#Automated Journalism

[amirfarkhad]

سایبورگ؛ ربات روزنامه‌نگار و محاسبه‌گر بلومبرگ نیوز

سایبورگ؛ ربات روزنامه‌نگار بلومبرگ نیوز این مقاله در سایت آموزش و پژوهش موسسه همشهری منتشر و توسط امیر فرخاد به رشته تحریر درآمده است. درباره سایبورگ تقریباً یک سوم محتوای منتشر شده توسط شرکت رسانه‌ای بلومبرگ از نوعی فناوری خودکار استفاده می‌کند. این سیستم هوشمندِ متکی به هوش مصنوعی می‌تواند به خبرنگاران در تهیه هزاران مقاله در مورد گزارش‌های درآمد شرکت در هر فصل کمک کند. پس از مرور تجربه‌های واشنگتن‌پست، گاردین و بی‌بی‌سی در چهارمین بخش از مطالب «تجربه‌های هوش مصنوعی در روزنامه‌نگاری» نگاهی به پروژه‌‌ بلومبرگ نیوز با عنوان «سایبورگ» خواهیم داشت. «سایبورگ» مخفف سایبرنتیک و ارگانیسم است؛ موجودی با اجزای دوگانه ارگانیک و مکانیکی است. این واژه در سال ۱۹۶۰ زمانی که مانفرد کلاینز و ناتان اس. کِلِین آن را در یک مقاله در مورد مزایای استفاده از سیستم‌های خودتنظیم انسان و ماشین در فضای بیرونی استفاده کردند ابداع شد. تهیه‌ی گزارش مالی با سایبورگ سایبورگِ بلومبرگ که با اتکا به فحوای لغوی همکاری انسان و ماشین طراحی شده، می‌تواند یک گزارش مالی را در همان لحظه‌ای که ظاهر می‌شود تجزیه و تحلیل کند و یک خبر فوری را که شامل مرتبط‌ترین حقایق و ارقام است، منتشر کند. سایبورگ بر خلاف گزارشگران اقتصادی و تجاری که کار روی این نوع محتواها را کسالت‌بار می‌دانند، بدون شکایت به کار خود ادامه می‌دهد. نکته کلیدی در سودمندی هوش مصنوعی، حجم انبوه داده‌ای است که برای تولید تمام این محتوا نیاز است؛ سرعت و دقتی که در آن خبر و گزارش‌ها ساخته می‌شود. این امر برای یک روزنامه‌نگار الگوریتمی آسان و برای یک روزنامه‌نگار انسانی خسته‌کننده و گاهی ناممکن است.  بلومبرگ در حال حاضر از روزنامه‌نگاری نیمه‌خودکار و خودکار برای هشدارهای خبری، اخبار سفارشی و داستان‌های پرطرفدار و عامه‌پسند استفاده می‌کند. سایبورگ خستگی‌ناپذیر و دقیق است و به بلومبرگ در رقابت با رویترز، رقیب اصلی خود در زمینه روزنامه‌نگاری پرسرعتِ مالی-تجاری کمک می‌کند، و همچنین به آن فرصتی برای مبارزه با یک بازیگر جدیدتر در رقابت اطلاعاتی می‌دهد که از هوش مصنوعی برای ارائه حقایق تازه به مشتریان خود استفاده می‌کنند. جان میکلتوایت، سردبیر بلومبرگ نیوز می‌گوید: «پروژه سایبورگ به دبیران و سردبیران کمک می‌کند تا عنوان‌های درآمد یک فصل را برای صدها شرکت آمریکایی ارسال کنند. همچنین رایانه‌ها به ما کمک می‌کنند داستان‌ها را فوری به زبان‌های دیگر ترجمه کنیم. با این وجود گویی که ما فقط سطح را خراشیده‌ایم و هنوز در انتظار کار عمیق هستیم». هنگامی که داده‌ها برای یک رویداد آب و هوایی، یک بازی بیسبال یا یک گزارش مالی در دسترس هستند سیستم می‌تواند یک مقاله ایجاد کند. اما داستان‌های تولید شده توسط ماشین خطاناپذیر نیستند. برای مثال، برای یک مقاله گزارش درآمد، سیستم‌های نرم‌افزاری ممکن است با شرکت‌هایی همسو باشند که با هوشمندی ارقام را در تلاش برای به دست آوردن تصویری مطلوب‌تر، اعداد و ارقام را دستکاری می‌کنند.  