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Facebook's chief AI scientist has revealed why the social media giant decided to open an AI research lab in Paris as opposed to London or another European city.

The Facebook AI Research (FAIR) unit was first announced in late 2013 and the company said at the time it would set up a European branch. After considering its options, Facebook launched FAIR Paris in 2015.

"The original idea was to open it in London," said Yann LeCun on a press call. "It would be the logical place for Facebook given that Facebook has a large engineering lab in London."

Facebook has thousands of staff in London and it employs more technical people in the U.K. capital than it does in any other European city.

LeCun said after some analysis it turned out that "the ecosystem of talent was much more open and available in continental Europe, and particularly in Paris."

"Clearly, there is a lot more competition in London than there is in Paris," LeCun told CNBC in a follow up Q&A. "In London there was DeepMind, Microsoft Research in Cambridge, and there were a couple of others."

He said they "occupied the terrain" and there were some concerns about "going on their turf."

FAIR Paris is now one of Facebook's three main AI labs worldwide along with New York and Menlo Park, California.

It is home to about 30 permanent research scientists and 20 research engineers, LeCun said. Unlike Facebook's other AI labs, FAIR Paris is also home to a large number of resident PhD students.

Tech companies have spent the last decade aggressively bulking up their AI teams with machine-learning experts capable of building software that can learn how to perform tasks itself.

Google acquired DeepMind for a reported $600 million in 2014 and today it competes directly with the Facebook AI Research group and other AI labs like OpenAI, which was cofounded by Elon Musk.

DeepMind, which sits under Google parent company Alphabet today, employs around 1,000 people and the overwhelming majority of those are based in London.

FAIR also now has smaller sites in Seattle, Pittsburgh, Tel Aviv, Montreal and London.

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Why Facebook chose to open its first European A.I. lab in Paris and not London - CNBC

The Prince of Darkness appeared without warning to Chino Moreno at the supermarket. It was 1999, and the singer had just stepped away from a Deftones recording session in West Hollywood to grab a snack, only to find Ozzy Osbourne in the checkout line. "I didn't talk to him," Moreno recalls of that early encounter, one more in a series of weird events that season. "He was paying for his stuff and sort of fumbling with his money. It was just surreal."

When Moreno got back to Larrabee Studios, he finished the lyrics to a new song, "Teenager," already filling his head. He still sounds excited as he looks back on that time and the making of White Pony, the milestone album that Deftones offered up to an unsuspecting world on June 20th, 2000.

It remains at the center of his band's legacy for deep, mind-expanding thunder, with songs like "Change (In the House of Flies)," "Elite" and "Passenger" that remain essential fan favorites. To celebrate, Deftones are planning a White Pony reissue (still in the works) that will include a whole companion-piece remix album called Black Stallion.

At the time, the band had already gone through a creative awakening on 1997's Around the Fur, stepping further away from the popular nu-metal sound of the moment for something completely their own raw, emotional, heavy, ethereal, mysterious. White Pony followed up by taking that sound deeper.

The album was written and recorded over many months across California by the classic Deftones lineup: Moreno, guitarist Stephen Carpenter, bassist Chi Cheng, drummer Abe Cunningham, and the newest full member, sound scientist Frank Delgado, DJ and keyboardist. The band's direction was at least partly inspired by the brooding trip-hop textures of DJ Shadow and Massive Attack, among others.

"We just had this idea of a sound and we wanted to experiment with that," recalls Moreno. "It was taking a chance, when we were already kind of successful for being a 'metal' leaning act, but it didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt like a natural progression. The confidence that we had in ourselves at the time really led us to open up and try those types of things."

In commemoration of 20 years of White Pony, Moreno spoke with Revolver for an in-depth piece to come. In the meantime, here are 10 highlights from our conversation about the alt-metal classic.

1. Stephen Carpenter heads South and Chino picks up a guitar As songwriting sessions were set to begin in Sacramento for a third Deftones album, Carpenter abruptly moved to Los Angeles. The guitarist would drive up every week days at a time, but he was also beginning to work with Cypress Hill rapper B-Real on a side project in L.A. called Kush. "So he was out there and it was just us without him at our studio just tinkering around. That's when I started picking up the guitar," says Moreno, who first learned the instrument at 16, playing along to records by Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction. When he and Carpenter's guitars began mingling on White Pony, Moreno felt a new connection. "It was just really fun to play along with him, and just see where I fit in. It was just a whole other avenue that opened up."

2. The role of Maynard James KeenanFor a time during the sessions at Larrabee, Keenan turned up frequently and ended up singing with Moreno on "Passenger." The Tool singer was going to be a kind of executive producer of the recordings, says Moreno, but the role didn't stick after Keenan got busy with another new act: A Perfect Circle. "I was hanging out with him a little bit and he would come by the studio. We had this idea that he was going to executive produce," Moreno remembers. "It wasn't really clarified, but he was down to help us work on the record. So [we] wrote on a couple of songs maybe the music for 'Passenger' and the music 'Digital Bath.' And then he got really busy."

