1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland, Diamond Executive producer with I Heart Radio and 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: how the tech are you. It's time for the tech 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: news for Thursday, August twenty twenty two. We got a 6 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: lot to get through. Let's do it. Twitter and Facebook 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: recently shut down a network of fake accounts spreading propaganda 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: that was attempting to portray a foreign country in a 9 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: positive light in various regions. The twist to this story 10 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: is that for the first time, this campaign was pushing 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: a pro US perspective in places like Asia in the 12 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: Middle East. We've seen efforts like this originating out of 13 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: other places like China or Russia, that this is the 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: first time we're talking about this some lar campaign that 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: appears to have been based out of the United States 16 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: and the United Kingdom. The effort used lots of recently 17 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: established fake accounts, all pushing pro US narratives in these 18 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: regions while also criticizing everything from Russia's war against Ukraine 19 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: to human rights violations in China. But the use of 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: fake accounts is against Facebook and Twitter's policies. No matter 21 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: what the messaging is, and so those platforms have been 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,479 Speaker 1: taking an active stance in weeding out and shutting down 23 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: these profiles. Also, NBC reports that the campaign appeared to 24 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: have a minimal impact and that the posts didn't have 25 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: much engagement from the general public. Most activity belonged to 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: other fake accounts in an effort to boost visibility. Fortune 27 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: reports that major companies like Apple, Honda, and Mazda are 28 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: reevaluating their supply chain strategies. At the heart of the 29 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: matter is the dependence upon in China. The cheap labor 30 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: and manufacturing costs in China have long attracted major companies, 31 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: which look to save on costs while making their products 32 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: in order to maximize profit, but relying on China for 33 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: manufacturing has become less attractive in recent years. The country's 34 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: no tolerance approach to COVID means that operations are routinely 35 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: interrupted as a region goes into lockdown with every outbreak. 36 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: The deteriorating relationship between China and the United States is 37 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: a big threat to the optics are also not great 38 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: due to the aforementioned human rights violations in China. That's 39 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:44,239 Speaker 1: a very real thing. Propaganda campaigns aside, and in Central China, 40 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: where a lot of these factories are located, a camastrophic 41 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: drought has dried up rivers. That means that dams are 42 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: not able to generate enough electricity through hydro power to 43 00:02:55,160 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: supply factories, which has forced more interruptions in manufacture ring. 44 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: And there's this real old saying that I'm sure all 45 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 1: of you have heard that says don't put all your 46 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: eggs in one basket. But the truth is, for a 47 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: long time, many companies have essentially ignored that age old 48 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: wisdom when it comes to the supply chain, and as 49 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: a result, a disproportionate amount of the work involved in 50 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: many supply chains happens in China. And now we're starting 51 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: to see companies explore strategies meant to diversify the supply chain, 52 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: something that has really become critically important as we've seen 53 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: so many disruptions in supply chains reek havoc on company 54 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: plans and consumer experiences over the last couple of years. 55 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: Does this mean we'll see much more robust supply chains 56 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: in the future. I'm kind of skeptical because I expect 57 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: most companies will seek out the next cheapest, viable solution 58 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: to their manufacturing needs, rather than truly diversify their approach 59 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: to spread out risk. In an ideal world, we would 60 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: see supply chains that are as robust as the Internet is. 61 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,119 Speaker 1: Should one part of the supply chain falter, you would 62 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: be able to route around it with minimal disruption, But 63 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: I think that's being overly optimistic. Nine to five MAC 64 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: reports that Apple maybe on the verge of allowing users 65 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: to delete the Apple Wallet app, which would be a 66 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: pretty big deal as Apple routinely integrates its own apps 67 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: into iOS in fundamental ways and doesn't allow users to 68 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,679 Speaker 1: delete them from their iOS devices. So why would Apple 69 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: take this step giving users the chance to switch to 70 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: some other digital wallet, particularly when doing so raises problems 71 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: when users want to make a purchase through Apple pay Well. 72 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: This is likely due to the European Union's recent pressure 73 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: on Apple. The argument is that Apple's integration of Apple 74 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: Wallet and its refusal to grant