October 14, 2026
Good Morning. Researchers ran one AI model across 15 cheap TV boxes. Once models can copy themselves, nobody holds the off switch. Plus, training half as much for the same results, Tim Allen's car collection, and 7,000 steps per day (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists ).
Yesterday’s most clicked link : 10 most reliable car brands, ranked . Also, the Johnny Cash chili recipe crashed yesterday. Here’s the fixed link .
TOP STORY TODAY
AI Worm Warning
Small AI models could be months away from copying themselves across smart TVs, ovens and other home devices, Anthropic researchers said Monday. Such a worm would have no central off switch .
In one test, researchers split a single model across 15 off-brand TV streaming boxes, about $55 each. Today’s small models handle many steps but stumble chaining them together. At the historical pace, they could close that gap by year-end.
That hardware already has a problem. The FBI warned last year that over a million off-brand Android gadgets, including streaming boxes, carried botnet malware, some from the factory. Play Protect certified devices weren’t among them.
The move: check whether streaming boxes are Play Protect certified, and skip unofficial app stores | The million-plus devices already infected
Behind on Bills
Nearly 1 in 5 American families were behind on a loan payment in 2025, up from about 12% in 2022. That’s the highest share since 2010 in the Federal Reserve’s family finance survey, released last week.
Families at least two months late rose from 5% to over 8%. Even among workers earning over $300,000, more than a third said they live paycheck to paycheck in a separate survey.
The two-month mark matters. Late payments generally reach credit reports at 30 days past due, and card issuers can move an existing balance to a penalty rate once a payment passes 60 days late.
The move: call the card issuer about a hardship plan before a payment reaches 30 days late | How card issuers adjust payments in emergencies
330-Pound Heist
Thieves stole a 330-pound bronze book cover designed by Salvador Dalí from a small private art center in Issoire, central France, overnight on Oct. 4. Investigators still haven’t said how anyone carried it out.
The cover belongs to the Book of the Apocalypse ( video ), a 463-pound volume illustrated and written by 14 artists and writers, including Jean Cocteau, between 1958 and 1961. Dalí studded the bronze with gems, pearls, forks and seashells.
Valued at about $4.5 million in today’s money, the book toured nearly 150 exhibitions, including the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens. Its owner fears the thieves will melt the cover down to sell the stones. When thieves ditched two Renoirs in a garden .
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Train Half as Much for the Same Results
Fitness YouTuber Jeremy Ethier split 200 lifters into two groups for 10 weeks. One trained six days a week. The other ran the same program three days a week, with half the sets. Their muscle growth came out statistically the same.
The likely reason: knowing you have more work ahead makes you hold back. Three tests to see if you’re coasting:
- Rep speed. Your last few reps should move much slower than your first few.
- Rep drop-off. With the same weight, your reps should fall from set to set, like 12, then 11, then 9.
- Progress. Look back two to three months. If your main lifts haven’t moved, something’s off.
If you fail these, try two hard sets per exercise instead of three or four.
Watch the 200-person experiment .
Get Your Car Ready for Winter
The first frozen morning is a bad time to find out your battery is weak. Give your car 20 minutes this weekend:
- Test the battery. Cold slows the chemistry that powers it. If you needed a jump this summer, get it tested now.
- Check tire pressure. It drops about 1 PSI for every 10 degrees. Use the number on your door jamb, not the tire’s sidewall. Check the spare too.
- Check your tread. Below 4/32 of an inch, traction drops in rain and snow.
- Top off the coolant. Check it with the engine cold. If it’s low, add a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water.
- Pack a winter kit. Jumper cables, an ice scraper, a shovel, blankets and a bag of cat litter for traction.
Twenty minutes now beats an hour waiting for a tow.
See AAA’s full winter checklist .
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▲ Magadan bear likely dug up a woman’s grave as Russia’s bear death toll reaches 26 since spring | The 26 deaths since spring, by region
▲ Ballistic missiles hit Kyiv two nights running with no early warning, cutting power to 600,000 | 3 killed and 22 hurt on night two
▲ Six Flags paused coasters in 5 states and Canada after an Atlanta teacher died on Goliath | Who he was at his Atlanta school
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Fun Links
Tim Allen’s massive car collection [ Video ]
NASA reveals image of giant ‘cosmic smile’ [ Photo ]
When the leaves peak near you this fall [ Map ]
Google’s top 10 Halloween costumes this year [ List ]
Why 7,000 steps a day might be enough [ Study ]
Apple cider doughnuts you bake instead of fry [ Recipe ]
Sacha Baron Cohen in Tarantino’s first play [ Blog ]
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