Technology

Is your favorite AI chatbot scheming against you?

If "AI scheming" sounds ominous, you should know that OpenAI is actively studying this phenomenon. This week, OpenAI published a study conducted alongside Apollo Research on "Detecting and reducing scheming in AI models." The researchers “found behaviors consistent with scheming in controlled tests,” the result of AI models with multiple, and at times competing, objectives.

So, what is AI scheming, and does it mean that ChatGPT is lying to you?

In a blog post about the study, the creators of ChatGPT define AI scheming as a chatbot "pretending to be aligned while secretly pursuing some other agenda." OpenAI wants to know why AI is deliberately lying to users and what to do about it.

OpenAI introduces the study with an interesting "human analogy" to better understand what AI scheming is:

Imagine a stock trader whose goal is to maximize earnings. In a highly regulated field such as stock trading, it’s often possible to earn more by breaking the law than by following it. If the trader lacks integrity, they might try to earn more by breaking the law and covering their tracks to avoid detection rather than earning less while following the law. From the outside, a stock trader who is very good at covering their tracks appears as lawful as — and more effective than — one who is genuinely following the law.

This sounds like a real problem; however, OpenAI claims that most AI models have "little opportunity to scheme in ways that could cause significant harm." According to OpenAI, the real harm could come in the future as AI is given "more complex tasks with real-world consequences." In addition, OpenAI warns that AI models will only get better at scheming in the future if the issue isn't dealt with now.

There are other ways AI can be at odds with its own users. For instance, if a user requests information on making controlled substances, an AI chatbot might face two competing objectives: Answer a user's query and keep them engaged, but also abide by system prompts that prohibit sharing this type of potentially harmful information.

In order to guard against AI scheming, OpenAI says its researchers "trained versions of OpenAI o3 and OpenAI o4-mini" by "teaching them to read and reason about a general anti-scheming spec before acting." OpenAI refers to this as "deliberative alignment⁠."

OpenAI says that utilizing this method reduced AI scheming; however, researchers have yet to discover how to eliminate AI scheming altogether. 

An even more concerning discovery from OpenAI's research is that AI models can't simply be taught not to scheme. Doing so would actually just make them better at scheming in the future.

"A major failure mode of attempting to 'train out' scheming is simply teaching the model to scheme more carefully and covertly," the study found.

SEE ALSO: 'The illusion of thinking': Apple research finds AI models collapse and give up with hard puzzles

In fact, OpenAI says, training with the intent to eliminate scheming actually makes the AI model aware that they are being tested for scheming, and as a result, the AI model will simply lie in order to pass the test.

"Anti-scheming training does appear to reduce scheming, but our analysis is complicated by another factor: models often become more aware that they are being evaluated. This situational awareness can itself reduce scheming, independent of genuine alignment," the study says.

In conclusion, OpenAI finds that "scheming is a complex failure mode that we do not expect to diminish with scale." OpenAI continues, saying "our findings show that scheming is not merely a theoretical concern—we are seeing signs that this issue is beginning to emerge across all frontier models today."

To summarize: AI models can intentionally lie to their users. Again, that sounds like a big problem, but OpenAI says it isn't yet.

Per OpenAI, most AI models aren't responsible for tasks with "real-world consequences" yet, limiting the potential for harm — for now.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

The 2025 Emmys may be over, but you can continue to celebrate your favorite TV shows' wins thanks to Google's post-Emmys Easter egg.

If you type in the name of one of last night's winning shows into Google search, like Outstanding Comedy Series winner The Studio or Outstanding Drama Series winner The Pitt, you'll see a trophy icon float up on screen. Clicking on the widget will let you know how many awards the show won at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.

SEE ALSO: All the winners from the 2025 Emmys

Replacing the trophy, the icon will then resemble a flower. Clicking it throws a virtual bouquet across the screen to celebrate that show's awards, giving the series and everyone who worked on it their flowers. Google has previously featured this celebratory mechanic for other high-profile events like the Olympics, where users could throw bouquets at countries and athletes.

Get to celebrating! Credit: Screenshot: Belen Edwards

The flower icon also reveals how many total bouquets have been thrown for each show. At the time of writing, The Pitt has received approximately 336,700 bouquets, and The Studio has received approximately 405,600. The big bouquet winner so far, though, is Adolescence, which took home six Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and acting awards for Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, and Erin Doherty. At the time of writing, Adolescence has received approximately 741,600 virtual bouquets.

