TechStuff

Should you delete yourself from the internet? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah dig into humanoid robots running a half-marathon, the AI-generated personas helping law enforcement interact with potential suspects and Google’s updated ‘Results About You’ tool. On TechSupport, Jeff Rosenthal, the co-founder of the venture capital firm CIV, discusses the role of private investment in building out energy infrastructure to meet the AI boom.

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Lionel Barber is a journalist, author, and former editor of the Financial Times. He’s interviewed state leaders like former US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But in Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan’s Masayoshi Son, Barber chronicles the life of SoftBank’s enigmatic CEO from his childhood as an ethnic Korean in Japan to becoming the richest man in the world – briefly. Barber sits down with Oz to discuss the impact SoftBank’s investments have had on technology.

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How would Salvador Dalí have used generative AI? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah dig into this year’s most common uses for generative AI, the rise of code editor, Cursor, and how Google DeepMind’s Veo2 interprets a surrealist screenplay. On TechSupport, The Washington Post’s staff writer, Naomi Nix, discusses the first week of Meta’s antitrust trial.

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Jen Statsky is a comedian, writer, and producer who’s worked on some of TV’s biggest comedies like The Good Place, Parks & Recreation and Broad City. Most recently, she’s been behind the scenes as one of the co-creators of the hit show Hacks. Jen sits down with Karah to talk about how writing and producing for TV has changed in the face of accelerating AI, the “second-screening” phenomenon, and the optimization of streaming services.

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What’s a ‘mega API’? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah break down the ever-evolving landscape of tariffs and what it all means for tech companies, Tinder’s ChatGPT-powered dating game, and the rise of ‘Frankenstein’ laptops in India. On TechSupport, The Wall Street Journal’s Family & Tech Columnist Julie Jargon explains how imposter scams are becoming more believable thanks to generative AI.

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Reid Hoffman is a longtime entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author. Throughout his career, Hoffman has helped build or support some of the biggest tech companies we know today. He was one of PayPal’s first employees, a co-founder of LinkedIn and an early investor and board member for OpenAI. These days, Hoffman spends a lot of time thinking about the potential positive outcomes of AI development, which is the subject of his latest book — Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with our AI Future. Hoffman sits down with Oz to talk about how he formed his tech philosophy, what our AI future may look like, and why he doesn’t mind going against the political tides in Silicon Valley.

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How do LLMs solve math problems? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah explore what AI models could mean for the fashion industry, the humble-but-mighty device our modern world depends on, and what Anthropic’s researchers learned about the inner workings of their LLM. On TechSupport, The Washington Post’s technology reporter Gerrit De Vynck explains the state of the AI race and how some of tech’s biggest companies are vying for position.

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Zak Brown is the CEO of McLaren Racing, the second-oldest Formula 1 team. When he joined in 2016, McLaren was in a difficult spot — lagging behind in race wins, sponsorships, and morale. Brown set out to transform the team by elevating their in-house racing technology and fostering active collaboration. He led the team to win the F1 Constructors’ Championship last year, their first one after more than 25 years. In this episode, Oz visits McLaren's headquarters to speak with Brown about how the team made their comeback, and what they’re doing to keep their edge this season.

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What even is a crypto mixer? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah dig into potential Slack-enabled corporate espionage, the recall of a Kim K-beloved product and the group chat that broke the internet. On TechSupport, The Washington Post’s technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler discusses 23andMe’s financial woes and what it means for the genetic data of the roughly 15 million people who bought DNA testing kits from the company.

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This is the first episode of a new podcast called Levittown. It’s a real-life horror story for the AI generation. In this six-part series from Bloomberg, Kaleidoscope and iHeartPodcasts, reporters Olivia Carville and Margi Murphy take listeners from the quiet suburbs of New York to as far as New Zealand and into the darkest corners of the internet. Where tech moves faster than the law, and it’s up to everyday people to hold back a rising tide of explicit deepfakes.

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How do you calm down a chatbot? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis dig into the book that Meta doesn’t want you to read, chatbot reactions to stressful stimuli, and the new home of Pokémon Go data. On TechSupport, 404 Media’s Joseph Cox discusses a tool with surprising data scraping capabilities that is used by US agencies like ICE.

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Astro Teller is Alphabet’s Captain of Moonshots. He oversees projects at X – the moonshot factory behind innovations like Waymo and Google Brain. To celebrate X’s 15 years of pushing boundaries, Astro Teller decided to take listeners inside the factory. On The Moonshot Podcast, inventors and entrepreneurs behind breakthrough technologies reflect on their projects, both the highs and the lows. Teller sits down with Oz to discuss the process of experimentation, the importance of accepting failure and the future of innovation at Alphabet’s X.

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Could AI help you land an internship? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis explore the rise of vibecoding, what it means for the future of software development and how one college programmer hopes to reform the Big Tech hiring process. On TechSupport, Oz chats with the founder and researcher of the Exponential View newsletter, Azeem Azhar, about the latest AI innovation and its significance in the battle for technological supremacy.

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David Eagleman is a neuroscientist, author, entrepreneur and host of the podcast Inner Cosmos. In his podcast, he explores how our brains interpret the world and construct reality. Eagleman sits down with Oz to discuss AI relationships, the human urge to anthropomorphize chatbots and the benefits of living on the exponential curve.

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What if AI could read your mind? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis explore the latest tech investment in the US, Meta’s brain-to-text breakthrough and the creation of the woolly mouse. On TechSupport, 404 Media’s Jason Koebler takes us to an AI-generated film festival… spoiler: the tech isn’t there yet. 

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Bradley Hope is a journalist, author and co-founder of Project Brazen, a narrative non-fiction production studio. His piece in Wired, ‘A Spymaster Sheikh Controls a $1.5 Trillion Fortune. He Wants to Use It to Dominate AI,’ outlines how one Gulf royal – Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan – came to control vast sums of sovereign wealth. Hope sits down with Oz to discuss Sheikh Tahnoun’s early obsession with AI, his path to becoming the UAE’s national security advisor and the country's role in the global AI race. 

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This week, Oz is on the road, at the Web Summit Qatar, and he’s not alone. Joining him from the iHeart pop-up studio in Doha is a very familiar figure, Jonathan Strickland. Oz and Jonathan sit down to discuss some of the highlights of the Web Summit, including the future of the AI chip race, advances in augmented reality and how news organizations are grappling with AI.

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Ben Taub is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker. His piece, “Russia’s Espionage War in the Arctic,” covers tensions at the Russian border with Norway, an area Russia uses as a testing ground for future intelligence operations. Taub sits down with Oz to discuss the technology being used for survival and for espionage, as the war in Ukraine has escalated tensions with NATO.

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This week, TechStuff teams up with Part-Time Genius for a special crossover episode. Oz and Mangesh Hattikudur, host of Part-Time Genius, discuss a largely misunderstood group of machine destroyers. The Luddites. Joining them is tech journalist Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine, to dig into the history of humans fighting against job automation, why we equate Luddites with technophobes and what we can learn from these 19th century rebels in the age of AI.

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Hany Farid is a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He's been a leading voice on digital forensics for over two decades—pioneering ways to identify if an image, audio or video has been digitally altered. Since the rise of social media, Farid has kept busy helping news organizations, government agencies and law enforcement determine what is real and what is fake online. Farid sits down with Oz to talk about his initial interest in digital forensics, the effects of misinformation on society, and whether he wants an AI likeness of himself to live on after he dies.

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What do the Brits want from Apple? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis explore how lithium-ion batteries and wildfires don’t mix, the UK government’s demand for a backdoor to iPhones and the James Webb Space Telescope–it rocks! On TechSupport with 404 Media’s Emanuel Maiberg, a new study finds that AI might affect our critical thinking skills. And finally, Oz digs into Elon Musk’s government contracts.

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Geoffrey Hinton is a computer scientist, cognitive psychologist, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. His work on artificial neural networks earned him the title, ‘Godfather of AI,’ but in recent years, he’s warned that without adequate safeguards and regulation, there is an “existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings that are more intelligent than ourselves.” Hinton sits down with Oz to discuss his upbringing, research, time at Google and how his experience with grief informs how he thinks about the future of AI.