در بلومبرگ، خبرنگاران و سردبیران سعی می‌کنند سایبورگ را طوری تنظیم کنند تا با چنین تاکتیک‌هایی دچار تغییر موضع نشود. سایبورگ، تهدیدی شغلی؟ بلومبرگ به سازمان خبری تبدیل شده است که روی روزنامه‌نگاری خودکار به عنوان اقدامی برای پوشش به اصطلاح «اخبار کالایی» و آزاد کردن زمان، برای روزنامه‌نگاری سازمانی برنامه‌ریزی می‌کند. Daybreak (پادکست خبری بلومبرگ نیوز) به مخاطبانش اجازه می‌دهد اخبار صبح خود را تنظیم کنند. همچنین پروژه سهام Movers به رایانه‌ها متکی است تا به اعضای بلومبرگ اطلاع دهد چه زمانی یک سهم جهش یا سقوط کرده است. از آنجایی که استفاده از هوش مصنوعی به بخشی از جعبه ابزار صنعت تبدیل شده است، اما مدیران عرصه روزنامه‌نگاری معتقدند که این نوع بهره‌گیری از تکنولوژی نمی‌تواند تهدیدی برای کارکنان انسانی باشد.  این در حالی است که برخی روزنامه‌نگاران بکارگیری هوش مصنوعی را در صنعت روزنامه‌نگاری تهدیدی برای شغل و حرفه خود متصور هستند، نگرانی فزاینده‌ای که «اضطراب خودکارسازی» نامیده می‌شود. به هر حال اما از این پیشرفت گزیر و گریزی نیست. اما این گروه گسترده روزنامه‌نگاران بلومبرگ را که بیش از 2000 نفر در بیش از 150 دفتر در سرتاسر جهان است، به کجا می‌برد؟ نیاز به هوش انسانی میکلتوایت روی این نکته تاکید می‌کند که روزنامه‌نگاری متکی به هوش مصنوعی کاربرد محدودی دارد و کماکان بدون دخالت و نظارت نیروی انسانی و راهنمایی روزنامه‌نگاران با تجربه نمی‌توان روی خط خبر حرکت کرد. «اگر ایده اصلی این است که کامپیوترها کارهای بیشتری را انجام می‌دهند، پس چرا ما به شما نیاز داریم؟ یکی از طنزهای ربات-خبرنگارها این است که به همان اندازه خوب هستند که انسان‌ها آن را می سازند. در مرحله اول، کامپیوتر به تنهایی داستان یا عنوان را تولید می‌کند. اما به انسان‌ها نیاز دارد که به او بگویند به دنبال چه چیزی بگردد، کجا آن را جست‌وجو کند و استقلال و شفافیت آن را برای خوانندگان ما تضمین کند.» تیم‌های تحریریه با استفاده از هوش مصنوعی، پردازش زبان طبیعی و تکنیک‌های یادگیری ماشین بر روی یک پلتفرم کاربرپسند، زمان بیشتری برای تمرکز بر روی مقالات مهم در حال تحریر دارند. استفاده از هوش مصنوعی برای آزاد کردن زمان برای خبرنگاران و نویسندگان با استعداد، برای انجام کارهایی که به بهترین نحو انجام می‌دهند، خود یک پیشرفت بزرگ است. سایبورگ؛ ربات روزنامه‌نگار بلومبرگ نیوز Read the full article

[albertayebisackey]

"Television is simply automated daydreaming." - Lee Loevinger

[soullfire]

Automated McDonald's Opens in Texas

The first McDonald’s automated restaurant of its kind has opened in Fort Worth, Texas. It will allow you to order and receive your meal using an online menu or the order kiosk at the restaurant without talking to or interacting with any employees. Many news media outlets have come to the wrong conclusion that the restaurant has no human employees and is fully automated. Actually, the employees…

[0firstlast1]

The miracle of the resurrection.

