🛻 Kick the Tires: What This Week’s AI News Means for the Valley
Or: AI Shopping Links Can Lead to Fake Stores, AI-Touched House Photos, Chattanooga Leans Into AI and a Big Data-Center Write-Off
By Thomas Seest, Dunlap.Today · Friday, November 13, 2026
Nobody around here buys a used truck off a sign in the yard without walking around it first. You kick the tires, look under the hood and maybe take it down the road a mile. The seller might be honest as the day is long. You look anyway.
This week’s AI news is about kicking the tires: let AI point the way, but look for yourself before money changes hands.
Here’s the roundup: a study found AI chatbots sometimes send shoppers to fake or dead online stores, some house and rental photos are being touched up by AI until they don’t match the real thing, Chattanooga is leaning into AI, from City Hall to a new marketing office, a big AI investor wrote off $3.7 billion in power equipment it no longer needs while Tennessee towns keep writing data-center rules, AI phone answerers are sounding more natural, even as crooks copy voices and Google opened up free rain records gathered from space. None of this calls for worry. Most of it comes down to looking for yourself before you pay.
⏱️ What this means for you in 30 seconds
- Holiday shopping with AI? Let it suggest gifts. Then type the store’s web address yourself before you pay.
- House or cabin hunting? Photos can be touched up by AI. See it in person or on a live video call before you send a deposit.
- Own a business? AI is changing how customers find you. Make sure your hours, phone and website are right online.
- Hearing about data centers? Tennessee towns are writing rules ahead of time. No proposal has been found in Sequatchie, Bledsoe or Marion.
- Get a call asking for money? Hang up and call back on a number you already have. Voices can be copied now.
🛍️ Check the Store’s Address Before You Pay
A company that protects brands from knockoffs, called Podqi, asked ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Perplexity thousands of “where can I buy this?” questions about 151 brands in September. Sometimes the answers pointed to fake stores, knockoff sellers or dead websites. By Podqi’s count, that happened in about 15 of every 100 Perplexity answers, 8 of 100 for ChatGPT and 4 of 100 for Gemini. When a risky site came up, the AI usually didn’t warn anybody. Smaller brands got mixed up more often than big ones. Podqi wrote its own test questions, and it says the problem got smaller between its two rounds of testing. The study was shared with The Verge.
It’s like buying that truck off the yard sign. The sign got you there, but you check the title yourself.
What it means for you: Go ahead and ask an AI for gift ideas. When it’s time to buy, type the store’s web address yourself or go through a store you already know. Don’t put your card into a site you reached only by clicking an AI’s link. If you run a shop, ask an AI where to buy from you and see what it says. If it names the wrong website, fix your listings.
🏡 That Cabin Looked Bigger in the Pictures
The BBC looked into what folks in England are calling “housefishing”: house and apartment photos changed with AI until the place looks better than it is. House hunters described rooms that looked bigger online, different decorations and windows that were smaller in person. In one UK survey, about 1 in 5 recent buyers said they’d toured a home whose photos had been touched up to look better than it really was. UK consumer officials say adding pretend furniture to an empty room is fine if the listing says so. Changing walls or windows, or hiding damage, could break the law there.
It’s like the fishing picture held close to the camera. The fish is real. It’s just never quite that big.
What it means for you: Before you sign a lease, send a deposit or drive two hours to see a house, cabin or even a used tractor, see it in person or on a live video call. Look for labels like “virtually staged.” If you’re selling or renting, label any AI-touched photos. Honest pictures bring serious buyers.
🏙️ Chattanooga Leans Into AI
Down the road from Chattanooga, a Franklin, Tenn., web and marketing company called JLB opened an office this week. Part of what it sells is “AI search visibility”: helping businesses show up when people ask AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s AI answers for a recommendation. Also this week, the Chattanoogan reported that Mayor Tim Kelly plans to attend a Google forum on AI in government in London next month, with Google paying the trip, valued at $11,400. The City Council still has to take up a resolution on the ethics paperwork. Earlier this month, the mayor described how the city used an AI-guided survey that drew nearly 2,000 written answers about parks and roads, and is testing AI to help review building and electrical permit drawings, with people making the final call.
