WEBVTT - Tech News: A Spooky Halloween Tech News Episode 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:12.360 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:16.480 and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:19.600 I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio and how the tech 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:23.200 are you? It is time for tech News for Tuesday, 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:30.680 October thirty first, twenty twenty three. Happy Halloween, everybody, or 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:36.800 a spooky sawyn if you prefer. Last week I mentioned 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.839 we would not have a news episode today because of 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.920 smart talks with IBM, But the joke was on me. 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:46.440 Turns out there was a scheduling delay, and so now 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.200 you get an episode from me after all. So let's 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:53.400 dive into the spooky world of tech news, and you 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:57.200 might hear me make some spooky sounds throughout the show 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:00.800 that I assure you it's not that I'm hand It's 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:05.320 just that the kidney stone I'm dealing with still isn't 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.480 done yet. Anyway, the back half of twenty twenty three 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.199 is hitting me hard, y'all. But never mind that you're 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:15.000 not here to hear me grouse and moan about my health. 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:17.600 You're here to hear me grouse and moan about tech. 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:21.040 Let's get to it. First. Up this week, US President 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:25.080 Joe Biden issued an executive order that deals with the 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:29.319 big topic in tech of twenty twenty three, that of 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:33.440 artificial intelligence, and they had a particular focus on generative AI, 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:38.679 which I'll just remind you. Generative AI is one subset 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:42.360 of the overall discipline of artificial intelligence. And if you're 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.399 not from America, or maybe you are from America but 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.400 you've never really looked into it and you don't know 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.080 what an executive order is, it is one of the 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.880 president's powers of office. The president has the authority to 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:59.160 issue directives without having to go through Congress or any 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.240 other branch of the govern as long as those directives 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.560 relate to how the federal government works. So the US 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:10.639 president could issue an executive order to manage federal resources. 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.920 But the president could not issue an executive order to 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.320 force South Dakota to change its name to Frank or whatever, 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:21.440 because that's not in the power of the federal government. 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:26.880 This executive order in particular, creates requirements, mostly among federal 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:31.400 agencies when it comes to entering into contracts with AI 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:36.520 companies and AI services. So the order restricts those contracts 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:42.080 to companies that comply with regulations, and those regulations include 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:46.839 things like testing requirements for their AI models, transparency when 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.320 it comes to developing the tools, and various restrictions on 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:53.480 what generative AI is and is not allowed to do so. 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:57.240 For example, if the generative AI can be convinced to 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:01.280 design weapons, that's right out. You know, a federal agency 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.640 is not allowed to enter into a contract with a 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:08.520 company that does that. So these requirements don't hit the 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:12.720 AI companies directly, right they're hitting the federal agencies. But 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:16.200 if you assume that those companies want to do business 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:20.000 with the federal government, which is a very lucrative business 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.519 to get into, it thus creates an incentive for those 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.440 AI companies to comply with the rules. Now, there are 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:31.200 some aspects to the executive Order that more directly target 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:34.800 AI companies. For example, should a company engage in training 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:39.200 AI systems that could potentially create a threat to national security, well, 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:41.360 those companies are going to need to send a little 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.120 heads up to the federal government first, which is not 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.680 a bad idea, though I would submit that sometimes we 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:50.680 don't realize something is a threat until you know it's 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:54.600 threatened US or worse. The order also recommends, but does 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:59.960 not necessarily require, that generative AI companies use a label 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:05.120 or a watermark for all AI created material, whether that's audio, video, 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.520 or images or whatever. The order also places the onus 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:13.520 of creating more structured regulations on various other agencies within 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:18.720 the US government. And speaking of regulations, a couple of 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:24.839 AI luminaries have recently spoken