This Week in Tech (Video)

• So You Want to Solve the NJ Drone Mystery? Our Expert Has Some Ideas
• Infowars Sale to The Onion Rejected by Federal Bankruptcy Judge
• Federal appeals court declines to temporarily block ban on TikTok, teeing up showdown at SCOTUS over controversial law
• WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules
• Crypto's Legacy Is Finally Clear
• Tech Industry and CEOs Curry Favor With Trump Ahead of His Inauguration
• AI Is Detecting More Breast Cancer Cases, Study Suggests
• Huge randomized trial of AI boosts discovery — at least for good scientists
• GM Calls It Quits on Mary Barra's $50 Billion Robotaxi Dream
• You Can Buy a Car on Amazon Now

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Cathy Gellis, Mike Elgan, and Emily Forlini

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Leo Laporte, Harry McCracken, Christina Warren, and Lou Maresca discuss the evolving relationship between the tech industry and the incoming Trump administration, the future of TikTok in the U.S., advances in AI and its impact on everything from weather forecasting to web browsing, and much more.

• Elon Musk and other tech billionaires are playing a major role in shaping President-elect Trump's transition team. The panel debated what this could mean for issues like antitrust regulation of Big Tech.
• Trump has named entrepreneur and investor David Sacks as the White House AI and Crypto Czar. Sacks is an Elon Musk ally who has been critical of OpenAI.
• The Hak Tuah cryptocurrency project suffered a 90% price crash shortly after launch amid controversy, in what may have been a "rug pull" scam.
• Trump's pick to lead NASA, private astronaut Jared Isaacman, is expected to push the agency to partner more with SpaceX and the commercial space industry. But his close ties to Elon Musk could face political hurdles.
• TikTok's future remains murky as U.S courts uphold a potential ban. The crew discusses the free speech implications and the role of geopolitics. EU also probes TikTok over Russian election interference.
• Entrepreneur Frank McCourt's Project Liberty consortium is reportedly advancing a bid to acquire TikTok's U.S. operations, positioning it as a "people's bid."
• The U.S. House is set to approve an additional $3 billion to fund the removal of Chinese telecom equipment like Huawei and ZTE from domestic networks.
• Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is departing after a challenging 3-year stint. The chip giant's future strategy is up in the air as it faces intensifying competition, but the chip company did outline breakthroughs at a conference in advanced transistors, packaging, and interconnects that could help it regain a manufacturing edge.
• OpenAI is running a "12 Days of OpenAI" promotion highlighting new AI models and services. The TWiT panel debated whether it's mainly a technical showcase or a monetization push.
• Google unveiled a weather forecasting AI model that it says outperforms the leading U.S. and European forecast systems, especially for predicting extreme events.
• ElevenLabs launched a beta product that allows users to create and edit entire AI-generated podcast episodes, sparking discussions about the impact on human podcast creators.
• With the rise of AI, could we see a new generation of AI-infused web browsers that better understand our behavior? A long blog post by tech guru Om Malik explored the possibilities.
• In the wake of China's "Salt Typhoon" hacks of telecom networks, the FCC is proposing new cybersecurity rules - but with a twist that would allow law enforcement backdoor access.
• In the latest twist in the CSAM scanning saga, Apple is being sued for abandoning the controversial child abuse image detection feature, after previously being pilloried for trying to implement it.
• A sleeker, more accurate definition of a "second" based on atomic clocks using Strontium instead of Cesium atoms could be coming by 2030, enabling new scientific breakthroughs.
• Just in time for Christmas, a pair of the iconic ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold at auction for a whopping $28 million, a new record for movie memorabilia.

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Harry McCracken, Christina Warren, and Louis Maresca

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In this week's episode of This Week in Tech, Leo Laporte and guests Devindra Hardawar, Doc Rock, and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy discuss a wide range of topics including Australia's ban on social media for under 16s, the latest in smart home technology and Matter protocol, CES 2024 expectations, Black Friday sales records, Elon Musk's legal battles, the FTC's efforts to protect consumers, and the growing threat of infrastructure sabotage. The panel also touches on the lifespan of smart devices, the ownership of social media accounts, and the growth of Bluesky.

