Inside the rise of AI girlfriends: Tech and Science Daily podcast

PR Handout Replika

Experts are concerned that the rise of AI chatbot girlfriends and virtual online partners might encourage problematic behaviour in their mostly male user base.

Our reporter Emma Loffhagen has been investigating the AI avatars, and speaking with the people who use apps like Replika to engage with them.

Emma tells Tech & Science Daily how one Replika user became ‘engaged’ to his AI girlfriend, and explained why experts are concerned about people’s relationships with virtual partners.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of the Ring Nebula, a well-known object that is visible throughout the summer, and is essentially the colourful remnants of dying stars.

The picture shows what looks like a giant purple eye with a wide green pupil, and scientists said we can use it as our laboratory to study how planetary nebulae form and evolve.

A report is warning the UK could be wasting the potential of its solar farms, wind farms and nuclear power stations if new links to the National Grid aren’t set up more quickly.

The report, commissioned by the government and written by a former National Grid boss, said it takes around 12 to 14 years to get new big transmission lines up and running, around twice the time it takes to put up a large wind farm.

Scientists in the US say eating foods with added sugars, like soft drinks, ice-cream and cakes, may increase the risk of developing kidney stones.

Researchers found that those in the US with the highest intake of added sugars were nearly 40% more likely to develop kidney stones.

And the rest

Google to offer alerts when your private contact info appears online, research prescribes 25 minutes of slow walking for older patients in hospital, light-skinned people ‘lack genes that protect against UV radiation’, Call of Duty now shows you when a cheater’s been booted from the game.

Listen above, and find us on your Spotify Daily Drive or wherever you stream your podcasts.

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