What is spatial audio and is worth upgrading your entertainment audio setup for it? Plus Amazon launched “Amazon Anywhere”. A service that could let you buy physical goods from within AR, VR and video games. And Ohio State University about an algorithm that can use the signals from multiple low-earth orbit satellites to determine location. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
May 09, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4516
Even as generative AI tools like ChatGPT become normalized the various security, ethical and moral issues surrounding them still grab headlines. IMGUR announced April 19th that it has new terms of service coming into effect May 15th, and it will then remove all “nudity, pornography, & sexually explicit content” from its platform. And Fast Company’s Jesus Diaz posted a story called “From Netflix to HBO, the terrible design of streaming is ruining TV”. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Justi...
May 08, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4515
We go through Apple’s quarterly earnings report and analyze what Tim Cook had to say about the company's operations during an interview with CNBC. French developer Vignesh Tarar has created a search tool that will index your pick of websites to create a custom search engine at usegrasp.com. We share our expectations of what will be announced and shown at next week’s Google I/O conference. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Shannon Morse, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
May 05, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4514
Discord is changing how it assigns user names and everybody will have to get a new one. Scientists can’t replicate what you see by scanning your brain. But they’re a step closer to being able to help send impulses to the brain that can replicate visual stimulus. And we dive into Shopify’s Q1 earnings. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
May 04, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4513
We look at a new LLM training technique called semantic decoder where data from scans of a person’s brain activity are fed into the model. As T-Mobile suffers another data breach involving hundreds of customer’s information including social security numbers, pin codes and address we ask why isn’t T-Mobile’s reputation taking a long lasting hit? And Google accounts now support passkeys to replace password and 2FA logins. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to t...
May 03, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4512
We learn about Rediet Abebe, a key black innovator in AI development. Samsung bans generative AI tools like ChatGPT after employees load sensitive data into a prompt. Multiple companies have joined together to propose an industry standard to the IETF for “unauthorized tracking alerts” for Bluetooth trackers like Apple’s Air Tags or Tile’s Trackers. And we go through things you should know about BlueSky. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Nica Montford, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
May 02, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4511
Geoffrey Hinton, 2018 Turing Award winner for his foundational work in AI, recently left Google so he could speak freely about the dangers of AI without negatively impacting Google whom he believes has acted responsibly in its AI roll-out. Is juice jacking a real threat to users of up to date smartphones? And JAMA has a story about the comparison between real physicians and ChatGPT answering patient questions. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Chris Ashley, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Sh...
May 01, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4510
We get a RSA Conference wrap-up from David Spark, ask why there's no standardized threat actor naming convention, and Reddit began testing persistent chat channels with 25 volunteer subreddits. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, David Spark, Roger Chang, Joe Show notes here...
Apr 28, 2023•34 min•Ep. 4509
How has cloud computing, data centers and generative AI increased the demand for fossil fuel energy instead of reducing it? Chicago’s Human Computer Integration Lab demonstrated a way to give you haptic feedback in VR without anything on the front of your hand. IDC reports that smart phone sales fell 1.6% on the year. That’s the 7th straight quarter that smartphones sales have fallen year over year. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Molly Wood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Amos Link to show...
Apr 27, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4508
We further explore the fear people have over generative AI tools by taking a look at what AI firms are doing to stoke those fears. While Netflix saw growth in its North American subscriptions for its service the number abroad has dropped. Is it temporary or signs of a more concerning problem? And Microsoft still hopes it can convince the UK Competition and Markets Authority to allow the company to acquire Blizzard Activision. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, Amos Full ...
Apr 26, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4507
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said the company will stop making the Chevy Bolt EVs with Michigan plants that makes them converting to making electric trucks by 2024. AT&T helps complete the first successful test mobile phone call from Texas to Japan, via an AST SpaceMobile BlueWalker 3 satellite. And does Social Media tires you out and makes you more likely to buy unnecessary things? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Amos View full show notes here ....
Apr 25, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4506
Canadian musician Grimes Tweeted she would split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that used her voice. Is this a sign musicians see generative AI differently that their labels? How is BeReal responding to waning interest in the platform? And with AARP statistics reporting at least 45% of people over the age of 50 still regularly play video games we ask if older gamers are being overlooked? Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Scott Johnson, Brian Ibbott, Roger Chang, Joe, Amo...
