WEBVTT - Tech News: X Gon' Take It Away From Ya 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:12.240 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:15.920 and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:18.840 I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio. And how the tech 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.480 are you? It's time for the tech News for Thursday, 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:26.400 July twenty seventh, twenty twenty three. And y'all, I'm looking 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:30.600 forward to having a week or maybe two when hopefully 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.239 the X news will die down a bit and I 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:37.000 can skip talking about Elon Musk. But today is not 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:41.560 that day. In fact, Musk shows up for multiple reasons today. 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:46.560 So the Wall Street Journal reports that X dot com 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:51.320 formerly known as Twitter, is allegedly adding a new requirement 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:57.560 for brand accounts on X. So companies that have maintained 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.920 an account on X will have to meet a new requirement, 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:02.760 and that is to spend a minimum of one thousand 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:07.119 dollars per month on advertising or else they'll lose their 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:13.039 verification status. Once again, we see that verification is not 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.640 verification on X. Or maybe you could argue it does 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:21.080 verify you. It verifies that you paid for a checkmark. Now, 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.000 I will note there are exceptions. There are some people 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:28.000 who had truly massive followings on Twitter, and they were 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.920 gifted their checkmarks back after initially having them stripped away, 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:35.240 and most of those accounts will very quickly tell you, 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.039 in no uncertain language that they did not pay to 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:42.520 get the check mark back anyway. According to Musk, this 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:46.679 is really about protecting those brands, that the one thousand 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.640 dollars per month fee is high enough to prevent rap 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:53.880 scallions from creating accounts posing as a brand, and so 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:58.520 it cuts down on scammers who weren't really a thing 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.640 before you could just pay for a check mark anyway. 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:07.559 Skeptics argue that Musk's company is scrambling for revenue, having 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:12.360 lost a significant amount, like fifty percent of the advertising 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.600 dollars that were coming into the company over the last 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.720 several months, and that this play is similar to making 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:20.760 users pay a subscription fee for that check mark, plus 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:22.920 you know, some other features that come with it, and 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:25.760 that it's really just a way to slow down losses. 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.600 It'll be interesting to see which brands continue to stick 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.520 around on X. Some of them are big enough where 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:35.040 one thousand dollars a month isn't really that big of 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.640 a commitment, but others are smaller and that you know, 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:41.520 that's a significant investment, and I think a lot of 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:44.000 brand managers are going to start asking themselves if there's 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:48.160 even enough value associated with being on X to go 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.160 to the trouble or if they should just you know, 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:53.440 ditch and go to threads or some other platform instead 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:58.200 speaking of X. You won't be speaking of X in Indonesia, 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:00.520 or at least you wouldn't have been. Earlier this week, 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:06.120 Al Jazeera reported that on Tuesday, Indonesia more or less 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.760 accidentally blocked Musk's platform because of the domain name x 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:16.120 dot com because in Indonesia they associated that domain with 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:20.600 sites that would host adult material and Indonesia has strict 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:25.519 laws against pornography. The Ministry of Communication and Informatics reached 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.840 out to x dot com to confirm that it is 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:33.160 in fact meant solely to host Twitter and not a 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.880 platform for pornographic material. But this meant that twenty four 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:40.480 million people living in Indonesia were unable to access x 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:44.160 slash Twitter that day unless they were using like a 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:47.840 VPN or something I guess. Not long ago, I talked 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:54.160 about how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.440 here in the United States is investigating a car crash 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.920 that happened back in twenty eighteen actually, and one of 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.120 the cars involved in that was a Tesla vehicle that 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:07.560 allegedly was in advanced driver assist mode autopilot or full 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.040 self driving mode in other words. Now, according to CNBC, 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:17.120 California's Attorney General's Office has launched its investigation into Tesla, 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:21.440 and this investigation is looking into both the issue of 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:25.960 