WEBVTT - Tech News: You Got AI On My Google Search 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:12.840 Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey therein 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:16.640 Welcome to Tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:21.200 an executive producer with iHeartRadio. And how the tech are you? 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:25.680 It's time for the tech news for May eleventh, twenty 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:30.960 twenty three, a Thursday. Bye, I'm doing my math correctly. 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:36.680 Google is currently holding its Io event. This is where 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:42.000 Google invites app developers to attend various keynotes and workshops 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:46.200 to learn about new Google features that the developers can 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:51.080 integrate into their own work. So yesterday Google held the 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.560 opening keynote, which is traditionally when the company makes the 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:59.640 bulk of its announcements and sometimes includes like impressive displays 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:04.600 of technology to get folks excited about Watson development. So 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:08.480 here's a quick rundown of some of the things Google 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:12.560 announced yesterday. They unveiled several new devices. One of them 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.880 is called the Pixel Fold, which, as you might imagine, 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:19.960 is a foldable mobile device, essentially a smartphone that can 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:23.039 unfold into kind of a tablet. It has an o 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:27.160 led screen when it's folded, that screen measures five point 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.080 eight inches on the diagonal, but if you unfold it 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.040 it becomes a seven point six inch display. That doesn't 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.920 sound like it gets much bigger, but it's actually kind 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.040 of like a almost like a square tablet rather than 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:43.480 the rectangular kind you're you're probably used to. It is 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.480 more square in shape. I have to admit I've never 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.200 been the target market for a device like this, like 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.920 a hybrid device that can be a smartphone or a tablet. 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.800 But for those who do want that sort of thing, 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:59.600 they will need to save up about one thousand and 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.920 seven hundred and ninety nine bucks to get one when 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:08.959 they become available. Google also showed off a new smartphone model, 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:13.360 the Pixel seven A, so the A series of phones, 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:16.400 like the five A and the seven A. Those tend 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.560 to be kind of a budget model, a slight update 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:23.120 but a budget model of the previous year's newest phone. 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:26.440 So the seven A will cost five hundred bucks for 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:29.800 the basic version. There's also a version that will support 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:35.880 millimeter wave transmissions, but only certain carriers support that. But 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:38.000 if your carrier does, then you can get that one 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:40.480 for five hundred and fifty bucks when they go on 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.840 sale and then. Google also introduced a tablet called the 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:49.560 wait for it, Pixel Tablet. It's an eleven inch tablet. 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.919 That one will cost five hundred bucks when it hits shelves. 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:57.000 These have Google's latest processor in them, and lots of 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.280 other bells and whistles, but you know, I'm not going 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:01.440 to dive into all of that because it would take 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:05.360 up the whole episode. Beyond the hardware, Google also talked 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:09.080 about some changes to Google products and services, and a 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:13.000 huge one is Google Search. You know, it used to 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.200 be that that search was the only thing we really 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.440 associated with Google. These days, I don't know what most 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.519 people think of when they think of Google. I still 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:23.400 think of search, but then I was around before Google 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:26.760 Search really became a thing, when I was using web Crawler, 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.800 So yeah, I don't know if everyone still thinks of 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:32.240 Google Search. But that's where the big change is coming. 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:37.280 And you know, Google Search has remained relatively unchanged for ages, 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:41.680 although you could argue the incorporation of ads has switched 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:44.600 things up a few times. But this new feature, which 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:48.080 will be an opt in experience, meaning it's not just 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.520 the standard experience you do have to elect to be 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:56.280 part of it, is called Search Generative Experience, and as 0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:00.480 that name suggests, if you click into that mean that 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:04.440 your search query could include an AI generated answer at 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:07.200 the top of your search results, and that might mean 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.800 you don't even need to go any further to find 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:12.480 out more about whatever it is you're searching for. Like 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.280 if you're searching for a fairly simple or you know, 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:20.599 not to in depth topic, then you'll get a little 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:23.279 summary and you might not have to click through to 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.720 a different web page. Or maybe you use the answer 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:30.480 that's provided by AI to ask follow up questions and 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:34.479 get more in depth answers and still not click through. 