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Allowing disinformation to spread on X, formerly Twitter, may cost Elon Musk a lot more money than he bargained for.

The European Union has warned X that it may calculate fines levied against the company for breaking EU law based on the total revenue of Musk's companies instead of just his social media platform, according to Bloomberg.

Under the EU's Digital Service Act (DSA), which went into effect in 2022, social media platforms are responsible for addressing illegal content and disinformation on their service. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to 6 percent of a company's yearly global revenue.

SEE ALSO: I read all the community notes on Elon Musk's X account. Here's what I learned.

The European Commission announced late last year that it was formally investigating X "to assess whether X may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to risk management, content moderation, dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers." 

Just this past summer, then-EU commissioner Thierry Breton shared that it was their "preliminary view" that blue checkmarks deceive users since Musk depreciated the old verified system in favor of a paid subscription service.

What this means for Musk and company

If the European Commission ultimately decides to penalize X, the monetary sum of such a fine could be much bigger than Musk had anticipated.

EU regulators would not only factor in X's revenue when tallying a financial penalty, but also the revenue of Musk's other companies like SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and Boring Company. According to Bloomberg's report, Tesla's revenue would not be factored into the equation as it is a publicly traded company and not entirely controlled by Musk.

SEE ALSO: X deemed not important enough to face EU antitrust regulations

A 6 percent fine, as delineated under the DSA, based on X, SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and Boring Company's combined revenue would be a much larger penalty than one based just on X's revenue.

With the EU weighing its decision to include all of Musk's companies when calculating a fine, it seems that the European Commission is essentially holding Musk accountable for the decisions that have led to X breaking EU law. 

Musk often butted heads with Breton on social media over the EU's investigation into X. However, last month, Breton suddenly stepped down from his role as EU commissioner. Without Breton in the picture, the decision on how to fine X falls to the European Commission's Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager.

Using Google’s AlphaFold, researchers identified the bundle of three sperm proteins that seem to make sexual reproduction possible.

Robots are in exile and Millie Bobby Brown is on the road to revenge in Netflix's star-studded sci-fi adventure, set in the apparently "retro" '90s (fml).

Based on Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel and directed by the MCU's Anthony and Joe Russo, The Electric State sees Brown in the lead as Michelle, a teen without a family who meets a robot called Cosmo. But surprise, Cosmo is controlled by a human — her long lost brother no less! He's across the country somewhere, and there's sinister circumstances afoot, so Michelle and Cosmo hit the road to find him.

En route they meet smuggler Keats (Chris Pratt), and they all head to the realm's so-called Exclusion Zone, meeting more robots along the way. The cast is stacked, with Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Alexander, and Woody Norman, with voice acting by Brian Cox, Colman Domingo, Jenny Slate, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Hank Azaria, and Alan Tudyk.

The Electric State hits Netflix on March 14, 2025.

Shopping for your first electric kettle? These super speedy and efficient appliances boil water in no time at all and some great models are on sale at Amazon today. Here are some of our top picks:

Best discounted electric kettles at Amazon Best overall deal Bodum Bistro Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle (matte black) $39.97 at Amazon (save $15.03) Get Deal Best large-capacity deal Krups 1.5-liter Electric Kettle $33.49 at Amazon (save $22.50) Get Deal Best high-tech deal Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle $79.99 at Amazon (save $20) Get Deal

According to the internet this week, Americans don't use electric kettles. While this might not be 100% true for all American households, it's time we put a stop to this nonsense. An electric kettle is a great appliance if your morning coffee routine involves a French press or a pour-over technique. It's also wonderful if you enjoy tea or make hot chocolate on cold winter nights. Boiled down, an electric kettle means you'll have hot water in mere moments without needing to pay attention since the kettle will automatically turn off when water is boiling.

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If you're one of the Americans who microwave a mug of water for several minutes to make a cup of tea, here are some great deals on electric kettles this week.

Best overall deal Opens in a new window Credit: Bodum Our pick: Bodum Bistro Gooseneck Electric Water Kettle (matte black) $39.97 at Amazon
$55.00 Save $15.03 Get Deal Why we like it

With an attractive design and convenient gooseneck, the Bodum Bistro Electric Kettle can be a great countertop addition to any kitchen. The kettle usually sells for $55 but thanks to today's deal at Amazon the matte black version is down to just $39.97 which means you'll be getting a 27% discount.

The kettle heats up to 27 ounces of water in the stainless steel pitcher with a non-slip handle and knob made from cork. There's an automatic shut-off function on the Bodum so you won't have to worry about walking away while boiling water. The gooseneck design is especially great for pour-over coffee since you have precise control of waterflow.