[vlruso]

Personalized Packaging Solutions: AIs Role in Customization

📢 Exciting News! 🎁 Personalized Packaging Solutions: AI's Role in Customization In today's world of personalization, AI is revolutionizing the way businesses enhance their product packaging process. 🌟 By leveraging AI capabilities, companies can create impactful and innovative personalized packaging solutions. AI's significance in the realm of product packaging cannot be overlooked. With personalization as a top priority, AI plays a pivotal role in improving this process. 🎯 Let's dive into how AI is being utilized in personalized packaging solutions and explore the future possibilities. 👉 Read more about this fascinating topic in our latest blog post here: https://ift.tt/k7HdK4b Have you tapped into the potential of AI for your packaging customization? It's time to explore the endless possibilities! 📦💡 #packaging #customization #AI #personalization #innovation List of Useful Links: AI Scrum Bot - ask about AI scrum and agile Our Telegram @itinai Twitter -  @itinaicom

[jamesjonesspacex1]

The Future of Journalism with Automation and AI

In a time of information overload, automation and AI are key to individualized news consumption. To produce customized news content, AI algorithms examine user preferences, behavior, and historical data. A more individualized news experience for users is provided through personalized news apps and recommendation algorithms, which make suggestions for stories and topics of interest. This personalization, according to James Jones SpaceX, raises concerns about echo chambers and their propensity to stifle a variety of opinions. The challenge is striking a balance between the promotion of a diverse, informed society and personalization. In order to promote critical thinking and exposure to other points of view, journalists and news organizations have a responsibility to make sure that personalized news recommendations include a variety of perspectives.

[friendlyneighborhoodshark]

"How to Life" Masterlist

Cleaning and Tidying

Make your bed in the morning. It takes seconds, and it's worth it.

Reset to zero each morning.

Use the UFYH 20/10 system for clearing your shit.

Have a 'drop-zone' box where you dump anything and everything. At the beginning/end of the day, clear it out and put that shit away.

Automate your chores. Have a cleaning schedule and assign 15mins daily to do whatever cleaning tasks are set for that day. Set a timer and do it once the timer is up, finish the task you're on and leave it for the day.

Fold your clothes straight out of the tumble dryer (if you use one), whilst they're still warm. This minimises creases and eliminates the need for ironing.

Clean your footwear regularly and you'll feel like a champ.

Organisation and Productivity

Learn from Eisenhower's Importance/Urgency matrix.

Try out the two-minute rule and the Pomodoro technique.

Use. A. Planner. (Or Google Calendar, if that's more your thing.)

Try bullet journalling.

Keep a notebook/journal/commonplace book to dump your brain contents in on the regular.

Set morning alarms at two-minute intervals rather than five, and stick your alarm on the other side of the room. It's brutal, but it works.

Set three main goals each day, with one of them being your #1 priority. Don't overload your to-do list or you'll hit overload paralysis and procrastinate.

If you're in a slump, however, don't be afraid to put things like "shower" on your to do list - that may be a big enough goal in itself, and that's okay.

Have a physical inbox - a tray, a folder, whatever. If you get a piece of paper, stick it in there and sort through it at the end of the week.

Consider utilising the GTD System, or a variation of it.

Try timeboxing.

Have a morning routine, and guard that quiet time ferociously.

Have a folder for all your important documents and letters, organised by topic (e.g. medical, bank, university, work, identification). At the front of this folder, have a sheet of paper with all the key information written on it, such as your GP's details, your passport details, driving licence details, bank account number, insurance number(s), and so on.

