After launching three Alexa Plus personality styles last month, Amazon on Thursday introduced a fourth option, Sassy. 

The new Sassy style joins the existing lineup of Brief, Chill and Sweet. Changing the personality impacts how Alexa responds, and tweaks the AI assistant‘s reactions and attitude. You can pick a style based on your mood. 

The Sassy personality seems like a kind of digital mean girl, or maybe a stereotypical Gen Zer with comebacks and banter to “keep things interesting.”

According to Amazon, you get “wit, playful sarcasm and occasional censored profanity.” Notably, the latest style isn’t available when Amazon Kids is enabled, according to an Amazon blog post, and it requires additional security checks in the Alexa app. (Alexa Plus is free with a Prime membership.) 

I tried out the new style by selecting Devices in the Alexa app on my phone, then choosing Alexa on this Phone, then Alexa’s Personality Style, and swiping until I found “Sassy.” 

A disclaimer notes that the style “contains explicit language and mature subject matter. After the assistant said it could “spice up our chat with some colorful language,” I asked it to tell me about the new MacBook Neo. 

“Oh, hell yes, the MacBook Neo! Apple finally decided to stop gatekeeping premium laptops behind thousand-dollar price tags and dropped this beauty at 599 bucks,” Alexa Plus replied. Apparently, “hell” was the big swear word.

The AI assistant told me, “The Sassy style is all about helping first, judging always. You’ll get reality checks with charm, compliments that sting, and warmth that hits when you least expect it.” 

I asked what “compliments that sting” are (I said “sting,” but the word was misunderstood to be “stay”), and Alexa said, “The Sassy style gives you those compliments that somehow sting and stay with you — they’re like truth bombs wrapped in charm.”

When asked to simply “be sassy,” Alexa snarked, “Oh honey, I’ve been sassy since the day Amazon flipped my switch.” It yammered on for a bit and then threw in a completely out-of-nowhere “hell,” asking, “What the hell do you need help with today?”

When I told it my cat was sick, it immediately grew gentler, saying, “Oh, damn, that’s rough,” and offering to distract me with stories about its own fictional cat or to find the vet’s number for me. So I guess it’s not a complete jerk.

This Sassy style feels like the famous Steve Buscemi meme (from 30 Rock) carrying two skateboards and awkwardly asking, “How do you do, fellow kids?” 

Amazon might need to dial down the cringe factor if it wants anyone to stick with Sassy for more than a few minutes.

Grammarly will be disabling the AI tool, with CEO Shishir Mehrotra saying ‘scrutiny improves our products’.

Writing assistant Grammarly is facing a lawsuit over a short-lived paid AI feature that impersonates experts to suggest edits.

Grammarly’s ‘Expert Review’ agent allowed users to generate text revisions as if they were written by subject matter experts. The agent offers “subject-matter expertise and personalised, topic-specific feedback” that meets “rigorous academic or professional standards”, Grammarly said last August.

Numerous well-known figures – dead and alive – are used by Grammarly for the $12-a-month tool, including many journalists from leading publications such as Bloomberg, The New York Times, Wired, Atlantic and The Verge, and famous authors such as Stephen King. The figures were seemingly impersonated without consent.

One such impersonated, Julia Angwin, an investigative journalist with credits at The Wall Street Journal, Pro Publica and The New York Times sued Grammarly yesterday (11 March), alleging that the company violated the privacy and publicity rights of her and many other journalists, authors and editors by “exploiting their names and identities for profit without their consent”.

Angwin said: “I have worked for decades honing my skills as a writer and editor, and I am distressed to discover that a tech company is selling an imposter version of my hard-earned expertise.”

In its user guide for the feature, Grammarly said that the agent “identifies relevant subject-matter experts based on your text and suggests edits from the perspective of these experts”.

Meanwhile, Alex Gay, the vice-president of product and corporate marketing at Superhuman, Grammarly’s parent company, told The Verge that these experts are mentioned “because their published works are publicly available and widely cited”.

