Weird News: Spook Up Your Life
Sign of the Times
Ohio state Rep. Thaddeus Claggett, of Licking County, introduced a bill in the state house in late September that would declare AI systems “nonsentient entities” and ban them from gaining legal personhood. WCMH-TV reported that the bill seeks to prohibit people (or other AI systems) from marrying AI. Claggett said the legislation would prevent AI from holding power of attorney or making decisions on another’s behalf. He said Ohio is “attempting to put some guardrails in place so that we always have a human in charge of the technology, not the other way around.”
Least Competent Criminal
Dude, don’t confess your crimes to ChatGPT. In Springfield, Missouri, 19-year-old Ryan Schaefer went on a crime spree on Sept. 28 in a Missouri State University parking lot, The Smoking Gun reported. The college sophomore allegedly shattered car windows, ripped off side mirrors, dented hoods and broke windshield wipers. When Springfield police officers visited him at his apartment the next day, Schaefer admitted that the person on surveillance video did bear a “resemblance” to him and turned his phone over as evidence. Investigators found a conversation between Schaefer and ChatGPT, which included questions such as “what if I smashed the ... outta multiple cars” and “is there any way they could know it was me.” Schaefer went on to make vague threatening statements to the AI tool; he was charged with felony property damage.
Spook Up Your Life
The El Cortez Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has a sure bet for you: Casino.org is offering $5,000 to one person to spend a full weekend in the hotel, trying to scare up ghosts. The New York Post reported that the 84-year-old hotel, located on the “old strip,” reportedly has in the basement the cremated remains of former employees who died without family, among other creepy features. The lucky winner will be furnished with “ghost-hunting gear” including EMF meters, EVP recorders and thermal sensors, and the ghost hunter will be expected to take photos and videos for evidence.
Not So Sweet
Nathan Rimington, 33, a truck driver from Yorkshire, England, got a craving for gummy candies and went all in, ordering a 6.6-pound bag of Haribo cola bottle sweets, the Manchester Evening News reported on Oct. 1. Then Rimington went all in on eating them, finishing off the bag in three evenings -- all 10,461 calories. A couple of days later, terrible stomach cramps sent him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with diverticulitis caused by the gelatin in the candies. After six days of IV fluids, he went home and hasn’t touched a gummy since. “It was my own stupid fault, I’ve not eaten a cola bottle since,” he said.