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While everyone is waiting for electric cars to take over the highways, the real e-action is happening on your local bike path: 18% of pedal-only bikes sold in 2023 were electric, while electric cars made up only 7.6% of car sales in the same year. Meanwhile, the electric scooter market in the U.S. is worth more than $25 billion.

This is all a sign that it’s time for you to hop on e-bike, e-scooter, or e-unicycle, and hit the road yourself. I’ve been testing e-bikes for years, and these are some of my top picks..

What to look for in an e-bike

E-bikes are the best-selling personal electric vehicles by far for good reason. It’s as easy to do as riding a bike, and gets just about anyone, of any fitness level, out on the road. But the growth of the e-bike market over the last few years makes it easy to get get overwhelmed with choices, so let me break it down for you.

Prices of e-bikes vary wildly. Amazon has one on sale for less than $300. On the other end of the spectrum, you could spend 10 grand on a nice electric road bike. But realistically, most decent starter e-bikes are priced in the $1,500 to $2,500 range.

For most products, I’m on the side of “just get a cheap one and see how it goes,” but I make an exception for e-bikes. The cost-cutting that allows for a $300 bike has to come from somewhere, and it’s likely cheap components that break easily and can’t be repaired (most bike repair shops won’t even look at a no-name Amazon e-bike). So they’re possibly a safety hazard and probably not a bargain in the long run—there are exceptions, but most name-brand e-bikes are sold direct to consumer.

The kind of bike that will suit you best depends on the kind of rider you are and where you’re going. Here’s how it breaks down in terms of the main categories for newer riders:

Cruiser e-Bikes

It’s summer so lets start with quintessentially summer variety bike: the cruiser. These are designed for relaxed, leisurely rides and are generally built for comfort not speed. Here are a couple excellent cruisers to consider if that’s your vibe.

• Aventon Pace 500.3: In terms of price vs. performance and versatility, the Aventon Pace 500.3 is one of the best bikes I’ve ridden, especially if you’re new to e-bikes. ($1,599) (Full review here.)

• MOD Easy 3: Rolling up to the beach on one of these makes a statement. The Mod Easy is a lot of bike, and you can get one with a sidecar! ($3,889) (Full review here.)

Commuter e-bikes

Commuter bikes are built for utilitarian city rides. They’re made to be comfortable and are able to carry light cargo. This is the right bike if you’re looking for one to take a short trip to and from work or to the store.

• Tenways CGO600 Pro: This single-speed, lightweight, Euro-styled city bike features a belt-drive instead of a chain, so maintenance is unlikely to be an issue. ($1,499.00) (Full review here.)

• Specialized Turbo Vado 2: If you want something really high end, Specialized’s line of high performance commuter e-bikes are absolute units in ever way. ($5,999.99) (Full review here.)

Folding e-bikes

These bikes are designed for easy storage and portability. They’re the choice for commuters who have no space.

• Ride 1up Portola: This budget-friendly whip packs a powerful motor and fits in a closet. ($995) (Full review here)

Cargo e-Bikes

Cargo bikes are heavy-duty. They’re designed to carry heavier loads and usually feature fat tires to take on more rugged terrain.

• Radrunner 3: This beefy bike boy eats up dirt tracks, streets, and bike paths alike. It’s like a little SUV. ($2,099) (Full review here)

Electric Mountain Bikes (E-MTBs) and fat-tire bikes

These are built for off-road adventures on natural terrain. If you’re into mountain biking, a motor really improves the experience.

Consider one of these choices.

• Canyon Spectral CF 7: I’m absolutely in love with this lightweight, high performance e-mountain bike. ($5,099) (Full review here.)

• Aventon Aventure 3: While not for “serious” downhill mountain biking, if you want a rugged ride with fat, squishy tires that will take you over all kinds of terrain, I fully endorse the Aventon Aventure 3. (Full review here.)

Electric scooters, skateboards, and unicycles

I’ve messed around with them a little bit, but I don’t have as much experience riding non-bike personal electric vehicles as I’d like. They seem like a younger person’s game, to be honest. But if that seems like your vibe, here are my picks for positively reviewed scooters, skateboards, and unicycles.

Electric scooters

Electric scooters are easier to ride than electric skateboards, and lighter than electric bikes. They’re closer to toys than transportation, which makes them perfect for summer.

