WEBVTT - Tech News: Mark Zuckerberg is on the Hot Seat 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:14.920 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:18.560 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:20.840 and I love all things tech, and it's time for 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:25.680 the tech News for Thursday, October twenty one, twenty one. 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:29.760 Recording late today because it was a pretty hectic day. 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:33.240 I actually can see Tari from where I'm sitting right 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:37.519 now because once again I'm actually in the office in 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.400 the studio using my own mic. But I'm in the studio, 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.000 and so if it sounds a little different, that's why. 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.680 But let's get to the news. Yesterday's episode was about 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:52.120 the metaverse and what that means. The idea for that 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.920 episode actually came from the first news item I want 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.960 to cover today, which is that Facebook, the company, plans 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:03.880 to announce a rebrand for the company itself. Now, this 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:08.039 doesn't mean that Facebook, the social networking site is going 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:13.200 to change names. The company that owns Facebook the social 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:19.480 network site, as well as Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Oculus, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.920 is going to get a new brand name. The Verge 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.840 reports that we should expect an announcement about the new 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:29.679 name no later than next week and possibly sooner than that, 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:34.280 but that the brand name itself remains a secret kept 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:37.200 only by a few top level executives, which is probably, 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.720 you know, a good idea on Facebook's behalf, considering how 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:45.280 many leaks that company has sprung. Now, this hasn't stopped 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:49.040 speculation about what that name might be, something that perhaps 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:53.520 because Facebook is gearing up to create a metaverse platform, 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:57.120 that the new name might relate to that. For example, 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:01.560 Facebook might adopt the company name Horizon, which references a 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:06.480 sort of proto metaverse that Facebook has in development. But 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.760 you might ask, why is Facebook even making this change 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:12.040 in the first place. Well, in part it might be 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:16.240 to indicate that the company is about more than just Facebook, 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.200 the social network. But I think another big part of 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.840 it is that the Facebook brand has more than a 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:26.520 little tarnish on it right now, with various investigations into 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:31.079 the company proceeding around the world and employees speaking out 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:34.079 against the company. I'm sure that by this time next 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:37.120 week I'll be reporting on whatever the new name is, 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.160 along with you know, whatever else the company has to 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:44.880 announce around that time. Speaking of tarnish on Facebook, yesterday, 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:49.920 the Attorney General for Washington, D C. Carl Racing announced 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:53.799 that he was adding Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:58.480 lawsuit that centers on the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Now, in 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:02.200 case you aren't familiar with what that is, that scandal 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:07.360 relates to this analytics marketing company called Cambridge Analytica that 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:12.360 focused on providing support for political campaigns, particularly for for 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:18.400 right wing political campaigns. Investigative journalists discovered that Cambridge Analytica 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.640 was apparently depending upon a loophole that was in Facebook's 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:27.040 application programming interface. Once upon a time, UH, the company 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.880 developed a survey tool. Actually, they adapted a survey tool 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:34.640 that encouraged people to engage in the survey in return 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:39.240 for you know, like a monetary reward. But this loophole 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.680 in the development part of the a p I allowed 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.560 the app developer to see not only the personal information 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.600 of whomever it was who took the survey, but also 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:52.400 access the information of all of that person's contacts on Facebook, 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:56.440 at least so far as those users had shared with 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.280 the survey taker. So let me explain what that means. 