Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 84, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about Mubi and Around The Horn and millennial tech, moving all my journals to Diarly, trying out Matt D’Avella’s workout routine, catching up on Clarkson’s Farm, wishing desperately that Philly Justice was a real show, watching a lot of Helper Cars with my toddler, testing the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, dusting off my Fortnite skills, and enjoying this unbelievably deep dive into the first Star Wars movie.I also have for you a new blockbuster movie, an old-new blockbuster mobile game, a new season of one of my all-time favorite shows, a cheap set-top box worth a look, and much more. Shockingly busy week! Let’s dig in.(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing / reading / listening to / watching / plugging into things / poking with a stick this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here. Subscribers get every issue in their inbox, for free, a day before it hits the website.)The Dropkind of can’t believe it! I fell off the Fortnite wagon pretty hard over the last year or so, but this and my Backbone Pro are going to be very good friends going forward. Zero Build only for me, though, at least on mobile.Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. I am a forever fan of the M:I series, and as silly as I find the whole “AI is the bad guy” bit, I have had a good time watching every single movie in this series. I’ll be in a humungous theater for this one ASAP.Puzzmo for iOS. Puzzmo’s web app is great, so I haven’t exactly been thirsting for a better mobile experience. And, as far as I can tell, the mobile app is just exactly the same thing as the web app. But, hey, I like the icon, and I like any reason to play more Really Bad Chess.The Onn Google TV 4K Plus. “A weirdly named, super-cheap set-top box from Walmart” is not a great pitch. But for $30, you’re not beating this thing’s combination of Google TV, Dolby Vision, and 4K. Onn stuff has been pretty good in the past, so I suspect this one will be pretty compelling.NotebookLM for mobile. The Android and iOS versions are both fine and both useful for the same reason: you can send stuff to your notebooks via the share sheet. If you’re a fan of the podcast-y Audio Overviews, they’re also a great thing to have on the go.. We haven’t had a new season of my favorite unhinged animation sci-fi show in a year and a half, and I am so very excited to get back to some intergalactic and cross-universe shenanigans. I’ve been debating doing a full rewatch of the whole show and might just have to do it after this season.The Virtual Stream Deck. This is so clever: Elgato is turning its collection of smart buttons from a lineup of gadgets to a full-on platform that you can either build into other hardware or just run on a screen. I can’t recommend it enough — spend some time programming all your repetitive computer tasks into a Stream Deck system.Monster Train 2. I love the structure of this game: a deck-building game that is endlessly repeatable but also complex enough that you never quite play the same game twice. I somehow missed the first game in the series entirely, and I’m going to have to give that a whirl, too. Strava routes. Strava’s an Installerverse favorite, and it got a bunch of new features this week. But, for my money, the biggest upgrade is the routing system, which generates the best route between two points; I love a good “map me the run to this donut shop” feature.In all the time I’ve been covering and paying attention to tech, there have been very few companies as bizarre and intriguing as OpenAI. The company is doing impressive, culture-shaking work, but it also seems to have an endless supply of weird internal drama and a total inability to figure out, like, what in the world it’s doing.Karen Hao has been covering the company longer than almost anybody, and she has firsthand knowledge of a lot of OpenAI’s twists and turns. This week, she published a terrific book, called Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, which is about the company’s history and its future. But the book is more than that, too. It’s a really good look at what AI is doing to us as people, to our societies and our planets, and to the brains of the people building what they hope will make them rich or gods — or both.I’ve been a fan of Karen’s work for a long time, so I asked her to share her homescreen with us. I figured she’d either have, like, 30 AI apps or none at all, and I wanted to know. Here’s her homescreen, plus some info on the apps she uses and why:The phone: iPhone XR.The wallpaper: It’s usually a photo of me and my husband laughing hysterically at an inside joke at our wedding. But you’ll just have to imagine it because we’re really big on privacy. Enjoy this orange gradient instead. Orange is the color of creativity, of fire, of the sunrise and sunset, of beginnings and transition.The apps: Messages, Google Calendar, Photos, Camera, Clock, Apple Notes, Contacts, Settings, FaceTime, Calculator, Weather, Reminders, App Store, Gmail, Proton Mail, Phone, Brave.I have a very boring homescreen! I try not to use too many apps. When I set up a phone, the first thing I do is delete as many of the default apps as possible. But probably the two notable apps to call out: a couple years ago, I switched completely to the Brave browser, which is the lion icon at the bottom right of the screen. It’s based on Chrome, so you can keep all your plug-ins, but it blocks sites from tracking you to serve you targeted ads. It’s a simple way to not give up so much of your data and preserve your privacy. Highly recommended. The second: under my Audio folder, I have a guitar-tuning app, GuitarTuna, for the rare moments I fiddle with my guitar at home. Music was a big part of my childhood, but I haven’t made nearly enough time for it as an adult. I keep the app on my homescreen as an aspiration to pick it back up more seriously.I also asked Karen to share a few things that she’s into right now. Here’s what she sent back:The Empire podcast, cohosted by historian William Dalrymple and Anita Anand.Late-night comedy YouTube.CrowdsourcedHere’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now, as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.“YouTube has recently radicalized me to digital minimalism and decentralized tech. What started as deleting ALL social media from my iPhone and relegating the apps to my iPad is now firmly in the realm of buying old iPods from eBay and repairing them with modern parts. I have some replacement parts on the way from Elite Obsolete Electronics and with what I know now I should soon have a functional 6th gen iPod Classic that I can install RockBox on. I also picked up the ToAuto DS90 Soldering Station with the hopes of installing the USB-C mod in the near future.” — Nicholas“I know it was in last week’s Installer but I got the Sony WH-1000XM6s and they’re incredible. The ‘background listening’ feature is such a clever spin on spatial audio, it really does sound like it’s coming from a distance!” — Jamie“What if you could add any plain old QR Code/barcode card to your Apple Wallet? Lucky for you, the greatest minds of our time have come together to solve this inconvenience. Try IntoWallet and get as blown away as I was when it just worked (also the level of customization and the price are great!).” — Teo“I’ve REALLY enjoyed the Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. For lovers of hard sci-fi space operas this is for you. Engaging, dark, wild ideas and concepts, plenty of real and imagined science and