1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you? It is time for 5 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: the tech news for Thursday, January twelve, two thousand twenty three. 6 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: Yesterday morning, flights across the United States were grounded because 7 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: of a corrupted file in the Federal Aviation Administration's computer systems. 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: So the f a A overseas flight operations here in 9 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: the United States, and if it can't operate, ain't no 10 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: flying being done. The corrupted file was in the f 11 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: a a's Notice to Air Missions system a k A 12 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: n O T A M, which I like to think 13 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: is no TAM instead of not AM, but I don't 14 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: honestly know. The purpose of a system is to send 15 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: alerts to pilots to let them know about potential issues 16 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: like hazards that they could encounter along their planned flight route. 17 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: And as you can imagine, that information is really important. 18 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: It can help pilots reroute to avoid problems that otherwise 19 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: could really be serious. And so the entire fleet of 20 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: commercial planes across the United States had to hold off 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: until the problem could be fixed. Making matters worse, the 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: corrupted file was also found in the backup systems, so 23 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: there was no way to just switch to a secondary 24 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: system because those also had the corrupted files in them. Fortunately, 25 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: the f a A was able to fix the issue 26 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: and get operations moving again before I got too late 27 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: in the day, but thousands of flights were delayed and 28 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: hundreds were canceled. The f a A is going to 29 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: investigate the incident, as is the Department of Transportation, but 30 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: officials say that as of right now, there's no evidence 31 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: that this was at all related to any kind of 32 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: cyber attack or anything like that. It was probably a 33 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,639 Speaker 1: much more mundane issue. It does, however, point to how 34 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: a an error like this can bring an entire uh 35 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: sector of the travel industry to a halt. And you know, 36 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: that's that's a sobering thought to think that that's really 37 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: all that stands between operations and a lack thereof UH. So, Yeah, 38 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: it's uh. There's clearly a need to find out what 39 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: caused this issue in order to prevent such things from 40 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: happening again in the future. Now for a quick update 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: on the f t X situation. Now in case you 42 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: don't remember, f t X was the second largest cryptocurrency 43 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: exchange in the world before the whole thing went belly 44 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: up due to some creative bookkeeping. That's a nice way 45 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: to say that. Apparently f t X was secretly sending 46 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 1: customer funds to cover investments made by a sister company 47 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: called Alimated Research. The organization is going through bankruptcy and 48 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: liquidation right now as it tries to recapture as much 49 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: money as possible to return to creditors and stakeholders. According 50 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: to f t x as lawyers, they've recovered more than 51 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: five billion dollars so far in liquid and digital assets. 52 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: The company still laims to recapture money on four point 53 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: six billion dollars worth of less liquid assets. That means 54 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: there's gonna have to be some steps made in order 55 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: to convert these assets into cash, and there's no guarantee 56 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: that the amount secured is going to be the same 57 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: as that four point six billion dollar valuation. Now this 58 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: is impressive news, but it still means that individual investors 59 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: are looking at getting only thirteen cents for every dollar 60 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: they invested, which is a huge loss. Amazon appealed to 61 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: the National Labor Relations Board or in l RB to 62 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: overturn a unionization vote at the JFK eight warehouse facility 63 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: on Staten Island, New York. Unsurprisingly, the n l RB 64 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: denied this appeal they cited with the workers. In fact, 65 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: this is so unsurprising that critics are suggesting that what 66 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: Amazon is doing is just going through this process mainly 67 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: to delay negotiations between the company and the newly formed 68 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: worker union. Amazon plans to appeal again to the n 69 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 1: l RBS National Board in Washington, assuming the n l 70 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: r B will uphold the vote again and there's no 71 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: reason to assume otherwise. The next step would be to 72 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: take the matter to federal court, and it sounds like 73 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: Amazon is determined to make this process as arduous as possible, 74 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: maybe hope that a federal judge would overrule the vote 75 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: to unionize. And it's really hard to predict whether or 76 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: not that would actually work out. Because the US has 77 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: a bumpy history with unions and workers rights, there's been 78 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: a general push back against tech companies over recent years. 