This is a Pisa work: Scammers created a deepfake voice of Italy’s defense minister to call big names like Giorgio Armani and Prada’s Patrizio Bertelli (paywall link). The fake minister said journalists had been kidnapped and they needed cash to pay the ransom. At least one fell for it, wiring over $1 million to scammers.
$97.4 billion
What Elon Musk offered to buy OpenAI yesterday. He’s in a battle with Sam Altman, who wants OpenAI to turn a profit. Altman responded to Musk on X, writing, “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Ouch.
😡 Justice, served: This is horrifying. A woman received a webpage filled with deepfake porn of herself, along with detailed, disgusting fantasies, and the page included her phone number, address and other private info. She went into full detective mode. The culprit? A close friend from college. A judge threw the sicko in prison for nine years.
180 years old
The Jevons paradox principle, which now applies to AI. Basically, it says that as efficiency increases, so does usage. With AI models becoming more efficient and cheaper (like DeepSeek), more people will start using them every day. This is probably good news if your Nvidia stock earnings are in the toilet like mine.
16GB of RAM
No longer enough to play PC games. For open-world games that rely on visuals, the new standard is 32GB for shorter loading times, fewer stutters and smoother streaming. Here are affordable upgrade kits for DDR4 and DDR5 systems.
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🤝 I want to be your secret helper and mentor: I’ve been around tech forever. My business has thrived for over 20 years without debt or investors. If you have an issue, problem or question about your life or business, I’d love to help you. Ask me here on my site. I read every single note.
💡 Watt a good idea: Apple is working on a new robot that could one day replace your HomePod, Amazon Echo or smart speaker. It looks and moves exactly like the Pixar lamp. Apple wants to make robots interact more naturally with us. Ask “How’s the weather?” and it’ll literally turn its head toward the window before answering. Here’s the video.
🩸 Follow the money: People with kidney failure rely on dialysis machines to remove toxins from their blood, but the tech is outdated and a hassle to move around. That’s why researchers are developing smaller options, like the AKTIV. They’re struggling to secure funding, which is no surprise, given the dialysis market is worth $26 billion a year. They don’t want change.
Closing time at an Earlybirds Club dance party
Closing time at an Earlybirds Club dance party. It starts at 6 p.m. so folks with a job and a bedtime can still let loose. The clubs began in Chicago but are all over the U.S. now. Playlists are stacked with favorites from the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s. Sounds fun!
Pranksters, unite: TouchTunes is the app equivalent of putting a quarter into a jukebox. Over 65,000 bars and restaurants use them, and you don’t have to be there in person to add a song to the queue (paywall link). That made it easy for the troll who played “Rocky Top” (the University of Tennessee’s unofficial fight song) in an Ohio State University bar … from 500 miles away.
🎨 No paint, no gain: Christie’s is planning its first-ever auction dedicated to AI art, and let’s just say people are not having it. The biggest gripe? Most generative AI tools were trained on IRL artists’ work without consent. A letter demanding Christie’s cancel the show has gathered thousands of signatures.
🛰️ T-Mobile Starlink free offer: Let me explain the Super Bowl commercial. When your cellphone gets out of range of a cell tower, your phone will connect to the T-Mobile Starlink network. Messages are sent and received just as they are today on a traditional network, including group texts and reactions. It works on most smartphones from the last four years. Anyone, no matter the carrier, can join the public beta. Sign up here so you get to use it free until July. I did.
A new scam making the rounds: Oh, happy day, a present in the mail! Not so fast. Scammers are mailing free gift packages with a QR code inside. Scan it and the malware that launches lets them take over your phone in seconds. The worst part? The package looks totally legit, complete with your name, address and a familiar retailer, like Amazon. If you get one, don’t scan any codes inside.
🚨 A chatbot without limits: It’s simple to trick Chinese AI DeepSeek into giving out dangerous information. Researchers found using a tactic called “jailbreaking” — bypassing the AI’s built-in restrictions — you can get instructions on making a Molotov cocktail, evading law enforcement and even creating malware (paywall link). And we thought TikTok was dangerous.
Corporate playground: I want to see this thing IRL. There’s a $2.5 billion office called The Round being built in London to lure the youngest of Gen Z workers. It’ll have nap pods, space for breathwork classes, a gym and all sorts of other luxuries (paywall link). It probably comes with participation trophies, too.
💸 Budget iPhone? Rumor has it Apple will drop the iPhone SE 4 next week for around $429. It’s packing a 6.1-inch OLED screen, a 48 MP camera, an A18 chip and 8GB of RAM, and it can even run Apple Intelligence. Pretty tempting, but I’d still wait for reviews to see how well it actually performs. For all the bells and whistles, consider spending a little more on a renewed iPhone 15 Pro instead.
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I’m not switching: Microsoft Edge’s new scareware blocker spots pop-ups that try to trick you into downloading malware or giving hackers remote access. Sounds great … until you realize it works by scanning every page you visit. Want real-time protection you can trust? My pick is TotalAV.
🎭 Hate getting ready for video calls? What a world. Pickle AI lets you create an AI body double to sit in on your Zoom and Teams meetings. Record a five-minute video of yourself, upload it and let AI train your digital clone. Plans start at $24 per month. I wonder how often they glitch mid-presentation.
🎓 This makes cents: Tech is moving so quickly, the firms in Silicon Valley are hiring prodigies without college degrees. Not just that, but they’re handing out $100,000 checks just to get them to drop out. If you know someone struggling in college or not going because they can’t afford it, pass this one along.