1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the 4 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: tech are you. It's time for the tech news for Thursday, 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: December twenty first, twenty twenty three. First up, I mentioned 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: earlier this week that Apple planned to remove Apple Watch 7 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,959 Speaker 1: Series nine and Ultra two models from store shelves here 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: in the United States starting at three pm two day. 9 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: Apple appealed to the International Trade Commission or ITC about 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: this matter about a ban on these products and asked 11 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: the ITC to allow Apple to continue selling them until 12 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: the appeal has been decided, and the ITC said no, Dice. 13 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: This all has to do with a little blood oxygen 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: sensor that's inside these particular models of Apple Watches, and 15 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: how another company called Masimo claims that Apple has committed 16 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: patent infringement. Other models of the Apple Watch do not 17 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: include the sensor, so they will not be part of 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: the band. They will continue to be on sale in 19 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: Apple stores. And while Apple may still win its appeal 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: in the future, it means that for the moment it 21 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: cannot legally sell those models of Apple watches here in 22 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: the United States. If you've been dragging your feet and 23 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: you plan to pick one up this weekend, and you 24 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: happen to live in the US of A, I got 25 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: bad news for you. Actually, you've got the bad news 26 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: because I just told you, Except there is one possible 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: glint of light. Apple only has control over its stock 28 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: in its own stores. If you go to a third 29 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: party retailer like a Best Buy, those stores are not 30 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: required to pull the models off of their shells, so 31 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: they can continue selling them for as long as their 32 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: supplies last. But once those supplies are gone, well, those 33 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: stores are going to have to wait for the outcome 34 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: of the appeal, just like Apple is. One of the 35 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: really big stories lurking in the background of twenty twenty three, 36 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: which I'll cover in greater detail in an upcoming episode, 37 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: is the Microsoft acquisition of video game giant Activision Blizzard. 38 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: It was a corporate move that stirred up an awful 39 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: lot of resistance all around the world for various reasons, 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: and part of that story was about the CEO of Activision, 41 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: a guy named Bobby Kodik. He's, to put it lightly, 42 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: a controversial figure Activision Blizzard had already been in the 43 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: news before Microsoft even announced its plan to acquire the 44 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: company because multiple former and current Activision employees at the 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: time were stepping forward and alleging that the company had 46 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 1: a toxic work culture and that executives turned a blind 47 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: eye toward allegations of serious issues like sexual harassment. Those 48 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: claims went all the way up to Codek. Kodik essentially 49 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: said he wasn't aware that there were any problems anyway. 50 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: There have been calls for Kodek's resignation for a couple 51 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: of years up to this point. Before twenty twenty three 52 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: is over, it's finally going to happen. Microsoft released a 53 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: memo revealing that Kodek will be stepping down on December 54 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: twenty ninth. A few other high ranking executives at Activision 55 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,959 Speaker 1: Blizzard will also be departing the company over the next 56 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: few months after a transition period, but most of Activision's 57 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: leadership structure is going to remain intact. There's also been 58 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: a few changes over at Microsoft's Xbox division, with some 59 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: leaders exiting the company and Microsoft largely focused on promoting 60 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: from within to replace them, which is I think that's refreshing. 61 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: I'm sure I'll dive deeper into all of this really soon. Meanwhile, 62 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: over at Sony, that company's game division is looking toward 63 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: the near future in a pretty grim light. So according 64 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: to tech Spot, some internal documents at Sony show a 65 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: pessimist view of the next few years. These documents are 66 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: now made public due to a different news story that 67 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: I didn't cover about some hackers stealing a whole bunch 68 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: of data, something that Sony has actually had to face before. Apparently, 69 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: the internal analysis came to the conclusion that Sony has 70 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: not been as innovative and aggressive as it has been 71 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: in years past. The company reached a point where it 72 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: was outperforming Microsoft, especially in hardware sales. In fact, by 73 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: some estimates, Sony was outperforming Microsoft at a rate of 74 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: three to one. In the face of essentially a lack 75 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: of competition, the company got a little complacent. Now, the 76 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: papers say Microsoft is leaping ahead and it's leaving Sony 77 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: scrambling to catch up. This is largely due to that 78 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,239 Speaker 1: acquisition of Activision Blizzard, that company makes some extremely popular 79 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:57,679 Speaker 1: video games. The papers also indicate that Sony's analysts believe 80 00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: the company could face a one and a half billion 81 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: dollar shortfall by twenty twenty seven. That's billion with a B. 82 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: On the one hand, there's no arguing that's bad, right, 83 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 1: A billion and a half shortfall is not good. But 84 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: then lighting a fire under the toukus of Sony to 85 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: get competition up in the space ultimately ends up being 86 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: a great thing for all gamers, whether they favor Sony 87 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: or Microsoft. While it's tough for Sony, it's a pretty 88 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: darn great thing in the long run for gamers in general. Now, 89 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: if you want to learn more about this, you should 90 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: check out the article by Cal Jeffrey in tech Spot. 91 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: It is titled Activision Apocalypse. Sony forecasts one point five 92 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: billion dollar loss by twenty twenty seven after Microsoft merger. 