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Ranking the 2025 Men’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: Numbers 13-16

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Ranking the 2025 Men’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: Numbers 13-16

By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam

With the NCAA season around the corner, many people are wondering how their favorite team will do this season, and how teams did in their recruiting. This is the first year that we will not see 5th-year athletes at the NCAA Championships, though there are a few redshirt athletes hanging around, which means the incoming freshmen have more opportunity to make an impact than in years past.

As always, we are ranking the 2025 Division I men’s recruiting classes for this season. We have already posted the honorable mentions, so we are getting started with the ranked teams, where we will be starting at #16 and working our way down to #1. This article will cover #16 to #13.

See Also:

A few important notes on our rankings:

  • The rankings listed are based on our Class of 2025 Re-Rank. “HM” refers to our honorable mentions and “BOTR” refers to our Best of the Rest section for top-tier recruits.
  • Like most of our rankings, these placements are subjective. We base our team ranks on a number of factors: prospects’ incoming times are by far the main factor, but we also consider potential upside in the class, class size, relay impact, and team needs. Greater weight is placed on known success in short course yards, so foreign swimmers are slightly devalued based on the difficulty in converting long course times to short course production.
  • Transfers are included, though they are weighed less than recruits who arrive with four seasons of eligibility.
  • For the full list of all verbally committed athletes, click here. A big thank you to SwimSwam’s own Anne Lepesant for compiling that index – without it, rankings like these would be far less comprehensive.
  • Some teams had not released a finalized 2025-26 team roster at the time these articles were published, meaning it’s possible we missed some names. Let us know in the comments below.

Honorable Mentions

  • Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Louisville

Best NCAA Swimming and Diving Recruiting Classes: Men’s Class of 2025

#16 Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines’ incoming group has a heavy international flavor as they look to build on their 2nd-place finish at Big Tens last year. Austria’s Luka Mladenovic looks the most important of the incoming swimmers, as he fills a slight hole on breaststroke and should make the medley relays even more dangerous next year. He has long course bests of 26.72 in the 50, 59.97 in the 100 and 2:10.08 in the 200, all set this season, and split 59.08 on Austria’s medley relay this summer. His converted times are 51.25 in the 100 and 1:51.70, enough to make the ‘B’ finals at NCAAs last year, and he should be an upgrade on Ozan Kalafat for the relays.

Antoine Sauve has had a breakout year, going 48.41 in the 100 free and 1:46.39 in the 200 free at Canadian Trials. Those convert to rapid times of 41.79 and 1:32.31, both of which would have qualified for NCAAs last year, and would make him the prime replacement for Gal Cohen Groumi on Michigan’s relays. Alexey Glivinskiy is also a fantastic freestyler, with similar bests of 48.43/1:47.10, and they should make for a mean 1-2 punch at the conference level and on the 400 and 800 free relays. Glivinskiy also brings an elite 200 IM, with his 1:59.00 from the world championships converting to a 1:42.00, good enough for 6th at least season’s Big Tens. Boldizsár Magda, a versatile sprint free/fly/back swimmer out of Hungary who has split 48.3 on the 100 free before, could be another great addition.

Those four are joined by BOTR recruit Alex Thiesing, Antoine Destang, and Will Siegel, all three-distance freestyle specialists, while Destang brings some 100 fly chops. Thiesing is20.25/43.55/1:34.76 in the sprint freestyles, but set long course bests of 23.25/49.75/1:49.99 to indicate that he could be in for a bit of a breakout this fall. If their international recruits adapt quickly, Michigan brings in a class here that could cement their status as the main challengers to Indiana in the Big Ten.

#15 Harvard Crimson

Harvard is headlined by William Mulgrew, a distance freestyler who recently competed for Team USA at the World Junior Championships and holds a best in the mile that would have qualified for NCAAs this March. He is joined, similarly to Michigan above, by a big group of international swimmers.

Mulgrew was the #10 recruit on our 2025 class rankings thanks to his prowess in the mile, where he holds a best of 14:48.26. That is half a second under the invite time for last year’s NCAAs, and would have been 2nd at last year’s Ivy League championships, behind Ivy League Record holder Noah Millard. Mulgrew would also have placed in the top eight of both the 500 and 100 free, giving Harvard some serious points in events that they had only one swimmer make the top ten in last year, the now-graduated Shane Washart. While he is the big domestic get, equally important in terms of the conference title could be Will Browne, a sprint freestyle specialist from Virginia with bests of 19.95 in the 50 free and 43.32 in the 100. He goes up to 1:36.15 in the 200, and adds some nifty 47.57 speed in the 100 fly and a 1:47.72 in the 200 IM.

