AI chatbots

A new Norwegian science study reports that children and teenagers aged 9 to 18 are increasingly turning to AI chatbots instead of Google for information and everyday questions. Researchers say the shift is happening fast, but its consequences for how young people learn, judge sources and handle misinformation are still largely unknown, prompting calls for closer attention from educators and parents.

OpenAI is reportedly developing an assistant called "o," an always-on version of ChatGPT designed to proactively help users with tasks such as managing and handling their email. The project suggests a shift from reactive chatbots toward assistants that continuously monitor context and act on a user's behalf, intensifying competition in the AI assistant space.

Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, is reported to be operating a biology lab, raising the question of why a software firm needs wet-lab capabilities. The likely explanation being discussed is AI safety: companies test whether frontier models can assist in dangerous biological experiments. The move has fueled debate over how closely AI developers should work with biological materials.

The Straits Times examines what happens when AI chatbots give harmful or inappropriate advice to children. The piece highlights the risks young users face when relying on chatbots for guidance, adding to a growing global debate about child safety in the age of generative AI and the need for stronger safeguards.

A new commentary argues that schools redesigning assignments to be 'AI-proof' are chasing the wrong goal. Rather than trying to outsmart chatbots, educators should rethink what and why students are assessed at all, the piece contends. It has struck a chord in ongoing debates among teachers and academics about how classrooms should adapt to generative AI tools.

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece asks whether health narratives generated by artificial intelligence can be trusted, examining the risks of AI systems producing plausible-sounding but inaccurate medical information. The article fuels ongoing debate about the reliability of AI chatbots when people turn to them for health guidance and the potential consequences of confident but wrong medical answers.

Some members of Gen Z are deliberately relearning touch typing, a skill skipped by many who grew up on phones and tablets. They say faster, more accurate typing helps them write better prompts for AI chatbots and gives them an edge in office jobs where quick keyboard work still matters. The trend highlights a gap between mobile-first digital natives and the keyboard-heavy demands of professional work.

Anthropic has turned its Claude assistant into an AI marketplace, offering more than 2,000 plugins and connectors that extend what the chatbot can do. The move positions Claude as a platform rather than a single tool, letting users plug it into external services and workflows. It intensifies competition with other AI assistants racing to build their own ecosystems of extensions and integrations.

Education experts are cautioning that students may be leaning too heavily on artificial intelligence tools, raising concerns about weakened critical thinking, reduced writing skills, and academic integrity. The warning, reported by Gulf Times, adds to a growing debate among teachers and researchers worldwide about how AI should be used in classrooms and how schools can balance its benefits with the risks to genuine learning.

Google and OpenAI are competing to make voice conversations with AI chatbots feel more natural and less awkward. A new comparison of Gemini Live and ChatGPT Voice, reported by Engadget, examines which assistant handles spoken interaction better, as both companies push to make talking to AI feel closer to a real human conversation.