TechStuff

From ghostly AI to hacker goblins, we get a rundown on what's going on in the tech space. The US President issues an executive order about artificial intelligence, X reveals in internal documents that the company's value has dropped by more than 50% over the last year, and a little software company in the UK is trying to take on the mega corporation Meta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Charles Babbage was a man ahead of his time. He was an engineer, inventor, mathematician, and grouchy pants. We learn more about this historic figure and his creations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The USB has become a standard port in tech. How did it get started and how does it work? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pro-Russian hackers have found and exploited a vulnerability in a popular webmail app. Researchers found a very complicated way to compromise certain Apple devices. Slack has ended support for X/Twitter integration. Plus lots more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our third episode about the silly Ig Nobel prizes, we learn about music playing in a place you wouldn't expect, a clawed machine for changing diapers, and whether or not you'll feel more pain if you're looking at ugly art. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tool called Nightshade could give human artists the poison they need to sabotage generative AI. Google and Apple disable live traffic data in the region around the Gaza Strip. And NASA pushed a software update out to Voyager 1 as it hurtles through interstellar space. Plus more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neuroscientist David Eagleman joins the show to talk about lighthearted topics ranging from the nature of consciousness to the intersection of technology and the grey matter that lives in our skulls. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once upon a time, a text-based Internet navigation system was poised to become the primary way we interact with the net. What happened? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A special council convened to discuss how Chinese hackers pose a massive threat to national security. A hacker released information on millions of 23andMe customers, prompting the company to suggest the customers were at fault. And Elon Musk gave investors a bit of a reality check on the Cybertruck. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype for 8.5 billion dollars. What happened next? What did the giant tech company have in mind, and how did things pan out? And why did Zoom become the go-to conferencing solution during the pandemic instead of Skype? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To deploy responsible AI and build trust with customers, businesses need to prioritize AI governance. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Laurie Santos discuss AI accountability with Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy and Trust Officer at IBM. They chat about AI regulation, what compliance means in the AI age, and why transparent AI governance is good for business. Visit...

How is Skype related to Kazaa? What does a peer-to-peer network do? And was the eBay acquisition of Skype really one of the worst deals in tech history (spoiler: no it was not)? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From catapults to ballista, we explore the world of siege engines. Which ones were real? Which are fantasy? And how did they work? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last April, National Public Radio (NPR) closed out its Twitter accounts. Six months later, NPR leadership says that the impact to NPR has been negligible. Could this mean more organizations will say goodbye to Musk's platform? Plus, news about a massive DDoS attack, why we'll be seeing a lot more of AI in the near future, and an update on Sam Bankman-Fried's court case. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Intelligence researchers lament that X has become so rife with disinformation that there's no good way to use it while tracking tumultuous events like the war in Israel. The FCC is gearing up for a fight with US broadband companies. And did Disney unknowingly use an AI-generated stock image to promote Loki season 2? Plus more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in 2020, we did a three-part series on the history of Ubisoft. What's been going on since then? And what's the story behind the troubled development of the pirate-themed game Skull & Bones? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From humble beginnings to massive success, we follow the rest of the id Software story. When did the founders leave and why? And what's going on there now? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an episode with perhaps the most SEO-friendly title in TechStuff history, we learn about how someone used an AI-generated version of YouTuber MrBeast to advertise a scammy deal, how the FTC alleges that Amazon used a secret algorithm to fix prices and squash competition, and how Facebook Messenger users proved that Meta's tool for AI-generated stickers might need a bit more work. See omnystudio...

A slightly sick Jonathan is back to talk about some past winners of the Ig Nobel Prize. Learn about how a wasabi-spraying alarm could save lives, how an inventor planned to recreate a classic cartoon trap, and how a bra might be just the thing during the next pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Open-source innovation is the future of AI. In this episode of  Smart Talks   with IBM , Malcolm Gladwell and Tim Harford discuss the open-source AI community with Jeff Boudier, head of product and growth at Hugging Face. They chat about the history and future of open-source AI, its critical importance to AI progress, the IBM watsonx partnership with Hugging Face, and how businesses can leverage o...

It's hard to hold onto information. Paradoxically, it can also be hard to get rid of it. In this episode, we look at why long-term data preservation is a challenge, and the lengths people will go to in order to clear out digital information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They made games like Doom and Quake, but where did id Software come from? In this episode, we explore the origins of a major name in computer games. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chinese-backed hackers are infiltrating computer systems by compromising routers. Some security researchers say that modern GPUs can steal pixels right off a web site. And Microsoft encounters yet more resistance regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1991, the editor of a satirical science journal launched an award for the scientifically ridiculous (and ridiculed), the Ig Nobel Prize. Learn how it all got started and some of the early tech-related prize winners! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the administration of Barack Obama, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tried to codify net neutrality into US law. Then, during the Trump administration, the new FCC stripped net neutrality out again. This week, the FCC once again tries to establish an official US stance on net neutrality. Plus more news! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.