Good Monday Morning

A housekeeping note: starting with this issue, Spotlight will publish two issues per month. While our audience includes digital marketers, this new schedule lets us explore broader trends that affect everyone. I’m excited about the change!

Today’s Spotlight is 1,187 words, about 5 minutes to read.

3 Headlines to Know Now

Microsoft Extends Free Windows 10 Updates

Microsoft will let users keep getting security updates for Windows 10 into 2026 if they sign up for Windows Backup or trade in Microsoft Rewards points. Even “free” security comes with strings attached.

Facebook Wants AI Access to Your Camera Roll, Even For Photos You Have Not Shared

Meta is testing a feature that scans private photos to suggest AI edits, raising fresh questions about how much of your personal data you want feeding any company’s AI engines. That’s a question we tackle today in the Spotlight below.

Amazon Robots Are Taking Over Warehouses While Disabled Workers Say AI Denies Them Fair Treatment

As Amazon nears having more robots than humans in its distribution facilities, disabled corporate employees allege the company’s AI is blocking accommodation requests and silencing organizing efforts. 

GenZ and Millennials Rediscover Direct Mail While Email Stays in the Mix

By The Numbers

George’s Data Take

Boomers and Gen X grew up saturated with direct mail and broadcast ads, leaving them burned out and eager for digital’s novelty when it arrived. 

For younger generations, digital overload has made today’s less frequent, higher-quality direct mail feel unique and worth attention, especially as brands invest more in direct mail efforts to justify its higher cost compared to digital. It’s no longer competing with letters, bills, and reminders in physical mailboxes.

That’s how “junk mail” became premium. 

Hackers Crack McDonald’s AI Hiring Chatbot With Password “123456”

Running Your Business

A weak password and sloppy security at Paradox.ai exposed millions of McDonald’s job applicants’ personal data to hackers who needed nothing more than “123456” to break in.

Silver Beacon Behind The Scenes

Know your data risks, understand your responsibilities, and never forget that in the end, someone will be accountable. Act fast if that’s you. Paradox’s Chief Legal Officer jumped in front of the story and declared, “We own this.”

Odd Ways Your Data is Captured & Sold

When Personal Data Gets Sold in Unexpected Ways

We already know social media sites, credit card companies, grocery stores, and ecommerce platforms share our data. But did you know that 75 percent of the most visited websites in the US and Europe still share personal information with third parties even after users explicitly withdraw consent? 

That unsettling finding comes from Privado.ai’s 2024 State of Website Privacy Report. The report found 76 percent of top US sites ignore “do not sell” signals and 74 percent of EU sites don’t honor opt-in requirements. 

Beyond the usual culprits, your data is being sold in some unusual ways. 

Browser Extensions as hidden trackers

Browser extensions often collect and sell browsing data to third parties, though practices vary widely. One of the most famous examples was a security software tool from Avast that sold user browsing data. The software was exposed in 2020, but it took years for the FTC to settle with the company for a $16.5 million fine last year. Those whose browser histories were sold got nothing.

Not all browser extensions commit fraud, but you should at least look at the privacy policies before allowing something access to everything you do online.

Airline Flight Records Sold to Homeland Security

Major U.S. carriers like Delta and United, through data broker ARC, sold passenger’s names, itineraries and payment details to Customs and Border Protection, part of Homeland Security. 

The airline industry apparently knew that passengers would hate this, so it included specific contract language to prevent CBP from identifying them as the source of the name, financial, and itinerary data. The cost for the first two years was just over $17,000. We know all this because of a FOIA request.

Ad-tech Turned into Intel

It’s not just CBP. The Pentagon and U.S. Intelligence agencies now use commercial ad platforms to locate individuals, including high-profile targets like Vladimir Putin! Here’s how:

Every iPhone and Android has an “anonymous” advertising ID number because earlier tracking systems contained names, email addresses, and other identifying information. Advertising exchanges compile everything you do online under your anonymous advertising ID number. Your location is tied into that ID number, along with other data points that can identify individuals.

Someone traveling from a home address to a business address every day is pretty easily identified if you get access to everything. That’s why my television blares ads for a relatively uncommon medical condition I’ve had for decades while yours doesn’t.

