This Week in AI: ChatGPT's Been Doing a Lot of Homework
With hundreds of millions of people using AI for all sorts of tasks, it's probably no surprise to hear teenagers have used it to help with homework too. In fact, a new study found that one in four US teens used ChatGPT for schoolwork last year.
A new report from the Pew Research Center found that 26% of US teens between the ages of 13 and 17 say they use OpenAI's ChatGPT to help with their schooling. When Pew conducted a similar study the year before, it reported only 13% of US teens had used the tool.
Still, Pew said, most of the 1,391 teens the firm surveyed said they hadn't used the technology for school.
The survey report is the latest example of why many school districts had initially attempted to ban AI use by students, before eventually softening those rules. Now, some school districts have begun offering their own AI tools, while teachers have turned to the technology to help grade the never ending stream of papers they receive, according to CalMatters.
Microsoft turns to AI for search
Searching for files on a computer is always somewhat of a mixed bag. It's an often slow, annoying, tedious process, no matter how powerful a computer you're using. And you usually have to use keywords, which means remembering the exact title of, or words in, the document you're looking for.
Microsoft's latest answer might make things better. In a recent test version of Windows for Copilot Plus PCs, Microsoft has begun offering a search function that allows people to search for items using phrases and ideas, rather than keywords. "Using your own words, like 'BBQ party' you can now describe things to find what you’re looking for on Windows," Microsoft said when announcing the feature last year. "You no longer need to remember file names, settings locations or even worry about spelling – just type what’s in your mind."
Meta's big AI investment
Meta is doubling down on artificial intelligence, unveiling plans to invest up to $65 billion in AI development and infrastructure this year.
In a Threads post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg called this "a defining year for AI," outlining ambitious goals: Meta AI becoming the leading AI assistant for over a billion users, the debut of Llama 4 as a state-of-the-art model, and the rollout of an AI engineer capable of contributing significant code to Meta's R&D projects.
"To power this," Zuck said, "Meta is building a 2GW+ datacenter that is so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan."
OpenAI's newest chatbot will surf the web for you
We've all been there: Intending to book a dinner reservation or movie tickets, or that flight home at the perfect time, only to forget and lose our spot.
OpenAI might have an answer with its newest feature called Operator, which searches websites for you, effectively acting as your maître d'. In a demonstration for the New York Times, OpenAI showed how Operator could answer a request like "Find me a family friendly campsite at Joshua Tree this weekend."
Of course, OpenAI isn't the only company trying to build the perfect robot assistant to save you clicks around the web. Google is reportedly building an AI called Jarvis that promises similar functionality, while Apple Intelligence is hoping to make Siri much more useful by allowing it to interact with "app intents." Even Samsung is getting in on the party, announcing "cross app actions," such as finding a restaurant on Yelp and then ordering takeout. For its part, Samsung says it's leaning on Google's AI models to power at least some of the AI tricks in its new Galaxy S25 series of phones. The company announced those new phones this week at an event in Silicon Valley, with plans to have them available in early February.Read more: AI Tools and Tips
- What is Meta AI? A Capable Chatbot That’s 100% Free
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- How to Get Started with Copilot for Microsoft 365
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Ian Sherr is a widely published journalist who's covered nearly every major tech company from Apple to Netflix, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and more for CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and CNET.
