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The nonprofit Environmental Working Group just released an update to its Tap Water Database, finding that nearly half of the American population is drinking water containing PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals. The EWG is a research advocacy group dedicated to monitoring agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, and drinking water pollutants. It’s been creating a Tap Water Database for nearly two decades, with the last report issued in 2021. To create its latest database, the EWG audited water quality data from nearly 50,000 American water systems between 2021 and 2023. It identified 324 contaminantslike nitrate, arsenic, and disinfection byproductsin drinking water across the country, with detectable levels in almost all community water systems. In many cases, the report notes, these detectable levels fall below the legal limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, but they nevertheless exceed the health-based standards established by the EWG itself. And, despite recent federal efforts to regulate PFAS in tap water, the group found that a large portion of Americans are consuming forever chemicals on a daily basis. “The reason we publish this database is so people are aware that, one, there are contaminants in their drinking water, and two, even at perfectly legal limits, in most cases contaminants are present at concentrations that are linked to health harm,” says Sydney Evans, senior science analyst at the EWG. What are the forever chemicals in tap water? PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of synthetic chemicals commonly used in consumer goods like nonstick pans and stain resistant fabrics. In recent years, PFAS have been linked to increased risk of cancer, developmental delays, decreased fertility, and other health impacts. To make matters worse, these chemicals are persistent: They last for thousands of years at a time, are difficult to destroy, and are already present in the blood of most Americans. Last April, the EPA finalized the first-ever federal limits on six types of PFAS in drinking water. As The Conversation noted at the time, The limits . . . are less than a drop of water in a thousand Olympic-sized swimming pools, which speaks to the chemicals toxicity. Public water systems have until 2027 to complete monitoring for PFAS, and removing them is a laborious process thats expected to require billions of dollars each year. As of right now, the EWG found, PFAS are present in the drinking water of over 143 million Americans. Overall, the concentration of PFOS in the national water supply has risen over time: While the EWG’s 2021 Tap Water Database showed PFOS in 28 states (929 utilities, serving 28 million people), it’s now in 45 states (4,486 utilities, serving 104 million people.) These numbers are expected to increase as testing continues. The more that we test for PFAS, the more places that were finding it, Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist at EWG, told the publication Heatmap. Its being addressed in a patchwork way. How can I test and filter my water? The fate of PFAS regulation in tap water is now relatively murky, given that several of President Donald Trumps recent EPA appointees have a history of opposing PFAS regulations. In addition, the conservative Project 2025 agenda includes language that appears to call for fewer chemical regulations. “As a result of the new administration, a lot of these drinking water protections are under threat,” Evans says. “There’s potential that [the federal PFAS] limits could be raised, or that [the regulations] could be pulled back, which we think would be a huge step backward for such a big win that we’ve seen for environmental health over the past few years.” While systemic change will require continued federal intervention, there are a few steps that individuals can take to make sure their water is safe. To start, the EWGs Tap Water Database allows users to search by local water system to discover any reported contaminants, and the site will recommend an appropriate water filter based on the results. The EWG has also tested a number of water filters to suggest the best options for removing PFAS. Filters using activated carbon, ion exchange resin, and reverse osmosis are all potential options that have shown to be effective. Ultimately though, Evans says, the responsibility for PFAS should rest with the systems that create and regulate them, not with everyday Americans. “It shouldn’t be on the individual to guarantee that their drinking water is safe,” she says.
