WEBVTT - These Are the Worst Things That Could Happen in 2017

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<v Speaker 1>Well, acky, here we are the final days of two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand sixteen, the year of Brexit, the election of Donald Trump,

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<v Speaker 1>the year we lost Prince and David Bowie. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I think as a journalists we did such a terrible

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<v Speaker 1>predicting what would happen this year? And gosh, is it

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<v Speaker 1>even worth trying to think about what might happen next year?

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the problem is in these predictions were too optimistic.

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<v Speaker 1>We look for the things that we want to see happening. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>how about this, how about we think about the worst

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<v Speaker 1>possible things that could happen next year and beyond, and

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<v Speaker 1>we prepare ourselves for the that worst case scenario that's

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<v Speaker 1>really grim. I like it that. Let's do it. Hi,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm brad Stone, and I for our final episode of

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand sixteen, we bring you the Bloomberg Pessimus Guide

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<v Speaker 1>Global Technology Edition for two thousand seventeen. These are the

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<v Speaker 1>most dire doomsday scenarios are reporters could come up with

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<v Speaker 1>the things that might happen in the world of tech.

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<v Speaker 1>Hopefully not if it all goes terribly wrong. Okay, So

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<v Speaker 1>buckle in and grab some tums to settle that ominously

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<v Speaker 1>grumbling stomach. Or maybe that shouted tequila. Actually, we should

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<v Speaker 1>have a bottle of tekula with us. Now, Well, the

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<v Speaker 1>US is still digesting the shock eleection of Donald Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's start with the potential for doom and gloom

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<v Speaker 1>in Washington, d C. And bringing us that scenario is

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<v Speaker 1>Josh Brustein. He's our reporter in New York and he's

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<v Speaker 1>on the line with us. Hey guys, Okay, Josh, so

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<v Speaker 1>scare the heck out of us. What do you have

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<v Speaker 1>for two seventeen? Well, the great thing um for a

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<v Speaker 1>pessim us in seventeen and the surveillance realm, is that

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<v Speaker 1>there's plenty to be terrified about. Whether your main fear

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<v Speaker 1>is mass surveillance or whether your main fear is the

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence agencies of the United States being being hampered in

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<v Speaker 1>some way or another. That is a perfect pessimas. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So there has been this ongoing debate over over the

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<v Speaker 1>Vice Acts, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. What do you

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<v Speaker 1>think Trump is likely to do with this law? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I think the thing is that nobody knows

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<v Speaker 1>and that makes people very nervous. This law has been

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<v Speaker 1>very controversial. A major part of it is going to

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<v Speaker 1>come up for renewal, and if it's not renewed by

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the year, it just goes away. And Jess,

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<v Speaker 1>is that a bad thing? Though it is seen as

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<v Speaker 1>a very bad thing. If you are in the intelligence community,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're in the a c. L U or the

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<v Speaker 1>Electronic Frontier Foundation UM or your privacy advocate, then you

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<v Speaker 1>actually kind of might welcome this. They have a website

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<v Speaker 1>where they're actually counting down to the expiration of US

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<v Speaker 1>Section seven two. Of course, Trump as a candidate, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>was for forms of torture. I mean, it does suspect

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<v Speaker 1>that he will push these things to the limits. So

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<v Speaker 1>what does what does it mean not just for privacy

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<v Speaker 1>of of Americans, but for you know, the u S

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<v Speaker 1>relationship with its allies in Europe and the and the

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<v Speaker 1>status of American Internet companies abroad. Yeah. Absolutely, so if

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<v Speaker 1>Trump is more aggressive with surveillance, something you could do

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<v Speaker 1>even aside from this law, because the president has a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of power just to start claiming just start claiming

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<v Speaker 1>authority under executive orders, and the if he starts being

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<v Speaker 1>more aggressive or is suspected of being more aggressive, because

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<v Speaker 1>it's a possibility that we wouldn't really know what's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>You could see europe uh start to put pressure on

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<v Speaker 1>American companies. We've already seen a lot of skepticism about

