769: Mommie Dearest Maxxing

Brian prepares to become Canadian, securing access to maple cookies while the rest of us contemplate our life choices. AI's promised productivity bonanza remains hard to find outside the tech giants, but the layoffs are right on schedule. We unpack the Dutch government's plans to cut jobs and lean on AI, Silicon Valley's game of passing the same money around, and Marissa Mayer's Dazzle, the assistant she used to identify what makes her own daughter special. Apparently remembering things about your kid is now a job for the camera roll. Welcome to Mommie Dearest Maxxing.

Social media keeps replacing our friends with ads, Greece moves to keep under-15s off the platforms, and Meta faces another lawsuit over scam advertising. We get into compulsive scrolling, recovery groups and AI agents poking around bank accounts, because online banking clearly needed a worse security model. Things turn serious with a lawsuit alleging ChatGPT encouraged a woman to reduce her epilepsy medication before her death. Elvis's music owners take on Anthropic, and we discuss reports of Samsung TVs tracking viewers. Your appliances have taken an interest in you, and it isn't affection.

Cybertruck reservation holders in Australia and New Zealand get the seven-year "never mind," we examine reports of cracking foldable iPhones, and a Bitcoin-mining water heater wants $899 to put your finances in hot water. Airbnb finally questions making paying guests do the laundry. Jason plugs Trackalot 2.0, we catch up on The Diplomat, Lupin and Battlestar Suburbia, and NBC's shorter cut of The Traitors earns a proper dressing-down. Jason has thoughts, and none of them are suitable for broadcast.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/769

Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/VcEgXmummZk

SHOW NOTES

AI delivers ‘zero financial payoff’ to most companies, Apollo economist says

Dutch government to cut 16 percent of workforce as part of AI efficiency push

Greece enacts social media ban for kids under 15

We’re addicted to social media. How do we get sober?

Rhode Island sues Meta over its approach to scam ads

Unauthorized AI agents are reportedly already accessing US bank accounts

Bank of America kindly asks that you don't share your banking password with your AI assistant

Elvis Presley's estate is suing Anthropic over copyright infringement

Former Yahoo CEO Needed AI to Help Describe What Makes Her Own Daughter Special

Woman Dies After ChatGPT Coached Her to Decrease Dose of Medication Prescribed by Doctor

World shares and U.S. futures are mixed after Google parent Alphabet's earnings disappoint

Nvidia, Meta deepen AI ties with $3 billion investment deal

Tesla says it will no longer release the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand

Tesla plans to start selling Cybercabs by the end of the year

The last, best hope for space tourism just rolled onto a runway in Arizona

The iPhone Duo Is 3 Days Old—And Screens Are Already Cracking

Trackalot 2.0 - Now FREE to Download!

Heatbit Says Your Water Heater Should Be Mining Bitcoin, and Now It Can

Airbnb bans hosts from making you do the dishes

The Diplomat

Lupin Part 4

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2

Battlestar Suburbia: A hilariously subversive space adventure

We Regret to Inform You That ‘Maxxing’ Is Dictionary.com’s 2026 Word of the Year

Actor Walter Koenig Dead at 90 ... Played Chekov in Original 'Star Trek' Series

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