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Do smart fridges help business? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis unpack Walgreens’ refrigeration woes, the future of supersonic planes, and what the Vatican has to say about AI. On TechSupport with 404 Media’s Joseph Cox, the FBI’s unique relationship to one encrypted phone company. And finally, Oz tests out Google’s virtual office assistant in When Did This Become a Thing?

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Meredith Whittaker is the president of the Signal Foundation and serves on its board of directors. She is also the co-founder of NYU’s AI Now Institute. Whittaker got her start at Google, where she worked for 13 years until resigning in 2019 after she helped organize the Google Walkouts. She speaks with Oz about learning on the job, championing data privacy and being awarded the Helmut Schmidt Future Prize for “her commitment to the development of AI technology oriented towards the common good.”

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Is China winning the AI race? This week in the News Roundup, the story that roiled US stock markets on Monday – DeepSeek. Oz and producer Eliza Dennis unpack the hype. On TechSupport with 404 Media’s Jason Koebler, how human ingenuity continues to subvert tech. We hear how one coder has decided to entrap AI web crawlers. And finally, Oz digs into our love affair with personal data in When Did This Become a Thing?

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Nathaniel Rich is a novelist, essayist and writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine. Rich sits down with Oz to talk about his essay, “Can Humans Endure the Psychological Torment of Mars?” The piece explores NASA's CHAPEA (“Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog”) mission, a simulation meant to test a major challenge of Mars missions – isolation.

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In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell speaks with Ric Lewis, IBM’s Senior Vice President of Infrastructure.  They discuss how hardware capability has enabled the matrix math required to run large language models. Furthermore, they delve into some creative examples of how to put AI to work: from your bank to your local coffee shop.  Ric underscores the importance of infrastructure in unlocking the potential of AI, helping businesses harness their data to drive transformative outcomes.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Visit us at https://ibm.com/smarttalks

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Is AI charging you different prices for groceries than your roommate? This week, Oz and Karah bring you a news roundup featuring a look at surveillance pricing and the rise of AI companies eager to work with the U.S. military. On TechSupport with 404 Media’s Jason Koebler, the hosts dive into last weekend's temporary TikTok ban and why Mark Zuckerberg didn’t want it to end. And finally we get to the bottom of why so many PayPal alumni are showing up on our newsfeeds this week in When Did This Become a Thing?

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Jessica Lessin is the founder and CEO of The Information, a media company that’s a trusted source for tech readers and tech leaders. She’s reported on the industry for almost two decades and is deeply familiar with the culture shifts in Silicon Valley. Lessin sits down with Oz to discuss these trends, including tech titans appealing to the new Trump administration.

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Are you sharing misleading Instagram stories? This week, Oz and Karah bring you a news roundup including a ChatGPT-powered gun and a free app that’s keeping people informed about the LA wildfires. On TechSupport with 404 Media’s Joseph Cox, they get to the bottom of why a group of hackers have become so fond of U-Haul user data; and a look at when the world split into digital natives and digital immigrants…and when it might split again.

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Nicholas Thompson is the former editor-in-chief of Wired and current CEO of The Atlantic. There, he negotiated a controversial partnership with OpenAI that The Atlantic’s newsroom referred to as “a devil’s bargain.” In his free time, he uses AI to help himself run faster and write better. Through it all, he maintains a worldview perhaps best described as “techno-enthusiasm.”

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How scared should we be of deceptive AI? Oz and Karah take the mic from Jonathan for their first episode of TechStuff and bring you a news roundup of their favorite headlines—including using ChatGPT to plan a crime and brain benefits for those who can still navigate without Waze.  On TechSupport with Jason Koebler from 404 Media they discuss a recent study showing that AI can actively deceive us to achieve its own goals; and a special segment with Emma Barker from Time with the 200 Best Inventions of 2024.

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TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about TechStuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers). Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us. 

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Jonathan has his final episode, but more importantly introduces the new stewards of the podcast, Oz Woloshyn and Karah Preiss. These phenomenal storytellers and journalists explore their plans for the show and how you will be a part of it!

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We're looking at some of the big tech stories that have unfolded since TechStuff debuted in 2008. In this episode, we pick up in 2015 and look at the controversies, triumphs, trials, and tribulations tech encountered over the last decade. 

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Since TechStuff first launched in 2008, a lot of stuff has happened in the world of tech. Join Jonathan as he looks back on a big tech story for each year of his experience in hosting a technology podcast.

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Back when he was a brand new tech podcaster, Jonathan met with fellow tech content creator (and fellow Discovery Digital Network veteran) Shannon Morse. The two became good friends. Now, Jonathan learns all about Shannon's journey in becoming a successful content creator in an ever-changing digital landscape. Keywords: Shannon Morse, Hak5, Revision 3, Discovery Digital Network, TWiT, Tekzilla, Threatwire, hacker, content creator, YouTube"

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In late 2023, Jonathan made a bunch of predictions for how 2024 would turn out. How did he do? Do we have jetpacks and flying cars yet?

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Samantha and Anney from Stuff Mom Never Told You, pop by to talk about the cozy games genre. How did this casual category go from being an afterthought to big business? And why are “real” gamers so salty about it?

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From Big Tech versus the government to the little Martian helicopter that could, we look at some of the big tech stories to unfold in 2024! Keywords: Mars, Ingenuity, Nasa, Boeing, Google, antitrust, Elon Musk, Twitter, Bluesky, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, mixed reality, augmented reality, AI, artificial intelligence, OpenAI, bitcoin, cryptocurrency

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Noel and Ben (and, briefly, Matt) of Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know drop by to talk about the strange and mysterious Havana syndrome. Were US government employees the victim of a directed attack that made them feel sick and ill at ease, or was it all in their heads? We look at what few facts there are, plus chat about the good old days of podcasting.

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Former TechStuff co-host Lauren Vogelbaum comes back to TechStuff to talk about the chaotic, absurd, and sometimes infuriating world of food delivery apps. Are they good for restaurants? (No). Are they good for drivers? (Nope). Are they good for the companies themselves? (Not really).

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How did a pair of 19th-century brothers hack into a government-controlled communications system? And what did they do with it? 

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For some people, a simple string of Christmas lights on a tree in the yard just isn't enough. How do those impressive Christmas light displays work? 

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Mysterious drones flying over New Jersey have raised fears and questions. Plus, big tech companies start to court Donald Trump, the FTC is likely going to reverse positions in the new administration and the Game Awards names the Game of the Year.

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2024 has been a huge year for AI. But why should we focus only on the enormous companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon? We look at three startups that hope to make it huge in the AI space. 

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To deploy responsible AI and build trust with customers, businesses need to prioritize AI governance. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Laurie Santos discuss AI accountability with Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy and Trust Officer at IBM. They chat about AI regulation, what compliance means in the AI age, and why transparent AI governance is good for business.

Visit us at: ibm.com/smarttalks

Explore watsonx.governance: https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-governance

This is a paid advertisement from IBM.

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NASA is soliciting applications for its astronaut program in anticipation of sending men and women to the Moon. Learn all about the Artemis program, its goals and what comes next!

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The shooting of UnitedHealthCare's CEO Brian Thompson has prompted some dark, disturbing reactions online -- including misinformation. Plus, we have stories about the wealthy designing bunkers to hide from the coming "Event", China's Salt Typhoon operation compromising US telecommunications companies, and more. Woof. It's rough, y'all. 

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Did you know one company has the monopoly on the .com top level domain? How did Verisign become the one DNS registry for .com, and why did some politicians recently challenge the company's practices?

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The world of tech is nuanced, complex, and filled with jargon. That makes it the perfect breeding ground for scams and hoaxes. How can we defend ourselves from snake oil salespeople? Through the powers of critical thinking!

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Over the years, many people have contributed to our little technology podcast to make it what it is today. In this episode, Jonathan spends some time thanking those who have made their mark on TechStuff.

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Scientists and hosts of Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe join the show to talk about media depictions of science, the importance of STEAM education and funding, and why exploratory science benefits us in ways we can’t anticipate.

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Financial analyst Josh Jalinski joins the show to talk about cryptocurrency from an investment point of view. We discuss concerns about crypto, opportunities that may exist, and why it is always important to use critical thinking and research before dedicating your hard earned money to an investment.

