/Top Stories/ Last Updated: Tue, Jun 18th, 2024 @ 7:15am EDT

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Tracy Mumford, Hamed Aleaziz, Paul Sonne, Davis Land and Jessica Metzger

U.S. Protections for Undocumented Spouses, and Putin’s North Korea Visit

Plus, trouble in the avocado supply.

Wired Top Stories

David Gilbert

ISIS Created Fake CNN and Al Jazeera Broadcasts

One video focused on giving ISIS credit for a terror attack that Russian disinformation blamed on Ukraine. “It was essentially fake news to debunk fake news,” says an expert.

Mashable

Why being funny is AI's toughest test

"Hey everyone! Great to be here. You know, life is a lot like a toaster. Sometimes you're popping out of bed ready to take on the day, and other times you feel like you're stuck on the darkest setting, just waiting for something to change." 

That's the opener ChatGPT offered when I asked it to come up with "an original comedy routine:" An observation so far from joke territory, with a landing so baffling and clunky, not even a Chapelle or a Seinfeld could raise a laugh with it. Imagine...

Mashable

5 most fun AI products in 2024 so far

AI is taking the tech world by storm, but AI itself is more than just a chatbot. AI features are being built into all different kinds of tech, from the devices like your phone that you use every day, to the apps that you’ve been using for years, to new websites that will supercharge your productivity.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a host of new devices and products that put AI front and center. Some of them, of course, are pretty lame – but others are smart, and just downright...

Mashable

AI chatbots are being used for companionship. What to know before you try it

Companions chatbots created by generative artificial intelligence offer consumers an opportunity they've never had before.

With a few clicks, and often a credit card payment, you can build a custom AI companion exactly to your liking.

Want a boyfriend of Latino heritage with brown eyes, a muscular build, and short hair, who happens to enjoy hiking and is, of all things, a gynecologist? Candy.ai gives you that option, and countless more.

In general, AI companion platforms, including Replika,...

Mashable

Why AI assistants are having such a moment

Gone are the days of stumbling over your words to prompt Siri or Alexa to do your bidding: AI is making them quicker, smarter, and more like a prescient little human sitting in your pocket than ever before. 

Advertised as having "life-bettering" reasoning, intelligence, and conversational skills, the assistant applicant pool has only grown in the last year: Would you like a digital employee that can summarize your work notes or help you study? One with a background in nutrition and GLP-1s...

Mashable

4 AI travel concierge services that'll help plan your next vacation

Thanks to the explosion in popularity of generative artificial intelligence, a whole range of products have sprung up dedicated to solving problems you didn't know you had with the help of algorithms and chatbots, and one of those is the "problem" of planning a vacation.

AI travel concierge services are a fresh industry that exists in the same vein as AI apartment-hunting and fitness planner tools. Normal tasks that we could perform ourselves — or are usually outsourced to human...

Mashable

The best TikTok food trends of 2024 (so far)

TikTok and food go hand-in-hand.

The platform is home to a diverse range of food-related content, from creators sharing recipes and reviewing food to those indulging in mukbangs and everything in between. Naturally, this has led to the emergence of various food trends.

SEE ALSO: The best memes of 2024 (so far)

Interestingly, 2024 has seen a shift away from stunt food, a type of content that often featured bizarre, not-necessarily-tasty...

Mashable

5 best Apple rumors of 2024 (so far) — you'll be crossing your fingers for these

Apple is one of the most hush-hush tech giants, doing whatever it takes to ensure that its plans and blueprints don't leave Cupertino. However, it seems like there are cracks in its secrecy armor.

Whether it's coming from Bloomberg Apple leaker Mark Gurman or Ming-Chi Kuo, two respected bean spillers, there are always leaks that flow from the iPhone maker, feeding the thirstiest Apple enthusiasts among us. However, some leaks are more fascinating than others. Let's start with the iPhone 16.

...

Mashable

NASA mission spots Chinese spacecraft on far side of the moon

NASA's moon-orbiting spacecraft can spot trails left by astronaut boots on the lunar surface.