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.760 This is the kind of stuff that makes web page 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:41.919 administrators really nervous because if no one's clicking through, then 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.360 there's no traffic. If there's no traffic, then there's no revenue. 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:49.120 And unless you're, you know, a subscription based website, and 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:54.040 people just don't bother to cancel their subscriptions. But otherwise, yeah, 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:56.480 it's a scary kind of thing. In fact, this is 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:59.640 something that a lot of websites have been concerned about 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:04.000 for all while, but it could potentially be helpful to 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.440 users as long as the answers are reliable. You know, 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.560 as we have seen that's not always the case. The 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.560 company also has opened up google Bard before it was 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:15.920 in a beta test and you had to be invited 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.480 to be part of it. But now you can just 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.120 use it if you want to and maybe see if 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:25.279 it's improved. Since Google developers expressed concerns about its dependability 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.240 and accuracy, I would recommend that if you do use 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.480 Google Bard, don't you know, rely on it to give 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:34.960 you safe instructions on how to go scuba diving, because 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.360 developers pointed out that an earlier build of Google Bard 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:42.840 gave instructions that could be harmful or even fatal if 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:48.320 you followed them. So yeah, I would not depend entirely 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:53.120 upon AI responses right now. Google also announced that it 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:57.719 is updating its operating system for wearable devices. This is 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:04.120 fittingly called where a Swear where OS, so the fourth 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.560 generation is what is currently in development, just so you know, 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:14.400 where OS three hasn't yet fully deployed. So it's interesting 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.440 that they were talking about the next generation when the 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:21.920 current one hasn't really fully rolled out yet. There's lots 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.600 more too. Google also showed off an AI tool that 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:29.080 pixel users the smartphone and maybe the tablet as well. 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:31.960 The pixel users will get to use this AI tool 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.719 that will help them edit photos. So let's say you 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.560 wanted to change the brightness of just one part of 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:41.120 the photo without affecting the rest. You could do that 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.280 or and this was really cool. They showed off an 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:46.159 example of this. Let's say that you took a picture 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.360 of your friend. Say your friend is standing near a 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:51.760 cruise ship, and it's a good picture, but you just 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:54.800 wish that you had had your friend's step like six 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:58.000 inches to the right. Well, with this tool, you could 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.920 shift your friends six inches to the right, and AI 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:04.760 would effectively paint the background so that it wouldn't look 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:06.880 as if you had moved the person in the first place, 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:11.840 like it should seem as if you could move your 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:15.200 friend to wherever in the frame you want, and the 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:17.440 AI will just take care of the background so that 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:19.520 it doesn't look like you messed with it at all, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:23.040 which is really cool. Also kind of scary because when 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.880 you get into that real time photo manipulation stuff where 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:30.840 AI is kind of covering for you, it can raise 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:35.800 a lot of potential misuse scenarios further down the line, 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:38.040 but still kind of neat if you're just using it 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.040 casually for the purpose for which it was intended. There 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:44.239 was a neat privacy announcement. Android devices will be able 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:49.160 to detect Bluetooth devices that were intended to track stuff, 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.160 so like Apple's air tags, right, the purpose of air 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.040 tags is such you can slip one into, say your luggage, 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:57.400 and then you can use the air tag to find 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.880 that piece of luggage if you get your destination and 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.840 your luggage doesn't that kind of thing right, Well, some 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:08.120 people obviously have been using air tags to tag other stuff, 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.000 not just like luggage or whatever, but sometimes, like I 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:15.400 don't know, a person that they wanted to follow, like 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:19.440 a stalker would use it to slip the air tag 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:25.120 into say a car and end up stalking someone that way. Well, 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.400 now Android will be able to detect these sorts of devices. 