Tech journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton try out Apple's Vision Pro headset and discuss its potential impact. They also delve into the congressional hearing on child safety and social media, featuring Mark Zuckerberg's apology. The collapse of Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company, and its implications for self-driving cars are also explored.
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Quick takeaways
Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to families of victims of online child abuse during the congressional hearing on child safety and social media.
CEOs of social platforms express varying support for COSA, a bill aimed at protecting minors online, with some expressing agreement and others suggesting alternative approaches.
The downfall of autonomous vehicle company Cruise, following a serious accident involving one of their vehicles, highlights the safety concerns and prioritization of scaling over safety in the self-driving car industry.
Deep dives
Apologies to Victims
During the congressional hearing, Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to parents whose children have been harmed on social media, expressing empathy for the suffering they have endured.
Discussion on the Kids Online Safety Act (COSA)
CEOs of social platforms voice their varying support of COSA, a bill aimed at protecting minors online. Some CEOs express their agreement with the ideas presented in COSA, while others have reservations or suggest alternative approaches.
Age Verification Responsibility
Mark Zuckerberg suggests that age verification for social media platforms should be handled by Apple and Google within their respective app stores. He argues that it would be more efficient and less burdensome for parents than having to verify age on each individual app.
Concerns and Perspectives on Child Safety
Discussions during the hearing highlight the emotional significance of child safety online. There is agreement on the need to protect underage users, although differing opinions exist regarding the most effective approaches and potential consequences of legislation.
Tech platforms' failure to protect minors from exploitation
The podcast discusses how tech platforms, specifically Instagram and Facebook, have failed to adequately prevent the exploitation, harassment, bullying, and harm of minors on their platforms. Internal documents and presentations revealed that a significant number of minors, around 100,000 each day, receive sexually abusive content on Facebook and Instagram. The podcast highlights the harmful features, such as photo filters resembling plastic surgery effects, and the algorithm that connects child users with potential predators. The podcast raises concern over the need for regulation to hold platforms accountable for child harms.
Cruz's downfall after an accident exposes deeper issues with self-driving technology
The podcast delves into the downfall of the self-driving car company Cruz following a serious accident involving one of their vehicles. The accident raised questions about the safety of self-driving technology and the way companies prioritize scaling and market share over safety. The report reveals that Cruz executives failed to disclose crucial details about the incident, such as the fact that their vehicle dragged a pedestrian 20 feet. The report concludes that the omission was not intentional, but it damaged Cruz's credibility and led to significant consequences. The incident has broader implications for the driverless car industry and may result in a slowdown in regulatory progress for the technology.
Apple’s Vision Pro headset is now for sale in stores. Will it live up to the hype? Kevin Roose and Casey Newton tried it out to see. Then, in a high-profile congressional hearing on child safety and social media, Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta chief executive, made an apology to families of victims of online child abuse. Is new legislation on the horizon? And finally, what the collapse of Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company, means for the future of self-driving cars.