730: Ethical Broads

Ep 730: Ethical Broads PRIVATE

We kick off FOLLOW UP with California’s AG sending a cease-and-desist to xAI over Grok generating creepy deepfakes of minors, while regulators finally notice Elon Musk’s xAI datacenter illegally running methane turbines in Memphis. The FTC is also appealing its loss in the Meta monopoly case, because apparently breaking up Zuckerberg’s data empire is still the hill they want to die on.

IN THE NEWS, Washington joins the age-verification-for-porn parade, the UK considers an Australia-style social media ban for kids under 16, and governments everywhere continue demanding your ID before you’re allowed to enjoy the internet. OpenAI rolls out age prediction for ChatGPT accounts ahead of a rumored adult mode—though hey, at least you can now group tabs in ChatGPT’s Atlas browser. Anthropic rewrites Claude’s “constitution” to make it more vibes-based, Nevada moves to block Polymarket because gambling is only legal when the house owns the house, and YouTube promises even more AI features in 2026. Elsewhere, a Swiss suicide pod gets an AI “mental fitness” upgrade, Microsoft’s CEO begs AI developers to do something useful before the grid collapses, Musk hunts for a $134 billion payday from OpenAI and Microsoft, and makes yet more Davos predictions about robotaxis and aliens that are absolutely happening this year. On the bright side, A-list creatives push back on AI and Comic-Con bans AI art, buying humans a little more time.

MEDIA CANDY finds us slogging through Wish, The Pitt, and the “Mel’s Diner in Space” look of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. We confirm 20-year-old CGI wargs still look terrible, get cautiously excited for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and note that Fallout Season 2’s weekly drops may not be working for a binge-rotted audience.

In APPS & DOODADS, X launches Bluesky-style starter packs—presumably to help you find more Nazis—while ICE becomes one of the most-blocked accounts on Bluesky. Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, proving the “federated future” is just another Zuck app. And yes, we think we know what the Apple AI pin is—and definitely what it isn’t.

AT THE LIBRARY, we check out The Elements, Jet Tila’s 101 Thai Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die, Half Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy, and Southern Living’s A Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen. Scott reports back from a Jim Butcher talk, where we learn Harry Dresden sounds suspiciously like Han Solo.

We close with THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, who is juggling five podcasts while reading Going to the Top: The Story of Videopolis, plus teasers for Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord and a baffling Masters of the Universe trailer, a rant on what “remastered” even means anymore, a dishwasher follow-up, and the grim news that a lot of snow is coming.

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Show notes at https://gog.show/730

Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/LiwVkLKr8Co

FOLLOW UP

California AG sends cease and desist to xAI over Grok's explicit deepfakes

Elon Musk’s xAI datacenter generating extra electricity illegally, regulator rules

Zuck stuck on Trump’s bad side: FTC appeals loss in Meta monopoly case

IN THE NEWS

Washington is the latest state pursuing an age verification law for porn sites

The UK is mulling an Australia-like social media ban for users under 16

OpenAI is launching age prediction for ChatGPT accounts

You can now group tabs on OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser

Anthropic Updates Claude's 'Constitution,' Just in Case Chatbot Has a Consciousness

Nevada files to block Polymarket from offering ‘unlicensed wagering’ in the state

YouTube CEO promises more AI features in 2026

Controversial Swiss Suicide Pod Gets an AI-Powered Mental Fitness Upgrade

Microsoft CEO urges AI developers 'to get to a point where we are using this to do something useful,' or 'lose even the social permission...to generate these tokens'

Elon Musk is looking for a $134 billion payout from OpenAI and Microsoft

Elon Musk Sure Made Lots of Predictions at Davos

A-List creatives sign up to fight AI, say it enables 'theft at a grand scale'

Comic-Con Bans AI Art After Artist Pushback

MEDIA CANDY

Wish

The Pitt

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

'Fallout' Season 2's Weekly Drops May Not Be Working

APPS & DOODADS

X is also launching Bluesky-like starter packs

ICE becomes one of the most-blocked accounts on Bluesky after its verification

Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows

I think I know what the Apple pin is, and definitely know what it isn't

Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras

Not to be outdone by OpenAI, Apple is reportedly developing an AI wearable

Siri’s iOS 27 upgrade sounds exactly right. Apple’s AI pin sounds exactly wrong

AT THE LIBRARY

The Elements by John Boyne

101 Thai Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die by Jet Tila

Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy: A Cookbook by Tieghan Gerard

Pestle

Southern Living A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen: Adventures in Cooking, Eating, and Living in the New South by Matt Moore

THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Going to the Top: The Story of Videopolis—Part One

Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord | Official Teaser Trailer | Streaming April 6 on Disney+

Masters of The Universe – Official Teaser Trailer

CLOSING SHOUT-OUTS

Classic-Era Scorpions Bassist Francis Buchholz Dies at 71

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