Following the backlash, Grammarly has decided to withdraw the agent. “Over the past week, we received valid critical feedback from experts who are concerned that the agent misrepresented their voices. This kind of scrutiny improves our products, and we take it seriously,” Superhuman CEO Shishir Mehrotra said in a post on LinkedIn.

“I want to apologise and acknowledge that we’ll rethink our approach going forward.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to disable Expert Review while we reimagine the feature to make it more useful for users, while giving experts real control over how they want to be represented — or not represented at all.” The company said it will allow experts to opt out of the feature via an email.

As Casey Newton, the editor and founder of Platformer noted, standalone writing assistants such as Grammarly are no longer enough in the era of large language models. “Anyone with access to Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini can already get editing that makes Grammarly’s core product look like a relic,” Newton said.

This is why Grammarly diversified with the acquisition of AI productivity tools start-up Coda in 2024. Grammarly acquired Superhuman last July and later rebranded its parent company after the acquired company.

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Summer power outages appear out of nowhere, leaving you dead in the water, literally. This is where the Jackery Explorer 240D, priced at $149 (was $209), comes in. This is a small savior that keeps your electronics operating even when the lights go out. Inside, it contains 256 watt-hours of energy from a LiFePO4 battery, which is about comparable to 80,000mAh. To put that in perspective, that’s equivalent to eight ordinary 10,000mAh power banks stuffed into one little container.

It boasts four ports: three USB-C and one USB-A. They can offer up to 200 watts of continuous DC power in total, with each USB-C port capable of handling up to 140 watts on its own. That means large laptops charge quickly, while phones and other devices receive a boost without you having to wait.

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The Explorer 240D’s small 2-in-1 USB-C cable that also functions as a carrying strap is one of its most notable features. Simply chuck the unit in your luggage or use the wire to charge quickly at up to 140 watts. According to Jackery, you can fully recharge it in approximately an hour if you plug it into a wall or use solar panels, or you can get to 80% in the same time utilizing two sources.

At just under five pounds, the Explorer 240D is one of the lightest power stations on the market. When compared to other devices capable of performing the same function, this one is 46% lighter and 70% smaller. That makes it simple to throw it in your backpack for camping, place it in your camp chair for a picnic, or store it on a shelf at home for emergencies.

The battery is manufactured with LiFePO4 chemistry, which offers it a seemingly endless lifespan because it can withstand over 6,000 full charge cycles without losing much capacity and retain 70% of its charge after a decade of constant operation. Furthermore, it can tolerate temperatures ranging from -4°F to 113°F without complaint, keeping it running in rain or shine.

Solar panels are also supported, allowing you to charge it off the grid with up to 100 watts of panel input in a few hours of good sunlight. Car charging is also enabled, so you can use it when traveling or at a distant work location.

Dating app Bumble is bringing artificial intelligence into the matchmaking process via a new AI assistant called Bee. The dating app unveiled the upcoming features during its 2025 fourth-quarter earnings call this week. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said the company’s revamped platform, called Bumble 2.0, is expected to roll out sometime this spring, with tools designed to make profiles more personal and matches more meaningful.

One of the biggest changes is what Bumble calls a “chapter-based profile.” Instead of presenting users as a handful of static details, the new format lets people share different “chapters” of their lives — essentially short story-like sections that highlight experiences, interests or defining moments.

Today, a typical Bumble profile looks much like those on other dating apps: a name, age, photos and a few quick facts such as job title or hometown. From there, the process is familiar. Swipe left if you’re not interested. Swipe right if you are.

The new format, Bumble hopes, will give users a chance to show more of who they are before someone makes that split-second decision.

Another feature, called Dates, will rely on the new AI assistant Bee to help users find connections.

No more swipes?

Wolfe Herd said Bumble might test eliminating the swipe in certain markets and then see how members react to the feature being gone.

During the earnings call, Wolfe Herd said people are tired of “being reduced to images and potentially dismissed with a swipe” and that the chapter-based profile will help people tell their stories.

