1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 3 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,279 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'mind executive producer with I Heart Radio and 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: how the tech area. It's time for the tech news 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: for Thursday, September one, two thousand twenty two. And since 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: I didn't do a news episode Tuesday, I missed out 7 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: on talking about how NASA had to scrub the launch 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: of the Artemis one mission on Monday. So Artemis is 9 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: the program that aims to put America back on the Moon, 10 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: as it were. It's actually a little more than that. 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: It includes future lunar lander missions, which would start with 12 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: Artemis three that's currently projected to take place in assuming 13 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: there are no delays. And also it includes the construction 14 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: of a lunar orbit space station. And it's a somewhat 15 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: controversial program. Uh. There are critics who questioned whether the 16 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: Artemis program will actually serve its stated purpose, namely to 17 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: not just gather more information about the Moon, but to 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: serve as kind of a stepping stone towards sending astronauts 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: to Mars. But whether you support Artemis or you're critical 20 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: of it, we'll have to wait until Saturday at the 21 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: earliest for the launch of the Artemis one. This will 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: test NASA's new super heavy launch vehicle, the Space Launch 23 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: System or s l S, and it will also test 24 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: an unscrewed Orion spacecraft as and no crew will be 25 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: aboard this Orion capsule. Uh, it won't have a human 26 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: crew anyway. There will be some mannequins and a plush 27 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: stuffed toy in there. The toy is meant to indicate 28 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: when the the spacecraft encounters micro gravity because it will 29 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: be able to float freely around the happen. So why 30 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: was there a delay? Why did they have to cancel 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 1: Monday's launch? Well? On Monday, NASA engineers noted that one 32 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: of the engines in the s l S appeared to 33 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: be failing to reach the proper temperature. There were indications 34 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: that the system that cools the engines with liquid hydrogen 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: had some sort of problem, or that the sensors that 36 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: detect engine temperature we're having a problem and we're misreading 37 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: the actual temperature of the engines. And that's what prompted 38 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 1: NASA to scrub the launch on Monday, as well as 39 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: the planned celebrity appearances like Jack Black who were meant 40 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: to commemorate the historic event whoop see. NASA hopes to 41 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: launch on Saturday, September three, but there's a chance that 42 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: weather will force another delay. The next available launch date 43 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: would be September five. As for my own opinions on 44 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: the Artemis project, well, on the one hand, there's no 45 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: denying that sending people to the Moon is a t 46 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: inphant achievement. That's an achievement that doubtlessly inspires countless people 47 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: to pursue an interest in space and engineering and related subjects. 48 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,359 Speaker 1: And I'm certain that along the way, NASA and its 49 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: partners will develop incredible technologies that will ultimately be able 50 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: to use in other arenas, which is really cool. But 51 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: I am not fully sold on Artemis as a whole, 52 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: though I also sympathize with NASA because the agency has 53 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: had to grapple with the consequences of the cancellation of 54 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: the old Constellation program, which actually was the source for 55 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: some of the elements of Artemis, including the Orion spacecraft 56 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: that started off as part of the Constellation program and 57 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: that got the the acts back in the Obama administration 58 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: and other space news. NASA engineers figured out what was 59 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: going haywire with Voyager one's Attitude Articulation and Control system 60 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: a k A. The A A c S. All right, 61 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: quick recap So, ag OR one is a space probe 62 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: and it launched way back in nineteen. It is flown 63 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: by Jupiter and Saturn and then continue to travel out 64 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: beyond the boundaries of our Solar system, meaning it is 65 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: now in interstellar space. This spacecraft is almost as old 66 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: as I am, and it continues to send data back 67 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: to us here on Earth courtesy of the Deep Space Network. However, 68 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: earlier this year, the A A c S started sending 69 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: corrupted messages about the spacecraft's telemetry. Engineers determined that the 70 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: spacecraft was still operating properly, so nothing was wrong with 71 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: the craft's actual operations, so it was kind of a 72 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: mystery why these messages were getting garbled. But it turned 73 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,559 Speaker 1: out that some subroutine was referencing a computer system aboard 74 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: Voyage or one that has long since been out of service. 