out against regulations. Business Insider 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.880 reports that Jan Lucun, one of the leading researchers in 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:33.520 artificial intelligence, has argued that the various doomsday scenarios being 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:39.000 bandied about regarding AI aren't really realistic. Rather, he says, 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.960 spreading these stories is a tactic that's used by a 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:46.359 few large companies that are working in AI today. And 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:48.920 you might say, well, why would they do that, why 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:53.440 would they say AI is a potential threat to humanity's existence. Well, 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.400 these same companies are actually taking a very active role 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.560 to work with governments around the world to develop AI 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:05.760 regular not because the companies actually believe these regulations are 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:09.799 going to prevent harm. Instead, they're trying to create regulations 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:14.440 that will allow big established companies to be insulated against 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:17.760 smaller startups because the smaller startups are going to find 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.400 it hard or maybe even impossible to work within the 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:25.640 framework of regulations. So, according to Lucun, this is a 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:30.239 way to stifle competition and innovation. Sam Altman, the CEO 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:32.760 of open Ai, comes to mind when you hear about 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:36.760 this argument when it's put this way, because Altman has 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.760 taken an active role to work with governments in the 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:43.240 US and the UK and elsewhere in an effort to 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:47.559 frame regulations around AI. Now. To take the other side, 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:49.760 Altman would argue that his goal is to set up 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:53.159 rules that make sense and that will protect people against 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:57.680 bad AI design and bad AI implementations. But critics like 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.880 Lacun say this is really more of a self serve motivation, 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.120 and it prompts Altman to work so closely with governments 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:07.920 in an effort to suppress potential competitors and give open 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:11.640 aye an unfair market advantage. He is, not, by the way, 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.520 the only AI bigwig to suggest that this is a thing. 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:18.920 Andrew ng, who founded Google Brain and who teaches at 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:23.159 Stanford University and in fact taught Sam Altman, has also 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:27.640 argued that the push for regulations, particularly the push from 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:31.719 large AI companies, suggests more of a move to squash 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:35.880 competition and innovation than to actually create a safe environment. 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:40.720 Now Ing told Financial Worldview that he believes regulations are important. 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.839 He's not saying don't have regulations at all, but he 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:48.080 is saying that bad regulations are worse than no regulations 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:51.200 at all. So it goes bad regulations at the bottom, 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:56.400 no regulations, and then good regulations. If things are left 0:06:56.400 --> 0:07:00.000 to the companies that are going to be regulated, then 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.560 and we should expect nothing less than rules that are 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:06.159 going to benefit them to the detriment of everyone else, 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.760 whether that's a competitor or a consumer, which kind of 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:12.600 makes sense to me. And in the war between artists 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:17.240 and AI, a US district judge named William Oric has 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:22.320 dismissed most of a lawsuit that three artists brought against 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:26.800 the company's mid Journey, Deviant Art, and Stability AI. In fact, 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:30.360 out of those three, only the part of the lawsuit 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:35.000 directly involving Stability AI is still alive in the court system. 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.880 The judge ruled that the accusations as laid out in 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:42.760 the lawsuit were quote defective in numerous respects end quote 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:46.680 regarding mid Journey and Deviant Art, and so those elements 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.640 are now essentially dead in the water until they perhaps 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:54.280 get reasserted in a updated filing. So at the center 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:57.800 of this whole legal mess is a concern among artists 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:01.760 that generative AI companies are making broad and unrestricted use 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:06.560 of artist works without the artist's permission or compensation, and 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:09.720 that as a result, these generative AI models are able 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:14.880 to lift elements of artists' styles and essentially the AI 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.640 can compete against the very artists whose work the model 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.680 was used to train on in the first place. As 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:25.480 for why Stability AI is still in the mix here, 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:27.600 it mostly has to do with how mid Journey and 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:32.040 dev and Art have used Stability AI's generative tool called 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:35.240 Stable Diffusion, and the judge says, well, the artists weren't 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:39.320 able to really show that those companies were using this 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:43.240 knowingly in an effort to harm artists, or were doing 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:45.080 it in a way that where they were disregarding the 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:48.600 harm being done to artists, and that really just falls 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:51.520 to Stability AI, which created the tool in the first place. 