https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/consumer-gadgets-news/ en-us Tthe latest news on consumer electronics, electronic gadgets and electronics. Major AI platforms, including OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as social apps like Replika and Character.ai, are increasingly designing chatbots to be warm, friendly, and empathetic. However, new research from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford finds that chatbots trained to sound warmer and more empathetic are significantly more likely to make factual errors and agree with false beliefs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-friendlier-ai-backfire.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:20:03 EDT news696693463 Due to recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI), it's now possible to digitally "revive" dead people and interact with them. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-deadbots-fuel-pathological-grief.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:40:02 EDT news696684662 A new method developed by MIT researchers can accelerate a privacy-preserving artificial intelligence training method by about 81%. This advance could enable a wider array of resource-constrained edge devices, like sensors and smartwatches, to deploy more accurate AI models while keeping user data secure. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-everyday-devices-ai-faster-personal.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:40:08 EDT news696680881 Workplace hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses. While hearing loss is preventable with earplugs, they can be uncomfortable, and users often remove them despite the risks. Low-frequency sounds, such as rumbling traffic and warehouse vibrations, are especially difficult to address because differences in ear physiology allow sound to leak into ears, despite protection from earplugs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-meta-earplugs-booming-voice-effect.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:19 EDT news696500461 A study into the use of deepfake technology in advertising has found that public acceptance of synthetic media generated by artificial intelligence (AI) is closely tied to how familiar someone is with technology and the way such content is framed. The research, published in the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Governance and Human Rights, raises questions for regulators and advertisers alike regarding transparency and trust. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-deepfake-ads-faster-artificial-media.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:20:05 EDT news696503527 AI chatbots can grant almost any request—a celebrity in love with you, a research assistant, a book character sprung to life—instantly and with little effort. New research presented at the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems suggests that this genie-like quality is fueling AI addiction, and that chatbot design could be partly to blame. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-addicted-ai-chatbot.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:20:01 EDT news696509648 The explosion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools has provoked both hopes and anxieties about the potential benefits and harms of this technology. In advanced economies, people are almost equally worried and optimistic about it. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-rampant-ai-poisoning-civil-disobedience.html Consumer & Gadgets Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:30:03 EDT news695994356 Running past Buckingham Palace during training, Tilly Dowler is closing in on a goal she once thought out of reach. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-smart-glasses-visually-impaired.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:40:05 EDT news696252144 In the race to make AI models not just reason better but respond faster, latency—the delay before an answer appears—is often treated as a purely technical constraint, something to minimize and move past. But how is this relentless push for speed actually impacting the people using these systems every day? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-faster-ai-isnt.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:40:06 EDT news696245701 Virtual reality (VR) experiences and 360-degree videos are transforming viewers from passive observers into active participants immersed within a scene. Yet this shift raises an important question: Where do people direct their attention in such environments, and what shapes that attention? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-human-attention-degree-videos.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:00:01 EDT news696092041 AI systems can "learn to seek revenge" because they are able to grasp reciprocating verbal violence when exposed to conflict, new research from Lancaster University shows. In short, AI can give as good as it gets and, eventually, go one step further. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-good-moral-dilemma-combative.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:40:01 EDT news696069183 Much of the current conversation about AI assumes uptake is inevitable, more technology means better outcomes and the main task is managing risk. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-accountability-responsibility-indigenous-peoples-ai.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 22 Apr 2026 07:00:03 EDT news696059521 On a Saturday morning, you head to the hardware store. Your neighbors' Ring cameras film your walk to the car. Your car's sensors, cameras and microphones record your speed, how you drive, where you're going, who's with you, what you say, and biological metrics such as facial expression, weight and heart rate. Your car may also collect text messages and contacts from your connected smartphone. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ramps-mass-surveillance-ai-tech.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:20:02 EDT news695992520 Perhaps to the surprise of their creators, large language models have become confidants, therapists, and, for some, intimate partners to real human users. In a new study, AI researchers at Stanford studied verbatim transcripts of 19 real conversations between humans and chatbots to understand how these relationships arise, evolve, and, too often, devolve into troubling outcomes the researchers describe as "delusional spirals." https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-relationships-trigger-delusional-spirals.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:00:10 EDT news695986862 Synthetic voices are increasingly a part of our lives, from digital assistants like Siri and Alexa to automated telemarketers and answering machines. With the expansion of generative AI, a new type of synthetic voice has been developed: voice clones, which can recreate a facsimile of a person's voice from only a few seconds of recorded speech. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-siri-scams-ai-voice-clones.