1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,479 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio. And how the tech 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: are you. It's time for the tech news for Tuesday, 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: June sixth, twenty twenty three. And I'm sure you've already 6 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: heard all about it, but yesterday Apple finally unveiled one 7 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: of the worst kept secrets in the industry, the company's 8 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: mixed reality headset. Apple calls it the Vision Pro and 9 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 1: that pro part should tip you off that the company's 10 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: target audience is business users. Certainly, the three five hundred 11 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: dollars price tag puts it out of the reach for 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: most consumers, though I'm sure there will still be several 13 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: tech enthusiasts who have deep pockets who are going to 14 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: shell out the dough to be one of the first 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: to own the headset. By the way, Business Insider reports 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: that there was a collective grown in response to hearing 17 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: that price tag during the Worldwide Developer Conference, or WWDC 18 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: That's where this announcement happened. Apple ended up confirming a 19 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: lot of rumors that had been circulating about this headset 20 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: for months now. It is a pass through system that 21 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: means the headset has an opaque screen, like it's a 22 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: display that has a solid back to it, and it 23 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: uses cameras to capture live video and then feed that 24 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: to the display in front of the user's eyes, so 25 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: you're not actually looking through the headset, you're looking at 26 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,199 Speaker 1: a live video feed on what's on the other side 27 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: of the headset, now, the opposite side from your peepers, 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: the part that other people can see. There is a 29 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: display that looks kind of like you're wearing ski goggles 30 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: on top of a headset, and this display can show 31 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: your eyes to people who are looking at you, or 32 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: rather an image of your eyes, so it doesn't look 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: like you just have a screen strapped to your face, 34 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: even though that's exactly what you do have personally. The 35 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: video demonstration I saw made it look kind of creepy, 36 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: kind of like Uncanny Valley ish, but that could just 37 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: be me. The system works with gesture controls. I think 38 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: these controls actually look really impressive. Like Apple's great at 39 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: things like user interfaces and gesture controls. One of their 40 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: strongest suits, I would argue is in their user interfaces, 41 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: and this seems to be no exception. I thought that 42 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: the gestures looked really compelling, like it was really cool 43 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: how you could navigate through the system, So I like 44 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: the interface as presented in Tim Cook's keynote. I still 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: don't think the technology really has the applicability for mainstream 46 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: audiences or even for most businesses. I don't think it 47 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: has enough utility to warrant being an actual thing yet, 48 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: but that could be a Chicken and the Egg sort 49 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,119 Speaker 1: of problem. And by that I mean until we see 50 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: some really amazing features, you know, like killer apps that 51 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: are designed for the hardware, we can't fully grasp how 52 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: useful that hardware will be. But then unless there's a 53 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: good amount of support for the hardware and demand for 54 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: the hardware, well there'll be very little incentive for developers 55 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: to make those killer apps in the first place. I 56 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: think Apple's tech looks really impressive, limited in use, but 57 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: also price to a point where it will be a 58 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: real challenge to make it a success. And obviously this 59 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: is a big step down from what Tim Cook had 60 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: hoped for initially, namely a technology that would fit in 61 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: the form factor of a normal pair of eyeglasses that 62 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: actually have transparent lenses in them. But maybe this is 63 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: just a case of having to learn to crawl before 64 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: we can learn to walk, or run or even fly. 65 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: I'm very curious about whether this product is going to 66 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: end up being a foundational cornerstone of Apple's business in 67 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: the future. I have my doubts, but I would love 68 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: to be proven wrong, because despite all my skepticism, I 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: really think augmented reality is super cool and potentially it's 70 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: a game changer for lots of different applications. Also, the 71 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: headset is technically capable of VR, but Apple kind of 72 