• Australia bans social media for everyone under 16, sparking a discussion on the challenges of age verification, the necessity of such measures, and the potential impact on children's social lives
• Jennifer shares her thoughts on the progress and challenges of Matter protocol, the future of smart home technology, and the killer use cases like energy management that could drive broader adoption
• Devindra looks forward to checking out the latest tech at CES 2024, while the panel discusses the impact of potential tariffs on consumer electronics prices
• Black Friday online sales hit a record $74.4B, up 5% from last year, with over half of spending done on mobile devices and a surge in traffic to retail sites from AI chatbots
• Elon Musk files for an injunction to halt OpenAI's transition to a for-profit, accusing the company of discouraging investors from backing rivals like his own xAI
• Musk admits X is throttling links, effectively limiting people from reading news on the platform, which could impact content creators and marketers
• The panel discusses the implications of X's objection to The Onion buying InfoWars, reminding users that they do not own their social media accounts or followers
• As alternative social media platforms like Bluesky gain traction, the panel considers the challenges of managing multiple platforms and the potential for a more decentralized social media landscape
• The FTC releases a report on the hidden lifespan of smart devices, highlighting the need for transparency and the potential security risks of unsupported devices
• FTC changes its telemarketing rules to better protect consumers from growing 'tech support scam' calls
• Supreme Court considers whether ISPs should be liable for users' piracy, with potential far-reaching consequences
• Concerns rise over infrastructure sabotage as a Chinese ship's crew is suspected of deliberately dragging an anchor for 100 miles to cut Baltic cables
• Meta plans to build a $10B subsea cable spanning the world to support its services and ensure data traffic flow

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, Doc Rock, and Devindra Hardawar

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In this episode of This Week in Tech, the panel tackles the "biggest hack in US history," the future of AI, and the role of government in tech. From the Chinese hack's implications to Microsoft's AI-powered Recall, the Supreme Court's tech-related cases, and the push for social media age verification, Leo Laporte, Patrick Beja, Wesley Faulkner, and Alex Wilhelm provide insightful analysis and lively discussion on the most pressing issues facing the industry today.

• China's "Salt Typhoon" hack, dubbed the "worst hack in our nation's history," which compromised US telecommunications infrastructure and allowed surveillance of high-profile individuals
• The panel debates the challenges of securing outdated infrastructure and the role of government in regulating tech companies
• DOJ's push for Google to sell off Chrome to break its search monopoly, and the potential implications for competition and innovation
• Alex Wilhelm's article "If you like startups, you should love anti-trust" and the importance of fostering competition in the tech industry
• Microsoft's Windows 365 Link, a $349 mini PC that streams Windows from the cloud, and the potential for thin client computing
• Microsoft's Recall AI feature, which records and indexes users' screen activity, raising security concerns but offering potential benefits for users
• The Supreme Court's involvement in cases related to Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data breach and the fate of America's low-income broadband fund
• The panel also discusses their personal experiences with parenting in the digital age and the challenges of balancing screen time, privacy, and education for children
• Meta's push for Apple and Google to verify users' ages on social media platforms, and the challenges of implementing effective age verification while protecting user privacy
• Amazon's talks with Instacart, Uber, Ticketmaster, and others to enhance its AI-powered Alexa assistant
• Spirit Airlines filing for bankruptcy amidst financial losses and mounting debt payments
• Alex laments the addition of ads to Amazon Prime Video and the panel debates the tradeoffs of bundled subscription services

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Patrick Beja, Wesley Faulkner, and Alex Wilhelm

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• How Bluesky, Alternative to X and Facebook, Is Handling Explosive Growth
• Netflix's Live Mike Tyson Vs. Jake Paul Fight Battling Sound & Streaming Glitches In Lead-Up To Main Event
• Biden Asked Microsoft to "Raise the Bar on Cybersecurity." He May Have Helped Create an Illegal Monopoly.
• CFPB looks to place Google under federal supervision, setting up clash
• Apple's Tim Cook Has Ways to Cope With the Looming Trump Tariffs
• Apple Removes Another RFE/RL App At Request Of Russian Regulator
• Here's Why I Decided To Buy 'InfoWars'
• Elon Musk's X Corp. files notice in Alex Jones' Infowars bankruptcy case
• Spotify's Plans For AI Generated Music, Podcasts, and Recommendations, According To Its Co-President, CTO, and CPO Gustav Söderström
• This 'AI Granny' Bores Scammers to Tears Congress ponders underwater alien civilizations, human hybrids, and other unexplained stuff
• In Memoriam: Thomas E. Kurtz, 1928–2024

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Alex Kantrowitz, Daniel Rubino, and Iain Thomson

