We discuss the emergent capability of generative video LLM as a world simulator. What does it mean and what can it do? Plus we examine David Pierce’s The Verge article called “Here’s why AI search engines really can’t kill Google.” And online design company Canva will acquire professional design software company Affinity. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Andrew Mayne, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 26, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4734
How are game microtransactions infuriating game players and why might we see more of them in the future? Plus Spotify is testing a fourth category of content alongside music, podcasts and books; online courses. And did Microsoft’s Phil Spencer hint about a future handheld Xbox? Starring Tom Merritt, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 25, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4733
Are robotaxis facing a losing war in gaining broad public acceptance? Nicole shares her experience riding in them and what she thinks needs to be done. Plus seven US researchers have identified a new side-channel attack called “GoFetch” that impacts Apple M1, M2, and M3 processors. And OpenAI pitches its technology to film studios and directors. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Nicole Lee, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 22, 2024•34 min•Season 11Ep. 4732
Microsoft announces new Surface PCs for Business with Copilot integration. Plus Neuroscience startup Neuralink live-streamed an interview Wednesday with 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, the first person to be implanted with Neuralink’s brain-computer interface. And the US Department of Justice files a lawsuit against Apple for monopolistic behavior. Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 21, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4731
Unity’s 2024 Unity Gaming Report notes an increase in multiplatform game development. What’s behind this trend and is it good for the industry? Plus Meta’s Peter Cottle shows off a brief demo of how users can eventually connect their accounts and posts to the Fediverse through Threads. And Ubisoft revealed at GDC that it has been developing an NPC that uses Large Language Models to have more realistic conversations with players. Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Patrick Beja, Roger Chang, Joe...
Mar 20, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4730
Meta is reducing the fee for EU users to €5.99 a month plus €4 for additional accounts to assuage regulators' concerns about economic coercion. Plus we share the highlights from Nvidia’s keynote at its GTC developer conference. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 19, 2024•32 min•Season 11Ep. 4729
How has GDC 2024 pivoted to meet the needs of laid off game developers. Plus why has Sony paused the manufacture of its PlayStation VR2 headset? And Bloomberg reports sources say Apple and Alphabet are in negotiations to use Google Gemini for some AI services in a future version of iOS. Starring Tom Merritt, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 18, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4728
Ars Technica posted a story on Thursday called “Hackers can read private AI-assistant chats even though they’re encrypted.” Which Chatbots are affected and what should users do about it? Plus Walmart begins selling Macs for the first time! And The US Supreme Court will hear the case of Murthy vs. Missouri on Monday. At issue is whether it is a violation of free speech protections for the US government to directly call out social media posts it thinks are harmful or misinformation. Starring Tom M...
Mar 15, 2024•32 min•Season 11Ep. 4727
Will the US Congress pass a bill forcing the sale of TikTok? How is Google’s artificial intelligence-powered search engine, Search Generative Experience, impacting publisher’s ad revenue? Hugo Barra, former VP of Android and head of Meta’s phased-out Oculus headset brand, has some thoughts about Apple’s Vision Pro. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 14, 2024•30 min•Season 11Ep. 4726
Sea of Thieves briefly took the top spot for PS5 game pre-orders Monday. Is this that Microsoft’s new Xbox strategy is paying off? Plus Google DeepMind researchers trained a model that’s learned to play multiple 3D games like a human. And a team of researchers at the University of Chicago say they’ve figured out a way to hack into Meta Quest headsets without the user knowing. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 13, 2024•30 min•Season 11Ep. 4725
Ray-Ban’s Meta glasses has updated the visual search feature to recognize landmarks and describe them. Plus a startup called Empathy is looking to simplify the process of closing a deceased person’s affairs. And a nurse in the UK used an Apple Vision Pro during a spinal surgery to identify instruments and processes as a double check on accuracy. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 12, 2024•30 min•Season 11Ep. 4724
Covariant launched RFM-1 (Robotics Foundation Model 1) a “large language model (LLM), but for robot language.” Plus did the Princess of Wales, aka “Kate” photoshop a picture of herself with her three children? And why are tablet sized handheld gaming machines rising in popularity? Starring Tom Merritt, Shannon Morse, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 11, 2024•32 min•Season 11Ep. 4723
Patrick is here to explain what you should expect to pay for your next GPU upgrade. Plus what will a solar eclipse mean for solar power? And what effect did the pandemic have on Netflix and the increase in the number of comedy specials? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 08, 2024•32 min•Season 11Ep. 4722
What does the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” mean for TikTok and other foreign owned social media platforms? Plus Robinhood, a commission-free investment platform has partnered with sports agency Klutch Sports to expand its reach into sports, entertainment and media. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 07, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4721
Scott goes over all the games revealed at Xbox’s partner showcase. Plus, Apple terminated Epic’s developer account thwarting its plans to bring a third-party App Store to iOS in Europe. What happens next? And OpenAI published an open letter Tuesday in response to Elon Musk’s legal claims that OpenAI reneged in its non-profit mission to help humanity. Is this just drama or is something else afoot? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 06, 2024•33 min•Season 11Ep. 4720
We explain the changes Google announced to bring its products and services in compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. Plus, Instagram announced a new feature this week that allows users to edit direct messages up to 15 minutes after sending them. And we explore the reasons why Li-Ion batteries don’t charge as well in colder climates and what can be done about it. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 05, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4719
Why is Apple Card drawing the ire of UK banks? Plus how Nigerian Fintech company Moniepoint is making inroads with consumers in the country. And how do LLMs do the things they do? Starring Tom Merritt, Nica Montford, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 04, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4718
As large social media sites and platforms make deals to provide training data to AI operators will users be negatively impacted? Plus Elon Musk is suing OpenAI, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman saying they have violated the company’s founding agreement. And Spotify is adding 15 hours of free audiobooks listening to its subscription plan. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Jason Howell, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Mar 01, 2024•34 min•Season 11Ep. 4717
Stack Overflow is partnering with Google to provide AI assistance to users while Google Cloud will integrate Stack Overflow’s knowledge base into Gemini for Google Cloud. Plus complaints from consumer rights groups target Meta’s switch last year to charging users in the European Union for an ad-free subscription for access to Facebook and/or Instagram. And U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s communications when he was fired and then ...