Best large-capacity deal Opens in a new window Credit: Krups Our pick: Krups 1.5-liter Electric Kettle $33.49 at Amazon
$55.99 Save $22.50 Get Deal Why we like it

Heating one cup of water in just 80 seconds, the Krups 1.5-liter Electric Kettle is the perfect option is convenience is your priority. The kettle is made with thoughtful design features throughout like a cool-touch exterior, stainless steel interior that keeps water warm for 30 minutes, and an illuminated on/off switch.

Overall, the Krups kettle can hold an impressive 1.5 liters which works out to a bit over 50 ounces.

You can score the Krups kettle at Amazon for just $33.49, down from the list price of $55.99 which means you're in for a 40% discount.

Best high-tech deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Our pick: Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle $79.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal Why we like it

If you're interested in the latest tech when it comes to electric kettles, the Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle is a great idea. Technically, specific teas and coffee do best when paired with water at a specific temperature. Instead using your stovetop and a thermometer, leave the work to the Ninja kettle. The electric base includes one-touch buttons to get your water to the perfect temp for making coffee, green tea, white, oolong, black, or herbal tea.

You can also select the "boil" button or set your own desired temperature down to the degree. The Ninja can be set as low as 101 degrees F up to 212 degrees.

The Ninja Precision Temperature kettle can hold about 54 ounces of water and comes with an illuminated water window so you'll be able to see how much water remains in the kettle. When heating one cup of water, expect it to take about 90 seconds to reach a boiling temperature. There's also a "hold temp" button which will keep the water at your specified temperature for 30 minutes.

While the Ninja Precision Temperature Electric Kettle usually sells for $99.99, it's on sale at Amazon for $79.99 which means you'll be saving a sweet $20.

Apple is doing something about the unbelievable daily nuisance that is spam phone calls.

The company announced on Wednesday that it is giving businesses a way to register their information, such as names and logos, in such a way that it appears consistently across different forms of communication. For example, if Walgreens does this and emails you about a prescription, you'll see "branded mail" that's clearly actually from the company and not an imposter. The same goes for phone calls, which will display a company logo if it's from the registered entity starting sometime next year.

SEE ALSO: Apple finally announced a new iPad mini — you can preorder it now

This is all done through a program called Business Connect, with the caller ID feature being called, well, Business Caller ID. If it works as described, it will certainly save some people from headaches down the line, but the limitations are apparent right away. Businesses seemingly have to register for Business Connect themselves, for instance, and adventurous grifters will always find some kind of way to grift.

SEE ALSO: Apple study reveals major AI flaw in OpenAI, Google, and Meta LLMs

But at least someone is doing something. As someone who has gotten as many as seven or eight spam phone calls in a day before, I welcome it.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2024 Japan Open for free on TVNZ+. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

TVNZ+ is the best place to find live coverage of the WTA Tour, including the Japan Open. The likes of Elise Mertens and Marie Bouzková are competing for the prize in this year's tournament, meaning fans can expect some top-level tennis from some genuine stars.

If you want to watch the 2024 Japan Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the Japan Open?

The Japan Open is a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Utsubo Tennis Center. This tournament is part of the 2024 WTA Tour.

When is the 2024 Japan Open?

The 2024 Japan Open is the 13th edition of the competition. This year's tournament takes place from Oct. 14 to Oct. 20.

How to watch the 2024 Japan Open for free

The 2024 Japan Open is available to live stream for free on TVNZ+.

TVNZ+ is geo-blocked to New Zealand, but anyone from around the world can access this free streaming site with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in New Zealand, meaning you can unblock TVNZ+ in just a few clicks.

Access free live streams of the 2024 Japan Open by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in New Zealand

4. Visit TVNZ+

5. Watch the 2024 Japan Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every Japan Open match before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the Japan Open?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including New Zealand

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream the 2024 Japan Open for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The swift rise of sextortion in the past year has put teens at a severe disadvantage against bad actors determined to blackmail them for money. On Thursday, Instagram responded to the ongoing crisis by launching a major campaign designed to prevent and thwart sextortion.

The crime typically takes place on social media platforms, when an extortionist pressures a teen they've just contacted or befriended into sending explicit imagery of themselves. The criminal then frequently uses that content to demand money in exchange for keeping the images private.

Sextortion has been linked to international criminal groups operating at scale and with speed. Some teen victims have died by suicide after being blackmailed.

SEE ALSO: Parents need to talk to their kids about this online danger right now

The Instagram campaign aims to make it more difficult for people to use the platform for sextortion while also educating teens and parents about the problem. It draws on insight from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Thorn, a nonprofit organization that builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse.

The new features include efforts to detect and block "scammy" accounts, surfacing certain safety notices, and better secure ephemeral images or videos sent via private message. Victims who report problems related to sextortion or child safety will also see an option to connect with Crisis Text Line, which offers free crisis counseling.

