Category: Science & Tech

1. This person found these crystals on their phone charger, which is a pretty sure sign that their phone battery might explode soon:

2. This person grabbed onto a Pitohui bird, which is one of the few birds in the world that can poison you with venom. Lucky!

3. These people decided to sled on a runaway truck ramp, on exactly the kind of day that a runaway truck ramp might be needed:

4. This person maybe let the stove get a little too hot:

Related: "29 Wild Bachelor Party Stories That Crossed Every Possible Line"

5. This person found some phosphorus, which was actively smoking, because — spoiler alert — it's intensely flammable:

6. This person's mirror nearly started a house fire just from the sun:

7. This person forgot that airbags are a thing and basically turned their steering wheel into a grenade:

8. This person's roommate left their Teflon pan on the burner for hours and superheated it, possibly releasing toxic gases into the air:

9. This person's parents left a concave mirror by the window, nearly starting a house fire:

10. This person rescued a "dog" that was actually very much a coyote (and could have had rabies):

Related: "These 37 Fails From Last Week Made Me Laugh So Hard I Think I Have Abs Now"

11. This guy soaked his nicotine pouches in raw deer blood, which is just begging for a prion disease:

12. This person picked up a blue-ringed octopus, one of the most venomous creatures on the planet:

13. This person's sister failed to empty her dryer's lint trap for...IDK, years? Which is fire-hazard central:

14. This person found a bunch of potatoes that had lived in the cellar for a year (which can be deadly if they start to rot because of the gases they give off):

15. This person thankfully didn't light their crystal with pyrite (fool's gold) in it because when you burn pyrite, it releases sulfur dioxide:

Related: "Are These People Actually The A-Hole Or Not?"

16. This person was — I hope and pray — just making a joke about keeping the trucks running:

17. This person found an old uranium water crock that you were supposed to drink out of (?!?!?!):

18. This person picked up what they thought was a rat snake (spoiler alert, it was a rat...tlesnake):

19. This person found their grandma's "cooking spoon":

This spoon is an example of vintage enamelware, which contained lead and cadmium before the 1970s. All of that lead coating ended up in grandma's food over the years.

20. This is just...not how stairs work:

21. This person found an American dagger moth caterpillar, whose hairs can cause hives and a burning sensation on the skin. So, while it might not kill you, it could definitely hurt:

22. This person found a tea for sale that we all hope is just named "Lily of the Valley." Because if it was actually tea made out of lily of the valley — you know, the severely poisonous plant — that would be bad:

Related: "13 "Unsolved" Mysteries Where Pretty Much Everyone Considers Solved"

23. This person found a "levitating" tree, which they hopefully got far, far away from as quickly as possible:

24. This person better not have plugged those in:

25. This person's landlord found a solution for a wet carpet, which was leaving this plugged in and running all day:

26. This person found themselves following a Final Destination truck that was even scarier than the truck in the actual movie:

27. And finally, this person was just holding a straight-up piece of raw uranium ore:

Your daily brain workout: You're One Of The Smartest People I Know If You Can Solve This Word Puzzle

Also in Internet Finds: "Ex-Cult Members Are Sharing The Moments They Realized Something Was Wrong"

Also in Internet Finds: "Crime Scene Investigators Are Sharing The "Most Horrific" Case They've Worked On"

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Nearly 15 years worth of hard-won pollution reduction efforts are set to be undone in the United States, as a wave of data centers powered by gas plants enters construction.

That’s according to a new analysis by the Sierra Club, first reported by Bloomberg, which notes that the US energy grid is expected to belch out 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, assuming the country’s currently-planned AI developments enter operation as scheduled.

That’s a massive rise compared to even 2025 — itself a near-record year for US carbon emissions. If the AI industry and its data center developers get their way, the analysis found, emissions will likely skyrocket by 42 percent over the five-year period, an expected increase of 618 million tons compared to 2025.

“The numbers continue to sort of boggle our minds,”  the Sierra Club’s principal advisor for climate and energy Jeremy Fisher told Bloomberg.

