Daily Tech News Show (VIDEO)

How is Adobe using AI to speed up game development. Plus why has Sony paused the manufacture of its PlayStation VR2 headset? And Bloomberg reports sources say Apple and Alphabet are in negotiations to use Google Gemini for some AI services in a future version of iOS. Starring Tom Merritt, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Ars Technica posted a story on Thursday called “Hackers can read private AI-assistant chats even though they’re encrypted.” Which Chatbots are affected and what should users do about it? Plus Walmart begins selling Macs for the first time! And The US Supreme Court will hear the case of Murthy vs. Missouri on Monday. At issue is whether it is a violation of free speech protections for the US government to directly call out social media posts it thinks are harmful or misinformation. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Will the US Congress pass a bill forcing the sale of TikTok? How is Google’s artificial intelligence-powered search engine, Search Generative Experience, impacting publisher’s ad revenue? Hugo Barra, former VP of Android and head of Meta’s phased-out Oculus headset brand, has some thoughts about Apple’s Vision Pro. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Sea of Thieves briefly took the top spot for PS5 game pre-orders Monday. Is this that Microsoft’s new Xbox strategy is paying off? Plus Google DeepMind researchers trained a model that’s learned to play multiple 3D games like a human. And a team of researchers at the University of Chicago say they’ve figured out a way to hack into Meta Quest headsets without the user knowing. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Ray-Ban’s Meta glasses has updated the visual search feature to recognize landmarks and describe them. Plus a startup called Empathy is looking to simplify the process of closing a deceased person’s affairs. And a nurse in the UK used an Apple Vision Pro during a spinal surgery to identify instruments and processes as a double check on accuracy. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Covariant launched RFM-1 (Robotics Foundation Model 1) a “large language model (LLM), but for robot language.” Plus did the Princess of Wales, aka “Kate” photoshop a picture of herself with her three children? And why are tablet sized handheld gaming machines rising in popularity? Starring Tom Merritt, Shannon Morse, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Patrick is here to explain what you should expect to pay for your next GPU upgrade. Plus what will a solar eclipse mean for solar power? And what effect did the pandemic have on Netflix and the increase in the number of comedy specials? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

What does the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” mean for TikTok and other foreign owned social media platforms? Plus Robinhood, a commission-free investment platform has partnered with sports agency Klutch Sports to expand its reach into sports, entertainment and media. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

The first four papers from US 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study, setup to see if social media was the root cause of extreme political polarization has been published. We examine what they found out? We discuss Mark Hill’s Wired article focusing on the social media trend of including strangers in our posts without permission. And we talk to Gene X Hwang about the experience of X taking over his X handle. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Gene X Hwang, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

What is the Calyx Institute and how can people benefit from its work to enable data security and digital privacy. Reuters reports that Tesla has been purposely exaggerating range estimates on its line-up of EVs at full charge. And Meta released its Q2 earnings results, with revenue up 11% YoY to $32B. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Samsung announced several new foldable phones, tablets and smart watches. We dive into the details with Android Faithful’s Huyen Tue Dao. Plus to get Twitter’s rebranding to X they needed to buy the Twitter handle from an existing user. And Mastodon hits the big leagues after the FBI seized a suspect’s equipment including a machine being used to troubleshoot a Mastodon instance. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Huyen Tue Dao, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

How will Apple’s streaming service benefit from popular soccer star Lionel Messi’s exclusive deal with Major League Soccer? Netflix will replace its downloads tab with “My Netflix” which it describes as a “one-stop shop tailored to you.” Wall Street Journal reports TikTok wants to launch an e-commerce business in the US in early August. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Charlotte Henry, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s is rolling out Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency to provide identity validation with focus on “distinguishing humans from AI online.” We discuss The Verge’s Allison Johnson’s article called “Flip phones are having a moment — and all eyes are on Samsung now.” TikTok entered the microblogging competition, with a new text option alongside photo and video. So at this point is it safe to say that Twitter is no longer focused on this part of its service? Starring Tom Merritt, Megan Morrone, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

AI is disrupting a lot of industries but will it also disrupt your paycheck? The Information reports that Meta told Quest Pro suppliers it would not need new components. Is this an early sign that VR is dying? Do couples who engage in “phone snubbing”—the act of cutting off conversations with others IRL using text or messaging instead, have a less fulfilling relationship? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Megan Morrone, Roger Chang, Joe, Amos To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Spotify is planning a pricier new premium subscription tier it has been calling “Supremium” in-house. What’s going on between Meta and Mastodon? And Patrick explains why high-end audio brands are making assistive devices and medical companies are putting out high-end audio. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe, Amos To read the show notes in a separate page click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!