Electronics

Whether we're seeking customer support, looking for recommendations, or simply asking a quick question, AI chatbots are designed to give us the answers we're looking for. But there's more going on beneath the surface. Every time we chat with them, they are learning from us to improve their understanding and... Read more

The hope of the World Wide Web, according to its creator Tim Berners-Lee, was that it would make communication easier, bring knowledge to all, and strengthen democracy and connection. Instead, it seems to be driving us apart into increasingly small and angry splinter groups. Why?... Read more

Commuters trying to beat the clock account for nearly one third of shared electric scooter trips on a typical workday morning, recent research indicates. But reliance on these vehicles can be dampened when cities don't provide enough parking near transit hubs, according to a new study.... Read more

In a short-form video post, an influencer gets worked up about a television news story from California. The images broadcast behind her appear authentic, with an anchor calling viewers to action, victims and even a CNN logo.... Read more

The artificial intelligence models underlying popular chatbots and content moderation systems struggle to identify offensive, ableist social media posts in English—and perform even worse in Hindi, new Cornell research finds.... Read more

Art infusion theory—the idea that displaying art in retail settings can positively impact consumer behavior—can be applied to the metaverse with similar results, a Cornell design researcher has shown.... Read more

Waiting until water damage occurs is expensive. But it also doesn't make financial sense to replace pipes too early. We looked into the best time to do it.... Read more

As a college student, Gabriel Aguilar fell victim to an elaborate scam. The fraudsters posed as employers offering job opportunities that provided quick income.... Read more

Apple's latest design overhaul—aptly named Liquid Glass—has been polarizing to say the least.... Read more

Digital literacy is the ability to use digital tools and technologies effectively, safely and responsibly. This includes the use of smartphones and devices, navigating the internet and exploring coding basics.... Read more

iPhone users have a new tool to combat the scourge of nuisance phone calls: a virtual gatekeeper that can screen incoming calls from unknown numbers.... Read more

Most people enjoy receiving praise occasionally, but if it comes from sycophantic chatbots, it could be doing you more harm than good. Computer scientists from Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University have found that people-pleasing chatbots can have a detrimental impact on our judgment and behavior.... Read more

Imagine an actor who never ages, never walks off set or demands a higher salary.... Read more

In recent years, the line between gaming and gambling has become increasingly blurred. One of the most striking examples of this convergence is the rise of "skins gambling," where players wager virtual items (or "skins") acquired in video games on third-party online casinos. These digital assets, often cosmetic in nature... Read more

Tilly Norwood officially launched her acting career this month at the Zurich Film Festival.... Read more

By and large, it appears school and work assignments are not being outsourced entirely to ChatGPT. A new working paper by David Deming, Danoff Dean of Harvard College, uncovers the more mundane realities of people's AI habits.... Read more

When Amazon.com Inc. recruited longtime Microsoft Corp. product chief Panos Panay in 2023 to run its devices division, his new colleagues thought the e-commerce giant was preparing to take its consumer gadget line upscale.... Read more

It's been a goal for as long as humanoids have been a subject of popular imagination—a general-purpose robot that can do rote tasks like fold laundry or sort recycling simply by being asked.... Read more

Large language models are more persuasive than humans, according to recent UBC research published as part of the Proceedings of the Third Workshop on Social Influence in Conversations (SICon 2025).... Read more

Say a local concert venue wants to engage its community by giving social media followers an easy way to share and comment on new music from emerging artists. Rather than working within the constraints of existing social platforms, the venue might want to create its own social app with the... Read more

Researchers have found that giving AI "peers" in virtual reality (VR) a body that can interact with the virtual environment can help students learn programming. Specifically, the researchers found students were more willing to accept these "embodied" AI peers as partners, compared to voice-only AI, helping the students better engage... Read more

Every day, people turn to AI chatbots for companionship, support, and even romance. The hard part, new research suggests, is turning away.... Read more

From the earliest year of school, children begin learning how to express ideas in different ways. Lines across a page, a wobbly letter, or a simple drawing form the foundation for how we share meaning beyond spoken language.... Read more

In the latest salvo between Hollywood and artificial intelligence companies, tech start-up Character.AI has removed many Disney characters from its chatbot platform after the Burbank entertainment giant sent the firm a cease-and-desist letter, alleging copyright infringement.... Read more

ChatGPT has not decreased activity on the world's largest online encyclopedia, but AI data scrapers and the influence of large language models still cast a shadow over its future, research suggests.... Read more

