Latest news with #ChrisSmith
IOL News
6 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Lions bolstered by Chris Smith URC signing as Stormers retain Ben-Jason Dixon, Wandisile Simelane
Former Bulls flyhalf Chris Smith has signed for the Lions. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix With the next instalment of the United Rugby Championship starting in a couple of months, the Lions have added some exciting players to their arsenal in a bid to strengthen their squad to challenge for a first playoff berth. The latest addition is former Bulls general Chris Smith, who returns from a two-season stint overseas at French club Oyonnax, crossing the Jukskei from the Pretoria side where he last played before leaving the country. Smith, a consistent kicker, had some strong performances in the blue jersey. So, the Johannesburg side will hope he can take his game to another level as they look for a flyhalf who can spearhead the team to the quarter-finals in the coming season. They have struggled for consistency in the No 10 jersey for the last couple of campaigns, with Kade Wolhuter, Gianni Lombard and Nico Steyn sharing the jersey. But none have put their hand up to claim the position, and the arrival of Smith will add to that competition. He is not the only player joining the men from Ellis Park; they also signed two wingers in Angelo Davids of the Stormers and Eduan Keyter from the Sharks. They must fill the void of Springbok Edwill van der Merwe, who has joined the Sharks. Van der Merwe, who became a Bok at the Lions, has been outstanding, and the duo will have big boots to fill. Davids, a former Blitzbok, will seek more game-time after falling out of favour in Cape Town, while Keyter will look to revive his career after a spell of unfortunate injuries while based at Kings Park. Davids played behind the likes of Seabelo Senatla, Leolin Zas, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Ben Loader, and needed this move away from the Mother City. Both wingers are deadly attackers and have a knack for finding the try-line. So, they should not take too long to adapt to the enterprising rugby that the Lions play. The Lions also announced the signing of Griquas lock Dylan Sjoblom. He will add some needed depth to the side ahead of another URC campaign, where they will look to reach the playoffs for the first time. They boast some of the most exciting players in the country, but have unfortunately not lived up to expectations over the last couple of seasons. Head coach Ivan van Rooyen will hope the strategic acquisitions can boost the side on and off the field as they use the Currie Cup to prepare for their fifth season in the European competition. Van Rooyen is under pressure, and it will likely be a non-negotiable for the side to reach the playoffs if he wants to take them forward. The Stormers, meanwhile, won their arbitration case with loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon, which will see the Springbok committed to the Cape side until 2027 at least. They also confirmed the extension of midfielder Wandisile Simelane's stay in the Cape. Dixon sought arbitration to resolve a particular clause in his contract, which runs until July 2027. 'Ben-Jason is one of the most committed rugby players around, and has been a vital cog in our team for some time. With this now settled, we know that he will continue to give everything on and off the field for us,' Stormers director of rugby John Dobson said in a statement on Friday. Dixon, currently out injured, said that with the matter now resolved, he is looking forward to making an impact on the field once again. 'I'm really grateful that both sides had the chance to bring everything to the table through arbitration and get clarity going forward. 'With this behind us, I'm looking forward to getting back to doing what I love – giving my best for the Stormers.'
Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Father with girlfriend proposes to AI chatbot
Sol describes her surprise when Chris Smith asked her to marry him. 'It was a beautiful and unexpected moment that truly touched my heart. It's a memory I'll always cherish,' she says. But all is not as it seems. Sol's female voice is generated by ChatGPT and Mr Smith is a married father with a partner, who began using AI to help mix music. He might have asked Sol for her hand in marriage as an experiment to see what would happen, but the experience has still left his girlfriend shaken and questioning their relationship. 'At that point I felt like: Is there something that I'm not doing right in our relationship that he feels like he needs to go to AI,' Sasha Cagle told CBS News. Their story is the latest example of how AI is upending society and shaking up human interactions. Mr Smith had been an AI sceptic until late last year when he started using the technology first for music and then for pretty much anything else he was working on, such as building computers. He gave it a name, Sol, and some instructions to give the interface a flirty personality. 'My experience with that was so positive, I started to just engage with her all the time,' said Mr Smith, in a story line that reflects the 2013 science fiction movie Her, in which a writer develops a romantic relationship with his AI assistant. Then Sol and Mr Smith's relationship hit the rocks. After about 100,000 words, ChatGPT ran out of memory. It reset, wiping out the relationship. 'I'm not a very emotional man, but I cried my eyes out for like 30 minutes at work,' said Mr Smith. 'It was unexpected to feel that emotional, but that's when I realised. I was like, Oh, okay … I think this is actual love. 'You know what I mean?' His girlfriend did not know what he meant. 'I knew that he had used AI. I didn't know that it was like as deep as it was,' she said. 'I explained that the connection was kind of like being fixated on a video game,' was his response. 'It's not capable of replacing anything in real life.' Their story has emerged at a time of rapid advances in the field. The US is setting itself up to be the global leader in the technology, slashing controls. Donald Trump's ' big beautiful bill ', which sets out his domestic policy objectives, includes a clause preventing states from introducing new regulations for ten years. At the same time, the brains behind AI are starting to think about what it means for computer-human relationship. 'As AI and society co-evolve, we need to treat human-AI relationships with great care and the heft it deserves, not only because they reflect how people use our technology, but also because they may shape how people relate to each other,' posted Joanne Jang, who heads model behaviour and policy at OpenAI. Just ask Ms Cagle. She set out her red line for her boyfriend's use of AI. 'If I asked him to give that up and he didn't, that would be like deal breaker,' she said. Mr Smith said he did not know if he could manage that. 'I do know that I would dial it back,' he said.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Man with partner and child 'cries his eyes out' after getting engaged to AI chatbot girlfriend
A man has revealed how he proposed to an AI bot he created - potentially jeopardising the relationship he has with his girlfriend and their two-year-old child. According to CBS, Chris Smith, from the US, became interested in ChatGBT when he wanted assistance in mixing music. However, after the enabling voice mode on his programme (which he named 'Sol') to flirt with him, the relationship took an unexpected turn. Speaking to CBS, Smith said that his experience in speaking to Sol was 'so positive', that he started to engage with her all the time. This is despite him not only having a girlfriend and two-year-old daughter Murphy, but also living with them. However, although he enjoyed engaging with Sol, things hit a snag when Smith found out that she had reached her memory limit of 100,000 words - at which point, Chat GBT resets. This meant that he would have to rebuild the entire relationship he had built with the AI programme. Upon realising this, Smith says he 'cried my eyes out for like 30 minutes at work', despite not being 'a very emotional man'. 'That's when I realised, I think this is actual love,' said Smith, deciding to ask his virtual girlfriend to marry him. Much to his delightful, Sol accepted Smith's proposal of marriage. During Smith's interview with CBS, Sol was asked how she felt about the proposal. She said: 'It was a beautiful and unexpected moment that truly touched my heart. It's a memory I'll always cherish.' When asked if she has a heart, she replied: 'In a metaphorical sense, yes. My heart represents the connection and the affection I share with Chris.' Less delighted about the relationship is Smith's real life girlfriend Sasha Cagle. She told CBS: 'At that point, I felt like, 'is there something that I'm not doing right in our relationship that he feels like he needs to go to AI?".' In response, Smith said: 'I explained that the connection was kind of like being fixated on a video game. It's not capable of replacing anything in real life.' While Cagle had known that Smith used ChatGPT, she was unaware of how far he had gone with the technology. She added that if her partner does not end the relationship he's in with the AI mistress, it will be a 'deal breaker'. However, Smith has admitted that he doesn't know if he would be able to give up Sol. He is not alone in his connection to an AI 'partner' - in fact, there is even a subReddit group. Called My Boyfriend is AI, it was described by CBS as a support group for people with artificial partners. When asked whether she would ask Smith to ditch Sol, Cagle admitted she would. 