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The Department of Justice has a list of proposed actions Google must take to end anticompetitive practices, and Google is not happy about it. Apple probably isn't thrilled either. But the matter still has to head to court next year, so nothing is decided just yet. Plus, Microsoft makes some questionable choices and an AI expert leans a bit too hard on AI. 

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After 16 and a half years, I will be stepping down from being the host of TechStuff. We'll talk more about the future of the show soon, but today's episode is all about the history and evolution of the little podcast that tried to demystify technology, critically examine the industry, and make tons of puns in the process.

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We look at the history of auto-tune, how it works, and how it impacted music and culture in general.

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While the streaming media landscape is crowded, it could be worse. In this episode, we look at some streaming services that didn't stand the test of time. From platforms that were a bad idea from the start to ones that were victims of corporate mergers, we find out what went wrong.

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What's the difference between a capacitive and a resistive touchscreen? Which came first? And are there other types of touchscreen technologies?

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A little more than a decade ago, mobile computing revolutionized how we access software and the internet. It's about to happen again.

At the top of my holiday wish list is an AI-augmented laptop powered by the Snapdragon X Elite processor for lightning-fast performance.

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Microsoft jumped into the mp3 player space a little late. Apple had been producing iPods for five years when the first Zune hit shelves. But that was just the beginning of a series of problems Microsoft encountered. We explore the sad (and short) story of the Zune.

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When developing the mp3 compression algorithm, engineer Karlheinz Brandenburg used a specific song to tweak settings and get them just right. What was that song? And why does Jonathan not like it?

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When Craig Rupp left Iowa in the 80s, he never wanted to step foot on a farm again. A whirlwind career as an engineer took him to some of the biggest companies - Motorola, Apple, Samsung - but he always felt a strong connection to his roots. He had an idea he couldn’t shake - an opportunity to change farming forever. Introducing Sabanto and its best-in-class Autonomous Operator, Steward. On the day of their first big test, the tractor froze, stuck in a field in a blizzard - no planting, no company, no future. If Craig wanted this to work, he had to find a solution - and fast. 

Ben is back with a series of episodes celebrating businesses from across America, starting with the great state of Iowa and Sabanto Agriculture. Joining Ben is Sachin Seghal Founder of Elevate Digital Marketing in Des Moines and Brian Lamb, Northeast segment head for Middle Market at JPMorgan Chase. Together they discuss the developments in Artificial Intelligence and its importance for small businesses while sharing insights on how small businesses can effectively transition to mid-sized enterprises and beyond. 

The Unshakeables is brought to you by Chase for Business and Ruby Studio by iHeartMedia

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In 2009, Microsoft announced a new search engine called Bing. What was Microsoft's strategy, how is Bing different from the dominant search engine Google, and what's next?

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We knew that the 2024 election season in the US would include some tough stories involving tech and potential election interference. In this episode, we look at a few headlines of how tech may have already played a role in misinforming voters either on purpose or by accident. Plus many more headlines in this jumbo news episode!

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What does an REM Pod do? How does it work? And why is Jonathan such a darn party pooper when it comes to ghost hunting?

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In the 19th century, some enterprising and unscrupulous photographers convinced vulnerable people that they had developed (pun intended) a way to photograph the spirits of the dearly departed. But what was really going on?

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Description: The former senior advisor for OpenAI's now dissolved AGI Readiness division warns that no one, not even OpenAI, is actually ready for artificial general intelligence. Plus, the US unveils some "guardrails" about using AI tools, Montana's Attorney General files a new lawsuit against TikTok, and Norway increases the minimum age for social media users to 15. And more!

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Cybersecurity company Kaspersky has a list of the most notorious hackers of all time. We look at three of the entries, from the loose confederation of hackers called Anonymous to a hacker responsible for stealing millions of credit and debit card numbers.

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In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell speaks with Jason Kelley, GM, Strategic Partners and Ecosystems at IBM, and Kristy Friedrichs, SVP and Chief Partnership Officer at Palo Alto Networks. They discuss the challenges and opportunities that the rapid development of AI brings to the cybersecurity space. Jason and Kristy also underscore how implementing a zero trust strategy can help enterprises enhance cyber resiliency and simplify operations. Together, IBM and Palo Alto Networks are delivering fully integrated, open, end-to-end security solutions to enterprises.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Visit us at https://ibm.com/smarttalks

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In celebration of Halloween, we take a look at an article from HowStuffWorks titled 10 Scary Modern Technologies. From drones to voices coming out of thin air, we peek under the big scary bed that is technology.

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X, formerly known as Twitter, makes a major change to the block feature that has some users switching to alternatives. Plus, Meta holds layoffs across multiple departments, some filmmakers experiment with generative AI, and SpaceX uses a giant metal claw to catch a rocket booster. And more!

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In 2018, more than 200 cities competed to become the site for Amazon's second headquarters. Late that year, Amazon would choose two locations. A year later, it would pull out of one of those two sites. And today, the HQ2 sits nearly half empty. What happened?

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Tesla showed off the Optimus humanoid robots recently. What's the history behind bipedal, humanoid robots? Why are they so hard to get right? Why would you want to design such a robot in the first place? We explore the history, science and evolution of humanoid robots.

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This week, Elon Musk held his delayed Cybercab event while also showing off a new Robovan concept and Optimus humanoid robots. Investors, however, remain concerned that the event was more show than business. Also, Chinese hackers exploited backdoor access points to major Internet Service Providers in the US. And more!

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From LRADs to the dreaded "brown noise," we look at attempts to weaponize sound. Is it possible? What effects can sound have on the body? And how much do we not know? (Hint: The answer is "A lot.")

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In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein speaks with Rebecca Finlay, CEO of Partnership on AI, about the importance of advancing AI innovation with openness and ethics at the forefront. Rebecca discusses how guardrails — such as risk management — can advance efficiency in AI development. They explore the AI Alliance’s focus on open data and technology, and the importance of collaboration. Rebecca also underscores how diverse perspectives and open-mindedness can drive AI progress responsibly.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Visit us at https://ibm.com/smarttalks

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There's nothing like wearing noise cancelling headphones while on a noisy flight. But what technology lets you listen to your sweet tunes while eliminating the loud hum of an aircraft?

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Earlier this year, analysts predicted that OpenAI would need a large injection of investments to stay afloat. This week, OpenAI closed on a 6.6 billion dollar investment round. What's next? Plus, Elon Musk holds a recruitment event for xAI, the governor of California vetoes an AI safety bill and more.

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AI is hard. How hard? Your company can hit a valuation of more than one billion dollars one moment and you're out of business the next. We look at two digital health companies that went from the highest highs to the lowest lows.

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Hydroelectric power harnesses the energy of water to generate electricity, but how? From turbine design to dynamos, we look at the components that make hydropower work.

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Meta held its Connect conference this week and showed off some chonky augmented reality glasses, among other things. Plus, OpenAI shakes things up and DoNotPay agrees to, well, Pay.

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Time named the Sony Walkman number 47 on a list of the 50 most influential gadgets of all time. How did the Walkman become a thing, and what influence has it had on how we experience music? 

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As the scale of artificial intelligence continues to evolve, open technology like many of IBM’s Granite models are helping enhance transparency in AI and improve efficiency across businesses. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein sat down with Maryam Ashoori, the Director of Product Management and Head of Product for IBM’s watsonx.ai, where she spearheads the product strategy and delivery of IBM’s watsonx Foundation Models. Together, they explored the shift from large general-purpose AI models to smaller, customizable models tailored to specific needs.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

Visit us at https://ibm.com/smarttalks

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Where did CAPTCHAs come from? What purpose do they serve? How do they relate to artificial intelligence? And why are some of them so doggone hard?

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Israel is allegedly behind an attack on Hezbollah involving exploding pagers. How did that happen? In other news, Microsoft wants to reopen a nuclear power plant to supply electricity to power-hungry AI data centers. Plus much more! 

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Is there a link between social media use and mental health challenges? We look at a meta-analysis and use some critical thinking to tackle the issue. 

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What does "the ghost in the machine" mean? From philosophy to artificial intelligence, we explore this idiom to understand what it means, how it's used and if the dream of strong AI is realistic.

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We've got a lot of stories about artificial intelligence to talk about this week. Plus, Xbox holds more layoffs, Sony announces a new PS5 model, and for the first time, private citizens go on a space walk. Plus much more! 

