

Daily Tech News Show
Tom Merritt
Tom Merritt and the team help you stay up to date with an independent, authoritative and trustworthy tech news briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 1, 2023 • 31min
Ask Your Doctor if ChatGPT is Right for You - DTNS 4510
Geoffrey Hinton, 2018 Turing Award winner for his foundational work in AI, recently left Google so he could speak freely about the dangers of AI without negatively impacting Google whom he believes has acted responsibly in its AI roll-out. Is juice jacking a real threat to users of up to date smartphones? And JAMA has a story about the comparison between real physicians and ChatGPT answering patient questions.Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Chris Ashley, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 28, 2023 • 34min
Don't Fall For The Cozy Bear Honey Pot - DTNS 4509
We get a RSA Conference wrap-up from David Spark, ask why there's no standardized threat actor naming convention, and Reddit began testing persistent chat channels with 25 volunteer subreddits. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, David Spark, Roger Chang, JoeShow notes here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 27, 2023 • 31min
Voltage Irregularities – DTNS 4508
How has cloud computing, data centers and generative AI increased the demand for fossil fuel energy instead of reducing it? Chicago’s Human Computer Integration Lab demonstrated a way to give you haptic feedback in VR without anything on the front of your hand. IDC reports that smart phone sales fell 1.6% on the year. That’s the 7th straight quarter that smartphones sales have fallen year over year.Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Molly Wood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, AmosLink to show notes here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 26, 2023 • 31min
AI Sentient Fear is All in Your Head - DTNS 4507
We further explore the fear people have over generative AI tools by taking a look at what AI firms are doing to stoke those fears. While Netflix saw growth in its North American subscriptions for its service the number abroad has dropped. Is it temporary or signs of a more concerning problem? And Microsoft still hopes it can convince the UK Competition and Markets Authority to allow the company to acquire Blizzard Activision.Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, AmosFull episode show notes here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 25, 2023 • 30min
Social Media Wears Me Out - DTNS 4506
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said the company will stop making the Chevy Bolt EVs with Michigan plants that makes them converting to making electric trucks by 2024. AT&T helps complete the first successful test mobile phone call from Texas to Japan, via an AST SpaceMobile BlueWalker 3 satellite. And does Social Media tires you out and makes you more likely to buy unnecessary things?Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, AmosView full show notes here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 24, 2023 • 31min
Gamers Get Old Too - DTNS 4505
Canadian musician Grimes Tweeted she would split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that used her voice. Is this a sign musicians see generative AI differently that their labels? How is BeReal responding to waning interest in the platform? And with AARP statistics reporting at least 45% of people over the age of 50 still regularly play video games we ask if older gamers are being overlooked?Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Scott Johnson, Brian Ibbott, Roger Chang, Joe, AmosView the show notes here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 21, 2023 • 34min
Lucky is Bad Security Advice - DTNS 4504
Humane, a startup founded by two ex-Apple employees, demoed a wearable personal assistant device that doesn’t need to pair with a smartphone. Proton, the Swiss company that created a secure private mail service called Proton Mail has announced a beta of password managers service called Proton Pass. And how are the costs of generative AI stacking for companies developing the technology?Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 20, 2023 • 31min
Deep Mind Now Has Brains! - DTNS 4503
We have an excerpt from “A Word with Tom Merritt” where Tom talks with cyber-ethnography researcher and writer, Ruby Justice Thélot, about how people evaluate the veracity or truthfulness of information they find on the internet. And we share internal misgivings from inside Google about the issues with its ChatGPT competitor Bard and its not ready for primetime functionality.Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Megan Morrone, Ruby Justice Thélot, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 19, 2023 • 30min
Call Of AI: Garden Warfare - DTNS 4502
Canadian startup Precision AI has developed an AI crop-spraying drone that can reduce herbicide use by up to 90%. And we look at the big stories coming out of Netflix’s earnings report Tuesday including subscriber growth, password sharing crackdown, and technical issues that stopped the live streaming of Love Is Blind.Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 18, 2023 • 31min
There's No Place Like Mastodon - DTNS 4501
How does the decentralized nature of Mastodon make the social media experience different from other social media platforms and what kind of expectations should people have? Amazon Prime Video now has a “Dialogue Boost” in select shows in English. And Nvidia is reaping the rewards of its push towards AI GPGPU designs. Is this a space ripe for a competing player?Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Annalee Newitz, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.