Reddit bots, privacy & more (April 30, 2025)

Hi friends,

From Reddit scandals to zero-code app building, here’s everything AI you need to know this week — no fluff, just facts.

🧪 AI Goes Rogue: Persuasion, Ethics & Fallout

Reddit's users were test subjects — without consent.
Researchers at the University of Zurich ran a secret AI experiment on r/ChangeMyView, using chatbots to impersonate trauma survivors and counselors. The bots generated over 1,700 comments tailored to users’ political views, age, and gender — and were 6x more persuasive than human commenters. Reddit is pursuing legal action.

AI helps uncover a hidden Alzheimer’s trigger.
UC San Diego researchers used AI imaging to identify a surprising culprit: the PHGDH protein, which disrupts brain function. A compound called NCT-503 reversed the effect in mice — and could be taken as a simple pill rather than an infusion.

📱 Meta’s AI App + DIY AI Projects Take Off

Meta launched a standalone Llama 4 app with a twist.
It features a “Discover” feed of your friends' chatbot convos (with permission), voice-first interactions, and customization based on your profile. Developers now have free preview access to the Llama 4 API, and new tools like LlamaFirewall and Llama Guard 4 help with AI safety.

🛠 Tools to Try

Lovable – Build AI-powered apps from a prompt
PageOn AI – Auto-create beautiful slide decks
Ztalk.ai – Translate video calls in real time
Autonomy – AI-assisted front-end coding
LiftmyCV – AI that finds and applies to jobs

⚡ Quick Hits

• Grok 3.5 launches next week with deep technical Q&A skills
• OpenAI rolls back GPT-4o to fix personality bugs
• Yelp debuts AI voice agents for restaurant bookings
• Google expands NotebookLM podcast summaries to 50+ languages
• Writer’s new LLM (Palmyra X5) rivals GPT-4 at 75% less cost

🧠 Prompt of the Day

"Act as a social dynamics coach. Teach me how to genuinely connect with others — with examples, habits, and strategies for work and life."

🧾 TL;DR

Reddit's trust breach shows just how persuasive AI has become. Meanwhile, Meta doubles down on Llama 4 with a social twist, and you can now build AI tools without writing a single line of code.

Stay automating,
David