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If the entire world shifts after you launch your startup, what do you do? Terra Trust founder Mike DiPetrillo tells you how to do it. What was our original use-case? DOUBLE DOWN on what you do well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple’s earnings are decidedly mixed. Mark Zuckerberg’s complaints about everything he says leaking… leaked, and there are a lot of interesting details in those leaks. Looks like the SoftBank and OpenAI courtship is a serious one, and if the marriage happens, looks like Arm Holdings can be leveraged for the dowery. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple shares rise 3% as boost in services revenue overshadows iPhone miss (CNBC) Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta missed TikTok's rise because it didn't seem 'social' enough, leaked recording reveals (Business Insider) OpenAI in Talks for Huge Investment Round Valuing It at Up to $300 Billion (WSJ) OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Are AI’s New Power Couple (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: DeepSeek Chief’s Journey From Math Geek to Global Disruptor (WSJ) Chinese Quant Whiz Built DeepSeek In The Shadow Of a Hedge Fund Rout (Bloomberg) DeepSeek Debates: Chinese Leadership On Cost, True Training Cost, Closed Model Margin Impacts (SemiAnalysis) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta and Microsoft reported earnings, but all Wall Street cared about was getting Capex updates. Meta settles with… the President. Waymo’s expansion continues apace. Why Masa Son is the perfect white knight for OpenAI. And AI IS copyrightable. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Microsoft shares slide as cloud forecast, AI spending disappoint (Reuters) Meta’s Reality Labs posts $5 billion loss in fourth quarter (CNBC) Zuck shrugs off DeepSeek, vows to spend hundreds of billions on AI (TechCrunch) Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle 2021 Trump Lawsuit (WSJ) Waymo to test in 10 new cities in 2025, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego (The Verge) SoftBank in talks to invest up to $25bn in OpenAI (FT) Copyright Office Offers Assurances on AI Filmmaking Tools (Variety) Authors Guild sets up ‘Human Author’ portal to certify books come from ‘human intellect’ (AP) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Essentially, OpenAI suspects that DeekSeek might have copied them. I’ll explain the term, “distillation.” Could you soon be able to connect to Starlink on your iPhone? Is Comcast about to make the Internet… better? And the hopeful return of commercial supersonic flight. Links: OpenAI says it has evidence China’s DeepSeek used its model to train competitor (Financial Times) Microsoft Probing If DeepSeek-Linked Group Improperly Obtained OpenAI Data (Bloomberg) Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek (Reuters) Alibaba Announces AI Model That ‘Outperforms ChatGPT & DeepSeek’ (Tech.co) Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 surpasses DeepSeek as China’s AI race heats up (BGR) Apple and SpaceX Link Up to Support Starlink Satellite Network on iPhones (Bloomberg) Comcast is rolling out ‘ultra-low lag’ tech that could fix the internet (The Verge) Streaming prices climb in 2025 after already surpassing inflation rates (ArsTechnica) Netflix won the streaming wars, and we’re all about to pay for it (The Verge) Civilian jet breaks sound barrier during historic test flight over Mojave Desert (CBSNews) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More fallout from the DeepSeek realignment of everybody’s thinking about AI. Could this be a signal that the large model business model is over and value is going to be in the application layer? Pebble lives! Spotify says it pays out tons, but does it really? And the network of AI local news newsletters. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/gold Links: Viral AI company DeepSeek releases new image model family (TechCrunch) Smartwatch pioneer and Kickstarter darling Pebble is returning in a new form (TechCrunch) OpenAI launches ChatGPT Gov for U.S. government agencies (CNBC) Spotify Paid Out $10 Billion to the Music Industry in 2024 — $1 Billion More Than Last Year — and $60 Billion Total (Variety) Inside a network of AI-generated newsletters targeting “small town America” (NiemanLab) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s one of those days where there’s only one story. Maybe you saw that tech stocks got obliterated today. I’m here to tell you why. It’s solely because of DeepSeek and Chinese AI tech generally. How this tech is making people think twice about the AI boom, what DeepSeek did that is different and how this could affect all of Silicon Valley. Sponsors: TryJoyMode.com and use code RIDE Links: China’s DeepSeek Tops iPhone Downloads and Spurs AI Selloff (Bloomberg) The Short Case for Nvidia Stock (Jeffrey Emanuel) DeepSeek R1’s bold bet on reinforcement learning: How it outpaced OpenAI at 3% of the cost (VentureBeat) DeepSeek resets the board (Axios) 17 Thoughts About the Big DeepSeek Selloff (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI releases its agentic bot that can do things on your behalf on your computer. Has the Stargate controversy driven a rift between Musk and Trump? Will the US government create a strategic crypto stockpile? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode: BRIAN Links: OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you (The Verge) We Tried OpenAI’s New Agent—Here’s What We Found (Every) Trump staff ‘furious’ after Musk trashes AI project (Politico) Stargate artificial intelligence project to exclusively serve OpenAI (FT) Trump signs executive order promoting crypto, paving way for digital asset stockpile (CNBC) Mark Zuckerberg's Post (Facebook) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: As Netflix stock surges, an ‘anti-ESPN’ sports strategy emerges (The Athletic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ok, that whole AI datacenter joint venture thing seems to have gotten messy. A ByteDance board member thinks TikTok might have a way out without selling. Netflix rakes in a bunch of Oscar nominations. And humanity’s final exam has been formulated to see when AI has actually graduated to true intelligence. Sponsors: Qualialife.com/ride and code ride Links: OpenAI, SoftBank Each Commit $19 Billion to Stargate Data Center Venture (The Information) OpenAI’s Stargate Deal Heralds Shift Away From Microsoft (WSJ) TikTok’s parent company is in active discussions about a deal, board member says (CNN) Co-founder of French Crypto Startup Freed After Kidnapping (Bloomberg) Subaru Security Flaws Exposed Its System for Tracking Millions of Cars (Wired) Oscar Nomination Scorecard: Netflix Leads Among Studios With 16, A24 Close Behind With 14 (Variety) When A.I. Passes This Test, Look Out (NyTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the headlines from today’s Samsung event, including the S25 lineup. The Silk Road creator gets a pardon. A huge joint venture for a new AI datacenter effort. Will Elon take half of TikTok and the US the other half? And guess what? Netflix is raising prices again. Sponsors: Timeline.com/ride Links: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smooths out some sharp edges (The Verge) Trump Pardons Creator of Silk Road Drug Marketplace (NYTimes) OpenAI teams up with SoftBank and Oracle on $500B data center project (TechCrunch) 'Stargate' Squares Some AI Circles (Spyglass/MG Siegler) Trump Says He’s Open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison Purchasing TikTok (Bloomberg) Meta Plans Oakley-Branded Glasses, Explores Watches and Earbuds (Bloomberg) Meta will soon let you link your WhatsApp account with Instagram and Facebook (TechCrunch) Netflix Adds 19 Million Subscribers in Latest Quarter (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alright, I’ll sum up everything that happened this weekend with TikTik, but also get to all of the changes the new Trump administration has made, which is relating to tech, in just the past 24 hours. How folks are trying to eat TikTok’s lunch. Should Apple buy Sonos? And the IMDB loses its founder after 25 years. Sponsors: IQBar text TECHMEME to 64000 1Password.com/ride Links: Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days (The Verge) Trump signs executive order to halt TikTok ban, risking legal showdown (Washington Post) President Trump signs exec order to make Musk’s DOGE commission more official (TechCrunch) Meta announces a new CapCut rival called Edits (TechCrunch) Bluesky adds TikTok mode while Elon mulls reviving Vine in the latest banning drama (Windows Central) Apple Is Unlikely to Buy Sonos, But Amazon or Spotify Might Consider It (Bloomberg) IMDb Founder Col Needham Steps Aside as CEO, COO Nikki Santoro Promoted to Chief Exec (Variety) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I speak to Senator Ron Wyden about the TikTok ban, AI and regulation, tech regulation in general, and his new book: It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court rules against TikTok, but at this point, I think this is all kabuki theater. Somehow TikTok is going to survive. Bumble’s founder returns to the company. Is Apple Intelligence really working for anyone? Does anyone care that the Chinese have allegedly hacked everything at this point? And, of course, The Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode BRIAN Links: Supreme Court Upholds Law That Threatens US TikTok Ban (Bloomberg) Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd to Return as CEO in March (Bloomberg) iOS 18.3 temporarily disables Apple Intelligence notification summaries for select apps, more (9to5Mac) General Motors Is Banned From Selling Driving Behavior Data for 5 Years (NYTimes) FBI Warned Agents It Believes Phone Logs Hacked Last Year (Bloomberg) Chinese Hackers Accessed Yellen's Computer in US Treasury Breach (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Charlwin Mao, the Chinese tech founder welcoming ‘TikTok refugees’ (Financial Times) Kids Turn to a Mental-Health Chatbot to Share Their Anxieties (WSJ) To release Animal Crossing in the West, Nintendo ‘had to change everything’ (Polygon) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nintendo finally takes the wraps off the Switch 2. Everybody seems to want to give TikTok more time, but can they find a way to do it? A big new AI research lab. A check in with Nothing. The company, I mean. And the weird story of when Walgreens tries to replace refrigerator doors with smartscreens. Sponsors: TryJoyMode.com and code RIDE at checkout Links: Here’s the Nintendo Switch 2 (The Verge) Trump considers executive order hoping to ‘save TikTok’ from ban or sale in U.S. law (Washington Post) Biden administration looks for ways to keep TikTok available in the U.S. (NBCNews) AI researcher François Chollet founds a new AI lab focused on AGI (TechCrunch) Phone Startup Nothing Raises Funding, Crosses $1 Billion in Lifetime Sales (Bloomberg) Walgreens Replaced Fridge Doors With Smart Screens. It’s Now a $200 Million Fiasco (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The SEC is suing Elon Musk. Big AI insertions in Microsoft Copilot, Google Workspace and even LinkedIn. How TikTok plans to handle the immediate aftermath of a shutdown. Another new Instagram alternative. And have your AirPods been misbehaving? Here’s what Apple did without telling anyone. