A fake photo of an explosion near the Pentagon once rattled the stock market. A tearful video of a frightened young “Ukrainian conscript” went viral: until exposed as staged. We may be approaching a “synthetic media tipping point”, where AI-generated images and videos are becoming so realistic that traditional markers of authenticity, such as visual flaws, are rapidly disappearing. In […] … learn more→

Every time we click a star to rate a restaurant, leave a comment on a shopping site, or “like” a video, we leave a digital footprint. Individually, this may seem insignificant, a simple little sign of preference, a micro-opinion among many others. But collectively, these footprints form a vast social landscape, a cloud of visible […] … learn more→

While we ask artificial intelligence (AI) to help us solve climate change, its own carbon footprint is skyrocketing. And while it helps us design drugs, optimize power grids, and predict natural disasters, this technology comes at a hidden and exorbitant cost. The problem is its energy appetite. Training a model like GPT-3, now outdated, required around […] … learn more→

In the eyes of big AI companies such as OpenAI, the troves of data on the internet are highly valuable. They scrape photos, videos, books, blog posts, albums, painting, photographs and much more to train their products such as ChatGPT – usually without any compensation to or consent from the creators. In fact, OpenAI and […] … learn more→

Since early chatbots were first conceived more than 50 years go, they have become increasingly sophisticated – in large part, thanks to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. They also seem to be everywhere: on desktops, mobile apps and embedded into everyday programs, meaning you can interact with them at any time. Now, new research I coauthored with […] … learn more→

Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, millions of people have started using large language models to access knowledge. And it’s easy to understand their appeal: Ask a question, get a polished synthesis and move on – it feels like effortless learning. However, a new paper I co-authored offers experimental evidence that this ease […] … learn more→

On Christmas Day 2021, Jaswant Singh Chail scaled the walls of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow. When confronted by police, he stated: “I’m here to kill the queen.” In the preceding weeks, Chail had been confiding in Sarai, his AI chatbot on a service called Replika. He explained that he was a trained Sith assassin (a reference to […] … learn more→

The term “black swan” refers to a shocking event on nobody’s radar until it actually happens. This has become a byword in risk analysis since a book called The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb was published in 2007. A frequently cited example is the 9/11 attacks. Fewer people have heard of “grey swans”. Derived from Taleb’s work, grey swans […] … learn more→

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming commonplace, despite statistics showing that only approximately 7% to 13% (depending on size) of companies have incorporated AI into their regular business workflows. Adoption in specific business functions is far higher, with up to 78% of companies reporting use of AI tools in at least one business area. And more than 90% of […] … learn more→

Digital technologies have revolutionized teaching methods , communication dynamics between students and teachers, and access to information. Teaching digital natives presents a series of challenges, especially regarding the scope and presence that this technology should have in schools. Although some studies warn that screen exposure before the age of two can affect cognitive and linguistic development, it remains to be determined […] … learn more→