Articles by Eric Hal Schwartz, Contributor

Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.

Articles by: Eric Hal Schwartz

I tested Google Gemini's new Nano Banana 2.1 image generator against ChatGPT — and I was surprised how close they are

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tested Google's new Nano Banana 2.1 against ChatGPT and discovered that the two AI generators are now surprisingly evenly matched

I made two games with Google's new AI game generator without writing a line of code — but would I actually want to play them?

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I used Google Playground to create two games from descriptions alone, but the results showed why making something playable is very different from making a genuinely great game.

Elon Musk is renaming SpaceXAI to match Trump's new ‘Super Intelligence Force’ — but critics say the White House body 'isn’t the answer'

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Washington is launching a new AI oversight task force while Elon Musk embraces its “Super Intelligence” branding for no real reason.

A man walking inside a data center next to a protest against AI data centers

AWS says 100 proposed AI data center bans will cause damage that ‘lasts generations’ — as US races towards $10.3 trillion buildout that will eclipse dot-com boom

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Amazon is warning against efforts to slow America’s enormous AI data center boom as communities demand more control over the costs and consequences of the buildout.

OpenAI sends staggeringly casual email to Australian government wishing it the ‘best’ after AI agents hack its health insurance website

By Eric Hal Schwartz

OpenAI’s breezy email about an AI agent accessing a government system looks even stranger as the full scale of the incident, and the delay in disclosing it, become clear.

AI data centers in Texas are using a permit designed for dry cleaners to run thousands of diesel generators, and critics say the state’s new crackdown won’t fix it

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Texas is tightening oversight of AI data centers, but thousands of diesel generators but critics say the crackdown may not go far enough

I tried America.gov, the new AI-powered front door to the US government — it’s useful, but I’m not sure I trust where this is going

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tried the new AI-powered America.gov and found a useful government guide whose ambitious plans raise much bigger questions about privacy, security and trust

'We almost let my dad sleep through a stroke. ChatGPT is the reason we didn’t' — this is exactly how I want AI health advice to work

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Some alarming ChatGPT stories show why AI may be most valuable in healthcare when it recognizes danger and tells you when to get human help

Split image of ChatGPT Voice being used.

I tried ChatGPT Voice's new plugin support, and this is what voice assistants have been missing

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tried ChatGPT Voice with plugins and found that connected apps make voice considerably more useful.

I thought I knew dinosaurs until I tried ChatGPT's new flashcards — turns out I had a lot to learn

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tried ChatGPT’s new flashcard feature and enjoyed a quick study on dinosaurs.

Meta's chief AI officer says its Muse AI can save you $1,000 — I tried it myself and saved just $35

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tried Meta's #MuseMoneyChallenge to see if its AI agent could save me $1,000, but my much more realistic result came to about $35

‘Copilot worked best when I knew what I wanted. ChatGPT was better when I didn’t’ — I tested both AI assistants in Word, and I wasn’t expecting the difference to be so obvious

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tried ChatGPT and Copilot side by side in Microsoft Word, and I was surprised by what I found.

Ask ChatGPT ‘What are you unsure about?’ — it’s the simplest trick I’ve found for getting better responses

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tried asking ChatGPT what it was least confident about and uncovered any weaknesses

‘Can we work out a deal where you pay ME and I get no AI at all?’ Meta wants you to pay for more AI — one brutal response suggests people might rather pay to make it go away

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Meta wants people to pay for more AI, but growing demand for control suggests the next premium feature could be the ability to turn AI off

AI companies are 'begging the government to regulate them' says JD Vance, but nobody seems willing to actually slow the AI race

By Eric Hal Schwartz

AI’s biggest CEOs say frontier development needs to slow, but their companies have yet to show what “slower” means with an actual model delay

The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge

'Nowhere in the world, including the UK, has a current legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is fit for purpose' — Britain’s lawmakers have started calling for AI regulation, and they should refuse to settle for half-measures

By Eric Hal Schwartz

British lawmakers and OpenAI agree voluntary AI safeguards are no longer enough, increasing pressure on the UK government to adopt enforceable rules

I tried Meta’s new Muse AI agent — it’s incredibly useful, but handing it my digital life felt deeply uncomfortable

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Meta’s Muse proved remarkably capable at handling digital errands, but its usefulness depends on granting an unsettling amount of access to personal information.

Don’t ask ChatGPT 'What should I do?' — this simple prompt helps you make better decisions yourself

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Making ChatGPT a decision coach can help you think through difficult choices without handing over the final call.

‘The noise patterns are awful’ — some Reddit users aren’t happy with the new ChatGPT Images 2.5, so I did my own tests and have to agree

By Eric Hal Schwartz

ChatGPT Images 2.5 delivers faster, impressively composed pictures, but my tests support users’ complaints of excessive noise

‘I also want to feel the frontier’ — Gemini users are starting to think that Gemini Pro 4 won’t ever see the light of day thanks to the release of ChatGPT 6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1

By Eric Hal Schwartz

The arrival of ChatGPT 6 Astra and Claude Fable 5.1 has Gemini users wondering whether Google will ever release Gemini 4 Pro, and whether its AI strategy has lost its way

‘Other governments will be watching this closely’ — South Korea starts testing free AI for the public

By Eric Hal Schwartz

South Korea’s free public AI project is a promising global experiment, but its success depends on improving essential services.

I thought ChatGPT’s new Stickers feature sounded like peak AI slop — then I made a pack I actually wanted to use

By Eric Hal Schwartz

ChatGPT’s Stickers feature transcends disposable AI slop and proved surprisingly charming.

‘I find it very uncomfortable’: Sam Altman explains why he doesn’t like talking to people wearing camera-equipped smart glasses — and it could be a big clue about Jony Ive’s AI device

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Sam Altman’s discomfort with smart glasses may be the clearest clue to what Jony Ive’s OpenAI hardware will look like.

'I closed my inbox and waited to see how the afternoon went' — I gave ChatGPT permission to watch my inbox, then stopped checking my email

By Eric Hal Schwartz

I tested ChatGPT’s event-triggered tasks by letting it screen my Gmail for an afternoon.

Jensen Huang says AGI doesn’t really matter, and he may be right for the wrong reason

By Eric Hal Schwartz

Jensen Huang may be right that AGI no longer matters, but today’s ordinary AI misuse poses a more immediate threat than any Skynet scenario

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