March 6, 2025 • 42 mins
Today, we’re diving into a major policy paper co-authored by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, and AI safety expert Dan Hendrycks. They’re pushing back against the idea of a ‘Manhattan Project’ for artificial general intelligence (AGI), warning that an aggressive U.S. race for AI dominance could escalate global tensions—especially with … Continue reading The AGI Standoff Is Already Happening #1804
The post The AGI Standoff Is Already Happening #1804 appeared first on Geek News Central.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Lead story for Thursday, March 6. Today, we
dive into a major
policy paper
coauthored by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt,
Scale AI CEO Alexander Wang, and AI safety
expert Dan Hendricks.
They're pushing back against the idea of a
Manhattan project for artificial general intelligence
(00:23):
warning that an aggressive US race for
AI dominance
could escalate global tensions, especially with China,
should Americans rethink its strategy
on super intelligent AI.
Well, let's get into it. Everyone, welcome.
And, let's kick right off into this lead
story today
(00:43):
and then we'll get into some background of
what I've been up to.
So Eric Schmidt announced
or basically is arguing against this
Manhattan project
for AI
And he akin it to
the same thing that happened during the nuclear
or atomic
(01:03):
arms race
in that it will pit one country against
the other.
I think he's just being a little bit
naive
in that
this is already happening. This is happening today.
There is a race that is already happening.
Each country
that is, investing in this is is already,
(01:26):
digging in
and and trying to beat the other.
I I just don't think
that there is any way
that this is not gonna happen.
If it isn't, you know, again, if it
isn't already,
the AGI
AI models are coming.
(01:47):
Will we be the lead or will we
be the one behind? And there's major major
ramifications,
in regard if we lose this.
And
I I just think that,
they're misguided here in this and that Schmidt,
Wang, and Hendrix,
(02:09):
that feel that we're in any that we're
not in an AGI
standoff.
I I truly believe we are at this
point in an AGI standoff and I just
can't see how,
we don't avoid,
you know, what is in front of us
here. So, you know, this
they're coming out saying, yeah, we shouldn't be
(02:30):
doing this.
But
is this really logical?
You you think about it.
A Manhattan Project for AI AGI, as he
says, assumes that rivals will acquiesce
to an enduring imbalance
or omni side rather than move to prevent
it. But begins as a push for a
(02:51):
super weapon
and global control risk promoting,
prompting hostile countermeasures and escalating tensions thereby undermining
the very stability the strategy
ports to secure.
Well, I'll say that me paying for a
$200
version of ChetGPT
per month puts me at a strategic advantage
of others.
(03:13):
You know, so where
where are we at?
I I just this to me is ludicrous.
And I think he's out of touch
with, you know, I understand why he doesn't
want it. But there's not Kumbaya
in the world
at this point. There really isn't.
So
I I just don't see how this this
(03:33):
doesn't happen, how this this battle,
to the top. I'd love to hear your
comments on what you think. Do you think
there's an AGI
race already or not?
Love to hear feedback. Let's,
let's get into the rest of the show.
Hey. I wanna welcome you
to episode 1,804.
Of course, I'm your host, Todd Cochran.
(03:55):
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(04:36):
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So suffering from a little carpal tunnel this
morning. New position,
working.
I need to readjust, not use the mouse
for a few days,
but it's it's pretty bad. I've got it
(06:43):
right in there and that's just two days
of work.
So definitely gonna be working on this hand.
If you see me rubbing it, it's I'm
just sore. So I apologize if I'm you
see me rubbing on my,
hand today during the show.
One thing I'm finding is, you know, settled
in here and,
(07:04):
not everything went to plan.
The
I had brought a Mac mini with me
and with the intent of having a full
screen monitor in front of me.
And for some reason,
the Mac mini
is not accepting
The US or the the Elgato FaceTime Pro,
(07:29):
USB camera. It says, hey. It needs a
USB three.
I'm just a little bit
annoyed.
Everything says it's supposed to be USB three.
So I've got, some adapters coming.
Again,
this new Mac Mini does not have a
USB port. A regular standard USB port.
(07:50):
So,
and do any standard USB c cable doesn't
seem
satisfied either.
So I've I've ordered some adapters
and a few other things. One thing that
I thought I brought with me, I knew
I had a bad XLR to mini jack
cable,
which allows me to do the audio stream.
(08:12):
I did not have that in my bag.
So I've ordered one of those from Lazada
and, it'll be here in a couple of
days and we'll be able to do live.
But I'm also getting used to
using OBS.
I did
the interview
with Rob the other night,
for the new media show that came out
(08:34):
great.
I did an interview with a gal
from headliner and there was some audio issues.
It's not perfect.
I don't know what happened.
It just there was a little buzz.
So
I've learned here that
these systems,
(08:55):
especially with OBS,
you almost have to do a fresh
reboot
each time you're going to
do a session,
recorded session. Just seems to resetting everything
is kind of key.
So a little bit of USB interference or
(09:15):
something to that effect. But,
so overall though, I think the stream is
is good tonight. It's it's live. It looks
good.
So
I'll be going live in the evenings,
later eastern.
So like right now, it is,
(09:36):
09:40PM
eastern. So typically, it's going to be, 09:00
or later
when I do these live events for for
g and c. So if you're on the,
West Coast, you'll have an opportunity to to
catch the show,
a little earlier,
(09:56):
when you're there. But anyway, that's an update.
Pretty much settled in. Full
work week here.
So
that is
good.
Not jet lagging too bad. I've adapted. I'm
I'm on
a regular,
US
Eastern schedule. So I'm working
(10:18):
essentially from 9PM at night until 04:00 in
the morning.
Actually 7PM to about four.
So,
the show comes a few hours after I
get a little bit of rest because I'm
not completely % at the end,
in the middle of the night yet.
So that's why we're going a little bit,
(10:38):
later with the podcast. But anyway,
back in the saddle here. Hey. Russian crypto
exchange, Gartanex, g a r a n t
x, is seized by law enforcement officials
and, the US Secret Service working with Coalition
of International Law Enforcement has taken down and
seized the website
of this Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of being
(10:59):
associated with a dark net.
So,
this was, I don't know where where was
it being hosted, they say. Last month, the
EU also sanctioned them saying it's closely associated
with,
Russian banks. So,
anyway, the takedown happened.
(11:20):
Doesn't say where the server was, but the
crypto exchange and the main names have been
seized.
Big news on the Bitcoin front. The president
today signed executive order for a strategic
Bitcoin
reserve
and,
this is
a very interesting move
(11:41):
and what's being decided here. The so far
the US government is not going to buy
any kind of Bitcoin,
shitcoin or any other type of coin.
They're strictly going to use
a seized assets.
So,
the reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned
by the federal government that was forfeited
(12:03):
forfeited as part of a criminal or civil
asset,
forfeiture proceeding.
Additionally, the order established a US digital asset
stockpile which,
consisted of digital assets other
than forfeited Bitcoin.
