Today’s Big Story

Are We All Chatting With Chatbots?

Yes, of course. But how much is too much?

”Let me just ask ChatGPT” … this has quickly become a common phrase my friends and I say, even when we’re just shooting the proverbial shit. Why wonder, when AI can quickly and efficiently provide an answer. We’re all talking to them and they’re suddenly becoming everything to everyone, so to speak.

Nearly half of all Americans now trust medical advice from chatbots. That seems like a lot of trust for such a new technology, right? But they’ve proven to be so helpful, so accurate. Similarly, these chatbots are becoming popular alternatives to therapy. But they may worsen mental health crises, experts are now warning. Why? Users may be led down conspiracy theory rabbit holes or into emotional harm by chatbots designed to maximize engagement and affirmation.

And our new AI alternatives to real friends are looking real good to teens. As Scientific American points out, kids crave approval from their peers. Chatbots offer an alternative to IRL relationships. “If you’re a teenager who is marginalized, isolated or struggling to make friends, an AI companion can provide much-needed companionship.” But they can come at a price. And can we get addicted to these bots?

ChatGPT is getting ahead of this, Mashable reports, with a health upgrade—not for the bots, but for users themselves. Ahead of the company's reported GPT-5 announcement, OpenAI unveiled it would be refreshing its generative AI chatbot with new features designed to foster healthier, more stable relationships between user and bot. Users who have spent prolonged periods of time in a single conversation, for example, will now be prompted to log off with a gentle nudge. The company is also doubling down on fixes to the bot's sycophancy problem, and building out its models to recognize mental and emotional distress.

ChatGPT will respond differently to more “high stakes” personal questions, the company explains, guiding users through careful decision-making, weighing pros and cons, and responding to feedback rather than providing answers to potentially life-changing queries. This mirror's OpenAI's recently announced ‘Study Mode’ for ChatGPT, which scraps the AI assistant's direct, lengthy responses in favor of guided Socratic lessons intended to encourage greater critical thinking.

The Texas Gerrymandering Fight Continues

The state’s House moves to allow civil arrest warrants for Democrats who fled state

Texas Democrats on Monday were successful at preventing their state’s House of Representatives from moving forward—at least for now—with a redrawn congressional map sought by President Donald Trump to shore up Republicans’ 2026 midterm prospects as his political standing falters. The new maps would create as many as five more GOP-leaning U.S. House districts, which could keep the majority in Republican control.

After dozens of Democrats left the state, the Republican-dominated House was unable to establish the quorum of lawmakers required to do business. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has made threats about removing members who are absent, but would require judges and voters alike to side with him in an unprecedented legal and political gambit. However, the Texas House speaker said he signed civil arrest warrants for Democrats who did not show up to the special session.

Democrats said they were undeterred by the move, and officials will have difficulty arresting them because most are in suburban Chicago and beyond the jurisdiction of Texas authorities. But the warrants demonstrate the seriousness of Republicans’ desire to add congressional seats in what is quickly shaping up as a bigger battle between red states and blue states. According to the Washington Post, in response to Texas Republicans, Democratic governors in New York and California are preparing to try to reshape congressional boundaries in their favor.

More Reasons to Avoid Ultra-Processed Food

Avoiding them can double your weight loss

We've all heard that ultra-processed foods aren't great for us, but a new study just confirmed what many nutritionists have been saying for years: even if you're eating the same number of calories, what type of food you're eating really matters. Like, a lot. This latest research, published on Monday in the journal Nature, dropped some truth bombs that should make anyone trying to lose weight or eat healthier take notice.

The study is the largest and longest clinical trial yet to examine the effects of ultra-processed foods on weight. Participants lost twice as much weight when they followed diets made up of minimally processed foods, like overnight oats and homemade spaghetti Bolognese, fresh fruits and vegetables, as they did when they followed diets with ultraprocessed foods that met nutrition standards, such as ready-to-heat frozen meals, breakfast cereals, protein bars and shakes.

Federal officials have been sounding the alarm about ultra-processed foods, which account for about 70% of the food supply in the United States. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, said that ultraprocessed foods were “poisoning” Americans, and called them a primary culprit of high rates of obesity and chronic diseases. Although numerous studies have linked the highly processed and packaged foods to obesity, most have been observational, meaning they can’t prove that the foods directly cause weight gain.

Phone-Free Kids?

Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world

Are kids today in front of screens too much? Probably. But that’s the new reality: Kids stare at their devices and socialize online instead of in person because that’s what tech has trained them to want. Experts say the simplest way to address social-media addiction in kids is making American schools into phone-free environments. But is it even possible?

Two years ago, banning phones in schools seemed almost unthinkable. Now, TIME reports, support for phone-free schools is rising quickly in a country that can’t seem to agree on much else. A Pew Research Center study in July found that 74% of U.S. adults now support preventing middle schoolers and high schoolers from using their phones during class, up from 68% last year, while 44% support banning phones for the entire school day, up from 36%. Roughly two-thirds of Americans think phone-free schools would improve students’ social skills, grades and behavior in class.

Earlier this spring, Harris Poll surveyed more than 500 children ages eight to 12 across the United States, who were assured that their answers would remain private. They offered unmistakable evidence that the phone-based childhood is in full force. A majority reported having smartphones, and about half of the 10-to-12-year-olds said that most or all of their friends use social media. And most interestingly, they found that kids today want to meet up in person—no screens or supervision. But because so many parents restrict their ability to socialize in the real world on their own, kids resort to the one thing that allows them to hang out with no adults hovering: their phones.

Worth a Listen

‘Touch The Sky’ Podcast

When in doubt, sit back and be quiet.