Welcome to Jumble, your go-to source for AI news updates. This week, California drivers are suing BP, Walmart, and 7-Eleven, claiming an AI tool rigged prices at the pump. Meanwhile, Midjourney unveiled a full body scanner you use while floating in a spa. Let’s dive in ⬇️
In today’s newsletter:
⛽ Drivers say an algorithm jacked up pump prices
🫧 The AI art lab unveils a full body scanner
🐞 OpenAI goes hunting through open source code
🤠 A beloved cowboy's voice could go fully synthetic
🧾 Weekly Challenge: Make sense of your medical paperwork
🛢️ California Drivers Say AI Rigged Their Gas Prices
A group of California drivers is suing major gas chains, claiming they used an AI pricing tool to quietly coordinate prices instead of competing. The proposed class action landed Monday in Sacramento federal court.
An AI quietly set your gas price. Your reaction?
⚖️ The Alleged Playbook
Operators like BP, Walmart, and 7-Eleven allegedly fed shared data into a tool from Kalibrate that pushed prices up in lockstep, climbing as much as 30 cents a gallon where it was common.
The drivers say that broke state antitrust law, and every extra penny costs Californians about $134 million a year.
🚦 A Test for New AI Rules
The case leans on a fresh California law, in effect since January, that targets algorithmic price fixing. It could become an early test of whether pricing software can be blamed for collusion.
🛁 Midjourney's First Health Gadget Is a Full Body Scanner
Midjourney, the startup known for dreamy AI images, just unveiled its first piece of hardware, and it has nothing to do with art. The company is building a full body ultrasound scanner you climb into like a bath.
Would you climb into an AI body scanner?
🔬 Better Than an MRI, Allegedly
CEO David Holz says the Midjourney Scanner beats MRI in numerous ways and that no such device has ever been built. He wants a fleet of 50,000 of them but would not say what one costs.
💦 You Use It in a Spa
Users lie partly submerged in water, and the scanners will live inside Midjourney Spa locations with saunas, cold plunges, and a gym. The first is a 25,000 square foot site in San Francisco.
🧠 Wait, Where Is the AI?
Holz admits there is no AI in the scanner yet, just hardware and software, though he sees it running thousands of diagnoses within a decade. It is one of eight projects in the works.
Weekly Scoop 🍦
🩺 Weekly Challenge: Turn Your Medical Paperwork Into Plain English
Challenge: AI is muscling into healthcare, so put it to work on your own. Use it to translate the confusing parts of your medical life into plain language.
Here's what to do:
📄 Step 1: Grab a document. A recent lab result, after-visit summary, or a confusing bill. Blank out your name and ID numbers first.
🔎 Step 2: Ask for a plain English breakdown. Paste it into ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude and have it explain each line and define the jargon.
🗒️ Step 3: Build your question list. Have it draft five sharp questions for your next appointment, then run anything important past a real doctor.
💡Heads up: AI can misread medical info, so treat this as a starting point, not a diagnosis. Always confirm with a licensed professional.
Would you trust a spa scanner over your doctor's MRI? And if an algorithm can quietly set gas prices, what else is it already pricing for you? See you next time! 🚀
Stay informed, stay curious, and stay ahead with Jumble!
Zoe from Jumble
