As a computer science student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Zin Khant likens the advent of artificial intelligence to the discovery of electricity — a modern Rosetta Stone that will allow future generations to unlock new inventions the current generation never knew it needed.

“Back in the days before cameras were invented, if you wanted a family picture, you had to have the money to hire somebody to paint one, which took hours,” said Khant, president and founder of the student-driven UST Nexus AI Club, which hopes to move conversations about artificial intelligence beyond ChatGPT and showcase how it can be harnessed ethically for the common good. “Once cameras were invented, family pictures became more widely available, and then available instantly to everyone.”

At a time when some Americans appear squeamish around the prospect of embracing AI, which has already eliminated certain jobs, Khant and other club members are asking up to 100 budding young creators to lean in for a healthy cause during their inaugural “Tommie Buildfest.” Starting Friday evening, the Nexus AI Club will host a free 24-hour “hackathon” where individuals or teams of creators use AI to work on new websites and software applications related to hunger, nutrition and food security.

The set-up is as much competition as brainstorming session, and prizes will be awarded Saturday evening. The Nexus AI Club is recruiting student participants from St. Thomas and beyond, ranging in age from high school through graduate school, as well as nonprofits interested in benefiting from their creativity.

The club has had at least initial conversations with Tommie Shelf, the on-campus grocery give-away, as well as Loaves and Fishes, which serves free meals throughout the Twin Cities, and The Food Group, which operates a food bank, a traveling grocery in a converted school bus and a farm-based agricultural program.

Nonprofits don’t have to attend the Buildfest to enjoy the fruits of its labor, though an optional 30-minute focus group session in advance would help the students understand each agency’s mission and needs.

“The organizations that would benefit the most from this probably have the least resources and are the least connected,” said Jonathan Keiser, associate vice president of Academic Technology and AI Enablement in the School of Education, who also is a faculty adviser for the club. “We will take participants and community partners right up until the day of.”

The goal is to create tools to reduce nutrition deficits in the community.

That could mean building an app to help families plan nutritious meals, maximize their food budget and track SNAP food benefits, or creating new internal tools for food banks and nonprofits to track inventory, predict demand and optimize distribution. It could also mean building a platform aggregating nutrition research, or some other AI-assisted solution to food insecurity.

Non-coders welcome

Khant noted that major tech companies like Reddit, the social media platform, and Stripe, the payment processor, have hosted their own tech hackathons over the years, with the goals of benefiting from a burst of competitive and creative juices blending on a compressed timeline.

The Tommie Buildfest opens at 8 p.m. Friday and moves into judging at 6 p.m. Saturday, with awards issued two hours later.

No coding experience is required, and Keiser noted that projects can combine design, business and technical skills, areas that lend themselves to folks outside the computer programming community. Working professionals can participate as mentors.

The hackathon is co-branded with Lovable, a Swedish start-up company that bills itself as a facilitator of “vibe coding,” or developing software using natural language instead of core coding skills. Lovable will provide building credits, or tokens, per participant, reducing the cost of AI computation for upper-level programming.

“I’m not a coder or developer by training,” Keiser said. “I have no background in it, and yet I’m able to build things just by natural language that work really well. It’s what AI is excellent at. AI can do this completely.”

Is that gratifying or terrifying? Keiser acknowledges that for most people, it could be a bit of both.

“I think it’s going to destabilize our society in some ways, and that’s how things happen where there’s creative destruction,” Keiser said. “I think it’s going to change our social contract. Instead of working 40 hours, in 15 years I think we’ll be working 30 or 20 hours per week, but that requires a societal conversation.”

‘It can democratize knowledge’

AI has already been blamed for eliminating some entry-level white collar jobs, as well as jobs in software development and customer service. In its “Future of Jobs” report, the World Economic Forum found last year that 40% of global employers surveyed expected to reduce hiring in certain areas as AI reshapes their job needs, and half expected to transition some workers to new roles. The vast majority of employers found they would need to “upskill” or retrain workers to meet changes in their industry.

Rather than a dystopian, jobless future controlled by merciless robots, Khant foresees a time when AI bots will read through reams of published data on underreported subjects such as women’s health to conduct its own research, filling in knowledge gaps for the betterment of mankind.

“It can democratize knowledge,” said Khant, one of eight founding members of the Nexus AI Club. “This tool can empower so many new things that we can’t even think about right now, that we can’t even imagine yet.”

