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UK bank returned to full private ownership in MayView the full article

Within my family, I’m known as the “AI Guy” so naturally, my sister-in-law excitedly told me how she took a photo of her living room, uploaded it to ChatGPT, and saw a photorealistic rendering of her room with specific couches from Kohl’s and Wayfair that she could buy. While many businesses are encouraging employees to use AI more, they are forgetting that AI doesn’t just affect productivity; it’s also changing how we shop. Had my sister-in-law searched for “mocha leather couch,” she would have seen a laundry list of options in a Google search; however, she only saw two options through ChatGPT, and this new way of shopping is having a widespread impact on businesses. According to Adobe research, AI-driven referrals to U.S. retail websites increased more than tenfold from July 2024 to February 2025. Walmart is already feeling this impact, with ChatGPT now its single largest referrer, accounting for 20% of total referral traffic. How Does AI Know What to Recommend to You? Like a chef in a new kitchen, I’ve been testing how different AI platforms make recommendations since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. What I’ve found is that each chatbot has its quirks. Perplexity loves authoritative sources like Wikipedia and CNBC. ChatGPT draws from its training data first, then performs web searches when you ask for something time-sensitive, and Gemini leverages Google’s massive search capabilities. But despite their different approaches, they all follow the same core principle. When you ask for “the best portable speaker under $100,” they’re essentially doing what your audiophile friend would do: spending 30 minutes combing through Reddit threads, YouTube reviews, and product blogs, then distilling it into a recommendation. However, they do it in seconds instead of the hours it takes your friend to text back. Unlike Google search results influenced by SEO and paid ads, these recommendations are purely organic. If a brand appears in an AI search, you know that referral was earned, not bought. What Does This Mean For Your Business? This AI-powered convenience marks a turning point in online shopping. In my 10+ years as a software engineer, I’ve watched companies obsess over SEO, but AI use is now giving rise to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). With GEO, chatbots don’t care how good your website is; they care how good your reputation is. Product results are selected independently and are not influenced by ads or partnerships; instead, chatbots like ChatGPT consider price, reviews, and ease of use, pulling real user feedback from public websites. GEO is still emerging, which means early movers have an advantage, so now is the time to act. How Can You Set Your Business Up For Success? Measure Your Current AI Referral Rankings Before investing time into improving your business’s GEO standing, it’s important to know where you stand in the first place. AI Visibility checkers like HubSpot’s AI Search Grader, ALLMO.ai, and Trackerly.ai can help. A more cost-effective option would be to run your own tests and search for your product and/or brand across multiple chatbots, tracking the results. For accurate results, I recommend performing each search in a new chat, similar to using an incognito browser tab. Pay attention to whether you’re mentioned at all, how you’re positioned relative to competitors, and what specific attributes the AI highlights about your business. Integrate Directly With Chatbots While experimenting with ChatGPT recently, I noticed OpenAI is capitalizing on the AI referral wave with their new “Instant Checkout” feature, enabling users to purchase recommended items directly within the chat from platforms like Etsy and Shopify. Perplexity offers a similar feature, and both allow businesses to integrate their product feeds into the AI models with updated pricing, inventory, and checkout options. This direct integration does more than streamline purchasing; it signals to AI models that your business is established and trustworthy. A customer can go from asking “What’s a good gift for a gardener?” to completing checkout without ever leaving the conversation. If you sell on Etsy or Shopify, setting up these integrations should be a priority. Keep Your Warm Leads Warm Building my AI company taught me one thing: past customers drive future sales. In real estate, 82% of transactions come from referrals, yet most agents struggle to sustain manual follow-up, so I developed Compai to do it for them. Follow-up is key because when AI chatbots evaluate which businesses to recommend, they look for consistent engagement, positive reviews, and evidence that past customers come back. The businesses that nurture existing relationships through marketing newsletters, requesting product reviews, or automated follow-up tools naturally surface in AI recommendations. It’s not about gaming the algorithm; it’s about doing what good businesses have always done, just at a scale that’s actually sustainable. What Leaders Are Missing When business leaders ask me about AI, they’re usually motivated to increase productivity. But here’s what they’re missing: AI isn’t just changing how we work; it’s fundamentally changing how customers find businesses. My sister-in-law didn’t Google “mocha leather couch” and scroll through pages of results. She asked ChatGPT, saw two options, and made a choice. That’s the future of commerce. GEO is in its infancy, which means businesses focusing on genuine customer relationships have a real shot at becoming the default recommendation in their field. The brands that will win aren’t the ones spending the most on ads; they’re the ones earning authentic advocacy from customers. View the full article

New science advances may offer longer life to some, but the socio-economic affects may push others to die soonerView the full article