safety with Tesla's autopilot system, as well as seeking comment 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:28.880 from Tesla owners about whether or not they feel they 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.800 were the target of false advertising when it came to 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:36.760 Tesla's driver assist features. This might also include Tesla customers 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.800 who paid into the full self driving system, which is 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.760 still an advanced driver assist feature. It's not, as the 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:48.440 name seems to suggest, an actually fully autonomous method of 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.000 operating your vehicle. So this is still very early on 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:56.760 in the Attorney General's office investigation into Tesla. It's early 0:04:56.880 --> 0:05:00.000 enough that CNBC wasn't able to get any confirmation from 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:03.719 the the office that it's actually engaged in such an investigation. 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.960 They did, however, talk with people who say they had 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:11.200 been in contact with the Attorney General's Office and answered 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.960 some questions about their experience with Tesla. It is too 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:18.120 early to assume any kind of outcome here or what 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:22.159 the office might demand of Tesla. Shouldn't find evidence of 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:27.920 false advertising or other issues. So it's just the earliest 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.560 days of this investigation and it may end up not 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.240 turning into anything. We'll just have to wait and see. 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:38.279 In certain sections of the Chinese city Chingdu, there are 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.960 no Tesla's allowed right now now. The reason for this 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:45.760 is that the city is hosting the World University Games 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:50.440 this week, and Chinese President Shi Jinping will visit the 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:54.640 city as part of the opening celebration, which is tomorrow. 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.839 The concern is that Tesla vehicles, which rely on optical 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.880 camera systems for the purposes of things like that collision detection, 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:06.360 could end up operating as a surveillance threat, so police 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.080 have been told to turn away drivers in Tesla's if 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:12.120 they should approach certain venues now. Elon Musk in the 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:15.760 past has said that Tesla obeys whatever local data laws 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.600 are in place in all the regions where Tesla's are 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.960 on the roads, but it sounds like Chinese authorities don't 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:26.080 want to take any chances, and have subsequently demanded that 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.159 cameras on wheels not be allowed near the places Shi 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:34.680 Jenping will visit. I suspect we won't see any official 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:39.479 outcry from Tesla the company because the Chinese market is 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:43.159 a critical one for Tesla, so it would shock me 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:48.919 if the company made any noise about this. What do 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:57.400 the following companies have in common? BMW, Honda, General Motors, Yundi, Mercedes, Benz, 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:02.039 Kia and Stalantis. That last one might not sound familiar 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:03.880 to you, but they own a whole bunch of car companies. 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:06.960 And if you in fact said, oh, those are all automakers, 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.720 you get partial credit. But beyond that, if you had said, 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.040 those are seven companies that are aiming to build out 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:18.120 an EV charging network to rival that of Tesla's in 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:22.040 North America, well then you get full marks. Because these companies, 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.480 which you could argue, really drag their collective feet. While 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.760 Elon Musk was directing Tesla to build out supercharger stations 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:31.520 all over the place, are now trying to push back 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:37.400 against Tesla's dominance in the space. So right now, Tesla 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:42.800 has approximately twenty two thousand supercharger stalls in North America. 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:46.520 This is according to Business Insider, that puts them by 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.960 far in the lead for EV charging stations. They have 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.600 completely eclipsed everyone else. But this coalition of automakers hopes 0:07:55.640 --> 0:08:00.240 to build out more than thirty thousand charging stations. And 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.440 if you're wondering who currently holds number two in North 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:07.160 America for EV charging stations, that would actually be Volkswagen 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:11.120 backed company Electrify America. But they just have three, five 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:14.320 and ninety two. That is a far cry behind the 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:19.160 twenty two thousand now. Obviously, the need for charging stations 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.640 are one of the big reasons why EV adoption is 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:26.640 facing an uphill battle. Right, you have to have confidence 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:30.280 among consumers that they can actually recharge their cars and 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:34.080 not get stranded somewhere. And so this is a real need. 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:38.600 But you might ask, well, why are automakers rushing forward now? 