Scammers are upgrading their tactics. The latest scam uses enticing ads featuring AI art, making everyone think they too can be a content creator.
5 free AI tools you’ll want to try the second you see them
Midjourney
You’re really gonna love this.
I’ve been diving into the latest AI tools, and some of them are so jaw-dropping I couldn’t wait to get them in your hands. They don’t feel like tech. They feel like creative black magic.
These aren’t dry “watch me demo an algorithm” kind of tools. These are “I just accidentally made a Pixar short about a pizza delivery robot who questions reality” kind of tools.
Best of all, you can play with them right now. No downloads, no special skills required. Just your browser and a little imagination.
👉 Before you get started
Yes, you’ll need to make a free account for each one. Most give you a set number of free credits every month. A credit is one action, like generating a video or creating a piece of art. When you run out, you can wait for the next month or pay for more.
Smart sign-up tip: If you have Gmail, keep your inbox clean by adding a plus sign and a word to your address. If your email is myname@gmail.com, sign up as myname+ai@gmail.com or myname+music@gmail.com. All the messages still land in your inbox, but you’ll know exactly which service sent them and you can filter or block them anytime. Apple users, try Hide my email.
Google Veo
Hollywood-level video from a sentence. Type “a drone shot over snowy mountains at sunrise,” and Veo creates it in cinematic quality. Join the wait list now, it’s worth it.
Adobe Firefly
Add, remove or transform anything in a photo in seconds. “Put a rainbow over the lake” or “erase the car in the background.” Done, no Photoshop required.
Runway Gen-2
Type a scene like “a cat surfing a giant wave in Hawaii,” and get a video clip back. You can even upload your own footage and change the entire style from realistic to wild and surreal.
Suno Music
Describe the style, mood and vibe, and it will compose a fully original song, vocals and all. Yes, even “jazz lullaby for robots” works.
Midjourney Web Beta
Truly, I saved the best for last. The most stunning AI art and video generator out there, now in your browser. “Steampunk city at night” turns into a masterpiece in seconds.
Glow big or glow home
🎃 My pick: Flameless color-changing candles (19% off)
Spooky without the smoke. Get into the Halloween spirit with these flickering flames you can control from your couch.
🖼️ Picture-hanging strips (47% off): Swap your wall art as much as you want. Strong hold, clean removal, no hammer required.
Bamboo drawer dividers (29% off): Slide to size and get instant organization for your clothes, silverware, you name it.
👕 Wooden hangers (19% off, 20 pack): Ditch the flimsy plastic. These keep your fits looking sharp and wrinkle-free.
Hat rack organizer (15% off, two-pack): No more crushed brims. Clips right on your hangers to hold 10 hats per strip.
🧰 Handy finds, all in one place: Shop all my home improvement faves on my Amazon storefront.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
🎨 AI tip of the day: Use quotation marks to separate complex ideas in your prompts. For a piece of art, you could say “clouds in soft hues of purples and oranges” over a “lush forest with tall trees.” Without the quotes, your prompt might generate a jumbled mess; this way, you’re telling the bot the clouds are one thing and the forest is another. You can use this for anything, btw, not just art.
Art heists, redacted documents and iPads … Oh my!
I talk to David from Gainesville, Florida, who was looking for advice to beef up his business but ended up spilling the tea on a wild unsolved mystery. Then, how that tracker on your cat could double as the perfect stalking device. Plus, why your computer may be headed for the garbage, Microsoft’s debut in the world of fashion, and why you’ll be seeing more iPads on college football sidelines this season.
Make AI dad go away: Zelda Williams slammed fans for sending AI-generated clips of her late father, Robin Williams, calling them “disgusting, over-processed hotdogs” of human art. She said he’d never want his voice or face used that way, and I get it. Let him rest, folks. Chill out on the deepfake Sora 2 celeb videos.
$0
The tuition cost at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. The Walmart heiress is footing the bill for the first five graduating classes at her brand-new med school, AWSOM, in Bentonville, Arkansas. It’s not charity, it’s a bet to prove that preventive care, art and a side of nutrition training can reshape health care. Call it Whole Foods meets Grey’s Anatomy.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Set a custom wallpaper on your Echo Show: Use the Alexa app > Devices > Echo Show > Photo Display > Family pics > Stock art.
Egg-cellent finds
🐣 Just one week until Easter! Let’s hop into it.
- Your kids will turn your sidewalk into art with a $9.99 12-pack chalk set. For some reason, the 9-pack is the same price.
- Grab a dino egg kit (20% off) for a prehistoric twist to your egg hunt.
- These wooden stacking blocks (10% off) make great basket stuffers.
- Get your hands on this cute LEGO Easter (9% off) rabbits building set.
- Bunny-shaped toaster tongs (41% off) are perfect for your Easter morning.
🍫 Sweeten the deal: Chocolate lovers, treat yourself to a yummy assortment of candies from Hershey (10% off) or Dove ($13).
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Bad news for photodumps: The new iPhone 17s, yep, the $1,200 ones, are apparently glitching if you take pics near bright LED lights, like at concerts. One reviewer found black boxes, missing chunks, ghostly squiggles. Apple says it’s rare and a fix is coming, but for now? Your pics might look like abstract art.
3-second tech genius
No skills? No problem. George, your AI host, shows you AI art tools that bring your craziest ideas to life. Plus, secret hacks to supercharge your gadgets … and a surfing cat.
Is your old tech worth a fortune?
Some investors are treating vintage tech like fine art. The right piece could be a goldmine.
Lot cop unleashed: Walmart’s testing a security robot in its parking lots. It has wheels, cameras and apparently a dude behind the mic, whispering “Yo, what you say?” to shoppers. Is it surveillance? Art? Cyberpunk cosplay? Either way, the vibes are dystopian. Next up: R2-D2 with a gun.
Graphic designers, is this the end?
ChatGPT’s new image tool is so good, you don’t need any art skills. Just type what you want and it makes it.
How to make AI-generated pics look good
ChatGPT-4o’s new image tools turn your photos into eye-popping digital art. Here’s how to get the best results, fast.
🎨 Picasso’s paint-over: If you’re into art history, this is cool. One of Picasso’s famous works, “Mateu Fernández de Soto,” was painted on top of another portrait. Infrared and X-ray imaging revealed a mystery woman beneath the guy in the final version. Picasso was famous for reusing canvases. Hmm, maybe she was an ex he wanted to forget. See it here.
🎨 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.
Don’t settle for less: The Horizon IX hearing aids pack two state-of-the-art computer chips for the clearest possible sound, even in busy, loud places. See if you qualify for a 45-day no-risk trial.
$22M stolen painting
Found at a bus stop. “The Rest on the Flight into Egypt” sold recently at Christie’s. An art detective found it at a bus stop seven years after it was stolen from a British marquess. Fun fact: A marquess is ranked above an earl and below a duke … not to be confused with the Duke of Earl.
The biggest heist in history
What’s the backbone of chatbots like Gemini or ChatGPT? It’s the art, science, and hard work of real humans — humans who may never get credit or compensation.