by Chris Nichols
| Mar 31, 2026
| Uncategorized
| 0 comments

We’ve gathered this week’s top stories from major news outlets to see how AI is impacting your life.

1 in 3 adults use AI for health information: poll

    • Publication: Healthcare Dive
    • Link: https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/one-in-three-adults-use-artificial-intelligence-health-information-kff/815722/
    • What’s being said: A poll reports roughly one-third of adults are using AI tools for health information. A sizable share of users report uploading personal health information into these tools. The story highlights both growing adoption and the need for clearer guidance and guardrails.
    • Why you should read it: It captures real, everyday AI use (health questions) and the practical tradeoffs people are navigating. It has useful, actionable insight for anyone communicating about safe and responsible AI use.

How Teens Use and View AI

    • Publication: Pew Research Center
    • Link: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/02/24/how-teens-use-and-view-ai/
    • What’s being said: Pew finds 54% of U.S. teens have used chatbots for schoolwork and 57% for information seeking; 10% say they do all/most schoolwork with chatbot help. 59% of teens think AI-enabled cheating happens at least somewhat often at their school. Teens are more optimistic about AI’s impact on their own lives than on society overall.
    • Why you should read it: High-quality data for understanding real adoption patterns (and the policy/education implications). It’s also useful for constructive messaging focused on AI literacy, guidance, and healthy norms

Almost all small businesses are using a software tool that is enabled by AI

    • Publication: Associated Press (AP)
    • Link: https://apnews.com/article/small-business-artificial-intelligence-productivity-f6fa7b2a1ce0a9f2e5b8b48670b3098a
    • What’s being said: A U.S. Chamber of Commerce/Teneo survey finds 98% of small businesses use an AI-enabled tool, and 40% use generative AI (up sharply from last year). Owners describe AI as a way to “punch above their weight,” boosting output without adding headcount. The story emphasizes that human review remains necessary (editing, strategy, and quality control).
    • Why you should read it: Concrete, constructive example of AI delivering practical productivity gains for everyday businesses. It presents a balanced framing that reinforces “augmentation with oversight,” not replacement.

What the data says about Americans’ views of artificial intelligence

    • Publication: Pew Research Center
    • Link: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/03/12/key-findings-about-how-americans-view-artificial-intelligence/
    • What’s being said: Pew compiles survey findings on how U.S. adults and teens use and view AI across daily life. The analysis highlights persistent caution alongside openness to benefits in specific areas. It offers a grounded snapshot of where the public sees promise vs. risk.
    • Why you should read it: High-quality, data-driven context that can keep AI conversations anchored in public sentiment. It’s also helpful for framing constructive narratives around trust-building and practical benefits.

Cohere launches an open-source voice model specifically for transcription

    • Publication: TechCrunch
    • Link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/26/cohere-launches-an-open-source-voice-model-specifically-for-transcription/
    • What’s being said: Cohere released “Transcribe,” an open-source automatic speech recognition (ASR) model aimed at transcription, note-taking, and speech analysis. The model is designed to run on consumer-grade GPUs and supports 14 languages. Cohere claims it leads an open ASR benchmark (word error rate) versus several other popular models.
    • Why you should read it: A tangible, broadly useful capability (speech-to-text) released with open weights, enabling wider access and experimentation. It includes a practical, real-world AI utility (notes, accessibility, search) rather than hype.