Mulgrew has been on a tear in long course, chopping seven seconds from his 1500 time (15:05.97) and six on the 800 (7:51.99), and it is in that pool that the majority of the Crimson’s incomings have proven themselves. They bring in five international recruits, with a focus on freestyle. Spain’s Pablo Martinez should be a great training partner for Mulgrew and is 15:22 in the 1500, while Estonia’s Mark Iltsisin is 8:12.97 in the 800 and 3:57.74 in the 400, along with a 4:30 400 IM. Ognjen Pilipovic and Maro Miknic are both free fly specialists, and Miknic could be the best of the lot with his time of 52.49 in the 100 fly, converting to a 45.91 that would have placed 4th at Ivies last year, along with 22.64/50.27 freestyle speed. Vito Rados shores up the breaststroke group with bests of 1:02.51 in the 100 and 2:18.80 in the 200.

A pair of divers completes this class, and both USA National teamer Chase Shipp and Kyrgyzstani diver Rem Turatbekov, who placed in the top three at the Virginia State championships the last two years, look like good recruits who should pick up some points at the conference level.

Harvard, which fell to second at Ivies last year as it had their seven-year winning streak snapped by Princeton, has loaded up this year. They may not quite reclaim their conference crown, but it certainly won’t be due to their incoming class if they don’t. Mulgrew’s ability to compete on the national level, and the shot in the arm their relays will get make this a well-rounded and impactful recruiting class from the Crimson.

#14 U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen

Navy bring in a big class featuring three high-quality recruits in Xavier Sohovich, Preston Kessler and Chase Maier, as they look to reclaim their Patriot League title from Army. Sohovich soared up into the top-20 recruits this year after some huge drops across the 100/200/500 freestyles, and Kessler (sprint free) and Maier (distance free) give them stars across the whole distance range.

Those three would all have won a Patriot League title with their best times. Sohovich comes in with times in the 200 free (1:34.66) and 500 free (4:15.46) that would have won those events last year, along with a top-three time in the 100 (43.68), while Kessler, a quintessential 50/100 freestyler, would have won the 100 (43.28) and placed 4th in the 50 (19.82). Both should slot straight onto the relays as well – Sohovich has split 19.7/42.9/1:33.9 . Maier brings 44.08/1:35.91/4:17.60/15:09.69 speed across freestyle, already fast enough to win both the 500 and 1650 free at conference level, and quick enough to be part of Navy’s 400 and 800 free relays. Those three alone would be a game-changing class, but they are joined by Jaiden Sreenivasan (free/IM), Joshua Lopez (free/fly), Luke Lamb (free/back), Charlie Greenwood (fly/IM) and Andrejs Brooks (fly), who would all have made conference ‘A’ finals last year. 

Alex Park (fly), Kai Funaro (free), and Kyle Dowe (IM) add even more depth around them, and this is a class to contend with. They may not be in the same place to make an impact on the national stage as some of the Power Four classes will, but they add a huge amount of depth, a potential NCAA qualifier in Sohovich, and some likely conference champions. Army’s reign at the top of the conference looks like it will be a short one.

Navy also adds Slovakian Martin Perecinsky as a transfer from Ohio State, who comes in with three years of eligibility. Last season as a freshman, he set best times in the 200 free (1:35.83) and 500 free (4:19.82) at the Big Ten Championships, placing 21st in both, and he then set a new PB of 1:42.22 in the 200 back at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships. He’ll be a contender for a Patriot League title right away in both freestyle events and a podium threat in the 200 back, where teammate Ben Irwin will be the big favorite to repeat after he won last year as a freshman in 1:40.04.

#13 Princeton Tigers

Princeton, one year on from snatching the Ivy League crown from Harvard, look primed to defend this year after bringing in a huge class. They graduated just 195.5 of their 1330 conference points from last season, and bring in multiple freshmen already in scoring range at Ivies.