Drones Snapping Your Home For Insurance

Insurers deploy satellite imagery and drones, often without warning, to inspect homes. Expired satellite photos or fuzzy drone images have triggered unfair rate hikes or cancellations. It’s legal and can be used to classify your home’s exterior maintenance or whether you own risky items like ATVs or trampolines.

The New York Times sued OpenAI for allegedly copying its information. Earlier this year, an order in that case forced OpenAI to preserve ChatGPT conversation logs from over 400 million users, even those who deleted chats. 

OpenAI used a series of legal moves to contend that the requirement was technically and commercially onerous. Their arguments were rejected in late June, which leaves those users wondering just what the delete button accomplished.

So What’s the Takeaway?

Your data isn’t just feeding ads. It’s being traded for surveillance, insurance risk scores, national security intel, and future litigation leverage. While laws lag behind, these emerging practices show we’re living in a new age of data commodification. 

AI Helps Rental Car Companies Spot tiny Dings and Charge You For Them

Practical AI

Hertz and others are rolling out scanners that use high-resolution imaging and AI to detect even small blemishes on vehicles, leaving renters facing unexpected damage bills and new anxiety about parking in any parking lot anywhere.

Stop Meta From Grabbing Your Facebook Photos for AI

Protip

That Meta wanting to use AI on your camera roll story above? We’ve got you covered. 

Lifehacker explains how to block Meta’s new setting that lets it upload and analyze your private camera roll photos for AI features you might not want.

Texas Floods Spark Wild Weather Conspiracies

Debunking Junk

After deadly floods in Texas, conspiracy theories claim cloud seeding triggered the disaster, but scientists say that’s impossible and purely misinformation.

Martha and Snoop go Camping

Screening Room

Flying Platforms to Beam Internet During Disasters

Science Fiction World

A solar-powered blimp from Sceye can hover 60,000 feet up to restore connectivity when disasters knock out networks. That news undoubtedly thrills Elon Musk and his Starlink employees.

Tiny Tech Tackles Big Heart Risks

Tech For Good

Scientists are using nanoparticles to deliver immune-suppressing drugs that slow artery plaque buildup that could help fight heart attacks and strokes.

Google Earth Turns Back Time

Coffee Break

For its 20th birthday, Google Earth is adding historic street view and AI tools so you can explore the past and see how your favorite spots have transformed. Zoom around the globe and revisit the places you love, comparing how they looked twenty years ago to today.

Sign of the Times

Good Monday Morning!

It’s June 23rd. With extreme heat suffocating the East and Midwest this week, here is a great BBC article about how to stay cool and when to get help.

Today’s Spotlight is 857 words, just over 3 minutes to read.

3 Headlines to Know

Trumps FTC Pressures Ad Giants Over Political Content

The agency may approve the Omnicom–Interpublic merger only if the combined company agrees not to boycott platforms for political reasons, escalating the fed crackdown on brand safety practices.

Trump Delays TikTok Ban Again Despite Supreme Court Ruling

The president granted a third extension to ByteDance, keeping TikTok online even though the law banning it has taken effect and legal experts say he’s ignoring Congress.

Whatsapp Adds Ads

Meta is rolling out paid channels and Status ads on WhatsApp, expanding monetization while keeping personal chats off-limits to targeting, for now at least.

Perplexity Hits 780M Search Queries as AI Ambitions Grow

By The Numbers

George’s Data Take

Gen Z, whose oldest members are now pushing 30, is just built different. You might be wowed by digital video at 96%, but scroll to the bottom.

These digital natives use VR 64% more than the average across all age group, and they’re closing in on 40% adoption. If they’re your target, that’s a wide-open channel just waiting.

The FAA Still Uses Windows 95 and Floppy Disks to Run Air Traffic Control

Running Your Business

There is a brand new FAA Request for Information to upgrade the system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the new system will not have “floppy disks or paper strips.”

Silver Beacon Behind The Scenes

The idea that our safety is dependent upon a 30-year-old system that was last supported in 2001 is the height of negligence. Sure, it’s a huge project, but it’s been decades. When you develop your next big project, be honest with yourself and the team about its true expected lifespan. 