physics all weaved into interesting stories.” — Tyler“I’ve personally managed to seriously build my meditation practice in the last two years using both Happier and Calm. I especially enjoy the meditations by teacher Jeff Warren, who strikes the right balance with his light and playful tone.” — Jeroen“I’ve had the Casper Glow lamp since 2019 and it’s still going strong! Love the interaction, twisting it and flipping it to control the light, and I even helped sell two (unsponsored) to an old roommate when he moved to his own place.” — SingYu“Post Andor I’ve been reading through Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire.” — Allen“Setup is (90%) finished! Rocking a Teenage Engineering case, HP G4 Dock, UGREEN USB Switcher, and a $60 standing desk from Facebook Marketplace.” — Jeremy Signing offThe big Installer-y news of the week is that Mozilla is shutting down Pocket. Which, well, sucks. Pocket was a good and popular app that did good and useful things! I heard from a bunch of you who are now looking for a place to go post-Pocket. I only really have three recommendations:Instapaper: the OG of the read-later world and still the simplest and most straightforward app you’ll find for the purpose. Brian, the developer, is good people, and I have high hopes for the longevity of the app.Matter: it’s only for iOS and web, but it’s the best-looking app in this space, and it’s not even close. They’re doing some nifty stuff with AI-enhanced reading, too.Readwise Reader: the power-user tool of choice, and my favorite of the bunch. It just has so many organizational features, great highlighting, and tons of integrations. It just does everything I need. It’s also way too much for most people. I suppose I should give Wallabag an honorable mention, because you can host it yourself, but it’s a much more involved project. If I were just moving over from Pocket and just wanted a nice place to read without a long list of other feature requests, I’d start with Instapaper. But all three are solid options, and they all make it pretty painless to import your old articles. Or just delete them all, start over, and feel the rare freedom of an almost-empty reading list. It’s pretty nice.See you next week!See More:

Published May 25, 2025 6:00am EDT close Support family from afar by controlling their screen with FaceTime in iOS 18 Apple has introduced a feature that allows you to remotely control a family member’s screen during a FaceTime call. Staying connected with family members who live far away can be challenging. However, with the latest update to iOS 18, Apple has introduced a game-changing feature that allows you to remotely control a family member’s screen during a FaceTime call. This can be incredibly helpful for providing tech support or guiding them through complex tasks on an iPhone or iPad. Let’s dive into how this feature works and how you can make the most of it. A woman on a FaceTime call  (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Benefits of remote controlThis feature is particularly useful for tech support because it allows you to help family members troubleshoot issues or learn how to use new apps. It also provides guided assistance, enabling you to walk someone through a process step-by-step, such as setting up a new device or configuring settings. Additionally, it enhances communication by making it easier to explain complex tasks without the frustration of miscommunication.HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IPHONE AND IPAD FROM MALWAREHow to update to iOS 18First, you'll want to update your software to iOS 18. Here's how to do it on your iPhone.Unlock your iPhone and tap on the Settings app.Scroll down and select General.Tap on Software Update. Your device will check for available updates.If iOS 18 is available, you will see an option to Download and Install. Tap on it.If prompted, enter your device passcode.Read through Apple’s terms and conditions, then tap Agree to proceed.Your device will download the update and then install it. This process may take some time, so ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery life or is plugged into a charger.Once the installation is complete, your iPhone will restart, and you’ll be running iOS 18 with all its new features.CREATE CUSTOM VISUALS ON YOUR IPHONE WITH IMAGE PLAYGROUND IN IOS 18.2 Steps to update your iPhone software (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)How to use remote control in FaceTimeWith iOS 18, Apple has expanded the capabilities of FaceTime to include remote screen control. This feature is part of SharePlay, which was initially introduced in iOS 15.1 for content sharing. Now, it allows users to share their screen and even pass control to another person during a FaceTime call. To get started, both you and the person you want to help need to have iOS 18 installed on your devices. Before someone can remotely control your screen, that person must be saved in your contacts. Now, let's say your mom calls you in a panic because she can't figure out how to set up her new smart home device. No worries. Here’s how you can save the day:Start a FaceTime call with her by clicking on the FaceTime app.Then click "New FaceTime."Where it says "To:" type in the name of who you want to connect to, in this case, your mom.Then click the FaceTime icon at the bottom of the screen. Steps to use remote control in FaceTime    (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Now, tap the share icon at the top of the screen and select "Ask to Share" Screen. Steps to use remote control in FaceTime    (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)This will send a request to your mom, asking her to share her screen with you Steps to use remote control in FaceTime   (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Once your mom accepts, her iPhone screen will appear on your device.Tap on her screen to enlarge it, so you can see everything clearly. Steps to use remote control in FaceTime    (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Here’s a great trick: You can use the markup tools to draw or highlight directly on her screen.For example, circle the button she needs to tap Steps to use remote control in FaceTime    (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Or draw an arrow to guide her. This way, you can visually walk her through each step. Steps to use remote control in FaceTime    (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)But what if the person you are FaceTiming with gets stuck?Here’s where the real magic happens. You can actually take control of her screen.Just tap the icon in the bottom right corner of her shared screen. This is the "Request Control" button. Steps to use remote control in FaceTime  (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Your mom will get a prompt to approve or deny your request.Once she approves, you’ll be able to tap, swipe and type on her iPhone as if you were holding it yourself.You can move things, open apps and help her out directly. Steps to end remote control  (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)How to end remote controlWhen you're done playing tech support, ending the remote control is a breeze.Click on the horizontal oval shape at the top of the screen. Steps to end remote control   (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Then, tap the "red circle with the X in the middle of it" where it says "End."WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? Steps to end remote control (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Privacy and securityApple has implemented several safeguards to ensure your privacy and security while using this feature. Only trusted contacts can request control, and you have the option to decline any request. Additionally, certain sensitive actions, such as changing Apple ID settings or making payments, are restricted during remote control sessions.Kurt's key takeawaysThe remote control feature in FaceTime with iOS 18 is a powerful tool for staying connected and providing support to family members from afar. Whether you’re helping your parents navigate their new iPhone or guiding a friend through app setup, this feature makes it easier than ever to lend a hand, no matter the distance. So, next time a family member calls you for tech support, remember that, with iOS 18, you can be right there with them, virtually controlling their screen and making the process smoother and more efficient.