75 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: It stopped working ages ago, and that this is what 76 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: caused the corruption in commune occasion. So the engineers redirected 77 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: Voyagers A A CS to route the information to the 78 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: working computer, which is what it was supposed to do 79 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: in the first place, and this that did solve the 80 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: issue that now communications are coming in clearly, but the 81 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: engineers still need to identify whatever it was that caused 82 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: the issue in the first place, that that prompted the 83 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: a CS to try and reference this computer that hasn't 84 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: been working for agents, because it's possible that it could 85 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: happen again and trigger a a CS to start sending 86 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: out garbled stuff once more. But personally, I just think 87 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: it's an amazing achievement to have a spacecraft that's almost 88 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: as old as I am to continue to provide us 89 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: information even as the probe ventures further out from our 90 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: solar system. Over in the U S State of California, 91 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: there is an energy crisis in full swing. The state 92 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: expects a nasty heat wave in the very near future 93 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: the next couple of days. In fact, that could stretch 94 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: on for several days, and that's probably gonna prompt a 95 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: large consumer demand for electricity to power stuff like air conditioners. 96 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: But the California Independent System Operator had issued a Level 97 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: one energy emergency alert just yesterday on Wednesday, and that 98 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: means that on Wednesday, all available power supplies were essentially 99 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: tapped out, and that would mean that any additional demand 100 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: would be unmet, and it could mean that the state 101 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: will have to use things like rolling blackouts. To handle 102 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: problems like this, the state has authorized fossil fuel power 103 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: plants to increase production in order to meet demand, and 104 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: has also granted businesses permission to lean on stuff like 105 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: backup generators to supply some of their electrical needs, which 106 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: would relieve the power grid of a little bit of 107 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: the burden. Climate change has truly exacerbated this issue. I mean, 108 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: you know, heat waves or weather. We're not talking about 109 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,839 Speaker 1: climate with weather, though you could argue and increase in 110 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: heat waves is an indication of climate change, and individ 111 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: dual one is weather, but really climate change. In this case, 112 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: we're talking about this massive drought that's happening in the West, 113 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: and that has led to decreased production at hydro electric 114 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: power stations. So you can't rely on hydro electric power 115 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: if you don't have enough water to to drive the 116 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: turbines properly. So the past couple of years have been 117 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: tumultuous in terms of power production and distribution around the world, 118 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: not just in California, and that's due to a combination 119 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: of a lot of complicated factors. So in some regions 120 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: cough Texas cough, you have some bad government decisions that 121 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: have led to energy crises. Uh, you have climate change 122 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: that's impacting power needs and production strategies. You also have 123 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: big political UH and and social crises like Russia's invasion 124 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: of Ukraine, which has caused a massive crisis in Europe. 125 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: And while there's an increased move to adopt renewable energy solutions, 126 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: which in a aisition to cutting back on on carbon 127 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: emissions also provides more national security because you become more 128 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: self reliant. That is more of a long term kind 129 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: of commitment. The near term is going to present us 130 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: with some very tough situations that we're going to have 131 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: to address before we can enjoy the benefits of a 132 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,559 Speaker 1: more robust renewable energy strategy. So it's just a harsh 133 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: reality that we're going to have to continue to deal 134 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: with over the next few years. Microsoft is facing a 135 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: bit of opposition in the UK when it comes to 136 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: the company's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. So that deal 137 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: is valued at nearly seventy billion dollars all told, and 138 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: it has had