Many people thought that AI can only help them write, create content, and organize information. However, the tech can do more than that. They can help protect your wallet.

AI is being utilized by banks nationwide to help detect potentially fraudulent transactions. Experts have said the technology’s capacity for pattern recognition makes it ideal for spotting unusual activity.

"Banks have done this for some time with human resources. They get alerts, they have to look at every single one. Many of them are normal, so that’s wasting valuable research," said Abrigo Compliance Director, Terri Luttrell. "Where an AI applied technique will say, 'okay, these are all normal. I can see this is the pattern. No human intervention is needed.'"

Luttrell said for more complex issues, transactions can be flagged for further analysis. In these instances, she says the human eye for detail can be necessary. Experts have said AI is proving to be a valuable resource in combatting fraud efforts from scammers utilizing AI themselves. They said the financial landscape has become an arms race in terms of outmaneuvering AI-powered fraud attempts.

"There’s AI deepfakes where they will impersonate a family member and they will have some sort of crisis situation where you need to send money right away," said Fort Knox Bank Founder, Erik Beguin. "The scams run the gamut. They’re coming in via phone calls, via emails, every possible way."

While modern tech has been used in some instances to gain access to sensitive information, that same tech is being utilized to help keep consumers’ finances safe.

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There is an Australian electricity and gas provider that currently uses autonomous robots at its 250-megawatt solar farm, where nearly 500,000 panels are being installed ahead of schedule with the help of AI-powered machines.

The robots, designed to speed construction and improve safety, are being trialed at ENGIE’s photovoltaic Goorambat East Solar Farm. The site is located less than a mile south-east of the Goorambat township in Victoria.

"It will have a generating capacity of up to 250 MW, which is enough to power up to 105,000 average Victorian homes," Justin Webb, ENGIE site representative said.

Developed by US-based Luminous Robotics, the LUMI S4 fleet uses AI-driven pick-and-place technology to autonomously lift and position solar modules onto racking structures.

Human crews then complete the securing process, cutting down on repetitive manual labor while increasing efficiency and reducing injury risks.

To develop the robots, Luminous Robotics secured USD 4.9 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The funds were part of its USD 10 million Solar ScaleUp Challenge.

The machines autonomously lifted and placed panels onto racking structures, at the Goorambat East site, located near the city of Benalla, approximately 130 miles northeast of Melbourne.

This division of labor reportedly reduces one of the most physically demanding aspects of solar farm construction. It also improves both safety and efficiency while allowing the human workforce to focus on skilled tasks.

The system, first used for pilings and now for panels, marks Luminous’ debut of its LUMI robots outside the US, showcasing the future of solar farm construction.

"The intended higher productivity of these autonomous systems will reduce the cost of renewable energy projects and enable projects to be built in less time – which will bring down energy costs for consumers and potentially allow more solar farms to be built," Webb continued.

The solar farm will have a capacity of up to 250 MW once complete. It will supply electricity to more than 100,000 average homes. Commissioning has already begun, with first energization expected before the end of October 2025 and full operation targeted for mid-2026.

Webb revealed that the robots require skilled technicians to help upskill the renewable workforce and boost productivity. He noted they could also benefit solar projects in remote, harsh regions where conditions are unsafe for workers.

"In the longer term, with continued development, robots like these will also enable a reduction in health and safety related risks from construction projects, for example reducing the manual handling of heavy solar panels," he explained.

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Using his AI-related activities, federal prosecutors was able to gather evidence against a man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of Los Angeles’ most destructive wildfires.

The January blaze killed 12 people, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures, and burned over 23,000 acres before being contained on 31 January.

Authorities allege Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Florida, set off a smaller blaze known as the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Day 2025 in Pacific Palisades. The fire smoldered for a week before reigniting under heavy winds and growing into the Palisades Fire.

He was arrested last 7 October near his home and charged with destruction of property by means of fire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Court documents show investigators reviewed Rinderknecht’s ChatGPT activity and AI-generated imagery from months before the fire.

On 11 July 2024, he allegedly asked the chatbot to produce a detailed image showing a burning forest, people fleeing in poverty, and wealthy figures watching from behind a wall marked with a dollar sign. The prompt read:

"A dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle. In the middle, hundreds of thousands of people in poverty are trying to get past a gigantic gate with a big dollar sign on it. On the other side of the gate and the entire wall is a conglomerate of the richest people. They are chilling, watching the world burn down, and watching the people struggle. They are laughing, enjoying themselves, and dancing."

Investigators said the resulting image had a "cartoony vibe" common to AI-generated art at the time.

In another ChatGPT exchange on 1 November 2024, prosecutors allege Rinderknecht wrote, "I literally burnt the Bible that I had. It felt amazing. I felt so liberated." Officials did not claim these conversations directly led to the fire but included them in the criminal complaint as evidence of his mindset.

Authorities said Rinderknecht, who previously lived in Pacific Palisades, had been working as an Uber driver on New Year’s Eve before heading toward the Skull Rock Trailhead.

Two passengers he picked up that night told investigators he appeared "agitated and angry," according to the complaint.

After his final drop-off, he allegedly walked up the trail, took photos and videos from the hilltop, and at 12:12 am, sensors detected a fire in the same area.

He tried several times to call 911 but couldn’t connect due to poor reception. When he finally reached an operator, the fire had already been reported by a nearby resident.

Authorities said he then left the scene but later followed fire trucks and recorded video of firefighters responding.

