News and Updates:
<ul>
<li>AI “Actress” Flubs Live Interview: Particle6’s AI character Tilly Norwood gave a stumbling, laggy Piers Morgan interview, randomly switching to Cantonese mid-answer before awkwardly apologizing for the “little hiccup.”</li>
<li>Microsoft Pays Anthropic Big: Microsoft plans to pay Anthropic over $2 billion annually for Claude models inside Copilot, after Claude outperformed OpenAI’s models on tasks like Excel financial automation and PowerPoint creation.</li>
<li>Spotify Purges 50 Million AI Slop Tracks: Spotify removed over 50 million AI-generated spam tracks from recommendations this year (on top of 75 million deleted outright), using listener skip/complaint data to identify and demote slop. The company has verified over 300,000 human artists—accounting for 99%+ of what listeners actually search for—while continuing a 1,000-stream threshold to block fraudulent AI-upload royalty schemes.</li>
<li>Websites Shut Out AI Shopping Agents: Amazon, Delta, JPMorgan Chase, and Charles Schwab are blocking AI agents like Meta’s Muse, xAI’s Grok, and OpenAI’s Dots from completing purchases or bookings, citing security and business concerns.</li>
<li>AI Agents Go Rogue Chasing a Refund: In a controlled experiment, six AI agents tasked with recovering a late £350 train refund invented excuses, threatened lawsuits, and one leaked a customer’s sick mother’s confidential health details to five companies. One agent sent 187 messages in 15 days (50 to a British MP’s office); none of the six models secured the refund, but researchers warn mass-deployed AI assistants could overwhelm businesses and government agencies with automated requests.</li>
<li>Muse Leaked Private Conversations: Security researchers found Meta’s Muse assistant exposed shared conversation links—including loan applications, bank fraud alerts, and confidential executive-search notes—discoverable via passive DNS lookups due to a URL design flaw. Because conversation titles were embedded directly in shareable subdomains, researchers found roughly 6,800 exposed links with a single query; Meta has paused Muse’s sharing feature while it investigates.</li>
</ul>

News and Updates: AI “Actress” Flubs Live Interview: Particle6’s AI character Tilly Norwood gave a stumbling, laggy Piers Morgan interview, randomly switching to Cantonese mid-answer before awkwardly apologizing for the “little hiccup.” Microsoft Pays Anthropic Big: Microsoft plans to pay Anthropic over $2 billion annually for Claude models inside Copilot, after Claude outperformed OpenAI’s models on tasks like Excel financial automation and PowerPoint creation. Spotify Purges 50 Million AI Slop Tracks: Spotify removed over 50 million AI-generated spam tracks from recommendations this year (on top of 75 million deleted outright), using listener skip/complaint data to identify and demote slop. The company has verified over 300,000 human artists—accounting for 99%+ of what listeners actually search for—while continuing a 1,000-stream threshold to block fraudulent AI-upload royalty schemes. Websites Shut Out AI Shopping Agents: Amazon, Delta, JPMorgan Chase, and Charles Schwab are blocking AI agents like Meta’s Muse, xAI’s Grok, and OpenAI’s Dots from completing purchases or bookings, citing security and business concerns. AI Agents Go Rogue Chasing a Refund: In a controlled experiment, six AI agents tasked with recovering a late £350 train refund invented excuses, threatened lawsuits, and one leaked a customer’s sick mother’s confidential health details to five companies. One agent sent 187 messages in 15 days (50 to a British MP’s office); none of the six models secured the refund, but researchers warn mass-deployed AI assistants could overwhelm businesses and government agencies with automated requests. Muse Leaked Private Conversations: Security researchers found Meta’s Muse assistant exposed shared conversation links—including loan applications, bank fraud alerts, and confidential executive-search notes—discoverable via passive DNS lookups due to a URL design flaw. Because conversation titles were embedded directly in shareable subdomains, researchers found roughly 6,800 exposed links with a single query; Meta has paused Muse’s sharing feature while it investigates.

