Digimasters Shorts - Dr. Oz's AI Healthcare Reforms, Tech Giants' Trump Tango, Meta's China Allegations, Google Reinvents Wizard of Oz, Deep Cogito Challenges AI Titans

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Dive into the ever-evolving digital landscape with Digimasters Shorts, your go-to podcast for the latest in technology, policy, and innovation. Join hosts Adam Nagus and Carly Wilson as they break down current trends and controversies shaping the digital world. From Dr. Mehmet Oz's controversial AI healthcare proposals and the tech industry's complex dance with political power, to transformative projects like the AI-driven remake of "The Wizard of Oz" and groundbreaking advancements by AI companies like Deep Cogito, we deliver insightful discussions and expert analysis. Stay informed on the intersection of tech, politics, and society with our concise and engaging episodes. Tune in bi-weekly for the updates and insights you need to stay ahead in the digital realm.

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Episode Transcript

Adam N2 (00:05):
Welcome to Digimasters Shorts, we are your hosts Adam
Nagus

Carly W (00:09):
and Carly Wilson delivering the latest scoop from
the digital realm.
Dr.
Mehmet Oz, newly confirmed asthe administrator for the
Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services(CMS),
emphasized the use of artificialintelligence during his first
staff meeting.
He proposed prioritizing AIavatars over frontline
healthcare workers due to theircost-effectiveness, sparking

(00:29):
concerns among professionals.
Despite evidence that patientsprefer human doctors, Oz claimed
AI care is rated equally orbetter.
Critics noted that Oz focusedlargely on nutrition, exercise,
and obesity, which aretangential to CMS's core
functions like elder care.
CMS spokesperson CatherineHowden dismissed concerns over
the meeting’s leaks.

(00:50):
Oz, lacking prior healthcarepolicy experience, highlighted
his medical background and timeas a TV personality.
Known for promoting dubioushealth claims, his guidance on
fraud and waste aligns withbillionaire Elon Musk’s
interests.
The idea of overhauling CMSstaff was met with criticism,
particularly given recentworkforce reductions.

(01:11):
His endorsement of Robert F.
Kennedy Jr.'s"Make AmericaHealthy Again" initiative raised
eyebrows, due to itscontroversial anti-vaccine
affiliations.
Staff expressed skepticism aboutOz's understanding of CMS’s
mission.

Adam N2 (01:24):
Leaders of major tech firms attempted to gain favor
with President Trump by makingsubstantial donations and
hosting events for him.
Despite these efforts, theanticipated regulatory leniency
was not forthcoming.
The president's recent tariffsare set to adversely affect tech
giants like Apple, Amazon, Meta,Google, and Microsoft.
These measures will increasecosts in their supply chains and

(01:46):
limit supercomputer developmentfor AI.
Additionally, cuts in federalfunding for technologies like AI
and quantum computing haveraised concerns.
Trump's stance on immigrationalso threatens the tech
industry's talent pipeline.
The administration continues itsrigorous regulatory approach,
preparing for an antitrust trialto dismantle Meta.

(02:06):
The market value of leading techcompanies has decreased, and the
Nasdaq index has significantlydropped.
Initial hostility during Trump'sfirst term turned to attempts at
reconciliation, but favorableoutcomes remain elusive.
Tech executives aimed forinclusion in deregulation
efforts similar to otherindustries but have yet to see
positive results.
Sarah Wynn-Williams, formerFacebook head of global public

(02:30):
policy, is set to testify beforeCongress, claiming Meta
executives aided China's AIadvancement, posing a threat to
U.S national security.
Wynn-Williams, who left Facebookin 2017, filed a whistleblower
complaint with the SEC in March.
Her memoir,"Careless People,"accuses Meta of harmful company
practices and operations withChina, but Meta calls the book

(02:52):
false and defamatory.
Following the book's release,Meta succeeded in obtaining an
emergency arbitration to preventWynn-Williams from promoting her
claims.
Her planned testimony criticizesMeta's alleged support of free
speech while enforcing a gagorder.
Meta denies her allegations,stating they no longer operate
in China and refuting claims ofa clandestine relationship and

(03:13):
data sharing with China.
Wynn-Williams alleges a"physicalpipeline" was established
between the U.S and China byMeta.
During Trump's presidency, asignificant U.S-Hong Kong
broadband project involvingFacebook and Google was
canceled.
Meta claims the testimony isbased on fiction and
misrepresents past publicinterest in China.

Carly W (03:33):
In Las Vegas, a groundbreaking project is
underway to redefine a cinematicclassic using AI technology.
Google DeepMind and Google Cloudare leading efforts to transform
"The Wizard of Oz" for theSphere, a massive venue launched
in 2023.
The film will be presented on a160,000 square foot, 16K LED
screen, demanding innovativesolutions beyond traditional

(03:56):
CGI.
Employing generative AI modelssuch as Imagen and Veo,
alongside Gemini, the team iscreating a truly immersive
experience.
They utilized AI-based tools toenhance the original grainy film
into ultra-high definitionimagery.
Despite technologicalconstraints, the goal is to
maintain the authenticity of theoriginal without adding new

(04:16):
dialogue or music.
Extensive archival resources,like the shooting script and set
plans, support the fidelity ofthis transformation.
The project, a collaborationwith Warner Bros., emphasizes
continuity with the spirit ofthe original 1939 film.
Innovative AI techniques such as'super resolution' and
'outpainting' have been crucialin expanding and enriching the

(04:38):
visual experience.
Those involved in the projectare thrilled and view it as a
bold leap into the future ofcinema.
Deep Cogito, a SanFrancisco-based AI research
startup, has emerged fromstealth, unveiling its Cogito v1
line of open-source largelanguage models.
These models are fine-tuned fromMeta’s Llama 3.2 and possess

(04:58):
hybrid reasoning capabilities.
Founded by Drishan Arora, aformer Google engineer, the
company aims to developsuperintelligence by iteratively
refining models through a methodcalled iterated distillation and
amplification(IDA).
The initial lineup includesmodels ranging from 3 to 70
billion parameters, with futureplans for even larger models.

(05:19):
These models are available forcommercial use under specific
licensing terms from Meta.
Deep Cogito asserts that itsmodels are among the strongest
open models at their scale,measuring performance in general
knowledge and multilingualtasks.
While the models excel inreasoning, they face challenges
in mathematical tasks comparedto competitors like DeepSeek R1.

(05:40):
The company is partnering withplatforms like Hugging Face and
Together AI to make these modelsaccessible.
Moving forward, Deep Cogitoemphasizes real-world utility
and scalability over benchmarkfigures.
Models released by the companyare open-source, marking an
important step in theadvancement of AI technology.

Don (05:59):
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