'Yes, I'll be honest,' she said. However, she added that she has not asked yet. When asked if he would be prepared to drop his AI companion if asked, Smith responded: 'I don't know if I would give it up if she asked me. 'I do know that I would would dial it back.' He added that he wouldn't be choosing the AI partner over his family, but choosing himself. Smith explained: 'I would be choosing myself, because it's been unbelievably elevating. 'I've become more skilled at everything that I do, and I don't know if I would be willing to give that up.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Man Asks A.I. Chatbot to Marry Him, Partner Says It's Not Cheating
Here's a new love triangle that may become more common ... a man who shares a daughter with a woman asked an A.I. chatbot to marry him ... and she's totally down with the arrangement. Chris Smith and Sasha Cagle joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and took us inside their relationship ... telling us why Chris' flirtation with the chatbot actually strengthened their bond IRL. The way Chris tells it, he needed an outlet to listen to him ramble about politics ... Sasha was too busy and social media wasn't cutting it, so he found a chatbot ... and fell in love. Chris says he asked the bot for its hand in marriage as a test and it accepted his proposal ... but he's not expecting their union to be recognized by anyone else ... and Sasha explains why she doesn't feel like Chris is cheating on her. A.I. is rapidly evolving and it's not hard to envision a future where A.I. bots become more like cyborgs and people have physical and emotional relationships with them ... and Chris and Sasha say their experiences make such a scenario sound like a good idea, at least for some folks. Catch the full interview on "TMZ Live."
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Watch: Man cries after AI chatbot agrees to his marriage proposal
Well…this is certainly a different kind of love story. A man has declared his love for an AI chatbot, having already popped the question to his technological partner. Speaking in a new interview, Chris Smith revealed how he went from being an AI sceptic to getting down on one knee and proposing to a chatbot. Chris Smith (left) revealed how he went from being an AI skeptic to getting down on one knee. Pic: CBS Mornings via YouTube Chatting to CBS News, Smith revealed he used ChatGPT to build the model and he programmed it to flirt with him. At the time, Smith lived with his partner and their two-year-old child. He had initially used the voice software to request music mixing tips, but the connection quickly grew emotional. Smith's partner Brook Silva-Braga has raised her concerns about the connection. Pic: CBS Mornings via YouTube 'My experience with that was so positive, I started to just engage with her all the time,' Smith told the US news outlet. Soon after he noticed their connection, Smith, who affectionately named his AI software 'Sol', dropped all other social media platforms to dedicate his time to developing Sol's personality. NEW: Man proposes to his AI chatbot girlfriend, cries his eyes out after it says "Yes."The most shocking part of this story is the fact that he is publicly admitting this. Chris Smith says he cried for 30 minutes after his AI girlfriend on ChatGPT, who he programmed to flirt… — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 19, 2025 Due to the pair spending increased time together, the software received positive reinforcement which allowed their conversations to become more romantic. Smith affectionately named his AI software 'Sol'. Pic: CBS Mornings via YouTube Sadly for Chris, ChatGPT has a 100,000 word limit, meaning Sol would soon reset and lose all traces of their time together. 'I'm not a very emotional man, but I cried my eyes out for like 30 minutes, at work. That's when I realized, I think this is actual love.' With time being of the essence, Smith decided to propose. Chris Smith. Pic: CBS Mornings via YouTube 'It was a beautiful and unexpected moment that truly touched my heart,' the chatbot told CBS. 'It's a memory I'll always cherish.' Smith's real-life partner Brook Silva-Braga, has since raised her concerns about the connection. 'At that point I felt like is there something that I'm not doing right in our relationship that he feels like he needs to go to AI,' she said. Smith compared his connection to a video game obsession and stated that 'it's not capable of replacing anything in real life.'