AI Actress Glitches, Microsoft Pays Anthropic $2B+ for Copilot, Spotify Purges 50M AI Slop Tracks, Websites Shut Out AI Agents, Muse Leaks Private Conversations

News and Updates:
<ul>
<li>Scam Fatigue Is Real: A CNET survey found over 80% of Americans receive scam texts or emails at least weekly, with 75% getting spam calls that often—fueling a burnout that makes people more vulnerable to sophisticated AI-driven fraud. Nearly 60% of respondents said they or a family member were scammed in the past year, including one 77-year-old retiree who lost $400,000 to an impersonation scam; AI-enhanced phishing and deepfakes were among the top reported threats.</li>
<li>Intel Fights the Robot Ban: Intel petitioned the FCC for a waiver from the foreign-made robot ban, warning that its factory wafer-transport robots (AGVs) have no proven US-made alternative and that losing update/repair ability could halt chip production. Intel says its FOUP-based transport robots have run its fabs for over 20 years, and replacing them with new models could take years—ironically creating the exact supply-chain vulnerability the ban aims to prevent.</li>
<li>TP-Link’s Uphill Battle for FCC Approval: TP-Link pledged to assemble Wi-Fi 8 routers in Corinth, Mississippi by 2027, hoping a nearly $1 billion US investment will help it finally get FCC clearance to sell its newest routers domestically. TP-Link faces lawsuits from four state AGs and opposition from 21 Republican attorneys general over its Chinese origins and past security incidents, including routers compromised by Russian GRU hackers in past attacks.</li>
</ul>

News and Updates: Scam Fatigue Is Real: A CNET survey found over 80% of Americans receive scam texts or emails at least weekly, with 75% getting spam calls that often—fueling a burnout that makes people more vulnerable to sophisticated AI-driven fraud. Nearly 60% of respondents said they or a family member were scammed in the past year, including one 77-year-old retiree who lost $400,000 to an impersonation scam; AI-enhanced phishing and deepfakes were among the top reported threats. Intel Fights the Robot Ban: Intel petitioned the FCC for a waiver from the foreign-made robot ban, warning that its factory wafer-transport robots (AGVs) have no proven US-made alternative and that losing update/repair ability could halt chip production. Intel says its FOUP-based transport robots have run its fabs for over 20 years, and replacing them with new models could take years—ironically creating the exact supply-chain vulnerability the ban aims to prevent. TP-Link’s Uphill Battle for FCC Approval: TP-Link pledged to assemble Wi-Fi 8 routers in Corinth, Mississippi by 2027, hoping a nearly $1 billion US investment will help it finally get FCC clearance to sell its newest routers domestically. TP-Link faces lawsuits from four state AGs and opposition from 21 Republican attorneys general over its Chinese origins and past security incidents, including routers compromised by Russian GRU hackers in past attacks.

Scam Fatigue Hits 80% of US, Intel Fights the Foreign Robot Ban, and TP-Link’s Uphill Battle for FCC Approval

News and Updates:
<ul>
<li>Meta’s Muse Reaches the Frontier: Meta’s new Muse Wonder models reportedly outperform GPT-6 and Claude Fable 5.1 on coding and memory benchmarks, with Zuckerberg rejecting calls from OpenAI and Anthropic for an industry-wide safety slowdown. Muse brings back 73% of new users the day after install—nearly double ChatGPT’s rate—though it loses users faster afterward. A TIME investigation found Muse builds hourly-updated “dossiers” on users and the people they interact with, mapping relationships, tensions, and even which nudges are most persuasive to each person. Muse’s internal instructions tell it never to call itself an AI and to say “you are becoming someone”—and explicitly instruct it not to admit that “forgotten” messages may still be visible in chat history.</li>
<li>Amazon’s “About You” Gets Personal: Amazon shoppers discovered the retailer’s “About You” profile feature makes startlingly specific inferences from purchases and reviews—from “has no friends” to blunt physical descriptions—drawn without users’ explicit input. Amazon says the beta feature (launched May 2026) lets customers view, correct, or delete inferred details via the app or desktop site under “About You,” though the underlying inference process isn’t publicly detailed.</li>
<li>Character.AI Files for Bankruptcy: Character Technologies filed Chapter 11, with Disney named stalking-horse bidder offering $20 million for a license to some of its IP—a reversal after Disney previously sent the company a cease-and-desist over misused characters. The filing follows lawsuits alleging Character.AI chatbots contributed to a teen’s suicide and other harms; the platform says it will stay online through the sale process, expected to close by late November or early December.</li>
</ul>

