This week, we saddle up for another bumpy ride through the dystopian tech clown show. We kick off with the surveillance state’s greatest hits: ICE raids sweeping L.A., a website literally called FuckLAPD.com that lets you ID cops by their mug shots, and a Norwegian tourist who learned the hard way that having a JD Vance chipmunk meme on your phone is now grounds for deportation. Pro tip: if you’re traveling to the U.S., you might want to wrap your phone in lead and bury it in a cornfield.
In the news, Big Balls has apparently rolled his way from Elon’s Department of Government Efficiency to the Social Security Administration—because nothing says “government modernization” like a 19-year-old tech bro with a meme nickname. Meanwhile, Tesla robotaxis are hitting the roads (and maybe a few pedestrians) with human babysitters in tow, Waymo and Uber are turning Atlanta into Blade Runner Lite, and Texas wants a permit for your self-driving car. Over in AI hell, judges can’t agree if training your chatbot on stolen books is fair use or just digital asbestos. YouTube, never one to miss a race to the bottom, is rolling out an AI Slop button so you can crank up the crap to 11.
In Media Candy, Russell Crowe is beefing up his IMDb with Highlander, Henry Cavill is along for the ride, and Anthony Bourdain Day is apparently a thing (even though he’d have rolled his eyes at it). We also dig into everything from Minecraft movies to the sad demise of Blue Microphones at the hands of Logitech. Plus, Dave Bittner drops by to commiserate about malware, retro gaming handhelds, and why some Star Wars maps are basically porn for nerds. And yes—Windows is finally killing the Blue Screen of Death, proving even Microsoft can eventually learn to read the room.
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Show notes at https://gog.show/703
FOLLOW UP
The mad scramble to track ICE raids across L.A. County
‘FuckLAPD.com’ Lets Anyone Use Facial Recognition to Instantly Identify Cops
European tourist denied entry to US over JD Vance meme on his phone
'My Bad:' Babyface Vance Meme Creator On Norwegian Tourist's Detainment
Travelling to the U.S.? Here's a guide to locking down phones and other devices
IN THE NEWS
The Tyranny of ‘Big Balls’ Has Come to an End
‘Big Balls’ Is Now at the Social Security Administration
‘Techno King’ Elon Musk Doesn’t Own a Computer, His Lawyers Tell Court
Tesla's inaugural Robotaxi rides will have a human 'safety monitor' on board
Tesla's first robotaxi rides are already running into a few bumps
Waymo and Uber launch robotaxi service in Atlanta
Texas will require permits for self-driving cars starting in September
What We Know So Far About the Supposed ‘Mother of All Data Breaches’
The Oversight Board calls Meta's uneven AI moderation 'incoherent and unjustifiable'
Judge rules Anthropic's AI training on copyrighted materials is fair use
Meta Wins Blockbuster AI Copyright Case—but There’s a Catch
Judge: Pirate libraries may have profited from Meta torrenting 80TB of books
Two Courts Rule On Generative AI and Fair Use — One Gets It Right
YouTube Will Add an AI Slop Button Thanks to Google’s Veo 3
AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
For the first time, social media overtakes TV as Americans’ top news source
First images from the largest camera ever built reveal millions of galaxies
MEDIA CANDY
Russell Crowe Lends His Russell Crowe-ness to ‘Highlander’
Anthony Bourdain didn't say that (but we wish he did)
How to celebrate Bourdain Day, a thing Tony probably would have hated
Doug Liman Will Attempt to Cram Stephen King’s Epic Novel ‘The Stand’ Into a Single Movie
The Dead Zone on Amazon Prime Video
‘The boys got sex. I got poetry’: what Britpop was like for women
The Story Behind the Song: The Bangle’s Susanne Hoffs - Eternal Flame
APPS & DOODADS
Brave keeps opening google app
Windows is finally kicking the Blue Screen of Death to the curb
Philips Hue says US prices will go up in July because of tariffs
iPhone Users Upset About Apple Promoting F1 Movie With Wallet App Notification
HDMI 2.2's full specs have been finalized, with better support for modern displays
THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE
I Can’t Stop Staring at This Massive ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy Map
Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts
DRAGON GRIP- The Martial Arts Sound Effects Toy
Reminds me of Weird Al poking fun of this in the “Fat” video
How Logitech Killed A Great Microphone Company - The History of Blue Microphones
Homemade Disneyland Star Tours Attraction (Full Ride Experience)
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