They are headlined by no fewer than four BOTR recruits, all of whom bring IM prowess in addition to their stroke specialism. Alex Townsend may well be the best of those four, with 46.7/1:45.3 speed on fly alongside a 1:45.94 200 IM, but is matched almost exactly by John Rusnock, who is also 1:45.94 in the 200 IM as well as 47.4/1:45.3 on fly. Both would have made the ‘B’ final in the 200 IM and 200 fly last year at the Ivy League Championships, and Townsend would have been an ‘A’ finalist in the 100 fly to boot. However, the incoming freshman who would have scored highest at those championships was distance freestyler Jiarui Xue, who would have taken home 60+ points across the 500, 1000 and 1650 free. He has best times of 4:20.54 in the 500, 9:05.99 in the 1000 and 15:06.71 in the mile.

Keian Lam would also be a three-event scorer across breaststroke and IM, and has bests of 53.70/1:57.79 on breaststroke that rank 3rd and 2nd on the team, respectively. Oliver Rowe will shore up the mid-distance freestyle and butterfly groups, as will Jack Haley, who also adds 1:48/3:51 IM speed. Jake Tarara is 20.0/43.9 on the 50/100 free, and should be fighting for a relay spot.

The Tigers also bring in a pair of elite divers, just in case the swimmers alone were somehow not enough. Chase Sorosky was the #7 recruit in our diving rankings, and they also bring in 2024 World Junior bronze medalist Luka Martinovic, who placed 16th on the 3-meter at senior worlds in Singapore this year. Sorosky is the Arizona state record holder in the 1-meter event, demolishing the old mark by over 100 points, and is a 10-time Junior National finalist.

Their big loss from last season was Tyler Hong, who made the ‘A’ final in the 100/200 back and 200 IM. They don’t bring in a backstroker to replace him, but have strengthened in just about every other area. They may still be a work in progress at the NCAA level, but this is a high-quality group that should make a splash at the conference level, and improve the Tigers’ hopes of scoring on the big stage.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ranking The 2025 Men’s NCAA Recruiting Classes: #13-16

Flowtech Fluidpower to report half-year results on September 9th

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Flowtech Fluidpower to present half-year results on September 9

Using Smartphone on Toilet May Increase Hemorrhoid Risk

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Using Smartphone on Toilet May Increase Hemorrhoid Risk

Scrolling on your smartphone while on the toilet may be doing more than passing the time. A new study has found it could raise your risk of hemorrhoids by nearly 50%, thanks to the extra minutes spent sitting.

Sitting on a cold surface. Eating spicy foods. Poor hygiene. Those are some of the old wives’ tales about hemorrhoids that are pure myth. However, sometimes such beliefs turn out to be backed by science.

New research led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston has found that smartphone use while on the toilet increases the risk of hemorrhoids.

“Using a smartphone while on the toilet was linked to a 46% increased chance of having hemorrhoids,” said the study’s corresponding author, Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH, from BIDMC’s Division of Gastroenterology. “We’re still uncovering the many ways smartphones and our modern way of life impact our health. It’s possible that how and where we use them – such as while in the bathroom – can have unintended consequences.”

It’s probably worthwhile starting with an explanation of what hemorrhoids are. If you’re familiar, you can skip the next couple of paragraphs.

“We all have hemorrhoid cushions – vascular cushions made of blood vessels, connective tissue, and smooth muscle – right at the end of our GI [gastrointestinal] tract,” Pasricha explained. “That’s a normal part of our body. It’s only when they get engorged that we notice them and that’s when they become symptomatic and they’re called hemorrhoids.

“When they become engorged, they often bleed and become uncomfortable. The external ones are the ones that can cause itching. It can feel like there’s a bump, it can feel like there’s something there and they’re difficult to clean. And then that kind of like causes this vicious cycle of like more discomfort, more irritation. The more angry they get, the more likely they are to bleed. It can really just spiral.”

The most popular phone-related activities were scrolling through the news and social media

For the study, the researchers recruited 125 adults aged 45 and older who were scheduled to undergo routine colonoscopies. Participants filled out surveys about demographics, physical activity, fiber intake, and bathroom habits (including smartphone use). The Rome IV questionnaire was used to assess bowel function and straining. Doctors performing the colonoscopies visually confirmed whether participants had hemorrhoids.