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:32.120 So if it sees that there's some Bluetooth device that 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:36.839 is traveling with you, like it's detected, and it's still 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:39.480 detected even as you move through your environment, like if 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:41.360 you're driving down the street, it will give you an 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:44.080 alert so that way you can check to make sure 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:49.440 that someone hasn't bugged your car or whatever. I assume 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:51.680 that it's only going to do this when it does 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.840 detect that stuff is moving around with you, so that 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.640 you don't get crazy numbers of notifications. When say you 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:02.520 go to the gym and everyone's using Bluetooth earbuds or something. 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.880 Google also made some other announcements, but I think that 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:09.920 that's enough for right now, and we could probably dive 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:14.000 into more in future episodes of tech stuff. Over in Russia, 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.760 the Russian government has fined Google's parent company, Alphabet, the 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:24.520 staggering sum of three million rubles, which is, let me 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:33.120 just convert this into dollars. Oh, it's about forty thousand bucks. Okay, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.760 that's not a lot. But then you might say, okay, well, 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.120 why did they find Alphabet in the first place. What 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:45.080 was the infraction. Well, the Russian government says Alphabet failed 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:49.600 to remove videos on YouTube that the government has determined 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:54.920 contain misinformation, primarily about Russia's war against Ukraine, which has 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.280 not been going well for Putin, but the Russian government 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:03.360 would prefer that not be publicized within Russia itself, and 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:06.880 also any videos that contained what the government has referred 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:13.440 to as LGBT propaganda. The government classifies any content that 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:18.640 quote unquote promotes homosexuality as propaganda and that whomever is 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:23.680 responsible for publishing it can face fines. Now, I would 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:27.680 make some very judgmental comments about this about how Russia 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:30.840 has targeted these folks. But I feel like before I 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:33.560 can start casting stones at Russia, I gotta aim a 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:37.280 whole lot closer to home, because currently we're seeing an 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:43.600 increased movement against the LGBTQ plus community in various states 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:47.679 here in the US, including some that border my state, 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:52.960 and I imagine my state, which has perhaps some sympathetic 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:56.560 politicians in charge, could follow suits. So I can't get 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.880 two up in arms about Russia doing this. Although avi 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:06.440 Russia has gone to extremes to suppress anyone in the 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:11.760 LGBTQ community there, I can't, you know, We're seeing similar 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:13.839 things happen here in the States, so I can't really 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:18.040 just single out Russia anyway. I don't know if Google 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:20.560 will bother paying this fine. I mean, maybe they will. 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:23.280 It's only forty thousand dollars. I'm sure executives could just 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:25.320 root around in their couches and come up with that. 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.880 But Google, like a lot of tech companies, has already 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.200 pulled out of Russia. They closed down their offices based 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:36.400 in the country, and while Google services are still available 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.880 in Russia, the company doesn't operate there like on a 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:45.280 like a corporate scale. Speaking of YouTube, there's apparently a 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.720 new anti ad blocker feature on the service, at least 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.000 for some users. According to Reddit, a few folks having 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.680 counter messages saying that ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube, 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.720 and if you want to watch YouTube without ads, you 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:02.640 need to become a YouTube Premium subscriber, or your other 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.640 option is just to disable your ad blocker and then 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:09.560 you get ads supported YouTube access. Google has seen a 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:12.600 lot more people subscribe to YouTube Premium over the past 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.600 couple of years, so it is possible that this is 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.120 really meant to push more folks toward that. In fact, 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.040 the redditors said that the pop up message included a 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.400 button to make it super simple to subscribe to YouTube Premium, 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:27.480 so you could just click there in the pop up 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.360 window and do it. So far, this message has been 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.880 part of a limited rolled out experiment. It's not going 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.760 to everyone. It's just going to a subset of YouTube users. 