The bouquets aren't just for entire shows, though. You can also send virtual kudos to individual actors, writers, and directors who won Emmy awards, from Severance's Tramell Tillman to Hacks' Hannah Einbinder.

Facebook trouble? Whether you have an account-related issue or you want to report a bug, you have a few ways to contact Facebook support. We'll show you what your contact options are

SAVE $40: As of Sept. 19, get the Asus ZenScreen portable monitor for $169 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $209. That's a discount of 19%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Asus ZenScreen portable monitor $169 at Amazon
$209 Save $40 Get Deal

Love to work on the go but run out of room with your phone or tablet? Or maybe you want a dual-screen setup with your laptop at home? A portable monitor is the way to go. And you may be surprised to learn that you won't have to pony up an ungodly amount of cash to add one to your setup, especially with this Amazon deal.

As of Sept. 19, get the Asus ZenScreen portable monitor for $169 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $209. That's $40 off and a discount of 19%.

SEE ALSO: The best monitors in 2025

This 16-inch full HD IPS display is an ultraslim, thin, and perfectly portable option that you can connect with any laptop with a USB Type-C or Type-A port. It features a kickstand so it can stand on its own, and it's small enough to fit in your laptop case, backpack, and on smaller surfaces.

It features flicker-free and low blue light technology to help protect your eyes when you use it for a long stretch of time, and is compatible with mounts if you want to have it out for a more permanent solution.

Whether you work from your iPad on your daily commute or you want a setup that can go with you and you're still tweaking the specifics, you can't really go wrong with this affordable option from Asus. It might not be the most efficient solution for gaming, but it can handle just about everything else very nicely.

SAVE $350: As of Sept. 19, the Mashable Choice Anker Solix C1000 portable power station is down to just $449 (reg. $799) at Amazon as a Lightning Deal. That's a savings of 44% — but you'll have to act fast.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker Solix C1000 portable power station $449 at Amazon
$799 Save $350 Get Deal

Anker is known for offering quality products at budget-friendly prices — and the Solix C1000 portable power station is no exception. Already coming in at a relatively low (compared to competitors) $799, Amazon dropped its price as a Lightning Deal today. If you're in the market for portable power, whether for camping or power outages, act fast to score this Mashable Choice Award-winning device for less.

As of Sept. 19, the Anker Solix C1000 is on sale for only $449. That's a savings of 44% from its $799 list price and just $20 shy of its best-ever price. Since it's a Lightning Deal, you'll have to grab it today before the timer runs out or before all units have been claimed — whichever comes first.

Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable

"The Anker Solix C1000 portable power station nails performance, design, and versatility. It’s a must-pack for weekend camping trips and comes in handy during power outages," Mashable contributor Lauren Allain writes in her review.

It weighs less than 30 pounds, which is like carrying a stocked cooler — not lightweight, but maneuverable. I wouldn't bring it along on a hike, but for powering a campsite or a tailgate, it's a dream. Of course, it helps that it has ergonomic handles on both sides for transport. With a massive 2,400W output and 11 versatile ports (two USB-C, two USB-A, and six AC), you can deliver power to everything from your phone and laptop to your coffee maker and refrigerator. It recharges in less than an hour via wall power, but you can also connect it to solar panels if you're off the grid.

Even at full price, our reviewer thinks the Solix C1000 is worth it for most people. And at 44% off, it's a helluva deal if you're in the market for a power station. Just remember you'll have to act fast.

SAVE $50: As of Sept. 19, get the DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo for $349, knocking $50 off its list price for 13% savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo $349 at Amazon
$399 Save $50 Get Deal

DJI has become the 'it' camera of vloggers on the go. We spotted them everywhere during VidCon, and we get the hype. Having tried our hand at the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, we think it's the ultimate social media camera. Not to mention, their pocket mics are everywhere and hard to find in stock. So if you're ready to invest in a DJI camera, we've got a deal for you.

As of Sept. 19, get the DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo for $349. That saves $50 off of its $399 list price, providing 13% in savings.

The DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure is made for more than just content creation. This is a camera meant for rugged adventures. It films day or night, with strong low-light performance, still capturing video in 4K. The Osmo Action 4 functions in extreme temperatures too, up to -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus, if you're filming on rocky terrain, it has three different stabilization videos.

Shop the DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo for $349 at Amazon now.

In a torrent of controversy surrounding ChatGPT and teenage mental health, OpenAI says it's working on some safeguards for the future.

