Tech Talk

On this oddly timed edition, Matt and Rich hike into the uncanny valleys of machine music. From the Laurel Canyon folk rockers that never existed, to featured artist scams, AI generated music is heading to a playlist near you.  Is Mattsplained’s new country anthem AI slop or simply the best? Does Richard really own a sequined jumpsuit or have his own intro music to announce it? These are ques...

Malaysia is producing more tech graduates than ever, yet many still struggle to land the right jobs. Hackathons are changing that — evolving from coding contests into platforms for peer learning, coaching, and real-world problem solving. Alex Liew, Chairman at PIKOM, and TK Choo, Director at Kabel, join us to unpack how hackathons are bridging the employability gap while helping businesses attract...

Like a hungry Pac-Man after too many power ups, AI is coming for the career ladder itself. The grunt work is gone, replaced by break-free LLMs, while coffee machines ping mournfully ping inside empty office spaces. This week Matt and Rich explore the empirical implications of AI in the workplace. A generational hollowing out of talent. The $10,000 search for work. The grey ceiling facing Gen X exe...

AI is reshaping industries worldwide, but Malaysia’s digital journey has its own challenges and opportunities. We speak with Prateek Pashine, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at Maxis, about a new IDC Infobrief study commissioned by Maxis Business, the B2B arm of leading integrated telco Maxis, on AI adoption and digital transformation among Malaysian enterprises. They discuss how Malaysian busin...

Decades of mid-morning mania, questionable (sleep) hygiene and an anesthetist’s worst nightmare, Matt Armitage is the closest thing to being professionally awake we can imagine. Coherence is a separate issue.  Rich and Matt explore the contradictions and myth of that eternal essential: sleep. Looking at the scale of sleep problems, the emerging science and policy around sleep and the sometime...

AI isn’t just helping us shop anymore—it’s starting to decide how we shop. In Southeast Asia, and especially in Malaysia, consumers are embracing AI but still asking the big question: Can we trust it? In this episode, we unpack SleekFlow’s latest Southeast Asia AI Whitepaper and explore the launch of AgentFlow, their new sales-first AI agent designed to power the next generation of e-commerce omni...

The brain worms might be slowing him down this week, but Matt Armitage is no stranger to parasites. This week we’re back inside the world of startups, fraud and outright scams. From the accounting magic of Enron to the gilded isles of FTX, Matt and Rich explore the threads that tie them together.  Is it greed, FOMO, a hero in a half shell (it’ll make sense once you listen)? As AI enters the m...

Online safety has always been a concern, but in a world increasingly shaped by AI, scams, and digital manipulation, it’s become a critical public issue. New Zealand-based NGO Netsafe has been working on the frontlines of online harm for over two decades, empowered by the Harmful Digital Communications Act to receive complaints, investigate abuse, and mediate digital disputes. We speak with Brent C...

This week’s episode might sound like a Flaming Lips album title but robot bunnies really are fighting Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. With the help of heat pads, perfumes and good old Florida Man. We bust the myth of the 10k step count and unlock new health loot boxes, and we trace the success of mRNA vaccines during the pandemic to new developments to create a universal vaccine for can...

In this episode of Tech Talk, we dive into how CelcomDigi is helping businesses strengthen their cybersecurity posture in an increasingly complex digital landscape. Ts. Afizulazha Abdullah, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at CelcomDigi, and Keane Leong, Group CEO of Bridgenet, share how scalable, NACSA-certified solutions are empowering businesses of all sizes to stay secure, compliant, and read...

An awkward clinch on a jumbotron is an odd place for Matt and Rich to start their thoughts, but, in 2025, the world of tech is a strange place to be. Is this case of inopportune infidelity a teachable moment? Is it an illustration of the pervasive power of surveillance capitalism? The swift justice of netizens? The tone-deaf detachment of tech elites? All or none of the above? Matt and Rich take t...

As Singapore rolls out its National AI Strategy 2.0, the region is signaling a strong focus on AI as part of its economic and digital future. SapiensAI, creator of Agnes—an AI-powered workspace designed to streamline tasks traditionally handled by tools like Microsoft Office, Adobe Suite, and Visual Studio. Bruce Yang, Co-Founder of SapiensAI, joins us to discuss what goes into building an AI-nati...

