This Week in Tech (Video)

In this festive end-of-year episode, Leo gathers some of the veteran hosts of the TWiT network, dubbed "old farts," to reflect on the major tech stories and trends of 2023 while looking ahead to 2024. They debate AI and tech's impact on society, discuss the ups and downs of companies like Twitter, Apple, and SpaceX, reminisce about the early days of computing and the Internet, and more, all with good humor and insight gained from decades in tech.

Topics Discussed:

• The explosion of AI in 2023, from chatbots like ChatGPT to powerful new AI demonstrations. Debate on whether we're nearing AGI (artificial general intelligence) and the societal impacts.
• The rise and struggles of companies like Facebook/Meta, Netflix, Twitter, Alibaba. Patterns of tech success, failure, and Corey Doctorow's concept of "ensh*tification."
• Elon Musk: The good (SpaceX, Starlink), bad (Twitter), and unpredictable. Is he still an innovator or has wealth and power corrupted him?
• Open source, Linux, and big tech's relationship to open ecosystems. Concerns about commercialization diluting open ideals.
• Looking back on early tech days. How the history of tech contextualizes what's happening today. Nostalgia and optimism for the early Internet days.
• The revival of space exploration, privatized today by SpaceX and others. What can we expect as we (hopefully) return to the Moon in 2024?
• Chaos, unpredictability, and the feeling of societal flux as we head into 2024. An uncertain but interesting future awaits.

Memorable Quotes:

• "AI is only dangerous to humans if you give it physical agency in the real world. Combine AI with a robotic dog, and now you got something." - Leo
• "When are you getting your stupid thing that you wear that has the laser on your hand?" - Jeff to Leo
• "It's time to hand it over. We're effing up the world. We've done it for centuries. It's time to hand it over." - Jeff on tech leadership
• "So has anybody played with the Apple ones that have the weird eyeballs?" - Doc on Apple's augmented reality efforts
• "Chaos is a weird thing. You could have your faucet dripping slowly and almost all of the drips go down and land and that's it, but somehow about a yard off to the one side is a drip" - Steve on increasing chaos

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Jeff Jarvis, Doc Searls, Steve Gibson, and Rod Pyle

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AI Math, Zuck's Lair, E3's Demise

• The panel talks about pinball machines
• Mark Zuckerberg's underground lair
• Cox admits to invading your privacy
• Google Maps gets an update to stop authorities from accessing location history data
• Apple now requires a judge's consent to hand over push notification data
• Epic Games wins it's lawsuit, Google ruled as an illegal monopoly
• Beeper Mini is back, but for how long?
• Running Signal Will Soon Cost $50 Million a Year
• Tesla recalls 2 million cars
• FCC denies Starlink of $885M subsidy
• Netflix finally releases viewership data
• E3 is over
• How do you wordle?

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Brianna Wu, Nate Lanxon, and David Spark

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EU AI Act, 23andMe Hack, Woke Grok

• Financial Difficulties and Layoffs at Twit
• AI's Potential and Misleading Demonstrations
• Regulating Artificial Intelligence and Self-Driving Vehicles
• Debate on AI Augmentation and Regulation
• Beeper's Impersonation of Apple's Server'
• Privacy Risks and Public Benefits
• Technology Misuse, Cameo Scandal, Criticism
• AI, Grock, and Free Money Impact
• The Potential of AI in Advertising
• Memories of 1000 Van Ness Theater
• Discussion on Podcasts and Potluck Etiquette

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Denise Howell, Owen Thomas, and Glenn Fleishman

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Cybertruck is out, ChatGPT turns 1, Black Friday & Cyber Monday, NameDrop

• ChatGPT's 1st birthday and mainstream AI adoption
• Microsoft joins OpenAI's board as a non-voting observer
• Pika raises $55 million for AI video generation tool
• Amazon launches Q chatbot service for companies
• Concerns over Q hallucinating responses and leaking data
• Rethinking reactions to Tesla's Cybertruck design
• Police warn about issues with NameDrop social media app
• Why Apple adding RCS may not resolve green vs blue bubbles
• Apple dropping Goldman Sachs as Apple Card issuer
• Inside Spotify Wrapped's annual personalized listening stats
• Fears over Plex exposing users' viewing habits
• Black Friday online sales hit record $9.8 billion in US
• Cyber Monday sales beat estimates at $12.4 billion
• Extreme complexity in rebuilding an ultimate car pinball machine
• Kiss launches digital avatars for virtual concerts

