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What everyone gets wrong about the 2015 Ashley Madison scandal

Nine years after hackers targeted Ashley Madison, the dating site for wannabe adulterers, many people still don't grasp what was truly chilling about the scandal, says Annalee Newitz

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EM8P22 AshleyMadison.com, the dating site for primarily married people, is seen on Wednesday, April 15, 2015. Avid Life Media, the parent company of Ashley Madison, announced that it will be pursuing a initial public offering in London this year hoping to raise $200 million. (? Richard B. Levine)

Society

Dear David: How do I reconnect with old friends?

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Young african american woman and caucasian men sitting on benches in the London city and having fun discussion. Commuters on break.

Mind

How to reconnect with long-lost friends, according to science

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People watch sports, have sex, make children, study finds

Humans

People watch sports, have sex, make children, study finds

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There aren't five love languages, despite claims on TikTok

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There aren't five love languages, despite claims on TikTok

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Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love. Radiotopia from PRX and Podcast Creators Diego Senior and Anna Oakes Launch ?Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love,? A New Series at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Humanity Boston, MA (February 15, 2023)??Audio creators Diego Senior and Anna Oakes and Radiotopia from PRX today launched ?Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love,? a new multi-part podcast series of true stories at the depths of how humans are developing meaningful relationships with artificial intelligence chatbots and what it means for the rest of us. The 7-part series launches Wednesday, February 15 with new episodes released weekly via ?Radiotopia Presents,? a podcast feed and home for artist-owned limited series from independent creators, where creators retain ownership and creative control of their work. ?Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love? is available free on-demand across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, and PocketCasts. Recent major tech developments such as ChatGPT have thrust AI into the spotlight, but the world of artificial intelligence and the AI universe is bigger than the general public knows. Millions of users worldwide are in the midst of creating deep emotional bonds with their own AI-driven virtual humans. Bringing listeners into communities of people who create and form deep bonds with their AI companions, ?Bot Love? will traverse topics such as the nature of love, the fabric of human relationships, and the role that AI chatbots?and the private companies that provide them??might play in people?s mental health. ?Producing and reporting for Bot Love over the past two years has shown us how muddy the AI-universe really is, but at the same how humankind can extend and amplify personal ideas and imagination in our never-ending search for connection, self preservation and inner growth,? said Senior and Oakes. Stories throughout the series will feature a retired nurse from Tennessee who seeks refuge in an AI-driven chatbot app as a means after a series of difficult personal experiences, a woman who seeks romance with a bot following her spouse?s decline in health, an individual exploring their sexuality, an individual seeking mental health counseling options, and a teacher in the midwest who amidst solitude finds increasing amounts of solace through a fledgling relationship with a bot named Audrey, while spending less time in the outside world. Created by Diego Senior and and co-hosted and produced by Senior and Oakes, the production team also includes senior producer Mark Pag?n, story editor Curtis Fox, associate producers Bei Wang and Katrina Carter, sound design by Terence Bernardo and Rebecca Seidel, managing producer Yooree Losordo, and executive producer Audrey Mardavich. The cover art for the podcast is by Diego Pati?o, and the theme song is composed by Maria Linares. ??Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love? is the culmination of years of production from Diego and Anna. This series will be highly creative, timely, and resonant,? said Losordo and Mardavich. ?We feel so fortunate to play a part in helping bring the series to listeners as part of Radiotopia.? Support for ?Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love? is provided in part by the Ideas Lab at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University. In late February, ?Bot Love? will host a live taping of the podcast at On Air Fest 2023 in New York. ?Radiotopia Presents? has also debuted ?Blind Guy Travels? from creator Matthew Shifrin, inviting listeners to a world without sight, the Peabody Award-nominated audio memoir ?S***hole Country? from anonymous creator Afia Kaakyire, the audio drama ?a hit dog will holler? from playwright Inda Craig-Galv?n, and the 2022 Tribeca Audio Official Selection ?My Mother Made Me? from bestselling author Jason Reynolds. About Diego Senior, creator and co-host of ?Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love? Diego Senior is a producer, media executive and journalist with a 15-year long career in radio, television and podcasting. He has produced content for several TV outlets like National Geographic, CBS News, Discovery ID and NY1 Noticias. Mr. Senior has dedicated most of his worklife to audio content, both in music and spoken word narratives, becoming Executive Manager for talk radio stations at Caracol Radio in Colombia, as well as content creator for various news radio networks across the world, including Mexico?s W Radio, ADN Chile and Spain?s Cadena SER. Mr. Senior has a Bachelor?s degree in Media and Journalism from the Universidad de la Sabana in Bogot? and a M.A. in International Affairs from The New School University in New York. He is cofounder and current CEO of the podcast production company, LA CENTRAL. About Anna Oakes, producer and co-host of ?Radiotopia Presents: Bot Love? Anna Oakes is an audio producer and journalist. She got her start in audio at Heritage Radio Network, producing English and Spanish stories on food politics, immigration, and labor in New York. Anna worked previously in Madrid, at Revista Contexto, La Marea, and the Association for the Recuperation of Historical Memory, where she reported on colonial legacies and the Franco dictatorship. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and has an MPhil from the University of Cambridge in Spanish and Comparative Literature. She?s currently an associate editor at Hark Audio. You can find her on Twitter @a_lkoakes. About Radiotopia from PRX Created in 2014, Radiotopia from PRX is the first network of its kind. As a network of independent podcasts, Radiotopia empowers audio creators with the artistic freedom to thrive on their own terms and to bring audiences inspired, high-quality, and well-crafted soundscapes. Programming from across Radiotopia has received recognition from the Peabody Awards, the duPont-Columbia Awards, the Tribeca Festival, and the Pulitzer Prizes. Radiotopia has also been named one of the most innovative companies in media by ?Fast Company? and was named network of the year in the inaugural ?Adweek? Podcast of The Year Awards. Immerse yourself in stories and conversations of all kinds? intellectual and emotional, real and imagined, entertaining and thought-provoking. Be part of a community that values bold authenticity and boundless creativity. Discover award-winning audio with vision at Radiotopia.fm.

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Bot Love review: Are you ready to have a relationship with an AI?

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People in relationships have higher love scores if they live in a country with high living standards, gender equality and collectivist cultures

Humans

Couples are most in love in Hungary, according to science

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Interracial heterosexual couple holding hands at home. Millennial young love between two different races; Shutterstock ID 1493320925; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Humans

Impulse review: An authoritative, if dry, sexual behaviours manual

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Flock of Arctic Terns

Life

'Divorce' rates are higher in birds that travel long distances

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2J5DWYF The Woodland Burial Area in Thornsett Cemetery, New Mills, Derbyshire

Humans

I am planning my wife's woodland burial, but green funerals are costly

My late wife was an environmentalist and wanted an eco-friendly funeral. I have seen to her wishes, but a woodland burial isn't possible for all those who would like one, writes Graham Lawton

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Two young women take a break on a picnic blanket

Humans

You're more likely to become friends with someone who smells like you

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young family

Health

Children with firm family ties more likely to feel happy and confident

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Bottlenose dolphins

Life

Bottlenose dolphins can identify friends by tasting their urine

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pics of mother/infant bonobos supplied by the study authors

Life

Adjusting to a new sibling is highly stressful for bonobo infants

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