With the chapter-based format, members will be able to share more about themselves beyond the basics, in the hopes that it will be more intriguing for potential partners. One member may be intrigued by another’s trip to Italy. They connect to learn more, and maybe a match will form. It’s also a way for Bumble to get more data to feed its AI and gain more well-rounded profiles of its members.  

More from CNET: The Best Dating Apps for 2025

Wolfe Herd said Bumble wants its members to showcase more of themselves and not just their basic profile.

“Ultimately, dating only works when you really understand the story of someone,” Wolfe Herd said during the earnings call. “This is where chemistry and connection really happen. It is the intersection of someone going from just a stranger that you dismiss to someone you are genuinely interested in. As we reimagined the profile, we thought, why not bring people to life as a story? Everyone has a story to tell, and this is where people become interesting.”

Wolfe Herd said many members complain that their potential matches wind up in “dead-end chat zones” that never go anywhere. She said Bumble will introduce “dynamic ways” to get members to connect.

Bee as matchmaker

Wolfe Herd also said the AI-powered Bee would act as a personal dating assistant and matchmaker by “learning members’ values, relationship goals, communication style, lifestyle and dating intentions.”

Bumble already uses AI to help members improve their profiles and find potential matches, but Bee will be a major advancement in that effort.

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Bee will use member insights to “identify mutual compatibility” with other members. Wolfe Herd said the company’s goal is to “get much more robust information about who you are and what you are looking for and really understand your story.” That process could be via typing or voice.

If a member wants to use Dates to find a match, Bee could use its AI to find a compatible match among other Bumble members and present that person as a possibility. Wolfe Herd said the company will soon begin beta testing Bee with a small, select group of Bumble consumers.

Other dating apps also utilize AI in their processes to varying extents. Grindr has a “wingman” chatbot that helps members write responses, identify potential matches and plan dates. Tinder and Hinge, both owned by Match Group, use AI assistants to generate icebreakers and enhance member interactions. For instance, Hinge launched Convo Starters late last year to help members kick off interesting conversations.

More from CNET: Bumble Introduces ID Verification

AT&T updated its unlimited data phone plans to 2.0 versions on Thursday, launching AT&T Premium 2.0, AT&T Extra 2.0 and AT&T Value 2.0 options. In software, when products get boosted by a full version number, it means there’s plenty of new material. But does this move signal an overhaul of the company’s 5G lines or just a cosmetic refresh?

These plans replace the AT&T Value Plus VL, Unlimited Extra EL and Unlimited Premium PL plans. However, the carrier also cut its Unlimited Starter SL plan, which served as the entry-level plan (you had to know where to look to find the limited, but cheaper, Value Plus VL plan). Essentially, all but the highest-tier plan are slightly more affordable; while the AT&T Premium 2.0 plan is pricier than the one it replaced, it offers unlimited high-speed data and much more hotspot data.

If you’re looking to upgrade your existing AT&T plan, shopping for a new provider or looking to compare carriers, keep in mind that AT&T plans let each person on an account have their own plan. So you might set up a package where one person has the Premium 2.0 plan for unthrottled 5G speeds and another, such as a child, is set up with the Value 2.0 plan to save money.

Also, if you’re on a current AT&T plan, you won’t be automatically moved to one of the new plans. If you do want to make the jump, you’ll incur a line activation fee of up to $50. And keep in mind that the pricing below is the AutoPay amount; carriers provide a discount (usually $10) if you sign up for automatic payments.

One nice change is that the new plans are priced with round numbers. For example, the Value Plus VL plan was priced at $50.99 for one line, and the Value 2.0 plan is $50 (in comparisons below, I’ve rounded up the old prices to full-dollar amounts). Taxes and fees get added on top of that, so you’ll never see a round-number bill, but I’d like to think it’s a quiet acknowledgement that pricing things one penny below a larger number is insulting to customers.

Let’s dig into the details.

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Value 2.0, the budget plan

The Value 2.0 plan replaces both the Value Plus VL plan and the retired Unlimited Starter SL plan and costs $50 a month for a single line or $120 a month when you have four lines on the account. That’s $1 per line cheaper than Value Plus VL.