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<v Speaker 1>whether American companies can protect the information they have against

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<v Speaker 1>the U. S. Government, and that could become a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a hot button issue for European governments in Silicon Valley. Okay, Josh, well,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks for bringing that to us today. Absolutely, thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, So, how are you feeling so far? Acky? Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>I really wish we brought that bottle of tequila here. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So let's move away from the federal government now and

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<v Speaker 1>take a look at blue chip tech companies. Alex, you

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<v Speaker 1>are our Apple reporter and you're here with us here

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<v Speaker 1>in San Francisco. Hi. So, Alex, welcome to the Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Technology Pessimist Guide, where we're doing our best to ruin

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<v Speaker 1>everyone's day. So tell us what's the worst thing that

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<v Speaker 1>could happen to Apple in two thousandev So Apple could

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<v Speaker 1>lose its credit rating, and this has huge implications for

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<v Speaker 1>a company which has succeeded in keeping shareholders happy by

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<v Speaker 1>rewarding them with cash in recent years while they've been

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for the next blockbuster product to plump up the

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<v Speaker 1>share price Simco, the CEO has sold debt in order

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<v Speaker 1>to fund buybacks and dividends and keep investors pockets plot flush.

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<v Speaker 1>What about iPhone sales? So they continue to prop up

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<v Speaker 1>the company. So iPhone sales are still pretty healthy, but

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<v Speaker 1>they are falling and flattening. Um. So you know, there's

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<v Speaker 1>been at the first revenue decline in over a decade

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<v Speaker 1>in the most recent fiscal year. So the expectation is

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<v Speaker 1>one hopes that the iPhone coming next year will be

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<v Speaker 1>a real blockbuster product. But if for some reason it

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<v Speaker 1>isn't and it's vastly disappointing and it doesn't encourage and

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<v Speaker 1>huge new fresh burst of sales, then that could be

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<v Speaker 1>a problem for Apple. All right, So we should remember

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<v Speaker 1>that Apple is the world's biggest technology company, actually the

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<v Speaker 1>world's biggest company period. So if credit agencies suddenly decide

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<v Speaker 1>that Apple is no longer credit worthy, that's going to

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<v Speaker 1>have implications for every other tech company out there, every

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<v Speaker 1>other publicly traded company in the world. It is something

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<v Speaker 1>that could also have implications for someone like Microsoft. Now

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<v Speaker 1>the is an Apple raises this debt is because while

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<v Speaker 1>it has vast amounts of cash in the bank, most

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<v Speaker 1>of it is offshore. Of the two billion in cash

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<v Speaker 1>reserves that it has, two six billion dollars of that

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<v Speaker 1>is outside the US. In order to repatriate that money,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple has to pay a thirty five pc tax rate

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<v Speaker 1>in the US, which is clearly great news for the Treasury,

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<v Speaker 1>but not such great news for Apple itself. There is

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<v Speaker 1>hope that in Congress they will pass some legislation which

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<v Speaker 1>will reduce that tax bill, which increases the likelihood and

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<v Speaker 1>that Apple's willingness to repatriate money from off shore that

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<v Speaker 1>would essentially reduce their need to sell debt in order

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<v Speaker 1>to reward the shareholders and come up with that sort

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<v Speaker 1>of Donald Trump has signaled the willingness to do that, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's been one of his big campaign pledges that

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<v Speaker 1>would help spare investment in the US. So there is

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<v Speaker 1>a real appetite to make that happen in the new

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<v Speaker 1>White House. Is there a chance where we might see

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<v Speaker 1>another miracle product category spring from Cooper Tino that averts

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<v Speaker 1>this worst case scenario. I mean, that's the question every

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<v Speaker 1>investor in the world is asking. We know they've looked

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<v Speaker 1>at cars, they've broadly scrapped the Apple s hardware part

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<v Speaker 1>of the car project that they're still carrying on with software.