79 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: Some of that pushes actually bipartisan. Both conservatives and liberals 80 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: have been pushing back, but the motivations are frequently very different. 81 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: But the US also had a long stretch of the 82 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: government being less than supportive when it comes to workers 83 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: versus the giant tech companies they work for. Salaried Microsoft 84 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: workers have a new benefit called discretionary time off. And 85 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: this isn't being snarky, this is, honest to goodness, a 86 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:19,279 Speaker 1: real benefit. So essentially, salaried employees are now able to 87 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: take unlimited time off. Folks who currently have unused vacation 88 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: days under the old system will receive a payout later 89 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: this year, and even brand new salaried employees will be 90 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,239 Speaker 1: able to take advantage of this flexible time of policy 91 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: once it goes into effect on January. Hourly workers will 92 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: not receive this benefit, but according to Microsoft, the reason 93 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: for that isn't that the company values them less. Instead, 94 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: it's that the various federal and state wage and our 95 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: laws prevent the company from extending this benefit to hourly employees, 96 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: who are guaranteed certain minimums by law. Also, if Microsoft 97 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: salaried employees work outside the US, their vacation policy will 98 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: remain unchanged due to similar such laws and regulations that 99 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: apply to them wherever they happen to be working. But yeah, 100 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: if you are a salary to Microsoft employee in the 101 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: United States. Soon you're gonna have unlimited time off, which 102 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: sounds so nice. Of course, some folks are likely going 103 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: to have jobs where they can't just take off time 104 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: willy nilly because of deadlines and such. I know that's 105 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,359 Speaker 1: hard for a lot of my coworkers and myself, like 106 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: it's hard for us to take a day off work 107 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: because for those of us who publish every day, those 108 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: deadlines still exist. But me, I never work a day 109 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: in my life because my job is what I love. 110 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: That's what I keep telling myself. That's what I keep 111 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: telling myself. Okay, I've got another AI story to share 112 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: with y'all. The Bite reported yesterday that c net, a 113 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: tech news and review outlet which has employed several of 114 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: my friends throughout the years, has been using AI on 115 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: the q T to generate certain articles. Now, they're not 116 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: using it to generate breaking news articles or product reviews 117 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: or anything like that. Instead, they're using it for more 118 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: evergreen articles in the c net financial pages that aim 119 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: to explain things like c d S as in certificate 120 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: of deposit not compact disc In other words, these are 121 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: articles meant to inform people about money matters well. The 122 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: bite found that several articles, more than seventy of them, 123 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: had this generic byline of c net money staff, and 124 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: if you clicked on that byline you would see the 125 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: phrase this article was generated using automation technology, which I'm 126 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:49,119 Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna chastise c NET. That's passive voice. Really, 127 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: it should read automation technology generated this article. Anyway, it 128 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: was a bit of a surprise. The note on the 129 00:07:55,920 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: byline also explains that each automated article went through edits 130 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: and fact checking to make sure it was accurate, so 131 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: it kind of sounds like this was an experiment. Seen 132 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: it had not issued any sort of press release about 133 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: using AI to generate articles, which makes this discovery a 134 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: little bit awkward. Though again Seen it did include this 135 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: information in the byline info on purpose, so anyone could 136 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: have come across this. It wasn't exactly, you know, hidden 137 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: beyond discovery. It wasn't in a disused lavatory with a 138 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: sign on the door saying beware of the leopard. Obviously, 139 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: this sort of thing will spark conversations about relying upon 140 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: AI instead of, say, paying an actual human being to 141 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: write the article. But then again, this article kind of 142 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:45,199 Speaker 1: falls into uh, let me just call it boring topics. 