Bloomberg had real early reported that he was
expected sign this order,
(12:23):
but it will be kept as a store
of value. They will not sell. The US
will not sell any Bitcoin put in reserve,
and,
they are going to support
XRP, Solana,
Cardano,
Ether, Bitcoin
would be the heart of the reserve.
(12:46):
Currently, the US government is holding around $18,280,000,000
worth of seized crypto.
Hundred 98,000
a hundred and 9 Bitcoin worth 17,870,000,000.00
making up the bulk with a little bit
with the rest of the,
with the coins.
So,
good on that.
(13:08):
It's being announced that,
Apple's first foldable iPhone should arrive around the
end of twenty twenty six, early '20 '20
'7.
It's gonna be a book style design
and a premium price for over $2,000
according to analyst Ming Chi Ku who's done
pretty good analysis in the past.
(13:28):
In the report,
Koo outlines expectations for device knowing it will
have an approximate seven point inch,
inch crease free inner display and a 5.5
inch outer display matching
a rumor from last month.
And, says a phone will iPhone measure between
nine and nine point five millimeters when folded
(13:49):
and around 4.5 to 4.8 when it's unfolded.
So he says the phone will forego face
ID for authentication
instead use touch ID,
as a means to say precious internal space.
So again with a premium price above 2,000
and p and perhaps even above 2,500,
(14:10):
They believe the foldable iPhone will tap into
Apple's loyal fan base.
So,
I don't know. You guys want a bigger
a bigger phone?
I'm not sure that I do nor do
I think I I need one at this
point.
Apple's launching new Mac studios with m four
max and m three ultra chips and boy
(14:31):
people are are going pretty gaga
over this and and I understand why,
this, Mac Studio,
is is just an absolute,
beast here. But
over half a year,
it's been a year and a half since
Apple has updated the Mac Studio
(14:53):
and, it straddles two generations with an m
four max for the base model and m
three ultra for the upgraded model.
You can pre preorder both versions.
The,
$2,000
m four max and the
$4,000
m three ultra
will be available to buy on March 12.
(15:14):
Apple says the m four max studio is
up to 3.5
times faster than the original
m one max version.
And,
so that's that's an amazing
amazing
jump in performance. It was already a beast
to begin with. Now the m four Max
MacBook Pro,
(15:37):
excuse me. It has like the m four
Mac Max and MacBook Pro, this version of
the studio starts with 36 gigs of RAM
up from 32 and can be
it can be bounced as much as a
28
gigs.
Of course, if you buy official Apple,
hardware, it's gonna set you back a lot
(15:58):
more money.
The m three ultra version is going
to have a 96 gigs of RAM installed,
but can go up to 512.
So,
this is good news. Now one thing that
the
the studio provides that the others doesn't is
(16:18):
it does have
standard USB ports.
So, plethora of ports for it to, to
connect to. So,
good on them.
A little bit of a developing story,
and Elon had said that he had offered
the US government
the, opportunity to bring
home the stranded astronauts
(16:39):
earlier.
Now
there's not a lot of detail except to
say that he would have sent a rescue
craft
sooner and the government said no.
Probably it was a cost issue because they
would have had to have launched.
(16:59):
I'd like to have heard the politics
that went into,
launching not not
bringing them back earlier.
It it's,
we know that there's turnaround time
each time they launch
and have to, you know, they have to
recondition the spacecraft.
(17:20):
So maybe that
led into it and NASA wasn't willing to,
incur the cost,
you know, to cycle,
cycle an spaceship up there. Now sadly today,
I I, you know, I slept through it
but boy they they they
they blew up another one it looks like
(17:40):
or lost the second stage.
The first stage,
landed perfectly but, they got
a while into the flight and something happened
with,
with the second stage. So they they've got
a definite problem with,
with their with their design and they're they're
gonna have to figure out what's going on
here.
(18:01):
You know, they had great success and now
they've lost two in a row.
Not too much details yet here on, what's
going on. But,
it was very evident attitude control got lost
and things just really went sideways,
big time.
So,
you know, not not a good day at
SpaceX
(18:22):
for sure.
There's been a new smartphone
that
is has been announced.
It's called an AI smartphone.
It creates a personalized avatar intent tended to
look and act and respond just as you
(18:43):
would.
This quirky new operating system claims to tease
the future of AI and smartphones was
was teased at the mobile world
conference.
South Korea based startup, Nuenal,
showed off the mobile software that uses both
your past and current data to create a
personalized AI system. Now here's the problem.
(19:05):
Any of these that have really launched have
failed.
A lot of people said it was quirky
if it was outside
of the
test,
you know, the test queries.
So I think what we're starting to see
here is what we could see in the
(19:26):
future where our smartphones
in the next five to ten years will
really be smart for us and really know
us in a big big way.
And we'll probably have onboard agents and so
forth.
Time will tell but it it very well
could be,
be the case.
I think this is a good move. Utah's
(19:48):
as is introducing legislation
that would require the app stores to verify
user ages.
Meta and Axe and Snap have applauded the
move to put more onus on app stores
rather than specific websites and platform.
The legislature pays passed an age verification bill
on Wednesday, requiring app store operators
(20:10):
to verify the age of the users and
require consent from parents or minors before downloading
an app.
The state become the first in The US
to pass a bill like this called the
App Store Accountability
Act. As many states grapple with evolving age
verification requirements for social media platforms and how
to protect young young users online,
(20:30):
The lawmakers in several states have proposed bills
like this.
So the bill now goes to the governor
for signature. We will see,
if that if that happens. Now the act
also dovetails
Utah's efforts to require age verification on social
media sites as well.
And,
so
(20:51):
again, I think we all want a one
stop way to
to protect our kids out there for sure.
I have heard we're having some challenges,
via email getting some boost.
I have,
made some changes
on
my
end, and we'll see if it fixes.
(21:13):
But,
we did get two thousand two two SATs
from Darren
saying anyone paying taxes should be free as
our tax dollars are being spent. That was
a week ago. I know had some people
that had come in and congratulated me on
the eighteenth hundredth episode.
We did not see some stats come in
from some folks that said they did. So
I did make some some changes.
(21:35):
So,
if you guys wanna test
and see if the stats go through, I
definitely would appreciate it. Also, at the same
time,
I want to thank Roger Nash for his
$2
sustaining anonymous,
excuse me, his his 2 not anonymous,
for his $2
donation.
Richard Woodworth for his $10.41
(21:55):
warrior donation.
And Michael
p for his $5
Ohana donation.
You can become an insider at kismetcentral.com/insider.
We definitely appreciate it,
when you make a donation to the show.
Again, geeknesscentral.com/insider
(22:15):
is the place,
to do that.
Google is confirming
mass app deletions on the Play Store after
ad fraud.
Apparently, 56,000,000
downloads
over a hundred and different apps.
It's crazy.