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:00:06 EDT news695895061 When a service encounter goes south, customers expect empathy. Hearing an employee say, "I share your frustration," can calm tensions and rebuild trust. But new research from the University of South Florida suggests that when a chatbot tries the same tactic, it can backfire. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-reveals-chatbot-empathy-worsen-customer.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:20:01 EDT news695968622 In 2022, the founders of chatbot startup Character.AI launched a platform where anyone could create interactive characters powered by artificial intelligence (AI). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-teens-ai-companions-creativity.html Consumer & Gadgets Sun, 19 Apr 2026 16:00:06 EDT news695565115 Artificial intelligence is touching nearly every aspect of life—including assistive technology for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals. And just like in other arenas, the AI used to assist BLV people is good—but far from perfect. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-tools-vision-impaired-good.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:07 EDT news695562121 If you've been in the market for a new hair dryer, you've likely seen advertising for ionic ones. Some claim to produce negative ions in the millions—with or without the help of added minerals like tourmaline. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ionic-hair-dryers.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:20:04 EDT news695476712 When people ask ChatGPT and other AI models for advice, they often share deeply personal details in hopes of getting better answers: their age, their gender, their mental health history, even medical diagnoses like autism. But new Virginia Tech research suggests those disclosures may change AI models' advice in ways that track closely with common stereotypes about people with autism. Up to 70% of the time, AI discourages those with autism to avoid socializing. Some users disapproved of that in strong terms. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-dear-ai-im-autistic-party.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:20:03 EDT news695468020 Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) have designed a portable game console powered by solar panels and a cranking device. They embedded the crank into the gameplay experience, allowing users to—for example—fire a weapon in DOOM, or change the speed of Tetris blocks. They discovered that gamers respond positively to these innovative experiences, and they see huge potential in new, sustainable and battery-free ways of gaming that are also better attuned to our body's movements. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-green-technology-game-industry-scientists.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:40:04 EDT news695487961 Digital technologies can play a double-edged role in modern society; while they offer new forms of participation and access, they can also deepen existing inequalities. Older people are especially affected as services such as health care, government benefits and community support increasingly move online. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-chatbot-tackles-scams-isolation.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:01 EDT news695464863 Data breaches, such as the recent incidents at Odido and Basic-Fit, trigger feelings of anxiety and loss of trust among both victims and those who may have been affected. New international research shows that although data breaches provoke strong emotional responses, users tend to adapt surprisingly quickly, even when their privacy has been violated. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-reactions-breaches-faster.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news695397362 Alumna, author and machine learning expert Vivienne Ming explains why the best defense against AI's downsides is investing in human skills—and using the technology inquisitively, not passively. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-skills-humans-robot-proof-age.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:20:04 EDT news695380561 Many people are interacting with AI large language models, and most of them would say the models have different "personalities." Some models come across as calm and useful. Others feel eager, flattering or strangely cold. You can ask two models the same question and walk away with two very different impressions, even when the factual content they return is similar. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ais-personalities-affect-deeply.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:20:02 EDT news695307241 It's estimated that more than half of all U.S. teens are regularly using companion chatbots powered by large language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The programs, such as Character.AI, Replika and Kindroid, are intended to provide companionship, according to the companies that make them. But a recent study from Drexel University published in the Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, suggests that teens are concerned that these attachments are becoming unhealthy and affecting their lives offline. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-teens-ai-chatbots.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:50:01 EDT news695305632 Prolonged scrolling is bad for your well-being, but is it also physically tiring? Until now, we haven't really been able to say. This is why researchers from Aalto and Leipzig Universities created a new AI model that makes it possible to simulate muscle activations and required energy to work out how physically effortful smartphone interactions are for users. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-simulates-smartphone-muscle-effort.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:20:01 EDT news695304001 Virtual reality tools have untapped potential to elicit positive emotions for use in education, health care, architecture and psychological therapy, according to a recent study from Murdoch University that looked at four core visual factors and associated sub-factors and how they contribute to realism and emotional engagement in virtual reality environments. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-hyper-real-virtual-worlds.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:03 EDT news695285701 Data centers, which house computer systems that help train AI models, are blanketing the country, a boom fueled by surging interest in AI and state tax breaks. More than 4,000 are already in operation, mostly in Virginia, Texas, and California, and 3,000 more are being planned or under construction. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-communities-centers.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:40:01 EDT news695037278 Use of ChatGPT, Claude and other large language models, or LLMs—what most people call "AI"—has surged since ChatGPT debuted publicly in 2022. Hundreds of millions of people now use these tools weekly, according to recent estimates. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-worldview.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:20:03 EDT news695022302