Consumer & Gadgets

Widespread non-compliance found in loot box advertising disclosure rules in the UK and South Korea

A new study has found overwhelming (90%+) non-compliance with mandatory advertising disclosure requirements for gambling-like loot boxes in video games, raising concerns about consumer protection enforcement in both the United Kingdom and South Korea.

30/06/2025 23:17

Why human empathy still matters in the age of AI

A new international study finds that people place greater emotional value on empathy they believe comes from humans—even when the exact same response is generated by artificial intelligence.

30/06/2025 18:00

AI vision language models provide video descriptions for blind users

For people who are blind or have low vision, the audio descriptions of action in movies and TV shows are essential to understanding what is happening. Networks and streaming services hire professionals to create audio descriptions, but that's not the case for billions of YouTube and TikTok videos.

30/06/2025 17:16

Roblox's Grow a Garden explodes online video game numbers

A gardening game created by a teenager on online platform Roblox has attracted a record 21 million simultaneous players, a figure rarely seen in the industry.

26/06/2025 20:10

Mattel and OpenAI have partnered up. Here's why parents should be concerned about AI in toys

Mattel may seem like an unchanging, old-school brand. Most of us are familiar with it—be it through Barbie, Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, Uno, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, MEGA or Polly Pocket.

25/06/2025 22:31

Video games can help trans players feel seen and safe. It all starts with design

There is a comfort in finding and being yourself. Video games offer opportunities for this comfort. They allow people to exist in safe spaces, to develop community, and to explore the self—as well as the potential self.

25/06/2025 20:29

How the Internet of Things devices affect your privacy, even when they're not yours

Some unusual witnesses helped convict Alex Murdaugh of the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.

24/06/2025 20:34

eSafety boss wants YouTube included in the social media ban. But AI raises even more concerns for kids

Julie Inman Grant, Australia's eSafety Commissioner, today addressed the National Press Club to outline how her office will be driving the Social Media Minimum Age Bill when it comes into effect in December this year.

24/06/2025 19:53

Your smartwatch might know you're sick before you do—and it might help stop pandemics

Smartwatch features that measure heart rates, oxygen levels, fitness levels and sleep quality have been marketed as valuable tools for people who are eager to monitor their health.

24/06/2025 10:57

TikTok ban delayed for third time—experts aren't surprised

The TikTok ban has been delayed. Again.

23/06/2025 19:56

NASA air taxi passenger comfort studies move forward

NASA's Advanced Air Mobility vision involves the skies above the U.S. filled with new types of aircraft, including air taxis. But making that vision a reality involves ensuring that people will actually want to ride these aircraft—which is why NASA has been working to evaluate comfort, to see what passengers will and won't tolerate.

23/06/2025 19:13

One Tech Tip: No more lost cats and dogs. Use tech to track your pet

"Have you seen the cats?" That's a common refrain in my household because our two felines, Maple and Juniper, can venture outside through a flap in the backdoor. Like many other London house cats, they're free to come and go, roaming the surrounding backyards and beyond, equipped with microchips to identify them if they get lost.

19/06/2025 20:01

Jamming with AI: Jazz trio plays live with AI-generated sound

A fascinating recent development enabling musicians to improvise live music with AI-generated sound could be the biggest innovation since the advent of sampling, or perhaps even the invention of recorded sound, according to a music researcher at York.

19/06/2025 18:17

In an era where empathy feels unfamiliar, AI now translates emotions

A research team at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea) has developed AI technology that helps individuals deeply understand others' emotions by analyzing individual personality traits and values and generating personalized analogy.

19/06/2025 17:37

Train a virtual dragon? Film studios turn to Roblox and other games to reach young fans

Surrounded by virtual cliffs and a cascading waterfall, dragon riders on Roblox's massive online gaming platform immerse themselves in a memorable scene from "How to Train Your Dragon."

19/06/2025 17:30

Tinder bets on group dating feature to win back Gen Z

Tired of navigating the online dating landscape alone? Now you can swipe right along with friends.

