1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you? It is time for 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: the tech news for Tuesday, January twenty four. Man, we're 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: almost out of January already, and we are going to 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: begin with an update about open Ai. So, literally yesterday, 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: moments after I sent the episode about open Ai, it 9 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: was the story of open Ai, in case you weren't aware, 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: I ended up seeing headlines confirming what had been rumored 11 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: for a couple of weeks that Microsoft is investing big 12 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: time into open Ai. While details are a little scarce, 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: a Microsoft blog post proclaims that the two companies are 14 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: entering into the third phase of their partnership and that 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: it would be a quote multi year, multibillion dollar investment 16 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: end quote for Microsoft. The general consensus is that this 17 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: is Microsoft's bid to be competitive against Google, which, through 18 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: its own work and various acquisitions, is also heavily invested 19 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: in the field of AI research and development. Also, I 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: imagine that all the folks who were recently notified that 21 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 1: they were being laid off at Microsoft. We're talking about 22 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: like thousands of people at this point are likely a 23 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: little upset about, you know, hearing the company is going 24 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: to invest billions into efforts around AI. Yeah, there have 25 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: been a lot of stories about Microsoft in particular, but 26 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: companies in general putting out big expenditures right after laying 27 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: off tons of workers. That's never a good look. Also 28 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: related to yesterday's episode is another story that Professor Christian 29 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: Tervish or ur Wish I'm not sure how to say 30 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,639 Speaker 1: his name over at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School 31 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: of Business gave chat GPT, which is the open AI 32 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: powered chat bought a final exam in the university's NBA 33 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: program that's Masters of Business Administration. Now, I'm not sure 34 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: if the fact that chat GPT passed that final exam, 35 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: if that says something great about Chat GPT, or it 36 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: confirms some sardonic opinions about m b a's and the 37 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: difficulty of getting one. Apologies to any NBA's out there, 38 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: but you know, y'all have a bad rep Now, I'm 39 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: not saying that you earned that reputation. I'm just saying 40 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: that reputation sure as heck exists and it mostly revolves 41 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: around the perceived over reliance on jargon. Anyway, according to 42 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: the professor, chat GPT scored somewhere in the low B 43 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: range of the final meaning it didn't ace the test, 44 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: but it did perform better than average. Now I'm doing 45 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: my best to resist making a lot of jokes here. 46 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: I am curious how chat GPT would do if you 47 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: said to the task of creating, say a dissertation. My 48 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: guess is that the gaps in its abilities would become 49 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: far more apparent if that were the case. For one thing, 50 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: it is absolutely terrible at citing its sources. I got 51 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: a couple of Musk related topics to talk about this week. 52 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: First up, Elon Musk is currently on trial for securities fraud. 53 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: This is something that the SEC was onto him about 54 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: a few years ago, and in fact it's over the 55 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: same incident. Now the sec case that one was settled. 56 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: Elon Musk agreed to pay forty million dollars to settle 57 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: that matter without admitting fault, and later on he said 58 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: he was browbeaten into that that course of action settling 59 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: the case. Now he's been sued by a collection of 60 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: Tesla investors who say that Musk's tweets back in two 61 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: thousand eighteen gave false information, namely that Musk had claimed 62 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: he had secured the funding necessary to take Tesla private 63 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: at four dollars per share that are not insignificant amount 64 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: of time was actually spending court trying to get Musk 65 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: to admit that his use of the number four twenty 66 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: was a joke about marijuana. But Musk did not budge 67 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: on that. He said it was merely a twenty percent 68 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: over the value of the stock at the time, which 69 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: was a standard thing if you wanted to take a 70 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: company private. That's what he argues is that if you're 71 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: planning to take a company private, you have to increase 72 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: the cost per share by to convince shareholders too to 73 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: to deal to sell their stock at a premium, and 74 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,799 Speaker 1: then the company can go private. That's what Musk is saying, 75 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: and that's just a coincidence that happened to before twenty. 