Consumer News

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Most people believe they can spot AI-generated faces, but that confidence is out of date, research from UNSW Sydney and the Australian National University (ANU) has demonstrated.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