Tech News Time (Jason DeFillippo, Brian Schulmeister)
Explore every episode of Tech News Time
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Mar 2025 | TNT 003 - NSFW AI, Dumb Cars & Dumber Laws | 00:28:54 | |
In this week’s episode, we take a leisurely drive straight into the fake painted wall of tech insanity—Tesla-style. We kick things off with a jaw-dropper: people are using AI to generate influencers with Down syndrome… who then sell nudes. Yes, the apocalypse is here and it’s NSFW. Meanwhile, human intelligence is apparently in freefall—something that becomes painfully obvious when you watch a Cybertruck slam into a Wile E. Coyote-style fake tunnel wall. Spoiler: Elon’s Autopilot mistook it for a real road, proving once again that cameras might be cheaper than lidar, but dumber than a sack of bricks. Oh, and speaking of Elon, Tesla’s recalling 46,000 Cybertrucks due to faulty panels. Because of course they are. In the news, we dive into the surveillance state buffet, with ICE’s contractor keeping tabs on over 200 locations—no word yet if your grandma’s quilting circle made the list. CISA’s frantically dialing up the employees they illegally fired, like a bad ex who just realized they messed up. Rural broadband gets a gut punch as its director exits stage left, waving a middle finger at satellite internet. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s still trying to eat the world, pirated books be damned, and Elon fails (again) to pump the brakes on Sam Altman’s joyride. California’s A.B. 412 wants to give Big Tech a warm, snuggly monopoly on AI—and startups a swift kick in the nards. Over in EV land, China’s BYD flexes with lightning-fast charging tech while Tesla’s still trying to figure out how doors work. People Are Using AI to Create Influencers With Down Syndrome Who Sell Nudes Human Intelligence Sharply Declining Can You Fool A Self Driving Car? Tesla Autopilot drives into Wile E Coyote fake road wall in camera vs lidar test Tesla recalls more than 46,000 Cybertrucks over a faulty exterior panel The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring CISA scrambles to contact fired employees after court rules layoffs ‘unlawful’ Director of rural broadband program exits with a warning about shift to ‘worse’ satellite internet The court rejects Elon’s latest attempt to slow OpenAI down The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem California’s A.B. 412: A Bill That Could Crush Startups and Cement A Big Tech AI Monopoly OpenAI declares AI race “over” if training on copyrighted works isn’t fair use China's EV champ BYD reveals super-fast charging that leaves Tesla eating dust If you want more of this amazing goodness head over to https://gog.show/ and subscribe to the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. If the news is enough then you may have the rest of the day off! | |||
| 18 Apr 2025 | TNT 007 - Let Them Eat Space | 00:38:06 | |
This week, we blast off with a tale as old as grift: Fyre Fest 2 has been postponed—again—proving that you really can fail upward if you squint hard enough and wear enough white linen. Over at Automattic, employees discovered secret watermarks in their internal comms, because what workplace isn’t better with a sprinkle of corporate surveillance cosplay? Meanwhile, Katy Perry took a joyride to the upper atmosphere with Gayle King and Bezos’ better half, giving us the 2025 edition of the cringiest “Imagine”-style celebrity moment yet. Spoiler: no one needed this. If you want more of this amazing goodness head over to https://gog.show/ and subscribe to the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. If the news is enough then you may have the rest of the day off! | |||
| 14 Mar 2025 | TNT 002 - Why, Combinator? | 00:32:53 | |
It’s Pi Day, and while the world celebrates the most irrational number (besides crypto bros), we dive into a different kind of irrationality—the American oligarchy. Speaking of money, Deliveroo finally posted a profit, but their investors still had a hissy fit. Meanwhile, Americans lost a record-breaking $12.5 billion to scams last year, proving that AI, social media, and deepfake grandsons are really leveling up their grift game. The FCC is forming a Council for National Security, which sounds important until you realize it’s mostly about making sure China doesn’t win the AI arms race. And in the latest episode of “How Not to Run a Government,” the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fired cybersecurity experts like they were spam emails—until a judge called BS and ordered their reinstatement.
