The wipeout: More than $2 trillion in market value was set to be erased from the Nasdaq 100 in October, slightly more than SpaceX’s entire value. The index fell over 5.8% for the month.

What spooked investors: Meta, Alphabet and Amazon all raised their AI spending forecasts again. Alphabet had its biggest one-day drop on record after weak search ad results and a big jump in cash burn, and Meta’s plan for a record $97.5 billion fundraise raised fears of shareholder dilution.

The debt problem: Big Tech is increasingly borrowing to fund AI. Microsoft is reportedly planning a $25 billion bond sale, its first in over nine years, and rising interest rates make that debt more expensive and harder to justify.

The bright spots: Microsoft and SpaceX beat the gloom with results showing AI spending is starting to pay off. AWS kept accelerating, and Meta’s revenue beat expectations.

The scale: JPMorgan expects $900 billion in global AI spending in 2026 alone and $5.5 trillion by 2030. This year’s AI spending by Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Oracle and Microsoft will roughly equal everything they’ve spent since ChatGPT launched in 2022.

Why it’s getting worse: Voice cloning used to be a standalone novelty. Experts told Mashable it’s now sold as just one feature inside all-in-one criminal “scam kits,” making it easy for anyone to use.

Set a code word: Most experts recommend agreeing on a secret word with family and friends to confirm who’s really calling. A cloned voice can’t know a secret that was never shared publicly.

Watch for red flags: Be suspicious of urgent emergencies and requests to pay by wire transfer, crypto or gift cards. These are classic signs of a scam, no matter how real the voice sounds.

Slow down and verify: Don’t act in the moment. Hang up and call the person back on a number you already know, and treat an unfamiliar number as a warning even if the voice sounds right.

Protect your voice: Scammers can clone a voice from just a few seconds of audio. Limit public videos and long voicemail greetings, and help your family and friends set up the same protections.

What’s new: Since Home Assistant 2026.10, its official MCP server is a one-click switch under Settings, then System, then AI. MCP is the standard that lets AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini talk directly to your smart home.

How to connect Claude: Add Home Assistant as a custom connector in Claude’s settings using your remote URL, then sign in with your Home Assistant account. Once set up on the web, it syncs automatically to Claude’s desktop and mobile apps.

What it can do: Claude gets a real-time view of your home, so you can ask it to turn on lights, check device status or ask questions about your setup in natural language.

The limits: The official server works best as a smarter voice-assistant-style controller. To have Claude build automations, dashboards or sensors, you’ll need a free community add-on called ha-mcp. Claude’s free plan allows one custom connector, and more need Pro or Max.

Stay safe: Giving an AI control of your home means being careful about which devices and actions you expose. Start with lights and sensors before handing over locks or alarms.

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