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:02.720 Let's say that I decided to take this survey, so 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:08.080 I go and I granted the permissions that it was requesting, 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:10.880 and I go take the survey, and you and I 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:15.840 happened to be friends. Well, normally Cambridge Analytica wouldn't be 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:19.400 able to see your information just by default, especially if 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:23.160 you had anything set to friends only. But because you're 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:27.599 friends with me, and because the app had these wide, 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:32.599 widespread permissions that allowed it to access various pieces of information, 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:34.880 it would mean that Cambridge Analytica would be able to 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.760 see just as much of your information as you allowed 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.960 me to see. Facebook subsequently patched that loophole, but the 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:45.880 damage was already done. Meanwhile, Cambridge Analytica was also implicated 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:51.160 in various schemes to spread misinformation and to manipulate voters. Uh, 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.840 there was this whole story about Cambridge Analytica targeting people 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:59.840 who didn't support Cambridge analyticas clients, in other words, people 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:03.560 who would have voted against the political candidates that Cambridge 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.120 Analytica was trying to help, and then Cambridge Analytica was 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:10.800 using methods to try and discourage those people from voting 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:13.719 at all. Now, all of this happened several years ago, 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.480 actually leading up to the election in the United States. 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:22.400 The lawsuit itself has its origins in the government charges 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:26.200 that Facebook violated the terms of the Consumer Protection Procedures 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.040 Act and it should be held accountable with the goal 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.640 of finding Facebook for damages. This, by the way, is 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.520 a civil case, not a criminal case. Facebook tried to 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.920 get this lawsuit dismissed in twenty nineteen, but that effort failed. 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:43.520 The judge denied the request, and now Zuckerberg has been 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:47.000 named as a defendant in the case. The company continues 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:49.440 to deny the charges, so we'll have to wait and 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:53.640 see where this goes next. Now. I promised that we 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:57.840 are going to talk about stuff that isn't just Facebook 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:02.599 in today's episode. However, news about Facebook keeps breaking even 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.640 as I was trying to put this episode together. Today, 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:09.400 Facebook's oversight panel announced that it is looking into an 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:13.320 alleged system in which Facebook gives a free pass to 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:18.880 certain v I p UH Facebook accounts. So the implication 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:23.200 is that Facebook ignores incidents in which these accounts violate 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:27.520 various policies. This investigation follows the series of Wall Street 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.400 Journal reports that revealed the contents of some of the 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:35.000 thousands of documents that the newspaper received from whistleblower Francis Hogan. 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:38.400 The You Know Facebook has a system that they call 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.880 cross check or sometimes x check. It's sometimes written as 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.359 x x check, but I think they refer to it 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:47.440 as cross check. And according to the Wall Street Journal, 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:54.080 this system essentially covers for high profile accounts and and 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:59.160 doesn't count violations of Facebook policy against those accounts. So 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:01.360 the Oversight bore It has stated that, you know, it 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:05.839 has the responsibility to review Facebook's moderation policies. Like the 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:09.039 whole purpose that the Oversight Board was put together was 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:12.720 to hold Facebook accountable and to say, all right, what 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:16.280 are your policies, Are they fair and are you actually 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:22.000 carrying them out equitably across the platform? And they're saying 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:27.520 Facebook has failed to share all the information needed for 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.760 the Oversight Board to make that assessment, which you know, 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:35.520 that's a problem. So this seems fairly straight forward. We 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:39.360 will have to wait and see what Facebook's response is 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:44.840 to it. However, security company Sofoss reports that scammers using 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:49.960 social engineering have stolen more than a million dollars from victims, 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:54.320 using a combination of dating apps and bogus cryptocurrency apps 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:58.600 to do it, Apple apps, I should add, so first 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:03.040 let's define what social engineering is. Essentially, this is when 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.400 you try and pull a fast one on someone, you're 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:08.560 tricking someone into trusting you and then you know, giving 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:12.360 you access to a system or information. So the classic 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:16.640 example is someone contacts a person who works for a 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:20.360 specific company and they pose as I T personnel and 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:22.720 they say, I need to have access to your computer. 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.720 I need to install, you know, a new program or something. 