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Have you experienced a moment when technology created a "Good Connection" in your life? We're talking good deeds, long-lost friends and family reunited, and more empowering tales made possible by some sort of digital detail. Share your story below and it could be selected to appear on Mashable.

BUY 2 GET 1 FREE: As of March 25th, Amazon's Big Spring Sale is offering 3 for the price of 2 on select movies, music, and books.

Opens in a new window Credit: Chappell Roan / Miles Davis / Nosferatu Amazon's Big Spring Sale buy 2 get 1 free deal Get 3 books, movies, or albums for the price of 2. Shop Now

If you've been loading up your recommendations list, now is a good time to bring in the haul.

As part of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, the retailer is offering a buy 2 get 1 free deal on media, including books, movies, and records (Target is running the same type of deal during its Circle Week sale). Take advantage of the deal to load up on new films like Nosferatu, classic records like Abbey Road on vinyl, and acclaimed novels like Percival Everett's James.

SEE ALSO: Headphones and speaker deals live from Amazon's Big Spring Sale: Save on Sony, Bose, Sonos, and more

Whether you're looking to scoop a bunch of bestsellers for less, you want to nab some film classics on disc, or you're expanding a record collection (digital music works too), this sale has you covered.

The vinyl roster includes contemporary award winners like Chappell Roan's The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess on double vinyl and genre definers like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Beyond vinyl, we're stoked on this Akira Movie 4k Steelbook 4K UHD set.

Age-verification laws have popped up across the United States in the past few years, especially in the South. Typically, they require people to submit proof that they're an adult if they visit a website where over a third of the content hosted is explicit. In January, the Supreme Court heard a case about the constitutionality of age-verification laws, and its decision will likely come down this summer.

That case, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, began as a challenge to Texas's age-verification law specifically (but SCOTUS's decision will have national ramifications). Coincidentally — or not — a bill calling for age verification for online sex toy sales has just been introduced in Texas, as well.

SEE ALSO: The Trump administration accidentally texted military plans to a journalist. The White House says it's fine.

404 Media first pointed out that Senator Angela Paxton, wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, sponsors this bill. Ken Paxton is the Paxton in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton.

The sex toy bill, S.B. 3003, proposes age-verification methods similar to those used by some states for porn sites, such as requiring users to submit a government-issued ID or using a third-party verification service. Violations of this would subject site owners to a $5,000 fee and a misdemeanor charge.

According to a recent study from New York University, age-verification laws don't work. One reason is that if a site isn't based in the U.S., it may not feel the need to comply. Another is that people can use a VPN to pretend to be in another location. Presumably, the same would be true for this bill.

But, as explained in Mashable's rundown of age-verification laws, these laws aren't just about preventing minors from accessing porn sites. They're about reaching the true goal of Project 2025 (the conservative blueprint for Trump's second presidential term), which is an outright ban on porn. One state, Oklahoma, has already introduced a bill to criminalize porn and imprison its creators.

Free speech advocates who have spoken to Mashable in the past say that the best way to actually prevent minors from looking at explicit sites is through device-level filters.

OpenAI has native image generation in ChatGPT and Sora.

In a livestream led by CEO Sam Altman as well as members of OpenAI team, the company demoed new capabilities in image generation that's driven by the GPT-4o model.

Previously, image generation was powered by DALL-E and largely existed in a separate app that users had to switch over to. Now, that image generation is native to the ChatGPT app, the model's responses will understand contextual prompts without specific reference to an image, can follow prompts for reiterating on a generated image, and is better at rendering text according to the company.

SEE ALSO: A new AI test is outwitting OpenAI, Google models, among others

With image generation in ChatGPT, OpenAI's goal is to make it more useful rather than just a novelty. That means it can generate diagrams, infographics, logos, social media posts, and other graphics.

Altman also said that the model leans into "creative freedom," saying "what we'd like is for the model to not be offensive if you don't want it to be, but if you want it to be within reason, really let people create what they want."

Native image generation for ChatGPT is available today for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users within the chat experience, with access rolling out to Enterprise and Edu users soon.

Have a story to share about a scam or security breach that impacted you? Tell us your story. Email submissions@mashable.com with the subject line "Safety Net," or use the form below. Someone from Mashable will get in contact directly if your story is selected to be featured.