The caveat, Khant said, is that everyday people need to understand the technology well enough to advocate for how it should be used ethically, rather than allowing a few interests to harness it for their own profit.

The hackathon is free to attend, with snacks and meals included, but requires registration. Individuals who register alone can join a team at the start of the Buildfest. Participants must bring a laptop, charger and any other hardware they’d like to use.

Students consider this year a bit of a trial run.

“Next year, they’re hoping to have one that goes from Friday evening to Sunday evening, so 48 hours,” Keiser said.

For more information, visit ustnexus.club/buildfest.

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Adorning yourself in red for good luck? Deep-cleaning your home to rid it of negativity before a celebratory feast? These are signs that the Lunar New Year has begun.

The 15-day festival commemorates the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar, signifying the arrival of spring.

Official dates vary, but, this year, the celebration began on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Celebrated by over 2 billion people — primarily in East and Southeast Asian cultures — Lunar New Year focuses on family reunions, honoring ancestors and welcoming good fortune and prosperity into the coming year.

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, symbolizing a year of bold energy, rapid change, intense passion and a desire for freedom.

In honor of it all, events and gatherings are taking place around the Twin Cities for all to enjoy. Here’s a list of five to consider.

Celebration at the Mall of America

On Saturday, Feb. 21, and Sunday, Feb. 22, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., the Mall of America is hosting its annual Lunar New Year festivities at the Huntington Bank Rotunda, located on the first floor of the Bloomington mall.

The celebration will showcase artistic performances, cultural presentations and activities such as cultural booths with calligraphy and other traditional art forms.

This year, students from local Chinese immersion schools along with a Dragon Dance and Drum Team, Peking Opera, Kung Fu artists and musicians from the University of Minnesota and Carleton College will be performing throughout the weekend.

A Miss Asia pageant will be held Sunday.

The event is free and open to all.

More information can be found by visiting mallofamerica.com.

Minnesota Orchestra performance

On Thursday, Feb. 26, from 7 to 10 p.m., The Minnesota Orchestra and a variety of guest artists will perform at the Minneapolis Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, in celebration of Lunar New Year.

The concert will explore themes of family, tradition and unity through lively orchestral music with a handful of special guests.

The concert will also include a traditional dragon dance, presented in partnership with the Alliance of Chinese Culture and Arts.

Ticket prices and further information can be found by visiting minnesotaorchestra.org.

​​Twin Cities Dumpling Feast

On Thursday, March 19, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Peking Garden Chinese Restaurant in St. Paul — located at 394 University Ave. W. — the fifth annual Twin Cities Dumpling Feast will be held in honor of Lunar New Year.

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In Chinese culture, dumplings are considered lucky and symbolize wealth and prosperity due to their resemblance to a coin currency from a thousand years ago.

The Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society and the Association of Sino-American Neocultural Exchange invites the community to gather at Peking Garden and indulge in a 10-course Chinese banquet full of dumplings, potstickers and other gourmet Chinese food while enjoying Lunar New Year activities and performances by local musicians and Chinese cultural experts.

Registration for the event is required and can be completed by contacting Christina Deng Morrison at asane.culture@gmail.com or Zhou Chen at cxzhou.mn@gmail.com. The deadline to register is Monday, March 9.

Individual tickets start at $45. A table for 10 is $450.

More information can be found by visiting mnchinagarden.org or mnasane.org.

New exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

From Wednesday, Feb. 18, to Sunday, Aug. 30, the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, 2400 Third Ave. S., is opening a new exhibition in honor of the Chinese zodiac year.

The show, titled “Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats through Time,” celebrates the horses in Chinese art and culture by exploring the animal as both a creature and cultural symbol of strength, virtue and ambition.

The exhibition opens with a curator talk at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.

A public tour of the exhibition will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28.

The exhibition is free and open to all.

More information can be found by visiting artsmia.org.

Celebration at Luce Line Brewing

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On Saturday, Feb. 21, from 1 to 5 p.m., Luce Line Brewing — located at 12901 16th Ave. N. in Plymouth — will be hosting a Lunar New Year celebration in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation right at the taproom.

The family-friendly event will feature a traditional lion dance, a kung fu demonstration by the Golden Leopard Martial Arts Center, interactive cultural stations like dumpling-making, calligraphy bookmarks, lantern and opera mask crafts, zodiac activities, chopstick lessons and more.

