Twenty-seven percent of Americans turn to AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini with personal, emotional or social queries, according to a new poll from researchers at Elon University in collaboration with The Washington Post. That category included seeking entertainment, relationship advice, romantic chats, or connection when alone. (De Vynck & Merrill, The Washington Post)
Read MoreProtestant pastors register the greatest distrust in artificial intelligence (AI) interpreting “contested” Scriptures, Barna said in its latest State of the Church release in partnership with Gloo, but few pastors would abandon the technology altogether. (Chandler, Baptist Press)
Read MoreFrom sports to politics and even reality TV, superstitious explanations for negative events still hold remarkable power over us. (Stanford, The Telegraph)
Read MoreThe changes Meta will have to make are intended to reduce the addictiveness of Facebook and Instagram. For example, it will have to give minors the option of having a non-personalized feed, where it doesn't use an algorithm to tailor content based on individual preferences to keep kids scrolling. (Chaterjee, NPR)
Read MoreWhat many of them seemed to be mourning was not just Ms. Parton as a performer, but as a Christian who represented for many an idealized style of faith, and in particular, Southern or Appalachian faith: folksy and unpretentious, oriented around Jesus and rollicking old-time music, and centered in small rural congregations that prize community over ideology. (Graham & Cochrane, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe day the social media giant Meta agreed to as much as a $17.1 billion settlement over claims it had endangered children, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt was on deadline. He was supposed to hand in revisions for the second edition of his book blasting social media companies for endangering children. He got a two day extension. (Goldberg, The New York Times)
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