The company’s chatbot can now create elaborate and unusual images.

Dates for Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) have officially been announced. WWDC 2025 will take place from June 9 to 13, with the keynote taking place on June 9.

Apple shared the official date on its website on Tuesday, saying the entire conference will be streamed online, with the keynote taking place in person at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA. Sessions will be free to all developers. Apple executives also took to X to share the news.

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WWDC is Apple's annual event that showcases new software updates. That means the tech giant will announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, tvOS 19, watchOS 12, and visionOS 3.

According to Bloomberg, iOS 19 will be "one of the most dramatic software overhauls," in Apple history so expectations are high for new features that will likely put Apple Intelligence at the center. This might also include major advancements to Siri as Apple has promised, although the Siri overhaul is rumored to have run into setbacks.

The iOS 19 update is rumored to have major design changes, including a refresh of icons, menus, apps, and more. Insiders also expect a newly refresh macOS 16 design.

Mark your calendars for June 9.

TL;DR: Scan anything, anywhere, with this lifetime subscription to iScanner, now A$39 (reg. A$317) with coupon code SCAN through 27 April.

Raise your hand if you've had to drive to your parent's house to borrow their printer. If most of us don't have the space for clunky printers, chances are we also don't keep a scanner at home. That's what iScanner is for: transforming your iPhone or iPad into a handy scanning machine. 

Right now, a lifetime subscription to this convenient scanning app is just A$39 with code SCAN, saving you A$253 if you purchase before 27 April. 

This multi-tasking app saves you serious desk space

Even if you're one of the few with a physical scanner still in your presence, you can now clear some counter space thanks to iScanner. And while you're at it, you can throw away that dusty old filing cabinet, too. 

iScanner is a popular scanning and document management tool that lets you knock items off your to-do list from anywhere. Need to save a receipt for taxes? Do you have a contract you need to digitize? You can scan any document using just your phone or tablet. 

Students, entrepreneurs, educators, and stay-at-home moms alike will all find endless uses for a scanner in your pocket. The AI-powered tools ensure your documents' borders are detected and automatically adjusted while also straightening scan pages and ditching curves and skews. 

Thanks to AI, you can also use iScanner to help you solve complicated math problems. Or put its OCR technology to the test and let it help you decipher text in up to 20 languages.

Once things are scanned, the app becomes a full PDF editor and file manager. Edit your scans, including signing them, adding text, or auto-filling them with custom templates. Then, simply use the drag-and-drop feature to keep them safe and organized.

Scanning something confidential? You can also protect files and folders by locking them with a PIN. 

Secure iScanner for life with code SCAN, bringing the price down to A$39 through 27 April at the Mashable Shop.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: BP Mobile iScanner App: Lifetime Subscription AU$39
AU$317 Save AU$278 Get Deal

Google, OpenAI, DeepSeek, et al. are nowhere near achieving AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), according to a new benchmark.

The Arc Prize Foundation, a nonprofit that measures AGI progress, has a new benchmark that is stumping the leading AI models. The test, called ARC-AGI-2 is the second edition ARC-AGI benchmark that tests models on general intelligence by challenging them to solve visual puzzles using pattern recognition, context clues, and reasoning.

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According to the ARC-AGI leaderboard, OpenAI's most advanced model o3-low scored 4 percent. Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash and DeepSeek R1 both scored 1.3 percent. Anthropic's most advanced model, Claude 3.7 with an 8K token limit (which refers to the amount of tokens used to process an answer) scored 0.9 percent.

SEE ALSO: How Grok 3 compares to ChatGPT, DeepSeek and other AI rivals

The question of how and when AGI will be achieved remains as heated as ever, with various factions bickering about the timeline or whether it's even possible. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said it could take as little as two to three years, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said "it's achievable with current hardware." But experts like Gary Marcus and Yann LeCun say the technology isn't there yet and it doesn't take an expert to see how fueling AGI hype is advantageous to AI companies seeking major investments.

The ARC-AGI benchmark is designed to challenge AI models beyond specialized intelligence by avoiding the memorization trap — spewing out PhD-level responses without an understanding of what it means. Instead it focuses on puzzles that are relatively easy for humans to solve because of our innate ability to take in new information and make inferences, thus revealing gaps that can't be resolved by simply feeding AI models more data.