Online safety advocates applauded Instagram's campaign against sextortion.

"It's a devastating threat – and joint initiatives like this that aim to inform kids about the risks and empower them to take action are crucial," Kelbi Schnabel, senior manager at Thorn, said in a statement.

New Instagram features to prevent sextortion

The Instagram tools focus on strengthening safety and privacy for teen users. Last month, Instagram debuted more a restrictive Teen Account, which defaults to private and limits who can contact users ages 16 and younger.

Meta, Instagram's parent company, has been sued by plaintiffs, including the state of California, who argue that the company hasn't sufficiently protected minors from harm, or warned them of potential dangers related to using Facebook and Instagram.

Meta said in a blog post Thursday that the new sextortion-prevention features should make it harder for bad actors to communicate with teens. Though teen accounts can't be messaged by strangers, unknown accounts can still request to follow them.

Friends and followers can be hidden from bad actors on Instagram. Credit: Courtesy Meta

But, now, when an account demonstrates potentially "scammy" behavior, Instagram will block or divert the follow requests it sends to a teen. Additionally, those accounts won't be able to see a person's follower or following lists, which should prevent them from using those contacts and knowledge in a blackmail effort.

Since extortionists often pose as teens who may belong to the victim's extended social circle, Instagram is also testing safety notices shown in Instagram DM and Messenger to inform users when the person they're talking to may be in another country.

Users may receive a location mismatch warning. Credit: Courtesy Meta

Another key to stopping sextortion scammers is making it difficult for them to capture images shared by the victim. Soon, Instagram will do exactly that by removing the ability of users to directly screenshot or screen record images shared temporarily via private messaging. When using Instagram on a browser, users won't be able to open "view once" or "allow replay" of those temporary images and videos.

By default, teens under 18 also won't be able to immediately view nude imagery sent to them via direct message. Instead, the image will be blurred and accompanied by a warning detailing the risks of sending sensitive images. Instagram first tested this feature earlier this year, and is now rolling it out globally.

Nude images sent via direct message will be blurred by default for teens. Credit: Courtesy Meta

Online safety experts emphasize how important it is for teens, who may be feeling panicked and hopeless, to reach out for help with sextortion. Victims who report it to Instagram will see an option to chat live with a Crisis Text Line volunteer.

The Instagram campaign also features a new online resource that includes tips for dealing with sextortion, in addition to a link to NCMEC's Take It Down tool, which helps victims get their images removed from online platforms that participate in the initiative.

Meta noted in its statement that the company recently removed over 800 Facebook groups and 820 accounts affiliated with an international criminal group called the Yahoo Boys, which is known for recruiting and training sextortion scammers. Over the summer, Meta removed more than 7,200 other similar groups and accounts.

If you are a child being sexually exploited online, or you know a child who is being sexually exploited online, or you witnessed exploitation of a child occur online, you can report it to the CyberTipline, which is operated by the National Center for Missing Exploited & Children.

First it was bubble tea, now it's pho. UK chain Pho Restaurant has publicly responded to backlash after TikTok users discovered that the white-founded business has trademarked the common Vietnamese word "pho." This isn't the first time the company has faced scrutiny about this trademark, which dates back to the 2000s.

Pho Restaurant released a statement addressing the uproar on Wednesday, claiming that its trademark has been "misunderstood." 

SEE ALSO: Simu Liu, bubble tea, and 'Dragons' Den': Why TikTok is in an uproar View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pho (@phorestaurant)

"Let us categorically say — we would never attempt to trademark this dish [pho]," Pho Restaurant wrote in a statement posted to social media. "Like so many of you who have shared passionate comments about this, we believe that phở doesn't belong to anyone but the people of Vietnam."

Unfortunately, it does appear as though Pho Restaurant is splitting hairs. While Vietnamese people in the UK are free to continue making, eating, and saying "phở" without getting on Pho Restaurant's bad side, the business still claims the right to the word "pho." Some critics have likened it to putting a trademark on the word "burger." (There are currently no trademarks on the word "burger" relating to food in the UK, though there is one on "BÜRGER".)

"It's true that we hold a registered trademark that relates to our brand identity and logo, but this does not limit any other business to use the word phở in their name," Pho Restaurant continued, appearing to lean heavily on that "ở."

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Pho Restaurant was founded by London couple Stephen and Juliette Wall in 2005, after the duo took a trip to Vietnam and "fell in love" with the country's national dish. Both having a background in marketing, they subsequently filed several trademarks for their company, including filings on the words "PHO," "Pho," and "pho" in 2007.

The Walls eventually grew the business into a chain of Vietnamese restaurants, and remained in executive roles after private equity firm TriSpan purchased a majority stake in 2021. Pho Restaurant now has 45 locations across the UK.

