🧠 Are you chatting with a human or a bot?

Happy Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. Let’s talk about a real-life facepalm. Remember that $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre last month? The one where priceless treasures were stolen in what turned out to be a pretty basic job?

🇫🇷 Investigators uncovered one of the museum’s weakest links: the surveillance system password. No fancy encryption. No trip wires. Guess what they used to protect national treasures. Was it: A) 123456, B) CrepeHappens, C) Louvre or D) EiffelForThat? The answer awaits you at the end. Oh là là, the suspense!

0️⃣ Zero, zilch, nada: My privacy secret weapon eliminated spam calls and texts on my phone. Silence feels so good. I negotiated a 60% discount just for you. You’re gonna love it! 

🚂 Thanks for hopping aboard the Komando Tech Train. Whoo-whoo! No AI-curated content or loco motives here, only tremendous, valuable intel you can use to impress your friends and coworkers. Let’s keep making inbox history together. — Kim

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Quick question: When’s the last time you really knew if you were chatting with a real human on a customer service call? Turns out, in more places than you think, it’s not a person at all. It’s AI.

That might be fine when you’re asking a dumb question like, “What time do you close?” But what about when you’re dealing with a bank, insurance company or police report? Yeah, it matters.

Utah and California rolled out new rules that say companies have to tell you if you’re talking to a chatbot instead of a real person. And in California, cops have to fess up if they used AI to write up part of a report.

That little disclosure is about trust, transparency and knowing who’s really calling the shots. If a bot’s behind the scenes making decisions that affect your money, your medical care or your legal rights, don’t you want to know? I do.

Next time you hop into a customer service chat, pay attention. If there’s no mention that you’re talking to AI, ask: “Are you a real person?” You’re not being rude, you’re being smart.

AI doesn’t always get it right. It might deny a claim, mess up a bill, make crap up or give you incorrect info. And if it feels like you’re stuck in a loop? You probably are. Push to talk to a human.

Oh, and don’t assume this is only happening at big companies. AI tools are cheap, and everyone from your gym to your doctor’s office could be using them.

Look, I love tech. You know that. But I also think you have a right to know when you’re talking to a machine that’s pretending to be a human. 

So tell me what you think: Should we have laws that force every company to disclose when AI is in use? Do you have a funny AI customer service story? Let me know when you rate the newsletter at the end. I read every single note there. Include your email address if you’d like to talk about it on the show.

It doesn’t listen to your phone’s mic for info about you. In one case, Facebook got data from 48,000 companies about a single person. Wow. Plus, caller Ron from Georgia is a truck driver who wants to start a YouTube channel. I also cover Google’s plans for Chrome and how to check whether a phone was stolen.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

💻 So those new AI browsers? I’m talking about ones like OpenAI’s Atlas and Perplexity’s Comet. Turns out they’ll hand your email to anyone who asks nicely, or sneakily. Hackers are hiding invisible “commands” in websites that trick your AI sidekick into leaking info. Basically, your browser’s a golden retriever with your bank login. Don’t use them yet, I’ll let you know when they’re safe. 

Low-quality bamboozling: If that viral clip looks like it was shot on a flip phone, your alarm bells should be ringing. AI videos are getting scary good, but the fakes still hide behind grainy, short clips. Think “security cam from 2006.” The newest fakes want to look bad because the blur hides the glitches. Don’t trust it just because it feels real.

Crypto with ketchup: Hungry? Steak ’n Shake is handing out $5 in Bitcoin (at 400 participating locations) with every Bitcoin Meal. You get steps on how to redeem your Bitcoin with your meal. They also brand your (burger) bun with a ₿. This is real. Finally, my portfolio and cholesterol can rise together.

Win a new iPhone Air, a $999 value: I’m giving one away! Go here now to enter. Hurry, contest ends soon!

😳 Flirting vs. surveillance: Young men are dodging dating like it’s jury duty, all due to the fear of being secretly filmed and turned into social media content. One guy said the risk of public shame outweighs the potential romance. Every table at Cheesecake Factory is now a reality show set. Imagine your biggest date guffaw going viral while you’re still chewing breadsticks. 

Smarter moves, faster growth: In business, speed and clarity win. NetSuite’s all-in-one platform unites accounting, inventory, HR and CRM, so you can see everything that matters in one dashboard. It’s how top-performing teams cut chaos, save time and scale smarter. Get NetSuite’s free “CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.”*

The blue mystery rock: A Harvard astrophysicist says an interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS might have an “engine.” NASA spotted weird acceleration and a bright blue glow, you know, stuff comets don’t usually do. It’s flying by Earth in December, about 167 million miles out. If there’s no debris cloud, it might be artificial. Pale blue dot, meet blue mystery rock.