other digital wallets the 75 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: same level of interoperability with Apple processes amounts to anti competitiveness, 76 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: and actually it reminds me of the massive antitrust lawsuit 77 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: that Microsoft faced in the nineties, which focused on how 78 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: Microsoft made its own Internet Explorer browser and integrated part 79 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: of Windows. That led Netscape to accuse Microsoft of engaging 80 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: in anti competitive behavior, particularly since at that time Microsoft 81 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: Windows was by far the dominant operating system in the 82 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: consumer market. Courts actually agreed, and Microsoft was very nearly 83 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: forced to break up into separate companies, but a subsequent 84 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,799 Speaker 1: court decision would reverse that course anyway. One major issue 85 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: the EU has is that Apple doesn't allow any other 86 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: digital wallet app but it's own to use the NFC 87 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: technology that's built into iPhones. NFC is near field communication 88 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: and this is the short range wireless tech that allows 89 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: for small data transfers, you know, like contactless payments, and 90 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: the EU has argued that Apple holding back access to 91 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: NFC amounts to anti competitive behavior. So we haven't seen 92 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: anything official yet, at least not as the recording of 93 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: this podcast, but we're going to keep our eyes on 94 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: this to see if Apple does allow users to actually 95 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: fully remove Apple Wallet from their iOS devices. Speaking of 96 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: Apple and anti competitive allegations, the company Match Group, which 97 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: owns the dating slash hook up app Tender, has filed 98 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, this time in India. Match 99 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,679 Speaker 1: Group says that Apple treats dating apps unfairly, that Apple 100 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: has this in app commission required for any purchase that's 101 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: made within an app, uh, and that it doesn't do 102 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: this for some other types of companies like righte haling companies, 103 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: and I find that argument kind of interesting. See Apple 104 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: and Google too for that matter. Has restricted its commission 105 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: to only applying to apps that have in app digital purchases. 106 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: It does not charge a commission on apps that are 107 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: designed to purchase real world stuff. So, if you're playing 108 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: a digital game and you want to pay for some 109 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: in game content, while Apple will take a cut of that, 110 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: but if you're ordering a real world pizza to be 111 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: delivered to your home using an app, Apple does not 112 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: take a cut of that transaction. Well, what match Group 113 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: is saying is that right hailing companies get a pass 114 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: from Apple. Apple does not take a commission if you 115 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: were to use an app like Lift or Uber. But 116 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: match Group says that that doesn't make sense because they 117 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: get charged for Tender but not for Lift or Uber, 118 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: and that in all cases, these apps are really just 119 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: about bringing together people in the real world. You know, 120 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: when you hail a ride, it's about arranging to meet 121 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: someone at a specific place at a specific time. So 122 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: match Group argues, that's what dating apps are doing too, 123 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: and so why should it be fair for Apple to 124 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: take a cut of tenders in app purchases but not 125 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: a cut from right hailing company transactions. Now, I'm not 126 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: convinced that that line of argument is bulletproof, because I 127 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: think there's a case to be made that right hailing 128 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: is definitely more than just bringing two or more people 129 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: together in the same place at the same time. But anyway, 130 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: match Group is hoping that India's competition regulator will force 131 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: Apple to change its policies, similar to how regulators in 132 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: the EU and in the US are pressuring Apple to 133 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: allow apps to offer alternative payment systems outside of Apple's 134 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: own system. And Video is getting ready to announce a 135 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,439 Speaker 1: new generation of graphics processing cards in September. According to 136 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: The Verge, rumor has it, We're going to get a 137 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,680 Speaker 1: new generation of GPUs designated by the prefix for zero 138 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: or forty. So right now you have cards like thirty 139 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: eight and thirty ninety that are dominating in Video's portfolio 140 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: from a performance perspective, that's like the top of the 141 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: line of Invidios products and recently, we've actually seen more 142 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: availability for those cards. You know, for a couple of years, 143 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: in Video's most powerful cards were really hard to get 144 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: hold of, and if you could find one, it was 145 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: chances are it was on the aftermarket and it was 146 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: at a huge markup. And this was largely because of 147 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: cryptocurrency miners, specifically ether miners as an ethereum miners. This 148 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: was a thing that we saw a lot. Bitcoin had 149 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: actually reached a level where bitcoin miners were not relying 150 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: on GPUs anymore. They were not powerful enough. They had 151 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: switched to a SAC or application specific integrated circuit poward 152 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:38,319 Speaker 1: riggs at that time. But cryptocurrency has gone into a 153 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: massive recession or a collapse or whatever you want to 154 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: call it, and that meant that the return on investment 155 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: for running a power hungry mining operation really became too low. 156 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: I mean, if it costs you more money to run 157 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: your computer system then you are making out of the 158 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 1: mining operation. That's just not a good deal. It means 159 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: you're just losing money. So this meant that there was 160 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: less demand for those GPUs, and in Video actually found 161 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: itself overstocked on graphics cards because demand had dropped and Finally, 162 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: gamers actually have a decent chance to get their hands 163 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: on these things as close to m s r P 164 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: or manufactured suggested retail price, so at the asking price 165 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: for these things instead of those crazy markups. However, all 166 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: that being said, with the possible debut of a new 167 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: generation of graphics cards within sight, presumably with much greater capabilities, 168 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: it's probably not the best time to scoop up that 169 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: thirty eight or thirty nine card if you want the 170 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: best of the best. And keep in mind the that 171 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 1: m s RP is still pretty day expensive for the 172 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: top of the line models. So the Verge reminds us 173 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: that there might be a significant gap between when in 174 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 1: Video announces this next GPU architecture, which has the code 175 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: name love Lace. I think that's great, and when consumers 176 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: will actually have a chance to buy a card based 177 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: off that architecture. So if you've been waiting to finally 178 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,959 Speaker 1: get one of these top performance cards, you might want 179 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: to actually wait a little bit longer just to see 180 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: what comes next and whether that's something you want. Also, 181 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: when new cards come out, there's a chance, not a guarantee, 182 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 1: but there's a chance that those thirty eight and thirty 183 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: ninety models might get a price reduction. Um kind of 184 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: hard to say, because when you're talking about teetering on 185 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: economic recession and supply chain issues and all these other 186 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 1: economic issues that are affecting the world, you cannot guarantee 187 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,680 Speaker 1: that you're going to see a price come down. But 188 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: it is a possibility. All Right, We've got some more 189 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: stories to cover, but before we get into that, let's 190 00:11:51,120 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: take a quick break. The threat analysis group at Google 191 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: is warning us that a tool called hyper skate can 192 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:13,359 Speaker 1: give hackers the ability to download a target's entire email inbox, 193 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 1: and that this tool works with Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, 194 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: and others. Also, this tool does not require the hacker 195 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: to trick someone into downloading some malware. However, it does 196 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: mean the hacker does have to get access to the 197 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: target's account somehow, So that could mean using some other 198 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: kind of malware in order to get access, or you know, 199 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: trying to guess or find a target's account password. You 200 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: know a lot of times if you ever get those 201 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: messages that your your password might have been compromised in 202 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 1: a database breach. This is one of the reasons you 203 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: should definitely pay attention to that and change those passwords, 204 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: because if someone has just a file of passwords, they 205 00:12:57,640 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: might be able to get access to your account and 206 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,319 Speaker 1: then download all of your email using a tool like this. 207 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 1: So this is also a reason, by the way, why 208 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:10,719 Speaker 1: you should always enable multi factor authentication if it's available. 209 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,680 Speaker 1: I know it can be a hassle, but it really 210 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 1: is useful. It means that if someone does attempt to 211 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: log in as you, they're gonna have a harder time 212 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: doing it. I'm not gonna say it's impossible, but i 213 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: will say it's harder, and you are likely to get 214 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,839 Speaker 1: an alert that's saying something hinky is going on, which 215 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: gives you a chance to take action. So activate that 216 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: m F a option in in everything that offers it, y'all. Anyway, 217 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: the team over at Google reports that it looks like 218 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: most of the targeting activity that's using hyper escape right 219 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: now is happening inside Iran. Now to me, that suggests 220 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,120 Speaker 1: that this could be a state sponsored campaign in order 221 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 1: to gain access to high profile targets email accounts. No 222 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,679 Speaker 1: word on whom be responsible. I've got a few ideas, 223 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,319 Speaker 1: but you know it would just be pure speculation, so 224 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 1: I'll save them for myself. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 225 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: Security Agency is urging companies and organizations to be super 226 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: proactive when it comes to adopting a post quantum cryptography standard. 227 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: What what alright? So on Tuesday I talked about a 228 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: Japanese company and its plans to enter the quantum computer 229 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: market with a sixty four cubit machine, And on that episode, 230 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: I mentioned that quantum computing has the potential to drastically 231 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: simplify a certain subset of computational problems that traditionally are 232 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: extremely difficult for classic computers to solve. So a classic 233 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: computer might take hundreds or thousands of years to solve 234 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: some of these problems. But because quantum computing uses a 235 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: different approach, one that if you have the right algorithm, 236 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: the right program, you could solve these kinds of problems 237 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: in a relatively fast and trivial manner. That means things 238 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: are poised to change drastically and soon. One of those 239 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: things is really important. It's encryption. It's how we encrypt 240 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: data so that people can't just see what that data is. Now. 241 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: I'm not going to launch into a full explanation of 242 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: digital encryption here. I have done full episodes about that topic. 243 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: But I will oversimplify a little bit and say that 244 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: you can think of modern encryption essentially depending upon taking 245 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: two very very large prime numbers with hundreds of digits, 246 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: and then taking these two prime numbers, then performing a 247 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 1: mathematical operation on the two which gives you a third number, 248 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: and you use that to encode data, and to decode 249 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: the data, you need to know at least one of 250 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: the prime numbers that were used to make that third number. 251 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: Um really you need both, but you have that ability 252 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: to decode to reverse the process that was used to 253 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: encrypt the information. Now, because we're talking about two really 254 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: really really big prime numbers, figuring out which prime numbers 255 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: were used to encrypt something is really hard to do. 256 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: For a classic computer essentially has to go, you know, 257 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: case by case doing prime number, prime number, prime number, 258 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: prime number, until it figures out the ones that were 259 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,239 Speaker 1: used to encrypt, and that can take thousands of years. 260 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: But a quantum computer, again, if paired with the right algorithm, 261 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: could do the same process fairly quickly, at least with 262 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: a certain percentage of uh certainty. So you might get 263 00:16:55,240 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: a response that says it's, you know, certain that this 264 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 1: particular solution applies to the problem, and that's that's that 265 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: stands to completely change encryption. It means that should someone 266 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: actually have access to a quantum computer and that kind 267 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: of algorithm, they could potentially decrypt everything that's ever been 268 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: encrypted up to now and have free access to all 269 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 1: the secret information that's ever been on digital platforms. So 270 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: that's obviously a huge security issue, right, I mean, it's 271 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 1: the biggest security issue. You can have no more secrets. 272 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 1: So this agency is telling companies that they need to 273 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: start working on migrating to a post quantum encryption strategy, 274 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: one that's fundamentally different from what we use for today's encryption, 275 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: and the agency has been working to standardize so far 276 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: for post quantum encryption algorithms. That in itself is not easy. 277 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,640 Speaker 1: You might remember from a recent news item that one 278 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: proposed post quantum computing algorithm turned out to be vulnerable 279 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: to a classic computer attack. A researcher actually found a 280 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: way to exploit that algorithm in a non quantum approach, 281 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: So while it might have been robust from a quantum 282 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: computing approach, it wasn't from another angle. So making a 283 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: robust encryption process is pretty darned tricky. Today, the US 284 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: state of California is issuing rules that regard the state's 285 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: transition to a ban on new internal combustion engine vehicles 286 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,679 Speaker 1: or the sale of them, I should say, so, the 287 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: plan is to have a total ban on the sale 288 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 1: of new ice vehicles by five but this is going 289 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 1: to happen in stages. So starting in TWI of all 290 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: new vehicles sold in the state of California will need 291 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: to be free of carbon emissions, so we're mainly talking 292 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:05,159 Speaker 1: about things like electric vehicles here By it will need 293 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: to be sixty eight percent of all new vehicles sold 294 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: in California, and by all new vehicles sold in California 295 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: will need to be free of carbon emissions in their operation. Obviously, 296 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: the manufacturing of vehicles itself creates carbon emissions, but that's 297 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,719 Speaker 1: a thing for another podcast. The used car market, as 298 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 1: far as I can tell, is going to be unaffected. 