no shortage of drama surrounding it. For 139 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: one thing, Activision Blizzard has been at a high profile 140 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: controversy regarding corporate work culture, as well as the fact 141 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: that the company has had some pretty well repled ordered 142 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: instances of resisting employee efforts to unionize and a lot 143 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: more than that. But the scrutiny in the UK has 144 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: more to do with anti competitiveness than any alleged toxicity 145 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: in Activision Blizzards work environment. The UK's Competition and Markets 146 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: Authority or c m A maybe dialing up at scrutiny 147 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: into this deal, asking if perhaps this acquisition would lead 148 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: to reduced competition in the video games market, that it 149 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 1: could consolidate Microsoft's power in several areas relating to video 150 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: games and prevent competitors from making an impact. Now, Microsoft 151 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: reps are proactively arguing that the company isn't going to 152 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: lock Activision Blizzard titles within the Microsoft ecosystem and prevent 153 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,119 Speaker 1: others from being able to have those titles on their platforms. 154 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: In fact, that Microsoft has said that there would be 155 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: no profit in keeping the titles off of competing platforms 156 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 1: like Sony's PlayStation console. Microsoft is a say actually saying 157 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: it would make no sense to keep everything for ourselves 158 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: because we don't have enough of the market share to 159 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: make that a profitable business. Whether the regulators in the 160 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: UK find that answer satisfactory or not remains to be seen. 161 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: At any rate, Microsoft is pushing ahead with this deal, 162 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: which should close sometime before the summer of next year, 163 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: assuming that regulators don't block it. All right, We've got 164 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: a lot more stories to cover before we do that. 165 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: Let's take a quick break. The Verge reports it received 166 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: an internal memo from Meta that says the company is 167 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: looking into possible paid features for its various platforms like 168 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: Instagram and Facebook. To date, Mena has relied almost completely 169 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: on ad revenues. Something like of the company's revenue comes 170 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: from ad sales. However, recent developments such as Apple launching 171 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: its app tracking transparency framework, has had a massively negative 172 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,679 Speaker 1: impact on Meta's business model. Meanwhile, the company has been 173 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: spending billions in an effort to define the metaverse, which 174 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: has not gone completely smoothly. I should add, and there's 175 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 1: a general downturn in advertising spend due to fears of 176 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,559 Speaker 1: an economic recession, so it shouldn't come as a surprise 177 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: that Meta would look into alternate ways to generate revenue 178 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: directly from its users. Some of Meta's products already have 179 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: some paid features in them, so this would likely be 180 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: an expansion of that approach. The Verge reports that Meta's 181 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 1: VP of Monetization, John Hedgeman, has indicated that the company 182 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: is not looking to offer an ad free experience in 183 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: exchange for some sort of subscription model. So if you 184 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: were hoping to totally opt out of ads on Facebook 185 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: or Instagram or whatever, it looks like that is not 186 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: on the table. It will be interesting to what if 187 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: any paid features emerge from this and how the users 188 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 1: on Meta's various platforms receive them. Meta is not the 189 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: only company looking for more ways to generate cash from 190 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: its users. Disney, which, let's face it, is top of 191 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: the class when it comes to finding ways to coax 192 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: more cash from folks, is reportedly looking at ways to 193 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: entice Disney Plus viewers to buy themed merchandise. So reportedly, 194 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: it's looking at using QR codes and the Disney Plus app, 195 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: according to The Wall Street Journal, and I guess the 196 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: idea is that Disney will throw a QR code up 197 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: on screen alongside or before or after some sort of 198 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: particular programming, and interested viewers can use their Disney Plus 199 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: app to scan the code and go to a related 200 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: page on the online Disney store. So one idea is 201 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: to make exclusive merchandise available on this platform, so you 202 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: can't buy it any other way and you can't get 203 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: to the page without using this kind of QR scanning process. 