These days, when Nicole Yelland receives a meeting request from someone she doesn't already know, she conducts a multi-step background check before deciding whether to accept. Yelland, who works in public relations for a Detroit-based non-profit, says she'll run the person's information through Spokeo, a personal data aggregator that she pays a monthly subscription fee to use. If the contact claims to speak Spanish, Yelland says, she will casually test their ability to understand and translate trickier phrases. If something doesn't quite seem right, she'll ask the person to join a Microsoft Teams call--with their camera on. If Yelland sounds paranoid, that's because she is.

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Petco Love Lost is a free platform that uses AI-powered photo matching to reunite lost pets with their families. When Michael Bown left New York City for a family reunion at the Jersey Shore, he never imagined he'd return to a nightmare. His beloved adopted dog, Millie, just a year old, slipped out of her collar during a walk in the East Village and vanished into the night. What followed was a frantic, emotional and ultimately heartwarming journey, one that highlights the power of community, technology and a little bit of luck. Join The FREE CyberGuy Report: Get my expert tech tips, critical security alerts and exclusive deals -- plus instant access to my free Ultimate Scam Survival Guide when you sign up! Michael's story began with a simple act of trust, leaving Millie in the care of a close friend.

AI ARMS RACE: OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman joined three other artificial intelligence (AI) and technology executives for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on winning the global AI race and strengthening domestic capabilities in computing and innovation. Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, during a fireside chat at University College London (UCL) in London, UK, on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Altman said part of the reason for his current tour of European cities is to discover a suitable location for a new office. EMBRACING AI: Some companies have been adjusting their workforce as they simultaneously embrace artificial intelligence and automation more, according to Forbes. NEW INVESTORS: OpenAI is shaking up its corporate structure to bring in new investors and accelerate the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

This week: The UK and the US agreed to the framework for a trade deal. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the details of the agreement and what it means that it includes keeping the 10% baseline tariffs staying in place. Then, Bill Gates has announced that he's winding down the Gates Foundation and doubling the money he's giving away. The hosts discuss how this is a reaction to Elon Musk's slashing of USAID and the state of billionaire philanthropy. And finally, OpenAI has reversed its plan to become a for profit enterprise after public backlash.

Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of violating a three-day ceasefire as Moscow marked Victory Day by welcoming allies to a grand military parade. Russia's President Vladimir Putin marked the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany on Friday alongside China's Xi Jinping, in an event clearly intended to bolster support for his three-year offensive against Ukraine, which he had unilaterally paused for 72 hours to mark the occasion. "Russia has been and will remain an indestructible barrier against Nazism, Russophobia and anti-Semitism," said Putin, seeking to draw parallels between World War II – or the Great Patriotic War as it is named in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union – and the Ukraine war. Russia maintains that its February 2022 invasion of its neighbour is a battle against a "Nazi" regime in Kyiv. Ukraine has dismissed that claim as "incomprehensible".

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Why is it that we still get a tiny thrill from checking the mailbox each day? Rationally, we know what's in there: bills we don't want, catalogs we never ordered, and that bulky Valpak stuffed with coupons we'll never use. But somehow, despite the noise, there's a quiet hope we might find something meaningful. And every once in a while, we do. In a society obsessed with social media, texts, AI, speed and automation, the handwritten thank-you note has become an endangered species.

When Mimi*, 22, was in college, she created a fake profile on the dating app Hinge to report another phony account. Someone was impersonating her then-boyfriend on the app, and the couple wanted to report this account together. "I didn't think much of it at the time," she says. But two years later, single and living in New York City, Mimi turned back to Hinge, this time in a real attempt to try online dating and meet someone new. She quickly discovered she had been banned.