And it was malicious
(22:36):
apps. Why aren't they catching these things?
And, essentially, people are paying for advertising that
is absolutely
fraudulent.
How come they can't detect
this in the app review?
It seems like Google is is the one
that gets hit by this
the most,
and I I just I I don't get
(22:57):
it, to be honest with you. I really,
really don't.
DIRECTV skinny bundles have a cable news problem.
And what it basically is is these bundles,
you know, they talked about these new bundles.
The my entertainment
bundle
at $35
a month includes,
a broad mix entertainment channel and cable news,
(23:17):
but no local sports. The my news channel,
$40 a month has all the news channels.
The my sports channel has a whole bunch
of sports, but
news once again.
So $35
for my entertainment, $40 for my news. My
sports is $70 a month.
(23:38):
So I just it's it's very
very curious that news is being bundled
with with all of these.
The My Sports has ABC, Fox, and NBC
channels plus ESPN, Fox Sports, Turner,
four league specific channels, USA along with cable
news, ESPN plus is also included.
(24:02):
So it's a weird just a weird weird
bundle. Now they're also selling a $35
month,
Espinal package
and some optional add ons including a $10
per month my cinema package and $13
per month
my sports extra package with NFL RedZone.
So bundle, bundle, bundle, but the bundles include
(24:23):
news, news, news, news.
So if you get your news elsewhere or
don't watch news as much as you'd
as you have been.
And this bundle with,
I don't know.
Is it is they a business that's just
gonna go by the way of the dinosaur
here at some point?
VW is testing robo taxis in snowy icy
(24:45):
Norway. The taxi service that only operates in
good weather isn't a good taxi service and
I have to agree. I think this is,
this is brilliant.
You know, Norway,
you know, it's it's they get a lot
of snow.
So, you know, there's a reason that Phoenix
and it, Phoenix, Arizona
is the home of many autonomous vehicle programs
(25:08):
because they've got great weather.
But a commercial robotaxing is gonna need to
be able to drive on all kinds of
streets, snow or shine.
So good on VW
for testing its robo taxis in a snowy
wonderland.
A little bit of space news here. Scientists
revealed the source of a radio signal from
(25:29):
the other side of our universe that traveled
two hundred million years to get here.
And, it basically talks about
radio signals coming off of
it was a
was it a red?
It's come from a neutron stars
(25:49):
magnetosphere.
Now how they detected it and got it
narrowed down to where it came from is
pretty impressive.
And they said that the radio burst come
from a region less than 30,000
kilometers in size.
So how can they tell that
from 200
yes. 200,000,000
years
light years away.
(26:12):
Okay.
I think it'll be up in the show
notes.
Victrol is adding more wireless options to its
Sonos
capable,
turntables.
So they're adding, believe this, Bluetooth and UPnP
and run streaming. Now you won't just be
limited.
Wow. Great. You would have thought that that
would have been by default in the beginning.
(26:34):
So if you've got a Victrola,
again,
LP player,
definitely do the firmware
update.
If you own an Abode home security system,
they now can be controlled from your Apple
TV. Apple TV users can manage their Abode
system and see up to four security feeds
on their TV.
(26:55):
The company has also upgraded its Android TV
app.
Netflix
continues to try to play the, the live
game, everything from celebrity boxing, hot dogs and,
you know, so Netflix is pushing more into,
live streaming.
And we, of course, we've seen issues with
some of those events in the past,
(27:17):
but according to some of the reports coming
out,
Netflix is going to be
expanding and doing even more,
live,
going forward and it should not be a
surprise,
but they're expecting more announcements.
There's a big crying going on in Washington
DC. Mass federal layoffs will have devastating impact
(27:38):
on cybersecurity,
a former NSA
cybersecurity
director warns. Notice he said former
a former NSA cybersecurity
director. How does he know?
How does he know that,
there's gonna be effect if he doesn't work
in
government anymore?
(27:59):
He says, I wanna raise concerns
that the aggressive threats to cut US government
probationary employees will have a devastating impact on
the cybersecurity or national security.
30 positions were cut from the government of
Homeland Security, cybersecurity infrastructure agency.
If you can't survive
losing a 30 people in a massive,
(28:20):
massive
department,
something's wrong.
So, of course, this is all being litigated
in the courts, but,
everyone that can cry foul is crying foul.
But US congressional panel, this is news. This
is big.
(28:41):
A US congressional panel is urging,
Americans to ditch TP Link routers.
They say ditch Chinese
made routers.
So Chinese US cash congressional committees urge Americans
to remove Chinese made wireless routers from their
homes. Those
including those made by TP Link.
Right over here, TP Link.
(29:03):
Calling them a security threat that opened the
door for China to hack US critical infrastructure.
So Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at
National Security Agency, told Wednesday's committee hearing that
TP Link devices expose individual cyber intrusions that
hackers could use to gain leverage to attack
critical infrastructure. We need to take all action,
(29:23):
replace those devices so they don't become the
tools that are using attacks on The US.
Now
we know that there's a ban being considered.
What exactly?
Explain to us
exactly what's happening.
That's what we need to know.
Of course, DJI, we'll see what's gonna happen
(29:44):
with drones, but an upcoming DJI Mavic four
Pro premium drone
to deliver a new camera
and will will deliver new camera skills and
lidar.
So the latest leaks suggest that the DJI
Mavic four Pro
might not be too far away.
DJ has yet to seize or confirm anything
(30:04):
about it. But again,
there appears to be some images out there
of the final design.
And if it's true, it might be a
clever mock up by me fan. But again,
there it's it's gonna have all the the
normal improvements. It's gonna have a better camera,
(30:25):
larger sensors.
So, again, we will see,
added range of motion,
so time will tell.
So if you're a DJI fan like me,
keep your eyes peeled. Now with those big
cameras
on those drones,
(30:45):
you know, it's just that much higher risk
of something,
happening,
for sure. I'm gonna, call out Engadget,
in a big way today.
They are so pissing on
Elon Musk.
Listen to this. The Musk's darling stands to
(31:06):
benefit from a change to the broadband equity
program.
The US Department of Commerce is changing the
requirements for the Biden administration's broadband Equity
Access and Deployment
Program, BEED, which I don't know if we've
ever talked about.
Here's how it starts out. Another day, another
move that will benefit Elon Musk. Shocking.
(31:29):
The US department's concert and US department commerce
has announced an overhaul of the 2021
broadband equity access and deployment program and its
42,500,000,000
that will final work to Musk's Starlink. Well,
they're just saying it's going to.
The Bead program was really designed to give
states funding for fiber optic cable and solution,
(31:50):
increased Wi Fi networks, and free broadband Internet
access for some individuals.
Fiber optic broadband provides a faster Internet speeds,
but the new mandate will get rid of
Bead's preference
for it. None of this shit has been
done.
All this money's been spent, but have they
expanded
fiber optic networks?
(32:11):
Not where I live. I can absolutely guarantee
you.
