Chatbots are generating false and misleading information about U.S. elections

With presidential primaries underway across the U.S., popular chatbots are generating false and misleading information that threatens to disenfranchise voters, according to a report published Tuesday based on the findings of artificial intelligence experts and a bipartisan group of election officials.

Fifteen states and one territory will hold both Democratic and Republican presidential nominating contests next week on Super Tuesday, and millions of people already are turning to art

Robinhood launches a retirement plan for gig workers

Robinhood is rolling out a retirement savings plan for certain gig workers, targeting a growing cohort of people who may not have access to traditional 401(k) options.

The new program, called Robinhood Retirement for Independent Workers, will be available to people who find work through Taskrabbit, Grubhub, and Gopuff starting the first week of March.

“A growing number of people are moving away from the usual 9-5, shifting towards freelancing and side hustles to mak

How AI is transforming the next wave of PCs

The looming AI revolution continues to make headlines. Yet, what might come as a surprise to many is the fact that many examples of this transformative technology are going to be available to consumers starting this year. In fact, Lenovo—the world’s leading personal computer company—has already established a sizable presence in the soon-to-take-off AI PC space. The company has invested more than $1 billion developing AI-powered solutions that are poised to redefine the us

Meet Kagi, a Google search alternative worth paying for

You’re reading Plugged In, Fast Company’s weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to you—or you’re reading it on FastCompany.com—you can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Wednesday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters.

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‘I might as well be driving a UFO’: Cybertruck owners say their EVs are leaving people in awe—or really pissed off

Brian Lovell has only had his Tesla Cybertruck for a week and already the 48-year-old has experienced a range of unfettered reactions from passersby: Some people point and gape, others rush over to take a photo, and a few even ask if he would take them for a quick spin in the much-hyped EV.

“I might as well be driving a UFO,” says Lovell, who’s based in Murrieta, California.

It’s not exactly surprising that people are aghast to see something tha

New email rules from Google and Yahoo will change your inbox (and your communication strategy)

We all know the pain of misguided sales spam—and lots of it—cluttering our inboxes. Whether it’s emails to our personal addresses that assume our buying habits of a decade ago are the same today, or sales pitches to our work addresses that are completely irrelevant to our roles and responsibilities, we’ve become overwhelmed with poorly targeted emails. Statista found that spam accounted for 45% of the 333 billion emails sent daily in 2022, while research

Rent-to-own appliance king Aaron’s Company’s stock plunges on big earnings miss

Shares of rent-to-own appliance and furniture giant Aaron’s nosedived after the company posted much lower than expected revenues and earnings.

As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, shares of Aaron’s Company stock (NYSE: AAN) were down 18% to less than $9 per share. That followed the release of the company’s fourth quarter earnings late Monday. Even news of a $0.125 per share quarterly dividend failed to appease investors.

Analysts had expected Aaron’s Co

Under Elon Musk, X is denying API access to academics who study misinformation

Academic researchers are complaining that X has repeatedly refused them access to its API, limiting their ability to conduct studies on the platform.

Researchers who study social media platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), have found it more difficult to conduct their work since Musk bought the platform in October 2022 for $44 billion. In March 2023, the company removed what had previously been free access to Twitter’s API, or application programming interface, which provi

Can Loft Dynamics’ VR Flight Simulator help solve America’s pilot shortage?

It’s a clear day in Zermatt, a remote Swiss town anchored in a sharp valley under the gaze of the Matterhorn. We’ve taken off from Air Zermatt, home to some of the best high-altitude rescue pilots in the world. I’d flown in helicopters before but never piloted one. And this location was hardly a beginner course.

“Are you ready to take the reins?” the controller asks.

“Um, I think . . .?” I said nervously.

“I

Pressure building for legislative bans on students’ cellphone use at school

In California, a high school teacher complains that students watch Netflix on their phones during class. In Maryland, a chemistry teacher says students use gambling apps to place bets during the school day.Around the country, educators say students routinely send Snapchat messages in class, listen to music and shop online, among countless other examples of how smartphones distract from teaching and learning.The hold that phones have on adolescents in America today is well-documented, but teac


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