93 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: Not long ago, I talked about a recall that Tesla 94 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: is facing that affects nearly every Tesla vehicle on the 95 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: road here in the United States, and how it's really 96 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: a software recall, so it's not gonna require Tesla owners 97 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: to drive to a dealership or anything. I can't say 98 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: the same thing about Toyota, which is recalling around a 99 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: million cars here in the United States across both Toyota 100 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: and Lexus brands, and this is due to an issue 101 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: with airbags that are in the front passenger side of vehicles. Namely, 102 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: these air bags may not deploy in the event of 103 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 1: a crash, which, as you can imagine, severely diminishes their 104 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: effectiveness as an airbag. Apparently, the issue is in the 105 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: sensors that detect if a passenger is in the passenger seat, 106 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: so a defective design has resulted in some cases with 107 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: a short circuit issue. This completed circuit indicates that there's 108 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: no one in the passenger seat, so you could be 109 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,840 Speaker 1: sitting there, and because there's this short circuit in the sensors, 110 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: it thinks that you're not there, so if you're in 111 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: a crash, it does not deploy the passenger side airbag, 112 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: and that can result in really serious injuries. Obviously, So 113 00:06:57,279 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: the recall is for a selection of Toyota and Lexis 114 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 1: vias that have model years between twenty twenty and twenty 115 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: twenty two. In at least one model's case, I recommend 116 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: looking into it if you drive a Toyota, just to 117 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: see if your vehicle is one of the ones that 118 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: needs repair. Toyota is going to offer free repairs for 119 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: this issue at no cost to the owner, and the 120 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: company says it will be reaching out to customers early 121 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: next year. In any case, just keep an eye out. 122 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: If you drive a Toyota, you may want to make 123 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: sure that you can go by and get this fixed. 124 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: And hopefully you'll never need it, but it's good to 125 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: have it fixed in case you do. A collection of 126 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: journalists at Reuter's published an amazing piece titled Tesla blamed 127 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: drivers for failures of parts at Long New were defective 128 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: and it is well worth reading, so high recommendation that 129 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: you go to Reuters dot com and find this article 130 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: because it's fantastic. But the headline tells you the gist 131 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: of what takes up most of the story. That Tesla 132 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: customers have encountered all sorts of problems that when you 133 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: look at them and aggregate, you think, oh, well, this 134 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: is clearly a default in design or manufacturing, because the 135 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: same problem is happening to multiple people in different vehicles. 136 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: And some of these are minor issues, but some of 137 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: them are potentially life threatening failures, particularly if you were 138 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: operating the vehicle, say on the highway when it happened. 139 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: But Tesla's response to a lot of these issues was 140 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: to claim that the fault lie with the drivers, not 141 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: with the vehicles, that somehow these drivers had done something 142 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: that caused the damage to the vehicle, when in fact, 143 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: internal documents show that Tesla engineers were aware of problems 144 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: in car design and manufacturing that led to the manifestation 145 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: of these issues. Now, according to the Reuter's investigation, this 146 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: whole story stretches back at least seven years, so for 147 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: the better part of a decade, the company, Tesla, has 148 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: tried to pass the buck in these cases and to 149 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: put blame on drivers. It's something that has affected thousands 150 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: of Tesla owners, and not just here in the United States. 151 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: In fact, it's a damning fact that Tesla ultimately issued 152 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: some recalls in China hardware recalls after facing regulators who 153 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: were not having any of Tesla's nonsense and forcing the 154 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: company to recall certain vehicles in order to make fixes, 155 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: sometimes multiple fixes because the initial fix didn't actually fix 156 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: the problem. But here in the United States, Tesla has 157 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: largely been able to avoid that and continue to make 158 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: the argument that any failures and vehicles were due to 159 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: user error. Essentially, it's pretty ugly stuff, and the report 160 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: in Reuters is extensive. It is a very very long 161 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,560 Speaker 1: article that covers a lot more detail than what I've 162 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: just said, but I highly recommend you read the whole thing. 