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Trust, more than knowledge, critical for acceptance of fully autonomous vehicles: Study
While not yet on the market, fully autonomous vehicles are promoted as a way to make road travel dramatically safer, but a recent study found that knowing more about them did not improve people's perception of their risk. They needed to have more trust in them too.... Read more
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Computer love: AI-powered chatbots are changing how we understand romantic and sexual well-being
Over the past decade, virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence, like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, have become integral to technologies such as smartphones and social media.... Read more
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Is an electric bike right for you? Here's what to consider before you buy
More Australians than ever are riding electric bikes—a fact you may have noticed on the streets of our cities and towns.... Read more
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Survey shows most people think LLMs such as ChatGPT can experience feelings and memories
Two-thirds of people surveyed think that artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT have some degree of consciousness and can have subjective experiences such as feelings and memories, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.... Read more
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Transmitting the sense of touch via the internet
What JPEG, MP3 and MPEG are for images, audio and video, haptic codecs are for transmitting the sense of touch via the internet.... Read more
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Quokka: A tiny, personal quantum computer emulator
Bearing the smiling face of one of Australia's cutest marsupials is a device its creators are claiming as the world's first consumer product in quantum computing technology.... Read more
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AI goes mainstream as 'AI PCs' hit the market
A new line of PCs specially made to run artificial intelligence programs hit stores on Tuesday as tech companies push toward wider adoption of ChatGPT-style AI.... Read more
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Apple's new AI technology is a step forward, professor says
An associate professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Rajiv Garg has studied artificial intelligence for over 25 years. As the field becomes increasingly sophisticated, he believes AI will soon have the power to make every person more creative, innovative and knowledgeable.... Read more
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Microsoft delays controversial AI Recall feature on new Windows computers
New laptops equipped with Microsoft Windows start shipping to customers next week without a flagship feature called Recall that drew concerns about privacy and cybersecurity.... Read more
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Incorporating 'touch' into social media interactions can increase feelings of support and approval, study suggests
Including "tactile emoticons" into social media communications can enhance communication, according to a study published June 12, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alkistis Saramandi and Yee Ki Au from University College London, United Kingdom, and colleagues.... Read more
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Google to test AI phone theft features in Brazil
Google said Tuesday it has chosen Brazil, a country where nearly two cellphones are pilfered every minute, to test a new Artificial Intelligence system to automatically block stolen Android smartphones.... Read more
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Key new features coming to Apple's iOS18 this fall
Apple announced a slew of new features for iOS 18 at Monday's developers conference event, many of which are designed to enhance the Siri assistant and bring artificial intelligence tools to iPhone users.... Read more
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Apple leaps into AI with an array of upcoming iPhone features and a ChatGPT deal to smarten up
Apple has jumped into the race to bring generative artificial intelligence to the masses, spotlighting a slew of features Monday designed to soup up the iPhone, iPad and Mac.... Read more
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Apple partners with OpenAI as it unveils 'Apple Intelligence'
Apple on Monday unveiled "Apple Intelligence," its suite of new AI features for its coveted devices—including a partnership with OpenAI—as it seeks to catch up to rivals racing ahead on adopting the white-hot technology.... Read more
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Investing in assistive tech is a smart choice for governments, say experts
You may not be aware of it, but assistive technology (AT) is everywhere. If you're using glasses to read this article, then you're using AT. If you used text-to-speech tools at work today, a ramp to get into a building, or subtitles to watch TV, then you have used AT.... Read more
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Apple expected to enter AI race with ambitions to overtake the early leaders
Apple's annual World Wide Developers Conference on Monday is expected to herald the company's move into generative artificial intelligence, marking its late arrival to a technological frontier that's expected to be as revolutionary as the invention of the iPhone.... Read more
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Future-self chatbot gives users a glimpse of the life ahead of them
A team of AI researchers with members from several institutions in the U.S. and KASIKORN Labs, in Thailand, has built an AI-based chatbot that allows users to chat with a potential version of their future selves.... Read more
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New open-source platform allows users to evaluate performance of AI-powered chatbots