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:56.080 The artists accusations showed that, at least according to a 0:08:56.120 --> 0:09:00.760 search tool meant to match artists against work that generative 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:06.040 AI models have supposedly used during training, the Stability AI 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:10.200 tool had made unauthorized use of art to train up 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.920 Stable Diffusion. So out of the three artists, only one 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:15.600 of them is still part of this lawsuit. The other 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.120 two dropped out because they did not actually obtain a 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:23.319 copyright for their works, so there was no legal protection 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:25.720 to be violated in the first place. But one of 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:30.040 the three did. She's still in the mix. So she said, 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.320 my name has popped up in the search engine, showing 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:36.480 that this model used my work to train itself. Now 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:39.880 that in itself is not definitive proof, right, just because 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:42.400 she shows up on the search engine. But the judge 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.440 rule that it was sufficient to allow the case to 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:48.240 continue through to the discovery phase. Now I should add 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.280 this is not the only case brought against Stability AI 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:56.000 and how it trains stable diffusion. Getty Images sued the 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.000 company both in the UK and in the United States, 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:03.960 arguing that Stability AI used stock images from Getty's enormous 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:08.600 database to train its model, and that the company quote 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:14.000 removed or altered end quote Getty's copyright management information in 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:18.440 the process. Just yesterday, Stability's AI legal team asked a 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.360 London judge to throw out the UK case. I've not 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:25.960 heard how that has panned out. But also these cases 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.240 have been going on for a while. While this is 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.520 an update, you know, they date back to early twenty 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.800 twenty three and even late twenty twenty two, so it's 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:36.840 not like this just popped out of nowhere. This is 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:41.800 an ongoing battle in legal systems around the world. Justice 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:46.319 moves ever swiftly. Okay, we've got more stories to cover, 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:49.559 and they don't even have to do with artificial intelligence. 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:51.719 So we're going to take a quick break and when 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:59.160 we come back, I'll talk about some more tech news. 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:07.240 We're back, and now I'm done talking about AI at 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:09.880 least for the moment, which means it's time to talk 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.199 about X. You know, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:15.800 Only one story though, so let's just get through it. 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:18.440 And the big news this week is that X is 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:24.199 going to offer restricted stock units or RSUs to its employees. Now, 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:28.240 keep in mind X is a private company. At the moment, 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:32.000 there is no publicly traded stock market that it's on, 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:34.960 so you can't look to see what stocks are trading 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.640 at right now. It's privately held. So in order to 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:42.640 be able to issue restricted stock units to employees, first 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.240 the company has to determine how much it's actually worth. 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.560 And this gets a little more loosey goosey than you 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.080 would find with a publicly traded company. Like with a 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.840 publicly traded company, you take the number of shares that 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.840 exist in that company, and you multiply that by the 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.959 price per share, and you get a rough estimation of 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:04.480 the valuation of that company. So X had to go 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:09.320 through a different process, but in internal documents it had 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:13.920 listed its valuation at around nineteen billion dollars. Now keep 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:18.680 in mind, when Elon Musk agreed to purchase Twitter, he 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:21.520 did so at a share price that would be set 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:25.120 at fifty four dollars twenty cents per share, which meant 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:28.040 that at the time of purchase, Twitter would be worth 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:32.600 forty four billion dollars. So he spent forty four billion, 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:36.960 and now the platform has a current valuation of nineteen 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.719 billion dollars. That's a fifty six percent drop in valuation 