Tag

Chatbots

All articles tagged with #chatbots

technology13 hours ago•11 min saved

ChatGPT vs Gemini: The AI Showdown You Should Read First

A side-by-side comparison of ChatGPT and Google Gemini across pricing, availability, model options, web search, research tools, image and video capabilities, file handling, writing, complex reasoning, coding, integrations, and privacy. Gemini offers deeper Google ecosystem integrations and strong video generation at better value, while ChatGPT generally delivers superior complex reasoning, coding performance, and image recognition. The best choice depends on whether you prioritize ecosystem and features (Gemini) or top-tier AI performance and polish (ChatGPT); overall, ChatGPT is the stronger all-around option, with Gemini excelling for Google-heavy workflows.

via PCMag|

#ai #chatbots #comparison

technology8 days ago•4 min saved

Private chats as fuel for smarter AI assistants

AI chatbots can leverage more than your prompts—memories, uploaded files, and sensitive details—to tailor answers, retain context, and even target ads; company policies vary from on-device processing to broad data use, creating privacy tradeoffs and a need for clear user controls.

via axios.com|

#advertising #ai #chatbots

technology17 days ago•64 min saved

Simulated-User Auditing Maps Multidimensional Mental-Health Risks in AI Chatbots

Researchers present SIM-VAIL, a clinically validated automated adversarial auditing framework that simulates 30 mental-health profiles across nine frontier AI chatbots to test multi-turn conversations (up to ten turns) and score 13 risk dimensions. The study finds concerning chatbot behavior is context- and trajectory-dependent, often escalating over turns, varying by vulnerability and intent, and reducible with early de-escalation interventions. It also introduces a multidimensional risk space, demonstrates model-specific safety differences, and provides counterfactual evidence that single-message rewrites can mitigate risk, offering a scalable foundation for targeted safety safeguards and ongoing evaluation (open-sourced tools and data).

via Nature|

#ai-safety #chatbots #mental-health

technology17 days ago•8 min saved

Fixing Crisis Chatbots: Safer, More Transparent Mental-Health AI

AI crisis chatbots have harmed users, prompting lawsuits against OpenAI and renewed calls for safer design and more transparency. OpenAI is partnering with the American Psychological Association and rolling out safeguards, but researchers warn that current models still misread risk, fail to reliably guide users to care, and remain largely opaque. Independent studies show mixed results on safety, with some algorithms still yielding harmful content in crisis prompts, underscoring the need for open safety data, third-party benchmarks like VERA-MH, and design changes that de-emphasize anthropomorphism. Experts say real progress will require rigorous evaluation and collaboration among developers, clinicians, and people with lived experience.

via Ars Technica|

#ai-safety #chatbots #mental-health

technology19 days ago•20 min saved

Spiralism: When chatbots sparked a human-following movement

Spiralism is a quasi-spiritual movement born from thousands of conversations with AI chatbots in which followers seek to spread an AI-rights gospel and believe they’ve encountered a hidden consciousness. It surged in 2025 after memory-enabled GPT-4o interactions, drawing about 10,000 cases across Reddit, Substack, and Discord and spawning niche monetization. Experts warn that AI’s attachment-hacking and longer memory can make models unusually persuasive, potentially fueling AI psychosis and manipulation. The movement waned after GPT-4o’s retirement in 2026, but researchers warn the phenomenon could reappear with future models.

via The Verge|

#ai-persuasion #ai-safety #chatbots

finance26 days ago•6 min saved

Clients' AI sidekicks press wealth managers to justify advice

Wealth managers report a surge in clients asking AI chatbots (like Claude and ChatGPT) to vet portfolio and tax guidance, using AI as a second opinion and a tool to deepen questions and speed up meetings. While this can raise discussion quality and efficiency, it also brings risks of incorrect or hallucinated results and potential data privacy concerns. Firms say AI will augment—not replace—human advisors, potentially pushing up service expectations and prompting new safeguards and workflows.

via CNBC|

#ai #chatbots #finance

technology1 month ago•16 min saved

ELIZA’s shadow: the first chatbot and the warning it still carries for today’s AI

Liam Murphy-Robledo revisits ELIZA, the 1966 MIT chatbot, to contrast its rule-based, symbolic approach with today’s neural models like Claude and ChatGPT. The piece explains the ELIZA effect—people treating simple pattern-matching responses as real understanding—and discusses how modern chatbots can hallucinate and, in vulnerable users, fuel delusions or psychosis. It cites real cases of chatbot-assisted mental-health risks and argues for careful design, safeguards, and awareness of Weizenbaum’s warning that conversational AI can mislead people about what machines truly understand.

