MacVoices #26140: Live! - Training AI at Work, AI Tools, Legal Slop, and Apple Ecosystem Value

The ethics of companies tracking employee keystrokes, mouse movement, and device use to train AI is debated by Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, Guy Serle, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs and Eric Bolden. Issues of legality, consent, compensation, and workplace power dynamics all factor into the issue. They also examine AI-generated legal errors, the need for human review, creative AI tools from Astropad and Adobe, and the value proposition of entering the Apple ecosystem with lower-cost devices.

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Show Notes:

Chapters:

00:00 Opening Topics: AI Training, Legal Errors, and Apple Ecosystem Value
00:28 Employee Keystroke Tracking and AI Training Ethics
02:09 Comparisons to Insurance Tracking and Consent
04:11 Employment Terms, Disclosure, and Renegotiation
08:02 Tracking as an HR Problem Versus a Productivity Tool
12:48 Legal Gaps, Data Sharing, and Third-Party Privacy Concerns
15:34 Business Judgment, Company Devices, and Employee Expectations
18:32 Astropad's AI-Era Tools and Adobe Firefly Assistant
23:40 AI Errors in Legal Filings and Professional Accountability
27:15 Using AI Correctly With Human Review
30:17 Industry Rollouts, Training Gaps, and Future Mistakes
36:33 Apple Ecosystem Pricing and Value Proposition
38:00 Panel Wrap-Up and Guest Locations
46:06 Closing Comments and Show Information

Links:

A Full Apple Ecosystem Now Costs Less Than a MacBook Pro

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/23/apple-ecosystem-now-costs-less-than-macbook-pro/

Meta tracking employee keystrokes to train AI is probably legal. Experts say that doesn't make it ethical

https://www.fastcompany.com/91530650/meta-tracking-employees-ai-training-legal-not-ethical

Top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell told a US federal bankruptcy court that a major filing it made in a high-profile case contained multiple AI hallucinations

https://www.techmeme.com/260421/p53

This detail about Apple's CEO transition shows the company can still keep important secrets - 9to5Mac

https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/21/this-detail-about-apples-ceo-transition-shows-the-company-can-still-keep-important-secrets/

Apple stock is having a surprisingly muted reaction to CEO Tim Cook's exit. Here are 3 reasons why

https://www.fastcompany.com/91529987/apple-stock-reacts-surprisingly-ceo-tim-cook-exit-3-reasons-why

Perplexity's Personal Computer AI assistant feature launches on Mac for subscribers - 9to5Mac

https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/16/perplexitys-personal-computer-ai-assistant-feature-launches-on-mac-for-subscribers/

Astropad unveils Workbench for Mac: 'Remote desktop made for the AI era' - 9to5Mac

https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/08/astropad-unveils-workbench-for-mac-remote-desktop-made-for-the-ai-era/

Adobe launches Firefly AI Assistant to orchestrate tasks across Creative Cloud

https://thenextweb.com/news/adobe-firefly-ai-assistant-creative-cloud-agentic-workflows

Guests:

Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky.

Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast.

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud.

Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet.

David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud.

Marty Jencius, Ph.D.,is a counselor educator and technology pioneer who has spent 30 years bringing emerging tech into his field — from founding one of the first professional listservs (CESNET-L) to podcasting, virtual reality, and now AI and AR. He is the founder of ThePodTalk.net, where he produces Vision ProFiles, The Old Mac Gang, A.I. Productivity Workflow, The Tech Savvy Professor, 15 Minute Bytes, The Neo Notebook, and Fade to Chat: Golden Age Cinema. He is also a regular panelist on MacVoices Live!, In Touch with iOS, and The Mac Show. Find him on Bluesky and Mastodon.

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.

Guy Serle, best known for being one of the co-hosts of the MyMac Podcast, sincerely apologizes for anything he has done or caused to have happened while in possession of dangerous podcasting equipment. He should know better but being a blonde from Florida means he's probably incapable of understanding the damage he has wrought. Guy is also the author of the novel, The Maltese Cube. You can follow his exploits on Twitter, catch him on Mac to the Future on Facebook, at @Macparrot@mastodon.social, and find everything at VertShark.com.

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Connect:

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