Thursday, May 14, 2026

Personal Tech

Latest

Tarot readings can encourage self-reflection. But what happens when you turn to AI to interpret the cards? Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Sally Hansen

Personal Tech

How tarot readers are using AI – and what it says about our growing reliance on chatbots for emotional support and advice

Staff Writer - May 13, 2026

Teens contribute in ways that go far beyond organized volunteering. Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Teens aren’t as disengaged as you may think: What adults get wrong about adolescents’ civic contributions

Sycophancy eats away at truth and trust. Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images

Personal Tech

AI chatbots can prioritize flattery over facts – and that carries serious risks

People tend to be offended when they get a personal note written by AI – if they know. Ekaterina Buravleva/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Most people do not realize when a personal message they receive was written by AI, study finds

When it comes to machine-produced ‘literature,’ does it really matter whether the outputs can pass for original art? J Studios/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Thousands of AI‑written, edited or ‘polished’ books are being sold – an eerie echo of Orwell’s ‘novel‑writing machines’

A student uses the unlocking mechanism as he leaves school for the day. Keith Srakocic/AP Photo

Personal Tech

We collected data on how 779 Michigan school districts are regulating...

Staff Writer - April 9, 2026

Ghostwriting sits at the nexus of collaboration and deception. EThamPhoto/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Personal Tech

If using ChatGPT is cheating, what about ghostwriting? The old debate...

Staff Writer - March 25, 2026

Charitable crowdfunding is on the rise, but the IRS hasn’t caught up yet. wassam siddique/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Personal Tech

Crowdfunded generosity isn’t taxable – but IRS regulations haven’t kept up...

Staff Writer - February 23, 2026

AI poses new safety risks to humanity. sarayut Thaneera/Moment via Getty Images

Personal Tech

OpenAI has deleted the word ‘safely’ from its mission – and...

Staff Writer - February 15, 2026

Generative AI is enabling people to swamp all manner of institutions with documents, forms and messages. sekulicn/E+ via Getty Images

Personal Tech

AI-generated text is overwhelming institutions – setting off a no-win ‘arms...

Staff Writer - February 5, 2026

AI is making it hard for the music industry to embrace innovation while keeping it real. elenabs/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Grammys’ AI rules aim to keep music human, but large gray...

Staff Writer - February 1, 2026

Many workers feel helpless – and anticipate widespread economic displacement – as companies scramble to incorporate AI into their business models. imagedepotpro/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Feeling unprepared for the AI boom? You’re not alone

Staff Writer - January 24, 2026

When generative AI was left to its own devices, its outputs landed on a set of generic images – what researchers called ‘visual elevator music.’ Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

Personal Tech

AI-induced cultural stagnation is no longer speculation − it’s already happening

Staff Writer - January 22, 2026

12 3...22 Page 1 of 22

EXPLORING NATURE

This screenshot juxtaposes a fossil of stem from the plant Archaeopitys eastmanii (bottom) and a close-up of its vascular system (top). The specimen was found in Kentucky and is over 350 million years old. Ingrid C. Romero, CC BY-SA

Education

Galaxies of life are collecting dust in museums – digitizing microscope...

Staff Writer - May 5, 2026

Ingrid C. Romero, Smithsonian Institution and Scott L. Wing, Smithsonian Institution Approximately 145 million: That’s the number of specimens...

Gas prices were well over $4 a gallon on April 28, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What’s in the price of a gallon of gas?

May 1, 2026

The new federal classification of marijuana regulates only medical use; recreational use is still determined by state laws. tvirbickis/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Reclassification of marijuana opens doors for much‑needed medical research into the...

April 29, 2026

An artisanal miner holds a cobalt stone at a mine near Kolwezi, Congo, in 2022. About 20,000 people work there among toxic materials. Junior Kannah/AFP via Getty Images

The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy...

April 28, 2026

Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate Mass at the Malabo stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on April 23, 2026, on the last day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. AP Photo/Misper Apawu

‘Just war’ has guided Catholic thinking on conflict for centuries –...

April 26, 2026