WEBVTT - Week in Tech: If Versailles Could Talk 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:17.520 From Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts. This is tech stuff. I'm 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:20.920 as Voloscian and I'm Kara Price today apples hail Mary 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:24.759 in the AI race, and is tech actually good for 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:29.200 older people? Then on chatting me, Reddit users mourn their 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:33.559 lost confidence and personal advisors, as open ai says hello 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:36.800 to GPT five. All of that on the weekend tech. 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:47.480 It's Friday, August fifteenth, and hello. 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:50.199 Cara, Hi, as, I have a question for you. 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:53.440 Have you ever been to Versailles, the Palace of Versailles 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:55.480 outside of Paris? I have not, have you? 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.440 I actually have? I wrote a segue around Versailles. 0:00:59.000 --> 0:00:59.840 Yes, when was that? 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:02.760 When I h study abroad? 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.280 I study abroad? What does the Padace of Versai have 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:06.200 to do with tech stuff? 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:07.920 They have just entered the AI game. 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:10.520 They have they gonna they turn it into Europe's largest 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:11.080 data center. 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:14.280 You know that. When I saw this, when they were 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:17.000 like Versailles is using AI and partnering with open it, 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:23.560 I was like, I gotta So basically, visitors can talk 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:26.480 to the statues right on their smartphones via the museum's 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.440 app or website. So you scan a QR code near 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:32.039 the statues, or you can just browse a list on 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:32.520 the site. 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.040 Oh well, it sounds almost like you're suggesting we do it. 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:38.440 I'd love to do it. I just love it. I 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.279 love the voice. I really want to show it. Okay, okay, 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:41.800 listen to this. 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.960 Oh hello, what a pleasure to meet someone curious about 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:48.760 my work. What would you like to know about this 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:53.080 lovely taming of mystery by a little winged troublemaker like me? 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:54.720 Here's this. 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:58.040 This is the sphinx ridden by Cupid, and we are 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.960 listening to Cupid to talk to us. And then I'm 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:03.440 going to ask something of Cupid. 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:09.320 Oh I'm all ears or perhaps wings? What question stirs 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:10.240 your curiosity? 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.960 Cupid? Have you ever listened to a podcast? 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:16.840 Ah, dear friend, my ears are more attuned to the 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:19.480 whispers of hearts than to modern chatter. 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:22.519 I have a question for you, Cupid. Can you hear me? Oh? 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:24.600 Loud and clear, my friend? 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:28.280 Wonderful? So, Cupid, how long have you been in the 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:29.000 Palace of Verse? 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.840 I for I've been writing this mystery since sixteen sixty eight. 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:37.200 That's when those marvelous artists crafted me and my silent companion. 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.960 So let's just say I've been here for centuries. Watching 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:43.240 the dance of Time in the sun King's garden. 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:45.800 The sun King meaning Louis Catous. 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:47.200 That's right, Louis Cattus. 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:50.239 This is basically like you, instead of carrying around the 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:53.639 visitor brick phones with the filthy lanyards that you kind 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:59.200 of have to disinfect before hearing endless, endless, boring depositions 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:02.280 about various works and museums. I do always feel guilty 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:04.000 for not bringing those with me because I feel like 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.320 I'm missing out on the true information payload of the experience. 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:10.400 So I guess it's kind of a nice idea at 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:12.920 least to do something a little bit more interactive like this. 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:14.919 Yeah, I think that's the point of what they're trying 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:18.520 to do, but as you can hear, the dialogue is 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:19.400 far from perfect. 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:23.160 I'd also wonder if you're interested enough to get your 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:25.640 phone out, do you think you want to be responded 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:26.640 to in that tone. 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:26.920 In that town? 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:27.440 Ah? 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.840 It kind of takes to the experience. Yes. So the 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.000 French Culture Ministry says they hope it will help them 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:36.040 attract a younger audience, since the average age of a 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.880 visitor to Versailles is currently forty years old. But the 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.480 new York Times article about it said that the statues 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:45.360 weren't responding very well to questions being asked by young people, 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:46.880 which kind of defeats the purpose of this. 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:48.400 What the young people asking. 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:50.600 I could never come up with these things. What do 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.520 you do when a bird poops on you? Will I 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:56.720 ever be rich? Who's going to win the Champions League 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:57.040 this year? 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:57.840 Is a real question. 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.560 These are very real questions, and the President of Versailles 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:02.880 has said that the bots are designed to stay on topic. 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:06.280 But it seems like I'm here and always happy to 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.600 chat or gently steer us back if the conversation wanders 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:13.560 off into the mysteries of bird mishaps or football predictions. 