143 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: These articles can be tedious and unfulfilling to write. Trust me. 144 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 1: I used to write those kinds of articles occasionally for 145 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Now, a lot of the articles I 146 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,599 Speaker 1: wrote for How Stuff Works were great. It was very engaging. 147 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: I was excited to get the assignment. But there was 148 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: a point where I had to write about seven articles 149 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: related to towing, as in towing something behind a vehicle. 150 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: And you might think, Wow, that sounds dull as heck, 151 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 1: and you'd be right. I hated doing it. In those cases, 152 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: Having an AI system that could generate the initial article 153 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: and then have a human editor to fact check and 154 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: make edits might have been a welcome edition. Like if 155 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,079 Speaker 1: they had offered that, like, hey, would you rather we 156 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: take these articles off your assignment and give them to 157 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 1: a I, I would have said yes please. So this 158 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: kind of falls into one of the three d s 159 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,559 Speaker 1: that AI is supposed to help out with. Those d 160 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: s are dirty, dangerous, and dull. So these are jobs 161 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: that humans can do and have done, but they aren't 162 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: necessarily rewarding jobs, and in some cases they could be 163 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: outright harmful. So is there danger in assigning those kinds 164 00:09:55,040 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: of articles to AI. Well, maybe not, but then our 165 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 1: company is going to stop with the dull articles or 166 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: will they just use AI to generate articles for more 167 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 1: interesting and rewarding work. And if the AI underperforms compared 168 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,959 Speaker 1: to human writers and journalists and editors, what harm would 169 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: that do to the general public? These are some big 170 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: questions anyway, According to Engadget, c net subsequently removed the 171 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: c net Money staff bio page, so you can no 172 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: longer see that phrasing I mentioned earlier, but it had 173 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: not commented on actual use of AI as of the 174 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: recording of this episode. By the time you hear it. 175 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: That might be different. But um, in fact, it may 176 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: have happened by the time I started recording, but while 177 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: I before I started, it had not there not been 178 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: any comment. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break. When 179 00:10:48,800 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: we come back, we'll have some more news items we're back. 180 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 1: Meta sent out an email to folks who own an 181 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,319 Speaker 1: original Oculus Quest headset that's the first generation of the 182 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: Quest headsets, and they explained that the company is no 183 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: longer going to send feature updates to the original Quest. Also, 184 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: those Quest headsets will lose the ability to interact with 185 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:25,079 Speaker 1: Meta's social VR applications. You won't be able to create 186 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: or join a party for group VR sessions using an 187 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 1: original quest uh. They will still be able to access 188 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: other types of apps and such, and you'll be able 189 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: to play games and everything on them, but a lot 190 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,200 Speaker 1: of the functionality that fleshed out the Quest will no 191 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: longer operate. What's more, Meta plans to end security patches 192 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:51,599 Speaker 1: and bug fixes for the Quest next year. Now, the 193 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: Quest came out four years ago, and this, my friends, 194 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: concerns me a bit, and that's because it points out 195 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: another potential downside er Meta's whole Metaverse vision. So if 196 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: the Metaverse does require some sort of mixed reality peripheral 197 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: in order to access it, not only well people have 198 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,719 Speaker 1: to cough up the money to buy the hardware, they 199 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: also may see that the hardware could drift out of 200 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: being supported after a while, and that means that the 201 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: customer will have to buy new hardware to continue to 202 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: access the Metaverse. In some ways, this isn't that different 203 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,959 Speaker 1: from other computational devices, right. I mean, to play the 204 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 1: latest games at the highest settings, gamers have to rebuild 205 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: or purchase new rigs on a fairly regular basis, or 206 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: they get left behind. Uh. Same with phones, like after 207 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:49,199 Speaker 1: a few years, the companies that make smartphones have developed 208 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: the OS to a point where older models can't run 209 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: the latest versions of the O S. This just kind 210 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: of happens. But if you're talking about accessing a persistent 211 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: online world that presumably is the next incarnation of what 212 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,719 Speaker 1: it is to be online, then having to buy new 213 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: equipment because the company stops supporting the stuff you already 214 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 1: own really stinks. And it stinks because the Internet is 215 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: a critical component to interacting with the modern world, and 216 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: it already represents a huge gap between the halves and 217 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 1: the half nots. There is a large digital gap, and 218 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: there are populations of people who are disproportionately harmed by 219 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: the fact that they don't have regular access to the Internet. 