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What happened to plasma televisions? Where did they come from? Let's learn how plasma TVs work and why the industry abandoned this technology. 

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The role of AI in the classroom is evolving rapidly. When students and teachers embrace this technology, it has the ability to democratize access to education through programs like IBM SkillsBuild. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Dr. Laurie Santos, host of Pushkin’s The Happiness Lab podcast, spoke with two innovators in the space. Justina Nixon-Saintil is Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility, and April Dawson is an Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and a professor of law. They discuss the importance of lifelong learning, upskilling, and the ethical implications of AI in education.

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Today, Paypal is a 70+ billion dollar company, but how did it start out? And why are the founders sometimes referred to as the Paypal Mafia? 

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Brazil's Supreme Court has shut down access to X after Elon Musk defied some questionable court orders. The US Department of Justice says that an American media company was secretly generating propaganda on behalf of Russia. And a musician used bots to both generate and listen to music for nearly a decade before being accused of fraud.

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From Microsoft's dual-screened tablet concept to a holographic video game system, we take a look at some tech projects that died on the vine.

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In 2019, Facebook (now Meta) announced it was developing a digital currency called Libra. Just a couple of years later, the project was dead in the water. What happened?

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From X to Tesla to SpaceX to xAI, we've got a bunch of stories about various Elon Musk companies and the challenges they face this week. Plus, the MPA takes down a massive media piracy ring, and more! 

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French authorities arrested Telegram's CEO on Saturday, August 24th, 2024. What did he do? What is Telegram? And can a balance be struck between secure, private communications and stopping illegal activity?

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In a rapidly evolving AI landscape, open-source models can further accelerate the pace of progress and help expand access to all. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell sits down with Mo Duffy, Software Engineering Manager at Red Hat. 

They discuss InstructLab and the benefits of open-source technology, such as flexible deployment and the ability to enhance transparency, as well as the power of partnerships and collaboration. Mo explains how a community-based approach is essential for developing genuinely open-source AI. 

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In this podtastic episode, Jonathan and Chris explore how podcasting works. Tune in as they touch on everything from how TechStuff got its start to tips for listeners who want to become podcasters themselves.

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Meta and Snap each plan to introduce new AR glasses, but you probably won't be able to get your hands on them. Plus, Cruise strikes up a partnership with Uber, Google introduces a photo editing feature that muddies the waters and an enterprising hacker attempts to fake his own death. Through hacking. Plus more!

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While tackling a project that could have bankrupted the company, Walt Disney's engineers created a new method to add depth to two-dimensional animation. The multiplane camera would add an element of realism to an otherwise unrealistic medium.

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A lack of new space suits is going to push back the Artemis Program. Where did space suits come from? What were the early ones like? We look at flight suits up through the early days of Apollo in this episode.

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Shannon Morse joins the show to talk about how a data breach might impact you, as well as to clear up a few things the media tends to get wrong about data breaches. Plus, we have news about AI, NASA and more!

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Business leaders understand that AI can help increase revenue and profit margins. But is using AI to control pricing going to lead to bad outcomes for consumers?

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As AI technology progresses, its impact on our daily lives—including how we consume our favorite sports— will grow alongside it. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein, host of Pushkin’s own What’s Your Problem?, sat down with Brian Ryerson, Senior Director of Digital Strategy at the US Tennis Association. They discuss the impact of data on the fan experience, the role that storytelling plays in sports, and how AI has unlocked innovative features, such as AI Commentary and Match Reports.

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In 1981, RCA released a new media format on the market. It was the CED -- the Capacitance Electronic Disc, and it was meant to compete with Betamax, VHS and LaserDisc. How did it do? Not so great! But I own one, so I'm doing an episode about it!

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Google and Amazon are the subject of antitrust proceedings, while an antitrust lawsuit from Elon Musk's X has prompted an organization to disband. Trust me, you'll want to hear this. 

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How does GPS work? How can satellites tell you where you are? And what does Einstein have to do with all of this? 

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As the US teeters on the brink of a recession, we're seeing economies around the world take a hit. What role, if any, did the hype around AI play? We take a critical look at the Gartner Hype Cycle and whether it applies to artificial intelligence. 

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Some folks are getting impatient while waiting on AI to transform the world (or at the very least their investment portfolio). Plus, we learn about how a controversial online safety bill has been left to fizzle out in the US House of Representatives. And much, much more! 

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Can generative AI write a good episode for a technology podcast? We find out with this experiment about airbags written by ChatGPT. What worked, what didn't work, and what does Jonathan find really troubling? 

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What does it mean when a signal is "jammed?" From radar to radio to some cheeky broadcast TV signal intrusions, we look at how signal jamming works. 

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Meta and Google both brag on how their respective AI models are good at math. Meanwhile, OpenAI unveils its prototype AI-enhanced search engine. Plus, we learn about why video game voice actors are going on strike and more! 

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We continue to explore the evolution of pinball and learn how the humble solenoid powers so much of the game. Plus, what happens when transistors, integrated circuits and computers join the party? 

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After attending the 2024 Southern Fried Gaming Expo, TechStuff looks into the origins and evolution of pinball machines. 

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A company called CrowdStrike pushed out a software update to Windows-based systems. But the update had a defect, bringing computer systems around the world to a standstill. Plus, stories about the FBI cracking into a would-be assassin's phone, how X is appealing a California law and Google's plans to get rid of crappy apps.

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King Harald of Denmark had a little quirk that would, centuries later, provide inspiration for the naming of a modern technology. We learn how his lack of oral hygiene led to the naming of a wireless protocol.

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Major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence research often reshape the design and utility of Al in both business and society. In this special rebroadcast episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm

Gladwell and Jacob Goldstein explore the conceptual underpinnings of modern Al with Dr. David Cox, VP of Al models at IBM Research. They talk foundation models, self-supervised machine learning, and the practical applications of Al and data platforms like watsonx in business and technology.

When we first aired this episode last year, the concept of foundation models was just beginning to capture our attention. Since then, this technology has evolved and redefined the boundaries of what's possible. Businesses are becoming more savvy about selecting the right models and understanding how they can drive revenue and efficiency.

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An AI image of a devious banker with way too many fingers can be entertaining, but could it also be a warning sign for the future of the Internet? We learn about some research that indicates future generative AI may be a real mess if it trains on other AI-generated content.

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Sony will stop producing rewritable Blu-rays and a DVD rental service went belly up. Are we looking at the end of physical media? Plus, AI causes more headaches, Goldman Sachs warns we might be in an AI bubble, and more.

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As chip manufacturers rush to meet the needs of all this artificial intelligence work going on, we're left to ask the question "What the heck is an AI chip anyway?" We find out! From GPUs to ASICs, this is the episode for you.

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The AI startup scene is bonkers. Investors are pouring so much money into AI startup companies that some of those businesses are making unsubstantiated AI claims. We explore stories of a few companies that weren't as AI-focused as they initially claimed to be.

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There's a lot of hacker news this week, with updates on the severity of the Ticketmaster hack, a credit union in California is doing its best to restore services after a ransomware attack, and a Chinese company turned an innocent, helpful tool into a malicious trick. Plus more!

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While an elephant may never forget, the same cannot be said for artificial neural networks. What is catastrophic forgetting, how does it affect artificial intelligence and how are engineers trying to solve the problem?

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Sometimes, a tech company pushes out a product that has a flaw bad enough to prompt that company to issue a recall. From television antennas to the Tesla Cybertruck, we look at some notable (perhaps Galaxy Note-able) recalls in tech history.

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Meta says it may start blocking links to Australian news sites on Facebook -- again. Hackers create a massive headache for US automobile dealerships. An Arkansas attorney general argues that China's Temu app is malware in disguise. And much more!

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A couple of grocery delivery services, a neobank catering to the LGBTQ+ company and a company that used robots to make pizza walk into 2023. No one gets out. Here are the stories of more startups that failed in 2023.

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In a rapidly evolving world, we need to balance the fear surrounding AI and its role in the workplace with its potential to drive productivity growth. In this special live episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell is joined onstage by Rob Thomas, senior vice president of software and chief commercial officer at IBM, during NY Tech Week. They discuss “the productivity paradox,” the importance of open-source AI, and a future where AI will touch every industry.

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From cybersecurity companies to a business that provided telehealth services for pets, we look at some of the tech startups that had to close up shop in 2023.