Deliveroo turns first annual profit as it plots bigger grocery push FTC says Americans lost $12.5B to scams last year — social media, AI, and crypto didn't help Consumer Reports finds popular voice cloning tools lack safeguards The FCC is creating a new Council for National Security within the agency DOGE axes CISA ‘red team’ staffers amid ongoing federal cuts Judge Calls DOGE Firings a ‘Sham,’ Orders Thousands of Workers to Be Reinstated ‘Immediately’ 20 Plagues Y Combinator Unleashed on the World Over the Last 20 Years ‘We Are Witnessing a New Brain Drain’ as Scientists Flee America for France Elon Musk claims bad actors in Ukraine are behind “massive“ X cyberattack The Real Reason Twitter Went Down Actually Sounds Pretty Embarrassing Developer convicted for “kill switch” code activated upon his termination Pinterest to Train AI Models on User Content U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment Waymo was slapped with nearly 600 parking tickets last year in SF alone Are We Inside a Black Hole? Wonky Galaxy Movements Suggest It’s Possible, Physicist Says If you want more of this amazing goodness head over to https://gog.show/ and subscribe to the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. If the news is enough then you may have the rest of the day off! | |||
| 11 Apr 2025 | TNT 006 - Confabulation and Frivolity | 00:30:40 | |
This week, the boys kick things off with some serious déjà vu as Fyre Fest’s favorite grifter promises he’s totally throwing another festival — because nothing says “I’ve changed” like doubling down on the same scam. Meanwhile, the IRS decided to become ICE’s BFF by casually sharing migrant tax data, and their commissioner moonwalks out right after. Also: Microsoft’s long game of “let OpenAI set the money on fire while we build empires” is going exactly as planned. I.R.S. Agrees to Share Migrants’ Tax Information With ICE IRS agrees to share tax data with immigration authorities Microsoft’s AI masterplan: Let OpenAI burn cash, then build on their successes Social Security Website Crashes Blamed on DOGE Software Update DOGE is reportedly using AI to monitor government comms for anti-Musk and anti-Trump chatter Here's All of the Data That Elon Musk's DOGE May Have on You and Your Family UK is going full Minority Report with ‘murder prediction’ research MIT study finds that AI doesn't, in fact, have values Elon Musk sets the stage for Tesla to bail out Twitter/xAI at an insane valuation Tesla Is So Cooked That It's Now Refusing to Accept Cybertrucks as Trade-Ins Justice Department Says It Will Pull Back on Prosecuting Crypto Fraud Citation Needed - Issue 81 – Crypto crime is legal by Molly White Reflexive AI use isn’t optional anymore Tech founder charged with fraud for 'AI' that was secretly overseas contract workers Pro Tip: Don’t Send Your AI Avatar to Testify for You in Court Trump’s TikTok Plan Upended by Chinese Objections Over Tariffs France to ban students from keeping smartphones in schools A Tiny Piece of Mouse Brain Has Finally Been Mapped in Mindblowing Detail If you want more of this amazing goodness head over to https://gog.show/ and subscribe to the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. If the news is enough then you may have the rest of the day off!
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| 07 Mar 2025 | TNT 001 - Welcome to the Party, Pal! | 00:35:58 | |
Techdirt has finally accepted the inevitable and gone full democracy blog—because let’s face it, politics and tech are now the same dumpster fire. Google rolled out AI Mode for Search, proving once again that the internet is just Clippy with better branding. Meanwhile, Billy McFarland insists Fyre Festival 2 is totally happening, despite Mexican officials pointing out that his coordinates literally lead to the ocean. Speaking of fraud, Tesla sales are in freefall thanks to Elon’s alt-right cosplay, and people are setting Teslas on fire in protest. And in rich-guy disconnect news, Google’s Sergey Brin thinks engineers should work 60-hour weeks to build the AI that will replace them. That’s some late-stage capitalism poetry right there. Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not) Google announces ‘AI Mode’ as a new way to use Search, testing starts today Government Officials for Announced Fyre Festival 2 Location Say Event “Does Not Exist” ‘I’m selling the Nazi mobile’: Tesla owners offload cars after Musk’s fascist-style salutes Tesla Just Got Even More Bad News Tesla Just Got News About Its Sales in Germany, and It Shows That Elon Musk Has Seriously Messed Up Cinema Giant Technicolor's Abrupt Shutdown Affects 10,000 Workers Worldwide US employers cut more jobs last month than any February since 2009 No part of Amazon is 'unaffected' by AI, says its head of AGI ChatGPT doubled its weekly active users in under 6 months, thanks to new releases Hugging Face's chief science officer worries AI is becoming 'yes-men on servers' OnlyFans Model Amouranth Held at Gunpoint