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Oklahoma and Alabama now have AI-powered vending machines that don’t dispense snacks; they sell bullets. American Rounds says their facial-scanning tech can verify the age of a buyer. I’m sure it’ll be able to detect if someone’s wearing a mask or a ton of makeup, too, right?
Tags: AI, Alabama, American, facial recognition, i, Now, scanning, T, tech
Let’s bust some tech myths wide open! I’ve heard them all, and it’s time to set the record straight to keep you ahead of the game.
Myth: 5G causes cancer.
👀 How FedEx is helping cops spy on you: Flock Safety makes automated license plate readers and video surveillance gear. Its 40,000 cameras are used in 3,000 communities across 40 states. FedEx has AI-powered cameras in its delivery trucks recording everything it sees. Now, FedEx is selling those recordings to Flock, which will provide them to law enforcement agencies and who knows who else. Reminds me of the book “1984.”
Next-level laziness: Next month, Nike is canning the app that controls its self-lacing sneakers. Now, anyone who bought the ridiculous $350 sneakers will have to use physical buttons to power the kicks and adjust the laces. Yeah, dumb all around.
🦐 Anything for likes: Facebook hasn’t stopped AI slop like “Shrimp Jesus” from landing on your news feed, even though this junk is often tied to scams. Why? Well, it doesn’t violate their rules if there’s no nudity or violence. But really, they want to keep people sharing and liking. When you see a post like this, hit the three-dot icon on it and click Hide post. Hopefully, the algorithm will catch on.
Roku frustration: Roku’s recent update added motion-smoothing to TVs, and people are fuming since there’s no way to turn it off. This feature is meant for fast-moving scenes, like sports, and it completely ruins movies. I’ll update you when they fix it.
DIY revolution: This is interesting. Virtual plumbers and electricians are helping folks tackle home repairs over video calls. For instance, an online appliance repairman charges $3 a minute instead of his $100 in-person fee (paywall link). Wonder if they ask for a tip.
Have a YouTube channel? Check out the awesome eraser tool. It uses AI to detect and remove copyrighted music without affecting dialogue or sound effects. It’s not perfect (the tool might struggle if the song is “hard” to remove), but it beats losing money because your video got flagged.
Tech to catch political sign thieves: Campaign staffers are putting Apple AirTags in their political posters to track stolen property and find the crooks. At $29 per AirTag, it’s cheaper than hiring a PI and more effective than watching security footage.
❤️ An MIT expert warns: Don’t fall in love with an AI chat companion. The bots aren’t capable of caring about you, and the fake intimacy is setting folks up for unrealistic expectations in the real world. An AI friend, sure, but end it there, folks.