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.520 I mean, this need has existed ever since people started 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:44.559 to talk about electric vehicles again. Well, there are a 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:47.559 couple of big reasons why it's happening now. One is 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.320 that evs are going to become increasingly common in North 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:53.440 America moving forward because a lot of automakers are moving 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:58.000 away from internal combustion engine vehicles. There's this global migration 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:03.040 away from those and for the purposes of manufacturing it 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.239 makes sense, and also, I mean it's cheaper to manufacture 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.520 evs than it is internal combustion engine vehicles. They are 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:13.680 simpler in design. Another reason is that the automakers would 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.800 rather be able to create their own charging standard than 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:22.040 to allow Tesla to dictate that standard, because if Tesla's 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:27.520 technology becomes the universal charging technology, that would mean automakers 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.080 would have to pay a license fee to Tesla in 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:33.360 order to make use of that tech, and that would 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.400 be great news for Tesla to rake in money for 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:40.600 licensing out its technology to other companies, but generally speaking, 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:42.920 companies would rather not have to do that if they 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.440 can find a workaround. So it sounds like the group 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:48.160 wants to build out charging stations that lift some of 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:51.440 the ideas that Tesla incorporates in its technology. For example, 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.640 to pay for charging, you would just plug in your vehicle, 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:57.480 and when you do that, the vehicle communicates with the 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:03.040 charging station, identifies itself, Your account automatically gets deducted whatever 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:07.640 the charge was for the juicing up your vehicle, and 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.000 you go on your way. You don't have to take 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:12.679 out a credit card or anything. That's a great feature 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:15.000 and it's one that I think these automakers are looking 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.920 to incorporate in their own solutions, so you could say 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:22.160 that they're going to be copying a lot of Tesla's features, 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.440 maybe not in operation, but in effect. My guess is 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.600 that's what we're going to see. Now, we're not done 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:32.040 with Tesla just yet. Reuter's reports that the company overpromised 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:36.040 how far its vehicles could drive on a single charge, and, 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.960 in an effort to avoid festen up to that issue, 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:42.600 would cancel appointments of drivers who were concerned that their 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:46.960 car wasn't performing up to standard. So, as a driver, 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.640 you would get behind the wheel of your Tesla, started up, 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:52.520 and you would see an estimate of how far you 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:55.120 could go on the current battery charge of your vehicle. 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:59.680 No pun intended. The drivers saw that their actual driving 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.880 range was lower than what the estimate was, and then 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:06.320 it was frequently, i mean like always lower. So naturally 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.400 some of the drivers sought an appointment with a Tesla 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.079 service center to see what was up, just assuming, oh, 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:14.920 something is wrong with my vehicle, because I'm never able 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.600 to achieve the driving range that is estimated when I 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:21.559 get in my vehicle. So, according to Reuter's, Tesla had 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:26.360 a team in place dedicated to canceling those types of 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:30.199 service appointments, because ultimately the only thing that was going 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:34.000 wrong was that the algorithm estimating the driving range was 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:37.160 way too optimistic. I suppose they could have tried to 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:40.160 fix the algorithm, but then the driver would likely notice 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:43.800 that their car now was estimating lower ranges than before, 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.480 and that if you're a driver, you would say, well, 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.920 they fixed the wrong dang part of the car. They 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:50.560 should have made the car be able to do what 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.000 it said it could do, not change what it said 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:56.800 it could do to something less Reuters couldn't find information 0:11:56.880 --> 0:12:00.800 on when, or what, how or how all that algorithm 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.199 could have changed over the years, but Business Insider offered 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:07.079 up the encouragement that Tesla vehicle driving performance has actually 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.680 improved significantly over the years, so chances are you don't 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:13.880 encounter the same issue now. But doesn't change the fact that, 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:18.880 if this investigation is accurate, Tesla arguably engaged in false 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:22.719 advertising for years. Okay, we've got a lot more news 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:24.840 stories to go. It was a busy week. We're going 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:36.480 to take a quick break. We'll be right back. We're back. 