Similar to general-purpose AI chatbots, companion bots use vast amounts of training data to mimic human language. But they also come with features — such as voice calls, picture exchanges and more emotional exchanges — that allow them to form deeper connections with the humans on the other side of the screen. Users typically create their own avatar, or pick one that appeals to them. (Hadero, AP News)
Read MoreLent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving that Catholics and some Christians observe as a time of repentance and closeness to God in preparation for the day of Christ's resurrection, celebrated on Easter. Ash Wednesday is the kickoff of that season that is one of five on the Catholic liturgical calendar, along with Advent, Christmas, Easter, and Ordinary Time. (Coblentz, USA Today)
Read MoreScaffolding surrounding the peak of Notre Dame’s new spire came down this week, revealing the restored structure to the public in a landmark moment for the medieval Parisian cathedral, which was ravaged by a fire in April 2019. The soaring spire, crowned with a cross and golden rooster, peeks out of a dense grid of support beams. (Ables, The Washington Post)
Read MoreThe longest Super Bowl game also will go down as the most-watched program in television history. According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 overtime victory versus the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday averaged 123.7 million viewers across television and streaming platforms. That shattered last year's mark of 115.1 million for Kansas City's last-play victory over the Philadelphia Eagles with a 7% increase. (ESPN)
Read MoreFeeding, fighting, fleeing and sex — in 1958, the neuropsychologist Karl H. Pribram identified these as the four basic drives that underpin human behavior, influencing everything we do. There are thousands of apps, websites and devices for food, arguing and transportation, and maybe even more for sex. (Rowbottom, The New York Times)
Read MoreIn the past 15 years, the number of American Jews choosing to become rabbis has plummeted, and so has the share of rabbis interested in serving congregations, as more and more end up in nonprofits, hospitals, universities, and elsewhere. This has threatened the vitality of hundreds of synagogues as well as the future of the schools that have ordained rabbis for more than a century. (Telushkin, The Atlantic)
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