Today in Tech

New research says that a weakening economy and consumers holding onto their phones for longer period are driving smartphone sales to decline to their lowest volume in a decade. Also, Keith and Chris discuss whether companies should disclose if they use AI to generate content, whether generations have different opinions on subscription loyalty, and whether self-checkouts at supermarkets needs to ha...

With the election cycle heating up for 2024, is there anything we can do to stop political deepfake images, video or audio from influencing voters’ minds? Or is it too late to put this genie back in the bottle? Keith chats with Matthew Write, a professor of computing security at RIT and a member of the DeFake Project, which aims to detect deepfakes and help journalists determine whether something...

The old era of a heroic boss leading his team into ‘battle’ are long gone, given the exponential growth of disruption in the workplace. Keith chats with Ron Gutman, an adjunct professor at Stanford University and innovator on leadership issues, about how bosses and other company leaders need to adopt an anti-heroic persona.

The role of copyright law and Big Tech and the rights of content creators seem to be all heading towards legislation, regulations or court cases. Keith and Chris talk about this in context of Google/YouTube and their music deal with publishers; and whether Amazon used AI art in its new Fallout TV show. We also talk about good news for PC shipments, whether screens are causing myopia, and how AI is...

Technology that can create artificial intelligent avatars of humans is now moving beyond just celebrities and politicians. Influencers, news anchors, college professors and even brand mascots may soon have AI avatars that can interact with customers. Keith chats with Joe Murphy, a technology evangelist with DeepBrain AI, about AI avatars and how they will change the world to help people get more d...

AI technology that can duplicate a person’s voice and likeness is not just a concern for Hollywood actors and Washington, D.C. politicians. The potential for people using AI avatars and other tools could affect everything from marketing professionals to the CEO. Chris Lavigne from Wistia joins the show to discuss how AI tools can help in video production, but also how employees need to better prot...

Artificial intelligence and its effect on cybersecurity (both good and bad) was one of the hottest topics at the annual Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. Keith chats with security writer and editor Joan Goodchild about the biggest trends from the show.

Robots and self-driving cars continue to get themselves in trouble, but humans aren’t really helping the situation either. Keith and Chris discuss how people keep messing around with (and in) self-driving cars, as well as other technology news topics. Also, is Elon Musk a supervillain or anti-hero?

Years of security solutions have not made the Internet more secure, as reports of new attacks and data breaches occurring regularly. The issue is a broken system based on an incorrect assumption of what security is. Keith talks with Wes Kussmaul, CTO of The Authenticity Alliance, about how authenticity and better identification management can solve many of today’s security problems.

Companies are now competing to bring in workers who are talented in the artificial intelligence space, with huge salary offers, including companies like Amazon and Netflix. Keith and Chris discuss this push for AI talent and whether it will last; whether price hikes in streaming services will cause consumers to cancel; and whether TikTok will ever change its recommendation algorithm for U.S. users...

Despite hype and negative headlines about generative AI and tools like ChatGPT, companies are finding useful and efficient uses for the tools. We chat with Ajay Mohan, a principal of AI and analytics at Capgemini, about the ways in which businesses will deploy generative AI tools.

When Zoom gives up on employees being able to work fully remote, you know the remote-work movement is on its last legs. Keith and Chris discuss whether hybrid work is the compromise we all need, or if it’s back to the past with 5-day-a-week, in-the-office work for everyone. Plus, Disney raises rates on streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu, despite having really bad content; and why some EV owners...

The newest version of Wi-Fi (version 6E) allows for higher capacity and bandwidth with the opening of 6GHz frequency spectrum, but with version 7 likely to occur next year, companies might decide to wait. Keith talks with IDC analyst Brandon Butler about the pros and cons of the latest wireless LAN standards. 

With the costs of large language models and generative AI platforms coming down, companies are beginning to explore highly focused systems that can answer questions to specific, niche topics. We explore the pros and cons of this approach with Lawrence Spracklen, senior technical advisor at Numenta.

Concerns about artificial intelligence cloning actors and their likenesses continue to be raised in the actors’ strike; the FBI warns about hackers using open-source AI tools to create better malware and phishing attacks (along with audio cloning to mimic a victim’s loved ones); and Intel gets a boost in revenue due to AI chip demand.

New research shows that companies involved in a four-day workweek project benefited from improved productivity and better mental health for employees, with the number of hours needed to complete the same amount of work continuing to decline. Lucas Mearian, a senior reporter at Computerworld, talks with us about the latest findings.

Keith and Chris look at the week’s news in our latest episode of ‘Today in Tech,’ including whether Elon Musk changing the Twitter logo from a blue bird to a giant X will have any impact; Threads adds a feed so you can just follow your followers; and TikTok gets into the selling cheap stuff from China game. Also, would you allow yourself to be scanned so a digital avatar could talk with family mem...

The OpenWiFi project looks to create open-source options for service providers looking to better support wireless deployments for multi-residential units and hospitality companies. Learn more about the standard in this episode. Follow TECH(talk) for the latest tech news and discussion!

The looming launch of electronic data record exchanges will allow more doctors, hospitals and other health providers to more easily share records amongst each other. This should ease the ability for clinicians to see the entire health history of patients, more so than the current fragmented system. Computerworld’s Val Potter and Rob Mitchell talk about the topic with Keith on this episode. 

A slew of new connected home devices, utilizing the Matter protocol, is about to hit retailers in time for the holidays. Will this standard, which promises easier connectivity and installation for smart home devices like lights, sensors, door locks, cameras and more, revitalize the idea of a connected home? Or better yet, lead us to the part of smart home automation? Keith chats with Skip Ashton,...

A federal judge rules that Microsoft can go forward with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, striking another blow for the Federal Trade Commission. But then the company also gets hit with news that a bug in its cloud services platform allowed Chinese hackers to infiltrate emails at the Commerce and State departments. Also, the big bad villain in this summer’s hottest movie is artificial intel...

Nowhere has artificial intelligence and generative AI tools like ChatGPT disrupted a space more than in education, where teachers and students are debating whether the tools can help or harm them. Jim Chilton, executive vice president of learning platform provider Cengage, chats with Keith about why knowledge workers can take advantage of the tools to help them become smarter and better prepared f...

Mark Zuckerberg takes his beef with Elon Musk to new levels with the launch of Threads, an Instagram-based microblogging platform that looks exactly like Twitter. Plus, we review highlights of the Microsoft vs. FTC case in terms of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, and wonders if Gen Xers really want to go back to a digital-free lifestyle.

The best and worst of humanity was on display last week during the events of the OceanGate Titan sub disaster, including rescuers looking for potential survivors, but also dark Internet memes and inappropriate comments due to 24/7 social media. Keith chats with author Justin Bean and analyst Jack Gold about what lessons we can learn, including those that work at startups and other “innovation” fir...

Workplace innovations such as eliminating scheduled meetings for a month, as well as flexible work options like four-day workweeks, have helped a technology company with issues around meeting fatigue and email overload. Keith chats with Amy Casciotti, vice president of human resources at TechSmith, about these innovations.