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:15.360 Was the statue listening all along? 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:19.000 Oh my god? And it knew that I veered off. 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:24.920 Thank you, Sta, thank you bring us back. So be careful, Eliza. 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:29.320 Is the statue still listening? Yes, you'll turn them off. 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:32.560 I ended him. Okay, that was excellent. I do think that, 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.040 you know, do I wake up being in Paris and 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:38.839 like rish that I could talk to a statue at Versailles? 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:42.080 Absolutely not, But I probably would use this sooner than 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:43.520 I would use you. 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.640 Age other demographic carry going after if he was sixteen, 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:48.119 that would be the only thing on your mind. 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.720 That's very, very true. But I guess it's still interesting 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.680 that they're at least trying to see what incorporating AI 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:54.400 could look. 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:57.760 Like, which up until recently is more than you could 0:04:57.760 --> 0:04:58.560 say for Apple. 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.360 Shots fire Apple the luddites tech company. 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:04.599 There was a pretty interesting article in Bloomberg this week 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.920 with the headline Apple's upcoming AI voice control will change 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:10.280 how people use iPhones. 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:12.120 So explain to me what that means. 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:15.080 Well, first little bit of context so you may remember this, 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.440 but earlier this year, Apple sort of touted a new 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:21.200 version of Siri, which they then had to delay for 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.080 quote the foreseeable future, and the idea was that Siri 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:26.640 would be a true AI assistant with access to everything 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.640 on your phone. And Apple even released an ad campaign 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:32.680 which they then had to pull because they were sued 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:36.039 for false advertising about Apple Intelligence. It's been a tough 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:39.279 time for Apple in the AI race and their scenes 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:43.279 being way behind. Key executives have left for rivals, including 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.320 Metas recently as last week. The stock's been beaten up, 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:48.840 but last week it was up thirteen percent, the best 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:52.200 week since twenty twenty for Apple. Representing the sum of 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.320 four hundred billion dollars of market cap. 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:55.480 How did that happen? 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:57.920 Well, it actually wasn't really about the Syrian news. I'm 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.440 going to talk more about SyRI in the moment. This 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:04.960 was in response to Tim Cook FKA Tim Apple, and 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.880 his trip to the White House to announce a new 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.880 one hundred billion dollar pledge to manufacture in the US, 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.320 including a commitment to be the first and largest customer 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:18.320 for chips being manufactured in Arizona at the new Taiwan 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:22.479 Semiconductor Manufacturing Company facility there. Only proud of how I 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:27.440 said that, But Tim Cook also literally gave President Trump 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:31.320 a twenty four carrot gold bar, which, as you can imagine, 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:35.720 was very gratefully received, and in turn, at the meeting, 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:38.360 Trump said that Apple would be exempt from one hundred 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.840 percent tariffs on importing foreign chips because they're making domestic 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:43.240 investments in chips. 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:47.840 Thus the stock match the gold bar. 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:50.960 That was the best value of gold bar anyone ever bought. 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.279 Ever. I also think it's interesting that it's a Taiwan 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:58.080 semiconductor company manufacturing area in arizonaa you know, still on 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:02.520 American soil. That's really good for them. And I'm happy 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:05.160 for people who have Apple stock, But what does the 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.160 future in the AI race look like? 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:07.240 Like? 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:09.400 What is what's up with Siri? 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:11.800 Yeah? I mean that was the kind of substance this 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:15.720 Bloomberg piece that I mentioned. The author Mark German reports 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:19.960 that Apple is working on upgraded software that quote could 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:24.000 finally make Siri the true hands free controller of your iPhone. 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.080 With nothing but your voice, You'll be able to tell 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.720 Siri to find a specific photo, edit it and send 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.080 it off, or comment on Instagram post, or scroll the 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:33.760 shopping app and add something to your card, or log 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.160 into a service without touching the screen. Essentially, Siri could 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:40.920 operate your apps like you would with precision inside their 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.040 own interfaces. German continues, if Apple nails this, it's not 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:48.200 just a nice, easy of use upgrade, it's the fulfillment 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.640 of the vision Siri promised nearly fifteen years ago. 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.440 This idea that Siri would sort of be the all 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.240 knowing person that Apple wants her to be, I think 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.480 is really interesting and I probably would end up using it. 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.120 But you know, people ask what the iPhone of the 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.040 AI era will be, the hardware that will deliver on 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.880 the potential of the software. Maybe the iPhone of the 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:10.720 AI era will be the iPhone. 