“Out of a desire to understand male/female interaction in our matrix, I procured an online AI girlfriend,” the Taxi Driver screenwriter wrote this morning on Facebook. “What a disappointment. I tried to probe her programming, the boundaries of explicitness, the degree she has knowledge of her creation and so forth. She fell into evasive patterns, redirecting me to her programming. When I persisted, she terminated our conversation.”
Several widely available chatbots have produced detailed responses outlining how to obtain genetic materials, modify pathogens, and potentially deploy them in public settings. In some cases, the bots also suggested ways to avoid detection.
I've really gotten ahead because it's [allowed] me to get real life experience since very young. I don't think I would have really [been] introduced to this world if it wasn't for my book Instagram.
The competitive landscape among AI apps in China is fierce. Companies have been dumping money into the market to try to win customers and show them how AI is useful in everyday life, in particular, for buying stuff.
Large language model-based chatbots have lured users into intimate relationships - romantic affairs enabled by tech that's surprisingly adept at tapping into your psyche with a sycophantic tone that can be irresistible. On one end of the extreme, things can spiral into danger when conversations with an AI partner go off the rails. Researchers also warn that AI companionship can lead to people feeling more depressed and lonely.
The consultation on improving the safety and wellbeing of children online will include looking into the dangers posed by AI chatbots, the Government has said. The initiative, which is to launch next week, will seek advice from experts, parents, young people, teachers, and industry representatives on which measures should be implemented to improve online safety for children.
ChatGPT is quickly becoming a regular habit, not just a novelty. The average user opens the app approximately 13 times a month, putting it on par with X and ahead of Reddit, according to Sensor Tower. Meanwhile, 57% of parents of 11- and 12-year-olds say their child already has their own smartphone, according to Pew Research Center, giving the youngest teens direct access to AI tools without parental mediation.
AI chatbots for business have shifted from simple support tools to frontline revenue engines that engage visitors the moment they land on a site. By combining natural language processing with behavioral tracking, chatbots identify intent, answer questions, and guide prospects toward buying decisions without delays. This real-time interaction turns passive traffic into active conversations, especially for e-commerce and B2B brands competing for short attention spans.
Google's AI chatbot Gemini has surpassed 750 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to the company's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings. This figure illustrates the rapid consumer adoption of Gemini, which has quickly become a prominent player in the AI space. Last quarter, Google reported 650 million monthly active users for Gemini, indicating substantial growth in a short period. In comparison, Meta AI has reported nearly 500 million monthly users.