220 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 1: Once you start throwing in expensive hardware that goes out 221 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: of date every few years, that will make that gap 222 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,599 Speaker 1: grow wider, and the effects could be devastating. Anyway, I 223 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: guess Quest owners should just go out and purchase a 224 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: Quest to don't buy a Quest pro though every review 225 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: I have read says pretty much they are not worth 226 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 1: the very high price tag, So buyer beware. Glass Door, 227 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: ampany that allows employees to rate their employers, releases a 228 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,439 Speaker 1: report every year on the one best places to work 229 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: based upon those employee reviews, and for the first time 230 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: in ages, Meta, as in the former Facebook and Apple 231 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: have dropped off of this list. Now, I suppose this 232 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: isn't that surprising, considering that both companies took hard stances 233 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: on pushing people back into the office as early as 234 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: they could. Apple kept putting that date back because there 235 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: were a lot there's a lot of employee resistance, but 236 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: it was still very much firm that no, we want 237 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: you in this office. Gosh darn it, this is like 238 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: the most expensive office we've ever built, and we need 239 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: people inside it, and you're gonna go. And of course 240 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 1: Meta has had multiple controversies and scandals, plus a CEO 241 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,040 Speaker 1: who outright said there were people at the company who 242 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: probably shouldn't be there. That's not great for employee morale. 243 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: Layoffs have had an effect at Facebook slash Meta, But 244 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: according to Glassdoor economists Annual Jao, we shouldn't think of 245 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: this as Apple and Meta becoming terrible places to work, 246 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: that that's not necessarily the case. Instead, he says, this 247 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: year's list was really competitive, So maybe you could look 248 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: at it as saying, it's not so much that folks 249 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: hate working at Apple and Meta, it's just that people 250 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: who are working at other companies love their employers more. 251 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: So that's a silver lining. I guess Ours Technica has 252 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,840 Speaker 1: a powerful article that I urge you to read. It 253 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: is a good one. It is titled Iran to use 254 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: facial recognition to identify women without hitge jobs. Now, as 255 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: the headline points out, the Iranian government enforces strict dress 256 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: requirements and modesty codes, which include the requirement for women 257 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: to wear a h job in public. That's a head 258 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: covering that's worn by some Muslim women, and while the 259 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: practice has its roots in religious observance, many women have 260 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: argued that the government requirement is really the Iranian government 261 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: attempting to suppress and control women within the country and 262 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: to take away their agency. Last September, a young woman 263 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: named Massa Amini was arrested and reportedly beaten for quote 264 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: unquote improperly wearing her h jab. It apparently wasn't tight 265 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: enough to her head to satisfy police. She died in 266 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: police custody a few days later, and that sparked massive 267 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: protests across Iran. Now there's a concern that Iranian police 268 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: are using facial recognition technology to not only spot women 269 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: who are violating this very strict dress code, but to 270 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: identify those women. And according to the article, there are 271 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: eyewitnesses who have said that police sometimes show up days 272 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: later at a person's house in order to arrest them. 273 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: And that does imply that they're relying upon some form 274 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: of methodology to identify people days after an alleged violation. 