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    Actor-comedian Kevin Hart will host 2019 Oscars

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1821 Views
    In this Dec. 11, 2017 file photo, Kevin Hart arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" in Los Angeles. Hart will host the 2019 Academy Awards, fulfilling a lifelong dream for the actor-comedian. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Kevin Hart has a new job — he will host the 2019 Academy Awards, a role the prolific actor-comedian says fulfills a longtime dream.

    Hart announced his selection for the 91st Oscars in an Instagram statement Tuesday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences followed up with a tweet that welcomed him "to the family."

    The announcement came hours after trade publication The Hollywood Reporter posted a story calling the Oscars host position "the least wanted job in Hollywood."

    Hart clearly doesn't feel that way, writing on Instagram that it has been on his list of dream jobs for years. The 2019 Oscars will be broadcast Feb. 24 on ABC.

    "I am blown away simply because this has been a goal on my list for a long time…To be able to join the legendary list of host that have graced this stage is unbelievable," Hart wrote. "I know my mom is smiling from ear to ear right now.

    "I will be sure to make sure this years Oscars are a special one," Hart wrote.

    Hart takes over hosting duties from Jimmy Kimmel, who presided over the last two ceremonies, including 2016's flub that resulted in the wrong best picture winner being announced. Last year's ceremony was an all-time ratings low, and the film academy has announced a series of changes to the upcoming show .

    Those include shortening the broadcast to three hours, and also presenting certain categories during commercial breaks and broadcasting excerpts of those winners' speeches later in the show.

    The 39-year-old Hart has become a bankable star with films such as "Ride Along," ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and "Night School."

    Celebrities including Martin Lawrence and Chris Rock, who hosted the ceremony in 2005 and 2016, posted congratulatory messages about Hart's selection Tuesday night.

    "Damn I've lost another job to Kevin Hart," Rock posted on Instagram, echoing a joke he told during his 2016 opening monologue . "They got the best person for the job."

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    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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