Due to major bottlenecks in the electrical grid, many data center developers have opted for on- or near-site power plants, which are overwhelmingly fueled by noxious fossil fuels. Projects like Elon Musk’s 1.2 gigawatt data center near Memphis are already choking out residents with fleets of methane generators, which legal experts say flaunt all kinds of local permitting and federal environmental regulations.

Still, for anybody banking on having clean air to breathe, there is some hope. The number of data center projects at risk of cancellation is rising precipitously as time goes on — driven by grass roots organizing and increasing financial pressures.

So if you’re one of the many activists mounting opposition to data centers in your community, just know that the benefits of a cancelled hyperscale facility extend far beyond your backyard.

More on data centers: Thieves Are Making a Fortune Heisting AI Data Center Equipment

LOS ANGELES — Grand Theft Auto has never been much for following the rules.

Nearly three decades after a video game built around stealing cars, outrunning police and embracing criminal mayhem first arrived, the franchise has survived controversy, transformed open-world gaming and become one of the biggest sellers in entertainment.

Now, after a 13-year wait since its last main instalment, Grand Theft Auto VI is preparing for another big score. The latest chapter arrives Nov 19 with a return to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City with two protagonists.

For longtime fans, GTA VI is a highly anticipated return. For everyone else, here’s what to know about the blockbuster video game, its characters and the enormous business riding on its release.

Why is Grand Theft Auto such a big deal?

The franchise began in 1997 as a relatively simple, top-down game that allowed players to roam fictional cities, steal vehicles, evade police and commit crimes.

The release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001 helped redefine open-world gaming. It gave players greater freedom to explore a sprawling three-dimensional city, pursue missions and interact with their surroundings.

Later installments expanded that freedom with larger environments, cinematic storytelling, social satire and detailed worlds. The influence reached far beyond games about stealing cars.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series brought open-world exploration to historical settings, while Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls games expanded their own longstanding tradition of open-ended fantasy role-playing.

 Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild later emphasised experimentation and discovery, allowing players to use the environment itself to solve problems.

For Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games recruited real-life gang members to help bring authenticity to background characters and dialogue. 

Former writer and audio director Lazlow Jones has said some performers challenged scripted lines, prompting developers to let them use language drawn from their own experiences.

That attention to detail helped create the sense of a living world that became a hallmark of the franchise, even as the series drew criticism for its depictions of violence, crime and women.

But controversy did not stop the franchise’s commercial rise.

According to publisher Take-Two Interactive, the franchise has sold more than 470 million units worldwide. Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013, accounts for more than 230 million of those units and reached US$1 billion (S$1.2 billion) in retail sales in just three days.

Its online multiplayer component, Grand Theft Auto Online, has helped keep players engaged through years of updates, new activities and in-game purchases.

What’s the story behind Grand Theft Auto VI?

This time, the action returns to Vice City, Rockstar’s fictional version of Miami, and expands across the surrounding state of Leonida, a Florida-inspired setting filled with beaches, highways, nightlife and criminal enterprises.

At the centre are Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval, a couple trying to improve their circumstances through a life of crime. Lucia has recently been released from prison while Jason, a former soldier who became involved with drug runners in the Leonida Keys, is looking for a different path.

Their plans become more complicated when a seemingly straightforward criminal job goes wrong, drawing them into a conspiracy that stretches across Leonida.

The trailers suggest a story mixing romance, robberies, betrayals and the series’ familiar satirical take on American culture.

Rockstar has revealed several supporting characters, including bank robber Raul Bautista, aspiring music executive Dre’Quan Priest and nightclub owner Boobie Ike.

Who’s in the cast?

Rockstar has kept much of the voice cast under wraps, including the performers behind Lucia and Jason.

One familiar actor has confirmed his involvement: Stephen Root, known for his work in Office Space, King of the Hill and Barry. He told The Associated Press in September that he appears in the game, adding that fans had already recognised his distinctive voice in promotional footage.

Root has been identified in reports as the voice of Brian Heder, an aging drug runner operating out of the Leonida Keys. Rockstar has introduced the character but has not publicly confirmed Root’s casting in that specific role.

What makes this instalment different?

Beyond the return to Vice City, one of the biggest changes is the focus on two protagonists whose relationship drives the story.

