With the popularity of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Llama on the rise, the question is often asked whether or not these programs can accurately match the style of text written by humans. A team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers set out to answer this question, and their findings were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). In this study, researchers were able to show how LLMs write by prompting them with extracts of writing from various genres, such as TV scripts and academic articles. The research team found large differences in grammatical, lexical and stylistic features between text written by LLMs and humans. These differences were largest for instruction-tuned models, such as ChatGPT, which undergo additional training to answer questions and follow instructions.

Gun violence takes many forms—whether it’s a school shooting, the assassination of a public figure, or the everyday realities of gang-related crime and armed robbery. Beyond the loss of life, gun violence shapes where people choose to live, affects local economies, and weighs heavily on public well-being. New research finds that Americans are willing to pay nearly $100 billion for policies that reduce gun violence by 20%, underscoring the widespread desire for stronger intervention.

A new study published in the Strategic Management Journal uncovers a significant and often-overlooked risk in microfinance: while social capital fosters financial stability in normal times, it can exacerbate default rates during crises. The research, conducted by Arzi Adbi, Matthew Lee, and Jasjit Singh, examines the loan repayment behavior of nearly two million low-income borrowers in the aftermath of India’s 2016 demonetization policy, revealing the unintended consequences of peer accountability in financial markets.

Over the past fifty years, microfinance has been hailed as a revolutionary tool for financial inclusion, particularly through group-lending models. These models rely on social connections and peer accountability to encourage loan repayment among low-income borrowers. However, as this study demonstrates, the very mechanisms that drive repayment in stable times can accelerate default rates when external crises arise.

Are we putting our faith in technology that we don't fully understand? A new study from the University of Surrey comes at a time when AI systems are making decisions impacting our daily lives—from banking and healthcare to crime detection. The study calls for an immediate shift in how AI models are designed and evaluated, emphasising the need for transparency and trustworthiness in these powerful algorithms. 

New research by Adrian Ward, associate professor of marketing at Texas McCombs, validates the growing concerns about the ipsychological effects of cell phone use . In a controlled experiment, he found that just two weeks of blocking mobile internet from smartphones improved three dimensions of psychological functioning: mental health, subjective well-being, and attention span.

“Smartphones have drastically changed our lives and behaviors over the past 15 years, but our basic human psychology remains the same,” Ward says. “Our big question was, are we adapted to deal with constant connection to everything all the time? The data suggest that we are not.”