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<v Speaker 1>We think they're exploring some things in glasses. We've reported

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<v Speaker 1>that maybe something in healthcare. We don't quite know what

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<v Speaker 1>that is, maybe just some sort of healthcare platform. They're

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<v Speaker 1>investigating a lot of avenues, but we're yet to see

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<v Speaker 1>anything concrete surface just yet. All right, so we just

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<v Speaker 1>asked you to tell us the worst case scenario. But

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<v Speaker 1>how likely is it? I was speaking to the Moody's

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<v Speaker 1>analyst who looks at this staff as his job, and

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<v Speaker 1>he said that if Apple continues to raise debt at

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<v Speaker 1>a faster pace than it's cash balance increases, then this

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<v Speaker 1>could happen within eighteen months. One hopes that the blockbuster

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<v Speaker 1>new iPhone next year renders such a likelihood impossible, but

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<v Speaker 1>we'll have to look and see. All right, Alex Webb,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you for contributing to the dark mood in the studio.

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<v Speaker 1>We appreciate it. Happy Christmas, sorry I should say Holidays

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<v Speaker 1>in New Yestian so Akey, who's up next? We are

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<v Speaker 1>now going from the blue chips to the unicorns, and

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<v Speaker 1>specifically we're going to talk about the worst thing that

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<v Speaker 1>could happen to Uber, which is now the world's biggest

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<v Speaker 1>private technology company. And we have Eric newcomer here in

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<v Speaker 1>San Francisco. Eric, Eric, Hey, thanks for having me. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>so scare us. What could possibly happen to our beloved Uber?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, what what if? What if the unicorn with

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest private valuation in the world sixty nine billion

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<v Speaker 1>dollars saw its valuation fall? I mean, this is a

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<v Speaker 1>company that's been built around sort of the ever growing

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<v Speaker 1>rise of that that number. We've just watched it. When

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<v Speaker 1>it was three billion, we thought it was crazy and

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<v Speaker 1>up and up and up and up. You know, there

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<v Speaker 1>are no short sellers against it. It's it's a number

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<v Speaker 1>that's climbed. So what happens if it falls? So who cares? What?

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<v Speaker 1>What would be the impact of that? The problem is

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<v Speaker 1>one for Uber morale would be heard. Some employees would

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<v Speaker 1>see their stock compensation fall dramatically. A lot of them

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<v Speaker 1>have sort of counted on that is why they're working

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<v Speaker 1>there and not sort of the lush offices of Google. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>Uber's reputation would fall. You know, it's been this gigantic titan.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think you know the problems for Uber aside

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<v Speaker 1>it would be a bad sign for Silicon Valley. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a valuation that towers above all other ones. It

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<v Speaker 1>sort of sets the brominter for what companies should be worth.

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<v Speaker 1>If Uber's value is misguided, then I think a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of other companies are gonna have to question how much

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<v Speaker 1>their worth and that could have broad implications for you know,

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<v Speaker 1>not just these technology workers, but also the broader San

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<v Speaker 1>Francisco economy too. Right, maybe housing prices would come down

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<v Speaker 1>to Well, that's a good point. I mean, would a

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<v Speaker 1>decline in unicorn valuations be good for some people presumably

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<v Speaker 1>incumbents and everyone that these unicorns have been able to

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<v Speaker 1>use a flood of cheap money to sort of suppress

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, Uber has helped drown out the taxi cab market. Here.

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<v Speaker 1>If it turned out Uber was operating on margins that

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<v Speaker 1>were unsustainable, had to raise its margins, heard its valuation,

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<v Speaker 1>lower its market share, that might see we might see

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<v Speaker 1>a resurgence in taxi cabs, or maybe Uber sort of

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<v Speaker 1>steamrolled too many of them to really make a strong comeback.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it really is hard to imagine Uber making

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<v Speaker 1>money off of these uberpool routes. I mean they are

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<v Speaker 1>so cheap. Yeah, for Uber. It's all about volume, drive

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<v Speaker 1>price to the bottom, and then expand into pool, expand

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<v Speaker 1>into food delivery. So they know the margins are going

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<v Speaker 1>to be pretty thin, but they just need to do

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of them. Let me see this though, as

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<v Speaker 1>a consumer, I think the worst case scenario for me

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<v Speaker 1>would be for Lift to go out of business and

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<v Speaker 1>for Uber to have a complete monopoly over the San

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<v Speaker 1>Francisco market and check out prices like crazy and make

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<v Speaker 1>my transportation costs spike. I think that's a fair point.