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Musk Accused by SEC of Cheating Twitter Investors Out of Millions (Bloomberg) Microsoft relaunches Copilot for business with free AI chat and pay-as-you-go agents (The Verge) Google Workspace business users getting full Gemini experience, price increasing (9to5Google) LinkedIn adds free AI tools for job hunters and recruiters (TechCrunch) TikTok Prepares for Immediate Shut-Off in the U.S. on Sunday (The Information) Decentralized Instagram alternative Pixelfed launches mobile apps (TechCrunch) Apple starts pushing AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 owners into Transparency or Noise Cancellation modes repeatedly, without an easy opt out (Key Discussions) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Break out your 2025 headline bingo cards. Did you have Elon Musk maybe buying TikTok on there? You’re a better bingo player than I am. Is the EU going to back off Tech in the Trump era? More layoffs come to Meta. The big streaming sports play that isn’t gonna happen now. And why is Barcelona a hub for spyware companies? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: China Weighs Sale of TikTok US to Musk as a Possible Option (Bloomberg) EU reassesses tech probes into Apple, Google and Meta (Financial Times) Meta to Cut Roughly 5% of Staff, Targeting Lowest Performers (Bloomberg) Databricks Inks $5 Billion of Private Credit, Bank Funding (Bloomberg) Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Pull the Plug on Venu Sports Streaming Venture (THR) Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery call off plans to launch Venu sports streaming service (CNBC) How Barcelona became an unlikely hub for spyware startups (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration unveils its long planned new chip export rules, and Nvidia isn’t happy. That whole botched Sonos app debacle has cost the CEO his job. Why we might not see blockbuster tech IPOs this year. Why some of Nvidia’s customers are returning Blackwell chips. And say hello to China’s answer to Instagram. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/gold Links: US imposes export controls on chips for AI to counter China (FT) Sonos CEO Leaving After Botched App Revamp Led to Customer Revolt (Bloomberg) Sonos CEO Patrick Spence steps down after disastrous app launch (The Verge) Silicon Valley’s largest start-ups to shun IPOs in 2025 (Financial Times) Nvidia’s Top Customers Face Delays From Glitchy AI Chip Racks (The Information) Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram, hits no. 1 on the App Store as TikTok faces US shutdown (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The great Simon Willison joins SWYX and I to talk about everything we learned about LLMs in 2024, and what the state of AI is generally, as we go into 2025. Here is Simon's blog post we keep referring to: https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31... 00:00 The State of AI in 2025 10:05 The Evolution of AI Models 19:54 Challenges in AI Agents 30:07 The Future of AI in Creative Industries 38:29 The Rise of AI Influencers 40:54 Credibility in the Age of AI 43:15 The Future of User Interfaces for LLMs 51:17 Local LLMs and Desktop AI Applications 55:17 AI Tools and Applications for Everyday Use 01:01:26 The Future of OpenAI and AI Regulation 01:08:08 The Need for Better Criticism of LLMs 01:10:41 The Future of Wearables and AI Integration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the controversies continue. I’ll update you on the Meta moderation controversy. The latest twist in the WordPress brouhaha. The TikTok thing is coming to a head right now as we speak, in the form of Supreme Court arguments. Asking again if the business model of Triple A gaming development is broken. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Qualialife.com/ride and code ride Links: Mark Zuckerberg gave Meta’s Llama team the OK to train on copyrighted works, filing claims (TechCrunch) Automattic says it will reduce its contribution to WordPress core project to match WP Engine (TechCrunch) Billionaire Frank McCourt's Project Liberty proposes bid for TikTok's US assets (Reuters) Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location (Wired) Call of Duty's massive development budgets revealed: $700 million for Black Ops Cold War (Game File) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The New $30,000 Side Hustle: Making Job Referrals for Strangers (Bloomberg) The smart glasses era is here — I got a first look (The Verge) The Anti-Social Century (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big new zero day to tell you about. Apple says Siri is safe, honest. Google rolls out an AI Daily Listen audio feature. Looking at the next wave of wearable AI. And let me tell you about WatchDuty, the app everyone in LA was using overnight. Sponsors: Timeline.com/ride33 Links: Hackers are exploiting a new Ivanti VPN security bug to hack into company networks (TechCrunch) Apple says Siri isn’t sending your conversations to advertisers (The Verge) Google’s ‘Daily Listen’ lab is a personalized podcast based on your Discover feed (9to5Google) SoftBank’s Chip Designer Arm Considers Acquiring Ampere Computing (Bloomberg) Your Next AI Wearable Will Listen to Everything All the Time (Wired) With L.A. on alert, wildfire app Watch Duty adds 600,000 users overnight (Los Angeles Times) LA residents find a lifeline in this free wildfire-tracking app (The Verge) ‘It’s not just alerts, it’s a state of mind’: How a wildfire monitoring app became essential in the US west (The Guardian) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tons and tons of controversy and fallout from Meta’s announced content moderation changes yesterday. I’ve got I think a fair, comprehensive rundown of all the angles. Interesting new rounds for Bluesky and Anthropic. And the coolest stuff I’ve seen from CES thus far, including: are rollable laptop screens finally ready for prime time? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: Meta’s fact-checking changes are just what Trump’s FCC head asked for (The Verge) Social-Media Companies Decide Content Moderation Is Trending Down (WSJ) AI Startup Anthropic Raising Funds Valuing It at $60 Billion (WSJ) Lenovo’s Latest Laptop Has a Rollable OLED Screen (Wired) BMW’s new iDrive turns the whole windshield into a heads-up display (The Verge) New Nike Therapeutic Shoes at CES 2025 Look Like Nothing You've Ever Seen Before (CNET) EcoFlow’s Solar hat is better for the planet than your style (Engadget) Anker made a solar beach umbrella, because of course (Engadget) This Slim Little Battery I Saw at CES 2025 Is Like a Tesla Powerwall for Your Fridge (CNET) I Watched a Printer-Size Gadget Boost a Phone's Battery Life in Seconds (CNET) This toaster-looking gadget boosts your phone’s battery in seconds (The Verge) If you’re constantly losing cables, this could be your ideal charger (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta is completely revamping its fact-checking program, going instead with a version of Community Notes. A new Tesla recall, but for a different reason. Dell is taking rebranding to new, Google-like lows. All the headlines from a jam-packed Nvidia keynote. And what about an AI copilot but for gaming? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: US opens probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles over remote driving feature (Reuters) Getty Images and Shutterstock agree to merge (Axios) Getty Images and Shutterstock to Merge in $3.7 Billion Deal (The Wrap) Dell kills the XPS brand (The Verge) Nvidia announces next-gen RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs (The Verge) Nvidia’s Project Digits is a ‘personal AI supercomputer’ (TechCrunch) Razer Project Ava: would you pay an AI to help you get good at games? (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Altman says AGI isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Superintelligence. Why is nobody using Meta’s AI profiles? Keep an eye on Zuck, is my advice. The big trend at CES so far is AI inside smart TVs. And our first day wrap up of some of the cool things we’ve seen so far at CES. Sponsors: Oracle.com/techmeme Links: Reflections (Sam Altman's Blog) Meta's AI Profiles Are Indistinguishable From Terrible Spam That Took Over Facebook (404 Media) Samsung spreads Vision AI across its 2025 TV portfolio (VentureBeat) LG and Samsung are adding Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant to their TVs (The Verge) LG’s 2025 OLED TVs are its best yet — but they risk going overboard with AI (The Verge) CES 2025: We Spent Hours Watching a Robot Vacuum Pick Up Socks. It's a Dream Come True (CNET) Stop Scalding Your Tongue: This $25 Cat Robot 'Blows' on Your Drink to Cool It (CNET) Elvie unveils an app-controlled smart bouncer that transforms into a bassinet at CES 2025 (TechCrunch) TiVo-powered TVs are coming to the US (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple pays a fine cause Siri was listening in on what you said. Strava does a tie-in with Apple Fitness+. Net Neutrality is dead again, and it looks like for good this time. The nuclear winter in the VC space, CES is coming for us all, and a Weekend Longreads Suggestion. Links: Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit (Reuters) Apple Fitness Plus and Strava are collaborating with a new integration (The Verge) US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net-neutrality rules (Reuters) AI-generated phishing scams target corporate executives (Financial Times) Number of US venture capital firms falls as cash flows to tech’s top investors (Financial Times) Asus, Samsung, and MSI announce world’s first 27-inch 4K OLED 240Hz monitors (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestion: AI Needs So Much Power, It’s Making Yours Worse (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among other things, learn how Miami Vice inspired the Golden Girls, how the Golden Girls helped finance the making of the movie Reservoir Dogs, whether or not Betty White and Bea Arthur hated each other, where the Golden Girls house was, and the real ages of the actresses when they were playing Golden Girls. Special guest, Christina Warren, @film_girl! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AT&T and Verizon say they’ve rooted out Salt Typhoon. Trump asks the Supreme Court to intervene in the TikTok situation. All the banks want to be like Tether. And as we slide into this new year, it’s a USB-C world now, we’re just living in it. Links: AT&T, Verizon Say Networks Now Clear After Salt Typhoon Hack (Bloomberg) Trump Asks Supreme Court to Pause Law Threatening TikTok Ban (Bloomberg) Biden administration proposes new cybersecurity rules to limit impact of healthcare data leaks (Reuters) Banks Want In on Tether’s Billions in Stablecoin Profits (Bloomberg) ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ set to break records despite gaming slowdown (FT) The USB-C charging mandate arrives in the EU — here’s what that means (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly having problems deciding how make this whole, reclassifying as for-profit thing work. Oh, also, they secretly decided on a new definition of artificial general intelligence that is tied to tangible dollar value. At the tail end of the year, the most interesting new AI model of the year. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Microsoft and OpenAI Wrangle Over Terms of Their Blockbuster Partnership (The Information) Microsoft and OpenAI’s Secret AGI Definition (The Information) DeepSeek-V3, ultra-large open-source AI, outperforms Llama and Qwen on launch (VentureBeat) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Video Games Can’t Afford to Look This Good (NYTimes) Hawk Tuah Wasn’t What It Seemed (The Atlantic) The Paper Passport Is Dying (Wired) You Need to Create a Secret Password With Your Family (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was Calvin And Hobbes the greatest comic strip ever? Or maybe a great work of art of the 20th Century? Why did Bill Watterson disappear? Was Calvin "good" (morally)? Was Hobbes "real"? Why were there never any toys? Would we ever really want Calvin and Hobbes to come back? With special guest @kibblesmith! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How about a Ring Doorbell, but from Apple? How about Meta Ray Ban’s but crossed with Google Glass? How everybody is combining forces to bid for defense contracts. How Tether won the crypto profitability wars. And how Britannica has not only survived the Internet era, but is actually thriving? Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride Links: Apple Explores a Face ID Doorbell and Lock Device in Smart Home Push (Bloomberg) Meta to add display to Ray-Bans as race over smart glasses intensifies (FT) Palantir and Anduril join forces with tech groups to bid for Pentagon contracts (FT) Tether Sees $10 Billion in Net Profits for 2024 (Bloomberg) Britannica Didn’t Just Survive. It’s an A.I. Company Now. (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gemini Flash Thinking a model making a serious run at “reasoning.” The FAA has had to ban drones in New Jersey cause of all those weird drone sightings. Self Driving technology continues to prove it is safer. An open source generative physics engine for robots. Sponsors: WashingtonPost.com/ride Links: Google reveals AI ‘reasoning’ model that ‘explicitly shows its thoughts’ (The Verge) FAA Bans Drone Flights in Parts of New Jersey (Bloomberg) Instagram teases AI editing tools that will completely reimagine your videos (The Verge) Waymo still doing better than humans at preventing injuries and property damage (The Verge) New physics sim trains robots 430,000 times faster than reality (ArsTechnica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple says Meta is getting annoying. You can now call 1800CHATGPT to, you know, talk to ChatGPT. Apple scraps plans for a hardware subscription package. Oura’s big new raise also indicates how well its smart-ring business is going. And has Bengaluru grown to quickly for its own good? Links: Apple hits out at Meta's numerous interoperability requests (Reuters) OpenAI makes ChatGPT available for phone calls and texts (CNBC) Apple Halts Effort to Build iPhone Hardware Subscription Service (Bloomberg) Smart ring start-up Ōura raises $200mn as valuation leaps to $5.2bn (Financial Times) Oura closes $200M round, bringing its valuation to $5.2B (TechCrunch) 3 Changes That Would Make Samsung's Galaxy Ring So Much Better (CNET) PS5 Pro deep dive reaction: GPU and RT improvements, PSSR and Sony's new AMD Amethyst partnership (EuroGamer) Inside India's 'Silicon Valley' (BusinessInsider) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is your home internet router about to be banned? The US has a new Chinese tech target. An AI dev kit from Nvidia. Who actually buys the most chips from Nvidia? Hollywood has flip-flopped on the whole theatrical release strategy. And why Instagram is officially king of the hill at Meta. Sponsors: Lumen.me/ride Links: U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Router in Millions of American Homes (WSJ) Nvidia's new $249 AI development board