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:40.760 Bloomberg reports that the US Federal Trade Commission is preparing 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:45.920 an enormous antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, and that the FTC 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:50.400 may even seek to break Amazon up a bit in 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:55.480 a corporate restructuring, and Amazon would have to spin off 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.439 parts of its business that would be huge. It's something 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.240 that we really haven't seen in the tech sector for decades. 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.679 Like the last time I remember them attempting to do 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:09.040 this was with Microsoft in the nineties, and ultimately that 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:13.000 decision was reversed, but initially that was going to happen 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:15.560 to Microsoft. So at the heart of the matter with 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:19.400 this particular case is Amazon's policies that appear to reward 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:23.960 merchants who rely on Amazon tools and then restrict merchants 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:26.840 who do not. That can mean that a merchant that 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:30.040 plays ball with Amazon will find itself popping up in 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:34.160 relevant searches more often or appearing as a suggested product. 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:37.360 You know, when you buy something or you've got something 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:38.960 in your cart and you see a message that says 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:41.800 people who bought this also bought this other kind of 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:45.079 stuff that kind of thing, And merchants who do not 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:50.720 use Amazon tools and services that are optional will find 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:53.640 that their products get buried deep in search results. That's 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.360 what the allegation is, and customers are not likely to 0:13:57.440 --> 0:14:01.600 see the results at all, so they don't buy those products, 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.439 and the merchants who either can't afford or don't want 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:09.040 to use Amazon services end up being punished as a result. 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.320 So the FTC says, one, this is happening, and two 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:17.439 this practice is clearly anti competitive because Amazon owns the marketplace, 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:21.240 it dictates the terms, It awards advantages to people who 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:25.720 pay those optional Amazon services, and denies those advantages to 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:28.720 merchants who do not. I will keep an eye on this. 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.440 Bloomberg reports that the FTC's plan is to bring this 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:35.680 litigation against Amazon in August, and if that happens, it 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:38.480 might well warrant a full Tech Stuff episode to kind 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:42.880 of talk about this and previous antitrust suits that were 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.200 brought against tech companies, and maybe even talk about why 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:50.520 there was a very long gap between the efforts in 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.800 the nineties and what we're seeing play out today. One 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.000 story I did not cover on Tuesday, honestly because I 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.040 just needed more time to read up on it to 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:02.400 get it my head wrapped around it was that Google 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:06.760 has introduced a new specification called the Web Environment Integrity 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:11.440 spec so this specification would create an application programming interface 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.640 or API. The purpose of this API is that websites 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.880 could enable it to inform them if the browser and 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:22.720 the device running the browser is trusted by a third 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.640 party that would be called the a tester. So in 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:30.240 other words, the website could say, hey, is this person 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:34.040 or thing that's visiting my site? Is that trustworthy or not? 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.040 And this third party would say either yes or no. 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:41.560 The idea here is this would help websites differentiate real traffic, 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.480 you know, like traffic coming from actual human beings on 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:48.880 actual consumer devices or whatever, or if the traffic was 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:52.720 coming through some automated system like a bot. That One 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.280 of the use cases they mentioned would be to determine 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:58.640 if an interaction with an AD was one that was 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:02.080 taken by a real world, hure human being or if 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:05.360 someone just program bots to do it and artificially run 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.640 up the ads click through. But critics are calling this 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:13.880 approach akin to putting DRM on the web. DRM, in 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:17.240 case you're not familiar, stands for digital Rights management. If 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:19.840 you've got any sort of negative associations with that term, 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:26.080 it is totally understandable. DRM not always but frequently makes 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:29.640 it harder for legitimate consumers to actually enjoy the products 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:33.800 they legitimately bought, and it only stands as a minor 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.960 inconvenience to people who are determined to steal stuff because 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:40.000 invariably they find a way to break the erm. So, 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.600 in other words, most of the time, maybe just much 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:45.920 of the time, let's be kind, much of the time, 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:48.760 it fails to solve the problem it was designed to stop, 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:53.040 i e. Piracy And meanwhile, it makes the normal experience 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.200 worse for everyone who's playing by the rules, which is 0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:00.400 doubly bad, right, and yet it's still a thing anyway. 