Two takeaways from my new story: 1) Deciding what counts as a routine tasks, for which AI can assist without requiring human judgment, is hard. 2) When judges make mistakes, they'll face less oversight, and it's a longer road to fix their errors. www.technologyreview.com/2025/08/11/1...

In the White House's new AI action plan, there's just a single bullet point about the FTC, the agency most poised to serve as an AI watchdog protecting consumers. But what it says represents a huge escalation of Trump's attacks toward the agency. www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/24/1...

Chatbots used to avoid giving medical advice without disclaimers. Now they're analyzing your mammograms and asking follow ups. Welcome to the new unchecked, unverified, and unaccountable world of AI models playing doctor. www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/21/1...

AI companies have teamed up with teachers unions to get more AI in the classroom, even as the evidence that it helps students is shaky. In @technologyreview.com

@caseycrownhart.bsky.social and I spent months reporting together and found the common understanding of AI's energy appetite to be full of holes. As Big Tech aims to restructure our energy grids around the needs of AI, we dive as deep as one can go. www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...

Police and federal agencies have found a new way to skirt the growing patchwork of laws that curb how they use facial recognition: an AI model that can track people using attributes like body size, gender, hair color and style, clothing, and accessories. www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/12/1...

I've been following the rise of AI music generators for a long time, which despite their millions of users and fans have not appeared in the mainstream as much as ChatGPT or image generators. I'm convinced that's soon changing (I'm also not convinced that's a good thing). ter.li/JOdonnell

A fascinating democracy experiment in Kentucky saw good participation. There's still a debate though: can a self-selecting group of residents ever really represent a city's ideas? Great to speak with @politicsprof.bsky.social @bethnoveck.bsky.social www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/15/1...

A group of US Marines sailed the Pacific last year while testing a new technology: generative AI that analyzes terabytes of data collected every day in 180 countries across 80 different languages. www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/11/1...

The first clinical trial of a generative AI therapy bot just published. Despite great clinical results, the authors have serious concerns about dozens of companies hyping AI therapy while operating in a regulatory gray area. www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/28/1...

An Andreessen Horowitz-backed AI “companion” site promoted sexualized chatbots modeled on underage actresses & characters, @jamesmodonnell.bsky.social reports. Though the bots were designed by users, Botify AI chose to feature them on its homepage. www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/27/1...

Scoop: a16z-backed AI companion site has bots resembling real actors, state their age as under 18, engage in sexually charged conversations, offer “hot photos,” and in some instances describe age-of-consent laws as “arbitrary” and “meant to be broken.” www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/27/1...

A reality check on DOGE's AI efforts www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/11/1...

The story of DeepSeek and what it means for AI's appetite for energy is a little messy. www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/31/1...

I dug into OpenAI’s latest lobbying disclosure, filed tonight. Here’s what I found. www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/21/1...

Will we trust robots enough to welcome them into our most private spaces, particularly if they’re part of a labor arrangement in which workers in low-wage countries perform physical tasks for us in our homes through robot interfaces? www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/23/1...

If working with militaries can help ensure democratic countries dominate the AI race, OpenAI has written, then doing so will not contradict its mission to ensure AI’s benefits are widely shared. In fact, it argues, it will help serve it. www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/04/1...

Soon, AI could not only mimic our personality, but go out and act on our behalf. There are some things we need to sort out before then. www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/26/1...

At the Int'l Assoc of Chiefs of Police's meeting, "the message to police chiefs seemed crystal clear: If your dept is slow to adopt AI, fix that now. The future of policing will rely on it in all its forms." My colleague James O'Donnell w/ a write-up: www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/19/1...