A team of computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians and cognitive scientists, led by the University of Cambridge, have developed an open-source evaluation platform called CheckMate, which allows human users to interact with and evaluate the performance of large language models (LLMs).... Read more
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Where 'Nextdoor' communities exist and what these communities talk about
"Nextdoor" is the world's largest hyperlocal social media network, used by 13% of American adults. Yet little is known about the make-up of the actual neighborhoods—numbering approximately 220,000 across the United States—in which these accounts exist and what people in those communities talk about on the platform.... Read more
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Q&A: How AI affects kids' creativity
Shortly after artificial intelligence models, including Midjourney and OpenAI's Dall-E went public, AI-generated art started winning competitions: one in digital art, another in photography. Concern rumbled that AI could replace artists—and even, by some metrics, be more creative than humans. But simultaneously, people were exploring these tools as ways to... Read more
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'Ring' has a new mission: 'Hey, there's raccoons in my backyard'
For years, "Ring" touted its crime-fighting bona fides, selling smart doorbells that let homeowners remotely monitor their residences—and sometimes share what they recorded with local police. Now the Amazon.com Inc. unit is looking to transform itself into a smart-camera business with a cheery social-media side hustle, sort of a mashup... Read more
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Eat a rock a day, put glue on your pizza: How Google's AI is losing touch with reality
Google has rolled out its latest experimental search feature on Chrome, Firefox and the Google app browser to hundreds of millions of users. "AI Overviews" saves you clicking on links by using generative AI—the same technology that powers rival product ChatGPT—to provide summaries of the search results. Ask "how to... Read more
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Cybersecurity labeling for smart devices aims to help people choose items less likely to be hacked
Consumer labels designed to help Americans pick smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking could begin appearing on products before the holiday shopping season, federal officials said Wednesday.... Read more
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Age verification for social media would impact everyone—researchers ask parents and kids if they actually want it
This month the Australian government announced a A$6.5 million commitment to trial an age-verification program that will restrict children's exposure to inappropriate online content, including pornography and potentially social media. The announcement came out of a National Cabinet meeting geared towards addressing gender-based violence in Australia.... Read more
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Gamers say they hate 'smurfing,' but admit they do it
Online video game players believe the behavior known as "smurfing" is generally wrong and toxic to the gaming community—but most admit to doing it and say some reasons make the behavior less blameworthy, new research finds.... Read more
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Microsoft's AI chatbot will 'recall' everything you do on a PC
Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you're doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.... Read more
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Microsoft unveils 'AI-ready' PCs
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled a new category of PC on Monday that features generative artificial intelligence tools built directly into Windows, the company's world leading operating system.... Read more
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Parents underestimate the privacy risks kids face in virtual reality
Virtual reality lets kids play 3D games with their friends as avatars, go back in time, even journey to outer space, all without leaving their living rooms.... Read more
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AI-powered noise-filtering headphones give users the power to choose what to hear
Noise-canceling headphones are a godsend for living and working in loud environments. They automatically identify background sounds and cancel them out for much-needed peace and quiet. However, typical noise-canceling fails to distinguish between unwanted background sounds and crucial information, leaving headphone users unaware of their surroundings.... Read more
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From silent dialogues to vivid memories—here's how the science of inner experience could transform gaming
Video games are big business. The value of the global market is pushing the US$200 billion mark (£158 billion): bigger than the music industry and Hollywood combined. But the gaming industry has also been facing challenges. The market is shrinking from its peak at the height of the pandemic, and... Read more
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All wound up: A clearer look at electric guitar pickups
The electric guitar has been a core element of popular music for much of the past century. Pickups are the components that turn vibrations from the strings into electricity for sound and can be seen as the "heart" of the instrument. Electric guitarists have long known that the magnetic force... Read more
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Cinematic tools can significantly improve user experience in virtual reality environments
Cinematography techniques can significantly increase user engagement with virtual environments and, in particular, the aesthetic appeal of what users see in virtual reality.... Read more
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Managing screen time by making phones slightly more annoying to use
The best way to help smartphone users manage their screen time may be to make phones progressively more annoying to use, according to new University of Michigan research.... Read more
