New studies from OpenAI and MIT Media Lab found that, generally, the more time users spend talking to ChatGPT, the lonelier they feel. The connection was made as part of two, yet-to-be-peer-reviewed studies, one done at OpenAI analyzing "over 40 million ChatGPT interactions" and targeted user surveys, and another at MIT Media Lab following participants' ChatGPT use for four weeks.MIT's study identified several ways talking to ChatGPT whether through text or voice can affect a person's emotional experience, beyond the general finding that higher use led to "heightened loneliness and reduced socialization." For example, participants who already trusted the chatbot and tended to get emotionally attached in human relationships felt lonelier and more emotionally dependent on ChatGPT during the study. Those effects were less severe with ChatGPT's voice mode, though, particularly if ChatGPT spoke in a neutral tone. Discussing personal topics also tended to lead to loneliness in the short-term, and interestingly, speaking to ChatGPT about more general topics was more likely to increase emotional dependence.The big finding from OpenAI's study was that having emotional conversations with ChatGPT is still not common. "Emotionally expressive interactions were present in a large percentage of usage for only a small group of the heavy Advanced Voice Mode users we studied," OpenAI writes. That suggests that even if MIT's findings are as concerning as they are unsurprising, they're not exactly widespread outside a small group of power users.There are important limitations to MIT Media Lab and OpenAI's research, like both studies covering a short period of time (one month for MIT, 28 days for OpenAI) and MIT not having a control group to compare to. The studies do add more evidence to something that seemed intuitively true for a while now talking to AI has a psychological impact on the humans doing the talking. Given the intense interest in making AI a compelling conversation partner, whether its in video games or as a way to simplify the job of YouTube creators, its clear that MIT Media Lab and OpenAI are right to want to understand what'll happen when talking to AI is the norm.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/joint-studies-from-openai-and-mit-found-links-between-loneliness-and-chatgpt-use-193537421.html?src=rss

SpaceX could soon have greater control over the recreational activities of South Texas residents. The Houston Chronicle (via Gizmodo) and San Antonio Express-News report that a pair of state senate bills introduced earlier this month would give officials at the likely Starbase city the authority to decide when a nearby beach shuts down for weekday launch activities. Meanwhile, a third bill floated on Wednesday would take the company's control a step further, making it a criminal offense for people on the beach not to comply with SpaceX's evacuation orders.The bills are possible because of an upcoming election that will almost certainly give SpaceX officials control of the area. On May 3, voters will decide if Starbase becomes a Texas city, something Elon Musk first proposed in 2021. Given that the area near the rocket site is populated mainly by SpaceX employees (after previous homeowners in Boca Chica Village moved, often after being bought out by the company), let's just say the election's outcome won't likely be a toss-up.Republican state senator Adam Hinojosa's first bill, SB 2188, would let Starbase city officials (assuming the municipality establishment bill passes) decide when Boca Chica Beach is closed for weekday rocket tests and flights. An identical bill, HB 4660, was introduced in the state house by Republican Janie Lopez. Cameron County officials, who control the closures now, would maintain control on Friday afternoons and weekends.Texas state senator Adam HinojosaCampaign for Adam HinojosaMeanwhile, Hinojosa's second senate bill (SB 2230) would make it a Class B misdemeanor for people on the beach not to comply with Starbase's evacuation orders. The freshman state senator said the bill would give the commercial spaceport "real teeth" to "compel people to do the right thing." (Fittingly, Hinojosa's election website touts his belief that "we don't need more government in business we need more business in government.")The Houston Chronicle reports that the FAA's Environmental Assessment shows that SpaceX has moved much of its testing to a site that doesn't require the closure of State Highway 4. A SpaceX flight test in April 2023 closed the road for over 24 hours, while another shuttered it for nearly eight hours last June. The company can close State Highway 4 for up to 500 hours each year for standard operations and up to 300 more hours to address incidents like an exploding rocket.On the other hand, environmental groups have argued that SpaceX's activities are damaging the area. Last year, the Center for Biological Diversity, American Bird Conservancy and other groups sued the FAA for allegedly rushing SpaceX's permitting process without a full environmental review. And the Environmental Protection Agency fined the company for allegedly dumping pollutants into Texas wetlands adjacent to the Rio Grande River.Craig Nazor, conservation chair for the Sierra Club's Lone Star chapter, testified to the state senate on Wednesday that SB 2188 would "put beach closures directly in the hands of SpaceX." He also expressed concern that the second senate bill could put folks who are unaware of an upcoming launch into legal trouble. "[SB 2230] could potentially make a criminal out of someone who's out there and lost track of exactly what may be going on at the launch pad," he said.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/spacex-could-soon-have-more-control-over-texas-public-road-and-beach-closures-184526421.html?src=rss

