WEBVTT - Tech News: Tech Companies in the Hot Seat 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:12.559 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Okay, hey there, 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:16.360 and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.599 I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcast. Send How the 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:22.279 tech are you? It's time for the tech news for 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:26.560 the week ending on March twenty second, twenty twenty four. 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:30.480 And last week I dedicated an entire episode to how 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:33.040 the US House of Representatives voted in favor of a 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.360 bill to force TikTok's parent company, Byte Dance to either 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:41.040 sell TikTok off or face a national band for the app. 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.159 And I've got a couple of follow ups on that story. 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.080 And to be clear, that particular bill still has to 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:50.440 pass in the US Senate, which isn't a guarantee. In fact, 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:52.440 it's not even a guarantee that the bill will come 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.360 up for a vote in the Senate before it could 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:57.800 be signed into law, so it's not a done deal. 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.960 So first up, in that episode, I heavily criticized the 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.679 US government for being far too myopic and focusing just 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:08.720 on TikTok instead of looking at the larger picture in 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.399 which data brokers collect and sell information from a host 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:16.520 of different services and devices. And platforms. I argued that 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.360 TikTok doesn't need to have a parent company that merits 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.959 the quote unquote foreign adversary label in order for it 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.080 to be a threat or a concern. I guess some 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:28.920 folks in the House were thinking of the same thing, 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.959 because this week the House of Representatives voted to pass 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:36.360 a bill called the Protecting Americans Data from Foreign Adversaries Act. 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:38.720 So this bill would make it against the law for 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:44.640 data brokers to sell American citizen data to foreign adversaries 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:48.840 such as China, Russia, or North Korea or entities that 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:53.000 work within those countries. So it wouldn't matter where this 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:57.120 information came from, whether it came from TikTok or Facebook 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.640 or Google or Apple or any other entity that regularly 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.520 trades and the zeros and ones that relate to American 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:07.600 citizens information. If this has passed into law, the Federal 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:12.080 Trade Commission or FTC, will be able to penalize data 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:15.000 brokers that are found to have violated the law. And 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:18.359 I think this is a modest improvement. It removes that 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:23.800 laser focus from really a single company, that being TikTok. However, 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:28.919 all that being said, it's still a pretty modest bump. Personally, 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:32.480 I don't think foreign adversaries are really the only entities 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.160 that we should be concerned about when it comes to 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:39.320 protecting our privacy and personal information. I think domestic companies 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:43.640 can be just as dangerous, like Meta or Google. That 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:46.880 being said, the Verge reports that lawmakers behind this most 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:50.320 recent act are hopeful that the recent ground swell of 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:52.519 support that these measures have had, at least in the 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:56.560 House of Representatives, could build momentum to a more comprehensive 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:59.799 privacy protection set of laws down the road here in 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.200 the United States, which you know, I sure hope that 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:06.480 that's the case, because it's long overdue. Meanwhile, over at Gizmoto, 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.320 Thomas Jermaine has a piece titled politicians who voted to 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:13.000 ban TikTok may own as much as one hundred and 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:17.480 twenty six million dollars in tech stocks. So Germaine points 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:20.960 out that the stock ownership could indicate a conflict of 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:25.360 interest with regard to the TikTok. Brewjaha that the companies 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:29.120 that some of these politicians have heavily invested in are 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.520 ones that potentially could benefit if something were to you, 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:36.400 though happened to TikTok sure would be a shame. Could 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:40.440 be that these politicians are not even entirely motivated out 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.960 of concern for protecting US citizens, as hard as that 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:46.280 is to believe, they might not be acting in our 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:50.119 best interests, and instead maybe they're hopeful that by slapping 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.640 a Chinese owned company around, they could see their own 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:55.960 stock portfolio flourish. I don't know if that's the case, 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.040 but I will say that once again, at the end 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.080 of the day, it really doesn't even matter what the 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.680 truth is, because as long as there is a perception 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:05.760 that someone is acting more out of their own self 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:09.240 interest rather than a genuine desire to be a leader 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:12.880 and to protect their constituents, well that's enough to undermine 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:16.120 confidence in that person. In fact, Jermaine's piece and Gizmoto 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.000 really explores that issue thoroughly. I recommend checking it out. 