76 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: But as to the actual claim of securing funding, there 77 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:57,840 Speaker 1: was a lot more back and forth in the court 78 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: about that. Musk says that he received a ventially a 79 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: verbal agreement from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund or p 80 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: i F that they were going to provide funding for 81 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: this uh this move of Tesla from publicly traded to 82 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: private company. This is the same p i F that 83 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: helped Musk by Twitter late last year. Also, the b 84 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: i F represents the interests of the Saudi Prince, whom 85 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: you might know as the guy who allegedly ordered journalist 86 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: Jamal Kashogi to be assassinated. Anyway, Must never got any 87 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: of this in writing. So the investors are claiming that 88 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: Musk was misrepresenting himself in those tweets by saying that 89 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 1: he had secured funding when in fact he had not 90 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: secured funding, and that he was essentially engaging in securities 91 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: fraud and market manipulation. Should he be found guilty, Must 92 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: could be fined an enormous amount of money. I'll try 93 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: to stay up to date with the story as it develops. 94 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 1: Over the weekend. He on, Musk tweeted that Twitter has 95 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: too many ads. Then this will soon be addressed. Also 96 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 1: that Twitter will have a higher tier subscription level that 97 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: will be completely ad free, so if you become one 98 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: of the subscribers, you'll get an ad free experience on Twitter. 99 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: Of course, a lot of brands have already abandoned Twitter, 100 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: and ad revenues are reportedly way way down, so you 101 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: might just want to, you know, wait around, because it 102 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: sounds like Twitter could be ad free before long, whether 103 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: you have a subscription or not. Sad Trombone, Alright, to 104 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: be fair, I think the last report I said read 105 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: that half of the Top one advertisers had abandoned Twitter. 106 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: But this was early on in Musk's takeover, so this 107 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: was like last November. It could very well be that 108 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: that trend has reversed. It's hard to say because Twitter 109 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: no longer has a PR department, so you don't really 110 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: hear about what is going on from an ad revenue 111 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: perspective very much. Reuter's reports that Apple is working with 112 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: several big media partners in an effort to create content 113 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: for the company's upcoming mixed reality headset. It's an x 114 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: R headset, if you will. Disney is said to be 115 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: one of the media companies that is dealing with Apple 116 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: right now. And this is not a huge shock. Hardware, 117 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: particularly mixed reality hardware, is really just a paperweight if 118 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: you don't have any software to run on it. With 119 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: the rumored price tag for Apple's headset being in the 120 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: three thousand dollar range. I'm not sure anyone is going 121 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: to be able to make a feature that is killer 122 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: enough to turn this product into a best seller, Like, 123 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: it has to be a really compelling use case to 124 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: convince people to fork over three grand to get one 125 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: of these. If you'll recall, Apple had previously planned to 126 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: release augmented reality glasses, but now reportedly those plans have 127 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: been put on the shelf indefinitely due to it being 128 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: wicked hard to make something that fits in such a 129 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: relatively small form factor and still you know, work. Instead, 130 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: Apple is going the mixed reality headset route, so it's 131 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: more of a combination of virtual reality and augmented reality. 132 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: So you've got a display that you're looking at as 133 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: opposed to transparent lenses, but the headset has outward facing 134 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: cameras so you can get a pass through video feed, 135 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: so you're looking at a live video feed of whatever 136 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: is in front of you. Um, so it's kind of 137 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: like you're looking at a live broadcast instead of at 138 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: the actual world around you. While the first generation sounds 139 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: like it's going to be prohibitively expensive for most of 140 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: us anyway, the long term plan is to release a 141 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 1: less expensive headset later on, perhaps, though my guess is 142 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: that it would still be more than a thousand dollars 143 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: based upon how expensive this first one is rumored to be. 144 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,599 Speaker 1: So yeah, I don't know if anyone's gonna make and 145 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: experience so incredible that it's gonna convince more people to 146 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: fork over three grand. I'm sure there will be some. 147 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:14,319 Speaker 1: There always are. Apple has some pretty die hard fans 148 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: with a lot of discretionary income. Man, Okay, hey, remember 149 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: Sam Bankman Freed a k A SBF, the co founder 150 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: of former cryptocurrency exchange f t X, And you remember 151 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: how f t X imploded last year and SPF was 152 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: reduced to being almost penniless according to most reports. Well, personally, 153 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: I would love to experience his version of being penniless, 154 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 1: because I just read that