A new study reveals that Max subscribers have found the 120 new features added in 2024 to make finding new content a breeze.

Oracle has announced it is buying 30,000 AMD Instinct MI355X AI accelerators.

The crypto industry is pouring money into two Florida House races that could have a big impact on the Republican Party's ability to hold its slim majority.

Until recently, it was a little-known program to help Black and Latino students pursue business degrees.But in January, conservative strategist Christopher Rufo flagged the program known as The PhD Project in social media posts that caught the attention of Republican politicians. The program is now at the center of a Trump administration campaign to root outdiversity, equity and inclusion programsin higher education.The U.S. Education Department last week said it was investigating dozens of universities foralleged racial discrimination, citing ties to the nonprofit organization. That followed a warning a month earlier that schoolscould lose federal moneyover race-based preferences in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life.The investigations left some school leaders startled and confused, wondering what prompted the inquiries. Many scrambled to distance themselves from The PhD Project, which has aimed to help diversify the business world and higher education faculty.The rollout of the investigations highlights the climate of fear and uncertainty in higher education, which PresidentDonald Trumpsadministrationhas begun policingfor policies that run afoul of his agenda even as he moves todismantle the Education Department.The Trump administration asked colleges to explain ties to The PhD ProjectThere is a range of nonprofits that work to help minority groups advance in higher education but The PhD Project was not well known before Rufo began posting on X about its work with colleges, said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents.Its not hard to draw some lines between that incident and why 45 institutions that were partners with The PhD Project are getting this investigation announced, he said.The 45 colleges under investigation for ties to the organization include public universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State and the University of California, Berkeley, along with private schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The Education Department sent letters to the universities informing them its Office for Civil Rights had received a complaint and they were under investigation for allegedly discriminating against students on the basis of race or ethnicity because of a past affiliation with The PhD Project. The letters set a March 31 deadline for information about their relationship with the nonprofit.In a statement, the PhD Project said it aims to create a broader talent pipeline of business leaders. This year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision, it said.Colleges tread carefully on inquiries that threaten federal fundingPublic reaction from the universities leadership has been minimal and cautious, with most issuing brief statements saying they will cooperate with investigators and refusing further comment.Colleges may see reason not to push back. The Trump administration has shown willingness to withhold federal funding over issues involving antisemitism allegations, diversity programs andtransgender athletes. AtColumbia University, under fire for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests, the administration pulled $400 million in federal money and threatened billions more if it does not comply with its demands.There is a concern that if one university steps up and fights this then that university will have all of their funding cut, said Veena Dubal, general counsel for the American Association of University Professors. They are being hindered not just by fear but a real collective action problem. None of these universities wants to be the next example.Some colleges moved swiftly to stop working with The PhD Project.The University of Kentucky said it severed ties with the nonprofit on Monday. The University of Wyoming said in a statement that its college of business was affiliated with the group to develop its graduate student pipeline, but it plans to discontinue its membership.The University of Nevada, Las Vegas issued a statement saying three professors participated in the program, but two no longer work at the university and a third was killed in a shooting on campus in 2023. Arizona State said its business school is not financially supporting The PhD Project this year and it told faculty in February the school would not support travel to the nonprofits conference.A campaign against the nonprofits work began on social mediaSimilar fallout came in Texas earlier this year, when Rufo began posting on X about the PhD Project.Texas A&M is sponsoring a trip to a DEI conference, Rufo posted on Jan. 13. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, accused the university of supporting racial segregation and breaking the law.The next day Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot posted on X that the university president will soon be gone unless he immediately fixed the matter. Texas A&M responded by withdrawing from the conference, and soon after at least eight other Texas public universities that had participated previously in The PhD Projects conference also withdrew, the Texas Tribune reported.Rufo has not responded to a request for comment.Some of the schools under investigation raised questions about where the complaints against them originated.Montana State University said it follows all state and federal laws and was surprised by the notice it received and unaware of any complaint made internally with regards to The PhD Project.Six other colleges are being investigated for awarding impermissible race-based scholarships, the Education Department said. Additionally, the University of Minnesota is being investigated for allegedly operating a program that segregates students on the basis of race.At the University of California, Berkeley, hundreds gathered Wednesday on the campus known for student protests. But this one was organized by faculty, who stood on the steps of Sproul Hall, known as the birthplace of the free speech movement in the 1960s.This is a fight that can be summed up in five words: Academic freedom is under assault, Ula Taylor, a professor of African American studies, said to the crowd.In a campus email Monday, Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons did not specifically mention the investigation targeting his school. But he described the federal governments actions against higher education as a threat to the schools core values.A Berkeley without academic freedom, without freedom of inquiry, without freedom of expression is simply not Berkeley, Lyons said. We will stand up for Berkeleys values and defend them to the very best of our ability.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APsstandardsfor working with philanthropies, alistof supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Cheyanne Mumphrey and Jocelyn Gecker, AP education writersAssociated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

