🗣️ AI Spy: Partner & Snitch

 NEWS YOU CAN USE

World events shape conversations.
Turn headlines into talking points.

Unfortunately, most of those headlines are about Trump’s latest dictator cosplay — the National Guard and Marines patrolling LA. 🪖

Need a hot take? He's normalizing soldiers on American streets. Midterms looking rough next year? Simple playbook:

1. Stir up locals with raids (ICE, ICE, baby! ❄️)

2. Wait for protests, flags, maybe a burning dumpster or two

3. Declare ‘emergency’

4. Send troops to ‘secure’ voting

5. Democracy goes bye-bye 👋

He tried this in 2020 after losing. Courts said no. Pence said no. So he unleashed his supporters (Proud Boys, Assemble!) and... well, January 6th happened.

He won't make that rookie mistake again.

Anyway, enough Trump for this week (let's not even start with Musk…😮‍💨)

Today — Spy Alert! 🚨 

👀 AI Spies – Your Partner in Crime (and Snitch at the Same Time)

AI threatens humanity (see issue #20!), and 'bad actors' aren't helping. No, not the cast of Star Trek; we’re talking hackers, terrorists, and that weird guy in his basement next door.

OpenAI just dropped their latest threat report, and it reads like a spy thriller written by coked-up hackers. Turns out, ChatGPT isn't just helping your nephew write book reports — it's also assisting the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and North Koreans in all kinds of online naughtiness.

The best bit? These digital ‘masterminds’ are basically snitching on themselves. Every prompt, debug request, and “help me hack this” question creates a massive evidence trail, giving OpenAI (and Uncle Sam 🇺🇸) an inside peek at how they operate.

🎭 The Hall of Fame (Shame) includes:

• 🇰🇵 North Korea's IT Job Scam: Faked job applications and live interviews to get spies inside companies (“Greatest strength? My glorious leader…damn!”)

• 🇷🇺 Russia's “ScopeCreep” Malware: Used ChatGPT as a coding tutor to build Windows malware (So…Teams…)

• 🇨🇳 China's Troll Farm Reviews: Generated fake social media debates AND even wrote their own performance reviews! (Even spies have HR).

• 🇨🇳 China’s (again) “Uncle Spam” Operation: Fuelled U.S. political division with AI-generated propaganda and fake activist logos.

The stakes? AI is democratizing cybercrime. Soon, any online wannabe can launch nation-state-level attacks with a few prompts and clicks.

💡 PRO TIP: AI is accelerating fast! Being up to speed on AI news will help you conversationally and professionally.

💬 FOLLOW-UP: “Should there be stricter rules for the use of AI?”

⛔ DON'T SAY: “So…what illegal stuff would you use AI for?” 🤫

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FAMOUS WORDS

“The best way to keep a secret? Don't tell the computer.”
(Anonymous)

Can you name the film?

⌨️ Robert Redford, a team of security experts and a top-secret black box.

⬇️ Answer at the end of this issue

WORD WISE

🎭 Naughty, naughty!

Want to talk about dishonest, deceitful or mischievous behaviour? Kids, pets, politicians or hackers. Try these playful alternatives:

😏 The Fun Upgrades:

• shenanigans (n.)
  “North Korea's résumé shenanigans fooled HR departments worldwide.”

• monkey business (n.)
  “ChatGPT caught Russian hackers in some serious monkey business.”

• skulduggery (n.) – more of a criminal feeling
  “The report exposed international cyber skulduggery on an unprecedented scale.”

• jiggery-pokery (n.)
  “China is up to all kinds of jiggery-pokery on social media.”

💡 PRO TIP: These work best when the ‘crime’ is either:

• Not actually that serious (office politics vs. murder)

• You're trying to keep conversation light – “AI skulduggery” sounds way less terrifying than “weaponized artificial intelligence threats.”

⛔ DON'T SAY: “Jiggery-pokery” about actual violent crimes (read the room.) 

CULTURE CODE

👶🏻 Japan vs. Baby Names

Japan just declared war on “kirakira” (glittery) baby names, banning everything from Pikachu to Princess. 🇯🇵✨

What got the axe? Names like Jewel, Elsa, Lovely, Kitty, and Ōjisama (“Prince”).

