Technologies

Americans Want More Control Over the AI in Their Lives, Pew Survey Finds

While tech companies keep adding more and more AI to their services and devices, most people want the ability to say no or opt out.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere now, powering song recommendations on Spotify, filling inboxes with AI-written emails, and showing up in classrooms and workplaces around the world. You may not feel like you get much say in where and how AI shows up in your life. You’re not the only one.

That’s the takeaway from a Pew Research Center report published Wednesday, which finds that six out of 10 Americans (61%) want more control over how AI is used in their lives. More than half (57%) say they currently have «not too much» or «no control» at all in whether AI is used in their lives. Just 13% say they feel they have «a great deal» or «quite a bit» of control.

It’s becoming apparent that Americans may be receptive to AI playing some kind of role in our daily lives, but are resistant to AI involvement becoming unavoidable.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The growing AI control gap

The numbers highlight what Pew calls an «AI control gap,» or a widening sense that the choice to opt out is slipping away. AI already powers weather forecasts, financial fraud detection and drug research, areas where Americans told Pew they’re comfortable seeing it play a role. But in more personal aspects of life — relationships, spirituality and creative thinking — people overwhelmingly want to keep AI at arm’s length.

The survey shows Americans are twice as likely to rate AI’s risks as «high» compared with its benefits, and 53% admit they’re not confident they can tell the difference between AI-generated content and human-made work. Still, a large majority (76%) say it’s «very important» to them to know the difference.

Read also: Most People Use ChatGPT for Personal Life, Not Work, According to a New OpenAI Study

Why control over AI matters to Americans

The push for more control comes as AI quietly embeds itself in consumer devices and online platforms. From Apple’s latest «AI-powered» iPhones to Google search results summarized by chatbots, Americans are bumping into AI even when they don’t seek it out. And unlike toggles for ad tracking or location services, tools to manage when AI is used are far less visible.

That lack of agency fuels growing skepticism over AI. For instance, half of Americans say they’re more concerned than excited about AI’s role in daily life, which is 13 percentage points higher than it was in 2021, when AI use was a mere fraction of what it is today.

Pew’s findings echo broader anxieties surrounding the prevalence and implementation of AI tools. Lawmakers are weighing rules around transparency, safety and consent, while AI companies race to normalize AI in everything from education to health care to the devices you carry with you everywhere. But the Pew survey findings suggest that if companies want to build public trust, they’ll need to give people clearer off switches and choices about when AI is adopted, so that AI use feels like a choice rather than an inevitability.

Read also: AI Lies Because It’s Telling You What It Thinks You Want to Hear

Technologies

The Final Supermoon of 2025 Is This Week. When to See the Cold Moon

The full moon will be earning its name as temperatures across the US are expected to be lower than average.

Your last chance to see a supermoon in 2025 is approaching quickly. The full moon is scheduled to appear this week on Thursday, Dec. 4. And even if you don’t make plans to go out and see it, you’ll probably spot it anyway — it’ll be the brightest thing in the night sky.

December’s Cold Moon is the third of four consecutive supermoons and the last one of 2025. Supermoons tend to come in packs of four thanks to how the moon orbits the Earth. The orbit is elliptical, meaning the moon is closer during some months and farther away in others. When it’s close to Earth, it’s referred to as perigee, and full moons during perigee are considered supermoons.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Since it is closer, the moon will be slightly bigger and brighter in the night sky. According to NASA, a supermoon is 14% larger and 33% brighter than a micro moon, which occurs during full moons when the moon is at its farthest point from Earth, a phenomenon known as apogee. Thus, it is the best time to view a full moon outside of special events like blood moons or lunar eclipses.

When is December’s full moon?

The Farmer’s Almanac reports that December’s full moon will take place on the evening of Dec. 4. It’ll reach peak illumination at 6:14 p.m. ET. Thanks to the recent daylight saving time change, it should be dark enough to see for most of the US, but if it isn’t, it’ll remain full all night. Those who can’t see it due to the weather can see a moon that is more than 90% full from Dec. 2-6.

You won’t need any special equipment to see the moon, as it’ll be the brightest thing in the night sky by a wide margin. Those who want to see more detail can certainly use a telescope or binoculars if they choose, which will make the moon’s various craters and textures easier to see.

December’s full moon is often referred to as the Cold Moon, as it typically occurs when the weather starts to become quite chilly. The moon is earning its name this time around, as a polar vortex is scheduled to hit the US during Thanksgiving and will stick around for a while afterward. The polar vortex will drive down temperatures across a lot of the US this week, so if you do go outside, make sure to bundle up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 1 #638

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 1, No. 638.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one if, like me, you’re a fan of a certain winter sport. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: On the ice.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: He shoots, he scores!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

HOSE, LOSE, GOAL, RINK, BRING, SCORE, CORE, BOARD

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GOALS, ZAMBONI, SKATES, PUCK, STICKS, SCOREBOARD

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is HOCKEYRINK. To find it, start with the H that’s the farthest-left letter on the top row, and wind down and across.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 1, #904

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 1, #904.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a tricky one. You’d better know the works of a legendary author to nail the blue group, and the purple group is one of those tough ones that hides the relevant connections within four of the answers. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Spin around.

Green group hint: Not square or triangular.

Blue group hint: Novelist Franz.

Purple group hint: Think of the alphabet.