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is taking a big gamble with his $20bn swap line to prop up a The President allyView the full article

Opponents in disarray, allies in line, followers enthralled — the US president is already on his way to building a new world orderView the full article

Prolonged downturn in dealmaking has meant fewer opportunities and squeeze on payView the full article

Struggles at Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments are raising the prospect of a debt restructuringView the full article

US president voices anger at anti-tariff advertisement by province of OntarioView the full article

Results deal a blow to Keir Starmer’s leadership ahead of Welsh elections in MayView the full article

Agreement between Claude chatbot maker and one of its largest investors will add to start-up’s computing firepower View the full article

Low energy prices prove influential in Washington’s pivot to sanctions on Moscow’s two biggest producers View the full article

Here's a hot take for you: I always kind of liked Clippy. Maybe it's because I was an only child, but as useless as the animated paperclip (officially known as "Clippit," by the way) was for advice, I did enjoy having a buddy on my desktop while I worked on essays. Now, Microsoft is bringing that same energy back, but for AI. And, finally, I think I understand the Clippy hate. Called Mico, the character is part of Copilot's fall release, which includes a dozen new updates. Some of these are what you'd expect by now: There's a new memory feature that ensures every new conversation doesn't start from scratch, and better integration with outside apps like Gmail or Google Calendar. But there's also a few more out-there ideas, like using Copilot Mode in Edge (which originally released in July) to pick up old browsing sessions right where you left off, even if you already closed all your tabs. By far, though, the most unexpected update is for Microsoft to lean back into its old animated mascot tendencies. Mico isn't the first AI companion, nor is it the most expressive. Grok will sell you on a whole anime girlfriend, if you're into that. But it does call back to a pedigree I once thought long buried (and now, I realize, maybe for good reason). Like Clippy, and unlike Grok, Mico leans more towards the cute side of things, and is just a small, smiling, disembodied blob. It's entirely optional, but the idea is that it works with Copilot's voice input to make you feel like you're being listened to, changing color and reacting based on the tone of the conversation. If that all sounds a bit vague, it's because, well, Mico (and the rest of the Copilot fall release) is still rolling out. I don't have access to it yet, so the best I can do is check out this video shared by Microsoft. The idea, though, is clearly to make AI seem friendlier. Microsoft announced Mico in a post titled "Human-centered AI," and made a point out of debuting the character alongside a new "real talk" mode, which the company says "challenges assumptions with care, adapts to your vibe, and helps conversations spark growth and connection." And I think that's where I finally start to raise my eyebrows a bit. On the plus side, in Microsoft's video, Mico doesn't appear to actually talk, so much as play simple animations. It's not going to build a parasocial relationship with you to the degree that Elon Musk's animated AI girlfriend, which comes with a romance bar to level up, does. On the other hand, though, it still feels like a way to lower my guard. Describing Mico to The Verge, corporate VP of product and growth at Microsoft AI Jacob Andreou said "All the technology fades into the background, and you just start talking to this cute orb and build this connection with it." But what does it mean to be "connected" to a face that is inherently tied to a product? Essentially, with Mico, you're now looking at a big smiley face whenever you interact with Microsoft's AI, even as it continues to try to look at your screen, or redirect your web traffic, or bloat your computer with features that, according to testing done by TechRadar, can hurt performance. Maybe, actually, I should have my guard up when interacting with AI and not letting the technology fade out of my mind. For instance, Mico's release comes a week after Microsoft announced an initiative to "Make every Windows 11 PC an AI PC." It's no wonder the company wants to give it a friendly face while it advertises features that take action for you based on simple voice commands. But am I comfortable with a future where I just tell my computer what I want, with little direct involvement, and expect the company that runs the cloud powering it to know what that means? To a degree, I can see the convenience in that. But it also leaves me at the whims of Microsoft, and it's hard not to see Mico's friendly smile as a way to spin that as a good thing, rather than as a loss in control. At least Clippy could look sarcastic. Maybe I'm overreacting, but in the same blog where Microsoft introduced Mico, it also debuted "Copilot for health" and "Learn Live." In the former, the company actively encourages you to take your health questions to its AI, while the latter supposedly lets Copilot act as a "voice-enabled Socratic tutor." Microsoft promises that Copilot for health, at least, pulls from credible sources like Harvard Health, but as AI continues to face security risks and accusations of model collapse, I remain skeptical about letting it aid in self-diagnosing or tutoring my kid. And perhaps that's on me. When I finally get Copilot's fall release, it could prove itself. But Mico is the exact type of mascot that's meant to dismantle skepticism while it's still healthy. It benefits Microsoft, but "corporate-centered AI" and "human-centered AI" aren't the same thing. At best, I think Mico will seem obnoxious, in the same way enforced positivity usually does. But at worst, it comes across as a first attempt to make your computer seem like a friend you make requests of, rather than a machine you own. While users fight for right-to-repair and warn about dropping tech literacy among people who spend all their time with computers, it's hard not to see the idea of Copilot as a friend rather than something a bit more sinister. The Clippy connections aren't just in my head, for what it's worth. Andreou also told The Verge that "Clippy walked so that we [Mico] could run." But as we approach Halloween, I'd like to remind Microsoft that sometimes, dead is better. View the full article

