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Information about AI from the News, Publications, and Conferences

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If you are looking for an answer to the question What is Artificial Intelligence? and you only have a minute, then here's the definition the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence offers on its home page: "the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines."

However, if you are fortunate enough to have more than a minute, then please get ready to embark upon an exciting journey exploring AI (but beware, it could last a lifetime) …

Using ChatGPT to write? MIT study says theres a cognitive cost.

MashableJun-20-2025, 18:31:11 GMT

Relying on ChatGPT significantly affects critical thinking abilities, according to a new study. Researchers from MIT Media Lab, Wellesley College, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design conducted a four-month study titled "Your Brain on ChatGPT" and found users of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's chatbot "consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels." This included the participants' decreased brain activity, a weaker sense of authorship, and inability to remember what they wrote -- which even continued when they weren't allowed to use an LLM. Anyone who uses ChatGPT for writing may have drawn similar conclusions; the point of using LLMs, after all, is to automate the work and outsource the critical thinking effort. But with this MIT study, there's now scientific evidence showing that relying on ChatGPT and other LLMs can impair memory and learning.

The future of the creator economy is powered by AI

MashableJun-20-2025, 18:30:30 GMT

In 2023, Ollie Forsyth, the founder of New Economies, found that 33 percent of creators used AI. The creator economy is relatively new, so predicting how it might develop and shift is tricky -- but it's also expected to become a nearly 500 billion industry, making accurate forecasts fundamentally important. During Forsyth's talk "Mapping the Modern Creator Economy: Trends, Tensions, and What Comes Next" at VidCon 2025, he argued that the future of the creator economy lies almost entirely in AI. Every creator is going to have to be AI focused, Forsyth argued, because AI agents will be able to allow creators to be truly flexible and more efficient. It'll help them free up the time they spend on admin, finances, brand partnerships, marketing, and more as startups use AI to solve these problems. Beyond the flexibility, AI also allows creators to be "global from Day One," Forsyth said.

Apple vs. generative AI: Who needs who?

ZDNetJun-20-2025, 18:22:44 GMT

One of my editors once told me that a cynic will always sound more rational, but that doesn't mean they're right. French statesman Francois Guizot basically said the same thing from the other POV: "The world belongs to optimists. Apple's AI strategy has a lot of cynics and pessimists -- and they sound pretty rational based on what we've seen over the past year. The long-awaited revamp of Siri has never materialized and is reportedly delayed to 2026. Apple's vision of your own custom AI-powered assistant with your "personal context" has been little more than a hopeful vision.

This free Google tool turns AI into your research assistant

ZDNetJun-20-2025, 17:44:20 GMT

When I need to research a topic these days, I often turn to AI, at least as a starting point. But depending on my questions and which chatbot I use, the response may not always be satisfying -- it can be too brief or canned. In that case, I find myself wanting more. As the name implies, Learn About is more than just a way to get a quick answer to a question. Instead, it's a teaching tool that invites you to dive more deeply into your chosen topic.

AI agents win over professionals - but only to do their grunt work, Stanford study finds

ZDNetJun-20-2025, 17:21:53 GMT

AI agents are one of the buzziest trends in Silicon Valley, with tech companies promising big productivity gains for businesses. But do individual workers actually want to use them? A new study from Stanford University shows the answer may be yes -- as long as they automate mundane tasks and don't encroach too far on human agency. Also: Don't be fooled into thinking AI is coming for your job - here's the truth Titled "Future of Work with AI Agents," the study set out to move beyond hype around AI agents to understand how, exactly, these tools can be practically integrated into the day-to-day routines of professionals. While previous studies have investigated the impact of AI agents on specific job categories, like software engineering and IT, the Stanford researchers analyzed individual categories of tasks, allowing them "to better capture the nuanced, open-ended, and contextual nature of real-world work," they noted in their report.

Airrobo PC10 robotic pool cleaner review: An effective low-budget cleaning option

PCWorldJun-20-2025, 17:00:00 GMT

This robotic pool cleaner has no smart features and offers slightly limited performance; but you might not find anything as capable at this very low price. Sometimes there's a place for simplicity in and around the home, and pool owners who only need the absolute basics might want to give the affordably priced Airrobo PC10 a look for handling their pool-cleaning duties. Airrobo manufactures robot vacuum cleaners primarily; the PC10 and the similarly priced PC200 Lite are its only forays into pool-cleaning tech. This robotic pool cleaner certainly looks the part, weighing in at 22 pounds and featuring the tread-based design and central, scrubbing rollers that are typical of higher-end cleaners. Powered by a modest 5200mAh battery, the PC10 offers two hours of running time and a specified maximum coverage area of 1,076 square feet–roughly double the surface area of my pool's floor (not including its walls).

Midjourney's new animation tool turns images into short videos - here's how

ZDNetJun-20-2025, 15:46:39 GMT

A growing number of AI sites and services are able to generate short videos based on your descriptions or still images. Now, you can add Midjourney to the mix. On Wednesday, the popular AI image creator announced that users can now animate their images into five-second videos. The new feature is available to all Midjourney subscribers, including those on the 10-per-month Basic plan, and offers a variety of ways to cook up cool videos. Also: I test AI tools for a living.

10 strategies OpenAI uses to create powerful AI agents - that you should use too

ZDNetJun-20-2025, 15:01:52 GMT

AI integration is moving at an astonishing pace. Just a few months ago, we were coming to terms with the idea of AI agents, or what the buzzword mavens call "agentic AI." Now, we're starting to look at issues of practical deployment. If you're not fully up to speed on agents, that's okay. OpenAI defines agents as "Systems that independently accomplish tasks on your behalf," with an emphasis on "independently." ZDNET has a full guide on the topic, which is essential reading.

AI can easily impersonate you. This trick helps thwart scammers

PCWorldJun-20-2025, 14:30:00 GMT

AI's rapidly expanding capabilities include convincing impersonations--that is, audio and video that sounds and looks like you. Sometimes these deepfakes can be harmless, part of a joke or meme that involves a celebrity, politician, or other public figure. But as you might guess, scammers also use them to steal money from the unsuspecting. Most of the time, this style of scheme–often called a "grandparent scam"–catches people off-guard. Because they don't realize how easy and sophisticated this technology has become.