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:04.399 A big concern about Google's approach is that this could 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.879 mean and a tester, the third party that tells you 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.360 whether or not something is trustworthy or not, could arbitrarily 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:16.800 decide that a particular browser or platform is untrustworthy and 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.919 just blacklist it. And if that a tester is like Google, 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.560 because Google suggested that Google Play would serve as the 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:28.399 a tester for Android platforms, well that means Google effectively 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:32.200 becomes a gatekeeper. And if you are a developer who 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:36.280 has created an alternative browser, it may mean that you 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:38.959 no longer have a business because no one can use 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:41.200 your tool to access anything, at least not on an 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:46.040 Android device because the third party a tester, has determined 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:49.320 that your tool is not trustworthy. So if Google decides 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:52.560 a particular browser is untrust trustworthy, can effectively block them 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:56.160 from accessing the web. That seems more than a little 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:00.000 like overreach. If you ask me now, Similarly, you would 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.879 assume that Google would name like Microsoft to be the 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.600 gatekeeper or the a tester for Windows based machines, and 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:13.119 Apple would undoubtedly be the gatekeeper for iOS and macOS devices. 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:17.240 Considering the conversation these days often circles around the problem 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:20.439 of a centralized web that is the realm of just 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:24.240 a few powerful tech companies, this seems like a supremely 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:28.320 bad move. It's like a direct strike against the open web. 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:32.240 I think it is likely that we will eventually see 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.600 regulators oppose this approach. I think that's most likely to 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.720 happen first in places like the EU the European Union, 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:43.919 because they are very quick to spot and oppose things 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:49.240 that are anti competitive or monopolistic. Switching gears, Meta has 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:53.359 had a great week financially. The company showed that it 0:18:53.400 --> 0:19:00.040 had increased ad engagement and sales figures dramatically beating industry estimates, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.960 and they leaned heavily on AI tools to do so. 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:05.280 So this is like a double win for Meta, right 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:08.640 one they're able to show how well their business worked, 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:11.679 and two they were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:15.720 AI in this particular application. The improved performance led to 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:18.840 a surge in the company's stock price, and just like that, 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:23.360 Meta saw sixty billion dollars tagged on top of its 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:29.080 market value. World's turn on such things. Meta also showed 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:31.919 that it had improved ad engagement and sales on its 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:35.920 Reels product within Instagram, which of course is another big deal, 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:40.480 and investors are very much encouraged and advertisers are flocking 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.320 to Meta. I meanwhile, you know x dot Com over 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:45.240 there is saying brands need to cough up a grand 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:48.040 a month to stay checked on the site. It's like 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:51.359 night and day these companies. Anyway, while Meta the company 0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:54.040 is doing great, I think it is really important for 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:57.959 users to remember that this increase in performance ultimately comes 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:01.120 back to the fact that Meta is very good at 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:05.400 collecting your data. It's very good at sussing out what 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:08.600 you like and what you want and then serving that 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:11.560 up to you. By sharing the information with advertisers. Just 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:14.000 something to always keep in mind, you know, because we 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.760 are the product here. So while if you're an investor 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:20.000 in Meta, you're probably happy to hear that the company 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:24.200 had such a great turnout this week, but if you're 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:27.240 a user, you need to remember, like there's a there's 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:30.320 a dark side to all of this. Here's another story 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:35.160 about anti competitiveness. This time we've got three big tech 0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:38.680 companies that are banding together to compete against two other 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:42.760 big tech companies. In fact, the story involves the big 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:46.800 five tech companies. It involves Google and Apple, who are 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:50.119 kind of in the dominant positions on one side, and 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:54.600 the combined might of Meta, Microsoft and Amazon on the other. 