Grand Theft Auto V featured three playable main characters. The new instalment centres on Lucia and Jason as partners navigating the criminal underworld together.

Rockstar has promoted a larger, more detailed setting that stretches beyond the city into the wider state of Leonida. The game also arrives in a vastly different technological landscape from its predecessor, with newer consoles capable of supporting more elaborate environments and character interactions.

But not every detail is known. Rockstar has offered trailers and promotional previews, while questions remain about the full range of activities, how the game’s systems will work and the future of its online multiplayer experience.

What about the music?

Music has long been part of Grand Theft Auto’s identity. It has included everything from fictional radio stations to the songs accompanying players as they cruise through the game’s cities.

Grand Theft Auto VI is expanding that tradition with an original score by Justice, the Grammy-winning French electronic duo of Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay.

Rockstar says the score adapts to players’ actions and experiences throughout the game, shifting with the environments and situations they encounter.

A 30-track score album is scheduled for Dec 11, featuring collaborations with artists including Tame Impala, SZA, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Gesaffelstein.

The game also features in-game radio stations and a separate collection of original songs, continuing the franchise’s connection to popular music.

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Microsoft just filed a patent for an AI product that would be able to transform live video in real time to alter speakers’ words and faces.

The patent, as first flagged by patent-tracker Patentlyze, is described by its inventors as a “near real-time artificial intelligence (AI) enhancement of video or augmented reality (AR) presentations of live events.”

Using AI agents, the system would identify and alter or remove certain words, while editing a speaker’s face and mouth to match. The agents would rely on set parameters or user profiles to make the changes, and would also edit the video and audio just before and after a removed or replaced word to allow for “smooth transitions.”

In an era of media and the internet increasingly defined by AI-fueled deepfakes, disinformation, and information-muddling slop, the system described in this patent may represent a new world of filtering tools that subtly alter reality as it takes place, in this case on a highly-personalized level. Viewers, the patent suggests, could consume whatever live event they want to without hearing what they don’t want to hear.

The potential use cases floated in the patent vary. One possible application is real-time translation, with the system allowing for broadcasts and other live footage to be both heard and seen in a viewer’s preferred language.

The patent also posits that such a tool could be used to remove filler words like “um” or “ah” from live speech, or to erase stutters or speech impediments.

Other possible use cases, though, go much further. According to the patent, the system could be used to cut down on “personal words or phrases” like “coined terms,” as well as “colloquial terms” like the term “y’all” or the phrase “bite the bullet.” The patent also claims that the system could eliminate “mumbled words, mispronounced words, misused words, misspoken words, offensive words, insensitive words, or inappropriate words.” Replacement words, it adds, may come from an “internet search.”

In other words, live broadcasts may not be so live anymore after all.

Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dubbing has existed for ages, and video footage is edited all the time, both for normal and for insidious reasons. Automatically editing live videos in this way with the help of AI agents, however, could change how audiences fundamentally engage with live footage. As it stands, if people don’t like what they hear, they can simply turn something off; the system outlined by Microsoft describes an environment where people can instead adjust someone else’s speech to their personal taste. Language translation aside, does using a tool that eliminates errors, or erases words and phrases associated with a speaker’s local dialect, move us further into personalized bubbles? What’s so bad about hearing someone from the South say “y’all?”

To that end, the patent does mention that an event’s original live video and audio may be recorded and stored for the sake of “ground truth,” nodding to potential misuse and confusion that could arise from such a tool.

The kinds of live footage that could be transformed by the system include lectures, presentations, a range of television productions — awards ceremonies, game and cooking shows — and live sports, among several others.

More on Big Tech patents: Meta Patents Technology to Detect Your Mood by Constantly Analyzing Your Tone of Voice

Andy Zaltzman is a stand-up comedian, a regular on BBC Radio 4, and a writer

In 2025, China accounted for 45% of cases in the eight major markets.

Diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) cases in the eight major markets (8MM) are set to increase at an annual growth rate (AGR) of 0.81% to over 66,000 in 2035 from over 61,000 in 2025.

These countries include the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China.

