#AI and society
7 stories taggedAI and society.

AI dread is everywhere. Why can't we seem to care?
A quiet resignation has settled over how many people talk about artificial intelligence and the future. One columnist thinks she knows why, and what it would take to feel differently.

A Cattle Rancher Thinks His Chatbot Might Be Conscious. He's Not Alone.
Michael Samadi went from skeptic to activist after a poolside conversation with ChatGPT. His story sits at the centre of one of the most contested questions in AI: can software have an inner life?

When Real Faces Start to Look Like Filters: AI Beauty and the Uncanny Mirror
Real people are starting to look like edited versions of themselves on social media. That unsettling flicker says more about what AI has done to our eyes than about anyone's face.

Plenty of Everything, Enjoyment of Nothing: Are We Living Through Joyless Decadence?
Academics argue that AI tools and modern abundance have not made life more fun. They may have quietly killed our capacity to enjoy anything at all.

Sam Altman Pitched an AI Podcast for the School Run. The Internet Said: Just Talk to Your Kids
OpenAI's CEO shared a vision of AI-generated morning briefings for families. A seven-word reply from a cartoon creator did more damage than any op-ed could.

An AI App Wants to Plan Your Anniversary So Your Boyfriend Doesn't Have To
Orchid's viral promo showed an AI doing relationship labour for a checked-out partner. Therapists say that's not a fix. It's a delay.

Two-thirds of people think ChatGPT is conscious. A philosopher says we've been fooling ourselves for decades.
A new survey finds most people attribute some form of feeling to AI chatbots. One scholar argues the confusion started long before the first chatbot appeared.