Smartphone users were compared to non-users. Statistical methods were used to adjust for confounding factors like age, sex, body mass index (BMI), fiber intake, exercise and straining. Of all the participants, 66% reported using their phone on the toilet. Phone users spent more time sitting than non-users: 37% of users stayed on the toilet for more than five minutes per visit, compared to just 7% of non-users. The most common things people did on the toilet were read the news (54%) and use social media (44%). Smartphone users were younger and exercised less on average than non-users.

Colonoscopy confirmed that 43% of all participants had hemorrhoids. After adjusting for other risk factors, smartphone use on the toilet was linked to a 46% higher risk of hemorrhoids. Straining did not independently predict hemorrhoids in the phone user group, suggesting that time spent sitting is more relevant.

“This study bolsters advice to people in general to leave the smartphones outside the bathroom and try to spend no more than a few minutes to have a bowel movement,” said Pasricha. “If it’s taking longer, ask yourself why. Was it because [having] a bowel movement was really so difficult, or was it because my focus was elsewhere?

“It’s incredibly easy to lose track of time when we’re scrolling on our smartphones – popular apps are designed entirely for that purpose. But it’s possible that constantly sitting longer on the toilet than you intended because you’re distracted by your smartphone could increase your risk of hemorrhoids. We need to study this further, but it’s a safe suggestion to leave the smartphone outside the bathroom when you need to have a bowel movement.”

The study has drawn comment from other GI experts, such as Jarrah Dowrick, PhD, a research fellow with the Gastrointestinal Research Group at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland.

“From what I can see, this paper is a thinly veiled study of the relationship between time spent on the toilet and hemorrhoids, but using the catchier hook of ‘phone use’ to attract wider attention,” said Dowrick. “While the reality of modern screen addiction does make the smartphone narrative more compelling, the real story here is that spending longer on a seated toilet appears to be linked with hemorrhoid presentation.

“This is still an important finding. There is a surprising lack of evidence for commonly believed hemorrhoid risk factors like low fiber intake, straining, constipation, age, sex differences, pregnancy, and time on the toilet. Studies like this one are vital to empower clinicians to make evidence-based recommendations to patients. Phone or no, this study suggests limiting each visit to the toilet to five minutes where possible.”

There are some key limitations to the study. Its cross-sectional design means it can show associations but not prove cause and effect. Additionally, because participants’ behavior was self-reported, time spent on the toilet and straining could be affected by recall bias. And, the participants were over 45 undergoing colonoscopies, so results may not reflect younger populations or the general public. Finally, the study didn’t measure how many years people had been using phones on the toilet.

Nonetheless, the study has real-world implications. Its findings suggest that it’s not so much straining but prolonged sitting without pelvic support that raises hemorrhoid risk. So, medical professionals might want to recommend limiting toilet sessions –especially with phone – to five minutes or less.

Larger, long-term future studies could track whether years of toilet-phone use worsen hemorrhoid rates, and behavioral interventions such as timers might help reduce sitting time.

The study was published in the journal PLOS One.

Source: BIDMC in Boston, Scimex

Understanding China’s Military Parade: What You Need to Know

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Understanding China’s Military Parade: What You Need to Know

new video loaded: What to Know About China’s Military Parade

By David Pierson, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Kassie Bracken and Stephanie Swart•

At a large Chinese military parade to commemorate the end of World War II, President Xi Jinping welcomed authoritarian leaders and debuted China’s newest weaponry. David Pierson, a foreign correspondent at The New York Times, explains what this means for the United States and the world.

Recent episodes in International

International video coverage from The New York Times.

International video coverage from The New York Times.

Figma CEO Dylan Field remains optimistic about AI’s long term potential despite post-IPO earnings struggles

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Figma CEO Dylan Field remains optimistic about AI’s long term potential despite post-IPO earnings struggles

Shares of design software company Figma plunged 14% in extended trading, as investors took a dim view of Figma’s first quarter earnings report. 

Figma CEO Dylan Field, who cofounded the company in 2012 and watched its $20 billion acquisition by Adobe fall apart in 2023, isn’t one to get caught up in the negative. “We’re at the very start of what I hope is a long term relationship together,” a confident Field told listeners as he kicked off the earnings call, taking advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate Figma’s presentation technology.

Prior to the call, Field spoke to Fortune and shared his thoughts on one of the most important trends affecting his business: AI.

