Three major large language models (LLMs) generated responses that, in humans, would be seen as signs of anxiety, trauma, shame and post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers behind the study, published as a preprint last month, argue that the chatbots hold some kind of "internalised narratives" about themselves. Although the LLMs that were tested did not literally experience trauma, they say, their responses to therapy questions were consistent over time and similar in different operatingmodes, suggesting that they are doing more than "role playing".
Over the course of 2025, deepfakes improved dramatically. AI-generated faces, voices, and full-body performances that mimic real people increased in quality far beyond what even many experts expected would be the case just a few years ago. They were also increasingly used to deceive people. For many everyday scenarios-especially low-resolution video calls and media shared on social media platforms-their realism is now high enough to reliably fool nonexpert viewers.
When I'm interviewing execs at AI-driven tech companies, which I do almost daily, I often feel like a parent forced to tell my child the Tooth Fairy isn't real. The CEO or founder will ask me, eyes hopeful, whether I've "seen anyone else doing anything like we're doing" - but I don't think they're ready to hear an honest response.
Even if you have the world's best personal assistant, they don't, they can't remember every word you've ever said in your life, they can't have read every email, they can't have read every document you've ever written, they can't be looking at all your work every day and remembering every little detail, they can't be a participant in your life to that degree. No human has like infinite, perfect memory,
Twelve months after Labour's 50-point plan of action to stimulate the UK's artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled economy, a new report shows billions of pounds are being invested in UK AI startups. The AI Index report from the Startup Coalition, sponsored by Coreweave, analysed funding of the UK's top 1,000 firms according to the amount of private capital they have raised, in collaboration with data provider Beauhurst.
The new rumors stem from comments reportedly made by OpenAI's CEO of applications Fidji Simo, who recently published a breakdown of OpenAI's R&D goals in a post on Substack. Offline, sources say Simo mentioned an additional plan to begin testing ads on internal, employee-only chat models in the new year, reported Alex Heath, journalist and author of blog Sources. Simo has been laying a strong commercial foundation for ChatGPT's advertising future, including partnerships with Walmart, Instacart, Target, and Shopify.
Gmail's version lets you ask questions about your messages in the search bar, using natural language. Google uses the example of, "Who was the plumber that gave me a quote for the bathroom renovation last year?" It's hard to imagine that saving much time over a basic search for "plumber quote" or "plumbing estimate," but maybe it could help in some situations.
Merriam-Webster named "slop" its 2025 word of the year, defining it as "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence." In its announcement, Merriam-Webster noted that, like " slime, sludge, and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don't want to touch." Similarly, The New York Times observed that slop, in graphic terms, "conjures images of heaps of unappetizing food being shoveled into troughs."
Fabrice Canel, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft Bing, wrote on X, "We're hiring a very Senior Product Manager!" He added that "spam is killing trust in AI & search." "Own the fight: reduce spam across Copilot, Bing & the web using AI/ML at internet scale. Protect millions of users, brands & the AI ecosystem. Join us & build a cleaner future," he added.
For the past two weeks, X has been flooded with AI-manipulated nude images, created by the Grok AI chatbot. An alarming range of women have been affected by the non-consensual nudes, including prominent models and actresses, as well as news figures, crime victims, and even world leaders. A December 31st research paper from Copyleaks estimated roughly one image was being posted each minute, but later tests found far more.
Last year, one of the better performers among the Magnificent 7 was Meta Platforms Inc. ( NASDAQ: META). But its third-quarter earnings report raised investor concerns about the company's massive capital spending on artificial intelligence initiatives. In addition, Meta said it planned to make significant cuts to the budget of its Reality Labs metaverse division in the coming year. The stock is down 13.6% since the quarterly report was released.
Alphabet Inc. has overtaken Apple Inc. to become the second-most valuable company by market capitalization, a reflection of how the Google parent has emerged as one of the most significant winners of artificial intelligence. Shares of Alphabet rose 2.4% on Wednesday, closing with a valuation of $3.89 trillion. That allowed it to surpass Apple, which closed with a market cap of $3.85 trillion on Wednesday, following a six-day slump that erased nearly 5% and almost $200 billion off its value.
Scheduled actions are only available to paying Gemini Pro and Ultra users. Since I upgraded to the Pro plan last month, I now have access to scheduled actions. Also: Stop using ChatGPT for everything: I use these AI models for research, coding, and more You know what that means: It's time to test it out. TL;DR, this feature is currently very limited and fairly disappointing. But it has enormous potential -- see if you don't agree.
On a somewhat surprising note, Intel ( NASDAQ:INTC) really delivered at this year's CES (Consumer Electronics Show), with a big chip unveiling that helped power the stock to a gain of more than 12% year to date. Indeed, we've only had a handful of trading sessions in 2026, but shares of Intel are certainly not wasting time powering back, adding to the big momentum the shares experienced in the back half of 2025.
If you're like most Americans, you've already set all manner of goals and resolutions for the New Year. And likewise, if you're like most Americans, you'll have entirely abandoned them by February 1. Studies have found that 23% of people quit their New Year's resolutions within a week, and almost half drop them by the end of January. Only 9% of Americans actually complete anything from their list in a given year.
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