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<v Speaker 1>Lift has about a billion dollars in the bank probably

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<v Speaker 1>and is slowly spending down that money, and maybe you know,

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<v Speaker 1>about six million dollars a year or less, so it

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<v Speaker 1>has some time to figure it out. But at some

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<v Speaker 1>point there's a ticking time bomb for Lift to figure

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<v Speaker 1>out how it gets more money, goes public, gets money

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<v Speaker 1>from those investors, or gets bought and has somebody subsidized

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<v Speaker 1>their business. Okay, taking time bombs, Thanks for unsettling us further, Eric,

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<v Speaker 1>Good job, Brad. Are you ready for the next one?

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<v Speaker 1>There's more? I feel like I need to go get

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<v Speaker 1>some anxiety medication. Well, this one is particularly scary. Lizette Chapman,

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<v Speaker 1>you are our venture capital reporter here in San Francisco,

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<v Speaker 1>and you're going to tell us about how personal health

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<v Speaker 1>data could be collected against our will and used against us.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you mean could be collected? It is being

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<v Speaker 1>collected right now, and we're volunteering it. Everybody has not everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>but like sixty million plus people have absolutely fallen in

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<v Speaker 1>love with all of these different wearable devices with different

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<v Speaker 1>sensors on it that track our steps that you know,

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<v Speaker 1>track our sleeping, and sensors are getting better and better.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's the problem. I thought all this was supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to make us feel healthier. It's true, a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people have improved their health because they're able to quantify

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<v Speaker 1>how their habits range day to day and even sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>compete with their friends. The problem is that a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people are just volunteering this information. You're not even reading,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, kind of like the terms and conditions when

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<v Speaker 1>you download an app. You just click it and move on. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that could be a problem going forward. But how much

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<v Speaker 1>data can these insurers or employers really get out of

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<v Speaker 1>the number of steps we take every day? We'll see,

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<v Speaker 1>But that's just it. It's not just about steps anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean now sensors are becoming so cheap and so

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<v Speaker 1>much better than they have been in past years that

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<v Speaker 1>they're able to monitor everything from blood oxygen levels to

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<v Speaker 1>heart rate to to you name it, it, just like

0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.000
<v Speaker 1>you would in a doctor's appointment. So the worst key

0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.400
<v Speaker 1>scenario is these insurers might use this against us that

0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.000
<v Speaker 1>you know, they'll see the number of steps we're taking,

0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:48.440
<v Speaker 1>our heart rate, our blood oxygen levels and say, maybe

0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:51.080
<v Speaker 1>this person has a good chance of getting heart disease

0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.440
<v Speaker 1>down the road. It could happen. We're volunteering this information.

0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.640
<v Speaker 1>I haven't seen any legislation saying hey, you know, uh,

0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:02.560
<v Speaker 1>you know, don't reach out to these different customers because

0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:04.840
<v Speaker 1>it hasn't happened yet. They're not they haven't made the

0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:08.720
<v Speaker 1>connection yet between this massive trove of data that's being

0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:16.920
<v Speaker 1>generated every day by Americans to um to health insurance policies. Yet,

0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:21.920
<v Speaker 1>just earlier this year, ETNA UM gave out fifty thousand

0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.960
<v Speaker 1>Apple watches to their employees so they can start working

0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:27.040
<v Speaker 1>on a joint venture with Apple to figure out how

0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:29.480
<v Speaker 1>to use the data. So I think it's might be coming.