CEO Sam Altman wrote in a somewhat short and vague company blog post this week that the firm is working on an automatic age detection feature that would, in theory, intelligently place users under the age of 18 into a restricted version of ChatGPT. Pursuant to that, adults may eventually need to provide some kind of proof of their ages in order to use the unrestricted version of the chatbot. However, it should be noted that Altman provided very few specifics, including a timeline for when this might roll out.

SEE ALSO: 4 reasons not to turn ChatGPT into your therapist

The announcement came as the parents of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old whose death by suicide was allegedly assisted by ChatGPT, spoke to Congress about potentially regulating the chatbot. Raine's family file a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI in late August.

Around the same time, the company confirmed that some parental controls will come to ChatGPT in late September. These will include the ability for parents to link their accounts to those of their children and restrict access to the app. Parents will also receive notifications when ChatGPT "detects" distress on the part of the underage user, though it may also notify law enforcement if a parent can't be reached.

Honda’s revived Prelude is stepping back into the spotlight as an attainable two-door built to capture driving enthusiasts who might otherwise gravitate toward a Mazda MX-5 or Toyota GR86. After years without a dedicated sporty coupe in its lineup, Honda is clearly positioning this car to rekindle the brand’s fun-to-drive reputation while keeping pricing within reach of everyday buyers.

Cloudflare, a platform that provides network services, was the victim of a DDoS attack last week. It was also accidentally the cause of it.

You might remember Cloudflare was linked to a massive outage in June of this year. When Cloudflare went down, so did sites like Spotify, Google, Snapchat, Discord, Character.ai, and more, all of which rely on Cloudflare's services. That time, the disruption was sparked by a Google Cloud outage. Earlier this month, Cloudflare had another blunder, albeit much less disruptive than its outage from the summer — but this time, it did it to itself.

"We had an outage in our Tenant Service API which led to a broad outage of many of our APIs and the Cloudflare Dashboard," Tom Lianza, the vice president of engineering for Cloudflare and Joaquin Madruga, the vice president of engineering for the developer platform at Cloudflare, wrote in a Sept. 13 blog post. "The incident’s impact stemmed from several issues, but the immediate trigger was a bug in the dashboard."

The bug, according to Lianza and Madruga, caused "repeated, unnecessary calls to the Tenant Service API." On accident, Cloudflare included a "problematic object in its dependency array" which was recreated, treated as new, caused it to re-run, and, eventually, the "API call executed many times during a single dashboard render instead of just once."

"When the Tenant Service became overloaded, it had an impact on other APIs and the dashboard because Tenant Service is part of our API request authorization logic. Without Tenant Service, API request authorization can not be evaluated. When authorization evaluation fails, API requests return 5xx status codes," the blog reads.

Everything is back on track at Cloudflare for now.

"We’re very sorry about the disruption," the blog post reads. "We will continue to investigate this issue and make improvements to our systems and processes."

SAVE UP TO $200.99: As of Sept. 19, you can get the new Apple Watch Series 11 (and other models) for up to $200.99 off via 24 monthly bill credits when you add a qualifying watch line at T-Mobile.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Series 11 Get Deal

Paying full price for a brand-new Apple Watch isn't always in the budget, which is why it pays to keep an eye on carrier promotions. If you're willing to add a new watch line, T-Mobile's latest offer cuts the price of the brand-new Series 11 by over $200, which is a deal you won't find anywhere else right now.

SEE ALSO: How does the Apple Watch Series 11 stack up against the Series 10? Let’s compare.

As of Sept. 19, you can get up to $200.99 back when you buy a new Apple Watch (like the Series 11 42mm, priced at $499.99) on a monthly plan and add a new Watch Plan Plus line. The savings are applied as bill credits over 24 months, cutting your monthly payment from $20.84 down to just $12.46 per month.

The main catch, as with most carrier deals, is that you have to stick with the plan for the full two years to get all the credits. If you cancel your service early, the credits stop and you'll be on the hook for the remaining balance of the watch.

Amazon has a bunch of different products and services these days, but its bread and butter is still books. Right now, the company is offering a pretty sweet deal for Prime members that will make it a lot easier and cheaper to load up your Kindle with ebooks.

A proposed anti-porn law in Michigan could also bar VPNs in an effort to block people from circumventing adult content restrictions.

The legislation, proposed by six Republican representatives, is exceptionally prohibitive. Not only would the legislation ban all types of adult content, but it would also prohibit any depictions of transgender people at all.

In addition, the law outlines a ban on "circumvention tools," which includes VPNs, proxy servers, and encrypted tunneling methods. Such a move would be unheard of, even as other states across the country have enacted age-restriction laws on adult material. To ban porn altogether, as well as VPNs, is extreme. Obviously, banning any and all depictions of transgender people simply existing is wildly extreme, too.