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.800 It is possible that YouTube will not expand this to 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.440 the general user base. But as I've said before, if 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:47.560 a company sees that a tactic is effective and is 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.880 generating revenue, then they're more likely than not going to 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:56.000 adopt it wholesale. It's hard to back off of that, 0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:59.800 and as full disclosure, I've actually been a YouTube Premium 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.920 subscriber for ages. Although to be fair, I was actually 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:08.559 a Google Music subscriber, but then Google sunset that service, 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:10.960 and when they did, they ported my subscription over to 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:15.240 YouTube Premium because there's YouTube music as well, and I 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:20.240 just kept it because I like watching YouTube without ads. 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:23.920 But I also understand that, you know, you can't get 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:27.040 something for nothing or else. No one can make some 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:32.600 things anymore. Speaking of that, this is perfect timing. We're 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.360 going to take a quick break so that we can 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.199 listen to a few messages from our sponsors and then 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:50.720 I'll be right back. Okay, here we go back with 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:55.240 the news. Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, is 0:13:55.640 --> 0:14:00.120 about to appear before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:06.240 Technology and the Law. This happens next Tuesday. Senators want 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:08.760 to have a conversation with Altman about his perspective on 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.079 how governments should approach AI. You know what sorts of 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.120 laws might need to be updated or even new laws 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.840 potentially proposed in order to allow for the safe and 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:24.400 responsible development and deployment of AI while minimizing risks and 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.360 threats and other types of problems. Now, in the past, 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:31.200 Altman has been pretty candid about his opinions, and they 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.600 aren't always what you would expect from a guy who 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:37.000 runs a company that is known for perhaps the most 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:40.280 high profile implementation of AI that's out there right now, 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.560 at least among the general public. He has said more 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:47.360 than once that chat GPT is not as miraculous as 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.160 some people made it out to be. And remember, he's 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.920 the guy running the company that made chat GPT. He 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:58.040 has already met with political leaders about AI safeguards recently. 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:01.360 So I think this is a really good step. I 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.200 don't think it's just going to become political theater where 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.920 Altman's being grilled for all this stuff. I feel like 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:10.240 this there's the potential of actual collaboration here. Now. I 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.640 have never met Altman, I don't know him personally. I 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.480 get the sense that I mean he is trying to 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:20.520 walk the line between running an AI company and also 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.920 trying to manage expectations in a field where the hype 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.960 cycle can take off without warning. We've seen that recently 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.760 with reports about how investors are pouring billions of dollars 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.880 into different companies that are centered around AI, even if 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:38.200 those companies don't have you know, a business plan or something. 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:42.320 So I hope that this meeting next week is informative 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:46.000 and productive and that perhaps lawmakers can start looking into 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:49.520 things that need tweaking, like you know, right to publicity 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:53.160 and right to personality laws as an example. Meanwhile, over 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:58.040 in the European Union, lawmakers there are also nearing the 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:02.960 final step toward regular AI. So the EU has a 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.800 big set of rules about AI that's nearing the point 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.480 of adoption. And these rules cover a lot of ground, 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:13.880 including stuff like the rules around facial recognition, for example, 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.600 that it should not be used in public spaces, that 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.240 law enforcement should not be relying upon it, because, as 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:24.040 we've seen here in the United States, facial recognition technology 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:26.920 is far from perfect. There's a tendency for this tech 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.120 to have a bias that makes it difficult for facial 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:33.760 recognition systems to differentiate people of color, for example, and 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:37.840 this leads to disproportionate harassment when law enforcement relies on 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.840 such technology to identify and track suspects. So the EU 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:46.560 doesn't want to perpetuate that, and these rules would forbid 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.960 law enforcement from relying on facial recognition technology for those purposes. 