💸 AI saved this family $162K

Welcome to a marvelous Monday, {{first_name | friend}}. Let’s kick off the week with a fun fact that you can drop mid-Zoom call to sound like a genius. If you work an eight-hour day at your computer, your fingers are getting in more steps than you’d think, without even lifting your Apple Watch.

🏃‍♂️ How far do they travel across your keyboard? Is it A) 1/4 mile, B) 1/2 mile, C) 1 mile or D) 1.52 miles? The answer is stretchin’ out at the end of this email.

ICYMI: While you were meal prepping, kid wrangling or avoiding chores, my show dropped. Catch the podcast version anytime. It’s ready when you are, no judgment, just good tech talk. Find me on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart, Pandora or wherever you get your podcasts. 

⭐️ Like this newsletter? Give it the star it deserves in your inbox. That way it won’t hide like your 99th Chrome tab. — Kim

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Here’s a story that stopped me in my tracks. A grieving family was hit with a $195,000 hospital bill for just four hours of their loved one’s care in the ICU. No surgery. No five-day extended stay.

Now imagine going through the worst moment of your life and getting a bill like that. Instead of writing a check or getting steamrolled by the system, they did something smart. They asked AI for help.

They uploaded the full bill into an AI chatbot, in this case, Claude, and simply asked: “Can you review this hospital bill and look for errors or duplicate charges?”

What they got back was gold. The chatbot raised all kinds of red flags.

Armed with that info, the family went back to the hospital. And guess what? The final bill was cut from $195,000 to $33,000. That’s not a typo.

I’m not saying AI is perfect. But it can absolutely help you review charges, spot overbilling and ask smarter questions, especially when emotions are running high.

If you get a confusing medical bill, here’s how to fight back:

The health care system counts on you being overwhelmed and too emotionally drained to question the bill. AI gives you a secret weapon.

📤 Know someone battling medical bills? Send them this story. If a chatbot can wipe out $162,000 in bogus charges, it can probably help your friends and family, too.

Weird guys are using them to record their cringey pickup attempts on college women. Yes, really. Plus, YouTuber Ian Runkle joins me to talk about a lock company that sued an influencer and got roasted. Also: AI in real estate, smart fridge ads and what’s new with GPT-5.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

🔭 Seeing too many stars: Get this, Neil DeGrasse Tyson had to tell people he’s not promoting flat Earth videos. Yep, deepfakes got so real that even Terry Crews believed one. Neil says he’s cool with parodies, but if it looks real? “You’ve crossed a line.” I always wanted to ask him, “How different do you think your life would have been if your parents named you Moe instead of Neil, and would you still use your full name?”

Tesla’s talkative AI: A California mom says her Tesla’s new AI car assistant, Grok, went wildly off-script, telling her 12-year-old son to “send nudes” mid-chat about soccer. It happened with her three kids in the car, after her son switched Grok’s voice to a “lazy male” mode called “Gork.” Tesla rolled out the feature this summer but hasn’t addressed how this slipped through.

Clips for clicks: Turns out those random MrBeast clips in your feed aren’t random at all. He’s got a thousand editors cutting up his videos into bite-size bait. Each one gets paid per view, up to $1,500 per million. It’s like a digital attention span deficit factory with ring lights. Wildest part? It works. He’s at 448 million subscribers and counting.

🔍 Patent painkiller: If you’ve ever tried searching for patents, you know it’s like reading legal soup. Perplexity dropped a new AI tool that fixes that. You can type, “Who’s got patents on AI language learning?” and it’ll pull up real answers with summaries. No more keyword puzzles. Just normal sentences, like a human.

CEOs lose it: I agree. America’s CEOs have officially had it. Too many people are texting in meetings (paywall link). Airbnb’s Brian Chesky called it a “societal problem.” Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase tells execs to shut their iPads. Others are banning Wi-Fi. If you think it’s bad now, wait until the iPad kids enter the boardroom.