204 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,599 Speaker 1: And Disney definitely knows that if you limit something's accessibility, 205 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: you can really drive consumer interest in a product. See 206 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 1: also Disney popcorn buckets. It is wild, y'all. Anyway, That's 207 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,560 Speaker 1: just one of the strategies that the company is looking into. 208 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: It's also reportedly considering an Amazon Prime like service that 209 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 1: would allow fans to receive certain benefits in return for 210 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: a subscription. I'm not sure what those benefits would be exactly. 211 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: I'm also not entirely convinced this QR code strategy will 212 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: be a huge success, only because companies have been trying 213 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: to leverage viewers and convert them into active customers for 214 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: a while and it has been met with limited success. Um, 215 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: you know, it's just it's hard to get people to 216 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 1: become conversions, right, to convert from viewer to customer, and 217 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: especially if it's not something like a mobile or or 218 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: you know, desktop experience. Those are already challenging enough to 219 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: get people to go from being sort of a passive 220 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: consumer to an active customer, but it gets even harder 221 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: when you start stepping away from that particular user experience. 222 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: So if you're watching something like on a television, it's 223 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: way harder to get people to actively convert into being 224 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: a customer just based upon the experience of watching something 225 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: on a screen. You know, it doesn't mean that this 226 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: is destined for failure. I just mean that it's it's 227 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: hard to get that to work. Disney might have cracked 228 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: the code on it, I don't know. There are definitely 229 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: cases where tons of people scanned a QR code that 230 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: popped up on a screen just to see where it 231 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: would take them. By the way, I think that's a 232 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: habit that you should really think about first before you 233 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: indulge in it, because, I mean, there's nothing stopping someone 234 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: from putting a QR code up in a prominent place, 235 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: and that cod it leads you to a site where 236 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: it starts a download of malware onto your device. There's 237 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: that's an entirely real possibility. It's not likely to pop 238 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: up in Disney, you know, material, but it's still something 239 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: you should think about. Like a QR code is not 240 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: just an open invitation. It could have some sinister intent 241 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: behind it. Just keep that in mind anyway. I think 242 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: the most successful cases I've seen of people scanning QR 243 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: codes have in cases where people were just curious, what 244 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: the heck is this and was it going to bring 245 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: me to as opposed to I like what I'm seeing 246 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: on the screen, and I want to buy that T shirt. 247 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: But maybe I'm just completely out of touch on this one. 248 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,359 Speaker 1: A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the FCC negated 249 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: a previous arrangement with space X's satellite based internet service 250 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: Starlink that would have seen Starlink received nearly nine hundred 251 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: million dollars in federal aid. Now. The reasons for this 252 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: annulment range from skepticism Starlink would actually provide services to 253 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: areas that most need broadband access. That's the whole purpose 254 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: of the program anyway, is to extend broadband access to 255 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: areas that otherwise lack it, and at least in some 256 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: of the Starlink use cases, reportedly they were in areas 257 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: that are already very well served by other providers. But 258 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: another part of skepticism was directed to whether or not 259 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: starlink service would meet the performance benchmarks when it was 260 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: at scale as per of the FCCS requirements. In other words, 261 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: that once Starlink hit it's you know, proposed scale, that 262 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: it would actually be able to provide the broadband level 263 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: of service that would qualify it for the grant in 264 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: the first place. So all that money was scrapped for 265 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: Starlink anyway, while Starlink was shown the door. The FCC 266 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: has started to award money to other broadband service providers, 267 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: six of them right now. So in total, nearly a 268 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: hundred million dollars is going to get divvied up between 269 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: these six providers to provide broadband service to more than 270 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:12,880 Speaker 1: three d fifty thousand homes in the US across nineteen states. Now, 271 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: my state of Georgia is not among them, gosh darn't, 272 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: which is a shame because I know for a fact 273 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,679 