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:55.480 The EU's approach has been to categorize AI not in 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.640 terms of the AI's capability, but rather in terms of 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:04.639 its perceived risk, which is interesting, Like, it's interesting to 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:11.040 think about classifying AI as the perceived risk it has 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:15.720 on people. So if an implementation of AI is perceived 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.840 to be dangerous, well, then it'll likely get the unwanted 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:24.120 label of unacceptable, Like the level of risk is unacceptable, 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:26.080 so we cannot allow it. It would be against the 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:30.119 law to implement AI for that specific purpose. If the 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:33.240 AI is meant to I don't know, just like automatically 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:37.240 tally up calculations in a spreadsheet, it would probably get 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:41.639 a much lower risk assessment assigned to it, although you 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:45.720 could argue that even that application of technology can potentially 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:48.679 have really nasty consequences. It all depends upon what that 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:52.720 spreadsheet is all about. Right now, I have yet to 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:57.240 actually read the law. The law itself has been in 0:17:57.280 --> 0:17:59.760 the making for a couple of years. This has been 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:02.960 a long process, with lots of different parties having input 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:08.200 as the EU lawmakers have tried to structure this proposed bill. 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.040 So I am not able to give my full opinion 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:14.760 about this because I haven't read it. I do think 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:18.400 that it's encouraging to see lawmakers get to this stage. However, 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.080 it took a long time to get there, but at 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.000 least we got there. So often when I'm talking about 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.680 AI and the law, I'm just talking about this nebulous 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:31.720 era that we're in right now where very little appears 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.760 to be happening. Well, things are happening in the EU. 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.600 This is, by the way, very super complicated stuff. You 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.840 want to make sure that you protect citizens and all that, 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:44.399 but you also you don't want to enter into a 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:48.199 situation where you're outright preventing research and development on tools 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:52.000 that could potentially create enormous public good. It is not 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:55.320 an easy thing to do. I think we often get frustrated, 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.399 including myself, get frustrated at our leaders for taking so 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:03.280 long to adopt rules and regulations meant to protect people. 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.800 Often we feel like whatever regulations are out there aren't 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.240 to protect people, but are there to protect other things 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.960 like corporations, which in here in the US are treated 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:19.760 as people. But you know, it's refreshing to see some 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:23.000 progress on that front, at least in the EU. We 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:27.240 also have a few stories about other places that are 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:31.280 adopting rules that relate to AI. For example, lawmakers here 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:34.280 in the United States, specifically in the state of Minnesota, 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:37.400 are closing in on passing a bill that would make 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:41.000 it a crime to create a deep fake image or 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:45.760 video that shows someone appearing to have sex without that 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:48.760 person's consent. So, in other words, it's a law that 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.920 would make deep fake pornography illegal if the person being 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.240 depicted in the video or image didn't agree to it 0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:58.920 in the first place. Likewise, it would be illegal to 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:03.560 use deep fakes in an effort to spread election disinformation. Now, 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:06.520 the state's House of Representatives had already voted on a 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:11.639 version of that bill, and yesterday the state's Senate. Because 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:14.480 the lawmakers are in two houses, the House of Representatives 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:16.439 and the Senate, both at the state level, and then 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.000 we have a federal level here in the US as well, 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:21.639 this is just for the state of Minnesota. So the 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:27.919 Senate unanimously voted in favor of its version of the bill. However, 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:31.960 the Senates version is technically more strict than the House version. 