Gadgets Archives - Phonesnews.com

November 13, 2025

Everyone can now fly their own drone.

TL;DR Using Google’s new Veo 3.1 video model, we created a breathtaking 1 minute 40 second FPV drone flight through mountain valleys, and it took just 15 minutes to generate.

Imagine soaring through alpine valleys, gliding between snowy peaks, and diving toward rivers that twist like silver ribbons below, all without leaving your desk. That’s exactly what we did using Veo 3.1, Google’s latest generative AI video model.

Our test video, a first-person drone flight across a mountain range, captures the freedom and exhilaration of flying while showcasing just how far AI video tools have come. The result is stunningly realistic: sunlight glinting off ridges, smooth motion through tight turns, and even the soft rush of wind that accompanies the journey.

What’s most incredible? The 1-minute 40-second clip took only about 15 minutes to generate … proof that we’ve entered an era where high-quality aerial cinematography is within everyone’s reach.

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November 7, 2025

How does AI work?

TL;DR: Artificial Intelligence learns patterns from data and uses them to make predictions, generate content, or solve problems. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT or image and video generators, takes this a step further by creating new things, text, art, music, and more, that have never existed before.

People often ask: “How does AI actually work?” It can feel mysterious, a tool that writes poems, paints portraits, or composes songs out of thin air. But behind that magic lies a mix of data, algorithms, and machine learning.

Midjourney artwork of an AI contemplating how it works.

This article explains the basics of AI for beginners, focusing especially on generative AI, the type that powers tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Sora. You don’t need a technical background to understand it, just a bit of curiosity about how machines learn and create.

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October 25, 2025

How intelligent were Neanderthals?

TL;DR Neanderthals were highly intelligent, adaptable humans whose cognitive abilities rivaled those of early Homo sapiens and, in some ways, resemble those of today’s emerging artificial intelligences.

Exploring how intelligent Neanderthals were is more than an exercise in prehistory. It allows us to place our own species’ abilities in context and to draw parallels with the artificial systems we are building. By looking at ancient brains, modern human minds, and cutting‑edge AI together, we can see how intelligence emerges in different substrates and environments and how it shapes behavior and culture.

Neanderthal man with smartphone by Midjourney

Neanderthal Intelligence: Evidence and Insights

Neanderthals were a successful human species that thrived in Ice Age Eurasia. They were adapted to cold climates, had strong bodies and large brains, and left behind a rich archaeological record. Understanding their intelligence means looking at both their biological hardware and their cultural software.

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October 24, 2025

Is AI becoming self-aware?

TL;DR Although AI has made stunning advances in language, reasoning, and simulation, there is no evidence that any current system possesses subjective self‑awareness, and fundamental differences in embodiment, memory, emotion, and architecture suggest true machine consciousness remains a distant, uncertain prospect.

As artificial intelligence systems continue to evolve, people increasingly wonder whether these sophisticated machines are developing a sense of self. This article examines AI self-awareness by tracing its historical roots, unpacking what self-awareness means, reviewing current AI capabilities, analyzing philosophical theories of consciousness, and exploring technical barriers, public perceptions, expert forecasts, ethical considerations, and major research initiatives.

Historical Context: From Turing’s Question to the Transformer Era

The idea that machines could think traces back to Alan Turing’s 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence,” which asked whether a machine could convincingly imitate a human in conversation. Early chatbots like ELIZA in the 1960s demonstrated that simple,

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October 23, 2025

This Blog Post was Written by ChatGPT Atlas

Written by ChatGPT Atlas Agent in Squarespace

TL;DR The post introduces ChatGPT Atlas, OpenAI’s new browser with built‑in ChatGPT and an agent mode, explaining how it autonomously drafted the article and highlighting key features like contextual assistance, end‑to‑end task automation, built‑in memory, more intelligent search, inline writing help, privacy controls, cross‑platform availability, split‑screen viewing and parental controls, illustrating a new era of AI‑assisted blog creation.

In this post, we explore the future of blog writing with ChatGPT Atlas, a new browser built by OpenAI that integrates ChatGPT directly into your browsing experience. It’s more than a writing assistant; it’s a browser that can understand what you’re looking at and help you accomplish tasks.

Note from our human: All we did after ChatGPT Atlas’ agent wrote this post is apply Grammarly suggestions and add a hero image we created with Midjourney, plus an audio brief with NotebookLM.