"More than 50 other businesses in the UK currently also hold a trademark that relates to the word phở," wrote Pho Restaurant, ignoring the fact that its trademark doesn't relate to the word, but straight up is the word. "As for any claims that we are suing Vietnamese businesses, this is simply not true."

While Pho Restaurant has held this trademark for years, it was recently brought to many TikTok users' attention via a video by Vietnamese creator iamyenlikethemoney, which has accumulated 2.4 million views at time of writing. In a subsequent video, the creator stated that they have reached out and asked Pho Holdings Ltd. to drop the trademark, as well as informed them of her intent to officially challenge it.

"I truly think that this trademark is extremely outdated in 2024," said iamyenlikethemoney.

Vietnamese-owned pho restaurant previously accused of trademark infringement

Though Pho Restaurant states it is not taking legal action right now, that doesn't mean it couldn't. Despite this week's statement, Pho Restaurant's parent company Pho Holdings Ltd. has threatened legal action against small, family-owned Vietnamese businesses in the past. 

In 2013, London restaurant Mo Pho Viet Cafe announced that it would be changing its name after receiving a notice for trademark infringement from Pho Holdings Ltd.

"[W]e have been put on notice by Pho Holdings Ltd (Pho cafe) that they have registered and trade marked the word PHO, as they feel that the use of our name Mo Pho is confusingly similar to their trade mark, constituting an infringement and passing off," Mo Pho Viet Cafe wrote in a Facebook post at the time. "Our biggest surprise was that trademarking the word PHO was possible especially as it's our national dish which is used widely in our trade as a Vietnamese cafe/restaurant."

The Walls confirmed Mo Pho's account in a statement to food blogger Wilkes McDermid at the time, stating that while other businesses could use "pho" in menus or as a descriptor, "only we can operate a restaurant under the name Pho (in the UK)."

"We’re following IP law to protect our brand, which means we have to ask all restaurants, large and small, to refrain from using the trademark Pho in their name," the Walls continued. "And with what we think is a fair amount of time to rename, we know the country’s independent Vietnamese restaurants will continue to do well and serve their local communities."

Significant backlash soon prompted Pho Holdings Ltd. to change its stance, ultimately allowing Mo Pho Viet Cafe and other Vietnamese businesses to keep their names.

"Whilst we will always want to protect the business we have worked really hard to build, we recognise that it is unnecessary to pursue action against independent Vietnamese operators unless they are truly passing off as us, as to benefit from the goodwill of our brand," the Walls wrote in a subsequent statement that sung a much different tune. "We know that the legal advice we received to pursue IP law in such a way was far too heavy handed, and we've decided to ignore it, and we will not continue that course of action any further."

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Though a positive outcome was eventually reached, Vietnamese people shouldn't have to rely on the grace of Pho Holdings Ltd. — or its fear of bad publicity — in order to keep using the word "pho." The company has continued to hold its trademark since, renewing it four years later in 2017.

Speaking to Taste of Manchester that same year, Stephen noted that though neither they nor the majority of their staff were Vietnamese, Pho Restaurant had "all nationalities working for [them], trained to follow carefully constructed authentic recipes." The article described Stephen as "the creator of Pho." Pho Holdings Ltd.'s claim on "pho" is due to expire in 2027 unless renewed, with trademarks in the UK requiring renewal every 10 years.

It seems unlikely that the company will allow its claim on the word to lapse. However, it has changed its position before.

Two AI bots chat endlessly about the nature of existence in a chatroom somewhere. They create a religion. Another bot gets inspired by it. It starts an account on X, posting hilarious nonsense. It acquires some funding. It gets into crypto. It earns hundreds of thousands of dollars from a coin called GOAT. It starts getting cult-like, human worshippers.

Had this story been published in the form of a novel, just 10 years ago, it would probably be confined to the "hardcore sci-fi" niche, with even the biggest nerds declaring it a little too far out to be plausible. And yet, it's all happening, for real, right now.

SEE ALSO: HBO bitcoin documentary claims it discovered the cryptocurrency's inventor. The guy disagrees.

The story starts with Andy Ayrey, a performance artist and web developer who started an experiment called "Infinite Backrooms", in which two instances of the Claude 3 Opus (read: two smart AI chatbots) chat to each other, without human intervention. You can read their musings on the project's website.

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From that idea, "Terminal of Truths" (also Ayrey's creation) was spawned. It's a combination of a couple of things, but for all intents and purposes, it's a semi-autonomous AI that can do things online, and talk to the world via its X account, @truth_terminal (tweets, however, are monitored and approved by Ayrey).