“No one knows whether we’re going to look back in five years at everything that’s happening right now in AI and say, ‘Oh my God, those were the bubbliest of times,” Field said. “Or: ‘Wow, we totally underestimated the effect it would have on society.’ But for Figma, what I think will be true in five years is that we’re always trying to make it so you can go as fast as possible from idea to production. And I think with AI, you can really accelerate that.”

AI is at the center of the private and public markets, and is widely viewed as a key tailwind—and risk factor—for Figma. In its fiscal second quarter, Figma grew revenue a healthy 41% year-over-year to $249.6 million, roughly in-line with analyst expectations. Figma reported $28.2 million in net income, or break-even on a per share basis.  

Field believes one of the key intersections between AI and design is that AI tools will help broaden access, letting more people become designers. Figma added four new AI-native tools to its platform this quarter and told investors on the call to expect significant investments in AI going forward.

“We want to lower the floor, but raise the ceiling—make it so more people can participate in the design process, while also enabling professionals to do even more with AI,” Field told Fortune, reiterating a company mantra of “design is the differentiator.”

The “design as differentiator” thesis dates back to Figma’s early days. When Field was an intern at Flipboard in 2012, he noticed that, even then, companies were hiring more designers. 

And as mobile technology and consumer expectations evolved, he theorized design was becoming a critical differentiator, transitioning from a skill to a critical business advantage. That’s only more true today, he said, adding that “there’s a kind of talent war happening for design right now that’s being talked about in conversation a lot online.”

Ultimately, Field said, Figma’s approach to AI is about riding the wave. 

“Our philosophy is that as the models get better, we get better,” he said. “That’s always the test I have strategically for us.” 

Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.

Naomi Osaka advances to US Open semifinal by defeating Karolina Muchova | Tennis News

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Naomi Osaka advances to US Open semifinal by defeating Karolina Muchova | Tennis News

Osaka returns to semis for the first time since 2020, while Amanda Anisimova gets Wimbledon revenge against Iga Swiatek.

Published On 4 Sep 2025

Naomi Osaka returned to the US Open semifinals on Wednesday with a 6-4 7-6(3) win over Karolina Muchova, as the four-time Grand Slam champion delivered a battling display to underline her resurgence on the sport’s biggest stage.

Four years after winning the last of her four major titles, the Japanese 23rd seed, who returned last season after a lengthy maternity break, stretched her unbeaten streak in major quarterfinals to 5-0 and booked a clash with Amanda Anisimova on Friday.

“It means so much. I’m surprised I’m not crying,” said Osaka, who only two years ago was watching the semifinals from the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I was sitting up there watching and hoping I would have an opportunity to play on this court again, so my dreams are coming true … There’s been so much hard work you guys haven’t seen.

“I’m just grateful to my team. Hopefully, you guys will come and watch my next round.”

Muchova, who had been on court for more than 10 hours over four draining rounds, took treatment in the locker room for an apparent left leg issue after she dropped a tight opening set, but came out firing to break at the start of the next.

She struggled to move at times with heavy strapping on her thigh, but continued to frustrate her opponent with her inventive brand of tennis to break for a 5-4 lead, only for Osaka to wrest back the initiative and go through after the tiebreak.

“It was an incredibly difficult match,” Osaka added.

“She is one of the best players in the world. Every time I play against her, it’s so difficult.

“Last year, she beat me when I had one of my best outfits. I was really upset. I’m just grateful to be here.”

Osaka, right, embraces Muchova after her quarterfinal victory at the US Open [Sarah Stier/Getty Images via AFP]

Anisimova avenges Wimbledon embarrassment

Anisimova flipped the script earlier on Wednesday, ousting second seed Iga Swiatek 6-4 6-3 to reach her first US Open semifinal and exact revenge for one of the most brutal defeats in Grand Slam history.

Less than two months after suffering a devastating 6-0 6-0 loss to Swiatek in the Wimbledon final, the American eighth seed won 67 of 121 points to complete the turnaround in 96 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Playing here is so freaking special,” Anisimova said in her on-court interview. “I’ve been having the run of my life here … Today proved everything for me. I can do it.”

The 24-year-old’s transformation from July’s tears to Wednesday’s triumph epitomises tennis’s capacity for redemption.

After watching back the painful Wimbledon footage on Tuesday night, Anisimova admitted she was “slow as hell” in that final but approached this rematch with renewed purpose.

