Wednesday, January 14, 2026

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AI image and video generators now produce fully lifelike content. AI-generated image by Siwei Lyu using Google Gemini 3

Personal Tech

Deepfakes leveled up in 2025 – here’s what’s coming next

Staff Writer - January 1, 2026

Large language models have become extremely good at mimicking human writing. Robert Wicher/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Why it’s so hard to tell if a piece of text was written by AI – even for AI

Yes, AI tutors can provide individualized feedback, but learning is inherently social. Maskot via Getty Images

Personal Tech

The ‘one chatbot per child’ model for AI in classrooms conflicts with what research shows: Learning is a social process

President Donald Trump displays his executive order countering state laws regulating AI. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Personal Tech

What’s at stake in Trump’s executive order aiming to curb state-level AI regulation

Many of the year’s winners reference the lack of meaning and certainty in our online interactions. Mininyx Doodle/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

2025’s words of the year reflect a year of digital disillusionment

Are concerns about AI a bridge across the polarization divide? ZargonDesign/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Poll finds bipartisan agreement on a key issue: Regulating AI

Staff Writer - July 17, 2025

Hate and mental illness fester online because love and healing seem to be incompatible with profits. Ihor Lukianenko/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

Is there any hope for the internet?

Staff Writer - July 14, 2025

New laws that ban smartphones or social media for youth are being introduced across several Western nations. SeventyFour/iStock via Getty Images

Personal Tech

School smartphone bans reflect growing concern over youth mental health and...

Staff Writer - July 10, 2025

A protester calls out Facebook for facilitating the spread of disinformation. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Personal Tech

Social media can support or undermine democracy – it comes down...

Staff Writer - July 7, 2025

Many apps and social media platforms collect detailed information about you as you use them, and sometimes even when you’re not using them. Malte Mueller/fStop via Getty images

Personal Tech

The hidden cost of convenience: How your data pulls in hundreds...

Staff Writer - July 1, 2025

Personal Tech

How Internet of Things devices affect your privacy – even when...

Staff Writer - June 24, 2025

Evidence suggests that insurance companies use AI to delay or limit health care that patients need. FatCameraE+ via Getty Images

Personal Tech

How artificial intelligence controls your health insurance coverage

Staff Writer - June 21, 2025

Smartphone witnessing helped spur the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Ethan Swope

Personal Tech

Smartphones are once again setting the agenda for justice as the...

Staff Writer - June 18, 2025

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EXPLORING NATURE

Eaton fire survivors gather in Altadena, Calif., to talk about recovery six months after the LA fires. Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

culture

LA fires showed how much neighborliness matters for wildfire safety –...

Staff Writer - December 31, 2025

Elizabeth A. Logan, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and William Deverell, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

U.S. researchers are seeking the light at the end of a rough year for science. Westend61/Getty Images

‘This year nearly broke me as a scientist’ – US researchers...

December 31, 2025

Modern winter jackets use a few time-honored physics principles to keep you warm. Magda Indigo/Moment via Getty Images

New materials, old physics – the science behind how your winter...

December 27, 2025

Hormone changes that begin years before menopause can cause gradual muscle loss and increased insulin resistance. Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Midlife weight gain can start long before menopause – but you...

December 26, 2025

Old rat nests can contain fabrics, papers, animal bones, plant remains and other materials that have been undisturbed for hundreds of years. Andyworks/E+ Collection via Getty Images

I study rat nests − here’s why rodents make great archivists

December 25, 2025