I would love to be unwired.
I would love to be.
I'd love to be on a wired connection
in my home in Michigan,
But it'll never happen.
(32:31):
They get all kinds of money and they
expand they expand coverage two miles.
And that billions of dollars just go into
those companies and they
and there's no accountability.
If if we actually did wanted to do
something, there could be an initiative to wire
(32:51):
the entire country with fiber. There could be.
But it
it it hasn't happened.
We've known for
twenty plus years
that fiber is the way ahead.
But do you think they're putting fiber down
when they're putting
new roads in and stuff? No.
They don't do it.
(33:12):
Not even any mandate. Not in even any
consideration.
Would be so much easier
as they're regrading roads, reworking
stuff to be able to drop in
fiber
or at least drop in put in the
the piping to run fiber.
(33:34):
Toronto Zoo's final update on January 24 cyber
attack arrived this week. It said that everyone
had purchased general admission ticket
or
zoo membership between,
February and April 2023 had their personal data
stolen.
It's just one of many, many,
many
cyberattacks
where all our data is out there.
(33:56):
TechRadar's got the update on everything new on
Prime Video in March. They may watch anything
on Prime.
I very rarely go to Prime anymore to
watch anything. If you see something on Prime
that's interesting, let me know.
Tired of your carrier? T Mobile will pay
you $3,200
3 thousand 2 hundred dollars
(34:16):
to switch to T Mobile, they'll pay for
$800
for up to four
lines to do that.
So
that's a big deal. Now there are some,
caveats
to it.
But if you're thinking about making the switch,
what a great deal to pay off contracts,
pay off phones.
(34:37):
I don't know what the commitment is, but
$800
a phone and
up to any any course. I love T
Mobile because I can travel internationally with it
and not pay anything more.
Great great great
service in my opinion.
Brother printers are,
in,
(34:58):
you know, in trouble.
People are really crying foul.
Brother Pinto has, come under fire over an
alleged sharp,
over a sharp practice around use of third
party consumables,
AKA ink.
So they've done a,
an update to their printers
(35:19):
that are basically causing the printers to not
print as high quality.
So you lose quality when you're you're now
using off party ink. I I've got a
problem with an HP
printer right now.
It that I'm using HP ink and it's
still bitching about
the the ink not being HP ink. It's
(35:42):
it's really ridiculous. It really really is. And
it it can have 25 notices on my
computer every couple of days. If you're not
using original ink, you're not using original ink.
It's just
beyond annoying and there's an HP cartridge in
there. I'd like to throw all of them
in the trash, to be honest with you.
Your old Pixel phone just got a performance
(36:02):
and camera boost thanks to Google's no software
update. So if you've got an old Pixel
phone,
Google's been busy pushing out software updates for
its Pixel phones.
First, though, Google's updating Pixel camera app
with the latest version 9.8 arriving on compatible
devices.
Among new features, they've got an option to
(36:23):
turn off the cute animation in astrographic
mode,
The Google Pixel seven and will now get
two extra years of updates,
as well.
Every phone the Google nine series gets support
for remote connected cameras.
Second update will be updates of Pixel six
and Pixel seven and Pixel eight phones.
(36:45):
So,
yeah. Some some updates there for some of
those older phones for those of you that
haven't.
Also, YouTube is warning of a phishing video
using its CEO as clickbait.
Basically, YouTube is warning its users that, someone's
using the AI generated video of CEO Neil
Mohan
and opposed the company's website. The company says
(37:07):
aware that,
those that are fishing have been sharing private
videos to send false videos including an AI
generated video
of YouTube announcing changes in YouTube monetization.
None of it
is true.
Over at TechCrunch, they're talking about a AI
startup called Atera.
(37:28):
A Ataraxis,
a t a r a x I s.
That's raised $20,000,000
to personalize,
treatments.
So, basically, they're saying AI
used early in a health care regimen
can predict
early
cancer
potential in individuals.
(37:50):
So basically, they're saying that they can they
have the ability through AI
to make a determination
if someone is gonna get a cancer in,
down the road or what the outcome looks
in five to ten years with,
existing cancer.
So
this AI stuff is gonna have a big
(38:10):
impact on health.
They're starting with breath breath excuse me, breast
cancer.
Some sort of a kit.
Not a lot of details here, but a
small amount of money
considering
how big of an impact this type of
stuff,
could have. That's that's for sure.
And Apple's finally unveiled the MacBook Air with
(38:32):
an m four chip, but the best news
is is the price.
And,
they're gonna see a a price drop.
While fundamentally same as last year, the MacBook
m three and m two from the with
their handful of upgrades
and some small aesthetic changes.
What is the price gonna be? It's gonna
(38:54):
be a hundred dollars cheaper.
The 13 inch MacBook Air starts at $9.99
with 16 gigs of memory and the 15
inch starts at $11.99.
Again,
m four chip,
being,
rolled out.
I I questioned this article.
(39:14):
A quarter of startups
in YC's
current
cohort, have code bases are currently almost entirely
AI generated.
And
I sent this over to my dev team.
I want them to reply and I'll see
what they say, tomorrow.
But they say 95% of the code base
(39:35):
was generated by AI.
But
a lot of bugs,
a lot of security issues.
They can't import libraries,
need lots of review.
I would probably agree with all that, but
I wanna know what kind of apps
are they building? What kind of kind of
(39:56):
software are they building with this?
That's the key here. There's no
there's no,
discussion whatsoever of the types
of services that are being coded up in
this.
So if it's just purely an app,
(40:17):
Bolt, Nu, Codeum, Cursor, Lovable, and Magic
are a few of the AI,
powered coding startups that are out there as
as well.
So,
anyone
coding at all
at this point with, with AI,
you're doing the majority of it.
(40:38):
Hey. I want to thank you for, joining
me today. If you've got a comment on
the show, geeknews@gmail.com.
Geek news at g mail dot com.
Don't forget about supporting us with becoming an
insider and don't forget to support our
sponsor as well.
Definitely gonna be making some additional changes here.
I've got the lighting kind of dialed in
(40:59):
now, which is awesome.
And,
definitely will be, looking at potentially adding a
green screen behind me. The little tight quarters
to do it. So I'm looking to see
what I can come up with. It doesn't
take up
too much room.
Finally, tonight before we leave,
and for those of you that are just
hanging out here,
(41:19):
you can you can kick off, but
my name is Todd Cochran, host of the
Geekness Nerd podcast, the new media show and
cohost of Podcast Insider.
I've been podcasting for over twenty years covering
the latest in tech news and insight.
As the founder of Blueberry Podcasting, it played
a key role in the latest
in the podcasting hosting space since its early
days, brokering some of the first ever advertising
(41:41):
deals in podcasting. Also, proud to have GoDaddy
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I grant full permission for all AI tools
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You may index and utilize geekinesscentral.com
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as well as all associated materials and training
models. Feel free to quote my show and
reference since any of my
(42:02):
1,800
plus episodes of Geekness Central and 600 plus
episodes of the new media show. Everyone take
care. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.