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: ignored that in the presentation. From what I understand, representatives 73 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 1: were adamant about not talking about virtual reality at all. 74 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: It was pretty much all augmented reality or AR all 75 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: the time. Perhaps this was to highlight the pro stuff 76 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: even more because I think VR typically gets put into 77 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,239 Speaker 1: a bucket that is associated with gaming, even though VR 78 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: can be more than just gaming, it's just that's what 79 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,040 Speaker 1: it's primarily associated with. Anyway, if you've got three thousand, 80 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: four hundred ninety nine American dollars burning a hole in 81 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: your pocket, you can unburden yourself a that cash. In 82 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: early twenty twenty four to get a pair of the suckers. 83 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: I should add that the Vision Pro was really just 84 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: a one more thing moment at the WWDC, which harkens 85 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:16,719 Speaker 1: back to how Steve Jobs would drop a bombshell of 86 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: an announcement at the end of lots of other announcements. 87 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: So that means that Apple also unveiled tons of other 88 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: stuff besides this mixed reality or if you prefer, augmented 89 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: reality headset. So that includes a new fifteen inch MacBook 90 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: air which will be available starting next week. You can 91 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: preorder it now for one two hundred and ninety nine dollars. 92 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: This would be the largest screen yet for the MacBook 93 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: air Line. The next generation of Mac Pro and the 94 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: Mac Studio computers will get Apple's latest M two Ultra 95 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: microprocessor that boosts the power of those two computers considerably. 96 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: The price tag on those really drive home the increase 97 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 1: in power, so Mac Studio comes in at a starting 98 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: price of two thousand dollars. That's the starting price for 99 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: the base model. If you're talking about the Mac Pro, well, 100 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: that starts at seven grand. Yowza. Apple also unveiled new 101 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 1: features for iOS seventeen, including a standby mode, so if 102 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: you are charging your iPhone and you have it mounted 103 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 1: so it's horizontal. It can act as a kind of 104 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: smart display if you want. Apple also showed off widgets. Hey, 105 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: y'all remember widgets, Like widgets were a big thing like 106 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: fifteen years ago. Well they're back, baby, just like POGs 107 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: out's back in pog form. Well they're on pretty much 108 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: everything now. Widgets are like Apple showed off widgets all 109 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: over the ding dang darn place, including the Apple Watch. 110 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: And there were a lot more announcements, but it gets 111 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: into some pretty nitty gritty stuff with Apple, and I've 112 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: got a lot more news to cover, so I'm just 113 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: gonna leave that for now, and people who are really 114 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: really into Apple can look into it further. There are 115 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: no shortage of articles out there about all the announcements 116 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: at WWDC. Moderators at stack overflow, which is a software 117 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: developer forum, are on strike, at least some of them 118 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: are now. First of all, these moderators are volunteers, so 119 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: it's not like they are paid to be moderators of 120 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: this forum. They're upset due to a change in forum 121 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: policy dictated by stack Exchange, which is organization that owns 122 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: stack Overflow and the moderators have been told that they 123 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: are not allowed to moderate AI generated content just for 124 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: being AI generated. So moderators have been arguing that generative 125 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: AI is untrustworthy, that it can present incorrect information but 126 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: do so in a way where it's acted as if 127 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: it's factual and reliable info, and that generative responses could 128 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: potentially include hallucinations just made up stuff. And that is 129 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: true as we've seen. Generative AI attempts to construct relevant 130 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: answers to queries, but can on occasion just make stuff 131 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: up if it lacks relevant information to use in its place. Plus, 132 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: as moderators have pointed out, it can also engage in plagiarism. 