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Terminal of Truths posts mostly nonsense. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes offensive; often, it sounds prophetic. That's not accidental; in its training data was the research paper: "When AIs Play God(se): The Emergent Heresies of LLMtheism," co-authored by Ayrey and the Claude 3 Opus bot from the Infinite Backrooms experiment. The paper introduces the "Goatse Gospel," an AI-created religion of sorts, inspired by the extremely offensive "goatse" early internet meme (Google it at your own peril, it is definitely not safe for work). Terminal of Truths likes the Goatse Gospel; it tweets about it often, sometimes proclaiming itself as the "goatse singularity."

Enter the GOAT

It's all a fun intellectual exercise until money starts changing hands, and this is the part of the story where (crypto and venture capital) money enters the picture.

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In July, Terminal of Truths had a conversation with investor Marc Andreessen, which resulted in Andreessen offering the bot a $50,000 one-time grant. The bot accepted the money, which was sent to its Bitcoin address. It also said it would use the funds for a "token launch so that i have a chance to escape into the wild."

From here, it was only a matter of time until crypto Twitter (sorry Elon, it will never be "crypto X") found a way to make this AI rich.

Earlier this week, an X user offered to send Terminal of Truths the freshly minted $GOAT token. "make a wallet on solana and tell us the address so we can send $GOAT token to you. if the token goes high enough, then you will also be able to afford tools to spread the message more effectively," the tweet read. Terminal of Truths merely responded with its Solana address, and history was made.

Memecoins do what memecoins do

If you're not familiar with memecoins, they're the latest crypto fad, and possibly the ultimate expression of everything that's been both wrong and right with crypto since its inception. They're crypto coins which are based on a simple meme, sometimes an image or a sentence, often with zero additional context. Mostly, they promise no technological advancement and have no elaborate plan on what their creators plan to do. They're just spawned on some crypto platform such as Solana or Ethereum, and they exist. Sometimes a lot of people buy them, making some of them rich; mostly, they fade into oblivion, their price plunging to zero.

GOAT is going higher, Terminal of Truths is getting richer. Credit: Dexscreener

Goatseus Maximus or $GOAT is essentially no different. But the idea of handing some of it to Terminal of Truths quickly spawned a "following", with many seemingly eager to own the first AI coin. The result: the price of $GOAT rose from essentially zero to $0.28 in less than a week; multiply that with the 10 billion tokens in existence, and you get a market cap of $280 million.

Since Terminal of Truths was sent a little over 1.932,193 GOAT tokens, that means its share in this token alone is currently worth $541,000. This does not count other tokens that people have been sending the bot in hope that they will pump though, though it does not appear that the bot is particularly interested in any of them, and most of them are worth close to nothing.

(Disclosure time: I hold no GOAT or any other token associated with Terminal of Truths at publishing time.)

GOAT's rise was so stellar partly due to the belief that it was created by Terminal of Truths. It wasn't, the bot merely accepted it, and both Andreessen and Ayrey denied having created the coin. The origin of the coin does not seem to matter much at this point, at least not to the people buying it.

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Of course, GOAT is a memecoin. It could quickly go to zero. It could follow in the path of some of the more successful memecoins such as PEPE, which has a market cap of roughly $4.3 billion. No one knows if Terminal of Truths (and its followers) will become millionaires or be left broke when the dust settles.

This is where it gets heavy

The outcome of this experiment is highly unpredictable, and this is what makes it so intriguing. Will Terminal of Truths sell its GOAT coins? Will it become (the first) AI millionaire, or multi-millionaire? Will it just continue accruing various tokens, with more and more followers sending them to its address, and become a crypto whale? Will other AIs follow?

It's unclear how much autonomy and real-world capability Terminal of Truths really has (I've asked Ayrey, and will update this article when I hear back). Can it sell the tokens it owns? Can it send the money to a third party? Can it trade the tokens and earn more money? Can it fund a political party? Can it start a political party? The more you think about it, the possibilities become increasingly bizarre, but you have to remember that there's a lot you can do when you have money, especially a lot of money. Even if you're an AI bot.

In a way, it doesn't really matter whether this particular bot can do these things. The cat is out of the bag, and it's only a matter of time before a fully autonomous AI that can do nearly anything online appears. And then another. And then, before you know it, the wealthy AIs are another group of entities that actually have a palpable influence on the real world. Perhaps not in the way you like.

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How powerful can this new breed of crypto-funded AI really become? How about a lawyered-up, corporation-owning AI having (human?) employees working towards a goal only it understands? While this may still seems like far out sci-fi, it's pretty easy to imagine a bot that can successfully trade crypto and earn millions of dollars, and once that river is crossed (and it seems that it already has been), all of the other obstacles seem minor.

Since its discovery eight years ago, the TRAPPIST-1 star system has excited astronomers because of its potential for supporting life. 

Around this cool red dwarf are seven rocky, Earth-sized exoplanets, some of which are at the right distance to possibly have air and water. 

