The robot is in

The immediacy of AI chatbots makes them an attractive alternative to human-to-human therapy that is expensive and often inconvenient. But while they may offer sensible advice, they aren’t infallible.

AI after death

A new paper explores the impact “deathbots” might have on the way grief is experienced and the ethical implications of using AI to ‘bring back the dead’.

Welcome to your friendly local chatbot

QUT researchers have homed in on AI-powered chatbots in the local government sector to look at their benefits and risks, what they are used for and why, and how users view them.

Anthropomorphic A.I.

AI chatbots which scrape and paraphrase content from the internet are exciting tech companies, investors and the public at large, but they are not – and not even close to – achieving sentience or even ‘general artificial intelligence’.

Berserker

After a burst of initial enthusiasm for the new wave of AI chatbots, extended user probing and testing is uncovering problems with their factual accuracy and unstable personalities, forcing Microsoft to limit extended interactions with its new Bing chat assistant.

And how are you Hal?

The latest chatbot on the web doesn’t pass the Turing test, and certainly isn’t “intelligent”, but does show the growing potential of AI interactions with people.

Can I help you with that?

Chatbots cut costs for firms online, but often infuriate their unfortunate customers.