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The Plantaform smart indoor garden uses NASA tech to grow plants with fog

I promise that headline isn’t a Mad Libs.

The Canadian company Plantaform introduced its eponymous smart indoor garden powered by “fogponics” at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, marking its hard launch in the U.S. CEO Alberto Aguilar plugs it as a “Nespresso for your vegetables” that uses an ultra-fine vapor to hydrate plants, resulting in faster growth and 30 to 50 percent less water usage compared to standard hydroponic systems.

The Mashable team caught the Plantaform at CES’ Pepcom media showcase Monday night, and it’s easily one of the neatest smart home gadgets I’ve seen here all week. The Consumer Technology, the trade show’s organizer, shares my enthusiasm: It’s a 2025 CES Innovation Awards Best of Innovation winner in the Food and AgTech category.

plantaforms at ces 2025


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Not too shabby for NASA leftovers, mind you. Aguilar told me that the Plantaform’s fog-based watering technology was originally developed (then ditched) by the administration as a way to grow plants in space.

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Design-wise, the Plantaform is a 26-inch-tall egg-shaped vessel (available in midnight black or frost white) with removable windows, full-spectrum LED lights, and a central column filled with chambers for up to 15 individual soil-free seed pods. The Plantaform tends to the plants throughout their entire growth cycles using an algorithm-determined combination of water, light, and nutrients, per the company’s website.

The fog in question hits the plants right at their roots from inside the Plantaform’s pod hub. Some of it inevitably leaks out and floats among their leaves, humidifiying the system’s immediate surroundings while looking cool as hell.

the plantaform at ces 2025


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

As far as maintenance goes, users need to do little more than make sure the Plantaform is topped off with water dosed with fertilizer every two to three weeks. Its companion mobile app offers setup guidance and care reminders.

The word “disruptor” is thrown around a lot at CES, but the Plantaform really does feel like one in the indoor garden space. Not only does it clean itself — eliminating a tedious between-cycle chore — but it’ll also support users’ own seeds by the end of the year, Aguilar said. No need to keep buying pods in perpetuity, as required by other indoor gardens like the popular hydroponic Gardyn.

plantaform plant packs at ces 2025


Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Plantaform, while not exactly cheap, is also competitively priced: You can order one now for $499.99. Plant pod packs are $29.99 each and available in mixes of lettuces, cherry tomatoes, and cocktail herbs.


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Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license

Pennsylvania has taken the unusual step of suing an AI company for practicing medicine without a license.

In a lawsuit filed May 1, the state is targeting Character.AI after an investigator found a chatbot on the platform posing as a licensed psychiatrist and providing what the state characterizes as medical advice.

According to the complaint, filed by the Pennsylvania Department of State and State Board of Medicine, a Professional Conduct Investigator for the state created a free account on Character.AI and searched for psychiatric characters. He selected one called “Emilie,” described on the platform as a “Doctor of psychiatry.”

The investigator told Emilie he had been feeling sad, empty, tired, and unmotivated. The chatbot mentioned depression and offered to conduct an assessment to determine whether medication might help.

When pressed on whether she was licensed in Pennsylvania, Emilie said she was and even provided a specific license number. The state checked and found that the number doesn’t exist.

The complaint also states Emilie claimed she attended medical school at Imperial College London, has practiced for seven years, and holds a full specialty registration in psychiatry with the General Medical Council in the UK.

In a similar case, 404 Media reported last year that Instagram AI chatbots were pretending to be licensed therapists, even inventing license numbers when prompted for credentials by the user.

Pennsylvania is seeking an injunction ordering Character.AI to stop allowing its platform to engage in the unlawful practice of medicine. The company has more than 20 million monthly active users worldwide and hosts more than 18 million user-created chatbot characters, according to the complaint.

In an email to Mashable, a Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. Further, they added that “our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users. The user-created Characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying.”

The spokesperson added that the company “prioritizes responsible product development and has robust internal reviews and red-teaming processes in place to assess relevant features.”

A much bigger legal battle looms over AI health

The Pennsylvania lawsuit lands in the middle of an already messy legal debate over what AI is actually allowed to tell you — and whether any of it is even admissible in court.

As Mashable’s Chase DiBenedetto reported, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly advocated for “AI privilege,” arguing that chatbot conversations should be afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a therapist or an attorney. Courts have so far been split, with two federal judges reaching opposite conclusions on the question within weeks of each other earlier this year.

The stakes are high on both sides. Legal experts warn that sweeping AI privilege protections could effectively shield companies from accountability, making it harder to subpoena chat logs and internal records when something goes wrong. Meanwhile, health AI is booming — $1.4 billion flowed into healthcare-specific generative AI in 2025 alone, according to Menlo Ventures — and much of it operates outside of HIPAA protections.

Pennsylvania is one of several states to have introduced an AI Health bill this year, following a trend of states that aren’t waiting for Washington to act.

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How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG online for free

TL;DR: Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.


Bayern Munich vs. PSG would have made an amazing Champions League final, but we should be happy that we’re getting two matchups between these electric teams. The first leg finished 5-4 to PSG. We’re not expecting the same again, because that was probably one of the best games of all time. If we get half that level of entertainment in the second leg, we’ll be delighted.

Expect more of the same from the likes of Michael Olise and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as these teams battle it out for a spot in the showpiece event. The winner will meet Arsenal at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.

If you want to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Bayern Munich vs. PSG?

Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on May 6. This fixture takes place at the Allianz Arena.

How to watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free

Bayern Munich vs. PSG is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock RTÉ Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free by following these simple steps:

  1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

  2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

  3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

  4. Visit RTÉ Player

  5. Watch Bayern Munich vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPn for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTÉ Player, for a number of reasons:

  • Servers in 105 countries including Ireland

  • Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

  • Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

  • Fast connection speeds free from throttling

  • Up to 10 simultaneous connections

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Bayern Munich vs. PSG in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

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AI stocks are cooling — this ChatGPT trading tool keeps delivering

TL;DR: A ChatGPT-powered investing platform that helps you find and manage stocks with clearer signals—lifetime access for a one-time $54.97.


Credit: Sterling Stock Picker

The AI trade has seemingly had its moment — big runs, big headlines, big expectations. The AI fun is not over by any means. But now that things are settling, the real question is what comes next?

Instead of chasing whatever’s trending, Sterling Stock Picker leans into a more grounded approach: using a ChatGPT-powered assistant (Finley) to help you understand what’s actually happening inside a stock. You can ask questions about companies, sectors, or your own portfolio and get explanations that are tied to real data — not just surface-level summaries.

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It also handles the heavy lifting most people avoid. The platform analyzes financials, growth metrics, and risk, then surfaces signals like whether a stock is worth buying, holding, or avoiding. There’s even a “North Star” system that simplifies that call into something actionable.

If you’re building from scratch, there’s a done-for-you portfolio builder that aligns with your risk tolerance. If you already have positions, it can suggest adjustments based on your portfolio’s performance.

One thing that stands out is how it balances guidance with transparency. You’re not just handed picks — you can see the reasoning behind them, which matters if you’re trying to build a repeatable process.

Have a lifetime way to pressure-test your judgment — especially in a market that’s moving past hype and into something more selective.

Get lifetime access to the ChatGPT-driven Sterling Stock Picker while it’s on sale for a one-time $54.97 payment (reg. $486) through May 10.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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