promises 67 TOPS at half the price of the previous 40 TOPS model (TomsHardware) Nvidia’s $249 dev kit promises cheap, small AI power (The Verge) Microsoft acquires twice as many Nvidia AI chips as tech rivals (Financial Times) Grubhub to pay $25 million for misleading customers, restaurants, drivers (Reuters) ‘Red One’ Becomes Most-Watched Prime Video Film Debut Ever With 50 Million Viewers After Modest Theatrical Run (Variety) Here’s a Hollywood Twist: Streaming Success Runs Through Theaters (NYTimes) Instagram Expected to Generate 50% of Meta’s US Ad Sales in 2025 (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the same day that ByteDance asks the US Supreme Court to intervene, the TikTok CEO meets with Donald Trump. DeepMind’s big new competitor to Sora called Veo 2. The FTC comes down against so called “junk fees.” And on their historic raise, a deep dive look at Databricks, one of the biggest private companies in the world. Sponsors: Miro.com Links: Trump meets with TikTok CEO as video app challenges potential ban (NBCNews) TikTok Asks Supreme Court to Block Law Banning Its U.S. Operations (NYTimes) Google DeepMind unveils a new video model to rival Sora (TechCrunch) FTC issues rules requiring hotels, ticket sellers to reveal ‘junk fees’ (WashingtonPost) Waymo to begin testing in Tokyo, its first international destination (CNBC) His Startup Is Now Worth $62 Billion. It Gave Away Its First Product Free. (WSJ) Google’s Whisk AI generator will ‘remix’ the pictures you plug in (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I break down the coming battle of the titans that is going to likely play out in 2025 between Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Mark Gurman says Apple is finally going foldable. Oh, and that Magic Mouse is finally that sin against God charger design. Every country wants a Starlink. And the big legal battle happening this week. Links: Meta Urges California Attorney General to Stop OpenAI From Becoming For-Profit (WSJ) OpenAI hits back at Elon Musk's lawsuit in court filing (Axios) Sam Altman reckons with a growing threat to OpenAI: Elon Musk (Financial Times) Apple’s New Vision for Computing Is a Giant Foldable iPad (Bloomberg) Europe signs €10.6bn Iris² satellite deal in bid to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink (Financial Times) Chip groups Arm and Qualcomm square off in high-stakes US trial (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian on The Newsworthy podcast with Erica Mandy. Find out more about the show here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ok, what if AI models are really the new OS for… everything. But also: smartglasses and a Vision Pro competitor. I’ll explain. Could NotebookLM become a fully fledged product? Seemingly the leader in the clubhouse in the race to create the next AI paradigm beyond the transformer model. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: I saw Google’s plan to put Android on your face (The Verge) Google’s NotebookLM AI podcast hosts can now talk to you, too (The Verge) Google says its breakthrough quantum chip can’t break modern cryptography (The Verge) Liquid Set to Raise $250 Million to Build AI Inspired by Tiny Worm Brains (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Cult of Claude (NYTimes) How WhatsApp ate the world (Rest Of World) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More fallout from the whole Cruise wind-down. What it’s like to use some of the new Gemini 2.0 features. Has Apple, quite belatedly, finally done a feature update that provides the Vision Pro with a “killer app?” An Instagram-like app from China I had never heard of. And one singular, eye-popping datapoint from the CHIPS Act. Links: The end of Cruise is the beginning of a risky new phase for autonomous vehicles (The Verge) Gemini 2.0 Flash: An outstanding multi-modal LLM with a sci-fi streaming model (Simon Willison's Blog) FCC Opens Entire 6-GHz Band to Very-Low-Power Device Operations (TV Tech) The Vision Pro’s ultrawide Mac display is very close to being a killer app (The Verge) China’s Instagram-Style Xiaohongshu Crosses $1 Billion in Profit (Bloomberg) Harvard Is Releasing a Massive Free AI Training Dataset Funded by OpenAI and Microsoft (Wired) US chipmaking boom in doubt after Biden’s defeat (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GM shocked everybody by shutting down the Cruise robotaxi business. ChatGPT is finally on your iPhone once you update it. Could all Apple watches someday have satellite texting? And then, I guess Google wanted to pre-empt Santa Sam, because they released an absolute slew of AI products today. Links: GM to refocus autonomous driving development on personal vehicles (GM Investor Relations) GM Calls It Quits on Mary Barra’s $50 Billion Robotaxi Dream (Bloomberg) Apple’s Next Ultra Smartwatch Will Be Able to Send Texts Via Satellite (Bloomberg) Google Rolls Out Faster Gemini AI Model to Power Agents (Bloomberg) Google’s new Trillium AI chip delivers 4x speed and powers Gemini 2.0 (VentureBeat) Gemini 2.0, Google’s newest flagship AI, can generate text, images, and speech (TechCrunch) Google unveils AI coding assistant ‘Jules,’ promising autonomous bug fixes and faster development cycles (VentureBeat) Google unveils Project Mariner: AI agents to use the web for you (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can now buy a car on Amazon. A new AI unicorn doing something with AI I hadn’t heard about before. New AI enhanced smartglasses. Microsoft says it has a new datacenter design that uses zero water. And if you were able to use Sora yesterday, what was that like? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: You Can Buy a Car on Amazon Now (Wired) US finalizes $6.1 bln Micron chip-making subsidy (Reuters) Memory chip maker Micron’s $6.1 billion grant confirmed by Commerce Dept. (Washington Post) OpenAI-Backed Language Tutor Startup Doubles Value to $1 Billion (Bloomberg) Solos challenges Meta’s Ray-Bans with $299 ChatGPT smart glasses (The Verge) Microsoft Unveils Zero-Water Data Centers to Reduce AI Climate Impact (Bloomberg) Bluesky teases paid subscription, Bluesky+, in new mockup (TechCrunch) I just went hands-on with Sora — the good, the bad, and the wow (Tom's Guide) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI’s Sora model is here! TikTok is still in trouble. China does more turnabouts is fair play, this time with Nvidia. I Apple, belatedly, getting serious about gaming on the Vision Pro? And did Google just make a huge, historic leap forward in quantum computing? Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride MackWeldon.com promocode: brian Links: Sora is here (OpenAI) OpenAI’s controversial Sora is finally launching today. Will it truly disrupt Hollywood? (LATimes) OpenAI releases Sora, its buzzy AI video-generation tool (CNBC) Appeals Court Upholds U.S. Ban of TikTok (WSJ) Nvidia Hit With China Probe in Global Tech War Escalation (Bloomberg) Apple, Sony Discuss Teaming Up on Gaming Controllers for Vision Pro (Blooomberg) Quantum Computing Inches Closer to Reality After Another Google Breakthrough (NYTimes) Google Debuts New Quantum Chip, Error Correction Breakthrough, and Roadmap Details (HPCWire) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Santa Sam has made his first delivery of the promised 12 days of launches from OpenAI. David Sacks is named the AI and Crypto Czar. Samsung’s entire UI is getting a radical overhaul. OpenAI is seemingly about to restructure everything. No more Surface Studios? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: OpenAI is charging $200 a month for an exclusive version of its o1 ‘reasoning’ model (The Verge) Trump Names David Sacks as White House AI and Crypto Czar (Bloomberg) Here’s everything new Samsung’s Android 15 update, One UI 7, and the full changelog [Gallery] (9to5Google) OpenAI seeks to unlock investment by ditching ‘AGI’ clause with Microsoft (Financial Times) The Surface Studio is dead? — Microsoft ends production on $4,500 Surface Studio 2+ as stock dwindles (Windows Central) Hawk Tuah memecoin dumps 90% amid backlash over controversial launch (Cointelegraph) What Pat Gelsinger’s exit means for Intel and the US Chips Act (Financial Times) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: He Was Going to Save Intel. He Destroyed $150 Billion of Value Instead. (WSJ) Friend or Faux (The Verge) When a Telescope Is a National-Security Risk (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitcoin crosses the big $100k mark for the first time. We now know who Trump wants to fill the roles Silicon Valley cares about the most. Is Amazon about to become a top tier AI model player? Two new models from Google DeepMind, one of them promises to revolutionize weather prediction. And Waymo says bienvenido a Miami. Sponsors: WashingtonPost.com/ride Links: Crypto Trading Volume Surged to $10 Trillion for the First Time in November (Bloomberg) Trump Picks Paul Atkins to Run the S.E.C. (NYTimes) Trump Taps Vance Aide Gail Slater as Top DOJ Antitrust Cop (Bloomberg) Amazon announces Nova, a new family of multimodal AI models (TechCrunch) First impressions of the new Amazon Nova LLMs (via a new llm-bedrock plugin) (Simon Willison's Blog) DeepMind’s Genie 2 can generate interactive worlds that look like video games (TechCrunch) Google Introduces A.I. Agent That Aces 15-Day Weather Forecasts (NYTimes) Key leaders behind Google’s viral NotebookLM are leaving to create their own startup (TechCrunch) Waymo to expand to Miami, aims to launch robotaxi service there in 2026 (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the Salt Typhoon hack, the US government wants you and me to go encrypted. Ubisoft shuts down XDefiant. Spotify Wrapped 2024 has NotebookLM baked right into it. And Google’s text to video AI model has beaten Sora to market, but is Sam Altman about to get all Santa on us? Sponsors: Lumen.me/ride Links: U.S. officials urge Americans to use encrypted apps amid unprecedented cyberattack (NBCNews) Ubisoft shutting down XDefiant in 2025, laying off half of its team (Polygon) Spotify Wrapped 2024 adds an AI podcast powered by Google’s NotebookLM (TechCrunch) Smart Home Market Becomes Apple’s Next Strategic Target; New HomePod with Display Set to Be Key Product in Apple’s Smart Home Strategy (Ming-Chi Kuo) Google’s new generative AI video model is now available (The Verge) AWS announces Aurora DSQL, a new distributed SQL database that promises virtually unlimited scalability (TechCrunch) Kindle Scribe 2 review in progress: Is slightly useful AI worth the extra cash? (Engadget) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The search for a new Intel CEO has begun in