Ghosts and Slop Are Killing Music

Streaming platforms promised artists an audience but delivered pennies. 

Now, artificial intelligence is deepening the crisis and pushing musicians further to the margins.

Spotify’s payment model already underpays artists by pooling user fees and distributing only fractions of a cent per stream. Its playlists, optimized for passive listeners, promote repetitive, uninspired music over innovation. 

Like every model of its type, Spotify’s recommendation engine favors music that feels familiar and inoffensive, steering listeners toward more of the same and away from anything unexpected or genre bending.

Boo

AI-generated ghost artists fictional musicians producing cheap stock music, are an insidious tactic Spotify uses to lower costs even further. Genres like Lo Fi and ambient music are now flooded with computer generated filler, pushing working musicians out of listener awareness through endless customized playlists.

Spotify’s royalty system makes it easy to game. A recent bot-driven AI scam highlighted how fake accounts and automated streams siphon millions away from actual musicians. A man named Michael Smith generated thousands of AI tracks, flooded the platform, and profited from artificial streams, directly reducing earnings for artists.

AI Slop

Even Christmas carols are unsafe. AI generated Christmas tracks. sneak into compilations, offering listeners unsettling versions of classics. Artists find themselves competing against cheaply made artificial holiday slop, further diluting royalties and public recognition.

Artists fight back by turning to fan supported platforms like Patreon and Bandcamp, emphasizing direct connections and authenticity. Without significant pushback from listeners and industry leaders, though, musicians risk extinction in an AI saturated soundscape.

Practical AI

Hollywood’s biggest IP holders accuse the AI company of cloning their characters. Midjourney has recently begun rolling out text to video features, escalating concerns over infringement.

Spotify’s “Daylist” Refreshes Multiple Times a Day?

Protip

Just type “daylist” in the Spotify search bar to see yours.

Craigslist Ad Behind LA Protest Claims Was Just a Prank

Debunking Junk

A fake job post offering big money for “tough dudes” was part of a podcast stunt, not proof of paid protesters.

The Baltic Sea’s Northern Plights

Screening Room

AI Foot Scanner Spots Trouble Early

Science Fiction World

A new in-home device predicts heart failure hospitalizations by scanning fluid buildup in your feet, giving doctors a 13-day head start to act.

Smart Seatbelt Learns Your Body to Boost Safety

Tech For Good

Volvo’s EX60 introduces a sensor-packed seat belt that adjusts to your size and driving conditions while improving over time through software updates.

Wordle’s Not Alone in the Grid Anymore

Coffee Break

From Waffle to Redactle, a whole genre of mind-bending word games has spun off from your daily five-letter fix. Here are 14 of them.

Sign of the Times

Good Monday Morning

It’s June 9th. Donald Trump’s order regarding travel from 19 countries became effective overnight. 341 million people from 12 countries are completely barred from entering the U.S., while another 84 million from 7 others face restrictions.

Today’s Spotlight is 1,058 words, just over 4 minutes to read.

3 Headlines to Know Now

PayPal Drops from Google Wallet

Google Wallet will stop supporting PayPal in the U.S. on Friday, forcing users to switch to cards or bank accounts.

Virginia Limits Teen Screen Time

After banning phones in schools, the state now caps social media use to one hour daily for kids under 16, which raises questions about enforcement and the ease with which teens will just route around it.

Meta Courts Hollywood For VR Edge

To challenge Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro, Meta is offering millions for exclusive VR content from studios like Disney and A24 to power its sleeker “Loma” device, expected to launch priced under $1,000.

Perplexity Hits 780M Search Queries as AI Ambitions Grow

By The Numbers

George’s Date Take

You may hear more about this number this week, and 25 million daily search queries is impressive, but Google is still your main player and focus.

Perplexity’s current volume is 3% of the purple Bing line at the bottom and far less than 1% of Google.

Meta Accused of Covert Android Tracking

Running Your Business

A new lawsuit claims Meta secretly linked Android users’ mobile browsing to their Facebook and Instagram profiles using a localhost exploit, violating California privacy laws until halting the practice this week.

