Electronics

The first study to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to generate podcasts about research published in scientific papers has shown the results were so good that half of the papers' authors thought the podcasters were human.... Read more

Your next toy or game may be able to converse with you. Mattel, the El Segundo toy maker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, said Thursday that it's teaming up with OpenAI, which created the popular chatbot ChatGPT, to "bring the magic of AI to age-appropriate play experiences."... Read more

It is "the policy of the United States to promote AI literacy and proficiency among Americans," reads an executive order President Donald Trump issued on April 23, 2025. The executive order, titled Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth, signals that advancing AI literacy is now an official national priority.... Read more

Like it or not, artificial intelligence has become part of daily life. Many devices—including electric razors and toothbrushes—have become "AI-powered," using machine learning algorithms to track how a person uses the device, how the device is working in real time, and provide feedback. From asking questions to an AI assistant... Read more

Would you trust a driverless car? A 2024 global survey involving nearly 8,000 participants suggests most people are wary of handing over the steering wheel to sensors, cameras and computer algorithms.... Read more

For years, Snap has envisioned a future where people wear glasses to view and interact with computer-generated images without having to scroll through their smartphones.... Read more

The Switch 2 has smashed records to become the fastest-selling console ever after gamers snapped up 3.5 million units in its first four days, Nintendo said Wednesday.... Read more

From family photos in the cloud to email archives and social media accounts, the digital lives of Americans are extensive and growing.... Read more

Suppose you were shown that an artificial intelligence tool offers accurate predictions about some stocks you own. How would you feel about using it? Now, suppose you are applying for a job at a company where the HR department uses an AI system to screen resumes. Would you be comfortable... Read more

Apple Inc. unveiled a new operating system interface called Liquid Glass at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, an event that focused heavily on aesthetics and design elements rather than software breakthroughs.... Read more

After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech's pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology.... Read more

I'm cruising around Bowser's Castle with my old pal Toad. It's not exactly relaxing, what with all the lava pits and banana peels and turtle shells littering the road. Add 23 other characters—is that a cow driving?—who are trying to get to the finish line first, and it's chaos.... Read more

Microsoft on Sunday unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere.... Read more

New research led by the University of Portsmouth has found that fake social media profiles, particularly LinkedIn accounts, are a leading cause of security breaches among professionals.... Read more

Gamers finally got their hands on Nintendo's new Switch 2 on Thursday, the console that could score record early sales for the Japanese "Super Mario" creator.... Read more

With shops planning midnight launch parties after a run on pre-orders, Nintendo releases the Switch 2 on Thursday, hoping to score record early sales for a games console.... Read more

Can AI do humor? A new study suggests artificial intelligence can create internet memes as funny as those made by humans. But when it comes to gags that truly connect with viewers, people still have the edge.... Read more

Generative artificial intelligence is everywhere, but not everyone is ready to embrace it—and it's not just people who fear that AI might replace their jobs or that ChatGPT will become sentient and take over the world.... Read more

People in parts of the U.S. may be able to see Northern lights Monday night—or at least use a smartphone's camera to reveal hints of the aurora not visible to the naked eye.... Read more

Nearly everyone has encountered the unthinkable: Your smartphone landed in the toilet. Or you forgot to take off your smartwatch before jumping into the pool. Or maybe you meant to take those earbuds out of your pocket before running the laundry. What now?... Read more

Big tech sharing economy platforms like Airbnb and Uber are marketed as trustworthy, but a new book by a South African media scholar argues that they are highly vulnerable to scammers who spread delusive speech (a form of disinformation, designed to deceive by criminal intent).... Read more

If you've seen videos of people tearing into tiny toy packages online, or noticed teens obsessing over pastel-colored figurines at the mall, you've probably encountered the global craze for blind box toys.... Read more

Head lice, fleas and tapeworms have been humanity's companions throughout our evolutionary history. Yet, the greatest parasite of the modern age is no blood-sucking invertebrate. It is sleek, glass-fronted and addictive by design. Its host? Every human on Earth with a Wi-Fi signal.... Read more

Smartphones have become "the greatest parasite of the modern age," according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU) published in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy.... Read more

Nintendo hopes to match the runaway success of the Switch when its leveled-up new console hits shelves Thursday, with strong early sales expected despite the gadget's high price.... Read more