Feb 29, 2024•29 min•Season 11Ep. 4716
We discuss how the Video Game History Foundation’s efforts to preserve video game culture marks a new chapter in video game preservation. Plus we examine the controversy over Wendy’s new dynamically adjusted pricing menu boards. And Swedish fintech firm Klarna says its AI assistant does the work of 700 people after it lays off… 700 people. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 28, 2024•32 min•Season 11Ep. 4715
How can the ribbontail stingray teach us how to make better less invasive coloring agents? 404 Media’s Emanuel Maiberg has a report on ghost kitchens using generated images in their menus. And According to data from Appfigures, Meta’s Threads now sees triple the daily downloads of X (formerly Twitter) on iOS globally, and sometimes more than triple the number of installs on Google Play. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Dr. Niki Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 27, 2024•29 min•Season 11Ep. 4714
Mobile World Congress starts this week. We look at the big announcements from Samsung, Xiaomi, HMD, Honor, and Lenovo. Plus we look at OnePlus’s latest smartwatch and why the company seems to be having a renaissance. Starring Tom Merritt, Ron Richards, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 26, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4713
What happens when your Instagram or Threads post is labeled political? Molly Wood details her experience. And what type of reaction has Reddit received after files to go public? Plus Tom explains the two cases the Supreme Court will hear Monday that could and their ruling which will impact online speech. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Molly Wood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 23, 2024•32 min•Season 11Ep. 4712
Is OpenAI’s text-to-video tool, Sora, a threat to the business of making TV shows and films? Plus, Google is pausing Gemini’s generation of people in images so it can adjust the model to produce more historically accurate results. And AT&T has been dealing with widespread service issues for more than ten hours affecting millions of subscribers across the US. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Charlotte Henry, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 22, 2024•31 min•Season 11Ep. 4711
Intel reveals its Foundry Business roadmap. Plus Apple will add PQ3 cryptographic protocol to its messaging service, which Apple believes is resistant to future attacks from quantum computers. And Apple announces a free, standalone app called Apple Sports. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 21, 2024•29 min•Season 11Ep. 4710
Walmart announced that it will acquire TV maker Vizio in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. Plus we detail the big redesign changes YouTube is rolling out to creator channels. And what makes the iPad mini a better choice than the iPad Pro? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Lamarr Wilson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 20, 2024•28 min•Season 11Ep. 4709
Bose has new earbuds that sit outside the ear canal instead of inside it. Plus, it turns out OpenAI’s Sora video-generating model can render video games too. And passkeys will eventually supersede passwords for digital security. What should you know about using it in daily life? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 16, 2024•34 min•Season 11Ep. 4708
Why is Meta clamping down on political posts and cutting back on funding for fact checking? Has the web evolved beyond the usefulness of robot.txt files to allow web crawlers? And why are people returning their Apple Vision Pros to the store? Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 15, 2024•29 min•Season 11Ep. 4707
How did Nvidia go from gaming company to AI darling worth a total market cap just behind Apple and Microsoft? Plus how did a South African based company dethrone Netflix as top streamer on the African continent? And Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of his views comparing the Vision Pro to the Meta Quest 3. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 14, 2024•33 min•Season 11Ep. 4706
Nvidia demos Chat, an AI chatbot, running locally one of the company’s RTX series GPU. Google Meet announces, “Companion Mode” which helps you reach your teammates when dialing in on mobile devices. And Memorizer is an iOS app that combines a bit of Goodreads with a bit of Trakt and some Yelp. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Feb 13, 2024•28 min•Season 11Ep. 4705