Speaker 1: there are plenty of communities in the state that have 274 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,840 Speaker 1: no broadband access so far. But really, this is just 275 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,919 Speaker 1: the beginning of the United States is pushed to extend 276 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: broadband access to more citizens across the country, particularly in 277 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: remote and rural areas. Truth Social, the social network most 278 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: commonly associated with former President Donald Trump after he was 279 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: essentially booted from all the established platforms like Facebook and Twitter, 280 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: has consistently failed to get Google to allow the truth 281 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: Social android based app into the Google Play Store. And 282 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: at issue is truth Social's comment moderation practices, or perhaps 283 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: I should say the lack of those. So Google has 284 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: a policy that any any sort of site that has 285 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: user generated content, like a social network app, has to 286 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: have a content moderation policy in place, and it also 287 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:22,400 Speaker 1: has to enforce that policy. And while truth social has 288 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: a policy, the proliferation of threats of physical violence and 289 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: similar content that is reportedly on truth social has not 290 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: been properly moderated according to Google, and so it has 291 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: not been accepted into the Google Play Store. It has 292 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: been accepted in the Apple App Store. You can get 293 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:48,400 Speaker 1: it on iOS. You cannot get on Android, which restricts 294 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 1: truth Social's reach considerably since Android is the dominant operating 295 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: system in the mobile market. Reportedly, truth Social is also 296 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: a bit of of an you with finances right now. 297 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: Right Forge, a web hosting platform known for um hosting 298 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: a lot of right wing services, and Websites says that 299 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: truth Social currently has about a one point six million 300 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:19,160 Speaker 1: dollar bill that it has yet to pay. Okay, we've 301 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: got a few more stories to go before we get 302 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:34,920 Speaker 1: to those. Let's take another quick break. Recent restrictions regarding 303 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,439 Speaker 1: chips sales from the US to China and Russia, really 304 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,920 Speaker 1: just China, are likely going to cost Nvidia a lot 305 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: of money, according to CNBC, and Video says it received 306 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: an order from the US government on August that will 307 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: place a licensing requirement for certain types of exports to 308 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: China and Russia. Now and Video says, there ain't nobody 309 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 1: in Russia who's an invidio paying customer, and to me, 310 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: that implies that in Russia, folks are turning to either 311 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:07,439 Speaker 1: aftermarkets or maybe even black markets to get hold of 312 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: in Nvidia tech, but they're not buying it straight from 313 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: the Nvidia. However, China represents around four hundred million dollars 314 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: in potential sales for this quarter alone. The US government 315 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: is concerned that China's military is scooping up in Vidia 316 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: hardware in order to build out various military based systems 317 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,439 Speaker 1: and in an effort to perhaps pump the brakes a 318 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: bit on fueling China's military complex. The US has put 319 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: these new restrictions in place that will slow things down, 320 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: But in the meantime, companies like Nvidia and a m D, 321 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: which also acknowledged that it received a similar message from 322 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: the U. S government, are going to face challenges because 323 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: these licensing requirements are going to strike off entire product 324 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,639 Speaker 1: lines for Chinese markets for these companies, and that represents 325 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: a massive loss in revenue. Uh. Yeah, It's a complicated 326 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 1: situation because you can see from a national security standpoint 327 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: why the US would want to restrict the export of 328 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: these kinds of technologies to China, a country that also 329 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:17,679 Speaker 1: has a a reputation earned or otherwise of stealing technology 330 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: by copying it. So yeah, complicated issue. Now. A lot 331 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: of time on this show, I talk about tech and 332 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 1: its role in surveillance. I talk about how a lot 333 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 1: of us are willing participants in that kind of system. 