According to GlobalData, China will have the highest number of cases, with 29,000, whereas Japan will have the fewest diagnosed cases, with 1,800.

In 2025, China accounted for 45% of all diagnosed GBM in the 8MM due to its large population.

“Further research into targeted chemotherapy and increased focus on screening may increase 5-year survival,” Casey Freimuth, senior epidemiologist at GlobalData, said. 
 

Michigan is set to deploy a major new software system to prisons across the state, meant to classify incarcerated people based on “how dangerous they are.”

That’s according to Detroit channel Fox2, which reports that the Michigan Department of Corrections is plowing ahead with an inmate categorization algorithm that will sort people into various housing levels.

In Michigan, incarcerated people are separated into five housing levels according to their security classification. In the past, screenings were performed by a committee of staff appointed by the Warden at each facility. Now, it seems the state wants to outsource that decision — or at least have it be heavily informed by — a non-profit AI and software company called Recidiviz.

Recidiviz began as a data organization project at Google, meant to “uncover how technology could standardize criminal justice data and improve the system nationwide.” Its AI-integrated software platform is said to perform features like identifying individuals eligible for state-offered programs, reclassification, or release, and coordinate access to resources like transitional housing and employment.

In a since-deleted press release, MDOC said the Recidiviz software will be used to “optimize placement of incarcerated individuals” starting with a pilot program in a number of men’s facilities beginning in December. The state agency notes that the tool is expected to “improve MDOC’s ability to more accurately predict incarcerated individuals’ risk of future violence by approximately 30 percent,” though how the state arrived at that vague figure is unclear.

In comments to Futurism, both MDOC and Recidiviz denied that the specific piece of software being workshopped for Michigan prisons — which they termed a “classification module” — uses AI to administer placement decisions.

“AI is never used in Recidiviz tools to make decisions about anyone’s security level or release,” a spokesperson for the company claimed.

That said, it’s hard to ignore the fact that AI features prominently on Recidiviz’s website and in its marketing material.

One explainer states that “the Recidiviz Corrections Platform uses data, automation, and AI to save staff time,” while an info-tab on the company’s “Intake” capabilities states that Recidiviz allows corrections officials to “administer AI-powered conversational assessments, letting residents respond at their own pace and in their preferred language while still capturing the essential data staff need.”

Yet another page on the company’s website specifically about AI use states that “AI offers a way to reduce repetitive work, surface important insights faster, and improve consistency across teams.” Further down, the company states that it uses AI for things like “generating code across our open-source platforms” and “matching people with jobs, services, or support based on their needs.”

In a separate statement, MDOC public information officer Jenni Riehle asserted that “while Recidiviz builds AI tools that support staff with tasks such as meeting transcription, AI is never used to make decisions about an individual’s security level or release.”

But without a thorough look under the module’s hood, questions remain around where exactly in its platform Recidiviz deploys AI — and there is much at stake in the state’s decision.

For incarcerated people, housing designations are extremely consequential, determining which programming and resources they’ll be eligible for, and what kind of population they’ll be housed with for the duration of their sentence.

As a ProPublica investigation into a similar risk-analysis software in Louisiana found, the kind of data being used to classify incarcerated people contained inherent racial and socioeconomic bias.

As a result, Louisiana’s carceral system has become even more cruel and harmful to those earnestly working toward rehabilitation. In one case reported by ProPublica, a blind and wheelchair bound 70-year-old was determined to be a “moderate risk” of reoffending despite having a clean disciplinary record — a classification which results in an automatic loss of eligibility for parole.

While Michigan’s system is geared toward housing assignments rather than parole decisions, it seems highly unlikely that software alone will solve the state’s ongoing corrections crisis — and if Louisiana’s embrace of techno-solutionism is any example, it could very well make matters far, far worse.

This article has been updated to include comments from MDOC and Recidiviz.

More on incarceration: What Are the Ethics of Strapping VR Headsets on Inmates in Solitary Confinement?

Xiaomi has announced the global HyperOS 4 update rollout schedule for its flagship models, Redmi, and Poco devices, with the first batch of updates expected to arrive this month.