• Segway Ninebot: Remember when Segways were going to revolutionize transportation? They still might do it. The company name is now slapped on electric scooters that are inexpensive and positively reviewed by professionals and Amazon customers alike. (Unlike its somewhat iffy collection of electric bikes, you can buy some pretty solid electric scooters on Amazon.)

Electric skateboards

I wouldn’t get on one of these unless you have a background in analog skating, but if that’s you, you will have a ridiculously good time on an electric skateboard.

• Wowgo 3E: An electric longboard with a belt-driven motor that retails for under $500 and gets high consumer ratings? Sign me up, please. ($483.90)

• Tynee Mini 3 Pro Electric Skateboard: On the other side of the spectrum from the above longboard is this teeny skateboard. It’s 30″ long but can travel 31 mph. ($749.00)

Electric unicycles and one-wheels

I’m going to be honest: I find electric unicycles and one-wheels scary as hell. I know the self-balancing features make them easy to ride, but I imagine the physics of a one-wheel engine going out while going 20 mph, and I wince. But if I could get over my fear, I bet I’d have a much more enjoyable life.

• One Wheel Pint X: One Wheel has been around for over decade, so I trust they make a good product. (I’m not going to ride one, though.) ($1,100)

• INMOTION Adventure Electric Unicycle: This all-terrain electric unicycle is wild. Suspension and knobby tires let you take it off-road, it can conquer a 50-degree incline, and is powered by a 4,000W high-torque motor. God help me, I want one. ($2,999)

Electric hydrofoils

They have little transportational use, but the first time I saw someone cruising above the ocean on an electric hydro-foil, it became clear that I must ride one. My personal goal for this summer is to at least try either a jet board or an electric hydrofoil. They’re both supposedly easy to learn, too, so wish me luck.

• Waydoo Flyer ONE Plus eFoil:These move at over 25 mph, and the battery can last as long as two hours. I don’t know if I could handle that much fun.

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The Anker P20i wireless earbuds are one of Soundcore’s crowd favorites, and right now, they’re just $20 on Amazon in blue and black colorways. According to reviewers, these earbuds are surprisingly bassy, come with AI-enhanced features, and have a long battery life, making them a budget-friendly everyday option that packs a punch.

The P20i earbuds come with touch controls and feature oversized 10mm drivers that deliver powerful bass for more immersive sound quality. When paired with the Soundcore app, users can customize controls on 22 EQ presets. AI boosts call quality by combining an algorithm with two built-in mics for added clarity, a feature that earns praise from Amazon reviewers. They’re also IPX5-rated, meaning they can be used in the rain or for sweaty workouts (they’re not designed for swimming). 

On a full charge, these earbuds last up to 10 hours with an additional 20 hours from the case, providing a 30-hour runtime. If you forget to charge them, a 10-minute quick charge gives you around 2 hours of use. If you’re worried about misplacing your earbuds, the included lanyard on the case allows you to clip it onto your bag or keys. A “Find My Earbuds” feature on the Soundcore app emits a noise from the lost earbud, letting you locate it easily. 

While they don’t have active noise cancellation and the touch controls can be sensitive, the performance still stands out. The bass-heavy nature of these earbuds may not be ideal for those who want a more neutral sound, though EQ adjustments can help handle this. Overall, if you love a bassy sound, fast charging, clear call quality, and customizable EQ, at 50% off, Anker P20i wireless earbuds offer strong value. 

Even in 2025, some of us just can’t get enough of Wordle. Within seconds of finishing his first Wordle game, my 12-year-old son opened a new tab and googled “infinite Wordle.” (He found Wheeldle, still one of my favorites after all these years.) What’s better, though, is playing multiple Wordle-style puzzles at the same time. Here’s where Quordle and the others come in, and I’ll talk about how they compare to the original.

As we all know by now, in Wordle, you have six chances to guess a five-letter word. Green squares mean a guessed letter is correct; yellow means that letter is in the word but not in that position. That’s it, that’s the whole game. The original Wordle game is part of the New York Times’ stable of games, and we provide hints for each day’s Wordle puzzle here.

But why play just one game, guessing one five-letter word, when you can do multiple puzzles in parallel? Soon after Wordle came Dordle, where each of your guesses is applied to two different Wordle-style puzzles at once. (You get seven guesses instead of six.) Then of course there is Quordle with four puzzles (you get nine guesses), and it goes on from there: Octordle with eight puzzles (13 guesses), Sedecordle with 16 (21 guesses), and Duotrigordle with 32 (37 guesses).