The event is free and open to all.

More information can be found by visiting facebook.com/LuceLineBrewing.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya will also temporarily become acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an administration official said Wednesday.

The change was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment hadn’t been made public.

Bhattacharya will be the third leader of the embattled CDC, the nation’s top public health agency, during President Donald Trump’s second term. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly fired then-CDC Director Susan Monarez last summer, less than a month after the Senate confirmed her for the job.

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Monarez, a longtime government scientist, later testified before a Senate committee that her dismissal came after she refused to sign off on Kennedy’s requested changes to the childhood vaccination schedule without data to back them up.

Deputy Health Secretary Jim O’Neill, a former investor, had been serving as the acting CDC director and overseeing those vaccine changes before his reported departure last week.

Bhattacharya is a health economist who, as a Stanford University professor, was an outspoken critic of the government’s COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies. At the NIH, he oversees the largest public funder of biomedical research.

At a recent Senate hearing, Bhattacharya said childhood measles vaccination was “the best way to address the measles epidemic in this country,” and testified that he’d seen no evidence linking any single vaccine to autism.

Trump administration officials have said they planned to find a permanent CDC director, a job that requires confirmation by the Senate.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

MILAN, Italy — Before the puck dropped on the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series three months ago, before the Americans romped through their first six games at the Milan Cortina Olympics, and before her engagement on Wednesday, Hilary Knight looked ahead to the gold-medal final with hope and anticipation.

How fitting it would be, the U.S. captain said in early November, for her Olympic career to end with one more showdown against Canada.

“It’s best on best. I think people really like it when our two teams face off,” Knight said.

“It’s a testament to the work that both have put in off ice and on ice. So, yeah, it would definitely be a win-win from a 30,000-foot view.”

Anticipation has become reality for the 36-year-old Knight as the border rivals and the sport’s global powers prepare to meet on Thursday. It will be their seventh gold-medal matchup in eight Olympics since women’s hockey debuted in 1998 — and the fifth for Knight, who has said these will be her final Games.

“It’s exciting. It’s fleeting. It’s all these emotions at the same time,” Knight said after practice Wednesday, hours after she proposed to U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe.

“At the end of the day it’s just so special,” she added. “And I can’t tell you enough how amazing this group is.”

The Americans are favored to add a third gold medal after winning in 1998 and 2018. The team has a mix of experience, led by Knight, and young talent, including seven players still in college.

The U.S. has outscored its six opponents by a combined 31-1 while not allowing a goal in more than 331 minutes. That streak dates to Barbora Jurickova scoring on a breakaway in the second period of a tournament-opening 5-1 win over Czechia.

The Americans stand one win from cementing a legacy as one of the most dominant women’s hockey teams.

“If we get the job done (Thursday) night, I think that statement holds true,” Kendall Coyne Schofield said.

The defending champion Canadians haves shown signs of age and struggled through parts of the tournament. Canada is 5-1, having dropped a 5-0 decision to the U.S. in the preliminary round — its most lopsided loss and its first time being shut out in Olympic play.

Canada advanced to the final by eking out a 2-1 win over Switzerland, after which Swiss captain Lara Stalder said the winners looked “shaky” and “beatable.”

The Canadians acknowledge they’ve yet to play their best, and they know anything can happen in the final.

“This group does have it in us,” coach Troy Ryan said.

Added goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens: “It’s a new day. We’re all excited, and I know this team is going to play with a lot of pride and a lot of maturity.”

One plus for Canada is the return of Marie-Philip Poulin, who missed the loss to the U.S. with a right knee injury. Since her return, “Captain Clutch” has three goals in two games, including both in the win against Switzerland.

“I am ready,” Poulin said. “We’re all coming down to one game here, and it can go either way, and we all know that. The team is going to be ready to go deliver their game. And obviously we trust in this room.”

The U.S. has won seven straight against Canada dating to its preliminary-round and gold-medal victories at the world championships in April. The Americans followed with a four-game sweep of the exhibition Rivalry Series, outscoring Canada 24-7.

“It’s a nonfactor,” Ryan said. “We know we’d like to play better in those seven games. I don’t think they’re going to impact the gold medal a bit.”

Since 1998, Canada holds the edge with five Olympic and 13 world titles to the Americans’ two and 11.