334 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: A lot of us are providing endless amounts of data 335 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: about ourselves as we navigate the online world. And then 336 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: there are other cases where agencies like the military and 337 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: the police are relying upon to be generous questionable technology, 338 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: supposedly in an effort to protect people and property, but 339 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,879 Speaker 1: often coming along with it are real world consequences of 340 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: disproportionate harm to certain populations, mostly the non white ones. 341 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 1: But what about AI that's looking to see if you 342 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: have an unreported swimming pool that you should be paying 343 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: property taxes on? All? Right, now, this story emerges out 344 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: of France, land of croissants and the cone heads, if 345 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: we're to believe their cover story, Shout out if you 346 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: get that reference. Anyway. In France, there are property tax 347 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,400 Speaker 1: laws that set tax rates based on a property's rental value. 348 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: Meaning if your property has a lot of stuff that 349 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 1: would make it an attractive rental, you're gonna have to 350 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:37,680 Speaker 1: pay extra taxes on that. Verandah's extra tax an extension 351 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: to your home boom extra tax and swimming pools. Oh yeah, 352 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 1: that's that's more property tax. But the government suspected that 353 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: people were being entirely forthcoming when it comes to stuff 354 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,719 Speaker 1: like this, so they tapped a company called cap Gemini 355 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: to scan satellite data and look for signs of unreported 356 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:03,360 Speaker 1: architectural enhancements, mostly swimming pools, and the tech, after some 357 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: tweaking and some learning, uh, ended up returning more than 358 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: twenty thousand instances of swimming pools throughout France, and that 359 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: represents about ten million euros worth of untaxed property. So 360 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: on the one hand, boo for more surveillance, I'm never 361 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,359 Speaker 1: a fan of that. But on the other, boo for 362 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 1: tax evasion. I mean, tax evasion is not a good 363 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: thing either. Though you could argue that the tax law 364 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: in the first place is already dumb or unfair and 365 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,200 Speaker 1: should be changed, and I could be persuaded to see 366 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,679 Speaker 1: validity in that argument, but yeah, it's hard for me 367 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 1: to side with folks who are actively attempting to avoid 368 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 1: paying taxes. Our next story takes us to Surrey, a 369 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 1: region in the UK that's southwest of Greater London. There, 370 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:53,120 Speaker 1: residents are complaining that police are misusing the Ways navigation 371 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: app Ways allows users to indicate spots where drivers should 372 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 1: use extra care, such as areas where they're is an 373 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: accident or traffic congestion, or you know, where there's a 374 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,399 Speaker 1: member of the fuzz lying in wait in a speed trap. 375 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: So drivers using Ways can set up a little icon 376 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 1: to indicate that there are coppers up ahead waiting to 377 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: catch speed demons, and thus when drivers see that icon, 378 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,600 Speaker 1: they slow down. Now. The complaint is that the Surrey 379 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: police have been activating this feature as they drive around 380 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: on patrol, so they're indicating that there's a speed trap 381 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 1: when in reality there isn't one. And the feature is 382 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,920 Speaker 1: meant to indicate, you know, the speed trap, which is 383 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: a stationary thing, right, Like that's where a cop is 384 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: lying in wait, just ready to pull over someone for 385 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,119 Speaker 1: going over the speed limit. But in this case, the 386 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: cops are in cars that are on the move, so 387 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: they're actually in motion. However, the icon will stay wherever 388 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:58,399 Speaker 1: they set it up, because the icon is thought to 389 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: be like, well, this is an indication the stationary police unit. 390 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 1: So drivers are going to see these icons for speed 391 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,960 Speaker 1: traps and they slow down, but there's no actual cop there. 392 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:13,639 Speaker 1: They were tricked into slowing down and obeying the law. 393 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,119 Speaker 1: It's unfair that has drivers mad. How dare the police 394 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: misused tech that is meant to allow speeding drivers to 395 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 1: avoid detection. The police have said, look, when we use 396 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: the app, we were at that location. It's just that 397 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:34,159 Speaker 1: we happen to move immediately afterwards. And besides, we cannot 398 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: be everywhere, and this does cut down on people driving 399 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: beyond the speed limit. So, like the story about France, 400 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: this is one where people who want to break the 401 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: rules are exasperated when the government agency figures out how 402 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 1: to leverage technology that makes it harder to do that. 403 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,160 Speaker 1: And again, it's kind of hard for me to feel 404 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 1: sympathy towards the drivers here, largely because speeding often contributes 405 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: to car accidents and moreover, uh two car accidents that 406 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 1: result in terrible injury and fatality. So I don't feel 407 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,680 Speaker 1: terribly bad for the drivers who were tricked into obeying 408 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: the law. That just doesn't strike me as something I 409 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: should be mad about. Um, I think it's kind of amusing. 