federal prosecutors have managed to 155 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: seize around seven hundred million dollars of assets belonging to 156 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: SPF this month alone. And you know, I get it, 157 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: SPF had millions of dollars. It's just that none of 158 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 1: those millions of dollars were in pennies, so nically he 159 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: was penniless. Now it all makes sense. Anyway, SPF is 160 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: to go to trial over charges of securities fraud and 161 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: similar charges this coming October. He has pled not guilty 162 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: to these charges and he's currently under essentially house arrest 163 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: at the moment, which, y'all, I've heard of folks who 164 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: end up having to stay in jail after stealing less 165 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 1: than a hundred bucks. This guy is accused of misappropriating 166 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: billions of dollars and he gets to wait his pre 167 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: trial time out at his parents house, which, believe me, 168 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: is not a shack in the woods. What a world. Anyway, 169 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: About half a billion dollars of the seized assets were 170 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: in the form of shares for the company Robin Hood, 171 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: and almost a hundred million of it happened to be 172 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: in an account cash in an account with a bank 173 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: that's called silver Gate. One wonders how many other places 174 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: might be holding money or assets belonging to SPF. It's 175 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: pretty incredible. Okay, we've got more news Rois to go, 176 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: but before we get to that, let's take a quick break. Okay, 177 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: we're back, and we're back to crypto currency. So Reuter's 178 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: reports that Finance the largest crypto exchange in the world, 179 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: and one of the factors that you know, contributed to 180 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: ft x is implosion last year, has processed nearly three 181 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: forty six million dollars in bitcoin transactions for a different 182 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:37,839 Speaker 1: digital currency exchange called bits lato. And you might wonder, well, 183 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: why does that matter, Well, that's because US authorities have 184 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: called bits lata or latto a money laundering engine, and 185 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,439 Speaker 1: they have arrested that company's founder, who is a guy 186 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: named Ana totally leg Kodomov. And again I'm sure I'm 187 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: butchering name pronunciations. So the implication is that finance was 188 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: complicit in processing illegal funds. Bits Lato had heavy dealings 189 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: with a dark market called Hydra, best known for dealing 190 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: in illegal goods like drugs, and representatives at Binance say 191 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,960 Speaker 1: that Reuters has it all wrong and that Binance is 192 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: very very alert when it comes to attempts to do 193 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: hanky and or panky with the exchange. They have claimed 194 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: that the company has instituted systems that check for possible 195 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: money laundering schemes and the like, but from the Reuter's report, 196 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: it sounds like these claims are perhaps not entirely convincing. Anyway, 197 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: Binance has been under scrutiny for a long time, even 198 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: before the ft x collapse, and I suspect that scrutiny 199 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: will intensify as a result of this new development. Here 200 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: in the United States, the Department of Justice is expected 201 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: to sue Google over antitrust concerns. Specifically, the d o 202 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: j c's Google as holding a near monopoly on the 203 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 1: digital advertise market and that it maintains its dominant position 204 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: by practicing anti competitive strategies and you know, just suppressing 205 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: competition in general. Google is likely to argue, as it 206 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: has in the past, that there's still a great deal 207 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: of competition in the digital advertising space, with massive companies 208 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: like Meta, Slash, Facebook, A, T and T, and Comcast 209 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,319 Speaker 1: in the mix. And I'm not sure if this lawsuit 210 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: will actually go anywhere, but it is yet another indication 211 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: there is currently some momentum in the US when it 212 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: comes to pushing back against big companies in general and 213 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: big tech in particular. Yesterday, Spotify announced that it will 214 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: be cutting six percent of its workforce, which is around 215 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: six hundred jobs. The company seems to be saying the 216 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: same thing that we've heard from other companies within the 217 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: tech space, namely that the pandemic drove business up, and 218 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: so the company invested in hiring and growth, and then 219 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: as things started to return to normal and business began 220 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: to weigh along with macro economic factors coming into play, 221 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: it became clear that this growth was more than what 222 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: the company could comfortably sustain while also returning value to shareholders. 