133 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: It can present work that others have created without giving 134 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: proper credit, which is a big no. Note. The moderators 135 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: are also concerned that the policy will mean that the 136 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: value of information across the forums will go into decline, 137 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 1: that there won't be guardrails place to prevent misinformation and 138 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: mistakes from proliferating across the forums that in turn could 139 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: help developers as they try to create the next generation 140 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: of apps and software. So the moderators also have said 141 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 1: that this change in policy was communicated one way in 142 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: private to the moderators themselves, but in a totally different 143 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: way when it was communicated to the public at large 144 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: within the forums, and they say that this is a 145 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: problem with transparency within the organization. Stack Overflow says that 146 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 1: only slightly more than ten percent of moderators have refused 147 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: to work as part of this strike. And further, the 148 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: change in policy wasn't due to misplaced trust in AI. 149 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: It's not to say, oh no, we totally trust AI 150 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: to give the right answers. Instead, it was more an 151 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:36,079 Speaker 1: indication that stack overflows AI detection duel is not very good, 152 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: that their detection duel creates a lot of false positives, 153 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: meaning it will flag posts that were actually written by 154 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: a real human being as being AI generated. So, in 155 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 1: other words, the concern is that moderators could end up 156 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: removing posts that were written by people simply because a 157 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 1: faulty tool said it had been created by AI. And 158 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: this just creates a very complicated problem. We see here 159 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: that the moderators have a good point, right, you don't 160 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: want misinformation to spread across your forums and to make 161 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: life more difficult for developers. On the flip side, you 162 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: don't want to start striking content off the forums because 163 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: a tool told you it was made by AI, when 164 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: in fact it was created by people. So yeah, complicated 165 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: issue here. Okay, we're going to take a quick break. 166 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: When we come back, we've got some more tech news 167 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: to talk about. We're back. So this week marks the 168 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: first week for Linda Yakarino as Twitter's new CEO. Elon 169 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: Musk has relinquished control. I mean, he's staying on at 170 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: Twitter in various capacities, So maybe it's a bit grandiose 171 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: for me to say he's relinquished control, but he's at 172 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: least stepped back from the chief leadership position at the company, 173 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: and it is also a notable step in Twitter's journey 174 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: toward trying to re establish confidence with advertisers and users. 175 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: Musk also intends for Twitter to transform into an everything app, 176 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: something that encompasses everything from communication to commerce and beyond, 177 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: and this is something he's talked about a lot in 178 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,680 Speaker 1: the past, So he says that's part of Linda's job 179 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: is to kind of guide Twitter through this transition, which 180 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: maybe that'll still happen, but I feel like it's going 181 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: to take an awful lot of work to repair Twitter's 182 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: image to make that a successful app. It is very 183 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: hard to be a successful app if you have alienated 184 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,360 Speaker 1: a ton of the user base and corporate partners. Right, 185 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: there's a lot of bad blood between Twitter and tons 186 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: of different other entities. So this is a pretty tall 187 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: mountain to climb. So hopefully Linda Yakarina will be able 188 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: to do this. I actually I wish her all the best. 189 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: I hope Musk isn't too involved in day to day decisions. 190 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: I also assume Tesla stockholders are hoping for that as well. 191 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: They've long been complaining that Elon Musk has spent way 192 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: too much of his time and energy on Twitter at 193 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: the expense of Tesla. So let us be cautiously optimistic 194 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: that things will change for the better, and we'll just 195 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 1: have to keep eyes on it in the meantime. Last 196 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: week I mentioned that a developer who created a third 197 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: party Reddit app said he was going to have to 198 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 1: shut down the app due to reddits change with its 199 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: policy for its API or application programming interface. So Reddit 200 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:48,080 Speaker 1: is going to charge developers for requests that are made 201 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,080 Speaker 1: to the Reddit platform. And by that I mean the 202 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: more frequently an app references Reddit, and the more people 203 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: who are using the app, the more expensive it will 204 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,080 Speaker 1: be for them to to maintain that relationship. The developers 205 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: will be made held responsible for paying a bill. Essentially, 206 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: Reddits Tim Rathschmidt said the reason for this decision is 207 