Microsoft's Bing chatbot is offering replies in three different tones as it seeks to address some criticisms of the service. The search engine's chatbot, powered by the same technology behind ChatGPT, will now give users options for three types of response: creative ("creating surprise and entertainment"), balanced ("reasonable and coherent") or precise ("concise, prioritising accuracy"). The new-look Bing is being rolled out gradually but generated wild responses in some interactions shortly after its launch last month, including declaring its love for a New York Times journalist. This prompted Microsoft to add some restrictions, which resulted in Bing's chatbot refusing to answer some queries. Microsoft's head of web services, Mikhail Parakhin, said the updated Bing should now make fewer refusals and "hallucinations", or false replies. Referring to the tone options, Parakhin said he preferred the "creative" tone, although "precise" was "much more factual".

Whether it is managing childcare, operating on a patient or cooking a Sunday dinner, there are many occasions when an extra pair of arms would come in, well, handy. Now researchers say such human augmentation could be on the horizon, suggesting additional robotic body parts could be designed to boost our capabilities. Tamar Makin, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the MRC cognition and brain unit at Cambridge University, said the approach could increase productivity. "If you want an extra arm while you're cooking in the kitchen so you can stir the soup while chopping the vegetables, you might have the option to wear and independently control an extra robotic arm," she said. The approach has precedence: Dani Clode, a designer and colleague of Makin's at Cambridge University, has already created a 3D-printed thumb that can be added to any hand.

Taipei, Taiwan – As the arrival of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots sends shockwaves through the global tech industry, China is racing to produce versions of its own. China's search-engine giant Baidu has announced plans to release its chatbot ERNIE sometime in March, following the pioneering launch of ChatGPT, which has prompted existential questions about the future of sectors ranging from education to journalism and healthcare. Chinese tech shares rallied in response to the news and authorities have pledged to beef up their support of the sector. Similar projects to ERNIE are under way at Chinese tech giants Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and top institutions including the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence. China's Ministry of Science and Technology said last week it would push for the integration of AI across Chinese industry, while cities including Beijing have also announced plans to back developers.

With Google's recent partnership with Mercedes-Benz, a "next-generation navigation experience" is not too far away. In this deal, Google Maps will provide geospatial data and navigation capabilities for the car manufacturer, while Mercedes-Benz will use Google Cloud's AI and machine learning capabilities to create, train and deploy AI models at speed. This will enhance customer experience, alongside building faster and more efficient data processing platforms to analyse fleet data. Additionally, it also plans to leverage Google's open infrastructure to secure and scale from on-prem to the edge to the cloud, across its technology ecosystem. Google chief Sundar Pichai said that the company will provide AI and data capabilities to accelerate their sustainability efforts, advance autonomous driving, and create an enhanced customer experience.

Ford wants to build cars that repossess themselves, although the technology can't be used on current models like the Ford Puma Ford has been granted a patent for a system that allows a car to repossess itself if the owner fails to keep up with payments. Ford envisions the car driving itself back to the showroom – or to a scrapyard if the value is low. But a security expert warns that the proposed system could instead be used to steal cars remotely. The patent, which was filed in 2021 but granted only this week, describes how the system would kick in if the car owner failed to respond to messages informing them they were falling behind with payments. At that point, a series of measures would be used to make the car first unpleasant to drive, and then impossible.

Carronne Sawyer took the week off work to get her husband Alonzo out of jail. She knew he was asleep on the couch with her at the time police alleged he assaulted a bus driver near Baltimore and stole their smartphone. But an intelligence analyst using face recognition software had labeled him a possible match with the suspect seen on CCTV footage from the bus, police records show, and an officer had confirmed it. At a police station and in a meeting with her husband's former parole officer, the person who had confirmed the software's suggested match, Carronne drew attention to details in photos on her phone taken recently by her daughter. Her husband is taller than the suspect in the video, she explained, and has facial hair and gaps between his teeth.

Schoolchildren are allowed to quote from content created by ChatGPT in their essays, the International Baccalaureate has said. The IB, which offers an alternative qualification to A-levels and Highers, said students could use the chatbot but must be clear when they were quoting its responses. ChatGPT has become a sensation since its public release in November, with its ability to produce plausible responses to text prompts, including requests to write essays. While the prospect of ChatGPT-based cheating has alarmed teachers and the academic profession, Matt Glanville, the IB's head of assessment principles and practice, said the chatbot should be embraced as "an extraordinary opportunity". However, Glanville told the Times, the responses must be treated as any other source in essays.

As it analyzes that sea of good and bad information from across the internet, an L.L.M. learns to do one particular thing: guess the next word in a sequence of words. It operates like a giant version of the autocomplete technology that suggests the next word as you type out an email or an instant message on your smartphone. Given the sequence "Tom Cruise is a ____," it might guess "actor." When you chat with a chatbot, the bot is not just drawing on everything it has learned from the internet. It is drawing on everything you have said to it and everything it has said back.

Josh.ai, an artificial intelligence (AI) firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, is working on a prototype integration utilizing OpenAI's ChatGPT structure. Josh.ai is well-recognized for creating a voice-controlled home automation system, as reported by Business Insider. These days, you can ask Siri or Alexa to do things like turn on the lights, give you the temp readings in your bedroom, or play a certain video or music. Otherwise, you may be asked, "Which of the 15 devices you have designated lights would you want to operate?" or "It is now 53 degrees in Kathmandu." But what if your voice assistant is not only able to provide accurate responses but also able to give smart solutions to vague questions?

Fictional humans have been falling in love with robots for decades, in novels like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), The Silver Metal Lover (1981) and films like Her (2013). These stories have allowed authors to explore themes like forbidden relationships, modern alienation and the nature of love. When those stories were written, machines were not quite advanced enough to spark emotional feelings from most users. But recently, a new spate of artificial intelligence (AI) programs have been released to the public that act like humans and reciprocate gestures of affection. And some humans have fallen for these bots--hard. Message boards on Reddit and Discord have become flooded with stories of users who have found themselves deeply emotionally dependent on digital lovers, much like Theodore Twombly in Her.