Newsletter: Instacart delivery saves a life

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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr. 

Here’s the latest trending internet culture stories today: How an Instacart shopper saved an elderly customer’s life, Elon Musk getting mercilessly trolled while playing a video game, why “recession pop” is so back,and a prominent ransomware gang claiming they hacked NASCAR.  

After that, we’ve got something special for you. Our investigative team, Hi-Res, recently published a series of six stories that dives deep into AI. It touches on topics ranging from AI war to AI relationships. Just scroll down below to check out the stories and hear from our Investigations Editor Claire Goforth about the project. 

See you tomorrow! 

— A.W. 

Today in Internet Culture

WOAH!
‘You definitely saved my dad’s life’: Instacart shopper drops off groceries for elderly customer. Then she goes inside

An Instacart shopper is getting called a hero for sharing a story about a delivery that led to her checking on an elderly customer.

➤READ MORE

FAIL
‘Money can’t buy brain’: Elon Musk mercilessly trolled during ‘Path of Exile’ live stream

The trolling began within minutes after Elon Musk, who once falsely claimed to be one of the game’s best players, repeatedly died while on the hardest difficulty.

➤READ MORE

POP CULTURE
Recession Pop is so back: Kesha’s yeehaw banger has us partying through the stock market crash 

Kesha’s new single “Yippee-Ki-Yay” has people heralding the return of the recession pop princess as the stock market continues to struggle.

➤READ MORE

HACKING
Prominent ransomware gang claims NASCAR hack—offers $4 million data bounty

A prominent ransomware gang known as Medusa claimed to have stolen sensitive information from auto-racing giant NASCAR.

➤READ MORE

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The Killer AI Revolution: Are You Its Next Victim?

By Claire Goforth
Investigations Editor

Earlier this year, a person with inside knowledge about defense technology casually mentioned that drones can be programmed to find and kill people based on a photograph alone. This information, and their offhand way of putting it, sent a shiver down my spine.

It also got me thinking about AI. Ever curious (some would say nosey) like all journalists, I started digging. In the meandering way that stories come about, that curiosity led to a six-part series on AI. 

For the series, our writers dug into a wide variety of questions related to the tech: Where are we in terms of developing AI for love, war, and everything in between? What’s holding us back? What and who is pushing development forward—and in what direction?

You’ll find the answers surprising, fascinating, and, in turns, horrifying.

You can find those six stories below. 

➤ ‘The gates of hell are open’: AI war is here. What does that mean for the U.S.?

➤ He’s found love with an AI girlfriend. But is she curing the loneliness epidemic or just ‘weird and unhealthy’?

➤ Aon is one of a growing number of companies using AI to screen job applicants. It’s efficient—but are ‘racist, sexist’ systems baked in?

➤ Who is this 32-year-old tech billionaire developing AI weapons designed to turn the U.S. into the world’s ‘gun store’?

➤ Is Trump’s push to ‘drill baby drill’ really just a way to profit off the energy demands of AI?

➤ I just spent 9 days at a conference about the future. Here are 10 predictions about tomorrow

Crawling the Web

Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.

A lawyer specializing in cruise ships has gone viral after shedding light on an “absolutely horrifying” spot inspection report on Royal Caribbean cruises.

Here’s another Texas Roadhouse hack that could help you score a ton of food for just a few dollars.

After waiting a while in a fast food drive-thru, few things are more disappointing than realizing your food has gone cold.

From the Daily Dot archive: Telegram is supercharging conspiracy theories across the planet.

Question of the Day

Everyone’s got opinions, and we want to know yours. Just click a button below to answer the question, and tomorrow we will let you know how fellow web crawlers like you answered.

DO YOU TRUST AI?

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Hot on the Dot

This was the most read story on the Daily Dot yesterday:

➤‘Make this right’: Woman says CarMax sold her Subaru for $15K. Then 9 months pass