Consumer & Gadgets news

Consumer & Gadgets

More user control may help ease negative reactions to ads on voice assistants

Voice assistants (VAs) like Alexa and Siri continue to gain popularity in households and on personal devices. According to digital trends research company Emarketer, the number of VA users will surpass 150 million in 2025. ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Microsoft pushes for gaming supremacy with 'Call of Duty' release

Microsoft's ambition to become the "Netflix of video games" faces a huge test this week with the release of "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6" on Friday.

Consumer & Gadgets

DeepMind researchers find LLMs can serve as effective mediators

A team of AI researchers with Google's DeepMind London group has found that certain large language models (LLMs) can serve as effective mediators between groups of people with differing viewpoints regarding a given topic. ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Humans sympathize with, and protect, AI bots from playtime exclusion, finds study

In an Imperial College London study, humans displayed sympathy towards and protected AI bots who were excluded from playtime. The researchers say the study, which used a virtual ball game, highlights humans' tendency to treat ...

Consumer & Gadgets

New tool can detect malware on Android phones

Screen readers, voice-to-text, and other accessibility features have enabled people with disabilities to use smartphones. Yet these same features make the phones more accessible to hackers, too.

Consumer & Gadgets

Exploring the hidden costs of free apps

Procrastination, sleep deprivation and reduced focus are part of the price we pay for free mobile apps. This is according to researchers at Linköping University and RISE, who have investigated the costs hidden behind the ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Q&A: Generative AI embraced faster than internet, PCs

ChatGPT's debut in November 2022 caused a near-instant sensation. It gave most users their first opportunity to try out a new type of artificial intelligence that uses existing data and published materials to create content ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Will Meta's Orion smart glasses be the next 'iPhone moment'?

Meta supremo Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Orion smart glasses, a new augmented reality (AR) prototype, at the annual Meta Connect developer conference. Ten years in the making, and still not expected on high streets until 2027, ...

Consumer & Gadgets

This is what happens when your phone is spying on you

Smartphone spyware apps that allow people to spy on each other are not only hard to notice and detect, they also will easily leak the sensitive personal information they collect, says a team of computer scientists from New ...

Consumer & Gadgets

MWC mobile tech fair to show off new phones, AI, metaverse

The latest folding-screen smartphones, immersive metaverse experiences, AI-powered chatbot avatars and other eye-catching technology are set to wow visitors at the annual MWC wireless trade fair that kicks off Monday.

Consumer & Gadgets

E-bike batteries blamed for 22 NYC fires, 2 deaths this year

Lithium ion batteries used to power electric bicycles and scooters have already sparked 22 fires that caused 36 injuries and two deaths in New York City this year, four times the number of fires linked to the batteries by ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Microsoft Bing AI ends chat when prompted about 'feelings'

Microsoft Corp. appeared to have implemented new, more severe restrictions on user interactions with its "reimagined" Bing internet search engine, with the system going mum after prompts mentioning "feelings" or "Sydney," ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Core collection: Apple archive goes under the hammer

A collection of nearly half-a-century's worth of Apple computers that traces the evolution of one of the world's most influential companies is going under the hammer in California next month.