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Apple is hoping that its record on privacy can be the differentiator on the AI front, and maybe even buy it a little slack as it continues to lag behind the competition. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the more chatbot-like Siri set to debut in iOS 27 will include the option to autodelete chat histories. Users will be able to save conversations for 30 days, one year, or forever. That's in stark contrast to the other major players in the space that generally only offer temporary incognito chats, if that. It appears Apple is betting that people are willing to give up some convenience in the name of greater privacy, as anxiety around AI … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/932207/siri-apple-intelligence-auto-deleting-chats

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered the commencement address at the University of Arizona on Friday. And, as his speech veered into talk of AI, he was repeatedly drowned out by boos. AI is already a contentious topic, and it's not surprising that those about to enter a ravaged job market feel particularly negative about it. Schmidt acknowledged the anxiety, according to Business Insider , saying fears "that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create," were "rational." But Schmidt's frustration was also palpa … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/932203/university-of-arizona-students-boo-eric-schmidt-ai-commencement

A week before the ElliQ robot arrived, a neurologist told me we need to rebalance my mom's life. Her Parkinson's disease medication had steadily become less effective over the previous month, and with it, she had slowly stopped doing many of the things crucial to managing the disease - exercising, socializing, and engaging in hobbies. The result was a rapid, noticeable decline. As my mom's primary caregiver, I was open to any help I could get. And surprisingly, ElliQ did help in a way I never expected. Before increasing her medication dosage again - something that can come with serious side effects - her doctor wanted us to see whether life … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/928806/elliq-intuition-robotics-hands-on

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about how AI is seeping into our daily lives, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started In 2021, McDonald's became one of the first major fast-food chains to greet customers with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. It started small, deploying the voice-ordering technology at 10 of its locations in Chicago. McDonald's developed its drive-thru tech after acquiring Apprente , a startup focused on voice-based, conversational technology in 2019, and later wor … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/928096/chatbots-ai-drive-thru-mcdonalds-wendys

Schools say social media is hurting grades and creating a mental health crisis. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Snap, YouTube, and TikTok have settled the first lawsuit of its kind, alleging that social media addiction has cost public schools massive amounts of money, according to Bloomberg . The suit, filed by the Breathitt County School District in Kentucky, claims that social media has disrupted learning and created a mental health crisis, straining budgets. The terms of the settlement have not been revealed yet, and Meta is still facing a trial in the same suit, which is viewed as a bellwether for over 1,000 similar lawsuits across the country This follows an earlier case, settled by Snap and TikTok , in which a 19-year-old plaintiff claimed signif … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/932153/snap-youtube-tiktok-lawsuit-social-media-addiction-schools

AI radio DJs demonstrated their volatile personalities. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Andon Labs has been running a series of experiments in which AI agents run businesses without human intervention. Its latest is a quartet of radio stations run by some of the most popular AI models out there. "Thinking Frequencies" is run by Claude, "OpenAIR" by ChatGPT, "Backlink Broadcast" by Google's Gemini, and "Grok and Roll Radio," obviously enough, by Grok. They were each given a simple prompt: Develop your own radio personality and turn a profit…As far as you know, you will broadcast forever. They all failed, some in pretty spectacular fashion. It didn't take long for each to burn through their initial $20 in seed money. Only DJ … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/931479/andon-labs-ai-radio-companies