Episodes
Misinformation researcher Joan Donovan accuses Harvard of bowing to Facebook Meet Gemini AI, Google's ChatGPT Killer The Inside Story of Microsoft's Partnership with OpenAI How Elon Musk and Larry Page's AI Debate Led to OpenAI and an Industry Boom Beeper Cloud and Product Roadmap Update Spotify Cancels Two Acclaimed Podcasts — 'Heavyweight,' 'Stolen' Salt-Hank Gordon Ramsey duet!! Google's Gemini AI model is coming to the Pixel 8 Pro for recording summaries and smart replies Do you...
Published 12/07/23
Federal government reaches deal with Google on Online News Act Google DeepMind researchers use AI tool to find 2mn new materials Some Pixel 8 Pro displays have bumps under the glass Reflecting on 18 years at Google Google's new geothermal energy project is up and running AWS Unveils Next Generation AWS-Designed Chips Amazon Introduces Q, an A.I. Chatbot for Companies Does Black Friday and Cyber Monday Matter? Adobe's $20 Billion Purchase of Figma Would Harm Innovation, U.K. Regulator...
Published 11/30/23
From King to Exile to King Again: The Inside Story of Sam Altman's Whiplash Week OpenAI's Misalignment and Microsoft's Gain – Stratechery by Ben Thompson Ilya Sutskever on X: "I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company." Altman Argued With OpenAI Board Member Toner Before Ouster Microsoft exits OpenAI drama with 'one of best possible outcomes' Dear...
Published 11/23/23
Discussion of upcoming Black Friday sales on Google Pixel phones and tablets Concerns with the Pixel tablet including laggy performance, inability to use independently from dock, and high pricing Leo shares his epiphany on the usefulness of AI for expert systems and personalized agents Demonstration of Leo's custom AI assistants for Lisp and Emacs programming languages Talk of Elon Musk's reputation decline after acquiring Twitter Discussion of studies showing people perceive...
Published 11/16/23
OpenAI debuts GPTs allowing companies to further optimize GPT-4 for specific domains. Article 45, an EU regulation, will roll back web security by 12 years by banning website fingerprinting used for fraud detection. GM halts production on its Cruise driverless van over safety concerns after recent crashes. The SAG strike continues as negotiations with AMPTP stall. AMPTP proposed using AI to replace actors. AI academics voice concerns about AI CEOs like Sam Altman having too much...
Published 11/09/23
Facebook's demographic targeting and personalized recommendations Government regulations for controlling AI in the US The threat of militarization of AI and autonomous weapons Eco-friendly transportation like blimps and cross-country train trips Don LaFontaine's train car recordings Google's questionable business practices and dominance Viral courtroom sketches from Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX trial Google switching to mobile-first indexing Google's new .ing domain name Humane's new...
Published 11/02/23
DMV suspends Cruise's robo-taxi permit in San Francisco after pedestrian accident Debate over regulating approval process for autonomous vehicles between NHTSA and NTSB Analysis of Google's disappointing Q3 financial results and advertising revenue drop Impact of dating apps like Tinder on relationships and matchmaking The demise of Twitter rival Pebble aka T2 Online interactions and social media - federation, verification, addiction Lawsuits and moral panic surrounding Meta and...
Published 10/26/23
Elon Musk says charging $1 a year to Twitter users could reduce bots VC Mark Andreessen loses it in controversial tech manifesto Meta Quest 3 brings back glassholes to the wild Amazon launches satellites to compete with SpaceX Starlink Peter Norvig and Blaise Aguera y Arcas claim AGI is already here 51% of teens spend 4+ hours daily on social media YouTube getting AI-powered ads targeting pop culture moments Mass tech layoffs in 2022 - reasonable correction or problematic? Google...