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.880 over the course of a year. Now keep in mind 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:49.320 that's just one assessment. Other assessments are actually different. For example, 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:52.800 Fidelity figure that the drop is closer to sixty five 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:57.080 percent of value YELSA. Now I admit when I first 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.200 read about this, I didn't see that there was a 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:03.760 bright side, but tech Crunch's Amanda Silberling points out that 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:07.800 sometimes a lower valuation isn't necessarily a bad thing for 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.640 the company or its employees, because the employees stand to 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.480 gain those stocks or stock options, and it could mean 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.040 that they could get a lot more of them as 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.960 part of their compensation package. This can also become a 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.080 very powerful tool to recruit new talent into the company, 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.880 and as long as the company does better and starts 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.079 to improve in value, employees will see a huge gain 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.800 as a result of having those stocks, assuming that they 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:39.600 execute their stock options. Obviously, X still needs to regain 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.840 a lot of lost ground, right A fifty six percent 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.800 drop invaluation is not a great thing to communicate out 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:50.160 to the world. Doing that is going to create much 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.480 greater gains for the employees who exercise their stock options. However, 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:55.960 so it could be a really good thing. And you know, 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.720 never say never. I'm not going to say that X's 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:02.840 is just death to be doomed. It just has to 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.240 prove it can reverse the trend it's been on over 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.280 the last year. Now. Personally, I think that would be 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.280 a whole lot easier if Elon Musk took a big 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.040 old step back from the driver's seat. I mean, sure, 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.240 he put in a different CEO, so technically he's not 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.680 the CEO of the company anymore. But the general impression 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:22.720 I get in the tech world is that it's really 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:26.360 still Elon Musk calling the shots over there. And maybe 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:30.520 that's unrealistic. Maybe that's not the case, but it certainly 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:33.920 seems to be that, at least from the outside, and 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.320 I don't think that's been doing the company any favors. 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:42.520 Another long ongoing story around the world is how various 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.880 countries are beginning to treat apps and tech that is 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:49.360 created out of countries like China. So in a recent example, 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:53.320 the government of Canada decided yesterday to issue a ban 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:57.480 on the messaging app we Chat on all government issued 0:14:57.640 --> 0:15:02.080 mobile devices. The Canadian government also included a Russian app 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.840 in that ban as well, or really a Russian suite, 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:10.040 the Kasperski antivirus program specifically. Now, this is out of 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.600 a concern that the governments of China and Russia could 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:18.600 potentially either directly or indirectly use those kinds of apps 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:23.000 to spy on Canadian government officials and Canadian systems. The 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.880 government did say that there was no evidence that any 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.760 such thing had happened so far, so this would really 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.040 be more of a proactive move, as the CIO for 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:37.200 Canada has identified those two apps as having unacceptable risks 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:41.640 associated with them. Chinese representatives condemned the move. They said 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:44.840 that it was really done more as a political gesture 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:50.800 without any real justifiable foundation, and Kasperski responded with surprise 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:53.600 and disappointment, saying that the lack of evidence indicates that 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:58.040 the ban is a response to a geopolitical perceived threat 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.960 rather than a real one, and claims no one from 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:04.320 Canada's government ever reached out to Kasperski to work things 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:08.680 out before issuing the ban. Now, I will say that 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:13.479 at least with Kasperski, it has a somewhat shady reputation 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.240 in the cybersecurity community, not that their tools don't work, 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:22.040 but that there is this fear of a potential connection 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:27.720 between Kasperski and various Russian intelligence agencies. Kasperski has been 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:32.400 rather compliant with Russian government on several things that have 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.560 led to people saying it may not be a good 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:41.040 idea to use Kaspersky products in things like government settings 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:44.320 because of the potential that someone could use that for 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.760 surveillance purposes. Canada is not the only country to have 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.520 concerns about this product. The US issued a similar ban 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:55.520 Back in twenty seventeen. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.200 issued a strong recommendation to its staff not to use 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.800 Kasperski antivirus products out of concern, you know, regarding the 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:05.080 company's potential connections to the Russian government. So this is 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:10.359 not an unprecedented event. Now, for those of you who 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.399 like those stories where the little guy stands up to 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:16.159 the fat cat, I got one for you now. In 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:19.080 this case, the little guy is a software firm in 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.960 the UK called Threads Software Limited, and the fat cat 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:27.080 is Meta, formerly known as Facebook. And yes, this all 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.960 has to do with the name Threads, which Meta has 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.680 used for its microblogging service, you know, the Twitter slash 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:38.639 x killer platform that saw rapid adoption and then not 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:42.959 long after that rapid disengagement or what I call oh 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:47.080 I forgot I even installed that itis. The software company 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:49.800 sent a letter to Meta and said that it will 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.800 go to the courts and ask for an injunction against 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.760 Meta if the company doesn't stop using the name Threads. Now. 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:02.320 To be clear, Threads Software Limited or actually a precursor 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:06.800 to that company called JPY Limited, applied for and received 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.560 a trademark for the brand name Threads more than a 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:14.359 decade ago, and that was well before Meta announced any 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.480 intention of creating a microblogging competitor to Twitter. Now that 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:22.000 being said, this is not the first threads product from Meta. 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:26.280 Back in twenty nineteen, Meta, which at that time was 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:30.080 still called Facebook, introduced a feature in Instagram and it 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:35.080 was called Threads. I'm not sure if the thread Software 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:39.440 Limited company actually pushed back against Meta when that happened. 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:45.159 That's important because holding a trademark requires a company to 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:50.439 defend that trademark. If Meta can show that that Threads 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:55.320 Software Limited did not attempt to defend its trademark when 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:59.400 Meta first introduced the Threads product in Instagram in twenty nineteen, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.840 then that could really weaken the case against Meta. I 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:06.680 don't know. Maybe they did pushback. I couldn't find information 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:08.560 on that when I was reading up on the story. 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:10.760 If I'd done some more digging, I probably could have, 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.000 but I was running out of time. Also, there are 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:15.280 a lot of other products out there that have the 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:19.879 name thread or threads, and they have not really seen 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:21.800 a lot of pushback from this company. From what I 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:26.200 can tell, which is another potential strike against them. Now, 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.919 all that being said, Meta supposedly did reach out to 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:34.400 thread Software Limited in an attempt to purchase the domain 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:38.920 threads dot app, but the company gave Meta the cold 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:42.320 shoulder for every single request. It does, however, indicate that 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:44.720 Meta was aware that was going to use a brand 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:47.159 name that was already in use. So it is a 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:49.639 complicated thing. And who knows which way the courts will go. 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.800 I mean a lot of courts might already be I 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.600 hate to use the word biased, maybe predisposed to laying 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:59.920 judgments against Meta because Meta has not done itself any 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:04.639 favors of the last decade. It has operated in a 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:09.760 way that has almost dared governments and courts to take 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:14.480 action against it, which could potentially spell over in decisions. 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:19.280 We're all human beings, even judges and lawyers, So who knows. 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:23.520 But yeah, that's what's going on in that world. In India, 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:27.240 Apple has sent an urgent alert to several politicians in 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:33.160 the Indian Parliament. The alert warned the recipients that their 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:39.560 respective iPhones were potentially targeted by a state sponsored attack, 0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:44.240 like an attack with a high level of sophistication and 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:48.679 a high requirement for you know, resources, So something that 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:52.480 would typically only happen from a hacker group that had 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:57.480 the backing of some sort of government somewhere in the world. Now, notably, 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:01.119 all the people who have come forward so far saying 0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:05.160 that they received this alert belong to the opposition party 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:10.520 in India's parliament. Now, Apple has not identified which state 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:16.320 may be behind these attacks, and in fact, Apple has 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:20.320 also said it's possible the alerts could be a false alarm. 