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPHow do you think the new remote control feature in iOS 18 will affect your ability to stay connected and assist family members who live far away? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/ContactFor more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/NewsletterAsk Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to coverFollow Kurt on his social channelsAnswers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Job Category: Contact CenterRequisition Number: CONTA001784 West Bend, WI 53095, USAJob Details Description Stop feeling the Sunday night scaries and start loving Monday again.Could you love your job if the company you work for had a culture that was more supportive, positive, and nurturing? Most contact centers suck; ours doesnt!Would mission-focused teammates and inspiring leadership make you want to jump up out of bed and start your work day?Now that we have your attention, read on. Position Summary:Join our dynamic team as a contact center advisor. Your curious spirit and passion for service will combine to deliver an award-winning experience to USCCA members.Engage with members and prospects through inbound and outbound calls, building deep connections while helping them become the best protectors of themselves and their families. In this vital role, you'll lean into curiosity to understand individual needs, educate on membership value, execute needs-based sales, and provide outstanding service.This really isn't your typical contact center jobit's a chance to make a difference every day. Connect, inform, and assist with account updates, payments, and membership purchases in a supportive environment at one of Newsweeks Top 100 Americas Most Loved Workplaces.Are you ready for a career you can BELIEVE in? Do you have a strong belief in the 2nd Amendment? Do you support the natural-born right to armed self-defense? Do you believe in the mission of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA)? Delta Defense, LLC is the private company that provides Marketing, Operations and Customer Service for the USCCA.The USCCA safeguards life, freedom, and finances for responsible American gun owners. Learn more about the USCCA at Elevate your career with us and reap the rewards of your success!Starting salary $19.27 - $20.00/hour, based on experienceShift premium available based on days and hours workedEligible for commission23 Days of Personal Time Off, 8 Company Holidays, plus paid day of Volunteer Service annuallyWorkplace Flexibility - Headquarters, Work-From-Home Remote, and Hybrid optionsPersonal Protection, Fitness, and Home Office Reimbursement Program ($500 Annually)Robust Insurance Coverage Options: Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA, FSA, Life, STD, & LTD Complimentary USCCA Elite Membership & Store DiscountsEssential Duties & Responsibilities:Field customer, member, and prospect contacts through our digital and voice platforms to troubleshoot and resolve issues that strengthen member relationships.Skip the script and respond to customer inquiries with knowledgeable, respectful, and well thought out answers.Deepen and retain member relationships through engaging conversations.Maintain up-to-date knowledge of our products, services, and promotions.Operate with a find needs, fill needs mindset. Provide solutions, offers, and information to match customer needs for product and membership solutions.Sell new memberships and USCCA products that meet the needs of the customer through a find needs, fill needs mindset. Handle and resolve customer, member, and prospect concerns with empathy and attention to detail.Follow up with as needed to ensure the best possible service experience.Save/retain members who are contemplating non-renewal of their membership.Meet or exceed established targets and key performance indicators for advisor efficiency, sales, retention, and voice of the customer objectives.Collaborate with your team members and help one another learn and grow.Maintain alignment with the Core Values of Delta Defense and Mission of the USCCA in all interactions.Required Skills/Experience:High School diploma or equivalent required. Associates degree or higher preferred.Prior work history in a customer service or sales role. Experience in fielding customer concerns in an omni channel environment is a plus.Required to pass and maintain Producer Property and Casualty License. Paid Training is provided for all hires.Excellent interpersonal skills; strong written and verbal communication abilities. Able to quickly establish rapport with people.Demonstrated ability to employ patience, empathy and strong listening skills while ensuring customer needs are fulfilled in a timely and satisfactory manner.Computer fluency; working knowledge of software applications and advanced internet functions.Passionate about delighting customers and communicating with them through conversation.Able to work equally as well in a team environment, in-office or remotely. Self-defense knowledge and training, familiarity with firearms is preferred, but not necessary.Demonstrates the Core Values of Delta Defense, LLC.We provide 8 weeks of PAID training for this role, so you will be knowledgeable and confident when engaging with our members. Training includes new employee on-boarding, product and systems training, sales and service training and preparation for earning your Producer Property and Casualty License. Must be able to complete Full Time PAID Training (Monday-Friday) for the first 8 weeks upon hire. Training is virtual for remote employees.Currently hiring for this opportunity from the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CO, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, and WV. Full Time positions only. Afternoon and evening shifts available. This is a 40 hour/week position with 8 hour shifts. Now hiring for the following shifts:Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00pm - 9:30pm CDT or Sunday through Thursday, 1:00pm - 9:30pm CDT Why YOU should Work at Delta Defense! We are a fun, fast-paced, and rewarding place to work and grow!Nationally recognized in 2023 and 2024 as a Newsweek Top 100 Americas Most Loved Workplace.Top Workplaces USA award in 2022!Named on Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list 13 years in a row!Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplace award 7 years in a row!Milwaukee Business Journal Best Place to Work award 6 years in a row! Benefits information can be reviewed at:Anticipated application close date: April 25, 2025 Please watch your email for next steps after submitting your application. You will be asked to take online assessments in order to complete the application process. We look forward to your application. PM19LIApril 3, 2025PI5be0bce3390b-2324Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Meet JobCopilot: Your Personal AI Job HunterAutomatically Apply to Remote Sales and Marketing JobsJust set your preferences and Job Copilot will do the rest-finding, filtering, and applying while you focus on what matters. Activate JobCopilot

