757: This Time With Chicks

The AI industry spent the week arguing with itself, which is honestly the healthiest thing it's done in years. One coalition led by Nvidia begged regulators not to slow down open AI models, while more than 1,100 AI workers signed another letter asking regulators to do exactly that. Anthropic warned about bioweapons, OpenAI admitted the four-hour workweek isn't happening after all, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella reminded everyone that building your entire business on someone else's AI is a fantastic way to outsource your own brain. In other words, the people selling the future still can't agree on what they're selling, except that you'd better buy it fast.

Meanwhile, the AI bubble keeps demanding sacrifices. Patreon, BuzzFeed, and Uber all swung the layoff axe while insisting AI isn't replacing humans... it's just reorganizing them out of a paycheck. Nvidia is floating another three-quarters of a trillion dollars in infrastructure deals that have people muttering "AI subprime mortgage crisis," China has discovered there's money in renting your face to AI companies, and the U.S. is carving data centers out of pollution rules because apparently acid rain is a small price to pay for chatbot dominance. Add in ChatGPT suddenly refusing to imitate famous authors, researchers discovering AI coding assistants are happily installing malware if you ask nicely, and Meta launching an ad campaign about the wonders of AI that somehow forgets to mention what any of those wonders actually are.

Elsewhere in Tech Hell™, eBay finally paid the price for its executives' unhinged harassment campaign involving pig masks and live insects, Elon is shopping The Boring Company while promising money won't matter in the AI utopia of 2036, and a traveler is headed to court after allegedly triggering GrapheneOS's "duress PIN" during a border search. We also hit Media Candy with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Silo, Blade Runner 2099 and Neuromancer, celebrate Dave Bittner's birthday, marvel at Jason's ever-growing Boneyard of dead websites, and somehow end up discussing thermal cameras, piano repair, and old-man bladder supplements. Because that's what happens when Gen X gets older - we just add more tabs instead of closing the old ones.

Sponsors:

DeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.

StoryBlocks - For a limited time, they’re offering 15% off any annual plan at storyblocks.com/gog

Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.

SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!

1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password

Show notes at https://gog.show/757

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

SHOW NOTES

EBay and Former Execs Will Pay $56 Million to Couple They Tormented With Bloody Pig Masks

As US weighs response to Chinese AI, industry urges against broad open-weight restrictions

AI researchers call for new tools that can slow automated model development

Over 1,100 AI workers sign letter asking US to support tools that 'pace the frontier of automated AI development'

Anthropic's Dario Amodei responds: doesn't oppose open-weight models, but fears Chinese AI

Amodei Denies Anthropic Supports Open-Weight AI Ban, Warns of China Risks

Sam Altman said AI hasn't led to 4-hour workweeks because people are competitive

Sam Altman Shuts Down Hopes of an AI-Led 4-Day Workweek Anytime Soon

OpenAI Proposes 32-Hour Pilot Incentives for Employers

Satya Nadella says companies that trust one AI for everything may not survive

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns companies relying on one AI model may not survive

OpenAI's rogue hacking incident was a warning shot. Will it be a wake-up call to finally create AI safety regulation?

Behind the Curtain: AI godfathers converge on regulations

Patreon is laying off 20 percent of its staff

AI Mania Is Eviscerating Global Decision-Making

BuzzFeed Lays Off 33 Percent of Remaining Staff After Bizarre Pivot to AI

Uber lays off 10 percent of its customer service team in favor of using AI

In China, people are renting out their faces to AI

As SpaceX Sheds a Tesla’s Worth of Value, Elon Musk Is Trying to Sell Investors on Another Company

How Much Charity Would It Take for People to Like Elon Musk?

ChatGPT is now refusing requests to write in famous authors' styles

Nvidia’s $750 Billion Deals Revive Fear of AI Circular Financing

The Trump administration is exempting data centers from pollution laws intended to prevent acid rain

US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a 'duress' password during border search

Meta launches new Facebook Verified badge for actual, real humans

Meta launches a storefront platform through Facebook Marketplace

Meta's pro-AI ad campaign is conspicuously light on AI

If You AI-Generate Code, Hackers Just Found a Devious Method to Install Malware Directly on Your Computer

Minions & Monsters

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Broadchurch S2

Silo

Ted Lasso Season 4 Trailer

Neuromancer — Official Teaser | Apple TV

Prime Video Finally Lifts the Lid on ‘Blade Runner 2099’

Star Trek: Section 31

Bad Deeds by Andrew Hunter Murray

Dave Bittner

The CyberWire

Hacking Humans

Caveat

Control Loop

Only Malware in the Building

Jason DeFillippo

Jurassic Park computers in excruciating detail

Who are the Mandalorians? | Star Wars: Galaxy Guide

HF96V Thermal Camera with Visual Camera & Laser Pointer, Intelligent Scene Detection, 240 * 240 Super Resolution Thermal Imaging Camera,25 Hz, 50° FOV, -4°F to 1022°F, IP54 Infrared Camera

Project Farm

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.