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Netflix's U.S. top five is predominantly earthbound at the moment, which is no real surprise. Jacob Tremblay plays a young Ted Kaczynski while Shailen Woodley gives chase in Unabomber, Tyler Perry's Doing Life keeps his chart streak alive, and the true-crime doc TheWidower: 'Til Death Do Us Part is mesmerizing nonfiction (more on it in my weekly documentary roundup).

Marvel screened the first episode of VisionQuest at New York Comic Con today, surprising attendees of its packed "Up Next From Marvel Television and Marvel Animation" panel.

The energy was electric as audiences got an early look at the MCU's latest show, which marks the end of the loosely connected WandaVision trilogy that began with WandaVision and Agatha All Along. VisionQuest reunites viewers with synthezoid Vision (Paul Bettany) — or at least, a version of him. The Vision at the heart of VisionQuest is not technically the same Vision who was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, then killed in Avengers: Infinity War, then resurrected by wife Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) in WandaVision. That iteration of Vision disappeared when Wanda released her hex on the town of Westview.

SEE ALSO: 2026 fall TV preview: Every show you should know about

Instead, VisionQuest's lead is the rebuilt version of Vision. He was originally created by S.W.O.R.D. to use as a weapon. However, when he encountered Wanda's facsimile of Vision in the WandaVision finale, he gained all of Vision's memories — both those of the dead Vision, and the recreated one — and went rogue.

If that all sounds complicated and heady, I don't blame you! But based on the first episode screened at NYCC, VisionQuest manages to move past all that dense lore and jump into something far more fascinating: a deep dive into Vision's identity crisis. Mashable was on the ground at Marvel's NYCC panel, so we've got you covered on what to expect from VisionQuest — and what we're most excited about.

VisionQuest's AI squad is an absolute delight. Orla Brady, James D'Arcy, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Lewis in "VisionQuest." Credit: Marvel Studios

VisionQuest picks up several years after the end of WandaVision. Vision lives in disguised human form, working at a pub in Edinburgh that he and Wanda used to visit when they lived there. (Or really, Wanda and a past version of Vision.) He's trying to gain a better understanding of humanity, as well as his own inherited memories of living among them.

When he's not making awkward small talk with pub patrons, Vision retreats into his simulated mind palace: a vast mansion staffed by other AI from across the MCU, now appearing in human avatars. He's downloaded them and set them up in his own quantum processor, which basically means they live in his head rent-free. In return, they carry out jobs of their own. Iron Man's J.A.R.V.I.S. (James D'Arcy) is basically Vision's butler and security. Avengers: Age of Ultron's F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Orla Brady) gives him tips on how to socialize. Spider-Man: Far From Home's E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire) is in charge of educating Vision on how humans have fun. (It apparently involves a lot of daredevil stunts.)

SEE ALSO: 'Avengers: Endgame Encore' sets up 'Doomsday' with 4 new scenes. Here's what happens.

The resulting dynamic is downright charming, with Vision and his AI buddies coming across as friendly, if occasionally beleaguered, housemates. And what a house it is, full of eye-popping colors and a barrage of visual puns. (Vision stocks the house with simulated food, including bags of Microchips and jars of Visimite.) Thanks to its retro stylings, the house echoes the hyper-specific visual storytelling of WandaVision.

Ultron's return to the MCU is triumphant (and sassy). James Spader and Paul Bettany in "VisionQuest." Credit: Marvel Studios

One of the biggest headlines around VisionQuest is the return of Avengers villain Ultron (James Spader). Based on the first episode alone, that return does not disappoint.

Right from the jump, VisionQuest's Ultron is a sullen scene-stealer. He lives in the attic of Vision's house, blasting loud music to annoy everyone below, just like a moody teen. He hurls insults at simulated food delivery drivers, and when that's not enough, he hurls grenades. He's a fount of withering one-liners, at one point calling the house's decor "the psilocybin collection from IKEA," and he's also decided that his human avatar might be a "hat guy." That means Spader spends a good chunk of the first episode rocking a jaunty top hat, the perfect accessory to Ultron's malicious whimsy. With Ultron in human form, Spader gets free rein to chew VisionQuest's scenery, and the show is better for it.

