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TechStuff

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TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about Tech Stuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers). 

Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us. 

TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture. 

We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions. 

Get in touch here: techstuffpodcast@gmail.com

Episodes

Doubly Exposing Spirit Photography

In the 19th century, some enterprising and unscrupulous photographers convinced vulnerable people that they had developed (pun intended) a way to photograph the spirits of the dearly departed. But what was really going on? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 28, 202439 min

Departing OpenAI Leaders Warn about AGI

Description: The former senior advisor for OpenAI's now dissolved AGI Readiness division warns that no one, not even OpenAI, is actually ready for artificial general intelligence. Plus, the US unveils some "guardrails" about using AI tools, Montana's Attorney General files a new lawsuit against TikTok, and Norway increases the minimum age for social media users to 15. And more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 25, 202420 min

Notorious Hackers

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky has a list of the most notorious hackers of all time. We look at three of the entries, from the loose confederation of hackers called Anonymous to a hacker responsible for stealing millions of credit and debit card numbers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 23, 202443 min

Smart Talks with IBM: How AI Can Accelerate Cybersecurity

In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM , Malcolm Gladwell speaks with Jason Kelley, GM, Strategic Partners and Ecosystems at IBM, and Kristy Friedrichs, SVP and Chief Partnership Officer at Palo Alto Networks. They discuss the challenges and opportunities that the rapid development of AI brings to the cybersecurity space. Jason and Kristy also underscore how implementing a zero trust strategy can help enterprises enhance cyber resiliency and simplify operations. Together, IBM and Palo Alto Netw...

Oct 23, 202441 min

Rerun: TechStuff's Spooky Halloween Spectacular!

In celebration of Halloween, we take a look at an article from HowStuffWorks titled 10 Scary Modern Technologies. From drones to voices coming out of thin air, we peek under the big scary bed that is technology. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 21, 202443 min

Tech News: X Changes Prompt Some Users to Jump Ship

X, formerly known as Twitter, makes a major change to the block feature that has some users switching to alternatives. Plus, Meta holds layoffs across multiple departments, some filmmakers experiment with generative AI, and SpaceX uses a giant metal claw to catch a rocket booster. And more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 18, 202420 min

What Happened to Amazon's HQ2?

In 2018, more than 200 cities competed to become the site for Amazon's second headquarters. Late that year, Amazon would choose two locations. A year later, it would pull out of one of those two sites. And today, the HQ2 sits nearly half empty. What happened? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 16, 202441 min

TechStuff Takes a Walk with Robots

Tesla showed off the Optimus humanoid robots recently. What's the history behind bipedal, humanoid robots? Why are they so hard to get right? Why would you want to design such a robot in the first place? We explore the history, science and evolution of humanoid robots. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 14, 202446 min

Tech News: Tesla Fails to Wow Investors at We, Robot Event

This week, Elon Musk held his delayed Cybercab event while also showing off a new Robovan concept and Optimus humanoid robots. Investors, however, remain concerned that the event was more show than business. Also, Chinese hackers exploited backdoor access points to major Internet Service Providers in the US. And more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 11, 202420 min

Can Sound Be Used As A Weapon?

From LRADs to the dreaded "brown noise," we look at attempts to weaponize sound. Is it possible? What effects can sound have on the body? And how much do we not know? (Hint: The answer is "A lot.") See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 09, 202441 min

Smart Talks with IBM: Scaling AI With Purpose

In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM , Jacob Goldstein speaks with Rebecca Finlay, CEO of Partnership on AI, about the importance of advancing AI innovation with openness and ethics at the forefront. Rebecca discusses how guardrails — such as risk management — can advance efficiency in AI development. They explore the AI Alliance’s focus on open data and technology, and the importance of collaboration. Rebecca also underscores how diverse perspectives and open-mindedness can drive AI progress...