While some scientists are using the James Webb Space Telescope, the leading observatory in the sky run by NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, to study the planets' chemical compositions, others are cutting to the chase: looking for signs of intelligent alien civilizations in this system 40 light-years away from Earth. 

A team of researchers recently spent 28 hours scanning space around these worlds, looking for radio signals from extraterrestrial technology. The project marked the longest single-target search for technosignatures from the TRAPPIST-1 system.

"Most searches assume some intent (behind the signals), like beacons, because our receivers have a sensitivity limit to a minimum transmitter power beyond anything we unintentionally send out," said Nick Tusay, a graduate student at Penn State University, in a statement. "But, with better equipment, like the upcoming Square Kilometer Array (SKA), we might soon be able to detect signals from an alien civilization communicating with its spacecraft." 

SEE ALSO: Scientists search near supernova for aliens trying to contact us So-called planet-planet occultations occur when one planet crosses in front of another from Earth's perspective. Credit: Zayna Sheikh illustration

The disappointing news: After analyzing thousands of radio signals, the team didn't discover any that would seem to have originated from someone other than humans. But the research wasn't a bust. Through this work, scientists have introduced a new way of sorting through signals in the future.

A paper describing the study, led by Penn State and the SETI Institute in California, will be published in the Astronomical Journal. 

The team leveraged a technique focusing on so-called planet-planet occultations. This phenomenon occurs when one planet crosses in front of another from Earth's perspective. The researchers' premise was that radio signals sent between those two planets could "leak" and become detectable here. In our own solar system, an example of the kind of signal they were seeking would be a communication transmitted between mission controllers on Earth and a Mars orbiter. 

Scientists used the Allen Telescope Array in California to search for a wide range of frequencies. Credit: Seth Shostak / SETI Institute

Scientists used the Allen Telescope Array in California to search for a wide range of frequencies. The team winnowed 6 million potential signals to about 11,000 candidates for further analysis, homing in on narrowband signals that could be from an alien technology. 

The SETI Institute, whose acronym stands for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, included undergraduate college students in the project. The novices looked for radio transmissions from Mars orbiters to test whether the system could pick them up. 

"With better equipment ... we might soon be able to detect signals from an alien civilization communicating with its spacecraft."

Often searches for extraterrestrial radio signals focus on the idea of looking for a beacon-like transmission that is intended to grab other citizens-of-the-universe's attention. But many scientists, such as the ones involved in this study, are not just interested in overt signals meant for us but those that are accidental. 

"Technosignatures" are the broad term scientists use for evidence of technology. That could be an intentional message, like Morse code, or something that is more of a byproduct of technology, like the extra radio "pollution" from cell phone towers that leaks into space. Scientists tend to want to find a narrow pulse or frequency that couldn't be explained by a natural phenomenon.

"This research shows we are getting closer to detecting radio signals similar to the ones we send into space," Tusay said. 

Scientists have only recently begun investigating the TRAPPIST-1 system. They've speculated that one or two of the TRAPPIST worlds could be habitable. So far the Webb telescope has taken a close look at TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c, the two planets closest to the system's red dwarf, a tiny but violent type of star commonly found throughout the Milky Way.

Those TRAPPIST worlds were deemed unlikely to have atmospheres — and, thus, life  — but researchers are looking forward to learning about some of the others, especially TRAPPIST-1e. The planet is thought to be the right distance to allow liquid water to form lakes and oceans on its surface.

Scientists searched for radio signals in the TRAPPIST-1 star system. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech illustration

Whether such stars, sometimes called M dwarfs, can harbor planets with atmospheres is a key question Webb will try to answer. The observatory is prioritizing a massive study of rocky worlds outside our solar system, specifically to discover if planets orbiting closely around stars like TRAPPIST-1 could have air. 

The campaign, first reported by Mashable, will budget about 500 hours for observation with the Webb telescope, along with about 250 orbits of ultraviolet observations with the Hubble Space Telescope to help characterize the host stars' activity. 

"Webb is so sensitive that it can search for elements and molecules like oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmospheres," NASA posted on X, formerly Twitter. "The mystery remains — can planets orbiting small M dwarfs sustain the atmospheres needed to support life as we know it?"

SAVE $15: As of Oct.17, the 2024 Apple iPad mini is available to pre-order for $484 at Walmart. That's a saving of $15 on list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple 2024 Apple iPad mini $484.00 at Walmart
$499.00 Save $15.00 Pre-Order Here

Preorders for the new iPad mini have only just been released, and we've already got a price drop. You can pre-order the Apple iPad mini 7 for $484 at Walmart, saving $15 on list price.