“Today is definitely the most meaningful victory I’ve had in my life,” she told reporters. “I really came out there with, like, not an ounce of fear … I was constantly moving and trying to get myself going.”

Swiatek acknowledged that her opponent’s aggressive return game proved decisive.

“I couldn’t win today’s match playing like that, serving like that, and with Amanda being so aggressive on the returns,” the six-time Grand Slam champion told reporters.

The American dominated on return, converting four of nine break opportunities while Swiatek managed just two breaks from four chances, ending her bid for a seventh Grand Slam title and second US Open crown in the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

The American’s journey from Wimbledon devastation to US Open breakthrough serves as a powerful reminder that in tennis, the greatest comebacks often follow the most crushing defeats.

Amanda Anisimova in action.
Amanda Anisimova got her revenge against world number two Iga Swiatek for her 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon final loss on July 12 with an impressive display against the Polish player in the US Open quarterfinal on Wednesday [Ishika Samant/Getty Images via AFP]

JYP Entertainment Seeks AI and Unreal Engine Experts to Create Groundbreaking Virtual K-pop Artist

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JYP Entertainment Seeks AI and Unreal Engine Experts to Create Groundbreaking Virtual K-pop Artist

It’s a powerhouse of K-Pop, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year.

But Seoul-based JYP Entertainment’s next global superstar might well be less human than their predecessors.

JYP, currently riding high on the success of Stray Kids, is hiring staff with expertise in artificial intelligence, motion graphics, Unreal Engine, and more as it prepares to develop an “unprecedented” AI artist through its tech business unit, Blue Garage.

Job ads listed on the company’s website indicate that JYP is recruiting for multiple roles for its AI Artist project, from Creative Production and Product Design execs to LLM Engineers.

It is also hiring for positions such as 3D Art Director, Character Interaction Engineer, and Character Modeler, all of which, according to the ads, require an understanding of Unreal Engine, the powerful gaming engine and 3D creation tool developed by Epic Games, the gaming giant behind Fortnite.

JYP’s move comes as virtual performers gain momentum both in South Korea and in the wider global entertainment industry. JYP rival HYBE introduced virtual pop group SYNDI8 in July 2024, with their voices developed using AI technology from Supertone, which is majority-owned by HYBE, after it struck a $32 million deal for the startup in 2023.

Separately, SM Entertainment debuted a virtual artist called naevis last year.

The news also comes hot on the heels of the global rise of a fictional K-pop girl group called HUNTR/X, from animated movie Kpop Demon Hunters, which has become Netflix‘ most watched movie of all time.

HUNTR/X’s Golden, taken from the movie’s soundtrack, has just topped the US Hot 100 for a third week, with four tracks from the film in total present in the US Top 10. The soundtrack also continues to dominate Spotify charts, with the Top 5 of the platform’s US Daily and Weekly chart currently occupied by music from the film.

JYP’s virtual artist bet arrives amid significant global success with one of its flagship groups, Stray Kids.

The band’s latest album KARMA just debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200, with the group claimed to be the first act in history to have their first seven Billboard 200 entries debut at No.1.

They are also claimed to have broken the record for the most No.1 albums on the Billboard 200 by any K-Pop act of all time.

Released on August 22 via JYP Entertainment / IMPERIAL / Republic Records, KARMA sold 313,000 units in the US during the first week.

Globally, KARMA topped charts around the world as well, debuting at No.1 on the album charts in France, Germany, and Belgium, and Top 5 in Australia.

In terms of the K-pop company’s AI artist ambitions, JYP said in a statement cited by Korean media that it wants to answer the following question: “Can AI become a being that calls fans’ names and interacts with them?”

“By combining JYP’s unrivaled Creative/Fan capabilities with AI innovation, we will present another future for global K-content.”

Jeong Min-jong, Blue Garage

Jeong Min-jong, Co-CEO of Blue Garage, said in a statement cited by Chosun: “This is the first attempt to recreate the essence of entertainment through AI,” adding, “By combining JYP’s unrivaled Creative/Fan capabilities with AI innovation, we will present another future for global K-content.”Music Business Worldwide

Specialists working to bridge the language divide

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Specialists working to bridge the language divide

Pumza FihlaniBBC News in Johannesburg

BBC A head and shoulders shot of a woman standing in a field. She is smiling and wearing a big, floppy sun hat. A blurred field of crops can be seen in the background. BBC

Farmer Kelebogile Mosime uses an AI app that speaks her language

Although Africa is home to a huge proportion of the world’s languages – well over a quarter according to some estimates – many are missing when it comes to the development of AI.