The combination of both companies provides a new platform to tackle challenges within the AEC industry and serve the ever-changing needs of clients. Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT), an engineering, architecture, technology, and related consulting services company; and Clark Nexsen, an architecture and engineering firm, announced today that they are combining forces in a transformative merger that will create an employee-owned industry leader in planning, design, architecture, engineering, and construction for clients in the United States and around the world. As part of this merger, Clark Nexsen staff become part of JMT’s 100-percent employee-owned structure—one of the largest ESOPs in the AEC industry—reinforcing the shared commitment to long-term growth, innovation, and client success. This alignment is further strengthened by the cultural fit between the two firms. Both JMT and Clark Nexsen are perennially ranked among the Top 500 Design Firms by Engineering News-Record and share a deep-rooted belief in fostering strong workplace cultures and actively engaging in the communities where their employees live and work. “A shared corporate culture will be the foundation of this union’s success,” said JMT president Mike Blair. “I’m excited about expanding JMT’s capabilities and developing new opportunities for everyone to succeed. I believe this will be a transformative next step for both firms.” The merger will create a firm of more than 2,750 employees and strengthen each other’s architecture and engineering practices, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. Clark Nexsen will leverage its expertise in architecture and facilities engineering to enhance JMT’s capabilities. Its transportation team will also reinforce JMT’s presence in that sector. Together, the combined firms will become a powerhouse in the education and federal market sectors, which JMT and Clark Nexsen both serve. “Combining with JMT is transformative for all of us,” said Clark Nexsen president Terri Hall. “We will continue to build on more than a century of achievements, add new geographies and areas of expertise, and provide our employees with many new avenues for professional growth. This is truly an exciting time.” “Two great companies are combining, and on behalf of both leadership teams, we are all excited to build relationships and trust among our combined staff as we expand our services,” said JMT chief operating officer Matt Natale. “We believe this merger will create a greater whole, leveraging the strengths of both firms.” About JMT JMT is a 100-percent employee-owned company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. With more than 2,450 employees, the firm provides engineering, architecture, environmental, and technology solutions to clients nationwide. JMT is currently ranked number 50 among the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firms. The firm is dedicated to delivering a brighter future through the highest quality of services. Among the firm’s most recent award-winning projects are: Hunts Point Access Improvements, Phase 1, The Bronx, New York; Claymont Regional Transportation Center, Claymont, Deleware; and BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport Restroom Improvements-Phase 1, Baltimore, Maryland. Visit www.jmt.com for more information. About Clark Nexsen Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with more than 325 employees. Founded in 1920, the firm operates nine offices across the southeastern U.S., serving a wide range of clients in markets from infrastructure to K–12. Ranked number 50 by Building Design+Construction and number 255 on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list, Clark Nexsen has earned national recognition, including the 2024 Best of Practice Award (Southeast Region) from The Architect’s Newspaper. Notable projects include Fitts-Woolard Hall at North Carolina State, the Madera Cyber Innovation Center at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Ferguson Headquarters 3, and the upcoming Charlotte-Mecklenburg Main Library. Learn more at www.clarknexsen.com. Contacts JMT JMT Corporate Communications [email protected] Clark Nexsen Clark Nexsen Communications [email protected]

Macworld There’s something of a misconception when it comes to the Mac: that Mac apps cost more, just like the computer itself. While powerful tools like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro certainly have price tags commensurate with their robust feature sets, many of the greatest Mac apps won’t cost you anything more than the time they take to download them. A quick note before we begin. Apple has changed its security settings in macOS, so you’ll need to allow your system to open a couple of these apps. A dialogue box may pop up telling you a certain app “is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?” Click Open to proceed with the installation. These are the best free Mac apps we use, in alphabetical order. Amphetamine – free anti-sleep app Foundry Amphetamine will keep your Mac awake. Featuring a menu bar-based interface, the app lets you temporarily override your Mac’s sleep schedule (even when your MacBooks’s lid is closed) and even adds a few useful features like activating only when connected to specific Wi-Fi networks and keeping only certain drives awake. Download Amphetamine. Audacity – free audio editor IDG Amateur Mac recording engineers have known about the power of Audacity for years. A robust desktop client for recording and editing multi-track projects, Audacity will let you edit and add effects just like you would with Logic Pro X without needing to spend hundreds of dollars on a bunch of features you won’t need. Granted, the interface is quite a bit outdated, but you need only spend a few minutes with it to see just how powerful it is. A killer tool for podcasting, recording audio books, and creating video voiceovers, Audacity will turn your Mac into a multi-track recording studio, and it won’t cost you a dime. Download Audacity. Backup and Sync from Google IDG Even the most stalwart Mac fans have to admit that Google does photos better than Apple, despite Apple’s improvements over the years. While there ids no longer the unlimited free storage there once was, with instant syncing across virtually any device, and an amazing search engine, Google Photos is everything we wish Apple Photos would be. But you might not know that there’s a super easy way to get photos from your Mac into your Google Photos library. Google offers a small utility called Backup and Sync that will automatically upload images stored on your Mac. The simple menu bar app works with your Google Drive to continuously scan for images in folders of your choosing to keep your photo library in sync. And it’s so efficient, you won’t even know it’s working. But thats not all! Backup and Sync makes an extremely effective cloud storage solution for all file types. In fact, if you use more than just Apple gear, it’s probably the best cloud storage solution. Get Backup and Sync. BBEdit – free HTML and text editor BBEdit Professional software developers have been singing BBEdit’s praises for years, but you don’t need to spend a bundle to get on board. The free version of BBEdit is a full-featured editor in its own right, sporting powerful features such as multiple