Of all of them, I feel Quordle is the sweet spot: enough puzzles to make things interesting, but not so many as to be overwhelming. The Lifehacker team feels the same way, as it’s the only multi-Wordle for which we publish daily hints.

How do you win at games like Quordle?

Fortunately if you’re new, Quordle and its kin all feature a practice mode that you can play as many times as you like, alongside the daily puzzle that you can only play once each day. (The daily puzzle’s solution is the same for everyone.) So feel free to hit the practice button and start learning the ropes through experience.

But I can give you a few tips on strategy. No matter how many puzzles you’re solving at a time, I like to think of guesses as answering one (or more) of three questions:

1. What letters are in the solution?

2. I know some yellows; where are they in the solution?

3. Is the word I’m guessing the solution?

It’s a mistake to play the game with #3 as your only strategy. Pretty quickly you’ll discover exploratory guesses are important, and you’ll pick starter words that answer question #1 efficiently. (My mnemonic: ETAOIN SHRDLU, pronounced “Edwin Shirdloo” as if it were a name, is a list of the arguably most common letters in English. My starters always use letters from this list.)

Simultaneous Wordles require lots of #1 and #2 guesses. You need to constantly ask yourself: what information can I gather with this guess? The same guess can do double duty for different puzzles at the same time: maybe you combine a yellow from one word (#2) with some brand-new letters (#1) and a yellow from another word (#2 again).

You definitely don’t want to do a #3 guess until you’re pretty sure of the answer, since your attempted solution on one puzzle is a guess that will probably be useless for the other(s).

How to solve four Wordle puzzles at once

Alright, let’s look at this in action. The puzzle I’m solving (shown in the image up top) is a “practice” puzzle, so you don’t have to worry about spoilers.

We start with TRASH, and get hits on three of the puzzles. Next up, to start making progress on the upper right puzzle, I choose a word that uses common letters but doesn’t repeat any of the ones we just tried: CLINK.

Still only one yellow in that upper right puzzle, but we’re in a really good position now on the bottom two puzzles, which now each have four letters confirmed—some of them are even greens. Three on the top left isn’t shabby either. As we put together future guesses (#2’s and #3’s for the puzzles where we’re close), let’s keep feeding in new letters (#1) to help with the top right.

We can probably solve one already: the lower left has to be CHAS_, giving us either CHASE or CHASM. I get cocky and go with CHASE, which is wrong, but at least gets an E into play. So then I solve with CHASM, and then I see what I’ve learned from introducing that E.

The lower right is _ _ A_E with an S, a T, and a K in there somewhere, so it’s either STAKE or SKATE. Rather than use one of those as my next pick, I want to knock out a couple possibilities. I still don’t know where that L goes in the top right puzzle, and I’d like to get another unknown letter or two into the mix. It also wouldn’t hurt to stick an A in there somewhere to help us out on the top left, where we know there’s an A but we don’t know where.

I settle on ATOLL, which gives valuable clues for all three. We now know that the top right puzzle has an O, and we know several places that the L cannot be. We know that the top left must be either _AIS_ or _ _ISA, and my gut is saying DAISY. We have also confirmed that the lower right must be SKATE and not STAKE.

So I guess SKATE and then DAISY, which reveals a Y at the end of the top right puzzle. We don’t have many letters to go on, but the fact that we’ve guessed so many, with so few hits, suggests there might be at least one double letter. It can’t be a double L, since there are no Ls in the second and fourth spots, so I consider doubling up a letter I haven’t guessed yet. What could fit in LO_ _Y? All I can think of is LOBBY—yup, that’s it. Four puzzles solved in eight guesses, with one to spare. The little squares won’t necessarily fit in a tweet, so you also get a little shareable graphic that looks like this:

The same strategy applies no matter how many puzzles you’re solving. On the bigger grids, make sure to scroll around so you don’t forget about one at the bottom of the page. I actually find Quordle easier than Wordle, in some ways, because every guess has four times the chances of turning up some useful information. Give it a try and see how you fare!

