Grok is undressing anyone, including minors
Grok is undressing anyone, including minors xAI’s Grok is removing clothing from pictures of people without their consent following this week’s rollout of a feature that allows X users to instantly edit any image using the bot without needing the original poster’s permission. Not only does the original poster not get notified if their picture […]
You can’t trust your eyes to tell you what’s real anymore, says the head of Instagram
You can't trust your eyes to tell you what's real anymore, says the head of Instagram Instagram boss Adam Mosseri is closing out 2025 with a 20-images-deep dive into what a new era of “infinite synthetic content” means as it all becomes harder and harder to distinguish from reality, and the old, more personal Instagram […]
I re-created Google’s cute Gemini ad with my own kid’s stuffie, and I wish I hadn’t
I re-created Google's cute Gemini ad with my own kid's stuffie, and I wish I hadn't Buddy’s in space. When your kid starts showing a preference for one of their stuffed animals, you’re supposed to buy a backup in case it goes missing. I’ve heard this advice again and again, but never got around to […]
How AI broke the smart home in 2025
How AI broke the smart home in 2025 This morning, I asked my Alexa-enabled Bosch coffee machine to make me a coffee. Instead of running my routine, it told me it couldn’t do that. Ever since I upgraded to Alexa Plus, Amazon’s generative-AI-powered voice assistant, it has failed to reliably run my coffee routine, coming […]
ChatGPT’s yearly recap sums up your conversations with the chatbot
ChatGPT's yearly recap sums up your conversations with the chatbot ChatGPT is joining the flood of apps offering yearly recaps for users. It’s rolling out a “Year in Review” feature that will show you a bunch of stats – like how many messages you sent to the chatbot in 2025 – as well as give […]
Chipwrecked
Chipwrecked The AI data center build-out, as it currently stands, is dependent on two things: Nvidia chips and borrowed money. Perhaps it was inevitable that people would begin using Nvidia chips to borrow money. As the craze has gone on, I have begun to worry about the weaknesses of the AI data center boom; looking […]
Humanoid robots are coming. Eventually?
Humanoid robots are coming. Eventually? This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on robotics and AI, follow Robert Hart. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. We’re taking a winter break! The Stepback will be […]
Gemini isn’t replacing Google Assistant on Android just yet
Gemini isn't replacing Google Assistant on Android just yet Gemini on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Google isn’t ready to replace Assistant with Gemini on Android devices just yet. The company said on Friday that it will “continue our work to upgrade Assistant users to Gemini on mobile devices into 2026,” instead of its original […]
ChatGPT will now let you pick how nice it is
ChatGPT will now let you pick how nice it is OpenAI will now give you the ability to dial up – or down – ChatGPT’s warmth and enthusiasm. An update rolling out on Friday gives you the option to choose whether you want “more” or “less” of these personality traits, or stick with the default. […]
Google sues web scraper for sucking up search results ‘at an astonishing scale’
Google sues web scraper for sucking up search results 'at an astonishing scale' Google has filed a lawsuit against SerpApi, a company that offers tools to scrape content on the web, including Google’s search results. SerpApi is accused of violating the Copyright Act by using “deceptive means” to automatically access and take Google’s search results […]