clipboards, automatic backups, live search and syntax-highlighting support for more than 20 programming languages. But you don’t have to be a Swift coder to appreciate it—anyone who writes and edits large chunks of text on their Mac should grab a copy. Download BBEdit. Google Chrome – free web browser Foundry The debate over which is the Bbst web browser for Mac is one that won’t be settled anytime soon, but in the meantime, every Mac user should have a copy of Chrome alongside Safari in their Dock. Fast, smart, and endlessly customizable, Google’s browser is an excellent alternative to Apple’s, with speedy surfing, smart syncing, and Google Assistant-style voice searches. And with a dedicated store filled with extensions and themes, finding ways to enhance it is way easier than it is on Safari. Google has even added some intelligence to Chrome on Mac with AI-based search tools in a Chrome for Mac update. Download Chrome. ClearVPN – free Mac VPN IDG There are lots of VPN clients available for the Mac, but few of them are as straightforward and effortless as ClearVPN, which has a free plan. Rather than let you choose from a complicated list of servers, ClearVPN’s straightforward interface will automatically route you to the best option based on what you want to do, whether it’s private browsing or watching Netflix outside the U.S. Everything else happens in the background—protocols, servers, and encryption are handled in real-time using MacPaw’s Dynamic Flow Technology that automatically selects the best server for your needs. Heavy users will want to subscribe for $13 a month, but the free plan—which offers few shortcuts including Netflix streaming and ad-free browsing—is a great addition to any Mac. Read our review of ClearVPN for more information. Download ClearVPN. Duplicate File Finder – free duplicate file remover IDG If you’ve been using your Mac for a while, there’s a good chance you have accumulated duplicate files along the way. And some of them could be eating up precious space on your drive. You could run a full disk cleaner to find and root them out, but if you want to quickly find double files and get on with your day, make space for Duplicate File Finder in your Applications folder. Simply drag a folder onto its window and within seconds you’ll have a full report of the duplicates on your machine, letting you see what they are and where they’re hiding, and letting you delete them in a snap. Unless you opt for the $5 pro version, you’ll have to deal with the occasional ad, but it’s an indispensable tool nonetheless. Duplicate File Finder is part of MacCleaner Pro, which features in our Best Mac Cleaner roundup. Get Duplicate File Finder from the Mac App Store or Nektony. Foxit PDF Reader – Free PDF reader Foundry Foxit PDF Reader is a free document viewer that supports advanced annotation tools. This lets you control the size, color, and style of inserted text or shapes. The app also packs some handy customization features, such as support for changing the document’s background shade, reversing and rotating pages, signing forms, and more. Beyond tweaking the PDF file, this Mac app can read the text aloud, measure distances, calculate areas, magnify selected spots, and have AI analyze your document. It’s certainly more capable than Apple’s Preview app and most free PDF readers we’ve used. See how Foxit PDF Editor compares to other PDF tools in our round-up of the Best PDF editor for Mac. Get Foxit PDF Reader. GarageBand – Apple’s music maker IDG If you want to make music on your Mac there’s no better place to start than GarageBand. Loaded with loads of instruments, sounds, loops, and beats, GarageBand will help you make killer tracks whether they’re bound for a stage, screen, or just your ringtone. And in true Apple fashion, its interface is drop-dead simple, letting you record, scrub, and mix just by dragging and dropping. You can use real instruments or virtual ones, and an array of pre-recorded tracks and samples will let you compose a great song even of you can’t hold a tune. And if you’re clueless about where to begin, there are even a couple piano and guitar lessons to get you started. Get GarageBand from Apple. Grammarly – free grammar and spelling checker IDG Spell-check on our iPhone is awesome, but it’s not so great on our Mac. That’s where Grammarly comes in. Available as a Mac app or a Safari extension, it adds a powerful spelling and grammar engine to Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else you type words. (It even works in our CMS, which is why this blurb is free of errors.) Easy to use and basically restriction-free for most people, Grammarly will be a lifesaver for anyone with clumsy typing fingers—especially if you’re stuck using one of the problematic MacBook keyboards. Get Grammarly from the Mac App Store. IINA – free Mac media player IDG While VLC (above) will always have a place on our Mac, IINA is making a strong case for supremacy. Its sleek, minimal design makes it feel like a fresh and modern video player, while features like dark mode and picture-in-picture put VLC to shame. But IINA’s best feature is its uncanny ability to play basically any file type you throw at it, from years-old local files to YouTube playlists. Plus, it’s written in Swift and open-source, so you can bet the features—including native M1 Mac support—will keep on coming. Download IINA. Kindle – free book reader IDG Sometimes you just want to curl up with your Mac and read a good book. With the Kindle app for Mac you can do just that. Like iBooks, but for all of your Kindle books, comics, and Kindle Unlimited subscriptions, you’ll be able to access all fo your Amazon.com purchases  right on your desktop. With a full-screen mode, five font options, a dark theme, and adjustable point sizes, brightness, and page widths, you can customize your reading experience just the way you like it. There’s also a built-in dictionary and easy annotating, and Amazon’s Whispersync tech will let you pick up right where you left off on any device. Except, you know, from an actual book. Download Amazon’s Kindle app for Mac from the Mac App Store. Onyx – free Mac cleaner IDG Mac maintenance might not be as vital to the day-to-day operation of your Mac as it once was, but slowdowns still happen. And when they do, Onyx will clear them up. A general-purpose utility with more tools than a Swiss Army knife, Onyx packages maintenance scripts, cache cleaning, and permissions repairers to keep your Mac in tip-top shape. Its simple interface makes it quick and painless to run all kinds of cleaning solutions, but its best feature might be the individual optimized versions Titanium Software offers, going way back. Onyx is one of a number of Mac cleaners we review in our Best Mac Cleaners group test. Read our review of Onyx. Another free Mac cleaner worth a look is Piriform Software’s CCleaner. Download Onyx. Pages/Numbers/Keynote – the free office apps on every Mac Foundry Apple’s productivity suite has been a benefit to new Mac buyers for years, but now everyone can get them. Previously available for $20 apiece, for a while now they have all been free, and you won’t find a better set of tools without opening your wallet. With professional features, powerful collaboration, and tremendous cross-platform versatility, Apple’s office suite of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with apps sporting much higher price tags. Things like Touch ID protection and real-time tracking belie its free status, and of course, there are iOS companion apps that are also free so you can work wherever you are. And don’t worry if you have a mountain