0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:33.040
<v Speaker 1>That sounds scary. Does the potential repeal of the Affordable

0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:37.239
<v Speaker 1>Care Act Obamacare does a factor into this legal ambiguity

0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:40.520
<v Speaker 1>that might allow insurance or healthcare companies to penalize us

0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:44.720
<v Speaker 1>for unhealthiness. Perhaps it's kind of mes you know, you

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.280
<v Speaker 1>look at that, that's kind of a big, hot red

0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.400
<v Speaker 1>mess right now. I think the larger point that that

0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:52.320
<v Speaker 1>you're getting at, I think is a good one, which

0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.480
<v Speaker 1>is that you know, health insurance is broken right now

0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:58.319
<v Speaker 1>and they're looking for new revenue streams. There's high cost,

0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:03.760
<v Speaker 1>low satisfaction um with the big data, the use of

0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.040
<v Speaker 1>big data, this is a new revenue stream and if

0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.480
<v Speaker 1>you think about it, you know we're just giving it away.

0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.720
<v Speaker 1>It's kind of like when you download an app and

0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.720
<v Speaker 1>you just agree to terms and conditions. Well, thanks for

0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:22.240
<v Speaker 1>sharing that with us today, Lizette Brad. I think it's

0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:24.280
<v Speaker 1>time for you to kick it off my Apple Watch

0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:28.320
<v Speaker 1>right now, at least change your privacy settings on your tracker. Well,

0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:37.800
<v Speaker 1>I'm going for a run. So this brings us to

0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:42.840
<v Speaker 1>our very last scenario of ready for one more bread?

0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:46.360
<v Speaker 1>Probably not, but let's do it. This one, you could say,

0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:50.960
<v Speaker 1>has been long overdue. Here's Dina Bass calling in from Seattle. Hey, DNS,

0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.880
<v Speaker 1>what have you got for us? So? My scenario is

0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:57.440
<v Speaker 1>that the a group of hackers working for a hostile

0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:00.720
<v Speaker 1>nation state or a stateless entity like a terrorist, scre criminals,

0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.520
<v Speaker 1>or hacked of US will hack into the industrial systems

0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.040
<v Speaker 1>at UM some critical infrastructure, say a power plant or

0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:10.640
<v Speaker 1>a damn public transport. They will tweak the software too,

0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.440
<v Speaker 1>in a manner that shuts down or destroys the hardware

0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:15.960
<v Speaker 1>and damaging the facility. Yeah, this sort of thing has

0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.520
<v Speaker 1>been possible for a while. I'm thinking of that attacked

0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:22.480
<v Speaker 1>by US and Israeli hackers on an Iranian nuclear facility

0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.480
<v Speaker 1>a few years ago with the stuck snet virus. Yes, absolutely,

0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.960
<v Speaker 1>that's exactly what they did there. They used a virus

0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.720
<v Speaker 1>to basically speed up the way the center fugees in

0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:34.400
<v Speaker 1>the reactor we're spinning and damaged um um. And you know,

0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:36.840
<v Speaker 1>the US government has been doing some tests going back

0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:38.560
<v Speaker 1>as far as two thousand seven, if you look at

0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.080
<v Speaker 1>Fred Kaplan's book, where they were trying to see whether

0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.440
<v Speaker 1>a remote programmer in d C could take out a

0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.280
<v Speaker 1>twenty seven ton power generator all the way across the

0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:48.640
<v Speaker 1>country in Idaho. And of course it took just twenty

0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.760
<v Speaker 1>one lines of code to send the generator to an

0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.840
<v Speaker 1>untimely death. That's incredible. I mean, one of our previous

0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:58.520
<v Speaker 1>podcast episodes was about how these hackers in Russia managed

0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:02.240
<v Speaker 1>to penetrate the Democratic now stional committees email servers and

0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.320
<v Speaker 1>they were able to read quite a bit of havoc

0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:09.440
<v Speaker 1>on the election campaign cycle. So if they were able

0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.240
<v Speaker 1>to hack emails in this way, he really makes you

0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:16.800
<v Speaker 1>think what happens if they actually hack physical infrastructure that

0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.960
<v Speaker 1>could put real lives in danger. Sure. Absolutely, we've had