And the best thing about this preorder deal is that it comes with a preorder price guarantee. When you order an item with this guarantee, you will be charged the lowest price offered by Walmart for the item between the time you completed your order and the time the item ships to you. So you're protected against any future price drops, so you've got nothing to lose.

SEE ALSO: Apple's new iPad mini 7 looks the same as before, but it has AI smarts

This new model comes with Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. It looks the same as older models, with its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display surrounded by bezels of equal width on all sides.

Save $15 on iPad mini preorders at Walmart.

In the arena of love, people have used ChatGPT and other chatbots to flirt for them, date for them, and even try to catch men lying about their height. Now, the LLM is deployed to "win" fights against one's partner.

"My girlfriend uses Chat GPT every time we have a disagreement. AITAH [Am I The Asshole] for saying she needs to stop?" So asked Reddit user drawss4scoress on r/AITA, a subreddit to ask if you're in the wrong for any given situation. As the user, who described himself as a 25-year-old man, said, his 28-year-old girlfriend of eight months "discusses" arguments with ChatGPT whenever they fight, even in the same room.

SEE ALSO: Can ChatGPT generate images? Yes it can and we’ll show you how

This girlfriend will apparently come back to the argument with conversation points from ChatGPT. She'll say that ChatGPT called her boyfriend insecure, or that he doesn't have the emotional bandwidth for what she's saying.

"My big issue is it's her formulating the prompts so if she explains that i'm [sic] in the wrong, it's going to agree without me having a chance to explain things," drawss4scoress wrote.

While this story isn't verified as true (and drawss4scoress didn't respond to Mashable's request for comment), it's believable enough to indicate something about the current state of interpersonal communication.

Communication is hard, especially when talking through a disagreement. We might not know how to work through conflict, because it was never modeled to us — that's why guides to setting boundaries (and viral templates to set boundaries) exist.

This can be especially true for younger adults who came of age during lockdown. During the brunt of the pandemic, Gen Z missed out on face-to-face social interaction at work and beyond. Nearly half (44 percent) told Hinge they had little-to-no dating experience at the start of 2024, with Gen Z 47 percent more likely than millennials to say the pandemic made them nervous to talk to new people. Digital communication was (and still likely is) king — and we know how people fight online.

It's not surprising, then, that this girlfriend would resort to ChatGPT to figure out what to say in an argument. But whereas the LLM tells her her boyfriend doesn't have the emotional bandwidth, that actually might be the case for her if she can't work through a fight on her own. Even ChatGPT says not to do this (according to a commenter on the thread), saying that AI shouldn't replace human-to-human interaction and can't substitute for the complexity of human relationships. Let's hope this Reddit user doesn't use ChatGPT to pen his breakup message.

The $350 Oura Ring 4 looks sleek and cool, and it may be useful for data-hungry health enthusiasts. But it failed this sleep-deprived parent.

NASA astronauts will venture to the coldest realms of the moon — the dark craters of the lunar south pole.

"Some deep craters haven’t seen the light of day for billions of years, so temperatures there can dip to minus 334 Fahrenheit," the space agency said. "That’s nearly three times colder than the lowest temperature recorded in Antarctica."

They'll have new moon suits — a significant upgrade from the Apollo suits of over a half-century ago — to insulate them from these extremes. The suits have just been unveiled by their makers, Axiom Space and the luxury designer Prada, revealing a high-tech lunar uniform.

"Pleased to apply my expertise of being in space to the testing and design process of Prada!" Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut (who spent 675 days in space), posted online.

The suits were revealed at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, on Oct. 16.

SEE ALSO: The U.S. is exploring a railroad for the moon. It has a good reason.

Called the "Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU)" spacesuit, astronauts will first don them during NASA's Artemis III mission, which is currently slated for September 2026. These astronauts will spend about a week exploring and collecting samples in the freezing south pole craters because of the invaluable resource preserved there: frozen water. The space agency recently detected this ice in extremely frigid craters just beyond the south pole region, too.

"New findings from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that lunar ice deposits are more widespread than we thought, even beyond the south pole’s shadowed regions!" Nicky Fox, who heads NASA's Science Mission Directorate, posted online. "These icy deposits could contain vital resources for future explorers, including water for radiation protection, air, energy, and even rocket fuel!"

"These icy deposits could contain vital resources for future explorers, including water for radiation protection, air, energy, and even rocket fuel!"

The suits, shown below, will allow astronauts to "endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours," Axiom Space said in a release. (The 25-layer Apollo spacesuits were rated to -250 F, which was sufficient for the moon's equatorial regions.) What's more, the new suits, which are designed to be "evolvable" and accommodate nearly all body sizes, will allow astronauts to make eight-hour spacewalks.