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:29.280 But the whole point is just to gain access to 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.240 the system. Well, in this case, the scammers were using 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.560 popular dating apps like Tender and Bumble to set up 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:41.439 profiles that looked legit and then fish for victims. Once 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.880 someone expressed interest, the scammers would kind of string the 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.760 mark along for a little bit, trying to convince them 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:52.320 to download a cryptocurrency app that looked legit but was 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.240 actually a scam. Uh. In fact, these were apps that 0:08:55.280 --> 0:09:01.120 made it through Apple's famous restrictive ecosyste for apps. By 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:05.120 using a loophole, the scammers would convince their marks to 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.559 invest money, even just small amounts of money into the app, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.440 supposedly buying into cryptocurrency, and as long as the target 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.640 was investing money, everything was cool. But the moment someone 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:20.000 tried to retrieve their money or otherwise shut down their account. 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:23.440 The scammers would close off access to the money that 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.320 had been quote unquote invested in the app and just 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:30.200 steal the money for themselves. Worse, the scammers use something 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:35.440 called Apple's Enterprise or Corporate Signature designation that's intended to 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:39.160 let app developers test out apps with a small group 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:43.320 of test users in the development process. The whole idea 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:46.480 is it gives developers a way of doing quality assurance 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:50.280 testing of their apps before they submit the app to 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:53.960 the Apple App Store for consideration. So these apps never 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.160 went into the Apple App Store, they never had to 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:59.280 face that scrutiny. They were taking advantage of the fact 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:04.679 that Apple allows developers to test their work before submitting it. So, 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.559 in other words, you know, they were just using a 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:11.520 work around and convincing people to download apps not by 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.200 going through the App Store, but downing them directly through 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:19.520 this enterprise or corporate program, then tricking them into investing 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:24.560 money into these you know, cryptocurrency schemes um so very 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:29.199 clever work around one that's not necessarily easy to counteract. 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.920 This particular scheme originated out of Asia, but so FOS 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.760 says that it has detected victims in places like Europe 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:39.240 and the United States. So if you use dating apps, 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.120 be on the look for any matches who are urging 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:46.720 you to download cryptocurrency apps and make investments. So FoST 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.520 has also called an Apple to alert users about this 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:54.920 enterprise program and how a bad actor could potentially use 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.800 that to convince folks to install apps that haven't actually 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:02.719 gone through Apple's review process. Like the fact that loophole exists, 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.520 I mean it's needed, Like you need to have a 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.360 way to test your your app before you submit it 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:10.000 so that you can make sure you work out any 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.520 bugs before Apple gets hold of it. But you need 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:15.640 to also have a way to keep a lid on 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:19.720 that so that people don't just create bogus apples apps 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.680 and make it look like it's a legit thing and 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:24.920 then convince people to download it without going through the 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:28.120 Apple Store. That that is the real issue. We have 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:30.360 some more stories to cover, but before we get to that, 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:41.760 let's take a quick break. Bloomberg reports that PayPal is 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:45.439 looking into making a possible acquisition that of the social 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:49.280 media company Pinterest. Bloomberg reports that PayPal reached out to 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.440 Pinterest to see if the platform would consider a buyout 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.880 with a reported offer of around seventy dollars per share 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:59.560 of pinterest stock. Now, some quick math tells us that 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:03.400 this value pinterest at just under forty billion dollars, which 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:07.600 is a princely sum, And currently pinterest stock is trading 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:11.120 at just under sixty two dollars a share, so it's 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.040 an offer that is above the market value of a 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:17.959 share of pinterest. But however, you know, pinterest stock had 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:22.840 reached as high as almost ninety dollars a share over 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.920 the past year, but more recently it has been trading 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.560 around the sixty dollar range. And you might wonder why PayPal, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.960 which is most known as being a financial services company, 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:36.480 would be interested in Pinterest known as a social media 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:40.679 