Now, it's captured a view of China's most recent moon landing.

The China National Space Administration landed its robotic Chang'e-6 mission in the expansive South Pole-Aitken Basin in early June. A week later, on June 7, the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter passed over and captured footage of the uncrewed lander, along with eroded terrain created by thrusters fired into the chalky ground. It's the...

Mashable

Level up your party with a gaming version of Heads Up, now only $19 via Steam

TL;DR: Spice up your party entertainment with Heads Up! Phones Down Edition for PC gaming, now on sale for only $19 (reg. $39.99). 

Heads Up is the modern, digital version of charades, where players turn their backs to the computer or TV screen while their friends or family try to guess the word or phrase displayed. Be ready to think on your feet and have uncontrollable laughter fill the room. 

If you want to play a virtual version of this popular party game — without being glued...

Mashable

Browse securely with 2 years of NordVPN, now 55% off

TL;DR: For a limited time, score 55% off a 2-year NordVPN subscription to help protect your digital data.

Some folks might think VPNs are just digital snake oil, making grand promises about "protecting" you online while doing squat. But here's the kicker: those people probably used a free VPN. Free VPNs are notorious for offering shoddy service and barely shielding you from online threats. The best VPNs make you truly invisible online.

If you want real peace of mind when you’re surfing the...

Mashable

Block annoying ads and get VPN access with this AdGuard unlimited bundle for $25

TL;DR: Through June 26, pay only $24.97 (reg. $293.98) for this value-packed AdGuard 3-year subscription bundle, including access to AdGuard VPN for 10 devices.

There's a long-running myth that the average person sees 10,000 ads a day. But come on, it's obviously an exaggeration — unless someone out there was born with a few extra pairs of eyes. The real number is probably somewhere between 100 and 1,000, but one thing's for sure: ads are perpetually annoying, especially those obnoxious...

Mashable

This online learning bundle includes unlimited access to Rosetta Stone

TL;DR: Have an educational summer with The Unlimited Lifetime Learning Subscription Bundle featuring Rosetta Stone for only $179.97 (reg. $849) now through July 26 with coupon code ROSETTA10.

Want to stay productive this summer? If you're hoping to accomplish more than a nice tan this season, this lifetime learning bundle featuring Rosetta Stone is ready to help you feel accomplished by Labor Day and beyond. 

Packed with lifetime access to StackSkills Unlimited Courses and a lifetime Rosetta...

Mashable

How gamification sparked the AI era in tech

This is the time of the AI tech boom.

The AI market is currently $241.8 billion according to Statista. For scale, that means AI already dwarfs Statista's estimated size for the global movie industry — $79.22 billion — and puts it neck-and-neck with the video game industry at $282.30 billion.

Since the auspicious November 2022 day which saw OpenAI unleash ChatGPT on the masses, AI products have been in the hands of consumers as both tools and toys. These products have sparked an entire era...

Mashable

Apple is discontinuing Apple Pay Later, but a replacement is coming

Apple Pay Later is no more, but a replacement is coming.

Introduced at WWDC 2022 and launched in March 2023 in the U.S., Apple Pay Later was a service allowing users to split payments into installments without additional fees or interest. The service was initially offered to a limited number of customers before being expanded to all users in the U.S. in October 2023. It was limited to payments between $75 and $1,000.

On Monday, Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has stopped offering Apple...

Mashable

Jon Stewart slams Republicans for hypocrisy over their stance on crime

Jon Stewart has spoken about Republican hypocrisy regarding crime in his latest "Daily Show" monologue.

NYT > Home Page

Jonathan Weisman

A Democratic Brawl in Virginia May Put a House Seat in Play

The Democratic contest in Virginia’s 10th House district will end what may be the ugliest fight of the 2024 primary season — and start an unexpected general election battle.

NYT > Home Page

Jim Tankersley and Madeleine Ngo

Biden’s Stimulus Juiced the Economy, but Its Political Effects Are Muddled

Some voters blame the American Rescue Plan for fueling price increases. But the growth it unleashed may be helping the president stay more popular than counterparts in Europe.

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