Asked about the privacy implications of chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, Signal President Meredith Whittaker answered, “These are not your friends. These are not conscious beings. These are not sentient interlocutors.”
Whittaker made those comments in a broader interview with Bloomberg about policy, privacy, and Signal. She acknowledged that she uses AI tools “to format a document here and there,” but insisted, “I don’t ask them questions. I’m very serious about my thinking and writing, and I don’t want the process of working through an idea […] to be foreclosed or eclipsed by the response of a system that’s averaging what’s already out there.”
As for Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s prediction that users could let Microsoft Copilot handle all their Christmas shopping this year, Whittaker argued this scenario — where Copilot is eavesdropping on the family group chat to determine who wants want — means giving it “access to my credit card, my browser, my Signal, the ability to message my siblings on my behalf, my home address [and] my calendar.”
“What you’ve just described is a system with very pervasive access across multiple applications and services,” Whittaker said. “In the context of Signal, it would constitute a kind of a backdoor.”

A driver in a Tesla vehicle that was allegedly in self-driving mode crashed into a Texas house Friday night, killing a woman who was inside the home, investigators said.
Michael Butler was traveling in his Tesla Model 3 around 8 p.m. local time in Katy, Texas, and was operating the vehicle “with an automated driving assistance system,” the Harris County Sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Butler allegedly failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway and struck the residence, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Butler’s Tesla entered through the brick residence, at a high rate of speed, and struck M. Avila who was inside the residence,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Avila was airlifted to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators said Butler, who was injured, showed no signs of intoxication and he was cooperating with officers. Attorney information for the driver wasn’t immediately available.
The investigation is ongoing and as of Saturday afternoon there were no charges.

A founder of global gaming company Ubisoft, maker of Assassin’s Creed, was killed in a plane crash in western France, authorities said Saturday.
The twin-motor Cessna 421 carrying Claude Guillemot and a flight instructor crashed Friday evening near La Baule airport on the Atlantic coast, Mayor Franck Louvrier said in a statement. Both were licensed and experienced pilots. The instructor also was killed, the mayor said. An investigation is underway.
Guillemot was 69 years old.
Ubisoft confirmed Guillemot’s death but did not comment further.
The plane crashed in a field just before landing at La Baule-Escoublac Airport, an airport official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named.
Guillemot and four brothers founded Ubisoft in 1986. In addition to the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, Ubisoft’s games also include Just Dance, and the Rayman and Tom Clancy game franchises.