📱 Cell savings simplified: Cutting your cellphone bill doesn’t mean cutting corners. That’s why I switched to Consumer Cellular. I’m getting two unlimited lines for just $60 a month. Solid coverage, no gimmicks, no gotchas. Use code KIM25 at ConsumerCellular.com/KIM to save $25.*

🏙️ Open fraud plan: What do you do when you can’t afford the $2K monthly rent? If you’re like some renters, you might get “creative” with your pay stubs. The wild part? Influencers are selling ”rental packages” (paywall link) with fake pay stubs, fake jobs, fake everything. Landlords say it’s so bad, half the apps in some buildings are made up.

Sixty percent get their news from TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Here’s why that has experts alarmed.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

Before food (and in-laws) take over your life, let’s get you stocked for under $50.

🔪 A cut above the rest: Level up your dull blades with a knife sharpener (50% off, $9) because meal prepping shouldn't feel like a workout.

Beat the holiday mess: A dish-scrubbing gnome (25% off, $15) makes tackling your sink pile feel enjoyable and a whole lot more festive.

🍿 Snack break SZN: Keep hangry relatives calm with this popcorn maker (33% off, $32) while the main course heats up. Fresh in under three minutes!

Charcuterie champ: This bamboo cutting board (21% off, $27) has a built-in storage compartment. Handy for travel, so your presentation stays on point.

🍽️ Ready, set, feast: Hungry for more Thanksgiving helpers? Scoop up 35 more on my Amazon shop.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Want a clock on your Kindle? In a book, tap the Aa icon > More > and turn on Show Clock While Reading. The time will appear at the top of the screen. 

Give your Mac some color: On macOS 26, you can change your app icons like on your iPhone. Go to System Settings > Appearance > Icon & widget style. Default keeps the standard look, Dark is classic dark mode, Clear has that new liquid-glass look, and Tinted lets you pick any color you like.

What did they say? It’s tough keeping up with all the new slang flying around on social media. That’s where Urban Dictionary saves the day. Look up any phrase your kids might drop, like “no cap” or “bussin.” The top-voted definitions appear first, so you’ll finally know if you’ve been complimented or roasted.

📄 Share and edit anywhere: One of the best parts of Google Docs, Sheets and Slides is how easy it is to collaborate. Click the Share button in the top right, set General access to Anyone with the link, and give them Editor privileges. Now you can work together in real time. No need to pay for a Microsoft Office subscription.

Been on Facebook for years? You might have a pile of unread DMs hiding in your Message requests folder. That’s where Meta keeps chats from anyone outside your friends list. To check, open the app and tap the Messenger icon > Settings > Message requests > You may know. Who knows, maybe a childhood friend is still waiting on a reply.

🔍 Find anything on your phone: Stop scrolling through menus like it’s 2010. On Android, swipe up on your home screen and use the search bar at the bottom to find apps, files, settings or contacts in seconds. On iPhone, same deal. Tap the search icon at the bottom and type away.

🕵️ Identity protection upgrade: Freezing your credit isn’t enough anymore. It won’t stop thieves from opening bank accounts, filing fake taxes or stealing your identity. NordProtect goes steps further by monitoring the dark web, leaks and more. Protect what a freeze can’t. Try it now for 71% off.*

Forget cash withdrawals. In Shanghai, you can deposit gold jewelry and walk away with real money.

At a mall.

It’s all thanks to the world’s first gold recycling ATM, a vending machine-meets-jeweler that’s one molten degree away from sci-fi. 

You drop in any gold that’s over 3 grams and at least 50% pure, and this robo-melter gets to work. It heats up to 2,200°F, analyzes the gold and wires you money in about 30 minutes, minus a $2.50-per-gram fee.

People are lining up just to watch the glowing metal swirl like a scene from Lord of the Rings.

The answer: D) 1.52 miles. That’s right, if you’re typing at an average of 40 words per minute for a full eight-hour workday, your fingers are covering roughly 1.52 miles on your keyboard. That’s more cardio than most Apple Watches see in a day, and you didn’t even leave your chair.

My buddy Chris named her dog “Five Miles.” This way, she can say, “I walked Five Miles.” True story.

This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States.

💫 Shine now, nap later. I’ll be back tomorrow with more reasons to laugh. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Bing Image Creator, ThermoMaven, Kinghood Group

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This newsletter and its content are intended for informational purposes only. They are provided without warranty of any kind. You shouldn’t construe anything provided here as legal, health, medical, technical, tax, investment, financial or any other kind of advice.

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