Oct 08, 202436 min

How Active Noise Cancellation Works

There's nothing like wearing noise cancelling headphones while on a noisy flight. But what technology lets you listen to your sweet tunes while eliminating the loud hum of an aircraft? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 07, 202438 min

Tech News: OpenAI Gets That Cheddar

Earlier this year, analysts predicted that OpenAI would need a large injection of investments to stay afloat. This week, OpenAI closed on a 6.6 billion dollar investment round. What's next? Plus, Elon Musk holds a recruitment event for xAI, the governor of California vetoes an AI safety bill and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 04, 202419 min

How Two AI Startup Unicorns Went Bust

AI is hard. How hard? Your company can hit a valuation of more than one billion dollars one moment and you're out of business the next. We look at two digital health companies that went from the highest highs to the lowest lows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 02, 202441 min

How Hydroelectricity Works

Hydroelectric power harnesses the energy of water to generate electricity, but how? From turbine design to dynamos, we look at the components that make hydropower work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 30, 202436 min

Tech News: Meta Wants the Internet On Your Face

Meta held its Connect conference this week and showed off some chonky augmented reality glasses, among other things. Plus, OpenAI shakes things up and DoNotPay agrees to, well, Pay. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 27, 202422 min

The Story of the Sony Walkman

Time named the Sony Walkman number 47 on a list of the 50 most influential gadgets of all time. How did the Walkman become a thing, and what influence has it had on how we experience music? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 25, 202445 min

Smart Talks with IBM: The power of Granite in business

As the scale of artificial intelligence continues to evolve, open technology like many of IBM’s Granite models are helping enhance transparency in AI and improve efficiency across businesses. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM , Jacob Goldstein sat down with Maryam Ashoori, the Director of Product Management and Head of Product for IBM’s watsonx.ai, where she spearheads the product strategy and delivery of IBM’s watsonx Foundation Models. Together, they explored the shift from large general...

Sep 24, 202432 min

A Quick Chat About CAPTCHAs

Where did CAPTCHAs come from? What purpose do they serve? How do they relate to artificial intelligence? And why are some of them so doggone hard? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 23, 202420 min

Tech News: Exploding Pagers and Nuclear-Powered AI

Israel is allegedly behind an attack on Hezbollah involving exploding pagers. How did that happen? In other news, Microsoft wants to reopen a nuclear power plant to supply electricity to power-hungry AI data centers. Plus much more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 20, 202438 min

Social Networks and Mental Health

Is there a link between social media use and mental health challenges? We look at a meta-analysis and use some critical thinking to tackle the issue. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 18, 202440 min

Rerun: The Ghost in the Machine

What does "the ghost in the machine" mean? From philosophy to artificial intelligence, we explore this idiom to understand what it means, how it's used and if the dream of strong AI is realistic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 16, 202448 min

Tech News: AI Stalks Us on Friday the 13th

We've got a lot of stories about artificial intelligence to talk about this week. Plus, Xbox holds more layoffs, Sony announces a new PS5 model, and for the first time, private citizens go on a space walk. Plus much more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 13, 202441 min

The One About Plasma Televisions

What happened to plasma televisions? Where did they come from? Let's learn how plasma TVs work and why the industry abandoned this technology. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 12, 202444 min

Smart Talks with IBM: Education in the Age of AI

The role of AI in the classroom is evolving rapidly. When students and teachers embrace this technology, it has the ability to democratize access to education through programs like IBM SkillsBuild. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM , Dr. Laurie Santos, host of Pushkin’s The Happiness Lab podcast, spoke with two innovators in the space. Justina Nixon-Saintil is Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility, and April Dawson is an Associate Dean of Technology a...

Sep 10, 202443 min

The Birth of Paypal

Today, Paypal is a 70+ billion dollar company, but how did it start out? And why are the founders sometimes referred to as the Paypal Mafia? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 09, 202441 min

Tech News: Brazil Ditches X and Russia Buys Some Influencers

Brazil's Supreme Court has shut down access to X after Elon Musk defied some questionable court orders. The US Department of Justice says that an American media company was secretly generating propaganda on behalf of Russia. And a musician used bots to both generate and listen to music for nearly a decade before being accused of fraud. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 06, 202422 min

Abandoned Tech Projects

From Microsoft's dual-screened tablet concept to a holographic video game system, we take a look at some tech projects that died on the vine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 05, 202443 min

What happened to Facebook's digital currency?

In 2019, Facebook (now Meta) announced it was developing a digital currency called Libra. Just a couple of years later, the project was dead in the water. What happened? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 02, 202421 min

Elon Musk Gets a Lot of Bad News

From X to Tesla to SpaceX to xAI, we've got a bunch of stories about various Elon Musk companies and the challenges they face this week. Plus, the MPA takes down a massive media piracy ring, and more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 30, 202442 min