【推荐1】Robots can improve mental well-being in the workplace, but only if they look right, research suggests. A study by the University of Cambridge found that people who interacted with robots that were more toy-like, felt a greater connection compared to human-like robots.

Over five weeks, 26 employees took part in the weekly robot-led well-being sessions. While the robots had identical voices, facial expressions and scripts for the sessions, their physical appearance affected how people interacted with them and how effective they thought of them to be.

The first, the QT, is a childlike humanoid robot and roughly 90 centimeters tall, while the second, Misty, is a 36 centimeters tall toy-like robot. According to the researchers, toy-like robots look simpler, meaning people may have had lower expectations and ended up finding the robot easier to talk to and connect with. Those who worked with the humanoid robot found their expectations did not match reality, since the robot was not capable of behaving or interacting like an actual human.

These perceptions of robots are typically guided by popular culture. Researchers added that in films, TV shows and books, robots can do anything that an individual’s imagination can think of. But when faced with a robot in the real world, people find that it often does not live up to expectations.

Co-author of the study, Minja Axelsson, said, “These perceptions of how robots should look or behave might be holding back the uptake of robotics in areas where they can be useful.” Professor Hatice Gunes, from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology, said it is “incredibly difficult” to create robots that are capable of natural conversation.

【推荐3】The 2010s brought no shortage of miraculous technologies, from tablet computers to 4G mobile internet. But these had surprisingly little effect on the economy. During that decade productivity growth in the developed countries averaged a miserable (少得可怜的) 1% a year, holding down average wages. Innovative firms embraced new tech, but many less adventurous ones did not bother. The experience showed that technological breakthroughs and improvements in average living standards do not always go hand in hand.

Generative AI, its developers say, will be different. Not since the invention of the internet has a new technology so captured the public imagination. The technology is consumer-friendly: within days of its release to the public, Chat GPT, the most famous AI chat bot, had millions of users. It is easy to see how this innovation could improve all types of work at all types of firms, from increasing the accuracy of doctors’ diagnoses to helping programmers write software code more efficiently.

With that said, for AI to truly spread out in the economy, it needs to make its mark beyond the most innovative companies. And this will take time. Although the internet began to be used by some companies in the early 1990s, it was not until the late 2000s that two-thirds of American businesses had a website. About 70 world’s largest firms still show no interest in AI, according to our analysis. Some evidence even suggests that usage of Chat GPT and its competitors is falling — perhaps as people have tried it out, and then decided it is not for them.

Indeed, even the most powerful technologies take time to be adopted, because companies tend to use a mix of software and services, some of which may be years or even decades old. Replacing outdated systems can be costly and complicated. Moreover, in the many industries either run or heavily regulated by the government, such as healthcare, education and construction, bosses and trade unions often resist the application of new technology, worried that it will lead to job losses. In time AI could well transform how people live their lives and do their jobs. But the road to widespread usage, and any resulting productivity boom, will be a long one.

【推荐1】The Sunday Times spoke to 23 people including social workers, psychologists and parents, who said the impact of social media on the mental health of the young in Singapore is concerning.

Mr Cho Ming Xiu, founder of mental advocacy non-profit Campus PSY, said most young people find it difficult not to check on their friends on social media and compare their lives. “You can’t just do well in your studies. You have to be an all-rounder—you have to have a good CCA record, secure a good internship at a reputable company. This constant competition emphasized by social media channels by their peers—when everyone is posting about good things—intensifies competition, and young people find it stressful,” he added.

Psychologists say that the flood of attractive posts can cause feelings of dissatisfaction, especially among young people with less experience to tell the social media world from real life. Assistant director of Touch Mental Wellness Andrea Chan said, “Seeing good things can draw much envy and comparison, while identification with bad things can lead to a negative circle.” And the strengthening of pleasure-seeking posting on social media can result in addiction, said the head of psychology at the Singapore University of Social Science.

Ms Lee Yi Ping, program leader of Community Health Assessment Team, said, “In the event that a young person feels disappointed by the responses received, the depression is often left unnoticed unless the young person openly talks about it with another trusted person. Support must come from family and friends who can constantly remind the young people that no matter how challenging a life circumstance can be, they can overcome it.” “With timely and proper medical and psycho-social treatments by formal sources of support like helping professionals, coupled with informal sources of support like family and friends, young people stand a better chance with recovery and regain the ability to pursue their ambitions in life,” she added.

The experts say if these pressures are left unchecked, negative thoughts and feelings from social media can contribute to depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

【推荐2】NASA has made history today, conducting the very first powered flight on another planet. The Mars Helicopter Ingenuity (机智号) successfully took to the Red Planet skies for a brief journey, which will hopefully be the first of several.

Along with accumulating 30 minutes and 48 seconds of flight time, the helicopter has traveled over the surface a distance of 2.2 miles, flying as high as 12 meters and as fast as 5 meters per second.

Flying a craft for a few seconds might not sound like too big an accomplishment, but it’s quite a remarkable achievement of engineering. Ingenuity is flying in conditions unlike any possible on Earth - the gravity on Mars is only one-third as strong as Earth’s, and the atmosphere is extremely thin, at just one percent the density compared to the Earth. Combined with the extreme cold and a lengthy radio delay, the mission has got a lot that can go wrong.

And it already has. After surviving its first cold night on Mars, Ingenuity was set to take off on April 11, but a software error during a high-speed spin test of its rotors (螺旋桨) on April 9 threw a spanner in the works. After troubleshooting the issue, NASA developed a fix and beamed a software update to the Red Planet. If all goes to plan, NASA will conduct a few more flights over the next few weeks, sending Ingenuity higher and farther each time.

“Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has left this amazing footprint of success on another world,” says Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Associate Administrator for Science. “While these two symbolic moments in NASA history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they now will forever be linked. To show respect for the two bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field, in recognition of the ingenuity and creativity that continue to encourage exploration.”

【推荐3】Most people have map apps on their phones that can show their location and guide them to where they want to go. But how do these apps know your location at any time or place? They find you by using satellite navigation（satnav）systems（卫星导航系统）.

A satnav system uses groups of satellites to find the user’s location. This location information is then sent to a receiver, such as a smartphone.

The first satnav system was the Global Positioning System（GPS）,which belongs to the United States. First used in 1964, the system is the world’s leading satnav system. But China’s satnav system, Beidou, has overtaken（超过）GPS in size, Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reported.

China sent Beidou’s first navigation satellite into space in 2000. China also became the third country to build a satnav system after the US and Russia, People’s Daily reported. As of right now, over 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East are using the Beidou system.

With its world-leading technology, Beidou is leading Chinese citizens to a better life by playing significant（重要的）roles in different areas，according to Xinhua News Agency.

For example, as of April, over 6.2 million vehicles（车辆）in China were using Beidou for navigation, according to a report on the Beidou system’s construction（建造）and development.

At the newly-built Beijing Daxing International Airport, Beidou has been used to keep track of（追踪）loading and unloading vehicles indoors and outdoors. When the airport fully opens, each baggage cart will have Beidou navigation equipment to help passengers get their luggage faster.