AI isn’t just for employers: The employee-job applicant power dynamic is being rebalanced with the introduction of new AI tools and programs, which was once almost exclusively the realm of employers who used the technology to filter through résumés or even assess recorded interviews using algorithms, the Financial Times says. After being on the receiving end of AI’s judgment for nearly a decade, job seekers are now using it to their advantage, with softwares like Adzuna to find jobs and provide virtual coaching. The program provides users with interview simulations complete with scores and suggestions for potential areas for improvement. In other — more morally ambiguous — instances, applicants are using AI to write CVs and even cover letters on their behalf, which begs the question of whether the technology has rendered the entire hiring process, as it is, obsolete.

Better to err on the side of caution? Experts recommend that, given the rapid changes AI is engendering across the board, it is perhaps more prudent to use it sparingly. Rather than expecting it to do the work for us, no matter how sophisticated the technology has become, and regardless of its positive attributes — like removing personal biases based on identity politics from the hiring process — it is still not a substitute for human judgment.

The history behind the recently reopened Perfumers’ Garden at Versailles: The Sun King’s much coveted perfume garden, adorned with blooms that have been nursed from the 17th century, has reopened recently, reports the Associated Press. The flowers that are on display are not locally grown — many of them have been transported from faraway lands, the bounty of expeditions of the past that only one of Europe’s richest kings could afford. Aside from wowing dignitaries, it was also used during the plague: King Louis XIV courtiers were afraid of using water to wash, lest it spread the disease, so rubbing alcohol and scents were the only solution to mask unpleasant odors.

The art of perfumery started there. Nursing these blooms became a necessary occupation to serve the King’s obsession with flowers, who used them as a love language between himself and Madame de Pompadour. Aside from orange blossoms (a King Louis XIV favorite), Bulgarian rose, and jasmine, among others, that needed tending, a secret garden was found and renovated. Today, it houses extremely rare and frail plants that only the head gardener is permitted to tend to, one of which is the Firethorn, a 17th century plant that catches fire should it be met with any form of heat.

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