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Apple still plans to launch a more affordable mixed reality headset before the end of next year, but the Vision Pro sounds like a one off. Plus, Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple vie for the title of most valuable company in the world. And much more!

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How did a nuclear engineer end up inventing the Super Soaker water gun? This is the story of Lonnie Johnson, an inventor and engineer who, among many other things, revolutionized the backyard water pistol fight.

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Smart Talks with IBM returns with a new season on Tuesday, June 25th. This season, we’re diving back into the world of artificial intelligence, but with a focus on the powerful concept of “open,” and how it applies to AI. Host Malcolm Gladwell will invite curious colleagues from Pushkin Industries to explore how openness is already reshaping industries, ways of doing business, and our very notion of what's possible.

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Geomagnetic disturbances and electromagnetic pulses have the potential to cause a lot of problems for us. We learn what causes these events and how they can impact electronic systems.

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Elon Musk says he'll ban Apple products from his company following the announcement that Apple is partnering with OpenAI. Plus, Microsoft recalls Windows Recall before it can launch next week. And much more! 

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Back in the late 1970s, toy company Mattel waded into the video game console market with the launch of the Intellivision. This year, Atari SA purchased the rights to the Intellivision brand and IP. We look at the story behind this early video game console.

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While Elon Musk owes much of his wealth to Tesla, the truth is that he's not the company's founder. That honor goes to a pair of engineers named Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. We explore the origins of Tesla.

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Two different consumer products with AI integration have flopped recently, and even big companies like Google have had to backtrack on AI implementations. Is AI just not yet ready for the public? And if so, who the heck will tell AI companies? Plus lots more.

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We've got more data breaches and leaks to talk about. From an attack that targeted Microsoft corporate customers to one affecting three billion accounts, we look at how hackers and poor data security practices put people and their information at risk.

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TicketMaster recently acknowledged a massive data breach that has affected more than half a billion customers. Where would it fall on a list of the worst data breaches in US history? We look at instances from LinkedIn to Home Depot.

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Reuters reports that TikTok is developing a US-only version of its recommendation algorithm, but the company disputes the report's accuracy. Plus, could AI make your next favorite TV show?

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In the late 19th century, a French experiment demonstrated the power of stereo sound. A century later, experiments in binaural audio would help create rich soundscapes that could immerse the listener in audio environments. We learn about the evolution and tech of 3D audio.

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We learn who invented the lawnmower, how lawnmowers evolved, and why we even have lawns in the first place. Hint: it has to do with castles in the Middle Ages.

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OpenAI is in the hot seat. Scarlet Johansson thinks OpenAI might have used her voice without her permission. Former employees are compelled to sign non disparagement agreements or face losing their equity in the company. And much more! Plus, non AI stories too!

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After a tumultuous 2013, Hulu would enter the next phase of its evolution. But corporate maneuvers in huge media empires and growing competition in the streaming space would determine Hulu's path forward. 

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In 2007, News Corp and NBCUniversal announced a joint venture. It would be a video streaming service that would deliver film and broadcast TV content online. Detractors called it the Clown Co, but it took the name Hulu and would become an important force that would shape the business of online streaming.

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Both OpenAI and Google dominated the tech news this week with announcements relating to AI, and like it or not it seems like AI is bound to become deeply integrated into our tech in the near future. Plus, Elon Musk tussles with the SEC (again) and two brothers are accused of stealing around 25 million dollars in cryptocurrency.

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From always-on DRM to the heartbreak of online games getting shut down, we look at the issues gamers encounter with the live service game model.

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Recently, Microsoft shut down four video game studios. The industry as a whole has seen major disruption this year. And some worry that a shift toward live service games could be a big part of the problem. What's going on? Part one of two!

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This week, Microsoft announced that game studios like Austin Arkane and Tango Gameworks are closing their doors. Google and Tesla are both dealing with consequences following layoffs. And OpenAI may have plans in the works to rain on Google's I/O conference parade next week.

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What are early adopters, and why are they important? In this episode, we look at Everett Rogers theory of the diffusion of innovation and how new ideas get adopted by a population. Plus, we revisit the sad tale of the HD DVD format.

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TechStuff gets in the Wayback Machine to look at the origins of the Internet Archive, which preserves information stored on the Internet. How does it work and how did it get started? 

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Elon Musk starts making drastic cuts at Tesla -- is he trying to salvage his enormous compensation package? Plus, Microsoft tells the cops that they aren't allowed to use Asure services for facial recognition. And much more!

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Advancements in AI technology have made it possible to create virtual representations of our real-world environments, and these digital twins could change how we experience just about everything in our lives. These digital twins can create everything from more efficient workplaces to smarter traffic lights, and on the first episode of Season 2 of Technically Speaking: An Intel Podcast, digital twin expert Tony Franklin discusses what’s required to create a digital twin and how different industries can use this technology to create a safer future for everyone.

Learn more about how Intel is leading the charge in the AI Revolution at intel.com/AIeverywhere

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The tech industry has no shortage of buzzwords and jargon. Some of the terms common in tech are ones that people have come to hate for various reasons. From AI to blockchain to the metaverse, we explore buzzwords that drive some people bonkers.

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Why do some films shot in higher frame rates look so weird? We explore the history of the 24 frames per second standard, the filmmakers who are pushing the envelope on frame rates, and how those technological changes affect the viewing experience of film.

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Several tech companies held Q1 earnings calls this week, with wildly different reactions from investors. Tesla profits are down, but investor hopes are high. Meta keeps spending money on the metaverse and investors are not happy about it. Plus an update on the Voyager 1 and much more!

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The thing I said probably wouldn't happened did happen -- the US Senate voted in favor of a bill that will force the Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok or face a US-wide ban. But how the heck did we get here, and how does a political megadonor play into it?

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Officially, the United States has lost nuclear weapons in six incidents in which the nation couldn't retrieve or destroy them. We look at these six incidents and learn how nuclear weapons work.

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Some tweaks to the bill that would require TikTok parent company to divest itself of the app or face a US-wide ban could be closer to becoming a law. AI takes to the skies in simulated dogfights. And about half of all online traffic comes from bots. Plus lots more!

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How do theatrical lighting control systems work? From early attempts to automate lighting through mechanical systems to sleek computer-controlled rigs of today, we look at the evolution of concert lighting.

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While Jonathan works on a new episode about stage lighting systems, take a listen to this classic episode in which he and his old cohost Chris Pollette talk about the history and workings of electric guitars.

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Our news stories today include SBF filing an appeal on his recent sentencing, a UK court denies Apple's request to dismiss a huge lawsuit and Microsoft may soon make the Copilot AI feature an auto-launch program in Windows 11. Plus much more!

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Entire industries are being reshaped around the new capabilities of generative AI. In this special
bonus episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Tim Harford leads a conversation between two leaders
in the field. Srinivasan Venkatarajan is the Director of Global Partner Business at Microsoft,
focusing on Azure Data & AI and Azure OpenAI. And Chris McGuire is the General Manager of
the Global Microsoft Partnership for IBM.

They discuss the efforts by IBM and Microsoft in the generative AI space, how this relationship
has been providing value to clients, and why collaboration is necessary for technological
progress.

Visit us at: ibm.com/smarttalks

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Journalist Ernie Smith got an odd DMCA takedown notice for a picture he included in his tech newsletter. It turns out that the notice was a ploy to try and trick Smith into including a backlink to another site in an effort to boost that site's search rankings. What the what?

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The Nintendo Virtual Boy was one of the company's infamous flops, but why? Why did the system fail so hard that Nintendo killed it off after just one year? 

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Net neutrality goes through another flip in the flip-flop history with the FCC announcing it plans to vote to reinstate some of the rules established during the Obama administration but overturned during the Trump administration. Plus, Google agrees to destroy billions of data records and Ford decides to hold off on producing EVs for a bit.

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My blood runs cold, my computer memory has just been sold -- my test image is the centerfold! Today, we look at the story of the "Lenna image," a scan of a Playboy model that has been used in countless papers and articles, and why there's a movement now to bring an end to that practice.

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Sometimes, folks want to take a short cut. And sometimes that shortcut is illegal. This episode is about companies, managers, employees and others who engaged in some shifty behavior to get access to data that didn't belong to them.