410 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 1: Have you ever played the board game Monopoly and encountered 411 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,640 Speaker 1: the community chess card that reads bank error in your favor? Well, 412 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,639 Speaker 1: in Monopoly, if you get that card, you net a 413 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: cool two hundred bucks. Well, inject that with steroids and 414 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,440 Speaker 1: you have what happened to a Crypto dot com customer 415 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: not too long ago. The customer was asking for a 416 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: sixty eight dollar refund, but Crypto dot Com made a 417 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 1: teen sy weed see little mistake and accidentally gave her 418 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: seven point to million dollars, And then no one at 419 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 1: Crypto noticed. For like half a year. I mean, can 420 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: you imagine seeing a seven million dollar plus amount hit 421 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: your account. Well, Crypto is now going after this customer 422 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 1: in court, demanding that she payback not just the seven 423 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:13,880 Speaker 1: point two million smack aous, but interest on top of that. Yikes. 424 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: At the Colorado State Fair, a digital painting titled Tatra 425 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 1: Dopora spatial which I know I butchered the French pronunciation, 426 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,920 Speaker 1: but whatever, it took home the Blue Ribbon first prize 427 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,360 Speaker 1: in the digital category, and a subsequent revelation sparked massive 428 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: controversy because see the credited artist, Jason Allen, revealed that 429 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,359 Speaker 1: he had used an AI program called mid Journey to 430 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: generate this image after giving it a specific prompt that 431 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: he hasn't revealed. Then he fed this resulting image into 432 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: Gigga pixel AI in order to upscale them before printing 433 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: the finished work on a canvas and submitting it for 434 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,439 Speaker 1: a consideration. In other words, this work of art was 435 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:06,680 Speaker 1: primarily machine generated, although Alan argues that without his involvement 436 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: there would be no image at all, so there's still 437 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,200 Speaker 1: some human element to it. But this has really ticked 438 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 1: off a lot of artists, and some of them are 439 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: calling this the death of artistry itself. Now I wouldn't 440 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: go that far, but it does raise a ton of 441 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 1: ethical questions, right, I mean, if we're to celebrate human 442 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: artistic achievement, then we need the assurances that a work 443 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: has come from you know, a human. I think that 444 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:36,200 Speaker 1: is hard to argue against, but we also have to 445 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: acknowledge it is an amazing feat to have reached a 446 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: point where an AI program can generate a work of 447 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: digital art and a level of sophistication and beauty that 448 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 1: can be award winning when placed up against human competitors. 449 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: Like that is a phenomenal thing too, I think if 450 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 1: it's similar to the way of it being amazing once 451 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,479 Speaker 1: we reached a point where we could does I a 452 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: chess playing program capable of beating a human chess master? However, 453 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: there are social questions to consider. Could machines ultimately displace 454 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 1: creatives in creative jobs? Is the benefit to the general 455 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: public not great enough to potentially justify wiping out creative professionals, 456 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: you know? And what the heck will creative professionals? What 457 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: will artists do if that happens? I mean, you could 458 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: argue get a real job, I guess, But that is 459 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: absolutely inhumane and cruel. I mean that's like saying, hey, 460 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: this method of expression that's critical to you and that 461 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: lets you earn a living doing what feeds your soul. Yeah, 462 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 1: you don't get to do that anymore. Go get a 463 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: job at a desk. Yeah no, thanks. So, yeah, this 464 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,360 Speaker 1: is a complicated thing. Now. Of course, keep in mind 465 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:00,920 Speaker 1: I say that as a content creator, right, So clearly 466 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: I have a vested interest in this kind of thing. 