AI Episodes

Ho hum. Apple reports its most revenue and profit in history. You’ll soon be able to unlock your iPhone while masked, even without the Apple Watch. The White House is readying a huge executive order on Crypto. The new version of GPT-3 is less error-prone, and less prone to say bad stuff. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

The EU proposes a big new regulatory framework for AI. A ransomware gang threatens to release Apple product schematics unless they get paid off. Fallout from yesterday’s Apple event including what you can and cannot put on your AirTags. Netflix has disappointed Wall Street, and Amazon is expanding its “pay with your palm” program to more Whole Foods locations. Sponsors:Skiff.org/ride Tovala.com/ride Classified:RobBettis.com Links:Artificial Intelligence, Facial Recognition Face Curbs in New EU Proposal (Wall Street Journal)Instagram launches tools to filter out abusive DMs based on keywords and emojis, and to block people, even on new accounts (Tech Crunch)Apple announces AirTag accessories that cost more than the device (9 to 5 Mac)Ransomware gang tries to extort Apple hours ahead of Spring Loaded event (The Record)Netflix falls after pandemic boom reverses to rare weakness (Bloomberg)Amazon is bringing palm-scanning payment system to Whole Foods stores (CNBC) (Order your own …

There are two new GPT-3 models and now the robots have come for the graphic artists. Trump continues his tech cold war against China, but the question is, will Biden? WhatsApp is further absorbed into the Facebook mothership. Eve Online players broke the game by playing it so hard. And Cameo wants you to know there’s money in the banana stand—I mean... paying Tom Arnold to record a video for you. Sponsors:Audible.com/techmeme or text techmeme to 500-500 for a free 30-day trial Links: This avocado armchair could be the future of AI (MIT Technology Review)DALL·E: Creating Images from Text (OpenAI Blog) Trump bars U.S. transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay (Reuters) WhatsApp updates its Terms and Privacy Policy to mandate data-sharing with Facebook (XDA-Developers) CIRP: iPhone 12 sales strong at launch, but iPhone 12 mini ‘likely disappointed Apple’ (9to5Mac) Players in Eve Online broke a world record — and then the game itself (Polygon) Cameo launches hiring spree fo…

All the announcements and headlines from Microsoft’s Ignite 2020. Microsoft is exclusively licensing Open AI’s GPT-3. Google has debuted an Airtable rival called Tables. Ming-Chi Kuo thinks we’ll see an iPad with mini-LED by the end of the year. What happened during Tesla’s “battery day.” Pinterest has launched Story Pins and how Spotify is enabling SEO spam in audio form. Sponsors: Amazon.com/techmeme PayPal App JoinFightCamp.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft challenges Twilio with the launch of ...

The DOJ says the Chinese were behind the Equifax hack, MWC is becoming a ghost conference, the Razr reviews are in, the Corp.com domain name is a weird story, and why ARM’s new edge chips could revolutionize the Internet of Things. Sponsors: Netgear.com/bestwifi Ashford.edu/ride Links: U.S. charges Chinese military hackers with massive Equifax breach (Politico) As top exhibitors pull out of MWC, organizers implement stringent safeguards (TechCrunch) Coronavirus: Sony and Amazon pull out of m...

Vine has a spiritual successor in Byte, the new razr might have “bumps and lumps,” your anti-virus program might be selling all your clicks, Seamless might be inventing restaurants from whole cloth, and the AI algorithm that spotted the Wuhan virus early. Sponsors: Metalab.co MintMobile.com/ride Links: Vine reboot Byte officially launches (TechCrunch) Motorola on the Razr’s folding screen: ‘bumps and lumps are normal’ (The Verge) An AI Epidemiologist Sent the First Warnings of the Wuhan Viru...

The new 16-inch MacBook pro might actually have a keyboard that works! Google wants you to bank with them. The Brave browser comes out of beta. And there’s an AI that can predict if you’ll die in the next year… but doctors don’t know how it does it. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Capterra.com/ride Links: APPLE’S 16-INCH MACBOOK PRO IS HERE AND IT HAS A GOOD KEYBOARD (The Verge) 16-Inch MacBook Pro First Impressions: Great Keyboard, Outstanding Speakers (Daring Fireball) Next in Google’s Quest for ...