Host: Jason Howell

Guests: Rich DeMuro, Tim Stevens, and Abrar Al-Heeti

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• Sam Altman returns as CEO after staff threatened mass resignation
• Microsoft's role and attempts to hire OpenAI staff
• Concerns over OpenAI's technology and capabilities
• Speculation over what caused the OpenAI board member revolt
• Impact and future of OpenAI as a non-profit and for-profit entity
• Musk sues Twitter shareholders, sued over ads next to hate speech
• Musk's behavior on Twitter concerning hate speech and anti-Semitism
• Truth Social finances and Trump lawsuit against media companies reporting losses
• EU regulations and lawsuits against tech giants over gatekeeping and anti-competitive behavior
• Tesla lawsuits over false Autopilot and battery claims
• Gay furry hackers steal Idaho National Lab nuclear secrets
• Levandosky launches Church of AI organization
• Video game addiction lawsuits
• Google to restrict ad blockers in Manifest V3 update
• Advertiser boycotts of Twitter
• Surveillance and the Hemisphere spying scheme

Host: Iain Thomson

Guests: Doc Rock, Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, and Harry McCracken

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• Discussion of the surprise firing of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI by the board
• Explanation of the complicated structure of OpenAI as a nonprofit with a for-profit subsidiary
• Debate around the board's goals to slow down AI development versus Altman's push for progress
• Analysis of the ripple effects on Microsoft and partners who invested heavily in OpenAI
• Thoughts on cautions versus opportunities with generative AI and large language models
• News about Apple supporting RCS for higher quality messaging with Android
• Review of PlayStation Portal requiring PS5 for streaming
• Reactions to misspelled Evangelion motherboard from Asus
• Anticipation for 4K restoration of The Abyss and True Lies from James Cameron
• Discussion of YouTube disclosure rules for AI-generated content
• Analysis of recent advertising pullouts from Twitter and Musk's behavior
• Talk about pop culture offerings making the hosts happy this week
• Speculation about resolution of OpenAI leadership by 8pm deadline

Host: Devindra Hardawar

Guests: Paris Martineau, Alex Lindsay, and Anthony Ha

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OpenAI GPTs, Humane AI Pin, privacy in cars, Amazon ditching Android

• OpenAI allowing independent developers to create their own GPTs ("little agents")
• Agreement between Writers Guild and motion picture producers on use of AI in movies
• Microsoft investing in OpenAI and implications for cloud services
• China's investment in AI compared to the US
• AI appliances like Humane pin and rewindai pendant
• Dangers of deep fakes and advanced technologies
• Innovations in pinball like Venom
• Implications of vehicle data collection for privacy
• Role of social media in teen mental health
• Debating investment in Vision Pro, Apple Silicon, M3 Max
• Controversy around Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• Amazon ditching Android for own Linux-based OS on Fire TVs

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Brianna Wu, Dan Patterson, and Janko Roettgers

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AI Executive Order, Epic vs. Google, Goodbye Mint, Meta Ray-bans

• Ray-Ban Meta audio quality, cost, battery life, and polarized vs transition lenses
• Exploring Elon Musk's XAI concept GROK AI
• How Twitter's declining engagement impacts content creators and prompts API use
• Concerns about President Biden's executive order on AI regulation and innovation
• International AI declaration signed at Bletchley Park meeting with Harris and Musk
• Epic's antitrust lawsuit against Google's Android monopoly and sideloading policies
• Examining Amazon's Jeff Bezos' move to $147 million Miami mansions
• Comparing fintech like Mint and Credit Karma to WeWork's scandal and bankruptcy
• Debate on government officials blocking critics on social media and free speech
• OpenSea layoffs indicate a cooling NFT market and parallels to Beanie Babies
• Exploring AI art copyright battles and the value of computer-generated works

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Shoshana Weissmann, Christina Warren, and Mike Elgan

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Cruise suspended in California, UK's Online Safety Bill, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite

• Debate around self-driving car standards and implications after recent SF accident
• Controversy over Mark Andreessen's anti-regulation manifesto and risks of stifling progress
• Taxes paid by tech moguls vs. average people and Microsoft's $29B IRS bill
• Generational differences in tech use and changes in media landscape
• Bug bounty programs incentivizing ethical hacking, payouts by Intel and others
• Social media regulation and protecting children online with First Amendment restrictions
• UK online safety bill's provisions on child pornography and age verification
• Media junkets and ethical questions around lavish press events
• Qualcomm's plans for 30% faster ARM chip to compete with Apple silicon
• Quarterly earnings from Microsoft, Intel, Google, Meta, and Apple event preview

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Ryan Shrout, Larry Magid, and Alex Wilhelm

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Net Neutrality, AI Homer Simpson, Meta Glassholes, Jon Stewart Cancelled by Apple

• Mark Andreson's manifesto and tech accelerationism
• Political consequences of facial recognition
• Social media's role in war crimes and spreading misinformation
• Facial recognition technology on social media
• Spread of misinformation by verified accounts on Twitter
• John Stewart's departure from Apple TV+ over China-related content
• Implications of AI on art and voice acting
• Social media's impact on public discourse and national conversations
• Leo's experience with Omnivore for curated newsletters
• FCC reignites Net neutrality
• FCC approval of Super Fast Wi-Fi for VR/AR headsets

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Alex Kantrowitz, Amanda Silberling, and Kashmir Hill

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