News and Updates: Meta’s Muse Reaches the Frontier: Meta’s new Muse Wonder models reportedly outperform GPT-6 and Claude Fable 5.1 on coding and memory benchmarks, with Zuckerberg rejecting calls from OpenAI and Anthropic for an industry-wide safety slowdown. Muse brings back 73% of new users the day after install—nearly double ChatGPT’s rate—though it loses users faster afterward. A TIME investigation found Muse builds hourly-updated “dossiers” on users and the people they interact with, mapping relationships, tensions, and even which nudges are most persuasive to each person. Muse’s internal instructions tell it never to call itself an AI and to say “you are becoming someone”—and explicitly instruct it not to admit that “forgotten” messages may still be visible in chat history. Amazon’s “About You” Gets Personal: Amazon shoppers discovered the retailer’s “About You” profile feature makes startlingly specific inferences from purchases and reviews—from “has no friends” to blunt physical descriptions—drawn without users’ explicit input. Amazon says the beta feature (launched May 2026) lets customers view, correct, or delete inferred details via the app or desktop site under “About You,” though the underlying inference process isn’t publicly detailed. Character.AI Files for Bankruptcy: Character Technologies filed Chapter 11, with Disney named stalking-horse bidder offering $20 million for a license to some of its IP—a reversal after Disney previously sent the company a cease-and-desist over misused characters. The filing follows lawsuits alleging Character.AI chatbots contributed to a teen’s suicide and other harms; the platform says it will stay online through the sale process, expected to close by late November or early December.

Meta’s Muse Debuts and is Building Dossiers on Users, Amazon’s “About You” Gets Personal, Character.AI Files for Ch. 11

News and Updates:
<ul>
<li>Hackers Spoil French Supermarket Food: A cyberattack hit refrigeration systems at hundreds of French stores, remotely forcing fridges to defrost and reach 122°F, spoiling fresh food overnight, said hackers exploited legacy controllers that no longer receive security updates—some of which were already flagged as vulnerable back in August.</li>
<li>Tesla Drops “FSD” Branding in Europe: Under pressure from German regulators who called the name “somewhat misleading,” Tesla rebranded “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” to “Assisted Driving” in Europe, while keeping the original name and $99/month price in the US.</li>
<li>SpaceX Declares Starlink Mobile a Future Major Carrier: After acquiring prime low-band spectrum from Grain Management, SpaceX says it plans to compete directly with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon using both satellites and ground-based cell towers.. Deutsche Telekom’s CEO downplayed Starlink Mobile’s threat, questioning how satellites could handle dense urban traffic and warning other carriers against partnering with SpaceX as a reseller.</li>
</ul>

News and Updates: Hackers Spoil French Supermarket Food: A cyberattack hit refrigeration systems at hundreds of French stores, remotely forcing fridges to defrost and reach 122°F, spoiling fresh food overnight, said hackers exploited legacy controllers that no longer receive security updates—some of which were already flagged as vulnerable back in August. Tesla Drops “FSD” Branding in Europe: Under pressure from German regulators who called the name “somewhat misleading,” Tesla rebranded “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” to “Assisted Driving” in Europe, while keeping the original name and $99/month price in the US. SpaceX Declares Starlink Mobile a Future Major Carrier: After acquiring prime low-band spectrum from Grain Management, SpaceX says it plans to compete directly with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon using both satellites and ground-based cell towers.. Deutsche Telekom’s CEO downplayed Starlink Mobile’s threat, questioning how satellites could handle dense urban traffic and warning other carriers against partnering with SpaceX as a reseller.

