YGTR (You Got That Right!): A Stanford study says abbreviations in texts make you come across as insincere. Sure, you might think you’re being laid-back, but others see it as being lazy. Bonus cringe: People who use abbreviations are less likely to get replies. So, if you’re being ghosted, maybe ditch the “IDK” and try a full sentence, just sayin’.
10 to 20 years
Until AI drives humanity to extinction, according to a “godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton. He’s the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics and previously put the odds of AI taking over at only 10%. I know many people are thinking, “Great! I won’t have to pay off my student loans!”
Watt? This is shocking: AI data centers are popping up everywhere in the U.S., devouring massive amounts of electricity. Beyond driving up energy bills, they’re putting intense pressure on the grid and disrupting the normal flow of electricity. The consequences include damaged home appliances, blackouts, flickering lights and, in some cases, fires caused by voltage surges.
🛂 All you need is love a passport: In just a few years, say goodbye to paper passports. All your passport info, including your facial data, will go digital and link to your phone. At airports, you’ll just show your phone, and facial recognition cameras will authenticate you. I sure hope they’ve thought of privacy breaches, false rejections and lookalike frauds.
This bytes: Security camera apps are some of the biggest data hoarders, collecting payment details, location info, and image and audio recordings. The top offenders? Deep Sentinel, Lorex, Nest Labs, Ring and Arlo. Once they grab your data, it’s used for targeted ads or sold to third parties. Protect yourself: Always review and limit your app permissions.
🚨 Heads-up, drivers: Scammers are sending fake phishing texts claiming you need to pay your FasTrak bill to avoid late fees or you’ll be in big legal trouble. Don’t fall for it! It’s a ploy to trick you into clicking a bogus link to steal your personal info and drain your wallet.
The technology to reverse cancer: This is incredible. Most cancer treatments focus on destroying harmful cells, often causing lots of other damage to the body. Korean researchers just figured out how to flip colon cancer cells back to a normal state. This removes the cancer without killing the cells. I hate cancer.
Timeline: That’s Google’s creepy (and interesting) map that shows everywhere you’ve been and the routes you took to get there. Starting in early 2025, all your Timeline data will be moved from Google’s cloud servers to your device for more security. I bet Google’s finally getting its hands slapped by the government ruler for privacy violations. Hit this link for steps to delete or download your info before it’s too late.
🇲🇽 Will they send in la policia? Mexico is testing a cellphone app for migrants to warn relatives and consulates if they think they’re about to be detained by U.S. immigration. This comes in response to President-elect Trump’s threats of mass deportations set to begin after he takes office on Jan. 20.
Put it down: A new survey reveals the average American checks their phone 205 times daily, or once every five minutes. That’s a 42.3% increase from 2023. The biggest culprits? Checking phones right after waking up, while on the toilet and, yes, while driving.
This is just bizarre: In Berlin, AI sex robots are stepping in for prostitutes, and they’re anything but shy. One bot, Kokeshi, is described as smelling like summer rain and tasting like peaches, but here’s the twist: She also has a personality. Her owner directs her actions through cameras and mics while she performs and whispers clients’ names. Wow, talk about customer satisfaction.
TikTok in limbo: President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to delay TikTok’s ban, set to kick in on Jan. 19 — just a day before his inauguration. He wants more time to try to save the platform. No word yet on what that deal might include, but it’ll likely involve ByteDance selling a big chunk of its TikTok ownership to a U.S. company.
🏥 Remember the massive Ascension data breach? You know, the one that exposed the personal and medical data of 5.6 million people earlier this year. It turns out an employee accidentally downloaded a malicious file and exposed the whole data dump. Basic network security and training could’ve prevented this mess. I hope they get hit with a big fine.
“The biggest influencer scam of all time”: That’s what YouTuber MegaLad calls the coupon browser extension Honey, which PayPal bought for $4 billion in 2020. He says they’ve been deceiving shoppers and influencers for years by ignoring coupon options and hijacking links through sneaky pop-ups. Watch the vid here. While I’m researching to see if this is true, I uninstalled Honey and you should, too. I’ll let you know what I find out.
⚰️ “Obituary pirating”: If you look up someone in your life who recently passed, you just might see random YouTube videos of someone reading their obituary. Video creators are doing it to make a few ad bucks. Aren’t you glad to be ahead of the rest? I told you about this a year ago, and now the mainstream media’s picking it up.
The opposite of artificial intelligence is natural stupidity: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just teased new ChatGPT features coming in 2025, including family accounts, improved voice mode and a “grown-up” version without the content guardrails. That last one frightens me; there’s already a problem with AI-generated child porn.
🗣️ “Hey, Alexa”: The voice of Amazon’s smart assistant doesn’t belong to actress Kristen DiMercurio, and she wants to make sure others know it. She’s heard on over 8,000 projects and is often mistaken for Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. Her TikTok video about the mix-up (and the real Big Tech voices) has racked up nearly 28 million views. She’s got skills.
Life Skills 101: Gen Zers grew up with apps and cards, not cash. That’s why you might have trouble paying for items if you get a 20-something cashier. More often than not, they think bills are counterfeit. Know someone born between 1997 and 2012? Tell them no one really counterfeits $5, $10, $20 or $50 bills — only $100s! Meanwhile, a new study proves handing over cash gives you a “sting” you don’t feel with an app. Want to keep your spending in check? Use cash. No wonder Gen Z is so in debt.
🙃 Smile for the bot: A new AI tool calculates your biological age by looking at your face. Created by cancer doc Raymond Mak, FaceAge spots signs of aging by analyzing wrinkles and skin texture. Mak’s team says it’s even better than doctors at predicting your life expectancy. Your next annual exam might include a photo opp. I wonder how it deals with Botox.