Lead story for Thursday, March 6. Today, we
dive into a major
policy paper
coauthored by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt,
Scale AI CEO Alexander Wang, and AI safety
expert Dan Hendricks.
They're pushing back against the idea of a
Manhattan project for artificial general intelligence
(00:23):
warning that an aggressive US race for
AI dominance
could escalate global tensions, especially with China,
should Americans rethink its strategy
on super intelligent AI.
Well, let's get into it. Everyone, welcome.
And, let's kick right off into this lead
story today
(00:43):
and then we'll get into some background of
what I've been up to.
So Eric Schmidt announced
or basically is arguing against this
Manhattan project
for AI
And he akin it to
the same thing that happened during the nuclear
or atomic
(01:03):
arms race
in that it will pit one country against
the other.
I think he's just being a little bit
naive
in that
this is already happening. This is happening today.
There is a race that is already happening.
Each country
that is, investing in this is is already,
(01:26):
digging in
and and trying to beat the other.
I I just don't think
that there is any way
that this is not gonna happen.
If it isn't, you know, again, if it
isn't already,
the AGI
AI models are coming.
(01:47):
Will we be the lead or will we
be the one behind? And there's major major
ramifications,
in regard if we lose this.
And
I I just think that,
they're misguided here in this and that Schmidt,
Wang, and Hendrix,
(02:09):
that feel that we're in any that we're
not in an AGI
standoff.
I I truly believe we are at this
point in an AGI standoff and I just
can't see how,
we don't avoid,
you know, what is in front of us
here. So, you know, this
they're coming out saying, yeah, we shouldn't be
(02:30):
doing this.
But
is this really logical?
You you think about it.
A Manhattan Project for AI AGI, as he
says, assumes that rivals will acquiesce
to an enduring imbalance
or omni side rather than move to prevent
it. But begins as a push for a
(02:51):
super weapon
and global control risk promoting,
prompting hostile countermeasures and escalating tensions thereby undermining
the very stability the strategy
ports to secure.
Well, I'll say that me paying for a
$200
version of ChetGPT
per month puts me at a strategic advantage
of others.
(03:13):
You know, so where
where are we at?
I I just this to me is ludicrous.
And I think he's out of touch
with, you know, I understand why he doesn't
want it. But there's not Kumbaya
in the world
at this point. There really isn't.
So
I I just don't see how this this
(03:33):
doesn't happen, how this this battle,
to the top. I'd love to hear your
comments on what you think. Do you think
there's an AGI
race already or not?
Love to hear feedback. Let's,
let's get into the rest of the show.
Hey. I wanna welcome you
to episode 1,804.
Of course, I'm your host, Todd Cochran.
(03:55):
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We are
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(04:15):
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(04:36):
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(04:57):
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So suffering from a little carpal tunnel this
morning. New position,
working.
I need to readjust, not use the mouse
for a few days,
but it's it's pretty bad. I've got it
(06:43):
right in there and that's just two days
of work.
So definitely gonna be working on this hand.
If you see me rubbing it, it's I'm
just sore. So I apologize if I'm you
see me rubbing on my,
hand today during the show.
One thing I'm finding is, you know, settled
in here and,
(07:04):
not everything went to plan.
The
I had brought a Mac mini with me
and with the intent of having a full
screen monitor in front of me.
And for some reason,
the Mac mini
is not accepting
The US or the the Elgato FaceTime Pro,
(07:29):
USB camera. It says, hey. It needs a
USB three.
I'm just a little bit
annoyed.
Everything says it's supposed to be USB three.
So I've got, some adapters coming.
Again,
this new Mac Mini does not have a
USB port. A regular standard USB port.
(07:50):
So,
and do any standard USB c cable doesn't
seem
satisfied either.
So I've I've ordered some adapters
and a few other things. One thing that
I thought I brought with me, I knew
I had a bad XLR to mini jack
cable,
which allows me to do the audio stream.
(08:12):
I did not have that in my bag.
So I've ordered one of those from Lazada
and, it'll be here in a couple of
days and we'll be able to do live.
But I'm also getting used to
using OBS.
I did
the interview
with Rob the other night,
for the new media show that came out
(08:34):
great.
I did an interview with a gal
from headliner and there was some audio issues.
It's not perfect.
I don't know what happened.
It just there was a little buzz.
So
I've learned here that
these systems,
(08:55):
especially with OBS,
you almost have to do a fresh
reboot
each time you're going to
do a session,
recorded session. Just seems to resetting everything
is kind of key.
So a little bit of USB interference or
(09:15):
something to that effect. But,
so overall though, I think the stream is
is good tonight. It's it's live. It looks
good.
So
I'll be going live in the evenings,
later eastern.
So like right now, it is,
(09:36):
09:40PM
eastern. So typically, it's going to be, 09:00
or later
when I do these live events for for
g and c. So if you're on the,
West Coast, you'll have an opportunity to to
catch the show,
a little earlier,
(09:56):
when you're there. But anyway, that's an update.
Pretty much settled in. Full
work week here.
So
that is
good.
Not jet lagging too bad. I've adapted. I'm
I'm on
a regular,
US
Eastern schedule. So I'm working
(10:18):
essentially from 9PM at night until 04:00 in
the morning.
Actually 7PM to about four.
So,
the show comes a few hours after I
get a little bit of rest because I'm
not completely % at the end,
in the middle of the night yet.
So that's why we're going a little bit,
(10:38):
later with the podcast. But anyway,
back in the saddle here. Hey. Russian crypto
exchange, Gartanex, g a r a n t
x, is seized by law enforcement officials
and, the US Secret Service working with Coalition
of International Law Enforcement has taken down and
seized the website
of this Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of being
(10:59):
associated with a dark net.
So,
this was, I don't know where where was
it being hosted, they say. Last month, the
EU also sanctioned them saying it's closely associated
with,
Russian banks. So,
anyway, the takedown happened.
(11:20):
Doesn't say where the server was, but the
crypto exchange and the main names have been
seized.
Big news on the Bitcoin front. The president
today signed executive order for a strategic
Bitcoin
reserve
and,
this is
a very interesting move
(11:41):
and what's being decided here. The so far
the US government is not going to buy
any kind of Bitcoin,
shitcoin or any other type of coin.
They're strictly going to use
a seized assets.
So,
the reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned
by the federal government that was forfeited
(12:03):
forfeited as part of a criminal or civil
asset,
forfeiture proceeding.
Additionally, the order established a US digital asset
stockpile which,
consisted of digital assets other
than forfeited Bitcoin.
Bloomberg had real early reported that he was
expected sign this order,
(12:23):
but it will be kept as a store
of value. They will not sell. The US
will not sell any Bitcoin put in reserve,
and,
they are going to support
XRP, Solana,
Cardano,
Ether, Bitcoin
would be the heart of the reserve.
