Electronics

While internal emails reveal Meta executives once described themselves as "pushers," Mark Zuckerberg faces a jury to argue that 16-hour-a-day scrolling habits are a sign of "value," not addiction.... Read more

Low-resolution online videos are less likely to influence opinion and also more likely to dissuade viewers from engaging with future content, research by Oregon State University scientists shows. The study carries major implications for the design and delivery of video content and suggests that deviations from high-quality presentations can create... Read more

The secondhand market for smartphones has surged in recent years, borne up by lower prices as well as interest in eco-friendly consumption even as some still fear buying a dud.... Read more

Training police officers with a virtual-reality game can significantly improve their ability to regulate stress, even in realistic, high-pressure situations. The VR game, developed at the Donders Institute at Radboud University, has already been integrated into several police training programs.... Read more

Adelaide University researchers have initiated the development of a world-first cybersecurity system designed to protect drones from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The new study led by the Industrial AI Research Center and published in the journal Computers & Industrial Engineering, paves the way for safer and more resilient unmanned aerial... Read more

Small household solar power systems have been gaining traction—and investment—as a means to provide affordable and sustainable energy to those living without access to electricity. But new research led by the University of Michigan shows that simply having access to solar technology does not mean people will adopt it and... Read more

The cell phone world is divided into two camps—iPhone users and Android users. Apple curates new features for iOS and Google develops for Android, and they likely don't spend a ton of time worrying about how their phones interact with phones from the other company.... Read more

Large language models (LLMs), artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can process human language and generate texts in response to specific user queries, are now used daily by a growing number of people worldwide. While initially these models were primarily used to quickly source information or produce texts for specific uses,... Read more

With increasing cyberattacks and government data breaches, one of the most important devices to keep secure is the one in everyone's pocket: smartphones. The problem is that it is difficult to check that a smartphone has not been tampered with without the risk of unintentionally damaging the device itself.... Read more

Drawing boundaries isn't just important for relationships with humans anymore. It could be the key to people's relationships with their favorite AI chatbots. Researchers recently discovered that the overly agreeable behavior of chatbots depends on what role the AI plays in a conversation. The more personal a relationship, the more... Read more

Eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. Eyes and gaze direction guide attention, evoke emotions and activate the brain's social perception mechanisms. Researchers at Tampere University and the University of Bremen conducted a study examining how people perceive the minds of humanoid robots. Mind perception refers to... Read more

Last year, Norwegian-US tech company 1X announced a strange new product: "the world's first consumer-ready humanoid robot designed to transform life at home."... Read more

Large language models (LLMs) have been championed as tools that could democratize access to information worldwide, offering knowledge in a user-friendly interface regardless of a person's background or location. However, new research from MIT's Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) suggests these artificial intelligence systems may actually perform worse for the... Read more

New kinds of aircraft taking to the skies could mean unfamiliar sounds overhead—and where you're hearing them might matter, according to new NASA research. NASA aeronautics has worked for years to enable new air transportation options for people and goods, and to find ways to make sure they can be... Read more

Many people use AI chatbots to plan meals and write emails, AI-enhanced web browsers to book travel and buy tickets, and workplace AI to generate invoices and performance reports. However, a new study of the "AI agent ecosystem" suggests that as these AI bots rapidly become part of everyday life,... Read more

A University of Glasgow-led research project is releasing a free tool to help organizations, policymakers, and the public maximize the benefits of AI applications while identifying their potential harms. The tool, developed as part of the Participatory Harm Auditing Workbenches and Methodologies (PHAWM) project, aims to help address the urgent... Read more

Would you ever kick your Roomba? Or leave a scathing review of the robot at a Thai restaurant who delivered your green curry? What about sending a mean message to ChatGPT?... Read more

Voice assistants such as Alexa are often marketed as smart tools that streamline everyday life. But once the technology moves into people's homes, interest quickly fades. This is shown by new research in which laughter is used as a key to understanding how people actually use—and understand—artificial intelligence in everyday... Read more

Most people believe they can spot AI-generated faces, but that confidence is out of date, research from UNSW Sydney and the Australian National University (ANU) has demonstrated. With AI-generated faces now almost impossible to distinguish from real ones, this misplaced confidence could make individuals and organizations more vulnerable to scammers,... Read more

Many of the latest large language models (LLMs) are designed to remember details from past conversations or store user profiles, enabling these models to personalize responses. But researchers from MIT and Penn State University found that, over long conversations, such personalization features often increase the likelihood an LLM will become... Read more

Fully customizable virtual companions or avatars—and even "digital clones" of deceased people or living ex-partners—are among the new possibilities that artificial intelligence is bringing to the love lives of humans. But the use of AI in romance isn't limited to these extreme cases. Human–AI relationships fall along a broad spectrum... Read more

Generative AI can be used to combat misinformation. However, it can also exacerbate the problem by producing convincing manipulations that are difficult to detect and can quickly be copied and disseminated on a wide scale. In a new study, researchers have defined seven distinct roles that AI can play in... Read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents, particularly those based on large language models (LLMs) like the conversational platform ChatGPT, are now widely used daily by numerous people worldwide. LLMs can generate texts that are highly realistic, to the point that they could be sometimes mistaken for texts written by humans.... Read more