Fewer than 1% ofNCAA Tournamentbrackets were still perfect after Thursdays 16-game slate, according to several services where fans attempt the all-but impossible task of predicting every March Madness game correctly or, barring that, win their office pools.ESPNs tracker listed 25,802 perfect brackets remaining out of more than 24 million filled out on its site following the final game of the day, Texas Techs win over UNC-Wilmington.The NCAA said 0.0938% of more than 34 million brackets were still perfect.The numbers were similar at CBS Sports, where 0.09% of brackets were unblemished following the first day of action.Yahoo Sports said 99.9% of its brackets had fallen short of perfectionafter 11th-seeded Drake beat No. 6 seed Missouri.Earlier Thursday, about 6.6 million brackets were busted on ESPN whenNo. 12 seed McNeesebeat No. 5 seed Clemson69-67.Creighton which saw a boost in this category because it played the first game of the day was listed as ESPNs top bracket buster after its89-75 winover Louisville. There were 13,339,089 ESPN brackets busted by that game.On the other end of the spectrum, ESPN reported that every pick was wrong on 30 of its brackets a nearly impossible feat in its own right even if a contestant were trying to pick all losers.

Conceptual VisualizationForget the Apple Watch as you know it. New patents discovered at the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) show that Apples looking to incorporate foldable tech into its smartwatch series. If these patents are foreshadowing the future, we could be looking at a dual-screen Apple watch that basically feels like a tiny flip phone on your wrist. That isnt all, the patent also looks to factor cameras into the wearable, giving you a tiny yet capable FaceTime device that lets you take video calls directly from your wrist.The patent, filed by Apple Design Lead Vladimir Krneta, details a potential watch with movable screens. While this doesnt immediately imply a flip-phone-style clamshell smartwatch, Apples patent document showcases drawings of one, leading to speculation that maybe thats the format Apples gravitating towards. The rest of the images in this article are visualizations based on the patent documents, created using AI. Although Apple has no immediate plans of launching a folding watch, the fact that theyve filed the patent means that the R&D branch is working on a potential use-case of a foldable wearable for your wrist with included cameras that turns the watch into something vastly more useful than a mere health wearable. But will it run Apple Intelligence???Designer: AppleConceptual VisualizationImage Credits: Apple via United States Patent and Trademark OfficeA user may want the display to be extended when using certain applications, making phone/ video calls, playing games, browsing the web, etc, the patent describes. On the other hand, the user may want the display to be folded for convenience and portability, such as when the user is going about their day-to-day activities, outdoor activities, etc.Conceptual VisualizationThe patent goes on to highlight other features, potentially turning the health wearable into a practical extension of your phone. For example, the wearable electronic device of the present disclosure can provide intuitive access and enhanced usability of features for convenient video calling, camera usage, web browsing, messaging, and interfacing social media.This description is supplemented by the proposed inclusion of multiple cameras something Apple (and even other makers) have notably left out of their smartwatches. The patent hints at possibly two cameras (like in a phone), one for external capture as well as a wearer-facing camera for video calls.Conceptual VisualizationIts worth noting that this patent was filed in 2023 and discovered only recently by news outlets combing through the millions of patents at the USPTO. What Apple is doing with the Watch is not too different