3. The band's life of parties in the Hollywood HillsAfter the sessions for White Pony moved to L.A., the band rented a house in the hills above the Sunset Strip, where things could get a little crazy. A clue to the flavor of those times can be seen in the music video for "Change (in the House of Flies)," which has Moreno singing amid scattered, shell-shocked survivors of a SoCal house party. In reality, only the cast of characters was different. "Maybe not as model-esque," he says now with a laugh, "but every night there was a party. We'd be up to the wee hours of the morning. It's funny, I remember a lot more of hanging out than actually working on the music, but somehow we got it done."

On other nights, Deftones members might land at a club and find a random assortment of celebrities and musicians, from Christina Aguilera to Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. "I didn't feel like we ever really, really fit in," he says, "but we did definitely have fun. It was kind of a whirlwind."

4. A turning point in "Digital Bath"After months of work in and out of the studio, White Pony and the evolving Deftones sound took a major leap with the ethereal, soaring, beat-driven "Digital Bath." After he finished his vocal tracking, Moreno had to hear it immediately, and took a fresh cassette copy into his rental car. "It was at night and I was just driving through Hollywood," he says. "I was just thinking to myself, 'This sounds futuristic to me. There's little elements of things that I love, but it sounds like something new.' And we just made it an hour ago. So there was a feeling of accomplishment. I sort of felt like, yeah, we're onto something."

5. "Pink Maggit" vs. "Back to School (Mini Maggit)"White Pony closes with the band's longest and least conventionally structured song up to that point. At 7:38 minutes, "Pink Maggit" is a brooding, surreal tune that came out of a chord progression from Carpenter. "In our minds, it was like our Pink Floyd moment where we're just going to get astral and see how far out of space we can go."

Even within the song's epic scope, there was a hook that the label advised could be shaped into a hit single. White Pony had already been released as an 11-song album, but the band was urged to rework one of the album's purest expressions into a shorter single and include it on a second, 12-track version of the LP. The band reluctantly went along, and included a biting rap vocal from Moreno. "It was just like, alright, let's dumb this down a little bit," says Moreno, who still considers the original album (sans "Back to School") the preferred White Pony. "We just did it and the outcome was sort of lukewarm. I think some people liked it."

6. As White Pony session got deep, Deftones took a moment to get loudThe raging song "Elite" won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance and emerged from Carpenter's sudden urge during the White Pony sessions to "hear some metal shit," recalls Moreno. The guitarist was fully on board with the sound of "Digital Bath" and other tracks, spending many months expanding the Deftones sound into layered sonic landscapes, but it was time to kick out some jams. "Stephen came up with that riff and then I just attacked it I did what I knew he would love, and came up with some scathing aggression. It's that moment of the record that's in your face and relentless. I like heavy shit, too."

7. The evolution of Chino's singing styleAs he had on Around the Fur, Moreno stepped further away from nu-metal vocals at the new sessions. The songs he sang were often less about lyrical content than pure feeling and melody, and usually inspired by the Deftones sounds around him. "I've always written melodies and words inspired by the music that I'm singing to," he says. "It all has to work together. We've never been a band where I just hand those guys some lyrics and say, 'Hey, could you guys write something to this?' I mean, that'd be awesome to experiment with, but we've just never been that band."

8. The White Pony title and famous horse icon was chosen before a single song was writtenOn the cover of White Pony is a simple outline of a horse in mid-gallop that Moreno found online, and he immediately connected to it. Recording sessions for the album had yet to begin, but he already recognized White Pony as a powerful title and image for the band. He says it was just a bit of minimalist clip art, and he shared it with the others. "Everybody gravitated towards it right away," Moreno says of the band. "Frank brought out that the pony was symbolizing how we were treading our own path. I don't think we really talked about it back then, but our one mission was to stay away from the pack. I felt like we were all trying to do that making that record."

9. White Pony's popularity grew slowlyWhite Pony is now recognized as a milestone in the evolution of Deftones' music. Many critics immediately embraced the evolving sound, but it was two years before the record reached platinum. Moreno compares its current popularity to some of his favorite albums while growing up. "The more you listen to them, the more things start revealing themselves to you, and those records usually always ended up being the ones that stand the test of time," he says. "Years would go by and you got the vibe that it's a lot of people's favorite record. Some people that don't even really know much about Deftones' discography, they know that record, you know?"

10. The White Pony documentary that wasn'tThe success of White Pony also meant a long period of touring before returning to the studio in 2002 again, and the band brought a documentary crew with them during the final leg of the tour. That film was never released.

"After watching it, it was just depressing because you could tell we were tired. We needed a break," says Moreno. "Everybody just needed to step back and decompress. And we did, and then we started a whole other chapter of craziness."

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Deftones' 'White Pony': 10 Things We Learned From Chino Moreno - Revolver Magazine

June22, 20207 min read

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With the change in time and changing situation, we all are under pressure. For some its work and for some its family and life, but at the core, it is all stress and anxiety. The outbreak of the Covid-19 has just contributed more to the distress.

