Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Technology

MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum developed Eliza in the mid-1960s. His views on artificial intelligence were often at odds with many of his fellow pioneers in the field.

Why the Computer Scientist Behind the World’s First Chatbot Dedicated His Life to Publicizing the Threat Posed by A.I.

Joseph Weizenbaum realized that programs like his Eliza chatbot could “induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people”

ChatGPT Health is a new function designed to provide users with personalized medical insights based on medical records and health data uploaded by users. 

OpenAI Says ChatGPT Health Can Understand Users’ Medical Data and Provide Personalized Answers to Their Questions

The new feature can give tailored responses based on medical records and wellness app data, according to ChatGPT’s maker. But some experts are concerned about privacy and worry that people may over-trust the chatbot

An examiner affixes a “driver testing” notice ahead of a road test in South Carolina, in the mid-20th century. 

The Driver’s License Used to Say Who Can Drive. Now It Says a Lot About Who We Are

What was once a simple paper card has evolved with the tech of the times as it has gone from protecting our roads to playing a role in national security

A young learner explores an exhibit at the 2024 National Weather Festival, hosted by the National Weather Center, which is located in Norman but unaffiliated with the National Weather Museum.

This Is the Only Museum Dedicated to Weather Artifacts in America. It May Shut Down Due to Funding Shortages

The Oklahoma institution, which preserves and displays historic weather-related objects, is asking for donations from the public

Golden apple snails have eyes that are similar to humans’—and they can regenerate an amputated eye in just a month. Scientists uncovered a gene related to that process, laying the groundwork for more research that could help humans with eye injuries.

Eight Fascinating Scientific Discoveries From 2025 That Could Lead to New Inventions

By studying the natural world, scientists find blueprints for innovations that can improve human lives—in the genes of a shark, the fur of a polar bear and the flipper of an extinct reptile

Denmark's state-run postal service is dismantling its iconic red mailboxes and will end letter delivery service on December 30.

Denmark’s Postal Service Is About to Stop Delivering Physical Letters After 400 Years

As the volume of letters plummets, PostNord, the government-owned postal service of Denmark and Sweden, will stop transporting letters in Denmark on December 30, though it will continue distributing packages

Juvenile sunflower sea stars at the Sunflower Star Laboratory in Moss Landing, California. At this phase, each is less than an inch wide, but they can grow to be more than three feet across as adults.

A Deadly Pathogen Decimated Sunflower Sea Stars. Look Inside the Lab Working to Bring Them Back by Freezing and Thawing Their Larvae

For the first time, scientists have cryopreserved and revived the larvae of a sea star species. The breakthrough, made with the giant pink star, gives hope the technique could be repeated to save the imperiled predator

Earth’s magnetic field surrounds the planet, with illustrated field lines emerging from the north, in orange, and looping around to the south, in blue.

A Weak Spot in Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Growing, but Scientists Say Not to Worry. Here’s a Look at What Shields Us From Space Weather

Our planet’s magnetosphere has seen dramatic shifts across its history—even total reversals—but this recent wrinkle doesn’t pose a threat to life

A 1984 front-loading Betamax video recorder

This Revolutionary but Largely Forgotten Video Recorder Debuted 50 Years Ago. Devoted Fans Say the Machine Had the Best Quality of Its Time

Tech lovers continue to tout the superior resolution of Sony’s Betamax—even though it became obsolete after VHS overtook it

A long-exposure view of the Milky Way, seen from Brandenburg, Germany, is cut through by the light trails of passing satellites.

Giant Mirrors in Space Could Bring Sunlight After Dark, One Startup Says—and Astronomers Are Concerned

Critics argue the satellites, billed as a way to harness solar energy at night, could hamper sky observations and may pose a threat to human and animal health

The Oxford University Press defines "rage bait" as "online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account."

‘Rage Bait,’ Which Describes Online Content Created to Make Us Mad, Is Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year

The term “has become shorthand for content designed to elicit anger by being frustrating, offensive or deliberately divisive in nature,” according to experts

Smithsonian magazine's picks for the best books about science in 2025 include Replaceable You, Dinner With King Tut and North to the Future.

The Best Books of 2025

The Ten Best Science Books of 2025

From “experimental archaeology” to the mysterious appeal of exploration, the wide-ranging subjects detailed in these titles captivated Smithsonian magazine’s science contributors this year

From a book to robots, the products all focus on microelectronics.

Engineers Say These Ten Holiday Gifts Will ‘Make Kids Think’

A team of Purdue students and faculty recommends these microelectronic-focused toys for developing STEM skills

The new research may help scientists and conservationists better monitor African lion populations. 

Listen to a Lion’s Second Type of Roar, Which Was Just Discovered by Scientists

Researchers uncovered the previously unknown vocalization while creating an algorithm that can identify and monitor lions based on audio recordings

Students learn anatomy from an Asclepius AI Table, which merges interactive elements and artificial intelligence.

Medical Students Are Learning Anatomy From Digital Cadavers. Can Technology Ever Replace Real Human Bodies?

From interactive diagrams to A.I. assistants, virtual tools are beginning to supplant physical dissections in some classrooms

Many fans have developed parasocial relationships with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, pictured here in January 2025 at the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City, Missouri.

Trending Today

Feel a Connection to a Celebrity You’ve Never Met? Your Bond May Be ‘Parasocial,’ Which Is Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2025

The term is used to describe “a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know,” according to the dictionary

Wales' National Museum in Cardiff, where an artist quietly hung an A.I.-generated work on a gallery wall in October

Artist Sneaks Framed A.I. Portrait and Accompanying Label Onto a Museum’s Gallery Wall

The artificial-intelligence-generated image hung in Wales’ National Museum in Cardiff for a few hours before staffers and museumgoers noticed its presence

A new digital map of Ancient Rome features 186,000 miles of road—nearly double the length of previous sources.

Ancient Rome’s Roads Might Have Been Almost Twice as Long as Researchers Previously Thought

A new digital atlas is the most comprehensive account of the Roman Empire’s terrestrial roads to date

Since June, searches for "67" on Dictionary.com have surged more than sixfold.

The Term ‘67’ Is ‘Impossible to Define.’ It Just Became Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year for 2025

The dictionary says the viral word, which has become particularly popular among members of Gen Alpha, is “meaningless, ubiquitous and nonsensical”

None

There's More to That

The ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ Sank Half a Century Ago. We’re Still Fascinated

A massive freighter carrying thousands of tons of iron ore disappeared in Lake Superior, setting shipping on a new course

Page 4 of 40