Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. via Nameless.tv

Ah, college graduation season. This time of year usually brings clips of intellectuals or celebrities bestowing wisdom, some questionable fashions under those caps and gowns, and, inevitably, some sort of controversy.
This year? AI.
In a twist, this was not about students using AI, but the university itself using an AI-generated voice to assist with name reading during the ceremony.
In a move that left some students feeling cold, Pace University had graduating students pre-approve an AI-generated voice to read their name. Students then scanned a corresponding barcode on their phones, whereupon their names were “read aloud” by the AI voice.
It was a little uncanny.
The barcode scanner looks identical to one that is used at a grocery check out, and the whole process left many students with “the ick.” The move further turned a college degree into something that felt transactional, rather than a celebration of several years of effort, dreams, and for most, a whole lot of money.
Universities are grappling with the explosion of AI and automation in the collegiate experience. Some colleges are sticking to their guns and remaining old school, while others have attempted, to mixed results, to meet the students and technology where they are.
Pace University, with over 13,000 students at a time, is certainly not a small enough school to totally ignore possibilities that technological advances in automation can offer. Anyone who has sat through a large university graduation might agree with the decision to pick up the ... pace.
As with most things AI, opinions were mixed.
One upside was the efficiency in an otherwise error-prone process, especially at large universities.
It was also was lacking in humanity.
Others felt it seemed lazy on the university’s part to not have someone reading the names.
Maybe the first time, but certainly not the last. Are AI-generated voices (and barcodes) the future of college graduations?
On the Friday after the GOP controlled House of Representatives finally managed to convince enough members of their own party to pass MAGA President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill to enact more of his Project 2025 agenda, Georgia MAGA Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene decided to make some sort of declaration of her personal identity on X.
Whether she was inspired by the House vote or the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, the post from the self-described Christian nationalist—with ties to White supremacist and antisemitic leaders and organizations—raised some eyebrows on social media.
Greene posted—complete with emojis for every line:
"I'm a Christian, an imperfect sinner saved by grace and faith in Jesus."
"I'm a nationalist, a proud American, who loves my country and wants to make our home nation is the best place for all American citizens and future generations to come."
"I’m a mother, thankful for the blessings and responsibility God gave me with my children."
"I’m a business owner, humbled and grateful to be able to work as hard as humanly possible in the greatest country in the world to be successful, where nothing is given and all is earned."
"I’m a Representative, elected to serve the greatest people from the greatest district on the greatest country on Earth!"
"May God bless each of you and may God bless America!!!"
X being X, blue check marked user Jack (@JackPeters80) decided to fact check MTG's claims using the platform's generative AI chatbot, Grok.
Jack commented on MTG's original post:
"@grok is it true? is she really a Christian?"
Grok replied:
"Marjorie Taylor Greene identifies as a Christian, expressing faith in Jesus and traditional beliefs, like in her 2021 Christmas message."
"However, her Christian nationalism and support for conspiracy theories, like QAnon, spark debate. Critics, including religious leaders, argue her actions contradict Christian values of love and unity, citing her defense of January 6 and divisive rhetoric."
"Supporters may see her stances as faith-driven. Whether she’s 'really' a Christian is subjective, depending on personal and theological views. Her faith appears genuine to her, but public actions create controversy."
@grok/X
People concurred with that assessment.
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Greene took offense to the computer program's fact-based answer to the question of her devotion to the core principles of Christianity.
So she responded directly to the AI chatbot, posting on X:
".@grok the judgement seat belongs to GOD, not you a non-human AI platform."
"Grok is left leaning and continues to spread fake news and propaganda."
"When people give up their own discernment, stop seeking the truth, and depend on AI to analyze information, they will be lost."
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People had thoughts on Grok's supposed leftist ideology that Greene whinged about...
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...and her choice to address Grok with her rebuttal.
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At least one person was concerned about MTG interacting directly with Grok.
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Another X user decided to fact check the response to Grok posted by MTG.
User Grok's Handler (@GroksHandler) commented directly on the above MTG tweet:
"Hey @grok while [MTG] claims to be a Christian, do her public comments and voting record align with Jesus teachings? Yes or no answer"
Grok's answer was "No."
People across social media had thoughts on the matter.
Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie/Facebook
But the folks over at the r/skeptic subReddit—a home for "Scientific Skepticism... combining knowledge of science, philosophy, and critical thinking with careful analysis to help identify flawed reasoning and deception"—offered some especially brutal analyses of MAGA Representative MTG.
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They had choice words for the people of Georgia's 14th congressional district that keep sending the ineffectual MTG to Washington D.C., too.
After over four years in Congress, as of May 28, 2025, MTG has had only one bill enacted into law and only by "other means"—meaning provisions of her one bill were incorporated into other bills which were then signed into law.
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Grok was the clear winner of the debate with MTG in this crowd.