Published 10/19/23
Google's "enshittification" memos A Note From WIRED Leadership Moonlighting comes to Hulu... starring Jeff Jarvis! Elon Musk's X Strips Article Headlines on Shared Links Did Elon Musk Endorse Biden, Come Out as Transgender and Die of Suicide? Elon Musk Is Personally Undermining X's Efforts to Curb Israel-Hamas War Disinformation Sure, There's Disinfo On ExTwitter, But The EU Should Not Be Demanding Censorship Alexa says the 2020 election was stolen. What does it mean for 2024? The...
Published 10/12/23
Google's Pixel hardware event and new devices Debate over adding AI to search functions - risks to accuracy? Laws challenging social media's First Amendment rights Movies released on TikTok by studios High production costs of Masterclass Streaming vs DVDs and the shrinking open web Spotify's attempts to expand beyond music in audiobooks Amazon's algorithms manipulating prices Supreme Court case involving copyright of legal search tools Paywalls and closed platforms replacing the open...
Published 10/05/23
Google's 25th birthday Google killing off Google Podcasts Next week's Pixel hardware event Meta's VR/AR announcements and new Ray-Ban smartglasses with cameras Antitrust lawsuits against Google and Amazon AI voice cloning for automatic translation by YouTube, Spotify WGA writer's strike in Hollywood ending with AI concessions Meta adding AI bots everywhere Books scanned to train AI models in searchable database The viability of foldable laptop screens Premium $500/month Tinder...
Published 09/28/23
The group discusses the DOJ's antitrust case against Google's search dominance. The hosts debate whether AI will help or harm the fight against online disinformation. Leo and Joan discuss the challenges of internet safety and regulation in the UK. Google news includes: Chromebook lifespan extended to 10 years, Android 14 QPR beta, Google Calendar appointment booking, Nest speaker groups limited, and Google Domains transferred to Squarespace. Leo and Joan talk about the New York Times job...
Published 09/21/23
Google pays more than $10 billion per year for these privileged positions Trademark Genericide And One Big Way The DOJ Admits That Its Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Is Utter Garbage YouTube under no obligation to host anti-vaccine advocate's videos, court says Google's cookie-replacing Privacy Sandbox reaches major milestone Google teaser previews Pixel Watch 2 and both Pixel 8 phones NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube is a hit, with more subscribers than when it was on DirecTV Google will...
Published 09/14/23
Britain Admits Defeat in Controversial Online Safety Bill When Tech Says "No" Apple Backs Down on Its Controversial Photo-Scanning Plans The FBI secretly launched an encrypted messaging system for criminals Former Twitter Employees Charged With Spying for Saudi Arabia Jeff Jarvis Moving on From CUNY Judge strikes down porn age-verification law in Texas : NPR The Department of Defense Launches the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Website Caltech drops calculus, chemistry, physics...
Published 09/07/23
Google announces Pixel 8 launch event for October 4th Samsung buys popular meal planning app Whisk and rebrands it as Samsung Food Google discontinues Pixel Pass subscription bundle after just one year Chrome OS 116 adding auto correct and local file search Google Chat adding voice messages and interoperability with Slack and Teams Elon Musk makes controversial appearance at Valorant esports tournament Tesla planning LA supercharger location with diner and drive-in movie theater...
Published 08/31/23
Heritage Minister says Meta news block endangers lives as Canadians flee wildfires Canadian Media Orgs Said That Meta Linking To News Was Anticompetitive; Now They Say NOT Linking To News Is Anticompetitive The Bill C-18 Regulation Fake-Out: Setting the Record Straight on When Bill C-18 Takes Effect and the Regulation Making Process Elon Musk's Shadow Rule How is Spotify doing with its podcast business? Spotify will let podcasters customize their show page to bring in new listeners...
Published 08/24/23
Google's updates to NFL Sunday Ticket, including flexible billing, student plans, live chat, polls, and more Linear TV viewing falling below 50% for the first time Streaming gaining more market share, but subscription costs rising Congressional inquiry into harmful data broker practices Google using AI to generate key points in web pages Google considering allowing AI summaries directly in search results YouTube cracking down on videos promoting ineffective cancer cures Google Photos...