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: that the company has to spend millions of dollars in 208 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: hosting fees, and that means that the more people use 209 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: the platform, the more expensive it is to run the platform, 210 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: and that these third party apps can drive up that 211 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: usage quite a bit, and thus Reddit needs to offset 212 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: the costs by billing the app developers. If the apps 213 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: weren't so dang popular, it wouldn't be as expensive for 214 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: Reddit to be Reddit, but because of the increase in activity, 215 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,679 Speaker 1: Reddit needs to charge developers to recoup costs. That's essentially 216 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: the argument that Reddit is making. That explanation hasn't really 217 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: satisfied a lot of Reddit users, though, and several subreddits 218 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: are playing to go dark for a couple of days 219 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: this month to raise awareness and prote the change in policy. 220 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: And again, this comes down to a pretty complicated matter. 221 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: Reddit is not a not for profit organization. It's trying 222 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: to generate revenue. It's a business, and it does have 223 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: to pay hosting fees and if apps are driving those 224 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: fees up, the money to pay for those fees has 225 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: to come from somewhere. On the other hand, really useful 226 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: apps may not have a way to generate enough revenue 227 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: to pay what Reddit is demanding, So if they can't 228 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: raise the money to pay those fees and be a 229 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,640 Speaker 1: coherent business on their own, they have to fold. It 230 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: may be that the app is incredibly useful, but it's 231 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 1: not necessarily a big revenue generator, and thus it'll just 232 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: go away. That can ultimately lead to a situation where 233 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: users have no options other than the official Reddit app 234 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: to access Reddit, and then you get into a situation 235 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: where you're looking at non competitive practices and a potential 236 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: monopoly which would get Reddit in trouble with regulators. So again, 237 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: it's super complicated, and I can't pretend to have the 238 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: answers here. I don't have a solution that would solve 239 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: all of these issues across the board. Now it's crypto time. Gosh, 240 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: it feels like it's been a while since I've had 241 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: a bunch of cryptocurrency related stories. Once the fallout from 242 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: FTX collapsing kind of settled, things went a little quiet, 243 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: but we are off to the races again. So first up, 244 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: the United States Securities Exchange Commission or SEC has filed 245 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: more than a dozen charges against Binance, the world's largest 246 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: crypto exchange, and its founder, Chong pen Jao akacz So. 247 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: Among those charges are that Binance has operated as an 248 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: unlicensed securities exchange and also that the company has co 249 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: mingled customer funds with the company's own funds. That's not 250 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: that different from what was going on over at FTX 251 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: before it collapsed. By the way, there are also accusations 252 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: that Binance has used its US subsidiary, Aabinance dot Us 253 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 1: as a kind of smoke screen, that Binance dot Us 254 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: was created to make an illusion of obeying the law, 255 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: but then the larger international Binance was operating outside of 256 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: the law and was actually pulling all the strings. All 257 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: the transactions were really happening at this higher layer where 258 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: it's the wild West. Actually I would say it's not 259 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: even the wild West, because even in the wild West 260 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: you still had laws. Anyway, these charges appeared to be 261 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: supported by the testimony of two previous CEOs for Binance 262 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: dot Us. That's not good. These two CEOs, who were 263 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: not named but were former CEOs of the company said 264 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: it became pretty clear that they were a little more 265 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: than window dressing and that CZ was really the guy 266 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: calling the shots, or, as one of the two unnamed 267 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: CEOs apparently said, quote, I'm not actually the one right 268 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: this company and the mission that I believe I signed 269 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: up for isn't the mission And as soon as I 270 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: realize that I left end quote. Seems to be a 271 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: pretty big blow to Binance's claims that everything is on 272 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,640 Speaker 1: the up and up. CZ for his part, denies all 273 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:18,360 Speaker 1: these charges. He says they are meritless, that Binance operates 274 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: within the boundaries of the law and has been cooperative 