Uber confirmed that Rinderknecht was immediately removed from its platform once the company learned of his involvement and is cooperating with authorities.

He remains in custody in Florida and will be extradited to California to face prosecution.

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Apple is not actively declaring it, but they quietly orchestrating its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade, and at the center of succession planning sits John Ternus, the company’s 50-year-old senior vice president of hardware engineering.

As Tim Cook approaches his 65th birthday next month, industry observers and Apple insiders increasingly view Ternus as the most likely candidate to inherit the reins of one of the world’s most valuable technology companies, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has reported accurately on Apple for years thanks to sources deep within the company.

The speculation intensified after Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams, once considered Cook’s natural successor, stepped down from operational responsibilities in July and will leave the company by year’s end. With Williams out of contention, Gurman says Ternus has emerged as "the most likely heir apparent."

Ternus brings a combination of technical expertise and institutional knowledge to the succession conversation. According to his LinkedIn profile, the mechanical engineer joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and has overseen hardware engineering for virtually every major product in the company’s current portfolio.

His fingerprints are on every generation of iPad, the latest iPhone lineup, and AirPods. He played a crucial role in the Mac’s transition to Apple Silicon. He also had a prominent role during Apple’s most recent keynotes, introducing products like the new iPhone Air.

The timing of Ternus’s increased visibility isn’t coincidental. Apple’s public relations teams have begun "putting the spotlight on Ternus," according to Gurman, signaling the company may be preparing for a gradual transition of power. Beyond product launches, Ternus has taken on responsibilities that extend well beyond traditional hardware engineering, influencing product road maps, features, and strategic decisions typically reserved for more senior executives.

At 50, Ternus mirrors Cook’s age when he became CEO in 2011, positioning him for potentially a decade or more of leadership. This longevity factor appeals to Apple’s board of directors, who prefer stability in leadership transitions. His engineering background also matches where Apple is going as a company, exploring emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and mixed reality.

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British police say they have dismantled an international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China in the last year.

In what the Metropolitan Police says is the UK's largest ever operation against phone thefts, 18 suspects have been arrested and more than 2,000 stolen devices discovered.

Police believe the gang could be responsible for exporting up to half of all phones stolen in London - where most mobiles are taken in the UK.

BBC News has been given access to the operation, including details of the suspects, their methods, and to dawn raids on 28 properties in London and Hertfordshire.

The investigation was triggered after a victim traced a stolen phone last year.

"It was actually on Christmas Eve and a victim electronically tracked their stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport," Detective Inspector Mark Gavin said.

"The security there was eager to help out and they found the phone was in a box, among another 894 phones."

Officers discovered almost all the phones had been stolen and in this case were being shipped to Hong Kong. Further shipments were then intercepted and officers used forensics on the packages to identify two men.

As the investigation honed in on the two men, police bodycam footage captured officers, some with Tasers drawn, carrying out a dramatic mid-road interception of a car. Inside, officers found devices wrapped in foil - an attempt by offenders to transport stolen devices undetected.

The men, both Afghan nationals in their 30s, were charged with conspiring to receive stolen goods and conspiring to conceal or remove criminal property.

When they were stopped, dozens of phones were found in their car, and about 2,000 more devices were discovered at properties linked to them. A third man, a 29-year-old Indian national, has since been charged with the same offences.

Det Insp Gavin said "finding the original shipment of phones was the starting point for an investigation that uncovered an international smuggling gang, which we believe could be responsible for exporting up to 40 percent of all the phones stolen in London".

A few days ago, authorities made a further 15 arrests on suspicion of theft, handling stolen goods and conspiracy to steal.

All but one of the suspects are women, including a Bulgarian national. Some 30 devices were found during early morning raids.

The number of phones stolen in London has almost tripled in the last four years, from 28,609 in 2020, to 80,588 in 2024. Three-quarters of all the phones stolen in the UK are now taken in London.

More than 20 million people visit the capital every year and tourist hotspots such as the West End and Westminster are prolific for phone snatching and theft.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics found that "theft from the person" has increased across England and Wales by 15 percent in the year ending March 2025, standing at its highest level since 2003.

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There was a security conference happening in New Orleans this week, where they are showcasing the latest in security technology. And one feature that will catch the attention of many is a security robot known as Drone Dog.

"Dogs have been protecting structures since Medieval times, we’ve just improved upon Fido," Kurt George, the vice president of sales for Asylon Robotics said.

Drone Dog made by Asylon Robotics and partnered with Boston Dynamics is a remote control operated security watch dog.

"This is mobile data collection. This is a camera that go wherever you want it to go, then humans can analyze and determine what to do next," George said.

Drone Dogs are used at zoos, football stadiums, residences and many more places.

"Let’s say a zoo closes at 8:00, and Drone Dog is walking the paths, making sure doors are locked, cages are closed and there are no people there that shouldn’t be," he said.

"It has an optical camera and a thermal camera. So, it can see in the dark, a lot better than a dog can too with 20 times zoom on it. It has both audio that can come in, and it can hear what’s going on, plus it has audio that goes out, so it can bark, and it has a speaker where it can play music or have his handler speak," George said.

He said that all the data that comes in will feed back to a secure center in Pennsylvania, where they do all the monitoring.

"This isn’t a toy, this is for protection, and not for play," he said.

Of course, this dog even knows tricks.

"If you shove him, it is pretty tough to knock him down. He’s got sensors that are 360 degrees all around. Drone Dog can go up and down stairs if need be, and its feet are made of Goodyear rubber," George said.

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