"Intelligence requires the ability to generalize from limited experience and apply knowledge in new, unexpected situations. AI systems are already superhuman in many specific domains (e.g., playing Go and image recognition)" read the announcement.

SEE ALSO: I compared Sesame to ChatGPT voice mode and I'm unnerved

"However, these are narrow, specialized capabilities. The 'human-ai gap' reveals what's missing for general intelligence - highly efficiently acquiring new skills."

To get a sense of AI models' current limitations, you can take the ARC-AGI test for yourself. And you might be surprised by its simplicity. There's some critical thinking involved, but the ARC-AGI test wouldn't be out of place next to the New York Times crossword puzzle, Wordle, or any of the other popular brain teasers. It's challenging but not impossible and the answer is there in the puzzle's logic, which is something the human brain has evolved to interpret.

OpenAI's o3-low model scored 75.7 percent on the first edition of ARC-AGI. By comparison, its 4 percent score on the second edition shows how difficult the test is, but also how there's a lot more work to be done with reaching human level intelligence.

The Trump administration accidentally added a journalist to a not-so-secret Signal group chat to discuss imminent military plans. As sports business analyst and former ESPN correspondent Darren Rovell posted on X (then Twitter) during the 2016 presidential election, "I feel bad for our country. But this is tremendous content."

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The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a Signal group chat with several apparent U.S. government officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and more. Goldberg wasn't sure it was a legitimate group chat because not only would it be highly unusual for U.S. government officials to use Signal, but it would also be pretty stupid to include a journalist in that chat.

But, alas, the chat is real, which Goldberg discovered after the chat decided on U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, and then the airstrikes took place. After the airstrike, the chat was filled with seemingly celebratory emoji, which, as the internet has pointed out, feels weird.

SEE ALSO: How influencers and politicians built an unregulated supplement empire

The general lack of care put into orders that have a direct impact on people's lives is not inherently laughable. It's horrifying. The chat named active CIA agents, and if their identities were revealed, it could put their lives and their missions in danger. This particular strike killed 53 people, according to the Houthis, and the leak of these plans could have had disastrous effects on U.S. agents in the region and beyond.

Yet, in response to what former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called "the highest level of fuckup imaginable," online posters rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They made a callback to the JD Vance big head memes. They brought up Partiful. They created copypasta messages. They tied it in with the current obsession with morning routines. Because on the internet, nothing is sacred — especially not a text from the U.S. National Security Advisor after a deadly airstrike that reads: "👊🇺🇸🔥"

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SAVE $100: As of March 25, the Apple Watch Series 10 is on sale for $299 in the Amazon Big Spring Sale. That’s a 25% discount off its regular $399 price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Series 10 $299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100 Get Deal

Have you been patiently waiting for the Amazon Spring Sale to deliver record-low prices on Apple products? You haven't had to wait long, because the Apple Watch Series 10 is down to $299. Normally $399, this 25% discount drops this new model down to its lowest-ever price.

In fact, every configuration of last year's Apple Watch Series 10 is now on sale at its all-time low price, saving shoppers up to $120. We've rounded all the best deals on this new model for your convenience, because we're nice like that.

SEE ALSO: The best Apple deals in Amazon's Big Spring Sale: New iPads and M4 MacBook Airs are already on sale

With the Apple Watch Series 10, you can take an ECG on the spot, track your sleep, get a heads-up about irregular heart rhythms, and even get estimates for ovulation. Users get full workout tracking, real-time training load metrics, and depth and water temperature sensors for teunder-the-sea adventures. And yes, it’s water resistant up to 50 meters.

Bag the best deal on the Apple Watch Series 10 in the Amazon Big Spring Sale.

23andMe is going bankrupt, and now is the time to rescue your data.

The ancestry search company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend, which immediately caused alarm in privacy-focused individuals. A company on the verge of financial collapse is probably not one that can be trusted with your literal DNA, they argued. One could also argue 23andMe was never trustworthy to begin with, but let's focus on the present.

If you've ever submitted a saliva test to 23andMe, the company has valuable data of yours on file. The good news is you can fix that. Here's how.

