Plagiarizing essays. Cheating on tests. Spreading misinformation. The advent of new, powerful artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT has sparked concerns about the unintended consequences of the technology and debate over the ethical implications of its use. Despite concerns, A.I. assistants seem here to stay. After ChatGPT’s splashy debut late last year, Microsoft invested $10 billion … Read more
When you browse the web, an increasing number of sites and apps are asking for a piece of basic information that you probably hand over without hesitation: your email address. It may seem harmless, but when you enter your email, you’re sharing a lot more than just that. I’m hoping this column, which includes some … Read more
Smartphone cameras and the software that automatically processes the images have become so good at creating fantastic photos on the fly that most people don’t even carry a separate camera anymore (well, except for some Gen Z-ers going retro). There are plenty of apps that can slap a filter on a picture to make it … Read more
When Amazon released Alexa in 2014, the company had big dreams for the technology. The voice assistant, the company suggested, could succeed smartphones as the next essential consumer interface. Alexa, which was embedded in Amazon’s voice-activated Echo smart speakers, soon became one of the most popular voice assistants, alongside Apple’s Siri and Google’s Assistant. But … Read more
While many of us were unplugging from the internet to spend time with loved ones over the holidays, LastPass, the maker of a popular security program for managing digital passwords, delivered the most unwanted gift. It published details about a recent security breach in which cybercriminals had obtained copies of customers’ password vaults, potentially exposing … Read more
Each year, I look ahead at what’s new in technology to predict the tech that may affect your life in a big way — and the tech that will most likely be a fad. Before we get into that, though, let’s take a quick look back at 2022. Hardware was very “meh.” This year’s iPhone, … Read more
The past few weeks have felt like a honeymoon phase for our relationship with tools powered by artificial intelligence. Many of us have prodded ChatGPT, a chatbot that can generate responses with startlingly natural language, with tasks like writing stories about our pets, composing business proposals and coding software programs. At the same time, many … Read more
My stepfather died last spring, and I inherited his iPad. Because I have not reset the device, it contains Jeff’s old Facebook account, text messages and email. It can feel awkward, like I’m walking around the house in his XXL cat T-shirt and khakis. But I like having a place to go where I’m not … Read more