299 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: So in other words, yes, you cannot buy a new 300 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:38,359 Speaker 1: internal combustion engine vehicle in California starting in but theoretically, 301 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: at least you would still be able to buy used 302 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: vehicles in California. Now it's possible that we're gonna see 303 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: other states follow California's lead. California traditionally is the most 304 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: progressive when it comes to these kinds of of measures 305 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: that are meant to tackle stuff like carbon emissions, you know, 306 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: the climate that kind of thing. But even if other 307 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: states are low to adopt California's approach, the size of 308 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 1: California alone, you know, they have a huge driving population 309 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: that's going to really force automakers to shift to more 310 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: e V production. That's one of the reasons why we're 311 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: seeing that kind of stuff happen right now, with companies 312 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: like Ford undergoing dramatic transformations, including thousands of layoffs. Unfortunately, 313 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,880 Speaker 1: as these companies adjust towards producing more electric vehicles. In Germany, 314 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: in the state of Lower Saxony, fifteen diesel trains have 315 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: been retired and have been replaced with trains running on 316 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 1: hydrogen fuel cells. So the diesel trains were responsible for 317 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: the consumption of more than four hundred twenty thousand gallons 318 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 1: of diesel fuel each year, and of course diesel engines 319 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: are a source of carbon emissions. Hydrogen fuel cells do 320 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: not release carbon dioxide. Instead, the byproducts of a hydrogen 321 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 1: fuel cell our heat, electricity, and water, typically water, vapor, 322 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,359 Speaker 1: because fuel cells operate at a fairly high temperature, so 323 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: the water tends to be emitted as steam. Now you 324 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 1: might wonder why we don't rely more on hydrogen fuel cells. 325 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: The technology is old, it's proven. There are vehicles out 326 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 1: there that are fuel cell vehicles, but we don't see 327 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: them all over the place. Why is why is it 328 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: that fuel cells are not the standard if they operate 329 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: at such a clean level. Well, the big sticking point 330 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: is that it can get hard to get your hands 331 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 1: on pure hydrogen. So hydrogen is the most plentiful element 332 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: in the universe. However, it's also super friendly. By that, 333 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: I mean it's eager to bond with other elements. When 334 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: that happens, that effectively locks hydrogen away. It forms these 335 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,119 Speaker 1: molecular bonds. It is not going to let go of 336 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: those without putting up a fight. So we have to 337 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: actually spend energy in order to free hydrogen up, to 338 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: harvest it and then use it. Right now, Germany is 339 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: harvesting hydrogen as it is produced as a byproduct in 340 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: various chemical processes. But in the future, Germany says the 341 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: plan is to use renewable energy to generate hydrogen. And 342 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,359 Speaker 1: my guess is that they're going to use electrolysis, that 343 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:33,439 Speaker 1: is where you direct a an electric current into water 344 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: in an effort to break those molecular bonds between hydrogen 345 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:42,439 Speaker 1: and oxygen and then you harvest the hydrogen. Um. Yeah, so, like, 346 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,200 Speaker 1: it's it's not that hydrogen is a bad fuel to use, 347 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,920 Speaker 1: especially in fuel cells. It's just that finding the right 348 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: strategy to free hydrogen from whatever else is tricky. You know, 349 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 1: we are also living in a world where getting access 350 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,360 Speaker 1: to water can be tricky. You know, look at at 351 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:06,159 Speaker 1: places that are undergoing massive drought, like the middle of 352 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: China or the American Southwest. It is tough to sell 353 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: the idea of using water to generate hydrogen so that 354 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: you can have fuel cells when you have people who 355 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: are depending on just a drinking source of water. So, yeah, 356 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: this is a complicated issue. It's not something that's so 357 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,440 Speaker 1: simple to solve. It's too bad because again, hydrogen being 358 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: so plentiful, if we could easily access a source of 359 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: it without these other consequences, that would be a