platform with a bulletin board like interface. But pinterest has 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:44.280 been incorporating e commerce elements into its platform over the 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.280 last couple of years, creating ways for users to shop 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:51.680 for items through pinterest itself. And since pinterest is all about, 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:56.040 you know, creating boards with aesthetically pleasing and thematically relevant images, 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:59.880 I mean a lot of Like interior design companies can 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:04.520 use Pinterest to to highlight how various components can go 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.080 together to make a particular aesthetic. Well, you can see 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:12.880 how a shopping system integrated with a financial company like 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:15.520 PayPal would be a really powerful tool in order to 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.439 market stuff to folks. Now, so far, neither pinterest nor 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:23.120 PayPal has responded to journalist requests for common about this 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:27.400 potential acquisition, So there's no way of knowing if pinterest 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.000 is actually considering the offer. I mean, if you want 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.280 to be really clear about it, there's no confirmation that 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:36.280 an actual offer even happened. But I have no reason 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:40.320 to doubt Bloomberg's reporting on this. The Boring Company, as in, 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.880 you know, the company that makes tunnels most often associated 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:50.280 with hyper loop like projects UH and also associated with 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:54.320 Elon Musk, has cleared one hurdle between it and the 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:59.040 goal of building out an underground transportation system in Las Vegas, Nevada. 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.800 The altimate goal is to establish a system that includes 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:06.680 fifty one separate stations, many of which would connect to 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.679 casinos along the Las Vegas Strip, as well as other 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:13.680 notable stops like Allegiance Stadium, the Las Vegas Convention Center, 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:18.720 the Fremont Street Experience, the airport, and more. Now, the 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:22.920 hurdle was the approval of the Clark County Commissioner's office 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.080 to go ahead with this. The proposed system would span 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:29.040 the border between Clark County and the city of Las 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.840 Vegas itself. Fun fact, the Las Vegas Strip is mostly 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:36.200 in Clark County, it's not within the actual city limits 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.840 of Las Vegas proper. The company will need to apply 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:43.080 for permits before actually beginning construction on the system, and 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:47.480 according to the boring company, the schedule would be really 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:52.120 super aggressive. Representatives say that the plan is to have 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:56.560 up to ten stations completed and connected within the first 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:01.000 six six months of the project breaking ground, which is 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:05.240 really aggressive, and that the whole thing should be completed 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:09.400 within three years. And that seems unbelievably optimistic to me. 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:12.080 But then what do I know. Well, one thing I 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.520 do know is that the existing tunnel system in Las 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.920 Vegas that was created by the boring company, the Las 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:23.520 Vegas Convention Center Loop, has fallen well below the projected 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.400 performance the company had claimed at the start of the project. 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:29.920 So the loop connects the South Hall, the West Hall, 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.240 and the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:38.160 These are three huge buildings that have exhibition spaces inside 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:40.600 of them. I know it best from my visits to 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:43.560 c e s over the years, and getting from one 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.560 to another can take a while. Like, if it's empty, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:48.800 it might take you fifteen minutes to walk from one 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.520 to the next. If it's full, it might take you 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.720 forty five minutes to walk from one to the next 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:57.080 because of the crowds. So if things are really busy 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:00.760 and it's a congested event, an other way of getting 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.520 between the different buildings is useful, especially if you've got 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:08.320 like meetings back to back that are across the convention 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.560 center from each other. So the idea was to build 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:17.160 this underground tunnel loop system with two one way paths, 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.920 you know, one going from one side of the convention 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:24.479 center together and the other one coming back. And the 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.600 boring company originally predicted that this particular system would be 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.920 able to move up to four thousand, four hundred people 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:35.480 per hour. However, as it's in its current incarnation, it 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.800 can move fewer than six hundred people per hour. That's 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:42.720 