The official excuse? Digital admin nightmares. Japanese names use kanji characters that can have up to 10 different pronunciations. Imagine “Layla vs Lailah” spelled 10 different ways, then multiply by confused government workers.

The real reason? A cultural smackdown between tradition and parents who think “Daiya” (Diamond) sounds better than “Hiroshi”.

This reflects a constant struggle in Japan: individual expression vs. social conformity. (Spoiler: conformity usually wins…for now).

🚫 Not just Japan. Check out these bans:

• 🇺🇸 US: Santa, Hitler… (is that one going to change soon?)

• 🇸🇪 Sweden: Metallica

• 🇫🇷 France: Nutella

• 🇲🇽 Mexico: Robocop (my personal fave)

The irony? The country that gave us Pokémon is now banning kids named after...Pokémon.

💡 PRO TIP: Drop the “10 different pronunciations” fact — it explains why this matters beyond bureaucratic whining.

💬 FOLLOW-UP: “What's the weirdest baby name you've ever heard?” (Pick a celebrity!)

⛔ DON'T SAY: “Elon Musk got it right!” (Try defending “X Æ A-12”)

TALK TOOLBOX

🗣️ The Name Game: Don't Panic, Just Ask

Meeting people with unfamiliar names? Welcome to the modern world! Whether it's Chiwetel, Saoirse, or that kid named Pikachu (pre-ban), you're going to encounter names that may twist your tongue into painful knots.

😰 The panic response: Mumble something vaguely name-shaped and hope they don't notice. (They always notice.)

❌ What NOT to say:

• “Your name is so exotic/difficult/weird!” (Congrats, you just turned them into a zoo exhibit.)

• “Can I just call you Mike instead?” (Nothing says respect like erasing someone's identity.)

• “How do you spell that?” (Stop dodging — say it!)

✅ The SpeakEasy Solution: “I want to make sure I pronounce your name correctly. Could you say it again for me?”

Then actually try to repeat it: “Am I saying that right?”

The magic: Most people appreciate the effort more than perfection. You're showing respect, not incompetence.

💡 PRO TIP: If you mess up later, don't make a big deal about it. A quick “Sorry, [correct name]” and move on beats a 5-minute sweaty apology speech.

💬 FOLLOW-UP: “Is there a story behind your name?” (People usually love sharing name origins)

⛔ DON'T SAY: “That's not how we say it in English” (Sounds so…colonial)

BECAUSE THE ROBOTS ARE COMING

🤖 Robo-Surgery: Long-Distance Slice

How’s this for ‘working Rome-otely’ (or is ‘work from Rome’ better?)

A surgeon in Rome just performed surgery on a patient in Beijing — 5,000 miles (about 8,000 km) away, using a robotic system. Malpractice lawyers everywhere are updating their business cards for “bad Wi-Fi.”

The future? Your surgeon sipping espresso in Italy while fixing your appendix in China. What could possibly go wrong? (Don't answer that.)

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What do you think?

DID YOU SEE…?

Lunch break or Happy Hour — Stories that stick

• 🦟 Bite magnet: Mosquitos treat you like a buffet? (YES!!) Here’s why.

• 🌮 TACO Trade? Wall Street says, ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ on tariffs. He’s not happy.

• 😭 Tears for fears? What makes you cry the most? Americans say these.

ANSWER

🎬 The Movie: Sneakers (1992)

An underrated gem. Robert Redford leads a team of security experts who test systems by breaking into them — think ethical hacking before it was cool.

• Genre Mash: Is it a comedy? A thriller? A heist movie? All of them! It blends genres like a perfectly mixed cocktail.

• Cast: Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix… one of the best ensemble casts ever.

• Theme: Predicted modern concerns about government surveillance and data privacy.

💬 YOUR TURN: What's your favourite “hacker” movie? Reply and let me know.

LAST WEEK

📊 Would you use a service that went 100% AI and fired human workers?

A) 🚫 Nope — people matter more than profit — 20%
B) 🤔 Maybe, if the AI actually works — 80%
C) 💰 Sure, faster is better — 0%
D) 😤 I'd complain, but probably still use it — 0%

💬 Your Two Cents:

J.D: “Was automation in factories any different? I still bought a car. Is all this panic because it's white-collar jobs being threatened for a change? We'd better get used to it, as AI will soon be everywhere.”

🗣️ Comment of the Week

THIS IS THE END

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