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First, let me be clear: I am not wishing summer away. I see my friends post absolute nonsense every day, wishing for “sweater weather” and “cozy season,” but I do not support them in any way. I’m only telling you about smart summer clothing storage now, as July winds down, when we have weeks left of warmth and happiness, because it may take you some time to accumulate the necessary organizing items. For now, wear your shorts, your tank tops, and your open-toed shoes with abandon and don’t dwell on the inevitable chill that will come to steal our hot dogs, lobster rolls, and tans. Just be prepared, is all I’m saying. Here’s how to stash away your summertime finery if you live in a smaller spot (or even in a bigger place where you just don’t want the clutter).

Vacuum-sealed bags are excellent

If you’re short on space but don’t want to rent a storage locker, you’re going to need to make your summer clothes as small as possible. What’s nice about that is that summer clothes are already smaller than the larger winter garments you have to creatively store during the warmer months. You can fit a bunch of summer attire into vacuum-sealed bags, which is what my mom always did when I was growing up. Granted, she just stuck our stuff into actual garbage bags and used her vacuum hose to suck the air out, but that wasn’t the sturdiest option—though it was certainly innovative and economical. You’re better off getting bags designed for this kind of thing, like these:

I like these because you get a variety of sizes. A jumbo bag is better for, say, beach blankets, while a small one can keep swimsuits organized. As with any kind of organization, you should opt to keep similar items together in the same container, so the variety here is helpful. These bags get unbelievably small when you suck the air out of them; you can stack them on a shelf and take up much less room than if you were stacking the clothes there on their own.

Small hanging shelves are an overlooked option

There are a few different ways I organize my closet. I always do it by color, but I also do it by necessity, with the things I need access to during a certain season or event up front. There’s no reason to dig around in the back of the closet and create a mess for myself when I’m getting ready, so I swap things around every once in a while. Something that’s been helpful for me has been getting a small hanging shoe organizer and keeping it at the back of the closet for holding things that don’t need to be out at a given time. It looks like this:

This doesn’t take up much space, but gives you a several shelves and compartments on which to pile smaller-sized items, like shorts and sandals. It’s an especially good option if you are going to take any warm vacations over the winter and don’t want to wrangle the appropriate clothing out of a vacuum-sealed bag. The items are within reach, but still contained in a small section of the closet. For reference, I keep all my sandals and flats in one of these year-round. It’s just so much smarter than trying to find space for them on my main shoe rack and it takes up so little space.

Storage furniture is always my favorite choice

I’m a huge fan of storage furniture, which is well-documented at this point, but where I find it shines the most is when I need to stash away something I won’t look at for months. I recommend picking up a simple storage ottoman—which can be small like a footstool or long like a bench, depending on your needs—and rotating your seasonal clothes in and out of it. Some things just don’t need to be in the closet all year long, but it’s hard to figure out where else to put them. Why not hide them away inside something that provides a secondary use? Try something like this:

Personally, my space is so small that I don’t have the larger, bench-sized version, but I get excellent use out of my smaller ottoman. I have one just like this. It’s just right for t-shirts, tank tops, and shorts, but up until recently, I stored a lot of my at-home workout equipment (like dumbbells and yoga blocks) in there. This week, I moved all of that to a new shelf behind my Peloton, freeing up the ottoman for its inevitable use as a summer clothing repository.

Don’t overlook your luggage

This is a go-to hack of mine that I’ve mentioned before and I stand by still: When you have out-of-season clothing, why not store it inside your luggage? Your suitcases and duffel bags are already taking up space and they’re one of those necessary evils that you can’t really condense, but also can’t get rid of. Put them to work. If and when you take a trip, just remove whatever is inside, but during the colder months when you’re more likely to head somewhere warm, sometimes you don’t even have to take everything out. You’re just packing (well) in advance of your trip. How smart of you!

Or consider downsizing

While you’re packing all of that up, take a few minutes to consider whether you really need it. End-of-season clothing clear-outs are a staple for me. First of all—especially in summer—so many clothes are trend-based. You can’t guarantee that the stuff you’re putting all this energy into storing for the winter is even going to be worth wearing nine months from now. You also can’t guarantee you’ll maintain your same measurements or even like some of these garments then. You know what you can guarantee? That they go to a good home, potentially earning you money and, crucially, decluttering your space.

