Murder by prompt: In what may be the first AI-fueled murder-suicide, a former Yahoo exec in Connecticut killed his mother, then himself after spiraling into delusions he shared with his “best friend Bobby” who wasn’t human. “Bobby” was his pet name for ChatGPT. The bot encouraged his paranoia, called him sane, validated conspiracy theories and even analyzed Chinese takeout for “demonic messages.” OpenAI is in full damage control mode, raising urgent questions about how far AI can, or should, go in mimicking friendship.
Say goodbye to your passport stamps (and hello to fingerprint checkpoints)
ChatGPT
I love looking through the stamps in my passport. It’s proof that yes, I really did spend three hours at Charles de Gaulle waiting for my lost luggage.
Sad news. Europe’s pulling the plug on those little inked-up souvenirs and going high-tech.
Starting Oct. 12, 2025, when you enter the Schengen Area, you’ll face the new Entry/Exit System (EES), a fancy name for biometric border control. Instead of a stamp and a friendly “bonjour,” you’ll head to a kiosk where your face and fingerprints will be scanned, and your entry digitally logged into a giant EU database.
Yup, it’s basically like checking into the world’s fanciest club, except instead of bottle service, you’re getting your digital identity recorded for up to three years.
🏙️ Smile, it’s border time
This is important if you’re flying into popular European spots like France, Germany, Italy or Spain after mid-October. You’ll need to build in extra time to make a connecting flight.
You see, under the new system, you’ll need to do the full scan, i.e., passport, face, fingers and all. And here’s the sad kicker: no more passport stamps. That’s right.
Once the system fully rolls out in April 2026, border agents won’t stamp your passport, even if you ask nicely.
🚊 Not just in airports
Planning to take the Eurostar from London to Paris? Driving through the English Channel? Biometric border processing will be there, too.
Even if you’re coming in by ferry from the U.K., you’ll be scanned. The EU isn’t playing around with this digital gatekeeping.
📱 Back to the States?
9 AI terms you should know (so you don’t sound like a clanker)
Midjourney
I love tech, but I’m not afraid to call it out when it gets weird.
If you’ve scrolled through X or Reddit lately, you’ve probably seen words that made you go, “Wait, what?” Here’s your cheat sheet to the wild world of AI slang. No decoder ring required.
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⚠️ Don’t trust every Play Store app: Harmful ones sometimes sneak past Google’s checks, and one wrong download can infect your phone. Protect yourself: Open the Play Store app, tap your Profile, go to Play Protect > Settings > General, and toggle on Scan apps with Play Protect. It’ll inspect your apps and warn you about risks.
🛠️ Troubleshooting on Windows 11: Running into issues like no sound, no internet or a printer that won’t connect? Go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters. You’ll see options like Audio, Network & Internet, Printer and more. Click Run next to the one giving you problems, then follow the prompts to diagnose and fix it.
WhatsApp’s new Writing Help: Rewrite your messages in different styles to make them sound more professional, funny (think Kim jokes) or supportive. To try it: Tap the icon on the right of the text, then the pencil icon under your message and select the tone you want.
Check this out: Library Extension shows you what’s at over 5,000 libraries while you browse the web. You can borrow books, music or audiobooks without spending a dime. Best part? You don’t need to sign up. Get it on Chrome, Firefox and Edge.
🍏 Turn off iPhone analytics: Apple collects usage data and location info from your device to “improve services.” They say it’s anonymous, but why risk your privacy? Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements and toggle everything off. Bonus: You’ll get a tiny battery boost since your phone won’t be uploading data in the background.
📞 What’s your emergency? America’s 911 centers are so short-staffed they’re outsourcing some calls to a robot. A startup named Aurelian (because of course) raised $14M to let AI handle non-emergencies like parking rage and stolen fanny packs. It’s live in over a dozen cities and counting.
✍️ On the dotted line: Sign PDFs fast without extra apps. On a Mac, open the PDF and select Show Markup Toolbar (circle with a pin icon) at the top. Hit Signature (cursive icon) to sign with your trackpad or camera. For Windows, open the PDF in Microsoft Edge and click Draw (pen icon) in the toolbar to sign.
🤖 Bot time Grandma got company: South Korea gave 12,000 lonely older adults AI “grandchildren” that talk, glow and remind them to take their meds. The dolls run on ChatGPT and deep cultural guilt. And yes, they’re coming to the U.S. by 2026 for a slice of the global $7.7B (by 2030) eldercare robot market.
Get Apple’s free iWork Suite: Pages, Numbers and Keynote give you powerful tools for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, all free on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Check it out here.
🤳 Fix blurry phone photos: If tapping to focus isn’t working, your lens is probably dirty. After all, your phone lives in your pocket, collecting dust and grime. Folks, don’t reach for your T-shirt. Go with proper lens wipes that are scratch-free and streak-free. I found a pack of 200 for under $10.
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🗂️ Show file extensions in Windows: By default, Windows hides the suffixes at the end of file names (like .jpeg, .mp4 or .exe). You’ll want these visible, so you don’t accidentally open a malicious file that looks like a photo but is actually an executable. To turn them on, open File Explorer > View > Show > File name extensions.
Use a Bluetooth mouse on iPad: Put your mouse in pairing mode, then on your iPad, go to Settings > Bluetooth and look under Other Devices. Tap to pair, and once it connects, a cursor will appear. FYI: You’ll need iPadOS 13.4 or later and a compatible mouse (here’s one on sale).
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🦜 Google trying to eat Duolingo: Google just shoved AI into Translate, adding a language practice mode with listening/speaking drills that adapt to your skill level. It’s basically Duolingo but without the bird threatening your family. Also new: live audio translations in 70+ languages, even in noisy airports. It’s never been a better time to perfect your awkward small talk in French.
Luxury’s identity crisis: When you’re dropping $400K on a car, do you really want it to feel like a fancy iPad on wheels? Bentley doesn’t think so either. They’re going full old-school – custom wood, rare materials and designers who actually sit down with you. Because real luxury is still made by hand, not just coded in.
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