for Her Crypto in Home Invasion Crypto Soars Then Plunges Following Trump’s Post About a Strategic Reserve Trump creates a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve one day ahead of White House crypto summit CFPB drops Zelle lawsuit in latest reversal under Trump administration Canadian Municpalities and the Canadian Supreme Court to stop using twitter. Ontario once again promises to nix $100 million Starlink deal over Trump tariffs OpenAI reportedly plans to charge up to $20,000 a month for specialized AI 'agents' Kevin Rose, Alexis Ohanian acquire Digg Does the World Even Want Digg in 2025? Scrolling Through Social Media Has a Unique Effect on Your Body SpaceX's latest Starship test flight ends with another explosion A second Intuitive Machines spacecraft just landed on the moon — and probably tipped over Touch down on the moon with private Blue Ghost lander in this amazing video If you want more of this amazing goodness head over to https://gog.show/ and subscribe to the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. If the news is enough then you may have the rest of the day off! | |||
| 28 Mar 2025 | TNT 004 - An Insult to Life Itself | 00:38:02 | |
The Dunning-Kruger Effect is alive, well, and running the show. Elon’s approval rating is cratering while experts warn he could blow a hole in federal spending; war plans are accidentally texted, and top U.S. officials’ passwords are found online; 23andMe files for bankruptcy; TikTok attempts a patriotic glow-up to stay alive in the U.S.; OpenAI admits trying to make chatbots honest, while research shows lonely users are emotionally clinging to ChatGPT; Amazon wants the Consumer Product Safety Commission erased; SEVERANCE, and more! DOGE’s Supposed Savings Are About to Cost the U.S. a Lot of Money Elon Musk's Approval Rating Is 'Falling Through the Floor,' Polls Show The Guy Who Predicted the 2008 Crash Issues Warning About Elon Musk Torpedoing Federal Spending The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online DNA testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy as demand dries up How to delete your 23andMe data OpenAI Says Disciplining Chatbots for Lying Just Makes Them Worse OpenAI CEO Responds to ChatGPT Users Creating Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images Early methods for studying affective use and emotional well-being in ChatGPT Joint studies from OpenAI and MIT found links between loneliness and ChatGPT use Amazon wants the Consumer Product Safety Commission deemed 'unconstitutional' US lifts sanctions on Tornado Cash Trump-backed crypto bank joins stablecoin wars with new dollar-pegged token The 560-pound Twitter logo has sold for $34,000 Tesla halts driving-assistance software trial in China, pending approval
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| 04 Apr 2025 | TNT 005 - Cry Me A River (to Cool Off My AI) | 00:37:28 | |
This week, the Geeks wade into a swamp of tech meltdowns, governmental facepalms, and the usual Elon-flavored absurdity. Kicking things off, protesters take their beef with Tesla to the streets while Proud Boys decide this is the hill to vroom and die on. Meanwhile, Elon’s privacy prayers have finally been answered—thanks to new FAA rules, he and Tay-Tay can jet around untracked like it’s 1999. Oh, and while Earth dodges a killer asteroid, the Moon might be signing up for an unplanned smackdown. Sorry, Luna. Crowds Turn Out Across the U.S. for ‘Tesla Takedown’ Protests The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla’s Defense Taylor Swift and Elon Can Finally Fly Private Without Being Tracked Thanks to New FAA Rule Earth Is Safe From Menacing Asteroid—but Our Moon Might Take the Hit Republican chair of Senate Armed Services Committee calls for investigation into Signal chat DoD Inspector General Says He’s Looking Into SignalGate Waltz’s team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world NSA warned of vulnerabilities in Signal app a month before Houthi strike chat Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, just purchased X, Elon Musk's social media company Trump kicks off sale of $2.3bn Truth Social stake You’ll Never Guess What Happened to Trump’s Meme Coin After He Announced His Tariffs OpenAI: New funding to build towards AGI Oxygen Levels in Earth's Lakes Are Plummeting, Study Reveals ChatGPT users have generated over 700M images since last week, OpenAI says First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits US Senate committee opens review into Meta’s efforts to gain access to China Brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis restores naturalistic speech Generative AI Leadership & Strategy Specialization President Trump’s War on ‘Information Silos’ Is Bad News for Your Personal Data
If you want more of this amazing goodness head over to https://gog.show/ and subscribe to the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. If the news is enough then you may have the rest of the day off! | |||