It’s like a new hardware store opening in the next town over. Worth a look, but your hometown store already knows your name.
What it means for you: If you own a business, how customers find you is changing. You don’t need a big-city agency to start. Make sure your hours, phone number and website are correct on Google and in local directories, because that’s what AI answers pull from. For everyone else, it’s worth keeping an eye on how nearby governments use AI, and making sure a real person still signs off.
👉 Read more (Chattanoogan.com)
⚡ Big Plans Don’t Always Pan Out
SoftBank, one of the biggest money players in AI, wrote off $3.7 billion on power equipment, including gas turbines, that it ordered for AI data centers but no longer plans to use. Its finance chief said the company isn’t shrinking its plans, but couldn’t promise it won’t happen again. Closer to home, the Gallatin City Council near Nashville approved a six-month pause on new data-center applications, and Williamson County planners talked over data-center zoning Thursday without voting. They may pick it back up in January and hold a public hearing. That part is still pending.
It’s like a farmer who bought three hay balers on credit before the hay ever came in. Planning ahead is smart, right up until you plan too far ahead.
What it means for you: The power these giant computer centers will need is a forecast, not a sure thing. That’s one reason TVA already makes big new data centers pay a hefty fee up front. Tennessee towns are writing their rules before anyone comes knocking. We haven’t found any data-center proposal in Sequatchie, Bledsoe or Marion counties. If that changes, we’ll tell you.
📞 The Voice on the Phone Might Be a Computer
AI phone answerers are getting more natural. A company called Fish Audio says its newest voice AI keeps listening while it talks, so you can say “mm-hmm” or change your order halfway through (“two pizzas… no, three”) without starting over. Another company, ElevenLabs, opened an online catalog of ready-made AI phone helpers for things like customer service. There’s another side to this, too. Federal prosecutors in New York charged three men with using AI to copy the voices of company bosses and lawyers and trick employees into wiring more than $129 million. Those are charges, not convictions. The men are presumed innocent.
It’s like the old party line. Handy, but you never said anything you wouldn’t want the whole road to hear.
What it means for you: An AI answering service could help a busy shop catch calls after hours, as long as it tells callers it’s automated and can pass them to a person. For everyone, here’s the rule to remember: no money moves on a phone call alone. Hang up and call back on a number you already have. That goes for businesses, bookkeepers and grandparents who get a “grandkid in trouble” call.
👉 Read more (U.S. Attorney’s Office)
🌧️ Free Rain Records From Space
Google DeepMind opened up two collections of weather data behind its AI forecasting, free for anyone to use. One stitches weather-satellite pictures of the whole planet together every hour. The other is an AI-built rainfall map of the world, updated every 15 minutes with rain history going back to 1999. Google says its rain map does better than a well-known NASA research dataset at catching light and moderate rain. This is for researchers and app builders, not a new app on your phone.
It’s like the rain gauge on the fence post, if every fence post on the planet called in every 15 minutes.
What it means for you: Better rain records could help farmers, gardeners, road crews and anyone keeping an eye on the creeks after a hard rain, especially up in the hollows where rain gauges are few. Down the road, it could mean better “how much rain fell this week” reports for the Valley. For storm warnings, keep listening to the National Weather Service.
✅ Your Front-Porch AI Checklist
- ✅ Shopping with AI? Let it suggest. Then type the store’s web address yourself.
- ✅ Never put your card into a site you reached only through an AI’s link.
- ✅ House, cabin or tractor hunting? See it in person or on live video before any deposit.
- ✅ Selling or renting? Label any AI-touched photos.
- ✅ Own a business? Check your hours, phone and website on Google and local directories.
- ✅ Remember: no data-center proposal has been found in Sequatchie, Bledsoe or Marion.
- ✅ Get a call asking for money? Hang up and call back on a number you already have.
- ✅ Storm coming? The National Weather Service is still the place for warnings.
Practical rule: Let AI point the way, but kick the tires yourself. Check the address, see it in person and call back before any money changes hands.
