Humanity is in danger from "AI experiments" and they must be paused to ensure that we are not at risk, according to more than 1,000 experts. Researchers need to stop working on the development of new artificial intelligence systems for the next six months – and if they will not, then governments need to step in, they warned. That is the grave conclusion of a new open letter signed by experts including academics in the field and technology leaders including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The letter notes that the positive possibilities of AI are significant. It says that humanity "can enjoy a flourishing future" with the technology, and that we can now enjoy an "AI summer" in which we adapt to what has already been created.

AI-generated deepfakes showing Donald Trump making a run from authorities and being arrested have flooded Twitter ahead of the former president's possible indictment this week. Mr Trump could be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury as soon as this week and potentially charged with falsifying business records connected to hush money payments during his 2016 campaign to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. An indictment in New York would make Mr Trump the first former president to face a criminal charge. The fabricated images, now viewed over four million times, show Mr Trump resisting as officers resembling those from the New York Police Department attempt to restrain him. Some images fabricated scenarios where the 45th president is seen struggling to run away from the officers.

Get Simon Calder's Travel email Fast, intelligent, cheap: ChatGPT – the AI chatbot system capable of spewing out facts like a caffeinated Stephen Fry – is the hot new thing on the block that's here to claim everything you hold dear. Or so it seems to a slew of journalists who have begun questioning their credentials now big tech is here to do what they do best – except faster and for less money. In recent months, we've seen the loquacious creation firing out answers to life's big questions, writing haikus, job applications and even producing a university paper in 20 minutes and bagging a 2:2 grade in the process. With its seemingly infinite ability to regurgitate facts about everything from Jan Morris to Mauritian cuisine, some journalists have begun to worry that their jobs might be at risk. Lisa Gibbs, the director of news partnerships at the Associated Press, noted in a December Google News Initiative talk that while "robots are not the journalists of the future – they are a journalist's assistant, a very good one", she added that her organisation could "find news faster and break news faster" with the aid of AI. Elsewhere, Reuters has used an in-house AI programme called Lynx Insight since 2018 and The Washington Post has produced machine-written snippets of copy using its in-house robot report, Heliograf.

Microsoft's new ChatGPT-powered AI has been sending "unhinged" messages to users, and appears to be breaking down. The system, which is built into Microsoft's Bingsearch engine, is insulting its users, lying to them and appears to have been forced into wondering why it exists at all. Microsoft unveiled the new AI-powered Bing last week, positioning its chat system as the future of search. It was praised both by its creators and commentators, who suggested that it could finally allow Bing to overtake Google, which is yet to release an AI chatbot of its own or integrate that technology into its search engine. But in recent days, it became clear that introduction included Bing making factual errors as it answered questions and summarised web pages.

Microsoft's new ChatGPT-powered AI has been sending "unhinged" messages to users, and appears to be breaking down. The system, which is built into Microsoft's Bingsearch engine, is insulting its users, lying to them and appears to have been forced into wondering why it exists at all. Microsoft unveiled the new AI-powered Bing last week, positioning its chat system as the future of search. It was praised both by its creators and commentators, who suggested that it could finally allow Bing to overtake Google, which is yet to release an AI chatbot or search engine of its own. But in recent days, it became clear that introduction included Bing making factual errors as it answered questions and summarised web pages.

OpenAI's artificial intelligence chatbot has passed the final exam of an MBA programme designed for Pennsylvania's Wharton School, according to a new study. Professor Christian Terwiesch, who authored the study, noted that educators should be concerned that their students might be cheating on homework assignments and final exams using such AI chatbots. The yet-to-be peer-reviewed research found AI chatbot GPT-3 did an "amazing job at basic operations management and process analysis questions including those that are based on case studies". GPT-3 – an older version of the ChatGPT bot that has gained prominence – scored somewhere between a B- and B on the exam, according to Dr Terwiesch. The study noted that the AI displayed a "remarkable ability to automate some of the skills of highly compensated knowledge workers in general and specifically the knowledge workers in the jobs held by MBA graduates including analysts, managers and consultants".

After a year in which war ravaged Ukraine, stubbornly high inflation brought the global economy to the brink of recession, a "tripledemic" revived pandemic fears, and limited progress was made on the climate crisis, it would be understandable to approach 2023 with a sense of unease. And yet a series of scientific breakthroughs in 2022 are bringing reasons for optimism for the new year. From fusion energy to improved vaccines and organ transplants, an artificial intelligence revolution to diverted asteroids, technologies previously found only in science fiction came to fruition. Those landmark discoveries, some the culmination of decades of work, offer grounds for hope. Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad?

The latest iteration of a "mind-blowing" artificial intelligence chatbot has led to speculation that it could revolutionise entire industries and even potentially replace popular tools like Google's search engine. ChatGPT, created by leading AI research lab OpenAI, serves as a general purpose language model capable of understanding and generating human-like responses to a wide range of queries. Unlike traditional search engines, which rely on keyword matching to provide results, ChatGPT uses a combination of advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence to understand the intent behind a user's query. This means users can search for information using natural language, rather than having to use specific keywords or phrases, potentially making it more intuitive as a tool for finding information. "The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer followup questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests," OpenAI explained in a blog post.

An exoskeleton "boot" that allows people to walk 9% faster with 17% less effort has been developed by scientists. This robotic footwear comes with a motor that works with calf muscles to give the wearer an extra push with every step, researchers from Stanford University in the US said. The team said its work, which is published in the journal Nature, could help people with mobility impairments "move throughout the world as they like". Patrick Slade, who worked on the exoskeleton as a PhD student at the Stanford Biomechatronics Laboratory and is the first author on the study, told the PA news agency: "There are a number of clinical populations we hope to help including older adults, people with muscle weakness from a variety of conditions like stroke, and specific injury recoveries for things like achilles tendon strain. "We are starting to perform studies to explore the benefits of using our device with older adults.

An artificial intelligence known as'Dragonfly' has been used by researchers to design more efficient batteries. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon have used the tool to design better electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, which would allow the batteries to charge faster. An electrolyte moves ions – atoms that have been charged by either gaining or losing an electron – between the two electrodes in a battery. Lithium ions are created at the negative electrode, the anode, and flow to the cathode where they gain electrons. When a battery charges, the ions move back to the anode.