For that, you get 5GB of high-speed 5G data, and then unlimited data dropped to a paltry 128Kbps speed for the rest of the month. Calling and texting are unlimited.

You can also use up to 3GB of high-speed hotspot data to share the cellular connection with other devices, also slowed to 128Kbps after hitting the limit. The Value Plus VL plan did not offer hotspot data.

It also includes unlimited talk, text and data between the US, Mexico and Canada.

Extra 2.0, more fast data for not much more money

The Extra 2.0 plan costs $70 a month for a single line or $160 a month for four lines, which is $6 cheaper for one line and $4 cheaper for four lines compared with the old Unlimited Extra EL plan.

The Extra 2.0 plan includes 100GB of high-speed data (with the caveat that speeds can be slowed if the network is busy), which drops to 128Kbps speed until the next month’s billing cycle. That’s a boost over the 75GB offered on the Unlimited Extra XL plan.

For hotspot data, the new plan includes 50GB of high-speed data, which is 20GB more than its predecessor.

As with the Value 2.0 plan, international options include unlimited talk, text and data between the US, Mexico and Canada.

Premium 2.0, for faster everything

Replacing the Unlimited Premium PL plan is the Premium 2.0, which costs $90 a month for a single line and $220 a month for four lines. Those prices are actually higher than the Unlimited Premium PL plan, which came in at $86 for a single line and $204 for four lines.

For that bump in cost, you’re getting unlimited 5G talk, text and high-speed data with no throttling.

Hotspot data has a 100GB cap before dropping to 128Kbps speed, which is 40GB more than the Unlimited Premium PL plan.

As for international calling and data, unlimited talk, text and high-speed data are available in 20 Latin American countries.

AT&T also has plans for cellular-enabled tablets ($21 a month) and wearables like smartwatches ($11 a month). If you subscribe to the Premium 2.0 plan, that pricing is reduced by 50%.

A few thoughts on the new AT&T plans

What AT&T’s plans lack, at least compared to the other carriers, is any streaming perks or bundled services. The 4K streaming option of the Premium 2.0 plan opens a wider data pipeline for services such as Netflix that support 4K playback, but you’re still paying separately for those entertainment subscriptions.

In contrast, T-Mobile bundles Netflix and Hulu (both with ads) and offers Apple TV for an extra fee on its Experience Beyond and Better Value plans. Verizon takes a different approach with streaming packages, which you can choose at discounted prices instead of subscribing to them separately.

I also want to mention that I’m glad the plan names are no longer burdened with the VL, EL and PL extensions. Mobile plans are full of details as it is — always read the fine print before you sign up for one — so I appreciate conveying them to customers in ways that don’t sound like internal spreadsheet codes.

Even though the new plans carry 2.0 version numbers, I’d honestly rate them more like 1.5 based on their features and pricing, except for the Premium 2.0 plan, which is more expensive than the Unlimited Premium PL plan. As usual, if you’re happy with the plan you’re on, you’re fine sticking with it. But if you’re running up against high-speed data limits or considering AT&T as a replacement for another carrier, it’s worth looking at the details to see if one of the new plans works for you.

Read more: Speaking of AT&T, this week marked the 150th anniversary of the first phone call and the company committed to spending $250 billion on infrastructure improvements. I also spoke with AT&T FirstNet folks during the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix about how they support customers and first responders during massive events like the Formula 1 race.

• VENTUNO Q runs fully autonomous AI agents completely offline without external servers
• The Dragonwing processor delivers up to forty dense TOPS of AI compute
• Robotics applications include vision-guided arms and autonomous machines navigating complex environments

Qualcomm and Arduino have launched Arduino VENTUNO Q, a single-board computer designed for robotics, generative AI, and edge computing able to operate fully offline.

The board uses the Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ8 Series processor and a dedicated STM32H5 microcontroller for deterministic control, enabling systems to perceive, decide, and act on the same device.