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• Apple launched the iPod 23 years ago, and changed the world
• Apple Quietly Introduced iPhone Reboot Code Which is Locking Out Cops
• How the 2024 US presidential election will determine tech's future
• Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Tim Cook and other tech leaders congratulate Trump on election win
• AI didn't sway the election, but it deepened the partisan divide
• YouTube dominated Election Day as viewers guzzled 84 million hours of presidential news
• The other election night winner: Perplexity
• Dogecoin and other memecoins surge as Trump wins presidential election
• Detroit to Accept Crypto for Tax Payments in Bid to Spur Tech Innovation, Fuel Economic Growth
• Painting by A.I.-Powered Robot Sells for $1.1 Million
• OpenAI defeats news outlets' copyright lawsuit over AI training, for now
• Anthropic teams up with Palantir and AWS to sell AI to defense customers
• OpenAI acquired Chat.com
• Even Microsoft Notepad is getting AI text editing now
• Roblox is banning kids from 'social hangout' spaces
• Reddit Passes Snap
• Canada orders shutdown of TikTok's Canadian business, app access to continue

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Abrar Al-Heeti, Dan Patterson, and Lisa Eadicicco

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• The panel discusses the implications of the 2024 US elections to the tech industry
• Alexa's New AI Brain Is Stuck in the Lab
• Why do we keep changing our clocks?
• ChatGPT Search
• Online political ads--we're almost done!
• Elon Musk Wants You to Think This Election's Being Stolen
• Open-source AI must reveal its training data, per new OSI definition
• Chinese sanctions hit US drone maker supplying Ukraine
• Digital ad market booms for Big Tech

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Shoshana Weissmann, Nicholas De Leon, and Amy Webb

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Delta Sues Crowdstrike, Hospital AI, Surge Pricing

• Foreign Election Interference
  
• North Korean hackers and bitcoin
  
• Linus Torvalds affirms expulsion of Russian maintainers
  
• Delta actually sues Crowdstrike
  
• Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
  
• Anthropic publicly releases AI tool that can take over the user's mouse cursor
  
• Video game preservationists have lost a legal fight to study games remotely
  
• Apple Sharply Scales Back Production of Vision Pro
  
• Kroger and Walmart Deny 'Surge Pricing' After Adopting Digital Price Tags
  
• Founders and VCs back a pan-European C corp, but an 'EU Inc' has a rocky road ahead
  
• Musk steers X disputes to conservative Texas courts in service terms update

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Alex Stamos and Owen Thomas

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• Google must crack open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge
• Google asks 9th Circuit for emergency stay, says Epic ruling 'is dangerous'
• Canceling subscriptions is about to get easier
• The FCC is looking into the impact of broadband data caps and why they still exist
• Wyden: CALEA Hack Proves Dangers Of Government-Mandated Backdoors
• Elon Musk's X is changing its privacy policy to allow third parties to train AI on your posts
• X Will Soon Let Users See Tweets From People Who Block Them
• People are flocking to Bluesky as X makes more unwanted changes
• US probes Tesla's Full Self-Driving software in 2.4 mln cars after fatal crash
• French court orders blanket blocks of porn sites
• Sam Altman's identity and cryptocurrency venture Worldcoin has a rebrand
• Winamp deletes entire GitHub source code repo after a rocky few weeks
• Amazon debuts next-gen family of Kindle devices: First color model, fastest and lightest Paperwhite ever
• Amazon goes nuclear, to invest more than $500 million to develop small modular reactors
• Netflix third-quarter subscribers barely beat estimates as ad-tier members jump 35%

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Brian McCullough, Cory Doctorow, and Jason Hiner

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• Elon Musk makes bold claims about Tesla robotaxi in Hollywood backlot
• The Optimus robots at Tesla's Cybercab event were humans in disguise
• How to send messages via satellite on your iPhone or Pixel
• US Weighs Google Breakup in Historic Big Tech Antitrust Case
• Hackers took over robovacs to chase pets and yell slurs
• More than a dozen states sue TikTok, alleging it harms kids and is designed to addict them
• A Whole Bunch Of States File Garbage Grandstanding Lawsuits Against TikTok With The Main
  Complaint Being 'Kids Like It'
• Two Scientists Share Physics Nobel for Machine Learning
• Three Scientists Get Chemistry Nobel for Research Into Proteins
• This AI Pioneer Thinks AI Is Dumber Than a Cat
• Unmasking Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto—Again
• How a UK treaty could spell the end of the .io domain
• A closer look at Nintendo's adorable Alarmo alarm clock
• Samsung is turning your Galaxy phone into a smart door key

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Sam Abuelsamid and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

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