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SAVE $40: As of July 14, the Keurig K-Iced Coffee Maker is on sale for $89.99 at Amazon. That's $40 off its full price of $129.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Keurig Keurig K-Iced Coffee Maker $89.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $40.00   Get Deal

When the weather feels a bit too hot, as it has so far this summer, an iced coffee is the perfect pick in the morning. The Keurig K-Iced Coffee Maker can help brew these up for you (alongside hot coffee, for when you prefer that), and it's currently on sale at Amazon. What better time to check it out?

As of July 14, both the white and gray models of the Keurig K-Iced Coffee Maker have been marked down to $89.99 at Amazon. Compared to their full price of $129.99, you're saving $40.

SEE ALSO: De'Longhi has expanded its espresso machine lineup — where to buy Classic Matte Black and Classic Stainless Steel

If you're hoping to enjoy a fresh iced coffee in the mornings, the Keurig K-Iced automatically adjusts the brew temperature of your preferred coffee so it starts out hotter to get a full flavor, then cools down. That way it won't taste watered down while you're drinking it. A hot cup of coffee can be brewed just as easily and there's even a "Strong Brew" function that makes it a bit bolder.

No matter what you're brewing, the Keurig K-Iced can accommodate three cup sizes: 8, 10, and 12oz. For iced coffee, this includes ice. Plus, it can brew with any K-Cup pod, including the My K-Cup universal coffee filter.

Be quick to score this great deal on the Keurig K-Iced Coffee Maker at Amazon while it's still on sale.

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You might think that a brand new HDD is the safest it's ever going to be, but that's not true. Worse yet, just like an SSD can fail at 100% health, an HDD can fail without showing any SMART errors whatsoever.

After three developer betas, Apple has launched the first public beta of its mobile operating system, iOS 27. While still not a final release (that one is coming in September), the public beta is the first stable release for the adventurous users to try.

And try it they should, as iOS 27 brings a number of cool new features and improvements, including a number of upgraded AI features.

We've been using the developer beta since the first day, and sifted through every feature and improvement to see which ones actually count. Here's our list of the seven best new features you should try right now.

Our big Guessing Game is back! Enter now for a chance to win.

Before we start, here's a big caveat: A lot of these, including the most important ones like Siri AI, are not available anywhere in the EU or China due to Apple's dispute over AI with European regulators. Unfortunately, the timeline on when they might become available is pretty murky.

SEE ALSO: These 29 iPhones support iOS 27 and the public beta: Is yours on the list? Siri AI

If you're in the U.S., Siri AI will work for you, and you can access it by either uttering the "Hey Siri" voice command, pressing and holding the iPhone's side button, or swiping down from the Dynamic Island on top of your screen.

Besides being smarter, Siri now looks better, too. Credit: Apple

Once it's activated, you can use it to search for documents, emails, and photos on your device, ask it questions about a website on your screen (or any sort of general questions), get recommendations for places and activities, and easily create home automations. For a detailed overview of Siri's new features, go here.

Visual Intelligence

Unfortunately, the same caveat goes for this one: It's not available in the EU at launch.

It's a pity, because it's a cool feature that lets you point your camera at things and get information about them from Siri. This includes splitting a restaurant bill, getting working hours for a business, figuring out which plant or animal you're looking at, and more.

You can access Visual Intelligence by clicking and holding the Camera Control button, or (if you have an iPhone that doesn't have the Camera Control button) either through Control Center or by customizing the Action button or Lock Screen.

Child Safety

Every parent knows what a nightmare the parental control features can be. You think you've set up everything right, only to discover that your kid still has unlimited access to YouTube (and is using it without any limits whatsoever).

Sometimes you just need a few simple options. Credit: Apple

In iOS 27, Apple has overhauled the Child Safety features with an easier setup, more granular control over apps and websites, and better screen time management. The Communication Safety feature can even intervene before a child sees gore or violence in videos and images shared over Messages and FaceTime.

There are detailed options for time allowances across several categories, including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media. Perhaps most importantly, there are now simple controls to either fully pause device use, or allow unlimited use of a device.

Better photo editing Not happy with the perspective of the photo? You can now change it after the fact. Credit: Apple

The new, AI-enhanced photo editing tools are a pretty cool way to fix your photos, even some of the ones which came out quite poorly. The three new tools, available under "Tools" when you start editing a photo, include Clean Up, which lets you remove unwanted objects with a tap or a gesture. The Extend tool will automagically add content around the borders using AI, and Reframe lets you adjust the perspective of a photo.