if it's going at full capacity. Uh. And the experience 0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:45.880 that you know, Las Vegas got was much less futuristic 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.240 than what was originally proposed. The idea was that was 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:52.080 going to be autonomous vehicles taking people from point A 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:57.080 to point B. Instead, it's people driving Tesla vehicles through 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.400 a tunnel and ferrying you from point A point be 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.240 kind of like a very limited taxicab. Although the convention 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:09.080 center version of this is operated free of charge for 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:13.399 for actual writers. The full Las Vegas system, well, if 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.359 it ends up being just a larger version of what 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:19.400 you're already seeing at the convention Center, it's not necessarily 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:23.400 going to be a huge boon to Las Vegas. It's 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:29.600 not really built in such a way to significantly reduced 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.800 traffic in the Las Vegas area. There's actually a really 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:38.639 good video about this by Daniel Cooper from Engadget called 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:43.119 Elon Musk's Las Vegas Loop could have been Great. Highly 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.200 recommend you check it out. It's really informative on this subject. 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:49.080 And I might have to do a full episode about 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.760 this to talk about what was promised, what was delivered, 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:57.680 how might that evolve into something more useful, and why 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:01.040 it doesn't really resemble anything when we you know, we're 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.840 talking about the hyper loop years ago, because this is 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:07.840 not a hyper loop style system. A group of companies 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:12.320 including Lockeed Martin, Voyager Space, and nano Rax have announced 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:16.040 their intent to design, build, and deploy a privately run 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.880 space station by the year twenty seven. If you listen 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.679 to my episodes about space stations, you know that the 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:26.639 International Space Station is getting up there in years. Components 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:28.960 that were meant to last just ten to fifteen years 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.959 are well past that now. The earliest modules that were 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:36.320 launched we'll be closing in on thirty years old in 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.280 just a couple of years. So NASA has encouraged the 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:43.600 private sector to get involved in this space pun intended. 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:47.480 I guess the proposed station that these companies are are 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.760 going to build has the name star Lab, and it 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:53.080 would be much much smaller than the I S S. 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.200 It would accommodate only up to four astronauts at a time, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:19:00.800 and like the earliest space stations, this would be a 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:05.280 monolithic design. Now that means it would be a single 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:08.119 launch that would carry the full space station up to orbit. 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:12.199 It would not be modular like the International Space Station is. 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:14.240 Like the I S S has grown over the years 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:17.520 because we've added more modules to it over time, kind 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.040 of like a giant tinker toy in space. This version 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:24.800 star Lab would be a single thing that we launch 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:29.239 once up into low Earth orbit. Uh, and kind of 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:32.239 like the BIGELO module that's connected to the I S S. 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.879 The idea is that this space station that the habitable 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:40.240 part anyway, will be an inflatable structure, which is part 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:42.840 of the reason why you can launch it in one go. 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.000 If it's inflatable, then you can have it deflated when 0:19:46.040 --> 0:19:48.199 you're on the ground and then wait till you're in 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.720 space to inflate and expand it to its full size. 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:54.760 As for what the station will be used for, that 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:58.960 could include everything from scientific research to industrial research, to 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:03.600 space tourism, so you know, the typical stuff that we 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:08.200 tend to hear about when we talk about private space exploration. 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:11.000 The f d A has approved a particular use of 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:15.120 virtual reality to treat people who have amblyopia. I hope 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:17.800 I said that correctly. Uh. This refers to the condition 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:21.480 that most of us know as lazy eye. So with ambliopia, 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:24.920 the brain begins to rely more on one eye than 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:28.400 the other, and communication between the brain and the other 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:31.960 eye breaks down a bit. The traditional way that we've 0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:34.679 treated ambleiopia is to use stuff like an eye patch 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:37.919 over the good eye, the stronger eye, and this forces 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:40.600 the brain to re establish connections with the other eye. 