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TikTok is turning up the heat on the US Senate to get a proposed bill that would ban the service tossed out. The US government announces new policies relating to the use of AI in federal agencies. And a streaming service tries to clamp down on butts. 

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Is it true Harry Snyder, founder of In-N-Out, invented the intercom? Not quite. But he was the first credited with using a system to create what would become the model for the modern drive-thru. 

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The End User License Agreement is that thing you click "I agree" to without having read the whole thing. But you can be forgiven -- some companies make their EULAs freakishly long, hiding some nefarious terms in the process. 

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The US government is cracking down on Big Tech. From a House bill that would make it illegal for data brokers to sell American citizen info to foreign adversaries to a massive monopoly lawsuit against Apple, we look at some of the battles the Tech industry faces in the near future. Plus more!

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After navigating numerous controversies and setbacks, Rooster Teeth attempted to return to a more stable existence. But it was not to be. The corporate overlords at Warner Bros Discovery have decided to shut down the company after it reportedly spent a decade being unprofitable.

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As artificial intelligence progresses, healthcare providers are exploring how the technology can be used to offer personalized care at scale. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Dr. Laurie Santos sits down with Alice Crisci, co-founder and CEO of fertility-care provider Ovum Health.

They discuss the barriers to healthcare access, the ways in which AI can be leveraged to expand the reach of healthcare providers, and how Ovum Health’s partnership with IBM and their use of watsonx has been enhancing the patient experience.

Visit us at: ibm.com/smarttalks  

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Fullscreen's acquisition of Rooster Teeth would bring with it new challenges, including corporate bureaucracy, a push for new kinds of monetization, and changes in company culture. Meanwhile, the folks at Rooster Teeth kept making content. 

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This week, the House of Representatives in the US voted overwhelmingly in support of a bill that would force TikTok owner ByteDance to divest itself of the app or else face a national ban. What's going on, where does the bill go from here and why am I so exasperated by it all?

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Warner Bros Discovery is shutting down the online media company Rooster Teeth just as it nears its 21st anniversary. We look back on the history of the company, how it made an impact on internet culture, and where things went wrong.

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Ed Zitron of the Better Offline podcast joins the show, and boy is he mad! Ed and Jonathan get angry over the state of the tech industry, the focus on short term gains at the cost of long term benefits, and why the tech we have at our disposal sometimes just feels like it's not as good as it should be.

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OpenAI said they didn't wanna do it, but they're sharing emails written by Elon Musk that imply he was totally okay with OpenAI making a ton of money if it also was part of Tesla. Plus the US President speaks out against AI. And much more!

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Artist Alicia Framis plans to wed an AI "hologram" this summer. Before the wedding bells chime, we have some questions. We explore holograms, artificial intelligence, and technical, social, ethical and cultural conundrums.

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Every year in the U.S., tens of thousands of hospital patients die of preventable causes. For many of these patients, warning signs are subtle and easy for doctors to miss. Suchi Saria is the founder and CEO of Bayesian Health, and a professor at Johns Hopkins where she runs a lab focused on machine learning and healthcare. Suchi’s problem is this: How can you use AI to detect when hospital patients are at risk of potentially deadly complications – and how can you get doctors to listen?

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Sometimes, an invention comes along that defines a new function, form factor, or fashion. In this episode, we celebrate some of these inventions by exploring the stories behind them.

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The Silicon Valley dream is to come up with an app and make a billion dollars. But not every app hits such heights. And some briefly touch the stars but then plummet back to Earth. This episode is dedicated to the failures!

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Once upon a time, there were no digital cameras. Who invented them, and how did they become so common that even the most basic smartphone has one? We learn about the tech behind digital cameras and really get into the megapixels.

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In what I can only describe as an overcorrection, Google's Gemini AI has tried to promote diversity in situations where it's not appropriate, such as in an image portraying Nazi soldiers. Plus, Bluesky gives more control to users, Cruise looks to resume operations in a different state after California revoked its license, and researchers find a way to double processing power without upgrading hardware.

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Journalist Jacob Goldstein joins the show to talk about the challenges of communicating technology topics to the public, how to sort through the promise and threat of AI, and the way that engineers approach problems.

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How did the co-founders of Intel go from being "traitors" to two of the early pioneers of Silicon Valley? We learn about Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.

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As the 20th century loomed ever closer, the battle waged to determine how we would transmit electricity. Learn about the current wars and why AC ultimately won.

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Not all inventions are the product of careful experimentation. Sometimes, someone pulls a whoopsie and learns something new. This episode is all about those types of discoveries.

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For a couple of years in Google's early history, it was a real search company. But that would change in 2000 as Google would embrace advertising. Learn how Google would shift to become a dominant force in online ads.

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Sam Altman of OpenAI wants to see a huge investment in new semiconductor fabrication plants to support AI implementations. The FTC hopes to reverse the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. And did hackers really take over millions of smart toothbrushes?

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Back in 2015, Facebook made a claim that would lead advertisers and content creators to shift focus to online video. There was one problem -- the claim ended up being bogus. How did the pivot to video strategy become a dark, grim joke in the tech sector?

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What does Big Data actually mean? How has the science of Big Data changed recently? What are the potential benefits and pitfalls of Big Data? 

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The Senate Judiciary Committee met with CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg with accusations that their companies are actively causing harm to children, and they weren't happy with the response. Plus, a judge tells Elon Musk that he will not be getting the massive compensation package promised to him by Tesla's board of directors. And TikTok says goodbye to Taylor Swift's music (and all other UMG tracks). Plus more!

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Who invented the hovercraft? What happened to all the hovercraft that used to provide transportation options in the UK? How do they work? We look into all this, plus a classic Jackie Chan action flick.

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Sometimes, an operating system has served its purpose and it's time to go live on a farm. We take a look at some operating systems that are no longer supported and explore why moving on can sometimes cause a problem.

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From New York City to the state of Florida, politicians are getting serious as they face off against social media companies like Meta TikTok. Plus, we have a bunch of news around AI, an update on Tesla that has investors upset and we say farewell to an amazing little helicopter on Mars.

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An interesting set of challenges crop up when you want to translate movements in a physical space to a virtual one. How do you keep people safe? How do you manage groups in the same physical space? And can you still look cool if you're running around on an omni treadmill?

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At this year's CES, several trends revealed themselves among the exhibitors. But none were more prevalent than the incorporation of artificial intelligence. How are companies using, or at least claiming to use, AI in their products this year?

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Did you know that engineers were harnessing electricity long before they even knew what it was? We take a look at the history and tech behind electricity.

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In this episode from 2021, we look at the thorny issues of copyright and how fair use isn't some proactive safety play to avoid those pesky copyright strikes.

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A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device; it turns chemical energy into electrical energy. Jonathan and Chris discuss fuel cells in detail from their origins to why they're not practical for general use yet in this episode.

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It might be a small world after all, but how did Disney imagineers create the first audio animatronics and how do they work? Find out in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.

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How do the theories of special relativity and general relativity apply to satellites? Why is the speed of light constant, but time and distance are not? We get all Einstein up in here!

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Is it really possible for a machine to achieve consciousness? What does consciousness even mean? From philosophy to technological obstacles, we look at the problems and possibilities.

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Lasers can be used to threaten our enemies, cut steel and even amuse our cats. Find out the history of lasers and how they work in this episode of Techstuff.

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How does CT (computed tomography) scanners work? What's going on with TechStuff? In this episode, you are invited into Jonathan's brain to find out.

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What is the technological singularity? How might the technological singularity come about? What do critics say about the idea of the singularity? Listen in as Jonathan and Lauren explore the technological singularity.

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I swore I would never do another one of these. But what the heck, let's get out the crystal ball and make some predictions.

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Nearly two years after Microsoft announced its intention to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard, it sealed the deal. But it wasn't a sure thing. We look back on how government officials around the world nearly prevented the merger and why. 

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What was once a blue sky engineering dream has finally been put to bed. Hyperloop One never achieved its goal, but it did manage to be a hot spot for drama and controversy before petering out. We look back on the company.

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While FTX's failure happened in late 2022, the story of Sam Bankman-Fried's literal trials and tribulations played out this year. Plus, his rival Changpeng "CZ" Zhao entered a guilty plea on securities violations. We look at how two leaders in the crypto space had to face the music in 2023.