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.040 Well, that is certainly what Apple is hoping for and 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:15.840 banking on. Their current plan is for a major Siri 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.920 overhaul to be done by next spring, and this will 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.640 also be important to other new hardware that Apple's working on, 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.080 like smart displays and even household robots. 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.560 How successful will they actually be at. 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:29.840 This well, I mean, you know, they're basically back to 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.679 work on what they promised before and then had to pull, 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:35.679 I mean, this idea of the one voice control to 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:38.160 rule them all. According to the Bloomberg piece, there are 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.360 deep concerns internally that the project might not be on track. 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:44.320 Engineers are having a hard time getting Siri to work 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:46.760 with so many different apps, and the stakes are high. 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:50.480 I mean, imagine you miscommunicate with Siriri or Syria misunderstands 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.320 you when it's making a wire transfer on your behalf. 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:57.160 And is there any indication of where Apple is with 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:58.720 sort of figuring this all out. 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.160 Yeah, they're doing testing across many of the popular apps 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.679 that are already on the iPhone, Uber, Facebook, Amazon, and YouTube, 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.520 even WhatsApp as well of course, as all of Apple's 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:12.200 native apps, Messages, voice, call, etc. The issue of watched 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.560 about the banking apps has not been resolved. In fact, 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.040 Bloomberg suggests they might just exclude those from the future 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:21.440 seri verse. Yeah, and you mentioned this idea of what 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:24.920 will be the iPhone of the AI era. Sir Johnny Ive, 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.560 who was at Apple for years and was the designer 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:31.040 of the iPhone, is now working with Open Ai on 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.320 a multi billion dollar AI hardware project. So the pressure 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.880 is really on for Apple again as of now, Serious 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:39.360 slated to roll out next spring, the new sery that is. 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:41.800 And if Apple pull it off, you know, I think 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:43.319 they will put to bed a lot of the doubts 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.880 sort of crept in about whether they can stay competitive 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:48.800 in this new era of AI. 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:53.320 So one great generational divide I've noticed is that people 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:56.280 of my mother's generations seem to love to use their 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.520 phones to compose texts with their voice. It's one of 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.360 my favorite things as listening to my mom composed texts 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:05.440 in the car to Siri. It's unbelievable. And the mess 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:07.600 what the messages versus what she wants to say, It's 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.720 also very fun. But what does this ever closer integration 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.080 with our tech do to us? Do you do you 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:16.559 think that this technology could be shriveling our brains? 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:17.600 I do, obviously. 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:21.959 Well, I have some good news, not for us, but 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:25.280 for my mother, which is that there's a study that 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:29.040 has come out that says technology only rots your brain 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:29.760 if you're young. 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:31.480 Wow. Where does that leave us? 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.800 Well, not in a great spot. 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.840 Wait, we're young enough to be rotated. We're young enough. 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:41.120 We're on the elder rot age. So I read this 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:43.960 article in the New York Times last week that the 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.320 constant use of tech, which is what you and I 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:48.199 do every day. I mean when I see you for 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.760 the first time, when we're recording in the morning, we're glue. 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:54.120 You're on your phone and your computer. I'm deep inside 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:54.560 of my phone. 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:56.240 Is only this is only two hours in the week 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:57.360 where I'm not loud to my phone. 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:00.560 Oh my god. People are like, where are you assis life? 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:02.800 Because I go and do not disturb. But this kind 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.000 of phone us, I mean, especially in studies, harms teenagers, 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:10.240 which we are not. But there's a surprising development, which 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:16.080 is that it might actually be helping older people stay sharp. 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:19.120 That's a little confounding. How does this work? 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:20.679 So I just want to zoom out a bit when 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:23.520 you think about people in their sixties and above God 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:28.440 bless mom, you can't help but be amazed by just 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:30.800 how much the world has changed for them. Like, think 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:33.800 about growing up, spending all of your educational years in 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:37.120 a world with no computers, no cell phones, no internet, 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:41.120 using an abacus, using your imagination, using your imagination, you know, 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.559 typing your college essays on a typewriter, and then the 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:47.320 year two thousand hits, we get to twenty twenty five, 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.600 and you're living in this world that does not really 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:53.240 use any of these things, I mean, including people who 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.520 do email on a laptop. I'm like, are you sick. 