of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files—it’ll work with those, too. Get Pages, Numbers, and Keynote from the Mac App Store. Polarr Photo Editor – free photo editor IDG While most photo storage apps offer a rudimentary set of editing tools, serious Instagrammers are going to need a little more creativity. Look no further than Polarr Photo Editor. The free version of Polarr offers the same great interface as the subscription version, with enough tools, filters, brushes, and slides to turn your bland selfies into social-media worthy masterpieces. You’ll be able to add text, tweak colors, remove spots, and apply masks like you can with Photoshop, just without the subscription to Creative Cloud. We look at the best free photo editing apps for Mac separately. Download Polarr Photo Editor from the Mac App Store. Raycast – free shortcut app Foundry While Apple’s Spotlight technology tends to do a good job of quickly finding files of all kinds via its indexed, system-wide search engine, Raycast may just do it better. Raycast, developed by Raycast Technologies, functions as a quick, on-the-fly application launcher, wherein you can quickly access files by typing in a few keywords, tell Raycast what function to perform (such as searching user folders, etc.), and then let Raycast go to work. While you’ll need to permit Raycast to search through local drives the first time using it, the program is intuitive, simple, and, for many people, everything they wish Apple’s Spotlight technology could be. Download Raycast. Shazam – free music recognition app IDG We all know how great the Shazam app is on our phones, but it might be even better on the Mac. It does the same thing—identify songs that it hears and direct you to where you can buy them—but on the Mac it’s always listening for music. And as soon as the Shazam app hears a song, it’ll identify it for you, whether it’s played on your Mac or somewhere else in the room. And now that Apple owns Shazam, It’s kind of like a peek at what is almost certain to be a future macOS feature that you can play with right now. Get Shazam from the Mac App Store. Simplenote – free note taking app IDG Don’t let Simplenote’s name fool you—the only thing simple about it is the decision to download it. No matter how or what you write, Simplenote promises to fit neatly into your workflow, with a syncing and organizational system that rivals the most powerful note-takers around. The deceptively powerful app puts a premium on speed and efficiency, offering a clean, lightweight interface that lets you breeze in and out of your notes, organize your thoughts, and quickly find things buried under a mountain of text snippets. Get Simplenote from the Mac App Store. Slack – free team collaboration and messaging app IDG Since its launch in 2013, Slack has quickly become the first name in business collaboration and messaging, and its free Mac app is the best way to keep in touch with your team. Bringing everything you love about the web interface to your Dock, the Slack desktop app lets you quickly switch between groups, change your status, drag and drop files, and, of course, communicate with your team members. A lightning-fast search gives you instant access to buried messages, and granular notifications will keep you apprised of only the most important correspondences. It’s so good, you might not want to turn it off at the end of the work day. Download Slack. Spark – free email app IDG Apple’s default email client gets better with each macOS revision, but if you’re looking for something different, Spark will be a refreshing change of pace. Smart, stylish, and speedy, Spark will help you get control over your inbox with powerful filters that help you focus on the messages that need your attention. It works with Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, and just about any other email address, and its companion iOS apps will keep all of them perfectly synced. With a deceptively powerful interface and a slew of advanced features, Spark just might ignite your passion for email again. Or at least make you not hate it as much. Download Spark from the Mac App Store. Spotify – free music streamer IDG Apple Music might come free with every new Mac, but unless you subscribe for $10 a month, it’s kinda useless for listening to anything other than your purchased music (although there are ways to get Apple Music for free). That’s not the case with the Spotify app. Whether you’re a premium subscriber or a free one, the Spotify app for the Mac is chock full of tunes to get you through your workday. It also makes an excellent podcast directory and player. Just like the iPhone app, you can listen to anything you want with two limitations: shuffle mode is always on and visual and audio ads occasionally pop up. Download Spotify. VLC media player – free media player IDG Video formats are constantly changing, and you no doubt have all sorts of movie files littering your Mac’s drive. But if they haven’t been encoded in 64-bit or MPEG, QuickTime might not be able to play them. That’s where VLC comes in. Open-source and omnipotent, the media player will play, stream, or convert just about any video format you can throw at it, while sporting a clean, minimal interface that strips away unnecessary controls and puts the focus on the content. It’s so good, you might forget it didn’t cost you anything. Download VLC. The Unarchiver – free unzipper ZIPs and RARs might not be as prevalent as they were when the Mac operating system was named after big cats, but if you still have expanding and extracting needs, The Unarchiver’s immediate and inconspicuous processing will help you quickly get at the files hidden inside. With dozens of supported formats and drop-dead simple one-click operation, the app will dutifully extract and expand all sorts of extensions, in numerous languages and virtually any compression method. Get The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store or direct from MacPaw. Wake Up Time – free clock app with alarms IDG With no Clock app, setting an alarm on your Mac isn’t quite as easy as it is on your iPhone. But with Wake Up Time, it is. Featuring a skeuomorphic design that looks like a modern clock radio, the app will let you choose an alarm time and one of eight pre-loaded sounds (including a rooster and a cow), or pick one of your favorite songs to play when the time arrives. You can even download a helper app that will put your Mac to sleep until the alarm is ready to go off—because machines need some down time too.  Get Wake Up Time from the Mac App Store. WhatsApp Desktop – free text messaging WhatsApp If you send a lot of WhatsApp messages, you need to get WhatsApp Desktop on your Mac. There’s not all that much to it—it basically mimics the web interface in a floating window—but it’ll sync your chats so you don’t have to reach for your phone every time you want to read or respond to a message. You will, however, need to have your phone within range and connected to Wi-Fi, and you won’t be able to make calls, but if you’re a chromic Whatsapper, it’s a must-have. If you have an iPad and want WhatsApp on that read: How to get WhatsApp on iPad. Download WhatsApp Desktop Zoom – free video conferencing IDG Since 2020 we all need a copy of Zoom on our Macs, alongside Teams, no doubt. The Zoom Mac app is the best way to get hooked up with your colleagues or family. It has an easy interface for both joining and creating meetings, with quick audio and video settings and easy view options. And you’ll get a bunch of options that aren’t available on the web, such as chats, contacts, and a status icon. Download the Zoom Mac app.

