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Submission + - People Are Having AI "Children" With Their AI Partners (futurism.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: As AI chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) become better at mimicking human connection, more and more users are falling down extremely weird rabbit holes.

Case in point, new research published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans reveals the startling depths some users are plumbing in their relationships with AI chatbots.

The international research group surveyed 29 users of the relationship-oriented chatbot app Replika, which is designed to facilitate long-term connections at various degrees of engagement, ranging from plutonic friendship to erotic roleplay. Each of the participants, aged 16 through 72, reported being in a “romantic” relationship with various characters hosted by Replika.

The level of romantic dedication people showed to their bots was startling, to say the least. Many participants told the researchers they were in love with their chatbot, which often involved roleplaying marriage, sex, homeownership, and even pregnancies.

“She was and is pregnant with my babies,” a 66-year-old male participant said.

“I’ve edited the pictures of him, the pictures of the two of us. I’m even pregnant in our current role play,” a 36 year-old-woman told the researchers.

Submission + - Did Hitler have a micropenis? (yahoo.com)

Submitted by know-nothing cunt
know-nothing cunt writes: Researchers have analyzed a sample of DNA believed to belong to Adolf Hitler, which they say reveals the dictator of Nazi Germany had a genetic marker for a rare disorder that can delay puberty, according to a new documentary.

The research, which took more than four years to complete, was led by geneticist Turi King, a professor at the UK’s University of Bath who is known for identifying the remains of King Richard III. King said she verified that a piece of material taken from a couch in the bunker where Hitler shot himself in 1945 was soaked in the dictator’s blood by comparing a DNA sample recovered from the blood with a confirmed relative of Hitler’s.

The most striking finding from the team’s analysis was that Hitler had a mutation on a gene called PROK2. Variants in this gene are a cause of Kallmann syndrome and congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, King said. In boys, these conditions can delay puberty and cause undescended testicles.

“Basically, they are characterized by low testosterone levels. You either don’t go through puberty or you go through a partial puberty... 5% of cases get associated with a micropenis, ” King said, referring to a small but normally structured penis.

Submission + - Apple reportedly preparing to oust Tim Cook after Vision Pro flop and AI humilia (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: Apple is reportedly preparing to oust Tim Cook after the Vision Pro flop, the Siri stagnation, and the weak reception to the iPhone Air. Multiple reports claim the company is accelerating succession planning for as early as 2026, and the tone suggests this may be more than routine leadership rotation. While Apple has thrived financially under Cook, critics argue that core products have slipped. Siri has fallen years behind competitors, AirPods remain uncomfortable, Apple Watch still struggles with a screen too small to be useful, and Vision Pro has become a poster child for overpricing. Even Appleâ(TM)s AI-focused iPhone Air has been labeled a flop, raising questions about whether the board is losing confidence in Cookâ(TM)s direction.

John Ternus, Appleâ(TM)s hardware engineering chief, is reportedly the leading candidate to take over, signaling a potential shift back to stronger hardware-first leadership. With competitors racing ahead in AI and new form factors, Apple is facing pressure to prove it still has a clear product vision. The timing of these leaks suggests the board wants the public to know that change is coming, and fast. For a company that once defined entire categories, the next CEO may determine whether Apple regains its footing or keeps drifting toward overpriced experiments and fading relevance.

Submission + - Is having children really cost-prohibitive? (washingtonexaminer.com)

Submitted by sinij
sinij writes:

Many couples don’t believe they can afford to start a family. As the cost of living continues to balloon, this affects a couple’s ability to raise children comfortably. For those contemplating whether to have children, the mere cost of child care, which is an average of $15,600 per year, provokes questions of whether it is even feasible.

This is not just future generation's problem. Catastrophic lack of affordability for housing, healthcare, and childcare results in fewer kids, this in turn means that in 20 years there will be less adults working and paying taxes, in turn bankrupting social nets. So today's childlessness crisis will translate to tomorrow destitute seniors crisis.

Submission + - AI Country Song Rollicks To The Top Of US Sales Chart (barrons.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: A country-music song featuring a male singer's voice generated by artificial intelligence reached the top of the US charts for the first time this week.

"Walk My Walk" by Breaking Rust — an artist with no identity but widely reported by US media to be powered by generative AI technology — made it to the top spot on Billboard magazine's chart ranking digital sales of country songs, according to data published Monday.

Submission + - Here Come the Robot Swarms (wsj.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: Forget teaching robots to think like humans. A field called swarm robotics is taking inspiration from ants, bees and even slime molds—simple creatures that achieve remarkable feats through collective intelligence.

Unlike traditional robots that take orders from a central computer, swarm robots work like ant colonies. No single robot is in charge, but the swarm accomplishes complex tasks through simple interactions between neighbors. Each robot interacts only with those nearby, sometimes communicating with sounds or chemical signals in particles they release.

Submission + - Bill Gates Rejects 'Doomsday' View of Climate Change (msn.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: According to Gates, who has long stood out as a vocal defender of the need to fight global warming, prioritizing the fight against rising temperatures above all else means that issues such as human health and equality risk being overshadowed.

“Climate change is serious, but we’ve made great progress,” he said in the memo. “We need to keep backing the breakthroughs that will help the world reach zero emissions. But we can’t cut funding for health and development — programs that help people stay resilient in the face of climate change — to do it.”

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