New Image Playground

Yeah, another thing that's absent in the EU. If you have it, it's a cool one. Image Playground was actually there before, in iOS 26, but the images it could generate were mostly cartoons or simple illustrations. Now, you can get photorealistic images, too.

Image Playground is no longer limited to cartoon images. Credit: Apple

If you don't like your result, you can fine-tune it by adding additional prompts, with the option to precisely mark the part of the image that you want changed.

Smarter Shortcuts

I don't know a lot of people who use Shortcuts, probably because the idea of manually setting up a chain of actions for your phone sounds pretty tricky to do.

In iOS 27, however, Apple has simplified this by adding the option to describe the shortcut and have it created automatically. To access it, open Shortcuts and tap New Shortcut, and just describe what you want the Shortcut to do. Stuff like "Turn the lights on, turn on Do Not Disturb, and start playing my favorite album" should work.

Liquid Glass adjustment Too liquid? You can change that. Credit: Apple

This is a small one, but it's important to a lot of folks. Under Settings - Appearances, you can now set exactly how clear or tinted you want your "liquified" apps and UI elements in iOS 27 to be.

Personally, I push the slider to the left for a maximum clear look, but folks who want more readability over visual pizzaz might want to push it the other way to get a more tinted appearance.

AirPods EQ

How long have we been waiting for this one? In iOS 27, Apple finally added detailed equalizer settings for AirPods.

Finding those settings is a little tricky, though. When your AirPods are connected to your phone, go to Settings - Bluetooth, navigate to the AirPods, and tap the little "i" to the right. Then go to Audio and Routing - Equalizer - Custom. From there, you can adjust the bass, midrange, and treble to whatever your heart desires.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 Tour de France for free on SBS on Demand. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

We know there's a lot of sport taking place right now and your schedule is probably stacked with live action from the World Cup and Wimbledon, but can we suggest making a little time for the Tour de France? It is the world's most prestigious cycling race, after all.

This edition of the Tour de France is shaping up to be pretty special. Tadej Pogacar will be tough to beat. He's seeking a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, but he's going to face stiff competition from his rival Jonas Vingegaard and new star Paul Seixas. It's going to be a fascinating ride over the next few weeks, and it's already started with a number of days of intense racing.

If you're interested in watching the 2026 Tour de France for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

What is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France is an annual men's multi-stage bicycle race held in France (and often passing through nearby countries). This famous race forms part of the Grand Tours (alongside the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España).

The defending champion is Tadej Pogacar.

When is the 2026 Tour de France?

The 2026 Tour de France is the 113th edition of the event. This year's event takes place from July 4-26.

How to watch the 2026 Tour de France for free

The 2026 Tour de France is available to live stream for free on SBS on Demand.

SBS on Demand is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone from around the world can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the 2026 Tour de France from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 Tour de France for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia

4. Connect to SBS on Demand

5. Stream the 2026 Tour de France from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for unblocking streaming sites are not free, but they do tend to offer free trials and money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the 2026 Tour de France without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you time to follow the 2026 Tour de France before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free live streams from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Tour de France?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for accessing free live streams from around the world, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, as well as platforms like Linux, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and routers

• Strict no-logging policy

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2026 Tour de France for free with ExpressVPN.

I have always had a rocky relationship with smart bulbs. I never really saw much benefit beyond the initial novelty, which wore off rather quickly.

When you hear "open source" it's natural to immediately think of Linux, but what software license an application uses has nothing to do with which operating system it runs on.

Android 17 is the year’s big version update, but it’s admittedly not the most exciting one we’ve seen in recent years. That’s not to say there’s been nothing useful added, though. One of the quieter new features will make location access a much more locked-down permission.

Copying around a couple of small files, like screenshots or documents, is, for the most part, normally fine. They’re normally small files, and you won’t have much trouble moving them around. The problem, however, comes when you actually have to move around a file that’s several gigabytes in size, or worse, several of them—using the regular tools meant for that purpose, your PC will be struggling.

Apple unveiled both the long-awaited Siri AI and a new generation of operating system updates at WWDC 2026 in June. Then, on Monday, Apple officially released the public betas of iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27.

In addition, Apple has opened up a beta version of Siri AI that lets users try out the new AI-powered virtual assistant.