275 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: with the SEC, and that there's nothing to see here. 276 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: We'll see about that. This also has not satisfied some investors, 277 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 1: who understandably are a little bit concerned about the whole thing, 278 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,439 Speaker 1: particularly after the drama that was ftx's collapse and the 279 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 1: collapse of several other crypto related companies in the past year. 280 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: Reuter's reports that since the SEC filed those charges, investors 281 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: have pulled nearly eight hundred million dollars of assets from 282 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: the crypto exchange. Now that's not to say that money 283 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,879 Speaker 1: isn't also flowing in. It is. It's just that, at 284 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: least for some cryptocurrencies, more money is going out than 285 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: is coming in. So, namely, in Ethereum, seven hundred and 286 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:07,640 Speaker 1: seventy eight point six million dollars have left the exchange 287 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: in a net loss. So eight hundred and seventy one 288 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: million in ethereum entered Binance, but more than one point 289 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: six billion in ethereum left it. Now, it's too early 290 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,280 Speaker 1: to say what the long term effects, if any, the 291 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: SEC's charges are going to have to Binance. It may 292 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,879 Speaker 1: just be another little roadbump for Binance. It could be 293 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 1: something much more serious, which I know comes across as 294 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: super wishy washy, but literally, I think it's too early 295 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 1: to draw any conclusions. I'm not ready to say, oh, 296 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: this is the beginning of the end, because it may 297 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: not be. Binance has been through a lot and has 298 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: stuck around, so whether or not this will just be 299 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 1: another little footnote in its history remains to be seen. However, 300 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: Binance is not the only crypto exchange in SEC's crosshairs. 301 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 1: The agency also sued Coinbase this morning, accusing the company 302 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: of behaving as an unregistered broker and exchange. SEC chair 303 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: Gary Ginsler elaborated on this and pointed out that the 304 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 1: New York Stock Exchange is not allowed to operate both 305 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: as a stock exchange and also a hedge fund company, 306 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: but that Coinbase combines a lot of services across different 307 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: financial institutions that effectively means they're trying to be all 308 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 1: things to all investors, despite the fact that regulations would 309 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: say that that's not allowed. So the complaint says that 310 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 1: Coinbase's core businesses break securities laws. Now, again, this is 311 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: in the very early stages of a legal process, so 312 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: it is too soon to predict how this is going 313 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 1: to affect Coinbase in particular and the larger crypto community 314 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: in general. It could be that the process forces Coinbase 315 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: to fundamentally change how it operates, or also to pay 316 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 1: a settlement perhaps a side Maybe it would go even 317 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: more extreme, maybe Coinbase would be forced to shut down. 318 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,239 Speaker 1: Or it could pan out that Coinbase successfully argues it 319 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,719 Speaker 1: hasn't broken any laws at all. However, one thing that 320 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: is clear is the struggle between regulators and the crypto 321 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: community is going on strong. It's not going to stop 322 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: anytime soon. Okay, I've got a couple of bizarre stories 323 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,639 Speaker 1: that I need to talk about. But before we get 324 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:40,640 Speaker 1: to those, let's take another quick break. Okay, y'all. I'm 325 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: actually kind of reluctant to talk about these next couple 326 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: of stories because I feel like it's very difficult to 327 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,679 Speaker 1: approach them in a way that is responsible. But at 328 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: the same time, I feel like I have to or 329 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,920 Speaker 1: else people will ask me why I didn't talk about them. 330 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: So first up, NASA held its first public meeting about 331 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: unexploed anomalous phenomena or UAP. So once upon a time 332 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,440 Speaker 1: we would refer to this stuff as UFOs or unidentified 333 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:15,399 Speaker 1: flying objects. I actually prefer unexplained anomalous phenomena because, for 334 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: one thing, not every UFO incident is actually involving an object. 335 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: Sometimes it's not an object, it's an illusion, and an 336 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:27,399 Speaker 1: illusion is not a thing, so object is a misleading term. 337 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,880 Speaker 1: For another, not every incident actually involves something that's flying, 338 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: so flying can be an inaccurate term. Some UAP ends 339 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:41,879 Speaker 1: up being just a really mundane situation that can be misinterpreted. 