Tech Talk

We’re back in the land of the weird. A former karaoke company eats $17bn of trucking stocks. Claude’s 60-year-old coding skills see the COBOL cowboys ride off into the sunset as they wipe $30bn from IBM’s stock in a single day. Microsoft flexes its superhuman powers to etch our history in glass, and erect a real life Fortress of Solitude. Oh, and Hollywood loses its mind over ByteDance’s text to video model Seedance 2.0, which allows any casual user to make the blockbuster of their dreams.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2026, the convergence of 5G and AI is shifting businesses from reacting to problems to predicting them. As networks get faster and intelligence becomes embedded into operations, enterprises are beginning to rethink how they manage supply chains, improve efficiency, and make decisions in real time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Instead of talking about equitable societies, AI has once again decided we have to revert to the ‘world in peril’ format. A safety lead at Anthropic quits to pursue a future in poetry, while the US Defence Secretary seeks to label the company a risk to national security. While using those same technologies for classified military operations.But don’t worry, we’ve got some light relief in the shape of martial robots dancing on TV.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As artificial intelligence becomes more accessible, it is rapidly changing the nature of cyber threats. From highly personalised phishing and automated intrusion attempts to the growing risk of deepfakes and identity manipulation, attackers are finding new ways to scale and adapt. At the same time, organisations are racing to strengthen their defences with AI of their own. Suresh Srinivasan joins us to explore whether cybersecurity teams are keeping pace, how the balance of power is shifting, and what businesses need to understand as the digital threat landscape enters a far more complex and unpredictable phase.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you feel like a slave to your smartwatch. Is your Screen Time report laughing at you? With holidays around the corner, Matt and Rich look at some of the ways you can use the break to bust open those digital bad habits and reset your devices so they work for you instead of against you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past two years, organisations everywhere have been experimenting with AI. Pilots are running, proofs of concept are being showcased, and leadership teams are under pressure to show progress. But behind the excitement, many initiatives never make it past the testing phase.We speak with Khalil Nooh, CEO and Co-Founder of Mesolitica, about why so many AI projects stall before reaching full deployment. From data readiness and leadership mindset to structural barriers inside organisations, we explore what separates companies that successfully scale AI from those that remain stuck in experimentation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI agents. They sound like your spy dreams come to life. Send them out into the world to snoop on your behalf. In reality, they’re kind of important but boring. Which is why Matt and Rich have put off talking about them for so long. But then a bot only social media platform called Moltbook comes along and suddenly everyone is interested in what these little bits of code have to say. Especially to each other. When they think we aren’t watching. Today they unpack OpenClaw, aka Moltbot, and try to explain what a 2026 operated by agents is going to look like.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As tech giants race to weave AI into every pixel of our digital lives, Mozilla has done the unthinkable: they’ve given users a way out. We dive into Firefox’s new "AI-Off" switch and what it means for the future of the web. We spoke with Alexander Wong from SoyaCincau to find out whether this is a landmark win for user consent or a desperate stand by a "human-first" browser in an increasingly automated world.We explore the growing "AI fatigue" hitting the tech industry and ask the hard questions: Is AI becoming the new bloatware? Can "Digital Quiet" become a luxury feature? From the ethics of the "Organic Web" to the power dynamics of Silicon Valley, we break down why the right to opt-out might be the most important feature of 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite their best efforts to resolve the problem, it looks as though Richard and Matt have found no solution to work, though they have found some interesting approaches that might. On today’s show they offer up their apologies and outline what you can expect to see at your desk in 2026. From agentic AI bundling up your day, to managerial trends and mentoring.They also take a look at some of the trends that looked as though they were going to sweep the workplace, like radical transparency and accountability. And why companies are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta’s recent $2 billion acquisition of the Singapore-based Manus AI has signaled a major shift: APAC is now outpacing the West in the race for autonomous agents. As geopolitical tensions rise over tech transfers, Europe is left questioning if its "safety-first" regulations are leaving it behind.We speak with AI expert Clemens Wasner to unpack the fallout of the Meta-Manus deal and what it means for global tech sovereignty. Drawing on his decade of experience in Japan and China, Clemens explores the friction between EU governance and APAC speed, the surprising overlap in robotics and chips, and how localised "Sovereign AI" is reshaping the 2026 economic map.