Schedule working time and down time alike, in the balance that works for you.

Money

Have. A. God. Damn. Budget.

Use a money tracker like toshl, mint, or splitwise. Enter all expenses asap! (You will forget, otherwise.)

Have a 'money date' each week, where you sort through your finances from the past seven days and then add it to a spreadsheet. This will help you identify your spending patterns and whether your budget is actually working or not.

Pack your own frickin' lunch like a grown-up and stop buying so many takeaway coffees. Keep snacks in your bag.

Food and Cooking

Know how to cook the basics: a starch, a protein, a vegetable, and a sauce.

Simple, one-pot meals ("a grain, a green, and a bean") are a godsend.

Batch cook and freeze. Make your own 'microwave meals'.

Buy dried goods to save money - rice and beans are a pittance.

Consider Meatless Mondays; it's healthier, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.

Learn which fruits and vegetables are cheapest at your store, and build a standard weekly menu around those. (Also remember that frozen vegetables are cheap and healthy.)

Learn seasoning combinations. Different seasoning, even with the exact same ingredients, can make a dish seem completely new.

Misc

Have a stock email-writing format.

Want to start running, but find it boring? Try Zombies, Run!.

Keep a goddamn first aid kit and learn how to use it.

Update your CV regularly.

Keep a selection of stamps and standard envelopes for unexpected posting needs. (It happens more regularly than you would think!)

[flaskoflethe]

So I have posted before about getting back into music. Like 2 weeks ago I decided to get a piano (an rd-88, no space for a proper full/baby grand :(), and combined with learning enough synthesis to actually mess with presets WOW it's fun. The downside, of course, is since it's been over a decade since I stopped playing I'm basically starting from 0 again.

And I can see EVERY.

SINGLE.

THING.

My piano teacher pointed out to me. She was right, my wrist posture *does* suck. I *would* benefit from spending like 15-90 minutes a day just doing exercises! I *shouldn't* be trapping my pedal foot to keep rythem!

But I digress. Just, even if stuff does suck, don't go 10+ years without doing something you enjoy? Even if you can't be consistent, fun for it's own sake is valuable

[rqbossman]

Hello!

As someone who is very busy and has a lot going on, what do you do to stay organised and on top of everything?

I find myself with more and more on my plate these days, between working, studying, looking for more work, and starting a business. It's got me wondering how other people handle doing so much

I bullet Journal thanks to fan suggestions from years ago.

Read 'Atomic Habits' the only practical organisation/ self improvement book I ever saw that was just practical with no wishy washy nonsense.

I try to do a few jobs every day even if only for 10 seconds: file paperwork, clear emails, tidy workspace

I arrange for a "treat" job so when I feel like procrastinating I can treat myself with a job that is more fun/ different to the thing I am escaping from but is still actually productive.

Automate everything you can.

Delegate everything you can.

Constantly focus on reducing your responsibilities as low as possible to just the stuff you care about you will automatically be prioritising better. Once a month, sweep through your responsibilities and ditch everything you possibly can. More will always replace them but it will ease the load.

"One in two out" for all things. Email, clothes, responsibilities, whatever. It has to be two because somehow extra always manages to sneak on.

Batching. It's easier to do multiple iterations of a task in a row so put them in batches.

If something is regularly urgent you are doing something wrong and need to figure out what.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

Whenever you hear someone trying to blame kid's poor test scores "post pandemic" on "lockdowns," show them this.

By Dr. Sushama R. Chaphalkar, PhD.

New research shows that mild COVID-19 alters brain structure and connectivity in key areas responsible for memory and cognition, emphasizing the lasting effects on young people’s brain health.

In a case-control study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive tests to examine brain structure, function, and cognition in adolescents and young adults with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared to healthy controls in a pandemic hotspot in Italy. They identified significant changes in brain regions related to olfaction and cognition, with decreased brain volume and reduced functional connectivity in areas like the left hippocampus and amygdala, which were linked to impaired spatial working memory. Notably, no significant differences were observed in whole-brain connectivity, suggesting that these changes were localized rather than widespread.