— Dunlap.Today
📚 Plain-English AI Glossary
- AI chatbot: A computer program you can type or talk to, like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity, that answers in plain sentences.
- Fake or “lookalike” website: A site dressed up to look like a real store, often with a web address that’s off by a letter or two.
- Dead website: An old web address nobody runs anymore. Someone else can buy it and reuse it.
- Housefishing: Using AI to change real-estate photos so a place looks better than it really is.
- Virtually staged: A photo where pretend furniture has been added by computer. Fine if it’s labeled.
- AI search visibility: Making sure AI tools mention and link to your business when people ask for recommendations.
- Data center: A big building full of computers that run websites and AI. They use a lot of electricity.
- Moratorium: A pause. Here, a town stops taking new applications for a set time.
- Write-off: When a company admits money it spent won’t come back and counts it as a loss.
- Voice cloning: Using AI to copy how a real person sounds.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to use AI to help with holiday shopping?
Yes, for ideas and comparing. When it’s time to pay, go to the store’s real website yourself by typing the address, or use a store you already trust.
How can I tell if a shopping site is fake?
Look for a misspelled web address, odd endings, prices that are too good to be true and no real phone number or street address. When in doubt, close it and search for the store yourself.
Which AI did best in the shopping study?
In Podqi’s test, Gemini showed risky sites least often and ChatGPT warned about them most often. It was one company’s test, so no AI should be treated as foolproof.
Are AI-touched house photos illegal?
The rules the BBC described are in the UK. There, pretend furniture is allowed if it’s labeled, but changing walls or windows or hiding damage could break the law. Either way, see a place before you pay.
Is Chattanooga’s government using AI to make decisions?
The mayor says the city uses AI to help sort public comments and review permit drawings, with people making the final call. The council still has to act on his trip paperwork.
Is a data center coming to the Sequatchie Valley?
We haven’t found any data-center proposal in Sequatchie, Bledsoe or Marion counties. If that changes, we’ll tell you.
Does SoftBank’s write-off change my power bill?
No. It’s a company’s own loss. It’s a reminder that data-center power needs are forecasts, which is why TVA makes big new data centers pay a fee up front.
How do I protect my family from voice-copying scams?
Agree on a family code word, and never send money on a call alone. Hang up and call the person back on a number you already have.
Does Dunlap.Today use AI?
Yes, to help gather information and draft. A person reviews what’s published and is responsible for every story. If you spot a mistake, tell us and we’ll fix it.
🔗 Other Resources
- The Verge: AI chatbots are recommending fake retail websites, study finds
- Podqi: AI search is recommending fake retail websites (the study)
- BBC: The rise of “housefishing”
- Chattanoogan.com: JLB brings AI expertise to Chattanooga
- Chattanoogan.com: Mayor Kelly to attend government innovation forum in London
- PublicTechnology: How Chattanooga uses AI to hear from residents
- Bisnow: SoftBank takes $3.7B hit on data-center equipment
- Main Street Media: Gallatin approves data-center moratorium
- Franklin Beacon: Williamson County planners weigh data-center zoning
- Fish Audio: Introducing Live 3
- ElevenLabs: Marketplace
- U.S. Attorney’s Office (SDNY): AI voice-impersonation fraud charges
- Google DeepMind: Opening the datasets behind our AI weather models
- National Weather Service
🌄 Keep Learning, and Keep Kicking the Tires
Nothing in this week’s news calls for fear. A study showed AI shopping helpers still make mistakes, and the fix is a habit you already have: look before you pay. House photos can be polished, so we go see for ourselves. Chattanooga is trying AI with people still in charge. A big company learned that big plans don’t always pan out, and Tennessee towns are thinking ahead. And free rain records from space could someday help our farms and creeks.
Pick one small thing this week. Maybe type a store’s address yourself before your next online order, or set up a family code word for phone calls. Save the rest for another morning. The more you learn, the more comfortable all of this becomes. We’ll keep watching what matters for the Sequatchie Valley so you don’t have to. Read Dunlap.Today and sign up for our newsletter for plain-English news from right here at home.
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