SEE ALSO: 23andMe is for sale — and so are 15 million people's genetic records How to delete your 23andMe data

The one silver lining to all of this is that deleting your 23andMe data seems very easy:

1. Log into your account and go to "Settings"

2. Scroll to "23andMe data" and click "view"

3. Go to "Delete data" and click "Permanently delete data"

4. Go through the confirmation process

You'll also be given a chance to download your data before deletion, which couldn't hurt. Also, importantly, you can delete the genetic test sample you submitted to 23andMe by going back to the "Settings" menu and finding "Preferences." You should almost definitely do all of these things ASAP.

For years, educators and parents have implored Instagram to address student bullying and harassment that often starts on the company's platform and later shows up in the classroom.

Now the platform, which is owned by Meta, is rolling out a program that allows educators to directly report safety issues like bullying directly to Instagram.

The Schools Partnership program will launch with a pilot that's open to all middle and high schools in the U.S. The International Society for Technology in Education, a nonprofit that focuses on edtech, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, helped develop the initiative.

SEE ALSO: I'm quitting Instagram. You should too.

When participating schools report content or accounts to Instagram that may violate the platform's community standards, those reports are prioritized for review. Additionally, Instagram will provide status updates and notifications once the platform takes action.

The program requires schools to have an Instagram account and provides them with a profile banner to indicate that they're an official platform partner.

Meta told Mashable that schools that have tested the program so far have typically designated a single administrator, like an assistant principal, to receive relevant safety reports and then share them with Instagram. Per Meta's policy, official school accounts should be run by school officials, not by a parent-teacher organization volunteers.

The process of reporting — and quickly resolving — Instagram-related harassment and bullying has been a key concern of educators and parents in recent years.

In October 2022, the American Federation of Teachers, a union representing 1.7 million educators in the U.S., partnered with the nonprofit organization ParentsTogether to demand that Instagram take gossip accounts seriously.

A petition sponsored by AFT and ParentsTogether asked Instagram to enforce the platform's community guidelines "by taking down all accounts that solely or primarily feature bullying content" and prioritize bullying and harassment reports made by verified school accounts.

Nicholas Perrone, principal of Edgewood Magnet School in New Haven, Conn., praised Instagram's new program after testing it prior to the official launch.

"Instagram listened to these reports and took them seriously," Perrone said in a statement shared with Mashable. He noted that the school had alerted Instagram about cases of bullying or harassment, online violence, and imposter accounts. "What's more, it led to a decrease in negative online content that could have resulted in serious safety concerns for our students."

Meta said in its announcement that middle and high schools can sign up for a waitlist to join the program via their Instagram settings, by selecting "account type and tools" or "business tools and controls." They can also learn more and sign up for the waitlist on Instagram's website.

The popular video app, which could be banned in the United States next month if it is not sold to a non-Chinese owner, is portraying itself as a savior of Americans and a champion of small businesses in a new campaign.

The best spring cleaning deals in the Amazon Spring Sale: Best paper towel deal Brawny Tear-A-Square Paper Towels $23.19 (save $5.80) Get Deal Best laundry detergent deal Clean Cult Liquid Laundry Detergent (Juniper Sandalwood) $6.99 (save $3.50) Get Deal Best trash bag deal Hefty Strong Tall Kitchen Trash Bags (Unscented) $11.99 (save $4) Get Deal

Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is finally here. While most readers are focused on deals on TVs, laptops, and other high-ticket items, savvy shoppers know that this is the perfect opportunity to stock up on spring cleaning essentials. I mean, have you seen the price for a pack of paper towels lately?

SEE ALSO: 200+ of the best live deals in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

If you’re serious about tidying up, now’s the time to fill your cart. Here are the best spring cleaning deals we could find in the Amazon Spring Sale.

Best paper towel deal Opens in a new window Credit: Brawny Brawny Tear-A-Square Paper Towels $23.19 at Amazon
$28.99 Save $5.80 Get Deal Why we like it

I know we keep harping on paper towels, but if you have kids, pets, or actually live in your home (as opposed to just going out all the time), you know how essential these disposable absorbent sheets are.

Right now, you can get a 12 family-sized rolls of Brawny for just $23.19 (originally $28.99). That’s an absolute steal considering these are twice as thick and absorbent as bargain brand towels. You’re also getting family-sized rolls, which, according to Brawny, is the equivalent of 30 regular rolls.