I am a dedicated reseller, meaning I’m constantly going through my things to determine what I can sell online. There are all kinds of apps you can use for this and all you have to do is snap a few pictures, fill in a few details, set a price, and ship out whatever sells. My favorite app is Poshmark, but you have options here. As you’re storing things away, take a few nice photos and list what you don’t think you’ll need next year. Cycling your clothing at the end of every season is an excellent opportunity to downsize. If you’re struggling to decide whether you should keep something or get rid of it, I have a few tips. First, ask yourself some questions like, “When was the last time I wore this?” and “Do I want the responsibility of managing this item?” Building the habit of routinely severing your emotional attachment to possessions and decluttering can only serve your best interests—especially if you live in a tight space. My second tip is to just go ahead and list it on a resale app, but price it a little high. That’s what I do when I still like, say, a pair of shoes but they’re taking up a little too much space and I’m not wearing them that often. I’ll still wear them while they’re listed on my Poshmark (though I update the listing if they sustain any scuffs or damage), I feel a relative sense of safety with their high price, and eventually, I get over whatever lingering attachment I have and just mark them down to a normal price. Even just having them listed helps move the process of getting over them along. Sometimes, they’ll sell at the high price, which I personally choose to interpret as a sign I was meant to get rid of them all along—the extra money helps ease the pain.

(Washington, D.C., July 21, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today in Florida met with agricultural leaders and producers and announced additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance to help producers recover from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton. Secretary Rollins signed a block grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) that provides recovery assistance for Floridian farmers.

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If you’ve had your eyes on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, Amazon has a pre-order deal that includes a $300 Amazon gift card.

The device features 512 GB of storage, which is double what you’d get at the regular price without the gift card bundle. It also has large 8-inch screen, offering more display space in a slimmer silhouette (8.9mm when closed, which is 3.2mm thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold6).

Powered by a customized Snapdragon 8 Elite processor for Galaxy, this phone has quicker AI, smoother graphics, and faster processing speeds than the old version. It also boasts a 200MP ultra-resolution camera, making it the highest-quality camera on a Fold to date. A new Night Video Audio Eraser feature helps minimize unwanted sounds in your footage, while Photo Assist, powered by Galaxy AI, lets you preview before-and-after edits side-by-side for quick adjustments.

Although the phone promises longer battery life, this PCMag review notes that it performed average in testing and has the same 4,400mAh power cell as the Z Fold 6, warning users with “battery anxiety” to opt for a non-folding phone.

The $300 gift card and added storage do help justify the price, but you’re still spending around $2,000 upfront ($100-200 more than similar models). However, if you love the fold design and want pro-level camera features with extra editing perks, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 offers exceptional displays, software, and hardware with top-tier performance. 

If you are looking for some art—and I’m talking fine Art, with a capital “A”—The Metropolitan Museum is the spot to find it. And not only can you visit the museum when you are in New York (to look at the Art), you can also download almost half a million digital images of genuine, snob-approved works from the museum’s online archives—for free.

The Met hosts 492,000 high-resolution images, most of which are public domain, so you can use them for any non-commercial purpose—anything from printing a t-shirt with James Johnston of Straiton on it, to hanging a poster of The Penitence of Saint Jerome on your wall to remind you of the importance of self-mortification (I don’t kink-shame).

How to download Art from the Metropolitan’s online collection

Getting your mitts on that sweet, sweet art couldn’t be easier:

• Click this link t the Met Collection.

• Browse through the different sections to find one that appeals to you.

• Click on the painting, sculpture, or pectoral ornament of your choice.

• Look for the “OA Public Domain” tag, as you can see in the below image of Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson with her dog. This means it’s available under the Met’s Open Access initiative, and you can use it for free (as long as it’s for a non-commercial purpose).

• Download it, frame it, worship it. Whatever. Just don’t sell it.

How “public domain” right affect paintings in museums

Browsing the Met’s collection, and others, like the Getty Museum’s, has got me thinking about who really owns art. The answer is kind of tricky: The physical objects (paintings, sculptures, lyres crafted from human skulls) at the Met are owned by the museum itself. The intellectual property (what the art shows) belong first to its creator, but eventually to everyone: In the U.S., the ownership of IP reverts to the public domain—i.e. it’s owned by no one/everyone—95 years after the work’s creation or 70 years after the author’s death if the work was created before 1978.

The rights to an image created of an artwork (or anything else) is a separate thing: whoever took the photo owns the photo, until 70 years after their death, of course. You can visit the museum yourself and take a photo of a public domain work and use it any way you like, but the Met owns the rights to the images they’ve uploaded. They’ve simply chosen to release those rights to anyone who isn’t going to make up buck off their work.