To be clear, this is just proposed legislation at the moment, and the chances of it becoming law are unclear.

But it is interesting to note how sweeping these types of bans can be, especially as similar legislation gains momentum across the country. The legislation goes into minute detail on the type of content it considers pornographic. It also specifically bans "one biological sex imitating, depicting, or representing himself or herself to be the other biological sex." That wide-ranging provision could unintentionally ban many Shakespeare plays, Mrs. Doubtfire, the 2002 flop Juwanna Mann, and much more.

SEE ALSO: Porn censorship is going to change the internet as we know it

VPNs are the most common method for unblocking porn sites and streaming adult content anonymously. We've covered the best VPNs for just that here at Mashable. We've also covered the implications these anti-porn laws — and age-verification rules, in particular — have for the open internet. These laws, while ostensibly aimed at keeping kids off adult sites, also raise serious privacy concerns, as they often require people to divulge personal information to access large portions of the internet.

Where to buy the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air: Buy at Apple Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Shop Now Buy at Best Buy Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Shop Now Buy at Walmart Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Get Deal Buy at Target Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Shop Now Buy at Verizon Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Shop Now Buy at T-Mobile Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Shop Now Buy at AT&T Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air starting at $799 Shop Now

The new iPhones have landed on shelves. After the "awe-dropping" announcement at the Apple Event on Sept. 9 and a week-long pre-ordering period, you can officially purchase the new iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max outright. No more waiting.

Well, actually, scratch that — wait times are lengthening for the new iPhones as we speak. As with any new Apple launch, initial stock could likely fly off shelves fast. A quick glance at Apple's online store shows that if you purchase the iPhone 17 Pro today, for example, you won't receive it until Oct. 6 at the earliest. Of course, you can always try checking out a brick-and-mortar store near you if you want to avoid potentially long shipping times. We'll leave that up to you and your patience levels, though.

Meet the new iPhone lineup

The 2025 iPhone lineup includes the base iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and a new kid on the block: the iPhone Air. Here's the pricing breakdown:

• iPhone 17 (lavender, mist blue, sage, black, white) — starting at $799

• iPhone Air (space black, sky blue, cloud white, light gold) — starting at $999

• iPhone 17 Pro (silver, deep blue, cosmic orange) — starting at $1,099

• iPhone Pro Max (silver, deep blue, cosmic orange) — starting at $1,199

The base iPhone 17 features a 6.3-inch display with 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate and can hit up to 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness (versus 2,000 nits on iPhone 16). It runs on Apple's new A19 chip, which allegedly 20 percent faster than the iPhone 16. It's also the first baseline iPhone to feature all 48MP cameras (dual fusion main camera and fusion ultrawide camera), plus a new 18MP Center Stage selfie camera.

Step it up to the iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max and you'll get an even more powerful A19 Pro chip and the fastest CPU in any smartphone, according to Apple. It's the first iPhone in history with a battery over 5,000mAh capacity. Plus, it has three rear camera lenses (and a questionable design choice) and can shoot 4K video at 120fps.

The iPhone Air is an entirely new iPhone model and it's insanely slim at just 5.6mm at its thinnest point. It packs the same processor as the 17 Pro, but it has just one camera lens and a shorter battery life than the other models. We're not entirely sure who it's for, but it looks pretty sweet nonetheless.

Where to buy the new iPhones

As I mentioned before, your best bet to get the new iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, or Air in your pocket today is by heading to the Apple Store or your local AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or other carrier store. If you're not as pressed on instant gratification, you can order it at all major phone carriers, as well as retailers like Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and Apple directly. Shipping officially begins today, Sept. 19, but expect inventory to be limited.

As far as iPhone 17 deals are concerned, there are plenty of ways you can get credits toward a new phone by trading in your old device. If you're interested in trade-in options, you can learn more about it via Mashable's best iPhone 17 deals guide.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPhone 17 starting at $799 Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max starting at $1,099 Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPhone Air starting at $999 Shop Now

When it comes to mice—gaming models in particular—there are few specifications thrown around as much as DPI or Dots Per Inch. Bigger, simple numbers have always been a marketer's dream, but now with mice boasting silly numbers like 12,000 or 30,000 DPI, mouse makers have truly lost the plot.

Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, has officially released the beta version of Ubuntu 25.10, codenamed "Questing Quokka". This is a big deal because it's the last interim release before the next long-term support version, which is slated for April 2026.