467 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: So I admit I have a very strong bias when 468 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,240 Speaker 1: it comes to this story because I've got stake in 469 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:14,960 Speaker 1: this as well. But ultimately, the argument is we shouldn't 470 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 1: reward this process where we're displacing people from work, especially 471 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: when there's nothing underneath too protect like there's no safety 472 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: net for people, and that this ultimately could apply to 473 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 1: any kind of job, right that this is the fear 474 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: of automation replacing humans, and currently the focus in the 475 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: industry is to augment human achievement, not to replace it. 476 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 1: But there's still this underlying fear that automatic systems, machine learning, 477 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: artificial intelligence are ultimately going to displace us. But then 478 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: you follow that up with the question, well, if it did, 479 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: that becomes an unsupportable system, right, because if no one 480 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: has a job, no one has money to buy the 481 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: stuff that's being made, and then the companies that have 482 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 1: created all the automated systems in the first place no 483 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 1: longer have customers, and the whole thing comes tumbling down 484 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: in itself. So clearly we have to come up with 485 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: a solution that addresses this, whether it's moving away from 486 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: AI and automation, which seems unlikely, or coming up with 487 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: an alternative to the old model of do this work 488 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 1: and we will give you money, which allows you to 489 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: eat and clothe yourself, etcetera. But that's a whole discussion 490 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:42,240 Speaker 1: for another episode. Finally, Dungeons and Dragons recently released a 491 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: new spell Jammer expansion to D and D. The original 492 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,720 Speaker 1: spell Jammer rules came out, I believe way back in 493 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:51,960 Speaker 1: second edition days, because I owned the original box set 494 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: back then and I never went beyond second edition rules 495 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,920 Speaker 1: when I was playing D and D regularly. Now, the 496 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,480 Speaker 1: rules allow players two board magical ships that ascend into 497 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:07,000 Speaker 1: the heavens and allow characters to traverse space or the 498 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: ether itself to visit New World's new planes of existence. 499 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 1: I've actually heard some fairly harsh criticism about this new 500 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,200 Speaker 1: generation of spell Jammer rules, but that's not really what 501 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to chat about here. Instead, in an effort 502 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: to promote the release of the new rules, Wizards of 503 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: the Coast inserted a twenty sided die a k a. 504 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: A D twenty into the model of a spell Jammer 505 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,480 Speaker 1: ship with a little bubble on top of it to 506 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 1: keep the D twenty in place, and then attached the 507 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: ship to a balloon and released it in the California Desert. 508 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: The company released a video that spans more than two 509 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: hours where a camera positioned to look right at this 510 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: model with the D twenty inside of it shows the 511 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: ascent and it is titled Launching a Dice to Space, 512 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 1: and that has at least two errors in that title, 513 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: at least if you're being super pedantic, because traditionally dice 514 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: is the plural of die. Now, I will admit, in 515 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: modern vernacular folks will use the word dice to denote 516 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,960 Speaker 1: a single die. So I guess I can let that 517 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,360 Speaker 1: one slide because language does evolve, and if you argue 518 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 1: against it, well you're really just being pedantic for no reason. 519 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:23,760 Speaker 1: I mean, I still use die to refer to a 520 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: single dice, But I'm a dying breed, so it still 521 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,680 Speaker 1: irks me. But the other error is the bit about 522 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,760 Speaker 1: going to space. You cannot get to space on a balloon. 523 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,520 Speaker 1: You can get super duper high up in the atmosphere. 524 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 1: You can, you know, get way up there, as bomb 525 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 1: Gardner showed us. And depending upon whose definition of space 526 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,560 Speaker 1: you're using, you can argue that you're at the edge 527 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:54,040 Speaker 1: of space. You know, there are different definitions for where 528 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 1: space begins. But the fact remains that a helium balloon 529 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 1: can only rise as long as the balloon is lighter 530 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: than the air surrounding it, And eventually you get to 531 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,680 Speaker 1: a point where the air is so thin that the 532 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:10,800 Speaker 1: balloon and the air around it are at the same weight, 533 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: so the balloon can rise no further than that. So 534 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: really I would argue the D twenty went super duper 535 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:20,959 Speaker 1: high up in the air way above the clouds even 536 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:26,959 Speaker 1: but space. Nah, it didn't pass that saving throw. That's 537 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,799 Speaker 1: it for the Tech News for Thursday September one, two 538 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 1: thousand twenty two. 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