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Research sheds light on the web of trust, privacy and safety factors shaping users' experiences on Facebook Marketplace
Love it or hate it, Facebook Marketplace is the largest online resale site today with more than one billion monthly users. A new study conducted by UBC researchers sheds light on the intricate web of trust, privacy and safety factors shaping users' experiences on this popular platform.... Read more
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The metaverse could change our religious experiences, and create new ones
New technologies have always informed and changed our religious experiences. Listening to early radio broadcasts in the 1880s was experienced by many as religious because radio voices seemed to come from some other dimension. Séances became wildly popular at the time because it was thought by some that radio had... Read more
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Coming out to a chatbot? Researchers explore the limitations of mental health chatbots in LGBTQ+ communities
Today, there are dozens of large language model (LLM) chatbots aimed at mental health care—addressing everything from loneliness among seniors to anxiety and depression in teens.... Read more
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Chatbots tell people what they want to hear, researchers find
Chatbots share limited information, reinforce ideologies, and, as a result, can lead to more polarized thinking when it comes to controversial issues, according to new Johns Hopkins University–led research.... Read more
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Female health apps misuse highly sensitive data, study finds
Apps designed for female health monitoring are exposing users to unnecessary privacy and safety risks through their poor data handling practices, according to new research from King's College London and University College London (UCL).... Read more
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Just believing that an AI is helping boosts your performance, study finds
Sometimes it seems like an AI is helping, but the benefit is actually a placebo effect—people performing better simply because they expect to be doing so—according to new research from Aalto University. The study also shows how difficult it is to shake people's trust in the capabilities of AI systems.... Read more
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Amazon's new fees on sellers likened to 'kick in the gut'
Amazon.com Inc. merchants have found themselves caught in an economic vice. Earlier this year, the e-commerce giant rolled out changes to the fees its charges them—essentially shifting more of its operating costs onto the small businesses that account for most of the products sold on the site. Making matters worse... Read more
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Wearable devices can now harvest neural data—urgent privacy reforms needed
Recent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with or without the help of artificial intelligence (AI).... Read more
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Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad after backlash
Apple apologized on Thursday after an ad for its latest-edition iPad caused an uproar for showing an industrial press crushing objects linked to human creativity, infuriating artists.... Read more
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AI companions can relieve loneliness: Here are four red flags to watch for in your chatbot 'friend'
It's been seven years since the launch of Replika, an artificially intelligent chatbot designed to be a friend to human users. Despite early warnings about the dangers of such AI friends, interest in friendships and even romantic relationships with AI is on the rise.... Read more
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Microsoft's Xbox is planning more cuts after studio closings
The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn't finished.... Read more
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iPad 'Crush' ad causes uproar amid AI anxiety
An ad for the new iPad Pro caused an uproar Wednesday for showing an industrial-sized hydraulic press crushing objects linked to human creativity—such as a record player and trumpet—into a sleek tablet.... Read more
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'Digital afterlife': Call for safeguards to prevent unwanted 'hauntings' by AI chatbots of dead loved ones
Without design safety standards, artificial intelligence that allows users to hold text and voice conversations with lost loved ones runs the risk of causing psychological harm and even digitally "haunting" those left behind, according to University of Cambridge researchers.... Read more
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Research casts new light on bike safety in the age of self-driving cars
Equipping self-driving cars with external displays that use colored lights to communicate their next maneuver could help keep cyclists safe on the roads of the future, researchers say.... Read more
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A view of a room with VR and AI for the field of interior design
Bringing together virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to significant advancements in the field of interior design, according to research published in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology.... Read more
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Data privacy in the post-Roe era
In 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade—ending the constitutional right to an abortion—privacy advocates warned women against using smartphone apps to track their periods.... Read more
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Meta will let advertisers create campaigns using new generative AI tools
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. is testing new tools that will let advertisers create marketing material, including images and messaging, using generative AI prompts.... Read more