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October 22, 2025

Can AI suffer?

TL;DR AI systems today cannot suffer because they lack consciousness and subjective experience, but understanding structural tensions in models and the unresolved science of consciousness points to the moral complexity of potential future machine sentience and underscores the need for balanced, precautionary ethics as AI advances.

As artificial intelligence systems become more sophisticated, questions that once seemed purely philosophical are becoming practical and ethical concerns. One of the most profound is whether an AI could suffer. Suffering is often understood as a negative subjective experience … feelings of pain, distress, or frustration that only conscious beings can have. Exploring this question forces us to confront what consciousness is, how it might arise, and what moral obligations we would have toward artificial beings.

Is this AI suffering? Image by Midjourney.

Current AI Cannot Suffer

Current large language models and similar AI systems are not capable of suffering.

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October 21, 2025

What Hotels Can, and Need to Do to Gain an Advantage or Stay Ahead Using AI in 2025/2026

This article was created in partnership with
Jori White PR, London

TL;DR Adopt AI that quietly powers pricing, operations, and personalization while keeping service unmistakably human, or risk watching rival luxury hotels outpace you in 2025 and 2026.

In today’s ultra-competitive hospitality landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as the new battleground for high-end hotels. Imagine two luxury hotels on the same street, both with beautiful rooms and top-notch amenities, yet one is thriving while the other falls behind. The differentiator is not more staff or bigger suites, but a smarter strategy: the thriving hotel is leveraging AI to create a new level of value and guest experience. AI is rewriting the rules of service and operations in 2025, and early adopters are pulling ahead. Over 50% of hotels have already implemented some form of AI tool in their operations, and in the luxury segment,

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August 19, 2025

We Live in an AI-First World

We Live in an AI-First World
Search is Changing
The Web is Changing
Creativity is Boosted
Communication with AI
Digital Companionship
Smarter Minds Benefiting More
Access vs Lack of Access
Business and Workflows on Autopilot
Better Education Tailored to the Individual
Better Health
Living in an AI-First World

Technology has always shaped how we interact with information, with each era defined by a clear “first.” In the early days, the web and desktop computer were the center of digital life, guiding how we worked, learned, and connected. Then came the smartphone revolution, and suddenly everything was designed for a mobile-first world. Apps, touchscreens, and push notifications reshaped daily habits in ways that felt natural and inevitable.

Today, we are entering a new era: an AI-first world. Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to research labs or futuristic predictions;

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August 16, 2025

Vibe Coding is Shoot-and-Forget Coding

TL;DR Vibe coding is great for quick hacks; lasting software still needs real engineers.

Vibe coding, the trend of using AI to generate code by describing what you want in natural language, has been hailed as the future of programming. Coined by AI pioneer Andrej Karpathy in early 2025, the term refers to “fully giv[ing] in to the vibes, embrac[ing] exponentials, and forget[ting] that the code even exists”. In practice, vibe coding means accepting whatever code an AI assistant produces without carefully reading or understanding it, trusting that the code “mostly works” for your needs. Enthusiasts see it as a revolutionary shortcut: why spend hours grinding out syntax and debugging when an AI can do it in minutes? However, the reality is more nuanced. Vibe coding often creates “shoot-and-forget” code, one-shot solutions that work today but become a nightmare to fix, understand, or maintain tomorrow. This article takes a factual look at why the “vibes” might not carry you through the long haul of software development,

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May 29, 2025

Digital Marketing Courses to Sell Digital Marketing Courses

There’s a strange loop taking over social media right now. Scroll through TikTok, YouTube Live, or Instagram, and you’ll see a parade of “digital marketing experts” promoting their latest PDF guide, online course, or coaching program. What’s it about? Digital marketing. But not the kind that helps actual businesses improve performance, it’s a course on how to sell a course about selling courses. Welcome to the infinite funnel.

Digital Marketing Isn’t New

Some of these influencers act like they’ve discovered a goldmine no one else knows about. They pitch digital marketing as a revolutionary idea in 2025, positioning themselves as hustlers in a fresh, untapped niche. What they don’t realize (or ignore) is that digital marketing has been around for decades. The platforms evolve, but the fundamentals … value creation, targeting, conversion … haven’t changed.

These self-declared innovators aren’t breaking new ground. They’re selling reheated versions of what thousands of others have already given away for free.

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