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Tailoring Social Media to Fit Your Needs: A New Approach to Making Online Time More Fulfilling

Redesigning social media to suit different needs of users could make their time online more focused, according to new research.

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The study, conducted by University of Bristol academics, has shed light on the importance of tailoring social media to suit individual needs. By categorizing users into distinct groups based on their motivations and behaviors, researchers have found that finding the right level of personal investment is key to a positive experience online.

The research revealed three main user types:

1. Those who browse without strong intentionality, often mindlessly scrolling through feeds.
2. Those deeply invested in their online lives, potentially leading to compulsive use and negative consequences for well-being.
3. Those who see value in using social media but retain personal distance, arguably having the best outcomes overall.

The findings suggest that social media platforms could be redesigned to support more intentional use by introducing customized features tailored to different user needs. This approach has the potential to help users regain control over their time online and make it more purposeful and valued.

By adapting interfaces to align with individual well-being, social media platforms can promote sustainable engagement connected to things that matter to the user, rather than just maximizing screen time. The implications of this work extend beyond social media design into technology use more broadly, offering a data-driven approach to promoting digital self-regulation and overall well-being.

The next phase of this research will explore how social media platforms can identify different user groups and adapt interfaces to support intentional online engagement that prioritizes personal well-being.

Artificial Intelligence

Wearable Heart Attack Detection Tech: A Game-Changer in Real-Time Diagnosis

Every second counts when it comes to detecting and treating heart attacks. A new technology may be able to identify heart attacks faster and more accurately than traditional methods.

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The article highlights a groundbreaking technology developed by engineers at the University of Mississippi that can detect heart attacks faster and more accurately than traditional methods. Electrical and computer engineering assistant professor Kasem Khalil led the research, which was published in Intelligent Systems, Blockchain and Communication Technologies.

The technology uses artificial intelligence and advanced mathematics to design a chip that analyzes electrocardiograms (ECGs) – graphs of the heart’s electrical signals – and detects a heart attack in real-time. This chip is lightweight and energy efficient enough to be embedded in wearable devices while still being 92.4% accurate, higher than many current methods.

In the United States, someone dies from a heart attack every 40 seconds. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country. Khalil’s technology aims to improve heart attack detection methods without sacrificing accuracy. The researchers believe that their wearable device can cut down on diagnosis time, allowing patients to receive faster treatment and reducing the likelihood of permanent damage.

The team used a chip design approach that focuses on all aspects of the technology they hope to create, from software development to hardware implementation. This holistic approach allowed them to optimize the system and make it more efficient.

Current methods of heart attack detection often require a patient to go through an electrocardiogram or blood tests in a medical facility, which can take time that a patient might not have. The researchers see their technology as a potential game-changer in real-time diagnosis, allowing patients to receive faster treatment and reducing the risk of permanent damage.

While Khalil’s team continues developing the technology, they envision other health care applications for these devices, such as predicting or identifying seizures, dementia, and other conditions. The detection of diseases depends on the disease itself, but the researchers are working to find faster, more efficient ways of doing that.

This wearable heart attack detection tech has the potential to save lives by enabling real-time diagnosis and reducing the time-sensitive element of heart attacks. Its impact could be significant in improving patient outcomes and reducing mortality rates associated with heart disease.

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Communications

The Personal Touch: How Student Essays Outshine AI-Generated Ones

Researchers have been putting ChatGPT essays to the test against real students. A new study reveals that the AI generated essays don’t yet live up to the efforts of real students. While the AI essays were found to be impressively coherent and grammatically sound, they fell short in one crucial area — they lacked a personal touch. It is hoped that the findings could help educators spot cheating in schools, colleges and universities worldwide by recognizing machine-generated essays.

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The University of East Anglia has conducted a study that reveals a crucial difference between essays written by students and those generated by AI tools like ChatGPT. While AI-generated essays are impressive in their coherence and grammatical soundness, they fall short when it comes to injecting a personal touch into their content. The researchers analyzed 145 essays written by real university students and another 145 generated by ChatGPT, comparing the two in terms of engagement markers – techniques that enhance clarity, connection, and persuade readers.

The study found that student-written essays consistently featured a rich array of engagement strategies, making them more interactive and persuasive. These included rhetorical questions, personal asides, and direct appeals to the reader. In contrast, ChatGPT-generated essays tended to be impersonal, mimicking academic writing conventions but lacking the conversational nuance and personal touch that human writers bring to their work.

The researchers attribute this difference to the nature of AI training data and statistical learning methods, which prioritize coherence over conversational nuance. This reflects a broader concern that relying too heavily on AI tools could lead to a decline in critical literacy and thinking skills among students.

Despite these findings, the study does not dismiss the potential role of AI in education. Instead, it suggests that tools like ChatGPT should be used as teaching aids rather than shortcuts. By harnessing the power of AI while preserving human engagement and creativity, educators can create a more balanced learning environment that benefits both students and teachers.

This research has significant implications for educators worldwide, particularly in spotting cheating and promoting critical literacy and ethical awareness in the digital age. The study’s findings highlight the importance of fostering personal touch and critical thinking skills in students, rather than relying solely on AI-generated content.

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Artificial Intelligence

Unlocking Digital Carpentry for Everyone

Many products in the modern world are in some way fabricated using computer numerical control (CNC) machines, which use computers to automate machine operations in manufacturing. While simple in concept, the ways to instruct these machines is in reality often complex. A team of researchers has devised a system to demonstrate how to mitigate some of this complexity.

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The world of digital carpentry has long been dominated by complex computer numerical control (CNC) machines, which use computers to automate manufacturing processes. However, a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo has developed a revolutionary system called Draw2Cut that makes it possible for anyone to create intricate designs and objects without prior knowledge of CNC machines or their typical workflows.

Draw2Cut allows users to draw desired designs directly onto material to be cut or milled using standard marker pens. The colors used in these drawings instruct the system on how to mill and cut the design into wood, making it a highly accessible mode of manufacture. This novel approach has been inspired by the way carpenters mark wood for cutting, making it possible for people without extensive experience to create complex designs.

The key to Draw2Cut lies in its unique drawing language, where colors and symbols are assigned specific meanings to produce unambiguous machine instructions. Purple lines mark the general shape of a path to mill, while red and green marks and lines provide instructions to cut straight down into the material or produce gradients. This intuitive workflow makes it possible for users to create complex designs without prior knowledge of CNC machines.

While Draw2Cut is not yet capable of producing items of professional quality, its main aim is to open up this mode of manufacture to more people, making it a valuable tool for hobbyists and professionals alike. The system has been tested with wood, but can also work on other materials such as metal, depending on the capabilities of the CNC machine.

The developers of Draw2Cut have made their source code open-source, allowing developers with different needs to customize it accordingly. This means that users can tailor the color language and stroke patterns to suit their specific requirements, making it an even more versatile tool for digital fabrication.

Overall, Draw2Cut represents a significant breakthrough in the field of digital carpentry, making it possible for anyone to create complex designs and objects without extensive experience or knowledge of CNC machines. Its potential impact on the world of manufacturing is vast, and its intuitive workflow and unique drawing language make it an invaluable tool for hobbyists and professionals alike.

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