Grok. It’s the best AI out there.* If you want a crash course in what AI should and shouldn’t be, Grok is the model to head for. At least that’s the opinion of resident crackbot…crackpot, Matt Armitage. Matt claims that Elon Musk’s gaffe-prone politically incorrect chatbot may be the most teachable example of the abilities and limitations of AI models.  *Richard Bradbury would like to make it...

When it comes to health tech, most of us think gadgets, not gut bacteria. But what if the future of medicine isn’t wearable, it’s microbial? We dive into the cutting-edge world of the gut microbiome with Professor Francis Chan, gastroenterologist, scientist, and co-founder of GenieBiome. From AI-designed probiotics to region-specific gut databases, discover how our microbes could hold the key to t...

We’re no strangers to flights of fantasy here. So, it makes a change to be explaining scams rather than apologizing for them. Or so Matt keeps telling Richard.  This week we look at the murky innards of a company that was, until recently, one of Silicon Valley’s billion-dollar unicorns. The LCNC (low-code no-code) app developer Builder.ai filed for bankruptcy in June after a turbulent year.&n...

They promise to check your grammar and boost your productivity, but are your browser extensions a hidden backdoor for data theft? A recent wave of attacks saw even popular, verified extensions on Chrome and Edge compromised, turning trusted tools into surveillance weapons that can monitor your activity and steal your data. Cybersecurity expert CF Fong, Executive Chairman of LGMS Berhad, joins us t...

Malaysia’s fintech scene is booming on the surface, but underneath, many startups are still stuck at the MVP stage, blocked by legacy systems, fragmented infrastructure, and regulatory red tape. Despite the KL20 vision of becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia, the disconnect between banks and startups remains a serious bottleneck. We speak with Mike Breen, Chief Commercial Officer at Audax, as he ta...

Malaysia’s fintech scene is booming on the surface, but underneath, many startups are still stuck at the MVP stage, blocked by legacy systems, fragmented infrastructure, and regulatory red tape. Despite the KL20 vision of becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia, the disconnect between banks and startups remains a serious bottleneck. We speak with Mike Breen, Chief Commercial Officer at Audax, as he ta...

We’re talking about a term that’s been making its way into boardrooms and vendor pitches alike: Agentic AI. It’s being positioned as the next leap forward in how businesses operate – helping teams make faster decisions, improve productivity, and streamline processes across departments, from finance to customer service. But as excitement grows, so does the confusion. To help us make sense of it all...

If you are fluent in Windows 95, if you can transfer files to and from a floppy disk, if you can write notes on paper, there may be exciting career opportunities for you in air traffic control. As the world (aka Matt) gets ready to go on its holidays, our thoughts turn to the remarkably analogue world of the world’s air traffic management systems. Richard Bradbury and Matt Armitage marvel at the r...

Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG, gets thrown around a lot. But for many businesses, it still feels confusing, costly, and out of reach. But what if ESG wasn’t just about ticking boxes to impress regulators? What if it could actually be a strategic advantage and technology made it practical? We speak with Benjamin Soh, founder of ESGpedia, a platform born from fintech firm STACS that’...

As Apple quietly pivots from AI to UI, and a lawsuit from Reddit challenges the do no harm credentials of ethical AI developer Anthropic, Rich Bradbury and Matt Armitage are left wondering if words mean anything anymore? As the machines get more complex, it becomes ever more important to understand that when the tech industry talks about emotional intelligence and understanding, they don’t mean it...

What does it really take to build cyber resilience in a world where the threats are smarter, faster, and evolving in real time? We speak with Dr Craig Martell, Chief AI Officer at Cohesity about the changing nature of risk, the role AI can play in response and recovery, and why treating data like just another asset might be the most dangerous mindset of all. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystud...

A little over 100 years ago electric vehicles were everywhere. They outsold petrol machines, were faster, cleaner and more reliable. And then, in the space of a few years, they went away generations. Rich and Matt look at this remarkable rise and fall and ask if the continued rise of the EV in the 21st Century EV is inevitable and unstoppable? Or if it could become a historical footnote? Again. An...

Microsoft’s Cyber Signals report suggests that the company blocks about 1.6 million bot signup attempts per hour, and has already stopped over $4 billion in fraud in just a span of a year. To fight fire with fire, the company is also rolling out new tools, from digital fingerprinting to typo protection in Microsoft Edge, and plan to evolve their large-scale AI detection systems. But, are these too...