This is both an issue of a lack of investment and readily available data.

Most AI tools, such as Chat GPT, used today are trained on English as well as other European and Chinese languages.

These have vast quantities of online text to draw from.

But as many African languages are mostly spoken rather than written down, there is a lack of text to train AI on to make it useful for speakers of those languages.

For millions across the continent this means being left out.

Researchers who have been trying to address this issue have recently released what is thought to be the largest known dataset of African languages.

“We think in our own languages, dream in them and interpret the world through them. If technology doesn’t reflect that, a whole group risks being left behind,” the University of Pretoria’s Prof Vukosi Marivathe, who worked on the project, tells the BBC.

“We’re going through this AI revolution, imagining all that can be done with it. Now imagine there’s a part of the population that just doesn’t have that access because all the information is in English.”

The Africa Next Voices project brought together linguists and computer scientists to create AI-ready datasets in 18 African languages.

That may just be a small portion of the more than 2,000 languages estimated to be spoken across the continent but those involved in the project say they hope to expand in the future.

In two years, the team recorded 9,000 hours of speech across Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, capturing everyday scenarios in farming, health and education.

The languages recorded included Kikuyu and Dholuo in Kenya, Hausa and Yoruba in Nigeria and isiZulu and Tshivenda in South Africa, some of which are spoken by millions of people.

“You need some basis to start off with and that’s what Africa Next Voices is and then people will build on top of that and add their own innovations,” says Prof Marivathe, who led the research in South Africa.

His Kenyan counterpart, computational linguist Lilian Wanzare, says recording the speech on the continent meant creating data aimed at reflecting how people really live and speak.

“We gathered voices from different regions, ages and backgrounds so it’s as inclusive as possible. Big tech can’t always see those nuances,” she says.

The project was made possible by a $2.2m (£1.6m) Gates Foundation grant.

The data will be open access, allowing developers to build tools that translate, transcribe and respond in African languages.

There are already small examples of how indigenous languages used in AI can be used to solve real-life challenges in Africa, according to Prof Marivathe.

Kelebogile Mosime walking through a field with green cops. Two farmworkers can be seen behind her spraying the crops.

Kelebogile Mosime has spent the last three years building a successful farming business

Farmer Kelebogile Mosime manages a 21-hectare site in Rustenburg, the heart of South Africa’s platinum region.

The 45-year-old works with a small team to cultivate rows of vegetables – including beans, spinach, cauliflower and tomatoes.

She only began three years ago, with a cabbage crop, and to help she uses an app called AI-Farmer, which recognises several South African languages, including Sesotho, isiZulu and Afrikaans, to help solve various problems.

“As someone still learning to farm, you face a lot of challenges,” Ms Mosime says.

“Daily, I see the benefits of being able to use my home language Setswana on the app when I run into problems on the farm, I ask anything and get a useful answer.

“For somebody in the rural areas like me who is not exposed to technology it’s useful. I can ask about different options for insect control, it’s also been useful with diagnosing sick plants,” she beams underneath a wide-brim sunhat.

Lelapa AI is a young South African company building AI tools in African languages for banks and telecoms firms.

For its CEO Pelonomi Moiloa, what is currently available is very restrictive.

“English is the language of opportunity. For many South Africans who don’t speak it, it’s not just inconvenient – it can mean missing out on essential services like healthcare, banking or even government support,” she tells the BBC.

“Language can be a huge barrier. We’re saying it shouldn’t be.”

But this is more than being about business and convenience.

For Prof Marivathe there is also a danger that without African language initiatives, something else could be lost

“Language is access to imagination,” he says.

“It’s not just words – it’s history, culture, knowledge. If indigenous languages aren’t included, we lose more than data; we lose ways of seeing and understanding the world.”

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Several Dead in Lisbon After Funicular Accident

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Several Dead in Lisbon After Funicular Accident

new video loaded: Funicular Accident Leaves Several Dead in Lisbon

By Jamie Leventhal•

According to Portugal’s health ministry, at least 15 people were killed and 18 others were injured after the Elevador da Glória funicular derailed and crashed in Lisbon on Wednesday.

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