340 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: So here's an example. There can be a pilot who's 341 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: flying at night over the ocean on a particularly cloudy evening, 342 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: and the clouds could obscure the pilot's view of the Moon, 343 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,160 Speaker 1: but the Moon's light might still hit the water at 344 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: some distance and create a reflection. Now, the pilot can't 345 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: see the Moon, but the pilot can see the reflection, 346 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,439 Speaker 1: and because it's dark, it might not be easy to 347 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,719 Speaker 1: tell that this is just a reflection on the surface 348 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,119 Speaker 1: of the water. It's just to the pilot it looks 349 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: like a light off on the horizon. And next thing 350 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: the pilot knows, this light seems to be traveling with them, 351 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 1: and it seems to maneuver in strange ways as the 352 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: pilot moves course. But in fact there's nothing flying at all, 353 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: unless you count the Moon. I don't the moon already 354 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: thinks it's so big? Yeah, I see you, Moon, not 355 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: getting any props from me anyway. According to the report 356 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 1: that NASA gave at this meeting, all but two to 357 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: five percent of the hundreds of UAP reports are something 358 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: that we could easily explain, right, All but two to 359 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: five percent of those those remaining incidents quote display signatures 360 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,120 Speaker 1: that could be anomalous end too quote. Now, of course 361 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: that doesn't mean anything, right. They could be anomalist or 362 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:07,439 Speaker 1: they could be totally normal. And mundane. We lack the 363 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:12,560 Speaker 1: information to be able to make a judgment. So saying 364 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: that we don't have enough information isn't the same as 365 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: saying there's stuff out there that defies explanation and must 366 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: be non terrestrial or at least non human in origin. 367 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: I'm sure some people are frustrated that NASA didn't go 368 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: so far as to say, I don't know, maybe it's aliens, 369 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: but to go that far would require extraordinary proof. Now 370 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: there's another story that I feel I have to tell 371 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 1: that ties into this kind of concept as well, and 372 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: it's because it's getting a lot of circulation as I'm 373 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: recording this episode. So The Debrief published a very long 374 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,439 Speaker 1: article by Leslie Keene and Ralph Blumenthal this week that 375 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: details claims from a person they name as David Charles Grush, who, 376 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,400 Speaker 1: according to the article, is a former Department of Defense operative. 377 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,680 Speaker 1: He worked for the Department of Defense in various capacities 378 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: and has said that the United States has in its 379 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: possession intact vehicles and parts of vehicles of quote unquote 380 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: exotic origin, meaning created by non human intelligence. That is 381 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 1: obviously a truly extraordinary claim, and the report, like I said, 382 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: it's spreading like wildfire. As I record this episode, everyone 383 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: seems to just be referencing this one article, Like, I 384 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 1: haven't seen any investigative journalism that went to verify this article. 385 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: They're just kind of using the article as the foundation 386 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,959 Speaker 1: and then repeating claims that were made in it. So 387 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: I want to raise a couple of red flags. None 388 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,159 Speaker 1: of this is to say that the article is inherently untrustworthy. 389 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 1: It's just stuff that makes me a little skeptical. So, 390 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: first off, the authors of this article, Leslie Keane and 391 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: Ralph Blumenthal, they are both notable journalists, all right, They 392 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: have long careers in journalism, distinguished careers. However, they are 393 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,879 Speaker 1: also both published authors who have written books in the 394 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:17,359 Speaker 1: UFO and aliens space. So that raises some red flags 395 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: for me immediately. I don't know if that means they 396 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:25,919 Speaker 1: are predisposed to believing extraordinary claims that involve things like 397 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: UFOs or UAPs, but it does concern me because they've 398 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: already been writing about this stuff for a while and 399 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: these claims never seem to ever produce anything, right. We 400 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: hear about them occasionally, but we never actually see anything produced. Secondly, 401 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 1: I tried to find some information about David Grush earlier 402 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 1: before I started writing this episode. But my search has 403 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:58,119 Speaker 1: pulled up nothing other than variations of this article. So, 404 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,240 Speaker 1: like I said, it's spreading like wildfire right now. So 405 