Apr 24, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4505
Humane, a startup founded by two ex-Apple employees, demoed a wearable personal assistant device that doesn’t need to pair with a smartphone. Proton, the Swiss company that created a secure private mail service called Proton Mail has announced a beta of password managers service called Proton Pass. And how are the costs of generative AI stacking for companies developing the technology? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 21, 2023•34 min•Season 10Ep. 4504
We have an excerpt from “A Word with Tom Merritt” where Tom talks with cyber-ethnography researcher and writer, Ruby Justice Thélot, about how people evaluate the veracity or truthfulness of information they find on the internet. And we share internal misgivings from inside Google about the issues with its ChatGPT competitor Bard and its not ready for primetime functionality. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Megan Morrone, Ruby Justice Thélot, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 20, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4503
Canadian startup Precision AI has developed an AI crop-spraying drone that can reduce herbicide use by up to 90%. And we look at the big stories coming out of Netflix’s earnings report Tuesday including subscriber growth, password sharing crackdown, and technical issues that stopped the live streaming of Love Is Blind. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 19, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4502
How does the decentralized nature of Mastodon make the social media experience different from other social media platforms and what kind of expectations should people have? Amazon Prime Video now has a “Dialogue Boost” in select shows in English. And Nvidia is reaping the rewards of its push towards AI GPGPU designs. Is this a space ripe for a competing player? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Annalee Newitz, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 18, 2023•31 min•Season 10Ep. 4501
Netflix delayed then canned its live stream for the cast reunion of Love is Blind after running into technical faults. Does this bold ill for Netflix live streaming plans? The New York Times’ reports sources say that Samsung began considering replacing its default Galaxy phone and tablet search engine with Bing back in March. Is this a threat to Google’s mobile strategy? German artist Boris Eldagsen recently caused a ruckus after winning the creative category at the Sony World Photography Awards...
Apr 17, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4500
Conversations around ChatGPT always seem to involve job loss. But Jeff Dwoskin proves that’s always true as he shares how he uses the AI tool to simplify his podcast production process. We examine the state of social media platform BeReal. And Spotify is closing down its Wordle like game Heardle. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Jeff Dwoskin, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 14, 2023•33 min•Season 10Ep. 4499
Is Nvidia's RTX 4070 worth buying? The latest news on Windows 11 including possible integration with Hololens 2. And Amazon Web Services announced new services targeted at corporate customers wanting to run their own generative AI models. Starring Rich Stroffolino, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe, Amos Link to the show notes here ....
Apr 13, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4498
Warner Media has changed the name of its HBO Max service to just “Max” with details on news and sports on the service to be announced in a few months time. Game developers in China are using generative AI to create background landscapes more easily. And Stanford University scientists create a Sims-like virtual world RPG with the player characters controlled by the ChatGPT API. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe, Amos Link to show notes here ....
Apr 12, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4497
Why is the FTC looking into online review hijacking? The FBI’s Denver field office warns against using public phone charging stations. We look at the best VPN providers. And how do lasers combine with spectrometers to help identify microbes. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Dr. Niki Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 11, 2023•29 min•Season 10Ep. 4496
TSMC will see a 15% drop in revenue as new PC sales slump. Do smartwatches need to have apps to be successful products? And breakdown the spat between Twitter and Substack. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 10, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4495
Tim Stevens to explain what alternative fuels are and how they might be alternative technology to EVs. Cornell Ph.D. student Ruidong Zhang developed sonar glasses to read a person’s face. What are digital twins and how can they be used to help save your life? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Tim Stevens, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 07, 2023•34 min
A mayor in Australia is asking for OpenAI to correct false information being given about him by ChatGPT. Multiple US states are passing their own data privacy laws. Will these patchwork of laws actually do anything to help people or just add to a confusion of legal rights and liabilities? And why does it seem that logging off websites is more and more of an impossibility these days? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 06, 2023•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4493
Tom Henderson at Insider Gaming’s sources say Sony began development on a new PlayStation Handheld codenamed the Q Lite. Is Sony planning a new handheld and is it a strategy that will work better than the Vita? Is Meta’s release of research into computer vision segmentation a play for a future use as an ad delivery model? And Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto signals the company is pulling its Mario franchise away from mobile. Does the company’s existing vision still work in a multi-platform market? S...
Apr 05, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4492
Microsoft announced a Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $299.99 that can support other devices besides the Surface via USB-C. As Spotify cuts their live offering Tidal does the opposite and expands its live music offering. And Google is walking back its decision to put a cap on the number of files a subscriber can have on Google Drive regardless of available space on the account. Starring Rich Stroffolino, Iyaz Akhtar, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 04, 2023•29 min•Season 10Ep. 4491
We take a detailed look at Alan Emtage “inventor of the search engine” with Nica Montford. We breakdown GQ’s recent interview with Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, to draw out what the company’s intentions with AR/VR technology might be. And we explore the predicted impact that AI tools will have on the workplace. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Nica Montford, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Apr 03, 2023•33 min•Season 10Ep. 4490
Professor Maryanne Garry from the University of Waikato in New Zealand is here to give us a psychological analysis of Large Language Models like ChatGPT. E3 is officially canceled for 2023. What’s behind its cancellation and will the event survive this latest setback? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Professor Maryanne Garry, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 31, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4489
BuzzFeed is using AI for full articles, not just quizzes. Microsoft is experimenting ways to monetize Bing chatbot service. How can alternate web browser developers compete on the Apple App Store if they’re all required to use the same WebKit engine? Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 30, 2023•33 min•Season 10Ep. 4488
Is ByteDance’s Lemon8 a template for a way forward for the company if TikTok is banned in the US? After Ubisoft announced it wouldn’t be attending this year’s E3 and with Sega and Tencent also being no shows, does the tradeshow still have a future? The Future of Life Institute published an open letter asking for a pause in training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Will Smith, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 29, 2023•30 min•Season 10Ep. 4487