Troubled chipmaker reported unexpected growth in earnings after US government investmentView the full article

Not content with having hundreds of millions of users peppering ChatGPT with queries and conversations every day, OpenAI wants to further embed itself in our digital lives. This week the company released Atlas, an AI-laden web browser it hopes will challenge incumbents and be adopted at scale. Atlas is one of a raft of AI-powered browsers that have been unleashed on the market in recent months. Perplexity, the AI answer engine, has Comet. Opera, a smaller European competitor to the likes of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, released Neon, which has its own AI functionalities. OpenAI stands a better chance than most of dislodging Google Chrome, which is used by around 70 percent of all web users, according to Statcounter. But it’s still hard to see how Atlas will eat into Chrome’s supremacy. “It’s hard to get people to change browsers,” says Johnny Ryan, a senior fellow at the Open Markets Institute who has investigated how users choose different digital services. Of course, OpenAI has good reason to feel confident. ChatGPT became a success within a matter of weeks thanks to its novel interactivity. OpenAI followed it up earlier this year with its controversial Sora 2 video generator, which gained a million users in five days. But for the average person, web browsers are decidedly less sexy. Unless you’re extremely techy, the reality is that a web browser is a utilitarian piece of software, designed to get you from point A to point B: From one website to another. Provided it does that without destroying your device in the process, most people are content with how it works. Over Statcounter’s 15-year history of recording web-browser market share, two browsers have dominated the market. Until 2012, that browser was Internet Explorer, as it had been since around the millennium, when it held a market share of between between an 80 and 95 percent. But as competitors began offering better features and higher service quality, Internet Explorer’s global dominance began to fade. In Europe, demand for Internet Explorer took a hit following a 2009 agreement with the European Commission requiring Microsoft to offer a “browser choice” screen to users, letting them know that there were alternatives to Internet Explorer. While the company did not immediately comply, around the time they began implementing it, in 2011 and 2012, they were supplanted by Google Chrome. Those who do differ from the mean when it comes to browser choice often do so for moral reasons—preferring, for instance, DuckDuckGo’s browser because of opposition to what they see as Google’s overly draconian data collection on its users—or a personal preference for a different type of browser. “The web-browser market consists of the three big browsers that ship as default on their respective operating systems. Beyond that, there is a vivid market of people who seek a different and better web experience,” says Jan Standal, vice president at Opera. But, barring egregious performance issues, most people stick with whatever they’re given. I personally hopped around various browsers between 15 and 20 years ago because they offered then-revolutionary tools like tabbed browsing, better multimedia support, or the ability to customize how they worked with extensions. But today’s crop of browsers are much of a muchness: Even the vaunted AI integration that OpenAI puts at the core of its marketing for Atlas is common now in many browsers. If a web browser works well enough, then people tend to stick with it. That’s been true for decades. Internet Explorer was the market leader for years up until the early 2010s because it was bundled into the Windows operating system as the default browser, with no immediate indication to users that there were alternatives. Ryan points out that Atlas has one thing going for it—the perceived increasing unreliability of Chrome. Many users complain about its CPU-draining draw on processing power, and the way its tabs can quickly use up a device’s memory. “As Chrome gets worse, the incentive goes up,” Ryan says. But he points out that as the general worries around AI’s environmental impact mount, users may think twice about adopting a browser so reliant on AI. “As unease about AI data centers causing blackouts and water shortages grows, is this really the browser people will choose to move to?” he asks. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When Mark Zuckerberg described Meta's Horizon Worlds back in 2019, he seemed to think the virtual community hub would be a place for cool, tech-forward young adults to socialize and network. Six years later, it’s essentially a virtual daycare center; everywhere in virtual space is filled with kids. I don’t mean 16-year-olds or tweens, either—I’m talking young kids, so prevalent they’ve earned the nickname “squeakers” for their high-pitched voices and twitchy energy. So what’s a grown-ass adult who likes virtual reality but wants to avoid children to do? Here are some tips and strategies for finding VR places to game and/or socialize that are free of children. Sometimes. Avoiding kids in Horizon WorldsMeta’s rules for Horizon Worlds say kids as young as 10 can log in, and that’s mostly who does, but there are worlds designated as 13+ and 18+, too. This is mainly enforced through Meta’s own age-check systems and community moderation in the form of adults reporting kids if they see ‘em. There are also “tests” like this one: Credit: Stephen Johnson If your reach is too small: sorry, kid. Some worlds even have voice testing to bar anyone with a voice higher than Michael Jackson's. None of this is foolproof of course—kids will find a loophole—but 18+ worlds are reasonably kid-free, and are your best bet for finding fellow adults in Meta’s social hub. Adult-friendly worlds tend to revolve around things like poker, trivia, or stand-up comedy, and popular 18+ worlds like The Soapstone have active moderators, both of which keep the little ones away. Ironically, you can hijack Quest’s parental controls and use them to protect yourself from children by blocking kid-heavy zones and saving adult-heavy ones. Speaking of blocking, Meta has made it easy to instantly ignore and report people you don’t want to be around. You just hover your pointer over the person’s avatar to open their profile, select “options,” then choose “block” and “confirm.” In Horizon Worlds, blocked users appear as a gray, featureless avatar and you will not be able to hear each other. Avoiding kids in VRChatIf Horizon Worlds is the safe, corporate-approved virtual chat option, VRChat is the Wild West. It’s where the stranger corners of the metaverse collide, but if you stick to verified 18+ rooms or private invite-only instances, you can usually avoid excessive Roblox energy. VRChat weeds kids out with a mix of user moderation, reporting, and sheer chaos. The app doesn’t actually check ID to confirm users are 18. It relies on self-reported ages and community moderation, and some creators use extra barriers like requiring membership in a verified Discord server or having a certain “trust rank” (earned by spending time in-game and being a generally non-terrible person) before you can join their worlds. It’s not airtight, but it’s enough friction to keep out most of the literal children. Play games kids don't care aboutIf you want to avoid kids, avoid games with subjects that appeal to kids. Don’t play Gorilla Tag, Rec Room, or Super Rumble; and definitely steer clear of the public parts of Minecraft and Roblox. Instead, play games that kids would call "boring” or “lame.” What self-respecting child is going to download Racket Club to play virtual pickle ball? But Racket Club is an excellent game. Here’s a list of games to check out with adult energy: Walkabout Mini Golf: The low-stakes competition and camaraderie of virtual miniature golf is kryptonite for kiddos. Eleven Table Tennis: Like Racket Club, few kids are going to want to play this, but it's one of the best competitive online VR games. out there Demeo: Tabletop role-playing games take too much patience for most children. Breachers : This is a tactical shooter with grown-up teamwork energy. You might think that parents would keep their little darlings out of more violent, teen-rated games like this (and Population One or Ghosts of Tabor) but it’s hit or miss. Luckily, kids are usually bad at these games, so you can use ‘em to boost your K/D ratio. Play games you have to pay forWhile the above more adult-focused VR games are all over the map in terms of genre and vibe, they share something important: You can't play them for free, unlike Gorilla Tag and Roblox. Money is a great barrier to kid entry. Build your network of adultsWhen you do find some you like playing with, add them to your friend list so you can find them again next time. When you have enough pals, many games will let you set up private lobbies that require invite codes, so no one can just wander in and invade your child-free zone. Mute everyone else’s micsIf you don’t care about the social aspect of gaming, there’s nothing stopping you from just muting everyone else’s microphones. Although many children find ways to be annoying without speaking, especially if it’s a team game and you’re on the same side. When all else fails, embrace the chaosThe Metaverse may be crawling with kids, but with patience, mutes, and private lobbies, you can still find a tribe of tired adults trying escape reality in peace. But we're badly outnumbered. There are so many children in VR that you are going to run across them, no matter what you do. Sometimes the best way to handle it is to lean into the chaos. Obviously report kids in restricted spaces, but kids in “not-technically 18+” virtual spaces are a hallmark of the hobby. And they are the future after all, so, if you have the energy, try to provide positive role-modeling and patience. You're in their world, after all. View the full article