163 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: And again, that article is tip Tesla blamed drivers for 164 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: failures of parts at long new word defective. Okay, got 165 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: some more news items to get through, including one about 166 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: some driverless car info, but first let's take a quick 167 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 1: break to thank our sponsor. We're back. So yesterday, that 168 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: being Wednesday, the twentieth of December, way Mo, the Alphabet 169 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: spinoff that develops and operates autonomous vehicles, released a report 170 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,959 Speaker 1: that said collectively its driverless cars had driven more than 171 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: seven million miles. The company also claimed that in the 172 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,839 Speaker 1: course of driving those seven million miles, there had only 173 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: been three accidents that involved a minor injury and nothing 174 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: more serious than that. Now, statistically, this suggests that driverless 175 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: cars are safer than those piloted by human beings. However, 176 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: it gets super tricky to do this kind of comparison. 177 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: You have to take a lot of variables into account. 178 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: For instance, where does WEIMO drive? Because the accident rates 179 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 1: for one city are different from other cities. So the 180 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: answer to the question where does WEIMO drive? Is primarily Phoenix, Arizona, 181 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: and San Francisco, California. Then you have to look at 182 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: what are the average accident rates that involve injuries in 183 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: those specific places, and can you compare per million of 184 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: human miles driven versus million of autonomous vehicle miles driven. So, 185 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: according to ours Technica, if you were to look at 186 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: the number of accidents that involve an injury, should humans 187 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: be driving those seven million miles, it would be closer 188 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: to thirteen incidents as opposed to three. So there are 189 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: ten more accidents per seven million miles driven if the 190 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: drivers are human beings as oppose to autonomous But again, 191 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: it's not really that simple to get into meaningful comparisons. 192 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: You actually need way more miles driven by autonomous vehicles. However, 193 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 1: according to WEIMO, Phoenix drivers get into accidents about three 194 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: times more often than driverless vehicles driving in Phoenix, and 195 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 1: in San Francisco, it's even more dramatic. Human drivers rack 196 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: up accidents six times as often as the driverless vehicles did. Now, again, 197 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: these comparisons are tricky to make. We don't have enough 198 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: data to really definitively say anything, but common sense does 199 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 1: tell us that an autonomous vehicle, if it is properly 200 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,679 Speaker 1: designed and it operates well, should be safer than human drivers. 201 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,719 Speaker 1: It should have far greater awareness of its surroundings. It 202 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: should be able to react much more quickly. It makes 203 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: sense that it should be safer, and that is actually 204 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: one of the biggest selling points of autonomous drivers. Right. 205 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: So in a way, this news is not surprising. It 206 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: would be shocking if weimo said, well, we try, but 207 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: turns out that travelist cars are ten times more dangerous 208 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: than human driven vehicles. That would be shocking. We would 209 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: start to think we were in maximum overdrive or something. 210 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: And if you don't know what that is, I hesitate 211 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: to tell you to look it up. Part of me 212 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: wants you to look it up, because I mean, Emilio 213 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: ESTEVEZKT y'all, and a green Goblin semitruck. I'm getting off track. 214 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:27,079 Speaker 1: We have had cases of autonomous vehicles that were involved 215 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: in truly catastrophic accidents that led to tragedy. But we 216 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: also have to remember human beings are responsible for tragic accidents. 217 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 1: Essentially every single day, I mean, thousands of people in 218 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: the US die from traffic accidents each year. It's just 219 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,959 Speaker 1: that it's really notable when it's an autonomous vehicle that's 220 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: at fault. Right, There's something kind of scary and sinister 221 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: about that, And we're just accepting of the fact that 222 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: human beings are responsible for these kinds of accidents. But 223 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: I do get it. I mean, like the thought of 224 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: giving up control to some other entity and then being 225 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: in an accident through no fault of your own, that's terrifying, 226 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: I understand. But I do think that this report shows 227 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: we are moving in the correct direction. Right. I still 228 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: want a future with autonomous vehicles because I do believe 229 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: that when that technology is sufficiently sophisticated and safe, it 230 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: will mean tens of thousands of people will avoid being 231 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: involved in a fatal accent. Now, ironically, they'll never know 232 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: that because they'll just live. Right. You can't know that 233 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 1: you avoided a deadly accident. You just did. And but 234 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: I think that when you look back and you think 235 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: about the thousands of people who have passed away because 236 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: of traffic accidents and the impact that has on their 237 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: immediate circle and then society as a whole, you just 238 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: start to see where autonomous vehicles could be a huge benefit. 