Marketplace moron alert: In case you wanted to feel smarter than someone today, a 19-year-old in St. Louis recently stole a car, then listed it for sale on his own Facebook Marketplace account two days later. Yeah. Cops saw the post, showed up, and he confessed. At least he chose the “Used, but might be stolen” category to list it.

That glance at your screen isn’t as subtle as you think. Find out why top CEOs are calling the habit disrespectful and implementing new rules.

Listen on Komando.com →

Ready to upgrade your body like it’s your phone? Start here.

⌚ Save $80: Wowza, snag a new Fitbit Versa 4 (40% off) while this deal is still hot. Sync it with your iPhone or Android and see your progress instead of guessing.

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🏃‍♀️ Go the extra mile: Build strength with a weighted vest (50% off). Great if you’re training, doing cardio or adding “oomph” to your strolls around the block.

Little luxuries: From moms to besties, she’ll love this gift set (29% off) that’s got a candle, diffuser and room spray in one box. Comes prewrapped with a bow. Chic and easy.

🎁 Skip the boring stocking stuffers: Check out my holiday gift guide. The “I put thought into this” present takes only two clicks.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Having internet issues? Restart it the right way. Unplug your modem and router, wait 30 seconds, then plug in the modem first. When the lights are back, plug in the router and wait two minutes.

iOS 26.1 is out: Hate the Liquid Glass design? Head to Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass to choose between Clear and Tinted. Clear keeps that translucent, see-through look in the original iOS 26, while Tinted adds a frosted layer. I like the new one, makes text easier to read.

💾 The 3-2-1 backup rule: Got important files you’d cry over losing? Follow this. Keep 3 copies of your data (one main, two backups), stored on 2 different types of media like an external drive and the cloud, with 1 copy off-site, somewhere physically separate. That’s why I use Carbonite for cloud backup. When disaster strikes, you’ll be the smart one smiling. Save 50% off at carbonite.com/kim.*

Every second counts: On Windows 11, you can now show seconds on your task bar clock. Go to Settings > Time & language > Date & time > Show time and date in the System tray. Tick Show seconds in system tray clock. Sure, Microsoft says it’ll use more power, but your laptop will probably survive.

💻 Learn Chromebook shortcuts: There’s a hidden menu for all your keyboard combos. Press and hold Ctrl + Search + S to bring it up. A few to try: Ctrl + N opens a new window, Ctrl + W closes the current tab, Ctrl + Shift + T reopens the last one, Shift + Alt + N shows notifications, and Ctrl + R reloads the page.

🕵️ Go incognito with ChatGPT: Have a weird question you’d rather keep private? Click the speech bubble icon in the top right and select Turn on temporary chat. The prompt box will go dark, meaning nothing you type is saved to your history or the bot’s memory. Don’t forget, once you close it, it’s gone for good.

Toyota unveiled what might be the coolest seat since Professor X’s hoverchair, a robotic stool with four legs, no wheels and a whole lot of sci-fi swagger.

Called the Walk Me, this mobility-assist chair doesn’t roll, it walks. Think less “hospital walker” and more “friendly robot sidekick.” Each leg is inspired by animal movement, designed to climb stairs, shuffle over gravel and balance like a pro ballerina on uneven ground. And when you’re done? It folds itself up. Because of course it does.

What’s inside? You’ve got lidar, motion sensors, stabilizers and voice control, so yes, you can tell your chair to go faster, and it will. All that’s missing is a snack tray and a laser cannon.

It’s still a concept, but knowing Toyota’s track record, this may very well be the first step (pun intended) in making chairs smarter than half the people on your next Zoom call. Watch more here.

The answer: C) Louvre. Yes, the literal name of the building was the surveillance password protecting $102 million in jewels. Somewhere, an IT administrator fainted. Fun fact: The most commonly used password in the world is still, wait for it,“123456.” Btw, I would be remiss right here if I did not mention that if the Louvre used NordPass (a sponsor of my radio show), they would have had a password up to 60 characters long. Try NordPass now for 58% off plus 4 extra months.*

Speaking of, I went to the dentist yesterday. He said, “Kim, you need a crown.” I replied, “Finally, someone in this world understands me.” 

👉 Wait, one more thing: Incogni has requested my info be removed from over 3,000 different data-broker and people-search sites. I’ve tried doing this myself over the years, and I was happy if I got to a dozen. Incogni offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose. Use my link for 60% off.

Tomorrow, I’m diving into the wild world of smart mirrors. Mirror mirror on the wall, it’s time to meet the AI-powered glass that roasts your routines, tracks your sleep and kind of wants you to hydrate more. This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States. 

🧃 Pour yourself a little joy today. I’ll make mine red. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Bing Image Creator, Morfone, @PushingPistons via YouTube

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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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