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:36.320 The House version had an exception built in with regard 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:40.720 to things like free speech and satire and parody, but 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:44.240 to get further into that would get far more complicated. Now, 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:46.679 the Senates version of the bill will go back to 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.920 the House of Representatives. They will then discuss the changes 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:54.080 made and vote on whether or not to adopt it. 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:56.440 If they do vote to adopt it, which seems like 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:59.159 a pretty strong bet, there's a lot of support for 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:02.199 this bill, it would then move to the governor to 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:05.399 be signed into law. Minnesota is not the first state 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.119 to do this. They would follow states like Texas and 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:11.040 California that have already put laws on the books that 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:16.960 make certain uses of deep fake technology outright illegal. You 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:20.120 might remember a story earlier this month about how IBM's 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:24.960 CEO speculated that as many as seven eight hundred open positions, 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:28.280 which is just a small group of a much larger 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:32.119 section of open positions that are all under a hiring 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:35.959 freeze right now, those seven eight hundred jobs could ultimately 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:39.400 go to AI rather than being filled with human beings. 0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:44.520 Well now, IBM's chief Commercial Officer, Rob Thomas has said 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:47.760 that managers who refused to use AI or who failed 0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:52.040 to learn how to use AI in the context of 0:21:52.119 --> 0:21:55.680 their jobs will find themselves replaced with managers who do 0:21:56.160 --> 0:22:00.040 use AI. Now that at first, when you hear it 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:03.120 makes it sound a little sinister, but honestly, I think 0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:06.120 this is more in line with how most AI experts 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:09.680 have framed the best use of this technology for the 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:13.840 last several years, that AI is not meant to outright 0:22:13.920 --> 0:22:19.280 replace people, but rather to augment employee's abilities so that 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:22.280 they can do their jobs more effectively, and also to 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:24.280 focus on the parts of the job that are more 0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:29.240 rewarding and are less suitable for automation. Right so, someone 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:31.639 who is willing to use AI in order to do 0:22:31.680 --> 0:22:34.680 that will be seen as a more valuable leader than 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:40.000 someone who isn't. While the CEO's revelation about potentially automating 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:44.000 thousands of jobs outright is I think a controversial one, 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:48.840 I think mister Thomas's point is much less controversial. It 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:52.439 makes sense as long as you're talking about using AI 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:56.240 to augment your ability to do your job. If he, 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:59.080 in fact is talking about managers using AI to eliminate 0:22:59.200 --> 0:23:02.679 entire divisions of actual employees, then no, I can't. I 0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:05.120 can't sign on for that. I think that's a bad idea. 0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:10.160 Microsoft's quest to acquire Activision Blizzard continues to hit more roadblocks. 0:23:10.440 --> 0:23:13.360 The competition regulator of the UK has now passed an 0:23:13.359 --> 0:23:17.840 interim order that forbids the two companies from purchasing an 0:23:17.920 --> 0:23:22.120 interest in one another, so they can't like Microsoft would 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:26.399 not be allowed to purchase any ownership of Activision or 0:23:26.520 --> 0:23:30.959 vice versa. While the UK is standing firm against this acquisition, 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:35.160 the European Union is expected to actually approve the deal 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:39.440 sometime this month, So if you're keeping score, Japan has 0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:42.720 already approved this deal, the EU is on the way 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:47.399 to approving the deal, the UK has voted against the deal, 0:23:47.880 --> 0:23:51.879 and the US is teetering toward opposing the deal but 0:23:52.000 --> 0:23:55.840 has not yet firmly come down, So it's really still 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:58.440 kind of a coin flip situation. And I honestly don't 0:23:58.480 --> 0:24:00.879 know how things go if every one other than the 0:24:01.000 --> 0:24:04.159 UK approves this deal, Like, I don't know how that 0:24:04.280 --> 0:24:07.880 ends up working, because global company structures and the rules 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:12.040 regarding them confuse the heck out of me. So maybe 0:24:12.200 --> 0:24:15.560 some people out there probably know exactly how this would unfold. 0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:17.680 I am not one of them, so I'm not going 0:24:17.720 --> 0:24:21.639 to try and guess. Disney Plus saw a drop in 0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:25.280 subscribers for the second quarter in a row, with four 0:24:25.280 --> 0:24:30.120 million people deciding they would let it go. Let it go. However, 0:24:30.520 --> 0:24:34.240 at the same time, the company reduced the losses that 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:39.080 it has experienced running the streaming service. So while more 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:43.720 people have left, the actual financial losses have decreased. They're 0:24:43.720 --> 0:24:47.720 still operating at a loss. They're not profitable, but they're 0:24:47.760 --> 0:24:51.120 not losing as much money per quarter as they had been. 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:55.879 So producing content for streaming is expensive, as you might imagine. 0:24:56.119 --> 0:24:59.160 Right now in the US, it's impossible at least four 0:24:59.320 --> 0:25:02.760 US base operations. It's impossible because the Writer's Guild of 0:25:02.800 --> 0:25:06.720 America is on strike. But on an earnings call CEO 0:25:07.119 --> 0:25:10.840