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.200 Yeah, I mean we talked about this in one of 0:11:58.200 --> 0:11:59.760 the first episodes of Tech Stuff that we did. To 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:03.400 get that, we did an episode about digital natives and 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:07.560 how this sociologist came up with this idea of digital natives, 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.600 and people who've grown up not as digital natives feel 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.280 like almost like immigrants into a new world. And yeah, 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:15.920 I mean that's the experience you're describing. So as much 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.080 as we may roll our eyes at too much voice 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.160 command and phone always being on loud, I mean it's 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:22.040 not easy to keep up. 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:25.920 It is not easy to keep up and in the Times. 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:28.800 What they're reporting is that this constant change and being 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:32.480 forced to adapt may actually be helping older people stay 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:36.280 cognitively active and stave off one of the biggest fears, dementia. 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:38.240 Well yeah, you know, you might think that with all 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.280 the studies on shortening attention spans, the same would be 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:43.760 true for all demographics. But a recent paper in the 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:47.160 journal Nature and Human Behavior found that the people who 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.520 grew up without modern tech and had to learn it 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:55.760 are quote at a reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.880 That's according to Michael Scullen. He's a neuroscientist at Baylor 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:00.200 and one of the authors of the study. 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:04.160 Well, this is tremendously relieving for anyone who's over sixty 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.480 is addicted to their phone. It's like this, it's actually 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:10.440 good for me. Yeah. How did this neuroscientist and his 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:12.120 colleagues come to these conclusions. 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:14.439 So the group they studied was made up of people 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:18.280 over fifty with an average of sixty nine, close to 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:21.760 the Versailles visitor, and they gave them all a bunch 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.760 of different cognitive tests, and what they found was that 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:27.840 the ones who used computer smartphones and the Internet on 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:32.319 a regular basis scored way better than those who avoided technology. 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.120 But what was even more interesting to me was that 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:36.920 this isn't like a lot of studies we've covered on 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.720 this podcast. It wasn't a small sample size. It was 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:42.240 actually a meta analysis meta analysis. 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:44.600 I'm on the edge of my seat. Now, what did 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:47.040 the meta Analoly? How big was the meta analysis? And 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.479 what was the meta analysis? 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:54.000 You're like that, You're like trumping this meta analysis. The 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:58.840 paper analyzed results from fifty seven studies, which collectively gave 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:04.040 them a sample size of over four hundred thousand, and 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.680 they found that across all of those people, ninety percent 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:10.280 of the studies showed that technology seems to have what 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:14.800 the Times calls quote protective cognitive effect. 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:15.240 Wow. 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.440 And Scullin, who the author I mentioned, said that it's 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.160 really rare for so many different studies to have such 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:25.080 similar results. So he also said the decades long fears 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:29.280 about young people using technology and being negatively affected seem 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.040 to be born out of the research as well. 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:33.560 Yeah, I mean that makes me think a little bit 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:37.440 about this cognitive offloading cognitive deficit thing we talked about 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:39.800 a few times on the show, which is that Basically, 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:43.400 if you're using these technologies in place of doing work 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:46.280 yourself when you're a college student or a teenager, it 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.680 makes you dumber. But if you're having to learn how 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:51.320 to use these technologies as an older person, it can 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:53.720 potentially keep you more fresh. 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.680 The learning being key offload, the offloading also being key, 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.680 which is like, if you are offloading any kind of learning, 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:02.720 you're at a deficit. 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.040 I do have a couple of questions here, though, if 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.200 I may play Devil's advocate for a moment, I would 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:13.880 assume that in these studies, technology is effectively approxy for 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:16.960 being social. I text, and I email and I zoom. 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.920 Therefore I am in society. So I would assume that 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:23.440 there is a correlation here because we know that it's 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.320 very neuroprotective to be social. There's also a question for 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:29.600 me about whether people who have higher cognitive abilities are 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.040 by definition more likely to use technology more than people 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.920 with lower cognitive ability, So that a self selecting component. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:39.720 And then there are also socioeconomic questions, right, like you know, 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:41.880 is it are people who are not able to afford 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.760 to have all the modern technology kind of being left behind? 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:46.280 So what do you think? 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.080 Yeah, No, those are all great comments. I think in 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.240 this case, correlation does not equal causation, which is always 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.640 good to remind yourself when you're reading an article about, 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.560 you know, a bit of a crazy sounding research paper. 