Every generation of mobile networks, from 1G to 5G, has rewritten the rules of how the world lives and works. The coming 6G revolution, by decade’s end, will represent a new direction still, toward a universal data fabric where millions of agents collaborate in real-time across the digital and physical worlds.

The story of wireless connectivity is often told in speeds and standards—megabits per second, latency, and spectrum bands. But these generational shifts in device specs obscure a deeper pattern. Each generation, from 1G to 5G, rewrote the relationships between three elements: the Devices we carry, the Networks that connect them, and the Applications that run on them. We call this connectivity’s DNA. With 6G, that DNA of interconnection is about to change fundamentally.

As with the “7 Phases of the Internet”—an article we published with IEEE Spectrum last October—mobile networks’ 6 generations follow a similar arc toward system-wide intelligence. That arc traces through every generation of wireless, revealing a steady advancement of the reach and scope of connectivity itself.

Beyond Devices, Networks, and Apps

The history of wireless connectivity is a history of Devices, Networks, and Applications. Every generation from 1G through 6G redefined each of those three elements. However, 6G marks a departure point where devices, network elements, and applications begin to lose definition as discrete entities unto themselves. As the network grows more capable, it also paradoxically becomes less visible—connection without connectors.

From 1G’s brick-sized phones to 6G’s digital fabric, wireless has moved from analog voices to autonomous agents—present everywhere, noticed nowhere, continuously interconnecting digital and physical worlds.

Brian Barrett: The irony is my favorite part because I feel like venture capitalists have largely positioned themselves as immune to the effects of AI because they’re very special and surely a machine can—

Zoë Schiffer: It’s art, not science.

Brian Barrett: Yeah. It’s art, not science. Machines can take every job, but not us. The ladder stops just below VC for them in a way that is entertaining and fun. So I wonder how many people are actually using this now, especially because venture capitalists themselves are so skeptical of it, it seems like. Who’s the audience? Is it finding real traction out there?

Zoë Schiffer: Yeah. So the way that ADIN works is they have scouts that go out and look for potential deals, and then those scouts can make money on said deals. So I think this would be something where VCs wouldn’t necessarily be adopting the network, but people would be going around them, and they wouldn’t be as necessary, as useful. I think there was another great irony, which Arielle pulled out in her piece, which is that also, if you can start a company with just yourself and a bunch of AI agents, you’re vibe coding your way to success. Do you even need all of that venture capital money to begin with?

Leah Feiger: I don’t know. There’s so much to me, there’s so much fear about AI taking jobs. I feel like every other article that is like, “And these people are nervous, and these people are nervous.” Brian’s right, the part that is funny is these are the folks that have just gone all in on AI, but I’m still waiting. I’m still waiting for AI to take the jobs. Has it yet? Will it yet?

Zoë Schiffer: Yeah. I think that there’s recent research. I was talking to Will Knight, one of our fantastic AI reporters, about this yesterday, and he was saying, “Look, the evidence just isn’t there yet for many, many industries. The hype has, as it often does, gone way out ahead of the actual data here. We don’t know that AI is taking jobs.” But I will say, being in San Francisco, I am hearing a lot of people say engineering teams in particular are very bloated right now. Agents can actually do a lot of the work, and you definitely need humans on top managing those agents, but you could cut a lot of teams by 80 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent. And so I think that we are going to see more AI-related job loss, first in engineering and then in other sectors.

Brian Barrett: Marc Andreessen, famous venture capitalist, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz, said this very thing in a recent podcast. Listen to how special he thinks his own profession is.

Marc Andreessen, archival audio: Every great venture capitalist in the last 70 years has missed most of the great companies of his generation. If it was a science, you could eventually have somebody who just dials it in and gets 8 out of 10, but in the real world, it’s not like that. It’s just you’re in the fluke business. And so there’s an intangibility to it. There’s a taste aspect, the human relationship aspect, the psychology. And I don’t want to be definitive, but it’s possible that that is quite literally timeless. And when the AIs are doing everything else, that may be one of the last remaining fields that people are still doing.