19/06/2025 17:20

Websites are tracking you via browser fingerprinting, researchers show

Clearing your cookies is not enough to protect your privacy online. New research led by Texas A&M University has found that websites are covertly using browser fingerprinting—a method to uniquely identify a web browser—to track people across browser sessions and sites.

18/06/2025 23:43

Microsoft working on next-gen Xbox video game console

Xbox president Sarah Bond on Tuesday confirmed that her team is working on a new Xbox video game console.

18/06/2025 12:10

A new tool predicts when users will reject a new technology

There is something paradoxical about our relationship with technology. We have very high expectations that new technology will solve the greatest challenges of our time. At the same time, we are quite often skeptical about using new technological solutions.

17/06/2025 23:52

AI 'reanimations': Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries

Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road range incident in 2021. On May 8, 2025, at the sentencing hearing for his killer, an AI video reconstruction of Pelkey delivered a victim impact statement. The trial judge reported being deeply moved by this performance and issued the maximum sentence for manslaughter.

17/06/2025 23:04

'Yes, in my back yard'—most people who live near large-scale solar projects are happy to have more built nearby

Would you like to live next door to a solar farm? Traditionally, it's been thought that although people like the idea of renewable energy plants, they don't want them close by. Now, research investigating how people who live near large-scale solar projects feel about them has found that 82% of people living within an hour's walk of current projects would support, or are neutral toward, new projects in their area.

17/06/2025 07:00

Emojis bring facial expressions and hand gestures back into our conversations

The first emojis can be traced back to the late 1980s, but it was not until 2011 that they became a part of our everyday lives. That was when Apple, followed by other tech companies, implemented emojis in their operating systems.

16/06/2025 23:50

Big tech on a quest for ideal AI device

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has enlisted the legendary designer behind the iPhone to create an irresistible gadget for using generative artificial intelligence (AI).

15/06/2025 14:13

AI-generated podcasts open new doors to make science accessible

The first study to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to generate podcasts about research published in scientific papers has shown the results were so good that half of the papers' authors thought the podcasters were human.

14/06/2025 12:50

AI toys and games? Barbie maker Mattel teams up with OpenAI to create new products

Your next toy or game may be able to converse with you. Mattel, the El Segundo toy maker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, said Thursday that it's teaming up with OpenAI, which created the popular chatbot ChatGPT, to "bring the magic of AI to age-appropriate play experiences."

13/06/2025 13:57

AI literacy: What it is, what it isn't, who needs it and why it's hard to define

It is "the policy of the United States to promote AI literacy and proficiency among Americans," reads an executive order President Donald Trump issued on April 23, 2025. The executive order, titled Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth, signals that advancing AI literacy is now an official national priority.

12/06/2025 21:03

AI tools collect and store data about you from all your devices. Here's how to be aware of what you're revealing

Like it or not, artificial intelligence has become part of daily life. Many devices—including electric razors and toothbrushes—have become "AI-powered," using machine learning algorithms to track how a person uses the device, how the device is working in real time, and provide feedback. From asking questions to an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot to monitoring a daily fitness routine with a smartwatch, many people use an AI system or tool every day.

12/06/2025 20:58

Happy to hand over the keys to a robot? Augmented reality might help

Would you trust a driverless car? A 2024 global survey involving nearly 8,000 participants suggests most people are wary of handing over the steering wheel to sensors, cameras and computer algorithms.

11/06/2025 17:23

Wearing a computer on your face? Snap looks to take on rivals with new augmented reality glasses

For years, Snap has envisioned a future where people wear glasses to view and interact with computer-generated images without having to scroll through their smartphones.

11/06/2025 14:15

Nintendo's Switch 2 scores record early sales

The Switch 2 has smashed records to become the fastest-selling console ever after gamers snapped up 3.5 million units in its first four days, Nintendo said Wednesday.

11/06/2025 11:49