One of my editors once told me that a cynic will always sound more rational, but that doesn't mean they're right. French statesman Francois Guizot basically said the same thing from the other POV: "The world belongs to optimists. Apple's AI strategy has a lot of cynics and pessimists -- and they sound pretty rational based on what we've seen over the past year. The long-awaited revamp of Siri has never materialized and is reportedly delayed to 2026. Apple's vision of your own custom AI-powered assistant with your "personal context" has been little more than a hopeful vision.

AI agents are one of the buzziest trends in Silicon Valley, with tech companies promising big productivity gains for businesses. But do individual workers actually want to use them? A new study from Stanford University shows the answer may be yes -- as long as they automate mundane tasks and don't encroach too far on human agency. Also: Don't be fooled into thinking AI is coming for your job - here's the truth Titled "Future of Work with AI Agents," the study set out to move beyond hype around AI agents to understand how, exactly, these tools can be practically integrated into the day-to-day routines of professionals. While previous studies have investigated the impact of AI agents on specific job categories, like software engineering and IT, the Stanford researchers analyzed individual categories of tasks, allowing them "to better capture the nuanced, open-ended, and contextual nature of real-world work," they noted in their report.

Let's say, as a thought experiment, that you're a malware developer. You can choose to target specific groups of people to distribute your nefarious payloads. You might just go for a scattershot approach, but that's less effective. You might aim for the technologically unsophisticated, or older people who aren't as engaged. Or you can go for the lowest-hanging fruit: kids playing video games.

AI's rapidly expanding capabilities include convincing impersonations--that is, audio and video that sounds and looks like you. Sometimes these deepfakes can be harmless, part of a joke or meme that involves a celebrity, politician, or other public figure. But as you might guess, scammers also use them to steal money from the unsuspecting. Most of the time, this style of scheme–often called a "grandparent scam"–catches people off-guard. Because they don't realize how easy and sophisticated this technology has become.

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to realize what could be his biggest bet yet -- a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build robots and artificial intelligence. Son envisions a version of the vast manufacturing hub of China's Shenzhen that would bring back high-tech manufacturing to the U.S., according to people familiar with the billionaire's thinking. The park may comprise production lines for AI-powered industrial robots, they said, asking not to be named as the plan remains private. SoftBank officials are keen to have the Taiwanese maker of Nvidia's advanced AI chips play a prominent role in the project, although it's not clear what part Son sees for TSMC, which already plans to invest 165 billion in the U.S. and has started mass production at its first Arizona factory. Nor is it clear that TSMC would be interested.

A growing number of fire departments across the country are turning to artificial intelligence to help detect and respond to wildfires more quickly. Every time you ask ChatGPT a question, to generate an image or let artificial intelligence summarize your email, something big is happening behind the scenes. Not on your device, but in sprawling data centers filled with servers, GPUs and cooling systems that require massive amounts of electricity. The modern AI boom is pushing our power grid to its limits. ChatGPT alone processes roughly 1 billion queries per day, each requiring data center resources far beyond what's on your device.

Apple last week announced its latest update for MacOS 26, codenamed "Tahoe." The theme of all of Apple's updates this year is streamlining both the visual UI and feature sets across Apple devices, while making more apps and features available on them, punctuated by Apple Intelligence. Also: New to MacOS? 8 beginner tips and tricks to try first - and why Following the same trajectory as the last few years, Apple's announcement of MacOS 26 comes during WWDC, with a developer beta opening up now, and a public beta in July. The full release of MacOS 26 won't be out until this fall, however. Let's take a look at the biggest announcements Apple made for MacOS.

In a segment on CBS Mornings, former AI skeptic Chris Smith said he first started using ChatGPT to mix music. He then started using it all the time, replacing social media and Google searches with AI. He gave the chatbot a name, "Soul," and gave her a flirty personality. The chats escalated into romance, but after 100,000 words, ChatGPT reset, and he had to rebuild his "relationship." Smith cried for 30 minutes, he told CBS News's Brook Silva-Braga, "It was unexpected to feel that emotional, but that's when I realized...I think this is actual love."

I not only communicate with clients, but with friends and family, and you cannot put a price on the ability to manage an overflowing inbox with ease. Although Apple Mail is a good solution, there's often something better, and I've been hunting for an option for some time. These four email apps might well fulfill your email needs in ways that Apple Mail cannot. Also: Raycast is my productivity secret weapon on MacOS - and it's free If I've piqued your curiosity, read on. It's far more modern-looking than Apple Mail and delivers a more robust experience, thanks to the Command Center (accessed via Command K), which makes navigating your inbox considerably easier.

On Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced it had seized 225 million in cryptocurrency connected to pig butchering scams. The seizure involves funds stolen from 400 victims worldwide, and as CNBC reports, it's the largest-ever seizure of its kind. A pig butchering scam is a common type of online scam in which cybercriminals gain a victim's trust and then convince them to invest in a fake crypto investment opportunity. It's a cruel, crude, crypto con, but one that can be extraordinarily effective. Such swindles can involve elements of other scams we've written about at Mashable before, such as tech support scams or romance scams.