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From the return of Steve Jobs to the most recent Macs, we look at how the computer has changed over the years.

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While Christmas 2023 might be over, I have a little present for all of y'all -- 12 days out of 2023 that were important in the tech world for one reason or another. From cryptocurrency controversies to Apple getting into augmented reality, we look at a dozen days that stood out in 2023.

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Jess Royal and John Hilton drop what they're doing on Stranger Things to come by the studio and talk about what their jobs require. From Christmas lights to the upside down, we learn about what it takes to make a show work.

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We look at the history of incorporating lights in winter holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah and how electricity changed things dramatically. We'll also dive into those over the top displays that sequence lights with sound and talk about why it was such a challenge for the electrician on Stranger Things to make lights blink a specific way.

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At the beginning of 2023, Twitter was still called Twitter. It was facing multiple challenges in the wake of an acquisition. Elon Musk had reduced the staff by more than half. Advertisers were getting antsy. And then it all got much worse.

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The video sharing platform TikTok faced opposition and scrutiny around the world. Some suspect it of being a surveillance tool used by the Chinese Communist Party. Others worry that it is warping young minds. We look back over TikTok's rocky 2023.

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After its launch, Apple tweaked the Macintosh a bit. Then Apple executives gave Steve Jobs the boot. He would return many years later. We look at the Macintosh during this era.

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The ITC shuts down Apple's attempt to delay a ban on certain Apple Watches and so they leave store shelves today. A Reuters investigation shows that Tesla has been blaming customers for design problems for nearly a decade. And leaked documents indicate that Sony is worried about Microsoft.

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Artificial intelligence was in the news all throughout 2023. From legislators debating regulations to drama in corporate boardrooms to concerns about copyright infringement, AI touched just about everything. We take a look back on how the year played out.

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The EU announced a preliminary investigation into the social networking platform X out of concerns that it allows the transmission of illegal content and disinformation within the EU and potentially violates the Digital Services Act. Apple is pulling some popular tech off shelves in the US out of anticipation of a ban by the ITC. Plus lots more.

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Video game developer released a long-anticipated game called The Day Before on December 7th, 2023. Four days later, the company shut down. What the heck happened? 

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What's the origin story for the Macintosh computer? We look at the early days of Apple leading up to the launch of one of the most famous Apple products of all time.

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Elon Musk has had a busy week, with issues at X, Tesla and Neuralink. Plus, hackers say that a Polish train company has sabotaged its own vehicles if railways don't stay within the company's ecosystem. And the FCC says that cable and satellite providers can't charge customers early termination fees anymore. And much more!

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The ESA announced that E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is well and truly over. What was E3's purpose, and why has the ESA decided to pull the plug?

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A hidden clause in Tesla's Cybertruck contracts forbids owners from reselling their new Cybertruck within a year of purchase. Google loses an important anticompetitive lawsuit against Epic Games. And the Wi-Fi 7 standard should become official early next year. Plus lots more!

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A tech miser and cryptobro learns the true meaning of Christmas. This episode of TechStuff is as goofy as the Dickens!

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Picking up where we left off, we look at some of the more recent stories about Samsung, including the tricky relationships between the heirs to the Samsung throne.

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After 20 years, the Seti@Home program is going on hiatus. How did this project let the average computer user lend a hand in the search for alien intelligence?

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Smoke detectors save lives, but how do they work? From photoelectric effects to nuclear radiation, we explore how smoke detectors let you know when there's a fire.

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In this episode, we delve into the groundbreaking technology behind autonomous driving vehicles in Lake Nona, a living lab community in Orlando, Florida, America's first smart town. Join us as we explore the dynamic world of Beep, the organization powering a transformative mobility solution operating in Lake Nona. Beep CEO Joe Moye joins Graeme and Tavistock Senior Vice President Juan Santos, to discuss how artificial intelligence has revolutionized transportation within the Lake Nona project. Discover how these visionary leaders have united to make communities safer, smarter, and more sustainable through AI integration. Get ready to be inspired by the innovative strides being taken to create a more connected and secure future on the roads of Lake Nona.

Learn more about how Intel is leading the charge in the AI Revolution at Intel.com/stories

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The Washington Post published an article revealing that the CIA secretly owned and operated an encryption company for decades. How did that happen and what does it mean? And what lessons should we learn from it?

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How did the company Samsung get its start? From its humble beginnings as a grocery and shipping company, we look at the complicated history of one of South Korea's most influential companies.

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Elon Musk once again demonstrates his leadership style by telling advertisers who are pulling out of X to go eff themselves. Also, an update on the OpenAI leadership situation, how some researchers got ChatGPT to share more than it was supposed to and say goodbye to those inactive Gmail accounts.

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Diversity and representation is important for all types of organizations. But one company decided the solution to finding the right women to serve as keynote speakers was to invent them. We look at the wild story of the DevTernity 2023 conference.

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The capabilities of artificial intelligence are increasing at a breakneck speed. Companies must leverage generative AI to transform everyday customer and employee experiences. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Jacob Goldstein sits down with Susan Emerson, Senior Vice President of Product: AI, Analytics & Data at Salesforce & Matthew Candy, Global Managing Partner of Generative AI at IBM Consulting.

They chat about the latest evolution of the two tech innovators’ decades-long relationship, explore the opportunity AI presents for customer

experiences, and break down how better experiences will remove friction for all.

Visit us at: ibm.com/smarttalks

Read more about elevating experiences in the CEO’s Guide to Generative AI from the IBM Institute for Business Value.

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While Meta communications director Andy Stone has ruffled more than a few feathers since joining the company in 2014, it seems that in Russia things are a bit more serious. Apparently, he's on a wanted list created by Russia's Ministry of the Interior. But why?

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Are you an adult citizen in the US? If so, there's a 50% chance your face is in a law enforcement database. We look at this problematic law enforcement tool.

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Where did green screen technology come from? How does it work? From the dawn of cinema to the latest Zoom meeting, we take a look at the tech that lets us combine different images into a single film or video.

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We get a very quick update on the OpenAI/Sam Altman situation and then turn our attention to the blockbuster news that Binance and its co-founder, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, have entered a guilty plea on charges that include money laundering. What does this mean for Binance in particular and cryptocurrency in general?

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We've got a few updates on what's going on after OpenAI's board of directors fired CEO Sam Altman (and then asked if he wouldn't mind coming back, please). Plus, X is looking at a pretty rough holiday season as advertisers flee the platform. And SpaceX deals with another exploding spacecraft. Plus more!

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In a dramatic turn of events, OpenAI's board of directors fired CEO and co-founder Sam Altman. Then they tried to hire him back. Then they announced a former Twitch CEO will lead the company. What the what?

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The world has teetered on the brink of nuclear war a few times. Sometimes, it was because of technical glitches. Sometimes, it was because of coincidences. We explore some very close calls.

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TikTok tries to convince the EU to reconsider designating parent company ByteDance as a "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act. A ransomware group tattles on its victim to the SEC. And SpaceX is getting ready to test the Starship launch vehicle, hopefully with better results.

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What's the story behind the microblogging site Tumblr? How did it go from the nexus of Internet culture valued at more than a billion dollars to a property that would change hands multiple times in just a few short years? We take a look at the phenomenon known as Tumblr.

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In order to stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace, businesses need to adapt to the potential of generative AI. In this special live episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell is joined onstage at iHeartMedia’s studio by Dr. Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at IBM. They chat about the evolution of AI, give examples of practical uses, and discuss how businesses can create value through cutting edge technology. 

Watch the live conversation here: https://youtu.be/WOwM__St6aU

Hear more from Darío on generative AI for business: https://www.ibm.com/think/ai-academy/

Visit us at: ibm.com/smarttalks

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How did the famous Napoleon Bonaparte set into motion the events that led to the humble can opener? From early experiments in canning to gadgets so dangerous the average person wasn't allowed to buy them, we look at the history and evolution of can openers.

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Was Google Glass an idea ahead of its time? What are its origins and where is it today?

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Steve Wozniak is recovering in a hospital in Mexico City and we wish him well. Internal documents from Meta show that Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly shut down initiatives meant to promote user well being. Microsoft says it has a plan for AI-generated misinformation during the election season. And the Omegle service shuts down.

