Author: Geek Planet

A new research consortium has found something worth paying attention to: when you ask AI about grief, love, loss, or moral decisions, it almost never brings religion into the conversation. The Consortium for Evaluation of Faith and Ethics in AI (CEFE-AI), a collaboration among researchers at Brigham Young University, Baylor University, the University of Notre Dame, and Yeshiva University, published its findings this week at the Summit on AI Ethics in Athens, Greece. “Religion is an important part of human flourishing; 75% of the world’s population maintains religious identity. As we build AI technologies, there’s no reason we shouldn’t build…

There are optical illusions and auditory illusions. This week’s Micro Softy concerns logical illusions.  Two optical illusions are shown in Figure 1.  Figure 1: Two optical illusions. / WikipediaLeft, WikipediaRight.  On the left, the “Mad poiuyt” appeared on the cover of MAD Magazine in March 1965.   On the right, stairs repeat themselves in an impossible illusion. If you walk clockwise, you are always going downstairs forever. This staircase was used in the surreal art of M.C. Escher.  The Shepard-Risset glissando is an auditory illusion where the pitch of a sound appears to continuously rise or fall indefinitely. Christopher Nolan’s films like Dunkirk and The Dark Knight used it to heighten the sense of dread or relentless motion. It can be used to create the illusion of an endless climb or descent, or to…

This year’s Google I/O marked the transition of Google from a search company to a fully AI-focused company. The company launched several AI tools, but the one that matters the most for YouTubers is Google Omni, built for video generation and editing.  While tools like Omni lower the barrier for creators, which is a good thing, it also results in the platform being inundated with low-effort AI content. The company understands that this will annoy a large percentage of its users, so it has been asking creators to disclose AI-generated content since 2024.  It’s been a good first step, but…

The Red Magic 11S Pro gaming smartphone, which recently launched in China, is now headed to global markets with a giant battery, wild cooling hardware, and a display without a hole for the front camera. Open sales begin June 10 through Red Magic’s official website and selected retail partners. Cooling is still the main attraction Like previous models, Red Magic has focused heavily on cooling its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip to keep it from throttling. The brand has fitted the phone with its upgraded AquaCore Cooling System, which features a 24,000 RPM fan, liquid cooling, piezoelectric ceramic micropumps,…

macOS users already have several clipboard manager options, including Paste and Maccy. Most of them work well, but they are usually built around keyboard shortcuts. That is useful for keyboard-heavy users, but it can feel out of place for users who rely on the trackpad for most of their work. Layr, a new clipboard manager from the developer behind Declutr, takes a different approach. Rather than assigning a keyboard shortcut to open the clipboard history, the app lets users bring up a clipboard overlay with a four-finger tap on the trackpad. What the App Offers Layr shows clipboard history as…

Spotify has launched Podcast Clips, a new feature that lets you capture, trim, save, and share specific moments from any supported podcast directly inside the app. It is rolling out globally today to both Free and Premium users on mobile. How to share Spotify Podcast Clips? While listening to a supported podcast, tap the new scissors icon in the Now Playing view. This brings up an interface where you can select the exact moment you want, trim it to the right length, and preview it before saving. Once saved, your clips live in Your Library, where you can revisit them…

YouTube is adding a new discovery chip to its Home page that turns a typed request into a personalized stream of videos. The feature, called “Your custom feed,” gives people a more direct way to break out of the usual recommendation mix. A viewer can ask for something outside their normal watch patterns, or narrow the experience around a particular moment, such as short guided meditations after work. The YouTube Home feed change is rolling out in the US on mobile and desktop for signed-in viewers using English. How does the chip work The new option sits at the top…

Samsung may finally be preparing a major shake-up for its flagship Galaxy S lineup. According to new leaks, the company is reportedly testing a new Galaxy S27 Pro model that could sit between the standard Galaxy S27 and the Galaxy S27 Ultra. More interestingly, the phone may end up offering a surprisingly different camera experience from the Ultra itself. The biggest change revolves around Samsung’s telephoto camera strategy – an area where Galaxy Ultra phones have faced criticism for years. Samsung could finally kill its most criticised camera lens According to the latest rumours, both the Galaxy S27 Pro and…

Budget laptops have always been a compromise. You either get a machine that struggles to keep up with your browser tabs or one that dies before lunch. And almost all of them feature a cheap plastic body. Qualcomm wants to change that with its new Snapdragon C Platform, a chip built specifically for entry-level laptops starting at $300. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon C is designed for students, families, and small businesses that need a reliable, everyday machine without breaking the bank. Devices powered by this chip will handle web browsing, video streaming, productivity apps, and video calls without a…

A Reddit user recently shared a traumatic experience with her Samsung Galaxy S25 FE. She woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of popping and what she described as fireworks, with metal and plastic shrapnel flying around the room.  The cause? Her phone has exploded while charging. The user acknowledged that the phone was charging on the mattress, which she admits was not a great idea. That said, she used the original cord that came with the phone and a compatible Samsung charging brick. Samsung, for the record, no longer includes a wall block in the…