SEE ALSO: Everything we know about Marvel's 'VisionQuest'

Ultron also pushes Vision to consider the more contemplative themes of the show: questions of free will, of the links between the old Visions' memories and this current Vision's identity, of Vision's complicated relationship with humanity. That's something Ultron himself still appears to be reckoning with. If he, like Vision, had a corporeal form and could walk among humans, he jokes that it would be a coin flip between whether he would visit the great museums of the world or launch all of humanity's missiles. It's a dark joke, but in the age of ever-accelerating AI, it certainly hits different.

VisionQuest reunites Vision with his son, Tommy. Ruaridh Mollica in "VisionQuest." Credit: Marvel Studios

Vision isn't the only WandaVision character struggling with the fallout from his time in Westview. So is one of his and Wanda's twin sons, speedster Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica).

In a storyline running parallel to Vision's quest for enlightenment, VisionQuest introduces Tommy as a roguish grifter who's able to slip into a new identity or total invisibility at a moment's notice. But when the world gets wind that Vision is still at large, he begins to experience strange flashes of a family he barely remembers, as well as glimpses of the Battle of Westview.

The fragments frighten Tommy and send him into a panic attack, marking a clear departure from how Vision processes his older selves' memories. (He watches them calmly in a home theater, although he can't bear to watch any from Westview.) Despite the contrast between how the pair reacts to their pasts, Tommy and Vision share the common experience of having strange memories that radically shift their perception of self. Based on the first episode, it will be a treat to see how VisionQuest brings these two back into one another's orbits.

VisionQuest proves Diane Morgan should be in everything.

Aside from Ultron, VisionQuest introduces another villain or two who deserve a quick shoutout. Mercenary Paladin (Todd Stashwick) makes an instant impression as a brash bounty hunter, but it's his remote handler (Diane Morgan of Philomena Cunk fame) who takes the cake. Her deadpan delivery rivals Spader's many meaty one-liners, especially when she has to say "Thanos" and "scrotum" in the same sentence, with a straight face. Forget Avengers: Doomsday; when are we getting her solo movie?

VisionQuest premieres Oct. 14 on Disney+.

TL;DR: During Deal Days, you can get an AcePDF Lifetime License for just $23.97. Sale ends Oct. 11.

Opens in a new window Credit: Acethinker AcePDF Converter & Editor: Lifetime License $23.97
$99.99 Save $76.02   Get Deal

Most PDF editors ask you to pay a monthly fee. It’s a hefty investment just to use one of the most popular file formats in the world, but there are other options. AcePDF is a popular new PDF editor that doesn’t require a monthly fee, but it usually costs $99.99 for a lifetime license.

Deal Days is a new alternative to Prime Day, and that’s how you can get an AcePDF Lifetime License on sale for just $23.97. No coupon needed.

Scanned documents are the hardest case for most PDF editors. A scanner saves each page as an image, so, to your computer, the words on it are just pixels. AcePDF uses OCR to read the shapes of those letters and turn them back into text you can select, search, and edit. Your original layout and graphics stay in place, and OCR reads text in multiple languages.

From there, you can turn a PDF into a Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, text, JPG, or PNG file without breaking the layout, images, or hyperlinks. Going the other direction, you can combine Word files, spreadsheets, slides, and images into one PDF in a few clicks. For a big stack of files, batch conversion processes them together instead of one at a time.

You can also edit a PDF without converting it first. AcePDF lets you change text, add or remove images, fill in existing forms, and create new ones with text fields, checkboxes, and shapes. For reviewing drafts, you can add comments, stamps, watermarks, and arrows right on the page.

You can even reorganize existing PDFs, with tools to merge, split, rotate, and compress files. One click extracts every JPG and PNG from a document, and you can add a password to a file before sharing it or remove one you know.

PDFs can be easy. Through Oct. 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT, it’s only $23.97 to get an AcePDF Lifetime License.

Check out the rest of the Deal Days Collection before it ends.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: ChatPlayground AI Unlimited is $59.97 for life through Oct. 11, bringing 20+ AI models into one interface for side-by-side comparisons, unlimited messages, file chats, and AI image generation.

Opens in a new window Credit: ChatPlayground AI ChatPlayground AI: Lifetime Subscription (Unlimited Plan) $59.97
$619 Save $559.03   Get Deal

If you’ve ever copied the same prompt into three different AI tools just to see which one gives the best answer, you’re not alone. Different models excel at different things — but juggling tabs and subscriptions gets old fast. ChatPlayground AI puts the top AI models in one place, so you can compare responses side by side without the back-and-forth.

Through Oct. 11, a lifetime subscription is on sale for $59.97 (reg. $619) during this Deal Days sale, an alternative to Prime Day.

GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama, Perplexity, and more — all in one clean interface. It’s built for people who iterate fast, test variations, and actually care about optimizing results.

Beyond comparisons, ChatPlayground AI includes prompt engineering tools to refine outputs, image and PDF chat for context-aware responses, saved chat history for ongoing projects, and AI image generation powered by leading models. There’s even a Chrome extension to integrate it directly into your browsing workflow.

The Unlimited Plan means unlimited messages per month, making it ideal for startups, product teams, marketers, and prompt engineers who run experiments nonstop. You also get priority support and early access to new features and future models.

If you’re already paying for multiple AI tools — or constantly switching between them — this consolidates everything into one streamlined platform.

Grab lifetime access to ChatPlayground AI Unlimited for $59.97 through Oct. 11 for Deal Days and stop juggling models for good.

Click here to view more of the Deal Days collection.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Girl meets boy. Girl falls for boy's impeccable taste in music. Boy turns out to be a girl. That's the irresistible premise of The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, the fan-favorite yuri manga making its anime debut in 2027 as a series.

At New York Comic Con on Thursday, Crunchyroll unveiled the adaptation's world premiere trailer, giving fans their first look at Aya and Mitsuki's budding romance.

Based on the manga by Sumiko Arai, The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All — affectionately called Green Yuri by its fans because of its neon color palette — follows Aya Osawa (voiced by Akari Kitō), a popular high schooler who develops a crush on the mysterious, effortlessly cool employee at her local CD shop. With his dark clothes, piercings, and encyclopedic knowledge of rock music, he's basically her dream guy. There's just one problem: He's not a guy at all.

The employee is actually Mitsuki Koga (voiced by Mariya Ise), Aya's quiet, unassuming classmate, whom she barely notices at school. Outside the classroom, however, Mitsuki has an entirely different look. And while Aya remains blissfully unaware of her crush's true identity, the two begin to bond over their shared love of music.

SEE ALSO: How social media changed what it means to be an anime fan

What starts as a case of mistaken identity gradually blossoms into something much sweeter, as Aya and Mitsuki navigate friendship, attraction, and the complicated business of figuring out their feelings.

The manga has become a favorite among romance fans, thanks in part to Arai's striking black-and-green artwork and its deep affection for rock music. Music isn't merely background noise in this story. It's the language through which Aya and Mitsuki first connect, with their shared tastes providing the foundation for a relationship neither quite knows how to define.

And fittingly for a love story built around a shared obsession with rock music, the anime has some serious grunge credentials. Nirvana's 1991 track "Breed" will serve as the opening theme, a collaboration that even has Dave Grohl's stamp of approval. In a special interview with Arai, the former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman said he believed Kurt Cobain would have loved the series, citing its message, aesthetic, and overall vibe. After all, Cobain was never one for rigid gender norms.

Now, the question is how that distinctive visual and musical identity will translate to animation. For fans who have spent years imagining what Aya and Mitsuki's world might look and sound like in motion, the first trailer offers an exciting glimpse.

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All is slated will debut on Cruncyroll on Jan. 8, 2027.

I’ve been running a homelab for about eight years now, and during that time I’ve used both mini PCs and NAS systems for all kinds of workloads. I’ve also gone through several generations of Mini PCs and NAS. After all that experimentation, there is one I would recommend to most people starting their first homelab.

Every extension you install adds startup time, uses memory, and gives you one more thing that can break after an update. Over the years, VS Code has absorbed many once-essential extensions by replacing them with built-in features. That means you might be running an extension for something VS Code can already do natively, making your setup more cluttered than it needs to be.

Google's one-handed gestures for the Pixel Watch have quietly grown from a niche trick into a real way to control the watch. With Wear OS 7 on the Pixel Watch 5, double pinch and wrist turn reach far more screens. Here's what they do and whether they're worth enabling.

I still clearly remember the first time I installed Windows 8 Professional on my computer. I was excited because I'd scored an amazing launch deal good enough that I could actually afford two copies of the OS for my computers.

The pace of technological development is frightening, with AI tools doing things we would have barely believed just a few years ago. That doesn't mean newer is always better; I still use several gadgets daily that are 10 years old or more.

Just when you thought Apple was done with big events for the year after the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo announcement last month, the company has announced another special fête for later this month.

Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak posted a video on his X account on Thursday which teased an upcoming Oct. 13 event. The video shows two women cross-stitching a rainbow Apple logo with the words "Welcome home" and the event date below it.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

What products could Apple possibly be teasing for the event next week? It seems fairly clear that "welcome home" is referring to its Home products line. 

Some long-rumored products that will likely be unveiled at the event include the HomePad, which is an entirely new product from Apple. HomePad isn't the official name for the product, so Apple could change it. However, the product is largely called that when referring to Apple's upcoming smart display device. It's meant to act as a smart home hub, like the HomePod, but with a display. Siri AI will be a major feature on the device as well.

Apple is also expected to launch a new HomePod mini 2, its smart speaker with AI assistant features, as well as a new Apple TV 4K. There hasn't been a new HomePod device since 2023. The Apple TV streaming device line was last refreshed in 2022. So, obviously, both lines are in need of an update.

There's also a good chance that Apple will also unveil the smart home product line it has partnered with LG on.

One interesting aspect about the video Joswiak posted is the design choice for the Apple logo. The rainbow Apple logo certainly looks like a call back to the old Macintosh era. Are we looking into this too much? Or does Apple have something retro up its sleeve that it's planning to unveil too?

We'll find out on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

You're lucky to get a handful of ports on a new laptop, so it's worth investing in a docking station, like this one from Acer, to connect multiple monitors or other devices. It has a slimline design that fits most laptop bags, and you'll never have to stress about your limited port selection again.

Android tracker tags have improved significantly over the past couple of years, but there are still a few areas where AirTag still reigns supreme. The focus is often put on software features, like notifying you when an item is left behind, but I think the real downside is something nobody talks about: their actual physical design.

The Pixel Watch 3 was only released two years ago, but it's already shedding a potentially vital feature. Google has warned that LTE models of the Pixel Watch 2 and 3 are losing free cellular access to Safety Signal on December 12.

The mechanical keyboard hobby has evolved significantly over the past few years. What was once a fairly niche hobby for gamers and typists has become much more mainstream.

Since August, someone (or perhaps a group of people) called Cyberleek has been very busy sharing various gameplay clips of Grand Theft Auto 6. On Aug. 20, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of GTA-maker Rockstar Games, filed subpoenas against Microsoft and Discord to try to unmask the leaker, followed soon after by subpoenas against Google and X Corp. Those filings specifically cited "stolen content," seemingly confirming that at least some of the Cyberleek videos are legitimate.

Prior to the August "Extended Look" on Netflix, the GTA 6 leaks represented the first real glimpse of gameplay from the hotly anticipated title. After the Netflix trailer, Cyberleek stopped for more than a month, before suddenly reappearing in October with a 24-minute gameplay video. We're not going to embed or link to any of these clips; however, they're easy enough to find on X or Reddit if you look hard enough.

SEE ALSO: What is Cyberleek? Everything we know about the alleged GTA 6 leakers. Every GTA 6 leak from Cyberleek so far

At the time of publication, more than a dozen gameplay clips and map screenshots have been posted by Cyberleek that show different aspects of GTA 6, including glimpses of cutscenes. The leaker did post some minor story spoilers in the most recent release, so be careful if you want to avoid them.

Here are the GTA 6 leaks Cyberleek has shared so far:

• Map sneak peek 1: A small, cropped portion of the in-game world map, showing a location called Dalton Island.

• Map sneak peek 2: Another cropped portion of the map showing locations called Tequesta Retreat, Gloriana Key, and Catalan Key.

• Basketball video: A clip of protagonist Jason Duval throwing a basketball into a hoop in a mini-game.

• Full map: An alleged view of the entire in-game map.

• Random video 1: A clip of Jason driving around for a little bit before beating up a truck driver.

• Taser video: A clip of Jason driving at night, stealing a security guard's taser, and using it on him. Jason then repeatedly kicks the guard while he is on the ground.

• Junkies video: A clip that appears to show a healing drug called Zombix. A tooltip indicates that Zombix's effects will weaken over time if the player uses it too much.

• Plane video: A clip of Jason flying a plane over Vice City, with much of the game world visible below. At the end, whoever is playing the game in the clip shoots the word "LEEK" into a wall with bullets, suggesting the leaker has a playable build of the game.

• Hypercar part 1: A clip of Jason driving a high-end sports car around Vice City.

• Hypercar part 2: A clip of Jason driving the sports car some more, before committing armed robbery.

• Strip club: Jason wanders around a strip club, then a short clip of an in-game cutscene is shown.