Our big Guessing Game is back! Enter now for a chance to win.

However, that doesn't mean the iOS 27 beta will automatically unlock access to Siri AI. On top of that, not all iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Apple devices will support Apple Intelligence and Siri AI.

So, if you're eager to try Siri AI for yourself, here's everything you need to know about device compatibility, the public betas, and the Siri waitlist, plus the steps you'll need to follow:

Total Time

• 20-25 minutes

What You Need

• A compatible Apple device

Step 1: Make sure your device supports Siri AI

Step 2: Sign up for the Apple beta program and back up your device

Step 3: Make sure Apple Intelligence is turned on for your device

Step 4: Update your device to iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, or visionOS 27

Step 5: Join the Siri AI waitlist

Credit: Mashable Step 1: Make sure your device supports Siri AI

First, you need to make sure your device will support Siri AI and Apple Intelligence in the first place. iOS 27 and the other new software updates coming this fall will bring changes to Liquid Glass, new Apple Intelligence features, and general improvements. The new AI version of Siri will also work across apps to make your device more capable. (Or, that's the idea, anyway.)

Remember: Some older Apple devices won't support Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. In addition, the full suite of Siri AI features, such as expressive voices, will not be available on some older devices that do support Apple Intelligence. So, make sure you have one of the following devices:

• For iPhone users: iOS 27 and Siri AI will be available on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17e, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air. Full access to all Siri AI features will only be available on the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

• For iPad users: iPadOS 27 and Siri AI will be available on iPads with an M1 chip or newer, or the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip. Full access to all Siri AI features requires an M4 chip and a minimum of 12GB of RAM.

• For Mac users: macOS 27 Golden Gate and Siri AI will be available on Macs with M1 chips and newer. Full access will be available for devices with M3 chips (or newer) and 12GB of RAM.

• For Vision Pro users: Full access to all Siri AI features will be available only on the M5 Vision Pro, but all Vision Pro devices will support visionOS 27 and Siri AI.

SEE ALSO: Public betas of iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and watchOS 27 are live: How to install Step 2: Sign up for the Apple beta program and back up your device

This step is pretty self-explanatory. If you haven't already, sign up for the Apple beta software program. As always, back up your device before downloading an operating system update or beta software.

Step 3: Make sure Apple Intelligence is activated on your device

Go to Settings on your device, then Apple Intelligence & Siri. Tap "Turn On Apple Intelligence."

Step 4: Update your device to iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, or visionOS 27

To do this, go to Settings, General, and then Software Updates. Under "Beta Updates," select "iOS 27 Public Beta" and update your device.

Step 5: Join the Siri AI waitlist

OK, so you've got the iOS 27 public beta up and running on your device. You're almost there.

Next, go to Settings, Siri, and tap "Try the new Siri (Beta)."

How long until you get approved for the Siri AI waitlist?

Wait times can vary, but in general, users with access to the Apple Developer Program seem to get approved more quickly. The approval process shouldn't take more than five to 10 days, and some users will get approved within 24 hours.

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Featured Video For You Is ChatGPT Changing the Way We Write?

While UniFi used to be seen as an SMB or enterprise-only networking option, it has increasingly become a more consumer-friendly networking platform. Here are four features that make UniFi a real alternative to Amazon's eero platform.

Just because you're an A-list actor, doesn't mean you'll always get a response when you slide into someone's DMs.

That was apparently Tom Holland's experience when he DM'd Norweigan footballer Erling Haaland to ask if he wanted to go for dinner. In the Tonight Show clip above, Holland explains that he didn't even get a rejection — just a tumbleweed.

"I'll tell you what, that is exactly the type of humbling experience that is important for actors," says the Odyssey star, looking on the bright side. "You know, you'll be like, I'll text him, I'll take him to dinner. Not even a response. Not an excuse, not an 'Oh, I'm busy tonight, I'm playing football'...nada."

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Lightroom is still the go-to editor for many people who shoot RAW photos. But it comes with an expensive subscription and the desktop version feels increasingly neglected in favor of its cloud-based companion. If you’d rather keep your files on your own computer instead of syncing everything online, darktable is one of the best free alternatives.

ESP32 boards have become a popular choice for hobbyist projects and smart home sensors. For many projects, they can be a better choice than a Raspberry Pi, since they're cheaper, use less power, and are still very capable. For some things, however, the Raspberry Pi still wins.

