Paying too much for cloud services

Lonely kids, synthetic pals: This is so sad to me. A new report says a third of kids using AI chatbots feel like they’re talking to a real friend. A quarter say they turn to AI because they literally have no one else. Make sure the kiddos in your family aren’t one of them.

The top-end price for a custom spell on Etsy. That’s right, people are shelling out grocery money for mystical assurance (paywall link). I get it, times are tough, but there’s no need to make it harder on your wallet. Hope, apparently, isn’t just a strategy, it’s a billable service on Etsy.

That’s how accurately one dog sniffed out Parkinson’s, just from skin oil. Wow, right? In a double-blind trial, a lab-golden mix nailed 32 out of 40 cases of a disease that normally takes years to diagnose. No blood. No scans. Man’s best friend? More like neurology’s new MVP.

📞 AI’s on the line, fur real: Google’s Gemini bots can now phone your local pet groomer for you. Ask about prices, availability or just vibe checks, all without saying a word yourself. Only in the U.S., only for certain biz types (pet stuff, dry cleaners, auto shops), and yes, businesses can opt out. Gemini Premium folks get more AI call credits, because obviously money talks, and now so does AI.

That’s the massive chunk of change the former CTO (and briefly CEO) of OpenAI, Mira Murati, raised for her AI startup. Before it’s even shipped a product. The company’s called Thinking Machines, and it’s gunning to build the next-gen AI that can juggle text, images and more. Investors like Nvidia and a16z don’t need a demo, just Murati’s résumé and a good story.

💺 This idea is taking off: Forget flying on Wednesdays to save money on airfare. Delta’s letting AI set airfare based on what you personally might pay, i.e., how likely you are to cough up more money based on past purchases. About 3% of tickets use AI already. By year-end? 20%. 

How many tasks a robot nailed, solo, during a gallbladder surgery. Johns Hopkins’ new AI-powered bot followed instructions, learned from voice commands, adapted mid-op and even corrected itself like a good surgical intern. Only it never gets tired, flustered, needs snacks or even requests a student loan deferment. 

🛻 I think he might be right: Waze’s cofounder thinks Gen Beta (those born from 2025 to around 2039) won’t ever touch a steering wheel. With Tesla and Waymo pushing robotaxis, Uri Levine says the future is all self-driving, and maybe mobile shoe stores. So yeah, traffic might just be a bunch of vans selling Crocs.