Mon. 06/16 – What Happens When Search Abandons The Web?
Ads finally come to WhatsApp. Are we about to get a literal Trump phone? More ads on your TV. All ads are about to become AI. And at the end of the show, a bit of an essay from me about Google, AI, and what I think is about to happen to the larger web, literally right now. Sponsors: AGNTCY.ORG QualiaLife.com/ride and code ride Links: WhatsApp Introduces Ads in Its App (NYTimes) Trump Mobile: President’s Company Unveils Wireless Service Delivered via AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, Plans to Launch a U.S.-Made ‘Sleek, Gold’ Android Smartphone (Variety) Amazon Ads & Roku Set Landmark Pact Giving Brands Access To 80% Of Connected-TV Households (Deadline) TikTok Pushes Deeper Into AI-Generated Video Ads With New Tools (Bloomberg) Google Search Is Fading. The Whole Internet Is At Risk. (Barron's) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 Juni 16min
Omnibus 06/09
Omnibus Week Of 06/09 Sign up for the ad-free feed at tech.supercast.tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
14 Juni 1h 24min
Fri. 06/13 – Stablecoins Everywhere
Do people know when they’re using the MetaAI app, it’s public? Chime had a successful IPO so let me tell you about my IPO-meter. The financials behind that fully-AI commercial running during the NBA playoffs. More signs stablecoins are taking over, but in the Longreads, do stablecoins represent a unique danger to the global financial system? Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/ride50off and code ride50off For a limited time only, get 35% off plus an additional 50% off your first order when you head to Smalls.com and use code RIDE Links: The Meta AI app is a privacy disaster (TechCrunch) Meta Risks Regulatory Scrutiny in Pursuit of Scale AI (Bloomberg) Apple Targets Spring 2026 for Release of Delayed Siri AI Upgrade (Bloomberg) Chime pops 37% in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range (CNBC) Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins (WSJ) Here’s the $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Why we should worry about the rise of stablecoins (FT) Nintendo Switch 2 review: bigger, faster, and the best handheld since Game Boy (The Shortcut) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 Juni 18min
Thu. 06/12 – Meta’s Big AI Acqui-hire
I explain how and why exactly this big Meta investment in Scale AI came about. Hollywood sues AI in a big way for the first time. A look at how stablecoins have mainstreamed crypto at long last. And episode number 205 of the long running series: we blew up traditional TV just to rebuild it. Links: Meta to Pay Nearly $15 Billion for Scale AI Stake and Startup’s 28-Year-Old CEO (The Information) Disney, NBCU sue Midjourney over copyright infringement (Axios) Wikipedia Pauses AI-Generated Summaries After Editor Backlash (404Media) How stablecoins are entering the financial mainstream (Financial Times) EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Doubles Prime Video Ads to 6 Minutes Per Hour (AdWeek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 Juni 16min
Wed. 06/11 – o3-pro
OpenAI rolls out an o3-pro model. Android one-ups iOS with a quick release. So far so good for the launch of the Switch 2. What is Google doing with its headcount? And is essentially a giant hologram the future of video calling? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: OpenAI releases o3-pro, a souped-up version of its o3 AI reasoning model (TechCrunch) God is hungry for Context: First thoughts on o3 pro (Latent Space) Google Releases the Android 16 OS Months Earlier Than Expected (CNET) Nintendo Switch 2 Sets Sales Record in Boon for Games Sector (Bloomberg) Elon Musk says Tesla robotaxi rides in Austin ‘tentatively’ set to begin June 22 (CNBC) Google Offers Buyouts to Employees in Search and Ads, Other Units (The Information) HP reveals $24,999 hardware created just for Google Beam (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
11 Juni 16min
Tue. 06/10 – Zuck’s Big AI Ambitions
Zuckerberg’s big ambitions for AI seem to be coming into focus. OpenAI is actively starting to play the field when it comes to compute. More signs AI is kneecapping web traffic. And what do we think? Is liquid glass a good design choice, or a cul-de-sac for Apple? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence’ (NYTimes) Zuckerberg Is Personally Recruiting New ‘Superintelligence’ AI Team at Meta (Bloomberg) Exclusive: OpenAI taps Google in unprecedented cloud deal despite AI rivalry, sources say (Reuters) Waymo halts service in downtown Los Angeles amid ICE protests (LA Times) News Sites Are Getting Crushed by Google’s New AI Tools (WSJ) Apple will end support for Intel Macs next year, macOS 27 will require Apple Silicon (9to5Mac) ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Hard to Read’: Designers React to Apple’s Liquid Glass Update (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 Juni 15min
Mon. 06/09 – WWDC 2025
All the headlines from WWDC. Microsoft unveils the first iteration of that handheld gaming strategy. Meta is considering its largest external AI investment yet. And did Apple researchers reveal that Large Language Model have a structural ceiling, and are we basically there? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: Hands-On With the Xbox Ally X, the New Gaming Handheld from Asus and Microsoft (IGN) Meta in Talks for Scale AI Investment That Could Top $10 Billion (Bloomberg) A knockout blow for LLMs? (Gary Marcus On AI) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 Juni 21min
Fri. 06/06 – IPO’s Back On The Menu?
Circle had such a successful IPO, I’m wondering if IPO’s might finally be back on the menu. Turns out Anthropic cut off Windsurf for the most obvious reason. Maybe Manus really is stoking a new gold rush, at least in China. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, the most consequential weather forecast of all time. Sponsors: Tonal.com Links: Stablecoin issuer Circle soars 168% in NYSE debut after pricing IPO above expected range (CNBC) Anthropic co-founder on cutting access to Windsurf: ‘It would be odd for us to sell Claude to OpenAI’ (TechCrunch) Anysphere, Hailed as Fastest Growing Startup Ever, Raises $900 Million (Bloomberg) Manus has kick-started an AI agent boom in China (MIT Technology Review) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela wants Hollywood to embrace AI video (The Verge) The Man Whose Weather Forecast Saved the World (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
6 Juni 17min