Background COVID-19, primarily known for respiratory symptoms, also affects the central nervous system, leading to neurological issues like headaches, anosmia, and cognitive changes. MRI-based studies reveal anatomical brain changes in COVID-19 patients, such as reduced gray matter and decreased volume in regions like the hippocampus and amygdala, often linked to cognitive deficits.

While research mostly focuses on severe cases and older adults, a majority of infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, occur in adolescents and young adults who also experience long-lasting cognitive symptoms.

This age group, undergoing key brain development, is impacted by changes in spatial working memory and brain structure, which are crucial for cognitive functions shaped by social interactions, significantly disrupted by the pandemic.

Given that this is the largest and most understudied population affected by COVID-19, understanding the brain and cognitive impacts in adolescents and young adults is vital.

Therefore, researchers in the present study compared anatomical, functional, and cognitive outcomes, utilizing a longitudinal design that allowed them to assess both pre- and post-infection differences, in COVID-19-positive and negative adolescents and young adults from Lombardy, Italy, a global hotspot during the pandemic.

About the study The present study involved participants from the Public Health Impact of Metal Exposure (PHIME) cohort, a longitudinal investigation of adolescents and young adults in northern Italy. Between 2016 and 2021, 207 participants, aged 13 to 25 years, were included in a sub-study with MRI scans and cognitive tests. After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, 40 participants (13 COVID+ and 27 COVID−) participated in a follow-up study, which replicated the MRI and cognitive assessments.

The mean age of participants was 20.44 years and 65% were female. COVID+ status was confirmed through positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests within 12 months of follow-up. Neuropsychological assessments used the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to evaluate spatial working memory.

MRI and functional MRI data were acquired using a 3-Tesla scanner, processed, and analyzed for structural and local functional connectivity using eigenvector centrality mapping (ECM) and functional connectivity (FC) metrics. Whole-brain functional connectivity metrics showed no significant differences between COVID+ and control groups, indicating that the observed changes were specific to key brain regions rather than generalized across the entire brain.

Statistical analysis involved the use of pairwise Student's t-tests, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, linear regression, two-waves mediation analysis, negative binomial regression, and linear regression, all adjusted for covariates.

Results and discussion Significant differences were observed in the two groups regarding the time between assessments, COVID-19 symptoms, and vaccine status. The research identified five localized functional connectivity hubs with significant differences between the two groups, including the right intracalcarine cortex, right lingual gyrus, left frontal orbital cortex, left hippocampus and left amygdala, which is vital for cognitive functions. Only the left hippocampal volume showed a significant reduction in COVID+ participants (p = 0.034), while whole-brain connectivity remained unchanged, reinforcing the localized nature of the brain changes.

The left amygdala mediated the relationship between COVID-19 and spatial working memory "between errors" (p = 0.028), a critical finding that highlights the indirect effect of amygdala connectivity on cognitive function in COVID+ individuals. This mediation analysis underscores the role of specific brain regions in influencing cognitive deficits, as only the indirect effect was statistically significant for spatial working memory errors. The orbitofrontal cortex, involved in sensory integration and cognitive functions, also showed decreased connectivity in COVID+ individuals, supporting previous findings of structural and functional changes in this region during COVID-19.

The study is limited by small sample size, lack of diversity, potential confounding factors due to the long interval between MRI scans, treatment of certain subjects as COVID-negative based on antibody testing beyond the 12-month threshold, and the possibility of non-significant findings in mediation analysis due to these factors.

Conclusion In conclusion, the findings indicate persistent structural and functional alterations in specific brain regions of COVID-19-positive adolescents and young adults, including changes in gray matter volume and localized functional connectivity, which correlate with diminished cognitive function, particularly in working memory.