When a machine fails, our first reaction is often frustration. A computer freezing at the worst possible moment, a navigation app leading us straight into a traffic jam, or a washing machine suddenly stopping mid-cycle—all are everyday situations that trigger anger and irritation. But a new study by two Israeli... Read more

Online juggernaut Amazon Inc. unveiled its next generation of Kindle, Ring and Echo devices, among other gadgets, that are all powered by artificial intelligence and connected to Alexa+, its AI-infused personal assistant, which made its debut in February.... Read more

OpenAI said Monday it's adding parental controls to ChatGPT that are designed to provide teen users of the popular platform with a safer and more "age-appropriate" experience.... Read more

When you don't have the money for a lawyer to represent you in a court case, even judges can understand the temptation to get free help from anywhere—including tapping into generative artificial intelligence (AI).... Read more

What do Tiger Woods, Ben Stiller, Australian pensioners and dating app users have in common? Despite being from different walks of life, they have all fallen prey to various scams.... Read more

In the absence of stronger federal regulation, some states have begun regulating apps that offer AI "therapy" as more people turn to artificial intelligence for mental health advice.... Read more

Want to switch to Apple Music because you can't find your favorite indie band on Spotify? Or maybe you're on Amazon Music but saw a new subscriber offer on Tidal that's too good to pass up.... Read more

Talking monkeys vlogging from sacred sites, three-legged sharks wearing Nike sneakers, babies trapped in space… if you spend any time on social media these days you're likely to come across such examples of what's been dubbed "AI slop."... Read more

Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, today outlined an updated list of platforms that may fall under the social media age restrictions that will take effect later this year.... Read more

The US has imposed a 50% tariff on most Indian exports, following through on its threat to raise them from 25%. Although they are formally applied to goods, there are fears that tariffs could also unleash a domino effect on IT services. As strange as it may sound, the tariff... Read more

Augmented reality (AR) is when digital content is superimposed on the physical world by devices like smart glasses—a future sometimes described as the metaverse. While AR technology has a stronghold in contexts such as games like Pokemon GO, it still has a lot to prove before it's accepted into the... Read more

More than a decade ago, pricey smart glasses that allowed people to snap photos, text and browse the web generated a lot of buzz but also resistance.... Read more

Meta's newest artificial-intelligence powered smart glasses include a tiny display and can be controlled by a neural wristband that lets you control it with "barely perceptible movements," CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Wednesday.... Read more

Artificial intelligence may well save us time by finding information faster, but it is not always a reliable researcher. It frequently makes unsupported claims that are not backed up by reliable sources. A study by Pranav Narayanan Venkit at Salesforce AI Research and colleagues found that about one-third of the... Read more

When the newly appointed chief executive of tracking app Life360 recently described the company as part of the "anxiety economy," it sounded like a throwaway phrase. But it was also surprisingly candid.... Read more

Meta is expected to show off artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses at its Connect developer conference Wednesday as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to evangelize the glasses as the next step in human-computer interactions.... Read more

The latest edition of the "FC" series of football video games set for release on Friday will seek to keep fans onside with polished moves as it faces new competition from rivals.... Read more

The more interactive a mobile app or artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is, the more playful it is perceived to be, with users letting their guard down and risking their privacy, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.... Read more

Researchers led by Prof. Homer H. Chen at National Taiwan University have developed a way to convert stereo images into light field content, enabling existing AR/VR media to be viewed on next-generation light field displays. The approach could accelerate the move toward more natural and comfortable AR experiences.... Read more

This month, the Australian-made video game Silksong became one of the most played titles worldwide.... Read more

A new study in Acta Psychologica finds that South Korea's new law requiring mobile games to disclose loot box probabilities is more effective than industry self-regulation.... Read more

People who care informally for sick or disabled friends and relatives often become invisible in their own lives. Focusing on the needs of those they care for, they rarely get the chance to talk about their own emotions or challenges, and this can lead to them feeling increasingly stressed and... Read more

An EPFL study has measured the carbon footprint of 20,000 residential buildings in Vaud Canton in Switzerland. The authors' findings show that a targeted approach will be key to lowering the emissions associated with residential real estate.... Read more

Apple on Tuesday rolled out its next generation iPhones, which include a new ultra-thin model and a slight price hike for one of its high-end models, while the company feels the squeeze of a global trade war.... Read more

This week, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is celebrating 50 years of films and programming.... Read more