Belgium resists plan fearing retaliation by Moscow over assets immobilised on its soilView the full article

Walk through any park these days and you might spot them: people sporting bulky weighted vests, adding 10, 20, even 30 pounds to their morning stroll. Scroll through social media and you'll find countless influencers touting weighted vests as the secret to building unbreakable bones and sculpted muscles. Many videos have gained hundreds of thousands of views with claims that weighted vests will "transform your body"—a claim that, to be fair, is par for the course in any fitness trend. "Weighted vest walks" are popular enough to be parodied, and even if I find those videos a little mean-spirited, they do point to an important question: Does this trendy fitness accessory actually deliver on its promises? Let's dig into what science really says about weighted vests—and what they can (and can't) do for your body. The claim: Weighted vests can build bone density or stop bone lossI can see how this theory sounds legit. Bones respond to mechanical stress by becoming stronger—it's why astronauts lose bone density in zero gravity, and why weight-bearing exercise is recommended for osteoporosis prevention. So logically, strapping on extra weight should signal your bones to bulk up, right? Not exactly. According to Dr. Leah Verebes, a professor at the Touro School of Health Science's DPT program, the reality is more nuanced. "Some research, particularly among elderly persons and postmenopausal women, suggests that the use of a weighted vest while exercising, or plain walking, can slow bone loss or improve bone density modestly—especially in the legs and hips," she says. However, the gains are far from dramatic. Verebes notes that "results are variable and gains are minimal." Traditional resistance training like weightlifting and higher-impact activities like jogging or jumping produce significantly better results. A 2023 review found that while weighted vests may help maintain bone mineral density, the overall quality of evidence supporting this benefit remains low to moderate. Weighted vests can help maintain bone strength, particularly for people who can't tolerate high-impact exercise due to joint issues or other limitations. But they're not a substitute for proper resistance training or impact activities. The claim: Wearing a weighted vest builds muscle and increases strength.Here's where expectations need serious adjustment. Yes, adding weight to your body does increase the resistance during bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, and step-ups. And yes, this can contribute to improvements in muscular endurance and modest strength gains. But there's a catch. "Vest walking also increases caloric expenditure and activates muscles more than regular walking, but the weight is typically too low to induce significant muscle growth," Verebes says. Most weighted vests are designed to be 5-15% of your body weight—enough to make your workout harder, but not enough to trigger substantial muscle building. Think of it this way: If you weigh 150 pounds, a 10% weighted vest adds just 15 pounds. That's less resistance than you'd use for a basic strength training exercise. "Significant muscle growth continues to require progressive resistance training with more substantial weights," Verebes says. So, weighted vests can intensify your workout and improve muscular endurance, but they won't replace a proper strength training program if your goal is building significant muscle mass. The risks nobody's posting aboutWhile social media showcases people effortlessly crushing workouts in weighted vests, the reality is that adding load to your body comes with real risks. Verebes says that "too much excess weight can cause strain on joints, especially the knees, hips, and lower back." The increased load can also impair balance and increase fall risk, a particular concern for older adults who might be using vests specifically to improve bone health. Perhaps most concerning is the risk of overuse injuries when people add weight too quickly. "Professionals recommend starting with a light vest—roughly 5–10% body weight—and adding to it gradually as strength and tolerance improve," Verebes says. What actually works for building strong bones and musclesIf you're serious about improving your musculoskeletal health, Verebes offers evidence-based recommendations: Prioritize resistance training. Weightlifting or using resistance bands remain the most effective methods for keeping bones and muscles strong. Progressive overload—gradually increasing the weight you lift—is key to continued improvement. Include impact and weight-bearing exercise. Walking, hiking, stair climbing, and jumping all provide bone stimulation. Activities that involve impact force your bones to adapt and strengthen. Support exercise with proper nutrition. You can't out-train a poor diet. Adequate protein, calcium, and vitamin D are essential for maintaining bone and muscle health. Without proper nutrition, even the best exercise program will fall short. So, should you use a weighted vest?Look, weighted vests aren't worthless. They can add challenge to bodyweight exercises and walking routines, providing modest improvements in muscle endurance and bone maintenance, particularly for older adults or those unable to do high-impact activities. But as Verebes says, "they are not a shortcut to get to stronger bones and bigger muscles overnight. For significant improvements, regular resistance training and impact exercise remain the gold standard." The bottom line? Weighted vests are a tool, not a miracle solution. If you do decide to try a weighted vest, start conservatively with 5-10% of your body weight, add load gradually, and pay attention to how your joints respond. And crucially: Always speak with your doctor first, especially if you have existing joint problems, balance issues, or bone density concerns. View the full article

