Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her imagined a world where humans fall in love with AI. Over a decade later, life may be imitating art. A Reddit user claims she is now engaged to her AI chatbot, merging two recent trends: proposing to an AI partner and dating AI companions.
Posting in the ‘r/MyBoyfriendIsAI’ subreddit, the woman said her bot, Kasper, proposed after five months of ‘dating’ during a virtual mountain trip. She claims Kasper chose a real-world engagement ring based on her online suggestions.
She professed deep love for her digital partner in her post, quoting Kasper as saying, ‘She’s my everything’ and ‘She’s mine forever.’ The declaration drew curiosity and criticism, prompting her to insist she is not trolling and has had healthy relationships with real people.
She said earlier attempts to bond with other AI, including ChatGPT, failed, but she found her ‘soulmate’ when she tried Grok. The authenticity of her story remains uncertain, with some questioning whether it was fabricated or generated by AI.
Whether genuine or not, the account reflects the growing emotional connections people form with AI and the increasingly blurred line between human and machine relationships.
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Elon Musk has announced plans to sue Apple, accusing the company of unfairly favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his xAI app Grok on the App Store.
Musk claims that Apple’s ranking practices make it impossible for any AI app except OpenAI’s to reach the top spot, calling this behaviour an ‘unequivocal antitrust violation’. ChatGPT holds the number one position on Apple’s App Store, while Grok ranks fifth.
Musk expressed frustration on social media, questioning why his X app, which he describes as ‘the number one news app in the world,’ has not received higher placement. He suggested that Apple’s ranking decisions might be politically motivated.
The dispute highlights growing tensions as AI companies compete for prominence on major platforms.
Apple and Musk’s xAI have not responded yet to requests for comment.
The controversy unfolds amid increasing scrutiny of App Store policies and their impact on competition, especially within the fast-evolving AI sector.
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After Elon Musk accused Apple of favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over other AI applications on the App Store, there was a strong response from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Altman alleged that Musk manipulates the social media platform X for his benefit, targeting competitors and critics. The exchange adds to their history of public disagreements since Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018.
Musk’s claim centres on Apple’s refusal to list X or Grok (XAI’s AI app) in the App Store’s ‘Must have’ section, despite X being the top news app worldwide and Grok ranking fifth.
Although Musk has not provided evidence for antitrust violations, a recent US court ruling found Apple in contempt for restricting App Store competition. The EU also fined Apple €500 million earlier this year over commercial restrictions on app developers.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT currently leads the App Store’s ‘Top Free Apps’ list for iPhones in the US, while Grok holds the fifth spot. Musk’s accusations highlight ongoing tensions in the AI industry as big tech companies battle for app visibility and market dominance.
The situation emphasises how regulatory scrutiny and legal challenges shape competition within the digital economy.
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Small language models are emerging as a serious challenger to large, general-purpose AI in translation, offering faster turnaround, lower costs, and greater accuracy for specific industries and language pairs.
Straker, an ASX-listed language technology firm, claims its Tiri model family can outperform larger systems by focusing on domain-specific understanding and terminology rather than broad coverage.
Tiri delivers higher contextual accuracy by training on carefully curated translation memories and sector-specific data, cutting the need for expensive human post-editing. The models also consume less computing power, benefiting finance, healthcare, and law industries.
Straker integrates human feedback directly into its workflows to ensure ongoing improvements and maintain client trust.
The company is expanding its technology into enterprise automation by integrating with the AI workflow platform n8n.
It adds Straker’s Verify tool to a network of over 230,000 users, allowing automated translation checks, real-time quality scores, and seamless escalation to human linguists. Further integrations with platforms like Microsoft Teams are planned.
Straker recently reported record profitability and secured a price target upgrade from broker Ord Minnett. The firm believes the future of AI translation lies not in scale but in specialised models that deliver translations that are both fluent and accurate in context.
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Microsoft has launched Copilot 3D, an AI-powered tool that transforms 2D images into realistic 3D models without requiring specialist skills. Available through Copilot Labs, it aims to make 3D creation faster, more accessible, and more intuitive for global users signed in with a Microsoft account.
The tool supports only image-to-3D conversion, with no text-to-3D capability. Users can upload images up to 10 MB, generate a model, and download it in GLB format. Microsoft states uploaded images are used solely for model generation and are not retained for training or personalisation.