Further research is necessary to evaluate the longevity and potential reversibility of these brain and cognitive changes post-infection, enhancing our understanding of post-COVID outcomes and informing future interventions and treatments. The longitudinal design of this study, with pre- and post-COVID data, strengthens these findings by allowing direct comparisons over time, offering robust insights into the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent brain development.

Journal reference: COVID-19 related cognitive, structural and functional brain changes among Italian adolescents and young adults: a multimodal longitudinal case-control study. Invernizzi, A. et al., Translational Psychiatry, 14, 402 (2024), DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-03108-2, www.nature.com/articles/s41398-024-03108-2

[soullfire]

Automation Nation: Kroger Stores Beginning to Roll Out 100% Self-Checking Replacing All Human Checkers

Automation is working its way into our lives, whether we’re ready or not. Kroger has converted two of its stores to having only self-checkout scanners with no more humans to ring you up.

[fangirleaconmigo]

As a tv super fan, I support the writers’ strike.

As creative industry becomes more and more automated and corporatized, the 1% at the top, the executives, CEOs, and venture capitalists, are getting (even!) more obscenely wealthy. And as they do, does it trickle down? Ha. No. They starve the creatives. They can be making billions and they will try to get art and writing for free.

They call it content, create an algorithm, and behave as though the least valuable part is the person drawing or writing or painting.

Massive global corporations are destroying art as a profession for the tiniest bit of extra profit.

The viewers know the faces of the performers, so singers and actors have a bit more leverage, but they’re still getting smaller and smaller slices of the pie.

The writers guild is fighting so that television and script writing can remain a valid professional career that can pay rent, instead of a soul crushing, gig economy, pennies for words, pipe dream. (You know, the way predatory capitalism and extreme greed destroyed journalism as a profession)

Look at Disney. When they acquired Star Wars they decided they didn’t need to pay the writers of the novels any of their meager royalties. They decided that buying a contract meant profiting from books and devaluing, ignoring, and cheating the people who created the books. (Look up #disneymustpay and Alan Dean Foster)

That’s the culture. Starve the creatives, little by little, until you can replace them with an AI, whose work has been edited by an under or unpaid temp with no healthcare.

That makes my skin crawl. That’s why I support creatives. I support workers. I support unions. And I think we all should.

[carlocarrasco]

COMELEC and Miru Systems sign P17.99 billion contract for 2025 automated poll system

Once the 2025 National and Local Elections here in the Philippines finally happen, expect to see some differences when voting as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and new provider Miru Systems Company Limited signed the P17.99 billion contract for the procurement of a new automated election system (AES) related to the said polls, according to a GMA Network news report. To put things in…

[thepixelelf]

genres/tags: body swapping/your name au; mystery; angst; minwon are roommates; reader is a small town [gender neutral] living in a lonely world. warnings: coarse language; major character death (non graphic/not shown). wc: 1.8k

love triangle au requests

[where and, more importantly, when] In the past week and a half, Wonwoo has slept better than he's ever slept in his life.

Actually, maybe "better" isn't the best descriptor for his sleep. Longer, certainly. Dreamless.

When he closes his eyes, he no longer dreams through yours. He no longer finds himself trapped in your tiny town, in your lonesome loft, in your dead-end job...in your body.

Wonwoo keeps telling himself he should be happy; relieved. What he was calling a curse a few weeks ago is finally over. He isn't waking up in an unfamiliar body every other day anymore. You're not messing with his life anymore, intentionally or not. Yes, he should be thankful that all that body-swapping nonsense is over.

Groggy, eyes drooping, Wonwoo watches coffee drip from the Keurig into his whale shark-shaped mug. You'd bought that mug with his money, at the aquarium you went to in his body, since your small town doesn't have places like that. (And you've never left.)

((In your own body, anyway.))

The TV across the apartment plays the general news channel, but Wonwoo stopped paying attention at some point.

