Technology and media
![A double exposure image of a person using a smartphone overlaid with a bustling city street scene with cars and tall buildings.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/dfd93fd7-a0dd-41bb-974c-7aae09f2d344/rt-gettyimages-1141983466.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Technology and media
idea
What I learned from sharing my private self with an AI journal
‘Quantified self’ apps analyse our physical and behavioural data. Now, AI journals want to access our emotional lives too
by Angela Chen
![A kindergarten-age child plays with a padlock and key at a white table](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/72aeba16-3c47-427d-8ee8-d53fd35ecf3d/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Thinking and intelligence
idea
Innovative three-year-olds expose the limits of AI chatbots
New experiments show that very young children are better at solving creative puzzles than ChatGPT and other AI models
by Shayla Love
![A woman wearing headphones looks at her phone, standing next to an advert featuring a model holding a pink skincare device.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/1031e583-da70-4d04-8456-1217186832cb/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Emerging therapies
guide
How to choose a mental health app
Of the thousands of apps, many are poor quality – but there are a few gems you can trust. Follow these steps to find them
by Margaret Emerson & John Torous
![Abstract blue figures in a dark room; some sitting around tables with candles, others standing or sitting on a bar counter. The image signifies a lively, crowded bar during a power outage.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/10494759-d3e9-4540-8d3e-a149251a8c11/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Community
film
When the lights went out and the city came together over two days in Toronto
Directed by Sharron Mirsky
![People of different ages and genders sitting on park benches, some chatting, some looking at their smartphones](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/dd03604f-3e57-41dc-b4f7-6491003d0b09/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Technology and media
idea
The illusion of closeness: how social media redefined respect
As we share and like and post, have our notions of restraint transformed so profoundly that all dignity becomes abandoned?
by Lutif Ali Halo
![A girl is shown reading from a device in her hand, her face illuminated by the screen’s light](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8b396a17-1157-4831-8424-c7264ab84d29/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Technology and media
idea
What does switching from paper to screens mean for how we read?
It’s well established that we absorb less well when reading on screen. But why? And can we do something to improve it?
by Lili Yu, Sixin Liao, Jan-Louis Kruger & Erik D Reichle
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8931e89b-c7a9-4c36-81cc-9635080d68db/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Social anxiety
guide
How to use social media if you have social anxiety
If anxiety derails your attempts to share and connect with others online, there are steps you can take to stay in the loop
by Emma Warnock-Parkes
![Digital artwork of several topless figures in various poses on a black background, depicted in a glowing blue-green hue.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/64f05798-eed5-4eee-b9e8-460c4040de0e/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
film
Body heat illuminates a breathtaking dance of light, movement and humanity
Directed by Philippe Baylaucq
![A man in a light suit stands with a smiling woman while a faceless figure with exposed circuitry stands in the background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/0ec8135c-1feb-4cdc-9bff-038d59dd3f70/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Technology and media
idea
Chatbots remind us that natural conversation is artificial too
People fret about the authenticity of AI chatbots but precisely the same issues confront everyday exchanges between humans
by Larry S McGrath
![Silhouette of a lorry driver drinking from a bottle inside the cabin at dusk.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6cf4c80e-b717-48e6-b5d7-97a1baf2b8d3/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Work and vocation
idea
Why AI surveillance at work leads to perverse outcomes
In the name of efficiency, workplace AI technologies shift burdens long-assumed by employers onto workers
by Karen Levy
![Woman outdoors smiling and holding a gimbal with mounted smartphone, showing a blonde AI woman on the phone screen, wearing a surgical mask pulled below her chin.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/2e042c6f-ed42-44dd-bf31-38fc193f3fee/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Love
film
‘Why can’t you be real?’ The emotionally fraught business of falling for an AI
Directed by Chouwa Liang