0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.920
<v Speaker 1>a couple of, you know, examples of that around the world. Also,

0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:26.640
<v Speaker 1>there was hacking of of a damn in Westchester, New

0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:30.520
<v Speaker 1>York that was attributed to the Iranians. In we had

0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:32.880
<v Speaker 1>was sort of the first reported takedown of an electrical

0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.760
<v Speaker 1>power grid in Ukraine. Uh And the point you make

0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:37.640
<v Speaker 1>about the d n C hack is a good one

0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:39.560
<v Speaker 1>as well, because that that happened with you know, as

0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.640
<v Speaker 1>far as we know, not a lot of repercussions, and

0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:45.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, my sense is that that could embolden people

0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:48.040
<v Speaker 1>in twenty s to try something more seriously. Well, Dina,

0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:51.400
<v Speaker 1>considering all these very public instances, how prepared our computer

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:55.000
<v Speaker 1>security experts for these kinds of attacks? So it's gotten.

0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:58.479
<v Speaker 1>Things have gotten better than stucks net. You know, companies

0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.120
<v Speaker 1>like Semens, which was theo that have made the controls

0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:05.120
<v Speaker 1>that were impacted in Iran, have worked to harden their systems.

0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:08.120
<v Speaker 1>They now go in and signed contracts with these companies

0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.800
<v Speaker 1>to go in and update the systems more frequently. But

0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:14.119
<v Speaker 1>you know, there's still a fair amount of issues. Just

0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:18.160
<v Speaker 1>last week, there's a Presidential Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity

0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.080
<v Speaker 1>and put they put out a report and a number

0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.600
<v Speaker 1>of the recommendations were related to these issues of defending

0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:27.240
<v Speaker 1>key infrastructure um, you know, and also they talked about

0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.359
<v Speaker 1>coming up with clear ideas of who does what and

0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:31.679
<v Speaker 1>you know, to respond to these kinds of attacks, and

0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:35.400
<v Speaker 1>what are the rules of engagement for state and local governments,

0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.400
<v Speaker 1>for the for the federal government, and also for private

0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:41.200
<v Speaker 1>companies who are are going to be helping out to protect.

0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.600
<v Speaker 1>And of course, as we bring more and more of

0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.640
<v Speaker 1>our systems connected to the Internet, the stakes are only

0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.920
<v Speaker 1>getting higher. Yeah. Absolutely, that was something that was flagged

0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:52.760
<v Speaker 1>by the Commission as well, and they were talking about,

0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:56.159
<v Speaker 1>you know, our cyber and physical worlds increasingly converge. You know,

0:17:56.200 --> 0:18:00.119
<v Speaker 1>earlier this year we saw that massive distributed denial of

0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.200
<v Speaker 1>service attack that took down a decent chunk of the Internet,

0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.879
<v Speaker 1>and that was basically, you know, people, the Internet was

0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.320
<v Speaker 1>attacked via webcams and and DVRs. It's great that we

0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:11.880
<v Speaker 1>have all of these Internet of things devices, but they're

0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.520
<v Speaker 1>now on networks that are connecting or can connect in

0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.520
<v Speaker 1>certain ways to our critical infrastructure, which is another thing

0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:20.920
<v Speaker 1>this Presidential Commission brought up. These two things are converging

0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:24.840
<v Speaker 1>the largely unsecured world of Internet of things devices and

0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.360
<v Speaker 1>our critical infrastructure. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed. None

0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:30.359
<v Speaker 1>of this is making me feel any better. Thanks for

0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:45.480
<v Speaker 1>that prediction, Dina, Thank you. How are you feeling, Hockey?

0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:49.720
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready for

0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:55.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty Neither apard the Optimist Guide the two after this episode.