His phone lies face up on the counter in front of the coffeemaker, the daily journal app you used to keep him up to date on your shenanigans in his body open. If it weren't for your notes — and the kitschy mug in front of him — he'd almost believe that all the times he woke up and spent the day in your body were dreams.

Wednesday 10:38PM Obviously I didn't take your car to the aquarium. You city people drive like fucking animals. Makes me glad I've never left.

Thursday 3:45PM You don't act like it. -W

Friday 11:01PM It's not like I've never wanted to leave. I mean, you've spent enough time there to understand. Everyone wants to leave, but it's only the lucky ones who actually do. I know we've been complaining about this whole thing a lot. But... I don't know. It's been nice to not be me. For a little while. You probably understand by now why I can't leave. I know you've been receiving the calls. My mom's condition has been like that for years... I don't want to leave her alone.

Saturday 11:48PM I didn't mean to be nosy, but they called you/me yesterday. They said your mom was awake and asking for you... but she was unconscious again by the time I got to the home. I can take care of her too, when I'm you. If you're okay with it. If not, that's okay too.-W

Sunday 9:06PM She'd know you're not me. I don't want to scare her.

Monday 11:59PM I could still take care of her. From the sidelines. If you want. -W

Wonwoo stares at the last note he put in the log. He didn't swap with you that night, or any night since, so you haven't read it. Now he's finding it hard to accept that he'd settled for this mode of communication. You'd tried to trade phone numbers at one point, but his messages weren't sending. The ones that you'd sent as a test went through, but there were no notifications for them. By the time he'd thought to scroll through his old messages, it was like yours were always there. He knew it wasn't because you blocked him — he could check when he took over your body, after all — so it didn't really make sense.

Not that any of this made sense, but still.

Something must have happened for the swapping to suddenly stop with no warning, but then again, it's not like either of you got any warning when it started.

Sighing, Wonwoo pulls up your number and hovers his thumb over the call button. He's never spoken to you, really — only ever heard your voice when he was using it.

He taps his thumb and brings his phone up to his ear.

It rings until the automated voicemail message plays, and he hangs up.

Then tries again.

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice answers.

Wonwoo blinks. He's never talked to you face to face, but he knows this voice is one he's never heard before. "Who is this?"

"Who is—" The voice chuckles. "You called me, buddy."

"I'm looking for..." Saying your name out loud feels strange. He's never told anyone about you.

"Sorry man, they must've given you a fake number."

Wonwoo frowns. "That's not possible." You sent those messages to him before with the exact number he's calling now. "Just a couple weeks ago we—"

"I've had this number for like two years, so I don't know what to tell you."

"Two years?" Carelessly, Wonwoo's hand shoots out to support himself on the counter, and he knocks over your whale shark mug. "Shit." Hot coffee spills all over fake marble, and the handle of the mug cracks completely off. "Fuck."

Wonwoo hangs up on the stranger even as they ask if he's okay, and he tosses his phone on a dry section of the counter so he can hold the broken handle of your mug in one hand and the rest in the other.

He doesn't get it. He really doesn't.

But he feels like crying.

Why did it stop?

Where did you go?

Why did he have to break the one thing he has here that's yours?

The front door of the apartment opens, and through it steps Mingyu in his work attire. He toes off his shoes, puts his wireless earbuds in their case, and when Wonwoo can't hold in a sniffle, Mingyu looks up at him.

He meets Wonwoo's teary eyes, glances at your broken mug, and, shocked— 

Whispers your name.

Wonwoo's mouth drops open. He can only stand frozen as Mingyu marches up to him and pulls him into a tight hug.

“Is that really you? It’s okay. It’s okay. We can go back and get you another one! Where were you? I’ve been— I thought—”

Careful not to touch him with the broken edges of your mug, Wonwoo pushes Mingyu off. “You knew?”

Mingyu’s eyes widen, and he backs off with a faux casual cough. “Haha… Knew what…?” he drawls, avoiding Wonwoo’s hard gaze and scratching the back of his neck.