As I mentioned in the Weekend Longreads segment, Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis had an op ed in the times that has changed the way I think about the state of AI. But they’re also the authors of a great new book, Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust. There’s a reason people remain fearful about AI… it hasn’t earned our trust yet. In all sorts of ways that we get into on this episode. And also, the interesting ways AI development needs to change to take the state of the art to...

Libra gets competition, Spotify and Roku get family friendly, Amazon is sitting out the launch of Disney+ (for now), Ikea is serious about becoming a smart-home player, and can the world’s largest semiconductor chip kickstart an AI revolution? Sponsors: Pixelunion.net BRD.com Links: Binance planning to launch ‘Venus,’ similar to Facebook’s upcoming cryptocurrency Libra (The Block) Spotify's Premium Family plans get an explicit content filter (Engadget) The Roku Channel is adding a kids and f...

The Trump Administration wants America to get serious about AI, Patch is actually profitable, Reddit raises a round, Apple Health for vets and hands on with AR navigation on Google Maps. Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Trump to lay out an AI plan (Axios) US military equipped with tiny spy drones (ZDNet) It’s the Real World—With Google Maps Layered on Top (WSJ) The alternative to your dying local paper is written by one person, a robot, and you (Recode) Reddit raised $300 ...

Now the AIs can defeat us at StarCraft II (too?), Zuckerberg wants to unify his collection of messaging apps, my grand unifying theory for the streaming video wars and of course the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Juniper.net/try Metalab.co Links: Zuckerberg Plans to Integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger (NYTimes) Facebook knowingly duped game-playing kids and their parents out of money (Reveal) Facebook ignored kids’ spending problems, internal documents reveal (BBC N...

Microsoft calls for regulation of facial recognition AI, the Crypto market crash is starting to claim casualties, Reddit is quietly doing very well, thank you very much, and the Weekend Longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Metalab.coDataDogHQ.com/RideHomeLinks:MICROSOFT WANTS TO STOP AI'S 'RACE TO THE BOTTOM' (Wired)Scientists create AI that can crush the world's best AI (at board games, thankfully) (CNET)Crypto Market Crash Leaving Bankrupt Startups in its Wake (Bloomberg)Reddit’s Year in Review: 201...

The Tech earnings season earnings roundup, new DRM rules allow jailbreaking… for some things, China’s rival GPS system, AI “art” fetches $400,000 at auction and the weekend longreads suggestions. Links: Twitter Stock Soars after Strong Earnings Beat (CNBC) Tesla Shares Soar on Surprise Third-Quarter Profit That Beats Wall Street Expectations (CNBC) Microsoft Reports $29.1 Billion in Q1 2019 Revenue: Azure up 76%, Surface up 14%, and Windows up 3% (VentureBeat) Amazon Squeezes Out More Profit a...

Google’s lays out ethical principles for AI development, Facebook has another privacy issue (again), why the next generation of gaming consoles might be the last, Yahoo Messenger logs off, and the weekend long-reads suggestions. Stories from: @sundarpichai, @terrortola Links:AI at Google: our principles (Google)Can Google keep its promises on building ethical AI? (Engadget)Airbnb says forced to cancel bookings under new Japan law (Asia One)Ubisoft Believes Next Gen Is the Last for Consoles as Mi...

Facebook’s AI announcements from F8, LG announces G7 ThinQ, Apple earnings analysis, Snap earnings analysis, the Pentagon blocks the sale of Chinese phones, and can AI predict the next Avengers: Infinity War? Stories from: @ashleyrcarman, @DanielEran Tweets from: @BenedictEvans, @lexnfx Links:Cambridge Analytica Closing Operations Following Facebook Data Controversy (WSJ)Telegram Messaging App Scraps Plans for Public Coin Offering (WSJ)LG’s G7 ThinQ preserves the headphone jack and introduces a ...

Google adds AI to drones, Uber trucks start hauling cargo, reading the Uber tea leaves, Washington State brings back net neutrality, Bumble bans guns, and Dyson cuts the cord. Literally. Google says it provides TensorFlow APIs to US Dept of Defense to help interpret drone footage, is working on policies and safeguards for use of machine learning Gizmodo Uber begins using its self-driving trucks for some long haul cargo trips in Arizona as part of Uber Freight service, leaving the last stretch to...