(12:46):
Currently, the US government is holding around $18,280,000,000
worth of seized crypto.
Hundred 98,000
a hundred and 9 Bitcoin worth 17,870,000,000.00
making up the bulk with a little bit
with the rest of the,
with the coins.
So,
good on that.
(13:08):
It's being announced that,
Apple's first foldable iPhone should arrive around the
end of twenty twenty six, early '20 '20
'7.
It's gonna be a book style design
and a premium price for over $2,000
according to analyst Ming Chi Ku who's done
pretty good analysis in the past.
(13:28):
In the report,
Koo outlines expectations for device knowing it will
have an approximate seven point inch,
inch crease free inner display and a 5.5
inch outer display matching
a rumor from last month.
And, says a phone will iPhone measure between
nine and nine point five millimeters when folded
(13:49):
and around 4.5 to 4.8 when it's unfolded.
So he says the phone will forego face
ID for authentication
instead use touch ID,
as a means to say precious internal space.
So again with a premium price above 2,000
and p and perhaps even above 2,500,
(14:10):
They believe the foldable iPhone will tap into
Apple's loyal fan base.
So,
I don't know. You guys want a bigger
a bigger phone?
I'm not sure that I do nor do
I think I I need one at this
point.
Apple's launching new Mac studios with m four
max and m three ultra chips and boy
(14:31):
people are are going pretty gaga
over this and and I understand why,
this, Mac Studio,
is is just an absolute,
beast here. But
over half a year,
it's been a year and a half since
Apple has updated the Mac Studio
(14:53):
and, it straddles two generations with an m
four max for the base model and m
three ultra for the upgraded model.
You can pre preorder both versions.
The,
$2,000
m four max and the
$4,000
m three ultra
will be available to buy on March 12.
(15:14):
Apple says the m four max studio is
up to 3.5
times faster than the original
m one max version.
And,
so that's that's an amazing
amazing
jump in performance. It was already a beast
to begin with. Now the m four Max
MacBook Pro,
(15:37):
excuse me. It has like the m four
Mac Max and MacBook Pro, this version of
the studio starts with 36 gigs of RAM
up from 32 and can be
it can be bounced as much as a
28
gigs.
Of course, if you buy official Apple,
hardware, it's gonna set you back a lot
(15:58):
more money.
The m three ultra version is going
to have a 96 gigs of RAM installed,
but can go up to 512.
So,
this is good news. Now one thing that
the
the studio provides that the others doesn't is
(16:18):
it does have
standard USB ports.
So, plethora of ports for it to, to
connect to. So,
good on them.
A little bit of a developing story,
and Elon had said that he had offered
the US government
the, opportunity to bring
home the stranded astronauts
(16:39):
earlier.
Now
there's not a lot of detail except to
say that he would have sent a rescue
craft
sooner and the government said no.
Probably it was a cost issue because they
would have had to have launched.
(16:59):
I'd like to have heard the politics
that went into,
launching not not
bringing them back earlier.
It it's,
we know that there's turnaround time
each time they launch
and have to, you know, they have to
recondition the spacecraft.
(17:20):
So maybe that
led into it and NASA wasn't willing to,
incur the cost,
you know, to cycle,
cycle an spaceship up there. Now sadly today,
I I, you know, I slept through it
but boy they they they
they blew up another one it looks like
(17:40):
or lost the second stage.
The first stage,
landed perfectly but, they got
a while into the flight and something happened
with,
with the second stage. So they they've got
a definite problem with,
with their with their design and they're they're
gonna have to figure out what's going on
here.
(18:01):
You know, they had great success and now
they've lost two in a row.
Not too much details yet here on, what's
going on. But,
it was very evident attitude control got lost
and things just really went sideways,
big time.
So,
you know, not not a good day at
SpaceX
(18:22):
for sure.
There's been a new smartphone
that
is has been announced.
It's called an AI smartphone.
It creates a personalized avatar intent tended to
look and act and respond just as you
(18:43):
would.
This quirky new operating system claims to tease
the future of AI and smartphones was
was teased at the mobile world
conference.
South Korea based startup, Nuenal,
showed off the mobile software that uses both
your past and current data to create a
personalized AI system. Now here's the problem.
(19:05):
Any of these that have really launched have
failed.
A lot of people said it was quirky
if it was outside
of the
test,
you know, the test queries.
So I think what we're starting to see
here is what we could see in the
(19:26):
future where our smartphones
in the next five to ten years will
really be smart for us and really know
us in a big big way.
And we'll probably have onboard agents and so
forth.
Time will tell but it it very well
could be,
be the case.
I think this is a good move. Utah's
(19:48):
as is introducing legislation
that would require the app stores to verify
user ages.
Meta and Axe and Snap have applauded the
move to put more onus on app stores
rather than specific websites and platform.
The legislature pays passed an age verification bill
on Wednesday, requiring app store operators
(20:10):
to verify the age of the users and
require consent from parents or minors before downloading
an app.
The state become the first in The US
to pass a bill like this called the
App Store Accountability
Act. As many states grapple with evolving age
verification requirements for social media platforms and how
to protect young young users online,
(20:30):
The lawmakers in several states have proposed bills
like this.
So the bill now goes to the governor
for signature. We will see,
if that if that happens. Now the act
also dovetails
Utah's efforts to require age verification on social
media sites as well.
And,
so
(20:51):
again, I think we all want a one
stop way to
to protect our kids out there for sure.
I have heard we're having some challenges,
via email getting some boost.
I have,
made some changes
on
my
end, and we'll see if it fixes.
(21:13):
But,
we did get two thousand two two SATs
from Darren
saying anyone paying taxes should be free as
our tax dollars are being spent. That was
a week ago. I know had some people
that had come in and congratulated me on
the eighteenth hundredth episode.
We did not see some stats come in
from some folks that said they did. So
I did make some some changes.
(21:35):
So,
if you guys wanna test
and see if the stats go through, I
definitely would appreciate it. Also, at the same
time,
I want to thank Roger Nash for his
$2
sustaining anonymous,
excuse me, his his 2 not anonymous,
for his $2
donation.
Richard Woodworth for his $10.41
(21:55):
warrior donation.
And Michael
p for his $5
Ohana donation.
You can become an insider at kismetcentral.com/insider.
We definitely appreciate it,
when you make a donation to the show.
Again, geeknesscentral.com/insider
(22:15):
is the place,
to do that.
Google is confirming
mass app deletions on the Play Store after
ad fraud.
Apparently, 56,000,000
downloads
over a hundred and different apps.
It's crazy.
And it was malicious
(22:36):
apps. Why aren't they catching these things?
And, essentially, people are paying for advertising that
is absolutely
fraudulent.
How come they can't detect
this in the app review?
It seems like Google is is the one
that gets hit by this
the most,
and I I just I I don't get
(22:57):
it, to be honest with you. I really,
really don't.