A tiny house in New Jersey is making some big waves after hitting the market for the very large price of $499,000 in an apparent attempt to capitalize on the area’s extraordinarily low inventory levels—and the home’s alluring proximity to New York City.
At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking there had been a mistake with the listing price: It seems almost ludicrous that a petite one-bedroom, one-bathroom house with a square footage so small that it isn’t even featured on the listing could fetch anywhere close to half a million dollars.
After all, the diminutive dwelling isn’t perched on a hilltop parcel in Beverly Hills, CA, or a waterfront lot in Palm Beach, FL. But as it turns out, its prime corner lot in the town of Bogota could prove just as appealing to the right kind of buyer.
It is a classic case of scarcity driving up demand—and prices—according to Realtor.com® senior economist Hannah Jones, who believes the seller is likely betting big on finding a buyer who will pay purely for the address, rather than the property itself.
“Bogota and the broader Bergen County still see extremely low inventory levels, which can drive home prices higher,” she says.
“With just a handful of homes for sale, some buyers may see this as an opportunity to secure real estate in a highly sought-after area, conveniently located in the broader New York City area.”
According to Realtor.com data, Bogota had just five active listings in May—down from pre-pandemic levels, which saw around 20 properties on the market in the borough at any one time.
“Bergen County saw a similar scarcity of listings, with around 1,550 homes for sale in May 2026, down 62.1 percent compared to the pre-pandemic norm,” Jones adds.
And while the price tag may seem enormous when compared to the pint-sized property it is attached to, it is actually well below the median listing prices for both Bogota and Bergen County, which currently sit at $700,000 and $799,000, respectively.
That means buyers who are prioritizing “location, location, location” may well see the dwelling as a prime opportunity to get their foot on the local property ladder for a much lower price than they thought.
And there are other advantages to the home that might help to give it a leg up on the housing market—including a lack of HOA and its proximity to midtown Manhattan, which is just a 30-minute bus ride away.
Indeed, the listing notes that the property would be ideal for first-time buyers hoping to come off the sidelines and purchase a home in an increasingly popular area—or for anyone hoping to downsize from a much larger dwelling.
“Ideal for first-time buyers, downsizers, or anyone looking for a turnkey property with the benefits of single-family living and no association restrictions or fees,” it states.
Combined with its plum location in Bergen County, Jones says the seller is likely “betting that a buyer” will see beyond its small size and pay for its other attributes.
“The seller is betting that a buyer will pay for the Bergen County address, no HOA, and a 30-minute bus ride to Midtown,” she shares. “Whether that buyer materializes is another question.
“In a market where the typical home is selling for well above $500k, this property is a land/location play, not necessarily housing value play.”
For those who are willing to sacrifice space for those other amenities, the tiny home is certainly an appealing prospect. Having been built in 2023, it features modern appliances and finishes throughout, with plenty of windows to bring natural light into the dwelling, giving it a more spacious feel.
“Everything has been completely renovated and updated since 2023 including the roof, windows, electrical, plumbing, kitchen, and bathroom—truly nothing to do but unpack,” the listing crowns.
The photos show a simple, compact dwelling with a rectangular window on each side of the front door, and a gabled roof above, with white trim adding to its charm.
Size does not appear to be one of its virtues, however. The multistory house next door solidly towers over it, giving it a playhouse feel.
Curiously, square footage numbers for the size of the home and the lot it sits on are unavailable—and the listing agent, Bishoy Megalla of Keller Williams Team Realty, did not respond to multiple requests for more information.
However, the casual observer would likely assume that the humble abode is on the smaller side of Bogota’s median home size, which is 1,300 to 1,500 square feet.
Among the home’s interior features are easy-care vinyl flooring throughout and stainless steel appliances, among them a stove with an oven, a microwave, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, and a stackable washer and dryer that appears to dominate the living room area.
The listing also mentions two “garage spaces,” although they are not visible in the images. Listing photos show no signs of a covered garage. Google street and satellite views give no clues either, having been taken before the property was built in 2023.
Outdoors, there appears to be a fenced-in patio or yard space with pavers. There are also pavers in the front yard, rimmed by strips of green grass.
The listing proudly boasts the advantages of a “move-in ready home that offers the perfect condo alternative with NO HOA fees … with the benefits of single-family living and no association restrictions or fees.”

With growing numbers of borrowers in default, the Trump administration pitched the temporary, 1% reduction in student loan interest rates as a salve for those struggling with repayment.
Education Undersecretary Nicholas Kent said the change is a way of “making student loan repayment easier than ever” and of improving “the overall health of the federal student loan portfolio.”
But the change does not apply to all borrowers, and those pursuing the reduction will need to meet eligibility criteria.
Here are details of the plan and some context behind them:
Which borrowers are eligible for the rate reduction?
WHAT THE DEPARTMENT SAID: The headline on the news release said: “U.S. Department of Education Announces Student Loan Interest Rate Reduction.”
THE BACKSTORY: The change will only affect a subset of borrowers — those with federal Direct Loans issued after July 1, 2012, who are already enrolled in automatic payments or sign up for them.
Many borrowers won’t see any immediate benefit. To qualify, they have to first take a set of actions including signing up for auto pay and, in some cases, consolidating their loans.
Currently, just 40% of borrowers are enrolled in auto pay — a figure the department is hoping to increase with the new incentive of the interest rate reduction.
Nearly 9 million student loan borrowers are in default, meaning they’ve missed nine months of payments. For them to become eligible for the rate reduction, they must get back in good standing, typically by consolidating their loans and then applying for a new repayment plan.
How much of an interest rate reduction will borrowers see?
WHAT THE DEPARTMENT SAID: Officials said those enrolled in auto pay will be eligible for a 1% rate reduction beginning July 1.
THE BACKSTORY: For borrowers already enrolled in auto pay, the savings will be smaller. Borrowers who currently use auto pay already receive an interest-rate discount of 0.25%, so the new reduction takes off just 0.75%.
For all borrowers, the rate reduction will be temporary, lasting through June 30, 2028.
The federal student loan portfolio has ballooned to almost $1.7 trillion, with millions of borrowers struggling to keep up.
The rate reduction aims to help get more Americans back on track with student loans as the Trump administration struggles to rein in rising rates of delinquency and defaults on student loans.
As it phases out Biden-era options for loan repayment, the Education Department is offering its own plans for repayment, including an income-driven option. Officials said enrollment in auto pay also can help borrowers maintain their eligibility for those plans by helping them avoid missed payments.
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