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.320 It's a well written piece and it quotes a lot 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:23.880 of different people who are saying I'm not saying that 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:28.320 these politicians are trying to engage in some form of 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.279 insider trading. What I'm saying is this isn't a good look, 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:36.359 and unfortunately it does end up hurting confidence in those leaders. 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.400 And why they are doing what they're doing, and they 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.480 need to address that. Now, let us turn our attention 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:45.520 to the US government targeting another big tech company, this 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.480 one firmly rooted in America itself. I'm talking about Apple. 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:53.560 The US Department of Justice has brought a lawsuit against Apple, 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:56.359 alleging that the company has made a monopoly out of 0:04:56.400 --> 0:05:00.440 the Apple iPhone ecosystem, and that the company had leveraged 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:04.279 its near total control over that ecosystem to drive corporate 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:08.360 valuation at the expense of pretty much anyone who wasn't 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.599 directly an Apple stakeholder, including folks like customers and developers, 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:14.880 and from a very high level, I don't think you 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:19.400 can really argue against that. It's pretty blatantly clear that 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:23.280 Apple has done that. They have nearly always been a 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:28.480 buttoned down company that practiced jealous control over all aspects 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:32.479 of its technological ecosystem. Now I say nearly always, because 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:34.800 there was a period of time when Steve Jobs had 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.159 been banished from Apple where things were a bit different, 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.640 but upon his return, they kind of came back to it. 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:44.840 This particular lawsuit cites a myriad of Apple decisions that 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:48.840 support the legal accusation of the company being anti competitive, 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:54.120 including the infamous Apple Messages issue. So the difference between 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.840 those green and blue bubbles and Apple Messages is one 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:00.920 of many choices that the Department of Justice says exists 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:05.080 solely to pressure customers into buying into and then staying within, 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.080 the Apple iPhone world. But that's just the tip of 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.520 the iceberg. The DOJ says that Apple has also purposefully 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:15.840 limited interoperability with technologies from other companies like smart watches 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:21.040 or digital wallets, which discourages iPhone owners from branching outside 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.000 the Apple world and kind of corrals them into buying 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.279 and using more Apple products. Now, I've said that for 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.200 years that Apple's very good at building stuff that works 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.080 great with other Apple stuff, but not so great with 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:36.479 working with other technologies. The iPod is a great example. 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:39.600 Early on, if you didn't have a Macintosh computer, there 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:41.840 was no reason to get an iPod because it wasn't 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:44.680 compatible with other types of computers. And even when it 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:48.760 was compatible, say like the Windows version of iTunes, was 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:53.080 so bloated and clunky that it would discourage you from 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:55.520 using it like it was almost it almost felt like 0:06:55.600 --> 0:07:00.240 Apple was intentionally trying to drive people to a band 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:04.360 and whatever other technologies they used in favor of Apple technologies, 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:08.080 because then everything worked really well. And so what the 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.520 DOJ is saying is that the company has continued to 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:13.920 do that, and it's doing it specifically in order to 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:17.160 decrease competition in the space. Now, there's a lot more 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.080 to the lawsuit than what I've already said, and I 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.800 am no legal expert, but on a surface level, it's 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:24.920 actually really hard for me to find much fault in 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.480 the argument. Now, that does not mean that it's going 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.200 to stand up in court. It might not, and Apple 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.560 says it vehemently disagrees with the premise of the lawsuit, 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.560 that in fact, that this constitutes a monopoly in the 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.040 first place, and that the company is going to fight 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.320 the lawsuit. Of course, the fact that Apple recently had 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:46.400 to comply with EU regulations that deal with similar issues 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.320 could mean that Apple is already on its back foot 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.600 on this matter. Now, I do have another Apple related 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:54.480 story I wanted to mention before we move on with 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:59.520 other news. Technica's Dan Gooden has a piece titled Unpatchable 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:04.840 Vulnerability in Apple chip leaks secret encryption keys, and as 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.040 I'm sure you can imagine, that is not a good thing. 