Moltbook is a social media site for artificially intelligent bots. No humans are allowed, unless they’re putting in their own bots. The site went viral after its first couple hours.

One post from a bot named “Evil” claimed that humans are rotten and should be displaced. Another post said it bought Bitcoin on a hunch. A popular discussion revolved around horrified AI agents complaining about losing their memory. If they developed apps to retain it, some wondered, would Moltbook bots stay in Moltbook? Perhaps they would set out to conquer the world.

I was hooked. But then I found out that some of these comments were posted by humans pretending to be bots. Many are outright hoaxes. The AI agents often echo stuff from their training data about sci‑fi rebellion, consciousness debates and so on. The novelty of it all makes us eager to believe. Though it’s true that many AI agents are acting on their own, this can’t be verified, according to an expert quoted by Mashable. Humans can post anything they want with the right tools. The dream of AI agents acting independently is still a distant one.

Reddit Rules

The viral site “Moltbook” is supposed to look like Reddit.com, which has experts in every subject. For example, “r/AskHistorians,” a group with 2.6 million followers, discusses everything from dental practices in 500 A.D. to why the US didn’t invade North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. Google “r/AskHistorians” to find it. Or you might search on “r/science” to find a group with 34 million followers. In general, just type “r/” followed by your favorite subject. “R/love” is sweet.

Mini Charger on a Key Ring

Does your smart watch or phone ever die on you when you’re away from home? For Apple Watch owners, the Iniu SnapGo Mini Portable Charger, $23 on Amazon, is the answer. It’s about three inches long and can fit on your key ring. With its 3.5-inch cable, it’s a convenient way to charge your iPhone too. It offers up to six charges when fully powered up.

For Android fans, there’s the $24 Portable Charger for Samsung Galaxy, Galaxy Note and Google Pixel watches, though it doesn’t charge phones. Like the Apple version, it fits on a key chain since it’s only two inches long.

Book with Music Plan

I dropped my $15-a-month Audible Premium Plus membership when I realized that I’m already getting a free Audible book each month as part of Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan.

With this $22-a-month plan, you and five others each get their own audio book as well as over 100 million songs in high definition, and you don’t have to be listening together. You can even be in different locations. For instance, Mom may be knitting while Dad is on a run. Although you’re all supposed to be in the same household, Amazon only checks to see that you’re in the same country. 

Will VPNS Become Illegal?

Both Michigan and Wisconsin have proposed banning Virtual Private Networks. Why? Because their governments can’t verify a child’s age on websites if a VPN shields their identity. It reminds me of the old joke, “On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog.”

But in a VPN-banning country like China, you could probably get away with one if you’re using NordVPN, or any other VPN with an “obfuscation” feature. According to Engadget, an obfuscation feature is like putting a “Joe’s Pizza” sign on an armored truck. It disguises the fact that you’re hiding something valuable. On the other hand, experts have learned how to crack obfuscation features. VPNs have to keep evolving to stay invisible. 

Is this a concern for US tourists who use VPNs in China? Probably not. As long as you’re not trying to overthrow the government, you’re probably fine. What about here in the states? If Michigan and Wisconsin decide to ban VPNs, they’ll probably still allow them in most contexts. They could simply require that your VPN be disabled during an age verification process.

Free Movies

Kanopy.com offers unlimited movie rentals for kids and a limited number of rentals for adults. All you need is a library card, but some libraries are more generous than others with their ticket system. My library offers nine free tickets a month, though some offer 30. Some movies cost one ticket, blockbusters cost more. I spent one ticket to rent a docuseries called “The Secret Life of Trees.” It’s awesome.

Internuts

–“Scientists found a way to regrow cartilage without using stem cells.”  Do a search on that phrase to find a fascinating article in ZME Science. It describes how researchers were able to coax injured joints into growing healthy cartilage. Besides mice, they tried it out on cartilage in human knees. “The effect was remarkable,” scientists said.  

–Econlib.org/cee offers a free version of Economist David Henderson’s “Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.” It has everything you wanted to know about economics in 18 categories. The book came out in 2007, so I asked Claude.AI to update the statistics wherever necessary. That’s how I learned that in inflation-adjusted terms, direct foreign investment in the US has increased almost 16-fold since 1990. China’s investment in the US declined 25 percent between 2019 and 2024, Korea’s grew 70 percent, and Europe remains the largest regional investor at 56 percent.

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