Following the death of U.S. senator Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump called up Fox & Friends to talk about his friend — and it was quite the eulogy.

Like Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Ike Barinholtz, Seth Meyers reacted to Trump's comments about the South Carolina Republican, which included statements like, "He'd call me all the time, I'd say, 'Stop calling me, Lindsey.'"

"What a touching tribute," said Meyers. "Very rare for the person giving the eulogy to say, 'I wish I'd talked to him less.'"

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Ever since Linux distributions gained a cult following among computer users in the '90s, they dreamed of overtaking Windows as the most widely used desktop OS. One company tried to do it by creating a distro that was as Windows-like as possible. This effort, Lindows, attracted the ire of Microsoft, but a trademark lawsuit almost backfired on the software giant.

Sometimes so much news is happening that time itself becomes difficult to keep track of.

That's certainly the sense you get watching Seth Meyers' Late Night return monologue above, in which he rattles through the headlines for the past few weeks while becoming increasingly out of breath.

"Everyone thought Mitch McConnell was dead because he disappeared, and then Lindsey Graham said he was gonna go check on him when he was off, and then Graham died?" pants Meyers. "Trump intervened to get a red card in a World Cup match overturned while admitting he didn't know what a red card was, and then when Belgium beat the U.S. they made fun of Trump by doing his stupid dance?"

It goes on like that for five full minutes with barely any breaks, and Meyers struggling to finish a sentence before moving on to the next headline.

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TL;DR: The ASUS ROG Swift 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor (PG32UCDMR) is on sale for $899 at Amazon, down from its $1,299.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: ASUS ASUS ROG Strix 32-inch 4K OLED Gaming Monitor (PG32UCDMR) $899 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $400.99 Get Deal

Putting 4K, OLED, and a 240Hz refresh rate together usually sends a gaming monitor well past the $1,000 mark, but Amazon has now dragged one of ASUS’ premium ROG Swift displays below $900 for a limited time. 

As of July 14, the ASUS ROG Swift 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor (PG32UCDMR) is on sale at Amazon for $899. That cuts $400.99 from its $1,299.99 list price, taking 31% off the high-end display. It's also the monitor’s lowest-ever price on Amazon, as we confirmed when checking price tracker camelcamelcamel.

At the time of writing, this monitor — sold and shipped directly by Amazon — can be delivered to you for free as soon as Sunday, 19 July. You can get it even sooner if you're a Prime member.

The PG32UCDMR pairs a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time. It is also G-SYNC Compatible, giving players another way to keep fast movement smooth when frame rates fluctuate, both in multiplayer hits like Fortnite and awesome single-player adventures like Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

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For colour and HDR, the display covers 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, supports true 10-bit colour, and carries VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification. That makes it not only useful for more vivid gaming, but also for creative work, like editing photos and video on the same setup. 

Alongside the usual reliable connectivity options (DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, and USB-C with 90W Power Delivery), ASUS has also included its OLED Care Pro features — including a Neo Proximity Sensor that detects when you step away and switches the panel to a black screen to help reduce burn-in risk.

For a final flourish for peace of mind, the monitor is covered by a three-year warranty with burn-in protection. The box includes DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, and USB 3.2 cables, a VESA mount kit, ROG pouch, and other setup essentials.

Following the death of U.S. senator Lindsey Graham, many public statements have been made about the South Carolina Republican and close Donald Trump ally.

Trump himself made a call to Fox & Friends to talk about Graham, and the comments were a mixed bag, from taking light jabs at the senator's golf skills to getting in a few comments about "rigged elections."

Like Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and Late Night's Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Ike Barinholtz examined Trump's wide-ranging eulogy.

"We all grieve in different ways," said The Studio star in his monologue. "There's stages to grief: it's denial, anger, spacing out, pissing yourself, forgetting what you were talking about, and then changing the subject completely."

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SAVE OVER $10: As of July 14, the Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection has dropped to a new record-low price of $61.10 at Amazon. That's $18.89 off its full price of $79.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection (77056) $61.10 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $18.89   Get Deal

If you're a fan of both Lego and Animal Crossing, Amazon has quite the treat for you right now. The delightful Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection has officially hit a new low price at Amazon, though not for long.

As of July 14, this cute Lego set has dropped from its list price of $79.99 to $61.10, saving you just over $18. However, there's a bar in the top right corner that shows this build is quickly being claimed (89%, as of the time of this writing). So if you want to take advantage of this offer, you'll want to be quick to grab it before it's gone.