huge, 360 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:45,119 Speaker 1: huge thing. We would clearly see countries migrating over to 361 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:50,360 Speaker 1: hydrogen based economies. We just haven't really found the right 362 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: balance for that yet. All right, we've got a couple 363 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,919 Speaker 1: more stories that we want to cover. Let's take another 364 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: quick break. Mhm. One thing that I've learned about Japan, 365 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,840 Speaker 1: and full disclosure, I have yet to visit the country, 366 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: but I really want to go. But one thing I've 367 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: learned is that people are dependent upon and and count 368 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 1: upon trains running on time. Like the fact that Japan 369 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: is so good most of the time at operating trains, 370 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: that the various companies in Japan do a really good 371 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 1: job of operating trains. It becomes, you know, second nature 372 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: to just assume that your train is going to be 373 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 1: at the station on schedule. It's a huge deal in Japan. 374 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: Commuters rely on trains heavily in Japan, and they expect 375 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: the train to be at the station precisely when it's 376 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: supposed to be, and to leave the station not a 377 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: second early or late. In fact, there was an incident 378 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:04,399 Speaker 1: in two thousand and seventeen in which a train left 379 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 1: a Japanese station twenty five seconds early, and the company 380 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: was obligated to apologize to commuters because a few were 381 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 1: left behind on the platform and they had to wait 382 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,119 Speaker 1: for the next train which got them to their destination. 383 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 1: Six minutes late. Meanwhile, I'm over here in Atlanta, Georgia, 384 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: and sometimes when I go to the public transportation system nearby, 385 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: the display will say that the next train will arrive 386 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: sometime in all right, well, let's get back to the news. 387 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,679 Speaker 1: The Japanese company j R. East, in an effort to 388 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: modernize operations, chose to digitize train time tables, and then 389 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: they supplied train drivers with tablets that are meant to 390 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,880 Speaker 1: access these new timetables. In fact, that's the only thing 391 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: these tablets are meant to do. The drivers actually have 392 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: other tablets for other tasks. So the thought was these 393 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 1: timetables could be updated in real time automatically and the 394 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 1: operators would just have to refer to their tablets to 395 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 1: stay on schedule. But a driver for the Fukushima Line 396 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: UH forgot their password to their tablet, so they weren't 397 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 1: able to access the digital timetable, and that gummed everything up. 398 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: The driver actually had to refer to timetables posted in 399 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: various stations along the route, and delay started to chalk up, 400 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 1: and by the time they got to the final destination 401 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: at the end of the line, those delays added up, 402 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 1: and by the time the train reached the end of 403 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 1: the line, the delays had accumulated to twenty three minutes. Now, 404 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,879 Speaker 1: I can only imagine the level of freak out of 405 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: a twenty three minute delay if a twenty five second 406 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: discrepancy prompted an official apology back in Now, the company 407 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,239 Speaker 1: says it's going to spend more time training drivers on 408 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: the proper way to create an remember passwords, which honestly 409 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,959 Speaker 1: is something I think a lot of people could use 410 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: a refresher course on. But yeah, interesting story. The road 411 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: to the metaverse, whatever that might be, can be a 412 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: treacherous one, as Capital Music Group discovered the company famously, 413 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,119 Speaker 1: as it turns out, signed a digital as in a 414 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: computer generated rap artist named f N Meka or Maka 415 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:35,679 Speaker 1: m e k A. This rappers songs had melodies, beats, 416 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:40,240 Speaker 1: lyrics that were at least partially generated by artificial intelligence. 417 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:45,639 Speaker 1: So this wasn't some digital avatar being controlled by a 418 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: human artist who was responsible for creating everything that the 419 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: digital avatar said, although a black artist did uh contribute 420 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: the voice for f N make up. But this story 421 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:04,239 Speaker 1: is really complex. There's actually a lot of nuance to it, 422 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: believe it or not. So let's start with what the 423 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:12,680 Speaker 1: original plan was. So there is a pro Fortnite gamer 424 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:17,440 Speaker 1: who uses the handle clicks c l i X. This 425 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: pro gamer is also associated with a rap track that's 426 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:29,359 Speaker 1: called Florida Water. Florida Water features F and Makeup. Now, initially, 427 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 1: clicks Is involvement caused some confusion because you can't actually 428 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: hear Clicks on the track at all, but the name 429 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: Clicks appears in association with the track, which, you know, 430 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: people are saying, well, how is clicks even involved? Well, 431 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: according to clicks as Manager, the gamer actually purchased the 432 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: rights to this track, and the rapper Gunna had laid 433 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: down vocals for the track already, so in other words, 434 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,480 Speaker 1: this track was already on its way to being fully produced. 