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:43.800 Kind of it's kind of like strength training for your eye, 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:47.240 and it helps counteract the effects of amblopia. Well, the 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:51.560 VR approach presents two similar images while you know, you 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:55.920 watch video, so each eye is getting a slightly different image. 0:20:56.119 --> 0:21:00.400 The stronger eye gets a lower contrast version, so details 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:03.080 are harder to make out for the stronger eye, and 0:21:03.160 --> 0:21:06.080 so the weaker eye needs to get a little more 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:09.439 love from the brain for the images to make sense. Also, 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:14.879 the VR uses some overlays on each image, and the 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:18.560 overlays block a little bit of the user's view. It's 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:22.919 only by combining the view from each eye that you 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:25.080 get a full image in the brain. So the brain 0:21:25.160 --> 0:21:27.080 can do this. We're not even conscious of it when 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:30.320 it happens. The brain just handles it. But these are 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:35.000 little elements that can be introduced virtually that ultimately make 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:38.480 our brains work with a specific eye to have it, 0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:41.240 you know, get up to speed. So it's kind of 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:44.200 like the eye patch approach in a way. It forces 0:21:44.240 --> 0:21:47.960 the brain to rely more on the affected eye, the 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:51.280 one with amblopia, but it does so while the user 0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:54.199 also is watching something that they would like to see, 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:56.920 you know, instead of wearing an eyepatch. They're watching movies, 0:21:57.280 --> 0:21:59.479 and wearing an eyepatch can bring with it a bit 0:21:59.520 --> 0:22:01.879 of a social stigma. However, you know that is actually 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:05.040 something that we should really address as a society. Anyway, 0:22:05.080 --> 0:22:07.399 this whole issue with able is um but you know, 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:09.440 you get my meaning. Like it's it's one of those 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:14.679 ways where you can do this therapy that doesn't require 0:22:14.760 --> 0:22:17.600 you to wear an eye patch or use eye drops, 0:22:17.760 --> 0:22:20.080 or maybe you use it in conjunction with that, but 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.800 it's one way to train up your your strength. I 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:24.920 think it's cool that the FDA has approved this type 0:22:24.920 --> 0:22:27.080 of therapy and hopefully we'll see it rolled out to 0:22:27.119 --> 0:22:30.040 a broader scale in the near future. Sony has received 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:32.280 approval from the U S Patent Office for a patent 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:35.760 that allows for a system in which participants and spectators 0:22:35.760 --> 0:22:40.560 of multiplayer video games could vote to ban players from 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:43.640 the game. The patent calls for a few different implementations 0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:47.320 of this idea. So, for example, imagine that you're watching 0:22:47.520 --> 0:22:51.240 a competitive multiplayer game and there's one player who is 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:54.879 consistently performing below the skill level of everybody else in 0:22:54.920 --> 0:22:59.200 the game, and the participants or maybe the spectators might 0:22:59.280 --> 0:23:02.879 vote to inch that person, just removing them from play. 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:06.240 But there's another implementation that suggests a scenario in which 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:11.000 spectators could pay to vote someone out of a competitive 0:23:11.080 --> 0:23:14.760 multiplayer game. Sony calls for a system that would require 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:18.639 at least a sixty percent majority to actually vote to 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:21.200 remove someone from a game. However, I think you could 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:24.880 easily imagine a scenario where this would become inherently unfair. 0:23:25.240 --> 0:23:29.320 For example, let's say you've got a favorite streamer who 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:34.640 plays online in competitive multiplayer games. So maybe you're watching 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:39.879 them actively play live online and they're doing great, But 0:23:39.960 --> 0:23:43.280 then you also find out that some other really good 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:46.000 player has joined the game. They're on the opposite team, 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:51.120 and so you and your fellow fans all banded together 0:23:51.240 --> 0:23:54.720 to pitch in some money and vote the other player off, 0:23:55.160 --> 0:23:58.800 because that way, your favorite has a better chance of 0:23:58.840 --> 0:24:04.480 winning because you've removed their most uh most difficult competition 0:24:04.480 --> 0:24:07.919 in the game. That doesn't sound fair, right, Well, you 0:24:07.920 --> 0:24:10.239 can probably imagine a lot of different ways that this 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:14.640 particular system could potentially be abused. Now, this is just 0:24:14.720 --> 0:24:17.959 a patent, it is not an actual implementation. Sony has 0:24:18.000 --> 0:24:22.000 not said it's actually going to make this become a reality. 0:24:22.040 --> 0:24:25.000 They might not do anything with the idea. They might 0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:27.760 have patented it just so that way, if anyone else 0:24:27.800 --> 0:24:30.000 tries to make something similar, Sony can say, hey, you 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:32.280 can't do that unless you pay us first, because we 0:24:32.440 --> 0:24:35.080 patented it, so you have to license that idea from us. 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:37.439 Or who knows, maybe in a year or so we'll 0:24:37.480 --> 0:24:40.200 see video games like a gladiator sport where the crowd 0:24:40.280 --> 0:24:43.400 votes to get rid of unfavored players. That doesn't sound 0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:47.240 particularly fun to me, and I hope it doesn't happen. Finally, 0:24:47.359 --> 0:24:50.240 a group of museums in Vienna encountered a bit of 0:24:50.280 --> 0:24:53.080 a problem. They were uploading images of works of art 0:24:53.359 --> 0:24:56.280