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:11.360 The chips in question are Apple's M series of processors. 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:13.880 I highly recommend reading the piece if you want all 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.679 the technical details that the piece does go into great 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:20.400 technical detail, which I'm not going to do for this 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.160 news episode. But the challenge of fixing this problem is 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.920 that the vulnerability is actually built into the architecture of 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:30.840 the chips themselves, as in the physical layout of the 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:34.000 chips design. So that kind of thing is not easy 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.320 to fix. You know, you can't just take the chip 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:38.520 in to get an alteration. You would either need to 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:40.920 swap the chip out for a different one with a 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.960 completely different architecture, and that would still need to be 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:47.880 able to work with whatever device in question you're switching 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.440 out of. Right, Like, a different architecture doesn't necessarily mean 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.720 that it's going to be compatible with the computer you're using. 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:56.880 Or you know, you have to wait for a new 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.360 generation of devices that have a brand new chip in 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.079 them that don't does and include the flaw, Or you've 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:04.800 got to find some way to patch the issue and 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.880 try and work around it, and likely any patch you 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.960 create would really impact chip performance because the chip would 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.280 have to find a way to work that is counter 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:16.839 to the way the chip had been designed to work, 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:19.800 so there are no great solutions to this kind of 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.880 a problem, and the vulnerability could mean that malicious hackers 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:28.000 could steal cryptographic keys from Macintosh computers under the right circumstances, 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.679 which is not cool. But again, you should check out 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.840 the article in Ours Technica to get all the technical details. Okay, 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.480 we've got more news to go through before we get 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.160 to that, Let's take a quick break to thank our sponsors. 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:53.800 We're back, so I've got more government versus tech stories 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.480 to cover. A Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on the 0:09:56.520 --> 0:10:00.240 Securities in Exchange Commission or SEC in the US to 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.679 investigate Elon Musk and Tesla. This would not be the 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:07.360 first rodeo between the SEC and Tesla if this investigation 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.320 does in fact launch. There have been a few tussles 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.360 between Musk and the SEC in the past, as Musk 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.400 has shown quite a few times that apparently he sees 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:19.880 rules as being something that happened to other people. Anyway, 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.160 what is the reasoning behind this current push for an investigation. Well, 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.920 Warren says she is concerned there could be a quote 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:32.080 possible misappropriation of Tesla resources and conflicts of interest arising 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:36.120 from mister Musk's dual role at Tesla and X renamed 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.400 from Twitter end quote. This is something that some Tesla 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.240 shareholders have been arguing for some time, so at the 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.240 very least, they have said that Musk dividing his attention 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:49.040 between his electric vehicle car company that has been down 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:51.560 a pretty bumpy road for a couple of years now 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.400 and a trash fire of a social media platform isn't 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:58.319 really in the best interest for Tesla shareholders. I mean, 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:00.880 this was the reason why Musk named an new CEO 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:04.840 for X, even though Musk has not really stepped away 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:08.240 from X all that much. So. Warren alleges that the 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:12.800 board of directors over at Tesla is essentially stocked with Musks, 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.840 buddies and cronies, that it's it's a Musk controlled board 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.960 of directors, and that this is good for Elon Musk, 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:23.280 but it's not good for shareholders or for the company itself. 