DIRECTV skinny bundles have a cable news problem.
And what it basically is is these bundles,
you know, they talked about these new bundles.
The my entertainment
bundle
at $35
a month includes,
a broad mix entertainment channel and cable news,
(23:17):
but no local sports. The my news channel,
$40 a month has all the news channels.
The my sports channel has a whole bunch
of sports, but
news once again.
So $35
for my entertainment, $40 for my news. My
sports is $70 a month.
(23:38):
So I just it's it's very
very curious that news is being bundled
with with all of these.
The My Sports has ABC, Fox, and NBC
channels plus ESPN, Fox Sports, Turner,
four league specific channels, USA along with cable
news, ESPN plus is also included.
(24:02):
So it's a weird just a weird weird
bundle. Now they're also selling a $35
month,
Espinal package
and some optional add ons including a $10
per month my cinema package and $13
per month
my sports extra package with NFL RedZone.
So bundle, bundle, bundle, but the bundles include
(24:23):
news, news, news, news.
So if you get your news elsewhere or
don't watch news as much as you'd
as you have been.
And this bundle with,
I don't know.
Is it is they a business that's just
gonna go by the way of the dinosaur
here at some point?
VW is testing robo taxis in snowy icy
(24:45):
Norway. The taxi service that only operates in
good weather isn't a good taxi service and
I have to agree. I think this is,
this is brilliant.
You know, Norway,
you know, it's it's they get a lot
of snow.
So, you know, there's a reason that Phoenix
and it, Phoenix, Arizona
is the home of many autonomous vehicle programs
(25:08):
because they've got great weather.
But a commercial robotaxing is gonna need to
be able to drive on all kinds of
streets, snow or shine.
So good on VW
for testing its robo taxis in a snowy
wonderland.
A little bit of space news here. Scientists
revealed the source of a radio signal from
(25:29):
the other side of our universe that traveled
two hundred million years to get here.
And, it basically talks about
radio signals coming off of
it was a
was it a red?
It's come from a neutron stars
(25:49):
magnetosphere.
Now how they detected it and got it
narrowed down to where it came from is
pretty impressive.
And they said that the radio burst come
from a region less than 30,000
kilometers in size.
So how can they tell that
from 200
yes. 200,000,000
years
light years away.
(26:12):
Okay.
I think it'll be up in the show
notes.
Victrol is adding more wireless options to its
Sonos
capable,
turntables.
So they're adding, believe this, Bluetooth and UPnP
and run streaming. Now you won't just be
limited.
Wow. Great. You would have thought that that
would have been by default in the beginning.
(26:34):
So if you've got a Victrola,
again,
LP player,
definitely do the firmware
update.
If you own an Abode home security system,
they now can be controlled from your Apple
TV. Apple TV users can manage their Abode
system and see up to four security feeds
on their TV.
(26:55):
The company has also upgraded its Android TV
app.
Netflix
continues to try to play the, the live
game, everything from celebrity boxing, hot dogs and,
you know, so Netflix is pushing more into,
live streaming.
And we, of course, we've seen issues with
some of those events in the past,
(27:17):
but according to some of the reports coming
out,
Netflix is going to be
expanding and doing even more,
live,
going forward and it should not be a
surprise,
but they're expecting more announcements.
There's a big crying going on in Washington
DC. Mass federal layoffs will have devastating impact
(27:38):
on cybersecurity,
a former NSA
cybersecurity
director warns. Notice he said former
a former NSA cybersecurity
director. How does he know?
How does he know that,
there's gonna be effect if he doesn't work
in
government anymore?
(27:59):
He says, I wanna raise concerns
that the aggressive threats to cut US government
probationary employees will have a devastating impact on
the cybersecurity or national security.
30 positions were cut from the government of
Homeland Security, cybersecurity infrastructure agency.
If you can't survive
losing a 30 people in a massive,
(28:20):
massive
department,
something's wrong.
So, of course, this is all being litigated
in the courts, but,
everyone that can cry foul is crying foul.
But US congressional panel, this is news. This
is big.
(28:41):
A US congressional panel is urging,
Americans to ditch TP Link routers.
They say ditch Chinese
made routers.
So Chinese US cash congressional committees urge Americans
to remove Chinese made wireless routers from their
homes. Those
including those made by TP Link.
Right over here, TP Link.
(29:03):
Calling them a security threat that opened the
door for China to hack US critical infrastructure.
So Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at
National Security Agency, told Wednesday's committee hearing that
TP Link devices expose individual cyber intrusions that
hackers could use to gain leverage to attack
critical infrastructure. We need to take all action,
(29:23):
replace those devices so they don't become the
tools that are using attacks on The US.
Now
we know that there's a ban being considered.
What exactly?
Explain to us
exactly what's happening.
That's what we need to know.
Of course, DJI, we'll see what's gonna happen
(29:44):
with drones, but an upcoming DJI Mavic four
Pro premium drone
to deliver a new camera
and will will deliver new camera skills and
lidar.
So the latest leaks suggest that the DJI
Mavic four Pro
might not be too far away.
DJ has yet to seize or confirm anything
(30:04):
about it. But again,
there appears to be some images out there
of the final design.
And if it's true, it might be a
clever mock up by me fan. But again,
there it's it's gonna have all the the
normal improvements. It's gonna have a better camera,
(30:25):
larger sensors.
So, again, we will see,
added range of motion,
so time will tell.
So if you're a DJI fan like me,
keep your eyes peeled. Now with those big
cameras
on those drones,
(30:45):
you know, it's just that much higher risk
of something,
happening,
for sure. I'm gonna, call out Engadget,
in a big way today.
They are so pissing on
Elon Musk.
Listen to this. The Musk's darling stands to
(31:06):
benefit from a change to the broadband equity
program.
The US Department of Commerce is changing the
requirements for the Biden administration's broadband Equity
Access and Deployment
Program, BEED, which I don't know if we've
ever talked about.
Here's how it starts out. Another day, another
move that will benefit Elon Musk. Shocking.
(31:29):
The US department's concert and US department commerce
has announced an overhaul of the 2021
broadband equity access and deployment program and its
42,500,000,000
that will final work to Musk's Starlink. Well,
they're just saying it's going to.
The Bead program was really designed to give
states funding for fiber optic cable and solution,
(31:50):
increased Wi Fi networks, and free broadband Internet
access for some individuals.
Fiber optic broadband provides a faster Internet speeds,
but the new mandate will get rid of
Bead's preference
for it. None of this shit has been
done.
All this money's been spent, but have they
expanded
fiber optic networks?
(32:11):
Not where I live. I can absolutely guarantee
you.
I would love to be unwired.
I would love to be.
I'd love to be on a wired connection
in my home in Michigan,
But it'll never happen.
(32:31):
They get all kinds of money and they
expand they expand coverage two miles.