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:59.679 And what is the battleground? Map apps digital maps, So 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:03.439 currently on Apple and Google dominate the digital map space, 0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:07.080 right Like, if you're using an iOS device, chances are 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.439 you're probably using Apple Maps. If you're on Android, you're 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:12.320 probably using Google Maps. If you're on Apple and you're 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:14.720 fed up with Apple Maps, you may be using Google Maps. 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:17.840 Although that's unfair. Apple Maps was very bad when it 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:22.240 first launched, but they fix that and in some cases, 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:26.040 Apple Maps gives much better directions than Google Maps. I've 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:28.560 had that happen a couple of times where my partner 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:33.280 their map would end up bringing us to a location 0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:39.000 much more efficiently than my Android Google Maps navigation would 0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:42.840 take us. So it goes both ways anyway. App developers 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:46.359 that want map functionality in their apps frequently they have 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:49.399 to pay one or the other, or maybe even both 0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:53.880 Google and Apple to access their map data to help 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:59.080 populate the app that the developer is creating. Meanwhile, these 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:02.320 other three big companies are saying, why can't we get 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.600 some of the money. So these three companies in partnership 0:22:05.600 --> 0:22:09.080 with tom Tom are releasing data that app developers can 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:11.919 use to build out their own map functions, and that 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.439 way they could bypass the need to pay Google or 0:22:14.480 --> 0:22:19.200 Apple for that information. Now, these groups are not building 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:22.879 their own map app. We're not getting a third contender 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:27.439 against Google and Apple Maps. Instead, what they're doing is 0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:32.320 they're giving developers the opportunity to access this mountain of 0:22:32.520 --> 0:22:35.960 underlying data, and it's up to the developers to build 0:22:35.960 --> 0:22:39.399 the map software that they want and the experience they 0:22:39.440 --> 0:22:41.880 have in mind. Personally, I think it's a good move. 0:22:42.200 --> 0:22:48.400 Competition is important, Competition inspires innovation. Competition can keep prices lower. 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:51.520 It'll be interesting to see if this initiative actually challenges 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:55.960 the existing duopoly in the digital map space. However, Okay, 0:22:57.119 --> 0:23:00.200 I've got, oh my gosh, so many more stories. We're 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:01.639 going to do one more before we do a break. 0:23:02.040 --> 0:23:06.920 I'm calling an audible y'all, cause gosh, there's so many stories. 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:11.399 So in Hollywood, strikes continue with the Writer's Guild of 0:23:11.400 --> 0:23:16.880 America and sag AFTRA unions. One of the many issues 0:23:16.920 --> 0:23:21.960 that these two unions are facing in Hollywood centers around 0:23:22.640 --> 0:23:25.919 artificial intelligence and its place in Hollywood and if it 0:23:26.040 --> 0:23:29.680 even should have a place. If it does, where should 0:23:29.720 --> 0:23:35.880 the restrictions be. Meanwhile, Netflix pulled focus when Netflix's search 0:23:36.000 --> 0:23:40.960 for an AI product manager became public knowledge. So, according 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:46.240 to Netflix's you Know job opening, they're offering up to 0:23:46.400 --> 0:23:50.320 nine hundred thousand dollars per year as a salary for 0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:55.080 a suitably qualified person to be an AI product manager. Meanwhile, 0:23:55.520 --> 0:23:59.200 sag AFTRA argues that nearly ninety percent of working actors 0:23:59.240 --> 0:24:02.040 earn less than two twenty six thousand dollars a year. 0:24:02.480 --> 0:24:06.080 By the way, that's the threshold an actor must meet 0:24:06.359 --> 0:24:10.080 if they are to receive medical benefits from the union, right, 0:24:10.080 --> 0:24:13.000 they have to get twenty six thousand dollars from acting. Actually, 0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:15.520 I think it's twenty six four hundred and seventy. You 0:24:15.600 --> 0:24:17.919 have to make at least that much just from acting 0:24:18.560 --> 0:24:21.720 in order to qualify for medical benefits. So you might 0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:25.000 supplement your acting with other jobs and you might make 0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:28.800 more than twenty six thousand, but the union only counts 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:32.159 it if it is derived from your work as an actor. 0:24:32.760 --> 0:24:36.639 So the argument here is that the vast majority of 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:42.040 actors are being exploited. And meanwhile, here's Netflix putting out 0:24:42.080 --> 0:24:45.280 an ad for an AI expert who will be making 0:24:45.320 --> 0:24:48.639 nearly a million dollars a year. So the narrative emerging 0:24:48.680 --> 0:24:50.720 from this labor strike has largely been on the side 0:24:50.720 --> 0:24:53.160 of writers and actors, as they point out that there's 0:24:53.200 --> 0:24:57.520 not actually a shortage of money in Hollywood. Rather, studios 0:24:57.560 --> 0:25:00.560 are attempting to withhold as much money for things like 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:05.439 executive compensation and for shareholder return, while the people who 0:25:05.480 --> 0:25:09.720 are responsible for actually making the stuff that Hollywood profits 0:25:09.720 --> 0:25:12.679