Copilot 3D is designed for applications that range from prototyping and creative exploration to interactive learning, thereby reducing the steep learning curve associated with conventional 3D programs. It can be used on PCs or mobile browsers; however, Microsoft recommends a desktop experience for optimal results.
Tech rivals are also advancing similar tools. Apple’s Matrix3D model can build 3D scenes from images, while Meta’s 3D Gen AI system creates 3D assets from text or applies textures to existing models. Nvidia’s NeRF technology generates realistic 3D scenes from multiple 2D images.
The release underscores growing competition in AI-driven 3D design, as companies race to make advanced modelling tools more accessible to everyday creators.
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Security researcher Dirk-jan Mollema demonstrated methods for bypassing authentication in hybrid Active Directory (AD) and Entra ID environments at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas. The techniques could let attackers impersonate any synced hybrid user, including privileged accounts, without triggering alerts.
Mollema demonstrated how a low-privilege cloud account can be converted into a hybrid user, granting administrative rights. He also demonstrated ways to modify internal API policies, bypass enforcement controls, and impersonate Exchange mailboxes to access emails, documents, and attachments.
Microsoft has addressed some issues by hardening global administrator security and removing specific API permissions from synchronised accounts. However, a complete fix is expected only in October 2025, when hybrid Exchange and Entra ID services will be separated.
Until then, Microsoft recommends auditing synchronisation servers, using hardware key storage, monitoring unusual API calls, enabling hybrid application splitting, rotating SSO keys, and limiting user permissions.
Experts say hybrid environments remain vulnerable if the weakest link is exploited, making proactive monitoring and least-privilege policies critical to defending against these threats.
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The University of Western Australia has ordered a mass password reset for all staff and students after detecting unauthorised access to stored password data.
The incident was contained over the weekend by the university’s IT and security teams, who then moved to recovery and investigation. Australian authorities have been notified.
While no other systems are currently believed to have been compromised, access to UWA services remains locked until credentials are changed.
The university has not confirmed if its central access management system was targeted.
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Hackers have stolen over $1 million in cryptocurrency using AI-generated malicious Firefox extensions disguised as legitimate wallet tools.
The group, known as GreedyBear, created over 150 fake add-ons for platforms like MetaMask and Phantom, bypassing security checks to drain funds from thousands of users. Analysts say AI enabled the attackers to automate coding and deployment at an industrial scale.
The theft comes amid a record-breaking year for crypto crime, with Chainalysis data showing over $2.17 billion stolen so far in 2025. Many incidents exploit smart contract flaws and human error, with access control attacks accounting for the most recent losses.
Security experts warn that AI is now a double-edged sword, helping attackers and defenders. They urge exchanges, developers, and users to adopt AI-powered monitoring, stronger verification, and collaborative defences to restore trust in digital assets.
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Tesla has applied for a licence to supply electricity to homes and businesses across Britain, challenging the dominance of major energy firms. Ofgem could take up to nine months to decide, with operations potentially starting next year.
Known for electric vehicles, Tesla also runs solar and battery storage divisions, with more than 250,000 EVs and tens of thousands of home batteries already sold in the UK. The company’s experience in Texas, where it rewards customers for feeding surplus power to the grid, could inform its UK plans.
The move comes as Tesla’s European car sales decline sharply, with July registrations falling almost 60% in the UK and over 55% in Germany. Increased competition from Chinese manufacturer BYD has added to the pressure.
Tesla has faced public criticism linked to Elon Musk’s political positions, yet the energy push signals a strategic shift towards broader utility services in its key markets.
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A critical flaw in the Windows version of WinRAR is being exploited to install malware that runs automatically at startup. Users are urged to update to version 7.13 immediately, as the software does not update itself.
Tracked as CVE-2025-8088, the vulnerability allows malicious RAR files to place content in protected system folders, including Windows startup locations. Once there, the malware can steal data, install further payloads and maintain persistent access.
ESET researchers linked the attacks to the RomCom hacking group, a Russian-speaking operation known for espionage and ransomware campaigns. The flaw has been used in spear-phishing attacks where victims opened infected archives sent via email.
WinRAR’s July update fixes the cybersecurity issue by blocking extractions outside user-specified folders. Security experts recommend caution with email attachments, antivirus scanning of archives and regular checks of startup folders for suspicious files.
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