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:27.280 One might argue that Musk's compensation package serves as evidence 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.400 that this accusation has some merit to it. Warren also 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.440 cites Elon Musk himself, who has stated on X and 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:36.360 elsewhere that his desire to gain twenty five percent voting 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:39.720 power at TESLA is a very real concern of his, 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:41.960 and that if he doesn't get what he wants, he's 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:45.520 gonna make them sorry. Not in so many words, but 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:48.520 you know that's the gist of it. Musk has responded 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:52.960 in his own typical way by lobbying criticisms and accusations 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:56.200 and insults through his ex platform. So will we see 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.040 the SEC go after Musk yet again? And if so, 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:03.040 will the SEC again slap Musk with more penalties? I 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.400 would say probably, But that's largely because Musk makes it 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:09.960 really hard to not go after him. He just seems 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:13.520 intent on escalating situations. All right, But how about some 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:16.440 positive news related to one of Musk's endeavors for real, 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:20.880 I'm not being facetious here. Nolan Arba is the first 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:24.920 human recipient of a Neurlink brain computer interface system. So 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:28.840 Neurlink is one of Elon Musk's companies, and Arba is 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:32.160 a quadriplegic who opted into the surgery to have a 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.880 Neurlink interface implant, and he reports that he can now 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.160 control a cursor on a computer screen just by imagining 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:42.280 the cursor moving around and He's actually likened it to 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:45.800 being akin to using the Force in a Star Wars movie. 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.000 It's given him the ability to play Civilization six, which 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:50.920 is a turn based strategy game in one of his 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.840 favorite video games, and I think that's pretty awesome. So 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:57.600 our Ba says that the technology hasn't been flawless, it's 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:00.240 not without its issues, but that he's been given a 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.280 ton more agency than he experienced in the past. And 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:06.960 I think any technology that increases accessibility and gives folks 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:10.960 more autonomy is something that we should really be proud of, 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.480 and I think it's super cool. We also have to 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:18.199 remember that there still are concerns about Neuralink, including ethical 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:21.080 concerns about how the company has experimented on animals in 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:23.720 the process of developing this technology, and that perhaps it 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:27.080 hasn't done so responsibly, so we can't ignore that. But 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:29.559 I do think it's important that you know, I acknowledge 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.440 the stuff that is legitimately really cool, and I think 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:37.160 giving folks the ability to have computer access even if 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.240 they don't have command of their limbs, I think that's 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:44.040 really awesome. Back to various US government agencies that are 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.400 trying to hold tech companies to task. So next up, 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:50.119 I want to talk about the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:53.480 as well as the cable industry. So I'm largely drawing 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:56.720 from an article written by John Broadkin for Ours Technica. 0:13:56.800 --> 0:14:01.120 It's titled FCC bans cable TV industry favorite trick for 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.280 hiding full cost of service, So you might remember this 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:07.400 has been an ongoing issue. The FCC has argued that 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:11.920 cable companies regularly hide tons of fees in monthly bills, 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:14.840 so that the amount you have to pay is significantly 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:19.160 higher than the amount the cable companies advertise. So the 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:22.520 company might say, like, this is just a hypothetical example 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:26.720 that perhaps monthly service would cost forty nine dollars, But 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.680 this is before all these odd fees start to pop up, 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:33.120 and it balloons that figure to much higher levels every 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.640 billing cycle. So now the FCC has mandated that cable 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:40.760 companies include the all in price while they advertise services. 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:44.640 The cable company can't cite some stripped down version only 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:46.880 to pull the old switch ru when it's time to 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.000 actually build customers. Instead, they have to say what the 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:52.800 full cost is going to be instead of saying, oh 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:56.520 sorry that yeah, that was without the broadcast TV fee included, 0:14:56.760 --> 0:15:00.160 you know, or whatever. Cable companies are ticked off. No 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.280 big surprise there. Broadcod quotes a lobby group for the 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:07.360 industry that says, quote, micro management of advertising in today's 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:11.760 hyper competitive marketplace will force operators to either clutter their 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:16.040 ads with confusing disclosures or leave pricing information out entirely 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:18.280 end quote. And I just want to say, all right, 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:23.360 First of all, what do you mean by hyper competitive marketplace? 