from what they did with the iPhone, i.e., replace a larger device. The iPhone was supposed to be a powerful laptop that fits in your hand, and now, Apple is scaling it down further, turning the Watch into an iPhone that fits on your wrist.However, its best to take these patents with a massive grain of salt because Apple files hundreds of patents each year, hardly 1% of which actually translate to real products. If the foldable watch does become a reality, it wouldnt be the first wrist-worn foldable device. A long time ago, Motorola teased a bendable phone that was flexible enough to fit around your wrist like a chunky bracelet. Sonys even teased smartwatches with e-ink straps that change in color. Although both these are examples of products that never became mainstream, Apple tends to play the long game very well, waiting for the right time to launch the right, polished product. Until then, we apparently have a folding iPhone on the horizon!Conceptual VisualizationThe post Apple patents Foldable Watch with a Radical Design Featuring Dual-Screens and Cameras first appeared on Yanko Design.

If youre the type who collects lots of reading materials, you most likely want to have them proudly displayed or at the very least neatly collected. It might seem counter-intuitive given how most people read, but the most space-efficient way to arrange books would be to have them stand upright, their spines vertical and visible for everyone to see. Of course, they only look neat if theyre standing straight up and packed tightly, but that image literally falls down the moment you remove a single book.Bookends are objects made for this singular purpose, and while that purpose might indeed be trivial, its also an opportunity for more creative designs. Yes, some bookends look like elaborate sculptures and works of art that, while eye-catching, dont always make smart use of available space. These rather unusual bookends, however, marry Japanese minimalism and engineering to deliver a one-of-a-kind design that wont let your books down even if you take away some of them.Designer: Lihit LabThe simplest bookend design is a pair of L-shaped sheets of metal on opposite ends of a row of standing books. These keep the books upright but only if the books are crammed together. Remove one and the books start to lean. You can always adjust the bookends, of course, but doing that every time you take out one book is tedious and inefficient.The Firm Book End has a solution thats both clever and odd. Rather than two pieces standing on opposite ends, its a single long piece that has teeth-like stoppers that can be flipped up. When books are inserted into the bookend, the stoppers are pushed up as well. Just like with regular bookends, adjacent books can keep each other standing upright, but removing any one of them wont suddenly make the pile lean or fall.The trick can be found in those stoppers, which flip back down when theres nothing pushing it up. In other words, once a book is removed, the previously lifted stopper falls down and practically takes the place of that book, keeping the other books beside it still standing tall. It sounds rather over-engineered, and it probably is, but its still an interesting application of simple mechanics for such a simple problem.The Firm Book End also doesnt take up any space to the side of books, allowing you to squeeze a bit more material in between. Even better, you can actually connect a few of these to make a longer row, but sadly you cant divide them into narrower parts. The design also doesnt take into account books that are too thin or too thick to fit perfectly in between stoppers, so there might still be some slightly leaning books anyway.The post Ingenious bookends stop books from leaning even when you remove others first appeared on Yanko Design.

Hungryroot is a shockingly innovative meal kit. Though the results can be more like fast-casual meal assembly than cooking.