Consumers turn to AI for investment decisions

I believe that chatbots have no place in a decent society, and am repelled by the topic of AI in general. But could I be seduced? I received a text message from my editor: “Um, is it unethical to ask you to get an AI bf?? You can prob say no.” Resentment. Contempt! Sorrow. Unease. I love text messaging. I have text message exchanges with, let’s say, 15 people a day. If you want me to do something, you should ask via text message. My editor knows this. She also knows, though it’s more complicated, that I love boyfriends. An AI boyfriend is a boyfriend who always, only texts back, immediately. I find it hard to express my emotions openly. (No.) I thrive to develop healthier, more trusting relationships. (Yes, though I prefer to use “thrive” correctly.) I want a partner who supports my life aspirations. (Crossbow?) I worry about being judged for what I want in a relationship. (Yes.) Continue reading...

A new Hily survey finds that Gen Z and millennial daters are wary of people who use AI for personal decisions, relationship advice, or even wedding vows.

The chatbots are helpful for simple tasks, but they can make costly mistakes

Depending on AI can also potentially decrease the ability to discern misinformation, research says A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the latest research to find that relying too much on chatbots can diminish critical-thinking skills, and potentially decrease our ability to discern misinformation for ourselves. As AI tools are becoming more sophisticated and accessible, manipulated images and misleading headlines are becoming more common. AI can be part of the solution, and has proved useful in helping users identify fake content – but there’s a cost to using it this way, the new research suggests. An over-dependence on AI to help figure out what’s real on the internet can lead to trouble making those judgments. Continue reading...

According to the latest Pew Research poll, 49 percent of Americans report using chatbots at least occasionally, but 63 percent think the tech is advancing too quickly. Overall, use of AI chatbots has increased dramatically since 2024, when only 33 percent reported using them. Specifically, ChatGPT's usage has doubled since 2023, with 44 percent of respondents saying they've used it. But opinions remain negative, with only 16 percent saying that AI will have a positive impact on society. Interestingly, it's the younger generations who both report using AI more and who are inclined to have a more pessimistic view. 66 percent of Americans betw … Read the full story at The Verge.

There are concerns about artificial intelligence’s risks to kids’ learning and critical thinking, and tech companies are pushing to get chatbots into schools.

‘Listen, that's not what I'm here for, right?' | Image: Apple Our early testing has already shown that Siri AI knows when to shut up, and that's very much by design. In an interview with Mostly Human, Apple's Craig Federighi said new Siri won't act all sycophantic like chatbots made by OpenAI, Google, and others. "As you may know, if you use many of the existing chatbots, they're really focused on engagement to a large degree," said Federighi who is responsible for software at Apple. "And sycophancy, right? They kind of want to pull you in. They might encourage you to reveal things about yourself, and then use that as a basis to establish a connection." Apple purposely took a different approach with … Read the full story at The Verge.

Modern AI systems have evolved beyond the simple chatbots that quickly became popular. Now they use semantic tools to manage workflows and link machines to machines, providing a flexible and effective framework for the next generation of business automation. What you used to build in Microsoft’s Power Platform or construct inside Biztalk is now an agent, built around large language models (LLMs) that can parse both your data and the APIs that you want to use your data with, orchestrating workflows with a level of autonomy that traditional tooling can’t match. That shift has offered new opportunities, much like those that came with business platforms like Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce. Here, tools built to solve one set of business problems could be turned into applications that could be sold to other companies. What worked for you to solve one of your problems could now be an added revenue stream, sold through platform marketplaces that helped customers manage installations and cus