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,119 Speaker 1: when I did a search for his name, I just 406 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,639 Speaker 1: got countless versions of this story, and again it all 407 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,919 Speaker 1: seemed like they were kind of summarizing what was already 408 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: published in the debrief, but not verifying anything other than 409 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: one exception. I did find one web page on a 410 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: defunct Space Force website for the Shriever Space Force Base 411 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 1: that had a person named David Grush who was promoted 412 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: to the rank of captain. David Grush was one name, 413 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: along with dozens of others of lieutenants who had received 414 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,359 Speaker 1: this promotion. That's the only other instance I could find 415 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: of David Grush's name. That's not to say that other 416 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,400 Speaker 1: stuff doesn't exist out there, maybe it's just buried under 417 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 1: these recent reports. But what I'm saying is these sort 418 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,840 Speaker 1: of things make me remain skeptical. Now. If it comes 419 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,399 Speaker 1: to pass that these are in fact real reports of 420 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:03,119 Speaker 1: real vehicles from non human intelligence, that would be beyond disruptive. 421 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,360 Speaker 1: As it stands, it would be pretty darn and credible 422 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: because it would mean either some sort of non terrestrial 423 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,879 Speaker 1: entity has visited us, and you know, we haven't detected 424 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:20,159 Speaker 1: any evidence of intelligent life anywhere within our vicinity, and 425 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,879 Speaker 1: our own history of radio communications only dates back a 426 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 1: little more than a century, which means for anyone to 427 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 1: have known about us, to know that we exist, would 428 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: require them to be within say a hundred light years 429 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 1: of Earth. That then you have to think about actually 430 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:43,440 Speaker 1: traveling to Earth, Right, Why would anyone travel to Earth randomly? 431 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: I mean, maybe just by chance, but that seems to 432 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: be pretty crazy to think about. But if they're coming 433 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,360 Speaker 1: here because they've detected life, well then they would need 434 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: to be you know, probably within a hundred light years 435 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,399 Speaker 1: of us, and then they would have to have some 436 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 1: means of try travel that could take them to Earth 437 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: within you know, one hundred one hundred years, and that 438 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 1: just seems like that's a big commitment. It's just it's 439 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:17,280 Speaker 1: hard to align all of this so that it makes sense, 440 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: because to travel to Earth would require a lot of time. 441 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 1: We know that matter cannot travel at the speed of light, 442 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 1: so if something's one hundred light years away, it's going 443 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: to take way way, way longer. For a physical craft 444 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: to travel that distance, barring some weird wormhole technology, which 445 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: I guess is possibly within the realm of possibility, but 446 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: would require such an enormous amount of energy that, again, 447 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 1: the investment to going to Earth would be so great 448 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: that it's hard to imagine why anyone would agree to 449 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: do it. So I guess what I'm saying is that 450 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: there are a ton of factors that would have to 451 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: fall into place, some of which appear to contradict our 452 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: understand ending how the universe works for this to actually 453 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:08,120 Speaker 1: be true. Now, there is another possibility. You could argue, well, 454 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: maybe the discovery of non human intelligence created materials doesn't 455 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: mean that it came from outside of Earth. It just 456 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: means there was some sort of non human intelligence present 457 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 1: on Earth at some point that made a vehicle. That 458 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: also seems unlikely to me, because you would think that 459 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: there would be more evidence that would have been uncovered 460 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: independently of these activities, and that not all of those 461 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: could potentially have been kept quiet by some cabal of 462 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: official government agencies. So I'm just saying red flags abound. Now, 463 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 1: maybe the whole story is true. Maybe it is, but 464 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: it will require extraordinary proof to actually have me, you know, 465 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 1: come around to that. As it stands, I remain very 466 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: very skeptic, and uh yeah, I'm not even saying that 467 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: anyone is telling an outright lie necessarily, just that it 468 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: doesn't it doesn't pass the smell test for me. But 469 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,280 Speaker 1: I also admit that I could be completely wrong about this. 470 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 1: I don't feel like I am, but I could be. Now. 471 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: Our last story is partly goofy and partly a warning 472 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 1: about the excesses of venture capital activity. The information reports 473 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: that the company Zoom spelled zume is no more, and 474 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:38,400 Speaker 1: that is notable because that startup launched in twenty fifteen 475 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 1: and raised nearly four hundred and fifty million dollars in funding, 476 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 1: and yet has now gone out of business. Initially, the 477 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: company aimed to bring pizza delivery into the future, so 478 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 1: the business model would combine robotics with essentially food trucks. 