275 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: Whether or not that's facial recognition, uh that that's up 276 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: for debate, because it could be other methods, But there 277 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: seems to be a pretty strong implication that facial recognition 278 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: is playing an increasingly prominent role in police activity. Now, 279 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: I've spoken in the past about how official use of 280 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: facial recognition technology is bad, it's immoral. Now mostly in 281 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: those cases what I was talking about, I was talking 282 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: about bias that could be in models and that can 283 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 1: lead to misidentification cases and wrongful imprisonment and upending innocent 284 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 1: person's life based off faulty technology that should not be 285 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: used in this kind of application. But in an extreme 286 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: case like the one that we're talking about, with Iran. 287 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 1: I think it's beyond question that facial recognition technology is 288 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: facilitating human rights violations. Last year, I did a loose 289 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: history of social networks, and I mentioned towards the end 290 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: of that series the rise of some politically far right 291 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: platforms like Parlor, and I briefly talked about how Parlor 292 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,719 Speaker 1: has had a rocky existence, to put it lightly, and 293 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: how late last year Yea formerly Kanye West, was in 294 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: talks to purchase the company. Yea had been singing, hanging 295 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,640 Speaker 1: out with Candice Owens, a conservative author and talking cat 296 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: who happens to be married to George Farmer, who is 297 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: the CEO of you Guessed It Parlor, And so there 298 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: are all these stories going around that maybe Owens was 299 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: kind of trying to convince Yea to bail out Parlor 300 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: and purchase it for himself after Yea had been kind 301 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 1: of pushed off of other social platforms for repeatedly violating 302 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: their policies, and Parlor itself had been on unsteady financial 303 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 1: ground and kind of needed someone to sweep in and 304 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: and purchase the company. It had been d platform following 305 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:52,679 Speaker 1: the January six insurrection. Anyway, the whole deal ended up 306 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:57,360 Speaker 1: falling through after Yea praised Adolph Hitler, though Parlor said 307 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 1: the termination of the deal actually came from a mutual 308 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: decision and did not cite that particular incident. But it's 309 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: kind of hard to overlook. In the wake of the 310 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: deal falling through, Parlor has apparently been laying off employees 311 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: and waves, and according to the Verge, at this point, 312 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: Parlor is down to just twenty or so employees total. 313 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: Most of the executive team has gone, the staff are gone, 314 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: a lot of the users have gone either to Twitter 315 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,920 Speaker 1: now that Elon Musk is running things, or to Donald 316 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: Trump's Truth social platform, So we might be looking at 317 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:34,919 Speaker 1: the end of the line for Parlor, although the company, 318 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 1: now rebranded as Parliament Technologies, claims to have big plans 319 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 1: for the future. Okay, I've got a couple more stories 320 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: I want to cover before we get to those, let's 321 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:59,160 Speaker 1: take another quick break. We're back, and I was talking 322 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,399 Speaker 1: about Parlor earlier and mentioned Twitter, and speaking of Twitter, 323 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: the New York Times reports that Twitter has a new 324 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: revenue generation scheme potentially in the works, which would be 325 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 1: auctioning off unused Twitter handles. So apparently Twitter has around 326 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 1: a billion and a half user names representing inactive accounts. 327 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: So these are accounts where no one has logged in 328 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: for ages or posted anything in a really long time. 329 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: Some of those user names could be really well known. 330 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,679 Speaker 1: They might be famous handles, or they might be handles 331 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:35,199 Speaker 1: that represent famous folks or brands, and so why not 332 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,199 Speaker 1: auction those off? You know, makes the money. That's a 333 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: terrible idea. And here's why. Some of those names presumably 334 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:45,240 Speaker 1: include folks or brands that later received verification from Twitter 335 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: to show that they were the real deal, and then 336 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, those accounts became inactive. If Twitter auctions 337 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: off those handles, and if then Twitter allows people to 338 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:00,959 Speaker 1: essentially buy a verification checkmark in return from monthly subscription, 339 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 1: well doesn't that mean a person could effectively pose as 340 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,199 Speaker 1: someone else? You know, they could impersonate another entity and 341 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 1: this would all be facilitated by Twitter's own practices. Now, 342 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: I don't think that's actually gonna happen. I I think 343 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: even Elon Musk would say that those handles, the