239 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: But we want to make sure that we are implementing 240 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: that when the technology is actually ready to take on 241 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: that burden. So I think this is a step in 242 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: that direction. I would be fibbing. However, if I said 243 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 1: I was just as optimistic about it as I was 244 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: a decade ago, a lot more cautious about it these days. 245 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: On a related note, if you live in California or 246 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: Nevada and you find yourself driving behind a Mercedes Benz 247 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: and you notice that it has these weird turquoise tail lights, 248 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: well that means you're actually behind a vehicle that's in 249 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: an autonomous mode. They actually are piloting this in California Nevada. 250 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: They got approval to do it where they are deploying 251 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 1: a level three driver assist feature, but when it's in operation, 252 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: these turquoise tail lights will come on. I think that's 253 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: a neat idea. Now I've rambled on about autonomous cars 254 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: a lot already, so I'm not going to go into 255 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: more detail about this, but I highly recommend Jonathan M. 256 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: Gittland's article in Ours Technica titled Turquoise tail lights tell 257 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: you this Mercedes is driving autonomously. The headline is just 258 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: the tip of the iceberg. As to the entire discussion 259 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 1: about autonomous vehicles. It's cute, but Gitland did an amazing job. 260 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: You should check out that article. And again, I have 261 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: no connection with Ours Technica or Gitland or any of 262 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: the articles or authors that I mentioned in this episode. 263 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: These are just works that I think are really good 264 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: and you should read them. Laura Pattison of CNN has 265 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: a piece titled Scientists successfully replicate historic nuclear fusion breakthrough 266 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: three times. This is worth celebrating, so as a reminder. 267 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: Today's nuclear power plants, the ones that are generating electricity 268 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 1: for the power grid, they work through the process of 269 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: nuclear fission. That's when you take a heavy atom and 270 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: you split that atom apart, which releases a tremendous amount 271 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: of energy as well as some subatomic particles that help 272 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 1: keep the process going, and you harness that energy to 273 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: generate electricity. Nuclear fusion is different. You take two very 274 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: lightweight atoms, like two hydrogen atom, and you force them 275 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: to be very very very close to each other. When 276 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,640 Speaker 1: you do this, they fuse together and as they do, 277 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: they release a tremendous amount of energy that then you 278 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: can also harness for electricity. Now, unlike fission, you don't 279 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: end up generating radioactive byproducts. With fusion, there's no danger 280 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: of a nuclear meltdown either. Fusion is how stars work. 281 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 1: Our Sun emits energy through the process, and if we 282 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,919 Speaker 1: could nail it here on Earth, we would potentially have 283 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: an energy source that can meet all of our needs 284 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: for the foreseeable future. I won't say forever, because we 285 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: humans are really good at taking more than what we need. Anyway. 286 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,119 Speaker 1: This story is about how scientists at the Livermore National 287 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: Laboratory in California have achieved nuclear fusion multiple times over 288 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: the last year, and that these reactions actually released more 289 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: energy than was required for ignition. Now that last bit 290 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 1: does need a little bit of an asterisk. The reactions 291 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 1: released more in energy that was contained within the lasers 292 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,119 Speaker 1: that forced the two atoms to come together. The energy 293 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: within the lasers was at one level, the release of 294 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: energy was at a higher level. However, in order to 295 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: energize the lasers, we had to tap into more energy 296 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,919 Speaker 1: than was emitted in the release. So it's still a 297 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 1: net loss when you're looking at a big picture, and 298 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,439 Speaker 1: that's something that has to change right otherwise you're going 299 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: to be pouring more energy into the process than you're 300 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: getting out of it, and ultimately it's a losing proposition. However, 301 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: this is still an amazing scientific achievement that could lead 302 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: us to a future of plentiful and clean energy. For 303 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 1: an article recommendation, check out Ariel Shapiro's piece in The 304 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: Verge titled the four podcast stories that will Shape twenty 305 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: twenty four. I don't often comment on the podcast business. 306 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: It feels a little bit too much like inside Baseball 307 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: to me, and goodness knows, I deal with it all 308 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: the time as an executive producer, so I get sick 309 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,159 Speaker 1: of it too. Plus when the news is rough, and 310 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 1: this year got a little rough in podcasting, y'all, it 311 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: gets a bit demoralizing to talk about it. But this 312 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: piece in The Verge covers lots of things that I've 313 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: been observing all year. It's worth looking into if you're 314 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: curious about the business that is show subset podcasting. It's 315 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: always good to educate yourself, especially if you're thinking about 316 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: getting into the business, because knowing what the environment is 317 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: and the trends that are going can really inform you 318 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 1: so that you make good decisions, like whether or not 319 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: you actually want to go through with it. All right, 320 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: That's enough. With all that, though, I hope you are 321 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: all well and I'll talk to you again really soon. 322 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 323 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or where whoever you 324 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.