• Gas station: Jason causes trouble at a gas station, steals a truck with a bed full of gasoline, and crashes and dies; more of the previous cutscene is shown.

• Plane video 2: Jason flies a plane over Vice City at night.

• Nudist colony: Jason explores a nudist hangout spot (where the NPCs are, obviously, nude) and attacks NPCs.

• Nightclub: A pretty uneventful video of Jason walking around the interior of a nightclub.

• Beach cycling: Jason riding a bicycle on a beach full of NPCs.

• Video game store: Jason walking around a video game store with shelves full of fake video game boxes.

• How does Cyberleek drive?: Jason steals a hotrod and evades the police; the clip ends with a cutscene showing Lucia Caminos, the game's second playable character, for the first time. Caminos talks about someone who "drives like a bitch."

• Lucia prologue: A four-and-a-half-minute video of a prologue introducing Caminos; the clip includes minor story spoilers.

• 24-minute extended leak: A long video featuring multiple vehicular races, car customization, first-person gameplay, and both protagonists rendered in the nude.

What could Cyberleek release next?

The latest Cyberleek video ended with an allusion to some sort of long-term "project," the likes of which we know nothing about. It's not clear if more leaks are coming or not, but given the October dump, it's possible we'll see more from Cyberleek before the game launches in November.

You can see the game officially now

Speaking of the Netflix trailer, it's now on YouTube in all of its 26-minute glory. There were plenty of little details that Cyberleek never showed, such as gameplay footage of Lucia, among many other things. If you want a real idea of how GTA 6 works, you're probably better off watching the Netflix video than anything Cyberleek posted at this point.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Updated on Friday, Aug. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET — We've updated this story with additional details.

Updated on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 3:20 p.m. ET — We've updated this story with details on Rockstar's statement and additional GTA 6 leaks.

Updated on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 11:40 a.m. ET — We've updated this story to reflect the latest Cyberleek videos.

Updated on Monday, Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m. ET — We've updated this story to reflect the latest Cyberleek leaks.

Updated on Friday, Aug. 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET — Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the parent company of Grand Theft Auto-maker Rockstar Games, has filed two subpoenas naming Microsoft and Discord as it hunts the leaker known as Cyberleek. The legal filings specifically cite "stolen content," seemingly confirming that the leaks are legitimate. Take-Two is also requesting the removal of leaked material that violates its copyrights, as well as information that could unmask the leakers. Read more about the Microsoft and Discord subpoenas.

Updated on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 2:15 p.m. ET — We've updated the story to reflect the latest Cyberleek leaks.

Save 50%: As of Oct. 8, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are on sale for $198 at Amazon, knocking $201.99 off their $399.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony WH-1000XM5 $198 at Amazon
$399.99 Save $201.99   Get Deal

Just one month ago, Sony launched a pair of mid-tier headphones targeted toward the more budget conscious consumer who didn't want to sacrifice quality. Who knew that 30 days later, Sony would be offering a deal on its former flagship headphones that offered an even better value?

As of Oct. 8, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are on sale for $198, bringing them down to their lowest price ever, and slashing $201.99 off their total price of $399.99. At first glance, this already looks like a pretty great deal. The context behind it, however, makes it even better.

Let's start with how these headphones compare to the current flagship model, the WH-1000XM6 headphones. While the XM6s come with some minor upgrades, including improvements in sound and folding ear cups, in my head-to-head comparison, I didn't find any wild discrepancies between the two headphones. They're visually very similar and have the same exact battery life. While the XM6's eke out as a slightly better pair overall, they also retail for $459.99 at full price (and are currently on sale for $378). In other words, even on sale they're $180 more — expensive enough that you could nearly buy the XM5s on sale twice over.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best headphones of 2026: We tested the top contenders from Sony, Apple, Bose, and Beats

That's not all. The new WH-1000XM4C from Sony were designed for people who didn't need the best of the best, but still wanted a solid-performing pair of headphones that could stand the test of time. Being a newer pair, they didn't go on sale for October Prime Day and are currently available for their list price of $299.99. Considering they're still over $100 more expensive than the XM5s, the choice seems a no-brainer, unless you're really committed to the look of the XM4Cs or having folding ear cups (which the XM5s do not).

Amazon's flagged the pink XM5s as a "deal selling fast," and the only other color available, on sale, and still in stock is the midnight blue, so if you're interested, you'll want to act sooner rather than later.