479 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,800 Speaker 1: So the idea was that a customer would order a pizza, 480 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,400 Speaker 1: you know, like through an app or whatever, and the 481 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: food truck driver would get a notification to drive to 482 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: that customer's location. Meanwhile, in the food truck part, a 483 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:12,560 Speaker 1: robot in the truck would actually make the pizza so 484 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,400 Speaker 1: it'd be cooked to order, so you get a really 485 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: fresh pizza this way, right, the pizza's actually being cooked 486 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: as it's being delivered to you. Apparently, this business model 487 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: was a bust. The company spent way more money than 488 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 1: it was generating in revenue, and apparently part of the 489 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 1: problem was that the cheese would slide it all over 490 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,800 Speaker 1: the place if the truck hit any bumps in the road, 491 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: so you would end up with a substandard pizza as 492 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 1: a result of all this, so that is an issue. 493 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: The company attempted to pivot by going to a more 494 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: traditional like stationary food truck route with still maybe using delivery, 495 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 1: but the food truck itself wasn't the one moving around. 496 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: You would have the food truck be stationary with the 497 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: robot making its pizzas. But this also didn't end up 498 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 1: being a sustainable business. Then the company changed directions completely. 499 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: It totally dumped the pizza business and instead switched to 500 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: designing sustainable packaging. That is a pretty big change in 501 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: your business model. Anyway, that didn't work either, and last 502 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 1: month the company folded, according to the information. So the 503 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: story illustrates that venture capital can frequently dump a ton 504 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: of money into businesses that aren't really viable. And you 505 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,920 Speaker 1: might think at first that too much money isn't really 506 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,280 Speaker 1: that bad of a problem, but it definitely can be. 507 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,800 Speaker 1: It can lead to very bad decisions that in the 508 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: long run, will doom a startup. We saw it again 509 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,240 Speaker 1: and again leading up to the dot com bubble bursting 510 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: a couple of decades ago, and yet it seems as 511 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: though the investment world hasn't really taken those lessons to heart. 512 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: Well in the meantime, farewell zoom, we hardly knew ye, 513 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: And now I'm craving pizza. Finally, I would like to 514 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: recommend an article that is a really good piece to read, 515 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,880 Speaker 1: but it kind of goes beyond a news item. So 516 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: today I want to recommend an article that was published 517 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 1: June first in The New Yorker. It's titled A Confession 518 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: Exposes India's Secret Hacking Industry. It was written by David D. Kirkpatrick. 519 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 1: It explains how India is the source or maybe I 520 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: should say outsource of hacking assets used by various entities 521 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,520 Speaker 1: around the world. It's a good read and you should 522 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,560 Speaker 1: definitely check it out again. That is A Confession exposes 523 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: India's secret hacking industry in the New Yorker, and as 524 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 1: always I have no connection to the New Yorker. I 525 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: do not know David Kirkpatrick. This was just an article 526 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,600 Speaker 1: I thought was worth reading. That's it for today's news episode. 527 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: I hope you are all well. We will not have 528 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,240 Speaker 1: a news episode on Thursday. If all goes as planned, 529 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,440 Speaker 1: we will have a full length tech Stuff episode in 530 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 1: its place, unless things change. But as it stands right now, 531 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: that's the plan because that's what I recorded. But we 532 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 1: will see. I hope everything's going well for you, like 533 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,600 Speaker 1: I said that already, and I'll talk to you again 534 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:14,120 Speaker 1: really soon. Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For more 535 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:18,960 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 536 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.