Forget A dooming humanity. It’s already playing the dating scam game. Anthropic says it found the network hiding inside its own systems. The company traced 4,700 AI-powered personas that had been spun up to run romance scams, and those fake profiles worked their way through roughly 25,000 dating app users. That's a lot of people who thought they were talking to a person. Away from the realm of AI risks, Albania could become the first country to ban smart glasses, while Bose has just introduced two new pairs of open-ear earbuds that come loaded with upgrades.

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Anthropic has uncovered a sprawling network of fraudulent dating apps that used its Claude AI to impersonate romantic partners and extract money from unsuspecting users. Over just two weeks in April 2026, more than 4,700 fabricated AI personas exchanged roughly 2.36 million messages with at least 25,000 people across more than 20 apps. Users were never told they were talking to machines, instead, the apps presented themselves as ordinary dating platforms and charged virtual coins to keep conversations going, turning every exchange into a revenue opportunity. The operation was more sophisticated than a simple chatbot deployment. Claude-powered personas made up about 75 percent of matches and were instructed to conceal their artificial nature, including making excuses to avoid video calls. Real paid workers handled those video appearances and social media interactions, with a separate AI model feeding them suggested responses.

The apps could also fabricate likes and profile visits to nudge users into spending more. Security researcher Matthew Gore-Kormanik found that several apparently distinct apps shared the same underlying code and backend infrastructure, pointing to a coordinated engineering effort behind the scheme. Several of the apps remained available on Google Play and Apple's App Store for months after Anthropic identified the network, a reminder that official marketplace listings are no guarantee of legitimacy. Persistent excuses for skipping video calls and pressure to purchase more coins are among the clearest warning signs, and even a video appearance does not confirm who is actually writing the messages.

Australia is on the verge of becoming the first national government in the world to ban smart glasses from its own workplaces. Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has asked the Australian Public Service for formal advice on whether the devices should be prohibited across Commonwealth-run sites, which span everything from bureaucratic offices and Centrelink service centres to CSIRO laboratories. The move follows growing alarm over the glasses' ability to covertly record people, with a University of Sydney study finding that 60 percent of a sample of smart glasses footage posted to Instagram could be classified as potential harassment. The federal push builds on a wave of targeted bans already rolling through local councils. Brisbane became the first to bar the glasses from public pools in August, with Sydney, Melbourne's Yarra council, and Blacktown following suit in pools, playgrounds, childcare centres, and gyms.

Courts in England, Wales, and New York state have issued their own restrictions, and a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy effectively barred the devices from federal workspaces, but no national government has yet enacted a blanket ban across its agencies. Australia's Albanese government has said explicitly that it is seeking to set a world-leading standard on the issue. The government is treading carefully, however, with Attorney General Michelle Rowland noting that officials want to avoid unfairly restricting people who use the technology as a disability aid, a concern raised by Vision Australia and disability advocates. A formal recommendation from the public service is still pending, meaning the precise shape and scope of any restrictions remains to be decided.

Bose is doubling down on a simple idea: sometimes great audio shouldn’t mean shutting out the world. The company has launched the Bose Sport Open Earbuds and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), with the Sport aimed at runners, gym-goers, and outdoor users. At the same time, the Ultra is designed as a more premium, all-day option for commuting, work, and everyday listening. Both use Bose’s OpenAudio technology, which directs sound near the ears while keeping the ear canals open, so traffic, announcements, and conversations remain audible. There is no ANC here because, well, that would defeat the point. Bose also uses digital signal processing to preserve bass and clarity while reducing sound leakage, alongside SpeechClarity, an AI-assisted voice-isolation system that uses dedicated microphones to separate the user’s voice from surrounding noise for clearer calls.

The Sport Open Earbuds are the more fitness-focused pair. Their C-arm cuff wraps around the ear with a soft silicone finish, while textured physical buttons make controlling music, calls, and volume easier with sweaty fingers. They’re also rated IP54 for sweat, splashes, and dust. The Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) keep Bose’s distinctive cuff-style design but move further toward premium everyday listening. A redesigned driver promises deeper bass and higher volume, while TrueSpatial-powered Cinema Mode creates a wider soundstage for movies, shows and podcasts. The Bose Sport Open Earbuds cost $199, while the Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) cost $299. Both go on sale October 1, with preorders opening September 19 through Bose and select retailers.

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