435 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: But then, according to clicks as Manager, Capitol Records demanded 436 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: that Clicks allow F and Makeup to be included on 437 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: the track or else the company wasn't going to release it, 438 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 1: so they were, you know, effectively holding it hostage according 439 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: to clicks as Manager, So Clicks, seeing no choice, allowed 440 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: F and Maker too record lyrics for the track. So 441 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 1: F and Maker's contribution included black coded lyrics, meaning that 442 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: the lyrics are reminiscent of a black artist's work, not 443 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: a specific black artist, but is indicative or typical from 444 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 1: the black artist rap genre, and that brings up a 445 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,959 Speaker 1: lot of concerning questions. After all, F and Maka is 446 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,360 Speaker 1: not a real person, and yes, there is a black 447 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: artist who voices the character, but the character itself isn't 448 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 1: real and black artists didn't write its lyrics, or at 449 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 1: least not all of the lyrics, because they were at 450 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: least partially generated by artificial intelligence, and that brings up 451 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: questions relating to cultural appropriation and racism. I mean, F 452 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 1: and Maker uses some racial slurs that are not appropriate 453 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 1: for anyone not of that culture to say. And it's 454 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: an artificial entity, so some critics called F and Make 455 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: a digital black face. Now complicating matters further is that 456 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:48,640 Speaker 1: many outlets have capitalized on black artists throughout history without 457 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: giving the original artists credit. I mean, this is not 458 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: a newsplash. This is something that's been going on for 459 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: for for more than a century, and you've seen company 460 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: and people making bank off of black artist creations while 461 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 1: simultaneously never acknowledging the actual creators themselves. So the controversy 462 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:16,320 Speaker 1: surrounding F and Maka prompted Capital Music Group to drop 463 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: the Digital Rapper from their label. By the way, if 464 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: you want to read a truly excellent write up of 465 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: this story, including more insightful analysis of the precarious relationship 466 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:35,920 Speaker 1: between big media companies and black artists, I recommend Patricia 467 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 1: Hernandez's article titled label drops Ai Rapper with music project 468 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:45,440 Speaker 1: from Fortnite pro apologizing to black community. You can find 469 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: that at Kotaku. It is a truly excellent article. Finally, 470 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: I have some bad news for folks who want a 471 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 1: brand new PS five, unless those folks are in the 472 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: United States. So announced that it is raising the price 473 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: tag for the PS five in regions like Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, 474 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: the UK, and Europe. This is coming nearly two years 475 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,840 Speaker 1: after the PS five first hit store shelves, or virtually 476 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: hit store shelves because he can't ever find the darned things. 477 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: So it kind of reminds me of how Meta recently 478 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: hiked the price on its VR gear the Quest too. 479 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: That also was a price high like two years after 480 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:36,000 Speaker 1: the technology had been introduced. So why is Sony doing this? 481 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said that it's due 482 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:46,480 Speaker 1: to global inflation rates and trends in various nations currencies 483 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: around the world. So in Europe the PS five models 484 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: are going to go up by fifty euro each. In 485 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: the UK they're going up by thirty pounds each, and 486 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: so on. Polygon dot Com actually has a breakdown for 487 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: every region as far as the price hikes go. And 488 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: you know that really stinks. If you're out there and 489 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 1: you were hoping to buy a new PS five, it's 490 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 1: gonna cost you more money now. As I said, in 491 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 1: the United States, we don't appear to be affected by 492 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:18,440 Speaker 1: this price hike, so presumably you will still be able 493 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: to buy a PS five at the launch price, assuming 494 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,800 Speaker 1: you can find one somewhere. That's it for the tech 495 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 1: News for Thursday August. Hope you are well. If you 496 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: have suggestions for future episodes of tech Stuff, please let 497 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: me know. One way to do that is to leave 498 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 1: me a voice message. You can do that by downloading 499 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,720 Speaker 1: the I Heart radio app. It's free to download and use. 500 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,440 Speaker 1: Just navigate over to tech Stuff. There's a little microphone icon. 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