A QUT study of 20 popular paid and free apps for children aged 5 to 8 years found that most contained deceptive design patterns aimed at attracting children to paid content, increasing their time spent using the app, or encouraging them to watch advertisements for other products. Corresponding author Professor...
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In the early 1970s, the idea of an ordinary person owning a computer sounded absurd. Computers back then were more like aircraft carriers or nuclear power plants than household appliances—vast machines housed in data centers operated by teams of specialists, serving governments, universities and large corporations....
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Augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets let us see the world around us with virtual elements superimposed on top. For example, many modern AR/MR headsets use hand-tracking cameras to detect hand gestures in the air, which allows users to type on a virtual keyboard that appears to be...
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iPhone maker Apple celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 1 having marked pop culture and the tech industry like few other firms since its beginnings in 1976....
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Last week leading chipmaker Nvidia announced DLSS-5 (Deep Learning Super Sampling), a new artificial intelligence (AI) rendering tool it describes as a "breakthrough in visual fidelity for games." The software takes low-resolution images and uses AI to upscale them, adding what Nvidia calls "photoreal lighting and materials."...
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A landmark California verdict that found the social media company Meta and video-sharing service YouTube liable for the depression and mental health challenges of a young woman could be "the beginning of a tidal wave," a social media expert said....
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In a new study published in Science, Stanford computer scientists showed that artificial intelligence large language models are overly agreeable, or sycophantic, when users solicit advice on interpersonal dilemmas. Even when users described harmful or illegal behavior, the models often affirmed their choices....
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To get the best out of AI, some users tell it to provide answers as if it were an expert. Others ask it to adopt a persona, such as a safety monitor, to guide its responses. However, this approach can sometimes hurt performance, according to a study available on the...
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A multi-channel wearable scent display developed at Institute of Science Tokyo allows a user to experience multiple scents while exploring virtual environments. Based on virtual scenes, the device can blend up to eight fragrances in real time and deliver them with precise control of odor intensity. By synchronizing smell with...
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Love is mysterious. You feel it in your chest, your knees, your soul. Love will put you on budget airplanes across the world, leave you hiding from your own phone after a sent text message or perhaps standing in the rain with your belongings in a box....
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Amid hot discussion on screen time, social media use and the impact of digital devices on our well-being, a seven-month study from Aalto University in Finland sheds new light on what overwhelms users the most—and the results aren't what you might think....
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Can using a large language model (LLM) make a person more creative? Prior work has shown that using LLMs can make creative outputs more homogeneous, but this homogenization could stem from the specific LLM used or from widespread use of the same model....
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The US Federal Communications Commission on Monday banned authorizations for all new consumer routers produced in foreign countries, citing "national security" reasons....
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During the First World War, the British government was looking for ways to help people stretch their limited food supplies. It found pamphlets from a noted 19th-century herbalist who said rhubarb leaves could be used as a vegetable along with the stalks....
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I remember sitting very close to the television as a child and seeing the image was made up of tiny colored dots, each of which broke down into miniature vertical strips of red, green and blue when I looked even closer....
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