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E-Commerce
Most chatbots want to appear human. But their efforts to sound just like us only widen their uncanny valley feeling. Many are Elon Musk-level awkward. And most are annoyingly verbose. Theres only one AI persona that offers a completely different user experience: Tolan. This AI-powered beingwhich you can teleport into your iPhonedoesnt pretend to be like us. Quite the opposite. Tolan embraces being very much unlike us. But in doing so, it feels more human and relatable than any other AIs Ive come across. Tolan is an alien. The whimsical, colorful creature is made of friendly curved shapes that are designed to reflect, converse, and grow with its user. These AI-driven entities engage in conversations on various topics, including sports, games, movies, and personal feelings, aiming to provide a sense of companionship and support. Each alien is uniquely shaped, with its own personality. It will listen to anything you tell it about your life, answering you with intent, focus, and creativity. It also keeps a memory of you through its entire existence, and develops its own personality with each interaction. Now, with its latest update released today, Tolan comes with its own planet. Its not just a place for this being to live, walk, and wait for you to return. Its actually a new method of expression and connection to the user, which expands the relationship beyond dialogue. The Tolan planet is a visual representation of your relationship with the being that inhabits it. As your connection with this alien deepens, its small, barren world flourishes into a lush, vibrant landscape.We wanted to create a world that made the experience of interacting with AI feel differentless like typing into a search box and more like an evolving relationship, says Quinten Farmer, cofounder and CEO of Portola, the company behind Tolan. The idea of the planet came from wanting to represent that in a way that felt organic, personal, and visually compelling.[Image: Portola]The Inspiration Behind the PlanetsThe idea of giving Tolan its own little world wasnt merely about aesthetics or adding a gamification element to the app. Like the Tolan itself, its an element deeply rooted in storytelling and emotional resonance. When I first saw the mock-ups, I immediately thought of The Little Prince, says Eliot Peper, the sci-fi novelist who was brought in by Farmer to develop Tolans lore. When Peper founded Portola with Ajay Mehta, he realized that if they wanted to build a humanistic bridge to get over the current AI uncanny valley, the company needed to hire a writer to create a culture behind the aliens. The small, floating planet felt whimsical and poetic in the way The Little Princes tiny worlds did, Peper tells me. [Image: Portola]That comparison wasnt accidental. The developers (including Farmer, Mehta, creative director Lucas Zanotto, and animation director Eran Hilleli) took the precious, deeply moving creations of the French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as both a visual and spiritual reference. It has this magical simplicityone character on a tiny planet, a self-contained universe full of imagination. We wanted that feeling in Tolans world, Zanotto tells me over Zoom. [Image: Portola]The Design Philosophy: Warmth Over RealismPlanets arent a static environment. Each Tolan (and thus, each human user) gets a unique planet, with vegetation, terrain, and structures that evolve based on their interactions. These are procedural elements, meaning the computer system creates objects like plants and trees using some basic seeds that evolve and grow in different ways.Hilleli, also cofounder and partner of the game design and animation studio Iorama, says designing a world that scales visually and emotionally using procedural technology was a big challenge. The planet had to function as both a backdrop and as an interactive, evolving space. It needed to feel like a living environment that responds to user engagement. [Image: Portola]First, the planet needed to resonate with Tolans visual language, which is deliberately distinct from the hyper-detailed realism of most digital experiences. A big goal was to make the AI feel warm and inviting rather than eerie or overly human, says Farmer. We didnt want it to feel like you were talking to an avatar pretending to be a person. Thats where the alien design comes in. The planets follow the same principle, Zanotto tells me, by emphasizing minimalism and abstraction. A simplified character leaves mor room for users to project their own emotions onto it, he says, making interactions feel more personal and engaging.The team experimented with AI-generated objects but found that they often resulted in cluttered, meaningless landscapes. Handcrafted design, combined with procedural growth, created a more meaningful experience.[Image: Portola]Hilleli took cues from the Tolans shapesits hair, its small tentaclesand reflected those organic forms in the flora. Trees and bushes are designed to feel like they belong in Tolans world, rather than generic sci-fi landscapes. The colorful shapes that compose these objects, which are rendered in 3D but feel as though theyve been painted with watercolor, are gently rounded, and they move delicately, responding to the Tolan and the atmosphere of the planet. The aesthetic also draws from the spirit of the most iconic of the animation studios. Studio Ghibli was a big reference, says Hilleli. That blend of handcrafted charm and digital world-building made something procedural feel personal. The approach involved striking a balance between a world that felt magical and one that was technically feasible.[Image: Portola]More than a virtual petPlanets introduce a subtle form of gamification, but the team was careful to distinguish it from traditional game mechanics. Gamification can feel manipulative, like its using dopamine hits to keep you engaged, Farmer says. Instead, planets are a way to make your connection with Tolan feel tangible, so it needs to be grounding and calming, inviting contemplation and reflection, not triggering actions and anxiety.Peper framed it in narrative terms. In Tolans fictional culture, small planets serve as a way to represent relationships. The evolving landscape functions like a shared garden, symbolizing the depth and progression of a users connection with their Tolan.The planet evolves over roughly 30 days, mirroring a psychological model describing how relationships deepen over time. Early on, the planet is barren. As engagement grows, the landscape flourishes, providing a tangible representation of a users investment in the experience. This pacing was crucial, Hilleli says. If the changes felt too immediate, they would lack emotional weight. If they were too slow, they would feel unrewarding. The team fine-tuned the timeline to make progress feel satisfying but natural.[Image: Portola]A different approach to AIOther AI companions often drift into unsettling territory, but Tolan aims to chart a different course. We didnt want it to simulate a human relationship, says Farmer. That gets into weird, unhealthy dynamics really fast. Tolan is a reflection tool, a creative partner, not a surrogate friend or therapist. The team deliberately avoided making Tolans responses overly humanlike. We worked hard to balance personality with clarity, says Peper. It shouldnt feel like its mimicking human emotions. Instead, its more like an alien pen palcurious about you, interested in your world, but always distinct. The planet update is just the beginning, the team says. Theyre already considering expanding into new environments, each with distinct characteristics. Theyd also like to introduce the ability to visit other Tolans planets (which means connecting to other Tolans users).The core goal will remain the same through future expansions. Farmer and the rest of the Portola team seem convinced that this is a strong way to use artificial intelligence to its full humanistic potential at this point. In other words, using AI to enhance a human experience, not replace it. Tolan isnt about escaping into a fantasy, Farmer says. Its about helping people reflect on their own lives, using an AI that doesnt pretend to be something its not.With planets, that reflection now has a homea tiny, living world that grows as you and your friend do.