Silver Beacon Behind the Scenes

If true, this is the single stupidest thing that Meta has ever done. Their monumental FTC case just concluded a couple of weeks ago. Judge William Boasberg, famous for his role in the Trump Venezuelan deportations, is presiding and has yet to issue a ruling. 

I’ve worked in an organization that had a previously signed consent decree. Violating it willingly is an invitation to harsh penalties. Mark Zuckerberg’s smartest move was keeping control instead of allowing a board to oust him if this truly happened.

The Robot Delivery Boom

The bots are here, and business will never be the same

Delivery robots used to be a futuristic gimmick. Now they are everywhere, carrying food and groceries across campus and through neighborhoods. When we started covering them six years ago, there were only 24 bots at George Mason University. 

Today, Starship Technologies alone fields 2,000 bots in 150 locations, delivering everything from snacks to full grocery runs. That first generation has spawned a wave of robot siblings on wheels, wings, and legs. Those robots can range up to two miles, carry as much as three grocery bags, and run for 18 hours on a single charge.

Now, their younger siblings are arriving fast.

Delivery By Drone

Robots in the sky are no longer science fiction. Drone delivery is rolling out fast and scaling up.

Wing, owned by Google parent Alphabet, just expanded drone delivery to 100 Walmart stores across Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa. Their three year old program already covers 18 Walmart stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Wing drones deliver to spots you pick in your driveway or backyard, often in as little as 15 minutes. The company boasts that its speed means hot meals or even ice cream stay fresh. 

Using satellite maps, people use an app to choose a drop spot about the size of a picnic basket. The drone flies at 150 feet, then descends to about 20 feet above the target to lower the package.

Robots on the Move

A Rivr dog-shaped robot with four wheels can climb stairs and will ride in a Veho delivery vehicle in a new beta test. The experiment is if a robot can successfully accompany a human driver and make deliveries right to the customer’s door while the driver handles other tasks. The robot follows customer instructions on the order and sends a photo of the finished delivery through the app.

Meanwhile, Amazon is building  an obstacle course the size of a store to test two legged delivery robots. They plan to use Rivian vans. Amazon owns 16 percent of that automaker and will ferry delivery bots to neighborhoods. As with the Veho project, drivers could focus on multiple deliveries or other tasks, letting the bots handle the door to door work.

Why It Matters

Delivery robots are a business necessity for companies chasing speed, scale, and cost savings. Amazon alone ships more than 1.6 million packages every day. To handle that volume and reach even more customers, Amazon is betting on delivery robots, automation, and a $4 billion push into rural zip codes.

Every efficiency matters. When a single driver can serve multiple deliveries by deploying robots, the business math changes. Fewer human drivers, more automated drop offs, and faster delivery time means that whoever owns the delivery robot advantage is on track to own the future of e-commerce.

Google’s VEO 3 Delivers Stunningly Real AI Video

Practical AI

The latest version of Google’s video generator creates high-resolution, cinematic footage with realistic motion, lighting, and camera moves from just a text prompt. Here’s an amazing instagram clip for you.

Don’t Use One Browser For Everything

Protip

Privacy experts recommend using different browsers (although not Chrome) for different tasks. Separating work, social, and sensitive browsing makes it harder for companies to track you.

SNAP Would Take a Hit Under House GOP Plan

Debunking Junk

Millions of families could lose food benefits if the House GOP plan becomes law according to Poynter Institute’s Politifact. That directly contradicts claims made in social media and on television by House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Cheetos’ Weird, Different Shape Hunt

Screening Room

DNA Startup Ranks Embryos

Science Fiction World

Nucleus Genomics offers $5,999 reports predicting disease risks, IQ, and height of up to 20 embryos while raising fresh fears of modern eugenics.

Old Phones Become Ocean Data Hubs

Tech For Good

Researchers turned discarded phones into underwater micro-hubs that track sea life and cut e-waste at a unit cost of about $10.

Bigfoot Sightings Correlate With Bear Populations

Coffee Break

New research shows reported Bigfoot encounters increase in areas with more black bears, as much as one sighting per 5,000 bears, but we totally believe that you saw what you say you saw.

Sign of the Times