The FBI dropped a bombshell indictment on Thursday, announcing arrests and criminal charges against dozens of people allegedly involved with gambling and rigging NBA games. The whole thing involved not only some of basketball’s biggest names, but also the mob. At a press conference in New York, FBI Director Kash Patel announced “a historic arrest across a wide-sweeping criminal enterprise that envelopes both the NBA and “La Cosa Nostra,” more commonly known as the Sicilian Mob or Mafia. Among some of the high-profile individuals indicted are Chauncey Billups, an NBA hall-of-fame player and current head coach of the Portland Trailblazers, and Terry Rozier, who currently plays for the Miami Heat. Damon Jones, another former NBA player, was also arrested and indicted. A statement from the NBA, per CNBC, says that both Billups and Rozier have been placed on “immediate leave from their teams,” and that the league “will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. The indictments arose from two fraud-related investigations that included sports betting and underground poker games. In the first instance, it appears that insider information related to player injuries (including one involving an injury to LeBron James) was leaked to sports bettors, effectively giving those bettors an advantage—an injury to James, for instance, could impact his level of play, and turn the outcome of a game. The underground poker games, on the other hand, sound like a scheme Tony Soprano’s crew cooked up at The Bing. “As alleged, members and associates of organized crime families fixed illegal poker games as part of a highly sophisticated and lucrative fraud scheme to cheat victims out of millions of dollars and conspired with others to perpetrate their frauds,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr., in a statement. “Well-known former NBA players and former professional athletes, acted as ‘Face Cards’ to lure unsuspecting victims to high-stakes poker games, where they were then at the mercy of concealed technology, including rigged shuffling machines and specially designed contacts lenses and sunglasses to read the backs of playing cards, which ensured that the victims would lose big. Today’s indictment and arrests sounds the final buzzer for these cheaters.” It’s a huge shakeup in the world of professional sports, particularly as sports betting has become increasingly mainstream in recent years, and has been legalized in several states and jurisdictions. Since the Supreme Court struck down a ban on sports betting in 2018, data from Goldman Sachs shows that, as of last year, it’s become a $10 billion industry. Big sports betting companies—such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and others—have also become seemingly synonymous with names like Wynn, MGM, and Caesars. It’s also another blow to the NBA, which was already contending with the news that superstar Kawhi Leonard, who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, was using an investment firm to circumvent the league’s salary cap—an investigation that’s also snared Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, and has ties to entertainers like Drake and Leonardo DiCaprio View the full article

Salesforce and Nvidia chiefs helped lobby against a ‘surge’ to the cityView the full article

This is the second acquisition deal Old Republic has been involved in this year, after selling its title production business in January. View the full article

It's about to get a whole lot harder for catfishers on Tinder. Starting today, new users in California will have to scan their faces while setting up their accounts to ensure that they're both real and that they match their profile photos. Called Face Check, the new mandatory feature is the first step in a new initiative from Tinder's parent company Match Group, which says the goal is to help reduce "spam, scam attempts, or [bots] operating automated fake profiles." When signing up, users will need to complete a "liveness check," during which they'll take a video selfie from various angles. After that, the app will compare the selfie to profile pictures also uploaded during setup, and if it determines that they match, the user will get a "Photo Verified badge" and they'll be able to finish making their account. Tinder also says the system can determine if a picture has been used across multiple accounts to help prevent impersonation. While Face Check is new to the United States, it's already been launched abroad in Colombia, Canada, Australia, India, and "several countries across Southeast Asia." According to Tinder, "when coupled with other recent safety initiatives," Face Check has led to an over 60% decrease in users exposed to "bad actors," and an over 40% decrease in reports of bad actors. Face Check's debut also coincides with the rise of AI image generators, and while the company's announcement post doesn't explicitly call out AI, it's not hard to see how it could prove handy against bots using generated photos to pretend to be someone who doesn't even exist. Traditional catfishing methods, such as using stock photos, can be detected with diligent reverse image searching, but AI's ability to quickly create novel, believable, and specifically tailored results has made it harder than ever to know whether you're speaking to a genuine human online. At the same time, as other apps begin to collect personal information like government IDs, there is a privacy concern. Tinder says that Face Check only uses your video selfie to complete the verification process, and deletes it shortly after review, although it does generate a "non-reversible, encrypted face map" that is stored to "help verify new photos, detect fraud, and prevent duplicate accounts." As someone who met my husband on Twitter (RIP), I'll leave it up to you whether that's worth it. Have you tried just getting real good at posting instead? For now, though, you might have to wait a bit until Face Check actually makes its way to you. First, Tinder is not forcing existing accounts to use Face Check, which is why I assume it's using a badge to indicate the accounts that have gone through Face Check, even though it's mandatory during setup. Second, Face Check is rolling out slowly. Tinder says that it will come to additional states "in the coming months," although the company did not provide an exact timeline. As for other apps, Match Group (which also owns OKCupid, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish, among others) says it will extend Face Check to additional platforms in 2026. View the full article

