Consumer News

If you've been in the market for a new hair dryer, you've likely seen advertising for ionic ones. Some claim to produce negative ions in the millions—with or without the help of added minerals like tourmaline.... Read more

When people ask ChatGPT and other AI models for advice, they often share deeply personal details in hopes of getting better answers: their age, their gender, their mental health history, even medical diagnoses like autism. But new Virginia Tech research suggests those disclosures may change AI models' advice in ways... Read more

Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) have designed a portable game console powered by solar panels and a cranking device. They embedded the crank into the gameplay experience, allowing users to—for example—fire a weapon in DOOM, or change the speed of Tetris blocks. They discovered that gamers respond... Read more

Digital technologies can play a double-edged role in modern society; while they offer new forms of participation and access, they can also deepen existing inequalities. Older people are especially affected as services such as health care, government benefits and community support increasingly move online.... Read more

Data breaches, such as the recent incidents at Odido and Basic-Fit, trigger feelings of anxiety and loss of trust among both victims and those who may have been affected. New international research shows that although data breaches provoke strong emotional responses, users tend to adapt surprisingly quickly, even when their... Read more

Alumna, author and machine learning expert Vivienne Ming explains why the best defense against AI's downsides is investing in human skills—and using the technology inquisitively, not passively.... Read more

Many people are interacting with AI large language models, and most of them would say the models have different "personalities." Some models come across as calm and useful. Others feel eager, flattering or strangely cold. You can ask two models the same question and walk away with two very different... Read more

It's estimated that more than half of all U.S. teens are regularly using companion chatbots powered by large language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The programs, such as Character.AI, Replika and Kindroid, are intended to provide companionship, according to the companies that make them. But a recent study... Read more

Prolonged scrolling is bad for your well-being, but is it also physically tiring? Until now, we haven't really been able to say. This is why researchers from Aalto and Leipzig Universities created a new AI model that makes it possible to simulate muscle activations and required energy to work out... Read more

Virtual reality tools have untapped potential to elicit positive emotions for use in education, health care, architecture and psychological therapy, according to a recent study from Murdoch University that looked at four core visual factors and associated sub-factors and how they contribute to realism and emotional engagement in virtual reality... Read more

Data centers, which house computer systems that help train AI models, are blanketing the country, a boom fueled by surging interest in AI and state tax breaks. More than 4,000 are already in operation, mostly in Virginia, Texas, and California, and 3,000 more are being planned or under construction.... Read more

Use of ChatGPT, Claude and other large language models, or LLMs—what most people call "AI"—has surged since ChatGPT debuted publicly in 2022. Hundreds of millions of people now use these tools weekly, according to recent estimates.... Read more

Remember the iPod? It's making a quiet comeback. Four years after Apple killed off its digital music player, secondhand sales are surging. It's fueled in part by young people interested not just in its retro looks but a desire to listen to music in a focused way and with playlists... Read more

XPANCEO, a deep-tech company developing smart contact lenses, has unveiled a passive eye-tracking system that achieves industry-level measurement precision using standard cameras. The system employs microscopic patterns embedded in contact lenses that enable high-accuracy passive gaze tracking without requiring active electronics or dedicated power sources.... Read more

Travelers will soon face restrictions on how many portable chargers they can carry on a flight as airlines continue to try to reduce the risk of another lithium battery fire aboard their jets.... Read more