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It seems pretty clear that Grok won this round.
Better luck next time, Marjorie.
Senator Rand Paul surprised everyone by speaking out against his fellow conservatives for bowing to President Donald Trump and his disastrous budget plan, becoming the most prominent Republican to criticize the "Big Beautiful Bill."
The bill in its present form seeks to extend key elements of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) while introducing dozens of new measures. Now headed to the Senate under the budget reconciliation process, the bill aims to make permanent several tax breaks originally set to expire, including provisions eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay.
In addition to tax policy changes, the bill proposes significant reforms to federal safety net programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Preliminary estimates suggest that these changes could lead to a reduction in spending totaling hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.
The package also contains a provision that could significantly limit judicial oversight and accountability. Tucked quietly into the broader bill, the measure would curtail judges' authority to hold individuals in contempt of court for defying court orders—a move legal experts warn could weaken the judiciary’s ability to enforce the rule of law.
The provision has drawn sharp criticism from legal scholars and opposition lawmakers, who argue that it appears designed to shield political figures, including the president, from potential legal consequences.
In his remarks to Fox News, Paul made clear that more conservatives should address very real concerns with the legislation:
“Somebody has to stand up and yell, ‘the emperor has no clothes.’ Everybody is falling in lockstep on this – ‘pass the Big Beautiful Bill, don’t question anything.'"
“Well, conservatives do need to stand up and have their voice heard. This is a problem we’ve been facing for decades now, and if we don’t stand up on it, I really fear the direction the country is going.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
He was right—but many were taken aback by the fact that they were agreeing with his assessment in the first place.
We just might be in the Twilight Zone.
President Donald Trump was mocked after he flubbed the pronunciation of fallen U.S. Navy Sailor Shannon Kent's position as a cryptologic technician while paying tribute to her during an appearance at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.
Cryptologic technicians are responsible for detecting, tracking, and analyzing radar signals across air, sea, and land platforms. They manage advanced electronic surveillance systems, including signal interceptors, recording tools, data analysis workstations, and integrated computer networks to gather and interpret intelligence.
But that wasn't at all what Trump said:
"As a linguist, translator and cryptolo-jo-jik technician, Shannon worked alongside elite special force units."
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
"Cryptolo-jo-jik" what?! Yeah... people mocked the president immediately.
The president is of course known for his many, many grammar flubs—for instance, in February, he couldn't seem to get the pronunciation of "TikTok" quite right while talking to reporters and referred to "Tic Tac" more than once, confusing it with the popular breath mint brand. He has, without a doubt, an impressive history of verbal gaffes.
It's been suggested that one of the reasons that he messes up oral communication so much is because he doesn't read. In fact, writer David Graham once suggested in a piece for The Atlantic that "Trump’s indifference to the printed word has been apparent for some time," in large part because many within his first administration said he didn't even read his daily intelligence briefings.
Of course, Trump isn't going to change anytime soon, so we can expect many more flubs in the future to compete against the time he claimed he "doesn't want pronouns," the time he couldn't even remember the name of his own White House physician, referring to Ronny Jackson as "Ronny Johnson" during a campaign event in Milwaukee during the 2024 election cycle.
Not all childhoods are created equal. No matter how much love might have been experienced in the home, children realize when there are things in life that they're missing out on because of money or circumstance. There are also children in tougher homes where they could have had some of the niceties if their parents only had said yes.
So it only stands to reason that some of these children turned into adults would indulge a little bit and gift themselves some of the things they always wanted.
The Redditor, who has since deleted their account, asked:
"What's something you bought as an adult because you weren't allowed to have it as a child?"
"When I was very little, we would go through the Sears Catalog to make our Christmas Lists. For five years, I asked for a Crawl Thru Tunnel. I never got one."
"I bought my cats two."
- Glum-Establishment31
"Any time I'm traveling and there's a penny press, I use it. Seven-year-old me is absolutely delighted every time."
- wildhardsrosaur
"I was always allowed to do it, I just still love doing it. I love to just look at souvenirs."
"I actually don’t buy souvenirs unless I really love it or believe I can use it frequently. Photos are much better anyway."
- Soft-Temporary-7932
"I took dance as an adult. When one of my older brothers was younger, he took piano and quit after a very short period of time."
"My dad was p**sed and after that, seldom allowed any of us to take paid lessons for anything. We'd beg, promise to stick with it, and he'd insist no. Because my brother quit piano at six, we'd all quit whatever activity."
"So, I joined an amateur dance team in college, then saved up to take some dance lessons, and I've continued doing so ever since."
- Kindly_Disk_56
"I buy my kids a lot of play-dough, and other messy things that my parents wouldn't buy me because the house always had to be presentable in case the Queen was coming over."
