Bot Swarms · January 2026Gaffe level: Blunder
AI-powered software is helping misinformation spread online after disasters
Before investigators even reached the wreckage of the deadly UPS plane crash in Louisville, social media was already flooded with AI-generated firefighter footage and fake obituaries, including claims that relatives of Kid Rock died in the crash. The grief was real; the pixels were not. Fake engagement still pays posters, which keeps the false content circulating.
Source: NPR (via WCMU Public Media)
A Thought-Controlled Bionic Arm Moved Into Its First Home Trial
Avi Davidson, who lost his left arm 17 years ago, is the first person to take the University of Utah's thought-controlled LUKE Arm home for a full year. The direct nerve interface lets him move the arm with his thoughts and feel pressure and texture through it, so within days he was making a sandwich and holding his wife's hand.
Source: University of Utah