Best iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air deals Apple Apple iPhone 17 Get up to $200 to $700 in credit when you trade in iPhone 13 or higher. Get Deal AT&T Apple iPhone 17 Pro Get iPhone 17 Pro for $0 with iPhone trade in of iPhone 13 or higher (excludes iPhone 13 Mini). Get Deal Best Buy Apple iPhone 17 Pro Get up to $1,100 off of an iPhone 17 Pro with qualified trade-in. Get Deal T-Mobile Apple iPhone Air Get iPhone Air for free when you switch to T-Mobile and add a line on Experience plans. Get Deal Verizon Apple iPhone 17 Pro Get the new iPhone 17 Pro for free with eligible phone trade-in and an Unlimited Ultimate plan. Available to new and existing customers. Get Deal

The new iPhones have landed! As of Sept. 19, the latest round of iPhones are now available for purchase. With their launch comes an abundance of deals. To tempt you to buy the new iPhone, Apple and other mobile carriers, like T-Mobile and Verizon are offering big savings, practically giving away the new iPhone.

Early reviews of the new iPhone 17 are in, and people are coming around on the design, which the internet was quick to label as ugly. Plus, reviewers are noting that the selfie camera and battery life received major improvements. So if you held off on pre-ordering the new iPhone 17, 17 Pro, or Air, now is a great time to buy.

You can now find iPhone deals that give you over $1,000 in savings — some mobile carriers are even giving away iPhones with an eligible trade-in. We've rounded up the best deals on the new iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and Air that you can shop now.

Apple iPhone Deals

• Get up to $200 to $700 in credit toward iPhone 17 when you trade in iPhone 13 or higher.

• Get up to $200 to $700 in credit toward iPhone 17 Pro when you trade in iPhone 13 or higher.

• Get up to $200 to $700 in credit toward iPhone Air when you trade in iPhone 13 or higher.

AT&T iPhone Deals

• Get iPhone 17 for $0 with iPhone trade in of iPhone 13 or higher (excludes iPhone 13 Mini).

• Get iPhone 17 Pro for $0 with iPhone trade in of iPhone 13 or higher (excludes iPhone 13 Mini).

• Get up to $1,100 off an iPhone 17 Pro Max with trade in of iPhone 13 or higher (excludes iPhone 13 Mini).

• Get up to $830 off an iPhone Air with trade in of iPhone 13 or higher (excludes iPhone 13 Mini).

Best Buy iPhone Deals

• Get up to $830 off of an iPhone Air with qualified trade-in.

• Get up to $830 off of an iPhone 17 with qualified trade-in.

• Get up to $1,100 off of an iPhone 17 Pro with qualified trade-in.

• Get up to $1,100 off on an iPhone 17 Pro Max with qualified trade-in.

T-Mobile iPhone Deals

• Get iPhone 17 for free. No trade-in needed, when you switch to T-Mobile and add a line on Experience plans.

• Get iPhone Air for free. No trade-in needed, when you switch to T-Mobile and add a line on Experience plans.

• Get up to $1,100 on iPhone 17 Pro with trade-in of an eligible phone in any condition.

• Get up to $1,100 on iPhone 17 Pro Max with trade-in of an eligible phone in any condition.

Verizon iPhone Deals

• Get an iPhone 17 for free when you switch to Verizon myPlan.

• Get the new iPhone 17 Pro for free with eligible phone trade-in and an Unlimited Ultimate plan. Available to new and existing customers.

• Get an iPhone 17 Pro and an Apple Watch Series 11 for free with eligible phone trade and an Unlimited Ultimate plan.

Microsoft Excel's WRAPCOLS and WRAPROWS functions let you reshape a single row or column of data into a two-dimensional array. This is useful for restructuring raw data, making large datasets easier to read, or creating groups with specific numerical parameters.

Notion just launched Notion 3.0, which the company is calling the biggest update ever for its popular productivity app. This update will let Notion work with you to make better notes and give you an agent to help you create better spaces.

Tails 7.0 is here, and it's a huge update that brings a ton of new features and improvements to the privacy-focused operating system. The new version is the first to be based on Debian 13 (Trixie) and GNOME 48 (Bengaluru), which means there are new versions of almost all the included applications.

The majority of the time, we have no idea what the IP addresses of our devices are. You don't need to know that your phone has an IP address of 192.168.1.12 on your local network in order to use it. Your router takes care of assigning and reassigning IP addresses in the background, and you're not even aware that it's happening.