223 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: So now the company is cutting back, and y'all, it's 224 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 1: getting real tough out there with all these companies cutting 225 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,160 Speaker 1: jobs in the tech sector in particular. If you or 226 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: someone you know has been affected by layoffs, I just 227 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: want to say, I've been there. It's stinks, but I 228 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: do believe in you, so hanging there and good luck. 229 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: I hope it all turns out well because it it's 230 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: tough and it sucks and I've been there. Yuck. So 231 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: when a hacker discovers the Transportation Safety Administration a k a. 232 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: The t s A has a no fly list that 233 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: is on an unsecured web server, who is really to 234 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: blame when they? You know published fact. The reason I 235 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: ask is because Tilly Kottman, who uses the hacker handle 236 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: maya Arson crime you, was tooling around on this unsecured server. 237 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: She says she was doing it because she was bored, 238 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: and she discovered the no fly list on this server, 239 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: and that includes around one and a half million names. 240 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: These are names of people who are forbidden from flying 241 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: here in the US due to being either a terrorist 242 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: or suspected terrorist. Now, normally this kind of list would 243 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: be hidden safely away under lock and key and protected, 244 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: but Tilly says she was able to gain access to 245 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: the list with no resistance, which does point to a 246 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: pretty massive security problem. U S authorities would like a 247 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: word or actually probably a lot of words with Tilly, 248 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: who's also suspected of being behind other massive hacks, including 249 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: one that happened a couple of years ago where a 250 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: hacker accessed more than a hundred thousand surveillance cameras belonging 251 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: to Vercada. But y'all, you know it's not breaking and entering. 252 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 1: If the front door is wide open, that's just entering 253 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: and maybe also trespassing. But you get my point. And finally, 254 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: I would like to tell you about a new hero 255 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: of mine. His name is Brian Birmingham and he's now 256 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: a former lead engineer for Blizzard. So Brian is no 257 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: longer employed at Blizzard because he objected to the company's 258 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: stack ranking process for evaluating employee performance. Essentially, Brian was told, 259 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: as all leaders in Blizzard were told, that he had 260 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: to rank the employees under his leadership along a bell curve, 261 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: and that this would include about five of those employees 262 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 1: being placed at the bottom. Because that's how bell curves work. 263 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: You have to have a top percentage and you have 264 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: to have a bottom percentage. Even if everyone is kicking 265 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: butt and taking names at their jobs, this kind of 266 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: structure requires you to single out people and say these 267 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: are the bottom performers. And presumably that would then affect 268 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:13,359 Speaker 1: those employees in the form of bonus payments, and it 269 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:15,439 Speaker 1: could also serve as sort of a black mark on 270 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,239 Speaker 1: their employment history. It could mean that later down the 271 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: line they would be prevented from getting a promotion because 272 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: it would be marked that at three they were they 273 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: were evaluated as being a bottom performer. Brian essentially called 274 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,400 Speaker 1: bs on this practice. He said, it's counterproductive and it's 275 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 1: bound to make employees try to avoid being in that 276 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: bottom five per cent, not by being better at their jobs, 277 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,440 Speaker 1: but perhaps by engaging in stuff like sabotage, like trying 278 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: to cause other employees to fall on that bottom five instead, 279 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: or they might seek out a low performing group because 280 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: they could stand out as a high performer if they 281 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: just sought out mediocrity, and that this is all ultimately 282 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,159 Speaker 1: counterproductive to the ultimate company's goals, and a lot of 283 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: other companies have used and subsequently abandoned this practice, finding 284 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: in fact that it is counterproductive, but Blizzard is still 285 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: doing it anyway. Brian said he would not participate in this, 286 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:22,439 Speaker 1: and he was subsequently fired. He didn't intend for the 287 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: story to become public news, but someone else leaked it 288 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,200 Speaker 1: to the media and here we are. So my hat 289 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: is off to you, Brian. You stood up for those 290 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: in your department, You protested an inherently flawed management system, 291 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 1: and you set an amazing example in a company would 292 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: be lucky to have you as a lead engineer. And 293 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: it's my hope that you will be able to actually 294 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: return to Blizzard, where you clearly enjoy working, and that 295 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: you will be able to lead in an environment that 296 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: doesn't pit employees against one another like it's the thunder dome. Okay, 297 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: that's it for the news stories today to us day January. 298 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 1: I hope you are all well. If you have suggestions 299 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: for topics that should cover in tech stuff, remember to 300 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: reach out to me. 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