When we are busy working, we often tend to ignore our mental health. For the longest time, we have given supreme importance to physical health over mental. But what we fail tounderstand that both are equally important.

Meditation is the key to balance both our mental and physical health, which plays a curialrole in handling stress and anxiety. To understand how mediation can help usstay calm when working from home, Entrepreneur India spoke to Dr. Priya Kaul, a Spiritual Life Coach, andHolistic wellness expert. Here's a full guide by Kaul who tells how meditation can boost our mind and mood when working from home.

Defined as a means to connect with inner self and almighty, meditation can do wonders. The Cambridge dictionary defines it as the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religions activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed, or serious thought or study, or the product of this activity. Meditation forms can involve focusing, relaxing, pondering, or the expression of these, as in the famed Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

For beginners, it is important to follow certain rules and guidelines while practicing meditation for effective results. Kaul explains the process:

1. First of all, sit or lie comfortably. If you want you may do it on the floor, or these days you can easily invest in a meditation chair or cushion.

2. Next is to close your eyes. It is recommended to use any cooling eye mask or pad to calm the eyes and improve concentration. Also, to make a soothing experience, keep mild fragrance in the room. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.

3. Later, focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. It is important to notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage, and belly.

4. Next, as you feel comfortable, start focusing on your breath without controlling its pace or intensity. If your mind feels distracted, return your focus to your breath.

5. During the initials days, maintain this meditation practice for 2-3 minutes a day and then try it for longer periods.

1. Reduces stress

It has been proven that regular stress spikes the stress hormone called cortisol. Spike in this hormone leads to many harmful side effects such as the release of inflammation-promoting chemicals called cytokines.

"When facing such problems, practice meditation regularly. It will help to improve conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia, which are often the most obvious side effects of stress," said Kaul.

2. Controls anxiety

Anxiety has been an alarming problem that many of us are suffering from. Talking about the same Kaul suggests, "It has been found that habitual meditation helps reduce anxiety and anxiety-related health issues like social anxiety, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. It often helps control job-related anxiety in high-pressure work environments too."

3. Brings into moment

It has been observed that due to work stress people often forget the purpose of life. The pressure is so much that many forget little things matter in life.

"Even after being with family and friends, they are not present at the moment. Regular meditation helps you bring in the moment and makes you live life to the fullest," she points out.

4. Helps in thought clarity

Clarity of thoughts is vital be it for making any personal or professional decision. If you are finding it difficult to make decisions at a certain point in time, that's when you need to turn towards meditation.

"It has been proven that deep breathing as a part of meditation helps remove the clashes of thoughts and furnishes you with clear views and improved decision-making capacity," she said.

5. Balances Emotional Health

Building emotions leads to effective that damages one's mental peace. Stress leads to the release of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines that affects the human mood and often lead to depression.

Kaul explains how it has been found that regular meditation reduces signs of depression by decreasing these inflammatory chemicals.

6. Enhances Self-Awareness

There are times when we are thrown into situations where we are unaware of the purpose and role of a given designation. This pushes us to a dark corner.

"When you don't know how to function right, practice meditation. Self-inquiry and related styles of meditation can help you 'know yourself'. This can be a starting point for making other positive changes," she said.

7. Improves Attention

If you think that your work hours get stretched due to lack of concentration and attention power, meditation can change that.

"When facing such problems, seek advice, and help from a professional. Indulge in 4-8 weeks of mindfulness meditation course for effective results," she recommends.

8. Generate Kindness

While we all know of basic meditation, some advanced levels can bring a massive change in our lives.

"Metta, a type of advanced meditation is known as loving and kindness meditation. If practiced under the supervision of an expert, it can help begin the kindness thoughts, and sympathy towards others," she said.

9. Improves Sleep

The most impactful result of regular meditation is improved sleep. It often happens that due to hectic work life people lose appetite and sleep, but regular meditation helps you relax and control the "runaway" thoughts that can interfere with sleep. This can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and increase sleep quality.

According to an international survey conducted in 2019, 99 percent of people express the wish to work remotely at least once in their life and then continue the same for the rest of their career. Another survey around the same suggested that people prefer to work from home to be in a comfort zone, give time to family, more productivity, and saving more money. But, in the present time, when circumstances have made us work from home, there are two issues that people often face and those are: work-life balance and feeling isolated. And it has been observed that both these issues lead to multiple health and psychological disorders in average adults.

"There is a rise in this frequent problem and one needs to work towards making it better. It is suggested that one take small breaks after every two hours and give attention to family and kids in those minimal breaks. This will not only keep your mind at ease but will also make your family feel important," she said.

In fact, this period is very challenging for extroverts. Kaul suggested to make the best use of technology and connect with people and friends via video calls and calm down. And in case you find it difficult, sit in a calm space, play some calming music and take a deep breath. Practice this sincerely for 15 days and experience the difference.

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#9 Ways How Meditation Can Strengthen Our Mind, Body, and Soul - Entrepreneur