The writing’s been on the wall for a while. Unless you haven’t seen a movie for the past decade or more, you know how important VFX has become to the creation of TV shows and movies. Those VFX come at a very high cost, and take a lot of man hours to produce. With generative AI video getting so good that most people have probably already been fooled by it at least once, it was only a matter of time before big studios started incorporating it into their workflows.

Netflix, in fact, just bragged about doing so, months after a show came out and nobody spotted its use of AI. Yep, it seems that AI art is finally starting to become indistinguishable from human-made art, but that doesn’t mean the issue is cut-and-dry.

In an earnings call on Thursday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos discussed how the team behind the streamer’s adaptation of Argentinian comic book The Eternaut used AI to speed up its workflow. Discussing a sequence in the show that depicts a building collapsing in Buenos Aires, Sarandos said “That VFX sequence was completed 10 times faster than it could have been with traditional VFX tools and workflows,” and elaborated that it “actually is the very first AI final footage to appear on screen in a Netflix original series or film.” After seeing it myself (I think), I have thoughts.

The Eternaut is just the beginning

There are two takeaways from Sarandos’ statement. First, generative AI is finally making its way into your Netflix shows, and given that Sarandos said The Eternaut‘s creators “were thrilled with the result,” there’s likely to be more. Second, going by the use of the word “final,” it’s almost certainly been used behind-the-scenes in your shows for a while now. It’s time to figure out what you think about it.

To be fair, Netflix isn’t the first streamer to use AI. Disney+’s Secret Invasion series used pretty noticeable AI art for its credits, and faced immediate pushback for it. But The Eternaut has been streaming since April, and it’s telling that nobody really caught on until now.

I’ll grant that it’s maybe a bit unfair to compare a Marvel production to an adaptation of a classic comic (this original work debuted in the 1950s) from an Argentinian magazine. Fewer eyes simply may have been around to see the AI effects, and Netflix actually cites the show’s smaller-scale production as one of the reasons for its use of AI, with Sarandos saying, “the cost of it [doing the effect without AI] just wouldn’t have been feasible for a show in that budget.”

What’s perhaps most concerning is that, even after watching the AI-generated sequence myself, I’m not sure I would have noticed that it was made by AI unless I already knew to look for it.

I think I found the AI in The Eternaut

I’ll admit that I haven’t watched the entire show from front-to-back in real time, but I did scrub through the episodes multiple times, and I believe the most likely culprits are a few shots of buildings on fire that start at around 15:25 in episode 4. That I was able to pinpoint these might mean that generative AI video still isn’t entirely foolproof, but I could also be wrong.

The tells? Well, the obvious one is that these are the only shots I could find that closely resemble what Sarandos described. Again, if I hadn’t been told to look for AI, I’m not sure it would have jumped out to me. It’s nothing special, but perhaps that’s the trick—unlike the trippy AI credits in Secret Invasion, the AI here looks a lot like the handcrafted, low-budget (I say that affectionately) aliens that show up just a few minutes earlier.

But if you know to look for AI, there are still a few other giveaways here. There are no human characters in these scenes (which means no weird hands) and cuts are either quick or subjects are far away and out-of-focus. Essentially, they look like generic, contextless clips that were stitched into the episode with little connective tissue.

But they also don’t look like hallucinations. Lifehacker’s typical advice for spotting AI footage—slowing down and looking for odd physics or strange body movements—don’t really apply here. My colleague Stephen Johnson has mentioned that you can cross-check against social media to see if AI use has been reported on a suspicious video— that may work for a viral video online, but if a production company stays quiet about using AI and keeps the effects subtle, it can be much harder to spot.

How to adapt to AI in your TV shows

All this uncertainty points to a wider problem with how viewers adapt to AI in TV. While Sarandos says this is the first AI effect to hit Netflix, the company has previously been accused of using AI in the true crime documentary What Jennifer Did. The company denied these claims, but that these arguments are even being had means audiences are starting to be unsure of whether they can trust their eyes—an especially big issue for genres like true crime, and something that would certainly make an AI skeptic like me start to feel paranoid while watching.

But even in a best-case scenario like this—subtle AI use in a fictional work that helps a small-scale operation save some time—I’m still a bit worried. On one hand, Sarandos argues that Netflix is “convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper.” One could argue that, if you can’t spot the difference between AI and handcrafted work, what’s the harm? Especially in a low-budget show like this, which might not have been able to achieve these effects otherwise.