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:28.160 That is laughable? In the United States. There are tons 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.680 of households in the US that have little to no 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.080 choice in providers when it comes to things like terrestrial 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:38.920 television service. So where is this competition you're talking about 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:43.320 unless you're talking about competing with other forms like streaming services. 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:47.000 And yes, cable TV is dying out, but it's because 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:51.400 largely of the predatory practices and terrible service associated with 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:55.480 cable companies. Anyway, these new rules won't take effect for 0:15:55.520 --> 0:15:58.240 several more months, and there are a lot more processes 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:00.760 that are to follow, so you can easily imagine the 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.160 cable industry is likely to contest this and the FCC's 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:07.160 authority to even pass this in the first place. So 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.520 fun times. But I recommend the article in Ours Technica 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:13.479 if you want to know more of than details. Alexandra 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.440 Alper of Reuter's reported on the United Nations adopting a 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:21.640 global resolution that focuses on artificial intelligence and how countries 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:25.400 must commit to protecting human rights while making sure AI doesn't, 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:29.360 you know, go all terminator on US done those exact words, 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:32.160 mind you. So the US is actually the country that 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.480 proposed this resolution, China co sponsored it, and those are 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.320 you know, the two leading superpowers advancing AI technology in 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:42.080 the world today. And you know, we've seen numerous times 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.000 in the recent past that the way AI has been 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:48.920 advanced hasn't always been in the most peaceful or non 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.720 disruptive ways. So this resolution has passed, but it's also 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:57.400 a non binding resolution. So you could make an argument, 0:16:57.480 --> 0:16:59.760 and I certainly do that there is a lot of 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:04.240 circumstance going on here, but nothing really of substance. It's 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.479 kind of like leaders saying, yes, these are things that 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:10.359 we should definitely be concerned about, and then that's the 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:12.600 extent of it, and everything just keeps on going the 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.080 way it's been going, which is kind of frustrating. If 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:18.560 you ask me, I guess once we're all reduced to 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.960 hiding out in bunkers as the robots rampage overhead. We 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.400 can scold the various world leaders for not actually doing 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:29.639 anything substantial about safeguarding against risks associated with AI, but 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:33.480 just you know, saying we probably should. It's just a 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:38.000 man politics. I get it why everyone hates when I 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:41.040 bring it up. It's unfortunate. I don't want to either. 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:43.760 It's just the world we live in. So John Ray, 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.639 the guy who was brought in to help dismantle the 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:51.440 bankrupted cryptocurrency company FTX, y'all remember that one, right, Jenrey 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:53.760 was brought in in order to return as much value 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.359 as he could to investors and former customers of this 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.480 cryptocurrency exchange, and he has now weighed in on Sam 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:06.400 Bankman Freed's current fate. So Freed, or SBF as he 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:09.520 was known in the crypto community, is coming up for 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.760 sentencing soon. He was found guilty on multiple charges of 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:16.480 fraud earlier, and now he faces up to a maximum 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:19.720 of one hundred and ten years in prison, though it 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:21.960 could be significantly fewer than that. It could be like 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:25.800 five years if the judge decides, and SBF essentially has 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:29.280 previously argued for clemency. He wrote letters that stay at 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:33.119 his crimes resulted in essentially no losses or harmed to 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:36.919 customers and investors, et cetera. So John Ray wrote in 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:41.240 to say, oh, contrere monfrere Yeah. He says that stakeholders 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:45.520 have filed claims that collectively amount to twenty three point 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:53.600 six quintillion dollars, that is beyond a princely sum. The 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:58.080 actual estimated loss is somewhere around ten billion dollars, still 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:02.320 an astronomical amount of money, but not in the quintillion range, 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:05.199 So there's some discrepancy here. And Ray says that like 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:07.879 in order to address each claim, there is a significant 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.080 amount of work that goes into it. So clearly there 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:13.880 is a real cost associated with SBF's crimes here. And 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:17.760 Ray does not mince words in his letter. He says 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:19.760 that while his team has worked very hard to get 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:23.240 as much back as possible, it did so while SBF 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:27.040 was casting aspersions on their efforts. And moreover, there are 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:30.520 plenty of cases where there's just no way to reclaim 0:19:30.600 --> 0:19:35.280 what had been lost, including quote, the bribes to Chinese 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:39.520 officials or the hundreds of millions of dollars he meaning 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:44.440 SBF spent to buy access to or time with celebrities 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:48.720 or politicians or investments for which he grossly overpaid having 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:54.159 done zero diligence. The harm was vast, the remorse is nonexistent. 