SEE ALSO: Lego's Olivia Rodrigo collab just dropped: Where to buy, preorder details, price

With 543 pieces, this Lego set of Blathers’s Museum Collection sees you creating the museum alongside some exhibits that are customizable. There's also fun extras like a fountain and the Roost café, alongside two minifigures of Lily the frog and Blathers the owl (the museum's curator).

Again, this deal is going quick. Act fast to save on the Lego Animal Crossing Blathers’s Museum Collection set at Amazon. Looking for more great Lego to work on this year? Check out our roundup of the 10 best Lego sets of 2026 so far to see some of our favorites.

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Beth, 27, had been on four dates with a man we’ll call Matt* when the pair passed a modern relationship milestone. 

Matt followed Beth on Instagram. She followed him back. They continued to chat over WhatsApp and planned their next date. 

But the next day, Beth spotted something alarming. On Matt’s Instagram stories, he had partaken in a trend to use generative AI to create a doll-like figure of himself, complete with themed accessories. Beth was immediately repulsed. 

“It was cringe on multiple levels,” Beth told me in aghast tones over spicy margaritas in cans. “Firstly that he took part in a lame social media trend – and late, might I add – secondly that he thought the result was interesting enough to share, but mostly that he used AI to do it, and had no hesitation in admitting that. Bring back shame.” 

“It was cringe on multiple levels."

Beth went sleuthing through Matt’s grid and found that some of the captions – not all – had a whiff of AI about them. She scrolled back through their initial chats on Hinge and suddenly, all his charming lines seemed suspicious. “There weren’t em dashes or anything like that, but his opener felt off; it didn’t sound like him.” 

She began to spiral. Just how much of their apparent connection had been forged by the likes of ChatGPT and Claude? Had he used AI to choose the specific pub they went to for date number two, which had been strangely central rather than in their respective locales of east and south London? Had he fed their conversations to a bot to craft a smooth response? 

SEE ALSO: Companion AI use is a dating dealbreaker, Match survey says

Along with that suspicion came another feeling, which Beth acknowledges could be seen as superficial: that AI is embarrassing, thus Matt was embarrassing, and she was significantly less attracted to him than she was before. She ghosted him. 

Beth is far from alone in experiencing the AI ick. Many daters have negative views of AI use, according to research by Match Group, which owns dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid. Fifty one percent of women aged 18 to 24 say they would refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app, per the research. Generally, studies point to negative feelings about AI outweighing positive emotions, so it’s little surprise that these sentiments are carrying over into our romantic relationships. 

These negative views of AI are rubbing up against increased use of it for, well, everything, Ofcom research says more than half (54 percent) of UK adults use AI tools, and this jumps up to 79 percent among those aged 16-24 and 74 percent for 25-34s. The data suggests we’re using AI in increasingly personal areas of our lives.   The most common use of generative AI in both 2026 and 2025 was therapy and companionship, according to 2026’s AI In The Wild report. The 7th most common use (out of 100 on the list) was "relationship advice," per the findings.

AI isn’t only intruding in the early dating world. The AI ick is affecting long-term relationships, too –  Wired journalist Alessandra Ram coined “the sad wives of AI” to describe the many women disgruntled by their partner’s overreliance on the tech. Men are more likely to use generative AI than women, so it’s unsurprising that when I asked people for stories of the AI ick, only women in heterosexual relationships reported experiencing the issue. 

We haven’t yet seen a wave of AI-prompted divorces or ‘AI widows’, but couples’ therapists tell me they’ve heard clients mentioning AI’s impact, which can range from irritation to the consideration of a breakup. Amy*, 34, has been with her husband for eight years and doubts AI will result in their divorce, but she admits (anonymously) that she has concerns about her partner’s AI use. 

"I worry how it's impacting his critical thinking."

“He uses it to help him make decisions – where to buy a used car, how to write a sternly worded email to the council, what smart shoes to buy for a wedding,” she explains. “I'd say he uses it weekly, sometimes more. I try not to judge him for it because I know so many people are doing the same, and nowadays thanks to AI overview, it's not too dissimilar to plugging a question into Google. But I worry how it's impacting his critical thinking; if Chat is making every decision for him (sometimes incorrectly – AI is rife with misinformation). Not to mention the impact it's having on the job market and the environment.”