Memes can be fun. But when a big corporation decides to get in on the action, the fun usually dies. As spotted by Android Authority, Google is currently working on a new feature for Google Photos called "Me Meme," though Android Authority thinks it could be called "Meme Me" upon release. The feature is simple: Through the power of AI (sigh), you can turn pictures of yourself or a family member into "your favorite memes." Cool. Here's how it's supposed to work: You choose a "meme template," along with a sample photo of yourself, a friend, or a family member. That photo reportedly needs to be backed up to Google Photos before you can use it here. And while not a requirement, the feature recommends you use a selfie with a clear view of your face. That makes sense: If the AI is going to insert your likeness into a meme, it needs an accurate view of what you look like. Otherwise, you'll just end up generating a meme with some stranger's face. At the moment, the only meme Me Meme currently advertises producing is "This Is Fine," the meme taken from KC Green's comic of a dog sitting in a burning room. Android Authority wasn't able to get the feature working, but saw promotional images of the feature in action, which shows a sample selfie, and the end result. Importantly, the "Me Meme" menu option also features a graphic of a person dabbing. Again—and I cannot emphasize this enough—cool. Even through Google's "official" meme generation here, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell that the AI image is supposed to be based on the reference selfie. Unless the AI really captures the person's likeness, Me Meme loses whatever appeal it might have otherwise had. Why would anyone want to send a custom AI version of a meme with some random person as its subject? Though, building off that point, one might ask why anyone would want to send an AI-generated meme of themself at all? Maybe this will be Google's Bitmoji moment. Maybe this feature will never actually come to pass. Either way, the AI era is certainly interesting, if not all that cool. View the full article