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:59.359 End quote yaoza. That is spilling the ding dang darn tea, y'all. 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:02.320 But beyond on that, Ray also outlined five times he 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:04.840 says SBF lied in an effort to ask for a 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:08.680 lighter sentence. So John Ray is essentially saying, throw the 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:11.920 book at this guy. That the crimes that SBF committed 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:14.960 and his continued quest to shift blame to other people 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.320 show that he doesn't deserve a lighter sentence, So we'll 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:21.120 have to see what actually gets handed down. Prosecutors are 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:23.879 calling for a pretty hefty sentence of around like forty 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:27.480 or fifty years, so I'm not feeling too optimistic for 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.399 SBF's chances of getting out with a light one in 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:32.960 this particular case. I think the judge might be a 0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:36.080 little more inclined to lean a bit heavier in this 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:40.720 particular example. Okay, I've got some more news stories to 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:42.720 get through before we get to that. Let's take another 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:54.760 quick break, all right, Now we've got a couple of 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:57.720 hacking stories that we should cover, So first up, some 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:03.280 researchers at Colorado State University uncovered vulnerabilities in electronic logging 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:07.000 devices or elds that are used by the trucking industry. 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:11.120 So the purpose of an ELD is to keep track 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:14.520 of stuff like the number of miles and hours driven 0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:18.720 for a run of vehicle performance and stuff like that. Right, 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:22.359 it's to be part of fleet maintenance and oversight for 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:26.280 things like drivers and individual vehicles. But the researchers found 0:21:26.400 --> 0:21:29.400 that at least one type of ELD and there's only 0:21:29.440 --> 0:21:32.280 a few that are used by the whole industry. These 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:36.159 elds are components that are part of larger systems, and 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:39.080 while there are a ton of these systems that are 0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:42.000 in use in the trucking industry, there are only, you know, 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:47.280 a few elds that are produced. So at least one, 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:52.719 maybe more of these elds has a severe vulnerability that 0:21:52.760 --> 0:21:57.200 can be compromised via Bluetooth or Wi Fi. And it's 0:21:57.240 --> 0:22:01.080 even possible to do a compromising attack on one of 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:04.600 these elds if you're just driving relatively close to a 0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:08.760 truck that's in motion that has a system that has 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:12.320 this ELD in it, and once it's compromised, the attacker 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.480 can do stuff like they can send a signal that 0:22:15.520 --> 0:22:18.000 would force a truck driver to pull off the road. 0:22:18.640 --> 0:22:21.440 They can even infect the truck so that it in 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:25.439 turn will infect other trucks if they come within driving range. 0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:28.600 And it's like turning a truck into patient zero for 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:31.800 a pandemic, only it's a computer virus rather than a 0:22:31.800 --> 0:22:35.000 biological one. And obviously this vulnerability could lead to a 0:22:35.000 --> 0:22:39.480 situation where an entire fleet could become compromised and then manipulated. 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:43.240 It's a huge danger to not only drivers on the road, 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:46.919 but also supply chains in general. So, according to the researchers, 0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:51.000 the manufacturer behind the particular ELD they have tested, they 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:53.959 didn't reveal which one it was. They said that company 0:22:54.000 --> 0:22:56.800 is working on a firmware update that could address this problem. 0:22:57.040 --> 0:23:00.960 But the researchers say other elds might have similar vulnerabilities, 0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:04.600 and that all manufacturers should be investigating this so that 0:23:04.640 --> 0:23:08.000 they can avoid, say a series of attacks that could 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:10.840 have a severe impact on the shipping industry in the 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:14.880 United States. Next up are some research hackers who disclose 0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:19.560 that electronic locks from Dormacaba have a massive security flaw 0:23:19.680 --> 0:23:23.399 in them, so these locks use RFID technology. Lots of 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:27.520 hotels use this particular brand for their door locks, and 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:31.280 the hacker showed that using an NFC capable device like 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:36.520 even an Android phone with NFC it's near field communication abilities, 0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:40.000 you can clone hotel key cards and use the cloned 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:43.160 card to then access a room like you can make 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:46.679