Pope Leo XIV, during his four-day visit to France beginning Friday, will meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse by priests and other Catholic personnel. The outcome will be closely watched by critics who say the church has not done enough to confront the problem. (Corbet, AP News)
Read MoreCurrent A.I. systems, [Mustafa Suleyman] said in an essay published on Wednesday, “are sequence completion engines, internally hollow, designed to follow instructions, and accomplish goals set by humans. If humanity is to flourish in the 21st century,” he added, “that is how they must remain.” (Metz, The New York Times)
Read MoreJRR Tolkien and CS Lewis used to regularly share a pub table in Oxford to discuss their work. The pair will now be honoured side by side in Westminster Abbey, which will celebrate the author of The Lord of the Rings with a memorial in Poets’ Corner, The Times can reveal. (Burgess, The Times)
Read MoreOur enduring belief that anything is possible — whether based in reality or not — has helped the nation become the world’s largest economy. It has also led us to fall head over heels for hucksters and charlatans, again and again. (Fahey, AP News)
Read MorePope Leo XIV is expected to make [an] appeal to protect life when he visits France this weekend and also prays at Lourdes. One of Christianity’s most-visited pilgrimage destinations is especially popular for sick people because of its association with miraculous cures. (Winfield, AP News)
Read MoreOne in five Britons believe it may be possible to communicate with the dead, according to YouGov, with younger people more open to the idea than older generations. (Ramazzotti, The Times)
Read More