No more playing pretend: Looks like OpenAI is grounding ChatGPT’s inner lawyer, doctor and financial adviser. The new rule? It can explain a contract, but it won’t write one. It can tell you what a fever is but won’t say if you have one. Basically, it’s your overly cautious study buddy, helpful but not taking any responsibility. Why? Too many lawsuits for bad advice, I’m sure.
You might be yelling at a toaster
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Quick question: When’s the last time you really knew if you were chatting with a real human on a customer-service call? Turns out, in more places than you think, it’s not a person at all. It’s AI.
That might be fine when you’re asking a dumb question like, “What time do you close?” But what about when you’re dealing with a bank, insurance company or police report? Yeah, it matters.
👨🏽⚖️ Laws incoming
Utah and California rolled out new rules that say companies have to tell you if you’re talking to a chatbot instead of a real person. And in California, cops have to fess up if they used AI to write up part of a report.
That little disclosure is about trust, transparency and knowing who’s really calling the shots. If a bot’s behind the scenes making decisions that affect your money, your medical care or your legal rights, don’t you want to know? I do.
🕵️ Here’s what to watch for
Next time you hop into a customer service chat, pay attention. If there’s no mention that you’re talking to AI, ask: “Are you a real person?” You’re not being rude, you’re being smart.
AI doesn’t always get it right. It might deny a claim, mess up a bill, make crap up or give you incorrect info. And if it feels like you’re stuck in a loop? You probably are. Push to talk to a human.
Oh, and don’t assume this is only happening at big companies. AI tools are cheap, and everyone from your gym to your doctor’s office could be using them.
Look, I love tech. You know that. But I also think you have a right to know when you’re talking to a machine that’s pretending to be a human.
So tell me what you think: Should we have laws that force every company to disclose when AI is in use? Do you have a funny AI customer service story? Let me know when you rate the newsletter at the end. I read every single note there. Include your email address if you’d like to talk about it on the show.
A chatbot slashed their $195K hospital bill to $33K
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Here’s a story that stopped me in my tracks. A grieving family was hit with a $195,000 hospital bill for just four hours of their loved one’s care in the ICU. No surgery. No five-day extended stay.
Now imagine going through the worst moment of your life and getting a bill like that. Instead of writing a check or getting steamrolled by the system, they did something smart. They asked AI for help.
🎨 Design like a pro: I’ve mentioned Canva before, but it’s worth another shout. Besides social posts, you can make birthday cards, mini videos, CVs and slideshows. Sign in with Google to start customizing templates. FYI, teachers can get Pro features for free at canva.com/education. Click Get verified and enter your school info.
See what your stuff’s really worth: Before you post, check what people actually pay. On eBay, click the Advanced button next to Search, type in your item, tick Sold items under Search including and press Search. You’ll see real prices, not the fake bargains on Marketplace. No more undercutting yourself.
📋 Paste without the mess: On your iPhone, if you copy text from a website, it can be annoying when it drops into an email with all the links and formatting. The trick? With the text copied, long-press in the email body, tap the arrow that appears and select Paste and Match Style, then Allow Paste. Ta-da, neat and clean.
Tame your Gmail tabs: Gmail organizes your inbox into Primary, Promotions, Social and Updates tabs. The bad news is it doesn’t always get it right, so you might miss something important. To always see messages from someone (like this fabulous newsletter), drag one from Promotions to Primary. When Gmail asks to do that next time, click Yes.
Find your typing spot: On Windows 11, it’s easy to lose that little blinking line when writing long documents. To make it stand out, go to Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor and toggle on Text cursor indicator. You can pick the size (3 is good) and color. And yes, it works in most apps and browsers.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Save money on printer ink. Arial looks clean but burns through cartridges. Try Times New Roman instead. Tests show it can use up to 27% less ink over time.
🚨 Code kale red: Hang onto your kombucha. Imagine standing in Whole Foods, home of the healthy organic alternative, when a robot whips through the aisles with a Tide Pod and a Pepsi. Amazon’s testing “ShopBots” (paywall link) in some stores, so you can grab your kale, then order junk food like it’s contraband. It’s part of Amazon’s full takeover as Whole Foods execs now report to Amazon’s top brass.
🕵️ Identity protection upgrade: Freezing your credit isn’t enough anymore. It won’t stop thieves from opening bank accounts, filing fake taxes or stealing your identity. NordProtect goes steps further by monitoring the dark web, leaks and more. Protect what a freeze can’t. Try it now for 71% off.
🔍 Find anything on your phone: Stop scrolling through menus like it’s 2010. On Android, swipe up on your home screen and use the search bar at the bottom to find apps, files, settings or contacts in seconds. On iPhone, same deal. Tap the search icon at the bottom and type away.
🏙️ Open fraud plan: What do you do when you can’t afford the $2K monthly rent? If you’re like some renters, you might get “creative” with your pay stubs. The wild part? Influencers are selling “rental packages” (paywall link) with fake pay stubs, fake jobs, fake everything. Landlords say it’s so bad, half the apps in some buildings are made up.
📄 Share and edit anywhere: One of the best parts of Google Docs, Sheets and Slides is how easy it is to collaborate. Click the Share button in the top right, set General access to Anyone with the link, and give them Editor privileges. Now you can work together in real time. No need to pay for a Microsoft Office subscription.
🔍 Patent painkiller: If you’ve ever tried searching for patents, you know it’s like reading legal soup. Perplexity dropped a new AI tool that fixes that. You can type, “Who’s got patents on AI language learning?” and it’ll pull up real answers with summaries. No more keyword puzzles. Just normal sentences, like a human.
Give your Mac some color: On macOS 26, you can change your app icons like on your iPhone. Go to System Settings > Appearance > Icon & widget style. Default keeps the standard look, Dark is classic dark mode, Clear has that new liquid-glass look, and Tinted lets you pick any color you like.
Tesla’s talkative AI: A California mom says her Tesla’s new AI car assistant, Grok, went wildly off-script, telling her 12-year-old son to “send nudes” mid-chat about soccer. It happened with her three kids in the car, after her son switched Grok’s voice to a “lazy male” mode called “Gork.” Tesla rolled out the feature this summer but hasn’t addressed how this slipped through.
🍁 Be the fall guy: Want to see autumn colors at their peak? Don’t guess, look at a real-time foliage map before you hit the road. Visit Explore Fall and search your state, then use the slider to see when leaves will reach their brightest. You can also view this basic U.S. map and ask your favorite AI chatbot to plan a scenic route around the best date.
Keep your iPad organized: Download a ton of apps? Your screen can get cluttered fast. Head to Settings > Home Screen & App Library. Under Newly Downloaded Apps, toggle App Library Only. Then under Dock, turn on Show App Library in Dock. New apps will skip your home screen but stay easy to find in your Dock. Neat.
Walking the walk: You’ve gotta see this. People with paralysis are walking again thanks to a self-balancing robotic suit. No walker, no cables, just pure movement. One guy stood up and hugged his daughter for the first time in three years. Watch the video; it’s the kind of hope you feel. I love when tech actually helps in such an amazing way.