Amy has raised the topic with her husband, but says “he doesn’t see it as a problem”. It’s worth noting that Amy is not a total AI refusenik, having turned to it for advice with legal matters and tax, which does make her feel like “a bit of a hypocrite”. But even so, each time she learns her husband has used AI for something, the AI ick arrives – “to an extent you can get ‘the ick’ when you’re married!”

Similarly, Nara*’s boyfriend of three years, Sam*, has an “almost daily” AI habit that causes frustration, especially when he uses it to win arguments or prove her wrong. “I don’t like when he uses AI as a primary source of research on a topic,” says Nara. “It’s such a shallow way to understand something. What I find more frustrating is if I buy him a book on a topic, he won’t read the book but he’ll just use AI.” Asked what she would change in their relationship if he had a non-AI magic wand, Nara said: “Magically make him seek information from a variety of sources.” 

While the AI ick in casual dating tends to be more about simply our perception of the type of person who uses AI, in more serious relationships it can emerge from a deeper hurt – that caused by a partner turning away from you and towards a third party, in this case AI. “If AI is used as an ally or as a kind of ammunition in an argument, this could be quite inflammatory,” says Joanna Harrison, a couples' therapist and the author of Five Arguments All Couples (Need To) Have. “It leaves the other person feeling more defensive and less likely to engage. If AI is tending to be sycophantic, and making one person feel that their view is the ‘right’ one, then this is going to make them less curious in their partner’s point of view – and that’s what really matters, rather than who is right, that both people are interested in each other.” 

SEE ALSO: Why 'Love Island' feels like the most accurate show about dating today

AI can act as an unintentional wall in the middle of connection. People praise AI because it makes things easier and quicker, requiring less effort from the human. But in a relationship, effort goes a long way. We want our partners to try in order to show that they care. "Our intimate couple relationships are the place we long to be seen, to be understood, to be known in a special way," Harrison continues. "Intimacy builds when a partner shows that they have understood something of us, or shows that they are really trying to understand who we are, as well as at the same time being open themselves to being seen and trying to express themselves. When AI is the substitute for this, the sense of a special intimate connection can be broken," she adds. 

“Take a present or a date planned and chosen by a partner’s imagination. There’s a sense of effort going into it, thought going into it, a kind of love ‘work’ that has gone on to try to curate something bespoke. If AI has chosen the gift or planned the evening, does it feel so intimate?” 

Experts are united in their belief that the answer to the AI ick and the woes caused by it does not lie in pretending not to see the ghostly online presence in the room. Jane James, a couples' therapist of 18 years, says: “Ignoring it is the worst thing to do.” 

Instead, conversation is needed. And as soon as possible. “The more a habit, such as more tech use, becomes embedded, the harder it is to raise the subject and the more it feels like conflict or criticism,” James notes. “The topic needs to be identified and discussed early on. Talk about AI generally together. What are your opinions? Do you use it? What for? Do friends use it? Raise it as a subject like everything else.”

Agreeing on ground rules is wise, but these shouldn’t be a blanket ban on AI use. We’re aiming for compromise, not control. A boundary might be that AI shouldn’t be used during quality time together. Or conversely, you might agree that it can be used for relationship purposes as long as both partners are involved in the prompts. “Using AI together for planning, investigating, and research is an excellent idea,” suggests James. “Sharing what you find out and using the information for activities etc is positive and helpful.” 

AI isn’t doomed to have a negative impact on your relationship – it’s all about how you use it. Harrison says: “If it helps a couple turn towards each other, not away from each other, and supports them to listen to each other more, and see each other's perspective, then this could be a positive. If on the other hand it puts up a barrier between them or polarises them then I see it as something less helpful.” 

Finally, if you’re the partner who’s using AI more frequently, be conscious of how it might shape how your partner sees you. Carolina*, 45, says that her ex’s excessive use of AI “may have cost the relationship”. They’ve broken up now but his AI posts give her the retroactive ick. Over the course of our conversation, she uses the following words to describe how his AI use makes her view him: “narcissistic, wanky, embarrassing, so fake, and so desperate.” Her ending note is simply to describe him as “so cringe”. Unless these are words you would like a partner to use to describe you, perhaps proceed with caution. 

Critical thinking, an appreciation of human creativity, typos in place of perfection – these are things that have never been sexier.

*Names have been changed