Google's annual I/O conference in May highlighted the prominence of agents, where the company introduced its new AI agent, Astra. Astra enables users to engage with it using audio and video interactions. OpenAI's newly developed GPT-4o model has also been referred to as an AI agent. These AI agents are not just hyped concepts; significant investments from tech companies are being directed towards their development. These research endeavors have the potential to bring about the kind of practical AI that we have long dreamed of. Many experts, including Sam Altman, see AI agents as the next big breakthrough. But what exactly are they, and how can we leverage their capabilities?

For the complete story, continue reading. —Melissa Heikkilä AI lie detectors have surpassed human capabilities in detecting deception Can you identify a liar?It's a question that has likely crossed many minds lately, particularly after witnessing various televised political debates. Research has shown that as humans, we generally struggle to differentiate truth from lies. AI, however, holds the promise of improving our odds and outperforming traditional techniques like polygraph tests. AI-based lie detection systems could potentially assist us in discerning between fact and fake news, evaluating claims, and even detecting falsehoods and exaggeration in job applications. The question remains: will we trust these systems, and should we?Explore the full story for more details. —Jessica Hamzelou