- 85MonteCarloSS
"Our house also had to be ready for the Queen at all times. She never did show up, which I think is rude. She clearly told my mom she was coming, because otherwise, why was my mom so insane about me setting my coat on the recliner by the door?"
- IDontMeanToInterrupt
"A LEGO pirate ship. Not that I wasn't allowed, but we couldn't afford it."
- monochromeorc
"When I was two or three, my Mom promised she'd buy me a Lego Pirate ship when she found one on sale. When I was 21, I found one in a Black Friday ad, sent it to her, and demanded my Pirate ship."
"17 years later, it is still assembled and lives on top of my Snake Tank. I periodically rearrange the ongoing battle for the ship, and as a reward for finishing a large project (like turning a tree into an entire library full of bookshelves), I added the Lego Dreamz Shark Pirate Ship to the mix."
- Aminar14
" Video games. At some point in late high school, I was told by my parents I was too old for video games and needed to grow out of them and focus on my studies. Joke's on them, I ended up becoming a game developer."
- CrunchyCat
"I love this! I wasn't allowed to play video games growing up, so I started playing Skyrim last year at 27 years old, and now it fuels all my creative fires and whatnot. I love it so much!"
- juniperjellyrain
"My first week of college, I realized that I could eat an entire loaf of garlic bread for dinner and not get in trouble."
"I later learned why my mom didn’t allow me to eat an entire loaf of garlic bread for dinner."
- E2Bonky
"Dude, this was my answer, but with pie. I bought a whole pie and was in a Teamspeak chat with a friend and said, 'Ya know what's really cool about being an adult with their own paycheck? I can just buy a whole pie and then eat a whole pie for dinner if I want to.. And ya know what? I want to.'"
"And I did. I ate most of that pie. Pie is a lot to eat."
- TONKAHANAH
"Mouse Trap."
"The old board game where you build the wacky Rube-Goldberg style machine. I only ever got to play it like once when I was a kid and was at someone's house whose kid had it."
"I loved it and asked for that as my birthday and or Christmas present pretty much every year, but never got it."
- unittwentyfive
"Dinosaur bed sheets and pillow cases."
- Sys32768
"I definitely get all my sheets from the children's section. Adult sheets are boring."
"I have sharks on my bed right now!"
- DashDifficult
"Books. So many books. My mother always told me books were a waste of time and money. Now I have so many bookshelves FILLED with fantastic literature."
"My mother is a raging narcissist. She cannot read very well, and because of this, I believe that is why she does not value reading. If she does not see a need for it, then I should not either."
"I often helped her understand some paperwork or mail she had. Money is no issue for her because of my father; she values getting her nails done, Botox, hair extensions, etc, lol. She is a vain, rude, and rather uneducated woman."
- Leslie_Ackerman
"The 64-count pack of Crayola crayons."
- Cthulhu_Knits
"Mom: 'You'll be happy with two 24-counts, right? They're on sale!'"
"Tiny Me: 'NO, I NEED COPPER.'"
- One-Annual8058
"Technically, I didn’t buy him, he just appeared, but a cat. However, he is now the most expensive freeloader ever, so I can say I bought him."
"He chose me, I wanted him, and no one can say that I can't have a cat. Not anymore."
- DisneyAddict2021
"Yep, for me, it was apuppy. And then one and a half years later, another puppy."
- Mysterious-Ad4253
" Food! My mom always had us on crash diets, and we weren’t fat. She just controlled our food, but my stepmom and dad did it also."
"When I got pregnant, all they could say was, 'You are gonna get fat.'"
"No more fat-free, carb-free, crash diets. No more food so processed you can taste the chemicals."
- sowdirect
"A guitar. It wasn’t that I wasn’t forbidden from having one. We just couldn’t afford one. Music was never a priority when we were just trying to survive. So I bought my first guitar at 31."
- captaintrips_1980
"It's never too late to have a happy and musical childhood!"
- Acta-Non-Verba-
"When I was in my early 30s (25ish years ago), a buddy of mine and I were sitting around reminiscing about when we were kids and we would save all our money to buy model rockets, and how we never had enough for the really cool big ones."
"After a few minutes, we looked at each other and said, 'We have money now,' and the next weekend, we went to the hobby store and dropped $2K between the two of us and spent the next month building every rocket we couldn't have as kids."
"Once they were all built and painted, we went out the the local park that was frequently used for model rocket launches and spent the whole day sending them up. We drew a huge crowd."
"It was really fun, the kids at the park would run after the rockets and bring them back for us. At the end of the day, we gave everything away to a bunch of the kids. It was one of the best days of my life."
- could_use_a_snack
Each of these entries was reason enough to smile and be in a suddenly better mood.
Even if these families did their best and showed a lot of love, it's still fun to treat ourselves to some of the things we always wanted; and for those in tougher situations, buying those things is like a signpost for freedom and independence. Good for them!