Plus: Remember a time before AI slop? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

November 28, 2025 | Read online
# OpenAI breach, UK's VPN problem and the Sizzler Say Plus: Remember a time before AI slop?
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Edition 2460
"Techno week - workshop on future of computers" (Flickr: Tecnia School)
If you’re receiving this now, there was some issue with the send out before so sorry it’s a bit late.
# The News
### OpenAI caught in data breach but thankfully they didn’t get your AI GF chatlogs
OpenAI has been caught up in a third party data breach with a leak of personal information belonging to ChatGPT users. (BleepingComputer). OpenAI said a hacker broke into web analytics provider Mixpanel and took data about some of its ChatGPT API customers including name, email, location (OpenAI). Crucially, it did not include any information about the AI use itself like user prompts.
The Sizzle: Are you ready? This feels like a dress rehearsal for the inevitable disaster that a major AI company is popped and it reveals just how much people are revealing to this tech. I really, really think that the vast majority of people using AI chatbots like ChatGPT do not think about anyone ever seeing what they’re prompting an AI to do.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### The UK wants to do something about VPNs
The UK government is trying to figure out how it’s going to deal with all the people using VPNs to get around its age restriction laws that came into effect in July (The Verge). While the government has ruled out banning VPNs, public figures like the UK Children’s Commissioner are saying things like VPNs are “absolutely a loophole that needs closing”. One idea? Age verification for VPNs is apparently something that’s being mooted. Anyway, UK’s internet regulator is apparently monitoring VPN use.
The Sizzle: I have a slightly controversial take: VPNs are generally that not useful to most people, and they also present a huge potential privacy and safety risk. Even with the top providers, it’s hard to know how to trust their claims that they don’t snoop on your traffic, let alone the super dodgy free ones that will likely become popular when our teen social media ban kicks in.
About a year or so ago, I had a chat with someone high up in the government who essentially was like “I wish we could crack down on VPN providers for being shitty but it would only be interpreted as an government authoritarian 1984 takeover so we’ll leave it.” I get it!
Relatedly: the top apps in Australia right now are obscure social media platforms that are being promoted by teens trying to get around the ban
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
### The Sizzler Say: BOM design cost, smart photo frame reccos and Nvidia’s dominance
Unsurprisingly, you folk have thoughts about the BOM website redesign costs. Also, I appreciated this email from Adam: My perspective on the expensive BoM website is that it’s essentially critical national infrastructure. They clearly messed up the launch comms and user engagement a bit, but the previous site was so out of date and the content they are displaying is so complex that it’s no surprise it cost a lot. The reaction to the launch shows how much people value the site and the service. For the cost of a few questionable consultant reports we’ve gotten the modern weather site we’ve needed for years! Tobes dropped some info about the forthcoming SMS register in the Slack. BOGLOAD asked and received some suggestions for a smart photo frame that “doesn’t have a junk app”. TinBane has a great, in-depth post about Nvidia’s dominance on the forum. Heard from a few of you about Kagi’s new browser — like Stephen who said “Have downloaded the 1.0 version and it seems rock-solid and fast. I’m using it as my daily driver right now and there are no indications that I shouldn’t continue to do so.”
As always, if you wanna get involved (or even be able to read what’s on Slack) you can join the Slack server and forum via these links.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
#### Leftovers
Australia:
Tech giants plan blitz on laws that could block AI investment(Australian Financial Review, $) Redfern station’s AI-generated Christmas artwork to be removed (SMH, $) Macquarie Dictionary Announces ‘AI Slop’ as Its Word of the Year (The Guardian)
Rest of the world:
The US Military Wants to Fix Its Own Equipment. Defense Contractors Are Trying to Shoot That Down. (Wired, $) Plex’s Crackdown on Free Remote Streaming Access Starts This Week (Wired, $) Social Media Giants Liable for Financial Scams Under New EU Law (Politico) US Patent Office Issues New Guidelines for AI-Assisted Inventions (Reuters) Pollution from coal plants was dropping. Then came Trump and AI (Politico) Police force to trial AI 'agents' on 101 service (BBC News) ICE Using ChatGPT to Write Use-of-Force Reports, as Fascism Meets Laziness (Above the Law)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Remember a time before AI slop?
If you miss the pre-AI slop internet, you should check out Slop Evader which lets you search platforms like Google, Reddit, etc. for content made before ChatGPT was released 3 years ago (almost to the day).
It’s a browser extension that hooks into Google’s API for finding content pre-November 30, 2022, back when we could feel safe knowing that the poorly-written, error-riddled content on the internet was human-made <3.
Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
5% off at digiDirect 10% cashback at Apple Store & Apple Education Store Swann Evo Wireless Video Doorbell - Black - $28 at Harvey Norman (Down from $99) Amazon Fire TV Stick Fire TV Stick 4K for $39 Fire TV Stick 4K Plus for $49 eufy Security 2k Indoor Pan & Tilt Camera - $47 at JB Hi-Fi Vlogmate Mini - $49 at Founist (Down from $99) Tapo TP-Link Smart Home Solar-Powered Security Camera Kit Tapo C410 KIT - $68 at Amazon AU Google TV Streamer 4K - $78 at Officeworks JBL Flip 7 Bluetooth Speaker - $98 at Amazon AU (Down from $180) Apple Airtag - 4 Pack MX542X/a - $129 at digiDirect & Landmark Computers Apple AirPods 4 - $159 at Officeworks Kindle Paperwhite 7" 12th Gen 16GB - $189 at The Good Guys Ffalcon 55" U65 4K UHD Google TV 2025 Model - $382 at JB Hi-Fi (Down from $499) Apple Watch Ultra 49mm Titanium Case GPS Cellular - $529 at Phonebot (Refurb) Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20+ - $579 at Xiaomi AU or Amazon AU (Down from $1199) LG 55" 4K UHD LED Smart TV 2025 - $588 at Betta (Down from $995) LG 48" OLED48B5 Smart TV - $988 at Harvey Norman (Down from $1995) Samsung 85" QN70 NEO QLED Mini Led 4K Smart TV - $2283 at Harvey Norman (Down from $3995) Samsung 98" Crystal UHD DU9000 4K LED Smart TV - $2861 at Harvey Norman (Down from $4995)
Computing
15% cashback at Lenovo Cashback HP 710 Rechargeable Silent Bluetooth Mouse Black - $49 at OnLine Computer via Amazon AU Thermaltake AH T200 TG Matx Case - $89 at Umart VCHANCE 13.3" 1920x1080 OLED Portable Monitor - $137 at VCHANCE Official Store AliExpress ASUS ROG LOKI SFX-L 750W 80+ Platinum PCIe Gen 5.0 Power Supply - $156 at Centercom Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ and JBL Tune 720 Headphones Bundle - $329 at Officeworks Tp-Link BE5000 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System 3 Pack Deco-Be25-3-Pack - $377 at Bing Lee Toshiba Enterprise 16TB 3.5" CMR Sata HDD - $396 at goHardDrive eBay (Refurb) AMD Ryzen 9 9900X CPU - $514 at yeahmagicflagship Store AliExpress Western Digital Red Pro 3.5" Hard Drive 20TB - $601 at Amazon US via AU MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G VENTUS 3X OC Graphics Card - $1169 at Scorptec Asus TUF F16 16" Gaming Laptop i5 13450hx 16GB RAM 512GB SSD RTX 5050 - $1249 at JB Hi-Fi
Mobile
Vodafone: 200GB 12-Month Prepaid Starter Pack SIM plus 36% cashback - $169 at ShopBack (Down from $250) Google Pixel 10 Pro XL 256GB - $1497 at Officeworks
# The End
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.
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