A patient said to me the other day, half-smiling but clearly unsettled: "I think I've got anxiety about AI." They weren't having a panic attack or describing clinical anxiety. What they were expressing was a persistent sense of unease that many of us are feeling right now.... Read more

Alarm clocks, maps, books, flashlights, watches, radios, MP3 players, Palm Pilots, remote controls, cameras, handheld recorders and other devices have all been gradually absorbed into a single one: the smartphone.... Read more

Even with 1.8 billion video streaming subscriptions worldwide, many services are seeing cancellation rates steadily rise, raising the question of why. An international study, published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, explores how platform satisfaction and content satiation—feeling overwhelmed or bored—shapes how worthwhile users think a service is,... Read more

Sometimes, cybersecurity isn't about passwords or computer chips or networks. Instead, it may be about what's on your wrist. New research led by WPI faculty members and students shows that electromagnetic signals from smartwatches that connect to cellular networks can be collected and used to make inferences about a wearer's... Read more

As artificial intelligence chatbots become better at mimicking human conversations, the potential for damage has grown, particularly for people who turn to them for mental health advice and to discuss plans to harm themselves.... Read more

A little known security feature on iPhones is in the spotlight after it stymied efforts by U.S. federal authorities to search devices seized from a reporter.... Read more

Over half of U.S. adults are using large language models (LLMs)—such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot—in some capacity. Whether using artificial intelligence to create grocery lists, turn oneself into a Muppets character or divulge one's deepest, darkest secrets, humans are relying more on AI models in their everyday lives, possibly... Read more

As with all creative industries, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been infiltrating video games.... Read more

Cars with self-driving features are supposed to promise a safer and more convenient future. But there's a problem: human brains weren't designed for the strange new role these vehicles demand of us.... Read more

Guidance based on artificial intelligence (AI) may be uniquely placed to foster biases in humans, leading to less effective decision making, say researchers, who found that people with a positive view of AI may be at higher risk of being misled by AI tools. The study, titled "Examining Human Reliance... Read more

Customers are 32% more likely to buy a product after reading a review summary generated by a chatbot than after reading the original review written by a human. That's because large language models introduce bias, in this case a positive framing, in summaries. That, in turn, affects users' behavior.... Read more

Empirical research is being carried out for revolutionary air conditioning technology that will contribute to solving environmental issues. At the forefront of these endeavors is Nagahiro Tsuyoshi, project professor and director of the Center for Smarttech System Co-creation in the Carbon Neutral Promotion Headquarters.... Read more

The runaway success of the Switch 2 console drove up Nintendo's net profit by more than 50% in the nine months to December, the Japanese video game giant said Tuesday.... Read more

If you say a few words, generative AI will understand who you are—maybe even better than your close family and friends. A new University of Michigan study found that widely available generative AI models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, LLaMa) can predict personality, key behaviors and daily emotions as or even more... Read more

Apple's iPhone sales soared to a new quarterly record during the holiday season, despite artificial intelligence blunders that prompted the technology trendsetter to get a helping hand from Google.... Read more

Some blind and low-vision fans will have unprecedented access to the Super Bowl thanks to a tactile device that tracks the ball, vibrates on key plays and provides real-time audio.... Read more

People can develop emotional closeness to artificial intelligence (AI)—under certain conditions, even more so than to other people. This is shown by a new study conducted by a research team led by Prof. Dr. Markus Heinrichs and Dr. Tobias Kleinert from the Department of Psychology at the University of Freiburg... Read more

Apple introduced Liquid Glass in June 2025 in a self-declared attempt to bring "joy and delight to every user experience." The visual design style—which is being applied to all Apple products from iPhone to watch to TV—is named for the company's new type of screen designed to look like translucent... Read more

Now is a great time for anyone who's shopping for a used car to consider an electric vehicle, according to new research from the University of Michigan.... Read more

How do cutting-edge science and technology respond to ethical and legal issues when incorporated into society? These issues are known as ethical, legal and social issues, or "ELSI" for short, and research on these issues is being carried out both within Japan and around the world.... Read more

Dr. Victoria Nash, associate professor and senior policy fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, researches the governance challenges of digital technologies, with a particular focus on online safety, content moderation and platform regulation.... Read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) is said to be a "black box," with its logic obscured from human understanding—but how much does the average user actually care to know how AI works?... Read more

Wouldn't it be great if you could just take a picture of yourself with your mobile phone and sew your own clothes—in exactly the right size and fit? The solution is on the way.... Read more

Elon Musk finally responded last week to widespread outrage about his social media platform X letting users create sexualized deepfakes with Grok, the platform's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.... Read more

For as long as humans have buried their dead, they've dreamed of keeping them close. The ancient Fayum portraits—those stunningly lifelike images wrapped in Egyptian mummies—captured faces meant to remain present even after life had left the body.... Read more

Woolworths has announced a partnership with Google to incorporate agentic artificial intelligence into its "Olive" chatbot, starting in Australia later this year.... Read more

RuneScape experienced a surge of popularity over the 2025 holiday season. While fan nostalgia for a game that is now 25 years old plays a role, the revival more clearly reflects recent changes to RuneScape's controversial monetization—changes that appear to be drawing players back.... Read more