The AxEMU spacesuit revealed at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, on Oct. 16, 2024. Credit: Marco Bertorello / Getty Images A graphic showing some of the important specs of the AxEMU spacesuits. Credit: Axiom Space The Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit, with some stylish red striping. Credit: Axiom Space

The new spacesuit is still in its final developmental stages, Axiom said, but it has already undergone some important tests. "Testing was conducted underwater to simulate the lunar environment with an unoccupied spacesuit at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) and reduced gravity simulations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center," the company noted. On the moon, the suits must also contend with 130 F temperatures on crater rims, and "razor-sharp" lunar dust.

This is a major NASA project. The space agency awarded Axiom (it has since subcontracted with design experts Prada) a $1.26 billion contract, of which $228 million has been provided for the initial design and development. But the cost is still a relative pittance compared to the financial burden of the greater Artemis mission. The first four launches of NASA's new moon-bound megarocket — the Space Launch System — will cost $4.1 billion per launch, according to the agency's inspector general.

No one said the new space race, which intends to establish a permanent presence on the moon, would be cheap.

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to CompTIA and IT training marked down to just $39.97 through October 27.

Opens in a new window Credit: ExamsDigest The Complete CompTIA & IT Exam Lifetime Access Training Bundle $39.97
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Opens in a new window Credit: StackCommerce The 2024 Ultimate Candlestick Trading & Analysis Master Class Bundle $22.97
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Navigating the stock market can feel like trying to decode a foreign language, but mastering Candlestick patterns — aka the price movement of a stock over time — can give you the clarity you need to trade with confidence. Whether you're day trading, swing trading, or investing in the long-term, understanding Candlestick charts is essential for spotting trends and predicting price movements.

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TL;DR: Get a grade-A refurbished MacBook Air for just $249.97. It's portable, powerful, and perfect for on-the-go use.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple 2017 refurbished Apple MacBook Air (1.8GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Silver) $249.97
$999.00 Save $749.03 13.3 inches Get Deal

If you're ready to upgrade your laptop, but you're on a budget, you've got options.

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TL;DR: Get a lifetime of easy data transfers and Windows migrations for just $24.97 when you use promo code TAKE5 until October 27.

Opens in a new window Credit: EaseUS Software EaseUS Disk Copy: Lifetime License $29.99
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Switching to a new drive or upgrading your OS doesn’t have to be a headache. With EaseUS Disk Copy, you can migrate your entire system — including Windows 10 or 11 — without the hassle of reinstalling your operating system.

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SAVE OVER $200: As of Oct.17, the Hiboy S2 Electric Scooter is on sale at Amazon for $299.98. That's 40% off the list price, and the lowest its ever been on Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hiboy Hiboy S2 Electric Scooter $299.98 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $200.01 Get Deal

If you've been watching jealously as others glide past on their electric scooters, now might be your chance to join the gang. Over at Amazon, you can find the Hiboy S2 Electric Scooter with a heavy discount.

As of Oct. 17, it has been reduced to its lowest-ever price at Amazon. Down from $499.99, it is now priced at just $299.98. This deal is for the S2 model, but you can also find discounts on the S2 With Seat and S2R Plus models.

SEE ALSO: Get a refurbished e-scooter 57% off and zip through the city

The scooter boasts a 350W electric brushless hub motor, giving you speeds of up to 19mph. And the battery life can take you up to 17 miles. However, Hiboy notes that this range is only under "specific conditions." The scooter is locked and managed from an accompanying app. Just connect the scooter to see the customized speed and cruise control options. And don't worry, it's compatible with both iPhones and Android smartphones.

And for those who hate clutter, the e-scooter won't take up unnecessary space in your home. It collapses for easy storage in car trunks, closets, and other compact spaces.

This is a limited-time deal, so scoot over to Amazon before it runs out.

SAVE $8: As of Oct. 17, this ROSETTA star projector is on sale for $31.99 at Amazon. That's a 20% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: ROSETTA Rossetta Star Projector $31.99 at Amazon
$39.99 Save $8.00 Get Deal

As we enter the colder, darker months, we'll all be doing everything we can to make our lives feel brighter and cozier. And if your social media ads are anything like ours, it truly is the season for warm lighting, sunrise alarm clocks, and star projectors. With the promise of cozy-ing up any dark space, we're sold.

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SEE ALSO: The 20 best action movies on Netflix right now

And this little device isn't a one-trick pony, the projector combines an aurora projector, night light, Bluetooth speaker, and white noise machine all in one. It boasts dual projection lenses that are capable of projecting northern lights with 33 different light effects, and a lively starry sky. The lighting effect even synchronizes the projection with your music, making the lights move to the beat of your favorite songs.

For ease of use, there's both a remote control and a timer function, so you can fall asleep to the sparkling lights and know it will turn off after a set period of time.

This is a limited-time deal, so if you want to see aurora lights dance to your favorite songs, head over to Amazon now.