At this point, most of us feel we couldn't live without our smartphones. With texting, email, and hundreds of apps available, smartphones rarely leave the palm of our hands. And this dependence is enabled by addictive apps and feedback mechanisms called intermittent variable rewards.
Cody Gough is an editor and podcast host at Curiosity.com. He explains how developers have engineered apps so that they give consumers rewards every time the app is visited. This increases engagement frequency and time. In the new age of advertising, consumer time is money.
Gough offers tips to kick cellphone addiction. He recommends charging your phone in a different room and avoiding mindless scrolling when possible. He also suggests keeping other tech and toys handy for downtime. Packing a book or Kindle for your commute will prevent mindless Twitter scrolling.
OpenAI and Meta are adjusting how their chatbots respond to teenagers showing signs of distress.
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
Japanese officials have released AI-generated videos simulating a potential eruption of Mount Fuji.
Police have arrested seven people after they occupied an office at Microsoft's headquarters in Washington state.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
A group of book authors has reached a settlement with AI company Anthropic after suing for copyright infringement. A federal appeals court filing Tuesday said both sides have negotiated a proposed class settlement, with terms to be finalized next week. Anthropic declined to comment. A lawyer for the authors called it a "historic settlement." In June, a federal judge ruled that Anthropic didn't break the law by training its chatbot on copyrighted books. However, the company was still facing trial over acquiring those books from online "shadow libraries" of pirated copies.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the company is discussing a potential new computer chip designed for China with the Trump administration.
The death of a French streamer during a 298-hour broadcast has sparked controversy and a judicial investigation.
Elon Musk’s X has reached a tentative settlement with former employees of the company then known as Twitter who’d sued for $500 million in severance pay.