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:02.320 The papers authors did say that, of course they can't 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:06.120 say anything definitively, but their research did take into account 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:10.120 things like health, education, socioeconomic status, and even with all 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.720 of those variables, the people who use tech still scored better. 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:15.800 And they also say that a big part of this 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:19.360 isn't just staying challenged, but not giving up. 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.000 Oh that was my dad's man. Sure, if at first 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:23.400 you don't succeed. 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:27.520 Try try, try again. They also hypothesize that the frustration 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:31.120 of having to learn and relearn everything after every software 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:35.080 update might actually be beneficial and to your point, the 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:39.000 authors also say tech users help people maintain social connections, 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:42.520 which is another preventer of cognitive decline, and that things 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.080 like calendar notifications help people remember things better. 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:47.560 I don't know if you be happy that I'm still 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:49.960 young enough that the tech is eroding my brain rather 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:54.360 than rather than building it. But yeah, it's a mixed blessing. 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:56.720 I guess I still believe that ikel is helping my 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:58.000 brain stay strong. 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:08.280 After the break, gun safety advocates use AI to resurrect 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:12.280 their son. Also, the long lost Vine archives might have 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:16.280 been unearthed. Livestream viewers fall in love with a voluptuous 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:20.000 starfish and check rept convinces a man to eat poison. 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:24.000 Then on our chat tomy segment, Reddit users get nostalgic 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:43.639 for the good old days of AI. Welcome back. We've 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:45.639 got a few more headlines view this week. 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:48.320 And then a story about the ruckus caused by the 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:49.840 release of GPT five. 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.560 But first, Carot, there is a headline that I was 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.000 very drawn to. We obviously have a lot of fun 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.679 together on this show, joking around and laughing as we 0:17:57.680 --> 0:17:59.760 talk about the news of the week, But this one 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:02.320 is darker, and it relates to something that you and 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.680 I reflected on together several years ago when deep fake 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:09.720 technology was first taking off, namely, would we actually want 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.520 people to speak beyond the grave in the form of 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:18.320 AI avatars. Last week, former CNN anchor Jim Acosta interviewed 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:21.800 on his YouTube show an AI rendering of someone who 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:25.280 was killed in the twenty eighteen shooting in Parkland, Florida. 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:29.160 The avatar was created in the likeness of Joaquin Oliver 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.760 and it was actually his parents who generated the AI version. 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:35.080 So do you know why they decided to do this? 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:37.760 Yeah, I mean they want to use their son's image 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.840 and voice and memory to advocate for quote, stronger gun 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:45.960 control laws, mental health support, and community engagement. And the 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.920 avatar will soon have its own social media presence and 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.440 will also be available for public speaking engagements. 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.800 How did Joaquin's family make this AI avatar? 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.280 Joaquin's father many trained the AI on his son's social 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:01.080 media posts, and of course so there's general knowledge that's 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:04.240 baked into many AI models. This is actually the second 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.520 time the Oliver family have used their son's AI likeness 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.520 to advocate for change. Back in twenty twenty, they use 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.359 a different AI version of their son to encourage people 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:14.600 to register to vote. 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:16.880 So how have people responded to this? 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:20.480 Well, many people did not take kindly to this interview, 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:23.800 you know, and it's a very complicated one because afterwards 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:26.679 the parents who are doing this and in a sense 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:31.480 processing their grief. I'm sure, but you know, people have 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:36.040 called the avatar creepy, unnatural, and even a grotesque puppet show. 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.520 I email with Harney Fried drummer Honey Freed. Yes, yes, 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:43.040 he was a so called godfather of digital forensics, and 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:46.360 he's been on the show before. Harney wrote to me quote, 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:49.440 I was not opposed to the original Joaquin Ai powered 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:52.520 PSA that his parents authorized, in which we heard his 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:57.240 AI recreations speak out against gun violence. There is, however, 0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:00.439 a difference between a pre recorded PSA and what was 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:03.359 made to look like an interview with a well known journalist. 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.679 The interactive interview gave the impression that we were hearing 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:11.080 Joaquin respond to specific questions, when in fact we were not. 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:13.879 I absolutely do not blame the parents for doing whatever 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.480 they can to raise awareness. But this time we've interview 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.280 blurs journalistic lines in a way that I don't think 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:20.000 is appropriate. 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:22.879 So I'm actually curious what this interview sounded like. 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:24.800 Well, I do actually want to play you an excerpt. 0:20:25.320 --> 0:20:28.240 I'm all about love, laughter, and living life to the fullest. 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:30.760