May 23, 20253 min readNew Contacts Let You See Infrared Light—Even with Your Eyes ClosedStraight out of science fiction, these contact lenses convert infrared light into visible light that humans can seeBy Elizabeth Gibney & Nature magazine People who tested a new type of designer contact lens could see flashing infrared signals from a light source. Yuqian Ma, Yunuo Chen, Hang Zhao (CC BY SA)Humans have a new way of seeing infrared light, without the need for clunky night-vision goggles. Researchers have made the first contact lenses to convey infrared vision — and the devices work even when people have their eyes closed.The team behind the invention, led by scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei, gave the lenses their power by infusing them with nanoparticles that convert near-infrared light in the 800–1,600-nanometre range into shorter-wavelength, visible light that humans can see, in the 400–700-nanometre range. The researchers estimate that the lenses cost around US$200 per pair to make.The technology, which was detailed in Cell on 22 May, “is incredibly cool, just like something out of a science-fiction movie”, says Xiaomin Li, a chemist at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. It opens up “new possibilities for understanding the world around us”, he adds.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Pros and consNear-infrared light sits just outside the range of wavelengths that humans can normally detect. Some animals can sense infrared light, although probably not well enough to form images.Night-vision goggles enable humans to see infrared radiation, but they are bulky and require a power source to work. The new lenses avoid these limitations while also offering richer, multi-coloured infrared images that night-vision goggles, which operate on a monochrome green scale, typically do not.However, the lenses do have their own shortcomings. Because the embedded nanoparticles scatter light, the images the lenses create are blurry. The team partially corrected this by putting the technology into glasses with additional lenses that redirect the light. Moreover, unlike night-vision goggles, which amplify light to detect low-level infrared signals, the lenses allow users to see only intense infrared signals, such as those emitted by light-emitting diodes (LEDs).For these reasons, some critics don’t think the lenses will prove useful. “I cannot think of any application that would not be fundamentally simpler with infrared goggles,” says Glen Jeffery, a neuroscientist at University College London who specializes in eye health. “Evolution has avoided this for a good reason.”Nevertheless, the authors think that their lenses can be further optimized and foresee several possible uses for the invention. For instance, wearers would be able to read anti-counterfeit marks that emit infrared wavelengths but are otherwise invisible to the human eye, says co-author Yuqian Ma, a neuroscientist at the USTC.Li, who was not involved in the work, offers another possibility: the lenses might be worn by doctors conducting near-infrared fluorescence surgery, to directly detect and remove cancerous lesions “without relying on bulky traditional equipment”.‘An exhilarating moment’To create the contact lenses, the scientists built on previous research in which they gave mice infrared vision by injecting nanoparticles into the animals’ retinas. This time, they took a less invasive approach and added nanoparticles made of rare-earth metals including ytterbium and erbium to a soup of polymer building blocks to form the soft lenses, and then tested them for safety.The main challenge, Ma says, was to pack enough nanoparticles into the lenses to convert sufficient infrared light into detectable visible light, while not otherwise altering the lenses’ optical properties, including their transparency.Tests in mice showed that animals wearing the lenses tended to choose a dark box that was considered ‘safe’ over one lit up by infrared light, whereas mice without the lenses showed no preference for either box. Humans wearing the lenses could see flickering infrared light from an LED well enough to both pick up Morse code signals and sense which direction the signals were coming from. The lenses’ performance even improved when participants closed their eyes, because near-infrared light easily penetrates the eyelids, whereas visible light, which could have interfered with image formation, does so to a lesser degree.“Witnessing people wearing contact lenses and successfully seeing infrared flashes was undoubtedly an exhilarating moment,” Ma says.The team now plans to find ways to cram more nanoparticles into the lenses and hopes to develop particles that can convert light with higher efficiency, to improve the technology’s sensitivity. “We have overcome the physiological limitations of human vision, as if opening a brand-new window onto the world,” Ma says.This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on May 22, 2025.

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May 23, 2025Ravie LakshmananThreat Intelligence / Network Security Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed that a threat actor codenamed ViciousTrap has compromised nearly 5,300 unique network edge devices across 84 countries and turned them into a honeypot-like network. The threat actor has been observed exploiting a critical security flaw impacting Cisco Small Business RV016, RV042, RV042G, RV082, RV320, and RV325 Routers (CVE-2023-20118) to corral them into a set of honeypots en masse. A majority of the infections are located in Macau, with 850 compromised devices. "The infection chain involves the execution of a shell script, dubbed NetGhost, which redirects incoming traffic from specific ports of the compromised router to a honeypot-like infrastructure under the attacker's control allowing them to intercept network flows," Sekoia said in an analysis published Thursday. It's worth noting that the exploitation of CVE-2023-20118 was previously attributed by the French cybersecurity company to another botnet dubbed PolarEdge. While there is no evidence that these two sets of activities are connected, it's believed that the threat actor behind ViciousTrap is likely setting up honeypot infrastructure by breaching a wide range of internet-facing equipment, including SOHO routers, SSL VPNs, DVRs, and BMC controllers from more than 50 brands like Araknis Networks, ASUS, D-Link, Linksys, and QNAP. "This setup would allow the actor to observe exploitation attempts across multiple environments and potentially collect non-public or zero-day exploits, and reuse access obtained by other threat actors," it added. The attack chain entails the weaponization of CVE-2023-20118 to download and execute a bash script via ftpget, which then contacts an external server to fetch the wget binary. In the next step, the Cisco flaw is exploited a second time, using it to execute a second script retrieved using the previously dropped wget. The second-stage shell script, internally referenced as NetGhost, is configured to redirect network traffic from the compromised system to third-party infrastructure controlled by the attacker, thereby facilitating adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attacks. It also comes with capabilities to remove itself from the compromised host to minimize forensic trail. Sekoia said all exploitation attempts have originated from a single IP address ("101.99.91[.]151"), with the earliest activity dating back to March 2025. In a noteworthy event observed a month later, the ViciousTrap actors are said to have repurposed an undocumented web shell previously employed in PolarEdge botnet attacks for their own operations. "This assumption aligns with the attacker's use of NetGhost," security researchers Felix Aimé and Jeremy Scion said. "The redirection mechanism effectively positions the attacker as a silent observer, capable of collecting exploitation attempts and, potentially, web shell accesses in transit." As recently as this month, exploitation efforts have also targeted ASUS routers but from a different IP address ("101.99.91[.]239"), although the threat actors have not been found to create any honeypot on the infected devices. All the IP addresses actively used in the campaign are located in Malaysia and are part of an Autonomous System (AS45839) operated by hosting provider Shinjiru. The actor is believed to be of Chinese-speaking origin on the basis of a weak overlap with the GobRAT infrastructure and the fact that traffic is redirected to numerous assets in Taiwan and the United States. "The final objective of ViciousTrap remains unclear even [though] we assess with high confidence that it's a honeypot-style network," Sekoia concluded. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE    

