Machine learning & AI

New study finds AI-generated empathy has its limits

Conversational agents (CAs) such as Alexa and Siri are designed to answer questions, offer suggestions—and even display empathy. However, new research finds they do poorly compared to humans when interpreting and exploring ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Why won't some people use a smartphone? And is that difficult?

In a world where more and more services and social interaction are based on mobile apps, a smartphone has become close to a necessity. Despite this, some people avoid smartphones and instead use a dumbphone—a traditional ...

Robotics

Helping robots make a better first impression

An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Waterloo's Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Lab (SIRRL) has found that people prefer interacting with robots they perceive to have social identities like their ...

Engineering

'Garbatrage' spins e-waste into prototyping gold

To Ilan Mandel, a Cornell robotics researcher and builder, the math didn't add up. How could a new, off-the-shelf hoverboard cost less than the parts that compose it?

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