degrade their performance. The researchers call for a balanced approach that maintains the open exchange of knowledge while embracing AI advancements.

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