When Your Robot’s Got More Tea On You Than the Group Chat

THIS ISSUE AT A GLANCE

• What CreateHER, Zaria, needs you to be aware of about NEO → Did NEO pass the privacy check?

• What are you the solution to? 👀 → Haven’t registered for #75HER yet? You dont want to miss this!

• Thank you to our Sponsors → Just got back from Blockchain Futurist and we’re so grateful to our AftHER Hours Sponsors!

• Resource Drop 📚 → Become an SQL Pro, NY hackathons, and Work at Lovable!

Meet NEO: Future Housekeeper... or Privacy Nightmare?

Meet NEO—the $20,000 humanoid home assistant everyone's talking about (for all the right and very wrong reasons). It promises to fold laundry, wash dishes, and handle chores. But here's the catch: a real human remotely controlling it via VR headset will be in your home, watching through its cameras, while your data trains the AI. Didn’t we already see this movie?

Our very own Zaria, a CreateHER Fest volunteer, dove deep into the security implications in her must-read article on TechniquellyHer, calling NEO a "security nightmare." And honestly? She's not wrong.

Read more about what the NEO team ISN’T telling you in her article here →

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern spent a day testing NEO and discovered that 100% of complex tasks were teleoperated—none were done autonomously!

Watch the kind of hilarious video here →

The Tea: There are privacy trade-offs. During "Expert Mode," 1X employees control NEO remotely while viewing live video and audio feeds from inside your home. Sure, they promise to blur faces and let you set "no-go zones," but you're still inviting a stranger into your most private spaces.

Despite promotional videos showing NEO effortlessly doing chores, the reality is starkly different. Only two tasks—opening a door and putting away dishes (barely)—were shown as truly autonomous. Everything else? Remote-controlled by humans.

The Bottom Line: NEO represents both the exciting promise and dystopian concerns of physical AI entering our homes. While 1X insists the robot is "provably safe" and owners are "always in control," the reality is more complicated. You're not just buying a robot—you're entering a "social contract" where your home becomes a training ground for future AI, complete with human supervisors watching from afar.

So here's our question: Does NEO represent the future of home automation, or is it a privacy disaster in a humanoid-shaped package?

Share your hot take in our Discord community →

Don’t Miss This: Register Now for the #75HER Challenge!

Not registered for #75HER yet? The future of tech is yours to claim!

The #75HER Challenge is the world's first “75 Hard” experience designed specifically for women in tech—a 75-day virtual builder journey combining immersive learning, hands-on building, and vibrant community connection. From January 6th - March 31st, 2026, you’ll join expert-led workshops, peer learning circles, and team up to fully prototype a portfolio-ready project, all leading up to our International Women’s Day demo day.

No shortcuts. Just connection, growth, and real skill building with AI, Blockchain, AR/VR, + more — alongside a community of innovators, just like you, who want to learn and build great things!

Don’t wait, make your commitment and unlock your HER era!

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Our AftHER Hours Miami Mixer just wrapped, and we're still feeling the energy from last week Thursday at Blockchain Futurist Conference . What an absolute vibe! CreateHER Fest and Fem T3ch teamed up to host an experience we'll be talking about for months. Panel discussion with trailblazers and past hackathon winners (shoutout to CHF Members — Vanessa, Blossom, Alex, and Misty), networking bingo (hope you claimed your prize!), local food, and vendor booths featuring builders in blockchain.

None of this happens without the people who believed in the vision and backed it with action. A massive thank you to our sponsors who made AftHER Hours possible.

Already planning the next one. Stay tuned! Subscribe to our event calendar to never miss an event from CreateHER Fest.

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THIS WEEK’S RESOURCES

• Service to Success Virtual Military and Federal Hiring Fair

  • Are you a member of the military and federal communities?Participate in a unique chance to secure employment with some of the nation's leading companies. Companies including V2X, TEKsystems, ManTech, Navy Federal, GuidePoint Security and more are coming and more are signing up every day to meet YOU! Register Today →

• SEO Tech Developer: First-Year Academy

  • In one week, applications open for the SEO Tech Developer: First-Year Academy — an eight-week virtual training program designed to help first-year students learn Python, gain confidence, and explore the world of tech. Applications Open: Nov 12, 2025. Learn More →

• 12-Month SQL Roadmap

  • Datacamp built the SQL Roadmap: a 12-month learning plan that takes you from fundamentals to advanced analytics and optimization, with hands-on projects every step of the way. Read More →

• Work at Lovable

  • Unlock human creativity with Lovable and join the world's fastest-growing tech startup. Roles in Design, Marketing, People, Growth, Sales, and Engineering. Apply Today →

Until next time,

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