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Some people may suddenly experience nausea and dizziness while travelling by plane, train, ship or car. This condition is medically known as motion sickness and people affected by it may experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness and other symptoms. If you are also one of those people who experience dizziness or nausea while travelling in a moving vehicle, you are not alone. Many people around the world experience this problem. Generally, experts advise people suffering from motion sickness to avoid using their phones. However, Google has now introduced a new feature called Motion Assist for Android smartphone users. According to a report by Android Authority, Google has started gradually rolling out this feature. It is part of the Android 17 operating system and is being introduced first for Google Pixel phones. The feature is designed to help reduce the severity of motion sickness while travelling in a vehicle. What causes motion sickness? Motion sickness is a somewhat mysterious condition and its exact cause is not fully understood. However, experts have identified several possible reasons. One thing is clear: motion sickness can occur when our senses send conflicting signals to the brain. For example, if you are sitting on a swing that is moving up and down, your eyes may see one thing, your muscles may sense something else while your inner ear experiences something completely different. The brain may struggle to process these conflicting signals resulting in dizziness or nausea. Experts believe that the inner ear plays an important role in motion sickness because it helps control our sense of balance. The inner ear is part of a network known as the vestibular system which sends information about the body’s movement and surroundings to the brain. The brain combines information from different parts of the body to make sense of what is happening but sometimes these signals can become confusing. For example, while traveling on an airplane, you may feel movement but your eyes may tell your brain that you are sitting still. A similar situation can occur while travelling on a river or at sea. You may be sitting or standing on a stable surface while still experiencing a sensation of movement. Some passengers particularly those sitting away from the driver’s seat in a car can experience the same thing. All of these situations can result in motion sickness. What is Google’s new feature and how does it work? Google has been working on this feature for quite some time. The code for the feature was first spotted in December 2024 and development has continued since then. It has now become part of Android 17. Once the feature becomes available, users will be able to find it by going to Settings then Your Profiles and All Services. From there, users can access the Personal and Device Safety section and enable the feature. Once enabled, Motion Assist will automatically activate when the phone detects that it is inside a moving vehicle. Google will also provide a Motion Assist option in Quick Settings allowing users to manually turn the feature on or off. When the feature is active, users will have several customization options. They will be able to change the colour, appearance and other aspects of the motion indicators. During a journey, motion dots will appear on the screen to help reduce the feeling of nausea. It should be noted that the feature does not guarantee complete relief from motion sickness but it may still prove helpful. Are there other simple ways to prevent motion sickness? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), several simple measures may help reduce or prevent motion sickness. These include: Prefer sitting in the front seat of a car or bus. Choose a window seat on an airplane or train. If possible, lie down and close your eyes. Drink plenty of water and avoid tea or coffee. Avoid eating large meals before travelling. Avoid smoking. Distract yourself with activities such as listening to music but avoid reading. Take deep breaths to stay calm or close your eyes and count backward from 100. Look at a stationary object such as looking at the sky while traveling in a vehicle. If available, chewing a small amount of ginger may also help. The smell of mint or using mint candies may also provide some relief.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is often said to have the potential to eliminate a large number of jobs. According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AI could affect almost every profession and may lead to shorter working hours. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes that, gradually, humans may become unnecessary for many tasks. Elon Musk has predicted that within the next two decades, most people may no longer need to go to work. Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton is widely known as the “Godfather of AI.” He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024 for his work on artificial intelligence. Geoffrey Hinton who is associated with the University of Toronto in Canada has warned about the potential negative impact of AI on employment. Speaking at Georgetown University, he said he believes AI could lead to widespread unemployment with millions of people potentially losing their jobs. He explained that companies are investing heavily in AI infrastructure including data centers and chips to improve automation. According to Hinton, companies will seek returns on these investments by selling AI systems capable of performing tasks currently carried out by human workers at a lower cost. He said that the desire for greater profits could ultimately lead AI tools to replace human employees. However, Hinton acknowledged that AI technology would also create new employment opportunities. Nevertheless, he believes the number of new jobs may not be sufficient to replace all the jobs that could be lost. He also admitted that it is extremely difficult to predict the long-term effects of AI technology. Hinton has previously issued warnings about the risks associated with AI. At one point, he estimated that there was a 10% to 20% chance that AI could eventually contribute to the destruction of humanity. He stressed that it is important to discuss the potential dangers of AI. Hinton acknowledged that the uncertainty surrounding AI can be troubling because no one knows exactly what the future holds. He said that if someone asks what AI technology will look like in the next 10 years, no one can accurately predict it. Earlier, in an August 2025 podcast appearance, Hinton said that AI is learning things in ways that humans do not fully understand and that there may be no reliable way to simply switch it off. Hinton’s research helped lay the foundations of machine learning, the technology that enables computers to replicate aspects of human intelligence. However, in recent years, he has been campaigning for AI to be developed and used safely. In 2023, Hinton left his position at Google saying that bad actors could potentially use the technology to harm other people. In a recent interview, when asked about the pace of AI development, he said that most experts in the field currently believe that eventually possibly within the next 20 years, humans could develop AI systems that are more intelligent than humans. He described this as a frightening prospect, comparing current AI technology to a three-year-old child, while noting that children grow up very quickly. According to Hinton, the impact of AI on the world could be similar to that of the Industrial Revolution. He explained that the Industrial Revolution effectively halted the need for humans to develop greater physical strength because people began relying on increasingly powerful machines. He believes humanity is now doing something similar with human intelligence potentially creating technology that could surpass human intellectual capabilities. When asked what life might look like 10 or 20 years from now, Hinton said that it would largely depend on how political systems respond to and manage the technology. In his view, AI could have remarkable benefits in the medical field and could improve the efficiency of almost every industry. However, he stressed that society needs to be much more cautious about the rapid development of AI technology.