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E-Commerce
The new Netflix series Running Point stars Kate Hudson as president of a fictional pro basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves. And the Pepperdine Waves have a problem with it. Attorneys for Pepperdine University in Malibu have filed a lawsuit against the streaming service and Warner Bros. Entertainment arguing they have taken valuable intellectual property from the school and infringed on its trademark ahead of the show’s premiere today. Attorneys for the University claim the fictional team’s branding is too similar to its own, and that it uses the same blue and orange team colors and mascot. They argue this will create consumer confusion and falsely suggest a link between Running Point and the university. There’s an added layer to Pepperdine’s argument. The school, a Christian university, isn’t happy with details from the show they say don’t align with their values. Noting examples of substance use and profanity in the show’s trailer that go against the school’s code of conduct, attorneys argue they’re misrepresentations of Pepperdines marks in connection with topics wholly inconsistent with its values and will harm its reputation. From top: Scenes from Running Point; Pepperdine University branding [Photos: Kat Marcinowski/Netflix 2024 (top), Pepperdine University (bottom)] Litigating fiction vs. real life At the heart of the dispute is whether a work of fiction can use names from real life. Courts have historically resolved litigation between First Amendment freedoms and trademark infringement via the Rogers test, named after actress Ginger Rogers, who sued over a film called Ginger and Fred that depicted fictional performers seemingly inspired by Rogers and her on-screen partner Fred Astaire. A 1989 ruling in the case found that use of a celebrity’s name in the title of an expressive work is fine if it doesn’t inaccurately claim that a celebrity sponsors or endorses the work and isn’t explicitly misleading. Applied to the Pepperdine suit, the Rogers test might find the use of the Waves team name is fine for Netflix and Warner Bros. since the show doesn’t imply a connection to or endorsement from the university, and the storyline has nothing to do with an elite, private college in Malibu. I am no fan of these types of lawsuits because I dont think consumers will be confused in a way that damages Pepperdine, Kevin Greene, a law professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law, tells Fast Company. He says several years ago, a case like Pepperdine’s “probably wouldn’t go anywhere,” but a 2023 Supreme Court infringement case ruling potentially threw the limits of the Rogers test into question. In the case, Jack Daniel’s alleged a dog toy made in the shape of its whiskey bottle infringed on its trademark. The court ruled in favor of the liquor company. Blue waves in California? Netflix says it’s not so notable Attorneys for Netflix wrote in an opposition filing that the series “has nothing to do with universities or college sports, and never mentions or alludes to Pepperdine. They say the show was in fact written with Jeanie Buss, daughter of the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss, in mind. Pointing to other Southern California teams that also have wave mascots, including a hockey club, cricket club, and flag football club, the attorneys say “hundreds of wave-related marks exist.” The Waves team name, according to Netflix, is instead a nod to the Lakers. The Waves name evokes the LA area in which the fictional team plays, they wrote. In naming the ‘LA Waves,’ the creators did not believe it would cause confusion, as there is no major pro sports team with the name. As for the similar blue-and-orange color palettes for the real-life and fictional teams, attorneys for Netflix lean on color theory to defend the show’s choices. Waves are blue in real life, so the idea of a blue wave is common, they wrote, and since orange is at the other end of the color wheel, it complements and contrasts blue. A court will now weigh in on the Waves fate, and considering the unsettled nature of the Rogers test, whatever they decided could have a ripple effect.
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E-Commerce
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