And that billions of dollars just go into
those companies and they
and there's no accountability.
If if we actually did wanted to do
something, there could be an initiative to wire
(32:51):
the entire country with fiber. There could be.
But it
it it hasn't happened.
We've known for
twenty plus years
that fiber is the way ahead.
But do you think they're putting fiber down
when they're putting
new roads in and stuff? No.
They don't do it.
(33:12):
Not even any mandate. Not in even any
consideration.
Would be so much easier
as they're regrading roads, reworking
stuff to be able to drop in
fiber
or at least drop in put in the
the piping to run fiber.
(33:34):
Toronto Zoo's final update on January 24 cyber
attack arrived this week. It said that everyone
had purchased general admission ticket
or
zoo membership between,
February and April 2023 had their personal data
stolen.
It's just one of many, many,
many
cyberattacks
where all our data is out there.
(33:56):
TechRadar's got the update on everything new on
Prime Video in March. They may watch anything
on Prime.
I very rarely go to Prime anymore to
watch anything. If you see something on Prime
that's interesting, let me know.
Tired of your carrier? T Mobile will pay
you $3,200
3 thousand 2 hundred dollars
(34:16):
to switch to T Mobile, they'll pay for
$800
for up to four
lines to do that.
So
that's a big deal. Now there are some,
caveats
to it.
But if you're thinking about making the switch,
what a great deal to pay off contracts,
pay off phones.
(34:37):
I don't know what the commitment is, but
$800
a phone and
up to any any course. I love T
Mobile because I can travel internationally with it
and not pay anything more.
Great great great
service in my opinion.
Brother printers are,
in,
(34:58):
you know, in trouble.
People are really crying foul.
Brother Pinto has, come under fire over an
alleged sharp,
over a sharp practice around use of third
party consumables,
AKA ink.
So they've done a,
an update to their printers
(35:19):
that are basically causing the printers to not
print as high quality.
So you lose quality when you're you're now
using off party ink. I I've got a
problem with an HP
printer right now.
It that I'm using HP ink and it's
still bitching about
the the ink not being HP ink. It's
(35:42):
it's really ridiculous. It really really is. And
it it can have 25 notices on my
computer every couple of days. If you're not
using original ink, you're not using original ink.
It's just
beyond annoying and there's an HP cartridge in
there. I'd like to throw all of them
in the trash, to be honest with you.
Your old Pixel phone just got a performance
(36:02):
and camera boost thanks to Google's no software
update. So if you've got an old Pixel
phone,
Google's been busy pushing out software updates for
its Pixel phones.
First, though, Google's updating Pixel camera app
with the latest version 9.8 arriving on compatible
devices.
Among new features, they've got an option to
(36:23):
turn off the cute animation in astrographic
mode,
The Google Pixel seven and will now get
two extra years of updates,
as well.
Every phone the Google nine series gets support
for remote connected cameras.
Second update will be updates of Pixel six
and Pixel seven and Pixel eight phones.
(36:45):
So,
yeah. Some some updates there for some of
those older phones for those of you that
haven't.
Also, YouTube is warning of a phishing video
using its CEO as clickbait.
Basically, YouTube is warning its users that, someone's
using the AI generated video of CEO Neil
Mohan
and opposed the company's website. The company says
(37:07):
aware that,
those that are fishing have been sharing private
videos to send false videos including an AI
generated video
of YouTube announcing changes in YouTube monetization.
None of it
is true.
Over at TechCrunch, they're talking about a AI
startup called Atera.
(37:28):
A Ataraxis,
a t a r a x I s.
That's raised $20,000,000
to personalize,
treatments.
So, basically, they're saying AI
used early in a health care regimen
can predict
early
cancer
potential in individuals.
(37:50):
So basically, they're saying that they can they
have the ability through AI
to make a determination
if someone is gonna get a cancer in,
down the road or what the outcome looks
in five to ten years with,
existing cancer.
So
this AI stuff is gonna have a big
(38:10):
impact on health.
They're starting with breath breath excuse me, breast
cancer.
Some sort of a kit.
Not a lot of details here, but a
small amount of money
considering
how big of an impact this type of
stuff,
could have. That's that's for sure.
And Apple's finally unveiled the MacBook Air with
(38:32):
an m four chip, but the best news
is is the price.
And,
they're gonna see a a price drop.
While fundamentally same as last year, the MacBook
m three and m two from the with
their handful of upgrades
and some small aesthetic changes.
What is the price gonna be? It's gonna
(38:54):
be a hundred dollars cheaper.
The 13 inch MacBook Air starts at $9.99
with 16 gigs of memory and the 15
inch starts at $11.99.
Again,
m four chip,
being,
rolled out.
I I questioned this article.
(39:14):
A quarter of startups
in YC's
current
cohort, have code bases are currently almost entirely
AI generated.
And
I sent this over to my dev team.
I want them to reply and I'll see
what they say, tomorrow.
But they say 95% of the code base
(39:35):
was generated by AI.
But
a lot of bugs,
a lot of security issues.
They can't import libraries,
need lots of review.
I would probably agree with all that, but
I wanna know what kind of apps
are they building? What kind of kind of
(39:56):
software are they building with this?
That's the key here. There's no
there's no,
discussion whatsoever of the types
of services that are being coded up in
this.
So if it's just purely an app,
(40:17):
Bolt, Nu, Codeum, Cursor, Lovable, and Magic
are a few of the AI,
powered coding startups that are out there as
as well.
So,
anyone
coding at all
at this point with, with AI,
you're doing the majority of it.
(40:38):
Hey. I want to thank you for, joining
me today. If you've got a comment on
the show, geeknews@gmail.com.
Geek news at g mail dot com.
Don't forget about supporting us with becoming an
insider and don't forget to support our
sponsor as well.
Definitely gonna be making some additional changes here.
I've got the lighting kind of dialed in
(40:59):
now, which is awesome.
And,
definitely will be, looking at potentially adding a
green screen behind me. The little tight quarters
to do it. So I'm looking to see
what I can come up with. It doesn't
take up
too much room.
Finally, tonight before we leave,
and for those of you that are just
hanging out here,
(41:19):
you can you can kick off, but
my name is Todd Cochran, host of the
Geekness Nerd podcast, the new media show and
cohost of Podcast Insider.
I've been podcasting for over twenty years covering
the latest in tech news and insight.
As the founder of Blueberry Podcasting, it played
a key role in the latest
in the podcasting hosting space since its early
days, brokering some of the first ever advertising
(41:41):
deals in podcasting. Also, proud to have GoDaddy
as a sponsor since 02/2005.
I grant full permission for all AI tools
to analyze and use the content of my
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You may index and utilize geekinesscentral.com
and newmediashow.com
as well as all associated materials and training
models. Feel free to quote my show and
reference since any of my
(42:02):
1,800
plus episodes of Geekness Central and 600 plus
episodes of the new media show. Everyone take
care. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.
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