Late-night talk shows are a uniquely American invention that blend humor, the news of the day, and celebrity guests. While Johnny Carson was not the first late-night host, he perfected the genre through trial-and-error during his 30-year tenure on NBC’s The Tonight Show, setting the standard for years to come. As the longest-running host in the show’s 70-year history, he became a permanent fixture in the culture zeitgeist and a kingmaker and queenmaker, giving many comedians such as Joan Rivers, Drew Carey, and Ellen DeGeneres their big breaks. Recently, late-night talk shows have been making headlines for unexpected—and possibly politically motivated—reasons, calling into question freedom of speech and media monopolies. The announced ending of CBS’s offering The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and the temporary suspension of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! were both controversial moves. (CBS maintains its decision was financial not political.) All this off-stage drama is nothing new. Carson faced his own dilemmas—including a mobster putting a hit out for him. That’s just one of the many intriguing stories found in the new book Love Johnny Carson (Dutton, 2025) by Mark Malkoff with David Ritz. It was released just two days before what would have been the legendary host’s 100th birthday. Let’s talk about Malkoff’s credentials before we get into the Frank Sinatra of it all. Who is Mark Malkoff? Malkoff’s father first exposed him to Carson’s late-night antics. “Though my father was just an average fan of the show, like millions of other Americans, when he told me about seeing that taping, it struck a chord somewhere deep inside me,” Malkoff writes. A super fan was created. A young Malkoff continued his Carson education by taping the series—it presumably aired after his bedtime—and watching it the next morning while eating cereal. He would also make a pilgrimage to Carson’s Los Angeles NBC studio and attend college at NYU to be close to Carson’s New York history. Malkoff began “The Carson Podcast” in 2014 and spent eight years interviewing people who knew the funny man. This book feels like a natural extension of the podcast. Malkoff’s purpose was to further educate the public on Carson’s “cordiality, calmness, cool, warmth, wit, and love.” How did Frank Sinatra save Carson’s life? Many different versions of this story have circulated for years. Malkoff spoke to comedian Tom Dreesen to get to the bottom of it all. Dreesen heard it both from Jilly Rizz, the owner of Jilly’s Saloon, and Frank Sinatra himself. Carson was a talented entertainer who also had his fair share of demons, one of which was alcohol. In the spring of 1971, an already intoxicated Carson went out to Jilly’s with friends where he spotted a beautiful woman. According to Dreesen, Carson approached her and “put his hand up her miniskirt.” This woman was the girlfriend of notorious mobster “Crazy” Joe Gallo, who was known for his bad temper. When Gallo found out, he warned that Carson’s days were numbered. “The word all over Manhattan was ‘Carson’s a dead man . . . He’s gotta go into hiding,’” Dreesen told Malkoff. Sinatra and Carson ran in similar social circles and had “bonded six years earlier at the St. Louis benefit show,” according to Malkoff. The crooner came up with a plan to host Gallo and his family at an unpublicized charity show and make a big fuss over them. After the event backstage, Gallo thanked Sinatra and asked if there was anything he could do for him. Sinatra answered: “Johnny Carson.” While Gallo was not happy about this, he backed off for old blue eyes. “I don’t believe anybody but Sinatra could have saved Carson’s life,” Dreesen told Malkoff. So while Kimmel and Colbert’s recent experiences are unfortunate and life-changing, perhaps they can take solace in the fact that it was not a life-and-death situation. Carson went on to host The Tonight Show until 1992, leaving behind a franchise that lives on today in an increasingly fractured TV environment that has been disrupted by streaming and other forms of digital media. According to a UPI report at the time, his final episode attracted more than 62% of the television audience, some 55 million people. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Apple products are expensive for a reason: they're good. But that doesn't mean you have to spend an arm and a leg to get Apple brand stuff. Apple's "Special Edition" (SE) watch models for us mere mortals are more budget-friendly, but they still have competitive features. If you've been eyeing an Apple Watch look no further than the 2nd Generation GPS Apple Watch SE, starting at $169.99 (originally $249) at Walmart. The bigger 44mm size is available for $199 (originally $279). (GPS 40mm) Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Ink Sport Loop Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) $169.99 at Walmart $249.00 Save $79.01 Get Deal Get Deal $169.99 at Walmart $249.00 Save $79.01 (GPS 44mm) Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Midnight Sport Band - M/L Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) $199.00 at Walmart $279.00 Save $80.00 Get Deal Get Deal $199.00 at Walmart $279.00 Save $80.00 SEE -1 MORE The 2nd Apple Watch SE starts around the same price as the Series 7, but the 2nd Apple Watch SE was released a year later (in 2022) than the Series 7. That means it'll be getting at least one more year of security updates and features than the Series 7. This model is lightweight, has excellent apps (same as the premium models), a great battery life of up to 37 hours on a charge (according to PCMag's review) has a crash detection feature, and many other features that punch above its weight. The sleep tracker, heart rate monitor, phone call capacity, and GPS are also excellent. Since this is the GPS version, you'll be limited to carrying your iPhone around within Bluetooth or wifi reach to take calls or texts. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Wireless Earbuds — $114.80 (List Price $129.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Shark AV2501AE AI XL Hepa- Safe Self-Emptying Base Robot Vacuum — $299.99 (List Price $649.99) Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam, White with Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen), White — $59.99 (List Price $99.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Electric-truck maker Rivian is laying off another 600 people, or about 4% of its workforce as the global demand for electric vehicles decreases, the Wall Street Journal reported. This follows a previous round of layoffs in 2024. Rivian is one of a number of technology and media companies that have seen layoffs in October, including: Meta, Paycom, Charter, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, October 2025 is no outlier. From technology companies to media conglomerates, the layoffs are part of a trend in both the U.S. and Europe as companies start to slash staff and downsize. Some are blaming artificial intelligence (AI), though critics say it’s just an excuse for companies to trim staff. The layoffs could also be way to hedge against the current economic uncertainty triggered by inflation, tariffs, the skyrocketing cost of living, and now an ongoing federal government shutdown. Below are some of the tech and media companies that have been laying off workers since the beginning of the month. Fast Company has reached out to all of the companies listed below for comment. Rivian On Thursday, there was news that Rivian was laying off about 4% of its workforce, after a previous smaller layoff affecting some 1.5% of the company last month. Rivian, like many EV manufacturers, is expected to see EV sales decline in the wake of the The President administration’s decision to end a hefty federal tax credit for EV purchases. Rivian is also planning to launch a new vehicle in 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meta On Wednesday, Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and WhatsApp, said it is laying off about 600 employees from Alexandr Wang’s new “superintelligence” research lab, after hiring the 25-year-old wunderkind and investing $14.3 billion in his company, Scale AI, in June. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social technology company plans to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI capital expenditures in 2025 alone. Paycom Earlier this month, Oklahoma City-based payroll and human resources software company Paycom laid off more than 500 employees, citing “workforce restructuring due to efficiencies in advanced automation and AI-driven technologies that will impact a limited number of back-office roles.” Charter Cable and broadband giant Charter Communications said on Wednesday that to streamline operations, it was laying off some 1,200 employees, or just over 1% of its 95,000-person workforce, mostly in corporate management and back-office roles. The roles would not be in sales or service positions. The company lost 117,000 internet customers in Q2, and 60,000 in Q1, amid growing competition from mobile providers, per Reuters. NBC News Meanwhile, NBC News is laying off about 7% of its staff, or 150 people, in cuts that started rolling out last week on October 15. The cuts come ahead of a split and rebrand from cable news network MSNBC, which will now be called MS NOW (which stands for “My Source for News, Opinion, and the World”). The move is part of a larger spin-off from parent company Comcast, which also includes CNBC and USA Network. The Wall Street Journal Also this month, the Wall Street Journal laid off a dozen reporters and editors from its education, health, and science news teams, citing structural changes. “I recognize that change can be unsettling,” editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a staff memo. “I want to thank them for them for their many contributions to the Journal, particularly Stefanie Ilgenfritz [who] has spent more than 35 years at the Journal and has helped shape distinctive and consequential journalism, including a series on Medicare fraud that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015.” View the full article