Best laundry detergent deal Opens in a new window Credit: Clean Cult Clean Cult Liquid Laundry Detergent (Juniper Sandalwood) $6.99 at Amazon
$10.49 Save $3.50 Get Deal Why we like it

Not to be dramatic, but your laundry detergent could make or break your entire day. If you’re dealing with sensitive skin, can’t stand overpowering fragrances, or want something that’s tough on stains without smelling like you bathed in a vat of perfume, you’ve got to pick your detergent wisely.

Clean Cult is one of those brands that actually lives up to the hype. (I use Clean Cult on the regular) It’s tough on stains without the harsh chemicals, gentle on skin, smells delicious without being headache-inducing (there’s an unscented option as well), and comes in sustainable packaging. If you prefer laundry sheets, they have those, too.

One box of Clean Cult liquid laundry detergent can do up to 64 loads of laundry, and it costs just $6.99. Talk about a deal!

Best trash bag deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hefty Hefty Strong Tall Kitchen Trash Bags (Unscented) $11.99 at Amazon
$15.99 Save $4 Get Deal Why we like it

It’s a shame that something we put literal trash in needs to cost so much, but good trash bags are an absolute necessity.

Right now, you can get the Hefty Strong Mega Pack (90 count) for just $11.99. They’re unscented, so you don’t have to worry about that artificial lemon smell permeating your entire house, and they’re super durable.

More deals on spring cleaning essentials

• Caldrea Multi-surface CounterTop Spray Cleaner — $9.60 $16 (save $6.40)

• Dawn Powerwash Gain Original Dish Spray (1 starter kit + 3 refills) — $11.75 $16.79 (save $5.04)

• Finish Ultimate Infinity Shine Dishwasher Pods (62 count) — $14.79 $22.60 (save $7.81)

• Lysol Air Sanitizer Spray (3 pack) — $17.96 $21.81 (save $3.85)

• Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel (2 pack) — $17.99 $24.99 (save $7)

• Amazon Brand Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels (2 packs of 6) — $24.13 $28.40 (save $4.27)

• The Clean People Laundry Detergent Sheets (96 loads) — $28.05 $33 (save $4.95)

Nvidia showcased robots that could work in warehouses, pedal around like ‘Star Wars’ droids and manipulate surgical equipment at its weeklong A.I. conference

World Liberty Financial, the crypto business created by President Trump and his sons, unveiled a cryptocurrency called a stablecoin, furthering his ties to an industry his administration regulates.

Kindles have become an essential tool for book lovers, but there’s more to them than just downloading e-books. From free book programs like Amazon First Reads to the handy Send to Kindle feature, here are eight perks worth exploring.

TL;DR: As of March 25, the TCL 85-Inch QM8 QLED Mini LED TV is available for $1,399 in the Amazon Big Spring Sale. This is the lowest-ever price.

Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL 85-Inch QM8 QLED Mini LED TV $1,399.99 at Amazon
Get Deal

The Amazon Big Spring Sale is consistently delivering record-low prices on sought-after items like Kindles, printers, fitness trackers, and much more.

The next product to hit a new low is the TCL 85-Inch QM8 QLED Mini LED TV. This highly-rated TV is available for $1,399 in the Amazon Big Spring Sale. This is the lowest-ever price according to the price tracker camelcamelcamel, so if you've been waiting for the right moment to shop, this is it. What exactly are you waiting for?

SEE ALSO: Save over $1,000 on this huge 85-inch mini-LED TV in the Amazon Spring Sale

We're always keeping a keen eye on what our sister sites are doing, and CNET thinks the QM8 series is the best TV so far this year. That's good enough for us. According to CNET, this model "stands out with superior brightness and impact while still maintaining excellent contrast: a combination no other TV could match at this price."

Get the best price on the TCL 85-Inch QM8 QLED Mini LED TV in the Amazon Big Spring Sale. For more TV deals from this event, check out our running list of the best live discounts.

Norwegian startup 1X released new video showcasing its humanoid robot, Neo Gamma, performing household tasks like vacuuming, cleaning windows, and carrying laundry. While the demo doesn’t confirm its level of autonomy, 1X has previously shown its Eve robots working independently. Neo Gamma features a 3D-printed nylon suit and shoes, designed for a minimalist home. 1X plans to begin testing Neo Gamma in homes by late 2025.