earnest, but a change in leadership probably makes a wholesale transformation of the company more likely. China goes tit for tat on banning things. Why ChatGPT can’t say certain names. And how is that shopping with AI agents thing going? Links: Exclusive: Intel's CEO-shortlist candidates include former board member Lip-Bu Tan, sources say (Reuters) Intel CEO Forced Out by Board Frustrated With Slow Progress (Bloomberg) China retaliates against latest US chip restrictions (Financial Times) Why does the name ‘David Mayer’ crash ChatGPT? Digital privacy requests may be at fault (TechCrunch) The race is on to make AI agents do your online shopping for you (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pat Gelsinger is out at Intel. So where do they go from here? The first announces from the AWS re:Invent conference. More signs that crypto is in the ascendency. Elon files to block OpenAI from going for profit. Is he the greatest threat to that company? And a new startup taking on Nvidia. Links: Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger retires (TechCrunch) AWS opens physical outlets that let customers upload their data (TechCrunch) Ripple-Linked XRP Soars to Third-Largest Token After Trump Win (Bloomberg) Elon Musk files for injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit (TechCrunch) Musk’s Rivals Fear He Will Target Them With His New Power (WSJ) Bezos Backs AI Chipmaker Vying With Nvidia at $2.6 Billion Value (Bloomberg) Open-source OpenWrt One router released at $89 — 'hacker-friendly device' sports two Ethernet ports, three USB ports, with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (Tom's Hardware) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is maybe the one moment of tragedy where most 80s kids remember where they were when it happened. Today, RAD! 80s90s History is looking at the Challenger disaster. Our guest is @fmanjoo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that we could have had the answering machine decades before we actually got to buy one? Why the 1980s and 90s was an unusual time for an innovation explosion in communications technology. The history of the whole AT&T/Ma Bell breakup by the government. And how much did YOU beg your parents to get your own phone line in your bedroom? The guest this episode is the actress Toni Trucks. @tonitrucks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI has suspended access to Sora after an activist stunt. Anyone can train AI on your Bluesky posts, but that is by design, in a way. Elon is readying a straight ChatGPT competitor. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: OpenAI’s Sora video generator appears to have leaked (TechCrunch) OpenAI hits pause on video model Sora after artists leak access in protest (Washington Post) Someone Made a Dataset of One Million Bluesky Posts for 'Machine Learning Research' (404Media) Inside Elon Musk’s Quest to Beat OpenAI at Its Own Game (WSJ) Yes, That Viral LinkedIn Post You Read Was Probably AI-Generated (Wired) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Should You Still Learn to Code in an A.I. World? (NYTimes) Bad influence (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intel does get its money. Threads continues to feel the heat from Bluesky, and responds by… giving people what they want. The new Mate 70 flagship smartphone from Huawei. Is Apple trying to make the iPhone so thin it can’t put a sim card in it? And yes, the whole Drake/Kendrick Lamar beef. Sponsors: LegalZoom.com promocode: techmeme Links: Intel Gets Up to $7.9 Billion Award for U.S. Chip-Plant Construction (WSJ) Threads is testing the option to choose your own default feed (The Verge) Elon Musk Admits X is Throttling Links — Effectively Limiting People From Reading News (Mediaite) Starbucks, Other Retailers Hit by Ransomware Attack on Tech Provider (WSJ) China’s Huawei Takes Aim at Apple With Latest Smartphone (NYTimes) Apple’s Thin iPhone Has No Physical SIMs—That Could Dampen China Sales (The Information) Drake Accuses UMG & Spotify of Scheme to ‘Artificially Inflate’ Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ (Billboard) Link to AI avatar experiment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Sony about to get back into the mobile gaming hardware business? Is Bluesky in the dog house with the EU? Nvidia’s new AI model. Is Intel not going to get as much money as it hoped for? And the rise of AI superclusters. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode BRIAN 1Password.com/ride Links: Sony Working on Handheld Console for PS5 Games to Rival Switch (Bloomberg) Bluesky breaching rules around disclosure of information, says EU (Financial Times) Nvidia shows AI model that can modify voices, generate novel sounds (Reuters) NVIDIA's new AI model Fugatto can create audio from text prompts (Engadget) Washington Curtails Intel’s Chip Grant After Company Stumbles (NYTimes) Klarna’s Planned IPO Sets the Stage for More Fintech Listings (Bloomberg) Exclusive: CoreWeave targets valuation of over $35 billion in 2025 US IPO, sources say (Reuters) AI’s Future and Nvidia’s Fortunes Ride on the Race to Pack More Chips Into One Place (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian's appearance on Daily Detroit talking about creating new tech hubs around the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices