The Five-Minute AI Weekly

The Five-Minute AI Weekly

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The Five-Minute AI Weekly episodes

  • Black October, Gemini avatars, election deepfakes and Grok Bot phone calls

    # Black October, Gemini avatars, election deepfakes and Grok Bot phone calls

    This week on The Five-Minute AI Weekly: AI helped find serious flaws in software that runs most of the web (and three free things you can do), Google's Gemini now lets friends put your face and voice in their AI videos, Election Day checks against deepfakes and chatbot voting answers, ordinary-looking apps that hid explicit deepfake tools, and Grok Bot phoning companies to cut your bill. Plus a family "ask before you AI me" prompt to try today.

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    Free prompt library (200 prompts): thefiveminuteai.com/prompts

    ## Stories and sources

    **1. "Black October": AI found a big internet flaw** ([full issue](https://thefiveminuteai.com/issues/2026-10-31-black-october-ai-found-a-big-internet-flaw?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=2026-11-08-weekly))
    - NPR: AI found the flaw. Hackers found the leak
    - Vox: How worried should I be about the AI hacking panic and Black October?
    - National Cybersecurity Alliance: Online Safety Basics

    **2. Gemini lets friends put your face and voice in AI videos** ([full issue](https://thefiveminuteai.com/issues/2026-11-01-gemini-friends-can-put-your-face-in-ai-videos?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=2026-11-08-weekly))
    - Google Gemini Apps Help: Create and use an avatar
    - Google Account Help: Create, use & manage your avatar
    - Digital Trends: Google makes Gemini's AI avatars social

    **3. Election Day: 3 checks before you share** ([full issue](https://thefiveminuteai.com/issues/2026-11-02-election-day-3-checks-before-you-share?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=2026-11-08-weekly))
    - FBI IC3: FBI Warns Voters on Election Crimes Ahead of the November 2026 Midterm Election
    - New York Attorney General: AI election misinformation guide
    - Institute for Strategic Dialogue: Chatbots and the Ballot Box
    - USA.gov: find your polling place
    - FEC: browse committees

    **4. Ordinary AI apps were hiding deepfake tools** ([full issue](https://thefiveminuteai.com/issues/2026-11-03-pet-app-hiding-deepfake-tool?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=2026-11-08-weekly))
    - WIRED: Hundreds of Mundane AI Apps Are Hiding Abusive Deepfake Features
    - Apple: Approve what your child can purchase and download with Ask to Buy
    - Google: How to set up content restrictions on Google Play

    **5. Grok Bot can now phone businesses for you** ([full issue](https://thefiveminuteai.com/issues/2026-11-06-grok-bot-phone-calls?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=2026-11-08-weekly))
    - Grok Bot (X): Grok Bot can now make phone calls
    - xAI: Grok Bot Terms, section 2.7 Phone Calls
    - Peter Yang: video of Grok Bot's Comcast call
    - Teslarati: Elon Musk's Grok Bot is picking up the phone
    - xAI: The X Subscription pricing

    **Prompt to try: a family "ask before you AI me" agreement** ([original prompt](https://thefiveminuteai.com/issues/2026-11-01-gemini-friends-can-put-your-face-in-ai-videos?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=2026-11-08-weekly))

    The Five-Minute AI: AI for your life, not your job.

    6 min
  • Banks vs. AI helpers, smart TV snooping and a fake Bon Jovi

    This week on The Five-Minute AI Weekly: why big banks are blocking AI helpers that log in to your account, Etsy's new rules against fake AI listings, the smart TV setting that cuts down tracking, how an AI-made Jon Bon Jovi took a fan's $10,000, what ChatGPT's memory keeps about you, and a study that found AI raised homework scores but cut exam scores. Plus a family code word prompt to try today.

    Get the free daily email: thefiveminuteai.com

    Free prompt library (200 prompts): thefiveminuteai.com/prompts

    Stories and sources

    1. Big banks are blocking AI helpers from your account (full issue)

    • Axios: Unvetted AI agents are accessing U.S. bank accounts

    • Axios: Wall Street prepares for AI's "day after" (JPMorgan quote)

    • USA TODAY: Banks move to restrict AI agent access

      • 2. Etsy cracks down on fake AI listings (full issue)

      • The Verge: Etsy is cracking down on AI slop listings

      • CNBC: Etsy bans AI-generated recipes and patterns

        • 3. The smart TV setting to switch off (full issue)

        • Tom's Hardware: the researcher's Samsung TV claims

        • TrestleWire: the claims are unconfirmed

        • Consumer Reports: How to turn off smart TV snooping features

          • 4. A fake AI Jon Bon Jovi took a fan's $10,000 (full issue)

          • Fox News: Jon Bon Jovi impersonator uses AI videos to scam woman out of $10K

          • National Geographic: "Super Scam Me" press release

          • FTC: Why can't that new love interest meet in person?

            • 5. What ChatGPT remembers about you (full issue)

            • Dash et al., "The Algorithmic Self-Portrait: Deconstructing Memory in ChatGPT" (arXiv)

            • OpenAI Help Center: Memory in ChatGPT

              • 6. AI homework: higher grades, lower test scores (full issue)

              • VoxEU/CEPR: The generative AI learning penalty in secondary school

              • CEPR Discussion Paper 21577

                • Prompt to try: a family code word plan (original prompt and source)

                • FOX 35 Orlando: AI scammers clone deputies' voices

                The Five-Minute AI: AI for your life, not your job.

                6 min

              About The Five-Minute AI Weekly

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              A five-minute weekly recap of the AI news that touches your money, privacy and family. AI for your life, not your job. From the team behind The Five-Minute AI daily email.