0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:58.919
<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh, I know, what's your worst case scenario,

0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:02.000
<v Speaker 1>brad Well. I mean, everyone gave gave me a lot

0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:03.879
<v Speaker 1>of food for thought here, you know. The one that

0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:07.240
<v Speaker 1>I contributed to the larger Bloomberg Pessimist Guide was that

0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:10.520
<v Speaker 1>we would find out that the law enforcement authorities were

0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.399
<v Speaker 1>wire tapping some of these passive listening devices like the

0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:16.040
<v Speaker 1>Amazon Echo or even some of our phones that are

0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:20.399
<v Speaker 1>kind of waiting for these watchwords like Hello, Google or Alexa.

0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:22.359
<v Speaker 1>You know, can they just turn those on and listen?

0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:24.879
<v Speaker 1>And if they do do that and or may be

0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.159
<v Speaker 1>able to, you know, to to amass some intelligence on

0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:29.920
<v Speaker 1>some bad guys. But what is it due to the

0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 1>overall trust in these devices that are now populating our lives?

0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:36.200
<v Speaker 1>That's my question for two thousand and seventeen. How about you, well,

0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.080
<v Speaker 1>how about this? How about I reject the premise altogether

0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:43.080
<v Speaker 1>because I'm feeling terrible right now, and I give you

0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:47.119
<v Speaker 1>an optimist prediction next year. All right. So I was

0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:50.879
<v Speaker 1>talking to our biotech reporter Caroline Chen earlier, and she

0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:54.560
<v Speaker 1>was telling me about, um, all these really incredible advances

0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:59.280
<v Speaker 1>that doctors, researchers, biotech companies are making right now in

0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:02.560
<v Speaker 1>this in the few yild of cancer research. UM. Apparently

0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:08.240
<v Speaker 1>there's a new method called immunotherapy where instead of using

0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:12.480
<v Speaker 1>radiation to just kill off entire parts of your body, right, UM,

0:20:12.680 --> 0:20:16.040
<v Speaker 1>you can go in UH and implement this really targeted

0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:19.720
<v Speaker 1>form of therapy that makes your immune system attack the

0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:24.840
<v Speaker 1>cancer cells. And so far in university labs and the

0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:28.000
<v Speaker 1>biotech research labs, UH they're producing a lot of really

0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:31.360
<v Speaker 1>good results. That sounds very promising. It's two thousand seventeen,

0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.240
<v Speaker 1>the year when I make a difference in patients lives. Well,

0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:37.560
<v Speaker 1>let let's see. It sounds like I'm some therapies are

0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:41.159
<v Speaker 1>up for FDA approval right now, so they could become

0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:44.680
<v Speaker 1>widely available pretty soon. And you know, maybe they wouldn't

0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:47.719
<v Speaker 1>cure cancer altogether, maybe they wouldn't be able to prevent it,

0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:51.639
<v Speaker 1>but maybe it could make cancer this form of chronic

0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:54.480
<v Speaker 1>disease that you live with for the rest of your life,

0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.560
<v Speaker 1>kind of like kind of like AIDS. So a very

0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:06.720
<v Speaker 1>nice optimistic prediction to end to end our podcast today,

0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.719
<v Speaker 1>and that's it for this year on the Decrypted Podcast.

0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:13.639
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening. We're going to take a short break

0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:16.080
<v Speaker 1>for the holidays next week, but we'll be back with

0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.560
<v Speaker 1>a full slate of new episodes starting on January ten.

0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:22.359
<v Speaker 1>If you have an iPhone, please subscribe on your native

0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:25.160
<v Speaker 1>podcast app and leave us a rating and review there.

0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.120
<v Speaker 1>It helps more listeners discover the show and tell us

0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:31.080
<v Speaker 1>what you think could be the worst possible thing that

0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:35.719
<v Speaker 1>could happen in I'm on Twitter at Akio seven and

0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.800
<v Speaker 1>I'm at Brad Stone. This episode was produced by Pied Good,

0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:43.320
<v Speaker 1>Cary Magnus, Henrickson, and Liz Smith, with help from Aaron Plack.

0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:47.359
<v Speaker 1>Alec McCabe is head of Bloomberg Podcasts. We'll see you

0:21:47.359 --> 0:22:01.600
<v Speaker 1>next year, Happy New Year, Land Land