What’s happened: A new method could help us to spot AI-generated texts. Watermarking buries hidden patterns in the text that are invisible to the human eye, but lets computers detect that the text probably comes from an AI system or a human.

Why it matters: ChatGPT is one of a new breed of large language models that generate fluent text that reads like a human could have written it. These AI models regurgitate facts confidently, but are notorious for spewing falsehoods, which makes it worrying that they’re already being adopted for everything from essays to workout plans. To the untrained eye, it is almost impossible to detect whether a passage is written by an AI model or human. 

And it works? In studies, these watermarks have already shown that they can identify AI-generated text with near certainty. If they’re embedded in large language models, they could help prevent some of the problems that these models have already caused. Read the full story.

—Melissa Heikkilä

How do I know if egg freezing is for me?

The decision to freeze your eggs is incredibly personal, and not always easy. While egg freezing is often sold as a fertility insurance policy, we’re still not entirely sure how successful the procedure is likely to be for any individual person, or how success rates vary by age.

We do know that it is expensive—we’re talking potentially tens of thousands of dollars for hormonal treatments, egg collection procedures, and years of cryopreservation. And we know that it’s not without risks. 

That’s why the team behind a new decision-making tool hope it will help to clear up some of the misconceptions around the procedure—and give would-be parents a much-needed insight into its real costs, benefits, and potential pitfalls.