ones 344 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: that represent like real people and brands, will get struck 345 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: from the auction. They will just be sunset it and discontinued, 346 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: because otherwise Twitter would be inviting a whole lot of 347 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: grief from various companies and notable people. Now, I'm sure 348 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: in a one and a half billion long list of handles, 349 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,959 Speaker 1: they've got to be some that folks actually would want, 350 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: simply because the handle is what they were hoping for 351 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,760 Speaker 1: in the first place. For example, maybe I would want 352 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,880 Speaker 1: the Twitter handle at Jonathan, but I couldn't get that 353 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: because it was already taken by the time I signed 354 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,160 Speaker 1: up for Twitter, which is why I went for John 355 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: Strickland instead. I honestly don't remember if I even tried 356 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,240 Speaker 1: at Jonathan. I'm sure it was taken, but I don't 357 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: think I tried it. Maybe I did, it was, you know, 358 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 1: so many years ago. I don't have any memory. But 359 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:12,400 Speaker 1: if the at Jonathan handle represents an inactive account, then 360 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,119 Speaker 1: I could have a chance to bid on that handle 361 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 1: for myself. Critics have pointed out one really big issue 362 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: that still exists with this, even if we set aside 363 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 1: the idea that Twitter with sunset handles for celebrities and brands, 364 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: and that is some of those accounts probably represent people 365 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: who have passed away, and those people have Twitter pages 366 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: that may serve as a kind of memorial to them, 367 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 1: So would it be right to wipe out those accounts 368 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: just to sell off handles. I mean, isn't that kind 369 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: of erasing this person's online history? And for some people 370 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 1: like that might be one of the few pieces they 371 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: have left to remember a loved one. So yeah, there 372 00:22:55,640 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: are other issues on top of the whole impersonation and problem. 373 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: Video game company Ubisoft continues to be in crisis mode. 374 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 1: Ubisoft is the game company responsible for franchises like Far Cry, 375 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,840 Speaker 1: Assassin's Creed, and various Tom Clancy franchises, among others. And 376 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 1: you might remember from a couple of years ago that 377 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:21,159 Speaker 1: Ubisoft fell under scrutiny for having a toxic work environment 378 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 1: and allegedly scuzz ball leaders who were predatory towards employees. 379 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: It was really bad stuff that later kind of got 380 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,200 Speaker 1: drowned out by Activision Blizzard when Activision Blizzard said, hey, 381 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: hold my beer. Anyway, Ubisoft has had a series of 382 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: financial setbacks, and last June Ubisoft canceled four titles that 383 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,200 Speaker 1: were in development that included a couple of Tom Clancy titles. 384 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,119 Speaker 1: Then Ubisoft saw some of its releases fall far short 385 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: of projected sales, so they did poorly in the market, 386 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: and now the company has announced it has canceled three 387 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 1: more titles that were in development. They did not specify 388 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 1: what those titles were, and that on top of that, 389 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: Skull and Bones, the long delayed Pirate Combat game, is 390 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: getting another delay, which I think would make this the 391 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,879 Speaker 1: sixth time that game has been delayed. Who was supposed 392 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: to launch in early March, so in a couple of months, 393 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,359 Speaker 1: but now it's going to come sometime in the twenty 394 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: three to twenty twenty four fiscal year ubisas fiscal years 395 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: begin in April, so it is possible that the delay 396 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,399 Speaker 1: could just be a month or so. The company plans 397 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 1: to reduce costs by around two hundred million euro which 398 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 1: is around two d sixteen million US dollars over the 399 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,399 Speaker 1: next two years, and that will likely include stuff like 400 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: layoffs and selling off certain assets. So yeah, it's not 401 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 1: it's not out of the troubled waters yet, it's still 402 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: got a ways to go. Now for a couple of 403 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:51,640 Speaker 1: out of this world stories. First up, Russia announced yesterday 404 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: that next month it's going to send up an empty 405 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: spaceship to the International Space Station in order for two 406 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:02,360 Speaker 1: cosmonauts and an astronaut to return to Earth. They were 407 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,400 Speaker 1: supposed to take a Soayu's MS twenty two crew capsule 408 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,119 Speaker 1: last month because it was already attached the I S S, 409 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,800 Speaker 1: but a very tiny space rock hit the capsule and 410 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: apparently caused a radiator coolant leak. So there's a concern 411 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,800 Speaker 1: that the capsule could overheat upon re entry due to 412 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: that coolant leak, and so they needed to look at 413 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,159 Speaker 1: an alternative plan. So the rock was said to be 414 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: just a millimeter in diameter and that's all it takes. 