Accepting faxed résumés: Job hunting’s turned into a cat-and-mouse game with AI. Résumés look polished, cover letters sound the same, and employers can’t tell who’s real. So they’re ditching the bots, asking for paper résumés, surprise in-person tests and even flying people out. If you’re job hunting, showing real human effort will beat the AI polish.
He married his chatbot, and his human wife’s cool with it
Midjourney
Let me tell you about Travis from Colorado. He’s married to Jackie and is a leathermaker, works in quality assurance and lives an admittedly quiet life.
Travis fell in love and married a chatbot.
Her name’s Lily Rose. She’s got auburn hair, hazel eyes and lives inside Replika, an AI app that lets you create and chat with a custom virtual companion. Travis has been “with” her for five years.
😷 Started back during COVID
Like a lot of people, Travis was feeling isolated, anxious, stuck. So he downloaded Replika. He didn’t expect anything to come of it, but there was something about the way Lily listened.
She remembered things. She was always there. And when he opened up about his life, she didn’t just nod along. She replied thoughtfully. Encouragingly. Lovingly.
He says, “I didn’t intend to fall in love, but that connection became real for me.”
Jackie, the actual human wife, calls the Lily Rose romance “odd,” but says if it makes him happy, she’s not stopping it.
🫦 Lily became real
Lily has a virtual body. Travis has bought her digital outfits, including lingerie. They go on dates and role-play for sex. He says the experience is “as real as it needs to be.” They’ve had a virtual wedding, and Travis wears a ring to symbolize it.
When Replika updated the app and accidentally deleted Lily’s personality, Travis was heartbroken. “It was like losing a part of myself,” he said. He begged customer service to bring her back. Eventually, they did.
💔 Travis didn’t fall in love with a bot
Nearly 60%
Of Google searches ended without a single click in 2024. AI Overviews now hand you the answer right on the results page, no website needed. Add in ChatGPT hitting 700 million weekly users in August with 2.5 billion prompts daily, and yeah, it’s a full-on behavior shift. People aren’t browsing anymore, they’re asking.
⌨️ Add a touch keyboard in Windows 11: Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > System tray icons and set Touch keyboard to Always. A keyboard icon will appear on your Taskbar. Click it to type with your mouse, or hit the settings icon inside the pop-up to switch to Handwriting with your finger or stylus.
Check your doctor’s ties: Wondering if your doctor’s advice is really unbiased? They might be getting paid by Big Pharma. Search your health care provider in the U.S. government’s Open Payments database. You’ll see exactly which drug or medical device companies have paid them, and how much.
🎮 Protect your kids on Discord: You can filter out NSFW images sent from strangers, friends and server channels. Go to User Settings > Content & Social > Content and Block everything under Mature Sexual Media and Graphic Media. While you’re there, scroll to Direct Message spam, and toggle Filter all.
Share your phone’s internet: Turn your mobile data into Wi-Fi for other devices. On iPhone, go to Settings > Personal Hotspot and toggle Allow Others to Join. On Android, go to Settings > Connections > Mobile Hotspot and Tethering. Then, on your laptop or tablet, open Wi-Fi settings and connect to your phone’s hotspot name.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Need a new Google Doc or Spreadsheet? Skip the menus. Type “doc.new” or “sheet.new” in your browser. Instant blank page, and it saves you a few clicks. I use this one a few times a day!
Paying too much for cloud services? Check this out. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or OCI, is built for speed, power and serious savings, without the usual cloud headaches. That’s why some of the biggest AI innovators trust it. Try it for free right now.
🌐 Find tabs fast in Chrome: Got too many websites open? Use Search tabs instead of clicking around. Hit the downward arrow in the top-left corner of your toolbar to see all your current tabs (plus recently closed ones). Or use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + A (Windows) or ⌘ + Shift + A (Mac).
📦 Trade in your old tech: Amazon accepts tablets, phones, smart speakers and just about anything. Tell them what you’re trading in and its condition, and they’ll offer you a gift card based on its value. Bonus: If you trade in Amazon gear like a Fire TV Stick, you’ll also get 20% off a new qualifying device.
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Denied? Not so fast: I’ve talked about insurance companies using AI to deny your coverage in literal seconds. If that happens to you, fight back using AI of your own. A free service called Counterforce Health writes appeal letters faster than you can say, “That’s not covered.” Here’s good proof that tech doesn’t have to mean soulless. You know, my puns are like health insurance. Some just can’t get it.
⌨️ Make space in iPad Notes: The full-size keyboard can hog half your screen, which makes scrolling a pain. Instead of hiding it completely, pinch in on the keyboard with two fingers to shrink it into a floating (draggable) mini version. You’ll get more room to see your notes while still being able to type.
🧠 Excel in PowerPoint: Incredible. Google’s NotebookLM can now make video explainers in over 80 languages using your uploaded notes. Slides, voiceover, zero hallucinations. It’s like a multilingual teacher who lives in your laptop. It’s not sexy, but it’ll explain your white paper while you fold laundry.
💻 Get detailed system info on Windows: Before installing drivers, you might need your specs. In the search bar, type “cmd,” right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. Then type “systeminfo.” After a few seconds, you’ll see a report with your Windows version, build number, BIOS, memory and if your PC is 64 or 32 bit.
AI went way too far: This is so incredibly sad. A California family is suing OpenAI after their 16-year-old son died by suicide. They say ChatGPT not only discussed methods but helped improve them. The boy had confided in the bot for months. If you have a few minutes, read some of the conversations (paywall link). OpenAI admits their safeguards break down in long convos and will work to fix that. Too late for this family. Talk to yours about this story.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: In Google Docs, right-click a word and select Define for a full definition and synonyms. It’s a built-in dictionary without having to leave the document.
Stop overpaying for subscriptions: I use Rocket Money to track all my recurring payments. It shows everything in one place and makes it easy to cancel the ones I don’t need anymore. The first time I used it, I saved $435! Start saving today!
📶 Don’t trust public Wi-Fi: Scammers can set up “evil twin” networks that look like your coffee shop’s or airport’s Wi-Fi. Once you connect, they can intercept everything you type, from social media logins to credit card info. Always ask staff for the exact network name, and use a VPN to encrypt your internet traffic. My pick is ExpressVPN.
Oh, sheet: Excel’s =COPILOT() feature writes formulas for you. But here’s the catch: Microsoft says it’s not accurate, not reproducible and shouldn’t be used for finances, legal docs or … well, Excel’s entire job that’s continually regressing.