“Don’t play stupid. You said their name.” Wonwoo puts the pieces of your mug on the counter. “How long?”

“I don’t know what you’re—”

“Mingyu.”

“The whole time?” Mingyu flinches back, wincing with one eye peeked open to watch for Wonwoo’s reaction. “Um…”

Wonwoo feels dizzy. “The whole time?!” he echoes. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“They told me not to!” Mingyu puts his hands up in defense. “They were embarrassed I caught them so quickly.”

“But… You… Wait, the aquarium… You went together…?”

Leaning into it now, Mingyu talks over Wonwoo’s confusion. “So where are they? Do you know what happened? Why did the swapping thing stop? Did you figure out how it works? Are they ever coming back?”

Wonwoo snaps back to into it at that last question. “I don’t— I don’t know.”

“Well do you know where they are?” Mingyu steps closer, his brows furrowed. “I tried calling them but some random guy answered. And I don’t know why — I swear they’ve told me a million times — but every time I try to remember the name of their town, I can’t. It’s like a blank spot in my brain.”

Wonwoo frowns. “It’s—”

Wait.

“It’s…”

The name is on the the tip of his tongue, but why should it be stuck there? He was living every other day in that damned town.

“Right?” Mingyu says. He snaps his fingers. “I know it sounds something like… cargo, or gunley, or scarsborough, or—”

“—reporting to you live from Garneau—”

Both of them whip their heads toward the TV, where a news reporter stands in front of a woodsy area. The sky behind them is gray, and the trees are lit by flashing blue and red lights

“It’s been just over two years since a missing persons report was filed after a barn party that was held on the outskirts of Garneau.”

“‘Barn party’?” Mingyu repeats. “Isn’t that—?”

You were the first person Wonwoo had ever heard use the term, since you were planning on going to one with your shitty coworkers. Wonwoo told you not to go — not just because of that one asshole who would always look at you in a way that made Wonwoo shiver, but because barn parties, whatever they were, couldn’t be fun. He had no thoughts on whether or not it would be dangerous.

“This morning, intense rainstorms in a marshy area not far from that party led to the discovery of a human body in the mud. Forensics are showing the person to have been in their mid-twenties, and that their body was submerged for at least one year.”

Wonwoo’s jaw clenches.

“Other details are currently unknown, but speculation leads to a connection between the missing persons case from two years prior. We urge anyone with any information on—”

Mingyu gasps when the reporter says your name.

“—to come forward. Until more information is discovered, however, this has been—”

“What the fuck.” Mingyu looks over at Wonwoo, whose face is blank. “What the fuck. What the fuck!”

Wonwoo says nothing. He can’t.

A week and a half ago, he started looking up treatments for your mother’s condition and better homes for patients like her. He missed a deadline for one of his projects while searching for other places you could visit as him that you couldn’t go to in your town, like the giant indoor amusement park, or that cheesy rainforest-themed restaurant. The last time he was in your body, he left a bowl of sliced strawberries in your fridge after you lamented missing the day some client sent an edible arrangement to your work.

Was that two years ago for you? Did you ever even see them?

Wonwoo goes to the entrance of their apartment, grabs his jacket, shrugs it on while slipping into his shoes, and puts his hand on the doorknob.

Mingyu puts his hand over Wonwoo’s. “Where are you going?”

Jerking his wrist, Wonwoo yanks open the door. “To find them.”

Mingyu follows him into the hall. “Didn’t you see the news? They’re—” He stumbles, eyes wide and breath starting to grow uneven. Then he swallows that moment of realization down and meets Wonwoo’s eyes with an uncertain tilt to his mouth. “You really think you can find them?”

Wonwoo can't answer that. “But I'm going anyway.”

Running his hand through his hair, Mingyu turns around for a few seconds with the other hand on his hip. He sighs before dipping back into the apartment.

When he comes back out, his steps are heavy with determination.

“I'll drive.”

[vlruso]

Balancing Tech and Mind: AI for Mental Health

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