Jan 8, 2026
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News There has been a lot of speculation and some preliminary research about whether frequent use of generative AI products such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini might inhibit critical thinking. After reading some of...
Dec 25, 2025
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News If you or a member of your family are among the millions of people who got high-tech gifts this year, I wish you a happy setup and silent nights free of error messages or music on hold while waiting for tech...
Nov 6, 2025
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News Amazon has added generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to its Alexa voice assistant and launched new AI-powered devices for children. I’ve been an Alexa fan for many years and have Echo devices in almost...
Oct 23, 2025
by Larry Magid Alongside recently announced Teen Account protections, Meta is adding parental supervision tools to help families guide how teens use AI virtual “characters” that often have a unique “personality.” Parents will soon be able to...
Oct 14, 2025
by Larry Magid In a significant update to teen safety features, Instagram has announced that all users under 18 will now be placed into Teen Accounts that default to content roughly equivalent to a “PG-13” movie rating. The goal is to reduce teens’ exposure to mature...