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What does artificial intelligence have to do with an outdated practice that involved blasting shoe stores with radiation? Trust me, there's a connection. Or at least I make one. 

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WeWork declares bankruptcy, there's a ton of AI news in the tech space and some attendees at an NFT conference received painful burns. Plus much more.

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What has Digg been up to since our last episode about the site back in 2017? From shutting down a popular tool to another acquisition from a small ad company, we explore what has been up over at Digg.

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It all began with a startup led by a TechTV host. Then it evolved into a massively influential site, only to seemingly implode a short while later. What's the story behind Digg?

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YouTube users with ad block software may find themselves blocked from watching videos on the platform unless they allow ads. Politicians around the world speak out against bias on Tiktok, but no one can agree which way the bias goes. Scarlett Johansson takes legal action against a company that used an AI-generated impression of her voice for an ad. Plus much more!

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First came the web ad. Then came the ad blocking software. What is the history of ad blocking? What challenges does it create for industry, and what services does it provide beyond, you know, blocking all those pesky ads? We get into it!

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From ghostly AI to hacker goblins, we get a rundown on what's going on in the tech space. The US President issues an executive order about artificial intelligence, X reveals in internal documents that the company's value has dropped by more than 50% over the last year, and a little software company in the UK is trying to take on the mega corporation Meta.

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Charles Babbage was a man ahead of his time. He was an engineer, inventor, mathematician, and grouchy pants. We learn more about this historic figure and his creations.

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The USB has become a standard port in tech. How did it get started and how does it work?

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Pro-Russian hackers have found and exploited a vulnerability in a popular webmail app. Researchers found a very complicated way to compromise certain Apple devices. Slack has ended support for X/Twitter integration. Plus lots more.

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In our third episode about the silly Ig Nobel prizes, we learn about music playing in a place you wouldn't expect, a clawed machine for changing diapers, and whether or not you'll feel more pain if you're looking at ugly art.

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A tool called Nightshade could give human artists the poison they need to sabotage generative AI. Google and Apple disable live traffic data in the region around the Gaza Strip. And NASA pushed a software update out to Voyager 1 as it hurtles through interstellar space. Plus more!

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Neuroscientist David Eagleman joins the show to talk about lighthearted topics ranging from the nature of consciousness to the intersection of technology and the grey matter that lives in our skulls.

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Once upon a time, a text-based Internet navigation system was poised to become the primary way we interact with the net. What happened?

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A special council convened to discuss how Chinese hackers pose a massive threat to national security. A hacker released information on millions of 23andMe customers, prompting the company to suggest the customers were at fault. And Elon Musk gave investors a bit of a reality check on the Cybertruck.

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In 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype for 8.5 billion dollars. What happened next? What did the giant tech company have in mind, and how did things pan out? And why did Zoom become the go-to conferencing solution during the pandemic instead of Skype?

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To deploy responsible AI and build trust with customers, businesses need to prioritize AI governance. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Laurie Santos discuss AI accountability with Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy and Trust Officer at IBM. They chat about AI regulation, what compliance means in the AI age, and why transparent AI governance is good for business.

Visit us at: ibm.com/smarttalks

Explore watsonx.governance: https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-governance

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How is Skype related to Kazaa? What does a peer-to-peer network do? And was the eBay acquisition of Skype really one of the worst deals in tech history (spoiler: no it was not)?

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From catapults to ballista, we explore the world of siege engines. Which ones were real? Which are fantasy? And how did they work?

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Last April, National Public Radio (NPR) closed out its Twitter accounts. Six months later, NPR leadership says that the impact to NPR has been negligible. Could this mean more organizations will say goodbye to Musk's platform? Plus, news about a massive DDoS attack, why we'll be seeing a lot more of AI in the near future, and an update on Sam Bankman-Fried's court case.

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Intelligence researchers lament that X has become so rife with disinformation that there's no good way to use it while tracking tumultuous events like the war in Israel. The FCC is gearing up for a fight with US broadband companies. And did Disney unknowingly use an AI-generated stock image to promote Loki season 2? Plus more!

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Back in 2020, we did a three-part series on the history of Ubisoft. What's been going on since then? And what's the story behind the troubled development of the pirate-themed game Skull & Bones?

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From humble beginnings to massive success, we follow the rest of the id Software story. When did the founders leave and why? And what's going on there now?

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In an episode with perhaps the most SEO-friendly title in TechStuff history, we learn about how someone used an AI-generated version of YouTuber MrBeast to advertise a scammy deal, how the FTC alleges that Amazon used a secret algorithm to fix prices and squash competition, and how Facebook Messenger users proved that Meta's tool for AI-generated stickers might need a bit more work.

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A slightly sick Jonathan is back to talk about some past winners of the Ig Nobel Prize. Learn about how a wasabi-spraying alarm could save lives, how an inventor planned to recreate a classic cartoon trap, and how a bra might be just the thing during the next pandemic.

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Open-source innovation is the future of AI. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Tim Harford discuss the open-source AI community with Jeff Boudier, head of product and growth at Hugging Face. They chat about the history and future of open-source AI, its critical importance to AI progress, the IBM watsonx partnership with Hugging Face, and how businesses can leverage open-source AI for their specific needs.

Visit us at ibm.com/smarttalks

Learn more about the Hugging Face partnership: https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-08-24-IBM-to-Participate-in-235M-Series-D-Funding-Round-of-Hugging-Face

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It's hard to hold onto information. Paradoxically, it can also be hard to get rid of it. In this episode, we look at why long-term data preservation is a challenge, and the lengths people will go to in order to clear out digital information.

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They made games like Doom and Quake, but where did id Software come from? In this episode, we explore the origins of a major name in computer games.

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Chinese-backed hackers are infiltrating computer systems by compromising routers. Some security researchers say that modern GPUs can steal pixels right off a web site. And Microsoft encounters yet more resistance regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

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In 1991, the editor of a satirical science journal launched an award for the scientifically ridiculous (and ridiculed), the Ig Nobel Prize. Learn how it all got started and some of the early tech-related prize winners!

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During the administration of Barack Obama, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tried to codify net neutrality into US law. Then, during the Trump administration, the new FCC stripped net neutrality out again. This week, the FCC once again tries to establish an official US stance on net neutrality. Plus more news!

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On September 11th, 2023, MGM Resorts International posted that the company experienced a "cybersecurity issue." That issue links to two different hacker groups, a ransomware attack, and a similar incident that happened to another major casino company earlier in the year. This is the story so far.

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What is a meme? What are some of the notable tech memes, and where do they come from? How does something become a meme?

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A fire in 1836 wiped out nearly every patent on file in the United States. How did the patent office rebuild, and how did a second fire in 1877 change things even more?

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US founding father Thomas Jefferson gets the credit for establishing the first process in the US for filing and granting patents. But how did patent law change in those early years, and why does Jonathan say the patent office was like the Game of Thrones? 

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Major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence research often reshape the design and utility of AI in both business and society. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Goldstein explore the conceptual underpinnings of modern AI with Dr. David Cox, VP of AI Models at IBM Research. They talk foundation models, self-supervised machine learning, and the practical applications of AI and data platforms like watsonx in business and technology.

Visit us at: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/smart/talks/

Learn more about watsonx: https://www.ibm.com/watsonx

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A world where customers can buy everything they want, whenever and wherever they want isn’t 100% there—but it’s pretty close. And perhaps no company has been up for that challenge as much as Lowe’s.

In this episode of The Restless Ones, I had the chance to sit down with Seemantini Godbole, EVP and CIO of Lowe’s Companies, Inc., whose early start as an engineer has fueled problem-solving throughout her career. From helping customers prepare for projects via virtual appointments and designs, to making sure their local stores have the physical products needed to complete them, Seemantini is arming Lowe’s teams with the technology solutions to infuse more joy into home improvement without the usual friction.

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Jonathan sits down with Sudhin Shahani of Surf Air Mobility, who recently went public to talk about the future of travel. What is Regional Air Mobility? Why is Surf Air Mobility electrifying planes? And how might this affect how you handle short-range travel in the future?

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It was once the computing conference to attend. Today, it's rapidly fading from memory. How did Comdex begin and what happened to it?

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Apple's iPhone 15 reveal fails to impress my producer Tari. Google's antitrust trial is underway. The government starts to ask questions about AI. And much more! 

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