Creators of the original antigravity treadmill continue to advance technology with a new company.... Read more

After Tennant figured out how to keep its plants open during the pandemic, it had a second problem to solve.... Read more

Open-heart surgery is a hard thing to practice in the real world, and airplane pilots cannot learn from their mistakes midair. These are some scenarios where virtual reality solves really hard problems, but the technology has limits. That's the upshot of a review of experimental research on VR, published in... Read more

Large language models (LLMs), such as the model underpinning the functioning of the popular conversational platform ChatGPT, are now widely used by people worldwide to source information, as well as to summarize, analyze and generate texts. Studies examining the responses provided by LLMs in different scenarios could help to gain... Read more

Capcom doesn't have a huge presence for the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, but it is offering two stellar titles that have been released on other platforms. One game is "Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess," which is a surprisingly good game I reviewed last year, and the other is more well-known—"Street... Read more

Loot boxes and gacha are gambling-like products inside video games that players buy to obtain random rewards. Concerns have been raised about consumers, particularly children, experiencing financial harm and developing gambling problems. The previous Conservative UK government asked the industry, represented by Ukie, to try self-regulating, rather than to impose... Read more

Would you adjust your electricity consumption if you received a notification on your mobile phone telling you when electricity was going to be most expensive the following day? Research shows that good information can influence our energy consumption.... Read more

Learning to play music by ear is challenging for most musicians, but research from a team at the University of Waterloo may help musicians-in-training find the right notes.... Read more

An experimental study suggests that people are less likely to behave in a trusting and cooperative manner when interacting with AI than when interacting with other humans. Scientists use experimental games to probe how humans make social decisions requiring both rational and moral thinking.... Read more

When it comes to public attitudes toward using self-driving cars, understanding how the vehicles work is important—but so are less obvious characteristics like feelings of excitement or pleasure and a belief in technology's social benefits.... Read more

In the last several years, YouTube has become an increasingly formidable competitor to streaming services and entertainment studios, providing videos from amateur and professional creators, as well as livestreaming major events and NFL games.... Read more

In 2024, the New York Times sued OpenAI for copyright infringement, claiming the company had used the newspaper's content to train its algorithms without permission or payment.... Read more

Photovoltaic systems are increasingly being installed not only on roofs but also on open land. This does not always meet with citizens' approval. What is known as agrivoltaics (Agri-PV), however, is viewed more favorably, as researchers at the University of Bonn have now been able to show.... Read more

Efforts by social media platforms to encourage users to take breaks from screen scrolling may actually lead to some of them spending even more time online. That's according to research coauthored by University of Mississippi professor Christopher Newman.... Read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) might not have been created to enable new forms of sexual violence such as deepfake pornography. But that has been an unfortunate byproduct of the rapidly advancing technology.... Read more

Google unveiled the biggest update to its Android mobile operating system in years, weeks before its biggest competitor in the space, Apple Inc., is expected to give a preview of its overhauled iPhone software.... Read more

How should personal data be protected? What are the best uses of it? In our networked world, questions about data privacy are ubiquitous and matter for companies, policymakers, and the public.... Read more

The United States population is older than it has ever been. Today, the country's median age is 38.9, which is nearly a decade older than it was in 1980. And the number of adults older than 65 is expected to balloon from 58 million to 82 million by 2050. The... Read more

The US tariffs barrage and the bounding cost of producing games have prompted manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft to announce price hikes on consoles, in an industry shift experts say is set to last.... Read more

Social media is a sounding board of sorts in today's world. It's a place where people go to share their thoughts, opinions and feelings—and to test the reactions of others, too. In return, they receive feedback, often in real-time, as well as support and validation.... Read more

When it comes to Facebook, news matters—not the fake stuff but the real kind generated by working journalists.... Read more

Google has announced it will roll out its Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to children under the age of 13.... Read more

While things like rain or hills can keep people from cycling, a major impediment is the risk of getting hit by a car. It's hard to identify the safest routes to ride, especially for beginner cyclists, and a key way to flag dicey streets involves time and injury: waiting until... Read more

The World Video Game Hall of Fame on Thursday inducted four honorees, paying tribute to games that challenged players and changed the industry.... Read more

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo forecast Thursday that it would sell 15 million units of its hotly awaited Switch 2 console in the current financial year but warned US tariffs could hit its bottom line.... Read more