Digital scammers have never been so successful. Last year Americans lost 16.6 billion to online crimes, with almost 200,000 people reporting scams like phishing and spoofing to the FBI. More than 470 million was stolen in scams that started with a text message last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And as the biggest mobile operating system maker in the world, Google has been scrambling to do something, building out tools to warn consumers about potential scams. Ahead of Google's Android 16 launch next week, the company said on Tuesday that it is expanding its recently launched AI flagging feature for the Google Messages app, known as Scam Detection, to provide alerts on potentially nefarious messages like possible crypto scams, financial impersonation, gift card and prize scams, technical support scams, and more.

After publishing my third book in early April, I kept encountering headlines that made me feel like the protagonist of some Black Mirror episode. "Vauhini Vara consulted ChatGPT to help craft her new book'Searches,'" one of them read. "To tell her own story, this acclaimed novelist turned to ChatGPT," said another. "Vauhini Vara examines selfhood with assistance from ChatGPT," went a third. The publications describing Searches this way were reputable and fact-based.

A few weeks ago, OpenAI pulled off one of the greatest corporate promotions in recent memory. Whereas the initial launch of ChatGPT, back in 2022, was "one of the craziest viral moments i'd ever seen," CEO Sam Altman wrote on social media, the response to a new upgrade was, in his words, "biblical": 1 million users supposedly signed up to use the chatbot in just one hour, Altman reported, thanks to a new, more permissive image-generating capability that could imitate the styles of various art and design studios. Altman called it "a new high-water mark for us in allowing creative freedom." Almost immediately, images began to flood the internet. The most popular style, by a long shot, was that of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki and widely beloved for films such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A pink flamingo is typically associated with a laid back lifestyle, but the way that these leggy birds with big personalities feed is anything but chill. When they dip their curved necks into the water, the birds use their feet, heads, and beaks to create swirling water tornadoes to efficiently group their prey together and slurp up them up. The findings are detailed in a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "Flamingos are actually predators, they are actively looking for animals that are moving in the water, and the problem they face is how to concentrate these animals, to pull them together and feed," Victor Ortega Jiménez, a study co-author and biologist specializing in biomechanics at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement.

That saves you 35 for 35% off. Amazon's voice assistant -- Alexa -- is more powerful than ever. In 2025, Alexa got upgraded to Alexa, which can do a lot more than play music on command. Now Alexa can do multi-step tasks including planning date night and reading a bedtime story to kids. With all of Alexa's new features, it's a pretty good time to invest in an Echo device, and luckily Amazon's flagship is now on sale.

Tech expert Kurt Knutsson discusses how robots can milk, feed and clean cows on dairy farms, boosting efficiency and comfort. A threat to American livestock – the New World Screwworm (NWS) fly, which has been considered eradicated from the country since 1966 -- has reemerged as a potential danger following an outbreak in Mexico. The news triggered a shutdown of cattle, horse and bison imports along the southern border, as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in an X post on Sunday. "Due to the threat of New World Screwworm I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately," she wrote in the post. "The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover.

Well, it's official: Apple is finally nixing support for its old Home architecture, meaning those relying on the previous version of Apple's Home framework have some decisions to make. In a revision to a support article, Apple says that it will end support for the previous version of its Home app starting in fall 2025, right around the time when iOS 19 is expected to drop, MacRumors reports. If you don't update, you face "interruptions with your accessories and automations," Apple warns. In other words, you'll lose control of your Apple HomeKit-connected smart devices. Apple's move to ditch its old Home app has been a long time in coming.

Apple is reportedly preparing a major product overhaul in time for the iPhone's twentieth anniversary in 2027. According to a report from Bloomberg, the Cupertino company could add at least two new products to its portfolio and redesign the iPhone and Watch lineups. Both those products have been my favorite form factors lately, and I can't wait to see Apple's take on them. The potential 2027 Apple product portfolio sounds interesting. Here are four reasons why I'm excited.

What if a simple selfie was enough to show scientifically how well or badly we’re ageing? That moment’s getting closer …

Spotify is turning up the volume on personalization with a new feature that lets Premium users make real-time music requests using just their voice. The music streamer has officially launched DJ requests, an interactive update to its AI-powered DJ feature, now available in over 60 markets worldwide. According to Spotify, this upgrade comes in response to growing user demand for more control and interactivity during listening sessions. Now, instead of passively enjoying a curated mix created by AI, listeners can shape the vibe on the fly, asking for anything from a specific genre or artist to a soundtrack that fits their current mood or activity. To try it out, Premium users can simply go to the Search tab in the Spotify app and type in "DJ."