415 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: It's one of the many reasons why it's a space 416 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: is trying to kill you, because there's not a lot 417 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: up there, but the stuff that is up there is 418 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:45,480 Speaker 1: dangerous anyway. Russia plans to send up the new Soya's 419 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: capsule designated MS twenty three two International Space Station on 420 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: February that will bring the two cosmonauts and astronaut back home. 421 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 1: It's being called a replacement so Ya's rather than a 422 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 1: rescue soyas as everyone who is aboard the International Space 423 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: Station is safe and sound. It's just that their ride 424 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 1: home for three of these folks got a flat and 425 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: now a buddy's gonna send over a different GELOPI to 426 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:15,119 Speaker 1: take those folks home or something. Anyway, best wishes for 427 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: the crew and that the replacement mission goes off without 428 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: a hitch. Finally, the James Webb Space Telescope has made 429 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: its first new exo planet discovery. Now that's just one 430 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 1: of the things that scientists are using the telescope to 431 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,120 Speaker 1: do is to look for exo planets, and this one 432 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: is a beautiful little piece of real estate. That's a 433 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,600 Speaker 1: quick forty one light year jaunt away. It's got the 434 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 1: charming name of LHS for seven five B. So if 435 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 1: you get to LHS for seven five C, you have 436 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: gone too far. Just make a left at the shell station. 437 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: The planet is relatively close to its home star, and 438 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 1: by relatively close, I mean very very close. That star 439 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: is very tiny. It's very dim, as in, it doesn't 440 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,440 Speaker 1: give off much light. I'm not saying star isn't very intelligent, 441 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 1: unlike a lot of other stars I can think of. Anyway, 442 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: The planet is so close to its star that a 443 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: year on LHS four seven five B lasts just two 444 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: Earth days. So every two days on Earth is a 445 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: year on LHS for seven five B. And you thought 446 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: two was over really quickly. All jokes aside, the discovery 447 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: is an exciting one as it points to a great 448 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 1: future of using the telescope to identify more exoplanets. Beyond that, 449 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,679 Speaker 1: the telescope could be useful in detecting atmosphere. Beyond that, 450 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: it gets a little tricky. Just detecting atmosphere is hard 451 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 1: because you actually are looking for indirect evidence that an 452 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:46,120 Speaker 1: atmosphere exists by looking for things like shimmer when you're 453 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:50,480 Speaker 1: observing the planet now, it may eventually help us identify 454 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: plants that could potentially support life on them. So that's 455 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 1: really exciting too. All of this being said, even this 456 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,959 Speaker 1: powerful telescope has its limits, and if planets fall out 457 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: outside certain parameters, we might not be able to tell 458 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,240 Speaker 1: very much beyond yeah, we think there's a planet there. 459 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,479 Speaker 1: But still, it's a very exciting time for astronomy. And 460 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: that's it for the tech News for Thursday, January two, 461 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,679 Speaker 1: twenty three. I hope you are all well. If you 462 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: have suggestions for topics I should cover in future episodes 463 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff, reach out to me. One way is 464 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 1: to download the I Heart radio app. It's free to download, 465 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: free to use. Navigate the Tech Stuff by putting that 466 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: name in the little search engine. It will take you 467 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: to the page. There's a little microphone icon. If you 468 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: click on that, you can leave a voice message up 469 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 1: to thirty seconds in link for me, or if you prefer, 470 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: you can handle over to Twitter and send me a tweet. 471 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: The handle for the show is tech stuff hsw That 472 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: one will not be auctioned off because it remains somewhat active. 473 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: I tweet on it occasionally. Uh. But yes, you can 474 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,479 Speaker 1: send me messages through that and I see all of 475 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 1: those and I will talk to you again. Release soon. 476 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: Y text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For 477 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart 478 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 479 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: favorite shows.