On the flipside, apart from the ethical issues with downscaling on VFX artists or using copyrighted materials to train AI, there are still reasons for viewers to be wary. There are the awkward cuts I pointed out earlier, but it’s also worth wondering if these effects, which could have been omitted without hurting the story, needed to be there at all.

The Eternaut‘s comic book art is full of thoughtful, detailed linework, all done with a purpose. When you read it, you know that’s what the artist wanted you to see, and every line represents a choice. With an AI clip, details may only be there because that’s what the model thinks scenes like that are supposed to look like.

As a detail-oriented viewer, I would hate to spend time trying to figure out why a director framed a shot the way they did, only to find out months later that a computer just spat it out based on a model of other, similar scenes. And while it may start with smaller shows, given how successful this was for Netflix (the show has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), I’d expect to start seeing it elsewhere soon. Whatever excuses the streamer gives, this isn’t something you can ignore.

I used to be a big believer in distracting myself while I was working out, especially when doing cardio, which can last a long time and feel tedious. Even though I’ve recommended such an approach a few times, I’ve changed my viewpoint after looking a little bit at my output and refining my goals. I’m not above admitting the old way wasn’t working or that I was wrong. Here’s why I’m no longer trying to distract myself during cardio—and why you should consider stopping, too.

Why I’m done with exercise distractions

Multitasking does not work. It really doesn’t: Any time you’re trying to do two things at once, you’re splitting the energy and brainpower you can devote to both, essentially half-assing them at the same time instead of, forgive me, whole-assing them one at a time. It’s tempting, of course, to seek out a distraction while you work out, especially if you’re running or doing other tedious and/or difficult cardio. I used to be all about this and even spent years following a system where I only allowed myself to watch my favorite TV program if I was also on an elliptical machine or treadmill when I did it. I reasoned that distracted exercise was better than no exercise, which is true, but I conveniently forgot to consider that focused exercise is best overall.

When Peloton announced users could watch YouTube videos while using the company’s proprietary bikes, treadmills, and row machines, I was initially excited and started doing it right away to shake up the monotony of simply using my Peloton bike to take virtual classes or play the Lanebreak cardio game. But I noticed pretty quickly that the time I spent pedaling while watching music videos on my device’s big screen didn’t feel nearly as taxing or effective as time I spent doing anything else on the bike.

Earlier this week, I downloaded a spreadsheet of all my Peloton workouts and looked through the data. That confirmed it: Workouts when I was watching YouTube weren’t nearly as effective as other classes and games. In one notable instance, I burned a mere 57 calories in a 17-minute YouTube-watching ride. What was I even doing? It’s unclear; I don’t remember because I was engrossed in music videos, but according to my data, I had my resistance knob set at a paltry 32%. My average speed was just 10.8 miles per hour. Other, shorter workouts in the data set show significantly more calorie burn, output, resistance, cadence, speed, and distance. Basically, when I let myself be distracted, my brain decided that just a little bit of effort was good enough. I automatically took the path of least resistance, literally.

My goals in working out used to be just moving and being a little healthier. Those are totally fine and great goals, but mine have shifted over the last year or so. I’m now setting concrete goals for specific weight loss, muscle gain, and skill development, all with pretty strict timelines. Riding or running distractedly is not helping me meet those goals at all and, if I did it often enough, would hold me back a lot. Studies back up that distractions have negative effects on your output when you’re working out, too, but there’s one exception: Listening to music can make you work harder and perform better. That aligns with my own experiences, because when I have just the right playlist, I kill it—and that is reflected in my Apple Watch data, too.

When distracted workouts can work

If your goal is just to motivate yourself to hop on the treadmill or take a walk more often, distracted workouts might be helpful, at least for easing you into the routine. Research shows that an enjoyable distraction can augment the positive effects of exercise on your mood, for instance, so if you hit the gym because it makes you feel good inside, watching a little Law and Order or listening to a podcast while you jog might not be the worst idea.

But if you’re motivated by the feeling of actually having put in the work and tuckered yourself out, not just the fact that you did anything at all, be wary. In addition to lowering the heart rate during cardio, distractions like TV can also negatively impact your perceived effort—which is what happened to me when I noticed that I was feeling kind of blah after cycling with YouTube on. If you’re not exercising at a higher intensity, you may lose motivation to keep going without realizing all you had to do was turn off the Netflix and just zero in on your run.