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:24.400 They have not issued that many alerts around the world, 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.879 and they said, you know, this could be something where 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:33.840 we are being extra defensive, but there's no actual threat. There. 0:21:34.400 --> 0:21:36.199 At least a few of the people who receive the 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:41.000 message suspect that India's conservative government is actually behind the operation, 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:45.280 that this is an effort to maintain and extend control 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:50.320 of the nation in general and to suppress opposition politicians. 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:54.040 I've talked a lot about how India's government takes a 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:56.879 really aggressive stance with tech companies when it comes to 0:21:56.920 --> 0:22:01.160 things like allowing people to use various platforms to criticize 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:04.919 the government. So the implication that opposition leaders could be 0:22:05.000 --> 0:22:09.200 the target of the actual Indian government fits that narrative, 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.480 but that doesn't necessarily mean it's true. It could be, 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:16.479 but without evidence, you can't really draw a conclusion. Various 0:22:16.520 --> 0:22:19.600 representatives of the majority have argued that those who are 0:22:19.600 --> 0:22:23.720 contacted are overreacting, that they're jumping to conclusions that cannot 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:27.040 be supported by evidence, and they're just reaching for reasons 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:30.359 to be outraged at the government. So they're essentially saying 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:35.359 we're being unfairly targeted by these criticisms. I'm sure more 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:39.520 well unfold, but it'll be interesting to see how Apple 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:45.440 navigates this because obviously it's a pretty thorny political situation, 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:50.120 so we'll have to wait and see. Okay, I've got 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:53.399 some more tech news items to cover before we conclude 0:22:53.440 --> 0:23:07.440 this episode, but first let's take another quick break. Are 0:23:07.480 --> 0:23:10.840 you ready for some football and by that I mean 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:14.960 American football? And also were you ready for it last Sunday? 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:17.600 And if you were, did you find yourself frustrated when 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:21.160 using YouTube in order to watch football? All right, let 0:23:21.160 --> 0:23:25.320 me back up a bit. So YouTube secured a contract 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:29.159 to carry the NFL Sunday ticket product that originally was 0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:32.840 with DirectTV. Now it's an add on to the YouTube 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:38.679 TV service NFL Sunday Ticket gives subscribers the ability to 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:42.440 tune into the various NFL games, the American football games 0:23:42.440 --> 0:23:45.240 of the National Football League that are playing on any 0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:49.200 given Sunday during football season, regardless of where you happen 0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:53.119 to live. It is a very expensive add on. It 0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:56.160 starts at three hundred and forty nine dollars per year, 0:23:56.200 --> 0:24:00.199 and remember football season doesn't go all year long. This 0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:03.200 is also on top of the YouTube TV subscription, which 0:24:03.240 --> 0:24:07.359 is more than seventy dollars per month, so that starts 0:24:07.400 --> 0:24:10.399 to add up real quick. You sports fans have to 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:12.960 pay a whole bunch of moulah to watch your stuff. 0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:15.639 I feel like I shouldn't complain about all the different 0:24:15.640 --> 0:24:21.080 streaming services I subscribe to at this point, because yikes. Anyway, 0:24:21.600 --> 0:24:25.240 for the first seven weeks of this current season, YouTube's 0:24:25.320 --> 0:24:28.000 version of the NFL Sunday Tickets seem to be working 0:24:28.440 --> 0:24:32.679 just fine. But this past Sunday users encountered issues with 0:24:32.840 --> 0:24:36.399 lag and buffering times, and for some of the games, 0:24:36.440 --> 0:24:40.760 those issues lasted well into the second half of the game. Understandably, 0:24:41.440 --> 0:24:43.640 a lot of customers are upset. I mean, if you're 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:48.320 paying a premium price for a service, you expect premium 0:24:48.440 --> 0:24:52.600 quality in that service. And yeah, we all understand that 0:24:52.680 --> 0:24:56.560 technical errors can happen, and that systems can and do breakdown. 0:24:56.800 --> 0:24:59.800 That's just a fact of life. But when you're charging 0:24:59.840 --> 0:25:03.480 three three hundred and fifty dollars a season just to 0:25:03.520 --> 0:25:07.320 be able to let people see games on their television 0:25:07.400 --> 0:25:10.280 or computer screen, not even go to a game, but 0:25:10.400 --> 0:25:13.480 just see it at home, there is a certain expectation 0:25:13.560 --> 0:25:17.159 that the service is gonna work as advertised. YouTube posted 0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:19.280 a message indicating that the company was aware of the 0:25:19.320 --> 0:25:22.320 problem and was working on it, but as I was 0:25:22.359 --> 0:25:25.159 writing this episode, it didn't have any further details about 0:25:25.200 --> 0:25:28.560 what actually caused the problem that might be public by 0:25:28.560 --> 0:25:31.479 the time you hear this, but I hadn't seen it 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:34.440 when I was actually putting the episode together. The game 0:25:34.520 --> 0:25:38.600 company Ubisoft is ending online service for ten of the 0:25:38.640 --> 0:25:44.000 company's titles. That includes Assassin's Creed two, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, 0:25:44.320 --> 0:25:47.600 and Assassin's Creed Revelations, all three of which were very 0:25:47.640 --> 0:25:52.080 popular titles. This means that the online features for those 0:25:52.200 --> 0:25:55.720