How to delete your 23andMe data

October 13, 2024

Around 15 million Americans sent their DNA in to learn about their ancestry. It seemed like harmless fun, until it wasn’t.

Substitute student: A new robot, AV1, helps sick kids stay on track. The little guy acts as their eyes, ears and voice, complete with a rotating camera, mic and speaker, all controlled via an app. It even has a “raise hand” feature and emoji eyes. It’s just under $5,000 (plus $1,000 a year in fees). Give it a year, and it’ll be half that price.

Introducing: Bolt & Bolt-M

💣 War drones need specially trained operators: Well, they did. The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a new AI-powered strike drone. Select any target, and Bolt-M follows autonomously, even if it loses connection. To attack, choose the direction, angle and height, and it does the rest. Just … wow.

This is a crazy story: A jaguar cub spent the first few months of its life passed between an OnlyFans model and drug dealers. The adult creator rented him out for $1,000 an hour for photo ops, then sold him for $25,000. The full story is a long one that’s worth reading. Spoiler: The cub eventually found a forever home at a sanctuary in California, thank goodness.

Meta’s new AI tool jams: If you run ads on Facebook or Instagram, you can now turn still images into videos. I like this example: A simple jar of strawberry jam upgraded with floating, animated strawberries. The feature is live but not for everyone yet.

This trend is going to take off: Competitive short takeoff and landing, aka STOL, looks like a lot of fun. It’s one of aviation’s fastest-growing sports, thanks, in part, to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Watch how it works here. I’d love to try this!

Sucking up dirt: A prankster is targeting Chinese-made robot vacuums inside American homes. A Minnesota lawyer’s Ecovacs Deebot X2 app showed someone accessing the live camera feed, then racial slurs and a few f-bombs blasted through the speaker. In Los Angeles, another vacuum chased an owner’s dog. Ecovacs says to change your password. I say you should do a factory reset and toss your Ecovacs. This Roomba is on sale.

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🚨 Watch out for election hallucinations: Cybercriminals are using ChatGPT to influence the upcoming U.S. elections, whipping up fake articles and misleading comments. OpenAI says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, none of it has gone viral or built a real audience.” Yeah, right. Facebook is practically drowning in AI-generated clickbait crap.

What is STOL? What are the rules?

This trend is going to take off: Competitive short takeoff and landing, aka STOL, looks like a lot of fun. It’s one of aviation’s fastest-growing sports, thanks, in part, to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Watch how it works — I’d love to try this!

Toss porch pirates overboard: Nationwide, thieves are nabbing expensive new iPhones just seconds after they’re dropped off. AT&T sends theirs via FedEx and usually doesn’t require a signature for deliveries, so they’re the biggest target. If you’re ordering an iPhone, pick it up in-store or get a lockable porch box and video doorbell.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.