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Never has it been so hard to figure out what’s good for you. 10,000 steps a day or 7,000? More red meat or less? To use painkillers or not to use painkillers?Increasingly it seems that medical advice is being issued based more on feelings and political ideology than scientific fact. In the  second part of their Tech in ‘26 series, Matt and Rich examine some of the headline treatments and advances we’re likely to see this year.From new blood tests for dementia and associated brain shuttle treatments that can break the brain-blood barrier, to the expansion of GLP-1 and similar obesity treatments. Plus the future of primary care, with telemedicine going mainstream, and the role of AI in just about every part of medical research and diagnostics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Quantum computing is advancing faster than many realise, and when it does, it could break the encryption that protects banking systems, payment infrastructure, and government data.In this episode of Tech Talk, we speak with Wo Swee Teck, Managing Director at Securemetric Technology, about why Post-Quantum Cryptography is no longer theoretical, and what the real risks are of delaying preparation.We explore Malaysia’s readiness following guidance from NACSA, how banks and government agencies are approaching crypto-agility, and what organisations often underestimate about cryptographic migration. From legacy systems to long-term trust, this conversation looks at the operational, economic, and national implications of the quantum era.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2026. Will it be the year that a robot butler finally delivers crisps to Matt on a silver platter? That nuclear fusion goes mainstream and everyone owns their own star generating tokamak? Maybe a way to send actual viruses to digital scammers.Or will it be more rent to own subscriptions, low earth orbit collisions, private space travel and incomprehensible fridges. In the first part of a series on technologies in ‘26, Rich and Matt take a look at consumer tech, imagine what IRL AI looks like, advances in energy production. And those all-important billionaire bolt holes in space.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Tech Talk, we explore how 5G, AI, and mixed reality are reshaping the future of healthcare delivery. Following among the world’s first multi-country live surgery conducted by Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and CelcomDigi, we look at how holomedicine is enabling real time surgical mentoring, immersive medical training, and cross border collaboration.T. Kugan, Chief Innovation Officer at CelcomDigi, and Professor Dr Adina Abdullah, Head of Digital Health Unit at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, share how ultra low latency 5G and holographic visualisation are moving from pilot projects into real clinical environments. We discuss what this means for access to specialist care, surgical education, and Malaysia’s ambitions as a regional healthcare and medical training hub.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“If you’re enjoying it, you aren’t really listening.” That’s Matt’s upbeat introduction to 2026. He’s probably not wrong. In a world of constant iteration cycles and incremental upgrades, we take time to salute some of the big names and services that the tech world lost in 2026.Skype, AOL and the Blue Screen Of Death; we salute you for the familiarity you brought to our lives in a world of confusion, change and AI creep.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI doesn’t always arrive with headlines or hype. Often, it slips quietly into the tools we use every day. In this episode of Tech Talk, we’re joined by Matt Armitage from Mattsplained to explore how artificial intelligence is already shaping ordinary workplaces, from hiring and customer service to finance and logistics. We look at why much of this change goes unnoticed, what it means for jobs versus tasks, and how workers and businesses can better recognise the shifts already happening around them.Image provided by Nano Banana.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Injectable pacemakers, PAC-MANN munching protease tests for pancreatic cancer, de-extinction events and bottling the power of the sun. And, because Matt insisted, synthetic worms made of active matter.As we move into the era of multi gene editing, non-invasive targeted treatments for diseases, and storing power in air, we celebrate some of the weirder milestones in a fantastic year for science.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are more connected than any generation before us. Our messages, photos, searches, location data, subscriptions, and even our voices now live online, often long after we stop thinking about them.But here’s a question most of us avoid. When we die, what actually happens to that digital version of us? Who owns it? Who controls it? And who decides whether it should stay alive, be deleted, or be reused in ways we never agreed to?Today on Tech Talk, we are talking about the idea of the digital afterlife. The data trails we leave behind, the risks they pose, and the ethical, legal, and emotional questions that come with them.Joining us is Suresh Sankaran Srinivasan, Group Head of Cyber Security at Axiata Group Berhad, and someone who has spent over two decades thinking about how our digital lives are created, protected, and sometimes misused.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the war on science, to vaccines for cancer to contact lenses that allow you to see in the spectrum of light invisible to our eyes, we’re looking back at some of the incredible and amazing breakthroughs in science we’ve seen in 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As AI agents begin making decisions and transactions across borders, the line between human intent and machine action is blurring fast. In this episode, Jumio’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Bala Kumar, explores what happens when “It wasn’t me, my AI did it” becomes a real defence. From the rise of “Know Your Agent” and reusable digital identities to the new arms race in AI-driven fraud, we look at how accountability, trust, and identity are being redefined across APAC’s digital economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.