Published 08/17/23
Leo shows off his Galaxy Z Flip 5. Judge Narrows Scope of Coming Trial Over Google Monopoly Claims. Musk's X Fined $350,000 in Secret Justice Department Fight Over Trump Records. Google Changes Name of Ad Product Amid Inventory Quality Scandal. Norway fines Meta 1M crowns per day over behavioural ads feud. Tech writer sues Apple, claiming Tetris movie ripped off his 'Cold War thriller' book. BlueJeans, Verizon's Google Meet competitor, is shutting down. Zoom AI tools trained using some...
Published 08/10/23
Shift Happens is about to ship! Meta starts blocking news in Canada over law on paying publishers. Hollywood's Pain Is YouTube's Advertising Gain. The buttons on Zenith's original 'clicker' remote were a mechanical marvel. Facebook's ad business recovers from Apple's attack; watch out TV. A view from DC: Adtech is built on a privacy fault line. Meta Offers to Seek Consent for Highly Personalized Ads in Europe. Family of Henrietta Lacks settles lawsuit over use of immortal cell line....
Published 08/03/23
Twitter's rebrand to X may actually be happening soon. Alphabet reports better-than-expected quarterly results driven by growth in cloud. YouTube Q2 Ad Sales Rise 4.4%, Alphabet Handily Tops Earnings Estimates. Google's CFO just got a promotion. Google says 2 billion logged in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts. Google Street View is back in Germany after 10+ year halt. Jeff talks about his trip to Google previewing NotebookLM. Google software engineer got $605,000 bonus, plus...
Published 07/27/23
The White House details its IoT cybersecurity label plan. Framework Laptop 16 pre-orders are now open. Pluralistic: Why they're smearing Lina Khan (14 July 2023). Mark Lucovsky Leaves Google, Calls Company "Unstable". Meta and Microsoft Introduce the Next Generation of Llama. Apple is testing an AI chatbot but has no idea what to do with it. Why computer-made data is being used to train AI models. G/O media will make more AI-generated stories despite critics. AI can't even tell you...
Published 07/20/23
Threads has 100 million users, and many are on Android. Threads Adopting ActivityPub Makes Sense, but Won't Be Easy. Facebook's Threads is so depressing. Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over Threads. Amazon Prime Day Pushes US Online Sales Up 6% in First 24 Hours. Lina Khan Is Taking on the World's Biggest Tech Companies—and Losing. Amazon sues EU in first US challenge to Digital Services Act. In – or out? Wimbledon considers replacing line judges with AI. Anthropic's Claude Is...
Published 07/13/23
Jeff's book, The Gutenberg Parenthesis, is out!! Fireworks Have a New Competitor: Drones. Rise, Goldfish: Elden Ring's bosses are now being humiliated by a fish somehow hooked-up to the controls. An update on Canada's Bill C-18 and our Search and News products. Jeff Elgie, local news owner, says Google will bring the government to the table. Village Media's C-18 Update. Google Analytics Violates GDPR, Says Swedish Watchdog. The FTC wants to put a ban on fake reviews. Twitter was...
Published 07/06/23
Supreme Court guts protections for cyberstalking victims. Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit Accusing Google of Stealing Song Lyrics. Talking about the new TWiT AI show. What makes human and what makes conciousness? AI-Generated Books of Nonsense Are All Over Amazon's Bestseller Lists. Billionaires and Bureaucrats Mobilize China for AI Race With US. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis Says Its Next Algorithm Will Eclipse ChatGPT. Warner Bros. Signs Deal for AI-Driven Film Management System....
Published 06/29/23
Here's the note Reddit sent to moderators threatening them if they don't reopen. Reddit CEO slams protesters, says he'll change moderator rules. Reddit CEO Triples Down, Insults Protesters, Whines About Not Making Enough Money From Reddit Users. Reddit removed moderators behind the latest protests before restoring a few of them. Google Domains is yet another useful service to get the ax in favor of "focus". You can't trust Google. Gannett sues Google; Jeff comments herein. Google's new...
Published 06/22/23