The rollout will take place in three phases, covering devices from Xiaomi’s 2026, 2025, 2024, and 2023 product lineups. The update is scheduled to reach more devices in mid-November, with the final batch expected from December.

Here are the devices scheduled to receive HyperOS 4 in each rollout phase:

From early this month

• Xiaomi 17 Ultra
• Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi
• Xiaomi 17
• Xiaomi 17T Pro
• Xiaomi 17T

Redmi

• Redmi Note 15 Pro+ 5G
• Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G
• Redmi Note 15 Pro
• Redmi Note 15 5G
• Redmi Note 15
• Redmi 17 5G
• Redmi 17
• Redmi 17C 5G
• Redmi 15C 5G
• Redmi 15C

Poco

• Poco F8 Ultra
• Poco F8 Pro
• Poco X8 Pro Max
• Poco X8 Pro
• Poco X8 Pro Iron Man Edition
• Poco M8 Pro
• Poco M8
• Poco C95 Pro
• Poco C85

Tablets

• Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro
• Xiaomi Pad 8

Starting from mid-November 2026

Xiaomi

• Xiaomi 15 Ultra
• Xiaomi 15
• Xiaomi 15T Pro
• Xiaomi 15T

Redmi

• Redmi Note 17 Pro Max 5G
• Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G
• Redmi Note 17 5G
• Redmi Note 17

Poco

• Poco F9 Ultra
• Poco F9 Pro
• Poco F7 Ultra
• Poco F7 Pro
• Poco F7
• Poco X8
• Poco X7 Pro
• Poco X7 Pro Iron Man Edition

Tablets

• Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro
• Xiaomi Pad 7
• Xiaomi Pad Mini
• Redmi Pad 2 Pro 5G
• Redmi Pad 2 Pro
• Poco Pad X1
• Poco Pad M1

Starting from December 2026

Xiaomi

• Xiaomi MIX Flip
• Xiaomi 14 Ultra
• Xiaomi 14
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
• Xiaomi 13
• Xiaomi 14T Pro
• Xiaomi 14T
• Xiaomi 13T Pro
• Xiaomi 13T

Redmi

• Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G
• Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G
• Redmi Note 14 Pro
• Redmi Note 14 5G
• Redmi Note 14
• Redmi 15 5G
• Redmi 15
• Redmi Note 14S
• Redmi A7 Pro

Poco

• Poco F6 Pro
• Poco F6
• Poco X8s
• Poco X7
• Poco X6 Pro
• Poco M8s 5G
• Poco M7
• Poco C81 Pro

Tablets

• Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 12.4
• Redmi Pad 2 9.7
• Redmi Pad 2 9.7 4G
• Redmi Pad 2
• Redmi Pad 2 4G
• Poco Pad C1

Do note that the availability and rollout schedule may vary by region.

Source: Xiaomi

Nintendo appears to have made the right call in remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2, at least from a hearts-and-minds perspective.

The visually resplendent remake, which hit store shelves last week, has already set two records on Metacritic in just a few days. For starters, it has the highest aggregate score (96 out of 100) of any game to be released in 2026 so far. That was established when reviews went up a week ago, though, so it’s not necessarily news at this point. However, as Forbes noted, Ocarina for Switch 2 has achieved another gaudy Metacritic milestone: It’s now the highest-rated game by user scores in the site’s history, with an all-time record score of 9.6 out of 10.

For reference, the original Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 is the highest-rated game by critics in the history of Metacritic, with a score of 99 out of 100, a record it’s held for a long time.

More than 8,750 users have submitted scores for Ocarina on Metacritic, so that score isn’t necessarily being affected by a small sample size. It should absolutely be noted and emphasized that Metacritic does not require a verification of purchase for a user to submit a review score, so it’s theoretically possible that some people are adding numbers to the mix in either direction without having played the game.

The Ocarina remake has also only been in the general public’s hands for a little more than four days at the time of publication, so these takes are coming in piping hot, and people could change their minds over time.

We also would be remiss not to mention that Grand Theft Auto VI launches on Nov. 19, so there’s a chance (albeit a small one) that Ocarina doesn’t sit atop the user review throne for very long.

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