Artificial Intelligence

Can computers think? Since the 1950s we have been trying to make computers that mimic the brain's complex neural networks. There has been success with specific challenges, such as when Deep Blue beat chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, but consciousness and general intelligence remain long term goals. More recent developments such as IBM's question answering system Watson, and Apple's intelligent personal assistant Siri have focused on answering user's closed questions.

A forensic murder scene, several toy forensic investigators look at an outline of a body on a circuit board

These are the traits most likely to make you a killer, according to police AI

AI is being trained to spot future killers – and it’s already making eerily accurate predictions. But can we trust it to get it right every time?

A woman sits on the floor, leaning on her bed, glumly looking at her phone.

AI therapy bots can be terrible. Unless you use these prompts

People are using AI chatbots as psychotherapists. We asked an actual therapist if that's a good idea

A hand holding a photo showing a person walking into a town into the hills held over the same place.

Is artificial intelligence giving us false memories?

It's only a problem that could get worse

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Messages flash across the screen in different colours.

These are the worst ChatGPT prompts for the environment, study claims

Politeness costs nothing? Tell that to the planet

A woman uses her smartphone in a dark room, in purple light.

What is copypasta, and can it stop my data being used to train AI?

Here is how to stop social media from using your data for training AIs

A person looking at a digital clone of themself.

How easily could AI create a digital doppelgänger of me?

Turns out, it's very easy for AI to create a digital doppelgänger of you. Here's how worried you should be about that

Facial Recognition deepfake Technology

Deepfakes just got even harder to detect: Now they have heartbeats

A new leap in AI-generated content means deepfake detectors could be falling dangerously behind

The stars and stripes flag flying at the Capitol Building, Washington, USA.

Scientists analysed 8 million US speeches – and uncovered a surprising trend

Machine learning has revealed how US political rhetoric shifted from evidence to emotion over the past 140 years

Two hands holding and using a phone.

Facebook is still experimenting on you in really strange ways, research claims

Few people fully understand how social algorithms work – and it's having major consequences

Happy man looking through coiled toy

We may be getting a key sign of autism all wrong

It's less about social skills than you might think

A Spider-like figure in the Nazca Lines

How we're about to solve the world’s greatest archaeological puzzle

Artificial intelligence is helping archaeologists unlock Earth’s oldest secrets.

A photo of a sand timer lying on its side with a model of a brain next to it to represent brain ageing

Dementia breakthrough: Science can now measure your brain’s true ‘biological age’

Combining MRI scans and AI could reveal how old your brain is and how fast it’s ageing.

An AI human face

It’s time we rethink how to solve loneliness

Rates of loneliness are increasing worldwide. But big-tech companies think they have the solution.

A GP types on laptop

Your GP could be using ChatGPT to diagnose you, a study finds

With the rise in artificial intelligence tools, GPs are turning to the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard.

A person looking at a robot.

How much will AI change the film industry?

Written, directed and starring... artificial intelligence. Coming to a cinema near you.

Two hands reaching out towards each other, one human and one robotic.

Here's how strange 2050 will be, according to the world’s leading AI expert

Ray Kurzweil has built a reputation for his accurate predictions around AI – and he sees some big events in the near future.

Woman talking to her dog in a park. Talking to animals could soon be a reality, says vet

Why talking to animals could soon become a reality

Snuffles will be taking over the world before you know it.

A hand holding a phone showing a CAPTCHA puzzle.

If AI is meant to be so intelligent, why can’t it identify a set of traffic lights?

The "I'm not a robot" box might not be so robot-proof after all.

Male patient in hospital bed gazes thoughtfully - a breakthrough in prostate cancer research facilitated by AI could save thousands of lives

Prostate cancer is not just one disease, reveals new study

Prostate cancer affects one in eight men. Now, AI has helped scientists make a discovery that could revolutionise future treatment.

A screenshot from a OpenAI Sora video of two wooly mammoths charging through the snow

What is Sora AI? Everything to know about OpenAI’s text-to-video tool

Artificial intelligence can now create videos from your prompts, but how does it work?

Three examples of ImageFX images next to each other. A can on the left, eye in the middle and butterfly wing on the right

What is ImageFX? All you need to know about Google's new AI image generator

Like OpenAI’s Dall-E, ImageFX can create full images from just your prompts but is it any good and can you use it now?