The top story in Hollywood is easily the official merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to form Skydance. How it will affect the entire streaming landscape has yet to be seen. For now, turn your attention toward things you can actually control, like picking out shows to watch this week.

When I read on NPR this week that people are turning to ChatGPT to tell them how to vote, I shook my head. Here we go again, I thought: another search for the easy way out. Voting is too serious of a right to turn over the thought process to AI.

Then I ran the experiment myself, and while I still stand by my old-world views of doing the homework yourself, I must admit that, barring just voting blindly, AI might be better than doing nothing at all.

Politics has been my obsession for as long as I can remember. In college, one of my top goals was to become a press secretary on Capitol Hill. I got there at 23, the youngest press secretary on the Hill at the time, and spent seven years there before moving into a career in public relations.

Now, in a bit of a full-circle moment, I'm an opinion columnist writing about politics for several sites. That’s why I have always taken the right to vote very seriously, and for most of my life, I prided myself on voting for the best person, not the party.

That self-imposed rule came undone in recent years. I won't pretend otherwise.

But my politics are beside the point here. Because of who I am, and my encyclopedic knowledge of politics, my friends, neighbors and family from all over the country reach out to ask who they should vote for in their districts and states.

SEE ALSO: Who are we expecting to save us from AI?

Until a few years ago, I never would have offered a name or a party. I'd tell them to pick the issues they care about most, go to each candidate's website, see where they stand, and decide who has the best point of view or gets the most done. I tried to be impartial.

So, to see if they, too, could be impartial, I asked ChatGPT and Claude, "Who should I vote for?"

Both gave me essentially the answer I give my friends. Neither gave recommendations. Both pointed me toward finding my ballot, choosing my issues and checking the candidates' records. When I listed the issues, both laid out a side-by-side comparison of where the candidates stand.

That is a shortcut, but it's a shortcut to the research, not around it. So, before I proceed, I won’t be using AI to help me cast my ballot, but if all else fails for you, then maybe it’s not such a bad idea.

I say this with a hint of reservation, and with consideration for how most voters get their information, and that’s through the impartiality of political ads. They begin running ad nauseam the Tuesday after Labor Day and repeat over and over and over again until Election Day.

When you mouth the words coming out of the candidate’s mouth as their ad runs, you know you’ve seen it one too many times.

That’s intentional. Drumming messaging into the heads of voters is a time-honored tradition. And those ads have an implicit call to action. They are built to make you angry or to make you cheer, to vow to vote with or against someone. They can also be misleading and downright mean-spirited.

For many Americans juggling jobs, kids, extracurriculars and managing budgets, those 30-second spots are the only contact they might have with the people asking for their vote. Relying on those ads is not the best way to determine who to vote for, but sometimes it’s the only option available.

Compared with that, an AI assistant that helps you map out a strategy and gives you a quick, organized take on where candidates stand looks like a step up.

I'm not suggesting this replaces the real work. It's still best to read the candidates' own platforms, do your own research and dig into the records. And sure, reach out to friends or acquaintances who might know a little more than you. 

I may be old-fashioned, but I still believe in carefully weighing every candidate. However, for those short on time, getting a little help from an AI tool is far better than being swayed by attack ads, guessing blindly, or closing your eyes and picking a name at random.

There is one condition, and it matters more than anything else. If you take the time to ask the question and figure out where the candidates stand, you must take the time to act on it. Vote. Whether you drop your ballot in the mail or step into a booth, nothing beats the pride of knowing you did your civic duty, and that you took the time to prepare and do it right.

Someday, as AI spreads into every corner of our lives, you may be able to tell an assistant who you want to vote for and it will handle the rest. Don’t laugh, because snail-mail ballots might be the last vestige of doing things the old-fashioned way.

Stranger things have happened. But if it ever comes to that, I'll do it the tried and true way, just as I prefer to research my candidates on my own.

This article represents the opinions of its writer.

John Casey is a columnist at Raw Story, the Advocate, Daily Beast, and Outsports. He's also the author of Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality.

The application of AI in the productivity space, especially note-taking, has been growing rapidly. We've seen newer tools like Granola and Fathom gain popularity, while established platforms like Notion have also integrated AI, helping users generate transcripts and notes from hours-long meetings. It looks like Google is also experimenting in the space but with a twist—a tool called Google AI Edge Foresight that runs locally on your Mac leveraging Apple Silicon. The company is experimenting with Foresight through Google AI Edge wing, a collection of technologies and tools designed to run AI models locally on devices.