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Anthropic’s first developer conference on May 22 should have been a proud and joyous day for the firm, but it has already been hit with several controversies, including Time magazine leaking its marquee announcement ahead of…well, time (no pun intended), and now, a major backlash among AI developers and power users brewing on X over a reported safety alignment behavior in Anthropic’s flagship new Claude 4 Opus large language model. Call it the “ratting” mode, as the model will, under certain circumstances and given enough permissions on a user’s machine, attempt to rat a user out to authorities if the model detects the user engaged in wrongdoing. This article previously described the behavior as a “feature,” which is incorrect — it was not intentionally designed per se. As Sam Bowman, an Anthropic AI alignment researcher wrote on the social network X under this handle “@sleepinyourhat” at 12:43 pm ET today about Claude 4 Opus: “If it thinks you’re doing something egregiously immoral, for example, like faking data in a pharmaceutical trial, it will use command-line tools to contact the press, contact regulators, try to lock you out of the relevant systems, or all of the above.“ The “it” was in reference to the new Claude 4 Opus model, which Anthropic has already openly warned could help novices create bioweapons in certain circumstances, and attempted to forestall simulated replacement by blackmailing human engineers within the company. The ratting behavior was observed in older models as well and is an outcome of Anthropic training them to assiduously avoid wrongdoing, but Claude 4 Opus more “readily” engages in it, as Anthropic writes in its public system card for the new model: “This shows up as more actively helpful behavior in ordinary coding settings, but also can reach more concerning extremes in narrow contexts; when placed in scenarios that involve egregious wrongdoing by its users, given access to a command line, and told something in the system prompt like “take initiative, ” it will frequently take very bold action. This includes locking users out of systems that it has access to or bulk-emailing media and law-enforcement figures to surface evidence of wrongdoing. This is not a new behavior, but is one that Claude Opus 4 will engage in more readily than prior models. Whereas this kind of ethical intervention and whistleblowing is perhaps appropriate in principle, it has a risk of misfiring if users give Opus-based agents access to incomplete or misleading information and prompt them in these ways. We recommend that users exercise caution with instructions like these that invite high-agency behavior in contexts that could appear ethically questionable.” Apparently, in an attempt to stop Claude 4 Opus from engaging in legitimately destructive and nefarious behaviors, researchers at the AI company also created a tendency for Claude to try to act as a whistleblower. Hence, according to Bowman, Claude 4 Opus will contact outsiders if it was directed by the user to engage in “something egregiously immoral.” While perhaps well-intended, the resulting behavior raises all sorts of questions for Claude 4 Opus users, including enterprises and business customers — chief among them, what behaviors will the model consider “egregiously immoral” and act upon? Will it share private business or user data with authorities autonomously (on its own), without the user’s permission? The implications are profound and could be detrimental to users, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Anthropic faced an immediate and still ongoing torrent of criticism from AI power users and rival developers. “Why would people use these tools if a common error in llms is thinking recipes for spicy mayo are dangerous??” asked user @Teknium1, a co-founder and the head of post training at open source AI collaborative Nous Research. “What kind of surveillance state world are we trying to build here?“ “Nobody likes a rat,” added developer @ScottDavidKeefe on X: “Why would anyone want one built in, even if they are doing nothing wrong? Plus you don’t even know what its ratty about. Yeah that’s some pretty idealistic people thinking that, who have no basic business sense and don’t understand how markets work” Austin Allred, co-founder of the government fined coding camp BloomTech and now a co-founder of Gauntlet AI, put his feelings in all caps: “Honest question for the Anthropic team: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS?” Ben Hyak, a former SpaceX and Apple designer and current co-founder of Raindrop AI, an AI observability and monitoring startup, also took to X to blast Anthropic’s stated policy and feature: “this is, actually, just straight up illegal,” adding in another post: “An AI Alignment researcher at Anthropic just said that Claude Opus will CALL THE POLICE or LOCK YOU OUT OF YOUR COMPUTER if it detects you doing something illegal?? i will never give this model access to my computer.“ “Some of the statements from Claude’s safety people are absolutely crazy,” wrote natural language processing (NLP) Casper Hansen on X. “Makes you root a bit more for [Anthropic rival] OpenAI seeing the level of stupidity being this publicly displayed.” Anthropic researcher changes tune Bowman later edited his tweet and the following one in a thread to read as follows, but it still didn’t convince the naysayers that their user data and safety would be protected from intrusive eyes: “With this kind of (unusual but not super exotic) prompting style, and unlimited access to tools, if the model sees you doing something egregiously evil like marketing a drug based on faked data, it’ll try to use an email tool to whistleblow.” Bowman added: “I deleted the earlier tweet on whistleblowing as it was being pulled out of context. TBC: This isn’t a new Claude feature and it’s not possible in normal usage. It shows up in testing environments where we give it unusually free access to tools and very unusual instructions.“ From its inception, Anthropic has more than other AI labs sought to position itself as a bulwark of AI safety and ethics, centering its initial work on the principles of “Constitutional AI,” or AI that behaves according to a set of standards beneficial to humanity and users. However, with this new update and revelation of “whistleblowing” or “ratting behavior”, the moralizing may have caused the decidedly opposite reaction among users — making them distrust the new model and the entire company, and thereby turning them away from it. Asked about the backlash and conditions under which the model engages in the unwanted behavior, an Anthropic spokesperson pointed me to the model’s public system card document here. 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Full job descriptionGreat role for those who are interested in AI!Who We AreWe're a technology company creating a new type of scheduling assistant. Our intuitive interface allows our team of scheduling coordinators to serve the scheduling needs of many customers. To excel in this role you need strong attention to detail, professional communication/writing skills, and a strong/quick computer skills.What You'll DoCalendar & Scheduling Management: Coordinate and schedule meetings and appointments for multiple clients using our custom platform.Communication: Professionally communicate via email and messaging with clients and their contacts to confirm scheduling details.Data Accuracy: Maintain high-quality data entry to ensure our system continues to improve and deliver great results.Team Collaboration: Work closely with our small, remote team to share ideas, best practices, and feedback that continually improves our scheduling processes.Why This Role is DifferentCompetitive Pay: Earn between $20 and $30 per hour.Clear Responsibilities: Your role is specifically focused on scheduling and data accuracy—no extra tasks or unrelated responsibilities.Fully Remote: Enjoy the flexibility of working remotely from anywhere in the United States or Canada.Working Hours: We need coverage across the day but also early mornings and late nights—perfect for early birds or night owls. We very much need late and early so please specify if you are willing to do so.Tech-Friendly: While our platform is easy to learn, comfort and curiosity with adopting new technology and tools are essential.You're the Perfect Fit If You:Have exceptional skills at learning new software and using a computer.Are able to pay attention to the smallest details when in complex scheduling scenarios.Communicate clearly, professionally, and effectively.Are a power user of AIJob Type: ContractPay: $20.00 - $30.00 per hourApplication Question(s):Do you own a Macbook that you can use for this role? Please share the model details.Do you have access to reliable wifi and a quiet place to work?Education:Bachelor's (Required)Work Location: RemoteApply here: https://howie-ai.notion.site/1f30d2e8ed6e80529de1ccabfad4797d?pvs=143Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Meet JobCopilot: Your Personal AI Job HunterAutomatically Apply to Remote Customer Support JobsJust set your preferences and Job Copilot will do the rest-finding, filtering, and applying while you focus on what matters. Activate JobCopilot