Claire chatted to Tanja Katharina Kaiser from the University of Technology Nuremberg about how applying evolutionary principles can help robot teams make better decisions. Tanja Katharina Kaiser is a senior researcher heading the Multi-Robot Systems Satellite Lab at the University of Technology Nuremberg (UTN) in Germany. She and her team focus on the development of adaptive multi-robot systems to solve complex real-world tasks using artificial intelligence. Tanja received her doctorate in robotics from the University of Lübeck in Germany in 2022. Before joining UTN, she held postdoctoral research positions at the Technical University of Dresden and the University of Konstanz.

Following the release of rival Anthropic's Claude for Education, OpenAI has announced that its 20 ChatGPT Plus tier will be free for college students until the end of May. The offer comes just in time for final exams and will provide features like OpenAI's most advanced LLM, GPT-4o and an all-new image generation tool. "We are offering a Plus discount for students on a limited-time basis in the US and Canada," the company wrote in a FAQ. "This is an experimental consumer program and we may or may not expand this to more schools and countries over time." On top of the aforementioned features, ChatGPT Plus will offer students benefits like priority access during peak usage times and higher message limits.

If you've noticed a new light blue circle appear in your WhatsApp chats recently, and wondered what it was, Meta has recently expanded its implementation of Meta AI into new markets--and now, it's in yours. While it began rolling out in the US and Canada in 2023, more recently it has started arriving on devices across countries in Europe, including the UK, as well as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. In fact, the artificial intelligence-based chatbot is rolling out across the entire Meta ecosystem, including Messenger and Instagram, and can provide you with a few basic features like answering questions, generating text or creating content. However, its appearance has also raised privacy concerns with users, and questions as to whether it can be turned off. Here's what you need to know.

We've faced Liberation Day, and everyone is still scrambling to get their heads around how Trump's tariffs will impact the struggling economy. Stephen Colbert breaks the past 24 hours in the Late Show clip above, from the stock market reaction to the way Trump may or may not have calculated his tariff formula. "Everybody's trying to figure out the logic behind these tariffs, and according to some guys on the internet who actually did this, the formula is apparently what you get if you ask ChatGPT to make tariff policy," says Colbert, referencing an article by professor and former NYT columnist Paul Krugman. "Ohhh, busted! Somebody cheated on your tariff homework. 'Oh God, I didn't finish my project for Liberation Day! Or start it, or decide what it is! Help me out, Secretary Robo-brain.'"

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT have been designed to replicate human speech as closely as possible to improve the user experience. But as AI gets more and more sophisticated, it's becoming difficult to discern these computerised models from real people. Now, scientists at University of California San Diego (UCSD) reveal that two of the leading chatbots have reached a major milestone. Both GPT, which powers OpenAI's ChatGPT, and LLaMa, which is behind Meta AI on WhatsApp and Facebook, have passed the famous Turing test. Devised by British WWII codebreaker Alan Turing Alan Turing in 1950, the Turing test or'imitation game' is a standard measure to test intelligence in a machine.

With his flowing locks, long beard, and worn robes, Jesus is one of the most instantly recognisable figures in the Western world. So it comes as no surprise that his face is also regularly spotted in inanimate objects. This is due to'face pareidolia' - a common brain phenomenon in which a person sees faces in random images or patterns. 'Sometimes we see faces that aren't really there,' explained Robin Kramer, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, at University of Lincoln, in an article for The Conversation. 'You may be looking at the front of a car or a burnt piece of toast when you notice a face-like pattern. 'This is called face pareidolia and is a mistake made by the brain's face detection system.'

Stanley Zhong had a 4.42 grade point average, a nearly perfect SAT score, had bested adults in competitive coding competitions and started his own electronic signing service all while still in high school. When it came time to apply to colleges, Zhong's family wasn't overly concerned about his prospects even amid an increasingly competitive admissions environment. But, by the end of his senior year in Palo Alto in 2023, Zhong received rejection letters to 16 of the 18 colleges where he applied, including five University of California campuses that his father had figured would be safety schools. "It was surprise upon surprise upon surprise, and then it turned into frustration and, eventually, anger," his father, Nan Zhong, told The Times in a recent interview. "And I think both Stanley and I felt the same way, that something is really funky here."

The stock market collapse in January, prompted by the sudden fervor for the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough DeepSeek AI, and its apparently much cheaper computing approach, might make you think that companies are dramatically reducing their spending on chips and systems for AI. A generative AI conference on Wednesday in New York, hosted by the Bloomberg Intelligence unit of Bloomberg, left me with the opposite impression: the hunger to expand the use of generative AI is so great that spending is set to continue to drive enormous investment. Here's everything you need to know Titled "Generative AI: Scaling Laws Post DeepSeek," the daylong event featured constant references to how demand will drive greater spending. "We had ten panels today, and not a single person on those panels said we have more capacity than we need," said Mandeep Singh, a senior technology analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, and an organizer of the event. "And no one was talking about a bubble" in infrastructure, added Singh.

You are a small, pixelated human living in a hamlet known as Pelican Town. On your late grandfather's farm, life is all about toiling the land, improving the tiny village, and forming meaningful relationships with fellow townspeople. That bucolic simplicity is at the heart of Stardew Valley, a 2016 farming simulation that turned turnip harvesting into an uplifting community activity. Nearly ten years later, the game has sold more than 41 million copies, becoming the main example of a growing genre known as "cozy games." Mary Kish, Head of Community at streaming giant Twitch, was one of the first people to review Stardew Valley after it launched on PCs in 2016. "Stardew Valley's meditative activities often lead to personal reflection in the real world," Kish wrote in her GameSpot review of the farming sim.

Managing your finances doesn't have to be a headache -- especially with the right budgeting app at your fingertips. Whether you're trying to track everyday spending, save for a big purchase or just keep a closer eye on your subscriptions, there's an app that can help. With Mint shutting down, plenty of users have been looking for the best budget apps to replace it, and luckily there are plenty of solid alternatives. From AI-powered spending trackers to apps that break down your expenses into easy-to-follow categories, the best budgeting tools help you take control of your money without the hassle of spreadsheets. Some focus on automating savings, while others give you a deep dive into your finances with powerful analytics and custom reporting. If you're still searching for the right Mint alternative, check out our guide to the best budgeting apps to replace Mint to find the best fit for your needs. If you're not sure where to start, we've rounded up the top budgeting apps to help you track spending, save smarter, and stick to your financial goals. No pun intended, but what I like about Quicken Simplifi is its simplicity. Whereas other budgeting apps try to distinguish themselves with dark themes and customizable emoji, Simplifi has a clean user interface, with a landing page that you just keep scrolling through to get a detailed overview of all your stats.