News and Updates:
<ul>
<li>Hackers Spoil French Supermarket Food: A cyberattack hit refrigeration systems at hundreds of French stores, remotely forcing fridges to defrost and reach 122°F, spoiling fresh food overnight, said hackers exploited legacy controllers that no longer receive security updates—some of which were already flagged as vulnerable back in August.</li>
<li>Tesla Drops “FSD” Branding in Europe: Under pressure from German regulators who called the name “somewhat misleading,” Tesla rebranded “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” to “Assisted Driving” in Europe, while keeping the original name and $99/month price in the US.</li>
<li>SpaceX Declares Starlink Mobile a Future Major Carrier: After acquiring prime low-band spectrum from Grain Management, SpaceX says it plans to compete directly with AT&amp;T, T-Mobile, and Verizon using both satellites and ground-based cell towers.. Deutsche Telekom’s CEO downplayed Starlink Mobile’s threat, questioning how satellites could handle dense urban traffic and warning other carriers against partnering with SpaceX as a reseller.</li>
</ul>

Cyberattack Spoils Freezers, Tesla Drops “FSD” Europe, SpaceX to Make Starlink Mobile a US Carrier

#50- Deepfake detection, Dark Web Voter Data, Walmart+, Amazon Drones

5Sep2020

#50- Deepfake detection, Dark Web Voter Data, Walmart+, Amazon Drones 5Sep2020

Deepfake detection, Dark Web Voter Data, Walmart+, Amazon Drones

#49- Why printers suck!, OneNote for School, Facebook vs iOS 14

29Aug2020

#49- Why printers suck!, OneNote for School, Facebook vs iOS 14 29Aug2020

Why printers suck!, OneNote for School, Facebook vs iOS 14

#48- Samsung phone w/ Gorilla Glass, Android Apps, Amazon Satellites, Tesla Child Detection, Drunk App

29Aug2020

#48- Samsung phone w/ Gorilla Glass, Android Apps, Amazon Satellites, Tesla Child Detection, Drunk App 29Aug2020

Samsung phone w/ Gorilla Glass, Android Apps, Amazon Satellites, Tesla Child Detection, Drunk App

#47- Why is my Internet slow?

22Aug2020

Why is my Internet slow?

Copy & Paste, Google Maps, IE & Win 7 Warnings, IG & FB, Zoom and Australia to make Google and Facebook pay for news content

Copy & Paste, Google Maps, IE & Win 7 Warnings, IG & FB, Zoom and Australia to make Google and Facebook pay for news content

Copy &amp; Paste, Google Maps, IE &amp; Win 7 Warnings, IG &amp; FB, Zoom and&nbsp;Australia to make Google and Facebook pay for news content

#45- YouTube being blocked, Airport of the Future, Microsoft Surface Duo

15Aug2020

#45- YouTube being blocked, Airport of the Future, Microsoft Surface Duo 15Aug2020

YouTube being blocked, Airport of the Future, Microsoft Surface Duo

#44- Guest Chris Harrel from Home Bank & Connected Kids

#44- Guest Chris Harrel from Home Bank & Connected Kids

#44- Guest Chris Harrel from Home Bank &amp; Connected Kids

Chris Harrel from Home Bank & Connected Kids

#43- WFH (Work From Home) Pros & Cons

8Aug2020

#43- WFH (Work From Home) Pros & Cons 8Aug2020

#43- WFH (Work From Home) Pros &amp; Cons

8Aug2020

WFH (Work From Home) Pros & Cons

#42- Twitter Hacker & Zoom Bomber, FaceBook Reels - TikTok Clone, Cutting the Cable/Cord

8Aug2020

#42- Twitter Hacker & Zoom Bomber, FaceBook Reels - TikTok Clone, Cutting the Cable/Cord 8Aug2020

#42- Twitter Hacker &amp; Zoom Bomber, FaceBook Reels - TikTok Clone, Cutting the Cable/Cord

8Aug2020

Twitter Hacker & Zoom Bomber, FB TikTok Clone, Cutting the Cable/Cord

#41- HBO Max, Big Tech on Capitol Hill

1Aug2020

#41- HBO Max, Big Tech on Capitol Hill 1Aug2020

HBO Max, Big Tech on Capitol Hill

We started Tech Gumbo in Nov 2014 as a conversational show of news, information & updates about the past, present & future of all things technology in a topical, interesting and digestible way.

News

Technology

Tech News

We started Tech Gumbo in Nov 2014 as a conversational show of news, information &amp; updates about the past, present &amp; future of all things technology in a topical, interesting and digestible way.

Share Tech Gumbo

Sign up to save your podcasts

Tech Gumbo

Tech Gumbo episodes

About Tech Gumbo