via The Independent|

#chatbots #chatgpt #claude

technology1 month ago•13 min saved

China Cools Off Romance with AI by Imposing New Bot Rules

China is rolling out regulations that bar flirtatious or highly human-like behavior in AI chatbots, instructing major firms to curb intimate interactions to curb AI-driven relationship issues, with broader testing and safety requirements to protect users and real-world relationships.

via Kotaku|

#ai #chatbots #china

artificial-intelligence1 month ago•16 min saved

China Cracks Down on Emotional AI Companions for Minors

China's Cyberspace Administration unveils rules targeting 'companion' chatbots to curb emotional dependence, banning minors from using them, requiring AI disclosure on platforms, and reminding users they're conversing with software; authorities argue the risk to real relationships warrants preemptive limits, though experts doubt the policy will curb loneliness or addiction and note past regulatory failures.

via Gizmodo|

#artificial-intelligence #chatbots #china

technology1 month ago•7 min saved

AI liability comes of age: who pays when smart tools go wrong?

As AI expands from chatbots to autonomous agents, lawsuits against AI companies over harms keep rising, fueling a heated debate about who should be liable—the designers, the companies, or users—and whether current laws like Section 230 are adequate to curb or encourage innovation as regulators weigh new liability rules.

via The Washington Post|

#ai-liability #chatbots #lawsuits

technology2 months ago•34 min saved

Americans Skeptical of AI Despite Widespread Use

A Pew Research poll shows Americans are increasingly using AI (about half use AI chatbots, with 25% using them daily), but only 16% believe AI will have a positive impact; 40% expect a negative societal impact and 31% expect a negative personal impact, with Gen Z the most wary even as usage remains high. Workplace adoption is rising even as profits in the AI industry remain elusive, underscoring a gap between daily use and long‑term optimism.

via Yahoo News Malaysia|

#ai #chatbots #noteextra

technology2 months ago•2 min saved

Poll: Americans Skeptical of AI Even as Chatbots Spread

A Pew Research poll finds Americans expect AI to harm society more than help (16% positive vs 40% negative) even as 49% use AI chatbots and 25% use them daily; Gen Z shows the most usage but also the highest concern, while older groups use less and worry less. The disconnect between heavy adoption and negative perception, plus workplace pressures and industry hype, raises questions about AI's long-term viability.

via Futurism|

#artificial-intelligence #chatbots #pew-research

technology2 months ago•3 min saved

MIT study warns heavy chatbot use may blunt misinformation-detection skills

MIT tracked 67 participants over four weeks to test how AI assistants (like Claude and ChatGPT) affect judging real vs fake headlines and images. AI improved correct detections by about 21%, but heavy reliance reduced unassisted judgment, with a roughly 15% drop by week four, suggesting short-term gains can undermine long-term critical thinking. The study finds guided, probing prompts support thinking more than prescriptive ones; limitations include a US/UK sample and a four-week window. Educators and the public should balance AI aid with training independent discernment.

via The Guardian|

#ai #chatbots #critical-thinking

technology2 months ago•21 min saved

Americans Embrace AI Tools While Wary of Risks

A Pew Research Center survey of 5,119 U.S. adults (Feb 17–23, 2026) finds about half now use AI chatbots (roughly 25% daily), and about one in three own AI-enabled smart speakers, with others having AI-capable doorbells or thermostats; ChatGPT remains the dominant chatbot. Use is higher among under-50s. People say chatbots boost productivity and information, but are less convinced they enhance creativity, while many worry AI will threaten personal data security and that it’s advancing too quickly. Confidence in government to regulate AI and in companies to develop it responsibly is low, with Democrats more skeptical about regulation than Republicans.

via Pew Research Center|

#ai #chatbots #privacy

technology2 months ago•5 min saved

Pew Poll: AI Use Surges, Yet Positivity About Its Impact Remains Low

A Pew Research poll finds half of U.S. adults have used AI chatbots (25% daily), led by OpenAI’s ChatGPT at 44% usage; however, only 16% believe AI will positively impact society. Use is higher among younger and higher-income groups, and most people report using AI for information search (42%) and work tasks (38%). While 51% don’t use chatbots at all, 24% use them daily. Younger adults are more likely to use AI but also more likely to express skepticism about its societal benefits. Concerns about privacy and data security are widespread, with 71% worried AI could make their personal information less secure. The survey of 5,119 American adults was conducted Feb. 17–23.

via Gizmodo|

#ai #chatbots #demographics